caulfield12

I think the thing with Carlos Lee and Ordonez scaring everyone off is their contract numbers....they wouldn't fit now, they didn't fit in 2005, either. Ray Durham out of retirement to take Kotsay's spot so Harrelson can say "I love to watch Ray-Ray run..." on a triple into the RCF gap. Willie Harris for the Kotsay/Vizquel super-utility role. But seriously, imagine all the other MLB boards missed HAVING Quentin, Danks, Floyd (think how much better PHIL would be now), Konerko, missed drafting Beckham, Teahen, Rios (well, SOME!!!), Andruw Jones (Rangers could use some "O" now), Thornton, Sergio Santos, Jenks, Pena, etc. The PINAR DEL RIO BOARD AND CUBANO MISS ALEXEI. And another shout-out to EL GRAN TITAN DE BRONZE and my 2010 avatar....the only White Sox jersey I ever considered buying after the age of 25.

Good points Balta, although I wasn't being super serious about it. I do feel we need a change-of-pace guy to offset the FB dominance....a Neshek, Takatsu frisbee, Arnie Munoz rainbow curve, some dude on the Reds who used to average about 79-83 on his FB a couple of years ago out of the pen, Chad Bradford, type. Charlie Haeger? The Japanese girl who just signed recently, Wakefield has worked with her diligently on perfecting a knuckleball? There's another ex-Sox name for our other thread. Chad Bradford, the monster with the A's version of 5-7 years ago. (Not the Seattle 2000 ALCD version).

Javy Vazquez and Orlando Cabrera feel no love in this thread.

Humberto Quintero. Just kidding. I'll go with Frank Francisco and Chris B. Young or Ryan Sweeney. Because Francisco makes our pen that much better, and Sweeney/Young don't soak up all of Rios' contract dollars. Nobody could argue that Matt Guerrier wouldn't improve our pen. I'd STILL take Damaso Marte over Williams in a heartbeat and reunite him with Don Cooper. Some would say Chris Carter as part-time DH (Jones would be playing OF) or Gio Gonzalez in the fifth spot OR long reliever/Williams' role. Jon Link or Josh Rupe, nope!! Uribe of course, have to get a shout out to him. He's the ONLY member of the franchise I've ever heard that Mark Buehrle would donate part of his own salary to keep in the fold. You didn't see him doing that with Thome or Dye. Juan was probably the most popular "across the board" (with white/black/Hispanic/Asian) player we've ever had in terms of how well-loved he was in the clubhouse. He was always in the middle of everything, smiling, having fun, loosening up the environment...he loves to play the game of baseball almost as much as Guillen does, it's never seeming like work for him, even at the end of another K resulting from an akward HR pull swing on an outside breaking ball. Great arm, strangest defensive mechanics that worked....Mr. Clutch RBI, Mr. RBI w/ Runner at 3rd and less than 2 outs, and a capable bunter as well. Remember Toby Hall and the pie incident? Uribe does that to Dye, you never hear a word about it, 100%. That's why I like Uribe, for those who keep commenting on it. DAVE WILLS OR JOHN ROONEY. Joking with you Ranger, you're going a good job, youngster! Keep it up...

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Apr 27, 2010 -> 02:25 PM) Because in a tough situation, any manager worth his salt is going to send up a RH hitter. Do you think we'd all feel differently if Williams was say a 23 year old rookie (let's say his last name was Wasserman) versus a 30+ journeyman/veteran pitcher who has experience in more than half the minor league and semi-pro systems in the world?

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Apr 27, 2010 -> 01:52 PM) I can rarely get through a Caulfield post without saying "f*** it. I don't feel like reading anymore." Isn't there some type of ignore feature available to ease up the great burden I am causing you? If I really cause you that much duress, I'm sure you could work out something with the mods where all my posts would be blacked out like I'm giving away a key plot point to a new blockbuster movie in the FILMS THREAD. Sound cool to you? That would be better than sniping back and forth with you about how I post in 25% of the threads.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=AmXQ...relievers042610 I thought this was an excellent article, and was going to stick it into MLB Catch-all, but then had a second thought. Especially since one of the biggest complaints about Guillen by many Sox fans is his use of the bullpen... So the question is this: 1) How does Ozzie differ in any way from how the Twins manage their pens with Gardenhire? 2) Is there anything in our minor league development that has led to a dearth of quality bullpen arms, compared to other teams in the division? (I'm thinking of names like Wasserman, Sean Tracey, etc., we just haven't incubated many relief arms that had success for us....we have, on the other hand, developed a plethora of arms who ended up succeeding with other teams. The one reliever we've taken high, Royce Ring, was a complete bust. Poreda and Richard were considered by most scouts to be bullpen arms as well...so I guess Richard might be our one true success story?) 3) The clamor (I was one of them) for Jenks to be pulled for Thornton against KGJr. led ultimately to another question, how does yanking Jenks out of games where hasn't yet blown the save affect his psyche? How well defined is our pen right now? What are the roles? Should Ozzie be clearer, or is that impossible to provide because of all the "X" factors with the pen? Do you do like the Tigers and use Zumaya in the 6th, 7th and 8th in high leverage situations? Would Zumaya be better off if he knew he was the man for the 8th and would never pitch before that inning? Jenks=closer Thornton=LH set-up, capable of closing in an inning with 2/3 lefties coming up RH set-up for 8th=who will it be, Putz/Santos or Pena??? Does it matter if Ozzie uses Putz in the role one game and Santos the next? Also, what is Linebrink's role as he continues to show signs of progress? Basically, we have Putz/Santos as TIER 1 and Pena(5)/Liney(6) as TIER 2 of the set-up guys to go with THORNTON. Also, should we have a defined long man (Hudson incubated like Buehrle in 2000 for an eventual starting role) or just go with Pena/Liney/Williams in all of those situations? Is it wise to burn Linebrink's arm on blowouts if want to increase his value to other teams? Is it fair to put Pena in this role when he's really pitched excellently? How much longer can we go with Williams? Does KW make a move to acquire someone like a Carrasco or promote Torres/Elarton, etc.? How long will Threets be out? Does he have to pick a 2nd lefty? Does KW find another veteran in the Jeff Nelson mold or promote someone internally like a Clevelan Santeliz? Should we use Santos like the Tigers use Zumaya, or keep him strictly for the 7th and 8th when we're leading by 1-3 runs? Is he ready for that? Will he go all Aardsma on us when he suffers his first failures in pressure situations? 4) What are your specific issues with Ozzie's use of the pen? What does he do differently from the likes of "intellectual" managers like LaRussa/Scioscia/Maddon cited in the article? YES, I know some will think it's a PRO TWINS article. FINE. The topic is an interesting one, hopefully a good discussion can come out of it?

QUOTE (qwerty @ Apr 27, 2010 -> 10:40 AM) Hard headed on the part of peavy. Just how i see it. Their terrible approaches stem from terrible scouting of opposition they are not familiar with. No other case can really be made as far as i am concerned. If someone has a better explanation, i would love to hear it. This aspect you are referring to is huge in the grand scheme of things... yet it appears to be no big deal to them, much like scouting for the draft. This is far from all on the hitters. Someone higher up, as in not solely the players, is not up to snuff with the task at hand. Major League Computer Scouting Analyst MIKE GELLINGER Start there....

K for Thompson, now 5 BB/10 K's on the young season in 35 AB's. That's not bad for such a raw prospect barely removed from high school ball.

397 and counting...1/1 with a walk and run scored 8 RBI's (maybe Piere's weakest area, hitting w/ RISP this year), 8 walks....ooops, 9 walks now, just got another off KING FELIX. OPS of close to 900. He and Guillen are the two co-MVP's of the Royals so far, clearly. I will say this much, if if if Pods was playing like this for us, we'd EASILY be 11-8 or 12-7, despite Floyd/Peavy and half our starting line-up sucking raw eggs. IT's comical almost, look at the Royals averages up and down their line-up, you would never understand how they could trail us in the standings unless you looked deeper into the statistics.

QUOTE (The Ginger Kid @ Apr 26, 2010 -> 06:37 PM) which basically has nothing to do with what I posted No, it doesn't. Obviously.

QUOTE (bmags @ Apr 26, 2010 -> 06:20 PM) I've read your post 4 times and i have no idea what you are talking about. edit: to caulfield. And if you don’t create as many or more opportunities as your opponent — no player and no team is consistently clutch enough to make up for that gap. Not over a long season. My evolving theory about baseball is like my evolving theory about life. Sure, there are heroics in baseball and in life. But you can’t count on ‘em. You’re better off banging on a lot of doors. I was responding to Joe Posnanski, my old friend with the Augusta Chronicle and all-around good guy. Specifically, the Twins were ALMOST able to compensate for having an inferior team to the White Sox by being the most "clutch" team in baseball in 2008. Sorry for not clue-ing you in.

"You don't WALK your way off the island." If I had one dollar for every time I've heard that about a Domincan or Cuban hitter, I'd be a very rich man. But it's true, buscones think scouts are more impressed with a pure raw hitting display than pitch selection/recognition/strike zone patience demonstration in actual in -game situations that help teams win real games. If a scout's at your prospect's game, he's swinging like Vladdy, Uribe, Sosa or Alexei Ramirez.

As long as they had the patented Bobby Thigpen/Roberto Hernandez "Heart Attack/Heartburn" insurance, the Rays or Twins are welcome to go for it. I would ask for Neshek in return and see if they would bite...I would even kick in some cash for him, and put him in Cooper's hands. He would give us the perfect complimentary pitcher, totally different approach like Bradford or Takatsu. We have a plethora of hard throwers. It's why Williams or Arnie Munoz Lite makes sense out of the pen. ALMOST. Not quite KW.

For example, the 2008 White Sox were much better than 2008 Twins....but their overall BARISP, especially in late innings....almost did us in. That's the one thing that stuck out to me the most about that season, and the fact they were so clutch at home. They were insanely good, as bad as we were last year and this year with RISP or in late inning, "clutch" comebacks. WE almost NEVER came back from behind in the late innings in 2009. We've done it 3-4 times already this year, which is a GREAT sign of resilience and team character/chemistry IMO. But what happened to our "clutchability/spurtability" offensively at USCF last year? That's a HUGE mystery for KW and the FO (Gellinger/Hahn, etc.) to solve from a strategic standpoint. It wasn't lower attendance numbers decreasing homefield advantage, that's a stupid and idiotic excuse. Look at Beckham's home and road splits, for example. NOTE TO KW: We could have had Fred Lewis for a LOT cheaper price than Juan Pierre. And signed another hitter w/ the savings. And more players like Adam Lind would be helpful, the most underrated hitter in baseball, or most unknown close to great hitter.

QUOTE (SoxAce @ Apr 26, 2010 -> 03:05 PM) Nice stat wite. Bring this back up in July/August as well as I wanna see if some of these guys are still the same. I know for a fact Richard was 91-93 early on before he was cranking it up at 94-97 around that time last season (between AAA and the bigs). Couple the fact that he is probably the top 5 best pickoff pitcher (not just LH) in the game. I don't think David Price (or Kershaw) will be third (or 6th) on that list very long either. 1) Dayton Moore isn's as smart as most think. The Royals basically gave up on De La Rosa too quickly. Not the first organization to do so, however. He's had a lot of chances, that's for sure. 2) Liriano is close to being back, which is quite normal 2-3 seasons after TJ surgery. Usually the 2nd. I think he's held back because the slider was a big hang up for him, letting it lose with 100% torque and as often as he did in 2006. 3) Aaron Poreda was successfully overhyped and marketed by Harrelson and KW, our second version of Royce Ring in a generation.

QUOTE (fathom @ Apr 26, 2010 -> 04:49 PM) Yeah, since I never say that I think Theriot does a great job of hitting tough pitching and always starts late rallies for the Cubs. He's a bad fielder, but I don't think Alexei is very special over at SS either. Give me the guy who makes consistent contact, and isn't a liability for the first two months of the season. Do you also want Erstad/Mackowiak/Byrnes as your OF, Aaron Miles/Getz at 2B and Bobby Hill/Kevin Orie/Gary Scott at 3B? JUST JOSHING YOU. (Who's that other Cubs' "grindy" 2B/3B who was so good in 2008 but has faded since then?) Joking....I will always go with the better athlete with the potential to be a difference maker at a premium position. Alexei carried the Sox for two months in 2008, he can find that form again imo. To be an elite or dominant defender and combination of speed and power. And he's in the prime age years of his career. And he has a bargain-basement contract that affords our payroll some breathing room.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Apr 26, 2010 -> 03:16 PM) They're right there. But I'm looking at RIGHT NOW. Not potential. And not "IF" so and so is healthy when they haven't been for multiple years (Putz, Zumaya). That's why I think it's the Dodgers. ' Zumaya, for all his 99-101 heat, often becomes a one pitch pitcher. Wasn't it Swisher who tagged him for a loss....he's crippled when he gets behind in the count and walks too many. They also lost Lyon and Rodney had filthy stuff when he was on. Perry's talented, but I can't say I would project him to be remarkably better than Pena or Santos. He throws HARD (93-97), but not like Zumaya. If Zumaaya was THAT good, wouldn't they have given him the closer's role? Mentally, Zumaya is a bit soft, he reminds me of Carlos Zambrano for some reason, very fragile guy emotionally. Up and down rollercoaster with him, even moreso than Jenks. Valverde>Jenks (slight edge) Thornton kicks Phil Coke's ass and hands it back to him effortlessly (BIG ADVANTAGE) Fu-Te Ni>Williams (but still like a healthy Threets showing moderate command) Ryan Perry=Putz (when healthy, I'd take experience and overall arsenal of JJ in a heartbeat) Zumaya=Santos (I would only trade for Zumaya if Cooper was my pitching coach) Pena>Eddie Bonine (not close on talent) Linebrink>Brad Thomas (LHP, not as familiar with Thomas, but Linebrink two seasons ago was best RH set-up guy in AL for 3 months) In summary, Cooper working with Zumaya, Perry and Valverde...good results! Having Zumaya and Ryan Perry would be tempting, for sure, for Hanging with Mr. Cecil Cooper. But Zumaya has always been something of an underachieve, like Matt Anderson.

Thanks for the report, very thorough. What stands out about Morel and his approach at the plate? Who does he remind you of, in terms of his stance? Sanchez's offensive stats stick out so far, and Ozzie did play him a little bit in the spring, but he falls into that Gartrell/David Cook category in the organizations' eyes. What did Shelby look like defensively in the OF? Which pitcher, from the naked eye, had the best raw or pure stuff?

Can you turn it into Jon or Kal (Kalvoski) Daniels? Joking...

So who would rather have Theriot as that starting SS over Ramirez? Any volunteers. I will never, ever say that.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Apr 26, 2010 -> 03:40 PM) Jonathan Broxton might be the best non-Rivera closer in baseball. George Sherrill would be closing for at least a dozen other teams. Hong-Chih Kuo when healthy is basically their Matt Thornton (with a little less velocity on his FB). Throw in Belisario and Troncoso and the Dodgers pen is better with fewer question marks. Broxton=Santos (projecting, it's a premature reach, but I'm being optimistic today) Sherrill=Putz (when JJ is healthy) Thornton is the best LHR in baseball now I'd take my chances with Liney and Pena over Belisario and Troncoso.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Apr 26, 2010 -> 03:35 PM) The only thing that makes him like Buehrle is working fast and being lefthanded. The guy isnt very young and isnt all that talented. How many LH pitchers in baseball throw 93-96 MPH AND are starters? It's a list that is very short. Granted his optimal role is still probably out of the bullpen

QUOTE (WCSox @ Apr 26, 2010 -> 01:58 PM) You do when he has Jenks' track record, you have no better in-house options, and your bullpen outside of Thornton is pretty much terrible (nobody could've foreseen a converted SS becoming our best bullpen arm this winter). Better to pay Bobby year-by-year than to throw a $10M+ multi-year deal at somebody like K-Rod and hope that he doesn't blow his arm out. I don't want Bobby around next year, but bringing him back this year was absolutely the right thing to do. NO. I was referring to the fact that very few teams would trade for him at that salary. An elite team doesn't take the risk unless their closer goes down and there's nothing else available on the market, that's the only way. Maybe the top 3-5 payroll teams could do what the Mets did and make Putz set-up, or the Cubs with Zambrano. But they're not going to give up much in return young talent-wise.

QUOTE (docsox24 @ Apr 26, 2010 -> 03:09 PM) No you are not getting it. I agree that nobody was super upset those guys you listed were sent packing. However, these Mariners fans appear to be extremely glad Thornton was traded. But the real point is how good Matt became. None of those guys you mention became all that successful to make anyone eat their words that they were traded. In contrast, any Mariners fan would be a fool to not want Matt back. Aardsma would be on our roster. Masset would be long man, in Carrasco's underrated role, and spot starter. Cooper could keep working w/ him. I would start Uribe as much as Ozzie plays Vizquel, who's 10+ years older and washed up. Swisher would be DH or sharing time in the OF with Andruw Jones. Matsui/Damon could also be signed with all the money we're using on Rios. I think he had a pretty good year overall last year, you disgree? Willie Harris could be doing better than Pierre for a fraction of the cost. So could Ryan Sweeney.