caulfield12

ARGH with Captain Jack accent from Pirates of the Caribbean...first, the Cubs wouldn't trade him now anyway, the time to have "bought low" on him would have been coming into this season, but I think the Cubs were smart enough to let their "paper loss" return in value, knowing that Reed Johnson wasn't the long-term solution as an everyday major league CFer.

Our best leadoff hitter is in Birmingham. As soon as KW becomes conditioned to the idea....which will be after 15-20 games of Getz trying to do too much and getting out of his game....then we might have to bring up Beckham for lack of any other logical options within the organization. Frank Thomas started his career on August 2nd of the year after he was drafted...Ventura had to wait until September. Beckham won't be better than Thomas and probably won't be better than Ventura either (and Ventura was one of the most acclaimed college baseball players in history at OSU), but we have a tremendous need for him this season if we want to win the AL Central.

The Hudson deal COULD be worth as MUCH as $8 million, with $3.6 million guaranteed. However, Hudson is a big character guy and would have been a perfect fit in our clubhouse, IMO. I'm not going to get into whether or not Getz was/is ready, or Beckham for that matter, but Hudson at 2B or in CF would have been a huge upgrade over what we have for this particular season. He's very similar in terms of demeanor and personality to Dye...one of those guys (unlike Elijah Dukes) that you NEVER hear anything bad about. The C.A.T.C.H. Foundation was founded by Orlando Hudson, a 7 year MLB veteran, All Star and 3 times Gold Glove Recipient. The 501c3 non-profit foundation is headquartered in Darlington, SC, and takes pride in its continued commitment to provide resources and a support system for youth coping with Autism. Orlando Hudson is committed to bringing autism awareness to the African-American community. An active volunteer for organizations which promote autism research advancement, Hudson created the C.A.T.C.H. (Curing Autism through Change and Hope) Foundation, to provide resources and a support system for youth coping with autism. The C.A.T.C.H. Foundation has served youth with Autism through their annual Autism Walk; Strike Out! Bowling Fundraiser; Homerun Holiday Christmas Gifting Ceremony and providing local organizations and schools with financial assistance for youth coping with Autism. The C.A.T.C.H. Foundation’s 2009 goals include expanding their menu of services as well as presenting grant funding to deserving Autism oriented programs. In addition, the foundation has plans to do a National tour to generate funds and more awareness of the disorder. [/i]

Takatsu was a one trick pony. Once they started to lay off that frisbee, he would get hammered when he had to come with the fastball for strikes behind in the count. If the ex-Mariners closer was available (Kaz Sazaki) or Yu Darvish, that would be different. The Korean pitchers would be even more difficult to pry away from their leagues. Choo was an exception because he was signed directly out of high school by the M's.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Apr 16, 2009 -> 02:08 PM) Couple notes in reply. First...for Juan Cruz, the Royals had to give up their 2nd round pick. We'd have had to give up our first round pick. It's like giving up #50 versus giving up #20. Juan Cruz simply wasn't worth that pick even if he was signing for the League Minimum. Second, in terms of Coco Crisp, the Royals gave up a 27 year old, pre-arbitration reliever who had an ERA under 3.00 last year to get him. The Sox simply have no one who fits that bill. Jenks was our only pre-arb reliever last year who had an ERA under 3.00. Poreda might have worked but he's never pitched in the big leagues, and I'm not sure I'd have done Poreda for Crisp. Orlando Hudson...also costs our first round pick, may not have wanted to play CF, might have been willing to do that deal though even with the draft pick. Baldelli...decent option except he can't play more than 1/2 games even if he's 100% healthy. Bobby Abreu is not a CF. Pretending these facts don't exist is not an option. Note - not once did I say we couldn't afford any of these guys. That may have played a part in it, but it's not the only reason. This is totally dependent on which mode the White Sox are in with their spending. If they are drafting and signing Danks in the 7th or arguably overpaying (in hindsight) for Viciedo....we can take someone just as good with our other 3 high picks in the first 2-3 rounds. See Detroit Tigers, Rick Porcello, for one example. In fact, the White Sox, before recent years, were atrocious drafting when they had any pick 20 and beyond in the first round. With Cruz, Crisp or Hudson, they had the chance to have an IMMEDIATE impact on this season, which has USUALLY been KW's standard operating procedure, at least until the this past off-season. Nobody could argue coming into 2009 that KW put the best possible team to compete for the World Series out there on the field for Opening Day...there were just too many holes. Now if KW doesn't make a move in May/June/July...he's going to be held accountable by the fans in terms of season tickets and attendance for next year. There's no doubt that the division was there for the taking, but neither the Twins nor the White Sox added significant pieces. The Tigers, Indians and Royals have at least made efforts at improvement (especially the Royals and Indians...the Tigers, it was addition by subtraction and going with younger arms). Maybe, just maybe...they're assuming they can bill the infusion of all the Birmingham hitting talent and Poreda for 2009 as like making 2-3 major acquisitions in the FA market, but I think there will be a time well before then when Beckham is obviously ready and/or Getz is struggling or not comfortable in the leadoff role. Until this season, when KW had a chance to "win now," he always was willing to take advantage...if he doesn't make a move bigger than Pods in Charlotte, then the odds of us winning the division "as is" would be about 5-15%, at best. Especially if Lillibridge gets anywhere close to 250-300 AB's. If they're going to take another McCulloch or Broadway instead of someone with 1/2/3 starter upside like Poreda, then I would just as soon have Juan Cruz and win this season, instead of waiting for someone who will make a marginal major league impact down the line.

Ummm...last time I checked, they weren't playing him in CF. And they were substituting Cabrera for him defensively late in games, too.

Well, Swisher is the new clean-up hitter for the Yankees. Yet he couldn't start over DeWayne Wise over the last month for the White Sox. The Yankees must be getting really desperate.

If JR and KW had that conversation, it SHOULD have been in the offseason. It would have been simple to add Juan Cruz and CoCo Crisp...yes, we would have lost a draft pick for Cruz, but that would have been the best possible solution...and avoided the mess we are in right now, where we might have to give up some prospects from our Top 10 in order to remedy the situation. Abreu, Penny, Orlando Hudson, Baldelli, etc., were available for pennies (not 50 cents or even 75 KW) on the dollar. We wouldn't have even had to save on electricity to make it work. Heck, even Josh Anderson would seem like a better solution right now.

Let's not forget, in KW's mind, either John Shelby III or Jordan Danks could be our CFer in late 2009 or 2010....so taking on a Rowand contract long-term blocks both of those kids, unless we move Shelby back to 2B. At 2B, we would be eliminating Getz and either Ramirez or Beckham, so I can't see KW going for more than a one or two year contract on any CFer while he waits for Ramirez/Beckham/Shelby/Jor. Danks to settle into their possible roles.

QUOTE (BUZZ @ Apr 16, 2009 -> 09:49 AM) Correction, we need a CF and a lead off hitter. How about Juan Pierre what would he cost? Taveras=too expensive for KW's liking, $6.25 million for 2 years Ichiro=maybe, would be the biggest move White Sox have made in years, cost in talent?...is Ichiro worth it, with age/declining ability? Bourn=low OBP Pierre=contract, what would we have to give up to get them to eat most of it? horrible arm, so-so defense, not very good OBP Figgins=would the Angels give him up now? FA after 2009, most debated name (along with Roberts) on most Sox boards the last 2-3 years Carlos Gomez=can he get on base? would the Twins dare trade him to White Sox? would Harrelson have a heart attack? Alex Rios=would be good option to replace Dye, but he can't play CF...he could certainly be a leadoff hitter though Damon=can't play CF anymore, arm, injuries, too expensive Rajai Davis=low OBP Randy Winn=one of the best of the worst options out there, veteran, can handle bat, not really a CFer at this point but would be tolerable and better than the likes of Griffey, Swisher and Mackowiak for sure Fred Lewis=better option than Winn, but more expensive in terms of cost of acquisition, a younger CoCo Crisp Kaz Matsui=we already have too many middle infielders Cesar Izturis=see Matsui, just signed by Orioles Milledge=not a very good CFer, questionable head/psych profile Nate McLouth=could be had, but very high price Abreu=KW passed, not a CFer either Gathright or Pie Dickerson, Cincy Blanco, Braves' AAA J. Werth=don't want to buy "high" on him at this point Crisp=KW passed apparently

There's really something to be said for keeping all those kids together and in a winning/confidence-building environment. It's better for the organization and for their development...when they come to the big leagues together (2009-2011), they will already be very comfortable with each other and used to the idea of winning almost every game. It's perfect, I think. I would rather promote them directly to Chicago from AA, rather than sending them through Charlotte first.

Seriously. This is just dumb, dumb, dumb. If Brian Anderson plays like Kenny has "promised," with 20-25 homers and 60-80 RBI's, that's almost as good as Rowand, and Anderson is the far better/superior defender. Why would we want to hamstring our ability to go after starting pitching next year by committing millions we don't have to Aaron Rowand? That would be silly. We have to replace Contreras and Colon (probably) and we don't have one player in our system (Poreda, Richard, Marquez, Marquez, Egbert) that's ready to step in at this point, so we will have to go the FA route. MacDougal will be gone within a week or two, probably Contreras, Thome and Dye...that's around $35 million. Of course, we will have more increases in our Year 3-6 players (Gavin Floyd goes up by $2 million, for example, Danks will get paid too, somehow), but we SHOULD have at least $20-25 million to play around with. Rowand will be 32 at the end of this season. There's no reason to think he would be anything better than an average American League CFer at this point in his career. KW is not crazy...this is a move he will never make, if for no other reason than KW's stubborn streak to prove he wasn't wrong putting CF in Anderson's hands/glove 3 seasons ago.

Gilmore... 1/21 (.048), 2B, RBI Danks... 6/29 (.207), 2B, 3B, HR, 3 RBI's Tyler Flowers 6/19 (.316), 5 BB, 2B, HR, 2 RBI's Beckham 11/25 (.440), 4 BB, 3 2B's, HR, 6 RBI's Viciedo 6/25 (.240), 2B, 4 RBI's Allen 12/27 (.444), 2B, 3B, 3 RBI's

I know this will be moved to minor league section, but I thought it would be good for everyone to see it and be excited like I am.. from Baseball America Posted Apr. 15, 2009 1:59 pm by Conor Glassey Filed under: At The Ballpark Kannapolis, N.C.—Between last year’s draft, the signing of a Cuban defector and dealing righthander Javier Vazquez to the Braves, the White Sox have added several quality bats to their farm system over the past year. White Sox roving hitting instructor Jeff Manto was with low Class A Kannapolis for the first week of the season and shared his thoughts on some of the team’s young hitters. On SS Gordon Beckham: "He’s probably as polished of a college player as I’ve ever seen. He can do it all. There’s not too many chinks in his armor right now—just solid across the board. His weaknesses have not been exposed, but his strengths are numerous. He hits the ball for power, for average, he knows the strike zone and knows his strike zone, so we’re really, really excited about him. He’s polished. He’s ready to play and he needs some minor league at-bats, no doubt, but he’s definitely the closest of everybody in our system." On 3B Dayan Viciedo: "I think the biggest thing with him will be just adjusting to the lifestyle. I think we have to remember that, you know, to go through what he went through, it’s definitely not easy to come to a new culture, to a new world and perform at the level that he wants to play. So we’re going to have to be patient with him and let him get his feet wet and get comfortable. I think the biggest thing for him also, is to be able to trust the people around him. The sooner he does that, the better off he’s going to be. He has great power to right-center field, he has a good, strong foundation, has fast, fast hands and really has an idea what he’s doing. It’s going to take time to see where he’s at, only because of the adjustment coming over. Another thing, as far as his approach at the plate goes, is learning a new culture and how we pitch. I know baseball is baseball, but I know people who go to other countries have a tough time adjusting to the sequence of pitches and to how the game’s played—why pitches are thrown in different situations and what to look for. Some of the players have an idea of what pitchers are going to do because we’ve faced them in A-ball, Double-A, we’ve faced them all the way up , but Viciedo has no history with anybody, so he’s got to be learning from scratch, basically. But, once he does, he’s going to be a pretty good talent." On C Tyler Flowers: "He’s big and strong, man. This guy is very, very strong. He has strong hands, he has a good foundation and looks to have power to all fields. I know that, as it appears now, he has a lot of power to the opposite side and if you go ahead and try to go inside, he has enough bat speed to pull too. So, he’s a really exciting player. I don’t know how he’s going to end up, because he’s just so versatile. He looks like a big power hitter, but the next thing you know he’ll get a base hit and you’ll go, ‘Where did that come from?’ He can do a lot of things with the bat—he’s not just a big guy that goes up there and swings for the fences." On 1B Brandon Allen: "Brandon Allen is probably the most fun I’ve had in working with a hitter. I mean, this guy, we ask him to do different things at the plate, look for different pitches at different times, and he’s made adjustments as quick as anybody I’ve had to deal with. He’s definitely going to be a force in the future. He has the ability to hit the breaking ball, he has the ability to hit lefthanded pitching, which sometimes you don’t see with young hitters. Lefty-on-lefty, they seem to bail, but Brandon, he accepts the challenge and when lefthanders are pitching, he actually enjoys it because it’s definitely a challenge for him. He too, he’s not a typical power hitter, he can hit the ball in the gaps and hit the ball over the fence, like Flowers. He can do many things at the plate. He’s very unselfish. He’ll move runners, he’s just not looking to drive the ball into the gap—he’s very versatile also." On OF Jordan Danks: "Jordan Danks is probably the most exciting player we have right now. He’s a guy that is going to develop power. He doesn’t have the power yet, nor do I think he’s going to sit on a bunch of home runs, but he’s going to be a plus hitter. He’s going to hit for average and he’s going to hit for a little bit of power. He can run and he’s just, he’s not afraid. Like Brandon Allen, he loves facing lefthanded pitchers because he knows it’s a challenge and he knows there’s a stigma about lefty-on-lefty, with the young guys especially, and he definitely is one of our most exciting players. But, like I said, the big thing about him is that he’s not afraid. He’s not afraid to steal bases, he’s not afraid to strike out, he’s not afraid to hit in pressure situations, he’s just a lot of fun." On 3B Jon Gilmore: "Gilmore, he’s a typical young kid. He has a ton of upside. Right now, he just needs his reps, man. He’s 20 years old and he’s facing guys with college experience and once he gets it and once he begins to learn the strike zone and learn himself, his ceiling is very, very high. The way he runs, the way he moves at third base, we’re definitely happy with what we got there. When he gets it, it’s going to be exciting. With the wind blowing in, he hit a few home runs and several balls off the wall today during batting practice and he’s as strong as that indicates. His raw power is definitely exceptional and once he gets it and once he figures it out and once he gets all the information we’re giving him and gets it all lined up, he’s going to be a real good player."

Carter and Cunningham weren't among our top prospects at the beginning either, not like Sweeney and Gio.

Hafner does have 3 homers so far this season and has looked much better...it is their starting pitching/middle relief that is the problem, along with the likes of Ben Francisco and Peralta.

Well, that hasn't stopped people from commenting on Viciedo's defense at 3B, or Flowers at catcher.

QUOTE (tommy @ Apr 16, 2009 -> 02:54 AM) Aaron Rowand would look great on this team right now. Ummmm...no. If we can't sign Orlando Hudson and Bob Abreu for less than Rowand makes per year (combined they'd still be lower), why would we add a player we wanted to get rid of three years ago who is no longer in the prime of his career and is declining from all the wear and tear on his body? Not to mention he's not a leadoff hitter either. Let's face it, our best option at leadoff is not Milledge, Pods and Rowand...it's Gordon Beckham. The sooner KW and the FO give in to that notion, the better off this team will be.

And miss "swang" through the ball, Cubby love and three different pronunciations of Viciedo in one game...no way! Besides, I always have problems with that silverlight program and the Barons' feed on my computer for some reason. Beckham is 1/2 (the out was almost a HR in the LF corner) with 2 walks in his last two AB's. Now 1/3...he ripped a groundball up the middle but was thrown out on an excellent play by the 2B. Flowers out...Allen gets his first hit of the game. Viciedo takes an 0 for 5 and Cubano is distraught I think, K-ing to the end the top of the 9th.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Apr 15, 2009 -> 06:43 PM) I wonder if the Sox have ever sent MacDougal to a sports shrink. I know I would. Maybe they can send BA there together with Ozzie/Walker and also Lillibridge, Ramirez and Owens for some needed interventions. Maestri (Italian, but not related to the "Maestro" from Seinfeld) has now walked Mr. Beckham twice. This time, Beckham didn't even have a pitch to swing at. Fear THE Reaper/Slayer.

I blame all of Beckham's errors on Wise and Owens. FWIW, Derek Jeter had 56 errors in the summer of 1993 for the Greensboro Bats. Not that we want to set our sights for Mr. Beckham so low defensively. And, in all fairness, the SAL infields were much worse than what players have to deal with in the Southern League in 2009. The Greensboro field was notorious for being one of the worst...or maybe 2nd worst, ours in Augusta was THE worst in 1993/94 before we built a new stadium for the 1995 season. Beckham makes one of his best plays of the season....makes a stellar diving nab of a grounder ("somehow he got to that ball, it looked like it was going through for sure") and makes the flip to Retherford from his stomach. Nice work...Omogrosso through six now, that might be the end of his night. Maestri (Italian, but not related to the "Maestro" from Seinfeld) has now walked Mr. Beckham twice. This time, Beckham didn't even have a pitch to swing at. Fear THE Reaper/Slayer. For the second time of the game, Beckham was almost picked off base on a pop-up...this time on the infield. Maybe the bad baserunning at the major league level has rubbed off on our minor league system, too. The Smokies' announcers are still in amazement, wondering what Beckham was doing.

I am sure Cubano will be starting a thread on Beckham's fielding percentage! Minnesota with a quick 2-0 lead on the Jays, looks like there will be a 3 way tie for 2nd place in the AL Central tonight. Take that back, Rolen homers off Baker, just off the DL, 2-2 game. Retherford and Beckham team up for 2nd double play of the night...4-6-3. Omogrosso settling in a bit now...not a bad candidate to replace MacDougal. Beckham, Flowers and Allen due up in the top of the fifth. Top of the the 5th: Beckham walks, Flowers hits a blooper/Texas Leaguer for a gift single to RF, but then Allen hits a soft liner to RF and finally Viciedo flicked one into RF as well...for some reason, Beckham was running at the crack of the bat (not sure if he was stealing, hit and run or just had a brain cramp) and got doubled off second. BOT 5th: Liner to John Shelby that he couldn't quite get to, but he made a very nice recovery and got the assist, nabbing the runner who was going for a double right out of the box...another note, Flowers has his first passed ball of the season. Not good...Flowers one bounces a throw on a steal attempt into CF, but the runner is stranded at 3B.

Yeah, I was looking at the wrong column. It was his 6th RBI of the season. He has 3 doubles and 1 homer...and has just barely missed a couple of more homers. Cook now 2 for 2. Gartrell with a bomb to straightaway CF that was a no doubter on the berm...2nd homer of the season, 5 RBI's.

Shelby with a double, Flowers continuing to pile up walks...Cook with a two out, two RBI triple (since changed to 2B and error on outfielder). That's Beckham's sixth double in six games (in other words he has as many doubles as Ramirez, Lillibridge and Anderson have hits). Unfortunately, Beckham has error #3 (fielding)...putting him on a pace for 70 errors. Of course, that won't happen, but wouldn't be surprised if he had 30-40 errors this season at all. Top of 3rd: In his second AB, Beckham ripped a ball into the corner that he didn't hit squarely but it almost went out...Flowers walked (second in the game)...Allen grounded out and Viciedo fouled out to catcher on the first pitch...needs to be more patient. They bunted on Viciedo now (Vee-suh-dayo, nice pronunciation Cubs' goon!)...no play Retherford made a really nice playing on a DP ball to get out of 1st and 3rd and one out for Omogrosso, barehanding a relay from Beckham and completing the play at first to Allen. 3-2 Barons going into the fourth, bottom of the order coming up. They will continue to test Viciedo defensively.

Danks up to his normal tricks. 0/2, BB, K (.214). Wonder if he wouldn't have been better off starting at Kannapolis and really building his confidence, but he played in the AFL and Big 12 so he should be ready for this level. No other way to find out. Carter has pitched well so far, only 3 hits in 5 IP, one run and 3 K's. Looks like we have a real dearth of candidates to take the place of MacDougal (Russell being one of them)...not that many teams have dominant 6th and 7th relievers, though.