caulfield12

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/G/Jonny-Gomes.shtml We might as well stick Jonny Gomes in CF since we've never cared about defense in the past five years...maybe we could catch lightning in a bottle. He's still under 30 years old, even though it seems like he has been around forever. And we wouldn't have to give up anything of value...

Albert Belle has to be on the roster somewhere too...maybe Strawberry, Howe or Gooden for some drug problems. What, no Cabrera or Swisher? Lofton? D'Angelo Jimenez for the bench? No Bonds, Clemens or Sosa?

Here's the problem...let's say Ozzie and KW do decide to stick Getz in the leadoff role and he doesn't respond well (like Swisher, who was a veteran player) and he ends up having his whole season ruined. I mean, it's not like having AJ hit 2nd or Cabrera leading off last year were optimal choices, either. Now it's not like Getz is our best prospect, but everyone would be calling for Ozzie's and KW's head if he ended up messed up like BA in 2006, right? It's just as logical to say we should bring up Beckham (he of the most supreme confidence of any player in our organization, majors and minors) and stick him in the leadoff spot, right? I mean, how can one of the Top Ten prospects in all of baseball, and someone who claims he wants to be the "Derek Jeter of the White Sox," not be ready? If anything, Ozzie is showing a willingness to sacrifice a pawn on the chessboard for the good of the team, just like he sacrificed Boone Logan last year. I can just see the outrage if Getz (who has gone to Ozzie and volunteered to lead off) went into the tank...KW would get vilified even more.

Ramirez: better speed, better ability to make contact, bunt (although Josh did a nice job yesterday), not as selective at the plate...better ability to hit to the right side of the field (Josh has shown some signs here too), classic FB hitter Fields: higher OBP, decent speed, has to prove he has the bat speed (which is looking good so far) JOSH as #2 hitter in 2007=.230 .297 .500 .797 I don't think we can call a .297 OBP and .230 BA "raking," although his OBP was decent because of his SLG.

Bad defense cost the Tigers a lot last season. Now the Tigers have one of the best left-side infield defenses in baseball with Brandon Inge back at third base and Adam Everett aboard to play shortstop. The ever-trusty Placido Polanco plays second. And yet: One national publication acknowledged the Tigers might have the best defense in baseball -- but picked them to finish last in the AL Central. Another publication headlined its Tigers preview "Dee-fense! Dee-fense!" -- and picked them fourth. In 1991, the Atlanta Braves made the one-season vault from last to first. After they finished last in '90, they added three infielders, all tremendous defenders: third baseman Terry Pendleton, first baseman Sid Bream and shortstop Rafael Belliard, who's now the Tigers' infield coach. Here's the rest of the article... http://www.freep.com/article/20090406/SPOR...0377/0/SPORTS02 Everett is very good, but aging, certainly not a Gold Glover anymore and won't hit much over .200. Inge is OKAY at 3B, but he makes a ton of mental mistakes. Polanco is solid...so are Granderson and Laird. None of those guys are going to win the GG...I guess Granderson has a shot if he really puts up huge offensive numbers. And Guillen in LF and Ordonez in RF are both below average fielders. To compare them to the Rays or early 90's Braves is ridiculous. If Miguel Cabrera or Thames are anywhere near the field, that's even more of a problem for the Tigers. Let's just to be thankful they don't have Mr. Jair Jurrgens, Cameron Maybin and even Andrew Miller (if he ever gets his head screwed on straight). Happy News Press *International edition* Tigers outhit Jays at Rogres Centre ballprak TORONTO—Led by the “relief” efforts of Brandon “Heart Of A” Lyon, the Tigers came within one out of forcing the Toronto Blue Jays into extra innings on Tuesday night, Detroit’s most successful outing so far this season. As Edwin Jackson toiled on the mound inning after inning, a wave of nostalgia washed over Tiger fans as they witnessed a phenomenon unseen for many, many moons—pitching. Fortunately, skipper Jim Leyland yanked fans back to present reality by his deft handling of the bullpen, causing baseballs to ricochet wildly around the stadium until the Blue Jays got tired of running the bases and everyone went home. Adam Everett continued his lusty batting, nearly hitting the ball out of the infield at one point and keeping his average steady at .000. Blue Jays fans, the big babies that they are, were treated to milk and cookies by the "No-Beer Brigade of Canada," which sponsored the game.

I was watching ESPN Gameday when Gomez was up with 2 outs and nobody on. There was a 2.43% chance (according to ESPN Gameday) of MN scoring 2 runs or more. 40 to 1 chance of winning! No matter the ump'ing or pitching I like that comeback!!! from a Twins fan... Thought it was funny that everyone is complaining that beat writer LaVelle Neal at the Star Tribune is a "closet" White Sox fan, that the Twins won't win games like that next year (Span's infield chopper would have been a routine putout) in the new stadium AND that Carlos Gomez is now better than even Harrelson thinks he is because he was able to coax a walk in that situation. Actually prefer the idea of the White Sox "stalking" the Twins like the Twins stalked us all throughout the second half of the season last year...with us taking another one game playoff after the Twins have led for most of the year. By the way, it looks like Redmond will be DLed too. Maybe we can swap Lucy/Armstrong/Flowers for Delmon Young? Like that would ever happen!!! This first series against the Twins at home will be very interesting, these series are always about momentum and one team or the other usually sweeps or makes the other team look like a pretender temporarily. And least the Tigers are demonstrating that their bullpen acquisition Brandon Lyon is far from a sure thing. Will be a rough week in DET if the Tigers get off to another slow start after the MSU debacle. There will be a ton of pressure on young Mr. Porcello to come through.

WHITE SOX IN BRIEF: Ozzie being patient with Wise, but Getz looks up to the job Recommend Comments April 8, 2009 BY JOE COWLEY AND TONI GINNETTI [email protected] [email protected] The White Sox' leadoff role goes to Dewayne Wise -- for now. In manager Ozzie Guillen's mind, Chris Getz is ready if a change is necessary. ''I don't want to put [Wise] on the spot where he's like, 'Wow, I've got to do [something] right away or I'm out,''' Guillen said. ''I want to see how good his at-bats are, what kind of at-bats he's going to give us. RELATED STORIES SURPRISE, SURPRISE: SAME OLD WHITE SOX ''But Getz can lead off anytime easily. In the meantime, I don't want to just throw that kid in that situation.'' Wise went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts Tuesday and failed to get down a sacrifice bunt in the eighth inning with Josh Fields at first. That was corrected when Getz singled and Jim Thome homered. ''Your teammates pick you up,'' Wise said, adding he wasn't surprised by boos from the crowd. ''Fans want you to do good. You have a bad game, they'll boo. It's part of the game. ''I didn't have a good game, but we won. Tomorrow could be a better day, and the crowd will be back on my side.'' General manager Ken Williams called Wise ''a fighter'' who fits the mold of players he likes to nurture. But Williams admitted the job stayed in house because of the lack of prototypical leadoff men available in trade. ''The easiest thing in the world is to say you have to go out and get a leadoff hitter ... who can hit .300 and get on base, steal 50 bases,'' Williams said. ''But when people are pressed to say where are you going to get that guy, it's 'Don't worry -- you just go get him.' ''Rest assured we've been aggressive and tried to get those guys. That's no slap on Dewayne. It's not a matter of price. There is no price. [Teams] don't even want to talk about [trading] those guys.'' Better option? Not surprisingly, Sox general manager Kenny Williams said he has looked around for a more established leadoff man than Dewayne Wise. Williams said there are none to be found. "The easiest thing in the world is to say you have to go out and get a leadoff hitter, get the prototypical guy who can hit you .300 and get on base at .370, steal 50 bases," Williams said. "But when people are pressed to say where are you going to get that guy it's, 'Don't worry about it; you just go get him.' "I have to go back in the lab and create that guy. Rest assured, we have been looking for one, and aggressively. We've asked about them and tried to get them, and that's no slight on Dewayne. You can't create something that's not there, so you make do." Williams said the White Sox have no interest in two expensive leadoff hitters that are supposedly available - the Dodgers' Juan Pierre and the Angels' Gary Matthews Jr. "We weren't on those particular players at any price," Williams said. "I wouldn't say any price. It wasn't something we thought was a fit." dailyherald.com

WHITE SOX IN BRIEF: Ozzie being patient with Wise, but Getz looks up to the job Recommend Comments April 8, 2009 BY JOE COWLEY AND TONI GINNETTI [email protected] [email protected] The White Sox' leadoff role goes to Dewayne Wise -- for now. In manager Ozzie Guillen's mind, Chris Getz is ready if a change is necessary. ''I don't want to put [Wise] on the spot where he's like, 'Wow, I've got to do [something] right away or I'm out,''' Guillen said. ''I want to see how good his at-bats are, what kind of at-bats he's going to give us. RELATED STORIES SURPRISE, SURPRISE: SAME OLD WHITE SOX ''But Getz can lead off anytime easily. In the meantime, I don't want to just throw that kid in that situation.'' Wise went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts Tuesday and failed to get down a sacrifice bunt in the eighth inning with Josh Fields at first. That was corrected when Getz singled and Jim Thome homered. ''Your teammates pick you up,'' Wise said, adding he wasn't surprised by boos from the crowd. ''Fans want you to do good. You have a bad game, they'll boo. It's part of the game. ''I didn't have a good game, but we won. Tomorrow could be a better day, and the crowd will be back on my side.'' General manager Ken Williams called Wise ''a fighter'' who fits the mold of players he likes to nurture. But Williams admitted the job stayed in house because of the lack of prototypical leadoff men available in trade. ''The easiest thing in the world is to say you have to go out and get a leadoff hitter ... who can hit .300 and get on base, steal 50 bases,'' Williams said. ''But when people are pressed to say where are you going to get that guy, it's 'Don't worry -- you just go get him.' ''Rest assured we've been aggressive and tried to get those guys. That's no slap on Dewayne. It's not a matter of price. There is no price. [Teams] don't even want to talk about [trading] those guys.'' Better option? Not surprisingly, Sox general manager Kenny Williams said he has looked around for a more established leadoff man than Dewayne Wise. Williams said there are none to be found. "The easiest thing in the world is to say you have to go out and get a leadoff hitter, get the prototypical guy who can hit you .300 and get on base at .370, steal 50 bases," Williams said. "But when people are pressed to say where are you going to get that guy it's, 'Don't worry about it; you just go get him.' "I have to go back in the lab and create that guy. Rest assured, we have been looking for one, and aggressively. We've asked about them and tried to get them, and that's no slight on Dewayne. You can't create something that's not there, so you make do." Williams said the White Sox have no interest in two expensive leadoff hitters that are supposedly available - the Dodgers' Juan Pierre and the Angels' Gary Matthews Jr. "We weren't on those particular players at any price," Williams said. "I wouldn't say any price. It wasn't something we thought was a fit." from dailyherald.com

Well, one thing's for sure, they have a powerhouse down in AA. Guess we can pretty much skip even looking at the Charlotte results...all the action will be in AA and lower levels of the system. Assumption is Torres would be playing SS with Gookie Dawkins at 2B...although L. Nix will take his spot eventually.

Kenny Williams, Jr. can be our leadoff hitter, just like his dad!!! If he can subject Wise to all the booing, I wonder if he could do that to his own son?

I would rather bring in Edmonds and Pedro Martinez than trade for Dukes.

While we're at it, bring back Albert Belle and Wilfredo Cordero. No thanks on Dukes...unless we get restraining orders to protect all ticket buyers from Elijah on Family Fun Day.

Ryan Sweeney would actually be perfect for the #2 spot, but he's not really a true leadoff hitter or CFer either, not on a really good team.

3 years/$30M (2008-10) signed extension 8/7/07 $2M signing bonus (paid in 2 installments in 2008) 08:$6M, 09:$11M, 10:$11M no-trade protection No, no and no on that idea...if we're going to do that, we might as well just bring back Aaron Rowand. KW HAS to give Anderson one last chance to play everyday b4 making that kind of a desperation move. And Eric is ALWAYS hurt seemingly.

QUOTE (WilliamTell @ Apr 7, 2009 -> 09:23 PM) Yeah I see your point for sure. But at the same time, if they're very close to the division lead, or have the division lead by the time Mauer comes back, it's going to be hard to beat them. That's why it's horrible seeing the Mariners gift wrap this game and send it in the mail for the Twins. Well, the Cubs lost. It's a sign of our fandom we're more upset when the Indians or Twins escape with a victory...a positive evolution. I really don't expect for the White Sox to win this division unless everything goes exactly right and nobody gets injured. In some ways, 2009 is just like the 2008 season was for the Twins. We're in that transition year from some of the veterans to Beckham, Viciedo and Allen and possibly Flowers. The first phase is Fields and Getz paired with CQ and Alisay...KW has to turn over this roster for obvious reasons which stood out like a sore thumb today. OTOH, the biggest concern is replacing the back of our rotation...starting 2010 with the likes of Richard/Poreda/Marquez doesn't bode well for competing next year unless someone really emerges or we can make another trade acquisition or FA move. At least we'll have the payroll flexibility if we have a competitive season this year and don't go below 2,000,000 in attendance. I just don't like how JR is already talking about losing sponsors for next season and having to cut back again. Which is why it's so critical we're in the race for most of the season.

Is Dickerson in the rotation over in Cincy? I know they have Taveras and Darnell McDonald (their version of Wise) in CF...and Jay Bruce in RF. Hairston in LF?

QUOTE (joesaiditstrue @ Apr 7, 2009 -> 10:00 PM) i'm fine with this organizations scouting of pitching, but hitting.. well that leaves a lot to be desired, some ridiculous choices over the years outside of Beckham Funny you say that when we now have Becks, Viciedo, Flowers, Allen, Jordan Danks, John Shelby and Eduardo Escobar in the pipeline. Harrelson might be exaggerating a little bit, but it probably is the most positional/hitting talent in our organization since the early 90's.

QUOTE (WilliamTell @ Apr 7, 2009 -> 08:59 PM) This is the maddest I've been in a Sox win opener. I know it's just one game, but to let 5 people in a row reach base with 2 outs in the 9th is piss poor. Every single game last year in the second half between these two teams was exactly like this game...it does suck, especially since the M's are playing without Ichiro in this series. Look at it this way...both the White Sox and Twins picked up victories today that they really didn't deserve. It happens, and it happens more often than not in the Metrodome, there's no point in getting upset about it. The Twins' fans get really POed because they know they can outplay us for 7-8 innings and then one HR will take everything away (see Game 163). Whereas they have to scratch and claw with walks and Astroturf singles and grind it out...without Mauer and Redmond, they're going to have a tough time.

Twins win in typical MetroDOOM fashion. God, I'll be glad when that place is detonated/eviscerated. The M's have a 5-3 lead in the bottom of the ninth with two outs...of course, Morrow proceeds to load the bases with walks. Wakamatsu proceeds to wait one too many batters to pull him...then Batista comes in and gives up a typical infield single to 3B that Beltre can't make a play on with the annoying Span running...and Alexi Casilla slaps the next pitch up the middle for a 6-5 victory. I knew it was too good to be true, but the Mariners have really been playing the Twins tough since last season. Still, it would have been sweet to have the Tigers and Twins starting off the season at 0-2.

Edwin Jackson, one of our most coveted targets (at least in some circles) for the fifth starter's spot has gone out and owned the Blue Jays on the road. Very impressive start to his season after Verlander was shellacked last night. Tough place to win, especially for the White Sox. 7 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 4 K's Edwin Jackson and Reyes both have a chance to really figure things out this year...I still think that Tigers' rotation isn't going to be as bad as most here believe. But that's the thing with Jackson (like Jon Garland), he'll go out and dominate one game and disappear the next. But when you average a 95 MPH fastball, that's different than being a typical sinkerballer. Jinxed him, Rolen just hit a homer...so now has given up one run, no outs in the 8th, 3-1 Tigers. First test of the new and improved Tigers' bullpen.

The Royals are an interesting case study...they have a lot of "good" players like DeJesus, Teahen, Crisp, etc. Then there's Jacobs (.296 OBP last year), Guillen (another low OBP) and Olivo/Buck (more low OBP). They have some pieces in DeJesus and Crisp at the top of the order, but there's no way that Teahen is a legit 3 hitter on a playoff caliber team. I'll give more credit for improving the team and making it more and more competitive up and down the order, but they still need another year and development from Hochevar, Moustakas, Hosmer and Cortes. It still really comes down to Gordon and Butler becoming legit stars and both hitting 25-35 homers. I never understood the logic of spending that money on Farnsworth. I think it was one of the silliest signings of the offseason. Juan Cruz, I get that one...but not overpaying for a washed up/declining reliever that almost always collapses when he has the lead. He makes Dotel look like a sure thing in comparison. And I can't say that I understand Willie Bloomquist either. http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/chi-0...,6110080.column Column on the enigma known as Kyle Farnsworth.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/chi-0...,1201846.column By the way, why in God's name wouldn't you use Mahay or even Juan Cruz in that situation against Thome? There's no way that Farnsworth is a better pitcher at this point in his career than Cruz...Kyle always seems to implode (very conveniently) against the White Sox.

Josh really looks good so far, he's running well...he made a great defensive play that was a key...I think we should still give him time to build his confidence at the bottom of the line-up. Ramirez makes a lot better contact and can run wild on the bases...and Josh will have the higher OBP at the bottom of the order, giving Getz and Alexei a chance to drive them in pretty frequently, then providing good speed in front of the heart of the line-up so we don't get stuck in this station-to-station malaise.

The thing is, Ramirez has the best bat speed on the team...and can adjust pitch to pitch better than anyone on the Sox. He's not completely helpless up there against offspeed stuff, but it's certainly not his favorite type of pitch to hit, either.

Yeah, but a proven/veteran player who will get you 20-25 steals, hit .280, not be a statue defensively and who will give you a 340-360 OBP would look VERY VERY nice now, wouldn't it??? I don't see how you can compare Crisp to Wise, or even Taveras to Wise, or Baldelli to Wise...or anyone besides David Cook/Negron to Wise, and that might be insulting to David Cook or Miguel Negron.