caulfield12

Francisco Liriano, the last of the three supposed aces going today, gave up 4 runs to the new and improved M's and took the loss. I actually think the M's will end up better than the A's, just a gut feeling. They've really improved their defense quite a bit. They don't have the pitching YET, but I think their overall pitching will be better than the A's and Rangers, but the Rangers' offense will carry them to second place. Crain gave up another run, as usual...love to see that, in other ways, I don't...because it might actually force Bill Smith to do something more substantive than trading for Eddie Guardado or Luis Ayala. It really looked for a day or two like they might bite on Juan Cruz but I guess the price was too high. Something else that was interesting...Delmon Young was benched for Denard Span.

Oakland has a lesser version now of the next Big 3 arriving, with Anderson expected to make a contribution right away. I think their other two top pitching prospects are at least a year away (one of them got roughed up by the Sox this spring). But when you start the season with Dallas Braden, and Duscherer's out of the rotation indefinitely, well...they're far from a sure thing to do much but improve by about 5 games. Gallagher's not the type to be a huge impact starter, either. Of course, they're just as likely to trade Cabrera, Giambi and Holliday and wait on their pitching to arrive. And you have to wonder how long Ziegler can pitch like Takatsu in 2004. The Angels aren't quite as good on paper, but Wood is getting close, Kendrick is ready for a breakout season, and so is Morales. They have a lot of depth in the OF, even if Guerrero is declining...enough depth to cut Willits, at least. Part of that has to do with the contract of GMJ obviously. The White Sox SHOULD be behind the Twins and even with the Indians, although many are picking CLE as the co-favorites. Cleveland finished strong and they have a really tough line-up from top to bottom...because Shoppach will give you 20-25 homers from catcher and Martinez is better hidden at 1B than catcher. The main questions with them are 1) the defense, 2) the starting rotation and middle relief, 3) Francisco/Choo/Cabrera....can they keep improving offensively or will they regress, and 4) the biggest concern, Travis Hafner. If Hafner's done, this team is much less scary. Although that LaPorta kid from the Sabathia trade might step in and made a huge impact. The Twins on paper have the best pitching, but their bullpen is shaky (it was Nathan's worst year), Ayala was the only addition to set-up, Mijares is overweight....Crede and Punto could both go into the tank offensively, and they really need Span's defense in the OF....Cuddyer and Crede are very, very similar players offensively, which means they're easy to get out...but it all comes down to Mauer and Liriano being All-Stars. If both make the All-Star team, I think that means the Twins end up winning the ALCD. I'll be optimistic...Brian Anderson will replicate Torii Hunter's numbers, play better defense and Willie Taveras/Darnell McDonald will put up even worse numbers, so we won't be able to say we're the most terrible in all of MLB.

So basically there are no White Sox fans besides me in Iowa. Just goes to show you how poor the White Sox have been marketed that there are more Twins, Royals and Cardinals fans here 3 hours away from Chicago than White Sox fans. Embarassing. I guess I should join KW and accept the reality that the White Sox will never be anything more than a 2nd tier team...even if they win the AL Central 14 seasons in a row like the Braves did. Only grandmothers who go to Wrigley Field on summer tour buses with floppy hats overloaded with Rafael Palmeiro and Mark Grace buttons.

From: Don Doxsie Subject: RE: Are we to believe the QC Times is also owned by Tribune Co.? To: [email protected] Date: Monday, April 6, 2009, 9:32 AM I'm not sure you quite understand our fan-experts program, which is now in its sixth year. We run frequent items in the paper and online inviting readers to become our "expert'' on the team of their choice. We don't turn anyone away. We allow these people to express their own opinions whether we (or you) agree with them or not. You can hardly hold it against us that we had seven volunteers for the Cubs, five for the Cardinals and only one for the White Sox. Perhaps that's an indication that there aren't many White Sox fans here. Maybe we really should have a Cubs/Cardinals bias. As it is, we don't. We had one full-length story on each of those teams on Page 5 of Sunday's sports section. The headlines were almost all exactly the same size. The stories were of similar length (the Cardinals one appeared to be a bit shorter). And the main photo on the front of the section was Ozzie Guillen. It almost looked like we had a White Sox bias. Thanks for the feedback. Don Doxsie Assistant managing editor, Sports Quad-City Times (563) 383-2280 By that same principle, you shouldn't cover ISU or UNI or University of Illinois because there's a similar disproportionality in the ratios of fans and readership in favor of Iowa, and you are on the Iowa side of the river, correct? Having Guillen (or Piniella) on the cover is simple...it's all about selling papers, and both those guys are popular. I am sure there is a list of about 10 Cubs players that would be the 2nd/3rd choice after the managers before someone like Carlos Quentin, Danks, Buehrle, Konerko, Thome, Dye or Alexei Ramirez would be on the front page. No different than putting Obama on the cover everyday, it sells more copies. I understand the Tribune had a financial stake in the Cubs' success, But 7-1 or 5-1 ratio is pretty embarassing...and you would have to admit that if you were running the newspaper, almost all of the coverage would be about the Cubs. So really it comes down to the editor/s and columnists, right? Isn't it kind of a self-fulfilling prophecy, if you perceive there aren't enough White Sox fans, or if Hy-Vee only sells Cubs and Cardinals paraphernalia. How do you explain the hundreds of thousands of fans in Chicago for the victory parade in 2005? I doubt many of them were Cubs' fans, right? Just because White Sox fans are more skeptical and we don't believe the prognostications of Baseball Prospectus or ESPN/Red Sox/Yankee Nation doesn't mean we don't exist in significant numbers. I mean, I'm pretty sure you will vote for Sammy Sosa for the Hall of Fame and against Frank Thomas, right?

Why are Brian Anderson, Aaron Rowand and Joe Crede not on the banner? Seriously, they should have their own Mt. Soxmore somewhere, painstakingly maintained by fanboys everywhere.

Even stranger was the surreal experience at Olympic Stadium in Montreal. It was during that season when hardly anyone was going to Expos games. (Which of those seasons, you ask? Be nice....). Playing there was like entering some sort of time-space vortex where you would get out of bed, walk to the train station, travel underground to the bowels of the stadium and take the elevator to the locker-room level. Once you got on the train, you did not see daylight. The game could have been at noon, it could have been at midnight, and you would not have known the difference. With the domed stadium only partly filled with fans, every ball hit and every conversation sounded like it was going through something Alexander Graham Bell was about to throw in the trash. Everything echoed, and the sound system made it sound like the announcer was speaking from a submarine booth 1,000 leagues under the sea. To top it off, he spoke in two languages, English and French, and the sound was so bad that no one could tell which one he was speaking in. As far as I was concerned, we were on the surface of Mars. To kick off their opening day, the Montreal Expos took a creative page from the hit show “Survivor.” They had dramatic drumming, a dance team, tiki lamps with flames, and grass skirts. The players went out to their positions and snuffed out their lamps like they were eliminating someone. Since most opening days revolved around fireworks, Blue Angels, parachutes and flying mascots, the burning tiki lamps really took us to a new place. It’s really too bad only a handful of people were at the game, because it was the most creative opening day I had ever seen. from the front page of today's NY TIMES

http://blogs.chicagosports.chicagotribune....pening-day.html Phil Rogers has us at #10 going into the season and winning the division (just barely) over the Twins and Indians. Mocks the idea of picking Indians with Pavano has the #3 and two inexperienced/erratic pitchers behind him in the rotation in Reyes and Lewis. Actually, picking the White Sox between 12-15 in the majors AND for our minor league system are both pretty accurate at this point in time.

It doesn't matter much anymore, because the White Sox recent history in this area is limited to the likes of David Wells and Jaime Navarro. With the economy being what it is, this is all the more pronounced. We're always (with JR and KW) going to be an organization that will go after 3-5 potential Dankses, Garlands and Floyds instead of shelling out the money for a Sabathia, Burnett, Lowe, Sheets, Dice-K, etc.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Mar 23, 2009 -> 04:16 PM) I'm not sure Beckham was ever considered to make the team out of Spring. It was generally agreed by the people on here that he would have absolutely had to tear it up (like .400/.500/.700 in Spring) and every other candidate would have had to tank for him to make, and those were the vibes the organization sent out too. Instead, he was just decent, and he's going to go down to the minors. I also don't know how raw Viciedo is after hitting decently, and AAA isn't a bad starting spot for him considering how he handled the Cuban league as a younger player. The only logic of Charlotte seems to be: 1) He can really build his confidence as an offensive player in a smaller stadium that plays more similar to USCF right off the bat 2) While the the starting rotations in AA boast of more prospects and harder throwers with better overall stuff, he'll be exposed to more ex major leaguers with experience and a steadier diet of offspeed and junk pitches than he would be in AA. We know he can crush fastballs, but the question (as it is with 95% of players when they're rookies) is how will he do when he gets behind in the count or when he has to deal with curves, sliders and change-ups off the plate. In this area, he has shown some positive signs of being able to pepper the ball up the middle and to RCF, which will obviously get him to Chicago faster (or an injury to someone at 3B, 1B, DH, LF, RF)

I thought Horacio Ramirez or Sisco qualified for that award...? Well, Dotel and MacDougal, Gobble, Scott Sullivan going further back, there has been quite a few ex-Royals.

Maybe failure is "relative," but pitched at a lower level than expected or NOT making the contribution expected would be more fair to say. Which goes back to the premium on young pitching and why we're so fortunate to have come up with Floyd and Danks, because we haven't been able to produce a pitcher of that caliber since Buehrle...or why Walt Jocketty wouldn't part with Homer Bailey for JD.

The Royals were mostly uninvolved this winter in the free-agency cash grab that CC Sabathia and others enjoyed. But their inability to pursue the most expensive free-agent pitchers actually could be in their best interest. The Star consulted with a stats-oriented executive of a major-league organization to find a simple way to judge recent big-money free-agent contracts for starting pitchers. We looked at the 47 contracts worth $5 million or more per year signed by active players, and analyzed their innings pitched, ERA and adjusted ERA for up to three years before and after the contract. Our executive said this would be a crude but effective way to make a judgment. The results are brutal: Thirty pitchers regressed after signing, and only 13 improved. Four contracts were close enough to be judged either way. That’s a fail ratio of 2:1. Generally, teams are better served drafting and developing their starting pitchers — and signing the ones who turn out to extensions. In other words, that's a 64% failure ratio...not very good to play the odds with only a 1 in 3 chance of success...and a 2/3 chance you'll cripple your team financially in the future if things go south. One pitcher who does seem to be working out is Brad Penny, according to Phil Rogers, he has gotten his FB back up to 96. I would feel just a little bit better had we signed Penny AND Colon, but we'll just have to live with what we have and cross our fingers. Rocco Baldelli or Kotsay wouldn't have been too bad at all...BOS did the same thing Kenny Williams was attempting to do, they just had more payroll to work with. Epstein was still able to lower the overall payroll by about $12-15 million.

The film did it all on the strength of a solid A- CinemaScore review from an audience that was 57 percent male and 59 percent over age 25. Like the jaw-dropping early-year debuts of The Passion of the Christ and 300 before it, this is a history-making premiere that you may well be hearing about for a long time to come. www.ew.com I can understand the "male" bias in the audience, but I was very surprised that there were so many over age 25...I guess the core audience of the first movie that was made a long time ago for 15-25 year olds really stuck with the franchise, even through Tokyo Drift and Eva Mendes and stayed loyal. It's certainly not a case of lots of guys REALLY wanting to see Michelle Rodriguez or Jordana Brewster...both of those actresses are B list if not C list. One of them has spent more time in jail and rehab than in front of a camera, which is a shame because she showed show much early promise in Girlfight.

I like the idea of Contreras against the Royals and Danks against the Twins (building off the final game last season)....I don't know about the career numbers, but Jose (seemingly) has pitched better against the Royals than most AL teams in his career. It's going to be interesting to see what happens to the knuckleball in such cold weather conditions...he will give up 5 walks and 7 runs or pitch a shutout it seems. However, it seems like it should be at least 45-55 or maybe even 60 by the end of the week.

I was just joking about Lillibridge, I think he's actually closer to 560 for OPS...there probably aren't many who have pulled that off in 250-300 or more AB's. Taveras would probably be one, or Jerry Owens if he had enough AB's in 2007. It's my REVERSE psychology of demonstrating how/why Lillibridge isn't THAT bad. If Michael Steele can do it, so can I!!!

QUOTE (thedoctor @ Apr 5, 2009 -> 09:56 AM) is it staff coverage or wire coverage? No, it's from their panel of local "fan experts" that are subscribers to the newspaper...I think the two youngest are 10 and 11, but there are about 30 small "predictions" for the season and their favorite teams...and only one of them was about the White Sox.

Well, I was surprised, frankly, they didn't have Floyd, Danks and Alexei Ramirez all slumping badly and going to Charlotte, along with Josh Fields striking out 175 times and Lillibridge posting the first sub 600 OPS for a player with over 250 at-bats in a season (well, that last one might happen if he doesn't start walking more than once every 100 PA).

to my hometown Quad City Times newspaper after seeing their baseball preview edition this morning... I have never seen so much Cubs/Cardinals bias in my life. I mean, I know your son is named after Ryne Sandberg, but can you try to be a little more objective/fair/unbiased in your major league baseball coverage? Since I have to put up with the QC Times while I back in the US for 2 months, that would be very helpful of your crack staff. On your preview page, you listed 7 "individual" reviews/predictions for the Cubs, 5 for the St. Louis Cardinals, 3 for the Minnesota Twins, 3 for the Royals (umm...they've had one .500+ season in more or less two decades), 2 for the Indians and JUST one for the White Sox. What's really embarassing that you couldn't come up with a more equitable amount of articles for the White Sox, really...it's not like they draw 500,000 fans and the Cubs 5,000,000. In reality, the White Sox have been averaging 2+ million in attendance over the last 4 seasons, not to mention only four years ago, the World Series title, but you probably buried that behind the obituaries page I'm guessing. Maybe I can get a free copy of that article with an Obama souvenir edition? Then the letters you print, the experts must have gone to Baseball for Dummies for assistance. I won't pick apart every single one, but I'll just look at one. It really seems like some of these fans have knowledge about as deep as an AIG profitability and ROI report. Indians (bottom right corner of print version): 1) Ummm...no, Choo will the starting/everyday RF, not the LF. 2) David Dellucci...please try to insert name Ben Francisco for LF, thank you very much. 3) DeRosa solid on defense? Do they provide all Cubs' fans with psychedelic mushrooms to make them believe only the best possible thoughts about their Cubbie heroes? DeRosa is about as solid defensively as a DQ Blizzard after 15 minutes in the August sun, not to mention Peralta and Victor Martinez are atrocious as well 4) Nothing on Travis Hafner, who has shrunk this offseason into Eddie Gaedel 5) No mention of Pavano, Reyes or Lewis as the very shaky back of the rotation 6) No mention of the loss of Fr. Gutierrez and his GG-caliber defense in the OF

Yeah, I remember former model-turned actress Devon Aoki in the first Fast/Furious...there weren't quite as many streets races in this one, but the one they did have was a really good one, FWIW. And the first scene with Michelle Rodriguez and Diesel in the Dominican Republic (didn't see Wilder or Jose Rijo in the background) robbing a 4 trailer gasoline truck will impress the CGI fans out there as well.

Well, you know Kenny Williams does, whenever he gives an interview with an opposing teams' radio broadcasters, the first thing he'll inevitably do is give the impression MOST expects are picking the White Sox for last and and not 3rd or 4th (and a few 2nds and maybe one who has us repeating).

I think in the USA Today Baseball Preview, we were picked for 3rd in the division (behind MIN and CLE) and 7th or 8th in the AL. CLE was 2nd, one spot ahead of us, and Minnesota was 1st, and #5 in the AL, if I can remember correctly. BTW, if Floyd can get a change-up and slider across the plate with any level of consistency (especially his improved change-up, which was very effective the other day), then it almost won't be fair to opposing batters this season. He might win the Cy Young and not surprise many in baseball, although the prevailing opinion from statistical analysis is that he will regress to a 4.25-4.75 ERA type of pitcher with .500 record ala Javier Vazquez. I read the rankings...so, let me get this straight. We're going to fall to 19 because Carlos Quentin isn't really THAT good, but Mike Jacobs IS so good (despite his sub 800 OPS) that the Royals will be BETTER than the White Sox? Yeah, that really makes a tremendous amount of sense. And then they claim Travis Hafner is HEALTHY, but there wasn't ONE shred of evidence that was close to being true based on ST results or simply just looking at his smaller size and swing, which looks way, way off still...silly season is upon us.

Liriano would be Saturday or Sunday...he's getting the OD start instead of Baker, who's now on the DL. Should be: MON: Buehrle vs. Meche WED: Floyd vs. Greinke THUR: Danks/Contreras vs. Kyle Davies FRI: Danks/Contreras vs. RA Dickey (knuckleballer) SAT: Colon vs. Liriano SUN: Buerhle vs. Blackburn

I loved Adventureland, and it only made $2.2 million on Friday and will die a quick death. OTOH, Fast/Furious 4 made $30 million in one day already, will end up at around $75-80 million for the entire 3 days...and is one of the most mindless/brainless movies you could ever hope to see. On Sunday, it will be announced that this movie set the ALL-TIME opening for an April release. Hard to believe, isn't it? It's hard to believe there are so many Vin Diesel fans out there, the Asian presence from Tokyo Drift/Part 3 has been eviscerated almost totally and African-American actors/actress (T. Gibson) nowhere to be found. If there is a subniche for this movie, from watching it once, it would seem to be Hispanics, who, along with Asian-Americans, are one of the most difficult audience demographics to predict in terms of ticket buying behavior. I still think that audiences reward "smart/thinking" movies like Taken with good box office numbers (and word of mouth advertising), but I have no explanation for Paul Blart other than the "people in flyover territory like stars they can identify with and movies made for them and not too laden with insidery Hollywood gibberish (see Tropic Thunder or The Player). I will be interested to see if Wolverine survives all the bad press...Valkyrie held up surprisingly well, considering it might even end up making a SMALL profit when you add in the international marketing and box office for the film. Another movie that could go either way (huge hit or bomb, you know Transformers 2 will make bank) is James Cameron's AVATAR.

QUOTE (bighurt4life @ Apr 4, 2009 -> 06:32 PM) Beckham will be playing in b ham No, I meant Escobar will be starting at W-S and Beckham at BIRM, backing him up on the depth chart. Escobar is far and away our best defensive SS in the system. The only question is his bat at the upper levels...he's obviously aggressive, I think he had 2 steals just today. Ultimately, in 2011/12, I think it will look something like this... 3B Viciedo SS Escobar 2B Beckham 1B/DH Fields/Allen C Flowers CF Jordan Danks LF Alexei Ramirez RF Carlos Quentin Utility player/s: Shelby, Getz, Lillibridge That's a MUCH more athletic and defensive-minded team. You could probably pick Shelby over Danks and not go wrong either, except for the fact that Jordan Danks is a much more natural CFer and I see Ramirez being another Soriano in LF, albeit with much better defensive ability at that position and a very strong arm as well.

Go, go, go Escobar. We have too many middle infielders now. I remember when Andy Gonzalez was the best of our MI prospects. Now we have Ramirez, Getz (10-15 games), Lillibridge. Beckham, Betemit, and Escobar...Silverio and Wilder can go to hell. Another walk by BA. That would probably total Wise, AJ and Ramirez for one month. Lillibridge with a .562 OPS. That's almost Corky Miller-esque. The funny thing is he's hitting .260. Well, that doesn't include his double today...hopefully he'll walk more when the lights come on, as indicated by his minor league lines. Wise and Funny Ears have both left the bases loaded now.