caulfield12

Is there any reason that Nix came out of the game so far early? Coop will fix him! Trademark/copyright pending. 46 pitches to get one 4 outs. I wonder if there will be a make-good for all WGN's advertisers whose audience will be asleep by the time JVB is done struggling?

QUOTE (SouthsideDon48 @ Mar 4, 2009 -> 10:17 PM) But I remember reading somewhere that Vegas was considered as a potential location for either an expansion team or for the relocation of the Expos. I also remember seeing a Mexican city on the list as well. It doesn't seem like MLB is too opposed to the idea of venturing into Vegas. As for the expected stagnant population growth of Vegas, I've always thought a team based in Vegas would usually have more away team fans than home fans, anyway. I think a team in Vegas won't experience much hometown loyalty from their fans, but they'll be a big entertainment draw from tourists. Gambling, seeing the Hoover Dam, riding roller coasters, riding dune buggies, seeing Cirque Du Solei (sp?), and... seeing a baseball game. That's all entertainment draws right there. Plus, any hardcore baseball fan visiting Vegas would love to see their visiting team play the Vegas team. Vegas is also warm enough during the entire baseball season to keep a steady flow of visitors, as well. Maybe TOO warm...but I'm sure they would have no plans for a domed stadium. They just wouldn't want to play too many days games, though. And Reno just started a AAA team with the Tucson Toros moving their storied franchise.

At first I thought you were talking about selling Texas Instruments stock or TI the rapper and then realized it was Treasure Island for $775 million...guess I'm just not that into the gambling/gaming world.

QUOTE (hawksfan61 @ Mar 4, 2009 -> 03:22 PM) Someone smarter than me probably knows for sure, but they may not be able to offer him arbitration after his contract is up. This ends up being part of the contract with a lot of international players, so my guess would be we would have to look at offering Ramirez a long term deal come 2011 if we wanted to keep him. If we really want to keep Ramirez, we're going to have to rip up the remainder of his contract after 2009 or sometime in the 2010 season (if he continues to put up an .800 OPS), or he'll be considered one of the biggest bargain contracts in recent MLB history...the White Sox and KW don't HAVE to do anything, of course, but if they're serious about keeping him, they should at least give it strong consideration, assuming the money's there.

QUOTE (SouthsideDon48 @ Mar 4, 2009 -> 07:34 PM) I'll play Here's what I kinda see... and what I would do if I was Ozzie... CF: Owens (someone's gotta be lead-off) 2B: Getz LF: Quentin RF: Dye DH: Thome 1B: Konerko SS: Alexei C: AJ 3B: Fields Bench: Wilson Betemit: 3B, SS, 2B, 1B Dewayne Wise: LF, CF, RF Jayson Nix: 2B Backup Catcher: leaning towards Corky Miller or Stewart. I'd send Brian Anderson and Brent Lillibridge to Triple-A. I think Lillibridge needs to work on improving that .200 average. And I'd send Anderson back down because he had his chance in 2006 and all he's really good for is as a late-inning defensive replacement, I'd rather have more late-inning pinch-hit home runs by Wise. If the Sox can't score late in the game, then I'd rather see them switch out Owens for Wise instead of Owens for Anderson. Plus, I don't think Anderson and Owens should be on the same team together, that's too much of a bad thing, and since Owens can lead-off, despite being mediocre, Anderson should go to AAA. I'd also keep a close eye on Viciedo, and if he RAKES in the minors, then he's gonna be on the major league club no matter what. Starters: 1. MB 2. Floyd 3. Danks 4. Colon 5. Contreras Bullpen: Closer: Bobby Jenks Set-up 1 (9th): Linebrink Set-up 2 (8th): Thornton Set-up 3 (7th): Dotel Middle-Relief: Carrasco Middle-Relief: ???????????? Long-Relief/Spot-Starter: Richard I'm still not sure who I'd put in that last bullpen spot. I would rather see Aaron Poreda and Jeff Marquez start the year in AAA because I think Poreda should work on his secondary pitches and that Marquez should get regular playing time as a starter so he'd be ready to jump in the rotation in 2010. If I had to scramble to put someone in the bullpen in that last spot, then I would probably take a risk on either Link or Jimenez. That's fine, but I wonder how many games we're going to be on the plus side in this equation with Wise playing in late innings defensively in CF? Sure, it's possible he would have more of an offensive impact than BA, but it's also probably we'd have some balls falling in out there with Jenks giving up more contact than previously... We all remember some of Wise's bit hits in the 2nd half and his series in TB (like Clayton Richard), but I think if you look at his age and minor league numbers, you're going to be hard-pressed to argue he's really going to be tremendously better than BA. Yeah, I know he's more likely to get a stolen base or a "clutch" homer, but we already have Wise's speed on bench with Lillibridge making the team. Some think Wise might be turning some type of corner in his career, but he's 31 or 32 years old, it would be pretty amazing if he became a regular contributor at his age, but stranger things have happened.

Ramirez had a tough play deep to his right but booted it....scored a single. Probably wouldn't have been able to throw him out. Sox out of the inning with no further damage. Lillibridge speared a Sweeney liner that would have been his 8th hit of the spring already. Lillibridge with soft liner/pop that falls in....3/12 now on the season. Ramirez and Quentin a combined 2/20, lol.

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Mar 4, 2009 -> 03:01 PM) Gellinger is one of the in dugout instructors, I believe he's a fielding coach. I think he's one of those "hybrid" types that has dual roles...from listening, he does "video scouting" and also works a lot with Greg Walker. But the way they were describing him, he was officially a member of the FO. "The Sox will need 40 years to win the pennant again." --Luis Aparicio, after being traded to the Baltimore Orioles in 1963

Danks with a single through the hole. Allen on 2nd, Danks on 1st. I think ST is really big for all of those pitchers like MacDougal (to get traded, possibly), Carasco, Wasserman, Russell, Marquez, Richard, Poreda, Broadway, Nunez, Jimenez, etc. that are fighting for the final spot or two in the pen. I think Fields has already pretty much been given the starting job. But Viciedo could make things interesting...and we'll continue to dissect the individual performances of Lilli/Nix/Getz and Anderson/Wise/Owens/Danks throughout the spring. By the way, both Contreras and Colon threw 45 pitches today without a problem, bumping up from 30 a couple of days ago.

Viciedo just destroyed another ball to CF. That's 2 400+ foot homers in one week. Wow...he's definitely impressing everyone with his bat and also some patience today. I'm really starting to wish we'd traded Dye for Bailey (I think Jocketty shot it down, or KW couldn't include cash to subsidize it) and that we could stick Viciedo in LF and Quentin in RF.

Put a fork in Lance Broadway. Say hello to Charlotte, you can join Wasserman and Russell. Matt Cassel's brother Justin coming in for the Sox. Sweeney 7/12 on the spring. Mike Gellinger (sp?) from the front office (never heard of him b4 today) and Daryl Boston the 3rd and 1st base coaches today. Mark Gonzales seems to be a big fan of his. I guess his book about the Sox from 1959-08 is coming out soon, "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly." Link for Gonzales' book. http://www.amazon.com/Good-Ugly-Chicago-Wh...0225&sr=1-2 Cassel not doing very well so far...ugly inning. 4-0 A's now. Another Mike MacDougal sighting.

Broadway through 2 IP, gave up a broken bat single to Carter. Allen got eaten up by low and away sliders against the LHP...tough match-up for him. Danks popped out, but made contact on his swings.

Viciedo and Brian Anderson showed good patience and both walked, but Brandon Allen got eaten up by sliders low and away and then Danks popped up with runners on first and second. Tough match-up for Allen against the lefty, sounded like he didn't have much of a chance, didn't even foul off a ball. At least Danks made contact with all of his swings.

I'm sure Myrow will have a huge impact, lol. Maybe David Cook will make an appearance...but I doubt it. I just hope we don't get creamed again so the Tribune will treat the game as if it's somehow significant in any way, shape or form. Somehow the A's announcer had the idea Broadway used to throw 94-96 but has mysteriously lost his velocity. Where that idea came from, I have no idea. Ryan Sweeney 6/10 so far on the spring. Cunningham struck out against Lance. Viciedo and Stewart are the only ones in our line-up over .200 so far. Well, that leads to the whole "pitching dominates early" lectures we hear all ST.

Too bad there's no Score broadcast. It would have been interesting to see if anyone was able to get an interview with Orlando Cabrera. Doubt that would be granted to any of the Chicago media. Lots of ex-Sox in the A's line-up as well, with Cunningham and Carter...no Gio Gonzalez yet, though. Interesting to see Alexei Ramirez hitting 2nd. We'll see what Danks can do in CF. I think it's actually more interesting to hear the visiting radio sometimes because they're a lot more objective about Sox players. Lillibridge hit the ball hard off the pitcher (bad luck) and it went to the 3b apparently for the PO. Down in order, 1-2-3. As usual, Alexei picked on the first pitch and flew out, Quentin with a lazy pop-out to the SS.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Mar 4, 2009 -> 12:13 PM) From looking at his stats in the minors and watching him in limited action so far, Nix looks like he could be a version of Cabrera offensively with somewhat more pop in his bat. Neither one of them lit you on fire with walk totals, steals totals, average, etc. I'm not sure what we can get out of him based on his stats though, it looks like it takes him a long time to adapt every time he gets put in a new level, and that might have hurt him. Your description could also be of Iguchi (although more pop) or Getz, too. None of these guys will put up eye-popping stats, so it's just which player can do the most "little" things that might be the deciding factor. From an offensive standpoint, our best infield would be some combination of Ramirez/Beckham up the middle and PROBABLY Brian Anderson in CF, but that would almost force Beckham into the leadoff spot...that's a lot of pressure to put on Beckham, and he's never going to steal more than 10-15 bases, so the best strategy might be to keep looking for that CFer who can hit leadoff and use some of our depth and/or Konerko/Dye to get him.

QUOTE (103 mph screwball @ Mar 4, 2009 -> 09:59 AM) May the best player win. May the second best player be versatile enough to be the utility man. May the next best guy be ripping the cover off of the ball in Charlotte chomping at the bit to get a shot if someone stumbles. I'm no longer worried about second base. I'm more worried about Fields and the CF battle. So far, I think it will end up with Nix starting, Getz at utility, and Lillibridge heading to the minors. Beckham will get some time in the minors even if he has a great spring. I'm not very comfortable running Betemit out there 15-20 times at SS. And Ramirez seems like he will be susceptible to wearing down in the 2nd half if we don't rest him enough...especially playing the most physically demanding position on the field after catcher. I really think having Lillibridge on the team provides the most infield versatilty (he can play 2B and SS, Betemit's two weakest infield positions) and also an additional threat/weapon as a PR and CFer. It has to be Getz OR Nix. I don't really trust Getz at SS much more than Betemit, and Betemit makes a lot more sense at the back-up at 3B over Getz, too. So Getz should either be starting in Chicago or Charlotte. Same thing with Nix. Lillibridge is the best fit for back-up, and he also alleviates the need for either Owens/Wise/Anderson (probably Owens or Wise). But he has to make more contact and get on base at least at a .350 clip, just like Owens, to be halfway effective. Nix seems like he has a lot more extra-base/gap power than either Getz or Lillibridge, also.

It sounds a lot like the Sox with Borchard or the Cubs with Pie and Hill... They really couldn't afford to stick long-term with younger players who weren't performing in the heat of a pennant race. It's one of the things that really held up Crede/Rowand over 2-3 seasons and also hurt Borchard, although it seems he was never fated to become a regular at the major league level. For a time, it seemed he might stick in Florida but he could never keep at least a .250 BA.

And Herm Schneider, and we also have a very good/well-known/respected strength and conditioning coach....in Alan Regier.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1236042992...mod=rss_US_News NBA teams quitting on the season early? Who'd a thunk it? And we thought baseball had problems?

By the way, shouldn't it be Wilson "The Reverse Seive" Betemit? Just to be technical!

Well, let's just hope the "work ethic/attitude" problems with Viciedo are nipped in the bud right away by the veterans. I think he's a little bit like one of those NBA first rounders who suddenly has millions of dollars at age 18 or 19 and doesn't know how to handle the dramatic change in his life quite yet. We keep forgetting how young he is, and yet he's being considered in some circles for a starting position at age 19/20, when only a few players like Griffey, A-Rod and Miguel Cabrera were able to pull it off.

I'm actually hoping that he wins the position. Getz will always be around in Charlotte, and I like Lillibridge as the utilityman that can play CF, SS and 2B with Betemit at 3B and 1B. With Ramirez and Lillibridge, we have two more players that can fill in for CF, so there's no reason at all to keep Owens or Wise. I'm not sure we really need EITHER player, but it seems like we will end up keeping one or the other. That also provides you a nice balance of speed on the bench (with Lillibridge and/or Wise/Owens). I'm starting to think they really knew (once again) what they were doing with Nix, and also the rationale for signing him to a major league contract. This has happened time and time again when the White Sox identified something in a player that almost everyone else (scouts/GM's) missed.

I think you missed it by 1/2 half day (sorry to rain on your enthusiasm)...someone already started another thread on the Crasnick article. It's a very good one, perhaps the best of those written by national publications in many months about the White Sox, that seems to catch/convey the feeling both within the clubhouse and the historical significance of this group of players (Konerko, Buehrle, AJ, Thome, Crede, Dye, etc.) I would say I was more excited in 2000 (because our minor league system looked set to provide the Atlanta Braves-esque dynasty of waves and waves of pitching) and in 2005-2006...and that enthusiam was missing as we collapsed in late 06 and the for all of 2007. I'm cautiously optimistic, but much more positive about 2010 and 2011. Then again, we've been disappointed with Sox minor league prospects before. I think you really have to go back to Ventura, Thomas and Alex Fernandez since we drafted players like Beckham that you felt very sure they were going to have a long-term impact on the big league club, and quickly. There's a bit more of a cloud around Viciedo, simply because we won't have him for six seasons, we'll probably only play him for 3 years, and we're not even sure if he can play 3B or not from a defensive standpoint. But it has been ages since Ventura/Thomas came up together (almost 20 years) along with Sosa (who I was really excited about too)...hopefully these guys (Beckham, Fields, Flowers, Viciedo, Brandon Allen, Jordan Danks, Shelby, Lillibridge). I feel fine about 2B and 3B now, but CF remains the biggest concern going forward.

QUOTE (3E8 @ Mar 3, 2009 -> 11:51 PM) Sarah Silverman made a joke that 300 was titled by how gay it was on a scale of 1-10 So where are Troy and Kingdom of Heaven on that list? Personally, I enjoyed 300 more than those two, and I like almost everything Eric Bana does, with the exception of the first Hulk.

QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ Mar 2, 2009 -> 02:34 PM) I can't believe you know this much about 90210. I had to google all of those guys. My parents actually enjoyed watching it too, but anyone who grew up in the 80's and early 90's watched shows like 90210 and Melrose Place. Jennie Garth is still acting, Shannen Doherty is still in the news and Tori Spelling's multiple plastic surgeries couldn't change the fact that she's not really that attractive...the funny think about this show was that one of the actresses (Andrea Zuckerman) was like 30 or 32 and playing a high school girl. Every girl from that time, I'm sure, remembers Brandon/Dylan and New Kids on the Block...maybe that's why I like movies like Wedding Singer or Wrestler that are so wrapped in 80's minutiae.