caulfield12

Scenario, I think a lot of this is all about "perception." Fields and Viciedo will never be able to be decent defensive players. Getz is "scrappy/grinderish," whereas Lillibridge is "versatile/athletic." (Disclaimer: I haven't seen Getz play very much in person, so I couldn't tell you how much better Lillibridge is at SS, or if Getz could play CF, or he plays all those positions in the way that a Bip Roberts, Figgins, McEwing or Jose Oquendo did.) It does seem that some perceive Getz as a best-case scenario major league utility player, whereas others perceive him as the answer to our leadoff or #2 hole and want him to play in 135-145 games). Because Carney Lansford made some comments, Nix is now the defensive player on our team. Some people think Alexei Ramirez was the best 2B in the American League last year, some think he was possibly the worst. That's not even getting into Brian Anderson...if nothing else, Owens/Fields/Anderson will all have their career tracks with the White Sox more firmly defined this season, for better or for worse. There's no doubt that we have some major defensive concerns on the corners of the diamond and at catcher. So it would seem logical to want to have your best possible alignment up the middle, covering the widest degree of the field possible. That would seem to give the advantage to Ramirez, Nix and Brian Anderson, at this point in time (this was raised in another thread, basically how we don't have many strikeout pitchers, having lost Vazquez, and our defense will be even more critical than in past seasons...of course, Colon and Contreras could more than make up for the loss of Vazquez if they're anything like their former selves, because Floyd and Danks can pile up some K's when they're on and even Buerhle seems like he has more days where he'll get 5-6 k's compared to earlier in his career). My questions would be the following: 1) Is Beckham going to be better than Ramirez at SS? If so, where do you put Ramirez, in CF, where he's going to be adequate/so-so offensively or second base, where he's going to be a much more dynamic player and more involved in the action on the field? The infield just seems to suit his personality more, at least to me. 2) Is there any serious consideration being given to letting Lillibridge start playing CF occasionally? If he doesn't make the team, will he play any other position than SS at Charlotte? Is Lillibridge better than Getz at 2B? 3) What is the behind-the-scenes thinking on Viciedo at this point? With Josh Fields seemingly holding his own offensively and defensively, do you look to trade Dye somehow and stick Viciedo in LF or RF to get his bat into the line-up this season...or do you play out the string with Thome/Konerko/Dye together for one final season? Would any GM dare trade a young pitcher like Homer Bailey at this point in time for Dye (even with a cash subsidy)? 4) Can Josh Kroeger play a competent enough CF that he will become a part of the OF conversation? That pretty much forces Getz/Lillibridge to be your leadoff man, and makes it a little harder on Nix. If Jordan Danks really takes off in AA this year, could he become part of the equation as early as 2009? 5) How far behind is John Shelby III in the mix? 6) Is the competition for back-up catcher really just Stewart and Miller? Will Armstrong get a real shot? Or is KW waiting in the weeds to pluck a particular player off the waiver wire?

Well, Getz can play all over the diamond (like Betemit) and probably MORE effectively defensively, but I'm not sure we'd want him getting 15-25 starts at SS either. I'm not as concerned with him playing 3B. That seems to favor Lillibridge for two reasons...he can play a legit SS better than anyone on the roster defensively and he can also play CF, although he hasn't played there regularly since Univ. of Washington days and would need a refresher course before you just threw him out there...at least a couple of weeks playing CF. Somehow I don't think we'll see that happen until they decide between Owens/Anderson/Wise...who they want to award CF to. There seems to be a pretty big split on this board about 2B, with many favoring Nix (like me) and many preferring our own farmhand, Getz. Well, another argument in favor of Getz is that he's more of a "sure thing" than Lillibridge at this point to stick at the top of the order and to have the reasonable expectation he could hold his own. Then again, Lillibridge probably is more the profile of a typical leadoff hitter in terms of speed. It's an interesting argument back and forth that we'll have here the next four weeks or so.

Tiny little story (not even done by a beat writer, Gonzales was on his way home from Phoenix for a week) without even a picture, certainly no bold headlines...took me a couple of minutes just to find it even. White Sox beat Cubs 7-6 in Las Vegas Tribune 1:00 AM CST, March 5, 2009 LAS VEGAS - John Danks tossed three scoreless innings and Ben Broussard's single drove in Josh Kroeger with the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift the White Sox to a 7-6 win over the Cubs on Wednesday night in a split squad game for both teams. The two teams will play again in Las Vegas on Thursday at 3:05 p.m. Danks scattered three three hits, struck out four and walked none. Aaron Poreda allowed one earned run over the last three innings for the win. David Patton took the loss for the Cubs. The Sox got homers from Michael Restovich, Paul Konerko and Wilson Betemit.

I should have prefaced that by saying that came up through our system or essentially made his debut with us...they've been few and far between, especially considering we now have a Latino manager, but a complete lack of results from the DR or Venezuela in terms of scouting. Yes, I know, we can blame it all on Wilder or Shaffer, but it is deeper than that even, this goes back a decade or more, since the time time we developed Ordonez and Carlos Lee.

QUOTE (SouthsideDon48 @ Mar 5, 2009 -> 12:55 AM) What do you think the bullpen will be like this year? Assuming we go with a 7-man bullpen again this year, I'd rather see German with the major league roster instead of Wassermann and Russell. Plus, having German pitch the type of innings Wassermann and Russell would've pitched can't hurt, anyway. I'd like to see a bullpen like this: Jenks, Linebrink, Thornton, Dotel, Carrasco, German, Richard. Jenks Linebrink Thornton Dotel Richard or Poreda (a lot depends on Colon/Contreras, and whether they want Aaron to get the innings as a starter in AAA) Carasco (his spot to lose because Ozzie really likes him, and because he stepped up last year) German Marquez...Cooper has said he favored a multi-innings/long/swing man in the last spot of the pen, which also would seem to eliminate German Broadway...goodbye Wasserman....goodbye Van Benschoten....goodbye Russell...goodbye Link...need to see more of him Nunez...maybe, more likely to start in minors, live arm Jimenez....ditto, but much more experienced, will get a longer look that German probably Santeliz...very interesting prospect, along with Nathan Jones and Santos Rodriguez, one of the better arms in the system, and first Venezuelan pitcher since Alvarez possibly Salmon...goodbye Williams...might get a few more looks, but on a thin rope MacDougal...wouldn't count him out quite yet, if he's able to make the roster, they will try to showcase him, but that contract will be hard to unload, we certainly won't get anything in return of value

QUOTE (Cubano @ Mar 5, 2009 -> 12:38 AM) I have never written bench Dye or Quentin to play Viciedo. Have I? If so, please point cite where I posted such thing. I am saying if the Sox decides he is not the starting 3B then play him as a bench player resting Fields and Dye. He played 3B and RF in Cuba. He can DH and provide rest to the regular. Do not send him to the minors because he will adjust better with Contreras and Alexei. That is what I have written many times. Guys you are killing me! Cubano, I can't think of any time in the recent history of baseball a 19 or 20 year old top prospect has come up to start the season and sit on the bench. Yes, he would be better off around Ramirez and Conteras, but he needs to get regular playing time...he's not a Brian Anderson or Brent Lillibridge that you just stick on the bench. He theoretically could play LF, RF, DH, 1B and 3B...but that kind of does a disservice to his defensive development if you move him all around the field like that at his age. Ozzie said the same thing about Beckham, when he heard Beckham was willing to convert to 2B or 3B to get to the big leagues more quickly...something along the lines of "he's not a utility player." Just like Beckham at SS, they will stay with Viciedo at 3B for as long as they possibly can, waiting for him to become "MLB acceptable" before they throw him out there. As an offensive player, the last thing they would want would be for him to make an error every day at 3B and start letting the defensive lapses get into his game and affect his mental approach. I also think that there's the perception they might need to "toughen him up" a little, send him to the minors, get his head out of the clouds a little bit...and just establish a routine of playing baseball every day, of getting used to the rhythm of playing a 140-162+ game season in the US. It wore down Ramirez in the second half last season.

QUOTE (SouthsideDon48 @ Mar 5, 2009 -> 12:43 AM) That's a Sox winner! I was hoping to see German pitch, but oh well. I think German is probably a good fit for our bullpen. Also, I like Kroeger and Restovich, and chance we can get rid of Owens and Anderson and put Kroeger and Restovich on the major league squad? Kroeger has an outside chance, Restovich is bound with Van Benschoten, Broadway, Wasserman and Russell for Charlotte. Broussard will probably be there with them as well. In no way, shape or form is Restovich able to play CF. Anderson will either be the starter or the RH outfielder off the bench. German, ten years ago....maybe. Who knows what he is now, just a journeyman pitcher. He was once one of the more highly touted prospects in the game, but I also think he will be in AAA unless DJ Carasco really falls apart this spring.

Poreda 3 IP, 3 H, 1 ER 39 pitches, 24 strikes That's his first official outing, his rough start against the Dodgers when Furcal took him deep was in a B game, but he recovered from that situation and went on to pitch pretty well. Nice to see Poreda can be effective the second time around seeing hitters.

Has anyone seen Josh Kroeger play CF? Then again, it's back to the whole problem of him also having to be a leadoff hitter as well...always keeping coming back to the same issue with this team.

I hope to see Jerry Owens get an extra base hit. And I'd like to see Corky throw someone out on the basepaths.

What was the reading on Van Benschoten's FB? 88-91?

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Mar 5, 2009 -> 12:12 AM) Didn't he move to third on it? Hard to follow on GameDay when it's delayed a bit. So Eider Torres and Fields failed to get him in then? It seemed to me like Broussard got him over to 2nd or 3rd...so the passed ball got him to 2nd? Well, it doesn't matter, they didn't score/execute. Well this sucks, you know when you don't get the runner in from 3rd and less than 2 outs that the next inning you will inevitably give up a run or two.

Why didn't Kroeger score on the wild pitch/passed ball?

QUOTE (scenario @ Mar 4, 2009 -> 11:19 PM) He played 1/2 the game. Getz gets the 2nd half. Well, Nix only got to play three innings....typically the starters go five. Oh, well. Both of them will have plenty of opportunities to win the job the next 30 or so games.

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.