caulfield12

Well, if anyone wants to march over to the Twins' board and surrender like their "fan" already did this week...yes, it's a long season, and yes, anything's possible...but this doesn't feel very good to me. Ozzie has no more confidence left in the bullpen...and it's impossible to blame him. Losing Linebrink was due to haunt us eventually, and now it's raising its ugly head.

I think that might be the game. Error on Cabrera...of course, it's ruled a hit by Rosenberg instead of an error on our "Gold Glove" Shortstop. Don't let the door hit you on the butt when you're leaving, Orlando.

So everyone will blame Ozzie for staying with Vazquez when he'd barely thrown 80 pitches coming into that inning, right? I guess if you want to quibble, you could say he should have been removed after the walk (2nd batter). But this is why no matter what Ozzie does, it's always going to be his fault, because we have no good options. We'll see what happens to Thornton. Now, not only did he walk him, but Thornton's fastball is fading fast after so many pitches.

QUOTE (JoeCoolMan24 @ Aug 22, 2008 -> 11:14 PM) Silverio has 25 errors already!?!?!!? Move him to 1B already... Jeter had 56 errors in 128 games at Greensboro (SAL) in 1993. Relax.

QUOTE (Tony82087 @ Aug 22, 2008 -> 10:42 PM) Dotel is about 8th on the list of problems tonight. I have been traveling for about a week, so I feel pretty out of touch with the team. I got in last night, and went to the game tonight. Not the way I wanted to be welcomed home. Worst game I have seen in a real long time. The lack of execution by any of our hitters was disgusting, and Ozzie probably had his worst game as a White Sox Manager tonight. Just a disgusting game all around, and thats being nice. They need to pound the hell out of Tampa these next two games. You just highlighted the problem that Guillen has...no team in MLB can go out and pound the likes of Edwin Jackson and Scott Kazmir on a consistent basis. Sure, we can have Thornton go 2 innings every time out and not use Dotel again. But then, when Thornton's arm is about to fall off, who do you go to then, DJ Carrasco? Do we now start to use Jenks in the 8th inning of games we are tied or down only one run? This game is on the offense...we had something like 16 runners on base through the first 6 innings. When you only score 2 runs and leave that many runners on base, have 2 thrown out stealing and mix in some GIDP, well, then the eventual result is not a surprise.

Ah...memories of the irreplaceable Kelly Dransfeldt. It was kind of funny...it was almost like the Twins' radio announcers were shocked Hunter didn't make the play. Not only that he jumped when he didn't need to, but that he totally misjudged where the wall was. Of course, if it happened against the Sox, he would jump up to about 11" and rob a home run from Carlos Lee or run over a helpless Jamie Burke. Well, at least we owned the Angels in 2005, if nothing else. This Twins' team is getting annoying...Mauer/Morneau don't do anything and Nick Punto beats them almost singlehandedly with his bat. Their bullpen didn't even cave in as expected. If Gallagher gets the bunt down like he's supposed to, I think the Angels win. Oh, well.

QUOTE (fathom @ Aug 21, 2008 -> 11:28 PM) Whenever I say I'm worried the Cubs will win the World Series, I always get the response "not if they have to go through the Angels". There's no way this Angels team would be able to outslug the Cubs. Gage...you might know this. Do the Angels allow their minor leaguers to use aluminum bats? Guys like Rodriguez and Wood put up huge minor league numbers, and when they get called up, they look like pitchers at the plate. McPherson, Kotchman and Morales also put up huge numbers in the minors. Seems like Kendrick and Aybar are doing fine though.

1) Torii Hunter, since he hurt his ankle a couple of seasons ago, is just an average at best defensive CFer now 2) The Angels aren't that good...in fact, it's almost like they have White Sox-itis, with the boppers now in the middle of the line-up, they've forgotten how to execute and manufacture runs....their pitching is saving them this season, but I think they will go down in the first round of the playoffs.

QUOTE (fathom @ Aug 21, 2008 -> 11:09 PM) If they put up a 10-4 on the road trip...well, let's hope Boston starts losing a lot. If they are ahead of us after playing 24/30 games on the road, then they deserve the division title.

Span's a really clutch hitter for a rookie. He's more dangerous, to me, than Cuddyer, because he also is a weapon defensively.

Of course, Torii Hunter completely misplays a ball to give Minnesota the victory. Ironic. There's a gift...if they can get Span out, they should be able to get Casilla, as his hand is still bothering him.

Does Scioscia pitch to Mauer or Morneau with a runner at 2nd and 2 outs?

Baker has something like a 4-1 K/BB ratio. He's quietly becoming one of the better pitchers in the AL.

Why do Mauer and Morneau ALWAYS come up in key situations? Please use Darren Oliver against Morneau, Scioscia. Well...they got out of it, amazingly enough. All the mo back to the Angels and the Rally Monkey. Maybe the two best managers in baseball today going at it.

QUOTE (almagest @ Aug 21, 2008 -> 09:52 PM) Baker has been falling behind the Angels all night and it seems like every single 2-0 or 3-1 pitch an Angel will pop out somewhere. It's really frustrating to watch. As usual, it will come down to the bullpens eventually. We'll see how Guerrier/Reyes/Crain fare on the road. Never thought Carlos Gomez was going to get two big hits so far in this game....or that Nick Punto might be making a key offensive contribution. As DJ would say, "uh-oh." Lackey throws the ball away on Span's bunt attempt, 2nd and 3rd with no outs in the 7th. Looks like trouble for the Sox.

QUOTE (Jim Spencer @ Aug 21, 2008 -> 08:27 PM) I went to 4 games in 2 years were Danny Wright pitched or Josh Stewart pitched. I'm surprised I'm still a Sox fan Needless to say, the Sox lost all 4 games. Don't forget Felix Diaz and Mike Porzio. Actually, both of those guys pitched a decent game or two...at least Felix pitched one good game against the Cubs. Another one of those prospects that was supposed to throw 93-96 and he was more realistically 89-91.

Tex homer to CF...1-0 Angels. Lackey was in trouble in the first, but struck out Morneau and retired Kubel to get out of the threat.

QUOTE (chitownsportsfan @ Aug 21, 2008 -> 08:44 PM) I'm fine with Richard getting the start. He walks a fine line out there right now because his fastball is far and away his best pitch -- if he doesn't have the movement or velocity and control of it he's toast out there -- but thankfully a fastball isn't that hard to locate compared compared to off speed stuff and I have confidence he can get it done as a decent 5th starter going forward. It would be silly to bring up Haeger for a start when Broadway and Richard have already been thrown into the fire and responded decently. How many more times will the 5th starter's spot come up? I can't believe it will be more than 4-5 more times. Give those starts to Richard, that's fine. One thing interesting is that if Linebrink comes back it really opens of the possibility of Carasco moving to the rotation, as he won't be needed for very many relief appearances with Jenks, Thornton, Liney and Dotel in front him. In hindsight, the move to keep him in the 'pen for now is looking like a very smart move. I can't imagine we'll see Carrasco in the rotation from here on out. There's not enough time to stretch his arm out now...and we don't want to have to expose our entire bullpen if the game is close (or we're ahead) when he leaves. OTOH, it seems that Richard/Broadway are unlikely to go more than 5-6 innings in most starts also, but at least they theoretically have the ability to do so. I would be hard-pressed to imagine DJ doing that at this point in the season. And yes, the rosters are expanding soon, but I think KW and Ozzie made the right choice and I don't think they'll reverse direction and switch again, especially since we've won the last two turns from the 5th.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan101 @ Aug 21, 2008 -> 08:42 PM) Including today, we have each of the next three Thursday's off. I'd consider skipping the 5th slot completely for a while. We can do that 3-4 times down the stretch. But we play Friday through Wednesday, so we have to go to that spot Tuesday. Keep in mind, we are going to start a reliever for the make-up game's resumption Monday afternoon.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=Apk0...o&type=lgns Good article on Ludwick. With the seasons Quentin and Hamilton are having, he's kind of getting lost in the conversation a bit. One of those late-bloomers who finally flourishes (at age 29/30) when given a shot AND injury-free.

QUOTE (Jim Spencer @ Aug 21, 2008 -> 08:28 PM) Haeger is 9-12 with a 4.63 ERA this year. I'd rather see Egbert or Whistler before Haeger. I forgot to mention Whisler. I guess that's because he's something like the Josh Stewart of the group, although hopefully better. Josh seemed like a nice kid, it was a shame what happened to him with the injuries and lack of confidence that resulted.

2003 and 2006 were the only years the White Sox and Twins were close...this myth of the Twins owning the White Sox in the latter stages of the season is almost 100% due to the Twins winning the last five head-to-head match-ups with the Sox down the stretch that year. Realistically, in 2006, we were dying a slow death in August already and fading with Liriano's ascendance. That danged guy has won 14 games in a row now, between Rochester and the big league level. Unless they skip a turn in the TOR rotation, the Twins should see Halladay and Marcum, or at least Marcum and Burnett.

Haeger and Broadway as the candidates for Tuesday's start??? Has anyone seen Charlie pitch recently? We've been hearing Carrasco, Porcello, Broadway and even Egbert's name from time to time this year, but I don't think I've seen many piling on the Haeger bandwagon...does everyone think it will still be Richard? Or will they flip-flop back to Broadway. I think KW must have been thinking in the back of his head watch Dickey get crushed by the Sox that there's nothing worse than an ineffective knuckleballer...not to mention all the stolen bases surrendered. Well, if nothing else, these last six weeks will give us something of a "proving ground" with the 5th starter's spot. Going into ST next year, if KW doesn't make a move, we'll have Clayton, Broadway, Haeger, Egbert, Carrasco and probably Horacio Ramirez all in the mix. The question is whether any one of those guys can do better on a consistent basis than what we got out of that role from 2001-2004? One move that seems obvious is switching Richard and Horacio Ramirez next spring. Seeing Thornton's wear and tear and results when he goes 2-3 innings and sees the order twice, I don't think we'll ever see him in a starting role.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Aug 21, 2008 -> 05:05 PM) Yeah, but imagine where the Tigers would be without him! When you look at it, it still wasn't a bad trade for the Tigers, becasuse it's essentially Cameron Maybin for Cabrera. I never believed all the hype about Andrew Miller...he seemed very overhyped, and his stuff wasn't what everyone said it was. He looked more like Boone Logan than Matt Thornton out there. Thankfully, the Tigers also traded Jurrgens away to the Braves. That leaves Porcello (who has been solid but far from dominant in the FSL). We have our own version of Porcello in Poreda, although most scouts thought Porcello, especially for his age/experience, was much more advanced with his secondary pitches...we shall see. If Bonderman is able to get healthy and Porcello matures, they have a very solid 1-3 with Verlander. Miner has shown flashes, I think Robertson's time is up too, although look what happened with Cliff Lee from last year to this one. The problem is they have so many bad contracts now with Sheffield, Renteria, Willis and Pudge, etc., they may have no choice but to unload Ordonez...which would set them back another year in competing in the AL Central.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Aug 21, 2008 -> 05:05 PM) Yeah, but imagine where the Tigers would be without him! When you look at it, it still wasn't a bad trade for the Tigers, becasuse it's essentially Cameron Maybin for Cabrera. I never believed all the hype about Andrew Miller...he seemed very overhyped, and his stuff wasn't what everyone said it was. He looked more like Boone Logan than Matt Thornton out there. Thankfully, the Tigers also traded Jurrgens away to the Braves. That leaves Porcello (who has been solid but far from dominant in the FSL). We have our own version of Porcello in Poreda, although most scouts thought Porcello, especially for his age/experience, was much more advanced with his secondary pitches...we shall see. If Bonderman is able to get healthy and Porcello matures, they have a very solid 1-3 with Verlander. Miner has shown flashes, I think Robertson's time is up too, although look what happened with Cliff Lee from last year to this one. The problem is they have so many bad contracts now with Sheffield and Willis and Pudge, etc., they may have no choice but to unload Ordonez...which would set them back another year in competing in the AL Central.