caulfield12

QUOTE (greg775 @ Aug 18, 2008 -> 11:42 PM) I don't know about the Royals. I'm still not convinced. They have some pitching in the minors I guess and Greinke is damn good. Aside from Soria do they have any stars in the making? Butler and Gordon ... jury still out. Like somebody said they've been saying a long time KC will be improved. The bottom line is the owner is a joke and allegedly Moore is an up coming GM with some ability. We shall see. I wouldn't bet on them excelling like the Rays next year. Hochevar, Gordon, Moustakas and this year's first round draft pick are all expected to be big-time, impact players. Then they have Greinke and Soria. Those six players are really the key to the future of the franchise....they have finally transitioned from the Mike Sweeney Era into the closest thing to a true youth movement in KC for the past 5-6 years. For the immediate future, they have some pieces like Meche, DeJesus, Teahen and Bannister that have value and could be traded for even better players, if Moore and his Braves-trained staff can identify the right prospects.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Aug 19, 2008 -> 07:16 AM) There's a lot of time left, obviously, but if the season ended today, CQ would be your 2008 MVP, and the league would somehow find a way to not award Kenny as Executive of the Year again like they did in 2005. Alexei CQ Those two moves alone would merit it. I'm sure they will give it to the Rays' GM or Shapiro. Actually, one of the biggest trades of the off-season was Bartlett/Garza for D. Young. If the Twins had kept Bartlett and Garza, I think they would now be 3-5 games ahead of us. A lot of Twins fans are really getting aggravated with Young's lack of speed, hustle, defensive ineptitude and complete lack of plate patience and bad habit of swinging at either first pitches or every single ball out of the strike zone or in the dirt with 2 strikes. Harris isn't a very good fundamental player, either. The irony is that bringing in position players from other organizations doesn't work so well for the Twins usually. I think you have to add Linebrink and Dotel to that list too...they both have played (especially Scott) huge roles in bridging the way from the starters to Jenks. Danks and Floyd weren't such bad moves either, :-). Neither happened in this past off-season, but you have to consider them part of the total body of work in putting together this year's team and recovering from 2007.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Aug 19, 2008 -> 07:05 AM) This is the quickest surrender I have ever seen that didn't involve the French... You're forgetting the First Gulf War/Desert Storm, whatever historians are referring to it as...

PLAYOFFS ODDS REPORT AccuScore ran 10,000 simulations of the remainder of the 2008 baseball season – and so few of them showed scenarios in which the Angels didn’t make they playoffs, they simply rounded up to 100 percent. The rest of the AL playoff race has three spots for four teams, with the Blue Jays – currently in fourth place in the AL East – actually a better longshot than the Yankees. Aside from the Cubs, who have the NL Central locked up, the race is wide open. Milwaukee, likely the wild-card team, is actually in the second-best position, according to AccuScore, and the Mets and Diamondbacks (actually, not true, Dodgers are favored 57/43% over AZ) are favorites in the East and West. American League Los Angeles Angels 100 percent Tampa Bay Rays 94.9 percent Boston Red Sox* 69.9 percent Chicago White Sox 67.6 percent Minnesota Twins 57.0 percent New York Yankees 5.4 percent Toronto Blue Jays 3.8 percent More reasons to be nervous...from yahoo.com/sports (Passan)

If there were ever two games to bet against the White Sox and for the Twins, these would be it. Which means the Twins will probably be crushed, and Richard will only give up 2 runs in 7 IP and Dotel will strike out the side in a 3-2 pitcher's battle doing to the Sox. One can hope. At least we know, worst-case scenario, that Minnesota could only be ahead by one game when they go on their long road trip for two weeks. Heck, by that time, I think a clear favorite will have emerged for POTUS.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Aug 19, 2008 -> 12:34 AM) I would agree with you. I'm just hoping Oz/KW know something we don't know and Clayton will come through. I can't figure out why they wouldn't let Broadway start again compared to Richard. You'd think Richard would fight like hell tonight to get us a win. It's a big game. If Clayton fails again I don't know what to say. I think it's simply because they think that Clayton being a LH pitcher (of course, so is Poreda) gives them a better chance against Ichiro and Ibanez, who are the two best Seattle hitters. Not sure about the difference/discrepancy between SEA W/L percentage against lefties and righties, but I think that has to be part of their thinking. Everyone in the organization seems to think it was a good idea to leave Carrasco in the pen...it's just that there is a huge difference of opinion around here about Broadway, Poreda and Richard and the relative merits of each starting this game. http://www.cappersmall.com/mlb/articles/ML...tchers8259.html According to this table, they are a better team against righties than lefties, FWIW. The information's about two weeks out of date though...

QUOTE (santo=dorf @ Aug 19, 2008 -> 12:36 AM) I know the answer will be "wait until after the postseason," but it appears both Uribe and Crede will be type B free agents. Do you offer them both arbitration? I think you do with Uribe if you plan on him being the starter at 3B, SS or 2B next year for the White Sox. If you want to bring him back as a utility player again, that's another matter. Then I think we should let him see if he can find a starting job somewhere else in the league. With Crede, I think you risk offering arbitration because Boras will want to take him out into the market no matter what. Of course, the obvious danger is that nobody bites and we get "stuck" with him for one season...and he's either non-productive or a constant distraction (about his future and trying to get another contract at the end of 2009) to the team. That's the risk. I don't think it's worth the risk that he comes back to offer arbitration if he's only a Type B. For a Type A player like Cabrera, you definitely will take the draft picks in return.

UNLESS Joe is capable of producing the same type of offensive output he did in the first six weeks of the season. Even then, Juan's a better fielder (this season at least) and Juan has to be hitting close to .300 or above for the last couple of months, because he was below .200 most of the first two months. Does anyone know the exact numbers? First two months Crede 47/172, 9, 29, .273 AVG Uribe 22/112, 3, 15, .196 AVG SINCE Crede 31/133, 8, 25, .233 AVG Uribe 27/86, 2, 10, .314 AVG It would be nice to see Juan pick up his power numbers a bit, but we can afford to carry him with our offense lighting up the scoreboards and his defense preventing numerous runs. With Crede, we're not sure if he will get the power back this season and his defense has been very spotty, at best. He still makes some great plays, but he's starting to remind me of Jose Valentin in 2000.

QUOTE (moragasoxfan @ Aug 18, 2008 -> 10:30 PM) Just to be clear, the only times that Poreda registered 100 mph were last year when he was coming out of the bullpen in Great Falls. There was one time that he registered 99 mph on the stadium radar gun this year, but the team gun said 97. Typical FB velocity during his game is 92 to 96.....but remember, it's not the speed, it's the movement and the command. See Zumaya, Joel. Also, see what happens when pitchers take the mound without a 2nd or 3rd pitch to keep batters off balance.

Does anyone doubt that Brian Anderson will be in the line-up against Felix...? The major highlight of Brian's career so far has been his two-homer game out in SEA against the King.

Both teams are fairly fortunate...the Twins that Liriano was even able to make a comeback. One year ago, I would have thought that Garza and Bonser would be two of their better starters. Maybe Perkins. I didn't see Blackburn and Slowey having this much of an impact, so quickly and so quietly. We've lost Linebrink, Crede and Contreras...in 2005, the only major injury we had was Pods, and we had a pretty signifiant division lead to final hold the Indians off with. The Twins have absorbed the losses/non-performance of Livan Hernandez, Juan Rincon, Pat Neshek, Craig Monroe, Alexi Casilla, Michael Cuddyer, etc., it's just that they have had a much better farm system to replace position players over the last decade. Kubel has finally started to come into his own, after being so highly-touted, like Cuddyer. Those two guys were more like Crede in their delayed big league impact/s. D. Young is starting to play like the Twins thought he was capable of, but his power numbers are still mysteriously lacking. Gomez has been a huge disappointment for them as well...if you look at it statistically, the White Sox should be 4-5 games ahead, but the White Sox find silly ways to lose ballgames the Twins usually hold onto (with just a few exceptions, like the SEA trip) and the Twins' AVG w RISP is incredible, which leads one to think that 1) they're a team of destiny again, or 2) that they will cool down on the road trip.

QUOTE (DBAHO @ Aug 18, 2008 -> 08:57 AM) At least they're in a much better position now before when Dayton Moore wasn't there as a GM. He's done a pretty good job so far. Umm...well, it remains to be seen. They're paying a lot of money for Moustakas to be a 2B instead of a SS/3B. Signing Guillen and Olivo were just stop-gaps. He hasn't really "won" any big trades yet, unless you consider Ross Gload over Sisco. I think anything would have been better than Alard Baird. I'm not sure how much we can credit him with Greinke's resurgence. A lot depends on how Gordn, Hochevar, Moustakas and this year's draft turns out. Overall, I think he's done a pretty good job, but they have to do better than finish 4th to show progress, 3rd at least. Probably the only surprising thing the Royals have done was/is sign Meche...or that Royals' ownership was able to convince him to come to KC. They kept Aviles buried for a long time in their organization and only gave him a $1000 signing bonus for a 7th rounder (like Danks), although that wasn't Moore's fault, it had more to do with the Glass family. They also have to decide what to do with Teahen and DeJesus. Neither one of them hits with enough power to play corner OF spots, although DDJ is a nice little player to have on your team. Teahen has regressed this year, seemingly. Butler has to hit for at least 18-20 homers a season to justify his playing time, because he really clogs the basespaths. Obviously, Soria has been a huge find. That's the first time they've had a consistent closer in a decade. Getting Bannister for Burgos looks like a very solid decision as well.

On the radio broadcast, they said he's getting close to ready to start with the rehab assignment in Charlotte again. Which will bring up an interesting dilemma...can you bench Uribe for Crede, the way Juan has been playing? If Crede does return to starting, he's on a very short leash offensively/defensively.

Didn't see the play at all...but Farmer and Stone seemed to be blaming Cabrera more than Alexei. In fact, they credited Alexei with at least backing up and getting the out at 1B.

Please delete. This is a jinx. Or someone should concede to the Twins...like after Friday's game in Oakland! The Twins have a 50/50 chance because... 1) They have Liriano, who looks like he will win 90% of his starts again 2) They can manufacture more runs 3) They still have Nathan 4) Casilla is coming back and Everett won't be out for long 5) Their strength of opponents is lower than the White Sox The Twins have problems... 1) With almost their entire bullpen, with the exception of Reyes and Nathan...and Nathan's having to close off threats in the 8th now 2) Still not close to the 2001-2003 teams defensively, but improving 3) Innings pitched/past injuries and young arms being protected will factor in with Perkins, Liriano and Blackburn 4) Many of the young players like Buscher, Harris, Span, Gomez and Kubel have not been huge parts of a pennant contender 5) Cuddyer's injury (although I would prefer Span if I was a Twins' fan) 6) The last series against CWS is at home 7) Some of the teams they play on that road trip aren't playing very well...the Angels have been struggling...can't remember if they play the Rays and Blue Jays, but those would be two of the tougher road opponents, and I think a 2-2 split in Anaheim is possible, with the Angels now in "cruise control"

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Aug 18, 2008 -> 09:49 PM) A-Rod won the MVP last season so it wouldn't be 2 years in a row for Morneau. I would have a tough time voting for Justin Morneau (if I had a vote), he's a first baseman with an OPS right around -- though at the moment below -- .900 and will probably finish with 25 HR at the most. That's pretty weak. I'd give it to Youk before Morneau. I completely was ignoring last season, lol. Because I was travelling/teaching overseas and the White Sox were so abysmal. Funny how that happens. I can't stand the idea of Youkilis winning it. I think Paul O'Neill would be preferable to him. Even Giambi, yikes!

I think you have to keep your eye/s on Morneau again. If the Twins make it and the Sox don't, he might be the quietest two-time league MVP in recent memory. I almost think that Hamilton has a better chance if the Twins win, because they might prefer not to give it to Morneau two seasons in a row. Carlos Quentin makes for a better storyline than J. Morneau fwiw. I also think Dye could siphon off some votes as well...

QUOTE (kevo880 @ Aug 18, 2008 -> 08:37 PM) That wasn't former sox farmhand De Los Santos that pitched tonight against Kanny was it? http://hickory.crawdads.milb.com/news/arti...sp&sid=t448 There was nothing in the game notes to suggest anything was wrong with Beckham. There's a picture of the "other" DLS on the front page of Crawdads' site if you're REALLY curious, lol.

QUOTE (ROC Sox Fan @ Aug 18, 2008 -> 09:14 PM) I know it's old news now, but I was so happy when my Dad came back from a Twins minor league game in Rochester to report that Cuddyer left the game (as we all know now with the broken foot). He grew up in Iowa as a Twins fan while my Mom's side of the family is all Cubs fans. Luckily Frank Thomas showed me the light at a young age and I got on board. I think the Twins are actually better off with Span in RF. He is much more athletic, he plays very strong defense...I know he saved at least one of the M's games offensively and defensively at Safeco...he can steal a base and he doesn't strike out over and over again. Cuddyer had a very good year offensively in 2007, but with Kubel's continuing progress, I don't think it's quite so important that he be in the line-up for them to be tough. Interesting stat, last ten games for the A's in the Dome, 1-9 record for Oakland. I think we should consider ourselves fortunate they won at least one of the three games there.

QUOTE (tommy @ Aug 18, 2008 -> 09:15 PM) Does a first baseman have to be tall? Look at Swisher? Well, typically, a first baseman is tall and left handed (think Fred McGriff), because it's more helpful to have his glove hand right on the bag for pick-off throws and sometimes the angles are better throwing from 1st to 2nd. You don't need a super-tall guy if he's pretty athletic and can get up in the air and make some plays...like Ross Gload. He always did a very good job over there in limited playing time and he's not overly tall either. Konerko's a big guy, but he simply can't jump very well. Also, if you have long arms/wingspan, someone like Tony Clark, it can make a big difference...and it's helpful to have a large target for the infielders.

QUOTE (knightni @ Aug 18, 2008 -> 07:37 PM) Why waste a solid middle infielder at 1b? That's why I am surprised that Detroit moved Carlos Guillen to 1B. I always thought that Guillen was at least decent to average in the middle infield. Yeah, he had errors, but a lot of guys do. I think the major reasons are 1) he's lost quite a bit of range due to injuries, compared with how he moved in his early days in Seattle, 2) he's been more injury-prone playing a "high activity" position such as SS, 3) he makes so many "mental errors" and his arm is no longer quite so strong. They simply wanted to keep his bat in the line-up, 1B was where he would do the least damage and they had to stick Cabrera at 3B. As far as the original post, that's not worth consideration...Ramirez will never play a game at 1B. Wise will never be a major league regular, and I have my doubts that BA (or Owens) will be either. Getz has decent speed, but he's not a burner or basestealer by any stretch of the imagination, at least not at the big league level.

The amazing thing is Duke went down for the A's early in the game and Saarloos (just recalled from the minors) did the Carraco-esque yeoman's effort and held the Twins off. I think it was only the second time in the past 10 home series that the Twins have lost the opener, and the other time they did, they came back to win the final two to get the series win. That Ziegler guy is pretty amazing (he was pitching in independent ball, then changed his delivery to come from the side)...although he did give up a two run triple to Mauer, he held on for the save over the final two innings. Also, the Twins might have had a significant injury to Adam Everett. It might seem like a small thing, because his offense isn't very good at all, but he's a great defender and having to play Harris there every day will cause some problems. Supposedly, Alexi Casilla will be back soon though. He's a very good looking young player, although I think Ramirez is still much better.

QUOTE (IlliniKrush @ Aug 18, 2008 -> 06:22 PM) Buehrle threw the ball the wrong guy, either Mark screwed up or there wasn't the necessary pre at bat communication. Nope, it was Cabrera's responsibility. He wasn't even in the vicinity...luckily, Ramirez was at least behind the bag, but we've just dug ourselves into a decent-sized hole. You can argue MB should have pitched over it, but when something like that happens...it just seems about 90% of the time that it comes back to bite you. This game becomes exceedingly important with Richard versus Felix Hernandez tomorrow. The hope is to at least go 1-1 the first two games and for Duschscherer to somehow beat the Twins in the Dome.

I'm starting to feel the same way about Cabrera that I felt about Royce Clayton. That's three runs on OC now...pitiful. There's no excuse for the veteran SS who speaks Spanish (same as Alexei) to not be communicating with his younger teammate.

I think the sites have two very different drivers. 1) Is it to get mentioned the most in newspaper articles and blogs, cited as a reference and as the "view from the street" perspective on the team by those writing about the Sox for local/regional/national publications? 2) Is it to draw the highest number of page views and even generate revenue streams or full/part-time jobs? 3) Is the goal to have the highest number of "members" and "guests," and/or users on-line or is it to have the best site for the serious White Sox fan that doesn't want to wade through a bunch of garbage?