caulfield12

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?

QUOTE (WCSox @ Aug 17, 2008 -> 11:12 PM) Why on Earth would you rather have a $13 million 38.5-year-old injury-prone DH instead of a solid leadoff hitter who can hit for average, steal 40 bases a season, and play 3B (among several other positions). Jesus, we already have Dye, Quentin and Konerko in the middle of the lineup. Do we really need another slugger? And you DO realize that we're going to need a third basemen next season, right? And that we're talking about actual Major League Baseball here, where defense and manufacturing runs matters? This isn't a fantasy team. I'm happy as hell that Thome's still productive and healthy. All the more reason to deal him in the off-season, when he'll still have trade value. Look at how Frank's numbers have fallen off the table over the past couple of years. Do you want Thome having a Frank-like season next year and sucking up $13 million of our payroll? Call me crazy, but I'd rather go with the player in the prime of his career who addresses not one, but TWO of this team's needs. Agreed...it doesn't make sense to pay $13 million to a DH. When we were receiving that $22 something million subsidy from the Phillies, it was much more manageable from an economics standpoint. It's simply more logical to put millions of dollars into improving the overall team speed and defense, pitching (relief and 5th starter) and up-the-middle position players than spending money on DH's, corner infielders and corner outfielders. It's the "Hatteberg/Youkilis" theory. It's a lot easier to buy comparable production at "discount" prices at DH/1B than it is to find true difference makers (offensively or defensively) at SS, 2B, C and CF. With Dye, Quentin and Konerko, we have enough power in the middle of the order. Of course, the big assumption there is that Konerko is 100% coming into next year's campaign.

QUOTE (SouthsideDon48 @ Aug 16, 2008 -> 03:46 PM) Hey everyone, new poster here, but I've been lurking since 2007. Anyway, if the Sox can get Ty Wigginton, that'd be great. I think Ty Wigginton is exactly the type of flexible player the White Sox needs. He'd be our version of Mark DeRosa. I know he's not a free agent until 2009, but if Kenny can swing some sort of trade or just sign him as a free agent after the 2009 season, then that'd be awesome. Ty Wigginton can play multiple positions: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and Left field, and I believe his regular position is 3rd base. I've also had him on my fantasy baseball teams since 2006, and I'd be stoked if the Sox can get him. In fact, in the past month alone, Ty Wigginton had 23 hits in 69 at-bats, scored 13 runs, 6 homers, 16 rbi's and had .333 average. Getting someone like Wigginton would give the Sox the extreme flexibility they would need, and it would be nice if the Sox can either sign Uribe as a super-utility guy for shortstop, 2nd, and 3rd, or just let Fields play 3rd while Wigginton plays other positions to give other guys a day off. Wigginton would be something of a Herbert "Milkman" Perry-esque "bridge" player to whoever ends up being the long-term solution at 3rd base for the Sox, whether it's Fields, Beckham, a FA with a long-term deal, etc.

QUOTE (JPN366 @ Aug 17, 2008 -> 07:11 PM) Beckham could help the Barons in the playoffs. It would be better than Valido. It's not a bad idea at all...of course, he has experience in the CWS, but any development and assessment we can do with his game (Sox minor leagues) before February 09 is going to be extremely beneficial to KW in terms of updating the 3-5 year plan for this organization on his "big board."

QUOTE (fathom @ Aug 17, 2008 -> 02:40 PM) That is absolutely disgusting "Happy endings" and now this in one week, what's next? I was kind of laughing about that, because in Thailand and the Philippines (where I have been living and teaching this year), it's hard to find a massage place that doesn't offer "additional services" as they call it here.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Aug 17, 2008 -> 02:37 PM) We were spoiled...Juan is the best defensive SS in baseball. I'm not sure I would go that far...but definitely top five. He always looks a bit unorthodox with the way he catches the ball to the side...and he doesn't have superior range when he's a bit heavy, but that arm (just like with Jose Valentin) makes up for a lot of things. When you look at it, we should have the best infield defense in the majors with Swisher at 1B and three SS's playing the left side of the diamond. Ramirez has made some silly mistakes in the last month, but he makes some simply incredible plays and Uribe has saved countless runs since Crede went down...and they were "big," momentum changing plays like Crede made in 05 in the post-season. Why didn't Riggleman use Putz yesterday when that game was tied in the bottom of the 9th...too late now! Well, maybe they can get Nathan for 2, but I'm not counting on it. At least they'll face Oakland with a sense of unease, as they were really lucky to hold on these last two games. We just have to hope Justin D. can sneak out of there with at least one victory. Maybe they can start Ziegler???

QUOTE (fathom @ Aug 17, 2008 -> 02:26 PM) Guerrier's the one who's been awful. Nathan has been amazing, while Reyes, Crain and Breslow have been very good lately. Bonser might be getting close to being sent down or DFA'ed. Bass is similarly horrible. Guerrier's wearing down from overuse. Breslow...guy has an Ivy League education, somehow he slipped into the Twins' hands, I think he was picked up on waivers or via a small trade. Crain has lost (or not regained) his 94-96 MPH heater after his injury (reminds me of Howry's comeback)...he has had a lot of problems recently. Gardenhire has been moving him up and down (like Zumaya or Carrasco) trying to find the best places to use him in the game. It's not a surprise they were interesting in Hawkins. 10-8 now. Reyes gave up a hit to Ichiro. 1st and 2nd, one out, only down by 2. I doubt they can come back twice against Nathan in 2 weeks, but anything is possible.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Aug 17, 2008 -> 01:59 PM) Well I'll comment on this thread a little later, but I want to add that I and the rest of the mods/admins are always here if people have concerns or have ideas to make things better. What I said about not interacting with the moderators, I meant that in a positive way, actually. Mods should be like "referees" or "umpires," if they're doing a good job, you don't notice them. However, if the mods are there just to praise themselves, to pat themselves on the back or to put down posters they disagree with...it takes away from any website IMO. Of course, most websites are "private property" and inevitably "freedom of speech" issues come up...I just feel a lot more comfortable and at ease here compared to wsi. Boards fluctuate in activity all the time, based on the time of year, if it's the weekend, the opponent in that particular game...whether school is in session or not. I think there are more young posters here (compared to WSI), and August is everyone's vacation month, before school/university starts again. There are some posters over there that have a tremendous knowledge of Sox past and history, like Mark L. That guy is everywhere...when I read game stories at chicagosports.com, inevitably the postgame threads include one of his quotes. I do like a lot of the posters over there, they're very knowledgeable, I just have issues with the way the site is administered. Of course, it's a "free world" and it's all about competition and supply and demand...when things tilt too much in one direction...they will inevitably shift back and more posters will be here. It's cyclical.

QUOTE (fathom @ Aug 17, 2008 -> 01:56 PM) I remember Sports Illustrated saying that Munoz was the talk of Winter League with his Zito-esque curve. Other examples are Jon Adkins' and Nick Masset's 95-98 MPH heat and Anderson Gomes' amazing speed and athleticism.

QUOTE (maggsmaggs @ Aug 17, 2008 -> 01:50 PM) Am I the only in the gamethread? lol. you've apparently scared all the other gamethread posters to wsi, lol just kidding

Arnie Munoz also was "famous" in the Sox organization for having the "wipeout" curve. Sometimes I laugh, or Dewon Day's amazing slider...or Willie Harris is a miniature Ray Durham. In this case, Gio is Barry Zito with a better fastball. Well, we shall see. He pitched very well his last time out. Also, there's a big difference pitching for the White Sox in the second half of 2007 versus 2008. I guess we will never know how Gio would have done in the heat of a pennant race, because it seems Oakland will be forever rebuilding and deconstructing.

QUOTE (MAX @ Aug 17, 2008 -> 01:38 PM) I tried to go to WSI when I got suspended here and felt it was unfair. I hated it. Disagree with a mod there and they'll have a heart attack-ack-ack-ack-ack and delete your posts. It's not only that, it's the "private messages" and threatening to ban you or "warnings" that are so ridiculous. I am the same poster I was there, yet I've never really had a problem with another post or mod here, I have had no interaction with them at all. Maybe because the mods there are so overly active or hyper, that's why the site seems so active, I'm not sure. All I know is that my friend and I are both lifelong Sox fans and we couldn't survive there for very long. When I tried to defend my friend from attack, then I was also deemed a "Public Enemy," lol. I also bet the post-game threads are longer over there for a White Sox loss than for a win...it's the nature of the messageboard/blog world.