caulfield12

QUOTE(daa84 @ Apr 25, 2007 -> 07:51 PM) i feel like there was a lineup that had borchard timo and sandy.... Maybe Blum too.

QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Apr 25, 2007 -> 02:51 PM) Sorry Balta, but I don't buy all that. Coming into the season, we had OF of Podsednik-Erstad-Dye. That was the starting 3, and it was awful. The Sox were counting on a guy for LF that was one of the worst regulars in the big leagues last season, and was oft-injured. As it stands on April 25th of 2007, nothing has changed. I really don't need to go into Erstads previous numbers, because if you read this site at all, you have seen them more than once. My problem goes beyond Anderson. That really isn't my issue right now. I beleive he would be hitting better if he was playing regularly, but there is nothing to back that up, and he hasn't done much to back up that claim. He really has done nothing to show he should be the starter, and thats why I really don't have a problem with him not being in the lineup. BUT, if your not going to have Anderson in lineup, get someone in here that is significantly better. Williams didn't do that this off-season, and he should have. Heads mentioned Brady Clark. Perfect. I'm sure we could have offered the Brewers a little more than Elmer Dessens, especially due to the need we had for a quality OF that can hit LHP. I don't agree with the way Williams constructed this OF, and I expect more from this club. After the OF adventures we had last season(you were one of the Macks biggest critics), it should have been significantly upgraded. It wasn't. Brady Clark is two years older than Erstad and is another fourth outfielder. I would hardly call him a significant upgrade, plus he makes a lot more money than Darin will make this year. You can throw out OPS and it doesn't mean much, because he's never performed any pressure like Erstad has with the Angels and even on the college football field. It's like assuming Kip Wells would have pitched as well for the White Sox in 2002 and 2003 as he did for the Pirates.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Apr 25, 2007 -> 10:41 AM) OH RLY. Do you happen to know his numbers as a lead off man? And hes still better defensively. Yes, because a .344 OBP at leadoff deserves a trip to the waiver wire.

QUOTE(Craig Grebeck @ Apr 25, 2007 -> 10:11 AM) Wrong. He has a six year track record of being pretty god damn terrible at hitting. I could f***ing care less what he did during the Clinton administration. If .278 is "god damn terrible" from 2001 through 2006, what is Anderson? Anderson tries to get started April 25, 2007 BY JOE COWLEY Staff Reporter KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- While White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen was the first to admit that being a bench player and getting a start once a week, at best, wasn't the easiest way to make a living in the major leagues, he also wasn't going to have any sympathy for Brian Anderson. The seldom-used second-year player finally was in the starting lineup Tuesday night against the Kansas City Royals, and his manager wasn't about to cut him slack. ''That's his job,'' Guillen said. ''Everybody has a job in the big-league level. Everyone has a job in baseball, and unfortunately that's the job for him this year. ''I expect him to get good at-bats, like everybody else does. I'm trying to find a better situation for him right now, but it's still early in the season.'' Guillen said the biggest obstacles to getting Anderson playing time have been frequent days off, few matchups against left-handed pitchers and the stellar play of Darin Erstad in center field -- Anderson's natural position. ''Early in the season, it's hard to get him playing time,'' Guillen said. ''I try to put him in against righties just because I know how hard it is to go 10 days without playing and then all of a sudden try to perform.''

QUOTE(Controlled Chaos @ Apr 25, 2007 -> 09:18 AM) I missed the error...what happened? There was a ball hit to RCF that was a gapper and he booted it around and made a mess out of it up against the wall. This just so happened to come at a time when our bullpen was falling apart, Ozuna was running around on roller blades at the Boston Garden and we needed someone to man up pitching-wise or defensively.

QUOTE(Craig Grebeck @ Apr 25, 2007 -> 09:21 AM) CREDE HAS A HISTORY OF SUCCESS AND DOES NOT HAVE A YOUNG GUY ROTTING ON THE BENCH WHO IS BETTER THAN HIM. Caulfield, stop comparing good baseball players to Erstad. It is not the same thing. Erstad is a whole other beast just because of the situation. Yeah, Erstad is 32 and has an 11 year track record of being an above average MLB player. Crede is 29 (I think) and has one and one half seasons of real success and another 3-4 years of being a top quartile defender and a third quartile hitter. Is Crede better now? Yes, but don't assume anything in baseball. And don't keep saying someone is bad because they're coming off a season of injuries (see Dye in April/May 2005) when they have a track record behind them and you would prefer the ballclub played someone else.

QUOTE(Craig Grebeck @ Apr 25, 2007 -> 09:17 AM) How about how he hits in the two hole? Leadoff or second he is still in front of the big guys and needs to get the f***ing job done. And Caulfield, please tell me what makes Ozzie so infallible. If Ozzie wants Erstad to leadoff, it is NOT fine for me. You don't put a terrible hitter in position to get the most AB. The fact that we're playing well recently coincides with Erstad also starting to come around. Of course, it also has to do with the great starting pitching we've received (last night notwithstanding). The White Sox are tied with the Indians for the 7th best record in baseball despite playing the toughest schedule and having one of the five worst batting averages and being tied for the most blown saves during that time span. I would say that's pretty good. Nobody ever said Guillen was a great strategic manager, but he's a very good manager of personnel/people/players. That's what you need in a 162 game season, because the "geniuses" of the game might win 2-3 games by themselves, but their personal styles are often so arrogant and off-putting that they end up losing their teams some games. What did Leyland do that was so great last weekend? He beat us on a pitch-out. WOW. He used Rodney in a tie game when he was 1-3 and had an ERA of around 7 or 8. It's a lot easier to manage that Tigers' pen if you have Jamie Walker or Denys Reyes (versions 2006) than Jose Mesa, Jason Grilli and Aaron Ledezma as the key components. Ozzie is giving Logan a chance to put up or shut up...and last night, hopefully, will be something that Boone can build upon.

QUOTE(Allsox @ Apr 25, 2007 -> 07:32 AM) The jury's still out in my world on Darin Erstad. Nice game last night but one good game in the last two weeks still isn't cutting it. If Anderson had 3 hits in a SINGLE game (like the game DE had against the Tigers), of ANY variety, half of this website would be clamoring for him to be reinstalled as the starter for the rest of the season...Erstad isn't a great player (by the way, you don't get drafted first overall without having some skills), but he is a GREAT fit for this team and the mindset Ozzie is trying to instill or inculcate in this ballclub. Not only that, but Erstad has had two HUGE hits in two games, tying the game against Meche Monday and givig the White Sox (seemingly) the game winning RBI's last night. Not too shabby.

QUOTE(Craig Grebeck @ Apr 25, 2007 -> 08:37 AM) Erstad is still terrible on the season. Nice to see him play well, but Anderson needs AB right now and he needs them in CF. Erstad sorely needs to not get 600 PA so we're not paying six million for a lot of grindouts. And Caulfield, this is not little league. We do not need to "set an example" for other players. Also, wasting outs early in games is f***ing stupid. Save that bulls***, overmanaging, "fundamentally sound" baseball for late innings. Doing it early will kill a team, especially ours. We're built for the longball, so we need guys who can actually get on base, not guys who grindout to the right side. And so is Crede and AJ. Since we advanced and scored runners less effectively than a Little League team in July, August and September, why do you think Ozzie sent them to "boot camp" and placed even more emphasis on it this spring? You can trade Mauer, Morneau, Cuddyer and Hunter for Thome, Konerko, Dye and Crede without any distinguishable difference. Of course, most would rather have the Twins' players because they are younger and cheaper, but, statistically, pretty similar in terms of average, homers and RBI's produced. We simply need to get better execution from Iguchi, Mackowiak/Ozuna, Uribe, AJ and CF. And you've seen some signs of that in the last week or so. Iguchi's hitting to the right side (twice last night) to advance Erstad. Uribe's coming through with a runner on 3rd and less than 2 outs. Even Paulie is 6 for 8 in getting the runner home from 3rd with less than 2 outs. AJ hit a double to the opposite field. Anderson hit a single through the middle. Why do you think Ozzie plays Erstad? Simply to get revenge on BA, at the expense of the rest of the ballclub? That's ridiculous. Ozzie has given every pitcher a chance in big situations, and he's always been that way...this philosophy with new and younger pitchers dates back to Marte and continues through Logan and Aardsma and Masset in the late innings Sunday. If you can consistently get the job done, then you have a place in the line-up. BA has made errors in two consecutive games...one a mental one on Inge's ball Sunday, the other a physical error last night when the inning was falling apart on our relievers and we needed to keep the score tied. It's fine that he actually took a decent approach and hit a solid single up the middle, but he looks like Uribe up there usually, without the more consistent pop in his bat. Right now, his main responsibility is defense, and he's 0 for 2 in that category. With Pods out until at least June, it doesn't look like there's going to be an immediate move to send him down though, where he can play everyday and get a more positive mindset playing alongside Fields, Sweeney, Rogowski, Owens, etc. QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Apr 25, 2007 -> 08:49 AM) Let's see. Even after today, here is a guy with an embarrasing .278 OBP, and he is our leadoff hitter. And oh yeah, he was the DESIGNATED FREAKIN' HITTER last night with his horrible numbers. So to answer your questions, we're still here, and Erstad is still a joke to be starting on this ballclub. Now, if he is putting up solid leadoff hitter numbers (OBP of, say, .350) with decent defense (and is still healthy) around July, then I will gladly eat crow. But as of now, he can't even see a .300 OBP. Erstad has a career BA of .299 as a leadoff hitter. If his OBP isn't .300 by June 1st, then by all means, play Anderson/Terrero everyday and-or make a trade. The problem with that is that starting Mackowiak/Ozuna in the leadoff spot isn't exactly a great option either. Past history tells us that Erstad has been the most successful in that role of all the players on our team. Unless you want to gamble by bringing up Owens and putting him in CF, where he's not suited to play, just so we have a leadoff hitter to replace Erstad? He's batting .300 with a .344 OBP this year as the leadoff hitter. From 2004-2006 (including the injury-plagued 2006), he's still at .278 with a .330 OBP. Pods was at .351 in 2005 and .330 last year in terms of OBP. If Ozzie wants him to lead off, that's good enough for me. QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Apr 25, 2007 -> 08:49 AM) Let's see. Even after today, here is a guy with an embarrasing .278 OBP, and he is our leadoff hitter. And oh yeah, he was the DESIGNATED FREAKIN' HITTER last night with his horrible numbers. So to answer your questions, we're still here, and Erstad is still a joke to be starting on this ballclub. Now, if he is putting up solid leadoff hitter numbers (OBP of, say, .350) with decent defense (and is still healthy) around July, then I will gladly eat crow. But as of now, he can't even see a .300 OBP. Who should have been the DH with Thome out due to injury and Mack already in LF against a RH pitcher? Alex Cintron? That was the choice Ozzie had, and I don't think Cintron's 100% yet (fielding or hitting) since that surgery or Ozzie would be playing him more.

QUOTE(Craig Grebeck @ Apr 25, 2007 -> 08:39 AM) The difference between Paulie and Erstad is immeasurable. It's like comparing apples and some fruit no one's ever heard of. I still want to DFA him, good game tonight or not. A sub .600 OPS is horrible, especially for a guy who gets so many AB. So we should DFA Crede too? He's only at .594, despite the homer last night.

QUOTE(BigSqwert @ Apr 25, 2007 -> 06:54 AM) *raises hand* Not only that, but Thornton's fastball is down 2-3 MPH as well...there's a difference between 94 and 96-97, we're seeing it with some of our other relievers as well. When you don't have much movement and you drop down in velocity like that, you risk becoming another Alan Embree. On the plus side, Logan manned up and got out of that inning instead of totally imploding, as many might have expected. Sisco's overall stats "appear" good on paper, but he's been shaky recently.

QUOTE(Wanne @ Apr 25, 2007 -> 01:43 AM) Dude...I think 9 for his last 27 is a nice start. He's a career .299 hitter in the leadoff position. You can't do that easily and still "suck" as everyone claims. Is he going to win the Triple Crown, no? Will he be a player that White Sox fans will slowly grow to appreciate, yes! I'm sure many will be saying next year, gee, it would be nice to have someone who could accomplish A, B, C or D instead of flailing away or swinging for the fences. Someone to set an example for the other players, so that our entire team gets in the mindset of playing fundamentally sound baseball.

QUOTE(southsideirish71 @ Apr 25, 2007 -> 12:14 AM) Pablo Ozuna our protection for our number 4 hitter. I don't think Gordon has ever played 1B...at least not in the pros.

QUOTE(Jimbo @ Apr 25, 2007 -> 12:11 AM) they hate sweeney. it's because he makes $11 million and has been consistently injured for much of the last 3 years...almost to the point where many thought he might retire that's a big chunk of their payroll, along with Meche...those two players make up around 35% of the team in those two "baskets"

QUOTE(SoxAce @ Apr 25, 2007 -> 12:08 AM) He's a good looking pitcher. One of rare future studs KC has as far as pitching. Not sure how I feel about Jenks coming in for the bottom of the 9th in a tie game with the Tigers' series looming and Danks pitching tomorrow, which means we'll definitely use Masset, Aardsma, Sisco and much of the pen again. And what the heck is wrong with Thornton?

QUOTE(fathom @ Apr 25, 2007 -> 12:05 AM) Wow, nice pitch....bad AB. Let's get a run, and end this game. Don't mind working around Grudz, even though it was dangerous to put a run on second base. That slurve was pretty nasty tonight. I still don't think a reliever for the White Sox has gotten two consecutive hitters out in this game. Pretty pathetic, but it will be a lot easier to stomach if we can win this game, but Soria has been nasty and the Royals' best pitcher so far this season.

QUOTE(mr_genius @ Apr 24, 2007 -> 11:54 PM) well, this should be interesting On the plus side, MacDougal got a pitch up to 97 MPH tonight, lol.

QUOTE(beautox @ Apr 24, 2007 -> 11:51 PM) Lovely, walk their #9 hitter so we can face DeJesus. Sisco or Logan?

QUOTE(TheBigHurt @ Apr 24, 2007 -> 11:47 PM) Because Ozzie sucks. Lol, not sure if I really meant that, just thought it would be fun to say Quote of the night from Paul Splittorff. BA looks like "a right-handed version of Kirk Gibson."

QUOTE(beautox @ Apr 24, 2007 -> 11:22 PM) sweet. 6 blown saves, we're now tied for the worst in MLB

QUOTE(Vance Law @ Apr 24, 2007 -> 10:48 PM) Erstad can't hit a ball that hard. He did last night to tie the game. Ozzie's confidence in Erstad is starting to pay dividends. And we're doing all of this without Pods in the line-up.

QUOTE(mr_genius @ Apr 24, 2007 -> 10:42 PM) oh yea, i'd take that. wonder what they would want for Rowand. Anderson and who else? Heath Phillips or Haeger? LOL. Maybe we could throw in Lopez, Rogowski and Angel Gonzalez while we're at it.

QUOTE(CWSGuy406 @ Apr 24, 2007 -> 10:38 PM) I still have my eye on Baldelli. Too many OFers for that team. I wanted Dukes until you and Cheat informed me about his problems not only off the field, but with his teammates. In fact, I wouldn't be totally averse to sending Dye to a west coast team for a pitching 'spect and then sending that 'spect and some of our lesser arms to Tampa for Rocco. They could probably send Dye to the Angels for Saunders and Willits/Aybar and then flip Saunders to the D-Rays with someone to get Baldelli.... Another idea would be to get Kotchmann, McPherson or Morales on the cheap, and put Fields in LF.

QUOTE(Capn12 @ Apr 24, 2007 -> 10:37 PM) We'd have to get a major 'good vibe hometown' discount for Dye to be back here next year. Maybe they can start playing the classic Bond theme "Live or Let Die" more often at games when the other team's bullpen is in trouble and JD is up at bat...Jane Seymour was hot back then.

QUOTE(Heads22 @ Apr 24, 2007 -> 10:33 PM) I'd like to see us center a package around McCulloch. What would that get us? Not much.