caulfield12

QUOTE(StrangeSox @ Apr 24, 2007 -> 09:29 AM) If he gets 600 AB's, doesn't he have a clause in the contract that kicks in for $6 million? Yes, which is a lot better than guaranteeing $18 million to an older player IMO. And he has to earn his 600 at-bats, and to do so, he would have to be healthy nearly the entire season. If he's healthy, he's proven that he can be a significant contributor to a playoff-caliber baseball team.

QUOTE(StrangeSox @ Apr 24, 2007 -> 09:18 AM) ESPN's splits. I think you're missing the point that, barring a big mid-season trade, we're stuck with these players. I agree that KW sort of dropped the ball with the OF this offseason, but the roster is what it is. KW didn't drop the ball. If he had done nothing besides going into the season with Anderson and Terrero and a prayer, THAT would be dropping the ball. At the same time, he ensured that Pods would have a back-up in Mackowiak not playing out of position, instead of having to play Mack in CF. You might not like Erstad, but getting him for $1 milllion is almost as big of a bargain as Dye's contract. We could be getting worse production from Dave Roberts and be stuck paying him $18 million for three years just as easily. There wasn't much out there, would anyone be happy with Preston Wilson's defense and overrated bat in CF instead? I really think we get too emotionally invested in some of the White Sox position prospects because we want so badly for them to become a legit, home-grown star. We haven't had any since Crede, Maggs and C-Lee. Unfortunately, I don't think BA will be one, and I don't hold KW's acquisition of Erstad against Darin, like some seem to. Ozzie and KW have both answered questions on this topic in recent days, it's just that many posters here disagree with them. That's all fine and good, we're all entitled to our opinions, but I guarantee Ozzie is not sitting in the hotel room right now worried about Erstad's OBP or OPS. QUOTE(StrangeSox @ Apr 24, 2007 -> 09:23 AM) ESPN's splits. I think you're missing the point that, barring a big mid-season trade, we're stuck with these players. I agree that KW sort of dropped the ball with the OF this offseason, but the roster is what it is. FWIW, Brian's OBP is actually higher than Erstad's THIS year. There's no reason to talk about BA (from a statistical analysis POV) if he has less than 50 or even 100 at-bats.

QUOTE(Brian @ Apr 24, 2007 -> 09:10 AM) Borowski gave up 6 runs in the 9th against the Yankees just last week to blow a save. Ironic, but not a blown save. Entered 9th with a 6-2 lead, and you can't pitch your way into a save situation (for yourself). http://www.usatoday.com/sports/scores107/1...9/MLB733397.htm

We all went through this last year...hopefully not again this year! Did anyone notice the Yankees are 0 for 6 in converting saves. OTOH, the Indians haven't blown one all year, although they did lose a 3-0 lead yesterday against the Twins, only to hold on in extras. http://www.kansascity.com/180/story/81478.html 2005 was easy for Ozzie with the pen, last year was a b---h.

QUOTE(chisoxfan79 @ Apr 24, 2007 -> 12:57 AM) What was even better it was against the CUBS Most recent power ratings.... CNNSI 13th (up from 19) ESPN 17th (down from 13?) this is why the ratings make no sense, this article came out after Thursday's games, so we had just beaten Oakland 2/3 on the road, had a no hitter and took 2/3 from the Rangers and we went down??? DUMB, DUMB, DUMB (I think the same guy had the Angels at 25th) cbssportsline (were 22nd, new rankings out today)

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Apr 24, 2007 -> 06:47 AM) ^ I was thinking the samething with the two threads on the front page. Anyways, it was nice to see Pauly take the team and put it on his back tonight. http://www.suntimes.com/sports/baseball/wh...T-sox24.article Don't Stop Believin' is BACK again in the clubhouse...discuss/debate, lol.

QUOTE(kyyle23 @ Apr 24, 2007 -> 07:56 AM) Jeremy who? Ooops, Andrew.

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Apr 24, 2007 -> 07:30 AM) One interesting thing I caught the other day in the Sunday Trib, which I haven't yet seen mentioned is that Ozzie seems to be happy enough with Logan that he is talking about carrying 12 pitchers again when Podsednik gets back. That logically would mean a bus ticket for Brian Anderson, but that remains to be seen. Under KW, only Rowand and Crede have come up and become regular MLB players (over a 5-6 year time span), and neither of these guys was ready to be a regular player when they came up, taking 2-3 years to come into their own. The reality is that the White Sox don't feel they have the luxury to be patient with BA (after last year, not when they're in a "win now" mode with 3 other teams breathing down their necks)...just like they couldn't be patient with Joe Borchard and let him struggle for 2-3 months like Anderson did.

QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Apr 24, 2007 -> 12:10 AM) Which is exactly the problem alot of us have. Anderson got just under 400 AB's last season. A good amount, but a young player needs more. At least give Anderson a chance to fail. Right now, he isn't even getting a shot, and right now, it looks like he probably wont again with this organization, which is a shame. The only thing the organization cares about is who gives us the better shot to win THIS year. There will be plenty of time for BA to play next year if DE doesn't work out and the Sox miss the playoffs again.

QUOTE(witesoxfan @ Apr 24, 2007 -> 02:08 AM) yeah it does, but damn I have enough confidence in this offense right now that I really think they'll score enough runs tomorrow, the fact that they haven't faced him be damned. http://www.weather.com/outlook/events/spor...&begDay=114 This game looks to be in serious jeopardy at this point. It would be nice to have won 6/7 going into the DET series, then again, maybe it would be even better for Vazquez to shake his Craig Monroe demons and shut down the kittens.

QUOTE(TheHolyBovine @ Apr 24, 2007 -> 01:48 AM) I need to spell out the problem for some of you: Pods, Erstad, and Anderson don't hit very well. Two of them (Pods and Erstad) never will again because of their age, and Anderson has about an 18% chance of becoming mediocre. Arguing about whether Erstad or Anderson should start is missing the point, IMO. Neither of them should be starting on a championshp team, and Pods wouldn't be a very useful player unless he hit .330. I love KW, and I like the offseason moves he made. I agreed with his return on Garcia and McCarthy, and he did a nice job revamping the bullpen. However, KW's #1 priority this offseason was to add a legit outfield bat. The logical assumption was that he would add a LF. Well, he didn't. He resigned Pods. That's ok if you sign Pods below market value (which he did). The problem is that if you resign Pods, you MUST then upgrade at CF. I thnk it was proven beyond a doubt last year that Pods and Anderson cannot be in the same lineup without significantly diminishing the number of runs a team could potentially score. The only thing worse than an OF that includes Pods and Anderson is an OF that includes Pods and Erstad. Erstad wasn't really very good when he was good, which was a long time ago. The signing of Erstad as a potential starter is inexcusable; he should only be a 5th OF at this point, and really...why would you want him for that role? Not only is Erstad useless as a player, but he compounds, magnifies, and duplicates the original problem -- KW did not upgrade at LF. And I'm not talking about getting Carl Crawford, either. A guy like Scott Hairston could have been had for nothing this offseason...Maybe he still could, I don't know. KW will do something, I just hope it's soon. It doesn't take much to improve from the offensive production of Pods or Erstad. Neither Pods nor Erstad will be wearing a CWS uniform in 2008. Well, Iguchi is useless to the White Sox too, because his composite 05/06 line is similar to Erstad from 2001 through 2005, not counting the lost 06 season. In fact, most SABR people would say Erstad and Rowand are indistinguishable (except for the K's and Darin having more SB's and playing BETTER defense), and we won with Rowand in CF and Uribe at SS, something I wouldn't have believed possible. We're going to score our runs with the middle of our line-up...and it doesn't matter who you play in LF, as long as they have at least a .320 OBP. The main thing that matters is having a pitching staff with a sub 4.00 ERA. If we do that, it won't matter who is in CF. Signing Roberts, Pierre and Matthews would have been stupid. KW is not stupid. Just as he will not spend the type of money the Cubs did for Soriano to get Andruw Jones, who almost every single GM covets MORE than Soriano. The White Sox will not give him a 5-6 year deal, same with Ichiro. The only player I see them taking a chance on is Hunter, if he breaks down this season and KW can put together an incentives-based deal like he did with Erstad, although he would have to guarantee $5-6-7 million no matter what, probably more. And Hunter strikes out too much and is on the downside of his career, so I don't think he goes this direction either.

QUOTE(CWSGuy406 @ Apr 23, 2007 -> 11:34 PM) I love the implied assumption here that Brian Anderson will be no better than his 2006 numbers. Apparently young players don't get better. And apparently it's smart to bank on 32 year olds who haven't been good in over six years. Erstad is almost exactly identical to Iguchi over 2005-06 if you average out his composite 2001-2005 seasons. More stolen bases, fewer homers and RBI's, mostly due to his spot in the batting order. I wouldn't say that Iguchi was anything more than a "winning" player to the Sox during that timespan, yet Erstad is "horrible" because everyone keeps comparing 01-05 with 00. Erstad/Rowand....they're complementary players, but the White Sox can definitely win with either in CF, although they would be fourth outfielders on some teams. And until I see Anderson show that he has tightened up his swing and can do it against righties and lefties, then I want Erstad out there 5-6 games per week in CF. Well, you can do the same for all the seasons from 00 leading up to 06 for Frank Thomas too, except Thomas was 37-38, not 32. QUOTE(CWSGuy406 @ Apr 23, 2007 -> 11:39 PM) Nope -- apparently you didn't read my post. I would've been perfectly happy with keeping Eduardo Perez, cutting (or trading) Podsednik, and going with Mack/Ozuna/Anderson-Terrero in LF. Or going with one of the older OFers who got one year deals -- Trot Nixon or Moises Alou. Either of these options is better than going with Podsednik. He's basically Darin Erstad except he sucks defensively and is limited to one position (the easiest position). So you'd be willing to go with Ozuna/Mackowiak or Iguchi as your leadoff hitter the entire season?

QUOTE(Chisoxfn @ Apr 23, 2007 -> 11:32 PM) I wouldn't be shocked if that was the case (Erstad hitting in the low .200's on June 5th) that the Sox gave Sweeney the starters job to see what he could do (and if he didn't produce you'd see the Sox trade for a stop-gap). Right now I think Sweeney is the CF of the future. I hate writing off BA because he's talented but he's in a tough spot. However, some time in AAA could really change things. He could get consistent playing time and hopefully he's already began improving his attitude and earn himself a fresh start next time he comes back up. I'm not buying it. I think KW knows that Sweeney is only a "plus" defender in LF or RF. Of course, he might not be a "plus" bat at either of those positions, whereas you can hide his lack of power in the middle of the diamond a little more easily, especially if you're getting 20+ homers from Uribe and Iguchi and 15 from AJ. But the ideal defensive line-up for the White Sox major league club will never include Ryan Sweeney in CF, IMO. They can send him out there everyday in Charlotte and he can become an average MLB CF (due to his arm strength), but that's about the maximum upside.

QUOTE(CWSGuy406 @ Apr 23, 2007 -> 11:26 PM) You seem to be under the assumption that Scott Podsednik is worth any money whatsoever. He's not. What does he do well? Get on base? Nope -- it's been more than a year-and-a-half since Pods has gotten on base consistently. Steal bases well? Nope -- last year, without even counting pickoffs, Podsednik stealing percentage was 67%. That's not good. Need I mention getting caught not once but TWICE by Victor Martinez early this season...? Plays defense well? Nope -- his arm sucks and he gets awful reads in LF. Tell me -- would this team miss a beat if Podsednik were to be cut and the Sox went out and picked up Eduardo Perez? I certainly don't think so. A Mackowiak/Ozuna/Anderson (or Terrero rather than BA) platoon could do a much better job than Pods. Since you're very ignorant, I'm not going to get too upset about this. You're talking to one of the few people who wasn't flipping s*** about the Garcia trade; one of the few people who, at the time of the trade, said that the talent package we were receiving from Texas was similar or better than B-Mac (I had other gripes about the trade, let it be understood); and one of many who liked the Vazquez resigning. Outside of the Podsednik deal, I loved KW's offseason. He made us better in 2008 and beyond, and the "step-back" that was supposed to be there in 2007 might not even be that huge (if at all). Yes -- it was fine in terms of the market value, but I don't really want to compare Kenny to either of those GMs. The Matthews deal was a stupid one from the moment it was signed -- giving a guy who has his best season at age 31 (?) a multi-year deal. Ditto the Pierre deal. Podsednik just isn't a very good ballplayer, as I've noted above. He hasn't been for a year in a half. For him to be effective at all, he needs to be able to run really fast. And when he tries to run really fast, he gets hurt. So you would rather that KW gave Dave Roberts $18 million over 3 years at his age? At least Pods is only getting $2.9 million and we can jettison him after this season. http://baseball.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=6305 KW did a great job of getting us a younger Dave Roberts with more upside (Erstad) and very little to no downside monetarily.

QUOTE(santo=dorf @ Apr 23, 2007 -> 11:12 PM) Well you keep telling us how good a healthy Erstad is, and so far a healthy Erstad looks like s***. Erstad's numbers this year are worse than that guy GETTING THE SHAFT's numbers last April. Erstad sucks and needs time off. That's why you don't play him. How many HUGE base hits did Anderson get to drive in runs when we really needed them, like Erstad's to tie the game against the Royals' ace, Meche? It might have happened 2-3 times all last season. I'll go with Erstad. If he's still hitting .200-.225 on June 5th, then I would certainly be willing to look at giving Anderson or Terrero a shot. His bat has been coming around the last week or so, and those "seeing eye" hits are exactly what most hitters need to feel the momentum is turning in their direction. Baseball is 90% mental, and Erstad's 18 months removed from being an everyday regular.

QUOTE(southsideirish @ Apr 23, 2007 -> 10:44 PM) To me it looked like Dye lost the ball in the lights mid dive the way he turned his head. I really doubt Mack moves out there for Dye. Dye has never looked fast, ever, but he gets to a lot of balls. He has a long stride, he is 6'5". As far as Erstad goes, he has been hitting good for a while now. He has been smacking line drives for about a week or so, unfortunately just at people. The last couple of days those hard line drives have been hits instead of outs. He is going to be a damn good pick up for this team if healthy. It might have been the lights...Dye definitely didn't get a good read on it, and he kind of took an akward backhand dive at it, whereas he should have at least kept the ball in front of him. I was in the RF bleachers and it happened right in front of me. I guess it's just enough that Konerko and Crede are finally coming around and the Twins are about to lose in extra innings, so all four teams in the AL Central are within 1/2 game now, and the White Sox have had the toughest schedule to date.

I was at the game tonight and his velocity is slowly climbing, as some expected/predicted. Consistently 95-96 on the gun, which is a legit reading. A few 94's. Sisco and MacDougal were both geeked up to face the former teams, especially Sisco. Jeremy was throwing 94-95 and Mike 95-96, which is the hardest each has thrown this season (that I've seen). Erstad also is starting to get dialed in...the RBI single up the middle was the hardest hit ball on the night, and he also hit a liner to CF that was caught. By the way, Jermaine really should have had that ball in the 9th inning. He looks very slow out there...I think we'll see Mackowiak moving over there and Anderson in LF more and more frequently. Would be nice to take out Brian Bannister, who really struggled in the spring after being expected to make the Royals' rotation as the #4 or 5. And the Royals' bullpen really is a mess. This is the right time to be playing them, despite their 2/3 against the Twins this weekend. Interesting gamesmanship from Ozzie, I know he didn't want to let Ross Gload get a clutch hit to beat him. Most impressive thing was that the White Sox came back twice against Meche. Lowlight was Sisco's wildness and Matt Thornton continuing to struggle, although he did get the final out in the 8th to keep the White Sox from picking up their 6th blown save in 18 games.

QUOTE(IowaSoxFan @ Apr 23, 2007 -> 01:41 PM) A few things that I got from the game. Massett pitched well to begin with but seemed to lose his control quickly. Bringing in Logan was the right call because you get a cold bat off the bench and hopefully you get him to hit into the double play. Unfortunately Logan didnt appear to have much control either, and that may have been nerves as that is the biggest spot that I think he has been in. I think that Ozzie should tweak the batting order for a little while, move Konerko up to third so he sees better pitches, and drop Thome to fourth so that he has Dye protecting him. I think BA is doing everything he can to get sent to Charlotte. I thought the bullpen performed well, outside of a couple pitches, I would have rather had Mac in there, but he has been worked pretty hard. I guess the situation against CLE was the last comparable one for Logan, when he gave up the homer to Hafner in April of 06? QUOTE(IowaSoxFan @ Apr 23, 2007 -> 02:12 PM) I think Boone will be fine and the experience he is getting now can pay off in August and September. What will tell the most about him is how he comes out and throws next time. It sucks to lose now, but if he would have came through in that spot that would have been a huge confidence builder, unfortunately it didnt pan out but hopefully they can build off it and make each of the young relievers a better as the year goes on. I would like to have seen a six man rotation last year in June and July, I know that is frowned upon, but the way our pitchers were throwing I think they could have used the extra rest. It seems like Garland, Contreras and even Buehrle might have the tendency to overthrow a little with an extra day of rest. Garland's more effective at 88-90 than 90-92 if he can keep his sinker down. Contreras seems to get a better forkball the more he works....I think it's great in theory, but it is almost never done for a significant amount of time at the big league level anymore. And it's pretty hard to take an athlete with pride like Buehrle or Garcia off the mound unless you can prove to them conclusively that something is wrong with them physically.

QUOTE(CWSGuy406 @ Apr 23, 2007 -> 08:59 AM) What do Sunday's stats have to do with anything? Placing Erstad, a guy who's OBP over his last 700 ABs is bordering .320, at the top of ANY lineup isn't a good idea, period. Five softly hit, perfectly placed singles aren't going to change anyone's mind about that. The point is, people are selectively leaving out yesterday's stats to make their case. Erstad won't have another 2000 season, but he's not as bad as he has shown recently, because he wasn't healthy. We all know from watching Thomas from 2001-2005 that a player in his 30's (and Erstad's now only 32, not 37 or 38 like Thomas in 2006) can have a very good season if he feels 100%. You have to remember that Erstad missed almost the entire season, of course he's going to be rusty. Look how long it took Thomas to get started last year, he looked like a candidate for release in April and May before he finally got his "muscle memory" back and started clicking on all cylinders. If Erstad is still struggling around .200 in late May or early June, then we can talk. Heck, wasn't Dye in this same position in April/May 2005? I vividly recall one year a veteran Tim Raines came out of the gate more slowly than Erstad. All I know is that when your biggest possible contribution is defensively and you're inserted into just such a situation and through a mental error (Detroit announcers called BA "nonchalant"), you put the winning run on 2nd without having to give up an out via a sacrifice, there's no longer any reason for you to be on the team. He hasn't shown the ability to hit for power minus 2 AB's against Felix Hernandez and he can't get a stolen base when needed, so what purpose does he serve?

QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Apr 22, 2007 -> 09:33 PM) Not only staying in the lineup, but in the leadoff spot. I'm sure you didn't include Sunday's stats in those lines, did you?

QUOTE(SoxAce @ Apr 22, 2007 -> 08:37 PM) I see you don't know much about him. That kid is a serious stud. Byrd beat Contreras, the best pitcher in baseball, in the 2005 playoffs. Kennedy looked like a stud when he was coming up in TB, b4 getting lost in Colorado. Tejeda at least has good stuff. Carlos Silva has had stretches in the last five years that he was VERY good, but not as much recently. Gaudin is a classic 5th starter, but he's not horrible either.

QUOTE(Flash Tizzle @ Apr 22, 2007 -> 08:30 PM) Yes. As well as the writers from Baseball America, Hardball Times, Baseball Think Factory, and whichever free-lance scout signed Francisco Liriano. Of course there is. Guillen and Williams knew the right people, played professional baseball, and were afforded the opportunity to continue within the sport beyond their playing days. I don't know for sure whether or not I know more about baseball then Guillen. I do know from his on-field decision making he's hardly a genius. Which is what I originally addressed. What I would like to know is what BA is actually responsible for today? Anything? Apparently, every mistake (even defensively) is excused because of inconsistent playing time and Ozzie's "vendetta" against BA, which was exemplified (to BA supporters) by his comments about Erstad being a better defender (for now). I wonder what would happen if Erstad broke his ankle tomorrow, BA hit .220 for 2 months, and his supporters would still be saying "Ozzie didn't want him to succeed, he would be better off in that Texas clubhouse." QUOTE(hitlesswonder @ Apr 22, 2007 -> 08:42 PM) Erstad is a better player than Anderson right now. The best CF on the roster is starting everyday. The two problems with that are 1. I don't think the best CF on the roster is good. 2. Erstad shouldn't be anywhere near the top of the order. After Anderson's lack of hustle in the OF today, I think he should be in Charlotte or simply waived. It seems like he may have given up on the Sox, and he should get a shot to turn it around someplace else. Williams needs to be looking for a starting CF. Well, Gathright and Baldelli are it...unless you prefer Willits?

QUOTE(Jay @ Apr 22, 2007 -> 01:15 PM) It's the only way to get him off of the field. I don't really have anything against Erstad. I'd like Erstad as a fourth OF and backup 1B. I wouldn't mind using the rare managerial trade to ship Ozzie to anywhere on Earth, either. I'm tired of having a manager that thinks what "the team needs" is an automatic grounder hit right to the second baseman every at-bat with weak-to-mediocre defense in center field. Anyone else believe that Ozzie is watching Erstad's game tape from 2000? I can't believe that I spent all of 2005 thinking that Ozzie and "grinding" was part of the reason we won. I feel dirty! Which is one dollar more than you could get for Brian Anderson. Parents can "gift" a car to a child for $1 and a change of the title, but we can't find a taker for BA I'm afraid. Even the DET announcers mentioned he was "nonchalant" about fielding Inge's "double." Everyone in baseball (except BA) knows that Inge can run as well as any corner infielder in MLB. And I've NEVER seen BA try to change his approach at the plate. I don't care if you sit on the bench or are part of the bullpen unexpectedly (McCarthy's excuse), you can't take Crede/Rowand 2002 swings and just flail away up there without making an attempt to shorten up your swing and go the other way, like Crede did against Zumaya yesterday. QUOTE(witesoxfan @ Apr 22, 2007 -> 06:59 PM) uhhhh...??? Simple. There's "potential" and there's a baseball player. BA is like Borchard right now, a gifted athlete who happens to have chosen baseball. Even if he's no longer a great player, Erstad intuitively understands situations on the field, and does what it takes to get the job done, such as hustling out of the box to prevent a double play. I think Ozzie realizes BA would just be another "free swinger" at the bottom of the order and he was hoping that Pods and Erstad at the top of the order would rub off on the mentality of the rest of the team. I think Uribe has that ability to at least understand how to get a runner in from 3rd with two outs or less...at least he does it better than anyone on our team, despite his other AB's throughout a game.

QUOTE(fathom @ Apr 22, 2007 -> 03:39 PM) But Garcia's injured and will never pitch in the majors again. It was a different trade, but Hirsh looks fantastic for the Rockies so far. The funny thing is that many "insiders" were predicting Jennings would be the second most valuable commodity after Zambrano on the FA Market next offseason. I think Buehrle might be #1 right now, possibly over Zambrano based on "value" to a team. Zambrano might end up a huge bust with a team like the Yankees, Red Sox, Mariners or Angels.

QUOTE(southsideirish71 @ Apr 22, 2007 -> 06:16 PM) Lets see how we do against the Royals, who have played us tough and have cost us in the past before we talk about the Twinks. The twins and the Tigers last year have made a history of beating bad teams, and playing decent against good teams. The key to this year is beating teams like the Royals. If we play like we did against the Tigers this weekend against good teams, and roll the bad teams we are gong to the playoffs. If we struggle against bad teams this year, its going to be tough. The royals are a better barometer of how we have progressed. Our killer instinct against bad teams has be poor. As far as Aardsma today. How he got beat, thats okay to me If you get beat on a fastball or pitching to a hitter. Tip your cap. If you get beat by walking a bunch of people and then giving it up. Then you feel like you got punched in the stomach. With our pitching we should have the twinks record if not better. The Tigers were 45-30 against the AL Central last year. We don't need to put up our 2005 record, but we need to go 12-7 or 13-6 against the Royals, that's for sure. We're one game under against the Central right now, I think. The encouraging signs are Buehrle, the fact that we actually won 2/3 at Oakland and now we've taken 2/3 against DET and almost swept. If we could only figure out how to contain the Indians' offense and/or beat Sabathia, we'd be okay. We also have 5 blown saves to lead the AL, with three leading to losses (Cleveland Game 2, at Oakland and now today). In the overall scheme of things, we should be 3 games over .500 (10-7), because we came back at Oakland in Game 3 against Duscherer and Street and we didn't deserve yesterday's game at all. Of course, coming into today, New York is 0 for 5 in saves (as a team). Pretty amazing. Well, they say you can't win it in April, but you can lose it, and 1 1/2 games behind is definitely not out of the race, right?