caulfield12

QUOTE(soxfan3530 @ Apr 6, 2007 -> 09:30 AM) I think of those three Masset has the best chance to start. No way for Thornton. I like Gio and Haeger and think they will be good pitchers for us in the future. If Baseball Prospectus actually likes ANYTHING connected with the White Sox, it makes me leery. Which is probably why I'm down on Haeger, because almost nothing they say is correct. In reality, you just assume the direct opposite of whatever they say. Masset has the better control (from his minor league numbers), Sisco a better WHIP by about .20, at any rate it seems like control is probably the most important thing to the White Sox at the big league level, so that definitely favors Masset, although some believe Sisco has slightly better pure stuff.

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/T/Matt-Thornton.shtml Matt Thornton, 80 minor league starts, 1 in the majors. Will turn 31 in September. http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/S/Andy-Sisco.shtml Andy Sisco, 65 minor league starts, just turned 24. http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/M/Nick-Masset.shtml Nick Masset, 104 minor league starts, about to turn 25. My opinion, it's a little bit late for Thornton, and I think he's been relieving too long, and relying on just a couple of pitches, to make an effective transition. Sisco, being a lefthander, and having the organizational depth with Thornton and Logan, would seem the most attractive bet (and he's the youngest), but there can be lots of arguments made for Masset as well. If Danks/Floyd/Gio don't evolve into 1-3 caliber starters, the odds are KW will try to convert at least 2 of these 3 guys (if not all three) into starters for next year, as there are no quick fixes in the rotation. Sure, Haeger, Broadway, Phillips or McCullogh could come in as a five or possibly four, but that's about it. I think there are too many health concerns with MacDougal for him to ever go back to starting. Finally, there's Adam Russell. What are the odds that any of these pitchers could ever be a legit 1-2 starter to fit into the rotation with Jose, Garland and Vazquez? Floyd (15%) Gio (30%) Danks (50%) Sisco (40%) Masset (40%) Russell (25%) I guess the way I look at it, I don't expect more than two of those guys to make it, but that would be fine, because we all feel pretty confident Haeger and maybe Broadway can slot in as the #5. Just guessing...feel free to debate/discuss.

QUOTE(southsida86 @ Apr 6, 2007 -> 12:28 AM) Masset has great movement on his 4 seamer. it tails in on rightys and away on leftys. His non fastball stuff looks to be superb. His sinker and curve were awesome, changeup looked good, but his slider looked only ok. If his fastball is at 93-96 right now, then I expect some serious heat mid-season. I think he'll be a starter next year though, because Buehrle is going to walk, and I think Kenny is going to trade Jon during the offseason. I think the only way he becomes a starter is if Floyd and Gonzalez really struggle and it appears neither of them can be 1-3 caliber starters. Then you have to look at the arsenals of Thornton, Sisco and Masset and determine which of them is best suited for starting. Clearly, Masset has the most experience and would seem to have the advantage, at this point. OTOH, if Sisco or Thornton could make it as a starter, you would effectively be replacing Buehrle with another lefty starter (the most valuable commodity in MLB) and you could bring up Logan (a move everyone wanted anyway) and you would still have two quality lefties on the big league team. There's some thought that Adam Russell isn't far from being able to replace Aardsma/Masset/MacDougal, so that bears watching as well. Finally, Gio Gonzalez could be put into that Buehrle 2000 role, grooming him as a starter, like the Sox at one point hoped to do with Neal Cotts and Brandon McCarthy.

QUOTE(beautox @ Apr 6, 2007 -> 12:27 AM) The Rays actually have a good amount of good SP both and the milb and mlb level Kazmir + Shields(solid 3/4) with more room to improve Jacob McGee, Jeff Niemann, Wade Davis and then you figure they'll prolly grab LHP David Price as the first pick, thats a pretty stacked Rotation. It appears they've got their closer of the future in Juan Salas and if Orvella can put it together again like '05, he'll be a decent set up man. I'm going to be very interested in how they approach the draft this year itd be nice to see them take good College BP arms, because that appears to be their future weakness. If i was in the Rays FO, as soon as Cantu puts together anything solid at AAA ship him off for anything, and with regards to Baldelli id be looking for 3/4 SP and two good up and coming BP arm. Their future looks bright OF - Crawford, Dukes, Young MI - Reid Brignac, Upton CI - Evan Longoria, Akinori Iwamura C - Dioner Navarro Looks like they finally found a position for Upton at 2B. I wonder if KW would take a run at Cantu to replace Iguchi? Tadahito will be 33, but Cantu's not the type of middle infielder you want with a young pitching staff. That organization has had bad luck with Gomes and Cantu looking like future stars one year and then practically falling off the map the next. But both of those guys are going to be heavily scouted for possible acquisitions.

QUOTE(Gene Honda Civic @ Apr 5, 2007 -> 10:50 PM) Dukes is playing because Baldelli has a strained hamstring that they're trying to protect. If anything, they'll try to spin Dukes' hot start into something just to be rid of the headaches while getting something of value in return. Baldelli is injury-prone. QUOTE(Kalapse @ Apr 5, 2007 -> 10:44 PM) You're seriously overrating some Sox players and underrating some insanely talented Tampa players. And when did they name that psychopath Dukes their starting CF? He's probably the 1 baseball player most likely to go all OJ on someone's ass in the coming years. Just because they supposedly (I'm not buying it) have no place for Rocco doesn't mean they're going to just sell him off for garbage like Anderson and Rogowski (and yes that is garbage considering what they could get from basically any other team). Gio Gonzalez and Broadway for Crawford? Didn't they turn down a Santana/Figgins deal just last season? I know Santana was involved in the deal with another player but they wanted Woods included in the deal instead. Brandon Wood is the best SS prospect in the game today, in the minds of many scouts. They'll trade Erick Aybar, but I don't think they will part so easily with Wood.

QUOTE(CWSGuy406 @ Apr 5, 2007 -> 10:38 PM) Haha. Green = sarcasm, just so you know. UGH, first the "teal police" at WSI, now "green" sarcasm. Oh, well.

QUOTE(ChWRoCk2 @ Apr 5, 2007 -> 10:05 PM) Man they have to let the Dice K stuff go to rest, yes he pitched a good game but every second I hear his name and see him on TV. For starters it was the royals, nothing overwhelming for a start. Mariners should face a tougher challenge at the plate, might be a little more challenging. They just have to let the hype rest, Id rather hear more on Bonds. You think there will be less hype with Ichiro leading off the game against Dice-K, at FENWAY? That's a good one. It will get more media mentions than the mini-series "The Day After" Just wait until you see all the "dice sets" hanging from Red Sox hats and car mirrors...

QUOTE(Kalapse @ Apr 5, 2007 -> 09:50 PM) If they have no place to play Baldelli then why the hell would they want another outfielder in Anderson? Because they want to save money and Anderson is much cheaper. QUOTE(witesoxfan @ Apr 5, 2007 -> 10:00 PM) Baldelli costs Gio and Broadway (give or take) no, the last thing the Sox can really afford to trade right now is pitching if they're not getting pitching back in return. If we give up Gio and Broadway in one trade, we better get the equivalent of Carl Crawford, not Rocco Baldelli. QUOTE(Kalapse @ Apr 5, 2007 -> 09:50 PM) If they have no place to play Baldelli then why the hell would they want another outfielder in Anderson? Here's why, they don't want to pay a "bench" player this type of money. 2007: $750,000, 2008: $2.25 million, 2009: $6 million club option w/$4 million buyout, 2010: $8 million club option, 2011: $9 million club option, 2012: Free Agent

QUOTE(Kalapse @ Apr 5, 2007 -> 09:41 PM) When did Brian N. Anderson start pitching? They're not dealing Baldelli for anything less than a stud pitching prospect to start plus a piece. Why would anyone give up a stud pitching prospect for Baldelli when TB has no place to play him? They will want to get something back in return, and I think the price will go downward as Dukes continues to impress. Young, quality starting pitching will always be more valuable than power-challenged outfielders. They're crazy if they think we would give them Danks or Gio....Floyd or Broadway would be more likely.

QUOTE(FlaCWS @ Apr 5, 2007 -> 08:47 PM) I am very high on Haeger. I thought he should've been the 5th starter ahead of Danks, mostly because I think he's more major-league ready than Danks. We have not heard the last of Charlie. If Haeger was the starter for Danks, it sounds like they might be willing to proclaim us a .500 team again, instead of 72-90. ;-) I would be pretty shocked if Kenny Williams has ever read something they've printed deliberately (on his own), without some aggrieved Sox fan or administrative type giving it to KW for bulletin board material first...

With the way Erstad has played, it's hard for me to say go after Baldelli, even though Crawford/Dukes/Young looks like the future outfield for that franchise for many years to come. Before the season started, I would have thought he would be a great addition, but the price might be too high, especially as the White Sox would undoubtedly be asked to give up young pitching to get him. Finally, Baldelli would further block Brian Anderson, who definitely deserves a chance to redeem himself this season...with seemingly 40% of the fanbase already giving up on him, the other 60% convinced Ozzie is out to destroy his career. At any rate, the price for Baldelli is sinking. How many of you would do a Baldelli for Anderson and a second-tier prospect (#15-25 in the system)?

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Apr 5, 2007 -> 08:39 PM) I love how on baseball tonight I have to watch every single one of his strikeouts. Greinke pitched almost the same line 7IP 7k 1ER, but I didnt even see a single one of his pitches at all. I don't think I've ever seen G-Load look so bad up there. OTOH, the beloved Big Papi struck out three times against Greinke (twice without swinging) and that apparently wasn't noteworthy.

QUOTE(TheOcho @ Apr 5, 2007 -> 09:05 PM) Is that Alex Ochoa playing in left for the Red Sox? I think so. One of those players like Juan Gonzalez or Richard Hidalgo that just disappeared from the face of the earth.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Apr 5, 2007 -> 08:28 PM) Certainly didn't show it tonight. Russell has given up 2 ER in 5 IP so far tonight. Seems like an Ozzie favorite. Also, you have to take into consideration the weather conditions out in Oakland...if they would be conducive for a knuckleballer or not in early April, in the cold.

QUOTE(caulfield12 @ Apr 5, 2007 -> 07:51 PM) http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/st...pawaaa_chraaa_1 AAA BOX http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/st...cmcaax_biraax_1 AA BOX McCullogh and Lujan look like they're pitching well for W-S. Kyle gave up two unearned runs, not the most unusual thing in A ball. Uh-oh...Lujan ended up giving up 3 unearned runs in the 9th for a 5-3 loss. I guess the MLB bullpen issues are circulating throughout our system now, although Masset and Aardsma deserve some credit for manning up. http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/st...kinafa_wswafa_1

1) Floyd 2) Masset or Sisco 3) Haeger 4) Adam Russell, starting tonight for B-HAM, so he would be on the same number of days of rest, assuming the White Sox game tomorrow night isn't cancelled. It will be interesting to see, if that happens, if the Twins still use Santana against us and skip someone's turn in the rotation. I'm assuming we will let Danks go, no matter what.

QUOTE(DrunkBomber @ Apr 5, 2007 -> 07:34 PM) When he can go into Yankee Stadium and get a win thats when Ill think hes gonna be as dominant as they say he is. He seemed to be good today but as someone else said it seemed like he had an extremely generous strikezone. 1) Dice-K definitely has good stuff. He normally threw his FB in the 89-92 range, but would dial it up to 94-96 when he needed it. This was on a day similar to the cold in Chicago yesterday, although 36 degrees and not below freezing at gametime. 2) He's very composed and poised...especially on fielding plays like double play balls up the middle or swinging bunts. He doesn't overreact or get flustered. He takes him time and is always in control, looks like a very polished athlete. 3) The Red Sox did get some breaks. Particularly an out stealing that would have led to the tying run, as the next batter, Emil Brown would have doubled him home for a 2-2 game. I actually felt like the anti-Chicago media bias (Tribune is out to get the Sox) is just as bad in KC, with fans feeling the "East Coast" Red Sox/Yankees bias is totally against them. It felt almost like a Red Sox home game. 4) I had the sense he was on cruise control a little bit. DeJesus absolutely ripped that homer off him, and Sweeney and Grudzielanek were resting after a night game. Not a very challenging Royals line-up today, outside of Teahen, DeJesus and Gordon had his first big league hit. 5) Japanese broadcasters were predicting 7 IP and 12 K's, they weren't very far off. 6) As with all Japanese pitchers, he has a very unorthodox delivery. It's not quite as herky-jerky as Nomo when he came to the US, but it's definitely DIFFERENT. You can see how it would throw off a hitter's timing and they would need to make an adjustment. He seems to have a very compact, repeatable motion and "explodes" towards the batter when he throws his fastball. 7) As the game went on, he seemed to get much more comfortable with his breaking stuff and assorted offspeed arsenal, ranging from the high 50's to mid 80's. The thing they say about him as that he never goes away from a pitch that's not working, which is a very unusual sign of confidence from a pitcher...as most ditch the offspeed stuff and are forced to fastballs when their backs are agains the wall.

http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/st...pawaaa_chraaa_1 AAA BOX http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/st...cmcaax_biraax_1 AA BOX

QUOTE(BearSox @ Apr 5, 2007 -> 05:44 PM) hey flash, kinda OT... but you really should add Massett to that McCarthy/Danks watch, IMO. I think Ozzie will reward Masset after today's outing, but we'll just have to wait and see. An interesting debate between Haeger and Floyd for the start, if they leave Masset in the pen. If it's only going to be one start missed, it would be surprising for them to DL him, so you'd have to think they would go with Masset or possibly Sisco.

QUOTE(Steve9347 @ Apr 5, 2007 -> 01:01 PM) You're all quick to jump on Mariotti's balls, but how many of us didn't at one time or another, or still don't agree with him? I mean, that's all pretty obvious. I do think the Sox will turn it around, but we can't blindly not question the moves of KW (which we all did btw)... though he would have been a bigger man typing that last week instead of 2 losses into 2007, for sure. Thank you. If you/Mariotti thought Soriano would fix our starting pitching and bullpen problems, then miraculously lead us the to the World Series again...well, whatever. The White Sox in 2006 were a carbon copy of the Red Sox of 2005, we just had the misfortune (or luck) of not being torn apart in the playoffs. Was a Cardinals-esque run possible for the Sox after last August and September, I guess, but likely, NO.

QUOTE(RME JICO @ Apr 5, 2007 -> 04:43 PM) Yeah, if they are throwing those numbers now, you can figure they will add a few on over the next few weeks. Which is awesome to think about, having that many guys hitting 95+ in the pen. I was at the Royals/Red Sox game today and Dice-K was 88-95 with his fastball on the stadium gun. Greinke averaged 91-93 and threw a few in the mid 90's. I think everyone will gain 1-3 MPH on their fastball as the weather heats up.

QUOTE(The Critic @ Apr 5, 2007 -> 11:10 AM) HEY BUDDY CABRERA WAS ON THE 2003 CHAMPS SO IT'S 4 RINGS FOR 1!!!! CABRERA WAS A GREAT PLAYOFF OUTFIELDERS THAT YEAR. MARLINS FOR PROBABLY MAKE THIS TRADE FOR THESE GUYS CUZ THEY AVERAGE 150 HITS A GAME AND THEY ARE A GREAT PLAYOFF PLAYER!!! DON' BELIEVE ME?? PRINCETON UNIVERSITY GRADUATE!!!!!!!!!! Aren't Sanchez and Johnson ailing? By the way, is Borchard still with the Marlins? Maybe they'll send Olivo back too. :-)

Here in KC with milder temperatures expected, high 30's/lower 40's at gametime. I will be back tonight with a firsthand report on the gyroball, lol. http://www.kansascity.com/159/story/59916.html

i'll just do what abraham lincoln used to do with his ineffective Civil War generals (before Sherman and Grant), i'll wipe it out and just feel a LITTLE better having written it to think i was feeling a little sorry for the guy with all of his physical problems, my sympathy has quickly dissolved again two games into the season

QUOTE(beautox @ Apr 5, 2007 -> 03:17 AM) nice post. honestly i look forward to seeing the approach KW takes to this years draft(its the deepest in 15 years) and rebuilding. If the sox are out of contention i would hope KW maxamizes our return for dye/iguchi/crede/MB and yes im well aware of the sox budget. Also ozzie can't be at the helm when we rebuild, im not talkng full on firesale but changes are coming. nothing gold can stay ponyboy anyways i wish the best for the sox this season, its still young and im not jaded yet Something very strange to me was our playing for a tie (a big no-no at home) in the 8th inning with Iguchi bunting, the same Iguchi who's, with all of his good qualities, a fairly poor bunter. Not only that, but pinch-hitting Cintron, who can't even throw from deep in the hole, for Uribe? Uribe has been one of the best hitters this spring and has always been pretty clutch. Yeah, Cintron had 2 GWRBI against the Tigers and a good game against the Royals, but I would hardly have him up there in that spot over Mackowiak. And the idea of Ozuna at SS scares me as much as Pablo in CF.