caulfield12

QUOTE(BearSox @ Apr 6, 2007 -> 11:30 PM) Bring back Royce Ring... I was looking at the draft results from 2002, and it sucks so much that we missed getting Cole Hammels by 1 pick!!! Whatever happened to Ring? Wasn't he considered our closer of the future? And then even when he was traded to NYM, they considered him their future closer... He never had "closer stuff," so I'm not sure that anybody really believed he was the closer to the future. He was LH, but a lot was made out of the fact that MLB teams almost NEVER draft college closers in the first round (albeit late) and that it was a strange pick for us. KW determined pretty quickly he wasn't going to amount to much and dealt him the Mets.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Apr 7, 2007 -> 01:15 AM) Gosh, I could have swore that I heard this exact same stuff about a pitcher wearing blue in about 2002-2003. Prior was 94-96 and smooth with the fastball, but not consistently in the upper 90's and even to 100. I can't think of many starters in this rarefied air, besides Nolan Ryan. I guess Colon can get close, when healthy, and sustain it, even picking it up a notch or two in the late innings. Jenks, when he was a minor league starter, although I think 94-97 was more like it.

QUOTE(maggsmaggs @ Apr 7, 2007 -> 12:06 AM) Could need a 7th bullpen arm down the stretch, or Sisco just blows and Dewon's slider makes him effective against lefties. Trust me if puts up the numbers, he will be there. Oz and KW have said our pitchers will have short leaches. Also, can't count out the possibility of a MacDougal injury with his history. Best slider in the ogranization according to BA (well really Phil Rogers) and when you annoint someone that honor with Dewon Day's in the organization, that's something. BTW, Day has a plus-plus slider according to scouts, which translates to a 70 rating on the scale, which means its an all-star level pitch. 80 is the best, but those are reserved for the special like Mo's cutter or RJs slider (when in prime.) Scary thought...short leaches? Maybe that will really intimidate the pen! Another Blown Save and Thornton must have short leaches attached to him for no less than one hour for a thorough bloodletting.

QUOTE(knightni @ Apr 7, 2007 -> 12:30 AM) Good going there, jinxer. That rule only applies if you're at the park or near the pitcher, or broadcasting the game. At any rate, there was no way they were going to let him go 9 innings the first week of the season. Only Dusty Baker would contemplate something like that.

QUOTE(witesoxfan @ Apr 6, 2007 -> 11:04 PM) I've heard Mike Cameron as a mere comparison with Eric Davis as his ceiling. Might as well go with Willie Mays, who Davis was compared to coming up (heck, every athletic CFer with power and speed who was/is African-American).... In all seriousness, it's like the "next Michael Jordan" thing. Better to think of Mike Cameron (minus the arm strength) and expect not so many stolen bases as Cameron when he started out (13-17?) and maybe 20-22 homers. I don't see him as a true 30-30 guy, hopefully I won't be proven wrong on that.

QUOTE(Flash Tizzle @ Apr 6, 2007 -> 11:24 PM) "Garcia sharp in rehab start for Threshers Phillies pitcher strikes out seven in three scoreless innings" http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/news/ar...b&fext=.jsp No radar readings? Florida State League hitters were probably expecting the fastball and weren't prepared for the offspeed stuff, just like the Angels last year, when he almost no-hit them. We're so used to thinking of Garcia and "ace" together (along with the 93-96 MPH fastball we remember from the 1999-2002 period) that it's hard to get used to the newer version.

QUOTE(Milkman delivers @ Apr 6, 2007 -> 11:11 PM) Don't say that. Just because someone happens to pitch at the top of a rotation, it doesn't make that person an ace. Gil Meche is all the proof you'll ever need to prove that. He's their #1 pitcher, but there's no way in hell that he's an ace. Sorry, just a pet peeve. No offense to you at all, caulfield. Hey, that's what the Royals' staff calls him. They want to take the pressure off Greinke with Meche and Odalis Perez. He's always had "ace" stuff (see AJ Burnett or Josh Beckett), but he's probably accomplished the least of those three guys, and he's gone through a lot of health issues. I wouldn't be surprised if he won 15 games though. We'll see how he fares against the Tigers tomorrow. When you lock up with Schilling and don't blink, that's definitely a positive sign. He was seen as more of a 3/4 guy in Seattle, but he always had the ability to be a much better pitcher than that.

2007 PECOTA Projections: 11-11, 4.50 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 148 K's One of only two thirtysomethings on the list, Vazquez, 30, is coming off of his second straight season of at least a 3:1 K/BB, a key performance indicator. Vazquez annually posts higher ERAs than his peripheral stats indicate, in part due to pitching in some tough parks, such as Chase Field and U.S. Cellular. Despite this,he has improved in both years since his difficult season with the Yankees in 2004. from cnnsi.com

QUOTE(DrunkBomber @ Apr 6, 2007 -> 10:35 PM) You guys mushed Gio What does "mushed" mean? The White Sox took him out of the game due to pitch count after the fifth.

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Apr 6, 2007 -> 10:35 PM) BOO! scared you, didn't I? hello, Delray Brooks

QUOTE(Flash Tizzle @ Apr 6, 2007 -> 10:08 PM) Unfortunately, many people seem to have adopted this view that the Tigers' pitching staff is due for a substantial dropoff because everyone pitched above expectations; both statistically and concerning innings pitched. Ignoring the fact Bonderman and Verlander are both 24, Maroth actually appeared to have turned himself around prior to injury, and a little pitcher named Andrew Miller awaiting in the minor leagues. The Royals are going to be tough if they can get outings like this by DeLaRosa. He's never had good control, but he shut down the Tigers most of the game and Riske (yes, that Riske) got the save pretty effortlessly. Magglio looks bad at the plate and especially in the field (looks like he has some kind of health isssue), and Sheffield appears, to me at least, to be a little overweight. It's a little different with Jose Mesa or Ledezma in the game, compared to the usual middle relief the Tigers put out there last year. I think they will miss Jamie Walker a lot. I-Rod actually led off. The Royals' fifth starter is Brandon Duckworth, but they're going with ace Gil Meche against Maroth tomorrow afternoon. I think they really wanted Brian Bannister to take the job, but he was shelled in ST. Elarton is coming back from injury and should be ready fairly soon. Even though they're 2-2, the pitching for the Royals has kept them close in every game except for the second game of the Red Sox series. OTOH, Alex Gordon is REALLY struggling so far out of the gate. But it's ONLY four games.

QUOTE(BearSox @ Apr 6, 2007 -> 09:47 PM) I still feel the effects of losing Fabio... there was no reason why he shouldn't have been put on the 40, IMO. We could have used Castro last year, but I sincerely doubt he would have been ahead of Sisco in the minds of KW and the organization, because he's not a hard thrower...and at least we know that other organizations have found some quality arms from our organization. Usually, the pitchers we deal turn out like Bajenaru or Joe Valentine. Every now and then, there's a Bradford, Francisco, Majewski, Fogg...even Rauch has done fairly well as a reliever.

QUOTE(CWSGuy406 @ Apr 6, 2007 -> 08:52 PM) Eek -- Vazquez just bombed in that second inning. He's given up a couple of runs... Oneli is in now. Kudus to Gio. You think he's on a (relative) fast-track this year? I'd imagine he should be at Charlotte by (or right around) the All-Star break... Phillips is just filler, although some project him as a better Josh Stewart. KW likes Gio and Russell the most, and I think the competition in AA is sometimes actually a better test of a pitcher than AAA...KW won't be afraid to jump a pitcher from that level directly to the bigs, if it's warranted. You don't imagine Haeger, Broadway, Floyd or Phillips are going anywhere, but there is a spot in Charlotte as the fifth starter IMO. KW's not in any rush, and sometimes it's better for a pitcher to get his confidence in the much bigger Barons stadium instead of pitching in Charlotte.

now hitting .176 (3 for 17) with a homer and 4 RBI's on the season...

with nine strikeouts. I know it's a non-major league Sox player, but just thought everyone would like to know. http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/st...cmcaax_biraax_1 you can follow it by clicking on the link They pulled Gio after 5, Vasquez kept it alive through the sixth inning...still a no-hitter

on the radar gun, and it's freezing out, literally...in Kansas City. His fastball is averaging 98-99, and those are legit numbers, because Jorge DeLaRosa of the Royals is exactly where he normally is, in the lower 90's.

well so far. 3 IP, 0 hits, 1 BB, 5 K's http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/st...cmcaax_biraax_1 As someone noted, Haeger has given up 2 homers and 4 runs so far in his game in the middle innings.

QUOTE(Gregory Pratt @ Apr 6, 2007 -> 01:35 PM) I knew that. It just slipped my mind. Only one of those guys is really worth much and the others are average if that. That is a great point. But as far as I can tell, they aren't exactly products of our minor leagues completely. They learned their own way in the Latin countries and of course we worked with them here, in our system, but neither of them is one of Our guys. Mid-average, loopy swing -- they had their own fabulous natural abilities. I'm sure the Latin American countries would love to take back Soriano, Cano, Cabrera, Mariano Rivera and Posada from the Yankees, lol.

QUOTE(Kalapse @ Apr 6, 2007 -> 01:32 PM) Yeah, no s*** this is going to be pretty brutal. Especially that Tuesday game with Buehlre and his career 0-5, 4.86 ERA, 1.47 WHIP in Oakland. Well, on the bright side, no Willie Harris in CF or D'Angelo Jimenez at 2B. No fog or strange playing conditions, I hope.

QUOTE(fathom @ Apr 6, 2007 -> 01:30 PM) Sun/Mon/Tues = gulp On paper, we're 2-5 or 1-6. Luckily, games aren't played on paper, lol.

QUOTE(WhiteSoxfan1986 @ Apr 6, 2007 -> 01:11 PM) I would love to see the Sox make a run at Suzuki either at the break(although we don't have much to give up and they will ask for a lot, though we have raped Bavasi twice ) or after the season. Sweeney/Anderson/Suzuki would be a nice outfield If we are out of contention, almost everyone on our major league roster will become available at the right price. Of course, I don't think KW will go out and get Ichiro if we're in rebuilding mode, doesn't make sense at all. Especially if he can't be signed to an extension and we are letting Iguchi go as well. If we are in serious contention, we have bullpen arms, Fields, Sweeney and lots of minor league arms as well (but in AA and AAA, not the low minors). However, we raked the M's over the coals with both the Garcia and Thornton deals, not sure if they're ready to be embarassed 3 times in three years.

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Apr 6, 2007 -> 01:12 PM) Do you always have this much trouble reading before responding? I included Anderson in the first place. I specifically said players we developed and are still IN OUR SYSTEM. I left Webster off because I see nothing in his career thus far that shows him being a high end prospect and he hasn't been in our system since 2003, which is 4 years ago. And why do you keep bringing up unrelated topics like pitchers and Billy Beane? I'm not saying KW is a bad GM. I'm saying our system doesn't produce a lot of strong HITTERS, which is what the thread title indicates. So in the last FEW years, we have the following HITTERS that we have "raised" in our system who have put up more than one year of gaudy offensive numbers in the minors... --Anderson --Reed --Young That's pretty much it, and Reed and Anderson seem to have only proven they aren't great hitters thus far (though BA really had just one half a lousy offensive season). Go further back and you get a bunch of course, including Crede, Lee, Ordonez, etc. But unless I am missing something, I don't see many great offensive talents coming out of the system in the last 3 to 4 years. If I am missing someone who fits that description, please point them out. And I'm saying it doesn't matter at all what we produce, as long as other organizations value our players and will give us a Carl Everett for a Webster and Frank Francisco (although Francisco might be a stud, if he gets through his injury problems and screws his head on straight). We've always focused more on pitching than hitting with our drafts, because it's much easier to replace hitters than pitchers. Why did we win in 2005? Pitching, pitching, pitching. Borchard is the big bust that was supposed to replace Thomas, and his failure set the organization back, no doubt about it. Many GM's have proven you can put together so-so offenses with great pitching (Marlins, A's, Twins, Braves) and remain competitive. So I'm not worried at all about our position prospects. We didn't produce a catcher, we went out and got AJ and Hall without breaking the bank. KW has proven to be much more capable of identifying undervalued major leaguers (Thornton, Loaiza, Contreras, Uribe, Marte, Everett, AJ, Iguchi, Dye, Hermanson, Politte...hopefully Aardsma and Masset) than he has been at drafting and developing stud prospects. That's one label that seems to stick in his craw, and he addressed it at SoxFest specifically. QUOTE(TheOcho @ Apr 6, 2007 -> 01:15 PM) Wasn't Sizemore traded to the Indians? Colon for Sizemore, Cliff Lee and Brandon Phillips (luckily they gave up on him one year too soon and rushed him to the big leagues or we'd be in even more trouble) Not quite AJ for Nathan, Liriano and Bonser, but VERY close.

QUOTE(witesoxfan @ Apr 6, 2007 -> 01:09 PM) and there's the answer(s) to Sir Pratt's question. It's not usually a regular thing to develop a .900+ OPS players. The Sox developed those two in the late 90s/2000, but they are good players nonetheless. Or you can look at the late 80's/early 90's, when we brought Sosa, Thomas, Ventura, McDowell, Hibbard, Bere, Melido Perez, Alvarez, Radinsky through the system at roughly the same time.

Or will they elect to go with Ponson? Interesting choice for Gardenhire, even though it's early in the season. Would it be fair to let Danks go out there against Santana? Would OG then counter with Contreras (since he pitched only an inning plus) and push back Danks to a road start in Oakland, aka The German "Hellands" at the start of Gladiator.

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Apr 6, 2007 -> 12:53 PM) Note that I said "last few years". We developed Lee, Ordonez, Rowand and others in that group about a decade ago, under some different leadership. Of the names you just mentioned, only Young and Reed were developed in the "last few years", and so far Reed isn't showing much. We're talking about the organization at present, no? I was thinking 3 or 4 year time frame - typical development cycle for high end prospects. Reed, Young, Anderson and Webster still fit that cycle you just delineated. That's the point, Reed was a reach in the second round (a great collegiate player without "projectable" tools or even a position, he also played 1B in college)....he became the minor league player on the year and was overrated by the Mariners. He's always been a fourth outfielder or spare part, I even thought the same of Rowand too. Morse never had a position and couldn't hit for enough power at 3B or LF, not enough range for SS. Olivo, it will take too long to go into why trading him was the right move. He did okay in Florida last year, but he's never going to be an All-Star either. I wonder if A's would rather have Chad Bradford, or a World Series title, because Neal Cotts was one of the many contributors (along with Garcia, through Olivo) to that World Series win. Not only that, but Beane traded Bonderman and Teahen away, let Jermaine Dye go (not to mention Tejada and Giambi) and got stuck watching an overvalued Loiaza pitch poorly after KW picked him up for nothing in the preseason of 2003.