caulfield12

QUOTE(Al Lopez @ Apr 7, 2007 -> 10:38 AM) Well, you wouldn't want to give a guy, say, TWO starts this season before you write him off? Contreras absolutely dominated the Tigers on the road one game in August last year...I think it's more of a psychological issue. He lost his aura of invincibility, and now he needs to have some success and start building upon it once again. We all thought El Duque was done as a major league starter, and look what he's done since 2006, albeit in the NL. I'm not sure Contreras will ever get his FB back up to the 96-98 range, but he can still be a very effective big league pitcher. Extensions are hit and miss, but at least we signed him to a reasonable contract and there will always be a scout or GM who remembers what he did (like Loaiza living off 2003) and take him in trade if we are struggling at the break. I'm not sure Buehrle and Garland are guaranteed to lead us back to the playoffs either, if we had extended either or both. It took a true ace (Contreras) to push us over the top, Buehrle is a solid 2 and Garland a solid 3, but we're not getting back to the World Series without an ace...it could be Contreras again, it could be Floyd (doubtful), Danks, Gio, Russell, Masset or Sisco, but one of those six guys really needs to step it up if Contreras continues to be a 4.00-5.00 ERA type of pitcher (like Vazquez). As I said, Contreras' stuff is not really the question, it's his head...and what's in it right now. And maybe there's something going on off-field, maybe he was shell-shocked from getting hit around the park, maybe he doesn't quite trust his body yet, and will be better when it warms up, like we kept on saying about Garcia last year. His fastball wil come back, his fastball will come back!!! Not signing Buehrle was almost proved eerily prescient, although we can all thank our lucky stars he's not out for half the season or more.

QUOTE(gosox41 @ Apr 7, 2007 -> 08:46 AM) According to people around here, he was drafted because he the most major league ready player. How did that work out? I think the Sox signed him because he was cheap. But as the last 6 years have shwon, it could be because they suck at scouting and drafting college and HS players. Wait until players from more recent drafts start making the majors before any Sox first round pick. Bob That was part of it too, there was the sense that he was ready to come in right away as a lefty set-up man, and that was a need at the big league level before the emergence of Marte. The last college closer we drafted before that was, I think, Josh Fogg from the University of Florida. Who we proceeded to groom as a starter.

QUOTE(DBAH0 @ Apr 7, 2007 -> 07:14 AM) Very positive start by Gio. He'll LOVVVVVE pitching in the nice wide confines down at B-Ham compared to where he was last season. He certainly won't be giving up as many HR's. I wonder if the White Sox would be better off having AA and AAA stadiums more like USCF in terms of how they play and the weather conditions. That would give KW a better idea about "projectability" of pitchers like McCarthy. Charlotte is a pretty small stadium, some call it a bandbox. So I guess that's good.

QUOTE(Gregory Pratt @ Apr 7, 2007 -> 09:44 AM) Because we don't have anyone who is anything resembling a real leadoff hitter going into the future. -- All these trades sound great. In theory. But it's not like ordering a pizza. Which is why I'm approaching this from the perspective that the Mets or Red Sox would be good trade partners, because of their probability of competing for playoffs spots....same with Angels. The Mets have a more highly-rated OF in Fernando Martinez, but he's 2-3 years away. We've always coveted Pelfrey, but we might have to settle for Heileman, Maine or Philip Humber. QUOTE(EvilJester99 @ Apr 7, 2007 -> 09:49 AM) Aybar would be an interesting choice...he seems to play good d and has a hell of an arm. Aybar will be much more easily pried loose than Wood, and I don't think the Angels can afford to let Cabrera go while they're so competitive to break in a rookie SS and 3B (Wood) at the same time.

QUOTE(beck72 @ Apr 7, 2007 -> 07:41 AM) Young has always had the speed and power. It's his batting avg. that has been a concern. He still has a career avg under .270 in the minors. I don't expect him to suddenly hit better than that in the bigs. Unless AZ can accept him hitting .225-.240, I see Young going back down to AAA this year. His career average in the minors is .267, with an OBP of nearly .360. The D-Backs do have a ton of talented young outfielders, but they won't give up on CY quickly. I'm still skeptical about him ever having 30 stolen bases in a season, we'll just have to wait and see on that one. Below average arm in the OF. He also has 449 K's in 1789 at-bats. Not Joe Borchard or Rob Deer territory, but not very good either. If he can hit .240, he's profiling very similarly to Mike Cameron.

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/G/C...s-Gomez-1.shtml Carlos Gomez--Mets http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/E/J...-Ellsbury.shtml Jacoby (no relation to Brook) Ellsbury--Red Sox Others to keep an eye on are Erick Aybar, Alberto Callaspo (D-Backs) and Brent Lillibridge (Braves SS/2B)

QUOTE(knightni @ Apr 7, 2007 -> 01:35 AM) You do realize the green = sarcasm... right? Once again, I'm used to the "teal police" at WSI and it's going to take a few months before it all sinks in, lol. Seriously, over there, there are so many teal/green comments that it becomes a game, because lots of posters, when something is VERY obvious (to them), will leave out teal or green...so you can never really tell when anyone is being serious, unless you know the posters and their styles really well.

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.