caulfield12

QUOTE(Gregory Pratt @ Apr 6, 2007 -> 11:55 AM) I'm not sure when I first noticed this and started to be bothered by it, but it really started to grate on me these last few days. I was at the game yesterday and I was talking to the person I was with and I said, "Damn, it has been a long time since we drafted someone like that -- or any impact player, at all," and I think it was in response to Sizemore homering. I said, "Since Frank Thomas. Actually, it might've been Chris Young, come to think of it," and he said, "Oh I hope not!" But I was thinking about it and here's our lineup. Podsednik -- Not ours. Besides that, his hitting isn't something to be particularly proud of. I do wish he'd swing the bat more because he makes fair contact when he is swinging. If he looked to foul off close pitches and drive some more often he'd do so much better for himself, I think. All the same, we can't take much credit for his development. Erstad -- Not ours. He came here knowing how to play. Thome -- Not ours. Konerko -- Not ours. I know we think of him as ours but he doesn't come from our system and I'm not sure we can take too much credit for successfully developing him. Dye -- Not ours. Crede -- Ours, but a. I think his year last year is something he'll be hard-pressed to match and b. he's not that great even with his year last year. I know we all appreciate Crede, but as fathom points out (or Kalapse), he'd be the fourth best third baseman in the NL East, and it took him, what, four years to get to this level? Iguchi -- Not ours. Uribe -- We can't take credit for his development. He has become more pull-happy than before, I think. Pierzynski -- He isn't ours, either, but I think there's a real case to be made for us having changed him for the worse with our softball approach to hitting when he used to be a pesky linedrive hitter. It goes to our pitching, too, but to a much lesser extent. When your organization's best success at developing a player is Joe Crede, there's something seriously wrong unless you have the Yankees money, which we don't. The Yankees actually have done a great job developing and identifying players they wish to retain and trading the others for missing pieces. Heck, they got some real good arms for Sheffield even, especially Sanchez. When you think of Cano, Soriano, Jeter, Posada, Bernie Williams, Cabrera, Philip Hughes, Pettitte, M. Rivera, Ted Lilly (I think he started with Montreal, but really took off in NYC), I'm sure that I am forgetting a few others. The White Sox have done a GREAT job of identifying pieces from the minor league system that got them major league ready talent back in trade, such as Morse/Reed/Olivo for Freddy Garcia. Guerrier for Marte. Uribe for Miles. They didn't give up too much to get Colon in 2003. Borchard for Thornton. Garland for Karchner. Stockpiling money and signing the right FA's to take the place of Valentin, Ordonez and Lee. You also can't say that KW has traded away someone you are really dying to get back, with the recent exceptions of Brandon McCarthy and Chris Young. I guess Tyler Lumsden too, but I don't see too many TL "watches" out there from posters here. You also have Rowand and, of course, Buehrle. When you look at Stumm, Dellaero, Honel, Malone, Rauch, Kip Wells, Royce Ring, Danny Wright, Joe Borchard, Brian West, Barcelo, Parque, Sirotka, Snyder...the disaster zone that has been our first round choices and "top prospects" the last 10-15 years, you would say it's a miracle the White Sox have been the #4 or #3 team in MLB total wins since 1990, right? Which leads to the problem of being from very good to average/mediocre, which never gets you a high draft pick. Even then, the Twins picked Garza late in the first round and many expect him to be a top starter....we picked Broadway ahead of him. It's all about scouting. Fortunately, the White Sox could run a team and budget out there about $25-50 million ahead of the Twins or Indians or we'd have been in real trouble in 2005.

Left fielders Eric Byrnes (32) Adam Dunn (28) - $13MM club option for '08 Geoff Jenkins (33) - $9MM club option for '08 Luis Gonzalez (40) Barry Bonds (43) Brad Wilkerson (31) Center fielders Ichiro Suzuki (34) Andruw Jones (31) Torii Hunter (32) Eric Byrnes (32) Corey Patterson (28) Milton Bradley (30) Aaron Rowand (30) Mike Cameron (35) Kenny Lofton (41) Right fielders Jermaine Dye (34) Bobby Abreu (34) - $16MM club option for '08 Ichiro Suzuki (34) Milton Bradley (30) Geoff Jenkins (33) - $9MM club option for '08 Trot Nixon (34) Jose Guillen (32) - $9MM club option for '08 Shawn Green (35) - $10MM club option for '08 Eric Hinske (30) Realistically, there aren't many names that excite you, after you get past a declining Ichiro that you'd question $45 million for 3 years, just like you'd question it for Jermaine Dye as well. There aren't many leadoff hitters (or OF's capable of leading off)...you have Ichiro, MAYBE Milton Bradley (do well really want HIM on our team?), definitely no thanks with Lofton. In terms of talent, Andruw Jones, Hunter and Corey Patterson are all interesting players, but Hunter's best years are behind him, and Jones isn't nearly the same level of outfielder he was five years ago. Not to mention the fact that Jones would need to adjust to a new league, and the NL is more of a FB league (his best pitch to hit) than a slow-pitch softball league. Dunn fits in with the slugging ways of the White Sox, but is he really the type of player KW would go out and spend $10-15 million per season on? He's pretty one-dimensional. So that leaves Ichiro (expensive and aging), Milton Bradley and Corey Patterson who best fit the profile of traditional KW and White Sox "talent searches" in the OF. Might as well throw Jose Guillen in there as well as a "cheapie" replacement for Dye in RF. Somehow, I wouldn't be shocked to see the White Sox continue to "copy" the Twins and take Castillo and Hunter, but I think both of these players are out of their primes, and it would be dangerous to take a chance because of the high-rent neighborhood contract Hunter will occupy, unless he's injured again and doesn't have a very good season.

QUOTE(Heads22 @ Apr 6, 2007 -> 11:42 AM) I really see us acquiring a leadoff hitter at 2B/SS in the next couple of years, most likely at 2B. Jimmy Rollins via trade. Omar Vizquel or Luis Castillo, that's it in terms for FA's, or Eckstein (from middle infielders)

QUOTE(BearSox @ Apr 6, 2007 -> 11:11 AM) If we could get Baldelli, for the right price, I'd be all over that. BUT, it would also depend on his health, and if he is finally healed. Also, I doubt the Devil Rays would accept a fair offer, their GM is a mad man, and always asks for way too much for his players... See Danys Baez and Aubrey Huff. But I did see Erick Aybar mentioned here, and I have been a big supporter for trading for him. He has great speed, great range, and has a canon arm. Plus, he can hit and is a switch hitter. And right now there is a bit of a logjam for them... They have Kendrick at 2B, that's set. And it looks like they are planning on Brandon Wood to be their 3B. Now that leaves Cabrera and Aybar. Their decision will be, do we trade Aybar and keep Cabrera and sign him to an extension, or do we trade Cabrera after this year, and plug in Aybar? They signed Hillenbrand, blocking Kendry Morales. They also have to figure out what to do with Kotchmann and McPherson, as they could have gotten a legit middle-of-the-order hitter last year or the year before, had they been willing to deal two of those three prospects. Now all three of those guys have fallen to a abyss above Brian Anderson and under Lastings Milledge in the prospect pecking order. If Wood's at 3B, they don't have a place for Figgins either. QUOTE(WinningUgly85 @ Apr 6, 2007 -> 11:19 AM) Well if we lose Dye we should be already investing in replacements. I just don't know. It was hard for me not to compare the White Sox OF with Crisp, Ramirez and Drew yesterday. Odds are, Fields stays at 3B, so we need to get younger and more athletic at that position. I'm not sure Erstad even lasts beyond this year (does he have a limited no-trade clause?) if the White Sox aren't in contention. OTOH, Ozzie Guillen really seems enamored with him, he's kind of taking Rowand's place as the "resident grinder." With Owens, Sweeney, Anderson, Baldelli and Ozuna, you have some talent, but where does the power come from? It's too bad we can't "morph" them into players that are complete packages and just not spare pieces. Baldelli would seem to be the best player of those I just listed, although Sweeney MIGHT get there someday...and Anderson has many similarities to Baldelli, except for the stolen bases (if he cuts down his strikeouts).

QUOTE(shawnhillegas @ Apr 6, 2007 -> 08:12 AM) This is ridiculous. If Baldelli was on the market, he could command a lot more than Anderson. And right now, Baldelli's hamstring is falling off, so they do have a place for him, as the DH. Jonny Gomes isnt going to be around for long. Why in the hell would they want Anderson and someone like Wes Whisler? Read my sig. Why is Baldelli worth that much, if he can't play CF and steal 25-30 bases? I think some people love him just because he's Italian and his name reminds them of DiMaggio. As a DH, he would be in the bottom third of AL DH's. Sure, an upgrade from Travis Lee, but no Travis Hafner. They would want Anderson for the same reason half the Sox fans want Anderson to start in CF, with Erstad in LF. Do you really think KW would give up Gio AND Broadway for Baldelli? (I'm not even sure he would trade those two for Crawford). Where would he play in the White Sox OF? Is he really that much better than Erstad or Anderson, except for stretches of one or two seasons? You put Baldelli in there as the starter and bench Pods (with Erstad in LF), you're not getting any improvement at the leadoff position. He would definitely be a better defender, but he would have to prove he's healthy first. His lifetime OBP is .329. Pods is at .342. I think there's plenty of argument to be made that Anderson will hit 15-18 homers per season with around 75 RBI's. The only area where he's lacking is he probably will never be a 20-30 steals type of player. And I think most Sox fans would be happy with a .260 average, not Baldelli's "normal" .280-.300 range.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Apr 6, 2007 -> 11:02 AM) Brandon Wood has been moved to 3rd base. So has A-Rod, but where do think he would be playing if he joined the Sox? It's simply because Cabrera is signed for 07 and 08 and they definitely want to keep Wood.

QUOTE(Craig Grebeck @ Apr 6, 2007 -> 10:51 AM) You are an idiot. That is the worst reason I have ever heard for, I don't know, anything. BP likes Charlie because he has dominated absolutely every level and has been an absolute freak at not allowing the longball. How many times have you read BP caulfield? I know that they're idiots for not seeing that freak, anomaly, once in a lifetime pitching WS season we had in 2005. But other than that, what evidence do you have for such ridiculously misleading, outlandish, and foolish statements? At WSI, BP is regularly quoted/posted/ripped apart. I've read TOO many articles there, to tell you the truth. There's still a war going on between the SABR (Beane, James, Ricciardi, DiPodesta, Epstein) world and the "real world" of scouting. Seriously, how many times can they rip Scott Podsednik? Enough already. And the main reasons for the White Sox winning 72 games this year? Dye isn't going to repeat his 06 season, Thome, Konerko and Iguchi are getting older. Brilliant. (Bill) PECOTA predicts that, but it's been how many years since the White Sox lost 90 games? Would any of their own writers go to Vegas and bet their houses on that 72 game line, taking the under? Who overachieved in 2005? Definitely not Garcia, he wasn't the ace we were promised. Just a solid 3. The only pitcher who dramatically improved was Contreras. Maybe he'll never be the same pitcher as that 4 month run he had from 05 through the postseason and into 06. But El Duque was below average, Garland pitched well, but he repeated that with 18 more wins last season, so we can't really say he reached his full potential at age 26 or 27....McCarthy just had a few starts. Buehrle was classic Buehrle....holding the opposition when he needed to, giving just enough with the offense winning games 3-2 or 4-3 or 5-4 behind him. But he still wasn't as good as he was at times earlier in his career.

QUOTE(danman31 @ Apr 5, 2007 -> 12:46 PM) Yeah, but this far down they are far from big time prospects. Valido or possibly Hernandez could be back as Top 10 prospects with All-Star caliber seasons. I think Shelby will be underrated until he makes it to the big leagues and starts producing.

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.