caulfield12

Well, obviously we're going to have to work with Gavin on holding runners better next year and with Clayton Richard on fielding and throwing the ball over to first...I'm not going to get upset, no matter what happens in this game. I expected the season to be over at least a week ago...so this is all a bonus for the White Sox IMO, playing without Quentin.

QUOTE (G&T @ Oct 6, 2008 -> 03:59 PM) Could this ump give any more breaks to the Rays? It would have been nice had he got the call on the curveball against Upton, but our offense still needs to score to win the game.

Well, there's still six innings to go, but I don't like the vibe about this game at all. Maybe things will change, they have all season long when we counted the Sox out, but you have to tip your cap to Upton for hitting two balls like that through the teeth of the wind.

Personally, I still would rather have Richard or even Carrasco as the long man if Gavin or Mark struggled. I just don't trust Vazquez anymore...unless it's just one batter at a time, and as soon as he gives up a hit or walk, I would pull him immediately. Richard at least has the confidence that he can get these guys out and that he belongs on the same field. I think Javier is just "shot" mentally and needs to be anywhere but back on the mound right now. He needs to observe the way winning pitchers go about their business at playoff time.

QUOTE (CanOfCorn @ Oct 6, 2008 -> 07:46 AM) Not to get completely off track, but I believe there is a less looked at aspect of trades, and that is the set-up trade. The one that shows that you aren't going to be taken by the other GM. For instance, the Vazquez trade, to me, set up the Quentin-Carter trade. What I mean is, you are always trying to get the best talent you can out of a trade, but if a GM doesn't feel like they other GM is trying to take the house, the lot, the car and your children (I'm looking at you Chuck LaMar), then it sets up the next trade where you might just fleece a guy. There are two sides to each trade, too, short-term and long-term. There are just too many aspects of a trade to just disqualify one because it hasn't been 3-5 years. Anyway, Danks showed some major cojones the last week...gotta love him. Hopefully his brother will do the same as he comes through the system. Then there's the reverse "set up" trade, which we have going with the Mariners organization. Thornton for Borchard, sounds great! Two former first rounders nobody can fix. Garcia for Olivo, Morse and Reed! Wow. Three for the price of one. Sounds like those amazing trades Cubs fans come up with at hot stove time and call into sports radio with. Of course, none of those guys did much of anything in SEA. So KW calls on the cell from the owner's box and says, I'll give you Swisher, Fields, Getz and Poreda for Ichiro...I don't think the M's would consider it, lol. They would be too scared.

Ummmm...Mark Buehrle will be starting Game 5. There's no need to even have a discussion/debate about it. Already decided.

Just because the McCarthy for Danks/Griffey trade looks very good now, it doesn't mean that will always be the case. You need to give a trade at least 3-5 years. Obviously, the Sox have the huge upper hand now. That could all change if Danks goes down with a Jim Parque/Jon Rauch injury and McCarthy wins 15 games a season from 09-13. I doubt that will happen, but be aware of premature evaluation. As far KW "good" moves not giving us a right to criticize bad/questionable moves, that doesn't make sense to me...it's kind of like the current political season, McCain was "right" about the surge but potentially wrong about all other decision, just because McCain (or Obama) were right once (the speech to oppose the war) doesn't mean you can't question any of their other decisions. I suppose it will take another season or two for us to judge the merits of the Vazquez move. Both teams got to the playoffs. The D-Backs will have Young's services for another five years. A lot depends on how Javier bounces back...or what KW gets in return for trade...or what KW does with that $11.5 million he would have made to improve the pitching? Can we find a legit starting CFer? Well, we haven't had a regular there now for three years that we could rely on 100%. Actually, losing the reliable Luis Vizcaino was a bigger blow than some realized, as he was the last guy out of the pen on the 05 staff...but would have been 3rd or 4th the last couple of seasons. In hindsight, we could have kept Chris Young (for better or worse, at least he would be cost-controlled, we can't pay every starter $8-14 million) and invested that money in a FA and done possibly just as good a job. The whole point of trading Rowand was to free up the spot for a "cheaper and better" player in Anderson to inherit the role, and it just didn't work. Luckily we have Ramirez and Quentin now, but ideally a well-run organization would have 4-5 position players come up through their own system because they are guaranteed cheaper options for six seasons, or at least comparatively cheap to going out and buying talent all the time on the open market.

I wonder if Logan did it intentionally, in order to get released or traded (didn't work so well with Anderson to have a bad attitude, but now things are at least looking okay for him in Chicago)? With Broadway, I would like to hear an explanation first before I jump to conclusions...

CJ, do you think Manager Ozzie Guillen should be disqualified from running the Chicago White Sox due to his known associations (and palling around)with "foreign and domestic terrorists" (Mariotti and Hugo Chavez) and his long-standing friendship with Alvaro "Juan" Uribe of Colombia? Would you be surprised to learn that Ozzie could easily be charged with being an "enemy of the state" according to the Patriot Act?

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Oct 6, 2008 -> 06:44 AM) I have wondering if he has the opposite problem - thinks too much. Well, I think he went to Clemson! That should tell you all you need to know. That's kind of like going to ISU or UNI. Just kidding. I have to find something to feel pride in, it's definitely not my Iowa Hawkeye football team anymore. At least there's still the Sox and the election to be excited about. Or someone knocking off the annoying Red Sox. Even though we're in a better position to beat Boston (because of home field and our teams are similar, minus Ellsbury/Crisp/Pedroia at the top), I would love to see the small market Rays or White Sox knock that smug ESPN/Bristol media posse down a notch or two. Of course, if the Sox and Phillies were playing in the World Series, a Kimbo Slice rematch might get more attention.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Oct 6, 2008 -> 06:44 AM) I have wondering if he has the opposite problem - thinks too much. Well, I think he went to Clemson! That should tell you all you need to know. That's kind of like going to ISU or UNI. Just kidding. I have to find something to feel pride in, it's definitely not my Iowa Hawkeye football team anymore. At least there's still the Sox and the election to be excited about. Or someone knocking off the annoying Red Sox. Even though we're in a better position to beat Boston (because of home field and our teams are similar, minus Ellsbury/Crisp/Pedroia at the top), I would love to see the small market Rays or White Sox knock that smug ESPN/Bristol media posse down a notch or two. Of course, if the Sox and Angels were playing in the World Series, a Kimbo Slice rematch might get more attention.

Dodgers' theme song for this year is "Paper Planes" by M.I.A. Hard to imagine Torre rapping in the clubhouse, but he's a way cool, laid back dude. Gotta give him righteous props for running the Manny Circus and keeping that train from going off the tracks. That's a dangerous team right now...and I would NOT be shocked to see them make it to the WS now. Maybe, while they're feeling generous, they should donate Brad Penny to Cooper for him to be straightened out.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Oct 6, 2008 -> 05:41 AM) Yet Uribe has been producing at 3rd base better than Crede was. Oh and he had a clutch hit last night. Crede has had a procedure done on his back, came back, got worse, and now cant play. Explain to me how thats anything like the Maggs situation? 2008 100% Uribe: .285 .333 .442 70-100% Crede: .248 .314 .460 Well, about $10 million dollars in salary...in all seriousness, the only similarity is that the White Sox can't afford to go into 2009 with the uncertainty of Crede's back situation again. They need to go with Fields or find another option through trade or Free Agency. With Ordonez's situation, it was simply a matter of the numbers not making sense for the White Sox to pay superstar money to a non-superstar. They hid behind the injury excuse, and rightly so, in order to appease the fans and make them feel they at least were considering Magglio, but that decision was made as soon as Ordonez signed a long-term deal with the final year ballooning up to $14.5 million. NO way they could give him a long-term deal, even without any injuries, with that as the baseline/bottom average salary per year, for 3-5 years. It would have been insane IMO, despite the way Magglio has recovered and played in DET. Then again, maybe a healthy Ordonez is more valuable than a $11.5 million Vazquez!!! Except we're paying Dye much less, over a short-term, and he's been just as, if not more, productive. You could argue the merits. But we saved a ton of money in 05 and 06 on JD, vis a via Magglio. Crede would probably like to come to Chicago, at least as a fallback position. Even if it's just a one year deal based almost entirely on incentives. A lot depends on the health exams of the other teams and the prognosis if he gets a guaranteed contract for more than one year or not. It's too risky for the White Sox to chance it...and...as noted, Uribe has actually been about as productive offensively as the 70-80% Crede.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/playoffs2008...tory?id=3627822 ESPN Game Story

Which is another reason I think KW keeps bringing in new blood...Ozzie's style works, to a point...but you couldn't keep the same veteran team together with him for 5 years in a row, now that this is possible in the age of free agency anyway. We have, what, 6 players only left from 2005? Konerko, Dye, Uribe, AJ, Buehrle, Jenks? That's a huge roster turnover in 3 seasons. But those are the "core" players who nothing Ozzie does will faze them at all. They're also the players KW trusts most and will go to (along with Thome and now Griffey) if there's the possibility of adding another player to improve the team. I think KW learned with Royce Clayton and Lofton about what the effect of bringing in a veteran who might be susceptible to "attitude" problems, and how that affected other players like Lee and Ordonez, making them a bit more selfish or me first, and Manuel tolerated it and never called the players out like Guillen has consistently done from Day 1, beginning with Thomas (just like Manuel did, ironically enough). Ordonez also was coming off a hernia or "sports hernia" at the time I think, correct? Another problem was that the final years of Ordonez's contract were so backloaded, I think he made $14.5 million in 2004, and there was no way KW was going to give him a long-term deal that averaged that amount....nor an easy way for Ordonez, his agent or the player's union to accept less. Things worked out fine for both sides, I think. I always had concerns about Ordonez adding more weight and being more of a liability in RF as he aged...he's still "serviceable" but he might be a season or two from full-time DH duty IMO. Yep...the whole Sean Tracey incident, the back and forth with Mariotti over it in the newspapers...Garland not hitting a batter he was told to hit. I also think that Jenks just started to fall apart physically and our offense went dead at about the same time, in early August. Those games we lost to "no name" Red Sox pitchers stand out now in my memory...despite great pitching from our starters, even Javy!

I just think it's a matter of playing "winning" baseball, and finding complementary players that fit in and approach the game in the correct manner...that's why I am personally disposed to like someone like Casey Blake or even Nick Punto, despite his egregious slides into first base. Ozuna had some of these characteristics as well...players that just don't go up there hacking away but approach every at-bat with intention and purpose in mind. We had Rowand...Erstad was like this as well, but he was well past his prime (due to injuries) when we got him...it's not necessarily adding a bunch of "rabbits" (Ozzie's term) but finding players that do what they're supposed to do, depending on the situation. Professionals, I guess you'd call them. The problem is we use the label "grinder" so often, but we need "faster/younger/grinder" players to mix in and around the veteran core to continue to get the best of the veterans and keep the team from becoming stagnant. Despite my reservations, I think Cabrera is a winning ballplayer, does many little things well, and is usually on playoff-caliber teams. I don't think that's an accident, any more than Vazquez's winning percentage on losing versus playoff-seeking teams. When you look at it, we did our first major restructuring when we shed Valentin, Ordonez and Carlos Lee before 05...I don't see a similar move this offseason (why fix what's not completely broken), but I do see a lot tinkering, like before the 06 season. I think KW has actually regretted some of those moves, as they made the team better on paper but something happened to the chemistry or synergy or whatever you want to call it from the 05 team that couldn't be recaptured. Many blamed the loss of Everett and Rowand, I think the reality is that the pitchers just got worn down and team wasn't quite as hungry as they were the previous season.

Couch in the Sun-Times article tonight said the same thing, about Danks morphing into a star over these last 13 days. We'll see if Gavin has some of the same pixie dust in his arsenal. Officially, Buehrle, because of his WS/playoff wins, veteran/team spokesman status and contract, will be the ace of the staff...but Danks is close, if he hasn't already surpassed Mark. I guess it doesn't matter who's your "official" ace, as Contreras moved in and out of that role in 05/06 and Mark never changed a bit or complained. Everyone could see he was the best pitcher in baseball at that time and deserved to start each playoff series.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Oct 5, 2008 -> 09:47 PM) 34...THEY DO NOT FINISH THINGS IN OUR HOUSE. You forgot, "the fundamentals of our economy are strong/sound."

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=Aoh0...o&type=lgns Good game story from Yahoo Sports National sports writer Henson....lots of quotes. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writ...ame3/index.html CNNSI story, more of a focus on Roger Bossard, stolen bases and "small ball"

"I'm just out there having fun," Wise said. "That's the only way to approach it. Once A.J. got things going [in the third], that was the big hit." Not the last one, however. The Sox added to their lead in the sixth on a two-out single by Juan Uribe. "That made me a lot happy," Uribe said. "I struck out [in his previous at-bat], so I said, 'C'mon, Uribe.' Like I say [last week in Minnesota], I tell the team, 'Get on my back.'" After Upton's two-run homer, Guillen went to his bullpen with Carlos Pena on first base in the seventh and all-everything rookie Evan Longoria representing the tying run. Octavio Dotel recorded his biggest out of the year, sitting down the phenom on a called third strike. "I didn't want to give anything good to that guy," Dotel said. "Everyone in the league knows how good he is. I really don't want to face that guy that much, but that's my job." Job well done. The same could be said for Matt Thornton and Bobby Jenks, who handcuffed the Rays over the final two innings to secure the victory and force Game 4 today. "It's been amazing to see a team back itself into a corner and win or go home," Thornton said. "We keep coming. We just seem to have a group of veterans that won't let the situation overwhelm them." So they will be in a very familiar situation today, bags packed to go back to St. Petersburg, Fla., or back home. Destination unknown. "Maybe we don't like our wives and don't want to go home," Pierzynski joked. "Just kidding. I love you, honey." from www.suntimes.com/sports

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseb...0,5813216.story Phil Rogers article on this subject: mentions Figgins and Hudson, idea that the leading candidate for 5th starter is definitely Clayton Richard http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=240489 Very worthwhile article on KW, his philosophy and thinking about current team and future

Well, I think everyone would agree it would have been very difficult for the White Sox to win this year (or next) with Ryan Sweeney starting in RF. His fundamentals are nearly perfect in terms of defense and throwing...maybe I've have some bias in Jermaine's case because he is (along with Thome) such a genuine "good guy" both on the off the field, and I fell in love with the way he and Vladimir Guerrero played when I saw both of them all the time playing for Albany and Macon way back in 1994. In fact, in the SAL All-Star game, Guerrero took a ball off the fence and threw a laser in the air from RF that got the runner coming into 3rd standing up...he had no clue what had just happened, or that it was possible to happen. PS Why couldn't Torii Hunter play against us in CF (like he has done tonight for the Angels against BOS tonight) this way when he was with the Twins?

It would be better to face Edwin Jackson, unfortunately. Pitchers with 95+ heaters usually don't bother us, it's the offspeed/junk/control pitchers that have traditionally given us fits. At least he doesn't have a 6+ ERA, then you know the White Sox would have absolutely no chance.

It would be pretty sweet to be the only game in town (in all of MLB) Monday, Tuesday and then tomorrow again...prime time game. The blackout effect also looks more imposing and "scary" at night.

Ordonez came to the majors too late to do much more than get 2,000 hits in his career. 2) He's not a true home run hitter, and the players with the homers get the most attention from voters (if the voters speculate those are legit #'s) 3) He's an average (at best) outfielder...certainly not Roberto Clemente or Vladimir Guerrero. Actually, I think Carlos Lee will end up with higher HR and RBI numbers when both their careers are over...but neither will get even 10% of the votes to gain HOF entrance. There's just a difference between very good/almost great and the Hall of Fame.