peteward

Hitting with power to Right field is not something that Chicago Vice just put into his repertoire. He did it many times last season. I did not check the stats but I would not be surprised if half of his home runs went to Right or Right Center last season. It seems that way from memory. We all know his areas of weakness at the plate and Hawk and Stone have discussed it on-air many times. I agree with their suggestion that Viciedo move up in the batters box or even move a bit closer to the plate.

Assuming that Keppinger, Gila monster and Morel make the cut, then "who's on third" will become the question of the day before each game. That combo of infielders on the roster really puts the pressure on ARam to start almost every game at Short.

"Flowers scratched...back" I hope that Flowers back issue isn't something that is going to come up during the season. Giminez is really a borderline major league catcher and so are the rest of the possible catchers in our system that might be brought up in case Flowers hits the DL this season. I hope this is wrong, but I am now starting to think that Morel might very well make the 25 man roster. It is possible that Hahn, KW and Ventura do not have enough confidence that Gillaspie can make the routine plays consistently at 3B. Also, the Sox have been saying that Keppinger's arm is not a concern and that he has fully recovered from the leg injury, but we have not seen enough of Keppinger in the field this Spring to conclude that he is righteous defensively at 3B.

"Is this list heading into the 2012 season or 2013? Reyes is listed with Miami" Neither. As the posts states the ratings were predicated "on their performance up to this season". The 2013 season has not started yet so I'm not sure I understand what you are talking about. Reyes played on the Marlins in 2012.

Do you have 4G? I always wondered if 4G has enough bandwidth to stream stuff, play on-line vid games, etc.

Pope blacked it out but it's back up now.

"Phallate" Ramirez? I am seeing a pattern among a few posters, a juvenile argumentative style like kids quarreling among themselves in the back seat of a car or a couple of pimply teenage Cub fans who just learned how to swear and are coupling that with their North side dude-speak. The White Sox do not have many players who are rated in the top ten at their respective positions. If my memory serves me well, the "Shredder" at MLBTV only had Konerko, AJ and Alexei rated among the top 10 players at their respective positions based on their performance up to this season. In any case, this was their respective ratings at short stop: The Shredder 1. T. Tulowitzki (COL) 2. J. Reyes (MIA) 3. Y. Escobar (TOR) 4. A. Cabrera (CLE) 5. A. Ramirez (CHW) 6. S. Drew (ARI) 7. J. Peralta (DET) 8. J. Hardy (BAL) 9. E. Aybar (LAA) 10. Jeter (NYY) Shean's List 1. Tulowitzki 2. Reyes 3. Andrus 4. Escobar 5. Cabrera 6. Castro 7. Ramirez 8. Hardy 9. Aybar 10. Rollins Larry Bowa's List 1. Tulowitzki 2. AYBAR 3. Reyes 4. Ramirez 5. Cabrera 6. Rollins 7. Hardy 8. Jeter 9. Gonzalez 10. Andrus It is bad enough that the Sox will not have AJ, a top ten rated catcher, this season. Why would we want to trade another top player from a team that we hope can at least compete against the Tigers after they have overwhelmed everyone else in the Division with the level of talent they have?

Another juvenile and vulgar post. I'm seeing a pattern.

Floyd's curve is working beautifully. With Danks still a question mark, it is good to see that Floyd seems healthy.

"Ozzie Guillen on Peavy vs. Pierzynski: "'I always say when two white guys fight, the foreigners stay away from that,' said Guillen, a native of Venezuela. ‘I just got my (citizenship) two years ago. I want to stay away from that.'" As I mentioned earlier, I do not want to engage you in any discussion here, and I won't, but it is interesting that you want to engage me. Sorry dude, you are on my permanent ignore list.

I noticed that there is a thread of intolerance shown towards people and players of color, black or brown, that runs through the threads and signature quotations some people have used here. There has been a lot of it against Ozzie, Kenny Williams and some of the current Latino players. That kind of things is really is intolerable, especially in a sport where it took until the mid- 1947 to even BEGIN a process of eliminating racial segregation and racial prejudice. As far as Alexei Ramirez, I am very impressed with his work ethic and that includes the work he put in with Viciedo training together in the of season. And, at least from what I have seen, he and Viciedo appear to have a good foundation in terms of their upbringing and their character. That not only makes them good people, but solid team players. I doubt you will see the kind of sleaze and criminality that Starlin Castro was involved with, allegedly date raping a young girl after dragging her home drunk to his f --- pad, and then grabbing the first plane out of the country the next morning. So yes, Alexei is a solid if not outstanding shortstop defensively, has occasional power, has been a clutch hitter, and is a very good teammate, especially to young players like Viciedo. He takes a big cut with one of the longer and heavier bats so he strikes out too much, but how many players can we say that about? Dunn, Flowers, Morel,...

He has hit at the single A level pretty well, so given the comment that "He is a tough kid who gets better as the lights get brighter." I think the may send him up the ladder pretty quickly and that he certainly will be a late season call-up when the roster gets expanded. No mention of Keon Barnum. I read he was injured and will be out for a few weeks but he is a prospect that Sox fans hope could become a power hitting first basemen or a replacement for Dunn down the road.

To your point, yesterday I heard Farmeo refer to Morel's "surgically repaired back." I thought "what?" I never heard that he had any surgery. That being the case, I entirely agree with your point. Morel's back is like a time bomb. It is only a matter of time before the problem resurfaces. And that is unfortunate for Brent and his ML career. The Sox can't allow that to become their problem though. From what we have seen thus far at least Conor Gilaspie can fit in as a platoon LH bat player at 3rd base with Kepp. If he hits North of .250, plays respectable D, his playing time will go up. If not, he may slide into the Minors. Meanwhile, this keeps up pressure on Beckham. He could see reduced playing time if Conor(or Morel) and Kepp are hitting and he isn't. As far as Alexei, get real with the trolling. He is become and outstanding defensive ss and has proven he can hit in the past. He needs to cut down on the home run swing and make some adjustments, but he has a decent eye and is an excellent athlete. And remember trolls, this isn't an Epstein fire sale. The Sox know Detroit has much better talent but they are not on board with tanking the team for 5 years while remodeling the stadium and banking minor league prospects. That's your boy's plan.

He makes the plays that some other shortstops like Starlin Castro often boot.

Yes, you are wrong. 8-1 Sox over Cubs in the 9th!

Time will tell if it works out but I think this was a very good bet by the Sox on Chris Sale. Print the Chris Sale White Sox Jerseys, Chris is gonna be around for a long time!

I would would appreciate it if you did not reply to my posts or send me any further private messages. I will afford you the same courtesy. Thanks. SSHM.

The Righty/Lefty and ice versa match-ups are not always done in every game especially without considering individual match-up statistics and considerations about defensive issues. That is how very team and every Manager approach it. There is no absolute formula or set line-up vs. RH or LH starters, or at least there shouldn't be. If Flowers wants to be the every day starting catcher over time, he has to start most games no matter who is pitching. That is what it takes to provide leadership from that important position, more stability to the pitching staff, and more consistent hitting from our line-up. If we are going to be relying on Giminez to start a lot of games that probably won't work out very well. I hope I am wrong, believe me. I hope he plays and hits like Yadi Molina and shocks the world.

"That's true but, given the amount of time Flowers had off, he essentially put up league average production at catcher while Tekotte was far below average against minor league pitching. That's a totally new level of incompetence. I also really only want about 1 dead bat on the roster (at the most) and that is for my backup middle infielder who I simply want to be able to field really well. Unless Tekotte is playing Bourjos like defense, he has no place on the roster." True, but he may become a bench player down the road. I'm not sure why the Sox got him given the plethora of young outfield prospects in the minors. "We'll just forget I brought that example up. No need to rehash." I never mentioned the catcher position in this thread until it was thrown up, apparently because one or more posters took exception to my earlier stated concern about Tyler Flowers. The comparison was Flowers and AJ. The possibility I mentioned here had nothing to do with catchers. It was whether one of our prospects could fill the 4th outfield spot if the Yanks wanted Wise back. As far as Tekotte, I asked for opinions about that player, because it seems like the Sox must see some potential in him that his numbers do not reveal. "I also can't imagine a team that DFA'd Wise last year would suddenly send a decent prospect back now." I do, because they have different needs now than they did when he was released. Swisher is gone and Grandyman is out for a long time with a broken bone. That said, I agree that I would not let the Yanks have Wise back unless a decent prospect was offered in return.

Yes, but wouldn't you agree that a starting catcher roster spot is entirely different than a fourth outfielder/pinch hitter/pinch runner/ 24th or 25th man? The Flowers for AJ decision is one that may have larger consequences, so let's see how that plays out. Yes, I would have brought AJ back for one year, but that was my opinion, and it was based on more than just numbers. Hopefully Flowers provides decent offensive numbers and remains healthy throughout the season and everyone is happy with how it all turns out. Unlike starting catcher, the 4th outfielder is a roster spot that could give be filled by a decent prospect who has some speed, can pinch run, play defense, etc. We have a few guys that could do that if need be. Wise is better than any of them right now and so, if the Yankees would not send a decent prospect back in return, I am quite happy having Wise back for one year. It makes the painting of "The Catch" in the outfield something that makes us smile when we remember his juggling act out there. I still think Wise was just trying to scare Mark and that he had it all the way.

I was not suggesting that any of our prospects has beaten out Wise for the 4th outfield spot. I was mentioning the possibility of a trade because having Wise on the 25 man roster is almost a certainty given his Contract. That essentially blocks any of the younger guys from making the club. Tekotte, for example is what, almost 10 years younger than Wise? My thought was that if the Yankees (or some other club) offered a prospect for Wise, the Sox could get younger and not be sacrificing too much. Actually, having a player with more speed come in to pinch run might add another dimension to what Wise can do. Outside this notion of a possible trade, I am interested to hear what any one thinks about Blake Tekotte and his chances to make the roster this season or beyond.

"We're down an outfield bat right now, too. See if he can play center or not." —General manager Brian Cashman, on RHP Joba Chamberlain saying he would like to be a starter again at some point. For the Yankees, it seems like trading to get Dwayne Wise back would make a lot of sense, especially given Grandersons injury. Wise was a key player and clutch hitter when DeAza went down last season so I was glad when he was signed. However, the Sox have other options that they could look at of they trade Wise and could get younger with players like Jordan Danks or Blake Tekotte. I would at least listen to offers if the Yankees came calling for Wise.

A noted troll from another White Sox forum (yahoo message board) has been harassing me on this forum and has threatened to have me banned via a private message. Who can I complain to about this individual, who I suspect maintains several ID's here under the same IP address?

Yeah right Bill.

I never stated that his four season define him and you misquoted me. I corrected the total at bats he has had over four seasons by 150 but you continue to bring it up as though it makes a difference. It doesn't. I explained that the statistic was misread by me since that number is right under his total at bats at baseball reference.com. But again, it doesn't matter. Flower's batting average still averages out to .205. If you extrapolate his strikeouts over a full season, he would have about 160 Ks and that concerns me. Additionally, I have watched Flowers over the past several years as we all have so my opinions as well as others have been formed over time, not just by a quick review of his poor offensive stats. I have heard all sorts of excuses for his low batting average and those are just fine, but they do not remove the concerns that many Sox fans have. And those concerns are not just based upon poor offense but his durability given his size, his weight and the fact that he has not had a full season behind the plate in the major league. Trying to turn this around or having multiple IDs singling me out as though I just invented this issue is baloney. It is not up to me or any other Sox fan to prove why we are concerned about relying on Flowers as our starting catcher when it is obvious. The fact that some "think" he will improve and hit over .250 with 25-30 home runs is fine, and I hope that is right. I am sure thousands of other Sox fans doubt that will happen. Try to accept differing opinions graciously rather than flipping into attack/troll mode. As I have said, I do not acknowledge people who do that and I will not continue to go back and forth to try to get the last word in or to engage people in a worthless, time-consuming, circular argument. In the future, if you want someone to go back and forth with, pick on someone else.