almagest

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Jun 30, 2008 -> 01:40 PM) Start looking at standard deviation of runs scored instead of average. That will tell you how consistent they are. I'd also guess that as your runs scored deviates more and more, your run differential becomes less and less accurate at predicting wins and losses. Link or evidence, please? The only research I've seen is that teams with a standard deviation of runs scored & runs against close to the league average for a particular year fall closest to their Pythag record.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Jun 30, 2008 -> 11:55 AM) We will look great in some games and pathetic in others. When the offense is bad, it's really, really bad. Nobody here is saying we should be a juggernaut offense and that the Sox suck because they're not one, they're saying this team is unbalanced and inconsistent. Which is really obvious when seeing the records of those other teams without HRs. Boston Red Sox Offense 84 games played 19 games scoring 2 or less runs 5 games shutout 5.04 R/G Chicago White Sox Offense 82 games played 24 games scoring 2 or less runs 8 games shutout 4.83 R/G So the Sox average roughly a quarter run less per game than the Red Sox, which is a team most consider to be very good offensively on a consistent basis. The Sox also have only 5 more games scoring >= 2 runs (6% more), and have 3 more shutouts against (~4%). I haven't looked into it beyond the Red Sox, but I'd bet the White Sox are not as inconsistent as you think, at least as compared to the rest of baseball. We also have the second-highest run differential in baseball, as someone mentioned previously. That's a far better measure of W/L records than offensive "consistency."

QUOTE (lostfan @ Jun 30, 2008 -> 09:34 AM) As evidenced by Jackie Hayes' and a couple other posts, this is a pretty gross misrepresentation of what people are saying. I don't see how what I said is a misrepresentation of this thread at all. The observation that we don't win when we don't hit homeruns as presented is an obvious complaint against our offense and the way it's built. My response was that we play to the strengths of our park, we average more than a HR per game, and when given the evidence presented in this thread, this is a pretty good indication that we'll keep winning consistently, as long as the pitching holds up.

Why is this such an issue for people? We've been at or near the top of MLB in home runs since like 2003. Our park is a hitter's paradise, so we build our team to take advantage of that. We're on pace for about 215 home runs this year, meaning we'll average roughly 1.33 home runs per game. We also average 4.83 runs a game. The offense is fine. Inconsistent at times, but every team has the same problem. I sure would like us to start scoring in different ways and become one of the best offenses of all time and score like 900 runs a season, though. Unfortunately, that's probably not going to happen.

QUOTE (Kid Gleason @ Jun 29, 2008 -> 02:45 PM) Nobody has done the ol' "yeah, you guys would kill for a chick that looks like this" or "lets see your (girlfriend or wife) yet. ...Until you said it. Hahaha! Soxtalk is not maturing at all! Now let's see some gf/wife pics plz.

QUOTE (Soxy @ Jun 26, 2008 -> 05:37 PM) Please. A blow-up doll would be less plastic than that lady. It'd be like having sex with a real doll. ...Eh, I'd still do her. Even better if I could get the house, do her a couple times, then kick her out and keep the house.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jun 18, 2008 -> 11:25 PM) Have you even looked at his season stats or are you merely saying that because he had one bad outing? He's got a 2.88 ERA, is averaging 9 K/9, and he's averaging over 6 innings a start. Get real. He's also got a 5.40 ERA away from Petco, with a .315 BAA and a 1.70 WHIP, and his May ERA was 5.17, with a 1.64 WHIP and .302 BAA. He's had 1 good and 1 not so good start this month. Now, I'm not accusing him of being a 'roider, it's just that he benefits a LOT from Petco, and needs to be a little more consistent.

QUOTE (santo=dorf @ Jun 18, 2008 -> 06:21 PM) I'll ask it again; would it be smart for the Giants to give up Lincecum to rid themselves ofZito's entire contract? If you were the GM would you take Zito and his whole contract if you knew you were getting Lincecum? Hmm... maybe. As long as they didn't ask for too much in return.

Toby Hall with the home run; gotta be steroids.

How long is Konerko on the DL for?

QUOTE (ptatc @ Jun 9, 2008 -> 01:27 PM) Bureau discussed that fact that he doesn't reach the "7" during his arm swing. This is one way to evaluate mechanics. Others (including me) believe that it is not necessary and may actually be harmful to stress this during the throwing motion. Hm. Are there any examples either way -- of pitchers having constant arm problems with "good" mechanics, or of pitchers who don't reach this "7" who don't have arm issues? Or is it an issue of differing body types and sizes having different ideal mechanics?

QUOTE (scenario @ Jun 8, 2008 -> 02:26 PM) 4th outfielder?? I think you'll end up eating your words on this. Disregard the .306 OBP. He's only 22 years old and wasn't even expected to be in the majors this year. He played his way onto the roster in spring training. This kid is 6'4" 195 lbs... and he's the fastest guy in baseball... that's pretty stunning for a guy his size. Not only is he the fastest guy in baseball... he is one of the fastest guys in baseball in the last 30 years. Plus he's not a slap hitter. He drives the ball. Watch as he grows into that frame. Power will come. And then he's really going to be trouble. I believe within two years Gomez is going to be sort of a combination of Carl Crawford and Curtis Granderson. (Look at their first years in MLB. Very comparable. And when Granderson was Gomez's age, Curtis was in A-ball.) IMHO, Gomez is not somebody we're going to look forward to competing against in the years to come. He has a career minor league line of .278/.336/.399 in 1291 games. He also has 82 walks compared to 250 strikeouts. I can see his upside, as you mentioned, but his mediocre career line (young or not, he's never dominated any level of professional baseball enough to make me think of him as anything more than "a real fast guy".) and alarming K/BB line makes me think he'll never live up to expectations. Also, if you check Granderson's and Crawford's minor league stats, you'll see that Granderson was quite a bit better, and Crawford was slightly better. Crawford also took 3 years to produce halfway decently (105 OPS+ in 2004).

QUOTE (scenario @ Jun 7, 2008 -> 01:24 PM) Carlos Gomez is better than advertised. I don't agree. He's hitting .277/.306/.405 on the year in 243 AB. A .306 OBP from your leadoff hitter is nothing to praise. And also keep in mind that his stats are inflated a bit by his performance against us -- .302/.318/.558 in 43 AB. I actually think he's a bit overrated, and doesn't look to be any better than a 4th OF.

QUOTE (JFields27 @ Jun 7, 2008 -> 11:42 AM) Wheres Kenny Williams JR???! by the way beckham just hit a 2 run double ... nice edit: it only brought in 1 run He was plunked twice earlier in the game, then took a slider or cutter that was high and over the outer half to right field for the double. Nice job by him going oppo on that one.

Oh boy, some local garbage ska/punk band covered "Go Cubs Go." I didn't think it was possible for that song to get any worse, but I guess people can accomplish anything when they put their minds to it. Also, Hiroki Kuroda is pretty damn good. 3-0 Dodgers top 7.

Shields is bad on the road. But he has a 1.72 ERA and 0.86 WHIP at home. There's good reason we didn't score more runs last night.

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ May 29, 2008 -> 08:27 PM) Last Play: J. Crede flied out to deep center He almost get another? Warning track.

Laffey Taffey likes jokes.

OC's performance against Cleveland tonight = forgiveness. /thread

QUOTE (BobDylan @ May 26, 2008 -> 10:59 PM) If he doesn't help the clubhouse like people say, I'd hope KW is calling teams and feeling out interest. I don't care if Thome does manage to turn it around, anyway. It's time to get younger. I think, regardless, KW has to get rid of one of Thome/Konerko by the trade deadline. Get some speed in the line-up. Even if it's not at the top. There are, at most, 2 or 3 teams in the entire MLB that could use Thome. And that's IF he gets the average up. I don't see anyone taking on Konerko's contract with his current performance, either. We're also in first place right now, you know. Generally teams don't trade their DH or 1B while in first place. Also, please explain how speed helps at DH, or 1B. Or what the Sox should get in return for Thome/Konerko.

The more I see Casey Kotchman the more I'm convinced that he's a left-handed version of Paul Konerko. They both even do the shoulder-shrug, bat-toss thing on grounders and flyballs.

They're not going to sit Swisher. He accomplishes nothing on the bench, so unless he's hurt, he'll be out there almost every day. He's also got too much of an upside, and his career numbers are too good, to sit.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ May 22, 2008 -> 04:00 AM) SHAKE THAT LAFFEY TAFFEY Laffey Taffey?

Brian Roberts: .264/.349/.405 I don't think that's going to ignite our offense, especially since guys who come here seem to slump for extended periods of time in our lineup.