chw42

QUOTE (lostfan @ Mar 27, 2010 -> 06:47 PM) Alexei might win one even though he kind of sucks as a SS, based on the criteria written. Alexei actually has good range though (+4.1), that's the thing. He just screws up routine plays, which shows up in his error runs (-1.8). Jeter's range is horrific (until this past year). So yeah, indeed, if Alexei gets his fielding% up, he'll get a gold glove and actually be a good defensive SS. As for White Sox winning it, it was sad to see Crede never get one, even when he was better than Chavez.

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Mar 27, 2010 -> 07:06 PM) UZR doesn't take into account a player's arm. Hehe. I've had some people run into this one. It does, for outfielders. There's a component named ARM in UZR (at least the version on FanGraphs). Hunter's arm has been negative since like 2004 and it ain't pretty. So while Juan Pierre is perceived to have a crappy arm, his range actually makes up for it a lot.

Pfft, I struck out 21 guys with Peavy in a video game, it's so easy. But if you try and pitch a perfect game...forget about it. In all honesty though, Wood's game was more rare. But the accomplishment of a perfect game is far more challenging than striking out 20 guys. There are so many more restrictions in a perfect game. You're not restricted by anything when you strike out a bunch of guys. You can give up a hit there, hit there, run here, run there. Nothing counts against you.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Mar 27, 2010 -> 04:58 PM) We look like a .500 team to me. I can't see the offense being very productive unless CQ just has a Pujols type year somehow. I am hoping we finish 10 over .500 somehow. That would take a lot of things going well. Pitching is king. The offense just has to be mediocre and it can do that. Hell, even PECTOA estimated that we'd score 780 runs, which is definitely good enough.

QUOTE (JoeCoolMan24 @ Mar 27, 2010 -> 05:57 PM) IIRC, he make bad reads on balls that are not hit deep. I remember in a playoff game, I think vs. the A's, he made a dive attempt on a ball he came in on, missed it by like 2 feet, and the batter got an inside-the-park HR. He's had some terrible years if you look at UZR and some not so terrible ones. He's just a mediocre fielder IMO regardless of what reads he really gets. The guy can make plays look nice, but some of those catches are easily made by Andruw Jones in his prime. He was once in the same tier Andruw, but those days are long gone. I personally think that Hunter's the perfect example of your criteria #4.

QUOTE (Melissa1334 @ Mar 27, 2010 -> 04:59 PM) i remember they said something about silva changing something, pitching from the other side of the rubber, something like that. hes gien up only one run in his last 12ip or something. (putting that its st aside) can something like that make that much of a difference? if so, i dont see why they didnt do that in seattle..? I doubt it. Control wasn't the only thing that was screwing him over. He was straight up terrible in a lot of aspects.

QUOTE (JoeCoolMan24 @ Mar 27, 2010 -> 05:32 PM) Jeter. But yes, Torri fits that as well. Torri does make nice catches though. It's not his range that's bad, it's his arm. That's why his UZR is usually mediocre.

QUOTE (flavum @ Mar 27, 2010 -> 05:08 PM) Jake Peavy vs Reds AAA team: 7 IP, 7 ER, 12 hits, 4 Ks, 1 BB 112 pitches...that deserves a wow. Was he throwing his full arsenal or was he just having a bad day? I wouldn't freak out... Bartolo Colon and Jose Contreras threw shutouts before the end of spring training last year. Look what happened.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Mar 27, 2010 -> 11:22 AM) As long as we're tossing out crazy scenarios. Game 7 World Series at the Cell, Sox vs. Cubs. Buehrle & Zambrano throwing perfect games into the 9th. Bottom of the ninth with 2 outs, Konerko steps to the plate (He didn't start because Gonzalez is now the 1B and Paulie's thumb was acting up after Game 6). He hits a HR that breaks Borchards record. Cubdom destroyed, Paulie & Buehrle (who has a perfect game in the WS now) continue being awesome, Gordon leads the giant sing-a-long of Your Love at The Cell during the postgame. If the Sox make another playoff run, the theme song should be Your Love.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Mar 26, 2010 -> 01:33 PM) With a chance of light showers in the afternoon. Yeah, then tomorrow it will be scorching hot with temps in the high 90s and possibly in the low 100s. The weathers these days, it's crazy.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Mar 26, 2010 -> 11:31 AM) That's fine, there are a lot of pitchers who put up really good peripherals on a yearly basis. It doesn't change the fact that I'd say Gavin Floyd is in the second tier of pitchers in the league, right along with Blackburn and Billingsley. Gavin's ceiling is much higher than Blackburn's. I'd say he's about as good as Billingsley though.

Upper 80s and lower 90s if things go right.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Mar 26, 2010 -> 01:07 PM) Omar Vizquel pulls a Palmeiro circa 1999 and wins the Gold Glove at SS despite primarily being the everyday DH, leading off after Pierre tears a hammy. Awesome.

I don't know why, but when I go up to hit, I usually end up pulling my head off the ball. But if I'm swinging in any other situation, I can keep my head still. I think it's a mental thing. This started about 5 years ago. Before that, I had really good hitting mechanics.

QUOTE (daa84 @ Mar 26, 2010 -> 07:58 AM) espn had another article with "players I love" by some guy named Jason Grey....he picked beckham #2 http://insider.espn.go.com/fantasy/basebal...10grey10players the list went as follows.....Upton Brothers, Beckham, Billy Butler, Howie Kendrick, Chris Davis, Steven Drew, Brett Anderson, Andrew McCutcheon, Mat Latos, WAde Davis and Brian Matusz he also had a link to a blog he wrote about a month ago saying beckham was the next big thing in fantasy....i somehow missed the article, but i'm sure it was posted or linked on here when it came out....here a few highlights http://insider.espn.go.com/fantasy/basebal...lbdk2k10beckham I swear Inside Edge was something that 2K sports uses in their video games for scouting reports...

QUOTE (scenario @ Mar 26, 2010 -> 10:50 AM) I'm not a scout, but I've watched a fair bit of video with Danks at the plate... and his "problem" seems pretty obvious to me. He pulls his head off the ball. It's sort of frustrating to watch actually, because it happens so consistently. Seems logical that has alot to do with his contact problems... because his walk rates suggest he doesn't have a problem with his batting eye. In fact, his judgment on what is a ball or strike seems excellent. But once he starts his swing mechanics, you can see there is a point about midway where his head pulls away... almost inevitably leading to a swing and a miss. I'd have to believe the coaches have identified this and are helping him with it. If he gets that fixed and increases his contact rate as a result, I think he has a really good shot at MLB. If he doesn't, not much chance he'll be more than a fringe player. If that's the case, there's Carlos Quentin to help. Q's head never moves when he's in his crouch. Getting in a stance where your arms restrict head movement would be a good idea if Danks has a problem with keeping his head on the ball (I used to have this problem and I still do. It's hard to get rid of).

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Mar 26, 2010 -> 11:28 AM) Jason Heyward makes the Braves. He is more than 2 years younger than me and can't even drink yet. I'm officially starting to feel really, really old. That's good news for baseball.

QUOTE (docsox24 @ Mar 26, 2010 -> 10:28 AM) NOOOOOOOOO i hate mark kotsay!! i say danks twice last week and he was impressive, previously i was not a fan. and the sox think he will hit, they project him to be a 280 hitter, with 15 hrs and 20 sbs. this wasnt public talk trying to bump up his trade value, this was just me talking to the scouts in private conversations. in addition, they are unanimous in his defensive ability and great instincts At one point in time, Mark Kotsay was an absolute beast on defense and an above average offensive player. So yeah, if Danks can turn into Kotsay, I'd be fine with it.

1. The Reds win the NL Central. 2. The Rays win the AL East. 3. Boston fails to make the playoffs. 4. The Rangers win the AL West. 5. The Giants take the NL West. Andruw Jones wins come back player of the year. Rios has a 25/25 season. Juan Pierre posts an OBP above .350. Matt Thronton leads the team in saves with 32. Jake Peavy wins 20 games.

Danks2 reminds me of Ryan Sweeney.

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Mar 25, 2010 -> 02:22 PM) I love gamethreads, some of my best friends are gamethreads. Ohrly?

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Mar 25, 2010 -> 02:27 PM) disparaging? All the scouting reports I read said he was a plus defender at 2B. My eyes told me he didn't live up to that level, and the numbers I've seen indicate he was a slight plus there, but in limited playing time. That's why I said he was a disappointment there. But I added that he was supposedly a plus guy there, because I do believe he'll probably show that with more time. SS and 3B, he had even more limited time, and I'll just have to disagree with you that he wasn't bad there. What I was responding to, BTW, was someone trying to say that he and Vizquel were interchangeable defensively as a utility IF, which is ridiculous. Vizquel is definitely the better SS and 3B, but Nix is probably just as good as Vizquel at 2B.

QUOTE (kjshoe04 @ Mar 24, 2010 -> 06:01 PM) People play handheld video games walking down the sidewalk? That sounds dangerous. Yeah, I've done it before. It depends on what kind of side walk you're talking about. If it's in the city, that's a bad idea. If it's in like a suburban subdivision, I don't see any dangers to it.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Mar 25, 2010 -> 12:49 PM) Perhaps in the same sense that Mark Teahen could also play every infield position. Vizquel is a truly elite defensive player at SS, and above average at 2B and 3B. Nix is supposed to be above average at 2B (but didn't look it last year), and is bad at SS and 3B. Nix and Vizquel are not in the same universe defensively. Nix is a hell of a second baseman. And he did look like it last year. His range was definitely well above average last year.

I'm seriously tired of all these crazy lineup antics. If our offense blows hard, I'm saying it's Ozzie's fault for batting Mark Kotsay third and DHing Omar Vizquel. Even when that might not be the complete downfall of the offense.