Chicago White Sox

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 6, 2011 -> 08:11 AM) And be prepared to see more errors than my coed church league softball team makes. Morel and Pierre have already combined for 9 errors. I doubt it could get much worse in the short run.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ May 6, 2011 -> 07:34 AM) The problem with his being unable/unwilling to take pitches is that for him to be really a monster doing that, he's going to need to be Vlad in terms of his plate coverage. If he can't lay off a difficult pitch, like the high and tight fastball that was killing him last year, and he can't make contact with that pitch, then pitchers will just throw things out of the zone to get ahead of him and strike him out ont he pitch he can't lay off of. The guy is hitting over .350 during his current streak. When you're this locked in, you're naturally going to swing more and draw less walks. Prior to this steak, he drew four walks in 13 games or so. His walk numbers will never be great, but I think they'll gradually improve over time and become more than acceptable for a high average/power hitter. Here's my question, is he really going to become a patient hitter after one year in AAA? What will he learn in AAA that he can't learn up here? I honestly think he'd learn to be more patient much quicker up here, because quality pitchers will attempt to exploit his lack of it, forcing him to make adjustments. Regardless, I'll take his low OBP and high SLG over Juan Pierre's empty AVG right now. Something has to change and Viciedo is the closest thing we have to an impact bat in the minors. If KW doesn't call him up soon, then I don't think he is trying anymore.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ May 5, 2011 -> 11:56 AM) If the Tank is simply not ready (and he's still been struggling to start the year) then yes, it can be worse. Not just this year, but in terms of solidifying bad habits for the long term. I was at the game on Tuesday and I swear they put on the scoreboard that Viciedo has a 10 game hitting streak and is hitting well over .300 during this stretch. If true, I think his hand was affecting him initially and now he's good to go. If it were up to me, I'd call up Viciedo in a heartbeat. The only reasons he was in AAA was there was no roster spot for him and people assumed his defense would need work. Everything I've seen has said his defense has been solid. Now that our offense is struggling immensely, we need to find a spot for him somewhere. Pierre is all but done IMO, so let Viciedo take over LF. Not only do you get more production out of LF, but you can stop giving your worst offensive player the most at-bats. Seems like a double win for me.

Guillen and Walker both need to go. I've wanted both of them gone for several years now. The DH nonsense last season was the nail in the coffin with me for Guillen. There was no logical reason to think having Mark Kotsay get the majority of your AB's at DH would be a good thing. Yet Guillen has to do everything his way. He's committed to an NL style team and refuses to adjust his strategy. Perfect example is Juan Pierre. The guy has stopped hitting much and has now been caught stolen 7 times versus 5 successful attempts. Yet Guillen plays him everyday, in the leadoff spot, and allows him to run wild into more outs. It actually disgusts me. Even Phil Rogers has been calling Guillen out for batting Pierre leadoff, so you know the issue is obvious. Pierre should be batting 9th or preferrably on the bench. This is just one of the many examples of Guillen being stubborn and refusing to make the appropriate adjustments. He needs to be gone and soon, because I strongly believe almost anyone out there with some coaching experience would do a better job.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Apr 27, 2011 -> 07:19 AM) The billionaire owners wouldn't be billionaires if they didn't have elite athletes playing for them either. I didn't realize all the owners made their billions from their NFL franchises.

Where is the catch?

No offense Rongey, but this isn't fantasy baseball. GMs are forced to look at more than just past production and projections when adding players. Most importantly, they have to look at organizational need. Since a GM is in charge of an organization, it's ultimately his responsibility to have a minor league system that can fill needs on a regular basis. If not, he's forced to go outside the organization to address those holes. That surely will have an impact on his decision making. He may be forced to overpay in free agency to fill a need, ala Scott Linebrink, or he may have to go with a player that is not qualified for the job, ala Dwayne Wise. Clearly, need and market forces play a major role here, and these are directly related to organizational management. KW may not be to blame if Jesse Crain performs much worst than past production suggests, but he is responsible for committing so much money to him. Had there been a decent minor league option, KW may have possibly used those funds to improve the team in another area.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Apr 19, 2011 -> 08:39 PM) What team wins because of brilliant managerial moves and strategy? Teams may not win because of them, but they certainly can lose games because of poor managerial decisions. Everything adds up in the end. You miss the playoffs by a couple games, I can show you a few decisions Guillen made that ended up costing us games that most managers would consider stupid. It's really no different than having a bad DH or closer. There is never a single cause to missing the playoffs, but a manager can definitely be one of the reasons. Otherwise, any Joe Schmo could have the job. I've wanted Ozzie gone for a couple of years now. I've never been a supporter of his philosophies, but I can longer tell what he does well. He's a terrible in-game manager. He refuses to use any statistics to support his decisions. Therefore, he has no idea that some players have reverse splits, which puts certain players in situations to fail. He's obsessed with small ball, regardless if it suits the team, which is costing us outs left and right. He overuses his worst bullpen arms. I still have nightmares about Randy Williams coming in every game last year. Now Ohman is his go-to-guy. He uses his bench poorly. Certain guys play too much and his Sunday lineups are an absolute joke. What once was considered a strength, his ability to motivate his players, doesn't appear to be there anymore. How else do you explain a team that constantly plays like a bunch of cowards as soon as they lose a few games in a row? Most importantly, his teams have been underachieving on a regular basis since 2005. If he's not at least partly responsible for that, how in god's name do you evaluate a manager?

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Apr 19, 2011 -> 08:09 PM) Biggest problem on this club, the hitting or pitching? Neither, it's the managing. The hitting and pitching will at least come around.

Guillen really needs to go. He will continue to throw away outs left and right as he tries to convince himself we are a small ball team. I still like this team a lot, but I'm 100% certain Guillen will limit our potential. His idiotic philosophies could be the difference between making and missing the playoffs in the end.

The topics on this site may be at an all-time low. This is quite possibly the dumbest suggestion I've ever seen here.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Apr 19, 2011 -> 09:30 AM) I'll wait and see what the news is before throwing more dirt on Peavy's grave. The last time he had a setback it was nothing, and he was throwing within days. Thank you. Everyone here has the right to be concerned about this, but to say he is done for the year is complete nonsense at this point. We have no details right now, so not even a doctor could speculate on the severity of this. Why not wait a few hours before we start the "put a fork in him for 2012" comments? I'll be just as pissed off as the rest of you if the issue turns out to be significant.

The overreactions on this site are hilarious. No one here has any real news, yet everyone is suddenly a team physician with access to private information. STFU and wait a couple hours before you officially quit on Peavy and this team.

QUOTE (kapzk @ Apr 14, 2011 -> 01:47 PM) Didnt we just add Jeff Grey by sending down Milledge.... so can`t we just send down Grey once Peavy returns? What I was saying was once Peavy returns (and Gray has been sent down), if you want add a reliever via the minors or trade, you'll have to cut loose Pena or Humber. If that's the case, I'd cut Pena.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Apr 14, 2011 -> 10:40 AM) I wouldn't cut him, but I have no problem with him becoming the long reliever. I think I'd rather keep Humber for that role. The problem is once Peavy comes back, who do you get rid of if you want to improve the bullpen? Crain, Thornton, and Santos aren't going anywhere. Despite his struggles so far, Sale has the potential to be our best reliever this year, so I don't see KW sending him down. Ohman is signed for another season and we all know how much Ozzie loves his lefties. If you want to add someone to the pen, it comes down to Pena or Humber going and I'd keep Humber right now. Not that I think he's anything special, but I feel more confident with him as our emergency starter than Pena.

I think you have to go with Santos at this point. He's been our best reliever so far this season and he should be our long term answer anyways. Once Peavy comes back, I'd DFA Pena, call up Infante, and move Humber back to long relief. I think Infante is going to be a huge factor for us at some point this season. With those moves along with Santos as closer, I believe our bullpen comes together quite nicely. Obviously everything is dependent on Santos.

QUOTE (flavum @ Apr 13, 2011 -> 05:23 PM) Just going with pitchers in the Sox organization, this is the pitching staff I'm looking forward to: Starters: Danks, Peavy, Buehrle, Jackson, Floyd Bullpen: Humber--long relief Pena-- long relief and slop Ohman--LOOGY and slop Carter-- inning here and there and setup when Crain and Thornton are taxed Thornton--lefty setup Crain--righty setup Santos--CLOSER I want Sale to be in the minors starting and I'm going to be consistent about this the rest of the season. Makes perfect sense. We are 2 1/2 and 2 games up on the Twins and Tigers respectively despite our bullpen doing everything it can to cost us games, so you want to send Sale down and call up some average right-handed relief prospect who isn't ready for the majors. I'm sure that will solve our bullpen problems and help us maintain our lead over our real rivals.

QUOTE (scenario @ Apr 12, 2011 -> 04:35 PM) Escobar?? Not unless one of those outfielders can play SS. I could see Gallagher getting sent down and moving Viciedo to 1B. That almost makes less sense than Escobar being demoted. Danks should be sent down.

QUOTE (hawksfan61 @ Apr 12, 2011 -> 07:50 AM) He should not be working through it in a 1-0 game. 3-0 or 4-0 game, a 1-0 game has no margin for error and you can't bring in a guy who has given up missles his past couple outings. Agreed. Thornton is a mess right now and should be given a low leverage situation to get himself together. Once he shows he can dominate in let's say a five run lead or deficit, you can give him another chance in the closer role. But under no circumstances do you throw a guy out into a save situation who's looked terrible in his last three appearances. We can't afford for him to blow more games while he tries to regain his confidence. We have other options we can use for the time being. I'd use Sale for a couple days until Thornton proves he has the ability to dominate again. If Thornton can't do it in a low leverage situation, then we have more problems than just who the closer is.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Apr 11, 2011 -> 01:49 PM) Sox's lineup: Pierre lf Beckham 2b Rios CF PK 1b Quentin dh Ramirez ss Morel 3b Castro c Lillibridge rf How I wish we had Milledge or Viciedo on this roster. I can't stand Lillibridge starting in a corner OF spot.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Apr 10, 2011 -> 05:36 PM) I'm guessing Jerry Owens, perhaps not as fast though. Don't think he's very strong or powerful, not an incredibly patient hitter, but he's OK and can draw a walk. I'd guess OK defensively. Probably a 4th outfielder if he ever makes it, not sure that he will though. Just to point it out, other franchises do this too. In fact, the Tigers have been more guilty of it, considering they are starting the son of front office man at catcher and the son of the manager is in the minor leagues. Avila was drafted in the 5th round, Leyland in the 8th. From what I've read, he's a raw speed/power type player, so I wouldn't compare him to Owens. He's just never made good contact, so his chance of making the pros is extremely unlikely. There's no doubt he's physically gifted though. He's also been unhealthy since we drafted him, which hasn't helped with his development. I have no problem giving him a chance as an everyday player, but AA seems too high for him right now.

QUOTE (flavum @ Apr 9, 2011 -> 10:52 AM) It's not b****ing. It's embarrassment. I think a AA leadoff hitter should be a prospect. Not minor league filler, which he is. I agee it's an embarassment. He shouldn't be in AA or a leadoff hitter, but that team isn't exactly overflowing with talent this year. We shouldn't hold it against the kid that nepotism played a role in his early selection and most likely his minor league advancement. He is what he is, a very fringe prospect. Having said that, I'd rather give him a chance than some 30 year career minor leaguer. As I said earlier, he has some physical tools. It's not like we're talking about Josh Shafer here.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Apr 9, 2011 -> 09:21 AM) FutureSox FutureSox.com Barons won 7-2. Williams 2-5, 2B, HR. Short 3-5, 2B, K. Phegley 1-5, HR, 3 K. Peavy 3.2 IP, 2 UER, 4 K, BB, 5 H. Zaleski 5.1 IP, 5 K, BB, 2H I love all the b****ing about this kid. Was he a huge reach? No doubt, but at least he's physically gifted. I have little faith that he'll ever sniff the pros, but our system is so weak we need to give kids like him a chance.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Apr 8, 2011 -> 03:48 PM) I wonder if he'd even have made the bigs if he was clean. I really hope this a joke. Did you ever see him when he first came up? He would have been a great hitter regardless, but steroids made him one of the best in the game.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Apr 8, 2011 -> 03:08 PM) Jackson for Hudson will be an economic fail no matter what happens. That's the key. All thing being equal and I'd be fine with the trade. If Jackson has a breakout year then he's looking at 5 years and at least $70-75 million. And then we've still got the two giant elephants in the room that is Danks and Buehrle to worry about. And a farm in which Wite would be the team's top pitching prospect. And hes's garbage. If Jackson has a breakout year, does he still have a chance of becoming a Type A free agent? If he were to become that and leave, we'd get 2 high picks and 1 1/3 years of Jackson in exchange for Hudson. Unless Hudson becomes a legit top of the rotation starter, I don't see how the trade is an economic loss. Sure, they don't help us in 2012, but those potential picks need to be considered before concluding which team received more value in the trade.