Chicago White Sox

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ May 17, 2011 -> 04:05 PM) At some point Kenny just needs to tell Ozzie "I'm bringing up Dayan, you need to play him and that's that". Exactly. But why hasn't KW done this already? Is he afraid of upsetting Ozzie or does he actually believe Pierre will turn around too?

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ May 16, 2011 -> 12:56 PM) Well, I'll give Ozzie credit..."He's got to play everyday" is 100% the right statement, even if its said for the wrong reason. I agree, it's him failing to recognize the massive hole that is LF that's the problem.

Looks like Pierre will be leading off for the foreseeable future: Also, there's apparently no reason to call up Viciedo: Honestly, KW needs to DFA Pierre soon or we'll be stuck with him leading off until it's too late.

QUOTE (iamshack @ May 15, 2011 -> 09:54 PM) I think had KW had a manager like Joe Maddon or Mike Scoscia who would have been able to intelligently partner with him to put together a plan for winning club, we would be singing a drastically different tune. I agree with this, but at the same time he supported the decisions to DH Kotsay, start Wise, and have Pierre leadoff despite being terrible. As much as I like KW, I can't give him a free pass for decisions an entire message board can quickly tell are stupid. Something changed with him. Maybe it was his divorce, the Wilder fiasco, or something we don't know about, but he's been making more poor decisions lately than good. I'd like to give him one more chance, but we continue sit here with the same manager trying to play NL style in a bandbox in the AL. His refusal to make any changes is my last straw with him. I think I'm finally ready to try something different.

QUOTE (Paint it Black @ May 15, 2011 -> 02:39 PM) They raped us so bad that the following off-season they tried to trade him and couldn't find a taker. But you clearly admit Swisher had a bad year with us, and yet you expect KW to get something of value in return? Swisher is a pain in the ass to have as a teammate. The dude never shuts up. I also find it funny that the "proven player" only seems ok when it's used against KW or Ozzie. It wasn't acceptable when I argued this team would hit when they were slumping because practically the whole team is a group of proven players, but it works for Swisher? Who really hasn't been much better since leaving here. I'm not saying that was a good trade overall, but the only player who I really miss in that deal will end up being Carter. I could make half my starts in Oakland and put up the numbers Gio is. You can have that Ryan Sweeney garbage too. Well at least we got Dan Haren in the deal too.

QUOTE (South Side Fireworks Man @ May 15, 2011 -> 01:58 PM) Who knows what Ozzie will do, but I wish he would start Viciedo in LF and bench Pierre. Let Omar start a lot more alternating between 2B and 3B as the leadoff man. When Omar is not starting, let either Ramirez or Rios lead off. Agree with this, although I'd use Omar more at 3B. We're going to need Beckham to come around if we want to make a comeback.

QUOTE (Tex @ May 15, 2011 -> 10:07 AM) I am amazed at how much better at being a GM soxtalk posters are compared to the guys who are paid big bucks to do this job. Over the years, so many people here knew right away certain trades were bad. So tell me what KW knows about Juan Pierre that we don't. Since he's the GM and can never be wrong, there must be something Pierre is doing that statistics don't justify. I guess I shouldn't question him allowing his manager to lead off the player with the lowest WAR in the majors. Like you said, he does make the big bucks.

QUOTE (fathom @ May 12, 2011 -> 03:21 PM) The biggest issue is we have our worst hitter getting the most at bats every game. This is by far the biggest reason why Ozzie and KW need to go. Anyone who watches baseball on a regular basis can tell how bad Pierre is offensively, especially when he can't steal bases. To bat that player first each and every game makes me want to vomit. How our manager and GM can't see this makes me question their knowledge of the game. Hell, even Phil Rogers was ripping into giving Pierre the most at-bats this past off-season. That should show how blatantly obvious this problem really is. Worst of all, we have better options sitting in AAA. There's just no excuse whatsoever for this nonsense.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 12, 2011 -> 12:56 PM) Where has he ever said anything like he wouldn't take him out of games because he respects him too much? Well he has said he won't take away Pierre's greenlight on the basepaths out of respect.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ May 12, 2011 -> 12:39 PM) Hm. I think you might be stretching it a bit calling him a "very good hitter" already. An .840 OPS last year in the majors and an .838 OPS in AAA this year (after a terrible start due to his hand) is pretty damn good for an OF. Plus he is young and will continue to get better. I still don't get how he is not a fit for this team.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 12, 2011 -> 12:33 PM) Wait you really believe that Ozzie is worried about what Juan Pierre thinks of him, and that is why he is playing LF everyday? Ozzie won't use Vizquel in certain situations out of "respect", so yeah I think he'd give Pierre an unusually long leash for the same reason. We're talking about his favorite player here. Pierre works hard and is great in the clubhouse, which I think would make it hard for Ozzie to pull him out of the lineup. The other problem is that Ozzie wishes he could have nine Pierre's in his lineup, so convincing himself to pull one may be impossible.

QUOTE (kjshoe04 @ May 12, 2011 -> 12:22 PM) Rios Ramirez Dunn PK CQ Teahen Viciedo Beckham AJ This is what I think the Sox should run out there. Rios and Ramirez are interchangeable. The defense would be terrible, but we need to score. I like the general idea behind that lineup, although I'd rather not use Teahan at 3B. Give Vizquel more starts at 3B against right-handers and perhaps lead him off. Bat Morel 8th when he plays. I love AJ last though. That should be a no brainer, but nothing is ever simple with Ozzie.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ May 12, 2011 -> 10:57 AM) I don't know if a bat like Viciedo's is really needed right now. I'm want to see Jordan Danks sometime soon. No offense, but I don't understand the logic of this post. Viciedo is a very good hitter. Do we not want those? He'd be replacing Pierre, so we'd be receiving an increase in AVG, OBP, and SLG, while lowering the team's CSs. That sounds like a significant upgrade across the board. As for Danks, how is he the hitter we need? He does nothing better than Viciedo other maybe draw a couple more walks and steal a few more bases. Does that make him a better fit for this offense? I'm hopeful that Danks is making progress with his swing, but you do not call up a guy with his strikeout history because a good couple of weeks. He would most likely get destroyed up here, which would simply stifle any progress he was making. Viciedo is ready and should be up here right now. Unfortunately, Ozzie and KW are willing to throw away this season by giving our worst hitter the most at bats on the team. Hopefully it will at least cost them their jobs.

QUOTE (Chet Kincaid @ May 12, 2011 -> 08:42 AM) You guys might as well forget about moving Pierre. He's not going to be benched and he's certainly not going to be DFAed. I get that he's off to a bad start, but I think the best we can hope for is that he straightens himself out and reverts back to norm. Reverts back to form? Offensively, he was never very good to begin with. His offensive value was entirely tied to SBs and IMO he has appeared to have lost a step. That's not going to magically come back. To make matters worse, he has a constant green light and will continue to run into outs. I don't see Ozzie taking that privilege away anytime soon and if he did, Ozzie would be admitting Pierre has zero to offer offensively. On the defensive side, his value has been tied to his range, so if he has lost a step he's less valuable there too. The dropped flyballs are just icing on the cake. In theory, the issue should go away, but it's been a month and a half now. How much longer do wait? Right now, Pierre is providing negative production if that makes sense. Any replacement level player could come in and provide better results. Best case scenario, he stops dropping fly balls and becomes replacement level. We have a young player we could plug in the lineup that would destroy him offensively and come close defensively. There is no excuse for him not being up here at this point. We know what Juan Pierre is now and it's bad. Go with the better option in Viciedo. I support KW on most of his moves, but if he's afraid to DFA Pierre and improve our chances of winning a division title because he's afraid to hurt Pierre's feelings, then bring on the Rick Hahn era now.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ May 12, 2011 -> 07:24 AM) I'm with Lillian. Just get JP off the field. I can't take it anymore. Yup, call up Viciedo, put him in LF, and DFA Pierre. It's really that simple. I'm fine with Rios or Ramirez leading off or even Vizquel when he plays. Almost anything that gets Pierre out of the lineup will improve the offense.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ May 11, 2011 -> 03:59 PM) Who cares what the Barons do. They have no prospects of note and everybody knows W-L records for minor league teams are fruitless. A Barons season ticket holder?

QUOTE (JPN366 @ May 11, 2011 -> 03:24 PM) I asked David Cook to hit a homerun to left field, he hit a homerun to left field in his third at bat today. You asked an opposing player to hit a HR? Why? You like watching the Barons lose?

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 6, 2011 -> 08:19 AM) And when he is in a slump, Dayan will swing more to get out of it. The guy isn't swinging at more pitches because he is hot. He swings at everything, all of the time. Think of him as Barney Stinson. Yet he was able to draw 4 walks in 13 games when he was struggling.

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.