Eminor3rd

QUOTE (Lillian @ Apr 22, 2015 -> 10:11 AM) To the last few replies: Hey, just because I was wrong in suggesting someone else, does not invalidate my point. My ability to identify the right guy has nothing to do with this issue. I'm not the GM. I'm glad that Robin is batting La Roche further down, vs. left handed starters. However, vs right handed starters, the same dilemma will occur late in games. It's just that practically everyone has noticeable platoon splits, so you diversify so that a team has to wreck the bullpen to exploit it. There was no way for us to get an elite hitter to plug in there, but we got LaRoche and it's still a major upgrade overall. We'd all love to have the hitter you're imagining, but he just isn't available to us. And missing him isn't our biggest issue. If none of our guys hit like they're supposed to, we're going to lose no matter what. We just gotta ride this thing out.

Aww. Looks like I was too slow

Alright, my turn. Great pitching match-up. A short prayer to Lyle Mouton: Look upon us, O Mighty One. Let's start a winning streak today. Poll if O/U on total K's between both staffs. Staves?

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Apr 22, 2015 -> 07:58 AM) LaRoche will be fine. Funny no one was complaining when he hit 3 homers in a week and drove in some big runs. There aren't many left handed hitters who handle left handed pitchers well. This. The reason we're scoring 2 runs per game is because literally all the starters (except Abreu) are performing below expectations, not because LaRoche has a platoon disadvantage.

QUOTE (pettie4sox @ Apr 21, 2015 -> 02:38 PM) That was a fun game. I forgot who K'ed to end that game but it was borderline. It was Brendan Ryan, and it was very, very clearly out of the zone, haha.

QUOTE (fathom @ Apr 21, 2015 -> 10:24 AM) The Royals would probably throw at Melky in consecutive games

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Apr 21, 2015 -> 11:53 AM) I love how he's pitching, but I just hope it lasts. He did not look anywhere near this good last year, or any other year for that matter. Only in the sense that NO ONE has ever looked this good over the course of an entire season. Robertson has been a top 5 reliever in the MLB for years now, plenty of precedent that this is for real. The question is when will it decay (which is a legit question), but not "is it true talent"?

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Apr 20, 2015 -> 09:37 PM) Let's keep this momentum! QUOTE (pettie4sox @ Apr 20, 2015 -> 09:44 PM) Winning is fun. Let's keep this one-game winning streak going! Lol

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Apr 21, 2015 -> 06:59 AM) I think the bullpen is nails now. The offense can't possibly continue to be as bad as it's been. Q and Samardzija have to be better. Rodon will eventually move into the rotation. The defense is a huge concern. IMO the Sox worst defenders are Gillaspie, Avi, and Micah, and it seems the opposition hits a lot of balls their way. I have no idea what the pump fake from Avi was last night. I have never seen it, but when he was acquired less than 2 years ago, it was thought he could be a CF. His defense is definitely trending down. Hopefuly these guys can step it up and be adequate. Great point. Micah seems to be a real issue because of his hands. Even that grounder up the middle early on -- yeah, tough play, no doubt, but a ML infielder at least gloves that ball. Maybe he can't fget an accurate throw off in time, but that feels like the 5th or 6th grounder I've seen him bobble or drop this year, and it makes me worry about his defense long-term.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Apr 20, 2015 -> 09:34 PM) The fuse is lit. This was my thought, too -- or it was my hope anyway. I said to my girlfriend. "that inning was the first time I've felt like they could actually hit this whole season." It's been really rough so far, but the guys looked SO excited during the entire rally. I hope this is the turnaround.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Apr 20, 2015 -> 10:56 AM) It'd be interesting if they could get Drabek to AAA and have him stretched out as a starter. I think his two TJs are an obstacle to that. My guess is he's an RP for life now.

QUOTE (Lillian @ Apr 20, 2015 -> 12:01 PM) I'm familiar with that argument, but never have been convinced of its validity. Leadoff and #2 hole are specialized roles. They aren't designed for the "best" hitter. A leadoff guy needs to see pitches, work the count, get on base, and steal if possible. A #2 has to be patient, in order to give the leadoff hitter a chance to steal. He has to stay out of the double play, execute the hit and run, bunt etc. That's why Abreu would not be a suitable hitter for either of those two spots, even though he is clearly the "best" hitter on the team. I just don't understand that entire argument. I think Carlos is a proficient hitter, from both sides of the plate, and that he is capable of performing the specialized tasks of a #2 hitter. Melky has some pop, and could be a run producer, if he batted further down in the order. Seems like a waste of his talent, to have him taking extra pitches, to protect a would be base stealer. I'm also pretty sure that bunting is not his strong suit, nor a good use of his talent. I wouldn't mind seeing Cabrera batting right behind Avi, vs LHP, instead of La Roche. Moreover, exactly what is Johnson going to contribute in the #9 hole, that would make him so valuable? He needs to demonstrate an ability to get on base at a higher than average rate, in order to become the big base stealing threat that he has the potential to be. All of that said, I'm convinced that Caulfield is right, and that Micah will benefit from the experience. I'm already discouraged enough about this team's chances for this year, that it makes sense to let him play, and get the experience so that next year, he won't be a rookie. There's a lot of math that makes/supports the argument, but basically it's this: Q: what's better than a two hitter who is able to be patient and move the runner over? A: a two hitter who gets base hits instead The other thing to remember is that each spot in the lineup gets about 18 extra PA over the course of the season than the previous one. So if you dropped Melky to 6th and replaced him with Sanchez, you're essentially taking 64 plate appearances away from Melky and giving them to arguably the worst hitter in the lineup. That's like 10% of a full season of PA! Now, the Tango math that argued the absolute best hitter should be #2 was based on late steroid-era offensive levels where on base percentage was super high league-wide, and therefore raw ABs was the best way to ensure max offense for a guy, since that guy was probably a monster and since guys were probably on base in front of him. The thing to keep in mind is that his work showed that the #4 slot played a very close second to the #2 hole in terms of RBI chances/raw PA combined, and I wouldn't be surprised if it leans even more that way in the current run environment. At worst, it's close. I wouldn't personally advocate Abreu in the two-hole, but I would much rather see him at 4 than 3, simply because he'd come up to bat with runners on more frequently. Only the leadoff man comes up to bat more frequently with the bases empty than #3.

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Apr 20, 2015 -> 08:44 AM) The Sox have to have the worst second best player ever of the older franchises. It seems like we went basically to the 30s to the early 80s without a true superstar player until Fisk and Thomas showed up. There were obviously some good players in there but no real franchise ones. Appling maybe was good enough for that title. Fox and Aparichio were popular but I'm not sure good enough. Dick Allen wasn't with the Sox for long. I doubt Fisk will be on there because of the hall of fame fiasco. Eddie Collins is a GOAT caliber player but he played so long ago. Joe Jackson is banned from baseball but he's so culturally relevant and of course good that he should be on there. Frank Thomas is the only obvious lock. I'm voting Collins, Thomas, Konerko, and Minoso. I mean, Appling, Aparicio, and Fox are all Hall of Famers. Seems a little harsh.

QUOTE (Lillian @ Apr 20, 2015 -> 04:55 AM) The reason to make the change is based more on the way Sanchez is performing, than it is on Johnson's slow start. I'm especially intrigued by the idea of having Carlos hit second, which is a much more valuable spot in the lineup, than 9TH. Why would you want a worse hitter batting second? Melky has started slow, but there's no question he's the better bat.

QUOTE (flavum @ Apr 18, 2015 -> 10:20 AM) That's fine, I have an unpopular opinion. I can live with that. He left, he returned as a bench player. He should tell Merkin to go to LaRoche for the quotes. I mean, if Adam isn't too busy going to Vegas on the off day or doing the pregame stretch with his kid. I don't like that he's on the team, but now that he is, I sure don't blame him for acting like it. He sounds like he's just trying to get immersed in the season. Nothing wrong with that. Gotta have hope.

QUOTE (ptatc @ Apr 18, 2015 -> 06:39 AM) Sorry , I should not have used the term you. I didn't mean you as the person. I meant to use it as a general term for the SABR and analytics that do say this frequently. The group often says that spending a great deal of money on relivers is a poor way to spend money due to their relative lack of importance. They dont effect the game much as they don't throw many innings and using them at the beginning of the 9th is wrong because the true leverage situations happen when someone is on base. If had this very discussion on this board for a decade. Again I apologize as I didn't mean the you as as a person but as the group. I can't remember if you were actually one of the people in those discussions. No big deal, no need to apologize. What I'm trying to clarify is that the reason SABR-ish people don't advocate big money on relievers isn't because of lack of importance, it's because they're very risky assets. The list of relievers that stay good for more than a couple years is really small. Yes, SABR-ish people will always argue that a starter's value is much higher than that of a reliever just based on raw innings, but even fWAR gives credit to relievers for high-leverage situations. That said, I have no problem with the Robertson deal at all, because sometimes you have to take risks if you're going to win. It was such a crazy hole for this team, it jhad to be done. And Hahn earned himself the financial leeway to buy a closer at market rate by already having his core locked up to below-market extensions.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Apr 18, 2015 -> 09:59 AM) Can we not over-react to a player giving the canned answers he is expected to give?

Thomas/Pierce/Konerko/Mouton

QUOTE (ptatc @ Apr 17, 2015 -> 03:22 PM) I know I am. I think that is sone of the issue. On a serious note, you won't be saying that when reliivers are failing and these stats come out again. I won't because I'll actually clarify. No one says relievers don't matter. They DO say that reliever performance is volatile and therefore money can be invested more safely in other areas. That's a huge difference. What's old is people making blanket criticisms based on incorrect information. Don't accuse me of flip-flopping. I'm always open to changing my opinion based on new information and will always admit when I'm wrong, but I don't have any sort of agenda beyond trying to be correct.

QUOTE (Baron @ Apr 17, 2015 -> 01:14 PM) This guys strike zone sucks The whole league's strike zone sucks. It's hard to get mad at guys for poor plate discipline when pitchers are getting 4 inches off BOTH sides of the plate.

QUOTE (ptatc @ Apr 17, 2015 -> 11:30 AM) Because most of the analytics out there will tell you that a closer can be found anywhere and aren't really all that important. They have the least effect on winning because they don't pitch very much. He shouldn't be pitch the 9th inning anyway because that is not the most leveraged situation in the game. He is really being used improperly this season. (I don't really need to add the green do I?) So old.

Awesome play.

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Apr 14, 2015 -> 09:25 PM) 7.5 HR's ? Should be in green. You can't be serious . Most pitchers would be pulled by the 3rd or 4th one. Yes, you're correct, it was just a joke.

QUOTE (Dunt @ Apr 17, 2015 -> 09:21 AM) I shamelessly want to see Rodon in the rotation asap b/c I believe he gives the Sox a better chance to win and be a potential playoff team. I dont know that it has ever been done before, but why not have Danks and Noesi split the 5th start every week? It still seems as though the team doesnt want to use Danks in long relief, but Noesi might be a slightly better option in the 5th spot, so why not just have them combine to go 4-5 innings each 5th day? Might be able to save the bullpen a little and still get max value out of them. Because the pitchers will b**** about it, and the managers won't make them do something they don't want to do. It make sense on paper though, as long as both those guys would be available for long relief as well.

Six man rotation just doesn't make any sense. Why intentionally give starts to your 6th best pitcher? The reality is, unfortunately, if Danks isn't among the best options in either rotation OR the bullpen, he just needs to go.