Donny Lucy's Avocado Farm

QUOTE (JorgeFabregas @ Mar 4, 2011 -> 01:42 PM) Does MLB Network typically have a gun reading on their spring training broadcasts? They usually use the home team's TV broadcast. So, if the Angels' broadcast includes pitch speed, then YES (let's hope so).

QUOTE (JoeCoolMan24 @ Feb 9, 2011 -> 08:19 PM) Animals are (for the most part) defenseless, humans are not. This whole subject and thread is hilarious to me, for one simple reason. Mark Buehrle is an "outdoorsman" in that he hunts. He dresses up in camo and sits in a tree with a rifle waiting for deer to shoot. He kills defenseless animals for sport. How this is any different than Michael Vick killing a dog is beyond me. Buehrle should STFU and stick to what he's good at, throwing baseballs.

QUOTE (balfanman @ Feb 2, 2011 -> 09:46 PM) Phil Rogers is suggesting that Alexie Ramirez leadoff and have Juan Pierre bat ninth. I don't know, this might not be a bad idea, at least Alexie would get more AB's than Juan that way. It should be noted that Phil Rogers' baseball genius was on display during the very same segment in which Al Leiter referenced Alexei's defense as his biggest need/area for improvement, citing 20+ errors in 2010. Apparently neither of these guys watches Sox games.

QUOTE (3E8 @ Jan 12, 2011 -> 12:36 PM) Why should a man in the pictures below earn anything less than $33M in his career? Good thing the Red's catcher knew to pull full guard.

I wonder what realistic chance either of Brian Bruney or Jeff Gray have at the 7th spot along with Carter, Infante and Nunez??

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jan 7, 2011 -> 09:50 PM) It also allows Ozzie his 2nd lefty if he wants to use Thor in the 9ht. Precisely. If Thornton is the closer (or some combination of Thornton/Santos/Sale/Crain as a 4-headed ninth inning monster) then it is completely necessary to have that 3rd leftie down there. What I don't get is why Will Ohman specifically? Nothing against him, I am sure he fits the bill, but Tim Byrdak is still available and is more effective against lefties than Ohman, if LOOGY is what KennyGM is after. Though, I suppose NOT signing Byrdak could represent a realization by KennyGM that ex-Royals never seem to pan out for him. *shrug* OK - nevermind. After looking through baseball-reference career splits for both guys, Ohman is clearly the better pitcher, aside from LOOGY duties. http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/...=Career&t=p http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/...=Career&t=p

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Dec 19, 2010 -> 10:41 AM) His website has in in a Sox cap. I'm sure whatever the hold up, its just a formality. Caption this photo...

With all the money the Sox are throwing around this off-season, I think this might be the highlight so far... http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_..._video_13066619

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Dec 16, 2010 -> 09:20 AM) He's not even close to what Jay Mariotti was... anyone who says that clearly forgot about Mariotti's daily column ripping anything Chicago every chance he got... not just the White Sox and Ozzie Guillen either. Mariotti called for the firings of people and was a complete blowhard. Cowley is harmelss, and I find him entertaining and funny... it's clear he just wants to report on the team he is following. If it comes with a few wisecracks, I don't care, that makes it more readable and entertaining. Cowley is NOTHING like Jay Mariotti and doesn't spew the hate that he did. Anyone saying that has short term memory. Where's the "LIKE" button? *thumbsup*

QUOTE (Chi Town Sox @ Dec 16, 2010 -> 12:14 PM) Thanks for that, I would have never thought of him ever again if you had not posted that LOL. Sorry... yea, he was pretty awful. But at least he netted the Sox a decent utility IFer in Alex Cintron.

QUOTE (Tony82087 @ Dec 16, 2010 -> 12:10 PM) For their Rookie Ball team.... Indeed. http://arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com/news/p...sp&c_id=ari

I didn't see this posted elsewhere, but... former Sox minor leaguer Jeff Bajenaru is now a pitching coach for the Diamondbacks. http://espn.go.com/mlb/transactions

I don't really care whichever way... I'm not gonna be all like "DUDE! OMG!!" if he gets traded and if he stays, meh, whatever. But realistically, its hard to imagine him being any worse next season. He was a complete writeoff in 2009 offensively (his power numbers were greatly inflated by a 4-homer week early on in the season) and last year was just "blech". But looking at some recent "power" hitters that sustained wrist injuries, it took a good 18-24 months for them to return to full strength. Wouldn't surprise me in Quentin mashed again this season. But conversely, he could also mail it in again. So what I am saying is... I don't know if he'll be any good and I don't have a decisive opinion for or against trading him.

If KW wants a 3rd leftie, see if Billy Beane will listen on Craig Breslow... solid against lefties and can get righties out too. Late inning experience and an ex-Twin (most important attribute of all!). As for righties, I can't imagine a guy that spent 2010 in the minors and was injured in 2009 would command a whole lot more than a major league contract... give Jeremy Accardo a shot. Got good stuff and a steely Erstadian beard. Are the Yankees tired of Joba yet? Can we please have him for free since we gave them a free RFer? Maybe if KW asks nicely? Or do we still owe them for the Contreras heist?

I'm glad the Sox re-signed Lucy. Sounds strange, but there has to be some sort of value for the 3rd catcher on a roster (well, he's non-roster, but you get the point) looking back at some of the garbage that has occupied this spot in the past.... Raul Casanova, Gustavo Molina, Ben Davis, etc... Lucy might not be a toolshed, but he isn't awful at anything, either. Still can't believe the Sox took him in the draft above Kurt Suzuki.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 10, 2010 -> 03:00 PM) If you really think Andruw Jones can stay healthy as an everyday player, you weren't watching him last season. That's about all I can say about that. I think all we (if I can speak for other pro-Jones posters (God, that sounds silly)) are suggesting that Jones is a viable RF option if Quentin is traded for a relief pitcher.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 10, 2010 -> 02:53 PM) He has been anything but extremely durable for the last 3+ years, and both the Rangers and Sox saw exactly how durable Jones is early in the season last year. Jones got off to a hot streak both years. In 2009, the Rangers were playing him every day through April, and he pulled a muscle at the end of the month that dogged him the entire year. In 2010, the White Sox started playing him every day at the end of April, and within about a week and a half he missed 5+ games with back spasms. Jones hit well in the final two months of the season, and his defense was stellar. August: .273 .385 .606 Sept/Oct: .385 .515 .615 While Rios was falling back to earth and Quentin was stuck in a hotel room taking "dry cuts" Jones was mashing. Ain't his fault the Sox didn't / couldn't give him a whole lot of ABs down the stretch... they were in it to win it and they had Manny (ugh..)

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 10, 2010 -> 02:24 PM) And if the Sox trade Quentin, they need someone other than Jones to be a platoon partner with him, because he just can't handle the full season. Neither can Quentin.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 10, 2010 -> 02:21 PM) Nice work there glossing over the stats. Teahen played 10 games there in 2010. Most everyone knows that UZR doesn't work well over short time periods, and is even better with multiple years, not 10 games. If I do a little more looking, during the 32 games Teahen played in RF in 2009...he put up a -39.7 UZR. That means UZR thinks he was literally worth -1.2 runs per game in RF in 2009. That would be a -180 UZR over 162 games if that's how it worked. UZR thinks he wasn't awful in RF in 2007, that's why his career number isn't terrible. That wasn't what I meant to do... All I was saying was, if the Sox trade Quentin for a bullpen arm, signing someone like Jones to fill in isn't a bad option.

I'm arguing too much... let me just say, that as a Sox fan, I really do not prefer Teahen, Jones or anyone else... I just don't want to watch the team give away extra outs and potentially extra runs by having Quentin in RF when his only real contribution to the team is his power bat, when its hard to predict he'll hit at all.... If the Sox can get a good arm for him, someone that projects well and will be cheap for a few years then you can worry about RF defense later. Its not hard to replace a -35 UZR. *shrug* Maybe the A's will want Teahen or Quentin for their OBP and trade the Sox back someone like Craig Breslow (very good against lefties and not an extreme lefties splits guy) or another guys (not that familiar with the A's roster).... Just sayin.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 10, 2010 -> 11:52 AM) Beltre is still a better fit. I was wondering about that too. They already have a bunch of OFers. What happens to Juan Rivera, Bobby Abreau, Reggie Willits, Toriiiiii Hunter and Bonjouros... Trade em all?

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 10, 2010 -> 01:54 PM) Andruw Jones for 75 games and Mark Teahen for 85 games is well below replacement level defense. Based on what? Throughout Jones' career, he has been an elite defender and the past 2 seasons in RF has UZR ratings of 11.6 and 12.3 in 2009 and 2010 respectively. Teahen posted a 2.1 UZR in RF for the So last year and has a career -0.9 rating in the OF. Conversely, Carlos Quentin posted -25.2 and -32.7 UZR ratings in 2009 and 2010. You can debate the legitimacy of UZR statistics all you want, but simply stating that Teahen and Jones are "bad defenders" and "well below league average" is baseless and patently false. Regardless of offensive contributions, a Jones/Teahen RF platoon >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Carlos Quentin.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Dec 10, 2010 -> 01:47 PM) It would work in my weightloss because I wouldn't keep meals down watching that regularly. Why not? Sox don't need a 300/30/100 guy in RF anymore. They've got enough offense. Now they need PLUS RF defense and offense at replacement level.

QUOTE (Iwritecode @ Dec 10, 2010 -> 12:58 PM) IIRC, the Grinder Rules were the idea of an advertising company that they no longer work with. Someone from the company (owner?) posted on WSI for a little while. 2x4 Media was the company.

QUOTE (striker @ Dec 10, 2010 -> 01:29 PM) If you traded Quentin couldn't you replace him with Andruw Jones? Jones had a higher WAR than Quentin in 2010. Stole my thunder, was just about to post this as an idea. See if Quentin can be moved for a quality, controllable (is that even a word?) bullpen arm and platoon Andruw Jones and Teahen in RF. Couple of notes here (to defend my position): Jones caught heat from fans on boards and blogs for one single bad month. Otherwise, he played exceedingly well for the Sox (ignoring WAR). He is a plus defender. For as much flack as Teahen takes, its because of his 3B defense (was anyone really surprised?) and his contract - but not for his bat. His valuation is based on his hitting (again, ignoring WAR). Keep his glove away from 3B and he'll earn that 4.75 million. If puttiong Teahen on the field and in the lineup 2 or 3 times a week keeps Quentin out of RF, I am all for it. PS - go Sox!