VAfan

QUOTE(elrockinMT @ Aug 25, 2006 -> 02:10 PM) There is no reason why we can't sweep the Twins. If Vazquez can step up and at least give 6 quality innings I think the pen can do the rest. Contreras and Buerhle can perform like champs and now is the time to do it. Remember, JV is a 5-inning guy. It's that 6th inning that has been our undoing this year.

I have a few reasons I would line it up Dye, PK, Thome. 1. Pods and Iguchi suck against lefties. But if you hit Dye #3 and Thome #4, the opposing manager will just intentionally walk Dye at times and keep his lefty to face Thome. Putting Paulie #4 kills that idea. 2. PK is a better contact hitter behind Dye. I don't want Thome's strike outs in the #4 hole any more than I want them in the #3 hole. Plus, PK lives for that 4 hole. 3. The #5 slot is the middle of the lineup. We hit best last year when a lefty occupied that slot (Everett). 4. Thome's HR damage should come with more men on base. Having JD and PK ahead of him is going to maximize that impact. Plus, with men on base, the shift becomes less available. 5. Putting Thome #5 also puts Crede #6 and AJ #7, where they belong.

I would also expect to see Liriano by then. So what? We just have to beat them if we want to repeat as World Champs.

QUOTE(Rex Kicka** @ Aug 24, 2006 -> 02:17 AM) I think Ozzie Guillen is not a long term solution for the White Sox. He, like all managers for all teams, plays a role for a team struggling to shake itself out of a long time rut. When Ozzie came in two and a half years ago, he took a team with a lot of the pieces people thought necessary to make the postseason - and didn't make the postseason. However, it wasn't for a lack of his trying - it was from bringing a different kind of play and system into the White Sox strategy. New pieces were needed, and because we had a front office that wanted to win badly - new pieces were added. In 2005, we had a dream team - even if in the beginning, only the faithful saw it. Ozzie inspired a team atmosphere that we hadn't seen in the White Sox in years. Sox Pride was very much what we saw. Do I expect us to repeat? Not really. And its not for a lack of talent, its more about the intangibles. As hungry as Oz was last year to win, this year - it felt as if he was just more content to sit on his laurels. It felt that way for a lot of his players too. I can understand that. It isn't often you get to be world champions - you should get to enjoy that for a little while. From this die-hard New Jersey fan that follows more games on StatTrackers then TV, it seems like Ozzie manages on emotion rather than strategy. Although it can allow for amazing highs - like the 2005 post season, it can provide serious slumps - because emotion and "gut sense" seem to often get in the way of fundamental managing skills and fundamental baseball skills. We're lucky to have Ozzie Guillen in our organization. He provided a spark (and still can provide it) that few other people could hope to be able to produce. Unfortunately, sparks don't often translate into lasting fires. I think I agree most with this analysis. This year, I've been pissed the most about his mishandling of Brandon McCarthy and Javier Vazquez. McCarthy could be the best long man in MLB, and we have a staff that needs a long man in a bad way this year, Vazquez especially. JV is a tremendous pitcher through 5 innings. After that, he's toast unless we have a big lead. So, in every game that's within 2-3 after 5, take him out and put in McCarthy. Bingo, we should have at least 5 more wins. BM could also help give rest to Freddie Garcia and Mark Buerhle, who obviously both need it. Instead, they are 50 innings too long, and BM is 50 innings too short. Unfortunately, it was Cliff Politte's melt down that undermined this early, and Ozzie's stubborn insistence that JV and the other pitchers suck it up and pitch like men. Problem with that is that tired arms need rest, not further overuse. Still, here we sit with a 1/2 game lead in the wild card, still not having played baseball like we are capable of. I don't think any team in baseball wants to play us in the postseason. B/C this team knows how to suck it up offensively and stop chasing bad pitches. And we are loaded with clutch guys -- Crede, Dye, Konerko, AJ, etc., etc. -- who know how to battle. Plus, we have some money pitchers who might just turn it on at the right time -- both in the rotation and the pen. I love Ozzie b/c he BELIEVES IN THE SOX. He believes we are the best. And he's not afraid of anyone. GO WHITE SOX!!!

I know I've been harping on this since before the season began. I just hope Ozzie realizes after today's game that our lineup is going to be better with Jermaine #3, PK #4, and Thome, when he returns, #5, with Crede #6 and AJ #7. It's a better alignment against lefties and righties. We went 16-1 with JD hitting 3rd last year. We could use a little tear like that to put the Twins in our rear view mirror and put some heat back on the Tigers.

As I posted around the trade deadline, the one trade I feared most was Bobby Abreu to the Yankees. What really pissed me off was that they got him for ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. And it is pretty clear now that Abreu has been the difference in the Yankees coming from behind Boston to crushing the BoSox and having the second best record in the AL. Now, I don't think it is too late for the Sox to make the playoffs as the wild card (don't think we're going to catch the Tigers) and beat the hated Yanks starting in their house. But Bobby Abreu is going to make it a lot more difficult. This was the one guy that all the major contenders could have used. We could have used him to replace Pods as our lead off hitter, and put some threat both at the top of the order and to shore up our hitting weaknesses at the bottom of the lineup. Boston could have used him as a replacement for Coco Crisp or Willy Mo. The Tigers could have used him instead of Craig Monroe or Marcus Thames. He could even have helped Oakland's offense. I'm just pissed that he's made the Yankees lineup formidable and dangerous again. Break a leg, Bobby!

I should have titled this thread "Javier Vazquez mismanagment." Because it is up to the manager to assess the resources he has and play those resources in a manner that gives the team the best chance to win. If Javier Vazquez were pulled after 5 innings in games where the Sox had a lead of 2 or fewer runs, or were within 2 runs of the lead, we would likely be ahead of the Tigers right now, not 6-1/2 games back. That's just plain and simple mismanagement. Sure, Javy "should" be able to go more, but you don't require other players to perform beyond what they are capable of, so why lose games to show that Javy Vazquez is a terrible pitcher after 5 innings? In contrast to Garcia, at least Javy shuts the other team down at the beginning of the ball game. Do you realize that, other than 4 ballgames where he got hit hard in the 5th inning (giving up 17 runs) instead of later, through 23 starts, he gave up only 30 runs over 111 innings in games where he pitched long enough to get the victory. That's an ERA of 2.43. That's pretty damn good. I haven't checked, but that's probably as good as Jose Contreras over the first 5 innings. As I've said before, Ozzie needs to manage the team of players he has, not the players he wants to have, if the Sox are going to succeed this year.

Here are Javy's starts this year. After the XX, I list the number of runs (earned or not) given up up through the 5th inning, followed by the number of runs given up until he was taken out of the ballgame. I will also indicate whether we would have been ahead or behind if he was pulled after 5 versus what the situation was when he was pulled, and the final outcome of the game. Bold indicates the games where pulling Vazquez could have made the difference. DATE GAME W L ERA IP H R ER HR BB SO NP-S APR 08 @KC 0 0 2.57 7.0 5 2 2 0 1 7 98-65 XX 0/2/1 run lead v. 1 run deficit, Sox lost 4-3 APR 14 TOR 0 1 6.23 6.0 9 7 7 1 1 4 102-67 XX 7(5 run 5th)/0/no difference, Sox lost 13-7. (5-2 lead was given up in the 5th.) APR 19 KC 1 0 3.86 8.0 2 0 0 0 1 7 108-76 XX 0/0/no difference, Sox won 4-0 APR 25 @SEA 1 0 3.67 6.0 4 2 2 0 2 2 109-74 XX 0/2/no difference, Sox won 13-3 MAY 01 @CLE 1 0 3.00 6.0 6 1 0 0 3 7 100-63 XX 0/1/no difference, Sox won 8-6 MAY 06 KC 1 0 2.88 7.2 4 2 2 0 0 6 116-84 XX 0/2/no difference, Sox won 9-2 MAY 13 @MIN 0 1 3.88 5.2 10 7 7 1 0 2 86-60 XX 5(5 run 5th)/7/1 run deficit v. 3 run deficit, Sox lost 8-4 MAY 18 @TB 0 1 4.22 7.0 8 5 5 2 1 4 108-67 XX 2/5/1 run lead v. 2 run deficit, Sox lost 5-4 MAY 23 OAK 1 0 4.25 6.0 6 3 3 1 4 3 109-64 XX 3/0/no difference, Sox won 9-3 MAY 29 @CLE 1 0 3.86 6.0 2 0 0 0 3 4 106-63 XX 0/0/no difference, Sox won 11-0 JUN 03 TEX 1 0 4.14 6.1 11 5 5 0 1 7 115-77 XX 5(3 run 5th)/0/no difference, Sox won 8-6 JUN 09 CLE 0 0 4.19 5.2 7 3 3 0 1 9 110-68 XX 1/4/1 run lead v. 2 run deficit, Sox won 5-4 JUN 14 @TEX 0 1 4.54 6.0 10 6 6 2 2 7 99-70 XX 5/6/no difference, Sox lost 8-0 JUN 20 STL 1 0 4.43 6.0 7 2 2 0 2 3 97-60 XX 1/1/no difference, Sox won 20-6 JUN 25 HOU 0 0 5.00 6.0 10 9 9 2 2 3 95-61 XX 6(4 run 5th)/9, 5 run deficit v. 8 run deficit, Sox lost 10-9 in extra innings. JUL 01 @CHC 0 0 5.15 6.0 11 5 5 1 1 7 108-68 XX 5(3 run 5th)/5/gave up 1 run lead in 5th, Sox won 8-6 JUL 06 BAL 1 0 5.15 5.1 5 5 3 0 1 2 95-57 XX 3/5/no difference, Sox won 11-8 JUL 19 @DET 0 1 5.20 6.0 7 5 5 1 1 5 95-63 XX 0/5/2 run lead v. 3 run deficit, Sox lost 5-2 JUL 24 MIN 0 1 5.31 6.0 8 5 5 2 1 4 91-56 XX 0/5/2 run lead v. 3 run deficit, Sox lost 7-4 JUL 30 @BAL 0 0 5.44 5.1 6 5 5 1 3 3 82-51 XX 2/5/2 run lead v. 1 run deficit, Sox lost 8-7 AUG 05 @TOR 1 0 5.18 8.0 2 1 1 1 2 13 109-76 XX 1/0/no difference, Sox won 7-1 AUG 10 NYY 1 0 5.13 5.0 6 2 2 1 6 8 111-67 XX 2/0(removed after 5), good move! Sox won 5-4. AUG 15 KC ................................................ XX 2/2/tie game v. 2 run deficit, Sox lose 4-2 So there you have it. 23 starts. 11 games where pulling him early could have made a difference. Sox pulled two of the games out anyway, so that reduces the number to 9 games that could very well have been won if we made JV a 5-inning starter. We wouldn't have won them all, but it would have been nice to have won a few, including tonight's game. Of course it sucks that Javier Vazquez, for the money we are paying him, can't pitch past the 5th inning most of the time, and in fact has been hit hard a few times in the 5th. But it also stinks that Ozzie Guillen can't see this pattern and, with a long man like Brandon McCarthy available, make the necessary adjustments to relieve JV before he turns victories into defeats. The ONLY time Ozzie removed JV after 5 innings was the last game against the Yanks. It was a GREAT MOVE, OZZIE. Too bad you didn't follow up on it tonight. (I haven't calculated the ERA or W-L record had Javy been pulled in all these games, but suffice it to say he could have the most wins in the majors, with a pretty damn good ERA.)

I don't know that it's 2005 again, but it does feel like the team is playing like a complete team again. The starters are battling, the "turnips" (hitters 8, 9, 1 and 2) are contributing offensively, and we are taking advantage of mistakes by the other team. GO WHITE SOX!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I like baseball stats, but I think these guys lack common sense. How can the Yanks be 76-21 favorites over the Red Sox with only a 2-game lead and 45+ games to go? Do you think they would lay those odds on a bet? Moreover, how can the Yanks be 82-57 favorites over us to make the playoffs when they have a worse record than we do? (Granted, they have a division lead, but it is only 2 games and if they lose it, they are out right now.) Why do the Yanks project out to more wins than us when they have fewer wins now and have a poorer run differential? I know BP has formulas for all of this, but the formulas need some adjusting.

We are now 71-46, having beaten the Yanks 2 out of 3, swept the Tigers, and walloped the Royals 12-2. We have a 3 game lead in the wild card over Boston and the Twins. The Tigers are now just 5-1/2 back. The day I put this up I was bummed, but writing it helped me put our situation in perspective. And since then we've been on a tear. Even the one loss was encouraging. Down 7-0 to the Yanks, with Randy Johnson no-hitting us through 6 innings, we stormed back with 6 runs and let the Yanks know that no lead is safe against us. Since then we've won 5 in a row. The two biggest things in this stretch is a series of quality starts -- only Garland's loss to the Yanks was subpar -- and offensive contributions from the 8, 9, 1, and 2 hitters. Those guys (except Iguchi) sucked in the loss to the Yanks, when any hit from any of them could have won the game, but since then they have helped the team win multiple games with their hitting. This makes the Sox a complete team again because everyone is helping out. GO WHITE SOX!!!!!!!!!!!!

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Aug 13, 2006 -> 03:05 PM) 2 of our last 3 wins have come largely thanks to the work of the back end/top of our order. Yes, and today as well. Cintron drove in 3 runs subbing for Iguchi in the 2 hole; Ozuna got only his 3rd hit since June to drive in a run. Pods, Anderson, and Uribe all scored a run each, with Anderson also getting an RBI. So, for the turnips, that's 5 runs, 4 RBI in a 7-3 win over the Tigers. HUGE. Just shows that we need some contributions from the bottom and top of the order guys who went into a terrible funk, and when we get them, it is almost as important as getting good pitching. Getting both together spells WINNING STREAK. GO WHITE SOX!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If we beat KC, then those matchups benefit us, no matter who wins.

Just wanted to note here that the "turnips" came through again offensively yesterday, driving in all 4 runs (unearned) in a 4-3 win over the Tigers. Uribe hit a 2-out double, Anderson followed with a 2-run single, and Alomar (certainly an offensive turnip) hit a sac fly. With the Sox only getting 4 hits, needless to say, these contributions were huge! The Sox need some production out of these guys to sustain winning streaks like the one they are on.

The Sox have the option on Dye for next year, and will certainly exercise it. But they should also tack on a couple extra years for good measure. He is 32 now, but there's no reason he can't remain productive into his mid-late 30s. Sure, he may not lead the league in slugging ever again, but he's up there among the best bargains in baseball.

Personally, I'd be all for adding either Wilson or Cruz, Jr. as a right-handed LF. Mack's splits against lefties are even worse than Pods this year. And we could use a RH pinch hitter in some other slots. I'd open the slot by sending Ozuna to AAA. Pablo has only 2 base hits since June, yet wasn't hurt enough to go on the DL. He needs ABs that don't hurt us to get back some semblance of being a productive player. He could return in September. Frankly, if we don't add Cruz, Jr. or Wilson, I'd send Ozuna down for a 12th pitcher. Ozzie needs to be encouraged to yank our starters at the first sign of trouble for the next few weeks. They could use the rest, and we could use the victories. EDIT: Ozuna got his third hit since June today against a drawn in infield, and it drove in an important insurance run.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Aug 11, 2006 -> 11:42 AM) I am almost certain that Ozuna can be sent down. Then we should ship him out pronto. He has value if he can hit lefties and run the bases, but right now he can't do anything. Give him some AAA ABs and bring up Tracey. Ozzie needs the flexibility to start yanking our starters after 5 without wearing out the bullpen too.

QUOTE(SoxFan101 @ Aug 11, 2006 -> 01:09 AM) Vazquez only went 5 innings but he was awesome tonight all things considering. Although I think the one thing thats been bothering me especially his last 2 nights is on some batters he seems to go non-stop outside. Although I guess so far it has worked against him but still would like to seem him go inside a little more. I disagree. He got Giambi out with the bases loaded on a ball inside, and I recall other balls in tight, especially to lefties. This may have been the biggest game of Javy Vazquez's career, and he came through well enough to win. QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Aug 11, 2006 -> 11:28 AM) Huge F***ing win last night. We won a game on a night when our 3-4-5 guys had exactly 1 hit. We won a game where our starting pitcher only went 5 innings. We won a game against a very, very tough lineup, and with one of our 2 lefties out of the bullpen still being a disaster. And, IMO, most importantly, we won a game with one of the worst umpiring jobs behind the plate I've seen all year. Mussina had a strike zone about a foot wider than the plate, and Javy/our pitchers really got absolutely nothing. The only pitch Mussina didn't get all night was the 1-2 pitch to Anderson 3 inches low and 6 inches off the plate in the 6th inning (anderson struck out on that same pitch earlier in the game.) BA doubled on the next pitch. Seriously, that strike zone was just awful. I'm surprised the pitch that nailed Dye didn't get called a strike. Javy goes 6 last night with a decent umpire behind the plate, and the White Sox score 8 of of Mussina. Anyway, we won, no more B*tching, hopefully we get a new set of umps for this series. I didn't see the K-zone the same way, though I would agree it was erratic. I think Javy also got some calls on pitches that were way low. In the end, I thought the balls and strikes evened out. Loved to see our "turnip" hitters come through for a change. And loved to see Javy battle from the stretch all 5 innings and not let them have anything. All I want from him is 5 innings with a 2-run lead. Do you realize he's given us that 5 games in a row, but we lost 3 of those games because Ozzie didn't know when to change pitchers? QUOTE(Drew @ Aug 11, 2006 -> 05:42 AM) I've been going to ballgames for my entire life and I am hard-pressed to come up with another instance where I witnessed umpiring as poor as tonight. My brother and I were at the game tonight and were floored at how many breaks the Yankees got. Eric Cooper's negligent call in the sixth that would have ended the inning by doubling off Bobby Abreu was a joke. Cooper had all but completed the 'safe' motion before the ball or the baserunner arrived, as if he'd decided what the call was before it even happened. That and they would give Yankee pitchers pretty much anything they wanted as a strike. I didn't see the same game, apparently. Konerko's foot wasn't on the bag when Abreu got back, so it's an easy call even if Abreu may have been deflected from touching the bag. And Moose wasn't getting balls called strikes from my vantage point. I wouldn't say it was well-umpired -- the strike zone was not consistent -- but I wouldn't rail against it. I've seen a LOT worse. And it doesn't matter -- we won the game!! Great win. GO WHITE SOX!!!!!!

I think the answer to the thread title is a definite YES!! Last night, the "turnips" in our lineup came through on offense, and Vazquez pitched an amazing game that should do wonders for his confidence level with men on base. That's two wins in a row from him. Now if we can get the Count back on a winning streak tonight against Verlander, we ought to just keep building that confidence.....

QUOTE(kyyle23 @ Aug 11, 2006 -> 08:40 AM) Can Ozuna be optioned down right now without having to pass through waivers? I don't know, frankly. Never been an expert on the waiver rules. But, given the fact he has two hits total since June and hasn't been on the DL, I'm not sure anyone would claim him.

Of course AJ blew it by swinging at all. Villone had thrown Crede 4 straight balls, and then threw 4 straight balls to AJ. A walk there would have scored at least two, b/c Anderson's fly would have been with 1 out, not 2, and added a run. But, as I wrote elsewhere, I took encouragement from this game. Down 7-0 in the 7th inning. All the talk was about the great Yankees and Randy Johnson going for a no-hitter. And they ended up having to use Mariano in the 8th inning in a desperate attempt to hang on to a 1-run victory. I can live with a single loss as long as it shows tenacity and fight. It clearly carried over into last night's 5-4 victory, in which Javier Vazquez battled and battled through 5 innings, somehow only giving up 2 runs. The "turnips" in our lineup drove in 3 runs and scored twice, including manufacturing the winning run with two outs and nobody on. And the bullpen came through for four innings, stranding more Yanks in scoring position. Let's see how we play tonight. Contreras v. Verlander. We need the A-game from Jose from here until the end of the season. GO WHITE SOX!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

QUOTE(YASNY @ Aug 11, 2006 -> 03:37 AM) I haven't watched him play all that much, but I was under the impression that Melkey left a lot to be desired defensively in LF. Yes, and thankfully he displayed some of that last night! Pods finally came through last night against a pitcher who gave him off-speed stuff he could slap for hits. His two singles might have been the key hits of the ballgame. He also had a very hot stretch after the beginning of the season. So, while I would have loved for the Sox to take on Bobby Abreu's contract -- both to replace Pods and keep him away from the Yankees -- that was not in the cards. I think we are just going to have to hope Pods gets "hot" again. You could play Mack out there, but as I noted on my "turnip" post, he's actually worse against lefties. It would also relieve a lot of the pressure if Uribe could find one of his hot streaks again. It's already helping that Iguchi seems to be out of his slump.

I don't care about the division. (The Wild Card has won the WS quite a bit recently.) Just continue to play better and better and win series. The more important heads-up games are probably against the Twins.

Well, lo and behold! The turnips came through in a big way in last night's 5-4 defeat of the Yankees. In the key 4-run second inning, AJ Pierzynzki (an on-the-cusp turnip for the way he played the night before) followed a Jermaine Dye HBP with a solid single to right. After Joe Crede hit into a DP that A-Rod threw into right field, Alex Cintron stroked a single to left that Melky Cabrera misplayed into a double. BA didn't advance him to 3rd, but Podsednik, turnip #1, stroked a single to center that picked him up. Then, in what proved to be the winning run in the bottom of the 6th, BA took a very close outside pitch with two strikes that Mussina thought was a strike -- and started to walk to the dugout to show up the ump. After that pitch, he hit a solid double to right. Podsednik then followed with another single to plate the critical run. So, with two outs and no one on, the #9 and #1 turnips manufactured a run. With Thome and Konerko each 0-4, we desperately needed these guys to provide SOMETHING, and they came through! Plus, pitching turnip #1, Javy Vazquez, had an incredible game when you think about it. In major trouble in every inning, he wriggled his way through 5, giving up only Giambi's 2-run HR in the 3rd. And he didn't even get DPs to help him off the hook. This was a team effort tonight. A series win against our likely 1st round playoff opponent (if we make it), a game that put us back into the lead for the wild card, and our second 1-run victory in a row. GO WHITE SOX!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hey, sorry to rain on all the negativity in this post, but I voted "encouraged" about last night's win on the Trib poll this morning. Remember the 10-8 loss to Cleveland earlier this year? When we started the 9th down 10-2 but brought the tying run to the plate? Well, after that game, the Sox went on perhaps their best stretch of the season, going 18-5. Granted, it was mostly against NL patsies, but it still showed fight. I think the last two games we've showed some tenacity. Sure, we haven't had stellar pitching, but we've battled, and nearly beat Mariano Rivera on back-to-back nights, which has only happened once in his career. I don't think we've given up the fight. We may not make it, because of terrible hitting by our 8, 9, and 1 guys, bad managing decisions, poor starting pitching, etc., but we haven't given up the fight. GO WHITE SOX!!!!!!!!!!!!! BEAT THE YANKS TONIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!