VAfan

QUOTE(jackie hayes @ Jul 17, 2006 -> 10:56 PM) Ehh...a good chance, okay. But not "very likely". We're still talking about half a season here, in the minors. Don't oversell it. Well, I changed those very words before posting. I can live with "a good chance." Even at that level, he's worth more to me than a 30-year-old set up guy with 1 year left on his contract.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Jul 17, 2006 -> 10:52 PM) He is pretty young. Would I really feel great trading him for a reliever? Considering the hot/cold tendencies of a reliever (polite, shingo, foulke, koch, etc, etc) I would think you could get better value from our top prospect. And believe me, he is our top prospect. Well said.

QUOTE(southsideirish71 @ Jul 17, 2006 -> 10:32 PM) Even patient teams have a hard time distinguishing from a 0-2 fastball on the corner at 95 and a splitter that starts out on the outside corner at 91. Outside of Jenks and Thornton none of our relievers have true strikeout stuff. They are contact pitchers who pitch to an advange of getting ahead and letting our defense do the rest. You realize that Josh Fields is playing in a bandbox right. The same bandbox that inflated the Jeremy Reeds who looked like world beaters. I think Josh is a fine prospect. But I think he is at an alltime high and with Crede under control for a while the more we can get, the better. I dont see him as a .320 hitter in the majors. Remember also we have dumped a lot of prospects considered much better than fields. I realize Fields is playing in a bandbox. But, even so, he appears to have made a huge improvement from AA (which I know is a pitchers park). Did you expect him to hit this well at the start of the season? I didn't. I thought it would be two years before he'd be putting up any kind of pre-major league numbers. I like Fields for a few reasons. First, the speed at which he has improved suggests his upside may be higher than a lot of people thought it would be at the start of the year. Second, he has value to us. Pods isn't going to last much longer in LF, and if we don't sign Crede long term soon, Boras will price him beyond our means when FA comes in a few years. Do we have any other prospect in our system capable of stepping into LF or 3B in the foreseeable future? Third, whether Fields ever plays for us, he appears at this point to be very likely to become an above-average major league positional player, and has some small chance of being a star. I just think those guys are worth more than 30-year-old set up men -- even good 30-year-old set up men. I'll say this in closing, because I've said enough on this post. I trust KW's judgment on this. KW often overpays a bit to get his guy. If he's willing to send Josh Fields for Scott Linebrink, then fine. I just doubt he'd be willing to make that trade. As for the side debate about Freddy Garcia, I think we're all guessing. If the Sox could fix him, I'm sure they would. But I also don't think they're ready to just chuck him overboard. I think we're more than likely going to have to live with him for a while longer, for better or worse.

QUOTE(Kalapse @ Jul 17, 2006 -> 10:21 PM) You've never even seen the guy pitch, you've possibly never even heard of him until recently, how in gods name can you make statements like this? In '04 Linebrink posted a 187 ERA+ and in '05 it was 210. I'm sure you're not entirely familiar with this stat so I'll give you a quick idea as to what it means. ERA+ is the ratio of the league's ERA (adjusted to the pitcher's ballpark) to that of the pitcher. Above 100 is above average and below 100 is below average. So ERA+ Factors out the ballpark a pitcher throws in. Just for comparisons sake, Tom Gordon put up a 204 ERA+ and 173 last year. Cotts had a 229 last year, and Politte; 222. So in other words Linebrink pitches consistantly the way the Sox relievers pitched last year. So, in other words, you would agree that he'd be, at best, the third best pitcher in our bullpen, behind Jenks and Cotts, based on ERA+? (Which is exactly what I said.) Or is Jenks' ERA+ actually lower than Linebrinks? I bet it is. Which illustrates why that stat is not all that it is cracked up to be. I assume you wouldn't supplant Bobby Jenks with Scott Linebrink?? But just to be clear about this, I probably wouldn't trade Josh Fields for Neal Cotts, and I think VERY highly of Neal Cotts. (Maybe Fields will be a bust, but the way he's come on in AAA after posting so-so AA stats indicates to me the guy could be a star. And any everyday player who is above league average is worth more than a set-up bullpen guy.) I'm not averse to adding Linebrink (though I still think Gordon is better). Just not at the price some guys were suggesting.

QUOTE(southsideirish71 @ Jul 17, 2006 -> 10:14 PM) A splitter is a pitch that seperates him from the David Riske types that were discussed earlier. A good splitter with an overpowering fastball leads to strikeouts. And for all the people making comments that Linebrink is a product of Petco. His home numbers are worse than his away numbers. He has a 3.74 ERA at home. Versus a 1.64 ERA away from home. He is really tough on lefties, .159BAA, righties only bat .243 against him. What happens to him when patient AL teams like Boston and the Yankees don't bite on his splitter, which I assume falls out of the zone? If he's so great, his production ought to be better. But, not to be misunderstood. I'd take him. Just not for anything like Josh Fields.

QUOTE(southsideirish71 @ Jul 17, 2006 -> 10:03 PM) All the stuff about the legend of Freddy Garcia must be thrown out with his arm issues. Last year and in all of his years with the sox. On the road, during the day, against a good team was a lock. Now he is getting rocked, why...because an 88 mph fastball is easy to tee off on when it isnt located. The Freddy Garcia who threw the 1-0 game last year doesnt exist this year. If he did, he wouldnt be on the block. Freddy is getting absolutely rocked when he faces half way decent AL teams. Last year, he would pitch great against those teams. Billy Koch threw 100mph, and was an elite closer. Then he lost 6 mph on his fastball and was meat. 94 was still fast enough, however Billy didnt have the control to pitch at 94. The same with Freddy. Sure pitchers can pitch in the 80s in the mlb. But they must have excellent control on the corners. Not just throw it over the plate for a strike. You keep bringing up about how he had bad stretches before. He never ever, ever threw this slow before. Not in a game, not for most of the season. He has always been 91-95. When he faced us in Seattle in 2000 he was mid 90s, all last year he was living 92-94. Now all of a sudden poof his velocity is gone. There is something different this year. So all bets are off. Well, you may be right. I don't get to see enough live games to judge his velocity. And I can't attest to him having good velocity when he was getting rocked in Seattle. But just because he has a dead arm at the moment doesn't mean he's done for his career. If he is able to revive his arm -- maybe a DL stint is necessary -- all I'm saying is he's a much better big game bet than Javier Vazquez - even with a dead arm. BTW - How did he win the 1-0 game against the Cardinals this year?

QUOTE(Kalapse @ Jul 17, 2006 -> 09:57 PM) When comparing Riske and Linebrink you must also keep in mind that both have been used in different ways for the past 3 years. Linebrink has been the setup man to Trevor Hoffman meaning for the past few seasons he's been comming in to games in the 8th inning, crunch time and absolutely shutting down his oponents. Riske on the other hand has been more of a middle reliever, comming in to games in the 6th-7th inning and only sparingly in the 8th or 9th. The biggest knock on Riske has been his career pitching in crunch time when he's been known to give up the big HR (*cough*crede*cough*). So you have Linebrink who's one of the premier right handed setup men in all of baseball and on the other you have Riske who's a damn good middle reliever but not much of a late inning guy. I don't really see much of a comparison. Also, it's funny because I brought up a very similar trade to this at the end of the first game thread yesterday and about a month ago too. I'd love to get Linebrink, even if it costs Fields. I would agree without even having seen him pitch that Linebrink appears somewhat better. But I would argue that you aren't properly factoring in the NL/AL difference, or the Petco/Cell difference. Add at least .5 to his ERA and then make the case that a 3+ ERA reliever is "absolutely shutting down his opponents." I don't buy it. Linebrink strikes me as overvalued. And, on our team, I'd rate Jenks and Cotts ahead of him. Even Thornton has much more upside. Josh Fields for that? That would be a huge mistake.

QUOTE(beck72 @ Jul 17, 2006 -> 09:52 PM) Scott Cameron Linebrink: signed 2-year deal worth 2.275M on 1/14/05- he will make 910K in 2005 and 1.365M in 2006- + the deal includes a Vesting Team Option worth 1.75M or a Buyout worth an unknown amount- + the option can become guaranteed at 1.75M with 100 or more games pitched combined over 2005 and 2006- + the value of the option can rise up to 2.25M with incremental bumps depending on appearances in the first 2 seasons: if he makes more than 150 appearances the option would be guaranteed for a worth of 2.25M Agent: Service Time: 4.016 SD has a "vested team option" for 2007. Sounds like he'll be making a guaranteed $2.25 mill in 2007--he's made/ will make near 150 appearances last yr and this--a raise of nearly $1 mill Well, that's a fair contract price for Linebrink, and the fact he's signed up beyond this year increases his value. Still, I wouldn't be willing to give up anything of real value for him. He's basically David Riske pitching in the easy league in a pitchers ballpark. He'd improve our club, but I don't see him as a critical piece.

QUOTE(southsideirish71 @ Jul 17, 2006 -> 09:46 PM) So put your GM hat on and tell us what you would do, who you would trade for. And if the answer is just to stand pat and hope that all gets better. That really isnt an option. Because outside of your stat model, one of our pitchers mysteriously is throwing a lot less than he has ever in his career. And he isnt building velocity. And remember, Roy Oswalt pitched just as long and just as far as our starters did in the season. He threw 241.2 innings. Yet by some miracle, he still has his velocity. His ERA is up from 2.94 to 3.06. But outside of that his numbers are similiar. One proposed trade I suggested was Javier Vazquez and Scott Podsednik for Tom Gordon and Bobby Abreu, with the possibility of adding a minor league pitcher on our side to get it done. Gordon is and has been a closer for most of his career, and is MUCH better IMHO than Scott Linebrink will ever dream of being. He is also signed for two more years and shows no signs of slowing down. He'd give us a lights-out bullpen. McCarthy would move into the rotation and give us some of the young energy that the Tigers and Twins have. Abreu might be willing to waive his no-trade to play for Ozzie on a World Champion without demanding an extension. As a lead off man, he'd be a vast improvement over Podsednik. This deal would seek to accomplish much of what a Linebrink/Cameron deal would, except that we'd end up with much higher quality players -- Abreu is 3rd in baseball in OBP, and has 19 SBs to only 4 CSs -- who are tied up through at least next year. This kind of trade would give us a chance at back-to-back-to-back WS titles. As for Freddy Garcia, I agree he's an enigma. I suppose you could substitute him for Vazquez in the deal above, but I still trust Garcia a lot more than Vazquez, who has yet to pitch a big game in his life. Garcia has been a money guy -- and was our second best starter last postseason. He was 3-0, and never let the other team have a lead in any of those games, including the 1-0 WS clincher. He's had bad stretches in the past -- remember 2003 with Seattle? -- and come out of it. Maybe he won't this year, but I hold out more hope for that than that Javier Vazquez will ever learn how to win a big game.

QUOTE(jackie hayes @ Jul 17, 2006 -> 09:27 PM) Good analysis, but Linebrink WILL command a lot more than Riske. Linebrink is coming off 2 phenomenal years, while Riske's coming off a 'merely excellent' year, plus an injury. Plus, over their careers, Linebrink has been better even controlling for league & park. (Although I know some might not believe that, but for those who do...) Sure, San Diego may demand more for him, and get it. But after you factor in pitching in the AL, I think if an AL team gets him, they may be in for a shock. Some guys adjust well. Others less so. I'm all for Linebrink if the price is a minor leaguer of secondary importance. As I said above, I don't think SD will accept that. Still, that's probably all I'd be willing to pay. Plus, Linebrink has 6 years in the league. How soon is he a FA? Is he gone next year? Is that why they're talking about dealing him?

QUOTE(The Ginger Kid @ Jul 17, 2006 -> 08:56 PM) could it be Fields for Linebrink straight up? That would be a HORRIBLE trade for the Sox. Here are Scott Linebrinks' career stats. 2001 Hou 9 0 0 0 10.1 6 4 3 0 6 9 0 0 0 0 -- 2.61 2002 Hou 22 0 0 0 24.1 31 21 19 2 13 24 0 0 0 1 -- 7.03 2003 Hou 9 6 0 0 31.2 38 15 15 4 14 17 1 1 0 0 -- 4.26 2003 SD 43 0 0 0 60.2 55 22 19 5 22 51 2 1 0 6 -- 2.82 2003 -- 52 6 0 0 92.1 93 37 34 9 36 68 3 2 0 6 -- 3.31 2004 SD 73 0 0 0 84.0 61 22 20 8 26 83 7 3 0 28 5 2.14 2005 SD 73 0 0 0 73.2 55 17 15 4 23 70 8 1 1 26 5 1.83 2006 SD 41 0 0 0 43.2 31 13 13 8 11 43 6 2 1 18 4 2.68 Total -- 281 6 0 0 340.1 295 122 112 35 123 303 24 8 2 79 14 2.96 Here are David Riske's 2001 Cle 26 0 0 0 27.1 20 7 6 3 18 29 2 0 1 3 0 1.98 2002 Cle 51 0 0 0 51.1 49 32 30 8 35 65 2 2 1 5 0 5.26 2003 Cle 68 0 0 0 74.2 52 21 19 9 20 82 2 2 8 17 5 2.29 2004 Cle 72 0 0 0 77.1 69 32 32 11 41 78 7 3 5 9 7 3.72 2005 Cle 58 0 0 0 72.2 55 28 25 11 15 48 3 4 1 0 0 3.10 2006 Bos 8 0 0 0 9.2 8 4 4 2 3 5 0 1 0 0 -- 3.72 2006 CWS 12 0 0 0 12.0 8 2 2 1 7 9 0 1 0 2 -- 1.50 2006 -- 20 0 0 0 21.2 16 6 6 3 10 14 0 2 0 2 -- 2.49 Total -- 307 0 0 0 339.0 281 141 131 47 145 332 17 14 16 36 13 3.48 Both players will turn 30 this year, Linebrink in August, Riske in October. I've tossed both players' first year in the league. Given the fact that Riske has played his entire career in the AL versus the much easier league, and ballpark, that Linebrink has been pitching in, it is hard to make a case that Linebrink is that much better than Riske. He looks like basically the same pitcher to me. They both throw mostly fastballs, with some sliders and change ups. So, if David Riske was available for a AAA LOOGY who wasn't making our team anytime soon, then Linebrink isn't worth that much more. Now that's not to say San Diego would take a LOOGY for him, but he's certainly not worth anything close to the guy who may be the Sox best positional prospect.

I'd vote against trading Freddy. I remember in 2003 he had a very very bad stretch with Seattle where he got lit up start after start. Yet he pulled out of that spin quite nicely. I realize he's thrown up a lot of junk lately, but I think when he's on, he's got the second best stuff on the staff behind only Contreras. And he's proven he can be a money pitcher. He won all three of his starts last offseason and never let the other team get the lead in any game. I expect that somehow he's going to regain his form and will have several more very good years. Not 20-win seasons. But 15-17 win seasons. And he's young enough that he could win another 100 games in his career. There is no way that we could get fair value for him at this point.

QUOTE(iamshack @ Jul 17, 2006 -> 07:11 PM) Jeesh, I am not stupid enough to claim that Freddy is pitching well right now. But how many big games did the guy win for us late last year? You'd think he kicked all of your mothers the way this thread is going... I agree with this. As I recall, Freddy looked washed up one year for Seattle too, and bounced back pretty damn well. He's not old. So count me out for trading a guy who will probably win another 100 games in his career for a middle reliever and a prospect. The Sox have usually been the ones trading the "can't miss" guys for valuable players. I'm not ready to be on the other end of those kinds of deals -- not when we're trying to win another World Series.

I don't really have a clue about Scott Linebrink, but I can't imagine the Padres unloading both Linebrink and Mike Cameron -- who I posted a month or more ago would be the perfect replacement for Brian Anderson this year -- for less than something that would help them in the NL West this year. And that's a price I doubt I would be willing to pay. Cameron is much more reliable than the first/half BA, but how much better than an improved Anderson would he be? He'd be better, certainly, but probably not enough to surrender much to get him. And would we just send Anderson down to AAA? At this point, that could be a mistake. As for Linebrink, I'm sure without looking that he would be an improvement over Tracey/Hermanson, but I'm inherently suspicious of pitchers coming out of the NL, and even more suspicious of pitchers coming out of cavernous San Diego. So I wouldn't trust him as a bullpen savior until he proved himself in the much, much tougher American League. At this point, I don't think either guy or both of them together warrants anything close to a starting pitcher or major player from our side. They could help us, but I'm not salivating.

Last season in May, someone started a Sox Haikus thread on the main Sox site. I wrote a bunch of them about us winning the World Series. Yesterday, in response to Beck 72's thread about hope for this season, I penned the following new ones. I decided they deserved their own thread since no one responded in kind on that thread. Feel free to add your own. Remember, Haikus follow the 5-7-5 syllable format. (P.S. I stand corrected on the form by Misplaced Sox. Thanks for the information!) ***************** We are just lulling Other teams into thinking They can beat the Sox In fact, the White Sox Are still baseball's best team And we will prove it Have no fear Sox fans Would you swap our warriors For another team? Winning July games Is not essential prelude To October wins Pitching and defense Will reemerge and become Our team theme again Until it comes back Power bats will carry us Into the playoffs Once in, we won't care If we have the Wild Card slot Or win the Central No team can stop us From repeating as World Champs We will find a way Ya gotta believe In this solid White Sox team To go all the way! Back-to-back titles Flying over the South Side It's gonna be sweet.

I don't really fear any other team. The only thing I fear is our pitchers not getting it together. If we play up our abilities, no one can match us.

QUOTE(beck72 @ Jul 17, 2006 -> 07:41 AM) Nice touch. BTW, you might have too much time on your hands I'm glad at least someone noticed my string of Sox Haikus. I wrote a bunch last May on the main Sox website and we won the World Series! I like writing them.

We are just lulling Other teams into thinking They can beat the Sox In fact, the White Sox Are still baseball's best team And we will prove it Have no fear Sox fans Would you swap our warriors For another team? Winning July games Is not essential prelude To October wins Pitching and defense Will reemerge and become Our team theme again Until it comes back Power bats will carry us Into the playoffs Once in, we won't care If we have the Wild Card slot Or win the Central No team can stop us From repeating as World Champs We will find a way Ya gotta believe In this solid White Sox team To go all the way! Back-to-back titles Flying over the South Side It's gonna be sweet.

With 14 hits, we should get more than 4 one-run innings. I didn't see the game, but the box score looked ugly. 3 GIDPs. Lots of men left on by the 3-4-5 hitters. Freddy didn't help by letting the Yanks get 6 runs in the first 4 innings, which likely forced our guys to press. Our lead over the Yanks is only 3 games. We better pick it up and play better fundamental baseball. The postseason is no certainty.

QUOTE(AWhiteSoxinNJ @ Jul 16, 2006 -> 12:51 PM) Living in the Philly area I see a lot of Phillies games since it's the local team I get, we do not want anything to do with Abreu. The media and philly fans here have been crying for Abreu to lead off for years now and refuses because he wants his numbers. His gold glove he got last year is considered a joke in the Philly area because he's horrible in the OF, and Rowand's catch has only put more of a light on his poor defense. So we do not want Abreu at all. I've been on and off the Abreu wagon for the last year. I like Abreu's stats -- to a point -- but I hear your argument about Abreu's attitude. However, the one guy I think could get him excited to play again is Ozzie Guillen, his Venezuelan countryman. I think he'd be a very motivated guy under Ozzie. Is Abreu worth anything near his contract? No. And that's why I believe he'd come pretty cheap in the trade market. The Phillies also know they can't get much for him because he has a no-trade contract. So if they could just dump his salary -- ala Mike Lowell -- I don't think it would take much to get him. Any team willing to take on his $16 million next year can have him, I think, if Abreu is willing to go. Why should the Sox do this kind of a deal? First and foremost, it puts Brandon McCarthy into the rotation. The Sox intend to do this next year anyway. Why not now when they have underperforming starters right and left? Someone needs to step up and help Contreras or the Yankees are going to pass us in the blink of an eye. Maybe Vazquez can pitch better, and maybe he can't. Since he probably has more trade value than Garcia, I'd pick Javy between the two of them. Second, it greatly strengthens the bullpen. With Jenks, Gordon, Cotts, Thornton, and Riske, the Sox would have a deep, reliable pen. Our starters would know they really only have to get through 6 innings with the lead. Maybe Hermanson could come back and be the 6th guy as gravy. If not, I'm willing to let Tracey fill that last role. Third, it would take what is a very good offense to yet another level. If Anderson continues to improve and Uribe goes on another tear, there would be no weak links in our lineup, against lefties or righties. Fourth, Abreu in left would improve our outfield defense. I don't think Abreu is a defensive stud. But Pods' defense has slipped considerably. And we'd have 3 fantastic arms out there. Fifth, Ozuna would return to backing up infield positions, where he belongs. Iguchi can't hit lefties this year, but Ozuna kills them. That's where Ozuna should substitute most of the time. Sixth, this trade would keep Abreu from going to the Tigers, where he could really help them. Given their run, Abreu's contract probably doesn't scare them. And they have the young arms to deal. I'm sure KW is watching this carefully. This deal would help the Sox stay in the running for the World Series this year and next, and the only cost is players (other than any minor leaguers included) who won't be on our team much beyond that anyway.

QUOTE(BigSqwert @ Jul 16, 2006 -> 12:07 PM) Is this an actual rumor or something you would like to see? If it's the latter, I can come up with 100 trades I would like to see. It is a little of both. The Vazquez/Gordon part of it has been rumored, as can be seen from other posts. I don't think that deal returns enough value to the Sox. But adding Abreu as a lead off man in place of Pods would more than balance it out. Abreu is miscast as a #3 hitter. He's an ideal lead off man, however, and could be the best in the game if he played for the Sox. It would make our already #1 offense that much better. And given the way our starters have been going, we may need all the offense we can get. QUOTE(knightni @ Jul 16, 2006 -> 12:28 PM) I don't want Abreu leading off... That's a waste of his offense. Why do you think Big Papi is beating Thome in RBI? In large part because Youklis's OBP is .400 and Mark Loretta's is .358. Compare that to Pods at .353 and Iguchi at .342. Abreu is a walk machine with some decent speed. On a team with Thome, Konerko, and Dye, let him get on and score runs. Plus, if Uribe and Anderson come on at the bottom of the order, Abreu can still drive in runs.

With all the talk of Vazquez/Garcia for Gordon, what about spicing the deal up a bit by swapping outfielders too? Depending on how much Philly wants to dump Abreu's contract, the Sox might not even have to toss in any minor leaguers, but adding a minor league pitcher or two might seal the deal. Abreu would hit lead off and play left field. The Sox would take on his full contract for the remainder of this year and next year, but it would be buffered a bit by the roughly $4 million difference between Vazquez's and Gordon's contracts. Abreu would be a perfect lead off hitter for the Sox. He's got the best OBP of any outfielder in the game, and at .443 is third overall, behind only Travis Hafner and Joe Mauer. Plus, he has 19 SBs and 4 CSs, so his running is much more efficient than Scott Podsednik's. Bobby Abreu Phi 294 57 85 22 2 8 60 19 4 85 .289 .443 .459 .902 Scott Podsednik CWS 318 63 88 19 6 2 34 29 12 38 .277 .353 .393 .746 Plus, Abreu's Home/Away and L/R splits indicate he's very consistent. Indeed, he hits lefties better than righties. Thus teams won't be able to use a lefty reliever on Abreu/Iguchi/Thome as easily as they do now for Pods/Iguchi/Thome. Abreu's splits Home 149 32 43 10 1 5 34 43 1 36 11 2 .289 .442 .470 .911 Away 145 26 42 12 1 3 26 42 0 38 8 2 .290 .444 .448 .893 vs. Left 96 19 31 5 2 3 18 22 1 28 4 1 .323 .446 .510 .957 vs. Right 198 39 54 17 0 5 42 63 0 46 15 3 .273 .442 .434 .876 Pod's splits vs. Left 102 15 22 3 1 1 8 9 1 23 7 4 .216 .283 .294 .577 vs. Right 211 48 64 15 5 1 26 29 0 33 22 8 .303 .384 .436 .820 Under this deal, we would keep Abreu for this year and next, then probably let him go. We're not going to keep Podsednik any longer than that anyway. Abreu would be a fabulous lead off hitter, and would likely waive his no-trade clause to come play for fellow Venezuelan Ozzie Guillen. With Gordon in the bullpen and McCarthy in the rotation, we likely improve both areas of pitching in one fell swoop. If Philly doesn't want Pods, they don't have to offer him arbitration when he's eligible. This is all about dumping Abreu's $16 million contract a year early. If we give them a bona fide starter and a couple more minor league arms, they should bite.

I don't think anyone on here has even a clue of an answer to the question: Why does our starting pitching suck? We can only observe that it does. The better question is: what can be done to improve our starting pitching between now and October? There seem to be three main options: 1. Trade Vazquez or Garcia for a solid bullpen arm (Tom Gordon?) and put McCarthy into the rotation. 2. Have Ozzie pull pitchers early if they don't have it that day. It is actually a way to occasionally rest your starters. This happened yesterday with Buehrle. 3. Do nothing and hope the starters turn it around. Frankly, it is a quandary. The greatest strength of the team has turned into its greatest weakness in just one season. I think I'd be tempted to try to find a way to insert some young blood into the rotation. If McCarthy can outpitch these veterans, maybe they'll suck it up and pitch like they are capable of. Anyone for a 6-man rotation?

Buehrle himself blames the Questec strike zone computer they installed at the Cell this year. It prevents the umps from giving the edge pitches as strikes, according to Mark. Of course, his worst performances have been on the road, haven't they? Today, and at Wrigley. Was the 7-run outing against the Twins at home? All the Sox starters need to adjust, and do so quickly. Only Contreras really has overpowering stuff.

I was on vacation for a few days, but it was long enough to see the Sox' pitching get pounded again. Yesterday, Contreras pitched well enough to win, but the bullpen completely let him down. Today, not only did Mark Buehrle get rocked again, thanks in part to some shaky defense behind him, but Cliff Politte signed his walking papers. How many seasons do you think Buerhle has had games where he have given up 7, 8, and 11 runs? The White Sox will be in trouble if we don't pitch better. It already appears like we are playing for the wild card slot, as clearly we have blinked before the Tigers have. Sure, there is more than enough time to catch the Tigers. And the Twins appear to have cooled enough to lessen the pressure on us. But we can't mail it in and expect to be in the postseason in the American League. The Yanks aren't just going to roll over and fold. Like my post from just before the break, I don't have any answers. I'm glad we've cut bait with Cliff Politte. But I don't think Sean Tracey is going to be lights out for us, and I'm a little surprised it wasn't Montero who was recalled. Still, the starters are going to have to suck it up and pitch better. Or it is going to be a dogfight to the last game of the season.