Jump to content

Some Brandon McCarthy Love from an AL GM


maggsmaggs

Recommended Posts

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/writ...playoffs/1.html

 

The Red Sox were stunned when the White Sox left rookie pitcher Brandon McCarthy off the Division Series roster. Chicago won without him. In the ALCS, the Sox again won without McCarthy. Is there a spot for him on the World Series roster?

 

"I'd much rather see [Luis] Vizcaino in the game if I were facing the White Sox,'' said one AL GM of McCarthy, who was 3-2 with a 4.03 ERA and 48 strikeouts in 67 innings this season. "McCarthy is special. He disguises his changeup as well as anybody in the game."

 

Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said he kept Vizcaino on the postseason roster "because he's done it all year for me" pitching out of the bullpen. McCarthy made only two relief appearances for the White Sox and has only four bullpen appearances in his pro career. He'd be the perfect guy to slot into a game in which a Sox starter is forced to leave early, but Chicago doesn't seem to worry about such a contingency the way its starters are throwing. In either case, McCarthy, 22, will begin next season as one of the next dominant pitchers in the game, along with Felix Hernandez of Seattle and Francisco Liriano of the Twins.

 

By the way, McCarthy very nearly wound up in the Boston rotation this season. When the Red Sox agreed to trade Nomar Garciaparra to the White Sox for Magglio Ordonez after the 2003 season -- contingent on getting a deal done with Texas for Alex Rodriguez -- Boston asked for two low-level minor leaguers. One of them was McCarthy, a former 17th-round pick who had 125 strikeouts and 15 walks in rookie ball. The Red Sox didn't know much about him but were impressed by those stats. The White Sox easily agreed to put him in the deal.

 

Other really good nuggets from Tom Verducci:

 

Did you catch Chicago pitcher Jon Garland staring down Angels shortstop Orlando Cabrera as Cabrera ran out his two-run homer in Game 3? "He was [ticked] off because he thought Cabrera pimped him," catcher A.J. Pierzynski said. "I went out there and calmed him down." The incident was a window into the competitiveness of Garland -- who typically keeps a SoCal cool exterior -- and the maturity of Pierzynski. Make what you want of Cabrera taking a good long Reggie-sized look at a dinger with his team down 5-0.

 

How close were the White Sox to pulling off a blockbuster deal at the July trading deadline? (Ken Griffey Jr. was the most mentioned target.) GM Kenny Williams now admits it was so close he called the team's public relations department to put a news release together.

 

No one can accuse Guillen of sophisticated signs. After Jermaine Dye reached base in Game 3, Guillen flashed two fingers against his body to third base coach Joey Cora, halfway concealing them with his left hand. Dye stole second on the second pitch.

 

I though that was some interesting info passed along from a guy, I normally don't like.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

"He was pissed off because he thought Cabrera pimped him,"

 

And Garland went on to shut them down for the rest of the night. Another case of why showing up the oponent only hurts your team. I can't stand it when they stand at the f***ing plate watching their homeruns, it's one of the worst things about baseball.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

QUOTE(Kalapse @ Oct 19, 2005 -> 07:13 PM)
And Garland went on to shut them down for the rest of the night. Another case of why showing up the oponent only hurts your team. I can't stand it when they stand at the f***ing plate watching their homeruns, it's one of the worst things about baseball.

Manny annoys me so much when he does that. He just stares at the homer, takes his batting gloves off and the starts running and doing his two finger point towards his dugout.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

QUOTE(SoxAce @ Oct 19, 2005 -> 08:16 PM)
Did any sox fans here get pissed when our fellow sox player Carlos Lee did it? Just wondering.

Yes, and I've said it numerous times including last year. It was the last straw when he did it and the ball hit off the wall in left.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

QUOTE(maggsmaggs @ Oct 19, 2005 -> 08:20 PM)
Crede is by far the best at it when it comes to homers.  When he knows its gone, he puts his head down and runs the bases.

Uribe is good about it, if he really gets into one he'll finish with his hands in the air but that is it. When he hits one out he runs his ass off around the bases.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

QUOTE(FlaCWS @ Oct 20, 2005 -> 11:25 AM)
I also thought McCarthy should've been on the roster instead of Vizcaino. Everyone was making it out to be McCarthy vs. El Duque and I was clueless as to why Vizcaino got  a free pass.

Probably because Viz had a pretty good 2nd half, and he's been with the team for the whole year.

 

I think if it was up to White Sox fans, Damaso Marte would be off the roster, and B-Mac on. But at least we can take solace in the fact we'll be seeing B-Mac in the rotation for the next 5 years and hopefully beyond. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

QUOTE(FlaCWS @ Oct 19, 2005 -> 06:25 PM)
I also thought McCarthy should've been on the roster instead of Vizcaino. Everyone was making it out to be McCarthy vs. El Duque and I was clueless as to why Vizcaino got  a free pass.

I would say that it's because the circumstances of coming in as a starter and as a reliever are so different that sometimes it behooves you to have the relief pitcher.

 

Viz can warm up in less than half an inning, because he does it on a regular basis. You get to inning 12, and that's a big benefit. Normally, a starter will have lots of different steps they take to stretch out and warm up...normal tosses, long toss, etc. You just can't do all that in the bullpen. At some point, you like having the guys out there who are used to it...they're less likely to come into the game and feel wrong because they didn't get their usual routine.

 

He can also throw 2+ innings, which does remove some of the need for BMac in a long role, especially with El Duque on the team.

 

I'm not sure leaving BMac off is the right call myself, but that's some of the logic behind it. And much like the whole Gload/Blum debate...if it comes down to it where BMac vs. Vizcaino is the deciding factor in winning the world series...a ton of other things have gone wrong.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Did any sox fans here get pissed when our fellow sox player Carlos Lee did it? Just wondering.

Hated it when Lee did it. Hated it when Magglio did it. I hope they're happy watching the post-season on TV. The camera also caught Lee a couple of times doing a weird kissing the air thing toward someone, but I have to think THAT was just some joke with a team mate, which really did look funny.

 

Anyway, I give our players BIG style points for putting their heads down and running the bases. I think of the opposite as NBA-style homers.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

QUOTE(whitesoxin' @ Oct 19, 2005 -> 09:30 PM)
So does B-Mac get to be with the team in the dugout? Or does he have to sit at home? I know Frank has been with the team, so why shouldn't Brandon be there?

He'll be in the dugout as he has been for the ALDS and the ALCS.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

QUOTE(ottawa_sox @ Oct 19, 2005 -> 07:44 PM)
What happens if a player comes up lame during the playoffs - can he be replaced by someone else (i.e. El Duque pitches for a couple of innings and his shoulder tightens up).

No. Once a series starts, you cannot put a person on the DL and replace him during a series. You are stuck with your 25 man roster for that entire series. The only time a player can be replaced is between series.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

QUOTE(Kalapse @ Oct 19, 2005 -> 07:13 PM)
And Garland went on to shut them down for the rest of the night. Another case of why showing up the oponent only hurts your team. I can't stand it when they stand at the f***ing plate watching their homeruns, it's one of the worst things about baseball.

 

I thought I saw Garland mouthing words toward Cabrera as he watched his home run. Jon is great, I love it when he scared the s*** out of Rondell White.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

QUOTE(Kalapse @ Oct 19, 2005 -> 06:22 PM)
Uribe is good about it, if he really gets into one he'll finish with his hands in the air but that is it. When he hits one out he runs his ass off around the bases.

I could've sworn that it was Uribe who was in the dog house earlier this year for standing at the plate to admire what he thought was a homer but wasn't, no?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...