Grade 1st Half

[tony72]

My grade is an A -.....

 

2nd best record in baseball..

 

26 games over .500...

 

6 game lead for Wild Card...

 

Great Fan Support....(almost 1.8 million before All Star Break !!)

 

Yes - this team has problems as does EVERY SINGLE TEAM IN BASEBALL..but we are 26 games over .500 - only 2 off of last years pace and I don't even think they have played their best baseball yet...

[Kalapse]

B+

 

POSITIVES

- Unbelievable offensive explosion this year, Jermaine Dye and Jim Thome have appearantly decided to join the ranks of the elite in the AL offensively (nothing new for Thome) and Joe Crede has been just ricockulous on both O and D.

 

- Classic AJ is back and it's made this team so much better.

 

- Contreras has gone a long way to prove that the second half of last year wasn't a fluke. Awesome.

 

- Brian Anderson has shown me so much in CF this year, I never liked him as a prospect and seriously questioned his defense, considering how some people talked about him. He has proven to be one of the best defensive players in baseball for the half season, simply unbelievable.

 

- Even with all their flaws this team has still managed to stay only 2 game back of a team that is winning at a ridiculous pace.

 

NEGATIVES

- Reliance on Thome at the beginning of the year could have crippled this team.

 

- Inconsistent bullpen for a good portion of the season thus far, though the pen has been pretty solid of late.

 

- Scott Podsednik

 

- Horrid starting pitching considering the expectations.

 

- Fundamentals have been pretty sloppy as well, this team can't bunt for s*** it seems and the baserunning has been subpar.

Edited July 10, 2006 by Kalapse

[Pants Rowland]

My grade is an A -.....

 

2nd best record in baseball..

 

26 games over .500...

 

6 game lead for Wild Card...

 

Great Fan Support....(almost 1.8 million before All Star Break !!)

 

Yes - this team has problems as does EVERY SINGLE TEAM IN BASEBALL..but we are 26 games over .500 - only 2 off of last years pace and I don't even think they have played their best baseball yet...

 

With last year's title and the additions of Thome and Vazquez, I think expectations were higher than second place to the Tigers (not to mention several stinkers from our first, second, fourth and fifth starters). I give them a B+ at this point primarily because I am not really confident of another title if the playoffs started today and the Sox were entering as the WC.

[ZoomSlowik]

With last year's title and the additions of Thome and Vazquez, I think expectations were higher than second place to the Tigers (not to mention several stinkers from our first, second, fourth and fifth starters). I give them a B+ at this point primarily because I am not really confident of another title if the playoffs started today and the Sox were entering as the WC.

 

You can't really blame the Sox for how the Tigers are playing though, they're just ridiculous right now. We've been pretty good as well, it just so happens that the only team playing better so far is in our division.

 

I'd say somewhere in the B+/A- range, although if expectations weren't so high it might be higher. Contreras and Buehrle have been pretty good most of the year, and the bullpen looks solid as of late, outside of Cliff. The back end of the rotation is the only major concern I still see, and even there Garland seems to be making strides in the right direction.

 

This team looks like one of the best in baseball and is a major threat to go back to the World Series.

[Gregory Pratt]

I would grade them with an A.

 

Despite the fact that they started the season with a defanged Cliff Politte, a shaky Neal Cotts, Matt Thornton in his early stages of the Coop Treatment, and Boone Logan, then added Jeff Nelson and Agustin Montero for awhile -- well, of all these weak-links, only one is around, and that's Cliff. Everyone else is pitching to what is expected of them, except perhaps Brandon, but he's not a reliever, and it'd be unreasonable to expect him to do what Cotts or Jenks do. Despite the horrible beginning for our bullpen, we're two games out against Detroit; even better, our bullpen is now a strongpoint. I'm sure some will contend that it isn't, but I trust everyone in our bullpen except Brandon and Cliff. In their cases, I distrust Politte for the obvious reasons; Brandon, on the other hand, just doesn't have a reliever's stuff, and is going to be VERY hit/miss.

 

At the beginning, Podsednik was hurt, and Anderson was absolutely miserable. Despite that, we're merely two games out. Thome was our saving grace in those early stages, and thank God he was around!

 

Our starters need to do better, but I, overall, think they've done an acceptable job. They certainly have to step it up a notch, though, but Garland is doing that, and I'm not as unhappy with Freddy as many others here. Buehrle has been solid on the year, but for the last two starts, IMO. Vazquez is, I think, going to keep us in a lot of games, as he usually does whenever he earns the win. I expect much better from him, as he's got the second best stuff on our staff.

 

I like this team.

[Heads22]

B+

 

POSITIVES

- Unbelievable offensive explosion this year, Jermaine Dye and Jim Thome have appearantly decided to join the ranks of the elite in the AL offensively (nothing new for Thome) and Joe Crede has been just ricockulous on both O and D.

 

- Classic AJ is back and it's made this team so much better.

 

- Contreras has gone a long way to prove that the second half of last year was a fluke. Awesome.

 

- Brian Anderson has shown me so much in CF this year, I never liked him as a prospect and seriously questioned his defense, considering how some people talked about him. He has proven to be one of the best defensive players in baseball for the half season, simply unbelievable.

 

- Even with all their flaws this team has still managed to stay only 2 game back of a team that is winning at a ridiculous pace.

 

NEGATIVES

- Reliance on Thome at the beginning of the year could have crippled this team.

 

- Inconsistent bullpen for a good portion of the season thus far, though the pen has been pretty solid of late.

 

- Horrid starting pitching considering the expectations.

 

- Fundamentals have been pretty sloppy as well, this team can't bunt for s*** it seems and the baserunning has been subpar.

 

^^

[Rex Kickass]

57 wins at All Star Break = A.

[Milkman delivers]

B+

 

The positives:

-Jenks, Thornton, Cotts, Riske, offense, Contreras, and Buehrle most of the time

 

The negatives:

-Last bullpen spot, McCarthy on occasion, Garcia, Vazquez, and Cora

 

Things that used to be negatives but have straightened themselves out seemingly:

-Garland, Anderson, Uribe, defense from everyone but Mack/Pods

[Pants Rowland]

You can't really blame the Sox for how the Tigers are playing though, they're just ridiculous right now.

 

The back end of the rotation is the only major concern I still see, and even there Garland seems to be making strides in the right direction.

 

This team looks like one of the best in baseball and is a major threat to go back to the World Series.

 

I agree with you about the Tigers. I should not even mention them when issuing a grade. I just think overall the White Sox have not been as fundamentally sound all around as they were last year. They have gotten away with it because of the vastly improved offense but they have been exposed at times. I agree about Garland, although I have been way more concerned about Freddy than Garland thus far this season.

[Milkman delivers]

I agree with you about the Tigers. I should not even mention them when issuing a grade. I just think overall the White Sox have not been as fundamentally sound all around as they were last year. They have gotten away with it because of the vastly improved offense but they have been exposed at times. I agree about Garland, although I have been way more concerned about Freddy than Garland thus far this season.

 

I was discouraged by how much better Boston's defense seemed to be in the last series. The big spending teams used to not have defense, and that was one of the things we could hold over them. Now that might be over.

[southsideirish71]

B+

 

POSITIVES

- Unbelievable offensive explosion this year, Jermaine Dye and Jim Thome have appearantly decided to join the ranks of the elite in the AL offensively (nothing new for Thome) and Joe Crede has been just ricockulous on both O and D.

 

- Classic AJ is back and it's made this team so much better.

 

- Contreras has gone a long way to prove that the second half of last year was a fluke. Awesome.

 

- Brian Anderson has shown me so much in CF this year, I never liked him as a prospect and seriously questioned his defense, considering how some people talked about him. He has proven to be one of the best defensive players in baseball for the half season, simply unbelievable.

 

- Even with all their flaws this team has still managed to stay only 2 game back of a team that is winning at a ridiculous pace.

 

NEGATIVES

- Reliance on Thome at the beginning of the year could have crippled this team.

 

- Inconsistent bullpen for a good portion of the season thus far, though the pen has been pretty solid of late.

 

- Horrid starting pitching considering the expectations.

 

- Fundamentals have been pretty sloppy as well, this team can't bunt for s*** it seems and the baserunning has been subpar.

 

^^^^^^^^ Kalapse is spot on here.

 

 

I would like to see a few moves happen.

 

BA is your starting CF. The platoon is over. If anyone needs a platoon, its Mr. Playboy in LF who is taking his bad baseball onto the field, dropping balls, poor reads and poor throws.

 

Trade for Luis Matos. He would require nothing from prospects in our org. He is right handed, plays decent defense and can be another OF to plug in late in games in LF or when BA needs a day off. We need another right handed bat off of the bench. And if you ask who goes from our team. The guy who forgot to tag up on third on Sunday who provides nothing to this team. Someone will want Ross Gload, its just not us.

 

Put Bmac into the rotation, and then ship off Vazquez for something. He still has value in the majors due to his stuff. I know Omar Minaya is in love with him as an arm, and probably has something we can use.

 

Trade for another arm in the bullpen.

Edited July 10, 2006 by southsideirish71

[Controlled Chaos]

^^^^^^^^ Kalapse is spot on here.

I would like to see a few moves happen.

 

BA is your starting CF. The platoon is over. If anyone needs a platoon, its Mr. Playboy in LF who is taking his bad baseball onto the field, dropping balls, poor reads and poor throws.

 

Trade for Luis Matos. He would require nothing from prospects in our org. He is right handed, plays decent defense and can be another OF to plug in late in games in LF or when BA needs a day off. We need another right handed bat off of the bench. And if you ask who goes from our team. The guy who forgot to tag up on third on Sunday who provides nothing to this team. Someone will want Ross Gload, its just not us.

 

Put Bmac into the rotation, and then ship off Vazquez for something. He still has value in the majors due to his stuff. I know Omar Minaya is in love with him as an arm, and probably has something we can use.

 

Trade for another arm in the bullpen.

 

 

I'd just assume to not ship off our lead off man.

 

my bad, you didn't suggest ship off pods.

Edited July 10, 2006 by Controlled Chaos

[Steve9347]

A-

 

great record, but could be so much better if the starters pulled their heads out of their asses (4.60 starters ERA)

[LosMediasBlancas]

B.

What bothers me most is the poor fundamentals and execution.

[CanOfCorn]

Incomplete...ask me in October.

[Controlled Chaos]

A+++ .648 winning %.

 

I mean there are always things to nitpick about, but jesus christ, that's baseball. If you hit the ball 35% of the time you're considered a dam good hitter. It's a sport of acceptable failures. The only people that have trouble seeing that are the fans. They expect sub 2 era's and .400 BA's, hell some expect even more.

 

The Sox have the second best record in all of baseball and the one team ahead of them they've gone 5-1 against. The Sox are the defending World Champs and every team is gunning for them. They are not winning by luck. There may be some players that have lower grades than I would have liked, but this team gets a big f***in A+ from me!!! I never expected to keep up with the magical pace of last year, but we're right there. I gave them an A+ at the midway point last year and 2 games off that pace isn't going to change my grade now.

[Gregory Pratt]

A+++ .648 winning %.

 

I mean there are always things to nitpick about, but jesus christ, that's baseball. If you hit the ball 35% of the time you're considered a dam good hitter. It's a sport of acceptable failures. The only people that have trouble seeing that are the fans. They expect sub 2 era's and .400 BA's, hell some expect even more.

 

The Sox have the second best record in all of baseball and the one team ahead of them they've gone 5-1 against. The Sox are the defending World Champs and every team is gunning for them. They are not winning by luck. There may be some players that have lower grades than I would have liked, but this team gets a big f***in A+ from me!!! I never expected to keep up with the magical pace of last year, but we're right there. I gave them an A+ at the midway point last year and 2 games off that pace isn't going to change my grade now.

 

[GoRowand33]

Offense: A+

 

much better than I imagined. Jim Thome having a great year, career years for Crede and Dye, Iguchi doing well

 

Brian Anderson and Uribe are still not great, but we have the best offense in baseball, so they deserve an A+

 

Starting Pitching: B-

 

overall our starters aren't bad, but there is tons of room for improvement. all of our starters have been inconsistent, which is bad, yet only Garland and Vasquez have truly awful ERA's.

 

I still have faith in Cooper to help even things out

 

Bench: B

 

Cintron and Mackowiak have been pleasant surprises, Ozuna is the best utility guy in the game hands down.

 

Widger has struggled as backup catcher though, and seeing as he can't hit or call a good game for our pitchers that lowers my bench grade

 

Bullpen: B+

 

sure Politte and Boone Logan have been disasters, but the rest has been good. Cotts and Jenks are still great, Bmac is getting better and matt Thorton has been better than expected

 

Coaching: B

 

we still have not gotten the best out of our team (except for Greg Walker) but we are still winning, so can't complain

 

Overall Grade: B+

[mumu]

Another positive not mentioned yet, Ozuna off the bench, A++!

[LVSoxFan]

Offense: A

 

Simply awesome, with clutch hitting, smallball and power hitting to spare. We do tend to strand a lot of guys but we seemed to do that last year too.

 

Starting Pitching: C+

 

Only because, compared to the consistency of last year, there's lots of room for improvement. Contreras has been great. Buehrle, even with higher ERA, seemed okay until the last two games. Freddy seems like his lakadaisacal self sometimes still. Garland has begun to gel of late but needs to build a streak. Vasquez is mentally weak, no doubt about it.

 

Bench: A

 

I give 'em an A for Ozuna; Macowiak and Cintron have been good, and Gload has come up with some clutch hitting of late. Can't complain at all about the bench.

 

Bullpen: B+

 

Agreed, coming together and especially yesterday! The big question mark is of course Politte but I don't think that will go left untouched for long if he continues to struggle. Jenks has been a workhorse.

 

 

 

Coaching: B+

 

"We still have not gotten the best out of our team (except for Greg Walker) but we are still winning, so can't complain."

 

Agreed. With this talent we should be crushing more than last year even, but we'll see how this goes. I give 'em slightly higher because of our second-best record and the fact that Detroit is just off the map right now, which nobody foresaw.

 

Overall Grade: B+

 

Agreed.

[RockRaines]

- Contreras has gone a long way to prove that the second half of last year was a fluke. Awesome.

?????

[Gregory Pratt]

?????

 

He probably meant, "Wasn't" a fluke.

[Steff]

D-

 

 

 

 

 

[Jordan4life_2007]

Incomplete...ask me in October.

 

The thread title is asking for 1st half grades.

 

Anyway, I'd give us a solid B+. 57-31 is a damn good record. However, other than the offense, we've slipped in every key catergory from a year ago.

[Kalapse]

He probably meant, "Wasn't" a fluke.

perhaps