BA, Molina(?) make the team (link)

[southsideirish71]

I hate to say this... but I miss Sandy!

 

Sandy retired, well at least the "I play baseball competitively" part of Sandy retired. The give me some more money until no teams want me Sandy is still taking up a roster spot.

[Chisoxfn]

While I think Perez could have helped out, I just don't see the Sox splitting time with Thome so I really don't see where Perez was going to get AB's, especially considering we don't need any 1st baseman and he really is a horrendous outfielder who makes Pods look like a freaking gold glover.

 

On a side note, its pretty ridiculous that some of you think Perez is the difference between a potential first place White Sox squad and a 4th place one.

 

The key to this team is the arms and in turn the defense, not the offense.

[Brian]

Is it in the CBA that a certain percentage of major league clubs must have a catcher on their 25 man roster with the last name Molina?

[BearSox]

I am usually positive, but I now have a sour taste in my mouth. I bet you could find garbage out on the street more productive then Molina. If we do suck this year, at least we will be able to get a glimpse of the future... Sweeney, Fields, etc. We could be like the Marlins of the AL.

[Buehrle>Wood]

I never knw a back-up catcher position could cause so much pain in my life.

 

 

I've managed to remain optimistic throughout this entire Spring up until this week.

[BearSox]

I never knw a back-up catcher position could cause so much pain in my life.

 

 

I've managed to remain optimistic throughout this entire Spring up until this week.

you and me are in the same boat... and I never thought the downfall of my optimism would be caused by a back-up catcher! There is only one thing e can do right now...

 

[Dick Allen]

I'm predicting a huge year from Uribe, and I think Anderson will be improved, so I think the Sox should be a little better against lefties although they still appear to have a few automatic outs against them. Pablo in LF, Anderson in CF, Dye in RF, Crede 3b, Uribe ss, Iguchi 2b, Konerko 1b, even if Molina is an automatic out catching, and Thome is struggling against the left handers, the offense shouldn't be too pathetic against them. I think they will have a little more success against lefties this year, the problem is they may be required to score even more runs than last season.

[jphat007]

While I think Perez could have helped out, I just don't see the Sox splitting time with Thome so I really don't see where Perez was going to get AB's, especially considering we don't need any 1st baseman and he really is a horrendous outfielder who makes Pods look like a freaking gold glover.

 

On a side note, its pretty ridiculous that some of you think Perez is the difference between a potential first place White Sox squad and a 4th place one.

 

The key to this team is the arms and in turn the defense, not the offense.

 

That's pretty much my feeling. We're going to need to beat the good lefties 3-2 like in 05 instead of 7-6. The latter was pretty much not going to happen whether we have Perez and Hall or not. We won 90 games last year and our starters and bullpen was pretty s***ty, and the team is pretty much intact.

 

Bottom line, starters have to pitch more like 05 than 06.

[SoxAce]

My god I never would have imagined that Molina would ever sniff the bigs in his career and now here he is. I pray that he goes nuts in the big league level and not get too overmatched. And I'm not going crazy over the BA situation because Erstad will be injured around May-June(ish) I'm predicting at some point.

[jphat007]

I'm predicting a huge year from Uribe, and I think Anderson will be improved, so I think the Sox should be a little better against lefties although they still appear to have a few automatic outs against them. Pablo in LF, Anderson in CF, Dye in RF, Crede 3b, Uribe ss, Iguchi 2b, Konerko 1b, even if Molina is an automatic out catching, and Thome is struggling against the left handers, the offense shouldn't be too pathetic against them. I think they will have a little more success against lefties this year, the problem is they may be required to score even more runs than last season.

 

If thats the case, we are going to lose anyway. The pitching has to be better. Bottom line.

[BearSox]

oh man... I hope Molina has just been saving all of his energy and power just for this season!

[jphat007]

oh man... I hope Molina has just been saving all of his energy and power just for this season!

 

Don't count on it. And don't count on him being our backup catcher for long if he does break camp with us.

[whitesoxfan101]

I love how negative everybody becomes over an injury to Toby Hall and Eduardo Perez missing the team. If you think we're bad, that's your mistake, but to think it over those 2 things is a bit misguided.

[santo=dorf]

QUOTE(fathom @ Mar 27, 2007 -> 10:19 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

What's your win prediction this year?

Honestly, this team in a vacuum is around 83 wins IMO. But because baseball is such a great game, we have no idea how the other teams will show up or what might happen when Cleveland puts their catcher at first base.

 

I still think the Sox can win the division, but it just seems everyday there's not much good news to report.

 

KW said he wouldn't trade a SP unless the players in return would help contribute to the 2007 team.

Garcia was traded for Floyd and Gio with KW saying Floyd would compete with Brandon for the 5th starter's spot.

Brandon is traded, 5th spot is in Floyd's hands.

As expected, Floyd sucks, but thankfully a player we got back in the McCarthy trade is ahead of schedule, or maybe he's going to be a little rushed, and Floyd is no longer a 5th starter canidate.

 

The Erstad signing was completely worthless and made because KW has always liked him, he felt the Sox lacked a "grinder effect," and because Darin was cheap. This signing makes Pods' signing look worthless, but I think Pods has more to offer this team, and Darin is going to hurt this team more than help by blocking Anderson, batting like crap, and forcing guys who can help this team off the roster (see Perez, and in the article Ozzie said the Sox were looking to move players to get him on the team [Mack?])

 

I'm glad baseball is coming, but I'm not pumped.

[Dick Allen]

Honestly, this team in a vacuum is around 83 wins IMO. But because baseball is such a great game, we have no idea how the other teams will show up or what might happen when Cleveland puts their catcher at first base.

 

I still think the Sox can win the division, but it just seems everyday there's not much good news to report.

 

KW said he wouldn't trade a SP unless the players in return would help contribute to the 2007 team.

Garcia was traded for Floyd and Gio with KW saying Floyd would compete with Brandon for the 5th starter's spot.

Brandon is traded, 5th spot is in Floyd's hands.

As expected, Floyd sucks, but thankfully a player we got back in the McCarthy trade is ahead of schedule, or maybe he's going to be a little rushed, and Floyd is no longer a 5th starter canidate.

 

The Erstad signing was completely worthless and made because KW has always liked him, he felt the Sox lacked a "grinder effect," and because Darin was cheap. This signing makes Pods' signing look worthless, but I think Pods has more to offer this team, and Darin is going to hurt this team more than help by blocking Anderson, batting like crap, and forcing guys who can help this team off the roster (see Perez, and in the article Ozzie said the Sox were looking to move players to get him on the team [Mack?])

 

I'm glad baseball is coming, but I'm not pumped.

 

I'm more worried about the pitchers. Erstad could be the version who had 240 hits, and Pods could have the best season of his life, if the pitchers throw like they threw last season or even worse, like they have in spring training, except for Danks and Logan, and to a certain extent Contreras, it wouldn't matter. The Sox have at least half their staff 6 days before the start of the season still looking for their velocity. That's pretty scary.

[ShoeLessRob]

Aj should be rather happy he's almost guarnteed the same amount of at-bats as last year or probally more. Molina should only be used as a late inning replacement if he won't have to step up to the plate with a bat in his hands.

[southsideirish71]

While I think Perez could have helped out, I just don't see the Sox splitting time with Thome so I really don't see where Perez was going to get AB's, especially considering we don't need any 1st baseman and he really is a horrendous outfielder who makes Pods look like a freaking gold glover.

 

On a side note, its pretty ridiculous that some of you think Perez is the difference between a potential first place White Sox squad and a 4th place one.

 

The key to this team is the arms and in turn the defense, not the offense.

 

Jason we have to hit lefties better this year, no matter if Hall is on the team. If Thome can hit lefties, we need to see it.

 

We hit .290 as a team for best in the AL against righties.

Against lefties we hit .262 as a team that is 11th out of 14 teams in the AL.

[Flash Tizzle]

I generally agree that Hall's absence, Molina's addition and Perez's removal aren't moves which will ultimately determine our success. It's just small moves such as these, in addition to points Santo illustrated earlier, that have just morphed together to completely irritate me as a Sox fan.

 

Our overall offense will still be in the top third of the American league. I'm not worried much about that. The problem is right here:

 

Ozuna

Iguchi

Thome

Dye

Konerko

Crede

Uribe

Anderson

Molina

 

That's a lineup we can frequently expect against lefthanded pitching. Sure, substitute Anderson for Erstad or Molina for Pierzynski, but you're not changing a whole lot. The first game against Sabathia should be an absolute hoot.

 

Considering how pitching will determine our success, I"d rather try and provide the starters with as much offensive support as possible then just sitting back and hoping a repeat of 2005 occurs. What has transpired within the last week certainly doesn't help that belief.

 

No question Hall and Perez would have been welcomed additions. Now that neither are on this club, one key area that the team struggled against -- and Williams attempted to upgrade -- has experienced absolutely no improvement. That's sad. It will be on the field as well when Santana is mowing through the order and all people can do is shrug their shoulders.

 

Judging from the comments within this thread, I'm not the only one who just feels watching this ballclub that something isn't quite right. Almost as if it's inevitable we're going to struggle throughout the season.

Edited March 28, 2007 by Flash Tizzle

[BearSox]

Jason we have to hit lefties better this year, no matter if Hall is on the team. If Thome can hit lefties, we need to see it.

 

We hit .290 as a team for best in the AL against righties.

Against lefties we hit .262 as a team that is 11th out of 14 teams in the AL.

I could understand if we did bad versus lefties if this were a lefty filled offense... but this lineup consists mainly of righties. I personally blame Greg Walker. Never been a fan of his, and I think he can be drastically improved on. The only reason why he has had success is because this team is full of a lot of good hitters who don't need much coaching. And since he is a lefty himself, I could bet that he doesn't give good advice to the hitter about how to hit lefties.

[southsideirish71]

I could understand if we did bad versus lefties if this were a lefty filled offense... but this lineup consists mainly of righties. I personally blame Greg Walker. Never been a fan of his, and I think he can be drastically improved on. The only reason why he has had success is because this team is full of a lot of good hitters who don't need much coaching. And since he is a lefty himself, I could bet that he doesn't give good advice to the hitter about how to hit lefties.

 

This is not just Greg Walkers fault. This is a wholesale organizational issue. We generate power hitters with our system. We look for athletic football types, who can mash the ball. Put a bat in their hands, and try to get the most power out of their swing. We have seen hitter after hitter come up from the system with the same exact hole in their swing that gets exploited the minute they start to face good major league pitching. Long looping swings that will crush a fastball on the inner half, but get exposed on sliders away, the ball low and away. Watch how a lot of teams pitch us, they target low and away. Now the Johans, and CC's of the world will go after our team. But the crappy 7 ERA pitcher will paint low and away, and hope that the offense tries to pull the ball. Usually resulting in a groundout to the pull side of the field. Teams like the Twins hit both lefties and righties well because they have a more line drive approach. They put the ball in play with authority more. Yes we will bomb them into the stone age when it comes to power. It would be nice if we instructed our hitters on gap to gap hitting. A nice level swing, balance focusing on solid strong contact. It seems however we are looking more for clearing our hips, getting total extension and elevating the ball for power. Which can be effective, if you dont cheat on the pitch a bit. I think a lot of our hitter cheat a bit, and get themselves caught on the outside pitch. This is not a statement on hitting to the right side. This is a statement on solid hitting. If the ball is center cut, by all means pull it. If the ball is low and away, then drive it up the middle or to right by letting the ball get deeper into the swing. People think when I talk gap to gap that I am talking about slap hitting to the 2nd baseman. And that isnt true. Its an approach of level line drive like the twins teach their hitters. Walker the same man that they had fired before, and had fired before that. They are all the same hitting coach. This one is a bit more affable.

 

I would love to see KW get the minors back to instruction. Replace our current instructors with someone who teaches a fundamentally sound swing. That can help correct hitches in the swing, or bad mechanics. Not someone who is going to turn something that isnt a good hitter into a batting title holder. But someone who can teach our talented young players how to get the bat on the ball.

 

The sad thing is that our offense could be so good that no one could shut it down, except for the top 1% pitching in baseball. However as we have seen our season will be the tale of 2 halves. The first half when we look unbeatable, and the 2nd when the collar gets tight and the pitchers start to paint the corners more.

 

Our season will ride on our pitching. If our pitching throws strikes, and forces the issue we will be in a good state. If our hitters can take some pitches, get into some counts, and then make good selections on which pitch to drive and which pitch to hit we will be a great team.

 

Its all up to how they compete on the field. I am hoping that our situational hitting improves. Our hitters get on for our thumpers, and our thumpers drive them in.

Edited March 28, 2007 by southsideirish71

[BearSox]

This is not just Greg Walkers fault. This is a wholesale organizational issue. We generate power hitters with our system. We look for athletic football types, who can mash the ball. Put a bat in their hands, and try to get the most power out of their swing. We have seen hitter after hitter come up from the system with the same exact hole in their swing that gets exploited the minute they start to face good major league pitching. Long looping swings that will crush a fastball on the inner half, but get exposed on sliders away, the ball low and away. Watch how a lot of teams pitch us, they target low and away. Now the Johans, and CC's of the world will go after our team. But the crappy 7 ERA pitcher will paint low and away, and hope that the offense tries to pull the ball. Usually resulting in a groundout to the pull side of the field. Teams like the Twins hit both lefties and righties well because they have a more line drive approach. They put the ball in play with authority more. Yes we will bomb them into the stone age when it comes to power. It would be nice if we instructed our hitters on gap to gap hitting. A nice level swing, balance focusing on solid strong contact. It seems however we are looking more for clearing our hips, getting total extension and elevating the ball for power. Which can be effective, if you dont cheat on the pitch a bit. I think a lot of our hitter cheat a bit, and get themselves caught on the outside pitch. This is not a statement on hitting to the right side. This is a statement on solid hitting. If the ball is center cut, by all means pull it. If the ball is low and away, then drive it up the middle or to right by letting the ball get deeper into the swing. People think when I talk gap to gap that I am talking about slap hitting to the 2nd baseman. And that isnt true. Its an approach of level line drive like the twins teach their hitters. Walker the same man that they had fired before, and had fired before that. They are all the same hitting coach. This one is a bit more affable.

 

I would love to see KW get the minors back to instruction. Replace our current instructors with someone who teaches a fundamentally sound swing. That can help correct hitches in the swing, or bad mechanics. Not someone who is going to turn something that isnt a good hitter into a batting title holder. But someone who can teach our talented young players how to get the bat on the ball.

 

The sad thing is that our offense could be so good that no one could shut it down, except for the top 1% pitching in baseball. However as we have seen our season will be the tale of 2 halves. The first half when we look unbeatable, and the 2nd when the collar gets tight and the pitchers start to paint the corners more.

 

Our season will ride on our pitching. If our pitching throws strikes, and forces the issue we will be in a good state. If our hitters can take some pitches, get into some counts, and then make good selections on which pitch to drive and which pitch to hit we will be a great team.

 

Its all up to how they compete on the field. I am hoping that our situational hitting improves. Our hitters get on for our thumpers, and our thumpers drive them in.

that was a fantastic post!

[Milkman delivers]

I was so optimistic for the season just a few weeks ago. I can't believe how much my view has suffered in just the last couple days.

[WHarris1]

So we will suck vs. LHP again I am assuming?

Edited March 28, 2007 by WHarris1

[ScottyDo]

I generally agree that Hall's absence, Molina's addition and Perez's removal aren't moves which will ultimately determine our success. It's just small moves such as these, in addition to points Santo illustrated earlier, that have just morphed together to completely irritate me as a Sox fan.

 

Our overall offense will still be in the top third of the American league. I'm not worried much about that. The problem is right here:

 

Ozuna

Iguchi

Thome

Dye

Konerko

Crede

Uribe

Anderson

Molina

 

That's a lineup we can frequently expect against lefthanded pitching. Sure, substitute Anderson for Erstad or Molina for Pierzynski, but you're not changing a whole lot. The first game against Sabathia should be an absolute hoot.

 

Considering how pitching will determine our success, I"d rather try and provide the starters with as much offensive support as possible then just sitting back and hoping a repeat of 2005 occurs. What has transpired within the last week certainly doesn't help that belief.

 

No question Hall and Perez would have been welcomed additions. Now that neither are on this club, one key area that the team struggled against -- and Williams attempted to upgrade -- has experienced absolutely no improvement. That's sad. It will be on the field as well when Santana is mowing through the order and all people can do is shrug their shoulders.

 

Judging from the comments within this thread, I'm not the only one who just feels watching this ballclub that something isn't quite right. Almost as if it's inevitable we're going to struggle throughout the season.

I'll tell you what I think's not quite right: the pitching staff. If I saw a fastball hit 93 mph this spring, I wouldn't give a crap about Eduardo Perez. But seeing as our pitching staff shows no signs of turning over a new leaf, these little moves are amplified. Right now I'm inches away from panicking about our rotation, particularly Buehrle who appears to have zero stuff and still gets the ball up.

[Flash Tizzle]

I'll tell you what I think's not quite right: the pitching staff. If I saw a fastball hit 93 mph this spring, I wouldn't give a crap about Eduardo Perez. But seeing as our pitching staff shows no signs of turning over a new leaf, these little moves are amplified. Right now I'm inches away from panicking about our rotation, particularly Buehrle who appears to have zero stuff and still gets the ball up.

That's strange, because it's Buehrle who appears to have his velocity intact. Last start he was consistently sitting at 88-89 mph. Unfortunately, the results weren't very encouraging. So I guess it really doesn't help you much.