2009 AL Central Thread

[BigSqwert]

Twins down early in Boston (Game 1 of dbl header)

[witesoxfan]

Certainly he's better than Egbert.

 

It's debatable, but I tend to doubt it. Humber has had one good season in his professional career, 2006, when he was good in high A and AA. He's been mediocre in AAA and actually regressed from 2007 to 2008.

[BigSqwert]

It's fun to see the Twins play crappy when they're not in their beloved grounded blimp.

[caulfield12]

Baker was really whacked around again.

 

The Twins undoubtedly have the worst bullpen in the Central right now. Morillo and RA Dickey are getting absolutely lit up. Past tense.

 

Maybe the last pitch of the day. Tarp on the field again. Not sure of their schedules, but probably they will have to have another DH tomorrow.

 

Fear the Tigers.

Edited April 22, 2009 by caulfield12

[WhiteSoxfan1986]

Liriano getting knocked around

[caulfield12]

Liriano with a 7.06 ERA now. Baker is also way up there.

 

Perkins has really been the ace of their staff, and Blackburn and Slowey have pitched decently. They are going to have to get better starts (obviously) out of those two "aces" if they're going to do anything. More troubling, Cuddyer, Young and Gomez are all struggling mightily...and Punto/Crede on the left side of the infield don't give you much, either.

 

They're going to have to start using Brendan Harris, and maybe Tolbert to generate some offense. It looked like Casilla was going to be a really pesky/dangerous offensive player like Asdrubal Cabrera with the Indians but it hasn't happened yet.

 

Still, they're the freakin' Twins and they are only 2 games out of first, despite everything (and partially thanks to the anemic Angels).

Edited April 23, 2009 by caulfield12

[Kalapse]

Fear the Tigers and Justin Verlander's 9.00 ERA

[caulfield12]

That's exactly why you should fear the Tigers.

 

Because Verlander is pitching horribly and they are still in first place, the longer they hang around, the more dangerous they will be.

 

They rallied late and the Angels gave up another huge crooked number in the 7th (Shields/Arredondo) and the Tigers took the win.

 

There are a lot of "ifs" with this team...health of veteran hitters, Porcello's progress and number of innings pitched, Zumaya...but if either Robertson or Willis can ever figure things out and Bonderman comes back at midseason, they're at the very least, extremely dangerous.

 

With Perry, Lyon, Seay, Zumaya and Rodney, they have the makings of a bullpen that's a notch or two better than ours. A big if, sure, but not impossible or entirely implausible.

 

Galarraga is their version of Danks, Jackson has been better than advertised and Verlander will probably come around eventually...and we simply can't get any better pitching from our Big 3 and Colon. The only place we can realistically look for improvement is from Contreras' spot in the rotation.

 

You can take the approach that the Angels suck without Vlad and most of their rotation, but the fact is that winning at Anaheim and rallying late is still a big confidence boost for a team that underachieved and never really was in it for the entire 2008 season.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[GoodAsGould]

Im not too worried about the Tigers, Bonderman has never been that good so who cares if he comes back. Verlander struggled all last season and now he is struggling now, why should that change? I will admit that Galaragga(sp?) is a pretty damn good pitcher but besides that, not very pretty.

[caulfield12]

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/gamelog?playerId=5842

 

We'll see how long it lasts, but this guy has been their version of Gavin Floyd so far...he has another start today.

 

The consensus was that Edwin would never turn it around, realize his potential, and become a consistent starter. KW can't be right 100% of the time, and Jackson might falter (starting today), but there's no doubt we would be better off with him rather than Jose as our #4/5 guy. I know he was one of the more talked-about names on the boards in terms of targets to fill the back of the rotation.

Edited April 23, 2009 by caulfield12

[NorthSideSox72]

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/gamelog?playerId=5842

 

We'll see how long it lasts, but this guy has been their version of Gavin Floyd so far...he has another start today.

 

The consensus was that Edwin would never turn it around, realize his potential, and become a consistent starter. KW can't be right 100% of the time, and Jackson might falter (starting today), but there's no doubt we would be better off with him rather than Jose as our #4/5 guy. I know he was one of the more talked-about names on the boards in terms of targets to fill the back of the rotation.

First, there is still plenty of doubt - we are 3 starts in for these guys. Second, how do you know KW was somehow wrong here? Was Jackson even available? Third, you ignore the fact that Jose was already signed and paid - Jackson would cost something.

 

 

[caulfield12]

Well....then we would have had to trade them Dye and they wouldn't have signed Burrell.

 

With that additional money, we would have signed Abreu for RF.

 

We know he was available because the Tigers' "dumped" a lesser player on the Rays. I think it's pretty logical that they knew they had the cheaper Niemann and Price in the pipeline and Jackson, from their perspective (both salary and performance in 2008) was the one to go.

 

Burrell is RH and he was changing to a new league (which has obviously been a difficult transition for him). Dye was only $2 million higher in salary.

 

So the White Sox get additional insurance for the back of their rotation...since...at the time, it wasn't 100% clear that Jose was going to come back effectively. One must assume Williams knew Jose would be back this year, but being back and being effective are two different things entirely.

 

KW also must have known we had "depth" issues behind Contreras...Marquez, Richard, Poreda, Egbert, Broadway...none of them could be counted on to put up .500 or better records as a 5th starter.

 

PLUS, Cooper usually loves to take on talented projects that have tools, a willingness to learn and at least competent secondary stuff to go with a "plus" fastball (Jackson is usually 93-97).

Edited April 23, 2009 by caulfield12

[Kyyle23]

Well....then we would have had to trade them Dye and they wouldn't have signed Burrell.

 

With that additional money, we would have signed Abreu for RF.

 

We know he was available because the Tigers' "dumped" a lesser player on the Rays. I think it's pretty logical that they knew they had the cheaper Niemann and Price in the pipeline and Jackson, from their perspective (both salary and performance in 2008) was the one to go.

 

Burrell is RH and he was changing to a new league (which has obviously been a difficult transition for him). Dye was only $2 million higher in salary.

 

So the White Sox get additional insurance for the back of their rotation...since...at the time, it wasn't 100% clear that Jose was going to come back effectively. One must assume Williams knew Jose would be back this year, but being back and being effective are two different things entirely.

 

KW also must have known we had "depth" issues behind Contreras...Marquez, Richard, Poreda, Egbert, Broadway...none of them could be counted on to put up .500 or better records as a 5th starter.

 

PLUS, Cooper usually loves to take on talented projects that have tools, a willingness to learn and at least competent secondary stuff to go with a "plus" fastball (Jackson is usually 93-97).

 

 

You assume far too much here

[caulfield12]

Was Edwin Jackson available?

 

Obviously he was, he was traded.

[Kyyle23]

Was Edwin Jackson available?

 

Obviously he was, he was traded.

 

Thats not what I meant and you know it. You cannot assume that the Rays wanted Jermaine Dye. You cannot assume that the Sox would have signed Abreu with the left over money. Yet, in the above quote you act as if it was a given.

 

Like I said, you assume far too much

[BigSqwert]

Pretty good game in Cleveland so far.

[The Ginger Kid]

Anyone else get the feeling that Crede might lose the starting job to Brendan Harris?

[caulfield12]

Harris has always been a "plus" offensive player, but you give up a ton on defense.

 

It's something that Bill Smith will have to consider because of the erratic starting pitching from Baker and Liriano...actually, I think they used Harris at 2B for Casilla and Buscher for Crede at 3B in one of the games last night.

 

Harris has played SS, 3B and 2B but he's kind of like DeRosa in that he's the master of none.

 

Gil Meche is continuing to pitch impressively, and Reyes was able to get out of a bases-loaded situation with no outs, but he had an elevated pitch count and also walked 4 batters in 6 IP. Will be interesting to see what happens with DET/KC and Minnesota at Cleveland this weekend. Of course, the Blue Jays have the best record in the AL, Halladay is matched with Contreras and the M's haven't been slouches either.

 

Rumor that Cliff Lee will be made available to the highest bidder if the Indians fall further back in the first 2-3 months (cbssportsline.com). He has one more year left on his contract. The Cubs' designated Luis Vizcaino for assigment. KW and Ozzie might be interested, possibly.

 

 

 

 

[Benchwarmerjim]

Ron Gardenhire said during his radio pregame interview before Game 1 of the double header yesterday that he wanted everyone to play, and that he didnt want Crede playing all that baseball in one day. It was cold and wet in Boston. But I what I have gathered is that the Twins are pretty happy with Crede because his defense has been outstanding so far, and seems to fit into the Clubhouse. The problem with the Twins so far has been pitching. the Relief core has been terrible and the starting pitching has given up way to many home runs

[RockRaines]

Jim,

 

Whats the feeling in Minny about the new stadium forcing changes to the way the team is constructed?

 

Those turf hits arent going to be there anymore for the little slap hitters and they will have to start either grooming power guys, or buying them IMO. It has to worry fans that they are basically spending their way out of the largest home field advantage in the league.

[SoxFan562004]

Jim,

 

Whats the feeling in Minny about the new stadium forcing changes to the way the team is constructed?

 

Those turf hits arent going to be there anymore for the little slap hitters and they will have to start either grooming power guys, or buying them IMO. It has to worry fans that they are basically spending their way out of the largest home field advantage in the league.

I'm interested in what Jim has to say about the fans feeling, but Hawk said on a broadcast or two that he talked to people within the org and they said they're not going to change their philosophy and just cut the grass short like Texas. Even Hawk, who is in love with the Minny org, mentioned that probably won't work do to the weather differences.

[RockRaines]

I'm interested in what Jim has to say about the fans feeling, but Hawk said on a broadcast or two that he talked to people within the org and they said they're not going to change their philosophy and just cut the grass short like Texas. Even Hawk, who is in love with the Minny org, mentioned that probably won't work do to the weather differences.

Thats the thing, for most of the first two months and the last month or so of the season, its going to be f***ing cold as hell. Its not the same as being down in Texas. I personally have been on the field at the Cell and I think they cut the grass pretty short, and I dont see it really upping the ground ball hit ratio like concrete covered in carpet.

Edited April 23, 2009 by RockRaines

[witesoxfan]

Harris has always been a "plus" offensive player, but you give up a ton on defense.

 

It's something that Bill Smith will have to consider because of the erratic starting pitching from Baker and Liriano...actually, I think they used Harris at 2B for Casilla and Buscher for Crede at 3B in one of the games last night.

 

Harris has played SS, 3B and 2B but he's kind of like DeRosa in that he's the master of none.

 

Gil Meche is continuing to pitch impressively, and Reyes was able to get out of a bases-loaded situation with no outs, but he had an elevated pitch count and also walked 4 batters in 6 IP. Will be interesting to see what happens with DET/KC and Minnesota at Cleveland this weekend. Of course, the Blue Jays have the best record in the AL, Halladay is matched with Contreras and the M's haven't been slouches either.

Rumor that Cliff Lee will be made available to the highest bidder if the Indians fall further back in the first 2-3 months (cbssportsline.com). He has one more year left on his contract. The Cubs' designated Luis Vizcaino for assigment. KW and Ozzie might be interested, possibly.

 

That's why it is merely a rumor. I won't pay attention to the standings until Memorial Day.

[fathom]

When will Edwin Jackson remember he sucks?

[Benchwarmerjim]

Jim,

 

Whats the feeling in Minny about the new stadium forcing changes to the way the team is constructed?

 

Those turf hits arent going to be there anymore for the little slap hitters and they will have to start either grooming power guys, or buying them IMO. It has to worry fans that they are basically spending their way out of the largest home field advantage in the league.

 

 

well, the dimensions of the new stadium is going to be nearly identical to Metrodome (I think centerfield is going to be a few feet shorter because of space constraints), and the Grounds crew and shape the dirt and infield grass to help the Twins out (if my memory serves me right, I think the White Sox do the same thing by shaping the basepaths from first and third in a way so that bunts go foul. But I could be wrong on that) . One thing I havent heard discussed much is how the wind is going to play a factor on things. I think the Twins Cities is one of the windiest metro areas in the country (Top 10ish). But of course, one doesn't really know all that stuff until you play games there (see Yankee Stadium)

 

I remember Terry Ryan saying that there was a lot of discussion about how the ballpark was going to be built, but the conclusion was make it similar and then the organization can continue to Draft players just about the same. I just hope they draft a few more boppers instead of toolsy outfielders.