Castro is back.

[Buehrle>Wood]

just saw this and all i can say is wow.........lets pray nothing happens to AJ this season

 

Not that we should ever want AJ hurt but this move doesn't really affect that anyway. Castro still wouldn't be the starter.

[ThunderBolt]

just saw this and all i can say is wow.........lets pray nothing happens to AJ this season

If something happens to AJ this season, then Flowers is our everyday catcher. You have nothing to worry about as far as Ramon Castro is concerned.

[Vance Law]

Anybody who thinks this means Flowers is going to be traded is a crazy person. I don't know who thought he would be on the team sitting there on the bench all year. Has he proven that he's a great defensive catcher? Could he use more seasoning at the position? Has he not only played 30 games at AAA? Is AJ still here for this year? Is he the left handed power hitter that we need at DH?

 

Everything always pointed to him playing at AAA this year. And people, please, come on. Mark Kotsay, a nice utility piece and pinch hitter, will not be the strong side of a DH platoon for us.

[joeynach]

Show me one time where he has said that, and I'll stop advocating for the Sox to bring in Thome.

 

I cant bring the article up becuase I dont remember if it came from Merkin or some other local reporter. It was something to the tune of Kenny being asked about the DH position and available players left on the market. His response was something in the area of "I dont want to upset of go against my manager who doesn't think we need to bring in position specific DH". So it sounded like Kenny was open to bringing someone in for that role but Ozzie was set on using a rotational matchup base; something that infers move a platoon of 5 bench guys as the DH (Kotsay, Jones, Nix, etc).

[gatnom]

Anybody who thinks this means Flowers is going to be traded is a crazy person. I don't know who thought he would be on the team sitting there on the bench all year. Has he proven that he's a great defensive catcher? Could he use more seasoning at the position? Has he not only played 30 games at AAA? Is AJ still here for this year? Is he the left handed power hitter that we need at DH?

 

Everything always pointed to him playing at AAA this year. And people, please, come on. Mark Kotsay, a nice utility piece and pinch hitter, will not be the strong side of a DH platoon for us.

 

I can see a scenario where the Sox could be very high on Miguel Gonzalez while simultaneously thinking AJ has a few more years left in the tank. I hope you are right about Kotsay.

[Kenny Hates Prospects]

Anybody who thinks this means Flowers is going to be traded is a crazy person. I don't know who thought he would be on the team sitting there on the bench all year. Has he proven that he's a great defensive catcher? Could he use more seasoning at the position? Has he not only played 30 games at AAA? Is AJ still here for this year? Is he the left handed power hitter that we need at DH?

 

Everything always pointed to him playing at AAA this year. And people, please, come on. Mark Kotsay, a nice utility piece and pinch hitter, will not be the strong side of a DH platoon for us.

It certainly looks like a very strong possibility.

 

Current 25-man roster locks:

Bullpen: Jenks, Putz, Thornton, Linebrink, Williams, Pena (6 pitchers)

Rotation: Peavy, Buehrle, Floyd, Danks, Freddy (5 pitchers)

Starting position players: AJ, Paulie, Beckham, Alexei, Teahen, Pierre, Rios, Quentin (8 position players)

Bench: Castro - C, Vizquel - MIF, Kotsay - OF/1B, Jones OF (4 position players)

 

In total that's 23 spots already taken. One of those is going to go to a secondary backup IF, so really there's just one spot left. We either take 12 pitchers or we add a DH, and it shouldn't surprise anyone if we go with 7 pitchers in the bullpen. We're certaintly thinking very hard about that at the very least with the claim on Dolsi and the adding of Santos to the 40-man.

Edited January 13, 2010 by Kenny Hates Prospects

[Kenny Hates Prospects]

Yeah, their batting averages were only 90 points apart, that is much closer

So would you say then that 16 extra singles over the course of a season from a bench player is worth an extra $975K then? Because that's the difference between Lillibridge's MLB career and Vizquel in 2009 which is almost a dead-even comparison in sample size.

 

I don't know if you're missing the point or just ignoring it, but Omar Vizquel is not a very good offensive baseball player anymore. In fact, he's so bad that if Ozzie gives him the AB that it sounds like Ozzie wants to give him, then Ozzie needs to be fired. You can slice it any way you like, but Omar Vizquel is nothing but a defensive backup who, while better than Lillibridge in the infield, is also less versatile. And if you think Lillibridge is so bad offensively that he's not even worthy of backing up the defense occasionally, then I have no idea at all why you're defending Vizquel, and especially the money we gave him, because he is absolutely terrible in his own right.

 

There comes a point where a player is so godawful offensively that arguing over 90 points in batting average really is like splitting hairs. Neither player deserves any good amount of playing time. If you run either player out there on a regular basis you're still going to be hurt by it, because neither player will come anywhere close to fulfilling the offensive standards of a fulltime MLB starter, even at a position like SS. Omar Vizquel is *not* insurance for anyone we have. It's not like we can just plug in Omar if one of our starters go down. If one of our starters go down for any length of time we need to either acquire or call up a much better player because Omar the hitter sucks too hard to even bat 9th in the AL.

[joeynach]

Show me one time where he has said that, and I'll stop advocating for the Sox to bring in Thome.

 

Well here is a quote from JR himself on Thome.

 

"I would love to have Jim Thome back on this club, but I don't make the roster. Kenny and Ozzie do. Ozzie has made it very clear that he likes the team the way it is. He doesn't want to have a full-time DH. If you're going to hold a man accountable for him to do his job, you got to get him the team that he wants."

 

Here is the article. http://www.csnchicago.com/pages/soxdrawer

[witesoxfan]

So then Ozzie needs to show a little discipline and not make Thome a full-time DH. Thome's an old man in baseball terms, and he can use 2 days off a week and every game against left handed pitching. That leaves plenty of time for others to get involved in the game, and if someone's hot and Thome's struggling, sit Thome down. If Thome gets banged up, rest him for 5 days. He doesn't have to be an everyday DH.

 

Ozzie is the manager, and should manage the team he is given; Williams is the general manager and should put the best team on the field that he can. Guillen should not tell Williams how to do his job and vice versa.

[SoxAce]

I've said it all along. This is more or less Ozzie and what he wants this year. This offseason just doesn't seem like a usual KW offseason other than the Teahan addition (still loved that addition especially with the lack of XBH we had... I.E. the lowest in the league). Ozzie got Kotsay back, wanted a speedy/slap leadoff hitter (Pierre), etc.. If we don't win in this crappy weak AL Central (especially with our pitching staff) then Ozzie would/should face some serious heat.

[BearSox]

It certainly looks like a very strong possibility.

 

Current 25-man roster locks:

Bullpen: Jenks, Putz, Thornton, Linebrink, Williams, Pena (6 pitchers)

Rotation: Peavy, Buehrle, Floyd, Danks, Freddy (5 pitchers)

Starting position players: AJ, Paulie, Beckham, Alexei, Teahen, Pierre, Rios, Quentin (8 position players)

Bench: Castro - C, Vizquel - MIF, Kotsay - OF/1B, Jones OF (4 position players)

 

In total that's 23 spots already taken. One of those is going to go to a secondary backup IF, so really there's just one spot left. We either take 12 pitchers or we add a DH, and it shouldn't surprise anyone if we go with 7 pitchers in the bullpen. We're certaintly thinking very hard about that at the very least with the claim on Dolsi and the adding of Santos to the 40-man.

 

With our current 5 in the rotation, 6 relievers should be plenty to begin the season. Another position player and hopefully a DH will be much more beneficial for us for the first part of the season, IMO.

 

After a month or so, you can adjust accordingly to injuries, preformance or lack thereof, etc.

[BearSox]

I've said it all along. This is more or less Ozzie and what he wants this year. This offseason just doesn't seem like a usual KW offseason other than the Teahan addition (still loved that addition especially with the lack of XBH we had... I.E. the lowest in the league). Ozzie got Kotsay back, wanted a speedy/slap leadoff hitter (Pierre), etc.. If we don't win in this crappy weak AL Central (especially with our pitching staff) then Ozzie would/should face some serious heat.

Agreed. We have the pitching to do some serious damage this year, but this is shaping up to be one of our worst offensive ball clubs, IMO.

 

The whole DH by committee idea is beyond retarded. In a league that uses the DH, and it is generally occupied by a very potent hitter, going with Mark Kotsay/Andruw Jones platoon will just end badly.

 

Personally, at this point, I'd like to see Thome back with Flowers on the big league club, and having Flowers, Thome, and AJ do a three way rotation. So...

 

1.) AJ is getting up there and could use 2 days off a week. 1 day off could be a complete rest, and the other could be a day at DH. You can give Flowers the starts at C in his place.

 

2.) Thome needs two days off a week, period, except when he is hot. When Thome is resting, you can give Flowers the start at DH.

 

3.) This would be a very effective way to break in Flowers at the MLB level. He could get a couple starts a week at catcher, and possibly another one or two at DH. He could learn the pitching staff and get a good 300-400 AB's in.

[bobryansson]

Good, this answers the Flowers question. Get some more practice in buddy.

 

Although I don't want us to sign a DH before ST, I'm all for that idea instead of a blockbuster deal. We have some good trading chips at the high levels and I'd hate to use them prematurely. Let's see where the weakneses are on this team during April/May and then possibly use the prospects to ensure a title push.

 

I agree.

[Kenny Hates Prospects]

Agreed. We have the pitching to do some serious damage this year, but this is shaping up to be one of our worst offensive ball clubs, IMO.

 

The whole DH by committee idea is beyond retarded. In a league that uses the DH, and it is generally occupied by a very potent hitter, going with Mark Kotsay/Andruw Jones platoon will just end badly.

 

Personally, at this point, I'd like to see Thome back with Flowers on the big league club, and having Flowers, Thome, and AJ do a three way rotation. So...

 

1.) AJ is getting up there and could use 2 days off a week. 1 day off could be a complete rest, and the other could be a day at DH. You can give Flowers the starts at C in his place.

 

2.) Thome needs two days off a week, period, except when he is hot. When Thome is resting, you can give Flowers the start at DH.

 

3.) This would be a very effective way to break in Flowers at the MLB level. He could get a couple starts a week at catcher, and possibly another one or two at DH. He could learn the pitching staff and get a good 300-400 AB's in.

Agree with all this except the Flowers part. AJ will be 33 next year, so he's not really getting up there yet. Thome would need a rest, but we should have a good idea on Andruw Jones by the end of April. If Jones is doing alright then keep him as the platoon righty, otherwise if Jones is as bad as he has been, we can just DFA him after April and get a good veteran RH option to platoon with Thome. Flowers meanwhile should be raking in Charlotte every day, building up value so Kenny can spin him off for a stud who will get us to another parade. JMO.

 

Agree also that it would be fine going with 6 pitchers if that's what we want to do. Since we don't have Carrasco anymore, and if we're not going to put Hudson in the pen, then there's no reason to carry some piece of trash as our LR. Just get a bat instead.

[greg775]

What do you guys think of Castro? This thread doesn't comment on him much even tho it's about him.

I can't even remember him.

Is he another backup catcher that was an automatic out?

[GreatScott82]

What do you guys think of Castro? This thread doesn't comment on him much even tho it's about him.

I can't even remember him.

Is he another backup catcher that was an automatic out?

pretty much an automatic out- calls a good game and has a nice arm. For the most part he's the typical backup catcher. He also caught Buerhle's perfect game if you cant recall. I think this is a good move- it gives Flowers another year to work on his game calling and defense down in triple-a.

[Balta1701]

pretty much an automatic out- calls a good game and has a nice arm. For the most part he's the typical backup catcher. He also caught Buerhle's perfect game if you cant recall. I think this is a good move- it gives Flowers another year to work on his game calling and defense down in triple-a.

Frankly, he's also usually been better with the bat than what we got. I'm guessing moving to a new league with new pitchers played into that. From 2005 on as a backup with the Mets, he put up OPS number of .756, .711, .887, .753, and .752 in 2009 with the Mets. he put up a .644 OPS with us. It's possible he's getting old and slowing down, but it seems like a .725-.750 OPS as a backup C is more normal for him than what we got.

[NorthSideSox72]

It certainly looks like a very strong possibility.

 

Current 25-man roster locks:

Bullpen: Jenks, Putz, Thornton, Linebrink, Williams, Pena (6 pitchers)

Rotation: Peavy, Buehrle, Floyd, Danks, Freddy (5 pitchers)

Starting position players: AJ, Paulie, Beckham, Alexei, Teahen, Pierre, Rios, Quentin (8 position players)

Bench: Castro - C, Vizquel - MIF, Kotsay - OF/1B, Jones OF (4 position players)

 

In total that's 23 spots already taken. One of those is going to go to a secondary backup IF, so really there's just one spot left. We either take 12 pitchers or we add a DH, and it shouldn't surprise anyone if we go with 7 pitchers in the bullpen. We're certaintly thinking very hard about that at the very least with the claim on Dolsi and the adding of Santos to the 40-man.

I think the bolded is not only not a given, but is unlikely. I think 7 bullpen arms is nearly guaranteed, with Ozzie managing (though I'd be happy with 6 myself). The other slot is more likely to be part of the DH platoon.

 

[Balta1701]

I think the bolded is not only not a given, but is unlikely. I think 7 bullpen arms is nearly guaranteed, with Ozzie managing (though I'd be happy with 6 myself). The other slot is more likely to be part of the DH platoon.

Honestly, until a DH is signed...my head tells me to agree with you but my gut says Ozzie is going to keep Nix or Lillibridge up as that last spot because that's what Ozzie wants.

[Chicago White Sox]

Ozzie is the manager, and should manage the team he is given; Williams is the general manager and should put the best team on the field that he can. Guillen should not tell Williams how to do his job and vice versa.

This is why both men should be held accountable if this team doesn't make the playoffs due to offensive struggles.

 

There is absolutely no excuse for not having a true everyday DH. If we had four good outfielders (or two good 1B) and wanted to rotate DH duties between them it would be one thing. But to rotate between players who are backups at the Major League level because of their limited offensive abilities is pure insanity.

 

It's quite clear that Guillen wants an NL team. Unfortunately, we play in the AL where the DH position is not a luxury but rather a neccesity. If this rotating DH nonsense is for real, then I don't think Guillen is the right man for the job. More importantly, it makes me question KW as a GM. His job is to acquire the most talented players possible and construct a team that he thinks can win. It's not to give his manager, who doesn't evaluate MLB talent for a living, an equal voice in personel decisions.

 

I just hope this all a smokescreen because I want to like Ozzie and KW.

[southsider2k5]

Honestly, until a DH is signed...my head tells me to agree with you but my gut says Ozzie is going to keep Nix or Lillibridge up as that last spot because that's what Ozzie wants.

 

I don't think Ozzie wants Nix on the roster. He doesn't like him at all.

[Balta1701]

I don't think Ozzie wants Nix on the roster. He doesn't like him at all.

Then who does that leave, Lillibridge? He got included in the same comment last year.

 

I'd be more than happy to see a guy appear who can hit and also play IF. Blalock is kinda intriguing me lately for that reason. But until it happens...I'm worrying.

[Princess Dye]

It'll be sad when days after winning the WS we're going to have to let Castro go ..carl everett style...

[Princess Dye]

f*** YES.

 

.184 .262 .382 in 76 ABS!!

 

Let's see how awful we can make this offense KW!!! WOOOOO!!!!

 

You have high expectations for the offensive capabilities of a team's backup C

 

I get the sense you'd find me to be bad in bed

[Jordan4life_2007]

You have high expectations for the offensive capabilities of a team's backup C

 

I get the sense you'd find me to be bad in bed

 

That's a fake jphat. That's gotta be his evil twin xphat.

 

Oh, and is there anything I can do to get you to remove that horrific avatar? I mean I'll send you some money if you want. I feel like skinning a squirrel every time I see it.

Edited January 14, 2010 by Jordan4life