Showing posts with label White Sox. Show all posts
Showing posts with label White Sox. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Edwin Jackson Is Ruining The White Sox
Apparently that's the new theme in the Chicago Newspapers. You know, ignoring his sick stats since coming to the White Sox. Even with his .98 ERA, he's the reason for them falling apart because...he killed team chemistry. It's obvious to everyone in know:
Leading up to the July 31 trade deadline, some Sox players had said Trader Kenny didn't need to make a move, especially one to acquire a hitter. He traded for a pitcher, Edwin Jackson, and the Sox nosedived.
See! You get a good player and your team collapses. It's just logic!
Case Closed.
Leading up to the July 31 trade deadline, some Sox players had said Trader Kenny didn't need to make a move, especially one to acquire a hitter. He traded for a pitcher, Edwin Jackson, and the Sox nosedived.
See! You get a good player and your team collapses. It's just logic!
Case Closed.
Monday, August 30, 2010
What Would I Do Without You Phil?
Risk of adding Ramirez may be rewarding for Sox
I don't want to get too excited, but the unsure nature of that headline makes me suspicious that my boy Sky Andrecheck is writing headlines for the Tribune. Wow, the combined powers of Phil Rogers and Sky would be unstoppable! Well lets get to the good stuff (me in regular/Phil in italics).
Williams already has traded Daniel Hudson and entry-level lefty David Holmberg for Edwin Jackson, and the Sox have lost six games in the standings with Jackson (at an additional $1.4 million) on the payroll. Here's hoping Williams doesn't add to the body count to lessen the financial burden of acquiring Ramirez.
In 4 starts Edwin has not given up over 1 ER and has a .96 ERA. He also has 2 wins if you care about that sort of thing. My point is, I do not think it's Jackson's fault that the Sox are free falling from the playoff picture.
Considering the Sox are getting such a diminished version of Ramirez that the Dodgers have been starting Scott Podsednik instead of him, the risk seems extreme. But their lineup isn't the greatest either, even if they have averaged 6.2 runs over the last two weeks.
I can't believe Phil is going to make me look up Manny Ramirez's numbers and compare them to Podsednik. Manny OPS .915. Pods .708. The reason they have been starting Pods recently is so Manny doesn't get hurt before the Dodgers could deal him. At 38, Manny is injury prone. That would have been a much more valid argument. I don't see why he didn't mention it.
Ramirez, ejected during a pinch-hit at-bat Sunday in Colorado, has 40 RBIs and a .915 OPS in 66 games this season, which has been interrupted by three stints on the disabled list. Paul Konerko is the only Sox regular who has been as productive with performance prorated by availability.
Oh he did. Way to make me seem like a jerk Phil.
Don't worry too much about Ramirez's dreadlocks and what he does or doesn't do in the clubhouse. He has historically been a non-factor off the field — although, sure, it would be nice if he kept his uniform on until the end of games, something he might not have always done in Los Angeles.
Here's the snap. Go deep. The Sox are so desperate, they're calling the hail-Manny play.
Looks like someone was just as desperate for a joke to end him column with.
Case Closed.
I don't want to get too excited, but the unsure nature of that headline makes me suspicious that my boy Sky Andrecheck is writing headlines for the Tribune. Wow, the combined powers of Phil Rogers and Sky would be unstoppable! Well lets get to the good stuff (me in regular/Phil in italics).
Williams already has traded Daniel Hudson and entry-level lefty David Holmberg for Edwin Jackson, and the Sox have lost six games in the standings with Jackson (at an additional $1.4 million) on the payroll. Here's hoping Williams doesn't add to the body count to lessen the financial burden of acquiring Ramirez.
In 4 starts Edwin has not given up over 1 ER and has a .96 ERA. He also has 2 wins if you care about that sort of thing. My point is, I do not think it's Jackson's fault that the Sox are free falling from the playoff picture.
Considering the Sox are getting such a diminished version of Ramirez that the Dodgers have been starting Scott Podsednik instead of him, the risk seems extreme. But their lineup isn't the greatest either, even if they have averaged 6.2 runs over the last two weeks.
I can't believe Phil is going to make me look up Manny Ramirez's numbers and compare them to Podsednik. Manny OPS .915. Pods .708. The reason they have been starting Pods recently is so Manny doesn't get hurt before the Dodgers could deal him. At 38, Manny is injury prone. That would have been a much more valid argument. I don't see why he didn't mention it.
Ramirez, ejected during a pinch-hit at-bat Sunday in Colorado, has 40 RBIs and a .915 OPS in 66 games this season, which has been interrupted by three stints on the disabled list. Paul Konerko is the only Sox regular who has been as productive with performance prorated by availability.
Oh he did. Way to make me seem like a jerk Phil.
Don't worry too much about Ramirez's dreadlocks and what he does or doesn't do in the clubhouse. He has historically been a non-factor off the field — although, sure, it would be nice if he kept his uniform on until the end of games, something he might not have always done in Los Angeles.
Here's the snap. Go deep. The Sox are so desperate, they're calling the hail-Manny play.
Looks like someone was just as desperate for a joke to end him column with.
Case Closed.
Monday, August 2, 2010
Phil Rogers is the Worst Reporter Ever
I know people hated Mariotti, but at least he's no longer employed at a major newspaper. Marrioti was just a stuff-stirrer. He wanted to get everyone riled up under the theory of "any reaction from the reader is a good reaction." Phil Rogers just doesn't seem to understand baseball. At all. And he's been covering it for like 5000 years or so. I don' even know what number of article this is about him. But he's turning this blog into his own personal showcase. Here's the newest entry (Phil in italics, me in regular typeface):
Standing pat at deadline right move for Sox
This is a continuation of his theory that adding good players hurts you team. Why? Cause change kills unicorns.
No Adam Dunn, no worries.
Well no worries except every time Juan Pierre and his 72 OPS+ come to the plate to pop out to the shortstop. (Though thanks to his fielding his WAR is .7, gotta give him that.)
And, hey, Kenny Williams, way to go. Way to say no.As constructed during the 26-5 stretch that carried them from 9 1/2 games back into the American League Central lead, there was really nothing wrong with the White Sox.
Team OPS+ 98, slightly below the league average.
That's why Paul Konerko took some time at the All-Star Game to talk about how he hoped Williams wouldn't do what's so easy to do in this age of short attention spans and ceaseless public pressure to do something, anything!
And this is how you write a run on sentence by just throwing in word after word and confusing everyone who is reading and trying to enjoy what you wrote the night before when you were watching the game with a can of Milwaukee's Beast and you had to get an article in before deadline and you might as well congratulate the GM on failing to get land any offensive help because obviously if the White Sox were playing .800+ ball for a month that will continue for eternity as long as you don't mess with the "gosh dang it" chemistry of the ball club.
That is, to try to fix something that wasn't broken.
Team OPS+ 98. Black holes of offense include:
A.J. Pierzynski: OPS+ 65
Gordon Beckham: OPS+ 74 (Though definitely hot as of late.)
Juan Pierre: OPS+ 71
Mark Kotsay: OPS+ 72
Konerko prodded Williams to believe in the role players who have meant so much to this point.
If by "role players" he meant the best bullpen in the MLB, then yes, he should believe in them. If he meant "role players" as in Mark Kotsay...then no.
This shouldn't have been too tough of a sales job, as it was Williams who brought all those guys to Chicago.But the temptation to add a fourth run-producer to the middle of an order Alex Rios, Carlos Quentin and Konerko anchor was great.
Yes. The temptation to improve the frickin team was great. Good thing Williams recognized the only thing that could come from that is winning a lot more games. Phew...close one there.
That's why Williams even called Dodgers GM Ned Colletti at one point to discuss Manny Ramirez.Williams' nature is to be hyperactive. But this time Williams did the right thing. He refused to consider trading Gordon Beckham and says he let it be known he valued Dayan Viciedo so highly teams didn't even ask about him.
Yes...that's why they didn't ask about him....You know in 66 plate appearances he has walked a grand total of.......................ZERO TIMES!!!! Not even hit by a pitch. That's actually hard to do. You have to have a real dedication to swinging the bat at everything to accomplish that one. (Yes small sample size I know. But 66 times and no walks...geez.)
Williams might have been able to say no Saturday because he had scratched his trading Jones
At first I thought he was talking about Andruw Jones...
...on Friday, dealing Daniel Hudson and David Holmberg to the Diamondbacks for Edwin Jackson. For those counting — OK, I may be the only one in America doing this — they were the 52nd and 53rd ranked prospects (Sox's top 30, Baseball America) that Williams has traded in his decade as a GM........
It's a good sign that Williams wouldn't mortgage the future once again by trading Beckham for Dunn or Jose Bautista. He hoped Nationals GM Mike Rizzo would give him a way to add Dunn without having Beckham in the package, but the counteroffer never arrived."I was not trading Gordon Beckham,'' Williams said.It's an even better sign that teams did not even ask about Viciedo, who the Sox project as a game-changing power hitter at either third base or (post-Konerko) first base. He's in the second year of a four-year, $10 million contract and is valued higher than it might have seemed heading into the weekend of the trade deadline."People know how we feel,'' Williams said, explaining why no teams asked for him. "He's 21 years old. A talent like that will be a major force in the league. I'd like you to find one or two (prospects) at his level who can do the things he can do, are as explosive. The ball comes off his bat. People understood we weren't going to (consider trading him)."
Here is a list of the top 50 prospects in the Minors at the beginning of the year one MLB.com. Use Edit->Find to look for Viciedo's name. See what happens. Go on. Try it.
Williams said he understands why some analysts have said the Sox are only "marginally better'' after adding Jackson in Jake Peavy's rotation spot, where Hudson had been. But he remembers being criticized for not making major moves at the deadline in 2005.
Past results may not predict future returns.
Names aren't known but it appears he would have added Nos. 54 and 55 to the list of those he traded away if Lance Berkman had been willing to come to Chicago.Berkman vetoed a deal with the White Sox so he could join old Astros teammate Andy Pettitte with the Yankees. This could be a blessing in disguise, as his batting average has been in steady decline (from .312 in 2008 to .274 in '09 to .245 this year) and he never has had to deal with the adjustments that come from being traded.
Wow. Still using batting average huh? Berkman's OPS+ 114. Beats the chum the White Sox are throwing out at DH right now doesn't it? Also the whole "dealing with the adjustments that come from being traded" thing. My suggestion? Remember to set your watch ahead a couple hours. There's, you've adjusted. Heck, your cell should do it automatically.
Nothing sometimes can be the right thing to do.Given the price tag placed on the available run-producers like Dunn and Bautista, this was one of those times.
I don't know the exact terms of the agreement for Beckham and Dunn and everyone else. All I know is Dunn hits like a mythological beast and would have a fun time hitting in US Cellular. (Park Factor 104. Favorable to hitters.) Beckham may be the future, but Dunn is the present.
Case Closed.
Standing pat at deadline right move for Sox
This is a continuation of his theory that adding good players hurts you team. Why? Cause change kills unicorns.
No Adam Dunn, no worries.
Well no worries except every time Juan Pierre and his 72 OPS+ come to the plate to pop out to the shortstop. (Though thanks to his fielding his WAR is .7, gotta give him that.)
And, hey, Kenny Williams, way to go. Way to say no.As constructed during the 26-5 stretch that carried them from 9 1/2 games back into the American League Central lead, there was really nothing wrong with the White Sox.
Team OPS+ 98, slightly below the league average.
That's why Paul Konerko took some time at the All-Star Game to talk about how he hoped Williams wouldn't do what's so easy to do in this age of short attention spans and ceaseless public pressure to do something, anything!
And this is how you write a run on sentence by just throwing in word after word and confusing everyone who is reading and trying to enjoy what you wrote the night before when you were watching the game with a can of Milwaukee's Beast and you had to get an article in before deadline and you might as well congratulate the GM on failing to get land any offensive help because obviously if the White Sox were playing .800+ ball for a month that will continue for eternity as long as you don't mess with the "gosh dang it" chemistry of the ball club.
That is, to try to fix something that wasn't broken.
Team OPS+ 98. Black holes of offense include:
A.J. Pierzynski: OPS+ 65
Gordon Beckham: OPS+ 74 (Though definitely hot as of late.)
Juan Pierre: OPS+ 71
Mark Kotsay: OPS+ 72
Konerko prodded Williams to believe in the role players who have meant so much to this point.
If by "role players" he meant the best bullpen in the MLB, then yes, he should believe in them. If he meant "role players" as in Mark Kotsay...then no.
This shouldn't have been too tough of a sales job, as it was Williams who brought all those guys to Chicago.But the temptation to add a fourth run-producer to the middle of an order Alex Rios, Carlos Quentin and Konerko anchor was great.
Yes. The temptation to improve the frickin team was great. Good thing Williams recognized the only thing that could come from that is winning a lot more games. Phew...close one there.
That's why Williams even called Dodgers GM Ned Colletti at one point to discuss Manny Ramirez.Williams' nature is to be hyperactive. But this time Williams did the right thing. He refused to consider trading Gordon Beckham and says he let it be known he valued Dayan Viciedo so highly teams didn't even ask about him.
Yes...that's why they didn't ask about him....You know in 66 plate appearances he has walked a grand total of.......................ZERO TIMES!!!! Not even hit by a pitch. That's actually hard to do. You have to have a real dedication to swinging the bat at everything to accomplish that one. (Yes small sample size I know. But 66 times and no walks...geez.)
Williams might have been able to say no Saturday because he had scratched his trading Jones
At first I thought he was talking about Andruw Jones...
...on Friday, dealing Daniel Hudson and David Holmberg to the Diamondbacks for Edwin Jackson. For those counting — OK, I may be the only one in America doing this — they were the 52nd and 53rd ranked prospects (Sox's top 30, Baseball America) that Williams has traded in his decade as a GM........
It's a good sign that Williams wouldn't mortgage the future once again by trading Beckham for Dunn or Jose Bautista. He hoped Nationals GM Mike Rizzo would give him a way to add Dunn without having Beckham in the package, but the counteroffer never arrived."I was not trading Gordon Beckham,'' Williams said.It's an even better sign that teams did not even ask about Viciedo, who the Sox project as a game-changing power hitter at either third base or (post-Konerko) first base. He's in the second year of a four-year, $10 million contract and is valued higher than it might have seemed heading into the weekend of the trade deadline."People know how we feel,'' Williams said, explaining why no teams asked for him. "He's 21 years old. A talent like that will be a major force in the league. I'd like you to find one or two (prospects) at his level who can do the things he can do, are as explosive. The ball comes off his bat. People understood we weren't going to (consider trading him)."
Here is a list of the top 50 prospects in the Minors at the beginning of the year one MLB.com. Use Edit->Find to look for Viciedo's name. See what happens. Go on. Try it.
Williams said he understands why some analysts have said the Sox are only "marginally better'' after adding Jackson in Jake Peavy's rotation spot, where Hudson had been. But he remembers being criticized for not making major moves at the deadline in 2005.
Past results may not predict future returns.
Names aren't known but it appears he would have added Nos. 54 and 55 to the list of those he traded away if Lance Berkman had been willing to come to Chicago.Berkman vetoed a deal with the White Sox so he could join old Astros teammate Andy Pettitte with the Yankees. This could be a blessing in disguise, as his batting average has been in steady decline (from .312 in 2008 to .274 in '09 to .245 this year) and he never has had to deal with the adjustments that come from being traded.
Wow. Still using batting average huh? Berkman's OPS+ 114. Beats the chum the White Sox are throwing out at DH right now doesn't it? Also the whole "dealing with the adjustments that come from being traded" thing. My suggestion? Remember to set your watch ahead a couple hours. There's, you've adjusted. Heck, your cell should do it automatically.
Nothing sometimes can be the right thing to do.Given the price tag placed on the available run-producers like Dunn and Bautista, this was one of those times.
I don't know the exact terms of the agreement for Beckham and Dunn and everyone else. All I know is Dunn hits like a mythological beast and would have a fun time hitting in US Cellular. (Park Factor 104. Favorable to hitters.) Beckham may be the future, but Dunn is the present.
Case Closed.
Oh Ozzie, You Fountain of Knowledge
What would Chicago reporters do with out Ozzie Guillen? I mean really. The middle of the summer, what else do you have to write about? And some columnists want to see him get fired. That's like killing the frickin Goose. For example:
Ozzie Guillen addresses challenges for Latino players
Sox manager contrasts situation with that of Japanese players
I'm guessing he'll handle this with same cultural sensitivity as he does everything else.
With MLB Network cameras filming for "The Club," White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen reiterated his position Sunday morning on tough conditions facing Latino baseball players, many of whom come from poverty and don't speak English. Guillen spends time each spring in the minor-league camp talking to young Spanish-speaking players about drugs, alcohol and other problems they may face in the United States.
That's actually very good of him to do. He doesn't have to and he takes time out to help
people who came from the same conditions he came from. There is something very honorable about that.
"I'm the only one to teach the Latinos not to use (drugs)," said Guillen, who got on a long roll about the subject. "
Really? He's the only one? On the face of the planet, Ozzie Guillen is the lone ethical guiding light to these players?
I'm the only one, and Major League Baseball doesn't (care) about that, all they care about is how many times I argue with the umpires, what I say to the media.
I guess he really is the only one. He said it twice, it has to be true.
"But I'm the only one in baseball to come up to the Latino kids and say not to use this, and I don't get any credit for that. "
Except when you have a TV series soley about your ball club and you mention 3 times in under a minute that you are the only one to help these kids.
"And they look at it and they say … 'Ozzie said it, don't worry about it.' If somebody else said it, they would be playing (it) every day on the Jumbotron."
Why won't people just pay more attention of Guillen? Someone notice this guy for gosh sake!
Guillen said Latino players on the White Sox "are lucky we speak Spanish, but some people don't have that privilege to come here and (have that). That's why I always criticize why Japanese players have interpreters and Latinos don't have one. Very bad."
I'm not really qualified to comment on this, Guillen probably has a point. Though I would venture to guess every team has at least one player who can act as an interpreter for someone who speaks Spanish, where most teams don't have players who speak both Japanese and English.
Don't take this wrong, but they take advantage of us. We bring a Japanese player and they are very good and they bring all these privileges to them. We bring a Dominican kid (and say), '(Bleep) you, you go to the minor leagues, good luck.
Well, Guillen might say that. I'd hope Kenny William (GM of White Sox) would put it nicer than that.
And it's always going to be like that. It's never going to change."Guillen, who is from Venezuela, was 19 when he came to the major leagues and worked to speak English. When asked if most minor-league coaches could speak Spanish, Guillen said:"They don't have to, we're in the United States. We don't have to bring any coaches that speak Spanish to help anybody. You choose to come to this country and you better speak English."
I don't know if that actually answers the question. Maybe it has to do with the idea that Latino players are expected to speak English and Japanese players aren't.
Case Closed.
Ozzie Guillen addresses challenges for Latino players
Sox manager contrasts situation with that of Japanese players
I'm guessing he'll handle this with same cultural sensitivity as he does everything else.
With MLB Network cameras filming for "The Club," White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen reiterated his position Sunday morning on tough conditions facing Latino baseball players, many of whom come from poverty and don't speak English. Guillen spends time each spring in the minor-league camp talking to young Spanish-speaking players about drugs, alcohol and other problems they may face in the United States.
That's actually very good of him to do. He doesn't have to and he takes time out to help
people who came from the same conditions he came from. There is something very honorable about that.
"I'm the only one to teach the Latinos not to use (drugs)," said Guillen, who got on a long roll about the subject. "
Really? He's the only one? On the face of the planet, Ozzie Guillen is the lone ethical guiding light to these players?
I'm the only one, and Major League Baseball doesn't (care) about that, all they care about is how many times I argue with the umpires, what I say to the media.
I guess he really is the only one. He said it twice, it has to be true.
"But I'm the only one in baseball to come up to the Latino kids and say not to use this, and I don't get any credit for that. "
Except when you have a TV series soley about your ball club and you mention 3 times in under a minute that you are the only one to help these kids.
"And they look at it and they say … 'Ozzie said it, don't worry about it.' If somebody else said it, they would be playing (it) every day on the Jumbotron."
Why won't people just pay more attention of Guillen? Someone notice this guy for gosh sake!
Guillen said Latino players on the White Sox "are lucky we speak Spanish, but some people don't have that privilege to come here and (have that). That's why I always criticize why Japanese players have interpreters and Latinos don't have one. Very bad."
I'm not really qualified to comment on this, Guillen probably has a point. Though I would venture to guess every team has at least one player who can act as an interpreter for someone who speaks Spanish, where most teams don't have players who speak both Japanese and English.
Don't take this wrong, but they take advantage of us. We bring a Japanese player and they are very good and they bring all these privileges to them. We bring a Dominican kid (and say), '(Bleep) you, you go to the minor leagues, good luck.
Well, Guillen might say that. I'd hope Kenny William (GM of White Sox) would put it nicer than that.
And it's always going to be like that. It's never going to change."Guillen, who is from Venezuela, was 19 when he came to the major leagues and worked to speak English. When asked if most minor-league coaches could speak Spanish, Guillen said:"They don't have to, we're in the United States. We don't have to bring any coaches that speak Spanish to help anybody. You choose to come to this country and you better speak English."
I don't know if that actually answers the question. Maybe it has to do with the idea that Latino players are expected to speak English and Japanese players aren't.
Case Closed.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Haugh-Ball!
After a brief hiatus to clean up the 'Great Bronson Flood' of 2010, we're back. So far in the flood, the town has lost the barber shop, Chubby's Diner (which has a great fish sandwich), and the town's only mailbox. Chaos ensued as Charlie skinny dipped in the flooded street in full view of the adjacent pre-school. But enough about that, we're here to meta-criticize the media. Take us away David Haugh:
Sox's Williams weighs pros, cons of tinkering with 1st-place club
Pros include: getting better
Cons include: crazed science experiments involving something called team-chemistry...I'm not familiar.
When Ken Williams talks about the status quo like it is a bigger enemy than the Tigers or Twins, it is what you admire most about the football coach trapped inside a baseball executive's body.
How come every time some baseball player/manager/gm shows a desire to win they compare the guy to a football player (Erstad). Do high school cheerleading coaches not want to win? I say we start going with that one.
He oversees one of baseball's most overachieving teams, one that only Hawk Harrelson and the Guillen family thought would be in first place this late in July.
Both are, of course, completely insane.
Instinctively, Williams wants more. He wants the left-handed bat, the fifth starting pitcher, the bullpen lefty and Albert Pujols too, if that's not too much to ask. The compulsive competitor in Williams wants it all mostly because he can't possibly have it.
How do you prove that last statement? I thought he wanted it because he wanted to win like football coaches do.
"When we won the World Series (in 2005), I was on the bus thinking what we could have done to make this easier,'' Williams recalled Monday at U.S. Cellular Field.
Nerd. Take that kettle!
This is the trademark intensity many Sox fans love most about Williams. Five days before the non-waiver trading deadline, it also should be what scares them out of their black pinstriped slippers.Williams was asked if the Sox team that beat the Mariners 6-1 Monday night is good enough, as is, to accomplish all the things he wants to accomplish this season. He hesitated, supplying the kind of dramatic pause producers of MLB's "The Club'' surely have come to appreciate."I don't know,'' Williams answered.
Honest at least.
The confident answer the 25 players in the clubhouse wanted to hear was yes. The answer Ozzie Guillen has maintained is yes.
Semantically I'll argue that it is the Manager's job to lie to the players and tell them they're better than they are. The GM's job is mostly dealing with media and fans where it does pay to be a little more honest.
The man spending the week with his ear pressed to the phone listening to trade proposals, given a chance to cast a vote of confidence, abstained. Uh-oh. Somewhere, Daniel Hudson's heart just skipped a beat.
He should get that looked at. Tachycardia is a serious issue.
"You've got to be cognizant of making a move that's a little too shortsighted and jeopardizing your future (and) I certainly don't want to do that,'' Williams said. "However … you guys know me, I can't B.S. you. If there's something to do in a major way that doesn't disrupt what we have, and adds to what do have, I'll take that shot.
Sounds prudent.
'If Williams' aim is for his team to win the American League Central, he may want to think twice about pulling that trigger.For about 30 minutes before Monday night's game, Williams leaned patiently against a dugout railing as Guillen spoke within earshot about 15 feet away. He really should have been listening to Sox captain Paul Konerko.Inside the Sox's clubhouse before either Williams or Guillen addressed baseball's Hallmark holiday — the manufactured, overhyped July 31 trade deadline — Konerko spoke in a volume much lower than his bosses. But with words that should carry the most weight in this potentially pivotal week."The character of this team and the makeup is why we're probably competing at all,'' Konerko said. "That's a fragile thing and you have to watch that … but who knows, you could add somebody in a move that actually enhances that.''
Sure, Adam Dunn may fit in as well as Jake Peavy did even if Dunn would grudgingly have to accept a DH role. Prince Fielder may have no effect on the Sox chemistry despite giving Konerko the occasional day off at first base he doesn't need and Guillen a lineup conundrum he doesn't want.
So Guillen doesn't want Fielder because...it would give the 34-year-old Paul Konerko some days off. And Guillen would have to learn how to spell 'Fielder' for the lineup card.
But adding either player guarantees the Sox nothing but change.
That is just a stupidly obvious statement. Really really stupid.
And change makes a first-place team as uncomfortable as Konerko seemed discussing that possibility.
Why? Why would it make them uncomfortable? One reason? Anything?
If Williams somehow can engineer a trade that involves prospects who haven't contributed to this turnaround season, then applaud and nominate him for baseball executive of the year.
Nope. No reason. It just would.
But subtracting anything from the Sox's current roster now would only make it trickier to add another division title this year ...
Why? Because Fielder is a Mounds guy and Konerko likes Almond Joy? I've never heard anything about Prince being a club house cancer. Or Dunn for that matter.
Please don't start complaining about the Sox's viability in the playoffs if they stand pat. That's like worrying how you would pay the taxes after winning the lottery.
That is NOT a cheerleading coach's mentality. "Well our cheers are good enough to get us TO state, lets stop here and just be happy for ourselves...everyone gets ice cream!"
It's all about winning the Central first, and tinkering with the roster would disrupt the flow of a team that thinks it has something special going.
Please someone explain to me what that last sentence means. I have no clue. So first you have to win the Central division to make the playoffs. Right. Then you can't get a stud left-handed hitter because it would cause A.J. to become incontinent or something.
It doesn't matter if you agree or if the Sox actually do. It only matters that they believe they do.
David, do you have an editor? If so, he should have printed his paragraph out, slapped you, and rubbed your nose in the printed copy while yelling "No!".
"I don't know why this is, but baseball just seems like a certain vibe you get in the clubhouse where you feel like you can win and sometimes when pieces move or one little thing gets altered, it changes things to where teams that believe don't believe and something gets out of kilter,'' Konerko said.
I don't really buy that logic, but I'll defer to an ALCS MVP on that one.
For the record, Guillen would rather acknowledge Wrigley Field as a baseball landmark than team chemistry as a factor in his team's success."You know how you make chemistry? Win games,'' Guillen said.
YES!!!! Dead frickin on!!!! Ozzie Guillen is now the smarted person in the room.
Yet in the next breath, Guillen allowed that there was something inexplicable about this team that he would like to keep in tact, and that is the message he keeps sending Williams.The quality that's easier to pinpoint than for anybody to explain."Big names don't win games, good teams win games,'' Guillen said.
Hmmmm...true, but big time talent tends to win more games than it losses.
There's only one person Guillen has to worry about not feeling satisfied with the Sox roster before the trade deadline, and he's busy pacing in his office at 35th and Shields.
Case closed!
Sox's Williams weighs pros, cons of tinkering with 1st-place club
Pros include: getting better
Cons include: crazed science experiments involving something called team-chemistry...I'm not familiar.
When Ken Williams talks about the status quo like it is a bigger enemy than the Tigers or Twins, it is what you admire most about the football coach trapped inside a baseball executive's body.
How come every time some baseball player/manager/gm shows a desire to win they compare the guy to a football player (Erstad). Do high school cheerleading coaches not want to win? I say we start going with that one.
He oversees one of baseball's most overachieving teams, one that only Hawk Harrelson and the Guillen family thought would be in first place this late in July.
Both are, of course, completely insane.
Instinctively, Williams wants more. He wants the left-handed bat, the fifth starting pitcher, the bullpen lefty and Albert Pujols too, if that's not too much to ask. The compulsive competitor in Williams wants it all mostly because he can't possibly have it.
How do you prove that last statement? I thought he wanted it because he wanted to win like football coaches do.
"When we won the World Series (in 2005), I was on the bus thinking what we could have done to make this easier,'' Williams recalled Monday at U.S. Cellular Field.
Nerd. Take that kettle!
This is the trademark intensity many Sox fans love most about Williams. Five days before the non-waiver trading deadline, it also should be what scares them out of their black pinstriped slippers.Williams was asked if the Sox team that beat the Mariners 6-1 Monday night is good enough, as is, to accomplish all the things he wants to accomplish this season. He hesitated, supplying the kind of dramatic pause producers of MLB's "The Club'' surely have come to appreciate."I don't know,'' Williams answered.
Honest at least.
The confident answer the 25 players in the clubhouse wanted to hear was yes. The answer Ozzie Guillen has maintained is yes.
Semantically I'll argue that it is the Manager's job to lie to the players and tell them they're better than they are. The GM's job is mostly dealing with media and fans where it does pay to be a little more honest.
The man spending the week with his ear pressed to the phone listening to trade proposals, given a chance to cast a vote of confidence, abstained. Uh-oh. Somewhere, Daniel Hudson's heart just skipped a beat.
He should get that looked at. Tachycardia is a serious issue.
"You've got to be cognizant of making a move that's a little too shortsighted and jeopardizing your future (and) I certainly don't want to do that,'' Williams said. "However … you guys know me, I can't B.S. you. If there's something to do in a major way that doesn't disrupt what we have, and adds to what do have, I'll take that shot.
Sounds prudent.
'If Williams' aim is for his team to win the American League Central, he may want to think twice about pulling that trigger.For about 30 minutes before Monday night's game, Williams leaned patiently against a dugout railing as Guillen spoke within earshot about 15 feet away. He really should have been listening to Sox captain Paul Konerko.Inside the Sox's clubhouse before either Williams or Guillen addressed baseball's Hallmark holiday — the manufactured, overhyped July 31 trade deadline — Konerko spoke in a volume much lower than his bosses. But with words that should carry the most weight in this potentially pivotal week."The character of this team and the makeup is why we're probably competing at all,'' Konerko said. "That's a fragile thing and you have to watch that … but who knows, you could add somebody in a move that actually enhances that.''
Sure, Adam Dunn may fit in as well as Jake Peavy did even if Dunn would grudgingly have to accept a DH role. Prince Fielder may have no effect on the Sox chemistry despite giving Konerko the occasional day off at first base he doesn't need and Guillen a lineup conundrum he doesn't want.
So Guillen doesn't want Fielder because...it would give the 34-year-old Paul Konerko some days off. And Guillen would have to learn how to spell 'Fielder' for the lineup card.
But adding either player guarantees the Sox nothing but change.
That is just a stupidly obvious statement. Really really stupid.
And change makes a first-place team as uncomfortable as Konerko seemed discussing that possibility.
Why? Why would it make them uncomfortable? One reason? Anything?
If Williams somehow can engineer a trade that involves prospects who haven't contributed to this turnaround season, then applaud and nominate him for baseball executive of the year.
Nope. No reason. It just would.
But subtracting anything from the Sox's current roster now would only make it trickier to add another division title this year ...
Why? Because Fielder is a Mounds guy and Konerko likes Almond Joy? I've never heard anything about Prince being a club house cancer. Or Dunn for that matter.
Please don't start complaining about the Sox's viability in the playoffs if they stand pat. That's like worrying how you would pay the taxes after winning the lottery.
That is NOT a cheerleading coach's mentality. "Well our cheers are good enough to get us TO state, lets stop here and just be happy for ourselves...everyone gets ice cream!"
It's all about winning the Central first, and tinkering with the roster would disrupt the flow of a team that thinks it has something special going.
Please someone explain to me what that last sentence means. I have no clue. So first you have to win the Central division to make the playoffs. Right. Then you can't get a stud left-handed hitter because it would cause A.J. to become incontinent or something.
It doesn't matter if you agree or if the Sox actually do. It only matters that they believe they do.
David, do you have an editor? If so, he should have printed his paragraph out, slapped you, and rubbed your nose in the printed copy while yelling "No!".
"I don't know why this is, but baseball just seems like a certain vibe you get in the clubhouse where you feel like you can win and sometimes when pieces move or one little thing gets altered, it changes things to where teams that believe don't believe and something gets out of kilter,'' Konerko said.
I don't really buy that logic, but I'll defer to an ALCS MVP on that one.
For the record, Guillen would rather acknowledge Wrigley Field as a baseball landmark than team chemistry as a factor in his team's success."You know how you make chemistry? Win games,'' Guillen said.
YES!!!! Dead frickin on!!!! Ozzie Guillen is now the smarted person in the room.
Yet in the next breath, Guillen allowed that there was something inexplicable about this team that he would like to keep in tact, and that is the message he keeps sending Williams.The quality that's easier to pinpoint than for anybody to explain."Big names don't win games, good teams win games,'' Guillen said.
Hmmmm...true, but big time talent tends to win more games than it losses.
There's only one person Guillen has to worry about not feeling satisfied with the Sox roster before the trade deadline, and he's busy pacing in his office at 35th and Shields.
Case closed!
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Standing up for the Old Man
"Hey Phil"
"Can't talk now."
"Why not? It's the all-star break, I'm sure you have some time on your hands."
"I'm a professional, I never have time on my hands. And someone has to let the world know how valuable Paul Konerko is."
"You mean like this article right here?"
"That's right, people need to be reminded of what a veteran brings to the table."
"You mean a bunch of antiquated values that never really existed in the first place?"
"Damn straight!"
It would be a shame if Sox let Konerko go
Not the catchiest headline I've ever read, but it gets to the point.
ANAHEIM, Calif. — As good as it gets.That's Paul Konerko in his 12 seasons with the White Sox.
Eh...He's a solid first baseman and all, but "as good as it gets" is a bit of a stretch. He's arguably the second best first baseman in his own town. Actually, looking at the numbers it's inarguable, he is the second best behind Lee.
He's everything you'd ever want in a baseball player, both on the field and off.
Sorry, but that distinction remains with Andre Dawson my friend. (Though I know nothing about the hall of famer outside of baseball.)
Yet when I bounced his name off a longtime reporter from another town the other day, he said Konerko had never impressed him. Struck me as odd.
Why? He's an above average first baseman in a day when first baseman are a dime a dozen.
So, too, does the Sox's willingness to envision a future without Konerko in the middle of the lineup. He's 34, sure,
YES! He's 34! That's old in baseball years.
...but he's just as consistent of a run producer now as he was five years ago, when he batted cleanup for a championship team and was rewarded with a five-year, $60 million contract.
Actually this year he's doing better, which is an argument against my stance, but is still true.
Why should the Sox make him sweat out his future?
It's called negotiating.
I asked Konerko, and he broke into a smile. "I wish you were handing out the checks,'' he said.
Konerko is the kind of ballplayer who was celebrated in the decades before ESPN and the other agents of the 24-hour news cycle turned baseball into yet another enterprise where style can trump substance.
Really? They used to make a habit of celebrating mediocre first baseman? Cause if so, that was dumb. And the whole style trumping substance thing. I'm pretty sure Mantle and Ruth and Dimaggio and Williams and Jenkins were also celebrated. Also, you alone Phil, who writes for a major newspaper in Chicago have written two articles this year (that's I've caught) celebrating Konerko.
It was a very good thing he was at his fourth All-Star Game, and it will be no surprise if he comes through in the clutch, as he did when the AL rallied to win in 2006. Konerko wasn't added to the American League All-Stars until last weekend — as a replacement for the Twins' Justin Morneau, whose back is a major concern.
I'm sure Konerko is a nice gut, but that is a heck of drop off in production.
"It would have been a real shame if Paul wasn't an All-Star,'' Sox left-hander Matt Thornton said. "He's had a great season. When we weren't playing well early in the year, it seemed like every time we won he hit a home run or got a big hit.''
Oh well then, let's give him another 5 years at $15 mil a year because Matt Thorton has selective memory. Good enough.
Konerko won't admit that he wanted to be here.
Gotcha!
But he did.
WHA!?!?!?!? I know what Phil actually means, but that just reads weird to me. As if Paul won't admit it, but he did.
"There are too many other letdowns over the course of a season to get caught up in if you go or you don't go,'' he said. "There's too much other stuff in the game that will get you down on a daily basis. … The smart players don't go looking for extra ones.''
Konerko has quietly had a terrific first half, projecting to 39 home runs and 122 RBIs if he maintains that pace after the break.
Reporters love to talk about how players are having "quietly great years." What that is based on I have no idea. Again, Phil Rogers writes for one of the biggest newspapers in America. He's not keeping it a secret. And Paul got picked for the all-star game, so someone noticed.
Assuming he can do that, he will have given Jerry Reinsdorf's ownership group 155 home runs and 475 RBIs over the life of his five-year contract.He delivered 158 home runs and 485 RBIs from 2001 through '05, the five-year period that produced the most recent contract. But even though the numbers are almost identical, Konerko understands why his future looks different this time around than when he reached free agency after the '05 World Series.
Yes, because he's 5 years older!
Believe it or not, Konerko revealed on Monday that he went into 2010 prepared for it to possibly be his last season in baseball — not because he would want to quit but because he'd seen Jermaine Dye and other friends find themselves without jobs at the end of big contracts.
That's actually kinda sad, though Dye had back to back years where he was a poor player and can't play the field in any capacity anymore.
He was asked if he would consider quitting if the Sox were able to win another Series. He was momentarily stumped."I never even thought about that,'' said Konerko
HAHAHAHA! There you go Chicago, even in the midst of the best run of baseball in years, one of you top players can't even conceive of making it to the World Series again.
...And the rest of this is about leadership and how they got back into first place...boring. It's good to know that we have Phil Rogers out there fighting to get attention for multi-time all-star players who have ALCS MVP awards.
Case Closed!
"Can't talk now."
"Why not? It's the all-star break, I'm sure you have some time on your hands."
"I'm a professional, I never have time on my hands. And someone has to let the world know how valuable Paul Konerko is."
"You mean like this article right here?"
"That's right, people need to be reminded of what a veteran brings to the table."
"You mean a bunch of antiquated values that never really existed in the first place?"
"Damn straight!"
It would be a shame if Sox let Konerko go
Not the catchiest headline I've ever read, but it gets to the point.
ANAHEIM, Calif. — As good as it gets.That's Paul Konerko in his 12 seasons with the White Sox.
Eh...He's a solid first baseman and all, but "as good as it gets" is a bit of a stretch. He's arguably the second best first baseman in his own town. Actually, looking at the numbers it's inarguable, he is the second best behind Lee.
He's everything you'd ever want in a baseball player, both on the field and off.
Sorry, but that distinction remains with Andre Dawson my friend. (Though I know nothing about the hall of famer outside of baseball.)
Yet when I bounced his name off a longtime reporter from another town the other day, he said Konerko had never impressed him. Struck me as odd.
Why? He's an above average first baseman in a day when first baseman are a dime a dozen.
So, too, does the Sox's willingness to envision a future without Konerko in the middle of the lineup. He's 34, sure,
YES! He's 34! That's old in baseball years.
...but he's just as consistent of a run producer now as he was five years ago, when he batted cleanup for a championship team and was rewarded with a five-year, $60 million contract.
Actually this year he's doing better, which is an argument against my stance, but is still true.
Why should the Sox make him sweat out his future?
It's called negotiating.
I asked Konerko, and he broke into a smile. "I wish you were handing out the checks,'' he said.
Konerko is the kind of ballplayer who was celebrated in the decades before ESPN and the other agents of the 24-hour news cycle turned baseball into yet another enterprise where style can trump substance.
Really? They used to make a habit of celebrating mediocre first baseman? Cause if so, that was dumb. And the whole style trumping substance thing. I'm pretty sure Mantle and Ruth and Dimaggio and Williams and Jenkins were also celebrated. Also, you alone Phil, who writes for a major newspaper in Chicago have written two articles this year (that's I've caught) celebrating Konerko.
It was a very good thing he was at his fourth All-Star Game, and it will be no surprise if he comes through in the clutch, as he did when the AL rallied to win in 2006. Konerko wasn't added to the American League All-Stars until last weekend — as a replacement for the Twins' Justin Morneau, whose back is a major concern.
I'm sure Konerko is a nice gut, but that is a heck of drop off in production.
"It would have been a real shame if Paul wasn't an All-Star,'' Sox left-hander Matt Thornton said. "He's had a great season. When we weren't playing well early in the year, it seemed like every time we won he hit a home run or got a big hit.''
Oh well then, let's give him another 5 years at $15 mil a year because Matt Thorton has selective memory. Good enough.
Konerko won't admit that he wanted to be here.
Gotcha!
But he did.
WHA!?!?!?!? I know what Phil actually means, but that just reads weird to me. As if Paul won't admit it, but he did.
"There are too many other letdowns over the course of a season to get caught up in if you go or you don't go,'' he said. "There's too much other stuff in the game that will get you down on a daily basis. … The smart players don't go looking for extra ones.''
Konerko has quietly had a terrific first half, projecting to 39 home runs and 122 RBIs if he maintains that pace after the break.
Reporters love to talk about how players are having "quietly great years." What that is based on I have no idea. Again, Phil Rogers writes for one of the biggest newspapers in America. He's not keeping it a secret. And Paul got picked for the all-star game, so someone noticed.
Assuming he can do that, he will have given Jerry Reinsdorf's ownership group 155 home runs and 475 RBIs over the life of his five-year contract.He delivered 158 home runs and 485 RBIs from 2001 through '05, the five-year period that produced the most recent contract. But even though the numbers are almost identical, Konerko understands why his future looks different this time around than when he reached free agency after the '05 World Series.
Yes, because he's 5 years older!
Believe it or not, Konerko revealed on Monday that he went into 2010 prepared for it to possibly be his last season in baseball — not because he would want to quit but because he'd seen Jermaine Dye and other friends find themselves without jobs at the end of big contracts.
That's actually kinda sad, though Dye had back to back years where he was a poor player and can't play the field in any capacity anymore.
He was asked if he would consider quitting if the Sox were able to win another Series. He was momentarily stumped."I never even thought about that,'' said Konerko
HAHAHAHA! There you go Chicago, even in the midst of the best run of baseball in years, one of you top players can't even conceive of making it to the World Series again.
...And the rest of this is about leadership and how they got back into first place...boring. It's good to know that we have Phil Rogers out there fighting to get attention for multi-time all-star players who have ALCS MVP awards.
Case Closed!
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Funny Quote
This is from Ozzie Guillen discussing whether or not Kenny Williams (Sox GM) give Ozzie any input into what players are brought in:
''Kenny should know what we need, what we [don't need],'' Guillen said. ''I'm not the type of manager who gets involved in players, who should be here, who should not. We always talk about this club. We don't have a meeting about anything. Every time me and Kenny have a meeting, it's just because something stupid I did. "
''Kenny should know what we need, what we [don't need],'' Guillen said. ''I'm not the type of manager who gets involved in players, who should be here, who should not. We always talk about this club. We don't have a meeting about anything. Every time me and Kenny have a meeting, it's just because something stupid I did. "
Monday, June 28, 2010
Wow, Twice in One Week
Mark Potash must be on some sort of mission. A mission to share ill-informed opinions about Chicago baseball. Poor town. So Potash spits out this article continuing his evaluation of Chicago baseball players:
Sorry White Sox fans, but Mr. Cub is Mr. Chicago.
Ernie Banks was an easy choice as the No. 1 Cubs player of all-time when the Sun-Times rated the top players in each of the city's major pro teams in February and March. Frank Thomas was an easy choice as the No. 1 player in Sox history.
But in a Cubs vs. Sox list of best players in the wake of the BP Crosstown Cup series at U.S. Cellular Field this weekend,
Wait, wait, wait. Chicago named their series the BP Crosstown Cup series? Brilliant timing Chi-Town. I'm planning on having a crosstown bicycle race here in Bronson, MI called the Kellogg's Special K Bowl.
Banks gets the edge over Big Frank as the best Chicago player of all-time. And actually, it's not that close.
I am vaguely familiar with each players career. I doubt that last sentence very much.
Banks put up unprecedented numbers as a shortstop -- from 1955-60 he averaged 41 homers and 116 RBI, won two home run titles, two RBI titles and back-to-back MVP awards in 1958-59.
That is a crazy 5 year period. It really is, especially for a short-stop. He put up a WAR of 48.8 during those 6 years. Thomas peak would be around 41.1. Looking deeper Banks WAR is being carrier by his fielding, which is equally hurting Thomas. Seriously as good as Banks was a fielding, Thomas was as bad.
And in 1960 he led the NL in home runs with 41 and won the Gold Glove at shortstop.
Neat-o!
Banks extended his career by playing first base. Thomas started at first base, tired of it and extended his career as a DH. In fact, Banks played more games at first base (1,259) than Thomas (971).
Don't care about any of that. Games played at first? Great. Was a DH? That's up to how you feel about DHing. If you hate it you're going to give Banks the edge.
But Thomas still gets his due in our position-by-position list of best Sox/Cubs of all-time. With Banks at shortstop, Thomas is the clear choice at first base over the great Dick Allen and the the Cubs' Phil Cavaretta, the pride of Lane Tech. And he deserves it. Thomas batted .275 with 29 home runs and 117 RBI per 500 at-bats as a first baseman with the White Sox. It's not like he couldn't play the position. He just preferred to hit.
I'm trying to decide how to make the case for Thomas. Stat by stat? Or one their lines on top of each other? Let's do both.
Banks .274/.330/.500/.830 OPS+ 122 WOBA .358 WAR 74.1 Fielding 54
Thomas .301/.419/.555/.974 OPS+156 WOBA .379 WAR 79.1 Fielding -68.2
I would say offensively it's not even close. When it comes to fielding Banks is so far superior they're not even playing the same game. The DH probably saves Thomas in WAR since his fielding constantly hurt him. My point though is, it's a close call. If you're a Cubs fan, you'll say Banks because he was the complete player. If you're a Sox fan you'll say Thomas because he was one of the greatest hitters of all time, far beyond Banks.
What I'm trying to say is this:
Banks gets the edge over Big Frank as the best Chicago player of all-time. And actually, it's not that close.
is bull.
Case Closed.
Sorry White Sox fans, but Mr. Cub is Mr. Chicago.
Ernie Banks was an easy choice as the No. 1 Cubs player of all-time when the Sun-Times rated the top players in each of the city's major pro teams in February and March. Frank Thomas was an easy choice as the No. 1 player in Sox history.
But in a Cubs vs. Sox list of best players in the wake of the BP Crosstown Cup series at U.S. Cellular Field this weekend,
Wait, wait, wait. Chicago named their series the BP Crosstown Cup series? Brilliant timing Chi-Town. I'm planning on having a crosstown bicycle race here in Bronson, MI called the Kellogg's Special K Bowl.
Banks gets the edge over Big Frank as the best Chicago player of all-time. And actually, it's not that close.
I am vaguely familiar with each players career. I doubt that last sentence very much.
Banks put up unprecedented numbers as a shortstop -- from 1955-60 he averaged 41 homers and 116 RBI, won two home run titles, two RBI titles and back-to-back MVP awards in 1958-59.
That is a crazy 5 year period. It really is, especially for a short-stop. He put up a WAR of 48.8 during those 6 years. Thomas peak would be around 41.1. Looking deeper Banks WAR is being carrier by his fielding, which is equally hurting Thomas. Seriously as good as Banks was a fielding, Thomas was as bad.
And in 1960 he led the NL in home runs with 41 and won the Gold Glove at shortstop.
Neat-o!
Banks extended his career by playing first base. Thomas started at first base, tired of it and extended his career as a DH. In fact, Banks played more games at first base (1,259) than Thomas (971).
Don't care about any of that. Games played at first? Great. Was a DH? That's up to how you feel about DHing. If you hate it you're going to give Banks the edge.
But Thomas still gets his due in our position-by-position list of best Sox/Cubs of all-time. With Banks at shortstop, Thomas is the clear choice at first base over the great Dick Allen and the the Cubs' Phil Cavaretta, the pride of Lane Tech. And he deserves it. Thomas batted .275 with 29 home runs and 117 RBI per 500 at-bats as a first baseman with the White Sox. It's not like he couldn't play the position. He just preferred to hit.
I'm trying to decide how to make the case for Thomas. Stat by stat? Or one their lines on top of each other? Let's do both.
Banks .274/.330/.500/.830 OPS+ 122 WOBA .358 WAR 74.1 Fielding 54
Thomas .301/.419/.555/.974 OPS+156 WOBA .379 WAR 79.1 Fielding -68.2
I would say offensively it's not even close. When it comes to fielding Banks is so far superior they're not even playing the same game. The DH probably saves Thomas in WAR since his fielding constantly hurt him. My point though is, it's a close call. If you're a Cubs fan, you'll say Banks because he was the complete player. If you're a Sox fan you'll say Thomas because he was one of the greatest hitters of all time, far beyond Banks.
What I'm trying to say is this:
Banks gets the edge over Big Frank as the best Chicago player of all-time. And actually, it's not that close.
is bull.
Case Closed.
That's a Strong Looking Philly You Got There...
My dear old friend Phil Rogers decided to write about the hottest team in baseball. You know, the one that lost to the Cubs who are 9 games under .500. Just one game though right? Of course. Sadly, Phil chooses to list the 10 reasons the White Sox have turned it around, and none of them consist of Buttafuoco:
1. Pitching: Nothing does more to keep you in a playoff chase than starting pitching. The Sox's rotation has done an about-face since June 8, when it had a 5.22 earned-run average. Jake Peavy, Mark Buehrle & Co. have hung up a 2.33 mark in the last 17 games. That's not going to continue forever, but split the difference between the good number and the bad number and you've got a 3.78 ERA. Only five teams are getting better work from their starters, with the Rays the only one in the AL.
That is NOT how statistics work. You choose two stretches of games then average out the averages to see how well a team's pitching will perform, that's completely ludicrous. The Sox have a team era over this year of 4.26 putting them in 8th place in the AL. Not great. But what's this? The White Sox LEAD the league in FIP and xFIP. Also they lead the league in K/9. 4th in BB/9. 3rd in HR/9. So that whole team ERA thing is a bit misleading and shows that while they probably over-peformed the last couple weeks, Phil is right that they are a better pitching team then they've shown.
As for the last sentence, where he pulls that conclusion from I have no idea. The White Sox starters are again, end of the pack in ERA. But if Phil is just going on the last couple weeks they're the best by far. Where the Rays come in I have no idea, unless he's just going on a random guess of potential. The Rays don't lead the league in any category that's of any significance. The Mariners however...
2. Rios: Thank you, Blue Jays. Ken Williams took a huge risk by claiming Rios on waivers last summer, when the $62 million left on his deal represented the biggest financial commitment in franchise history. He's a two-way stud, positioned for a 30/50 season while playing a great center field.
Rios has been playing very well for the White Sox. But nowhere does he project to go 30/50. Zips U(pdated) has him going 24/36. He is playing a good center field, which he has done consistently.
3. Alexei Ramirez: The third-year big-leaguer has quietly developed into one of the best shortstops in the AL, rewarding Guillen's confidence in him. The Sox have allowed 15 unearned runs, the seventh-lowest figure in the majors.
Alexei has played great defense and continues to develop year after year. However he is not the sole reason the Sox have only allowed 15 unearned runs. And really, being 7th in the Majors is fine, it's really not a reason to throw out there for a team's success.
There's nothing else particularly egregious about this article, but some of the poor choices for stats Phil used deserved to be called out.
Case Closed.
1. Pitching: Nothing does more to keep you in a playoff chase than starting pitching. The Sox's rotation has done an about-face since June 8, when it had a 5.22 earned-run average. Jake Peavy, Mark Buehrle & Co. have hung up a 2.33 mark in the last 17 games. That's not going to continue forever, but split the difference between the good number and the bad number and you've got a 3.78 ERA. Only five teams are getting better work from their starters, with the Rays the only one in the AL.
That is NOT how statistics work. You choose two stretches of games then average out the averages to see how well a team's pitching will perform, that's completely ludicrous. The Sox have a team era over this year of 4.26 putting them in 8th place in the AL. Not great. But what's this? The White Sox LEAD the league in FIP and xFIP. Also they lead the league in K/9. 4th in BB/9. 3rd in HR/9. So that whole team ERA thing is a bit misleading and shows that while they probably over-peformed the last couple weeks, Phil is right that they are a better pitching team then they've shown.
As for the last sentence, where he pulls that conclusion from I have no idea. The White Sox starters are again, end of the pack in ERA. But if Phil is just going on the last couple weeks they're the best by far. Where the Rays come in I have no idea, unless he's just going on a random guess of potential. The Rays don't lead the league in any category that's of any significance. The Mariners however...
2. Rios: Thank you, Blue Jays. Ken Williams took a huge risk by claiming Rios on waivers last summer, when the $62 million left on his deal represented the biggest financial commitment in franchise history. He's a two-way stud, positioned for a 30/50 season while playing a great center field.
Rios has been playing very well for the White Sox. But nowhere does he project to go 30/50. Zips U(pdated) has him going 24/36. He is playing a good center field, which he has done consistently.
3. Alexei Ramirez: The third-year big-leaguer has quietly developed into one of the best shortstops in the AL, rewarding Guillen's confidence in him. The Sox have allowed 15 unearned runs, the seventh-lowest figure in the majors.
Alexei has played great defense and continues to develop year after year. However he is not the sole reason the Sox have only allowed 15 unearned runs. And really, being 7th in the Majors is fine, it's really not a reason to throw out there for a team's success.
There's nothing else particularly egregious about this article, but some of the poor choices for stats Phil used deserved to be called out.
Case Closed.
Monday, June 21, 2010
How to Cherry Pick Stats
By Mark Potash. (Me in regular/him in Italics)
Like a shot of "5-Hour Energy," interleague play gives the White Sox a boost when they need it most. No crash later? We'll see about that.
On paper, the Sox are the second-hottest team in baseball, having won six straight games and 10 of their last 11 to reach the .500 mark (34-34), still 5 1/2 games behind the Twins and four behind the Tigers in the AL Central. (The Rangers have won eight straight and 11 of 12).
The big question is whether or not this is fool's gold. The bulk of the Sox' recent streak has come against the Cubs, Pirates and Nationals. The Cubs are in a season-long funk, losing 12 of their last 19 games; the Pirates have lost 18 of their last 23, including 12 in a row; the Nationals have lost 15 of their last 21 -- three of their six victories in that span came against the Pirates.
So far those are some pretty good reasons why this was a mirage. The White Sox Pythagorean btw is 32-36.
There's no doubt that interleague play is a drop in class for American League teams. It has been for years and this one is no different. The AL leads the NL 92-76 so far in 2010. American League pitchers in particular have an easier time against National League teams -- and vice-versa. Roy Halladay is 8-3 with a 1.51 ERA against NL teams this season. He's 0-3 with a 6.86 ERA against the AL. And he's been in the National League for less than three months.
Yes, let's take his ERA from this year as opposed to the 07-09 when he had an ERA of 3.03 in the AL (does include interleague games from those years. But still). And let's keep in mind he put those numbers up in the AL East. That is example #1 of cherry picking stats.
This is old hat for Sox fans. In 2008, a 12-6 record in interleague play helped keep them afloat in the AL Central and they barely hung on to win the division title. Last year the Sox were 28-33 when interleague play (they were 12-6 again) sparked a 15-5 run that put them 2 1/2 games back in the division. The momentum kept them in contention until August, when they lost nine of 10 against the Red Sox, Yankees and Twins and were done.
That right there just screams "We are not a playoff caliber team."
But as dubious as the competition has been of late, the current streak has a better feel to it this year.
So one reason this year is different is Mark feeeeeels differently about it. Solid.
The Sox are winning because they've been playing better baseball -- and not just because they're playing weaker competition.
Um, you just spent half the article pointing out how they were facing weaker teams. They beat the Cubs, Pirates, and Nationals. Went 8-1 against them. What was their record against the Red Sox, Yankees and Twins last year again? It seems you mentioned it earlier.
Stephen Strasburg literally looked like Sandy Koufax on Friday night...
Here is a picture of Koufax. Here is one of Strasburg. Or is this Koufax and this Strasburg? (side note, the chest hair in the second picture is nuts.) I can't tell because they LITERALLY look alike.
...and the Sox found a way to win. I don't recall that happening too often in previous years.
That's cause Strasburg wasn't in the league in previous years. And I'm willing to bet the White Sox won other games 1-0. Hey here's one now! (45 second to find that on bbref.com. Most of that was loading time.) Here's a game a Chicagoan should probably remember, especially if it's their job to cover sports. That's being specific. If I want to be a jerk I'll point out that the White Sox 'found' a way to win 79 times last year.
In the current 10-1 streak, the Sox have won with timely pitching,
I don't have any clue what that means. The pitchers get people out during the course of the game. Not before the game or after the game, but during. That's timely.
timely hitting and timely defense.
See previous joke.
They're 4-1 in one-run games (14-8 for the season). They've won four games with three runs or less.
One-run games are mostly luck. The other stat...I don't know what that signifies. At all.
They've pitched 32 of 34 scoreless innings with a one-run lead.
They have a good bullpen, but that stat seems more like luck than anything. Not the scoreless innings part, but when they come.
They've allowed 14 runs in 11 games after the fourth inning -- eight of them while they had leads of four runs or more.
I love baseball and baseball stats. I have NO IDEA what the first half of that means. He just randomly picked 11 games and randomly picked an inning as a cut off. It means less than nothing. Mark, listen, just say the White Sox bullpen is doing well and give their ERA.
They're scoring runs for Freddy Garcia (55 in his last nine starts) and playing defense for Jake Peavy.
I can imagine Paul Konerko standing up in front of all the starters on opening day:
"Alright, so we, the offense, have come to the decision that we are only going to play the games half-assed. So each of you have to choose: we can play immaculate defense for you; or we can rock the ball on offense for you."
Buehrle: "Why can't you do both?"
Paul sighs, "Mark you just don't understand baseball. Now everyone choose quickly, I gotta get to the Blackhawks game."
"But we have a game tonight!"
Paul shakes his head: "Mark, you're really starting to become a problem."
When Garcia allowed three runs in the fourth inning to fall behind 3-1 against the Nationals on Sunday, the Sox responded with six straight hits and four runs for a 5-3 lead. Garcia pitched two scoreless innings and the Nationals didn't score again.
Yeah the relief staff really shut the Nats down. Shame they don't get any press from Potash. I mean you can't even mention Putz (ERA+ 203)? Or Santos (ERA+ 173)?
Yes it was the Nationals. And the Cubs. And the Pirates. But I would submit that while the Sox aren't as good as Kenny Williams thought, they've been an underachieving team all season.
According to their Pythag they're OVERachieving.
Sometimes a team like that just needs a little boost to get them on track. Of course you have to see it to believe it -- this is the White Sox we're talking about. But I have a feeling this season is not over yet.
And as we already established, Mark's feeeeelings are what matter. That and his horrible interpretations on statistics.
Case Closed!
Like a shot of "5-Hour Energy," interleague play gives the White Sox a boost when they need it most. No crash later? We'll see about that.
On paper, the Sox are the second-hottest team in baseball, having won six straight games and 10 of their last 11 to reach the .500 mark (34-34), still 5 1/2 games behind the Twins and four behind the Tigers in the AL Central. (The Rangers have won eight straight and 11 of 12).
The big question is whether or not this is fool's gold. The bulk of the Sox' recent streak has come against the Cubs, Pirates and Nationals. The Cubs are in a season-long funk, losing 12 of their last 19 games; the Pirates have lost 18 of their last 23, including 12 in a row; the Nationals have lost 15 of their last 21 -- three of their six victories in that span came against the Pirates.
So far those are some pretty good reasons why this was a mirage. The White Sox Pythagorean btw is 32-36.
There's no doubt that interleague play is a drop in class for American League teams. It has been for years and this one is no different. The AL leads the NL 92-76 so far in 2010. American League pitchers in particular have an easier time against National League teams -- and vice-versa. Roy Halladay is 8-3 with a 1.51 ERA against NL teams this season. He's 0-3 with a 6.86 ERA against the AL. And he's been in the National League for less than three months.
Yes, let's take his ERA from this year as opposed to the 07-09 when he had an ERA of 3.03 in the AL (does include interleague games from those years. But still). And let's keep in mind he put those numbers up in the AL East. That is example #1 of cherry picking stats.
This is old hat for Sox fans. In 2008, a 12-6 record in interleague play helped keep them afloat in the AL Central and they barely hung on to win the division title. Last year the Sox were 28-33 when interleague play (they were 12-6 again) sparked a 15-5 run that put them 2 1/2 games back in the division. The momentum kept them in contention until August, when they lost nine of 10 against the Red Sox, Yankees and Twins and were done.
That right there just screams "We are not a playoff caliber team."
But as dubious as the competition has been of late, the current streak has a better feel to it this year.
So one reason this year is different is Mark feeeeeels differently about it. Solid.
The Sox are winning because they've been playing better baseball -- and not just because they're playing weaker competition.
Um, you just spent half the article pointing out how they were facing weaker teams. They beat the Cubs, Pirates, and Nationals. Went 8-1 against them. What was their record against the Red Sox, Yankees and Twins last year again? It seems you mentioned it earlier.
Stephen Strasburg literally looked like Sandy Koufax on Friday night...
Here is a picture of Koufax. Here is one of Strasburg. Or is this Koufax and this Strasburg? (side note, the chest hair in the second picture is nuts.) I can't tell because they LITERALLY look alike.
...and the Sox found a way to win. I don't recall that happening too often in previous years.
That's cause Strasburg wasn't in the league in previous years. And I'm willing to bet the White Sox won other games 1-0. Hey here's one now! (45 second to find that on bbref.com. Most of that was loading time.) Here's a game a Chicagoan should probably remember, especially if it's their job to cover sports. That's being specific. If I want to be a jerk I'll point out that the White Sox 'found' a way to win 79 times last year.
In the current 10-1 streak, the Sox have won with timely pitching,
I don't have any clue what that means. The pitchers get people out during the course of the game. Not before the game or after the game, but during. That's timely.
timely hitting and timely defense.
See previous joke.
They're 4-1 in one-run games (14-8 for the season). They've won four games with three runs or less.
One-run games are mostly luck. The other stat...I don't know what that signifies. At all.
They've pitched 32 of 34 scoreless innings with a one-run lead.
They have a good bullpen, but that stat seems more like luck than anything. Not the scoreless innings part, but when they come.
They've allowed 14 runs in 11 games after the fourth inning -- eight of them while they had leads of four runs or more.
I love baseball and baseball stats. I have NO IDEA what the first half of that means. He just randomly picked 11 games and randomly picked an inning as a cut off. It means less than nothing. Mark, listen, just say the White Sox bullpen is doing well and give their ERA.
They're scoring runs for Freddy Garcia (55 in his last nine starts) and playing defense for Jake Peavy.
I can imagine Paul Konerko standing up in front of all the starters on opening day:
"Alright, so we, the offense, have come to the decision that we are only going to play the games half-assed. So each of you have to choose: we can play immaculate defense for you; or we can rock the ball on offense for you."
Buehrle: "Why can't you do both?"
Paul sighs, "Mark you just don't understand baseball. Now everyone choose quickly, I gotta get to the Blackhawks game."
"But we have a game tonight!"
Paul shakes his head: "Mark, you're really starting to become a problem."
When Garcia allowed three runs in the fourth inning to fall behind 3-1 against the Nationals on Sunday, the Sox responded with six straight hits and four runs for a 5-3 lead. Garcia pitched two scoreless innings and the Nationals didn't score again.
Yeah the relief staff really shut the Nats down. Shame they don't get any press from Potash. I mean you can't even mention Putz (ERA+ 203)? Or Santos (ERA+ 173)?
Yes it was the Nationals. And the Cubs. And the Pirates. But I would submit that while the Sox aren't as good as Kenny Williams thought, they've been an underachieving team all season.
According to their Pythag they're OVERachieving.
Sometimes a team like that just needs a little boost to get them on track. Of course you have to see it to believe it -- this is the White Sox we're talking about. But I have a feeling this season is not over yet.
And as we already established, Mark's feeeeelings are what matter. That and his horrible interpretations on statistics.
Case Closed!
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Between a Stone and a hard place
So the last week in Chicago there was a bruhaha between former Cubs and current White Sox announcer Steve Stone and Cubs manager Lou Piniella. This, of course, was not Steve's first time raising the ire of the manager of the Lovable Losers:
Stone famously split with the Cubs after a long career as a broadcaster for his old team in 2004, when he criticized Dusty Baker's managing and several players on a fading team.
(BTW Hawk Harrelson during the Pirates-White Sox game just said, "I love the wheel play, sure you have a lot of guys moving around, but it is just a good play." No follow up.
Why are you voting for Bush? I dunno he just seems like a good guy to go out for a drink with.)
The actual argument between the two is boring, semantics about starting rookies over veterans, yada yada. However the following quote I stole from this article is NOT the way to argue who you're going to start:
"I've got five major league outfielders," he (Piniella) said. "It's not fair that I just abandon one or two of them. It's just not fair, and I'm not going to do it."
If I owned a team, and my manager said he was setting his starting lineup based on what's fair vs. what is the best possible lineup, I would personally walk down to the dugout and fire him. This is not little league. You want playing time? Get better. I sincerely hope Piniella is making his decisions based on more than just what's fair for everyone.
Stone famously split with the Cubs after a long career as a broadcaster for his old team in 2004, when he criticized Dusty Baker's managing and several players on a fading team.
(BTW Hawk Harrelson during the Pirates-White Sox game just said, "I love the wheel play, sure you have a lot of guys moving around, but it is just a good play." No follow up.
Why are you voting for Bush? I dunno he just seems like a good guy to go out for a drink with.)
The actual argument between the two is boring, semantics about starting rookies over veterans, yada yada. However the following quote I stole from this article is NOT the way to argue who you're going to start:
"I've got five major league outfielders," he (Piniella) said. "It's not fair that I just abandon one or two of them. It's just not fair, and I'm not going to do it."
If I owned a team, and my manager said he was setting his starting lineup based on what's fair vs. what is the best possible lineup, I would personally walk down to the dugout and fire him. This is not little league. You want playing time? Get better. I sincerely hope Piniella is making his decisions based on more than just what's fair for everyone.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Who's to Blame?
I'm not sure. But yesterday, with the White Sox down 5-0, Juan Pierre, who actually reached base somehow, tried to steal. He was unceremoniously thrown out.
The White Sox were down by 5 runs. So Pierre, or whomever was in charge of the move, decided to risk an out when stealing 2nd did almost nothing to improve your odds of winning. The White Sox would go on to lose 6-5. Huh. Makes you think.
The White Sox were down by 5 runs. So Pierre, or whomever was in charge of the move, decided to risk an out when stealing 2nd did almost nothing to improve your odds of winning. The White Sox would go on to lose 6-5. Huh. Makes you think.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Let's Bring the Other Chicago Team in Here
No, not the Bears. Not the Blackhawks. Not the Fire or the Wolves. The White Sox (a singular, distant, unenthusiastic "yay" rings out on the South Side). Take it away Mike Rosenthal (me in regular/Mike in italics):
Taking a stab at 2010 season picks
I guess that's appropriate phrasing for picking a team on the South Side of Chicago.
Here is my vision for the end of the 2010 season: White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen and general manager Ken Williams knocking FOX’s Chris Rose to the ground while wrestling for the World Series trophy.
That is actually the most realistic prediction in this article. Assuming they both crash some other teams World Series Trophy presentation. Which would be so great I can barely stand the idea.
Ozzie’s youngest son, Oney, ripping Williams in a tweet delivered straight from the victory podium.
Not as funny.
Ozzie’s oldest son, Ozzie Jr., pouring champagne on his girlfriend and fellow reality TV star, Kim Kardashian.
That's gonna happen anyway.
That’s right, I’m picking Team Wacko to win the World Series.
Ridiculous? Perhaps. But so is the notion of trying to predict the actual Series champ seven months in advance.
I don't know if it's ridiculous. The playoffs throw a wrench in the whole thing since they're such a crapshoot, but it doesn't mean you're going to run out and pick the Royals to win it all. You can use statistical analysis and complicated calculations to come to a pretty decent guess.
Spare me those computer simulations with their “deadly accurate” forecasts of exactly how many games each team will win.
Oh, I guess you can't.
Tell me which players will get hurt.
They have stats for that, it's called PAP for pitchers. Most, if not all projection systems take into account how many games a player will play based on his age and injury history.
Tell me which teams will provide the best replacements.
Projection systems do that also. Have you never heard of Baseball Prospectus?
Tell me which moves will be made in the July and August trading periods.
Call Peter Gammons, I'm sure he knows.
Tell me all that, and I will tell you which team will win the 2010 Series — or, at least, give you a reasonably good guess.
Well Mike, you are expected to look some things up. I'm sure SI has interns that can do that for you and compile the information in a readable way. I'm also starting to see how you picked the White Sox, you did no research and picked the team you could make the most jokes about.
Allow me to share my philosophy for this column, which my ruthless, unrelenting bosses demand, without fail, on the eve of every season:
I'm guessing it involves chicken bones and the blood of a virgin.
Never pick the Yankees.
Really? That's the beauty of the game? Cynicism?
Bear with me now
Da Bears!!
as I harp on the weaknesses of every club that dares threatens my anointed champions. The Yankees largely avoided injuries with an older roster last season, and I’m not sure they can do it again.
Taking a stab at 2010 season picks
I guess that's appropriate phrasing for picking a team on the South Side of Chicago.
Here is my vision for the end of the 2010 season: White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen and general manager Ken Williams knocking FOX’s Chris Rose to the ground while wrestling for the World Series trophy.
That is actually the most realistic prediction in this article. Assuming they both crash some other teams World Series Trophy presentation. Which would be so great I can barely stand the idea.
Ozzie’s youngest son, Oney, ripping Williams in a tweet delivered straight from the victory podium.
Not as funny.
Ozzie’s oldest son, Ozzie Jr., pouring champagne on his girlfriend and fellow reality TV star, Kim Kardashian.
That's gonna happen anyway.
That’s right, I’m picking Team Wacko to win the World Series.
Ridiculous? Perhaps. But so is the notion of trying to predict the actual Series champ seven months in advance.
I don't know if it's ridiculous. The playoffs throw a wrench in the whole thing since they're such a crapshoot, but it doesn't mean you're going to run out and pick the Royals to win it all. You can use statistical analysis and complicated calculations to come to a pretty decent guess.
Spare me those computer simulations with their “deadly accurate” forecasts of exactly how many games each team will win.
Oh, I guess you can't.
Tell me which players will get hurt.
They have stats for that, it's called PAP for pitchers. Most, if not all projection systems take into account how many games a player will play based on his age and injury history.
Tell me which teams will provide the best replacements.
Projection systems do that also. Have you never heard of Baseball Prospectus?
Tell me which moves will be made in the July and August trading periods.
Call Peter Gammons, I'm sure he knows.
Tell me all that, and I will tell you which team will win the 2010 Series — or, at least, give you a reasonably good guess.
Well Mike, you are expected to look some things up. I'm sure SI has interns that can do that for you and compile the information in a readable way. I'm also starting to see how you picked the White Sox, you did no research and picked the team you could make the most jokes about.
Allow me to share my philosophy for this column, which my ruthless, unrelenting bosses demand, without fail, on the eve of every season:
I'm guessing it involves chicken bones and the blood of a virgin.
Never pick the Yankees.
Great, you've been wrong 27 times then. (yes I know he didn't do prediction for SI back in the 20's). The 90's must have been a tough time for you at the sports book Mike.
Almost never pick the Red Sox.
Last decade must have been a tough time for you at the sports book Mike.
Try to approach the column seriously, assessing each team’s strengths and weaknesses.
Hey, a logical step, way to go.
But then, at the precise moment my head is about to explode, go off the board. Hence, the White Sox.
I'm going to point out that I get what he's trying to do here, saying that predictions are nothing more than guesses so why not just have fun with them. But this is kinda his job, and he's blatantly admitting he put almost no time or effort into this column.
This season, the Yankees and Phillies look like the two best teams on paper. I can easily foresee a World Series rematch if the Series started, like, tomorrow. But a 162-game regular season and two playoff rounds will come first. The trick to identifying a potential champion is not simply picking the most talented outfit. The winner will need financial flexibility to add payroll, a strong farm system to deliver both quality depth and trade fodder and, last but not least, luck.
OK. All those things might help, but I would strongly recommend picking the most talented outfit. And not just the team with the strongest farm system. And to be honest, luck evens out over the course of a season. The Yankees weren't just lucky last year. The Phillies weren't just lucky. There were the most talented teams in their respective leagues.
The White Sox, at the very least, will be a better team than most people think.
Wow, Phil sounds really confident about that, I wonder why...
Their pitching, starting and relief, could be astonishingly good.
Alllllllright...it could also be astonishingly bad. Phil didn't give us any reason to believe him there.
They will score enough runs only if center fielder Alex Rios and right fielder Carlos Quentin produce monster seasons, and that’s a lot to ask.
So why would you pick them if you think their offense can't produce?
But the Twins’ loss of closer Joe Nathan created an opening, and if the Sox reach the postseason, a rotation of Peavy, Mark Buehrle, Gavin Floyd and John Danks could evoke memories of their title run in ’05.
There we go, a reasonable scenario where the White Sox could win it all. Though that offense still looks poor.
The White Sox probably are not as flush with cash as they were last season,
"Probably"? God knows you couldn't use any resource at SI to find that out.
when they obtained two pricey players, right-hander Jake Peavy and center fielder Alex Rios, within a two-week period. Their farm system, too, is not as deep as those of some other clubs,
Yeah, as reported by SI they ranked 25th. Not good.
but when Williams needs a piece, he usually gets it. Of course, Team Wacko annually leads the league in volatility, and the potential for controversy is even greater this season. Guillen, Williams and owner Jerry Reinsdorf will be the stars of a reality show on the MLB Network. Little good can come of such an endeavor, at least from a baseball perspective.
By the time that airs (mid-season) the press will have a whole litany of quotes to work with from Guillen already. Some racist, some sexist, some homophobic, but all offensive.
The beauty of the game is that virtually every contender can be viewed through the same cynical prism.Really? That's the beauty of the game? Cynicism?
Bear with me now
Da Bears!!
as I harp on the weaknesses of every club that dares threatens my anointed champions. The Yankees largely avoided injuries with an older roster last season, and I’m not sure they can do it again.
Good point.
The Red Sox will excel at run prevention and reinforce their offense if necessary. But let’s see right-handers John Lackey and Josh Beckett both produce 30-plus starts.
So we're going with the injury thing again...alright.
The Rays’ starting pitching is not at the level of the two AL East super-powers, their bullpen will miss setup left-hander J.P. Howell early and their budget already is shot — not good.
Last year the Ray's were 7th in the league in ERA. 0.01 behind the super-powered Red Sox. And you just talked about how the starters for the Red Sox won't stay healthy. While you're at it, you could have pointed out that last year the White Sox had better pitching than the Yankees, and that was without Jake Peavy for most of the year.
So then Phil goes over a few other teams, nothing of note there.
Now to the inferior league
The Phillies already are worried about their pitching depth, though my guess is they will re-sign Pedro Martinez, who unfortunately cannot both start and relieve.
K, pitching depth, got it.
I love the Braves, but worry about the age/injury factor with closer Billy Wagner, setup man Takashi Saito and third baseman Chipper Jones.
K, pitching depth again.
The Marlins will hit, but their rotation beyond Josh Johnson and Ricky Nolasco is a crapshoot. The Brewers are similar, though their pitching is stronger overall.
Alright, chalk up two more for pitching depth.
Talk to me about the Cardinals, and I’ll bet you that at least one of their core players — most likely right-hander Chris Carpenter, maybe first baseman Albert Pujols — will miss significant time.
Injuries, a change of pace, thank god. Though he does point out Carpenter as a candidate for injury which implies (dun dun dunnnn) pitching depth.
The Cubs? Good luck to Lou managing that bullpen.
Arrr...Another for ye depths of pitchin'. Are we seeing a trend yet?
In the N.L. West, the suddenly trendy Rockies possess enough young talent to patch any weakness. My only question is...
Let me guess...
whether they can handle expectations, something they did not do well in ’08 coming off their only World Series appearance.
Ha, that's their biggest problem? Handling expectations? Bet the White Sox wish they had that as their only conundrum.
As for the Divorce Court Dodgers, manager Joe Torre has spoken openly about the team’ lack of a No. 1 starter, and owner Frank McCourt refused to add payroll in midseason even when he was, ahem, happily married.
This is just laughable now. Though in a way, lack of a number one starter isn't exactly pitching depth right? I mean kinda, but I want to give Phil one here.
The Giants’ pitching is terrific,
YES!!! Finally.
but I’m sorry, first baseman Aubrey Huff and super-utility man Mark DeRosa will not make enough of a difference offensively.
Damn, the one team in the league that can pitch, what a shame.
OK, that about does it. The White Sox are my only team left standing, though it’s always possible that Ozzie and Kenny will end up rolling in the mud.
Sounds like a main event for lockdown. Someone tell Hogan.
Hold off on your Internet snark, your vicious blogs and those ever-cheerful comments that appear at the bottom of my columns.
Dude, don't tell me how to run my blog.
The best part is, you can play the exact same process-of-elimination game that I just did, substituting your favorite team as champion. It’s baseball. It’s unpredictable.
I defy any Pirates fan to do this.
And it will consume us all for the next seven months. Enjoy the season, everyone.
Well that was a pleasant ending at least.
Case Closed!
Friday, February 26, 2010
Mark Potash just made my blog
Congrates man. Now I know this was probably just a throw away introduction to the best White Sox players of all time, but you still spit the bit here. (Me in regular/Mark in italics)
No question Frank Thomas is the best hitter in White Sox history. But is he the best player?
Baseball purists probably would look elsewhere for the No. 1 player in the history of a franchise -- for somebody who not only produced at the plate, but in the field. Or at least played in the field.
That wouldn't be Thomas.
A valid assessment. Looks like you're going to pick someone else as the greatest players, maybe Shoeless Joe or Appling
As great of an athlete as he is, he was never a dancing bear at first base.
A dancing bear at first base seems like a promotional night from the ghost of Bill Veeck. And yes, it probably would have more range than Thomas. I think you might go with Luis Aparicio Mark, he was solid on both sides of the ball.
Eventually, his disdain for playing in the field tagged him as not only one-dimensional, but selfish.
Yes, it was selfish for him to not want to play a position he wasn't good at. Better he drag the team down with him, that's unselfish.
And counterproductive. As a designated hitter, Thomas batted .275 with 29 home runs and 94 RBI per 500 at-bats. As a first baseman, he hit .337 with 36 home runs and 117 RBI per 500 at-bats.
That's a really great job of cherry-picking statistics without giving any context. You see, Thomas played 1st base in the beginning of his career, when he was a monster. After age 30 he played DH mostly, when he was in decline and had nagging injuries. So of course his numbers as a DH are going to be worse. You're basically comparing two different players. A young healthy player in the prime of his career vs. an older player on his way out.
If he cares about his numbers as dearly as citics (sic) say he does, he should have been begging to play the field, maybe even working to get better at it.
No question Frank Thomas is the best hitter in White Sox history. But is he the best player?
Baseball purists probably would look elsewhere for the No. 1 player in the history of a franchise -- for somebody who not only produced at the plate, but in the field. Or at least played in the field.
That wouldn't be Thomas.
A valid assessment. Looks like you're going to pick someone else as the greatest players, maybe Shoeless Joe or Appling
As great of an athlete as he is, he was never a dancing bear at first base.
A dancing bear at first base seems like a promotional night from the ghost of Bill Veeck. And yes, it probably would have more range than Thomas. I think you might go with Luis Aparicio Mark, he was solid on both sides of the ball.
Eventually, his disdain for playing in the field tagged him as not only one-dimensional, but selfish.
Yes, it was selfish for him to not want to play a position he wasn't good at. Better he drag the team down with him, that's unselfish.
And counterproductive. As a designated hitter, Thomas batted .275 with 29 home runs and 94 RBI per 500 at-bats. As a first baseman, he hit .337 with 36 home runs and 117 RBI per 500 at-bats.
That's a really great job of cherry-picking statistics without giving any context. You see, Thomas played 1st base in the beginning of his career, when he was a monster. After age 30 he played DH mostly, when he was in decline and had nagging injuries. So of course his numbers as a DH are going to be worse. You're basically comparing two different players. A young healthy player in the prime of his career vs. an older player on his way out.
If he cares about his numbers as dearly as citics (sic) say he does, he should have been begging to play the field, maybe even working to get better at it.
I have no way to know if Frank worked on playing first base better or not. I wasn't at spring training or at their practices during the season. But I doubt a major league athlete with Thomas' ego just gave up and allowed himself to look like a minor leaguer at 1st base. And the idea that his hitting and fielding are directly correlated is ridiculous as I showed in the paragraph before.
If it were a close call, it would be tough to choose him. In 16 years with the Sox he played 971 games at first base, 960 as a DH.
Well, it looks like Mark is going to go with someone else from White Sox history.
But it's not a close call.
Wha?!?!?!
Besides being the Sox' all-time leader in home runs (448), RBI (1,465), doubles (447), runs scored (1,327), on-base percentage (.427) and OPS (.995), he has monstrous seasons that put him in a class with Ted Williams, Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig among the best hitters of all-time. Two MVP awards, a second and two thirds.
Thomas' accomplishments are so far ahead of everybody else in Sox history, he is the clear choice as the No. 1 Sox player of all time. You can't say he didn't earn it.
SWERVE!!!! Someone went to the Vince Russo school of writing.
Case Closed!
Monday, January 25, 2010
Here's the Oz-a-roo
In 1996 there was a movie called Chain Reaction. It stared Keanu Reeves as an undergraduate at the University of Chicago who works as a technician for a scientific experiment. Keanu Reeves as a scientist? Ah, the magic of Hollywood. Well move over Charlie Kaufman, Rick Morrissey is taking the human imagination where it dare not go in a movie called:
Thome's popularity complicating Ozzie's plans
Alright not the catchiest title, but still, don't judge a book by it's cover. Let's look at the synopsis:
Ozzie Guillen has always wanted to play the mad scientist with his lineup card, to pour the smoking contents of one beaker into the bubbling mixture of another.
I'm going to spruce this movie pitch up for Rick since it's just a treatment. A Refugee from a far away planet; Ozzie Guillen struggles to balance the tasks of everyday baseball managing and being a Nobel Prize winning scientist. But even with all his scientific knowhow, he can't find a mixture to cure the one thing that ails him...his heart. Co-staring Jim Thome as his homerun-hitting robot sidekick.
OK, Ozzie, it's your chemistry set. Go have fun with it.
I would like to say, in all seriousness that giving Ozzie Guillen a chemistry set does not seem like a good idea. Though to be fair I have never met the man.
Guillen likes Thome, as do the slugger's former Sox teammates. He's as genuine, nice and polite as a person can be, which is a more difficult trifecta for a pro baseball player than the Triple Crown.
I'm going to take a stand and say that being a pro baseball player who is genuine, nice and polite is not harder than the triple crown. Off the top of my head: Derrek Lee; Mark Buehrle; Pujols; Figgins; Dunn; anybody not on the 'Nasty Boys' era Phillies. My point is the media seems to fall into this 'all players are self-absorbed jerks' trap that they themselves create by constantly reporting on players like T.O. or Bradley or A-Rod.
But one thing is even clearer: Guillen wants to run the team his way, which this season involves small ball and a designated hitter-by-committee.
That sounds like an absolutely terrific idea...in 1981.
''Whoever wants to come to the White Sox as long as I'm here, he's not going to be a full-time DH,'' Guillen said. ''Nobody. I don't care who it is.''
Somehow I believe certain exceptions (Pujols/Teixeira/A-rod) would be made. But the general idea is good, to use a flexible position to set up the best match ups batter vs. pitcher.
It's hard to move the pieces around like a chess genius when one of the pieces is 39 and weighs 250 pounds. That would be Thome, who can bash with the best of them but would be a wrench in Ozzie's small-ball plans.
So now Ozzie Guillen is a chemist and a chess genius. Rick, chess genius is a totally different movie from brilliant chemist. Let's save that for the sequel. And yes, a guy hitting a bunch of home runs would totally wreck Ozzie's plans of not scoring any runs ever.
''You know what I'd like to see?'' he told fans Sunday. ''I'd like to see a man on third base, less than two outs, run in. I don't like to see fireworks anymore.''
I know Guillen says things a lot of times just to say things, so he can't be serious here. He does NOT want to see fireworks? Are they too loud for him? Do the bright colors give him acid flashbacks?
Also, don't the White Sox shoot them off after they win a game, not just when a homerun is hit? I guess if you're going to abandon the homerun, they won't have to worry about fireworks in either capacity.
There are two potential downsides to having a rotating DH: a lack of production and vertigo.
Yes I know, you think I'm going to attack the vertigo joke. But no. A lack of production is the potential downside to just about any decision a manager makes, that goes without saying. The downside to NOT having a rotating DH is a lack of production.
On Sunday, a fan pleaded with Guillen to consider batting newcomer Juan Pierre ninth instead of first and perhaps putting Gordon Beckham in the leadoff spot.
This fan is an idiot. He should of pleaded with Guillen to ditch Pierre in the woods on a snipe hunt.
Well have fun watching player after player ground out weakly to 2nd White Sox fans. At least your pitching should be decent.
Case Closed!
Thome's popularity complicating Ozzie's plans
Alright not the catchiest title, but still, don't judge a book by it's cover. Let's look at the synopsis:
Ozzie Guillen has always wanted to play the mad scientist with his lineup card, to pour the smoking contents of one beaker into the bubbling mixture of another.
I'm going to spruce this movie pitch up for Rick since it's just a treatment. A Refugee from a far away planet; Ozzie Guillen struggles to balance the tasks of everyday baseball managing and being a Nobel Prize winning scientist. But even with all his scientific knowhow, he can't find a mixture to cure the one thing that ails him...his heart. Co-staring Jim Thome as his homerun-hitting robot sidekick.
OK, Ozzie, it's your chemistry set. Go have fun with it.
I would like to say, in all seriousness that giving Ozzie Guillen a chemistry set does not seem like a good idea. Though to be fair I have never met the man.
Guillen likes Thome, as do the slugger's former Sox teammates. He's as genuine, nice and polite as a person can be, which is a more difficult trifecta for a pro baseball player than the Triple Crown.
I'm going to take a stand and say that being a pro baseball player who is genuine, nice and polite is not harder than the triple crown. Off the top of my head: Derrek Lee; Mark Buehrle; Pujols; Figgins; Dunn; anybody not on the 'Nasty Boys' era Phillies. My point is the media seems to fall into this 'all players are self-absorbed jerks' trap that they themselves create by constantly reporting on players like T.O. or Bradley or A-Rod.
But one thing is even clearer: Guillen wants to run the team his way, which this season involves small ball and a designated hitter-by-committee.
That sounds like an absolutely terrific idea...in 1981.
''Whoever wants to come to the White Sox as long as I'm here, he's not going to be a full-time DH,'' Guillen said. ''Nobody. I don't care who it is.''
Somehow I believe certain exceptions (Pujols/Teixeira/A-rod) would be made. But the general idea is good, to use a flexible position to set up the best match ups batter vs. pitcher.
It's hard to move the pieces around like a chess genius when one of the pieces is 39 and weighs 250 pounds. That would be Thome, who can bash with the best of them but would be a wrench in Ozzie's small-ball plans.
So now Ozzie Guillen is a chemist and a chess genius. Rick, chess genius is a totally different movie from brilliant chemist. Let's save that for the sequel. And yes, a guy hitting a bunch of home runs would totally wreck Ozzie's plans of not scoring any runs ever.
''You know what I'd like to see?'' he told fans Sunday. ''I'd like to see a man on third base, less than two outs, run in. I don't like to see fireworks anymore.''
I know Guillen says things a lot of times just to say things, so he can't be serious here. He does NOT want to see fireworks? Are they too loud for him? Do the bright colors give him acid flashbacks?
Also, don't the White Sox shoot them off after they win a game, not just when a homerun is hit? I guess if you're going to abandon the homerun, they won't have to worry about fireworks in either capacity.
There are two potential downsides to having a rotating DH: a lack of production and vertigo.
Yes I know, you think I'm going to attack the vertigo joke. But no. A lack of production is the potential downside to just about any decision a manager makes, that goes without saying. The downside to NOT having a rotating DH is a lack of production.
On Sunday, a fan pleaded with Guillen to consider batting newcomer Juan Pierre ninth instead of first and perhaps putting Gordon Beckham in the leadoff spot.
This fan is an idiot. He should of pleaded with Guillen to ditch Pierre in the woods on a snipe hunt.
Well have fun watching player after player ground out weakly to 2nd White Sox fans. At least your pitching should be decent.
Case Closed!
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