It's been a while since my last post, and I'm sure the only people that have noticed are myself and possibly my Mom. She's a good lady, but most of what I post is lost on her. I just wind up catching slack for the occasional F-bomb, so basically I just post this stuff for my own satisfaction.
Anyways, getting back to the post title. This has been a weird season to be a White Sox fan. Watching tonight's game, I actually thought they might intentionally walk Brent Lillibridge to face Adam Dunn. Read that last sentence again, and then give it a genuine thought for a couple seconds. It's a supremely ridiculous though, right? But is it? Nope....and that's why the 2011 season, to this point, is absolutely insane.
Our best hitter is Brent Lillibridge (ratio-wise) and our best pitcher is Phil fucking Humber. Our worst hitter is Adam Dunn and our worst starter is John Danks. This is a season that makes zero sense in any plausible manner. I keep expecting things to go back to normal and they just don't.
So I guess the question is...what do the Sox do? The Sox are 7 games out of first place, but this isn't a normal 7 games out. This is 7 games out of a team that is destined to crash and burn. The Sox, meanwhile, sport a lineup littered with underachievers that are absolutely crushing the team. Alex Rios is an absolute dud. I have zero faith in him, and in my mind, he is the biggest waste of talent since Josh Hamilton decided he liked cocaine more than hitting dingers.
Adam Dunn...I expected an adjustment period, and I think he's going to be fine in the long run. Gordon Beckham seems like he's destined to be a slow starter. He's back to being productive. Brent Morel seems to have overcome his standard struggle at the new level, and Juan Pierre is...well...Juan Pierre. God love 'em, he does his best.
When you have a lineup chalk full of underachievers with faulty swings on an almost annual basis...you'd think the hitting coach would face some form of accountability. But this is the White Sox, so that's out of the question. We're just going to have to deal with the fact that Greg Walker isn't going to get fired, and hope for the best. We have the single worst hitting coach in baseball.
Anyways...I'm tired of ranting. I've reached no conclusions, but take what I've said for what its worth.
Go Sox.
Friday, June 3, 2011
Friday, March 18, 2011
Trading Mark Teahen
Full disclosure...before I starting writing this, I spend about 20 seconds deciding on a subject. This is what I came up with. It's been a relatively quiet Spring Training thus far (weird, huh?), and Peavy's recovery more or less speaks for itself. But the prospect of trading Mark Teahen is much more interesting to weirdos such as myself. Teahen's torrid Spring certainly won't hurt the cause.
There's been a lot of discussion about the last spot on the Sox' Opening Day roster, and I'm all about Milledge. He's earned it, and he has the upside. I also like De Aza, however, and I think it would be ideal to keep both on board, which can only realistically happen if we can sucker some team into taking on Teahen. Lillibridge seems like a good guy, and it's fun when he makes solid contact every couple months, but the sad reality is that he's simply not a major league caliber player. In fact, he's hardly a AAA caliber player. Sorry Lilli, you're still better at baseball than I am for what it's worth.
Anyways, who would want Teahen? The Phils, perhaps? They're contenders, for sure. But they've got questions at 3B with Polanco's health, and also with Utley. Teahen has played both positions, albeit poorly, in the past. I'm not saying we'd get anything of value from them (or anybody), but we might be able to pull a Scott Linebrink type deal with them.
So who else?
The Angels, maybe? They lost out on Beltre, and Brandon Wood hasn't exactly proven himself. They were suckered into taking on Wells' contract, so it makes them a somewhat easy target. The fact that Kendry Morales isn't likely to be ready for Opening Day (although Trumbo negates that downside considerably) only adds to their need for depth.
The other LA team could be a fit as well. They currently have an aging Casey Blake at 3B, an ineffective Loney at 1B, and Jay freaking Gibbons as half a LF platoon. Not a perfect fit, but a fit nonetheless.
I'm about done here. I'm not sure about the returns, and frankly, I don't care. If we foot most of the bill and get a player with an even mildly realistic chance of being a somewhat reliable utility player or middle reliever...I take it. Like I said, Scott Linebrink.
As many other drunk Sox fans have said before me....Get'er done, Kenny!!!!
There's been a lot of discussion about the last spot on the Sox' Opening Day roster, and I'm all about Milledge. He's earned it, and he has the upside. I also like De Aza, however, and I think it would be ideal to keep both on board, which can only realistically happen if we can sucker some team into taking on Teahen. Lillibridge seems like a good guy, and it's fun when he makes solid contact every couple months, but the sad reality is that he's simply not a major league caliber player. In fact, he's hardly a AAA caliber player. Sorry Lilli, you're still better at baseball than I am for what it's worth.
Anyways, who would want Teahen? The Phils, perhaps? They're contenders, for sure. But they've got questions at 3B with Polanco's health, and also with Utley. Teahen has played both positions, albeit poorly, in the past. I'm not saying we'd get anything of value from them (or anybody), but we might be able to pull a Scott Linebrink type deal with them.
So who else?
The Angels, maybe? They lost out on Beltre, and Brandon Wood hasn't exactly proven himself. They were suckered into taking on Wells' contract, so it makes them a somewhat easy target. The fact that Kendry Morales isn't likely to be ready for Opening Day (although Trumbo negates that downside considerably) only adds to their need for depth.
The other LA team could be a fit as well. They currently have an aging Casey Blake at 3B, an ineffective Loney at 1B, and Jay freaking Gibbons as half a LF platoon. Not a perfect fit, but a fit nonetheless.
I'm about done here. I'm not sure about the returns, and frankly, I don't care. If we foot most of the bill and get a player with an even mildly realistic chance of being a somewhat reliable utility player or middle reliever...I take it. Like I said, Scott Linebrink.
As many other drunk Sox fans have said before me....Get'er done, Kenny!!!!
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
The Post Where I'm a Debbie...
Well, I won't lie. I'm incredibly optimistic about the 2011 season. I think most of the reasons are obvious, but I've also got that feeling that this is going to be a special season. But, the White Sox fan in me knows better than to expect the best, so here's a list of my worries for 2011. Debbie Downer time, so get the Kleenex ready.
1.) Alex Rios' 2010 wasn't as good as the final numbers indicate. If you take away his outstanding May, he was pretty mediocre. He also faded defensively, in my opinion, as the season wore on. Hopefully he can replicate his 2010, and his history suggests he should. But I worry that 2009 might not be the anomaly it looks like.
2.) Matt Thornton is one of the best relievers in the game, and I worry that his forearm discomfort this past season might be a red flag going forward. Forearm soreness in a pitcher is usually what comes before something much more serious in the elbow. If he goes down, that's a major blow to what is already our team's biggest question mark.
3.) Edwin Jackson looked like he had finally come into the ace form that people expected of him when he came to the Sox last season. However, he also faced pretty light competition. I worry less with him because he doesn't need to be an ace, and I do believe in his progress. But, I'm trying my best to temper any expectations.
4.) Adam Dunn brings a ton to this team, but it's totally possible there's going to be a fairly significant adjustment period to the new league and the new position (or lack thereof). We've seen plenty of guys have trouble changing leagues, and we've seen plenty of hitters have trouble shifting to DH. Hopefully Dunn doesn't suffer from a double whammy of the two, because that could get ugly. His tendencies to strike out a lot and hit for low average already leave him susceptible to unfair scorn from a statistically traditional fanbase. Any struggles that magnify those issues could make for a terrible first impression.
5.) Chris Sale was amazing last year, and there isn't much reason to expect him to be any different this season. I do worry, however, that he won't be taking anybody by surprise this time around. Players will adjust. I have no reason to think he can't adjust back, but we don't really have a track record of him to know for sure. We saw last season with Beckham that making adjustments at the major league level isn't easy, especially for guys that hadn't really faced much adversity in the past.
Those are probably my top 5 worries.
1.) Alex Rios' 2010 wasn't as good as the final numbers indicate. If you take away his outstanding May, he was pretty mediocre. He also faded defensively, in my opinion, as the season wore on. Hopefully he can replicate his 2010, and his history suggests he should. But I worry that 2009 might not be the anomaly it looks like.
2.) Matt Thornton is one of the best relievers in the game, and I worry that his forearm discomfort this past season might be a red flag going forward. Forearm soreness in a pitcher is usually what comes before something much more serious in the elbow. If he goes down, that's a major blow to what is already our team's biggest question mark.
3.) Edwin Jackson looked like he had finally come into the ace form that people expected of him when he came to the Sox last season. However, he also faced pretty light competition. I worry less with him because he doesn't need to be an ace, and I do believe in his progress. But, I'm trying my best to temper any expectations.
4.) Adam Dunn brings a ton to this team, but it's totally possible there's going to be a fairly significant adjustment period to the new league and the new position (or lack thereof). We've seen plenty of guys have trouble changing leagues, and we've seen plenty of hitters have trouble shifting to DH. Hopefully Dunn doesn't suffer from a double whammy of the two, because that could get ugly. His tendencies to strike out a lot and hit for low average already leave him susceptible to unfair scorn from a statistically traditional fanbase. Any struggles that magnify those issues could make for a terrible first impression.
5.) Chris Sale was amazing last year, and there isn't much reason to expect him to be any different this season. I do worry, however, that he won't be taking anybody by surprise this time around. Players will adjust. I have no reason to think he can't adjust back, but we don't really have a track record of him to know for sure. We saw last season with Beckham that making adjustments at the major league level isn't easy, especially for guys that hadn't really faced much adversity in the past.
Those are probably my top 5 worries.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Lastings at Last
Mr. Milledge recently signed with the White Sox on a minor league deal worth 500K, which I'm sure most of you know. He's been a bust up until now, but people forget that's he's still only 25. This was a top 10 prospect in all of baseball just a few years ago, and I'm sure there's still some potential underneath those dreadlocks. But until he shows something, he's got his share of question marks.
The most glaring question, considering what we need him to do (4th or 5th OF), is his attitude. There have been multiple questions - some warranted, some not-so-much - surrounding his mental approach to life and baseball. This wouldn't be as much of a problem if he had actually lived up to some of his billing. It would still be an issue, but it's a lot easier to overlook a person's shortcomings when they're productive. The last thing any team wants is the 25th man creating problems in the clubhouse.
At the same time, the fact he's a 25 man helps to neutralize this problem. If he causes any problems at all, the Sox can cut him loose and be essentially in no worse shape. This general lack of downside is why I can't hate this deal.
The comparative upside is why I love it. I mentioned earlier...he's 25 years old. He has time to grow into some semblance of the player people expected him to be. And that's all he really needs to do for this deal to be an overwhelming success. He doesn't need to be a star. He just needs to be a league average outfielder. And hey, maybe he can be much more than that. I'm not counting on it, but luckily the Sox don't need to.
Great deal.
The most glaring question, considering what we need him to do (4th or 5th OF), is his attitude. There have been multiple questions - some warranted, some not-so-much - surrounding his mental approach to life and baseball. This wouldn't be as much of a problem if he had actually lived up to some of his billing. It would still be an issue, but it's a lot easier to overlook a person's shortcomings when they're productive. The last thing any team wants is the 25th man creating problems in the clubhouse.
At the same time, the fact he's a 25 man helps to neutralize this problem. If he causes any problems at all, the Sox can cut him loose and be essentially in no worse shape. This general lack of downside is why I can't hate this deal.
The comparative upside is why I love it. I mentioned earlier...he's 25 years old. He has time to grow into some semblance of the player people expected him to be. And that's all he really needs to do for this deal to be an overwhelming success. He doesn't need to be a star. He just needs to be a league average outfielder. And hey, maybe he can be much more than that. I'm not counting on it, but luckily the Sox don't need to.
Great deal.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Player Projections
To all the people who don't follow my blog...sorry the the length of absence between posts. I know all you guys that don't follow me were freaking out a little, but you can all relax knowing that I'm back at writing stuff nobody will read.
I'm going to just post predictions on each player right now, instead of going through each player individually. I'll give a brief explanation, but not too much. Players will be predicted in AVG/OBP/SLG format, and pitchers will be in ERA/WHIP/K/BB mode. Make sense? I hope so. Otherwise my non-existent readership is dumber than I thought.
LF: Pierre (.291/.332/.328)
I think Juan will improve his average simply based on pitcher recognition. However, I predict his OBP will drop a bit, because I doubt he'll be hit by so many pitches again. To me, this seems like an aberration. If he can somewhat repeat the number of HBP's, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. But for now, I'll curb my enthousiasm. The SLG is basically irrelevant, but he can't be much worse than last year. He's not going to hit many dingers, and the Cell deflates XBH's, so it should stay low. All I care about is the OBP anyways, and .332 is still passable.
2B: Beckham (.297/.371/.484)
I think Gordo's gonna have a doozy of a year. He's mentally tough, he paid his dues, and he's by all accounts determined to have an "I'm good, now shut the fuck up" year. I'm still in love with his swing, and I still see a RH Chase Utley in that bat. To me, his second half was the real Beckham.
DH: Dunn (.241/.368/.506)
I think Dunn will have an adjustment period to the new league, and also to DHing. I think he's struggle to hit .220 in the first half, but I suspect by the time July rolls around he'll have adjusted and be mashing to what we all expected. I think he'll hit a ton of HR's (I'm thinking 45), and I also think his walk rate will rebound. The average is lower than expected, but if he's walking and hitting longballs who cares?
1B: Konerko (.281/.359/.481)
Paulie will have a year more like his 2009 than his 2010. I'm OK with it, so long as it's not like 2008. Not much else to say.
CF: Rios (.268/.311/.434)
As you can tell, I'm not high on Rios. He had excellent month, and 5 "meh" months. He has as much natural ability as anybody in the game, but I seriously question his mental toughness. If he can continue to be above average defensively in CF, I'm fine with this. But I have my doubts there too. Hopefully he just got tired towards the end of 2010 because he was subpar in CF for the last few months in my mind.
RF: Quentin (.256/.361/.507)
Carlos will have a better year than his last two, but he won't repeat 2008. He never will. But this is still a very good batting line. I'm not sure what to expect defensively, but let's hope he's not as pukerfying as he has been recently. If he's healthy, he should be acceptable (although still subpar).
C: Pierzynski (.288/.312/.409)
AJ had a rough start to 2010, and he rebounded fine. He's going to fall apart soon, but I don't think just yet. he should post the decent-for-a-catcher numbers he's used to, and make up for his statistical shortcomings in other ways, as always.
SS: Ramirez (.298/.327/.478)
I expect a big year from Alexei. He's finally comfortable at the position he's playing, he's supposedly determined to overcome his early season troubles, and he's also apparently "bulked up", which might also help with his problems in cold weather. I worry the bulk might hurt his defense, but offensively I expect his strongest season yet.
3B: Morel (.255/.297/.395)
This isn't a pretty batting line, but I'm OK with it. Morel has shown an ability to hit pitching at all levels, but he's also shown a tendency to have a noticeable adjustment period at each level. I think he'll finish strong, but so long as he plays solid defense, nobody will care. This is a strong lineup, and people just want to see a guy at 3B that can glove the ball again.
John Danks: 3.42/1.20/167/58
I think Danks will have one of his better seasons yet. I simply expect better command to come with age and experience. His stuff is not a question.
Gavin Floyd: 3.96/1.24/176/69
Floyd will be good as always. I think he'll hit the 200IP mark again, and have his best season in a couple years. The rotation competition will work in his favour. He can't get off to a worse start (can he?) so he should improve.
Mark Buehrle: 3.88/1.30/109/39
MB will have a typical MB year. He's almost hard to predict because of how consistent he is. It just seems boring.
Edwin Jackson: 3.90/1.28/187/70
I think he's going to have a fantastic year. He'll still struggle with walks, but he'll also be a workhorse. His run with the Sox was no mistake last year. He made some major changes to his repertoire and his mechanics. He is a Don Cooper success story in the making.
Jake Peavy: 4.54/1.32/107/36
Jake will struggle coming back from major surgery, and I think his recovery will take a month and a half. He'll struggle with command like most guys coming back from a major operation, and will continue to disappoint. I do, however, have high hopes for him in 2012.
I'm going to just post predictions on each player right now, instead of going through each player individually. I'll give a brief explanation, but not too much. Players will be predicted in AVG/OBP/SLG format, and pitchers will be in ERA/WHIP/K/BB mode. Make sense? I hope so. Otherwise my non-existent readership is dumber than I thought.
LF: Pierre (.291/.332/.328)
I think Juan will improve his average simply based on pitcher recognition. However, I predict his OBP will drop a bit, because I doubt he'll be hit by so many pitches again. To me, this seems like an aberration. If he can somewhat repeat the number of HBP's, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. But for now, I'll curb my enthousiasm. The SLG is basically irrelevant, but he can't be much worse than last year. He's not going to hit many dingers, and the Cell deflates XBH's, so it should stay low. All I care about is the OBP anyways, and .332 is still passable.
2B: Beckham (.297/.371/.484)
I think Gordo's gonna have a doozy of a year. He's mentally tough, he paid his dues, and he's by all accounts determined to have an "I'm good, now shut the fuck up" year. I'm still in love with his swing, and I still see a RH Chase Utley in that bat. To me, his second half was the real Beckham.
DH: Dunn (.241/.368/.506)
I think Dunn will have an adjustment period to the new league, and also to DHing. I think he's struggle to hit .220 in the first half, but I suspect by the time July rolls around he'll have adjusted and be mashing to what we all expected. I think he'll hit a ton of HR's (I'm thinking 45), and I also think his walk rate will rebound. The average is lower than expected, but if he's walking and hitting longballs who cares?
1B: Konerko (.281/.359/.481)
Paulie will have a year more like his 2009 than his 2010. I'm OK with it, so long as it's not like 2008. Not much else to say.
CF: Rios (.268/.311/.434)
As you can tell, I'm not high on Rios. He had excellent month, and 5 "meh" months. He has as much natural ability as anybody in the game, but I seriously question his mental toughness. If he can continue to be above average defensively in CF, I'm fine with this. But I have my doubts there too. Hopefully he just got tired towards the end of 2010 because he was subpar in CF for the last few months in my mind.
RF: Quentin (.256/.361/.507)
Carlos will have a better year than his last two, but he won't repeat 2008. He never will. But this is still a very good batting line. I'm not sure what to expect defensively, but let's hope he's not as pukerfying as he has been recently. If he's healthy, he should be acceptable (although still subpar).
C: Pierzynski (.288/.312/.409)
AJ had a rough start to 2010, and he rebounded fine. He's going to fall apart soon, but I don't think just yet. he should post the decent-for-a-catcher numbers he's used to, and make up for his statistical shortcomings in other ways, as always.
SS: Ramirez (.298/.327/.478)
I expect a big year from Alexei. He's finally comfortable at the position he's playing, he's supposedly determined to overcome his early season troubles, and he's also apparently "bulked up", which might also help with his problems in cold weather. I worry the bulk might hurt his defense, but offensively I expect his strongest season yet.
3B: Morel (.255/.297/.395)
This isn't a pretty batting line, but I'm OK with it. Morel has shown an ability to hit pitching at all levels, but he's also shown a tendency to have a noticeable adjustment period at each level. I think he'll finish strong, but so long as he plays solid defense, nobody will care. This is a strong lineup, and people just want to see a guy at 3B that can glove the ball again.
John Danks: 3.42/1.20/167/58
I think Danks will have one of his better seasons yet. I simply expect better command to come with age and experience. His stuff is not a question.
Gavin Floyd: 3.96/1.24/176/69
Floyd will be good as always. I think he'll hit the 200IP mark again, and have his best season in a couple years. The rotation competition will work in his favour. He can't get off to a worse start (can he?) so he should improve.
Mark Buehrle: 3.88/1.30/109/39
MB will have a typical MB year. He's almost hard to predict because of how consistent he is. It just seems boring.
Edwin Jackson: 3.90/1.28/187/70
I think he's going to have a fantastic year. He'll still struggle with walks, but he'll also be a workhorse. His run with the Sox was no mistake last year. He made some major changes to his repertoire and his mechanics. He is a Don Cooper success story in the making.
Jake Peavy: 4.54/1.32/107/36
Jake will struggle coming back from major surgery, and I think his recovery will take a month and a half. He'll struggle with command like most guys coming back from a major operation, and will continue to disappoint. I do, however, have high hopes for him in 2012.
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