I feel there is much talk about trades surrounding the White Sox. And most of it serves no purpose other than to aggravate me. Much of the talk is surrounding Prince Fielder, Adam Dunn, etc.
What the Sox really need is a quick fix for the Peavy Problem. As many of you know, I am the most skeptical person in the world. And the matter of Daniel Hudson is no exception. If Daniel Hudson’s numbers applied to the Major Leagues, his numbers would have been fantastic. He posted 166 Strike-Outs in 26 games in 2009, at various levels of the Minors. His WHIP was a tiny .943. He went 13-4 in his career at AAA. But, since these numbers are just minor league numbers, they are simply solid. There is a huge adjustment to be made when a player moves from the Minors to the Major, whether in AVG or ERA, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the results would ultimately put Hudson in the 5-6 ERA range. In my opinion, if you’re THAT good, the buzz around you will be much greater. I’ve said it before, and I’ve said it again: The Sox farm system is essentially a place for rehabilitation.
And I promise the Sox will need an experienced pitcher when, inevitably, someone goes through a tired arm period, or John Danks goes into his second half slump, or Freddy… does something. We need a real 5th starter for when any of the other pitchers have a rough week. If the Sox want to keep their 3.5 game lead or even break away further from their division, they will need strong pitching. After all, weren’t Peavy & Floyd’s respective resurgences a great part of why we went on the ridiculous rampage against every team we faced in June?
Alas, if the Sox WERE to trade for a pitcher, who would this person be? And, more importantly, who would they give up? What are the odds that we could obtain Cliff Lee for Mark Teahen and Tony Pena? Not too favorable, I’m guessing. No one else is expandable.
For now, let’s enjoy our divisional lead, and here’s to playing more terrible teams!
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Monday, July 12, 2010
Coming Back to First Place
I came back from Florida yesterday just in time to see the game. And what a nice game it was. The Sox not only pummeled the Royals 15-5 (Admittedly, not the most difficult of tasks), but found themselves in first place by a hair.
It’s great to have those bragging rights, but there’s still a lot of baseball to be played. And, apparently, I’ve missed a lot. What’s happened in the past week?
Well, Jake Peavy was injured. And is out for the year. That is hands-down the worst news of the bunch. Closely behind is the news that Daniel Hudson is by NO MEANS ready to be the answer to the question raised by Pevy’s departure. Hudson has some pretty good numbers in the minors, but he had a pretty average at best start yesterday. Sure it was a small sample size, but I think the same would be true about anyone the Sox brought out from their farm system. Other than Buehrle, Crede, and maybe one day Beckham, when’s the last time the fruits of the White Sox farm system were worth harvesting?
On the bright side, Carlos Quentin is really on top of his game. He’s had 2 2-HR games in a row, one of the four being a grand slam. He’s had 61 RBI this season. And despite his weak .244 average, his OBP is .344, so he’s been a lot better than you would think at first glance.
In other news, Brent Lillibridge is en fuego. That’s German for a whale’s vagina- I mean ON FIRE. In 22 at bats, he’s had 10 hits and just as many RBI. What? Yeah. Viciedo is curently batting a healthy .300 over 40 at-bats with 2 HR.
That’s bad news for Mark Teahen, who has been forgotten a long time ago. Who will go down when he returns from his injury? He, Beckham, and Vizquel are the worst of the bunch, and they’re supposed to be the starters.
Finally, the All-Star game. Matt Thornton was selected many moons ago, but Konerko is now also on the roster due to Morneau’s concussion. While that’s nice for Paulie, I think I would have preferred he get a vacation. And that Morneau had a more season-ending injury (as mean as that seems).
That’s all for now, folks. Thanks for bearing with me while on vacation.
It’s great to have those bragging rights, but there’s still a lot of baseball to be played. And, apparently, I’ve missed a lot. What’s happened in the past week?
Well, Jake Peavy was injured. And is out for the year. That is hands-down the worst news of the bunch. Closely behind is the news that Daniel Hudson is by NO MEANS ready to be the answer to the question raised by Pevy’s departure. Hudson has some pretty good numbers in the minors, but he had a pretty average at best start yesterday. Sure it was a small sample size, but I think the same would be true about anyone the Sox brought out from their farm system. Other than Buehrle, Crede, and maybe one day Beckham, when’s the last time the fruits of the White Sox farm system were worth harvesting?
On the bright side, Carlos Quentin is really on top of his game. He’s had 2 2-HR games in a row, one of the four being a grand slam. He’s had 61 RBI this season. And despite his weak .244 average, his OBP is .344, so he’s been a lot better than you would think at first glance.
In other news, Brent Lillibridge is en fuego. That’s German for a whale’s vagina- I mean ON FIRE. In 22 at bats, he’s had 10 hits and just as many RBI. What? Yeah. Viciedo is curently batting a healthy .300 over 40 at-bats with 2 HR.
That’s bad news for Mark Teahen, who has been forgotten a long time ago. Who will go down when he returns from his injury? He, Beckham, and Vizquel are the worst of the bunch, and they’re supposed to be the starters.
Finally, the All-Star game. Matt Thornton was selected many moons ago, but Konerko is now also on the roster due to Morneau’s concussion. While that’s nice for Paulie, I think I would have preferred he get a vacation. And that Morneau had a more season-ending injury (as mean as that seems).
That’s all for now, folks. Thanks for bearing with me while on vacation.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Ozzie Drops the Ball in Kansas City
I griped a lot yesterday about the abominable Tony Pena. Had he not come in the game, the Sox would have had a chance at a 6-4 win. Because of Tony Pena, the Sox lost 7-6. He was again the massive disaster I hated last year. Yet, he stays on our roster and Randy Williams heads back to AAA. Not that Randy Williams is any more deserving of a roster spot than Tony Pena, but Pena is just as deserving as Randy Williams of a trip back to anonymity. While Williams is replace by Threets, who will be Pena’s replacement? Just himself, unfortunately.
Yet, I don’t blame these two entirely for yesterday’s game. You don’t need to be a chef to cook a meal. The quality of the meal, however, is a totally different story. You will do what is asked of you using whatever talents you have, because that’s what you’re paid for. But the one paying your salary is partly responsible for the terrible meal, isn’t he? Why is the frycook at McDonald’s doing making my dinner at a French restaurant?
Your move, Ozzie Guillen. For all the “bo-lieving” he does in our team, he sure didn’t believe the Sox offense could make a 3-run comeback to overcome the Royals’ 3-1 lead. He figured why should he waste a good pitcher if the Sox were going to lose this one anyway. So Randy Williams and Tony Pena combined to bury the Sox in a 7-1 deficit. The Sox came around and scored 5 runs in one inning. Sure, difficult to predict, but not impossible against a pitcher who was becoming tired. Isn’t Ozzie to blame for this loss? I mentioned something about it after the Sox’ last game of the year against the Cubs. This situation was similar, but to a far greater extend. Especially because today is a day off and Thornton, Santos, or Putz could have rested their arms.
I never heard a post-game comment that reflected Ozzie taking responsibility for his very poor choice as a manager. All I heard was blame placed on Randy and Tony.
And this, my friends, is the post I am writing instead of my talk about umpires. What do you think about Ozzie’s managerial hiccup? Do you still blame Tony Pena instead of Ozzie? Thoughts?
Yet, I don’t blame these two entirely for yesterday’s game. You don’t need to be a chef to cook a meal. The quality of the meal, however, is a totally different story. You will do what is asked of you using whatever talents you have, because that’s what you’re paid for. But the one paying your salary is partly responsible for the terrible meal, isn’t he? Why is the frycook at McDonald’s doing making my dinner at a French restaurant?
Your move, Ozzie Guillen. For all the “bo-lieving” he does in our team, he sure didn’t believe the Sox offense could make a 3-run comeback to overcome the Royals’ 3-1 lead. He figured why should he waste a good pitcher if the Sox were going to lose this one anyway. So Randy Williams and Tony Pena combined to bury the Sox in a 7-1 deficit. The Sox came around and scored 5 runs in one inning. Sure, difficult to predict, but not impossible against a pitcher who was becoming tired. Isn’t Ozzie to blame for this loss? I mentioned something about it after the Sox’ last game of the year against the Cubs. This situation was similar, but to a far greater extend. Especially because today is a day off and Thornton, Santos, or Putz could have rested their arms.
I never heard a post-game comment that reflected Ozzie taking responsibility for his very poor choice as a manager. All I heard was blame placed on Randy and Tony.
And this, my friends, is the post I am writing instead of my talk about umpires. What do you think about Ozzie’s managerial hiccup? Do you still blame Tony Pena instead of Ozzie? Thoughts?
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