Yet Another OOTP6 Dynasty: The Pale Hose

[Goodsox]

Originally Posted by cknox0723

Thanks GS - glad to have The True Sox Fan back on the boards and even moreso that you're still interested in reading this. Y'think I should trade Jeremy Reed for Freddy Garcia?

Craig

I like that trade, it sounds like a pretty good idea. Maybe you could throw in Olivo too. I sure wish the real White Sox would do something like that. Oh wait, they did

[Vris]

A fine performance by the 'pen and you are well on your way to 17 wins on the season!

And what more do you have to lose by keeping this kid in the rotation for a few more starts?

[cknox0723]

Five comments, eh? In order...

David: Low five right back at you! Oh, and Julio Lugo is on pace for the grand sum of 33 walks this year. That's fine if you're Garrett Anderson, but The Hacktastic One is hitting all of .212.

Perry: Thanks very much for the high praise, I'm glad that you chose to comment. I'd say the worst is over, but remember that we've had separate losing streaks of nine and seven. You just never know with this bunch.

Gordy: "Learning how to win", huh? I like that, though a phrase frequently used to describe Mike Maroth last year fits well too. That one? "It takes real talent to lose 20 games", though in our case, the number's 32. And counting.

GS: I was inspired to look up Mr. Garcia's numbers in this alternate universe, and coincidence of coincidences, he's a Cub. The ERA's of 3.62 and 3.72 over the last two years look pretty good, though. But...those jerseys!

Vris: Rauch is definitely going to get a few more starts. It may be Shane Spencer Syndrome, or just basic psychology, but his debut will stick in my mind for a while. And...yeah, I'd say we're well on our way to 17 wins.

Craig

[cknox0723]

Another chance to win a series against a division rival, but this game holds more significance, in my mind, at least, because it's another test for Mark Buerhle. And in as much as this year doesn't matter, it'd still be nice to find some pearls of information. One of those pearls - is Mark Buerhle's 4-1 record or 5.82 ERA in the month of May more indicative of the kind of performance he'll give us? And while there's always time, Buerhle's going to hit six years of service time by July. I'm not too keen on losing him, even if last year's 2.84 ERA and 250 innings pitched were sort of-flukes. Buerhle is a talent like no one else on this team, and it's time to start savoring that.

He'll face Cliff Lee, making his first start of the year. Seeing as the southpaw's 27, you'd think that his lack of major league time would indicate the dreaded Brian Whitaker Disease (read: the fatal malady of not having talent), but Lee strikeout rates look really, really good over the last year and a half, both in the majors and minors. His ERA's have been middling and even scout Quent Moore acknowledges his tateriffic tendencies, but Lee isn't your typical mid-summer replacement.

OK, that's entirely too much on the starting pitchers, though this game is actually rife with interesting side stories. Who knew so many words could be wasted on a 16-32 team?

I didn't, I suppose, but I don't know that they're wasted. Aaaah...enough...ok. Buerhle tosses a perfect first frame, ending the inning by winning (is that assonance or consonance? or internal rhyme?) a nine-pitch battle with Angel Berroa, terminating in a ground out to Brian Buchanan at first. D.Y. knocks a one-out double to give us a threat in our half, and although Lee, the pitcher, makes an error to give us an extra out, Joe Crede fouls out to strand two.

Mark Buerhle does something very unique in the second inning - he strikes out the side in order. Nice as that is, it's the manner that he gets there that's odd. In the course of facing and then setting down Gerut, Colbrunn, and Corn Flakes, Buerhle throws 25 pitches (12 to Count Chocula) and runs the count full on all three batters. He also may be the first pitcher in recorded history to drive a manager insane without allowing a ball in play or putting a runner on base.

And in the second, Joe Borchard draws a leadoff walk and The Out-Sucking Machine somehow follows with a single to left. Before we get an out. But we still don't score, and this reminds me of an article I read on one of those satire sites (think of it as The Onion for sports) about Ichiro! committing ritualistic suicide over the Mariners' failures this year. That's a long-winded manner of saying that I feel like going out to the mound and swallowing the resin bag.

Buerhle, mercifully, works quickly in the third inning, though he absolutely gives Cliff Lee a two-out, one-strike fastball that most pitchers would've put in the seats. Thankfully, Lee is a native of Alaska (who knew?), and I guess there's not enough seal in Benton, because he is one lanky son of a gun. The ball lands in Borch's glove, and it's merely the third out.

Lest we forget, though, being skinny isn't necessarily a hindrance to a pitcher, and Lee proves that in the bottom of the third by setting down D.Y., Mags, and Buchs in order, and we're scoreless through the first third of this match.

Buerhle's pitch count creeps over sixty in the fourth, but he works a perfect inning, even though the third out, Angel Berroa, hits a fly ball that makes me cease breathing for an instant.

Joe Crede leads off the fourth inning, and he partially redeems himself for his constant, general incompetence by driving a 3-2 fastball on the outside half over the right-center field fence. Our numbnuts faithfully go down without a peep after that, but we finally have a run.

Buerhle allows us to hold on to our lead through the fifth, as he pitches a perfect inning despite falling behind all three hitters. He's completely confused me, as is par for the course, but I don't claim to be omniscient. In any case, Magglio Ordonez hits into a double-play to end the bottom of the fifth rather suddenly. At least we still have the lead, though it seems Mags has been slumping recently. Remind me to check on that.

The Big Red Dog comes up in the sixth, again with two outs. Buerhle gets a couple of strikes on him, so I figure we'll be OK, but then his changeup hangs up. Clifford Lee again gives it a ride, but Borch tracks it down near the wall in left-center, ostensibly to show me that, despite hitting all of .198, he still has a bit of value. Three ground balls make our half of the inning a rather quick one, and we head to the seventh still clinging to a 1-0 lead. Sound familiar?

Ray Durham leads off the seventh, and on a 2-1 count, the former Sock does just that, lining a pitch to left-center. Despite his best efforts, Joe Borchard can't come up with it, and Durham has a base hit. Why is this important? Well, aside from the fact that it's a one run game, Durham's hit is the first of the day for Cleveland. In fact, he's their first baserunner. Let me repeat that:

Mark Buerhle retired the first 18 batters of this game in order.

I was sort of intentionally avoiding mentioning that, but go back and read through it again if you don't believe me.

Wow. That was...drama. That was...intense. Aren't we supposed to suck? Anyway...

"Mark, just don't blow it now, OK? Please?"

Maybe he hears me, or maybe he can read me trying to furtively talk to myself in the dugout. Maybe he doesn't want to let Julio Lugo down. Or maybe he's just a damn good pitcher. Whatever the case, Buerhle doesn't let pitching from the stretch rattle him, even after Victor Martinez sacrifices to put the tying run in scoring position. He retires certified Lefty-Masher Angel Berroa on a bouncer to Juan Uribe and gets pinch-hitter Ryan Ludwick to fly out to right-center, leaving Durham straddling third base, staring forlornly into space.

Buerhle's due up third in the bottom of the seventh, but he's only at 96 pitches. That, of course, means he's used around 30 pitches to get his last nine outs. A-1 Aces. But I'm still not sure whether to pull him for a pinch-hitter. Looking for some aid, I open up my Sabermetric Bible to the chapter of Peterson.

"Commandment One: Use the pitch count as a guide, and thou shalt be guided."

Guided, huh? Pass. I put the book back underneath the jumbo bag of sunflower seeds and tell Buerhle to grab a bat. And after Uribe and Olivo go down quickly, he obliges, and somehow hits a shot to deep left-center. I momentarily turn into a frog (eyes bugging out and all), since I've never seen Mark Buerhle hit the ball that far in BP. But as they say, the eyes deceive, and the ball dies in the cool night air. Kenny Lofton tracks it down twenty feet from the wall, and I curse Lake Michigan as Buerhle strides out for the eighth with a half-grin on his face.

I try to figure out someone to warm up before the inning starts, but everybody's pitched in the last day or two, so I make the easiest decision of all - I procrastinate, and do nothing. And Greg Colbrunn lines Buerhle's second pitch of the inning to left for a clean hit, the second of the night for the Tribe. If those new board guidelines weren't in place, I'd drop a few choice words here. Instead, I again do nothing as the Indians proceed with a thousand changes. Pokey Reese into run, Mark Bellhorn into hit. What is this, the World Series? Why don't you double switch while you're at it? Err...I guess I'm talking to myself now. In any case, the Statheadzz Favorite, after a pitchout and a couple of strikes, hits a hard bouncer right at Juan Uribe. Of course our Dynamic Middle Infield Duo can't turn two, but at least we get the lead runner. Matt Lawton comes in to run for Bellhorn, and I'm seriously considering challenging Eric Wedge to a little rumble after the game as Jhonny Peralta steps in. And before Mr. Wedge can make any more changes, Peralta hits a DP ball that even Julio Lugo can't botch, and just like that, the inning is in the books.

Cliff Lee exits in the eighth after an eight pitch battle with Julio Lugo that ends in a ground out to short. Heck of a game from The Big Red Dog. Rafael Betancourt comes in, retires D.Y. quickly and then gets a "fast strike", as John Sterling might say, on Magglio Ordonez. But our ever-faithful right fielder, apparently a bit miffed at my earlier comment about his "slump", is all over the next pitch, a two-seam fastball, and he laces it into the left-field corner. The relay to second is well late, and suddenly we've got a chance to add to our meager lead. With a right-hander on the mound, I pinch-hit Brad Fullmer for Brian Buchanan, and NYJ's Favorite Sock doesn't let the club down, lining a 2-1 splitter in to center field for a huge, run-scoring single. Joe Crede, of course, grounds out to end the inning, but we're up two and three outs away from actually winning a series. Not that this hasn't stopped us before.

And Kenny Lofton looks to make me look downright prescient, as he comes through again to start off the ninth, lacing Buerhle's 2-1 fastball down the right field line. As Magglio Ordonez chases it into the corner, Lofton just keeps running. And running. And running. He's got an easy double, but he wants third base. In the style of...Willie Wilson or someone... Lofton's an idiot for it, as Ordonez guns it to Uribe who guns it to Crede who tags out the completely misguided, befuddled Veteran Leader and Team Player. I'm not sure even he knew what he was thinking, but who would've thought that we could complete a relay throw from the outfield? Not me. But we did, and that takes the wind out of Cleveland's sail. Pinch-hitter Josh Bard flies out, Ray Durham grounds to third, and we win the series. No, not that Series, but it sure felt like it, what with the drama and all of the managing -- the managing! -- and our team actually playing well. And someday, maybe...



CLE 0 CHW 2

WP: M. Buerhle (6-4) - CG, 3 H, 0 BB, 5 K, 115 pitches, 74 strikes, 28 batters faced, 11 ground outs, 8 fly outs, 86 game score
LP: C. Lee (1-1) - 7.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 4 K, 70 game score

Game Ball Goes To... To paraphrase the irreverently funny Larry Mahnken , "If you don't know who gets the game ball for this game, then you're an idiot. Go away."

MEMBERS IN GOOD STANDING ON 5/29/2006

Cleveland Indians.....26-26 (--)
Minnesota Twins.......25-25 (--)
Kansas City Royals....24-26 (1 GB, lost 6 straight)
Detroit Tigers........21-29 (4 GB)
Chicago White Sox.....17-32 (7.5 GB)

Craig

[Vris]

Wow. Is that your first CG of the year? Much needed, too, as your bullpen is worn out from pitching so much.

That is the Buerhle that has been hiding all season. Way to go Craig! Records don't matter, you just took a series from a first place team!

[cknox0723]

Originally Posted by Vris

Wow. Is that your first CG of the year? Much needed, too, as your bullpen is worn out from pitching so much.

That is the Buerhle that has been hiding all season. Way to go Craig! Records don't matter, you just took a series from a first place team!

Indeed, it is the first time one of our pitchers has gone the distance. In fact, it's just the third time we've had a starter go longer than seven innings this season. Buerhle turned the trick on the very first day of May in a 4-3 win over the Twins, and Good Jorge showed up way back on April 17, surrendering just three hits and a mere run in a 2-1 squeaker over Cleveland. I need to think of a color to differentiate between the Tribe and the Twins. Blech.

But while I do that, consider that we're 3-0 when our starter reaches the eighth inning against a division rival. And that we just won a series. Wow. I feel like, as an encore, I should trade for John Lackey or someone. Winning the last two like we did...well, it can only be topped by a third consecutive win, I suppose.

Craig

[cknox0723]

Well, here comes that long-awaited three game set in Kansas City. This is our chance to make a move, because the Regal Ones are fading, losers of six in a row. I don't expect any Devil Ray sort of miracles, but maybe we could win a game or two on the road? That's the easiest way to improve the 6-18 road record, though a protest of a game or two (the umpire doesn't know the rules!) couldn't hurt.

Especially when Bad Bahn Loaiza's on the mound. And looking around the league, there are a few bad pitchers going today - Kris Benson of the Pirates is 0-7 with a 7.48 ERA, and Lance Cormier of the Snakes is 1-5, 7.03. But neither of those luminaries have pitched as poorly as Loaiza this month - Ban Ban has allowed 52 hits in 30 innings, leading to a tidy 2.03 WHIP and 9.30 ERA. Yeah, two baserunners an inning. That'll do it. He'll face Carl Pavano, who's making his second start since returning from a stint on the DL that lasted nearly a month. But even if his labrum's disintegrating or something, he's probably still a better bet than Loaiza.

But I am, as you're all aware by now, not always the sharpest tool in the shed. So I guess it shouldn't be a surprise that Pavano struggles right out of the gate in this one, falling behind 3-1 to leadoff hitter Ramon Vazquez. Knowing that it's "never a good idea to walk the leadoff hitter", Pavano's next pitch is a meatball, and Vazquez cracks a shot that hits squarely off the wall. He ends up on second, and a five pitch walk to D.Y. only adds to the fun. With backup catcher James Shanks, a converted outfielder (?), starting today, I send both runners on the first pitch to Magglio Ordonez, and the throw down to third is late. Hey -- a double steal! That might just triple our stolen base total on the year! Whatever the case, Mags grounds out to second, but it's enough to score Vazquez from third. And a single by the next batter, Brad Fullmer, brings home D.Y. to give us a two-nil lead. Jeremy Reed ends the inning rather rudely with a 4-6-3 double play ball, but it's encouraging to see some runs. With Esteban Loaiza on the mound, I doubt two will be enough, but it's a start.

It's also start number eleven for Loaiza this year, and in accordance with that, maybe it's a fresh start for him. Maybe he likes the number eleven, I don't know. Whatever the case, Loaiza looks like...well, Esteban Loaiza (the good version of the last few years, not the journeyman of the 90's or punching bag that he's been this year) after a leadoff walk to Henry Mateo, and the first inning ends with our 2-0 lead still intact.

Enrique Wilson and Miguel Olivo (is that a dynamic duo or what?) each knock one-out singles in the top of the second, but Loaiza and R. Vazquez both foul out, and we don't capitalise. Nor do the Royals in their half, though a two-out single by seventh place hitter Tike Redman is a marginal threat at best. However, Loaiza's had this way of turning nothing into something for the opposition this year, so an inning-ending strikeout of Brandon Phillips is pretty encouraging. 2-0 through 2.

A Henry Mateo error on a pretty basic three-hopper to short gives us a baserunner with two outs in the third, and Jeremy Reed's liner to center puts Brad Fullmer in scoring position. Hacktastic Julio bounces to second, though, and Pavano's avoided a threat for the second straight inning. Not to let the sun get in my screen, but this could come back to bite us. We should have about 300 runs by now!

But I look awfully smart when Carl Pavano leads off the third with a long drive to left. D.Y. makes a leaping catch up against the wall, but it doesn't feel much like an out. And what is it with pitchers absolutely crushing our counterparts? (I think that means we suck.) Oh well. After Henry Mateo flies out, Rich Thompson loops a two-out single to center. That brings up Mike Sweeney, and I tell Loaiza to be wary of both runner (24 steals for Thompson, 3rd in the AL) and batter (he's Mike Sweeney, fer chrissake). I wouldn't have been shocked if he gave up both a stolen base and a two-run home run, but Loaiza settles for the latter, letting a 3-2 fastball catch too much of the plate. For a moment, the ball looks like it'll hook foul, but it hits the pole instead. It's a two-run jack, and the game's tied now. Punching Bag Loaiza, indeed. Somewhat impressively, Loaiza starts throwing the ball harder to the next batter, David Bell. Of course, his fastball, now clocked at 94 m.p.h, becomes perfectly straight. And Bell needs just one pitch to adjust, as he cranks the second straight-as-an-arrow fastball way out in right. Jesus. Were there a "throw at batter and start a brawl" button, I'm sure I would've clicked it, but instead I just sit in the dugout, staring forlornly into space as Loaiza throws a breaking ball to Kevin Mench. I wouldn't have minded much if Loaiza's deuce "slipped" and whacked the left fielder right in his oversized noggin, but instead his curve actually breaks downward, and Mench bounces to third to end the inning. Wonderful. And here I was thinking that Loaiza might actually be turning it around! And I call Ramon Vazquez "The Disillusioned One"...

But Pavano absolutely refuses to give in and lead his team to victory, which suits me just fine. The fourth inning's isn't a clinic in hitting, working the count, or anything else, but after a couple of hits, a fielder's choice, and a hit batsman, we've somehow loaded the bases with two outs for Magglio Ordonez. Not a bad situation to be in, hmm? But Magglio hasn't been very clutch this year. Pavano falls behind our right fielder two-and-one, and tosses a two-seam fastball on the outside half. Mags gives it a long ride, but Tike Redman runs it down at the track in left-center. Sigh. Line drives, Mags, line drives. Loaiza has little trouble with the bottom of the Kansas City order in the fourth, though, and the score doesn't change as we head to the fifth.

But Pavano sets us down in order, sandwiching K's of Fullmer and Lugo around a ground out to second by Jeremy Reed. At least his pitch count's near 90. Facing the top of the order in the Kansas City half of the fifth, I expect Loaiza to go into Rusch mode, but he instead pitches a perfect inning. The credit, though, goes to Magglio Ordonez for a sliding catch to rob Rich Thompson of a base hit, and one that likely would have allowed Mike Sweeney to do something other than ground out to first base. Call it karma, if you'd like.

Enrique Wilson, who's quickly becoming my favorite scrappy underdog, leads off the sixth with his third hit, but despite pinch-hitting for Loaiza and everything, our next three go down in order. And it leaves us shorthanded in the process, as no one's really warmed up to pitch the sixth. I hastily call on P.J. Bevis and hope the poor kid doesn't get destroyed. He walks leadoff hitter David Bell as, I assume, a sort of warmup for things to come, but it actually proves to be just the warmup he needs. Bevis settles in after that, striking out Big Head and No Arm and retiring Little Tike on a grounder to first. Now can we warm our bats up, please?

A fatiguing Carl Pavano is pulled after retiring D.Y. to start the top of the seventh. I guess he was on a very strict pitch count (remember, it's his second start since coming off the DL), as his night ends with the pitch count at exactly 100. Coincidence or not, that's pretty cool. Some goof from New Hampshire named Chad Paronto comes in, and my scout has an absolute crush on him, calling him "one of the top relievers in the league" despite a 4.97 career ERA and a birthdate in 1975. And the inning looks like it will end up as another tally in the statheadzz camp, as Paronto walks the first batter he faces, Magglio Ordonez. Brad Fullmer follows by whacking the first pitch, but it's a hard bouncer right to second baseman Brandon Phillips. It should go for two, but Henry Mateo has trouble with Phillips' feed, and doesn't even attempt to get anything beyond the force at second. Still, two outs and a man on first, and maybe Quent Moore will be right after all. But Clutch God Jeremy Reed is up, and he hasn't done something clutch in...a week, at least.

"Paronto's fallen behind Reed two-and-oh. Let's see if the young outfielder will have the green light to swing on this pitch. Paronto checks Fullmer at first, spins the ball around inside his glove, turns his head slightly, kicks his leg and deals and it's up in the zone and hammered fair down the right field line and into the corner! And it kicks off the wall away from Thompson! Fullmer's going to round third and score and Reed's going for third base! The relay into Mateo...and Reed will slide in safely at third! It's a two-out, game-tying triple for Jeremy Reed!"

Hacktastic Julio nearly changes that, hitting a hard grounder back up the middle on the third pitch he sees from Paronto, but Brandon Phillips makes a backhanded stop and strong throw to end the inning. We have life, though...we have life.

I decide to go as long as possible with Bevis in the seventh. But it's never a problem, as he pitches a perfect inning, and heading into the eighth, I'm feeling pretty confident. But I'm also a fool, remember.

Someone else I've never heard of comes into pitch for Tony Pena's crew, this time in the person of Shawn Camp. And both Enrique Wilson and Miguel Olivo greet him with line drives to left, though DIPS theory prevails and only the latter goes for a base knock. One on, one out, pitcher's slot up, but our options on the bench are pretty ugly. I finally decide on Mike Piazza to face another new pitcher in Tom Gordon, and Piazza shocks me by making contact on a 2-1 pitch. It turns out to be a mere fly out, but that's not a bad outcome for Sausage, Peppers, and Onions, hitting all of .162. Yet another new pitcher, Nate Field, comes in to face Ramon Vazquez, and he gets a nice diving stop from Henry Mateo to lead to the force at second and third out.

Aki Otsuka is the pitcher for our club in the eighth, and he commences the inning by walking Rich Thompson on five pitches. I thought Señor Deuce-Deuce was supposed to have good control? Whatever the case, I'm absolutely certain thatThompson will steal because... Tony Pena's old-school... so I immediately call for a pitch-out. And sure enough, Thompson takes off with the pitch, and Miggy Olivo guns him out. Absolutely clutch. That still doesn't make Mike Sweeney any less of a threat, but he bounces the next pitch right back to Otsuka for the second out. David Bell swings through a 2-2 fastball, and we go to the ninth still tied! Drama!

Nate "Elysian" Field stays in for the ninth inning, and closer/relief ace/fireman Brian Schmack stays in the 'pen. Tony, Tony, Tony, you should know better than to leave your best reliever waiting for a situation that may never come. (i.e. extra innings) Only Art Howe does that. D.Y. cracks Field's second pitch of the ninth, an outside splitter that doesn't drop, to the opposite field down the line. The burly left fielder slides safely into second with his 13th double of the year, and we have a threat. We're going to score! We're going to win! The heart of the order's coming up!

RF Magglio Ordonez:
Intentional walk.

New pitcher: Brian Schmack

Oh. OK. And Schmack proceeds to make me kick dirt and stuff, as Brad Fullmer flies out on Thud-Man's first pitch and Jeremy Reed goes down staring at a 2-2 fastball. All of a sudden, there's two outs, and that big threat that we had? It's gone...like Frank Sinatra.

Ah, good ol' Blue Eyes.

"Schmack has fallen behind 2-0 to shortstop Julio Lugo, who's 0-4 today. Young and Ordonez each have about five-step leads. Schmack wipes his right hand on his pants and fiddles with his glove. He stares in at Shanks and nods deeply. Lugo digs in, Schmack kicks his leg, and he deals...fastball lined back up the middle into center field! Base hit! Young will round third and score without a throw, and the Sox have the lead on a two-out single from Julio Lugo!"

And, of course, the inning ends on an Enrique Wilson ground out, even though he'd hit four shots in his first four at-bats. But all we need are three measly outs for our third straight win!

And Joe Roa's up to the task, retiring pinch-hitter Marty Cordova, "catcher" James Shanks, and "major-league outfielder" Tike Redman in order in the bottom of the ninth. Three in a row.



CHW 4 KC 3

WP: A. Otsuka (2-2) - scoreless eighth
LP: N. Field - 0.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 BB (this is cosmic revenge, Tony Pena, for making three pitching changes in the eighth inning)
S: J. Roa (3) - perfect ninth

Game Ball Goes To... Enrique Wilson doesn't exactly fit the profile of "hot rookie coming out of nowhere" that Vris talked about once upon a time, but if he keeps getting three hits a game, he'll keep playing. He's sure-handed in the field, too. I guess he's my answer to Super Joe McEwing.

Craig

[DAL 9000]

It's not /just/ Art Howe who does that. Remember the Brewers' 16- (or was it 17-) inning scoreless game? Well, Danny Kolb got the save... which meant he was the LAST PITCHER OUT OF THE PEN. IN A SCORELESS GAME IN EXTRA INNINGS, YOST SAVED HIS CLOSER UNTIL HE GOT A LEAD. WHAT THE FLYING MONKEY-**** WAS HE THINKING??!

OK, I can stop hyperventilating now. And hey, based on your last three games, you're on pace to finish the season with a darn good record!

[cknox0723]

Originally Posted by DAL 9000

It's not /just/ Art Howe who does that. Remember the Brewers' 16- (or was it 17-) inning scoreless game? Well, Danny Kolb got the save... which meant he was the LAST PITCHER OUT OF THE PEN. IN A SCORELESS GAME IN EXTRA INNINGS, YOST SAVED HIS CLOSER UNTIL HE GOT A LEAD. WHAT THE FLYING MONKEY-**** WAS HE THINKING??!

OK, I can stop hyperventilating now. And hey, based on your last three games, you're on pace to finish the season with a darn good record!

You mean this game? So you're telling me that 'M. Adams', whoever he is, and 'J. Bennett', whoever he is, aren't better pitchers than "Mr. Single"?

Sounds fair. And the worst part - Yost will probably win Manager of the Year. That proves either:

A) MOY isn't really an award. (it's not named after Connie Mack, is it?)
B) The guy who happens to be leading the biggest 'surprise' team wins the award, regardless of skill. (Tony Pena's doing a hell of a job this year, isn't he?)
C) The Brewers must be very fired up by their enthusiastic, unconventional manager. (showing confidence in his young scrub pitchers, no doubt)
or
D) All managers suck.

Remember, more than one answer can apply. But I'm leaning toward 'D' myself.

Craig

[DAL 9000]

I choose B & D.

Wait, that sounds kinky.

[cknox0723]

Originally Posted by DAL 9000

I choose B & D.

Wait, that sounds kinky.

Craig

Addendeum: Speaking of...umm...managers that suck... EDIT: I just realised, David, that you could perceive this as me referring to you. I wasn't, really - I was referring to my next post, which took me 10 minutes to edit. Trust me, your Tigers club sucks in spite of you...or Dave Dombrowski. And Fernando Vina. Really -- I mean, Fernando Vina - what the heck were they thinking? Anyway, just wanted to rant about the Tigers for a bit, since they beat the Yankees today, and this was my shot. Thanks. -ck

[cknox0723]

After the last three victories, this is destined to be our ultimate letdown game. Left-handed Jimmy Gobble is on the mound for the Regal Ones, and while he's not our arch-nemesis like tomorrow's starter Jeremy Affeldt, we're streaky against left-handed pitching. And we've got the pentultimate in streaky pitchers, Schizophrenic Jorge DePaula, on the mound. Like I said, this is destined to be a letdown.

Shakespeare once said that our destiny is not in the stars, but in ourselves. The Old Bard may have been an overrated plaigariser, but that's a fine, fine quote. And it's true, darn it. We prove it by getting a two-out threat in the top of the first against The Turkey of Pitching, with Mags Ordonez and The Big Hurt each drawing walks. But Joe "What Inspired Me To Bat Him Fifth?" Crede grounds a two-one changeup right back to Gobble, and the walks go for nothing. Somewhere, John Kruk is smiling.

Jorge DePaula looks merely like the average back-of-the-rotation guy that he is in the first, giving up a couple of liners but just one baserunner, and a bounce out to second by Marty Cordova puts a zero on the board. All is well.

Jeremy Reed lines a one-out single in the second and pilfers second base after Juan Uribe (surprise?) botches a hit-and-run, but we can't capitalise. David Bell singles to lead off the Kansas City half of the inning, but Tike Redman hits into an inning-ending, 'round-the-horn rally killer, and we're running on a parallel with K.C. through the first two frames.

Fly outs and a general lack of solid contact contribute to Gobble setting down the top of our order in order in the third. DePaula has no trouble with the bottom two in Kansas City's order, Phillips and Gobble, but Henry Mateo knocks a two-out single, and with his speed (15 steals), that's a veritable threat. So I yell at DePaula to be cautious, and I guess he hears me, because he tosses a couple of pitchouts and throws over to first about 20 times before he finally concentrates on the hitter, Rich Thompson, who bounces to second to end the inning.

Both sides manage one baserunner in the next frame, but the whiffs pile up as both pitchers tally their fourth 'K' in the fourth. The pitcher's duel continues on to the fifth inning.

I hoped to segue this with a "but it ends in the top half", or something similar, but things are rarely so definitive. Still, a leadoff single by Juan Uribe gives us a baserunner, and after a sacrifice by DePaula and four pitch walk to Hacktastic Julio, we've got two men on and only one out for D.Y.. I have a brief desire to punch the '6' button for a double steal, but as a wise man once told me, "let your hitters hit". I do, and D.Y. comes through with a single to left that leads to some perfect baseball drama. Juan Uribe rounding third and seeing the wild, waving, windmilling arm of Dan Pasqua coaching third. Marty Cordova charging the ball bouncing through the neatly mowed grass and bringing all of his momentum back and then forward with the throw. Chad Moeller blocking home plate, holding his glove up waiting for the throw. A flash and an instant later, it's all a memory, and Uribe's safe and both runners have moved up, so we've got two more men in scoring position. I suppose I wouldn't've been quite so descriptive had Uribe been gunned out, but it's all good. It's good even as Magglio Ordonez fouls out on the next pitch, and better when Frank Thomas comes through with a two-out, two-run single to left to make it 3-0. Gobble makes way for David Sanders after that, and Joe Crede ends the inning with a ground out to third. But that pitcher's duel is safely, like Uribe's $78,624 Slide a memory.

It's not in DePaula's mind, though, and that's just fine by me. Good Jorge gives up a one-out double to Brandon Phillips in the bottom of the fifth, but a strike out of Big-Headed Kevin Mench and a ground out to second by Henry Mateo quickly put an end to any delusions of a comeback for Royals' fans, at least for now.

Chad Paronto pitches a perfect sixth for Kansas City, a relief to me because DePaula was due up fourth. Of course, any thoughts of pinch-hitting for him were moved when I caught a glimpse of his pitch count - 56. That's through five innings. Wow.

But it goes up -- way up -- in the sixth. However, it looks as it'll be rather irrelevant as DePaula begins the inning by using his pitching skills to retire Rich Thompson (a backwards 'K') and his fielding skills to retire Mike Sweeney (a stop of a hard-hit shot back through the box and strong throw to first). But after those two outs are recorded, everything goes awry. A simple ground ball to short by Marty Cordova turns into Julio Lugo's fourteenth error of the season, and a 12-pitch at-bat to David Bell ends with a lined single to left. Suddenly, through no real fault of his own, DePaula's facing Chad Moeller, representing the tying run. Moeller goes with a 1-0 fastball on the outside half, and Magglio Ordonez's excellent effort to cut it off doesn't prevent two runs from scoring or Moeller from ending up with a two-bagger. Suddenly, it's 3-2, but I stick with DePaula, even as Takatsu and Gallo warm up. And Tike Redman makes me regret it, hitting a long shot that rebounds off the wall and rattles around in right-center. He ends up with a triple to his credit, and Moeller scores to tie the game. Still I stick with DePaula, but I end up pulling him after the next batter. And that's because Brandon Phillips whacks a double off the wall, making our lead but a distant memory. In comes LOOGY Mike Gallo to face pinch-hitter Matt Stairs, but the veteran outfielder draws a walk. Gallo runs the count to 2-0 on the next batter, Henry Mateo, but he pops up a changeup to finally, finally, finally end the inning. Time to come from behind.

Shawn Camp comes in for the seventh and gives up a liner to Brad Fullmer, pinch-hitting, and a hard bouncer to D.Y.. But only the latter goes for a base hit, and with two outs, the threat is minimal. Magglio Ordonez quickly falls in an 0-2 hole and grounds out to end the inning, and we're down to six outs.

Shingo Takatsu comes in for the seventh, puts a couple of guys on, and proceeds to give up a two-run triple to Marty Cordova. Frustrated, unsure of what to do with the 'pen, and tired as heck, I hit the simulate button to see that the improbable comeback never materialised. But we're still 3-1 in our last four!

CHW 3 KC 6

WP: C. Paronto (2-2) - scoreless sixth
LP: J. DePaula (2-6) - 5.2 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K (no, he wasn't at his sharpest, but catch the frigging ball, julio!)
S: B. Schmack (12)

Game Ball Goes To... DePaula, since I'm tired of him getting saddled with lousy secondary support. 2-6? His 3.74 ERA leads the team.

Craig

[DAL 9000]

Originally Posted by cknox0723

Addendeum: Speaking of...umm...managers that suck... EDIT: I just realised, David, that you could perceive this as me referring to you. I wasn't, really - I was referring to my next post, which took me 10 minutes to edit. Trust me, your Tigers club sucks in spite of you...or Dave Dombrowski. And Fernando Vina. Really -- I mean, Fernando Vina - what the heck were they thinking? Anyway, just wanted to rant about the Tigers for a bit, since they beat the Yankees today, and this was my shot. Thanks. -ck

I can't believe the real-life Tigers' turnaround so far. Wow. Just wow. So many things have gone right for them. Even Omar Infante and Brandon Inge have been productive hitters-- and I'd like to applaud their courage and determination in doing that, because it required them to overcome the handicaps of being Omar Infante and Brandon Inge.

/My/ Tigers, on the other hand... put it this way, it's still mid-April and I'm posting about the amateur draft.

[cknox0723]

Another chance to win a series. Feels like I'm typing that more and more recently, which is a step in the right direction. To be sure, our gains are incremental, but as pschwalb suggested, perhaps we've seen the last of those nine-game losing streaks.

That's fine, though it says nothing about the two-game losing streaks, and we'll start another of those if we can't defeat Jeremy Affeldt today. And it's not looking promising - we've faced Affeldt three times already in this still young season, and he's dominated us each and every time. On the season, he's 2-0 against us, surrendering just two runs in 20.1 innings. Against the rest of the league, the southpaw's 2-3 with an ERA near five. We'll counter with our basic lineup for the southpaws (SS Lugo-LF Young-RF Ordonez-1B Thomas-3B Crede-CF Borchard-C Olivo-2B Uribe) and Jon Garland, who hasn't won in three weeks and hasn't been anywhere as effective this month as he was in April, with a 3.55 ERA after the first sixth of the year slowly ballooning up to today's mark of 4.97, and surely that won't be the highest it rises.

But in the top of the first, we at least have a chance to give Garland a few runs to work with. Hacktastic Julio, who'd be benched if we had a warm body to play short, manages to leadoff with a bloop single. Seeing that No Arm Shanks is wearing the tools of ignorance, I go with a hit-and-run on the next pitch, and D.Y. hits a screaming line drive. Right at Mike Sweeney. F-bomb! Just like that, there's two down, and Magglio Ordonez flies out to end the inning.

Rich Thompson hits a high, long one-out flyball to right center in the bottom half, and the ball just carries and carries until it caroms. It caroms off of the wall, and what I perceived originally as a long fly out has suddenly turned into a Kansas City threat. But have no fear...Jon Garland is here! And everyone's favorite native of Valencia, California retires Mike Sweeney and Marty Cordova to end the inning with Thompson still standing, waiting for someone to knock him home.

Joe Crede socks a one-out single to give our Sox a threat in the top of the second, raising his batting average to an illustrious .245. It looks as though such a gem will go unpolished as Joe Borchard flies out for the second out, but Miggy Olivo steps in and works the count full. For a guy that hasn't walked once this year, that's a pretty impressive feat. What he does on the payoff pitch is even more impressive - with Crede obviously taking off, Miggy's looking fastball (why not - he sure isn't touching Affeldt's slider!) and when Affeldt brings the heat, our catcher is all over it. He rips a shot into the left-field corner that ends up as a run-scoring two-bagger. The Out-Sucking Machine lines the next pitch right back through the box to bring Miggy home, and though Garland flies out on the next pitch, we've gotten as many runs off of Jeremy Affeldt in this inning as we have in the previous twenty-one and a third innings. That's enough for me to neglect the fact that three straight guys just swung at the first pitch. "Way to be aggressive, guys!"

Garland starts off the second inning fine, fanning David Bell and getting James Shanks to hit a little ground ball to first. But apparently The Big Hurt's been feeling all that pressure on his knees, because he doesn't get all the way down on Shanks's bouncer, and his fiddling and faddling allows the speedy "catcher" to reach. Tike Redman follows with a grounder that's hit much harder, but he beats out Lugo's throw to first to avoid the DP. Garland, for whatever reason, gets himself all worked up over this, and proceeds to walk the next two hitters in the K.C. lineup, Brandon Phillips and the pitcher Affeldt. This gives Henry Mateo a chance to tie the game with a base hit, and when Garland falls behind on him two-and-oh, I'm about ready to go tell Enrique Wilson to start warming up. Incredibly, despite seven consecutive balls, Mateo hacks at the next pitch, and he pops out to center field. If it were some other team, I'm sure Tony Pena would be proud. But I'm content to see him spit sunflower seeds and mope around in the visitor's dugout.

We've got the top of the order up in the third, and Julio Lugo singles and steals second, but we fail to capitalise when Joe Crede ends the inning by grounding out to second. Ever notice how many times he or The Out-Sucking Machine end an inning? Think that's part of DIPS?

I'm not at all surprised to see Mike Sweeney line a one-out single in the third to extend his hitting streak to nine games, and I guess it shouldn't be a surprise that Garland responds by issuing a free pass to Marty Cordova. What does surprise me is his approach to the next batter, David Bell. He actually throws strikes - two of 'em, in fact. His third pitch (great time to waste one!) is a Lieberesque chest-high changeup, and Bell hammers it to right-center. Mags Ordonez gives chase, but the ball looks gone. And even as he leaps near the wall, I'm wondering what all the effort's for and thinking if I should pinch-hit for Garland next inning. It's only when I see the ball fired back toward the infield that I realise what's happened - Mags Ordonez just saved our arses. Even when he's not hitting...MVP, anyone?

Of course, that's only the second out, and two pitches later, James Shanks hits a hard shot to the left side. But DIPS prevails, it's right at Julio Lugo (who doesn't make his thousandth error of the year), and the inning ends. Somehow, it's still 2-0.

We go down without a whimper in the top of the fourth, and Garland, continuing his attempt to drive me absolutely insane, issues a one-out walk to Brandon Phillips to give the Royals yet another baserunner. Affeldt follows with perhaps the most obvious sacrifice bunt ever, and Henry Mateo's got a chance to cut the Kansas City deficit in half with a base hit.

"Garland has a count of one ball and two strikes on Mateo, the shortstop, who's oh-for-two today. The switch-hitter, batting from the left side, adjusts his batting gloves, nods down at Luis Alicea, and steps in to the box. Garland checks Phillips at second, looks in at Olivo...comes to the set...kicks his leg and deals a heater on the inside half and it's lined into right-center. Coming in at full-speed is Ordonez and he slides and he's got it! And with that, the Chicago lead remains two."

And much to my delight, we make our best effort to change that in the fifth, and not negatively. Julio Lugo lines a single to center with out for his third hit of the game (what?), and D.Y. works a 2-0 count. He's all over the next pitch, a fastball, but just gets under it and Rich Thompson is able to track it down near the wall in right. It's the inverse situation for the next batter, Magglio Ordonez - a 3-2 count, the ball hit to deep left-center, but the end result is the same.

All of Garland's general distaste for actually getting outs finally comes back to bite him in the fifth, as James Shanks, with two men on base because of Garland's fifth and sixth walks, lines a two-out single to right-center to make it a one-run lead. Garland then falls behind 2-0 to Tike Redman, and after a quick referral to the "run-allowing expectancies", he balks, of all things, to put runners at second and third. After another ball, the inner spirit of Pena possesses the journeyman outfielder and refuses to let go. And at the behest of the 21,989 fans at Kauffman Stadium, everyone wearing royal blue, and probably Joe Crede, Redman hacks at the next pitch. And hits a fly ball to center. How are we still winning this game?

We somehow load the bases in the top of the sixth, thanks to walks and another hit by Miguel Olivo. With two outs, I do what I must and pinch-hit Brian Buchanan for Garland, but Buchs gets on top of a 2-0 changeup (he was looking for the heat - just take the pitch, Brian) and bounces to second to end the inning and force our bullpen to rush in.

I call on Kiko Calero, who's easily the most well-rested pitcher of our bunch, but he runs a full count on the first batter, Brandon Phillips. Thankfully, he throws a fastball right by him on the payoff offering, and that's one out. Affeldt's up next, but Matt Stairs comes out to pinch-hit. Calero falls behind three-and-one to him, and Stairs lines the next pitch to right for a base hit. After five more pitches, Henry Mateo is on first base courtesy of a walk, and the tying run is in scoring position. ("Stop with all the bloody three ball counts!!!") Rich Thompson bounces into a 3-6 force out, and we're one out away from ducking out of another inning. But Mike Sweeney's up.

"Calero checks both runners and stares in at Olivo as Sweeney adjusts his batting helmet. Finally the big first baseman is ready, and Calero comes to the set and here's the...Thompson's off for second, but it's a pitchout and oh...Olivo's throw is wide of second and Thompson will be safe! Oh, the momentum takes a big shift with Rich Thompson's twenty-fifth stolen base of the year"

Drat. And that call makes sense, too, at least somewhat - Thompson's fast as heck and represents the lead run. I send out Jamison Bryan out to the mound to play carrier pigeon, with a message to tell Superfluous Kiko to "go get 'im". And after just missing with a four-seamer, Calero does just that, throwing a changeup on the outside half that Sweeney tries and fails to crush. He merely bounces it to Joe Crede, who tosses it across the diamond to end the inning and leave the tying and lead runs stranded.

Chad Paronto comes in for the seventh, and Julio Lugo (what the heck has gotten into him today?) lines his second pitch, a fastball, into right field for his fourth hit of the game. D.Y. hits a screamer two pitches later, but Tike Redman chases it down, and a line drive off of the bat of Magglio Ordonez is right at...you guessed it, Redman. The Big Ouch stares at strike three, complains (no wonder the media doesn't like him), and looks toward me to don my LaRussa hat. I nearly oblige, but I've got a bullpen to manage, so I tell Ol' Frankie to calm down and go grab his glove while I try to figure out who's going to pitch the seventh.

And while the fans are busy buying Cracker Jacks and being apathetic, I decide to stick with Calero, who has twice as much rest as any other pitcher, even though he threw 24 pitches in the sixth. Quick hook, though, quick hook, and Bevis and Otsuka are playing catch with a medicine ball. Calero strikes out Marty Cordova on a 3-2 heater, and my fears are eased slightly even as he mouths, "I'm tired" whilst David Bell digs in. To reaffirm his point, he walks the third baseman, but I send Jamison Bryan out to the mound to pat him on the rear and tell him not to be such a sissy boy. Calero accepts the Mantra of Feller and gets out of the inning, though he gets help from Tike Redman, who hacks away on a 3-0 pitch and makes an out for the second time today.

Paronto retires our five-six-seven hitters in order in the eighth, and I stick to the Jamesian philosophy and go with Aki Otsuka for the eighth. Leading off is Brandon Phillips...who promptly takes Señor Deuce-Deuce's third pitch out of the park. No, I don't fully believe it either. It's Phillips's seventh quadrangle in 522 career at-bats. I sit in somewhat stunned silence staring as Kevin Mench lines the next pitch to left for a hit. Most managers would make a move - I don't, and Otsuka eventually gets out of it, though the inning ends with the lead run a mere ninety feet away.

Brian Schmack Thud Boom comes in for the ninth, and though I bust out the bench in full force, both Ramon Vazquez and Brad Fullmer are quickly retired. Of course, Julio Lugo promptly lines his fifth (!!!) hit of the game, giving us a baserunner, but D.Y. grounds out and it's up to the 'pen to get this one to extra innings.

P.J. Bevis comes on to pitch, gets ahead of Miguel Cairo one-and-two, and gets him to hit a can o' corn to D.Y.. James Shanks follows and strikes out on a 1-2 slider. Eric Owens pinch-hits, takes two balls, but reverts into Eric Owens and flies out to right on the next pitch. Onward, ho...

Tom Gordon sets down Magglio and Ouch to commence the inning, and that dashes my hopes. A Joe Crede single doesn't do much to change that, but I pinch-hit Jeremy Reed anyway, hoping for some clutchness. Instead, he strikes out, and since we're short on pitching, it'll be Bevis once again in the tenth against Mr. Steroids, Noggin', and Mateo.

Bevis gets a strike on Brandon Phillips and he bounces to short. He gets a strike on Kevin Mench and watches a ground ball to third. And on a 1-1 count, Henry Mateo flies out. P.J. Bevis needs a raise.

But Gordon sets the bottom of our order down in order in the eleventh, and I'm forced to go to Shingo Takatsu for the bottom of the inning, even though he threw 18 pitches yesterday. He walks speedster Rich Thompson on five pitches, and I want to sob. But he doesn't take off, and Mike Sweeney hits into a fielder's choice. Of course, Marty Cordova hits the next pitch off the wall in left, and we...well, we get some life because Sweeney stops at third. I walk Miguel Cairo intentionally to give us the chance at a force, and bring in Mike Gallo to face James Shanks, figuring that because he's young, he might suck against lefties. Of course, we never find out, because Gallo whacks him in the shoulder with the third pitch, and that forces home the winning run. This should be disappointing...but I never thought we'd win this one anyway.

Ah...who am I kidding? That sucked. Big-time. But it'll happen...

CHW 2 KC 3 (11)

WP: T. Gordon (1-3) - two scorless innings (five in all from their 'pen)
LP: S. Takatsu (2-2) - (he suk no through striks)

Game Ball Goes To... Julio Lugo, who had 5 hits, a career high. They were all singles, and he didn't score once, but let him have his moment in the sun, for he's hitting above .230 for probably the first time all season. Oh...and guess what time it is? Hint: check the dates on some of the recent standings...

Craig

[Vris]

Craig...I've been computerless for a little while and am just getting caught up.

The White Flops are definitely showing an upside, and with the Ammy Draft right around the corner, well things are going to be better. A lot better. I mean, Enrique Wilson and Julio Lugo with 9 hits in 2 days? Something has to give.

Anyways, good luck with the draft.

[cknox0723]

Thanks for checking in, Vris - glad to see you back on the boards. Now, since it's a new month and this is an appropriate time, some numbers for your counting pleasure:

PLAYER		PA	AVG.	OBP.	SLG.	OTHER
J. Lugo		213	.232	.269	.328	14 errors (leads MLB)
M. Ordonez	212	.307	.363	.563	hit into 12 DP's...odd
D. Young	201	.326	.383	.489	29 R (leads team)
J. Crede	201	.245	.284	.394	817 home OPS, 557 on road
F. Thomas	158	.204	.310	.285	19-89 w/o an XBH against RHP
M. Piazza	144	.162	.208	.206	.348 OPS vs. righties
J. Borchard	143	.189	.245	.288	.136/.194/.197 in May
J. Reed		128	.274	.297	.476	.151 at home, .366 on road (?)
J. Uribe	116	.193	.211	.294	2-4 (!) as a pinch-hitter
R. Vazquez	 83	.307	.354	.480	3 triples, 3 steals, good 'D'
B. Fullmer	 82	.284	.354	.378	4-24 pinch-hitting
M. Olivo	 69	.265	.261	.397	look at that OBP - yup, 0 BB
B. Buchanan	 45	.359	.444	.692	4 AB's vs. RHP
E. Wilson	 36	.257	.278	.257	righty masher?  .281 vs. RHP

Others: E. Loaiza 6-20 (.300), J. Garland 3-20 (.150), M. Buerhle 2-21 (.095), J. DePaula 1-19 (.053), c.f. chen 0-7

No wonder we don't score runs half the time - Hacktastic Julio is sucking up way too many outs, and even with Vazquez replacing Uribe, we've still got a bunch of guys just killing us. Borchard...our Two-Headed Catching Muenster...Joe Crede. Just look at all of the on-base percentages below or right around .300. Gah.

The good news is, this won't go on all year...I just won't let it. And there are some bright spots - Vazquez has been just fantastic, and I'm thinking about giving him a nice contract extension. He'll be arbitration-eligible both this year and next, and some cost certainty won't be bad to have. Enrique Wilson, Relief Ace might get some more playing time at third and short against right-handers, and as NYJ said a month ago, Brad Fullmer's got to get in the lineup. I wish I could send him down to AAA to learn to play...third base or something. Unfortunately, that isn't happening, so we'll keep plugging away and hope for as much growth in June as there was in May.

Craig

[cknox0723]

PLAYER		 IP	ERA	OTHER
M. Buerhle	73.0	4.19	5-1 in May...heating up, quickly
E. Loaiza	67.2	6.38	12 HR, 90 H allowed in 11 starts
J. Garland	67.0	4.57	6 BB/9, 1.79 WHIP - cooling down
J. DePaula	65.0	3.74	8 K/9 - he just might really be Good Jorge
J. Roa		34.0	3.18	luck w/ BABIP so far, everything else in line
K. Calero	26.0	5.54	allowed just 1 of 9 inherited runners to score
P.J. Bevis	24.0	8.25	subtract May 10th outing, the ERA's just over 4
N. Cornejo	23.1	8.87	2.19 WHIP - good riddance
S. Takatsu	19.2	7.32	34 H, 10 BB, 7 K - think age is catching up?
J. Adkins	11.2	8.49	good riddance, part deux
A. Otsuka	11.0	11.45	simply better than he's pitched
R. Ankiel	10.2	12.66	will be back at some point -- he is who he is
M. Gallo	 7.0	2.57	not just a LOOGY - a fine reliever
J. Rauch	 5.0	0.00	if it's this low by the All-Star Break...
M. Kaiser	 3.1	21.60	7 BB in MLB, 15 in 53.2 IP at AAA
R. Meaux	 3.0	24.00	6.19 ERA at AAA
E. Wilson	 2.0	0.00	1 H, 0 BB, 3 K - y'know, "Relief Ace"
B. Whitaker	 1.1	54.00	1-5, 3.29 at AA w/ .284 opponents' avg.
J. Uribe	 1.1	20.26	"The Out-Wasting Pile of..."

No wonder the team ERA rests comfortably near six. A lot of wasted innings bloating it, though. I like the pitching staff as it is, and health willing, don't envision many changes beyond adding a real starting pitcher to an OK rotation or a real relief ace to what I look at as an average bullpen (but that's probably for next year).

If Loaiza ever turns it around and the 'pen avoids those five-run (or in P.J. Bevis's case, 11-run) catastrophes, the ERA could be a half-run lower by July.

Craig

[cknox0723]

It's time for something that's been, perhaps, long-awaited, or at least long-neglected -- the minor leagues, which I've only ever mentioned in passing. That's not without reason, though all three of our farm clubs have better records than the...um...parent organization. It's only marginally so, though, as AAA Charlotte and AA Birmingham are both 20-32 and A Winston-Salem is 21-31. Guh. Here's a look at how and why, and for those interested, the format is an homage to an old minor league site that made for some good reading. So it's really only the second section that'll be important...but I like writing this stuff, so there's mention of even the scrubs. Hope the format works OK, and after all of this, maybe I'll have some idea of what to do in the First-Year Player Draft. Probably not, but it's worth a try.

[cknox0723]

PROJECTS

I actually thought that second baseman Hector Made would eventually be the key to the Damaso Marte deal this offseason. Three or three and a half months later, it's apparent I'm wrong, and Good Jorge's only half the reason. While Made is still very young at 21 years old, he's only hitting .239 at A Winston-Salem. Aside from a lack of singles, his numbers are right in line with last year, and he's even increased his walk rate a tick. It's far too early to give up on him, so Made is one of those guys to stick on the back burner. And at the rate we're going, he could very well be on "the next good White Sox team". Ten years from now, as the sixth infielder.

Pedro Lopez is at the same level as Made and following the exact same development curve - suck, improve, regress. But Lopez is a year older and I didn't trade for him, so I don't really care. If he ever hits, I'll trade him.

The scouts still love Ryan Sweeney. He still can't hit - a .222 batting average at Winston-Salem, and an OBP higher than the SLG (both below .300). And nobody wants him. I'd cut him, but then Quent Moore might quit, and I like guys named Quent.

Chris Young still has light-tower power and no idea how to hit. His isolated power is over .200, but he's hitting .254 in his third trip around A-ball. He's only 22, but how often do these kind of guys learn to make contact more than once every fourth time up?

Brandon McCarthy, at 6'7" and 190 pounds, needs to drink a few milkshakes. But putting that aside for a second, 24 wins at Winston-Salem the last two seasons convinced me he was ready for AA at age 22. 5 starts and a 6.08 ERA later, he's returned to North Carolina, where he's tallied three wins and a 2.47 ERA in six starts. Is there such a thing as an A-and-a-half player?

Jay Ratzlaff and Howard Wilson were both high-school arms taken in the middle of last year's draft, and despite flirtations with AA, the most redeeming quality they possess a year later is that they're high school arms taken in the middle of last year's draft.

[cknox0723]

PROSPECTS

(also known as anyone with a pulse and ERA under 5.00)

Michael "Lucky Mike" Houchins was one of those five-tool talents coming out of college last year (I see him as an Arizona State product, for whatever reason) -- as Michael Lewis might put it, "a rare point of agreement between scouts and statheads". And Houchins looks good in a uniform and can do it all - catch, hit, run, throw. However, there are always toolsy guys that don't make it (Brien Taylor, Ruben Rivera), and there are always guys that always put up the numbers...until they don't (Jeremy Brown, Jackie Rexrode). It's almost inevitable that a player who's a combination of the two would eventually fail, too. And though Houchins was drafted all of a year and a half ago, a lot of the luster has shined off of the former number eight pick, even after a nice debut in A-ball last year (.273 avg, .357 obp., .404 slg., 30 steals). That's because Houchins, now 24, is back in A-ball for the second straight year. And it's not based on my neglect of the minors or anything - he started the year in AA. But 185 at-bats later, Houchins had nine extra base hits and a line of .205/.303/.281. He's 3-12 since getting sent back down to A-ball with one walk and five K's. There's still time, in the sense that Edgar Martinez didn't play regularly until he was 27, but Houchins isn't going to make any more Top 100 Prospects lists. Just based on his speed and defense, he'll get his cup of coffee someday, but I, for one, don't know if it'll ever be much more.

And then you have the antithesis of Houchins - someone that's come out of obscurity to emerge as at least a semi-prospect. Our candidate for that is 24 year old left-handed starter Ryan Wing. The southpaw had been in A-ball the last two seasons, posting decent ERA's of 3.94 and 3.13, but only showing hope based on a decent strikeout rate of about seven per nine and about average control which improved slightly last year. This year, the control's carried over, Wing's fanned 69 in 75 innings, and he's missed a ton of bats, allowing just 54 hits. The result? A 1.91 ERA. Oh, and he's at AA for the first time in his career. Many a lefty has had success at AA based on age and a good offspeed pitch (a local example I can think of is a guy named Adam Walker ), and maybe that's all Wing will ever be. But for a guy who's destined to be nicknamed "And A Prayer", that's not half bad.

I don't see him ever doing much at the major league level, but 23 year old outfielder Clinton King has hit AAA pitching very well this year, with a .321 average, 9 home runs, and a .487 slugging percentage. His biggest pratfall, by far, is an abysmal 45 strikeouts to just 5 walks, but maybe he can be traded for something. But based on King's .203/.203/.281 line in 64 AB's in the bigs last year, it won't be much.

Brian Anderson has a nice 90 at-bat line of .311/.386/.422 at Charlotte, but something's nagging me about him. Maybe it's the lack of a standout tool, or maybe it's just that his numbers aren't that good. Actually, I think it's that he's only our number five prospect. I mean, you don't exactly need to be B.J. Upton to get top billing in our system.

Erick Blackburn isn't anyone that screams out at you - he was a fourth round selection last year, and posted a decent 10-10 record and 3.76 ERA in AA. But despite being left-handed, this year was his age 24 season, and that type of player frequently just ends up a career minor leaguer. Two months later, Blackburn's record looks eerily familiar, at 5-5, but all of the peripheral information is different. His control is about the same, but he's kicked up the strikeout rate from about six per nine innings last year to eight per nine this year, and the hit rate's lower. Predictably, his ERA is a full run lower, and maybe, just maybe, he might get a cup of coffee late in the season. There are certainly guys out there with less in their favor.