SB Nation - Toby Hall

Baseball Stadiums And You

Eric Stephen — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 17:06:54 -0000

Watching the Dodgers at another stadium is fun, especially when they win.

Yesterday, Jon Weisman of Dodger Thoughts took his first trip to AT&T Park in San Francisco, and what followed from that in the comments was a nice discussion of various ballparks people have attended. It made me do some digging and reminiscing about the stadiums I have been to. What better way is there to spend the off day today than to look back at all the stadiums you have been to? Feel free to give us your ballpark memories in the comments.

Outside of Dodger Stadium, here is my list:

Angels Stadium

I have been here on numerous occasions, but the few that stick out for me are these:

July 18, 1991: This game was one of the reasons I almost never leave early. I was 15, attending the game with both of my older brothers, and thus not exactly in full control of the transportation opportunities. Once Albert Belle broke a 1-1 tie in the top of the ninth off Bryan Harvey, my brothers started to get up and leave. Stunned, and without a ride home if I stayed, I had to leave too. By the time we got to the car, it was 4-1 Indians, which had justified the decision by my brothers...until, that is, the Angels stormed back for four runs off four Indians pitchers (including former and future Old Friends Shawn Hillegas, Jesse Orosco, and Jeff Shaw) to win, 5-4.

August 8, 2000: Sitting one deck up behind home plate, I got to see the tremendous movement on the pitches from Pedro Martinez at his peak, which was a treat. The Angels somehow scratched together two runs to beat Pedro that night.

October 16, 2005: The White Sox won the pennant by taking Game 5 of the ALCS, as Jose Contreras pitched the fourth straight complete game of the series for Chicago. The final out of the series was an unassisted groundout to Old Friend Paul Konerko. The highlight of the game for me was seeing a family friend -- a huge Notre Dame fan -- at the stadium and showing him my USC shirt one day after the Leinart Sneak / Bush Push game.

Petco Park & Qualcomm Stadium

I lived in San Diego for the better part of 14 years, and saw numerous games here. The Dodgers never seem to do well with me in attendance in San Diego, as they are 7-19 lifetime (they did win on July 3 this year though, so I'm on a hot streak). Two games that stood out:

June 11, 1993: The very first game I went to in San Diego. Kevin Gross pitched eight scoreless innings, but the Dodgers -- including rookie Pedro Martinez -- blew a 4-0 lead in the ninth, and the Padres won 5-4.

September 30, 1995: This was the first time I saw the Dodgers clinch anything, as they won 7-2 behind Hideo Nomo to clinch the NL West over the Rockies (who would win the Wild Card). There were quite a few Dodger fans at the park that night.

Coors Field

July 27, 2000: I have only been to one game in Denver, and it was during a family reunion in Colorado. My cousins and I got picked up at the airport and went straight to the stadium. This game was nearly four hours long, yet only nine innings. The Dodgers won 16-11, behind the greatest game of Alex Cora's life. Cora had two home runs, and a double that hit high off the wall.

Chase Field (Bank One Ballpark)

I have been to three games here, only one of which was against the Dodgers.

July 24, 1999: I made the unwise decision to drive to Phoenix from San Diego and back in one day, and was rewarded with Brian Anderson outdueling Darren Dreifort. The D-Backs rode home runs by Steve Finley and Bernard Gilkey to a 3-0 win.

August 22, 2003: The only no-hitter I ever saw, only it wasn't a no-hitter. Carlos Zambrano of the Cubs allowed no hits into the eighth inning, then with two outs future Old Friend Shea Hillenbrand was awarded an infield single even though it was painfully clear from my nosebleed seats that he was out at first base. Zambrano got the next three batters out, so he has a no-hitter in my mind.

AT&T Park

September 30, 2006: I took a detour on my way home from a business conference to see my first two games in San Francisco. The first game was the next-to-last day of the season, and Greg Maddux beat the Giants to clinch a playoff spot for the Dodgers (they would end up as the Wild Card, although at this point that was undetermined). Thanks to Stub Hub, I was sitting in the same row as many of the Dodger family section, including Mia Hamm, Russell Martin's dad, and Carolyn Hughes (who is stunning in person, by the way).

Oriole Park at Camden Yards

August 23, 1996: I have been to a total of four games at Camden Yards, and truthfully none of them really stand out as memorable games, but the park is awesome. This game was a 2-0 Angel win, behind home runs from Chili Davis and Jim Edmonds, but I mostly picked this game because I forgot David Wells was once an Oriole.

Network Associates Coliseum

May 12, 2000: This is a late-inning Matt Stairs home run of which I actually have fond memories, and the only reason was that there are few things better than calling the guy who has a closer who just blew a save in your fantasy league -- in this case Kaz Sasaki of the Mariners -- and letting the crowd noise do the talking.

Safeco Field

October 1, 2004: This game was memorable because Ichiro Suzuki broke the single-season record for hits in a season with his 258th hit, in the first inning. Ichiro, who broke George Sisler's xx-year old record, added two more hits in this Friday night game, and went on to collect two more over the season's final weekend to settle the record at 262 hits.

Wrigley Field

June 4, 2003: My only trip to Wrigley was for a night game, but it was still a great experience. There are really only a few lights there, so it has a surreal effect of having the stands dark and basically only the field lit up. Its almost like watching an outdoor play. This game was the day after Sammy Sosa got ejected for having a corked bat, and the Cubs' faithful, including Jesse Jackson, gave Sosa a rousing ovation before his first at-bat. Five future Old Friends started this game: Julio Lugo, Marlon Anderson, and Toby Hall for Tampa Bay; Hee Seop Choi and Paul Bako for Chicago.

That's my list. A total of 10 stadiums (including Dodger Stadium, and counting both San Diego parks as one). What's yours?

Monday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 15:56:40 -0000

Some things to read while seeking Winston Churchill's approval.

So I've been gone since Friday, but the bullpen discussion has carried on without me. Over the weekend, dixieflatline brought Pitchfx to the table, and suggested the Brewers should keep both lefties, along with Eric Gagne. Jeff also took a look at bullpen composition.

Elsewhere, Fear the Beer thinks Coffey, Julio and Stetter will make the team, as does MLB Depth Charts. Tom H. has a look at the crowded bullpen as well, with a quote from Doug Melvin suggesting the success of an experienced pitcher like Gagne could lead to the team's decision to keep an inexperienced pitcher like Morlan.

Meanwhile, Two-Fisted Slopper is boycotting the entire bullpen conversation. I didn't really intend for this site to become Bullpen Central, but I do think roster battles are the most interesting thing going on in camp right now.

Take a deep breath, everyone: Yovani Gallardo will not pitch in the WBC (h/t FanShot).

On the injury front, there are three notes to pass along:

Bill Hall's calf injury is healing faster than expected. He's already running on a treadmill and taking BP, but will probably not be ready in time for Wednesday's spring training opener.
David Riske is still recovering from offseason elbow surgery and has yet to face live hitters in camp.
Chris Capuano is hoping to be ready to start games by mid-May. He could pitch a few innings in games late in spring training.

Hall was the subject of Sunday's JS Spring Training piece. Apparently he's lost some weight and is looking to improve his flexibility. J.J. Hardy was profiled on Saturday and Rickie Weeks was profiled Friday. As an added bonus, you can follow any of those links to catch a sidebar video starring Anthony Witrado that should have been titled "how to dress unprofessionally."

Speaking of Weeks, Miller Park Drunk thinks Weeks will have a good season in 2009, mainly because his hairstyle resembles Play from Kid N Play.

On projections:

As noted in this FanShot, Jack Moore of Right Field Bleachers used projections to explain where the Brewers can replace the wins they lost when CC Sabathia and Ben Sheets departed.
Results Disoriented has the over/under for the Brewers at 84.5 wins. That seems about right to me too. I might make it 85.5.
CHONE, on the other hand, predicts the Brewers will go 81-81 and ranks them 19th overall.

As I'm sure you know, we still have two more days to wait for the Brewers' first spring training game. If you're looking for ways to pass the time, you could make your picks for Right Field Bleachers' fan favorite contest, or you could transform into a JS commenter, as Tyler Maas of Bugs & Cranks did. If you choose to transform, please don't do it here...I just had the carpet cleaned.

He's not Trenni (and who is, really?), but I'm waiting to see him work before I pass judgment: Brian Anderson's blog has a message from new Brewer sideline reporter Telly Hughes.

He may not strike a lot of batters out, but new Brewer Braden Looper was the seventh best pitcher in all of baseball in 2008 in getting ground balls. Follow the link for a discussion on whether or not that's a good thing.

On the transaction wire:

Astros: Voided the contract of C Toby Hall, who needs surgery to repair a torn labrum.
A's: May be interested in Nomar Garciaparra, who the Phillies are no longer interested in.
Braves: Signed Garret Anderson to a one year deal.
Dodgers: Signed Orlando Hudson to a one year deal.
Mariners: Released OF Mike Wilson to make room on their roster for Ken Griffey.
Nationals: Odalis Perez has still not appeared in Nationals camp and is not returning calls from the organization or his agent. SEE UPDATE.
Rangers: Signed Kris Benson to a minor league deal.
Rays: Signed Jason Isringhausen to a minor league deal.
Twins: Signed Joe Crede to a one-year deal.

UPDATE: ESPN is reporting the Nationals have released Perez.

Baseball is truly becoming a world game. After an offseason where players from South Africa and India signed, the Indians signed a 16-year-old from the Czech Republic over the weekend.

Of course, these signings don't work for everyone. Nationals GM Jim Bowden, who found out last week his 19-year-old prospect was actually 23, is also now part of a federal investigation on skimming signing bonuses. He may be looking for work soon, and if you'd like to be a part of baseball's biggest reclamation project, you should be polishing your resume.

Jason Johnson, who was spending spring trying to earn a spot in the bullpen with the Yankees, now has a completely different fight on his hands. Johnson went to the eye doctor to correct some blurred vision in his right eye and was diagnosed with cancer of the retina. Best wishes go out to him.

Former Brewer Jorge de la Rosa had some control issues while he was in Milwaukee, but I didn't know emotional control was the problem. He's seeing a sports psychologist with the Rockies and had a much improved second half of 2008.

Oh, and if you liked Brooks Kieshnick, you'll love what the Reds might do with Micah Owings.

Drink up.

Who's on Catcher?

larry — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 14:45:08 -0000

It’s Sunday and, for White Sox fans, that conjures up images of the "Sunday Lineup", in which Ozzie empties his bench and shuffles his lineup. A usual cornerstone of such lineups is AJ Pierzynski getting a deserved day off and the backup catcher getting the start.

Finding a suitable backup for AJ has long been a bit of a mess. Most recently, Kenny Williams signed Toby Hall to a two-year deal prior to the 2007 season. The idea was good – Hall is a righty and, while not a defensive maven, his offense against lefties should have been an ideal complement to AJ. Unfortunately, late in 2007 Spring Training, Hall suffered a labrum tear and separation in his throwing shoulder and the theory never translated into reality.

This year, there’s no clear front-runner for the role of backup catcher. Kenny has resisted the temptation to bring in a veteran such as Paul Lo Duca and instead appears to be satisfied to let a mix of retreads and youngsters fight it out.

And Ozzie has echoed this sentiment:

So, it looks as if the reserve role will be played by Chris Stewart, Donny Lucy or Corky Miller. Cole Armstrong is a left-handed hitter, so he probably won't back up Pierzynski, while Guillen admitted that top catching prospect Tyler Flowers would become the team's starter if something happened to Pierzynski.

While it’s nice to know that somebody must be reading Baseball Prospectus’ PECOTA when determining that Flowers should be the starter if AJ goes down, it’s hard to see a catcher being handed a starting major league job who can’t really catch that well and who hasn’t done anything above high A ball. Be that as it may, that assertion still doesn’t solve who will be the backup. So let’s go through the six (less than inspiring) in camp candidates after the jump, starting with the man already on the 40 man roster and then moving on to the non-roster invitees.

Cole Armstrong: This 25 year old was acquired prior to the 2006 season via the minor league portion of the Rule 5 draft. He profiles as a backup in the majors – so problem solved, right? Not quite. As Merkin notes above, while like all catchers Armstrong throws righthanded, he bats lefty and thus is ostensibly less than suitable as a backup to the lefthanded AJ. However, as Sox Machine pointed out to me in a recent conversation, AJ has actually hit better against lefties than righties the past two seasons, so (assuming that's trend) having the two of them on the same team isn't so ridiculous. He’s a good defender and he’s got a bit of pop but he doesn’t hit for average and doesn’t get on base. His PECOTA projection for 2009 is .193/.238/.299.

Tyler Flowers: This 23 year old was acquired in the offseason via the Javier Vazquez trade. Both Kenny and Ozzie say he’ll be the starter if AJ gets hurt – so, again, problem solved, right? Well, not quite. While he’s a catcher, he’s really not that good at it. A large part of that shortcoming is that he played sparingly at the position in 2006 and 2007 due to injury. His bat, however, is legit - great power and excellent plate discipline. While this righty's PECOTA projection of .247/.340/.410 actually is superior to AJ’s, he’s never played above A ball and needs serious work at catcher. Having him play infrequently as a backup would stunt his defensive growth.

Chris Stewart: Some fans may remember this guy as he was drafted by the White Sox and made his major league debut for them in 2006 before being traded to Texas. He had a couple cups of coffee for the Rangers and Yankees the past two seasons but the 27 year old righty is now back as a non-roster invitee. He’s a plus defender with an excellent arm. However, he can’t hit worth a lick. His PECOTA projection is .219/.279/.313. A leading candidate.

Donny Lucy: Some fans may also remember Donny as he had a cup of coffee with the team in September 2007. His age 25 season, however, ended early in Charlotte due to a severe knee injury. This 2004 second round pick does have a good glove and arm and he actually ran quite well, too, before his injury. But his bat is simply not that good (no 2009 PECOTA projection available). He was outrighted off the 40 man roster after the 2008 season – and no team bothered to pick him up. That should tell you something. Is discussed as being in the mix but is a huge question mark coming off injury.

Corky Miller: What to say about this guy. First, his name is Corky. I mean, seriously? Second, he’s 33 and his career line is .176/.264/.290 in sporadic play over the last 8 seasons. He’s a good defensive catcher (sense a pattern?) but that line is pretty ugly – and we don’t need PECOTA to tell us what to expect. Still, a leading candidate.

Francisco Hernandez: Signed by the Sox out of the Dominican in 2002, this switch hitter is a solid defender with a good arm but his offensive skills have never been more than just adequate. Having never played above A ball, he's not a serious candidate and, at 23, it’s now or never for him to produce in the minors. And, unfortunately for him, Flowers now is likely to be taking playing time from him at Birmingham further making that never more probable.

My take is that this tallest midget contest is wide open – and I wouldn’t rule out other candidates appearing as rosters are trimmed – but Chris Stewart, due to his defensive prowess and familiarity with some of the pitchers and organization, is the current leader. Since the candidates are largely similar, it's likely that both spring training performance and rapport with the pitchers and coaching staff will be weighed heavily.

Tuesday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 15:31:08 -0000

Some things to read while watching out for giant inflatable bears.

If you're wondering where today's Winter League Update went, there isn't one. Everyone was off yesterday. The Update will be back tomorrow.

There are 74 more days until pitchers and catchers report, but only four more to vote in the BCB Reader Survey. Please take a moment to do so, if you haven't already.

As noted below, the Brewers offered arbitration to CC Sabathia, Ben Sheets and Brian Shouse yesterday, but declined to offer it to Eric Gagne. If Sabathia or Sheets sign with another team, the Brewers get one of thier draft picks (either in the bottom half of the first round or the top of the second), and a pick between the first and second rounds. If Shouse signs with another team, the Brewers just get a pick between the first and second rounds. Gagne is free to sign with anyone, no compensation required.

Also, as noted in the FanShots, the Brewers signed former Braves 1B Scott Thorman to a minor league deal and invited him to spring training. Barring some sort of emergency, he likely won't appear above AAA in 2009.

Are you craving more CC Sabathia links? Rob Neyer wonders if Sabathia's weight and the New York media's tendencies to make fun of overweight athletes might make the Yankees a bad fit for the 290 lb lefty. Meanwhile, Peter Gammons is suggesting the Angels may court him by taking him to Del Taco.

Now, a moment to focus on Jason Kendall's defense. Beyond the Box Score says he saved 4.86 runs this season by blocking pitches, the third most in all of baseball. Kendall's actual block percentage is lower than a handful of other catchers, but Kendall saved more runs based on increased opportunity.

Via Rattler Radio, I noticed that MILB.com has started their Top 50 prospects list, and Jeremy Jeffress is #44. There's a joke here about being high on Jeffress, but I'll pass. Prospects 31-40 are due out today.

This year's Hall of Fame voters will see the smallest ballot ever, with only 23 players eligible for induction. Among ten first time candidates are former Brewers Jesse Orosco, Dan Plesac and Greg Vaughn.

Lots of arbitration news, and some other stuff on the hot stove today:

Angels: Offered arbitration to Francisco Rodriguez, Mark Teixiera, Darren Oliver and Jon Garland, but not Garret Anderson.
Astros: Signed Mike Hampton to a one year deal.
Blue Jays: Offered arbitration to A.J. Burnett but not Gregg Zaun.
Braves: Declined to offer arbitration to John Smoltz.
Cardinals: Declined to offer arbitration to Russ Springer, Braden Looper and Jason Isringhausen.
Cubs: Declined to offer arbitration to Kerry Wood.
D-Backs: Offered arbitration to Orlando Hudson, Juan Cruz and Brandon Lyon, but not to Adam Dunn or Randy Johnson.
Dodgers: Offered arbitration to Manny Ramirez, Derek Lowe and Casey Blake but declined to offer it to Joe Beimel, Greg Maddux, Brad Penny and Jeff Kent.
Giants: Declined to offer arbitration to Rich Aurilia.
Marlins: Declined to offer arbitration to Luis Gonzalez, Paul Lo Duca and Arthur Rhodes. They may also be looking to trade Matt Treanor.
Mets: Offered arbitration to Oliver Perez but not Luis Ayala or Moises Alou. They also signed C Rene Rivera.
Padres: Declined to offer arbitration to Trevor Hoffman.
Phillies: Declined to offer arbitration to Pat Burrell and Jamie Moyer. They also expressed interest in Mark Loretta.
Rangers: Offered arbitration to Milton Bradley.
Reds: Offered arbitration to David Weathers and extended an offer to Arthur Rhodes.
Rockies: Offered arbitration to Brian Fuentes.
Royals: Offered arbitration to Mark Grudzielanek.
Tigers: Declined to offer arbitration to Edgar Renteria.
Twins: Offered arbitration to Dennys Reyes.
White Sox: Offered arbitration to Orlando Cabrera, but not to Ken Griffey, Toby Hall or Juan Uribe.
Yankees: Declined to offer arbitration to all eight of their free agents, including Andy Pettitte, Bobby Abreu, Jason Giambi and Chad Moeller.

If you want to check my work or see all this information nicely color coded, Amazin' Avenue has you covered.

Also, the Hanshin Tigers have reportedly agreed to a deal with Kevin Mench.

On a sad note, Blue Jays owner Ted Rogers has passed away. He was 75.

Fire Brand of the American League recently interviewed Peter Gammons, and of course they asked him what he thinks of blogs. His response is moderately incoherent and rambles off onto a tangent, but I think it's possible he likes blogs...maybe?

Oh, and it took Kirbir and I, working together, an hour and a half to beat this game yesterday. Can you do better? I never would have gotten out of the bathroom without her.

Drink up.

Astros and the Free Agent Catching Market

DyingQuail — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 15:11:39 -0000

Yesterday was the first day to file for free agency and so yesterday is the first day we've been able to get a concrete idea of how the free agent market will look. The other day when I polled you to see what you thought was imperative for the Astros to do this season, at least one of you mentioned that you wanted to find a FA catcher to fill in for the dream team of JR Towles and Humberto Quintero. In all honesty, when I posted the poll, I didn't even consider the idea because I believed the FA catching market to be weak, old, and over-priced.

The list of those who filed for free agents yesterday from MLBTradeRumors (the link has full list of FA by position) pretty much confirms that there's just not anything better/worthwhile out there:

Brad Ausmus (40)

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
2008 - Brad Ausmus	81	216	15	47	8	0	3	24	25	41	0	2	.218	.303	.296

Paul Bako (37)

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
2008 - Paul Bako	99	299	30	65	11	2	6	35	34	90	0	2	.217	.299	.328

Rod Barajas (33) - $2.5MM club option for '09 with a $0.5MM buyout

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
2008 - Rod Barajas	104	349	44	87	23	0	11	49	17	61	0	0	.249	.294	.410

Josh Bard (31)

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
2008 - Josh Bard	57	178	11	36	9	0	1	16	18	25	0	0	.202	.279	.270

Michael Barrett (32)

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
2008 - Michael Barrett	30	94	9	19	3	0	2	9	9	16	0	0	.202	.274	.298

Henry Blanco (37) - $3MM mutual option for '09 with a $0.3MM buyout

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
2008 - Henry Blanco	58	120	15	35	3	0	3	12	6	22	0	0	.292	.325	.392

Johnny Estrada (33)

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
2008 - Johnny Estrada	23	53	0	9	0	0	0	4	1	4	0	0	.170	.200	.170

Toby Hall (33)

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
2008 - Toby Hall	41	127	7	33	3	0	2	7	6	19	0	0	.260	.304	.331

Jason LaRue (35)

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
2008 - Jason LaRue	61	164	17	35	8	1	4	21	15	20	0	0	.213	.297	.348

Paul Lo Duca (37) - Type B

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
2008 - Paul Lo Duca	21	34	3	10	2	0	0	3	6	2	0	0	.294	.400	.353

Miguel Olivo (30) - $2.7MM mutual option for '09 with a $0.1MM buyout - Type B

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
2008 - Miguel Olivo	84	306	29	78	22	0	12	41	7	82	7	0	.255	.278	.444

Ivan Rodriguez (37) - Type A

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
2008 - Ivan Rodriguez	33	96	11	21	4	0	2	3	4	15	4	0	.219	.257	.323

David Ross (32)

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
2008 - David Ross	8	8	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0	.125	.125	.125

Javier Valentin (33)

Jason Varitek (37) - Type A

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
2008 - Jason Varitek	131	423	37	93	20	0	13	43	52	122	0	1	.220	.313	.359

Gregg Zaun (38) - Type B

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
2008 - Gregg Zaun	86	245	29	58	12	0	6	30	38	38	2	1	.237	.340	.359

Is there any untapped potential in this list that I'm not seeing?

MLB Off-Season Timeline

The Cheat — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 03:06:36 -0000

The White Sox off-season began in earnest on Thursday with the declined options of Ken Griffey Jr. and Toby Hall. There was a flurry of this kind of activity around baseball thanks to the unwritten Don't Make Any Announcements During the Playoffs rule. In general, the announcements made immediately after the World Series, like the Royals-Marlins trade, were done during the playoffs. Thursday was just the post-series news dump.

For Toby Hall's sake, being included in that dump doesn't bode well for his future with the Sox. I made a point of noting that the declined option did not preclude him from returning, but it sure isn't a positive indicator.

We've passed the post-World Series news dump, the unofficial start to the hot stove league. So, what's in store over the next few days, weeks and months?

MLB Off-Season Timeline

GM Meetings -- Nov. 3-6, 2008 -- Not much happens here. The GMs get together, drink some margaritas and do a little bowling. They can't sign players yet, and they rarely do more than compare notes. This is just a feeling out session before the Winter Meetings when the real action happens.
Deadline to file for Free Agency -- World Series +10(?) days -- I'm not 100% sure on the deadline. It doesn't really matter.
Free Agency Opens -- World Series + 15 days (in two weeks) -- The first day eligible players are allowed to sign with new teams
Final day to protect players -- Nov. 20, 2008 -- The final day to add players to the 40-man roster in order to protect them from the Rule 5 draft.
Last day to offer salary arbitration -- Dec. 1, 2008 -- Orlando Cabrera is the only player the Sox figure to offer arbitration, as offering Uribe would mean they would have to pay him a minimum of $3.7M were he to accept.
Last day to for declared free agents to accept arbitration -- Dec. 7, 2008 -- This should only apply to Orlando Cabrera.
Winter Meetings -- Dec. 8-11, 2008 -- A flurry of trades, a bunch of signings, and even more false rumors. Culminates in the Rule 5 draft on the final day.
Non-tender deadline -- Dec. 12, 2008 -- Final day to tender offers to arbitration eligible players.

Kenny Williams seemed to back up my theory that the Sox wont be active on the free agent market with some quotes to the press Thursday. In an article on ChiSox.com titled White Sox to begin youth movement, Williams was quoted profusely.

"You are going to experience the most vanilla, beige, vague person this winter," said Williams with a laugh. "It just gets, the people keeping track of the daily scorecard, it's difficult to navigate our way through.

"We'll continue to explore any and all options out there. But I think it really hurt us, in terms of our fan excitement and perceptions, for our [2007] offseason to be viewed as a failure versus some of the little wins we had. We will try to avoid that as much as possible."

Danks Returns to Form, Sox Still Fall

The Cheat — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 05:33:57 -0000

There was a small silver lining to be found from Sunday's loss to the Angels. John Danks appeared to have worked through his dead arm period, lost release point, whatever he had going on, to put together a nice (though not "quality") start. Danks still found himself leaving his changeup high in the zone in his last two innings of work, but the change was down in innings 1-4. Plus, he seemed to have both better control and the ability to more readily put hitters away, as evidenced by his 7:1 K/BB ratio.

Danks was pulled in the 6th after he allowed his first run of the game following back-to-back-to-back hard hit balls over the span of just 5 pitches. His quick exit was determined more by base and out situation and the scoreboard than it was by pitch count, but with his change losing effectiveness late I'd say he was getting a bit tired. Still, Danks as an 80-90 pitch pitcher is better than the Danks we saw doing 5th starter impersonations in the last few outings. If I was Ozzie, I'd keep Danks at or around 90 pitches for the remainder of the regular season.

Offensively, the Sox managed just two solo-shots (one each by Paul Konerko and Toby Hall) against Joe Saunders. Ozzie went with a rare all-right-handed batting order, subbing in Brian Anderson and Josh Fields (combined 0-6) in addition to Hall. Individually, all of the subs could be defended, but I don't like seeing 3 subs in any one so-called Sunday lineup and I would have liked to have seen at least one left-hander breaking up the parade of righties.

The Angels scored the eventual winning run following a couple of questionable choices. First, Horacio Ramirez entered a tied game. As if that wasn't bad enough, Ozzie called up Ehren Wasserman with the go-ahead run 90 feet from home and nobody out. After Wasserman coaxed a first-pitch ground out from Vlad Guerrero, Ozzie called for the intentional IBB of Torii Hunter to load the bases, which seemed odd to me with Juan Rivera on deck, almost assuredly to be replaced by the left-handed Garrett Anderson. Sure enough, Anderson came on as a pinch-hitter, and lifted a deep fly ball down the right field line. Jermaine Dye caught the ball in foul territory, just a step or two from the wall, which allowed Guerrero to score easily from 3rd.

I questioned the IBB, but if you're going to play for the double play, if your intent is to increase the likelihood of allowing no runs in the inning at the expense of increasing the odds of a big inning, why catch a ball in foul territory that results in a sure run? Wasn't the all-or-nothing directive set by the walking of right-handed batter to load the bases for what eventually turned into left-handed batter? I don't fault Dye for catching the ball. It just seems to me that the two plays came from opposite ends of the run-prevention playbook. But baseball players probably don't think that way, and certainly not as they're running toward the line to make a catch just a few feet in front of a low wall.

Where Was That Pitch?

For once, Hawk's constant whining about balls and strikes was warranted. Just take a look at this chart. See those 7 or 8 little green squares in the lower right side of the zone? Those are called balls for White Sox pitching. Notice all those red triangles around that area? Those are essentially the same pitches thrown by Anaheim pitchers, but they were called strikes. One or two of those pitches going uncalled is unfortunate, 7 or more is a pattern. That pattern really seemed to get accentuated after Ozzie Guillen gave home plate ump Eric Cooper an earful from the dugout when he awarded timeout to an Angels batter for the second time after Danks had started his motion.

I'm not saying. I'm just saying...

Make no mistake about it, the Sox did not lose Sunday's game because of Cooper's divergent strike zones. But there's no question that those strikes-called-balls changed the outcome of at-bats, which in turn changed the shape of an inning, and thus influenced the outcome of the game.

Bigger Picture

For a weekend that started out about as poorly as imaginable, with the loss of the unicorn-riding, stuff-you-liking, homer-hittin' Carlos Quentin, and ended with the Sox blowing a 2-run lead, I'm feeling pretty good about the weekend in general. I quickly processed the loss of Quentin, with a little Al Davisism "Just win, baby."

The Sox and Twins are both flawed teams. The Sox are an offensively old, slow team and don't really know what they're going to get from any of their 5 starters on any given night. While the Twins offense is powered by 2 superstars surrounded by a merry band of role players, but their bullpen, which is usually a strength, has let them down. One of these two teams, flaws included, has to make the post-season. Might as well be the Sox.

If you had told me on Friday, in that woe-is-me happy hour after we found out Q! had passed on but before first pitch, that the Sox would have taken 2-out-of-3 from the first place, playoff-bound Angels, I would have been happy. If you would have told me that the Twins were gonna drop 2-out-of-3 to the Tigers in the Metrodome, blowing leads in both losses, I wouldn't have believed you. Picking up a game on the Twins, while simultaneously taking 3 home games off their remaining schedule is a big win for the Sox.

All-in-all, the weekend turned out about as well as you could have reasonably expected.