As brought to you by MLB 09 The Show.....

1st - Tigers - 93-69

2nd - Twins - 83-79

3rd - Indians - 81-81

4th - Royals - 78-84

5th - White Sox - 75-87

 

Buehrle - 8-9, 3.35 ERA, 153 IP, 154 H, 42 BB, 85 K, 1.28 WHIP

Floyd - 9-13, 4.94 ERA, 184 IP, 225 H, 56 BB, 110 K, 1.53 WHIP

Danks - 10-12, 4.31 ERA, 186 IP, 199 H, 66 BB, 143 K, 1.42 WHIP

Contreras - 12-11, 3.70 ERA, 192 IP, 205 H, 62 BB, 107 K, 1.39 WHIP

Colon - 4-6, 3.97 ERA, 129 IP, 157 H, 35 BB, 83 K, 1.48 WHIP

 

Wise - 116 G, .245 AVG, 8 HR, 38 RBI, .309 OBP, .381 SLG

Anderson - 112 G, .240 AVG, 5 HR, 26 RBI, .279 OBP, .345 SLG

Getz - 122 G, .240 AVG, 5 HR, 35 RBI, .295 OBP, .324 SLG

Ramirez - 146 G, .250 AVG, 25 HR, 65 RBI, .287 OBP, .441 SLG

Quentin - 130 G, .246 AVG, 27 HR, 68 RBI, .327 OBP, .460 SLG

Thome - 157 G, .294 AVG, 35 HR, 93 RBI, .359 OBP, .516 SLG

Konerko - 141 G, .264 AVG, 19 HR, 52 RBI, .343 OBP, .418 SLG

Dye - 152 G, .270 AVG, 38 HR, 107 RBI, .323 OBP, .506 SLG

Pierzynski - 139 G, .269 AVG, 13 HR, 46 RBI, .303 OBP, .382 SLG

Fields - 132 G, .247 AVG, 19 HR, 55 RBI, .303 OBP, .405 SLG

 

Thorton - 2.19 ERA, 1.19 WHIP

MacDougal - 3.35 ERA, 1.57 WHIP

Dotel - 3.22 ERA, 1.26 WHIP

Jenks - 3.42 ERA, 44 SV, 8 BSV, 1.04 WHIP

Linebrink - 2.05 ERA, 1.20 WHIP

 

 

Not looking good guys. :(

 

 

Oh yeah, playoffs go as such...

Red Sox over Angels

Rays over Tigers

-----

Rays over Red Sox

 

Cardinals over Phillies

Rockies over Brewers

----

Rockies over Cardinals

 

-------------------------

Rockies over Rays for World Series.

What is the legacy for Jason Marquis. I am doing a 1 sentence legacy that Cubs fans will remember about Marquis. Nothing like "He sucks" or anything like that, but a legit sentence evaluating his time on the Northside.

 

I need one of these for Marquis, Jim Edmonds, and Felix Pie. I already did Kerry Wood, Ronny Cedeno, and Mark DeRosa. Here they are in case anyone thinks I should critique them....

 

Wood - "The next big thing until he was ridden with injury after injury"

Cedeno - "Never respected by fans, and fans glad to see him leave"

DeRosa - "Fan favorite that could play almost any position asked of him"

 

-- Thanks

 

I am a Sox fan writing a story for my newspaper. I would like to list 6 incoming, and outgoing players from the Cubs. There are more than 6 I believe, but the majors ones (ie. ones impacting the 09 team). Bradley, Miles, Gregg, come to mind for me. Marquis, Hill, Pie, Ceda (top prospect), from the other side of things.

Anyway, help would be much appreciated without having to search multiple sites.

 

Or, in fact, just give me all the notable players, I will use the top6 for profiles, and just list the other ones down below.

http://blogs.chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports_hardball/2009/02/white-sox-sign-broussard-to-minor-league-deal.html

 

The White Sox signed first baseman-outfielder Ben Broussard to a minor league contract.

Broussard, 32, has a lifetime .263 batting average with 87 home runs over parts of seven  major league seasons with Cleveland, Seattle and Texas. He batted .159 with three home runs in 82 at-bats with the Rangers last season.

Broussard also played in the minor leagues last season with the New York Yankees and Cubs.

Broussard becomes the 19th non-roster invitee in the Sox's spring training camp.

The left-handed hitting Broussard enjoyed his best season in 2006 with Cleveland and Seattle, batting .289 with 21  home runs and 63 RBIs.

 

I'm just wondering who else is going down to Arizona for the ST this season, and what dates and all that. There is a good chance I will be able to fly down, and I am extremely excited about it. 

 

I'm going down from the 25th-28th of March, and seeing Cubs/Sox and Dbacks/Sox on the 26th and 27th respectively.

 

So who else is going? And hopefully I will be able to take a lot of video and pictures to upload for you guys.

I am the Sports Editor of my newspaper, and this is my newest "column". 

Joe O’Rourke
1st Draft
January 12, 2009

Back in Blackhawks

1961 was a long time ago. For Cubs fans it may seem like just last week, but for Chicago Blackhawk fans; an eternity. Gone are the days when Blackhawks legends Stan Mikita and “The Golden Jet”, Bobby Hull, were shredding opposing goalies and winning the cup of Lord Stanley over the rivaled Detroit Red Wings. The Blackhawks, coached by Joel Quenneville after former coach Dennis Savard was fired four games into this season, are starting a new youth movement and barring injuries, should be a force in the Central division for many years to come.

The Blackhawks have one of the best young duos in the NHL. 19-year-old Jonathan Toews was drafted by the Blackhawks third overall in 2006, and his partner in crime, 20-year-old Patrick Kane, was taken first overall in 2007. Sometimes it pays to be the laughing stock of the league for a few years to acquire all the young talent by getting good draft picks. Just ask the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Blackhawks are currently in second place in the Central division behind the rival Detroit Red Wings. The Blackhawks have a nice tandem of goalies between the pipes with Nikolai Khabibulin and Cristobal Huet. Not many teams are fortunate enough to have a pair of goalies this good. Khabibulin is ranked eight in the league in average goals against per game, and former Capitals goalie, Huet, ranks 14th.

Kane and Toews combine for 74 points (a goal and an assist both count as one point each) this season in 40 games. Kane has been nursing a sore ankle since December 30th when he received a hard check from a Red Wings player. Among other top Blackhawk players include right-winger Patrick Sharp. Sharp has 20 goals this season which ranks him fourth in the Western Conference. Defenseman Duncan Keith is ranked first in plus/minus (players get a +1 when he is on the ice when his team scores; a -1 when the other team scores) in the league with +22. Left-winger Kris Versteeg leads all NHL rookies with 33 points. The future is bright for the Blackhawks who are the youngest team in the NHL. 

The Blackhawks are bringing hockey back up in Chicago. Last season the Hawks were 19th in attendance, and now this season they are first. The Hawks even draw better attendance than the Bulls. Comcast SportsNet broadcasts more Hawks games this season than ever before. Season-ticket sales are up 300 percent. Even merchandise sales are up an astonishing 234 percent, highest among the 30 NHL teams. Chicago is returning to glory on the ice, and you would be doing yourself a favor by going to at least one Hawks game this season. I will admit that games on T.V. are not the most exciting to watch, but in my opinion, there is no live sport that can compare to NHL hockey. 

According to an SI.com report on Tuesday, the Chicago White Sox will not try to resign the free-agent outfielder. That means that the sure Hall of Famer will have played only 41 games in Chicago, which lost to the Tampa Bay Rays in the AL division series.

The White Sox acquired Griffey from the Cincinnati Reds in July for the stretch run. The team held off the Minnesota Twins for the AL Central crown but lost in four games to the Rays in the playoffs.

Between the two teams last season, Griffey hit only .249 with 18 homers and 71 RBIs in 490 at-bats. He is a career .288 hitter with 611 home runs. The 13-time All-Star and 1997 MVP played 11 seasons in Seattle and parts of nine with Cincinnati.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3669977

Hi, I'm from SouthSideSox. Here is a post I made over there, was wondering what some of you thought, and could offer some help on what might be asked in return. 

"I was bored so I decided to play some MLB The Show. I signed Roy Oswalt in the 2009 offseason, and I was thinking, what about Wandy Rodriguez in real life? I have heard his name thrown around in all these Jake Peavy trades, so I assume he is expendable. He had a pretty decent year last season. I then figured it would be nice to get a young CF along with Wandy. I see Abercrombie on their roster with an OF that includes Lee, Pence, Bourn, and even grindERSTAD. Since Reggie isn't actually that young anymore (28), he might not be regarded that highly with Houston. "

Is that accurate? And does anyone here know of the status of those 2 players? Can they be traded, or will it be too hard to pry them from Mr. Wade? I really don't follow the Astros at all, you guys know much more than I. What would the 'Stros be looking for in return?

 

 

I was bored so I decided to play some MLB The Show. I signed Roy Oswalt in the 2009 offseason, and I was thinking, what about Wandy Rodriguez in real life? I have heard his name thrown around in all these Jake Peavy trades, so I assume he is expendable. He had a pretty decent year last season. I then figured it would be nice to get a young CF along with Wandy. I see Abercrombie on their roster with an OF that includes Lee, Pence, Bourn, and even grindERSTAD. Since Reggie isn't actually that young anymore (28), he might not be regarded that highly with Houston. 

Buehrle

Danks

Rodriguez

Vazquez

Floyd

Looks pretty good to me, and then plug in Abercrombie in CF and leadoff. 

Abercrombie

Getz

Quentin

Thome

Konerko

Dye

Swisher

Pierzynski

Ramirez

 

Not sure exactly what the Astros are looking for. Thoughts?

Swish and Fat Toby made a video on FunnyorDie. Swisher is funny, Fat Toby is not. 

http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/cf84d400b7

 

Maybe it's just because i'm a Sox fan, but I found genuine humor and good acting skills in Swish right there. I hope they do this often.

"Your FanPost must be at least 75 words long. Right now it's only 51 words long. If you just have a quote, link, video or photo you'd like to share with the community, try creating a FanShot instead."

Via MLBTraderumors...

 

C - A.J. Pierzynski - $6.25MM
C - Toby Hall - $2.25MM (club option, $150K buyout)
1B - Paul Konerko - $12MM
2B - Chris Getz - $400K
SS - Alexei Ramirez - $1.1MM
3B - Josh Fields - $400K
IF -
LF - Carlos Quentin - $400K
CF - Brian Anderson - $400K
RF - Jermaine Dye - $11.5MM
OF - DeWayne Wise - $400K+
OF/1B - Nick Swisher - $5.3MM
DH - Jim Thome - $13MM

SP - Mark Buehrle - $14MM
SP - Javier Vazquez - $11.5MM
SP - John Danks - $400K
SP - Gavin Floyd - $400K
SP - Clayton Richard - $400K

RP - Bobby Jenks - $550K+
RP - Scott Linebrink - $4.5MM
RP - Octavio Dotel - $6MM
RP - Matt Thornton - $1.325MM
RP - Boone Logan - $405K
RP - D.J. Carrasco - $400K+
RP - Ehren Wassermann - $400K

Buyouts: Ken Griffey Jr. - $2MM

Other commitments: Jose Contreras - $10MM, Mike MacDougal - $2.65MM

I'm not sure if any of the $22MM received from the Phillies will go toward Thome's 2009 salary.  I'm also unsure if Chicago's portion of Junior's buyout goes toward '09 payroll.  To play it safe I will include all of that.  That brings us to $108MM plus arbitration raises, notably to Jenks.  So figure a little north of $110MM committed.  The Sox began the year with a $121MM payroll, though GM Ken Williams will not necessarily use every last dollar.  It seems that the Sox can afford one decent free agent if that's Williams' preference.

The Sox have talked about wanting to add speed at the top and bottom of the lineup.  A guy with a strong OBP would surely be preferable.  Willy Taveras, Juan Pierre, Ichiro Suzuki, Brian Roberts, Orlando Hudson, Chone Figgins, Randy Winn, Cesar Izturis, Bobby Abreu, and Coco Crisp may be available to varying degrees.  Roberts would be perfect, but the Orioles may still want young pitching or a shortstop.  Winn or Crisp could be easier to acquire.  The Angels may prefer to keep Figgins.

There's talk of moving one of the pricier vets, maneuvering past no-trade clauses.  Dye would be appealing to many clubs; Abreu could be signed as a replacement.  Another option: shop Jenks.  Three years of Jenks is quite valuable, and he'd make an appealing alternative to signing Francisco Rodriguez or Brian Fuentes.

At this point we have learned to just sit back and watch Williams work...he has proven he's unpredictable and very good at his job.

Que the horrifying dead horse images, but I really would like to pursue Brian Roberts for a 1 year deal with Chris Getz playing a benchrole and learning from Roberts.

Here are the AWESOME predictions of MLB 08 The Show for tonights game. I downloaded the most current rosters, and set up the exact lineups for tonight. Here are the results....

 

Sox - 6

Twins - 3

Player of the Game: Gavin Floyd

• Wise - 1/5, 1 R
• Cabrera - 1/5, 1 RBI, 1 K
• Dye - 0/2, 2 BB
• Thome - 0/4, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K
• Konerko - 2/4, 1 RBI, 1 K
• Griffey - 3/4, 1 R, 1 RBI
• Ramirez - 1/3, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB
• AJ - 2/4, 2 RBI, 1 K
• Uribe - 1/4, 1 RBI, 1 K

2B - Griffey, Wise 3B - Cabrera RBI - Cabrera, AJ (2), Griffey, Ramirez, Uribe HBP - Dye
E - Cabrera SB - Dye, Ramirez
Floyd (W) - 7.1 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 5 BB, 3 K Thornton - .2 IP, 1 H, 2 K Jenks (S) - 1 IP, 0 H

There you have it! I'm sure they will be 100% correct.

but don't we have to win the division by 1.5 games to clinch? And likewise, don't the Twins have to win by 1.5, and if either is only leading by .5, then we play the make-up game vs. the Tigers.

 

45, 44, 43, 42, 41,40, 39, 38, 37, 36, 35, 34,33, 32, 31, 30, 29, 28, 27, 26, 25, 24, 23, 22, 21, 20, 19, 18, 17, 16.

The record for most 20+ HR hitters in a season is 7 set by the '96 Orioles and the 2000 Blue Jays. Here are our players who are already there, and the players who are "on pace" to get there....

Have 20:

Quentin; Dye; Thome; Swisher

On pace for 20:

Ramirez (20); Griffey (22);

Have a Chance:

Crede (only 3 away); Konerko (on pace for 17); Pierzynski (on pace for 16)

 

I think Ramirez, Griffey, and Crede will all get there. That would put us at a tie with the record at 7. That leaves it up to Konerko and AJ. I dont think AJ has a chance, but Konerko might be able to step it up.

Also, we are currently on pace for 245 HR this year, that would set a franchise record, and put us 19 behind the Major League record set by the '98 Mariners. We are currently averaging 1.5 HR a game, but over the past 2 weeks it seems we have been averaging 3+. We could make a run at that record as well.

This time no Q-uperman, it's Ozzie.

 

SI: I wish I knew how to...

Oz: Bullfight

SI: Hot dog, hamburger, or tofu?

Oz: Hotdog

SI: Favorite part of The Dark Knight?

Oz: Haven't seen it

SI: Favorite part of Project Runway?

Oz: The weird make-up (I think Ozzie has to reconsider what he watches, and what he doesn't)

SI: Sexiest woman you never met?

Oz: Sharon Stone (Interesting, I figured she would be latino)

Carlos Quentin's second time being featured in there Pop Culture grid, here are his latest answers....

SI: If I were Kimbo Slice, I'd....

Q: Not him so many people (leave that up to Q)

SI: One thing that makes me want to scream...

Q: Spiders (So does he fear Alexei, who DJ dubbed spiderman?)

SI: What's on your wall right now?

Q: Nothing

SI: If I had the day off, I'd probably....

Q: Go out on a lake on a boat

SI: If the TV's on at 2AM, I'm watching...

Q: Classic American Gladiators (Q-uperman would say that)

White Sox fan here from SouthSideSox. First off, love the greeting in the top left if the screen. We are very grateful for having "you know who" in our Outfield. :)

Anyways, I am here because I am inquiring about the availability of Orlando Hudson. We are "ok" at 2B right now with Alexei Ramirez, but after this season Orlando Cabrera and Uribe are likely to be gone, moving Ramirez to SS, and leaving 2B up to just Danny Richar (remember him?). Richar has not been that impressive, and just came off an injury.

I believe Hudson is in a contract year, and correct me if I am wrong, but I think he has expressed interest in not returning to Arizona. I am wondering if he is going to be looked at being traded come the deadline, and for what price is he worth. I am somewhat familar with the Diamondbacks since my best friend is a big fan, but you guys know a lot more than I. I know Reynolds plays 3rd, and Tracy is still lingering around, but as far as I know, they are both very poor with the glove. Any chance you guys might take a look at Crede for your corner? I completely understand the jam at 3rd, but Im not sure if the Dbacks are planning on moving Reynolds to the OF (Braun style), or giving him more time in AAA (Josh Fields style), or if Chad Tracy is out of a job or not. I was also thinking with Johnson going on age 84, maybe you guys would have interest in a young SP. Lance Broadway and Kyle McCulough come to mind. They are 2 of our highest touted minor league pitchers in our system.

And what is the situation at 2B for you guys anyway? I know Josh Brynes has a knack for having a good farm system, is there any stud 2B that you guys might be willing to throw into the 2B job if Hudson is expendable? Anyway, just looking for some feedback. Take into consideration I have not taken the time to go through your roster and look for weakspots or any replacements for O-Dawg. I would rather get opinions for the fans than look up numbers and such.

Joe

I am going to be sporting a poster sized image that he so cleverly made. I am going to be sitting 12 rows behind the visitors dugout, so there is a good chance you will see me with my sign. Will simply feature the picture with the words "Q-Man" underneath it. I am taking suggestions for other titles such as "Super-Q" or "Q-uperman"

Incase you haven't seen....

 

via i51.photobucket.com

 

 

Anyone subscribers to Sports Illustrated are familiar with their "The Pop Culture Grid" they do featuring 4 sports athletes and their answers about pop culture, or just random questions. This weeks issue that I received today including our very own Carlos Quentin. Here are the Questions, and His Answers

 

SI: Miley Cyrus should really....

Q: Keep her clothes on (In response to her Vanity Fair picture, in which I completely agree)

SI: Best Mother's Day gift ever given?

Q: Coupons for chores I'd do. I was 10.

SI: Favorite show on the CW?

Q: Smallville

SI: Worst candy of all time?

Q: Abba-Zaba

SI: Favorite TV judge?

Q: They're all the worst.

Just thought I'd share that for all those newly crushing Q fans.

 

All-Star Ballot LETS GET EM BOYS. This year lets try for 5 All-stars or more.

GO SOX!

http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060420&content_id=1410081& vkey=news_cws&fext=.jsp&c_id=cws

""""That team salary actually could run as high as $102,875,667, ranking the White Sox fourth in all of baseball, according to recent figures released by the Associated Press.

"We are at $95 million," said general manager Ken Williams, with a very direct response as to where the White Sox salary currently falls. "Hey, I'm over budget, but not that much."

Assistant general manager Rick Hahn, who lends his expertise to the team's contract negotiations, explained that there are a couple of factors used and a couple neglected by the Associated Press that brings about the total of nearly $103 million for the White Sox. The AP takes what is called the yearly salary of every player and adds them up to come to the final number. """"

I was pretty pumped for this. I wrote this after I was all jazzed about Fields hitting 2 homers. So the making the club this spring was a little pre-mature, and I am sure you guys will flame me on it. But i just thought it was pretty cool that he answered it.

Hey, Scott. I have a question about youngster Josh Fields. What do you think are Josh's chances of making the team and possibly spelling Joe Crede at third base every week or so?

I know we have Mackowiak, but he can play almost any position and can replace a different person other than Crede. If Josh does not make the team and is subject to Triple-A, do you think he has a good chance at getting called up for some spot starts or coming up in case Crede gets injured?

I really like this kid, and I think he could be a good replacement for Crede in the near future. I read that article on him, where Ozzie said he has increased tremendously in his defense and has good power. These encouraging words sound like he could be just as good as Crede soon. What are your thoughts on the "new" Josh Fields?
-- Joe, Schererville, Ind.

Scott Merkin - Fields will not start the 2006 season with the White Sox, but he could be ready for Major League competition sometime during the current year. Guillen talked about how much Fields has developed overall as a player from the last Spring Training, and Fields has told me how good he feels with his swing where it's at currently. He's showing power to all fields, pardon the pun.

As for how the Crede-Fields scenario plays out at third, that situation will be decided in the future. For now, Fields has raved about the time Crede has spent helping him during Spring Training.

"Notes: White Sox officials are talking to the agent for RHP Hideo Nomo about a minor league contract. Nomo started 19 games for Tampa Bay last season, going 5-8 with a 7.24 ERA. He broke in with the Dodgers in 1995. He has a 123-109 career record. ... Most starters played about half the game. ... The White Sox and Rockies will meet five more times this spring. ... The White Sox went 14-18 last spring. They have 11 new players on their 40-man roster from the one they began exhibition play with a year ago."

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/baseball/mlb/specials/spring_training/2006/03/01/rockies.white sox.ap/index.html

I dunno what to think. He used be good, so he can provide some veteran presense and maybe keep Tadahito company since Shingo is gone.

I just found this nugget on MLB.com.  Not sure if any of you have seen this, but its a video of some live spring training action and interviews. You get to see Scotty make some nice swings recovering from surgery, Jim Thome's own Home-Run Derby, an interview with Scotty, interview with Ozzie. At about 10 mins, Ozzie starts speaking spanish out of no where. It replays itself after about 12 mins.

Not the most exciting thing in the world, but its worth the first 10 minutes of it.

http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/index.jsp Since I dont know how to give the link for a video, just go to that link and look under the video column on the left, you'll find it.

http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060218&content_id=1315107&vkey=spt2006n ews&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

He deserves it. After what he did in opening day last year, might as well let him do his thang again. He has been opening started since like when, 2000?

.....................