SB Nation User Blog: Looney_Bucky

Thome and 600

Looney_Bucky — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 05:17:48 -0000

Not to get ahead of ourselves, but with Thome slowly creeping up to 600 homers, I can't help but think whether or not it will happen in a White Sox uniform.

Thome is currently at 554 homeruns with 13 this year. Thome will have more at bats in the second half of the year with no interleague play so it is reasonable to predict that he will hit at least 15 more home runs barring injury. That would put him at 569 career home runs total. So going into next year he would need 30 home runs +/- 3 to get to 600. The possibility of that occurring is good, again barring injury.

Thome will be a free agent at the end of this year. Would it be worth resigning him with the extra incentive of him hitting #600 in a White Sox uniform? I don't think the possibility of getting 600 should factor into Kenny William's decision. It is just an interesting scenario. His chase of 600 would bring in some money. Maybe if he got 600 in a White Sox uniform, he would decide to go into the hall of fame as a White Sox considering the relationship he currently has with the Indians and their fans.

Also, would there be any teams out there willing to trade for Jim Thome since he is only signed for this year? I have not heard of any rumors of Thome being traded, so I am not sure if it is even a possibility.

How will the Sox look after the All Star break?

Looney_Bucky — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 04:02:35 -0000

With Quentin coming back, the outfield situation becomes tricky. Even if Podsednik comes down to earth a little offensively, he should remain an everyday starter as a leadoff hitter. But where would he play in the outfield with Quentin playing left field? Moving him to centerfield is risky given his spotty defense. I don't think Kenny or Ozzie would be up for doing that. With JD though, there is no other option.

So there will be a logjam in the outfield unless a trade is made. Both Pods and Dye would have good value. Pods does because he is a rare leadoff hitter with no contractual obligations. JD does because he is a darn good hitter. Pods is less reliable than Dye, but Dye has a $14 mil player option (if traded) which is unappealing. I would hate to see either of these players traded because they are both White Sox heroes and they are both contributing a lot to this current team. But is there any way that we can not trade one of the two? Also, could anyone comment on how well of a right field Pods or Quentin could play?

Also is it realistic for the White Sox to keep Beckham at third base the rest of the season and expect to make the playoffs and possibly go further? I do think so, but isn't it worth considering moving him to shortstop and moving Alexei to second with Fields playing third and Getz on the bench? Coming off the bench, Fields is performing better offensively. If Getz (.247/.305/.344) is not a significantly better hitter than Fields (.234/.317/.366) than why not go with the safer defensive formation? I know that Getz adds a left handed at bat, but Getz is not hitting righties any better than lefties. I don't know who will be better in the long run, but I don't think either player will offensively outperform the other this year.

Poll

Which player would you rather see traded?

Makes me want to throw up

Looney_Bucky — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 01:37:11 -0000

Makes me want to throw up

Pods OBP less than his AVG

Looney_Bucky — Fri, 08 May 2009 20:13:35 -0000

Pods OBP less than his AVG

Podsednik's OBP is .261 and his AVG is .273. Clink the link to find out how this is possible. This is in 22 at bats.

The NBA - where Roses blossom

Looney_Bucky — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 21:01:55 -0000

Let me first just say that the 20 year old that we have on the Bulls is a man!! I'm going to call him Mr. Rose. Nothing fazes this man who just two years ago was winning a second straight IHSA championship. Not only did he tie the record for most points (36) in a player's first playoff game, he also had a double double. There's more though ... he was perfect from the free throw line! This is a man who shot 79% at the line during the regular season.

Mr. Rose clearly stepped up his game now that it is playoff time. Usually it is veterans whose games improve in the playoffs because they are already proven and don't need to be stellar during the regular season if their team is a for sure playoff team. That was not the case with Mr. Rose who had to prove himself and fight to secure a playoff spot for the Bulls. Yet he still managed to show us another level of his game come playoff time. Heck, even Paul Pierce missed a big free throw.

Defensively is where the 20 year old side of Derrick Rose may come out. Rondo also had a terrific day. Nevertheless, with Ben Gordon and John Salmons not having their best games, Mr. Rose came through when needed.

I knew that Mr. Rose would be a stud. But after watching the game this afternoon, Mr. Rose may be more than just a Hall of Famer, but also the second best player to ever play for the Bulls (no disrespect to Pippen), and if he is the second best to ever play for the Bulls, then he will probably be one of the 50 greatest NBA players ever.

I don't think anyone would have expected this from Mr. Rose. Yet he still acts like it's nothing. All of us Bulls fans are so incredibly lucky to have won that lottery with a 2.4% chance if I remember correctly. With Mr. Rose being from Chicago, all of his accomplishments are that much sweeter.

Nobody could reasonably expect Mr. Rose to be so mature and poised, I don't even know if MJ was as poised when he was a rookie. When Mr. Rose went to the free throw line for the last time during regulation, I was reminded of the 1989 Bulls Cavs series where Jordan missed a free throw which lost us the game and then the next game he had that famous shot over Ehlo. I envisioned that situation with Mr. Rose, and was sure he would miss one free throw. But he didn't and guess what Bulls fans, Mr. Rose is not as talented or athletic as MJ, but he may have that same champions attitude that MJ had.

I would say that this is a game that Bulls fans should never forget. But the thing with Rose is that, you think he can't play any better, but he does. So who knows? In Game 2, he may just have a triple double.

An opposing view on Cutler

Looney_Bucky — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 23:55:30 -0000

An opposing view on Cutler

Dan McNeil's SunTimes article on why the Bears should not get Cutler. I don't agree with it, but it's worth a read. What I do agree with is we need to get rid of Pep Hamilton. He has only proven that he messes up quarterbacks. The Bears need to get the right people around Cutler

Basketball recruiting in Northern IL

Looney_Bucky — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 05:03:29 -0000

If you don't know, not only is Chicago loaded with basketball talent, but the suburbs have equally impressive talent. The northern suburbs which are 1.5-3 hours away from Madison should be a hotbed for Wisconsin scouts. The Illinois colleges' basketball programs are not too good except for the University of Illinois.

Illinois is locking up prospects like Brandon Paul (best senior in IL) and Jereme Richmond (2nd best junior in the nation from Waukegan) in their sophomore or junior years. These players are not going to Illinois so much so because they live in Illinois. It is that Illinois offers them scholarships at a young age which would hard to turn down for 15/16 year olds. I don't think I'm in the minority when saying that I would rather be coached by Bo Ryan than Bruce Weber. More so Wisconsin's basketball program has been more successful recently. Other northern suburbs of Chicago players are going to other Big Ten schools. Matt Vogrich (all-state guard) is going to Michigan. Everybody know Evan Turner who is from Chicagoland (not the north suburbs) and is at Ohio State.

Illinois is one of the top 5 states in high school basketball and most of the talent is located in northern Illinois. With UW-Madison's proximity to the area, we should have our fair share of players from that area. Looking at this year's roster we had nobody from Illinois.

It would be foolish to let Ben Gordon go

Looney_Bucky — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 03:47:49 -0000

Ben Gordon is a prolific scorer. With Pooh he has become even better. It was a mistake (one of the many by Paxson) to sign Deng to a long term contract instead of Gordon.

There are not that many Ben Gordon's out there. We must resign him. It seems like he wants out, but if we give him an offer that overwhelms him, he might decide to come back. We have the money to sign him. It will not be a bad investment. I don't ever remember Gordon getting injured. He always show up to play (at least offensively). Giving him a big long term contract would be a good, safe investment.

VDN/H(Harris) & Playoff fate on the line TONIGHT!

Looney_Bucky — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 00:21:51 -0000

With the Bulls and Bucks pretty much tied for the 8th spot in the East, this game is huge. We have a 2-1 record against the Bucks so winning this game will secure us the advantage in case of a tie.

Lately we have been going one win one loss. We got to break that spell. Vinny stay out of the way and let Skiles wish that Rose was on the Bulls when he coached them.

I would not call this game a must win by any means, but it would be a boost of confidence for us. Despite how atrocious this team has been at times, getting into the playoffs would be good experience for the young players even if we get raped by the Cavs/Celtics. On the other hand making the playoffs could be a bad thing because it could give Paxson a false sense of confidence/hope that this team is on to something. Then he will not fire Vinny or himself. That would be much worse than not making the playoffs.

An Excellent Interview with Doug Buffone about Norm Van Lier

Looney_Bucky — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 17:28:34 -0000

An Excellent Interview with Doug Buffone about Norm Van Lier

Funny