SB Nation User Blog: The Wizard

White Sox-Cubs postponed by rain

The Wizard — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 01:05:33 -0000

White Sox-Cubs postponed by rain

Tuesday night's game between the White Sox and Cubs at Wrigley Field was postponed because of heavy rains in the area. No makeup date was announced.
...
Danks will now pitch Wednesday's game, with Gavin Floyd (4-5, 4.94 ERA) going on Thursday for the White Sox, pushing back the scheduled start of Jose Contreras.

For the Cubs, Ryan Dempster (4-3, 3.87 ERA) will now oppose Danks on Wednesday, with Zambrano set to pitch on Thursday against Floyd.

Draft Day!

The Wizard — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 17:02:10 -0000

Live Feed: http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/events/draft/y2009/draftlive_app.jsp

The expanded three-day event starts today at 5 p.m. CT ... MLB Network ... will televise the entire first round live for the first time at its new studios in New Jersey, after two years of ESPN broadcasting the event at Disney World in Florida. The 32 first-round selections will also be simulcast live on MLB.com. Beginning with the 33rd pick, up-to-the-minute on-air coverage from the remaining rounds will shift exclusively to MLB.com/Live, where host Vinny Micucci will be joined by MLB.com Draft expert Jonathan Mayo and Major League Scouting Bureau director Frank Marcos. ... The first day will consist of the first 111 picks, including Round One, Compensation Round A, Round Two, Round Three and Compensation Round B. There will be four minutes between first-round picks and one minute between all other selections. On Wednesday, the Draft will resume in the fourth round at noon ET and will be tentatively scheduled to go through the 30th round. The Draft will conclude on Thursday with the 31st through 50th rounds, beginning at 11:30 a.m. ET. The MLB.com coverage will include a live pick-by-pick stream, expert commentary and the exclusive Draft Tracker, a searchable database of every Draft-eligible player, featuring statistics, scouting reports and video highlights. It is a presentation that typically results in the heaviest traffic of the year on MLB.com, and this year it will be bigger than ever.

Fields questioning timing of Beckham call-up

The Wizard — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 20:21:26 -0000

Fields questioning timing of Beckham call-up

"As a player you go through a thing where you kind of have people that have confidence in you, your front office and your manager having confidence in you, and I really don't know this situation,'' Fields said. "It's been weird. Ozzie sat me down the other day and tried to go through it a little bit, but it's kind of hard to swallow I think. If I was still at .212 like I was for a while, it would be easier, but pulling my average up and the team getting into second place, it just kind of came surprising I guess.

"I asked [Guillen] a couple of questions, but I have more questions for [general manager] Kenny [Williams] and I haven't been able to actually sit down and talk to him. I know the draft is coming up and stuff, but we'll get to sit down here before long and we'll get to ask all of the questions that I need to.''
Asked if he was frustrated about the timing of the Beckham call up, Fields responded, "I think so.''

"Obviously they have their reasons,'' Fields said. "I'm just an employee, so I don't make decisions. But you can always look at things and say 'Why this, why that?' We're struggling now and I think everyone knows that, that's the truth. As a team and individually we were really struggling, but to then come back to within [3 ½] games ... I mean I would kind of consider this a big change, not just a small tweak. To be doing pretty well as a team at that time and then to make a big change, it's still kind of a question that I'll have to ask.''

Fields isn't even sure he'll like the answer, but at least he'll have one that eases his mind.

2009 MLB Draft

The Wizard — Sun, 24 May 2009 17:42:45 -0000

John Sickels looked where did major league starters with 10 or more Win Shares last year originated from:

65 Starters Total

22 First Round Picks                34%
7 Second Round Picks              11%
7 Third to Fifth Round Picks    11%
9 Sixth to 10th Round Picks      14%
10 11th round or later Picks       15%
10 Free Agents                         15%

24 High School Pitchers               37%
8   Junior College Pitchers            12%
23 Four-Year College Pitchers     35%
8   Latin American Free Agents    12%
2   Japanese Free Agents                4%

same thing for major league relievers with 10 or more Win Shares in 2008:

21 pitchers

4 1st round Picks                          19%
1 2nd round Pick                           5%
3 3rd- 5th round Picks                   14%
1 6th -10th round Pick                     5%
3 11th round+ Picks                     11%
9 Free Agents                               44%

3 High School Picks                     14%
1 Junior College Pick                      5%
8 Four-Year College Picks           38%
7 Latin Free Agents                      33%
1 Taiwan Free Agent                       5%
1 Australian Free Agent                  5%

Music Thread

The Wizard — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 20:42:09 -0000

Just picked up Spoon's 'Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga.' Here are two songs I like, a lot:

Quentin to DL; Wise returns in time for tonight's game

The Wizard — Fri, 29 May 2009 17:31:15 -0000

Quentin to DL; Wise returns in time for tonight's game

Mark Gonzales: The Chicago White Sox placed outfielder Carlos Quentin on the 15-day disabled list (retroactive to May 26) with plantar fasciitis in his left foot.

The Sox returned outfielder DeWayne Wise from his rehabilitation assignment at Class AAA Charlotte and reinstated him from the 15-day disabled list.

Kenny GM now holds future of coaching staff

The Wizard — Wed, 20 May 2009 04:42:35 -0000

Kenny GM now holds future of coaching staff

Those contract extensions for the entire coaching staff that were expected to be signed, sealed and delivered with a mid-April announcement?

Well, they're no longer in Ozzie Guillen's hands.

And while the White Sox manager was saying all the right things about his current staff and their immediate future on Tuesday, he also made it very clear that the final decision will now come from general manager Ken Williams.

That's a bit different than what was said several years ago, when Williams insisted that Guillen was given the full say of the firing and hiring of the staff around him. Even earlier this season, the manager told the Sun-Times that several of the coaches had already signed deals and they were finalizing extensions with the others. ...

News getting worse for Sox

The Wizard — Sat, 16 May 2009 21:47:20 -0000

News getting worse for Sox

"Carlos came to me after [batting practice] and said he couldn't go,''[Joey] Cora said, as Quentin's left heel continues to be a problem. "The plan right now, he's leaving Sunday night to Chicago and get some treatment Monday. And hopefully be able to play on Tuesday, but that's where he's at right now. He won't be available tomorrow or on Monday.''

Head trainer Herm Schneider actually sent word that Quentin will get re-evaluated tomorrow morning at the Rogers Centre, and if there's no improvement he could be on a flight out by late afternoon.

If he has to go on the 15-day DL the Sox would be in some real big trouble, as the outfield is already thin.

Can you say 2007 all over again?

Clayton Richard replaces Jose Contreras in White Sox rotation

The Wizard — Sun, 10 May 2009 19:16:50 -0000

Clayton Richard replaces Jose Contreras in White Sox rotation

Confirmation

via Ozzie's Doghouse

The Wizard — Fri, 08 May 2009 19:58:32 -0000

via Ozzie's Doghouse