SBNation.com User Blog: UribeAuction

While going through some old files, I turned this up. Here's to you, Beef.

UribeAuction — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 18:05:23 -0000

While going through some old files, I turned this up. Here's to you, Beef.

The booster said his role went one step farther with the basketball program, when he paid $10,000...

UribeAuction — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 21:55:46 -0000

The booster said his role went one step farther with the basketball program, when he paid $10,000 to help secure the commitment of recruit DeQuan Jones. Shapiro said the transaction was set up by assistant coach Jake Morton in 2007 who acted as the conduit for the funds, and was later acknowledged by head coach Frank Haith in a one-on-one conversation.

From Yahoo's bomb dropped on the U today. Crap.

Boy oh boy, what I wouldn't do right now for a plate of barbeque spare with a Kendial Lawrence...

UribeAuction — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 04:46:38 -0000

Boy oh boy, what I wouldn't do right now for a plate of barbeque spare with a Kendial Lawrence touchdown and an ice-cold Falstaff.

The Consequences Of Deposing Juan Pierre With Heavy Artillery

UribeAuction — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 18:39:43 -0000

Kenny Williams is ready to unleash the Tank upon the American League. But Juan Pierre is standing in the way.

Dayan Viciedo has belted 10 home runs with an .886 OPS and improved plate discipline numbers with Triple-A Charlotte this season, doing everything in his power to force the hand of the White Sox to call him up. The home runs are nice, and so is the OPS, but it's Viciedo's increased walk rate and decreased strikeout rate that are the most encouraging developments for the 22-year-old Cuban. Well, that and his major league-ready defense.

Yes, a walk rate of 6 percent isn't too impressive. But for a player whose walk rates in Double-A, Triple-A and the majors in the last two seasons have been 4.3 percent, 3 percent and 1.9 percent, 6 percent is a step in the right direction. Plus, Viciedo's strikeout rate sits at 16.2 percent, down from over 20 percent between Charlotte and Chicago in 2010.

Viciedo's powerful bat would fit nicely in a White Sox lineup that has considerably less depth than expected. The 2-3-4 combination of Alexei Ramirez, Carlos Quentin and Paul Konerko has been fantastic, but with A.J. Pierzynski/Alex Rios/Adam Dunn hitting fifth, the Sox have struggled to score beyond the cleanup spot.

Dunn and Rios have shown signs of life in the last few games, but Rios is statistically the worst hitter on the team and Dunn is the offensive equal of Pierzynski. Getting power into the No. 5 or No. 6 spot in the order could do wonders for the Sox.

But there are a few problems with calling up Viciedo to play right field (Quentin would shift to left) and hit in the middle of the lineup. The first, and most glaring, would be the hole left at the top of the order.

Or maybe there's been a hole in the top of the order to begin with.

Pierre had a fine month of May, posting a .365 OBP. He stole four bases in five attempts, showing he understood his aggressive tactics on the basepaths wouldn't fly after being caught seven times in 12 attempts during April.

June hasn't been as kind to Pierre, who has a .311 OBP for the month with one steal in two attempts. It's a small sample size, sure, and his walk-to-strikeout ratio of 3/1 is more in line with May (12/6) than April (6/13). But with Viciedo hitting so well in Charlotte, the onus is on Pierre to play well enough to fend him off.

But if Pierre is taken out of the starting lineup, somebody still has to lead off. The best option would be Ramirez, who has a .357 OBP with some halfway decent plate discipline numbers.

Ramirez, however, has been the ideal No. 2 hitter for the White Sox. He can't bunt, so Ozzie Guillen rarely feels the urge to waste an out with one of his better hitters at the plate. And he's hit pretty well, too, with a wOBA of .349 that puts him squarely in "above average" territory.

Moving him away from No. 2, though could actually have a positive effect on his offense. As the guy who hits ahead of Quentin and Konerko, Ramirez has seen the highest percentage of fastballs (55.8 percent) of his career. And he hasn't hit them well, according to FanGraphs' pitch type values.

In theory, Ramirez would see fewer fastballs and more breaking balls—against which he's been great—as a leadoff hitter. But Ramirez has started a game as a leadoff hitter just three times in his career. While he's been much more patient at the plate this season, there's no telling how he'd respond to having to be patient as the No. 1 hitter in the Sox lineup.

The best thing the Sox could do is move Ramirez to leadoff and tell him to absolutely nothing different. Better to have Ramirez hacking at the first pitch than forcing him to be patient. Ramirez forced patience in 2009—his walk and strikeout rates of that year are nearly identical to 2011—and had the worst offensive season of his career. In 2011, he's been able to strike a balance between patience and aggression, and the Sox shouldn't do anything to mess with that equilibrium.

Moving Ramirez to No. 1 would mean a hole would open up at No. 2. Gordon Beckham would be the most likely candidate to move there, as he's hit a Ramirez-like .282/.365/.418 since the start of May. Unfortunately, moving Beckham to No. 2 would probably result in a lot of bunting. Maybe if Beckham does as horrid a job of giving up outs as Ramirez did, the Sox will eventually stop asking him to sacrifice. That'd be nice.

So, if Pierre is replaced in favor of Viciedo, the lineup would ideally go as follows:

1. Ramirez
2. Beckham
3. Quentin
4. Konerko
5. Dunn (hopefully)
6. Viciedo
7. Pierzynski
8. Rios
9. Morel

I'd have to guess Rios would hit sixth and Viciedo eighth until Viciedo proves to Guillen he's better than Rios. And I also expect Pierzynski to be entrenched in the No. 5 spot until Dunn really starts hitting, which is a shame because as mentioned above, they're offensive equals. But Dunn has the much higher offensive ceiling.

The last issue the Sox would have to address would be Pierre's place with the club. Brent Lillibridge isn't going anywhere, the same goes for Omar Vizquel. Ramon Castro is safe as the backup catcher. The Sox won't dip below 12 pitchers, so dumping a reliever is out of the question.

To make room for Viciedo, that leaves Pierre and Mark Teahen as the potential odd man out. The Sox will have to eat salary either way—for Pierre, it'd be a pro-rated $3 million, for Teahen it'd be a pro-rated $4.75 million and then $5.5 million for 2012. Neither player is an enticing trade target, so designation for assignment is the route the Sox would probably take.

DFA'ing either player would probably result in a clearing of waivers and then a refusal of a minor league assignment, meaning the Sox would be on the hook for the remainder of either contract.

The Sox don't exactly have $7 million or so laying around, so Teahen isn't a viable option for dumping. Pierre would cost about $2 million for the Sox to get rid of, so he would have to be the odd man out in this scenario.

It'd be a tough pill to swallow for the Kenny Williams, Guillen and the entire White Sox organization which holds a high amount of respect for Pierre. But if it makes the team better—it would—and increases the Sox's chances of making a playoff run, there's no reason why the move shouldn't be made.

Important Stretch Looming For Sox's Santos

UribeAuction — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 18:53:38 -0000

The White Sox's 7-5 loss to Oakland Friday started out the same way it ended: with a pitcher who could only throw fastballs. Graham Godfrey, making the first major-league start of his career, had no semblance of an offspeed pitch through the first few innings. Eight innings later, Sergio Santos was transformed into a one-pitch pitcher when his slider and changeup failed him—just as they did Wednesday night against Seattle.

Santos allowed four runs in 0.2 innings in what was the worst outing of his season. He's only allowed a run in three of his 25 appearances, but after giving up three runs against Seattle Wednesday, Santos has now allowed runs in back-to-back games. This stretch beats out last September's back-to-back-to-back appearances with two runs allowed as the worst in Santos' career.

But the more significant difference is that Santos allowed these runs in high-leverage situations.

The leverage indices of Santos' two-run outings Sept. 15, 18 and 19 of 2010 were 0.29, 1.53 and 2.27, respectively. Santos was burned in the second game when, after being pulled following a pair of two-out hits, Chris Sale coughed up a three-run home run to none other than Scott Sizemore, who played with Detroit at the time.

Santos took the mound again the next day and once again retired the first two batters he faced in a tie game, this time in the top of the ninth. He even struck out the third batter he faced, but A.J. Pierzynski bungled the play and Inge ended up at third on a dropped third strike and two-base error by the White Sox catcher. After Brennan Boesch was intentionally walked, Santos gave up an RBI single to Gerald Laird and an RBI double to Austin Jackson.

I'm not going to excuse Santos from blame in those games last September, but it all wasn't his fault. In these last two games in 2011, it has been all Santos' fault.

According to Brooks Baseball's pitch f/x tool, Santos has thrown 61 pitches in his last two appearances. Of those, 46 (75.4 percent) were fastballs, nine (14.7 percent) were sliders and six (9.8 percent) were changeups. Santos' season averages for those three pitches—61.9 percent, 25.9 percent and 12.2 percent—reveal the obvious: the White Sox closer hasn't had a feel for his offpseed pitches lately.

Only one of Santos' offspeed pitches was in the strike zone Friday night. It's not surprising how the ninth inning progressed, as the A's quickly figured out Santos could only throw his fastball for a strike. It doesn't take a hitting savant to realize Santos couldn't throw his slider or changeup for a strike, so nearly every time Santos threw an offspeed pitch Oakland laid off.

The good news is that the roughest stretch of Santos' career has a fairly easy fix: if the offspeed pitches return, so will Santos' success. The bad news is that it's a lot more complicated than that.

This is the first time Santos has failed in back-to-back games as a closer. After the game, he seemed to deal with it fine in talking to the media—well, at least as "fine" as he could be. Santos still had a "deer in headlights" look to him, which is par for the course at this juncture in a young closer's career.

How Santos responds in his next two or three appearances could be key for the rest of his season. A few more implosions could have disastrous effects for a guy who only has pitched for the last three seasons. But a few scoreless innings could put him right back on the dominant track he was on only a handful of days ago.

Tyler Gabbert to transfer

UribeAuction — Mon, 09 May 2011 15:29:20 -0000

Tyler Gabbert to transfer

So that happened.

[Bumped to front page for exceedingly obvious reasons.]

[And then removed from the front page because Tepper posted it too.]

[And then bumped back to the front page because Tepper removed his post.]

Chris helped me out with this graphic for my new franchised-out White Sox Beerleaguer site. Today's...

UribeAuction — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 14:51:37 -0000

Chris helped me out with this graphic for my new franchised-out White Sox Beerleaguer site. Today's question: is it fair to say the Jake Peavy trade has been a bust?

White Sox spring training TV schedule

UribeAuction — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 17:35:00 -0000

White Sox spring training TV schedule

-Monday, Feb. 28: 3 pm vs. Los Angeles (N), MLB Network
-Friday, March 4: 3 pm vs. Los Angeles (A), MLB Network
-Thursday, March 10: 7:40 pm vs. Arizona, Comcast SportsNet
-Friday, March 11: 2:05 pm vs. Cubs, Comcast SportsNet
-Monday, March 14: 3:05 pm vs. San Diego, Comcast SportsNet
-Wednesday, March 16: 3:05 pm vs. San Francisco, Comcast SportsNet
-Sunday, March 20: 3:05 pm vs. Los Angeles (N), WGN
-Thursday, March 24: 4:05 pm vs. Cubs, ESPN2
-Saturday, March 26: 3:05 pm vs. Los Angeles (A), Comcast SportsNet
-Monday, March 28: 3:05 pm vs. Cincinnati, Comcast SportsNet

The Tangled Web We Weave: An Interactive Trade Map

UribeAuction — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 22:18:11 -0000

The Tangled Web We Weave: An Interactive Trade Map

Awesome stuff from BtBS.

Rucker. Coffman. Egnew.

UribeAuction — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 17:30:11 -0000

Rucker. Coffman. Egnew.

What do they have in common? All Mackey Award finalists!

Welcome back, Party Starter. [the second dunk is easily the best]

UribeAuction — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 18:07:53 -0000

Welcome back, Party Starter. [the second dunk is easily the best]

Mizzou ranked No. 15 in AP preseason poll

UribeAuction — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 16:23:12 -0000

Mizzou ranked No. 15 in AP preseason poll

It's the 13th time in school history Mizzou is ranked in preseason poll, but three of Mizzou's four Elite 8 teams weren't ranked in the preseason poll (not that it means anything). Also, Black & Gold rosters for today:

* Phil Pressey (G)
* Ricky Kreklow (G)
* Marcus Denmon (G)
* Jarrett Sutton (G)
* Kadeem Green (F)
* Laurence Bowers (F)
* Steve Moore (F)

Gold:

* Michael Dixon (G)
* Kim English (G)
* Matt Pressey (G)
* Ricardo Ratliffe (F)
* Justin Safford (F)
* John Underwood (F)

Carlos Torres to play in Asia

UribeAuction — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 19:02:48 -0000

Carlos Torres to play in Asia

White Sox request waivers so he can pursue pitching in Asia, presumably Japan or South Korea.

Think back to Christmas Eve when you were a kid. You couldn’t sleep, right? You wanted to know what...

UribeAuction — Sat, 23 Oct 2010 00:41:27 -0000

Think back to Christmas Eve when you were a kid. You couldn’t sleep, right? You wanted to know what was under the tree. There was an unknown on the horizon, one that could turn into something great.

Everyone I’ve seen walking around Columbia today is in a state of Christmas Eve. Tomorrow, that unknown will finally be settled.

And this campus, this city can’t wait.

I recounted my experiences walking around campus and Columbia today—and I kept coming back to this Christmas Eve analogy.

Barking Carnival decided to get in the head of Jamie Pollard and present some potential new logos...

UribeAuction — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 17:51:22 -0000

Barking Carnival decided to get in the head of Jamie Pollard and present some potential new logos for Iowa State. Don't attempt to read in class or work.

But what does Frank Alexander have to say?

UribeAuction — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 16:33:51 -0000

But what does Frank Alexander have to say?

/takes credit for the plane crash that killed Roberto Clemente
/still isn't suspended

Mizzou back in AP Top 25

UribeAuction — Sun, 03 Oct 2010 17:11:15 -0000

Mizzou back in AP Top 25

Fifth straight year, tying a school record last set by Al Onofrio's 1972-1976 teams.

Follow along with tonight's volleyball Black & Gold match

UribeAuction — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 23:18:32 -0000

Follow along with tonight's volleyball Black & Gold match

Molly Kreklow makes her [sort of] Tigers debut tonight at 6:30 at Hearnes Center...MUTigers.com has the live blog if you can't make it out in the death weather.

Twins move Gibson to AAA

UribeAuction — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 18:01:31 -0000

Twins move Gibson to AAA

It's unlikely he'll be a September call-up this year, but you could see him in the majors sometime in the middle of next year if things keep going as well as they have.

Here's a little coaching news for you. San Francisco assistant Matt Hobbs will take over for Tony...

UribeAuction — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 22:18:18 -0000

Here's a little coaching news for you. San Francisco assistant Matt Hobbs will take over for Tony Vitello at Missouri.
...
Hobbs played at Missouri and spent a few seasons as associate head coach at UCSD before going to USF. So, it's Hobbs to Mizzou.

According to Kendall Rogers, Mizzou will bring back Matt Hobbs to fill Tony Vitello's vacated role on the coaching staff. He's not a guy who has never worked with talent--I'm assuming he worked with former 1st-round pick Aaron Poreda while at USF.

The best six minutes you'll spend all day.

UribeAuction — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 20:43:26 -0000

The best six minutes you'll spend all day.

I have a book previewing the White Sox at the trade deadline

UribeAuction — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 00:06:30 -0000

I have a book previewing the White Sox at the trade deadline

It's 175 pages of trade deadline previews, player reviews, prospect reports, and a lot more from me (White Sox Examiner) and a bunch of other great bloggers. Bullet points:
- Foreword by Rob Neyer of espn.com
- Summaries of what every other team is looking to do at the deadline, including how it could help your fantasy team
- 150+ easily referenced trade targets with breakdowns
- 120+ impact prospects
- Essays about what other teams in the AL Central may be focusing on.

If you're not sold, you can download a free copy of 1/4 of the book.

Thanks to Cheat for letting me pimp this here. And no, I don't say the Sox will trade for Chone Figgins.

Jerrell Harrison arrested for shoplifting ... from Spencer's

UribeAuction — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 01:55:36 -0000

Jerrell Harrison arrested for shoplifting ... from Spencer's

I'll forgive him if he was trying to steal a lava lamp by stuffing it in his pants.

Brett Nicholas signs

UribeAuction — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 21:49:14 -0000

Brett Nicholas signs

Here's hoping Brett has success and moves quickly through the Rangers' organization.

Rangers take Brett Nicholas in 6th round

UribeAuction — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 18:45:37 -0000

Rangers take Brett Nicholas in 6th round

ghtd and RPT: be happy.

MU baseball: good pitching staff.

UribeAuction — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 21:55:44 -0000

MU baseball: good pitching staff.

Only two qualified pitchers with a FIP over 4.00. Nick Tepesch also had a better FIP than Brandon Workman by a pretty significant margin, FYI.

Your baseball team, whether it's the Royals, Cardinals, Rangers, Cubs, White Sox, Mets, whoever--should draft Nick Tepesch.

You couldn't pull a greased tee out of my behind with a pair of pliers: A Hawk Harrelson soundboard

UribeAuction — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 05:12:03 -0000

You couldn't pull a greased tee out of my behind with a pair of pliers: A Hawk Harrelson soundboard

Ova.

I'm gonna take tommorow off. I went to the doctor. I played this entire season with Platar [sic]...

UribeAuction — Mon, 31 May 2010 18:43:53 -0000

I'm gonna take tommorow off. I went to the doctor. I played this entire season with Platar [sic] faciitis. Gotta get this better.

Kimmie apparently played all of 2009-10 with plantar fasciitis. It couldn't have been a serious case—I imagine that would've shut him down for a significant amount of time. Either way, get well soon, Kimmeh.

BA ranks Tepesch No. 130 draft prospect

UribeAuction — Tue, 25 May 2010 23:34:10 -0000

BA ranks Tepesch No. 130 draft prospect

He's really come along this year, and with the right organization, Tep could turn out to be one hell of a value fourth or fifth-round pick.

Tulsa World fails, BHGP comes to the rescue

UribeAuction — Wed, 19 May 2010 19:29:42 -0000

Tulsa World fails, BHGP comes to the rescue

Long live BHGP.