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Sunday, April 15, 2007

Absurd Stat Line of the Month

I was checking up the status of some of the White Sox's pitching prospects in Birmingham when I came across this stat line for Dewon Day. Now, Day, at 27 in Double-A, isn't much of a prospect. But I think you have to wake up and take notice when you see that a guy has 16 strikeouts against only 1 walk...in 5 and 2/3rds innings!! (And I'm not someone prone to use two consecutive exclamation points). That means that of the 17 outs Day has recorded, 16 of them have come by the strikeout, and at least his last 11 outs have come by the strikeout. Amazingly enough, he's also given up 5 hits in those innings, meaning that when players do put the ball into play on him, they are hitting .833. Maybe the most amazing combination of stats I've ever seen.

Meanwhile, Gio Gonzalez has 15 strikeouts against 3 walks in 10 1/3 innings, and some guy named Jack Egbert (of the flying under the radar Egberts) has 17 punchouts against 2 walks (and just 6 hits) in 12 innings. Spring phenom Adam Russell is the trailer of the pack with only 11 K's in 11 innings. I guess you will just have to try harder, Mr. Russell.



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Sunday, April 08, 2007

Sox 3, Minnesota 0?

Jim on the Sox list may have phrased it best: Who was that on the mound for the White Sox Saturday, and what has he done with Javier Vazquez? Some of my reactions to Javier Vazquez over the years:

7/3/2006:

Vazquez just sucks. He pitches to lose. He is more afraid of hitters than
any starter I've ever seen. He is simply petrified of throwing the ball
over the plate or inside. And every mistake he makes is hit hard because
hitters are so comfortable against him.

7/8/2006:

Don Cooper doesn't look so amazing right now. Buehrle is leaving his
pitches in hittable places, Vazquez looks terrified of hitters, Garland
looks like Judy again, and only Contreras is doing well on the bump. And
never mind the bullpen.

8/15/2006:

I don't know what it is, [Vazquez] is just a loser. He loses. That's what he
does.

It's amazing that the Sox are so good they've bailed him out so many times.

Let's ride him out of town on a rail.

8/24/2006:

No one will take that guldarn loser Vazquez, and that's while they'll move
Garcia.

[Hey, I was right on that one!]

9/14/2006:

[Freddy Garcia] may be a lump sometimes, but he pitches well enough to win, unlike that
POS Vazquez who seems to pitch well enough to lose.

9/29/2006:

Dunno, Ward. Vazquez is such a [expletive] loser - and I'm not one prone to
profanity - that I just can't stand his self-pitying performances. Anything
goes wrong - a borderline pitch is called a ball, and he implodes. He goes
on tilt at a moment's notice and only seems to pitch well when the
pressure's off.

* * *

In other news, John Danks is not nervous about his major league debut today against the Twins and Johan Santana. Two thoughts: (1) you should be very nervous; or (2) you are not nervous because you've accepted the fact that you are going to lose your very first career start against a likely Hall of Famer. Not really much of an option for young John Danks.

***

Finally, has Scott Podsednik generated enough trade value yet?

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Tuesday, April 03, 2007

I Take It All Back

90-72? More like 72-90 based on Day 1. But maybe it is good luck...like rain on your wedding day.

Kidding aside, I did take two good things away from this game, which were more or less hidden in the blowout result. (1) Bobby Jenks had a solid 9th inning with no walks and a strikeout to start the year. I think the game is 90% half-mental for Bobby, so getting off on the right foot is good for him. (2) The Sox touched up Borowski for two runs in the 9th. So Borowski gets off on the wrong foot. With Cleveland's bullpen problems of 2006, I think getting in the head of their relievers might be key.

So you sit Scott Podsednik...but you play Darrin Erstad? Worked, I guess....


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Monday, April 02, 2007

Opening Day


Certainly not blogging a single post since September 2006 does not bode well for Black Betsy as a blog. I mean, after all, I've missed the Freddy Garcia trade (I thought it was bad but now it looks good) and the Brandon McCarthy trade (I think it stunk, as I voiced pretty vociferously on the White Sox e-mail list). But Opening Day is time for a fresh start for everything, right?

In thinking over this team, I think the Sox have tread water since the end of '06. I see them at about 90 wins again, which could be good enough for 1st place in the AL Central, or it could be good enough for 3rd (again). Here are the areas I see improving and declining:

Putting this all together, I guess I see the offense being down 30-40 runs this year, while the pitching staff will allow 30-40 fewer runs this year. That comes out pretty even in the wash.

One other thought -I see a midseason run on Andruw Jones to solve the White Sox's centerfield problems. I could see the Sox shipping Gio Gonzalez and Josh Fields for a half season of Andruw. That could really change the outlook for the '07 White Sox. Pray for a bad first half by the Braves.

On the blogging front, I hope to go to biweekly posts. I'm trying to calendar them for regular updates on things I like to know - who is walking in the minors, trade prospects, hidden performances, etc. If it doesn't work, and I don't post, I apologize in advance. I'll even give you a refund of whatever you paid to read this....


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