From a fantasy perspective, look for Danks to have two-starts next week... which would be AWESOME for any championship/play-off games in the upcoming scoring period.
I'll update this as I get info. Stay tuned.
Showing posts with label Chicago White Sox. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chicago White Sox. Show all posts
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Sunday in Chicago: Weather Update
The White Sox and Tigers just started the first game of their double-header on Sunday. However, unless this is the fastest game in American League History (which is unlikely due to the offenses involved), I can't see Johnny Danks starting a second game tonight.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Carlos Quentin: 2008 Surprise? Not According to the Numbers
It's incredible how out-of-no-where Carlos Quentin has been in 2008... or has it? Last year, Quentin was receiving the same hype leading into 2007 that Hunter Pence received going into this season. In 2005 Quentin knocked out 21 home runs in Triple-A Tuscan on the Diamondbacks' farm, all the while batting .301 with an OPS over .900. After that season, scouts and fans alike were drooling over this 23-year old's potential. Baseball Prospectus said Quentin's 2005 numbers were a true testament to his ability, as he was fresh off Tommy John surgery in the previous season. BP's 2006 projection: 15 homers, .268 BA, and a OPS over .800. Not a bad projection for a rookie outfielder in a then-empty D-Backs line-up.
Baseball Think Factory's ZiPS projected Quentin to knock out 15 home runs, bat .269, to the tune of a .778 OPS. Again, not too bad a projection for a guy who, up until that point, had never seen a major league pitch. As it turns out, Quentin received little time in the Majors in 2006. His combined numbers between Triple-A and the MLB: 18 homers, a .276 BA, with a .912 OPS in Triple-A and a .872 OPS in the Majors.
While the batting average was not fantastic... let's be honest with ourselves, that's pretty damn impressive for a rookie. Combine that with the .872 OPS, and you have yourself a nice looking prospect.
In the 2007 edition of Baseball Prospectus, the projections were on the conservative side (not that I am ever expecting Matthew Berry-esque projections from the folks at BP): 18 homers, .285 BA, and a .872 OPS. Essentially the BP team was expecting more the same from Quentin in the OPS department (more slanted toward the OBP than the SLG%) with an increase in BA. They didn't really offer an explaination, but they didn't really need to either. Quentin was, at best, going to be splitting time with guys like Chad Tracy, (an unproven) Eric Byrnes, Scott Hairston, and two high-end prospects named Justin Upton and Chris Young. Essentially, Quentin's talent was going to be strangled by platoons in
2007.
Ron Shandler, more-less, sided with the BP experts: 20 homers, .275, and .841. For Shandler, however, Quentin's "power may arrive before [batting average], but both are on the way." So, depending on which book you place your trust in, Quentin was either going to see an increase in batting average (BP) or power (Shandler).
What happened? Both were wrong. Quentin suffered a torn labrum in the early goings of 2007 and never really got back on track. Both his power (9 homers) and batting average (.258) fell and left both our experts turned off (BP: 11-.263-.788, Shandler: 12-.262-.754). What both sources may have dismissed as 'fluke' was Quentin's SLG% of .400 in 2007...
Now, obviously, hind-sight is 20-20 and Quentin, after being dealt from the D-Backs (who had no room for him anyway) to the Chicago White Sox, is absolutely raking. As I am writing this, he just hit his 12th home run of the year, putting him on a pace for more than 40 in 2008. His OBP is in David Ortiz's realm at 1.004 and he's hitting over .300 while batting 2nd in a potent White Sox line-up.
Quentin went through, what I like to call, the "Hank Blalock Effect (named after Blalock who, after being hyped like nobody's business in 2001, failed to meet expectations in 2002-- Only before breaking out without warning in 2003 after he was left on the scrap heap by fans and analysts). Is Quentin going to keep this pace up? Probably not. But it's still great to see him rising like a phoenix (no Arizona pun intended) this season for both White Sox fans and for fantasy baseball owners. Like Blalock in 2003, it's going to be hard for this guy to keep this pace up... but that doesn't mean you shouldn't enjoy it while it lasts.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Giuliani's Evil Alliance Should Mean More to Yankee Fans
The Red Sox are a team that knows what coming from behind for the victory is all about. This was the general tone in New England over the past couple days when presidential hopefuls campaigned in New Hampshire and Massachusetts in preparation for their respective primaries. 
The theme of the “underdog” was evident when Barack Obama addressed several Massachusetts voters yesterday evening. Receiving a full endorsement from Gov. Deval Patrick, the lone African American United States Governor, Obama did not attempt to lure voters by pledging his support for city’s favorite sons: the Red Sox.
In fact, Barack Obama spoke of his undying love of different colored Sox: those of a white variety. The Senator from Illinois reasoned with the crowed who quickly began booing him after he pulled no punches on his baseball allegiances by asking if they wanted a President who flip-flopped on issues like rooting for sports teams.
Baseball allegiances have provided a concrete mainstay during any political interviews, debates, or general talk. For this reason, Barack Obama’s no-holds-barred approach to his lack of love for the Red Sox also provided a shot at his competition: Senator Hilary Clinton. Senator Clinton, a native of Illinois, flip-flopped at the concept of her Chicago Cubs facing off against her New York Yankees in the 2007 World Series. Fortunately, for Senator Clinton, both the Yankees and the Cubs were both bounced in the first round of the playoffs in 2007, giving her at least another year to pledge her undying support to either franchise.
Hilary Clinton’s waning support for the Yankees is something that Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani is very familiar with. Giuliani, a
self-proclaimed life-long Yankees fan, was outspoken in 1999-2000 when, then-First Lady, Clinton donned a Yankee cap at the White House when the pinstripes visited for a photo op with the President and First Lady. In fact, during the 2000 World Series, seeing Hilary Clinton wear both a Yankee and Met cap, depending on which was the home team of course, was not all that unfamiliar. On the other hand, there sat Rudy Giuliani in the front row at Shea Stadium during games three, four, and five wearing the same pristine navy cap with white interlocking N-Y sitting prominently at the forefront.
If there was one thing that New Yorkers could rely on, it was Rudy Giuliani’s devotion to the greatest franchise in sports and entertainment history. However, that all changed on October 23, 2007. While campaigning in New Hampshire, Giuliani announced to a crowd of supporters that he would be rooting for the Red Sox to defeat the underdog Colorado Rockies in the World Series. While the crowd erupted in cheers of joy for Giuliani’s pledged support, the residents of New York dropped their collective jaws in complete and utter shock.
Could this have really happened? Did the same man who openly ridiculed Senator Clinton for not knowing about the history and tradition of the Yankees really pull the ultimate no-no? As
the saying, for all Yankee fans, goes: “I root for two teams, the Yankees and whoever’s playing the Red Sox.” Has Giuliani really lost touch with the great New York Yankee fan base, or has the “nation” in Red Sox Nation convinced him that he could obtain more votes around the country by supporting the most hated rivals of his “beloved” Bronx Bombers?
Giuliani is someone who has attempted to bully his competition at every Republican Debate by citing their propensity to flip-flop on issues ranging from gun control to tax cuts. Despite the light humor surround sports allegiances, Giuliani’s flip-flop regarding his undying support for the Yankees provides a rather significant metaphor for voters. If Giuliani is willing to turncoat on something as important to him as his Yankees (he “bleeds pinstripes,” you know…), then what would he be willing to do on issues not as close to his heart as gay marriage, foreign policy / wars, the economy, and social justice in America?
The theme of the “underdog” was evident when Barack Obama addressed several Massachusetts voters yesterday evening. Receiving a full endorsement from Gov. Deval Patrick, the lone African American United States Governor, Obama did not attempt to lure voters by pledging his support for city’s favorite sons: the Red Sox.In fact, Barack Obama spoke of his undying love of different colored Sox: those of a white variety. The Senator from Illinois reasoned with the crowed who quickly began booing him after he pulled no punches on his baseball allegiances by asking if they wanted a President who flip-flopped on issues like rooting for sports teams.
Baseball allegiances have provided a concrete mainstay during any political interviews, debates, or general talk. For this reason, Barack Obama’s no-holds-barred approach to his lack of love for the Red Sox also provided a shot at his competition: Senator Hilary Clinton. Senator Clinton, a native of Illinois, flip-flopped at the concept of her Chicago Cubs facing off against her New York Yankees in the 2007 World Series. Fortunately, for Senator Clinton, both the Yankees and the Cubs were both bounced in the first round of the playoffs in 2007, giving her at least another year to pledge her undying support to either franchise.
Hilary Clinton’s waning support for the Yankees is something that Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani is very familiar with. Giuliani, a
self-proclaimed life-long Yankees fan, was outspoken in 1999-2000 when, then-First Lady, Clinton donned a Yankee cap at the White House when the pinstripes visited for a photo op with the President and First Lady. In fact, during the 2000 World Series, seeing Hilary Clinton wear both a Yankee and Met cap, depending on which was the home team of course, was not all that unfamiliar. On the other hand, there sat Rudy Giuliani in the front row at Shea Stadium during games three, four, and five wearing the same pristine navy cap with white interlocking N-Y sitting prominently at the forefront.If there was one thing that New Yorkers could rely on, it was Rudy Giuliani’s devotion to the greatest franchise in sports and entertainment history. However, that all changed on October 23, 2007. While campaigning in New Hampshire, Giuliani announced to a crowd of supporters that he would be rooting for the Red Sox to defeat the underdog Colorado Rockies in the World Series. While the crowd erupted in cheers of joy for Giuliani’s pledged support, the residents of New York dropped their collective jaws in complete and utter shock.
Could this have really happened? Did the same man who openly ridiculed Senator Clinton for not knowing about the history and tradition of the Yankees really pull the ultimate no-no? As
the saying, for all Yankee fans, goes: “I root for two teams, the Yankees and whoever’s playing the Red Sox.” Has Giuliani really lost touch with the great New York Yankee fan base, or has the “nation” in Red Sox Nation convinced him that he could obtain more votes around the country by supporting the most hated rivals of his “beloved” Bronx Bombers?Giuliani is someone who has attempted to bully his competition at every Republican Debate by citing their propensity to flip-flop on issues ranging from gun control to tax cuts. Despite the light humor surround sports allegiances, Giuliani’s flip-flop regarding his undying support for the Yankees provides a rather significant metaphor for voters. If Giuliani is willing to turncoat on something as important to him as his Yankees (he “bleeds pinstripes,” you know…), then what would he be willing to do on issues not as close to his heart as gay marriage, foreign policy / wars, the economy, and social justice in America?
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