Pablo Ozuna has powers comparable to Wonderboy

I heard on the radio that Anderson made some pretty awesome defensive plays that may have been as big as any of the home runs.

Is that true?

• Garcia: No, he's not an ace pitcher, but you'd still take him over most ML starters.  His control is getting better and I thought he did a better job of working in the strike zone tonight.  Will that lead to more hits against better teams?  Sure, but everyone gives up more hits against good lineups.  I think the only thing that's fundamentally different this year for Freddy is that his velocity is down which gives him less margin for error.  I don't know if that's because of fatigue (WBC?), injury, dope, mental issues or whatever else but pitchers' velocity can fluctuate from year-to-year and even within a season.  If bad Freddy can still ring up quality starts 2/3 of the time, I'm more than willing to let it ride and see if he and Coop can find a few more mph as the season progresses.  After all, Game 4 in Houston just wasn't that long ago.
• Podsednik: No one, and I mean no one, hates the CS more than I do.  If I was manager, I'd probably run a team like Billy Beane's A's, with almost no stealing unless the opposing battery was truly awful at holding runners.  That being said, Pods is catching too much grief here.  His defense is quite good, raggy left-fielder arm notwihtstanding.  He's not Tim Raines or anything, but he is a solid leadoff hitter who mostly does his job of working the pitcher and getting on base.  After a terrible start, his bat is coming around nicely (in the last week, he's hitting .381/.458/.381).  Yes, he's over-rated by the media.  Yes, he's not really an all-star.  Yes, his CS hurt.  Yes, speed-based players can lose it in a hurry.  But he's still a useful player and, if he can find just another step or two on the bases, he'll be a serious asset again.  Plus, his wife is smoking hot.
• Anderson:  This may well be wishful thinking, but I think maybe I see a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel.  First, Anderson's defense has been much better than I expected.  He really does get excellent jumps on the ball and I can't think of any missed plays yet where I thought "Rowand would have made that catch."  I don't want to indulge in armchair psychoanalysis, but it looks to me like he is not taking his struggles to the plate into the field and that he is maintaining his self-respect through excellent glove-work.  Plus, he doesn't seem quite so clueless at the plate lately.  Working that walk to lead off the 10th was a good thing.  So, maybe we should spot Mackowiak against tough-right handers, but I'm willing to keep running Brian out there and hope for offensive improvement.
• Gload:  That was a big day for Gload.  I think his biggest obstacle (aside from that unfortunate incident with Ozzie's dog) is that he's been pigeon-holed as a back-up first baseman who can't play the outfield.  Since Konerko and Thome are going to play nearly every day, that doesn't leave much time for Gload.  However, if he can persuade Ozzie that he can hold-down an outfield spot, there's alot more opportunity.  Yesterday, he looked fine in right.  His arm isn't strong, but its good enough and his range is ok as well.  I'd certainly take him over Ozuna in the outfield.  Also, Gload swung the bat well.  He hit that ball to the fence in left, just missing a home run and he whistled a base hit past Lopez in the seventh, following it up with a heady stolen base.  It was a very credible performance and I hope it gives Ozzie the confidence to use Gload more.
• Crede:  Wow, does he look good.  Yes, he's driving up his price and, with Boras as his agent, he won't come cheap, but that is a bill I'll be happy to pay.  The crowd has really gotten behind him too.  Things sure were different twelve months ago.
• Politte: Again, I think you all are being a little too hard on the guy.  Yes, he has come down to earth after last year's brilliance.  We all expected that.  But he's been looking better since that terrible outing against Toronto on 4/14.  He was effective against LA and Cleveland.  Last night was mostly bad luck.  He was brought in to a miserable, bases loaded, one out situation with a two run lead.  He jumped ahead of Lopez, but then threw what looked to me like a fastball that the batter swung late on to roll a ground ball the opposite way past Iguchi for a two run single.  Tie game.  Sure, strikeouts are better, but that kind of hit can happen on any ball in play and it could so easily have been a double-play if Lopez was just a little quicker.  Also, its hardly Cliff's fault that Lopez was able to take second on the throw in from the outfield.  That led to the intentional walk, runners on first and second.  Then Politte made a good pitch to Sexson and gets what should be an inning ending double-play but Iguchi lets Ibanez mess-up the throw so instead an unearned run crosses the plate which leads to another intentional walk.  Politte then got Beltre on another ground ball.  Sure, it would be nice to have Scott Shields in the pen, but Politte is still an effective reliever and he'll get big outs for us if he doesn't lose his confidence.
• Announcing:  People are correct to give credit to Harrelson for his call on the Seattle outfielders.  The most important job a TV announcer has, in my view, is to tell me the things I can't see on the screen.  Harrelson told us an important piece of information about the game that we couldn't see and then had the good fortune of having his information lead directly to the game-ending plays.  Credit where credit is due.
• General Vibe:  I know that we are White Sox fans, which means that, even with the big flag flying in left-center, we are still a flinty, bitter bunch.  I agree that there are imperfections on this club, just as there are on every team I've ever seen.  But guys, the Sox have the best record in the baseball, and deservedly so.  You can make a pretty good argument that this team is better than the 2005 squad.  Does that mean we are guaranteed to win the Series again, or even make the play-offs?  Of course not.  But this is a good, appealing team, playing good baseball.  I'm not saying we should give them a pass on mistakes, but don't deprive yourself of enjoying what we've got here.  This is supposed to be fun.

I might add that Crede looks great, but I think it'd be wise to let him walk, use the draft picks to rebuild the farm, and put Fields, who is kicking ass and taking names into the line-up next year.

Back to Felix:

Although I love sabermetrics, I get a good kick out of Dave and DMZ trying to explain every flaw with Felix away with advanced pitching metrics that say he'll be fine--e.g. K/BB, K/9, G/F etc.  

I'm sure he's not as bad as he's shown, but his propensity for wildness and 92 MPH fastballs down the pipe are not what you'd expect from the hype surrounding him so far.

Oh, and let's see Fields hit well over a full season before we even come close to giving him a starting spot.  And, if he wants a starting spot for next year (not at 3B, btw), he better RAKE at Charlotte -- that park is tiny, so his numbers are going to have to be that much better.  

Finally, Crede isn't a FA after this year.  If it comes down to Crede wanting a big paycheck (I sincerely believe this is not the case, regardless of Boras being his agent), the Sox can play out the string and take the draft picks for the 2008 draft.

But I doubt it comes to that.  I'm expecting a contract extension by the end of the year -- would 3 years, $21 million be a fair offer?  

He's entering his prime age-wise as well.  I just hope the Sox lock him up before he's a FA.