Phil Rogers' pitching observations

by The Wizard on Feb 18, 2008 2:32 PM CST in Quotes

Phil Rogers has a few observations:

Mike MacDougal looked good throwing from the bullpen mounds in Tucson on Sunday. So, too, did Javier Vazquez, who appears to have passed Mark Buehrle to become the White Sox's best pitcher.

Many believe Vazquez had a career year in 2007. I believe that he only started to fulfill his potential, largely because he stayed with the same organization two years in a row for the first time since leaving Montreal and there's no reason he shouldn't be at least as good this season.

A couple of other quick observations from that throwing session: Jack Egbert, a prospect who has climbed the ladder through the organization, throws a hard sinker with a little hitch in his delivery, which makes him tough to hit. The 6-foot-8 Adam Russell looks even more like a monster than he did last spring. And the White Sox are going to be in trouble if Toby Hall's shoulder doesn't bounce back; the cast of catchers behind A.J. Pierzynski and Hall is alarmingly thin.

***** In other news,

Carl's latest 'Smells Like Mascot' comic strips: In Which the Monkey has a Vision of Spring and Palehose 8.
You got punked! Kobayashi eats hot dogs!
BTB asks if Fred McGriff is a HOFer. Well, the instructional videos alone are worth it.
PECOTA gives the Sox one more win.
THT: Another look at clutch hitting.
mgl revisits his speed-defense article.
Mike Fast: Breakdown of balls in play by count.

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Adam Russell

Any type of contribution from him next year would be great. Hopefully he continues to look good in AAA and can be counted on for a bullpen spot in the future.

12/12/07- We'll miss you Andy Gonzalez

by The Deacon on Feb 18, 2008 2:49 PM CST reply actions

russell

has replaced heath phillips as phil's boy. thus, one should expect absolutely nothing from him, except phil's mouth being firmly attached to him.

by larry on Feb 18, 2008 2:56 PM CST up reply actions

hadn't noticed

thanks for the heads up.

12/12/07- We'll miss you Andy Gonzalez

by The Deacon on Feb 18, 2008 2:59 PM CST up reply actions

Rich Dotson:

(Paraphrasing) THE most disappointing pitcher in the Sox' minor league SYSTEM for 2007 was Russell.

Jeff Cox: I'm going to call you "FN".

by winningugly on Feb 18, 2008 6:40 PM CST up reply actions

I didn't knew kenny said thanks and goodbye...

[jcowley@suntimes.com]:

Mark Buehrle will never know exactly how close he came to being traded by the White Sox last season.

He has guesses.

There were hints.

But was it hours? Days?

Buehrle remains in the dark. Maybe it's not such a bad place to be.

''[General manager] Kenny [Williams] never really told me how close it was, but at one point through all of it last year, he came down [to the clubhouse], shook my hand and told me, 'Thanks for everything you've done. We can't really agree on a contract, so we'll have to send you somewhere else.'

''Once he said that, I thought, 'Well, this is it.' I kind of told him, 'Thanks for everything you've done. Thanks for making my dreams come true.' I still don't know what team I was supposed to be going to. Mostly what I heard was Boston, but I'll never know.''

And Williams still isn't telling.

''I sat on something for about two weeks that I could have done at any moment,'' Williams explained Sunday. ''I held out hope that something would ultimately change, and thank goodness for the patience of [assistant GM] Rick Hahn and his skills because had I been handling it directly, [Buehrle] would be wearing another uniform.''

...

by The Wizard on Feb 18, 2008 3:33 PM CST reply actions

two weeks, eh

if that's true, that's quite a testament to the sox (and i guess whoever this other team was) keeping things well under wraps.

by larry on Feb 18, 2008 3:39 PM CST up reply actions

that meshes with what we've found

from watching the team over the past few years.

dude, that was totally not swish you saw on rush street last night. swish was at home playing xbox.

by colintj on Feb 18, 2008 5:07 PM CST up reply actions

it was probably boston

for lowrie and bucholz or something awesome like that and boston pulled it back.

by Gus on Feb 18, 2008 5:58 PM CST up reply actions

neither kenny nor boston would be that

dumb...

i think.

dude, that was totally not swish you saw on rush street last night. swish was at home playing xbox.

by colintj on Feb 19, 2008 1:10 AM CST up reply actions

you can stop worrying about Fields' defense...

[Scott Merkin]:

But in Fields, I think the White Sox have an All-Star for years to come. I also expect his defense to be much smoother at third base, having the entire offseason to focus on one position, under the long-distance guidance of bench coach Joey Cora.

by The Wizard on Feb 18, 2008 5:01 PM CST reply actions

Man, how good is Carl?

Don Guillote? Considering Kenny's quest to be competitive this year is totally quixotic, I can't imagine there being a better trope for this year's Palehose.

dude, that was totally not swish you saw on rush street last night. swish was at home playing xbox.

by colintj on Feb 18, 2008 5:05 PM CST reply actions

Tilting at _________?

piranhas?
relivers?
umpires?
middle infielders?
Cubans?
reporters?

AIM: SouthSideCheat

by The Cheat on Feb 18, 2008 6:02 PM CST up reply actions

g) all of the above, plus stuff he imagines

to exist, like unicorns and lead-off hitters

dude, that was totally not swish you saw on rush street last night. swish was at home playing xbox.

by colintj on Feb 18, 2008 6:58 PM CST up reply actions

sickels Q & A thread is tomorrow

John 'T-bone' Shelby shall be there!

by The Wizard on Feb 18, 2008 5:12 PM CST reply actions

I can't believe

Double Dare is on primetime network television under another name.

AIM: SouthSideCheat

by The Cheat on Feb 18, 2008 8:38 PM CST reply actions

huh?

"God knows I gave my best in baseball at all times and no man on earth can truthfully judge me otherwise."

by Shoeless In SC on Feb 18, 2008 11:02 PM CST up reply actions

There was some dumb TV show on NBC

I only watched about a minutes worth of it, so I might not have a grasp on the (no doubt) complex scope of the show. The show was called My dad is better than your dad and it was kids competing in a game show with their fathers. It was Nickelodeon's Double Dare with a new name.

AIM: SouthSideCheat

by The Cheat on Feb 18, 2008 11:10 PM CST up reply actions

I hated that show

and I still hate Marc Sommers. He always comes on after Good Eats on Food Network. Highest highs to lowest lows.

dude, that was totally not swish you saw on rush street last night. swish was at home playing xbox.

by colintj on Feb 18, 2008 11:12 PM CST up reply actions

i watched the hell outta that show

i liked it. not as much as nick arcade though. that show was awesome.

"God knows I gave my best in baseball at all times and no man on earth can truthfully judge me otherwise."

by Shoeless In SC on Feb 18, 2008 11:17 PM CST up reply actions

mikey's movin' left!

bah dum bum badumbadum ba dum

dude, that was totally not swish you saw on rush street last night. swish was at home playing xbox.

by colintj on Feb 19, 2008 1:08 AM CST up reply actions

It's hard to believe

That a guy with OCD could do that show for so long, though.

Sox Machine

by Sox Machine on Feb 18, 2008 11:18 PM CST up reply actions

Yeah somehow that makes me dislike him

all the more.

dude, that was totally not swish you saw on rush street last night. swish was at home playing xbox.

by colintj on Feb 19, 2008 1:01 AM CST up reply actions

Speaking of Food Network

Good Eats is the best show on that network. There's some other good stuff, too, but damn do I love me some Alton Brown (ehem -- in a completely heterosexual way, of course).

by CWSKeith on Feb 19, 2008 12:19 AM CST up reply actions

Alton Brown is amazing and I love him deeply

I totally have Good Eats dvd sets.

dude, that was totally not swish you saw on rush street last night. swish was at home playing xbox.

by colintj on Feb 19, 2008 12:56 AM CST up reply actions

I keep a whole log of Good Eats episodes

on my DVR. It's not quite as awesome as having the DVDs, but it works for me... for now.

I'll hang up and listen to your answer.

by Hazymania on Feb 19, 2008 1:23 AM CST up reply actions

Totally agree

Did any of you see that he is speaking at the Museum of Science and Industry in March? On the proposed SSS meet up date I believe. I think tickets have sold out, however.

by BustedFlush on Feb 19, 2008 1:49 AM CST up reply actions

Yes

it has

by BustedFlush on Feb 19, 2008 1:54 AM CST up reply actions

we watch...

certain good eats episodes in my foodscience classes. we just watched his episode on water last class. he's really damn smart, but i get most of what he is talking about.

"God knows I gave my best in baseball at all times and no man on earth can truthfully judge me otherwise."

by Shoeless In SC on Feb 19, 2008 6:41 AM CST up reply actions

Mr. Wizard

For grown ups. Or at least as grown up as any of us are.

I'll hang up and listen to your answer.

by Hazymania on Feb 19, 2008 10:34 AM CST up reply actions

Just curious

but what kinds of things are you studying in food science?

Not sure if I've seen good eats or not, but America's Test Kitchen on PBS often has some comments on food chemistries that affect the final appearance / taste. Worth a watch if you're into cooking or food science.

Also, not to burst anyone's bubble, but you really don't have to be smart to read facts / concepts from a script. In order to appear smart, you just have to be a reasonably actor. As for Mr. Brown's intelligence, I cannot comment, but I've thought of more than one person as very smart when, in fact, it was just good acting.

Don't blame me, I voted for Kodos.

by rhythm on Feb 19, 2008 1:45 PM CST up reply actions

he started on the pbs channel here

in chicago, so it's a pretty indie show that he and his crew write jointly. plus he wrote his own book on the matter.

dude, that was totally not swish you saw on rush street last night. swish was at home playing xbox.

by colintj on Feb 19, 2008 2:35 PM CST up reply actions

Cool

I didn't know that the show started in Chicago or had such a true indie quality to it, as opposed to a production generated farce.

I've seen the show a few times and I think it's fun in a geeky way that I can certainly appreciate. I'm also thankful for it in the sense that the show relates scientific principles to everyday actions / objects.

Don't blame me, I voted for Kodos.

by rhythm on Feb 20, 2008 2:07 PM CST up reply actions