Charting Danks' First Start

Pitch type / Inning	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Total
Fastball	7	11	5	2	6	3	9	43
Changeup	1	4	1	-	2	3	3	14
Curveball	1	1	2	3	1	1	2	11
Cutter	-	1	2	4	3	4	5	19

so cheat

what are your thoughts after looking at that data on danks' start today?

by Jbasic89 on Apr 3, 2008 9:27 PM CDT 0 recs

I don't know if there's much on which to base any conclusions

I was just curious as to how much he threw the cutter since I missed the first 3 innings. He threw it both less than I initially anticipated having watched the last few innings, but about what I expected having read the comments.

Both of his hits allowed were on cutters, though again, I don't know if we want to be drawing any conclusions based on that.

AIM: SouthSideCheat

by The Cheat on Apr 3, 2008 10:50 PM CDT up 0 recs

command

is the key with him. I would also be interested to see the old tic-tac-toe pitch location chart to quantify his command. I am glad to see the cutter being used more the 2nd and 3rd time around in the lineup. Perhaps this outing will give him confidence to pitch to contact.

by Chopper Two Hopper on Apr 3, 2008 10:30 PM CDT 0 recs

minus the "double" to right and "my ball...no, mine...no, mine...oh, shit" play in center.

Your Chicago White Sox: Allergic to Sustained Success

by Toonderstrook on Apr 3, 2008 10:35 PM CDT up 0 recs

If Jermaine keeps making blatant gaffes like that I have to think there's a decent chance we'll start moving him around the diamond, especially with all the corner OF options we have.

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

by colintj on Apr 3, 2008 10:41 PM CDT up 0 recs

i hope so. it's a bitch to pitch to contact when you have no confidence about what's going to happen when the ball gets contacted. ;-)

Your Chicago White Sox: Allergic to Sustained Success

by Toonderstrook on Apr 3, 2008 10:43 PM CDT up 0 recs

Truthfully

I didn't see the game or the replay today and thus Dye's gaffe. Perhaps this will be a blessing in disguise as colin mentioned and help facilitate Dye's inevitable move out of the OF. But to where??

by Chopper Two Hopper on Apr 3, 2008 10:56 PM CDT up 0 recs

even to left would be a start...

Your Chicago White Sox: Allergic to Sustained Success

by Toonderstrook on Apr 3, 2008 11:01 PM CDT up 0 recs

Agree

Command will be key.. The 4 pitch walk to Hafner was pretty bad, and cost him just as much as the JD gaffes.

AIM: SouthSideCheat

by The Cheat on Apr 3, 2008 10:39 PM CDT up 0 recs

that follows what I saw

I also thought he was gettng more and more groundouts as the game went on. I don't think it's a coincidence that the number of cutters he threw went up too. Also, he only gave up one hit right? So the GB/FB adjustment is just the one hit, which I think was a liner up the middle from Blake?

All in all, it was very encouraging. I would like to see more K's. It looked to me like he was able to get ahead using his offspeed stuff, but after he had shown it, he couldn't finish them off.

Any chance we could get the pitch results, velo and f/x like we were doing with those google docs earlier in the year?

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

by colintj on Apr 3, 2008 10:38 PM CDT 0 recs

2 hits

the single to Blake and the double by Garko were both on cutters

AIM: SouthSideCheat

by The Cheat on Apr 3, 2008 10:44 PM CDT up 0 recs

I think the K's will come eventually

But if Danks is going to throw to contact more, instead of trying to strike every guy out, then we should expect a decrease. I actually think that approach hurt him last year, because he would try to nibble on the corners the entire game. If he attacks the zone like he did yesterday, then I think he will be a bright spot for this team.

"You might be impressed with your analysis, but I am not. Stop wasting my time." - Chris De Luca

by BoKnows on Apr 4, 2008 9:21 AM CDT up 0 recs

Danks talks about the cutter:

''It helped a ton,'' Danks said of his newest weapon. ''You could tell guys were trying to protect their inner half, which opened up the outer half and produced a lot of ground balls. It's the reason why we were working on it, and I think it will be a big pitch for me.''

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/baseball/whitesox/877132,CST-SPT-soxnt04.article

Skanberg, if I wanted to hear your opinion, I would have brainwashed you by now-
Don Guillote

by Chiburb on Apr 4, 2008 8:20 AM CDT 0 recs

Danks

It certainly was nice to see Danks take a step forward in maturity. I think DJ thought every pitch was a cutter though. 1 down, next 2 ??? marks to go. I am actually in Detroit now and attending the game today to watch the old man.

by Tdogg on Apr 4, 2008 8:38 AM CDT 0 recs

You better bring home a winner!

Or two if you're staying at the new MGM.

Skanberg, if I wanted to hear your opinion, I would have brainwashed you by now-
Don Guillote

by Chiburb on Apr 4, 2008 8:40 AM CDT up 0 recs

You know it!

They are in a pretty bad mood up here now with the 0-3 start. I scored some front row seats down 3rd base line for $30 a piece.

by Tdogg on Apr 4, 2008 8:48 AM CDT up 0 recs

that's one mighty big vegetarian

Something you probably didn’t know, or maybe you did—Fielder became a vegetarian this winter. In the long-run, that is probably a good thing for both his health and his performance. I saw Prince play at Wrigley on Wednesday and at first had the impression that he was bigger than last year, but realized that this was an artifact of his uniform looking baggier (it also might have been that I had much better seats than usual). I actually think that he’s lost some weight, but in the near-term this is potentially a pretty big change in his routine, and the worry I have is that the change was apparently not motivated by health reasons; Prince was persuaded by his wife that it was the right thing to do for ethical reasons. Perhaps worth noting is that Fielder was mediocre in spring training, hitting just one home run in 65 at-bats against Cactus League pitching.

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=7321

the law of conservation of masset: no matter how much masset you use up, there is always masset in your system.

by larry on Apr 4, 2008 9:42 AM CDT 0 recs

Great

I drafted him in my fantasy league. I am going to have to start fed-exing him some hamburgers.

Maybe Uribe should try this tactic, it might have the opposite effect on him?

"Jenks, who was never afraid to say "no" to a hamburger..."

by BobbySouthSide on Apr 4, 2008 9:44 AM CDT up 0 recs

You weren't imaging things - the players felt panicky too

This is Linebrink from Cowley today. I wasn't the only one having flashbacks to 2007:

To start off losing your first two, there was already a little bit of panic starting to set in.

by ChicagoPete on Apr 4, 2008 9:44 AM CDT 0 recs

you may hate hawk and dj, but how about if this guy was our analyst?

http://www.firejoemorgan.com/2008/04/xxx.html

this is absolutely the best thing i've seen in weeks.

the law of conservation of masset: no matter how much masset you use up, there is always masset in your system.

by larry on Apr 4, 2008 9:51 AM CDT 0 recs

i guess at least he "stood corrected" after the fact. the next time hawk admits he goofed will be the first.

Your Chicago White Sox: Allergic to Sustained Success

by Toonderstrook on Apr 4, 2008 10:12 AM CDT up 0 recs

he's said that many times

give the man a little credit.

the law of conservation of masset: no matter how much masset you use up, there is always masset in your system.

by larry on Apr 4, 2008 10:16 AM CDT up 0 recs

ha - that's good

What I like is the fact that the home announcer felt he had the freedom to be ripping the guy to shreds - before he hit the HR of course. Jeez, when was the last time you heard that kind of candor during a Sox game? All we get to hear is the wimpers of Hawk's muted pain when he bites down hard on his tongue.

by ChicagoPete on Apr 4, 2008 10:21 AM CDT up 0 recs

candor is nice

but i can read ridiculous "candor" on this board. what brantley was saying didn't make any sense. hearing a guy unnecessarily lay into a guy is just as bad as unncessarily fluffing a guy. i prefer objective, fact-based analysis.

the law of conservation of masset: no matter how much masset you use up, there is always masset in your system.

by larry on Apr 4, 2008 10:23 AM CDT up 0 recs

I know

Jeez, I thought we were harsh. The Reds are just in Game 2 of a new season and the guy is tearing poor Edwin a new one - those Ohians are a tough crowd.

by ChicagoPete on Apr 4, 2008 10:25 AM CDT up 0 recs

i'll admit, though, that brantley comes up with some creative arguments

i wanted to refresh my memory of some other great brantley moments and was reminded of the time he credited ozzie guillen with arguing with the umpire in order to ice the pitcher thus allowing timo perez to get a "clutch" hit. i guess, maybe?

"Aw, how could he lose the ball in the sun, he's from Mexico."

by larry on Apr 4, 2008 10:29 AM CDT up 0 recs

Reminds me of the old Harry Caray & Jimmy Piersall days

The Sox sucked - badly, comically.. Harry would be trashed by the 5th inning and would just start laying into the players, it was quite entertaining. The same stuff a regular fan would be saying but Harry's spewing it on the air. Those were the days, that's what the Brantley rant reminded me of... now we have two neutered pups in the booth. Unless it comes to umpiring of course, then it's unleash the hounds.

by ChicagoPete on Apr 4, 2008 10:35 AM CDT up 0 recs

radio for me all the way, now

everyone likes stone. i've always liked farmer, though i know why other don't. at any rate, there's no need to actually listen to the two clowns anymore. even listening for humorous purposes is a waste now. i know the lines, i know the stories, i've seen the movie fifty times. i want to be surprised, entertained and enlightened by the commentary.

"Aw, how could he lose the ball in the sun, he's from Mexico."

by larry on Apr 4, 2008 10:39 AM CDT up 0 recs

Yeah, but you're missing the DJ on his road to Damascus

He's becoming a sabremetician before our very eyes! He's talking WHIP, OPS, all kinds of new fangled stuff.

Took the producers long enough Jeez, look how many young guys are totally into baseball now. And from what I see on this board a lot of the real fanatical interest comes from the guys who are into fantasy leagues and video games, which are driven by stats. TV is always starving for a young demographic, I'd think that if you put some sharp stathead in the booth who really knows what he's talking about you'd build a core of really young, loyal viewers. Most of the stats you get during a broadcast are these worthless, "He's batting .274 with 2 outs in the 7th with a LHP on the mound and runner on 2nd" kind of things.

by ChicagoPete on Apr 4, 2008 10:49 AM CDT up 0 recs

well, i noticed that already

the problem is that i also already know those stats. good for everyone else, not so good for me. spouting out OBP and OPS really doesn't do all that much more than BA or RBI. baseball is about match-ups.

"Aw, how could he lose the ball in the sun, he's from Mexico."

by larry on Apr 4, 2008 10:54 AM CDT up 0 recs

It's the journey of a thousand miles

I think DJ is actually pretty sharp, but he's been stifled by the Hawk and has just kept his mouth shut and played the humble sidekick in order to keep his job. He's like Uribe - the talent is there, he just doesn't know it.

by ChicagoPete on Apr 4, 2008 10:57 AM CDT up 0 recs

maybe

i think he's horseshit as an analyst and people just think there's something there because hawk is that much worse. he didn't really offer much when mcdowell and others have been in the booth - though he is good at picking their brains, which was what his role was as fill in play by play.

"Aw, how could he lose the ball in the sun, he's from Mexico."

by larry on Apr 4, 2008 11:00 AM CDT up 0 recs

I think he's just become really lazy

Hawk has been hogging center stage for so long that DJ hasn't bothered putting any effort into it. I can't really blame him, anytime he brought anything of his own to the table the Hawk would just beat him down. Maybe he senses weakness in him now, I want to see him start attacking the old man from the edges - he did it when he first started, would be fun to see him start carving up the old bird.

by ChicagoPete on Apr 4, 2008 11:03 AM CDT up 0 recs

Harry on Jorge Orta

"HE LOST IT IN THE SUN!!"

"How could he lose it in the sun? HE'S FROM MEXICO!"

'08-to-date --- 1 triple to RF against the Sox.

by ballyb on Apr 4, 2008 11:22 AM CDT up 0 recs

Dah.

Just saw Larry's sig.

Gotta get up pretty early in the morning to beat Larry.

'08-to-date --- 1 triple to RF against the Sox.

by ballyb on Apr 4, 2008 11:25 AM CDT up 0 recs

You better bring your "A" game around here bally

by ChicagoPete on Apr 4, 2008 11:29 AM CDT up 0 recs

Just think how drunk Harry was.

What an incredibly great line.

'08-to-date --- 1 triple to RF against the Sox.

by ballyb on Apr 4, 2008 12:07 PM CDT up 0 recs

He admits the mistake...

I love me my FJM, but I'm not really sure that post deserves the hype they gave it. I mean, he admits the mistake. Most of these guys are funny (see: Packer, Billy and Phillips, Steve) because even when they are proven wrong they won't admit it.

by madvillian on Apr 4, 2008 10:17 AM CDT 0 recs

it's hilarious

because brantley is just laying into him, especially about something as ridiculous as "clutch" and not being able to bunt. the play by play guy is about to correct brantley about his "clutch" stats actually showing that maybe he is a good clutch hitter. but then he hits a walk-off homer, which is a little bit better of an argument. i don't care what brantley says afterwards. he's on tv and he just was made to look like a fool. what do you think he's going to say, encarnacion still sucks?

the law of conservation of masset: no matter how much masset you use up, there is always masset in your system.

by larry on Apr 4, 2008 10:21 AM CDT up 0 recs

That is

classic! And it's the also classic Brantley. Spouting easily refutable garbage. It's just great that this time the garbage was immediately and dramatically refuted!

by bhoov on Apr 4, 2008 10:55 AM CDT up 0 recs

more than brenneman about to correct him, didnt they flash his stats with RISP or something that were surely not rip-worthy?

Your Chicago White Sox: Allergic to Sustained Success

by Toonderstrook on Apr 4, 2008 11:15 AM CDT up 0 recs

i didn't catch that

but those numbers, and others one might want to use to measure "clutch", all point to him being better in the clutch than his usual numbers. small sample size, especially for a young guy, of course. which is why making blanket statements, especially when totally unsupported, is not so good.

"Aw, how could he lose the ball in the sun, he's from Mexico."

by larry on Apr 4, 2008 11:17 AM CDT up 0 recs

i also like that brenneman was not going to let him get away with it. one of them was going to look silly by the end, and i'm glad it was brantley

for making a goofy remark than brenneman who was just trying to back up the guy being ripped on (probably) unjustly.

Your Chicago White Sox: Allergic to Sustained Success

by Toonderstrook on Apr 4, 2008 11:21 AM CDT up 0 recs

These Day games are killing me

Seems I need to get a radio, anyone know anything about that? Not being able to at least hear the game makes for a slow work day. (I'm about an hour outside of the city, so anywhere outside the building I have no trouble getting the radio in). I don't know anything about how radio waves work, but I imagine It'd be harder to get a decent signal where at my desk then outside, it's a large office building and I don't work near a window. Anyone have suggestions?

by Grinder in Training on Apr 4, 2008 10:49 AM CDT 0 recs

the score doesn't have a weak signal. you should be okay.

if you don't want to invest in a radio without knowing, it's very likely someone in your building has one and you can test it out.

"Aw, how could he lose the ball in the sun, he's from Mexico."

by larry on Apr 4, 2008 10:56 AM CDT up 0 recs

Agreed

I don't get the noon start given that this game is NOT the Tigers' home opener.

by stanchar on Apr 4, 2008 10:59 AM CDT up 0 recs

you want to play a night game in detroit the first week of april?

hell, you want to sit in the stands?

"Aw, how could he lose the ball in the sun, he's from Mexico."

by larry on Apr 4, 2008 11:01 AM CDT up 0 recs

I'm not happy that the Sox only have 3 day games during the week in April

I wanted to catch some day games before I leave Chicago, and I'm not around on weekends. I've already given notice so I can do whatever I want during the week. What are they gonna do, fire me? HAH

by ChicagoPete on Apr 4, 2008 11:07 AM CDT up 0 recs

If you want day games

Your rooting for the wrong team.

by Grinder in Training on Apr 4, 2008 11:09 AM CDT up 0 recs

Usually in April they give you a lot of them

I can deal with April if I'm sitting in the sun.

by ChicagoPete on Apr 4, 2008 11:10 AM CDT up 0 recs

WTF.

I've never understood the difference between an April Sox game and an October Bears game.

Dress appropriately!

'08-to-date --- 1 triple to RF against the Sox.

by ballyb on Apr 4, 2008 11:28 AM CDT up 0 recs

Yes mother!

by ChicagoPete on Apr 4, 2008 11:29 AM CDT up 0 recs

Good call

I don't know why I didn't think of that. I guess my only real question is.. if I'm able to get a signal outside, would it be safe to assume I get one inside? I have no idea how the radio waves would be affected by the walls of the building. I imagine most radio's are about the same in quality at this point, so that isn't as much of a concern.

by Grinder in Training on Apr 4, 2008 11:00 AM CDT up 0 recs