• Mark Buehrle is quite ordinary against good teams -- Bull Pain pointed it out in the gamethread; Buehrle has markedly worse numbers both last year and in his career against "good" teams. This is obviously true of all pitchers in general, but it seems more pronounced with respect to Buehrle.

  Buehrle didn't look bad at all until the runs started coming. But when he starts to look bad, you almost have to wonder how he gets guys out at all.

  A common refrain around these parts in the second half of '06 was that Buehrle really needed to slow down when he started getting hit around. It's almost as if one of his greatest assets, his quick to the plate style, starts to work against him as he pounds the zone with hittable pitch after hittable pitch. I'd like to see him take a walk around the mound a little bit during one of these blowups. If nothing else just to try something new, when nothing else seems to be working

• Orlando Cabrera will find many different ways to cost the Sox runs -- Cabrera drew a walk and scored on Jim Thome's HR in the first, but it was all down hill after that. He got a slow read on a groundball back up the middle to start Buehrle's implosion, then failed to even pick up a routine double play ball by the next hitter. Buehrle induced another near double play from the next batter, recording one out, before the wheels came off.

  Cabrera didn't just cost the Sox runs with his glove. He had a pair of gaffes in the 8th to help the Indians get out of a bases loaded, nobody out situation. I was not aware of it until I saw CSN display the stats, but Cabrera has a terrible record with the bases loaded (.209/.233/.278 entering the game). That's not something you expect from someone who is described as "a gamer" or an "adept handler of the bat."

  Cabrera's grounder to short, which allowed Jhonny Peralta to throw out a clearly safe Joe Crede at home, would have been bad enough, but Cabrera immediately followed it up with another mistake that cost the Sox. His overzealous takeout slide at second resulted in a double play that erased the Sox threat in the 8th. It was a debatable call, one that I initially called brutal, but it was probably the right one, or at least it's defensible. Those two calls in the 8th might have decided the game, and certainly should have elicited more of a reaction out of Ozzie Guillen.

• Guillen is too kind, too gentle -- Guillen vowed to be more fiery this season, but given two golden opportunities to lay into an umpire in the 8th inning, he chose to have a civil conversation instead. I know Guillen's fiery reputation is a bit undeserved, but sometimes I think he takes special care to avoid falling into the stereotype, even if the situation calls for it.

• Jim Thome can hit lefties -- Sometime this off-season I honestly thought about suggesting Thome leadoff against lefthanders. It was only after I took a better look at the numbers (.209/.325/.344, 14 HR since 2005) that I realized he didn't even get on base enough in those situations to justify the unorthodox move.

  It was a pleasant surprise to see Thome go deep twice off of a pitcher as tough as Sabathia, but I still feel like it will be the exception to the rule. It took him until July 2nd last season for him to hit his second HR of the year off a lefty.

• Nick Masset is major league pitcher. Against Cleveland. In the first two weeks of the season -- Masset began last season with 9.2 innings of solid work against the Indians before he faced another club. He then posted an ERA over 8 in his next 29 innings before closing out his major league tour with another scoreless outing against the Indians. It's almost as if the Indians are making him look good when they have these big leads just to ensure that Masset is on the roster for the rest of the season.

  In all seriousness, Masset pitched well today, allowing just 2 baserunners in 4+ innings. He helped make what could have been a disaster of a game into an exciting game with a terrible outcome.

• Alexei Ramirez is not ready for prime time -- Ramirez was the lone Sox hitter who failed to record a hit on Monday, and struck out 3 times. Two of those strikeouts were on just three pitches. Alexei also had an interesting day in the field, bumping into Jermaine Dye on a pretty routine ball in the gap to start the bottom of the first, and making a diving play on a misread of a shallow fly ball to center later in the game.

  It would be hypocritical of me to suggest that one game is enough evidence against to call for Ramirez' demotion after doing almost exactly the opposite in the previous two bullet points. But it does indeed look like Ramirez will have a significant adjustment period at the big leagues. Thankfully, if his final plate appearance against Sabathia is any indication, he does appear to be a quick study.

• You guys really have a lot to say -- We had something like 800 comments during the game even though things really got shaky after 6th inning. I know our tech team is working hard on the performance issues, and we'll be running like a well oiled machine soon. For the most part, however, the new features have made the gamethreads a whole lot better.

Server is not happy right now... Neither is the last thread. It was eating my comments left and right. Top of the 7th, down 2

Mark Buehrle vs. C.C. Sabathia

Time: 2:05 p.m. CT, TV: CSN, Radio: WSCR AM-670 (B-R preview, Live Boxscore; 2007 MLB Gameday; 2008 MLB Gameday)

Good Guys:

	Name		 AVG	HR	RBI	SB
1. N Swisher, LF	-	-	-	-
2. O Cabrera, SS	-	-	-	-
3. J Thome, DH		-	-	-	-
4. P Konerko, 1B	-	-	-	-
5. J Dye, RF		-	-	-	-
6. A Ramirez, CF	-	-	-	-
7. A Pierzynski, C	-	-	-	-
8. J Crede, 3B		-	-	-	-
9. J Uribe, 2B		-	-	-	-

Bad Guys:

	Name		 AVG	HR	RBI	SB
1. G Sizemore, CF	-	-	-	-
2. J Michaels, LF	-	-	-	-
3. T Hafner, DH		-	-	-	-
4. V Martinez, C	-	-	-	-
5. J Peralta, SS	-	-	-	-
6. R Garko, 1B		-	-	-	-
7. A Cabrera, 2B	-	-	-	-
8. F Gutierrez, RF	-	-	-	-
9. C Blake, 3B		-	-	-	-

GO SOX!

 

The White Sox opening day roster became much clearer thanks to series developments on Tuesday, which made for an interesting day and a good demonstration of our new FanShot feature.

• Following the extended morning meetings to discuss the roster, Toby Hall was called in for at least one meeting, if not two. It initially appeared like Hall was on his way off the opening day roster, but at the end of the day, He and A.J. Pierzynski were the only catchers left on the spring roster.
• Josh Fields was officially optioned to Charlotte, making Joe Crede the starter with Pablo Ozuna and Juan Uribe as his back-ups. Doesn't that sound familiar?
• Juan Uribe has won the second base job, but Ozzie warned that he'll have a quick hook.

  "If Uribe doesn't do what we think he can do, he will be replaced. I'm not going to put pressure on him. He knows he has people around him who can play that position.

  "But the way he played in spring training, and the way he went about his business, I think he earned that spot."

• Finally, Jerry Owens went in for an MRI which reveal he has a slight tear of an abductor. He will be put on the DL retroactive to Monday, and will be eligible to be back for the home opener April 7th. That's the same injury Scott Podsednik has had each of the last two seasons. In fact, Pods battled it last spring, but made the opening day roster before re-injuring the groin and missing the next 2 months.

I'm going to be honest. Sending Fields to AAA doesn't bug me that much, or at least not as much as many of you. I want the Sox to put the best team on the field, and Fields hasn't yet convinced me that his 2008 skill set is greater than that of 2008 Joe Crede. Obviously, that argument would be a whole lot easier to make if Crede were having a more productive spring.

Ultimately, I don't think there is enough evidence on either player's side to get too worked up over the third base situation. There are valid arguments on both side of the ledger, and I'm not convinced that there is an obvious, hard and fast right answer. Fields is obviously the long term choice, and as such, he would have received my vote, but I just can't muster the ire to get worked up over this one.

Were I making the decisions, things would be different. I'd find a way to get Fields on the roster, probably platooning with Thome at DH and occasionally at 3B as many of you have suggested. And truthfully, I would have parted with Crede for whatever meager returns I could have obtained in the last two weeks.

* * * * *

Jerry Owens' trip to the DL is good news for Brian Anderson and Carlos Quentin, who will both open the season on the roster. Anderson, in particular, has the opportunity to earn himself some major playing time in Owens' absence. He'll share center field duties with Alexei Ramirez in the first week of the season, during which the Sox are scheduled to face a number of lefthanders. In addition to C.C. Sabathia on opening day, the Sox should face Detroit's Nate Robertson and Dontrelle Willis before Owens is eligble to come off the DL.

* * * * *

Maybe the worst news of the day was that there was no resolution (or at least no reported news) to what should be a no-brainer in the battle for the final bullpen spot. I can only hope that we haven't heard anything because they don't want to remove the minute amount of trade value that Nick Masset may have by declaring Ehren Wasserman the winner of the final bullpen slot.

Well, now that we've got a solid 23 hours into the new platform -- We've had about 160 relatively painless sign-ups in the since going live late last night. We've uncovered a bug or two, but for the most part things have been pretty smooth. -- It's time to sit back and actually talk about the White Sox.

For the third consecutive year, the Sox have hit an extended mid-spring funk. They've won twice in the last 14 days, none in the last 9. Business as usual for the Sox, who I seem to recall having the same type of streak in each of the last two season, but I don't know where to go to check spring training records. I'm actually glad I don't know where to go, if I did, it might be a sign I need more clinical help than I'm currently receiving.

Part of the problem is that the Sox have been facing an inordinate amount of left-handed pitching lately. This sinister issue needs to be resolved if they hope to be anything more than mediocre this year. The addition of Josh Fields and Nick Swisher to the lineup would have been a step in the right direction, but Fields looks like he'll end up in Charlotte, and it's unclear how Ozzie will utilize Swisher. One thing is certain, Pablo Ozuna will continue to start and leadoff against most lefties.

Supposedly, the decision-making staff will have an extended meeting on Tuesday to discuss the final roster. Among the discussion topics:

• What will Alexei Ramirez' role be?
• Can Juan Uribe be traded to make room for Alexei?
• Who is the 4th outfielder behind, ugh, Jerry Owens?
• Can (or should) Brian Anderson be traded to make that decision an easy one?
• Will Nick Masset clear waivers?
• If no, are they prepared to let him go for nothing in order to put the best team on the field in the form of Ehren Wasserman?
• What is the medium term-plan at 3B?
• How long do they stick with Crede at 3B if he continues his lackluster play of the spring?

And I'm sure there are a host of others.

I'd probably send Ramirez to Charlotte, even though he's impressed me this spring. He's still got some work to do, and I'm not sure that playing sporadically and mostly against lefties is the best way to develop his talents. I just have this gut feeling like we've been seeing Alexei play a bit over his head, and the results are clouding our view of what he'll do when the lights come on for real.