*Official* 4-12 Swisher strikes again; CLE 1 SOX 0 Postgamer

[Foulke You]

As with most here , I hated the bunt call in that situation. Conor is a decent runner and was already in scoring position. Why would you also set up a pressure packed at bat for your rookie backup catcher? Made little sense to me.

Also, Sox had some terrible luck last night too. Missed a HR by a few feet a couple of times. The Bourn squib double was another example . *patiently waits for someone to tell me that good teams make their own luck*

[Tragg]

Originally Posted by Mr. Jinx

None of those guys are all that good though. Besides TCQs MVP-like 4 months that history is showing was an outlier, what have any of them really done on a consistent basis?

Jackson had significant value at the deadline. On edit, I realize that Toronto got Rasmus, who is not good, for Jackson, so they didn't get much either (although Rasmus was hyped for years). Heck, we even took back a middle reliever we didn't need.
Quentin's still a good hitter.
The prospects we took back were all duds.
One of the problems the Sox had for years was that Guillen was so poor at evaluating talent, that he couldn't tell Williams which prospects were keepers and which were phony. Larusa and Duncan could evaluate their prospects. Hopefully the Sox improve on evaluating theirs and targeted prospects.

[asindc]

Originally Posted by Tragg

Jackson had significant value at the deadline. On edit, I realize that Toronto got Rasmus, who is not good, for Jackson, so they didn't get much either (although Rasmus was hyped for years). Heck, we even took back a middle reliever we didn't need.
Quentin's still a good hitter.
The prospects we took back were all duds.
One of the problems the Sox had for years was that Guillen was so poor at evaluating talent, that he couldn't tell Williams which prospects were keepers and which were phony.

In any discussion of the Jackson to Toronto trade, you must factor in Toronto taking on Mark Teahen's salary.

[doublem23]

Originally Posted by Tragg

For one thing, Toronto got a heck of a lot more for Jackson than we did. He had significant value at the deadline. Heck, we even took back a middle reliever we didn't need.
Quentin's still a good hitter.
The prospects we took back were all duds.

You can apply that to almost every trade ever involving minor league players being exchanged for MLB ones. Toronto only acquired 1 prospect in that deal, Colby Rasmus, the guy most Sox fans coveted. He's hit a robust .215/.275/.393 in Toronto since the deal.

[October26]

Originally Posted by ChiSoxGal85

He hasn't learned it by now, no way is he ever gonna learn. He needs to not bunt except for non-pressure situations where he's trying to get a hit. Or maybe not ever, I dunno.

I changed the channel when I saw it was Swisher batting, because I didn't want to see his mug dancing around after the winning hit.

I felt the exact same way but I watched the Swisher at bat. It is unfortunate that he continues to find ways to beat the Sox.

On a positive note, what a tremendous pitching performance by Quintana last night. It gives me hope for his future outings.

[fram40]

Originally Posted by October26

I felt the exact same way but I watched the Swisher at bat. It is unfortunate that he continues to find ways to beat the Sox.

On a positive note, what a tremendous pitching performance by Quintana last night. It gives me hope for his future outings.

If I recall correctly, Quintana had a few of these type of performances last year and the Sox lost all of them. He deserves a few more Ws.

[WhiteSox5187]

Originally Posted by Tragg

Jackson had significant value at the deadline. On edit, I realize that Toronto got Rasmus, who is not good, for Jackson, so they didn't get much either (although Rasmus was hyped for years). Heck, we even took back a middle reliever we didn't need.
Quentin's still a good hitter.
The prospects we took back were all duds.
One of the problems the Sox had for years was that Guillen was so poor at evaluating talent, that he couldn't tell Williams which prospects were keepers and which were phony. Larusa and Duncan could evaluate their prospects. Hopefully the Sox improve on evaluating theirs and targeted prospects.

That's not the manager's job, that's the GM's job.

[Chez]

I wasn't in the game forum last night, but with Kipnis and then Swisher (who hits better from the left side) coming up in the 9th, why not go to Veal? Is it because he pitched a lot in the Washington series? I can't think of any other reason -- Veal's job is to retire tough left handed hitters.

[thomas35forever]

Originally Posted by fram40

If I recall correctly, Quintana had a few of these type of performances last year and the Sox lost all of them. He deserves a few more Ws.

He did. His 2012 record does not fully tell the story of what a surprise he was last year. Last night's game was a reminder of that. Much like a great Bears defense has been wasted during the Lovie era, some quality pitching isn't benefiting from poor situational hitting for us. Poor Coop. It must frustrate him to know he can only help one area of this team act well consistently.

[kittle42]

Originally Posted by amsteel

After 172 games I'm sticking to my guns that hiring RV was a gimmick to give jaded fans a reason to pay attention to a middling team.

Was there ever any question? Was there ever someone with as little experience hired as a manager (I am sure there was, just asking)?

[JB98]

Originally Posted by asindc

The idea was to move the runner to 3rd with one out so that a run could be scored on an out. It should be much easier to score a run with a bunt and fly ball or grounder up the middle than to rely on someone getting a solid hit. Should be, but apparently this team makes it seem much more difficult. Most Little Leaguers can execute a bunt better than Alexei.

I know what the idea was. I'm saying it was a stupid idea. You don't take the bat out of the hands of a former Silver Slugger winner to set up an RBI opportunity for Mr. Journeyman Backup Catcher.

Honestly, this team is good enough at making outs. They don't need any help from the manager in that department.

[Mr. Jinx]

Originally Posted by kittle42

Was there ever any question? Was there ever someone with as little experience hired as a manager (I am sure there was, just asking)?

I don't think Mike Matheny had much, if any, managerial experience before the Cards hired him.

[Tragg]

Originally Posted by doublem23

You can apply that to almost every trade ever involving minor league players being exchanged for MLB ones.

Quite an exaggeration. And the Sox players were almost immediate duds - their development had stunted before the Sox got them and the Sox didn't realize it.
the big problem is a mediocre farm system that just doesn't turn out enough good prospects. A team like the Braves churns out 3 or 4 for every one of ours.