[Aveosmth]

Here is the rebuttal round!!

Up first is Btown, here's his response to Mark:

Not all aboard the ChiSox Wagon

Let’s not get too crazy and jump on the White Sox band wagon just yet. While their start has been impressive, their team is kind of like a cars’ rear view mirror… “Objects may be closer than they appear”. Their record (35-18), looks amazing at face value but let’s scratch the surface a bit, shall we?

The White Sox are 18-4 vs. their division (yeah, the one with the Tigers, Indians, and Royals). They are 6-4 vs. the AL East. Which doesn’t look bad, but they have yet to play the Yankees or the Red Sox. And finally, they are 9-9 vs. the NL West. So if you look at the Sox record outside of the cushy AL central, they are 17-14 overall. It’s a shame for the White Sox that they won’t get to play their division in the playoffs huh?

The Sox pitching has been incredible, no question, but if you want to see why, please re-read the paragraph above. And Mr. Mark says they have 6 pitchers that could be #1 or #2’s on other teams? Yeah, maybe on the teams they beat on in their division. Jose Contreras, (2-2) and ‘El Duque’ (who is hurt more than he is healthy) certainly wouldn’t be part of that six. It seems to me that Mr. Mark looked at the wrong pitching staff while writing his article.

“Their hitting, while suspect at times”… Ladies and gentlemen we have the understatement of the year award winner here! Currently the Sox are ranked 22nd in the entire league. Their top three power hitters can’t get a base hit if their life depended on it. Konerko, with 13 Hr’s is hitting .223, Jermaine Dye with 10 Hr’s is hitting .229, and AJ Pierzynski with 8 Hr’s is hitting .255. These guys make Jason Giambi look like a batting champion (at .234 he’s hitting better than two of them). Plus with only one guy over .300 (Iguchi at .302), they will have trouble producing any runs in the playoffs.

I just can not over look the comment about their “deep farm system”. I can tell you one thing, it certainly is getting deep in here and I’m not referring to the Sox farm team. The White Sox have exactly ZERO prospects listed in the top 10 at any position. Good luck selling this garbage come July.

Will Chicago make the playoffs this year? Probably. Will they even make it to the World Series? I think the article has already answered that question. They do not have a better team than the Red Sox, Angels, Rangers or Yankees (despite their current state). I know, you do not always have to have the best team to beat another team… but they have to be better than they are to get through all of these teams. Oh, and lets not forget, if for some reason the above teams bus blew up, the Sox would still lose to the World Series Champs….. THE FLORIDA MARLINS.


Here's Mark's rebuttal of Btown:


I have to say, baseball really isn’t my strong suit. That being said, I was unsure of how I would fare in this competition. That is, until I saw BtownJay’s first article. Don’t get me wrong, it was a very well constructed argument, but mildly drawn out. The fact of the matter is that BtownJay tipped his hand too much and gave his best shot in round 1. I would know like to quote the game’s creator (Avery) about the rebuttal round.

“This round is the more important of the two”- Avery in his rules post.

BtownJay came strong, but unfortunately, went too hard too fast and will flame out. Anyway, on to why his argument is completely off base. I would first like to look at a quote from Bjay’s article.

“Actually I don’t know if I even needed to form a complete paragraph.”-BJ

I think the reason you needed to was just to prove you can, which, ultimately, makes you stronger than Mike Simonds.

“All I really needed to write was that the Marlins are FIRST in the MLB in team ERA. The Marlins are FIFTH in the MLB in team Batting Average. The Marlins are THIRD in the MLB in team fielding. If you ask me, there isn’t much else you can do but be among the best in hitting, pitching and fielding.”- Bjay

Wow, those are some really neat stats. I will tip my cap to BJay here in one respect; these stats clearly show the Marlins are playing their best ball. Top five in hitting, pitching, and fielding is certainly impressive to say the least. What else can you do, BJ asks?

I got this one-WIN! What does that say of a team when they are playing their best baseball of the year and their record is 28-23???? Is that really the best they can do? I think the topic Avery gave us, now I may be wrong, was who will win the World Series. If a team is playing their best baseball of the year and they are only five games above .500, how does that translate into a WS-caliber team? The White Sox are 35-18, a scant 17 games over .500.

Now if we were arguing who will have the best stats at the end of the year, maybe you would have an argument. If the topic was what team could paint the prettiest picture on the sidewalk using only blue and yellow sidewalk chalk, then you might best me, because honestly, I am not well versed in the chalking abilities of the White Sox. But the fact of the matter is that our topic is who is going to win the World Series, and, despite the Marlins playing their best baseball possible statistic-wise right now, they sorely lag behind in the most important statistic of all-wins. It can only get worse for the Marlins right now.

Why do the White Sox win? They do the little things that don’t show up on the stat sheet, and those are the things that will help you win in the playoffs. No one will argue that there is a more important stat than wins and the White Sox are definitely a team that knows how to do win games.

It is still early in the season; we haven’t even reached the All-Star break yet, so I think it’s far too early to roll-out individual stats. A lot of the individual rankings will change drastically once its all said and done, so I don’t weigh those too heavily. After all, inconsistency is fairly common in MLB. The Marlins should know this better than anyone as they went 14-8 in April only to follow up that act with a brilliant May, going 13-14 with a 4.32 team ERA

There are some things you can take away from the start of the season, and that’s the intangibles of teams. Intangibles such as speed can’t be measured accurately in statistics (steals are a poor gauge of team speed), but speed is something that doesn’t go in a slump and is critical to winning games. We can also get a feel for how teams play on the road, as winning on the road is critical in the playoffs (obviously).

The Marlins road record is a feeble 10-11 while the White Sox are 18-11. Even looking past the records the Marlins are just a different team on the road as their road era (4.6) is significantly higher than at home (3). On the other hand, the White Sox road era (3.6) is very comparable to their home era (3.4). Chicago is a team that knows how to win and can do it at home or on the road. Florida struggles on the road, and with the way they are playing now, if they make the playoffs (sure it seems like a lock now, but the Cincy Reds looked playoff bound at the break last year), they will have their fair share of road games.

Another thing you can glean from the start of the season is how a team responds in the clutch. Sure, players have different hitting streaks, but how team plays in crunch time is important in the playoffs. The White Sox thrive in crunch time and have better clutch hitting than anyone in MLB, while the Marlins are only 5-10 in one-run games. But hey Florida fans, if BJ says WS, then go ahead and buy your tickets now, as nothing says World Series caliber like choking in tight games.

The last issue I have with Bjay is players coming off the DL. Injuries are tough to gauge and you don’t know how a player will respond. Case in point, you mention what a big boost Guillermo Mota would be once he returns, yet he’s allowed five runs in three innings since he has been back. But you are right, someone should be getting his ring size right away.

Finally, another huge key to this WS puzzle is the fact that Sox GM Ken Williams knows that he has a deep farm system and has the ability to go and get another player for the stretch run. Chicago has a lot more to offer in a trade than Florida and the White Sox will be able to add another key player…if they even need it.

Bjay, you came strong, but it just wasn’t enough. Somewhat fitting that you took Florida as your team because the Marlins, just like you, have the potential to be great, but just can’t get all the pieces together in the end.