Yardbarker: Juan Uribe

Quick Hits

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 14:06:02 -0500

-The Cubs finally placed RHP Kerry Wood on the disabled list with a blister on his pitching hand. Wood likely faces either a minor league stint or a few bullpen sessions before he'll be ready to pitch for the big league club.

-In reference to an earlier post, Ken Rosenthal is reporting that if Juan Uribe is dealt to Boston, the White Sox would receive Alex Cora in return.

-The Braves have shown some interest in OF Jose Guillen. This is a little confusing seeing as how Guillen is so similar to current Braves OF Jeff Francoeur

AL All Crap Team

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 18:09:29 -0500

Screw the All Star Game let's put together a roster from those that have been utter disappointments this season.

C: Victor Martinez - He's supposed to be the best hitting catcher in the league. Instead he doesn't have a single home run this season and has been on the DL for about a month now.
1B: - Paul Konerko - Despite Paul Konerko's miserable .213 average the White Sox still find themselves in first place.
2B: - Asdrubal Cabrera - Last season Cabrera came up and solidified the Indians middle infield, this year he couldn't even hit close to .200 before being demoted.
3B: Jack Hannahan - Not much has been made in the media about the absence of Eric Chavez for most of the year, but his replacement for the A's has been piss poor hitting .222 with only 3 homers.
SS: Edgar Renteria - Renteria was supposed to be another key acquisition for the Tigers, yet it hasn't quite worked out yet as Edgar barely has an on base % above .300 to go along with his .326 Slugging %.
OF: Franklin Gutierrez - It's no wonder the Indians are in sell mode when you look at how many players they have on the All Crap roster. Gutierrez 200+ at bats and has an on base % of .265. Ugh.
OF: David Dellucci - Dellucci also has 200+ at bats this season for the Indians and he too has an on base % below .300 and an average below .225.
OF: Johnny Gomes - He's nothing more than a platoon outfielder for the Rays but he should really be nothing more than a platoon player for their AAA affiliation. He's hitting .186 with only 6 homers.
DH: Travis Hafner - Pronk used to be a consistent beast at the plate. This year he's hitting .217 with only 4 home runs and now finds himself on the DL.

Bench: Kenji Johjima - I was gonna go with V-tek, but Johjima has actually been worse, he has well over 200 at bats and has yet to score 20 runs.
Bench: Daric Barton - The rookie has not been the answer for the A's. In 267 at bats Barton is hitting .225 with only 3 homers.
Bench: Juan Uribe - No longer starting but still getting marginal playing time for the White Sox, Uribe has managed only a .206 average this season.
Bench: Craig Monroe - He has 140+ at bats for the Twins and is hitting a massive .211. Woo go Craig.
Bench: Shannon Stewart - Stewart has never been a masher and he certainly isn't this year with a .303 slugging %, but he used to at least have speed. This year he only has 3 stolen bases.

SP: Jeremy Sowers - The Youngster for the Indians has started 8 games this season and is 0-5 with a 7+ ERA.
SP: Steve Trashbag - He was brought back to the Orioles for a little veteran leadership, but he was designated for assignment in early June after posting a 8+ ERA.
SP: Carlos Silva - Um, why did he get a solid contract? He's never been really good and he's been atrocious with a 5.59 ERA thus far this season.
SP: Phil Hughes - Supposedly the best prospect in baseball Hughes had an ERA of 9 before landing himself on the DL for which he might remain the entirety of the season.
SP: Ian Kennedy - The 2nd Yankees youngster recorded an ERA well above 7 in 9 outings and has yet to manage a victory.
SP: Boof Bonser - The man with the funny name has been relegated from the rotation after posting an ERA well over 6.
RP: Jimmy Gobble - Gobble has come into 29 games from the pen and has an ERA above 7 for the Royals.
RP: Mike Timlin - I guess when you're about 90 you should be losing a little zip on the fastball and Timlin is with his 6+ ERA.
RP: Ross Ohlendorf - One more Yankee 'prospect' that has been a disappointment thus far this season.
RP: JJ Putz - JJ was supposed to be amongst the elite closers. Instead he's been on and off the DL and only has 7 saves.
CL: Joe Borowski - He wasn't very good last year when he recorded a ton of saves but he's been absolutely brutal this season with a 7.56 ERA and only 6 saves.

Are White Sox Shopping Uribe?

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 11:46:08 -0500

After two consecutive starts, one at SS, one at 2B, are the Sox showcasing Juan Uribe in an effort to trade him? Since he lost his starting job to Alexi Ramirez, he has been expendable and the Dodgers and Orioles were said to be interested.

Will an Injury Spark Sox Again?

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 23:52:03 -0500

I love Paul Konerko for all he has done for the White Sox franchise in his career, but his latest injury may be just what the White Sox need to get out of their latest funk. When Juan Uribe injured his hamstring about a month ago in Anaheim, it opened the door for Alexei Ramirez to [...]

Uribe may be gone this time

Tue, 06 May 2008 09:19:08 -0500

During Spring Training the Chicago White Sox designated infielder Juan Uribe for assignment but no one was willing to take on the remaining $4.1 million on his contract. Uribe rebounded had a decent spring and was given the second base job on the White Sox. Uribe has played in 28 games this season hit .181 with 2 homers, 9 RBI and posts a hideous .227 on base percentage. Alexi Ramirez and Pablo Ozuna figure to be his replacement at second.

If You Have Seen the Tigers Wins Please Call 1-800-WTF-TGRS?

Sat, 05 Apr 2008 17:44:03 -0500

Dontrelle Willis made his debut as a Tiger in his new home ballpark in Detroit today. He would try and earn the Tigers first win of the season after losing to the Sox yesterday and being swept by the Royals to start the season. He walked Nick Swisher, the first batter he faced this season, and then put down Cabrera, Thome, and Konerko in order to get out of the first. The Tigers first two batters went back to the dug out early, Carlos Guillen walked and Maggs got a single but Cabrera popped out to end the inning. Willis sent the next set of batters down in order. After getting two quick outs to start the inning off again the Tigers bats looked to be stuck in the same slump as the first four games. Jaque Jones singled two keep the Tigers alive, Brandon Inge drove him home with a double. Clete Thomas singled and it wasn't until Placido Polanco grounded out did the Tigers stop running. Dontrelle looked to have run support, if he could continue to shut down the sox he could get his first win as a Tiger, and get the Tigers their first win. The next inning Willis kept the Sox off the bases aside from once again walking Nick Swisher. After Carlos Guillen, the holder of the highest batting average in Detroit, popped out the next two Tigers followed, this left Willis with a slender lead to deal with. After Thome grounded out to start off the fourth, Willis walked Konerko and Dye. Carlos Quentin came up with one out and two men on. Willis forced him to ground out into a double play that ended the inning and kept the Tigers lead intact. The bottom of the fourth started off Edger Renteria getting a single. Pudge came up and looked to have at least a double when Quentin caught his fly ball and threw out Renteria (who seemed to share my thought that Pudge would get a hit) at first for a double play. Jaque Jones walked with two outs, and Brandon Inge came up. Inge who up until this point had the games only RBI, added to his stats by hitting a two run jack to push the Tigers ahead by three. Clete Thomas got the third out to end the inning, but the damage was done. Willis, who now had some breathing room, walked Joe Crede to start off the fifth. Pablo Ozuna grounded into a double play, and Toby Hall followed by popping out for the final out. The Sox to this point had still not recorded a hit. The fifth ended with the Tigers top batters going three and out. The sixth started out with another Swisher walk, his third in three appearances, and then walked Cabrera. First and Second had runners on them with Jim Thome coming to the plate with no outs. The first hit of the game was a Thome double that drove home Swisher and pushed Cabrera to third. Zach Miner came in to replace Willis on the mound. Miner would have his hands full, the go ahead runner was Paul Konerko who also had two men on with no outs and the two hottest hitting Sox coming up. Konerko grounded out to Brandon Inge who threw him out at first while Cabrera scored and Thome stayed put at second. Miner would go on to walk Jermaine Dye, one out. Carlos Quentin tied up the game by getting a single, which pushed Dye to third on an error by Thomas. Joe Crede popped out to Jones; his outing earned him a RBI sac fly after Dye scored. Ozuna grounded out to end the inning after Zach Miner had given the Sox a one run lead. The Tigers retaliated by going three and out. Willis pitched strong for five innings and got enough run support to maintain a lead. When the sixth rolled around the Sox rallied forcing Willis to retire, the bullpen struggled and now the bats looked to fall right back into their slump. Francis Beltran replaced Zach Miner, and sent the sox down in order. The Tigers looked to do the same but Clete Thomas got a single. Then Placido grounded out. Beltran stayed in for the top of the eighth, he forced Thome to pop out and struck out Konerko. Jermaine Dye continued on his streak by homering with two outs in the eighth and extending the Sox lead to two runs. Carlos Quentin ended the inning by grounding out to Brandon Inge. Guillen started off the bottom of the eighth with a single to left field. Magglio erased all the progress by swinging into a double play. Miguel Cabrera stayed hitless for the day by ending the eighth and sending the Tigers in to the ninth trailing by two. To the ninth! The Sox would try to extend their lead against Denny Bautista. Joe Crede popped out for the first out of the inning. Juan Uribe did the same for the second. Toby Hall grounded out for the final. Renteria would lead off followed by Pudge and Jones. Bobby Jenks would try to save the game for the sox. Renteria hit one towards the infield gap but Uribe cut it off and put him out at first. Pudge came up with one out and lined sharply to Nick Swisher for the second. Jones continued to have a hot day and got a hit putting the tying run at the plate. And who else would come up besides Brandon Inge. Inge would get walked, bringing up Clete Thomas who would be the go ahead run. On the first pitch, a fastball, he grounded out. So the Tigers remain winless, and it seems as though they have continued to fall into the same losing formula. Strong pitching falters and the bats fizzle out late when it really matters. Detroit has now gone through their rotation without earning one of their pitchers a win. Only Carlos Guillen has been playing where he should offensively. We'll have to wait another day to see a Tigers win this year. We'll have to wait and see if everyone was wrong about all the hype that came to Detroit with the three big names they brought in. Until then enjoy this article Tigers fans because theirs really nothing else to enjoy at this point in the season.

Juan Uribe - Tribe Slayer

Fri, 04 Apr 2008 09:22:49 -0500

Sitting in my office yesterday, watching the simulated live-cast of the Tribe game on the computer, it dawned on me just how much I hated the little dot named Uribe circling the bases in the sixth inning. Is it just me, or does it seem that Juan Uribe hits all his homers against the Tribe? I asked myself that question, and, for some unknown reason, I set about to find the answer. While it turns out the ChiSox shortstop doesn't hit all his dingers against the Tribe, he certainly hits more than his share against them, at least in the recent past. Take last year. Uribe went 17-61 (.279) against Cleveland in 2007. No biggie. But he hit 6 homeruns, drove in 14 runs and scored 11 against the Tribe in 18 games between the two teams last season (although Uribe actually took one of those games off). To put those number in a larger perspective, if Uribe had played all 162 games against Cleveland last year, and hit Tribe pitching at the same clip, he would have had 54 homers, 144 RBIs and 99 runs scored. Put another way, Uribe played 11% of his games against Cleveland, but hit 30% of his 20 homers, had 21% of his 68 RBIs for the year and 20% of his 55 runs scored. I'm not sure what purpose these figures serve, other than to satisfy my curiosity. But if I were a Tribe pitcher, I guess I'd be a little more careful with that guy who hits eighth or ninth in the ChiSox order. He's just so damned annoying!

Tribe tr - umps ChiSox in opener

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 19:17:59 -0500

A lot good happened at Progressive Field today. A lot of bad happened as well. And so too, there was a lot of ugly. Let's start with the bad, because it was a big part of the Tribe's win 10-8 over the ChiSox. A lot depends on what side of the fence you are sitting on, but even as a Tribe fan I'd have to say the umpiring in the last two-and-half innings was brutal, and the Indians were the beneficiary. Here's what happened. Top 7: Tribe 7 Sox 7, bags juiced, Tribe-fan favorite A.J. Pierzynski bounces one up the middle. Jhonny P. fields and throws wide of 1B and up the line just a little. Ryan Garko - the guy who supposedly can't play 1B - goes flat out, snags the ball while attempting to keep his foot on the base. The ump says ........ yes he did! Top 8: Tribe 7 Sox 7, bases loaded - this time with no outs. Orlando Cabrera chops one between the mound and 3B. Peralta charges and throws poorly - again. This one is wide and up the third-base line. No 6-2-3 double play for sure, but Kelly Shoppach swipes at Joe Crede on his way home. Did Shoppach tag him? ..... the ump says yes he did! Same inning. Next batter - Thome. He bounces one to 2B. Asdrubal pitches it to Peralta covering. Too late to get it back to first, but Orlando Cabrera takes a swipe at Jhonny as he slides by. His feet touch the bag during the slide. So did he interfere? The ump says .... he did. Double play! Let me preface my next comments by saying I was watching the White Sox broadcast on the dish, which just happens to feature the two biggest homer announcers in the league - Hawk Harrelson and Darrin Jackson. But, with the possible exception of Rex Hudler with the Angels, Harrelson and Jackson are also the two biggest morons behind a major league mic, so I doubt I was swayed by anything they had to say. Based on the replays I saw - at game speed, in slow mo and paused by TIVO - I'd say the interference call on Cabrera was bogus. His slide was close enough to the bag for him to touch it with both feet, and the arm swipe came when - it appeared -Peralta had already decided to eat the ball. And though it really was tough to tell if there was any daylight between Garko's foot and the bag, or Shop-Vac's glove and Crede -- gun-to-my-head, I'd have to say both Pierzinski and Crede were safe. Given the situations, and the awful performance by the Tribe's pen today, it's safe to assume the Sox could have taken a lead of several runs over those two innings. Now for the ugly. Let's put it plain and simple. The Tribe's pitching. Not one of the Tribe's five hurlers looked good. CC overpitched, much as he did in the playoffs last year. He struck out seven, but gave up two, two-run bombs to Thome. He walked three and gave up six hits in 5 1/3 innings. Mostly, he just never was able to settle in. Jensen Lewis came in and struck out two in the sixth to get CC out of a jam. But he was wild high that inning and free swingers Juan Uribe and Crede couldn't resist, swinging through a number of high fastballs. Lewis gave up two singles to the first two hitters in the seventh before he was sent packing. Raffie Perez gave up a game-tying double to Paul Konerko after being spared the same fate one-batter earlier when Thome was robbed of a double to left by Jason Michaels. Raffie Betancourt gave up another hit in the seventh before ending the frame. But in the eighth, he gave up two doubles, though no one scored and then benefited from the umps' calls outlined earlier. Joe Bo came in in the ninth with a three-run lead. He gave up a dinger to Jermaine Dye and a walk to Pierzynski while notching his first save. A lot like last year. Unlike last year, Casey Blake came up huge in the clutch, driving home three with a long, two-out, eighth-inning double to left that missed being a grand slam by about two feet. It hit off the wall, putting the Tribe ahead 10-7. That's where the 'good' comes in. And there was plenty of it Franklin Gutierrez gave the Tribe its first lead in the second, 4-2, with a three-run shot off Mark Buehrle - the biggest blast in a seven-run inning. Grady Sizemore also jacked one to right center that inning, as the Tribe sent 12 to the plate and had eight hits. Peralta was two-for-four and Victor Martinez went two-for-two before exiting to the biggest dose of "bad' for the Tribe. Victor went down in a heap and hobbled off the field after trying to advance to second on a passed ball, ending what had been a fabulous second inning. Right now the Tribe says Victor is day-to-day with a strained hammy. My guess is we won't really know the extent of the injury for a few days. That makes it very 'good" that we didn't trade Shop-Vac over the winter.

Some last-minute AL bargain shopping

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 22:52:13 -0500

Draft coming up and in need of some last-minute advice? Already drafted but looking for a quality waiver pickup? Stumbling upon this web site because I stuffed the code with the keywords "Lindsey", "Lohan" and "nude"? Perhaps Rotowhine.com's American League sleepers will fulfill your deepest, darkest desires.

White Sox tell Uribe to get Juan

Wed, 19 Mar 2008 18:11:01 -0500

The Chicago White Sox have placed infielder Juan Uribe on waivers according to the Chicago Tribute. Uribe had entered spring competing for the starting position at second base following the teams acquisition of Orlando Cabrera. Uribe is guaranteed $4.5 million this season, and unless the White Sox can find a trade partner will be on the hook for the remaining $4.1 million. This winter the White Sox had the option to buy out his contract for $300,000 but the two sides agreed on a one year contract. A once nimble fielder Uribe has been slowed in recent years by an expanding waistline. Last season he hit just .234 and had a .284 OBP while hitting 20 home runs hitting mostly at the bottom of the lineup. The 29-year-old figures to find a contract as a bench player on another team. The White Sox will choose between Alexei Ramirez and Danny Richar for the second base spot. Ramirez figures to have the edge largely due to his offensive output this spring and concerns over the status of Richar's back.

2008 Fantasy Shortstop Rankings: American League

Sun, 30 Dec 2007 15:54:05 -0500

Pre-season shortstop rankings for the American League has been posted at Crooked Pitch.

Juan Uribe Will Bring His Gun to Spring Training

Fri, 23 Feb 2007 02:04:37 -0500

A Dominican judge has allowed Juan Uribe to go to spring training, and he will be reporting to the White Sox tomorrow a day late.

Juan Uribe Will Be At Spring Training on Tuesday

Sat, 17 Feb 2007 19:28:53 -0500

Looks like Uribe got the message Ozzie Guillen sent yesterday: show up and shape up, or ship out.

Juan Uribe is Going to Get a Lot of Air Time

Thu, 08 Feb 2007 17:50:43 -0500

Juan Uribe's court schedule is definetely going to affect his ability to play shortstop for the White Sox this spring.

Juan Uribe Needs Your Frequent-Flyer-Miles

Thu, 08 Feb 2007 07:41:49 -0500

Juan Uribe will have to travel twice a month to the Dominican Republic for court appearances stemming from a shooting in his native land. Supposedly, the altercation arose from a local farmer getting too close to Uribe's ride. Yeah, that's a reasonable response Juan. Not like you have millions of dollars and a reputation to lose.