vilehoopster

This is my big question for the last two years: Is it all on RR??? Didn't Stone put out a tweet about how RR was forced to play certain players. Does anyone remember that tweet? And I don't know but I just have to feel that RR didn't want to be playing EE and Mazara at all after a while and certainly not when and where he batted them. I can't believe he wanted to be playing Yonder Alonso all those times. RR is a competitive guy or he wouldn't be in baseball. No competitive guy puts out people with such terrible stats unless directed by their boss. I have to believe that he was told by the front office to play EE, Mazara, and Yonder in the hope that the front office wouldn't look stupid for signing them.

I'm not exaggerating. I would much rather have Yolmer at DH than Encarnacion. I am so sick of watching him come up to bat as his .165 batting average continues to spiral downward.

I don't think your comparing his to Avi is valid at all. Avi actually did have one good year, an all-star year. But I don't remember Rodon ever, and I mean ever being really good. I know the Sox and their publicity tells us how good he is or how good he was back when he was healthy. If I hear Jason B. tell us about his wipe-out slider, I think I'm going to throw something through my TV screen. The only thing that slider every wiped out was a Sox lead. But I don't remember him ever really good. He was for a long time one of the less-bad options on a bad pitching staff. But even when he was good, he only slightly above average. Well, I don't know: his 1st year, 2015, he was 9 & 6 with a 3.75 ERA. But since then he's been bad. And that's when he was healthy. Now he's never healthy. I was upset to see Avi go, but I am soooo ready to move beyond Rodon.

I am not too worried about Frank, but what about Stone? Don't you think he's starting to get on real thin ice? However 100% justified his comments were. I would hate to lose Stone in the booth.

As long as you've decided to make this personal and imply that for your opinion you're better person than I. Let me make my reply also personal. First of all anyone who starts a typed statement with "Dude" loses ALL credibility. Second, you're a official. One of those guys, not good enough to have really played and been part of a real locker room and team and understand what I'm talking about, but you still want to be involved in sports so he becomes an official. LOL, Dude.

Way to take my comments and take them to a ridiculous extreme and then make a sarcastic comment on your ridiculous take to prove your point. That's a logical and intelligent way to put forth your point. Let me return the favor: So you're saying that you believe that on any team it should always be "every man for himself" and you think the goal of all sports is get yours and screw the team. Oh, okay, I now agree with you. See how that goes. Also, I wouldn't want a parent like you to have a kid on my team because you're one of those parents who thinks is okay for kids to miss practice for a haircut or to go shopping with the family because family comes first. On you second comment. I know we can't, but I would bet you big money and even give you odds that Stievers and Crochet (not sure how to spell their names and don't feel like looking it up) don't throw a pitch in the post season. And when Kopech starts out next year with an extended stay in the minors, can I come on her and say I told you so.

I was talking about Mazara as the one being savaged on this board.

Let me make one more comment, whether you agree with me or not. I think the White Sox administration agrees with me also, no matter what they may be saying on the topic. I just saw that Crochet just got called up. And Stievers being called up last week? You don't think that's the Sox administration sending a message to Kopech. I think it is.

It's hard for me to debate all the responses, but let me tackle a few. "For one this is the age of COVID .You wanna opt out; you opt out! Second if there are family issues or mental issues you opt out. If anybody complains they are the ones with the problem." Now this is all great and makes sense, EXCEPT, the Sox have two players who did not decide to sit out in this time of Covid. In fact, they caught covid and chose to play anyway. Both of these two players are suffering still from the effects. One of whom is being continually savaged on this board. Don't you think their teammates appreciate their sacrifice for the team, putting the team before themselves. And again, make no mistake, their decision to play shows that teammate mentality that I mentioned in my first post. Yes, you think what Kopech did is okay and others might too, but there will be guys not happy with Kopech next spring. Especially, if a young pitcher, not Kopech with Kopech's stuff, gets shelled in a game that keeps the Sox out of the World Series. That is the nature of sports. "What is your similar situation? How much money have you earned by playing a sport professionally, as your career? " What does money have to do for or against my point? I'm talking about being in a locker room with teammates and knowing that you can trust and depend on each other. Money has nothing to do with it. In fact, money corrupts this ideal because today, pro athletes abandon their teammates all the time for money. Also, what does money matter? Kopech and his teammates will be millionaires whether he played this summer or not. But his teammates might not have a World Series ring this fall because he chose to sit out. His teammates are aware of this. To the guy who said he shared my mentality in high school and played with ACL injuries and regrets it. Of course you do. ACL injuries is a completely different thing that what Kopech chose to do. No coach should have ever let you play if you had ACL injuries or even suspected knee problems. To the guy who talked about his small business and all the pressure and the big money and how yet, they still can take time off. Yes, I'm sure there's desire for success there and pressure to succeed. But that doesn't even start to compare to a kid who's a junior in high school shooting a free throw with 30 seconds left in a championship game with every relative he has in the state watching in the stands and everyone in his school watching. It's not the same, not the same world. That's why missing is not accepted in sports while it still is in your corporate world. To the guy who said he played on state champion teams in football and said I was wrong. I am a dubious of your claim. If you really were on state champion teams or even teams that competed for state championships, the mentality I described was absolutely a part of what you saw in practice and in the summer or there's no way the team you were on was a state contender.

Are the White Sox players not teammates, real teammates, who are sacrificing a lot (like getting up early) and putting personal desires aside so that they can help their team, the entire team have success? I think that they are. As one who has been in a similar situation, I think I do know them, or at least I understand why they're having so much success this season. So I think I have a pretty good idea. I am confident I understand them better than you. No irony there at all.

I understand commentators on here saying that Kopech had to take care of himself and how he owes nothing to the fans and then there are the people on here who talk about how they took time off from work, ten weeks for mental health or paternity and how that perfectly fine with their business or boss or whatever. But I'm sorry, sports and being a teammate is completely, completely different. I just saw that video on here of Eloy getting up early to work like Jose A. does. Eloy does that so he can look Jose in the eye and they both know that they're both doing doing every thing they can to win. That's what teammates do! They both know they do that stuff so that (like yesterday) Jose can bust his ass down the line and beat out a infield single to tie the game. And Eloy does it so he can see a pitch a little better and hit drive in the game winning run that clinches a playoff spot. It's completely different than showing up for a job and if you need a mental day or two months, just take the time off. Do you think guys giving all that extra effort to win are really going to be completely forgiving a teammate who takes a season off for whatever reason? People who think what Kopech did was perfectly fine have never REALLY been in a locker room with teammates. You must not know what it's like to run sprints to build speed on a summer morning before it gets too hot, or to be with your teammates shooting free throws, out of season, so that maybe, just maybe, you will make one more basket and win for you and your teammates a tournament or sectional. And for God Damn sake, you don't take the time off during the season. You suck it up and play to help your teammates. When I played and then coached, you never missed a practice. If a player did, you knew, beyond any doubt, he was really, really sick. That's being on a team. The player didn't miss because was taking a mental health day, or a mental health summer off. You guys can all talk about how things are more important than sports, and of course, some things are. But one absolute thing that sports teach, (and being in combat is the only thing I can think that compares to it) is the importance of team and sacrificing for the benefit of all. Yes, putting the team before yourself, having something bigger than yourself, that's what sports teaches. If you're a true and good teammate, you're at the very least, expected to be there if you can. Now, again, I know some others are again going to preach bigger issues and take a high (but completely abstract) moral ground. But again. I don't think you know what it's like to be in a locker room and be a real teammate. And also, know this, the other White Sox players may be saying all the right things like they want what's best for Michael, but make no mistake. When he comes back next year, Kopech is going to have to work really hard to prove himself to a lot, I would even say the majority of his teammates. One more thing, you're right, Kopech or any athlete owes nothing to the fans, but the door swings both ways, we then owe nothing to that athlete, certainly not the loyalty he didn't show to us.

So I guess that the "completely blind" includes Giolito? I I would bet that if you gave our other younger pitchers a choice, (I can't prove it, of course), but I would bet the majority of them would also pick McCann. So I don't think your statement has any validity at all, at all. What bothers me is you guys who make these absolute statements that Grandal is better than McCann as if it beyond doubt or debate. Certainly you can make a strong argument that Grandal is better, looking at his past work and the odd aspects of this shortened season. But you can't totally dismiss the evidence in front of you about what's happening right now. McCann is obviously better than Grandal, both offensively and defensively, this year. It's an obvious observable reality. You can't just ignore that reality and make some blanket statement that has no credibility. It is a topic with strong points on both sides. To say Grandal is better, period, you're like Snoopy in this comic.

"The stuff is there". The often repeated phrase to justify why Dylan Covey was put out here time after time for three years while he built a 6 and 29 record. When he was finally cut, I was never so glad to see a player cut so that his "stuff" could leave with him. I'm not saying Burdi is that bad. I'm not making that comparison. It's just when I hear about someone having good "stuff" while getting hit hard, I will always think of Covey and cringe.

I agree. He was outstanding for the White Sox. I would love for that renaissance to happen for him. If he could escape the Cubs, things could be great for him. Of course, you could say that about any player.

I agree. Go the bullpen day with Foster and Detwiler. I think that gives us a great chance to win. Starting Lopez is all but giving the game to the Cubs. Seriously, with Lopez going against Hendricks, what do you think the odds are the Sox win this game? 1 in 5? I think it's closer to 1 in 10? Yes, Lopez might surprise me and us other doubters, but the odds of that seem really low to me.

That may, even probably, is true about Grandal. But right now, when it comes to both hitting and defense, Grandal is the 2nd best catcher on the Sox. With that said, there's no reasonable way that McCann will be on the Sox next year.

If the Cubs are pitching their best starters, shouldn't we start our best starter(s)? By that I mean we should do a game where we start Foster for two innings and then bring in Detwiler for four or so innings. Those two have been our best pitchers so far this year. If I remember correctly, neither one has given up a run. In fact, I've watched most of our games this year and I don't remember either one ever letting anyone even get to 2nd base. I don't understand why the Sox (Renteria) hasn't gone with this combination as an opener/ starter combo yet. It seems so obvious to me.

With Rodon looking scary, we better keep getting runs.

Yeah, we're gonna get one of those guys. Give me a break. Plus I don't think Joc is better than Avi.

You guys kill me making fun of Avi. Offensively or defensively, we haven't had a right fielder close to as good as Avi since he left. And we won't have one this year either.

He is such a passive-aggressive lying A-Hole. Any time he can jab the White Sox on PTI or anywhere, he does; but he ALWAYS starts out saying that he likes the White Sox and wishes them the best. But then he jabs them and tonight on PTI was a perfect example: It was the end of the show and he and Tony were doing their quick-at-the-end comments. And the topic of Nelson Cruz's great weekend against the White Sox came up and that he did it at 40 years old. So, as they wrap up on Cruz, here goes Wilbon. Something like this and it's pretty close: "I'm a Cubs fan but I always wish the best for the White Sox because I'm a Chicago sports fan," then he said something about the South Side. Then he ends it with his zinger on the national forum that PTI gives him, (again not exact words). He ends the topic of Nelson Cruz with this, "But they have got to do better than giving up 27 runs in three games." See how he did that, brings the Sox pitching failures in on the Cruz topic, and he starts off with his "Wish the White Sox the best and ends it with insulting the White Sox. Total lying A-hole move. Does anybody remember his "appropriate" comment from two or three years ago? So, he and Tony were doing "What's the Word", where they have to come up with a word to describe the topic they're discussing. It was two or three years ago (maybe four?), and the White were off to a historically bad start. And the question was raised that if the White Sox continued to play and lose that often, that they would have the worst record in White Sox baseball history. So Tony and Wilbon had to come up with one word to comment on or describe the idea that the White Sox that year could be the worst White Sox team ever. I don't remember what Tony said, but Wilbon said it would be "appropriate". That was his word. It was a while ago, so I don't remember the conversation too well, but he justified it (if I remember it correctly) because the White Sox fans are so full of themselves and their team, so for the Sox to be the worst would be "appropriate" for their fans to experience. That's when I first started hating him and I haven't changed one iota since.

So, are inter-squad games going to become a daily or near-daily occurrence? I would guess, yes, because the pitchers need to go against real batters to improve and assess what works and doesn't work. And for the every day players, they quickly need to see real major league pitching. So pretty much every day? What do you think? Also, so Ricky can see who's where for creating a rotation. I want to see Rodon and if he is worthy of being in the rotation.

So what? It's still awful.

1. Watching Moncada's swing, especially from the left side 2. Huge improvement from Cease and Lopez 3. Playing the Cubs

I just watched Pardon the Interruption on ESPN. Big discussion about NBA returning in late July. Another one about the NFL returning in September. But nothing about baseball. NOTHING. If football and basketball find a way to come back but baseball does not because of owners/ players greed, I will be so, so, so bitterly disappointed. I'll be like the guy above who says he might not return to baseball if they don't play this year and strike next year. It won't take a strike next year for me to give up on MLB. If I see NBA basketball in July and football in September and no baseball season, I don't know if I could return to MLB baseball after that. I'll just support our local semipro team the Aviators.