The Beast

I will be there on Friday and when things go wrong, I want to hold up a sign that says “The money will be spent.” The casual fans won’t get it but the hardcore fans will.

Note to other teams: Run on Grandal when the situation calls for a breaking ball. He can’t handle it. Literally also try getting a base hit, bunt the runner over and take two shots at getting the runner home from second. If your team scores a run, they will likely win the game as this iteration of a Sox team can’t hit, get a lead or hold a lead.

Great stories!

There are $42M reasons why.

Injuries are an issue with Kelly, Lynn, Giolito, Moncada, Robert and Jimenez out. But this team had issues before then with not replacing Rodon properly. Using Velasquez is weak, even if Kopech was supposed to be Rodon’s replacement. The poor allocation of resources is a problem, as are the players who are underperforming. The manager is a problem, but he will stay until he is dead because of JR being in love with him and trying to correct a decades long mistake. What I am hoping for is that they get everyone but Jimenez back and start winning series more often. Then maybe we will see the potential we think the group has when Jimenez comes back. Otherwise I expect to see some turnover next year.

It’s too bad. I umpired 11U for both travel and in house games. I can understand the intensity of the travel games, but parents should know the games are about development at that level. Winning is fun, but nobody really gives a shit about all of those Downers Grove Longshots trophies and plaques in storage. Even if the goal is to get kids to play at the highest level and advance quickly, it doesn’t really matter what the outcomes are. Some parents just don’t get it.

Hinch > TLR

Guillen > TLR

Real Sox fans understand we can win with what we have.

Blame the umpire if you will, but the defense is what lost the game.

He wouldn’t walk him would he?

Viagra and vodka is the way TLR likes it.

Battle this guy, walk one in and then have Burger feast on a fastball.

Real Sox fans might have a fit about it too.

Stay out of the GIDP.

Not a fun team to watch without Moncada, Lynn, Robert, Giolito, quality defense and clutch hitting.

A Hall of Fame baseball person DUI, his specialty.

Book it. Maybe TA needs another game to sit out so he thinks through his shitty he and the team has looked. Whatever they had last year is not here. The division is better and this team looks like shit.

Yeah but look at Abreu. He looks like shit out there with the dumb throws to second.

Conversation at the mound. Katz: You guys are playing like Tony manages. Drunk. Play better. That is all.

Lol, what is happening? I don’t even know who to blame. They have dumb decisions on the diamond this year and in the dugout. They are not the team they had last year.

Something just seems off with how they are playing. Inconsistent hitting, poor defense, decent pitching.

Has anyone noticed the shaky defense, like even routine throws look hard for the infielders?

A friend of mine who grew up umpiring with me is a freshman baseball coach in Plainfield. He was looking for umpires after having to cancel a game without having one. When I researched why there is a shortage of umpires, it started to make sense - the treatment of umpires, the low pay, the inconsistent training over time and the lack of respect for officials, who often get blamed for the outcome of games. Then another friend of mine came across this article, which has some recommendations that make sense to try and solve the issue of the treatment of umpires and the shortage of them. https://globalsportmatters.com/business/2022/04/15/abusive-behavior-driving-youth-sports-officials-away/ Has anyone noticed that the treatment of officials has gotten worse? Is this a problem in your area?

I tailgate outside and limit myself to a beer or drink and snack inside. I have snuck candy into the movie theater before and have brought pop or water. But I also catch the local historical theater in Downers Grove for movies to take advantage of a good deal there. I would consider myself thrifty, not a cheapskate. That’s what I am going to do, drink before I go in and either eat peanuts and pop when I get in or limit myself to nothing. Or I get the beer cost baked into the ticket price and drink if I feel like it. But there’s really no need to get hammered solely in the ballpark, that can run your wallet dry rather quickly. I’m curious who people blame for this problem since it clearly wasn’t just one administration, there are structural weaknesses that are non political.