Cerbaho-WG

My prom was pretty damn mundane, and the after prom which my date wanted to go to was horrible. Not because my ex planned it and sang angsty karaoke directed towards me, but I was bored out of my mind and just played blackjack for hours on end. Going to themed house parties at college and blacking out and waking up at some dorm I've never been in at 5:30 A.M. is much more enjoyable.

White Sox offense drinking game: -Anytime the Sox committ a sacrifice bunt and fail to get the runner home, take a shot -Any time a Sox pitcher walks the #9 hitter who has an average under .200 with two outs, drink two shots -Errors deserve a shot -Strikeouts looking deserve a shot -One shot for each out scored when a runner on 3rd with 2 outs not scoring -One shot for each double play Paul Konerko hits into -One bottle for each double play Paul Konerko beats out -Drink a case of beer when you find someone SLOWER than Paul Konerko -Drink a shot when Timo Perez bats -Bases loaded no outs, score no runs, rob a liquor store

QUOTE(JimH @ Apr 30, 2005 -> 06:25 PM) From you, that's about it. Look at defensive metrics, he's not good.

I love it how Hawk paints Jason Johnson as some stud pitcher. He has a career 4.94 ERA and we have one hit off of him through four. Our offense is f***ing wretched.

QUOTE(thomsonmi @ Apr 29, 2005 -> 02:19 PM) I disagree on Tulo. But, agree that need isn't the determining factor. That's why I said "relative need." All three of these guys are listed by numerous scouts as Top 15 Players in this draft. If you look at this freshman and sophomore statistics, he's shown a decent bat and poor plate discipline. He'd be a bad choice.

QUOTE(shagar69 @ Apr 30, 2005 -> 03:13 PM) so who is this lopez guy? what type of player is he and what should we expect? A worse version of Wilson Valdez. The only thing he'll accomplish is making outs like it's his job.

Since I choose to spend my money, which I have little of (hooray college), on music rather than DVDs, here's my short list: Equilibirum Memento Super Troopers The Big Lebowski Come and See M City of God The Battle of Algiers Napoleon Dynamite Irreversible

Tulo would be a very bad pick at 15. He has shown only a decent average while in college and a subpar OBP for someone who might be going in the first round. Also, I wouldn't draft on need as no one should really do that unless they have a choice between two huge impact players.

QUOTE(sox4lifeinPA @ Apr 29, 2005 -> 07:30 AM) Note the order of the judgement. 20 year old know it all kid thinks he's bloomington, Indiana's gift to music appreciation. Which by the way 3 of my friends went to U of I @ bloomington. One as a piano performance major, another for his Masters in Public Affairs and the last for a Doctored in Archaeology. I know where you're from kid. You're still full of crap. Every bit of music is a derivative of something previously written. Nothing can be purely original. You'd have to take a child born in the wild who has no preconceived notion of what music is to find pure innovation and originality. I'm not claiming, nor did I ever claim, that the songs "prospects" by Wes Burdine and the Librarians was as innovative as The Flaming Lips or as good as song writing as Brian Wilson, however, if you cannot appreciate the elements to which said song pulls from those influences, then your head is way too far up your arse to save you.... and quite honestly, I feel really sorry for you. You're that kid that walks around saying everything is crap and then cites 2 German bands and whatever trendy world music is popular at the moment. I feel REALLY sorry for you. You're missing my point completely and once again putting words in my mout, which you're quite good at when you come off as a pretentious asshole. I could easily refute the majority of what you said/implied, and I stated quite clearly that the aforementioned genres were only a sampling of my musical tastes. I could rattle off numerous German, American, etc. bands that I enjoy vehemently (Magyar Posse would be Finnish, despite the name), but how is my opinion less valid than yours? Of course music is influenced by the past, but there's a fairly obvious line between merely regurgitating past trends and building off of them. I find Wes Burdine to be merely mimicing what indie rock has done for years, and that's what I want to get at in saying that indie rock has become too hemoginized. There's nothing really new to it, and it's been stuck in neutral for years now. I don't understand why you're so apprehensive to my opinion when I'm not rummaging through the indie scrapheap of the mid to late 90s to find seemingly inconsequencial bands that have brought nothing new to the table. I merely stated an opnion which you never bothered to try and refute and instead took swipes at my age, which shows a definite lack of maturity on your side when you can't handle a 19 year old saying that something you may like really isn't all that special. I've heard numerous times that "insert genre here isn't anything new" and there's a lot of validity in those claims, especially when it comes to post-rock. But I tend not to blindly lash out and instead attack personal character. People have differences, and if you're not ready to accept that, I feel sorry for you than you do to me. You refer to me as some sort of omniscient elitist and then you spout off some bulls*** about how you know where I'm from, etc. Grow up, you've already shown how ignorant and protective you are, so I once again await your short paragraphs that hold no talking points whatsoever and instead demean people who criticize something minute.

QUOTE(sox4lifeinPA @ Apr 28, 2005 -> 10:12 PM) wow Cerbaho-WG, how's Valpraiso, Indiana treating you? great I'm sure. it's a good thing your opinion is s***. otherwise it'd be a shame to have to point out why this one song, which you probably didn't even listen to in the first place, is better than the happy-with-a-g, alt rock green day crap that you enjoy. please, go back to pitchforkmedia.com and write your sorry excuse for a review I'm in Bloomington, IN, which has a sizeable musical community here that goes past the simple, homgenized sound that is indie rock. I enjoy it that you assume what I listen to and that I would even enjoy the pretentious s***heap that is Pitchforkmedia. Did I listen to the song? Yes. Was it a minor alteration of things that were laid out years ago? Yup. If you had any knowledge in your head about what I listen to, you wouldn't have a f***ing clue what the hell I was talking about. While you probably have a vague view of post-rock in general, I seriously doubt that you have listened to it extensively. I listen to an ecletic range of musical genres including free jazz, post-rock, a decent amount of indie, electronic (mainly french house), experimental, industrial...do I need to go on or have I proved my point that you are as horrible as pigeonholing me with music as you do in politics?

Wow, more homgenized indie names and lo-fi music. I don't find this to be remotely innovative or good, but then again I am getting sick of the indie genre for not doing anything new for years.

Amador with 2 more home runs tonight, something odd is going on with him.

Also, before I start studying, I'd like to quote myself here, because some people have been taking my words out of context: It is entirely possible that once Jon Garland stops pitching like an alien in the form of a Kevin Brown in his prime, and Mark Buehrle stops dominating on a consistant basis (which will happen), the White Sox may trudge along with a .400 W-L record for the remainder of the year. -- I did not say the White Sox will take on the form of the 2003 Detroit Tigers, I'm just saying that there is valid reasoning for some people thinking that the Sox could fall off the face of the Earth. At the same token, Jugg or anyone could argue that the Sox will play .600 baseball for the rest of the season. It boils down to the framing of the issue, and I personally think that the Sox will play around .500 ball for the rest of the year (would lean more towards .475). Will it be enough to win the division? Hell, that's what makes this fun.

Jesus Christ, even I didn't parallel the '05 Sox with '03 Royals...

Aha, we've finally moved past the "Cerb, you f***ing pessimist" (which I am, won't deny that) to actual conversation which I hoped my post would bring. Keep it going, I've got finals to study for.

QUOTE(Yossarian @ Apr 25, 2005 -> 12:53 PM) Hey Cerb, why don't you tell us how you really feel? Seriously I think you're a talented and creative writer, if a little rough around the edges. The culture in general, and your generation in particular are more "in your face" these days, but you write very well nevertheless IMHO. About the Sox. I share your concerns and it's not lost on me that KC started at 16-3 2 years ago. Now look at them. Hopefully, that won't happen to us, and I don't think it will. Still, I find many of your criticisms and reservations well taken. The White Sox lineup is very ordinary and I don't think Frank Thomas is coming back any time soon, if at all this year. I do have a little more faith in and appreciation for our team defense and pitching. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Jon Garland is finally going to turn into the pitcher we all hoped he would be. Buerhle and Garcia should remain solid. I worry about our two aging Cuban pitchers (their listed ages notwithstanding). The bullpen should be above average, and hopefully Ozzie got that one bad game out of his system when he burned up his relief corps against Cleveland. I don't think our defense is great, but it shouldn't be a major weakness, despite 4 errors against KC. I find it interesting that you criticize Pods about taking the best route to a fly ball. Didn't just about everyone say the same thing about the dearly departed Carlos Lee? I'm enjoying the teams fast start. I'm old enough to remember the 59 World Series and would like to see the Sox in another one before, well you know what I mean. Speaking of us old farts, don't be so hard on 50 somethings looking for dates. Hopefully when you're that age you won't have look for a Hannidate for whatever passes for one at that time. If I'm ever on Hannidate, I give anyone the permission to kill me.

QUOTE(JUGGERNAUT @ Apr 25, 2005 -> 11:49 AM) That analysis makes NO SENSE whatsoever. Here's why: 1) It completely ignores the impact a healthy Frank Thomas will have on this team when he returns. Whether that be June or July it's definitely going to impact the team's OBP & SLG as well HR, R, & RBI. 2) Next it doesn't bother to look at how Garland has performed in his career month to month. If Garland does fall back to earth it's going to be something that resembles his career m-2-m #'s. The same can be said for all the pitchers. FYI: Garland owns a 3.66 era in May over the last 3 yrs. It's traditionally his best month. 3) It completely ignores the bullpen changes. 05 SP era (2.84), RP era (3.83) vs 04 SP era (5.17), RP era (4.31) Even if you make the claim the SP will fall back to earth to a 4 range era there's no reason to believe the RP will get worse. If anything we can expect it to get better. 4) It completely ignores the defensive improvements. Do I need to tell you were the White Sox ranked in DP's last year? They rank in the top 5 this year. 5) It completely ignores the intangibles (SB's, SH's, & SF's). Again all categories in which the White Sox are among the leaders this year & were no where close to that last year. 6) It ignores what the team is doing in RON situations. http://baseball.espn.go.com/mlb/teams/batt...Type=2&type=reg RON .289A .325O .466S, 249AB, 76R, 72H 14DB, 10HR 116TB 71RBI, 19W, 16SB Let me give you the season totals so far: TOT .258A .298O .398S 643AB, 86R, 166H, 28DB, 1TP, 20HR, 256TB, 81RBI, 39W It's pretty obvious looking at the stats & watching the games that this team is getting it done in RON situations. Why should we believe this won't continue? 7) The R leaders: PK 11 (OBP 329), AJ 10 (OBP 283), JC 10 (OBP 343), SP 9 (OBP 383), WH 6 (OBP 429) 8) The Sox are 4 gms up on the Twins & 7 gms up on Det, Cle. You seem to have forgotten the miserable months of Jul & Aug in 04 when the Sox went 18W-28L. I didn't. If the Sox win 20 games in April that puts them on pace for 90 wins based on what they did the remaining 5 months in 04. There's no reason to believe they can't match that level of performance the rest of the way. 9) The Sox bench: 12 R, 5 RBI, 24 TB Harris has 6 R in 19 AB. Best % on the team. He's not going any where & as a sub Ozzie's able to marginalize him vs LH. The results: .500 / 1.000 VS. RIGHT: .353 / .774 10) Marte - so far in Apr he's as tough vs RH as he is vs LH. That's evidence of Marte 2003 who was dominant in the AL. They could concievably end Apr being 6 gms up on the Twins & 10 gms up on Det, Cle. Do you have any idea how hard it is for teams to make up 10 gms? So I emphatically disagree with this HofC analysis. It's just pessimistic BS. This team is 15-4 because the team is getting it done in RON sits & has the talent to keep that going. I disagree with the fall to earth belief in the SP. You have to see evidence of that first. So far I see a staff that has been made substantially better playing behind a much better defense. I don't see reason to believe that will change to a .400 winning %. And once again I will remind you of 1). As long as Frank is hitting on all cylinders going into Aug (when we play the Twins again) the White Sox are in no WAY going to post a .400 winning % in those final two months. By then they may have ridden this wave so high that Cle & Det can't hope to climb back into it. There is only 1 thing that will keep this team out of the playoffs: injuries. As long as the team remains healthy it should make the playoffs & as you said it may be designed to win in the playoffs. The past ALCS winners have proven that you need power, pitching, & defense to get to the WS. The emphasis on power. If Thomas can be our version of Ortiz we have all 3. Thanks for the critcism, Jugg, now let me debunk it. 1) We're assuming that Thomas does come back in July in the first place and that he shows no ill effects from the injury. I think it's a little naive to assume that Thomas will but up a .400 OBP this year, as it will obviously take time to adjust back to playing everyday after not being able to swing a bat for almost 9 months. I'm expecting around a .370 OBP which won't buoy the Sox's total OBP as you imply. 2) If Garland falls back to Earth, that means he's going to start giving up runs very soon. Garland has shown the statistical trend of increasing his walks, decreasing his strikeouts and increasing his H/9. Assuming, and this is a big assumption, that Garland reverts to our old "give up 5 runs in one inning" Joe, he'll be par for the course. But then again, as you and others point out, he could just flourish this season. If Esteban Loaiza can, why not Jon Garland, Mark Buehrle, Jose Contreras, etc.? 3) If the starting rotation starts giving up runs, ceteris parabis, we'll lose games. We're winning one run ballgames and if the starters give up more runs, we'll lose. Simple as that. 4) Defensive improvements? Podsednik, while fast, can't take a route on a ball to save his life. Dye isn't that great defensively. Juan Uribe, while being a good defender, isn't as good as Jose Valentin (errors aren't the only defensive stat, remember). Crede isn't great at 3B, Konerko is borderline immobile, etc. etc. The DPs have been luck, nothing else, nothing more. 5) OBP doesn't ignore SF's and SH's. I also know that the Sox are running themselves out of opportunities by leading the AL and perhaps MLB in caught stealing. 6) It's assumption as is my analysis. Prior statistics back me up, though. Do you honestly believe that Joe Crede will hit .300? Doubt it. You seem to ignore the fact that the Sox have choked down the stretch for the past several years, and the current team may or may not show the same attributes. The Sox bench is putrid, I don't understand your argument when Timo Perez, Ross Gload and Chris Widger get playing time. Out machines. I find it kind of ironic when you call my analysis bulls*** when anyone can look at our ramblings and get nothing out of it. You can quote obscure Sagarin ratings as much as you like, but your analysis is no better or worse than mine. That's up for other people, and history, to decide.

This is a blog piece written by me of all people, and is not placed "In the search of Sox blogs category" because of my hyperoffensive stuff that is below my post. Read up, it's the first posting, and of course comments are welcome. http://cerb.unked.net

I am going to agree with qwerty whole-heartedly. There is absolutely no way that our pitching will be this good, but our offensive woes show no real signs of improvement. We've seen absolutely wretched seasons from Dye before (2003), Uribe and Rowand had outlier years last year, Crede is bound to fall back to Earth, the list goes on. Yes KW assembled a good pitching staff, but our offense is a scrapheap that needs to be improved upon greatly (*cough* Brian Anderson *cough*). Sadly, KW made the moronic move to sign Rowand to a 3-year deal, thos blocking Anderson, who is seemingly ready now, behind Dye (2 years), Rowand (3) and Podsednik, who the team loves. The aforementioned logjam can really only lead to two outcomes: 1) Trade Anderson 2) Trade Rowand Rowand's stock is at an all-time high, and I would not hesitate in the least to ship off Rowand and his low walk rate in favor of Anderson who has shown the ability to hit at all levels while drawing the all important walk (at the trade deadline). Good teams draw walks (Boston last year led the AL w/ an OBP of .360, Florida the year before had a decent OBP of .333, Anaheim had .341 when they won their championship), simple enough. In addition, good teams have solid pitching. KW understands one aspect, but our organization is too damn stupid to look at the other by acquiring/retaining very risky players who don't have a high OBP (Podsednik, Uribe, Rowand) in addition to the ones we already have (Crede). You're handing the other team outs.

Hermanson needs to be warming up now, seeing as how he hasn't pitched for two games. Hermanson needs to work the 7th and 8th and hopefully Shingo can get a save in the 9th. We really, really need another reliever up here, but Ozzie and KW are probably too f***ing stupid to realize it.

QUOTE(whitesoxfan13 @ Apr 24, 2005 -> 02:06 PM) Cliff Politte is in. Politte has pitched the last two games, so I think he's due to give up something here. KW needs to get his head out of his ass and cut one of our five outfielders and bring up a long relief man.

Hernandez throws 111 pitches through five innings, and we've got four bench players who should never start games playing. Ozzie is asking to lsoe this one.

McEwing steals 2nd, Gotay goes down swinging.

PK walks on 4 straight, Dye up. Pods to 3rd somehow.

QUOTE(danman31 @ Apr 22, 2005 -> 03:26 PM) Yeah I wasn't talking about the Aussie that DBAH0 said signed. BA did a daily dish on this guy the 19th. I forgot that he was Dutch. Oh well, lol. By 'that Aussie from the daily dish' I was talking about the Daily Dish, not the guy DBAH0 was talking about. But you are right, I don't know why I thought he was an Aussie with that name. Well, his name wasn't something unbelievably Dutch like van der Steijn or something, lol.