hogan873

I rarely go to the theaters anymore, and I can't remember when I last went to a movie during the opening weekend. But the family and I check out IT on Saturday. We went to the 9:50 AM show, and it was packed. I loved the movie. I read the book a couple times, most recently about two years ago. I thought the movie followed the kids' portion of the book very well. All of the actors were great fits, but Finn Wolfhard as Richie Tozier was perfect. The movie was very creepy overall with some good scares and a decent amount of humor. Bill Skarsgard did an awesome job as Pennywise. And if you watch closely, you can pick up on a lot of nods to what Part 2 will deliver. Having read the book, I highly recommend it. But my wife and daughter did not read it, and they really enjoyed it, too.

I love to go fishing. I tell myself every year that I'm going to fish more than I did the year before, but I never seem to get out as much as I'd like. I am making a more conscious effort this year, especially now that I've got my son a lot more interested. When I lived in NC and AK, I fished several times a week. And in both those places I knew where to go, what to use for bait, etc. I'm still trying to figure out where to fish around here. I spend a good amount of time on the DuPage River in Shorewood and Joliet. Tried a few ponds and actually found a pond very close to the house that is chock full of bullheads with even a few big ones. My son caught a 4-5 pounder, which is what I think really got him excited about fishing. We spent the day at Milliken Lake yesterday. Caught a few small carp and one bass. I'm still looking for more spots to try. I don't really care what I catch. But my son wants to catch a big carp...so that's my mission now.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Sep 5, 2017 -> 09:13 AM) nobody cares. As long as the kids in the pipeline are the real deal, it doesnt matter what the payroll is next year, so stop whining about it Agree. And please stop with the "more money in JR's pocket" bull. The Sox are rebuilding not to put money in the owner's pocket but to get ready to put the team in a position to compete and win in the future. They will spend money when the time is right.

My wife likes Yolmer, and my daughter is in love with Kevan Smith.

Shields looked pretty good. It looked to me like he had changed his delivery. His arm action was lower, and I think that was keeping the ball down. Most of his pitches had great movement. We'll have to wait and see if whatever changes he made stick. Leury's catch in CF was amazing. I thought there was no chance for him to get that ball. I like what I've seen from him this year. I didn't get to see the end of the game live, but watching the highlights was pretty cool. Moncada's clutch double (from the right side) was huge. Anderson with the game winner was nice to see. He had been having a rough game.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Aug 21, 2017 -> 05:07 PM) I get sick of how bad our players are considered on this board. I thought it a fair question to assess some other guys and see if they suck, too. Can't believe that post caused this freak out. Thanks. I'm surprised you think those Royals are good players, but glad to read this. The Sox team right now is bad. And there are some bad players on this bad team. Some are bad enough that their badness isn't even hidden by having one decent stat. Some are bad when you look a little deeper using advanced stats. There are some good players, but not many. Look, I'm not as sold on advanced stats as some, but I do recognize that BA, OBP, HRs, and RBIs do not tell the whole story. Not by a long shot. A guy like Davidson, who I like, who has a ton of power but strikes out a third of the time he comes to the plate isn't that good. My reaction to your post was based on you assuming that because the poster was critical of our players that he'd be extra critical of the Royals players and state that the NL all star team is a bunch of shlubs. I mean, come on man. Your posts are coming off as troll-like because of the ridiculous statements. You can disagree with posters all you want, but forming a decent argument is paramount. We're always going to be more critical of our own players. Always. And we're always going to look deeper at the stats of our own players. Especially those who have the potential to be a part of the future.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Aug 21, 2017 -> 02:21 PM) If you do get a chance I'd like you to assess Salvy Perez and Lorenzo Cain and Moustakas and Hosmer for me. Should they be starters? Are they worth a damn? My guess is they will come up lacking. I'd love to see your assessment of the NL all star roster. I'd think most of those guys suck and shouldn't be regulars. I do realize most of the Sox do suck, but I think Delmonico, Avi, the catchers, Moncada, Abreu, yes Davidson are actually not so bad. Perez by the way has 21 homers; Davidson has 22. " For God's sake, just stop.

QUOTE (Jim Busby @ Aug 18, 2017 -> 06:37 AM) Get Rid of Beck, Goldberg & Infante. Bought 5 Pitchers from other Teams for Charlotte who are much better than those Three. We could lost 117 games this season with our bad relief staff Yes, those guys are terrible. I watched Goldberg pitch the other day. He's awful. I think the Sox will have to consider bringing up an arm or two for the September call-ups. The ones they want to develop for the future should be getting some innings down the stretch here. I understand they'll still have to roll out the walking dumpster fires that currently smolder in the bullpen, but we might as well see some future arms get some work.

After blowing through the first two seasons of Broadchurch on Netflix, we were looking for another show to watch until some of the network shows come back. Started watching The Fall. Wow. What a creepy, fantastic show. Watching some of these British shows has made me realize that a lot of American network shows are pretty bad.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Aug 18, 2017 -> 12:02 AM) I contend though that if we are 10 games out of first at the end of next April, individual performance means very little. How can a player give optimal performance when the team is that bad? It has to affect the little things in your approach. Why move a runner when it doesn't matter? Just swing from the heels and try to homer. The young studs will put in the time and get used to pitching and hopefully do well enough. My point is, all that training will be put to the test when we are projected to be a good team. On April 1 of that season, whenever it is, is when the can't miss guys like Moncada, Robert, Eloy, etc., begin their trial periods. When it matters. I'm not saying Moncada can hit .111 and management will be satisfied but none of it really matters til the team is projected to be a contender. Then the apprenticeship is ova. False. The performance of Moncada, Lopez, Engel, L. Garcia, A. Garcia, and Delmonico matter now. The team winning or losing doesn't really matter right now. Management put Moncada, Lopez, and Delmonico in the positions they are in to see how they perform. You don't wait until you're projected to contend to test your prospects. You do it during a rebuild. So, when it comes time to contend those guys will be there if they have proved themselves...or they won't because they didn't. This is simple stuff. This is how a rebuild works.

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Aug 18, 2017 -> 05:38 AM) Jose Abreu is pretty damn awesome. Him as the DH on the next contending team just makes way too much sense, it's impossible not to respect him. Couldn't agree more. Abreu is the type of guy a team needs. A true leader who looks out for his teammates.

I'm not terribly concerned about his defense. For one, the team needs a DH for next season, and he could fit that position well, especially for an rebuilding team. The Sox have players that can be plugged into the positions he could play (OF/3B/1B?), and that would allow him to concentrate on being a DH. The other reason I'm not concerned is the Sox are rebuilding, and if they want to plug him into LF next season to let him work on his defense, so what? I'm interested to see how he plays over a full season and 500+ ABs. If he could end up being a .270ish hitter while belting 20+ HRs, that would be great.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Aug 14, 2017 -> 02:24 PM) I'm not excited about the rebuild; I'm totally against it. I still give it a 2 until it starts to prove worthy of the grade increasing. But I told u all before I have the right to cheer for the team if it works. That's what fandom is all about. I'm just pointing out what's going to happen now. With all the positions covered, the Sox will with the blessing of the fans make more money than ever, cause the payroll will be nothing. I'm against all the losing seasons involved in a rebuild of course but I have the right to continue being a fan if it works and they get good again. I'm still watching games during the down times. Well, your previous posts in this thread tell a different story. Saying that all of the pitching prospects are sure things and talking about how good it's going to be in a couple years is pretty much the opposite of being against the rebuild. But anyway...

QUOTE (greg775 @ Aug 14, 2017 -> 10:12 AM) The names on the list I mentioned are can't miss maybe with the exception of Cease and Burdi. I guess Fulmer could bust. The rest have too much going for them. There is no such thing as a can't miss prospect. That's why they are called prospects. The ones we're talking about have huge potential and very high ceilings, and the chances are good that they will succeed to some extent. But there are no guarantees. By the way, since when are you so excited about the rebuild? A couple weeks ago you were rating it a 2 out of 10.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Aug 14, 2017 -> 09:44 AM) What do you mean bout the pitching being a disaster zone? The starting rotation is Rodon, Giolito, Lopez, Kopech (sp?) and Cease. these are all can't miss major leaguers. Plus Hansen, Fulmer and Dunning. Burdi, Adams and Clarkin. You already have a full staff of starters and relievers here. Like I said add one vet starter maybe and 2 bullpen guys for a few bucks and you are talking low low payroll for a No. 1 in the league pitching staff. The two prospects for 1 major league player doesn't make sense regarding these guys. And I'm probably forgetting somebody. Way too early to say that. If they all pitch to expectations, the rotation will be one of the best. If some exceed expectations, could be the best in baseball. But we've got a long way to go before we know how they will all perform.

I think 2019 is a very interesting season. I don't think they'll compete for the division, but they'll be in contention for a wild card spot all season. However, that all depends on the rest of the division. If the rest of the division struggles, you never know. I think 2020 starts a string of years where they dominate.

First two episodes of the new season of Ray Donovan have been great. Seems as if a lot has happened between the end of last season and now. I like the flashbacks that have been filling in the blanks.

I like what I've seen from Delmonico so far...at the plate at least. I think we all know he's not going to be a .380 hitter, but I think he's working on earning himself a chance to be part of the 25-man next season. I could see him being the DH while getting a few starts at 3rd or in the outfield.

To address the Sale discussion, I don't think his behavior had anything (or very little) to do with the trade. I'm sure the front office was upset with the way he behaved at times, but if they did not get the offer they were looking for he would not have been traded. To Sale's credit, it seems like he's doing well in Boston. He's pitching very well, and it seems like he's been mature. If a meltdown occurs in the playoffs, we'll have to see how that goes. As far as Moncada, man it's nice to see him excel. He has quickly turned around his slow start. The patience he shows at the plate with his ability to see pitches is very encouraging. That home run last night was great. Hitting a 98 mph pitch on the outer part of the plate to left center requires a lot of power. His swing looks so smooth. And the walk-off...fantastic. This kid is going to be a star.

Watched the first episode of Mr. Mercedes last night. Really good so far, and it follows the book pretty closely. The opening scene is gruesome and just like the book's opening. I like Brendan Gleeson as Hodges, even though in the book he wasn't Irish...well, at least it was never mentioned that he was Irish. Harry Treadaway is perfect as Brady Hartsfield. I'm looking forward to see how the season plays out.

QUOTE (Sleepy Harold @ Aug 9, 2017 -> 01:05 PM) No, the weekend of Aug 25-27 (home series vs DET). Ah, thanks. Great jerseys...but $150 is a bit steep. I might have to pick up the shirt option, though.

Are they wearing these during a game this weekend?

Engel's catch was amazing. I'm glad I was able to see it as it happened. As soon as McCann his the ball, I said to my wife, "That's gone." We both said something along the lines of "holy s***" when Engel caught it. Even my daughter, who was not really watching the game, said, "He caught that!?" I don't know if his bat will come around, but with his defense and speed he wouldn't need a ton of offense to be a valuable piece.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Aug 9, 2017 -> 12:47 AM) That's our rare winning formula say once out of every 7 games. I fully expect us to lose 6 of 7 the rest of the season. The formula is to once every seven games hit the s*** out of the ball and survive like tonight, 8-5. Only hope for regular wins is Rodon or Friday's starter dominating a game. Right now here's how I'd rate our team. Starting pitching: D-minus. Bullpen: F. Lineup: D to D-minus. Defense: D to D-minus. Baserunning: F. Managing: D to D-minus. Who cares about rating the team? We're concerned about the development of the young players that will be part of the rebuild. It was a good game yesterday seeing Moncada, Garcia, Engel, and even Anderson play well.

I've been watching Broadchurch on Netflix. A couple episodes into season 2. What a great show. There are some gems coming from BBC America.