hogan873

Yeah, Alexei is the better choice at SS, but Nix has looked good. He's a very good utility IF guy, and he's stepping when we need him.

It was very cool to see Peavy in the dugout. He certainly didn't have to be there considering he won't pitch (even in rehab) for a couple weeks. Good game for him to be present for. Getz looked great...I like his speed, and now my 8-year old daughter loves Chris Getz. My wife likes Beckham...big surprise. Pena and Williams looked solid. Nice barehand play by Randy. And, in the last two games, 24 runs with only one homerun...and that was a solo shot. Nice.

Acquire an ace without giving up TOO much...awesome KW. Now if the Sox pull out a win tonight...I need to buy more beer.

Wow. I was checking SoxTalk repeatedly from 2:00 to 3:00, then I stepped away to actually do some work, thinking that no moves would be made. Imagine my surprise when I checked again at 4:00. It's a good thing I was sitting down.

QUOTE (GO CHI SOX! @ Jul 31, 2009 -> 02:36 PM) Im hoping Jhonny Nunez ends up helping us in the future, because Betemit sucked and Marquez doesnt look too hot either. At the very least, we got a guy who spells his name Jhonny.

*yawn*

As each minute slips by, I am more sure that the Sox will not make any moves. Which is troublesome considering the Twins and Tigers have both made moves that will help them. Making no moves is worse than selling, in my opinion. Maybe no one is interested in what KW might be willing to sell.

I would do it, and I would like to think that the Jays would be intrigued. I would think, however, that Halladay is going nowhere.

Immediately after the game, I wanted to agree that the season is over. But, I cooled off and realized that I was overreacting. It's still the same team, and they had a bad road trip...a really bad road trip. Now, getting swept by the Yanks this weekend might close the books. I don't see that happening, though. The Sox could easily spilt the series, and might be able to win it if they get their heads out of their collective asses long enough. Now, a bright spot was Randy Williams. There's no guarantee that he will continue to pitch like that, but he looked very good last night. Pena also looked sharp, but he's also looked pretty bad. Q hitting the HR was good, but he's got to get on base more often. And I cannot agree more with the comments about Hawk. What a whiner. The Metrodome had nothing to do with the fact that Kotsay's fly ball went right into a defender's glove. Ever heard of just playing someone right? It was a nice stroke, but it was right at Cuddyer. The same thing would have happened if it was Mauer hitting towards Dye.

QUOTE (GO CHI SOX! @ Jul 29, 2009 -> 02:06 PM) This guy actually had a real good spring training from what I can remember. I hope he can help us out and eat some innings. Bartolo Colon became interested in pitching again when he saw "eat some", but quickly lost interest when he saw "innings".

QUOTE (lostfan @ Jul 29, 2009 -> 07:47 AM) Actually no, I'm pretty sure we are statistically near the bottom of the AL in defense. I wasn't arguing that we aren't good on defense. My point was that although we may have felt good about it after Mark's perfect game, we felt really bad about yesterday. I think that yesterday's game was a little more like the real Sox defense.

After watching the game fall apart yesterday, largely due to sub-par defense, it's easy to say we are a horrible defensive team. But, one could argue that we are a good defensive team after watching them back up Buehrle during his perfect game. What has most recently happened is of course going to be in the forefront of our minds. That being said, there are improvements that could be made on defense. I would hope that there is someone (or two) available via trade, but I'm not holding my breath.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Jul 23, 2009 -> 07:53 PM) As completely awesome as the perfect game and everything, you don't throw a no-hitter without at least a little luck. That's not to diminish the accomplishment, it's just that the accomplishment itself is kind of fluky to begin with. True, and with a little help. Wise

QUOTE (SHIPPS @ Jul 23, 2009 -> 07:49 PM) I have got nothing but love from my Cub fan friends today. They cant help but respect such an accomplishment to my surprise. And that's awesome. I think when you see a person posting about it being lucky or whatever, they are truly not baseball fans. Did you hear the Rays' announcer when Wise caught the ball or during the final out? Classy. Baseball fan.

I've seen comments posted on-line (not here) about Mark getting lucky. Of course many of these were coming from Cubs fans who don't appreciate baseball, but luck had nothing to do with it. 27 up, 27 down. Only 17 other pitchers have ever done this.

This may have been posted in one of the previous 300+ posts, but based on the number of games played in history and the fact that this is the 18th perfect game in history, this type of thing happens in .00004% of games played. Un-freaking-believable.

I don't have an issue with the signing of Hossa. Even with the injury and the possibility of him missing some time, he will be an effective addition. The 12-year contract is a bit confusing as I wonder if he'll even play that long. However, he's a big time player and will make an impact. I'm a die hard Penguins fan, and I loved having Hossa two years ago. I didn't like his decision to sign with Detroit, but I still respected the guy and his ability. Being a fan of the Hawks, also, I'm excited to see him sign. He does improve the Hawks' chances at raising the Cup.

Read, acknowledged, and agree.

My parents used more "time-out" tactics when I was a kid, although it wasn't called time-out back then. It was basically "get your ass in your room right now and don't come out until dinner". I remember one spanking, and it was a doozy. So, I pretty much use the same philosophy with my kids. Sending them to their room works sometimes, but when I use the word "grounded", it seems to be much more effective. I can probably count the number of times I swatted my three kids on one hand. They knew they were in big trouble when that happened. If I were to spank them every time they did something that MIGHT merit a swat, spanking would not be effective. So, I don't see the big issue with spanking. There's a huge difference between a spanking and child abuse.

The drinking age should be lowered to 19. DUI laws should be stricter. Child molesters should be jailed immediately in a general population prison (people who harm children are very unpopular in prison). There is a such thing as reverse discrimination. It happens a lot. Ghosts exist but only interact with those that believe. Marijuana should be legalized. Evolution is a much better answer than creationism.

QUOTE (WCSox @ Jul 22, 2009 -> 10:44 AM) I've been against trading Jenks for the past couple of seasons, but am beginning to open up to the idea of putting him on the block this off-season (and not just because he's pitched poorly this month). He's getting expensive and, frankly, he isn't an elite closer. He's definitely a very good closer, but not an irreplaceable Rivera- or Nathan-type talent. If the Sox are going into a retooling movement next year (heck, they've already started this year), getting some high-tier prospects and shedding payroll may very well pay off down the road. And it pains me to say this, because I have nothing but respect for the guy. Doing what he did as a rookie in the 2005 playoffs takes some serious stones, and I'll forever be indebted to him for that. But dealing him at some point in the not-too-distant future is probably what's best for the team. I agree. He'll forever be that guy who struck out Bagwell with three 99-100 mph fastballs and who closed the deal on one of the most exciting (and stressful) deciding WS games. You can't help but the like the guy. But it may be time to trade him. Question is, who becomes our next closer? I'm not too familiar with the minors, and I assume that's where he would come from.

QUOTE (WCSox @ Jul 22, 2009 -> 10:23 AM) Coop changed Jenks' mechanics after 2005 to put less stress on his surgically-repaired elbow and to allow him to throw those secondary pitches effectively. Jenks throwing 94-96 and being able to locate the hook is a lot more effective than Jenks throwing nothing but fastballs at 98-100. And Jenks able to throw the mid-90s four-seamer, hook, slider, and that change with late movement would be unhittable if he had command of all four. Thanks for the info. I assumed that Coop had something to do with it. I've seen Bobby very effective with his slider (the last K on Monday night), and his fastball has shown some great movement. I hope that he can get command of his stuff. If he does and becomes lights-out, he could bring the Sox a good return in a trade...which I assume will happen.

I don't think we can compare the Bobby Jenks of 2005 with the Bobby Jenks of 2009 (aside from the chin hairs). However, I see him throwing more secondary pitches now than before. He used to be money with the heat and then the nasty hook. I wonder if his use of more secondary pitches has hurt him. I suppose the days of 98-100 mph fastballs are over, and maybe that's why he needs the slider and change. Watching him, though, I just don't think he has the confidence in his stuff he used to.

I always like hearing about the guy who quietly amasses a great career. It's doubly nice knowing that guy is a member of our team. Truly a class act and a great pitcher.

Maybe it was because I've seen Bobby struggle through each of his past few outings, but deep down I knew the game would be blown as soon as I saw him starting the ninth. I had a bad feeling about it. Richard pitched a truly great game, and I think he could have pitched the ninth. I understand pitch counts and whatnot, but I surprised he pitched the eighth. I figured why not let him throw another 10-15 pitches and get a CG. Oh well. On a side note, maybe they should send Richard out for every start after telling him that there is a plane gassed up at Midway ready to take him to Charlotte if he doesn't pitch well. He obviously pitches better when under that type of pressure.