fathom

QUOTE(Gregory Pratt @ Aug 1, 2006 -> 08:50 PM) And, about Politte, we know he's hurt and has been playing hurt. His elbow's all messed up. There's no way to know if he's hurt, or it's just an excuse for a lack of velocity this season. If he was really had bone chips like they said he did, they wouldn't have brought him off of the DL. I think the whole reason some of us are commenting on the marijuana issue is because you bring it up everytime you discuss Garcia's condition. Last time I checked, an offseason of drinking alcohol is just as likely to make someone gain weight.

QUOTE(Gregory Pratt @ Aug 1, 2006 -> 08:40 PM) Don't put sarcastic words in my mouth, fathom. I'm sure plenty of players smoke pot. I don't see that many that have also gotten fatter, appear lazier, and have lost a lot of their talent, too. Do you honestly believe that Garcia's marijuana use has led to his physical condition this season? Garcia has been a NOTORIOUS partier for years...I'm sure whatever he did this offseason was no worse than what he's done in the past. The more I hear injury/steroid excuses for our starters, the more it annoys me. We have a lot of pitchers who threw a ton of innings/pitches last season, and it's not an exaggeration to say they were very stressful innings also. By no means are we the first team to make a long postseason run, and then the next season, our pitching just wasn't effective. I don't know, Cliff Politte lost a lot of his talent this offseason. Should I send him a bunch of fritos and twinkies?

QUOTE(kevo880 @ Aug 1, 2006 -> 08:30 PM) Why are you so obsessed about Freddy smoking pot? no one else on this board ever talks about it but you. just because he got caught in the offseason doesnt mean hes a pothead and does it all the time. im sure you drink sometimes does that make you and alcoholic? i really dont think thats the reason freddy has lost velocity and isnt the same pitcher. The steroids or amphetimines makes a lot more sense to me. Didn't you know, Garcia is the only MLB player to smoke pot. Also, I'm sure if Garcia did do it in the offseason, it likely wasn't his first time ever doing it. Thus, why didn't he lose his velocity in season's past if this is the way he "trains" in the offseason.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Aug 1, 2006 -> 08:29 PM) And then what happened? He pitched better, and then people forgot about the "injury". It's the same thing with people saying Mark's injured now. He's not...he was throwing pretty hard for him last game. Just because your location sucks and every bad pitch you make is getting hammered, it doesn't mean you're injured. Buehrle's struggles now actually reminds me of Garland from the first 2 months of the season.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Aug 1, 2006 -> 08:24 PM) Well, in 04 in April and May Santana posted ERAs of 5.40 and 5.79. That would be a two month slump, no? And interestingly enough, there were a lot of rumors that he was injured (I believe bone chips were a concern).

QUOTE(JimH @ Aug 1, 2006 -> 07:11 PM) Agree on Ozuna but either way, your position on the issue is abundantly clear wouldn't you say? I would hope so by now. In all honesty, I would love for Pods to shut me, and the other haters that are getting on him, up for the rest of the season.

QUOTE(VAfan @ Aug 1, 2006 -> 06:54 PM) Abreu, frankly, belonged in Chicago as a lead off hitter in place of Podsednik, playing for his Venezuelan countryman, Ozzie Guillen. And we could have used the improved outfield defense, the much better OBP, and his ability to hit lefties and righties. And have absolutely no payroll flexibility for the next 3 seasons.

QUOTE(Felix @ Aug 1, 2006 -> 06:50 PM) Honestly, if you have a row of Iguchi, Thome, Konerko, and Dye behind you, there is no point to having a speedy leadoff hitter. Pods is there because when he's hot, he gets on base at a excellent pace and he sees a lot of pitches, which works the pitcher and gives the chance for hitters behind him to see what the pitcher is throwing. Fixed I definitely agree with you that Pods can still get into a pitcher's head. And I also agree that we're better off when he's not running. I think most people can observe that Iguchi is a better hitter when he's not trying to protect Pods on the bases. It would be a huge spark for the team the rest of this season if Pods can get on at a .375 clip the rest of the way. He'd be such a more effective hitter if he just protected the count better with two strikes.

QUOTE(CWSGuy406 @ Aug 1, 2006 -> 06:47 PM) So there is a radio personality that's worse than Mike North. Amazing... The interview with North and Don Cooper this morning was one of the most annoying bits of radio I've ever heard. North kept trying to make jokes, and Cooper just wasn't playing along this morning.

QUOTE(The Ginger Kid @ Aug 1, 2006 -> 06:45 PM) He's lost a step but always lays out for a ball whenever he has to. I still cringe watching that catch in Anaheim where it looked like he broke his ribs on the top of the short wall. JD's a gamer. He's been fantastic in his season and a half with the Sox going back on the ball. He doesn't shy away from the fence (something Ordonez struggled with).

QUOTE(JimH @ Aug 1, 2006 -> 06:36 PM) Are you trying to beat your own previously established world record for "most posts bashing Podsednik in one day" ? I mean, it's not as if your opinion on that subject isn't abundantly clear by now. I just thought it was funny because someone over the wknd compared Pods defense to that of a kid picking their nose out there. And FWIW, that comment was just as much a shot at Ozuna as it was Pods. I love Ozuna's hustle, but he shouldn't be playing in the outfield in the majors unless it's during batting practice.

QUOTE(whitesoxfan101 @ Aug 1, 2006 -> 06:26 PM) you can pretty much pick your nose and eat it rather than play defense and your still underpaid. Sounds like our LF play this season.

QUOTE(Felix @ Aug 1, 2006 -> 06:20 PM) If you look at the overall package, Pods >> Gload in LF. I know you hate Pods with a passion, but his defense hasn't been nearly as bad as you'd like to believe it is recently (last month or so). His defense all season has been atrocious. He has one of the worst arms in the majors, is terrible at judging bloopers, he plays entirely too deep, and his lack of focus in actually catching fly balls is pathetic. I'll be the first to admit I hate him, but even some of the most optimistic, least critical people on this site have seen enough of his defense to be sickened.

QUOTE(SoxFan76 @ Aug 1, 2006 -> 06:16 PM) He stole 11 bases last season. I don't care if you "know how to steal a base" (as Hawk would say) or not, you need some speed to steal 11 bases. No, not really. Albert Pujols had almost 20 steals last season, and he doesn't have much speed. Even Bonds has a couple of steals this season, and my grandma is faster than him now. If you're going to use speed to judge stolen bases, then Joey Gathright and his 15 steals must not have blazing speed.

QUOTE(BigSqwert @ Aug 1, 2006 -> 06:13 PM) I sensed sarcasm in his post. No, not at all. Gload is just as good of an option, if not better, at the leadoff position as Pods now. Hell, Gload is a better bunter, and he has more infield hits this season than Pods.

QUOTE(rowand @ Aug 1, 2006 -> 06:11 PM) let's let him play 2-3 games a week with us since he is hitting well. pick our spots with thome and give konerko a day off once a week for pete's sake. Or how about we let him play in LF more? His D is bad out there, but so is everyone else we've put out there this season. There's no reason to keep PK and Thome on the bench once a week if they're healthy.

Dye's offense has been awesome, there's no question. However, why do people keep saying he has a cannon for an arm? He hasn't thrown out anyone at 3rd or home this season, and teams are definitely being aggressive on the bases against him.

QUOTE(SadChiSoxFanOptimist @ Aug 1, 2006 -> 05:22 PM) I like JD, but I think perhaps this is his last year with us. Wrong!

I wish Dye would charge the ball more when someone is trying to score from 2nd base on a single. Far too often this year, he's sat back on the ball, and ends up throwing it flat-footed to home. It's one of the main reasons he hasn't thrown out anyone at home this season. The same thing goes for Pods. Even if you have a pathetic arm like he does, it doesn't mean you can't charge the ball. Pods plays the outfield like he's a 250 pound infielder playing the position for the first time.

QUOTE(Al Lopez @ Aug 1, 2006 -> 04:39 PM) The dropoff for Buehrle is just as significant for him, in that (as Hawk would say) to the batter's eye there isn't a big difference between Mark's fastball and his changeup. Batters are pounding him because they aren't being fooled. Maybe Mark has to adjust to his slower fastball by making his changeup slower yet. Game of adjustments. I sure wouldn't give up on him, and I'm glad they didn't trade him this week. Eventually - maybe next year - he'll figure it out. I haven't noticed much of a drop-off at all with Buehrle's speed this year. Actually, he was throwing harder in his last game than he normally does. Buehrle is a control pitcher, and his main issue is everything is up in the zone. Garcia is much different, as he used to use his fastball to set up his offspeed stuff. Even when he threw 94 mph, he rarely threw his fastball by people. However, the difference between the 88 mph fastball and 94 mph fastball, followed by an offspeed pitch, is huge. It's not just Garcia's fastball that isn't as crisp. His slider has nowhere near the tilt that it did when he first joined the Sox. If you go back and watch his first start with the team, he had terrific stuff. And as someone mentioned before, his velocity started to decline pretty drastically last year. He was in the 90-91 mph range all season.

QUOTE(Flash Tizzle @ Aug 1, 2006 -> 04:40 PM) More than Brandon's success last season is the failures of our current rotation. Myself, and others, aren't using it alone as proof everything would turn around -- just that what's out there right now isn't working. I believe it's different than suggesting how "Buehrle was pivotal to our success last year, so therefore he must be again." I was very impressed with McCarthy last night. He seemed to pitch with more confidence. Maybe the trade deadline being over helped him relax, or maybe his awful outing in Baltimore might have made him pick up his game.

It was nice to see us get a big lead against KC and actually prevent them from rallying. Lets hope Thome is ok...we're going to need him.

QUOTE(redandwhite @ Aug 1, 2006 -> 02:35 AM) Ha. Take off your Red Sox hatred goggles. Laughable. If you're going to ask a question, why laugh at anyone who says Pujols?

Here's the dreaded 6th inning again.

QUOTE(Greg The Bull Luzinski @ Aug 1, 2006 -> 01:37 AM) Too bad Ross Gload is not good inthe outfield, otherwise I might suggest him as a LF. What makes his defense any worse than Pods now?