ZoomSlowik

QUOTE(LVSoxFan @ Jun 22, 2006 -> 12:56 PM) I EXPLAINED ABOVE THAT THIS IS WHAT ME AND MY CIRCLE OF SOX FRIENDS THOUGHT, AND THAT IS WHAT "WE" REFERS TO. Just because we worried about choking in September doesn't mean we "gave up" on the team or questioned the approach of 2005, which I was totally behind. Just because we thought, at the time, as most people did, that we needed to acquire a bat in August or whenever it was doesn't make us heretics or "pussy" Sox fans. We thought it, most sportswriters thought it and you know what? It turned out that neither went that way. Most, you would think, would file that under "pleasant surprise"--I'll take it--but instead now all of a sudden if you dare questioned at any point in 2005 what was going on, you're not worthy? Pfft. That's CUB FAN bulls***, going along, not asking questions, being blindly faithful. It had a happy ending and that's all that matters. And that' WHY you don't see me being overly critical of the 2006 Sox because KW and Ozzie PROVED that they know what they're doing. So I'm loathe to question some of their moves. But it is amazing to me how some so-called "real" Sox fans here are frontin like they knew all along that a WS victory was imminent and they never questioned anything during the season at any point and any of us who did are just "pussies." Bulls***. Way to put words in my mouth. :headshake There's a difference between knowing what will happen and having some faith in your team. That's not Cub-like because in their case it's almost always un-justified. Over the course of the year the Sox earned my trust, and I'm not going to start flipping out because they're going through a rough patch. Other years I might gripe, but not the last two. You apparently decided to fear the worst. That's your perogative, but that's a crappy attitude to have toward your team when things are going well, and I couldn't do it. It makes watching the team more painful and trying then it has to be. You had doubts, others didn't. I can live with that. But don't support this bloated gas-bag for pontificating about whatever he feels like saying on a given day.

QUOTE(LVSoxFan @ Jun 22, 2006 -> 12:50 PM) And let's be clear: if you weren't worried during the September swoon and you're claiming here that you knew all along that what happened was going to happen then it is you, sir, who is full of s***. You want to sit here and sell us the snake oil that even though the TEAM ITSELF was worrying about it, somehow Carnac the Magnificent knew it all along, and anybody who didn't share your gift of clairvoyance is a "pussy" Sox fan? Have a great day! No, I wasn't worried about the swoon, and most would say that I'm a pretty intelligent baseball fan. We had a massive lead, and at no time did we lose it. In fact, the closest they ever got was a game and a half, which means at no time could we have lost the lead in a single day. Cleveland had to play .700 ball to catch up to that point, and that simply wasn't going to hold up forever. Was I somewhat concerned? Yes. But I wasn't going to jump off the ledge while we still had the lead, unlike a lot of people. It's called having a little faith in your team instead of whining about how things aren't going your way and assuming the worst.

QUOTE(LVSoxFan @ Jun 22, 2006 -> 12:40 PM) My point is that he pretty much was writing what most people were thinking along the season. I will give you this, his "predictions" absolutely suck. Maybe if he stopped making them, he'd have more cred. Because that's where he gets himself in the most trouble as proven here. Also, as I mentioned, his famous proclamation after the Bulls outlasted the Pacers that the Bulls were too "old and tired" to ever beat Utah. Oops! Good dicussion though, gents (and ladies)! This was fun. Now back to shelling the Cards... You're making an awful lot of generalizations about what Sox fans think, and I'd say most of them are inaccurate. Just because you thought that they were going to suck in 2005 and choke away the lead at the end of the year doesn't mean that everyone else does/did. I'd hope that most of us don't suddenly change our opinions on our management, manager, team, and owner every two weeks or so. He also still finds ways to rip the team when things are going well, especially this year. His writing is annoying and useless and has no real substance.

QUOTE(LVSoxFan @ Jun 22, 2006 -> 12:09 PM) You're oversimplifying but let's be honest here: we ALL thought they were gonna choke in September, and that was hardly Mariotti alone that was talking that up in the press. And let's face it, up until 2005 there was no reason to think that the Sox would ever win with Reinsdorf as an owner. Not me, that's for sure. Yes through the years he's of course flip/flopped on the story, just like... fans do. Maybe that's what I like: he writes like a fan. Up and down, love 'em, hate 'em--more about emotion than about Sportscenter analysis. I'll be the first to admit, for instance, that I had my eyes closed until the end of September because I was thinking the unthinkable. I just didn't have the venue to write about it. Actually, I did: and I got banned. No, I'm not over-simplifying. Look at the damn blog that shows his articles. Even before they started to slide he was flip-flopping. None of his opinions are ever valid for more than two weeks, most even less. And no, not all of us thought they were going to choke.

QUOTE(LVSoxFan @ Jun 22, 2006 -> 11:55 AM) All right, I'll take your word for it. But again: where has he flip-flopped on the Sox over the past two seasons? The only words I think he had to eat was when he was badgering KW for not making a post-ASB trade last year for a big bat when we were swooning. Otherwise, I'm at a loss here. HOWEVER, I will give you this: if I'm not mistaken, in the winter of 2004/2005 when we made the radical change to "small ball" team, I think he was openly doubting that if I'm not mistaken. So I'm aware of the flip/flops (like with the Bulls/Utah as I noted). Did you somehow miss the daily choke articles toward the end of the year? How could you possibly read his stuff regularly and not catch it. Through the course of the year he went from Sox doubter to Sox supporter to Sox doubter to Sox supporter again. Go back and look at the blog link that was posted earlier, he changed his stance on virtually everything related to the Sox on a regular basis. Kenny went from a moron to a genius for going to the small ball approach, then to a moron that didn't add a big bat; the Sox went from a team that was never going to win a series with Reisdorf as the owner to a serious title threat to a massive choke-job. Ozzie went from being a genius to a guy that doesn't know what he's doing. The list goes on and on. He never stands by any statement or opinion that he puts forth.

Have we gotten someone on the end of a long ball yet? That certainly doesn't seem to be working, yet we keep doing it.

Another header over the bar on a corner.

Tom Glavine is their #2 starter. He's got a great resume, but he's simply not that good anymore. If he's not getting the old 6-inches outside he's toast just like Maddux. They're not a real threat in the long run unless they add a front of the rotation starter.

I'd love to see them trade Zumaya for Smoltz. The only Tiger starter he's out-pitching right now is Bonderman, and that's by .04. His ERA is bound to go up a little in the AL as well. He's still an above average starter, but he's no longer a difference maker. Giving up a young stud like Zumaya for basically 2 years of Smoltz would be pretty dumb.

We have no use for Smoltz whatsoever. We've already got 6 starters, and 5 of them are quite expensive. Why would we want to add another expensive one that's older than all of the ones we already have?

There is also the player vote to consider however, and that is very had to predict. Ozzie probably won't get a whole lot of manager's choices since so many of the leading vote getters are Yankees or Red Sox, and he has to have a representative from each team.

QUOTE(heirdog @ Jun 20, 2006 -> 12:14 PM) Frickin' hilarious! Good point. He will be a robust 37 and ready for his prime so we may have to look elsewhere or coerce Joe Crede to get a 9th vertebrae fusion surgery and lace them up again before his 42nd birthday. My bad, didn't notice the 2020 thing, thought you were still on the 2008 topic. Obviously I only half read it.

What's funny is that any other year we might be talking about B.J. Ryan's performance. 33.2 IP, 1 win, 17 saves, 0.53 ERA, 0.62 WHIP, 41 K's.

QUOTE(beautox @ Jun 19, 2006 -> 04:03 PM) thats a zinger, the fact remains Crawford is young (24) and has more hits compare to Rose for their respective ages, whats hard to grasp about that? Next your going to be telling how important IsoD and IsoP are. I fail to see why that matters. First off, Rose didn't exactly get off to the greatest start in his career with his average. Second, Rose played for 24 years (most as a leadoff man), which is a large part of why he has the most hits ever. He has almost 2,000 more at bats than any player in MLB history. Third, Rose got on base a lot more than Crawford does. Fourth, there are plenty of players I'd rather be compared to than Pete Rose.

Ah, the wonders of TIVO. I don't have to remember when it's on. I just started watching Rescue Me this year and it's pretty good.

QUOTE(beautox @ Jun 19, 2006 -> 03:46 PM) What? are you serious? do your homework buddy. Crawford compared to Rose (Most career hits - 4,256) its posts like that, that make me quote Back to the Future "Hello? Hello? Anybody home? Huh? Think, McFly. Think!!!!!" Pete Rose Cincinnati Reds Age Year AB H BA SB/CS 22 1963 625 170 .273 13/15 23 1964 516 139 .269 4/10 24 1965 670 209 .312 8/3 518 hits DJ's personal favorite Tony Gwynn San Diego Padres Age Year AB H BA SB/CS 24 1984 606 213 .351 33/18 25 1985 622 197 .317 14/11 26 1986 644 211 .329 37/9 621 hits Carl Crawford Tampa Bay Devil Rays Age Year AB H BA SB/CS 22 2003 630 177 .281 55/10 23 2004 626 185 .296 59/15 24 2005 644 194 .301 46/8 556 hits Yeah, because how many hits he has right now is so important, and he's bound to do it for another 15 to 20 years since he did it 3 times He's a solid player, but he's not exactly a superstar. Unless he starts taking more walks or hitting with more power, he's not THAT valuable. Sure, he's a solid hitter with some speed, but his potential impact on the lineup is lower because of that. Yeah, I'd love to have him, but he's not worth B-Mac and two or three more of our top prospects. Edit- Crap, can't find the right shade of green anymore.

QUOTE(heirdog @ Jun 19, 2006 -> 02:24 PM) Your 2020 Chicago Whitesox: LF: Playing in grade school somewhere CF: Brian Nicola Anderson RF: Sweeney 3B: David Wright (signed as Free agent in 2019 off-season) SS: Valido 2B: Robbie Alomar III 1B: Playing stickball in the streets of the Dominican Republic right now C: F. Hernandez DH: Konerko ... I seriously doubt New York lets David Wright go.

QUOTE(Dam8610 @ Jun 19, 2006 -> 01:49 PM) Quit putting BMac in the package. Any package the Sox would send would have Fields as the centerpiece IMO, and the DRays are interested in getting great future CI as well as SP. I never said I wanted to trade B-Mac, but that seems to be what they are asking for. They want a young potential stud starter along with at least one other stud prospect (although they are currently aiming for more). Their focus is clearly on starting pitching, not position players. Just look at the post above mine for more evidence.

I just read in an ESPN Insider article today (Jayson Stark FWIW) that Tampa supposedly is interested in getting 3 or 4 youngster for him, focusing on high-ceiling prospects and younger big leaguers, with the emphasis being on pitching. In other words, they're going to find a hard time getting a taker. Judging by that, I'd imagine that their asking price would be B-Mac and two of our pitching prospects, and I wouldn't call most of ours high ceiling.

FWIW, their future plan is Papelbon in the rotation and Craig Hanson as the closer (pretty sure I saw that in a Sports Illustrated blurb).

QUOTE(juddling @ Jun 14, 2006 -> 03:55 PM) just curious, but when you put it on do you feel the over-whelming urge to pee in a trough and brag about attendance????? I was going to ask him if his shoulder hurt yet, but that works too.

Damn, football already? I'm not entirely sure if this falls under my jurisdiction, but if needed I will run one. There will definitely be Soxtalk leagues. Can a mod pin this and turn it into a sign-up thread?

QUOTE(hammerhead johnson @ Jun 14, 2006 -> 04:30 PM) That sounds great in theory, but then I'd need you to explain what happened in 2004. Road Average: .405 (358 ABs) Home Average: .338 (346 ABs) His 2002 splits are also kind of telling, but it's only a 30 point difference (.338 away to .308 at home), as opposed to a 67 point difference in 2004. Weird s*** happens sometimes. Not all stats make sense. If he plays a lot of road games when he's in the zone and a lot of home games during a cold spell, that can skew the stats quite a bit either way. Plus when you think about it, even if you assumed 300 at bats either home or away (which would be pretty high), the difference between a .250 average and a .300 average would be 15 hits. A couple of falling bloopers can drastically alter things.

I didn't realize that he had that many errors already. He's got 6, which is twice as many has he had all last year. That's gotta be a concern. I'm not saying that we need to replace him, but it'd be nice if he'd get his head out of his ass.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Jun 14, 2006 -> 03:48 PM) Right Now, Scott is on pace to make about 17 errors in 162 games. He has 3x as many errors as any other Left Fielder in the AL. He has as many errors as Soriano and 1 fewer than Adam Dunn. Anything over 10 is pretty damn bad for a corner outfielder. Only Jermaine Dye had more than 10 among qualified OF's last year.