gosox41

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ May 19, 2014 -> 02:53 PM) this is wrong too because the Sox are only 2.5 out of the Wild Card even with the injuries they've suffered thus far. Given a break or two, this team could easily compete for a Wild Card spot all year. You don't just sell to sell and you don't just assume that this team has absolutely no shot. As long as we don't buy just to buy. I went into this year thinking it was a rebuilding year. If we were playing great ball and were legitimately contending for the division I'd be looking to add. But next year is when I expect more of this team. If we're 2.5 games out of the WC come July 31, I hope Rick doesn't trade any young players for an over the hill, past his prime vet. Nor do I hope he takes on an aging player in decline wiht a big contract the last month of the season because he was great 5 years ago and he got him for nothing. Bob

QUOTE (Tannerfan @ May 16, 2014 -> 04:40 PM) I don't follow the world of prospects, but is it possible the WS shock everyone by passing on one of these high schoolers and go for a college guy who can get to the bigs sooner? I want a player with big upside. What about the C/OF the Cubs may take at 4. The best all around hitter in the draft. While I want the Sox to get pitching (Rodon) I am wary of taking a HS pitcher in the first round. Bob

QUOTE (staxx @ Feb 4, 2014 -> 10:11 AM) Oakland never had a pitcher of Sales' Caliber. I don't feel like debating where Sale ranks amongst Oakland pitchers from the last 10 years, but I'd be more then happy to have Hudson, Mulder, and Zito as my front 3 starters (when they were with Oakland not currently.) Bob

QUOTE (IowaSoxFan @ Jun 28, 2013 -> 01:40 PM) Mitchell wasn't a high ceiling prospect. He was a guy that struggled with contact in college that KW thought would all of the sudden learn how to hit when he got to the pros. He was a high floor prospect because he was close to being finished when he came out of college and you knew what you were getting, good speed, solid defense and power to the gaps, and he struggled to recognize breaking balls. KW was infatuated with athletes when drafting hitters over baseball players. I think there is a simple explanation for that. Bob

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ May 26, 2013 -> 07:36 PM) These 30 games (27 upcoming) 3 over Miami (Last place, 20 games under .500) 2 CUBS (Last place, 11 games under) 2 at Cubs 3 at A's (2nd place, 5 games over) 3 at Mariners (4th place, 10 games under, 8 game losing streak) 3 A's 3 BLUE JAYS (Last place, 8 games under) 3 at Astros (Last place, 22 games under) 3 at Twins (Last place, 9 games under, just lost 10 in a row) 3 at Royals (4th place, 9 home losses in a row, 4-16 streak) 2 METS (4th place, 12 games under) The schedule-making Gods couldn't have handed us a better late May/June schedule. The teams we are playing are a combined 86 games under .500. We'll play 5 of the 6 last place teams in baseball (the only team we don't see is the NL West doormat). This doesn't even account for the fact that we faced the Angels twice when they were in last place (3-4 against them, but now winners of 8 in a row, including the first two against the Sox). The only team above .500 we'll face is the A's, and they're a mirror image of the Sox, with limited offensive ability but very strong pitching, so those are games we should be in, as well. So I'll take a cue from Flavum's "quantitative analysis" that we go 19-8 in our next 27 games to pull to 11 games over .500. Then what do you do, remembering the Daniel Hudson trade from 2010 (including a 26-5 stretch against much better competition, including the Braves) and the team's fade-out in 2012 despite adding Myers, Liriano and Youkilis. And also assuming we're in 1st or 2nd place, heading into the June 28th-30th home series against the Indians (4 games, including DH). The only opportunity we really would be missing is NOT trading Jesse Crain...all the other players like Peavy, Rios and Ramirez could be traded at other times, albeit for not as high of a return. Crain might be the most valuable set-up guy in baseball, and he's not likely to stay THIS HOT for the rest of the season, and he's only due $3 million for the next 4 months...but he's also the only glue holding the bullpen together. If Santiago can actually slide into a 2nd lefty role (but not just LOOGY), pitching in games where we are ahead in the 5th/6th/7th, like Zumaya used to do with the Tigers...then we might just have enough, as long as Lindstrom OR Nate Jones are serviceable, and there's always the possibility of recalling Daniel Webb two months from now to replace Jones. Conclusion: Find a veteran salary to take on, someone like Charles Johnson in 2000 (well, he was an All-Star)...maybe more along the lines of Carlos Ruiz of the Phillies that the entire pitching staff would respect and with playoff experience. If you find the right reliever, buy his salary, but don't overpay with Erik Johnson or a minor leaguer we're really going to need in the future. Beckham can play occasionally for Ramirez...just so he doesn't wear down. If you push Flowers back to the bench, that gives you a RH power threat against LHP to go with Wise and Keppinger/Gillaspie, whoever's not playing. On the flip side, I thought the Sox had one of the tougher schedules of any team in the AL ain April and May. That fact that they are now .500 after what I think is a tough schedule as well as that horrible start they got out too (no matter how tough the schedule, a lot of players were garbage the first 6 weeks of the season) gives some hope. But 17 against Detroit starting in July. That's our season. Bob

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jan 17, 2013 -> 02:52 PM) If only I could be as optimistic as you. I don't see this team winning more than 42 games But if we bought Ditka in to manage...I'm thinking 162-0. And MLB would have to put in a slaughter rule as the Sox would be rolling over everyone. Bob

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jan 17, 2013 -> 02:52 PM) If only I could be as optimistic as you. I don't see this team winning more than 42 games But if we bought Ditka in to manage...I'm thinking 162-0. And MLB would have to put in a slaughter rule as the Sox would be rolling over everyone. Bob

QUOTE (bhawk99 @ Jan 17, 2013 -> 07:44 AM) Maybe some of us "whiny" fans simply realize that the already loaded Tigers became even tougher to beat during this off season and the Sox didn't. Do you really feel that adding Keppinger and losing AJ made us a better club? We will still support our team but in the back of our minds we know that making the playoffs with this current lineup even as a wildcard is a longshot. Was it over when the German's bombed Pearl Harbor? Seriously, so this year is a wash according to you. So no reason to go out to even enjoy a baseball game on a nice night. Fine. You're choice. And last year when the team was ahead of the Tigers in the summer, did you "know" they weren't going to win and decided not to go? I hope that's not the make up many Sox fans. Or after 2010 when the team finished with 87 wins and they added Adam Dunn, was it not worth giving in to the excitement and buying tickets ahead of time for 2011. Or were you one of the prognostictors who said Dunn would have the worst offensive year ever and Rios would fall apart and the Sox had no chance so why bother? Bob

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Jan 16, 2013 -> 11:38 AM) What should the fans punishment be for "not showing up"? Payroll reduction and a lack of moves due to financial inflexibility. We're seeing it right now. That way these whiny fans can whine some more but instead of hearing about how uninspiring the team is and how 'they knew' the Sox weren't going to the playoffs, we can hear how greedy and cheap Sox ownership is for not shelling out more money, even if it's been proven the customer won't show until all the starts align just right...and even then it's a big maybe because it could be too hot, too cold, the grass is cut too short, the trainer is too fat and that is offensive, there's no dynamic personality, or the dybamic personality is a selfish a-hole, etc. Bob

QUOTE (bigruss22 @ Jan 15, 2013 -> 09:50 PM) Ownership put a team in first place for over 100 days last season, fans didn't show up. Sox fans have as many excuses as anybody to not show up. Do the Sox need to play well to get Sox fans to buy tickets? Absolutely. But even a .500 ballclub should be around league average for attendance. Agreed. And do I dare blame the fans for the Sox potenitaly not making the playoffs? Know one knows for sure what KW could have done in the trade market if the Sox could have taken on salary. Maybe a move could have been made after Dunn hurt his oblique and Paulie was obviously not himself when his wrist acted up. If the Sox could draw 30K per game, we'd probably be adding payroll this year. But a city like Detroit draws close to 3 million yet they have less people living there and a much worse economic environment. If they can draw close to 3 million and we're gihting with them for first place all year and can't draw 2 million then it says a lot about Sox fans in geners (yes I'm generalizing and that won't go over well with diehards that actually post on this site) but the truth is the truth. The Sox lowered prices next year. Assuming this team is 80-85 wins, how much do you think attendance will increase, if at all. I'm tired of hearing these fans whine. Shut up and go to games. A 100 loss team in the same city draws 800,000 more people then the Sox. Tetams in MLB have more expensive tickets then the Sox and still significantly outdraw us. It's all pathetic. And the funny thing is people here rip Hahn for not having a pulse. Are these the same who ripped Kenny for not building anything consistent and going year by year to try to win? I've heard that a lot from Sox fans when I'm just sitting at the ballpark. Well now Rick is doing the exact opposite and people complain there are no trades or signings. Here's why: 1. Not much talent to trade a way in the ML roster. 2. Minor League system is bad, our prospects aren't in demand too much. 3. No money to spend due to lack of attendance built on a multitude of lame excuses. Rant over....for now. Bob

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Aug 2, 2012 -> 02:56 PM) Unfortunately, we only have 1993, 94 (not really) and 2000 to show for all that talent. And we never advanced past the division series. 1993 and 1994 still aggravate me. 1994 for obvious reasons. But 1993 was more due to Lamont then anything else. Why start McDowell against the Blue Jays when he had such a poor showing against them through the whole year. Sure he won 20 games, but sometimes teams have your number. And considering how the rest of the starters were pitching that year, I think most knowledgable fans woudn't complain about having McDowell start against a team potentially 3 times when they hit him hard all year. Bob

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Aug 2, 2012 -> 02:52 PM) The guy who was afraid to trade prospects when it could have put his teams over the top? You mean like trading for veterans Raines, Sax, Belcher, and George Bell to name a few. I think Schu was a pretty solid GM. If anything it was his theory on pickinng.g up washed up vets to be our 5th starter and produce a 6 ERA year in and year out that was frustrating. Bob

QUOTE (MEANS @ Jul 28, 2012 -> 10:05 PM) just saw this too, could work out to be a good pick up, fingers crossed we get the good Liriano. Let's hope Liriano is motivated by playing for a contending team. Does anyone know why he's been so bad this year? Has it been lack of motivation? Injury? Is he tipping his pitches? Just one of those years? How has his velocity been? Bob

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jul 22, 2012 -> 08:10 PM) This seems like as good of a place as any to have all of the hater talk. Is this the end of the season? Have we seen the high point of 2012 for the Sox? Or is this just a bump in the road? Will the Sox play better as they get some of their pitchers back? Is Detroit on their run, or is this just a temporary hot streak, and they will go back to how they played the first half of the season? Forgetting about this weeks debacle, I'm surprised the Sox have been in first place this late in the season p begin with. It's a shame this is the week they sucked but it's also hard to be optimistic about this team going through the season. Haven't we seem this before? Extended slump by a team? Check. Big hitters sucking for an extended period. Check. A team that seems to always have a crapp second half of a seaosn? So far, check KW seriously needs to look at dumping players --IF THIS LOSING CONTINUES. If we are 4-5 out on July 31, I wouldn't be shy about subtracting and shedding payroll in the slightest. Of course we all know KW won't do that for various reasons ranging from PR to stubborness to stupidity. Bob

QUOTE (sunofgold @ Apr 8, 2012 -> 12:56 PM) We made to ESPN Sunday night game! We cannot be too bad or boring! Let us screwball the rANGERS tonight and win this series. Not to sound too skeptical, but isn't every team supposed to have at leas one appearance on Sunday night baseball? Looks to me like ESPN gambled that Yu Darvish would be pitching tonight. Even if he wasn't the 2 time defending AL champs could draw some ratings even if paired agains a mediocre to bad team. Bob

QUOTE (Heads22 @ Jan 20, 2012 -> 07:17 PM) January 20th seems like a long time to go without signing a major league free agent. Probably have to wait a few years before that happens again. Bob

QUOTE (103 mph screwball @ Jan 2, 2012 -> 09:41 AM) I would expect Cespedes to play in the minor leagues in 2012. If he is on fire and the Sox have to make a spot for him in the lineup, then I think Rios would be the guy to go. Either he would be traded with the Sox giving cash because he is playing well and has value or he is outright released because he is not performing and would be a distraction on the bench. He could also move De Aza to the bench if Rios actually plays very well. I really would love for the Sox to sign Cespedes. Even if it doesn't work out, it is a ballsy move that could add a superstar the Sox for the rest of the decade. If KW's history holds true he'll give in to the pressure from the fans and rush yet another player up only to make sure he doesn't reach his potential as a major leaguer. Bob

QUOTE (justBLAZE @ Dec 15, 2011 -> 11:54 AM) Doesn't that move fit into "Try to win in 2012" but retool for future? If Reed can do equal job as Santos, we just got Molina for freezey. But could we have gotten more for Santos? Based on the projections for Molia, I'm disappointed the Sox didn't get either a better prospect or 2 Molina type prospects. A 28 year old closer with great stuff, low milage, and a favorable contract. Surely some team would overpay for that. Heck, the guy in Anaheim jsut gave Puljos $250MM and he's on the wrong side of 20. Bob

QUOTE (knightni @ Dec 14, 2011 -> 06:11 PM) I wonder if you changed "fat" to "black" or "jewish" or "gay" if it would be as funny. Really?? What if I said yes, though I'd lying. Though I would assume i can take anyone that fits into a category and there'd be a funny individual or indiviuals. For example, I'm Jewish and I am a horrible dancer. Laugable bad. But I don't have a desire to dhow how bad I am in front of anyone let alone thousands of people. But I am intrigued of the fat people dancing on top of dugouts. Before you get offended, maybe some of these people enjoy the attention. Bottom line is they are not being forced to do anything. And the fact that fat people keep winning is great. More power to them if that's what it takes to win silly contests. Bob

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Nov 3, 2011 -> 07:26 AM) McEwing is the one guy I am most excited about on the staff. He has had great reviews from everyone who played for him. Makes one wonder why the Sox didn't hire him over Ventura. Bob

QUOTE (mmmmmbeeer @ Nov 1, 2011 -> 04:06 PM) Weren't there a couple of opposing pitchers that came out this year and said that the Sox are overly aggressive? I can appreciate what Manto is saying, and he's right, but I hope that he hasn't identified passivity at the plate as a major issue with Sox hitters...I think that's a minor concern. Exactly. The Sox offense didn't suck this year because of lack of aggressivness and taking to many walks. I'm all for walks and working the count. I see what Manto is saying and in certain situations he may be right, but overall I am not going to rip on Frank's approach to hitting in his hey day. Nothing wrong with a walk. In fact I think the Sox problem is they lacked patience and the plate. They seemed to always come out hacking with runners in scoring position and popped up , or fouled off pitches and falling behind in the count. Most Sox hitters haven't figured out how to work a count and wait for your pitch. The Sox treated hitting with RISP like the pressure was on them. In reality, the pressure is on the pitcher who doesn't want to add more base runners or give up a lot of runs. If the Sox practiced some patience, they'd probably have done better last year. Bob

QUOTE (IowaSoxFan @ Aug 17, 2011 -> 03:26 PM) I really don't get all the love that is thrown on Rick Hahn? Is he not part of the front office that has this organization in shambles? Will he magically convince JR to start paying +slot money to build talent in the farm system? Does he have some connections in Latin America that will help the Sox starting acquiring some international talent? What makes him any different than his current boss? I am asking out of curiosity as many on this board seem to think he is the answer going forward. I would much rather have a guy that has experience in player development rather than a former agent who is good at negotiating contracts. I think he'd be better then Kenny because he seems like he would provide some sanity and direction to this team. Maybe it's more by bias against KW, but I see KW as more a narcisst who is always looking to make a big move to draw attention. His love of washed up veterans makes me sick. Just listening to Hahn talk, I get the impression he'd do things differently.. Bob

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Oct 18, 2011 -> 01:39 PM) Stewart needs to start the season at AAA. He's never had a full season above AA and only had about 6 AAA innings before we called him up. He's raw, and not unexpectedly so, since he was only recently converted from relieving to starting by the Blue Jays. He's a good candidate to be the "6th starter" next year, the guy we stash at AAA as a starter to use if Peavy gets hurt or to give Sale some time off in late July when the innings load comes back to hurt him. He has a better set of offspeed stuff than I expected but he doesn't have good control on it yet, that means sometimes he has games like the one against the Twins where he's locating it, and some days he gets shelled because no one swings at anything other than his fastball. I wasn't really impressed with the sink on his 2 seamer just yet either. I'd really like to see that ball become "Heavier" in the forcing ground balls sense. Altogether though, the stuff is possibly there long term but needs some improvement. Philip Humber...I'm genuinely excited about. He might pull a 2004 Loaiza on me, but this is a classic Coop Fixed him case. Suddenly goes from having no confidence in his stuff to throwing strikes, making people look silly, and winning ballgames. His 2nd half was entirely predictable and any manager who wasn't drunk off his tail for the first half could have seen his problem...he never threw more than 140 innings and wasn't stretched out at all, so he'd get past 4-5 innings and his arm would tire out. Then, later in the season, he was genuinely tired until the Sox gave him a rest, then he came back and threw some solid games afterwards. Intelligent use of Humber and realizing where he could/coudln't have been pushed would have made his season look a lot better. But otherwise, there's reason to be excited about him especially since we pushed him to 163 big league innings this year. Where have I seen this before...The Sox taking a young player who needs more time to develop in the minors and rush him to the big leagues where we are forced to watch yet another player with hype not reach their full potential, frustrating the team, fans, and himself. Are we rebuilding here or what? Bob

QUOTE (Chet Kincaid @ Oct 18, 2011 -> 07:52 AM) If this is true, then I don't expect a full blown rebuild. Man honestly, who knows that the hell the Sox are going to do. KW might not be done surprising us just yet. Let's hope thet are good surprises. Does this team have a direction. I love Buehrle, but outsie of bringing him back for really cheap there is no good baseball reason to do so...unless the are going for it again. Bob

QUOTE (Real @ Oct 18, 2011 -> 08:32 PM) coworker of mine is close to Jim and his family (I live about 4 miles from Bartonville, Il), he told me about 2 months ago that Jim is retiring and he felt after #600 he had nothing left to prove Is there some sort of study that shows that being a great player means you will be a great coach/manager? I've said it before. I would only hire experiencved coaches and managers if I owned this team. I wouldn't bother taking shots if proven winners were available. Bob