RockRaines

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ May 18, 2005 -> 11:29 AM) Cool. I was on the 15th floor for a few years when I worked on the floor. Small world it is. you know that pic is under copyright law right??

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ May 18, 2005 -> 10:17 AM) If you ever want lunch tips in the area, ask me or mreye. One of us will get you pointed in the right direction for just about any food you could want. no probs. I've only been down here for about 2 years, so I know alot over in this direction, maybe I should explore a little more to the south

I dont think I want any of those guys from seattle, but if it gives Burke a chance to make the bigs on another team, we should give him that chance, he has been very loyal to the club and deserves a shot somewhere.

QUOTE(LosMediasBlancas @ May 18, 2005 -> 09:55 AM) Nice, now I gotta walk over there and take one myself! hahahaha, it was a good walk, I never knew there was a panda express so close to my building.

weird Garland showing poise, making noise May 18, 2005 BY JAY MARIOTTI SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST There was a time when Jon Garland, once an easily rattled kid pitcher, would have tripped out at the sight of an opposing manager charging toward him. Exactly what Buck Showalter was doing Tuesday night, only he knows, but after arguing with the third-base umpire, the Texas Rangers' skipper made a curiously circuitous turn in the infield grass so he could take a little loopy joy ride across the pitcher's mound. In the process, he trotted directly at Garland, who had to sidestep out of Buck's way to avoid a possible collision. We're just guessing this might involve an official request that the umpires inspect the mound to make sure the White Sox aren't playing hanky-panky with the height of the bump, a measurement that came Monday, the first night Showalter and the Rangers were in town. It followed by three days a similar request by the Baltimore Orioles. Both times, the mound was found to be of legal size. Gamesmanship, competitors call it. Bull bleep, Ozzie Guillen might deem it, given his history with Showalter. Last season, after hearing Showalter doubt his knowledge of the rules when Guillen mistakenly questioned Texas' use of a minor-league coach as a first-base coach, the Blizzard of Oz said of his notoriously anal rival: "He never even smelled a jock [as a player] in the big leagues. There are so many different ways he might be jealous of me. I was a better player than him. I've got more money than him. And I'm better looking than him.'' What's significant about all of these juvenile subplots is that Garland, now all grown up at a sage 25, paid no attention. More importantly, he remained unfazed in the sixth inning, when faced with a serious threat to his flawless record and emergence as the American League's best starter of early-season 2005. Cruising with a lead, he walked David Dellucci to start the inning, then plunked Michael Young. When Mark Teixeira blasted a ball off the fence in left field, a shrimpy announced crowd of 18,333 fans grew hush at The Cell. Was Garland losing it, too, after El Duque, Jose Contreras and Freddy Garcia had surrendered 18 runs over the last three games? With none out, runners on second and third and the filet of the Texas order awaiting, Garland's latest litmus test was upon him. A stopper? Or an imposter? He struck out Hank Blalock. He struck out Alfonso Soriano on a wicked changeup, reminiscent of the 3-2 offspeed pitch that fooled the league's best hitter, Miguel Tejada, in a critical moment last Thursday. And finally, with the crowd clapping and sensing another snapshot in a 28-12 start, Garland jammed the previous night's hero, Kevin Mench, and forced him to pop out to center. All-Star start coming up Garland is as legitimate as his 8-0 record, as real as his 10-game winning streak over two seasons. If he always had natural ability, the wicked repertoire and the imposing 6-5 build, he now appears to have mastered the mental game. The All-Star Game is still seven weeks away, but barring a meltdown, you're looking at the AL starter. You're also looking at the pendulum of Chicago baseball, the first-round phenom traded across town by the Cubs for (gulp!) Matt Karchner in 1998. Karchner didn't last long in Cubdom and is coaching college baseball these days, soon to be a trivia question. "I don't think one inning [defines] the whole season. But it was a big one, for me,'' Garland said after the 5-2 victory. "It showed myself a lot, showed my teammates a lot. It feels nice to go out and give my team quality starts to give them a chance to win. If I keep these guys in the game, they're going to find a way to score runs.'' On this night, Garland was the direct beneficiary of his catcher in more ways than one. A.J. Pierzynski, a so-called clubhouse cancer in San Francisco, is one of the Sox' great cures in their magical start. His two-run homer in the sixth, right after Garland escaped the jam, supplied the Sox with their winning margin. He now has homered in three straight games, four of the last five, and quickly is becoming as much a South Side hero as he was a local goat when he played for the rival Minnesota Twins. "A lot of home runs here would have been off the Baggy in Minnesota or off the wall at SBC Park [in San Francisco],'' he said. "I don't hit a lot of home runs, so it feels nice.'' Nicer was the advice he barked out to Garland in his troublesome inning. He sensed his pitcher was reverting to some old, bad habits -- namely, complacency and all those sluggish tendencies that had Sox fans and media critics labeling him as a California surfer boy with no heart. A.J.'s counsel pays off "A.J. told me I was getting lazy,'' Garland said. "I was trying to throw strikes and not being aggressive with it. It's nice to see him getting upset the same amount that I am. When I got lazy and throwing bad pitches, he's the one on the mound with me.'' Said Pierzynski: "I was trying to get him to give up one run, keep the score tied. To get two strikeouts -- that was the game on the line, against the heart of their lineup. For him to get through that was big. He's been great, as good as it gets right now. He's got that sinker going and can strike out guys when he has to.'' The Soriano at-bat, like the Tejada at-bat, is what Guillen will remember. "This year, he has more confidence in his pitch right there,'' he said. "He threw a good pitch at the right time, and that's why Jon Garland is having so good a year. We've got to take the most out of him when he's pitching so well.'' Let it serve as a lesson why teams never should give up on pitching prospects too early. Ken Williams almost did three winters ago, agreeing to relinquish Garland in a package that would have brought Darin Erstad from the Angels. Fortunately for the Sox, someone got Goofy in the hierarchy of the Disney Co., which owned the Angels at the time, and overturned the deal. Otherwise, Garland would be pitching in his native Southern California instead of ascending as the premier starting pitcher in Chicago, a shocking distinction in a town where Kerry Wood, Mark Prior and Carlos Zambrano were supposed to rule and where Mark Buehrle and Garcia were the assumed South Side aces. Not so, apparently. "I told you guys last year. I never doubted him,'' Guillen said. "It was a matter of time. Last year, we gave him the opportunity to be a real pitcher. We took the chance with him, and I took a lot of heat from the people about 'How long are you going to stay with Garland' and 'How long are you going to keep him there.' We did, and thank God we did. We gave him a chance to get better, and he took advantage.'' Not that Garland is into the national attention or the sudden local love. A quiet guy with an Olympic-softball-player girlfriend, he's just trying to enjoy it all after years of maddening underachievement. "If we continue to play like this and score runs ...,'' he said, letting the thought pause in the night. Allow me to finish it: The possibilities are endless.

The security guy looked at me like I was retarded, then he told me that if we ever hit grand slams and dont win again, he is going to take the flag down. Next step, around the corner pub for chili and the sox.

here is what I got

my phone takes s***ty pics, but I got one, not sure how to post it though...help

QUOTE(ChiSoxyGirl @ May 18, 2005 -> 09:15 AM) If anyone has a digital camera, or camera phone, I would *love* to see a pic of that posted.... im on it

QUOTE(mreye @ May 18, 2005 -> 09:14 AM) P.S. when the Cubs were in the NLCS they didn't fly a Cubs flag! I gotta see that, im walking from 200 s wacker to take a gander.

QUOTE(Jabroni @ May 17, 2005 -> 10:51 PM) Pods and Iguchi are perfect #1 and #2 hitters respectively. There is absolutely NO reason to ever change them up in the order. And Aaron is tearing it up in the #3 hole. His batting average has jumped from .230 to .279 in like 2 weeks. Why in the hell would you want to move him now? SPODS, gooch and A-row are not only a sweet triple threat at the top of the order, they could be one of the fastest 1-2-3 guys in the league. It drives pitchers nuts!!!

Seriously, as long as they keep writing, the opposite keeps happening. Thanks guys!!

I've seen several posts about how people are mad about us not getting the national attention, and jumping with joy when we get an article or when someone says something bad about us. I say, please continue. Here are my top 5 reasons why I LOVE the baseball experts writing about us: 1. The sox should never have gotten rid of CLEE, Maggs and Valentin. -Maggs 10 AB 0H .000 BA -CLEE .260 BA .318 OBP -Valentin .194 BA 15 day DL 2. The sox pitching just isnt that good, its a rotation full of overhyped and aged arms. -the sox currently lead the AL in ERA, and have the only 8 game winner, and 3 of the top five AL pitchers in wins. 3. Podsednik doesnt have a high enough OBP for a lead-off man, and is a one year wonder. -.285 BA .390 OBP 24SB 21BB 13k's 23R 4. The bullpen is suspect and we have no real closer. -Hermie has yet to give up a run, nuff said 5. The sox dont have enough talent to overtake the powerful Indians and Tigers offense, the Twins pitching, their own shortcomings. -28-12 b****es Keep telling everyone how bad we are, and we can keep leaving their town with 2 out of three.

QUOTE(YASNY @ May 18, 2005 -> 01:07 AM) We need to keep Anderson in AAA till he cuts down on those K's. If we bring him up too soon, we'll have Joe Borchard, the sequel. Except for the above .300 average, good arm, and great outfield instincts. Other than that, yeah you are right........

QUOTE(Jabroni @ May 18, 2005 -> 06:16 AM) Jabroni has a bachelor's degree in Computer Information Systems from DePaul University and numerous certifications, including CompTIA A+, Network+, and MCSA. Does that make me smart as well? Basically, you just did the same thing to me that I did to Borchard. I'm cool with it though. I made a bad joke about Borchard. I guess it was kind of distasteful. Sorry. no, but it probably makes you very lonely.......

s***, I hope this isnt a case where an ex-player bites us in the ass

little early

QUOTE(Finkelstein @ May 17, 2005 -> 10:32 AM) According to Brooks, everyone is welcome, except anyone wearing a Twins jersey. He also said to keep an eye out for the new TV ads coming up, also something about a go-cart promotion? Nothing to exciting during this interview. The go-cart promotion is going to be a go-kart race where, for a fee, you can sign up for a race, and I believe some players are going to participate. Joe Jung e-mailed me the info but I deleted it.

QUOTE(LosMediasBlancas @ May 17, 2005 -> 03:08 PM) YES. and KC would never go for it. Im just saying this in reaction to this ESPN quote May. 17 - The next Royals manager will need to share in the organization's youth-movement vision, the Kansas City Star reports. GM Allard Baird also wants someone with previous experience as a tactician at the major-league level – the Royals' last five skippers (John Wathan, Hal McRae, Bob Boone, Tony Muser and Tony Peña) had no big-league experience – but that's not an absolute.

All day today I have been reading about how much everyone wants to do something on the offensive side of the ball, and many different ideas have been kicked around, mostly floating around the MVP baseball level of reality. As far as teams that are willing to deal their established talent for youth and promise, I could only come across 1 that I knew had expressed that desire for sure. The Royals. The question is, would you trade some of our prosepects, gonne have to be a pitcher for sure, for Mike Sweeney to replace Kong?

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ May 17, 2005 -> 02:22 PM) I am starting the clock today. If on June 15th, Dye is still hovering around the Mendoza line, I'll agree with you and say his chances to prove himself have expired. I agree, I will try and stop posting that he is worthless until that date comes and goes, after that, every post will begin with Dye is worthless.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ May 17, 2005 -> 02:14 PM) Still not a lot, although I stand corrected as being too lazy to check myself. Laziness is inexcusable!!!! Either way, I think that Dye, in my eyes, has proven himself worthless. And I would like to see someone try and win that position.

QUOTE(Jabroni @ May 17, 2005 -> 02:03 PM) First, you would have to move Borchard because he can't even hit in AAA anymore. :headshake If only Freddie Mitchell would've panned out..........

I went to HS with John Lackaff from that year, and College as well. Good family friend and great guy. Its sad to see his career was cut short by injury. Great 3-point shooter though

QUOTE(Jabroni @ May 17, 2005 -> 02:01 PM) I would actually take the Milkman's bat over Cruddy's right now. He is a free agent, isn't he? Crede's defense at 3rd base is his only saving grace right now. Crede has done ok by me, he makes some serious plays that he makes look easy, and I dont think we appreciate it enough. If he can get on another streak and hit around 270, thats perfect.