BrandoFan

Come on Critic, fess up -- both?

Not every time, but often enough. Good hitting CAN and HAS beaten good pitching when they got enough lucky bounces and umpires gave the hitters a high % of close calls. Great pitchers can be beaten with bloopers, bleeders, steals and walks. The problem with White Sox is that they struggle against dominant pitching in big games even more than a playoff team with World Series aspirations has any right to. Knowing their history, I don't the Sox to score more than 3-4 runs a game in the playoffs, which means Sox pitching has to be TOP-NOTCH as well - otherwise forget about it.

Unless he loses 5 mph as soon as he puts on the ol' Black and White....

Let's just hope it's not a "phantom" offer designed to boost Kenny's ego and Jerry's reputation, but which ultimately amounts to nothing.

Have you checked The Daily Show webside?

and that's fine....

Don't worry about it, he is more afraid of you than you are of him. Bit of a temper problem, but tempers are meant to be tamed and egos - deflated. He IS taking Denny out, tough. Kudos.

Sorry Redbird, that's not now it works. There is this thing we like to call "individual merit", and the Indian 5 happen to score higher on that. When the selections were made (early Sunday before Mark lowered his ERA against Cubs and Seattle), both Sabathia and Westbrook were having better seasons than Mr. Run Support Buerhle. By a good margin, too. Belliard was kicking Uribe's ass. Lawton - Caballo's. Since the ASG picks were made, Lee has gone on a big streak while Lawton's numbers took a dive, but Lawton is STILL better than Lee this season. Carlos has noone to blame but himself - had he picked up where he left off in the 2nd half of 2003 this year, then maybe he wuuld have been the one going to Houston. Victor Martinez is Victor Martinez.

Yeah, but it's more publicity for the team and sometimes it can do wonders for a player's self-esteem. Guys like Frank crave "respect" and validation. Just make sure they stay away from anything to do with a Derby - Magglio still hasn't been the same since winning the 2003 Las Vegas HR Challenge. If Paulie makes the All-Star team, that could help his trade value as well - it's probably the highest it's been since 1st half of 2002. Then again, with Frank going down, Kong is no longer as expendable as he used to be - unless Sox use the money saved the deal to get Randy Johnson or a premiere lead-off man, then I am not as eager to part with Paulie as I was a week ago when Maggs was about to come back and Hurt hadn't yet revealed the extent of his ankle injury.

People are missing the point. Hawk was making it sound as if Torre pulled all 8 selections out of his ass. That's just ridiculous. He conveniently forgot to mention most of them were voted in by players and fans. Others deserve to be there. And what's wrong with Matsui? 903 OPS to Carlos's 828. His 'Close and Late' OPS is almost 200 points higher than Caballo as well. And that considering that Carlos plays in a hitter's paradise. Yankees have a much better record, too last time I checked. No, Matsui was a marginal all-star and Torre was right to put him as a 32nd man candidate. Take up the rest with Japanese folk who voted for him. Konerko/Thomas failed to make it because fans got to vote and because each team has to have at least 1 rep, NOT because Torre was too biased when choosing the reserves. Shingo - should thank KW for sticking with Koch. Uribe - shouldn't have sucked so bad the last 3 weeks of June. Buerhle? If Westbrook got that much run support, he'd be 10-1. Magglio was injured. Hawk's outrage couldn't be more misplaced. He's just not as fun this year as he used to be.

Sox grade: B (stop pulling the ball so much) KW grade: B (get me Unit, b****!) JR grade: B- (see: KW)

No, the point is that Hawk doesn't realize that at least 4 or 5 Yankees were not chosen by Torre, but by fans and players. I agree - the players and writers have to do all the voting. Or some independent commision. Or me.

Correct me if I am wrong, but weren't A-Rod, Jeter, Giambi, Matsui and Rivera voted in? If so, then it's not Torre's fault entirely. I mean, Yankees are on pace to win 105, shouldn't they have AT LEAST 4 reps anyway?

I don't know whether to laugh or cry at the above. I think I'll just :puke

Yeah, Kenny really f***ed up by not getting him today. :headshake

I bet it was the most boring sex either of them have ever had - he is trying so hard and is doth-protesting too much in the "interview", it's hilarious

You people are concentrating on all the wrong things. Incorrigible L.I.A.R's ego is about to take it up the ass and it will be beautiful. Who 'Base ball' is couldn't be more irrelevant as far as 99% of the people, myself included, are concerned. It's all about Stainy Denny.

Hey, as long as Randy "Giant Muskateer" Johnson is donning a Sox uniform at the ASG in Houston, it's all cool. Kenny has 48 hours to swing the deal.

Sun GoG: Olivo (big throw to erase Patterson....Hon mention: Timo) Tue GoG: Crede Wed GoG: Uribe (making them look easy) Tue GoG: ?? Wed GoG: ?? Thur GoG: Valentin (saved a key run) Fri GoG: Valentin (3 tough DP and another good throw to get Patterson) Sat GoG: ?? Sun GoG: Buerhle (big out on a bunt; caught a liner; picked off Sosa) Tue GoG: Konerko (default - nice off balance tag) Wed GoG: Crede (3-ple play) Thur GoG: Uribe (tough pivot in 1st, most chances. Hon ment: Lee - throw home) Fri GoG: Crede (throw home) Sat GoG: Crede (Crede - 2 charge plays and a big DP. Hon ment: Uribe) Sun GoG: Lee (HR rob-job. Hon ment: Konerko's beautiful DP pivot

That was nothing short of retarded....but completely expected since \Ncogble's goons all used a variation on the above as his "defense". What's next? Is the thief going to blame the victim for leaving his belongings unattended and thus tempting him to steal? I know he probably will, but we know better than to buy into that crock of s***, don't we Zero? Sideshow Bob made more sense when he blamed Quimby for letting dangerous recidivists like Sideshow Bob out of jail.....than you do when you go on these irrelevant "Internet is not real life" tangents and start bringing quickman's age into this. It's clear where your allegiance lies, Zero. As you have admitted, truth doesn't matter to you - quickman and baseball have explained themselves and their purpose/motives 3 times over to anyone who'd ask -- and if that were me, I wouldn't even dignify the assorted morons, trolls and N's alter-egos with a response as they have....and would instead keep the eye on the prize: Denny.

Say.....what difference does it make to you, anyway, Zero? You are a disinterested party who is clearly "above" all this ( rolleyeyes.gif )......so why not leave Quickman, his motives and the entire matter alone? You can't, can you? Then again, you're probably just conducting a sociological and/or psychological study on this subject - hence the standard questions.....

Get Randy Johnson and you'll see that his pitching is only a part of his value to a team like the Sox. Too bad Sox are still too cheap and conservative/small-thinking to pull this trade off.

I should have put "secret" in green - as in your friend did a poor job hiding his identity just as only a child couldn't see through Ncorg.

Big ego. There is no cure for it. Like Valentin (you might as well put all 3 OF into RF because he has no inclination to shorten up and use LF or CF...and because of that folly, will never hit above .260), Patterson will be a career underachiver, barring an unlikely epiphany. Jeter and Rolen don't have that much batspeed, but they are highly intelligent hitters (mechanically, seeing the ball, knowing how to stay within themseleves and not deviate from a plan against a tough pitcher, etc) and have good plate coverage, making it even more difficult for pitchers to get them out on a cheapie. Bonds is a different story altogether. Tremendeously quick even for an old guy - and his eye is amazing as well. Valentin and Patterson could be All-Stars if they could ever wisen up and adopt an all-field approach (not likely), but Bonds is just in a different league - even without steroids. As far as Cards go, I hope to god their GM realizes that by leaving his rotation as it is, he is just asking for trouble - when healthy and clicking (and you never know when that will happen), Cubs are simply a more talented team, and given the fact that Hendry would jump at a chance to jump start his team......Cardinal Gm needs to make ONE killer pitching acquisition (Randy Johnson?) and toally demoralize the Cubs - they may be a more talented team, but a 9 game deficit is too hard to overcome with less than 8-n games left when your opponent is adding more talent at the deadline. Now who's gonna stop the Cubs in a wild card race is another story altogether. Marlins have turned into crap in the last 2 months and Phillies are heartless. Houston is even worse than Phillies in that respect - Adam Everett and Morgan Einsberg can kiss my ass. Fire Bova, fire Williams. NLW is too weak, so hopefully 2 of Florida-Houston-Atlanta-Phillies can muster 90+ wins and hopefully Prior-Wood-Sosa are back on DL soon - that way Cubs may never achieve take-off velocity and get shut out of postseason.....something White Sox could really use.