South Side Fireworks Man

QUOTE (maggsmaggs @ Jan 3, 2012 -> 01:30 PM) This. At this point Rios is a sunk cost, so why not just put the player who gives us the best chance to win out in CF? After last year's end to the season, that guy is De Aza. He has earned that right and it should only be taken away from him by Rios earning it back. I agree. Same goes for Dunn. So why not platoon Rios and Dunn until either or both earn more playing time with their performance? Against RHP, Viciedo starts in RF and Dunn at DH. Against LHP, Rios starts in RF and Viciedo moves to DH. You do this to start the season and keep it that way until either Dunn or Rios (or both) show that they have indeed bounced back or until De Aza or Viciedo or Cespedes/Lillibridge/etc. show they are not deserving of starting.

QUOTE (SOXOBAMA @ Dec 9, 2011 -> 02:45 PM) What new promotions would you start? I would have a Michael Jackson night.. Barf!

A team needs to have 25 players on the active roster including at least four bench players. It's great to be able to fill at least one of those final bench spots with a guy you only have to pay league minimum. if it happens to be a guy whom the organization loves and is a fan favorite, that's even better. And with Ozzie gone, I'm going to assume he won't be getting an inordinate amount of playing time at the expense of younger guys with more upside such as Lillibridge.

QUOTE (bucket-of-suck @ Dec 6, 2011 -> 05:06 PM) Chill on the predictable "WTF!!!" reactions to a new manager's comment on December freaking 6th. The only way to explain Dunn's historical performance last season is he can't DH. He didn't hit any better when he played 1B either.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Dec 6, 2011 -> 05:05 PM) Those WAR stats are a bit skewed because it takes into account his play in the OF. I would guess RV is going to play him at 1B more to help rest Paulie. I hope so because Dunn should never play in the OF. But that's not what is being reported.

I'd rather have a guy like Paul Konerko who will swing at a pitch three inches outside and drive the ball to RF in an RBI situation than a guy like Adam Dunn who will strike out looking at a pitch just because it's an inch off the corner in a similar situation. You pay you middle of the order guys to drive in runs in clutch situations not to look for walks. Now if the pitcher is not giving a guy anything he can hit, it's good to take the walk instead of swinging at garbage. But that's an entirely different matter. You want your big guys going up there looking to drive in runs, not looking for walks.

QUOTE (lord chas @ Oct 10, 2011 -> 03:38 PM) I think this is the year to see if Flowers is going to be one of our cornerstones to build around If Flowers is the cornerstone, the building should be condemned.

QUOTE (bucket-of-suck @ Oct 10, 2011 -> 02:37 PM) Flowers has made AJ expendable as the pitchers prefer to pitch to him. Not too many saw that coming. Yes, the .209BA .310OBP strikeout machine who is average at best defensively has made AJ expendable.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Oct 9, 2011 -> 10:14 PM) I thought they would also give consideration to Omar Vizquel as a player/manager as well, but apparently he's too loyal to Ozzie to stick around. It would have been interesting. Like Alomar Jr., he has a lot of the same qualities you look for in a coach/manager. As far as Konerko being able to push the likes of Dunn and Rios, forget it. Might as well name Jim Thome manager just to spite Ozzie...would have been about the same effect. The White Sox's stunning hiring of Robin Ventura to replace Ozzie Guillen as manager Thursday came as a result of board chairman Jerry Reinsdorf instructing his general manager, Kenny Williams, "to think outside the box on this one - no retreads." And how would Alomar Jr. or Dave Martinez been considered retreads? Player/Manager would not be a very good idea in any case, but if they were going to go that route with the personnel they currently have I'd have to go with AJ over Konerko, Vizquel, or any other current Sox player. But this whole idea of considering Konerko (or any player/manager) to manage the 2012 Sox is a joke.

Did anyone see this? Please tell me this was a joke: Konerko Considered for Player/Manager

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Oct 8, 2011 -> 09:24 PM) http://www.suntimes.com/sports/baseball/wh...in-trouble.html http://www.suntimes.com/sports/baseball/wh...in-ventura.html The second article by Morrissey is pretty right on but the first article by Potash is horses***.

QUOTE (IamPabloOzuna @ Oct 8, 2011 -> 02:18 AM) http://www.csnchicago.com/10/07/11/Sox-req...&feedID=621 It's Mark Parent It doesn't say he's necessarily going to be the bench coach, just that they requested permission to interview him for a coaching position.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan99 @ Oct 6, 2011 -> 10:40 PM) Could Cowley be any more of a joke? Hardly.

QUOTE (justBLAZE @ Oct 6, 2011 -> 10:35 PM) Cowley on Ventura... and how Cooper became Judas. I don't even believe a word Cowley writes which he attributes to all his unnamed sources. But in Cowley's eyes, it's OK for Ozzie to whine to JR for an extension while he is still under contract for another year even as his team is underperforming yet again but it's not cool for Cooper to ask the GM about an extension when his contract is about to expire at the end of the season.

QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ Oct 6, 2011 -> 10:17 PM) With his nice guy attitude and player friendliness, I fear that the players won't have much of a problem ignoring or walking all over him once they're used to him. I hope he is much more assertive than he came across in that conference call anyway.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Oct 6, 2011 -> 09:19 PM) He's probably been a part of 5 press conferences in his life before. He's played in two-thousand some MLB games...he'll get accustomed to the press conferences... drop it What is a little disconcerting about the conference call was that inKW's opening comments he stated that he didn't expect Robin to hit the ground running and be "another Tony LaRussa" right away but that the first couple of years would be a "growing process" for him. Also both KW and Ventura repeatedly stressed the importance of support from the other guys in the organization. When asked about what kind of clubhouse rules he would implement he answered that he didn't know yet and he didn't ask KW about it yet. When asked if he had talked with Frank Thomas about possibly being the hitting coach he said he would trust the guys in the organization to put the right pieces in place. Overall, he didn't sound like he was yet comfortable with the thought that he was now the manager and didn't come across as a take charge type of guy. That doesn't mean he's not going to turn out to be a good manager but the way he came across this afternoon was not too impressive. But at least he'll be better than Ozzie has been the past few years for sure.

QUOTE (thedoctor @ Oct 6, 2011 -> 09:23 PM) ozzie was great on conference calls . He was????

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Oct 6, 2011 -> 07:38 PM) I find it laughable a guy who has been in baseball as long as Robin Ventura has needs to be a bench coach or a first base coach to gain experience. This is baseball, not some guy representing you while on trial for a murder you didn't commit. And besides, anyone who doesn't think he's experienced enough to be a manager, why are you giving anyone your opinions? Using your standards, your opinions are mean nothing to you, why should they matter to anyone else? I find this move genius. I don't see why Robin can't be as good as Dave Martinez, or my pick, Sandy Alomar, or Ozzie Guillen for that matter. It will also probably save a lot of season ticket accounts. We all manage games in our heads while watching. Robin has played for Torborg, Lamont, Valentine, Torre, even Bevington. He knows the difference between good and bad. He'll be well respected, he'll never embarrass the Sox. The only issuea that may take a little time is managing the bullpen, but Cooper should help with that, and I have a hard time seeing him running on to the field to argue with umpires. I really like this, and I wasn't that big of a fan of Robin Ventura the player. I think he has the perfect personality to manage and he's seems like a bright guy. Did you listen to the conference call/press conference this afternoon?

QUOTE (Cali @ Oct 6, 2011 -> 05:41 PM) God, neither Kenny and Robin sound confident at all right now. There's something more going on here... I just got that feeling. This can't be what either party wanted and it shows... Yep. This is certainly not the typical New Manager Introduction press conference. Very uninspiring. He comes across as a real nice guy who took the job because he was asked and isn't sure if he's really ready but he's going to do his very best.

QUOTE (bmags @ Oct 6, 2011 -> 05:39 PM) Insight into Robin : "I'm not a big rules guy". "I haven't really talked to Kenny about that yet" He doesn't seem like a very inspiring guy so far.....

When asked if he's talked to Frank Thomas, he said ,"No." Then says he's trusting the people around him to put the best possible pieces together.

QUOTE (bmags @ Oct 6, 2011 -> 05:27 PM) Robin sounds as surprised as anyone that he was hired. I hope his heart is really into this. He's not coming across too well. Seems like both he and Kenny are stressing that he's going to need a lot of support.

QUOTE (fathom @ Oct 6, 2011 -> 04:32 PM) Me too...as I just told a friend, this isn't like college athletics where you have to bring in a head coach that you know can recruit as well as manage a game. Ventura will get his chance, and if he tanks, he won't be here very long. Since I respect your baseball opinion as much as anyone on this board, let me ask you this - Don't you think that a guy should at least have some type of coaching experience at some level before a major league baseball team in a major market hires him as manager? And shouldn't that person have previously expressed a desire to coach and one day manage? As far as I can remember, Ventura up until very recentlt ( maybe a couple of years ago at the longest) used to always state that he had no desire to be a coach. I hope he turns out to be a great manager, and I believe he already will be better than the Ozzie of the past few years, but why not give someone like Martinez or Alomar at least a chance to interview for the job? I'll hang up and listen for my answer.

QUOTE (Athomeboy_2000 @ Oct 6, 2011 -> 04:20 PM) This 100% stinks of a JR move. Ya think?

They might trade him during Spring Training after he proves he has recovered from the shoulder injury.