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QUOTE (witesoxfan @ May 26, 2010 -> 02:32 PM) Hahahaha, rotoworld with the first use of it... That's like working in a restaurant and sending out a dish an hour after it was ordered burnt to a crisp. But atleast it got the job done! Except in both cases you pay for results. The dish was burnt and the job wasn't done. Bobby is paid to preserve wins. He did that. Thornton stats look better than Bobby's but he has cost the Sox more games by giving up leads. It wasn't pretty but he still did what he was supposed to do.

I don't think we are going to alot of player movement from KW. He likes his young players and will keep them. The only trading you will see is: AJ and PK because they will be free agents and he was going to let them go anyway. Jones if he is playing well enough to get the Sox anything. Jenks because KW really likes Santos. Garcia if he continues to do well. Pena, Linebrink, Vizquel should be gone but no one will want them. He won't trade Danks, Floyd isn't doing well enough with the contract to trade Peavy is being paid far too much with his current performance I really can't see him wanting to trade anyone else so there maybe 3-4 trades at the most.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ May 20, 2010 -> 09:35 AM) So if we had a laid back manager you're saying our team might be losing even more? Not necessarily. Every manager has his own way to attempt to get players to play their best. Ozzie for the most part has been effective at it. A "firery" manager is not necessarily better than a "laid back" one. different styles can both be effective if used properly.

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ May 19, 2010 -> 11:58 PM) I imagine it’s hard to relax when you’re 7.5 games back, and your manager’s liable to go berserk in the press at any moment. This is the same argument as chemistry. Chemistry is great and players don’t press when you’re winning, we’re not winning. Therefore, we’re pressing? It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy. We had some fun personalities in 2008 too, that changed rather quickly after Toronto when these players realized they’d have to shut up and then put up. This is not the same arguement as chemistry. Chemistry implies getting along with each other and interpersonal interactions. Playing confident and relaxed is an internal aspect within the player. The player needs to be confident and relaxed to perform in baseball. If you're tense or hesitant due to internalized pressure, your swing or defense will be off and you won't perform up to your capabilities. Also the manager going berserk is a good thing. Ozzie isn't the best in game manager however he knows players and what they need. More often than not his rants come when the team is doing poorly and the media focus on what a goof Ozzie is and the players do not get as many questions about why they are doing poorly. Look at today's papers. There are articles about the game but the ancillary articles are on Ozzie and KW debated what to do about the team with trades, why the team should stay the way it is etc. There is much on the individual players.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ May 20, 2010 -> 06:32 AM) You simply cannot build a team around pitching and have a bad defensive team. It won't work. It has never worked. Until the White Sox put some importance on defense and getting on base we will get the annual "I believe in the talent" speeches from KW signalling dissappointing results. Absolutely true. But the problem is the individual players aren't bad defensive players (with the exception of Teahen) but they seem to take turns screwing up.

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ May 19, 2010 -> 05:53 PM) That's not how it works. A lot of teams have a hell of a lot of fun with each other, that doesn't bridge any meaningful talent gap. However, it's talented players like CQ, Beckham, Floyd who are performing poorly. In many cases relaxing a little and not pressing will help. Baseball is a game where increased intensity and getting too fired up can hurt a player. Sometimes that's what players need and that's why Ozzie continues to talk about "nobody being the man" and putting too much pressure on themselves.

QUOTE (fathom @ May 18, 2010 -> 11:51 AM) Biggest difference between 2005 and this team is that I feel like this team has lost more games when tied or leading heading into the 7th inning than the 2005 team did all season. Having one of the greatest bullpens ever makes any manager look good and hides the offensive struggles a team might have. Agreed.

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ May 18, 2010 -> 10:28 AM) And the offense is much, much worse. Currently. Going into 2005 and even early in the year people were complaining about an offense that lost power with Carlos lee and Mags and were replaced with Carl Everett at DH and a no hit speedster in Pods. That coupled with a 3B in Crede who couldn't hit, an injury prone just signed Dye and a 2B in Iguchi who no one had seen play couldn't possibly produce enough runs. The 2010 isn't going to win the World Series with the holes the pitching and offense have dug but there is evey reason to believe the offense will improve from a .227 batting average.

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ May 17, 2010 -> 09:20 AM) This reminds me of that meaningless college basketball stat, where I hear that the reason 2010 Duke shouldn't beat 2010 UNC is because 1956 Duke had a great record against them. We're talking about completely different players under completely different circumstances, run by completely different people, in a completely different time. That's right. This pitching staff is more talented than the one that lead the 2005 to the World Series.

QUOTE (kitekrazy @ May 17, 2010 -> 10:37 AM) Someone once suggested, fire Ozzie and make AJ a player manager. No one would be able to tolerate AJ as a manger. No one likes him now and they aren't supposed to listen to him.

QUOTE (DBAHO @ May 16, 2010 -> 09:28 PM) Salty = Rube Baker. Trade for him and get him a subscription to Playboy and we're good.

QUOTE (justBLAZE @ May 5, 2010 -> 08:14 PM) I think this might be drugs. Believe it or not, from what I understand he doesn't do drugs or really drink. Maybe he should start.

QUOTE (WCSox @ May 4, 2010 -> 08:27 PM) No, it's not. Mark routinely threw 89-91 five years ago. Now his four-seamer is more like 87-89. The year after the WS, it was more like 86. That's what age and heavy use do to a pitcher's arm. And while I won't argue that Mark's going to tear his labrum or rotator cuff any time soon, the risk obviously increases with increased use. And even if we accept the premise that Mark is the next Tom Glavine and his arm troubles won't manifest until his 40's, his arm strength and durability will, at best, diminish slightly as he approaches his mid-30s. Since it's unlikely that his command will improve significantly over that time (it can't get much better than it already is), it's difficult for me to believe that he's going to pitch any better than he has over the past three years. So we're looking at either more of the average of the past few years or a slight decline. And that's a best-case scenario. I think this is the scenario we are seeing now. There is currently something different in his delivery. After watching the tape of his last start again I think it's his arm slot. It looks lower, which is common in someone with shoulder issues no matter how slight.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ May 3, 2010 -> 02:57 PM) Disagree about Buehrle, simply because he's been horrible for a month now after Opening Day. Still, he'll turn it around for 2-3 months and be the Buehrle (dependable version) we all know and love, and that every opposing GM would love to have on their roster, IF IF IF they could afford him. I do agree with one aspect, the Cardinals have been much more budget-conscious and have gone with the "diamond in the rough" theory of acquiring starters since overspending from 1995-2005 in this area. There is something different in his motion this year. I can't quite figure it out yet. I think the decreased innings in spring wasn't about resting him for the season. I think it was about lingering shoulder issues from last year.

QUOTE (G&T @ May 4, 2010 -> 06:06 AM) I think you have it easy if Taylor Swift is the problem. I agree. The Taylor Swift concert I took my daughter to was tolerable. Some of the others were Demi Lovato, Miley Cyrus, etc. and they were unbearable

QUOTE (hammerhead johnson @ Apr 8, 2010 -> 04:37 PM) I think the dude that's hitting .197 as a member of the White Sox while making an outrageous amount of money can use a confidence boost. Get this guy a set routine, coddle him, vote for him as best CF on the team (this is an important one), put him in the 5th slot behind Konerko and leave him there. He could potentially have a monster year. Ozzie is coddling him by not putting him in the greater pressure situation of hitting higher in the order. He is protecting Rios by hitting him lower in the order and building his confidence.

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Apr 8, 2010 -> 03:31 PM) Can I just say how proud I am of being on a Sox message board, that allows debate, and doesn't resort to screaming, "OZZIE PLAYED MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL!!! YOU HAVEN'T!!! YOU CAN'T QUESTION HIM!!!" when the legitimacy of a managerial move is called into question? This board is great, and one of the best things that ever could have happened for my White Sox fandom. there is validity to the point of the people on this board not being in the cluhouse and knowing the players. Maybe Jones is down and needs a confidence boost so he is putting him the situation to see how he does. I'm not saying this is the case but Ozzie will do this for his relief pitchers and young players alot. ozzie may not always be the best x and o manager but he knows players and gives them plenty of room to excel or sink themselves. He basically allows the players to determine if they should be with the team or play. He will do the same with Jones and Kotsay.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Apr 8, 2010 -> 03:12 PM) I agree Rios should never be moved from center. The boobirds will be out tonight if Jones makes some obvious blunder in cf. It would be funny in a way cause Rios got booed some last year. it's part of Ozzie's plan to semi-rest his players. Rios is still playing defense but at a less physically demanding position than CF.

Great pics. Thanks for getting one of me in there. Your pics are so good you can see me over PK right shoulder in the pic where he is rounding 3rd after the homer.

QUOTE (knightni @ Mar 24, 2010 -> 02:29 AM) Are you insinuating what I think that you're insinuating about Pujols? Let's just call it an educated guess and leave it at that.

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Mar 23, 2010 -> 10:09 PM) When did he have a knee problem? I know he's had 2 surgeries on his right elbow, a strained calf, Plantar Fasciitis, the strained oblique and some lower back problems early in '06 but the only problem he's had with his knee that I'm aware of was a contusion from sliding in '08. I'm not disagreeing with you or anything, I'm just curious for the sake of continuity. Wasn't the oblique injury a red flag? I can't find the knee problem now that I look back. I thought a previous chronic soft tissue injury was the knee. Must have been the recurrent elbow problems. The number of chronic soft tissue injuries was my point.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Mar 23, 2010 -> 08:44 AM) Pujols is having back spasms, went in for an MRI, got an anti-inflammation shot. There's very little possibility that they use an injection for muscle spasms in a professional athlete. The injection was to decrease inflammation around a nerve. The muscle spasms are there to protect the nerves from the instability in the spine. He could be in some trouble this year. PS. Hmmmm lots of soft tissue injuries (knee, plantar fasciitis) progressing to lower back problems. Sounds a lot like what happened to McGwire.

QUOTE (knightni @ Mar 21, 2010 -> 04:34 PM) I wonder if the pin in his elbow has loosened due to his violent curve and his velocity is down because of it... If this happened it would show up as elbow pain and difficulty with his breaking pitches more than the fastball. If anything he seems to be throwing more breaking pitches than before.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Mar 21, 2010 -> 10:10 AM) Alex Rios' contract has no merit? I just stated facts. KW said he had a trade for a pitcher that could have made his rotation the best ever. He said they ran into a problem with an extension. These are facts. I said not having to owe $60 million to Rios probably would have helped with the extension. I also said maybe not, because it may not have been the extension. Perhaps Halladay or whoever it was just said no. IIRC, Halladay has a NTC. I also love how you rip me for speculating, then speculate yourself. As for spending, the White Sox have recently spent a lot more money on starting pitching if you break it down $/player than any other position. 2006 the only 2 players on the roster being paid more than the 5 starters were Thome and half of his salary was being paid by Philadelphia, and Konerko who was a post season star for a championship team. Konerko at that stage was owed about the same as Rios is right now. If KW was at least semi- prepared to make a deal with Halladay or whatever pitcher it was that was going to make his rotation the best of all-time in his words, I'm sure he knew it would cost a pretty penny not only prospect-wise, but money-wise as well. Adrian Gonzalez, if the Sox somehow get him, is going to be just as expensive, if not more if they want to extend him. Rios has a lot to live up to. Paying someone $60 million for 5 years is expecting he will perform a lot better than an average player. He needs to be better than the "well he's better than Dewayne Wise" thoughts. I don't see where 25 or so spring training ABs shows he's ready to live up to his end of the deal. I hope he does, but nothing has been answered yet. I'd bet the ranch if he was placed on waivers, he wouldn't be claimed. If he was making $1 million a year, he most certainly would be claimed. His contract has plenty of merit. I would bet that if this was truly the case it had more to do with the length of the contract. The Sox have shown they will offer pitchers good money it's usually the length of the contract with which they have a problem.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Mar 18, 2010 -> 08:04 AM) Thank you for helping my point. The results and numbers have nothing to do with it. If you havent SEEN Andruw Jones play, you cant make one call or the other on how he looks based on ST numbers. Of course based on how he is hitting the ball to all fields, staying back in his stance instead of the pull happy out in front approach he's been taking the last few years, I would say he is a much improved player and could be in for a good year. You can get excited when you see CLEAR changes in the way a player looks and is approaching the game, which has NOTHING to do with the actual numbers which was my point. If you havent seen the guy, your only negative or positive feeling is going to be based on stats on a sheet, which is irrelevant. This can't be true. Greg Walker is the hitting coach and he only teaches lift and pull.