TaylorStSox

What about Will Cordero or Jose Paniagua? I actually like Rios. I can't stand jocks.

QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ Feb 28, 2012 -> 01:12 AM) Have you ever heard the opinions of non-Bulls fans on Funk/King? They are incredibly biased, especially when it comes to officiating. I said that I have no problem with both guys being homer's.

QUOTE (kev211 @ Feb 27, 2012 -> 11:21 PM) I want to watch the game with fans. Its why I love Hawk and Stacey King. King's great. He's enthusiastic and playful. King doesn't pout. He doesn't leave the booth during a tough quarter. He doesn't correct Funk. He doesn't treat Funk as if he knows nothing or is disinterested. Hawk tends to be depressing, angry and bitter. When we're bad, watching baseball becomes a chore. I also find Hawk disingenuous. He doesn't really tell it like it is. I'll continue to watch every game I can. I just take Hawk with an Elston Avenue factory of salt.

I don't mind Hawk being a homer, it's one of his good qualities. I do mind that he's a grumpy, insufferable bully that goes out of his way to talk over his broadcast partner. He hasn't had an original thought in years. I don't care about Yaz or Frank Howard. I don't care to hear "get on back there" and "stretch" for balls that aren't going to get to the warning track. I can see it from my couch.

I just wish I could pay $5 to chain smoke in my seat.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Feb 27, 2012 -> 11:49 AM) What good is saving money on parking if you are forced to just spend the same money plus some at a bar/restaurant? Like everything else in life, you pay for convenience. If people don't want to spend 10 minutes to find a parking spot, they have an option. If they don't want to walk a mile to the park, they have an option. It could be worse. Don't the fans on the north side have to pay $20 to park in some guy's driveway and still walk a couple miles?

QUOTE (Cali @ Feb 25, 2012 -> 03:46 PM) I'm excited for Sale. My biggest fear is a dip in velocity going from the pen to the rotation. If he's popping 95+ on that fastball during the season that makes him even more dangerous... I'm more worried about him getting his other 2 pitches over the plate. If he's doing that, with his length and delivery, 92-96 will be more than enough. BTW, for some reason, I'm more excited about this spring than I've been in a long time. I'm more ready for baseball than usual. I like new faces too.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Feb 25, 2012 -> 11:29 AM) Might agree with you had he not been hitting 2nd when things really started going to **** in 2010. Might be unrelated, but dah. Good point. Beckham's a mind boggler. If he doesn't respond to the new staff by the All Star break, I'd look into moving him in a failed prospect for failed prospect swap, kind of like Borchard/Thornton. A change of scenery might be the answer. If Lilly continues to hit, he might be the future at 2nd.

I'd probably hit Beckham second. I think he would benefit the most from having a "job" to do. He seems like one of those guys that gets in his own head and his mechanics go to s***.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Feb 21, 2012 -> 08:42 PM) Rios is simply incapable of that. He is a very limited player who isn't getting any younger and his lack of desire compounds the problem. Jesus. Lack of desire? Does Beckham lack desire because he can't hit a fastball? Rios was all kinds of messed up last year, but at least he made adjustments to address his screwed up mechanics. He's more than capable of hitting those numbers. I was only semi serious, but I'd be willing to be bet he's the team's most improved player. The whole "doesn't care/lack of desire/dog" vitriol is so tired. There's no proof. People must not like the way the guy looks or something. Lillibridge cost us a game last year lollygagging in the outfield and he's probably the most popular guy on the team. I don't get my fellow Sox fans sometimes. Sorry for the derailing the thread. Carry on.

My only predictions are that Morel and Sale have big years. Also, Rios is going to have a 285/28/110 kind of year.

QUOTE (YASNY @ Feb 20, 2012 -> 12:38 PM) I'd put Sale in the 5 spot in the rotation this year. He'll need a certain amount of protection and he is unproven as a starter. Agreed. It means they can also skip some starts to limit his innings.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Feb 19, 2012 -> 01:03 PM) This is how the catchers were calling the game though. And Santos's problem wasn't really that his slider was flat, it was that people would be able to lay off of it if he couldn't get ahead of people beforehand. AJ loved the setup with Sergio throwing the fastball to get ahead of hitters and then only use the slider as an out pitch. When Flowers took over some games, we saw Flowers use the Slider much more heavily and stop relying on the fastball to get ahead. In fact, especially in the first half of the season, Sergio's slider was just nails...his control on it was almost spectacular. That pretty much covered the whole season too, he was vastly better than the rest of the league at getting the slider down in the zone and ridiculous at getting people to swing and miss at it. Stats... Meh.

I'm with Marty. I started to see some major red flags with Santos. First, his slider, while dominant isn't all that repeatable and he doesn't consistently command it well. When it's flat, most of us can hit it. Also, he has a good fastball, but doesn't really believe in it. During pressure situations, he's slider, slider, slider. Lastly, his arm strength scares me. Will he ever develop enough to be a great closer? Sergio might be a top tier closer at some point, but I wouldn't bet on it. The trade shocked me, but the more I thought about it, the more I liked it. If you have the opportunity to get a real nice prospect for a closer, you gotta take it.

nm

QUOTE (greg775 @ Feb 15, 2012 -> 10:46 PM) Sox fans, at least on this board, are very understanding when it comes to saving money. I could give a s*** about Jerry saving money. Spent some f***ing money and give me a winner!! (I don't count $$ to Rios/Dunn/Peavy; that's their own fault they are wasting those greenbacks). If only it was that simple. We could have 30 World Series winners every year and everyone would be happy. Join me in my free spending, everyone's a winner, utopia.

QUOTE (fathom @ Feb 10, 2012 -> 08:44 PM) The second the refs called that foul, I thought it was due to them being annoyed with Leonard's demeanor on the court. This has been ongoing theme at UI with multiple players. It starts at the top. Weber whines, the kids whine...The refs react.

I don't know. How is Coop supposed to fix a guy that isn't broken?

QUOTE (SOXOBAMA @ Feb 3, 2012 -> 01:51 PM) that's a real sad group of candidates.. It is going to be a long year. I have an idea. You should piss on every single White Sox related thread. It'll be both fun and fulfilling.

I haven't liked Dan Johnson since he choked in the olympics. Reebok runs ads nonstop for about a year and you tank like that? Really? Loser. America hates you.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Jan 27, 2012 -> 11:08 PM) Um, what? There's no stat available that measures not giving a f***. If you watched the Sox with any regularity last year, you don't even have to ask for any "evidence." Rios was a f***ing joke last year. So, basically, you have no evidence ie. particular plays. You just don't like the way he looks. Got it.

I voted for Chris Sale cuz he's like, totally awesome. I didn't vote for Konerko cuz he'll be like, totally on a different team for half the year.

Is there evidence that Alex Rios doesn't give a s***? I read that all the time, but don't really see it. At least he shows up in shape. He made some adjustments. I remember a few times that he loafed, but every ball player does that. Hell, fan favorite AJ loafs more than any player in recent memory. There's no doubt that he had an abysmal year, but he was the only member of Team Suck that showed some signs of life last year. I actually think he might have a pretty good season.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Jan 25, 2012 -> 04:58 PM) Are the Sox going to suck that badly? Are we looking at last place??? I'll let you know by the end of September.

Reed will get more work by not closing. It's probably a good thing. There's no point in having a rookie falling asleep in the bullpen because there aren't any save situations.