TaylorStSox

Worse shape than 2001? You mean that great team that didn't win a damn thing. We're not in nearly as bad of shape as you make it out to be. We're relatively young and still have strong pitching. For a team that has such an awful system we'll have a bunch of contributions from players that spent time in said system. I'm not a fan of where we're at, but it's nowhere near as dire as this site makes it out to be. In fact, if a couple things go our way next year, I wouldn't be shocked to see the Sox overtake the Tigers. They're good but hardly a Juggernaut. Now I understand wju that hyperbole thread was a sticky. BTW, I know its easy to forget but there is that thing we did a few years ago that nearly 90 years of Sox players and GM's failed to accomplish.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Oct 7, 2011 -> 08:18 PM) And that the "riverboat gambler" side of him lost out in a series of bad moves at the end of his tenure. Perhaps from the bigger perspective, he'll be most remembered as a GM whose goal (while not often accomplished) was to put the White Sox in a position to compete every season, particularly from July until the end of the season. It's a bit ironic that with all of the hype for his trades and mid-season "tinkering," it was only in 2005 and 2008 that he actually succeeded, and adding Geoff Blum (in 05) was perhaps one of the most under-the-radar moves of his entire tenure. Maybe the vanishing dream of the "Sox decade" in Chicago with the collapse of the 2006 team and the freefall in 07. Finally, the last 3 years of acrimony with Ozzie, punctuated by the Dunn/Rios/Peavy/Swisher/Edwin Jackson moves. Some of you guys are so over the top it's hilarious. It's like we're the Orioles or Indians over here.

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Oct 4, 2011 -> 11:53 AM) I have not forgotten about Prior but I still vehemently disagree. Prior had very good stuff but he didn't have Kerry Wood or Strasburg stuff, what set Prior apart at the time was his ability to locate said stuff. Agreed If we're talking pure stuff, Prior isn't in my top 10. Completely unrelated to the thread, but people forget about the stuff Jenks once had...100 MPH fastball, 2 different plus curves, a plus change, a plus slider and a real nice cutter. Before he wore down, that kid could flat out bring it.

QUOTE (bigruss22 @ Oct 1, 2011 -> 11:54 PM) Short sighted? You mean that it's not common sense to give a stranger millions of dollars when he promises a 20% return every year? These guys of course will have tons of people coming to them with investment opportunities, but if they were smart or had common sense they would follow the herd and put their money in say, I dunno, what investment professionals put money in, aka mutual funds, ETFs, stocks, bonds, etc. If you say that's not common sense than I disagree, when you train as a kid for a sport who do you look up to? Professional athletes. When you want to invest your money who do you look up to? Legitimate professional investment companies. And if they were smart they would diversify, or atleast have a savings account, so if the economy flopped or something they would have atleast enough to live off of. And yes, I do put that on them if they don't keep track of their expenditures. If you don't know your own finances then you're setting yourself up to lose them. Ummm... what's this thread about again?

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Sep 29, 2011 -> 04:19 PM) We should also blame the entire veteran clubhouse, too? DeWayne Wise, for being on the roster to take his place? What about Greg Walker and Steve Swisher, for him refusing to work with his own batting coach? Like the Rasmus situation in St. Louis, should Ozzie have forced him against his will to work with Greg "The Guru" Walker? I don't like Swisher either. I was just posing a question for debate, albeit loaded.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Sep 29, 2011 -> 04:11 PM) Dunn is an awful interview too. Every 4th word he tries to utter is interrupted by the phrase "you know". He puts so much more effort into be interviews though. As he stumbles from phrase to phrase I find myself saying, " At least he's trying."

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Sep 29, 2011 -> 04:05 PM) Alex Rios was worth -$2.9 million in the fangraphs world and is paid $12 million. He underperformed his contract in the fangraphs world by $14.9 million, and thus is the bargain of the trio. Yeah, but Rios is a lazy POS who doesn't throw his bat enough for my liking. Plus he's an awful interview.

Rios vs. Crawford might be a more fair comparison.

Can it be argued the second Swisher trade was Ozzie's fault because he forced Williams hand?

QUOTE (fathom @ Sep 26, 2011 -> 11:30 PM) Not for one second did Hawk say that this was the wrong move. Clearly, as Ozzie's become a parody of himself he's become a distraction to the players. Talking to Florida while managing the Sox is close to unforgivable to me.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Sep 26, 2011 -> 11:13 PM) How can you not stand Mark Buehrle? Seriously. Do you realize he is the No. 1 starter in Sox history? Do you not like the Buehrle of the last month? The games he's been hit in? I mean you do realize he's the best starter in (modern) Sox history, don't you??? Number 1 starter of all time? Wtf? BTW, I'd rather have a manager with zero personality that wins a lot of games than a loud mouth with a mediocre record. As Ozzie said, "winning is fun."

I made a ridiculously long post that got deleted about Rios being the most likely to bounce back. Anyway, if we're lucky Jake will have a good half and be traded. Rios and Dunn are wildcards. I'm more bullish towards Rios breaking out though.

QUOTE (kitekrazy @ Sep 22, 2011 -> 09:58 PM) From what I've read Ramirez doesn't light up the league at the start of the season. We would have fit in with the 2011 Sox. I'm probably the only person in the world that thinks Rios has a good year in '12. He still displays some encouraging signs. He isn't having trouble making contact, he just hasn't consistently driven the ball. He's probably only a tweek or two away from having an impact. Dunn, on the other hand, is more worrisome. He's swinging and missing by a foot in nearly every AB. He's just all kinds of f***ed up and I wouldn't even know where to begin. Peavy's lost velocity is a big concern to me as well. He can effective as he learns to pitch, but I don't expect him to morph into Maddux. He'll be solid, but his days of dominance are probably over.

QUOTE (docsox24 @ Sep 16, 2011 -> 09:24 PM) sorry but no way can you pick thome over paulie Not only was Thome a better hitter, he serves a purpose by being LH. I'm not discounting PK, but Frank, Belle and Thome were better hitters. They should all be HOF to me. If Puckett makes it, then Belle should too.

SP Blackjack SP Fernandez SP Contreras SP Alvarez SP MB RP Cotts RP Thigpen RP Thornton RP Jenks RP Foulke RP El Duke - for the 3 biggest outs any of us will ever see. RP Sale CF One Dog 2B Durham 1B Frank f***in Thomas LF Belle DH Thome RF Magglio 3B Ventura C Charles Johnson SS Ramirez I'm considering every player at their best while they were with the Sox. It's a bad defensive team and way too RH bit they'd score some runs.

I just want somebody who's never been a associated with the organization in any way. A new perspective is much needed.

QUOTE (pettie4sox @ Aug 27, 2011 -> 12:23 AM) Do people really think Dunn will hit another home all year? I wouldn't even bet that he can make enough contact to get a ball out of the IF. It's one thing to be like Rios, make contact and not be able to drive the ball. It's another to be like Dunn and miss the ball by a foot on 75% of your swings. I've never seen anything like it, in any sport. It's the equivalent of Reggie Miller airballing half of his 3's. It's insane.

Is it okay to think Stewart might turn into a pretty darn good pitcher? I don't want to offend anybody.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Aug 9, 2011 -> 07:14 PM) He has been trying to actually go the other way some lately. It makes me so mad that he's finally making adjustments.

When is it Dunn's turn to start making adjustments?

QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ Aug 1, 2011 -> 11:21 PM) For the same reasons that people hated Vazquez and Garland. They give off the persona of someone who just doesn't give a flying f***, that they're collecting their paychecks and phoning the rest in. This is a good point. Garland is a great example. Generally, I don't question athlete's desire. For all we know, Rios is crying himself to sleep right now while Dunn's smoking a blunt wrapped in a $100 bill. As I said earlier, they both suck. They're both going to handcuff this organization for years. It's a shame.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Aug 1, 2011 -> 11:18 PM) Taylor you are off your rocker IMO. The hate on here is not race based in any way. 1.) Thomas wasn't booed as a White Sox. He just wasn't. I mean maybe some dopes booed him late in his career or something. 2.) Are you crazy? Rowand is totally hated on this board. I know cause I love him. 3.) Lilly is despised by me on this board. His batting stance is ridiculous and his bunt attempt tonight was disgraceful. I think he's a serviceable utility guy. 4.) Rios is god awful. That is apparent. Dunn sucks too. I think they are equal buckets of suck, but Rios dogging it has pissed people off, including Stoney. Thomas wasn't boo'd? Really? He was probably the most under appreciated sports star I can think of. Again, I'm not directing this specifically at the board.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Aug 1, 2011 -> 11:08 PM) Other than Heads, I don't think anybody from this board is racist. I'm not specifically talking about the board, but the overall attitude of the fan base. I never specifically called anybody racist, but am wondering aloud. Why is it okay for Dunn to be one of the worst hitters in over 100 years, but not Rios?

QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ Aug 1, 2011 -> 11:05 PM) Yes, if you're a moron. Those are ridiculous generalizations that you're making. I'll especially disagree with that Crede/Uribe and Rowand/Dye crap. I couldn't f***ing stand Crede and I liked Uribe for some reason. I thought Rowand was a complete boner and steroid abuser while I considered Dye one of the most consistent hitters in baseball during his tenure with the Sox. And I know a lot of people that thought the exact same way. Maybe you liked Uribe because he was a damn good player that played hard, was excellent defensively and was incredibly clutch? If you don't think Crede and Rowand get more love than Dye and Uribe then you need to get off the computer for a bit and check out real life. Thomas was boo'd throughout his career. Belle was boo'd and called a bust despite kicking ass in a Sox uniform. Contreras passion and brain were questioned his whole time he was with the Sox. I just don't understand why Rios is a bum/dog despite playing better, albeit ever so slightly, than Dunn and actually playing in the field. For some reason people are real selective about who they call a bum/dog. That AJ, boy he plays hard, even though the next time he runs out a pop up will be the first. I really don't get it. Rios and Lilly both dog a play in the same game. Lilly's actually costs the winning run. Yet, Rios is the bum and Lilly, well he's a cute little guy.

QUOTE (Lillian @ Aug 1, 2011 -> 11:04 PM) Yes, but can you think of an instance where two players both completely forgot how to hit? All of those examples were guys way past their primes, except Sax. It is very rare, I'm sure. Chuck Knoblauch? Both Rios and Dunn have the hitting version of what Knoblauch and Sax had in the field. At least Rios hit the ball hard once today and doesn't miss the ball by more than a foot in every AB?