Balta1701

Hate to say it, but it might be hard for Ozzie to actually bring Thome. IIRC, the AS game is at a National League park this year, which means no DH's, and there's a ton of guys out there playing good 1b or with big reputations. Tex may get voted in again, Giambi, Shelton, PK, Sexson's sure to heat up at some point, Big Papi (He's got to be there somewhere), etc.

By the way, if there's 1 place out there right now that can be useful to a base stealer trying to find his rhythm...it's Cleveland. Victor Martinez hasn't thrown out a base stealer all year. Pods better be off to the races in this series. Dye, Anderson, Cintron, Iguchi, Pablo too. Those Cleveland Pitchers have done nothing to hold people close, and Martinez just doesn't seem to be throwing well at all.

If he's hitting .200 in July and his defense is weaker than it is now (took him a long time to get that first error didn't it?) then we'll talk. Otherwise, someone just needs to tell Greg Walker to get his arse in gear.

At least Kruk made the correct choice. Seriously, what do you have to have in your system not to say Pujols?

And we're even winning now when Thome isn't carrying us every game.

QUOTE(whitesoxfan101 @ Apr 30, 2006 -> 09:55 PM) Hmm ok. Fair enough, and I do agree Frank got a raw deal from the media and KW when he left. My only reply is this: which one of the 2 was the first one to open his mouth? The media can say whatever they want and FT can debate them, but FT went after the organization as well.

QUOTE(whitesoxfan101 @ Apr 30, 2006 -> 08:26 PM) Between that new stadium, the attendance, and the fact they may make the playoffs again and DESPERATELY need an outfiedler....I still think Lee to St. Louis is a very real possibilty. Not sure where he ends up, but I think the Jock Jones contract sillyness and how long it is might cost the Cubs El Caballo, and that would be so Cubs. Seriously though, 4 of the Cardinals 5 starting pitchers are FA's after this season. Even if they have the new stadium, the only way they're grabbing Lee is if they find a few bargains or young guys to fill their pitching staff.

QUOTE(BigSqwert @ Apr 30, 2006 -> 03:58 PM) Are the demons still there? No No offense to anyone, but talk to me once we visit Oakland.

QUOTE(whitesoxin' @ Apr 30, 2006 -> 07:00 PM) I was so pissed sitting at that game. That started Hafner on his huge tear that lasted for a few weeks. Dude, Travis Hafner is not doing this because of Boone Logan. Yow. Oh, and Ozzie was obviously doing lefty/righty. He wanted a lefty to pitch to Garret Anderson both times I believe, and as good as he has been in the past, it's worth being careful with him. Once Cotts got Anderson on one pitch, and with Erstadt up 3rd, there wasn't a great reason to bring out Bobby.

QUOTE(Benchwarmerjim @ Apr 30, 2006 -> 12:15 PM) if you missed it last night, CSPAN is re-running the dinner tonight (check your local listings) I thoguht Colbert was funny, but the crowd was quiet, whch made he come across not very funny on tv but last Thursday, Bill Kristol was on The Report, and Stephen totally nailed him. It was one of the best interveiws Ive seen on his show Until that interview, I had no idea how you nailed a person by having your words totally agree with everything the guy you're interviewing says.

QUOTE(Rowand44 @ Apr 30, 2006 -> 12:06 PM) One of their top prospects and one of the reasons that they let Bengie go like retards. Mathis is very talented but not ready yet. It would have made a ton of sense for them to offer arbitration to B. Molina to give Mathis 1 more year in the Minors, but I can't say I totally disagree with their plan. They've got the talent in their organization to build one of the best young infields in baseball history. Even if it costs them a year or two at the top of the division, they're going to be really really good when they can work all these guys in. The thing that's amazing me? They called up Kendrick at the end of last week, and we haven't seen him at all as far as I know. He's spent this whole series riding the pine. That's a sure fire way to develop young hitters.

Young kid they brought up from AA as their new catcher when they let go of B. Molina.

QUOTE(Rowand44 @ Apr 30, 2006 -> 11:50 AM) Sucks for him too cause it'll probably feel worse sitting around compared to if he played. That's why God invented Icepacks.

QUOTE(fathom @ Apr 30, 2006 -> 11:11 AM) Congrats on being wrong. Outfielders in BASEBALL have a much bigger glove than infielders. And I don't think we should be worried about Pods losing his rhythm on the bases....he has no rhythm right now, and is a liability trying to steal. You don't find a rhythm in something by avoiding doing it.

Last night, the only man who enjoys Stephen Colbert's TV show more than me (Stephen Colbert himself) hosted the annual White House Correspondents dinner. Supposedly, he may have even annoyed the Pres a little. Some of the video is here. CSpan may also have some video. Here is an early transcript.

Pods is definately off slightly in his baserunning. It may be his injury still bothering him, or it may be that his legs just aren't in baseball shape yet. He did have to rest those a lot to start the season. His swing may just have come back before his legs. Hopefully in another month, he'll have stolen 10 in a row, and we can forget this conversation. If he's still at a 50% clip or worse then, though, he's gonna need the red light.

QUOTE(kyyle23 @ Apr 30, 2006 -> 07:43 AM) The warning system IS bulls***. It changes the way the game is pitched, pitchers have to become less aggressive with the inside half of the plate and it sets hitters up to look outside. I just dont understand why both teams have to be warned, if one of Contreras' forkballs ran way inside on a righty, then the Sox would have been punished for something that they didnt even retaliate from. If the umps had "well documented info" about this situation, then maybe before the first pitch is even thrown he should have said something to Escobar, Guillen, and Scioscia about keeping the game under control, instead of waiting until he hit someone. The warning system can be bulls***, or not, depending on how the ump handles things. Yesterday, they handled it quite well. There needed to be warnings issued at least to Anaheim after that first plunking, and if they didn't want it to get out of hand yesterday, it needed to go to the Sox as well. The question is whether the ump immediately tosses a pitcher who makes a mistake. A lot of times you can tell, and a smart ump will pay attention to the situation if a player gets plunked. You plunk a guy with 2 outs and the bases empty, that's retaliation. You plunk a guy in a close game deep in the count and maybe with a runner on, that's just pitching inside. It was handled a lot better yesterday than it was for the Nats/Mets earlier this year, that's for sure.

QUOTE(Greg The Bull Luzinski @ Apr 30, 2006 -> 10:10 AM) Agreed. Not that he could be expected to maintain the pace he set to open the season, but he has slowed down ever so slightly. Assuming Ross Gload is still travelling with the team, I would give him a start at 1st and let Konerko DH. Thome's been this streaky throughout his career, or so I'm told. One week he lights the world on fire, the next week he strikes out a lot. He knows how to work his way out of a slump. If he tells Ozzie he needs a day off, he gets it. If not, let him play. He'll get plenty of days off when interleague play rolls around. Anywho, Let's go get these bastards Jon. And backups, take care of the big guy today. Oh and Jon...whoever's catching for the Angels...if you felt the urge to plunk him in the back the first time you see him, I wouldn't mind one bit.

QUOTE(Rowand44 @ Apr 29, 2006 -> 11:06 AM) I've been one to say they'll be safely in 4th by the allstar break but I'm starting to think they can hang around, mostly because I really like their bullpen. I don't think they're going to be serious contenders come september but I think they can hang around for a while. The concern with the Tigers, like many teams, is still injuries. Rogers, Young, Ordonez, all have pretty bad recent injury histories, but thus far they've been lucky. There's also going to be the usual smattering of other problems, and again, some of those haven't hit yet. Who knows when IRoid will start breaking down, etc. Remember, it's a marathon, not a sprint.

Little A.J.'s first words to her daddy: "Boo"

QUOTE(WCSox @ Apr 29, 2006 -> 10:54 AM) No way. Before the knee injury, Maggs was a very solid defensive RF. Jermaine may not be very graceful, but he gets the job done. Maggs was about Average IMO. Average throwing arm, average range. I think Dye is an upgrade over him on both parts. Especially the Range, he's just a lot quicker out there than Ordonez ever was.

QUOTE(Heads22 @ Apr 28, 2006 -> 11:40 PM) Michael Irvin on SC saying it's horrible....."Defense doesn't win championships....being able to outscore the other team is what matters." Worked well for Indy... The Ravens and Bucs need to build a laugh track into their rings. Especially the Bucs, since that was the #1 D vs. #1 O year.

QUOTE(Chisoxfn @ Apr 28, 2006 -> 11:40 PM) He adds a lot to the broadcast and has a very good personality. I dont' think Blackjack would do full time broadcasting, but if he did and when we eventually replaced Hawk, I'd try to bring BJ in for a set number of games during hawks final season and put him with DJ and hawk in a 3 man booth to allow him to gel and than eventually turn things to DJ and Black Jack. Dude, find some new initials to use with that one.

I fidgit all the time with the hair behind my ears. I have no idea why. When my hands aren't typing, that's what they'll be doing.

QUOTE(Soxbadger @ Apr 28, 2006 -> 11:07 PM) Ive never been that in love with Bush and did not understand why the Texans would want him when they have Davis and Morency. I think New Orleans is going to trade down to the highest bidder. With Brees and Deuce, it would be smarter if they did not select a Bush or Leinart, but instead got D'Brick. The only question they would have is how far could they move down? NO probably could feel safe trading with the Jets and knowing that Bush and Leinart or Young are going to be the next 2 picks. I doubt Tenn drafts Ferguson, the only problem could be Tenn deciding to trade down if they are happy with either Young or Leinart. No gm will sleep tonight. Well, it's not like Deuce had the most dominant season in history last season either. 5 games, 335 total yards. His 2004 campaign wasn't his best either, went from 1600 yards down to 1000. So New Orleans could use it. And if nothing else, if there's a team in the league that needs to generate a big buzz and sell tickets more than anyone else, I can't think of one that beats New Orleans. Hell, Reggie Bush could basically be given the job next fall of giving that franchise a reason to stay in NOLA.