Greg Hibbard

QUOTE(marsh @ Aug 30, 2005 -> 06:14 PM) The problem is the sox are forced to improve through trades instead of the FA market so they are always subtracting while adding guys. How is this mentality acceptable in the city of Chicago? How is it acceptable to say "well, that's just the way things are, we can't afford it..." Bulls***. I'm so sick of feeling like a second tier baseball team because our ownership group refuses to spend more than 80 million dollars. It's f***ing horses***. Meanwhile, the fans keep squinting trying to make Scott Podsednik look like Alex Rodriguez. No matter how hard you look, they're not even in the same f***ing atmosphere. And yeah, I hate A-Rod too for what it's worth. But he's a damn good baseball player, and he's a damn better hitter than anyone we got. Yeah, I like most of the players we got. But they aren't championship caliber. We are short one good hitter and it's because of the fact we didn't land a big enough bat in the offseason. Because we are always forced to accept less. Since when is Chicago a mid-market town?

QUOTE(CWSGuy406 @ Aug 30, 2005 -> 06:09 PM) Ok, so it's all about money. Why aren't the Mets in first? Why are Seattle and Texas behind Oakland? Hell, why is Anahiem behind Oakland? Why is Cleveland step-for-step playing with the Yankees? Why is Baltimore doing worse than Toronto? Money shouldn't be an excuse, ESPECIALLY for the White Sox. They're the highest payroll in the division. Quit trying to cry poor, there's plenty of money... Who said overpriced teams don't underperform? I'm talking about minimum requirements for being a legitimate World Series contender

QUOTE(Kalapse @ Aug 30, 2005 -> 05:58 PM) Aneheim's payroll wasn't exactly top tier and neither was Arizona's in fact they were recieving aid from MLB because they were so far in debt. Arizona is a deceptive case because so many of their salaries were deferred because of extenuating circumstances. I thought Schil and Randy agreed to defer because of the situation

QUOTE(valponick @ Aug 30, 2005 -> 05:58 PM) If our pitching staff, defense and offense can play up to their potential/talent then yes, I think they could do very well in the playoffs. I don't think the offense is very talented, and basically every playoff contender besides Cleveland (who we couldn't play in the first round anyway) has schooled us since just before the allstar break in terms of combined record

I agree with half of your assessment. This team has what it takes to win the division, because it's very improbable that the Indians can come back this late. This team does not have what it takes to do well in the playoffs, and I'm not sure how you could possibly assess the situation otherwise.

I'm not really worried about an improbable Indians comeback. The best the tribe can really go is 21-9 down the stretch and even with today's loss the Sox just have to go 15-18 to tie.

QUOTE(Greg Hibbard @ Aug 30, 2005 -> 05:44 PM) Or are we eternally destined to that second tier of payroll...one in which very few (lucky as f***) teams are able to build championship teams with in a non-salary cap baseball environment. If it wasn't for the Cubs choking the NLCS away, we'd never be talking about this. I'm not relying on a Bartman or Alex Gonzalez to bail the Sox out.

You cannot build a complete world series caliber team today in major league baseball with a second tier payroll. We asked guys like Eldred and Valentin and Perry and Parque and Baldwin to carry us in 2000, and they did that for most of the year. But they are really mediocre players who were just having a pretty good stretch of a season together. Sure it won us a division title. This year, we're asking guys like Podsednik and Dye and Hermanson and Iguchi and Garland and Uribe and Crede to do the same thing. Are they great players? Hardly. Some are above average in some respects, maybe. Some are clearly below average. Have they done some things to win us a lot of ballgames? Sure. It's been a fun ride, and it'll be cool to see the Sox hopefully in the playoffs again. Even if it's another first round sweep. I guess. *sigh* I know attendance has been good and we hopefully will be opening the pocketbook up this offseason, but as a fan, I'm sick of trying to make another $70-80 million payroll team look like a $115 million payroll team. It's what I was doing in 2000, and more and more this August, it seems like it's what I'm doing in 2005. No matter how hard I squint, I still see a lineup that pales in comparison to any other AL contender. I see a pitching staff that is dead tired from trying to carry the team. I see long faces and worn out looks. Is there any hope that one day the Sox will actually spend like they want to win a World Series? Yeah, yeah, I know...Al Belle.....eons ago. Or are we eternally destined to that second tier of payroll...one in which very few (lucky as f***) teams are able to build championship teams with in a non-salary cap baseball environment. Also, I am trying REALLY hard to stay positive.

QUOTE(Kalapse @ Aug 29, 2005 -> 03:50 PM) Neal Cotts >>> Keith Foulke right now We missed out on Foulke being a very good closer for a few years but in the long wrong we may have gotten the better of that deal. How can you possibly say we got the better of that deal? Koch screwed up our bullpen for two seasons and now he's out of baseball. Foulke saved game 4 of the world series last year. In the long run, we still got one of the worst trades in Sox history.

How can anyone hate Caruso for that one season he hit like .300 with 28 infield hits? What was that '98, '99? Al Belle was an asshole, and maybe the worse character ever brought into that clubhouse in many ways, but he was productive. I'm not really concerned with people's personalities as long as they perform and keep their f***ing mouth shut and nose clean at the right times. I guess my criteria for "hate" is a lot different than a lot of people's. I'm not sure how you "hate" Joe Crede when he hits you 20 dongs a year with a mediocre average and above average defense. I would not call a .250 career hitter with 20 home runs/season hate-worthy. Maybe he doesn't meet with your own set of expectations, but how does Jose Valentin's name NOT come up way before Joe Crede? Way worse average-wise, horrible defensively, about the same in terms of homers. I have only hated two Sox players: Royce Clayon and Billy Koch. I hated bringing them in at the time, totally disagreed with the moves and was proven right over and over again that they were not performers. Clayton had at one point the worst batting average for any player with more than 100 at bats at something like .105. It was abysmal. You think .220 is bad? Remember that s***? OMG. Koch for Foulke is still the worst trade of Kenny Williams' career, in my opinion. I know Ritchie for the kids was bad, but Koch f***ed our bullpen for 2+ seasons. Ritchie only f***ed us for a little while and Kip Wells and Josh Fogg are not exactly Cy Young material whereas we all know what happened with Foulke.

Griffey hits third, so he should be able to play third. That's all I'm sayin'.

Okay, so Twins put in a claim for Soriano just to block, right? What's to keep any team from just claiming any player and then NOT working out a deal just to block?

The bottom line: we live in what should be a great sports town with a bad football organization that cannot scout talent or draft well, a hockey organization that was rightfully called the worst sports franchise in all of sports in a recent espn poll, and the two most futile baseball franchises in mlb history. Moreover, us White Sox fans have to deal with the fact that our team has not won a playoff series in 87+ years. My grandfather, who was born in 1920 and passed away last december, never experienced the White Sox win a playoff series in his f***ing LIFETIME. We consistently are second fiddle in our own f***ing town, and arguably the best player our organization ever had was banned from baseball for a crime many say he did not even commit. So excuse me if I say anyone is allowed to f***ing vent any old way they please when things start going REALLY badly, even for a first place team. I know I am.

I will always root for the Sox, but I don't have any faith that they will do anything more than they did in 2000, if even that. And that's okay. I hope they prove me wrong.

what the f*** is timo doing pinch hitting? is anyone gonna ask that in the postgame?

game over

jesus f***ing christ

he looks ok!

QUOTE(fathom @ Aug 23, 2005 -> 07:41 PM) WHERE WOULD HE PLAY? sorry, I couldn't help but lmao

oh my god how did he hang on

so yeah, crede

f*** you and your stretch hawk

man, can we move a guy over?

yeah you're right

better than getting no hit though lucky on the stolen base