Frankensteiner

QUOTE(BearSox @ Sep 4, 2006 -> 06:47 PM) sadly that is true... The more and more I think about, the more I feel this team needs to lose some power hitters, and add some speedy contact hitters. And a hitting coach who preaches OBP and going with the pitch would be nice. Red Sox and Yankees have a bunch of power hitters. Their hitting is fine. We need to upgrade SS and LF, maybe get a new hitting coach.

This is probably our best chance to win a game. They'll get Ortiz back tomorrow and we'll have someone not named Garland pitching the last 2 games of the series.

So pretty much everyone for Boston is back with the exception of Ortiz, who will be back tomorrow. We're gonna get killed.

QUOTE(fathom @ Sep 3, 2006 -> 04:33 PM) We're going to have to upgrade our offense. We have a lot of aging players, and we can't expect guys like Dye and Thome to match their numbers next season. Hopefully we'll get a boost from a new LF. Arguing about Tejada is pointless though, as we don't have anything they'd realistically want that we'd give up. That's why Soriano would have been perfect. I really hope we dump Garcia and Vazquez this off-season, follow the Yanks model, and re-invest that money into the offense.

I would say Ozzie has done some really stupid things this year, but I don't think that makes him a bad manager overall. Kenny has done some bad moves (or non-moves) this year, but I consider him a really good GM. We have some bad players on this team, but the overall talent level is still very good. This is what happens if a team comes up short from making the playoffs.

QUOTE(Jordan4life_2006 @ Sep 3, 2006 -> 04:24 PM) It's easy to criticize now. I get that. But I totally get where Kenny was coming from before the season. We had a pitching staff that pitched a s*** load of innings in 2005. He wanted another 'proven' arm in there. And how is Ozzie not at fault for the way he's used Javy at times? If we're looking at rationale and reasoning for the move, then I agree that it was good thinking. I don't have any qualms about giving up prospect for veteran players, especially if the team can support a large payroll. But the guy he picked (Vazquez) was a bad idea, and he's the one that picked him.

QUOTE(greg775 @ Sep 3, 2006 -> 04:22 PM) Screw the bad managing. We're an average team at best. Two halfway reliable starters. OK pretty reliable starters. Average to bad bullpen. Good closer. No team speed. Bad season from a key player (Pods, Uribe) We are what we are. Not very good right now. Who's our 2nd reliable starter? And all these things you listed were evident in June and July, when something could have been done about it.

QUOTE(fathom @ Sep 3, 2006 -> 04:18 PM) This isn't a disaster of a season. A disaster would have been a 70-92 season, and drawing nothing during the 2nd half of the year. At least with being competitive this whole season, our attendance is great and should equate to a high payroll next year. I think not getting into the playoffs is a disaster. It won't get any easier next year, not for this group of players anyway.

QUOTE(Jordan4life_2006 @ Sep 3, 2006 -> 04:17 PM) Of course. Well, I still can't put any legitimate blame on Kenny. How many times over the years have we as Sox fans gotten on Jerry or whoever was our GM of the time for not spending any money? Well, they added 20+ million to the payroll. Our farm system was raped with the idea of winning a second straight title. I feel they've done their part. Ozzie, the coaching staff and the players are to blame for what's looking like a disaster of a season. If we raped our farm system and got very little to show for it, then that's bad managment. That Javier Vazquez sucks balls isn't Ozzie's fault. That Vazquez is on the team isn't Ozzie's fault, either.

When we won last year, Ozzie got credit, but so did the players and KW. If we don't win this year, Ozzie can't be the only one blamed. Blame has to be spread around, imo.

QUOTE(BigSqwert @ Sep 3, 2006 -> 04:04 PM) 3-3 vs 2 awful teams. Pathetic. After our pathetic loss to Tampa Bay, there were some here who thought it was ok because we would then sweep the Royals. I would just like to suggest that after our next pathetic series, no one should say it's OK "because we'll beat team X next series." Never assume the Sox can beat Team X. By my count we're 14-11 against Tampa & KC. Compare that to 14-3 by the Tigers and 13-6 by the Twins, and these will be the games we look when we're sitting home for the playoffs.

QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Sep 3, 2006 -> 04:03 PM) Love for you to name the other deals that were done at the deadline.... Bobby Abreu/Corey Lidle helped the Yankees a whole lot.

There should be an option C: Kenny sat on his hands when it was pretty evident this team wasn't really that good.

Kenny really fell asleep at the wheel by not improving this team in any way. Our pitching is the same as it was in the first half, but the hitting is way down and anyone with half a brain could see that coming.

QUOTE(kwolf68 @ Sep 3, 2006 -> 03:49 PM) White Sox will need a major overhaul in the off-season...the pitching sucks. Kenny made the trades he thought would get us another ring this year, but its not going to happen...we are being done by .220 hitters, AAA players, and pitchers with +6 eras, losing to the likes of Tampa and KC, teams going nowhere. We are old, can't run, aren't smart, have a manager who seems to manage his pitchers differently depending on their birthplace. We are in a division competing with teams with some of the best young talent in baseball, much of it due to blossom next year with even Cleveland starting to look better. This team, as it stands now, has no chance to compete next year and is looking more and more like a 4th place team. We have the "names" to reload and its time to. This team is finished. I'm going camping, later. We won't need an overhaul. We're perfectly set to contend for years to come because this team is built for the long-haul. Our pitching is signed through at least 2007 and that's a good thing. I read this on a blog, and it was posted on soxtalk, so it must be right.

We'll be lucky to not get swept at this rate.

That was pretty awesome. Much needed win!

DJ, this is the best 7-8-9-1 that I have ever seen.

I really thought Buehrle was back after his last start.

QUOTE(fathom @ Sep 2, 2006 -> 07:29 PM) I see absolutely no focus or intensity by this team right now. KW deserves more criticism than he's received in regards to not upgrading this offense at the deadline. No kidding. He should have upgraded this team in some capacity. I was blasted when bringing this up, though.

QUOTE(shoota @ Sep 2, 2006 -> 07:22 PM) I've followed their organization and TK closely since 2001. They are a well-run organization that practices everything I listed. So Kelly was managing that team for what, one year? You can follow an organization closely but it does not compare to following the team every day, like I'm sure you do with the Sox. My point is that most of the problems we have with Ozzie (stuff about favorites, Mackowiak in CF, sticking with Pods) are things that are evident only from watching the Sox on a daily basis. I'm sure if you ask Twins fans, they'll have a list of peeves with Kelly as well. It's also common knowledge that 2002-present Twins players didn't like Kelly all that much and began winning only after Gardenhire took over.

QUOTE(shoota @ Sep 2, 2006 -> 07:07 PM) The right answer is Tom Kelly. He would allow our 3-4-5 to rake and give our bottom of the order a pirana-like attack. He wouldn't have Mack in center, wouldn't put up with a struggling Pods, would make better decisions with the pitching staff, and have the Sox playing sound fundamental baseball. TK wouldn't publicly rip into a rookie pitcher for not doing Vazquez's dirty work, wouldn't have put Marte on the playoff roster over McCarthy, and had he managed this team, would have had us leading the Central by now. EDIT: And TK is above playing favorites unlike Ozzie, and would put the team's success above personal relationships. Unless you followed the Minnesota Twins day-to-day for the last 20 years, you can't possibly know any of this.

This lineup looks pathetic. If Brian Anderson is your #7 hitter, then we've got problems.

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ Sep 2, 2006 -> 02:32 PM) How does replacing him with a guy with better numbers across the board make anyone look stupid? I'm glad he's not on the White Sox. KW and crew would be planning for 2007 right now. The other thing that is also glossed over by those drinking Frank Thomas Kool-aid by the gallons is Paul Konerko would be with the Angels right now if Frank was the White Sox DH. I'm confused as to how you arrived at that conclusion? I am happy we have Thome instead of Frank, but in hindsight, keeping Thomas at $3.5 M wouldn't have been such a bad move. For one, we keep Gio Gonzalez with the possibility of using him to acquire another player, have more money to spend elsewhere, and Rowand is still on the team as the starting CF. I'm not a fan of Rowand, but he's been more productive than Anderson this season, and Ozzie's not platooning Mack out there with Rowand still on the roster.

Career numbers- Pods: .273/.343/.381 Roberts: .275/.348/.375 I don't think people would like Roberts here.