The Ginger Kid

I don't envy Guillen's decision with Carl. You know he's going to blow a fuse if you sit him. I thought Gload might get the start at 1st tonight?

QUOTE(fathom @ Sep 28, 2005 -> 04:31 PM) You just have to laugh at things. This has become completely mental with this team. I agree...it's so unreal that it's comical.

man, that southwest airlines commercial cracks me up.

at some point you just have to laugh. someone please let me know when that is.

QUOTE(Gene Honda Civic @ Sep 28, 2005 -> 03:54 PM) No Ozuna is at 3B right, but in his interview with Rooney I thought he said they're expecting him at anytime. Hard to understand what the hell he's saying.

so crede could be in the lineup tonight? That's the impression I got from Ozzie's interview. They're expecting him anytime.

good interview with Walker -- says everyone's pressing and that NY, Boston and Cleveland are pressing too.

I'm betting they try to get a couple of innings in before a 2 hour rain delay, then finish it up late.

Or it could be Indians vs. Red Sox, Angels vs. Yankees. I hate these threads.

QUOTE(WSoxMatt @ Sep 28, 2005 -> 02:35 PM) Not gonna matter this game should get rained out!!! Overcast right now in Detroit and they wont delay the game 3 hours with a noon game tomorrow... Best bet rain the game out, let the players get a good night ret in the hotels and be ready for 2 tomorrow!!! BUT if they do get this game started... better get some EARLY runs and make sure of the lead before it does rain!!! good point. I didn't realize tomorrow's game was a get of town starting time. That long flight to Cleveland from Detroit is brutal.

QUOTE(Gene Honda Civic @ Sep 28, 2005 -> 02:30 PM) They piss down their legs when the pressure is on. ah, so close and late in a ballgame. those numbers reek. Looks like they might get in 5 or 6 innings before the rain starts, so I'd bet they'll try to get it in.

QUOTE(Gene Honda Civic @ Sep 28, 2005 -> 02:25 PM) Close and Late Dye -- .141/.210/.326 Rowand -- .213/.303/.330 Uribe -- .247/.323/.318 Everett -- .160/.259/.253 i don't get it

QUOTE(fathom @ Sep 28, 2005 -> 01:36 PM) If it ain't fixed, why fix it? wait a minute...

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Sep 28, 2005 -> 12:25 PM) .272 BA versus .310 BA. We've got plenty of home runs in this lineup right now as it stands. We need people who get hits...people who are obnoxious outs, people who drive the ball. funny what a new contract does to some players.

QUOTE(fathom @ Sep 28, 2005 -> 12:17 PM) Rowand's not the same as he was last year. I'm not sure if it's his stance, but he's nowhere close to generating the bat speed and power he had last season. half the home runs he hit last year. :banghead

Enough already. This division is yours for the taking.

QUOTE(Steff @ Sep 28, 2005 -> 09:45 AM) All is well. Mother and daugher are resting comfortably. Joe supposedly heading back to Detroit for the game tonight. AWESOME! Congrats to Joe and the fam!

QUOTE(bighurt4444 @ Sep 28, 2005 -> 10:24 AM) Thank you. That explains your stance a lot better. And I agree with what you are saying. I want the Sox to win and keep winning just like you. I don't think that losing to the Tigers is a confidence booster either. I am probably trying to find a silver lining, but that's better than just being like everyone else and constantly complaining about the Sox. I know they aren't trying to lose. They want to win these games just as much as we want them too. I am very disappointed with the way that they've played, but I think if they can avoid this collapse, a big burden will be lifted off of their shoulders and they can get back to playing the way the did earlier in the season. For the Sox to win this division, they are going to have to win a couple of big games down the stretch. Those wins will help them with their confidence going into the playoffs. It sucks that it had to get this close, but if they win the division, that's momentum heading into the playoffs. I hear you. Safe to say we're both very frustrated. And I got a feeling we're not alone! But I guess that's just me whining again.

QUOTE(Wiredawg1 @ Sep 28, 2005 -> 09:57 AM) I'm not trying to piss anybody off. I'm just pissed that the tribe may not make the dance, and in my opinion stand a hell of a lot better chance of advancing than the Sox. And I understand that it's a marathon and not a sprint. However the Sox remind me of the Ironman guy on the Gatorade commercial suffering from dehydration in the final 50 meters of the race. And what really pisses me off is the amount of time that Pronk missed because of Buerhle. We get that month back with Pronk and the Sox are looking up at us. Say what you want, but that's a fact. his nickname is Pronk? I thought it was Plunk.

QUOTE(bighurt4444 @ Sep 28, 2005 -> 10:00 AM) Can we get a little insight on your "no" comment? If the Sox breezed through the division and won it by 15 games, these players would have no idea what the pressure in the playoffs was going to feel like. At this point, I think all these players that have very little playoff experience are learning really fast what playoff-like games are going to feel like. At this point, every game is huge. I think that there is indeed some benefit to having these types of games before the playoffs start. Would I have loved the Sox to win the division by 15 games, of course. Would they have loved to win it by 15 games, of course. But it is what it is, and I think these players are getting some much needed experience in big games. So to simply answer this question in one word is just not well thought out enough. Then allow me to elaborate. There is no value in losing, IMO. Losing wears on an individual's confidence. The more times Aaron Rowand leaves runners on base the more confident he becomes that he can drive them home? Does that make sense? I think you and others are trying to find the silver lining in losing to the Tigers. Good luck with that. I find no value in losing to the Tigers when the division title is so close you can almost taste it. I don't think losing to the Tigers will make you more confident going up against the likes of the Angels, Yankees or Red Sox next Tuesday. If anything, losing to the Tigers in a big game with loads of pressure makes me wonder, "Gee, how will they play against the Yankees with even MORE pressure on them?" If you're looking for how the sox play in playoff type games then look to last week's series with Cleveland. That was a playoff series right there. And I"m sad to say we dropped 2 of 3 at home. That probably won't get it done next week either. I don't want the Sox to learn anything from losing - I want them to win and keep winning and not stop until they're on a grandstand in Grant park.

sounds like even the other players questioned Ozzie's logic: "We had a guy at the plate (Blum) who hadn't played in a while with the bases loaded," said Jermaine Dye, who flied to center with the tying run at second to end the game. "That's pretty tough on him to go up there and try to come up with a hit." Guillen said he used Blum, who hadn't played since going 0-for-4 on Sept. 18 and had only three previous pinch-hit appearances, because he was a switch-hitter and Guillen thought the Tigers would employ a left-handed reliever if he used A.J. Pierzynski as a pinch-hitter. But even Blum admitted he might have been rusty. "What people don't realize is the actual speed of the game," Blum said. "It's tough to get back in a rhythm and get used to it. It might be the toughest thing. Add a pennant race on top, the bases loaded on top, down but two runs and a chance to push a run across the plate …" :headshake

QUOTE(bighurt4444 @ Sep 28, 2005 -> 07:01 AM) Guys, I know this sounds a little funny, but could this major stumble at the end of the year actually help the White Sox in the playoffs? In a word...NO

Here's another way of looking at it: The Sox are playing like s***. Against the Tigers. I hope the Sox saw highlights of the Angels clinching last night cause I watched it along with the celebratioin in the clubhouse and I have to say that there's nothing sweeter than watching a team win their division in baseball. Beats any other sport. After 162 games you persevere and ultimately triumph. That has been the goal of the white sox since coming out of camp - to win the division. Not to back into the playoffs on a losing note by giving up the division lead in the last week of the season and settling for the wild card. I will not be part of that celebration, thank you very much.

QUOTE(Wiredawg1 @ Sep 28, 2005 -> 09:22 AM) I don't want to start an argument here, but this whole situation as an Indians fan makes me want to puke. The Sox have a golden oppritunity against probably the second worst team in the AL right now to lock this thing down and they lay two eggs in a row. And the Tribe gets stuck with the scrapiest team since the break in their next to last series. If I was a Sox fan right now (with all due respect) i'd be disgusted. These guys have got about as much chance of getting out of the first round as a AA club. They'll probably make it to the dance, but IMO they flat ass don't deserve to. I'm a lifelong white sox fan and I say to you my tribe-loving adversary that you are 99% correct. I am disgusted. The Sox have laid two eggs against the lowly tigers. They are not playing like playoff contenders. At all. And the D-Rays are scrappy. But don't say a team doesn't deserve to be in the playoffs. Wins and losses are not prefaced by any disclaimers or conditions. They are simply that - wins and losses. You should be disgusted that your team lost 4 straight at home to the Sox coming back from the break. A split in that series and they'd be tied with the Sox right now.

I've been pissed off at the Sox so many times in my life. But right now has to be one of the most frustrating. Cleveland's losing 5-0. The division is there for the taking. Mercy.