southsider2k5

But that trick never works...

Could be worse, have you seen how Alan Embree and Bobby Howry are fairing as middle relievers?

I am going to take Pauly against the lefty again, mate.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/s/2003/0519/1556396.html

http://espn.go.com/mlb/news/2003/0521/1557187.html

Can't I just say I know you and Steff? Oh wait then I will emptying trash for sure!

http://espn.go.com/mlb/columns/caple_jim/1556661.html

So some of the jobs do involve things at the all star game itself? If I don't get lucky in the lottery, I might try this.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...d_nm/sitting_dc

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...eporter_booed_2 What were the circumstances?

I just got tickets. 110 row 2. I like it down there cause you can see the fireworks good. holy s*** is it a fireworks nite too??? damn thats a bonus....... Yep! Also, about the 30th.. anyone interested in bowling a few after the game? Should be interesting after all the drinking hey now theres an idea.. we have never tried that as long as we have been having these meetings.......i wonder why ...lol.... Our new years party every year is at the same bowling alley. They give us a rate of $75 for the lane for the whole night (9pm-2 am). includes bowling shoes and a free buffet plus champagne at midnite. Good times!

I was going to sign up, what does it involve?

Who is "he" PK or the reporter? Paul. Last week he said it was a strained back from working out too much. Now it's the foot? How about reporting about the shots he's takin? yeah no s***.....it amazes me.. how long does he honestly think he can keep this one under wraps......... I can't believe no one has brought it up. I mean.. it's common knowledge he has the condition. Address it already! thats what i was thinking too... i mean heck how long does he go without mentioning it or using it as an excuse for his s***ty play......i would have used that first as opposed to other body parts lol............at leat that one is a valid excuse....... You think that the Sox are keeping it quiet so that they can pull another shouldergate on someone?

I benched him to counteract the Phil Rogers jinx.

Who is "he" PK or the reporter?

Tell me when and where. I will leave the eggs out of the fridge until we go!

Well a lot of people over here were asking for pitchers to be included. I was going to give it a try to see how it works. Anyone else Yea or Nay?

Well that is the interesting part. Since there is no easy and quick way to even out hitters and pitchers, it is my judgement call. If I feel that the starter or the entire bullpen was better than the best hitter, I will call them the PTC of the day. ESPNJohn aka Juggernaut aka Wolverine has some long winded theory but I am not going to put tons of work into figuring out who won a PTC contest.

Why not? We had a lot of people who wanted to try it out.

Paul Konerko knows this much: His prolonged slump has nothing to do with the sore left foot that bothered him at the end of last season. "I wish I could use that as an excuse," he said. "Too bad I'm healthy as a horse." Physically, sure. But mentally Konerko has taken a beating while his average has hovered around the .220 mark. Konerko entered Tuesday night's game against Toronto hitless in his previous nine at-bats. The first baseman was batting .150 with runners in scoring position and had driven in just two runs in his last 14 games. Perhaps that's why Konerko huddled with new hitting coach Greg Walker for about 30 minutes in the dugout before the game. While praising former coach Gary Ward, Konerko said he and Walker might be "more on the same wavelength." "Hitting's a complex thing," Konerko said. "Most guys who've been around the game know what you're trying to get after. But sometimes putting it in different sentences and different words, you can hit a spot." Whether it's a coincidence or not, Konerko enjoyed his first two-hit game Tuesday since May 8, a span of 10 games. "When I hit, it's not the hitting coach," he said. "And when I don't hit, it's not the hitting coach. But sometimes some things can click in better from a different guy." Konerko said his slump is not a carryover from last season, when he hit just .256 in September. "Every year is separate," he said. "And I think there are a lot of things I'm doing this year that I wasn't last year. So it's kind of a different story."

and actually they cleared the benches twice last night in the Twins/A's game. So make it 5 times this year.

Mark Buehrle starts on Wednesday night. For the first time, White Sox fans are forced to ask: Is this a good thing or a bad thing? That's how bad things are at U.S. Cellular Field. There is genuine concern about the mental wellness of Buehrle, the cruise-control lefty who won 35 games the last two seasons. It figures there would be, of course. He takes a six-game losing streak into Wednesday night's start against Toronto. His 2-7 record is perhaps the most shocking aspect to the White Sox's sorrowful start, which has manager Jerry Manuel on the endangered species list. I've known Buehrle a little bit since he showed up in Arizona as a 20-year-old less than a year removed from junior college. I've followed his development closely. My instincts say Sox fans should relax—that unlike the self-critical Paul Konerko, the unproven Joe Crede and the 2003 version of Frank Thomas, Buehrle will be all right. If he were the biggest thing the White Sox had to worry about, they would be all right. He's going to be fine. That's what I believe. However, rather than pestering Buehrle himself, I asked around about him before Tuesday night's 4-1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays. It quickly became apparent that Buehrle's six winless weeks have turned unsettling for some around him. Now I'm not quite as sure that this is only a speed bump on his way to another solid season. "He has given me a couple of reactions that you don't see, like disappointment," pitching coach Don Cooper said. "You're seeing some of the disappointment that you've never seen before, because something like this hasn't happened. I think he'll be fine because he's a competitor. I think you'll see it Wednesday night." Sandy Alomar, who catches Buehrle, believes he has gotten caught up in the Sox's inability to score runs. He has received only 30 runs in his 10 starts, including two runs or less in half of them. "I think sometimes he has tried to be perfect because we haven't supported him," Alomar said. "He thinks he has to shut the other team down rather than just trusting himself. Instead of staying aggressive, he starts to nibble. That's not the kind of pitcher he is." Alomar has that right. For 2½ seasons in the big leagues, nothing has worried Buehrle. Not even facing Jim Thome with the bases loaded. Buehrle, a big-leaguer for about two months, did that in an early-September game in 2000. He struck Thome out with a 3-2 changeup. Kids are not supposed to throw 3-2 changeups, not with the bases loaded. Buehrle tried one because he knew he would throw it for a strike, which he did. Buehrle's struggle is mental, not physical. He still was pitching reasonably well when he was 2-5 but one can't say that anymore, not after he walked six at Seattle and allowed 10 hits and 10 runs Friday at Minneapolis. Something is bothering him. You don't have to be Alan Greenspan to guess what it is. When Buehrle turned down a guaranteed $11.5 million in spring training, opting to take his chances on a year-to-year basis rather than accept the three-year deal (which could have extended to $27 million over five years if he reached vesting options), he said the decision would not affect the way he pitched. It might not have, either, if he and his team had gotten out of the gate fast. But Buehrle wasn't playing on house money. He knows he's not looking real good right now on the biggest financial decision he is likely ever to face. So you know he's being weighed down by the magnitude of his gamble. For their own good, the White Sox should give Buehrle a second chance at long-term security. There's still a deal to be done here. It should be handled discreetly and not in a way that would embarrass Buehrle or his agent, Jeff Berry. It's amazing that the previous negotiations commanded so much attention considering it's Magglio Ordonez, not Buehrle, who is sneaking up on a franchise-rocking round of free agency. Helped along by a diving catch from Carlos Lee, Bartolo Colon won his third start in a row Tuesday. The White Sox need Buehrle to follow suit. It's because of Colon and Buehrle that this is such a vital season for the Sox. They have got a pitching staff that could do big things in October. At the moment, of course, it's hard to imagine anybody on the Sox doing anything in the fall except trying to forget an endless summer. But general manager Ken Williams suggested again Tuesday it's still too early to consider anything drastic, like promoting Double-A manager Wally Backman to take over for Manuel. Williams points out that with all the disappointment they have experienced, the Sox are only five games out of first place. If they were this close in August, he says, people would be saying they have a chance. So why before Memorial Day have so many people concluded they don't have a chance? The answer, which Williams understands, is because they have looked so bad. They're 9-21 against teams that currently have winning records. In Buehrle's starts against the good teams, they're 0-7. Something has to give. I'm still betting on Buehrle, but some of the people who are counting on him wish he had not bet so much on himself.

He is already back to pinch running, but he can't head first slide. It is a day to day thing that has more to do with his pain threshhold than anything.

Yeah he would have beaten Miguel 5-4. There was a group tied at 3 after that

It's too bad you just gave them what they wanted, attention. That kind of crap is the reason I don't even listen to any of those kind of shows in the morning anymore.