WCSox

QUOTE (docsox24 @ Sep 22, 2009 -> 02:37 PM) I am not certain that Konerko is back. I am. He's the team captain and one of the few veterans who's hit this year. QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Sep 22, 2009 -> 02:41 PM) Ok, why exactly will Paul be hard pressed to repeat this season? His numbers are pretty much right in line with his career averages. The only player that should decline from this season is AJP. I think that they both decline, but only slightly. Paulie's will be due to age (34 next year) and AJP's will be a regression towards his career average.

QUOTE (Disco72 @ Sep 22, 2009 -> 12:32 PM) Then again, even though he missed time, this has to be career year(ish) for Mauer. And Mauer still managed to play 135 games. Maybe I'm in a minority, but I don't see their starting pitching being all that next year. Baker's good and I like Blackburn to steadily improve, but Liriano's gotten progressively worse over the past few years and nobody else in their rotation impresses me that much. The Twins might get a little better next year, but I still have a difficult time seeing them winning more than 87 or so games without some major off-season acquisitions.

QUOTE (docsox24 @ Sep 22, 2009 -> 11:49 AM) I didn't mean to say they would be worse, thats pretty much impossible. I just don't think they will be significantly better, not enough to warrant a division title or world series contender. Aside from the fact that (barring injury) Rios and Quentin will be much better next year, keep in mind that the Sox were pretty mediocre offensively in 2005. They hit a lot of homers, but their team OBP was terrible. There's also no reason to believe that the AL Central will be that much better next season. With Peavy and Garcia replacing Contreras and Colon in the rotation, they have a legitimate shot.

QUOTE (Princess Dye @ Sep 22, 2009 -> 11:08 AM) You could DH Pods with Kotsay on the roster, but we need power upgrading somehow too. Blaylock somehow? I like this idea, but you couldn't DH Pods with Blalock on the roster. Unless, of course, Ozzie decides to put Getz in the leadoff spot and Pods is relegated to a utility/pinch-running role. I really like Kotsay as a utility guy, but I still think that Pods' ability to lead off makes him more valuable overall.

QUOTE (Thad Bosley @ Sep 22, 2009 -> 09:22 AM) I should think that slugging % would be every bit as, if not more important than, OBP when it comes to talking about a lefthanded DH on our particular ballclub. SLG vs. OBP depends more on where you hit in the lineup than anything else. Obviously, you want somebody with a high SLG hitting 4th, but if your DH happens to be your leadoff guy, OBP rules.

QUOTE (dpd9189 @ Sep 22, 2009 -> 09:26 AM) Unless our offense and bullpen improves, we're going to stink again next year. That's true. But the article seems pretty well-informed overall, which is rare with national media outlets. Thanks for posting.

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Sep 22, 2009 -> 08:34 AM) Comparing Pods and Bradley in the OPB category is a losing battle. Bradley takes him, hard. Yes, and Pods can run the bases a lot better. And if his OBP is still in the .350 range next year, he'd do fine at the top of the lineup. Unlike video games and fantasy sports, character matters in the real world. If the culture of the Sox clubhouse was completely incompatible with Nick Swisher last year, Milton Bradley would be an unmitigated disaster.

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Sep 22, 2009 -> 08:16 AM) No, but adding a guy whose main skill is getting on-base will. He's arguably better at getting kicked off teams than getting on base. If we're looking for a top-of-the-order guy with a high OBP to DH next year, I'd rather go with Pods.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Sep 21, 2009 -> 09:40 PM) people in 2009 are yelling the N word at a person in a public place?? QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Sep 22, 2009 -> 05:51 AM) The N word has been sited by people other than Bradley who play for the Cubs. One would think that the shame of using that language in this day and age would override the psychological harm experienced by the victim. Especially when the victim is a successful, multimillionaire pro athlete. Then again, I suppose that people tend to not feel much shame when they're hammered out of their minds. I don't think that there are any more racists in Wrigley than any other ballpark. I'm more inclined to believe that the storied drinking culture of the Wrigley bleachers has spun way out of control. They seriously need to crack down on public intox there. Maybe they can build a holding cell under the ballpark, like the Eagles had at The Vet.

QUOTE (Leonard Zelig @ Sep 21, 2009 -> 10:15 PM) Having second most RBI on the team is contributing relatively little? It is when you sport an OPS of .745, OPS+ of 94, and can't play the field. For comparison's sake, Jayson Nix is currently sporting an OPS+ of 93. It wouldn't have been difficult to replace Everett's production in 2005.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Sep 21, 2009 -> 08:55 PM) Well something major has to be done to add some fire to the clubhouse. This team has absolutely no heart right now. I'm getting really sick of all these quiet/silent personalities we have. That's why Everett was so important in 05. (1) Adding a selfish player with anger management problems isn't going to help the Sox score more runs. (2) Everett was a declining, mediocre player in '05 who contributed relatively little to the team's success. His outspoken (and controversial) personality didn't help the Sox at all.

QUOTE (bmags @ Sep 21, 2009 -> 04:33 PM) No, but in the world of relativity, you are b****ing about it on a message board. And bradley wasn't paid extra money by the cubs because there were obnoxious racists in the stands. This abuse shouldn't be tolerated and these fans should be dealt with. The world of what? All professional athletes are subject to insults from the crowd, and Bradley knew this when he signed his contract. I agree that the Cubs need to clamp down on this crap, but why is his Bradley's case more important than any other player's on any other team in any other sport? QUOTE (Princess Dye @ Sep 21, 2009 -> 04:37 PM) It is right to point it out and report it. It's a workplace hazard to have racist things being yelled. That goes for any workplace. GMAFB. It's a workplace hazard when fans throw batteries at you, not insults. All sorts of non-racial vial crap is spewed by fans every day. Yet, Gene Wojciechowski doesn't write articles about that because non-racial insults don't sell advertising space. If you're a big, bad-ass professional athlete with a $20M contract and you can't keep from getting your nuts in a twist because some drunk loser is calling you names, you need to find a new profession. Maybe Bradley can move to France and take up cycling. QUOTE (beck72 @ Sep 21, 2009 -> 04:53 PM) He shouldn't have to put up with the racial taunts in his home park. The Cubs organization should crack down on this type of garbage. Like it was reported, Baker, Jaque Jones and LaTroy also had the same things happen to them. It's been a long time and no one there has done anything about it. I absolutely agree with this. And not for the sake of grown men like Bradley, but for the children. If Bradley had spoke to the front office about putting more security in the bleachers to clamp down on this crap, rather than throwing the entire fan base under the bus, this never would've happened.

QUOTE (mmmmmbeeer @ Sep 21, 2009 -> 04:15 PM) I think Bradley has shown that he feels there are racial issues in baseball. He's spoken out about it before and continues to do so. While that may or may not be fact, the fact that HIS head works like this and sees the world like this explains why he was well behaved in Texas playing for Washington and why he hasn't played well in the white yuppie Mecca that we know as Wrigley. As sad as it is, I don't think that you can discount the impact that a very successful black GM would have on Bradley. I could be way off base, I'm not a shrink and I'm obviously not a friend or acquaintance of Bradley's. There may be some truth to that. But I'm more willing to believe that Bradley is just incredibly antagonistic by nature and has serious anger issues. Jesus Christ, this is a guy who tore his freaking ACL while arguing a call with an umpire. Somehow, I don't think that Kenny will be able to help with that. Bradley seems like the type of guy who literally look for an excuse to lash out at somebody.

QUOTE (bmags @ Sep 21, 2009 -> 04:01 PM) I think the hilarious irony is you getting mad at these people for getting mad at racists at wrigley when you clearly were affected and angry about getting called "white" one time. Of course I was affected. The difference, which apparently still evades you, is how I handled the situation. Unlike Bradley, I didn't go to the media and throw an entire group of people under the bus because a few idiot members of that group insulted and threatened me. Not to mention that I wasn't getting paid $20 million to put up with that abuse.

QUOTE (bmags @ Sep 21, 2009 -> 03:51 PM) and that has some bearing on this how? Because you have a gun in your face, Milton Bradley should have to "deal" with racists in the stands? Dave Winfield went through that s*** so hopefully someday people like Milton Bradley wouldn't have to. And in 2009 people like Milton Bradley shouldn't have to. Could he react better? Yes. I'm sure that racist behavior in the stands is not the reason, exclusively, Bradley did not work out on the Northside. But frankly you going on a rant about how he should suck it up, and how al sharpton is ruining your life because he wants to end racist language but nobody cares about how somebody mugged you once, is just weird. Settle down. Your rambling post makes no sense. Milton Bradley and Gene Wojciechowski need to learn that the world is full of idiot vermin. Excusing Bradley for not dealing with alleged name-calling in a professional manner makes Wojciechowski look like a overly-politically-correct tool.

QUOTE (Princess Dye @ Sep 21, 2009 -> 03:43 PM) When kids go to the park and hear racist language being bandied about, they grow up enforcing those attitudes. Some of those kids will grow up to one day be in a position to hire people. And at that point, they'll be a product of everything they grew up with. And perhaps enact unfair hiring practices. Or maybe they have a great place to rent and won't rent to a certain race. Or try and stop their own kid from dating someone they are a great fit for, who happens to be of different race. If you believe people are just too-PC these days, have that opinion. But dont trick yourself into believing racial language has no real world consequences. If its in movies or something parents can control, go ahead. At the park though, kids are learning. Kids are learning nonstop. Don't trick yourself into believing that white people are the only racists out there. Reverse-racism and anti-Semitism are widely-practiced and even accepted behavior in some sectors of our society.

QUOTE (bmags @ Sep 21, 2009 -> 03:42 PM) Yes, I'm defending calling someone's mother a fat c***. What the hell are you talking about? Just because someone is getting paid multi-millions doesn't mean he can't be offended by someone using incredibly offensive language at them. It doesn't mean the person in the stands isn't also accountable in this situation. So Bradley is excused from acting like a professional becuause somebody in the stands says something that hurts his feelings? I'd be fine with that. I'm almost hesitant to take my kids to games because of the language. Not affecting me much? I've had a gun stuck in my face while being called a "white motherfu@ker" before. Shows what you know...

QUOTE (bmags @ Sep 21, 2009 -> 03:36 PM) WEll. I disagree, I'd hope baseball fans stick to some decency, so we don't have some of the problems of racist heckling they have in europe. So, "hate speech" only applies to race-baiting? Calling somebody's mother a "fat c*nt" doesn't count? It's the same juvenile stupidity. The reason that nobody bothers to attack the non-racist hate speech in the crowds is because the Al Sharptons of the world can't make a buck off of it.

QUOTE (beck72 @ Sep 21, 2009 -> 02:38 PM) I found this a good article on the Bradley situation http://sports.espn.go.com/chicago/columns/...mp;sportCat=mlb Bradley probably has something on the racial taunts. Baker, Jones and Hawkins all said the same things. The Cubs like to point their fingers at someone and Bradley is very convenient: he's new, getting paid a decent dollar [though less than a lot of guys; and he's had a bad rep. in the past. A perfect foil. Unfortunately, even in this day and age, a certainly small minority of idiots are going taunt players with this type of language. But guess what? It's professional sports. Bradley is getting paid $20 million to put up with it. If he can't act like a professional and tune those clowns out, he doesn't deserve to play professional sports. I also find it sad that Wojciechowski decided to use the race card to "explain" Bradley's behavior (and increase readership, no doubt)... No there isn't, Gene. I remember drunken idiot Sox fans shouting all sorts of vile stuff about Dave Winfield's mother at Old Comiskey back in the day. Winfield tuned those losers out and went about his business. Milton Bradley (and Gene Wojciechowski) could learn a lot from Dave Winfield.

QUOTE (LVSoxFan @ Sep 21, 2009 -> 01:27 PM) Sadly, I agree--we waited a year too late. This is a baseball organization, not an investment firm. Trading assets at the point of highest value comes in a distant second to putting a winning team on the field.

Our starting rotation is already stocked and we're going to pay them about $40 million next year. Payroll needs to be allocated elsewhere. Our bullpen sucks and the middle of our lineup can't score runs.

QUOTE (Leonard Zelig @ Sep 21, 2009 -> 12:32 PM) Do you mean former White Sox Jose Canseco? Yeah, it's pretty sad that the Sox signed him. I wouldn't want another Albert Belle, either.

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Sep 21, 2009 -> 11:49 AM) I draw the line at steroid users, but honestly, if the Sox could win the World Series with the 9 biggest Assholes in the world in the lineup, i'd take it. No doubt in my mind. Most pro athletes are assholes, so that's not exactly a controversial statement. I draw the line at bad teammates like Bradley and Jose Guillen, and PED users.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Sep 21, 2009 -> 11:44 AM) I am not saying I want to go 72-90, I am saying that Bradley won't improve your record as a team necessarily, and in fact may hurt it, even if he puts up big numbers. I know lots of people here seem to think baseball is like some video game, but its not - human players have human reactions, and there is a 95% chance that Bradley's emotional issues would throw the clubhouse into a fit, and there is no doubt in my mind that can have serious impact on players' play on the field. I think that there's some truth to that as well. QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Sep 21, 2009 -> 11:43 AM) Wow, that's really sad to hear. Some fan you are. You must be a huge Barry Bonds/Jose Canseco fan. Unlike you, I have principles.

QUOTE (elrockinMT @ Sep 21, 2009 -> 11:34 AM) I agree that AJ was no cancer. He was a competitor who wanted to win-badly. Maybe with Peavy and AJ on the same team it will satrt to rub off in a good way on some of our other players This is a minor point, but having one of Peavy's buddies on the team is a small plus as well. It's obviously not enough to pass up an opportunity to dump Linebrink's salary in a trade (for somebody other than Bradley), but if Linebrink may be able to help us in other ways. Not unlike how El Duque helped Jose in 2005.