SpringfieldFan

QUOTE(LowerCaseRepublican @ Dec 9, 2006 -> 11:17 PM) I couldn't care less what hat or clothes a professional athlete wore in his free time. Proclaiming that we can somehow be upset over what he wears on his own time is the pinnacle of asinine behavior, especially when others in this very thread have said that it was fine for Mackowiak to wear a Sox hat as part of the Bucs but somehow bad for Buehrle to wear a Cards hat. If it's alright for Mack, then it is fine for MB. Hypocricy, thy name is numerous Soxtalk posters who are attempting to crucify MB. I don't know that I would be fine with the Mack incident either, but I was not aware of it when it happened. May I ask why the hostility? I don't like seeing a guy on my team with another team's hat on. If you don't have the same problem, that's cool. But I don't get the comments like whiny and asinine. I am just being honest and have given reasons for my concerns while at the same time been respectful to those who disagree. I was hoping for the same consideration. SFF

QUOTE(LowerCaseRepublican @ Dec 9, 2006 -> 10:25 PM) Who the f*** cares what a player does off the field as long as he is not doing anything illegal or cheating in the sport that he is playing in? Athletes don't owe you a damn thing. They try to give meaning to your life by throwing and/or hitting a ball. You don't own what they can do. I'm not a fan of easy listening so I demand that all players have easy listening CD's and songs banned from their possession and iPods! I couldn't give a s*** if Buehrle, Dye or any player wore women's clothing (even with a *gasp* Cubs logo on it!) during their personal life. Here's another idea. If you don't want to see it, don't go search it out on the internet so you can engage in some whiny pseudo-outrage. Who cares? I care. Please don't change the context by implying MLB is the only meaning in my life. It is a very small part of it, but in the confines of this forum, it is everything. It is time for you to live up to your words. Since you say you don't care, will you go on record saying its alright with you if he wears a Cubs hat? If so, I won't agree, but will certainly respect your opinion, and you get to defend it to the rest of the folks here. It would be a very mature opinion to take, although I am not sure I can say the same about statements that call me whiny and imply I have nothing else in life. SFF

I'm sorry, but when I see a guy on MY team wear the hat of some OTHER team, I'm offended. Every other team is a rival and I don't want to see it, it makes me sick. I doubt I am the only one either, but what does our opinion matter, we are just the folks who finance the team. You know, I've said it before but I'd really be interested in the reaction if one our our guys repeatedly wore a Cub hat. Will anyone supporting Buerhle in this go on record as being OK with that or will you be offended as I already am? If you are ok with the Cub hat, I won't agree, but will respect your opinion and lay off. SFF

The Sox may only play them three times this year (will he start one of those games)?, but they are in direct competition with StL and all other teams for talent. They also compete with them for market share and fan base. It may not look like it in Chicagoland, but believe me its quite evident here downstate. As far as I am concerned, every other organization is a rival, and with the stakes as high as they are in this industry, you don't advertise for rivals. SFF

QUOTE(winninguglyin83 @ Dec 8, 2006 -> 11:50 AM) But if your ERA is nearly 5 and you win about 12 or 13 games, you might want to ditch the Cardinals hat. ...or maybe management should consider making the Cardinals hat official

For a split second I thought about posting this story and titling it "Uribe dead in car crash". Then I realized I enjoy my time here too much to lose it. SFF

Regarding the Buehrle/Cards situation...what if it were a Cub hat he were wearing? Mark needs to show some common sense and consideration for his employers and fans. If he wants to wear a Cards hat, fine, but NOT when he is in a situation where he is representing his team in public! He knows how upsetting it is to ownership and many of the fans. Can't he exercise a little discretion? I thought it was all common sense, and apparently it is not, so I suggest JR simply make it a team policy, written in the contract. Don't allow your players to advertise another team in public. They are all rivals and it doesn't even matter if they are in the other league. It is the age of interleague and an age where all teams in baseball compete for the talent, market share, and revenue. SFF

QUOTE(GreatScott82 @ Dec 6, 2006 -> 11:25 AM) KW is awesome! Still wanting his '6' starting pitchers, not 5! KW wants his security in case of injury and i dont blaim him. No other teams can even dream of having a 6 starter cushion. Whatever Kenny does in the next few days, if anything, i trust that it will make our team better. I was feeling pretty good going into 2006 with a sixth starter (Bmac) but why, when it came time they needed the insurance, they went back to the minor leagues for the replacement? I love the position of power a sixth starter gives KW, but it is beginning to seem like once the season is underway the team is unable to leverage the talent, and that the sum of the parts winds up being greater then the whole. SFF

I have looked at the 2005 team and considered how it accomplished what the all-star Yankee team could not. That difference is hard to describe but to illustrate it by example I would point to Rowand. However, on additional consideration, I can't deny the difference was quite likely Mark, Jon, Freddy, and Jose. Still, I like Aaron and would take him back for a fair price. SFF

Tigers and Mets. I work with Cards fans and they have had their noses in the air for five years. SFF

QUOTE(Rowand44 @ Oct 7, 2006 -> 07:49 AM) Ok, that would be weird as hell. And jesus people, there is absolutely 0 chance, NONE that he goes into the hall with an A's hat. I don't even know how that thought is even in peoples minds. Sounds like you are scared to death it might actually happen! Well rest easy. Due to new policy he will likely not go in with an A's cap. Instead, we will have the pride of seeing him go to the hall disgruntled because he has to wear a Sox cap. Fitting. SFF

From the Chisox site: That give a little credence to KW's accumen as a developer of talent, but I will agree that if you expect that and a couple quarters to get you a cup of coffee that you will be doing a lot of yawning. I hear a lot of these "promising" names mentioned over and over again and I used to get excited. They are intriguing talents, and worth being proud of but it is rather like watching highschool football and see what you think are superstars in the making only to realize the reality is that their ultimate triumph will just be to make division 1 college, much less be an all american or future NFL guy. So too with these guys, Cy Youngs and MVP's are nice, but in looking at these guys I just hope they will crack an opening day roster someday, somewhere. LT

So starting in 2007 is in doubt now too. Hmm, for his sake at least, I am beginning to wonder if it might not be all bad if he were traded to a team who would give commit him to starting. SFF

Thomas will always be a Sox?. I don't buy that. I appreciate all he did alright - up till 2006. I will always appreciate and smile at what he did - but I could care less what he does now. "Always a Sox" - yeah, hold on to that thought when you see him wearing green during his induction ceremony. SFF

I can't give up completely, but if this is really the beginning of the end, its time for me to say thanks to the team for allowing me to spend the last 11 months watching them and being able to proudly call them defending champions. It has been a frustrating season at times but still, winning the crown in 2005 was still worth losing it in 2006. I feel no bitterness. none. SFF

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Sep 11, 2006 -> 10:46 AM) The one thing about Brandon this season is that as a reliever, he's really not getting the chance to use his full arsenal that well. His best pitch is the changeup...it sets up every other pitch. But if he's coming out of the bullpen and just trying to throw strikes, he winds up being mainly a fastball/curveball pitcher, and that fastball is too straight and too slow for people to not hit it if they're looking at it. Also, I haven't seen much of that 2-seamer he was supposedly working on last offseason as far as I can tell. Thanks, Balta. This is my favorite post in a long time. As to the comments that he has been tried in every situation this year - wrong. He hasn't gotten a chance as a 2006 starter. The truth is that he doesn't have the kind of stuff to be a reliever, especially a late innings one. Before the season I recall him saying something about how he has been a successful starter because of the way he adjusts his strategy through the course of the game and gets stronger the longer he goes into a game. I plead with anyone to look up his stats from the last couple months of 2005 when he did start - then let me hear how you explain that. Would I put him in the rotation tomorrow? Probably not, since the other five have stepped it up lately. He also, as Oz said, is not Cy Young, either. However, none of that in any way translates to the conclusion he is overrated as a starter because he has had a 5 ERA as a reliever. And finally, I have to throw it out there: if he were dominating out of the pen, he would be considered - yes you guessed it - "too valuable" as a reliever anyway. Talk about a catch-22. SFF

2006 JG = 2005 JC, simple as that

The simple truth is that when you are going bad you are not as bad as you think you are and when you are going good you are not as good as you think you are. Perspective is important. Regardless, I remember the Nahoradny, Chappas, and Bloomberg days. I can't be too upset, even now. SFF

I think, in a way, Garland may well be this years Jose Contreras. During the 2nd half last year, the entire team was in a funk and many were about to throw in the towel. Jose quietly stepped up and carried the team and I didn't even appreciate it since the season almost appeared lost. Well, until a few weeks ago, this season about seemed lost as well, and only one starter was carrying us. That starter was, and is, JG. If we win it all again, JG (well, and JD) will be seen as the horse who made it possible. SFF

Hey, any update on Dye? Yahoo says he left with a sore calf? Does this mean are we going to see the hottest hitter in baseball still take a game or two rest for "precautionary" reasons?

Oz must use different math or something. McCarthy started at least a half a dozen games down the stretch last year and in those starts had an ERA of well under 2. If he has a reason, fine, and that's his prerogative. But the numbers game won't cut it. SFF

Joe's back must be feeling pretty good these days. It appears he is trying to lift his team onto it.

QUOTE(CanOfCorn @ Jul 18, 2006 -> 05:29 PM) Not to sound like a homer myself, but until someone beats us...we are the best team in baseball. That's what winning the World Series gets you. AND, even though we've lost 5 of 6, we STILL have the second best record in baseball right now. FYI... Yes, you can certainly run with that argument. However, I don't think we heard Hawk using that logic last year and asserting Boston was the best team in baseball. SFF

He could do it but it will be close. Sure, he is at 30 and its the "midseason" break, but they have played 88 games, and only have 74 left. He does have the luxury of interleague being over, but with his age, and Ozzie's style, I forsee several "rest" days before the final stretch run. SFF

very nice: Faces on the Field: Josh Fields SFF