SpringfieldFan

First time I have seen pics of Young. So the Sox organization has their own "sideways hat" type of player?

If they plan to have kids, they better not let Kenny Williams into the ceremony. He might end up selling them off for three months of A.J Burnett...

I swear Aaron could fell a tree in one swing if that bat was an axe.

...meanwhile, in the latest epic chapter in the legendary gladiator battles in holy coliseums out east, Boston has now grabbed a 17-1 lead on the Yankees after 6. Be ESPN decree, let the rest of major league baseball pause in a moment of awe and wonder... SFF

People are still upset over giving up those two? Good grief, if some of us had our way, it would be easier to touch a preacher's daughter then any of our prospects, 90% of which will never yield anything in return anyway. Baseball is notorious for running in cycles. If we have to pay for talent with prospects now we can always sell said talent to acquire other prospects when this team's success has run its course.... SFF

Very cool - here comes the exposure. Not that we need it, but once the Yankees and Boston also pay a visit, our Sox are gonna have more attention than a hooker on parole day :rolly SFF

I think Francona did a perfect job managing the game. He, as a WS champion, knew the value of the home field in the WS, and did what he could to best enable the American League to win. He saved three closers until the last inning in case the game went long, and saved the best closer of them all (and a Yankee at that) for the very end. Likewise, he saved Pods for the entire game for the possiblity he might need him in a critical pinch running situation. Francona knew what he was doing - and I applaud him for it. Now, assuming Pods is on the main ballot next year... you know what to do, folks! SFF

The bad thing about this situation is that we are no longer invincible. We were faced with a challege we couldn't stand up to, and we will not get another chance to prove that fear wrong. There is a team out there who, as far as we can tell, would "send us home" if we had to play them. That's a sick feeling The good thing is that no team is invincible. The Sox won't play .700 ball all year; no team can. We all got comfortable thinking that, and perhaps the Sox did too. The truth is that they are human and can and will slump like all teams. It is better to learn that now then learn it in october. Even if the Sox return from the break to lose 8 of 10, they will rebound, as all slumping teams do. Unfortunately, there will just be that spector of Oakland haunting us the rest of the way. SFF

What's this "5 games under" really have to do with this argument anyway? You can't separate the individual player's performance from the team record. PK, JG, and Pods wouldn't be in the all star game in the Sox were under .500 - but they wouldn't have the same numbers in that event anyway! Their accomplishments are what have the Sox at 31 over in the first place. SFF

If it was underserved, then he should not have been one of the five guys in the vote. If that's the case, then so be it. However, of the five there were, Podsednik is the one guy I would most want to see in. He doesn't have every tool, but what he can do well he does better then anyone else in baseball. I would like my all star team to have the best starter, the best closer, the best contact hitter, the best fielder, the best power hitter, and yes the best base stealer too. For what its worth, if he winds up on first in the late innings of a very close game, the rest of that inning will probably be the most riveting and entertaining part of the game. Just imagine, everybody watching the game will just know he is going to be stealing, just a matter of what pitch. I would vote Pods in for that possibility alone. But that's just me SFF

Well, they B & B on the score this afternoon are agreeing with Piersall's opinion that Pods didn't deserve to make it and the voting was a farce. It made me take a second look at the whole issue as if I were not a Sox fan. First, regarding whether he is "good enough", he was at least picked to be in the final vote, so someone thought he might be worth getting in. Second, regarding the "stuffing the ballot box format", it is odd, but think about it. If there were "one-vote-only" rules, people would be deleting cookies, borrowing computers, creating new email accounts, and God knows what else to vote multiple times. MLB recognized that and simply made it legal and easy to vote multiple times. With everyone able to do it, it becomes fair again. I think it is funny hearing fans brag and wink about they voted x number of times as if they beat the system somehow. No, MLB got the last laugh. Do you think it was accidental that for each new vote, the dialog box would re-check the "send me spam" box even if you unchecked it in your previous vote? How likely is it that someone would forget to turn it off at least once as they blow through vote after vote...

Welcome to you guys. This is great! The whole organization and fanbase coming together for, and Hawk & DJ's reaching out to our site here - just goes to show that while the Sox might not have the most fans of anyone, they most definitely have the best! SFF

As far as whether control will be a problem or whether he had MLB debut jitters, I would think the best thing you can really do is look at the Birmingham stats. I believe he averaged about a walk every 2+ innings. I don't know if you consider that good or bad, but its probably the best guess on what to expect... BTW: my nickname for him: HOSS! SFF

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Jul 7, 2005 -> 08:00 AM) My take on Jenks... He looked like he was having problems getting the fastball down in the zone. The Rays were anxious and swinging at them, but a fastball like that is hard to resist, especially with the amount of movement he has on it. I could see that if you get a more disiplined team, he would walk some guys. With the first hitter last night, the one who ended up walking, Jenks' first two balls were borderline knee high laserbeams that the ump didn't call strikes. It was a small zone all night and it was a case in point right there. But yes, to later hitters, he was leaving them up more.

I keep him. If he comes out the next time, walks the bases loaded and gives up a slam, I still keep him. His fastball is one in a million and his curveball is better. I swear curve to end the game looked like it picked up speed as when it fell off the table into the dirt. Yesterday I did a google on his name and there are pages upon pages of info on him from since he was beginning in the Angels system. Among other things, when he was younger he was clocked at 103 by an army radar gun. He has had control issues but they are improving. He used to walk a guy an inning in the Angels system; in B'ham he only walked a guy every two innings at most. What is really interesting is an explanation he had given recently for his wildness. He said that with high 90's heat, the hitters simply can't pull the trigger on pitches and therefore take balls that would otherwise be swung at. Interesting. What is also noteworthy is that when the Angels gave up on him, he was a starter and scouting reports said that, especially given his size, he didn't have the endurance to go more then 5 innings and thus would only project as a back of the rotation guy. IMO using him as a closer negates this shortcoming. Folks, do you know how I best describe Jenks? I see Kerry Wood talent, *plus* a killer curve to go with it. As if things weren't looking good before, if Jenks is the real deal, the Sox will then have 3 fully capable closers. Most teams would be happy with just one. Mercy. SFF

Pods on the basepaths in front of the national all star spotlight would be a truly classic moment. Everyone in the country would know darn well he would be stealing second, and probably third if the situation dictates. All star games sometimes burn moments into our memories, such as Dave Parker's lazerbeam throw home, Fred Lynn's comiskey grand slam, or even Randy Johnson's strikeout of John Kruk. Pods on first in a late inning game situation has the potential to be just one of those moments.

Can you imagine? Not to say either scenario is likely, but if Jenks comes on before the break looking like the next Gossage, and KW snags a Schmidt, Beckett, etc... the national media is going to practically pass out.

QUOTE(greasywheels121 @ Jul 6, 2005 -> 09:51 AM) You know this is going to just motivate the Yankee fans that do actually care. Yep, not to mention Cubs fans, Twins fans, Tigers fans, and Indians fans. SFF

I think we need to pull for the Astros to win. Get Clemens off the market. In fact, I would like Schmidt, Oswalt, etc. all off the market. If they are on the market, it is more likely they will end up on a contender other then the Sox (i.e. BOS, NYY StL...), and that spells trouble for the Sox if we are really looking to win the WS.

QUOTE(Soxbadger @ Jul 5, 2005 -> 12:40 PM) Against the A's you would want control pitchers over "stuff" pitchers because they will wait out stuff. The A's are more likely to hammer Contreras than Buerhle because the A's are taught to take pitches and get ahead of the count. When you are ahead of the count, control is much more important than stuff because most MLB can hit a 100mph fastball if that is what they are looking for. They are not going to swing 2-0 at a fastball on the corner, or any other pitch with great location. They will swing at something that gets the middle of the plate. SB I am not baiting an argument here, honestly. I just want to know. If the control is the key to beating the A's hitters, why did they have 7 hits against MB halfway through the game before the error? And why did they have 11 the last time they faced him? It also seems they have had this success against him for the last 2 or 3 years... SFF

There seems to be a lot of love here for Baj. I obviously like his numbers, but don't know anything else about him. Why is he so loved here? It is almost as if he is related to y'all. I have nothing against him, really. Just curious on why he is held in such high esteem. SFF

QUOTE(TheDybber @ Jul 5, 2005 -> 12:18 PM) I have to disagree with you there. It's in their heads. It has been pounded in the White Sox heads that they don't play well in Oakland. Soooo, they end up not playing well in Oakland. This team is built to win anywhere. It's that old chestnut of not being able to win on the West Coast. They can win and they will win, if they put their minds to it. I will admit my explanation is just a theory and could very well be wrong. However, I think it is worth consideration. Case in point was Buehlre's game Sunday. Even before "THE ERROR", Oakland was just spraying hits all over the place, and it didn't appear he was leaving pitches over the heart of the plate either. I still remember Byrnes line hit to right field in the second inning. They showed a side view replay of his swing at that outside corner pitch and he made it look so easy that it honestly looked like a cartoon. LT

QUOTE(southsideirish71 @ Jul 5, 2005 -> 11:16 AM) Now on the pitching side. We get control guys over stuff guys. This years selection of Lance Broadway over a Carillo is the same thing. We have this dicussion because we see some other pitcher come up usually against us and do good. Cabrera last year came up. He had a nice live arm. A good arm doesnt project a solid major league career, but it does give you an advantage of pitching over mistakes. You can get away more often with a 95-96mph fastball over the plate than you can with a 90mph fastball over the plate. Just my two cents. Complete agreement here, and I think that is one explanation to why we have such trouble in Oakland. Those hitters just go with the pitches and look for singles and solid contact, rather then the dinger. The trouble is that that is the only kind of pitcher the Sox usually have. They are all very good, but they don't match up with the unique A's hitters. LT

QUOTE(ScottPodRulez22 @ Jul 3, 2005 -> 10:59 PM) i suddenly dont like this trade if frank or evert is in it. Me neither, but if it could involve Navratilova instead, I might be willing to reconsider. SFF

QUOTE(southsideirish71 @ Jul 2, 2005 -> 10:33 PM) Well the next generation of whitesox fan is doing well. He was at soxfest earlier this year, and was in Spring Training this year watching our sox on Easter sunday, and he met Southpaw last week at Downers Grove Heritage fest. If I have anything to do with it this kid will be a life long sox fan. Thanks for the birthday wishes, his little irishness is now asleep. Nothing bonds a father and son like the game of baseball. That is sure nice to hear! My 3 yr old daughter and I are bonding pretty well too. She already can say "HE GAWN" better then Hawk SFF