Disco72

QUOTE(jackie hayes @ Nov 3, 2006 -> 06:27 PM) Just because the Sox have stuck with others who have struggled doesn't mean they would stick with BA if there weren't 'anything else' going on. Especially when he struggled so much worse than the others. Neither Crede nor Rowand nor McCarthy nor Garland ever had a season this bad. As a whole, this is one of the worst seasons any Sox play has had in the last decade, at least. I like the communist theory. Anderson has struggled worse than the others? Crede nor Rowand were never this bad? Now that is a bit of exaggeration. People have short memories. Anderson would be fine if Uribe and Pods would have done anything to help this team. Some of the players below were in their first full year, others had the year after a couple of years. Ventura was putrid when he first came up (0-41, I think). I'm not saying BA is going to be a Ventura, a Crede, or even a Rowand or Cameron...but I think it is kind of hard to judge where he is going to end up after one season. To be fair, I could have put the Jeff Abbotts and the McCay Christensens here too as they were bad and never got better. Robin Ventura 1990 Chicago White Sox 150 493 48 123 17 1 5 54 157 55 53 1 4 .324 .318 .249 Mike Cameron 1998 Chicago White Sox 141 396 53 83 16 5 8 43 133 37 101 27 11 .285 .336 .210 Royce Clayton 2002 Chicago White Sox 112 342 51 86 14 2 7 35 125 20 67 5 1 .295 .365 .251 Aaron Rowand 2002 Chicago White Sox 126 302 41 78 16 2 7 29 119 12 54 0 1 .298 .394 .258 Paul Konerko 2003 Chicago White Sox 137 444 49 104 19 0 18 65 177 43 50 0 0 .305 .399 .234 Miguel Olivo 2003 Chicago White Sox 114 317 37 75 19 1 6 27 114 19 80 6 4 .287 .360 .237 Joe Crede 2004 Chicago White Sox 144 490 67 117 25 0 21 69 205 34 81 1 2 .299 .418 .239 Jose Valentin 2004 Chicago White Sox 125 450 73 97 20 3 30 70 213 43 139 8 6 .287 .473 .216 Timo Perez 2004 Chicago White Sox 103 293 38 72 12 0 5 40 99 15 29 3 1 .285 .338 .246 Brian Anderson 2006 Chicago White Sox 134 365 46 82 23 1 8 33 131 30 90 4 7 .290 .359 .225 If he is having troubles other than his stats, fine. If he refuses to adjust, ok. But don't write him off on his bad year based on stats alone.

There was a Willie Harris catch from 2B deep in the outfield on Opening Day a few years back. One of the most amazing plays I've seen in person. Doubt it will make the cut...but you never know.

Did I miss something? Gamecast shows the Tigers and Indians in the 8th right now.

It could have been a fan near a camera, but yeah, it was pretty clear on the TOR broadcast on MLB.TV.

One game at a time...but I'd love to see us make up a couple more before we play the Tigers at the Cell on the 11th. Anyone who followed the Sox last season knows it isn't over. Teams don't often play that hot for that long. Not that it won't happen, but its in no way over with just over 2 months left.

QUOTE(Jimbo @ Jul 31, 2006 -> 03:33 PM) you don't know what is available at this point. True. If an Oswalt was available, sure, that would help. But they'd need a big bat in return, which I don't think we are willing to give up. IMO, a shake up of the pitching staff is the only thing that might need to be done, and I don't sense that there are a lot of talented pitchers available that don't involve way more than is prudent to pay in terms of talent.

Odd, the poll is almost 70/30 for "yes, make a deal" but the posts are almost 70/30 on "stand pat." I don't know if there is an impact player out there right now that will make a difference. This is the most talented Sox team in my lifetime (of just over 30 years). They can hit, pitch, and play defense...even if they aren't doing 2 of the 3 well right now. Making a move just to keep pace would be silly. I don't see why the national media loves this deal so much. If the Yankee pitching wasn't so horrible to begin with, it wouldn't be an upgrade at all. Lidle in the AL is worse than any of our poorly performing pitchers...but its pathetic that he's an upgrade over the 6-7+ ERA guys they were running out there. The Yankees have a great offense, but not great defense and not great pitching. The Sox are still a better team and need to play like it.

I'm sure most of you have seen that the Yankees have a tentative deal for Abreu and Lidle. Hawk and DJ reported it, and it is listed on ESPN.com. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2534459

QUOTE(iguchi=dank @ Jul 29, 2006 -> 08:44 PM) thought it wasn't a fox game, but I guess fox games are on so its blacked out?? Is this the case for everyone? thanks and mods can delete this after a couple responses or an hour thanks I'm in Atlanta and blacked out. Can't find anywhere why it is blacked out. MLB.TV seems to show it available...maybe it's a glitch?

While I wouldn't mind Crisp in the right deal and think he would play better LF defense than Pods, is he really a huge improvement over Pods offensively, especially at leadoff? Crisp: Career #'s: .331 OBP, .421 SLG, .286 Ave, .752 OPS, nearly 2:1 in K:BB, never more than 20 steals in a season. Granted he's got more power (15 HRs in 2004, 16 HRs in 2005), but has only 4 this season to date. Pods: Career #'s: .345 OBP, .387 SLG, .278 Ave, .732 OPS, somewhat better K:BB (1.67), and already at 29 steals this season. Even in a "down" year, Pods is outproducing Crisp. Crisp is 3 years younger, but both are in their fourth "full" year of the majors. Just thought this was interesting, as I expected Crisp to be an upgrade offensively and defensively based on the hype he got in Cleveland.

I'm a frequent reader, infrequent poster. I'm 100% in on the Sox. So what? We didnt' play well against the East, where we constantly feel inferior due to media pressures. The Tigers are more like the Sox in 2000 than the Sox in 2005. The 2006 White Sox have a ton of talent and haven't played up to their ability yet this season. Hopefully nobody is hurt, but this team is primed for a great 2nd half. So are the Tigers. Can't wait.

One point that was mentioned prominently in the article but not as much in this thread is that Ozzie wants BA to have better at-bats, not necessarily that he has to start producing right now. I think the "send down to AAA" threat is to get his head out of his butt and start being a "grinder" at the plate. Ozzie said he'd stick by him if he played great defense, but giving away at-bats is never acceptable to a guy like Ozzie. As for Uribe, last year he hit .225 in May and .238 in June, so while his current funk is bad, it's not all that unexpected. He'll heat up just as he's done every year.

I agree with Wedge. You don't run when your middle of the order hitters are crushing the ball. You change your style depending on the hitters, the opposing pitcher, etc, not one style and one style only. The Sox can, and will, play smallball when they need to. Because Thome, Konerko, and Dye have been so hot to start the season, the Sox haven't had to play a lot of smallball, but they have when they needed to with approximately the same success as last season. This is NOT a return to the station-to-station failure of Maggs, Lee, etc.

I was at the game yesterday, and Logan looked good against mostly Braves regulars. He should be able to at least fill the Wunsch role from a few years ago. Second, bullpens are notoriously inconsistent from year to year. How often do teams sign or trade for a "proven" veteran who blows up all year. The Cubs are probably the team most victimized by this inability to realize that bullpen arms do not pitch consistently year in and year out. Sure, there are proven, consistent guys out there, but look at what unproven guys like BJ Ryan got? Look at what the Cubs paid for Howry and Eyre, two guys the Sox gave up on who are decent but not great relivers. Both are as likely to have bad seasons as good ones. The Sox had a true competition for spots in the bullpen, and the guys who are there won the spots in Spring Training. When the biggest questions on your team are the 3rd, 4th, or 5th guys out of the bullpen, you're doing pretty well. Finally, Jenks looked good last night. He hit 98 on the radar and seemed to be trying to throw his breaking stuff more. Let's see what he can do starting on Sunday before we worry about replacing him.

Us Sox fans living in Altanta are quite happy about those 2 games at Turner Field! This will be the first Opening Day that I've missed in a decade (due to moving to Atlanta over the summer), so it'll be pretty sweet to see them play here.

QUOTE(letsgoarow @ Oct 18, 2005 -> 09:25 PM) what part of ATL do u live in? im in marietta North Druid Hills area - around 85 and Druid Hills. I spend most of my time downtown at GSU.

This has probably been discussed before, but I have not seen it and cannot find it. I live in Atlanta now and am a former season ticket holder. I can fly home for one of the two weekends to at least be in Chicago bars for the games, but what about the other games? Anyone know of a good Chicago bar in Atlanta? Any other Sox fans here who would want to watch games somewhere. I also figured this would be a good spot for others through the country/world to post if they are "seeking Sox fans and bars to watch this incredible event."

It took me 27 minutes just to get in the "cue." I have half a dozen people trying, and nobody even got through to the cue. Crappy system for the regular fan. Tons of $4000 seats on ebay though. So I can sell my car, I guess.

Win it for my grandfather, a lifelong Sox fan who played minor league ball with some of the "eight men out" and who died a bit when they got kicked out. And for my father, who attended the 1959 World Series and didn't know if he'd ever see another one. And for my twin brother and I, who have been faithfully following the Sox since before we were born. And for my friend Chris, who follows the sox no matter where in the world he is. I wish he could be in Chicago with me this weekend. But Dad and Evan - I'm flying in!

Same problem here in Peoria. Total BS considering the games are not on at the same time, and they are playing re-runs instead of the Sox game.

QUOTE(Calderon's Crew @ May 12, 2005 -> 06:15 PM) Supporting the team when they lose(even though you hate it). Watching every game on MLBTV because I moved to Costa Rica. Having it written in your contract if the Sox make the Playoffs you can fly to Chitown to see our boys play! Where were you tonight Calderon? Besides, a real die hard would stay an extra couple days in July to see a Sox game with his best friend. Write that into the contract! In addition to all the great posts, you know you are a die hard Sox fan when you're girlfriend refuses to call during game time, post game time, or any period where Sox highlights are on.

ummm, doesn't a guy named Frank Thomas work for this? given his possible June/July comeback, he's the equivalent of a deadline trade. meanwhile, why don't we give the guys a chance to get the offense going?

I love that attitude. The Sox care about winning, not some stupid reporters wondering how they could be so wrong about the Sox. KW didn't gloat... just said, we don't care, let's win some more ballgames!

QUOTE(Traveler1776 @ Apr 23, 2005 -> 04:33 PM) I agree. I have no problem with the Twins being considered the favorite - they have proven three years running that they can last the season and be atop the Central standings when the season ends. What is frustrating is listening to uninformed analysis from guys that ESPN touts as "experts." The comment about our bullpen having problems is completely ignorant. No doubt Shingo has struggled, but the bullpen will be a strength of this team. I couldn't agree more with Traveler. I admit to enjoying some good pub for the Sox' great start, but the most annoying thing is guys not really knowing what they are talking about in regards to the Sox. Missed your first post Traveler, but welcome to SoxTalk!!!

I voted Yes. I love Ozzie's fire, and his passion for the White Sox is something that has been sorely missing from the team for many years. However, I think he has started to go a too far to the point where his comments about Maggs could be seen as threatening (thankfully, people don't seem to be taking it that way). I'll ride the fence a little and say that if this is the price for having a manager with fire who protects his players (the Thomas comments were taken out of context as he also included B-le, Crede, Konerko, etc in those comments and his point was about a different attitude this year) and instills a true passion for the White Sox, I'll take it.