Disco72

Bartolo will break the Sox curse....

Some good points, but I have to agree with Rex. I haven't been the biggest Rowand fan this season, but I'd rather see him out there (if he's finally healthy) running into walls and making plays. Lofton fell off big time last year, and there's no reason to believe he won't do it again.

Right on the money south sider!

Marte or Koch? Anyone know who's warming up? I'd usually vote for Marte, but he didn't pitch that well in the 8th.

We need some love from Maggs... a late inning comeback could be key to a turnaround.

I'm still rooting for Rios... of course I couldn't see the balls he couldn't get to in today's game.

I'd have to agree with Rex. The situation is far more complicated than that - and there are easier ways to get oil...

I you're being overly tough on a guy who has been our best pitcher (and often our only good pitcher) over the last couple years. What good pitcher hasn't gone through some tough times? While the Ritchie comparison is interesting (and hopefully proves untrue), Ritchie was never the pitcher that Buehrle has been.

YESSSSSSSS! A turnaround for Paulie????

Hopefully we can say that more often about Gordon.

We've got to start coming back in these games.... not falling behind would be good, but a comeback or two would do wonders for our offense and our pitchers' confidence. Let's start it tonight!

The Sox don't have any decent defensive center fielders. Rowand, Borchard, and Harris are all learning the position... Harris and Rowand might end up being good. Borchard has corner outfielder written all over him. How did Mags look in center those few games he played? (damn FSN+.... can't even find the game on radio in Peoria).

Forget McClendon, maybe KW can actually get Giles this time... fits with my constant rambling about left handed power.

I'm sure its been discussed ad nasuem, but the real hatred of the Twins comes from the fact that although they whine incessently, the national media loves them. The Twins can make 10 negative comments about the Sox for every one Sox comment about the Twins, but we're still the bad guys.... now if we could only beat them on the field, I'd feel sooooo much better. Of course, if we could fight them on the field like we did against the Tigers in 2000 (one of the craziest games I've ever been to), I'd love to see Maggs jump kicking some Twins ass.

I seem to remember that during Spring Training, they (reporters and PK) talked about his foot injury as a cause of his post-All-Star break decline... but is the back a "new" injury? (can't believe I'm ignorant about this one... please don't revoke my season tix).

Baseball economic decisions are worse than those of the Japanese Central Bank (for those non-international economy followers - they have allowed their economy to continually worsen without ever solving a single structural problem). Baseball has done the same by building stadium after stadium... without improving the product and lowering ticket prices (or at least holding them constant for a few years), attendance will continue to decline. As many of us are season ticket holders, we have baseball in our blood... but too many of our contemporaries and the younger generations have no interest in the sport.

While Harris hasn't exactly lit it up, he still has more upside than Singleton. Singleton is a decent centerfielder but has an average arm. Offensively, he hit only .262 (good for this year's sox) and struck out too many times (83). Also, his OBP is pretty lousy for a guy with a little speed. I'll back KW on this one.

Arizona is in need of hitting, not pitching. Jayson Stark of ESPN.com discussed this in a recent article (http://espn.go.com/mlb/columns/stark_jayson/1554314.html). The problem though is that Arizona needs to shed some salary and has some young players that they seem happy to check out. We all know the Sox are unlikely to add salary. But if we could get another starter for one of our underachieving hitters plus a minor leaguer??? (wishful thinking...)

IMO, Buehrle just needs to get his head back on straight. I don't think its a mechanical thing - just an adjustment thing for a good young pitcher going through his first slump. As for Rogers, I used to have a lot of faith in him, but he's written some horrible articles. The first "what the f***???" article was last year's about how Cameron is better than Konerko (after Cameron torched the Sox). Not that Konerko has lived up to it this year (yet), but Cameron is a good defensive player who seems to only hit the ball against the Sox. Rogers' article earlier this season about trading for malcontent Carl Everett also infuriated me.... Carl the whiner joins Frank the excuse maker and Carlos the lazy... now that's great team chemistry! (don't even get me started on my growing hatred for Peter Gammons). Any recommendations on intelligent baseball columnists? I read most of the ESPN.com guys but haven't though much of the SI crew.

I've got a friend with a pontoon boat who lives across from KW in Plainfield.... any takers on a drunken serenade?

Hey, let's just be happy for a win. Maybe hell will freeze over and Garland and Wright will finally start to show their potential with consistency. Young pitchers tend to give up big innings... these guys tend to consistently give up big innings. In the meantime, we're all rooting for Buehrle to straighten himself out tomorrow night. With Colon, Loiza, and Buehrle all pitching well, we can win a few games here before June. We're Sox fans, so unlike Cub fans, we are pessimistic optimists (Cub fans are unrealistic optimists if I can coin that phrase). On a lighter note, glad to have found this group.... while there are differences of opinion, most posts are intelligent if not comedic. -Disco

If KW hasn't canned Manuel yet, he'll make a few more moves before finally putting the ax to Manuel. White will certainly be first. Hopefully that won't be KW's only move... maybe doing more than firing Ward will awaken this team.

I'm usually right with Phil Rogers, but I'm not sure that firing Manuel would do much good - granted, the Sox look as bad as we've seen in a long time. The best analysis in the article had to do with possible trade options that would break up the middle of the lineup (Konerko, Thomas, Lee). I know the Sox have tried to pawn Lee before; while Lidle isn't a great pitcher, I always wanted that Lee for Lidle trade to go down. A similar trade with another club (Baltimore?) that has some decent pitching but needs offense would be nice. Trading Thomas would be better, but I think we all know that is a pipe dream. We can fire Manuel, then Backman, then Valentine, but until we get a group of players on the field who can play the game the right way, the team won't win. I don't think the Sox are that far off - we have some very talented players and some good prospects (pitching and hitting) in the minors. But we have this slow, right handed hitting line up that produces more excuses and double plays than RBIs.

Not that Cleveland WON'T be good in 2005-2006, but don't forget how the national media was gushing about the Sox and all of their young talent in 2000. What ever happened to the that No.1 farm system? Promise is just that, promise. Rather than get rid most of the team via trade, release, or free agency, KW needs to target specific areas to improve. Team speed and a left handed power hitter are top on the list. Pitchers like White could be traded or released to make room for some of the (hopefully) talented pitchers in the minors. Prediction: Carlos Lee will never be a good player for the Sox. He is too undisciplined - but I guarantee that he'll have a great season for another club. Hey, sometimes that happens - its baseball... look at Loiza this year for the Sox. In order to improve team speed, a player like Lee or Konerko (who I like but can't seem to get it together) has to make way for a center fielder who can play defense and team with Olivo to improve our defense up the middle. The Sox don't have that player in their system (Borchard has corner outfielder written all over him) and will have to trade for him or sign him. In the meantime, I'd love to see a guy like Rios get some more ABs and see what happens. The Ordonez thing in Center is interesting but not a long term solution. There is no quick fix for this team - but a few small moves this year could make them more competitive than they are now.

I can't say that I'm surprised by the strong feelings against Jose - his defense can be ugly, but is he really the biggest weakness on this team? If our offense would live up to its potential (real or imagined), then Jose wouldn't be much of an issue. Like it or not, Schueler and KW have fashioned a 1990's Texas Rangers / Cleveland Indians type team to hit the ball well, play mediocre defense, lack team speed, and have average pitching. When the "O" doesn't work, the team doesn't win. Keep Jose and his leadership intangibles which many of you either do not see or do not feel is important and start cleaning house or benching other players. I'm glad to see that JM is finally mixing up the lineup with lefties and righties; I hope this will continue. Maybe Daubach or Rios aren't the answer, but they deserve a shot. In the meantime, let Jose be what he will be - a career .250 hitter who hits in the clutch, makes errors on some routine plays, but is the ONLY emotional leader the Sox have.