caulfield12

QUOTE (fathom @ Apr 17, 2011 -> 12:50 PM) I do agree that KW is more responsible for putting the Sox in such a dire situation where they have to win this year or else. KW's going to be in a tough spot if this team falls 10 games out or so by the deadline, as there's gaping holes they're going to have to fill cheaply in the next few years (starting pitching). We've got Floyd, who's more like a #4 who occasionally pitches like a 1/2 but not consistently...who knows long-term with Peavy, and Sale. If Peavy and Sale can be top 3 level starters, we could be okay to fill in the back of the rotation. But what are the odds of that, of both things happening....and those guys staying healthy together for an extended period of time?

They should fire KW before they fire Ozzie. He's more responsible for this roster than anyone else. Although at this point, I'd be welcome to changes in either aspect.

ML: You’ve been doing this now for almost three seasons, how have you changed from the first show in April 2006 to today? CR: “That’s a good question. I’ve gotten more comfortable in the role. I’m a very, very passionate fan, I’d put my feelings for the White Sox up against any other fan. That’s where I think I’ve changed, I’m better now at being more level headed after a tough loss or in dealing with a fan who just makes a really ridiculous comment. When the game is over I’m better able to take a step back and say, ‘OK, let’s take a good look at things, especially long term, not just right now in the heat of the moment.” ML: You mention criticism. At White Sox Interactive there appears to be two schools of thought on your show. One is that you have every right to say just about anything you want to a fan that comes across frankly as dumb. The other is that this is the fans show and that unless they are drunk on the air or are making racial, sexual or vulgar comments, it’s your job to be courteous, hear them out and comment in a respectful manner. My sense of you Chris is that you don’t suffer fools gladly, to quote Shakespeare and that if you are going to make a comment on the air you better be prepared to back it up. CR: “That is exactly correct, 100% on the mark. If you are going to make a claim that ‘Konerko sucks’ you need to back it up. I try to think everything through when the game is going on and when it’s over. I’m not perfect but I try to do that, sometimes I don’t think the fans do. Here’s an example, after the Sox blew that Saturday game to Tampa I got a call from a fan who said that Javier Vazquez didn’t pitch a great game and why did I keep saying that. So I asked the guy, ‘you watched the game right? You know he had a perfect game in the 6th inning?’ The guy said yes but said that if he was pitching so well why did he allow four runs? I explained to him that those runs were charged to him but it was Matt Thornton who gave them up, not Vazquez… when he left he only allowed one run to score. I asked the guy does he judge the performance of a starting pitcher by the runs he’s charged with, even though it was the bullpen who allowed them to score? He said yes and that’s fine I give him credit for sticking to his guns, but that’s what I mean by, you need to back it up.” ML: At least to some degree, your job is dependent on the White Sox saying ‘OK’ to having you do the show and that’s a fine line to balance…how to be critical of the team without possibly jeopardizing your job. So how do you make the distinction? CR: “I hear the words ‘mouthpiece,’ ‘company man’ a lot. I can only tell you that the only time the White Sox have ever said anything to me about the show is when they have some available tickets, they’ll ask me to mention it. When some of the players are doing a charity event, they’ll ask me to let the public know about it. I was recently asked to mention the fantasy camp that takes place in Tuscon in January but that’s it. They have never told me what to say or to not say anything bad about the team.” “There have been times when Bob Grim and I have talked about some of the things I’ve said directly to a caller. (Author’s Note: Bob is the White Sox Senior Director Of Business Development & Broadcasting) But that has never been ‘don’t say anything bad about the team,’ it’s been along the lines of why I got into it with the caller and a suggestion that I should try to avoid that.” (Author’s Note: Bob and I spoke about Chris when I interviewed him for White Sox Interactive. It never appeared in the story itself because it didn’t really fit, but what Bob said was that he thought Chris was doing a very good job and that the issues that he sometimes finds himself in are caused by “inexperience.” Bob said that over time Chris will learn how to better handle these things when they come up.) this is from a WSI interview, Mark L. from over there is an okay guy, hope it's cool to copy and paste some of it??

QUOTE (greg775 @ Apr 17, 2011 -> 02:30 AM) Yes, but tonight Ostrowski (sp) and the other guy played the call and said they would have hung up on the guy way earlier than Rongey did. They said the caller was way out of line and praised Rongey. I hope he doesn't get reprimanded. The callers had no reason to call except scream at Chris like it was his fault the Sox got killed again. No matter how bad the Sox have been, and the Sox have been horrid, like many of you have said, what has happend in these 14 will not decide the season. We can vent on here, but to call the show and go after Rongey was stupid and the caller got what he deserved. He was actually screaming and Rongey called him on it early, 'Why are you screaming? Quit screaming.' Okay, well, a little more of the context helps, but always better in those situations to hang up/disconnect rather than engage the caller further. There are so many wackos in the world, better not to antagonize them. You never know how dangerous they might be. Hopefully they were drunk and will just forget it all by the time they wake up this morning.

A couple of points. No, there was no serios attempt to fix any of the glaring holes in the roster in the off season. Morneau had a debilitating concussion which is obviously still affexting him.Mauer is what many of us said he was, an injury prone singles hitter. Cuddyer looks silly. Casilla should be parking cars somewhers. Capps wasn't very good last year, and Nathan's arm exploded and will not return. The Twinks are on a pace to win 47 games this year. Maybe we should go for the record of fewest wins to give us something to look forward to. And as long as the Twins fill up that publicly built stadium every game, there is no incentive to make the changes in coaching and players needed to improve the team. posted by mrspock on Apr. 16, 11 at 10:22 PM | 8 of 10 people liked this comment. Do you? The Twins have one more victory than the best team put together by any general manager in a long time. Good god, people, come off the ledge. The Twins had to deal with a brutal early schedule following an unusual spring training. There will be more trial and error, but I kinda gotta a feeling that Kansas City and Cleveland won't run away with the Central before Gardy gets things stabilized. posted by snoebird on Apr. 16, 11 at 10:24 PM | 3 of 23 people liked this comment. Do you? All I see here is complaining and gnashing of teeth...well let me remind you all, Rome wasn't built in a day! I trust the Twins' top brass know what they're doing, and as I recall, Mr. Gardenhire was the Most Valuable Manager last year, so we just have to count on their guidance through rough waters. posted by lloyd55423 on Apr. 16, 11 at 10:25 PM | 3 of 22 people liked this comment. Do you? many posted before the season wondering if Gardy would let pitchers go 110-120. The answer is No!! Pavano sets em down 1-2-3 in the 8th after throwing only 104. Baker sets em down 1-2-3 in the 7th after throwing only 96. No matter, the game no longer belongs to the starter, but to the Mgr, and I dont pay one dime to see a Mgr trot out and jerk pitchers who are doing well. I can see pulling em after they toss 118 or so if they are starting to show wear, but not in "Gardyland". posted by nomas1 on Apr. 16, 11 at 10:26 PM | 11 of 13 people liked this comment. Do you? One other thing. Don't be surprised if Nathan comes down with "bilateral weakness" also. It's a good excuse to sit a player and let them clear their head out to see if they really can play here. posted by mrspock on Apr. 16, 11 at 10:27 PM | 5 of 7 people liked this comment. Do you? Baker sets 9 straight down and get's yanked, nice! Hey Gardy how is that whole pitch to contact thing working for ya? Actually it might work ok if the contact didn't go 400 feet.Also team is picked to win the division, star player is banged up,people basically take training camp off,lose heartbreakers,start terrbile, haven't we seen this before,like last fall? posted by cooper227 on Apr. 16, 11 at 10:40 PM | 6 of 8 people liked this comment. Do you? The worthless manager loses at least 15 games a year for the Twins by his inept ability to make a correct decision. After 10 years of the same old same old it is SO time for a change in thinking which can only be accomplished by moving Mr. Gardenhire out the door. Well, this is only if the homer fan base really wants to field a winning team. I do not think the Twins homer fan base requires the Twins to win beyond winning the hapless AL Central division. posted by saldoman on Apr. 16, 11 at 10:42 PM | 13 of 16 people liked this comment. Do you? 13 of 16 people liked this comment It's pretty difficult to lose an entire season in April but I think these clowns have managed to do it. I've never had any love for the current Twins make-up from the ownership, GM, Manager, coaching staff, and most of the players, least of which is little Jo-Jo (Mauer). It's hard having the Baby-Jesus on your favorite team. I've mostly hated this overrated collection the last 10 years. That's what getting pounded in the first round of the playoff consistently will do to you. The hate and bile for this team is brimming over the top at this point. If I thought that if they would lose over 100 games and a result the GM and Manager would get fired for it I would root for that to happen, but sadly I think the only way the GM and Manager would get replaced for 2012 would be if they both dropped over dead between now and next April. Sure is a nice ballpark though, but it's just not enough. Sure am glad I like to golf. startribune.com/sports And to think, this is the same team and front office that was a coin toss away from winning 7 division titles in 9 years. Funny, someone mentioned their beer prices are 2nd in either the majors or American League. I find that pretty amazing for a second-tier market, even with a new stadium and coming off playoff appearances the last 2 seasons.

QUOTE (Leonard Zelig @ Apr 16, 2011 -> 03:57 PM) According to Rongey in the rain delay, the plan is to have Peavy start against Baltimore on April 29. Yeah, his twitter feed said Thursday the 28th in NY or Friday the 29th (at home) versus the Orioles.

And I'm sure he'll get a quiet reprimand from Bob Grim, Director of Broadcasting. When all is said and done, no matter how frustrating things get, club employees (unless they are named Ozzie Guillen or KW) have to retain their cool under ALL circumstances. At the moment, he probably felt like venting back was a reasonable response, but he should know better. Dave Wills never would have done that. When he wakes up Sunday morning, instead of feeling victorious, I'm sure he'll wish that he had let it go. In the end, belittling a Sox fan isn't a winning move for the organization, whether it's true or not, lots of us complain when Ozzie insults the fanbase, and this is no different (although hardly on the same level as an Ozzie rant that eventually ends up as a headline at CNN). Hosting the pre and post game show is entirely different from being an O'Reilly or Beck or Limbaugh, Rachel Maddow or Olbermann. Those guys are paid for their opinions and are encouraged to express them. There are a lot worse things in baseball than being 7-7 after 14 games. God knows how people would be acting if we were playing like the Red Sox or Twins. I listened to the first 3 calls of the postgame before it got cut off at MLB audio. Yes, the same typical comments (about the price of going to a game, about Juan Pierre and one caller was especially aggravated with AJ Pierzynski for some reason), but I've heard a lot more inane/inebriated ones before, and there undoubtedly will be worse in the future.

QUOTE (MattZakrowski @ Apr 16, 2011 -> 06:03 PM) Who plays center in this hypothetical? Worst-case scenario? Jordan Danks, Milledge or Lillibridge.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Apr 16, 2011 -> 06:00 PM) Danks for Montero. Shop Rios to the Braves for one of their pitching studs. That is if this continues. Well, since it's the Indians and Royals that we're trailing, the Sox will be given more rope by JR and KW. That will at least buy them a couple more weeks to hold off on any decisions to dismantle...last year the team finally caught fire just in time.

First pitch fastball??? Really? After back-to-back walks? Farmer and DJ both called it about 2-3 minutes before it actually happened. At least the fans don't have to suffer from another blown save, if there's any solace to be found in that.

QUOTE (jphat007 @ Apr 16, 2011 -> 05:53 PM) Well if you are going to suck on defense you might as well go all out. So basically, Chris Snopek II.

Alexei's not starting off very well either, if he wants to be considered for a Gold Glove. I guess as long as Jeter hits above .250, he'll still win it as long as he's not playing shortstop in a rocking chair at the nursing home, and even then, some NY and ESPN writers would vote for him as a "write in" candidate.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Apr 16, 2011 -> 05:41 PM) I promised myself that I was going to give this team a solid month, good, bad or average, before I came to any legitimate conclusion on what kinda team they are. But I'm getting annoyed real fast. We're behind the Blue Jays, Astros, DBacks and Mariners (probably the most boring team in baseball history after Ichiro and King Felix) and hovering at 23rd in attendance. The weather has been brutal recently, but "all in" only works if the fans buy into it. Losing three of four or four of five is nothing if you followed this team closely in 2010, but the "casual" Sox fan doesn't usually get excited for a typical .500 White Sox team. We're at risk of losing those walk-up fans for April and May, especially with the way we've played at home so far this year. The lack of excitement is even noticeable among "diehard" Sox fans here already. We really need to win one of these next two before we head to play the suddenly sizzling hot Rays.

Quentin is alive at least.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Apr 16, 2011 -> 06:17 PM) 4 SB, 5 CS, not a good percentage .444 would be quite good for Robin Ventura or Carlos Quentin.

Only surprise is he's neither a journeyman or soft-tossing lefthander. But throughout this past decade, we've struggled mightily the first time we've faced a starter. Kid is only 21 and consistently throwing 92-95 MPH in 36 degree weather. Pretty impressive.

Cue the next Dunn is dead thread.

Not to mention the fact that Damon did it two games in a row. Capps and Nathan both collapsed again. Capps gave up one in the 8th, Zobrist hit a homer to tie it off Nathan, there were three walks and eventually Mijares hooked a ball down the RF line with two outs and the bases loaded. Of course, TB has now won 5 in a row after we helped to breathe life into them. And playing down there, on turf, well, let's cross our fingers our bullpen is ready to go next week. PS: Note to Ozzie, don't invest in a house in Chicago, since you might not be living here for more than 6 months.

I wonder what Felix would be writing about Joe Mauer if he was a Twins' fan? If we had a normal Juan Pierre and Matt Thornton, we'd be somewhere between 9-4 and 11-2. Tonight's game wasn't one you could have expected to win based on Humber starting and how well Weaver has pitched recently...if we lose the next 2 games, I can't even imagine who will be the target. Dunn just came back a couple of games ago and now he's a whipping boy? I think we need to worry more about defensive lapses and the bullpen first.

I gave up looking at upcoming schedules a few years ago. Last year proved that we could dominate stretches of play against any opponent for long stretches, and that we could also struggle to beat the worst teams in baseball. It's all about momentum, and until the pen is solidified, we'll bounce back and forth like the 2009 team, like a car that's not running on all cylinders.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Apr 15, 2011 -> 09:54 PM) If we are really all-in, they should fire the whole coaching staff if we are a few games under .500 in mid May. I'd give them until mid May to show something. Schedule has been easy. Sox have played sloppy shoddy baseball for the most part. And replace them with who? Just for a temporary uptick? Until we've found a consistent closer and Peavy comes back, it's pretty hard to make any judgements on what we have with this particular Sox squad. I would be shocked if JR did this. Imagine in 2005 when the team was collapsing and they fired the manager. If anything, last year's comeback from near death has bought Ozzie the opportunity to get through this entire season. Unless we find a new manager who can teach Sale and Thornton to be the next Mariano Rivera and add cutters to their repertoire, it's not worth it. Although I do think Rongey defending Thornton's slider as a consistent "solid" pitch over the course of his Sox career is amusing.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Apr 15, 2011 -> 09:52 PM) Royals win again. Sox fans would be excited if we were 9-4 like they are instead of 7-6 blahdom. But the Twins are now 4-9 and 6-20 in their last 26 games. No Mauer. Liriano looks like he might not get it together this season. Of course, I'm NEVER going to count on that organization. You always do so at your own peril.

Especially with Humber on the mound against Weaver. You have to take your shot for the big inning, home or not (referring to bunting early in the game). Not to mention the fact that with the bullpen in its current condition, does a one run lead do anything? Hope they didn't waste Santos for tomorrow's game, I don't want to hear that excuse from Ozzie for not using him in a save situation. And what I really don't understand is bunting (sac) with players like Alexei, who have REPEATEDLY failed in that same situation, year after year. If he bunts on his own, that's one thing, he's successful as often as not in those situations.

Well, we did lead the game for the 13th time in a row. Only 24 more to go to match our previous record streak. We'd beaten the Angels seven games in a row, so you knew it was likely to end with Weaver and Haren pitching this weekend and Humber on the mound. Humber's been a lot better than expected, actually. Morel's been shaky so far, but I'll excuse the error tonight because of the wet field and playing conditions. I'm not sure how many will if he continues his current error pace, though. Santos continues to look strong. Wish Dunn would have come through earlier...I think the game would have turned out differently if we took a 3-0 lead instead of 1-0 at that point. And B. McCarthy's pitching for the A's like he did for the Sox in 2005. At least he's beating the Tigers.

QUOTE (Lillian @ Apr 15, 2011 -> 05:04 AM) One of the other points that I made in the paper I wrote on this subject was that 5 days in between pitching appearances is probably not the optimum time to achieve the best performance. I made that assertion based upon the limited understanding that I have about sports medicine and human physiology. It doesn't take the body that long to recover from strenuous physical activity. Intense weight training is probably about as demanding as any physical activity there is. A weight lifter, or body builder will routinely take 2 days rest in between training any given body part. Squats and other leg exercises are probably the most grueling exercises one can do. Even those exercises can best be performed, with the least amount of soreness, if done every 3rd or 4th day. Pitching 45 to 90 pitches should not be near enough to cause injury, and therefore an athlete should be able to repeat that effort after a couple of days of rest. It is widely recognized that the more frequently the body is asked to perform a task, the better condition in which it will become. Of course, there is a point at which the body is taxed too frequently, and can't sufficiently recover, but 2 or 3 days should be enough rest. In fact, pitchers do throw a side session in between starts. The more frequent performance of a given physical activity, short of over taxing or injuring the body, should result in a better conditioned athlete, and improve the skill performed. How sharp would a basketball player's shooting skills be, if he played once every 5 days? We all know how much more pitchers used to throw in years past. Many of us have long been critical of this notion that a well conditioned athlete can't safely throw more than 100 pitches any more frequently than once every 5 days. If you never allow the body to become conditioned to anything more, it won't be. However, that is not to say that the body can't be conditioned to do more. It seems that baseball coaches have not figured out yet that pitching is first and foremost a mechanical skill activity rather than a strength activity. This idea, this misunderstanding has held back and probably ruined more pitchers than any single thing. Dick Mills