caulfield12

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Sep 27, 2008 -> 06:38 PM) I'm an Iowa alum and while I wish you're coworker's dad was correct, I couldn't disagree more. I think there's a better chance he'll come back next year than there has been of him coming back the last 6 or 7. BTW, with the shellacking of Javy tonight, he nows owns a higher than league average ERA in 3 of his 4 AL seasons. The only time he outperformed the league average, he pitched meaningless games. He supposedly had chances to go to Jacksonville and possibly the Steelers/Lions/Ravens between 2002-2004. I think he's just burned out and having trouble getting his second wind...and he's never been a great recruiter. His one very strong recruiting class has been highlighted by Chicago players like Christensen, Doerring, Richardson and Moeaki has had very little or no impact. Almost unbelieveable, because the guy was like God and beloved, could have run for governor three or four years ago and won.

QUOTE (DrunkBomber @ Sep 27, 2008 -> 06:33 PM) I wouldnt call for a fire sale. If anything we uncovered Floyd, Ramirez and Quentin and Danks improved. Its nice to have some young talent to build around instead of aging power hitters. I don't mean the entire team, just Vazquez and Swisher (and Cabrera will be gone). Although I wouldn't be shocked if Swisher is back, because what can KW get for him realistically...? But the other two, no way! I would seriously think about considering the best possible offers for Jenks and Thornton. By the way, goodbye Greg Walker...unless we can somehow make the playoffs. Sounds strange, but true.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Sep 27, 2008 -> 06:30 PM) The night of the epic choke I had to get trashed and karaoke, now I'm afraid its gonna happen again. Good thing I'm NOT an alocholic, LOL. Good thing Iowa won today...oh wait, they choked and the Bears are going to get embarassed tomorrow. I really think Ferentz is going to re-sign after this season and take an NFL job. I don't think with his $3 million contract that Barta is quite ready to fire him, but Good God, his record against ISU and Northwestern is reason enough...he's going to land in Steve Alford territory, not to mention the rape case bungling that's hanging over the campus and 20+ criminal citations for the football team.

This team is really in trouble...even though we could still theoretically make the playoffs on Monday, STILL. We have to do a fire sale on Vazquez and Swisher at their lowest possible value. I wonder what KW will come up with in the off-season to keep the season ticket holders from revolting? Sox Fest will be interesting again. Angry Sox fans are more dangerous than apathetic Sox fans.

QUOTE (Brian @ Sep 27, 2008 -> 06:25 PM) I have done a 180 on OC. I hated him the first few months but he has come around and I like what he said on the radio and in the papers. If he would have run out the ball in the 1st, we would have been leading 2-1. In which case Ozzie could have put in Jenks in the top of the fifth to pitch the rest of the game.

Well, with Farmer lighting candles for Duckworth at the ND grotto and a facing a pitcher in Bullington who I think has never won a major league start (former first rounder), we're bound to put this season to bed and not have to suffer anymore. Maybe the most fitting end would be if we were no-hit on Monday by Garcia and Walker announced his resignation the next day. That's the only thing I have left to hope for.

QUOTE (fathom @ Sep 27, 2008 -> 06:20 PM) This might be the most angry I've ever been watching the White Sox. What's the point of getting upset? Very few players on the White Sox are, except maybe AJ. We go into 2008 headed for 5th place I think. I just don't have any confidence in Clayton and Broadway.

I think we're beyond choking. We're just horrible now. Maybe last year wasn't a mirage.

Two six-run fifth innings on consecutive nights.

The famous Vazquez 5th/6th inning collapse. KW has his work cut out for him. He has to find two starting pitchers probably, in a market where that's an expensive proposition. Game, set and match. Disgusting...especially in front of two sell out crowds.

QUOTE (Brian @ Sep 27, 2008 -> 05:49 PM) How did that not go out? Caught it off the end of the bat...didn't have the right sound. The pitch was located up and right over the middle of the plate. Luck.

QUOTE (southsideirish71 @ Sep 27, 2008 -> 05:45 PM) The fact that our manager thinks that hitting Brian Anderson 2nd is a good idea, is scary. I want him playing, he should be a tad further down the lineup. I would rather have Alexei there. Ramirez and AJ are both hitting like crap...and Alexei's not patient at all. I guess it doesn't really matter, one way or the other. Whatever's going to happen will happen at this point. Didn't Carroll hit his only homer of the season again us???

Jackson can't throw anything inside for a strike against the Sox RH batters. But I'm not sure if that will help us...what happens here? Anderson hits a bomb or Cabrera gets thrown out stealing and is decked by Dye in the dugout? So much for that. The old BA is back.

Is anyone surprised to see us looking flat against a guy with a 6+ ERA so far?

Swisher hitting a robust .202 from the right side. Just wow.

Why are they pitching to Morneau when Tolbert is on deck? Well, I guess he ties it up, you give them credit...interesting decision. They pitch around Morneau and maybe face Cuddyer?

If Morneau ties the game with a homer, he deserves the MVP.

Span walks of course, setting up the tying run if Morneau can hit a bomb. I don't like the feeling of this...just like my stupid Hawks losing to NW.

It's just so difficult for teams that are pressing to beat teams that are playing with nothing to lose. The same thing happened with the Royals sweeping the Tigers the final three games of 2006. Which is why I wouldn't be surprised if the Sox lost today again. Tomorrow, you have the feeling the Twins will win for sure.

Wow, I was really hoping the Royals would go to Soria to get Gomez. Nightmares from last week...listening the Twins' feed, I thought they just had a game-tying double to the gap. 4-2 with a chance to add insurance in the 9th, one of the best relievers in baseball in Soria waiting for the Twinkies.

QUOTE (Jenksy Cat @ Sep 27, 2008 -> 01:16 AM) Dear KW, Please don't ever do this to us again. Don't put together a team that competes for 160 games near or in first place. It was obviously your fault that Swisher and his worst career year and that Thome and PK slumped for 5 months. All you need to do is sign a bunch of fast guys, trade Macdougal and Wasserman for Chone Figgins, it shouldn't be too difficult, I did it in MLB 2k8 no problem. Trade Bobby Jenks for someone like Carlos Gomez, we have enough depth in the bullpen to cover for him. Enroll in medical school so you can heal our best hitter, bullpen arm, all-star 3rd baseman and starter. And whatever you do, don't acquire any more MVP's or ROY candidates. Invest in fast guys who hit .220, that's where the division championships are made. Follow the lead of those "pesky piranhas" and build a team that scratches its way to playoffs and gets swept every year. Signed, Clueless fan base overreacting to losing. Agree with some of what you say, except for the part about Thome. We got/get about exactly what we expected, and he's actually hitting much better this season with runners on base than in 06 and 07. I don't think Thome is the core of any problem on this team, although he's a convenient target, because we traded fan favorite Aaron We Are the Ones We've Been Waiting for Rowand. If you can get someone like Carlos Gomez and a really intriguing prospect for the infield (3B/SS/2B), you have to give it serious consideration. At his age, Jenks is the best he will ever get...and that's about 85-90% of what he was 3 seasons ago. Unless you're an absolute great closer (like Rivera five years ago, Trevor Hoffman five years ago, Gagne on HGH, Nathan before last month, K-Rod in 2002), then there's diminishing reason to pay $10-15 million per season. The White Sox went through Roberto Hernandez, Bobby Howry, Keith Foulke, Takatsu, Hermanson and Jenks within roughly a decade. None of those players were high-salaried, with the exception of Hernandez. History has shown that teams overpay for closer, unless they are virtual guarantees of an 85% success rate each and every year. With Jenks in 2009, I don't feel that...I think he's due for a difficult season, just a hunch. Same with Thornton, who's best good every other year. History has also shown with bullpen arms that it's best to sell high and buy low...and that consistent performance is difficult to find and overpaid a majority of the time. If you don't at least consider trading Thornton or Jenks, you have to trade Swisher/Konerko/Dye/Vazquez or Fields/Poreda to get anything decent in return. No matter what KW does, there are certainly no easy options or logical moves...before, we had the luxury of an extra starter...now we're down a starter, and 2001-2004 aren't that far removed from memory (Danny Wright, Porzio, Munoz, Felix Diaz, etc.)

But the Twins could say the same thing about winning a start at home with Liriano on the mound. I wasn't expecting the Twins to lose last night, I thought the White Sox had a 50/50 chance of winning. Today, I would say the Twins should lose because of Perkins versus Meche, which means the opposite will happen. Which also means our entire season is riding on someone who is probably looking at his mutual fund ROI rather than being upset like we are at soxtalk. I thought the fan with the "I cried myself to sleep last night" poster had it right...today there were no more tears or anger, just a growing realization or deadened feeling that nothing else that happens with faze me in the least, whether it's positive or negative. There's a 33% we get there, a 66% chance we don't.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Sep 27, 2008 -> 06:55 AM) I think Ozzie is signed through 2012. Unless he says something totally obnoxious that gives JR and KW no choice or unless he quits, he will be here at least until then. Yeah, I know about Guillen's contract. A lot depends on how this season ends. If we lost both Saturday and Sunday (why not Monday to Garcia?) as well, then there would be a tremendous amount of pressure on Ozzie coming into next season, especially with the rumors/stories starting to fly about clubhouse problems and dissension in the ranks. It also depends on Ozzie's and KW's willingness to go through a rebuilding phase. I still think it's inevitable. KW will say "reload" or make a remark like the one about the Tigers when they added Cabrera (Miggy), but there's just too much uncertainty for this team to be anything more than a pick for 3rd place going into next season. Maybe they will go out and get the big fish, Sabathia, and I'll end up quiet for a little while, like in 2001 when we went through the David Wells Experience. The odds of that are 5-10%, same thing with Ichiro and with A-Rod coming here.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Sep 27, 2008 -> 06:49 AM) Are you sure about the Contreras insurance? I read somewhere there wasn't any. I know the Mets have none on Billy Wagner. Figgins is a guy who supposedly is not well liked in the Angel clubhouse, and seems to be constantly injured. Furcal has a back problem. With what went down with Crede, I don't see JR shelling out a huge commitment to him. Hudson is a guy the Sox have admired for years, but he wants 8 figures. I find it hard to believe he's worth that. There's just nothing obvious out there, plus with the Yankees and Mets moving into new moneymakers and the Yankees also shedding $84 million in payroll, if you go the free agent route, you may have to be looking at plan D or E. It will be an interesting offseason. I do know KW will get a real leadoff hitter. I don't think it will be Gary Mathews, Jr., but a name like that is along the lines of what KW is looking at...a player we could get another team to subsidize his contract, whose upside MIGHT still be relatively high. Milton Bradley. Tavares comes to mind, I know most posters here don't like that move. Alex Rios or Vernon Wells. CoCo Crisp. Brian Giles. Abreu. Those are the kind of names we'll see, maybe Michael Bourn Identity. I doubt we could get someone like Lastings Milledge. In past years, someone like Dave Martinez, Ellis Burks, Mike Devereaux, etc. No, not Daubach or Armando Blame It on Jose Rios. What this team needs is a 2009 version of Lance Johnson or Ray Durham to add a little excitement and speed to go with the Cuban Missile.

I would give KW two more years. Guillen's on a much shorter rope. If the team starts off like the Indians or Tigers, I think you have to try someone new (assuming that Konerko, Dye, Thome and AJ are all back next season)...and that Cabrera and Swisher are gone. Then the injuries and clubhouse aren't going to be excuses anymore.