mmmmmbeeer

QUOTE(vandy125 @ Feb 14, 2007 -> 09:48 PM) I see a whole lot of this in the thread... Seriously, I would love to see someone actually give some suggestions as to what could have been done better. Upgrade CF. Ok, give a suggestion, and I hope it is not the almighty Rowand. Upgrade LF. Maybe we should have gotten Carlos Lee. Wasn't he available? Upgrade SS. Let's just throw away all our talent and get someone like Miguel Tejada. At least throw something out there that we can consider. I don't even see those pathetic suggestions I listed. The FA market was crap this season, not to mention expensive. That leaves upgrades via trade, something that none of us have any knowledge to speak to. I will say this, if a GM identifies a weakness on his team and wants it filled, he can get it done. It's just a matter of whether said GM feels the need is pressing enough to warrant overpayment. IMO, KW misjudged our 8-9-1 in the lineup and should have overpaid for a strong contributor, preferably a leadoff type who could play in the OF. He didn't even need to get a superstar, just a contact hitter who can hit .300-ish with decent D to stick in that 8-9-or 1 slot. I mean we saw it last season, what the hell is the point of having a 3-4-5 of Thome, Kong, and Dye if you've got crap for production out of 8-9-1-sometimes 2 hitters?

QUOTE(maggliopipe @ Feb 14, 2007 -> 08:21 PM) What about Atlanta? I think they're a better comparison for us than Oakland and Minnie, and KW has stated on numerous occasions that the system Scheurholz runs is his model. They've got a top 30% payroll year in-year out, a great pitching coach (well, until he left), and consistently make trades with both the present and future in mind. They're always competitive, but don't ever seem to get it done. It's tough for me to decide whether I'd prefer to be a fan of a team like the Braves who are competitive every year but never good enough to get over the top, or a fan of the Marlins who mix in a championship with a whole bunch of ass seasons. One difference between KW and Scheurholz is the latter seems to prefer to let free agents play out their contracts and let them walk, whereas KW tends to prefer trading them before their walk year. Because they were in the NL East all those years. That division sucked complete ass for the majority of the seasons the braves took the crown. Also, the Braves had a ton of homegrown talent, something which we surely lack. I'm not saying it can't be done or hasn't been done before. What I am saying is that this is an extremely ballsy move. I would have felt much better about KW's idea to stay competitive if he were able to upgrade LF, SS, or CF while still sacrificing the pitching in trades. Those positions were already horrible last season and now we've got Uribe with legal troubles and Pods hurt. So what was a glaring weakness last season has now gotten progressively worse. He didn't use his resources to upgrade any of those positions and I think it's a big mistake. I have no doubt in my mind that this is a weaker squad than we started 2006 with. Is it still a 90+ win team, I think it can be. But last year's team should have won 100 games with all the talent they had.

QUOTE(witesoxfan @ Feb 14, 2007 -> 06:57 PM) Even Minnesota has lost 90 games this decade. That's something the White Sox organization can't claim for shame. With a $30M payroll. Thanks for pointing out another reason why it's so ludicrous to take on this strategy and expect success, we have money whereas OAK and MIN never have. Their GMs build on the fly because that's what they HAVE to do.

This is precisely why I was going to give KW a D+ for this postseason in that "if we're set" thread. I can't think of a single team outside of Oakland and Minnesota that has successfully competed every year while always building for the future. It is NOT an easy task and even those teams have yet to reach their ultimate goal. I'm hopeful for this season, but the realist in me says that DET and CLE are going to be very tough, not to mention that MIN always seems to find a way to play well. We're in the most difficult division in baseball and KW is trying to accomplish one of the most difficult maneuvers a GM can attempt. Back in '03 when the Central was a joke we almost made the playoffs with absolutely no production from the #5 spot in the rotation. This isn't the same division today, we can't afford to be giving away wins. Just like last year's debacles with Mack in CF, those games he helped to blow really came back to bite us in the ass. Although the returns on our pitchers didn't really satisfy me, especially the Garcia trade, the thing that really chaps my ass is the fact that we're still heading into this season with an 8-9-1 of uribe, anderson, and pods. That portion of the order is more like an NL lineup than an AL Central lineup. With a $100M payroll there's no excuse for not being able to upgrade one of those slots. I really think that's going to bite us in the ass, even moreso than the rotation.

QUOTE(Texsox @ Feb 12, 2007 -> 05:49 PM) We see so many messages about don't drink and drive, but riding is equally bad. My heart goes out toi the families and friends. That woman who was drunk will now spend her adult life behind bars, probably never have children, be haunted by the victims she killed. And it probably isn't enough punishment. The driver already has a kid or two...which means she f***ed up their lives too.

QUOTE(maggliopipe @ Feb 12, 2007 -> 11:45 AM) I like seeing Oswego make the news since it's my hometown, but not for this sort of tragedy. This is just awful. A couple of those last names sound familiar. Yeah, I graduated with both an Urso and a Merckel. I don't know if the Urso is a sibling of the chick I went to school with but one of the articles I read mentioned that the Merckel girl had 4 older brothers, so one of them must be the dude I graduated with. I read in another article that the kid mentioned at the end of this article was actually called for a ride by the Merckel chick. Apparently she either didn't know where she was at or he didn't know how to find it, whatever the case he wasn't able to pick them up...and now this. Hopefully those that survived make it without any permanent physical disabilities.

So, assuming this is the same judge that said he must check in twice a month, is there any question the guy is just f***ing with Uribe now that he's set his court date for the exact opening of spring training? What a dick.

Why is Pods even on this list? Seems he should have been replaced by the Count or Jonny G, guys that actually have some fantasy value. Good read nonetheless, I like what they had to say about Paulie and Vaz.

QUOTE(LosMediasBlancas @ Feb 2, 2007 -> 03:47 AM) Maybe now someone will open a real bar. c'mon...what's not to love about a bar that charges like $5 for a freaking can of Miller Lite.

QUOTE(Gene Honda Civic @ Jan 27, 2007 -> 05:39 PM) December 5th http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article...rtnered=rss_mlb Rest assured, Kenny continued negotiations with Buehrle well beyond July of '06. Buehrle wanted the negotiations kept quiet, and now that he's created the perception that the Sox have no intention of bringing him back by crying "why me" at the Sox winter media event he's trying to position himself for more money. I'm glad I'm not the only one who sees this as something that MB started brewing. Mark took KW's comments and twisted it to say that KW has already told him that he's not coming back. When the hell did KW say that? I never heard anything of the sort. Also genehonda, you bring up a great point with the silent negotiations. If KW got that heated it's obvious that that agreement was broken.

I think that it's much more difficult to win a world series than a super bowl, 2006 Cardinals aside. What the bears have done is great for their fans, no doubt, but to make it through 162 games and then pull it together to hit stride in the playoffs, needing 11 more wins to win it all, takes a special group of players. A super bowl win just doesn't have the luster, imo.

QUOTE(Vance Law @ Jan 23, 2007 -> 07:51 PM) I agree with this. If Pods is injured or sucks cause he's hurt, Sweeney should be in there. That's what I've been wondering errr, quoted wrong post...i'm also wondering why he waited until now

I recently switched from Cox Cable to DirecTV when I moved. I can't stand DirecTV...their customer service is horrible, they're expensive, and their tv guide maneuverability is ridiculously slow. Not to mention losing signal from even a weak storm system overhead. They lock you into contracts too. I signed up and I'm stuck with it for 2 years, plus any changes you make to your system (ie, upgrade from dvr to HD tivo receiver) extends your contract another year. Of course, being the baseball fan I am, I'd switch if I didn't already have it. I hate these deals, although it is good from a business perspective it s***s on the fans. The football package is something like $280 so it'll be interesting to see how much they jack the price up on the MLB package.

I was also born a Sox fan, 3rd generation on my dad's side raised in the SW burbs. My Uncle was the one that really took me to the most games, but small talk with that side of the family usually involved the White Sox. I remember when JR was going to move the Sox to Florida. My dad was a nervous wreck about the whole deal, just pissed. He stayed up the night the legislature voted for funding like right before midnight, came and woke me up out of a dead sleep to let me know that they were staying. He was so excited, good stuff. My mom's parents were sCrUB fans so there was always a fun rivalry there. My grandma would always bet me and my brother and sister a $1 on the crosstown classic. I watched many a sCrUB game at their house. Afternoon games when they had Jody, Ryne, and them. So it seems that they were trying to turn me to the dark side, but never succeeded. My two sons are already brainwashed, especially my 5 year old. He'd walk around the little league parks last year, pimping his T-Ball uniform, and yelling "boo cubs" to any kid wearing a little league Cubs uni, regardless of their age. He'll see someone in public wearing a sCrUBs hat or shirt and he'll whisper, "hey daddy, look, choke cubs hat". And of course, most importantly, he's quick to give props to anyone he sees wearing Sox gear, which is rather seldom (Tulsa, now Atlanta).

You can send back movies as long as you haven't opened the brown mailer they're sent in. If you're looking to build your collection this is a good deal. Fulfull your membership, quit, then they'll offer you an even better package to rejoin. Repeat until there just aren't any more movies that you want from their selection. I'm not in either club any more just because of the damn directors picks that they send you automatically. I'm just bad about remembering to decline online or by sending the postcard.

That's an impressive amount of history in your blog. You must spend a lot of time on it. Thanks!

I'll disagree and say Chicago is a baseball town. I've been out of the Chicago area for about 12 years and every time I come home I'm surprised by just how much love baseball gets in that city, moreso than any other city I've ever visited. Sure you can say that the Bears were the first in the NFL, but the Sox and Cubs go back atleast another generation. 100+ years of two franchises in the same city tends to create a pretty deep bond, one that 60+ years of football cannot compete with.

Tanqueray Ten..compliments of my sister via Christmas

QUOTE(witesoxfan @ Dec 15, 2006 -> 08:13 PM) They're asking a ton for a young player who has a great bat, good defense, and a great contract. That's not too damn much, that's getting a full return on your product. Chris James is the Braves' equivalent to BMAC. Would you trade Brandon AND prospects for Baldelli? I sure wouldn't. They're asking for too much. They have too many outfielders down in Tampa and unless they learn that no one outside of the Mets are going to overpay for one of their players, they'll continue to have a glut of young stud players sitting on their bunch or getting pissed off because they're still stuck in the minors.

I like the approach, honestly. No pitcher in our rotation would qualify, IMO, as a absolute keeper, in the molds of a Santana, Peavy, Bonderman, Verlander, etc. Because of this, there's nothing wrong with refusing to pay big money to retain our staff. With that said, if this is going to be our new mission and mantra, JR and KW had better find a way to start working with Scott Boras and/or get over the Borchard deal and not hesitate to offer big money to top picks. As Flash loves to point out, we need to do a better job of drafting power pitchers. If we're building with youth in the staff, we need to have a variety of styles of pitchers to choose from, not just a bunch of MBs. I don't know if Kenny is the guy to head up this kind of effort. He and his staff seem more adept at picking vets to complement a team than he does choosing young impact prospects. This is the kind of project that you can't really afford many mistakes. One miscalculation can blow an entire season if you're left with a hole or two in your rotation. This is the part of this that makes me think it's way too early to start "rebuilding" after our championship and such a strong core still in place.

QUOTE(jphat007 @ Dec 5, 2006 -> 06:19 PM) I'm beginning to get the feeling that there are going to be some sad and whiny people by the end of this offseason. If this is any indication of what we can expect in a deal, ya damn right there'll be some whiny people...and I think rightfully so.

QUOTE(Felix @ Dec 5, 2006 -> 04:57 PM) I'm a fan of this proposed deal. why? is rowand, including money in your evaluation, that much of an improvement over Anderson...if at all? Are we really improving in CF? Unless one of the two disappointing prospects are what makes this appealing to you.

that sounds horrible.

QUOTE(Rowand44 @ Dec 5, 2006 -> 03:22 PM) How is Mark streaky? He's had one bad season and that was last year. Mark is younger and has better career numbers, how is Freddy better? When Mark is rolling, he's rolling. When he's struggling, he's struggling...it might be for 2 weeks, it might be for a month, it might be for 3/4 of the season..but he's always come across to me as a streaky pitcher. It's just an observation of mine and I'm not skilled, nor bored enough, to dig through statistics to prove my observation. The context of my statement was built on the premise of a long term deal. I think Freddy, due to the ability and initiative to adjust his game when struggling, is a better candidate and investment for a long term deal. Freddy was a power pitcher, he's got a whole other style to fall back on, namely deception and control. Mark was never a power pitcher and already relies on deception and control. So if, like last season, he loses that control and deception, what does he fall back on? He's got nothing unless he learns a knuckler from Haeger. Edited to add, give me Freddy in a big game over MB. That alone is worth a contract.

IMO, y'all overvalue MB. There's no way in hell I'd offer him 5/65. $15m a year for a guy with so many innings, so dependent on control over stuff, so streaky? I know many will disagree, but I think Freddy is a much better pitcher than MB and I think it'd be a mistake to let Freddy go while signing mark to a 5/65 deal. Neither of them had their best stuff last year but Mark atleast started the season pitching well. When he lost it, he lost it. He was horrible and I saw few adjustments on his part to make things improve. Freddy never had it last season and yet completely adjusted his approach to compensate for his loss of velocity. Hell, he even learned a new pitch which paid instant dividends. When looking at a longterm deal, and a strong possibility of the pitcher losing his "stuff" with age, I want the guy who has the ability to change his style, not a guy who just waits around to get his "stuff" back...especially when that "stuff" was never great to begin with.