DaTank

I really wouldn't want the bastard, drunk, Cub fans at the Cell. This is just one example, some drunk a-hole sliding through the urinals. ***king sick. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfV6Yo2-q0o

QUOTE(knightni @ Feb 27, 2008 -> 05:57 PM) Maybe my memory is fuzzy, but, when did the Cubs play in Soldier Field? I know that the Bears played football at Wrigley, but I'd never heard it the other way around. My bad, it was the Bears that played at Wrigley, not the Cubs at Soldier Field.

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Feb 27, 2008 -> 05:26 PM) ^^^ And this has been a given for a while. Wrigley needs serious work or a rebuild, and the only real alternative is the Cell. Why not Soldier Field, like the good old days?

Well, my friend who is a Cub fan showed this to me. http://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/story/2008/2/26/131925/391 Please don't let this happen. I don't want any Cub scum near U.S. Cellular for an entire year!

QUOTE(iamshack @ Feb 26, 2008 -> 10:36 PM) Tim is usually pretty cool. I've talked with him back and forth several times over the past two years and he is usually happy to answer questions for interested parties. That's awesome. Thanks for your post.

QUOTE(knightni @ Feb 26, 2008 -> 08:47 PM) Why not just email them through the newspapers'/radio station's websites? That's how I got Rongey, Bob Valvano and Jayson Stark. I tried Cowley on Sunday, but no respond. And I just found Rongey and didn't realize who is was at first, and took down his AOL Instant Messenger screen name when I figured out it was him, and it was by far easier. Same with De Luca.

QUOTE(kapkomet @ Feb 26, 2008 -> 08:30 PM) Facebook is a pretty powerful thing, eh? Indeed, it is. Also trying to get Cowley through facebook at the moment.

QUOTE(kapkomet @ Feb 26, 2008 -> 08:24 PM) Hey guy - check your pm's, please. With that said, you're doing a good job with these interviews... when did you conduct them and how, seeing as how they're tied up in AZ a lot? Well, I contacted Chris Rongey on AOL instant messenger, which I got on his facebook, and he was more than happy to help. He won't be going to AZ until about mid-March though. And my interview with Chris De Luca was conducted on facebook, and he was also more than happy to help out.

Chris Rongey is the host of the pre-game and post-game shows for the Chicago White Sox and also the host of "White Sox Weekly" on Saturdays. Enjoy everyone. (edited - will re-edit upon further consideration) - What are your predictions for the White Sox this year? Rongey: As far as the record goes, I think they'll be at least a .500 team, and I don't think that's a stretch to say that. I highly doubt the offense will be the worst in baseball as it was last year, and that bullpen should have improved. Of course you never know how 'pens will perform from year to year, but they should be better. The question is, how will the young starters perform? I think Danks will be ok, and I think Floyd will be better than people think. Contreras is the real key here I believe. It will be an interesting year because the Tigers do not have strong pitching and the Indians have a supsect bullpen. However, both of those offenses are very good. Detroit will have a lot of 9-8 games I think. - Do you think Contreras can return to 05' form? Rongey: My instinct is that he will never be THAT good again, however he can be close to that. We'll see how much of last year was due to the personal problems and his arm soreness last year. If those were his only issues, then he can be good again. If it was that age is taking a toll, than he'll have problems. He doesn't have to be '05 good for this team to compete. And really, what you're talking about is "end of '05 - beginning of '06" good. He doesn't have to be that sharp, just better than last year. - How do you feel about Ozzie Guillen's reinvented bad ass attitude? Rongey: That's funny. Well I don't think he's going to be much different this year than he was last year. Maybe the difference hes talking about is how he behaved to his players behind closed doors. I don't mind his attitude and I think that many of the players respond to that. What's unfortunate is that some of the thing she says publicly are note always the smartest things to say. What most people don't realize is that he is not an idiot. He is VERY baseball smart and has a tremendous understanding of the game. I think that he doesn't' always have the easiest time expressing himself in English which appears to people that he doesn't know what he's talking about but trust me, he's not stupid. - Also, what do you think about Kenny Williams apparently screaming at Nick Swisher to hustle? Rongey: I kind of think that's funny too. Listen, these guys aren't babies. They're adult Major Leaguers and he is certainly not the kind of guy that has a hard time with criticism. They want a different attitude from the players this spring which hopefully will carry over into the season. I have no problem with that. Kenny is a salty guy, but he expects a lot from the players. Why shouldn't he? - What do you think about Bobby Jenks' future, with and without the team? Rongey: I guess there's always a chance that a hard throwing guy like Jenks could have injury problems in the future, but I think he has decent mechanics which should limit that. If he does what he did last season on a consistent basis than he will get more all-star nods in the future. For now though, he's one of the better closers in the game which is more than can be said for many teams in baseball...including the Tigers and Indians. - What do you think about the White Sox' offseason moves? Which did you like and which didn't you like? Rongey: I didn't have a problem with any of the moves made this offseason and let's start with Uribe. This one seems to tick off a lot of fans, but let's make this perfectly clear: at the time, THEY HAD NO CHOICE. They had a deadline and they had to either sign him or let him go, and they had to make a decision RIGHT THEN. At this time, you don't know if you'll be able to land a better option at SS. So, the dumb thing for Kenny to have done at that time would've been to let him go with no real contingency plan. Because if he walks, and they can't get someone like Cabrera, then they have nothing and they're screwed. It was the only thing to do at the time. Plus, if you're negotiating with a team to make a trade for a SS or a free agent to sign and they know you don't have any other options, they will take you to the cleaners. It's all about negotiating power. At least then, Kenny could say "fine, if you don't want to deal with us, we still have a SS on our club." If he doesn't have Uribe, than maybe Cabrera costs him Garland PLUS a prospect. Linebrink and Dotel are good pickups and maybe he overpaid, but it's better than doing nothing. It's not as if these guys are bums. They're proven relievers. We'll see how they do now, but they should help a lot. And it's not like we're talking about 5 year deals for $90 mil. Maybe they'll blow up, but they shouldn't. Linebrink was as good away from Petco as he was at home. He had a bad month with Milwaukee which is amplified by the fact EVERYONE in Chicago was paying attention to the Brewers at the time because of the Cubs run. And Swisher is a good deal for now and the future. He's proven, he's young and he's a good player. I hate to see Gio and Fautino go because I wanted to see how they pan out. But the keywords are "pan out". It would have been fun to watch them develop but there is no guarantee they'll do anything significant in the Majors. The upside is there, but the guarantee is not. You already know what Swisher can do and you have him for 5 years if you want him. Even if the two pitchers turn out to be MLB contributors, it does not mean this was a bad deal for the Sox. Deals can be good for both teams and this one is. Swisher is entering his prime and his offensive numbers should spike in this park. And I hate to see Garland go, but the reality is that he likely wouldn't have signed here after this season. You can't afford to have more than 3 well payed starters on your team...at some point, you have to turn it over to the youngsters. That's how all teams do it. Some fans act as if they let Garland go and Uribe was still playing SS. Folks, they got an All Star, Gold Glove shortstop in return. It's not like they got Rey Ordonez. Cabrera makes them better.

QUOTE(The Critic @ Feb 26, 2008 -> 07:05 PM) Good luck trying to get THAT GUY to talk! Oh i know. lol I'm doing an interview right now with Chris Rongey, The Score's pre-game and post-game host. Should be posting that in a bit.

I'm also trying to get interviews from Tim from MLBTR and his crew, Ozzie Guillen, yes Ozzie Guillen, Joe Cowley and Scott Merkin. If and when I get responses I'll post them on here as well.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Feb 26, 2008 -> 05:23 PM) He responds to my emails as well, in fact we have had some battles on there, with him coming up short on evidence, but its nice nonetheless that he responds. Good post dude, apprecitate the info. No problem, glad you like it.

Well, I did this interview, via facebook, with Chris De Luca of the Chicago Sun-Times. He is a very nice guy and responded to my message to him within about 12 hours. I was surprised really, that he'd take time to do an interview for my tiny website and I thought you guys might like it as well. Enjoy. - What are your predictions for the White Sox this year? How about the Cubs? De Luca: I think the White Sox will surprise people. They could finish second in that division. Much depends on a suspect rotation. They will hit better (though I said that every month last season). The Cubs should win the Central. If they stay healthy (and if they can swing the Brian Roberts deal), they could reach the World Series. - Who do you see winning each division in both the AL and NL? De Luca: This could change between now and the end of camp. As of now ... AL East: Red Sox AL Central: Tigers AL West: Angels AL wild card: Yankees NL East: Mets NL Central: Cubs NL West: Diamondbacks NL wild card: Dodgers - Who are your dark horse teams? De Luca: In each league, I would pick the Astros and the Rangers. The Sox could also be that darkhorse team (they have enough talent). - Have any Cy Young predictions? De Luca: NL: Santana - AL: Lackey - Do you think Johan Santana will have as big of an impact on the Mets as many people think he will? De Luca: I do. I think the change of leagues will benefit him. Some players believed AL teams were starting to get a book on him. - How did you get started as a journalist? How was the competition while applying for the job? De Luca: I started covering high school sports for the Sacramento Bee a year out of high school. Been in the business ever since. I started covering major-league baseball in 1986 as a backup beat reporter covering the Padres for the Los Angeles Times. - How do you like working for the Sun-Times? De Luca: Great. Working in a two-team city means there is a game in town just about every night. And it's nice to see both leagues on a regular basis. They give me a lot of freedom at the Sun-Times. I have zero complaints. - Finally, Sox or Cubs? De Luca: My job doesn't allow me to be a fan of either team. I root for good stories. It was a good story when the Sox won the World Series in 2005, and it was a good story when they unraveled in 2007. Same for Cubs. Great story in 2003. Just as good of a story in 2004. The worst thing is to cover a boring team that clearly has no shot by June.