kitekrazy

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jul 15, 2012 -> 10:21 AM) http://fancostexperience.com/pages/fcx/fci_pdfs/8.pdf However, when you look at the fall of nearly 30% in the average ticket price, I'm going to call BS on that one, with the dynamic pricing. Parking is 4th most expensive in the majors. Very surprised to see the Tigers, Twins, Cardinals and even the Astros ahead of us. Of the top teams, the White Sox had the biggest decrease of -13.8% (overall FCI), with the Dodgers at roughly -10%. That said, some of our season ticket holders and regular attendees and stub hub/dynamic ticket buyers probably have their own opinions on whether there legitimately has been such a marked decrease across-the-board. Seems like a bit of an accounting trick. And, by the way, the Marlins are in BIG trouble. Looking at those markets and/or teams, very surprised to see the Rangers, Braves, Angels, Padres and Diamondbacks all relatively affordable. Kansas City you can understand their increases because of the All-Star game and hype coming into 2012. Rockies, also in big-time trouble after having raised prices significantly. More like extreme BS. Brooks probably cane up with that propaganda.

QUOTE (soxmaniac! @ Jul 15, 2012 -> 04:05 PM) we lose this game 3-2 with ozzie Yawn.

QUOTE (kapzk @ Jul 15, 2012 -> 03:52 PM) Sox gotta away with the curveball call Mark it on the calendar. They don't get too many of those.

My hope is that someday they own teams like the Royals.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Jul 11, 2012 -> 10:06 AM) What matters is the major league team, not who was drafted and who is fumbling around in the minors. And more often than not, Ozzie was given some really good teams that never played up to potential. I don't know about that. There is no accurate measurement of manager vs. player in that scenario. Maybe that was their potential. I guess if teams that had similar stats other than wins were in the post season, I can see that. I think it's real easy to blame everything on Ozzie that the team is doing well. The difference is there was no high expectations for the 2012 Sox.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jul 11, 2012 -> 10:03 AM) But look at all the players who KW was part of drafting that were hybrid baseball/football players or never taught how to play the game fundamentally well... You can blame it on the minor league staff, but drafting athletes and turning them into baseball players hasn't worked on the position player side. Beckham was supposed to be a "pure/natural/instinctive baseball player" and look where we're at with him. It's like he is either listening too much to others or he won't listen enough and he's stubborn, because you can't have a 15 homer guy striking out 150 times per season and not hitting well with RISP or advancing runners professionally. We've proven we can find pitching talent. And maybe Viciedo will become an All-Star. And maybe Hawkins or Barnum will make it, but we've always done better finding guys like Quentin and DeAza when they're with other organizations. It is fitting that Youkilis kind of represents something we've never been able to produce ourselves. High OBP. Patience. Ability to professionally work an at-bat and extend it. Clutch hitter. Granted, there aren't that many Youkilises out there...but it's almost like Morel was the anti-Youkilis in terms of patience and drawing walks. And yeah, we might produce a "grindy" infielder like an Aaron Miles or Chris Getz from time to time, but they're not impact players. And while a LOT of teams missed on Trout, it's ironic that we picked the high risk/high reward guy in Mitchell instead. (At least Mitchell's proven he can take a walk in 2012, there's that.) I like this post.

QUOTE (GreatScott82 @ Jul 13, 2012 -> 09:12 AM) Hamels and Grienke will cost a great package of prospects. We do not have those prospects. I think Dempster is the best fit. However, I think Brandon McCarthy can help us out along the way as well. Wouldn't that be something? Danks is out so we bring in the pitcher we traded him for to help us get in the playoffs I think the Sox will get outbid on Dempster as well.

It looks like all 3 day games are blacked out at MLB. I wanted to watch Mets and Braves and a possible Tiger loss.

Don't worry, Coop will fix him.

QUOTE (IlliniKrush @ Jul 10, 2012 -> 11:29 PM) Since the difference in the leagues is the DH, I don't get this sentence. Correct. Get this "pure baseball" s*** out of here. Pitchers don't practice hitting, don't give a s*** about hitting, and it's a joke at bat 99% of the time. Oh yay, he can bunt since there is a guy on! What great baseball strategy this is. How entertaining. It's just an automatic out and the strategy is working around everyone in front to get to the dead spot to end the inning and get out of a jam. That's just not quality baseball. Zambrano worked on his hitting. Zack Grienke is one of the best bunters in baseball. The Brewers actually used him to PH because he could lay down a bunt.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jul 10, 2012 -> 06:40 PM) Plus for the games played in the NL stadium, the fans of the NL team will get to see the DH on the AL team play (which is a plus if said DH is a star). I like the idea. On a sidenote, despite being a fan of the AL, I prefer the rules of the NL (pitcher hitting). Same here. It adds another element to managing. Some AL teams put a lot of financial resources in the position of DH.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jul 11, 2012 -> 12:26 AM) Can't sneak anything by you. FUN FACT OF THE DAY: At the All-Star break, Dunn, Konerko, Pierzynski, Rios, and Viciedo have combined to hit more home runs than the entire Miami Marlins team. Oh, and just to further prove that Ozzie is a brilliant manager and not some idiot who is the constant force behind all of his teams underachieving, HOW DO YOU EXPLAIN THAT THE MARLINS RECORD IS 41-44 BUT THEIR PYTHAGOREAN W-L IS 37-48? OZZIE THATS WHO The most hilarious piece of all of this is that the Marlins are in the first year of their new stadium, and they are 12th out of the 16 NL teams in attendance. and just so I can sneak one in...Ozzie is a terrible manager who should quit at the end of this year because of how ridiculously poorly he has managed that club. If you gave that team to about 29 different active managers and 10-15 retired managers, they'd be over .500. Hell, they may as well name Joey Cora the manager because it seems like he's doing all the work anyways. VIVA LA OZZIE! Sounds like they moved up. Who was the brain child that thought Miami would be a good place for a baseball team. The Dolphins rarely sold out during the Marino era. My dad use to go there after Christmas and would walk up to the booth to buy a playoff ticket.

QUOTE (southsideirish71 @ Jul 10, 2012 -> 09:57 PM) Nice to see Fernando represents with his hat cocked just like white suburban kids all over the US. I wonder if there are other reason for that. Too bad the worst commissioner in professional sports doesn't have a uniform policy.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Jul 11, 2012 -> 12:34 AM) False. I was in a pool of my blood because it sliced my chin open. Edit: For example, when I came to, my hand was red, my contacts had popped out from impact, and the ER thought my spine might be broken. I wasn't driving. I was outside. Wasn't there a former Bear player who died recently having a seizure while driving?

QUOTE (pittshoganerkoff @ Jul 10, 2012 -> 07:36 AM) I think the one thing we're overlooking here is that Dunn did not say his son's condition caused his abysmal season. Nor does the article say that. And I didn't read anywhere that the condition was recently diagnosed. It sounds more like there were many things that affected his performance, and this may have been just a small part of it. A new league, a new position. That's how the Big Hurt summed it up. I think it's big difference being out in the field and you see the ball more which means you see it better instead of being on a bench all day waiting your turn. When Luzinski signed with the Sox he had a TV so he could see the opposing pitcher in between episode of Victory at Sea. I still think it's tougher to go from the NL to the AL as a hitter. Pujols hasn't been tearing up the AL.

QUOTE (Iwritecode @ Jul 10, 2012 -> 01:46 PM) Off the main topic but I figured this out just this year. A student can fail the majority of their classes, take 21 half-days of summer school reviewing reading, writing and math (even if those aren't the subjects the student struggled with) and the school considers them prepared for the next grade level. That's so they won't damage their self esteem. For high school kids that are labeled "at risk" is so they don't drop out.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Jul 10, 2012 -> 09:25 AM) Good point. 0.05% of the workforce is allowed to work as horribly as Dunn did and keep their high-paying jobs, so it's OK then. Those are usually the one's getting government bailouts or union workers. It's the needle in the haystack people try to make into the norm. BTW his son has epilepsy and people treat the story like he has cancer. With kids it becomes a trial and error medical treatment. Dad makes some good money so the kid probably has some good medical care. What makes it tough is dad doesn't come home after an 8 hour shift. I had two friend in college with this condition. One was a room mate. I witnessed both of them having seizures. They're aren't usually in too much danger unless they operate a vehicle.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Jul 10, 2012 -> 01:14 PM) Did a managerial change help? Yes, by virtue of having a new manager, and also by extension having a new hitting coach. However, the managerial change has overshadowed some other major influences: Dunn's turnaround may be at least somewhat, if not mostly due to personal issues Peavy's turnaround is mostly due to being healthier. Sale and Viciedo have gotten a year older and grown into their new roles. Youkilis was brought in because of two injuries--his own, that made him expendable in Boston, and Morel's, which forced a move that may or may not have otherwise been made. Rios' turnaround may or may not be related to a new manager and/or hitting coach, but he's also been very up and down throughout his entire career. Injury to Danks gave Quintana a chance he might otherwise have never had. I'm not saying Robin isn't doing a great job--he is, but he's benefited a lot from player development within the organization and some dumb luck injuries. I thought that the benefit of having Ventura is he adds an extra set of eyes for a hitting coach. Those hitting coaches can miss a lot of things after being with players for so long. Walker did not have this advantage. Ozzie and Cora were glove guys. Even under Ozzie the Sox were some of the best fielding teams. I also believe the success is due to more teams being bad. After the way Detroit finished last season you would think there wouldn't be a division race this year. The Twins are getting to the level of Cub bad. Two of the important pieces last season weren't even mediocre. You have Peavy back to form, Dunn driving in runs, Rios having a decent year. Those things add up tremendously. If that existed last year they might have won the division. As much as people don't like to hear it on this site, journalists outside of Chicago gave Ozzie credit for having the team still in the race that long with some unproductive big name players. I hope this doesn't escalate into an Ozzie vs. Ventura thread. I still think the Tigers are going to take the division. The Sox had to rely on a lot of youth for success. Who knows how that will pan out when there is a lot more pressure. Sale and Quintana have out performed Danks and Floyd. That's not a good thing. I just think the veteran Tigers are going to beat the kids this year. If it turns out that way I won't be too disappointed. We are seeing achieving instead of the usual under achieving. You are not turning the TV off after the 7th thinking it's an automatic loss when they are down. I think with guys like Dunn and Rios performing better it takes some pressure off guys like Beckham. Alexi seems to have lost some power but he has made some key hits.

Too bad there weren't any Carol Burnette reruns on. All Star game=yawn.

QUOTE (59th street @ Jul 10, 2012 -> 09:36 PM) That show is unwatchable. Every time I gave it another try it is worse than before. They feature the most uninformed and annoying dopes in Chicago media: D Kaplan, P. Rogers, T. Hollandsworth, G. Offman, P. Sullivan, H. Arkush. UGH! Each and everyone a dumbass cub apologist. It is hard to believe but that show makes Chicago spots radio almost worth listening to; almost. I remember the use to be a show called Sports Writers one of them was Gleason and some other old guys. They always made the younger guys (Morrisey?) look like a dope. Those guys new their stuff. I miss having journalists do commentary. Now it's ex jocks.

QUOTE (southsideirish71 @ Jul 9, 2012 -> 12:08 PM) I still remember how butt hurt Chris Berman was during the Whitesox/Redsox divisional series in 2005. If he could of wept openly he would of. That was the last time I ever watched Berman. He basically failed to do his job as an announcer and cemented how biased ESPN is towards NY and Boston.

QUOTE (Swingandalongonetoleft @ Jul 9, 2012 -> 05:27 PM) It's things like this that make you think twice before tearing into athletes. It's hard to check yourself before uncorking choice words in the direction of an athlete who's sucking 100% of the time because that's a natural reaction to have in sports, but I try to simmer down and look at things from a wider perspective. In the grand scheme of things it looks dumb as hell to get worked up over people playing a game. *edit* None of the above applies to Josh Hamilton, I just really don't like the dude. Too bad employees can't say this kind of stuff to their boss when they are getting yelled at.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jul 9, 2012 -> 05:58 PM) Don't Boers and Bernstein basically hate Phil Rogers and always pick on him? They pick on everybody. They never fail to bring him up when he writes something stupid.

QUOTE (soxfan49 @ Jul 9, 2012 -> 05:17 PM) I'm thinking about emailing this senile Cubbie fan to tell him how wrong and how big of a dope he is. No need to do that. Just go to the website and read the comments.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Jul 9, 2012 -> 01:11 PM) You had to be there. It was a shake your head, what the f*** is going on here atmosphere. They booed Self unmercifully each time at bat. It was stupid and out of place at an event like that. And the booing of Cassel was sickening. Again, just the mention of "Kansas City" should have brought out polite cheers. I blame it on the Internet age. Everybody hates everybody. It was ridiculous booing of the local people involved in the game. And booing Sweeney? WTF? These people are f***ing insane out here. They hate everybody. Booing does not = hate.