kitekrazy

QUOTE (danman31 @ Aug 15, 2010 -> 03:09 PM) It's hard to watch Sale and think starter though. That delivery screams extreme lefty/righty splits. I know he is supposed to have the change to overcome that, but it looks so odd. Are you thinking this is a guy who will have arm problems later down the road ala Kerry Wood?

QUOTE (fathom @ Aug 15, 2010 -> 03:02 PM) Isn't that all you need when you have a good offense though? Not for the post season when other teams have both pitching and hitting.

QUOTE (fathom @ Aug 15, 2010 -> 02:52 PM) The pull baseball approach has been awful the last two weeks. Some pathetic at bats with RISP as well. It's always been this way. Is it Walker's fault? The organization's? or the type of players Kenny acquires?

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Aug 15, 2010 -> 02:50 PM) So do the Twins. They might never have him again. Yeah but somehow those losses never seem to hurt them as much. I predicted suckdom for them when they got rid of Santana. Didn't pan out like I thought.

QUOTE (elrockinMT @ Aug 15, 2010 -> 02:47 PM) What kind of production have we gotten out o the DH spot by committee? We need a real DH IMO- oh wait he plays for Minny Yeah I wish we had Morneau too.

QUOTE (elrockinMT @ Aug 15, 2010 -> 02:44 PM) Wel Quentin can hit it too, but I know what you are saying. But, this singles stuff is what Ozzie wanted isn't it? Yeah we need to go back getting only 3 runs on 3 homers and still lose games.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Aug 15, 2010 -> 02:42 PM) So, 3 back of the Twins coming into a 3 game series in Minny. Basically, we play like we usually do in Minny and that's the division. Maybe they can miraculously duplicate that 25 out of 30 winning streak.

QUOTE (fathom @ Aug 15, 2010 -> 02:27 PM) Twins up 1-0 after 4 1/2 innings. A's offense absolutely pathetic in this series. We can relate to that.

QUOTE (fathom @ Aug 15, 2010 -> 02:14 PM) Get someone up in the pen, Garcia simply doesn't have the stuff to get thru the order a 2nd time lately. Looks like Garcia was the pitcher we needed a replacement for, and not Hudson. Watching The Club, it was obvious there were members of the organization that could see this coming. it's now become too obvious

They should keep him and pay his value. What good is it to trade good players, especially a starter, other than having a good farm system every year?

QUOTE (Chet Kincaid @ Aug 6, 2010 -> 01:58 PM) Everybody keeps talking about how the Royals farm system is stacked. That scares the hell outta me. But when is it going to turn into winning baseball games?

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Aug 6, 2010 -> 07:56 AM) You can make some legit complaints about keeping guys in the minors for too long...but really, there's a lot to like with how they've operated this season. Their minors suddenly look nearly loaded with talented guys They signed guys who blocked their young players...then dealt those guys for additional youth They held onto the guys under their control and waited for a great offer (Which they didn't get). Legitimately they need to start looking to move Greinke this offseason or next season. He's pretty good at getting Kenny to bite on guys he wants to cast off.

Other than win the division and one and done in the post season. They've lost a lot of good players and yet come back every season to some degree. I read this: http://www.startribune.com/sports/twins/blogs/98233404.html With the bases loaded, however, the team OPS is .593. For perspective, Nick Punto has an OPS of .625. One year they had almost a .280 average with 2 outs, best in the majors. It's obvious that the Sox station to station baseball always choked even when Maggs and Frank were in the lineup. I think this year's team was set up to be more competitive against the Twins. Just what is it that they do that makes them more successful than this team? Is it always luck? Is it organizational philosophy? What?

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Aug 12, 2010 -> 12:47 PM) Judging by what was said in the reality show, it sounds like they have zero confidence in Freddy. They really felt that the Jackson move was as much for Hudson being a question, as it was for Freddy being one. The term "reality show" is an oxymoron.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Aug 15, 2010 -> 11:50 AM) I can't figure this out...how does the catcher lose the count, esp. on a 3 ball count? Isn't pitch calling heavily dependent on the count? I went to a game when Wayne Nordhagen was the catcher and he would forget when there were men on base.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Aug 14, 2010 -> 11:15 PM) Torii Hunter, I don't like guessing about his health the final years of that contract, but he's a born leader. I would have been "okay" with either Hunter and now Rios. You're overpaying for both, but not by huge amounts. Just wait. Kenny will acquire him on the basis of because "he always wanted him".

I'm glad Fukadome wanted to be a Cub and played for less money than Kenny offered him.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Aug 14, 2010 -> 09:18 PM) It's amazing how well Thome would have worked with the rotating DH. It really is. It's EXACTLY what they wanted in terms of giving them the chance to give extra rest to the guys in the lineup. That wasn't his choice. If his demands were to be a full time DH, he'd be outta baseball. There's one guy right now sitting at home because he thinks he can still play the outfield.

QUOTE (southsideirish71 @ Aug 14, 2010 -> 09:02 PM) The offense blew the Orioles series. Some of the worst pitchers in the game and we pretty much looked like it was Cy Young in his prime. Sure Putz blew the game tonight, he had the lead and coughed it up. He gets the L. But it is a bit myopic not to see the elephant in the room with what our offense has been doing a lot this year. I know it would have been better if the Sox were up by 4 runs but still the reason teams have closers is when they are up 8-7. When you have a guy like Thornton as a setiup man, you should have much better chances of winning a 2-1 game than most teams. He has choked twice now in the same week. I've read from fans from this site how the position of the closer is over rated. Anyone can do it. Any good team will stop hitting but all this guy had to do was get 3 outs. You still have to win those 1 run games.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Aug 14, 2010 -> 08:49 PM) I don't even want to bother. If you've watched this team this year and haven't seen the gaping hole in left side offensive production, and at the same time you've watched the Twins and seen how ridiculously effective he's been as a part time DH...then you've been closing your eyes during too many games. Of course, if you closed your eyes during every Sox offensive appearance the last few weeks, you'd be in a better mood than many of us. Maybe you should have watched last year as well. Your theory assumes he would be just as effective for the Sox. Your Thome envy ruins any baseball sense you could have. Go back to watching more Twins baseball and you might see another side to this.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Aug 14, 2010 -> 08:48 PM) Like what? He hits into too many shifts? He strikes out too much? He's too slow? He can't play anything but DH? Some of those are legit, like the non-versatility thing, but when you have a run-scoring challenged offense to begin with, who cares? Exactly. This team will always have scoring challenges because they think of nothing but swing for the fences unless you are Jaun Pierre. The roster has changed but you still see the same lame hitting like last year and Thome was part of that.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Aug 14, 2010 -> 08:25 PM) Really...right now is when the stupid, stupid Thome decision is hurting. You act as Thome never had hitting slumps. If you are not a member of this Jim Thome fan club there's a lot of logic on why he's not here.

We noticed that Putz was taking too much time between pitches. I was about to fall asleep. Maybe his tactic was to put hitters through an unbearable sense of boredom so they would swing away at everything.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Aug 14, 2010 -> 08:28 PM) Good article! I can't believe some of the Oz haters are overlooking the reason we lost tonight's f***ing game. We led 2-1 in the ninth, folks!!! Yes, the baseball IQ is starting to decline here as well. Shouldn't we go back to blaming Walker for the anemic hitting and Coop for the pen wetting their pants?

QUOTE (mcgrad70 @ Aug 14, 2010 -> 08:04 PM) Jackson's best inning was his last. I am sick and tired of Guillen and his dumbass formula managing of the bullpen. When starters are pitching like that, they deserve to finish what they start. Pitch counts be damned. This is getting bad when fans have to blame everything on Ozzie. Everyone on the team hasn't ruined their moment to be unclutch. This post would be more predictable if Jackson stayed in and lost. I'm bored of the blame Kotsay/Ozzie routines. It's pretty simple. Ozzie sent a guy in to do a job most fans believe would be better than Jenks. He failed. End of story. Shoulda, woulda, coulda.