Moronotti's latest ramblings...

[UofIChiSox]

I just wish some of the media had the optimist point of view. Our pitching is above where it will probably end up, and our hitting is below, all I ever here is that the pitching will come back to earth, but can't somebody point out that the offense is bound to improve too?

[DBAHO]

I just wish some of the media had the optimist point of view.  Our pitching is above where it will probably end up, and our hitting is below, all I ever here is that the pitching will come back to earth, but can't somebody point out that the offense is bound to improve too?

I believe that would be Phil Rogers.

[southsideirish]

rank 24th in the majors in on-base percentage and -- imagine this -- dead last with a .217 average with runners in scoring position. And that 20 clubs have scored more runs so far. And that their two most accomplished run producers, Paul (.190) Konerko and Jermaine (.202) Dye, really stink right now.

 

All this and they still have the best record in baseball. What happens once they DO start hitting?

[tonyho7476]

"The average Howard Stern fan listens for 45 minutes. Why? they want to know what he'll say next."

"The average Howard Stern hater listens for an hour and a half. Why? They want to know what he'll say next."

 

That quote came to mind when I was writing my reply....its so funny how that works...we hate him, but can't stay away. What's wrong with us?

[kapkomet]

Moroniotti asked the same damn questions that get asked every day here. Who cares?

[SleepyWhiteSox]

I actually thought this was a pretty good article. 

 

This was a good column.

 

 

Did somebody start the weekend off a little early?

[longshot7]

Moroniotti asked the same damn questions that get asked every day here.  Who cares?

 

I agree. I hate him regularly - but he had some good points. My fav:

 

"Sox fans should enjoy it

 

Whatever the explanation, don't confuse this as any attempt to kill the buzz. By all means, Sox fans should enjoy it, embrace it, drool over it, imbibe responsibly and use the slick start as a way of mocking Cubdom. Unlike the Cubs, there are legitimate reasons to think the Sox will contend deep into September."

 

True enough.

[CanOfCorn]

What if we were 7-21? Then Kotex Boy would be all over the Sox for not beating the teams that we SHOULD be beating. This is one of the problems the Sox have had the last couple of years, especially with the Tigers. They've gone 4-1 against most people's pick to win the division and except for Oakland they've won every other series.

 

What if this happened in July? Would there be a difference? I say no!!!

 

It certainly can't be easy writing 5-6 columns a week in addition to being on TV almost every day...but, c'mon, just be consistent.

[White Sox Josh]

I love the fact that everytime he says something good about the Sox, he than has to say something bad about them.

[Milkman delivers]

I love the fact that everytime he says something good about the Sox, he than has to say something bad about them.

 

That's just part of the oath that all Chicago baseball writers have to swear by before they're given jobs.

[JUGGERNAUT]

For Kotex Boy:

WSox(+14), Bal (+9), LAA(+6), Min(+5), Bos (+4), Tor (+3), Tex(+1).

 

The rest of the AL is < .500. Now why should I believe that the WSox will wilt before Tor, Tex this month when they are 4-1 vs Min?

May sched 1: @TOR(3), @TAM(3), vsBAL(3), vsTEX(3), off.

May sched 2: @CHC(3), @LAA(4), @TEX(3), vsLAA(3), off.

 

@TOR(2-1), @TAM(2-1), vsBAL(2-1), vsTEX(2-1) + @CHC(2-1), @LAA(1-3), @TEX(1-2), vs LAA(1-2) : 13-12.

Overall: 34-19 : +15

 

Some impending demise.

 

Let's continue.

vCLE(3), @COL(3), off. @SDP(3), vARZ(3), off, vLAD(3), vKCR(3), off. : 11-7

vCHC(3),off, @DET(3), @OAK(3), vTAM(3), off, vOAK(3) : 9-6

Overall: 54-32 : +22

 

The sky is surely falling. :rolly

[Gene Honda Civic]

The funniest thing about his criticism is the "but who have they played?" dart in the wall.

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/stats/rpi?sortColumn=sos

 

Sure the sox have played a bunch of teams who have a losing record. Their Strength of Schedule ranks just 26th.

 

The Cubs meanwhile, suck, and have a Strength of Schedule of........ Drumroll please.....

 

 

30th. Last in f***ing baseball.

[JUGGERNAUT]

Will the WSox do better than 54-32? I think so.

An amazing stat to go with the 21-7 record is the fact that no one has an OPS > .800. That's taking small ball to the extreme if you ask me.

 

But now enter Frank Thomas in mid Jun (based on his own words stating he will begin rehab in Charlotte next week). That date coincides with the last of the NL games & ready to do battle vs the best of the NLW at the Cell.

 

In his 2002 yr (the yr following major surgery) Thomas had 406AB w

22HR, 24DB, 1TP, 63R, 73RBI, .264A, .364O, .490S, .855OPS.

That would be (+.077) better than any one else on the team right now.

 

When a team is built on pitching & defense & most everyone else is a mid 700 OPS hitter getting a mid 800 OPS hitter is a big deal. It can be the difference in stretching 1 run games to 2 run games.

 

With Thomas:

Pods, Iggy, Everett/Thomas, Thomas/Koney, Koney/Dye, Rowand, AJ, Crede, Uribe

 

Thomas will start at DH more often than Everett. But he will be asked to come off the bench when Everett starts at DH.

 

Everett is benefiting from Iggy's .376O right now. That gives him better pitches to hit. When Dye sits Everett will benefit even more with Thomas hitting behind him.

 

Thomas will likewise benefit from either Iggy or Carl hitting ahead of him.

He's likely to get much better pitches to hit as putting him on to get to Koney is likely going to move a runner into scoring pos.

 

Koney always benefits when Thomas hits ahead of him for that same reason.

 

Dye is the odd man out but when you consider the WSox are paying Everett a million more to play this year than Dye he can't blame them for choosing the better hitter.

 

The big hole in the team is 4-5-6 hitters. When Thomas returns he's going to greatly strengthen that hole. This team will be very tough to beat then.

Shooting for 60 wins before the break is not out of the question.

Edited May 6, 2005 by JUGGERNAUT

[ChWRoCk2]

That's just part of the oath that all Chicago baseball writers have to swear by before they're given jobs.

theirs no oath

[elrockinMT]

This guy is such a jag!

 

 

 

But, wouldn't it stand to reason if the Sox are winning at a .750 clip that they have caused those teams to be losing teams?

 

Plus the fact you have to win YOUR division to make the playoffs so 22-7 (18-4 vrs the Central) equates to the playoffs. I don't have a clue whjat Jay M is trying to prove here.

[greg775]

I like his writing normally, but this time he should give us some praise.

We are off to a good start and could use some positive pub.

I mean he's got a job because of the Chicago sports scene.

The Sox are always the second sisters publicity wise and it's hard enough

to fill our park.

Our great start deserves some homerism publicity.

But he hates Dork and Hawk so he ain't ever gonna praise us.

That does suck. Cause right now our Sox deserve some high praise no matter

the team's deficiencies.

[Jabroni]

I like his writing normally, but this time he should give us some praise.

We are off to a good start and could use some positive pub.

I mean he's got a job because of the Chicago sports scene.

The Sox are always the second sisters publicity wise and it's hard enough

to fill our park.

Our great start deserves some homerism publicity.

But he hates Dork and Hawk so he ain't ever gonna praise us.

That does suck. Cause right now our Sox deserve some high praise no matter

the team's deficiencies.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

:headshake :puke

[GreenSox]

Well, at least he isn't writing latently racist articles anymore, as he did 3 years ago. But is it too much to ask for him to write just one article without carrying on on the obvious agenda?

[TLAK]

I have a theory on why Maryotti, Kruk, Reynolds, Phillips etal don’t know what to make of the White Sox. They really don’t report on baseball, they report on baseball stars. Sort of like these ‘People’ celebrity shows. They tell you everything about an actress’s private life and her gowns but nothing about her work.

 

Garland’s performance has been remarkable, Iguchi’s start is certainly of interest but, on the whole, this is a group of players that are just doing their job everyday. The Sox winning run might come on a ground out in the 5th. They win the game by relentlessly making the plays for 9 innings. ESPN focuses on hero plays, like a walk off homer, to exclusion of the rest of the game.

 

The strength of these White Sox is the rest of the game. Very good baseball, but not so good as a video clip. There is just not a lot of glitter to this team for these guys to grab hold of. No one play where a writer can wax poetic on a given player’s moral fiber. The media doesn’t know how to write about this or condense it into a 20-second clip. So they either skip the Sox or talk about Ozzie.

 

With the White Sox the team is the star, not a couple of guys.

[YASNY]

I have a theory on why Maryotti, Kruk, Reynolds, Phillips etal don’t know what to make of the White Sox.  They really don’t report on baseball, they report on baseball stars.  Sort of like these ‘People’ celebrity shows.  They tell you everything about an actress’s private life and her gowns but nothing about her work.

 

Garland’s performance has been remarkable, Iguchi’s start is certainly of interest but, on the whole, this is a group of players that are just doing their job everyday.  The Sox winning run might come on a ground out in the 5th. They win the game by relentlessly making the plays for 9 innings.  ESPN focuses on hero plays, like a walk off homer, to exclusion of the rest of the game. 

 

The strength of these White Sox is the rest of the game.  Very good baseball, but not so good as a video clip. There is just not a lot of glitter to this team for these guys to grab hold of.  No one play where a writer can wax poetic on a given player’s moral fiber. The media doesn’t know how to write about this or condense it into a 20-second clip. So they either skip the Sox or talk about Ozzie.

 

With the White Sox the team is the star, not a couple of guys.

 

Great job.

[upnorthsox]

I have a theory on why Maryotti, Kruk, Reynolds, Phillips etal don’t know what to make of the White Sox.  They really don’t report on baseball, they report on baseball stars.  Sort of like these ‘People’ celebrity shows.  They tell you everything about an actress’s private life and her gowns but nothing about her work.

 

Garland’s performance has been remarkable, Iguchi’s start is certainly of interest but, on the whole, this is a group of players that are just doing their job everyday.  The Sox winning run might come on a ground out in the 5th. They win the game by relentlessly making the plays for 9 innings.  ESPN focuses on hero plays, like a walk off homer, to exclusion of the rest of the game. 

 

The strength of these White Sox is the rest of the game.  Very good baseball, but not so good as a video clip. There is just not a lot of glitter to this team for these guys to grab hold of.  No one play where a writer can wax poetic on a given player’s moral fiber. The media doesn’t know how to write about this or condense it into a 20-second clip. So they either skip the Sox or talk about Ozzie.

 

With the White Sox the team is the star, not a couple of guys.

 

I think you're spot on with your assessment, there are though guys on this team who can/will carry it from time to time as it's a long season. Personally I hope we don't get the attention that the Yankmees/Red Sox/Scrubs get as that gets pretty boring but I also don't want to "fly under the radar" like some around here suggest either. Just give our highlights/headlines the top/near top billing that a 1st place team deserves and we should be satisfied.

[NUKE_CLEVELAND]

I have a theory on why Maryotti, Kruk, Reynolds, Phillips etal don’t know what to make of the White Sox.  They really don’t report on baseball, they report on baseball stars.  Sort of like these ‘People’ celebrity shows.  They tell you everything about an actress’s private life and her gowns but nothing about her work.

 

Garland’s performance has been remarkable, Iguchi’s start is certainly of interest but, on the whole, this is a group of players that are just doing their job everyday.  The Sox winning run might come on a ground out in the 5th. They win the game by relentlessly making the plays for 9 innings.  ESPN focuses on hero plays, like a walk off homer, to exclusion of the rest of the game. 

 

The strength of these White Sox is the rest of the game.  Very good baseball, but not so good as a video clip. There is just not a lot of glitter to this team for these guys to grab hold of.  No one play where a writer can wax poetic on a given player’s moral fiber. The media doesn’t know how to write about this or condense it into a 20-second clip. So they either skip the Sox or talk about Ozzie.

 

With the White Sox the team is the star, not a couple of guys.

 

That's an excellent theory but I think there's more to it than that.

 

If it was all about "hero" plays then why are the Spanks & Scrubs getting all that attention? Seems to me that they are making all sorts of "Anti-hero" plays lately to snatch a defeat from the jaws of victory ( Latoya's throwaway and Payrods boot come to mind here). I think it has more to do with where they think their fan base lies and that would be on the N. Side and on the Eastern Seaboard. Lately ESPN is spending about 1/4 th 1/2 of their broadcasts whining about why the Spanks are in last place.

Edited May 7, 2005 by NUKE_CLEVELAND

[Milkman delivers]

theirs no oath

 

It was a joke.