Darren Posted September 23, 2005 Share Posted September 23, 2005 You know what, the last time I looked the baseball season was 162 games, and at this point they haven't all been played yet. For all the idiots that are saying that "Ozzieball" doesn't work, then explain to me how the White Sox have the best record in the AL and the 2nd best record in the major leagues. Obviously what Ozzie has been doing this year HAS been working. Has it been a really rough stretch? Sure, there's no doubt about it. Is it all over? Not by a long shot. The real problem the Sox are having is that the Indians have gotten red hot. They've got the third best record in the majors. For everyone that says the American League Central isn't the toughest division in baseball I want you to explain how that's the case. The Indians would be leading the West or the East if they were in those divisions. But still, the Sox have a better record at this point, and it's still their ballgame to win or lose. Anyone that watches baseball knows teams go through slumps, it's just the nature of the beast. I mean think about it, if the Sox would have had this slump early on and closed a 15 game lead on the Indians we'd be singing their praises. Both the Sox and Indians could have the same records and the fans outlook would be totally different. Like I said, it's a 162 game season, and as Ozzie said all along every game is important. The Sox won a ton of games early on, and I believe the team can get it kicked back into gear heading into the post season. I think the problem is they're just not having fun anymore. We all know the pressure can get to a team, and it's time the Sox just forgot about the playoffs and ignored the 30,000 people that boo when they lose a game and just go out and have fun. It pisses me off to hear these fans boo a team that has the best record in the league. It shows just how freakin' ignorant they are. At the start of the season pretty much every baseball analyst had the Sox playing in the cellar with KC. The Sox are NOT in the cellar. They're the team with the best record in the league, and if their fans are going to boo them when they have that record than I don't think the Sox fans deserve a post season to watch in Chicago. These guys have given us a great season, and they still have the opportunity to give us a lot more. Go out to the park the next three days. Cheer, don't boo. Give them the mystical positive vibe that seems to be so important in the game of baseball. The Sox can win the division. They just need to get back to the basics. They're a running team, they need to run. I don't care if Pods gets thrown out 3 out of 4 times, I want to see him running when he's on base. The team that won all those games early on was aggressive, both on the bases and with their pitching. They've gotten away from that, but there's no reason they can't flip the switch and get it going again. There's not a position player that I'd really want to see replaced at this point. Carl Everett needs to step up and be the big game player he once was and give the offense a boost. The pitchers need to throw inside more often. Their game is pitching, defense and speed. If they get back to that now it can still be a fun ride through October. -Darren Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid Gleason Posted September 23, 2005 Share Posted September 23, 2005 It's not the Indians that made us play under .500 ball after the break. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Critic Posted September 23, 2005 Share Posted September 23, 2005 MMMMMMM......Kooooooool Aiiiiiiiiiiiiid.......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JimH Posted September 23, 2005 Share Posted September 23, 2005 I agree that Sox pitchers have not been pounding hitters inside, that's been a problem. Williams is right when he says there's no excuse for letting Hafner beat them over and over. Confident teams find a way to pull that game out of the fire last nite. It is very hard to do (just look at this website for a good example) but they need to put last nite behind them and come out stoked and confident tonight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darren Posted September 23, 2005 Author Share Posted September 23, 2005 QUOTE(Kid Gleason @ Sep 23, 2005 -> 09:42 AM) It's not the Indians that made us play under .500 ball after the break. Hmm, the last time I checked the season doesn't end at the All-Star break and a new one begin. It's the overall results that count. At this point the overall results are still better than anyone else in the league. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darren Posted September 23, 2005 Author Share Posted September 23, 2005 QUOTE(The Critic @ Sep 23, 2005 -> 09:46 AM) MMMMMMM......Kooooooool Aiiiiiiiiiiiiid.......... No Kool Aid drinkin' here bubba. The Sox are on one crappy looking skid, but the fact is their domination of the game early on still has them in a better position than anyone else in the AL. If they'd have lost a key player or something like in years past I could almost understand people wanting to throw themselves under a bus, but this is the same team that won all those games early. Baseball is a streaky game, they could win every game from here on out, that's why you play them all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BabyJesus69 Posted September 23, 2005 Share Posted September 23, 2005 QUOTE(Darren @ Sep 23, 2005 -> 11:54 AM) Hmm, the last time I checked the season doesn't end at the All-Star break and a new one begin. It's the overall results that count. At this point the overall results are still better than anyone else in the league. anybody with a head on his/her shoulders would realize that the overall result is not what's important when you're making a playoff push, or in our case- NOT making a playoff push. we're folding when it counts, and we're playing afwul fundamental baseball. on nights we pitch well, we can't move a runner over and play D. on nights we hit well, we can't pitch. good teams find ways to win, we find new ways to lose every night Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Critic Posted September 23, 2005 Share Posted September 23, 2005 QUOTE(Darren @ Sep 23, 2005 -> 09:57 AM) No Kool Aid drinkin' here bubba. The Sox are on one crappy looking skid, but the fact is their domination of the game early on still has them in a better position than anyone else in the AL. If they'd have lost a key player or something like in years past I could almost understand people wanting to throw themselves under a bus, but this is the same team that won all those games early. Baseball is a streaky game, they could win every game from here on out, that's why you play them all. When your April and May are chock full o' KC, Detroit and Tampa Bay games, that "early domination" is a bit deceiving. Add to that the fact that Cleveland was playing like s*** early and the deceptive dominance continued. And it's NOT the same team that won all those early games. They're the same players, but the performance and results are obviously nowhere near the same. Consider the injury to Podsednik and Thomas, the virtual disappearance of Carl Everett and the absolute mediocrity of the starting rotation minus Contreras since the All-Star break, and the Sox are right where they deserve to be. They're not as bad as they seem now, but they're not as good as they seemed early on. I've seen nothing from this offense that suggests they could win out. Can they? Sure, it's possible. Would I love to see it? Absolutely. Will it happen? HIGHLY unlikely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DBAHO Posted September 23, 2005 Share Posted September 23, 2005 QUOTE(JimH @ Sep 24, 2005 -> 01:48 AM) I agree that Sox pitchers have not been pounding hitters inside, that's been a problem. Williams is right when he says there's no excuse for letting Hafner beat them over and over. Confident teams find a way to pull that game out of the fire last nite. It is very hard to do (just look at this website for a good example) but they need to put last nite behind them and come out stoked and confident tonight. I saw one inning from B-Mac yesterday, the 8th. He pitched inside, and he had great success. Other pitchers like Buerhle have to take note of that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balta1701 Posted September 23, 2005 Share Posted September 23, 2005 Buehrle's problem, and Hawk's called this one repeatedly, seems to be that he's tipping his changeup. His mechanics are off. People know when his changeup is coming too soon, and they're hitting both the change and the fastball because of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LVSoxFan Posted September 23, 2005 Share Posted September 23, 2005 QUOTE(The Critic @ Sep 23, 2005 -> 09:46 AM) MMMMMMM......Kooooooool Aiiiiiiiiiiiiid.......... LMAO! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonkeyKongerko Posted September 23, 2005 Share Posted September 23, 2005 Buehrle does seem to be either tipping or hanging his changeup alot lately. His effectiveness as a pitcher plummets when that happens because hitters can sit on his fastball and still be able to react to his changeup without missing it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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