Is it time to panic yet?

[elrockinMT]

We have had four injuries and a 5th starter that can't seemto get to the 5th inning and an offense sputtering again but we are still one game ahead in the standings.Frustrating that we can't seem to put this away, but let's hang in there with the team

[Steve9347]

Yesterday was a TERRIBLE day for the White Sox, but losing Konerko for a few games (or the season) shouldn't end us. How brilliant does that Junior trade look now?

 

Give me this lineup.

 

SS Cabrera

2B Ramirez

RF Dye

DH Thome

LF Junior

C Pierzynski

1B Swisher

3B Uribe 70 Fields 30

CF Anderson/Wise LR platoon

[CanOfCorn]

Sometimes...addition by subtraction is a good thing.

[chiguy79]

I am officially panicking, after watching the team unable to execute at all in Game 1 and then play a very poor 2nd game last night with Halladay coming up is just not a good situation.

 

Throw in the myriad of injuries and we have serious issues.

 

That being said, I still want to win the division but expectations have been lowered dramatically.

[letsgoarow]

Sometimes...addition by subtraction is a good thing.

 

Paulie has been great the last month or so...

[LVSoxFan]

I'm going to be the surprising optimist here and ask: panic about what?

 

We have no business being in first place in this division, this late. On paper, from the beginning, our HR-addicted team seemed destined to be a 3rd or 4th place finisher behind Detroit and Cleveland, not to mention possibly Minnesota.

 

And here we are on 9/10 in first place? Amazing.

 

I have no illusions on how far we'll go but I'll be the first to admit I can't believe we're still in it. Enjoy it. We shouldn't be here, but we are. And if we do by some act of God get into playoffs, who knows?

 

Tampa Bay seemed unbeatable and now they're barely holding off Boston. Who knows what could happen?

 

I'm just enjoying it as it goes on.

[Princess Dye]

All depends what you want from this year.

 

Some people will take a shouldnt-be-in-it-year and adapt very quickly and want the WS. It's your right.

 

 

 

I still think we'll all look back on this year as a positive, either way... because we went from being old and decrepit to having two budding young hitters come about, and two promising young pitchers come about.

 

 

Now we just need to make the right moves w/ an old guy or two to get in good position for next year.... oops i typed one sentence too many. I'm not giving up but i'm more of the along for the ride crew at this point, b/c i felt i've always been that

[Cali]

Both the Twins and White Sox are really inconsistent. Neither have run away with the division even though both have had chances to. So I'm not panicking. The division race is gonna be the close all the way until the end of the season. Hopefully the Sox wind up on top and can get hot at the right now. All they need is to get in, the rest is a total crap shoot at that point. What happened before doesn't really matter if you can get hot in October...

[whitesoxfan101]

Sometimes...addition by subtraction is a good thing.

 

Konerko in August: .333/.483/.591/1.074

Konerko in September: .357/.419/.714/1.134

 

With the exception of Quentin (maybe), he was our best player in August and he's been our best player in September. Please think before you speak.

[scenario]

Konerko knee injury not serious, may play Friday

 

 

September 10, 2008

FROM SUN-TIMES SPORTS STAFF

 

Paul Konerko's injury isn't as serious as it appeared Tuesday night as the White Sox first baseman's injury is being described as a slight sprain to his right knee.

 

Konerko may be ready to play Friday.

[Frankensteiner]

This is one of the most ridiculous posts I have seen on here in a good long while. F*** it, let's just miss the playoffs because we'll probably get swept anyways, right?

 

Well, I was never one to buy lottery tickets.

 

You also really like to make appearances when the Sox perform badly. Merely coincidental though I assume.

 

I've barely posted over the last 2.5 weeks, a stretch in which the Sox have gone 7-11 and won only 1 out of their last 6 series. I guess I should have posted during that non-existant 10 game winning streak.

 

(PS - I also believe you predicted that the Sox would be dead by now. Atleast they were in first place, so in that regard, I was more right...in fact, they are a game up and other than this turd today, they had been playing some pretty damn good ball)

 

Yup, damn good ball. 1 series win in their last 6.

 

I never made any specific predictions, only said the Twins would beat the White Sox for the division. And you weren't more right about anything. Hopefully you have some more amusing predictions you'll share with us.

[Frankensteiner]

I still think we'll all look back on this year as a positive, either way... because we went from being old and decrepit to having two budding young hitters come about, and two promising young pitchers come about.

This is very true. We went from a team with basically zero young talent to actually having some good young players (CQ, Alexei, Danks, Floyd).

 

Though in comparison to teams like the Twins and Rays we are still generally an old team.

[knightni]

This is very true. We went from a team with basically zero young talent to actually having some good young players (CQ, Alexei, Danks, Floyd).

 

Though in comparison to teams like the Twins and Rays we are still generally an old team.

The Rays had to suck for years to get their guys. Are you willing to lose 100 games, 5 years in a row? I'm not.

 

The Twins' guys are overachievers. I don't think that they are as young as you think that they are.

[Frankensteiner]

The Rays had to suck for years to get their guys. Are you willing to lose 100 games, 5 years in a row? I'm not.

Huh? I was just stating a fact.

 

The Twins' guys are overachievers. I don't think that they are as young as you think that they are.

 

Gomez, Casilla, Mauer, Morneau, Cuddyer, Span, Young, Kubel, Harris, Baker, Blackburn, Liriano, Slowey, and Perkins. That's 14 starting players under 30.

 

By comparsion, the Sox have 7 (CQ, Alexei, Swisher, Buehrle, Danks, Floyd, Richard).

 

I can buy a couple of those guys as underachievers but they still have better younger players than the Sox.

[witesoxfan]

This is one of the most ridiculous posts I have seen on here in a good long while. F*** it, let's just miss the playoffs because we'll probably get swept anyways, right?

Well, I was never one to buy lottery tickets.

 

Let it soak in for a second

 

Even if said tongue in cheek, you are still suggesting you'd rather the Sox miss the playoffs rather than "potentially" getting swept in the playoffs; that would mean that you are rooting against the Sox winning, and thus...well the rest is self-explanatory.

 

Absolutely absurd.

 

I'd also like to know where you got your "1 in 6 series wins." They have, at the worst, lost this one to Toronto though nothing has been settled. They beat Anaheim; that's 1 of the last 1. They lost to Cleveland (on the road); that's 1 of 2. They lost to Boston (on the road); that's 1 of 3. They BEAT Baltimore (on the road); that's 2 of 4. They lost to Tampa Bay; that's 2 of 5. They swept Seattle; that's 3 of 6. They beat Oakland; that's 4 of 7. They swept KC; that's 5 of 8. They also split the previous one with Boston and then beat Detroit too. Whose schedule are you looking at, exactly? Seeing as how they've won 5 of their last 8 series, I'd say you got your facts screwed up somewhere. That stretch also included a 10 game road trip too, and the Sox are not a very good team on the road whatsoever.

[G&T]

Huh? I was just stating a fact.

 

 

 

Gomez, Casilla, Mauer, Morneau, Cuddyer, Span, Young, Kubel, Harris, Baker, Blackburn, Liriano, Slowey, and Perkins. That's 14 starting players under 30.

 

By comparsion, the Sox have 7 (CQ, Alexei, Swisher, Buehrle, Danks, Floyd, Richard).

 

I can buy a couple of those guys as underachievers but they still have better younger players than the Sox.

 

Hmmm...so that's how they win all the time. Playing 14 guys.

[witesoxfan]

just as a general question, why is 30 the magic number for age? I understand it's a round number and 25 is too young and 35 is too old, but Jim Thome is like 37 or 38 and he's been the Sox second best hitter yet Crede is like 31 or 32 and his body has already begun to physically break down. Given, some of that has to do with Thome sitting all the time and Crede is in the field, but what about a player like Cabrera, who is 33 (...?) or Dye who is 34 or 35?

 

There is something to be said about young players and a young corps, but all that matters is if it is good or not. Older players break down but they are generally consistent, whereas youth leads to maddening inconsistency. Carlos Gomez is more likely to flame out and become a 4th outfielder than he is to become Carlos Beltranlite and he's been absolutely pitiful for about the past 3 months now. I'd say so long as most of your players are in the 25-33 range, your team should be absolutely fine, but I guess that's JMO.

[Frankensteiner]

Well, I was never one to buy lottery tickets.

 

 

Let it soak in for a second

 

Even if said tongue in cheek, you are still suggesting you'd rather the Sox miss the playoffs rather than "potentially" getting swept in the playoffs; that would mean that you are rooting against the Sox winning, and thus...well the rest is self-explanatory.

 

Absolutely absurd.

 

I'd also like to know where you got your "1 in 6 series wins." They have, at the worst, lost this one to Toronto though nothing has been settled. They beat Anaheim; that's 1 of the last 1. They lost to Cleveland (on the road); that's 1 of 2. They lost to Boston (on the road); that's 1 of 3. They BEAT Baltimore (on the road); that's 2 of 4. They lost to Tampa Bay; that's 2 of 5. They swept Seattle; that's 3 of 6. They beat Oakland; that's 4 of 7. They swept KC; that's 5 of 8. They also split the previous one with Boston and then beat Detroit too. Whose schedule are you looking at, exactly? Seeing as how they've won 5 of their last 8 series, I'd say you got your facts screwed up somewhere. That stretch also included a 10 game road trip too, and the Sox are not a very good team on the road whatsoever.

 

At best a split with Toronto; that's not a series win. So 0 for 1. Beat the Angels. 1 for 2. Lost to Cleveland. 1 for 3. Lost to Boston. 1 for 4. Split with Baltimore. 1 for 5. Lost to Tampa. 1 for 6.

 

[witesoxfan]

At best a split with Toronto; that's not a series win. So 0 for 1. Beat the Angels. 1 for 2. Lost to Cleveland. 1 for 3. Lost to Boston. 1 for 4. Split with Baltimore. 1 for 5. Lost to Tampa. 1 for 6.

 

It's a technicality, but the Baltimore game was in April. I don't count it and I don't think it's fair to count it, even if it was the current roster. They played like 3 innings. It's 2 of 6 in that scenario, and they won several before that.

 

I also find it interesting, though not surprising, that you didn't mention that they went 17-11 in August, and are now 4-5 in September, and much of their September record is without Quentin in the lineup. That's not to suggest that they will play better but rather that they've been decent in his abscence thus far and it could very easily improve.