Rongey is My New Idol

[knightni]

True. And I said in chat that I understood that. But he brings that here as well.

If my job was to talk to fans, no matter where, I'd have to bring it here as well.

 

Bad-mouthing the Sox would be tantamount to bad-mouthing his boss. And, if you're like any employee, you just don't do it where you think it can get back to him.

[Texsox]

I guess I should be paid, I've been a colossal homer for 30+ years.

 

The secret is, if you constantly find ways things can go wrong, you are an expert, if you constantly find ways things can go right, your a homer and do not know anything about baseball.

[greg775]

Sorry, Ranger. You're lying your ass off if you dispute that you're not a colossal homer.

 

I don't think he's a colossal homer.

Think about it. If you were paid to host the call in show, you have to have both sides of the issue. You can't agree with most of these blanket statements from angry fans.

 

For instance, if I called today (and I wouldn't) I would rip on Dunn.

The host can't blindly agree with me that Dunn sucks.

Dunn has a track record, etc.

Rongey is not a blatant homer. He is the voice of reason, both sides.

[DaveBrown85]

Good line, but seriously the call was classic. How many radio hosts have the balls to call a

customer an idiot? A caller is a customer of sorts. This was godlike radio.

You've obviously never listened to the Boers and Bernstein show

[WCSox]

No reprimand.

 

That's good to hear.

 

I also deal with complete idiots on a daily basis at my job. Sometimes it's difficult to hold back.

Edited April 18, 2011 by WCSox

[SoxAce]

If someone paid me to talk on the radio about the Sox, I'd be a colossal homer too.

 

I've seen it firsthand here too on this board. Yes he is a big optimist. Probably second to 2k5 here (or 3rd if you count Heads). There is nothing wrong with that though. Puts some of the pessimist here in line. Good balance.

[T R U]

It was pretty awesome

 

The caller basically said the Sox haven't played anyone and the Twins have, the Twins dont need to worry about their slow start as we need to..

 

Then Ranger was like "KC and Cleveland are leading the division, weve beaten them" brought up the Twins losing to Tampa as we took 3/4 from them..

 

The caller continued to talk over him and not let him talk, made no points and was being ridiculous.. All he did was call him an idiot and the worst kind of fan.. and it was fitting

 

But man, you should listen to it, it was awesome..

[greg775]

That's good to hear.

 

I also deal with complete idiots on a daily basis at my job. Sometimes it's difficult to hold back.

 

Me too.

I try to avoid the idiots at all costs. So far I haven't been fired for doing so. I simply cannot stand idiots.

 

[caulfield12]

Correct.

 

 

 

No reprimand. And you're right, Wills would never call anyone an idiot. He preferred "drillrod".

 

 

 

That's actually really not true at all. Being optimistic means you think everything is going to be fine based solely on the fact that you just believe it, even though you have no concrete reason to believe it. I'm not that. When I think things will be good or will improve, it's because there is good reason to think it will or can.

 

 

 

You're half right.

 

 

Chris,

 

1) Have you ever been in a situation where you've had a player or someone in the front office or coaching staff upset with something you've said on air? I'm not talking something along the lines of Milton Bradley/Ryan Lefebvre or Stone/Caray versus the Cubs, but a situation where you feel you might have overstepped your bounds or access to inside information?

 

You don't have to discuss specifics, just curious if this has happened before.

 

 

2) In the age of Twitter, would it be possibe for you to get in "hot water" for leaking information to a specific media source (say a beat writer or tv station/local or national) where you gave out that information in a way where it wasn't immediately and equally accessible to all outlets?

 

For example, when I worked for a minor league baseball team (SAL League), the local beat writer (Augusta Chronicle, to be specific) was really pissed off with me when I gave an "exclusive" to the local TV station for that evening's news (I think it was something about our new stadium or an announcement about a future All-Star game being awarded to our city) and his story couldn't appear until the next morning (this was a year or two before the internet became more ubiquitous in baseball coverage)...my GM's rationale at that time was basically that we wanted to "curry the favor" of the television stations, because the newspaper was pretty much guaranteed to cover the team very prominently for all the home games.

 

 

3) Have you ever said something on air (let's say, you felt Peavy or Contreras should be given a chance to close, something pretty outlandish but not completely inconceiveable) about the team or where you felt in hindsight that you'd injected too much of your own opinion?

 

For example, the other day, you mentioned that Pierre was likely to have a .330 or .340 OBP, that this was a little bit lower than ideal, and that his throwing arm was universally considered to be weak and that maybe it wasn't a good idea for him to steal as often if his failure rate stayed at over 50% (sorry for not paraphrasing exactly), etc. But have you ever said anything that was more strongly opinionated than these general comments, where a large majority of fans would disagree with you or the club or your opinion about something Ozzie or KW had done in their respective roles?

 

 

4) Do you feel you are treated differently here than at whitesoxinteractive.com, and, if so, how?

 

5) If you had the job of Brooks Boyer for one of the bottom 5 MLB teams (KC, Pirates, Marlins, A's, Indians) , what general ideas would you provide for increasing attendance?

Edited April 18, 2011 by caulfield12

[southsider2k5]

If my job was to talk to fans, no matter where, I'd have to bring it here as well.

 

Bad-mouthing the Sox would be tantamount to bad-mouthing his boss. And, if you're like any employee, you just don't do it where you think it can get back to him.

 

 

I think even more than that, it can also come off as calling your customers idiots. For all of the talking that goes on here about people like Hawk, how many of you same posters are out there telling off the people who bring revenue into your business? I'm guessing for all of the internet toughness we see on here, it doesn't much translate to your respective workplaces, and for good reason.

[Swingandalongonetoleft]

Chris,

 

1) Have you ever been in a situation where you've had a player or someone in the front office or coaching staff upset with something you've said on air? I'm not talking something along the lines of Milton Bradley/Ryan Lefebvre or Stone/Caray versus the Cubs, but a situation where you feel you might have overstepped your bounds or access to inside information?

 

You don't have to discuss specifics, just curious if this has happened before.

 

 

2) In the age of Twitter, would it be possibe for you to get in "hot water" for leaking information to a specific media source (say a beat writer or tv station/local or national) where you gave out that information in a way where it wasn't immediately and equally accessible to all outlets?

 

For example, when I worked for a minor league baseball team (SAL League), the local beat writer (Augusta Chronicle, to be specific) was really pissed off with me when I gave an "exclusive" to the local TV station for that evening's news (I think it was something about our new stadium or an announcement about a future All-Star game being awarded to our city) and his story couldn't appear until the next morning (this was a year or two before the internet became more ubiquitous in baseball coverage)...my GM's rationale at that time was basically that we wanted to "curry the favor" of the television stations, because the newspaper was pretty much guaranteed to cover the team very prominently for all the home games.

 

 

3) Have you ever said something on air (let's say, you felt Peavy or Contreras should be given a chance to close, something pretty outlandish but not completely inconceiveable) about the team or where you felt in hindsight that you'd injected too much of your own opinion?

 

For example, the other day, you mentioned that Pierre was likely to have a .330 or .340 OBP, that this was a little bit lower than ideal, and that his throwing arm was universally considered to be weak and that maybe it wasn't a good idea for him to steal as often if his failure rate stayed at over 50% (sorry for not paraphrasing exactly), etc. But have you ever said anything that was more strongly opinionated than these general comments, where a large majority of fans would disagree with you or the club or your opinion about something Ozzie or KW had done in their respective roles?

 

 

4) Do you feel you are treated differently here than at whitesoxinteractive.com, and, if so, how?

 

5) If you had the job of Brooks Boyer for one of the bottom 5 MLB teams (KC, Pirates, Marlins, A's, Indians) , what general ideas would you provide for increasing attendance?

 

One more-

 

Yesterday on White Sox weekly (I think) when that guy wanted to know why the Sox don't have Kotsay anymore and proceeded to argue that he would be a good replacement for Juan Pierre-

 

-how tall was the building you were in?

 

-did you jump?

 

 

[Iwritecode]

this is from a WSI interview, Mark L. from over there is an okay guy, hope it's cool to copy and paste some of it??

 

I doubt they'll complain about it but this is a direct quote from Daver:

 

If you have ever taken the time to read the code of conduct for WSI you would know that all posts made there are the property of the forum itself, and by copying them and posting them elsewhere you are in fact stealing that property

 

 

[StrangeSox]

One more-

 

Yesterday on White Sox weekly (I think) when that guy wanted to know why the Sox don't have Kotsay anymore and proceeded to argue that he would be a good replacement for Juan Pierre-

 

-how tall was the building you were in?

 

-did you jump?

'

 

I don't always see eye-to-eye with Rongey, but I do not envy having to deal with the post-game calls. Then again, if you can get through 2007, you can get through anything.

[southsider2k5]

One more-

 

Yesterday on White Sox weekly (I think) when that guy wanted to know why the Sox don't have Kotsay anymore and proceeded to argue that he would be a good replacement for Juan Pierre-

 

-how tall was the building you were in?

 

-did you jump?

 

Nicely done.

[Ranger]

Sorry, Ranger. You're lying your ass off if you dispute that you're not a colossal homer.

 

Um, no, I'm not. You, then, are just unable to tell the difference between being a "homer" and being level-headed. Certainly, I want the Sox to win, as do the rest of you. But, I'm not stupid and I'm not blind. If I think improvement will come, it's because there is reason to believe improvement will come. It's not just blind idiocy.

 

You see, there is a giant difference between being pessimistic and realistic. Far too many fans think they're one in the same, but they are not. Thinking the worst possible outcome will always occur is not being realistic.

 

I guess I should be paid, I've been a colossal homer for 30+ years.

 

The secret is, if you constantly find ways things can go wrong, you are an expert, if you constantly find ways things can go right, your a homer and do not know anything about baseball.

 

Isn't that the truth?

 

I don't think he's a colossal homer.

Think about it. If you were paid to host the call in show, you have to have both sides of the issue. You can't agree with most of these blanket statements from angry fans.

 

For instance, if I called today (and I wouldn't) I would rip on Dunn.

The host can't blindly agree with me that Dunn sucks.

Dunn has a track record, etc.

Rongey is not a blatant homer. He is the voice of reason, both sides.

 

Thank you.

 

I've seen it firsthand here too on this board. Yes he is a big optimist. Probably second to 2k5 here (or 3rd if you count Heads). There is nothing wrong with that though. Puts some of the pessimist here in line. Good balance.

 

Like I said, read above. It just isn't true and if that's what you hear, you're not listening. The truth is that anyone with my job would automatically be labeled as such no matter what they said. I don't think everything is great with the White Sox, and I've pointed those things out a number of times. But I also don't look at this team as if it exists in a vacuum. I know they're flawed, but I know their competitors in the division are also flawed.

 

Yes, I think the bullpen will improve, but I'm not just pulling that out of the ether. I think they'll improve because their 'pen isn't lined with bums. This aren't the days of Bukvich, Day, Prinz, and Myers. They have 4 solid arms at the back end, and eventually, I think they will smooth things out. And I think they'll do it in plenty of time.

 

I think the defense will also improve, too. Why? Because the infield was pretty good last year, and now they've added Morel who's a little more sure-handed than Teahen. Rios will always be good, Pierre's errors are not characteristic of his career, and Quentin isn't bad enough to bring down the entire outfield.

 

The offense is what it is. A pretty good lineup, not perfect, but there really isn't a whole lot of reason to spend much time worrying about it.

 

The Starters have already been solid, and unless they wear down by August, I suspect they will continue to be, for the most part.

 

Now, is that really optimism? It's not. It's reasoned expectation. It's not really a "hopeful" thing to suggest all of that will play out. It's actually reasonable to think it will.

Edited April 18, 2011 by Ranger

[Marky Mark]

Um, no, I'm not. You, then, are just unable to tell the difference between being a "homer" and being level-headed. Certainly, I want the Sox to win, as do the rest of you. But, I'm not stupid and I'm not blind. If I think improvement will come, it's because there is reason to believe improvement will come. It's not just blind idiocy.

 

You see, there is a giant difference between being pessimistic and realistic. Far too many fans think they're one in the same, but they are not. Thinking the worst possible outcome will always occur is not being realistic.

 

 

 

Isn't that the truth?

 

 

 

Thank you.

 

 

 

Like I said, read above. It just isn't true and if that's what you hear, you're not listening. The truth is that anyone with my job would automatically be labeled as such no matter what they said. I don't think everything is great with the White Sox, and I've pointed those things out a number of times. But I also don't look at this team as if it exists in a vacuum. I know they're flawed, but I know their competitors in the division are also flawed.

 

Yes, I think the bullpen will improve, but I'm not just pulling that out of the ether. I think they'll improve because their 'pen isn't lined with bums. This aren't the days of Bukvich, Day, Prinz, and Myers. They have 4 solid arms at the back end, and eventually, I think they will smooth things out. And I think they'll do it in plenty of time.

 

I think the defense will also improve, too. Why? Because the infield was pretty good last year, and now they've added Morel who's a little more sure-handed than Teahen. Rios will always be good, Pierre's errors are not characteristic of his career, and Quentin isn't bad enough to bring down the entire outfield.

 

The offense is what it is. A pretty good lineup, not perfect, but there really isn't a whole lot of reason to spend much time worrying about it.

 

The Starters have already been solid, and unless they wear down by August, I suspect they will continue to be, for the most part.

 

Now, is that really optimism? It's not. It's reasoned expectation. It's not really a "hopeful" thing to suggest all of that will play out. It's actually reasonable to think it will.

 

 

Honestly, Chris is very rational. I cannot imagine how awful half of his callers or anyone calling him a homer would be in fantasy baseball. It is not that difficult to understand that the baseball season goes through september not the end of the week.

[Ranger]

Chris,

 

1) Have you ever been in a situation where you've had a player or someone in the front office or coaching staff upset with something you've said on air? I'm not talking something along the lines of Milton Bradley/Ryan Lefebvre or Stone/Caray versus the Cubs, but a situation where you feel you might have overstepped your bounds or access to inside information?

 

You don't have to discuss specifics, just curious if this has happened before.

 

 

2) In the age of Twitter, would it be possibe for you to get in "hot water" for leaking information to a specific media source (say a beat writer or tv station/local or national) where you gave out that information in a way where it wasn't immediately and equally accessible to all outlets?

 

For example, when I worked for a minor league baseball team (SAL League), the local beat writer (Augusta Chronicle, to be specific) was really pissed off with me when I gave an "exclusive" to the local TV station for that evening's news (I think it was something about our new stadium or an announcement about a future All-Star game being awarded to our city) and his story couldn't appear until the next morning (this was a year or two before the internet became more ubiquitous in baseball coverage)...my GM's rationale at that time was basically that we wanted to "curry the favor" of the television stations, because the newspaper was pretty much guaranteed to cover the team very prominently for all the home games.

 

 

3) Have you ever said something on air (let's say, you felt Peavy or Contreras should be given a chance to close, something pretty outlandish but not completely inconceiveable) about the team or where you felt in hindsight that you'd injected too much of your own opinion?

 

For example, the other day, you mentioned that Pierre was likely to have a .330 or .340 OBP, that this was a little bit lower than ideal, and that his throwing arm was universally considered to be weak and that maybe it wasn't a good idea for him to steal as often if his failure rate stayed at over 50% (sorry for not paraphrasing exactly), etc. But have you ever said anything that was more strongly opinionated than these general comments, where a large majority of fans would disagree with you or the club or your opinion about something Ozzie or KW had done in their respective roles?

 

 

4) Do you feel you are treated differently here than at whitesoxinteractive.com, and, if so, how?

 

5) If you had the job of Brooks Boyer for one of the bottom 5 MLB teams (KC, Pirates, Marlins, A's, Indians) , what general ideas would you provide for increasing attendance?

 

1)Yes, I've had a couple players unhappy with something I've said. Nothing major, but I've been approached before and I just told them why I thought what I did and asked them to let me know where I was wrong. I've also had a situation where there was a misunderstanding with Ozzie and Joey, but I told them why I said what I did. Cooper brings things up to me every now and then, and I have to defend my thoughts to him to. He's just highly protective of his pitching staff, as he should be.

 

One thing I've learned covering sports over the last 8 years (the Sox for 5 1/2) is that stuff goes on down there on the field that you'd never think of. Reasons why this decision or that call is made. And in the rare occasions a coach brings up something with me, it's often "well, did you ever think we did _____ because of ______ blank?" And, almost every time, it is something I had not thought of.

 

It's why I don't get angry with failure to PH for a guy or why a certain pitching change is made or not made...because there are many times small, off-the-map reasons as to why certain things are done. And I recognize that I don't know them all from the booth.

 

2) I'm careful about anything I know that I really shouldn't know. If I know something, I'll have to present it in a certain way or have to leave it alone altogether. I won't give a specific, but there is one example of an injury from a couple of years ago that I knew about 2 weeks before a lot of other people knew, but he didn't want it out there just yet.

 

3) Not really. I'm fair with my criticisms and I think that's all that needs to be done. Any players that listen understand that I'm being fair. I refuse to foam at the mouth and declare that so-and-so "sucks". That's just stupid, and I'm not going to do it.

 

4) I don't think I'm treated much different. There are people that like me and people that don't. And the people that don't, it's for the same reasons as they don't here...usually because I'm a "company man" or something.

 

5) Yikes. I have no idea what you can do. If the team is bad, nobody is going to come unless ticket prices are stupid low. I'm the wrong guy to ask about that.

[chw42]

I doubt they'll complain about it but this is a direct quote from Daver:

 

I wonder how the thoughts of others can be come the intellectual property of a forum database.

 

WSI is so anal about rules that literally nobody on the internet follows today. It's like they're still in the mid 90s over there.

Edited April 18, 2011 by chw42

[Iwritecode]

I wonder how the thoughts of others can be come the intellectual property of a forum database.

 

No clue but that's the reason I'm no longer there.

 

 

There are number of things they have their own version of in their minds compared to actual reality. One of them includes the reason this place exists. It's no use pointing it out to them either.

Edited April 18, 2011 by Iwritecode

[caulfield12]

1)Yes, I've had a couple players unhappy with something I've said. Nothing major, but I've been approached before and I just told them why I thought what I did and asked them to let me know where I was wrong. I've also had a situation where there was a misunderstanding with Ozzie and Joey, but I told them why I said what I did. Cooper brings things up to me every now and then, and I have to defend my thoughts to him to. He's just highly protective of his pitching staff, as he should be.

 

One thing I've learned covering sports over the last 8 years (the Sox for 5 1/2) is that stuff goes on down there on the field that you'd never think of. Reasons why this decision or that call is made. And in the rare occasions a coach brings up something with me, it's often "well, did you ever think we did _____ because of ______ blank?" And, almost every time, it is something I had not thought of.

 

It's why I don't get angry with failure to PH for a guy or why a certain pitching change is made or not made...because there are many times small, off-the-map reasons as to why certain things are done. And I recognize that I don't know them all from the booth.

 

2) I'm careful about anything I know that I really shouldn't know. If I know something, I'll have to present it in a certain way or have to leave it alone altogether. I won't give a specific, but there is one example of an injury from a couple of years ago that I knew about 2 weeks before a lot of other people knew, but he didn't want it out there just yet.

 

3) Not really. I'm fair with my criticisms and I think that's all that needs to be done. Any players that listen understand that I'm being fair. I refuse to foam at the mouth and declare that so-and-so "sucks". That's just stupid, and I'm not going to do it.

 

4) I don't think I'm treated much different. There are people that like me and people that don't. And the people that don't, it's for the same reasons as they don't here...usually because I'm a "company man" or something.

 

5) Yikes. I have no idea what you can do. If the team is bad, nobody is going to come unless ticket prices are stupid low. I'm the wrong guy to ask about that.

 

 

Fair enough, thanks for the candid response.

 

With that said, I was just curious who some of the other managers and GM's are that you think the most highly of...?

 

I'm not asking for the answer to "if something happened to Ozzie or KW, who should their replacement be?" as that's a slightly different question, and the White Sox have traditionally not showered huge amounts of money on "big name" managers or GM's, although if you're spending $128 million on payroll, there's really no reason to believe that might not change in the future, as well.

 

In particular, which GM's do you think are best at their job/s?

 

Since you're still a young guy, I'm sure you follow Esptein and Daniels (the GM with perhaps the most interesting pre-baseball background). Jack Z (I'm not going to attempt to spell his name without looking it up) with the Mariners had a ton of fans until the last couple of seasons for his approach. Chris Antonetti with the Indians is getting more and more attention as well after the Indians' hot start. Beane has to be part of the discussion too, for various polarizing reasons. And Andrew Freidman with the Rays, I'd guess.

 

How has the SABR/Roto/Ivy League generation influenced the way you follow baseball and its statistics/analysis?

 

By the way, I find it interesting that you didn't bring up Greg Walker. Of all the coaches, he's the one who has been most consistently under fire on Sox message boards and call-in shows, and yet Ozzie (and the rest of the coaching staff/F.O.) seems to really care for the guy, players like Konerko adore him...on the other hand, quite a few believe that a hitting coach is clearly less important than say, the pitching or bench coach. Why do you think Walker has been under 10X the amount of criticism that Don Cooper has been since 2006? Does Cooper get a lifetime pass after how well those 2005 and 2006 staffs (for the first four months, especially...and with the obvious exclusion of Javy) performed?

 

 

 

 

Edited April 18, 2011 by caulfield12

[southsider2k5]

I wonder how the thoughts of others can be come the intellectual property of a forum database.

WSI is so anal about rules that literally nobody on the internet follows today. It's like they're still in the mid 90s over there.

 

Websites get letters from lawyers about those rules that no one follows. I know some people don't care about them, but there are plenty of people who do.

[Jordan4life_2007]

[/b]

 

Websites get letters from lawyers about those rules that no one follows. I know some people don't care about them, but there are plenty of people who do.

 

Don't make excuses for those morons. WSI is one of the worst message boards on the net. I know we don't agree all the time (more like never) and I drive most of the mods crazy. But ten seconds on that piece of s*** site makes me appreciate you guys a hell of a whole lot more.

[southsider2k5]

Don't make excuses for those morons. WSI is one of the worst message boards on the net. I know we don't agree all the time (more like never) and I drive most of the mods crazy. But ten seconds on that piece of s*** site makes me appreciate you guys a hell of a whole lot more.

 

For the most part people include links in their posts, so we don't really have a problem with that. The things that can get Soxtalk into legal trouble, we do follow up on. The rest of it is definately different.

[southsider2k5]

Well done.

 

http://m.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=101...150159822555679

[RockRaines]

Don't make excuses for those morons. WSI is one of the worst message boards on the net. I know we don't agree all the time (more like never) and I drive most of the mods crazy. But ten seconds on that piece of s*** site makes me appreciate you guys a hell of a whole lot more.

Yeah, they are the worst. I hate that Cubs fans routinely go over there to get a better understanding of Sox fans. Its literally the worst place to actually view Sox fans opinions.