Richie

Moncada is honestly swinging the bat extremely well outside of ONE game so far...

We are sleep walking man...

QUOTE (TheTruth05 @ Apr 7, 2018 -> 02:21 PM) I think that's just his demeanor.the Jay Cutler syndrome. Personally I feel he's been real solid so far, offensively and defensively Hopefully he fairs better than Jay at keeping the ball away from the opposing team. (eh... crappy joke. I tried)

QUOTE (fathom @ Apr 7, 2018 -> 02:16 PM) Giolito, Abreu and Castillo look like they're in slow motion Catching sucks in the cold. Your legs feel heavy and you really feel that ball hitting your hand.

I bet the White Sox 1st to score... and I'm pretty much fuming. lol

Jeez. Come on Engel

That's really bad Yolmer. 3-1 bases loaded, no outs... swings at a borderline pitch and pops up.

Fulmer looked sharp in his first start of the season vs Pittsburgh. It won't be easy again with this weather either - but both teams have to deal with it. Would really like to see us bounce back from Thursday.

QUOTE (BlackSox13 @ Apr 7, 2018 -> 01:29 AM) 2) it appears as though Davidson could potentially be a long term solution at 1B or DH. Like Avi, would like to see If he continues his progression . If so then he'll be around for the next contender. I've completely done a 180 on Davidson after seeing his short compact Konerko like swing and so far seems to show a better batting eye. I try not to. However, it's hard not to make the Konerko comparison with that new/shortened swing of his, isn't it? They even look a bit similar. Somewhat similar demeanor and mannerisms as well. I agree that it's impossible not to put him in the "long-term" conversation at this point. Could be short-lived... but we'll see. I've gotten my hopes up a bit as well.

QUOTE (Dam8610 @ Apr 6, 2018 -> 09:31 PM) If he can't play in the cold, that'll be a problem in 2020 and beyond. A) Going 0-fer the first time in your life that you've seen snow on a baseball field does not mean you can't play in the cold. It's a perfectly normal shock to the system. B) The average High in Chicago during October? 62. With a low of 50. It was 35 and snowing during the game Thursday. Lol. That's not normal. I think the White Sox worst weather game in 05 was Game 2 vs the Astros. Which was 40 and drizzling. This was a freak occurrence. I don't ever recall seeing snow during a Cubs or White Sox playoff game. If it's happened... it's as common as a blue moon. https://www.google.com/search?q=chicago+ave...me&ie=UTF-8

QUOTE (Lip Man 1 @ Apr 4, 2018 -> 04:33 PM) The bigger Sox announcing issue is Ed Farmer as a play by play man. As someone who does it for a living all I can say is he isn't. He's a tremendous color analyst...but a play by play guy? Not even close. That's a far bigger issue than Jason who I think is fine and will get better with time. I have a funny (and somewhat long) story about meeting Ed Farmer. When I was in college for broadcasting in Chicago. I got a chance to shadow him and DJ for a game (really only the first half of a game and then they sent myself and the other student down into some seats). My main take away from the experience was that Farmer is kind of a weird dude... lol. I didn't expect much interaction outside of MAYBE a handshake/hello with either person. Which is what I got from DJ. Standard, quick interaction... nice dude. Then, Farmer sits me down all seriously. Then, almost reluctantly, he goes - "Well, son... here's your chance. I'll let you have 3 questions. GO"... As if I prepared my whole life to sit down with Ed Farmer and ask him about calling baseball games. lol. I honestly didn't even know if we'd get a meet/greet. I was super taken off-guard and didn't know what to say. However, I recognized that it was a cool opportunity. I managed to pull three questions out of my backside that weren't overly stupid... he went on about how you should prepare your "voice" for the baseball season. To get that "good low/echoing sound". I don't remember much else... just that the whole booth kind of stopped what they were doing in the middle of prepping and it was quite awkward. So, I get through that. He kind of just dismisses me. Now I'm sitting in the back with the other kid shadowing (fellow broadcasting student that I hung with a bit) who had gotten up there a little after I did. Broadcast is now well underway and Ed signs off for an inning. Now - He stands up and looks back at no one in particular. Says out loud - "well... anyone want to call this next inning?". Everyone in the booth just laughs. I think DJ even tagged a joke on. It was (again) awkward when he appeared to remain adamant. The mood quickly turned to confusion for a split-second. I looked at the other dude I'm with, both of us going "WTF?"... There was this random fan who won some contest that was also getting shown around. He had only poked his head in for a minute. He jokingly blurts out "Hell ya, Ed!"... I can't even tell what Ed is thinking (he's such a dry guy) - but he tells him to come on down. Everyone is in disbelief. The dude was (of course) an utter trainwreck for a half inning. They introduced him as (first name, hometown) like he's a radio caller. DJ has no idea what to do with him. Producers are going bananas. He's copying "Hawk-isms". It's a CATASTROPHE. Farmer's ass just shoots a look at me in the middle of it. As if to say "I just gave you an opportunity to call an inning of Major League baseball!"... I am so f'ing confused at this point. Clearly, like everyone... I thought he was joking. A little later - my classmate and I are about to go down to our seats. We've both been pretty silent since that all went down. The person guiding us around (worked with the broadcast in some capacity, don't remember his exact title) - I can just tell he's thinking "Wow, that got off the rails"... lol. I ask "So, he actually wanted to let me call an inning?"... He basically told me that it was one of the odder occurrences he's ever seen working in baseball broadcasting, but that yes... it would appear he was making the offer in hoping that I would be the one to say yes. Because of our talk earlier? I guess? Right when we got to our seats and the guide bid us farewell... we started laughing in utter confusion for a good 10 minutes. Wondering what that was all about. I honestly never could figure it out and to this day - I still am so, SOOO confused by the incident when I think about it. Of course, I regret not saying yes. However, you had to be there to understand how odd it was. lol. It was so utterly ridiculous man. That story still seems like a bad dream. That was supposed to be such an fun, easy going evening of watching a White Sox broadcast in person. Instead, it just left me feeling like a complete idiot. Years later - Still wondering "what in god's name was that all about?" I guess he saw a young, aspiring broadcaster and wanted to make his (meaning my) day? The way he went about it was sure odd... I'll feel like a dumbass for that until the day I die.

I'm a Hawk guy. His shtick is what it is. Yes he can be obnoxious - but I have a lot of love for the man. I think people who hate Hawk are the ones who take him seriously. Which is somewhat missing the point. I think being weened off of Hawk has actually worked out well. Slowly, I realize that it's time for him to call it quits. The home opener was no different. I've had the MLB package for a few years and watch a rather absurd amount of baseball. Between fantasy, daily fantasy, rooting for the White Sox or a wager - I usually have some action going on. The more I watch, the more I appreciate what the White Sox have brought to the table over the years. It's mostly redundant mediocrity out there (mixed in with some utter drivel) - with no rhythm, flow or meaningful insight. Jason isn't a "baseball guy"... but I think you can see that he's a pro, works at his craft and I respect him enough. Could be better... but he'll probably only get better. Stone is just awesome - we all know that. We're spoiled with him, zero doubt about it. His insight is top notch. I will say, though. I moved to Michigan a couple of years back and get the Tigers broadcasts (watch White Sox on the package). They also have one of the better broadcasts and overall productions in baseball. Really good studio and game crew. A lot of back and forth between the two different panels. It's dynamic and well polished.

QUOTE (Knickname @ Apr 5, 2018 -> 08:41 PM) That wasn't me. I've heard Hawk and too many others say, "So and so will be just fine" too many times. Maybe this time they'll be right about Yoan. I hope they are right. I hope Fulmer makes us happy, too, but if he continued failing to make it through two innings each start I wouldn't want him at the top level without end. I wasn't rooting for the failure of LaRoche, Dunne, and the Danks brothers either, but I won't accept the assurances of posters here or Harrelson that so and so will be just fine. This seems like a strange reply. #1 - I am not telling you that "Yoan will be fine"... That would imply that there is a problem with Yoan. Which there most certainly is not. If you expect every highly touted prospect coming up from the minors to perform like Rhys Hoskins - you will be supremely disappointed. Most do exactly what Yoan is doing. Flashes of brilliance - but mostly inconsistency. Moncada is slashing .227/.331/.400 (with a .730 OPS) up in the Major Leagues. Through 275 Plate Appearances. Some here are in panic mode over this. While they simultaneously rejoice over the emergence of Yolmer Sanchez. Yolmer is slashing .243/.289/.369 (with a .658 OPS) up in the Major Leagues. Through 1240 Plate Appearances Hmm... There's no way this could be a knee-jerk reaction to one week of baseball. Could it? #2 - You listed off a number of White Sox players who didn't pan out to support a claim that we should be worried about Yoan. If I listed off a number of White Sox players that DID pan out - would you be satisfied that Yoan is going to be as good as those players? No, you wouldn't be. Nor should you be. Therefore, the logic just doesn't hold up. I remember Hawk pretty clearly saying those same things about the likes of Konerko when he went through funks in the early 00's. How about this? Some players pan out - some don't. What the likes of Hawk Harrelson or random Sox fans re-iterate to you is irrelevant. Just try and remember how silly this is going to look the first time Yoan has a good week offensively this year. Anyone here would have just as much of a right to crown him the next White Sox legend. In reality - I don't know many of you guys yet. However, I think some of you all pretty clearly had messiah like expectations for Yoan from the get-go. That's not fair to him. Let him have his struggles. Let him have his flashes of brilliance. Keep an even keel through it all - and let's evaluate after a proper sample size. There's no denying his ability - or that he's only had roughly a half-season's worth of PA's under his belt. The kid could go on a tear next week, for all we know. Also, we can all pretend like snow in baseball doesn't make things tricky. However, it's dishonest. If you think that's not a culture shock for a young Cuban too - I would also say that's dishonest. Onto the next one. Eventful first thread to be introduced to the forum with. lol. Cheers.

QUOTE (Knickname @ Apr 5, 2018 -> 07:49 PM) And he has been around for how long? Not a valid comparison. No one is comparing the two players. The point is that taking this much away from one April game is utterly silly. By the same logic that says today is a red flag for Moncada - We should have been celebrating the home run and clutch RBI double in KC like he had somehow staked a claim in the big leagues and proven himself. It's absurd logic. This whole thread from the meltdown point in the game has gotten rather absurd. This was 6 plate appearances in what should be a 700 plate appearance season for Moncada. We should make an attempt to act rationally and treat it as such. lol

3-3 record on April 5th A young prospect had an 0-fer "Oh my gosh! Sound the alarms!" My goodness... lol. I thought I was reactionary.

QUOTE (bmags @ Apr 5, 2018 -> 06:11 PM) Obviously this game is bad, but it’s what happens when a bunch of young players press for a win. Tim didn’t step off because he’s an idiot, he stepped off because he was trying to keep game time even though it was futile. Leury wasn’t trying to be cool, he was trying to end the game. It sucks. But this is what will happen. Let’s chill a bit. Seems like people thought we’d be in playoffs? Thank you. I was going to say something along these lines, but wasn't sure if it was my place as I have been posting here for all of 20 minutes. lol This sucked... but come on. Let's relax a bit. Young team in the first week of the season and playing in snow. Let's just see how they respond. So much baseball left.

I blame myself. I made my first post on this forum precisely at the moment Leury doubled in Davidson to make it 7-3. It was all downhill from there.

The good ole fashioned 1-5-3 double play

Just make it stop. lol

This is a travesty... Wow

QUOTE (soxforlife05 @ Apr 5, 2018 -> 06:45 PM) What makes you think we are magically going to assemble a bullpen once the team gets good? We don?€™t have the time to let young relievers learn on the job once our top prospects are up. Pretty much every acquisition, signing, or promotion has been hot garbage. The fact that the bullpen is always the last piece to a team build is a pretty good indicator. I would say...

Oh my god - We actually blew it.

This is... ugh...

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Apr 5, 2018 -> 05:27 PM) We aren't. At least, I wasn't. I think he's already an above average 2B, a lot of that due to his defense Okay, cool. haha He's already flashed enough to get me excited for the future. Especially towards the end of last year. Let the weather warm-up. Let him see some more AB's. I'm not sweating this, at all. He's already contributed with a dinger and a clutch double in the first week.

As a newb - I can't tell if people are serious about calling Yoan a bust. lol