The Critic

There's a discussion on this going on in The Diamond Club. Both teams got what they wanted out of each guy. I, too, am happy for both of them.

QUOTE(MSHAWKS @ Sep 11, 2006 -> 09:53 AM) 10 RBIs in the month of August is hardly great. Is 11 RBI great? That's how many Frank had in April and June. He had 17 in May.

I work in the Sears Tower, but I had to go to one of our other downtown locations that morning. I passed the break room and saw the first Tower on fire. I asked a friend what happened and he said "a plane hit the World Trade Center, they think it's an accident". I went in and watched just as the second plane hit. I told my friend "this is no accident". I realized that I left all my stuff at the Tower, so I went there to get my things. ( - I know ) I had to swim through the stream of people going home to get to the elevators. I checked my voice mails and there was one from our regional director, who said that since there was no direct threat to the Sears Tower we would conduct "business as usual until and unless we hear otherwise". 10 minutes later we got the word to go home. The train ride home was eerie - no one was really talking, and I put my Walkman on to hear the news on the radio. It was really odd seeing not one plane in the sky. I felt bad for all the stranded people at Midway Airport.

QUOTE(bmags @ Sep 10, 2006 -> 11:58 PM) i'm just amazed that someone is referencing she wants revenge as having a sound of their own. HAHA, yeah really. They have a sound, but it's not their own.

QUOTE(Rowand44 @ Sep 10, 2006 -> 11:45 PM) Well because he's been great, does that work? He's on the Sox now and he's having an absolutely fantastic season, that's probably why he gets so much man love from me. As far as Frank, good for him. I honestly don't care what he does, I know that's not the popular opinion around here but I couldn't care less what Frank is doing right now. That's where we differ, 44 - I do care how Frank does, and I am REALLY happy that he's having a great comeback year. He was the greatest offensive force ever to wear a Sox uniform, and I'll never forget the thrills he gave me. However, I didn't think the Sox should have re-signed him, and I'm really glad they obtained Thome. I honestly thought Frank was done. A guy of his size and age with foot injuries was a bad risk as far as I was concerned. I was glad the A's gave him a shot, and he's made the most of it. IMO, he just wasn't coming back here for a "bargain rate" contract, so things worked out as they should have. ANY conversation about what Frank would or wouldn't have done here this year is purely speculation, but my speculation is this: Sox without Thome and without Frank at the beginning of the season, and with a subpar Frank when he came back = PK and Dye being pitched around much more than they might have been otherwise = someone else at DH (Gload? Mackowiak? Cintron?) and therefore a slower offensive start = fighting with the Indians for 3rd place instead of competing for the Wild Card and (maybe) the Central Division title.

QUOTE(MSHAWKS @ Sep 10, 2006 -> 10:39 PM) The statistics say that there is "doubt about it", despite what Rowand44 from Soxtalk.com writes. If all you looked at were statistics, you'd think Aramis Ramirez and Juan Pierre were having solid seasons, when the reality is they both let the Cubs down when they were needed most, and are padding their stats in a meaningless second half. Likewise, Jim Thome's spectacular April and May helped the White Sox win a lot of games that are now helping to keep them in contention despite a .500 second half, while Frank Thomas got off to a very slow start and then later heated up, helping the A's achieve their annual second-half outburst. If the Sox had Frank's slow start, who knows if the Sox would even be in third place? I don't know that, and neither do you, but the fact is that Thome's hot start was invaluable to the Sox's early success. Statistics are great, but they hardly tell the entire story.

QUOTE(Cuck the Fubs @ Sep 10, 2006 -> 08:24 AM) The coin tosses for tiebreakers are being held on Tuesday Tiebreaker possibilites: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article...sp&c_id=mlb Don't let Brandon McCarthy anywhere NEAR that coin. F*ckin' Savior.............

Frank's pride would never have allowed him to sign a $500,000 deal with incentives with the White Sox. It's a totally different situation signing with a team that he had accomplished nothing with yet. It would've taken a LOT more than 500K to get Frank back, and KW would never have done that with the questions about Frank's foot. The Sox were fortunate to get a good replacement for Frank, and Oakland was fortunate to get Frank at (as it turns out) a bargain rate. It just wasn't going to happen that way here.

Ozzie steals a save from MacDougal. Too bad for Doog.

The Savior......

QUOTE(South Side Fireworks Man @ Sep 9, 2006 -> 08:19 PM) He gone.....I hope! I hope they keep him in there. A cycle is a very cool thing for JD to get. I hope they let him try.

QUOTE(iguchi=dank @ Sep 9, 2006 -> 08:14 PM) well detroit is going to have to score at least 1 against nathan, and since they don't have the MVP, I think its another DET loss. unfortunetly i think... Yeah, but that will pull the Sox one game closer to the division lead, too. Silver lining, mah bruthaaah.

QUOTE(AbeFroman @ Sep 9, 2006 -> 07:15 PM) yeah i agree.... maybe its cause pbp is a little more mindless than color I tend to agree with Jason's idea that DJ can relax without worrying about cutting off Hawk. DJ is also throwing some analysis into the gaps in the PBP, which is nice.

Wow, what a stupid warning.

QUOTE(tealeafreaderii @ Sep 9, 2006 -> 07:04 PM) Big Hurt is off to another good game in Oakland... 2 for 2 one of which landed in the seats. Frank is BACK. And I am glad. But I hope he does nothing in the playoffs if (WHEN!) the A's meet the Sox in the playoffs. JUAN GONE!!!! 5-0!!! Nice!

QUOTE(Chisoxfn @ Sep 9, 2006 -> 07:10 PM) I like this combo. They do sound good. DJ sounds more confident as a PBP guy, I think.

QUOTE(tony72 @ Sep 9, 2006 -> 07:00 PM) I am listening now..now DJ is the talking one much like Hawk..McDowell is so laid back.. Could McDowell end up being a regular broadcaster for the White Sox? Didn't he turn down consideration for the radio gig last year?

Why do you write the score like it's a volleyball score? ...6 serving 7...

I enjoy the Hawk, except when he goes on his "umpires hate us" rants.

QUOTE(fathom @ Sep 9, 2006 -> 04:24 PM) And thank the baseball gods that AJP didn't get the bunt down. I remember yelling at the TV "WHY ARE YOU HAVING AJ BUNT?????" Not because I had a Miss Cleo-like vision, but because AJ never bunts and I was seeing a bunt double-play and a busted blood vessel in my neck.

QUOTE(Kalapse @ Sep 9, 2006 -> 04:19 PM) Plus, if you trade McCarthy, the 2007 starting rotation starts to look Cub like. They found a lot of young pitchers, just not too many good ones.

I don't know if that win will start a run, but a loss last night could have crushed the Sox. Thank the baseball gods for that 2-run AJ bomb!!!

QUOTE(BobDylan @ Sep 9, 2006 -> 04:00 PM) Then I guess the question is would you trade McCarthy for Crawford? I wouldn't. Good young pitchers are harder to find than good young outfielders.

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I think the whole Anderson deal is kind of "perception becoming reality". Even though Brian has hit well since his dismal start, and often has very good at-bats even when making an out, so many people have decided that "he can't hit" that it's being seen as reality. I don't think center field is a pressing need at all. I agree with the idea of upgrading at short and adding starting arms, but that's not going to be easy or cheap. This offseason will be interesting, to say the least.