greg775

Your guys' beef is with him being on the roster; mine as well. If he starts the game, he plays the game. You don't make lefty-righty pinch hit moves in the fifth f***ing inning. You just DON'T. He should not be on the roster; but him being in the lineup, he must bat in that situation.

Whatever happened to the old Sunday doubheader? They had getaway days back then, too. Murphy's Law dictates a lot of baseball, and little sleep, in a short period of time. 6:10 start of Game One. Let's say it's 3:30 game like many AL games, it ends at 9:40. Game Two starts at 10. Game Two ends at 1:30 a.m. Tomorrow's game is 1 p.m. Sox get to hotel at 2:30, assuming they don't drink, go to bed by 3. Sox wake up at 8 to get to ballpark by 9. Wow. Maximum sleep is five hours if all goes well. Extra innings?

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Aug 21, 2010 -> 09:07 PM) So, the first mistake is playing the guy. But if you play him, you don't dare do anything about that mistake mid-game? That's just as crazy as playing him in the first place. No, you don't. Mid game is too early to remove a starter. You are right. The mistake is playing him in the first place.

If Kotsay is deemed good enough a player to start the game, you don't bat for him in the fifth inning. The issue you all have is that he shouldn't be on the team to begin with. He is on the team and you don't pinch hit for guys that early in the game. If you do, he shouldn't be playing at all. Some people want to reinvent the game. What if it was the third or fourth inning of a "critical game" and same situation. Pinch hit for Kotsay then?? Just don't play the guy at all. If he's in the lineup, he bats.

Yes, I admit the umpire screwed up starting the game. Or the Royals, if it is the home team's call up to the first pitch. Maybe the Royals wanted to f*** with the White Sox rotation since KC's rotation doesn't even matter. There's no way the Sox staff can be blamed for warming up Jackson. Next thing we'll do is second guess playing Paulie some night when he has cold symptoms and he goes 0h-fer.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Aug 21, 2010 -> 01:12 PM) Send down Kotsay and bring up Harrel or Torres. On a side note, didn't anyone on our side realize there was a very slim chance of getting last night's game in? Shouldn't they have just warmed up Pena and given him the start? Seems like a huge blunder to let Jackson warm up and pitch to a batter knowing that a huge storm was coming that would last several hours. We can't be giving up a guy in the rotation like that in the middle of a pennant race. Now we are complaining that our staff members are not weathermen? The ump said we were going to play ball. The second guessing is mind boggling sometimes.

If we are starting Freddy and Pena against a hot KC team ... bank on 2 losses. Bye bye.

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Aug 19, 2010 -> 09:27 PM) What's the point of saying that ? You want us all to know you only communicate in sound bites ? That you have a short attention span ? That reading is not FUNdamental ? That you don't like the way caulfield posts ? You're just mean spirited ? That you like the attention being a smart ass get's you ? Pretty hateful to say your not worth reading to someone. Excellent post. Keep em coming, caufield. We read 'em.

We've had severe pop up storms here the last couple weeks. I will say there was one incredible pattern of dark clouds that produced no rain, then they started the game and they pretty quickly got hit with the next wave that had lighning and knocked out the power everywhere and after that it was OVA. They should have known by radar that the game was doomed. Predictably, we didn't score in the first off a hack pitcher. Tomorrow we face two complete unknowns, though Bullinger mowed down the yankees in a shutout. Will the two unknowns do what unknowns usually do to us? 4-1 and 3-1 losses?

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Aug 20, 2010 -> 09:43 PM) Man, it'll be beyond sorry if we don't sweep this team. Has anybody heard of any of these three starters the Royals are running out there? I know Bullington won a game against the Yankees recently. But still. He's awful. NM. f***. We get Greinke Sunday. The Royals just split a four game series with the Yankees and took 2 of 3 from Cleveland. This KC team is way better now than before and they are capable of pounding Freddy who may be pitching Game One now. Kila and Butler and Gordon equals potential trouble.

It's not worth arguing with you about it. I know of what I speak. Baiting is baiting. Anytime somebody brings up Wise with me is baiting and you f***ing know it. And baiting is against the f***ing rules.

You are right, but these are all critical games now. If we get swept by KC I think most of us would agree it's OVA. Let's see how the team plays this weekend.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Aug 20, 2010 -> 12:09 PM) Ozzie used his gut in '05 a lot and did things like leave his starters in. Not exactly outside the box but that was something he deserved credit for at the time. QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Aug 20, 2010 -> 02:21 PM) Buehrle had thrown 91 pitches thru 8 innings in a 1-1 game. The other three guys had at least 3-run leads and had only thrown 100-105 pitches. I'm sure there are many other managers that would have kept them in the game (unless they had Mo Rivera in the bullpen). I'll give Ozzie credit for going with his gut and it worked out to be the right move, but don't act like he made some crazy decision that no one else in baseball would have made. I will stand by saying very few if any other managers would have left the starters in as he was doing. It was his ass on the line and he rewarded us with a WS crown partly because of his managing. Players deserve most of the credit as they do in any victory, but I beg to differ. His actions were definitely outside the box. As far as Ozzie freaking out on the fans telling them to f*** off if they don't like not having Thome around, I have mixed emotions. It's definitely a fireable offense in today's workplace, dissing the customers. Personally though I love that he doesn't kiss anybody's ass, including fans, so I am not offended by it. But in a debate, I lose this argument because his post about it was pretty damn good. So I guess he owned me. That doesn't mean I can't win the next argument.

I didn't follow the trial that well. Was the defense's position mainly that Blago is a moron who just talks out his ass and didn't mean it or something? I find him a funny little man.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Aug 20, 2010 -> 11:22 AM) This is quality analysis greg. You really know how to break down the numbers when it comes to Jenks I go by the eye. If he truly is excessively fat compared to other years, then that is a problem. I'm not sure of this, I'm just pointing it out. I like Jenks, but I think fair is fair and Bobby had his chance and failed that one week; Putz had his chance and was pathetic as well. Now Thornton deserves his shot at closing. We're four back. We have nothing to lose.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Aug 20, 2010 -> 12:13 PM) I will continue to talk about it because it needs to be addressed. There is no reason for him to get any more playing time save for a once every 2 week break for Paulie at 1B and that's it. He is not a major league baseball player. No team would be giving him this many starts. Teahen is leaps and bounds better than him at the plate so I will continue to complain when Kotsay gets more starts than Teahen. Maybe you need to take the Kotsay and Wise Fatheads off of your wall and start rooting for actual major league players. QUOTE (pittshoganerkoff @ Aug 20, 2010 -> 12:56 PM) This might be my favorite post ever. You don't realize your rants about Kotsay are way more overboard than mine on Jenks? Since everybody hates Kotsay nobody is complaining. All I ask is a quick code sentence like Limbaugh's megadittos so we know you want to blast Kotsay without having to go through the whole thing again. We get the picture so you don't need to "continue to talk about it." I guess you don't read very well. I don't want Kotsay on the team, either. I do, however, love Dwyane Wise. You are right there. I guess technically I am rooting for Kotsay if he's in the lineup though, because I want to win. More often than not he rewards me with a weak tapper to second or weak fly out. If I wrote your last sentence I'd get a warning letter probably for baiting somebody. Hope you enjoy the one you most assuredly will be receiving soon. Telling me what to do and assuming I have Fatheads on the wall is good bait for a fight.

QUOTE (elgonzo4sox @ Aug 20, 2010 -> 04:18 AM) Great post Quinarvy! There's been far too much Twins Envy and Twins Love on this website. The Twins aren't invincible, nor are they light years ahead of the Sox. In fact, the two teams are about as evenly matched as they could possibly be, with the Twins holding a big edge in head-to-head W-L due more to good luck than anything else. Here is my proof that the Twins and Sox are just about dead even this year. The Twins 4 game edge in the standings sounds big, but it is merely 2 head-to-head wins. The Twins have beaten the Sox 10 times, but 7 of those wins are by one run. Pick your most agonizing two Sox losses to the Twins, and change one thing in those two games to make the Sox win, and the teams are tied in the standings. What if Bobby Jenks nailed down the save in the game when the Sox lead by 3 in the ninth? What if Thornton threw a letters-high fastball to Thome (who can't catch up to high heat) instead of a belt-high one, and he whiffs instead of hitting a walk-off home run? When you lose 7 one-run games, it's easy to find one thing in a couple of games that, had it gone differently, would have flipped the outcome. That is how far back the Sox are behind the Twins: two bad pitches, or two missing clutch hits, or two Twins seeing-eye singles that just eluded a Sox fielder's glove. The Twins are +4 games ahead of the Sox in the standings, but +5 games ahead during head-to-head play. That means the Sox have played the rest of MLB one game better than the Twins so far this season. If the Twins are so great, why do the Sox have a better record vs. the rest of MLB? The Sox and Twins have played 15 times so far this season. With tonight's 11-0 shellacking, the runs scored by both teams over those 15 games now stands at 71 runs for the Sox, and 72 runs for the Twins. If those 71 and 72 runs had scored at different points in time, the games won/lost would be something other than 5 games won by the Sox and 10 games won by the Twins. In fact, if the runs were basically evenly distributed, the Sox would have won 7 times and the Twins 8 times. And the teams would be tied for first. Yes, I realize that at the end of the day all that counts is wins and losses, but when you look at the evidence, the Twins and Sox are a lot more evenly matched than most people probably think. The difference right now is very small, and the Sox still have 3 more games versus the Twins at home to close the gap. So as Bluto would say: LET'S GO-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O!!!!!! You lost me on the second graph when you said the Twins are holding a big lead in the series advantage due to luck more than anything else. Not quite. They have owned us head to head. Sox have a lot of work to do being four back. This upcoming weekend should tell a lot. Royals split with the Yankees in a four-game set recently ahd have been playing well.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Aug 18, 2010 -> 08:36 PM) They wont settle at this point, not because Blago wouldnt, but because Fitzgerald is looking bad right now. Its becoming vindictive. You got the guy, hes in financial ruins, he could go to jail for a few months or years. I think thats enough, lets save some tax payer money and move on with our lives. QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Aug 19, 2010 -> 07:20 PM) I dont think I ever said that. Merely stated that they feds have a conviction that could carry up to 5 year prison term. What more do they want? 20 year term? 50 year term? The guy is in ruins, he wont ever have the opportunity to commit a similar crime again. He poses no real risk to society. I guess Im not into punishment for the sake of punishment. They convicted Blago, why do they need another show? I would prefer that they moved on to bigger and better things. I tend to agree with Badger. This is a great thread BTW. Unlike the Sox board people on here are expressing fluent arguments and not merely presenting the same ol s*** over and over like Kotsay and Ozzie sucks. This is a GREAT THREAD. Great discussion. I love hearing your takes on Blago.

I don't doubt that, but there was a time he had no flaws in the eyes of our fans. Is he human now? I worship Bobby, but heck, they might as well give Thornton his shot now. Bobby had his try and blew those 2 saves in a week; Putz had his try and was equally horrible. Why not give Matt a shot in KC?

Too bad for Thornton, then. If they asked him to close, I think he'd close. Uncomfortable? Then he needs to grow up n get comfortable. There's a lot more money for him to make as a closer.

Paulie is second in the AL in homers. Nice. I love his glove even though he's had a few bobbles lately. I for one worship his scoops. He'll be valuable even as a defender. I'd sign him 2 years like a lot of you said, then that's it for him unless he's willing to platoon, etc.

Jerry's pretty old, isn't he? That's what I meant by that. He shows his elder some respect. Jerry's 74, not exactlly a spring chicken.

Not really. Thornton is a legitimate option. He still had to choose between Jenks and Thornton.

What say you all on these developments as reported by the Chicago Tribune? The tension will be high in KC if we hold a lead entering the ninth as Bobby returns to his closer role. Are you satisfied with this or do you wish Ozzie would give it to Thornton right now with Bobby visually appearing fatter than previous seasons and Thornton apparently healthy and available to close in this, his first season as an All-Star?

QUOTE (lostfan @ Aug 19, 2010 -> 12:36 PM) Greg this post doesn't make a lick of sense. You're comparing Ozzie to the real world? I'm not a butt kisser I did the equivalent of what Ozzie said at work: Client: I want you to get this project done by an earlier deadline, also I want it done a certain way Me: I'm gonna do it the way I want, and f*** you if you don't like it! If you don't like it then just don't bill my work. ...I'd expect to be fired within hours. Nice response, I'll give you that. You are saying Ozzie blasted the clients and an employer could expect to be upset that an employee cussed out the client base, in this case the fan base. I can see your point on that. I guess if you look at it that way, yes that could be a fireable offense. I'm too tired now to come up with a counter argument, but I'll think on it. I could simply say sports are different. I do like the fact he doesn't buttkiss up to Kenny. He does a bit to Jerry, but more than anything shows elderly jerry respect. I would like to respond to the poster who said Oz should think outside the box. Was it thinking outside the box in '05 letting all those guys throw complete games? Every other manager would have brought in the closer, maybe even set up men, then closers. Oz let them finish the game and we benefited that postseason by it and won it all. Was that thinking outside the box? Damn right. No other manager would ever have let guys all throw complete games like that. We got a WS title as a result partly of his thinking outside the box. And don't say I'm living in '05. I reallize you all think that anyway. My point I feel is valid example of him thinking outside the box and it's the first one that came to my mind.