greg775

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ May 25, 2016 -> 10:11 PM) The Tigers must have had 5 or 6 disastrous defeats alone in the first 6 weeks and it didn't seem to affect them, even when their own hometown newspaper was calling for the team to be dismantled and Ausmus canned. Ugh. QUOTE (soxforlife05 @ May 25, 2016 -> 10:46 PM) This is the problem with hiring someone with no prior managerial experience. You just don't know if he can properly handle situations like the Carroll game and the aftermath of it so the season doesn't spiral out of control. I wonder how good managers vs. bad managers deal with those losses in which the team chokes away a game that's in the bag. My guess is baseball's rule of clubhouse etiquette is to ignore it, act like you won the game. I'm thinking if I were a manager I would address the choke job in some form or fashion, whether by humor or by challenging the guys. I think we sent Carroll down right away so it's not like the manager would be embarrassing the main culprit in such a discussion. ... Again, I'd bet the book says "when your highly paid, mega millionaire baseball players inexplicably blow a game that everybody thought was in the bag, show no emotion. Act the same as if you had won the game. This is the best way to combat a huge choke job; pretend it never happened." Throw away that volume of "the book." Address it in some way when it happens before you go 4-11.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ May 25, 2016 -> 10:24 PM) Yes, we've heard this before. Tony LaRussa, Jim Leyland in Colorado, Bobby Cox and Joe Torre all "looked" like bad managers before when they had crappy talent. Ozzie said this over and over and over again. Joe Girardi in Florida, etc. I still would argue that sabremetrics doesn't have a clue yet how to measure the intangible/s of what separate a good manager from a great one, anymore than it can measure clubhouse chemistry/cliques. Say what you want about the Twins from 2001-2010, the Tigers from 2011-2014 or the Royals really the last three seasons, they all share/d that trust/conviction/belief that they're the best team and will end up winning in the end...or simply apply constant pressure on other teams and make their opponents beat themselves, in the case of the Twins and Royals. Sox were looking like they had "it" at 23-10. Team was rolling and rattling off win after win and winning series after series. It seems like the Sox do more "weird" stuff than most franchises. Like play 23-10 ball and start to look somewhat special then turn to complete crap. Yes it happens, but what's with the 23-10? True at that point we hadn't started playing division teams cept for the Twins. Wait til Detroit starts beating us like a drum to go with Cleveland and KC. Will interest ever be lower in a first place team than after KC kicks our ass 3 of 4 or all 4 this weekend?

QUOTE (soxforlife05 @ May 25, 2016 -> 09:51 PM) I want Ozzie back. Robin is the perfect corpseball manager. Too laid back to take charge of a team. Robin blew it. At 23-10 he was playing with the house's money. He didn't go for the jugular right then and make this team believe it was an elite team. He knows better than to give away games in which you have a five-run lead for gosh sakes. And once it happened he needed to do something. Thing is ... he's old school where you do the exact same things every day, never show any emotion, never point out to the team to step it up after pissing away a game like that. Hahn/Coop/Kenny share in the blame, calling up a guy like Carroll.

He turns 23 on June 23. He had experience playing in college. Why isn't he "ready?" I'd bring him up on June 23.

QUOTE (BigHurt3515 @ May 25, 2016 -> 09:29 PM) "We had our big guys going. It didn't go well for us" -Robin I can't stand this guy and stupid glasses. He isn't a manager, please get a real one ASAP QUOTE (soxforlife05 @ May 25, 2016 -> 09:48 PM) We had 2 relievers in the DL which created the Scott Carroll debacle though Maybe some year this team won't have one game you just KNOW has ended the season. It must be against baseball's clubhouse rulebook for a player to show emotion anymore. Cause we never have any leadership when we go through these funks. Konerko never did anything; just as the LaRoche haters aren't doing anything.

QUOTE (Lip Man 1 @ May 25, 2016 -> 10:27 PM) Sox have played 48 games this season; have scored three runs or less in 24 of them (50%) Same s*** as last year and the year before...nothing has really changed. Mark Our hitting coach must be fired ... now.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ May 25, 2016 -> 10:26 PM) 82 wins after this start and the only ones they can sell progress to will be Merkin's and Boyer's children... White Sox have had close to perfect health. Again. The Indians have been without Brantley and Carrasco. Royals w/o Gordon, Moustakas, Medlen and Young. Tigers without Maybin and Daniel Norris. We deserve what we get. Any team that thinks Rollins is a productive shortstop and Avila/Navarro are the answer at catcher deserve the .500 record they are going to get.

QUOTE (Lip Man 1 @ May 25, 2016 -> 10:19 PM) Not much you can say. 5th starter hasn't won a game yet and we are almost at Memorial Day and the hitting has disappeared plus even more alarming to me, they have started to make more errors and made base running blunders again. This club will probably be out of first place by the end of the week. Now in a real free fall 4-11 since they blew that game in Texas. 3-7 on a very important home stand. It's all gone south and given the recent history and inability to consistently beat teams in the division (which continues save for Minnesota) the future doesn't look great. We'll see. Win 82 game at least and you can say progress is being made with a straight face. Mark You won't catch me within 50 miles of Kauffman Stadium this weekend. Hate to go or not go based on how I feel the team is going to do ... but I can't take going with my Royals friends who offered me a freebie for Thursday night in the club level seats. They will be in gloating mode and their fans are ready to erupt and start re-living their WS year volume of cheers. Pop up storms supposed to continue all four days, probably too intermittent to rain out any of the 4 games. I'll give Sox benefit of doubt and say we go 1-3, though don't be surprised at the 0-4 sombrero. Could I make a humble request of Robin? Coop? Have Rodon hit Escobar or Hosmer their first at bat in retaliation for the Lawrie hitting and show we've come to compete? Just hit them on the meaty part of the shoulder so nobody gets hurt.

QUOTE (Green Line @ May 25, 2016 -> 10:16 PM) Dont even know what to say anymore. I mean COME ON baseball gods, can we White Sox fans have just a bit of happiness? It's been so freaking long since this team was respectable, and right when things finally seem to be looking up they rip our hearts out. Need to take a week off from the Sox and cool off. Can't beg to the baseball gods when Chicago has had as much success as it has had. WS title 11 years ago; Bulls dynasty; BlackHawks dynasty. Cleveland is the city to pity; no title since the 60s in anything and hearts to be broken badly vs. OKC again.

LOL. For weeks the toast of baseball. A 3-7 homestand follows that pathetic road trip. This team is severely flawed. Fire or demote somebody, please! Oh wait, team is still in first place. No need to panic.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ May 25, 2016 -> 10:05 PM) Minn 0-6 against Sox, 1-5 vs KC and 3-3 vs. Indians. If Sox lose, only 3 games over .500 in AL Central, Indians would be 7 games over. Sox finally returning to the spot they are most comfortable. 2-3 games above or below .500 After the KC series we'll be likely one over. Way to blow the big margin over .500 guys.

QUOTE (fathom @ May 25, 2016 -> 09:04 PM) Gonna win back your houses? My OKC predictions/bets have funded many houses. It's OKC's year.

Rodon, Latos and our No. 5 guy open the Royals series in Kauffman? Yikes. Hate to tell ya to run to your bookie but this screams 0-3 before we try to salvage with Sale on Sunday. I do like Rodon but he's not quite ready for prime time. He'll allow one run in six innings then all hell will break loose with our pen Thursday.

QUOTE (Tex @ May 25, 2016 -> 03:28 PM) But what Reagan was a master at was the role of cheerleader in chief which we badly needed at the time. After the Nixon - Ford - Carter years we needed someone to ride in on the white horse (literally) with a swagger and smile, and make America feel good about themselves. We went from holding our head down to a brash confidence. In my lifetime, (just a little too young to remember Kennedy) he was the gold standard. Clinton came close. After the old guy club, 12 years of grandfathers running the country, he comes into office to Fleetwood Mac and blowing his saxophone. Hell, that young vigor is partly why we've given him such a pass in regards to Monica and others. Again, a huge shift in attitude. I don't see a positive attitude change after this election. Probably after the next one. Eight years of Hillary is a long time. Can you imagine the next election? She is going to be insufferable as a speaker/leader by then, but at the same time she will be an icon. She'll be getting a lot of love internationally for being the first woman president of the USA. She won't be opposed by any Democrats in 2020 meaning she'll just glow during primary season. She'll wave to the crowds as she gives a few speeches or two indicating, "you liked my first four years? Wait til you see what we have in store the next four!" Then going against the Republicans ... nobody in their right mind will run against America's No. 1 citizen. By then the media will have adopted her as the greatest president of all time. It's going to be all Hillary all the time years 3 through 8.

QUOTE (Chilihead90 @ May 6, 2016 -> 08:01 AM) Date went alright tonight. This was my first time meeting here (another Tinder meet), and like I experienced in my 1st Tinder meet, she was about 30-40 lbs heavier than expected. She was actually a really nice girl and we got along fine, but I immediately went from feeling nervous that she would like me, to feeling like I had the upper hand. lol. But overall, I have mixed feelings. She ended up actually knowing far less about baseball than I was hoping. Didn't know a single Sox player, David Ortiz, or really anything outside of the Cubs. She was giving me Cubs updates as the game went on and mispronounced Zobrist's name. Not like being a huge baseball fan is a requirement of mine, but she talked up her baseball love so much that I was disappointed I guess. Also, she talked an awful lot about her job and how much money she makes. She is an ER nurse and makes pretty good money, way more than I do. Like....4x the amount that I do. I guess I was a bit intimidated by her talking about it all and how she is going to buy a $40,000 jeep here soon and how she goes to Vegas like 4 times a year, has trips to Cali and Nashville planned. I mean, she goes on vacation almost once a month. Plus she said questioned a couple of times why I would get the degree I got, considering jobs in Journalism pay so little. She said that's why she went in to medical, because of the money. (And her mom is a head nurse, I get the idea her family is loaded). So all that combined with the fact that she lives an hour south of me....Eh. I'm just not sure. I still got another girl here that I want to meet in the next week. She lives like 25 mins away and we have just as much, if not more in common. Only problem with her is that if I don't text her, we won't talk. When we talk, or conversations are full and she is interested. But every day it's on me to start the conversation. Kind of hard to figure out if she really wants to talk. Let me guess. No second date with this one. Sounds like she would never marry a guy going into Journalism if she asked you why you'd do a low paying career; she is already overweight; she goes to Vegas all the time (probably lot of one night stands at the clubs); she sounds way too opinionated. No second date right?

OKC is doing what everybody expected years ago. It wasn't Brooks' fault. It was not being ready for prime time the first time, then injuries. Now, a totally healthy Westbrook and Durant ... they've finally picked up a force in Adams and got rid of guys who thought they should be part of "star" mix in Harden and even Reggie and get rid of complete stiffs ruining things like Martin. This is what you get ... a team head and shoulders above everybody else. Cleveland ought to hope Toronto actually wins that series cause Cleveland has zero chance vs OKC. It'd be four or five game final. It's OKC's time.

QUOTE (LVSoxFan @ May 25, 2016 -> 04:21 PM) My bad. I lost my objectivity and started to believe, ignoring the past years of middling KW-style average-ball. That said, there are some players I really like on this team. So in the midst of all the talk of rebuild, white flag, etc., etc.--who would you guys keep? Me too. I started to believe. I was even praising Robin nightly. It's tough to say who I'd keep because basebal is changing offensively so much there aren't many guys who can hit .290 with 20 home runs anymore much less .315 with 30 dingers and 110 RBI. I don't know what's productive anymore. I guess .275 is amazingly good with 15 home runs being the standard for home runs now. Keep Sale, Abreu, Eaton, Frazier, Q, Robertson, let everybody else walk. Hey that's the same as I said last season except for Frazier being added to the good player list. QUOTE (Lip Man 1 @ May 25, 2016 -> 04:41 PM) I want a guy to come in who has had previous managerial experience at the big league level and has won...not somebody learning on the job, a complete unknown or someone who literally had to be talked into taking the job. Even if such a guy isn't out there right now, that doesn't mean they won't be AND you can always try to negotiate with a team to get a manager even if he's under contract. Players have been traded for good managers in the past, one example is when Pittsburgh traded catcher Manny Sanguillen to Oakland for Chuck Tanner. Mark We had our chance. I wanted Francona.

QUOTE (SonofaRoache @ May 25, 2016 -> 04:19 AM) I am not concerned with expectations. I am concerned with results and the eye test. Maybe we wouldn't run away but if we played like we had a clue these past 3 weeks we'd have a 6 game lead right now. Let's face facts. Since that Texas game the Sox have been one of the worst teams in MLB after being one of the best for a LONG time.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ May 24, 2016 -> 11:07 PM) Kennedy probably wasn't ready, but had a great team of advisors around him (the best and the brightest). This is what it takes. A young President who simply kicks ass with his staff selections. It can't be that difficult for a President to surround himself with such good people it helps break the gridlock. If I were President I'd say "f*** the world, f*** my party" and name whoever I thought was AWESOME Republican or Democrats. There are no true leaders anymore. Obama gets an F as a "leader" you all must agree. Bush gets an F; the older Bush gets an F; Reagan gets an A or B. Bill Clinton gets a B or C. Carter gets a B on the leadership scale. Hillary and Trump? LOL. They will be disasters on the leadership front. I actually think Trump will wind up getting impeached if he somehow wins (which he won't). Hillary probably won't get impeached but she will be one of the worst presidents ever and she won't get one thing fixed in our country. WHo the hell will the Republicans get to oppose her in five years? That will be the joke of all time. Nobody in their right mind will want to lose to the Queen. Will Hillary run unopposed? Maybe Romney will take one for the team and get crushed by Hillary in 2020.

I pity Cleveland. Unless Cavs fans are smarter than I give them credit for, they are going to think they have a chance to break the Cleveland jinx in the Finals vs. OKC. In reality, this OKC team is head and shoulders the NBA champ. Durant and Westbrook are FINALLY healthy and there's nothing the league teams can do about it. Everybody forgot about OKC cause they had a pedestrian regular season, but people forget how 2 and 3 years ago the Thunder were in the FInals and considered collosal chokers when in reality they weren't ready yet. Durant and Westbrook have to be laughing. They know it's their time cause they are healthy and there's nothing Cleveland will be able to do to stop the train. Suddenly Golden State looks like the Sox of the last couple weeks. Dynasty ova before it could begin.

QUOTE (Lip Man 1 @ May 25, 2016 -> 04:36 AM) Maybe to answer your question its because the people on the baseball side of the operation simply aren't very good at what they are supposed to be doing. The results on the field speak for themselves don't they? Three losing seasons in a row and six out of nine. No playoffs since 2008 only Seattle, Miami and San Diego have gone longer. A lot of those folks would have been fired long time ago in other organizations but not with the White Sox. Remember it's loyalty first, second and third over accountability. Mark It sure seems like teams in the Central know the formula to getting our hitters out (though the Twins may have so little talent it doesn't matter). I'd like somebody to do a study on this. The media could ask unnamed sources if everybody in the Central has a good book on the Sox weaknesses.

QUOTE (fathom @ May 25, 2016 -> 04:21 AM) By no means did they quit after it. More just lost some of the confidence they had late in games. Albers for sure has lost his swagger. Hope you are right. It sure seems cut and dried. I mean Robin was almost perfect all season to that point, looking like Casey Stengel, then for some f***ing reason he decides to use Carroll. And Hahn should be FIRED if he recommended we call up Carroll. An eighth grader can tell you Carroll has no business pitching in a big league game now or again in the future. QUOTE (Lip Man 1 @ May 25, 2016 -> 04:22 AM) Six guys in the starting lineup tonight now hitting .250 or less and Lawrie is at .251. You thought it couldn't happen again offensively from last year? Better think again. Hitters come to Chicago and die. Mark Good post. QUOTE (Lip Man 1 @ May 25, 2016 -> 04:23 AM) You may be correct. If you are that says a lot about them mentally doesn't it? And that indicates a much bigger issue to me. Mark I hope they haven't quit. Hopefully Fathom is right and it's just a confidence issue. QUOTE (fathom @ May 25, 2016 -> 04:24 AM) Not getting Desmond or Fowler was such a blunder. Truer words have never been spoken. They had the typical offseason love affair with a player -- this year it was Rollins. QUOTE (fathom @ May 25, 2016 -> 04:27 AM) I hate that particular game as much as anyone. However as the season drags on, you see just how mediocre so many of the players on the roster are. They legitimately need a SS, catcher, two starters and another reliever (and that's with me hoping Jackson improves). The free agent hitters all flopping, like you said, has helped lead to another sad offense. Thing is it looked for a while, five weeks or so, that because of our great great starting pitching and couple of relievers (Albers, David mainly) the improved defense cause by the acquisition of Jackson would really make our team a WS contender. Jackson and Eaton were saving runs galore and Rollins was as good as Lexi at least and Lawrie was doing damn well til that one game he cost us with some bad error. I do think the fact we are catching Avila/Navarro says a ton right there ... hard to win a division with those two bums manning the catcher position. This team was so likeable before that Rangers disaster game. And the team wasn't exactly tearing the cover off the ball then. It was very very likeable. Now it is unwatchable cause of the horrific hitting with men on base.

QUOTE (fathom @ May 25, 2016 -> 04:10 AM) Offense has so many holes right now. There is nothing on the bench that can help, as do you really want to see Sands vs Kluber? I wonder if the "new blood" on the team would admit the squad quit after the Robin/Caroll implosion in Texas. It shouldn't take 2-3 weeks to get over one loss.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ May 25, 2016 -> 04:06 AM) 21,550 tonight. Outdrawn by the Twins, somehow. Like somebody said before, 20000 actually isn't a bad crowd for a week night. If we do that and 30000 on weekends, that's not too bad IMO.

How could a fan buy a Sox Avila jersey? My gosh, pick some guy from the past like Frank Thomas. Who would be an Avila fan? If he's got a Sox jersey on the market they must have all players including Carroll.