greg775

QUOTE (fathom @ Apr 5, 2014 -> 07:17 PM) Nice play by Conor...but Abreu's defense has been just abysmal so far. Good thing Gillaspie scooped that throw or it was Keystone Kops time. Is Eaton's arm worse than Johnny Damon or was that an anomaly? Don't know much about him.

I won't say it. Better censor myself here.

Brownback is a f***ing fool and we elected him.

I would have to say Konerko assuming he can get hold of some of the lefty stiff's offerings.

QUOTE (Elgin Slim @ Apr 5, 2014 -> 01:51 AM) I remember Johnson's Fastball in the 92-95 range last September. Today he was 87-90. What happened? I hope it is a late onset of dead arm and he returns to his previous velocity because he was throwing meat today. If the velocity woes continue for another 3-4 starts, they should send him down. Is it possible he is hurt and not telling anyone? I was baffled when he threw his fastball consistently around 89 in the first inning. I agree he was lousy today. If Robin can keep this team around .500 he deserves manager of the year. Weaknesses: Bullpen, defense. If/when our offense stops hitting we will be in a 99-loss world of hurt.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Apr 5, 2014 -> 01:21 AM) Kansas City has the exact same stadium layout/design/configuration and a similar propensity for fans to sit in the lower bowl as USCF...their ushers are very vigilant about letting someone into the box seats, which is of course their responsibility. It gets crowded, but they've managed to widen the concourses as well as adding to the outfield/patio area so not everyone is drawn to the area between 1st and 3rd. Have never noticed a big problem there. It goes back to "protecting" the experience of the box seat holders. Caufield are u back in KC? or still overseas somewhere? Caufield and Fathom are interesting. They never post in the winter. They are like bears in hibernation. Then they reappear. They are regular-season aficionados.

QUOTE (oldsox @ Apr 5, 2014 -> 12:20 AM) Has the size of the strike zone gotten bigger this year? It sure seems like it. In addition to the four Sox games to date, I have watched parts of many others, and I think the strike zone grew over the winter. I sure hope so. I haven't watched enough baseball yet, but I was shocked in one of the games I've watched that a letter high fastball was actually called a strike. I loved that.

I wonder if Garcia will improve as a defender. He appears to have no instincts as far as chasing the ball. I'm not giving up on him by any means, but he looks uncomfortable in the outfield. If he catches that little looper in right field then three runs don't score. I'm shocked the Royals were playing so shallow on that catch by Cain that ended that one inning. With Abreu's power you'd think the outfield would have been deeper. Had that little pop to center fallen the game might have been more interesting.

QUOTE (Wanne @ Apr 4, 2014 -> 09:48 PM) if anybody wants to complain about Hawk...listen to this homer in the Royals booth right now. Good god...dude...STFU!!! The Royals announcers are in the news. They will say nothing remotely critical of the team and the basis of their broadcats are enlightening statements like, "Wouldn't it be great to see Billy get a hold of one with the bases loaded?" Say what you want. Hawk and Stone get to criticize the team and that is refreshing.

Not that it will matter, but that third place coach is a fricking moron. How can you be that dumb and have a major league job? Gordon is the best in baseball at plays like that. My god, McEwen. Idiotic.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Apr 4, 2014 -> 12:49 PM) Game 3 lol I have my posting faults, but I don't flood the board with the "it's early" stuff. Most of us who complain realize it's early in the season. We'd just like to see the team avoid early meltdowns and huge ruts like players starting 1 for 20 and blowing games against teams like the Twins where it looks like we stole the game to begin with.

There used to be a time it seemed former Sox players just killed the Sox when the teams played.

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Apr 4, 2014 -> 05:45 PM) Ready for Perez, Guthrie, Cy, and Butler to kill us for another season? I know people in KC have caught on to the Guthrie, Chen thing, realizing they own the Sox pretty much.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Apr 3, 2014 -> 03:34 PM) How dare you badmouth Mark Buehrle with facts and numbers! I think he's Jamie Moyer-esque. He's going to pitch a long long time unless he wants to retire and spend time with his beloved dog and his beloved family.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Apr 3, 2014 -> 05:49 PM) DeAza really should bat 2nd vs RHP. I guess Semien for now vs LHP, but once Beckham gets back it's either him, Ramirez, or AGArcia, and none of them is ideal. I agree it should be DeAza against righties.

QUOTE (ScottyDo @ Apr 4, 2014 -> 05:35 AM) Because you don't spend unnecessary resources on parts that won't be there when the winning seasons do arrive, and it's impossible to project a bullpen past one year so why try this year when you project a solely developmental season anyway? Your best bet is to pick up people with little risk and trade the ones that pan out to further increase the talent level of your club in more sustainable ways. Makes sense. I hope the bullpen isn't so bad, though, that it is incapable of closing out the games we have a one or two run lead in the 6th/7th. With no closer candidate (except Webb?) we might lose even more than 99 games. Last year we had a fairly decent closer and still lost 99. I guess it's all up to Nate and Lindstrom. If they are abysmal our pen has no chance.

The Royals are starting Guthrie and Chen against the Sox and skipping Ace Ventura's turn because Guthrie and Chen own the White Sox. But this to me is stupid. Do the Royals believe Guthrie and Chen own the White Sox uniform?? The Sox have so many new players they are not really the White Sox that Guthrie and Chen have owned in the past. It's like the Royals are counting on the fact KC's Chen and Guthrie are facing uniforms they are used to dominating, not real players. Don't you agree with me that's stupid and our hitters just might lick their chops and knock out Guthrie and Chen both? I'd rather face them than Ventura. p.s.: Mods can make this the game thread if they want and change the title.

I'd say Alexei.

QUOTE (joeynach @ Apr 3, 2014 -> 04:54 PM) Attendance doesn't matter anymore, this isnt 1990. Have you seen the AAV of the TV contracts that a good 1/3 of MLB has received in the last 5 years. Have you not noticed the influx of revenue all teams receive from MLB advanced media. Have you not noticed how the White Sox in the bottom 1/3 in attendance almost every year are constantly in the top 1/3 in major league payroll. Teams, especially the White Sox have introduced so many non ticket sale produced revenue streams into the equation in the last ten years it just doesn't matter. I wouldn't be surprised if half of MLB get more money from media rights than ticket sales every season. This old default view that attendance and team payroll are proportional needs to go away, things have changed considerably since 2004. If attendance doesn't matter, why not just charge 10 bucks for box seats and be done with it?

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Apr 4, 2014 -> 01:04 AM) There's something to be said for zero bathroom & concession lines and the leg room you can ask for. I know. If it was 62 degrees, not 32, and you could spread out like that, that'd be the game I'd want to go to.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Apr 3, 2014 -> 11:47 PM) Like I said in the other thread, this is the bullpen you expect for a rebuilding team. Rookies and retreads with weaknesses. Some of them will step up and some won't. Why is that, though? Baseball has become a game where the bullpen is more vital than ever before. Why would the Sox put together such a bad bullpen when the team has improved in many other areas? It's like we want to make sure we lose (for draft picks) but look exciting doing it.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Apr 4, 2014 -> 04:23 AM) Then you're setting back the time you can legitimately compete by another year if players like Garcia, Davidson and Semien spend the whole season in the minors...meaning 2015 is another "adjustment/rookie" season and you're in perennial waiting mode like the Cubs. Maybe the offense starting out hot has everyone a BIT excited, but it was ONLY against Minnesota, in the final analysis. As flavum has pointed out, the schedule for the next month plus is pretty brutal. It's expected they're going to be 5-10 games under .500 already and beginning to look as much towards 2015 as 2014, especially due to the fact that this bullpen is certainly not constructed to be in "win now" mode. Minnesota is a really really bad team. The schedule makers did us a favor for our opening series, that is for sure. I fully expect to lose the next 3 while scoring very few runs in Kauffman. If KC somehow drops 2 of 3 they'll be calling for Yost's head this early.

QUOTE (ScottyDo @ Apr 3, 2014 -> 10:56 PM) Better learn to love this sort of thing, this is exactly how I have the 2014 White Sox earmarked. As long as players develop, this is just the kind of thing we're going to have to live with. I know it's early, but ON PAPER this bullpen has to be one of the worst in baseball. We did beat a horrendous Minnie team 2 of 3 in our own ballpark which is good, but I can't imagine winning more games than last year with this bullpen. Good teams are going to feast on this pen I would think. I realize it was cold out and probably hard to throw strikes, but we don't have squat in the bullpen this year. On a glass half full side of things re. the bullpen, I guess Nate could get it together and be one good piece of the pen.

Good job, ump. It's a cold f***ing day. Make them hit!! One out.

Can Lindstrom do this? Or is he a hack? Know little about him. Would be nice to get three going into powerful KC.