greg775

QUOTE (Noonskadoodle @ Apr 1, 2013 -> 10:08 PM) Verlander done after 5 & 91 pitches? That is strange after last year when he threw all those pitches. Maybe they figure 3-0 lead against Minnie is an automatic win since Minnesota is so pathetic.

Beckham's defense probably assures him a 20-year career. Great play.

Lexi getting two hits is a big plus. Isn't he a really slow starter? Got to be happy with that.

QUOTE (fathom @ Apr 1, 2013 -> 06:35 PM) Bombs away Tank and Flowers We might as well lift and pull. I'd think Mark will have a pretty good idea how to get his old teammates out. Fathom may have gotten it right. Those 2 guys probably are our best bet to launch a few off Mark. Maybe Paulie, too.

QUOTE (Cali @ Mar 31, 2013 -> 09:16 AM) Now comes that fun game where you drive yourself crazy over thinking it. Detroit picked by so many, so it won't happen right? Or is that just a White Sox thing? There is no doubt in my mind that if it was all Sox picks they would tank or some catasophic injury or injuries would befall the team. They do better when everyone doubts them, but s*** what's that like to not have that problem? Teams that have year in year out expectations from major sports publications easily matching them. Time will tell if Detroit can meet them. Yes I'm biased, yes I've said I hate Detroit several times here, and I've said I almost root for ANYONE to win the division except them (not just the Sox) but f***, when you spending that much money year in and year out you just don't deserve to be rewarded. It's why I hope the Dodgers fail (and was glad they did last year) and why I rooted against the Yankees and Red Sox the last decade plus... I think what generally drives me crazy as a fan and winds up getting me suspended is when crazy stuff happens in our season. Like we'll have a rotten record in the Cell the first 2 months. Usually teams with the talent of the White Sox go 6-4 minimum on long homestands, not 4-6 or 3-7. I'd love for our team to be consistently good in the Cell. It'd save me pulling my hair out. What also drives me batty is never having a long winning streak. It seems like my team, the Sox, is incapable of one of those indescribably delicious 9-to-12 game win streaks that can really get the team well over .500 and establishing itself as a wild card contender. What also has driven me insane is losing to divisional foes, when those teams stink. Let's say KC has a typical KC season. It kills me when they dominate us in that scenario as the Royals did last year. Finally what drives me batty is the inability of Sox starters to complete six innings, preferably get one out in the seventh, even two outs. I am of the opinion the Sox have a heckuva difficult time covering nine outs with our bullpen. That said, I think I will be a lot calmer this year even if those things happen again ... cause my expecations are finally lower. They've remained high every year since 2005. I've had high expectations all those years that followed the WS title. This year I hope to enjoy baseball or at least not get so worked up. I don't expect us to get the wildcard which leaves the division title or bust. And I'm not too energized about our chances there. But I am kind of a wacko regarding the Sox. My opinion on most Sox matters totally deviates from the normal fan. GO SOX!

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Mar 29, 2013 -> 09:18 PM) Perk up the optimism Greg. It's your duty as a "crazed" Sox fan to be hopeful in spring. So, in the spirit of looking on the bright side I will venture to try and give you hope for the positions you feel are average. 3B: Keppinger hit .325 last year and his OBP was .367. Most think it was probably a career year and certainly he didn't get a huge contract for those numbers but he is a huge improvement over what the Sox had last year. He will be 33 soon so maybe he was a late bloomer, but if he puts up the same type of numbers as last year Sox fans will love him. He hit nearly .500 in spring training so include that with how he did last year and you have to be optimistic. CF. De Aza did very well in his 1st full season facing ML pitching so since it's spring lets just say he avoids the sophomore jinx and becomes an even better player. He does a lot of things well just nothing spectacular. I would gladly take a repeat performance from him. LF : Viciedo's upside is really high. The highest of any player on the 25 man roster. Imagine if you will he hits 5-10 more HR's than last year , raises his batting average 25 points ,raises his RBI totals by 20 doubles the amount of walks he gets. The key to his improvement is how he does against RH pitchers and maintains what he did against LH's. This spring he hit very well against RH's , granted it may mean nothing but its better than sucking in spring. 2B: Plenty of room to improve here. Beckham's another low OBP player (Viciedo, Ramirez). Very good fielder and decent pop. This is most likely his make or break year. Reports are he added more muscle and looks quicker with the bat. He works so hard on getting better. I hope he does. He also had a good spring. C: Sox fans loved AJ so that means Tyler will probably take the most heat from fans if he doesn't produce. You shouldn't be worried about him being better defensively than AJ because he will be and by a long shot. He's got a boat load of power so the only thing he has to do is make consistent contact and keep taking walks to be equal or better than equal to AJ. I hope after reading this you feel more optimistic. No matter if the season turns out good or bad. Spring is the time for renewed hope and I see no reason for that not to be so with the Sox. Feel free to talk Sox baseball with me any time Greg weather here or via PM. Good stuff. I like it a lot. Keppinger stuff was awesome. QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Mar 29, 2013 -> 09:45 PM) The philosophy regarding baseball and sports in general over the last few years is to not worry about it and not get upset. Be excited to watch at the beginning of the year. Greg, your post makes you sound like you're dreading Opening Day. As far as I'm concerned, that is the 2nd best sporting day of the entire year. If you get all pissed off about how the Sox are doing or when they get in a slump, it's going to affect your personal life and letting a baseball team that doesn't know you affect you in that way is silly. Being aware that guys suck and there are holes is no problem...that's just being an observant fan. Don't let it bother you. Just be a White Sox fan and get excited. Great post. Made me think. I don't want to dread Opening Day. That's a nice lesson you gave me.

91 wins would make me as happy as Wichita State's basketball fans right about now.

Serious question: As we enter this season are we a team/organization on the upswing or downturn or what exactly? A couple friends who root for the Royals asked me today what my feelings about the Sox were. They know I am a crazed Sox fan and not some sort of fly by night Sox fan. I said I enter the season with zero expectations (last year at this time I still had huge expectations). I said I like some of our veteran players and I like our starting pitching and we always seem to have a very good closer and that's why we usually finish over .500. But I said I hate our set up guys in the bullpen and think we have a lot of average bodies at many positions: 3B, CF, LF, 2B, C to name five key positions. I told them my expectations were pretty darn low for the first time in forever. Do you think I am a clown for thinking this way and thinking our future is not exactly brimming with hope? Where exactly is this franchise headed following this spring training heading into the opener?

QUOTE (fathom @ Mar 25, 2013 -> 11:18 PM) 77-85 (4th place in AL Central) Tigers over Braves to win the World Series Team MVP: Rios Team LVP: Flowers (he's going to really struggle against righties, which is bad news in our division) Most improved: Beckham Biggest downfall: Dunn Biggest surprise: Santiago ends the season as Sox #2 starter after Floyd gets traded and one of Sale/Peavy gets injured If you are right, this is one blah season ahead of us as fans.

Instead of Axelrod, why don't the sox make a minor deal with KC and acquire Chen or Hochevar? You could get Hochevar for scraps and Chen for not much more than scraps IMO. Maybe they'll be no better than Axe. It's just something that popped in my head living in KC.

If Sox pitching is dominant and defense is good to great we should finish 10 over .500. I would expect the Sox record to improve against divisional opposition this year because KC is no longer considered a doormat. KC may still be a doormat but with some name starting pitchers I think the Sox will take KC seriously. Minnie and Cleveland are so bad they are incapable of beating the Sox even if Sox take them lightly. Maybe this is the year. It would help if Flowers emerges as a star. I'm hoping this is the year the Sox have the pitching/defense winning formula down pat.

Since I live in Kansas I'd love your opinion of KU and its fanbase. Do you all ever run into Kansas fans? As far as this region ... Kansas has iffy point guard play in Johnson and Tharpe. Ben McLemore who is a 2 guard, however, is good. Say what you want about Bill Self. He is a good coach. I think Kansas might get upset by North Carolina this time. If KU survives that game and also the Michigan game, I think it will win it all. Those 2 games are very very difficult for Kansas IMO. I can't see the J-hawks beating Michigan.

I saw Lohan's current saga on TMZ. What do you all think of Lohan? Do you care to follow her story? Will she be dead in 2 years? Will she end up in jail? I think she's going to screw up again and finally have to serve some real time in a jail for women.

How is Morel's back holding up? Can he make the team as a backup to Keppinger? I always kind of liked Morel for his defense.

Is the new pope a good guy? i've heard favorable media reports.

QUOTE (ChiSox_Sonix @ Mar 18, 2013 -> 02:06 PM) A lot of people think the media wasn't too sympathetic toward the victim. Kind of focusing on the football players having shattered lives now. QUOTE (Y2HH @ Mar 18, 2013 -> 10:12 PM) While I agree that kids don't know how to drink, as I sure as hell didn't at that age, there were plenty of situations in which I was making out with a girl at a party and she got black out drunk the same night yet I never felt inclined to, entitled to or in the right to have non-consensual sex with her. I was more interested in seeing if we could get together another night. Not to mention the thought of filming it, laughing about it and sharing it. Talk about sick. That alone shows me these sick f***s felt untouchable and simply didn't give a damn. Y2HH this also happened to me once in college. I was making out with a girl outside her dorm and she basically blacked out. I never thought about taking advantage of her. I remember shaking my head at my bad luck, cause it was obvious it was going to be a hook up that night, pretty much carried her to her room, and tucked her in with her blanket. I saw her a couple times after that as friends and she was sort of embarrassed. But I knew right from wrong and no way was I going to take advantage of her when she was that drunk.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 18, 2012 -> 08:35 PM) Tennessee and Oklahoma are coming forwards today with plans to arm teachers and provide training. There's a guy in Tennessee being quoted who is saying he's surprised/disappointed it hasn't happened already. The governor of Michigan received a bill, passed on Friday I believe (lame duck session rushing through Republican bills) that would have allowed guns in schools in that state, but today he has pledged to veto it because of that portion. We're assuming there are no nutjob teachers out there. There are nuts in all walks of life. One teacher snapping and that tragedy in the making would be as bad as this one.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Dec 18, 2012 -> 09:08 PM) Exactly. Fred Phelps is total scum.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Dec 18, 2012 -> 08:59 PM) Its pretty easy, I dont agree with the position but I can easily argue it. "Look Mr. X, I love children, I love children so much that as we sit here I am destroyed inside. I am completely gutted. This is the worst tragedy that has ever happened in the United States. But we have to ask ourselves why did this tragedy occur? And the answer is that the children that we love so much are not being protected. If the principal had a tank, this would not have happened. If the school had Robocop, this would not have happened. If you truly love children as much as I do, you will see that what we need is more law abiding citizens with weapons. The police can not stop every terrible crime before it happens. That is why we need citizens who can react to a situation like this and stop it before a single child gets hurt. I love children so much, I just cant stand to let them be victims. As I say this I am getting worked up and angry, because these children just couldnt fight for themselves. We send them to schools where they have no protection, where they think they are safe, but its just a fallacy. We need more guns, its the only solution." Not bad at all. Usually the pro gun people get all huffy, though, and are incapable of being calm like your response. It'd be interesting to see if they could realize that they are speaking to a parent of a child murdered and calm down and actually have a discussion or if they'd act like that parent is full of it.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Dec 18, 2012 -> 08:56 PM) Not really. They aren't actually hurting anyone. Pedofiles, rapists, murders, etc are way lower on the food chain. These guys are just screaming for attention and protesting funerals. True, but I think they are contenders for the worst hate group. They do some pretty hateful things. One of my favorite stories of all time is how the Texas A&M students formed a human wall around them to protect a funeral. I think they are hurting a lot of people by the way. A lot of people want to celebrate their loved ones lives at funerals of their loved ones, not deal with some f***s from Topeka screaming, "God hates XXXs."

QUOTE (bmags @ Dec 18, 2012 -> 08:46 PM) and maybe, just maybe, that it's better to rise above then to use violence against people. Maybe? True, but like Mex said, their positions are pretty damn despicable. It takes a lot of restraint for the relatives of fallen soldiers to hear a bunch of trash-asses from Topeka screaming "God hates XXXX" at the funeral of their loved ones. And the Topeka dips***s get as close to the funeral ceremonies as they can legally. These people are contenders for the most low-rent piece of s*** hate group out there today. They are so pathetic, that up close and personal, I don't think they are worth a fist.

I just thought of something today. Part of the TV coverage of these horrible tragedies includes interviewing some of the caring parents of the victims. One dad had a press session and was crying and it of course broke my heart. This dad pretty much forgave the killer, as did a mom of one of the angels, who said she would not be bitter toward the killer. There have to be some parents of the 20 angels who would love additional gun control and get some of these weapons of war/terror off the streets. I wonder how some of the loudmouths against gun control would treat such a parent in a debate situation. Would they try to speak over that parent like most of these "discussions" on Chris Matthews' show and O'Reilly's show or would they let the parent speak. I mean, how the f*** can a human being argue with a mom or dad whose baby has been executed by weapons of terror??? Also, I think the mom, who was murdered, may be getting a bad rap. I watched an interview last night with 3 of her friends, one guy very upset that she was being characterized as a gun nut. He said she liked to go to the range, but didn't talk about it much, just said she enjoyed it. She also said how challenging it was to raise her son with his condition, but she didn't obsess about it. And another said she was such a nice person she'd hear about somebody in trouble and whip out her check book and try to help immediately. These issues are complicated, but from what I saw in that interview of three people, the mom appeared to be a normal, nice, good person. Finally, what is this about the kids all holding hands as they were shot and killed? Are more details out?? Did this killer have a mass execution where he didn't just fire away, but he was organized and had them all hold hands, etc? Makes me cry some more.

QUOTE (MexSoxFan#1 @ Dec 17, 2012 -> 11:28 PM) I swear that if WBC members showed up to a funeral of a family member of mine to protest it, whether it would be because one of those little kids were related to me or if God forbid one of my cousins in Iraq (two were serving there) were killed, they'd have to peel me away from them. These are some sick twisted f***s. They are the scum of the earth, but I think the reason nobody ever beats the hell out of them at funerals is a.) they are lawyers and are dying to sue people and b.) if you actually look at them or talk to them you realize they are not worth your fists. They just say the same things over and over and they just seem like trash if that's the right word. It's not worth the effort to punch them and I think people see that when they approach them.

This might have been a freudian (sp) slipup, but thrown in there in the midst of your other sentences/thoughts, I think it shows how you really feel. You are acting cool and calm, but you are head over heels and want to spend every waking moment with her basically. She is nowhere near that point. Did I get it correct? That's OK, but she is acting kind of bizarre. Maybe this is a different kind of girl like you said, but in most cases I think we would be right in thinking she is keeping you around as a fallback. We'll see.

To the nonbelievers out there, what do you think of Obama being our "pastor in chief" the other night? Not trying to rub it in, just wondered if you were outraged or think his words quoting scripture and mentioning heaven, etc., were offensive to you. http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2012/12/17/m...hief/?hpt=hp_t2