Yossarian

QUOTE(sircaffey @ Jul 23, 2005 -> 11:14 PM) Konerko would be fine, if he wasn't counted on to be the majority contributor of this meager offense. I agree. Konerko was a good compliment when surrounded by other better hitters. Now that he is counted on to be "the man" he just isn't cutting it. Because of this his trade value is dubious. A team that needs offense would not be wise to get him, and a team that already has some probably would not be interested. He just about had me banging my head against the wall last nite.

The Cell is called Coors Field East by some. It seems that when the weather warms up the ball really flies out of there. I heard that with the redesign of the park it would be hard to move the plate or the fences more than a few feet but I say do it. If you want to play Ozzie ball then let the park play to your strengths.

QUOTE(atrain081 @ Jul 21, 2005 -> 11:49 PM) Hopefully this is the tough stretch, but with Minnesota, New York, Texas, and Anaheim still on the schedule, I wouldn't be surprised to see a few struggles later on. I'm kind of glad that this is happening right now, though. Maybe KW will be able to see some flaws and push for another bat or reliever. KW is on a roll. I hope he can carry it forward and make a move before the trading deadline that will invigorate the team and the fans. I know he's smart enough not to make a move just for the hell of it, but I hope there's something out there for him to make a move.

QUOTE(JimH @ Jul 23, 2005 -> 02:29 PM) RR, great post, here's my observation. Many here are pessimistic by nature and generally see the bad before the good. Others here are not very experienced, and tend to be more reactionary, both good and bad, i.e. a player is great one night, the next night he needs to be traded. It is also the underlying nature of many Sox fans to expect bad things to happen, given the history of the team I can sort of understand that. Most of the extreme negativism comes about because they perceive this place as a venting ground, which is ok I suppose. If it gets too far to the extreme, the board as whole tend to police things. Then, there have been or are a few goofballs on this site who simply enjoy stirring up s*** and do not understand the difference between fact and opinion. Luckily, the mods and admins know who they are and if they get too whacked out, they'll be gone. Still othersquickman like to use the site as a bastion of reverse psychology and think by posting negative proclamations, it will somehow alter the course of nature. Lastly there are a few who feel drinking and posting go hand in hand, they should be ignored. It's the nature of SoxTalk. For the most part it's a pretty good place to visit. Oh man, how did I miss this? On target as usual.

QUOTE(nitetrain8601 @ Jul 23, 2005 -> 12:22 PM) Look at our top 20 prospects. I wouldn't give them 2 of them for Randa. That's my honest opinion. 10-20 is a mid level prospect essentially unless you're a team like the Brewers or Angels. Then that's a top prospect. How many of our "prospects" have really panned out in recent years. I don't know much about the Padre's farm system, but all things being equal I'd say this is probably a good move for them.

QUOTE(Al Lopez's Ghost @ Jul 23, 2005 -> 11:39 AM) First of all I like him. Most important of all, Ozzie likes him. Whatever you think of Joey, you're not gonna be able to say...he gone. You're right. As long as Ozzie wants him, he's here. I just wish he would remember when it's Paul Konerko chugging around the bases.

QUOTE(RibbieRubarb @ Jul 23, 2005 -> 02:08 PM) The last couple days have brought these thread gems: - Trade Konerko so Dye can play 1st. - Fire Joey Cora, he sucks - Bench Tadahito Iguchi so Willie Harris can start - Joe Crede's defense sucks - Our team is like 2003-2003-2004, no heart - We will lose the division to the Twins After reading all the posts and going over the facts and stats, I have come to this conclusion: No one on this team can make a mistake, no matter how great they've been all year. No one can be in a slump, no matter how many times they've helped us win No one can make errors after not making any for months There is a strong and vocal community who does NOT believe in this team, it's players or it's coaches. They don't like this team and are looking at every excuse to bash them. 30+ games over in July .500 doesn't matter "It could be better" One of top defenses in MLB, doesn't matter "Did you see that play last night..etc" Top pitching in the League , doesn't matter. Top team in steals & sacrifices, doesn't matter 11 game lead in the division in July, doesn't matter Scored 459 runs...6th in the AL Given up 375 runs...1st in AL. 2nd in MLB!!! Thats why we win Folks!!! If we were playing poorly, I'd understand. If this team wasn't doing playing good, solid fundemental baseball, I'd understand. If we were playing selfish, I'd understand. BUT WE ARE NOT DOING THAT. So, I don't understand. So I ask why... All I can say is, I watch the games. I see how they play. I see the emotion, the heart and the guts they give every night. That's why were winning. Can we be better...sure no team is perfect. But does the house have to be destroyed so we can build a new one? No. Can another bullpen arm help. Yes Can another Starter help when we fragile in that area physically. Yes. Can a versitile bench player help. Yes. Do we need to replace half the team and it's coaching staff. NO In closing, your Honor, I demand the White Sox of 2005 be found NOT GUILTY of sucking and any reference to them or a specific team member sucking without provication or adequate facts to support that be mocked to the fullest extent of the law! This fan rests. There is no doubt that this team has as much if not more heart than any White Sox team in the last half century. There's still a long way to go, and nervous Sox fans will remain just that. Nervous.

QUOTE(elrockinMT @ Jul 23, 2005 -> 12:39 PM) It is Frank's foot that is hurting. He can come off the DL August 4th. He will be back and helping the Sox win. As far as the profane comments about this Sox super star... I can do without them thank you. I can do without them too. Unfortunately it seems like this problem has put his career in jeopardy. It was obvious to me that he's been trying to run without putting as much pressure on the bad foot/ankle. Frank's a trooper. If he says it's 10 on the pain meter I believe him. I wish and hope for him the best, but his swing and the way he ran told me that he may have a problem that is no longer correctable.

QUOTE(LowerCaseRepublican @ Jul 23, 2005 -> 11:06 AM) It is just fun to see a hack -- especially one who can't get facts straight -- get smoked and exposed as an idiot, be they from the right or the left. I didn't read his books so I don't know what "facts" he did or didn't get straight. I do know this, the art of editing has gone out of style, and many writers would do well to hire better editors, let alone improve their spelling and grammar. I finally was able to see this video, and my opinion differs greatly from some of you. Goldberg blew it in the beginning by being rude and abrasive to Linda Stasi. That put the whole panel into attack dog mode, and when Goldberg tried to tone it down, it was too late. The whole thing left me disgusted because it would have been nice to see a real debate instead of the usual shouts of recrimination. I will defend Goldberg on three points. On his take of the media, I essentially agree. Huge sections of the media are knee jerk in their responses and approach, with an agenda. The popular culture is increasingly vulgar and tasteless. That will probably get a rise out of the younger crowd here (which is the majority). Certain cultural things have centuries of staying power. If civilization survives, in a century or less this age will be looked upon as a very dark one with regards to movies, the arts and culture. Third, it was obvous that nobody had taken the time to read any of Goldberg's book, just to gloss over some of it in a very cursory way. It was an ambush, which Goldberg aided and abetted by being rude to Linda Stasi in the beginning. As for that blogger, I wanted to grab him by his skinny neck and slap him around. He added nothing of substance. It was the jounalistic equivalent of "You're an assshole, I don't like you." In conclusion I would probably agree with Goldberg in his assessment of the media and popular culture to a great degree, but his personality is abrasive and arrogant. Perhaps defensiveness plays a part here, because in establishment circles he is seen as a "traitor" to his profession.

QUOTE(KipWellsFan @ Jul 23, 2005 -> 12:17 PM) I clearly explained in my post what I think was funny. I really wanted to check this out but for whatever reason my computer just wouldn't accept it. I tried all the little tricks I know, still no good. So I checked the "Crooks and Liars" web site and it's the same tired old left wing childish rants and other assorted crap. Like a web site Michael Moore would put up. Anybody who reads my stuff here should gather that I'm pretty iconclastic and not easily classified, but I am ever so tired of this warmed over cant. Oh well. Let me try one more time and see if I can get this video on my computer. Edit: What a dork! It's on their web site. Let's see if I can make it work.

Jazz 1. Thelonious Monk 2. Django Rheinhardt 3. Gene Ammons 4. Jack McDuff 5. Charlie Parker Blues 1. Muddy Waters 2. B. B. King 3. Lightning Hopkins 4. T Bone Walker 5. Elmore James Rock 1. Eric Clapton 2. Doors 3. Animals 4. Led Zepellin 5. Rolling Stones I'm over 50 so flame away. These are three favorite genres and my 5 favorite artists in each genre. Music has kept me from losing it at times and any criticism of an old man's choices are matched up against all the pleasure and good times the music has given me.

I very much appreciate the work I really do. That being said if Brandon McCarthy is our hottest prospect well then ........ our system leaves a lot to be desired.

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Jul 22, 2005 -> 12:56 PM) One thing that I am starting to pick up with Ozzie as a manager is that his focus is totally different than any manager I have ever seen. He is a macro-manager vs everyone else in the league who is basically a micro-manager. When Ozzie manages he always has something else in mind whenever he makes a move. When he brings in a relief pitcher, it seems like not only is he trying to match up for an AB, he also is trying to learn something about a pitcher. Like earlier in the season when he started using Neal Cotts in the 7th/8th innings when he never had before. Ozzie was testing Neal to see if he could depend on him. You would have never seen 95% of managers do something like this until they had to. Its the same with the 3rd game line ups. We all look at the one game and scream about how can you put those guys in the game? By doing this Ozzie is seeing who responds to certian games and situations, so that he knows who he can use and when. He also knows that come September and October, his guys are going to have their legs underneath them when they really need them. Ozzie isn't about the moment as a manager, he is about the post-season and the stretch run. All of his managing points like the regular season is one big spring training for the post season. The macro-management looks completely different to us, because we are so used to seeing managers caught in the moment. It is different to look a particular play in the context of a whole 162 games, but that is what is going on here. Interesting theory. I'll keep it mind those times when Ozzie has me scratching my head, tearing my hair, screaming obscenities, or babbling incoherently.

QUOTE(retro1983hat @ Jul 22, 2005 -> 06:54 AM) Last night we looked like we abandoned our current mindset and played like we didd the last three years. We hit home runs, made errors and bad relief pitching cost us the game. Yesterday's game reminded me of the August afternoon game against the Twins last year when we were swept. It was the game where Jose Valentin made almost the exact same error that Crede did and opened up the door for the Twins to put us away. Yes we have a 10 game lead, but things don't look great right now. After 88 years of pain and suffering you can't blame some fans for being doubting Thomases including yours truly. I'm unhappy on a number of things lately. Thank heavens for the Cleveland series. Every time this year the Sox looked like they were going into a deep funk, they've gone on another tear. It's time to do it again. The upcoming schedule has no mercy.

QUOTE(fathom @ Jul 22, 2005 -> 11:40 AM) It cracks me up more if someone thinks that Ozzie is actually a superior in-game manager. That aspect is definitely not a strong suit of his. He's a lousy in game manager, particularly his handling of pitchers. His strong suit is motivation, and changing the mind set. On that he is superior. If he could only improve his in game strategy, now we're talking about a really good manager. I hope he'll grow into the job a little, but I'm not sure he really will.

QUOTE(Iwritecode @ Jul 22, 2005 -> 11:16 AM) When I was younger and we would drive by the big expensive houses in our town my parents would always say "Those people don't have a lot of money. Just bigger bills." Sometimes it's so true. Did you see the commercial where the guy brags about his rich lifestyle; his house, car, and country club? Then he says, "how do I do it? I'm in debt up to my eyeballs."

QUOTE(The Critic @ Jul 22, 2005 -> 09:36 AM) I don't call 'em the Red Cubs for nothing...... They didn't used to be that way, but they sure have become cubbified in recent years haven't they?

QUOTE(3E8 @ Jul 22, 2005 -> 09:59 AM) Last 50 Postseason innings: ~ 4.10 ERA. And he's not getting any younger. I'm not convinced he's the October menace he once was. I was going to say something similar but since you got there first just let me concur and say that I think El Duque is considerably older than his listed age (35) and based on his recent track record and watching him pitch he is at or near the end of the line. I would be happy if he made me eat those words, but I doubt he will.

QUOTE(NUKE_CLEVELAND @ Jul 21, 2005 -> 04:51 PM) The middle class wouldn't be taking it anywhere if they lived within their means. Nobody is putting a gun to these people's heads and forcing them to buy that 4 dollar latte every morning or that SUV that costs 70 bucks a week to fill up with gas or have that 992346312451235 inch flat panel TV on the wall. I probably appreciate your service to our country as much as anyone here, but I suggest you check in with some of the non latte drinking, non SUV driving Americans just working their asses off and trying to get by. In the late 90's when things were humming along nicely I had a long discussion with a very successful business man. He did most of the talking, when someone knows more than me about a subject, I try to listen as much as possible. He told me that he didn't think the boom of the 90's had as much to do with emerging technology as it did with the loosening of credit. Since he was mostly in business to lend others money, I had to think long and hard about what he had to say. Credit used to be for emergencies, now to many Americans it is a necessity. 911 made the recession last about twice as long as it should have. Things are greatly improved now, but this will definitely not help. A gradual increase like the Fed does would have been much better, giving people a chance to adust. I'll stop now, because people will get bored, but before you get out the violins and crying towels I would suggest a little in depth research on Post WWII American Economic History.

QUOTE(YASNY @ Jul 21, 2005 -> 11:25 AM) They should have given people 6 months notice and went from 2% to 3% ... with notification that in another six months it would be 4%. This just ain't right. There will be a lot of people put in a major bind. That's putting it mildly. I notice in the link there is a survey and 39% of the respondents admitted to a credit card debt of over $5,000. 11% said they were over $20,000 in debt. Maybe this will be a way to burst the housing bubble, as surely this will lead to at least some foreclosures. This is gouging and yes the middle class takes it you know where once again.

QUOTE(Kalapse @ Jul 18, 2005 -> 11:27 PM) Wave = dumbest crowd activity at the ballpark Pointless and stupid. I agree. I hate the wave, I absolutely hate it. Let them do it in that park on the north side.

I can't imagine why anyone who can read at a child's level would be interested in anything Peter Gammons has to say. He has absolutely nothing going for him, makes me hate the Red Sox almost as much as the Cubs, and he's almost never right. Why does he have a job?

As they used to say in journalism school, who, what, where, when, and why. More info please.

QUOTE(WSoxMatt @ Jul 18, 2005 -> 01:41 PM) And I need a blowjob from Jennie Finch!!!