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QUOTE (Lillian @ Aug 28, 2011 -> 07:51 PM) I agree with you, assuming that the organization has given up entirely on this season. If they still think that this team has a remote shot at post season play, do you really want him batting in the middle of the order? At this point I don't want him batting anymore this year regardless of how the Sox are doing. I did like your previous post and think that is the way to go in preparation for 2012.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Aug 28, 2011 -> 02:34 AM) 4. The Edwin Jackson trade-away was actually a solid deal and I'm still content with it. That might well prove to be Kenny Williams's best deal since 2008. Seriously? What did I miss?

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Aug 27, 2011 -> 07:34 PM) Because he's 24 years old. He was drafted in 2008. That's not yet a bust. You could call the entire 2011 White Sox draft a bust right now and be correct on most. Its silly. For all the people that want the Sox to dump all their good players and pick up prospects and spend more on the draft and sign more Latin players, they sure do not have any patience. If you are a bust 3 years after you are drafted, rebuilding will be miserable for anyone with that view. I read an article that it takes Dominican players about 8 years on average after they are signed to make it to the major leagues. That means they would be a bust for half a decade. Beckham's swing is long. We know what he can do if he can shorten it. Its up to him. He's definitely trying. I hear you but I have little confidence in the current coaching staff to help him adjust. In fact, his swing has gotten progressively worse from Georgia to his rookie year to now.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Aug 27, 2011 -> 04:20 PM) Only if you want to be an "I told you so" type of person, and brag to everyone you knew he would be a bust. Of course if he isn't you could always fall back on the I'm glad I was wrong, Go Sox line. He's obviously been a dissapointment, but he's still real young and we know he has it in him to be a really productive player. Whether it will come out is the question. I personally think it will, but the longer he goes without being really good for decent stretches, the longer the odds become. Why is recognizing the reality that Beckham is very close to being a bust mean you are an "I told you so" kind of person? Someone or something has ruined Beckham's swing and I fear he's going down the same path that Borchard, Anderson and Fields did. As for the other two I expect no comeback from either of them. At least not in a White Sox uniform.

QUOTE (kitekrazy @ Aug 19, 2011 -> 06:34 PM) Then again http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseb...0,2253213.story But a veteran National League scout who watched Beckham play in the Arizona Fall League in 2008 predicted that Beckham's long swing could get him into trouble and said he wasn't fully convinced that Beckham would blossom into a productive hitter. I guess he didn't get a chance to break out of it spending time in the minors. Here is a scouting report from 2009 that praises his swing. Beckham scouting report I stand by my original post. His swing has gone to hell.

QUOTE (oldsox @ Aug 19, 2011 -> 03:12 PM) You'r right, Beckham was a line drive machine, or at least I remember him being a lot better hitter then than now. But even in his rookie year, Mark Gonzalez of the Trib talked about his loopy swing and that pitchers would quickly figure out how to get him out. He did this in his Mailbag columns. Geez, he might be a better hitting coach than Walker. His swing is not like it was at Georgia, and is longer and loopier than it was when he first came up. What is it with the Sox? Borchard, Crede, Fields, and Anderson all had major holes in their swings too. Crede finally was getting it together and then his back gave out. Do they teach guys to try to pull and kill the ball? This is exactly the kind of situation that a good hitting coach should be able to respond to. All of these players had great potential and only Crede was able to have somewhat of a decent career. This thing with Beckham makes me ill.

QUOTE (WHITESOXRANDY @ Aug 15, 2011 -> 10:55 PM) LaRussa is of Cuban descent. Is that okay with you? LaRussa is half Italian and half Cuban. He speaks fluent Spanish.

Was Dave Dombrowski on that list?

QUOTE (whitesoxfan101 @ Aug 5, 2011 -> 02:54 AM) I can't decide what's more impressive: getting completely crushed in 3 out of 4 games while being swept at home, or not walking at all the whole series. That's Walkerball for you. Just get up there and hack away.

Adam Dunn hit a home run tonight Mr. Chairman so things are finally looking up aren't they?

QUOTE (Tex @ Aug 4, 2011 -> 11:55 AM) If Jr. stopped in the filibuster there are plenty of anti Mexican comments in regards to immigration. I don't go there anymore so I can't comment but I hope that one could be against illegal immigration and not be considered racist or anti Mexican. You know today all the races and ethnic groups are mixed and matched like never before in history. Your boss, neighbor or significant other could very possibly come from a totally different background than you. In most cases people don't even give it a second thought anymore. Ozzie is not immune to criticism and it has nothing to do with his race or national origin. At least for me it doesn't. PC eventually gets oh so tiresome.

QUOTE (bigruss22 @ Aug 3, 2011 -> 04:23 PM) Ozzie doesn't believe in scouting and doesn't believe in stats. So what exactly does he believe in? His beloved lefty/lefty righty/righty match ups.

QUOTE (lasttriptotulsa @ Aug 3, 2011 -> 03:35 PM) Dunn will snap out of it. I think he just maybe hit that age where things aren't quite as easy as they once were, but he will figure it out. Maybe not this year, but next. I would like to think that but I can't remember one hitter that fell off as dramatically has Dunn has except for Jermaine Dye in the second half of 09. Funny how they played on the same team. Is there something in the clubhouse water? Seriously though when I see Dunn and I'd hate to call what he's doing struggling I remember Steve Blass the Pirates star pitcher who suddenly couldn't throw a strike to save his life. I know some will see this as a poor comparison but Dunn is in far more than just a slump. He looks like he has totally lost it. Again, I do hope you're right about the Big Donkey.

Lauren we live in very polarizing mean spirited times. It's unfortunate that some of this was directed at you by a spoiled little jerk. You are attractive in every way that a woman can be. Forget about this, no sentient being could take the barbs directed at you seriously. You and Mark seem very happy together and hopefully that will always be true. Enjoy Toronto, it's a great city and perhaps Mark's career will revive there. I'm sorry things didn't work out for him in Chicago but sometimes a trade is the best thing for a player that needs a lift. Take care of each other and best of luck to the two of you.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Aug 2, 2011 -> 03:19 AM) So you got a third string reporter to say something on twitter, which literally none of the big named reporters have said a word about in Chicago. The so called "big name reporters" in Chicago are for the most part a joke.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Aug 1, 2011 -> 11:32 PM) You mean like what their wife looks like? What the creep Oney said she looks like, which is nothing like what she really does.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Jul 31, 2011 -> 04:55 PM) I'd honestly just spend the money to get him the best sports psychologist there is....see if someone can figure out what his issue(s) is. Maybe he's got something that can be overcome like Ricky Williams did. You don't just cut him. At the very least, he can be utilized in some manner, whether it be as a late-inning defensive replacement, a pinch-runner, etc. I know we all hate to see a highly paid player suck this badly, but if you cut him, you get absolutely nothing out of him. What's to say he doesn't turn some corner and return to his production a few years ago? I know he appears to be a complete nincumpoop, but I can't stomach the notion of paying all or almost all his salary AND sending him elsewhere. Just doesn't make any sense to me. It makes even less sense to me to play him.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jul 31, 2011 -> 04:27 AM) Real, you can potentially make those arguments about Borchard, Fields, Anderson, Morel and Beckham, to name five. But a lot of questioning is going on about the "mental make-up" of both BA and Gordon, that's for sure. Scouts missed out on that critical component. I would agree on BA. Not so sure on Gordon.

QUOTE (elrockinMT @ Jul 12, 2011 -> 06:29 PM) And how Harry Caray adn Jimmy Piersal got canned by the Sox During the celebration after the Sox clinched the division title in 1983, owner Jerry Reinsdorf referred to Harry and Jimmy as "scum." There was obviously no love lost there. Despite this Harry Caray was never fired by the White Sox. Owner John Allyn had wanted to fire him, but Bill Veeck retained Caray after rebuying the team before the 1976 season. When the Reinsdorf group purchased the Sox they made Caray an offer, but he did not care for the concept of Sports Vision and jumped ship to the Cubs so he could take advantage of WGN's superstation. The Cubs promptly put a muzzle on him, and he went from being the controversial lightning rod of an announcer to a "Bud man and a Cubs fan."

QUOTE (Swingandalongonetoleft @ Jul 11, 2011 -> 03:15 AM) Dunn had an awful stretch and he's shown signs of breaking out. Even if he does, there is a good chance he'll end up with a down season for power numbers and a career high K total just because he does that on a regular basis anyway, and he's already racked up quite a few of them, even if he remembers himself all of a sudden. I don't blame Williams for signing him, and people who call for KW's head based on this signing are lying to themselves. It just hasn't worked out yet for reasons no one foresaw. Breaking out? 3 for his last 45, and most recently 1 for 23. He is shattering the very concept of the Mendoza line. This is more than just a little slump. I can't remember anything quite like it.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Aug 25, 2010 -> 06:00 PM) lawl, now that I look at the caption of the thread again, it makes it sound like Greg is telling "the sabes people" to do his bidding. xD Not really. I thought he was asking a legitimate question and trying to stir conversation. I might be more upset about this than Greg. He probably doesn't remember me, I've had some really long absences here, but I remember Greg from the very early days of this site. It's just a s***ty surly way to treat a long time poster that had the temerity to ask a question. I asked one the other day on Slam, it got very little traffic so I didn't get the treatment. Message boards can be banal, stupid and hostile but at the same time I've learned a lot on a wide variety of subjects by lurking and posting. Dialogue shouldn't be cut off or discouraged just because someone fancies himself lord of the board.

QUOTE (The Ginger Kid @ Sep 9, 2010 -> 04:46 PM) You are referring to Jimmy Piersall, one time great outfielder. He did so much crazy s***, you should read about him. He once got kicked out of a game when he ran back and forth in CF while Ted Williams was at bat. He got in a fight with Billy Martin BEFORE a game, got ejected once and then went and changed clothes, got into a seat behind the plate and started heckling the ump! And that's just scratching the surface. After one rant on a telecast Harry turned to him and said, "Jimmy, you're nuts." and Piersall said "Yep, and I've got the papers to prove it." He was sent to the psychiatric ward a few times in his career. As far as I can tell he spent time at least twice in a psychiatric hospital. In the middle of the 1952 season he spent 7 weeks in the Westborough State Hospital in Massachusetts. In 1960 while with the Indians the team physician ordered psychiatric care for him after a series of bizarre indicents including throwing the ball at Bill Veeck's new exploding scoreboard after catching the final out in game two of a doubleheader on Memorial Day. Piersall's struggles with his personal demons are chronicled in his autobiographical work Fear Strikes Out. It was made into a movie with Anthony Perkins of Psycho fame starring as Piersall and Karl Malden as his overbearing father. Piersall was less than pleased with the movie.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Sep 7, 2010 -> 08:18 PM) OK sure, a guy with no managerial skills whatsoever has managed to make the playoffs twice and win a world series, while also managing to have a season in which his team was dead in the water 2 weeks before the allstar break and now is within striking distance of the playoffs. You are right, its the Peter Principle. The White Sox have been winning despite Ozzie for 6 years I was responding to the idea that if someone were incompetent they would be gone. Just not true. Not in baseball. Not in life. As for Ozzie, I think he does some things well and others (notably in game strategy) not so well. The penchant for angry drama leaves me cold too. The Sox were a lot like a bad soap opera this year. Win and all will be forgotten. I remember the A's in the 70's, a very dysfunctional unit that won three straight WS. No need to be so defensive. You like him. I don't, but still recognize his strengths. I'd take him over the three managers that preceeded him in a heartbeat. I know as long as the current owner stays he more than likely keeps his job no matter what.

Back to the original topic, a meltdown by the Rays is certainly possible. Didn't they have a little slump earlier and then right themselves. A lot of people crowned the Padres and now they're in a world of trouble. The season is long and there are always surprises and the unexpected. All the Sox can do is keep winning and hope it all works out in the end. This team is already exceeding my expectations for them.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Sep 6, 2010 -> 12:29 AM) Im pretty sure he would be gone if he didnt. That's just not true. The Peter Principle is alive and well in all facets of life, including baseball.