SI1020

I have been one of big Franks biggest supporters. I'm one of the old timers on this board. I know how much a Frank Thomas in his prime would have meant to the go go era Sox of the 50's and 60's. At least two more pennants minimum. Having said that, when I look at his feeble attempts at the plate lately I can hardly believe that this is the same guy who was one of the most feared hitters in the game not that long ago. He's got himself completely tied up in knots. What about all that lunging at outside pitches? The guy has had his share of trouble in his personal life the last few years, maybe he needs counseling as much as he needs an effective hitting coach that he'll listen too.

What the hell was Bruce Kimm thinking? You don't run on Ichiro's arm. Anyone should know that. CWSOX45 Thank you.

This is my last baseball board and I'm not leaving unless I get kicked off which shouldn't happen since I'm so nice to everyone.

Nobody in a position of importance in this organization "gets it".

I'm hoping that a change of scenery will do them good and they will relax and play some good ball out west. There are a lot of tommorows in baseball, that's one thing I really like about the game. You can turn your lousy momentum around in one series. I will say this, if they don't start soon, well as they say in Brooklyn "Fuhgettaboutit!"

I know we have been through this before, but put yourself in his shoes. What would you honestly expect him to say in the papers? What would you say? If you step back emotionally and think about this logically, he is saying exactly what he SHOULD say. It is not his responsibility to berate his players and how they play in the press. All that will do is cause them to lose respect for him and things will get worse. No one here knows how he is handling things in the clubhouse. No one is in there. No one knows whether he is doing the right things or not. Manuel may well end up getting fired and taking the blame at some point, but the blame here should not be his. Ultimately he will be judged by wins and losses, but if they do turn this thing around and he stays, I expect every person on this board to post their own version of a "I was an idiot, I overreacted without having all of the facts" speech. I will happily post that or something similar if the Sox turn this thing around. I won't go back to 59 because that's way too long ago but how about 83? The Sox were sluggish for the longest time before they got hot. The circumstances were different. They had a young La Russa at the helm and had shown signs of becoming a good ball club since 81. The pitching staff was young, aggressive and ready to dominate. This team is managed by a sleepwalker, GM'ed by a control freak and seems devoid of all spirit. If they tank you know there's going to be a fire sale to end all fire sales. Lots of us see this and we ain't happy. The Sox are 4-10 in their last 14 and looking real bad in that stretch. I can't look at one area of their game that is clicking at the moment. They need a change and they need it fast.

It's been a rough week for old farts who like the company of young women. Didn't that Football coach at Alabama just lose his job? You know us older guys are weak weak weak. Forgive us our sins we mean no harm. Just trying to recharge the old batteries.

They are stretching my loyalty and my patience to the max. I go back a long way with this team. I never lost faith even in years like 1970 when they lost 106 games. Right now the whole franchise looks lost. Where is the fight???

You know a generation ago the AL was known for its "high" strike zone. I don't know what a guy like Hall of Famer Jim Palmer would do in todays game. He was known for his high hard fastball. He wouldn't get a call today.

I want to respond, but just don't know what to say. At this point they leave me speechless.

My wife the Pirate fan just said to me "That was pitiful". What could I say? Oh well hope Bartolo brought his A game.

You're SAT score is good. I also think you have a point about standardized tests. You have to set standards, but there must be flexibility. Some bright people are not good standardized test takers. Studies have shown that high school grades are a better predictor of college success than SAT and ACT tests. Also females score lower on the SAT ( in the ACT it's almost dead even ) but get better grades in college. A good admissions office will take all factors into consideration. I mostly agree with you on this and like I said 27 is a good score. Perhaps you got 29, 30 or above on one of the four sections? Admissions counselors, at least the good ones are taught to pay attention to a students strong points in the ACT or SAT.

That's the sort of thing that could have a snowball effect. The Cell could look like Clevelands Municipal Stadium in the late 80's and early 90's. Empty.

Look the Sox have been treading water since July of 2000. They were 55-30 at their high water mark then went .500 the rest of the year if you include the playoffs. 83-79 in 01 and 81-81 last year IIRC. We are 15-15 at this point. The promise of 00 is fading fading. I agree with those who say that if we tank this year we are looking at a long dark tunnel. This season is important darnit!! (it's Sunday ) For those who call for patience I say we have had an infinite amount of patience. For those who say it is early I say it is agonizingly late. 44 years and counting on one clock, and 86 years and counting on another. For those who want to slam me I'm as passionate a Sox fan as anybody. The team, the city, the history, the whole ball of wax. I'm just tired, weary and after all this waiting and patience and rooting it's about time to do it!!!!

Here is the link

Seriously folks. In addition to his control freak issues and bad trades KW seems to be very unlucky. I refuse to rip him a new one for the Koch trade. Anyone who reads me knows I liked Keith but the trade for Koch should not be a disaster.

Joe Btsfplk! Thanks CW.

Thanks for the update. They both impressed me. Morneau has a very quick bat for a big guy.

Old time fans like yours truly are sometimes thought to be too cynical by some of the younger fans. I really wanted to be optimistic about this years Sox. It's obvious something is really wrong. Such lack of, well just about everything. I don't know what will fix it. Manuel has got to go, but I think that KW is the architect of this disaster. Plus one more thing about KW. Often times the man has been lousy but he hasn't been too lucky either. Who was that cartoon character that had the dark clouds following him all the time? First Wells, then Ritchie and now it looks like Koch. What gives? I hope Koch is hurt and that it is fixable. At least there would an answer and some hope too. If he's healthy and still pitching like this, well I just don't want to think about that.

Yes he did and he looked totally lost at the plate. I know I'm not saying anything original here but he does need to shorten his stroke. His was fooled badly on some off speed pitches. Just about the whole team layed an egg last nite. How's Wright doing tonite I wonder?

If somebody posted something on this my apologies. If not here goes. I attended my first minor league game ever yesterday evening. The Knights had a 10 home winning streak snapped by Rochester so I'll try not to bust their chops too bad, but as the British say they were "bloody awful". Jon Rauch started, went 5 innings gave up 3 hits ( all home runs, two of them tape measure jobs ) 4 runs all earned, with 3 walks and 5 K's. I admit I have never liked Rauch. He is all elbows and odd angles in his delivery and doesn't seem to generate the velocity a 6-11 guy should. Rauch gave up two home runs to Justin Morneau who went 5 for 5 and impressed the hell out of this guy. On his second home run off Rauch Morneau, a towering left handed hitter turned on a low inside pitch and hit a long drive to right that may still be in flight. Rauch just glared daggers at this catcher as if to say wtf did you call that pitch for? Rauch was lousy but left the game with a 5-4 lead and then the bottom fell out. Relievers Felix Diaz, Ryan Kohlmeier, and Gary Majewski were all torched. Diaz was a major disappointment for me. I know it's only one game. He appears to have 4 pitches, good velocity and movement, but has trouble locating and then has to come over the plate when behind in the count. He went 1 and 2/3 and gave up 5 hits and 3 earned runs. He is a "project" at best. The impressive ones were the Rochester lineup which featured Lew Ford, Justin Morneau and Michael Restovich each hitting two home runs each. Michael Ryan also connected for Rochester. The Red Wings 7 homers tied a franchise record set on June 24,1919. On the bright side Aaron Miles looked real good connecting with an opposite field home run in the first and two additional hits going 3 for 5 with a couple of nifty plays in the field. Career minor leaguer Scott Morgan (1b) hit a towering shot to left in the bottom of the 4th with two on when the Knights took the lead 5-4. The Knights got another run in the bottom of the 5th and then Rochester just began teeing off on Knight relievers. Final score Rochester 16 Charlotte 6. To add insult to injury Rochester is a Twins farm team and as previously stated they look stacked with hitting talent. I could add much more about the game and the experience. I recommend a trip to see the Knights play if you have the opportunity.

Being a stat freak of all kinds I'm real impressed with these scores here. Congrats to all. Cerb I'm sure you did fine. I had to take an SAT when I was 34 and an adult trying to make up for a misspent youth.

Other teams fans stuff the ballot box so why not us?

I like you're thinking but is Harris the long term answer for CF? I want a long term CFer like a Jim Landis or Chet Lemon. I always thought of Harris as an IFer but if I'm wrong that's OK. I just don't like the CF situation as it is right now.

Jason said Gordon has had lively stuff, it just wasn't showing up in the box score yet. Looks like you might be right Jas. If marte and Gordon can pull their weight then Koch being a dud won't be a crippling blow. If Koch returns to form and those two guys keep it up I really like our chances. The season is early. The Sox were sluggish in 59 and 83 before they hit their stride.