KevHead0881

Today's lineup, per Scott Reifert's blog... Today's Lineup Pods, LF Cintron, 2B Thome, DH PK, 1B Dye, RF AJ, C Crede, 3B Mackowiak, CF Uribe, SS Garcia pitching

QUOTE(SoxPhan7 @ Apr 3, 2006 -> 10:49 AM) On a light note, i thought ESPNs video at the begining was awesome, i was happy to watch that this morning. Anyone know the song in that video? Yes, that opening was fantastic. I know it's taboo around here to praise ESPN, but I thought they did an excellent job last night. Even Joe Morgan wasn't quite as annoying as usual (although I got a little sick of John Miller's interperetation of Iguchi's name). So if you were at the game, you missed that. Stick that in your pipe and smoke it! As far as Comcast goes, they definitely blew it last night. The one thing that drove me crazy was that the two commentators (forget their names) would not stop talking. They were giving us the f***ing station ID right in the middle of player introductions, and they kept talking over Gene Honda to explain what was happening. Sometimes we don't need to be told what we are seeing.

QUOTE(bmags @ Apr 3, 2006 -> 10:09 AM) guys i know we are all excited...but if we are already assuming that thornton will be solid based off of his first outing, then are we gonna assume politte is gonna be trash? Bmac looked so confident out there today. He deserves to be starting but damn it's gonna be nice to have him in the pen. Having him there and succeeding certainly helps our bullpen look a little nicer. I don't think anybody is ready to crown him as the second coming, but his performance last night, combined with how he finished the spring, certainly is encouraging. The one thing I was disappointed in is that we didn't throw the Legend of Boone Logan out there for the 9th. With the 6 run lead, I thought it would have been a good situation for him to get his feet wet (no pun intended). But I'm not going to be picky.

QUOTE(bmags @ Apr 3, 2006 -> 09:50 AM) guys i think the walks had to do more with their pitchers beeing nowhere near the plate. It was like the rebirth of miguel asencio out there... I thought the strike zone was crazy tight as well. Regardless, it was good to see us being patient up there, especially Juan.

Great way to kick off the season! And I may be wrong, but I think we finally passed the elusive 8-game winning streak plateau. Counting the end of the playoffs, I believe the count is at 9. Of course I know they don't officially carry over, but still...

QUOTE(Felix @ Apr 2, 2006 -> 04:06 PM) Its still Joe Morgan, don't that too excited Morgan is no treat, but I can tolerate him. Berman makes me want to drink antifreeze.

Thank god!! According to Reifert's blog... NO BERMAN!!!

QUOTE(rventura23 @ Apr 2, 2006 -> 03:38 PM) they better play the 2005 songs at the ball park As long as they retire "Don't stop believing." Or at the very least, refrain from giving Steve Perry any more air time. I enjoyed that whole thing at the end of the year, but that song got quite annoying. I'm probably alone on this one.

QUOTE(rventura23 @ Apr 2, 2006 -> 01:48 PM) anyone know who's throwing out hte first pitch? They are going to have a couple different people throwing out the honorary first pitch, but the only one I know for sure is the guy who helped out Katrina victims and showed up on Oprah. Tinley Park guy to toss first pitch for Sox Good god, this game couldn't come soon enough. Lets play ball already!

To tell you the truth, while I am concerned about the bullpen going into this season, I am no more or no less concerned than I was when we were entering the playoffs last year. Going into the postseason, we had the following questions: Could we survive with an unproven closer, a setup man with a bad back, a second lefty that you didn't know what to expect on a daily basis, etc. This year, we have essentially the same questions. Vizcaino pitched most of the time last year, but I don't see McCarthy having trouble duplicating his performance. Hermanson is still hurt. Logan and/or Thornton takes over Marte's spot as the "not sure what to expect" 2nd lefty. Would I prefer to have some more veterans who have experienced some success? Sure. But I don't see us as really having less depth than last year. The real key is that we need Cotts and Politte to pitch at least close to the way they pitched last year. If they don't, we'll have some serious problems. If our starters go to s***, I can see our bullpen getting exposed. We'll see, I guess. Like I said, I am concerned. But I don't see our situation as being much worse than it was last year.

Good god! Can we just skip the next two games in Atlanta and start the f***ing season already? I am so sick of spring training!

QUOTE(jphat007 @ Mar 30, 2006 -> 04:51 PM) LOL. And? He threw Ks with better velocity, and located his curve and slider well for the most part. He has improved every outing. That's all that matters And the little history that we have on Bobby has shown that if his velocity is up there and he's throwing strikes, he's should have success. Yes, he blew the save. Whatever. I can deal with a blown save like this. Its when he's walking batters and basically giving them baserunners that bothers me. As long as he's showing improvement and that he's close to returning to form. It appears that he's doing that.

QUOTE(HeGone33 @ Mar 30, 2006 -> 04:38 PM) Ball 1-0 Strike 1-1 Strike 1-2 Ball 2-2 Foul 2-2 He gone........runner steals 2nd 1 out Can you see what he's hitting on the gun? Hows the velocity look?

QUOTE(redandwhite @ Mar 29, 2006 -> 12:45 AM) Not to try and justify the situation in Tavarez' favor, but the man is clearly a guy who gives an arm and a leg at all times, a 'rudy'-like player if you will. I don't know. There's a pretty big difference between being a hard-nosed, give it your all type player and being an absolute dick. See Milton Bradley. If I remember correctly, it was this type of attitude that got him shipped out of San Fran and Cleveland. Cheating, derogotory comments, unnecessary cheap shots, clubhouse problems...yah, sounds like a great guy.

QUOTE(Cuck the Fubs @ Mar 30, 2006 -> 12:03 AM) Their fans go to get drunk and check out the hot girls. My boss is a Cubs fan, and he told me that's why he goes to the games To tell you the truth, if I were a fan of that team, thats exactly what I'd do. No reason to watch the product on the field. Actually, I'd probably just save my money and go to Arby's. The cashier is pretty hot and the food is better. If only they served beer.

QUOTE(SSH2005 @ Mar 29, 2006 -> 03:14 PM) Thome is going to hit 50 homers this season. If he can stay healthy, its a possibility. I'm guessing between 35-40 though. We'll see.

Holy s*** Thome, save it for the games that count!

QUOTE(SSH2005 @ Mar 29, 2006 -> 03:08 PM) Well, it worked. Seriously, if you aren't watching, its quite funny. He's basically doing his best Kevin Hickey impression.

It appears that Freddy isn't taking this outing very seriously. He's almost lobbing the ball in there. EDIT: And still ends up throwing a 1-2-3 inning.

If you want to see the full impact of wins and losses in spring training, check out the Marlins record this spring. Then tell me how well they're gonna do this year. As for the individual performances, I'm not exactly sure what kind of progress you are looking for, cause most of the guys coming north are progressing quite well. Yes, there are some things to be concerned about, and that goes for every team. But for your sanity, I suggest that you don't put to much stock into what happens in these games. By the way, the Indians win the division in Major League. You should probably find a better way to hex them.

QUOTE(Jordan4life_2006 @ Mar 28, 2006 -> 07:17 PM) Weaver is a decent #3. He's a good bet to win anywhere from 12-15 games. I also think he'll benefit with that stellar Angels defense around him. I think Santana will improve off his solid rookie campaign. I can think of a lot worse #5 starters than Escobar. I agree with you about their bullpen. It's flat nasty. Weaver isn't terrible. But I do think he's a significant downgrade from Byrd. The stats may not show it, but think about it this way. Who would you rather face in a big game situation? I'd say Weaver without a doubt. The guy is a head case. Just look at his time in New York. Byrd, on the other hand, is a gamer, and I think he was a nice signing for Cleveland.

QUOTE(Jordan4life_2006 @ Mar 28, 2006 -> 07:10 PM) Are you saying he wouldn't have congratulated us if we had been the ones that got swept? You know, I wouldn't have made much of it if it weren't for the countless number of pro-Red Sox comments that preceded it. Between the Red Sox love and all the football analogies, I was about to hang myself.

QUOTE(SoxAce @ Mar 28, 2006 -> 07:02 PM) Bro, don't get me started on Berman. Some of the posters here know exactly how I feel about him. Another poster here who doesn't like him just makes my day happy. "Congratulations to the Chicago White Sox, and congratulations to the Boston Red Sox as well." - Chris Berman at the end of game 3. Ummm...Boston lost f***o. No reason to congratulate them on getting their asses swept. Ugh. I can't believe I'm letting this get to me again.

QUOTE(Jordan4life_2006 @ Mar 28, 2006 -> 06:53 PM) Neither are Washburn or Byrd. Colon, Lackey, Weaver, Santana and Escobar is a top 5 rotation in the AL IMO. Meh. Colon and Lackey are damn good, but the last three are a crapshoot. I like Santana, but he's still young and inconsistant. If there is anything makes me think they have any shot at getting to the world series, its that their bullpen is among the best in baseball. I'd certainly take it over ours at the moment.

Man, do I hope Berman ain't calling this game. I just picked up the DVD set today and watched some of Game 3 against Boston. Forgot how obnoxious and terrible he was/is. Keeping my fingers crossed that its Miller and Morgan. They aren't my favorites, but they beat the hell out of listening to Berman.