Chisoxfn

I'm guessing his pitch count was up there. 9k's too, pretty sick. Vazquez threw a scoreless six so the no no is intact. And the Cubs Rich Hill gave up a bomb to Corey Hart to end his bid at a perfect game in the 6th.

QUOTE(fathom @ Apr 4, 2007 -> 11:43 PM) We could draft Jordan Danks first, and then KW's horrific offseason will make sense. How can we consider this a horrific off-season. So far Danks won the fifth starters spot and Brandon McCarthy and Garcia had terrible springs and Garcia is now battling a bit of the injury bug while McCarthy had a very mediocre first start.

QUOTE(DBAH0 @ Apr 5, 2007 -> 12:37 AM) Big game this weekend b/w Arsenal and West Ham Gage. It's on at midnight Sat Night for me, so I can't wait. I actually think we're in with a decent chance, if recent form is anything to go by. We need Noble and Reo - Coker to break even in the middle against Fabregas and co., and hopefully Tevez gets a chance or 2 to work his magic on the ball. The Gunners will win by 2 or more goals...BOOK IT. Arsenal is getting new ownership as well apprently.

QUOTE(Linnwood @ Apr 5, 2007 -> 06:02 AM) I thought there was a rule against posting links here to that guy? No, we aren't WSI. While Jay Mariotti isn't Sox fans favorite reporter I see no reason why his articles can't be posted here.

I also predicted the Sox to finish second in the division to the Indians, but don't worry, I have the Sox winning the Wild Card with the Yankees NOT making the playoffs (I also am predicting that the Mets and Cardinals miss the playoffs; I'm more confident on the Cardinals prediction but I couldn't find it in my to pick the Mets after looking at how brutal that rotation is; same with the Cards terrible rotation).

QUOTE(greg775 @ Apr 4, 2007 -> 09:48 PM) If the Sox had a horrific April and you were GM, would you be tempted to go young and tear it up? I know it's early but I think by the second week of May we're going to know if we've got a team this year or not. No, why go young than...you have till at least early July to make that decision (whether you are buyers or sellers) and I see no reason why any GM would or should give up that early.

QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Apr 4, 2007 -> 10:11 PM) Dear Mark Buehrle, I really have lost a lot of faith in you since the 1st half of last year. You really have been s***, and I blame you for the 2nd half collapse of 2006. So far in 2007, are starting pitching has been terrible. The Nationals have more wins than we do. Yes, those Nationals. If you could step up tomorrow, and give this team 7 strong innings, and get a much needed W, a lot of the doubt I have about you would be wiped away. Somehow, the third game of this young season looks to be a very big one, and it would be great if you could step up, and not piss down your leg. Thanks. Your Pal, Tony. Don't worry Tony...I took part in a panel for a Chicago newspaper this past week and was the only person to predict anything decent out of Mark (and yeah I predicted 20 wins) and Mark will get the job done this season, book it.

QUOTE(FlaSoxxJim @ Apr 4, 2007 -> 08:51 PM) Nope. just checked. I'll be working tomorrow and it's a WGN game anyway, so as long as my provider starts showing them in time for the Twins on Friday I will be happy. Anybody know how much InDemand had to fork over in this deal? Not sure but Direct TV is not paying 700 million anymore. My guess is both providers are paying the exact same amount and I'd imagine Direct TV and In Demand are probably spending somewhere between 400-550 million a piece.

QUOTE(Heads22 @ Apr 4, 2007 -> 08:48 PM) Hamga opened his recruitment, I know that. Ya, I heard he's considering Tenn. It sounded like pretty much everyone opened there committments or at least is considering it (which is understandable). It figures Alford leaves when he actually has a good recruiting class (something he failed to do well during most of his tenure at Iowa).

He would have been one of the last guys on the list. We considered him but opted to pass mainly because we feel he did little to truly distinguish himself in his debut. I do expect Shelby on next years list though as he has the tools to be one of the 25 best prospects in our system. Of course speaking of tools, Collaro has as much power as anyone in the Sox system (with the possible exception of Vernon Carter) and didn't even make the top 25 (mainly because he still has a lot of holes in his swing).

QUOTE(StrangeSox @ Apr 4, 2007 -> 08:43 PM) What about all the garbage pitchers that mowed the Sox down last year by just going low and away all game? Garbage pitchers tend to cause more problems for good hitting teams. The reason is you have to completely change your offensive makeup at times for one hitter and there is a theory in baseball that making those type of adjustments can do more long term harm than good so often times a player will try to make minimal adjustments and use his ability to get him through the game. And I also believe that the garbage pitcher theory is a bit over-exagerated because some of the times we got shut down guys just came in and hit there spots and when that happens you typically are going to have a tough night at the plate. But by all means I'm not saying our hitters are going to be perfect every game and I think thats the point, they won't be and people seem to expect them to be perfect (or for there approaches to be perfect every time). I know one thing, our guys have a better approach at the plate than almost any team in baseball (New York is a clear exception as hands down they have the best approach in baseball).

QUOTE(BearSox @ Apr 4, 2007 -> 08:32 PM) Have you not noticed everyone pulling open trying to hit the bomb? Instead of stepping into the pitch and driving it? And for 4 years since Walker has been the hitting coach, that problem has not been fixed. Yes, the hitters have to take some blame, but who's job is it to recognize this blatant faults and correct them? If you guessed Greg Walker, you guessed correct. Guys are going to guess wrong, they are going to fail. It happens to the best hitters 2 out of every 3 times and you'll see hitters all over baseball do this. Listen to Walker talk, he always says how he tries to get his guys to go opposite field because when you are doing that well it allows you to hone in and drive the ball when the pitcher does come in. And I'll say this: Konerko is a good opposite field hitter Jermaine Dye is a good opposite field hitter (best on our team) Guchi is a good opposite field hitter (although he'll have some days where his swing looks as bad, if not worse than Anderson's) Thome is a pull hitter in general, but he has power to all fields. He is what he is. Joe Crede has became a better opposite fielder each and every season under Walker Juan Uribe is a unique hitter who gets pull happy but he's been much better about than under Walker than prior hitting coaches (in the Rockies system) Pods is just a bad hitter (but Pods isn't exactly what I'd call pull happy) and AJP did a pretty good job most of last year going opposite field. So the way I see it is our guys have consistently improved under Walker and to me that is the sign of a good hitting coach.

QUOTE(Gregory Pratt @ Apr 4, 2007 -> 08:30 PM) Okay. Well, what happened was -- Michaels was backing up and fell. It was actually about three feet in front of the wall, and he caught it while falling backward into the wall and then Sizemore came over patting him as if he'd leapt 20feet into the air and robbed a monster shot. It was poor defense. He saved the play, but it was poor. I heard the ump initially called him safe which got me excited at work and than pissed. By the way, I just want to say Chris Singleton is better than Rooney or Farmer (he is real enjoyable to listen to, imo and brings a lot of knowledge of the game to the booth).

Someone want to update me on what is going on with Beas Hamgas and Iowa recruiting in general (I think tomorrow is the first day where our coaches can actually follow up and make calls into our recruits). I'm also curious to see if we can get any of Butler's 4 star commits (like Howard) to come to Iowa.

What an awesome game. This is the type of game you hang your hat on. The Bulls came into Detroit and beat the piss out of them and we did it without Noc, with a sick Tyrus Thomas, and obviously without Big Ben. Major props go out to Deng (who stepped up in the 2nd half), Hinrich (one of his best games of the season), Tyrus (monster game despite being sick), and of course Sefolosha. Oh PJ had a good game too. It is the second time we beat around the Pistons in Detroit (too bad the squad blew it the first time around).

I do what I can and yes I'm trying hard to get more college baseball discussion

QUOTE(Gregory Pratt @ Apr 4, 2007 -> 08:28 PM) Michaels botched a routine flyout to the warning track. It wasn't spectacular by any means. Crede should've hit a damn single. Well I'll regress on the Crede play as I was basing my take on Ed Farmer's play by play while I was at work.

QUOTE(BearSox @ Apr 4, 2007 -> 08:21 PM) Just because the offense puts up good stats doesn't mean Greg Walker is the reason. Who else is there to blame for the inability of this offense to hit lefties or be able to go with the pitch. I'll admit, it isn't just Walker, but he is a big part of the problem. look at a team like the Twins. They teach simple hitting. Hit the ball where it is pitched. And don't go for the homerun, but try and make solid contact. That is what it seems like Joe Vavra and the rest of the Twins do. Someone needs to be accountable for this, and I blame Greg Walker. Even when he was down as the Knights hitting coach, he preached home runs. I find it funny how Kenny and Ozzie always say how they try and emmulate the Twins and Angels, but they have complete different coaches who have different philosophies. Or It could just be the fact that we have some really good lefties in our division. That would negatively effect our guys stats. It could also be the fact that we have a few lefties in key positions in our lineup that are going to naturally struggle against left handed pitching. It should also be noted that we have a righty in Iguchi that is just a terrible hitter against lefties (and he wasn't any better in Japan). That means we have Pods, Erstad, Anderson (whose just a terrible hitter at this stage regardless), Thome, AJP, & Iguchi (with all of those but one in the starting lineup often against lefties) meaning that over half of our lineup can't hit left handed pitching. Luckily Pablo will step in from time to time and he mashes lefties but we clearly are not a team built to destroy left handed pitching (albeit the offense is still capable of getting enough runs against lefties, but the pitching will also have to show up). Bottom line is that the players are to blame for the squad not being able to hit lefties and more specifically I think the strong left handed pitchers in our division are to blame. Lets remember we had teams that hammered left handed pitching when Magglio and Caballo were here. By the way, I'll take the Sox offense over the Twins any day. And should we blame the Twins hitting coach for Ortiz leaving Minny and becoming Big Papi? (No we shouldn't, since Papi was hurt in Minnesota, but he also said he wasn't able to drive the ball in Minnesota because there hitting coach wasn't a fan of that). And let me tell you a little secret, the reason the Sox hit so many homers is because we have a lot of power hitters on this squad (more so than any team not named the Yankees).

Has anyone's cable company started showing the xtra innings channels (or games) yet? Also there is the price for this year (if you sign up during the preview period).

QUOTE(southsideirish71 @ Apr 4, 2007 -> 08:10 PM) The twins also won by scoring 7 runs without a homer. Scrappy gap to gap hitting. Watch the final out of the sox game. We have men in scoring position, and Crede tries to lift and pull a pitch on the outter half. He is quoted as saying that with the wind he thought it was out. He was going for a dong, and we needed a single or a double. the minute our hitters figure out how to hit a single when we need it instead of trying to hit a 500 foot shot. We will be okay as a situational team. On our pitching staff, throw strikes. We need to do that. If we throw strike and get ahead we will be fine. He smoked the ball. I dont' see any reason why we should complain about that at bat and it took a solid play by Michaels to prevent the Sox from winning that game. Maybe we should notice how much better Crede has became under the tutilage of Walker. Or how Konerko has become such a better hitter or even the strides Uribe has made compared to his days in Colorado. Rowand improved when he was here (he was never amazing, but he improved under Walker). I don't understand the negativity, I've seen improvement in hitters when they come to Chicago and I think Walker deserves a lot of that credit. I can also tell you that Greg is one of the more well respected hitting coaches in baseball.

Cal State Fullerton is on the verge of hitting under .300 for only the third time in the history of our program. Oh and they are still the 13th ranked team in the country. The squad is extremely young and has suffered all kinds of injuries (our entire infield has broken a bone at some point this season) but is still battling and I think if they get healthy and gel they may very well be coming to Omaha to win it all!!!

Neither of them should be fired. Both are above average coaches at what they do in this league. Coop is probably the second best pitching coach in baseball and Walker would rank among the top 10 hitting coaches in all of baseball (if not higher). I've just came to realize Sox fans b**** and whine more than any other teams fan. And while I personally get tired of the negativity a lot of Sox fans show, I also realize they show that negativity out of love for there team and that love makes Sox fans some of the best in baseball. Heck, I can even tell you almost every team in baseball would love to have Ozzie as there manager or Kenny as the GM. I think a lot of people here should learn to enjoy what we have because even though I rip Ozzie from time to time (not near as badly as some do) we truly have one of the better front office/managerial combo's in sports (so do the Bears and Bulls for that matter).

QUOTE(Scwible @ Apr 4, 2007 -> 06:44 PM) for someone who has never gotten the MLB package through cable, how much does that bad boy cost? I remember thinking about it in years prior but don't recall the cost. The same as it cost via direct tv. Something like 139 when you signed up before the season and I think it goes up to like 159 or 169 afterwards. Thats less than a buck a Sox game and you get access to all the other games out there as well.

Best news of the decade...best news of the decade!!! Calling cable company now. I was told by Cox that it should be up by tomorrow and i'll have to call back than to sign up. Oh man, so f***ing awesome. The Sox were just waiting for all of us to get our MLB package before beginning there season

QUOTE(DBAH0 @ Mar 31, 2007 -> 08:09 AM) BUMP. Arsenal got absolutely PUMPED tonight. Peter Crouch the "Anorexic Matchstick" scored a few, as the Gunners went down 4-1. Oh and West Ham are going to win 2 in a row, and might just have a chance of avoiding relegation. Oh and Carlos Tevez has adjusted to the EPL, and he's a damn good player. Damn good. The gunners have been struggling as of late. Crouch had a sick game though (hatrick).