Chisoxfn

BAHAHAHAHAHAAA

QUOTE(rpmahr @ Jan 27, 2007 -> 11:38 AM) especially when the AL central will be weaker than last season...90 games might win the division depending on if detroit has a soph slump Welcome aboard

QUOTE(LVSoxFan @ Jan 27, 2007 -> 11:26 AM) I am more than tired of KW's mouth at this point. Whoever said he should have a stock answer for these types of questions is right--have the discussions behind closed doors, not through the media, where KW cannot seem to resist any pissing contest opportunity presented to him. We haven't started 2007 yet and KW's talking like this about Buehrle? Great. I understand KW's point about the obscene Zito contract and the market being inflated by WE GET IT ALREADY. He seems obsessed with what he WON'T pay rather than what he will and that, I think, is why he and the Sox are appearing to some people to be cheap. Just SHUT UP and play ball. Remember? Remember when we used to do that? Back in 2005? My big thing is Mark is saying the right things, he's saying optimistic things to Sox fans. Kenny can just keep his freaking mouth shut, he doesn't need to respond. Sox fans are going to be excited just hearing Mark say how he wants to stay in Chicago because a lot of them have heard so much about the Cardinals thing. Kenny doesn't need to turn it into a war of words and he did exactly that. I am a big fan of Kenny as a GM (at one point I was probably one of his very few fans) but he is a complete boob when he takes his players and rips them or says stupid crap about them in the media. Just say that our organization is very leary about giving pitchers long term deals and we have yet to approach Mark with a proposal in the year range that his camp would like as our philosphy differs but that Buehrle has been amazing for the Sox and if there was one guy we would consider doing so with it will be Mark but we will have to see how the season progresses and I will not comment any further on any contract discussions. I don't f***ing care if he doesn't mean it, just say that and end it. Don't use the media to do your contract negotiations.

QUOTE(EvilJester99 @ Jan 27, 2007 -> 08:32 AM) According to Levine the Sox offered Buehrle a 3yr $31 deal last July and it was turned down.Doesn't surprise me, he's going to get a longer term deal and I Don't blame him for not trying to get 5 years and my guess is that is what his camp countered at. It is a business and if we aren't willing to pay our guys what is fair than we shouldn't be in the business. I'm sorry, we can't just come in here planning on paying guys nothing. I'm not saying we give them the prices this years ridiculous market offers, but at the same time you can't be unwilling to pay guys market level and just be a cheapass org because that will never work. It is one thing if you don't think a guy is worth what he's asking (because its a joke of a contract) its another if you just weren't willing to make him a fair offer (ie going 5/50 to 60 with Buehrle last year). Instaed we lowballed the guy which is flat bulls***. If we were interested in negotiating with him than make a fair offer Kenny, don't throw around this bulls*** when you don't really try. I don't care if we resign him or not but now we are going to have to hear this s*** all season long and its not fair to Mark for what he's done for this organization and its yet another time where Kenny is going to start slamming a guy in the media (its inevitable).

QUOTE(Cali @ Jan 27, 2007 -> 04:25 AM) The funny thing is, last time you saw me, I so had short hair...haha It was the San Diego series right? I cant remember if you came over to my friends house after the game or not, I remember having a splitting headache and not being able to get as drunk as I wanted haha Haha, yep I think that was the last time. I mean coudln't have been Anaheim since your not brave enough to venture into the OC

QUOTE(Cali @ Jan 26, 2007 -> 08:43 PM) As a shaggy haired person, I'm gonna go ahead and say BA needs to keep it long. He was all clean cut at the begining of the year and SUCKED He let it grow toward the end of the year and SUCKED a little less. I think the choice is clear....

QUOTE(Alpha Dog @ Jan 26, 2007 -> 12:59 PM) Sarah Spain story (She's from Chicago and she's a huge Bears fan) nice pic but to give her a ticket AND pay to have her come along???? ummm....no thanks. I could take a buddy, have no delusions of getting sex and have a much better time. I will give props to a very nice pic of a Chicago girl. Screw this...take a Gage to the superbowl...all you got to do is give me a ticket and get me transportation there (and I have to be home on Sunday night so I can go to work or ass early Monday morning otherwise I'm fired).

QUOTE(elrockinMT @ Jan 26, 2007 -> 02:10 PM) Do we have the chance of getting ST games on XM satelitte radio? I only get WGN or ESPN so it seems ST TV is limited for me too. There ought to be a law agin it! Ya, you can listen to the spring training games via XM.

QUOTE(Craig Grebeck @ Jan 26, 2007 -> 11:10 AM) From 2001-2006, Erstad has not even had a year that was league average. In the three seasons that he actually had 600+ plate appearances, he posted OPS+ of 78, 88, 89 (100 is the league average). I sincerely doubt he was better than most outfielders during this time span. I'd probably put him in the lower quarter of outfielders during the last five-six seasons. Doesn't mean much when you consider he hasn't had an OPS over .746 in six years. Every team needs good ballplayers. Erstad is not great, he is not good, he is not average, he is below average. He does absolutely nothing tangible well. We are stunting Brian's growth for this? Giving Ozzie Erstad is like giving Dusty Baker Neifi/Womack/Macias. This will be the year where Ozzie's hard on for grittiness really hurts us and Brian. In short, his good days are behind him (as well as his average ones). The fact that he's on the 25 man roster makes me sick. But you have to factor in the fact that for a top of the lineup hitter, I think OPS is extremely over-rated. Add in the fact that you don't compare his positives defensively, on the field or when it comes to sacrificing himself and giving up outs (which he did a whole lot from the 2 spot in Anaheim under Scioscia). For cripes sakes, I understand if people want to say he doesn't have a good OBP for a top of the order guy but thats the only thing you can really slam when it comes to a healthy Erstad. And yes I think stats are such a bulls*** way to go about something. I think you have to factor in a lot of other things and I'm glad our organization doens't just throw stats out there because had we done so we wouldn't have picked up AJ and his crappy OBP/OPS (yes he hits for a decent avg but with no power prior to joining the Sox and we would have ignored the fact that he calls a good game and adds a ton of intangibles; we wouldn't have picked up Cliff Politte because his stats were awful in Toronto or Podsednik who was coming off a down season and statistically wasn't good aside from stolen bases). Ya, stats are the be all end all. AJ brought intangibles to this team (and a good stick for a catcher, even if he won't hit for power). Politte turned into a damn good reliever for two seasons. Pods had a great year for us in 05 (even though he tailed off near the end). Heck, we'd have dumped Garland and Crede long before if we based things on stats and ignored how Garland was young and had stuff or the fact that even when Crede stunk offensively he was a whiz kid defensively. All you guys doubting Erstad will be flat out wrong if he is in fact healthy. If he isn't, you'll be right and we'll have spent 1.5 mill on him. Big whoop...we were paying Ben Davis that in 04 or 05 when he wasn't even on our roster. Sorry for the rant but f*** I hate people that just throw stats at me since I'm so not a stat guy (even though I do look at them, I just don't call them the end all be all).

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Jan 26, 2007 -> 09:25 AM) I think I'll take a second and chime in here...from the perspective of a lot of the stat-guys, Erstad even when healthy has been a terrific drag on the offense of the Angels the last few years. He simply does not contribute much with the bat at all and has not done so for several years. He's been tolerable for that team because of his defensive performances, but he's also been a big part of the reason why they haven't been able to put together an offense around Vlad since their WS run. Erstad in 2000 could start and play for 90% of major league teams. Erstad from 01-05 could start and play for a few ML teams, those that had holes and needed a guy to play solid defense. Erstad after his injuries...probably even less. Ya and that Erstad (01-05) was still better than most outfielders (he just happened to be at 1st base making a lot more money than he should, but that isn't his fault, its the Angels). And I could give a s*** about the stat guys because Erstad doesn't post a high OBP, he still is a career .275 plus hitter, who will get a ton of doubles, steal a clutch base when needed, is a tremendous base runner, a leader on the bench, a hard worker, a guy willing to go out and get hurt if it helps his team win. Ie exactly what this squad needs. And when healthy Erstad will hit .280 and even if he doesn't draw a ton of walks or put up a monster OBP, I'll take him hitting .275-.280 with him being a top 10-12 defensive CF'er and I think if he is in fact healthy he's capable of doing exactly that for the Sox. And Erstad in 2000 would be a star on every major league team (not 90% of them).

QUOTE(knightni @ Jan 26, 2007 -> 09:17 AM) They can. Brown/Gasol The other 3 can be filled in with D league guys or throw-ins from Memphis. Please elaborate more so that you have something to read during your suspension. Nope, we go after Antonio Davis again and get him to join the squad for one final playoff run (for AD, not the Bulls).

I happened to be flipping the channels last night and he was interviewed on Best Damn and apparently Harris offered him tickets to a game next year and an autographed jersey (which is pretty classy, imo) and the guy was like I am a season ticket holder to I don't need tickets. If you ask me the guy is an asshole for trying to start this. I could see it if he was joking around with Harris but its another thing when you start going on TV saying how he deserves this tickets. He doesn't deserve s***.

QUOTE(Soxy @ Jan 26, 2007 -> 08:34 AM) Got to see Last King of Scotland last night. The performances were all astounding. I was expecting Forest Whitaker to be awesome, but I was also blown away the Scottish doctor and most of the supporting cast. Definitly an impressive cast. Whitacker was really amazing at capturing the range of moods that Amin goes through during the film, and he really makes him unpredictable, volatile, terrifying, and extremely childlike. I'm not exactly sure, though, how Whitaker was the Leading Character (according to the awards), he did steal every scene but in terms of pure screen time, he's definitely more of a supporting character. On the way out my friend remarked that it was predictable, but I think that was actually kind of the point. Especially considering that Gillian Anderson's character pretty much lays out the course of the new regime in the first 10 minutes of the film. It was a little more violent and suspenseful than I was expecting, but I enjoyed it a lot. The screenplay was co-written by the guy who wrote the queen, so the screenplay is good too. I've heard the movie (adapted from a book by the same name) took plenty of liberties from actual history, but in my mind the greatest bit of liberty was probably that I never saw the Scottish doctor who spent plenty of time out in the hot African sun with a nasty sunburn. Come on now. . . Well you've sold me on not seeing the Brad Pitt movie but instead seeing this movie. I like Whitacker and it sounds like its got some action in it as well as drama and suspense.

QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Jan 26, 2007 -> 09:11 AM) I am fine with Pods having a reduced role by any means possible, I am just going to have a huge problem when I see Pods AND Erstad in the OF together, and I fear we will see it way more than we should. Why should we fear that. Erstad has proven in the past he can be a fully capable player and if Anderson plays like s*** he doesn't deserve to start. If Erstad is healthy (and I don't know if he is) than he is worthy of starting for the Chicago White Sox (and 90% of major league teams). Notice I say if he's healthy because if he's healthy Erstad is still capable of being in the top 10-12 defensive CF'ers in the game (maybe better). Obviously its a big question mark but if he's playing a lot I think it will be an indication that he's healthy and playing well (or maybe he's ont playing well but he's still doing better than one of Pods/BA who is doing absolutely terrible). So bottom line, I want to have as many quality players as possible and I have no fear of seeing Erstad out there. No one is going to tell me a healthy Erstad will be worse than Pods/BA were in LF/CF last year so as far as I'm concerned we have nowhere to go but up (ie Erstad is healthy and does solid or BA develops a bit more and isn't quite as terrible or Pods gets healthy and rights ship or none of the above happen and we have just as sorry of a core out there as last year...either way we at least have brought in another option who when healthy is pretty solid).

QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Jan 26, 2007 -> 08:29 AM) uhuh..... I'm pretty sure Pods won't be playing much to star the season so Anderson and Erstad can both get plenty of AB's and during that time they may both play great and give Pods a reduced roll (since we know Ozzie wasn't very pleased with Pods last year, nor was Kenny) or one of them may struggle, get hurt or who knows and when Pods comes back he'll take left with the other getting the majority of the playing time in CF. Anderson will get his shot. The team saw enough in him to deal Chris Young a year ago and they made a major statement by holding pat for the most part when there were potential ways to upgrade the position. I think its obvious Kenny thinks higher of Anderson than Ozzie, but at the same time I think Ozzie may be saying a lot of things as motivation now that it has came out that Andreson doesn't always push himself as hard as he should (and if thats the case Ozzie deserves to rip into him because not putting in the proper effort is and should always be unacceptable).

QUOTE(TLAK @ Jan 25, 2007 -> 08:20 PM) Last year, Erstad hit as well as Brian Anderson despite playing on one leg. At the very least he is somebody who Brian has to compete with for playing time. Should Erstad hit .273 like he did in ’05 and field CF responsibly, it will provide a floor for Brian. Having watched virtually every game last year, I don’t think Anderson has reached the maturity to be entirely self motivated, and knowing he has to play better than Erstad or grab some pine will make him an improved player. Excellent post. QUOTE(Leonard Zelig @ Jan 25, 2007 -> 09:04 PM) Has there been any word on his physical? The stuff I have heard out here on the West Coast has been really positive. They say he's the healthiest he's been in years. The guy had a gigantic bone spur in his ankle that he was playing with and has had some past injuries that have bothered him but he's had a lot of time away from baseball and its allowed those past injuries to heal and apparently his ankle is doing real good (now that the bone spur is gone). I'm actually becoming a much bigger fan of this move. In addition you have past and present Angel team-mates and coaches talking about all the things he brings to a team. It sounds like they are really going to miss him in Anaheim and if he is healthy Sox fans are really really going to love Erstad for the way he plays the game and all the little things he brings to the park day in day out. I am now officially predicting he will start 130 games for the Southsiders. Some in CF and some in LF.

I figure it would be good to have one thread for all the Soxfest related discussion (ie, how the event was, some cool things you saw or bought at the garage sale, autographs you got, and news/info you picked up from the seminars or whatever else you want to share). So post away and in advance I appreciate the info that some of members will post about what they heard in the different seminars (especially the ones involving Ozzie and Kenny).

QUOTE(SnB @ Jan 24, 2007 -> 10:09 AM) On my walk home from class today, I decided I really really want to go to ST this year over our spring break. I'd like to go for maybe 2 days or something. Anyways, my questions are: 1) what is the rough estimate on how much it would cost? (flight/hotel/tickets/food/etc) 2) how far is the park from the airport? Well if you are going to fly out there I'd recommend staying to catch at least 3 games and would even recommend a 4th if at all possible. To me the key is finding a time where you wouldn't have to do much driving (since I'm assuming you wouldn't have a car) so you'd want to have the Sox in a similar area for a while. But if you go with a group that would be easier cause you could rent a car or something. But I think you'd find airfare (out of Chicago) for around 200-250 (if you can find a deal, but I know sometimes during that time its tough to find a deal). Than you have hotel and you end up staying pretty cheap (use priceline). I know in years past some of us were able to stay in 4 star resorts for like 70 per night (and I'm sure you can find stuff cheaper than that). Tickets are cheap, you could just buy grass seats and stand behind home plate or eventually sit somewhere thats open (the key is getting in, imo cause from there no matter where you are your gonna be close to the action). But its a total blast . I'd recommend timing it with a few other people because than you'd be splitting up the costs. QUOTE(Jenks Heat @ Jan 26, 2007 -> 05:43 AM) I went three yeras ago and was not happy with the hotel. I am booking next week, where is the best place to stay?????? Well if you are in the Phoenix area and want to stay someplace nice...Scottsdale has a lot of resorts that usually aren't even closed to being full so you can get killer deals through priceline on them (search for a website and it will tell you what to bid and pretty much say where you are going to be staying, that way you have an idea). We've stayed in some 4 star places (maybe even considered 5 star) for 70 a night and for s***s and giggles I asked how much it would be to stay there (not telling them I had booked a room) and it was 300 plus (which made my cheapass feel proud). I couldn't tell you about Tuscon. I know the Loews Bantana (may have botched the spelling) is an awesome resort that backs up to the hills (not sure on the price, depends on the deal cause I think rooms can be anywhere from 120 - 350). I recommend Phoenix area because there is so so much more to do (between Scottsdale, Tempe - where ASU is, Mesa, Chandler, etc). Plus you have a ton more teams in the area so if you like to see different stadiums (or even different teams) than you have that option (I usually catch 4 games in 3 nights when I go and typically see 2 Sox games and 2 other games and try to hit up 4 different stadiums which to me is fun cause you get to see a lot of different things and tons of different players). Oh and definitely get to the games early, watch BP or go watch the minor leaguers. Take advantage of the ability to get so close to the action. I love watching the younger players take BP and seeing guys throw bullpen sessions.

Floyd or Sisco (I just want to make a crazy prediction so I threw Sisco in there).

QUOTE(Buehrle>Wood @ Jan 25, 2007 -> 04:29 PM) TSN came out with their catcher ratings today. White Sox were ranked 4th in the AL with AJP being ranked as the 9th best catcher(Both leagues included for individual rankings). Twins and Tigers were number 1 and 2 yet again. Mauer was 2nd overall and I-Rod was 5th. Indians were 4th with Victor Martinez being ranked 14th. Royals were 13th, Buck was 20th. Who the heck was rated above Mauer?

QUOTE(CWSGuy406 @ Jan 25, 2007 -> 06:11 PM) No, not one bit. And at this point of time, he might still be pretty decent out there (maybe average to slightly above). Wow, you don't think Erstad deserved to win the gold glove when he won it? The guy was an absolutely stud in CF at one point in time. Now I'm not saying he will be anywhere close to that in the outfield for the Sox, however I see no reason why he wouldn't be better than Pods in LF and better than Mack in center (if his ankle is healthy). I will say that Erstad has definitely lost a step or two in CF and doesn't have the same instincts he once had out there (due to minimal amount of games he's played in the OF the past couple season) but I would not be surprised to see him quickly regain his instincts. And no Erstad will never ever win another gold glove in CF. That said I think there is a solid chance Erstad hits over .270 (and while that isn't amazing by any means, it is a solid clip considering some of the intangibles he will bring with him).

QUOTE(kageman129 @ Jan 25, 2007 -> 02:15 PM) http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2742793 This is an excellent signing for us. It sounds like Erstad is excited to play and hopefully he can stay healthy all season to help us out. I've been a long time reader on Soxtalk and just thought I'd try posting at least once. Good to have ya aboard

On a sidenote, on Inside the NFL last night the quartet really really ripped into Belliceck for what they called his lack of losing in a respectable manner. They were talking about how he's no doubt one of the greatest coaches in the league but that it shows a lot about his character when you lose the way he did. In addition they really made it seem like Belliceck never in fact talked to Peyton and that Peyton just mentioned his name in passing because Peyton probalby didn't want it to be a story during these next 2 weeks. And I got to admit, after seeing the clip a couple times, it was a pretty crappy job Belly did. In addition the analysts on Inside the NFL ripped into him for the way he treated the media during the post game conference. Take it for what it is worth though. Afterall, Carter called the Bears a terrible team earlier in the year (and apparently ripped into Grossman big time off the set and the other three really let him hear it about that).

QUOTE(Jimbo's Drinker @ Jan 25, 2007 -> 02:24 PM) Jimbo's Drinker could win for most hated poster....try hard to not be, but i am.. oh well. If it is any consolation, you are one of my favorite posters. I think you bring a bit of an edge to the board.

Iowa beat Penn State....yeahhhh