Chisoxfn

Wow, Stras signed for less than expected, I'm surprised Rizzo was fired for that. Quite frankly, it was more than just the GM and if he was fired for that than you got to look at ownership who had no problem approving the signing. I think he's just a fall guy.

QUOTE (elrockinMT @ Aug 19, 2009 -> 01:55 PM) You are a lucky guy. I had to use MLB gameday Better yet it was paid for by the ole boss.

QUOTE (SHIPPS @ Aug 19, 2009 -> 12:53 PM) LOL. They work different shifts and I am telling them both I want to keep it quiet since it is a work thing. I like them both so I really cant choose right now. If your lucky, you'll get a threesome, where the two of them are slapping you in the face while you cry.

QUOTE (Jenks Heat @ Aug 19, 2009 -> 06:25 AM) I will agree with the Pods, Ramirez and Beckham talk in this thread but the reason the Sox are not winning more is because the abyss that is Dye, Konerko and Thome show up once a week and I am saying only one of them once a week or hit the random homerun. It has become an annual rite of passage they stop playing for months at a time. Those guys, specifically Dye/Konerko, were due for a slump. They had been pretty f***ing consistent all year. Name me a guy in baseball that doesn't slump and I'd say he's probably the greatest player in the league.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Aug 19, 2009 -> 06:17 AM) The thing that I took notice of though in regards to Beckham was his facial expression when the first base umpire called him out on that check swing...he had a whiny, frustrated look on his face which made it quite clear he is tired. That is not something that is usually in his makeup. I think he needs a day off pretty badly. Looks like we may need to call on Josh Fields yet again for a few games in September... Beckham has that look a lot. He does it whenever he swings over a good breaking pitch cause he's frustrated he just made that bad of a swing.

QUOTE (rangercal @ Aug 18, 2009 -> 08:45 PM) Did he lose this game for us? It's debatable. I do know he WON 2 games last week for us. Honestly, him doing that did not cost the Sox the game. It was early in the ball-game. You want to talk about what cost us the game, it was not getting in a run with runners on 1st and 3rd and 1 out. It was not holding a 3 run lead, etc, etc. The Sox lost this game for a ton of reasons but Alexei not reaching on that error wasn't one of them. I'd say 95% of the players in the game do that on a flyball. Not saying its right but this was a pretty uncalled for drubbing. Most guys do that lackadaisical walk to 2nd and once a year a guy will drop a ball and you look like an ass.

QUOTE (rangercal @ Aug 18, 2009 -> 08:40 PM) I love him as much as you do, just think it's silly to throw one of the clutch players under the bus(Ramirez) when we have other problems. Beckham has been the definition of clutch. Has an insane clip with runners on. Do people understand baseball is a long season and slumps happen. Its f***ing ridiculous to see how people talk about how this guy sucks and that guy sucks because they are in a slump, it happens, deal with it. You want to complain, complain and b**** about brain farts or stupid plays.

QUOTE (ChiSox_Sonix @ Aug 19, 2009 -> 10:30 AM) I shouldn't have lumped the Red Sox into the Yankees there, but no the Yankees have not had good farm systems lately. They have had a few players recently, but it was pretty barren for a while. That's besides the point though. Would it be bad for those teams to acquire those Top 5 draft picks if the receiving team received prospects though? As long as it wasn't for salary reasons I don't see it being a bad thing. The Yankees farm system is considered pretty good by most. It's produced Cano, Hughes, Joba, Kennedy, Melky and has guys like Austin Jackson and Montero waiting in the wings. Its not on bar with the BoSox but its solid.

Jose, Beckham, Quentin, Rios, Jenks....YESSS!!! Who the f*** would have saw this coming!!

Wow, what the f***. Boy did I look like a jagoff and I couldn't be happier. Way to go Jose. And Rios, Quentin, and Beckham with the HR's (at least the ones I got to see). Was lucky enough to have an hour and a half lunch at a sports bar that had the game on.

I get insurance through my work. Its just myself (for now), but I pay about $70 per month and when I've used it I haven't had any issues with it. The plan seems to be pretty good and I think my max out of pocket is like $2000 and when I go in for visits its just 20 bucks (that included when I got MRI and everything). Its an HMO, but they have a big ass new hospital in the city I live so it works for me. Hopefully I never need to use it for anything serious but if I do I hope they are okay.

QUOTE (elrockinMT @ Aug 19, 2009 -> 10:04 AM) I think we might win today. I feel it's at least 50/50 If you feel that way, go to Vegas, cause I'm sure the odds are stacked in your favor. This seems like an un-winnable game, but I hope I'm wrong

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Aug 19, 2009 -> 09:49 AM) That's certainly one plausible way to look at the data. It's also entirely plausible that Jose was red hot because he was being caught by Castro, and his slump resumed when AJ resumed catching him. Ya, I don't believe it. I do think pitchers can be more comfortable with various catchers but in no way should there ever be that big of a difference. No way. Contreras numbers are bad with AJ because he has sucked ass most of the season, sans a small hot streak, where he pitched really good and Castro happened to be the guy back there.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Aug 19, 2009 -> 09:37 AM) Jose's splits per catcher: Castro: .224 batting average against, .625 OPS against. Pierzynski: .311 batting average against, .883 OPS against. Isn't that skewed heavily by the fact that AJ caught Jose when he wasn't red hot and when prior to his stint in the minors.

Chicago Scottsdale/Phoenix Area New York City

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Aug 19, 2009 -> 08:49 AM) For those of you wondering if Ozzie actually looks at the numbers from when AJ catches The Count and when Castro does. We have our answer. He doesn't. Didn't Castro catch his last few starts? Jose sucks, period, end of story.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Aug 19, 2009 -> 08:08 AM) Can Podesednik not play right field??? Rios should be in center everyday, hes so much better at it than anyone else No, he can't. He has no arm and very limited experience in right. I'm not saying Pods is good in center, he isn't, but with the in-experience of Pods the best move is putting Rios in RF (whose a gold glove caliber RFer) with Pods in CF. Ozzie has done a very very good job handling the multiple outfielders since the Rios acquisition.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Aug 19, 2009 -> 07:53 AM) What's up with Thome? Day to Day with a foot injury.

QUOTE (rangercal @ Aug 18, 2009 -> 05:53 PM) qb even wr packers te Bears OL even RB Bears Looks like an edge to the Bears to me I'd go QB - Even WR/TE - Packers OL - Even RB - Bears But to me the Packers just have such an edge in the combined WR/TE department. Yes, the Bears WR's are that bad in my book (at least as of this moment).

Fantastic article.

QUOTE (fathom @ Aug 18, 2009 -> 09:37 PM) Yep, and he should be stealing every time he gets on base. I don't care if he triples...steal home! I wouldn't be shocked if the Sox have given him orders not to steal. A lot of teams do that with speedsters to prevent them from getting injured and to just have them focus on other aspects of the game. Not sure if that is the case with Mitchell or not, but it wouldn't surprise me.

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Aug 18, 2009 -> 05:29 PM) You watch any of it? If so, how'd the velocity and offspeed stuff look? Got it recorded so I'm going to watch when I get home from work.

QUOTE (southsideirish71 @ Aug 18, 2009 -> 05:13 PM) People need to realize what this is. This is Peavy getting his work in. Working on control, his secondary pitches. Not exactly the same thing as a big league game. I wouldn't get worried or excited about results good or bad. This is like people worrying about a ST start in Arizona. Spot on. He was throwing strikes and looks healthy. Plus 5 k's. I'll take it. Real excited to get him in a Sox uni.

QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ Aug 18, 2009 -> 04:57 PM) I'd agree with that, but everyone came into the season thinking he was a great defensive player at 2nd, 3rd, and short. And it's simply not the case. He was touted for his defense, and overall, it's been subpar. Oh at short he was hideous, but I don't remember anyone saying he was a plus defensive player at SS or 3B. The guy has very little experience playing either of those positions. He has been fine at 3B, but short was a disaster for him. I'd like to see him get a lot more experience there in the spring so that he could become more of a jack of all trades off the bench.

QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ Aug 18, 2009 -> 04:51 PM) Why does it matter if he has the range to get to a ball in the hole only to botch it or throw it away? I haven't seen him have this issue at 2B. The guy is no doubt a plus defensive 2nd baseman.