CWSGuy406

QUOTE(Rowand44 @ Apr 6, 2006 -> 05:24 AM) Ha, I'm just giving you s*** cause as you know I'm not the biggest A's fan. That being said, like I've said a few times here, I really do believe that on paper them and us are the two best teams in the majors. You won't get an argument from me on that. Then again, there's a lot of teams in the AL that if their "ifs" (health, some guys stepping up) go right, they can be pretty good. I think the only teams that don't apply are KC, Seattle, and Tampa. Every other team, you could probably make a decent (even if it's tiny, like Baltimore) case for. The NL, on the other hand... :sleep

QUOTE(Rowand44 @ Apr 6, 2006 -> 05:18 AM) I might have to strip you of your championship if you continue to cheer for the A's. I'm actually rooting for Thomas more than I'm rooting for the A's, but I do like the team they have their -- mainly their defense. In my mind, it's without a doubt the best in the majors. Payton (or Swisher) - Kotsay - Bradley as an OF (defensively speaking)? :drool

QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Apr 6, 2006 -> 05:12 AM) 2005 proved to me it was all worth it. I have been a "die hard" since 02, and while its not a long time at all, I think I can say I pretty much know what its like to be defined as medicore. To dedicate so much time and energy into something, and then to see it all pay off at the end, there is no doubt in my mind it was all worth it. Damn right. People always say something like "you're obsessed", err whatever crap they want to spew. And really, they don't understand it. The feeling I experienced on October 26th was worth every second of watching the Sox lose to Minny in 2003 + 2004, along with the journey that was 2005.

QUOTE(WCSox @ Apr 5, 2006 -> 03:30 PM) And I heard that you actually managed to avoid insulting somebody in a post last week. Sounds like you're making progress! Hey, if the shoe fits... HHJ is right. People (several, not all) regurgitate the same crap over and over and over and over. It gets tiring. Thomas just turned around a Kyle Farnsworth fastball for a double off the wall, clearing the bases. Three RBIs for Big Hurt tonight ( ), and Oakland is about to take two of three from the Yankees.

Yeah, I know this is going back a little bit (probably before the 2005 season started), but there really should be no more b****ing about Reinsdorf not putting enough into this team... http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sp...-home-headlines Fourth folks. Fourth. I guess we've come a long way.

QUOTE(whitesoxfan101 @ Apr 6, 2006 -> 03:57 AM) Papelbon will be a hell of a closer as long as they let him Which is probably about one year. Papelbon will probably be in the rotation next year, if not sooner.

QUOTE(southsideirish71 @ Apr 4, 2006 -> 11:30 PM) One other thing that contributed to his poor outing was the fact that Mack didnt play great defense in center. There was a line drive that I am pretty sure Anderson would of ran the right route to. It rolled to the wall a few runs scored. Mack came in on the crack of the bat and the ball kept going out. That was a play that should of been made. I understand that Ozzie is going to rotate people in an out, but after the kid goes 2-3 lets see what he can do. We need the CF defense right now more than the lefty-righty matchup. I thought the same thing, SS71, but wasn't 100% positive, as it was very tough seeing fly-balls off the bat from the Upper Deck today. Mack is a huge step-down defensively from Anderson. Anderson, in all reality, is extremely important to the Sox this year -- we don't have ONE replacement who can cover CF half as good as he can.

I'm liking young Josh Byrnes a lot. He's only made a few moves so far, but I really liked the Vazquez deal (for both sides, a little moreso for Ari) and Glaus moves. That team gets the slightest amount of pitching, and they're going to dominate the NL West for a long time (not this year -- probably in '07 or '08).

I'll be there tomorrow in 544.

QUOTE(SuperSteve @ Apr 3, 2006 -> 10:04 PM) Felipe Lopez isn't bad, and let's see if Womack can bounce back. Encarnacion is going to be really good too, he's just a pup. Oh, see if Womack can bounce back to his career .273/.316/.356 line, which would look even worse if you took out his fluke year with the Cardinals in '04?

Thanks for the advice, guys. I'm leaving at 3:00 (I usually am able to leave an hour before the game, so I figure four hours is plenty enough, even with the construction), so I think I'm giving myself plenty of time to make it down there.

Quick question for anyone who cares to answer: I'm coming from the south. I can still take the Dan Ryan, and get off at 35th (or Pershing, or 33rd) correct? I know it'll be a pain in the ass, but I'm leaving early enough and preparing for a long trip.

QUOTE(YASNY @ Apr 2, 2006 -> 06:49 AM) I read about 3 pages of this thread and the only one that seems to have realistic grasp on things is JimH. The guy reports rumors folks ... RUMORS! The rumor of Lee for Murton, Hill and Guzman may have some basis. However, it may be Lee and somebody else for those 3 or Lee for two of the 3 or Lee for 2 of the 3 and and lesser prospect .... or ... they may be talking but end up not being able to come to an agreement. If that happens, then surprisingly, the trade never happens. Wow! What a concept. GM's discuss a deal, word leaks out but they GM's can't agree. So that means the rumor has been total bulls*** from the get go. Yeah right. Rumors, YASNY? This guy is putting things off as if they're fact, when, in all reality, they're highly questionable. Yeah, right, I'm sure Kenny expected smooth sailing with Hermanson in 2006, no problems at all.

I agree, P&JG. Melvin could almost justify making this trade straight up, Murton for Lee. Murton is young, cheap, and good. Doesn't seem like a guy who will hit a lot of homers, but he should be a decent player (good OBP guy). Hill, at worst, seems like he'll make a good LOOGY with that curveball he has. I'd like to see him in a starting role, which he'd have the chance to compete for in Milwaukee. Guzman would just be icing, another good arm for Melvin. Of course, this all could be a bunch of April 1st BS, which I'm guessing it is.

Hmm... this seems odd: I assume the 'will make $8 million in 2005' is just a typo, but I'm still skeptical. Then again, I think -- they wouldn't f*** around with something like a contract extension, would they?

QUOTE(Gene Honda Civic @ Mar 31, 2006 -> 04:54 AM) Ninjas! Chuck Norris as a Ranger as in Walker Texas Ranger or Chuck Norris as a Colonel as in Missing in Action 1, 2, & 3 and Delta Force 1 & 2? Walker Texas Ranger. Timo or Neifi?

QUOTE(ptatc @ Mar 29, 2006 -> 03:06 AM) What concerns me is that there was enough inflammation to show up on the MRI. That is not a minor strain. even if he can play through it, this will be a problem for awhile. This concerns me. You know who got cut today (err, sent down)? Ryan Church. There's a guy who needs to be starting somewhere. Bowden is awful -- there aren't a whole lot of GMs that are worse. Anyways... any toolsy players in the system like Alex Escobar? Oh, and btw -- quit kidding yourselves with that Mack/Ozuna platoon. There's a reason these guys are bench players. The career OBP of these two are .328 and .307 respectively. If Pods is out long-term, the Sox need to make a move for a Ryan Church type, or give Owens the job.

See, Ross gives children bloody noses and makes 'em cry -- he's such a clubhouse cancer.

QUOTE(greasywheels121 @ Mar 26, 2006 -> 10:01 PM) Do you have any shot of winning the bracket? EVERYONE had UConn. Root for George Mason. I have UConn winning it, and I'm rooting for Mason. Of course, even if UConn does win it, I lose, so that makes things a lot easier.

You gotta love the G-Mason offense. So simple, yet intelligent. Two guys on the block, a guy at the top of the key, and two on the wings. Post first, if not, kick out for a drive/three. I love it.

QUOTE(LDF @ Mar 26, 2006 -> 06:22 AM) well no kidding on the obvious comment. i am not just as sure of drafting kessell, esp if we do pick #2 and malkin re-enter the draft. johnson fall to you and if it was me, i would trade that pick for something that we need. all i am trying to do is get some talk going, get a healthy discussion going. LDF, honestly, I don't know enough about the draft to talk to you about it. You seem to have a fairly good grip on it, and anything I'd say would bring absolutely nothing to a 'healthy discussion'. Outside of Johnson, Kessell, and Staal's brother (or it's someone elses brother, sort of high profile), I really don't know a whole lot going into the '07 draft. I usually get something like TSN's top 50 prospect issue heading into the draft, and just cram for like a week. I can tell you this, however, about Kessell/Skille. I was also under the impression that the two hate each other. I talked to my brother about it (huge hockey/Hawk fan), and apparently it's moreso the parents that dislike each other. When I talked to him about it, I left the conversation under the impression that it wouldn't be something that would stop the Hawks from drafting him.

I'd say Kessell, without a doubt. Look at the Hawks defensive depth chart. The Hawks currently have Seabrook and Keith who look like they're going to be big-minute guys. I don't necessarily see Duncan Keith as a #1-2 type d-man, but he's got the endurance to play big minutes, and with a little polish, he'll be a nice #3-4. From there, they have a bunch of guys who've been fighting fighting for spots. I'm not sure about the ceiling of most of these guys, but the good thing is that most of them are young. I'm talking about Byfuglian, Barinka, Wisniewski, Richmond. These guys are all 21-22 years of age (I think). That's not to say that all of these guys will turn into solid hockey players, but I'd like to think that at least one of them (I'd say Byfuglian) will step up and take on a bigger role, and one-two of them should stick around as #6 types. Then, there's guys that aren't currently in the States. Most notably, Barker, but there's also Lasse Kukkonen, who is in Finland -- and there's talk about him being brought over here. When he played for the Hawks in 2004, I didn't think he was awful. Looked 'fundamentaly' sound. Didn't stick out too much, but didn't hurt the team either. Barker, though, is obviously the defenseman that the Hawks really need to pan out. Barker and Seabrook are the guys who are supposed to bolster this Hawks defense for the next five-ten years. And finally there's Vandermeer and Aucoin, both of whom (if I were to guess) will be on the Hawks in 2007, and maybe a year or two beyond that. So, by my count, that's ten. And, I certainly don't know a whole lot about the Hawks other prospects (guys in Europe and Canada). Plus, there's the possibility of free agent signings. The Hawks need a playmaker up front. That's the one thing that has been lacking for a LONG time.

QUOTE(whitesoxfan101 @ Mar 25, 2006 -> 08:27 PM) Oakland really hasn't built a team with any sort of good defense besides making sure the 1B could pick it until very recently. Last year, Oakland was rated first in Defensive Efficiency Rating, which is the number of balls in play converted into outs. Does this actually mean Oakland was the best team in baseball defensively? I'll leave that up to debate, but there's no question they were a top defensive team last year. Is that concept of DER to tough for you to wrap your mind around? You know, dividing numbers? BTW, are you really ignorant and/or an idiot? Oakland doesn't have any good defense besides a 1B-man? Mark Ellis? Eric Chavez? Mark Kotsay? Maybe you should just stick to the college basketball threads. You have no idea what you're talking about, and come across as really foolish. No, I consider the Sox title fake. In fact, the Sox didn't win the Central, the Indians did, as they had a better Pythag. The Sox probably shouldn't get rings -- they should just give them to Cleveland. :rolly Hey, though -- did you come up with that square root victory theorum thing by yourself? How freaking clever!!!!!

QUOTE(Gene Honda Civic @ Mar 25, 2006 -> 08:17 AM) Also... I heard they don't believe in the Easter Bunny. And they like France. And hate FREEDOM. You're either with us, or against us! I, for one, am prepared to fight. Statheads eat babies too. Yeah, statheads absolutely HATE teams with good pitching and great defense. I mean, look at Oakland. Awful pitching (err, wait), and a bunch of fat-men who can't play defense (oh, wait, that's wrong too). :banghead

http://baseballanalysts.com/archives/2006/...ea.php#comments snip /snip