CWSGuy406

Marquette is down seven with :50 seconds left. Really, really stupid play by Fitzgerald on the last possession. BTW -- is Marquette a lock for the tourney, even without this win? Will 20-10, 10-6 in conference, get them in?

QUOTE(whitesoxfan101 @ Mar 9, 2006 -> 07:55 PM) If you've never seen Dominic James play, make sure to keep ESPN on....kid is a special talent at PG and is the reason why Novak has had so many open looks and had a great senior year. G'Town if they are smart will attack the weak Marquette front line inside. Should be a great one. James isn't the sole reason. Crean's sytem runs Novak off of screen after screen after screen to get him an open look. James' only problem is that he tends to have a couple of shots each game that make you go, "Huh?". It's like he tries to take over the game. But, in the two final games I saw for Marquette -- vs. G-Town and Pitt, he played extremely well, but more importantly, played within himself. This is killing me. One more hour and I can go home, but I'm out of the computer lab in ten minutes. Anyone know when this game is tipping off?

So -- Marquette vs. Georgetown tomorrow. I know Marquette beat them (at the Bradley Center) just a few weeks ago, but it's gonna be a little nerve-racking sitting in school and only going by a text message here and there. I know that Marquette, more or less, has their place in the tourney anywhere from a five to an eight seed, but it'd still be nice to see them grab a win and get a shot at U-Conn (?). --------------------------- Seven minutes in, Louisville still hasn't scored.

QUOTE(3E8 @ Mar 9, 2006 -> 02:08 AM) The only reason soxtalk thinks Gload has an attitude problem is because a member here totally misinterpreted something Gload said in the locker room and decided to start a thread calling him out on not being a team player. and cuz he ain't a cutie like Timo.

QUOTE(Rex Hudler @ Mar 7, 2006 -> 01:39 AM) Still taking $20 bets they WILL make it to the Sweet 16. No takers yet for so many that seem so sure they won't. Rex, if you allow me to see the seeding first and THEN choose to make the bet, I will do so.

Addison -- having Cintron on the roster now, Ozuna doesn't do a whole lot. Actually, he provides one thing for this team -- speed. So, let's assume that Mack/Widge/Cintron are locks for the team, along with this LOOGY Lopez. I believe that puts the Sox at 23. So, the final two spots go to Borchard/Ozuna/Gload. This might not be how the Sox are looking at it, but: Borchard - He can play all three OF spots. Whether or not his CF defense is better than Mackowiak's is a question I leave to the crowd. I don't know. Can't hit worth a damn, though. Gload - Provides depth at 1B and LF (though, he should be used sparingly in LF). I know people like to say that Mackowiak can backup at 1B, but he's played five games there in his career. I'd venture to guess that he's a much better defensive firstbaseman than Mackowiak, and Gload is *arguably* the best hitter off the bench. Ozuna - He can play every position, but, in most cases, is behind another guy. Like Cheat said, he's the backups' backup. I don't think he's as good defensively as Cintron is on the left side of the infield, and he should be used sparingly in the OF/1B. Really, his only attribute to this team is his speed.

Addy, I know there was some stuff in KC (after he made an error) to the effect of, "well, when you're only playing two days a week, it's tough". But I've never really gotten the Willie Harris-type-attitude-problem-vibe from Gload.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Mar 8, 2006 -> 09:51 PM) Depends on who's pitching. If I've got a lefty on the mound, and Mack or Cintron or Borch all sitting on the Bench who can bat switch...then maybe I do send up Ozuna. Also might send him up if I need a bunt or if I need speed. Or if he's pinch hitting for anyone except our 1b/DH. Well, all that speed helped him put up a .313 OBP last year. Against a lefty... Cintron, no questions asked. Against lefties in his career, he's put up a .313/.355/.449. That's sexy, and something the Sox needed.

Gload's the attitude problem? May I ask where this has come from? From reading several articles over the past month, it seems like Borchard has a little bit of one himself. On a separate note, I like the trade. But Ozuna and Cintron seem like the same player, with a huge offensive edge to Cintron. This is odd. I'm interested in seeing the what happens.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Mar 8, 2006 -> 06:04 PM) I couldnt disagree with you more. Gload plays no OF, not on this team. As far as pinch hitters go, before I would send up either one of these guys, I would send up Mack, Cintron and Ozuna. So if their role is mainly an OF fill in, you have to choose the player who can actually play the OF, that is joe. You'd send up Ozuna to the plate before Gload? :banghead

QUOTE(MUsoxfan @ Mar 7, 2006 -> 11:40 PM) Congrats are in order for Marquette's Dominic James Big East Rookie of the Year McNeal, along with James, was named to the All-Rookie teams. This team gets ONE big man who can do some damage down low, and Marquette will be in good shape. I haven't seen enough games to declare whether or not guys like Amoroso and Barro can do the job, but they're in good shape up-front.

QUOTE(ZoomSlowik @ Mar 7, 2006 -> 07:40 PM) Felix is definitely more gifted than Wood though. He has better control, more zip on his fastball, a similar hard curve, and his slider is devastating whenever they let him throw it. Supposedly he's got a decent change too, although I haven't seen it when I've watched him pitch. Wood's major asset in his first year was the slurve that he couldn't throw without destroying his arm. When he had to throw a straight curve and slider, he wasn't as dominant, although he was still pretty good when healthy. King Felix is 'as-advertised'. If you get the chance to watch him, do so as much as possible -- if you're a baseball fan, I'm sure you will appreciate his nasty stuff, yet great ability to paint the corners. Here's an excerpt from the 'Top 2006 Sophomores' article at The Baseball Analysts: The thing is, none of this is overexaggerated. From the starts I saw him in last year, he can place ANY of these pitches wherever he wants. That's not to say that I'd take him as the #1. That would go to Pujols, with A-Rod at SS a close second.

This Gonzaga team is going down SO FAST in the NCAA Tourney, it isn't even funny. If they're a one seed, they'll definitely be the first one seed knocked off. Gosh, I hope Marquette is in the Zags bracket.

QUOTE(santo=dorf @ Mar 6, 2006 -> 07:20 PM) The Sox's pitching staff won almost all of the games in the playoff last year. The solo home runs were not the deciding factor. I agree, and I don't think I've said anything to the contrary. I'm just saying that, for the most part in the postseason (and in the regular season, for that matter), the Sox offense was built off of the homerun.

QUOTE(RME JICO @ Mar 6, 2006 -> 09:27 AM) A team's regular season wins and losses are worthless in the playoffs. Don't get me wrong, Beane knows what he is doing, but it looks like his formula just builds a great regular season team that cannot compete in a 5 or 7 game series. That is where baseball strategies change. Since you rarely play a team more than 4 games straight in the regular season, you can get away with some things that get exposed in a 7 game series. Oakland has done this too many times to be a coincidence. How should he build his team? Every year he's been in the playoffs, he's gone with the Big 3. You could argue that he didn't put enough 'value' into defense thos years (though I don't remember any of their series'), but it seems to me that, at the very least, he's learned his lesson -- Oakland will have one helluva defensive team this year. BTW -- I'm still not buying the 'exposed in the playoffs' argument. So, Oakland gets exposed, but only exposed enough to lose each series by one game, and by one run? I will say this. Beane has NEVER put together a pitching staff as good as the White Sox' of '05. Why not? Isn't that pretty much what the Sox did? Get some guys on base and wait/hope for the longball? Other than the clinching game of the World Series, I think the Sox were aided by a homer in all of the playoff games. You're right about base-cloggers, though. Ick. Look at his team in 2000 -- Ben Grieve, Matt Stairs, the Giambi brothers, Ramon Hernandez -- wouldn't Ozzie just love that team?

QUOTE(RME JICO @ Mar 6, 2006 -> 08:22 AM) Beane might have averaged 96 wins, but Oakland has not even came close to the World Series with him as a GM. They have never even won a single post season series under Beane. Also, how many of those wins were aided by performance enhancers (Giambi, Tejada, etc)? I don't know how much of the 'no-playoff-series' wins thing is Beane's fault, though. From 2000-2003, the A's made the playoffs every year and were knocked out every year in the first round. In all four of these series', the A's lost game five to lose the series. They've lost these four Game-5 games by a combined total of six runs. Nice post. It's a shame more people can't take this type of stance and be a little more objective. (And, BTW, I was as guilty as anyone a couple of years ago with the one-sided bashing.)

QUOTE(Gregory Pratt @ Mar 6, 2006 -> 06:09 AM) Nobody's guaranteed anything, of course, but the White Sox are in good shape this year. If Thome doesn't produce, he can be replaced by Mac, who of course isn't as good as a healthy, younger Thome but he wouldn't be the death of our team. I feel good about our team, and I don't think Cleveland's as strong as people make them out to be. Are you freaking kidding? Mackowiak would be a worse DH than Everett was for us last year. Look. I know everybody loves Mackowiak because he's a local kid a good story, but there's a reason he's a bench player. A .258/.328/.414 will NOT get it done, for any extended period of time.

For the love of God... Don't.See.DateMovie.

QUOTE(Flash Tizzle @ Mar 5, 2006 -> 08:23 PM) Another three pitches retires a Sox hitter. Can someone tell me, is this Colorado pitcher a typical scrub? Nippert, IIRC, is one of 'Zona's top pitching prospects. I think he had shoulder surgery recently. EDIT: Actually, I don't know if it was shoulder surgery. But I'm pretty sure it was some type of surgery.

Can anyone tell me how Loyola of Chicago did tonight?

Anyone know how Marquette did today against Providence?

QUOTE(rventura23 @ Mar 3, 2006 -> 04:07 AM) pretty low grade it seems like for some of the guys in the B range. how is Jenks a B prospect? 'Cause he's a relief pitcher, so even when he's at his best, his impact will always be limited. 'Cause of his storied past. 'Cause of his injury past. Tell me why any of the other players should get an 'A'? Broadway and Liotta seem to be limited ceiling guys, Sweeney didn't slug above .400 last year, and Anderson really didn't dominate AAA -- he did well, but he didn't dominate the level.

Soxtalk's favorite writer answers the ol' Scott Podsednik question:

QUOTE(zach61 @ Feb 28, 2006 -> 08:54 PM) I brought in 4 dozen paczki to pig out on with the people here at work. For lent this yr, I'm going to give up brussel sprouts. I'll suffer through and eat asparagus whenever I want brussel sprouts. Can't wait till Easter dinner for the ham and brussel sprouts. Paczki's rock. My parents pick up like 100 each year, for their co-workers, and then bring the rest home. They're sooooo damn good.

QUOTE(Rowand44 @ Feb 28, 2006 -> 04:39 AM) On a side note, we're the defending champs or something. But, more importantly, I'm the Intercontinental Champion.