ottawa_sox

QUOTE(3E8 @ May 23, 2005 -> 09:47 PM) He has 4 saves against the Twins this year. I think I'm in love. Not to mention the direct assistance he has given us.

QUOTE(Reddy @ May 23, 2005 -> 09:45 PM) who was pitching for cleveland Bob (Nailbiter) Wickman finished it off.

And that's an Indian winner!!!

QUOTE(Reddy @ May 23, 2005 -> 09:40 PM) this isnt on tv is it? Not my TV. One more out.

And Hunter has followed with a double. :headshake

QUOTE(sox-r-us @ May 23, 2005 -> 09:28 PM) Ozzie and his man love for Timo strikes again FOCK I AM MAD NOW :puke Maybe this will cheer you up a little - 2-1 Cleveland in the bottom of the 8th.

Bottom of the 8th in Cleveland. Runners on 1st and 3rd, one out, tie game.

Carlos with a bases loaded none out double in the 7th for a 6-0 Brewers lead on the Twinkies.

QUOTE(Bighurt52235 @ May 21, 2005 -> 02:40 PM) On that last picture, is that THE Ricky Gutierrez? The one and the same. He was very personable. He talked to the crowd quite a bit from the on-deck circle. And basically, I had the same seats for all 4 games. In the front rrrooowwwwww. So I ended up with a lot of pictures of Frank.

QUOTE(winninguglyin83 @ May 21, 2005 -> 10:26 AM) any word from frank on how long until he returns to the big club? I asked Frank this very question, but he declined to give an answer. My guess after 4 days of conversations and observations is that he will be there for the 20 day period. Here are some more pictures. I apologize for the size of some of them:

After last night's game, I ran into an old friend on the walk home and ended up getting plastered 'till 2:00 AM. As a result the "crazy canuck paparazziing" as KipWellsFan coined it, was shamefully delayed. I found out about Brandon's call up from Juan Nieves, when I saw Arnie warming up before the game. I called him over and said "what happened to Brandon", fearing an injury and he pointed skyward. So I said "what, he died?" and he said "no, he got sent up". I asked him why Brandon's last couple of starts produced less than super human results. He said there was nothing wrong with Brandon. He was simply victimized by the band-box that is Charlotte's home field. He described the short fences and the easily reached power alleys and foul poles. I followed with: So, he isn't experiencing a "dead arm" phase and he said not at all. I guess being sent to the show is enough testament to his current strength. The other thing I noticed was that Frank ran out a ground ball with more authority, in the 5th, than any other attempt to run in the 4 games. So that was very encouraging. On the Brian Anderson front, he made an incredible throw for a strike to nail someone at home, drilled a ringing double his first time up and made a truely laughable error with the bases loaded on a routine fly ball with 2 outs. One of those catches that you see caught 999 times out of 1000. Oh well. Frank signed a baseball card for me, so that was cool, as a momento of his trip here. I took lots of pictures and will post a few of them when I get a chance. Right now I am in a hurray to pack and take off to the cottage for the weekend. But first to set the VCR to Sunday for Brandon's first victory. And just think, it's gonna come at the expense of Jesus.

"Thanks for the recap, Ottawa." QUOTE(greasywheels121 @ May 20, 2005 -> 12:08 AM) ^^^^ Thank you for the recaps and the pictures. Much appreciated. You're both very welcome. I can't wait for the Baldwin/McCarthy matchup tomorrow. I think I'll have my 5 year old son with me, so it might be a struggle to keep him intrested for the whole game. But I've got seats right by the Knights on-deck circle for the 4th straight day, so I hope to have some more decent shots for everyone.

QUOTE(JimH @ May 19, 2005 -> 07:46 PM) I'll post a recap after this half inning. The announcer is talking about how nice it is in Ottawa ... he's right. Great city. There have been persistent rumors the Orioles will move the team out of there. Ottawa is very clean. Lot's of parks and water. No industry and therefore virtually no pollution. I have a lake front cottage that is 30 minutes from downtown. The Gatineau hills are littered with small clean spring fed lakes that are a short distance from the heart of the city. That's why I dropped stakes here. The rock base is limestone, which counteracts acid rain effects. I pretty much live at the cottage in the summer. I get my fill of small mouth bass. I grew up in Toronto. Just try finding clean, affordable, close to home lakes in that city. The problem with Ottawa is the winter. Although it doesn't seem to get as cold as it used to, it still lasts too long. And there are persistent rumours about the Orioles moving the Lynx. Baseball doesn't seem to fly here that well. It's all about hockey.

Frank went 1 for 4 tonight. He hit the ball hard all 4 times up. For the first time he pulled the ball. Once for a single plus 2 hard shots to third. He also lined out to 2nd. He continues to run at what I would estimate to be 2/3 to 3/4 speed. When he was on first with his single, Norton hit a routine grounder to the shortstop. Frank was forced at second and made it about 80% of the way to second. Norton beat out the relay. Person was a little wild, but was effective except for a 4 run 3rd. He was victimized by a bouncer to first that skipped over Norton because the sun got in his eyes. That's right a sun-aided bouncer. Norton just turned his head and could not see a thing. Otherwise it was a 2 run inning. Brian Anderson hit the ball hard once in 4 at bats, flying out to the warning track in right in the 9th. Frank hid from the public eye more so than yesterday and all I could get from him was that his ankle "felt good". This was from the on-deck circle. Juan Nieves, the pitching coach, felt he would be in Charlotte for 20 days at least and more if possible. He said the parent club was doing so well he wasn't sure where Frank would fit in at the moment. He reitereated that Dye, Konerko and Everett were very valuable. When Frank can put his head down and push for his maximum speed, is the day his minor league stint is in serious jeapordy. He already looks to be a serious hitting threat.

18.1 innings and 5 hits now. I watched him for an inning yesterday and I think the Lynx touched him for 1 foul ball. That was the best they could do. The speed gun beside me registered 89 MPH at his tops. I don't know how this compares with past performances. I was surprised. It looked like he was throwing harder.

QUOTE(EvilJester99 @ May 19, 2005 -> 12:47 PM) Maybe the booze helped magnify things for Babe Ruth... Never worked for me though Me either. Amazing how it makes women look better though.

QUOTE(EvilJester99 @ May 19, 2005 -> 08:56 AM) They said Brian Roberts is wearing those contacts as well... it is suppose to help pick up contrast which helps the hitter a lot.... It's being reported that it helps the hitter see the threads on the baseball, which in turn helps to pick up the spin. I believe the enhanced vision is magnified during day games. When I was a kid, I remember reading that Babe Ruth could read a licence plate before someone with good (20/20?) vision could see the color of it. Of course this could easily be a tall tale.

Just on the small amount of viewing I have had of Anderson, I would attribute some of his high strikeout numbers to his cockiness. I get the feeling he thinks he can tear the cover off the ball every time up. I don't mean this in a bad way. He takes a very hard cut at the ball and he shows good bat speed. I've seen him miss pitches down in the strike zone, but anything up and he is licking his chops. Hopefully in the maturation process, he will cut down his swing when appropriate. He looks fantastic and except for that big number '41' guy, he looks a very large step above anybody else on the Knights. This does not mean I condone bringing him up tomorrow. But I think he could withstand a reasonable amount of failure without it getting to him. He is very loose in his mannerisms. He is having fun and is quick to ham it up with his teammates. Joe B. looks to be wound tighter than a Swiss timepiece. (This after 2 games up close).

QUOTE(LosMediasBlancas @ May 19, 2005 -> 09:33 AM) How did he look running in game 2? He didn't have much opportunity to run, with his 1 for 5. After the game, he said the following to a local reporter, concerning his ankle: "I'm at that point now where I'm going to stop worrying about it. I'm more concerned with being the hitter I'm capable of being". To me, he has looked like someone who is running with his ankle on his mind. Just being really careful. I am going to try to ask him for a 0 to 10 reading on the pain tonight (if I get a chance).

Every time Thomas has put the ball in play it has been from center to right field. When he has been hot during his career, he has done a lot of his damage going the opposite way. "That's something I want to lock in on," he said. "I know we're doing it in Chicago now, and I don't want to break from that chemistry that we have right now." This is one of the things I wanted to hear from Frank. The loudest, most insufferable heckler was at the game last night sitting only a few seats from me. Right next to the Sox dugout. I was praying someone would shank a foul ball off his coconut. He was removed by security around the 5th or 6th. Apparently he used to do the same thing at Expo games. Frank laughed at his antics and talked to him a little. He had some of the guys shaking their head. He had a decent percentage of the crowd laughing at what he was saying. Unfortunately, after he was removed, a few drunk college-aged kiddies thought it would be cool to follow in his unrelenting, arrogant footsteps. They were especially rough on Borchard for his "5.3" and sub .200 average. Once Joe picked up a foul ball and they gave him a standing ovation. Needless to say this all started after Joe hit his 400+ foot home run. And Raul Casanova took a lot of crap, simply because his name can easily be screamed in howling, wolflike manner.

QUOTE(sec159row2 @ May 18, 2005 -> 10:27 PM) to yesterday's pics as well... keep up the good work.... and btw what do ya mean "you hope to see the next game" you're ottawasoxfan and Frank is in ottawa... how often does that happen??? Glad you liked the pictures. Pretty sure I will be able to make it tomorrow. I was leaving myself a small out because of a son and a wife who have been under the weather. But my guess is that when push comes to shove, I'll be able to make it. So far I've been comparing Frank's arrival here to the Pope's. Despite the fact neither of us are religious, I think she has gotten the drift.

QUOTE(SoxFan1 @ May 18, 2005 -> 09:54 PM) God damn! Any bigger of a sig??? :headshake I thought in the interest of expediency (and also I am too tired to shrink the pictures), I decided to simply post what my camera produced. If I go tomorrow and get some more decent shots, I'll try to play with them a bit before I post. Unless it's no big deal for 2 more days.

Just got back from Frank's second game. He went 1 for 5, but just as easily could have been 3 for 5, if not for defensive gems. Brian Anderson would have had a slam if not for breaking his bat and having the ball die on the warning track. The guy sitting beside me asked Brian for his bat before he hit and Brian said 'sure, if I break it' - which he proceeded to do. I was sitting beside one happy camper. Anderson also crushed a ball in the first for an RBI, that the left fielder did not have to move for. The real story of the game was the great pitching of Stewart for 7 innings, then Fields for 1 and Baj for one. I moved from my front rooooowwwww seat when Baj was pitching to watch a radar gun. He topped out at 89 on this particular gun. Of more importance was the fact that the Lynx were lucky to get a foul off him. I hope to see the next 2 games as well. I think I figured out how to have a word with Frank (if he keeps the same routine tomorrow as today). I will try to find out how he rates his ankle.

Ken Williams said he thought it would take 2 straight championship years to capture the majority of baseball hearts in Chicago. We are in the middle of May of the first year (we hope). Most of us are pinching ourselves wondering if they are for real and we care more than anyone. To my way of thinking, it is perfectly reasonable that skeptism, for now, continues to abound. I think the attendance to date has been reasonable. Give it some time. As YASNY pointed out, recent public relations mistakes include the strike, the white flag season, TV station fiascos and sale of the team. Winning, will eventually, take care of all the mistakes. As long as attendance continues to move in the right direction, then all is good.

QUOTE(YASNY @ May 16, 2005 -> 01:51 PM) Actually, I'm afraid he'll take that exact approach. If he does, he'll he be a .240 hitter. I share your fear. I'm hoping for the Frank that debuted with the White Sox. He owned right center like his name was Julio Franco. I'm not sure what my schedule is for the rest of this week, but I plan on seeing the Knights as much as I can for the 4 game set with Ottawa. I believe McCarthy is scheduled to start against Frank's old buddy - James (trudging off the field like a solemn undertaker) Baldwin on Friday. I don't know if the opportunity will present itself, but I plan on asking Frank where he stands on pain-o-meter (1 to 10). Of course I will report on any news.