Jordan4life_2007

QUOTE (The Ginger Kid @ Jun 9, 2011 -> 09:24 PM) Nelson Cruz just hit the longest HR I've seen this season. Upper deck in left-center at Target. I saw that, too. He's got about as much raw power as anybody in baseball.

Why the hell was Rios trying to steal there?

QUOTE (Real @ Jun 9, 2011 -> 08:27 PM) just looked at Rios' BABIP, that's some unlucky s*** right there. i know he's horrible this year but the stats say he's not as bad as his numbers, unfortunately he's been pretty subpar in CF too which hurts him even more also (i love fangraphs), the 20 worst players in WAR in MLB, we have 3 of them in our starting lineup. His K-rate is a career low as well, IIRC. He's putting the ball in play. Some of it's bad luck and some of it's weak contact.

QUOTE (DirtySox @ Jun 9, 2011 -> 06:16 PM) Royals call up Moose. Too early in my opinion, but exciting nonetheless. Too bad he can't pitch. That rotation is abysmal. I love it. He had a pretty pedestrian April for him. But he's been spraying ropes/missiles/bombs all over the place since then. Like Hosmer, there's nothing left for him to prove in the minors.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jun 9, 2011 -> 12:41 PM) I was there too. About 20 rows high in the UD behind home plate. The next section over had one of the best chick fights I have ever seen during extras. Were they black girls? Black girls get vicious.

White Castle=best late night drunk food

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jun 9, 2011 -> 01:11 PM) Do you really not see how your statement made no sense and was self-conflicted? You said they looked like a sleeper by "most everybody". Thus, they would not be a sleeper. Its like saying most people picked them as an underdog - if that's true, they aren't an underdog, by definition. I can see how that could be misconstrued. But I think ultimately it was rather clear what I was getting at.

Balta basically wants 2006 Kobe. Not happening. There is no perfect 2-guard out there. IF it were possible to land Kevin Martin, we'd be fools not to seriously explore all options.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jun 9, 2011 -> 01:05 PM) He's done a phenomenal job of not over-reacting like a bunch of nut jobs here and staying calm and as a result the players responded. Ozzie has a tremendous ability to try and put his players in the best chance to succeed. That might not be in-game managing but it is an art that he has managed exceptionally, well, imo. And I know someone will now make a bunch of posts about how Kotsay being DH was a position he couldn't excel at, but by and large, Ozzie has done that and you'll hear a lot of his current and former players allude to that. Ozzie understands how up and down the game of baseball is and he isn't going to overreact to things too often. I have problems with some of his ridiculous comments and some of the things he does, but by and large, he's a good manager. The question to me is at some point, players tune guys out or maybe just need to hear another voice, and when that type comes, it comes. It will happen to pretty much every mgr and coach. Ozzie has cost this team five games off the top of my head. He's stubborn to a fault and he most certainly doesn't put his players in the best position to succeed. At least not consistently. Ozzie doesn't overreact? Didn't he just go on a tirade a couple weeks ago? Getting mad at the fans because most don't give him a free lifetime pass for 2005? Players respond to him? Well I wish Alex Rios, Adam Dunn, AJ, JP, Danks and Thornton would start responding. Because nothing he's done has worked (this is obviously on the players, too).

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jun 9, 2011 -> 12:09 PM) Then they wouldn't be sleepers, would they? Well what do you call a team that isn't exactly favored to do anything but has the potential by most to be good?

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jun 9, 2011 -> 12:15 PM) This has been Ozzie's best season as manager, imo. I just choked on my New England clam chowder. You can't be serious.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Jun 9, 2011 -> 11:48 AM) Michael Bourn is a better version of Juan Pierre. Or at least Juan Pierre in his prime, who happened to be a pretty good player. Regardless of how slappy he was. JP had a prime? I don't want any kind of incarnation of Juan Pierre. Young, old or inbetween young and old.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Jun 9, 2011 -> 11:40 AM) Yeah, but that best ERA got them an 81-81 record, and Matsui has been on the decline for a few years now. Plus, pitching has never been an issue with them, it has been an offensively challenged bunch for a while. Willingham and Matsui werent going to come in and light the world on fire, and they certainly werent going to challenge the Rangers for the best offense in the division. Billy ball has failed for another year, and another manager bites the dust because of it Of course they weren't going to challenge the Rangers for best offense. But going into the season, who was projected to have the better SP? Ogando has been a godsend for them. But after losing Lee, it was believed that the division was up for grabs. Either way, they've totally regressed from last year.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Jun 9, 2011 -> 11:39 AM) - He is a center fielder and did win the last two Gold Gloves (which actually might mean something if you aren't a big hitter, are young, and are not on the Yankees) - I do hear your point on the singles only guys, but if he still has the speed and can play D, I don't mind it as much. Well I assume he would move to LF, as Rios seems pretty entrenched in CF. And Rios seems like the type of mental midget that would be bothered by the thought of having to play a position he's never played before. The only reason I even mentioned Bourn is because he's only got one more arb year left until he becomes a FA and I've heard the Astros wouldn't mind dealing him. You know Ozzie would be drooling at the thought of slappy 3.0. And KW would happily oblige him.

I know Kevin McHale is in love with Martin. It'd be very difficult to pry him away.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Jun 9, 2011 -> 11:30 AM) The A's were expected to contend? Really? They added Matsui, Willingham, DeJesus, Balfour and Fuentes. They had the best ERA in the AL last year, IIRC. They were looked at as a sleeper by most everybody.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jun 9, 2011 -> 11:23 AM) It's the Bulls being really, really good, for the first time in about a dozen years. Well there's that. Though we had a nice little run (relative to how bad we were from '99-'04) from '05-'07 and none of those threads came close to the amount of replies this one has.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Jun 9, 2011 -> 11:06 AM) I'd be down with Michael Bourn, depending on the price. At least for the next 2-3 years until his speed starts disappearing. No, no, no. No more singles only, sub-370 SLG% left-fielders on this team. I've had enough.. Pods worked out in '05. It's been a tsunami out there since.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Jun 9, 2011 -> 11:17 AM) Bob Geren = He gone! Bob Melvin to take over for the rest of the season. I hope that doesn't spark the A's this weekend to turn around their losing streak. Wait a minute...You mean a manager was held accountable for the poor performance of a team that was expected to contend?

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Jun 9, 2011 -> 11:11 AM) Im pretty sure we said the same thing about Haslem in game 2 of the ECF. I will reserve judgement until I actually see him play Good point.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan101 @ Jun 9, 2011 -> 10:41 AM) My issue with the NBA has little to do with LeBron. He's not a good guy at all, but whatever. My only problem with him is that for all of his gifts, he still underachieves (which shows how great his gifts are, he's still the best player in the world) and tends to have moments where the moment feels too big for him (like game 4). But that's not a problem with the league, it's more an issue where I think LeBron could be greater. I stand by the fact that the hateable figure on that team, clearly, is Dwyane Wade. Even though nobody agrees with me. My NBA issues are with the fradulent officiating, apparent lack of transparency, the fact that the first 3 quarters of about 90 percent of game are completely meaningless, the entire system of the league (the joke of a "salary cap", complete lack of control that teams have, etc) is set up poorly, and so on. I'm hoping that through the long lockout we'll have next season, some aspects of the league will be fixed. But that will be a challenge. Excellent post. See, you went into detail. Most everybody else was saying they were going to quit the NBA simply if Miami won it. I've gotten used to the inadequacies of NBA referring. That's why it doesn't bother me as much. It's not just the NBA. It's the NFL. The MLB. The NHL. Wait, hockey doesn't really count. All the other things you referred to could change dramatically when all is said and done. All that said, this has been the most entertaining season since the Jordan era, IMO. Look at the replies in this thread. That's not just coincidence. The young stars we have today are pretty breathtaking. The skills, quickness and athleticism on display every night is as good, or better, than it's ever been. There's a lot of good things about the NBA. That's all i'm saying. I would never just stop watching.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Jun 9, 2011 -> 10:41 AM) Buddy in Dallas said reports are swirling that Caron Butler might be playing tonight. Pretty stupid if you ask me. What the hell is Butler going to be able to give them at this point?

QUOTE (JPN366 @ Jun 9, 2011 -> 10:58 AM) witesoxfan. Oh ok. lol. You didn't quote him. I thought I said something.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jun 9, 2011 -> 10:52 AM) He is being assigned to AAA. Yeah, I saw that. My question was at what point can he finally be dismissed? Dude was drafted in '04.

QUOTE (JPN366 @ Jun 9, 2011 -> 10:52 AM) I've always passed along what I saw, good or bad. It's thoroughly insulting to imply I'm lying about what I see first hand. I see it this year, your friend saw it 3 or 4 years ago. I desperately wanted to see KW Jr. succeed and be productive, so that the playing time was justified. The reality is that he is simply not good, and is either overmatched or out of his element at AA. It's difficult to take video when he's never on base. Duane Shafer's kid got way too much playing time in Birmingham 9 and 10 years ago, he was awful. This is nothing new. Um, who are you talking to?