hogan873

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Aug 26, 2013 -> 08:54 AM) The Sox have been wildly successful in recent attempts, including the signings of Chapman, Cespedes, and Puig too. Seriously, though, how hard did the Sox go after these guys? The only one of those three that I remember hearing the Sox pursuing was Cespedes. The Sox are now in a position where they can actually and actively pursue Abreu, where in the past they did not have the necessary funds. That being said, I will be surprised if the Sox sign this guy. I think they'll be in the sweepstakes, but the price may prove to be too high.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Aug 23, 2013 -> 01:28 AM) Do you really believe he's a piece of s*** human being? Do you have evidence of that? I hope you are not basing that on supporting his children and negotiating with another team with 3 days left in a lost season. Proof of the POS claim please. You still don't seem to get it. He was negotiating with the Marlins WAY before there were three games left in the season. Plus, Greg, plus he still had a year left on his contract. That was a POS move. He became a POS manager his last couple years; blaming players, leaking info through his meddling kids, and picking fights with the GM. Good riddance to him, and he got what he deserved in Miami.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Aug 22, 2013 -> 01:16 AM) I went with the Cubs cause I believe the Sox remain a mess. There's a very bizarre mental mindset on our team (yes, it started with the play of the Sox in Ozzie's final year and a half). Robin has continued that mindset - weird way of losing games; very bizarre style of play; inability to win consistently at home for some reason; lift and pull mentality remaining with no bases on balls, even though we have ONE home run hitter on the roster. Very weird team and I don't see the mindset changing enough to get us in the playoffs anytime soon. We're going to need a special manager to work with these players; don't know who that manager would be. I might try a very old baseball lifer next time. His name?? Tony LaRussa. Beg him to take over the team. So we're going to go with a popular or famous manager again to solve all of the team's problems? I'm not saying Robin is a great manager, but he's not to blame for all of the errors this season. He's not to blame for some of the hitters crapping their pants when it comes time to drive in a run. I don't care who was managing the team this year, they still would have sucked. Bringing in some famous guy who makes people smile at Applebee's will not solve this team's problems. The team is going to look a lot different next year (hell, it already does), and things will be better. Better enough to get to the playoffs? I doubt it. But I could easily see that happening in 2015. And it won't be because of a popular guy in the dugout. It'll because the right players will be on the field.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Aug 22, 2013 -> 01:08 AM) You guys act like uh, the White Sox wanted Ozzie. Yeah they wanted him ... GONE. Sox got what they wanted ... rid of Ozzie and keeping Kenny. Ozzie got what he wanted, but Ozzie, who IMO is not a very smart man brains wise, thought he got what he wanted, the Marlins. He made a big mistake. That owner is a SNAKE. I'll never understand those of you who profess hatred of Ozzie because of this negotiating with Miami. WHo cares??? The Sox DID NOT WANT OZ ANYMORE. Everyone should care. Negotiating with another team while still employed with his current team is illegal, Greg. It's illegal. And he had another year left on his contract. He got what he deserved in Miami. Yes, the Marlins owner is a snake, but Ozzie is an idiot whose big mouth finally got him in trouble. And stop bringing up 2005. That was about the only good he did. His performance really fell off after that. It's like a guy who did a really good job on a project for his employer five years ago and was employee of the year. Since that time, he comes in late, has behavior issues, mouths off to his boss, and is a basic s***bag. But everyone keeps saying, but he was employee of the year once. Let's hold on to him. No, you fire his ass. You can't do one good job and expect to get by with doing nothing ever again.

I love the "looking back" argument. I'm not sure many people would say that the Adam Dunn signing worked out so well. So, most are going to "look back" and say it wasn't a good deal. But when he was signed, most people thought it was a good signing. I didn't say everyone thought it was a good move, so calm down if you're ready to say, "Well, I didn't like it!" If you take away 2011, which I know you can't, Dunn has not been terrible. Worth the contract? Probably not, but how many players are? Dunn has his average almost up to his career average, and he's done that by making an adjustment. It was not an adjustment he needed to make in the past. But he's done it now, and it's working. Looking forward, if Dunn can hit .240ish with 30+ HRs and 90+ RBIs next year, that'll be fine. Again, I'm not saying it's production worthy of the contract, but what's done is done. Enough with the looking back argument. Let's look forward.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Aug 15, 2013 -> 09:24 AM) Willis would have all the players hitting barefoot though. Help or hurt? Might hurt at first, but it would only build strength and character. Then they could tie in Shoeless Joe Jackson into the advertising somehow.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Aug 15, 2013 -> 09:09 AM) What's Tom Berenger up to now a days? I think he's just famous enough that he'd be good, but not so famous as to attract too much media attention and becoming a circus in the locker room. Plus, it's JAKE TAYLOR. I mean, you guys, COME ON! "Well, I guess there's only one thing left to do. Win the whole f***ing thing."

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Aug 15, 2013 -> 07:53 AM) My vote is for Kate Upton. She's definitely FAMOUS and you have her in the dugout with just a jersey on and no pants and attendance will skyrocket. QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Aug 15, 2013 -> 07:56 AM) Upton would be awesome but come on, she is far too busy with her modeling career at this point. Lets be realistic about it. Bruce Willis is probably a better choice. Have you seen Die Hard? He would be able to show them how to run across glass and shoot guns while jumping out of windows. US Cellular would never be the same. I like both ideas, but why not play off the nickname for the stadium: The Cell? We could get Tom Hanks, dressed as Paul Edgecomb from The Green Mile. He could slowly patrol the dugout while giving the players advice on life. Or how about Morgan Freeman (Shawshank Redemption)? "Swing through the ball, and listen to sound of my voice."

QUOTE (greg775 @ Aug 14, 2013 -> 11:30 PM) From what I've read and what I've seen (I will not over-react; I like him) Garcia again looks like a White Sox free-swinger with a bunch of talent (see Viciedo, see DeAza) who could use some coaching. I like the fact Manto got Beckham to bend his knees. Beckham should now be a .300 hitter the rest of his career, though his power may have been zapped, which is OK. He was on fast track to the minors if he kept his old stance. But folks, our youngsters (Phegs isn't going to make it without some refining as well) need help. Is Manto the man the young players will respect enough to give that help? I'd fire him and bring in a FAMOUS hitting coach. Big Frank probably won't do it. He's too rich to want to travel that much during the season. Is SOMEBODY out there??? Garcia's future may depend on it. Because being famous makes one better at their job. Who cares about fame? I don't care if the hitting coach is Ralph Howard from Nome, Alaska as long as he can help the hitters. It's like the argument that a manager is good because people smile at him at Dennys.

I voted for Sale, A. Garcia, Santiago, Mitchell, and Beckham. I don't know much about the minors, although thanks to many of the very knowledgable folks on this board I'm more informed now. But I've heard a lot of potential good things about Mitchell. Sale and Santiago I like for obvious reasons. I believe both will be parts of the Sox rotation for quite a while. Garcia has a ton of potential, and he's another that could be in a Sox uniform for many years. Finally, I chose Beckham because he's looked so much better this year since coming back from the DL. His defense ahs always been good, but it seems like he'a finally figured something out with the bat. Time will tell, but maybe Hawk was right and he'll take over as the leader of this team. As a wild card, I'll say I'm interested to see how L. Garcia does. It sounds like he has the potential to be decent starter with great defense and speed and an okay bat. It would be nice to see that happen, but having him as a super sub wouldn't be a terrible thing either. Oh, and don't forget about Micker Zapata. I know he's a long ways away, but you never know.

QUOTE (Chilihead90 @ Aug 12, 2013 -> 06:10 PM) Couldn't have been more than like 6-9 months I'd guess. Well, I didn't mean years had passed by. I would agree it was probably about 9 months or so...maybe a year.

I find it funny how much Dunn hate still exists. The guy's been one of the Sox's best hitters for the past month or so. His BA is approaching his career average, he still hits homeruns, and he's obviously made an adjustment because he's getting a lot more base hits than he has in the past. All that said, $15 million is too much for him right now, and that's why he wasn't claimed on waivers. Had he been owed $10 million or less he probably would have been claimed. If Dunn has a similar year next year (.225ish, 30+ HRs, 80+RBIs), someone will sign him for a couple years at a discount (less than $10 million per).

That was an intense episode of Breaking Bad. A great way to start the final episodes. The flash forward at the beginning seems like quite a bit of time had elapsed. The neighbor's reaction to "Hello Carol" led me to believe either Walt was thought to be dead or he's being sought for his crimes. It'll be interesting to see how everything plays out. I'm also looking forward to starting Low Winter Sun. Has anyone watched it yet?

I liked Rios enough. He wasn't one of my favorites, but I certainly didn't share the hate that some had for him. I am glad, however, that he's been traded. I'd like to see a decent return. I don't know much about Garcia Part II (if it ends up being him), but if he can help in some way AND the saved money is spent wisely, I'm okay with the trade.

I don't see Adam going anywhere unless the Sox pay a good chunk of his contract, which I don't see happening. I'm okay with Dunn sticking around. If he can keep up the way he's been hitting into next season, he'd be a much more valuable to this team as they "retool."

Great finale of The Killing last night. It'll be interesting how they handle it if the show is renewed.

I lived in Juneau for about two years and loved it. I'd go back, but there is the issue with being isolated...no way in or out by car. I could see myself going to Anchorage, Seattle, Northern California, and maybe western North Carolina.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Aug 1, 2013 -> 03:39 AM) Cmon, isn't it obvious after this trade deadline thing nobody wants to pay Rios and certainly nobody is going to claim him and pay the full amount of his remaining contract? Rios got 6 fricking hits in a game and still nobody wants to pay his full contract. If somebody truly valued Rios, he'd no longer be a member of the White Sox. Agree??? I would say if I were a GM, and wanted to overlook his reputation of being disinterested at times (how's that for a nice way of saying what I'd really like to say here) I think a fair salary for Rios now is about 3-4 million a year. Obviously teams agreed because NOBODY made the Sox a decent offer for him at the trade deadline. Before the July 31 trade deadline, there were several teams interested in Rios. He wasn't traded because no team met what Hahn was asking and offering. The Sox were not going to send money, so Hahn was asking for some prospects AND that the other team take on all of Rios' contract. Between now and August 31, there will be teams interested in him again, and there might be a point where he's claimed. If he's claimed, the Sox may decide to go the way of the Blue Jays and let him go for pure salary relief.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Jul 24, 2013 -> 11:05 AM) If the rest of the Sox team is good enough next year to win (highly doubtful), I'm sure they'd find a SS to approximate Ramirez production. Besides, it's not like they haven't given away playoff opportunities before to develop players. See Viciedo as opposed to Quentin in LF last year. Christ, here we go again.

QUOTE (GreatScott82 @ Jul 24, 2013 -> 10:15 AM) Yikes. This makes Gonzalez look like a tool box! Yeah, he's not saying what the deal was, just that Martinez was not part of it. Makes a little more sense why the Sox didn't agree.

Heyman is reporting that the Sox did NOT turn down this trade. Apparently Martinez was not offered.

QUOTE (flavum @ Jul 23, 2013 -> 09:31 PM) Insert Viciedo gif here. That was like little league stuff there. We need to insert the Benny Hill music into the gif.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 23, 2013 -> 03:40 PM) Huh? Yeah...huh?

QUOTE (hi8is @ Jul 23, 2013 -> 03:22 PM) Has anyone here ever felt the need to defecate but found it impossible... As in, the sun can not break through heavy storm clouds... And just sits near the closed gates... Wanting all the while to reign down in a thunderous plunge? Ladies? Thunderous plunge...That's a good screen name.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Jul 23, 2013 -> 02:09 PM) I don't know that it is that simple, guys. It depends how liquid the market is for him. If there aren't enough suitors, then you can stomp your feet all day long and say "the price was set with Garza," but if no one is willing to pay it, then no one is willing to pay it. Hahn still has to do what is best for the White Sox. That isn't dictated solely by what the Rangers paid for Garza. You're right. Hopefully there's a team that will offer up a nice package that benefits the Sox. Just dumping Peavy's salary for something off another team's scrap heap doesn't do the team any good. I think that if the Sox don't get a good enough offer for Peavy, they'll hold onto him.