hogan873

QUOTE (Soxfest @ Jul 11, 2012 -> 07:00 PM) Less games mean the the fans are the big losers. Meh. I'm not sure the crosstown series has as much allure as it used to. Maybe it's in part due to the fact that the Cubs are terrible. I don't think dropping the number of games from 6 to 4 makes the fans losers. True baseball fans are going to look at the leagues and realize that it makes a ton of sense to have them equal. The next step, IMO is to either get rid of the DH or add the DH to the NL.

QUOTE (Jake @ Jul 11, 2012 -> 10:31 AM) + the TBD planet that Greg lives on It's Ozzietopia.

Okay, so does anyone else read his posts with an Irish accent in their head? Welcome aboard Joxer! I'm sure you'll love following the Sox. It's nice to see some more international fans. On a side note, I'm a fan of Irish beer...well, beer in general. There's a lot of Irish in my family (with the last name of Hogan, it shouldn't surprise), and I have two daughters that are competitive Irish dancers. Our goal one day is to make it to Ireland.

If this team looked the same as it did on opening day and they were in the same position standings-wise, I'd say Robin has been doing a good job. Now look at this team with all of the changes due to injuries, and I say he and the entire coaching staff are doing an outstanding job. The improvement of Dunn could be explained by his making adjustments and actually working out this winter. Peavy's turnaround is most likely health-related. Rios...I don't know. I think you have to attribute some of that to Robin and Manto. But, the team as a whole, playing loose and confident, I think that says a ton for Robin. I'll second Greg's assessment here...so far, Robin is the AL Manager of the Year.

QUOTE (LVSoxFan @ Jul 10, 2012 -> 11:13 AM) ESPN can suck it. When they're not busy fellating the BoSox or Yankees, they look at the central and only see the Tigers. Which honestly is fine with me. QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Jul 10, 2012 -> 11:14 AM) I'm 90% that ESPN hates the White Sox and Bulls. It seems like every opposing player highlight reel is against them. They must be pulling their hair out hating on the White Sox with a former Red Sox favorite tearing it up.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jul 10, 2012 -> 10:50 AM) Comparing apples to apples makes more sense than comparing someone flipping burgers to someone playing MLB, no? Yeah, you just can't compare any other occupation with being a pro athlete. And, here's the important part, an MLB team is not going to "fire" a guy who is making $14 million/year. Especially when said guy had been one of the most consistent hitters up until that point. I could go on comparing the differences, but what's the point? It's not even what we're talking about.

QUOTE (ptatc @ Jul 10, 2012 -> 09:17 AM) Or maybe it explains some of his slumps. It could be that when his son's condition worsens he becomes concerned for his health and he loses a little focus. Hitting a baseball is hard enough in perfect conditions. When you are worried about the health of a child and complete focus is near impossible it becomes really tough. Many people are saying that in the real world people get fired for performing so poorly. These are usually the people at the bottom. There are many CEOs like Dunn that are paid more than him and have had many more years of poor performance lately that continue to get bonuses more than Dunn's salary. Boo all you want to feel that you have some control or say with the team but don't discount the effect that a sick child can have on anyone's concentration at work. Well said.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jul 10, 2012 -> 08:40 AM) Amen. Well, thankfully, he (Dunn) didn't have another 1st half like last season, or it really would have gotten quite ugly had a story like this been planted by the PR department. All things considered, Alex Rios is a player that all of us could have done without, and he's been one of our MVP's so far. That's the one thing I never saw coming....an Alex Rios who was "too emotional" and hustled his butt off in the field and on the basepaths. And, although his son's condition may have had a small part in his 2011 performance, the fact that he's improved dramatically shows that it wasn't the major factor. His son still has epilepsy, and it's still a hard road for his family. It's not like he said, "To hell with my problems." He worked hard this off season, and that hard work is paying off.

When Cano was being interviewed about being booed he said he didn't care about the fans. I know what he was trying to say, but it didn't sound good when he was already the enemy in KC.

I think the one thing we're overlooking here is that Dunn did not say his son's condition caused his abysmal season. Nor does the article say that. And I didn't read anywhere that the condition was recently diagnosed. It sounds more like there were many things that affected his performance, and this may have been just a small part of it.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 10, 2012 -> 07:46 AM) I kinda enjoy watching this event (wish they had the normal camera angle on the home plate swing) but keep having to turn it off because of Berman. How many bloody times can you make the same joke about the ball being half way to Omaha/St Louis/Oklahoma City?!?! It was funny when Brett corrected him and said that Omaha isn't beyond the right field bleachers.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Jul 10, 2012 -> 07:14 AM) I really hope seizure dogs can be trained. My brother wants me to take his rescued pug (he just wants his one that he loves, his wife rescued the second one to find her a home). So that way, I can just take a dog I know and love to be trained. If not, the running price for a seizure dog is a couple thousand. I don't know about training pugs as assistant dogs, but I remember seeing a girl in Bass Pro Shops that had a pug as an assist dog. Apparently it was working well for her. On a side note, pugs are great dogs. Very loyal and friendly.

I watched most of the derby. It was entertaining, but I grew tired of Berman's yelling. On a side note, notice how Kruk didn't say a word once George Brett put those ribs on the table?

Some of the responses in this thread are terrible. I'm not arguing that it's bad to boo the team or an individual player. Every fan has that right, especially when a team or player is sucking. And yes, Adam Dunn had a terrible year. The article didn't say that his son's condition was the cause of his bad year but maybe just a part of it. And I'm sure that he felt just as bad, if not worse, about his performance as we the fans did. He never came out last year and said that he was having trouble at home and that was a contributing factor. He handled it with class. As far as the comments about not caring about Adam Dunn's personal life or saying he needs to get over it and hit the damn baseball, you should be ashamed of yourselves. Yes, Adam Dunn plays a game as his occupation, but it's still a job. He, along with another VERY SMALL percentage of the population play baseball for money. Professional baseball players have to work their asses off to even have a chance to make it to the MLB. In over 125 years of professional baseball, there have been only 20,000 players. That should give you an idea of how difficult it is. Any of us who have suffered some sort of tragedy at home or have a family member (especially a child) that is ill can say that if affects your work life. And if you don't have children, then I'm not sure you have any idea what it might be like for Dunn. Again, I'm not saying Dunn (and much of the 2011 team) didn't deserve to be booed, but to say it doesn't matter what's going on in his personal life is wrong. Stuff like that (a sick child) does affect a person's work life. Adam Dunn's work life is playing baseball. Dealing with the thought of having a child at home with epilepsy and not being able to do anything about it probably didn't help him play better. Add to that starting over in a new city, in a new position, and having an early season medical emergency and it's easy to see why Dunn had such a bad year. Boo all you want, but don't say it doesn't matter what happens in a professional ball player's personal life.

I never like hearing about kids with illnesses. It's no wonder Adam had such a bad year. It's good to hear that things are better.

The Sox's hands may be tied after this season. Tyler Flowers has not impressed, and he's taking on a Mike LaValliere shape. They may end up being the high bidder on AJ because they don't have a suitable replacement. However, it seems like a lot of teams may be in the same boat.

The All Star selections are a joke. It's all about popularity and what team players play for. Yes, there are the manager picks, but as we've seen this year, even they don't mean much. Ozzie did the same thing in 2006. If the All Star game continues to mean something, the best players should be playing, not the most popular.

I'm guessing the Sox offer somewhere in the neighborhood of 2/$15 million with an option. And I'll go one step further and predict he'll be back even though there were a couple slightly higher offers. I do not expect him to get a multi-year offer for $10 million or more per.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jul 9, 2012 -> 08:59 AM) I think 2/20 is going to be the starting point, unless AJ just collapses in the second half. Contracts are going up, especially in a position that is very difficult to find quality players in. I suppose with the catcher position being a tough one to fill. If he gets that type of deal, good for him. What does everyone think here? What's the most you'd like to see the Sox offer AJ?

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jul 9, 2012 -> 08:48 AM) I think the deal will be 8 figures per year, at least. Really? Maybe a one year deal I could see. But a multi-year deal at $10 million+ each? I would hope the Sox stay away from something like that. He's awesome, and he's having a career year, but he's getting up there in age. I wonder if he could repeat what he's done in 2012 so far?

I wonder how hard it is to adjust your swing if you're someone like Dunn. I've been thinking the same thing about him just poking a ball into left field. I agree that if he were to do that a couple times, you wouldn't see as dramatic a shift.

QUOTE (GoSox05 @ Jul 9, 2012 -> 08:41 AM) I wish MLB Network would start doing the homerun derby. I can't watch it on ESPN with Chris Berman. What, you didn't like his "You can put it on the board, gone!"?

QUOTE (knightni @ Jul 9, 2012 -> 08:36 AM) AJ didn't catch Buehrle's perfect game. I was just thinking about that. He caught his no hitter, but Castro caught the perfect game, right?

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jul 7, 2012 -> 11:57 AM) You guys are delusional for where the free agent market is going. You don't think AJ will get a 2 year/$12-$14 million offer from someone? I can easily see that happening. Hopefully the Sox can sign him for a reasonable amount on a 1 or 2 year deal with an option.