hogan873

I'm saying over. 82-84 wins.

Pretty soon it will time to start the thread predicting each player's performance for the year. A return to career norms for Dunn and Rios could make this an interesting season. Especially if the pitching holds its own.

QUOTE (kjshoe04 @ Feb 21, 2012 -> 11:06 PM) Just started "The Given Day" by Dennis Lehane on a friends recommendation. I haven't read that one, but I have read most of his other books. His Kenzie/Gennaro books are top notch, and of course Shutter Island and Mystic River are great. I would recommend all of them.

Pants

Our pug was a bit difficult to housetrain, but once he understood that he can't pee or poop in the house (a firm "NO!' while showing him the mess worked), he has been very good about it. But, the sneaky dog, knowing he gets a treat after going outside to go, will double up by having me let him out and then 20 minutes later waits by the door for my wife or kids to let him out.

Although I can, and have, eaten cold pizza, I prefer it reheated. I'll usually just toss it in the microwave, but I'll admit it's better reheated in the oven.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Feb 21, 2012 -> 10:48 AM) I hope he's just the CEO of the team, so to speak. He can't know anything about handling pitching. I would think he has never has thought much before about hit and running, when to steal bases, etc. I hope he lets Cooper make all the pitching decisions and his bench coach most of the other in-game decisions. The guy has absolutely no experience. That's OK, though. Ozzie was hated so much by fans he's an easy act to follow. You're probably right about the pitching. He'd be wise to let Cooper handle that. Otherwise, it's not like the guy doesn't know the game. A guy with as much playing experience as him will have an idea of when to hit and run, steal, bunt, etc. It'll probably take a bit for him to know his team and what each guy is capable of. Let's just hope he makes the right decisions with the knowledge he has.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Feb 21, 2012 -> 10:45 AM) It's a good grade. The Sox did not try to improve as a team. The team is expected to be way worse than last year. So it's a good grade. I really don't see how they can be "way worse" than last year. Come October, their record may be similar to 2011's, and I would say that would be an okay season. Expectations were so high last year, and the season turned out to be terrible. Expectations are lower this year, and rightfully so. I disagree with the D- grade, but I certainly wouldn't give them anything higher than a C. But, if some of those guys they picked up pan out, hindsight might make some folks re-evaluate this offseason.

1. De Aza - LF 2. Ramirez - SS 3. Rios - CF 4. Konerko - 1B 5. Dunn - DH 6. Viciedo - RF 7. Pierzynski - C 8. Beckham - 2B 9. Morel - 3B Pitching Danks Floyd Sale Peavy Humber

QUOTE (Harry Chappas @ Feb 20, 2012 -> 11:12 AM) Here is what I hang my hat on as to why I think this team will be fine. Nothing went right last year except Konerko and Humber. Can they repeat, maybe. Guillen became a distraction. My thoughts you get a bump in productivity from everyone from this. The replaced players are replaceable and their replacements could be better. Dunn, Rios and Peavy can become Dunn and Peavy and maybe Rios earns his money. Morel, Flowers, Beckham, DeAza, Lillibridge, Viciado, Reed and Sale become solid MLB players and potentially progress. Last year's team had nothing go right and they were almost .500 I pretty much agree. I'm not in agreement with the doom and gloom I've been reading (here and in the media). I don't necessarily think this is a sure playoff team, and if I were a betting man I wouldn't bet on the Sox taking the division. But, last year was so bad, and it's hard to forget that. If Dunn improves to near career normal and Rios plays okay, the offense looks a lot better. The pitching staff has decent potential, especially if Peavy pitches well. And you're right about Guillen.

I need a little beer...or six.

QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ Feb 16, 2012 -> 11:24 AM) The title of the thread is incredibly misleading. Yeah, I thought it was going to be an article about how the team you see now is the team you'll see on the field and we, as fans, should be scared and angry.

QUOTE (JPN366 @ Feb 14, 2012 -> 11:11 PM) And that. Even if they're stomping on your ribcage. I was rough housing with my kids when I suddenly felt a pop and then pain in my right knee. I literally couldn't walk on it for a few minutes, and I seriously considered going to the hospital. But after about 30 minutes and a beer, I felt better...and subsequently began rough housing again. I remember rough housing with my dad and how much it meant to me when I was a little kid. I want to ensure my kids have good memories like that, too. And, I'll want them to rough house with their kids because I'll be too damn old by then.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Feb 16, 2012 -> 07:09 AM) So they spend over $100 million on 3 players who were All-Stars, but that doesn't count as spending money? Didn't you see what he said? The money spent on Rios, Dunn, and Peavy doesn't count. The Sox need to shell out another $80 million or so.

QUOTE (knightni @ Feb 15, 2012 -> 01:42 PM) A.J. Pierzynski with Buff Bagwell? Adam Dunn with King Kong Bundy?

QUOTE (JPN366 @ Feb 15, 2012 -> 12:28 AM) It's actually feeling a little slow to me. It's lacking some bite, I actually wish Frank would die. I know that he is technically the protagonist, but still. Was Jeremy Allen White told that he would spend all season brooding, smoldering, drinking, smoking, raging and wearing the same clothes the whole time? And what's with those floods he wears? But it did look like in the previews after the last episode that things will change between him and Karen...and him and Ian for that matter.

QUOTE (daggins @ Feb 14, 2012 -> 05:02 PM) The Sox should replace Hawkeroo with Jim Ross And Steve Stone with Jerry Lawler?

So, the thread has gone from discussing Fukudome to talking about jerking off and feeling ashamed to being Catholic. It's like Pale Hose Talk, SLaM, and the 'Buster had an orgy.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Feb 14, 2012 -> 02:26 PM) This will be embarrassing for the Cubs. They will not draw squat in the Cell. I disagree. I think they would draw decent crowds, and the difference would be that there might be a higher ratio of real baseball fans to people just there to be there.

I like it. For the price, especially. If Rios or DeAza bomb, he could be a replacement. Side note: How is his speed on the basepads?

QUOTE (JPN366 @ Feb 13, 2012 -> 11:15 PM) The worst thing for me is when they're sick. You feel completely helpless. The best thing for me is being called "Daddy." That owns. This

Having three kids, I can say that being a parent is both the most rewarding thing and one of the hardest things you'll experience. All three of my kids went through the "terrible twos", although that's misleading as someone already pointed out. It's more of an 18 month period when they're between 2 and 4. But, now that mine are long past that time, I look back and realize it wasn't that bad. My oldest is 10, and I know it's going to get harder when she reaches the teen years. Having two girls, I don't even want to think about when the dating starts. Everyone laughs when they hear stories of fathers "interviewing" their daughter's boyfriends with a shotgun in hand. But now that those years are approaching, I can see that being a reality (kidding, sort of...I don't own a shotgun). One truism when it comes to kids: Time flies. It may not seem that way when you're getting 2 hours of sleep when they are newborns, but before you know it they're 10 years old.

I'm a couple episodes behind on Shameless, but I think it's as good if not better than last season. Frank is such an incredible low-life, but then he shows the occasional (very occasional) flash of being human. William H. Macy plays that role so well.

QUOTE (dpd9189 @ Feb 13, 2012 -> 10:15 AM) Nothing official yet but it looks like Cespedes to Miami and Soler to the Cubs. Am I the only one who thinks the Marlins should be investigated? Where the F did they get all this money? They also gave Pujols the highest offer but he turned them down because they wouldn't give him a NTC and they'd have probably shipped him out in a few years anyway. Something stinks down there. I believe the franchise is being set up to fail...whether that's on purpose or not I couldn't say. They're going more "all in" than the Sox did in 2011, and they are spending a ton of money with grotesquely backloaded contracts. If they flounder in the next couple years, we'll probably see the fire sale of fire sales, and they will end up eating a ton of money when they trade away some players. But, as long as Ozzie visits the local restaurants and gets patrons to smile and wave, it'll be all good.

QUOTE (GoSox05 @ Feb 10, 2012 -> 12:58 PM) Pearl Jam is ok, but they are no Nickelback. I just muttered "WTF?"