hogan873

I've seen some good pitching in the past, and often a pitcher has a rough spot or two even in a good performance. But Peavy looked 100% in control. There was no lack of confidence, and he was throwing the ball exceptionally well. If you believe the gun he was throwing around 95 a few times, and that made his change-up and that nasty slider all the more effective. Now the question is can he go out next time and pitch well again? Hopefully the JFP is back.

Lillibridge is going to go 2-4 with two stolen bases...and Pierre will be back in the lineup at leadoff tomorrow.

Wow. I was shocked by the vehemence of many of the posts in this thread. As I read through the 7 pages of insults, howling, and screaming I changed my mind about 4 times. At first I didn't see the big deal, and I still agree that bringing up Viciedo to sit on the bench (which is what McPherson will be doing) would be a waste of time. But I completely agree that Viciedo needs to be brought up to replace the left fielder who cannot play anymore. The issue here is that Ozzie would not use Viciedo properly if he were brought up right now, and it would be a waste. As long as Pierre is in a White Sox uniform he will be starting almost every game. In order to bring up Viciedo and for him to be used properly, Pierre has to be gone.

QUOTE (Jerksticks @ May 17, 2011 -> 11:35 AM) Is it possible only us chronic fans know that AJ's success rate is pretty much 0% now? I find that so hard to believe but yet teams continue not to really push it against us. I'd love to manage a 3 game series against us; I might send every guy that isn't fat. Hell, you could send the fat guys because they wouldn't be expecting it.

I'll be honest and say I hadn't paid a lot of attention to it until last night. It seemed like AJ should have just tossed the ball back to the pitcher. I don't think they were close to catching any of them. Part of it was they weren't being held on too tightly. A couple tosses over to 1st base to "keep him close", that was about it. The other part was that AJ's throws were not very good. It was definitely frustrating to watch.

QUOTE (greg775 @ May 16, 2011 -> 11:11 PM) Yeah I get it. I just don't even value Rios' talent as high as some Sox fans do. He's hitting .197 through 152 at bats this season. He has 12 walks. He has 108 homers in seven seasons with 155 stolen bases. So he hits 15-20 homers a year and steals 25 or so bases. He's OK. He had a pretty good year for the sox last year. He's definitely not an elite baseball player. Definitely not worth that contract. I don't know who I'd compare him to. I was gonna say Ellis Burks, but Burks was a much better hitter now that I look at his stats. He's a frustrating player to watch. He has not (and may not) lived up to his talent in a White Sox uniform. He will most likely go down as one of those could-have, should-have players. And I agree that if he can't live up to his talent, then it doesn't matter if he should be as good as BJ Upton. What matters is how good he actually is.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ May 16, 2011 -> 11:43 AM) Every time he's in there he makes something good happen. Question is, how much can you get out of a 44 year old body? This is my concern. I'd like to see him on a semi-regular basis, but how many days a week can he play before it's too many?

I finally got a chance to see the play. Awesome play by both of them. Heads up flip by Konerko and a great grab by Thornton. That's not a play they practice, that's for sure!

See what happens when the Sox win a couple games? A nice thread with very good discussions. And, there's even math being talked about, without posts like "If the Sox lose x number more games before date y, how soon does Ozzie get fired, provided that (ab) - q is greater than or equal to c/w?"

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ May 9, 2011 -> 03:28 PM) There's a question for you, if Dunn gets to 500, is he in the HOF? He's one of the best power hitters of the era, but that's all he was good at. Career average of .250, bad defender, gonna be a DH the next few seasons. He has never been in the playoffs, has never even finished top 20 in MVP voting. But he will hit that 500 homer mark and he's never been directly accused of PEDs. This is a great question. I say immediately, no. 500 HRs is nice, but what about a career .250 average and being a poor fielder? Let's say for argument's sake that Konerko ends his career with 505 HRs and a career BA of .283, and Dunn ends his career with 550 HRs and a career BA of .245. Let's go a step further and say both end up with one World Series ring. Who has a better chance at the HoF?

QUOTE (maggsmaggs @ May 9, 2011 -> 10:30 AM) If Paul Konerko makes the Hall of Fame, the HOF should cease to exist. I love Paul, but he was never one of the top five first baseman in baseball at any one point. He has had a great career, been a terrific role model and won a World Series, but no way he deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. 500 home runs is not a guarantee for the Hall of Fame anymore. In 10 years, countless others are going to join that list. Just like 300 wins used to be the automatic HOF wins total, now that is more like 250. I hope Paul gets his number retired in Chicago, statue somewhere in the park, face on the outfield and all, but no HOF. I don't 100% agree with this. I agree that the standards need to be high, and maybe higher than Konerko's will end up being. But, what if he ends up being a career .285 hitter with over 500 HRs? Would the "low" batting average hold him back, or are other things considered, like defense? I'm not being a smartass, I'm curious.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ May 9, 2011 -> 09:38 AM) HOF or not, he will definitely get a statue at the park some day. And rightfully so.

I'd love to see Peavy throw lights out on Wednesday, but realistically I'd settle for 6 IP and 3 runs or less. I wonder if he'll have a pitch limit?

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ May 9, 2011 -> 08:56 AM) The difference would be after 10+ years with the Yankees/Red Sox, he'd be in the top 5 all time in postseason HR. Good point. The guy is having another monster year. I know it's early, and there's always time for him to falter, but he's shown to be a better hitter over the past year. To me it seems like he's more patient and is seemilngly seeing the ball better. He'll be in our (the fans) hall of fame, but if he does hit 500 HRs and doesn't make the HoF it'd be quite a dissapointment...to me at least.

What if Konerko spent 12-15 years with the Yankees instead of the White Sox, would that make a difference? Considering he had the same stats. I don't know. I'm just playing the devil's advocate.

It's a shame. When Osama was killed, the attacking of Obama began. All those Facebook posts saying he had nothing to do with it and it's not a victory for him and so on. I would imagine that if McCain had been in office or Bush had been in office when that happened those same people wouldn't be saying that. Then there'd be others from the other side saying the same thing. I dislike getting into political discussions with people. I have some family members that have completely opposite views that I have, and I try very hard to avoid talking politics. Because they're not going to change my mind and I'm not going to change their mind. And that's just a small scale of the country. Why argue and try to make others see your point of view when very few people's minds will be changed?

A win tonight, especially a win with 5+ runs would hopefully do something to spark this team. If they go into the game and get shut down again it's going to be a bad roadtrip.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 6, 2011 -> 08:25 AM) Please don't tell me you think Humber really is better than any of our other starters... Maybe, maybe not. But he's been much better than expected. And, it seems as if he's sustaining that. Only time will tell.

QUOTE (oldsox @ May 5, 2011 -> 09:42 AM) ....Something like This is the most talented team to ever play this badly this long? I think he's losing it; tough to be a homer 24/7 with this bunch. Sounds like a pretty accurate statement. This team is playing way below their talent level, and it's been going on for a long time. I don't read that he's saying it's one of the most talented teams ever but rather that they've been playing badly for a long time and there's not a lot of explanation because of the level of talent.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ May 4, 2011 -> 08:03 PM) They said they are all in. They probably all deserve to get canned now, but I think they should play it out and if they fall short this year, clean house. New GM, new manager, new coaching staff, new era. All in IMO means your bes shot. If this is their best shot, major changes need to be made. Perfectly said.

QUOTE (greg775 @ May 4, 2011 -> 08:00 PM) I watched the end of today's game while remaining positive. I just was amazed (again) at the awful at bats in the ninth. Their closer looked like horses***. We're at home, a supposedly desperate team and we can't at least TIE the game? I hate to be a negative nancy this season, but god, how much can a sane person take?? It's driving me crazy watching it. I'd rather see a guest fan come to bat with the game on the line than Juan Pierre and Omar. This team is dead on their feet right now. I knew last night's game would end as a no hitter watching the hitters come up to plate and look lost. Actually, lost isn't the right word, they looked disinterested, like they weren't trying.

QUOTE (greg775 @ May 4, 2011 -> 07:51 PM) Nobody's having an attack. We just think the fact KW and Ozzie's team already is out of the race is grounds for firing. We've played our last meaningful game of the entire season and it's may 5. That's difficult to do. Think about it. This team is off the radar until spring training 2012. Amazing. I mean if that's not a fireable offense?? If you are not going to fire Oz, KW, Walker, etc., then you at least have to start dropping bodies. I'd start with Pierre, Morel. AJ will fret, but he probably should be the backup catcher now. Once again, by the time Peavy hits the ML club we're out of it. Amazing. If he has a couple good outings, see if you can trade him to the Yankees or Red Sox. Trade Mark and Paulie as well. These trades will be vital for the future of the team. If they are rotten trades, we will be done for a long time. Sorry to keep replying off you, but I like a good discussion. I agree that Morel has to get on a plane bound for NC. Pierre I'm not sure about. To whom could be dump him and for what? Buehrle and Paulie aren't going anywhere. If Peavy comes back and pitches well, he will still be hard to move unless the Sox eat a lot of money. I could see Jackson being traded, easily. AJ...again, who would want him? I like Castro, and I think he's under-utilized. I'd like to see him behind the plate more often. I think we're stuck with a lot of what we have. Anyone who is traded will most likely result in the Sox having to pay a chunk of their salaries.

QUOTE (greg775 @ May 4, 2011 -> 07:51 PM) Nobody's having an attack. We just think the fact KW and Ozzie's team already is out of the race is grounds for firing. We've played our last meaningful game of the entire season and it's may 5. That's difficult to do. Think about it. This team is off the radar until spring training 2012. Amazing. I try to remain positive, and for some reason I still watch the games. However, I'm starting to think that watching a Kids Can Play II team would be much more enjoyable than watching what's going on now.

QUOTE (jeffro2525 @ May 4, 2011 -> 07:48 PM) I, for one, am going to hold out hope for better days for at least a little bit longer. I really don't want a summer on meaningless baseball. The odds are drastically leaning towards a total blowup here...but here's hoping for a 2010 type run. That'll remind me of being a Pirates fan. By the way, the Pirates are 14-16.

I want to be optimistic, so I will be. Someone (or two) isn't going to Seattle and will instead be heading to Charlotte. It'll be a minor wake-up call, and the Sox go 6-3. But, the realist in me says 4-5 at best. I hope my internal optimist is right, though.