hogan873

QUOTE (Lemon_44 @ Jun 2, 2010 -> 03:05 AM) How come a couple games ago people were saying it was great move by Cora to let Vizquel hit/swing away, when in fact he should have been bunting or pinch hit for, and made a weak out? It was a horrible move but Beckham bailed him out with a 2 out single that game. Yet Ozzie lets Vizquel hit and it's a terrible move to some. The guy people should be complaining about is the total waste of a 5 hole hitter in Kotsay. Now that's something you can b**** about Ozzie. We've been b****ing about Kotsay in the 5 hole all season.

I said yes, it's over. Now is the time we start wondering who gets traded and what do the Sox get in return. The trouble right now is the poor performance of some of the players that should/will be traded. I see AJ going before his 10/5 deadline, but there won't be much coming back...it'll be more of a money move. Actually, many of the traded will be more about money than what comes back. Konerko may be traded, but I'm not sure. If the Sox have no plan to re-sign him then he needs to be traded so the Sox get something back. I'm completely frustrated about Peavy, but he's not going anywhere. I love Rios and hopes he sticks around. If the Sox are going to "rebuild", he needs to be a cornerstone of the future. Regardless of who gets traded, KW and Ozzie should be ashamed of themselves for assemblying this team of maybes and hopes. I realize that it wouldn't be as bad as it is if guys like Quentin, Beckham, Peavy, Floyd were performing well. But imagine how much worse the rotating DH idea would look if that was the only big issue! Throw in the towel, make some trades, free up some money, and get ready for 2011. And sorry Joe, no way do the Sox sign Cliff Lee for $20 million a year.

QUOTE (Chet Kincaid @ Jun 1, 2010 -> 02:31 PM) Curtis Granderson has been hurt. Brett Gardner... really?? And who the hell is Julio Borbon? I was wondering the same thing.

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Jun 1, 2010 -> 02:01 PM) Career vs Harden: Pierre 1/2 Pierz 1/12 w/ BB, 4K (.083) Rios 3/14 (.214) Konerko 1/17 2BB, 5K (.059) Kotsay 1/6 Quentin 2/5 w/ HR, BB, K Ramirez 1/3 w/ BB Vizquel 2/10 w/ 3BB, 4K Beckham 0 PA Zoinks!

So, I would assume the lineup today will have Nix at 3rd vs. Vizquel or The Kid patrolling some portion of the infield?

I voted none of the above, although all three have some suspect characteristics. The one incident that I truly believe involved some government coverup was TWA 800. There was just way too much information out there about the possibility of the plane being shot down by the Navy.

Nix! Juan (defense)! Rios! Pena! Great game, nice series split.

QUOTE (GoSox05 @ May 28, 2010 -> 09:09 PM) Where was Ozzie today? He and Joe West took a charter out of Tampa. Only one was coming back.

QUOTE (Kalapse @ May 28, 2010 -> 09:07 PM) Perhaps, if Matt Thornton had Jenks' track record of allowing the go ahead run to reach base in nearly every one of his high leverage outings, a hit by Longoria may have meant the beginning of a rally but it was just a good piece of hitting by one of the greats of the game and the most shut-down reliever in the AL last season (sans the big 4 closers) nailed it down. Exactly.

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ May 28, 2010 -> 09:05 PM) I like how Cora managed, pinch hitting Vizquel for Nix so he ended up playing 3rd defensively in the last inning, leaving Freddy in for the 7th, Santos 2 /3's of an inning and Thornton's 1 1/3 . It was a very well managed game.

QUOTE (Jenksy Cat @ May 28, 2010 -> 09:03 PM) He did give up a hit which, if it was Jenks, would have produced 1500 "get that fat f*** out of the game" posts by people. A hit to Longoria. Not surprising. And I see your point, but if he had turned around and closed it as quickly as Thornton did there would have been only 348 "fat ass" posts.

A BIG win with Freddy on the mound. Rios continues to be a stud, Beckham came through, and Thornton nailed it down. ...and you guys continue to argue! Enjoy the win!

Freddy! What a job! Rios and Castro (!) go yard! How about Cora sticking with Thornton to close? Good decision-making. Awesome win...let's get at least one more!

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ May 28, 2010 -> 10:37 AM) Isn't yours just the tuck rule?

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ May 28, 2010 -> 07:47 AM) "The call is tails" "I said Heads!" "The call is tails!!!" "That pump fake was a balk! Loss of downs!"

Looks like my votes are along the same line of the majority here. I think it's time for Ozzie to go, but I imagine nothing will happen. Regardless, this team is probably going to look a lot different in 2011, and I think a new manager would be a wise choice.

QUOTE (zenryan @ May 28, 2010 -> 04:08 AM) I'm willing to bet that West went into that game knowing he was going to call a balk on MB. I agree. And if West was any kind of umpire, deciding that Buehrle's move is a balk (which is BS by the way), he should have told Mark after the first balk, "Hey, I'm going to call that move a balk every time."

Well, say the Bears (a cold weather team) and the Chargers (a warm weather team) end up in the Super Bowl. And said Super Bowl was being played in Foxboro. Based on many arguments here the Bears would have an unfair advantage. What if, however, two weeks before, the Chargers beat the Steelers in AFC championship game which was being played in Pittsburgh? I can see both sides of the argument, but I still think the Super Bowl should be played on occasion outside of Florida, California, or a dome. Yes, weather can be a factor in a game. But a snowy field or a wet field or a foggy field is going to affect both teams, not just the team that plays its home games in a dome or under the sun. They could always try to balance the playing field by having a guest referee by the name of Joe West.

QUOTE (justBLAZE @ May 27, 2010 -> 04:06 PM) Source: Umpire Joe West to face discipline from MLB. Punishment will be suspension or fine. Umpires union and MLB talking about severity. via Jeff Passan Because of the bad calls or his treatment of Ozzie and Buehrle?

QUOTE (greg775 @ May 27, 2010 -> 03:55 PM) You should speak up more often. This argument pretty much shuts up my point better than most that I've read. Is Joliet a nonconfrontational environment? No, I've been married for 11 years, so I've learned to keep quiet.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ May 27, 2010 -> 09:46 AM) Heck...I think there's a fair number of pitchers, especially in bullpens, who can get by throwing almost entirely 95-97 mph fastballs with the occasional offspeed pitch that doesn't even have to be a strike...if they have control of the fastball. Thornton is sort of like this. His fastball is very tough to hit because of his ability to control it. Then his occasional off-speed stuff really throws hitters for loops.

QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ May 27, 2010 -> 09:33 AM) Like I said, sometimes it's fun to just be an ass.

QUOTE (kjshoe04 @ May 27, 2010 -> 08:38 AM) Bobby can't get anything but a fastball over the plate himself. His once great curve is atrocious right now. And I think this is his big problem. I've said it before...he was a better pitcher when he threw 98 mph fastballs and that devastating curve.

QUOTE (GoodAsGould @ May 27, 2010 -> 07:34 AM) I dont see why its ok for the conference championship games to be in cold weather environment but not the Superbowl, so its ok for the 2nd most important games of the season to be in blizzards but not the most important I agree. I see the reason behind having the Super Bowl in a neutral site, but I'm a firm believer in having the big game in different sites, including cold weather venues.

The next two weeks will be quite telling. Playing well in Tampa could be a huge boost before coming home to face Texas and the Indians. I'm not getting my hopes up, but you never know. Pierre and Kotsay are hitting well. The bullpen has been very good. Another good start tonight by Gavin will be nice. If Beckham and Quentin can turn it around, things could look quite different by the middle of June.