hogan873

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.

QUOTE (T R U @ May 27, 2010 -> 02:59 AM) Ive been to cold sporting events too, and I enjoy them as well.. however, for competitive purposes and getting the best game possible for the biggest game of the season I don't see why they wouldn't aim for having the best possible conditions.. a couple years ago in a total downpour the Dolphins played the Steelers in a Monday Night "Shootout" that ended 3-0.. it was the most boring game I have ever watched in my life.. i couldn't imagine having to watch a Super Bowl like that It can rain during the Super Bowl, too. And it has a few times.

QUOTE (zenryan @ May 26, 2010 -> 11:30 AM) I totally agree. I dont mind bad weather games during the season or playoffs because thats part of the home field advantage. Just like here in Florida where its over 100 degrees on the field. But in the championship game, I'd like to see it played it in the best conditions possible. But as long as the field is dry and the wind is minimal then all should be fine. But if we have a Tuck Bowl looking game for the Super Bowl then I doubt the NFL will ever go back. And is the new stadium going to have grass or Field Turf? There is no way grass will be able to hold well for the Pro Bowl and then Super Bowl in back to back weeks. I may be mistaken, but I think the Pro Bowl is back in Hawaii next year.

Win today and get the ship righted. A series win in Tampa would be huge! But let's start with today. Pitch your ass off Gavin!

QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ May 26, 2010 -> 08:08 PM) He's never thrown a no-hitter, so that's not true. Oh for God's sake. Fine, he's nearly unhittable. Better? What I was getting at was he'd have one bad inning then come in and completely dominant for several innings in a row. I swear sometimes on this board you could say that Sox is spelled S-O-X and people would argue.

QUOTE (Lillian @ May 27, 2010 -> 05:52 AM) May I respectfully ask you just one question? Have you actually watched Bobby pitch? Couldn't have said it better.

So what's the solution for Bobby and the closer role? Do they only use Bobby when they have a 3-run lead and use someone else when it's tighter? Come on. I keep hearing (seeing) the argument that the Sox wait until Jenks starts blowing more saves before moving him from that role. Why? His performance yesterday tells me that he will indeed blow some saves. Why wait until the Sox lose 2 or 3 games they can't afford to lose?

I usually keep my mouth shut when arguments break out on this board. But I have to put my two cents in on this Jenks issue. If you allow the first 6 batters to reach base and give up three runs before you even get two outs, you are NOT effective. I don't care if Bobby "got the job done". In my mind, he didn't get the job done. He was in the game to get three outs and secure the win (not a save situation, but he's still in there to secure a win). You can argue all you want that Jenks did okay because he got the three outs, and the Sox won. What it comes down to is that I don't trust him in save situations. I haven't liked him there all season, and yesterday put a nail in that proverbial coffin. He is not effective anymore and should not be closing games. Straight as an arrow fastballs and ineffective breaking stuff is a recipe for losing games.