hogan873

I can't imagine KW going into next season without his team being competitive. Well, in his mind competitive, anyway. I see him making a few moves, hopefully getting some good prospects, and then trying to re-build in the offseason. I just don't see him making a bunch of trades, and then saying 2011 is a rebuilding year.

I don't think it would happen, but imagine trading Peavy and Buehrle and freeing up a ton of money for next season.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Jun 7, 2010 -> 08:07 AM) Despite hitting .209, he's still on pace for 93 RBIs, which is not a bad full season total. 93 RBIs whilst batting a smidge over .200 would be quite a feat. Imagine if he gets his average up (even to .250) and starts cracking a few more homers. Finishing .250 with 25 HRs and 100RBIs would be respectable.

I am in agreement now that one of the biggest (if not the biggest) issue has been the starting pitching. When Freddy Garcia, who many thought would never make it through spring training, is your second best pitcher (and THE best as of late), the you've got issues. Peavy and Floyd are huge disappointments, and so is Buehrle. All three of these guys have to turn it around right now in order for the Sox to have even a hint of a hint of a hope.

I was watching yesterday's game, and I heard Stone talking about Quentin. He was saying his average is quite low, but he's getting a lot of results out of his hitting. Imagine if he was hitting .260 or so. Quentin turning his season around could do the team a world of help. Of course there are many other pieces that need to start coming through to even have a glimmer of hope. Baby steps, I know, and there's not much time for baby steps.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Jun 7, 2010 -> 07:07 AM) You watch your mouth son. Don't make me come over there and wash it out with soap. Sorry, my emotions got the best of me.

This team is a bunch of meanies! They will have a game like yesterday and make us think there's hope. Then they'll go on a streak where they'll lose 5 of 7. But for some reason they just won't quite get to that magical 10 games under .500. Bunch of hope-getter-uppers! Either lose or win...don't jerk us around!

Some moves will be made...they'll have to. But, I don't see any of the starting pitchers going anywhere, except maybe Danks, only because he hasn't signed an extension. I think AJ will be moved, and maybe Jones. I hope Konerko signs again, but I wouldn't be surprised if he's dealt. I just don't think the starting lineup is going to look all that different come August 1.

QUOTE (PlaySumFnJurny @ Jun 4, 2010 -> 03:39 PM) Besides fun and exercise, one of the great things about participating in team sports as a kid is the chance to learn life lessons. One of the most important lessons is to play hard and play fair even though, in the end, there's no guarantee that you'll get what you deserve, and you might just end up getting your ass kicked anyway. Imo, this sort of rule--an attempt to legislate "fair" results--robs kids of that life lesson, to their ultimate detriment. I guess I'm old, but I see a correlation between this type of rule and the seeming sentiment that Galaraga should have been credited with a perfect game anyway. Yes, he got screwed. No, its not fair. But that's life. Its mostly fun, but some parts suck, and the sooner you learn to accept that, the better off you'll be. I'd rather my kid get a head start on learning that in youth soccer, than have to first confront that reality later on in life, over something more signficant. Well said.

A sweep is in order...and starts tonight!

I've coached youth hockey, little league baseball, and girls softball, and I've noticed one thing that's true with each of those sports: The kids are always asking "What's the score?" or "Who's winning?" Although the score and who won was more prominent in the hockey games, myself and the other coaches always told the kids that the key is to have fun and get better. For the most part the kids were pretty receptive, even after losing in the finals in a hockey tournament. Having said that, not keeping score is not the answer. I believe in the mercy rule. There are different variations, and I think both my son's little league and my daughter's softball league do well with their rules. And at the end of the game the kids line up and say good game. It really comes down to the coaches to ensure the kids are good sports about winning AND losing. Saying everybody wins is kind of ridiculous, especially when the kids are old enough to know that their team actually won or lost. But a team losing by default because they win by more than 5 goals? What the hell? In youth sports, the coaches have to take control and ensure their team doesn't run up the score. When I was coaching hockey, I've sat kids who wouldn't listen about passing the puck instead of scoring every time they touched the puck. And yes, some parents were quite pissed off, but others thanked me and said that's the only way they'll learn. No one wants to see a blowout in any sport, but especially in youth sports. If the league or organization doesn't have rules in place to keep it competitive and fair, it's up to the coaches to do so. But telling a team they lose because they beat the other team too badly? Come on. Just don't let that happen in the first place.

QUOTE (bigruss22 @ Jun 3, 2010 -> 07:59 PM) Tosh is great. Anybody know when SOA comes back? October

And how about Quentin's reaction to the HR? I'm sure he was beyond relieved that he redeemed himself after that terrible error. It's good to see that type of emotion. The guys in the dugout were quite celebratory as well.

I think Freddy has performed above abd beyond what any of us expected. I hoped he would perform well and be a decent 5th starter, but he's been consistently better than decent (minus 2 starts). He's the second best pitcher on the staff right now. I just hope he can keep it up all season. Something tells me that he may start breaking down, but I hope not.

Freddy will come through again and save the series.

Nix!

How about like/dislike (love/hate) Like: Freddy Garcia...pleasant surprise Dislike: Jake Peavy...very disappointing Like: Alex Rios...All-Star caliber year Dislike: Quentin...'nuff said Like: Konerko...power hitting with a decent average Dislike: Beckham...disappointing sophmore year

QUOTE (Chet Kincaid @ Jun 3, 2010 -> 12:48 PM) Okay... I hate the way fat a$$ Bobby Jenks can't get a f**king 1-2-3 inning. I found it humorous that you censored ass yourself but not f*ck.

QUOTE (Chet Kincaid @ Jun 3, 2010 -> 12:39 PM) Since this thread has been merged, is it still the "peaceful venting" thread? I'd say you have the option to be peaceful.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Jun 3, 2010 -> 12:31 PM) Is Mark Kotsay making our starting rotation suck so badly? The offense has scored runs. Sure, they're no juggernaut. But to me, those guys getting the ball every 5 days have let us down big time. No, since Kotsay doesn't pitch. I appreciate the smartassedness, but Kotsay is absolutely brutal in the 5-hole. He's a serviceable back-up 1B, and it's unfortunate that he can't be used as he would be more useful. I agree with the fact that the rotation has sucked. I was just saying that the offense, and factors within, have sucked as well.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Jun 3, 2010 -> 12:22 PM) The rotating DH is not to blame. The culprits are Mark, Jake and Gavin as far as I'm concerned. No, you're right that the rotating DH not the blame for the entire season. But, I think that if KW had gone out an acquired an actual DH, we wouldn't be seeing as much of Kotsay and Vizquel. And I'd add Quentin and Beckham to your list of culprits.

What bothers me the most is the silence. KW and Ozzie should have come out by now and said, "Wow, did we make a mistake on this rotating DH idea!" I realize that is almost comical to expect something like that. But all we hear is the occasional blurb about how KW and Ozzie get along as well as they have to and the team has to start playing better. Well, this team is in trouble. And this team will not be "this team" next year...hell, they won't be the same come August 1st. It's just a shame that players like AJ, Konerko, Jenks, and Putz may get dealt when we were led to believe that the Sox would be buyers come June and July. I have lost a lot of interest in the team, and I probably only watch 30 minutes of games off and on. I'm tired of getting that rare hour or so when I can sit down and watch a game only to turn on the TV and see the Sox down 6-2 in the 4th damn inning!

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Jun 3, 2010 -> 11:44 AM) Can we making this a venting thread? One where we can just rattle off our complaints and frustrations? I think we could use a place where we can just sound off and get these kinds things off our chests without having to sound reasonable. I'll go first: and yes, some of these our petty and trivial: I hate turning on the TV and knowing that Mark Kotsay and Omar Vizquel are going to be in the lineup and hitting high in the order. I hate knowing that even if the game is close Ozzie is still going to let Randy Williams and Bobby Jenks get their play. I hate having to see guys like Jayson Nix rot away on the bench when this team sucks balls, and we have no better options, I hate that we reward a kid like Lucy with a demotion to the minors, I hate that we have to bunt nearly every time someone gets on base, I hate that our manager doesn’t operate through strategy, but instead by gut, I hate how this organization runs the draft, i hate that all of our prospects either suck or are injured, I hate how we treat the players that Ozzie doesn't like, i hate how Hawk gets while we're losing, i hate how a lot of us saw tihs coming early in spring, i hate those bulls*** White Sox tradition ads, and I hate that there's no sign of anything changing in the near future. But i love the Chicago White Sox, so where does that put me? First off, I agree with most of your hates...and I too am tired of hearing Hawk when the team is losing (which is often). I highlighted your comment about Lucy because I could not agree more. As soon as he was sent down, the dreaded phrase "small sample size" popped up. Who cares! Small sample size or not, the kid was doing well. I wouldn't mind seeing him brought up over Flowers if AJ is traded...especially at this stage of the game. Is it really going to matter?

We all know that KW is stubborn and doesn't like giving up. The Sox are in a pretty bad situation right now with the bad record and so many guys performing badly. I would hope that KW understands that even a miraculous turnaround won't necessarily get the Sox back into it. So I'm wondering what kind of moves KW will make. He's going to be limited on what he can get back because of poor performances and/or bad contracts. I hope he can swing some deals and get some good pieces in return, but I wonder if he may even make some unexpected moves. What, I don't know. I just hope some moves are made and this team gets better for 2011.

If I were the GM, I would keep Rios, re-sign Konerko (maybe a 2-year deal), and try to re-sign Danks. Trade Jenks (for at least something), trade Floyd (same as Bobby...get something), trade AJ, and trade Jones. Doesn't sound like much, and unfortunately that's the reality. KW isn't going to be able to get much for the players that should be traded. But, this team needs to be re-booted for 2011, so ridding this sinking ship of some dunnage now should help free up some cash for next year.