hogan873

I like brewers who are a bit daring in their creations. I've had some beers, however, that had no business being brewed. A very good Midwest brewer that isn't afraid to experiment is Three Floyds. I've never been to their brewpub, but I've tried quite a few in bottle form. The Gumballhead Wheat is wonderful.

I'm impressed with Nix and his potential to be a good power hitter. If he were to get more paying time, he could be a 20-25+ HR guy. I had to vote for Getz, though. Getz gives the team more of what they need now. Speed, good defense, bunting ability, base stealing skills.

Bells has made a resurrgence in Illinois lately. I suppose it was about a year ago I started seeing it around. I try just about everyone I can get my hands on. One brewery I wish sold beer in Illinois is New Glarus. Spotted Cow is one of my favorites.

I've had the porter: Nearly opaque dark brown body with a lasting tan head. Aroma of chicolate,coffee and cream, and a touch of smoke. Medium palate with a surprising amount of carbonation. Big malty flavor with the chocolate and coffee evident right away. Smooth finish with a slightly bitter coffee aftertaste. A delicious porter. They also have a Trumpeters Stout, which is a winter brew.

Bells Special Double Cream Stout - Pitch black body with a lasting brown head. Baker’s chocolate, coffee, and roasted malt make up the wonderful aroma. Smooth, full mouthfeel. Absolutely delicious with the chocolate and roasted malt sweetness up front fading to a great coffee and cream finish. A beautiful, tasty, and easy drinking beer. Bravo. Bells Cherry Stout - Pitch black body with a very thin brown head. Nice aroma of chocolate, cherries, and tobacco. Full, smooth mouthfeel, appropriate for a stout. The flavor is quite unique. There’s just a touch of the chocolate goodness up front, but it is quickly overpowered by the tart cherries. Aftertaste is a bit cloying. Okay stout, but I think the tartness of the cherries is a bit too much. Bells Kalamazoo Stout - Not a hint of light escapes this brew. Pitch black with a tan head that leaves nice lacing. Chocolate, caramel, coffee, and licorice make up the fine aroma. Medium-full bodies with decent carbonation. The beer starts sweet with chocolate and caramel notes. Finishes with dark coffee/espresso bitterness. Absolutely delicious. These are the only three I've tried. There are at least two or three more.

QUOTE (G&T @ Aug 17, 2009 -> 12:02 PM) Sweet stouts are an awesome thing. I recommend the Left Hand Milk Stout. This is one of my favorites. Samuel Smiths Oatmeal Stout is a fine brew also.

Underachievers for sure. Taking 3 of 4 from the Yankees and 2 of 3 from the Angels was great, and the team showed that they can play and beat the big boys. But losing 3 of 4 to Oakland at home and losing many other series where they should have played better... Hawk said it best a week or so ago. The Sox play to the level of their competition. Not good enough when you have to play to beat Detroit, Minnesota, Cleveland, and KC. A good team (not great, but good), should beat up on the sub .500 teams and hold their own against thhe great teams. The Sox should be in sole posession of first place with about a 3 or 4 game lead on Detroit right now. But instead, they are looking up and the Tigers because the couldn't take care of business against Cleveland, Baltimore, Oakland, etc.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Aug 17, 2009 -> 11:32 AM) Cleveland and KC are very capable of beating a .500 ball club, which in essence is Detroit and the Sox. Oh, I know...like I said, the Royals love to play spoiler.

Does anyone else reviews beers at ratebeer.com?

In the past few months I was finally able to partake in the food and beverage at Flossmoor Station and Gordon Biersch. I tried the samplers at both (Flossmoor had a 12 beer sampler!) and found both places to have very good brews. The Milky Way Stout at Flossmoor and the Hefeweizen at Gordon Biersch were standouts.

This could be a lucrative homestand for the Sox. Detroit is slumping off and on, and the Sox should be able to take care of business against the Royals. But, we all know hoe the Royals like to play spoiler.

Do you think KW could pull this one off, too. I don't think he's cleared waivers yet. I suppose if KW wanted him he could just call up the Mets and say, "Let's get started."

I would imagine that you'd hear this kind of talk about many players after they are traded, released, waived, etc. Like someone pointed out, you heard bad things about Griffey, too. Time will tell with Rios.

I never would think A haiku thread would ever Make it past five posts

Pulling Your Pods?

"No word on what the Sox plans are for Cannizaro, but I ultimately believe this move had more to do with AAA than the majors. The conspiracy theorist out there may think Cannizaro was acquired to replace Getz (who'd go on the DL), but even if Getz injury was more serious than we've been told (leading to the DL), the Sox would first turn to Brent Lillibridge." Ugh, I hope not.

QUOTE (fattyguy78 @ Aug 13, 2009 -> 12:35 PM) Hawk was saying something ridiculous the other night and correct me if im wrong but i think he said the aj has never been on the dl either...i thought that was crazy considering the amount of abuse his body takes Yes, I heard him say that, too. And I thought the same thing. It's surprising that a catcher who's been playing for as long as he has has not been on the DL.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Aug 13, 2009 -> 10:54 AM) But that all said, AJ brings a lot more to the table than a bat and a glove. This is my line of thinking, too. He's a guy who can lead a team just by being there.

Has AJ played any other positions...not necessarily in the majors but in the minors or college?

QUOTE (SoxFanForever @ Aug 13, 2009 -> 10:45 AM) Well the Ol' Hawkeroo has been watchin AJ play since his days in Florida as a youngster when the oranges were in full bloom and the breeze was comin off the ocean don'tcha know. Nice

I know this is a topic we have discussed before, but I thought maybe we should talk about some of the good things going on with the Sox. I was listening to ESPN 1000 a few days ago, and they were saying that Hawk said that AJ is the smartest baseball player in the game right now. Local baseball expert Bruce Levine agreed that AJ is one of the smartest. I would tend to agree that he's a smart ball player. But more than that, he is such a pain in the ass to other teams. I remember when he was with the Twins, you had to hate him. Now, even when he goes back to Minnesota (where he WAS loved) he gets booed. Think of all of the things he has done here as a Sox. The big things are easy to remember; the biggest being the dropped third strike in 2005. There must be so many other things that he does that we don't see. On top of everything else, he's having a career year. He's got one more year with the Sox (I think), and beyond that it's hard to tell what would happen. I would think that Flowers would be MLB ready by 2011.

One can't help but feel that this team will not go far in 2009...if they even make the playoffs. Detroit and Minnesota are trying to let the Sox take the division, but the Sox are not capitalizing. Unless some of the key players turn things around fast (Dye and Quentin, I'm looking at you), making the playoffs will be difficult and going deep into the playoffs will be impossible. I agree that 2010 and beyond is what KW is really looking at. Winning the division in 2009 would be a bonus.

The offense makes Mike angry (I'm Mike). And I'm not too excited about Pena, either. But, Pena giving up the walk off single to Griffey in the 14th doesn't happen if the Sox were to actually score a run. Pitching was good on both sides, but the Sox had more chances and should have scored.

A belated thanks! I don't check this forum much...

Good article. I was and still am a big fan of what KW did in acquiring Rios. He's what the Sox needed, and KW went out and said, "I'll take him, and you'll get nothing in return and like it." Of course, Toronto's GM didn't have a problem with it because he shed payroll. I suspect Rios may take a few games to get comfortable, but his presence will be felt right away. Aside from being a legitimate CFer, he will allow Dye, Pods, Thome, and Quentin to rest without the team resorting to sticking Wise out there.