Allsox

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Sep 27, 2007 -> 12:09 PM) I do know they are going to Cali - San Fran is at least one of the teams. Not sure who the other NL road team is. I like interleague play. Just sucks we keep getting the Pirates over and over again. I wish they would have played the Brewers up in Miller Park instead of the Pirates. Closer to my neck of the woods (Rd Lake) and that park is really fun to go to.

I apologize to Javy Vazquez for saying he had no heart, brains or courage earlier in the season. It seems he just needed some stability and has certainly stepped up in this godawful season. I hope he carries it into next season since he'll prolly be the #2 starter on this team so keep it going Javy!

QUOTE(ChiSox1323 @ Sep 21, 2007 -> 01:02 AM) I don't know if this has already been discussed but does anyone else think that Garland"s defense this year merits a gold glove? Of course if Torii hunter can beat out Rowand by not playing half the year... Garland's not even the best fielding pitcher on his OWN team (Buerhle is), let alone in the AL. Besides, the Gold Glove award should have been disbanded in '99 when Palmiero won it at 1B despite the fact he played only 28 games there. I stopped paying attention to who wins them since everyone who voted that yr apparently did as well.

Good move by JR and KW. Ozzie cares about being the manager for our White Sox, unlike the other stiffs who were there before him. To those who say Ozzie has done a lousy job this yr, I'll defer to Pete Rose: "Can't drive the stagecoach without the horses." Ozzie has had dead horses since April. Time for KW to hook up Oz with fresh ones.

QUOTE(gosox41 @ Sep 12, 2007 -> 03:13 AM) "Base cloggers mean getting on-base. That's a good thing!" -Allsox By base cloggers I mean guys who are no threat to steal, rarely break up DP's and lack the speed to take the extra base and eliminate the force. They're one dimensional hitters--they hit for power. Also, Thome and PK are the only 2 "base cloggers' this year on the Sox wh hae higher then the league average OBP of .335. So AJ and his .318 OBP isn't even the league average, nor is Dye and his .317. Let's hope they go back to their career norm next year as that would put them average for the league. Besides it's been KW who's preaching guys be more like Thome and work counts and focus getting on base. Thome's OBP is .409 this year. Let me know when Dye and Pierzinski get to .375 for a full season let alone .400. If KW wants to build this team on speed and OBP then all I'm saying is he not getting the right personnel. If KW wanted older pwoer hitters who can't run but can jack out 30 HR's a year and strike out a lot, then he's doing an excellent job of putting that together. Bob Yes, Thome and Konerko are power hitters, power hitters that when they aren't hitting the ball out, they're working over the pitcher by drawing walks, driving the pitcher's pitch count up and having to force the pitcher to pitch from the stretch and throw strikes to the next batter. Thus, increasing the next batter's chances of driving them home or, heaven forbid, moving them up at least one base so the next guy has an opportunity to drive them in. David Ortiz does that as well and is just as fast (Or slow) as them, yet I don't hear Red Sox Nation calling him a base clogger. I agree about AJ, he rarely walks but he also hits usually .270 with 15+ HRs for a catcher. I can take that good with his bad anytime from that position. The same goes for Dye.

QUOTE(gosox41 @ Sep 11, 2007 -> 03:34 AM) 1B- PK. He is one of the 3 most marketable players on the Sox both for PR and being tradable. He also posts an above league average OBP but is a base clogger. Do you trade the capitain? You can't say his OBP is good but he's a base clogger. The object in baseball as a hitter is to not make an out. Not Paulie's fault the next guy can't move him over or drive him in. 2B-Richar-I like him and think he'll be good. He's fast, has good strike zone judgement and makes the minimum. I think he can post an aove average OBP and be a decent stolen base threat I agree. SS-BLANK Could be anyone as long as it's not Uribe. Will it be Eckstein? Renteria? I doubt it's A-Rod. Eckstein is the cheap alternative who is on the downside of his career. Renteria makes $9 mill next year but may be traded this off season by ATL. No to Vizquel. Uribe best option. Eckstein's range sucks and so does his OBP for a leadoff guy. A-Rod would be nice but we'll see. 3B-Crede Coming off back surgery so it does make one wonder how many games he'll be good for. If healthy will be a base clogger, have an average OBP and play gold glove D. Again, someone who gets on-base isn't a base clogger. He's doing the job by not making an out. Sounding like Dusty Baker here LF-Fields-I like him and see good things for him. Average speed, needs to take more walks. Needs to cut down strikeouts but will learn. CF-BLANK-LIke SS, an On Base machine would be nice here. Torii Hunter would cost about $14 mill per year. No to Rowand as he is so overrated it's sick. Andruw Jones is not an option due to Boras. Trouble spot for KW to fill as Owens doesn't do much. RF-Dye-Just signed with some sort of no trade clause. Makes $11 mill per year and is injury prone. He was signed because the farm system sucks. No way he repeats 2006, but is still a threat with potential for above average OBP but is a base clogger. Again, someone who doesn't make an out is DOING HIS JOB AS AN OFFENSIVE HITTER! C-Pierzynski-Don't know if the pitchers hate him or not, but he's by far the best catcher the Sox have. Oh yeah, he's another base clogger. Wow, another guy who gets on base but it's his fault the next guy doesn't drive him in DH-Thome-On base stud but power is decreasing. Not the hitter he was and has no trade clause. Base Clogger. Best hitter on the team due to his eye at the plate. And again, another hitter who does his job by getting on base. Is this a championship calibe offense. 6 power hitting base cloggers. We've seen all too often what happens when they slump all at once. Base cloggers mean getting on-base. That's a good thing!

Eckstein at SS for next yr should absolutely frighten the pitching staff, let alone Soxfandom. Would rather take Uribe and his suckiness at the plate than this rag arm there.

QUOTE(Gregory Pratt @ Aug 27, 2007 -> 01:01 AM) I resign in protest of the players given me. LOL! My co-workers are looking at me funny when i burst out laughing on that one! Before a series starts, I would go over the scouting reports of the opposing staff and before batting practice, get my hitters together and let them know what to expect in the series. From those reports, I'd stress to my guys to be either aggressive or passive in the count and especially focus on what kind of junk they throw. If it's a soft-tosser that throws junk on the outside corner, I'd tell my batting practice coach to throw slow stuff outside so they can shoot it the other away. If it's a nasty curveballer or a Santana type guy with a wicked changeup/slider, I'd tell my guys to look for heat early in the count. I dunno if Walker does that already but if he is, they must be tuning him out or something this yr because I'm tired of seeing our guys go up there with little to no gameplan on that night's pitcher, except for Thome and Paulie.

QUOTE(Soxbadger @ Aug 28, 2007 -> 07:17 PM) I have to say no one. 2 years of 90+ wins, 1 year of bad. Ill wait and see till next year, not exactly sure what other GM's would have done better or worse, considering the Sox have had a few GM's in my life time and most did not put together the winning teams that KW has. I agree. The way the players have performed this yr, it's left this coaching staff and KW with absolutely nothing they can do. It's not like KW expected them to completely suck or Ozzie would see a complete lack of execution. All phases (Pitching, defense and offense) have been failures with a couple of exceptions (Jenks, Buerhle). I fire none of the above.

QUOTE(fathom @ Aug 27, 2007 -> 04:07 AM) Ozzie embarassed himself by saying that even though we got swept this wknd, we did sweep them "when it counted" in 2005. It's that type of living in the past attitude which is killing this organization. Actually, I didn't mind that quote at all. I mean, what else can Ozzie say after that series and the amount of Red Cub fans, I mean, Red Sox fans in the stands?

The way this season has gone, I'm surprised there weren't more incidents in the dugout or locker room. Hell, there's prolly been some. But to me, AJ Pierzynski is one of the few things on this team that concerns me the LEAST

No, not even close. Try watching those late 80s teams, they defined BAD. Least this yr's had some expectations and some highlights. For me though, the 2003 team stands out as the worst yr. That was a very good team that stunningly fell flat on their face the last month of the season.

QUOTE(WHITESOXRANDY @ Aug 22, 2007 -> 12:09 PM) This just shows why we need more platoon lineups. In 2008 we could platoon Erstad / BA in CF, Pods / Ozuna in LF, Sweeney / Terrero in RF and Dye / Thome at DH, Richar / Gonzalez at 2B, A.J. / Hall at C, Uribe / Cintron at SS and Konerko / Rogowski at 1B. Our only real problem for next year is needing a lefthanded hitting thirdbaseman to platoon with Fields. Ozzie clearly needs to use more platoons but any way you look at it we can't afford to lose a valuable platoon player like Podsednik. Please, no Erstad or Pods in '08. As for the rest of the platoon lineup, .500 is about the only thing a Sox fan can hope for with those projections

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Aug 17, 2007 -> 06:21 PM) Still not as important as LF and CF. Uribe at SS is better than the current Erstad/Pods/Owens mess in LF/CF. I agree with you there. Owens is average at best in CF (His arm strength isn't good) but I don't want him near the leadoff spot since he doesn't bunt well enuff or walk to get on base very much. To me, he isn't an everyday player and is a cheaper, younger version of Mackowiak with a little more speed and that's about it. I don't want Erstad or Pods anywhere near this team in '08 and I don't see the Sox paying for A-Rod, who is the only guy worth anything on the SS market so Uribe would be fine for another yr here.

For the Jim Thome doubters, this is what Kenny said about him at this players/ GM meeting yesterday: "I expressed to them that the guy that's in the deepest slump right now is still the most valuable offensive player, and that's Jim Thome. Why? And you could see some eyebrows raise. Because he's getting on base 40 percent of the time, giving us a chance to win. Playoff teams, as a whole, get on base right about a .355 clip. So it's not all about batting average.'' I fully agree with that. In the late innings of games this yr, I've noticed Jimmy makes that pitcher work and usually, the pitcher backs down and he takes a walk. Always a good thing to be on base so Konerko or Dye or AJ has a shot to drive him in if down by a run. Jim Thome is one of the few regulars that does that (Paulie's the only other one I can think of) that has had professional ABs late in games.

QUOTE(29andPoplar @ Aug 17, 2007 -> 04:10 PM) Completely incorrect. He has spoken many times to the press this year about the need for better at bats, there have been lots of articles in the papers and on the White Sox site. Further, I have heard him personally in Tucson, dozens and dozens of times, talk about being selective at the plate. I really don't know where these misconceptions come from. Hard to believe that Ozzie said that considering his own lifetime OBP was 0.287

QUOTE(GoGoWhiteSox! @ Aug 15, 2007 -> 10:51 AM) Screw Stoney....he's a Cubs Die Hard and always will be. Despite the fact that he is a tremendously talented broadcaster I don't want him anywhere near Sox games due to the fact that his true allegiance is to the North Side. Does the fact that Steve Stone pitched for the White Sox a couple of yrs change your mind just a little bit? Led the team in wins back in '77 with 15, which would be a miracle for someone on this yr's staff to do.

QUOTE(Steff @ Aug 9, 2007 -> 08:19 PM) The Score waited until the 11th hour, but John had already hired the movers when they came to him so it was a done deal. St. Louis was his dream job. He had been wanting it for over 5 years. Honestly I think he was going regardless of how much $ the Score tried to pay him, and I say good for him. Not too many people truly love their jobs as he loves his. If that was the case, guess I hafta lay off blaming Mike North for why John Rooney wasn't retained. Thought North's salary was the reason why the Score only had peanuts left for Rooney. And I like Stoney and Hawk together. It's obvious Hawk respects Stoney while he barely tolerates DJ. And DJ's better off on the Fox National broadcast replacing that pile of crap known as Tim McCarver. Just wish Fox would realize that.

Very disappointing loss with our ace on the mound against a rookie pitcher Oh well, the charge for .500 goes on....Though Fields' D is making KW think about tendering Crede for next yr. I know I would

I voted yay since that's my only expectation left for the Sox this season. Finish .500 or better with the younger players playing the majority of the games and I can have some hope for '08.

QUOTE(Kalapse @ Aug 7, 2007 -> 04:26 PM) He'll be 34 years old, has lost almost all of his power for whatever reason, is a below average defender and will likely be looking for the last big contract of his career. Where exactly is he going to play anyway? Yuck, I'd rather sign back Jermaine for 2 yrs than be stuck with Abreu for 3 or 4. You're right about Abreu, ee doesn't steal bases, doesn't hit for power anymore and is a below avg RF. At least Jermaine can still hit 30 HRs, play avg defense in RF and is 2 yrs younger. We all know KW will go after the passion and the fire (Rowand) but I wonder about SS, LF and the bullpen.

Since his Royal Grindness Erstad is coming back, the Sox had to make room somewhere and they dumped the better player in Mack to make that precious spot open for him Would rather have Mack than Erstad as the backup OF/IF, especially since Erstad can't play the IF.

QUOTE(Gregory Pratt @ Jul 27, 2007 -> 03:11 PM) From what he's said, he wants a more long-term deal because it's his last big contract. Personally, I wouldn't give him more than two, and I don't think he'll be worth as much as he'll want. Yep, Dye isn't going to settle for a one or two deal when Texas or some other team will prolly give him 3 yrs guaranteed at 8 -10 mil a yr. The Sox can't afford that when they need two more OFs, a SS and a 2B to get as well.

QUOTE(The Ginger Kid @ Jul 26, 2007 -> 10:47 PM) It would be so nice to see this team get above .500 and maybe even find a way to finish ahead of the twins. It's all I'm rooting for at this point. Dignity. Those are my thoughts exactly. Finish at or slightly above .500 would be a good recovery. The Sox' offense is back, if the bullpen and Contreras can catch their breath, the Sox can really be a pain in the ass to a lot of teams for a couple months.

I called out Vazquez back in May for being brainless, heartless and gutless. If he's still pitching decently in Sept as he has for June and July, then I'll retract my statements and offer up an apology to the board. Till then, I defer to the Wolf from Pulp Fiction: "Let's not suck each other's $*#@s just yet."