Marty34

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Oct 23, 2012 -> 05:51 PM) Look, he may fall off next year, I don't pretend to know. But the evidence all suggests he is anything but a guy losing bat speed. In the end, quibbling over bat speed is silly. His contract is a detriment to the team for its duration.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Oct 23, 2012 -> 03:09 PM) Why has he hit low 200's and struck out around 200 every season in his career, nearly? Take out the last few weeks with the oblique injury, and he had almost exactly his career norm year. That just reinforces what your eyes will tell you if you watch him hit - he strikes out a lot, but always has, and hasn't lost any noticeable bat speed. Dunn was 30 K's above and 35 points below his career averages in K's and AVG respectively. I think it's wishful thinking to believe he "hasn't lost any noticeable bat speed."

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Oct 23, 2012 -> 12:59 PM) He did fall off after that. Which is not the same as being sharp decline. Now, if you want to say you are worried about his health as he goes forward, that makes sense. But when healthy, he has no problem whatsoever catching up to strong fastballs. Why did he hit .204 and strike out 222 times then?

QUOTE (SI1020 @ Oct 23, 2012 -> 10:54 AM) Not necessarily. Even a cursory study of economics will reveal widely different philosophies and the accompanying differences in predictive models. Not only that but it was a weak comeback. Stand by your post or admit you made a mistake. We all make mistakes on message boards. What mistake did I make? In my view, the Sox cutting ticket prices is another data point that the economy will get worse before it gets better.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Oct 22, 2012 -> 11:31 AM) Except that other team's attendance actually went up. And that dropping prices on a product is not uncommon at any time. And that baseball as a whole is "too expensive" for many people, and if other teams did similar surveys, would probably find the same responses from people as to why they don't go more often. And that you are taking the actions of one baseball team and extrapolating it to the entire economy. Other than that, your point makes sense. Who knows what the economy will do in the next year or two, I certainly don't, and neither do you. Also, neither do the Sox. It was a throw away post, but if you want to keep the back and forth going . . . the Sox have a much better idea where the economy is heading than you or me.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Oct 22, 2012 -> 08:26 AM) Your post said you thought the Sox ticket prices were somehow an indicator of a future economic downturn. How does that make any sense whatsoever? If it doesn't, then stop trolling. It's not good news for the economy that the most common response in these surveys was "too expensive." The drastic cut in ticket prices is another data point that things are going to get worse before they get better economically.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Oct 19, 2012 -> 05:28 PM) um... what? You think the Sox have some sort of perternatural knowledge of where the economy is going, that others don't? This from the guy who thinks KW is an idiot, but somehow you think the Sox marketing guys can outduel the world's elite economists. You think the marketing guy is now an economist? The White Sox are an extremely well run business from a financial standpoint.

This is another data point that makes me think the economy is going to get worse before it gets better.

QUOTE (pittshoganerkoff @ Oct 19, 2012 -> 03:04 PM) I doubt anyone is saying let's shoot for 7th best every year. What Dick (and many others here) is saying is that the Tigers (the 7th best team in the AL) going to the World Series is proof that anything can happen in the playoffs. The fact of the matter is that the AL Central is not a strong division. Typically, there are couple teams better than the best team from the AL Central. Had the Sox been the 7th best team in the AL, they could have been in the position the Tigers are in right now. Harping on the fact that the Sox were the 8th best team in the AL is useless. That's not what mattered. What mattered was that the Sox couldn't hold the division at the end. But throughout the season, the Sox played some good baseball and beat some good teams. They ended up falling short because they had trouble beating teams within their own division. The goal for teams going into the season is to make it to the playoffs. What matters first is winning the division, and that's what teams strive for from day one. If the Sox win the division next year (or any year for that matter), being the best in the AL or the 3rd best or the 7th best is secondary. Where you stand in the league is an excellent barometer to how good of a team you have.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Oct 19, 2012 -> 03:39 PM) Do you think Dave Dombrowski should be sent off for producing a middle-of-the-pack team just like KW did? 7th out of 14 is pretty damn mediocre. The White Sox were the 8th best team in the league and failed to make the postseason.

QUOTE (Iwritecode @ Oct 19, 2012 -> 03:27 PM) Thank you captain obvious. Tell your partners in crime that. There's a party going on in here for being the 8th best team in the AL.

QUOTE (Iwritecode @ Oct 19, 2012 -> 02:58 PM) They should strive to be the best team in their division because that's all that really matters. Who really cares if they are the first best team or the 10th best team in the AL? The other side of that is, if you don't make the postseason, it's no achievement to finish 10th (or 8th.)

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Oct 19, 2012 -> 02:57 PM) Yeah, because clearly that is what KW wanted. To be 7th best. They would have won the division if they were the 7th best team in the league.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Oct 18, 2012 -> 10:20 PM) It appears the 7th best team in the AL will be playing the 5th best team in the NL for the World Championship. Marty is probably going to want an asterisk by this one. No asterisk, however unlike you I don't think it's good strategy to strive to be the 7th best team in the league going forward.

The Yankees not selling out postseason games and the Sox attendance problems have a lot in common. Both teams have old cores that their fans have tired of. In other words, it's time to find good young players. BTW, the Jets game against the Texans Monday night had higher ratings than the Yankees/O's playoff game locally.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Oct 13, 2012 -> 12:04 PM) Serious question here. $100+m payroll with prices where they are now, or $75 million with cheaper parking and top end tickets? Which team makes the postseason?

If that article wasn't written by an employee of an entity partially owned by the Sox it would not be as laughable as it is.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Oct 12, 2012 -> 03:07 PM) Except it did ramp up in 2005 and 2008 while we were in contention. It didn't in 2012. Why do you think that was?

QUOTE (JoeCoolMan24 @ Oct 12, 2012 -> 02:33 PM) So. That doesn't affect what happened in that current timeframe. When we were in 1st place for 120 days, no knew that the team would choke away the division in the final 2 weeks. That argument only holds water if we are all soothsayers. Attendance increases th year after they win provided they continue to win.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Oct 12, 2012 -> 02:27 PM) The team was in first place for about 120 days this year. I'd call this Myth Busted. Thy won nothing.

QUOTE (ewokpelts @ Oct 12, 2012 -> 01:37 PM) I keep hearing excuses by people on why they dont go to games. I want to know what WOULD bring people TO THE PARK. Win.

What's the goal for 2013?

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Oct 5, 2012 -> 10:55 PM) Danks has zero trade value right now. They would have to pick up money to trade him because of the shoulder injury. Realistically they can't trade him until he proves he is healthy. Poorly worded on my part. I meant let someone else pay Peavy. Danks is a liability.

QUOTE (DukeNukeEm @ Oct 5, 2012 -> 01:04 PM) If we can get the kind of bargains we got on Buehrle and Danks there's absolutely no reason to let Peavy walk. This is fantastic news. Danks is no bargain. Let someone else pay him, he's a #3 at this point in his career at by the end of his next contract he'll be a a #4.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Oct 5, 2012 -> 10:33 AM) Cubs attendance will take a big hit next year unless they start winning. All those ticket brokers who lost their asses this year, will not be renewing. Too much expendable income in the area to drop below 2.75M imo.