fathom

Seems like Hillary's gaining some momentum over the last 48 hours. Let's hope tomorrow is the end for that annoying whiner.

Update?

QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Mar 3, 2008 -> 10:28 PM) It made a ton of sense at the time, and don't really blame Kenny for it in the least. The Sox were right in the thick of things in 2006, and needed bullpen help. They got a guy that they thought could help them, and Mac pitched incredibly well in the 2nd half of 2006. They traded Lumdsen who everyone thought was going to the Sox next ace, and a extremely raw pitcher in Cortes. Obviously Cortes have developed, but you can't fault the Sox for taking that risk. If you want to question anything, the extension is where question marks can be raised, but if you dug up that thread, people loved that signing. I loved the extension as well. MacDougal has just mysteriously lost about 4 mph on his fastball. I remember how wicked he was when we first got him, as hitters couldn't get the ball out of the infield against him. I think Cortes gained the velocity that MacDougal lost.

QUOTE(lvjeremylv @ Mar 3, 2008 -> 10:25 PM) The Tiggers' rotation is pretty weak. Their pen will be very important to their chances of success. Who is the Tigers #5 this year?

QUOTE(The Ginger Kid @ Mar 3, 2008 -> 10:22 PM) I think two years of a disastrous bullpen would spell doom for kenny. And he went to great lengths to sign linebrink. If he's wrong again...yikes. Are you saying we've had two years already?

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Mar 3, 2008 -> 10:21 PM) Wassermann 1-2-3, ends with a K of Teahan. Two of those three hitters were lefties too. Change-ups?

QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Mar 3, 2008 -> 10:21 PM) Find me a bullpen in the Central that isn't full of a ton of question marks. I dare you. Haven't even had the chance to look at other team's rosters yet (it's still college basketball season). Of course, our relief corps might be more important than that of the Tigers and Indians, as our 3-4-5 starters are no more than 6 inning guys.

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Mar 3, 2008 -> 10:18 PM) Of course they are question marks. That's the nature of the bullpen. But your statement that we are spending a lot of money on something not so good, is kind of early, isn't it? I think its really unlikely they'd do as bad as the 2007 pen. But we'll have to see. Thornton's elbow issue is concerning, as he's one of our better relievers. And I recall people who used to state how we couldn't expect much out of a bullpen where nearly every guy was making less than a million dollars. Well, we know have two of the highest paid non-closer relievers in baseball, so it will be nice to see a return on the investment.

QUOTE(lvjeremylv @ Mar 3, 2008 -> 10:16 PM) Career ERA of 3.21 for Linebrink. More than a half run better than Dotel (3.76), who you view as solid when healthy. I guess I'm the only person that thinks Linebrink will stink in the AL and pitching at the Cell. I'll hope for the best, but I don't think the majority of people are optimistic about his future with the Sox.

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Mar 3, 2008 -> 10:10 PM) I disagree. I think it will probably be pretty strong - just as long as MacDougal isn't in it. I personally think a pen of Jenks-Linebrink-Dotel-Logan-Wassermann-Thornton-Broadway/Masset would be decent. Like the last two seasons, it seems like it's Jenks and a crapshoot. Dotel staying healthy is one of the keys to our season. Linebrink is just not very good, and the rest of the guys you mentioned are huge question marks.

We're spending a lot of money now on what's still a pretty weak bullpen.

QUOTE(whitesoxfan101 @ Mar 3, 2008 -> 04:48 AM) Osiris Eldridge is awesome, I saw him play a lot at Phillips and wanted Illinois to offer him, but then again i'm kind of crazy. And I'm not sure what mojo Indiana lost, their defense has been a joke all year and their record is due to a horrible out of conference schedule and playing teams that can't score within their league. White and Gordon are great offensive players, but emphasis on offensive. They'll fit right in in the NBA. I didn't know Champ Oguchi was sitting out for ISU this year. He's going to be a superb shooter for them next year.

QUOTE(Palehosefan @ Mar 3, 2008 -> 04:26 AM) Maryland is pissing their NCAA hopes down their leg now. Just lost to Clemson after leading by 20 with 11 minutes to go. Clemson hit a 30 foot 3 with 2.5 seconds left to go up one against Maryland and won. I don't know if any other conference has two coaches as overrated as Gary Williams and Paul Hewitt. Williams has no excuse, especially considering the talent coming out of D.C. lately. Hewitt's been hurt by NBA early entries more than anyone.

I have a feeling we're really going to dislike Linebrink. Great to see Swisher off to a strong start. I was impressed with the double he had yesterday, as he was actually running hard into 2nd.

Thanks Greasy!

So, my brother thinks I'm nuts cause I think Mayo and Bayless will be better pros than Beasley. I know Mayo hasn't lived up to his reputation for much of the year, but he'll be much better in a more open situation. I'll never understand why Tim Floyd plays a slow style with that roster.

QUOTE(whitesoxfan101 @ Mar 1, 2008 -> 05:48 AM) 1. Brewers 2. Reds 3. Cubs 4. Cardinals 5. Astros 6. Pirates That is your final 2008 NL Central standings, much to fathom's dismay. Rich Hill is a guy who had a career year in his late 20's, not a pitcher coming into his prime, Marquis sucks, Dempster never could start, and Lilly will come back to earth. Combine that with no CF, a HORRIBLE defensive OF, and a bullpen by commitee (as Ed Farmer says, bullpen by commitee means your bullpen sucks), and they are in deep doo doo. Plus, Milwaukee will be better and Cincy has just so much young talent, even Dusty can run that to 2nd in baseball's worst division. I believe CWS already made that joke. FWIW, it sounds as if Angelos agreed to let Roberts be traded, so the Cubs are going to add him early next week. I saw K. Wood pitch a little today, and he looked awful.

QUOTE(whitesoxfan99 @ Mar 2, 2008 -> 02:21 AM) I wasn't being serious. Good...trust me, I wish Beasley could play the whole game, as at least there'd be something good to watch tonight. I'm livid I missed a close Gus Johnson game today.

QUOTE(whitesoxfan99 @ Mar 2, 2008 -> 02:19 AM) Now Walker called for his 2nd when he doesn't even touch anyone on KU, there might have been a foul on that pass to Kaun but it certainly wasn't Walker. What bulls***, KU is lucky the fix is on. I'm not a Kansas or Kansas St. fan, but that's quite the stupid statement. I'm sure ESPN wanted Beasley out of the game 2 minutes in. Bad calls happen....but part of me is happy to see Beasley finally get called for a charge when he lowers his shoulder. Him and Hansbrough get away with murder on the offensive end.

QUOTE(heirdog @ Feb 29, 2008 -> 09:32 PM) Damn, MacDougal just annoys me. I'm glad Lumsden and Cortes haven't panned out (yet) because I really hated that trade at the time, even though he was good in his stint with us in '06. I guess he reminds me of Billy Koch...less intimidating but a hard, STRAIGHT ball that gets rocked. How in the world did Thome get a SB? I would have thought that the day I saw Thome get a SB, he would have been traded and running against the battery of Contreras and Pierzynski. Cortes stock is sky high right now.

Some of the worst reffing you'll ever see in the Duke/GT game. Even Mike Patrick has said 5 times Duke got away with a call.

QUOTE(southsideirish71 @ Feb 27, 2008 -> 08:08 PM) You want to see Danks work on his cutter, and practice pounding it in. Judging pitching in Tuscon is hard. I just want to see him compete on the mound and have better mechanics than he did the last half of his starts last season.

Anyone see this on rotoworld? Quite impressive...but at least their corner defense seems awful. CF Curtis Granderson, 2B Placido Polanco, DH Gary Sheffield, RF Magglio Ordonez, 3B Cabrera, 1B Carlos Guillen, SS Edgar Renteria, C Ivan Rodriguez and LF Jacque Jones

QUOTE(jphat007 @ Feb 27, 2008 -> 08:03 PM) From you, or just in general? I hate Spring Training for the fact people get so caught up in actual performance. Nice to see you're still alive though.

How many batters before the first doomsday prediction?