fathom

QUOTE(SoxFan101 @ Apr 10, 2007 -> 04:14 PM) I need to see a couple more good starts from Honel and need someone to be able to report on his velocity b4 im sold. Mid-80s

QUOTE(Brian @ Apr 11, 2007 -> 01:11 PM) The ump said the ball hit Pods when he was out of the batters box, but it hit him while in so it should of been a foul ball, but the ump called Pods out. It would have been a foul ball then, and not a successful bunt.

At least Ozzie doesn't make excuses about how our team isn't going to be a good hitting team due to cold weather. I will give him a lot of credit for not trying to jump to excuses as much as the managers up north have in recent years.

QUOTE(SleepyWhiteSox @ Apr 11, 2007 -> 07:08 AM) I'm just surprised because I came on expecting to hear more about Jenks' poor performance than about how this is all Ozzie's fault and more "ba should be in there!" talk. Hell, Contreras got an "is he done?" thread after that 1st start. I was actually more concerned with Jenks than Contreras and a few of the other pitchers, particularly coming out of spring training. And Jenks performing poorly has much, much more significant and long-term repercussions for the bullpen and team than Podsednik being a below-average fielder. Couldn't agree more. Between his hip issue last year, and his tightness during ST, Jenks doesn't seem to get the same extension and follow-thru on his pitches. He's basically an offspeed pitcher right now with a fastball that he tries to throw for strikes and set the hitter up. If MacDougal has to become the closer, then we put inexperienced guys like Aardsma or Masset into the set-up spot. Let's just hope that Jenks isn't this year's Shingo/Politte, etc.

QUOTE(Kalapse @ Apr 11, 2007 -> 07:04 AM) After watching the replay on MLB.tv frame by frame, I can say with 100% certainty that the ball hit Pods flush on the head. The wall did not come into play. There has to be another view of the play, is there a reason why they haven't shown it anywhere yet? Too graphic for television.

QUOTE(Milkman delivers @ Apr 11, 2007 -> 06:53 AM) So ridiculous. And you just know he doesn't actually believe what he says. He's a flat out liar. Remember how we used to talk about how you couldn't take anything KW said seriously? Ozzie is making KW look like the most honest man alive now. QUOTE(iamshack @ Apr 11, 2007 -> 06:52 AM) The number of actual games sacrificed because of his defense is absolutely miniscule compared to what he does for this team when he is playing well offensively. Miniscule. Here's a question I have for you: if the Sox are up 1 tomorrow going into the 9th (and Pods started with Anderson on the bench), would you want Ozzie to keep Pods in the game? QUOTE(Jordan4life_2007 @ Apr 11, 2007 -> 06:50 AM) You're a good poster overall. But you can be pretty ridiculous at times. FWIW, I was trying to post earlier that Ozzie probably honestly thinks that the ball did hit the wall before it landed on Pods. That would explain his comment a little better. This site has been crashing on me all night.

QUOTE(iamshack @ Apr 11, 2007 -> 06:52 AM) The number of actual games sacrificed because of his defense is absolutely miniscule compared to what he does for this team when he is playing well offensively. Miniscule. Here's what I don't get: Ozzie left him in to bat in the 7th inning against a LHP. It's not like Ozzie had pulled Pods to let someone else bat for him. I give Pods a ton of crap, but he's mentally stronger than you give him credit for. Barry Bonds gets pulled for defensive purposes....does that hurt his offense?

QUOTE(iamshack @ Apr 11, 2007 -> 06:49 AM) Then you followed up the thread with "We faced two poor offensive teams in Oakland and Minnesota though." and "This may be the pessimism in me, but I have a feeling Danks and Contreras would have gotten knocked around in the first three innings if they had faced a good hitting team..." I was congratulating for the results....that's all that matters. They're going to keep fine-tuning their command in order to shut down the better hitting teams.

QUOTE(iamshack @ Apr 11, 2007 -> 06:44 AM) Do you EVER say anything positive? You have every right to complain, but the KIA attitude could be spared once in a while. Sure I say positive stuff about people that deserve it. I even started a thread congratulating our starting pitching for 4 great starts in a row. It just baffles me how anyone could excuse Ozzie for his decisions tonight.

QUOTE(southsideirish71 @ Apr 11, 2007 -> 06:41 AM) " There you go, OG is blind. Wow, I hate him.

QUOTE(southsideirish71 @ Apr 11, 2007 -> 06:40 AM) The wierd thing about baseball, no matter what level. You put the little leaguer who has 2 left feet in RF the ball finds him. You put Mack in CF, the ball finds him. Guess where the ball goes 2 times with Prancer in LF in a 1-0 game. Bingo. This is Ozzie's 4th year with the Sox, and 3rd year with Pods on the team. If he doesn't know how to best utilize his personnel by now, then he's a worse manager than I think he is.

QUOTE(iamshack @ Apr 11, 2007 -> 06:34 AM) I'm not saying his D should be ignored, and I wouldn't have had any problem with subbing for him. However, we don't know how he reacts to that. Ozzie is dealing with real people here, folks, and even if they are professionals, I am going to trust he knows how to manipulate them better than we do. Don't know how he reacts? It happened all last year. If Ozzie was trying to give Pods confidence out there, then Pods might need years of therapy to get over how tonight's game ended.

QUOTE(iamshack @ Apr 11, 2007 -> 06:28 AM) To rest this entire BS on Scott Podsednik is just absolutely s***. Jesus, get off him already... I don't think people are mad at Pods directly. I'd say almost all of us are more pissed off he was still in the game defensively.

QUOTE(SoxFan1 @ Apr 11, 2007 -> 06:27 AM) That's exactly it. I'd really like to know what Ozzie's thought process was in that situation. You can't tell me that after Jenks came back to get the next 2 guys, that you didn't think he'd be able to get out Todd Walker. Nope, Walker is the type of guy that scares me against Jenks. Go back and look at the thread...I said Walker is a b**** of a hitter and Pods should play shallow in LF.

QUOTE(Kalapse @ Apr 11, 2007 -> 06:27 AM) Actually last season Ozzie pulled Pods late in games quite often, I'm not really sure why he isn't doing it this year. I am curious as to what he said after the game, though after the lies he's made over the past month or so, I'm not so sure I can believe him. I wonder what type of relationship Ozzie and KW have these days

QUOTE(SleepyWhiteSox @ Apr 11, 2007 -> 06:26 AM) ... Anyways, I still think it's laughable to call it "Ozzie's F Up." A defensive replacement may have helped, but there's no guarantee that what likely would've happened, which is ba in CF and Erstad in LF, means that throw is made on the money or that last out is caught. I'm still putting about 80% of the blame on Jenks for just flat-out not getting the job done. That's what pissed me off the most. Do you think that we should have ph for Mackowiak in the 7th inning?

QUOTE(SoxFan1 @ Apr 11, 2007 -> 06:17 AM) Perhaps its not the obvious move to Ozzie that it is to you, or the rest of us. Did anyone catch the Post Game conference? Did Ozzie address what happened? I mean this respectfully SF1, but if it wasn't obvious to Ozzie, then I don't want him managing this team. It's one game though, and if this makes him adjust his defense late in games, then maybe it will be worth it.

QUOTE(Flash Tizzle @ Apr 11, 2007 -> 06:14 AM) I'm actually a bit apprehensive about facing Cleveland and Texas. More than usual. Are we watching the pitching staff reach their full potential, or merely exploit weak offensive ballclubs? Even without a radar reading (which mysteriously wasn't present until MacDougal), Garland appeared to get away with a lot of pitches. The umpires calling high strikes benefited him immensely. And Buehrle wasn't exactly cruising when Garko's line drive hit him last week..... This is the pessimist in me, but if we were facing a good hitting team, Danks and Contreras would have gotten their ass kicked the last few days in the first 3 innings.

QUOTE(SleepyWhiteSox @ Apr 11, 2007 -> 06:11 AM) How does having ba in CF guarantee that the ball gets caught in LF? Don't tell me you knew that's where the ball was going and would've had ba in LF. I think the argument is you put your best defensive outfield possible into the game when you're up 1 in the 9th inning. Pods is the worst outfielder we have...he should have never been in the game. I'm sure it's not the last time Ozzie will make this mistake.

QUOTE(southsideirish71 @ Apr 11, 2007 -> 06:06 AM) Someone just called in from the site. Explain

We've faced two bad offensive teams now in Minnesota and Oakland. I'm not so sure that the pitching can keep it up though with Indians and Rangers coming up.

QUOTE(SoxFan1 @ Apr 11, 2007 -> 06:04 AM) You're giving yourself and everyone else way too much credit. Everyone calls Ozzie out on everything he does. Not hard to be wrong when thats the case... I agree that we call him out on everything. It's just that when there's obvious situations where something needs to be done, it pisses us off when it's not made. Mackowiak's AB in the 7th is a great example. I doubt any other manager in baseball lets him bat there.

Anderson, Iguchi, and Molina will be in the lineup.

QUOTE(iamshack @ Apr 11, 2007 -> 05:57 AM) Well this is how I see it...I don't like second-guessing every mistake that costs us a damned game, because it's really f'ing easy. There are too many great managers out there who have things backfire on them and lose games. I think people also have to remember Ozzie has to interact with these guys nearly 7 days a week. Everyone is human. He has to make decisions not only based on how they will affect a given situation or game, but also how they will affect a player's pysche in the long run. This is a hell of a lot more complicated than some like to believe. Still doesn't explain why he wouldn't put Anderson in the field for the 9th inning. Also, for someone that makes so many decision in order to play the percentages, I have no clue why he let Mackowiak face a LHP in the 7th inning.

QUOTE(iamshack @ Apr 11, 2007 -> 05:48 AM) Billy Beane hires managers that do what Billy Beane says, which is usually absolutely nothing other than make out the lineup card. Geren didn't do a damned thing tonight! He got lucky because Piazza roped a ball through a 10 foot hole on the left side of our infield, and then he knew enough to pinch hit Walker, an excellent professional hitter (and this is no f'ing mystery), who got a solid hit to left. If there is one person you cannot praise, it is an Oakland Athletics manager, because they do absolutely nothing. Beane knows it himself. Who else FIRES managers whose team made the playoffs THAT season? It's a mathematical system in Oakland, and the manager has nothing to do with it. He also was proactive when he walked Thome in the 4th inning after Pods stupidly stole 2nd base. Geren took advantage of how poorly our righty hitters looked tonight.