fathom

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ Sep 3, 2006 -> 09:33 PM) How long until Miguel Cabrera is a free agent? He just said he cried tears of joy when Ozzie won the WS. It might be worth a couple of years of ridiculous moves if the Sox had a shot at signing him. Yep, I've been saying that all along. He's going to get a ridiculous contract though. QUOTE(Jordan4life_2006 @ Sep 3, 2006 -> 09:33 PM) It's amazing to me how good the AL is this year. This is the first time in years that I've actually feared the Royals and D-rays. If either could ever find some decent arms (D-rays got lucky with Kazmir), they'll both be real good. The lineup that KC had was better than ours last night, I'm convinced of that. Tampa's lineup sucked on Thursday though, and that should have been a sweep.

QUOTE(TaylorStSox @ Sep 3, 2006 -> 09:32 PM) I'm not saying Uribe's the answer, but with our pitching staff, I'd rather have a slick fielding/speedy SS than Tejada. SS is definitely a position that needs to be upgraded, but Tejada just adds to our problems. Our offense isn't the problem. It's the f***in pitching!!! Cooper can't work magic with everyone. Cabrera = Vazquez without the early success in Montreal. IMO, a move like that take 2 steps backward to make 1 forward. We're going to have to upgrade our offense. We have a lot of aging players, and we can't expect guys like Dye and Thome to match their numbers next season. Hopefully we'll get a boost from a new LF. Arguing about Tejada is pointless though, as we don't have anything they'd realistically want that we'd give up.

QUOTE(Rowand44 @ Sep 3, 2006 -> 09:31 PM) I've been saying it for a while, Jordan. So two notorious optimistic posters are arguing about who said this team sucks first? Mercy, this ship is really sinking.

QUOTE(Greg The Bull Luzinski @ Sep 3, 2006 -> 09:29 PM) Particularly since the primary job of the lead off man are to put the ball in play and get on base. And the primary job of a "speed" hitter is to make sure he makes contact and puts pressure on the defense. Juan Pierre might have mediocre numbers, but I will gladly take him on this team and put him in LF next year if it means no Pods.

QUOTE(Rowand44 @ Sep 3, 2006 -> 09:28 PM) This team just isn't that good. That simple. When you add that to having an absolute horrid manager, well these are the results. This was the first game I've watched with my brother in a long time, and he said this after a terrible AJP bat in the 5th or 6th "WE'RE AWFUL!" It's sad to say, but it's true. We had to get lucky to win 3 out of 6 against the Royals and DRays.

QUOTE(TaylorStSox @ Sep 3, 2006 -> 09:25 PM) Defensively? LOL. Our infield is solid enough defensively to "survive" with Tejada's average defense. If we play Anderson 140 games in CF, and get a new LF, our defense will be just fine. QUOTE(Dick Allen @ Sep 3, 2006 -> 09:25 PM) Melton just mentioned that Pods is 2nd in baseball at taking a 3rd strike. I don't know if I'm more surprised he's still considered a lead-off man, or that someone has actually been caught looking more. BTW, Papi is back on Tuesday. I'd bet that Abreu is first. Phillies fans used to get on him all the time about taking called 3rd.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Sep 3, 2006 -> 09:24 PM) Right now, there are very few teams with less motivation than the White Sox appear to have right now. Teams like K.C. and Tampa are trying to play spoiler, teams like Minnesota and Detroit are pushing for the finish. Boston has even less motivation than the White Sox right now. If Ortiz returns tomorrow, the Red Sox will have all the momentum.

QUOTE(Frankensteiner @ Sep 3, 2006 -> 09:22 PM) I think not getting into the playoffs is a disaster. It won't get any easier next year, not for this group of players anyway. It's extremely disappointing, but it's not a full-fledged disaster where the organization is doomed for 10 years. A disaster would have been if the 2005 Sox ended up choking away their playoff spot after having a 15 game lead in August.

QUOTE(Frankensteiner @ Sep 3, 2006 -> 09:20 PM) If we raped our farm system and got very little to show for it, then that's bad managment. That Javier Vazquez sucks balls isn't Ozzie's fault. That Vazquez is on the team isn't Ozzie's fault, either. I'm sure Ozzie had NOTHING to do with Vazquez getting added only days after the two golfed together. QUOTE(TaylorStSox @ Sep 3, 2006 -> 09:23 PM) Awesome! We could really use another average defender and underachieving kid with dominant stuff. Tejada is on another planet compared to Uribe.

QUOTE(Jordan4life_2006 @ Sep 3, 2006 -> 09:17 PM) Of course. Well, I still can't put any legitimate blame on Kenny. How many times over the years have we as Sox fans gotten on Jerry or whoever was our GM of the time for not spending any money? Well, they added 20+ million to the payroll. Our farm system was raped with the idea of winning a second straight title. I feel they've done their part. Ozzie, the coaching staff and the players are to blame for what's looking like a disaster of a season. This isn't a disaster of a season. A disaster would have been a 70-92 season, and drawing nothing during the 2nd half of the year. At least with being competitive this whole season, our attendance is great and should equate to a high payroll next year.

QUOTE(elrockinMT @ Sep 3, 2006 -> 09:16 PM) I think this team is going to be really lucky to pull this out this year. I listened to the KC announcer over XM and they make mention of lack of fire and tired looking pitchers on the part of the Sox. We do look gassed on the field. There's a reason that guys like Pablo and Gload look like they have twice the energy the rest of the guys do. Don't worry though, Ozzieball never slumps.

QUOTE(shoota @ Sep 3, 2006 -> 09:15 PM) Looking forward to PFB getting pwned by another doctor today... "Freddy was left in the 8th in order to get some more confidence. He's going through a tough stretch right now, and he's going to need that confidence for the rest of the season".

The good news is that we're still in the playoffs if the season ends today. No matter what, it's nicer to go to sleep knowing that then if you're out a game, etc.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Sep 3, 2006 -> 09:12 PM) I really love watching the kid pitch, but man, he just hasn't had any luck the last few games, and he hasn't been able to bail himself out either. That slow roller to Uribe that no one could get? That was just painful to watch on a very good pitch. Uribe was playing farther back for Bako than he does Vlad, and I'm 100 pct serious. QUOTE(Brian @ Sep 3, 2006 -> 09:13 PM) That is why I didn't even peek in the game thread the last inning or so. FYI, that was sarcasm.

QUOTE(Greg The Bull Luzinski @ Sep 3, 2006 -> 09:12 PM) October 26, 2005 What a shocker, it was against a NL team.

QUOTE(Kalapse @ Sep 3, 2006 -> 09:10 PM) Ozzie Guillen single handedly won the World Series last year, what the f*** have any of you ever done in the big leagues? Yeah? That's what I thought once you all get world series rings then you can talk. My personal favorite argument is: if you know so much more than Ozzie, then why aren't you a MLB manager?

QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Sep 3, 2006 -> 09:08 PM) I can't blame Kenny for not having 30 Mil to play with. That is why the Yanks got Abreu. $$$$ I just can't bring myself to blame Kenny for this mess. His inability to get us a backup outfielder who bats righty and can play LF or CF has been a real downfall for this team though. Also, I'm so disappointed that he got suckered in to trading for Vazquez. However, on the list of people in the organization to blame, he's not even in the top 10 right now. There's about 5 people you'll never hear me blame for any negative thing that happens this year, and they're Dye, Crede, Jenks, MacDougal, and Jerry Reinsdorf.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Sep 3, 2006 -> 09:09 PM) All of which make him a very valuable trade piece, btw. If Logan can come up behind him and do a decent job...Cotts can turn into something very useful next year. Considering Cotts still has an ERA that's very misleading for how he's really pitched this year, I would definitely put him on the block this offseason.

QUOTE(Jordan4life_2006 @ Sep 3, 2006 -> 09:07 PM) He's given up atleast that many in like 9 of his last 12 or 13 starts. It's amazing how consistently bad him and Contreras are right now.

A month to go....and this team seems to be getting worse.

QUOTE(BigSqwert @ Sep 3, 2006 -> 09:05 PM) They gave up almost nothing for them either. Abreu in LF makes our team x1000 better. The Yanks and A's might as well start printing out their ALCS tickets. Those teams are on a completely different level than everyone else in the AL right now.

QUOTE(Jordan4life_2006 @ Sep 3, 2006 -> 09:04 PM) You forgot about McCarthy. Thanks...he belongs at the top of that list. Stepping back, it's just amazing that we have about 25 games left in this season and not one change has been made this year.

QUOTE(BigSqwert @ Sep 3, 2006 -> 09:02 PM) How many times will Mackowiak have to say "I suck in CF" before Ozzie gives up on that experiment? I'm sure he'll be out there again at Fenway. Mackowiak's quotes in the paper seem like a plea to me. Don't forget, Mackowiak is a Sox fan, and I'm sure he knows he's killing the team out there. QUOTE(Frankensteiner @ Sep 3, 2006 -> 09:02 PM) There should be an option C: Kenny sat on his hands when it was pretty evident this team wasn't really that good. Well, Ozzie and PK and Thome and Dye told him that no upgrades were necessary.

BTW...I'd rather have any other manager in baseball right now. These guys have quit on Ozzie, and Ozzie shows absolutely no reason to believe he'll "get it". Why couldn't you have done as promised Ozzie, and quit after we won the WS??? This way, we could have enjoyed Chris Young in LF for the next 10 years.

He has no idea how to manage these players. His inability to put guys like Garcia, Vazquez, Mackowiak, Thome, Anderson, and Gload in the best position to succeed is sickening.