fathom

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Sep 21, 2005 -> 06:53 PM) that coulda been Nick Swisher I thought it could have been Joe Blanton?

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Sep 21, 2005 -> 05:36 PM) Dont forget that Wickman is gone. They are saying Betancort and Riske are going to be shipped in the offseason. Belliard will be gone. They are going to get raped in FA. They have some strong bullpen guys coming up though, especially F. Cabrera. As long as they have their 4 core guys of Hafner, Martinez, Sizemore, and Perralta, they're going to be tough.

There's no comparison between Andruw Jones and Aaron Rowand. Jones is a superstar, and Rowand is an average all around player. Don't forget, Jones isn't exactly old, and he should be hitting his peak this season. But since there's obviously no chance of acquiring Jones now, there's no more reason to look back on what might have been. And the difference between stats that guys had last year like Beltre, etc. is that there was no testing involved. By no means am I saying A. Beltre and others were on roids, but stats this year are much, much more relevant.

Understatement of the year: I woke up in a better mood today than I did the morning before.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Sep 21, 2005 -> 04:13 PM) I believe the Giants are roughly 5 games back at this point. And with the miracle of modern chemistry returning to their lineup...they're not out of it yet. Assuming there's no way he's on roids now, he sure hit that homer a far way last night. In a way, I wish people would stop bashing everything he does, and just enjoy that they're seeing one of the greatest players ever on the field.

QUOTE(Jenks Heat @ Sep 21, 2005 -> 04:55 PM) There is only so much talking you can do especially to guys like Everett and Konerko. I am not the biggest Walker fan but how many hitting coaches are we going to go through. In our park everyone swings for the fences hence better more consistent production on the road. I really believe this is our hitters and not philosophy. Until Uribe and Crede's latest adjustments, I just didn't see a lot of adjustments made by the hitters (something Walker could help with). If your team is struggling hitting the righty offspeed pitch, then you need to get your hitters closer to the plate.

QUOTE(JimH @ Sep 21, 2005 -> 04:54 PM) I love the spin some of you guys put on this whole topic. Uribe says the leg kick is designed to help him with his timing, and he also credited Walker for his work. I really wish some of you would stop pretending you know about the nuances of hitting mechanics, none of us do. It's a constant game of adjustments, some guys are better at it than others. Jim...did you play baseball? I played about 18 years of baseball in my life, and as someone that used a leg kick hitting, I'm pretty comfortable discussing the advantages and disadvantages of it? I haven't seen one place where Uribe credited Walker for helping him with the new approach, nor did I see any mention by Crede of saying Walker told him to keep his hands higher.

QUOTE(Milkman delivers @ Sep 21, 2005 -> 04:35 PM) Before this year started, I estimated how many wins Buehrle can get if he pitches until he's 40 with the same kind of success he's had so far. In the end, it came out to 328 career wins. I doubt he'll get there (especially if he can't beat playoff teams, ha), but it's a nice goal. Especially with Pujols on his team

QUOTE(WSoxMatt @ Sep 21, 2005 -> 04:34 PM) The time on the DL for Crede probably rested his back well enough where he can pull pitches again and be more aggressive!!! Thank you broken pinky, you may have saved our season. While that could easily be a big factor, it all starts with how high Crede is starting his hands. He's such a different hitter at the plate now, as he's able to get inside the ball and drive it. We're not seeing those weak pop ups to the left side of the infield as much now (same goes with Uribe).

QUOTE(Milkman delivers @ Sep 21, 2005 -> 04:32 PM) See, I don't understand how Uribe could be hard-headed about changing his swing if he changed it so quickly after talking to Hriniak. Did Hriniak give him a Snickers to try it? I think it's pretty clear that Walker should be s***canned when this season ends. Not to steal SSI's thunder, but Walker clearly isn't getting through to these guys.

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Sep 21, 2005 -> 04:29 PM) Greg Walker has been trying to get through to Crede for years. It has been in the papers at many different points. Ozzie said the samething at the end of last season. The biggest difference in Uribe is that he has quit swinging at the off-speed crap in the dirt so that he would get some decent pitches to hit. The leg kick is nice, but not swinging at s*** is better. The leg kick has allowed him to keep his hands back more, which also allows him to see the pitch longer. There's been a direct relation between his new leg kick and his patience at the plate.

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Sep 21, 2005 -> 04:24 PM) Or it could be they are finally listening to Greg Walker... Both guys are notorious hard heads about listening to coaches, its what got Uribe shipped out of Colorado, and had Crede on the hotseat last year. Ummm....Uribe's new leg kick started after talking to Hriniak, and Crede discovered when watching old films that he needed to keep his hands up more.

Buehrle is a lot more comparable to another Braves star, Tom Glavine.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Sep 21, 2005 -> 04:19 PM) And if you had to pick the pitcher on the Sox staff who's stuff most resembles that of a young Greg Maddux...(possibly throwing with a different arm)...who would that be? 88 mph and a good change-up..... FELIX DIAZ!

QUOTE(White Sox Josh @ Sep 21, 2005 -> 04:17 PM) Nope neither of them. Greg Maddux. He leads that team in innings pitched, is second in wins, and has started every single game this year. Call me crazy but Maddux also does something else that is key. he keeps his head on straight and doesn't blow up when something goes wrong. Maddux has been their most consistent pitcher this year. Wow, I must say, I completely disagree with that. Jake Westbrook has more wins and innings than Milwood this inning. Does that mean he's better than Milwood? Hell no!

QUOTE(White Sox Josh @ Sep 21, 2005 -> 04:16 PM) plus his physical issues with him being out of shape will hurt his career. Plus he doesn't give you the innings that Buehrle does. Zambrano pitches a s***load of innings, especially for a strikeout pitcher. It will be interesting to see if Zambrano loses 20 pounds like he wants to this offseason.

QUOTE(White Sox Josh @ Sep 21, 2005 -> 04:14 PM) Zambrano isn't even the best pitcher on that team. He isn't? Besides the hype, he's consistently been better than Prior. And who cares who the best pitcher on the team is? Oswalt isn't the best pitcher on Houston....yet he's still damn good. There's no doubt in my mind that Garland has been our best pitcher this season.

Hell, Zambrano could be our number 3 hitter. And BTW, I HATE THE CUBS!

QUOTE(YASNY @ Sep 21, 2005 -> 04:11 PM) Which begs the question ... Would you trade Buehrle for Zambrano? Yes. There's a much better chance of Zambrano becoming a lights-out ace than Buehrle. Both have thrown a ton of pitches early in their career. Zambrano has that heavy sinker with the great velocity, and even on off nights, he can still keep the ball in the park.

QUOTE(White Sox Josh @ Sep 21, 2005 -> 04:06 PM) Buehrle is much better than zambrano. Almost all of his stats are better. He also pitches in the AL which is a tougher league to pitch in. Also I didn't put the mets on that list. Pedro might be the best SP in the NL right now. Right now i would take Buehrle over Peavy. Im a huge Peavy fan though. There's no one that hates the Cubs more than me, but I would take Zambrano over Buehrle in a second. Zambrano has shown more ability to dominate big games, and once his team gets a 4 run lead, that game is over. Of course, he's a f***ing nutcase, and I would never never trade Buehrle's personality for his.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Sep 21, 2005 -> 03:58 PM) The magnitude 9+ earthquake in the Pacific Northwest (directly under Seattle and Portland) and associated tsunami (last one 300+ years ago killed people in Japan) which is entirely possible at any time would be on that scale. Another Earthquake on the New Madrid fault line, right in the middle of the Ohio Valley, would do the same, since there's been basically no preparation for it. One of those could critically damage Chicago. And then of course, there's the ol' terrorist with a fission device. Or just a big f***ing asteroid in the sky. Hopefully Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck can save us!

The White Sox just have to keep on winning games. The Yankees are on a roll, and they still have a ton of games against an awful Orioles team. It definitely doesn't seem like the Sox will be able to just back themselves into the playoffs. Remember this though...the Yankees or Red Sox are guaranteed to lose at least two more games this season.

Two guys that seemingly got away from Greg Walker, and were able to make successful adjustments. SSI could have a field day on this topic.

I refuse to jinx the Rally Crede.

If AJP did that to a Sox player in the past, we would have gone nuts about it. However, since he's a good guy, and not an enemy, you won't hear any complaints from me. Now I know how Illinois basketball fans must have felt with Lucas Johnson.