fathom

FWIW, I had no clue how crappy Blalock was doing during this 2nd half of the season. Could be a good buy low type of risk.

If we're going to lose PK, we need to do more to upgrade the offense than going from Crede to Mueller.

Our biggest liability the past few years has been 3b production, and Blalock is clearly the best offensive 3b that has the slightest chance of being obtained. I'm a big advocate of the Sox trading Contreras this offseason for a big time offensive hitter as Jose's stock will never be higher. Obviously, Marte will be traded, and I think it's safe to say that Sweeney's stock has fallen big time this season. I would actually try and get Dunn from the Reds for that similar package.

So Jason Bay will get traded to the Cubs in 2007?

Giles and Mueller would be good additions, even though I don't think Mueller would be quite as good outside of Fenway and that supporting cast. Durazo wouldn't be a great fit, as he's injury prone and doesn't exactly fit in well with Ozzieball. My plan would be to trade Contreras, Marte, and Sweeney for Hank Blalock, and then try and find a 5th starter for about 4 or 5 million. I don't think Duque has ANY trade value.

QUOTE(DBAH0 @ Sep 20, 2005 -> 07:48 AM) Upgrades need to be made at 3B, DH and maybe SS/CF/LF. And with the increase in payroll (5-10M at least), I think he'll do that. I can't see how KW can get fired, while the likes of Dave Dombroski and Dave Littlefield continue to get off scot free. Trust me, I think it would be a travesty if KW got fired, but Ozzie kept his job. I also think that if you see the Sox miss out on the playoffs, you're not going to see the increase in payroll. I think it's safe to say if the Sox miss the playoffs, PK will be gone, and Everett and Frank will not be brought back. Personally, I feel like our offense needs a superstar.

DBAHO....I'm not saying I disagree with you, but if this team doesn't make the playoffs, either KW or Ozzie won't be back. Since Ozzie got the extension, I think KW will get fired, and Steve Stone would be the new GM. Whoever the GM is, I just hope they know that they won't win games because of Ozzieball. Rather, the players are what make Ozzieball work. By that, I mean the best the hitters, the better the offense. What the Sox have is a lack of tough outs in the order.

QUOTE(DBAH0 @ Sep 20, 2005 -> 07:29 AM) I don't think there will be changes made even if we miss the playoffs. If anyone's going to held accountable, my guess is a Greg Walker or Harold Baines. Remember it's not like KW didn't try at the deadline, and you saw what Florida gave up for Ron Villone (and you know how well that's gone for them). You and I might realize that, but 95 pct of the Sox fan base is going to call for the head of KW or Ozzie. Here's a big worry I have with Ozzie: he was awful handling his pitchers last season. He continues to do the same s*** this season, and still doesn't seem to actually learn from his mistakes during the season. Every Sox fan in the world knew that Dye can't bunt. You know that I have been down on this team all season, even when they were 15 games up. One of the main reasons was because I had absolutely no faith that Ozzie could help us win close games down the stretch. He has 13 games to earn his job, IMO.

QUOTE(DBAH0 @ Sep 20, 2005 -> 07:25 AM) Motivation isn't the problem, it's the decision making. I'm probably one of the people who defends Ozzie on here, but my argument to that would be that he was good enough to get the team to a 15 game lead in the 1st place. Ozzie isn't going anywhere so we just have to hope handling the pen etc. is a learning experience for him, and he can become much better at it in the future. So KW will be the scapegoat? If the worse case scenario occurs, you know there will have to be changes made.

Here's my question for anyone that doesn't want Ozzie fired if the Sox miss the playoffs: What good is he as a manager if he can't motivate his team enough to hold on to a 15 game lead with 2 months left in the season? Since he's obviously a poor strategical manager, he's a liability as a manager if he can't prove an ability to keep his team focused.

QUOTE(SoxFanForever @ Sep 20, 2005 -> 07:10 AM) What has he said lately? I haven't had much of a chance to catch a lot of the broadcasts. He's been very skeptical about Ozzie's use of Marte. On Friday night, he kept saying how much he questioned the move. Then, tonight, the TV kept showing Marte on the bench as they were saying how you can't keep pitching people in the bullpen if they're going to walk batters. You no longer hear Hawk praise Ozzie for all his decisions. No more comments like "Ozzie has something in mind for the stretch run, etc."

QUOTE(Punch and Judy Garland @ Sep 20, 2005 -> 04:04 AM) I agree. Losing the division and making the wild card is the kiss of death to me because we would be the only team out of 8 that would go in on a negative note. We MUST win the division to have a chance to do ANYTHING in the playoffs. I think people are using the wild card as a crutch hope but you can't tell me that we can recover quickly enough to win three series if we blow this lead. That said, let's win some f***ing games so this isn't a problem Not making the playoffs is THE ONLY BAD SCENARIO!

QUOTE(Flash Tizzle @ Sep 20, 2005 -> 06:13 AM) You can blame the White Sox for this trend of negativity. Everyone observing these two clubs play recently should be freightened. 2.5 game lead in this division can evaporate quickly with Cleveland playing TB and KC. The Yankees should be the team we hope lose more so than the Indians. With their remaining schedule, the Indians will have to really fall off to not pass us up in the AL.

QUOTE(WilliamTell @ Sep 20, 2005 -> 02:30 AM) He doesn't like Ozzie for some reason, it probably went back to their playing days. I guess I don't know but I would figure that Ozzie was a better player than Brantley. But yeah he's been hating Ozzie and the White Sox all year. It started after Ozzie reacted poorly to Brantley's deserved criticism for how Ozzie handled the bullpen in that Angels home game on Memorial Day, I think. It's safe to say we're not exactly the team America roots for.

I can't wait to see this team swinging for the fences against a big time sinker baller. Over/under on double plays by the Sox is 3.

QUOTE(NUKE_CLEVELAND @ Sep 20, 2005 -> 05:29 AM) Cleveland has really impressed me, much as it pains me to say it. They clearly want this division a lot more than we do. It's so impressive to see them playing loose and confident. I guarantee you would never have their manager saying "WE STINK"!

QUOTE(NUKE_CLEVELAND @ Sep 20, 2005 -> 05:23 AM) Ive been saying that all season long. Every time me and the rest of the chat crew b**** about the Sunday lineup. I bet he'd like to have a few of those back right now. A lot more than just the Sunday lineups I have an issue with. Nuke, you know I love the chat crew. I'm sure we've discussed problems that we see with our manager.

QUOTE(aboz56 @ Sep 20, 2005 -> 05:15 AM) Anyone who dislikes Ozzie Guillen cannot possibly stand to watch a game called by Hawk Harrelson. I'd rather watch the game muted than listen to Hawk's annoying excuses for everything this organization does, including our idiot manager. Harrelson is a clown just like Jay Mariotti says he is. That's about the only thing Mariotti has ever gotten right. Hawk does not like Ozzie's managing now. He's made it rather obvious.

QUOTE(NUKE_CLEVELAND @ Sep 20, 2005 -> 05:19 AM) I cant believe they gave this f***ing guy a big extension based on a half season of success. At least wait to see what hes really capable of before pulling out the wallet. There's so much I would love to complain about on here, but I don't want to get banned. I want Ozzie to play his best players, and I don't give a s*** what the story of the player is. YOU PLAY TO WIN THE GAME!

QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Sep 20, 2005 -> 05:12 AM) f***, give me Razor Shines, give the job to Rock, do something. This is a joke I cant take anymore. Ozzie is the worst in-game manager I've ever seen in baseball.

Well, Ozzie said he won't worry until we're 1 game behind. Thankfully, it means the person leading our team doesn't feel like every game is important now.

QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Sep 20, 2005 -> 05:10 AM) I really can say I have confidence in our players. Our manager will be the death of us.... So are you saying you agree with what I've been saying all year?

QUOTE(chisoxfan79 @ Sep 20, 2005 -> 04:14 AM) Alright so make Hermanson A 7th inning matchup guy and close with Jenks, I just hate when Ozzie plays matchups in the ninth inning when we have the lead. Um, you're preaching to the leader of the choir here. There's no one that dislikes Ozzie's managing more than myself. The ONLY saving grace for me if this team doesn't make the playoffs is that maybe he'll get fired. Of course, I'd rather have the Sox make the playoffs and lose every game 10-0 instead of missing the playoffs.

QUOTE(Greg Hibbard @ Sep 20, 2005 -> 04:15 AM) However you slice it, Oakland is choking way worse than the Sox in September. Wow, I couldn't disagree w/you more. In order to choke/collapse, you typically have to have been in the driver's seat. It's not choking if you blow a basketball game when you're up 3 with 5 minutes left. We seem to be doing our best Arizona basketball impression against the Illini. My question is this: why do some people get so offensive about saying we're choking? No one is saying we choked. It's not like saying this team is choking is going to make you lose your job or risk your family's health.

Oakland's also missing two huge cogs in Cosby and Harden. Also, Kielty has been injured for them.