fathom

QUOTE(IlliniKrush @ Oct 20, 2005 -> 07:22 PM) I'm sick of repeating myself, but Self wouldn't have coached this team to a 2nd place finish in the tournament, nor a 37-2 record. Period. His players or not, he COACHED them to all those accomplishments. No one is debating he coached this group of players to excellence. The question is whether or not he can recruit the level of players they had last season on his own. So far, he's been missing on a lot of his top targets. Carlwell has been his best get, and some of the guys he's been getting are because other programs simply ran away from the players before they could commit to their school (Semrau with WF and others, Charles Jackson with Ga Tech).

QUOTE(Chisoxrd5 @ Oct 20, 2005 -> 02:42 PM) Give it a few years...it wasn't 'horrible' and for you to say that you obviously have no idea what you're talking about. If he misses out on Gordon, Rose, Mbakwe, Cole, Bayless and the whole other slew of talented Juniors looking at us and does not compile a top 5 class then we have something to be worried about. The way it has shook out is not favorable, but one good recruiting year can turn it all around. I'm disappointed, no doubt, but to say it is horrible is way out of line. So far, it's been horrible. He's missed out on Wright, Scheyer, and Collins. If you keep losing top in-state talent, your recruiting is going to be considered horrible. Could you imagine a similar program like Georgia Tech, if they kept missing out on the best players in Georgia? Quite simply, high school recruits don't mesh well with Weber's personality (and this isn't just a rumor).

The two main players I'd consider trading Contreras for in the offseason are Adam Dunn and Mark Teixeira.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Oct 19, 2005 -> 09:55 PM) wow, what were the guys doing 9 months ago???? You get the feeling they weren't expecting to play this deep into the season, don't you?

Plain and simple: Weber doesn't know how to recruit big-time players with big-time egos. There was a particular super recruit last year that chose Kansas over the Illini that really didn't care for Weber. All these accusations being made by the Illini camp that Kansas cheated to get Collins is PATHETIC to me for the following reason: Trust me, Self didn't learn how to cheat at Kansas. If he cheats now, he was cheating at Illinois. If you're on the Illiniboard, go and read what Deron Williams mom had to say about Self.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Oct 19, 2005 -> 03:00 PM) Twins, I even rooted for them in the playoffs. I hate cubs and their fans. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ This is like picking between getting your leg broken, or getting paralyzed.

QUOTE(LosMediasBlancas @ Oct 19, 2005 -> 06:49 PM) But we won the series. I'm shocked you'd see the glass half empty though. Give it a rest. A lot of people didn't want Jordan throwing out the first pitch because they lost the last playoff game that he did.

QUOTE(LosMediasBlancas @ Oct 19, 2005 -> 05:25 PM) Good luck? It worked once, go with it again. Actually, that's the only game they've lost so far.

QUOTE(FlaSoxxJim @ Oct 18, 2005 -> 05:41 PM) I'm not thinking it would or should be a get in line thing. Why not do it like they did for the 2003 ASG, where you sent in a postcard if you wanted a chance to buy tix. I wanted to go, I sent in 200 postcards, and I got tix. For the World Series I'd happily send in 500. Damn the postage and frull speed ahead! Huge difference between setting up a lottery for a set event months in advanced, and then having to sell tickets a week prior to the World Series.

QUOTE(greasywheels121 @ Oct 18, 2005 -> 05:30 PM) I'm bummed that I can't go to Chicago now, but I still get to see the games. I don't think anyones pissed about that. I know, but to hear some people say how they're going to b**** about it at Sox Fest is comical to me.

Not surprised that almost everyone on here struggled to get tickets. Oh well, I'm not going to let this ruin my excitement for the WS.

QUOTE(Texsox @ Oct 18, 2005 -> 04:14 PM) Post some quotes that show what you are talking about. I don't see the Pujols to Cubs town link. It's exactly what you said in your post prior to this...that his goal was to show that the Pujols homer still showed that this is a Cubs town. Let me ask you this: What type of dickhead reporter would take a great event like a city team making the World Series, and two days after it happens, write an article saying how that team still means basically nothing to a majority of the people in that city? It looks like we found Debbie Downer's soulmate. I'm going to bet that Hawk would be the best man at the wedding.

QUOTE(Texsox @ Oct 18, 2005 -> 04:01 PM) No he used the Pujols homerun to show that despite everything going the Sox way, it is still a Cubs town. Yes I read the article, and I still think he's completely reaching to say that since Pujols hit the homer, it still makes it a Cubs town. If anything, the Pujols homer last night should have made the buzz around town diminish because the Sox still don't know who they're playing in the World Series. The next few days should be the calm before the storm. Please don't group me with other Sox homers though that will rip on anything Mariotti says. This article just flat out sucked, and it seems like the type of thing written by someone who has a lot of hate for a team. And like was just mentioned, Mariotti can never just come out and praise the team without somehow throwing in an insult also.

QUOTE(downstairs @ Oct 18, 2005 -> 03:24 PM) I've called a bunch of TicketMaster phone numbers this morning... all the way out to South Dakota.... They're all busy?! That seems strange? Any ideas why? Tickets for the Vikings Summer Cruise must have gone on sale to the public.

After being a graduate assistant in a major Division I athletic department, I can tell you that teams don't really give a s*** about individual ticket sales. Rather, it's all about getting season tickets. If the Sox can use this World Series to generate guaratneed season ticket holders for next year, then that's an opportunity they can't pass up. I know it sounds like the right thing to do to let the "true" fans buy the tickets, but that would be just foolish business.

I'm too lazy to go through this whole thread to find the answer, but what are the important phone numbers we need to know for noon today?

During the NLCS game last night, I thought it was quite comical to see the Pepsi commercial where ARod and Vlad are hitting balls to the moon, etc. Wouldn't it be more appropriate if Vlad grounded out to the SS on every swing? Pepsi must really suck during the postseason with those two guys?

QUOTE(SSH2005 @ Oct 18, 2005 -> 02:22 PM) One team has Pujols while the other team has Clemens, Oswalt, and Pettitte. Either way, it's a tough choice. I have more confidence in the Sox pitchers being able to handle a great hitter than I do the offense being able to handle great pitching.

QUOTE(bighurt2719 @ Oct 18, 2005 -> 02:27 PM) jesus christ, not to be rude, but every f***ing day theres a new thread about mariotti. just learn to let it go man. the reason he still has a job is because people like us are always talking about his s***. cant you just ignore him? i do... Not to be rude, but I've never started a Mariotti thread in the past. To be honest, I got sick of hearing the same complaints every day by my fellow Sox fans about Berman, Buck, and company (just as I'm sure my fellow Sox fans got sick of me complaining about Ozzie during the year, etc.). However, today is a very quiet day outside of the tickets, so I was just wondering if anyone else thought the article was pure crap.

Both teams are damn good, and it won't be easy. The Sox are going to have to beat some tough pitching in order to win the WS. I'd much rather face the Cards though, as their pitchers don't have the sliders that the Astros do.

QUOTE(Texsox @ Oct 18, 2005 -> 02:12 PM) Jay is wrong as always, let's count the mistakes in his column. This is a Sox town. More Cub fans than Sox fans in Chicago? What an idiot. There have always been more Sox fan, Jay must be smoking something. More Cub fans around the world? He mustn't travel much, the Sox have way more fans than the Cubs in all corners of the world. Again, Jay the idiot. The city is united. We are happy for all those Cub fans rushing to buy Sox stuff, especially tickets. Maggs and Showalter will send Ozzie a Christmas card, Cub fans aren't bitter about the Sox success, Sox fans wanted a rested Clemens and Oswalt, we didn't want the Astros to be extended, we wanted them to win last night. The world wouldn't care if the Cubs were in the World Series, we're the American Fairy Tale, not the Cubs. Ozzie never trashed Wrigley and fanned flames during the crosstown series, every Cub fan will root for the Sox over the Cards, just like we would root for the Cubs over the Twins. Jay, what an idiot. No, the argument is pathetic because he basically uses the homer by Pujols last night as a way to start comparing the excitement level between the Sox making the World Series, and the Cubs making the NLCS. He also tries to make it sound like many important members of the Sox organization are still worried about the whole Sox/Cubs rivalry. Mariotti should be spending this week talking about the importance of a team making the World Series for the first time in over 4 decades, and not using it to push his agenda of basically being a dick towards the Sox.

Since when was there a report that said his teammates didn't care if he was around to celebrate?

This is one of the worst pieces of s*** I've ever read. While I agreed with a lot of what he said when the Sox were struggling, this seems like an article written by someone desperate to piss of White Sox fans. http://www.suntimes.com/output/mariotti/cst-spt-jay18.html

QUOTE(SSH2005 @ Oct 18, 2005 -> 04:19 AM) And Jeff Bagwell could DH during the games at the Cell. It wouldn't be fun facing Frank Thomas' white clone. Bagwell can't even get lift on the ball. He can only be used in situations where a fly ball isn't needed. Their likely DH would be Lamb or Palmeiro.

QUOTE(SSH2005 @ Oct 18, 2005 -> 03:48 AM) Has a crowd ever went more dead that fast? Oh wait, 2003 Cubs at Wrigley. The 2003 Wrigley stuff is nowhere close to what happened tonight. Think about it, they were one out away from their first ever World Series. That's a hell of a lot closer than the Cubs ever got in 2003.