fathom

QUOTE(JUGGERNAUT @ Aug 18, 2005 -> 02:53 AM) Is it Ozzie's fault? Are we sleeping offensively because he failed to develop a backup for Pods? Should he have used Iguchi in lead-off on days we rested Pods? Iguchi doesn't have that kind of speed but he does know how to work a pitcher in the counts & he does have good base running instincts. I still believe we put Pods on the DL in order to get him rested, and not cause he's really hurt. Even Ozzie has said he's happy he's not on the bench now so that he's not tempted to put him in the lineup. We took the foot off of the accelerator in mid August, and it didn't take long for everyone to start to panic. This team just needs to win games. Anytime they want to have an offensive explosion would be fine with me. We're playing not to lose....and of course you know what happens then.

Do any of you guys really think we'd ever say we wouldn't spend money at the deadline on the right player? It's a little naive to think that a statement like that is 100 percent honest.

QUOTE(brijames @ Aug 18, 2005 -> 02:45 AM) You do realise that the Sox could easily lose their next 6, 3 vs Yanks and 3 at twinks. By next Wed the Division lead could be down to 6 or 7. That is scary. Yet enjoyable. The fact that we could still be up 6 games if we lose 11 in a row is astonishing.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Aug 18, 2005 -> 02:44 AM) A lot worse...since a.) he'd have missed half the season, and b.) our entire budget would have been spent on him. Indeed

We can't hit a fastball over 95 mph, can we? Jenks would love to pitch against our hitters.

Holy s***, Hawk is such a tool. Now he's saying it's a compliment it's the first time we've lost 5 in a row? How long will he keep saying this type of s***? Is Hawk going to have a fiesta for Ozzie and Timo if we lose 10 in a row?

I honestly think the main reason our offense sucks is the lack of contribution from our left side of the infield. Even though Uribe's looking better at the plate, he still is way below average offensively.

QUOTE(greasywheels121 @ Aug 18, 2005 -> 02:33 AM) And that's why we need a Griffey. There's a better chance of me winning Favorite Poster of the Year on soxtalk.com than there is of the Sox getting Griffey Jr. now.

Now, the big story tonight from the Sox side will be how we never gave up, and showed great heart coming back.

I'm sure happy Ozzie pulled a man in the 9th inning last night who seems to homer in every game.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Aug 18, 2005 -> 02:28 AM) Ok...I was one of the guys who was most adamant about not dumping any of our big name prospects at the trading deadline (especially for a pitcher)...so now when I say this, it's a flip-flop, and I really mean it. We need another bat. We absolutely need another bat. I don't care if it's a power bat or a guy who hits for average with speed, but we need another bat. I agree, but I'm now convinced it won't happen. Ozzie is too stubborn to not play our 4 main outfielders/DH when Pods gets back. Not only that, but Timo is our back-up outfielder.

Good news! We face Santana next week.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Aug 18, 2005 -> 02:24 AM) By the Way, the Cardinals are about to beat the DBacks 5-0 (where have I heard that score before?) so they'll soon be ahead of us in winning percentage as well. Good for them.

A little late for this, but I was thinking about that Stewart game-winning hit last night: Why the f*** wasn't Crede guarding the line? First, every pitch Adkins was throwing was an inside fastball. Stewart is a batter who hits a lot of balls down the line. Second, with Anderson having a good arm in LF, even if you protect the line, you're giving yourself a shot at throwing out the runner at home on a single. However, if the ball goes down the line, you have no shot. Just seems like pretty simple baseball strategy to me.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Aug 18, 2005 -> 02:19 AM) White Sox hitters also have a career .367 batting average against Matt Clement. There's no reason to think that he was going to slow us down either. Wow, Tadahito gets another single for us. Amazing. Jaw dropping. Clement was a batter away from getting taken out of that game. Trust me, I'm not saying we would have lost. However, I think it's assuming an awful lot to say we would have won that game no matter what.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Aug 18, 2005 -> 02:17 AM) I became concerned when Pods hit the DL. Supposedly speed never goes into a slump...but when we lost the speed, we suddenly hit a slump. One of the reasons our offense has sucked for the majority of the season is we have no speed besides Pods. Nearly half of our lineup is made up of some of the slowest guys in baseball (PK, AJP, Crede, and Thomas).

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Aug 18, 2005 -> 02:16 AM) Take away some rain from Boston and this is a 3 game losing streak instead of a 5 game one. Hopefully it would have been, but I have absolutely no confidence that we would shut down that Red Sox team in any game at Fenway.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Aug 18, 2005 -> 02:16 AM) Not if you believe Mark himself...the guy usually tells reporters that he feels better when he doesn't get extra rest...stays on the every 5 days, full game schedule. Which pitcher doesn't say that?

QUOTE(The Ginger Kid @ Aug 18, 2005 -> 02:14 AM) Take away that lame ass balk call and MB kept us in this game. Take away Hermie's blown save and we're playing for a series win, not looking at getting swept. Had minny come in and dominated and knocked the Sox around, I'd be reaching for the Prozac. But the Sox are playing AWFUL and somehow, someway, they still don't suck so bad. Buehrle knew our offense has been slumping, and we were facing Cy Santana. I think he let the team down tonight, especially against this awful lineup.

Can we get a show of hands who posted in that skeptics corner thread and said we were more concerned after the Yanks series than we were before it?

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Aug 18, 2005 -> 02:13 AM) Are we saying that his problem is due to him being tired/worn out? Personally I don't see that from him...it's not like this is something he hasn't done the last few years in terms of innings or pitches thrown. In fact, over the last 3 years before this one his worst month was June...this year it was his best month. He's just not getting pitches in the right spot. I don't know how to explain it. 10 less pitches in a game here or there certainly can't hurt.

JimH....I very much agree with your main point. All year, I've said our lineup has way too many easy outs. We just don't make the pitcher work. I've never seen a team worse at fighting off good pitches (foul), and then try to work the count for a good pitch to hit. Recently, Pods had turned into D. Jimenez Jr. in that fashion. When B. Abernathy looks like he has a better approach than any Sox hitter, you suck!

Anyone else anticipating an Ozzie blowup with the media when they start to question him about this team fading down the stretch?

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Aug 18, 2005 -> 02:02 AM) How many relievers do we have who didn't pitch last night? We could easily fill out those two innings. If we needed a fresh arm, we should have sent down Adkins for another reliever (and yes, maybe the great Baj could have been called up). There was not a single f***ing thing to be gained by putting Buehrle back on the mound for this inning.

QUOTE(Gene Honda Civic @ Aug 18, 2005 -> 02:01 AM) Why was MB out there? He had 110 pitches to start the inning. This is the type of game that Adkins is for. Cause Ozzie has absolutely no clue how to handle taking out his starting pitchers.