fathom

QUOTE(retro1983hat @ Sep 20, 2005 -> 05:11 PM) I went yesterday and the place WAS rocking. That being said, the players suck for b****ing about attendance when we were there all year and they have pissed this thing away. It is in our hands. Cleveland can't gain ground if we win. They need us to lose. Go out and do your job. They've lost 7 games in the standings in less than two weeks since the attendance b****ing. Nothing like being focused on what's really important.

QUOTE(SoxFanForever @ Sep 20, 2005 -> 05:12 PM) Is there any evidence that KW is actually still alive? I haven't heard a peep out of the guy in months. Read the article. Doesn't exactly seem like KW is very confident right now. I usually don't like Mariotti's articles, as you can tell he's always on his high horse. However, his last two articles about the Sox have been excellent.

QUOTE(DBAH0 @ Sep 20, 2005 -> 04:37 PM) The pieces are there for that to happen. Aaron Rowand could be moved. So could Orlando Hernandez or Jose Contreras. Damaso Marte will probably be moved. So KW will be active on the trade market this off-season no doubt. In terms of a lot of money, besides Konerko, it only really needs to be an upgrade at third, DH and another lefty reliever perhaps. It will cost a lot of money to upgrade at 3b. I still have the two highest guys on my wish list this offseason as Adam Dunn or Hank Blalock.

KW sure seems confident

QUOTE(DBAH0 @ Sep 20, 2005 -> 04:30 PM) Yep, I think Jenks Heat said it perfectly. We've won over 90 games. We should be adding the final piece or two to try and win a world series, not a re-building process. We already went through that a few years ago, and believe or not, we HAVE made progress this season. A lot of money will have to be spent to upgrade this team significantly in the offseason. The Sox are nearing a time where they have a lot of young guys on the cusp of making the big leagues. I'd really like to see a guy like Anderson get a chance to prove what he can do before he's 26 or 27 and a year away from free agency.

QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Sep 20, 2005 -> 04:21 PM) JUST MAKE IT. Perfect slogan for the way I feel. I honestly don't care if we lost every game 100-0 in the playoffs. It's better than being the first team to ever choke away a 15 game lead.

QUOTE(WSoxMatt @ Sep 20, 2005 -> 04:11 PM) IM IN and very confident... NYY and BOS will battle it out for the EAST and have like 8 games left between them, so 1 will win the East and the other will lose a s***load of games vs the other, making the benefactor...US!!! For the last time, they have 3 games left between them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

QUOTE(Milkman delivers @ Sep 20, 2005 -> 03:48 PM) At what point do you actually realize the sky is falling? According to Ozzie, when you're one game behind in the playoffs. Nothing like being reactive instead of proactive!

QUOTE(SnB @ Sep 20, 2005 -> 03:43 PM) so how long has it been since we've had threads BESIDES either: a) we're done, we suck or B ) shutup people! we don't suck. this place has gotten so old so fast. There should just be two seperate threads

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Sep 20, 2005 -> 03:37 PM) I feel pretty good about our chances with Mark and Jon on the bump. Then a little tiger-bashing. You know that the tribe wont win out, its almost impossible for them to do that. I have faith. I sincerely believe that the Indians are guaranteed to make the playoffs right now. They're just playing too well to not win a substantial amount of the rest of their games. Thus, it's between the Sox and the Yankees to make the playoffs. Yankees have won like 7 of their last 8, and have a relatively easy schedule. It's definitely a tough 13 game finish for the Sox.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Sep 20, 2005 -> 03:21 PM) you are extremely narrow minded and negative. 50/50?? Last time I checked we were leading the AL. Are we not? At the rate the Sox are going, and the way the Indians and Yankees are playing, I'd say 50/50 is a pretty legit chance.

QUOTE(TheBigHurt @ Sep 20, 2005 -> 03:20 PM) Just trying to invoke some confidence. We're what? 10-4 against a team that's been known for owning us? Keep your heads up is all I'm saying. This is no time to give up. The Twins have owned us recently. No one sits around and thinks "those damn Indians always kick our ass".

QUOTE(SoIL @ Sep 20, 2005 -> 03:10 PM) Yes. I'm curious why'd you be a fan of a team you consider to have a "s*** heap" of a history. Just asking a question, not trying to start an argument. We certainly aren't the Yankees, and we do have some duboius history. But your comments seems to pretty harsh for a team you cheer for. White Sox fan for better or worse.

QUOTE(TheBigHurt @ Sep 20, 2005 -> 03:17 PM) Yeah, Scotty's injury I think was what sparked this downside. Scotty hasn't been stealing or bunting, and whether anyone realizes it or not, that plays a HUGE role on this team. Ironically he's been swinging the bat better, but is it enough, and does it compare? Not quite, IMO. Without the ability to steal, Pods is a below average MLB player.

Holy cow....first, it was McCarthy, Baj, and Cotts on soxtalk.com. Now, we have Timo as a poster!!!! Just playing with you.

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Sep 20, 2005 -> 03:01 PM) The Sox also had two balls caught on the track, one of them would have been a 3 run HR IIRC. The thing about baseball is they all counted for the samething... Outs. I definitely agree. All I was pointing out was that there was another team on the field last night, and it wasn't just the Sox who were either getting all the breaks or making bad pitches/errors. I bet a lot of Indians fans were upset that Sizemore didn't catch PK's double. Sure didn't seem like he jumped too well to try and catch that ball. If Jason Tyner could catch that ball, Sizemore could have also.

QUOTE(TheBigHurt @ Sep 20, 2005 -> 02:39 PM) I understand a loss is a loss, but you have to give credit where it's due. FOR a team that's "played like s***," we did well against the hottest team up right now. Not to mention a team whom the Sox have had trouble with(except for earlier this year, WHEN the Sox played much better). Think about it. We had trouble against them?

QUOTE(LVSoxFan @ Sep 20, 2005 -> 02:56 PM) Oh well. These next two weeks cannot end fast enough. No kidding. Look at the second line of my signature. These games just aren't as fun as they should be. Last night's game was exciting as hell, but it just isn't as enjoyable as it should be. In 13 games, we'll know what the future of this team is for the 2005 season. Hopefully, it's a playoff series.

QUOTE(TheBigHurt @ Sep 20, 2005 -> 02:52 PM) I've said it before. I'll say it again: knock on wood, winning this division, the way the Sox have played this year, SHOULD be easy. Are they playing now the way they've played earlier this year? Hell, no, but it IS the SAME TEAM. It can be turned around. Don't forget the 2000 Yankees, guys. Sure, we're no Yankees, but based on how good we've been overall this year, we sure as hell could be. We were so good early in the year because of two main things that we don't have now: a leadoff man who can steal bases and a healthy Dustin Hermanson.

QUOTE(TheBigHurt @ Sep 20, 2005 -> 02:44 PM) I have never seen such a turn around of the attitude towards a manager, but I have to partially agree, in teh sense I'm not losing my mind. I do wonder why he's doing things lately, though. Marte in a 1 run situation? That was the only thing I was nervous about, but I think it was enough. Well, that and Vizcaino, but HE didn't f*** everything up. I'm obviously not speaking for myself, but I think a lot of people were willing to give Ozzie the benefit of the doubt for some of his questionable decisions when this team was playing good baseball and on top of the baseball world. 12.5 games later in the standings, I think a lot of people are realizing that this guy is basically clueless when it comes to in-game situations. When a team is struggling, they need EVERYONE to focus just a little better. Ozzie failed this team last night, and far too often in the last month or so.

QUOTE(southsideirish71 @ Sep 20, 2005 -> 02:46 PM) They never have jenks elevate the ball. On two strikes how hard is it to catch up to above belt heat. I really like Jenks and his attitude, but I've noticed that on 2 strike pitches, he will lose his mechanics and just try to throw 150 mph. That type of composure is something he'll get with experience.

QUOTE(Bias @ Sep 20, 2005 -> 02:45 PM) So the entire staff can't pitch inside??? What about Freddy? He was throwing meat all night and maybe came inside one time. That was their m.o. the last few years, earlier this year they were coming inside a ton. I just don't see them coming inside too often and whether or not it's reality it appears they are afraid of throwing strikes...at least to me. Garcia has never thrown inside this year. For someone that can throw 94 mph, his fastball rarely causes a swing and a miss. He's basically become a fastball/slider pitcher, and hangs a lot of sliders to righty batters now. His arm is nowhere near as electric as it was a few years ago.

Our pitchers, especially relievers, aren't very good at pitching inside. In case you haven't noticed, whenever our catchers set up inside late in the game, they either hit the batter or come close to hitting them. Jenks put that pitch in the one place Boone could hurt him. A fastball up in the zone would have been a K or a weak pop up. A good curve, and Boone's likely a K also.

QUOTE(DBAH0 @ Sep 20, 2005 -> 02:36 PM) Yeah, but there's not a great need for Vazquez right now with a rotation of Buerhle/Garcia/Garland/Contreras/B-Mac in 2006. Oh yeah, I agree. Anyone think the Sox might try and see if Cotts can become a starter again? I've heard rumors of it, and it might be worth a try. If he fails, then put him back in relief again. Whatever we do, we need to get a few cheaper pitchers for the next few years. Our big 3 will cost a ton.

QUOTE(TheBigHurt @ Sep 20, 2005 -> 02:31 PM) I understand we had a tough loss last night, but what is all this crap about "they are done?" What is this crap, yes CRAP, about "they played terrible last night." LMAO. I saw a few too many walks, but other than that, I saw a stellar performance. Ozzie took the risk with Marte and this time it didn't pay off. That doesn't mean we played "poorly." Quite frankly, when you take into account the fact we took on the hottest team in baseball now, or so it seems, we didn't quite experience the "massacre" some people were expecting. Based on how GOOD we actually played yesterday, I have good feelings about the rest of the series. There's no such thing as moral victories now. You win or you lose, that's all that matters. We played like absolute s*** in Minnesota, and still won two games. Who cares how we played though, it resulted in 2 games off of the magic number.