Kalapse

Oh I have plenty of stuff a lot of which I've never used. And yes I count last year as retro damnit. And one of the very few semi-artistic wallpapers I've ever made:

Just no one let elrock see any of this, I fear for him. I'll admit this feels very wrong.

QUOTE (jphat007 @ Feb 22, 2009 -> 06:45 PM) But this doesn't That is f***ing classic.

QUOTE (SoxFan101 @ Feb 22, 2009 -> 06:42 PM) I remember we all called him the asian johnny depp. Yes, he did play the lead in Secret Window.

QUOTE (Heads22 @ Feb 22, 2009 -> 05:33 PM) Is that Po Yu Lin? no

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Feb 22, 2009 -> 05:43 PM) Or imagine there was such a thing as a similar, stick-figurish white Alexei Ramirez who literally came out of nowhere like Roy Hobbs and helped lead the White Sox to the pennant, lol. Or that Contreras was white and not Cuban in 05/06. It's interesting that the three most debated players around here are Crede, Rowand and Brian Anderson. Maybe it's just pure randomness or chance, I'm not sure. One thing is for sure, Rowand's current contract and 2008 performance has shut up a lot of the comments about his grinder/leader/vocal personality (starting with the Carl Everett remarks about the lack of leadership post 05). Although personally, I this phenomenon happens a lot more in college and to a lesser extent in pro basketball....Tyler Hansborough, Danny Ferry, Christian Laettner, Danny Hurley, JJ Reddick (this is my chance to pick on Duke and Vitale, lol)...or the deification of players like Nash, Nowitzski and John Stockton. I do think it's also much easier for the "average Joe Trucker" fans to associate with someone who is white, could be them (their size/color) and speaks their own language. That's human nature, largely. Of course, there are athletes like Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods that transcend color to an extent, and everyone at least wants to Be Like Them. Or even in the last 20-30 years, most Sox fans will say that Melton or Crede or Rowand or Kittle or Fisk or Ventura or McDowell was their favorite player. Frank Thomas and Griffey, Jr., will go down probably as the two greatest natural hitters of their generation, yet neither has really been appreciated very much (for a multitude of reasons, not just race) around the country over the past decade. You could also lump Dick Allen into this group. Poll the 20-somethings on this site and I guarantee Frank gets 90% of the vote, he's the reason why a large portion of them are Sox fans. Also, Ken Griffey Jr was one of if not THE most popular baseball player of the 90's and considered by many to be one of the 2 best centerfielders to ever play the game during his playing days so I'm not sure where you're going with that. I now he's MY favorite baseball player of all time with the Dominican Albert Pujols a very distant second. And one more point. Of the current players I'd say Alexei and Jermaine are in the top 5 of fan favorites. I know Dye was my favorite player of the past 4 years and I'm definitely not alone.

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Feb 22, 2009 -> 03:21 PM) I need the greatest baseball picture ever from a few STs ago...of A-Row. And if anyone can name this blast from the recent past It'll earn you a few cool points:

MARCH 1st @ LAD 2:05 CSN 14th v TEX 3:05 CSN 21st v CHC 3:05 CSN 24th @ CLE 3:05 CSN 26th v ARI 3:05 CSN 28th v LAD 3:05 WGN APRIL 2nd @ MIL 2:05 CSN

QUOTE (elrockinMT @ Feb 22, 2009 -> 02:18 PM) Who else can bunt? I'm sure Chris Getz can provide the requisite number of bunts.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Feb 22, 2009 -> 01:56 PM) I don't think he's a false idol. Except for last year (hopefully he'll continue to be weak with the glove with the Twinks) he was a great great fielder. As a Sox fan I loved the fact we had such a reliable glove at third. I personally don't think Josh is a reliable glove. We'll see. I'm never going to pour over ever stat like most of the younger crowd does. The wild stats. All I know is as a fan I loved his defense (maybe last year is a sign he is through; we'll see) and I loved his bat when he got hot. I also loved his contributions to the title. If Josh is ready to take over, great. I want him to succeed because like everybody else whether the Sox win or lose pretty much dictates my mood during the summer. And I don't disagree with a single damn thing in there, it's all correct. None of that makes him a god, it makes him a player who before he started experiencing debilitating back pain was a valuable commodity, a World Series MVP snub and a fan favorite. Fearing his wrath, longing for his return or exaggerating his worth is not necessary, appreciating him for what he was and admiring him for what he helped that '05 team accomplish should be more than enough.

QUOTE (knightni @ Feb 22, 2009 -> 01:42 PM) I can honestly say that, I have never ever seen you post those words before here on Soxtalk until now. Well I don't usually feel the need to clarify a sarcastic remark.

QUOTE (kyyle23 @ Feb 22, 2009 -> 01:49 PM) Am I missing something in that Kaz Matsui thread that Knightni just brought up? I have looked it over 3 times, and I cannot find a Kalapse comment about Crede That's because there isn't one, I don't think Knight was actually trying to add anything to this discussion.

QUOTE (knightni @ Feb 22, 2009 -> 01:35 PM) http://www.soxtalk.com/forums/index.php?s=...st&p=702685 Seriously? That's not at all what I meant and the fact that you apparently had that on the back burner is just weird.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Feb 22, 2009 -> 09:29 AM) So the argument is evertime Crede came up big if he would have done something earlier it would have made his heroics mute, but Josh Fields tearing it up the final 2 weeks of Sept. 2007 in a battle for last place against the Royals is significant. In July and August 2006, BA hit over .300 combined. He had a tough Sept. and hit .257 post all star break. There was more to the BA story than performance or potential. Ozzie just didn't like him. He probably still doesn't, but at least he can tolerate him now and hopefully give him a fair shot. Considering he was a rookie in his first go 'round in the bigs, facing mostly major league pitching for the first time in his life, yeah I'd say that entire season is significant and since I'm not about to discount any other player's September numbers after the division had already been decided I don't expect anyone else too. Once you start doing that you can turn some ok seasons into horrific ones.

QUOTE (kyyle23 @ Feb 22, 2009 -> 11:50 AM) Who blocked a cream pie in 2008 where it looked like Toby hurt himself because it was blocked? Was it Thome? Quentin? It was Dye and it was glorious.

QUOTE (The Ginger Kid @ Feb 21, 2009 -> 01:28 PM) I love this post. It's an excellent example of the presumption that there is a statistical value for every facet of the game; or even more important, that this value is definite and therefore its significance cannot be called into question. And I'm not asking this rhetorically, but who are these very smart baseball people who say there is no such thing as a "clutch" hitter? Are they former players/managers/scouts, people with an intuition for the game, people who don't rely solely on a mathematical figure to evaluate a player's worth? Is it really surprising that Sox fans and their circle are the only ones who truly appreciated Crede's value in crucial moments of a game, given the overall lack of scrutiny (both positive and negative) that the 2nd team in Chicago receives? I don't think there's any sort of distortion going on here, no myths are being perpetuated. In the last four years, in a key moment late in a game, who are the guys you want to see up at the plate? Crede and Dye are at the top of my list. I happen to agree with you that our bullpen should be able to handle Crede; I also dread having to face him late in the game in a key situation, say with runners in scoring position and the Sox clinging to a small lead. And I don't think I am deluding myself, or that this dread is unfounded. I can't believe I skipped over this. It's Carlos Quentin, easily. He's the best offensive threat the Sox have had since Dye's '06 season (and whether you believe in them or not Carlos' splits are so much better than Dye's that it's really hard to ignore) and Maggio/Frank in '03 before that so therefore I want Carlos at the plate in any crucial situation. Dye would probably be #2 on my list.

QUOTE (elrockinMT @ Feb 22, 2009 -> 11:00 AM) As a fan you have every right to worship any player you want and call out the folks that want to degrade or downgrade your heroes. I like Joe Crede. If you don't then fine and I won't think less of any poster that says a particular player is better off gone-I may doubt their rationale-but I won't speak or write badly about them. I am always troubled by some of the outright hostility and negativity though. I like Joe Crede period. From me that's the end of the story. Who knows what the future will bring for Joe as a Twinkie (which just galls me to heck) but I wish him well. The Twins signing of Crede kind of reminds me of when Bill Veeck signed Eric Soderholm of the Twins after he had knee surgery. Soderholm bounced back and did a very good job for the Sox, but the Sox were the only ones to take a chance on him. Christ, it's like you're reading a different f***ing board. Show me one malicious remark aimed at Joe Crede, just one and I'll never mention his name again.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Feb 22, 2009 -> 09:23 AM) You said earlier if Fields maintains his 2007 batting average (.244) and adds a little to his walk rate, he becomes a very valuable player. Crede is a lifetime .257 hitter. He has had some big moments and his glove, while you don't think its anything special, has been better than Fields. Wouldn't that make Crede a very valuable player during his White Sox career? Crede has been a valuable player over the course of his career, I've never said otherwise. You don't have to be an MVP candidate to have good value to a club. His price, great defense and moderate offensive output made him a valuable piece to the White Sox organization over the few full, productive seasons he played with the club. If Josh can put up a mid to high .700 OPS (if he maintains his AVG and increases his walk rate he'll be sitting in the upper .700's) while making $500K and adding a little athleticism to the lineup (something people have been clamoring for) I'm confident that his defense at 3rd will be adequate enough to make him a fairly valuable comodity.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Feb 22, 2009 -> 12:50 AM) Not from me. I don't blame Fields and I wish him the best. I hope he outperforms Joe by a bunch now that Joe is gone. I don't want Joe to excel just so I can say I was right. I just truly as a Sox fan fear him strolling to the plate against us. I really really do. The guy can hit. And if he is in the game, he's gonna rob CQ and Lexi of some rockets down the line. Yes I think Joe Crede is a god. So shoot me. But in no way will I root against Fields. It's his time and I want him to excel and us to win. I just truly fear Joe. Hence the problem. The worshiping of a false idol, turning a baseball commoner into a baseball god. Some wonder why I "hate" Joe, I don't, I like him, I just can't stand it when people exaggerate a player's production/worth to this level and well, there's no other good discussion on here currently so I'm gonna make some Crede posts.

Jose looks good, his latest weight loss becomes him and he's sporting a goatee much like the one that made an appearance in '07. (possibly a bad omen)

QUOTE (Heads22 @ Feb 21, 2009 -> 11:14 PM) If you check out the latest Quentin article on WhiteSox.com, he has clearly embraced the Zac Efron look. http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/news/artic...sp&c_id=cws Eh, he probably just got out of the shower or took off a hat. His normal haircut is so much sexier:

QUOTE (The Ginger Kid @ Feb 21, 2009 -> 08:03 PM) And don't forget DePodesta. One of those guys is playing fantasy baseball with monopoly money, while the jury is still out on the other two. (okay, maybe that's a little harsh on epstein. He does seem like a pretty savvy guy). The Red Sox might be the best run organization in baseball.

They used the wrong video, that whole report is from last year.