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QUOTE (lostfan @ May 5, 2008 -> 06:21 AM) This has already been said but yeah I definitely would not call Swisher's D out there outstanding. Above average, better than expected maybe, but not outstanding. For an analogy to the Bears fans on here it's like John Tait playing out of position at LT... serviceable, but not special. My god you people love to nit pick, I wasn't even going to address this but perhaps I should before I get hit with 12 more of the exact same posts. For what was expected of him (MANY people saying he was going to be an absolute disaster in CF) he has exceeded expectations. If you compare what a lot of people thought he was going to do in CF to what he is doing in CF I would say the difference is quite large. When comparing his defensive play to Brian Anderson, Swisher has been mediocre at best but when comparing him to Rob Mackowiak (a comparison that was thrown around during the spring) he's been outstanding.

I'll give Katie Holmes one thing, she pulls off the loose see semi-see-through silky shirt look very well, something Maggie would have trouble with. Gyllenhaal doesn't have that fresh faced, perky breasted quality you look for in a leading lady who happens to be the love interest of Aaron Eckhart and Christian Bale. As for 'Jesse James'; I saw it a few months back. Excellent story, well presented, Pitt is pretty good and Casey Affleck is outstanding. On the negative side, it's incredibly long and does tend to drag at times, there's also not a whole lot of action, the film is mostly dialog. If you have 3 hours to spend and you're looking for an interesting character story based on true events then it should be a good watch.

QUOTE (SoxFan101 @ May 4, 2008 -> 10:38 PM) Lol only 2 old guys in dept and both with the name Joe. One is a dbag and the other is really cool.. so maybe that will tell you which one was the one who helped you. He seemed like a decent enough guy but he was also trying to sell me a $1,600 tv so who knows. He didn't have much of a sense of humor, I don't think he smiled once the whole time we talked. If he was rude or had an attitude in anyway I wouldn't have given him the commission (out of spite of course), though it wouldn't surprise me if he was a dick away from the sales floor. He struck me as the kind of guy who stands around all day b****ing to his co-workers about the dumbass customers he's forced to deal with on a daily basis.

QUOTE (SoxFan101 @ May 4, 2008 -> 09:42 PM) Buy the tv off me at Sears woodfield ;p. Support your fellow sox fan and his need for commision I just bought a 42" Sony LCD from the Sears in Woodfield a few months back. Some old dude sold it to me. As for the topic at hand, I currently have a Blu Ray player and Cable Box hooked up via HDMI cables I bought for under $5 on Amazon and they work great.

QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ May 4, 2008 -> 10:25 PM) Phenomenal. My only disappointment with the movie is that Maggie Gyllenhaal plays Rachel Dawes. But then again, I haven't seen the movie, so I could be pleasantly surprised. I definitely agree (though perhaps for different reasons), she's just not attractive at all she's down right fugly. I just have a hard time believing SHE'S the girl Bruce Wayne can't live without.

In 2006 8 of Jim Thome's 42 HRs came when there was a 4+ run difference between the Sox and their opponent. EIGHT yet people still perpetuate the fallacy that he only homers when the Sox are getting their ass kicked. He hit 5 homeruns in the 7th inning or later that either tied the game or gave the Sox the lead (3 HRs gave the Sox the lead). How many people would have guessed it was as high as five? 11 of the 16 homeruns he hit in the 7th or later were important in deciding the out come of the game. People say he doesn't go to the opposite field enough but he hit 11 homeruns the other way last year. You look at his hit chart and his doubles are sprayed throughout the OF NOT just into right. People say he doesn't hit for a high enough average yet he's hitting .282 in a White Sox uniform. People say he can't hit in the clutch yet he hit .280+ in close and late situations last season and despite not getting a god damn thing to hit late in games in '06 he got on base in nearly half his plate appearances in C&L situations and still managed to strike out less than Paul Konerko and Jermaine Dye in those instances. In '97 the Indians make it to the World Series largely because of Jim Thome's .966 OPS in close and late situations and nearly take the series because Thome slugged .571 while getting on base 38% of the time during the 7 game series. Maybe he's just an easy scapegoat.

QUOTE (greg775 @ May 4, 2008 -> 01:35 PM) Since this is the negative catch all file, aside from bashing the usual suspects who haven't delivered in this slump ... to me, Swisher doesn't seem like the kind of guy you want locked up contract wise for a long time. Swish is rapidly falling down close to .200. If Pods was doing this, everybody would want him sent on the first train to Oshkosh. I know ... he draws walks. 1.) Scott Podsednik does not have Nick Swisher's track record of success. Nick's past production insists at some point in time he's going to get red hot and up his OPS to somewhere around .850. 2.) To make up (in part) for his unacceptable offensive production Nick has been playing outstanding defense in centerfeld, Podsednik -- on his best days -- plays a terrible left field. 3.) At least Swisher's OBP is still above .350, if Pods were getting on base 35% of the time and not getting thrown out on the basepaths he wouldn't catch too much s***. 4.) Nick is also healthy and capable of playing everyday, if Pods had played every game but 1 this season he'd be hobbling around grabbing at his groin. You may brush off the fact that he's drawing walks but that's what a leadoff hitter is supposed to do, eventually he'll start to hit for a better average and more power but in the meantime at least he's getting on base at a decent clip.

NOTE: The "in 35 ABs" was added to the thread title by myself in order to put the title's statistics in perspective.

QUOTE (MAX @ May 4, 2008 -> 04:01 PM) Almost 100% of people who suggest thome will be gone have no idea that he might guarantee his option. You'd think with such a valuable payroll resource so readily and locally available they'd know better. All he has to do is average 90.4 PA over the next 5 months in order to guarantee himself a contract for next year. For reference; he averaged 101.667 PA a month during the '06 season and 89.333 per month last year.

QUOTE (C_LEE45 @ May 4, 2008 -> 03:07 PM) yaaaaaaaa we like stikeouts and double plays all the THOME lovers are going to be mad in the the off season because "HE GONE" In his time with the Sox Thome has grounded into 20 double plays, over that same timespan Konerko has 48 GDP, Dye 33, Pierzynski 32 and Crede (if you replace '07 with '05) 27. So that's a load of crap Do you even know Thome's contract status beyond this season?

The LATEST Dark Knight trailer. Very heavy on Eckhart and Ledger, a lot of speech from both. http://www.comingsoon.net/films.php?id=15813 Wow, it's even better than the first. Chills throughout.

And before ANYONE says ANYTHING. NOOOOO! Derrick Turnbow is not a good fit for the White Sox.

QUOTE (almagest @ May 2, 2008 -> 02:39 PM) Sample size. And if he had been benched against every lefty starter this season, the Sox would have missed out on that excellent production through 30 ABs.

QUOTE (almagest @ May 2, 2008 -> 01:56 PM) Bats left, throws right. I'm not advocating benching Konerko -- I'm advocating giving Konerko a few days off here and there, with Swisher going to 1B, and Anderson in CF. Also, Thome has NEVER hit lefties well -- career .241 .342 .419. He shouldn't be in the lineup against lefties much at all, which would slide Dye or Konerko over to DH, Swisher to 1B or LF, Quentin to RF, and Anderson in CF. Except this year he's hitting .300/.364/.700/1.064 w/ 3 2B and 3 HR in 30 ABs vs southpaws.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ May 2, 2008 -> 01:53 PM) Per White Sox. So they will indeed carry an 8-man bullpen and a 3 man bench for the TOR series. I really think this is a mistake. Better to bring up Bourgeois or Owens. The staff had a day off to rest - why carry so many pitchers? Bourgeois would have to be placed on the 40 in order to be called up, I doubt KW wants to fill the open spot on the 40 with a guy who's signed to an MLC and would only be with the big club for 4 games.

WCIUHD comes through at 1080i on my TV and the picture quality is great, kicks the s*** out of CSN. I have Comcast by the way.

QUOTE (elrockinMT @ May 1, 2008 -> 01:09 PM) Yes, and that's why I said he hasn't been used that much. Plus he hasn't performed all that well in his limited role. Ehren is a better option in my mind than some others, but this fact was brought up at the close of ST and he was sent down anyway. If the idea of Ramirez being sent down is the discussion I would think it would be for long term and not the Toronto visa issue as that's just a weekend deal. Why bring up another pitcher anyway? They all got that days rest on Thursday and the bullpen should be ready to go. We don't need another pitcher up so Wasserman should be staying for awhile longer unless unless unless He's pitched in 3 or the team's 4 games since being recalled on the 27th, so he has been used quite a bit. He's retired 3 of the 6 batters he's faced, 1 via a sacrifice bunt and 2 via weak grounders to the left side. The 3 baserunners he's allowed have come via a walk (the plate was about 3 inches wide for that AB), a bunt base hit and an infield single. He's had some bad luck.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ May 1, 2008 -> 11:39 AM) There were a few who were pissed about Yabuta, and I think I was personally slightly upset. I've been wrong before and I'll be wrong again. Yeah, you're right Yabuta is the one who signed with the Royals (I was thinking of Fukumori who signed with Texas.) Yes I remember quite a few people were up in arms when the Royals of all teams signed Yabuta. My bad Tony.

QUOTE (Tony82087 @ Apr 30, 2008 -> 09:32 PM) For all those that b****ed and moaned about "missing out" on signing Yasuhiko Yabuta, he left the game tonight with a season ERA of 8.31 in 13 innings, surrendering 19 hits in the process. I don't think it was Yabuta that everyone b****ed about missing out on, (he was pretty terrible in Japan) it was Masa Kobayashi with Cleveland that everyone really wanted.

Is playing an extra 2 innings before a regularly scheduled game in late August really going to hurt the Sox?

QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ Apr 29, 2008 -> 04:10 PM) Thanks. I wish we still had Iguchi to play 2B for us right now and hit 9th. He's putting up an OPS right around .600 and showing no range to either side at second for the Padres right now. From the 12 or so Padres games I've seen this season he no longer looks like a major league player but it's early yet so who knows.

QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ Apr 29, 2008 -> 04:04 PM) Can someone fill me in on the number of times this exact lineup has been used this season? We've got to be approaching last season's total for the most frequent lineup, if we haven't passed it already. That lineup has been used 13 times now. 1. Owens 2. Iguchi 3. Thome 4. Konerko 5. Pierzynski 6. Dye 7. Mackowiak 8. Fields 9. Uribe Was used 7 times last year.

QUOTE (fathom @ Apr 29, 2008 -> 04:02 PM) I'll take Freel over what we have at 2nd base. Heck, I'd take Todd Walker over what we have at 2nd base. Trade MacDougal for him, and call it a day. Agreed.

QUOTE (joeynach @ Apr 29, 2008 -> 03:40 PM) Konerko will be with this team until the end of his contract for sure, and will be the teams full time DH in 2010 for sure. In 2009 Konerko and Swisher will begin to share time at 1B, with Swisher playing OF and Konerko being DH the other half. IMO Thome's $13 Mil option will not be picked up for 2009 and he will become a free agent and ponder retirement vs. Frank Thomas like contracts (2 Yrs-18 Mil) from the A's, M's, and O's. Thome's bat speed and presence as a premiere slugger will continue to fade all year has he struggles to keep his Avg above .260 and his HR total above 30. Konerko and Swisher could be your 3/4 combo in the batting order in 2009 and 2010. Unless of course he gets 460 more PA this season. If Thome stays healthy he'll be back.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Apr 29, 2008 -> 02:42 PM) ... if he keeps this up. If he keeps this up Francona select him as a reserve. He currently has the second highest OPS of any OF in baseball (#1 Burrell - 1.188) But yeah if he maintains a .900+ OPS, plays terrific defense, stays healthy and the Sox maintain their hold on 1st in the AL Central then I'm sure CQ will get the nod.