Kalapse

QUOTE(Reddy @ Aug 11, 2006 -> 09:50 PM) buehrle did one last year with something like 97 pitches didnt he? His outing on Opening Day of last year > Contreras' today.

QUOTE(Maverick0984 @ Aug 11, 2006 -> 09:49 PM) best pitched game of the season by any starter or us by far, hands down, noone remotely close. Vazquez allowed 2 hits and K'd 13 last Saturday but yeah this is the best outing of the year.

Wow, simply wow.

QUOTE(southsideirish71 @ Aug 11, 2006 -> 09:39 PM) Anderson is going yard this inning. Leave the predictions up to the professional, kid.

QUOTE(Felix @ Aug 11, 2006 -> 09:27 PM) Plus, the Blue Jays aren't playing nearly as good as they have all year recently. They're going through their slump. I believe they've caught the flu as a team sort of how the Sox did earlier in the year.

QUOTE(fathom @ Aug 11, 2006 -> 09:23 PM) Yes, but with Vazquez's style, for him to go 8 innings after striking out 13 is damn good. If he would have K'd 13 guys last night, he would have thrown 200 pitches. Also, Vazquez was going up against a much better offensive team.

QUOTE(iguchi=dank @ Aug 11, 2006 -> 09:20 PM) I literally can't remember the last time we had a starter pitch a game this good. i just can't... Its just great to see it again, I vividly remember these games last year Vazquez looked pretty damn good last weakend Vs the Blue Jays.

Fathom, I don't think you're gonna want to read this thread.

Last year 3 rookies threw 200+ innings, their names? Gustavo Chacin, Joe Blanton and Scott Kazmir, how are they doing right now?

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Aug 11, 2006 -> 08:55 PM) Seriously, what's he been throwing tongiht people? Some of us just got in and have Gameday. Does he look like the innings/rest are getting to him? Aside from the 90 pitches in 4.2 innings? The WCIU gun blows ass but if it's at all accurate he's been sitting between 92-95 and popping it at 97 on occation. This guy will be having elbow surgery fairly soon IMO.

QUOTE(Felix @ Aug 11, 2006 -> 08:52 PM) wins. Per Usual. Thome blows.

QUOTE(beck72 @ Aug 11, 2006 -> 06:05 PM) A few things I like going into tonight's game: 5] Pods and Iguchi are getting on and being productive. With those two on, one of the 3-5 hitters will drive them in Podsednik managed to reach base 3 times over the past 4 games (15 PAs), I wouldn't exactly call that productive. His OBP has actually dropped 5 points since the beginning of the homestand. Iguchi on the other hand is basically on fire, he went 6-9 in the final 2 games of the series and 8-17 on the homestand including a HR.

QUOTE(Dan Pasqua @ Aug 11, 2006 -> 06:03 PM) So If someone answers this. Let me guess you will throw some obscure statistic back? How about you answer the question. Would you have like to see Jim Thome come to the plate 9th inning, 2 outs, down by one with a runner on 3rd? Im sure I know your answer and that could be why you are in a minority on this one He's hit 6 HRs in the 8th innning this year, I know that's pretty damn obscure so I apologize. I'm in the minority because I'm actually open minded enough to go back and do a little research, he's come up huge this year in clutch situations of course if I listed them all that'd be a waste of time because people would either ignore them or dismiss them for whatever reason. It's cool if you don't think he's clutch. Perhaps we have different definitions, I mean all the s*** I've posted in his favor has already been ignored so I guess I'm just in the wrong here. I'll just leave it at this and move on from the subject.

What inning do you suppose Jim Thome hits the majority of his HRs in?

QUOTE(Felix @ Aug 11, 2006 -> 02:55 PM) I bet it will be a solo shot in the start of the game. That unclutch bastard. Just like A-Rod. What an asshole.

Jim Thome is going deep tonight, I gaurantee it.

QUOTE(Dan Pasqua @ Aug 11, 2006 -> 02:14 PM) Whoa be careful saying Thome is not clutch around here. I got grilled last time I said that. But I feel better now because I have watched the same thing this year from him. Including last night. I guess Im not crazy ANd that was exactly what I meant when talking about clutch. HR's or big hits after 6 0r 7th. Not a homer in the 1st or third that turned out to be a beneficial in the end. That is exactly what clutch means. And I would put JT at the bottom of that list for clutch It's the majority of people who think he's unclutch, they're right there with you. I and a few others are the ones who should be questioning our sanity.

QUOTE(Heads22 @ Aug 11, 2006 -> 01:56 PM) It's just as simple as this. Tie game, must-win, bottom of the ninth...who do you want up? For me, it's sure as heck Crede. I don't really think anyone is going to disagree with you. QUOTE(whitesoxfan101 @ Aug 11, 2006 -> 02:06 PM) That's the problem though Kalapse, you and I (I agree with you) could never win this argument. People think clutch HAS to be very late in the game, with it tied or the team down, and that's it. A homer in the 5th or 6th can be clutch, or just as important, as one in the 9th to be honest. Plus, nobody will ever consider walks clutch. It's just an argument you can't win. Now obviously Thome isn't our best clutch hitter, but he's not this choking bum. Eggsactly

QUOTE(Rowand44 @ Aug 11, 2006 -> 01:31 PM) I really hate the booing of intentional walks too. Or the gasps and shouts eminating from the stands on a pitch that's 3 feet outside but they feel caught the corner.

QUOTE(UC76 @ Aug 11, 2006 -> 01:27 PM) Personally, I've been a little disappointed with Thome in the clutch. So many of his home runs are solo shots in the the fourth inning or something like that. Which is awesome, don't get me wrong. But it seems like he's come up short with runners on in close games in late innings on several occasions. The other night when he came up against the Yanks in the the 9th, the first thing I thought was, "Uh oh, groundout to second coming up right here." Hopefully, he'll improve in the clutch department. Just my .02. Yes like when he took Johan Santana deep in the bottom of the 6th earlier this year when he was dominating the Sox' offense, when he picked up the only hit off Anthony Reyes in a 1-0 win in late June or his pinch hit HR to tie the game at PNC earlier this year. Hell, he had one of the biggest ABs of the series in game 1 Vs the yankees when he drew the crucial walk in the 11th to move the eventual winning run into scoring position. There's about 5-6 other HUGE HRs he's hit this year that I could also mention but I guess I'll just leave it at that.

QUOTE(farmteam @ Aug 11, 2006 -> 01:08 PM) Yeah, that one is never called, and it happens all the time. It's easy to tell people don't know the balk rules -- just listen to the crowd anytime the pitcher makes a move to second. They think it's a balk. There's 3 things that crowds as a whole do that piss me off the most. 1.) The Wave 2.) Leaping in excitement for high popouts that barely make it out of the infield 3.) Hootin' and hollerin' over a pitcher stepping off the damn mound/fake 3rd throw to 1st. So annoying.

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Aug 11, 2006 -> 12:57 PM) Very, very few people know the balk rules at all, and that is including the seasoned baseball fans. I would bet if you 100 baseball fans to list the ways you can balk, less than 5 would be right. The #1 that people forget about (including umps) is the comming set rule. You must come completely set for 1 full second which is something you see a lot and you hardly ever see it called. Roy Oswalt does it constantly and I've only seen it called on him once.

QUOTE(Milkman delivers @ Aug 11, 2006 -> 12:50 PM) Winning in the playoffs is all about momentum. The reason so many WC teams had won the WS is because they had a lot of momentum going into the playoffs since they had to fight through a tight race to get there. If that is what happens to us, then I'd be fine with it. Exactly, there is validity to the WC/WS s***. You get a team going into the playoffs on a roll like most wild card winners are and they can fly through the playoffs. The Sox got white hot at the end of the regular season last year and look what they did once they hit the playoffs, 11-1.

My underrated player would be Chris Capuano oh how I love him so. I truely believe if you get this guy out of Milwaukee he'll be even better than he already is, anyone who can put up a 132:31 K:BB has a place in my rotation.

QUOTE(TitoMB345 @ Aug 11, 2006 -> 11:02 AM) No, What I meant was I am tired of people saying "WIN THE WILD CARD CAUSE THE WILD CARD ALWAYS WINS THE WORLD SERIES!!!!!111" That's what is annoying, not actually winning the Wild Card. What the hell is so annoying about it anyway? The point is, the Wild Card team has as good a chance as any to win the World Series as evident by the amazing playoff success the WC winning team has had in recent years.