BuehrleTheAce

Top by-line on ESPN.com says "Clutch Konerko rallies Sox past Orioles". I just like hearing the words "clutch" and "Konerko" together

I loved Matt Karchner, then they traded him for some flop 1st round draft pick from the Flubs

I'm so out of things to say right now, I think I'll just have a little cry of happiness at this moment....

I so love the character and chemistry of this team. Never say die! And Pauly comes through in the clutch, weeee!!!

QUOTE(NUKE_CLEVELAND @ May 13, 2005 -> 10:17 PM) EVEN WHEN DEAD IS ON BASE HE KILLS RALLYS GOOD LORD!!!!!!!!! We're up 2 now though. GO SOX!!!!!!!!!!! In case any one is counting, Dead counted for TWO OUTS that inning. Without him, we could've potentially had even more. Grrr....

Oh and in case nobody noticed, that's 36 games in a row with a lead

QUOTE(NUKE_CLEVELAND @ May 13, 2005 -> 10:08 PM) KONG COMES THROUGH MULTIHIT GAME TOTALLY CLUTCH SOX LEAD 4-3 EEEEEEEEEEEEYES!!!!!!!! All through that at-bat all I was saying was "be Mr. Clutch, be Mr. Clutch" and so it came to pass, and the masses were happy once again

1-2-3 inning for Buehrle. Bottom of the 5th, Harris, Uribe, and Pods due up.

Oh yea, big time so far. Some base runners by virtue of 4 hits and 1 walk, but as usual no one can get them over.

And Crede flies out with 2 on 2 out. End of the 4th, Orioles 3-0. Boo!

The bad. Birds lead, bottom of the 4th 3-0.

We need a Crede revival....RIGHT....NOW!!

What the F ever happend to home field advantage? The ump should be giving the close ones to the home team. Hello, stupid! This is Chicago!

El Yike-ola! Pick it up Mark, one more out, just one more out then we can work on getting the lead back (I hope).

QUOTE(qwerty @ May 13, 2005 -> 08:51 PM) Hawk is smarter than i thought. He missed that aflack duck more than d.j. Yea, that's cuz he needed it while out on the Eye DL

It's too quiet in here. I know! "We need more cowbell!"

QUOTE(Jabroni @ May 13, 2005 -> 08:34 PM) Sometimes... Hehe. I was watching StatTracker while playing Hearts and watching "Spies Like Us". But I was keeping up with your updates

Ever get the feeling that you're talking to yourself?

Man that is rough luck. The only viable suggestions I can think of are: 1. Grin and bear it. Bench all the players you think or hear may be out an extended period of time - hmm, well, heh, all of your DLers are gonna be out a while 2. Keep the two or three most valuable players that could have an impact when they return - Rolen, Thomas, Vidro. Thome is having back problems, which will affect his power stroke, so don't expect immediate returns if/when he gets off the DL. Bagwell is in the same boat - arthritic shoulder. He's gonna see what his shoulder feels like in two weeks. If it's no better, there's a good chance he'll be shelved the rest of the year, and most likely retire. IMO I'd go with option 2, above. Drop Bags straight away, he isn't worth anything at this point. Talk to the other managers and see what they'd be willing to trade for Thome - even a decent RP who could get you saves or holds could do. I'd put Vidro on your bench and DL Rolen and Thomas. Neither will be back soon. Rolen is 3-6 weeks minimum and Thomas realistically after the ASB. Not sure about Vidro. Your next task will be to find a replacements for these players. I have Rolen and I had Bags myself, so I know the wire is pretty thin. Good luck!

QUOTE(nitetrain8601 @ May 13, 2005 -> 12:56 PM) I meant that's where they would bat while they're in the lineup. Leave their subs in that spot too. Sorry, I didn't break it down enough for you. PK can't bat third because he grounds into way too many DP's. I think he led the league last year. 3 is too high for him. His batting average doesn't warrant it either. He's getting his RBI in bunches(just like our offense for the past couple of years). Anyway, stop with the Rowand at 3rd. He clearly isn't good enough(not talking about only you in particular) right now. I don't give a damn if he's a nice guy or he signed your t-shirt at Soxfest. Put him were his #'s say he should be. That's at the bottom of the order. The thing is, even when Pauly is smoking the ball, he still grounds into his share of DPs because he's slower than a turtle. With him you take the bad with the good. Pauly needs to be 3, 4, or 5 (only when there are 2 better hitters in the lineup), he deserves that kind of recognition. Again, since the White Sox are winning. If they stumble and Pauly could've won the games, then perhaps he should be dropped lower.

QUOTE(nitetrain8601 @ May 13, 2005 -> 10:56 AM) Um why is Rowand exempt and people want him to bat in the 3 slot??? The guy has been major suckitude on offense just like PK and Dye. He should be moved down too. I say make it: LF-Podsednik 2B-Iguchi DH-Everett C-Piersynski(I don't give a damn about HR's, I'm just trying to get the runner over) SS-Uribe 3B-Crede 1B-Konerko RF-Dye CF-Rowand Shake PK, Arow and Dye up. It lets them know that if they don't perform, they'll slip off the list. Heck, I'd never play those 3 together until they all get hot. One day I might bench Dye or ARow for Ozuna. Uhh you say "I'd never play those 3 together until they all get hot", but then you turn around and put them in the 7, 8, and 9 positions, creating probably the wettest dream for any pitcher out there. The bottom-of-the-order black hole. I say: LF-Podsednik 2B-Iguchi 1B-Konerko DH-Everett SS-Uribe C-Piersynski 3B-Crede CF-Rowand RF-Dye Speed at the top, Pauly in the 3, Everett cleanup with protection by Uribe. I'd prefer Crede to be a bit better with the bat in the 7 but I want him after AJ. Roward thrived when he was batting 2nd last year but with Pods and Gooch, you HAVE to play them 1-2, and he is not good enough for the 3 or 4 spot at this point. If Pauly and Carl fail, Uribe should keep things going and AJ is good enough that he could hit a deep one or get a runner or two in if it gets that far. if not he could be good leading off or batting 2nd in the next inning. It's possible I'd flip-flop Crede and Rowand, but at least Crede is a more viable 3rd inning lead off than Rowand or Dye at this point.

I've been giving Konerko his fair share of criticism this year myself. At this point he is too inconsistent for the cleanup role. I really want to see him turn it around and become the player he was last year, not only because he's killing my fantasy team with the long stretches between productivity but because with his power it makes the Sox all that more dangerous. However, unlike 2003 his batting this year shows that he's one or two breaks from turning it around. It hasn't happened yet and no one knows when it will, but if he keeps doing what he's doing I am confident things will get better for him, and hence the Sox and my fantasy team. 2003: in 137 games and 444 at-bats, Pauly took 43 walks and had 50 Ks, with only 18 HR and a total of 37 extra base hits. 2004: in 155 games and 563 at-bats, Pauly took 69 walks and 107 Ks, with 41 HR and a total of 63 extra base hits. 2005: in 35 games and 122 at-bats, Pauly has taken 20 walks and has 30 Ks, with 9 HR and a total of 13 extra base hits. What I see from these stats is that Pauly is still as patient at the plate as he was in 2004 (BB), but is still as aggressive if not moreso (30 K in 35 games). In 2003 he was tentative and passive at the plate, as evidenced by the few BB and K (as well as the decreased power numbers), comparatively. He may be stretching a bit because of the few hits he's gotten, but overall I think he's still on the right track. As I've mentioned before, May is Pauly's bad month so this is typical for him. What happened to him from mid-April to the end of April is a bit of an aberration. When May comes to a close (when it gets warmer) I fully expect Pauly to be on the verge of breaking out of this prolonged slump, if he hasn't by then. As long as we're consistently winning, we have the luxury of letting Pauly reacquire his "hotness". Once it becomes a game-breaking liability then it's time to take action.

I've carried 3 1b for much of the season so far - Konerko, Bagwell, and Casey. I dropped Casey several weeks ago (before he hit his first and only homer) and picked up Phil Nevin, and I dropped Bags yesterday for Nick Johnson of Washington to replace him. So now I've got Pauly, Nevin, and Johnson at 1b. Pauly's continued to struggle but once in a while he'll flash that mighty bat like he did in Toronto, but then he'll regress. So here's my dilemma: Do I sit Pauly and start Johnson (the hottest hitter of the 3) and IF Nevin? I really don't want to sit Pauly but he's killing my average. He still picks up BB at a decent rate which helps, but not as much as a hitting 1b would. Any advice? Heck if you're in L7 and have a good 1b to offer (for a reasonable price) I'm willing to listen!

QUOTE(NUKE_CLEVELAND @ May 12, 2005 -> 10:31 PM) LOL Garland/Dontrell 14-0 this season............... Flubbs........SUCK!!!!! Yeah/Yeah and... HELL YEAH!!

Congrats Jon, Hermy, and the White Sox!