southsideirish71

Opposite field, I wonder if our team even knows what that is.

I some crotchety old creature that sat behind me ask me what made me a sox fan. Then I told him, it was where I grew up, etc. Then I asked him why he was a cubs fan. He is a fan of Harry Carry. He used to be a Cardinal Fan, a Whitesox fan, and then a Cubs fan. Only a moron would follow a team and swear loyalty due to the announcing crew. This was also the same boob, who when Ronny Woo and his blue and red pajamas was walking on the back of the stadium, he is jumping up and down like a love sick 13 year old screaming wave to me woo, wave too me wooo. I told him he shouldnt condone the homeless, because thats what makes them flock there in droves. He didnt get it.

Note to whitesox. Marquis sucks.

QUOTE(IlliniKrush @ May 19, 2007 -> 01:27 AM) AJ gets on the show and 'complains' that he's not playing. North agrees with him and states his opinion on the matter. Now, North is a talk show host paid to give his opinions, good, s***ty, or otherwise. Ozzie calls up and swears up and down the dial about it. Why the hell does Ozzie care what Mike North is saying about his lineup at 9:30 in the morning? Seriously? He's so pissed off at that that he has to grab his cell phone and call and b****? Good thing he's never come to Soxtalk, I guess. Might as well eliminate sports talk radio and any columns in the newspapers. If you can't stand the heat (from someone not even talking to you live with a mic in your face, just talking on a radio show), get out of the kitchen. I am glad I missed this drama. The entire day was just working out great for me. I got a parking spot in the neighborhood on Racine. I had a morning beer on a beautiful day with my boss. I watched the game from one of the rooftops and everything was just great. Then our bullpen blows it, I have to deal with the drunken animals out in Wrigleyville who are overly aggressive for their win, and then I find out our manager has a swear fest with the former Hot Dog vendor on WSCR. Just a s***ty day all around. How about this. Worry more about our hitters earning their keep. Worry about putting the designated bunter on the bench instead of in the lineup. And to actually look up the stats, and not make them up to support your appendage aware bullpen. Dont worry about the writers, the radio or whatever. If I had someone at my work come up to me, and I screamed at them with profanity I would be looking for another job. So Mr. Guillen, it seems that AJ was on the North show saying he doesnt want to platoon and doesnt understand why is sitting. Can you comment.

QUOTE(fathom @ May 18, 2007 -> 11:47 PM) It's really too bad we couldn't trade Mackowiak for Brady Clark. We have to keep Cintron on the roster, as we need a back-up SS. I was thinking about this earlier, and the only bench player I want to see back next year is Toby Hall. We need him to back-up Konerko. Mack was signed to be a backup to Crede at 3rd base, because Ozuna kicked the ball more than he caught it at third. Mack doesnt backup the infield now. Even though thats what he did in Pittsburg. Now we play the worst defensive option at 3rd, because Ozzie wants 2 light hitting guys up top.

QUOTE(rangercal @ May 18, 2007 -> 11:43 PM) no, people are just taking b****ing to a new level. When we lose people b****, when we win people b**** less. This is the most pissed off fan base I have ever been a part of. Seriously though, the partpoker guy should take his affilate linked thread out of SLAM and insert an affiliate linked tampon thread, Tell the hitters to get the tampons out of their manginas and start hitting like major leaguers and things will calm down a bit. Its hard not to be uptight about the worst hitting team in the majors.

QUOTE(fathom @ May 18, 2007 -> 11:42 PM) Our bench is terrible constructed. Our utility players don't have any power and are rather poor defensively. Terrero has no business being in the majors. We have two pretty much identical players. Mack and Cintron. We have our designated bunter, and terrible defensive player Ozuna. We have Ozzies favorite bad player. Luis In fact, the worse you are the more Ozzie needs you as part of his super team.

QUOTE(fathom @ May 18, 2007 -> 11:37 PM) Ozuna's received way, way too much playing time lately. He's been a horrible major league player basically since his injury last year. No one appreciates his hustle more than I do, but if he's getting more than 5 or 6 at-bats in a week, that's too many. Ozzie has to have his TIMO factor every year.

QUOTE(rangercal @ May 18, 2007 -> 11:36 PM) AVG .303 | HR 1 | RBI 2 | OBP .378 | SLG .455 you make no f***ing sense. At least make sense. Was he worth his salary? no. I don't care if he played 1 game, those numbers are worth a dollar. Prancer cant keep healthy. He is the fast version of Kerry Wood and Mark Prior. 4 different groin issues. Time to move to 4th OF where he belongs.

QUOTE(fathom @ May 18, 2007 -> 11:32 PM) Since Pods seems to be the slowest healer in history, it's really time for KW to start looking seriously at acquiring a new full-time LF. According to this article, Pods isn't expected back until after the All-Star break. http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sp...-home-headlines I don't know how much more I can watch with the terrible trio of Sweeney, Mackowiak, and Ozuna. There's about a 90 pct chance when those guys bat of a ground out. Once again though, bringing back Pods for this year was a terrible signing, even if he cost $1. Since Sweeney has come up, Walk has been on a mission to fix that line drive swing and get some power out of him. It seems that his progress is moving forward. Ozuna must like Timo wouldnt have a place of most major league rosters.

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ May 18, 2007 -> 10:29 PM) The White Sox have assembled a team that has a lot of the same types of hitters. They don't have guys who slap the ball around except Pods who went from 12 homers in Milwaukee to 0 with the Sox. Konerko was brutal at the beginning of 2003 and hit .275 the second half of that season. Isn't that when Walker took over? He also hit a career high .315 last year. Dye hit .320 with 44 homers last year. If the Sox had the Texas Rangers hitting coach, you would give him the credit, but since its Walker, its probably because Dye "matured". AJ is an example of a guy who has gained power and has changed his approach a bit. The guy is 240 pounds. I read 5 years ago that scouts thought he would be a 25-30 homer guy eventually. I think its mostly on the players, good or bad, and a hitting coach can help. But to say Walker is the reason Dye and Konerko are both hitting over 100 points lower this year doesn't make sense to me. Well based on this we should of never fired Von Joshua. The hitting coach doesnt matter. Hell I keep hearing the manager doesnt matter also. Sleepy should still be here as well. If these players now all of a sudden suck because they suck on their own. Then KW should have a fire sale and get out why the getting is good. Konerko hit .304 in 2002 with 30 homers. Thats a fine dandy season Maggs hit .320. WOW We jumped the gun, look at what Ward did for our hitters.

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ May 18, 2007 -> 10:21 PM) Pagan is hitting .412 with 2 homers in 17 ABs vs. LHP so far against lefties and hitting .600 against righties. If MacDougal isn't ever going to be able to get out LH hitters, the Sox are in big trouble. Righties bat .197 against MacDougal and lefties hit .417 against him. So its seems that every lefty looks like a Joe Mauer in a groove against him. While righties look like Rob Mackowiak. I would rather face Mack insteda of Mauer. But hey maybe Ozzie's magic 8 bal knows a lot more than stats.

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ May 18, 2007 -> 10:15 PM) Thome collects walks in bunches. When he's hitting well, he also walks a ton because he is seeing the ball so well. At the beginning of last season he was walking a ton too when he was hot. Konerko and Dye were hitting well then. I really don't think he was being pitched around, at least not most of the time. I don't think his absence is the reason the other 2 have been horrible. The Sox would be hitting more than .220 or whatever it is now if he hadn't been injured though. So when they do well its because of the player, but when they struggle, its the hitting coach? The thing about hitting or not hitting in the White Sox case is you can know exactly what you are doing wrong and work on it and work on it, and not be able to do anything about it until someday it just clicks. I do think the Sox should think about adding some offense before they get too far behind. No what I sad is that some players gain more power as they mature, as in most power hitters. Maybe Greg helped him lift and pull more and gain more power. Whatever. He was a near 300 hitter with near 30 dongs before Greg signed on. So he had little to do with the hitting product that is in front of you today. If a team hits well, and has a good approach I give kudos to the coach and the players. When some of the players hit bad, then its those players. When every single player cant hit collectively, and have the same exact problem then what is it. Just a coincidence.

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ May 18, 2007 -> 10:07 PM) If there was no doubt in my mind that a different hitting coach would make all the difference, I would say fire him. Chances are, if they brought someone else in the results would be the same. They players like working with the guy. That wasn't the case with Joshua and Ward. That's also why Walt Hriniak was let go about 10 years ago. He was gruff, and really tough on the young players. Konerko has had excellent numbers with Walker as his hitting coach. Dye has been terrific. AJ hasn't hit for as high of an average, but has been pretty productive and has had several huge hits. Thome made a nice comeback last season. Crede exceded everyone's expectations from Sept 05 to Sept 06. I just don't see how Walker can go stupid overnight. The offense is built to hit homers. That's not Greg Walker, that's KW. The leadoff man has a pitiful OBP, and has had one for several years. By the end of the season, most of these guys will be at their career norms, if not better. Konerko had terrific numbers with the previous hitting coaches also. The only thing Walk did for Konerko is give him a boost in power. But then again, his maturity as a slugger could of did that also. Crede had one good year, and he was a guy who hit like crazy in the minors. Him struggling here is a big disappointment. Thome was healthy. If Thome is healthy he hits. Walk has nothing to do with that. AJ used to be an all fields hitter, Walk sure helped him cure that.

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ May 18, 2007 -> 09:45 PM) Buerhle needed to be lifted. If Ozzie brought in a lefty and Derek Lee came to the plate, how dumb would everyone have called that move? The guy up is a switch hitter. You bring in a guy that is right handed, forcing the hitter to switch to the left side anad he cant get out lefties. To say this was anything but a dumb move is beyond me.

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ May 18, 2007 -> 09:53 PM) They are also playing without Thome, and for some reason, the genius GM has a roster that has even had to resort to Brian Anderson DHing in his absence. I just don't think Walker has gone from a decent hitting coach, if you look at individual numbers the past couple of seasons, to the village idiot overnight. The Cubs worked with Ryne Sandburg on hitting for power, and the Twins did the same with Kirby Puckett. I really doubt Walker wants Sweeney swinging from his heels. He probably wants him a little more aggressive. If you are telling me that Konerko and Dye cant hit because of Thome's missing presence then I question your logic. When Thome was here, they would walk Thome so they could get to one of the automatic outs behind him. Until Konerko and Dye prove they can hit, the only thing Thome will be is another baserunner to strand.

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ May 18, 2007 -> 09:40 PM) If its the hitting coach that makes Paul Konerko hit .310 instead of .190, and Jermaine Dye .320 instead of .215, the guy should be paid more than A-Rod. The entire team is all not hitting. What is it, a coincidence? f***ing luck? Or maybe a large scale conspiracy. Ward and Von Joshua were both fired for teams that couldnt hit that would look like the 27 yankees compared to our group. He is now working with Sweeney on power. The entire team cant hit, and he is trying to make our rookie line drive swing guy hit with power. Is he f***ing nuts.

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ May 18, 2007 -> 09:37 PM) Almost everyone in the bullpen has really struggled at some point already this season. The starters are really doing a job. They are almost a lock to go at least 6 innings every game. Melton was talking about the bullpen last week, saying even when they aren't giving up runs, they aren't having easy innings. I just hope its better than its showed, and better than I thought it would be. A lot of people got caught up in the radar gun with these guys before the season started. The problems are, the velocity isn't there for several of these guys so far, and really none of them have much of a track record of major league success. Most of them have had their moments, but everyone of them has question marks. I really don't fault Ozzie for bringing in MacDougal initially. For all we know, Aardsma might have had the same results. I do question letting him continue in the 8th after he showed he wasn't going to be effective and it was a 1 run game. Dempster may have had a tougher time breathing had the game been closer in the 9th. I almost think Ozzie is anticipating having to use the bullpen a lot on Sunday with Contreras having a shorter recovery time, and also Vazquez tends to fall apart quickly after cruising along, so that may be why he didn't want to go through few guys today, but this was a game that they should have won. Lefties hit Mac very well, and Pagan hits righties better. Guillen stated after the game that Pagan hits lefties better. He is using only a myopic set of stats this year, .500 versus lefties, versus .high .300s against righties. Over his career Pagan has hit better from the left side. Pinella must of nearly wet the bed when we brought a righty out to flip him around, especially one who struggles against lefty batters.

QUOTE(Gregory Pratt @ May 18, 2007 -> 09:29 PM) PS: Texas' coach isn't on the seat like ours because I doubt Texas' lineup has degressed every single month since last June And parts of the Texas lineup have hit. Its not like the entire thing just shut down as a group.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ May 18, 2007 -> 09:16 PM) Single worst manager for bringing in his best RHP? Seriously? Some of you people need to blame the damn players once in awile. Lefties are hitting .417 against Mac. And Pagan hits higher as a lefty. The move made no sense.

QUOTE(TLAK @ May 18, 2007 -> 09:24 PM) Greg Walker is one of the best hitting coaches in the game. You drank too much after the game.

The last 7 days we are hitting .216. Its warm outside, and we just faced the Yankee and KC great pitching staffs. He needs to go.

QUOTE(Buehrle>Wood @ May 18, 2007 -> 06:26 PM) If I hear someone say that Greg Walker is one of the best hitting coaches in the game, I may just throw up. 4 strikeouts out of the last 6 outs of the game. WTF does this guy do for a living. And I have heard comments that they are working on Sweeneys power. Thats it. The man has to go. The minute you start f***ing with a kids swing, before fixing the entire team who cant hits swing then you have no clue what you are doing or how to manage priorities. To me, Sweeney's power can wait how about fixing the contact issue, or Konerko, or Dye or the rest of the hitless wonders. FIRE GREG WALKER NOW!!!!! On the park gun at Weeds on the Wall field. I had to look to find it. Its on the light bar on the 3rd base side. They dont use it on every pitch. Logan was hitting 95 on the gun with his fastbal. Mike McDougal was hitting 91. Something is not right with that boy, he cant throw hard and he cant throw strikes.

QUOTE(IlliniKrush @ May 18, 2007 -> 08:48 PM) Yeah, this I was around your classic drunk frat guys the entire game, and i wasn't even in the bleachers. These guys were f***ing lit. Every single time the Cubs got a hit or the Sox f***ed up, i got middle fingers and f*** yous directed at me because i was the closest sox fan. Meanwhile I did not once swear at these guys or yell at them or anything of the sort, i just cheered for my team. Even the cubs fans around them couldn't stand these dbags. And people wonder why Sox fans hate the Cubs and their fans. Oh also probably the dumbest thing i've heard at a game, ever. Do you remember when (i don't remember which inning) Ramirez took a 2-0 pitch for a strike basically with the bat on his shoulder, no chance he'd swing? My friend (cubs fans) and I were like that's weird, he should have been looking to pop a fastball, 2-0 is a great hitters count there and he was on automatic take mode. Well one of the dbags overheard us and said "No, 3-1 is a good pitch to hit, not 2-0. You must not know anything about baseball." I can't make this stuff up people. If it wasnt work, it would of been a different story. Losing my job over some fat drunken waitress and her 2 gender challenged friends was not the way I wanted to end my night.

I was at this game. First of all, the Cub fans who where there should be ashamed of how they acted after that game. I had one lady throw a beer at me, walking on shefield. This behavior wasnt isolated to one or 2 fans. It was a lot of cub fans targetting a couple of groups around me. I had another couple come up and the guy wanted to fight me, all because I was wearing a sox shirt and hat. I was with a group from work, and the sox fans were targeted. It was almost dangerous how intoxicated and agitated some of their fans were. Ozzie had Masset up the inning before. Ozzie after the game was asked about why he would flip Pagan around to his stronger side. He said, he hits better from the right side. Ozzie was showing the reporters as cheat sheet that had the wrong numbers. Thats a bit embarrassing. And there was no reason that MacDougal was out there after he didn't have it in the previous inning.