southsideirish71

Cancel the postgame, they have finally grinded out a few hits against Cy Francis.

No hit through 4. What are they teaching in the minors, hold the bat from the thick end and swing the small end at the ball. For all of this talk about Lopez having good hands, maybe he should get a samller shoe size because he keeps kicking the ball around a bit in the infield.

QUOTE(Jenksismyb**** @ Mar 29, 2007 -> 01:00 PM) Boy, Blair is not messing around, he's going to get the UN to write a statement to Iran! http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8...;show_article=1 OH! Slam! That'll show them who's boss. Oddly I don't see the cry of violations of the Geneva convention when they are parading them blindfolded in front of cameras like we saw with the Iraq troops. I wonder when they beat the crap out of them, or hang them by their elbows like they did to the American hostages from the 70s if that also will be talked about. Maybe when they have the mock executions just like they did with the hostages before that its just pretend and imagination time.

I will be watching on TV. My first game this year will be against the Twins on Saturday watching Jon Danks toe the rubber for the first time in the cell. I cannot wait to see the montage video going into thunderstruck. That is when I will know its time.

QUOTE(Flash Tizzle @ Mar 29, 2007 -> 01:09 AM) southsideirish71 (mick bastard) I resemble that remark. Hey I would be happy and smiley, it would just take the replacement of our minor league hitting coaches with a few of the twins instructors, and a major league hitting coach that knows how to teach a line drive approach. Those minor things and I am a beacon of hope. Oddly enough I think Floyd can be fixed. The stuff is there, the kid just cant throw a strike if there was no batter present. Danks looks real good for spect. He wil take his lumps this year, but next year he will be real good. Hopefully they dont get goofy and get rid of Haeger. Russel and his stuff made me a bit happier about something we drafted. BTW Boone has petitioned the North Carolna state for a name change. His new name is Boonestes Logariguez, he mentioned something about the reason for not making the team.

QUOTE(BearSox @ Mar 27, 2007 -> 11:18 PM) I could understand if we did bad versus lefties if this were a lefty filled offense... but this lineup consists mainly of righties. I personally blame Greg Walker. Never been a fan of his, and I think he can be drastically improved on. The only reason why he has had success is because this team is full of a lot of good hitters who don't need much coaching. And since he is a lefty himself, I could bet that he doesn't give good advice to the hitter about how to hit lefties. This is not just Greg Walkers fault. This is a wholesale organizational issue. We generate power hitters with our system. We look for athletic football types, who can mash the ball. Put a bat in their hands, and try to get the most power out of their swing. We have seen hitter after hitter come up from the system with the same exact hole in their swing that gets exploited the minute they start to face good major league pitching. Long looping swings that will crush a fastball on the inner half, but get exposed on sliders away, the ball low and away. Watch how a lot of teams pitch us, they target low and away. Now the Johans, and CC's of the world will go after our team. But the crappy 7 ERA pitcher will paint low and away, and hope that the offense tries to pull the ball. Usually resulting in a groundout to the pull side of the field. Teams like the Twins hit both lefties and righties well because they have a more line drive approach. They put the ball in play with authority more. Yes we will bomb them into the stone age when it comes to power. It would be nice if we instructed our hitters on gap to gap hitting. A nice level swing, balance focusing on solid strong contact. It seems however we are looking more for clearing our hips, getting total extension and elevating the ball for power. Which can be effective, if you dont cheat on the pitch a bit. I think a lot of our hitter cheat a bit, and get themselves caught on the outside pitch. This is not a statement on hitting to the right side. This is a statement on solid hitting. If the ball is center cut, by all means pull it. If the ball is low and away, then drive it up the middle or to right by letting the ball get deeper into the swing. People think when I talk gap to gap that I am talking about slap hitting to the 2nd baseman. And that isnt true. Its an approach of level line drive like the twins teach their hitters. Walker the same man that they had fired before, and had fired before that. They are all the same hitting coach. This one is a bit more affable. I would love to see KW get the minors back to instruction. Replace our current instructors with someone who teaches a fundamentally sound swing. That can help correct hitches in the swing, or bad mechanics. Not someone who is going to turn something that isnt a good hitter into a batting title holder. But someone who can teach our talented young players how to get the bat on the ball. The sad thing is that our offense could be so good that no one could shut it down, except for the top 1% pitching in baseball. However as we have seen our season will be the tale of 2 halves. The first half when we look unbeatable, and the 2nd when the collar gets tight and the pitchers start to paint the corners more. Our season will ride on our pitching. If our pitching throws strikes, and forces the issue we will be in a good state. If our hitters can take some pitches, get into some counts, and then make good selections on which pitch to drive and which pitch to hit we will be a great team. Its all up to how they compete on the field. I am hoping that our situational hitting improves. Our hitters get on for our thumpers, and our thumpers drive them in.

QUOTE(Chisoxfn @ Mar 27, 2007 -> 10:26 PM) While I think Perez could have helped out, I just don't see the Sox splitting time with Thome so I really don't see where Perez was going to get AB's, especially considering we don't need any 1st baseman and he really is a horrendous outfielder who makes Pods look like a freaking gold glover. On a side note, its pretty ridiculous that some of you think Perez is the difference between a potential first place White Sox squad and a 4th place one. The key to this team is the arms and in turn the defense, not the offense. Jason we have to hit lefties better this year, no matter if Hall is on the team. If Thome can hit lefties, we need to see it. We hit .290 as a team for best in the AL against righties. Against lefties we hit .262 as a team that is 11th out of 14 teams in the AL.

QUOTE(BearSox @ Mar 27, 2007 -> 10:20 PM) I hate to say this... but I miss Sandy! Sandy retired, well at least the "I play baseball competitively" part of Sandy retired. The give me some more money until no teams want me Sandy is still taking up a roster spot.

QUOTE(jphat007 @ Mar 27, 2007 -> 10:08 PM) I'm not sure they would have put him in left, but that's impossible to know. It would have been interesting (I guess thats the word), to see how Thome would have reacted to having his ABs cut so drastically. How would of Thome reacted, who cares. He cant hit lefties. How about this, if he got upset show him his splits against the following. And unless he wanted to just wave the bat and make wind, he should be a team player and allow Perez to get some knocks. Thome hit .236 with a .715 OPS against lefties. Against the following lefties. Cliff Lee he has a .071 BA with a .508OPS CC Sabathia he has a .000 BA with a .273 OPS Johan .190BA with a .880 OPS Kenny Rogers .190Ba with a .653 OPS Dropping Perez so we can have Prancer and company out there is silly. We pretty much are going to die as a team when we face a lefty. So get ready for the pull and lift approach, because with our splits against lefties each of our hitters better be swinging for the fences, because we dont string hits against good lefties, or bad lefties for that matter.

Are we seriously going to start with the f***ing poetry and song crap again.

QUOTE(Kalapse @ Mar 26, 2007 -> 11:12 PM) Then hit .313 in July, .296 in August and .200 in September. Just for the sake of full disclosure. And why again was he lied to about being given a chance to win a starting job in Spring Training? Ozzie went on these nice long rants about how nobody is handed a job, everything is earned and that the 2 outfield spots were open to competition, the winner being who ever is the best during the Spring and yet he never even gave Anderson a shot. I want to know why Prancer is given a clean sheet. He has been a shell of his first half of 05. He basically has 1 1/2 years of being good and the rest of his career has been in the minors or sucking. His one good skill is speed, and he seemed to have lost that to losing his groin. He hits a rotten .241BA and sub .300 OBP for half the season. He plays like donkey dung, yet the minute he prances to first Guillen states thats my guy.

QUOTE(effectivelywild @ Mar 26, 2007 -> 10:54 PM) Maybe, I dunno, if you're a backup catcher not used to playing the position in ST you just don't dive for that ball? I appreciate grinder ball and everything, but blaming Ozzie because he put him in for some ABs makes about as much sense as blaming Hall for diving for a ball during ST. Then have him DH in a B game. You put a player out in the field in a game, and they will react. Its human nature.

QUOTE(The Ginger Kid @ Mar 26, 2007 -> 10:51 PM) riddle me this - who was that guy starting in CF opening day last season? Who was the guy they gave the job to at the beginning of ST last year? Riddle me this one, After having 2 hits in his first game of the season, how long was it before he was on the bench. Oh that would be game 2. QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Mar 26, 2007 -> 10:54 PM) I can only imagine what Ozzie was trying to do last year......... That quote explains why Timo Perez was playing DH, 1st Base, and was our leadoff guy in August of 05.

QUOTE(shoota @ Mar 26, 2007 -> 10:32 PM) If the Sox had a manger who could choose the best 25 players available to him, and put each man in the best position, I'd feel hopeful about the 2007 season. Guillen is not good at his job. The questions for our fearless leader will be. So the question is, will our starting 9 play as a group more than the 25% or so they did last year. Manuel put out the Sunday lineups on Sundays, Ozzie started resting his starters on game 2. Will he become overly appendage aware like last year, either burning the bullpen up making wierd lefty righty switches so he can mix and match. Will we be last in IP from our relievers. If Pods bats .241 with an OBP of less than .300 will he have the courage to bench him. If our pitchers are having velocity issues, instead of listening to what comes out of their mouths, how about an MRI. Last year they alls said, oh nothing was wrong I feel strong and then after the year ends we hear about this injury or this guy wasnt loose, or this guy was tired. An MRI, like the one that Freddy should of gotten when he couldnt break 87 out of camp last year.

QUOTE(logic101 @ Mar 26, 2007 -> 10:34 PM) Balta had it right 10 pages ago...Damian Miller will be our number two, and for my money, I'd rather have him than a healthy Hall. He hit really well last year until he got banged up. He's a great team guy, good with pitchers, etc. The Brewers want Mackowiak for the LH platoon with Tony Graffanino until their hotshot Braun is ready. They would be happy to unload 2+ million for a 2nd string catcher, especially when both Mike Rivera and another backup catcher have been burning things up this spring. And as much as I like Mack. I don't see how he fits on this team. I'm pretty certain that Ed Perez is a lock for the 25 man roster. If we add Damian Miller before opening day, we'll be just fine. Damian Miller would be better than watching a product of our minor league system tackle CC and Johan as their regular diet of crapfooo.

QUOTE(Capn12 @ Mar 26, 2007 -> 10:18 PM) 5 bullpen guys won't happen. I'm more concerned now about finding a guy who can catch, hit over .180, not be a complete defensive liability, and throw >20% of runners out. But you forgot, can he play first also. The ozzeroo lineupcard shuffle. In 05 we played Timo Perez who couldnt hit, barely could catch, wasnt fast, but was left handed and could make jokes and he played 1st(but he played it once in Japan where he was the tallest midget) we left Ross Gload who was hitting .350 in AAA at the time, because Ozzie couldnt use him in RF. Last year we put Mack out in CF, who you might as well put Crede out in center. Now we lost our backup right handed hitting catcher, our first real backup catcher to face our AL Central dominated by tough lefties because Ozzie wants to see what other positions he could play. I find this odd consider that Ozzie was so reluctant to pinch hit his catcher with another catcher because he was so worried about injury, yet we are seeing if we can put Toby at 1st. Maybe its time for Ozzie to get another magic 8 ball, this one isnt working anymore.

QUOTE(fathom @ Mar 26, 2007 -> 09:24 PM) According to KW, it's either Wiki or Molina. [rant] Dont worry, those two catchers have been readied for the majors by our crack staff of prime hitting coaches in the minors. That plus a few weeks with Walker and we will be ready for the prime time. Right now every lefty in the AL Central cant wait to face our lineup. Hopefully their third baseman is ready for the task for throwing out every one of our hitters. Maybe we can cause their third baseman a torn labrum with overuse of the throwing arm. At some point something needs to be done with our minor league instruction for players. Our hitters and pitchers for the most part come up completely unprepared for the task at hand. I understand that their is an adjustment period, but our prospects look like they are blind, deaf and dumb when they come up. Other teams bring their prospects up and they struggle, but they at least can put the bat on the ball. Its sad when we have hitting coaches that can fix in a short period of time a prospect, that our coaches have had under instruction for years as a lost hiting prospect. KW needs to completely clean house at some point with our minors instruction and start over. Get some guys who can teach our prospects how to prosper. How to hit a bit. This is not even a slight agains walk. I cant blame Walk for this one. This is an organizational failure, when every single one of our prospects comes up absolutely worthless with a bat. Long looping swings, from Joe Crede now to Brian Anderson. Its the same bad story every time. Find someone who preaches the line drive type swing, teach our guys how to hit the ball, identify strikes and balls, and make contact. Then develop the power after that. We dont need to worry if Joe Schmo can hit a 500 foot homer in single A. Who cares. I want to see him make contact first. Then he can work on the power from the line drive approach. Good grief. [/rant]

QUOTE(fathom @ Mar 26, 2007 -> 06:05 PM) We absolutely must get some offensive production from our back-up catcher. Let our backup catcher work with the Texas hitting coach, its seems to have fixed Stewart.

QUOTE(vandy125 @ Mar 26, 2007 -> 04:20 PM) So, say the wife and I move into a new area that we are not too familiar with. She sends me out to go get some milk from the store (there is one that we had passed before that we wanted to give a try). When I am out, I get into an accident and tear my labrum. Can I use the same logic and say that it is her fault for putting me in that situation? Sorry I couldn't resist. I find it ridiculous to blame Ozzie for having Hall play baseball. How about this one. You go to work as an accountant, and in your defined role as an accountant you are in your cube. However that hot new temp across from you wants you to lift some 75 pound box that was delivered. Instead of saying, hey thats not my job you wink at her and put your back into it. You throw your back out, and now have to explain to your wife how you got hurt on the job as an accountant. Yes you could of ripped your back bending over to pick up a quarter, but the propensity to hurt yourself on a specific activity that you are not familiar with. Hall has been a catcher for a long time. Jumping from one part of the field to another is not a simple task, or you could throw Konerko over at 3rd or Dye over at 3rd any time you want. Now I understand Ozzie likes to mix and match, hence using a 5'7 midget(TIMO) over at 1st one game. 1st base is not a simple position to play, besides the footwork, and a few other nuances the chances of a hard drive to the left or right were you have to lay out is there. Ask Frank Thomas who needed to supposedly play 1st base once in a while to hit better, on how his shoulder felt when he laid out. Now did Ozzie cause his injury no. Did playing a position he is not familiar with probably lead to it, probably.

QUOTE(IowaSoxFan @ Mar 26, 2007 -> 12:06 PM) The only thing that concerns me about Danks is that he is a two pitch pitcher right now. He has a low 90's fastball with movement, a nice curve but thats it. Hawk said during the last Rockies game that his change up is pretty much non-existent. makes me concerned that he may a tough time with batters after they have seen him a couple times. But they said the same thing about Floyd as well, and he is struggling to throw strikes. His change is pretty good, he might of not had it that specific day. He is far from a 2 pitch pitcher. Dont ever listen to Hawk for scouting advice on a Whitesox player. His main thing, is to keep the ball down.

QUOTE(Flash Tizzle @ Mar 25, 2007 -> 04:11 PM) OH MY GOD, LOE HAS BEEN SCORED UPON! Ozzie and Walk found the gravity weapon, disabled it flattening Loe's turbo sinker.

QUOTE(Gregory Pratt @ Mar 25, 2007 -> 04:07 PM) Hawk is bad. He is a liar and a bad liar. The Whitesox are the bestest team in the entire world. All other teams tremble in their presence. Mark Buerhle loves us, he loves Chicago, he spits on the Cardinals. What the hell is a cardinal anyways, a man in cloth who touches boys. Who wants to be that. Mark Buerhle will sign a 3 year 21 million dollar deal because he loves me.

QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Mar 25, 2007 -> 04:00 PM) "Dis kid Low, he make me krazey! He like a pitching Piranha!" How can you lift and pull when the ball sinks below your wedge swing.

If you think this is funny, wait till the game is on the line and a LOOGY comes in and destroys our 1-2-3 hitters.

QUOTE(fathom @ Mar 25, 2007 -> 03:57 PM) So, who wants to keep track of every called 3rd strike, pick-off/caught stealing, and ground out to 1B by Pods this year? The Prancer index.