southsideirish71

I called this in gamechat. He gets his first pinch hit of the year and now people are going to use it as proof of something. YEAH TIMO IS 1 FOR 12 IN PINCH HITTING.

I have said it time and time again. That he didnt look when he threw the ball. He would pick up the target way too late into his delivery. If he throws strikes he is fine. If he gets ankielesque then he is useless. I give huge credit for Cooper and Cotts for working this out. If Cotts can locate in the strikezone, get ahead of hitters he will be fine. Now if Cooper can only get Marte not to short arm and fly open on his delivery we will be set. Marte shorts arms his fastball, almost like he is rushing to get it released, he releases while he is still open, and the ball sails. This is bad mechanics and can lead to injury. If he gets on top of the pitch and releases and follows through to the other knee with his left hand like he did when he first came up, he can be dominant. That is when you get 94 mphs moving down in the strikezone. When he sails the ball a few times, then he tries to locate and takes some velocity off of his pitch. This is when he throws a meatball.

QUOTE(nvxplorer @ Jun 9, 2005 -> 03:31 PM) It's not realistic to base the season on a couple at bats that may or may not happen in August. These types of situations arise in almost every game, and that's my point. The Sox have amassed the best record in baseball while much of the lineup got off to a dreadful start. Konerko has been hitting well and consistently for three weeks. Dye has been unreal. Everett has been hitting well. Frank is back. Podsednik, Rowand and Iguchi have continued their hot hitting. With nearly the entire lineup on a tear, offense is the least of my worries. I'm more concerned with shoring up the bullpen than replacing Crede. I am going to play devils advocate with you then. Based on your logic. Why upgrade the bullpen. Why upgrade anything. We have the best record in baseball and the 2nd best pitching in baseball. Maybe Dingo comes around, maybe Viz does also. If we sit on our hands it will eventually come back to haunt us. Crede is a liablity. Dingo is a liability.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Jun 9, 2005 -> 02:42 PM) its ok to say we have weaknesses, because we do, but saying that Crede is a liability is one thing, then proclaiming that we can trade him and a prospect for Blaylock is another. Thats the only thing im sick of, saying that we have weaknesses is fine with me, we need to focus on our team first. Well the xbox trades are a bit much. So far you might not agree what I am saying, but my trade comments are based in reality and have an actual chance of actually happening. I dont see us making whole sale changes. I see just Crede and some pitching help. The only way this will change is if we have an injury. We need to shore the pen up a bit to allow us to make it a short game later in the season. Our starters have been great, but we need to give some of them a rest when they eventually have a dead arm period.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Jun 9, 2005 -> 02:17 PM) Is there anyone other than me that is sick of the constant trades and pick-up ideas that have been popping up lately. I understand that some people think there are weaknesses on this team that could be addressed, but how many of them have cost us our season? We are still in first place and have the best record in the MLB, do you really think our team is that bad? I for one, am going to stop discussing trade rumors until July. You can join me if you want, but unless it my man-crush Eric Chavez, I wont no part of any transaction. This is the best Sox team I have ever seen, and I am loving the ride. Oh come on now, trades and upgrades are perfectly normal talk. The only think I wish is that the mods would create a pinned trade thread. I understand we have a the best record in baseball, but come on just saying we will beat the twins because of that isnt prudent. We have to use every single advantage that we have to win this thing. Currently we have 3 offensive liabilities. Kong, Uribe and Cruddy. Kong has a 8.5 mill contract, he is our only first baseman and he has power. They aint getting rid of him. He is coming around a bit, and the only issue that I have with the man is that I wish he would be a bit more generous with using the entire field instead of pulling the ball all the freakin time. Uribe has been great defensively. He is a butcher at the plate. Swings at everything. Can play 2nd, SS and 3rd. Great arm and great defense. now Cruddy 1400 major league AB's later and he is still the same hitter. Bat is a bit slow, will hit the home run when he knows whats coming. Great defense also. We cant have two guys who are streaky and may or may not hit at the same time in the lineup for the long haul., There will be games this season and eventually in the playoffs where we might need a contact play, a good bunt, or hitting to right from the bottom of our lineup. Cruddy has frustrated our coaches many times. He has shown no improvement. I figure that KW will upgrade at 3rd base, get us a good lefty reliever, and possibly another good arm in the pen.

QUOTE(nvxplorer @ Jun 9, 2005 -> 01:43 PM) Exactly. The question we should be asking is whether the team needs an offensive upgrade at all. With the exception of Crede and Uribe's cold streaks, the team has been hitting very well lately. Adding one position player who may hit 50 points higher is not going to make a whole lot of difference. As long as Crede's glove is there, it makes sense to keep him for the remainder of the year. There's always the possibility Crede has a good second half. Replacing him with Feliz or even Randa is risky. Neither are anything but solid players, and they both could slump. Even if they slump, its still better than .229. Joe has had 1400+ ABs in the majors to figure it out. I think having Uribe and Joe going against top tier pitching in August with the game on the line when we need contact. We cant have two outs in a row. Uribe is streaky but the swinging at everything and then Joe being Joe and two all the time spells for a slow spot in our lineup.

QUOTE(Jabroni @ Jun 9, 2005 -> 01:29 PM) The only question that Kenny probably has is -- is Joe Randa a "grinder"? If so, I think he will go after him. Randa and Shea are both Grinders. Shea is still in the playoff hunt with the Jays. The reds are out of the race and are ready to dump.

QUOTE(DukeNukeEm @ Jun 9, 2005 -> 01:27 PM) I'm beginning to buy into the "If it aint broke, dont fix it" theory. Crede has been terrible, but we are winning.. you take even the smallest thing out. . . you can only imagine. The twins were winning a few years back, picked up Stewart and he gave them the spark to win the division. If you think that KW will not make a trade just because we have a great record is not looking at his history.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Jun 9, 2005 -> 01:23 PM) Im not in favor of any downgrade at all. Ozuna is a slight upgrade offensively from Crede and we saw what happens when we sacrafice defensive ability. Im not for it. If we bring in anyone to transplant Crede he better be equally of better defensively. Its hard to pass up a 300BA for a guy that may be a shade less than Crede at 3rd. Randa fits that. Shea might not be the defensive god that Crede is, but he only has 2 errors and has made some nice plays this year. This continuous, well we wont upgrade because our chemistry is the only thing that matters is not how the game is played. All teams make upgrades at this point in the year. We already have a guy on our team that has a problem hitting consistantly and he plays SS. Uribe will most likely stay, while Crede will be were we will upgrade offensively.

QUOTE(Jabroni @ Jun 9, 2005 -> 01:09 PM) Agreed. The only reason Crede is our starting 3rd baseman is because he is the only one who has the glove to handle the position. I love Ozuna but was a butcher at 3rd base last night. Obviously, Kenny saw this. I wouldn't doubt that he is looking for someone who could at least platoon with Crede at 3rd base, if not start full-time there. USA Today's List of who is available Shea Hilebrand would be nice also. He can play first and 3rd and has a nice OBP. Lots of possiblities everyone. Cruddy wont be starting at 3rd base soon enough, I am sure KW is getting ready to pull a nice trade to fix our weak points.

QUOTE(tonyho7476 @ Jun 9, 2005 -> 09:07 AM) 'Ozzie's style has an immediate impact'....but he questions whether it will last when things get tough.... I wonder if signing Mo Vaghn would have an immediate impact also. How did that work for him. He bases this crap on the fact that he had Valentine as a coach.

QUOTE(sox-r-us @ Jun 9, 2005 -> 12:55 AM) Do we really need more pitching if we stay injury free? Also, this trade sets us up for years to come. Obviously we let Kong & Everett walk in the offseason, and let someone like G-load or some cheap vet play 1B. I am sure Frank would be willing to stay here at a discount if we won it all to keep contending. And we do nto really have any major holes to fill for next year. You can never have enough pitching. I would take Randa and spend our money in the relief area. Find some studs and make it a short game. Polite, Hermy and Cotts have been great lately. Marte has something wrong with his arm and has been erratic at best. Maybe its nothing, maybe its something more. Our starting pitching has been great. The only weak link is the health of one El Duque. With Bmac in need of more seasoning, I would suggest that an arm might be a good idea. Ricardo Rincon from the A's, Everyday Eddy from the Mariners, just a few ideas.

QUOTE(sox-r-us @ Jun 9, 2005 -> 12:49 AM) I have been giving this a thought for a while. Obviously our two biggest needs are 3B followed by better production at SS. If Cotts stays solid and even if one out of Shingo or Viz get back to last year's form our BP is going to be great for the playoffs. Not to mention Count will be added to the pen and in general our pen is not going to be overworked going into the playoffs. We have all talked about Randa, Chavez and even Vinny () at 3B. In another thread, Kenny has said he has the go signal to spend if needed to get a great player here that can put us over the top. So I have to ask: How about trading for Alex Rodriguez? Question #1: Will the Yanks trade him? With the Yanks just losing 9 out of their last 10 (and with the Twins, Os, Bo Sox, White Sox, Angels not slowing it down), it is very possible that the Yankees will be so out of it come trade deadline that they may just decide to sell for a change instead of buy. They have holes all over their roster (2B, DH, BP, CF and starting P) and with a team that is only going to get older next year, the Boss may decide to shred some payroll and use it sensibly on pitching in the offseason. Also, Alex has just not been received well in the Yanks locker room where Jeter will always be the man. Question #2: Will JR pay for someone like Alex Rodriguez? Considering the Rangers picked up some of Alex's contract, it is not like we are going to be paying $25M a year for him. Also, when you consider this is the guy that can FINALLY put seats in the park for years to come, as a sure fire HOF'er and a lock to even break Henry Aaron's record, JR has to see value there. JR has paid for Michael Jordan before, so I do not see him not paying someone like Alex. Also, when Alex was a FA, the Sox were mildly interested in him. And considering we were willing to pay in the range of 14M/yr for Maggs, we can definitely pay for Alex. Question #3: Do we have enough to trade for a Alex Rodriguez? In one of those 3B upgrade threads, it was clear that except for maybe the Dodgers, there were really no other contending teams that needed a 3B. Also, with Mussina, Randy Johnson, Kevin Brown, Flash Gordon, Rivera, Quantrill, Stanton etc all really getting old, Yankees have to stock up on young pitching now. We can easily give them a package of Crede + BMAc + any other one stud prospect they want. Question #4: Where do you play him? That is easy. This season at 3B, and he can continue there but can always be moved to SS if needed (trade Uribe or use him as a back up going forward if we get a good 3B) Question #5: Do we mess with chemistry? I definitely believe this "Alex Rodriguez has won nowhere and is hence not worth the $" tripe is crap. If we can get the next Barry Bonds for the next decade, we have to look at it. I am willing to risk the chemistry to get the true star that will make this city a Sox town again and make us into an overnight lock to win it all this year and be contenders for years to come. Alex would fit in fine in the clubhouse with so many Latino players and Ozzie. Also, while he will bring the Star attitude to the club house, I have always seen Alex as being a hard worked on the field who will get dirty to win the game. He definitely wants to win. ======================= Now I know the chances of this happening are Would you guys be ok with a trade for Alex Rodrigues or not????? Thoughts??? Considering we have an off day, this might make for a good discussion. I am going to go change my shorts since I think I just creamed it thinking about this fockign lineup for the Sox the latter part of this year: Pods LF Iguchi 2B Frank Thomas DH Alex Rodriguez 3B Jermaine Dye RF Paul Konerko 1B Aaron Rowand CF AJ Pierzinsky C Uribe SS Off the bench - Everett as first PH Only on the Xbox is this trade made. Get Randa, who hit another dong tonight for some minor prospects and save your big trades for some more pitching.

QUOTE(NUKE_CLEVELAND @ Jun 9, 2005 -> 12:18 AM) With all the horses*** Moronatti writes in his columns it was only a matter of time before someone prominent teed off on his sorry ass. This should be very interesting indeed. So typical of Kotex boy though, he can dish it out but he runs to the lawyer when someone gives it back to him. He is going to get his lawyer to fight Reinsdorf. LMAO@Kotex boy You get Jacoby, Dips***, and Pile and see if they stack up to JR's lawyers. You used your wittle radio show to fight JR, you got canned. Now you are getting called out in public. PWNED BIG TIME

QUOTE(sox-r-us @ Jun 9, 2005 -> 12:06 AM) Anyone have a picture of a broom? We haven't seen too many of those with Ozzie

We get to face Darrel May on Friday night. This is the same Darrell May that we used to light up like a christmas tree. I like this series. Nice big pitchers park, and our team will strive here.

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Jun 8, 2005 -> 01:57 PM) If you talk to Farmio again, tell him to put on some socks! And get rid of that purple shirt from soxfest. Yikes. Farmio trying to be don johnson.

QUOTE(JimH @ Jun 8, 2005 -> 01:58 PM) beck, in answer to your question ... I do not see Everett as likely to being traded. He is a big part of the chemistry and Guillen and KW have repeatedly said how important that is. This board underrates it but the players themselves have said how important fit is right now. Personally I think they're hoping Thomas will be the backup 1B. Mackowiak is a perfect fit in terms of lefty bat, plays multiple positions, etc. but he may not be available. The only thing I worry about is the last few injuries with Frank have been a direct corelation with him in the field. I think we need to go and get someone to be the backup. We cant expect Konerko to be an ironman out there.

QUOTE(JimH @ Jun 8, 2005 -> 11:57 AM) And I thought I was all alone (well, Yasny has spoken up on this too). I agree on all the Eat s*** stuff but some of the mods like it, so it is what it is. EAT s*** is part of game chat. Its the rally cry of our pre and post game threads.

QUOTE(JimH @ Jun 8, 2005 -> 11:09 AM) When are we going to rename this site timotalk.com? Good lord, the obsession with Timo Perez on this site is mind boggling. We should have a one week moratorium on Timo threads, positive or negative. Last week it was Chavez, This week Timo, next week we will find another thing to put our collective eye on.

QUOTE(Finkelstein @ Jun 8, 2005 -> 10:43 AM) It just seems so obvious who should be the odd man out, once Gload is back there will no longer be a need for Timo's gold glove at 1st, RF, LF or CF. If he is still around and they pick Willie or someone else to go down, then I will be convinced that Timo has nude pictures of KW and Ozzie. Timo was the first to pinch hit in this series. This over Frank and Everett. If that doesnt prove the fluffer/nude pics/lover theory nothing will. Baines "Ozzie we need a pinch hitter. Should I get Frank or Carl up. " Ozzie "Timo, I think Timo has a bit of magic in him tonight. Plus those pants look absolutely fabulous on him." Baines" You want Timo to hit instead of Frank Thomas or Carl, I thought we wanted to get them AB's in this series" Ozzie" DONT YOU TELL ME WHO TO PUT IN THE LINEUP, I AM THE GODDAMN MANAGER, I MAKE THE f***ING LINEUP, Now Timo sweety, get your stick thing and go run a round a bit."

QUOTE(robin_ventura_eternal @ Jun 8, 2005 -> 10:22 AM) who wants randa?? i remember when he was w/ KC, that smirk all the time on his face. for this reason alone he should never be considered to be traded for or brought in. That makes sense. Lets not get a guy who can actually hit to play third because he smirks. While Joe and his dopey expression popsup over and over and over and over and over and hits 230.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Jun 8, 2005 -> 09:46 AM) Not really. Well here is the scouting report on Randa Hitting Hitting from a relaxed stance, Randa makes good adjustments for situation and count, which helps him thrive in pressure situations. Although usually a patient contact hitter who uses the whole field, Randa will expand his strike zone and swing more aggressively in RBI situations. He can bunt or hit behind runners as the situation requires , but he's prone to chasing high fastballs when down in the count and his platoon differential gradually is becoming more pronounced. Randa rarely swings for the fences; he's at his best when hitting the ball where it's pitched. Thats the scouting report, plus years of watching randa hit situationally against the sox.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Jun 8, 2005 -> 09:04 AM) Apparently Greg walker is the only reason why Joe Crede is a pull hitter, and our averages are down. There is no other reason for it I guess. No other factors influence hitters, no other coaches and certainly not the players themselves. Walker tried his best to stop the break out season of A-row and his recent success at the plate. He tried desperately to stop such hitting streaks by CLEE, Kong, A-row, Gooch. Nothing makes Walker more frustrated that Dye's recent improvements at the plate including hitting the ball the other way and more plate discipline. Walker is trying extremely hard to get SPODS to see less pitches at the plate, and he is continuing his life long goal of bringing Frank Thomas's OBP to under .300. :headshake You got it, he is the antichrist.

QUOTE(sox-r-us @ Jun 7, 2005 -> 11:43 PM) Ok enough of Ozzie....back to the game thread. ANyone know much about this Francis guy???? Can we hit him? How about match ups between our hitters vs Francis? Lets add up the particulars before we jump to conclusions that we will have problems hitting him. We have never seen him, check. He has a plus 5 ERA, check. He is a lefty, check. Its coors field and our guys are trying to conduct physics experiments with how far the magic white baseball will travel in the thin air. Last years Baseball Americas minor league pitcher of the year 2004, check. At coors field he pitches better. at Coors Field 30.2 innings pitched he is 4-0 with a 2.93 ERA The tall lefty has an 88-92 MPH fastball that is rated as being an adequate pitch. He also throws a good curveball with slight slurve (curveball plus slider) movement. In the past year and a half, the Rockie prodigy has refined his changeup to the point where it is useable at the Major League level. He has sharp control and will throw strikes and change speeds. This of course is after Byung Yung-Kim three hitted us over 6+ in Coors. After taking all of the facts into consideration there are two distinct possibilities. We will either rock this guy out of Coors by hitting long pull home runs. Or we will show the rox how nice the pop ups fly in the thin denver air. If he spots the fastball on the outside corner we will get 4 hits max on this guy.