thedoctor

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Mar 10, 2009 -> 03:58 PM) Its the Rock Island line, already exists. But one of the plans Metra has is to re-route a couple other south suburban lines, that currently run just west of the park, over the RI line east of the park. So then the station would be on 3 lines instead of 1. this would be awesome. i grew up a few blocks away from the 99th street metra station and it would have been great to be able to use that to get to sox games.

QUOTE (Tony82087 @ Mar 9, 2009 -> 06:30 PM) Williams deserves a lot of credit right now. As you say, every day more and more it seems like this team is going to compete for a division crown in 2009, while at the same time Williams has started to re-build the farm with high end players like Beckham, Poreda, Viciedo, Allen,Flowers, Shelby, and Danks. Along with that, the influx of Danks-Floyd-Quentin-Alexei has made the current major league core something to get excited about. On top of it all, there isn't a long term deal on the books right now that is really hurting the franchise. Pretty nice spot to be. considering where we were after the 2007 season it borders on amazing.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Mar 6, 2009 -> 08:45 PM) Between 2004-2006 he was 1 for 55. but it was a damn good hit.

i know he was pretty awful in his major league appearances with colorado but it doesn't sound like he got a legitimate shot.

good article.

on the positive side at least its only melton's voice. melton in high-def is something human eyes shouldn't see.

colon, contreras look good in first bullpen session this was amazing to read:

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Feb 27, 2009 -> 12:16 PM) We've been shuttin' down other team's best backourt players all year. If Chester Frazier doesn't win Big-10 DPOY the award needs to be abolished. And that's not me being a homer. I actually thought JaJuan Johnson was the front-runner a few weeks ago. But Chet is just lockin' up everybody right now. And big ups to Bruce Weber for his post-game response after being asked for the 52747437584584458 time why Big-10 games are so ugly/low scoring. yeah, i was happy he called out dutcher for his stupid remarks. dude won one big ten title in 11 seasons so he probably isn't the guy to be critiquing the offense of a guy who's already won two in half the time and gone further in the ncaas than he ever did. jim dutcher should stfu.

in today's "water is wet" new, indians closer kerry wood is hurt. cleveland plain dealer

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Feb 25, 2009 -> 05:36 PM) Lighty hasnt played in months. And if Lauderdale has regressed from when he didnt play at all, Im not sure he should play college ball. They were a good defensive team in the zone until the Big Ten play started where team began bombing 3's on them all game long. They are athletic, long and have 2 good shot blockers. Man defense against NW, Wisco and ILL may have brought them wins in those games. Even the NW players were laughing after the game that they knew they could bomb 3's against that zone and that was the only way they could win. i'm aware that lighty hasn't played. and lauderdale was playing significantly more in the non-con than he is now. his confidence is obviously shot. and i hear what you're saying on the other stuff. believe me, i hear it all the time because each and every buckeye fan is saying exactly what you are saying. that said, matta is much more familiar with this team's defensive abilities than we are. don't you think he'd employ more man if he felt it would help the team win?

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Feb 25, 2009 -> 01:55 AM) That game shouldnt have even been that close. IM hoping Matta is saving his real man to man defense for the tournament. i can't see it. as a whole buckeye players are largely clueless defensively. lighty is good, turner and hill are ok, diebler has improved but is still sub-par, lauderdale has regressed, and mullens, buford, and simmons couldn't defend effectively if there was a force-field around the basket. this just isn't a good defensive team whether you are talking zone, man, whatever. they just aren't. i was talking to a friend of mine who gets over to practice from time-to-time and asked him about why matta doesn't use more man. he said, "because thad doesn't want to give up triple digits every night."

QUOTE (Jimbo's Drinker @ Feb 24, 2009 -> 11:42 PM) Illinois, Purdue are not very good to begin with and big 12 has very good big men who would destroy them. Carroll, Aldrich, Griffin, Davis, Muonelo, James, hell even Brackens would give them nightmares. Illinois stands around the arc and throws up 3 pointers. really? illinois's in the bottom three in the big ten in 3-pointers attempted. kansas has actually attempted 30 more 3s than the illini have. try again.

i doubt i'll splooge, but i can say that i am eagerly anticipating the transition from pissing and moaning about things you think might happen to pissing and moaning about things that actually are happening.

it is pretty remarkable that this illinois team is at the 22-win mark. i had them at 15 tops if things went well.

QUOTE (fathom @ Feb 19, 2009 -> 05:26 AM) Recruiting players that have already declared for a particular school (see Justin Dentmon), dealing with AAU and recruits handlers (see Worldwide Wes and Reggie Rose), doing everything in his power to keep criminals in school (Jamar Smith, Luther Head, and R. Roberts at SIU). Weber treated the David Palmer situation very unprofessionally, and there's rumors he's doing the same with Joseph Bertrand now. Of course, Weber has his buddies like Brad Sturdy and Kedric Price stating that he's the cleanest coach in the history of sports, so you'll probably say none of this is true. you mean a rivals or scout "reporter" is showing bias in their coverage of their team? that's shocking.

the idea of colon as a jockey makes me laugh.

brent lillibridge solves our lead-off man problem.

QUOTE (GreatScott82 @ Feb 16, 2009 -> 07:48 PM) I have to give Contreras credit... he lost 30 lbs, and is already throwing the ball. If he can start pitching by May and be ready to come up after the ASB, that would be a HUGE boost for the rotation. Especially since Colon is a giant (no pun-intended) question mark and that 5th starter spot is still unknown at this time. just curious, but is colon realistically expected to be ready to take the ball in the fourth game of the season?

QUOTE (Tony82087 @ Feb 16, 2009 -> 05:34 AM) Would like do to a little pimping of my own. Starting tomorrow, Bruce Levine will join the Afternoon Saloon on ESPN 1000 every day at 4. He is in Arizona for 55 days. just heard levine on with waddle and silvy. the biggest piece of info was he suggested contreras could be back by late spring rather than june or july. says he lost 33 pounds and looks unbelieveable. he is throwing in camp, although not off the mound yet. a few other notes: -colon without a shirt on is "not a pretty sight" -everyone is in love with viciedo. talks about him being the sox's future left-fielder once dye leaves (cq to right). says his power potential is ridiculous. -crede will probably have to take an incentive-laden deal. he (boras) needs to adjust his expectations. -expect some collusion talk to come from the players association (re: so many guys on the market).

for the long-term future of the organization i think kw took the appropriate course of action this offseason. at the end of the 2007 season things really looked dire. we had no young talent on the major-league roster, nothing that could be considered impressive talent in the minors, and a roster full of older guys with ungainly contracts. today, that outlook looks decidedly different, to get there and win a division while doing it is an accomplishment that i don't think can be undersold. that is impressive. now, do i think we are legit world series contenders on paper right now? no. we have holes, particularly at those last two spots in the rotation. that worries me more than anything. at the same time, can we be counted out? look around the division. the indians are once again grabbing darling status but as of now the only sure things in their rotation are carmona, lee, and carl freaking pavano.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Feb 11, 2009 -> 08:22 PM) What!? You obviously havent seen Miss Congeniality over-rated *clap, clap, clap-clap-clap*

QUOTE (kyyle23 @ Feb 11, 2009 -> 02:03 PM) Was Lou Phillips going to be counted on to be a big contributor? i can't imagine he would be counted on. he hasn't done squat worthwhile since la bamba.

in this climate i'm really curious to see what manny ends up getting. if i were him i doubt i'd do more than a one-year deal.

QUOTE (Flash Tizzle @ Feb 10, 2009 -> 04:10 PM) It'll be hilarious if the Sox have the fifth worst record in baseball. Then we can have another summer of hoping the team tanks in order to receive the highest draft pick possible! Hell, it got us Beckham. actually i think it wouldn't be hilarious at all. i'd find little humor in my favorite team being completely inept.

that makes sense. as of this point we are relying on unproven guys in a number of key positions. i'm not sure how you could look at a team with two big question marks in the rotation, one in centerfield and two in the infield and project anything more than mediocrity/poor play. we outperformed expectations last year largely because cq, danks, floyd, and ramirez far exceeded expectations and did things you could not possibly quantify in preseason. if that happens again with marquez, owens, fields/viciedo, and nix/getz/lillibridge then maybe we win the division. if all or some of those guys flame out, then 74 wins or less is realistic (likely?).