lvjeremylv

Thome seems like a great guy and has been one of the most prolific HR hitters of my generation, but it's just time for him to go. Watching him hit has become nauseating. Every time he swings it's like he's in the homerun derby. Why can't he hit a ball down the 3rd base line? Is he incapable? Or just unwilling? Either way, he should not be in our lineup. When both he and Paulie are on base (which is rare) - say 1st and 2nd base - it will literally take either 3 singles or a single and a double to score both of them. So the Sox need 4 or 5 baserunners in a row just to score 2 runs. That simply will not get it done. Either trade him for prospects or as some of you have suggested, sit him against lefties and let him play part-time and pinch-hit late in games. The second thing is 2B. Uribe just has to go, it's that simple. His D has been very good, but I can't stand to watch him swing for the fences anymore. Him not scoring yesterday on that grounder by Cabrera is probably going to be the nail in his coffin. The Jays were conceding the run and he still didn't score. How does that happen? Aside from Thome and Uribe, I think our club is fine. Just slumping right now.

QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ Apr 25, 2008 -> 11:36 PM) So, with the Extra Innings package, I'm definitely not going to be able to see the first game, and probably not the second, right? Someone on here said Game 1 would be on CSN, which I know I get on my EI package. And Game 2 is supposed to be on WGN, which anyone with cable TV gets.

QUOTE (Jimbo's Drinker @ Apr 10, 2008 -> 11:40 AM) We need a good outing from Mr. Contreras tonight. Just win series, all we can do Yep, we need a win. The big focus in 2005 was winning every series. If you do that, you'll be playing in October. Plus this is a home series vs. a division rival, so we need to win today even more.

QUOTE (Hanky Panky @ Apr 9, 2008 -> 12:29 PM) can't watch the game ... stupid WCIU. I wish I lived in Chicago. I live in Minnesota, so it's on here. Any information on today's lineup? I will assume since Baker is a righty, that it will basically the same lineup that we've seen recently? Something like... CF Swisher SS Cabrera DH Thome 1B Konerko RF Dye C Pierzynski LF Quentin 3B Crede 2B Uribe And am I the only one that thinks Quentin should switch with AJ in the lineup?

QUOTE (tonyho7476 @ Apr 9, 2008 -> 11:21 AM) When I look at this Minnesota lineup, a line from Major League comes to mind... 'Who the f*** are these guys?' Well, the no-names are going to lose again today. Morneau and Mauer are going to go 0 for 8. Eh, their lineup isn't that bad really. They do have a lot of new guys though, which can make for early-season struggles if they don't gel quickly. But they still have Morneau and Mauer, along with a couple young guys that will be studs in Carlos Gomez (got him from the Mets) and Delmon Young. Cuddyer is on the DL now, which hurts them. They still are a very well-managed team though, so you can't count them out.

I agree with most everyone on here who says they like it. It's not a beauty contest, so who cares how they cut their hair or shave (or don't shave) their facial hair? Someone mentioned that it helps the team build unity and a bond, so whatever they have to do to strengthen that, I'm all for it. The 2005 team was extremely close, and if you think that wasn't the biggest reason we won it all, you don't know much about the concept of "team".

That's just over 5.5 runs a game. I think if we can avoid the major injuries to our key offensive players, it's a possibility. The comparisons between this and the 2006 Sox are valid, and on paper this team has a lot more potential. The biggest differences are Swisher and Quentin. Those 2 are a HUGE upgrade over Podsednik/Mackowiak/Anderson/etc from 2006.

QUOTE(hi8is @ Apr 7, 2008 -> 11:06 AM) he's one of the only sox on the roster that im extreemly interested in, if only for the fact that i know very little about him i got the basics down, safe bet to translate to a solid everyday pro productive minor league numbers top draft pick yada yada yada but as you guys know, its much different reading about someone and seeing them do their thing this kids has excited me. i wanna see him play until he faulters, and im not sure if he will. Exciting is the perfect word. That throw he made in Saturday's game (about a 200 foot, no-hop PERFECT throw to Paulie from LF to double off the lazy Edgar Rentaria) was all I needed to see from Carlos Quentin to know that I REALLY want to see more, and I can't wait to see what he can do if given the chance to play everyday for us. I just hope he can stay healthy so he can have a fair shot to display his talents.

QUOTE(lostfan @ Apr 7, 2008 -> 11:03 AM) When you move up to a more difficult level, isn't it true that the K-BB-PA ratio usually stays about the same, and the power will drop some while the player adjusts to more difficult pitching? This is what they say about Japanese power hitters coming over to the US. Not sure, but I think playing at the Cell is going to pretty much cancel out any decline in power numbers. Plus he's going to have 30 HR potential guys (Swish, Thome, Dye, Paulie) and 20 HR potential (Crede, Uribe) batting around him, which I'm sure he didn't have in the minors.

When Owens is healthy, if he gets handed the starting CF job (which would move Swish to LF and Quentin to the bench), Ozzie should be fired. Quentin has shown some serious talent so far this season, and to move him to the bench would be a terrible, terrible mistake. The only thing Owens brings to the plate is speed - and he doesn't get on base enough to make it worth putting him in there. Also, he throws like a girl and has no power. Obviously we're going to have some injuries throughout the year (every team does), but if we can avoid the major ones, this offense is going to be a run scoring machine. With Swishy and Cabrera hitting in front of Thome, Paulie, JD, Quentin, Crede, and hell even AJ...wow is all I can say. Owens can be on our bench as a 4th (or 5th) outfielder and can come into games as a pinch runner (maybe have him run for Paulie, then put Swish at 1B, and leave Owens in the game in CF). But he should not even sniff the starting lineup on a regular basis as long as everyone is healthy.

I will admit that I have only seen Quentin play twice (Friday & Saturday vs. the Tiggers), but based on what I saw, this kid is capable of well over the 20-24 HR level I've read you guys suggest. He blasted one on Friday, and missed #2 on Saturday by mere inches in what was one of the hardest hit balls I can remember seeing in recent memory. And he also had a swing with a 2-0 count that was with SERIOUS authority. He looks extremely dangerous at the plate to say the least. His minor league high for HR was 21, which came in 2005 in Triple-A. That was in 136 games. He batted .301, had an OBP of .422 and a slugging pct of .520. Also, he had 4 triples, 9 steals (in 10 attempts), and 11 outfield assists. Stud. This kid, if he can stay healthy, will in my opinion hit 30+ playing half his games at the Cell. It could turn out to be one of the best trades in Sox history.

QUOTE(Princess Dye @ Apr 5, 2008 -> 04:02 PM) Renteria was slow in getting back to first after a deep fly out. Quentin got him out at 1st on a laser beam throw to PK. I guess Edgar wasn't expecting the kid to be able to throw it 200 feet on the fly. Now Gavin wastes it by allowing a 2 out walk and then a bomb. :eyeroll:

That's the best throw I've ever seen from LF. UN-REAL! What a cannon.

QUOTE(greg775 @ Apr 2, 2008 -> 02:29 AM) He's definitely a game one goat wouldn't you say?? Well he's the easy target since he gave up the winning runs, but that happens. Unfortunately for him, it happened at a very bad time - on opening day against a division rival after we mounted a huge comeback. But I think the momentum completely changed once we weren't able to push the go-ahead run across the plate when we had the sacks packed with Sox and noooooooobody out. That will almost always come back to bite you in the a$$ - especially on the road versus a good offensive team. Buehrle, I think, has to get the "goat of the game" award for that one. If he could have just put up a mediocre game, we probably end up winning. Instead, he got completely shelled and put our bullpen at great risk. Just imagine if Masset hadn't been so stellar. We could conceivably have used everyone in the pen on opening day. Definitely would not have been a good omen.

QUOTE(DBAH0 @ Mar 31, 2008 -> 06:37 PM) Masset actually pitched a good outing. That's the benchmark for him now. If he pitches like that, he'll become very valuable for us as a longman especially with the likes of Floyd and Danks in our rotation. I disagree. If Masset is able to do what he did the other day on a semi-regular basis, he could wind up being our 5th starter. I really don't see both Danks and Floyd (especially) making it the whole season in our rotation. I really hope I'm wrong about them because they could be the future of our staff, so if they turn out to be good, that's great for us Sox fans. But the way Nick came in and just absolutely shut down a very good offense like he did, was fantastic.

QUOTE(Controlled Chaos @ Apr 1, 2008 -> 03:04 PM) It's identical...I called and after not knowing what to say to me...the dude finally said...yeah it turns out...it's a few dollars more 5 or 10 if yo ubuy it in the store. I'm like yeah..that sounds pretty screwed up and he said yeah I know...that's what she just told me though. The site has no overhead. Let's say the place you're buying it from (Pro Image, for example - it's a sports merchandise store out West) rents a space in the local mall. They have to pay the lease for that location, the cashiers that work there, etc. A website doesn't have those expenses, therefore they can charge less.

QUOTE(nitetrain8601 @ Mar 31, 2008 -> 04:54 PM) Someone tell us what's happening please. Yeah really, they're b****ing about something that people who aren't watching the game have no clue about.

IF the Sox can manage to win today, imagine the psychological damage this could do to Cleveland. Obviously it's only 1 game, but opening day is big.

QUOTE(BigSqwert @ Mar 31, 2008 -> 02:46 PM) Make sure to keep us posted every day with your fantasy results. Ha, my team has an idiot for a manager, so it won't be a pretty season.

QUOTE(Capn12 @ Mar 31, 2008 -> 02:44 PM) Jim Thome rocks your f***in' socks off! For the love of God, why did I bench a guy with 500+ career HR? D'OH!

QUOTE(jackie hayes @ Mar 31, 2008 -> 02:01 PM) Shows how much I know. What sucks is that I benched him for Billy Butler in 2 fantasy leagues. Goddammit... Yep, I sat him today, too. In favor of Swishy.

QUOTE(SoxWS05 @ Mar 31, 2008 -> 02:40 PM) Do you watch him pitch often? Take a look at his numbers the last five years, he's an ace. He had a real bad start today but he'll still finish the season with an era around 3.00-3.5. Also, no hitters are always freakish things. I will bet you $50 right now that Mark's ERA this year is well above 3.50. Every team in our division (except the Twins) are going to be better in 2008 than they were in 2007.

QUOTE(Jimbo's Drinker @ Mar 31, 2008 -> 02:33 PM) I believe this will be the worst white sox team in club history. With the rotation we have, it's entirely possible.

QUOTE(Steve9347 @ Mar 31, 2008 -> 02:29 PM) This is unbelievable. Buehrle's killing my fantasy stats! Didn't the Sox give up like 8 runs in an inning last year on opening day? You have Mark on your fantasy team? Might as well concede now.

QUOTE(maggsmaggs @ Mar 31, 2008 -> 02:29 PM) I love how this all started from that umpire squeezing Mark on that pitch. Not to say thats the reason mark has given up gopher ball after gopher ball, but it sure didn't help. So he's a mental midget? Even better.