jphat007

QUOTE(southsideirish71 @ Aug 29, 2005 -> 07:18 PM) Its the final week of August. At what point do you think that they will get better. This is the point in the season where the hitters should be hitting their stride, not finding their swings. That is what the first month or so of the season is there for. So you go replace your starting infield on teh best team in the AL? THere is a reason you guys aren't GMs.

QUOTE(Milkman delivers @ Aug 29, 2005 -> 07:17 PM) Buehrle has really done nothing against good teams, especially down the stretch. Lol. You're kidding right.

QUOTE(Frankensteiner @ Aug 29, 2005 -> 07:14 PM) Based on OPS, we have quite a few below average players for their respective positions: Podsednik, Rowand, Crede, Uribe, and Everett. And there's only two players in the lineup that one could call above average (Konerko, Dye). That's pretty bad. Exactly. we need them to start playing better, not try to go find replacements for them.

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ Aug 29, 2005 -> 07:13 PM) He's saying when he was a free agent. If they added another year at about $3 million, Omar would be at SS. You don't know that. Unless they were in on the negotiations. Plus Uribe would still be in the lineup, because there would be no Iguchi, so that doesn't solve anything.

QUOTE(quickman @ Aug 29, 2005 -> 07:11 PM) Well lets go one step farther, they could have overpaid for visquel, had Uribe be the supersub then keep trying for griffey. My point is its KW's job to search and think and find a way to make the club better for the world series. The beginning of the year is to put a team in place to get to the playoffs, mid year its to put a team inplace to get to the world series. He gets an A for part one, and a D for part 2. So far he gets a C plus, which doesn't win you the world series. remember MONEY IS NO OBJECT. JR on record. every other year Money was an object and the one year when its not he doesn't do s***. Maybe they don't want to give up Vizquel. Maybe they want to keep him around for next year because they know they will need to make a run as it will probabaly be Bonds last year there and everyone is gettting old.

QUOTE(fathom @ Aug 29, 2005 -> 07:06 PM) SS, 3B, DH, and 4th outfielder. Those were all areas we could have really used an upgrade. And like I said. 3b I agree. YOu would need an above average player to take over DH, and SS is not a position of upgrade overall. He is there for D. And 4th outfield isn't the reason for our struggles. 3B would have been our only viable upgrade unless we couldve gotten Griffey at DH, which wasn't going to happen. We just need our guys to stop playing below their career average.

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ Aug 29, 2005 -> 07:04 PM) And getting locked in on Huff with Tampa Bay's history of asking prices and reluctance to trade was a waste of time at the deadline, if it was true. Which is also a good point. We don't have any friggin clue who KW has gone after, who he has locked in on, or anything like that. We just don't have a the slightest idea.

QUOTE(fathom @ Aug 29, 2005 -> 07:02 PM) But when your team clearly needs offensive help, you have to find some type of spark. The thing that has concerned me most with KW has been that he's seemed to get fixated on Huff or Griffey Jr. All along, I keep hearing how we would only add a superstar. Well, at quite a few positions, even an average player would be an upgrade over what we have. We could only put a average player at one position. It would take an above average player at pretty much everywhere else except SS and Uribe is our SS for his D. Todd Walker would come off the bench. So would Lawton. and a bunch of others i've seen named. Ibanez is comparable to Everett at DH.

QUOTE(quickman @ Aug 29, 2005 -> 06:59 PM) i don't think thats what he meant. Everyone gets so personal around here. its silly. The facts are simple, our hitting isn't good, especially from 3b and SS. Our pitching is good but we do have holes in that as well. We need to solidify the lineup a bit, get stronger there to make it T HROUGH the playoffs. We are a nice team, I would like to be a great team. Griffey changes the dynamics of the lineup. other teams will fear him, pitch around him and will make other players better just by his presence, alot like thomas used to do. he is a superstar. other players would fill the gaps. Randa would be nice now that crede is not around, hell even if crede was around! If we could have gotten Randa and Griffey that would have been great. They were two upgrades at those positions. But Griffey didn't want to come, and KW got outbid for Randa. What are you going to do? My point is that you just can't point at a player and say that you wnat him and he'll magically come to the team.

QUOTE(fathom @ Aug 29, 2005 -> 06:54 PM) HA! I would be mad if KW didn't lie in a situation like that. It would look bad for him and the organization if he said that another team offered a better package for a player. KW is a very smooth talker, and he knows what people want to hear. I disagree. He doesn't give a rats ass what the fans think about his moves. KW does what he thinks is best for the team.

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ Aug 29, 2005 -> 06:53 PM) Maybe in his mind it was, but not in Cinci's. Part of the problem is the White Sox have overvalued their prospects for years. KW needs to put his money where is mouth is. Using one of his lines, why do you give up an additional prospect who probably won't be anything special in the big leagues? "1917" Oh sorry. Didn't realize I was talking to a GM, who knows what both teams offered.

QUOTE(fathom @ Aug 29, 2005 -> 06:52 PM) I'm not saying you're wrong...but what do you expect KW to say? Yes, we tried to low ball the Reds, but we couldn't get Randa? Of course he's going to say he had a great offer. KW has no reason to lie.

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ Aug 29, 2005 -> 06:48 PM) I'm glad you were able to confirm that. Joe Randa moved. KW came in second. Tony Graffinino moved. KW came in second. KW could have given a better package for either of those without giving up EVERYTHING we have. KW already said the package he offered Cinci for Randa was much better than what SD offerred. He can't make them accept the deal.

QUOTE(Flash Tizzle @ Aug 29, 2005 -> 06:31 PM) Yeah, his fastball is straight and barely exceeds 92 mph. While McCarthy's curveball bites well, his changeup is nonexistent. Sit on the fastball, as Texas did his last outting, and this game is over quickly. Can't live in this league as a two pitch pitcher unless both pitchers are above average. Hopefully his reformed pitching angle--which has payed dividends at AAA- works well tomorrow. I was talking about Burly. Not Bmac.

QUOTE(quickman @ Aug 29, 2005 -> 06:30 PM) Well thats a good start, but I will go further and say that texas hits us well especailly at there home ballpark. They hit the tar out of the ball. We don't. In addition we have a habit of making new pitchers who we don't see alot into cy young winners. You think I am wrong? I don't know that you are wrong persay, but considering that Burly didn't give up a run in his last start against them, that was just kind of surprising to hear.

QUOTE(quickman @ Aug 29, 2005 -> 06:25 PM) yes todays game will get out of hand, and Mcarthy will get shelled. sorry for the confusion. Any reason for that thought? Just cause BUerhle gave up 2 in the first?

QUOTE(quickman @ Aug 29, 2005 -> 06:21 PM) but we don't need anymore offensive players. Look we don't match up well with these guys. mcarthy will get his ass handed to him tommorrow. its unfortunate. This game will get out of hand in a hurry. Look on the brightside, we will get to see the great baj! You mean today's game will get out of hand?

QUOTE(jphat007 @ Aug 29, 2005 -> 06:03 PM) its 10 in the loss column. just fyi Additionally, if we went 17-18, which is unlikely with our schedule, Cleveland could only afford to lose 8 games the rest of the season.

QUOTE(The Ginger Kid @ Aug 29, 2005 -> 06:01 PM) And they DID! I'm not worried about the tribe making up 9 games in the loss column. They'd have to stay redhot and the Sox would have to revert to their mid-August form. I just don't think either is going to happen. With the exception of Millwood, they don't have the pitching to sustain them. They're outslugging teams right now. Remember the last few years when the Sox used to do that? its 10 in the loss column. just fyi

QUOTE(SnB @ Aug 28, 2005 -> 02:50 PM) we're playing awful, awful fundamental baseball today on the defensive side of the game. has garcia dropped out of the playoff rotation in anyone else's mind as well? I believe he has. I mean, there is no place in a playoff rotation for a guy with the 11th best starting ERA in the league. And look how crappy he's been of late. Gave up 1 run on 1 hit to the Twins the other day and lost. He's a loser plain and simple.

QUOTE(fathom @ Aug 28, 2005 -> 02:43 PM) You criticized people for complaining that Contreras was left in too long, and that Cotts should have stayed in instead of Jenks. Were we wrong? Since you seem to be an Ozzie apologist, how do you explain not playing Dye today? How am I an Ozzie apologist? His team leads the AL by 6.5 games at the end of August without a very good offense, which means our pitching is doing the job in the order that he puts them in that you always complain about. What exactly am I apologizing for. I'm just pointing out how foolish you look by continually getting after Ozzie when he is right most of the time.

QUOTE(fathom @ Aug 28, 2005 -> 02:38 PM) It's a shame that not everyone got to see your post after the game yesterday. It's really easy to go back and critique posts after the game, isn't it? I still want to know how many of us posters were wrong in wanting Contreras out of the game prior to the 8th? You say the same things over and over and over again though. And you are almost always wrong. Its just funny. THats all. I wish everyone would go look at my post.

Haha. I love game threads.

You guys are great. I love coming back and reading game threads. Everytime 3 or 4 guys make fools of themselves calling out Ozzie, and everytime they look like idiots because they get proven wrong night after night after night. I loved watching Marte come in and thinking about people whining on the board only to have a huge smile on my face when Marte got the DP ball to make em look so dumb. Jose was a headcase because he allowed two runs, then he was awesome, despite the fact that he has an ERA under two in August. Great job Jose and Ozzie. Just keep it going.

QUOTE(fathom @ Aug 26, 2005 -> 09:45 PM) First one was right down the plate. Even DJ said that he had a great pitch to hit. If his stuff is that amazing, why did we even bother playing tonight? Just kidding jphat...he's an excellent looking pitcher. I just hate the approach that since a pitcher is great, we have no chance to win. You bother playing because you hope it is a night when he throws a few fastballs down the middle and you get lucky and hit a couple of them like BA and Torrealba. Otherwise they have no chance.