FlaCWS

QUOTE (Cali @ Apr 15, 2008 -> 09:27 PM) There we go...in the sig now. Wow, I didn't even realize they've worn the black for all but TWO games. That is ridiculous. To the point about superstition, as far as I recall they didn't wear the black in any of the '05 playoff or WS games.

Since the Sox played a day game today, how about a light topic for the night: When and why did the black uni's go from being our alternates to our primaries? Personally I hate it, as I think the home pinstripes are one of the classiest uniforms in MLB, and the road grays with script "Chicago" convey hometown pride. The black was always cool once a week, as a nice change of pace, but seeing them everyday makes it feel like we're still in spring training. So I was just curious if I missed an announcement about this... OK, end of rant. Play ball!

QUOTE(PlunketChris @ Apr 5, 2008 -> 03:35 PM) so.. where do you put Swisher? Left. Quentin can spell Dye, Swisher and even Thome and still get his ABs. Defense counts in baseball, and Anderson is 10x the defensive CF that Swisher is.

QUOTE(ChWRoCk2 @ Apr 5, 2008 -> 03:31 PM) Its ONLY the 5th f***ing game!!! Floyd has been better than Contreras so far, and Swisher has done nothing wrong, Quentin would be no better in center. Agreed, Quentin is no CF. I'm talking about Anderson. He should be in there.

QUOTE(SoxFan1 @ Apr 5, 2008 -> 03:30 PM) Are you watching this game? Yes. What is your point? That Floyd had a good inning or two? The guy is terrible. Period. I want to be optimistic just like everyone else, but there is just no question in my mind. We'll talk about it later in the season and see how it turns out.

The sooner Ozzie figures out two things, the better off the Sox will be: 1. Gavin Floyd is not a good pitcher, and never will be. 2. Nick Swisher is not a center fielder.

Slightly off topic... but are the grays now our alternate uni's? Seems like we wear the black all the time now. Personally I prefer the grays (which say "Chicago"). OK, back to the game...

QUOTE(Athomeboy_2000 @ Apr 1, 2008 -> 11:27 AM) As I said yesterday: TV + MUTE + Radio Play-By-Play = AWESOME! I'm totally envious. As an out-of-towner I do have XM, but it is not synched up with the TV broadcast, therefore I am forced to endure Hawk and DJ. How many years till Hawk retires?

QUOTE(heirdog @ Mar 27, 2008 -> 12:12 PM) 81. We will be average and always lingering in 3rd place in the division, flirting with 2nd so we won't make any drastic trades. In fact, we may trade more young players by July with the hope to catapult us to 2nd place but we will end up with a 3rd place finish about 18 back from Detroit and 8 back of Cleveland. I agree, we'll be a .500 team. The main reason is the starting pitching. We only have one guy we can truly count on in Buehrle. I think Javy will be fine, but hasn't had back-to-back good seasons in a while. After those two, it's totally up in the air. John Danks is really the key, IMO. If he steps up and becomes a solid #3, we have a legit shot. If not, we're in deep trouble. Contreras is over the hill, and let's face it, Gavin Floyd is not good and never will be, no matter how much we may hope. The defense also concerns me, with Swisher in CF. Given the shakiness of the staff, we need Anderson out there, or at least Owens when he's healthy. I can already see the gappers falling before Swisher can get to them...

QUOTE(fathom @ Mar 26, 2008 -> 07:25 PM) How hard is it to go with an outfield of Swisher in LF, Anderson in CF, and Dye in RF (with Quentin getting some starts in LF/RF/DH)? Swisher is TERRIBLE in CF. He's no different than Mackowiak was out there. I don't know that I'd go that far, but I basically agree with your post. I've been posting here for 3 1/2 years and never really bashed Ozzie before. Until now. This is an absolute mind-boggling decision.

QUOTE(jenks45monster @ Mar 25, 2008 -> 08:24 PM) Do you want Anderson starting in CF with Swish in LF or Quentin starting in LF and Swish in CF? Personally, I like Anderson in CF and Swish in LF because I love Anderson's D and think he will come around this time with the bat. So, who would you rather have starting? I agree with you 100%. I think it's a total no-brainer. We have only 2 legit CF'ers on this team - Owens and Anderson. One of those two has to start in CF, period. Otherwise we are very exposed defensively. Quentin can be the 4th OF and take over for Dye next year or the year after.

QUOTE(jenks45monster @ Mar 22, 2008 -> 03:58 PM) How many games has Owens actually played in? 5? How many has Anderson played in? Most of them. Um, no. More than that. Listen, I'm rooting for Anderson to win the job. He's the best defensive CF we have, and has the most upside. But let's be honest, he's teased us before. I'm just bracing myself for it. And I also don't understand the absolute hatred on this board for Owens. I think the guy can be a solid 4th OF for us - and even a solid starting CF if Anderson blows it again. Yes, he still has a lot to prove, but he's shown improvement both at the plate and in the field. It just makes no sense to me why he gets absolutely killed around here.

QUOTE(BearSox @ Mar 22, 2008 -> 02:15 AM) Plus, he has no f***ing clue what he's doing up there at bat, and has the worst swing on the team. Vazquez has a better swing and approach then Owens does. Owens should not be anything more then a pinch runner in the majors, if that. Wow, tell us how you really feel.... Oh, and by the way, Owens is hitting .375 this spring. Say what you want that they are Arizona-inflated #'s, then you can say the same about Anderson. And if Owens has "no f***ing clue" and has a worse "swing and approach" than Javier Vazquez (classic line), then man, Kenny and Ozzie must be complete morons to be considering him as the starting CF. Based on what you're saying, they should be fired tomorrow. Maybe sooner.

QUOTE(shipps @ Mar 22, 2008 -> 09:17 AM) At the cell you can hit the ball out any day,it really makes for some exciting baseball for me.People that consider themselves baseball purists have to hate the way our modern ballparks are being constructed,but having the game evolve and be played in a diffrent way than our great grandfathers watched or played isnt a bad thing.Why should we be so convinced that there way was the better way? I really couldn't disagree more. As much as I love what's been done to the Cell in terms of the physical structure and fan experience at the game, I am tremendously disappointed in the brand of baseball we now see at home games. At the Cell any fly ball is bound to go out and it can be brutal to watch, IMO. Guys don't have to earn their HRs as much as they do in other places (any other park, in fact). I much rather watch Sox games on the road for that simple reason, and I really wish they would do something about it. I realize the renovations limit what can be done, but something has to be done. I realize I'll be in the minority on this one, and my age (mid 30s) could be the reason.

Unless you can get a good pitching prospect, why trade BA? I'd keep him around at the 5th OF, behind Dye, Swisher, Owens and Quentin. BA's a great late-inning defensive replacement, and clearly his bat is coming around (although, granted, it is March 5th). I also agree with one of the earlier posts about starting Ramirez at AAA. Again to the March 5th point... the guy is still very raw defensively and we can't afford that. Go with Richar at 2B to start the season, with Uribe the highest-paid utility man in baseball. If Alexi is lighting it up at AAA, bring him up and dump Juan. But I'm a defense-first guy, and Richar seems the most solid at 2B.

QUOTE(Kalapse @ Feb 20, 2008 -> 02:56 PM) Have you ever even watched Swisher in CF or Owens for that matter? Haven't really seen Swisher, mostly because the A's rarely played him there (for a reason). There aren't many guys who are projected to be First-basemen playing Center. Yes I've seen Owens. He is no Torii Hunter but he's better than anything we have. Forget Anderson, he is done with this organization. And he is way more a liability at the plate than Owens. He can barely make contact. Owens batting 9th should be no problem at all. Bottom line, defense up the middle is, you know, kind of important. Didn't the Red Sox have Coco playing CF for most of the season until Ellsbury eventually came up? Coco's not much of a hitter but that team did pretty well with him in there. We'll see what happens with Swisher in CF every day. I'm not looking forward to it.

QUOTE(southsideirish71 @ Feb 20, 2008 -> 10:47 AM) Willie Harris made the same type of prediction at Soxfest a few years back. How did that work out. I hope that Owens is our 4th OF and Quentin is in LF. If Owens our leadoff guy then Ozzie BSd everyone with his OBP hype and really wanted his bantam weight track star who cant get on base. ' I really don't understand all these people saying Owens should be the 4th OF. Do you really think a winning team can have Nick Swisher in CF? I don't. I want Owens out there every day because he can chase balls in the gap. Swisher will let them drop for doubles. Whatever offensive issues Owens has will be made up for by the balls he chases down. I want him starting - and batting 9th - every day. Let Quentin come off the bench this year and take over for Dye next year.

Positive: Because of his defense, Owens starts - and finishes - the year as the starting CF. Negative: Both Contreras and Floyd are out of the rotation by June 1.

See the link in the upper-left corner (click here for today's cartoon). http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/ It's Flash, otherwise I would've just embedded it.

QUOTE(witesoxfan @ Feb 10, 2008 -> 11:59 PM) Swisher will play a slightly below average to average defensive CF; meanwhile, Quentin will play a very good defensive LF and actually has an arm, giving the Sox a good arm at all 3 spots in the outfield. There will almost assuredly be a world of difference offensively between Quentin and Owens, and that is all that matters when it comes to who the centerfielder will be. Kenny told Swisher to be prepared to play quite a bit of CF this season for a reason, and it wasn't so the Sox could put him in LF. So long as Quentin shows up and plays fairly well in spring training, showing he's healthy and his power is atleast somewhat there, he will be the left fielder and Owens will be a 4th outfielder, which is really where he should be. Then I guess we'll just agree to disagree. I just don't think you can win without up-the-middle defense. It's why Gary Matthews got a $10 million contract, and why Mike Cameron continues to find employment. There is no question you sacrifice offense with Owens in there. But with a lineup including Thome, Dye, Konerko, Swisher, AJ and Crede or Fields, we have more than enough power, IMO. Try and remember those games Mackowiak played in CF. I think we can expect only slightly better results from Swisher. Trust me, Swisher as the every day CF is an experiment that won't last very long.

QUOTE(witesoxfan @ Feb 9, 2008 -> 06:32 PM) I'd argue he already is a complete liability at the plate due to his inability to hit for any power whatsoever, and if you want defense in CF, you are putting Brian Anderson out there, not Jerry Owens. Anderson wouldn't be any more of a liability than Owens at the plate, he'd provide fantastic defense, and maybe even a bit of power. Well, I'm more than willing to sacrifice some power for good defense at one of the most important positions on the field. Forget Anderson, I shouldn't have even brought him up. He's fallen out of favor and out of the equation. Besides, while he may have more power than Owens, he can barely put the bat on the ball. I'll take Owens' ability to make contact and steal bases and put him in CF on opening day. The bottom line to this is that Kenny did not get the CF that he needed to get, and Owens is all we have. Swisher is not a CF, no matter how much we may wish it. I'm happy to have him, but he's a LF. Period. I don't think Dye has many years left, so Quentin will have to wait for him to retire to get his shot, and in the meantime he'll get his ABs spelling all the OF positions and DH. I'm OK with that. But this team is not winning anything with Nick Swisher as the everyday CF. End of story.

QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Feb 8, 2008 -> 10:34 AM) As of today, I believe the plan all along is to have Quentin-Swish-Dye roaming the OF on opening day. Owens will have a shot, but Carlos has the edge right now, no doubt. I just don't see that. Swisher is not an everyday CF. My guess is Swisher-Owens-Dye, with Quentin getting a couple of games a week. Unless Owens regresses into a complete liability at the plate - which I doubt - his defense is worth having him in there every day. Swisher just doesn't have the speed necessary for CF, and you can't win with a guy who can't cover the gaps out there.

QUOTE(ChiSox_Sonix @ Feb 8, 2008 -> 07:30 AM) I doubt Owens gets 390AB, You think more, or less? To be honest, I don't see how Owens is NOT the starting CF. If it's anyone else, we are in huge trouble defensively. Unless it's someone like Anderson, which I highly doubt.

Terrible news.

QUOTE(rowand's rowdies @ Jan 20, 2008 -> 07:01 PM) in no way am I suggesting he lead off, as you could check in my post in starting lineup. he would be the 4th OF. He was hitting in a pitchers park I believe in Baltimore for a team that sucked. Camden is a pitcher's park? Since when?