FlaCWS

I know we shouldn't be surprised by these outbursts anymore, but I for one am friggin sick of it. At some point winning the World Series can't mean lifetime immunity from consequences. Someone who is supposed to be the leader of a major league team has to have more class than this. It's friggin embarrassing. I am now officially on the "Fire Ozzie" bandwagon. This organization deserves better. There, it's off my chest.

I don't give much weight to his great #'s at the Cell. It's one of the best, if not the best hitters park in the Majors. He better have great #'s there. Who doesn't?

Listen, I think Rosenthal makes a valid point about the low asking price and Freddy's motivation in a contract year. But you have to give Kenny the benefit of the doubt. In '05 no one thought we got enough for Carlos Lee. No one thought the signings of AJ or Dye meant much of anything. Guys like Jenks and Thornton were pretty much discarded by their old teams. Somehow Kenny saw something in these guys. His track record speaks for itself over the past two years. I don't mean to sound like a Ken Williams apologist, but he absolutely deserves the benefit of the doubt. And it'll be a few years before we can truly evaluate this deal, because it'll depend on what Gio does, if anything, in the majors.

QUOTE(GreatScott82 @ Feb 10, 2007 -> 04:41 PM) [ Kansas City Royals 1. Gil Meche. 11-8 4.48 ERA 2. Odalis Perez 6-8 6.20 ERA 3. Luke Hudson 7-6 5.12 ERA 4. Jorge De La Rosa 5-6 6.49 ERA 5. Brian Bannister 2-1 4.26 ERA Excellent analysis... however, one name you left out is Zach Greinke. If he can come back and build on what he did in '04, the Royals could be a lot better than people think. I realize it's a big IF, and I still expect KC to finish last, but if you factor in a healthy Greinke, their rotation suddenly looks decent. I kind of think the Royals will be much improved this season. It has to happen one of these years...

QUOTE(bigruss22 @ Dec 7, 2006 -> 04:03 PM) "We were the only 90-win team that didn't make the playoffs this year," he said. "And we still feel like, if we'd gotten there, we had a hell of a chance. But I've got a responsibility, a responsibility not just for now but for tomorrow. And even if we win in 2007, in Chicago if we spend 2008-09-10 losing 100 games, believe me, you're the village idiot. It doesn't matter what you've done before." You know, if you think about it, he makes a lot of sense. Take Freddy... the guy's 30 years old, in a contract year, with a lot of innings on that arm. Not saying I wanted to trade him (I'd have preferred to see Vazquez go) but Kenny's looking at keeping this team competitive for many years to come and saw a chance to trade a guy who has some value, but probably not enough value to justify a contract extension. So... do you want Garcia for one season (coming off a sub-par year for him) or do you deal him while you can, while bringing back a couple of decent (admitedly not great, but decent) pitching prospects? Try and remember the one lesson we learned from '05: Championships are built around pitching, pitching and more pitching. People laughed at our offense going into that season - hell, I remember the comments after the Carlos Lee for Podsednik deal. But we won - because of pitching. And not only are good pitchers hard to find, but pitching prospects are more unpredictable than any other position - that is why you're smart to stock up on as many of them as you can to improve your odds. This was an opportunity to do just that. Think about this: if Buehrle can't regain his old form... if Contreras's back acts up again... it won't really matter whether we had Freddy or not. I applaud looking to the future instead of going for it all in just one season. Too many things can happen in one season. Kenny understands that. And at the end of the day, we still have enough pieces to win in '07.

Am I the only one who doesn't want to trade Garcia? This is a "win now" team and Freddy still has some years left. If I'm dealing someone to make room for McCarthy, it's going to be Vazquez, who I never liked in the first place. Having said that, I'm not sure I want to trade any of the pitchers until we KNOW that McCarthy is the real deal. Not to mention Contreras's back could go out at any minute and we don't know if Buerhle will bounce back. I guess what I'm saying is that you can never have enough pitching in baseball and I don't want to give any of it up (unless I'm getting some in return, as was rumored - and then shot down by KW - in the Garcia to LA deal).

QUOTE(fathom @ Nov 16, 2006 -> 12:23 PM) He's still a relatively young, cheap lefty reliever who is a year away from one of the best relief seasons in the league. Maybe with a better pitching coach, he'll develop something more than a 91 mph fastball and nothing else. Exactly... I thought we learned our lesson last year with the bullpen. We gave up Marte, Vizcaino and of course lost Hermanson to injury. Not that Marte and Vizcaino were great, but you can never have enough depth in that bullpen and look how much we scrambled last year to get the bullpen back in shape. Cotts, like Marte, is coming off a tough year, but I think we're giving up too fast here. Those hard-throwing lefties are too hard to come by. Gotta be more patient with them, IMO. Not liking this.

QUOTE(Kalapse @ Nov 11, 2006 -> 09:38 PM) So Alex Rodriguez is a loser because the 2001 Mariners had a much better season than they did the previous season? You're gonna need a little more evidence than that to convince me. How about the Rangers then, first in A-Rod's last season with them, and then the next season: 2003 Rangers: 71-91 2004 Rangers: 89-73 How about the Yankees becoming the first team in MLB history to blow a 3-0 lead... in A-Rod's first year with the team. Who can forget that utterly pathetic attempt to swat the ball out of the hands of the Boston first baseman? I just think the guy is a losing player and I want no part of him. Read this: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/maga...0925/index.html It is disturbing. He is disturbing. The Yankees can keep him.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Nov 10, 2006 -> 10:02 PM) ARod could well be a winning player if he was ever teamed with a team with great pitching. Brian Cashman seems to be moving the Yankees in that direction, which scares the hell out of me. Let me point out that he played with Randy Johnson for about 4 seasons. And let me point out (again) that the Mariners set the AL record for wins the season after he left. There were plenty of the same pitchers on that team that played with A-Rod (including Freddy Garcia). The Yankees can keep him and enjoy the stats and the eventual disappointment.

QUOTE(Jordan4life_2006 @ Nov 9, 2006 -> 01:51 AM) Pitching, pitching, pitching! Thank you... there is absolutely no reason to trade for A-Rod. I just can't understand why people don't look beyond A-Rod's stats and see him for what he is - a losing player. Seattle had the best record in the AL the year after he left. Texas became a contender the year after he left. The Yankees have choked in the playoffs every year since he got there (and they were in the World Series the year BEFORE he got there so it's not like he took them to the playoffs to begin with). There are lots of great talents who are just not winning players. A-Rod is one of them. And he is such an unbelievably great talent that you would have to give up a ton (in players and money) just to get him - especially pitching, which the Yankees need and which we absolutely should not give up. Like Jordan4life said, we won the WS in '05 because of pitching, pitching, pitching. Is A-Rod a Hall-of-Famer? Absolutely. Is he worth what we'd have to give up? Absolutely not.

QUOTE(Sox1422 @ Nov 1, 2006 -> 01:50 PM) You got anything to back up your opinion? Crawford is only 25, is an all around player, and is the exact kind of hitter the Sox need in the lineup. McCarthy is still unproven and to tell you the truth he didn't look all that great last year. I agree you can't trade McCarthy. He wasn't great this year but he's still very young and you can't give up on a pitching talent like that. There just isn't enough pitching to go around in this league. As for something to back up that opinion... how about a World Series title in 2005? Am I the only one who remembers it at this point? Pitching, pitching, pitching, pitching, pitching, pitching...

Plus the other famously "cursed" team, the Red Sox, won it in '04. Wow, that's three tough years in a row for the Cubs. Who knows, maybe that means they're destined to win it next year... ;-)

I just saw this linked on Deadspin. I didn't see it anywhere else on SoxTalk, so if it was already discussed, I apologize. Anyway, I hope this isn't true. The guy is under contract to the Sox, so he should just shut up. I still say we have to pick up his option... http://www.rivalfish.com/rivalroom/2006/10...news-story.html

I am a subscriber to mlb.tv and I was just looking through their archives... apparently you can watch any regular season game from '05 but I can't find the playoffs anywhere. Does anyone know if they still exist? Seems weird that they'd offer all the regular season games but not the playoffs.

QUOTE(DrunkBomber @ Sep 25, 2006 -> 12:39 PM) i think Id rather have the Twins win then the Yankees Yeah, what he said.

QUOTE(MHizzle85 @ Sep 19, 2006 -> 12:46 PM) I second that...even when they get in, i smell a usual minnesota going into the bronx and crapping themselves in the ALDS. Am I the only one who would be rooting very hard for the Twins to beat the Yanks? Not that I'm giving up on the Sox just yet... but I would definitely root for the Twins in a series against the Yankees.

Talking about the pennant race... http://wfan.com/chrismikeaudio/local_audio..._256174032.html

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ Sep 1, 2006 -> 02:21 PM) I'm sorry, any White Sox fan who b****es about Hawk being a homer is really just looking for things to complain about. John Rooney was a homer and he just gets praised and praised and praised. I for one, would rather listen to a guy calling a game that wants the same results I do. A couple of comments: 1. There is no way - no way - you are comparing Rooney's "Homer-ness" to Hawk's. It's not even a discussion. Rooney was a professional who, as a result of working for the team for years, obviously wanted them to win and got more excited when they did win. But Hawk is the only guy I've ever heard who acts less like a professional broadcaster and more like some dude watching at a bar. The guy practically curses out umpires when calls go against us. Please, no comparison. 2. There is a difference between a guy who "wants the same results I do" (as in Rooney) and a guy who is such a blatant homer you can't even trust he is ever telling you the truth about something. When Hawk comments on a call, or an umpire, or a player, or a pitch, or whatever... I totally dismiss it because he has no credibility. I agree with you that I want the announcer "who wants the same results I do" and gets fired up when the Sox hit a HR or get a big strikeout... but you have to balance that with honest coverage of the game. Otherwise why the hell do we even need an announcer on TV?

Angled seats is cool... another thing I'd love, but which won't happen, is to see the fences moved back (or made higher). I realize it might not be possible structurally but I think something has to be done. The HRs at the Cell are getting way out of hand. Philly made their fences higher this year because that ballpark was a joke, and I'm afraid the Cell has become a joke at this point. An absolute gem of a place to watch a game, but too small for the Majors right now. It would also be nice to honor the history of Old Comiskey which, if I remember correctly, had much bigger dimensions. Sorry, that's my vent for the night. I know it'll never happen.

QUOTE(Jordan4life_2006 @ Aug 31, 2006 -> 05:25 PM) I'd rather have a team with 7 pitchers with an ERA under 4 -- like last year. Exactly... to be honest, I'm kind of sick of all the HRs. Especially since they're happening against us, too. I liked last year's approach better - yeah, we hit HRs last year, but we also moved guys around, bunted, etc.... and most importantly, PITCHED!

Right now it is the cover story on CBS Sportsline.com: http://cbs.sportsline.com/columns/story/9617834

On the one hand you love the guy's fire... on the other you wonder if these tirades do more damage than good. I love the personality and character Ozzie brings to the table, but at some point you have to stop being a player and become a manager... that means acting like a professional. You can argue the same points that he did but in a different way - a calm, dignified way that brings credibility. What Ozzie does makes you sometimes think he might be full of crap. Seriously, when someone gets that heated and defensive it makes you wonder if he's really telling the truth. And he should've kept the comments about Mulder and Jon Henry to himself. No need for that at all.

I'm surprised. Clearly I'm in the vast minority here but I root for Detroit. I know it's nice to say "division champs" but to me the most important thing is making the playoffs. We have a great shot at Detroit but when it comes to the wildcard we control our destiny. We are ahead of Boston and the more space we put between us, the closer we are to guaranteeing the PLAYOFFS which is the important thing. Now that Liriano is done, Minny doesn't scare me, so Boston is the primary wildcard contender. If we sweep KC (which I expect) and Detroit sweeps Boston, we'll be 5 up in the wildcard.

I completely agree with those who've said Dye is one of the best FA signings in team history. It's amazing to think of how many good FA's Williams signed last year - AJ, Iguchi, Hermanson... and Dye was the best of the bunch. This season the Maggs vs. Dye argument is a no-brainer, and if you factor in MVP of the '05 world series it's an absolute joke.

QUOTE(SoxHawk1980 @ Jul 25, 2006 -> 09:14 PM) You're right. This is the team that KW put together. He accumulated a bunch of slowish power hitters. This is not a small ball team. You're right. It's kind of ironic when you remember how everyone laughed at KW for letting go of Maggs and Carlos Lee. No one talked about the Sox in '05 but they proved the oldest baseball axiom - pitching and defense will beat offense almost every time. And less then a year after winning it all it seems we've totally forgotten what worked. Everyone got so worked up over Alfonso Soriano but that is not the Sox's problem. The Sox's problem is that Buehrle, Vazquez and Garcia are below-average pitchers right now. The Sox's problem is that Hermanson hasn't pitched one game in '06 and Politte never came close to what he did last year. The Sox's problem is that there's no more Marte or Vizcaino - mediocre as they were at times, they provided quality depth out of the pen, something very few teams have. The Sox's problem is that our hitters are too reliant on the HR and our pitchers can't stop giving up HRs. I will choose to be optimistic though. There are still 2 full months to go and if Buerhle and Garcia can find their way (sometime soon, I hope) this can turn around very fast.