rangercal

Is stromile swift in it?

February 28, 2005 BY CHRIS DE LUCA Staff Reporter FORT MYERS, Fla. -- The White Sox spent the offseason improving their pitching, defense and speed. One other element was missing -- something trickier to label. The Sox had talent in recent years but never had the same kind of heart or fire as the Minnesota Twins. Enter catcher A.J. Pierzynski. His signing with the White Sox was controversial. And guess who was miffed the most. That's right, the Twins. ''I don't like the fact that the White Sox got him,'' Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. ''He's straight game-on. He's going to help that team. I'd rather have seen him gone someplace else.'' Pierzynski came up with the Twins, debuting in 1998 and playing through the 2003 season. With rookie catcher Joe Mauer ready to replace him, the Twins traded Pierzynski to the Giants for closer Joe Nathan before last season. One season in San Francisco earned Pierzynski the label of clubhouse cancer. The Twins aren't buying it. ''A.J. plays the game the right way,'' center fielder Torii Hunter said. ''The opposing team doesn't like it because he tries to startle the pitcher. He tries to rile the team up and get them off their game. And he wins. [The Sox] don't know what they have in A.J. They think they have a cancer, but A.J. doesn't bother his teammates -- he bothers the other team.'' What about the notion that Hunter wouldn't have delivered his season-defining hit last July that sent Sox catcher Jamie Burke flying had Pierzynski been behind the plate? ''I would have run him over, too,'' Hunter said with a big laugh. ''That's my guy. I would have run him over, then I would have helped him up.'' Hunter's devastating hit of Burke delivered a crushing blow to the Sox, who never recovered -- or retaliated. Sox manager Ozzie Guillen complained this winter that Carlos Lee had a chance to retaliate on a double-play ball against the Twins but ''went into second base as if his wife were turning the double play.'' Hunter was just as surprised as Guillen. ''We couldn't believe it, either,'' Hunter said. ''But you know what, people got away from playing the game hard. So when something hard like that happens, they automatically say I was dirty. People don't want to see that anymore. I don't know why. That's the way you play the game.'' Guillen never complained. ''Because he's a player,'' Hunter said. ''Ozzie Guillen played the game the right way. I watched him when I was younger coming up in the major leagues; this guy played the game the right way -- hard-nosed. And that's what he saw.'' Copyright © The Sun-Times Company

7-4 in FEB

Ben got the ball completely taken away from him, next possesion clutch 3. He does not play like a rook.

BEN!! He gets up and hits the 3!

holy s*** tyson!

QUOTE(AnthraxFan93 @ Feb 25, 2005 -> 11:22 AM) I gotta give KW props.. At the time I didn't want him here, but if he actually works his ass off and plays like he did for the twins, it will be one of the few times KW got something right. ??? wtf? you must not like KW too much. KW puts his balls on the line a lot. he goes out there and finds a deal. He has passion in this club. He is not a gm who sits on his ass and waits for problems to fix them selves.

QUOTE(robinventura23 @ Feb 25, 2005 -> 10:59 AM) Glad to see he was allowed to grow to goat back. Yeah I think he may have a decnt year this year. not 2003 type, but not last year either. more like 15-10 4.25 era

QUOTE(qwerty @ Feb 24, 2005 -> 11:56 PM) You see the talent scottie had to work with when jordan first retired? You have to be a damn good leader to work with that. Also, if jordan did not have a player to cpmpliment him like pippen did he would have not be quite as good. He would have still be a legend but the best player of all time? I don't know about that. BJ started the AS game, Horace was a reserve on the as squad. Kukoc made all rookie second team. their were plenty of teams with worse talent in 94. Scottie was a great leader in 93-94 and 94-95. One hugh hollins bad call away of going to the eastern conferance finals against the pacers . in 94-95 I believe scottie led the bulls in every major statistical category, at least he was for the majority of the season. Who knows what MJs legacy would be without scottie, thats one thing we will never know. The argument can go either way. Im glad things folded out the way they did with mj and scottie together the majority of their careers.

nice unis

QUOTE(ChiSoxyGirl @ Feb 24, 2005 -> 10:08 PM) Mine didn't even make the list at all. I dont know too many people with the name chisoxygirl

QUOTE(qwerty @ Feb 24, 2005 -> 02:55 PM) Streak shooting from the three? Gordon>>> jordan when it comes to shooting the three. I don't think many people realize how bad of a three point shooter he was. What similarities does gordan have to pippen? Because basically whatever he would have n common with pippen he would have in common with jordan. Pippen and jordan are almost identical players outside of points per game. But that was not his role most of his career, when it was he stepped up. Their is a lot more to players than numbers. scottie's numbers outside of ppg were comparable to MJ but MJ was more effective. MJ has leadership that is 5 levels ahead of pip. Not to rag on scottie, it just shows you how great MJ really was. MJ's Leadership was levels ahead of any player to play the game. So with that I don't think you can compare scottie too much to MJ. fwiw scottie was my fav player .

Playing for the brewers: Not only do we suck, we grab balls too.

I was wrong. Z is better. Z is way better. Talent wise I think eddy is better. But Eddy needs a damn work ethic. I was dreading someone remembering this thread. Z dominated tonight 'nuff said. I owe you all a beer are something for all this damn trouble. Im done defending Eddy curry.

QUOTE(Spiff @ Feb 23, 2005 -> 08:40 PM) But you did compare his speed to Iverson. Go back and look. Among the league's elite at handling the ball? Let's not get carried away. He had a sideline interview with tnt on the bench during the rookie game just to interview him about his great ball handling so I dont think I'm getting carried away. As far as speed goes, ben is quick, but not Iverson quick , yet. You can say since he is a rookie my comparison is part projection. I don't think he is all the way there yet as far as speed, but will get there.

QUOTE(Palehosefan @ Feb 23, 2005 -> 08:55 PM) Yikes, basically you are saying he's the best player of all time, or the potential to be. AI is a unique player, like qwerty said a first ballot HOF'er, to even have the speed of Iverson is a major, major gift. But to top it off with his handle and scoring ability, its just not fair. Ray Allen is arguably the best shooter in the NBA right now, thats not really fair either. Ben Gordon is an explosive offensive player, but he turns the ball over too much right now, which can be correctable, and his defense leaves something to be desired. Both can be fixed in time, but I'm not sure he compares to another NBA player right now. Jason Terry is somewhat a comparision, but Gordon is more athletic and less of a PG than Terry. They are both SG's in PG's bodies and excellent outside shooters. Basically he has his own style. I never complimented his D. thats half the game right there. to be the best of all time, you have to have d. Gordon will never have good d.

QUOTE(qwerty @ Feb 23, 2005 -> 08:03 PM) Um, let's see here. Gordon while fast is not as fast as iverson ever was or is now. Also, gordon doesn't have any where near the stamina that iverson has. Who always leads the league in points per game? Yup, iverson. Gordon and dkiles have both admitted that is a main reason why the bulls cannot afford to start him. Because they need him down the stretch. While gordon is a very good ball handler are you really comparing him to one of the best in nba history? Iverson is a top fifty player of all time and a first ballot hall of famer. Period. Stamina and speed are good reasons not to compare ben to AI, yet. But it can be fixed with better conditioning. ben tryies to bench press out the gym. as far as ball handler. ben is among the leagues elite. not one of the best of all time. he will continue to improve as his career goes on. he can get very close to AI's handling skills.

QUOTE(Spiff @ Feb 23, 2005 -> 12:54 PM) Uh, no. How can you say no? this guy has unbelievable moves, speed, and ball handling. He's also just a rookie and improving. AI has not improved since his rookie year, he's pretty much been the same player his whole career.

"For the 13 years I was in Chicago, I only made two mistakes. That's pretty good," he said. "If I had known that leaving early last year would have caused such a controversy, I would have never done it. My manager told me I had a day off. But what can I say?" I guess the second mistake was using your "practice bat" in a game .

Red Kerr said he "heard" he was out for year.

Id say he could be a combo of the 3. MJ's icewater in his vains in crunch time. Vinnies explosive streaks. AI's ball handling, speed , moves. and to include Ray allen, very comparable in 3 pt % . and creating his own shot.

QUOTE(hammerhead johnson @ Feb 23, 2005 -> 12:14 PM) Wow, the Seattle GM must really think that Paxson is a dope. The Bulls key to success this season: FG% differential Bulls MVP: Tyson Chandler (in a landslide) This rumor is disturbing, to say the least. no way I do this trade. no way. Tyson is the heart and soul of the bulls. I see him team captain real soon.

I cant think of who he most compares to. He does not and never will have MJ's D He will have a bigger role than Vinnie Johnson ever did. He has a better jump shot than AI . all comparisons welcome.

QUOTE(soxman352000 @ Feb 22, 2005 -> 04:43 PM) Me too I think its a sign we need the season to start.

QUOTE(Texsox @ Feb 22, 2005 -> 12:39 PM) OMG At first I thought it said Crede and thought WTF same here , I thought that was his new fantasy value lol