RockRaines

QUOTE(shawnhillegas @ Sep 12, 2006 -> 09:30 PM) its not the location, its the result. So if he threw it over his head, and he ducked out of the way and tomahawked it out of the park, it would still be a s***ty pitch?

Wow, yeah, Mark doesnt have "it" he should have known Rivera would close his eyes and hit a miracle homerun.

QUOTE(fathom @ Sep 12, 2006 -> 09:29 PM) Buehrle keeps throwing meatballs up to the plate....he has no chance against this Angels lineup. If a meatball is a breaking pitch 1 inch from the dirt inside, then I guess every pitch is a meatball.

QUOTE(Soxbadger @ Sep 12, 2006 -> 04:38 PM) Bonds is also older and injured compared to his record breaking season. But those couldnt be the reasons for his decline. Frank Thomas is on the juice, I mean how else could he have such a turn around. Oh he was injured last year. I forgot injuries can negatively affect a players stats. Are you trying to imply Bonds wasnt on the juice? Because he admitted he was.

I think everyone can see that Bonds, when no on the juice like this year, isnt as quick around with the bat. Therefor he has to start his swing slightly earlier, which makes you lose contact with the ball sooner, which gives you worse pitch recognition.

QUOTE(Steff @ Sep 12, 2006 -> 12:11 PM) If his eyeballs were hitting the ball and running the bases it might... His eyeballls sure helped him quickly decide whether to swing or not. Plus his running of the bases is not something that improved.

QUOTE(Steff @ Sep 12, 2006 -> 11:44 AM) I don't doubt roids have an effect.... Specifically though.. I'd like to see the concrete evidence that they improve eyesight, and that Bonds reaped the benifits of said improvment. TIA. Depends if an OBP of .500+ proves that for you.

QUOTE(Felix @ Sep 9, 2006 -> 12:23 PM) Well, can you prove, beyond a doubt, that Sosa or McGwire took anything? I know it looks like they did, and I do think that they did, but they haven't been proven guilty either. Even if damning evidence comes out that they used steroids, is there any proof how much influence steroids actually have on homerun totals? Sure, it gives the person more muscle, which means they will have the ability to hit the ball harder/farther, but how do you know if it will add 1 homerun, 3, 5, or 10? Wow, talk about ridiculous statements. Yes, you can prove that they did. And yes it effects homerun totals. Check out the career's of IROID, Canseco, Sosa, Bonds, etc. Their numbers were inflated by steroids. In fact jose has admitted as such. QUOTE(Felix @ Sep 12, 2006 -> 11:04 AM) Can you prove that what he was using helped him by adding x homeruns onto what his normal total would be? You dont know whether it helped him hit one more HR, two more, five more, or fifty more. Can you prove that certain antibiotics improve your health by x each day you take it? Talk about a case by case basis and measurements that cant even be made in a medical setting. Here is how you can tell how steroids effected Mcguire's homerun total, and how much it added on each year. McGuire not on roids Hr totals: 49 32 33 39 22 42 39 On roids: 52 58 58 70 65 So, not on roids he avg'ed 36.57 hr's per year On Roids he avg'ed 60.6 Hr per year. So that would come out to steroids adding 24.03 Hr's to his totals on avg per year.

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Sep 12, 2006 -> 09:50 AM) Unless we start adding names like Irwin Santana, this is a no-go. Is that Ervin's brother?

I would be more worried about the pen right now. Cotts, Riske, BMAC, Hermy are all garbage.

QUOTE(Texsox @ Sep 11, 2006 -> 05:05 PM) If that was the "real" plane. I've read accounts that the transponder was a red herring. But my guess is, it was a mistake and they have since corrected it. I've always thought, either the gov't is dumber than we think, or smarter. It could have been a decoy to fake out the terrorists, or it could have been some idiot who left it on. Who knows?

QUOTE(kapkomet @ Sep 11, 2006 -> 04:24 PM) Air Force One. So, because it wasn't restricted info at the time, and they didn't turn off the transponder, we could see where the president was until someone figured out they better turn the transponder off, but that was AFTER he left Louisiana and was heading for Nebraska. The media was going nuts wondering where Bush was, and we all knew exactly where they were. It was strange. And then, for three days, D/FW airport was a twisted mess of airplanes parked all over the place, and the SILENCE was weird. There's more stories from some of the crews heading out east... but that's all I have time for now. Amazing info right there.

Im still thinking about opening a Sonic in chicago, there is already built in marketing.

I actually think on paper the matchups favor us except for Garcia vs Saunders

I was on my way to class, and glanced at the tv after the plane hit, and saw the 2nd plane crash, and thought, holy crap this is on purpose. They cancelled classes that day and everyone was glued to the TV,.

QUOTE(witesoxfan @ Sep 10, 2006 -> 08:55 PM) I'm largely just sick of people on this board jumping to conclusions for every player the Sox put in there. Give the kid a chance. Don't frickin destroy him because of one game in September. Compare Juan Rincon and Sean Tracey. Better yet, compare Scot Shields and Sean Tracey. People here have been willing to give up like top quality, blue chip prospects for Scot Shields because he is so good. Shields 2000(AAA) - 5.41 ERA 1.47 WHIP 158 H 114 R 98 ER 16 HR 82 BB 156 K in 163 IP 2001(AAA) - 4.97 ERA 1.25 WHIP 141 H 84 R 76 ER 24 HR 31 BB 104 K in 137.2 IP Tracey 2005(AA) - 4.07 ERA 1.41 WHIP 154 H 80 R 74 ER 13 HR 76 BB 106 K in 163.2 2006(AAA) - 4.30 ERA 1.44 WHIP 111 H 67 R 62 ER 17 HR 76 BB 102 K in 129.2 IP ...just sayin' Just watching the guys you can see the difference. I mean, who taught Tracey those f-ed up mechanics?

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Sep 11, 2006 -> 11:23 AM) Darth Vader took steroids? Probably, he did get half his body burned off.

QUOTE(BearSox @ Sep 10, 2006 -> 06:22 PM) Tracey really didn't do anything bad. I could of swore I saw him walk in a run...I thought that was usually deemed bad.

QUOTE(Colorado Sox Fan @ Sep 8, 2006 -> 03:52 PM) Throwing the knuckler.

WHen did Quickman get a new screen name?

The team is distracted, bar none.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=2575661 When Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said he voted Texas No. 1 in the coaches poll, he made a mistake, said USA Today, which sponsors the poll. Gilmore: D big question for Buckeyes Rod Gilmore Although Ohio State enters its big rematch with Texas on Saturday night (ABC, 8 ET) ranked No. 1 in the polls, questions remain about its defense. Can a unit featuring nine new starters develop into a championship-caliber defense? • For more of Rod Gilmore's analysis, Click here. Insider Also: • Tressel excitedInsider • College GameDay To Go • Smith concentrating on arm • Vote: Who wins? The rematch between No. 1 Ohio State and No. 2 Texas on Saturday night at Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin this week will tag one team with a loss and diminished national title chances. At his weekly news conference on Tuesday previewing the showdown, Tressel said, "I've got [the Longhorns] ranked No. 1 on our ballot." Texas coach Mack Brown, meanwhile, said he had listed Ohio State No. 1. USA Today, however, disclosed late Tuesday that Tressel's ballot actually lists Ohio State No. 1 and Texas No. 2. The paper, which normally does not reveal votes except for the final regular-season poll, said it revealed Tressel's vote as a matter of policy to protect the integrity of the poll. Stan Jefferson, Ohio State's director of player development, called in Tressel's ballot Tuesday morning. He said he changed the ballot to match the preseason poll and did not have time to tell Tressel. Integrity of the coaches' vote USA Today characterized Ohio State coach Jim Tressel's press-conference announcement that he voted Texas No. 1 as he "made a mistake." The paper released Tressel's vote in order to protect the "integrity" of the poll, which, to paraphrase Groucho Marx, is more than Tressel ever did. • For more of Ivan Maisel's analysis, click here. • Chris Fowler's take Insider "When it came time to vote on the preseason poll, we voted Texas No. 1 and us No. 3 after talking about it as a staff," Jefferson told The (Manfield, Ohio) News Journal. "When I called in his poll [Tuesday morning], he did not tell me to put Ohio State No. 1. I put that down because we were No. 1 in the preseason poll that came out. "I did not have time to get with him today before the press conference. It was an honest mistake on our part. It was not meant as a psychological ploy or attempt to play mind games," Jefferson said. Ohio State confirmed Texas was No. 2 on Tressel's ballot. Coaches can have another person call their votes into USA Today as long as the head coach makes the selections. Texas has won its last 21 games and is the defending national champion, but Brown said he has been voting Ohio State No. 1. "We feel like they deserve to be the No. 1 team in the country because they finished the [2005] season like we did but they've got more returning starters in key positions than we do," Brown said. The Buckeyes lost 25-22 to Texas before an Ohio Stadium-record crowd of 105,565 last season. Even though Texas is dripping with tradition in its 113 years of football, it has never hosted a No. 1 vs. No. 2 game until now.

Frankly, I think alot of people dont realize that the offense doesnt really seem to be the problem. Pitching is our need. If we get rid of FG and insert BMAC, we need some more bullpen help. Our leadoff issue is the only thing that I think is glaring. That should be our #1 priority when it comes to our offense. If we have someone who can hit singles, I think the lineup will fall into order quite nicely. I also do not see BA producing at a .200 clip next year. There is no reason to get rid of him, and making him a 4th Of'er is ridiculous and I would rather ship him than see that happen.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Sep 8, 2006 -> 11:11 AM) Is it possible that part of the problem there was Haeger warming up as a relief pitcher, and not having a full warmup, with long toss and everything, to start the game? I mean, if McCarthy has struggled with some of his "touch" pitches like the changeup this season coming out of the pen, I can't imagine getting a knuckler into a groove would be any easier. I dont know honestly. He warmed up a long time. You could just tell that he was trying to repeat his mechanics very hard. Its kinda hard to explain without acting it. But you could tell he was trying to stay in the same arm slot actively. I think its just not comfortable yet for him.

I will say this about Haeger. I sat right at the end of the bullpen last night where he was warming up. His knuckler does have alot of bite to it. But you can tell that he is still working on his mechanics to a great extent. Even Art had to come over and work with his release during his warmups. I would say another year or two on Charlie.