RockRaines

QUOTE (11and1 @ Aug 18, 2010 -> 04:21 PM) Only Ozzie can answer your question. But last night's debacle would have been easier for me to handle if it had been ANY Twinkie other than Thome. When Big Frank was with Oakland, before a then-crucial series out there, Ozzie stated repeatedly, "Whatever happens, we won't let Frank Thomas beat us." I don't remember the exact circumstances, but we pitched to him--I believe it was Jenks-- with 1st base open and men on. Those belt-high fastballs have yet to land, and cost us the games. As I said earlier, this is the karma of the wide world of sports and I have been both expecting and dreading this day since Soxfest. Frank's departure had a karmic stench around it, and most of it came from the Sox--KW in particular. Same with Thome, except ALL of the bad karma came from the Sox. Ignore it it at your own peril..... Once again, he doesnt call the pitches, so why would he have the answer to that question? Do you guys think Ozzie is some sort of God that makes ALL decisions every game?

QUOTE (Brian @ Aug 18, 2010 -> 06:00 PM) Ozzie isn't pitching the 9th innings. or calling the pitches, however somehow the last 3 losses are all his fault.

QUOTE (hi8is @ Aug 18, 2010 -> 03:26 PM) Jones makes me wanna vomit I was just going to post this. The fact that we run out a guy who is under the mendoza line makes me vomit.

"Who's the Wild man now" -Rudy

QUOTE (iamshack @ Aug 17, 2010 -> 06:39 PM) Great work, Rock! I did plyo today. Struggled a bit at first, but always love how I feel after I finish. It was an easy 5 miles yesterday so I made it 6, boy my knees are sore today. CST today and I am looking forward to a different burn than what I am feeling in my biceps at the moment.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Aug 18, 2010 -> 11:18 AM) This team doesn't look at stats, trends, or anything for that matter. It's all about Ozzie's gut. It has nothing to do with stats, and Ozzie doesnt call the pitches.

The one question I have is why are we pitching to his strengths? Everyone knows Thome cant hit high inside or outside heat, yet we pitch him low and away and low and in. It makes no sense.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Aug 17, 2010 -> 06:38 PM) AJ+Kotsay=rally killer. It will happen more than once tonight, watch. Err...... *walks away, kicks a rock*

QUOTE (fathom @ Aug 17, 2010 -> 06:45 PM) Rock, does it make you feel better that at least Berkman has sucked with the Yankees so far? No.

AJ+Kotsay=rally killer. It will happen more than once tonight, watch.

On the topic of the thread. Outside of maybe 3-4 teams, doesnt pretty much every team fade about this time? There are a few perennial playoff teams, but the rest of the league will fade this time if they dont make the playoffs. Its kind of the nature of sports.

Did B&B yesterday, gonna bust out 5 miles today.

QUOTE (beckham15 @ Aug 16, 2010 -> 05:17 PM) ESPN is saying all signs are leaning towards Carmello leaving the nuggets....any chance the bulls try to trade for him? If they had the bullets they sure as hell should try. Rose+Boozer+Melo is a very compelling lineup vs the other star studded teams they have to compete with.

QUOTE (Brian @ Aug 14, 2010 -> 09:08 AM) Nominations Why is rachel back?

QUOTE (hi8is @ Aug 15, 2010 -> 02:56 AM) Losing the game today made me really sad. Any optimistic soxtalkers out there got some cheer me up We WILL win tomorrow.

You know what really sucks? Watching the inevitable decline of Brian Urlacher. This guy has been the face of the franchise for so long, i hurts watching him on the downslope of his career.

QUOTE (fathom @ Aug 14, 2010 -> 09:18 PM) AJP is showing massive signs of regression. He has no power left, as even hard hit balls by him die at the warning track. Are you talking about tonight? Because that ball was not hit very hard at all, I could tell by the sound it wasnt going out.

QUOTE (beautox @ Aug 14, 2010 -> 12:13 AM) I wouldn't say that their youth is crap; They're looking really strong up the diamond for years to come Soto - he is a top 5 catcher in baseball that just needs to stay healthy. Castro - he has the potential to establish himself as a top 5 SS in all of baseball; has some defensive warts like Hanley but he is still really young. Dewitt - at his floor he is a league average second basemen with above average defense at 3B that needs some work at the keystone, his upside is what he has produced up this point with the cubs .310/.370/.429 with the ability to possibly tack on some more slugging; he very well could turn into the left handed hitting pedroia. Colvin - i see Ruben sierra from him, if he can control the zone hes dangerous but i think he has sweeping peaks and valleys over the course of his career. that from a position player perspective is incredibly strong up the middle, and they have a couple of good looking prospects in both Jay and Brett Jackson, a very good looking back end of the bullpen to shut the door as well in Marmol. Their pitching in that division looks to be third rate but that might be more than enough going forward, they might have found something in Diamond as he continues to recover from his ankle and TJS. Dempster, Wells, Gorz, Jackson and Diamond, could be more than enough going forward for a central crown in '11. Soto isnt really part of their youth movement. Castro is good, and thats it. Colvin came back down to earth and will continue to, Dewitt is a castoff who doesnt have a place on the diamond. Cashner may be a good pen arm for them moving forward. Please dont mention Thomas Diamond. The last member of the DVD combo isnt going to stick in the majors.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Aug 13, 2010 -> 12:40 PM) BJ Ryan's was probably worse. 5 years, $47 mill before the 2006 season. He pitched fantastically in 2006, had TJ in 2007, was solid in 2008, and was garbage and out of the game in 2009. They owed him $10 mill this year (though it was undoubtedly covered by insurance). John Grabow is pretty bad.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Aug 13, 2010 -> 02:28 PM) That could be because Teahen's been gone for so long you forgot how mediocre a player he is. I think he should be grouped with Jones/Kotsay as blah, not emerging as a better option than those 2. He's prob a .270 hitter, which is better than what we have been putting out there.

QUOTE (Brian @ Aug 13, 2010 -> 12:37 PM) Heard it wasn't even close. My girl, Britany, is in trouble. I may have to black this out, but this is how I see it going: The HOH nominates Matt and Hayden. Matt then uses his DPOV to take himself off and he puts Kathy on. Kathy is then gone. And sorry Steve. It was fairly obvious if you watch after dark. That little p****.

I know who wins HOH on Big Brother, and I am NOT happy.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Aug 13, 2010 -> 10:45 AM) That was fun. Lets bring in as many guys as possible that throw in the high 90s, but might not know where the ball is gonna go. I doubt there has been a bullpen that can throw as hard as Sisco, MacDougal, Aardsma, & Thornton combined. I dont know, it appears Santos, Putz, Thorton, Jenks, Threets and even Chris sale can give those guys a run for their money. The two "soft throwing" guy in our pen are Linebrink and Pena and both are mid-90's.

Alright, now I would like to see more Teahen and less A Jones and Kotsay.

QUOTE (bmags @ Aug 13, 2010 -> 02:16 AM) You are so much better. Man, any hawks fan that feels their stomach drop when the other teams score, not a fan. When the white sox lose to drop out of first place, if you feel emotion, not a fan. You are ridiculous, you are not that great. Nobody gives a s*** if you think you know the right way to cheer for a team, because for a lot of people it's different. It doesn't make it their first year cheering for the team. Everyone knows baseball teams lose games. But it doesn't mean that losing to a team in august in a first place battle isn't painful. And it doesn't mean you are a better fan. It just means you think a lot of yourself. Nice rant. Not exactly relevant to my opinion or my posts, but I can understand that you apparently find something inherently wrong with the way I cheer for a team. Thats your opinion, which obviously doesnt line up with mine. See how there are two sides of the situation? If you want me to respond to your post to tell you how I actually cheer for a team since that apparently is what direction you are taking this thread, here you go. I invest thousands of dollars a year in my favorite sports teams and I am financially and emotionally invested in those team's performance. I stick my neck out of them every year in the hope that we can experience the sheer joy of winning a championship. I honestly believe that the teams needs all sorts of fans from the hardcore (clearly us) and the fairweather, for the teams to succeed in the long run. IMO, the hardcore fans that actually know about the game and the team are personally more invested in the outcome and the actual roadmap of the franchise as a whole. These are the fans that usually know the baseball season is 162 and not one at bat, they know that one goal against their team is not the end all be all for the season. They and I get upset when those things occur, but we also know that the team will live to fight another day because we've been through multiple decades of seasons and we know failure is part of the overall lifespan of a sports franchise. These are the people I identify with. Do I think that these people are the best kinds of fans, absolutely with no doubt. Folks who have the dedication to focus on a team over the course of years with never wavering faith are the kind of people I think of as actual fans of a team. The dictionary defines sports fan as "and enthusiastic devotee of sports," I personally believe enthusiasm is a positive energy directed at a team for which you care about the most. The fans that leave, that give up, and that spend the majority of their time hating a team instead of rooting for them are not the type of people that I think of when I think of the true fans of a team. People who completely jump off the ship at the smallest sign of losing or failure are not the type of fan I identify with. If that comes off to you as arrogant, I am completely fine with that. I have no reservations in the way I cheer for my teams, and I wake up each day excited to see the outcome of the game that is on that night (or day), because after all, winning is the thing that drives my enthusiasm for sports. Maybe you feel like negative energy is all part of being a fan of a team and investing yourself in the outcome, but to me, thats just wasted energy and I choose to not take part in it. If you think thats me thinking too much of myself, thats a flaw that I can live with.