BrandoFan

Do you realize that with Cubs winning the World Series (and once Hendry gets bullpen help and Wood comes back, they'll be hard to stop) Sox are DEAD? Magglio might be gone and how many years does Frank have left? Yankees would be tough to beat, but it's doable - Josh Beckett and Carl Pavano showed how it's done. A-Rod and Sheffield aren't nearly as good against quality pitching and might not respond well to the pressure of great expectations put on their 200-Mill ballclub.........They'll be more vulnerable than ever to the quick 1-2-3-4 in ALDS courtesy of Unit-Garcia-Buehrle-Unit. Does Unit not realize he would be immortalized in one of the greatest cities in the world if he could ever bring the World Series Championship to Chicago? I mean, my god, Randy you freak, if there is still a competitive spark in your entire body.....Wave the clause, damnit, or die trying. Sox should make the D-backs a really tempting offer - how hard is it to outbid the Yankees when it comes to the prospects D-Backs would want? If Unit ends up shooting the deal down, fine.....But every attempt must be made. This season is REEEEAAALLLY important - if only to get the fanbase back big-time.

I don't know whether he will come or not. That's not the point. What is the point, however, is that EVERY f***ING POSSIBLE measure must be taken to get him. If there's ever a time to give good prospects, this is it. Sox should not delude themselves into thinking they are bonafied WS contenders - not with the way the offense is performing against quality pitching, on the road, in the nationally broadcasted games especially. I mean.......We're going for it, are we not?

I don't think Uribe and Willie over-achieved that much, to be honest. They just strayed away from what made them successful in the 2 months span from roughly April 10 through June 15th. That pop-up by Uribe on a hanging curve tonight? 3 weeks ago, that ball is a HR to RCF. But he wanted to kill it to LF and screwed himself into the ground, literally.... Willie looked like you couldn't get him out - even his outs against LHP were line-outs to LF-CF. He was hitting about .340 with an OBP of .400 in the aformentioned 2 month stretch. Now....Ugly.

I almost did. I had Sox losing 5 out of 6. Diaz pitched a game of his life, so they only lost 4. Cubs were a superior team in 2003, but we didn't face Lofton, Ramirez, Prior and only saw Wood once, so somehow we stole the series - I still don't know how Sox won the Danny Wright start at USCF - Cubs had bases loaded every other inning and were hitting line-outs and warning track drives all game long....... Now Sox should get Randy Johnson if they're serous about winning. You just can't count on Loaiza anymore - and the way our offense is regularly choking against good pitching and/or on nationally-televised games........Unless Unit, Garcia, Buerhle shut people down in the playoffs, we might have a HUGE problem.

Yes. He had 2 scoreless innings against the Injuns, but you could see Vizquel, Hefner and Gerut putting some quality swings on the ball - all 3 outs were hit hard at somebody. Then Belliard hit a missile the next inning and another walked. However, today he just f***ed himself over by being a pussy and not challenging Martinez. His control was off and he paid for it.

No, it's worse - Clayton never had much talent, so his failures were expected, but Joe Crede has been hyped as the Next Rolen......and stellar 2002......And then he just started sucking real bad. As numbers show, Joe has been ANYTHING BUT clutch this season. In years past, he's been clutch - but this season, he just sucks in big sutuations - that swing seemingly gets even bigger when the game's on the line. I would have forgiven all had he come through with a base-hit in the 7th..... :puke

No, you can't red-light him on 3-1 against a scrub reliever. Otherwise, why even start him if you can't even trust him to lay off a pitcher's pitch on a 3-1 count -- or at least try to drive the ball to RF for a game-tying double instead of dreaming of a GW 3-run homer and subsequently jamming himself? You can blame Ozzie for not trying Paulie at 3B, or for not making Magglio play through "non-structural" pain against the Cubs - Sox probably win 4 out of 6 if not 5 out of 6 if Magglio is in RF on June 25th, July 2nd and 4th........But at some point, players have to assume responsibility. Buerhle stepped up to the occasion. Loaiza and Crede (to name the most egregious offenders, there were others) did not. I would have taken losing 2 out of 3 to the Twins if it meant taking 2 out of 3 this weekend.

Huh? What does it have to do with Ozzie? It was a 2-0 count. A bad LHP is on the mound. Bear down. Shorten/level swing. Look for your pitch and let everything else go by. That at bat perfectly describes Joe's season so far - lousy pitch selection and a slow bat.

Jose has a 1400 OPS in 'Close and Late' situations this season. I reckon he's earned the right to make an out against Hawkins on a 2-2 count once in a while, eh? Joe is hitting a wonderful .150 (450 OPS) with RISP so far this year, and his 'Close and Late' OPS is 660. Clutch my ass! He used to be good. Now he sucks.. WTF happened?

No, I think people who consider me a pessimist are mindless homers who deserve to have their retinas eaten out with a rusty spoon, eggs benedict style. I came within a fluke start by Diaz (last Saturday) of making good on the "Sox lose 5 of 6" prediction. I knew these pull-happy bastards would choke on the national TV. They didn't disappoint.

Ok, he tanked against the Cubs last year, got beat by O'Leary and Karros, I said it could happen to anybody, whatever. Does he redeem himself in 2004 by shutting the Cubs down twice? No he does everything in his power to lose BOTH games.. Last week, he got lucky that Cubs just missed a couple of HR and offense T-d off on Maddux. This weekend, he wasn't as lucky - Sox offense totally choked (again) in front of the national audience, and E-Lo got a loss he so richly deserved handed to him. His armspeed from 2003 is all but a memory. He doesn't have the velocity or the extra movement on his cutter. He is just chillin' out there on the mound, no intensity. This is E-Lo from pre-2003 days. Adios and take Garland with you.

Can't hit in the clutch, totally buries the team on Sat and today as well. All Sox needed was a measly base hit to score the run and prolong the inning yesteday. Has a 3-1 count. Tries to pull an outside pitch. Game over. Today was even more pathetic. 2-0 count. Glendon BP Rusch on the moound. Don't even need a hit - just a medium depth fly or a grounder.....Slowbat Joe goes after a chest-high fastball, popping it up. He's low on energy and confidence. His swing is long, bat slow, approach - stupid. Loves hitting into DP and can't buy a clutch hit this season to save his life. :fyou Base-cloggin POS.

Truth was my guide, Mike. Your insinuations offend me so.

When I said that Beltran "looked very sharp today" on Tuesday, I didn't mean "good enough to hit 3 critical HR in the next 2 games". But I'll take it :fthecubs

No, he means the infamous August game in Metrodome. It was the height of Manuel-Ball: Sox had a s***-load of baserunners and yet only scored a few runs because everyone was lifting a deep FO, after deep FO, after right-at-em line-out.......2004 Sox would have found a way to blow the Twins out, but those goons only had a 4-1 lead in the 9th - hell they had an inning where despite 3 hits, they scored NO runs. That was the year when Foulke was 42 for 45 in save situations..... So he comes back in and Twins just choke him to death with blooping singles and infield dribblers - Konerko's range and inability to bend for the ball cost the Sox at least 2 outs. Then some Twin scrub (Hocking?) steps in with the game tied and smokes a 3-run GW homer to RF. The last bit of hope Sox had (that 14-29 start didn't help) went right out of the window with that game. They were doner than done.

That jinxing scumbag :fyou Then again, with Randy Johnson and another RH reliever, ANYTHING is possible. Especially if Kevin Brown is not healthy and Pedro can't throw over 90-92 mph. Of course "anything" also includes "getting swept out of ALDS", but I better not think such ugly thoughts.

Granted, you have a point - Cabrera is a talent, no doubt. There is always a chance he blossoms after turning 30 like Valentin and Mora did. My problem is that on a money-challenged team with not 1 but 2 decent SS, can they take a multi-year gamble on a soon-to-be very expensive underachiever like Cabrera? IMO they can't. Sox simply have too many needs.

Glad to see Beltran beat his ass today. Two for one. Hawkins has lost confidence in his curve - he was hanging it so much, it became a liability. Now all he features is a 94 mph belt-high heat. Granted, when it's well located it's tough as s*** to hit, but if hitters start sitting on it and Hawk blows a few more games and loses confidence....that control will abandon him and people will start teeing off.

Doesn't matter -- these threads are auto-jinx. Turning the DP before the ball is even in the glove....:headshake :puke First unearned run in 2.5 months (since TB game). Ban sox-r-us.

This team had slow-to-horrible starts from every other regular, has Brown out, and no #4-5 pitchers - Lieber and that rookie aren't exactly Pensky, er, Yankee material. And yet somehow the Yanks are still on pace to win 105+ games. Since '96, they've made World Series 6 times, including 4 wins. I would say their track record speaks for itself.

Now how's that? Defensively? Please, the new beefed up Tejada has range of about three steps in either direction. Hell, he made more errors the last couple of years than Val - and that usually is Jose's weakness. Why do you think Tejada's ZoneRating is among the worst in the league? Because he sucks up everything hit in his defensive zone? I still remember him giving us a win in Baltimore with his lazy throw to 2nd..... Baserunning? When Tejada goes from 1st to 3rd on a bunt single or scores from 3rd on a pop-up to the tarp, then we'll see. Offensively? Jose has a better overall OPS.....OPS with Runners On.....a much better RISP.....and of course 'Close and Late'. Tejada's obscene RBI total has more to do with opportunities than efficiency - he is hitting 3rd in the line-up, with Mora getting on base for him every other at-bat and Roberts stealing his way into scoring position. Carlos Guillen, though is having a great year. Best SS in AL this year. But enough about Valentin - we've had a month-long respite from Valentin threads and I rather like it that way. Can we maybe not jinx him, yeah? He went from being a bum to being a savior in a matter of weeks.....He is neither.

Cabrera is 29, Jose is 34. We're not talking about a kid like Izturis who has his future ahead of him. Cabrera is as good as he is going to get. Jose won't be here 3 years from now, but that doesn't mean Sox should throw money on one of the most overrated players in baseball......Especially given that 24yo Juan Uribe has pretty much improved in every aspect of the game. No, it should make you feel better that with Jose's still-outstanding range and arm and positining skills and awareness (textbook run downs, faking out Patterson, picking Dye off 3rd base after faking the swipe on Crosby at 2nd on bad throw by Rowand - that kind of heads up stuff), COUPLED with somewhat less careless play in 2003 and 2004 when he did cut down on avoidable errors........he has been been every bit as "valuable" defensively as Cabrera has been. Certainly within shooting distance. The last unearned run that scored courtesy of Jose was back in April in Tampa Bay. How much better is Cabrera gonna be in that department? Zero unearned runs? I seem to remember him whiffing on Vidro's throw and White Sox scoring a few unearned runs just the other week......Hmm. I still will take Cabrera's glove over Jose's (he is getting older) in the long run, but if you think Cabrera is signifcantly better defensively, then.....Well last couple of years, the numbers simply contradict it. Such as.... These Jose was batting .120 in 110 atbats as a RH in 2003. He no longer bats RH, so the overall OPS won't be diluted as much. And you're kidding yourself if you think Cabrera will come anywhere CLOSE to Jose in OPS this year. Not the way he is swinging his bat right now - you can't blame his teammates for Cabrera being tardy on a fastball and out in front of a breaking ball. Huh? How are you gonna lay the fact that Jose is in a different universe than Cabrera when the game is on the line? 'Close and Late' is defined as "production in the 7th inning or later with a batting team either up by a run, tied or the tying run at least on deck". Jose was pretty good in that regard in 2003 (despite having to bat RH against lefty specialists half the time when the game is on the line), but his 2004 production in critical situations just TOOK OFF - perhaps because he no longer has to worry about the switch-hitting s***. Why in the world would you mess with that? Just to have Cabrera's adorable braids in the line-up? Makes no sense. Not many. He is not a HR hitter. How many singles and doubles is he gonna lose while playing on USCF grass as opposed to a hard turf where every other blooper has a chance to go to the wall? And most if not all of Jose's HR are KILLED and have very little to do with USCF. In fact, he has almost as many HR on the road as at home this year. Bad fielding in 2003 and 2004? You mean like this And who cares about strike-outs! I suppose you'd rather he made contact at any cost and hit into 23 GIDP like Cabrera is on pace to do this year, or had Cabrera's 600 'Close and Late' OPS? Forest for the trees much? On a team that has 2 good SS and still badly needs a pitcher (hopefully RJ) as well as a BP arm....you'd rather Sox pursue an overrated and overpaid bum from Montreal? Maybe we should get Christian Guzman, too while we're at it.

Of course not. We have Jose. Then we have the resurgent Uribe when if Jose leaves. Uribe's hitting and defense has improved by leaps and bounds this season, so he's a better player than Carbera - and still much younger and cheaper. As this season is proving beyod any doubt, Cabrera isn't worth anything CLOSE to the money he likely command (30 Mill over 4 years or in that range). And Cabrera is on pace to 20 GIDP so his already pitiful 620 OPS this season is in actuality even worse. Hoping that he somehow rebounds and has a 2nd half of a lifetime as a member of the Sox is something that is just to risky to even think about.

He's younger? So? All it means is that he's gonna command 7-8+ Mill a year after the season. He is pushing 30 so it's not as if he's gonna improve all of the sudden to justify that kind of money. Better defensively? Yes, marginally - and certainly not in the last month+ since Jose sort of cut down on the usual routine error crap. Jose's ZoneRating from 2004 (and 2003) blows Cabrera away - and that considering Cabrera has 5 fewer errors on this season which should account for at least 30-40 ZR % points. Same goes for pitching-Adjusted RangeFactor (ARF). Did I mention the almost 300 OPS difference between the two in 2004? Or Jose's 2004 'Close and Late' OPS that is literally 1000 OPS higher (1600 vs 600) Lastly.......How many "cheap" doubles do you think Cabrera hits on turf that are just long singles on grass and how many "cheap" singles shoot through the fast infield that are outs on grass?