BrandoFan

You mean you live in the utopia where Maggs can be "sat" and Daubach or Rios can step in and drive in 140-150 runs? Jeez, it's not like I am proposing Maggs let the ball pass through the wickeds here...All I am saying is that he takes care of himself and doesn't take unecessary (and ill-advised considering Griffy didn;t have a chance on the play!) risks for the good of the team. And do you realize that most players afraid of getting hurt, not just superstars. Even Rowand. It's no surprise that Maggs (and Arod) is not as good defensively and on the basepaths- the mofo wants to have a LONG career as a Hall of Famer when it's all said and done, esp. after seeing how Sammy transformed himself even at the expense of D. and BR. And I can't say I blame them-I would be doing the same thing if I were in their position. It's all good and dandy to talk about valuing character, extra effort self-sacrifize, etc, but only from the sideline, about other people. Or is it the case of some people being entertained by crashes and collisions? I reckon there are quite a few folks out there who consider athletes dancing monkees who should entertain them, "play their money's worth"...and who practically orgasm at the sight of Theisman-esque injuries. They make me sick.

I guess I am in a minority, then.

Actually, and this goes especially for taller and heavier players and non-basetealers, awkward and mechanically incorrect feet-first slides can cause HORRIFIC knee and anckle injuries.

It can be argued that Reds would have lost a game anyway and that Griff didn't have a chance on the play but dove regardless (vanity thing) and, most importantly, that the REDS ARE ALMOST CERTAINLY DONE FOR THE SEASON. Imagine yourself as a Red fan. I bet you're just bustling with pride right about now. See I wouldn't. Not after what happened to Frank in 01, which ironically came HOURS after I had finished a heated online debate with you and fellas in which I argued that Frank was a pussy in many ways and that his delayed, reluctant dive (he was 6'5 and the friggin' bunt was not hit hard and was only 2 feet away!) in the 9th inning of the third game of ALDS in 2000 was one of the reasons for the heart-breaking defeat...So, hypothetically speaking, you LOSE Maggs and replace him with Daubach who can't hit lefties if his life depended on it and whose baserunning and defense are definately worse to say nothing of the sheer SHOCK that losing your leader would cause in Sox players and fans... Yeah, that would make winning the division that much easier I agree, when Belle and Ramirez dogged it out on ground-outs it was ugly; I am not suggesting Maggs do that. But head-first dives into walls and full-speed collisions at home plate are NOT cool as far as your highest paid and most talented player is concerned IMO. I want to see Maggs turn into Edgar Martinez-Sammy Sosa hybrid this year, not the RF version of latter day Griffey. You're a smart guy, rio. You should rethink your position a bit.

as far as superstars are concerned. It's true, when both aspects of one's game are an unqualified liability (Frank, Edgar, Konerko, etc) it can't be a positive thing either way you look at it...BUT looking at what hapened to Jeter, A-Rod, Nevin and Griffey over the last few days, I can say with honesty that I'd rather Maggs let a few balls go for doubles/gets thrown out at home plate a few times and hits 40 homers and drives in 140 RBIs than to have him try for that elusive title of "best all-around RF in Chicago" and increase a chance of getting hurt two-, three-fold. Especially when taking into account the fact that this year is an absolute must as far as playoffs are concerned. For shizzle. I mean, who knows if the Sox wouldn't have made playoffs had Frank not tore his tricept (which takes two years to fully heal according to some) in a silly attempt to prove to some fans that he's got "defensive grit". One thing is dor sure: I never , ever want to see it again nor do I want to see Valentin go down with pulled hamstring and not be the same for the remainer of the season even at the expense of not having Hawk praise him as "the best base-taker he's ever seen" anymore...Yes, freak injuries happen (Ventura, not that it couldn;t have been avoided in ST!) and are part of the game, but I do NOT WANT TO SEE ANYMORE HEAD FIRST SLIDES AND ALL OUT DIVES IN THE FIELD FROM ANYONE NOT NAMED AARON ROWAND or TONY GRAFFANINO. I'd rather CLee and Konerko and Maggs stay where they are defensively and base-running-wise, and instead concentrate on a little thing we call O.P.S. My nizzle. One more thing: Everyone orgasms with exultory epithets when talking about King Vladimir who stole 40 bases last year forgeting that 1) he got thrown out a whopping 20 times and 2) it's a miracle he didn't break that steely wrist (until he shatters it that is) or dislocates an elbow of his. I can certainly see why Sosa likes himself in the morning a whole a lot better than he did in his "all-around", pre-98 days... Should 5-tool-ness (which, let's face it, we ALL would like to see ideally) be encouraged in hitting superstars to a ridiculous point or not? Any thoughts?

Thataboy!! I knew you'd come around.

When Choice Clayton ends up with 20 homers, Ray Durham with 35 and Mark Belhorn with 40, you might have a change of heart

I wish Sox had Valentin and Alomar as regulars last year from the beginning. Maybe they would have gotten off to a 11-1 Clevelend-esque start and never look back ala 2000. Val;s offense alone is 1000 points higher than Claybat's was and he is getting timely hits too

But chick dig...um...the long ball? Well that and getting hit upside the head with a rum bottle/telephone by a moody, steroid-crazy slugger in the off-days. Didn't you get the memo? Seriously I am a Sox fan and this team is capable of hitting 250 homers this year. And yet I would rather see good hitting versus good pitching (read playoffs) than to see Carlos Lee feast on a 2-0 get-me-over mistake by a AA pitcher wannabe. Honest to God. Side note: Carlos Lee of late 2002 is destined to be a star. I just pick on him 'cause I feel like it, mmkay?

Hey, I wouldn't mind seeing 360-390-425-380-350 as minimum dimensions now that I think about it. For real. The downside to this, of course, is Mark Prior probably ending up with an ERA under 1.00 As you could tell I hate that f***er with a passion. Almost as much as I do Corey "Willie Mays" Patterson, SamMeMeMeeeeeeeeeeeeeee Soso, and Kerry "Baby Nose" Wood.

Cocksucker Cubbie Paul Bako hits a LONG flyball to CF with bases loaded (are Gruidzilanek and Gonzo playing over their heads or what!) and Griffman makes a desperate stretch dive over the shoulder and just misses the ball by inches...resulting in what looks like a dislocated shoulder. Cubs go on to (probably) win. s***.

No f***ing kidding! Baseball is a UNIQUE game in that you can esily compare Sandy Koufax or Willie Mays to Pedro and Griffey unlike basketball, hockey, tennis, etc where the game progresses almost exponentially with each decade. Don't f*** it up by having 30 guys hit 40 hommers each year. Besdies, like I said, a triple or a diving vatch at the track INSTEAD of a homer is more exciting for the fans IMO. (Tell that to Reds fans though who just lost Griffey for 2 months) It should be the last resort IMO. I think with fences moved back (again I am NOT asking for 460 feet to CF for crying out loud even though Ty Cobb and Willie Mays had to play in quite a few of those!) , with slightly less juiced up balls and steroid testing, you will see enough of a decline in overall offense that you wouldn;t even need to raise the mound or contract teams.

Yeah, but I think the offensive era with a capital 'O' began around '96 and Coors field/McGwire hitting 52. Maddux hasn't been as dominating pitchingin a pitcher's park after that as Johnson (American Legue, Seattle Park) or Pedro (Green Monster, American League). Your're right, Maddox is probably third best in the recent years. Do you agree with the ugly trend of bringing fences closer and closer?

Now Hakw is talking about Oakland Colliseum and especially new Comerica Park becoming hitter's parks...unbelieable! It looks like Safeco is the only one left where a broken bat looping double is not a 400 feet goner. I mean baseballs are juiced, bats are juiced, players are juiced, the mound is lowered and pitching is generally watered down to say the least. What else does Selig wants? HGe is the one bithcing about escalating salries...I mean, players like Thome, Sosa, Ramirez, Giambi don't need the help of 310 feet porches to hit opposite field bombs. Really. I asm sick and tired of this s***. I am sorry but players like Choice Clayton and Louis Rivas and whoevernot should NOT be able to hit double digits homers. I know what they are trying to do: chicks dig the long ball and fans want scoring bla bla bla...but I doubt that anyone seriously enjoys 3 and a half hour, 12-7 type slugfests by teams like Baltimore and Tampa Bay...just pain ugly stuff. Solution: make 350-380-410-380-350 dimensions mandatory. A triple and a diving cvatch on a blooper is way more exciting than a cheap pop-up-homer IMO. Another solution: bring out the Steroid Testing and start using Minor League baseballs. Side note: in this unprecendented offensive era, what Pedro and RaJo are doing is all that more impressive. Wow. ETA: Hey maybe Carlos Lee will then stop hacking for the fences on every pitch not in the dirt?

Considering ohow many balls were hit right AT (Jimenez, Val, Maggs) people or to the warning track (Frank, Val, Paulie, Olivo to name a few) BEFORE the 7th inning, it could have easily been blown wide open, say, 8-2, and with knuckleballer Sparks out of there, hit parade might have continued into the morning. Easily. Then how do you explain Sox normally being one of the leading teams in runs scored? I mean it can't all come against good pitching in important pennant games Outside of Crede (hits any pitching ala Sweeney) and Valentin (seems to come up with a big hit after big hit, but pretty inadequate with bases empty), Sox hitters have this tendency to pad their stats for the lack of a better word, even more so than othe contending teams. I think it has something to do with us being one of the youngest teams in the majors (read: impatience and overswinging, something that doesn't fly against good pitching, but goes real well with mediocre fastballs and hanging curves that come from teams like Detroit and Tampa Bay and Baltimore. Also, Sox often lose 2 out of 3 but the one that they win, they score 8+ runs, thus making the overall offtnsive stats appear better than they actually should be. Example: we absolutely killed Minnesota at the Cell late last year only to be swept by a total of 4 friggin' runs a week later.

Ah, yes- it's the sound of Sox hitters padding their stats on mediocre (awful to be more accurate) pitching. I am lovin' it though. Go Sox!

Don't get me wrong- Konerko's throwing is indeed above average something that becomes apparent after he turns a few nifty DP's...but I already factored it in in my assessment (PK is below-average filder all things considered); otherwise if he had Thomas's throwing arm AND was a no-range, no-bend, unrealible glove he so clearly is, he would be one of the worst 1st baseme in the majors. And it's not such a stretch for a slow runner to be an excellent fielder- look at Ventura, look at Rolen, Palmeiro, Segui, Snow, Grace, etc.

I was under the impression I was in the minority in the last 3 years in thinking that PK's defense is not in fact "above average". Glad I am not alone, though I would have rather been proven wrong this first series by Paulie fielding like David Sequi than to vbe in position to say "I told you so". Error totals are bogus and so are official scorers. Konerko should have had 3 errors (or as I refer to them, PTSHBMBWs or "plays that should have been made but werent"s).

WTF? the dose of "shutthef***up" indeed, HSC, lol When Valentin makes comments about the Twins, he is showing leadership and is being realistic without being disruptive or destructive. Perfectionist Paulie makes commments that are petty, back-handed and annoying for the most part, serving no purpose whatsoever other than trolling for spotlight and being all catharsis-y and stuff. He is not a leader on the field and he sure as hell can't do if off of it. Leave it to Maggs and Val. To be frank (npi), right now I am irritated with everything Konerko: from his ugly, beady-eyed pointy face to his pathetic slumpy-shouldered walk to the dugout to him getting thrown out by HALF the friggin' 1st base line on every grounder...If he finishes the season with 950 OPS I might have a change if heart, though

Granted it was a stupid, stupid play I'll give you that, but would you rather see Graffinator play third for the remainder of the season? Perhaps you have a better cadidate? 4-A Aaron Miles is available and eager...I bet Crede doesn't make this type of brain cramp in the next 3 years. Lay off te kid. (Bash Maggs, Carlos, Paulie, Olivo and Rowand instead. They are more deservant of it so far)

If Borchard was ready now and if Lee and Konerko could consistently hit breaking pitches and work the count, then, yeah, Sox wouldn't need Joe to handle the stick as much this soon. Check that, as a much-hyped franchise type player, he needs to do well REGARDLESS of circumstances. Failure is not an option. Especially not when you can lose both Maggs and Hurt after this season. (After his 5-for-30 start last year where he looked as scared and clueless as Wells at his worst, he 's been hitting in the low 900's OPS-wise even without walks. And I trust he will learn to walk gradually as he gets less and less pitches to hit ala Sweeney, which is who he reminds me of.) Oh, please, look beyond the numbers - with the game on the line he made 3-4 really tough plays, including an alomst DP in the 8th. Yes, he made a mistake of trying to bail Olivo on the pop up not realizing that Olivo had it all the way; Garland didn't help. His other error came AFTER Roayls blew the game wide open. I would say out of ALL Sox players, Crede actually looks the sharpest defensively. Rowand too.

Will have a huge year OPS-wise. Probably around 900. Agreed?

Word on Twinckie hatred. Normally I don';t read to too much into "they were so lucky" excises, but with Twins tea, you can't help it. I still consider the 2001 July series at Minnesota to be definitive in that respect: everything we hit was RIGHT at them, every single close pitch in a crucial situation was called a ball and every dribbler they hit go through and looper dropped in...Sure, I may be exaggirating slightly, but not not really. I hate Jones for his Sox killer'ness. I hate Minekioewitz for his super-reliable defense against us and for shooting his dirty, over-achieveing mouth off in the off season. Pierzinsky is UNIVERSALLY despised and who wouldn't be wit such a name . Kielty? I can;t hate him for being clutch against us, but he is an over-achiever (why can;t Konerko walk at the rate BK does? WhY?) and part of the Twins team, so I can;t stand him. Mays, Radke are ugly and throw junk our hitters can;t hit. Screw them.

You want culprits? Garalnd is one. At some point I was alternating between Mark Prior and John Garland and although Mark Prior only had his B+ stuff and was facing a tough Mets line-up, the difference was startling (and Gralnd is suppoed to be the experienced one). Now, I know Garland was excellent at the end of 2002, but the way he rolls the curveball on an 0-2 pitch and throws 90mph batting practice pitches, failing to strike fear into ANY hitter is...well not a pretty sight. He was as bad as at any point in 2000 season. The only bright spot was the change up was is shaping up to be a nice out pitch to work off, but his no location, little moving fastball, ineffective slider and a pathetic curve were disheartening. Crede wasn't as bad defensively, making 3 tough plays (one the near DP to get out of the inning) with game ON THE LINE; his error game AFTER it was apperent we blew the game. Ditto for Valentin. Jimenez, Pauli, on the other hand... Someone is whispering into Maggs's ear that he needs to Be Like Sammy and that's making him swing at pitches that he shouln't be swinging at, resulting in DPs and weak grounders. To be fair, watching Sammy being all desperate to hit 500th homer, I can honestly say that even he wouldn't go after a high fastball under the hands and curve ball way inside like Maggs did all series long. MO's bases empty double and a grounder through the indield is ALL he can show for this series. Konehead and Lee were even worse, continually swinging at ball 4's. Just terrible. Someone needs to tell Paulie abourt this little invention called a "change-up" wqhich often follows a fastball down the middle that he looked at without swging. And about "slider" in the dirt that he went chasing after time and time again. Rowand, Rios, Olivo did nothing offensively in all three games. Problem/solution type deral. Jimenez worked the count nicely and took some walks, but he needs to get his batspeed going- what's the use of having a 2-0 count if you wait WAY to long on the pitch only to ground or pop up weakly. I know you can do it. Now do it. Jerry Manuel.

The only people who don't know how bad he is defensively are the ones who only watch BOXSCORES and not actual games. Take that definititive blown save against Minnesota in 2001: Konerko doesn't get a single error but his no-range, no-bend self cost Foulke the save and us the season with two UGLY infield plays. Today he could have easily been charged with 3 errors (if you count the plays where Jimenez outran him all the way from second base in the foule territory as such and you should...btw 2 runs scored after that, lol) if the offical scorer had any balls. Details would be forgotten at the end of the season and people would start once again going off about how "solid Paulie is defensively look at his low error total" "...PK needs to shut the f*** up and start laying off breaking stuff in the dirt and fastballs under the hands and play some effin' D. With the stuff they were throwing him, hitters like Sweeney would have had 2 homers and 3 walks by now. Meanwhile all Jose (who people bash incessantly about his mediocre, yes, but certainly not horrid D.) did was range far to his right to get to a sure run-scoring single and actually keep it on the infled (OK, the throw was ill-advised as the run would have scored anyway...). His error as in the first game DIDN'T COST THE SOX. Sure if you want to argue that such gaffes make a pitcher throw extra strikes/unconfortable, go ahead...but I wouldn;t ignore the facts which point to most of his errors somehow being not damaging. In any case, his clutch bat almost won us a game. Almost.