BrandoFan

Valentin's drive hits the foul pole, Sox win this game. It didn't. Oh well, this is Chicago Laughing Stox, right? US Failure Field indeed. :puke

:fyou :puke :fyou :fyou :fyou sd;lgmndxsjbndxbdxbdxfbx

Not slipping on the play would have gone a long way toward helping turn that DP. If you don't think so, you must have some low-ass standards.

That should have been an inning-ending DP. That kind of close, bang-bang play tests a 2B's ability and calm, and separates the Gold Glovers from merely good fielders. One of the few mistakes Uribe made this season.

Oooh I love this subject....schadenfreude! I just hope those of you who want to throw 40/4 at Freddy Garcia heed the advice. If Ponson........and Colon....and Millwood....Chan Ho Park....Dreifort....and Maddux.....signings didn't teach you anything, nothing will.

Got neutered.

I don't think people realize what great speed can do on the pads over 155 games if there is a brain behind it. OPS is important, but in case of exceptional guys like Rickey Henderson or even Robbie Alomar, a .400 Slugging can be as "valuable" as 550-600 Slugging for guys like Edgar Martinez. They create runs in many ways that can't even be measured. Think about it: Willie scored the run. Soriano let alone Ronnie Belliard wouldn't have. Willie "created" a run - not much different than hitting a HR with 2 outs. If you start thinking about baseball in those terms, comparing Harris to Soriano, this season anyway, is not THAT crazy.

That run Willie just scored from 2nd with 2 outs? Soriano of 2004 doesn't score. The difference between 0-0 tie and 1-0 Sox. Blazing speed and good jumps are important.

They already got Beckett-Penny-Willis-Pavano pitching their ass off. Lowell, Pierre, Cabrera, Choi and Conine can get on a roll. Benitez is unhittable. They can run and field. If Marlins get those 5 things (a power-hitting LF'er, another reliable BP guy, AJ Burnett pitching like Roch Harden, and both Gonzalez and Castillo hitting like they're paid to) going, all they would need from their catcher is good Defense. Dan Wilson or Bert Shcneider will suffice.

Marlins need the following to run away with (the all of the sudden) s***ty NLE: -AJ Burnett pitching up to his talent. -A-Gone to get his head out of his ass -A #5 slot-hitting LF'er better than Abraham f***in' Nunez! -Luis Castillo to get his head out of his ass -A set-up man in the (healthy) Kelly Wunsch mold to contrast with Benitez I really wanted Phillies to win 100 games and Marlins to take the wild card away from the Cubs. Unfortunately, Larry Bowa is a psychotic loser, so so much for the Phillies.

And can't throw or get on base to save his life....

630 OBP? 1500 OPS? Only 80 walks to 10 Ks? I am beginning to wish some very bad things on the BalcoFreak.

Sox choke: Against Minnsota In big games In games against breaking-ball pitchers Against first-time pitchers Agaisnt good pitchers. On FOX national broadcasts On ESPN Sunday Night Baseball In the playoffs In the first game of the series Against pitchers who pitch middle-away. On the West Coast

I wanted Finley since at least the Cubs-Ari series in Ari, but Sox have to be careful not to overpay for this guy. Remember, 40yo bodies tend to break/tire a LOT sooner, so I hope Sox don't think Finley is gonna put the team on his back and carry them in the playoffs and be as fresh as he is now in August-September. Borchard should NOT be part of the deal is what I am saying. Find another Rupe and another Francisco and toss them Arizona's way along with Pacheco and have them pick up half his salary.

Release Timo. Get rid of Burke. Call up Wunsch. Call up Reed. Solved.

This thread title is about 2004 All-Star Game, not about their careers. Since roughly April 10th.... Willie's OBP is at .400 and his Slug. is over .400 as well. Soriano's OBP since that time is in the low-300s and Slug only 20 points higher. Soriano is not the baserunner he was in years past, and Willie should blow by him easily as he attempts more SB. Once again, Willie's value as a baserunner goes WAY beyond stolen bases. Duh. Defensively, it's no contest. Soriano is one the stupidest (positioning, anticipation, route, technique) fielders in the game. Willie might win a GG next year. GMs would take Soriano because he is a big talent and his name sells jerseys. Meanwhile, Willie is much CHEAPER and is having a slightly BETTER season in 2004. That is my main point.

Check ouy Knob's 1996 season: 450 OBP, 515 Slug, GG defense, 45 SB and a ton of non-steal extra bases taken....No wonder he scored 140 runs. If Willie could rise those those heights (but with say 60-70 SB), that would be f***in' awesome.

So far this season: Defense: Willie Baserunning: Willie Offense: Soriano (but since April 10th, they're equal) Intangibles: Willie (distracts pitchers and wastes their energy with throw-overs) Salary: Willie After Soriano thoroughly got embarassed in the playoffs, pitchers have found a new hole in his swing. Willie, on the other hand, improved his pitch selection and swing since his awful start in early April. Soriano will be a better player but if you think they're in different leagues, you must not understand the role blazing speed and high OBP and great defense can play.......I for one am glad I was wrong about his ability.

Who cares about HR if you play GG defense, have 400 OBP and can steal 60-70 bases, to say nothing of all the extra bases that are NOT counted as steals? How about distracting a pitcher and the defensive alignmenet every time you reach base? You can reach on an infield single. Steal 2nd. Steal 3rd. Score on a sac fly. How is it different than hitting a HR with 1 out?

Ann-Margaret lives on!

Jose has a shreded hamstring courtesy of 20 years of playing baseball all year round. There is a reason why since 2001 re-aggravation, he hasn't been stealing bases. He'll take an extra base on a bounce in the dirt, but that's not counting as a stolen base. The only Sox I want running all the time is Willie. Olivo and Uribe and Rowand should pick their spots - ie get a Jose-esque lead, allow the pitcher to throw over 3-4 times, distract him, and IF said pitcher forgets about you....GO. Running with our sluggers (Lee, Maggs), on Franklin who is fairly quick to the plate, on Safeco turf which is soft and not conducive to great jumps, in a situation where a big inning is brewing? STUPID! A fast, smart, instinctual baserunner give a team a dimension that goes byond stolen bases. A stupid baserunner KILLS rallies. Sox have to many of the latter.

There is no reason why Perez should be starting over Rowand. He does nothing well. He is a dog. He is Armando Rios Redux. Etc.

I guarantee you that had Wunsch been pitching to Mark Korsay, he would not have hit a HR or even a double. Worst case scenario, he'd either walk or hit a single ala Blalock, which with 1 out and tied ballgame you can definately live with. Wunsch haters crack me up. They give Cotts and Adkins all the benefit of the doubt they could muster, but a pitcher who was absolutely f***ing filthy in the first half of 2003 before injurying himself? Nah, get rid of the bum. Do I think the fact that he has lost velocity makes him mortal? Yes, at his best he threw about 87-88, so obvisouly he has to build the arm strenght.......But since presumably his shoulder and elbow joints and ligaments are fine, he could improve said velocity as he goes on. His last outing in AAA was striking out the side. He has yet to give up an ER in the bigs. Klassic Kenny: embrace losers like Wright and Perez; run Foulke and Wunsch out of organization.

Not only is BabyBerroa not a fluke, he is just getting started. Some of the outs during his slump were a FO to the wall (Oakland) and line-outs to CF and RCF (Oakland and Seattle). He is a little pull happy now, but he will adjust. Maybe not a .340 hitter, but 290-300 with power? No problem. Fair-weather fans feel free to step off, though.

Ozzie hates Rowand. Perez is Armando Rios with better defense, which is not saying much. Rios cost the Sox 2-3 games in 2003 by himself. Will Sox learn the lesson and drop that zero before he hurts the team even more? Stay tuned.