South Side Fireworks Man

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 27, 2017 -> 09:51 PM) Just can't be a guess hitter with two strikes. Hopefully it improves Hopefully. If not, Sox are going to suck for a long, long time.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 27, 2017 -> 09:48 PM) Swing the bat! He has no idea what he's doing with two strikes Moncada may have a chance to be another Ray Durham but so far he looks more like another Danny Richar.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 27, 2017 -> 08:38 PM) Is there any doubt that if Hawk was the Sox GM still, he would have traded Q for Schwarber It'd be nice if Schwarber was the third piece of that deal along with Jimenez and Cease.

And Moncada strikes out.

Ugh Anderson.

Hansen oppo HR.

This sucks.

Moncada homer.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 26, 2017 -> 08:13 PM) Just have to avoid getting no hit, and then no one will remember these games Just win.

Ugh.

QUOTE (Chet Kincaid @ Jul 26, 2017 -> 05:34 PM) I've always said that Kenny Williams was unfairly blamed for the team constantly being in "win now" mode. I think KW took the blame, but it was Reinsdorf who didn't want to tear it down because JR was afraid of lost revenue from low ticket sales. If KW and RH are given orders to put a winner on the team and told not to trade veterans, what could they do? Reinsdorf is the owner. I bet Robin Ventura was a JR hire too. I think you're probably correct on all points.

They don't call him "Big Game" Shields for nothing.

One down, three to go. let's sweep 'em!

He's a Cub.

SOX WIN! Nice job, Swarzak!

Sox don't value defense enough. It bites them every time.

Crap.

QUOTE (joejoedairy @ Jul 24, 2017 -> 04:24 PM) Ouch. 4 ks for Yoan Yep.

QUOTE (Tony @ Jul 24, 2017 -> 04:18 PM) So who the hell closes this out?? I swear to God if they trot out Clippard.. Let's score another 4 runs here first.

QUOTE (SoxAce @ Jul 24, 2017 -> 04:05 PM) Great outing by Gonzo. You like Theo? It'll (should)cost him more than an A baller.

QUOTE (SouthSideSale @ Jul 22, 2017 -> 10:03 AM) Not to mention he doesn't matchup with our timeline in the slightest He's only 27 years old now. I wouldn't trade too much for him but if you could get him along with salary relief for the last few years of his contract for someone like Anderson or some middling prospects I would be all for it.

QUOTE (TomPickle @ Jul 21, 2017 -> 05:33 PM) I would do Avi for Stanton. Probably throw in a couple low level guys too if they wanted a bigger return. Yep, I'd trade someone like Anderson or Avi for him. I'd love to see something like that happen.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jul 20, 2017 -> 07:15 PM) When he does that, he isn't doing it for strategy. I think that is the disconnect here. To me he is trying to ingrain the skill into certain guys skill sets so that when they really do need it, they have the ability and count/situation are not something they are thinking about because they will have done it under all circumstances. That's what I'm speculating it is. I hope that's it, anyway.

There is absolutely no reason to trade Yolmer unless someone offers real value that is just too good to pass up. He's young, cheap, the best defensive infielder in the organization and has shown he can at least hold his own against MLB pitching.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Jun 8, 2017 -> 05:12 PM) I think we've gotten to the point analytically where it's probably fair to say the impact these managers have on the psyches of their players, something which is entirely immeasurable, is probably far greater than the in-game strategy maneuvers. Good point. QUOTE (Lip Man 1 @ Jul 20, 2017 -> 02:51 PM) That is a terrific point. The best managers are really amateur psychiatrists. They have an ability to figure out what drives guys, what gets on their minds...things like that. Chuck Tanner was very good at this aspect and so was Jeff Torborg. In fact Jeff called me this morning and as we talked he told me a story about Lance Johnson. The Sox sent Lance back down in the spring of 1989 and Jeff said he was so upset he started crying. Jeff said he told him, 'let's go into my office...' Jeff said he knew immediately what was really bothering Johnson so he gave him his phone number and told him to call anytime something was bothering him or if he just wanted to talk. Jeff told me he knew that Johnson was worried that if he was sent back down to the minors nobody would care anymore and the organization would just forget about him. History shows the type of player Lance was and you never know how this small gesture by Torborg played a part in that as it helped him mentally. Another story Jeff told me a few years ago was right before the All Star Break in 89. Sox were in K.C. had a day off before opening up a series with the Royals. Jeff asked the team to have a short workout on the off day just to go over fundamentals and that if they did it he wouldn't ask for a workout the day before the season resumed so they could be with their families a little longer. So he gets to his office at Kauffman Stadium and sees a bunch of guys on the field working out, he went to his office to start working on lineup's for the series and after about an hour he went back out to the field expecting to see the guys all gone. Instead he found them actually playing a game like we used to do when we were kids (just lobbing pitches in to hitters). He was amazed but thought, 'OK let's see what we can do with this.' So he told me he called and ordered pizza's and some beer and had them in the clubhouse when the team got back inside. They ate and talked. When they came back after the break they won 11 of 12, had a winning record in the second half and had a fantastic 1990 season. Little things sometimes add up to really big things. You just wonder what could have been had Ron Schueler not insisted that he had to hire his own manager and forced Jeff out. Good stories, Lip. Thanks for posting.