ptatc

I like the trade as well. But I'm always worried when young effective MLB pitchers are traded for unproven hitters. Hopefully, Davidson will keep the K's down.

An interesting thing to watch this year will be the injuries with Team USA. I received an email a few weeks ago begging for volunteer medical staff. With the new healthcare system in flux clinics are not allowing staff to leave for the extended period of time. The USOC doesn't have the staff that it normally does.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Dec 12, 2013 -> 10:01 PM) It's putting all your eggs in one basket for sure, but if these position players live up to their expectations they'll have sustained success. Not without some pitching it won't.

If they would just enforce the current rule where the catcher cannot block the plate until he has the ball, it would cut out most of these plays.

QUOTE (ewokpelts @ Dec 11, 2013 -> 11:04 AM) It's funny, but my guy said almost the exact same thing as Dunn and Beckham. Last I checked, those guys ARE in the clubhouse. You are just some internet tough guy that USED to work with a team. And you have a lot of people here kissing your balls. I never met AJ, so I will never know the truth. But I do take my friend's word for it. He knew AJ for his entire stay with the team. Ok. That's fair. It's your opinion. I would be very careful about using quotes that players use in the public and print however. They usually don't tell much. Even Dunn's assessment wasn't positive just "no bigger than anyone else." He was avoiding the question. I do like being referred to as a tough guy though. That term has never been applied to me. I think I'll use it on my students.

QUOTE (ewokpelts @ Dec 11, 2013 -> 10:13 AM) Ok, I asked someone I know that has dealt with aj while he was on the team. His reply. "Not an asshole but he had his moments" I'll take that over some guy who worked for teams that aj never played for. Good way to look at it because the junior medical staff never works with or sees with players from the other teams. They don't discuss other players either. I hope your friend spent alot of time in the clubhouse working with players on a daily basis. Pick your sources as you see fit.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Dec 11, 2013 -> 09:16 AM) They should all take a picture standing next to Adam Dunn. There was a picture of the Sox in the 90's with all the small guys. I think they called them the smurfs or something. It had Joey Cora, Scott Fletcher, Cangelosi, Ozzie and a few others, I think.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Dec 11, 2013 -> 08:00 AM) Well it was just a thread about AJ doing something nice and some will have nothing to do with that, they have to slam him every chance they get. It would be like next month with Frank gets his HOF election thread and a bunch of people went on there to say he was really an egotistical, crappy teammate who was only concerned about his stats. It would be uncalled for. The thread was about AJ possibly wearing Hawk's number, not about whether or not he kneed a trainer 10 years ago. Seriously, as bad as some think AJ is, probably most of the guys they never say anything about are worse. Just to clarify, I do think he is doing a good thing for a friend and he could be good to his friends. But to say he was a good team mate or would make a great manager because people respect him would be wrong. You will that stuff about Frank because it's accurate. I personally don't consider a guy worrying about his stats a bad team mate but some people did and do. He was egotistical but again I think most athletes at the top of their profession need to be because it comes with that overwhelming drive and determination to be the best. Again, I don't consider that a bad team mate either. I think he was one of the best ever and not a bad team mate or person. He was and is actually a good person. People use these exact same characteristics to describe Walter Payton. AJ didn't knee a guy he punched him. But that is an old story and just a tip of the iceberg of stuff he did. This has nothing to do with that incident just about a person with a certain attitude.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Dec 11, 2013 -> 08:08 AM) Cool ptatc. Thanks for the info. AJ is a dick, but I've also been around sports figures and met so many who are assholes I don't consider it a real problem. It is great when you run into some nice ones. I don't know why he'd be mean to medical personnel who are trying to help him. I would think medical personnel would have the upper hand on AJP so to speak since they are the ones curing whatever ails him. I believe he's a dick. I just know there are many in all clubhouses. How many would you estimate ptatc? Are 1/3 of a clubhouse total assholes or closer to half? I guess it's a different perspective. I think many of the players just ignore or are too aloof to people. They treat them like they are too good for them. I guess I consider that more of just being an idiot as opposed to going out of your way to treat people badly. You can just ignore them as well and there really isn't a problem. Most of the players don't go out of their way to do that. This is a whole different category. These are just bad people not the pampered ones. This is mostly in the majors. In the minors there are alot of fun guys. However, you are right when you say the really good ones do stand out as there seem to be fewer and fewer anymore. A couple of the best that really stand out were Robin Yount and Ryan Dempster.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Dec 11, 2013 -> 07:18 AM) Rangers like them some catchers who swing at everything. As long as he brings the future wife along it doesn't matter. He didn't swing and miss there.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Dec 10, 2013 -> 10:09 PM) Ptatc is one cool customer. I would've went off on that clown. Years of dealing with athletes especially professional athletes teaches tolerance and patience not to mention I'm old and things like that really aren't worth the aggravation anymore.

QUOTE (ewokpelts @ Dec 10, 2013 -> 09:28 PM) And who the f*** are you? Are you a sox employee? Or just someone who claims to know behind the scenes info?t I worked on the medical staff for the Brewers and Marlins and a few minor league teams and still have a number of friends and colleagues who still work in MLB.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Dec 9, 2013 -> 10:58 PM) I believe you pt, but what is a bad person? Do you agree there are major assholes all throughout baseball? I mean these are rich, spoiled individuals who have been stars their entire lives and I'd assume at least 50 percent are total jerks. I do believe you ptatc; I think you are one of the best posters in the history of posting. But what constitutes a prick? What has AJ done that would vault him to the top of the prick list in a sport full of jerks? I define it as a guy who goes out of his way to be mean or belittle people, especially the ancillary non-baseball people around people like the clubhouse people and the medical staff. Obviously, I'm sensitive to the medical staff who work their a** off to keep these guys on the field. He's not like Bonds who is in a different a** class but would ignore most people. AJ would treat people poorly not necessarily other players, although he did that too, but most commonly the others around. This is what I call a bad person. He is not the only one by far, I've seen worse than him but he is in the team picture.

QUOTE (The Ultimate Champion @ Dec 8, 2013 -> 11:09 PM) Ptatc is probably deserving of the benefit of the doubt here. I'm not saying he's a liar, he's one of our best posters & obviously he believes he's telling the truth. He probably even is. Maybe AJ isn't exactly a "perfect" teammate. But let's just go back in time for a sec here. We all remember that dropped third strike against the Angels which helped win us the game, kept us on our roll and ultimately resulted in a World Series Championship, but some of our younger fans may not know or remember that the opposing catcher in that situation who cost the Angels the game happened to be Josh Paul, who was one of many complete horses*** catchers that Sox fans had to suffer through during that long drought between Fisk and AJ. That play is emblematic of pretty much the entirety of the Sox catching situation during that period and it is also emblematic of pretty much the entire Sox team attitude during those years: stupid as Bevington, careless as Manuel, lackadaisical and under-committed like the entire unbalanced homer happy offense, etc. AJ coming here was the absolute best thing that could have happened, and we won a title in large part because of it. AJ is gone now. We're not a better team without him, but he's still gone. He's gone from our world. And when important people are gone from your world shouldn't you remember them for the best things that they did? Shouldn't you first think of their greatest moments before everything else? Shouldn't you choose to remember him more as you would have wanted him to be when you weren't there rather than how he may have been when you still weren't there but wish you were? For such a significant piece of Sox history, shouldn't we all just bury our heads in the sand when it comes to all this "clubhouse" malarkey and choose to remember him as a hero? Of course we should. And as far as Hawk being honored somehow not being a classy move, let's first consider what season we're in now. Now is a time for thinking about others. Imagine what this great tribute feels like if you're Hawk. Imagine you're sitting there in front of the fire, cozy & tucked into your loud multicolored flannel suit, sipping your beverage and thinking about what you might get yourself for Christmas this year as you gaze up at that giant stuffed bird which you also bought for yourself several decades ago to symbolize your human greatness - imagine you're sitting there when the phone rings, and it's your old buddy AJ, and he says he's going to wear your old #40 just for you, because you mean so much, and because he feels you deserve it. How great does this make Hawk feel? Think of that! It won't even matter how big his gift under the tree is this year, nor how expensive or superficial or self-gratifying, because the greatest gift has been given to him, it's right there his heart, to Hawk from your old pal AJ. For f***s sake people if that doesn't warm your f***in heart I don't know what could. Let's just cut it out from here on out. No more crap about AJ. You don't have to say he was a great teammate, but you don't have to say he was a bad one either. Let's treat him like the hero he is. It's the holiday season. He is a bad person. Not a bad player. He was a very good player and helped the Sox win. No doubt but let's not confuse that with being a class act or good person. I don't believe I am telling the truth, I'm speaking from experience. Although I did drink alot more in those days.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Dec 8, 2013 -> 10:08 PM) No one will ever change my mind about AJP. You can do whatever you want. I think criticizing him is almost sacriligious. OK I know that's the wrong word, he's not a religious figure. Criticizing him I think is ... ridiculous. Can't think of the right word. I praise him and applaud him as a Sox fan. No one can ever disagree that he wasn't a very good player and did everything he could to win. That is a whole different discussion than him being a class act off the field.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Dec 8, 2013 -> 06:01 AM) "A lot of people have this bad image of A.J. in general, it seems around the league, but the guy is one of the greatest guys when he needs to be," Beckham said. "It's something nobody sees. He can be a really great friend. He was there for me in tough situations off the field and was a big-time mentor. So, it's tough to see him go." What a s***ty teammate. Even the biggest jerks have a few friends. As you noticed the quote was "he can be a a really great friend." He wasn't to very many.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Dec 7, 2013 -> 11:39 PM) Why the hell was he a s***ty teammate? He sounds like a team leader to me. He is not a leader and you will not find more than a couple of people who tolerate him let alone follow him.

QUOTE (Tex @ Dec 7, 2013 -> 09:20 PM) It is interesting how weight lifting in all sports came into the spotlight in the 1980s. When I was running in the late 70s and early 80s my coaches would have shot any middle and distance runners they caught lifting weights. Then by the late 1980s milers had some muscle mass in the upper body. Same here. That's when I started running competitively as well.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Dec 7, 2013 -> 07:30 PM) For one, using Sale as a comparison has become a regular practice around her which is bulls*** on several levels. I have never seen Webb start because he only started in Toronto except for four games in Kanny in '12. In those 4 starts he had 10.3 ERA and 2.2 WHIP. So yeah, I have never seen him start but I have seen his stats. They tell the full story. I know his velocity jumped from 91-93 up to 95-100 when he moved to the pen. I know how his K/9, BB/9, WHIP and ERA have changed dramatically after he switched to the pen. Again should have been green only illustrating a point. Stats never tell the full story. They give good insight but they aren't everything. I've seen the numbers as well and think it could be a good move, definately worth a shot.

QUOTE (Frank_Thomas35 @ Dec 6, 2013 -> 09:53 AM) Article says if Napoli comes back AJ intends to wear #40 to honor Hawk, who wore #40 during his run with the BoSox. Just wanted to provide the link, pretty cool if you ask me on AJ's part. You can hate the guy but he bleed black and silver for us and will go down as one of my favorite players ever. Always went about the game the right way, and I loved seeing the oddities he would create during games by his knowledge of the game. Thanks again AJ for your years on the South Side and continuing to honor those who supported you from day one in this city, and it really did start with Hawk. Link: http://www.csnchicago.com/white-sox/pierzy...&ocid=yahoo Hawk has known AJ since high school and has done alot to help him in baseball. It's not surprising that AJ would do something like this for him.

QUOTE (The Ultimate Champion @ Dec 7, 2013 -> 08:44 AM) Ha. WTF does Beckham's girlfriend need to be on the team plane for? Was there some dire situation where that was the only way she could get from Point A to Point B as quickly as possible? Beckham can use all that draft bonus money and arb salary he hasn't lived up to and buy her a first class ticket. AJ knows how this game is played. AJ knows how a team is supposed to be run, how a clubhouse is supposed to work, he knows both the rule book and all the rules that aren't written in there but should be. Beckham's girlfriend scenario, IF true, would be what you call an error of omission, not an error of commission, by Robin. Robin doesn't necessarily get nicked for it in the media because no one is scoring on it, but AJ is right in taking corrective action because it is the type of error that can lead to a whole host of greater mistakes later on. It's also laziness & lack of leadership to allow an unestablished and overall a fairly unimportant player such privileges. In fact, not having AJ around to help Robin along may have contributed to last team's horrible season. And IF there is truth to this, then I also believe that Beckham's girlfriend may have cursed this team in which case the plane should be thoroughly washed and blessed by several priests and Minnie Minoso and Steve Stone too just to cover all the bases. He knows nothing about being a good teammate. Everything else you said is true. He knows the game and is an outstanding player. It's not a shock that he left Texas. He will not be in Boston long either.

QUOTE (The Ultimate Champion @ Dec 6, 2013 -> 10:37 AM) The AJ haters hate Hawk too. BTW I've got a whole line up of bulls*** sources too, I just don't quote them. AJ is a legend and a helluva competitor, wish he was back. He's the smartest position player we've had in a long time and whatever his attitude is like on and off the field, we need more of it. No.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Dec 7, 2013 -> 05:48 PM) Yeah because Webb and Sale are completely similar. It's not like Sale was a first round draft pick as a starter. You conveniently leave out the fact that Sale had dominated in every capacity and Webb started as a SP and nearly pitched his way to being a non-prospect until the Sox got their hands on him. If you don't know anything about Webb don't jump into a conversation with these foolish arguments. I guess it should have been in green. Boy people are sensitive. The point being all pitchers throw harder in the pen. How often have you seen Webb pitch in each role? Unless you have I know as much you do.

QUOTE (Wanne @ Nov 9, 2013 -> 10:03 AM) I thought the Cubs were idiots for not hiring Martinez...but what do I know. Maybe he's a horrible interview? Renteria is just keeping the seat warm for somebody else tho... They didn't hire Martinez because everyone was afraid for their wives.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 6, 2013 -> 07:37 AM) Webb picked up like 8 mph on his fastball when he switched to relieving. He was throwing low 90's at best as a starter and hitting 100 as a reliever. When a guy does that, you keep him in relief. Shouldn't Sale be in the pen then? He threw harder out of the pen, most pitcher do when they don't need to worry about 5-7 innings of work.