whitesoxfan101

I think getting rid of the Rios contract would be the #1 argument Ricciardi had in favor of being retained, so I don't get the thread title. The Halladay fiasco and not trading him at peak value this summer was probably the last straw for J.P., and the Ryan and Wells contracts didn't help him at all either obviously.

QUOTE (G&T @ Oct 9, 2009 -> 08:09 PM) Sounds contradictory. Nah. Mediocre players don't become great at important spots (unless it's a small sample size or an EXTREMELY rare case) but good to great players become mediocre in important spots very often. Basically, choking exists but clutch really doesn't. Even a guy like Derek Jeter isn't clutch, he's just really good all the time, and his postseason numbers which are almost identical to his regular season numbers in his career reflect that.

QUOTE (The Ginger Kid @ Oct 9, 2009 -> 07:57 PM) If I didn't hate the twins, I'd love a guy like nick punto Ehh his lifetime average is below .250 and he hits for no power. A guy i'd love if I didn't hate the Twins would be Denard Span, very good player. And wow, Rivera gives up an RBI single (inherited runner scores, but still) and it's 3-1 Twinkies in the 8th.

QUOTE (The Ginger Kid @ Oct 9, 2009 -> 07:32 PM) kubel, cabrera and span sucking it. And I wouldn't start calling a-rod clutch just yet. Oh yeah, he's going to have to do it through an entire postseason which ends up in the World Series before people lay off. But he does have more big hits this postseason than he did the last 3 he participated in combined already. QUOTE (whitesoxfan99 @ Oct 9, 2009 -> 07:37 PM) I'm not, but the whole idea that A-Rod isn't clutch is now and has always been stupid. There is no such thing as clutch, but there is such a thing as a guy who doesn't perform in big spots, and it's hard to argue with the numbers for A-Rod in the 2005, 2006, and 2007 playoffs. IIRC he hit well in the 2000 and 2004 playoffs though, so it's not like he's NEVER done it.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan99 @ Oct 9, 2009 -> 07:26 PM) Even a class of something like Abrams, Randle, Thompson/Langford (kid from Alabama who favors Illinois), Siakam/Shaw, and Egwu would be a great class. Best case scenario (although unlikely) would look like this: PG - Abrams SG - Beal SF - Thompson PF - Shaw/Miller C - Egwu Yeah to me Beal is the big guy. If you don't get him, it won't be a great class (since I can't see Miller coming to Illinois). But odds are it will be a very good class no matter what just because of the size of it and how many good guys they are legitimately in on.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan99 @ Oct 9, 2009 -> 07:13 PM) Blackshear's not coming to Illinois unless something drastic changes. Yeah, that's not too bad though, there isn't room for everybody they are in on right now (even with all the schollies available) because they are in on so many good 2011 guys. Beal is the important guy IMO, although that won't be easy either obviously.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan99 @ Oct 9, 2009 -> 07:13 PM) So much for A-Rod not being clutch. Barry Bonds had a reputation is being not clutch for a very long time. One great postseason later (and they didn't even win the World Series in 2002), and that reputation was gone. Same went for Peyton Manning in the NFL after the 2006 postseason. If A-Rod is smart, he'll realize that one postseason of him playing up to potential leading to a World Series title would get rid of all the crap he's heard since he got there.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan99 @ Oct 9, 2009 -> 06:17 PM) Nnanna Egwu to Illinois. 4* C in the 2011 class and also happens to rock the old school goggles. I love it. With so many juniors on the team (meaning lots of open scholarships for the 2011 class) combined with just how many good players (mainly in Illinois) that the Illini have a shot at, that could be a top 5 class nationally for them if Bruce and the staff are on their game. Get Beal and Blackshear somehow (although I think just getting one of them would do), and it could be even better than top 5.

I can't think of any good reasons to keep Bobby Jenks, other than fear that you won't be able to find an adequate replacement in the bridge/setup department for Matt Thornton (which isn't a legitimate excuse). I agree with the rest of what he said though, and it's good to see the mailing it in pot shots at Cowley in this thread as well.

Twins lead 1-0 on a 2 out, RBI triple that I'd be willing to guess at least 2/3 of MLB left fielders catch. Ball is not carrying tonight at all. And now it's tied. A-Rod with his 3rd two out, RBI single in the first 15 innings of the postseason (2 of them in huge spots). Maybe this is a new A-Rod.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Oct 8, 2009 -> 11:55 PM) Yea, the Cards not winning an NLDS game on the road is different than the Red Sox ending their curse. That play doesn't end the curse since the game was tied, and i'm not saying this play was as relevant. I'm just saying it was probably a worse gaffe since it was an easier play and directly lost Holliday's team a sure playoff win.

QUOTE (Leonard Zelig @ Oct 8, 2009 -> 11:45 PM) If I had seen Merkle's boner, I am sure I would never forget it. You haven't seen the video? It was quite a gaffe.

12-0 Mizzou going to the 4th, Nebraska outscores them 27-0 in the 4th. It's been a while since i've seen a game take such an incredibly drastic turn in the final stanza.

QUOTE (Leonard Zelig @ Oct 8, 2009 -> 10:43 PM) Come on, this game didn't anywhere near the importance of the Bucker game. And nobody remembers Merkle because it was 100 years ago. Nowhere near as important, obviously you are correct there. But he dropped a popup that most people on this board could have caught, which directly turned what should have been a 1-1 playoff series into a 2-0 series that might be a sweep. How far the Dodgers go will determine how much it's remembered though, I will admit that. And who doesn't remember "Merkle's boner"? Best named play ever. QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Oct 8, 2009 -> 09:04 PM) Kind of like Tony G letting a grounder roll through his legs and Iguchi going deep to give a certain team that was dominant most of that year until it sort of limped home until the final week a 2-0 lead in the ALDS. Maybe the Dodgers are the team of destiny this year. I hope they are, for Thome's sake.

QUOTE (rangercal @ Oct 8, 2009 -> 09:46 PM) Yeah, he would be better than Tommie Harris right now. (not saying Tommie is not going to eventually improve) Well you should say Tommie is not going to eventually improve because that's the truth, he's just had too many injury problems. But yes, Suh is a monster. QUOTE (bmags @ Oct 8, 2009 -> 09:19 PM) heard the rain is insane in Mizzou today. Yeah a friend of mine at Mizzou told me there is a lot of flooding and they've had several inches of rain today. And this was about 4 hours ago.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Oct 8, 2009 -> 12:48 PM) Mizzou is a 3.5 point dog tonight home vs. Nebraska....considering the success home teams usually have on these Thursday ESPN games, I'm thinking the Tigers are a good bet The weather in this game is BRUTAL. 2-0 Mizzou in the 2nd quarter, lol.

Both sides come out of this looking bad, as far as I'm concerned.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan99 @ Oct 8, 2009 -> 08:16 PM) Ryan Franklin=fail He did his job, the game is over and the series tied if Matt Holliday makes a play that would have been easier for a high schooler. But instead, he turned the Cardinals stealing home field advantage into a potential sweep in one fell swoop. That play might not be remembered quite like the Bill Buckner play or Merkle's boner, but it should be.

QUOTE (bigruss22 @ Oct 4, 2009 -> 06:05 PM) Im sure he's pretty upset with the team, but he hasnt stayed healthy throughout his career. He is very prone to little nagging injuries and his playing time and impact is hurt severely by them. Zook was almost signed to an extension I believe, Im not sure if it fell through or what but the AD seems to like him alot. I could understand last year, riding the wave of emotions from the Rose Bowl year, but Zooker was banking on Juice and all his other "key" guys to lead Illinois and they havent been close to getting the job done. Instead they regressed this year bigtime. This is Zook's team now, almost every, if not all, players are his recruits and they arent playing well. He should be gone but wont be. With the exception of the cases of a blind squirrel finding a nut that were the 2001 Sugar Bowl and 2007 Rose Bowl teams, the football program has been a joke under the watch of Ron Guenther (only team in the Big 10 that has a worse overall record, as well as the only one with fewer bowl games, since he was hired is Indiana). So it's no surprise he'd want to do an idiotic thing like give Zook an extension. I will never understand why Guenther is so beloved in Champaign by the big wigs at the school. I understand there is a lot more to a school's athletic department than the football program, but that's the one that makes the big money.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Oct 4, 2009 -> 06:45 PM) Turner never calls plays for him to do that. Being a niche player like Wolfe with Ron Turner as your offensive coordinator=death since using a niche player properly means intelligence and/or creativity must be involved.

Broncos points allowed in their first four games: 7, 6, 3, 10. Who knew that Cutler was going to be taking a significant step down in class in terms of the defense supporting him when he was traded to the Bears? At any rate, good timing of the Bears bye because they are beat up right now. They've had a nice bounce back to the opening night debacle as well.

QUOTE (danman31 @ Oct 3, 2009 -> 10:56 PM) Really don't understand why there is a running into the kicker as well as roughing. If you hit him it should be 15, end of story. No judgment calls from the refs. Anyway, I still think Miami is barely a top 20 team. OU just isn't that good this year, it's really shocking. Oklahoma would be undefeated if Gresham and Bradford were healthy, so I'm not sure if it's fair to say they just aren't that good. Miami had a golden opportunity to get a good win in front of a big audience tonight though and deserve credit for taking advantage of it. The Hurricanes would be a year ahead of schedule this year if they end up with a big, double digit win type year, but it's clear regardless that their long term arrow is pointing up and for them to be 3-1 right now is impressive. Oh, and I'm still cold from sitting in the rain and wind in DeKalb today. A 38-3 win over a big rival on homecoming is always nice though (even if not many of you care, ha). And whoever said the 2 point conversion in the Notre Dame game should have been reviewed is absolutely right. Not only was that a close play, I thought Hughes clearly was stopped short. Also, 2 things in addition: 1. Iowa plays great and wins at Penn State, has total control against Arizona, yet needs a miracle to beat a 1-AA team and only beats Arkansas State by three. 2. I hope Notre Dame just keeps winning at this point so they can get embarassed in a BCS Bowl, again (although they won't beat USC with Barkley. That 37-30 crap isn't going to work against their defense).

QUOTE (3E8 @ Oct 3, 2009 -> 12:30 AM) Wrong forum If you think about it, nah it's not. I could have been a real a-hole and put this in the MLB forum though.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091003/ap_on_...n_andrews_video Wow.

QUOTE (southsideirish71 @ Oct 2, 2009 -> 09:27 PM) How about the more logical reason. Peavy would face both the Indians and the Twins in week one, and then follow up facing the Indians the following week. Maximizing our best pitcher against division rivals is the best way to win the division. That's a good point too (I haven't even looked at the 2010 schedule yet, so I will take your word for it).