whitesoxfan101

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 29, 2008 -> 09:03 PM) Artest to Houston for Bobby Jackson, #1 pick, Donte Green. Hell yeah, no more Bobby Jackson=more burn for Luther Head. Great trade for Houston too, unless Donte Green figures it out.

Jamar has been seen drinking on more than a few occasions down there by people I know. He is just a stupid person with a problem that obviously hasn't been treated properly. It really is pathetic that Bruce didn't kick him off the team originally, I can only hope he will FINALLY be gone now. However, Jamar is like a cat with 9 lives, so we'll see. Bond was 25K btw Badger, that is why he posted 2500. It sounds like a weak case, but you don't need much when all it takes for probation violation is drinking alcohol, even with Jamar being of age.

QUOTE (EvilJester99 @ Jul 26, 2008 -> 10:41 PM) Cub fans jumping off the buildings yet? Why would they? They'll still win the wild card, but if they lose the division, they'll get the NL East winner instead of the NL West winner in the first round, and that's a HUGE difference.

The 10-2 win over Texas last week might have been our only pretty win in the last month or so, but we're winning ugly and finding ways to get it done. We've seen the last two nights while Detroit is scary (their lineup) but also why we are much better than them (our pitching, even in it's battered state, is better than theirs) and finally why we should win this division (the offense is solid to go with the pitching, which generally is good). Great win, let's sweep their asses tomorrow.

Cubs lose on my 3rd and final trip to Wrigley this year. They went 1-2 in games I went to, so I feel I brought sufficient bad luck. And yeah, the fans threw crap all over the field after the correct call on Hanley's great play, good times. I love watching those Marlins play, and being at Wrigley the day the Cubs stranglehold on 1st place by themselves ended was wonderful.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Jul 24, 2008 -> 11:56 AM) Every day that Hester misses, he diminishes his value to the Bears. There is no one on the team who needs more practice at his position than Hester. I agree with this, but Hester still has the Bears right by the balls here. I guarantee he comes back with a nice new contract in the relatively near future. His value to this team can't be overstated since he's one of the very few players on it that can consistently get into the end zone. He knows that, and he knows the Bears offense right now is an embarassment and a joke. He also has seen everybody else get paid, so he wants his. I can't blame Hester, and he will end up getting paid big time in the very near future.

It's our last trip to Detroit, and unlike our last visit there, I expect us to do well. If we can mantain a lead similar to our current one of 3 games up in the loss column by the time Monday, August 4th rolls around, I think we win this division.

QUOTE (knightni @ Jul 23, 2008 -> 06:40 PM) Hamilton's a better story than Andre Dawson was in 1987. Hamilton will win if his stats are better than Quentin's. Quentin has more home runs and a higher slugging, on base, and OPS than Josh Hamilton. His team is also in first place, somewhere Josh Hamilton's team won't sniff all season. If the season ended today, Quentin is the MVP and there is little question about it if the voters have any clue of what they speak. He carried our team for two months, he's carrying it again right now, and we're in first place.

QUOTE (maggsmaggs @ Jul 16, 2008 -> 07:03 PM) Nathan Scheelhasse picks Illinois. Stud QB from Kansas City. Final four of OU, ILL, KU and Iowa with Mizzou and Nebraska rounding out his top six. Pretty good pickup for the Zooker. Could get the ball rolling on some other big recruits (i.e. Hawthorne) and help pick time with Appelton, Oku and others. He'll be the starting QB in either 2010 (if he can beat out McGee who would be a 5th year senior then) or 2011, and likely he'll redshirt in 2009. Either way, I think you'll see him a lot in an Illini uniform. Great get for Zook. I liked getting Charest last year, but Scheelhasse is the stud Illinois needed to be ready when Juice and McGee are gone, and is a perfect fit for the system.

QUOTE (Benchwarmerjim @ Jul 16, 2008 -> 10:36 PM) thats a great pic I would agree it's a great picture, but also very strange. Strange bedfellows can be made when World Series home field is on the line.

I don't believe I've posted in here before, but oh well. When I was a kid/teenager, I had the absolute worst crush on Mandy Moore. And this wasn't for her acting (which is actually good), it was for her lousy music like "candy" and all that. Even then, I knew the music was garbage, but I thought she was the hottest thing ever. Anyways, I saw one of those "music yearbooks" on fuse a few days ago and it had one of her videos on there, brought back some good memories. I could at least see why I had such taste in those days. Anyways, I am also going to games in Minnesota, Kansas City, and St. Louis next week. Should be a good time.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jul 9, 2008 -> 01:20 AM) well, according to some, the fact that Aaron Rowand was not on the Sox in 2006 was the reason the team lost the division. It had nothing to do with a broken down pitching staff, a mediocre bullpen, a terrible bench, or that Rob Mackowiak played a third of the team's games in CF. Well bad CF defense (when Rob played) and bad CF offense (when BA played) lost us several games during 2006 and played an important role in our demise. However, the fact we finished 10th in the AL in ERA, and also saw our all world offense regress significantly the last two months played a bigger role in our fall, as did the rise of the Twins and Tigers who also deserved credit that year.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Jul 16, 2008 -> 03:49 PM) You're disaparaging the great name of Ken Griffey Jr. The baseball gods frown upon you. He's my 2nd favorite player of all time behind Frank, and he's the most accomplished all around player (if not player in general) I've ever seen by far when you take into accout the five tools, ability, his accomplishments in almost every category in his career, and the fact that a cheating whore like Barry Bonds doesn't count. But in terms of just raw, all around ability, he didn't have anything on Josh Hamilton. However, Josh has a long way to go before his production catches Griffey, and thanks to his late start combined with Griffey's early one, it obviously never will.

QUOTE (Flash Tizzle @ Jul 16, 2008 -> 04:02 AM) Did ESPN get to you too? Cmon now, I understand all he has been through and the great statistics he has put up thus far -- but a possibility of best ever? Only into his second season.....at age 27?! He'll have to begin by inflating that .910 OPS over 1.200 at some point. Better not leave Arlington. Also, he'll have to be producing at this level far into his 30's; since he missed a good portion of his 20's enjoying the lure of sweet, sweet drugs. If you were to compare his first two offensive seasons with those of other players he'd stack up well (still not among the greatest though -- Ted Williams and Lou Gehrig, for example, had better first two seasons), but it's tough to ignore his age. If you assume, like most players, that it takes several seasons to reach their potential -- then he should be reaching his prime around 30/31. Again, I'd question his longetivity at this point. Especially patrolling the OF. Maybe a hall of famer if everything goes right, but until he summons the ghost of Babe Ruth I'm not thinking of anything more of him. You apparently aren't a master of reading comprehension. I've only been watching baseball since about 1993, first of all. And second, by "most gifted all around baseball player I've ever seen", I don't mean best. At all. My statement means he is simply the most talented and gifted all around player I've ever seen. Talent, even great talent, sometimes goes to waste, as per example with what almost happened to Josh Hamilton. But in terms of the combination of speed, power, arm strength, outfield range, and bat control, I've never seen anybody as gifted and skilled at all of those things combined as Josh Hamilton. Griffey and Bonds circa 1996 or so would be close of course. Then again, 15 years is a small sample size, and Hamilton has about a dozen years of production he'd have to put in before he IS an all time great. I'm just saying with his ability, there is no reason outside of injury or relapse to say he won't reach that level, even with his late start on a major league career. The man missed three full seasons of baseball from 2002-2005, and about 80% of a fourth in 2006, and came back and put up a .922 OPS in the majors last season after never playing in the majors before that in his life. Not many guys in baseball history could do that. Then again, maybe the many veteran scouts who have seen many more great players than I have in person and still say Hamilton is the most gifted player they've ever seen have all had "ESPN get to them" too. It's clear you have some sort of pessimism towards a story like this, and have things against people who have fought off demons and mistakes in their life, and that's ok. But it doesn't change how good Josh Hamilton is as a player.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Jul 16, 2008 -> 12:53 PM) I dont know how people can be upset about the game. It was one of the best, if not the best all-star game I have ever been alive for. Sacrifice bunts from all-stars, steals, players thrown out at the plate, take out slides, these players were actually playing to win. When you compare this game to the NFL Pro Bowl or NBA All-Star game the MLB game was hands down better and actually watchable. I started off the night not watching, thinking it would be a waste of time like all other all-star games. In the 7th I turned it on and watched the rest of the game because it actually meant something. If it was just an exhibition game, I would have turned it off and not even cared. Some of the problems could easily be rectified to make sure that this situation doesnt happen again: 1) If a pitcher pitched Sunday, allow the team to have a back up pitcher but only for use in extra innings. That way Linc and Kaz are still on the team, just they wont need to risk injury to make sure their team has some one to pitch. 2) Allow the second place vote getter on online voting to be an extra inning replacement on offense. That way both teams would have another player to bring off the bench, but only in the case of an extra inning game. If either team had even 1 more rested starter, there really isnt a problem. I guess I just dont understand why people dislike it. Also if lateness is the problem, they could schedule the game on a Saturday/Sunday with a 4-5 pm start time. I can't argue with a word of this post. However, home field advantage for the World Series should not be decided on something as silly as one game between two teams of players who have never played together in what still is a game that does not count in the standings or on the players statistics or managers records. I think it's clear that fan interest is up since the new rule was put in, but deciding home field in the World Series this way is just a crime. It may get more fans interested and more advertisers attention, but it is not fair to the champions of each league.

5. The 13-2 win on Sunday Night Baseball and National TV at Detroit that completed a sweep and a 4-2 trip to Cleveland and Detroit to start the season. 4. Brian Anderson's work to secure a series win at Seattle. He made what may have been the best defensive play by a White Sox all year on Richie Sexson as he crashed into the wall on Friday, and then blasted a 415 foot three run homer to center field as part of a six run inning the next night that blew the game open. 3. Watching our surprise players perform. Gavin Floyd, John Danks, Carlos Quentin, Alexei Ramirez, and basically the entire bullpen have been amazing, and although some people thought some of them would be good, nobody thought all of these people would be great, which has pretty much been the case all year. 2. A tie between a pair of walk off home runs: Q's against Anaheim and Paulie's in the 15th inning against Kansas City. Yeah I am biased because I was at the games, but it still was great. 1. The entire home schedule thus far. This team is a machine at U.S. Cellular Field, and to watch them play at home is amazing. They blow people out, they come from behind, they win close games, it's outstanding.

QUOTE (Greg Hibbard @ Jul 16, 2008 -> 03:03 PM) Hmm you are very correct sir. I've always been told you had to have 300 wins to get in, and assumed it was true given four man rotations in the 70s and pitchers having 33+ decisions a year. You have to either have a great mark of longevity like 300 wins (although that might be more like 250 wins with today's pitchers) or you must have a period of half a dozen/several years where you just plain dominate, if you want to make the hall as a pitcher. Mark will never make it for the dominance period, so he has to win 250 games plus or something like that, and I don't think he'll be able to, even though like I said he could pitch until he's 40 IMO.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jul 16, 2008 -> 02:33 PM) I remember his first career homer. It was sweet. Indeed, tied the game against Eddie Guardado and the Mariners with two outs in the 9th, and then in extras he had that hustle double and scored the winning run. That was in April 2006 IIRC? Great game to be at, and I'm grateful to him for 2005. He'll catch on somewhere.

Mark has the kind of makeup that it wouldn't surprise me if he pitched until he was 40 or so. However, even if he pitches that long, he'd just be a hall of very good type IMO. Hope I'm wrong though.

He's the most gifted all around baseball player I've ever seen, and all things considered, it's not even close. He could have been one of the all time greatest had he never had the problems he dealt with. Hell, even now, he STILL could end up one of the all time greatest.

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Jul 15, 2008 -> 01:44 PM) Jesse Rogers was just on with Mike Murphy (ugh) and insinuated that Josh Hamilton was using a corked bat during the Derby yesterday. Well everybody knows the baseballs in this are juiced anyways, but a corked bat adds what, 10 or 15 feet to a baseball (maybe?) So I'd guess what, two or three of his homers made it by that little, if that? I doubt his bat was corked, but even if it was, it had little affect on the proceedings.

QUOTE (IlliniKrush @ Jul 16, 2008 -> 12:51 AM) See 2002 wasn't a disaster though, who the hell cares that it ended in a tie. Nor was it his fault. I honestly didn't care, and I don't see anyone could. The right thing to do would be to cap the game at 9, or maybe 10 innings, since it's an exhibition, and let that be the end of it. I was with you though rooting for this game to never end. Tonight would have been the disaster. Oh I agree 2002 wasn't a disaster, I was at the game and wasn't mad at all they called it a tie. I meant moreso Bud and his cronies thought 2002 was such a disaster that they put in this stupid ass rule to try and override it. I can't imagine how panicked he was tonight during the 15th with the home field thing in place. It's a shame it ended.

I was rooting for it to keep going with all the pitchers used. I'd have loved to see Bud Selig's stupid ass left to shrug and call it a tie again, having no idea how to determine world series home field. However, it didn't work out that way and baseball NARROWLY avoids a 2002 like disaster. This game might scare Bud into changing this stupid ass rule though, almost really made him look awful again tonight.

QUOTE (kyyle23 @ Jul 13, 2008 -> 07:57 AM) Money That's the real reason he's going to be in Green Bay if he comes back. He has 3/39 left on his deal, so it'd be an ENORMOUS cap hit to cut him and an even bigger one to trade him for Green Bay. Combine that with the fact that the Packers don't have to release or trade him, and Favre will have to swallow his pride and come back as a backup or a guy that earns his starting job, with the Packers, if he wants to play at all. Shouldn't have retired if you want to play, big boy.

I actually did an entire paper on this in high school. That in itself tells you how long you can talk about the greatness of baseball, but yeah, I'd take me a while to explain why I love baseball, because I don't feel like seeing if I still have that paper lying around.