Middle Buffalo

Got serious with the workouts and an all tomato diet this week and dropped 4 lbs. Mankini here I come!

Dan McNeil was talking about moving to mornings on a recent podcast that I heard. Harry said that it couldn't be done at ESPN because Mike & Mike were signed through 2010 or so. Is it possible that McNeil will be moving to the Score? I don't know what his contract situation is, though.

QUOTE (Controlled Chaos @ Jun 24, 2008 -> 08:14 AM) Anderson's defense saves hits...and in turn saves runs. I know it's not as sexy as the towering solo homerun has become, but the net result is the same. Why is it so hard to comprehend? If he had 4 or 5 more solo dingers...many of the fans calling for his head now...would be happy and that's pretty f***in sad. Most Sox fans are much more knowledgeable than that. They don't need ESPN highlights to show their player to prove his worth. It's nice to have BP and the like, to reinforce what my eyes already tell me, but I don't necessarily need it...some of you clearly do. Brian gets incredible jumps on the ball. He starts moving with the crack of the bat, not the flight of the ball. He is the PERFECT 4th outfielder for this team and he is the perfect guy to be playing when you lose some offensive pop, because he can save that 1 run that may be your demise. Is it sexy when he gets to that ball in the gap and catches it standing up? Not really. Is it sexy when he saves a base hit because he can afford to play shallow with his jumps. Nope. Is it sexy when he holds someone to a single when it should easily be a double...nah... but so what....sexy is over rated...Most of the time it's just an unneeded visual stimulus. Do I need the lingerie model to walk in with her lingerie on or do I just need her to fricken walk in?? Nobody is content with his current hitting, but he has shown potential, and he isn't exactly in the most ideal situation to up ones stats. On top of the sporadic AB's, I think he has his most trouble when he is trying to accomplish something specific. Be it get a guy in, move a runner over, or be the hero. When his mental approach changes he suffers and it's more a matter of him trying too hard instead of staying relaxed. Most young players go through it...hell a lot of veteran players go through it. BA is progressing fine...his head is on straight and he has the tools....giving up on him now....would be brilliantly stoopid. Totally agree with this very sexy post.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan99 @ Jun 23, 2008 -> 08:27 PM) And as a person, Kobe is a much bigger douchebag than Carmelo. Quite an endorsement for Carmelo.

The only guy that I don't like on this team is Carmelo. It has more to do with him as a person than his play. I'm not sure how much Kidd has left, either. Kobe Bryant LeBron James Dwyane Wade Carmelo Anthony Jason Kidd Tayshaun Prince Carlos Boozer Chris Bosh Dwight Howard Chris Paul Michael Redd Deron Williams Story. http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/news?slug...p&type=lgns

The most amazing thing about Sox vs. Cubs argument that always gets missed nationally is the idea that Chicago has ALWAYS been a Cubs town. Here's the attendance figures from the 80's. http://www.ballparksofbaseball.com/attendance.htm CHI Wrigley Field 1980 1,206,776 1981 565,637 1982 1,249,278 1983 1,479,717 1984 2,107,655 1985 2,161,534 1986 1,859,102 1987 2,035,130 1988 2,089,034 1989 2,491,942 Total 17,245,805 Comiskey Park I 1980 1,200,365 1981 946,561 1982 1,567,787 1983 2,132,821 1984 2,136,988 1985 1,669,888 1986 1,424,313 1987 1,208,060 1988 1,115,749 1989 1,045,651 Total 14,448,183 There's really not a huge difference - especially considering that the Sox were not very good in the late 80s and the "perfect storm" had already begon for the Cubs. Cub's attendance in the 70's was 13,636,723 vs 11,053,371 for the Sox. In the 60's it was 8,796,707 for the Cubs vs 10,830,432 for the Sox. In the 50's it was 8,796,707 for the Cubs vs 11,296,258 for the Sox. I do recall (I believe) that the NL used to only count actual attendance, while the AL counted ticket sales (both leagues do it this way now), but I don't remember when the policies for reporting attendance changed. Either way, the large disparity in attendance is a result of what I would call the perfect storm for the Cubs. Tribune ownership, neighborhood revitalization, WGN being the Cubs broadcast station when the Cubs won in 1984 (while the Sox were buried on UHF and pay services), the explosion of cable tv in the early-mid 80's making the Cubs a national team, and Harry Caray moving to the Cubs. I get so tired of hearing how loyal Cub fans are. They have many good fans, but the reality is that their attendance gets a huge bump from the fact that people want to go to the stadium to see the stadium. Hell, even noted sox fan Gregory Pratt had "fun" at Wrigley. The neighborhood has changed so that it's a destination for young people whether there's a Cub game or not. The bars around the stadium a filled a year, not just when the Cubs play. Cub fans will always make it a point to bring up attendance when arguing with Sox fans about their teams. Always. They will claim that the Sox are irrelevant to Cub fans, but all you have to do is watch the interleague games and see how hyped up the fans are for these series. Way bigger than Cubs vs Cardinals.

QUOTE (WCSox @ Jun 23, 2008 -> 11:29 AM) But none that had Crede's potential. It's a lot easier to be patient with somebody who has Crede's minor league background than BA's. My point in comparing Anderson to Crede is that we need to have patience with young players who struggle. Now is the perfect opportunity (with Konerko on the DL) to give Anderson some meaningful, consistent playing time. He's not hurting us defensively, and isn't killing us offensively. Sadly, on any given day, he has one of the top 6 averages in our line-up. Let's see what he can do with two weeks of at bats. If he plays well, he can get 3 or 4 starts a week in center while we rest Dye, Swisher, Quentin and Konerko the rest of the way.

Anderson looks terrible much of the time at the plate. So did Crede when he first came up. Anderson needs big league at bats, and now is the perfect time to give him the playing time.

QUOTE (Middle Buffalo @ Jun 4, 2008 -> 09:09 PM) I'm too lazy to change my sig, but I'm going the wrong way right now. up 4lbs, and I'm heading to Chicago this week. It could get ugly for the Buffalo. Hello, Rock Bottom. I didn't weigh myself right away, but I gained at least two pounds on my trip. I know I gained more, but I exercised some discipline when I came home. Not as bad as I thought, considering that in ten days I ate Winston's Irish sausage four times for breakfast (and brought 4lbs of it back with me on the plane), Palermo's twice, Giordano's once, Zacatacos burrito once, on a sidetrip to U of I (my wife hadn't been back for 10 years and we had a free day) I went to La Bamba and polished off a super burrito, part of a chicken torta and a steak taco. I also had many beers at Cork & Kerry, a brat and a few beers at the Cell on the night they beat Colorado, and all you can eat buffet dinners twice. Incidently, buffets, I've found, are the best places to bring young kids to eat. They can eat what they want without waiting for the food - which is the killer with kids at restaurants. They only thing that saved me from really packing on weight was that the menu above is really all that I ate. No snacks in between meals. I was so full, that I never even made it to White Castle, and that's usually one of the first places I go. I'll just get some at the super market to satisfy that craving. Now I'm back on track.

I'm too lazy to change my sig, but I'm going the wrong way right now. up 4lbs, and I'm heading to Chicago this week. It could get ugly for the Buffalo. Hello, Rock Bottom.

I had my wife, 8 yr old son, 6 yr old daughter, and 4 year old son watch and count. Only the 4 yr old and I are genius level counters. Not surprised by my wife, but very disappointed in the other kids. They may not be mine afterall.

QUOTE (Controlled Chaos @ Jun 4, 2008 -> 10:26 AM) So the question to those that noticed it? Did you get the count on # of passes correct or did you stop counting when you saw it? I counted it correctly, and I can't believe people weren't able to see it. Let me be the first to call me a genius. Pretty cool.

QUOTE (Brian @ May 30, 2008 -> 12:59 PM) Harold Perrineau not happy about the Michael character this year. http://www.tvguide.com/news/lost-harold-perrineau/080530-03 I can't say I blame him for how he feels. It seems like if he were going to sacrifice himself, they could have given him a little better story leading up to the finale. I hated Charlie, but leading up to his finale, they focused on him some more, and I actually felt bad when he died. I have no reaction to Michael's death because his character seems incomplete. He was quite good in the first season, though.

QUOTE (DBAH0 @ May 29, 2008 -> 12:21 PM) Interesting choice. I think Thibodeau would have ended up being the better choice. My guess is he maybe goes to Phoenix now, unless they give the job to Tyrone Corbin the Utah assistant coach. I think Phoenix really wants one of the Spurs' assistant - Mike Budenholzer. http://www.nba.com/suns/news/coaching_080516.html?rss=true

QUOTE (maggsmaggs @ May 29, 2008 -> 10:05 AM) Hornacek could be that young assistant. Not sure if he would want to leave Utah for another assistant job, but he would look nice as a coach. It's unlikely that Hornacek would leave his job with Utah for anything other than an assistant coaching job with the Suns. He lives in the Phoenix area and has expressed interest in a job on the Suns staff.

Imagine how stupid the 14 teams who passed on Broadway feel when they look at that list.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ May 23, 2008 -> 07:26 AM) I first read about his tribulations in an ESPN.com magazine article like 4 years ago. Something about the fallen hero. He was still addicted and everything. He's one of the best stories and an inspiration to anyone with substance abuse issues. I remember the article. I used to hope that he'd get clean and the Sox would take a chance on him. Either way, I'm glad he's making the most of his second chance. It's really sad when people get hooked on drugs and throw away their lives.

I'd like to buy a Diamondbacks hat with the db snake logo that they have on their sleeves. I don't like the "A" or "D" that they have on their game hats. Anyone know where to find a hat with the db logo? Here's a pic of what I mean. I should add that I've never seen a hat with the db snake logo, and I'm not sure if it exists. I googled Diamondback hats and went to various hat websites and can't find it anywhere.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ May 22, 2008 -> 04:59 PM) What's the sound of one hand clapping? Masturbation?

QUOTE (knightni @ May 21, 2008 -> 01:12 AM) And Ivan Rodriguez isn't? I'm saying that I suspect that Piazza's numbers are likely inflated by PEDs. He fits the profile. http://talkingbaseball.blogspot.com/2004/0...dsweve-all.html I don't remember seeing his name on any of the lists published, though. He was once accused of taking another kind of injection in the rear, but I don't believe that. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/baseball/...mets_piazza_ap/ Canseco pointed a finger at IRod, then Rodriguez came to camp looking like Olive Oyl a few years ago.. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/02/08/...ain672510.shtml So far, Canseco's been pretty right on, so I believe IRod is a user.

He's the catcher on my team of players that I suspect used steroids.

I'm consulting with various experts regarding liposuction.

Same weight. Time to reduce calories, increase exercise. Novel concept.

QUOTE (Alpha Dog @ Apr 21, 2008 -> 07:28 PM) I have all my music on iTunes right now, and currently have an ipod. Can the Zune be made to work with my iTunes. easily? Not sure about the Zune, but I have a Sansa MP3 and I download podcasts from iTunes onto it by having both iTunes and Window Media Player open. Anything I load onto iTunes automatically loads onto Windows Media Player, then I can put it on my Sansa. Might work with the Zune.

QUOTE (shipps @ Apr 21, 2008 -> 06:57 AM) For the out of town sox fans,why wouldnt you get one of the MLB packages?I know I would have to do that instead of waiting for it to come on a local channel.But I guess Iam just that dedicated. I really don't have time to watch them or I would have one of the tv packages. When I see that they're on WGN or ESPN, I make it a point to try to watch. I'll probably see both games this week. I was able to see that brutal TB game on Sat. That is undoubtedly the worst stadium to watch a game on tv. It always looks so dark, and they appear to have a 70s style green shag rug on the field for astroturf.