Balta1701

The fact that Butler is starting to get to his expensive years is why I was surprised they didn't try to move him for pitching last offseason. Especially since they had to let go of Kila and have him developing elsewhere as a consequence.

QUOTE (GoSox05 @ Apr 26, 2012 -> 07:55 AM) Packers have 12 picks so they will probably get a little of everything, but I hope they get a pass rusher in the first couple of rounds. With their roster, they ought to be packaging that many picks and trying to move up. Couldn't they use some DT depth behind Raji?

I think I tore my Pineda

QUOTE (balfanman @ Apr 26, 2012 -> 08:49 AM) Just curious for other opinions on this. I for one, thought that the Royals would be improved this year and even though their record thus far does not reflect this, maybe they are getting closer. When young teams are in the process of improving, don't most of them go through a stage where they are very streaky and inconsistent? A stage where ups and downs rotate back and forth, more pronounced than more experienced teams. While the Royals are in a very down stage right now, assuming they have good leadership (players, manager,etc.) they may just rebound and go on a winning streak. It is within the realm of possibility that in the process of growing up this year, they could wind up still achieving somewhere around a 500 record. Next season, if they get some pitching to go with that offense, watch out! JMHO. Yeah, for example, another team in the Central might have a struggling Cuban LF and a struggling 3b and 2b being carried by the rest of the roster while they are on cold streaks.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Apr 25, 2012 -> 09:17 PM) Detroit down 9-1 to Seattle. I'd like to note for the record that as of yesterday, both the Tigers and the White Sox have played 18 games, and both the Tigers and the White Sox have scored exactly 75 runs. Furthermore, the White Sox have done so with a higher OBP and a higher slugging than the Tigers and have a team OPS about 30 points higher.

QUOTE (Cali @ Apr 26, 2012 -> 08:55 AM) Yes of course. It's a toss up, but the last few years, the stubborn lack of change wrecked the team. Perhaps trying a new manager with a philosophy of "change what doesnt work" could help. That's what I want to see with the 2012 Sox. If Robin is the so called "Anti-Ozzie"... Stubborn lack of change? Guys got benched all the time, for reasons they couldn't figure out. The problem was, who got benched/punished for their performance and who got rewarded with more playing time while doing nothing seemingly had everything to do with who the manager liked and who he didn't like, rather than either any short term goals (winning ballgames) or long term goals (Developing young players).

QUOTE (Cali @ Apr 26, 2012 -> 08:49 AM) This freakin' organization and it's unwillingness to change early in the season. Doesn't matter what manager it is now apparently. Sometimes early season changes HELP a team and a season in the long run. Change before it gets too late! And sometimes making rash, early season decisions screw with a team early in the season, screw with the psyche of the players, and sabotage a season.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Apr 26, 2012 -> 03:05 AM) THOME AGE 35=42 AGE 36=35 AGE 37=34 AGE 38=23 AGE 39=25 AGE 40=15 Paulie's 36 now. The evidence from this trendline would seem to suggest we should ride out his current contract and cut ties after that. Arguably, at age 38, he's going to be a season or season and a half from 500 homers, and pretty much automatic enshrinement in the HoF if he can produce three more years of 30+ homers and 100+ RBI's and a .280-.310 average. But all of these extrapolations are BIG IF's at this point. One thing you can say about very few players though...very few have seemed to become tactically better hitters when their physical bodies started weakening. Paul Konerko keeps doing that.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Apr 26, 2012 -> 12:16 AM) 1.) Yes I guess that's true. I still think both have runaway egos that would not allow co-existing even w/out Oney. I guess it may have taken longer to come to fruition minus the kid 2.) I forget what Oney's job was with the Sox and why he got to know the players. I guess that's bad to hire the kid, but you know what? Kids are getting hired by company owners all over the place. The Royals' president is David Glass' kid who knows NOTHING about baseball. Also how many private companies have been ruined by the third generation of kid who is a lazy bum who screws up? In answer to your question, yes, I guess Ozzie is big bad Ozzie over hiring his kid or letting him around the players ... but I will forever believe individuals are responsible for their own actions. How many relatives are hired as interns, etc. It's the way of American business. Reward the kid; hire the lazy kid. If the kid is a f***-up, KW should attack the problem with Ozzie and/or the kid himself. Even if daddy hired his kid and put him in the clubhouse, I still blame the kid more than the dad. The other thing that happened was that Ozzie got very, very angry that the White Sox didn't draft his other kid at the level Ozzie thought he should have been drafted at (and since no one else in the league wanted to deal with ozzie's circus, no one else drafted that kid either until the 23rd round or so).

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Apr 25, 2012 -> 07:24 PM) 9 times out of 10 when you have 1st/2nd and the runner picked off 2nd and then another thrown out at the plate....ON THE ROAD....a major league team is going to lose that game. It's the fact that we might have the best bullpen in the major leagues (except for Stewart) that saved us. And it's STILL not over, YET. Really? 9 out of 10 times? Because both of those situations mean you're getting a lot of runners on base, which is usually a good thing for scoring runs. Edit: The Sox have had at least 20 baserunners today and given up 8.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Apr 25, 2012 -> 07:22 PM) So after 10 years, Jim Miller still sucks. Didn't take his vitamins.

So, how many people want to go through this thread and find proclamations that this game was clearly over and done with?

QUOTE (Jake @ Apr 25, 2012 -> 07:19 PM) Beat you to it Well done.

So it's come to this, the Sox finally have to beat former Bears QB Jim Miller...

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Apr 25, 2012 -> 07:11 PM) 1-2-3 on to the 14th Not possible, this game was over 4 innings ago.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Apr 25, 2012 -> 07:09 PM) This game kills us if we lose. It's one hard fought extra inning game. GMAB.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Apr 25, 2012 -> 07:08 PM) Good thing Rios squeezed it. If Oakland ever gets a baserunner the A's will mercifully win. Prolly be a walkoff tho. Do you even know the definition of a walkoff win? A win by the home team in extra innings "Must" be a walkoff win, by definition. Do you know this little about this sport?

AUGH

QUOTE (greg775 @ Apr 25, 2012 -> 06:58 PM) Nice double. Dunn does at least look like he belongs in the big leagues this year. Very nice double. You must mean Cespedes. It's his show.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Apr 25, 2012 -> 06:59 PM) Have A.J. bunt here. Memory has AJ being terrible at getting the bunt down.

Yeah, no way they'd pitch to the machine here.

The Bridge needs to PR here.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Apr 25, 2012 -> 06:54 PM) Great pitching. It is disgraceful the Sox can't put this baby away. The Sox on paper have a much better team. Great job, pitching staff. Excellent job today. Except for that awesome Cespedes show you tipped your cap to in your last post. He's totally unstoppable. THere's no chance the 6th guy out of the Sox bullpen could get him to pop out.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Apr 25, 2012 -> 06:51 PM) If Suzuki runs into one of Jones' pitches, this game might be over. They give you an extra base if you're hit by a 97 mph fastball?

QUOTE (greg775 @ Apr 25, 2012 -> 06:48 PM) Or the A's. This game is ova, folks. It's time for Cespedes show. Impressive show. I didn't know games would be Ova on a leadoff flyout.