Greg Hibbard

QUOTE(Felix @ Sep 6, 2005 -> 09:57 AM) I agree with most, but I think Konerko has been running pretty well this year. You are definetly right about his age though. As you said, if he were 32, alright, but he's 29 years old and has been solid as a rock. Also, not sure what you mean by average. He's been a .300+ hitter since the ASG, and he can probably keep it up. He had a very bad first half of the year averagewise though. I just mean that he's definitely not hitting .290-.305 anymore, like he was in his earlier years...

There are two very important factors at work here: 1) Konerko is certainly going to be overvalued for what this organization is and should be looking for in a first baseman. His best years in terms of average are clearly in the rear view mirror, is slower than ever now and is only going to get slower, and is a pure slugger whose streakiness continues to be exacerbated with each year that passes. 2) The counterbalancing factor is that fact that now that Thomas' career with the White Sox is most likely over, the Sox have only one pure slugger in the organization: and it's Paul Konerko. And sure his average has gone down, but his OBP has gone up and his OPS has gone way up. Sure, Dye's hit em out in bunches, but he's not going to crack 40 and Konerko probably is for the second year in a row. We need those homers desperately on a team who can't hit enough jacks. Iguchi? No way. Podsednik forgot how to hit 'em, and that's fine. We can't count on Rowand's power numbers rebounding next year. AJ probably won't have another power year like this one next year. If he gets 12 million next year....he's getting 9 this year! We're talking a 3 million/year raise for a guy who has proven at 29 to be an organizational cornerstone. We had a huge year at the gate and can afford a bump like this. I say re-sign him. If he was 32 I'd cut him loose but he's just 29.

I just started a positive thread but it disappeared

I was conspicuously absent from this thread last night but then again I'm getting married on sunday so I was pulling my hair out doing last minute stuff

QUOTE(southsideirish71 @ Aug 31, 2005 -> 03:20 PM) We face Cy Douglas tomorrow, then Robertson and Bonderman and then TBA. We are going to rock the s*** out of them So you are going on record saying you don't think the Sox are gonna win the division?

come on guys, the way some of you are talking, this is EASY money here

FYI I am still taking bets. PM me if you are big enough to put your money where your mouth is.

QUOTE(southsideirish71 @ Aug 31, 2005 -> 03:00 PM) The only convincing wins happend in that last 4 game sweep. Um, yeah.

QUOTE(Jenks Heat @ Aug 31, 2005 -> 02:29 PM) They are 5-13 in their last 18. The play Minny 7 times, California 3 and the Indians 6. The Royals have a two game winning streak against us and Tigers have played us tight and have a much better hitting team than us. We play them 6 times. Minnny 2 - 5 (We are 2-5 in our last 7 against them) Cal 1-2 Det 3-3 and this is a stretch Clev 1-5 (They want it more sorry) 7-15, go from there Ha! What is the Sox head to head record vs. the Indians this year? Oh yeah, and how much do you want to put down?

FYI, I'll take any bets too.

QUOTE(YASNY @ Aug 31, 2005 -> 09:11 AM) It's a thought that has crossed my mind as I watched him. I'm not saying it's fact. Call it a theory. Me too. I'm hoping he gets a couple days off soon.

The bottom line is that the Sox have not landed much in the way of marquee free agents in the last 7-8 years, and that is an extremely important part of a winning team. Far too important to outright ignore just because Al freakin' Belle didn't pan out the way we thought it would.

by the way, that Griffeytalk banner is f***ing brilliant

QUOTE(Chisoxrd5 @ Aug 31, 2005 -> 09:01 AM) Why are you freaking out? Why now instead of during the offseason? Your rant stinks of being an irrational fan who instead of focusing on what is going on in the field your stuck in the front office. I believe that the talent on the field that was provided by the general manager is not good enough to compete with the very best teams in this league, as it turns out. Are they still a good team? Sure. Are they a great team? Hell no. You can only ask players to play within their capabilities, and I'm not sure who you think isn't doing that.

QUOTE(knightni @ Aug 31, 2005 -> 12:28 AM) I will say it again. Chicago is the smallest US market with 2 baseball teams in it. Plus, the White Sox are second to the Cubs in overall revenue. Unfortunately, we don't have a urine-soaked beer garden to draw the drunkards into. Again, this smacks of being an apologist for the owners not doing enough. Why do we need to justify this s***? Why is this acceptable?

QUOTE(wsox08 @ Aug 31, 2005 -> 12:27 AM) What do you consider to be a low payroll? and it really depends on what kind of hearts the players play with and how hard they play... Come on.. money isn't everything.. If you don't believe the Sox will get anywhere then why are you here? to watch us fail? I certainly don't believe this ownership group is doing nearly enough to get us there in a major market. How is this my responsibility? Are you actually apologizing for this ownership group's strategy? Again, 8 of the last 10 world series winners have been top 8 in payroll. In a non-salary cap environment, you need to spend to win. Many owners like Colangelo are willing to do whatever it takes, including sending their team far into debt to get their world championship. The Sox ownership group is not willing to do that. I'm not sure why you're questioning my fandom. Sports 101: fans of franchises don't switch allegiances because of wins and losses. Let's stay on topic, please... this ownership group is not spending like they want to win a world series, so no matter how over their heads a White Sox team plays, they'll never have enough pieces to do it in the long haul under this current scheme.

QUOTE(Rowand44 @ Aug 31, 2005 -> 12:10 AM) Uhh....??? Everyone here already knows how I feel about Oakland in the playoffs but cmon now.... well, they are better than I figured as a team I guess but still, Chavez and Tejada were never the most patient hitters....they consistently average only about 50-55 walks per season, not exactly stellar numbers for guys expected to lead a team offense.

QUOTE(CWSGuy406 @ Aug 30, 2005 -> 11:55 PM) BTW -- In your opinion, were the 2002 Oakland A's a "World Series Caliber Team"? Why or why not, and don't just say, "Well, they didn't make the World Series, so they aren't World Series Caliber". The way they've always constructed their lineup...they have never been a world series caliber team in my opinion. They play station to station ball, don't take nearly enough walks and those weaknesses always get exposed in the playoffs.

QUOTE(wsox08 @ Aug 30, 2005 -> 11:54 PM) This post is just so f***ed up.. I reall ydoesn't seem like you are TRYING at all to stay positive.. The Yankees have showed you that money doesn't always buy you a championship.. Arizona, Florida, Anaheim and a bunch of runner up teams can show you that as evidence.. David Eckstein.. who ever heard of him before the World Series? :headshake For the last time...Arizona had a high payroll in 2001, 8th highest payroll in MLB at $85 million, and it would've been higher if it weren't for players taking deferrred salaries. Over the last 10 World Series, how many of the winners were top 8 in payroll? I'm gonna guess 8. Edit: sorry, slightly off.

QUOTE(witesoxfan @ Aug 30, 2005 -> 11:35 PM) Do not tell Billy Beane. Let him continue to struggle in Oakland with his s*** payroll, and wonder why his team is so godawful. How many World Series have Billy Beane built team played in? What are his teams' record in the postseason? Therefore, does Oakland fit the definition of "World Series Caliber" team?

QUOTE(redandwhite @ Aug 30, 2005 -> 10:29 PM) This surely needed its own thread. Them are fighting words... err.. If "the White Sox are DONE" needed its own thread, this did too.

THE INDIANS ARE NOT WINNING THIS DIVISION! I don't care what kind of jinx you think I'm laying down. IT'S NOT HAPPENING!!!!!!! Say the Indians somehow magically go 21-9. Really, this is the best they could humanly do. They cannot and will not go 22-8 (.733) with their remaining schedule, including 3 with Oakland, 6 with a decent Minnesota team (and Santana), 3 at Jacobs Field with a hot D-rays team that just swept them there, and 6 with the White Sox who have handled them. But say they win every single series from here on out, (split the remaining two with detroit, win 2/3 at Min, 2/3 at detroit, 2/3 vs. Min, 2/3 vs. Oak, 3/3 vs. KC, 2/3 vs. Oakland, 2/3 at Sox, 3/4 at KC, 2/3 vs. TB, and 2/3 vs. Sox) improbable as it is. The Sox have to go just 14-18 to lose the division after tonight's win. Think about this for a minute. During the season's very worst 32 game stretch, from a Detroit loss on Tuesday July 19th through last week's series at Minnesota, the team went 15-17, one game better than the worst they would have to do to tie under this scenario. With 7 against Boston. With 6 against New York. With two games against Johan motherf***ing Santana. With a 7 game losing streak. With losing 8 out of 9 games. With another west coast trip. And with all that, during that stretch, they STILL won 15 out of 32 games. We have six dates with Kansas City right around the corner, ending on Sept. 15th. I'd be surprised if the magic number after those series isn't under 10 by then. AGAIN, ONCE AND FOR ALL, THE INDIANS ARE NOT WINNING THIS DIVISION!

QUOTE(Leonard Zelig @ Aug 30, 2005 -> 10:05 PM) Or maybe we lost our DH with over 400 career HRs? Since when is Frank Thomas a even a .280 hitter? And since when should we be relying on a 37 year old player who has been sidelined with season-ending injuries in the early parts of 2 of the last 3 seasons?

QUOTE(marsh @ Aug 30, 2005 -> 06:14 PM) The problem is the sox are forced to improve through trades instead of the FA market so they are always subtracting while adding guys. How is this mentality acceptable in the city of Chicago? How is it acceptable to say "well, that's just the way things are, we can't afford it..." Bulls***. I'm so sick of feeling like a second tier baseball team because our ownership group refuses to spend more than 80 million dollars. It's f***ing horses***. Meanwhile, the fans keep squinting trying to make Scott Podsednik look like Alex Rodriguez. No matter how hard you look, they're not even in the same f***ing atmosphere. And yeah, I hate A-Rod too for what it's worth. But he's a damn good baseball player, and he's a damn better hitter than anyone we got. Yeah, I like most of the players we got. But they aren't championship caliber. We are short one good hitter and it's because of the fact we didn't land a big enough bat in the offseason. Because we are always forced to accept less. Since when is Chicago a mid-market town?

QUOTE(CWSGuy406 @ Aug 30, 2005 -> 06:09 PM) Ok, so it's all about money. Why aren't the Mets in first? Why are Seattle and Texas behind Oakland? Hell, why is Anahiem behind Oakland? Why is Cleveland step-for-step playing with the Yankees? Why is Baltimore doing worse than Toronto? Money shouldn't be an excuse, ESPECIALLY for the White Sox. They're the highest payroll in the division. Quit trying to cry poor, there's plenty of money... Who said overpriced teams don't underperform? I'm talking about minimum requirements for being a legitimate World Series contender