Milkman delivers

QUOTE (sin city sox fan @ May 1, 2011 -> 04:54 PM) To the fan base. To the organization. To the players. To everyone. If you can't support our team except when they are winning at a 75% clip, Jerry might as well knock the payroll down to $25 million per season, average about 12,000 fans per game, and make a nice profit off TV revenues. Haha, he might have to do that anyway.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ May 1, 2011 -> 05:17 PM) Right now the AL Central is playing some of the worst ball in MLB, and the only teams playing good ball finished at the bottom of the league last year. One of these teams is going to start fattening up on the rest of the division. Traditionally, that wouldn't be us. QUOTE (Paint it Black @ May 1, 2011 -> 05:18 PM) I think around 85, actually. A statistical correction will be coming in their favor. I don't really think it's out of the realm of possibility for them to play .600 baseball for a month stretch. They will have to play .600 baseball for more than just a month. And let's not forget that this team almost always struggles down the stretch. So to make up for the bad August and/or September, they're probably going to have to play better than .600 ball.

QUOTE (The Ginger Kid @ May 1, 2011 -> 05:14 PM) Some late innings signs of life today, which is nice to see. Get to 4 games out and at .500 or better by the end of the month. I'm still in b****es. That would require a 19-9 May.

QUOTE (Paint it Black @ May 1, 2011 -> 05:05 PM) The Tigers are a personal thing for me, as I didn't think they were that good to start the season and I still don't. Nor did I think it would take 90 wins to win this division...and I still don't. The Indians just cannot keep this up. I mean I know I can't really prove why they won't, but their pitching isn't that good and there is no way the guys who are always injured (Sizemore, Hafner) will stay healthy all year. The Indians have now won 13 straight at home. That correction will be very, very fun. Hopefully we catch them when it's happening. How many wins do you think it will take? Like I just said, another few losses and we'll find ourselves having to win at a .600 clip just to get to 85 wins.

QUOTE (lostfan @ May 1, 2011 -> 05:04 PM) It's to the point where they lose and I'm not even upset anymore... it's pretty bad that it's April and I'm already there. It's not so much what their record is so early in the season, it's how awful they're playing and I don't see any end in sight. Well, it's May now.

QUOTE (Paint it Black @ May 1, 2011 -> 04:55 PM) Players should be booed when their play warrants it. Sorry, Thornton made his pitches and got unlucky and anyone who booed him is a baseball retard. And with regards to Beckham, who even knows how coachable he is! I know that sounds like a cop-out, but we as fans just don't know. Walker could be giving Beckham tips to hit 60+ homers a year and Beckham could be like "nope screw you." (for the record I'm not saying that's what is happening, my point rather is that as fans we don't know what really happens behind the scenes) With Rios, I think his toe is still bothering him. Sorry I don't look for scape goats in coaches. If firing the hitting coach actually worked, teams would do it when every slump happened. They don't. But I'm sure someone is making me list of the best hitting coaches ever. Yep, any day now. Don't get too attached to Walker. I'm fairly confident that he's not going to make it through the season.

QUOTE (Paint it Black @ May 1, 2011 -> 04:49 PM) Look, yeah they're playing bad. But I just don't think this team will be bad all year. Further, I don't think the Indians are for real at all. Do you think the Twins are going to finish in last? Of course not. Do you really think Kansas City is a second place team? A correction is coming. I'm able to wait patiently because I know it's a damn baseball season. I WANT them to play better, yeah. But it's a bad stretch. The series with the Twins coming up will be interesting for sure. OK, first of all, you're dismissing the Tigers. You didn't even mention them. I made a post about this earlier today. People keep writing them right off. Secondly, how much patience are we supposed to have? The Sox now have to play .600 baseball for the rest of the season to reach 90 wins. Do you seriously think they have that in them? I don't. A week or two of more bad play, and they'll have to play .600 ball just to reach 85 wins. There is no time for patience at all.

QUOTE (Tex @ May 1, 2011 -> 04:44 PM) You are correct, it is impossible to know if someone would be 25% better. So, I would rather ride it out with Ozzie than gamble on someone else. Hell, it could be worse. I don't know how to respond.

QUOTE (fathom @ May 1, 2011 -> 04:38 PM) How about stress fundamentals, and then bench players who aren't showing solid fundamentals (ie: Rios and Pierzynski). I can't remember the last time Ozzie benched someone for lackidasical play. These guys have never seen someone held accountable, so there's no pressure on them to shape up. As for making team better, it would be nice if Ozzie had an idea about how to use his players. Not letting Dunn face the sinker ball with bases loaded for the struggling Rios was just weak. I want a real hardass manager. The kind of guy who will enforce the way he wants things done. Somebody who will bench even a veteran and, say, sit Konerko the day after he doesn't hustle down the line on a groundout as he never does, etc.

QUOTE (fathom @ May 1, 2011 -> 04:49 PM) They really are. The last straw for me was Konerko getting picked off at first by the catcher when he had a 2 foot leadoff. We can only hope. The day Ozzie is fired, I am going to celebrate as though it were my birthday. I don't care if it's a Tuesday, I'm going out and having a blast. My birthday is actually this month. That would be a great present.

QUOTE (Paint it Black @ May 1, 2011 -> 04:43 PM) You only remember the situational stuff when they fail. Their numbers are pretty much in line with league averages. 2010: Above league averages (http://espn.go.com/mlb/stats/team/_/stat/batting/year/2010) 2009: Slightly below (http://espn.go.com/mlb/stats/team/_/stat/batting/year/2009) 2008: Above (http://espn.go.com/mlb/stats/team/_/stat/batting/year/2008) 2010 With Runners on: Above Average (http://espn.go.com/mlb/stats/team/_/stat/batting/year/2010/split/38) 2009: Below (http://espn.go.com/mlb/stats/team/_/stat/batting/year/2009/split/38) 2008: Above (http://espn.go.com/mlb/stats/team/_/stat/batting/year/2008/split/38) And besides, their a team built around the homerun. You've got me there in the literal sense, but only one of those years are they near the top. With the "above average" ones, they are still right in the middle of the pack at 12/13. I suppose that makes sense, because that's how they usually finish as a team. Slightly better than .500.

QUOTE (sin city sox fan @ May 1, 2011 -> 04:42 PM) Anything less than 35,000 for these games would be embarrassing. Sox fans need to be true fans....not fair weather fans. Whatever you say, chief. Just prepare to be embarrassed. Unless you're talking about 35,000 for the entire series, it's not happening.

QUOTE (Tex @ May 1, 2011 -> 04:36 PM) They need to sacrifice someone, and it's about time to reassign Walker. He'd be a scapegoat, it probably won't make a huge difference, but JR and or K-Dubya need to make a statement that this is unacceptable. I'm glad that people are finally getting this, but why has it taken so long? Honestly, people have been saying this same thing for years in regards to Walker. Is six years after a World Series title the exact cutoff point to be OK with firing somebody if only to make a statement?

QUOTE (Paint it Black @ May 1, 2011 -> 04:35 PM) Let me sum this thread up for everyone that hasn't read through it: Rabble Rabble this team isn't playing hard (but I can't prove it) rabble rabble. Question for the people that want Ozzie Fired: If he's the reason they're losing then why didn't they win the two games he was suspended? And further, what do you want him to do to make this team better? Let me sum up every post you've made for the last month: Anybody who is worried about this team is wrong. Open your eyes, man. A month is a long time. They didn't win because the guy who took his spot for those two games is just Ozzie Lite. Joey Cora is Ozzie Guillen if he didn't talk as much. What Ozzie can do to make this team better is to get himself fired.

QUOTE (Paint it Black @ May 1, 2011 -> 04:33 PM) Funny how they always seem to hit, year after year. And funny how they hit 200 homeruns, year after year. But yes, Fire Greg Walker...because....slumps and stuff. Forget all of the situational stuff. As long as they hit a buttload of homers, he must be doing a great job.

QUOTE (Paint it Black @ May 1, 2011 -> 04:31 PM) This post sucks. So you're saying Thornton should be booed because he made his pitches? Then you throw out the "competitive juices" nonsense where you offer no proof the White Sox are not playing their hardest. THEN you want to blame somebody else for Beckham not getting the job done? The finally you project Beckhams stats if someone else was the hitting coach, yet you cannot name a someone else that would do a better job. If hitting coaches mattered they'd go to the hall of fame. Hell if they mattered you could give me a list of the 5 best hitting coaches of all time. But neither is the case. Yes, he gave up more runs and somehow raised his terrible ERA. He has not pitched well at all this season. It's no longer just "early" in the season. We're an entire month into this thing.

There won't be anybody at those games, and justifiably so. I guess everybody is just insane and doesn't realize that 1/6 of the season is already in the books.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ May 1, 2011 -> 04:27 PM) Come on guys. Stop overreacting. It's only been 4+ weeks. Just one month. 1/6 of the season doesn't even matter that much.

QUOTE (gatnom @ May 1, 2011 -> 04:01 PM) Depends on your definition of successful, perhaps. In my opinion, we haven't been in recent years, and I am more than willing to try a different avenue. Besides, who do we even have on our roster that other teams want in order to do a white flag trade? Dunn and Danks? You don't consider consistent slightly-above-.500 performances to be a success?! The problem with a lot of the posters is that they measure the success of the team compared to how bad the team has been historically in their lifetimes. So a guy who is 60 thinks the recent Sox teams are successful because they're better than some of the dreadful teams they've seen since the '60s. We should be basing our success on how we finish compared to the rest of the league in that given year. So when we finish with 87 wins and second in the division, that isn't a successful season. It's a failure, but it's "better" than they might have finished in 1973. It's still a failure.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 1, 2011 -> 03:51 PM) So our player development sucks, our drafting sucks and I am supposed to be excited that our future will become player development and drafting. OK, that makes sense. We would theoretically be replacing the personnel responsible for the terrible development and drafting. I don't understand why you're trying to use this circular logic in order to prove that it's a stupid idea to rebuild.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 1, 2011 -> 03:19 PM) I've said it since January... This team will be melted down quicker than any team in recent history with the Sox if they don't turn it around. JR and the board are not going to sit on a money losing lemon for too long. If it gets to be June and we are still this bad, it will be the Kids Can Play II, which out to thrill everyone and sell out the stadium from the sounds of the talk on here. Yeah, take out your aggression with the team on the fans who are tired of the same old, crappy team.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 1, 2011 -> 03:06 PM) But you would pay to see a AAA team? Yes.

QUOTE (fathom @ May 1, 2011 -> 03:44 PM) It just seems like Ozzie's accepted the fact this team is awful. I think the entire team has given it a big "Ah, f*** it!"

QUOTE (fathom @ May 1, 2011 -> 02:50 PM) Starting pitching hasn't been all that good, as our ERAs are 3.06, 3.60, 4.46, 5.12, 5.86 (worst two are our top 2 starters supposedly) I was about to say the same thing. I'm not sure where you're getting those numbers, though. Humber - 3.06 Danks - 3.92 Floyd - 4.39 Buehrle - 5.12 Jackson - 5.86 Only one of those is definitely good. Danks is borderline good/decent. Floyd is completely average. Buehrle and Jackson are bad.

QUOTE (fathom @ May 1, 2011 -> 01:20 PM) Beckham's batted below .235 in 7 of his 12 months in the majors. For someone with medicore power, that's not very good. There's just very little to be optimistic about with this team at the moment and going forward. It's a depressing time to be a White Sox fan. I'm sure that statement will be met with a lot of bile from the older group of posters who "suffered through the ____ years", but it's truly a sad time for this team.