Milkman delivers

QUOTE (joeynach @ Aug 29, 2009 -> 01:28 PM) Is it just me or do the sox all of a sudden look like David in the David vs. Goliath battle. We look like some epic underdog that just cant really do anything right and are trotting out supreme less talent. I mean not only does it look the sox cant get out of their own way at any given point, but this recent east coast road trip has just really shown how much less quality of players we really have. Not like its surprising that when you trot out guys named Garcia, Contreras, Linebrink, Randy Williams, etc you get your butts kicked, but this is getting ridiculous. Though some of me is really glad its happening right now after hearing KW saying how underachieving this team is. Its becoming more apparent that they are not that underachieving, they are just not that good of a squad. Their are way too many scrubs on this roster, period. The good news is its not masked under the crappy AL Central anymore, its out there for all to see. And now Kenny & Co. see just how much needs to be changed and improved next year to have a chance. No more aging pitchers whose Velocity is way down, no more Pitchers who cant field their position, no more talentless No Names in the bullpen, possibly no more Alexi at short, the possibility of not bringing back both Dye and Thome, looking for more hit for avg, less power, less slump prone like players. Its all out there for us and the mgmt to see. I actually think this recent east coast butt kicking might be good for the sox, it could just simply force some "Good for the sox" changes. You kind of rambled there for a while , but I think I got the majority of what you were getting at. The bold part is the most important part and yes, I agree with you on it.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Aug 28, 2009 -> 10:55 PM) I predict Jose pitches well tomorrow. Hahahahaha.

Just looked at the score...ha.

QUOTE (b-Rye @ Aug 29, 2009 -> 12:26 PM) I think KW's offseason was as bad as Hendry's and his in season moves have done nothing for this team except screw the chemistry of the team... although we cut payroll our opening day roster sucked. Even though we cut the crap in Betemit, Colon, Wise, Anderson, Fields, Macdougal (now tearing it up in Washington) Lillibridge (til Getz injury) we're under .500 again. We added 10mil plus in salary in Rios (nothing so far), Peavy (hurt), Pena (bad), Kotsay (ok), Pods (great move, def luck), Castro (not much better than Corky), Sweatry Freddy (1 good, 1 bad start).. I don't get why he wanted to give all the young guys a chance then a few months into the season dump them because he thinks we're in a pennant chase (.500 record?)... We've traded away and gave away Poreda, Richard, Allen, Brian Anderson, Lance Broadway and I don't think we would be any worse if these guys were still on the roster getting major league playing time. That goes to show that BIG changes need to be made next year and I think they will. I think this team is gonna go for a world series next year. I think some bold moves will be made this offseason, and I think Dye will be gonna, Jenks will be gone, Pods will be gone, and a move like trading one of Floyd/Alexai/Konerko will be made. I think he will sign a long term RF, lots of bullpen help for cheap, , and keep Kotsay to platoon with Thome at DH and play OF/1B. He will also resign Wise and trade more prospects. Wow, you really hate everything Williams has done recently.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Aug 29, 2009 -> 06:57 AM) Bischoff's contract came up and Vince pulled a "You're FIRED" skit out of his hat containing 3 tricks. Bischoff stated that he wanted to do other things and he tried to do that Celebrity Wrestling Association show with Hogan among other things. If Bischoff wanted to come back to WWE, I think Vince would hire him on in a second. Bischoff is a complete heat magnet whenever he is on the screen, the crowds hate his guts and he eats it up. Who are the people in your avatar? It looks like HBK and Andre the Giant in the middle and on the right, respectively. I can't figure out the guy on the left, though.

QUOTE (JPN366 @ Aug 29, 2009 -> 11:41 AM) "Hans Landa" is a barrel of monkeys. Such a great character. The more I think about the movie, the more I love that performance. I'm pretty sure it's etched in stone that Waltz will get an Oscar nomination, but I'm not sure which one it will be. Knowing that Brad Pitt was supposed to be the main actor in the movie makes me think he'll get the supporting nod, but the fact that he won best actor at Cannes and that he clearly stole the show and had the most screen time pushes me to think best actor.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Aug 28, 2009 -> 04:47 PM) I've called for a ton of guys to get moved on. I was just responding to the f*** Paul Konerko post cause I think that is harsh. IF we want to turn the page and go another direction, I agree. Afterall, I've been calling people out for a long time and coming up with whacky trade ideas almost every season I've been a part of this site. Good post by the way Milkman and I agree with what your saying. Thanks, and is there a feature on the site that will automatically start all of my posts with "With all due respect"? I may want to run with that.

QUOTE (WCSox @ Aug 28, 2009 -> 04:45 PM) Trading a player, not picking up his option after the season, or letting him walk at the end of a contract is one thing. Permanently benching a player or DFAing him for slumping or not playing up to projections in late August is another. And look what we have to show for not designating Contreras for assignment. He gets to come right back to the rotation to f*** up another game beyond recognition. Clearly we have two very different views on how to treat players. I'm not going to get into it again.

QUOTE (G&T @ Aug 28, 2009 -> 04:39 PM) How many times have we heard that? Too many. My idea before was to boycott any more games started by Contreras by not showing up to the game. Since this is an away game, that kind of throws a wrench in the works. I suggest people do not tune into the game en masse.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Aug 28, 2009 -> 04:01 PM) I think your being a bit harsh on Konerko and I find it hard to believe that Kenny would take anything with that subject line very serious. We can say what we want about Paulie, but he's been an above average 1st baseman and a high character guy during his tenure here and that goes along way. Could he be the man showed the door this off-season, sure, but I don't think its because the Sox are over him or dislike him cause that clearly isn't the case. They might think a new voice is needed and maybe to do that they move Paulie, but they might also find a way to keep Paulie and bring in a new "captain" so to speak or maybe Beckham starts to grab that role and AJ is given the title of Captain. Either way I see Konerko get spat on a lot and while I have no problem making changes I do think we should respect that he's been an above average player and a very good White Sox during his tenure. I think that's been a huge problem lately. Just because people want a certain player or players gone, it does not mean that their contributions in the past are not respected. When someone makes a post about letting so-and-so walk, or trading this guy, it is immediately met with "don't you even care what this guy has given to the team in his tenure here?" posts. Yeah, I'm grateful and I respect the contributions. I respect the hell out of guys like Tony Gwynn and Frank Thomas, but I don't want either on this team. I feel like we should take a lesson from the mafia and begin each post discussing getting rid of a player with the line "With all due respect..."

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Aug 28, 2009 -> 04:11 PM) Pretty simple actually cause your stats are skewed. If things stay the way that they are this year, we will have finished in the bottom half of the American League in runs scored for 4 of his 7 years(more telling to look at the AL stats compared to all of baseball considering the whole DH vs. Pitcher thing). Granted, that doesn't say that he's the worst hitting coach ever but it also shows that we've been a below average offense for over half his tenure here. And once again, I don't think getting rid of him is magically going to cure everything but I'd also guarantee that it wont hurt. If it jump starts the team for a little bit then it'd be well worth it imo. Not to mention that Kenny has already pretty much sent out a threat to the players and a firing might just show them that he isn't f***ing around. Rowand FTW!

QUOTE (GreatScott82 @ Aug 28, 2009 -> 03:58 PM) There are a lot of great bars in downtown Boston. I stayed At the Boston Plaza Hotel when i was there for a conference and you could literaly walk to the actual 'cheers' bar which was pretty neat. Fenway is about 6-8 miles away from downtown so it isn't to bad. Just take the train. Don't stay in Boston for too long though, you will eventually start talking with that ridiculous accent. Well, "actual" Cheers bar is sort of misleading in the first place. They only used the outside shot of the bar, of course, plus there are now like 30 Cheers' around the city.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Aug 28, 2009 -> 03:45 PM) That's true, Boston is not as big as you'd think. You can walk to everything, as you say. Actually, one of the cool things to do (at least to me anyway) is follow that city trail (I think its called the Freedom Trail), that is a yellow line on the sidewalks winding through the city to cool historical spots. The only downside is that you couldn't look more like a tourist, ha. When a lot of my family came to visit, they wanted to do it. I absolutely would not.

QUOTE (Princess Dye @ Aug 28, 2009 -> 12:25 PM) It wasnt a comparison of players though. Just the situations. What was brought up is -- paraphrased:"think about 05 before you let him go" In my view, you should never think about 05 for anything having to do with 2009 or 2010. 2005 is for the DVD player alone. I would agree if someone said i'm being too finicky but it's just a consideration that some make which bothers me. Here's the exact quote Nice.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Aug 28, 2009 -> 02:45 PM) I'd say most of Boston's great stuff to do is around downtown, not near Fenway. The area around Fenway is really only good for the bars, from what I saw. So I guess if that's your thing, then that's your neighborhood. If not, get downtown. I was probably being too vague, but my point is that the size of the city is pretty damn small. It's pretty much all within walking distance.

QUOTE (ChiSox_Sonix @ Aug 28, 2009 -> 11:13 AM) There hasn't been a thread dedicated to it, but it's been brought up many times when people talk about who we should let go in the off-season. It's not a large contingent, but it has been brought up. Hey, maybe it's the few people I don't bother reading.

QUOTE (Tex @ Aug 28, 2009 -> 11:07 AM) I honestly never disliked him, even when he was on the Twins. My favorite players are catchers. And gee, what a shocker, a sarcastic, get in your head, catcher, just might be someone I'd like. I hated him because he killed us, nothing more than that.

QUOTE (ChiSox_Sonix @ Aug 28, 2009 -> 10:00 AM) Everyone who is clamoring for us to trade him in the offseason will really regret that if we ever do. He is such a beneficial part to this ball club. His first pitch swinging can at times be frustrating, but he's just so under appreciated here. It's surprising actually. I keep seeing people saying this, but I honestly can't recall seeing a post about wanting to trade AJ. I'm sure someone will provide a link to one, and I thank you in advance, but I just cannot remember someone saying it.

Everything to do in Boston is within a 1-mile radius of Fenway. Just walk around and find something you would like to do instead of taking suggestions from other people and forcing yourself to see all of it. And yes, Fenway is a real piece of crap. It may have a dirtier feel than Wrigley, very damp and acrid in certain areas, in fact.

QUOTE (MattZakrowski @ Aug 27, 2009 -> 12:15 PM) What do the top and bottom ones say?

QUOTE (ChiSox_Sonix @ Aug 28, 2009 -> 08:20 AM) LOL. I have a friend who's a Yankees fan and whenever we talk baseball if I bring up the Sox he always has to throw in a "I hate AJ Pierzynski" comment. I then always ask why, and his response is always "Cuz he's an asshole". So I ask why is he an asshole? "Cuz he just is. I hate that guy". So yep, you're 100% correct. I've had many similar conversations. The people who actually know a little will mention that he was hated on his own teams, and then I'll mention how the Twins loved him and only two pitchers on the Giants disliked him, but they were loud-mouths and brought it to the media...one of which has since apologized to AJ. The only thing I can't really clear up is the thing about him hitting the coach in the balls. I just say that that was a stupid thing, but most likely a momentary lapse in judgment.

QUOTE (Princess Dye @ Aug 28, 2009 -> 08:06 AM) Shall we keep Contreras in the rotation? He was arguably the 05 staff ace. I think one thing that separated this organization from the Cubs, especially the 80s-90s Cubs, is their willingness to make moves that you need to make. The Cubs kept trotting out lovable favorites like Dunston,Grace, long after their peak usefulness. The organization has long been a business first, contending-hopefuls second. Meanwhile, things like the White Flag trade, while unpopular --were our best course of action. We've won. The Sox will do things the public doesnt like, but they have to be done. It's like raising a kid. You do things for the kid that are for their best interests, even though they dont realize it/like it. I'm not like people here that are hating on Dye verbally, I just feel like it's time the organization either keep him here super cheap, or cut ties. More likely the latter. And it doesn't help that the general American public is incredibly stupid.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Aug 28, 2009 -> 07:22 AM) Walker has been a hitting coach for a long time. Several players have come and gone. Name a few who were much better under a different coach. As I said, Swisher was moved in part because he didn't listen to the hitting coach. His dad was his hitting coach. Walker isn't going make Jim Thome a .330 hitter. As long as you have that central core of very streaky hitters, who are station to station guys, your team will score in streaks. You call my excuses lazy, if anyone is being lazy, its you. Name some hitters who where much better under someone else, and find me a better source than a poster on this board for his philosophy of "lift and pull". He's not a bad hitting coach. Konerko many thought was done in 2003 when Walker came over. Paulie gives him all the credit for his comeback which included an ALCS MVP and perhaps the biggest home run in team history in the WS. Once again, you don't want to look at the facts. If anyone's excuses for doing something are lazy or lack a thought provoking argument, its yours. You're lazy answer to my thought-provoking question of who would be a better hitter with another team received, "probably a lot of them". Wow, that's insightful. Most have been with different teams, who hasn't at least hit up to the level they hit before while taking age and injury into question, like Thome.? He already admitted that he doesn't believe Walker actually says this, but that someone has to be held accountable for a lack of offense (at least consistent offense). In most cases, that is going to fall on the hitting coach.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Aug 28, 2009 -> 07:08 AM) You obviously did not read the contents of this thread. It's a joke. He is referring to the fact that Boston's SS Nick Green pitched 2 scoreless innings against us last night. I always wonder if some people even bother reading threads. Or do they just see the title, throw in their two cents, and never again look into the thread?

QUOTE (Markbilliards @ Aug 27, 2009 -> 10:50 PM) When people boo him, they don't know why they're booing him. Similar to how when they root for the Cubs, they don't know why they're cheering for them. You, sir, are correct. I would bet a good amount of money that, if you were to ask someone in a random city why they were booing him, they'd respond with "[stutter][pause]...he's a jerk."