Milkman delivers

QUOTE (ptatc @ Aug 25, 2009 -> 07:20 PM) This is an awful reason to punish someone in general. Being emotional has absolutely zero correlation with playing well or caring for the game. Some people have mellow personalities and deal with stress by internalizing it. Not caring about playing is a very difficult thing to judge from the outside. If you begin to puclicly do this to players you will lose them qucikly. This is not high school or even college where emotions can help a lesser talented player play a little better. All of these players are talented. Emotions in baseball usually have a deletorious effect. If you're amped up you will squeeze the bat or ball tighter and not perform at the optimal level. In baseball the most important factor for a player is comfort and consistency. We aren't talking about unproven rookies. We are talking about established veterans. They may be past thier prime or even time but the only way to decide that is to let them play and decide. Punishment on a perceived lack of emotion is not a good way to get respect from the players. If they performing poorly that's one thing. Players slump. Even for 1/2 or full seasons. We've seen what nagging injuries and slumps have done to guys like Konerko. We didn't know the extent of his injuires at the time. So before you call for players heads for "lack of emotion" Let it play out Fine, then you punish them for lack of production, which is also something I mentioned. Either way, they're not seeing any real repercussions for their performance or lack of intensity.

QUOTE (WCSox @ Aug 25, 2009 -> 06:00 PM) Perhaps this is news to you, but you can't treat human beings the in same way that you treat the theoretical players on your fantasy team. I don't play fantasy. And f*** yes you can.

I just got back from Inglourious Basterds. Roger Ebert probably summed it up best. I came away not really knowing why I liked it, but I think I did (and it'll probably get better the more I see it). Some things about it, though: -The "basterds" weren't in it that much -Christoph Waltz definitely stole the show -There was much less action and violence than I expected, which was disappointing

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Aug 25, 2009 -> 04:07 PM) You know what drives me crazy? How much different is this team from the one we had on June 1? Rios, Beckham, hopefully Peavy soon, Floyd out of his slump, Podsednik's magical youth potions, the Pena deal, TCQ back and hitting with some power. On June 1, we were 25-25 and 3.5 games back. We've added all those guys, gotten rid of chaff like Colon, Lillibridge, etc., and we're now 1 game above .500 and still 3.5 games back. WTF is with that? Like I've said, it's an overall team mentality which needs to be broken by shaking something up big time.

QUOTE (ptatc @ Aug 25, 2009 -> 04:53 PM) With this ideal in mind, no one is allowed to have an off year. Beleive it or not these are people. They have slumps and difficulties. Some the public know about, others such as injuries, we don't. You don't earn the respect of grown men by intimitading them into playing well. If anything baseball is a sport that if you are too wound up you play poorly. If a player is truly giving 100% effort you can demote them but you don't treat them like crap. This is all under the assumption that they are giving 100%. This was always the problem Gullien had with BA. The team didn't feel he was giving his team 100% and that his focus was elsewhere. The White Sox management will give a player every chance to do well, especially if they have given the team everything they have. Contreras has shown some signs of putting it together in some starts. I'm sure that's why they stayed with him. It just hasn't happened. In a case like Contreras he not only played well for them but busted his rear to return from injury to help the team. He deserves respect for his efforts. Demoting him is warranted. Treating him like a 2 year old is not. I blame the team's constant lackadaisical play and lack of any emotion/sense of urgency on the fact that we have no punishment for guys who perform well below any reasonable standards for a significant amount of time. I believe making an example of Contreras, along with letting Dye walk after this year, would go a long way in showing them that they can't get too comfortable.

QUOTE (WCSox @ Aug 25, 2009 -> 03:12 PM) I've argued here several times that JD should be moved down in the order, and have no problem whatsoever moving Jose to the 'pen. That's a hell of a lot different than DFAing them. Jose and JD have both performed extremely well at times this year (and Jose worked his ass off to be able to pitch again back in March), so the argument that they're not earning their paychecks is dubious at best. Both are also under contract for only a month and a half longer, so I don't see what the point of your rant is. Again, releasing players because they're slumping and you're pissed off is juvenile and counter-productive. Slumping, ha!

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Aug 25, 2009 -> 12:03 PM) Even Dye would vote "out". Nu uh. He'd be highly offended and then free agents wouldn't sign here, nor would players accept trades here.

QUOTE (WCSox @ Aug 25, 2009 -> 11:46 AM) No, it shouldn't. You don't dump a veteran who dominated the playoffs and World Series for you (and not to mention recently came back several months ahead of schedule from a potentially career-ending Achilles rupture) out of spite. Under Kenny, the Sox have done much to repair this organization's bad reputation in the way that they handle veteran players. DFAing a player like Jose would be completely counter-productive, especially considering that the rosters expand soon and that he might be useful in long relief. Fine, we can keep being pussies and allowing our players to perform like utter s*** with absolutely no consequence. We can't move a guy out of the third spot in the order because it would offend him. We can't take a guy out of the rotation until he becomes a complete embarrassment. Sign with the White Sox and you'll never be held to a decent standard again! You perform, you keep playing regularly. You don't perform, you keep playing regularly. You win either way, plus you get all of the money you're not earning.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Aug 25, 2009 -> 12:16 PM) IM OUT UNLESS WE MAKE TO PLAYOFFS. MY PC IS BROKEN. SENT FROM BLACKBERRY

Expect Getz to hit 40 points higher now. I may have asked this before, but why isn't Hriniak the hitting coach? We seem to send our guys with continual hitting problems to him, and he seems better than Walker. Also, how do you pronounce his name? I have just figured it was her-nee-ack.

Billy Wagner's agent's name is Bean Stringfellow.

I know almost nothing of chewing tobacco (I think everything I know about it comes from The Sandlot). Does it contain nicotene and a lot of the other crap in cigarettes.

In that situation, you drag said fielder into the street and shoot him.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Aug 25, 2009 -> 10:12 AM) Freddy. Yippee. How'd you like the other thread I started?

I haven't started a game thread since...well, I can't remember. It's been a while. This means we'll either go on a ridiculous streak or come crashing down to Earth. You're welcome, Kyyle.

QUOTE (southsideirish71 @ Aug 25, 2009 -> 08:28 AM) Right now Dye is hitting like Carl did in 05. It took them until what, the middle of September to make that move. Until our backs were up against the wall did Ozzie make that change. Our backs are beyond up against the wall. Dye needs to be moved out. He is providing nothing with the stick, and nothing in the field. Maybe he is tired, maybe he is hurt. I don't know. But its time to make a change. And on the way out the door, thankfully.

QUOTE (Heads22 @ Aug 25, 2009 -> 07:26 AM) They wouldn't release him. No one would sign him for the rest of the season anyways, and the rosters expand soon enough as it is. It should be done as a statement.

I'm not even happy with this move. It just shows me that they don't even have the balls to flat-out cut his ass off of the team.

QUOTE (SockMe @ Aug 24, 2009 -> 10:25 PM) Detroit has a very tough stretch in Mid to late september. something like: 2 series against Minny, 2 against us, 1 at Cleveland I think that will make or break the Tigers. That doesn't sound all that tough to me.

QUOTE (VAfan @ Aug 24, 2009 -> 10:22 PM) One problem the Sox have is lack of accountability for terrible play. The BEST message the Sox could send this team would be to cut Jose Contreras tomorrow. Ozzie should also have some extended benching of anyone who is not hitting, including Dye and Konerko if necessary. And for players to make errors? They should ride the bench the next day. I'd also like to see Quentin back in the #3 hole in the lineup, ahead of Thome. Sox need a serious shake up. I really think we have the talent to compete. But we've got to cut the mistakes and dial up the intensity. Or we're going to get steamrolled. Ohhhh, I could not agree more.

QUOTE (Brian @ Aug 24, 2009 -> 08:03 PM) Lance Cade wasn't really all that good, IMO and didn't he get released because of wellness failures? London and Kendrick were one of the best tag teams they have had in the past 10 years, which may not be saying much. Cade and Murdoch were one of the better tag teams of the recent past, too.

QUOTE (The Ginger Kid @ Aug 24, 2009 -> 08:05 PM) nice to see Buehrle and Ozzie laughing it up. I guess when you're paid millions it doesn't hurt to suck. I turned this off a while ago. Tell me that isn't happening.

Cutting Contreras would serve two purposes. It would prevent him from ever pitching another game for this team, plus there's a decent chance it would send a message to the rest of the pieces of crap.

I only started this thread as a joke in response to what BigSqwert said in another thread. Somehow I knew it would have wheels.

QUOTE (southsideirish71 @ Aug 24, 2009 -> 07:51 PM) He is a throwback sox player from the early part of this century. He is a bonified pull monkey. Anyone that throws him an inside pitch should be benched immediately. Just keep feeding him crap off the zone. You throw one fastball down the middle for strike one because he doesnt swing at strike one, and you are set. Still though, I think he should start over Getz.