Milkman delivers

QUOTE(watchtower41 @ Aug 8, 2006 -> 04:18 PM) The White Sox fanbase is turning more and more into Red Sox nation every single day. Ive never seen so many so called "fans" give up on a team that currently holds a playoff spot. So be it here on soxbandwagontalk. The most crucial week of the season for the Sox, when they need our suport the most... and nodbody can put an ounce of faith in this team. Pathetic. Its like youre going to the games expecting to Boooooo. There was more energy in the Cell last year with 30,000 than it is full this year..... but go ahead and keep b****ing and whining, because that's what classy fans do. How do you expect our boys to kepp things on the right track if nobody believes in them?? So greedy the majority of this fanbase has become... We should all be proud to be a White Sox fan, lately most fans sound like the biggest bunch of asses this side of the AL. Mind if I ask where you're from?

QUOTE(Controlled Chaos @ Aug 8, 2006 -> 03:59 PM) Really, I didn't mean to be "on your ass" or critical, I just want you to enjoy the ride a little dude. I was up fathom. I enjoyed it plenty. I'm just not big on the "in your face, we're kicking your ass" mentality. I don't like to celebrate until it's over or else I feel like it might come back to bite me in the ass. Karma, sort of. And for me, the entire playoffs was like one big game. I didn't move from the same spot for any of the games, wore the same sweatshirt, had the same little habits during the games. EDIT: And just to clarify that my mentality isn't always negative, I had a real feeling that Konerko was gonna hit a grandslam.

QUOTE(fathom @ Aug 8, 2006 -> 03:41 PM) Come on....leave the critical posts for a different thread. He's been on my ass for a while. Who cares? And I'm sure a whole lot of people were sure not to be too overconfident. I bet even more did a lot of stupid things in order not to jinx the team.

QUOTE(fathom @ Aug 8, 2006 -> 03:02 PM) Good thread. I will never forget the feeling I had when Konerko hit the grand slam. It was so surreal. That's definitely the moment that stands out to me when I think about the WS. As Scoop Jackson said in his article for ESPN.com, the WS was over on that swing. I have to say, PK's grandslam was the only time I showed any extreme enthusiasm throughout the entire playoffs (minus the final out, of course). I was too afraid to really be happy for fear of jinxing anything. When Konerko hit that, I went nuts, as did the team and the fans at the game. Watching all the commotion, one of my roommates said, "this isn't over, they're celebrating too much." And he ended up being right. I think the WS was over on Pods' swing.

QUOTE(Soxy @ Aug 8, 2006 -> 01:46 PM) Probably because I was in high school, but. . . I loved the Ladies Man. Loved. I also like the very early stuff. Roseanne Roseanna Danna, Todd and Lisa, and Weekend Update ("Jane you ill-informed slut. Who did you have to sleep with to get this job.") Ever see the one where Mick Jagger plays Keith Richards and Mike Myers plays Mick Jagger for a debate on Weekend Update? "Mick, you ignorant slut" (in heavy English accent) -Mick Jagger as Richards

QUOTE(Felix @ Aug 8, 2006 -> 12:25 PM) The loss was a bulls*** one too in Pittsburgh.. stupid walkoff shot. At least that game included a spectacular shot by Thome. That's even worse. I think it's evident that I deserve the tickets more than you do QUOTE(Hangar18 @ Aug 8, 2006 -> 12:26 PM) so your saying last nites LOSS was really your fault? Ive been trying everything, tonite will be wearing my Konerko jersey. Entirely my fault.

QUOTE(Felix @ Aug 8, 2006 -> 12:22 PM) They are 4-1 with me there.. I'll take any and all tickets too (along with plane tickets to get to Chicago) A loss?! Get that weak s*** out of here. EDIT: It's not spiff anymore?

QUOTE(J-MAN @ Aug 8, 2006 -> 11:40 AM) I know our starting pitching sucks right now but how many times have you seen a Sox hitter lace a ball and someone makes a great catch - how many long balls just went foul - how many calls seemed to go the wrong way. Anderson has hit more line drives right at people than I can ever remember seeing before.

He can't be wrong. After all, He is God.

The Sox are undefeated when I'm in attendance this year. The solution to their recent struggles is clear. Give me your tickets, and I will ensure a playoff spot for our team. Let's start tonight. Who wants to be the first to help the team and fork over a ticket (preferably somewhere near the dugout)?

Go with the hot hand. We know who he is.

QUOTE(Controlled Chaos @ Aug 8, 2006 -> 10:24 AM) I'm not burying my head in the sand. I know we haven't played well, but there's a difference between not playing well and not believing we're capable of playing well. I won't go so far as to say you root for them too do bad. I know you're a fan and want them to win, but you do revel in their losses. It gives you a chance to come on here and complain. This guy sucks, that guy sucks, gm sucks, coach sucks. We need to do this or that.... It's like you get to be the GM/Coach except when you're wrong and you were way wrong last year....nobody gives a crap. It's fun, there's no accountablity in what you do. When they're winning you don't have much to say. You might complain about a couple guys that aren't playing well, but overall you don't have much to contribute. I think you're favorite game is one where the Sox suck at almost every facet of the game, but still win. As a fan you still get the win, but with all the suckage you get to come on here and question everything....you live for that stuff. You can't wait to come on here and call someone out. and to address BigSquirt.... I'm here every single day, whether they win or lose. I never ever call people out. When have I ever responded to someone's post after a loss and said, "I told you so?" You'll notice it's far more normal to see a pessimistic poster get called out by name when he or she was wrong than it is for a negative poster to call out an optimistic one. I always commend the guys that are doing well. I mention how Thome has turned this team around, how Dye is having an MVP-type season, Anderson's defense is amazing, Uribe carries the team when he's hot, Thornton is unhittable most of the time, MacDougal has nasty stuff and great potential. I constantly praise Iguchi and Ozuna. I've mentioned time and again that I'd be happy with Anderson batting .230 and Uribe getting to .250, and I have mentioned that they met my expectations repeatedly. The problem that most people seem to have is that I also point out the negative. Things like everything about Pods, the terrible SP's, Dye's lack of range in RF, Uribe's lazy defense, bad pitch selection, and Ozzie's complete denial of the SP's capabilities. And all of that gets focused on rather than the other things.

Well, Schmidt's Gay was a great skit. Another one of my favorites that I never see is from when Alec Baldwin hosted. The skit was about an American spy plane that had an emergency landing in China (which I believe actually happened). And they're all treated extremely well by the Chinese, but Baldwin's character wants to try to take over the entire country. "Let's just say I was keeping it warm."

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Aug 8, 2006 -> 09:44 AM) Wait so you are telling me that the bullpen would have come in and given up no runs in the 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th innings? Come on. There is no one in the pen pitching that well, and I know everyone is in this place where the starters have to be yanked as soon as they throw a ball, because it is the fashionable bridge to be jumping off of now, but to say that the pen would have thrown 4 scoreless innings is a joke. Even at our pens season long eras, we have to expect at least one run, and with the way Riske, Jenks, Cotts, and Thornton have thrown the ball, there is no reason to be surprised if they give up more than two runs. Every legitimate concern that is ever brought up, and agreed to be a concern by more than a few people, is always just people jumping off of a bridge.

QUOTE(Texsox @ Aug 8, 2006 -> 07:18 AM) Amazingly, this team is still one of the top 5 or 6 in all of baseball and would be a favorite in the first round of the playoffs. Since I missed all of June and July I can keep a more positive outlook. I also wasn't jumping off the cliff last year. Get the problems out now and let September roll. This excuse used to be that we were the #2 team in baseball. Then, it was that we're #3. Soon, we'll be happy ( ) that we're hovering around .500, woohoo! QUOTE(Controlled Chaos @ Aug 8, 2006 -> 09:41 AM) You live to b****.... And you live to bury your head in the sand.

QUOTE(DBAH0 @ Aug 8, 2006 -> 04:20 AM) Some of you just have too high expectations for this team in general after what happened last season. There I said it. Please forgive us for expecting more out of a team with a $100 million payroll. We should be thankful for the fact that the team seems complacent with being "pretty good." They sure are earning their checks.

QUOTE(shoota @ Aug 7, 2006 -> 10:25 PM) You're right that the Sox won the World Series last year in spite of Ozzie's bad managing, such as his use of Damaso Marte and Neal Cotts, and his decisions to put Marte on the playoff rosters over McCarthy. Ozzie had a poor philosophy last year of using the worse of his two lefty relievers in critical relief situations. He used Marte when the game was on the line instead of using Cotts, who he was saving for situation that didn't occur. The smart philosophy would have been to first use his best lefty reliever, Cotts, for the tougher situations where a lefty pitcher is required, because he was more likely to succeed than Marte. Then, later in the game if a lefty is needed, call on Marte. Ozzie had this backwards, regularly used Marte at critical points in the game where a lefty pitcher was desired, while Cotts rotted in the bullpen for a situation that often never came. Remember when he brought Marte into the third game of the Boston series? Who knows how that series would've went if Duque hadn't had one of the greatest playoff innings in history.

QUOTE(fathom @ Aug 7, 2006 -> 10:14 PM) His big mouth. This team is very poorly coached. They're terrible at running the bases, they don't communicate well (how many times do we see the fielders nearly collide, the balk tonight was another example too), and can't execute bunts at all. Terrible 3B coach, too.

QUOTE(SnB @ Aug 7, 2006 -> 10:05 PM) we went out and get guys like macdougal for a reason. If bmac came in, in the 7th and gave up a few runs, I wouldn't be nearly this upset, cause at least ozzie made some sort of right move. But honestly, it's got to be around 10 games that we've lost this season, due to just leaving the starter in their too long. We won in the playoffs last year in spite of ozzie, basically we didn't give him a chance to screw it up. I think more and more people are beggining to see that. Ozzie is a piss-poor manager when it comes to in-game decisions. His "strength" of being able to motivate his team has somehow disappeared recently, too. Can't see much passion in the team.

QUOTE(fathom @ Aug 7, 2006 -> 08:52 PM) This team needs someone at the top of the order that can give them a spark. Our 3-4-5 is awesome...but far too often they're having to produce the offense for this entire team all by themselves. BUT PODS IS THE SPARK! WE WIN WHEN HE GETS HITS!1

QUOTE(fathom @ Aug 7, 2006 -> 10:00 PM) Until they can prove otherwise, last year was one of those dream seasons where you get career years from numerous guys, avoid major injury issues, and you have the ball bounce your way. Yup.

I just have no faith in our starters this year, even Contreras. I would take about 15 pitchers in baseball to start a big game for us right now over any of our starters. Their miraculous turnaround just might not be coming, and there's a very realistic chance we don't even make the playoffs. And this team really doesn't have the fire it had last year. We might not want to admit it, but we've become the pre-2005 teams. All offense, no pitching, no emotion. It seems that losing has become acceptable.

Also, who gets the call up if he actually goes to the DL?

Well, if this is gonna be a trend with him, I can see why they didn't trade Fields now. I can only imagine he gets more prone to back injuries the more he hurts/tweaks it.

If that's the case, then I'd like to say something. Learn how to bunt, play defense, strengthen your arm, protect with two strikes, steal bases, and show a little more hustle.