LVSoxFan

QUOTE (tonyho7476 @ Jul 24, 2008 -> 01:56 PM) No way. I think at worst 5-5. And I have a good feeling we are going to be more like 8-2. How ya like that for optimism? Well let's hope so. But I do think this is the pivotal week of the season though, seeing that one of us has got to make a break for the finish line and Minny's right behind us, and Detroit with a good streak can be right back in it. Why not take the opportunity to ruin their hopes and dreams? To kick their cat, drink their beer and drive off in their new car?

If we go 2-8 or worse on this trip as Ginger Kid says, that's the season. Let's hope not.

Oh, I think it is quite safe to say our season balances on this road trip. We have a chance to put our two nearest threats down a hole they can't climb out of. Four games in Minny? We only play Detroit once in August after this and Minny not until September. These are almost playoff-caliber games. Let's hope for the best.

What are you all fighting about? Nothing's wrong with honoring soldiers--duh!--but make no mistake: those uniforms were heinously ugly. Let's find a more attractive way to do it next time.

I am hardly what anybody here would call a Sox optimist (see sig) but I will tell you this: yes, it's a pain to have Minny right on our ass right now... BUT.... If anybody had told me that at the ASB we would be at or just out of first place I would not have believed you. Let's be honest: it's a wonder we're still hanging in considering that the small-ball days of 2005 are nowhere to be found. We're old, we're slow and we're more than HR-dependent. Heading into this season I thought: 3rd place at best. And with Detroit looking like a monster, Cleveland fresh off a playoffs and the always-annoying Twins... how can it be we're in first? So I'll take it. As they say, you can't win a season in the first half, but you can lose it. And we haven't done that (unless we get swept in KC and Texas this week). So there IS cause for optimism. As long as we get hot 2nd half and not tired, with the pitching breaking down (and then we're screwed). We've also got two suprise, out-of-nowhere players: Ramirez and Quentin. I didn't even factor them in before the start of the season because I'd never heard of them. Not only that, but the Indians just traded away Sox-killer C.C. Sabathia. I'd be still very surprised if we win the division, but hey: I'll be the first to admit I'm surprised we've made it this far.

I hate to say it--it is Paul-ee after all--but I'm fine with him gone. I think Swish is FAR superior at first base, and Anderson, bad average or not, is making some pretty unbelievable catches in CF--just last night in fact. Problem is, as I discussed at length with my baseball nut co-worker, we're in a bind. There's nothing to do here. -Nobody wants that contract with his batting average and now his injury, and his age -He has right of refusal and if somebody like Baltimore would take a chance on him, there's no way he'd go to Baltimore -You can't bench him with that salary -You can't make him the DH; where does that put Thome (a whole other problem)? -Putting him back in puts Swish back in center and either Anderson or Nice will have to go I don't think it's any coincidence that this team is looking really "2005" right now with him out. I love Paulie for 2005, but he never struck me as a "quiet leader"--more like a drain on the team when he's not hitting well. I certainly don't wish any harm to Paulie or want him to be seriously hurt but yes, I think he does more harm than good coming back at this point. We get enough homers without him.

Sorry I like Farmer. I'd take him over Hawk any day.

This is insane. Oust DJ??!?!? Forget that, put Stoney with DJ and heave the Hawk. DJ is much better when Hawk's not there. If I have to hear "dadgummit" one more freakin' time. www.heavethehawk.com

Hell send Ozuna down, no question. I wouldn't send BA right now, if only for his glove.

I know this is blasphemy but I'll say it anyway: I kinda hope Paulie doesn't come back.

This win had 2005 written all over it. I'm really starting to like this team. I really like Ramirez at 2B. I LOVE Swisher at 1st. In fact, for the first time in many months, I'm not seeing any holes that I would fill.

I'm thrilled to see Buehrle in top form right now. Nothing makes me happier. How ironic that we go and spank THIS NL team and... the Orioles beat the Cubs at Wrigley. Oh well...

I would lose Paulie and Thome before the ASB to pick up speed and average, no problem. If anybody will take them.

As a Lakeview resident and somebody at two of the three games this weekend, allow me to add one here. 1) Enough dissing of Wrigley Field. I love that park as part of my neighborhood; I never want it to leave. I love going to see the Sox play there. It's a totally original ballpark and you'll never see one like it--or in a location like that--again. Yes, it blows compared to the Sox for food and amenities, no doubt. And there's plenty of crappy seats there whereas even in the nosebleeds at the Cell you can see just fine. But it's a Chicago landmark. 2) The new bleachers are spectacularly done. How they did that, building out over the sidewalk instead of out into the sidewalk, was clever. There's much more room to stand/walk, and thank God they added another men's bathroom. They have actual reserved bleacher (meaning: seats) over by the RF foul pole. On a beautiful day/night, you can't get much better than watching the Sox at Wrigley and just taking in all there is going on around you (meaning: on the street, on the rooftops, in the park, on the field). THAT SAID... The first thing I noticed walking into the bleachers Saturday was the overwhelming stench of vomit. Somebody obviously had hurled and either it wasn't cleaned up or it didn't matter that it was. Last year I remember being at the hot dog line back there and a drunken fan was standing at the condiment stand... eating his hot dog. With a line of people behind him. He was just that wasted. Typical. This year that first game a drunken fan came up to me and got in my face, saying "Can I use that jersey to wipe my ass?" Not in a fun, competitive way, but in a goonish, fratboy, aggressive way, as if he was looking for a fight. Good thing he wasn't, because his afternoon would have become tragic. I have thought for a long time about why I hate their fans so much and besides the behavior listed in this thread and the absolute binge drinking/fratboy atmosphere, I finally figured it out. Everything with them is to the absolute, total, extreme. There is no dimmer switch. When they win, they go absolutely bats*** and get abusive. When they lose, they go absolutely bats*** and boo their own team and throw s*** on the field. When they blow another playoff, they expect us to all feel sorry for them and their 100 year pathetic record. But when they win, they're the first ones literally in our faces with the taunting and abuse. When they get drunk, they get stinking drunk. When the Sox were in the series in '05, I had a letter printed in the Sun-Times about North Side Sox fans. The following letter they printed was from a Cub fan who swore he would NEVER ever root for us and we weren't even a real Chicago team--after I had written about not trying to "rub it in the faces" of Cubs fans that we were in the Series. Just to give you another example, a line of them were up in a rooftop in RF and they spent the entire night yelling down at passing women on Sheffield things like "SHOW US YOUR T*TS!" There was a sketch on an MTV comedy show recently about a fictional bar called "The Dude-Bro Ranch." And the setup was: if you're into Dave Matthews, play hacky-sack and are a fan of date rape, this is the place for you! Wrigley Field IS the Dude-Bro ranch.

Sorry, but that crashing sound you hear is the Sox coming back to Earth. All the Cubs did was expose our glaring weaknesses, which have been there since opening day but tend to be forgotten when we get hot. And that's the point: when we get hot, which is totally unpredictable at this point. And a big problem. Having been to the last two in person (so this is what it felt like to be at Dealey Plaza!) I knew going in last night that we were dead meat, even if Javy was pitching. Face it: -We're old and slow -We have no base-stealing capability save for the AAA centerfielder we brought up (like him!) -We can't situationally hit to save our freakin lives -We strand countless runners on base; our percentage with men on base and no outs is atrocious -We suck on the road Our pitching has been good so far, but that's bound to fall off and who's going to pick up the slack when that happens? The Cubs put the dagger in Friday with walk off, twisted it with a blowout on Saturday, and then disembowled us last night with a complete domination. We look pathetic compared to them. The thing that's particularly painful about this year and last is regardless of standings, or how bad we or they are, it always tended to be a series that could go either way. Not since 2007, though. They have won 8 of the last NINE. And that hurts more than anything. I would suspect that this will be the turning point for us, and not in a good way. But we all knew this was coming. Seriously, did you really harbor any delusions about us going somewhere this year? With this team? I'm surprised we've been in first this long. And that's the other hard part: Minny's now awake and due to overtake us, and the sleeping Tigers finally woke up. The Cubs look like champions and we look like the Other Team in a Globetrotters game. Granted, at some point The Curse will kick in and deny them what they want so badly. The only highlight all weekend for me was AJ actually throwing out a base stealer. I couldn't believe it. BTW Cubs fans in general? More obnoxious this year than I have ever seen. I hung with some cool ones but the a-hole meter was redlining; I almost got in at least one fight.

I live 5 minutes away but don't know of any really close to Wrigley. I know the old Lucky Strike on Lincoln is or was Sox-friendly, but that's not exactly in the 'hood. Anyone know of one? Granted, we'll all be at the surrounding bars regardless but the boss is thinking of coming into the hood to watch from a bar and I couldn't tell him which one.

Great finish last night but 2005? No way. For all the reasons listed above. Our old, slow, big-bopper lineup will be the end of us. More like: 2004. Sorry to be a wet blanket, but that's just how I see it.

QUOTE (Princess Dye @ Jun 2, 2008 -> 04:17 PM) Would it be insane for CQ to curtail what he's been doing? Should Alexei stop doing what he's doing right now? These are the guys that are probably Walk's biggest current projects. All right so if you're saying that it's not him and it's PK and Thome... bench them. Do SOMETHING. He's already dropped them in the order. Maybe drop them further, to eight and nine. Swish hasn't been doing this for a year and a half so I'm not sure we need to send him any "message."

In response to "What would firing Walker do?" I'd say: SOMETHING. At the very least it's symbolic, showing the players that the organization is trying to win. The false-choice about them suddenly hitting .350 with the new guy will be ignored. But what is Einstein's definition of insanity? Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results? It's been a year and a half. How much longer do you want to wait? And unless you're going to get rid of the players themselves, I'd say: we need a fresh look at their hitting. Hell, people HERE have many times pointed out the flaws in the approaches of PK and Thome. Hell even I KNOW that if you throw Thome down and in, he'll swing. But somehow combined with Walker they can't figure this out? C'mon. I think a new set of eyes could probably pick out right away what the problems are; they may even be small fixes. But DO SOMETHING.

I'm sure KW and Ozzie had QUITE the conversation today. You're right about that. As for Baines being a good hitter but that doesn't necessarily make a good coach, point taken. It's interesting to think about though. Sure seems like a waste to have him at 1B taking people's gloves. Greg Walker better be gone tomorrow.

QUOTE (SoxFan562004 @ Jun 2, 2008 -> 02:01 PM) It may be a little over the top, but I was glad to read the quotes by Ozzie. The pitching on this team has been awesome and the hitting a joke (save a few players). I'm glad he's doing this at this point when they are still in 1st place and not when they're 5 or 6 games out. I was tired of all the protecting of everyone on this team. The whole "look at the back of his baseball card" thing was getting old. Some of these guys haven't hit with any consistnecy for a year and a half and treating some of the vetrans and Walker with kid gloves was getting old. Roger that. Exactly my thoughts. I like the "baseball card" analogy. Here's one that my co-worker (Cub fan but baseball nut) floated: why not make Harold Baines the hitting coach? I mean, the guy could definitely HIT so it's not that crazy--or is it? Thoughts?

He's got kind of a point though: first place is great, but considering we are back to being the Comedy Central, that ain't saying much. We're only four games above .500. And we all know that this kind of performance is going to head over a cliff eventually. Just like it did in '06, just like it did last year... Fire Greg Walker. Now.

QUOTE (quickman @ Jun 2, 2008 -> 08:53 AM) thats great the pirates organization what a great org.

For God's sake, how many years are we going to watch this and not fire Greg Walker? What possible excuse do we have for keeping him on at this stage? Ozzie's right: a year and half of this s*** and we've all had enough. True, PK and Thome may continue to suck at the plate (who knows what Swisher will do) but it's been a year and a half of this feast-or-famine, pop-out offense, circa 2004. But if you do nothing, expect the same results. Sounds to me like Ozzie was laying the groundwork for pink-slipping Walker. And he should. Enough already. You gotta start somewhere. And if that doesn't change anything, then you try something else. But try SOMETHING.

LOL guess so. I should be concentrating on the O Cab/Ozzie soap opera, and ultimate fight night with Dotel vs. What's His Name.