NorthSideSox72

Just out of curiosity... if they keep him, he sits 10 and shows up for game 11, what happens if the Bears don't put him in uniform? Or if they just release him? He doesn't get paid in that case then, correct?

QUOTE(SoxFan101 @ Mar 30, 2007 -> 01:09 AM) If Valido can stay healthy, i can see him just exploding this season. It would nice to see both him and Getz leading off for Charlotte sometime this year. I hope you are right about Valido, because it seems to me our system is really weak up the middle (SS, 2B, C). That said, Cunningham looks like he's got a chance to be a real good hitter. And I think Donny Lucy could turn into a major league catcher. But the pitching is definitely the strong point of that B-Ham roster.

QUOTE(soxfansince04 @ Mar 29, 2007 -> 10:31 PM) Hi there, this is my first post. I have been lurking here a few months, and it seems like a pretty good place for Sox commentary. I did not grow up a baseball fan, became one as an adult(hence the username), so I still have lots to learn. I do enjoy the commentary here though. I will be at opening day as well, I am a split STH. My buddy and I will be Keggin' and Eggin' pregame. We both really like food and grilling, so we have a lot of fun picking out tailgate food. We're doing steaks and breakfast burritos and homemade pork sausage for our first tailgate. Our seats are in the upper deck along the first base line, I can't wait to sit down in my "summer home" on Monday. Even if the Sox have a weak season, which I am prepared for at this point, I am still happy I can go and relax at 35th and Shields. Hey, another 1B UD guy - excellent. Welcome to the site!

The Senate passed the bill as well, 51-47, mostly party lines. Hagel and Smith (OR) voted for, Lieberman voted against, with Enzi (R-WY) and Tim Johnson (D-SD) not voting. Now goes to the President to be vetoed. The real game is, what's next? If he vetoes, do the Dems have enough guts and/or leverage and/or votes to actually say "fine, then no money for your war"???

OK the score updated, the game is indeed tied at 5-5. Question is, will they call it, or go to 10. Scoreboard shows now as "completed early", so I guess that's it. We finish Cactus league play with the Knights + Thome coming back for a 5-5 tie against the Rockies (who actually played some starters).

Looks like the Knight Sox scored at least 1 in the bottom of the 9th to tie it, but the box score is only partially updated. Can't tell for sure.

Charlotte Knights score 3 in the bottom of the 8th, now 5-4 Rockies going to bottom of 9.

5-1 Rocks through 7 1/2 innings. Haeger threw a scoreless eigth, with 1 K.

P Lopez doubles, Fields plates him, 4-1 Rockies. 2 outs, bottom of 6, Sox still up.

I don't see the link for Gameday Audio. Anyone know of any PBP available?

Garland now has 6 innings under his belt. Last five innings: 2 hits, no walks. still 4-0 Rocks.

Anyone know who this Smith kid is, catching for the Sox? I don't see his name on any of our minor league rosters. I'm kind of surprised, knowing we're a little thin on catchers, that they aren't playing Wiki, or Lucy, or someone who the organization may need this year or next.

QUOTE(The Ginger Kid @ Mar 29, 2007 -> 12:28 PM) Anderson's still better He is. But, I do thank RME for putting those numbers out there, they do actually make me feel a tad bit better. Not spectacularly, but a little. And Ginger, you are correct that the great majority of talent and skill that made this team very good in the past couple years is still there. That's why they will be a competitive team. But its those little differences - who plays CF, who the front 1 or 2 are in the pen, etc. - that can mean 1st, 2nd or 3rd place in a tough division like the AL Central.

The pic of Bush and Pelosi is pretty funny too. I love reading about those kind of events.

I'll be there in our usual seats (UD, Row 1, above 1B). No time to tailgate, have to work the first half of the day. Forecast as of now is 66 and mostly sunny for Opening Day!!!

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Mar 29, 2007 -> 09:04 AM) Actually I am going to disagree with you. The whole thrust of their build ups, things such as buying missiles, supplying the nuclear know-how etc, has been that it is all for peaceful and defensive purposes. They have been playing the victim to American aggression card like it is going out of style. This actually would have been the perfect chance for them to cry victim again, as the American military is now playing outside of their sandbox. Kidnapping someone else's military doesn't play into that at all. This move is to try to unite the public inside Iraq behind the government. Heh. Freudian typo? I do agree with your point as well, about Iran.

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Mar 26, 2007 -> 07:42 AM) There are still a couple major pieces up in the air - last bullpen spots, and starting CF. And those might make a significant difference. At least they picked the right 5h starter. So, giving some play for those open decisions, and assuming the team stays relatively healthy... 90 to 95. That will probably make the playoffs, but it will be hotly contested. OK, the pieces are no longer in the air, and now we have Hall injured. I'll modify my guess a bit, to... 87 to 92 I don't think that Hall's absence will be gigantic IF its just April, and he (or some FA) returns for May. Maybe a game at worst. Erstad over BA in CF, if that lasts the season, will result in a couple losses, though. Plus Sisco is likely to be a lot worse than Logan would have been, so that's a game or two. I'd say all those things together drops 4 to 5 games. I do feel a little better now about the pen outside of Sisco, though, and Gooch is hitting 2nd more often now, so that's a small boost. If its 87 wins, probably no playoffs. 92 wins, maybe playoffs, but not likely the division crown (I wouldn't give the wildcard to the AL East just yet). The biggest key is still the starting pitching.

QUOTE(Y2HH @ Mar 29, 2007 -> 08:42 AM) ...and spring training statistics mean a whole lot of nothing. OK, then look at the REGULAR SEASON stats I just posted for last year for those two. Once Logan shook off the enormous jump from A- to MLB, he did very well. Sisco on the other hand was downright awful. So again, what reason is there to think Sisco is ready and Logan isn't?

QUOTE(RME JICO @ Mar 29, 2007 -> 08:37 AM) NorthSideSox72, If Anderson makes the team but doesn't start, how is that 25%? Shouldn't it be more like 50%? The backup catcher was not that big of a deal in the overall picture since it was basically a non-factor last year. The bigger issue was a decent hitter who could hit LHP. We lost that and it was not addressed. Perez could have filled that need and subbed in for Thome or in LF against LHP. That would have taken away some of the impact of the Hall injury. Everything is a personal opinion, but none of us have the true reasons on why things are being done. On the outside looking in, Anderson should be the starting CF with Logan in the pen, but for some reason that did not happen. All we can do is speculate. Well yes, all we are doing is speculating, since we're not Ozzie or KW. I'm not one of these people saying I would be better than them, as clearly I would not be. But speculating is what we do here (along with complaining, cheering and trying to be comedians). That's the type of discussion I was trying to get going. Anderson is 25% because that's how often he'll be in CF.

QUOTE(Allsox @ Mar 29, 2007 -> 08:33 AM) I'm not sure why there's so much angst over Boone frakkin' Logan. The guy was lights out last spring training too and he immediately wet the bed in April. Travis Hafner hit a HR off him that's still going. The Sox obviously think he isn't mentally tough enough yet so I'd use him as a closer down in AAA so he can grow a pair. They did exactly that last year, and he kicked butt - 3.37 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 57:12 K:BB... and then put up a ZERO ERA and a 0.73 WHIP in 9 ST appearances. Compare that to Sisco's miserable season in 2006 AND miserable ST this year, and tell me again how Logan is the one not ready yet.

QUOTE(Y2HH @ Mar 29, 2007 -> 08:20 AM) Sometimes it's fun to read the things you people post. Baseball is back. Summer is coming. Oh, and the sky ISN'T falling. You sound like a bunch of Cubs fans I know. And yes, I said it. Too bad you won't enjoy the season...but hell, that simply means more open seats for me...because I'll be enjoying every second of it. Cubs fans? No, I'm pretty sure we're the opposite of Cubs fans. Cubs fans are positive most of the time, even when their team sucks. Sox fans are negative most of the time, even when the team is good. Let's get our neuroses straight.

Happy B-Day to my favorite "both sides of the aisle" assailant!!!! And Happy B-Day to Tex's Sweet 16 daughter!!! (notice no beers after that last one)

QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Mar 29, 2007 -> 07:33 AM) Sorry you have to bring Anderson to Chicago, Ozzie. That must suck..... Looks like KW overrode Oz on that one. Interesting.

Other than "experience", I see zero reason for Sisco to make the roster over Logan. And I put "experience" in quotes because the guy put up a 7.10 ERA in 65 games last year. Bulls*** move.

Let's review the 4 big personnel decisions that Oz and company had to make during ST. Weve had discussions on all these individually, but I'm curious what people's perspective is when all the decisions were taken into account... 1. Brian Anderson vs Darin Erstad for CF. Decision made: Anderson makes roster, but as a backup OF. 2. 5th Starter. Decision made: John Danks. 3. Front 3 in the bullpen. Decision made: Masset, Sisco and Aardsma. 4. Dealing with the Hall injury. Decision made: Hall to go the PT route until May, and until then, going with Molina as the backup C (over Wiki). So, taking those 4, how do you feel Ozzie and company did? What percentage score to you give on each? Here are my answers... 1. Brian Anderson deserved the starting job, clearly. Erstad should be the 4th OF. But, at least BA is on the roster, which is something. I'll go 25% on this one, overall bad, but a little consolation. 2. Danks deserved it, and won it. The right decision was made. 100%. 3. Masset's solid enough. Aardsma isn't ideal, I'd rather see Haeger there, but at least its not Floyd. And there is simply zero good reason (that I can see) for Sisco to be there over Logan. Just stupid. So here, I'll have to go 50%. 4. I think this is the right way to handle the situation. And I agree that Molina is a better choice than Wiki. I suspect that if Hall is a no-go in May, we'll trade for someone, and that's a good idea. So I'll give the crew credit on this one. 100%. Average those out and its 68.75%. That's a "D". Anderson and Logan were screwed, but Danks, Aardsma (sort of), Masset and Molina were the right choices. I expect more from the manager than that. I hope Erstad and Sisco prove me wrong, but I doubt it at this point.