NorthSideSox72

QUOTE (TitoMB345 @ Jun 8, 2009 -> 12:44 PM) So has there been no official word on who was sent down for the Count (lol)? Trib said today that they'd wait until just before gametime to activate Jose, in case the game looks like a no-go or big delays and they need the pen arms. So I'd guess we won't know until gametime.

QUOTE (TitoMB345 @ Jun 8, 2009 -> 12:38 PM) give Getz the day off and let Beckham play some second. He had a good, solid hit in the 8th yesterday, let him build off it. I honestly didn't even think Ozzie could mess this up, but so far, he's proving me wrong. Wow, dude. I like the idea of Beckham sliding to second as well, but you are seriously panicking over absolutely nothing here. Its the first game of a double-header, and you are convinced that Beckham being out this game is Ozzie jerking him around? Please come back down to earth.

QUOTE (Jenks Heat @ Jun 8, 2009 -> 12:09 PM) After yesterday though I think it is Whisler he ended any chance ofcoming back. Gobble outside of one outing has been doing good, I believe. Aren't both of these guys 27? Gobble has a 7.00 ERA, and a 1.56 WHIP. He has allowed more H+BB than IP in 5 of his 8 outings. Opponents have an .829 OPS against him. He's walking 5 batters per 9 innings. He's also gotten 20 fly ball outs against only 8 ground outs (0.40 GB/FB), which is a recipe for disaster when the Cell warms up. He's given up 2 HR already in 9 IP, which is not a particularly good ratio. He's just not getting it done. Not that Whisler is, but, Whisler has pitched twice, having one OK outing, and one bad one. I'd rather see what Whisler can do given the chance than keep running Gobble out there when he was a failure last year in KC, wasn't all that great in Charlotte, and is bad again now in Chicago.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jun 8, 2009 -> 12:05 PM) Right now, the Cell is playing like the 3rd worst hitters park in baseball according to ESPN's ballpark factor. I really have to think this is caused, at least in part, by the cool spring weather so far, especially when the team has been in town. So this is what the Sox would look like if they played in Petco, apparently.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jun 8, 2009 -> 11:52 AM) Whisler is a lefty? My mind is blown. You actually made me question if I was seeing things and I double-checked. Yup, he's still a lefty.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Jun 8, 2009 -> 11:47 AM) Why are our opponents weather proof when they play in our park? They aren't nearly as reliant on the home run.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jun 8, 2009 -> 11:45 AM) Is there anything they changed/renovated this year that could have made that big of a difference? It's playing worse for bats than Petco. Has it been ridiculously cold compared to normal years? Really, the numbers are just mind-boggling. The weather this spring in Chicago has been wacky - far cooler and wetter than normal. That may be having an effect, as it does seem like some guys like PK and Ramirez have been hitting balls caught right at the wall.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jun 8, 2009 -> 11:31 AM) I said about a week ago that we'll be able to tell what their plans are for Jose depending on who is sent down. If they send Gobble down, that leaves only 1 lefty in the bullpen, and Ozzie won't like that situation. That means Clayton will be going back to the bullpen while Contreras goes to the rotation. If Whisler is sent down, that opens a bullpen spot for Contreras, and Clayton is staying in the rotation. The other alternative would be something like a DL trip for Colon or someone else. No, that leaves 2 lefties in the bullpen - Whisler and Thornton. Which is why I think its Gobble going down regardless (though Whisler is not out of the question). Colon may go to the bullpen - he doesn't go deep into games anyway.

QUOTE (everafan @ Jun 8, 2009 -> 11:00 AM) Anyone know who has been reassigned to make room for Contreras? I'd have to think its Gobble, especially since he's the 3rd lefty (and he's been pretty bad).

QUOTE (CanOfCorn @ Jun 8, 2009 -> 10:52 AM) Because they are not good. But only not good at home?

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jun 8, 2009 -> 07:41 AM) We have the best record in baseball when he homer, and the worst when we don't. We can't get TCQ back soon enough. We also need to figure out the power problems of Alexei, Josh, and Brian. I think Alexei is getting there and has been for a while, Josh is just starting to. Brian probably won't at all. TCQ will help a lot. Also, right now, AJ is sacrificing power for average, which is fine for him I think. Getz won't give you much, even when he's got it figured out. Beckham, well, who knows, for his first year. Pods gives you none. So really, you've now got 3 or 4 guys in the lineup now that just won't give you serious HR numbers, and that's even with TCQ back.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jun 8, 2009 -> 09:53 AM) They said a 60% chance of storms tonight as well. Two rain outs would be a big time mess. Hopefully we'll get game 1 in, storms from 4pm to 6pm, then game 2 in.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jun 8, 2009 -> 07:59 AM) Here is my biggest problem with the idea that this is all Greg Walkers fault. Take the 8th inning yesterday. We had the bases loaded and one out, the only run we got was off of a walk. It wasn't Walker who couldn't lay off of a slider in the dirt, was Anderson and Getz. I blame the guys who are hitting. Who said it was all Greg Walker's fault? He's only part of the picture. Some players should lose their jobs too, in some fashion.

QUOTE (shipps @ Jun 8, 2009 -> 08:50 AM) We need Richard to step up big here. The Count will probably struggle in game two which I will be attending mostly for the Brauts and b****es. EDIT:Who am I kidding I will be so into the game I will barely noticed the chicks but entering and exiting I notice the talent. This typo is particularly appropriate since Braut in German, I believe, means bride. Apparently shipps likes married women, or he's looking for a bride.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jun 8, 2009 -> 08:55 AM) I think people need to give Getz a break. He's a rookie. Rookies struggle. Plus he's far from 100% physically. There's a hitch in his giddyup still. His ankle is bothering him. Which is one of the reasons why calling up Beckham was a mistake. Fields and Getz were still learning. But now that Beckham is here, and his future is probably much stronger than either of them, you need Beckham to play. IMO, right now, Getz is the weakest of the three, and he needs full time at-bats to work on his various issues. He may also benefit from a few days off to get healthy, before starting again, but when he is ready, he needs that full time play.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Jun 8, 2009 -> 07:56 AM) That's semantics though. When you have cameras, your "audience" is still national, or international. If there are no cameras (i.e., stump speech), it's probably something you've said in front of cameras anyway. Personally I couldn't do it, without some kind of visual aid. I need Powerpoint at the very least. Its not so much a matter of could - Obama could, and has previously, made off-the-cuff speeches (with mixed results). Its just that, as you have said, Presidents are virtually not allowed to do so nowadays. The last one to do it with any frequency (once actually in office) was Clinton, but even he was working from prepared material most of the time. He was just better at memorizing it, and working away from it here and there as he saw fit, which made it seem off-the-cuff even if it wasn't.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jun 7, 2009 -> 11:40 PM) and it was one f***ing pick in a crapshoot of a draft. They also had one of the best picks in the entire draft in Jordan Danks, and he could very well open the year in the majors next year in CF for the Sox. I don't see you giving them credit there. The 2008 draft for the Sox was overall very good, and the 2007 draft had some decent hits as well. But there is no denying that the KWJR pick in Round 5 last year was a horrible, embarrassing pick for the organization.

With a healthy TCQ in left, Pods over Anderson in CF and when they solve the Beckham-Fields-Getz triangle, this team looks to me like they are fully capable of winning this weak division. But they need to be right there near or at the top come the All Star Break to do that, or else its time to recycle.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jun 8, 2009 -> 08:00 AM) As the player coming in on the ball, it is Anderson's job to tell Getz that he CAN'T get to that ball. He is the general on that play, not Getz. And we'll never know what was said. What we do know is that Getz was there under the ball, Anderson wasn't (and couldn't be), and Getz failed to make the play.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jun 8, 2009 -> 07:52 AM) The infield was drawn in on that play, so it wasn't nearly as routine as it would usually be. Definitely not, but it was still Chris' play, and he was still there to make it. This was not intended to be a dissection of that play, it was just one example where his hesitation and judgement show me that he's not mentally there right now on the field.

This Justin Greene guy is starting to become interesting. He's old for his level at 23, but he was also only drafted last year. Hitting very well, seems to have a decent batter's eye, supposed to have lots of speed... if his defense in CF is decent, I think he might be worthy of keeping an eye on. given his age, hopefully he sees W-S this year and continues to do well.

I was saying Anderson was a better choice than Pods a while back, because of Anderson's superior defense. But I admit, I apparently drastically underestimated what Pods could do offensively, and slightly overstated how bad he'd be defensively. He's better than BA right now, not much doubt in my mind. QUOTE (beck72 @ Jun 8, 2009 -> 05:14 AM) Well going back to AAA isn't going to get him back on track. The Sox have to see if he can be an everyday player in the bigs. I think he can. He's not like Lillibridge out there, overmatched. And the pop up yesterday probably should have been Anderson's ball. The entire IF was on the edge of the grass. BA had a better look at it coming in. That pop up was about 10 feet into the outfield grass, Getz was right there, and Anderson was going in full speed and couldn't get there. It was Getz' play, he was actually in position, then started hesitating and looking around, and it dropped.

QUOTE (beck72 @ Jun 7, 2009 -> 07:32 PM) Unless you are Getz' therapist, please stay away from playing doctor. Getz has had two injuries to deal with. He fractured his finger at the time he was hitting over .300 and had an OBP over .400. This kid is doing the right things and is no where near the "mess" people think he is. Did you know Getz is 2nd among AL rookies in hits, despite the games he's missed due to injury? I don't need to be a doctor to see that his head isn't in the game. He had a serious brain cramp a day or two ago letting a throw get past him and then jogging back to get it, today he botched a pop-up, he is swinging at pitches well out of the zone... and normally that isn't his history. Mind you, I think he's got a good future. I like Chris. But its clear that the league adjusted to him, he's thrown off a bit, and needs to get back on track.

QUOTE (Alpha Dog @ Jun 6, 2009 -> 10:27 AM) Ok, the MSM has now declared that flip-flopping is OK, because the Messiah is doing it, for our own good. Just check out the headline! Too funny. http://news.yahoo.com/s/usnews/20090604/ts...orthepublicgood That isn't a news article - its a feature piece by a US News and World Report writer. Bias in opinion articles is irrelevant. When its a NEWS article, then it matters.

QUOTE (WhiteSoxfan1986 @ Jun 7, 2009 -> 05:11 PM) Where are all the Walker defenders at? I don't see how anyone can come to his defense at this point. I think he needs to go, but there are some valid reasons to defend him. For one, if you listen to some of the players that have improved under him like Konerko, they say he's been a huge help. For another, you have to look at the type of hitters the team has, and temper your expectations. I don't think those carry enough weight against the many negatives against him, but, its not true to say there aren't reasons to defend him.