NorthSideSox72

QUOTE (BearSox @ Jun 2, 2008 -> 05:04 PM) From what I have read, Retherford is very athletic and very baseball smart. I don't know if his bat is similar to Inge's, but from the defensive standpoint, they seem very similar, IMO. Retherford in college played 3B, C, 1B, 2B, SS, OF and even maybe P here or there. That shows great athleticism. I have a hard time seeing him being much of a hitter if he ever gets to the bigs, but his ability to play everywhere and pure athleticism should allow him to being a good bench player. You keep saying these things about his hitting, like he isn't going to hit in the bigs, and comparing him to Inge... again, what leads you to these conclusions? So far, he seems to be hitting quite well while moving up. What leads you to have such a negative view of his hitting?

QUOTE (Princess Dye @ Jun 2, 2008 -> 05:37 PM) 1) Swisher lifetime average .246 2) You yourself pretty much add two more names here. AJ you add to the list by saying "almost as good," no? This means he's been better w/ walker. So that's one. Also, Alexei was good in Cuba, not here. That is a big transition, and we're fools to think Walker has had no role in that transition. And Fields was probably better under Walk's guidance than at most other points in his pro career, no? That includes the recent dip, injury aside. And repeat that sentence for Owens, to a lesser extent. His best times have been when around Walker, for what they're worth. AJ was a better hitter before he got to the Sox. He is finally, this season, showing the old-good AJ at the plate - with the help of Baines, not Walker.

QUOTE (29andPoplar @ Jun 2, 2008 -> 04:16 PM) You may well be right on all this and quite possibly a change is needed simply for change's sake. However, isn't the equation ass backwards? The GM built this team of plodders and slow starters and apparently Guillen has a ton of personnel input. It is well known some of these guys: - start slow - are prone to long slumps - aren't selective at the plate - hit into lots of DP's - aren't the most gifted in baseball fundamentals - get power greedy It starts with the type of team that's built. How they have gone all this time without a legit leadoff hitter I'll never know. Nor do they have one knocking on the door in the minors, in fact the best they have will maybe hit Kannapolis this year. The recipe for success is not taking flawed guys and relying on your coaches to be miracle workers. Now ... by me saying the blame is higher up and certainly on the players as well doesn't mean Walker is absolved. He is not absolved, he is accountable because the numbers and execution aren't there. "Sorry we're trying" doesn't cut it. This is the big leagues. Regardless of what happens this year, they will have to examine their philosophy. Thankfully it appears there's been a shift because higher on base guys (selective hitters) have been brought in. When they sought out and acquired guys like Danks and Floyd, Williams said "we believe in their talent". They need to find some pure hitters and this Thursday is a fine time to start. There are certainly some high-power plodders on the team, no doubt. But these hitters are also all capable of better situational hitting, and in fact at times have been quite good at it. I don't expect Walker to divine these guys out of streakiness, but, we're now in June. This is a third of the season we've seen. And the team's hitting approach has been bad for most the time since Walker started, and in fact has been worse as time has gone on. These hitters may be streaky plodders, but I think the poor performance goes beyond that. A change in approach is needed, and Walker doesn't seem to be able to provide that. I really think that having Harold Baines be the hitting coach is something worth exploring.

Tonight features a starter who seemed to be playing over his head until recently, and is trying to show he is still a prospect (Whisler)... a pitcher who has been surprisingly soild this season (Cassel), a guy who has never started a game IN HIS ENTIRE PROFESSIONAL CAREER getting his first (Davis), and a guy who has been awful in three starts so far after jumping quickly to Low A to match his age (Skogley)... Richmond @ Charlotte, 6:15pm CT, Whisler (5-3, 2.91) starts for the Knights B-Ham @ Mississippi, 7:05pm CT, Cassel (3-3, 3.61) starting for the Barons Winston-Salem @ Myrtle Beach, 6:05pm CT, Matt Davis (1-1, 6.84) makes his FIRST START for the Warthogs Greensboro @ Kannapolis, Skogley (0-0, 8.76) starts for Kanny

QUOTE (Princess Dye @ Jun 2, 2008 -> 05:03 PM) if right now Walk is unlocking a lot of things Alexei has never seen before, firing him tomorrow and bringing someone in with a whole new set of principles could derail that work. And Alexei's growth could be stunted. This is what not doing anything (on that front) could accomplish. People are missing the entire basis of my argument, which is that Walker is doing some good to really good things. Alexei, Quentin. The fault lies in the vets who are already set in their ways. It doesnt sound all that well thought out to say, "Just do SOMETHING." It's as if you're admitting that exasperation is taking over reason. Quentin has raked at every level he's played at. Now in his first healthy season at the major league level, he's doing it again. And Walk specifically said he didn't mess with CQ. I don't think he gets credit for that. Now, with Alexei, you may be right - I don't know. But that's a whole 1 improved player, if that. What about the rest? Players come here and go downhill, and at various different ages. I don't see Walk doing them much good.

QUOTE (Princess Dye @ Jun 2, 2008 -> 03:45 PM) Now here I'm with you. I like the idea of making Thome Konerko and Swisher share two spots. helps our D' but i think my answer is not BA. I want Ozuna in at 2b, Alexei in CF. This way, Ozuna can be up in either 1 or 2 hole. and it's a defensive improvement. Ozuna in the 1 or 2 hole? I'd rather have any combination of Swish, O-Cab, Ramirez, AJ, Crede, CQ, Thome, Dye or really almost anyone else be there (except PK) than to make Ozuna a starter.

QUOTE (BearSox @ Jun 2, 2008 -> 03:21 PM) Best case scenario with him is a very, very, extremely poor man's Brandon Inge, IMO. However, I'd gladly take someone on our bench who can hit w/ a little pop and play all over the field with decent D. What leads you to that conclusion? I see no similarity in their numbers. And I don't think Retherford is known for the glove anyway. Are you privy to some scouting reports or something?

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jun 2, 2008 -> 03:41 PM) Not a huge point, but I've always understood that Bristol is the lowest rookie league team, meaning he skipped just Kanny to go to W-S. OK, so, I guess he skipped Bristol straight away? either way, he jumped two levels in his first two seasons.

QUOTE (JFields27 @ Jun 2, 2008 -> 02:56 PM) if you saw the Sox Special on saturday while they could not show the game you would obviously know that Baines had nothing to do with it ... it was the Gameboy Advance or w/e the 5 new ones that are out Call me crazy, but, since he did a number of things - including video games, losing some weight, and working with Harold - I'd say they all played a role. And my guess is Baines may have been bigger than a video game. Or were you being sarcastic?

QUOTE (LVSoxFan @ Jun 2, 2008 -> 02:29 PM) 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. Best argument for Baines... he worked heavily with AJ in the offseason and in ST. And look what happened - AJ is back to his better, spray-hitting self.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jun 2, 2008 -> 02:39 PM) I don't think any changes will occur, except perhaps line-up changes by Ozzie. KW making a trade or firing a coach will make him look like Ozzie's lackey. Not doing anything will make him look like Ozzie's boss, something he made perfectly clear he was in his comments about Ozzie's comments. I wouldn't be surprised if Walker stepped down, at the behest of Ozzie himself. Ozzie apparently has that authority, and he may do that. But you are probably right about KW standing pat, for a number of reasons.

QUOTE (Princess Dye @ Jun 2, 2008 -> 02:26 PM) I would agree with your logic if we didnt have a pitching coach known for turning around the careers of guys we acquired cheaply via trade. Huh? How is that an argument to trade Floyd for a secondbaseman, who Cooper wouldn't be coaching? Or are you saying that after you trade Floyd, you go out and do another trade, for a "cheap" pitcher?

QUOTE (Princess Dye @ Jun 2, 2008 -> 02:20 PM) If Floyd and a mediumish prospect could get you Brian Roberts, would you do it? As Roberts' avg takes a dip, this isnt impossible. To answer your question, no. Floyd appears to be at least a serviceable starter now, who will be cheap for years to come. You don't trade that alone, let alone that plus a prospect, for a .766 OPS second baseman with PED history, declining numbers and 1.5 seasons left on his contract. Especially when the Sox already have Ramirez, Richar and Getz as possible future 2B's.

OK, I see that now, and ARG also shows Obama with a small lead (4 points) in MT. Bear in mind this is ARG we are talking about here - many sites have stopped even including ARG in polls and averages because of their notorious Clinton connections. Still, even if that gives a few points, that does make it seem like Hillary has a lead in SD of some kind.

QUOTE (Cubano @ Jun 2, 2008 -> 01:59 PM) Tony, I am Cuban and I follow Cuban baseball very closely. There is no way that the Cuban League es A + or AA. First, welcome to the board! Second, I tend to agree that calling it Low A is probably not the case. I've heard more like AA. But its important to note that it isn't uniform, I'd bet. Some aspects of the game may be higher, others lower.

QUOTE (Heads22 @ Jun 2, 2008 -> 02:03 PM) TPM has a poll giving Hilldog something like a 22 point lead in SD. Wow, I have to say, that's a bit of a surprise. Has she been campaigning there? I think its in Obama's best interest to get out there and make sure he doesn't get pummelled. Its the last contests, and he needs to look strong.

QUOTE (scenario @ Jun 2, 2008 -> 12:02 PM) CJ Retherford is hitting .371 over his last 10 games... including getting hits in 9 of those 10 games. I remember a number of people last year saying Retherford's numbers at GF were a fluke, he wasn't destined for anything good. No one can say for sure what his future holds, but, let's put this in perspective - after putting up a 1.002 OPS in GF in 2007, he skipped both Bristol and Kanny to go to High A W-S, and he's now got an .810 OPS with 11 homeruns in 52 games. His walk total is a bit low - that's a concern - but overall, for a 22 year old that made a 2 level jump, I'd say he's worth keeping an eye on.

Trading any pitching from the major league roster this season is a mistake of epic proportions. The pitching has been phenomenal, pretty much all the way through the staff. Its the reason this team is in first. If you trade some of that away to get one more hitter who may or may not do well, you're tanking the season. No thanks.

In the Trib article about Ozzie's rant, I found this little blurb buried near the bottom: Sometimes Gonzo knows things that others don't, so, maybe we really will have Alexei playing regularly there. That would be good news.

QUOTE (TCQ @ Jun 2, 2008 -> 09:35 AM) First off all id like to thank all posters for helping to pass an hour at work today...Thank you. I agree with most of you that it is about time that walker left. You cant blame him for the offense not hitting, but something has to change, a lot of time bringing in someone new helps. I also agree with the ryan freel idea, he fast guy can lead off and play second. He also seems like a grinder type player that the sox like. I also wanted to say that Konerko needs to take accountability for his shortcomings. to say the effort is there is BS. He is the captain of the team, i would respect him a lot more if he just came out and said you know what we arent getting it done right now and its our fault, not that theyre trying. Heck if i wasnt hitting my wieght for the first two months of the season id ask to go on the DL. And one more thing, are they really trying? It just seems that they are pressing always trying to hit the long ball at least konerko and Thome. Where is this Ozzie Ball that helped us win it in 05. It seems like every time we have a guy on second with nobody out or someone on third with less than two we are trying to kill everything. With Konerko and Thome coming up in these situations why not just hit a ground ball to the right side, i have never seen them do this. And Thome, if your struggling as mightily as he is why not stay in the cage an extra half hour everyday and just hit to the left side. THome is a great hitter, at least a good hitter and he should be able to hit to the opposite field. It is an easy hit to just ground to third base when that shift is on. When your in a slump you should at least try these things to help the team out and stop trying to do too much. Sorry for the long post but i am frustrated, they wont be in first for long if this play continues. Nice first post TCQ, and welcome to the board! While I agree with some of your post, I have to disagree on a few things. For one, Thome has indeed been hitting oppo lately, and is starting to groove in a bit. Plus, in yesterday's game, he really did a great job in his last AB - hit a broken bat single to CF, then just plain hustled it into a double. Right now, he isn't the main problem. Second, while "Ozzie Ball" may have helped occasionally in 2005, the team really won because of pitching, more pitching, home runs and very good defense. Small ball was only a small, occasional ingredient in that success. And finally, while I think PK's hitting is part of the problem, I don't really think its a lack of effort on his part. He's playing through an injury that's very painful when hitting. DL might be a good idea, but then again, his last couple games his swing has looked a lot healthier.

QUOTE (Athomeboy_2000 @ Jun 2, 2008 -> 10:28 AM) THANK GOD this is over! Over? It ain't over until the cluelessly foundering lady sings. And I just don't know when she'll do that.

Here is the thread for the last primary and caucus contests of the race (if its still a race). Montana is a 16 delegate primary, South Dakota is a 15 delegate caucus. Obama is considered a heavy favorite in both states, though I cannot find any polls for either one. Once these 2 races are over, now that we have a FL/MI decision, the picture will be as complete as it can be, minus the remaining supers. Discuss.

QUOTE (kyyle23 @ Jun 2, 2008 -> 08:59 AM) DFAed when Uribe was activated. At least that was on the ESPN ticker That works too.

QUOTE (Flash Tizzle @ Jun 1, 2008 -> 03:22 AM) I love Michael Mann's movies. If I had to recommend several for anyone unfamiliar with him it'd be: Thief, Manhunter and Heat. All three showcase his trademark cinematography and amazing use of music. I remember reading a biography of his online a few years ago where someone said his movies can have an almost dream-like quality, and I'd say that's an adequate description. Two, Theif and Heat, have what I've always loved about his work -- great dialogue. It just comes off very natural watching it. Hell, even a film he refuses to acknowledge (The Keep) is great to me because of its cinematography and use of Tangerine Dream's atmospheric music. I'm really interested in how he'll approach this movie about Dillenger. Wasn't Manhunter an adaptation of Harris' Red Dragon? If that's the one I am thinking of, that was a solid movie, but the more recent Red Dragon was better. That aside, I do really like Mann films. Good stuff.

So, it appears that Clinton won by a 68-32 split (by %), netting 21 delegates (38-17), and gaining about 141,000 in the popular vote category. We now have MT and SD on Tuesday, and their combined 31 delegates. We should also know for sure, by then, the MI and FL decisions. Or are those 100% now anyway? So basically, we should have a really solid picture of things by Wednesday morning. And I'd have to guess that the picture will be something like, Obama is just a dozen or two Supers away from victory. At that point, he'll find that many to come out of the woodwork, and it will be over. Question, though - even if that happens and Obama actually has the full majority, what if Clinton elects not to concede, and decides to go to Denver in a futile attempt to talk some supers out of voting for Obama? I mean, what's to stop her from doing that, other than looking like even more of a buffoon than she already does?