ScottyDo

QUOTE (iamshack @ May 29, 2012 -> 11:25 PM) The Legend Tell me that isn't Quintana! As it turns out, Tezcatlipoca is Aztec for "Cobb". What are the odds!

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ May 29, 2012 -> 11:15 PM) Well that just seems unnecessary. If it extends the win streak, bring on the penis blood! I'm really glad that sentence is permanently registered in the aether of the Internet.

I'll admit that I'm a relatively recent Sox fan...I didn't care about baseball until I moved from Michigan to the Chicago 'burbs for high school in the late 90's, so I didn't become a Sox fan till 2000 and even then, I didn't really understand what I was watching. So I don't have the early 90's teams to choose from like everyone else. I really enjoyed 2005 because of all the close games, rather than in spite of them. For one, I enjoy dominant pitching quite a bit. But also, watching a close game that you just KNOW you're going to pull out somehow is a great feeling. 2005 from start to finish!

Having listened to Stoney as part of the radio tandem, we fully know what he's capable of bringing. Stone is not "coasting", he's a legit analyst who knows his stuff to an astounding degree. I just REALLY wish Hawk was more receptive to him. Waaaay too much silence and distance between them, both metaphorically and literally.

The way I think Hickey's passing could potentially affect things is by causing players to "play harder". Possibly not making mental errors, hustling to first base, aggressive baserunning, etc. They're not making many errors right now, but really they're just clobbering the ball, which I highly doubt is related to emotions, like Jake said.

I usually think that rah-rah stuff is a way to rationalize success. Certainly baseball is a mental game, but in baseball I don't think you can "win one for the Gipper" so to speak...grief over Hickey's tragic passing didn't speed up Viciedo's bat or fine-tune Sale's slider, IMO.

QUOTE (SpainSOXfan09 @ May 29, 2012 -> 02:52 PM) The young, left-handed starter torched a first-place Rays team for 15 strikeouts, one short of the team record and the most in that silly building that is embarrassing even for Bud Selig’s Major League Baseball. Sale’s masterful performance works out to 10 pitches per K. That’s 115 pitches. How do the Sox let him throw 115 pitches? WTF? Rosenbloom... EDIT: Whoops, I see Jake already said that. Still, WTF? That's just lazy.

QUOTE (chw42 @ May 29, 2012 -> 12:25 PM) Looks like a slider. Two fingers gripping on one seam. His arm action and angle are almost identical, though. There aren't many giveaways like there are with the standard overhand arm angle. Throwing 97 with that kind of disguised pitch is just filthy. Love it!

Another awesome thing about that picture: I think he's throwing a slider there, but I'm not sure. It's really hard to tell what he's throwing and I get the feeling hitters agree.

QUOTE (chw42 @ May 29, 2012 -> 10:13 AM) I'd say stats tend to be less biased and can be better indicators of future performance. But you're right, there's no reason to s*** on either one...unless one side decides to s*** on the other first. They can be, but the current White Sox are a great example of how advanced statistics describe last year, not this year. What was our PECOTA win% again? We could still meet it, but it sure seems like we won't. The "eye test" employed by numerous experts predicted the exact same results. Everybody appears to be wrong, at this juncture.

There are no bad statistics, just bad usage of statistics. In the end, it's things that actually happened multiplied, divided and occasionally added or subtracted together. You can choose to understand what the statistics are telling you, know their limitations, and use them to your benefit, or you can ignore them and just watch the games. Neither statistics nor your eyes are particularly good at predicting future results, though, so there's no reason to s**t on either one.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 29, 2012 -> 09:08 AM) RT @Buster_ESPN It's expected that Hideki Matsui will be activated by the Rays today Didn't he kill us with Oakland last year?

If the number 2011 were removed from the set of all numbers, I'd be thrilled. F*** that awful, miserable year.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ May 28, 2012 -> 06:43 PM) For those like myself that have chastised this organization without remorse the last 2-3 years for the complete inability to produce young, cost-controlled, impact talent the last decade or so - NOW WE'RE TALKING!!! It's about f***ing time. In Sale, Viciedo and Reed - we're looking at a potential #1 starter with Xbox on speed type stuff, a run-producing offensive beast god who deposits missiles all over the damn place and a Craig Kimbrel like android in which you know once he enters the game that it's time for hitters to bend over and take it like a porn star. These three are cheap and belong to us for the next X amount of years. That's how you build a juggernaut and go on a sustained run. This is the new-age way of running a successful baseball operation. I am for now very please. J4L needs a high-five for this.

QUOTE (Jake @ May 28, 2012 -> 09:26 PM) That bit with Hawk blowing up the Metrodome was Emmy-worthy. Daytime Emmy or Local Emmy?

QUOTE (Felix @ May 28, 2012 -> 08:36 PM) I don't know why I'm even wasting my time reading/replying to this, but coming into a thread about an advanced statistic and saying "it sucks and is worthless" is pretty much the exact definition of trolling, whether you actually believe that or not. To be fair, he entered a thread called "UZR: worst stat ever?"

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ May 28, 2012 -> 07:17 PM) So I've decided that Dunn is going to win the homerun race this year, PK the batting title and Sale the era crown. Agreed? Ok good. And we'll call it a Triple Crown. Nobody else will, but f***'em!

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 28, 2012 -> 06:36 PM) Trick question. Sale IS Paulie

Hell of a performance by Sale! Holy crap! I don't think I've thought the "20 K" thought in a while. Also, beer.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 28, 2012 -> 11:49 AM) Sox line up, aka "the usual" https://twitter.com/MDGonzales/status/20713...2396160/photo/1 I like it! No reason to change the lineup that's produced the most runs I can remember in a short stretch EDIT: Giving Paulie a day off of the field is a good idea, too.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 28, 2012 -> 11:30 AM) Despite still being a half game out of first, ESPN.com has the Sox at a 73.4 chance of making the playoffs, as compared to the Indians 27.1. Even more strange is Detroit in 3rd place, 3 games out, has a 31.4% chance. Someone else brought this up...we think their formula is largely influenced by run differential, which is consistent with the ESPN standings, where we're the only team in the Central with a green number. EDIT: Probably based on pythagorean percentage, since the Orioles and TB have the same record and run differential, but TB has a slightly better pythagorean percentage and is listed with slightly better odds

QUOTE (iamshack @ May 27, 2012 -> 12:08 PM) So what is his trade value now? Good point. But now I don't want to trade him! I am fickle

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ May 27, 2012 -> 09:27 AM) What was the deal with Bob Saget singing the national anthem? They couldn't get Jesse and the Rippers ...or the Beach Boys

I'm with the people that say "do nothing", but if you're going to do something, I trade Thornton, assuming you can get an acceptable major league piece out of it. We're pretty loaded at lefty reliever. They're not all great, but we're overstocked.

Half a game behind the Yankees for a wildcard spot