southsider2k5

So far we have the following. There is a 17 game spread between the highest and lowest totals, and the Sox are picked between 1st and last place. 90-72 1st place- USA Today 82-80 2nd place BP 81-81 tied 2nd Fangraphs 4th place, Athlon sports 73-89 5th place, Bleacher report. 80.5 wins 4th place Atlantis Casino

QUOTE (AustinIllini @ Feb 16, 2016 -> 11:31 AM) Your point on Thibs and star players is emphasized by the fact that Thibs has yet to get another coaching job. Everyone is so afraid he'll go to Cleveland. He should go run what's left of LeBron into the ground. I am convinced it is also the same reason that Thibs spent a decade + as a top assistant trying to get hired as a head coach.

I do see a really bunched up AL Central standings for 2016. Maybe one team breaks away with good or bad luck, but it should be a tight finish.

QUOTE (ozzfest @ Feb 2, 2016 -> 11:01 AM) Bump. I'm wondering what you guys think after Bulls losing 9 of 13. Are the GarPax apologists still out there? QUOTE (ozzfest @ Feb 6, 2016 -> 12:29 AM) Bump. These were your last two posts, and then the Garnett post. There has been one useful post by you in that thread. The rest were name calling and trolling. Even now you have to resort to name calling to try to justify your thread, which is the exact point. If you want to discuss further, please send a PM, otherwise it is over, and we don't need to derail another thread with pointless attacks.

QUOTE (AustinIllini @ Feb 16, 2016 -> 09:16 AM) Definitely not happening. Even if the rumors are true, the Bulls have nothing Sacramento would want, especially compared to the other suitors. A guy like Pau isn't even valuable anymore as a result of the Salary Cap jump next season. No one is looking for expiring contracts anymore. We can give them their draft pick back

QUOTE (Brian @ Feb 16, 2016 -> 08:58 AM) If the series goes long enough, I could definitely see a season that goes past BB into the future. What did the switch in his office do??? Ha Yeah, I kept waiting for something to happen.

QUOTE (ozzfest @ Feb 16, 2016 -> 08:49 AM) I guess "useful purpose" on Soxtalk is defined as whether mods agree with the cause... There are plenty of things posted on Soxtalk that most of the staff disagrees with. The topics that can be handled with maturity and without personal attacks are not bothered. If that bothers you, there are plenty of places out there to discuss the Bulls.

That thread was discussed by the admin/mod staff, and we decided as a group to close it. Q is just the one who closed it. We do look at each thread posted on this site, and take actions for the ones that need it. The only thing that thread was there for was constant bumping of it looking to troll people. It served no useful purpose at all, and that is why it was closed. Anymore personal attacks will be dealt with accordingly. If you would like to deal with this deeper, you can always send a PM.

QUOTE (MEANS @ Feb 16, 2016 -> 07:46 AM) Loved Saul sticking it to the asshole BMW guy from BB that car was blown up by Walt! priceless Holy crap, I never put that together. Apparently I was really tired last night. I can't wait to see where this show goes. Do they stop at Walt walking into Saul's office? Do they follow him through to Cinnibon? Do they go past that? Vince Gilligan I am all yours.

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Feb 16, 2016 -> 08:13 AM) Also absurd- Ovechkin has one more goal than Kane, but Kane has 34 more assists. Yeah that was the most impressive part. He was leading the league in goals AND assists, which is insanely hard.

Saul was worth watching just for the first five minutes.

QUOTE (LDF @ Feb 16, 2016 -> 05:28 AM) and that is a great point, but it is against Tor.... just like anything, fans, esp me, will never be satisfied. but i guess that comes with being a fan and wanting the best all the time. unrealistic, yeah, but it is what it is. btw, as much as there has been a lot of chatter of players, org wanting to move, i still maintain, no - one will be willing to really help the hawks. bowman is really going to have his hands full. peace. If you aren't satisfied with what the Hawks have done in the last decade or so, you might as well give up watching sports.

I know they were up 3-0 after two periods, but they honestly hadn't played that well. Then that 3rd period hit. Geesh.

QUOTE (Thad Bosley @ Feb 15, 2016 -> 09:27 PM) The current team that manages how this team operates, JR, KW & RH, are 2 for 13 as a team, with a homer (grand slam in '05), and a bunt single (in '08). That pencils out to a .154 avg, which I'm sure you would agree is not very good. You ought to be benched for that lack of performance, but we all know that's not going to happen, so we're stuck with them until further notice. So let's just hope as we enter Year #14 of their collective stewardship that the stars somehow align with the team this year and the team goes on a long run of sustained success, one worthy of a dedicated fan base, and then the fans will reward as appropriate. Even when they win the fans didn't show up. Two playoff appearances in 4 years, still saw a fall in attendance in the second appearance. It is now just using hindsight to justify something that has always existed. A team that was in first place until two weeks before the end of the season, and had been in first place for quite a while, saw a drop in attendance. Sure fans will show up after they win a World Series. Wow, what dedication.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Feb 15, 2016 -> 09:03 PM) Sure, I agree. But then why do our Sox fans constantly get compared to Cubs' fans and found wanting? Two totally different markets/situations. If you compare Sox fans to the Mariners, A's, Indians, Blue Jays, Rockies, DBacks, Padres, Marlins, Reds, Pirates, Royals, Twins, etc., all those fanbases are remarkably similar. Other than the Cardinals (who obviously have a historic winning tradition) and Brewers, there just aren't many second-tier market fans (especially in the Midwest, which proportionately lost more fans due to the strike and financial crisis) who consistently support underperforming teams year in and year out. Because fans expect them to be able to spend like large market teams.

QUOTE (Thad Bosley @ Feb 15, 2016 -> 08:22 PM) They ARE a large market team - they play in the city of Chicago. They don't operate as a large market team because they haven't ever figured out how to win in a sustainable fashion in order to build up this revenue base of which you speak. They don't operate like a large market team because their fan base operates like a small market team.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Feb 15, 2016 -> 07:26 PM) And I have yet to see anyone make credible arguments for other fanbases performing exceedingly well in the face of similar circumstances (going on nine years now without a playoff appearance), other than the Cubs, Cardinals and Tigers, who have an owner who consistently puts profitability behind winning in terms of priorities. Because of those anomalous examples, any fanbase would look bad in comparison. I suppose you could also argue the Brewers, but they had Bud Selig pulling the strings to provide his daughter every possible benefit during his tenure. And, if you exchanged the two respective stadiums, the results would probably be quite different in Milwaukee. Is there any other team in baseball whose fans are similarly under attack for (supposedly) not supporting their team? Tampa Bay? Oakland? Cleveland? Miami? The Atlanta Braves? (they blamed location and fan fear of the downtown area, especially at night...hence, a new suburban stadium). Are Reds' fans to be blamed this year for not turning out, for example, or Rockies' fans? Padres? Eliminating the Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers, Angels, Giants and Cubs, since I'm sure everyone would agree those are the true large market clubs, the White Sox clearly don't compare with the Cardinals and Tigers, but what other mid-market teams are doing exceedingly well generating revenues without making the playoffs? Even the Mets have/had struggled greatly in recent years in a much newer stadium, for example. You actually make the exact point. The Sox aren't a large market team, and expecting them to spend like one when they don't have that sort of revenue base is completely irrational.

QUOTE (chitownsportsfan @ Feb 15, 2016 -> 02:53 PM) Doh, they signed a super sub to play against LHP then forgot him. As for LaRoche, 20% of his PA last year were against LHP, that's a pretty big chunk of his time and he posted an OPS+ of 8 against them. It's not just that he's bad against LHP, HE SHOULD NEVER FACE LHP. Yeah, that isn't even close to reality.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Feb 15, 2016 -> 02:22 PM) For the record i'm 100% kidding about the Bulls getting Durant or that GarPax should be criticized for not getting him. That's in direct response to the ridiculous position that Ozzfest and others have maintained in this thread and the other thread.

QUOTE (chitownsportsfan @ Feb 15, 2016 -> 02:24 PM) Dead cat bounce maybe, that's all I see. His splits against LHP have been horse s*** since '12 and with the way RV loves to trot him about there against LHP he's going to have another s*** year IMO. We'll see. I wish they would have just bought him out or traded him for pennies on the dollar. Roster spot is more useful imo. Eh. The lefty thing is grossly exaggerated. The guy saw 94 ABs against lefties in 2015. Of those 94 AB's only 57 of them came in games started by a lefty in a grand total of 14 starts. The other 37 involved relievers that came in after a righty had started. I don't see the numbers split out this way, but I would bet that based on the huge cut in ABs that LaRoche saw in the 2nd half, I'd bet almost all of those starts came in the first half of the season. It wouldn't have even looked that bad if the guy had actually hit righties instead.

QUOTE (bmags @ Feb 15, 2016 -> 01:29 PM) Wizards/Lakers/Knicks going to do everything they can. The Warriors keep getting mentioned too, but I have no idea how realistic that is. Again, out of that list, how do the Bulls win that? The answer is, they don't.

QUOTE (MEANS @ Feb 12, 2016 -> 10:01 AM) A little late but last week the Toronto Maple Leafs unveiled their new logo and I designed it. It was a very crazy and surreal week to say the least. Probably my biggest accomplishment as a designer although the two locker room graphics for the last 2 Blackhawks Stanley Cup wins come pretty close too. Very cool That is one of the iconic logos in sports.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Feb 15, 2016 -> 11:52 AM) Better Call Saulllllllllllllllllllllllllllll This is a happy TV week. Both Saul and Vikings are back!

QUOTE (bmags @ Feb 15, 2016 -> 01:03 PM) I really hope so. By all accounts he's a good guy, but when he came up to the plate, I'm not sure there was anyone I had less confidence in. He looked like he was like, half the size of himself by the end of the year. He was a guy making not one, but two major adjustments. Not only was he going from the NL to the AL, but he was also going from playing the field, to a primary DH. We even saw a guy like Frank Thomas struggle with the latter.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Feb 15, 2016 -> 12:22 PM) If GarPax fails to sign him, it'll be another indictment on their abilities. FIRE THEM NOW. also: (1) Gordon should have won. Or they should have been co-winners. The hoverboard dunk was one of the coolest things i've ever seen. (2) Pretty funny how the 3 pt contest (also amazing) was the marquee event and everyone (including me) was wondering why we even have a dunk contest. And then 30 minutes later the dunk contest was the best or second best dunk contest ever. Not only did those guys do amazing dunks, they did them OVER AND OVER again, without missing (mostly). (3) The game sucked, I stopped after the 1st quarter, but there were still some amazing plays made by Lebron, Westbrook and Durant. Realistically, how should the Bulls be able to beat out the rest of the NBA for Durant? I don't see it.