maki

QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ Dec 29, 2009 -> 04:05 AM) Any updates on this? i can't speak to official news, but driving by on Friday, there was very little more done. They made progress doing something with the structure at the base of Gate 5 earlier in Oct/Nov but it seems to have stopped with not too much noticeable difference from during the year. I find it hard to believe they can fit anything in there except maybe a souvenir shop.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Nov 5, 2009 -> 10:12 AM) I really think Teahan is on the infield somewhere in 2010. Probably 3B. I think we're going to acquire a new OF. agreed. everyone else moves one slot over. also not a terrible backup plan for kenny if he fails to get an OF. He can say the plan all along was to put Teahan in right and he planned on Nix taking over 2nd, when in actuality he's still looking for the OF move.

QUOTE (Tex @ Oct 9, 2009 -> 11:42 AM) At 31 I'm guessing he may be thinking it is time to hang 'em up if he can't catch on with a mlb roster. Good luck with that. i think its unlikely. he hasn't exactly raked in the cash. if he thinks he can sign with a squad and be first up as somoeone goes down, he has to take it for at least the possibility of some cash.

QUOTE (Tex @ Oct 7, 2009 -> 09:11 AM) Interesting how the game and society has changed. There were all sorts of stories of Babe Ruth running out between innings to grab a beer, showing up right from the bar he was in the night before, etc. while they made a great living and a lot of money back in the day it is nowhere near the exorbitant rate they are paid today to play a game for a living. the game is a business at this point, for better or worse. relying on men in their 20s is also a difficult thing to do. teams should honestly hire babysitters for problem players. let them do what they want, just make sure they use discretion, which none of them seem to understand.

Host from a Detroit station was on Mully and Handley this morning. They kept prodding him until he gave the names he heard for the Sox players that were out. Sources said Freddy and Pena, Freddy certainly could have been guessed and Pena may be out every night the way he pitches.

QUOTE (Pods22 @ Aug 18, 2009 -> 12:17 PM) So I think we are going to go to Buffalo Wings and Rings pregame and then take the shuttle over to the game. They are having an Elvis show from 4:30-6. Then we will hang out and watch the post game show at the park. We may go to Buffalo Wings and Rings after for the Elvis show which if I remember correctly is from 11-12:30am. That is TBD though. that's a lot of elvis. in all seriousness 430-6 and 11-1230 are going to be the same thing, on top of what you're going to get at the game.

QUOTE (SHIPPS @ Aug 10, 2009 -> 05:54 PM) I wonder what the hell is going on with JR for him to be "making it rain" on KW like this. this is one of the fairly logical steps to take in a depressed market provided you have a good grasp on the market as a whole and the money to spend. the time to spend it is at depressed values, when you adding pieces is cheaper and more effective than in a high flying situation. i'm not saying this deal was necessarily cheap, but it solves a problem we've had for years for no cost but the money, which they have, on its own, clearly evaluated to be worth it.

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Aug 8, 2009 -> 10:50 AM) JP Riccardi is an arrogant, lying; prick of a human being, but he’s also relatively good at his job. I imagine if we get Rios there’s going to be a somewhat negative impact on us, whether it is through players or financial burden. i haven't looked enough at deals or signings he's made lately, but a lot of the job is the inability to get things done for unrealistic demands. if his demands for halladay had been met he would have gotten a stellar deal. right now he's sitting in a fairly bad situation, with halladay still on the books, very little chance of resigning him after next year, and his trade value depreciated substantially.

QUOTE (joeynach @ Aug 4, 2009 -> 03:48 PM) Two things u can always just risk it by parking the adjacent neighborhoods (from 35th to 31st St, From Wentworth to Normal Ave) where u are supposed to have a residential permit. I have parked their before and not received a ticket, but its a risk. Also along 31st st and shields there is meter parking which is free after 8pm so u pay till then. Same with halsted about 5 blocks from the stadium, metered street parking. Good luck. meters have been changed to 9pm i believe now, with 2 hour max and probably $4/hr. so you'll risk the last 15 min before 9 if you get there at 645, but thats probably not an issue. if you're paying anyways park at one of the bars with a lot that lets you stay and get a couple drinks. otherwise you're hoofing it from outside the residential area. you can also park somewhere along the green or red line, but there not too many places i'd leave the car south. green line at ashland is probably fine, that leaves you just west of the loop in a semi-industrial little area. then just jump on the green to 35th.

anybody know the pre-game festivities for mark or giveaway today? I'm assuming a Mark-centric montage maybe 10 minutes before all the other festivities.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Aug 2, 2009 -> 09:40 PM) Why does everybody love Getz so much? People started loving him last year when he got like 2 hits in 7 ABs. I like Getz, but he's been a below average offensive player this year playing mediocre defense. There's a lot to like about him (his speed, his peskiness), but he's not a good candidate for ROY. Since June 28th, the Sunday Cubs game, where he fairly clearly turned it he has hit .364, OBP somewhere just south of .400 and slugging is .523. He has 9 doubles, 1 triple, 7 SB, and 0 CS. This is all over a span of 26 games. He's had 7 errors all year and his F% has been in line with his peers, although he has had a few infrequent mental lapses, many less than the left side of the IF. I think it can be argued that if you haven't noticed how productive Getz has been as of late you haven't been watching. He seems much more disciplined at the plate and comfortable overall. Even if he reverts back for awhile its still likely he hits .270 or so on the year, should steal 20-25 bags which could probably be more if they ran him more frequently, and will anchor the bottom part of the lineup that has been a huge part of the Sox resurgence. If he finishes the season with a line similar to what he shows now that will be a huge success and bode extremely well for his future. Our best case scenario next year is Getz forcing Kenny/Ozzie's hand and making them move Alexei to center if Viciedo is ready or a cheap FA is available, moving Beckham where he belongs. That leaves us with 1 hole at OF/DH. Or course this depends on the quality or CF or 3B available given who's ready internally, but its always been easier to plug a hole at 3rd rather than center. All that being said, Beckahm seems to be your 2009 AL ROY. Romero is faltering a bit. He doesn't appear to be the K pitcher we may have seen earlier in the year, and the rest of the peripherals are also coming in a bit. With Toronto out of it they're not going to be pushing him come 4 weeks from now. Porcello is in the same situation as well.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jul 22, 2009 -> 03:51 PM) Does anyone know what the front row # is of the row behind the White Sox bullpen in LF? It would be in either Secs 157 or 158. Thanks! 8th Row behind Sox pen, 9th row behind visitors and bullpen sports bar.

Sounds like Riccardi's main concern is one player must be your top prospect, no matter what position, then you go from there. Seems fairly arbitrary given the differing talent across clubs.

Cowley was also on the Score this morning saying the deal did not include Beckham and this was the reason the Jays balked.

if you're downtown you're within 3-4 blocks of the red line pretty much anywhere. North Michigan avenue and you might be 5-6 blocks. Red line lets you out a block from the park. For hotels, I'd recommend hotwire. Cheapest deals out there, outside of priceline, which are generally only $5-10/night cheaper, if that. Same hotels usually though. Hotwire doesn't tell you the hotel but look at this website. Better Bidding It tells you which hotels hotwire uses, based on the amenities it shows. So you'll know where you're staying. No point to stay anywhere but downtown unless it's too expensive, but the cost of a car is going to make up the difference anyways.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Jul 8, 2009 -> 01:15 AM) No? Have you read message boards before? Let's face it, the midwest, and the White Sox fanbase in particular, is a very "blue-collar" fanbase. It's a fanbase that, relative to others, does not spend as much of its time in front of a computer, due in large part to the occupations it holds. That is not necessarily to say it does not get paid well, but it does not spend as much time reading about farm systems, learning the newest offensive and defensive metrics, etc. It gets most of its knowledge from sports radio as well as the team's beat writers. Unfortunately, the White Sox beat writers, and the characters on Chicago sports radio, have grown to cater to its fanbase. They do not seek to inform them on the newest information available, or the players in the Organization's farm system, as apparently they believe what attention they do get should be spent on the big league club and the statistics that most casual baseball fans generally understand. But as we all know, the game has changed. Baseball is more a game of data and economics than ever before. Those economics have made farm systems more important than they have been in recent history. Until the average fan understands these concepts, he/she will not understand the direction the Organization is going in or the reasons for their decisions. There is no reason why our beat writers and our sports radio commentators cannot step things up a notch and educate our fan base. There is no reason why our fanbase cannot gain a better understanding of what the Organization is attempting to accomplish on a year-to-year basis and thus gain a better perspective on whether to support them by going out to the games or not. Sounds like a conspiracy theory at its finest. Outside of a few outliers, ie Florida teams, maybe san diego, you will find very small discernable differences in the general knowledge of the game amongst the fanbase. A single good talk show radio host who reaches an extremely limited audience, many of which are not actually listening at the time, is not changing a fanbase. This notion is fairly absurd.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Jul 8, 2009 -> 12:25 AM) The Angels are an outstanding franchise. No disputing that. However, the level of knowledge the average Angel fan has about that franchise is far above and beyond that of the average Sox fan. I truly believe a huge step in the process of raising revenues for the ballclub is to educate the fanbase. I think they would then be more willing to support the franchise because they would understand just how special this current ownership group and GM are. We are truly blessed, people. This group makes EVERY EFFORT to win year in and year out, with a very limited fanbase. Imagine what it could do with more support... there is pretty much NO reason to believe the Angels' fanbase is any more or less knowledgeable about the game than the average sox fan. what would be the reasoning behind this? baseball as a sport is not scrutinized by the masses and there's not much out there saying the fans of the Angels are any different.

QUOTE (MHizzle85 @ Jun 29, 2009 -> 01:14 PM) No. You don't trade a guy who's inexpensive & putting up numbers. Unless you're gonna get a really good package, you don't let that go. the point of this thread is if we're selling. no big contracts are movable, making pods' an attractive option for several clubs. if we're selling, its EXACTLY the reason you trade him. he's a FA at the end of the year, there would be no point to keep him a full year in a rebuilding mode.

QUOTE (Melissa1334 @ Jun 29, 2009 -> 11:34 AM) with the way pods has played this year, i wouldnt want him to get traded. and hes inexpensive both of what you stated are the reasons you trade him.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jun 22, 2009 -> 03:01 PM) JD's OPS is 13th out of AL OF's this year. He's tied with Ben Zobrist for 5th among AL OF's with 15 home runs, but he's low on everything else. From the stats, Zobrist, Hunter, Bay, Ichiro, Adam Jones, and a number of others are better AS OF candidates than JD unless he runs off a huge hot streak. zobrist seems to have settled into 2b since bartlett's return and iwamura's injury, with a few games in RF. not sure where he's listed on a ballot, if anywhere. not that it mtters, he wouldn't get voted in, he'd have to be a pick and I don't know where they'd slot him.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Jun 15, 2009 -> 12:49 PM) It does not account for pitches thrown after 3-0. It strictly tracks what he does on a 3-0 count and he's made contact 7 times before he went on and got that hit yesterday. So he has swung on 3-0 at least 7 times before. 7 times in 10+ years definitely qualifies as very rare, or even "one of the first times" for a player not sitting there with baseball reference in front of him. the 76 walks in 81 3-0 counts has to be dominated by intentionals.

heading up sunday, hope to get to the lot by 11 at the latest. i think we're in 127, 12th row. just picked up 4 on ebay for $35/ticket.

QUOTE (BearSox @ Jun 9, 2009 -> 10:58 AM) With the Fire Sale rumors flying around, I thought it'd be good if we put all the ideas and rumors and such in this thread. I'll start. I wonder if Atlanta would be interested in Dye. I'm sure they would, but I'm not sure if they'd give up much in trade discussions. However, if Jordan Schafer were to be part of the deal, you'd have to consider though. We also have 5 guys in the pen who could bring a lot back via trade: Jenks, Linebrink, Dotel, Thornton and Carrasco. Personally though, I wouldn't think about trading Thornton unless the package was unbelievable. i don't see the braves being able/wanting to pull something off for a 2nd of in less than a month that would net us anything of value.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 26, 2009 -> 10:48 AM) We are 5.5 games out with 3/4 of the season to go. We are still "in" it. Teams have come back from way further back against better teams. they've also arguably had better teams themselves. a team that meddles along at .500 for a quarter season working through the kinks with a well-constructed team or one battling through injuries is a completely different story where you have to decide if they're simply underachieving or will figure it out. Even if we "figure it out" we can't play .600 baseball from here on out.

I've been thinking a bunch about what it actually takes to get back into a race depending on how far back you're at and the possibility of such a run with a specific team. Right now we're at 20-24. Right now we have to bank on the hope it may take a game or 2 less to win the division than last year, putting it at 87 or 86 wins before discussing a tie. I think a sweet spot would be 46-43 or so by the break. That means we go 26-19 in the games leading up to the break. That means we play .578 ball from now until then, leading to an achievalbe 2nd half, provided you can play at a level at or slightly below that run. 2 or so more losses makes it a tougher path when you're looking at 44-45. Break it down further and I think you'll see the difficulty in getting something like this done. Next 9 - 2 in LA. 3 in KC with Greinke and Bannister, whose ERA is back up to 2.79, but has pitched well outside of the Cleveland outing 2 starts ago. Then you come back for 4 against Oakland, where you're going to have to go 3-1, no easy task. I don't think you can expect 2-3 in KC and 3-1 against Oak, but 1 is a good possibility. You're probably looking at 5-4 as a favorable result Then you've got 3 with Cleveland and 5 with Detroit. Favorable outcome 5-3. Follow that with a road trip through the NL central, which unfortunately doesn't include a stop in Pittsburgh. Winning 2 out of these 3 series is difficult and unlikely, with a lot contingent on how Cincy's rotation sets up. at 4-5 this trip is probably a success. Next, Dodgers and Cubs at home. These are about as tough as 6 home games in a row will be this season. If we go 4-2 that's a stellar showing. 7 game trip to Cleveland and KC - 4-3 again is possibly achievable. Finally you've got 6 central games with 3 vs Cleveland and 3 at Minny. Favorable outcome 3-3 considering our great success in the dome. Those breakdowns put you at 25-20 and 45-44 through the break. This isn't a terrible place to be but its tough to get there as I've generally skewed towards a positive bias on almost all scenarios. Combine that with the fact that I don't believe .600 ball is sustainable for this ballclub over the 2nd half. If we can't win either of the Angels or Royals series right now we're in a hole that we're probably not getting out of. Most of this was brought on by the Score conversation this morning with Zaidman I believe, who refuses to acknowledge the lovable losers may be in trouble. If Milwaukee or St Louis can manage 90+ wins they're in a similar spot. The only difference I can see is the Cubs have a greater ability to run off 6-8 wins in a row and can possibly play a sustainable .600 or so in the central. I guess I'm surprised by how much you actually know through 45 games or so into the season. In a game generally played slightly above or below .500 making up even 5-6 games requires a lot of work. this is definitely too long, hopefully somebody cares to read and discuss.