balfanman

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Sep 16, 2011 -> 01:53 PM) Rios cf, Dunn dh, There's your 5-6 spots. What are the odds that Dunn hits better these last couple of weeks because all of the pressure is off?

QUOTE (elrockinMT @ Sep 16, 2011 -> 08:58 AM) Using the logic of playing rookies to see their contributions for the remainder of the season is like thinking Dunn or Rios will magically appear also. So it's six of one and seven of the other \\\

QUOTE (SoxAce @ Sep 16, 2011 -> 06:08 AM) I hope to god someone in that org. steps in and lets Ozzie know they better be seeing Flowers, De Aza, maybe even Escobar playing more consistently now to go along with Beckham, Morel, Viciedo and the young arms. Ozzie is quoted in the Tribune today saying that he's going to keep playing the same guys. He can't leave soon enough in my book. "Guillen said he would continue to play most of his starters instead of the younger players for the final 13 games."

QUOTE (greg775 @ Sep 2, 2011 -> 12:54 AM) Do you realize what you are saying? To bench Rios and Dunn with the money they are making? You don't magically pretend Adam Dunn does not exist. It would be one thing if these two guys were only having down years, putting up numbers that are below their career norms, but above ~220 - 230 batting average lets say. In that case I think that you're correct, they would, and even should (maybe) still be playing. You cannot compare these guys, IMO, to other highly paid players because they are both epically bad. uncharted territory bad in Dunns case, and Rios with his attitude to boot. The problem is two fold. First, their teammates see this and while they're battling for a playoff spot, these two guys definitely do not give the team the best chance of winning the game on any given day. Not even remotely close to the best chance and there are much better options currently on the team. They have to be thinking WTF. Secondly, these two are soooooooo bad that even the casual fan can see this. Many fans have lost interest in the team this season already and decisions like Ozzy made in the 9th inning Wednesday afternoon tells them that they aren't even trying to win, which could drive them away permanently. This affects JR's checkbook tremendously. longterm, much more than having them ride the bench for the rest of the season. In this case, you almost have to pretend that they disappeared for the rest of the year.

QUOTE (Greg Hibbard @ Aug 28, 2011 -> 07:01 PM) That 4-18 stretch is the first thing that will come to mind. If they finish 1-2 games out it would be hard to imagine them having a much better record from May on given their overall talent, although I'm sure many here will cherry pick losses. But I'm sure that between Rios & Dunn there were very easily 1 or 2 games we would have won if DeAza, Lillibridge, or Viciedo were getting at bats instead of having an uninspiring 0 for 4.

QUOTE (Jake @ Aug 28, 2011 -> 06:09 PM) I get the sense that in a given year 15-20 teams' fans feel this way about one or both of their Manager/GM. But how many of those teams had options at their fingertips that they dogmatically failed to utilize. It's not just Viciedo either. DeAza should have been up much sooner, Dunn & Rios on the bench much more often than they were, etc. Our G.M. & Manager flat out lied to us about being all in with their actions.

Let's say that the Sox get hot riding Viciedos' hot bat, Detroit cools off a bit, and the Sox finish only 1 or 2 games out of first. I would be soooo ticked off at O.G. & K.W. for letting their personal agendas get in the way of the team. It would be my personal opinion that Ozzie & Kenny should both be fired immediately after the season and should never, ever have a job in baseball again for being selfish enough to destroy a teams season with their egos. Maybe I'm just venting, and I know it's a small sample size, but jeez.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Aug 24, 2011 -> 12:03 AM) He has an automatic option picked up if traded. Hasn't this been proven false on numerous occasions? I believe that option expired in 2009.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Aug 19, 2011 -> 02:26 PM) MDGonzales Mark Gonzales Sox's Sept. 4 game at Detroit now 7:05 p.m., meaning Sox will play three games in 27 hours in two states (day-night DH on Sept. 5 at minn). Will Humber come off of the DL in time to start one of these games? Will he need a rehab stint?

I hope that Buehrle has his complete game stuff going today! or at least a strong 7.

Did anyone notice the celebration after Pierre's game winning hit? It looked like he may of injured Morel when they high fived. You can see it on whitesox.com video highlights (I'm not sure how to put the link here).

QUOTE (Harry Chappas @ Aug 16, 2011 -> 11:39 PM) check out the pitch counts for this game 3 Indian relievers threw less than 10 pitches. Their pen will be fine tomorrow. The Sox, not so much. Yes, but we have the bullpen saver (Buehrle) going.

QUOTE (bucket-of-suck @ Jul 27, 2011 -> 11:55 AM) The White Sox DID NOT & DO NOT want Colby Rasmus. There was a deal with the Cards to acquire him if they wanted but they declined. Rasmus exemplifies exactly what this team is steering clear of going forward and I applaud that: La Russa was asked whether Rasmus is listening and responded tartly. "Well, he's listening to somebody," the manager said. Asked whether Rasmus is listening to the Cardinals' coaches, he was more direct. "No, he doesn't listen to the Cardinal coaches much now, and that's why he gets in these funks, in my opinion," La Russa said. Thank you; I feel the same way.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Jul 27, 2011 -> 11:15 AM) As they certainly should be; LaRussa's done a fine job with that team, but the Rasmus situation has been a complete joke this year. His personal vendetta cost them a lot here. Secondly, the White Sox, had they prioritized winning baseball, could have had Rasmus for a similar sweetheart deal. There's no reason not to toss them Thornton and Reed and enjoy a future built around Colby Rasmus, Dayan Viciedo, Gordon Beckham, and even Carlos Quentin. First off, how do we know that the main problem in that situation was LaRussa? Could it be that Rasmus is just a big jerk, who takes away from the clubhouse atmosphere? Secondly, Could it be that K.W. really didn't want Rasmus that badly because they felt that his personal issues would far out weight his playing ability. I know nothing about the situation other than whats been talked about here, and I would bet that we're letting Rasmus's athletic ability cloud our judgement. I'll trust K.W. on this one, until Rasmus actually proves him wrong.

QUOTE (Tex @ Jul 10, 2011 -> 08:53 PM) I don't see anyone in my lifetime. Viciedo!

QUOTE (Greg Hibbard @ Jun 23, 2011 -> 08:40 AM) Another point that seems to be lost is that we play in a really bad division, seemingly. I'd be very surprised if the winner of the AL Central wins 90 games. If the winner was going to be in the 94-98 game range, then yes, obviously it's crucial that you beat the teams in your own division. It tends to matter less that you win divisional games in divisions that are won with 85,86,88 games. It's not insignificant, but it matters yes. But with the rare exception,(Cardinals) teams that can't beat teams in their own division are usually a quick exit in the playoffs.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jun 23, 2011 -> 08:24 AM) C'mon Greg, it's not just those two series, it's the fact that they're 1-9 against the Twins and Tigers overall this year. If you look at 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2010, all of those SOX teams played very well within the division. And we invididually blew four saves out of 10 games against the A's and I think won another game in which we had a blown save. 6-4 should have been, at worst, 8-2 or possibly 9-1. None of it matters unless/until Dunn/Rios/Pierre/Beckham (at least 2 and probably 3 of the 4, because the odds of Konerko continuing to hit at this clip aren't high) play at anywhere close to their abilities and/or Viciedo comes up. And it's also predicated on Humber keeping this up as well. And actually figuring out how to beat a MUCH MUCH better Twins team than the one that has beaten us four times in a row and 27 of the last 35. The Tigers had beaten us 8 consecutive times dating back to last year before we finally won a game against them. Thank you!

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jun 23, 2011 -> 07:44 AM) The above .500 teams haven't been the problem this year. Its been the bad teams that have killed us. I think if we were .500 against the under par teams, we'd be in first place right now. It's not even so much the below 500 teams as it is the division games we've lost. Except for Cleveland we can't seem to beat anybody in our division.

QUOTE (Greg Hibbard @ Jun 23, 2011 -> 08:00 AM) If they had dropped 5 games to NYY and BOS, we would have said "they can't beat contenders" if they had dropped 5 games to the Cubs and Oakland, we would have said "they can't beat the bad teams" if they had dropped 5 day games, we would have said "they can't win day games" No, I would not of said any of that. The fact of the matter is that if you cannot consistently win in your own division then it is also tough to win the division and make the playoffs, because the wildcard is not coming out of the central. I'll worry about beating Boston and New York in October

QUOTE (Andrew @ Jun 22, 2011 -> 11:23 PM) AJP for Mgr. That, in essence, was what he was doing tonight. I, for one. think that he has a better grasp on the game pf baseball than Ozzie does, and I'm not that much of an Ozzie hater.

QUOTE (Greg Hibbard @ Jun 22, 2011 -> 09:58 PM) Since dropping those two games at the Twins, the Sox have won two series in a row. That's 10-4-1 in their last 15 series for anyone counting, with only 1 home series loss to Detroit, and the others road series losses to a pretty decent Toronto team, a good Texas team and a red-hot Minnesota. Now 26-17 (.605) since May 6th. That's the problem. The 2 series that they lost to division opponents. Those are the ones you can't keep losing.

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Jun 22, 2011 -> 10:30 PM) I hate Ozzie as much as anyone, but now you're not only showing up your starting pitcher, but your manager as well. That's a no no. It may be an unwritten no no, but it needed to be done and A.J. knew it. This isn't the first time A.J. has shown up Ozzie. Remember the bean ball war with Texas a few seasons ago. A.J. stared at Ozzie in the dugout begging for someone to stand up to the Rangers.

QUOTE (SoxFanForever @ Jun 22, 2011 -> 10:13 PM) What does winning a world series 6 years ago have to do with AJ showing up one of our pitchers? We don't win the World Series without Crede, Cliff Politte or Neal Cotts. Do you want them on the team too? Also, AJ doesn't need to show the guy up to get him out of the game. It was obvious to everyone that he ran out of steam. He was coming out regardless. It may have been obvious that he was going to come out of the game.....but when. Ozzie has a history of leaving pitchers in too long and A.J. was forcing Ozzie to take him out.......NOW! I applaud A.J. I like Peavys' competitiveness, but you can take that too far and be a detriment your team

I Like Ozzies' last statement there. "He better hit, and soon" He threatens Beckham, who at least plays some quality defense, but J.P. goes on and on.

Juan Pierre may or may not have lost a step (another), I really don't know. I do seem to remember that even though his stolen base percentage was barely acceptable last season. it seemed that many of his successful attempts last year were plays where the throw beat him to the bag, but J.P. used some deceptive slides (hand placement, etc.) to get the safe call. Maybe the defenders aren't falling for that anymore so his success rate has dropped. Anyone else remember this, or am I misremembering?