balfanman

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Oct 29, 2010 -> 08:57 AM) Honestly everything I have ever seen or read about Ozzie is that the only thing he knows is baseball. He is extremely baseball smart, despite popular opinion. Outside of baseball, it is pretty scary. I don't know. Ozzie can't be that dumb outside of baseball. For example, look how he handled Jenks mentally during the World Series. Ozzie sensed that his confidence may have taken a hit and tried to reassure him. He must have some sense of how to handle human emotion.

I remember feeling so sorry for Rob Mackowiack. He took it in stride and did the best he could, but he was just not a centerfielder. That season probably ruined his career. I have no idea how Ozzie thought that Mackowiak was even an option out there. In hindsight, the Sox probably would of been better off keeping Willie Harris around as a backup if Anderson failed. Harris did have a couple of decent seasons for the Nationals.

It was obviously a slow news day, thay had to manufacture something to get attention.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Oct 28, 2010 -> 08:12 AM) Not playing Thome there had nothing to do with defense or stubbornness. It was entirely about the condition of his back. I realize that, I'm just sayin'.

Kotsay couldn't play the outfield at all? I didn't know that. I just thought that Jones and whoever else were better options and that's why we never saw him out there. Now that I think about it, that doesn't fit Ozzies M. O. He would of played Kotsay out there anyway.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Oct 28, 2010 -> 07:27 AM) First point: 1. How on Earth can we judge what Viciedo's 1b defense would be like? He's barely played there, he bounced back and forth between 1b and 3b this season to get at bats, despite his size he's probably going to wind up having better reactions/instincts/speed/range than PK14 because he is somewhat athletic. 2. How on Earth can you say "our 1b defense will be atrocious" and "I want Fielder" in the same post? Either you care about 1b defense or you don't. I'm one who cares big time about 1st base defense. Ramirez would not of had a stand out defensive season in my opinion if it wsn't for Paul Konerko. If Ramirez would have been charged with a few more errors because our 1st basemen couldn't handle his throws, then his confidence probably goes out the window and we would of seen a much worse version of him. Not to mention the effect that all of those extra outs would of put on an already mediocre (results wise) pitching staff. I believe that we won a game this year because a 1st baseman, namely Washingtons' Adam Dunn was a complete hack at 1st base. If we somehow acquire Dunn and he plays even 1 inning in the field I personally would not be happy. We wouldn't even play Thome at 1st and he was at least adequate. I, for one, think that 1st base defense is highly under valued. JMHO

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Oct 28, 2010 -> 07:24 AM) I don't think there's any chance Kenny expects Castro to be a 400 PA+ catcher next year. That'd be almost as stupid as re-signing Kotsay. I don't think resigning Kotsay, or having Kotsay on the team was dumb. What was dumb was the way Kotsay was used. If Kotsay only had 120 - 150 at bats all season he might have flourished. Let's hope that they learned their lesson and we only see Castro 1 - 2 times a week.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Oct 27, 2010 -> 01:06 PM) It is in the Trib today that he would consider Ryno. That's what Ozzie said, being polite, when asked directly if he would hire Sandberg to be his bench coach. But Ozzie also said that he does not know Ryne Sandberg which, according to past history, would make Sandberg an extreme longshot for the position. Ozzie tends to hire people that he is familiar with. This is why I think that someone such as Sandy Alomar Jr. would be a more likely candidate. This is simply a story manufactured by the media to get headlines by taking Ozzies words out of context...........as hard as that is to believe. I think that the most likely scenario is that Ozzie brings Harold Baines back in to be the bench coach and he hires a new 1st base coach.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Oct 27, 2010 -> 12:48 PM) I don't know of such a rule, and I doubt that would be enforceable due to contracts on the books. In the case of DET for example, if they see a big drop in revenue, they still have expensive contracts on the books. Nothing can really be done about that. I thought that I read somewhere, this board I thought, that a team can only lose money on an average of 2 out of 10 years or something like that. Maybe I'm just imaging it. They do say that the first thing that you lose as you get older is your memory and the second is ..........I can't remember the other 2. Oh well.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Oct 27, 2010 -> 12:06 PM) The Giants put down more sacrifice bunts this year than anybody except the Dodgers and Padres. The Rangers dropped more sacrifice bunts than anybody in the American League. Wow, you mean playing unselfish baseball wins games? What a concept! Seems to me we did that circa: 2005 as well.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Oct 27, 2010 -> 12:01 PM) People here tend to think that a person's high net worth means that they can, or will, spend a ton of money. First of all, a big part of Illitch's net worth is tied up in corporations - and therefore not highly liquid, or even usable in the way you describe. Second, if you read articles the past year or two, the Tigers have made clear they are losing more and more money on the Tigers and won't be spending tons of money. Being rich doesn't mean you have a ton of money to spend, and even if you do, you may not want to. Isn't there some kind of rule among the owners that you cannot spend wildly without the revenue coming in? In other words the franchise has to be at least close to breaking even. The Yankees, for example, spend lots of money, but they also have a lot coming in.

QUOTE (Buehrlesque @ Oct 26, 2010 -> 10:31 PM) I wouldn't mind it either, but Ozzie tends to bring in his close friends to coaching positions. Is he "close" enough to Sandberg, and/or would he consider hiring him strictly from a baseball point of view? I heard the interview, which is being remanufactured to be a story when it isn't. Ozzie clearly said in the interview that he does not know Ryne Sandberg.

QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ Oct 25, 2010 -> 12:00 PM) The games in Texas will probably have weather that's ideal for baseball, but doesn't San Francisco get pretty cold at night due to being right on the water? I think that it might get cool in San Francisco too, but it probably won't be near as cold as New York and Philly will be.

I am excited for this series for many reasons, one of those being the "new blood" involved. I really could not of cared less if it was the Yankess & Phillies again. I liked well pitched games and this series promises that. I think that one of the bigger reasons that I prefer this matchup is the weather. Thanks to the idiots that run MLB this series is going to run into November. I would much rather see baseball played in Texas and San Francisco in November than in New York and Philadelphia.

I'm not a fan of "homerun ball", so I'm all for moving the fences back. I wish that we had Detroits ballpark.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Oct 12, 2010 -> 09:59 AM) Pat Gillick is pretty damn good too. I will not argue that Gillick is good, but wasn't he the one that never gave Freddy Garcia a physical prior to dealing for him?

QUOTE (2nd_city_saint787 @ Oct 14, 2010 -> 11:45 PM) just stating the facts man, not saying theyre on the same level, just bringun the facts. 16th in the MLB in hits = fact 1st in MLB in steals= also fact I really don't understand all of the Juan Pierre hate. Sure, he isn't Rickey Henderson, but who is. Personally I think that Juan played some pretty good defense, can play at least adequate CF if needed, and hit okay for a lead off guy. He seems to be will liked in the clubhouse and leads by example with his work ethic. He came up with quite a few clutch hits this last season as I recall. He started out slow, but I would hardly call Juan Pierre the reason for any of our offensive woes. I would love to have a team where we could bat Juan 9th, but we don't, nor are we likely to have (afford) one in the near future. I'm sure there are a few guys out there who are better lead off guys, but I don't think any of them were on our team last year, nor are they likely to be on the Sox in 2011. As for Derek Jeter, I'm sure that he has some qualities that the Yankees love and does some things better than Juan, but usually there is nothing but hate for Jeter on this board because he seems to be so overated, especially defensively. It seems to me that if Jeter were on the Sox he wouldn't even have a place to play according to most here because Ramirez is a much better shortstop. All of this is JMHO of course, but I for one have no problem mentioning Juan Pierre and Derek Jeter in the same sentence as far as overall baseball abilities. The main thing that Jeter has going for him is that he plays in New York, for the Yankees. O. K., I've said my peace, Flame away.

QUOTE (Buehrlesque @ Oct 14, 2010 -> 03:29 PM) I agree that one game is way too small of a sample size, and best-of-three is as well. Heck, I think best-of-five is too small for baseball. The only reason I am OK with a short series (one game or best-of-three) for this 2nd Wildcard idea is that I am OK with the Wildcard winner being somewhat random and uncertain. I feel like "eh, they didn't win their division, so they don't get that kind of security." If they want the "easy/fair" way in, they have to win the division. I agree with this post too.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Oct 14, 2010 -> 02:46 PM) I like the best of 3 series idea. One game is nowhere near enough of a sample size to determine which team is better. I would agree with this, however, the 162 game season ahead of this game should have already determined this.

QUOTE (jphat007 @ Oct 14, 2010 -> 08:39 AM) What does it matter what Jackson did in Arizona? So he doesn't play well for teams that are awful and under no pressure. Jackson pitched well here, in pressure, in the AL. Hudson, in a small sample size, did not. But please do not presume to tell all of us that pitching in the NL, under ZERO pressure, is like pitching on a winning team in the AL that is going for the playoffs. It is not. Lots of players do well in September when nothing is on the line. Let me first state that overall I'm still all for the Jackson trade; at least we went for it. That being said, my point has to do with the bolded part above. I know that for the most over the last many years the A. L. has been much more dominant than the N. L. However, over the last year or so hasn't the N. L. caught up with the A L. as far as overall talent? There seems to be some pretty good pitching and hitting going on in the N L. lately. Other than the D.H., which most A. L. teams have (other than the Sox), is it really that much tougher to pitch in the A. L. anymore?

QUOTE (Brian @ Oct 11, 2010 -> 09:33 PM) Game 1 is Saturday, October 16. Lincecum vs. Halladay This is what bothers me about the baseball playoffs. Why are we waiting until Saturday to play game 1? This is why the playoffs are stretched out until it's too cold for baseball. Why can't they start this on Wednesday, with the ALCS starting on Thursday. Even that is too much time between series in my book. This much time between series also doesn't give you the true team. Do the teams play differently because they have so much rest? Better, or worse? Hotter or colder? This also, I believe, causes less interest in the games because when almost a week goes by without baseball, people think that the season is over and then it's tough to get back into it.

QUOTE (dasox24 @ Oct 6, 2010 -> 01:49 AM) Even though he missed this year to injury, it would be cool bringing the semi-local (Streator, IL) kid to his favorite team. Did someone say Streator?.........Yes!

QUOTE (greg775 @ Sep 17, 2010 -> 07:03 PM) we had a four game lead at one point and tons of head to head matchups against them and choked in almost every one of those head to head matchups. We are in a freefall. The Twins are good, but the White Sox who have more "name" players than the Twins, folded their cards. This is what bothers me. Someone else wondered about the teams mental makeup. Over the Guillen years, the Sox fold in big situations much more often then they overachieve. I'm not necessarily an Ozzie basher, but isn't motivation supposed to be one of his strong points as a manager? It sure seems to me that when the pressure is on, this team folds like a house of cards more often than not. Maybe handling pressure is somehow taught in the Twins organization and that is why their youngsters come up big so often when called upon.

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Sep 18, 2010 -> 07:05 AM) I think respecting the competition is fine, but we spend too much time making excuses for our own inadequacies by slavishly preaching the “Twin philosophy.” We need to adapt to their approach, not stare in awe. Thank you. There is a difference between "slurping them" in the media and respecting what they do enough to go out and try to better them. The Sox as a whole have said many nice things about the Twins over the years, but have actually done very little to be better at baseball than they are. Hopefully building a better minor league system is a start.

QUOTE (gatnom @ Sep 18, 2010 -> 01:18 AM) I 100% agree with this. I agree 100% as well. I hate losing to the Twins seemingly every year, but let's face it, We are the losers here, we are the team that sucks in comparison, we are the team that needs to step it up and with the odd exception here or there we have not. I don't know what the solution is, but I believe that the first step for us, especially K. W. & Ozzie is to admit that they are better than we are and let's get our act together. The whole bashing the Twins because they consistantly beat us is definitely the wrong approach and makes us look like sore losers.