WCSox

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Aug 29, 2008 -> 10:25 AM) Who in their right mind would feel comfortable with Palin as our leader if something were to happen to old man McCain? What a disastrous choice. Who in their right mind would feel comfortable with Obama as our leader if something were to happen to old man Biden? What a disastrous choice.

Given the circumstances, this is the best possible VP that McCain could've picked. Going with the "safer" choice of Romney or Pawlenty wasn't going to work this year. Many people (correctly) point to gender/age identity playing a major role in the Palin decision, but that was far from the only consideration. Her voting record will energize the conservative base and her reform work against the "Good Ole' Boys" network in Alaska will weaken Obama's "Third Term of Bush" characterization of the ticket. Her charisma and speaking ability, while obviously not on the same level of Obama's, will certainly help to offset his.

Ozzie needs to be extremely careful with Danks, whose arm may not be conditioned to throw 180-200 innings. Given the Sox's current division race, this puts Ozzie in a bit of a bind. But I think that he needs to consider skipping Danks a couple of times in September.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Aug 26, 2008 -> 05:46 PM) Taveras is better than Owens because he can actually play defense. From everything I've seen, he's a much better fundamental player and would make a much better 4th outfielder. He still sucks though, and he wouldn't get past all of the NL teams, let alone getting to the White Sox. With the rosters expanding and CF being up for grabs next season, I'd take a flyer on Taveras IF he were to get through and the asking price was reasonable. Owens is more suited for LF, which means that his prospects of cracking the starting lineup in Chicago in the next couple of years are bleak. Not to mention that the Rockies would ask an arm and a leg for him. It'd be nice, but agreed that it won't happen.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Aug 26, 2008 -> 02:09 PM) no he's saying you don't start a runner up when there isn't a forceout; on a 3-2, 2 out count, the runner holds at 2B when the pitch is delivered to make sure that the ball does, in fact, get through. That's why Anderson wasn't already home. If there had been a runner on 1B when Konerko got the hit, Anderson makes it home with relative ease. My bad. (This is what happens when I try to multitask.) I agree that you don't hit-and-run from 2B in that situation.

QUOTE (BobDylan @ Aug 26, 2008 -> 07:41 AM) Because you don't send the runner 3-2, 2 outs when 1st base is open. You strongly consider it when it's the bottom of the 9th, you're trailing, and you just got punked in your own house on consecutive days. Seriously, if Cox holds Anderson at 3rd, what are the chances that whoever was up next (Cabrera?) drives him in with two outs against a solid bullpen?

QUOTE (ChiSox_Sonix @ Aug 25, 2008 -> 04:34 PM) I dont support him, but its awesome someone who is in the public eye as much as him is a Sox fan. It is pretty cool +1

QUOTE (G&T @ Aug 25, 2008 -> 04:45 AM) For anyone who thinks this is the right call: Trib He did it on purpose and admits it. That's fine with me. If AJ is able to exploit Upton's laziness or Eddings' poor judgement to help the Sox win, I'm all for it. It's not like he's getting an unfair advantage by using PEDs or taping the opponents' signals with a video camera.

Not really one of my favorites either, but I love the way that he absolutely spanked Cubs pitching. For that reason alone, I'm glad that he's represented here.

QUOTE (WhiteSoxfan1986 @ Aug 24, 2008 -> 03:34 PM) Let's not forget how bad Jeff Cox is though, In general, I agree. But not in this case. The Sox were coming off of two demoralizing losses at home and were a run down with two outs in the 9th. In that situation, I don't have a problem with Cox rolling the dice. If Cox holds him up, what are the chances that they get Anderson in from third with two outs?

I didn't realize he was that banged-up. That would explain why he didn't pinch-run for AJ in the 10th today.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Aug 24, 2008 -> 02:27 PM) Upton caught a fly ball in CF that Aj tagged on and moved into second base. If Upton had fielded it normally AJ doesnt get to second and they turn a double play on the next at bat. Instead the crazy run down happen, AJ gets on third and Sox win. AJ very well may have the highest "Baseball IQ" in the league. I've never seen anybody exploit other players' weaknesses and use the rulebook to his advantage in the way that he does. I haven't seen Jenks pitch on a regular basis, but is that two-seamer/sinker new? I know that he has that hook and a slider and believe that I've seen him throw a two-seamer before, but never with that much movement.

Given that Juan has been better defensively than Joe this year and that he's actually hitting right now, I completely understand why Ozzie isn't in a hurry to get Joe back into the lineup.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan101 @ Aug 24, 2008 -> 01:15 PM) The problem is, this team is not very smart/fundementally sound and makes too many errors/poor defensive plays, and that combined with poor health is killing us. They've been coming up with some very creative ways of shooting themselves in the foot recently.

QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ Aug 24, 2008 -> 10:22 AM) DOES ANYONE KNOW WHEN LINEBRINK IS SCHEDULED TO COME BACK? Looks like they're shooting for 9/1 at the very earliest, but Ozzie seems less optimistic... Link Link

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Aug 23, 2008 -> 04:05 PM) I really think Thornton is not unlike Marte. Neither one of them could pitch in really clutch situations, or with runners on base. Thornton has a long history of not getting the job done, and it's sad that he's one of our more reliable options right now. QUOTE (elrockinMT @ Aug 23, 2008 -> 05:55 PM) Did Javy load the bases? If so then Ozzie was right to take him out. No kidding. Remember the Javy from two years ago who would automatically crap his pants in the 6th inning? I wouldn't have left him in yesterday either. QUOTE (griffey17 @ Aug 23, 2008 -> 04:06 PM) hell bring in Jenks in the 8th.... Maybe once a month or so, but you don't want a guy with a surgically-repaired elbow to pitch two-inning saves on a regular basis.

QUOTE (earthshiner @ Aug 23, 2008 -> 05:32 PM) Honestly I think that should be reason enough. It was the Series winning run. Thats right, Willie Harris was the run that won us the World Series. Honestly, I think that you're just a little biased... QUOTE (earthshiner @ Aug 22, 2008 -> 08:34 PM) Willie Harris is quite possibly my favorite active player. I have no reason why but I have just always been a fan of his. I sincerely appreciate what Willie and Geoff Blum did for the '05 Sox, but there's no way in hell that either of those guys crack the Top 50 on my all-time Sox list. JMO, and everybody is entitled to their own.

Our 'pen is so bad right now that Ozzie can't yank Javy after he let two on in the 8th. How sad. Also too bad that outstanding performances by Javy and JD went for naught. Let's get 'em tomorrow...

QUOTE (3E8 @ Aug 23, 2008 -> 02:11 PM) When you strike out over 13 guys per 9 innings, your "stuff" is pretty good And when you give up 10 homers in just 55 IP, and are sporting a 3.88 ERA as a reliever, you're not getting guys out by dominating them in the strike zone. There's nothing wrong with getting hitters out by getting them to chase bad pitches, but you need to be able to pitch to contact when they're taking those two-seamers off the inside corner.

QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ Aug 23, 2008 -> 12:02 PM) Do you get to watch the games at all? I'm not trying to mock you or anything, but I see you're from Vegas. Dotel throws a fastball. That is it. Yeah, I'm not saying that Dotel sucks or anything, but it's pretty laughable to say that he has awesome stuff.

I've always liked Greg Norton, partly because I played "catch" with him during pre-game from my hotel window at the SkyDome. I also felt bad for him because of his messed-up family situation. I'd like to add Ivan Calderon to this list, although I don't know if he's "obscure" enough.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Aug 23, 2008 -> 11:36 AM) There are more pitchers in the major leagues that have "absolutely filthy, nasty" stuff than Jenks, KRod, or Nathan. From what I have read, Dotel's best pitch may actually be his slider... Here is a scouting report: "Has a simply electric arm. Can dominate hitters who are unfamiliar with him with consistent upper-90s heat and a good slider. Has shown the ability to excel in a variety of roles." So I'll just go with that....has an "electric arm." It's not worth it for me to argue the semantics with you. But the bottom line is Dotel's problem is not an absence of stuff, as was stated earlier. That scouting report is at least four or five years old, as Dotel hasn't gotten anywhere near the mid-90's (much less the UPPER-90s's) since the Tommy John surgery. He was dominant in Houston before the surgery and his ability to throw that hard was a major factor. I don't consider his current 90-92 mph fastball indicative of an "electric arm." Agreed that his slider is pretty decent, and that he has good overall lateral movement on his pitches. But he doesn't throw that hard and doesn't have a good offspeed pitch that he can consistently throw for strikes. Dotel reminds me a lot of Garland: Decent fastball and good movement, but lacking an offspeed pitch to keep hitters off balance. If his command is there, he can be dominant. If it's not, he'll get rocked. And I'd save the "absolutely filty, nasty stuff" label for pitchers who actually deserve it.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Aug 23, 2008 -> 11:24 AM) Well, no offense, sir, but "from what 'you' can tell" is not accurate. Tell me which of Dotel's pitches qualify as "absolutely filty, nasty stuff." I see a really nice two-seamer, but no effective changeup or breaking ball. Seriously, are you saying that Dotel's stuff is on the level of Jenks, K-Rod, or Nathan? I hope not.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Aug 23, 2008 -> 10:18 AM) Dotel has absolutely filthy, nasty stuff. That was one of the first things coming out of ST this year from the hitters and AJ, was just how wicked Dotel was. To say anything else is just inaccurate. K-Rod has "absolutely filthy, nasty stuff." From what I can tell, Dotel has a nice two-seamer and that's about it.

QUOTE (Whitewashed in '05 @ Aug 23, 2008 -> 10:03 AM) Carassco has been a savior in a way. He's been doing really good. Dotel had a bad game, Dotel has had several bad games and his numbers have been on the decline since May. That's not to say that he's not effective at times and a solid pitcher overall, but he's not a setup man. The Sox desperately need Linebrink back. Unfortunately for us, there are plenty of playoff teams with more than one healthy, reliable relief pitcher. As was shown last night, the Sox aren't going to mash their way through the playoffs. Their starting pitching is fine, but they really need reliable middle relief. Without it, they're not going to win tight games in October.