WCSox

QUOTE (lostfan @ May 11, 2008 -> 11:45 AM) It really doesn't make sense not to at least give him a look in those series. Swisher's a fine CF in small parks like ours but Anderson is $$$ and there's no downside to having him in the game as long as he's hitting. Absolutely. This is also the year that Anderson needs to step up and show something against ML pitching, or he'll likely become trade fodder. So he needs at-bats. And if he's hitting and Swish ain't, all the more reason to put BA in the lineup.

QUOTE (lostfan @ May 11, 2008 -> 12:35 PM) Hence why he's in the game. I'm guessing that Ozzie may want Anderson in CF in some of these larger ballparks as well.

QUOTE (YASNY @ May 10, 2008 -> 10:19 PM) We have seen this from Uribe before, but he'll return to his general suckiness in the near future. True. But fortunately, we can't say the same for Anderson yet. I'm really hoping that he builds off of what he's done over the past couple of weeks. If he can hit reasonably well over the long haul, he should be our starting CF next year.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ May 9, 2008 -> 10:12 AM) He lead off the first month of the season and was hitting like .215. He's just slumping. I hope so. Given that Giambi is a known 'roider, Tejada was named in the Mitchell Report, and that Mulder/Zito completely feel apart not long after leaving Oakland, one has to wonder if the "culture" there also artificially inflated Swisher's numbers somewhat. I still find it strange that Beane dealt Swisher and his relatively small contract to the Sox in return for some prospects that are far from "can't miss."

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 9, 2008 -> 05:41 AM) Little things like that takeout slide are what can really get a team going. I was almost happier to see that, versus Juan's two run dinger. Absolutely. Not only did it score an extra run, but it sent a message as well. And putting it in the context of Torii Hunter knocking Jamie Burke on his ass four years ago, it was that much sweeter.

QUOTE (rangercal @ May 9, 2008 -> 07:24 AM) What makes it worse is he was a former gm. I am having a hard time belivieing he was serious. I think sometimes ESPN likes to just screw with it's listeners. Methinks that he ran out of material and was talking out of his posterior for the sake of having something to say. There's no way that Kenny mortgages the future by dealing Quentin.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan101 @ May 8, 2008 -> 01:22 PM) Dye and A.J. are both showing signs they are coming out of it, and Quentin is still on fire while even Juan is hitting around .300 this month. Still too many easy outs in our lineup, but things are starting to look A LITTLE better. Agreed. The fact that Danks and Floyd are pitching this way makes me optimistic about the rest of the season. If they start hitting, we'll have a good shot of taking first place back and staying there.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ May 8, 2008 -> 10:06 AM) Why do people keep acting like it's a good idea to go and put guys who are struggling mightily out on the trade market? "Oh sure, here, you can take my last 2 first round draft picks for a guy hitting .220 and making $12 million this year. Oh, and Juan Uribe? Sweet! I need a shortstop, here, take my best pitching prospect". If you want to do a "fire sale", you can't do jack squat until some of these guys pick it up. Pablo and Uribe are essentially worthless, trading Crede might net you something but it's going to be a disappointment because of his FA status, Thome and Konerko are hitting .220 (not to mention the 10-5 rights Konerko just picked up), and Cabrera is probably still going to net the Sox 2 draft picks this fall if he walks as a FA, which means you need to get something worth more than a pair of late first round picks for him if you deal him. If the Sox are still playing like this in July, I'd be more than happy to get rid of Dye and Thome just for the sake of dumping their salaries. Agreed that Paulie would be more difficult to move, but he's still in his early 30's and is able to stay healthy.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ May 7, 2008 -> 02:09 PM) He hit the ball very well last night, with line drives down both lines. And even at the end of that 7 game slump, he's still hitting 20 points higher than last year, slugging 40 points better, and taking more walks. He's definitely improved at the plate. Losing almost 20 lbs. in the off-season probably didn't hurt.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ May 7, 2008 -> 02:57 PM) This has been Jenks' pattern since 2006. Cooper worked with him on some things, and his velocity dropped. He sacrificed a few clicks on the gun for better control and better breaking stuff (specifically, being able to use a uniform delivery for all pitches). So instead of throwing 98-99, he throws 94-96. He was around 94 last night. Mid-season, he'll be at 96. Yeah, no doubt that Coop has gotten him to sacrifice some velocity for command. That said, one might think that he'd reach back to try to hit 98-99 every once in a while. I can't tell if it's because he's changed his mechanics or if he's just not able to throw that hard anymore.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ May 7, 2008 -> 02:32 PM) Dotel is the only one that scares me. Dotel's a shell of what he was in Houston and I hope that he's gone next season. I'm a little concerned about Jenks struggling to hit the mid '90s, but I'm not hitting the panic button yet. Especially with the off-speed stuff he's developed over the past couple of seasons. I feel pretty good about the 'pen overall this year.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ May 7, 2008 -> 10:12 AM) I don't think the question here really is whether Gavin can be successful with a poor K rate. It's just that teams will eventually start getting hits off of him and that, in turn, will lead to potentially disastrous outings. Seeing him pitch last night, I'd imagine his K rate will begin to improve...some of those pitches were absolutely filthy, especially later in the game. And even though his fastball was 89-92, it had some nice movement on it down and in towards righties. Complimenting that his solid change piece and a filthy curve ball and I think Gavin has #2 potential but more likelihood of being a solid 3-4 starter in the future. So, in other words, it sounds like he'll be another Jon Garland: A solid, middle-of-the rotation guy who will be really good at times and not so good at others. And he's not even eligible for arbitration until 2010. I'll take it.

QUOTE (Flash Tizzle @ May 6, 2008 -> 06:44 PM) YES! It needs to happen! IM IN UR CLUBHOWZ... CAUSIN' NO HITTERS THRU 8.1 INNINGS

QUOTE (southsideirish71 @ May 6, 2008 -> 06:48 PM) Circle this Bert!!

QUOTE (whitesoxfan101 @ May 6, 2008 -> 06:47 PM) Taking Floyd out was obvious. The no hitter was gone, he didn't have a shutout, he was over 100 pitches, it was a big lead, he has never thrown a ton of innings in a season, and Jenks needed work badly. That was an obvious and correct move. I wouldn't have been angry at Ozzie if he did leave him in, but I pretty much agree with you guys for the above reasons. Complete games are nice, but not nearly on the level of no-hitters. Plus, you've got to be careful with young arms.

The Twins announcers were ragging on Ozzie for taking Floyd out after the Mauer double, saying that he should've given him the chance to throw a complete game. Not sure I agree, given that Floyd was already at 105 piches, has never thrown anything close to a 200-inning season, was already on the hook for the win, and Jenks hadn't pitched in a good week or so. Anyway, congrats to Floyd. Coop has done a great job of tapping this kid's potential. And kudos to Swisher for the effort out there. Nice to see that these guys are still playing as a team.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ May 6, 2008 -> 01:41 PM) Since it is an unfortunate reality that reporters are allowed in the locker rooms... and having read the arguments here... I am going to have to agree with Tex, in that the team really f***ed up here leaving that out in view. I agree with that. Then again, I don't agree that this stupid, tasteless incident is something to get super-upset about. I guess I fall into the middle of the two warring factions here.

QUOTE (Felix @ May 6, 2008 -> 10:36 AM) I wouldn't want to be the fan of a team who runs a locker room where players can't joke around in ways that aren't always politically correct (*cough* Colorado Rockies *cough*) If I were a free agent, I'm not sure that I'd want to sign with a team with such rules. That said, Tex's point that they need to keep this out of the sight of the press is dead-on. I'm fine with these guys acting like obnoxious frat buy douchebags behind closed doors, but it can become a PR problem if it gets publicity.

QUOTE (kane0730 @ May 6, 2008 -> 09:28 AM) While I wouldn't mind trading Crede, I would be shocked if he is moved. You almost never see trades this time of year. If this team continues to tank, Crede will be moved, but not until June/July. Agreed. He won't be dealt with the Sox two games out in early May and pitching like champs.

QUOTE (Texsox @ May 6, 2008 -> 10:37 AM) Oz will lose his job for costing the team fans not games. For the Sox, losing games and losing fans pretty much go hand-in-hand. I don't think that Ozzie will cost the Sox fans with his mouth alone.

QUOTE (Texsox @ May 6, 2008 -> 09:53 AM) At best, it was a stupid gesture by (probably) a newer player without the experience to know what a s*** storm could ignite. I'm thinking it was AJ or Swisher, but completely agree about the stupid part. That sounds more like political correctness than a reasonable explanation of motive. Again, this is what happens when we hold pro athletes to such low standards and throw millions of dollars at them. And while I agree that what they did is not good for business, what's been going on behind closed doors for several decades is 100 times worse.

QUOTE (Texsox @ May 6, 2008 -> 08:38 AM) These are grown men, the face of an organization worth hundreds of millions of dollars. They are working for an organization that spends millions on advertising to promote an image. In a league that spends many more that to promote baseball as America's Sport. Fun for the whole family. If y'all can't see where this stunt is just plain wrong, I can only say that most of the adults on the board realize it and I suspect as y'all spend a few more years on this planet, your opinions will change. I've spent a reasonable number of years on this planet and agree with you to a certain extent. However, I know what baseball's culture is like and don't expect it to change any time soon. I'm also employing a sense of perspective and saving my "OUTRAGE!" for some of the bigger problems with baseball's culture, such as rampant steroid/HGH use, amphetamine use, alcoholism, and rampant marital infidelity. I'd much rather be a fan of a player with a juvenile, frat-house sense of humor than a 'roided up jerk with several illegitimate kids.

QUOTE (Texsox @ May 6, 2008 -> 09:12 AM) But these guys are too stupid to unerstand boundaries in an area that the public will see? Not many pro athletes can be accused of being highly-intelligent and mature. Our society bends over backwards to inflate the egos of these guys when they're young, showers them with praise, excuses juvenile and sometimes criminal behavior on their part, and then throws millions of dollars at them when they make the pros. And we're supposed to expect them to behave like mature, civilized adults? That shouldn't excuse their behavior, but the "OUTRAGE!" on the part of some doesn't make much sense to me.

QUOTE (Flash Tizzle @ May 6, 2008 -> 08:05 AM) LOL, so people who don't care about this story and fail to see its offense suddenly have become hillbillies? You've made quite the assumption from just a simple incident such as this. It'd be like me calling you some limp wristed Clay Aiken fan because you care about the feelings of women with a simple prank in a profession where it's hardly unexpected. +1

QUOTE (Texsox @ May 6, 2008 -> 07:55 AM) It is a form of sexual harassment which is illegal, same as hanging pornography. Given that MLB owners have been knowingly allowing steroids and amphetamines to be used on their property for decades and no charges have been brought against them, good luck with that argument.