WCSox

QUOTE(WinningUgly85 @ May 22, 2006 -> 03:07 PM) What are the chances that we would retire Frank's number this season? Zero. But it will happen eventually, most likely after he retires.

QUOTE(AbeFroman @ May 22, 2006 -> 03:41 PM) You always get the feel that TK is exactly what he is on TV.... He's never a phoney... Its one reason I've always really liked him as a sportscaster. Kornheiser's awesome. I miss his radio show.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ May 22, 2006 -> 02:55 PM) Its obvious [that] you don't make business decisions on a daily basis. For future reference, throwing out veiled insults with poor spelling and grammar is counter-productive. You're making the assumption that Garland hasn't reached his potential yet. I'm not sure I agree. He has over 1,000 innings of major-league pitching under his belt and has worked under one of the best pitching coaches in MLB for over three years now. But he has already regressed so far from his career-best 2005 numbers this season that he won't be anywhere near them by the end of September. Realistically, I don't think that Jon isn't going to do much better than last year's numbers. He was never close before and, after supposedly turning the corner last season, is on pace to have a season that's well below his career average. If I have the choice between two more years of mediocre pitching for $20 million or one more year of Freddy and $20 million freed up to, say, re-sign Buehrle and/or sign another free agent, I'll go with the latter. But if Judy can turn it around, I would strongly consider going with him instead. In other words, nobody's going to be able to answer this question until the end of September.

QUOTE(JimH @ May 22, 2006 -> 02:27 PM) For the record Garland is 26, he turns 27 late September. My mistake. Either way, Garland will have over 1,200 innings of major-league pitching on his arm at the end of this season, so the "he's still inexperienced" argument doesn't fly. I'll say this: If Jon ends this season with an ERA over 5, I'd rather trade him and go with one more productive year of Freddy. I don't think that paying $10 million/year for the 2002-2004 Garland is a smart thing to do, especially with Buehrle's free agency looming. Hopefully Jon will turn it around and this will become a moot point.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ May 22, 2006 -> 02:09 PM) Ridiculously patient huh? They have been patient with him for every year Ozzie has been here, and we were rewarded with a great pitcher last year, and a good one this year. Way to ignore the Jerry Manual years where he was extremely mediocre. :rolly Unlike Jon, Freddy has actually pitched well for more than one season. BTW, 27 isn't exactly young.

QUOTE(kyyle23 @ May 21, 2006 -> 08:25 AM) http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2452645 Eh, I dont agree with this. I think a retractable roof is almost mandatory for the Twins. They just dont have a long enough summer. I think it matters more when you live in an area where it rains a lot (Seattle, Miami, Tampa, etc.). Minneapolis' average daily temperatures aren't very different than Denver's.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ May 22, 2006 -> 01:30 PM) From a baseball perspective, keeping a good 27 year old starter who is just now figuring himself out He already has over 1000 innings of major-league pitching under his belt. How much longer does he need to "figure himself out"? I like Jon and hope that he gets back on track soon. But the Sox have been ridiculously patient with him and showed him the money this past winter. If Jon can't turn it around and pitch like a $9 million/year starter, he won't be in a Sox uniform throughout the duration of his contract.

I remember listening to the game on the radio while driving down I-65. Almost ran off the road when he hit it. Ahhh, memories...

QUOTE(fathom @ May 22, 2006 -> 11:56 AM) You don't trade Josh Fields for a middle reliever, plain and simple. Well, not necessarily straight-up. If the Angels or 'Stros would be willing to deal Shields, Donnelly, or Qualls for Fields, KW would probably want a prospect or two as well. QUOTE(fathom @ May 22, 2006 -> 12:44 PM) You know I've been on the acquire Lidge bandwagon for almost a year now. I think the guy is awesome, and he could get a fresh start in the AL (against hitters who haven't seen his slider). ^^^ Lidge and Jenks would provide a hell of a one-two punch. Sadly, it's probably just a pipedream.

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ May 22, 2006 -> 11:46 AM) maybe even Fields depending on how interested Crede would be in signing a reasonable extension, should be used as bait. Its obviously not the most attractive bait, but if the Sox are willing to take on some money, its possible they may land a good reliever. ^^^ Fortunately, good setup men typically don't cost an arm and a leg. Trading Fields might not be the best move in the long run, but winning now is paramount.

QUOTE(knightni @ May 22, 2006 -> 10:58 AM) I don't think he IS legit. He got selected on his ESPN highlights, not his body of work. Cooperstown is about stats. What's sad is that Vizquel, who was a better player (in his prime) than Ozzie was, probably won't get in.

QUOTE(fathom @ May 22, 2006 -> 10:35 AM) By the end of that 3-yr extension, Garcia might be topping off at 80 mph BTW....in 3 years, I think Garland will be a much better pitcher than Garcia. If Garland isn't a better pitcher than Garcia now (age 27, entering his prime), he won't ever be. I'd rather take my chances with three more years of a proven vet that can locate and get hitters out than a potential one-season wonder. Plus, we're trying to win now, not three years down the road. That said, it's not even June yet. There's still plenty of time for Jon to dig himself out of his hole or Freddy to dig himself into one.

QUOTE(sircaffey @ May 22, 2006 -> 10:25 AM) Something has to give. I believe almost everyone on the team is due for a decent increase in pay, right? Jon's $10 million seems like the obvious choice to ditch... ^^^ After Jon's three-year deal, I thought that it would be Garcia. But Freddy's done well overall so far this season and, unlike Jon, has more than one really good regular season under his belt. I wouldn't be surprised if Freddy got a three-year extension this winter.

Remember the Sunday night Cubs/Cards game from two years ago when Jim Edmonds homered off of "Z" and was plunked on the first pitch in his next at-bat? What a POS.

I hope that he takes a heater to the head some day. Maybe that'll clam him down. Link

I think we can all agree that the Sox can't make a habit of melting down in the 8th, epecially against bad teams like the Cubs.

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ May 22, 2006 -> 09:28 AM) If EITHER of those plays is made, we are out of the inning, and none of the rest of that stuff matters. You keep missing the point that Neal got 4 outs in that inning, when he only needed to record two. Not only did he do his job, he did it multiple times because other players weren't doing theirs. Not only did he pitch over one mistake, he pitched over two mistakes, and still didn't get his teammates upholding their part of the bargin. There are nine guys out on that field, and it takes all of them working to win a game. You can't hold the pitcher responsible for what the other eight guys do and don't do. I agree that the defense was far from spectacular, but Neal shouldn't need Ozzie Smith and Willie Mays to record two outs and preserve a two-run lead. The double play should've been turned, but the liner to the RCF gap was far from a can of corn. Not many CFs would've made that play. Maybe Anderson would've and maybe he wouldn't have. But it wasn't a routine play at all. But even if we put all of that aside, we only have a tie game. At this point, Neal loses it by throwing a terrible pitch to Jacques Freaking Jones. Hence he didn't do his job.

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ May 22, 2006 -> 09:15 AM) Uh, if Paul actually does his job, Escobar never faces Crede. Escobar got the out, Josh Paul screwed the play up. My point was that Escobar got a bad break. He had every chance to get out of that inning with two outs and a runner at first and he failed. Cotts did the same thing. If we go past the double-play-that-wasn't and the catch-in-CF-that-wasn't (and I still contend that the latter wasn't an easy play at all), we now have a tie ballgame. Cotts then gives up a two-run homer to lose it. So, no, Neal didn't do his job.

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ May 22, 2006 -> 08:38 AM) Neal's job isn't to turn double plays and catch balls in CF. Neal got 4 outs that inning. It isn't his fault the defense let him down. How many times does he have to get outs before "he does his job"? So, I guess it's Josh Paul's fault that the Angels lost game 2 of the ALCS last year? I agree that the double play was doable, but it wasn't exactly routine. That probably why neither Uribe or Paulie were charged with an error. And the liner to the RCF gap would've been a tough play for Andruw Jones, so blaming Mack is a bit far-fetched. Neal's job is to shut the door with the lead, two outs, and a runner on first. Not only did he not hold onto the lead, but he lost the game after the tying triple. He didn't do his job.

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ May 22, 2006 -> 08:26 AM) By doing his job, you mean something like getting a double play groundball to get out of the inning? Or get 4 outs in an inning if his D holds up at all? Neal did his job. No he didn't. After the double-play-that-wasn't, they still had the lead with two outs with a runner on first. He then gave up a triple and two-run homer. Did his job, my ass.

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ May 22, 2006 -> 05:52 AM) Just one observation, and I don't know if anyone else thinks this or not... But if Brian Anderson is in CF, he makes that catch slowing down, and we get out of the inning... Mack took a Carl Everett route to the ball. He is awful in CF. Maybe, maybe not. Then again, if Cotts had done his job, rather than let Barrett hit a triple into the gap, we wouldn't even be talking about this.

QUOTE(JackTalkThai @ May 21, 2006 -> 01:15 PM) Well the series goes to the Tigers. Them there overachievers are still overachievin'. In the highly-unlikely even that the Tigers win 120 games this year and pull the biggest one-year turn-around in MLB history, we'll just have to tip our caps to them and hope for the Wild Card. But I don't see that happening. The Tigers remind me a lot of another AL Central team that went on an insane tear last season. I don't think they'll keep it up, either.

Saw this one coming a mile away.

QUOTE(Flash Tizzle @ May 21, 2006 -> 02:04 PM) I just can't believe what he threw Jones. Watch him the remainder of the year, and record how many HR's he has against left-handed pitching. Maybe one or two of his 15-20 to go along with a delicious .200 BA. How do you work someone in the ONE zone they can hit a pitch? His swing is tailor made for outside pitches. Middle-in and he wouldn't have done s***. Yep, Neal really s*** the bed after the double-play-that-should've-been. He had two outs and the runner was only on first. And it's not like Walker was a threat to steal and score on a single. While Uribe and Paulie deserve some blame for not turning the latter half of that DP, Cotts was the one who lost the game.

QUOTE(KevHead0881 @ May 21, 2006 -> 02:00 PM) I'm certainly not happy about what transpired today, but I ain't gonna lose any sleep over it. This weekend was quite satisfying actually. There's no shame in taking ONLY two of three. A win today would've erased our awful showing in Tampa, but oh well. Time to move on and win another series.