Pants Rowland

Ventura is my choice.

QUOTE (Tex @ Jan 21, 2012 -> 08:20 AM) Like presidents, managers receive too much credit and too much blame. IMNSHO Ozzie lost in a battle with KW for the affections of the boss. The last season here was a nightmare for everyone. Too bad we couldn't of had a nice going away party and have everyone stfu. But, Oz, and his supporters felt the need to defend him. His detractors smelled blood and piled on. Both sides exaggerating, these exaggerations are the fuel that feeds this fire. There hasn't been a comment close to reality in months about Ozzie. And Ozzie is one of the few managers that seems to view entertainment as part of the game. I kind of like him for that. He never was, and I hope he never becomes, and autobot. Spewing cliches or issues no comment. Ozzie is a better than average MLB manager with plenty of players that like him and will play hard for him. No manager is right 80% of the time because human players have to take their decisions and make something happen. Ozzie isn't the greatest WS manager of all time, but certainly not even near the worse. Too bad the season hasn't started or we can switch our attentions to what an idiot the current manager will be. And before someone gets all feisty, y'all know we eventually call every mananger an idiot. QUOTE (YASNY @ Jan 21, 2012 -> 09:24 AM) I'm not an active Soxtalk poster much these days, but I used to be quite involved. I was an Ozzie backer for a long time, but even I knew that Ozzie as manager of the Sox had run it's course and it was time for both to move on. I was personally glad Ozzie "quit" with 2 games left because I knew that he'd not return. Ozzie was a big part of this organization as a player and a manager for many years, and I will always be grateful he was. However, his ship has sailed and I'm glad he was aboard. Two of my favorite posters make two of the best posts in this thread. Thank you. I just wish the season would start so we have something real to discuss other than soap operas and speculating on the emotions of grown men. For the record, I gathered that Ozzie "quit" only because he was told he was not welcome back, at least not on the terms he was demanding. I believe JR allowed OG to save face and quit before going to the Marlins but would have stayed in Chicago if JR gave him his way. KW's offer to resign coupled with OG's demands to run the team made JR's decision pretty easy at that point.

QUOTE (JoeCoolMan24 @ Jan 15, 2012 -> 03:17 PM) For some reason, I always think of this song when I hear the name "Soler". I don't even know if it's pronounced the same way, but it's always in my head.... This is what I think of for Soler...

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 9, 2012 -> 09:29 AM) I have nothing to base it on, but with the way this off-season has gone, I'll bet the Danks extension finally came together because Kenny was going to trade John to somewhere like Baltimore or Toronto where he didn't want to go, so his "price" for an extension quickly dropped. It happened way too randomly at a time when Kenny was/is selling this team to the highest bidder. I have thought about this a bit and I think it was a calculated gamble by both parties. Danks came off a weaker 2011 season and his value both from a trade and contract standpoint may have taken a hit. Meanwhile, KW is confident in how good Danks can be and realized he was not going to get what he wanted in return on a trade. So he shifts to trying to trade Floyd for value and keeping Danks instead. Now, he has Danks under team control for what could look like a bargain if Danks bounces back. Come trade deadline this year or next, he has something potentially very marketable that could garner some decent prospects. Meanwhile, if Danks builds up his value and the Sox contend, he doesn't have to move anywhere and will get paid again in a few years. If the Sox don't contend, he may be moved to a top franchise looking for a strong lefty to bolster their rotation. On the surface, it makes no sense to resign him in the midst of rebuilding, but it could be money well spent.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Jan 6, 2012 -> 11:40 AM) When Cowley didn't say anything I figured it was made up. I was soooooo close to believing you were not Joe Cowley.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Jan 5, 2012 -> 05:04 PM) Post of the Year! Way better than speculative banter at this point.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Jan 5, 2012 -> 02:45 PM) That would be hilarious. It would evolve into this huge thing. Soon we'd be deciding who WE wanted to be available. KW would publicly protest, but at the end of the day, he'd be getting calls on guys, and deals would happen from time to time. We'd be like another branch of government; the popular vote says MOVE FLOYD FOR PROSPECTS. OFFER KENNY PROSPECTS. It's funny since Boras has effectively done the same thing with premium players. He conducts a bidding process that he controls and sets hard deadlines. I understand that GMs have to be sensitive to the players, but I wonder if they do sometime conduct controlled auctions of players and let teams know that XYZ player is available for a trade and they have until a specific date to submit their best and final trade offer. Then the team that comes up with the best package gets the player no matter what.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Dec 27, 2011 -> 07:37 PM) Go back and read Cowardly's article about the fight Kenny and Ozzie had over Rios and tell me that again. I'd didn't really buy into it at all until I saw the Ozzie sockpuppet basically the say exactly what had been said before. The game where he pinch hit Dunn in place of Lillibridge is what convinced me he was deliberately trying to make KW look bad. Random casual fans were even commenting on how questionable a move that was based on how well Lillibridge looked that game.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Dec 26, 2011 -> 10:15 PM) OOOPS. 4 years off, for some reason remembered it as 1995....really should have remembered it was 91 because one of my best friends was studying at Northwestern, that's why he was in the city and went to so many Sox games...and unfortunately left that one too early. Yeah, that '95 team sucked balls. Started 0-9 or 0-11, or something like that. Then they signed John Kruk to help solve the problem and he retired in the middle of a game to preserve his lifetime .300 average. It was never even a contest as Cleveland won 100 games in a strike shortened season en route to their first pennant in decades. The '94 team was the best Sox team I can recall, though. So sad what the strike did to that franchise.

Vaclav Havel - Died today at 75 years old. One of the true courageous and selfless men of our lifetime. While we are at it, heard yesterday that Cesaria Evora died at 70 years old. Won her first and only grammy award late in life. Good chance if you ever heard one of her songs, you wanted to know who it was, where she was from, and where you could find more of her music. Sad weekend for me.

QUOTE (MAX @ Dec 5, 2011 -> 11:34 AM) I know this is a joke, but being dead is what got him in. THIS Sorry for being a dick as well, but his act was sooooo old. Further, the manipulation of stats to justify his election became comical. The vocal majority of his proponents were young fans who never saw him play but found a way to crunch numbers that resurrected an argument that should have been put to rest after 15 failed years on the ballot.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Nov 15, 2011 -> 10:15 AM) Winston-Salem Dash Former Carolina League champion manager and longtime White Sox minor league coach Tommy Thompson has been named the manager of the 2012 Winston-Salem Dash. Thompson will be joined on next year's coaching staff by onetime Winston-Salem pitching coach, J.R. Perdew, and new hitting coach, Gary Ward. Athletic trainer Cory Barton will return to Winston-Salem in 2012 for his second season with the Dash. He will be joined on the athletic support staff by new conditioning coach Robert S. Powell. Wasn't Gary Ward the guy several ex-Sox players said set them back as players due to his lack of hitting knowledge?

QUOTE (That funky motion @ Nov 5, 2011 -> 04:31 PM) Someone needs to spank Tex for promoting this thread. Tex likes to be spanked.

QUOTE (That funky motion @ Nov 4, 2011 -> 08:08 PM) God I love chicken. Home of Chicken and Waffles here in Oak Park is tough to beat.

QUOTE (robinventura23 @ Nov 2, 2011 -> 02:13 PM) Even funnier if Cubs go with Dave Martinez...

QUOTE (greg775 @ Oct 20, 2011 -> 11:28 PM) Umm. So tonight Tony gets owned by Washington? LaRussa makes THE WRONG choices in the pen late. LaRussa calls for bunt in ninth; Punto can't get it down and whiffs. Managing is overrated. Players win games; Rangers won this one late. The godlike Tony got schooled by Washington. Why? Cause Texas won. I won't mention what the reax on this board woulda been if our manager called for a ninth-inning bunt and we couldn't get it down like Punto. I can't believe it took me so long, but you are officially on ignore. Tired, tired act.

Ventura?! Okay, I am now in Greg's camp. I want Ozzie back.

QUOTE (SoxAce @ Sep 28, 2011 -> 08:37 AM) I never realized how beautiful an actual blue jay bird was. Supposedly total assholes in the bird world, though.

QUOTE (fathom @ Sep 28, 2011 -> 09:45 AM) People have no idea what type of coach Sandy Alomar Jr. will be. Acta is a pretty impressive manager, so he's had some quality experience in Cleveland. You know who would have been a brutal hire? Ryan Sandberg Why do you say that? Not that I agree or disagree. I do not follow Ryno's managerial career and have no idea if he would or would not be a good choice. Just curious to hear your reasoning. I'll hang up and listen. Thanks.

QUOTE (JoshPR @ Sep 27, 2011 -> 09:13 PM) Well Kenny has to be held accountable, nice way to man up tho. I think JR is the problem here somewhat. He could save if he spends on development. In the long run you stock up and eventually compete again To me that is where KW went wrong after 2005. Many (myself included) were excited about the possible improvement in 2006 when the Sox acquired Thome, Vazquez, and Mackowiak. However, in hindsight, the sudden influx of cash may have been better spent on ground up development in the DR, Venezuela, Asia, Cuba, improved scouting dept., etc. They still would have competed at a decent level over the next 2-3 years and the results likely would have been no less disappointing. They could have used the money to improve the stable of talent a la the Braves building on their success in 1991 primarily via player development. KW could have continued to do what he does best with reclamation project FA signings and lower profile trades such as McCarthy for Danks/Masset rather than always going for the big fish. As they say, hindsight is 20/20.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Sep 27, 2011 -> 09:25 PM) Throwing money down the drain? Not quite. It's sad cause if he doesn't come back it's cause of the three-headed monster. Perdue, Longley and Wennington?!

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Sep 27, 2011 -> 10:26 AM) I don't think it was just Ozzie not fitting well with the roster. I think that Ozzie is a different person these days too. This is the appreciation thread so I'm going to stop there. I agree and also did not want to elaborate too much in an appreciation thread. He had some great moments and some exceptional traits you want from your manager but like all of us, he wasn't without fault. I wish him the best and hope he reaches that next level and cements himself as an elite manager. Who knows, maybe he can become our Billy Martin and come back to lead the Sox to another title some day.

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Sep 27, 2011 -> 09:52 AM) It was just the perfect mix of personalities. The complexion of the team seemed to change after Crede fell apart and Rowand was moved, and Ozzie never adjusted. Sifting through the vitriol, there are a lot of great observations in this thread, particularly this comment. OG was great for that team and a good manager overall but no longer a fit for the current roster KW gave him. Every time he inexplicably ran Dunn and Rios out there, I wasn't sure he was doing it to get himself fired or was trying to expose KW's mistakes and get him fired instead. It was a great run, a lot of fun, but time to go. I agree the Sox headlines (if there are any) won't be as exciting in 2012, but 2011 was enough for me.

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Sep 26, 2011 -> 10:30 PM) The kids are all there. Oney has s***-eating grin on his face. He is probably high.

QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ Sep 24, 2011 -> 02:27 AM) Hey, you read that thread where Quinarvy molested you yet? Or just ignoring it? Been wondering the same thing myself. The silence is deafening.