[Abreu rumor]

How about Aramis Ramirez and Michael Barret 

 

I think Barret is an asset to his team but last I heard, the love affair with Barrett was waning since he did not hit enough home runs for Cubs fans and some pitchers did not want to pitch to him. I do not necessarily agree with the negative comments his power, but it is another Mark Grace type example of how the fans will start harping on his power numbers and not recognize his overall value to the team.

 

Didn't Ramirez end the season injured? I agree he could easily have another great season, but I also am not nearly as sold on his value to a team as I am on a guy like Derrek Lee. He seems more like the Carlos Lee type who puts up some very good numbers and plays safe defense but doesn't necessarily have the mental intangibles needed at times. Maybe I am biased because he is on the Cubs but I have never really like Ramirez' overall demeanor, even when with Pittsburgh.

[Abreu rumor]

I get the feeling that the Cubs woes are a biproduct of Kenny's maneuvering, not the reason for Kenny's maneuvering.  KW doesnt have to worry about driving up the price of a player during the Winter meetings, the media does that for him.

 

You are probably right. However, isolating the root of woes in Cubdom is a pretty difficult science. I am the staunchest opponent of talking about luck to explain how a team does, but I seriously think there might be merit to this curse talk. With the exception of Derrek Lee, everything they touch seems to turn to mush.

[Abreu rumor]

Not to change the direction of this discussion, but has anyone noticed this off-season the number times the WS were mentioned in trade rumors for players that the Cubs were highly coveting?

 

I sometimes get the impression that KW has made every effort to drive up the price, be it in dollars or players/prospects, on a lot of the players that the Cubs have either acquired (Eyre and Pierre) or tried to acquire (Tejada and Abreu).

 

This first stuck in my head during the winter meetings when he was asked about the Sox trying to obtain Pierre and he got a huge grin on his face. Then look at the amount of cash Hendry paid for Eyre.

 

Maybe KW really wants to acquire the same players as Hendry, or maybe he is deliberately trying to break the Cubs' bank, block them from acquiring players and deplete their farm system. If this offseason doesn't turn out well for the Cubs, he might just accomplish it. Just a crazy thought.

[The Score pitches Ozzie Jr. as baseball talk host]

Thank you for proving half my point..

 

1. ITs not Bulls***, You just read the statement wrong..

 

Your right Polish, French, German etc Immigrants have been integrated into the AMERICAN culture..Do you think they would have if they were given the choice? If they had everything translated into their lanagaue, I don't think they would have the desire to learn English as they had. They more or less where forced into the american way of life.

 

Again this comes down to catering one speical group, which I feel is wrong.. NO one in America ever got this speical treatment as we have given Spanish speaking immigrants..If anything we should give speical treatment to the people who were here first.

 

As far back as 1795, the US house was debating whether to publish 3,000 sets of laws into German due to the volume of German-speaking people in the country at the time. I have even heard stories that romantic politicians had debated making Greek the official language of government during the revloutionary period due to Hellenic roots of democracy.

 

Further, if you feel like reading the attached (http://www2.english.uiuc.edu/baron/essays/english%20only%20book%20chapter.htm), you will see that established Americans have historically feared other languages would infiltrate our perfect society. I can only assume it is because immigrants were heard speaking their language, publishing newpapers in their native tongue, and their neighborhoods were dominated by signs and shops that spoke of their ethnic background.

 

I hate to tell you, but that is still the case. The grocer I shop at in Elmwood Park has Polish language newspapers and most customers are speaking Spanish, Greek, Italian and Polish. If you drive down Lawrence you will see signs in Thai, Korean, Greek, Arabic, and Spanish. This is not going to change and it is definitely not going to impact the dominance of English in this country or city.

 

So, AnthraxFan, rest assured that if you wait long enough, these Mexicans you know, or a least their kids, will start speaking English and you can go back to enjoying Anthrax and jumping on the field to beat up the Royals 1st base coach.

[Sox Hire Chris Singleton to Join Ed Farmer]

Is it possible this is a Wirtz-like plot to drive Sox fans to fill every seat this year? Unless Singleton really develops quickly, I am not sure I can handle any of the Sox' announcers, TV or radio. A full season ticket plan is looking pretty good right now. Maybe that is just what Reinsdorf wants.

[Sox Hire Chris Singleton to Join Ed Farmer]

What I really love about DJ is when he talks about how the scrub pitchers with funky deliveries are the ones he really had trouble hitting.  It's too bad DJ doesn't realize that all pitchers owned him in his career.  :rolly

 

What's funny is in his brief time with the Sox, he filled in his outfield position fairly well and was not terrible at the dish either. Wasn't he also the guy who immediately signed a 2-3 year deal in Japan when the strike started? I suppose listening to Thomas and Reinsdorf, you weren't going to be too optimistic about the future of mlb at the time.

[Sox Hire Chris Singleton to Join Ed Farmer]

What, you don't like hearing about Catfish Hunter and Japanese baseball every other game? 

 

Every other game? How about every other breath? And don't forget all the insightful commentary from DJ as he discusses his time spent in Tony Gwynn's hotel room, breaking down each other's at bats.

[Sox Hire Chris Singleton to Join Ed Farmer]

A bit of a random off topic question, but how many games do you listen to on the radio anyways?  Between directv, local tv, games mostly at night and/or on weekends......I hardly ever listen to games because I either have it on tv at home, or am out doing something.

 

Raised without Sportsvision/Sportschannel, I grew to appreciate baseball over the medium of radio. With a job, a garden, a grill, two kids, and a wife who tries to fill the rest of my summer with other projects, the radio is my best bet to keep up with the Sox. Couple that with the fact that I am completely tired of Hawk and DJ going down memory lane, I would say unless I am at the park, watching baseball is a rarity for me.

[Sox Hire Chris Singleton to Join Ed Farmer]

At risk of giving Farmer some credit, the one thing I marvel at is his ability to predict the type of pitch coming and general location. With that said, it is usually Farmer who relays the subsequent pitch he has called for and we do not get to see it. For all we know he is lying about the results to validate his prediction.

[Sox Hire Chris Singleton to Join Ed Farmer]

The absolute worst thing about Farmer is how he asks for every Sox batter to hit a homerun every at bat.  It's pretty sad.

 

Great Point. I do not know how many times I have heard him say "How about a long one?" I also cringe when I hear him break down a pitcher's thought process. "First you need to get the first out. Then you worry about getting the second." Thanks for the color Eddie. Now tell us how you played with Barry Bonds and how much you hate him.

[Sox Hire Chris Singleton to Join Ed Farmer]

I think Ed Farmer will piss people off more than Singleton. I'm not sold on his play-by-play.

 

WOW! Someone finally cut through it all. The most upsetting element of Rooney's departure to me was the prospect of Eddie "the brain" Farmer handling the play by play and dominating the broadcast. He is boring, thinks he is a genius, and constantly name drops. On top of all that he still hasn't figured out that Dennis DeYoung and Styx are no longer cool. I live for baseball on radio in the summer but I dread listening to Farmer as the senior announcer in the booth. I have no idea about Singleton and as a violent agnostic couldn't care less about his faith. All I hope is that he develops his own style and doesn't become a stooge to Farmer like DJ is to Hawk.

[The Score pitches Ozzie Jr. as baseball talk host]

Excellent first post, welcome to Soxtalk

 

Thanks for the warm welcome.

 

I just heard about this site yesterday and am excited to find people ready to talk baseball (peppered with sociology) in January.

 

BTW, is it sacrilegious to secretly hope the Bears lose soon? I really do not want the city to lose focus on what is most important...the 2005 World Series Champion Chicago White Sox!

[The Score pitches Ozzie Jr. as baseball talk host]

Hey Athomeboy and Anthraxfan...Is it possible that all these Mexicans you know actually speak English but don't feel like conversing with you two?

 

I apologize for laying out an insult to fellow Sox fans, but you have ruined a potential interesting discussion on a great marketing effort with your baseless stance on Latinos and why they need to learn English. If you are so impressed with the multi-lingual cultures of Europe, maybe you should make an effort to learn Spanish, which is arguably the most important language for any American to learn after English. My guess is these Latinos you criticize speak and understand a lot more English than you will ever learn of Spanish.

 

The fact is WSCR is potentially helping the White Sox expand their fan base by tapping into the fastest growing ethnic group in the nation. I would much rather embrace any of them as fellow Sox fans (in any language), than someone who throws blanket statements and passes judgement on immigrants trying to make a better life for their families.