Gregory Pratt

QUOTE(CWSGuy406 @ Sep 18, 2007 -> 06:46 PM) Who in this thread questioned your "fanhood", or said that you weren't a true fan (maybe I missed it)? I don't understand why you're taking such a defensive stance on this particular point... When I talk about Wrigley Field as one of the best ballparks in baseball, when I talk about how I care more for the tradition and beauty and history of the game than my team, when I say that I feel embarrassed when I think of Jerry Reinsdorf and Charles Comiskey and the Black Sox and the White Flag Trade and the generally inept history, I usually get criticism as less than a true fan. I got some s*** earlier in the thread for calling Wrigley a beautiful place. I guess I felt that the implication was there about me not being a good fan because the White Sox don't come first and foremost for me. They're above all other teams, as far as team loyalty, but I much prefer the game. I don't mean to come off as defensive, although I am a little. It's just something that comes out from expressing an opinion that's bound to be unpopular. I just wanted to make clear that I definitely consider myself a "true fan," but nobody alleged I wasn't. It's been said before, though, and implied, most recently by people alleging that I only care about teams outside the city (Atlanta, NE Patriots) but that's not true. I just like their management more. They're good at what they do. I get s*** from fellow Democrats for thinking Paul O'Neill is the best man government's seen in fifteen years. My loyalty is to the game in baseball and truth/goodness in the rest of life, which means that I do what I feel is right and say what I think is right and praise people who I think are good and right.

QUOTE(Soxbadger @ Sep 18, 2007 -> 02:45 PM) I guess Id rather have watched Frank Thomas live. I luckily got to see both in my life time, but Id rather watch guys like Buehrle, Thomas, McDowell, etc. At the end of the day, its my team first, everything else second. Ive seen guys like Bonds, Clemens, Griffey, etc etc, but I got to see them all watching my favorite team as well. Yeah, Black Jack was great. A fantastic character and a good pitcher. Thomas is one of the all-time great hitters. Buehrle? He's very, very good, and definitely a great person. I should clarify: I'm not, you know, pining away for Maddux. I know I said, "I'd trade away all of these memories to have been able to watch him live in the 1990s," but I don't mean that to denigrate anything. As for being a "true fan" of the White Sox -- I come here, don't I? I'm definitely a "true fan" and I don't care what anyone says about my criticisms making me less than a true fan, or my respect for the history and traditions of the game. I just like baseball, and the White Sox are my team. Which one comes first? I think baseball. I don't know.

QUOTE(Reddy @ Sep 18, 2007 -> 10:19 AM) that was f***ing ridiculous and amazing chicken fighting? are you serious? i mean, when i took tae kwon do as a kid we did that every once and a while as a game at the end of class to have some fun but it was 1v1 hilarious s***. So...they were "chicken fighting"? What the f*** is that?1

QUOTE(29andPoplar @ Sep 18, 2007 -> 09:42 AM) I agree that he looks like a potential high impact power bat. As was said in this thread his pitch recognition looks to be getting better but he will need to continue to make major adjustments. One thing they will talk about in November for sure, how many 100+ strikeout guys can they carry? Thome, Dye, Konerko, Crede if he comes back, Fields. I won't count Uribe. Even without Juan that's a lot of K's and they have gone on record the K's need to decrease in 2008. Certainly they don't want all spray hitters, you need power and with power comes strikeouts. But it is a balancing act to come up with the right mix and it is on their agenda. Crede's a 100 K hitter? I didn't know that.

PS: Stavo was awful to start his season. Did YOU give up on HIM@!?!?!1111

"Before you were born." That's cute. I'll remember that next time you say something about the Constitution in the Filibuster! I'm well-aware of Ventura's history, but that's a rather irrelevant comment. My point is: his early success has definitely been tempered of late and it has everything to do with pitchers figuring him out. People who can't hit the fastball don't survive in the major leagues, and that's what he has to do, then. What that's got to do with Robin Ventura is rather irrelevant. Besides, Ventura had a far better resume when he came up than Fields, though that's just nit-picking.

Yeah, sure, but he can't pull fastballs. He kills breaking pitches but that isn't going to last forever, especially not as the league adjusts, which it's currently doing. There are good signs -- when he took Putz deep, that was a great game to be at, but there are some awful signs, too, like all the times he strikes out on 89-91 pitches down the pipe and the fact that he Ks so much.

QUOTE(Steve9347 @ Sep 18, 2007 -> 08:34 AM) Hmmm, 3rd baseman with a long swing that struggles against the fastball but kills the offspeed pitch. JOEEEE CREEEDEEEE anyone? I do think Fields will wind up being Glaus 2.0, but you are right, he has to learn to kill that fastball. Crede isn't all that hot. Probably not even a top ten third baseman in baseball. Maybe not even top fifteen. If Fields turns into Crede, I'll be disappointed because he'll never be as good defensively as Joe which is his true value.

I've thought of Glaus/Fields before. But before I project him as anything, he needs to hit the fastball. He's been in a big slump lately and I think it's because they've figured him out. Now he has to shorten up. If he can, he'll be okay, I think, because his power is great and he has good legs under him. If he can't learn to pull a fastball, he has no significant major league future.

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Sep 18, 2007 -> 08:01 AM) Example: Here you say his only game is power, and that as soon as the league figure out this hole, he's going to suck. Your words - sucking at baseball. I'm not sure if you've noticed, but, all four of these players have continued to get better as the season has gone on. I don't expect anyone to think that these guys are all going to be big time star players, but, I do think that their performance thus far tells you they MIGHT be. Fortunately, most baseball men are willing to give players that chance to perform. By the way, Owens is six for his last ten in steals and his slugging is still abysmal. Give him his shots, by all means -- we haven't got anything else in the minors -- but let's not pretend that he's lighting up the world.

That's not saying he sucks -- that's saying that his raw power, which has been at driving opposite field shots far, has been great, but other than that, he hasn't done much. He fields like a butcher and his avg./obp are abysmal. I'm just saying that next year, he's not going to get pitched middle-out, and he won't be able to go out, flick his bat and slam it into right. He's going to have to learn to hit the inside pitch and particularly the fastball, which is definitely a HUGE weakness in his offensive game. I don't know if you've noticed, but if you can't hit a fastball, you're going to suck at baseball when the game figures it out. I, and I'm sure others, have noticed that Fields' been a little rough lately (I think he was 2-40) and I think you can see that they're already starting to pitch him in and the results aren't there. If Fields can't hit a fastball, and doesn't speed up his bat, he's going to bust. I'm not saying he sucks or HAS TO, because HE'S BAD, I'm saying he will suck if he doesn't learn how to hit a fastball. That's hardly what you're presenting it to be. It's all well and good to be enthusiastic about our young players. Like I've said, I really like Fields because he has good power and speed, though it isn't really utilized. But the truth is unequivocal: if you can't hit a fastball, you're doomed. And so he'd better learn how to hit a fastball, particularly middle in, or he's not going to last long.

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Sep 18, 2007 -> 07:48 AM) Actually, I am taking the exact same position on Owens I have on Floyd - give them a chance to show their stuff, and they might actually improve. Just like you've taken the exact same stance on those two (and Richar, and Fields...) - they suck, they always will, that's that, I'm done with this thread. I have never said that Fields and Richar suck and always will. I have said that about Owens and Floyd. But it goes to show why I dislike debating you. Where on Earth do you get the idea that I think Fields and Richar suck and always will? Or that I don't believe in giving them a shot? Now you're just making things up.

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Sep 18, 2007 -> 07:37 AM) Owens makes a pretty ideal 4th OF. And if they just cannot get a solid CF, but are able to upgrade heavily elsewhere (SS particularly as well as the bench), I am in the small camp that thinks Owens is not the end of the world in CF. He actually did something last night I've never seen him do, and it goes to address one of the two important criticisms of him - a lack of power. The box score shows 2 singles. But if you watched the game, he actually hit both balls really hard. Baby step, but indeed that's the first I've seen that. His swing is different now than it was. I'll be curious to see if Owens strings together a bunch of 2B's and 3B's the rest of the year. He's been able to improve in other aspects of his game - I think there is a good chance he could improve in power as well. The other major problem with him of course is his arm. That is still substandard, but he was also battling an injury. Is Owens scheduled to play in the fall league? You got on me for saying that, "If you watch Floyd's starts, the box score says blank but really, he gave up some incredibly hard hit balls in a cavernous ballpark. It really wasn't that impressive." Now you're taking the opposite position with Owens: "The boxscore says singles, but he hit those really, really hard. Baby steps!" What's the difference? We'll see if he can "string together" some doubles and triples, but I doubt it unless he's significantly changed his workout regimen. And actually, I've kidded wite, among others, that we have a bunch of players in the minor leagues who could use some steroids. I mean, I'm just kidding, but we have some "weak" offensive outfielders. (Sweeney, Owens.)

If he doesn't learn to rip a fastball, particularly the inside fastball, he's going to lose his power numbers which is his game right now. He'd better adapt and shorten up by next season or else he's going to find himself sucking at baseball. Not to be a downer, I like Fields a lot, but his strikeouts, inability to hit a fastball and opposite field blasts tell me there are significant changes to be made for him or the pitchers are going to eat him alive. You can't be a major leaguer for long if you can't hit the fastball.

I'd trade away every baseball memory of my lifetime to have been able to watch Walter Johnson live, Babe Ruth, Juan Marichal, Lefty Grove, Satchel Paige -- no, I'm not denigrating the White Sox or the World Series victory. I'm not denigrating the Braves World Series, or anybody else's. I'm just at a point in my life where "my team" winning is far less important than the history of the game and the game itself. It's a strange statement to most but looked at properly, there is nothing wrong with it. Most of the time these days I find myself rooting for the White Sox at the ballpark but enjoying the experience win or lose because it's nice to watch the best in the game. I'm not a homer. Definitely.

Funny enough, I just finished reading this: http://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/story/2007/2/1/92435/72323 I'd trade away every baseball event of my lifetime to have watched a Maddux start live, at the ballpark, in the 1990s.

QUOTE(MHizzle85 @ Sep 17, 2007 -> 09:13 PM) If you dont mind me asking, where are you staying? I've got a friend that goes there and i'm over that way every so often since I go to Columbia. Pilsen. I'll send you a PM.

One thing key for Fields in the future: work on pulling fastballs, just ripping them. He's hit a ton of opposite field shots (I didn't see his homer today or yesterday, so I don't know where they are) but those homers will go down as people realize, "Hey, he can hardly get around on an inside fastball. That's where you pitch him" and then his game completely dies. As for Richar, I'm not sure about him. I wish him luck and will wait and see. Same with Fields, really, but I've got significant concerns about him + fastballs/inside.

Shame it isn't this season. I'm not sure what condition the Bears will be in next season, not to mention McNabb's body.

QUOTE(kapkomet @ Sep 9, 2007 -> 09:17 PM) Exactly. As I said earlier, he's not slutty enough (and again, since you Dems are so damn touchy, that's not an insult, it's just a fact of public opinion now-a-days.) Bill Richardson is plenty slutty. Ask his Lt. Governor.

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Sep 17, 2007 -> 05:34 PM) Sure. And I'd have the right to boo Thome for hitting number 500 as well, but that would make me lame. Cleveland fans can boo whomever they want, and they can be as lame as they want. I'd consider it classless to boo Thome on his return to CLE. Just my opinion. I remember being fairly proud of the fact that most (though not all) of the Sox fans cheered Thomas on his return to Chicago, even though he had a much rockier relationship and exit than Thome did with Cleveland. Yeah, but they're very different situations with very different franchises at very different stages. Besides that, you think they're "lame;" I think the word "lame" is lame; we disagree about whether or not they have the right and reason to boo Thome. That's about all I have to say on the topic. I hate the MLBPA.

Grossman sucks. He is a career lower-level quarterback. Of course, he's the best option we have, but that isn't saying anything.

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Sep 17, 2007 -> 05:21 PM) So their reason for booing him was because he left as a free agent for a higher salary? Like almost every other player does? Lame. I guess what I object to is any attempt to call the Indian fans classless because they boo him. As far as I'm concerned, the fans have the right to boo whoever they want and in Thome's case, in Zito's case in Oakland, in small-markets where loved superstars leave, the fans have the right to object, especially when the player talks and talks and talks about how much he wants to stay and then leaves. People have been booed for worse. Or better, depending.

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Sep 17, 2007 -> 05:01 PM) What good reason might that be? I think that the way he left and the MLBPA's role in it was sleazy. Same with Glavine/Braves.

QUOTE(The Ginger Kid @ Sep 17, 2007 -> 12:44 PM) and it's a shame, especially with the way those fans shat on him when he returned. Ted Williams used to get absolutely ripped by the Boston fans. He refused to show them any affection in-game, he was so annoyed by the boos and disrespect he sometimes got. Williams was a very interesting guy, very profane, very arrogant, so the fans would rip him a ton. Point is, getting shat on is a part of the game. And Cleveland fans had every right and fairly good reason to boo him. He'll get over it, they will too, and so will the voters.