Friend of Nordhagen

Jimmy Rollins. I have a hunch that's the guy who Williams would target.

QUOTE(southsideirish71 @ Jul 26, 2006 -> 05:52 PM) I saw this little tidbit on another board. I havent researched this to be true, but if it is, then what the hell are we doing . We have played 100 games so far. Our opening day lineup has played as a unit in 20 games. We are 17-3 in those games. But we'll be fresh for October.

QUOTE(southsideirish71 @ Jul 26, 2006 -> 04:29 PM) Against Silva and his almost 7 ERA, we scratched 3 runs. And then Gardenhire got him out of there. Kind of like Ozzie doesn't do with Vazquez.

Farmer is now describing what happened the day that Barrett punched A.J. Yes, he is officially reminiscing about the good times.

Well, I've come to a conclusion. It appears to me that we are playing terrible baseball.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Jul 26, 2006 -> 02:48 PM) Buehrle's line today: 10 hits, 7 earned, ERA at the end of the day = 4.81. He really is like Greg Maddux.

QUOTE(CWSOX45 @ Jul 26, 2006 -> 03:04 PM) I'm also sick of Hawk trying to spin this off in a positive way, I know its his job but it's just ridiculous now. This is the first time I've muted Hawk....ever. Bet DJ's done it before.

QUOTE(brijames @ Jul 26, 2006 -> 03:09 PM) And the Twins are playing without Hunter, Stewart, Ford and today Mauer. Which is even more evidence that they're just simply on fire. They're a good team, but they'll cool off. And they're still running Silva and Scott Baker out there regularly.

QUOTE(elrockinMT @ Jul 26, 2006 -> 03:05 PM) I don't want to tell you that you are wrong and I am right I guess we just aren't looking at the same pitcher. Brandon's ERA is at 4 and he hasn't shined like last year. Syaing that though I think being a starter and not a reliever is where he should be at on this team. He hasn't been a relief pitcher before and I think has even said it has been a work in progress for him. I hate the way this pitching staff is constructed. Vazquez should be in Arizona. McCarthy should be in the rotation. Vizcaino should be in the bullpen. And, yes, I thought this last winter.

QUOTE(fathom @ Jul 26, 2006 -> 02:00 PM) Yeah, if you want to bash some coaches, look at Cooper and Cora. The starting pitcher's ERA is getting close to 4.70 this year. Coop will fix it.

I like Mack's approach there.

QUOTE(BigSqwert @ Jul 26, 2006 -> 01:29 PM) LOL I feel bad I'm only follwoing via gameday. I sorta miss the shoulder and head slump after a pop up. Don't forget dropping the bat.

QUOTE(BigSqwert @ Jul 26, 2006 -> 01:26 PM) And this is the day after Ozzie praises the Twins and their defense in his post game interview. That's only for the Twins, my friend. Our style works for us. By the way, we've lost 11 out of our last 14.

QUOTE(BigSqwert @ Jul 26, 2006 -> 01:25 PM) A natural center fielder to say the least. Also, Oz keeps running him out there with Cintron in the middle-infield. These guys are still working on, how you say, their communication.

QUOTE(chisoxfan79 @ Jul 26, 2006 -> 01:24 PM) Gooch would have had that Strange that Mack broke back on that one. He's usually right on it.

QUOTE(fathom @ Jul 26, 2006 -> 01:21 PM) I'm loving our chances of Garcia vs Bedard. Over-under on Tejada home runs: 6.

QUOTE(AbeFroman @ Jul 26, 2006 -> 01:20 PM) woah... we are off to a really negative thread already Blame it on Gopher Buehrle. Maybe he'll settle down.

Thome with the patented "fake-bat-flip-fool-the-ump-I-just-struck-out-looking" move.

QUOTE(Jake @ Jul 24, 2006 -> 10:06 PM) COOP WILL WIN! HE MUST WIN! HE WILL SAVE OUR STAFF! WE WILL WIN!!!!!11!!1!!! Indeed. Coop will fix it.[/color]

QUOTE(SoxFan101 @ Jul 21, 2006 -> 03:53 PM) I didnt mind it at all. I dont mind when Zambrano gets excited either only when he endlessly grabs his balls. Yes, Carlos is a world-class groin-grabber. In fact, if groin-grabbing were a sport, Carlos Zambrano would be Olympic champion.

QUOTE(Chisoxfn @ Jul 21, 2006 -> 04:47 PM) I'd trade Garcia for any reliever as long as it meant we also got a pretty good prospect in return. Garcia is a proven commodity and I wouldn't deal him for nothing. If all we are getting is a Tom Gordon in return than i say thanks but no thanks. If we get a guy that can help us now, plus a good arm for the Future (since Kenny likes knowing he has 6 starters and thats a good thing) than its a viable move. Tom Gordon isn't going to get this team into the post-season, 5 quality starting pitchers will (I understand moving Bmac to the rotation and replacing Freddy may help that cause, but Freddy is more proven and Brandon going out and starting for a while would be rough on the pen since he wouldn't have near the durability or stamina needed to go deep into games). Not sure if this one's been tossed out, but Vazquez for Gordon straight-up. I know there's some sentiment here for trying to secure some future pieces for one of our five starters, but I'd actually do that deal. I have no idea if Philadelphia would -- probably not given that the investment in Vazquez is for more dough. But Gordon on this team would be a difference-maker -- gives us the best bullpen in the league, I think, with 7, 8 and 9 lined up. McCarthy moves into the rotation, Riske slides back to the 7th inning. Despite all of our troubles lately, I really think that a lockdown bullpen will be the single biggest key down the stretch. It's so helpful to the mindset of a team, and it helps tremondously on the road.

QUOTE(VAfan @ Jul 19, 2006 -> 08:35 PM) Because this topic goes beyond tonight's game, I'm posting it as a general thread. Tonight was a perfect example of stubborn Ozzie trying to get more out of his starting pitcher than was possible if we were going to win the ballgame. They put up a very telling stat on ESPN. Hitters are only .228 against Vazquez the first two times through the lineup. They are hitting .361 the third time through. Tonight, the Tigers got all 5 runs the third time through. The strategy to win the ballgame would be to have someone up -- Tracey or McCarthy -- to come in for Vazquez as soon as he starts running into trouble after the 5th inning, or after we reach that critical third time through the lineup. Tonight, he should have been yanked after the first two guys reached in the 6th. Why do we have a long man like McCarthy if we aren't going to use him? He faced two batters. He could have been brought in to start the 6th inning, frankly, and we would have been in a much better place to win the game 2-0. Of course, part of the fault has to go to AJ Pierzynski or whomever called for Vazquez to throw whatever that slow gopher pitch was that Monroe hit for the slam. Every time he threw that pitch tonight, someone hit it hard. It never should have been called, especially not with the bases loaded and a 1-run lead. We have a good bullpen, Ozzie, and some shakey starters. You need to readjust your philosophy to nurse the confidence of the starters back to where it should be. Leaving them in to get beat, IMHO, is not the best choice, especially for a mental midget like Vazquez. Last year, the starters were great, and by going long, they made the bullpen even stronger. This year, the bullpen should be used earlier to rest and rehabilitate the starters. Javier Vazquez. For Tom Gordon. And nothing more. And we'll pay this joker's salary. And pay Philly $17 million dollars. And wash Pat Gillick's car for 12 years. And we'll do it yesterday. Please. All Vazquez does -- for $9 million a year -- is run up high pitch counts and consistently fail to execute big pitches. This guy is a joke. He's a complete joke. He can't even save our pen because it usually takes him 110 pitches to get through 6 innnings. But here's the thing: there's no surprise in any of this. This is who he is. He's been this guy for about 4 years now. Guess we just suck it up or trick some dumbass to take him off our hands. What a major waste. Hope Arizona enjoys Chris Young.

QUOTE(Frankensteiner @ Jul 7, 2006 -> 09:49 PM) Is anyone at least remotely concerned that one of our top two pitchers now has a 4 ERA (this coupled with 3 other starters who also have 4+ ERAs)? We've got the worst pitching staff of any of the current playoff teams. Think what it would be if we didn't have "the best pitching coach in the game." Maybe it's time to earn that reputation again.

QUOTE(BigSqwert @ Jul 7, 2006 -> 09:29 PM) My bad. I'll PM you with each idea for a post and get your approval before I actually post it. Not for long. Pretty soon everyone will rate them accordingly -- middle-of-the-road all the way.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Jun 15, 2006 -> 01:59 PM) I want to punch him when he says multitasking. PLus those rooms just remind you how s***ty their motels are. I want to punch EVERYONE when he says that. But I'd start with him.