TheChrisSamsa

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jun 29, 2011 -> 06:49 AM) Wow, that sounds pretty bad. It was a really unfortunate experience.

I'm an extremely cordial, smart(?), dignified, and respectful baseball fan.. But all I can say about Coors Field is: f*** that place. I felt like I was at a golf tournament tonight. I watched a Rockies fan get kicked out for standing, I couldn't stand during exciting moments for the Sox without security coming at me, and Rockies fans are some of the least accommodating or kind fans I've encountered in MLB in my far and wide travels. Beautiful stadium.. A shame it's turned into a retirement home.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jun 25, 2011 -> 07:57 AM) I was thinking uniforms last night. I think its time some team brought back the pullovers. Pirates pullovers from the 70's are awesome. I'd have no issue with them coming back! They wore them on June 21 vs. the Orioles.

QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ Jun 27, 2011 -> 01:13 AM) I'm assuming you're a big New Era Fitted Cap guy then. I have a lengthy collection myself. Just about every Sox fitted I could find that's legit. A couple Pirates ones, WSH, COL, SEA, STL, ATL, and more. I'm more into hats than any other form of MLB apparel. I just love so many of the logo and color combinations. This thread lays out my hat collection (obsession?): http://www.soxtalk.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=80696 I've fully transitioned the Sox collection to New Era, except for the 1939-1945 road cap--the one with the red C. (many in my original picture in that thread are made by American Needle). Any retro, on-field New Era that comes out is a "gotta have" these days. The Angels, Orioles, Padres, Pirates, Dodgers (Brooklyn), and Nationals all have turn back the clock caps out this year that will be coming home with me as soon as I can get my hands on them. My future wife has laid out the stipulation that I have to visit a team's MLB home stadium if I'm going to purchase a normal cap from the team (retros/special caps don't apply here). That leaves me with Sox, Cubs, Brewers, Tigers, Pirates, and I'll be grabbing the Rockies tomorrow when I'm at Coors.. The list of stadiums for this season also includes Minnesota, St. Louis, and Kansas City. These umpire caps are really the cream of my crop though. Sorry for the thread-jack. Back to jerseys.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Jun 22, 2011 -> 11:05 AM) I like the Brewers' retro logo. It's so clever. QUOTE (IamtheHBOMB @ Jun 26, 2011 -> 07:25 PM) I'm a HUGE fan of anything uniform related, mostly caps, but these two jerseys are my favorites by far with the A's yellow alternate a close third. I really liked the Blue Jays retro alternate last season as well.

QUOTE (T R U @ Jun 22, 2011 -> 02:16 AM) yes! I just went to lids.com and you can get all the hats for the minor league teams! Thats my new goal to get Charlotte, Birmingham, Kannapolis, and Winston-Salem.. that's so cool I didn't know they had those.. No umpire hat though Mickey's Place is where it's at for the Umpire collection. They've got a nice variety of other stuff too.

AJ and Peavy at odds.

QUOTE (GoSox05 @ Jun 22, 2011 -> 10:53 AM) I'm guessing Ozzie will bench Morel. He had a hit and a sac fly rbi yesterday. But really, what's a lineup without Omar or Teahen?

Juan Pierre is making $5 million from the White Sox this year, of course on the MLB team. Dayan Viciedo is making $2.25 million from the White Sox this year, in AAA. Why aren't the Sox worried about getting a return on their investment on Viciedo? Paying someone over $2 million to play in triple A is equal, if not worse than letting Pierre rot in Left Field. Even if the two were mutually exclusive, we'd have reason to question the organization on both events.

QUOTE (BigEdWalsh @ Jun 20, 2011 -> 08:12 PM) F***in' nibbling at the corners. Pretty much par for the course for Gavin.

I snagged a Chicago American Giants a week or so ago at Grandstand. Good looking cap with great history.

QUOTE (T R U @ May 23, 2011 -> 02:36 AM) Does anyone else collect just authentic MLB hat? the New Era ones that they actually wear.. My goal is to get every teams hat (Except a Cubs and Twins one because I could never wear em) Right now I have Sox, Astros, Cardinals, Mets, Rockies, Reds, Tigers, A's, Dodgers, Braves If they weren't $30 a hat ide prolly have bought them all by now.. but im making progress This is actually my other collection (shocking, I'm sure). The future wife set the stipulation that I have to wait to visit each team's stadium and buy the cap there. So far, I have Sox, Cubs, Brewers, Tigers, Pirates, and I'll be picking up the Rockies next week when we head out to Colorado. We're planning on getting down to St. Louis and Kansas City sometime this season as well. The only exception she allowed was for my On-field umpires cap because they clearly don't have a home stadium.

QUOTE (ptatc @ Jun 17, 2011 -> 12:56 PM) By this philosophy, do they get extra credit for winning a world series with a low payroll? If payroll is a dependent variable in the equation than there should be more credit early in the tenure of KW and Ozzie. If someone would do the leg-work and weight each season based on championships/division titles/playoff wins/regular season wins per dollar spent on payroll, I'd be inclined to look at where KW stands against other GMs. QUOTE (Real @ Jun 17, 2011 -> 02:57 PM) Nice, a Sox apologist who f***ing cares how good this team was during the 70's and 80's? you can have your 'perspective', i want my $110-$120 million dollar payroll team in the f***ing playoffs I didn't know someone from the ownership group posted here. QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jun 17, 2011 -> 07:43 PM) 2005 is something they will always be able to hang their hat on and rightfully so, but if a couple of crazy things didn't happen against Boston, like a ball going through Graffinino's legs and El Duque, a guy KW didn't even want on the postseason roster not pitching out of a jam, they might still be looking for their first postseason series win in 94 years, and I'm sure Ozzie and KW would have very little support from anyone on this website. :lolhitting Come on... that team was in first place from beginning of April to the end of October. They went 11-1 in the playoffs. How can you justify boiling it down to one inning in the divisional round of the playoffs when they were up 2-0 in the series?!

Jake doesn't even have to throw pitches to get strike calls, he just stares in with his deep blue eyes and the umpire lifts his arm.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Jun 17, 2011 -> 09:57 AM) Honestly, this is the problem. Contending is a good thing, but if during a 20 year stretch, you contend in 10 of them and come up short, it is very apparent that you have failed to put your team over the top. I agree, but I don't see it as a reason to be discontent with my favorite team: QUOTE (ChrisLikesBaseball @ Jun 17, 2011 -> 09:14 AM) Loving the White Sox is like loving the girl you hooked up with once, in 2005, but ended up in the "friend zone." We've had the sustained, albeit moderate, success, but we've only had the glory once, and we want it over and over again.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Jun 17, 2011 -> 09:37 AM) So I guess we'll just be happy to come in 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place more often than not....in one of the weakest divisions in baseball. The White Sox have finished fourth once since 1990. (5%) The White Sox have finished third five times since 1990. (25%) The White Sox have finished second ten times since 1990. (50%) The White Sox have finished first four times since 1990. (20%) This is a pretty solid ratio for a 20 year period.

QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ Jun 17, 2011 -> 09:31 AM) Awesome! And to ptatc, the total wind aren't as important as division titles. But division titles aren't as important as getting to the ALCS, and getting to the ALCS isn't as important as getting to the World Series, and getting to the World Series isn't as important as winning the World Series, and winning the World Series isn't as important as winning the World Series twice, and winning the World Series twice isn't as important as becoming the Yankees.

I understand that inflated payroll means inflated expectations, but am I the only one who hates the "they're spending more than ever and not winning, we're mad!" argument?

QUOTE (Greg Hibbard @ Jun 17, 2011 -> 09:01 AM) I wonder how many fans on this board were alive during the 70s and 80s when the White Sox won 1 division title in 20 years and usually finished in 3rd or 4th place with 70 something wins. Of the ones that were alive, I wonder if they can really get back in touch with what it felt like to be a fan of this team during that era, and put it in context. Do people realize the same White Sox organization has averaged 84 wins per season over the past 21 years, and 86 wins under the KW/OG regime? We're basically tied fourth in total wins since 1990 in the AL, behind New York, Boston and Oakland (Cleveland is about even with us, slightly ahead for now). During the OG era, I think we're 5th overall. During the past three "disappointing" years, we've averaged a "disappointing" 85 wins. Yes, our payroll has increased. Yes, the expectations have been higher recently. Yes, there have been some depressing results at times, particularly in our own division. Is it because we are agonizingly close? I hope that's the conclusion. Because if it's not, I have news for you: this is not a s*** organization. This organization is one of the best in the American League, year in and year out. You'd never know it from reading this board, though. It is astounding to me that there is absolutely no faith and no patience in this organization, this coach and this general manager. We've won 88+ games in 4 of the past six seasons. How many other teams have won 88+ games in four of the past six seasons? Four: Yankees, Red Sox, Angels, Phillies. That's it. Not your precious Twins, not the big-spending, bumbling big-market Mets, not the Dodgers of lore, not the Cubs. 25 of 30 teams haven't done it. The White Sox have. And yet, everyone is seemingly as frustrated as if they have waited 20 years for a divisional title. This team has won a World Series recently, under this management's watch, and yet you would never know it from the faithlessness around here. Really, what gives? Sure, you can blather on about Guillen's lack of in-game managerial skills while conveniently overlooking his other intangibles (his ability to deflect media heat from his players, his ability to keep his team motivated (even allegedly cantankerous ones like AJP and Jurassic Carl), his ability to be hands-off when nobody would dare notice it. You can talk about KW's missed opportunities and poor trades and acquisitions, and ignore the stability, identity and pride he has provided. I wonder if people even recall how controversial the Konerko re-signing was around here. You need to look no further than 12 miles north if you want to know how difficult it is to win in this game consistently, even with a large payroll. Whether or not you believe in curses, that team has fielded young talent, experienced managers, veteran leaders. They can't win s*** to save their damned lives. I can cite 5 more examples of teams who spent it all seemingly correctly and can't win s*** anyway (The Mets come to mind, among others). The 2011 White Sox may have been disappointing thus far, but I can't really see them playing much worse, and I can't pin this on the organization, nor have I lost faith or patience. I will not blame OG/KW for Adam Dunn and Alex Rios having the WORST slumps of their respective careers, for Peavy's unforeseen injury problems, for Beckham turning from can't miss to Crede-lite, for Juan Pierre forgetting how to field. I will not blame this organization for a host of veteran relievers blowing the f*** up. I will not blame this organization for John Danks' uncharacteristic, bewildering numbers. Nearly everything has gone wrong at times, and we are 33-37 and 5.5 out. This is still a very talented team that's representative of a very good organization. I really wish other people believed that too. Loving the White Sox is like loving the girl you hooked up with once, in 2005, but ended up in the "friend zone." We've had the sustained, albeit moderate, success, but we've only had the glory once, and we want it over and over again. I'm with you. I can agree with pretty much every sentiment in this post. All or nothing has never been my thing. Give me a good team with a good chance to make the playoffs and I'm good with that. This team has been that since about 1991 (the beginning of my baseball life) with very few outliers.

QUOTE (Swingandalongonetoleft @ Jun 12, 2011 -> 04:51 PM) I'm excited about Dunn, Rios, and Peavy contributing. Peavy already has, but was knocked out- those three awakening at roughly the same time in addition to the rest of the guys doing what they do... On a side note, everyone has written the Twins off, but I've been worried about them. 9 GB in early June is typical AL Central winner Twins s***. They are back in the mix, and the Sox have a whole lot of games left against them. If the Sox weren't out of it a month ago, the Twins aren't out of it now. Time to kick them while they're still down this week.

3.5 back with this much left in the season when the Indians and Tigers seem to be making up lost time in the loss column. This season is far from over.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Jun 11, 2011 -> 09:08 PM) He threw way too many pitches. 38, probably about 20 too many to use him tonight. Ideally he gets tomorrow off too. Good win. Nice to see them win a tight game.

Since I won't be watching much of the game tonight, I figured the least I could do is provide the game thread. Let's do the damn thing and make up a game on those pesky Indians.

QUOTE (ChrisLikesBaseball @ Jun 10, 2011 -> 04:54 PM) Well, then I'd better put some pants on cuz I'm goin out to the ballpark! I should have left my pants off.. tough loss.

QUOTE (JoeCoolMan24 @ Jun 10, 2011 -> 04:36 PM) Not supposed to start raining until 10 or 11. They should get this in. Well, then I'd better put some pants on cuz I'm goin out to the ballpark!