badatbest

Didn't BA have his only good game of the first half against Sabathia on opening day last year? Kinda wish we had him in CF and Erstad in LF today. No slight to Ozuna.

If people have such a problem with "pesimistic" posts, then form a well thought out reply with facts and logic to support it. Simply calling someone's post "pesimistic" is just admiting that you don't have anything in the tank to support your disagreement with, for example Kalapse.

QUOTE(The Ginger Kid @ Mar 27, 2007 -> 07:10 PM) when he gives back that WS ring he won in his second year and denies any credit this I do not agree with, especially after spending some time watching them play BA had a better OBP and slugging percentage than Erstad this spring by quite a bit. He is a decade younger, not injury prone, and better on defense (from my eyes). The choice was clear here. BA should be starting in CF. Erstad in LF. Pods should be nowhere near a starting position. The organizations loyalty to pods is only beaten by its shafting of BA this spring.

That game is symbolic how magical 2005 was and is probably the greatest sports memory of a majority of sox fans. The 2 blue seats are a fitting tribute. Who cares if the concept has been done before. A tribute is a tribute, it doesnt need to be original, it just has to be fitting, and this is. Everybody has their own memory of that game. I didnt ever see it on tv or live. Listened to it on the radio. Ed Farmer going apes*** and the roar of the crowd after the Konerko slam are etched in my mind forever. The 2 blue seats make those moments tangible and timeless. The guy who wrote that article is either a moron or a douchebag in need of attention.

I seriously can't handle another thread devoted to bringing back Rowand. Christ on a bicycle, let him go!

QUOTE(Flash Tizzle @ Mar 23, 2007 -> 02:10 PM) Hmm, what do Anderson, Tracey, and McCarthy have in common, again? oooh. ooooh. i know this one! they are all really f***ing white?

QUOTE(hitlesswonder @ Mar 21, 2007 -> 08:56 AM) Accusing someone of being an Anderson fanboy just because they think Anderson will be better than Pods and/or Erstad is ridiculous. I don't see any posts here even claiming Anderson is good. I don't think he's good (although I do think he has some chance of being a good player someday). Look, Anderson hit better than Pods in the 2nd half of last year (and Anderson can play CF). Pods post ASB: BA .241 OBP .296 SLG .297 OPS .593 Anderson: BA .257 OBP .301 SLG .393 OPS .694 I won't post the stats, but Erstad was actually worse than Anderson last season. And sure, both Erstad and Pods were hurt last season, but Anderson has at least as good a chance to improve as they do of coming back and having great years after surgery. It's not about thinking Anderson is good -- he isn't. But right now I think it's likely Pods and Erstad will be worse this year. If the Sox want to ditch Anderson, fine by me. Then pay the price and trade for a real CF that can hit like Baldelli or someone. Don't go half-assed and bring a couple of .700 OPS guys that are in the best case scenario only a marginal improvement. It's silly to spend $100M to build a contending team and then hamstring it by sticking two lousy hitters in LF and CF. Great points.

Part of what makes white sox fans great is that they are well informed, demand a good product and don't put bind faith in anything. If you want to put blind faith in a team, go hang out at the Cubbie Bear on Clark, you'll find alot of company.

I just dont understand how KW/Ozzie can take such a hypocritical stance on developing youth with our pitching and turn around and abandon our legitimatly talented outfield youth by going with Erstad and Pods. They are both quick fixes that are not what this team needs going forward. This team in the next 4-5 years needs Anderson hitting .280 with 15-20 HRs and playing amazing defense, he will do that somewhere. I guess not here.

Cotts would have been owned (again) in the AL central. He may have success this year in the NL but he would have been serving up grapefruits for us had he stayed.

QUOTE(Kalapse @ Mar 13, 2007 -> 12:06 AM) Rob Mackowiak is a better baseball player than Scott Podsednik in basically ever way imaginable. Hell IMO he's even cuter than Pods. Toby Hall is clearly the new sex-symbol of the Chicago White Sox. *i dont know how to make that green*

Its debatable who would have a better offensive year (this year), Anderson or Erstad. Looking forward though, if this team is not going to digress in the next 3-4 years, we need production from our youth (not Erstad). It would be a huge mistake not to give Anderston every opportunity to become our centerfield of the future by playing him now. If they dont give Anderson a chance, then this offseason of "protecting our future" was empty rhetoric and smoke/mirrors.

I live on the southside (hyde park). Those ads are hilarious. The socioeconomic and cultural differences between the north and southside are profound. I find their niave and good intentioned attempts to bridge that gap to be adorable. I actually really do like the commercials though. They are nailing the perception of the southside perfectly.

You guys are grieving for the loss of Rowand very unhealthily......been stuck in denial for over a year.

QUOTE(Vance Law @ Mar 7, 2007 -> 12:10 AM) You know who hasn't gotten anything done for any season ever? Guys who are getting $11 million per for 5 years. A league average starter with no injury history who's pretty much a lock to pitch 200 innings is easily getting a hell of a lot more than $34.5 over 3 years on the free agent market, and Vazquez has the potential (has done it in the past) and the stuff to be a lot better than average. We locked him up now after a not-so-hot year which I bet will be his worst year with the Sox. Exactly.

This was a great deal. I'm usually pretty critical, but this was a steal. The length of the contract is ideal and the money is below what i would have expected considering the jokers getting huge contracts this offseason. Plus, at his worst Javy is a solid 4 of 5 starter. At his best, he could be an ace, he has the stuff. I love the contract.

QUOTE(hitlesswonder @ Feb 26, 2007 -> 12:40 AM) In my opinion, Anderson's defense is overrated. Both Scott Gregor and Greg Couch wrote articles saying that people assumed Anderson had good defense just because he couldn't hit. Gregor specifically mentioned Anderson had difficulty going back on balls straight at him. I trust a beat writer's opinion on that, since he saw way more games in person than I did. I admit, I thought Anderson looked good in the field, but I'm no scout and I think it's possible BA just looked good to me in comparison to Mack. And for those of a statistical bent, Chris Dial's defensive metrics had Anderson as a plus defender before the ASB and an exactly average one after the ASB. As more data accumulated, Anderson's defensive stats continued to go down. I've heard it really takes 2 years of data for Dial's metric to give meaningful results. I wouldn't be surprised if Anderson's defensive ranking continues to decline. Anyway, the point is probably moot, since I'm pretty sure the CF combo will be Erstad and Terrero. Those defensive analyses can be fun to mess around with, but i dont think anyone really thinks they are that accurate. Really i think watching lots of games is the only way to determine defensive ability. Anderson is very good in CF. Very good.

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Feb 22, 2007 -> 02:52 PM) Thy name is Haeger. What do people think of Haeger out of the pen? Knuckleballs make me nervous in late inning, runners on situations (walks, HRs, passed balls, etc). Maybe to start an inning or as long relief?

"I've already made enough money to take care of my family" That is a shockingly well grounded statement from a professional athlete. For some reason i dont think it is just talk either.

QUOTE(watchtower41 @ Feb 22, 2007 -> 10:59 AM) Its tough to expect last years numbers every season out of JD, but I really hope that he has another outstanding season so we are not left with much of an option but to keep him aboard. Perhaps KW best free agent signing ever? It really was a great signing. He has always been a class act and his numbers the last couple years have been pretty sick. I liked him alot when he was coming up in the Braves organization, always thought he would be a stud, glad it happened with the white sox.

don't hold your breath

I'm excited about our pen this year. It sounds scary. However; I kinda wish we had at least one guy that didnt pump fastballs. Some weirdo submariner or junk ball pitcher. Anybody else think a little variety might make our pen more dangerous?

Also. Most of the people on this board are fairly sophisticated and well informed fans that are interested in analysis and deconstruction of every move the white sox make. Most fashion themselves armchair GMs. I for one have no interest in being a cheerleader all day long. I'll save that for the games.

QUOTE(Y2HH @ Feb 21, 2007 -> 02:20 PM) Analysis of this thread, and almost every other similar (and annoying) thread on this board as of late: Person #1: Erstad will suck! Person #2: So will Pods! Person #3: Regurgitate what person #1 said. Person #4: Regurgitate what person #1, #2 and #3 said. I mean...wow. Just. Wow. Almost all of you are literally hoping that Scott Podsednik fails before day one, just so you can be right. Same goes for Erstad. Call me the odd man out that actually hopes the team succeeds, but this isn't even fun anymore. Read baseball on this depressive board for a half hour and you feel like we haven't won a world series in 99 years like our counterparts up north. Maybe one or two of you will be man (or woman) enough to step up if Pods or Erstad succeeds, where if they don't, all of you will play the "told you so" game. Two seasons off a world series, and already some of you sound like the same old malcontent fans that expect failure so much, that you actually hope for it. And I know...I'm the bad guy for saying it. I'll get flamed endlessly because, "I'm st00pid" or I'll get the standard cookie-cutter replies of "thats not what we mean at all...we just want the best for this team" crapola...but I'm not buying it. We all want whats best for this team...but this is it. This is the team we have. Live with it. It's almost spring. It's supposed to be a new beginning with new hope. Around here...it's not a new beginning we new hope. Call the season...we've already lost. Podsednik will be horrible. Erstad will be horrible. Ozzie will make terrible decisions (because you say so), and we will come in 16th place. -Y2 I have no problem with Erstad, i think he will be fine. I just dont want him in CF. He should be an insurance plan on Pods being injured and/or playing to the level he has for the past 1.5 years. Pods has been a bitter disapointment for 1.5 years, I see no reason why that will change. As a fan I hope i am wrong, i doubt i am though. Don't confuse my and other's critisism/discussion for a lack of hope and excitement for the coming season.

I knew picking up Erstad was a bad idea. It just gives Ozzie the opportunity to dick around with Anderson's playing time.