Dick Allen

QUOTE(Rowand44 @ Jun 24, 2006 -> 03:26 PM) He probably has the green light but Wheeler is doing a good job right now of keeping him right there. A scouting report would be able to tell you that Wheeler is good at holding runners. I think it was a waste, although I like Pablo batting in late game situations also.

If you're not going to run, what's the purpose of taking Thome out of a tie game?

Heart of the order up, only 1 run needed. I like the Sox chances

If Ozzie ever decided to walk away, I would love for Sweet Lou to take over. I fear Sweet Lou taking Dusty's place on the northside. He would change the attitude of that team.

that was a nice play by the secondbaseman

Riske has looked solid since coming over. He's not throwing very hard, but getting outs, kind of like Hermanson last season.

Thornton with a little emotion after that K. He's usually robot-like on the mound.

GAS

Hermanson said he was feeling great going into spring training. I'm not holding my breath. If he does somehow return, I really doubt he would be effective. I congratulate and thank him for his efforts last year, and give him credit for putting up the effort this season. A lesser man would have just taken his money and gone home.

QUOTE(elrockinMT @ Jun 24, 2006 -> 09:23 AM) The issue was between Ozzie and Jay M. Not Ozzie and the Gay community. I agree with Ozzie that sensitivity training isn't the answer and in my opinion this is getting to be an issue of how can we (meaning MLB) be politically correct. Unfortunately, Ozzie's use of the word *** did offend gay groups. Whether or not he actually intends to attend sensitivity training he is out of line to say he won't attend. No matter what anyone thinks of Selig, he is the commissioner. Making him look worthless by ignoring the punishment he hands down does nobody any good, and could easily lead to stronger sanctions against Ozzie,ie. a long suspension. Ozzie being Ozzie doesn't fly. You either accept your punishment or if you don't want to play by the rules, go find something else to do with your life. The team has won 8 in a row, but Ozzie's still the story. Its ridiculous.

Don't take strike 3.

Go to espn.com. The first story is Ozzie saying he won't be attending sensitivity training. Why must he say this?

QUOTE(SleepyWhiteSox @ Jun 23, 2006 -> 09:18 AM) Source? I will give Kruk a little credit. When Clemens was mowing down minor leaguers, he was slowing down the tape showing that Clemens had a different arm slot than last year, and that his legs basically weren't ready yet. Giving 43 year old pitchers $12 million for 3 1/2 months is very risky, even when they have special "workouts".

I'm not excited about Polite. I think its nearly a lock he'll be the same gascan he has been this year once he gets back. KW is going to have to get another reliever.

If the White Sox were stealing signs with the camera, isn't it pathetic that it would take the Cardinals 33 runs to figure it out?

All of them were sweet. It helps make up for the sweep the Cardinals handed the Sox in 2001.

Ozzie did a little manaing from a suite tonight. He got Cooper to get Jenks ready in the 8th, using his usual sign for Bobby.

QUOTE(LosMediasBlancas @ Jun 22, 2006 -> 01:55 PM) Oz will get canned when the team sux, not because of anything that comes out of his mouth. I don't think Ozzie will ever get fired for poor performance. He supposedly almost left after last season, so he may quit at anytime. The only way he doesn't leave on his own IMO is if he says something so overboard the White Sox have no other choice. I do think Ozzie gets a lot of his english from his sons. They probably still call each other and their friends ***s. Its not a defense for Ozzie, but as they get older and speak a little more sophisticated, their father probably will as well.

QUOTE(hammerhead johnson @ Jun 22, 2006 -> 02:18 PM) I encourage you to read more Ditka books. The players absolutely loved him. He praised hard-working individuals to no end. Walter Payton used to call him up frequently and do his best "Mexican Whore" imitation. Ditka thought there was some chick out there who was obsessed with him and wanted to f*** his brains out, but he later found out that it was just Walter Payton. That's just one of the many examples to be found in great books such as "In Life, First You Kick Ass" and "Da Coach". Ditka had his fair share of players that loved him, he also had his fair share that couldn't stand him. His support of scab football hurt his credibility with a lot of guys.

QUOTE(LVSoxFan @ Jun 22, 2006 -> 11:02 AM) I realize I'm risking the wrath of the entire board and Soxdom in general by not jumping on the Mariotti/Mornotti/whatever bashing-bandwagon, but there's a few things to be pointed out here, IMO. What Ozzie said this week was unbecoming of a manager of a World Series Champion ballclub. To use that kind of guttural language in front of the press, knowing it would be reported, was stupid. Don't get me wrong I LOVE OZZIE TO DEATH but sometimes he can be an idiot, and he's being one now. For all the Mariotti bashing (I read him every day), what's overlooked is that this man has been MORE than fair to the Sox over the past few seasons. The idea that he rips them and champions the Cubs is absurd. While he may call out Ozzie for something like the Tracey episode (or calling that guy in NY a "child molester") or even K.W. last August--wrongly, as it turned out--for not making a trade for a big bat, the man has been talking the Sox up all during 2005 and this year too. He was the guy last year who was telling Chicago to forget the has-been/never-were Cubs and check out the real baseball on the South Side. He was the guy calling KW a genius over the winter for his trades. He was the guy talking up the new Sox as genuinely exciting this year, because everybody knows that we have a chance to repeat. I don't know how much more of a cheerleader this guy's supposed to be, and be objective. What I personally like about Mariotti is that he is unafraid to challenge the sacred cows here in Chicago and rip into teams/ownership that deserve it. This year it's been the Cubs (and rightly so, yes?), but in the past it's been the Bears (any arguments there?), the Bulls (save for the last couple seasons) and probably the Hawks at some point. He was also blistering in his criticisms of the Sox prior to '05 and you know what? He should have been. Yes, he gets things wrong sometimes (famously predicting the Bulls would never win that last championship against Utah, I remember). Yes, his feud with Hawk is idiotic (on both ends). Yes he can be arrogant and a blowhard. But for my money I'd rather see a guy stirring the pot rather than lapsing into the passivity that apparently allows us to continue to suffer owners like the McCaskeys and Wirtz. I WANT a guy who's going to slice and dice the teams when they suck. So apparently this year Mariotti is on Ozzie's hit list because he's criticized Ozzie's behavior here and there. And you know what? That is positively CUBS-LIKE. Oh, you remember, don't you? In 2004 (after the historic 2003 choke) all of a sudden Steve Stone couldn't dare criticize Baker or the team--and when he did, he was either tackled in the press by the team/Baker (ahem) or personally threatened/confronted by players. And that proved to be nothing more than yet another distraction that made sure, among all the other things, that they failed in 2004 as well. As for the Hawk thing, I'm not sure that Mariotti was ever wrong about him. He IS a homer. He IS a mouthpiece for Reinsdorf. That doesn't mean I don't enjoy Hawk, but what's in dispute here? Granted, Mariotti's comments have gotten more personal than that, but on the other end, Hawk spent an entire game the other night reading viewer email about what an asshole Mariotti is. THIS is the kind of thing we need to spend time on as we attempt to repeat as World Champions? Pfft. I doubt it. And as much as I love Ozzie, we don't need to hear him gleefully referring to unliked columnists as "f******* ***gots." At least not publically. Remember his Magglio tirade? That was embarassing. Magglio probably wasn't all innocent in his ultimate departure, but he didn't deserve that. At least not with that kind of language. I'd like to see Mariotti and Ozzie meet and bury the hatchet. Mariotti should be able to write what he wants without worrying about threats from Ozzie. And if Ozzie doesn't like it, he should be able to pick up the phone and call Mariotti and tell him why he thinks he's full of s***. But this nonsense is just getting old. I know Sox fans hate Mariotti, but the man is certainly not the anti-Christ he's made out to be. We need to worry about more important things. Sorry for being a heretic, but that's just how I see it. If you think Mariotti has been fair to the Sox, you need to find the link to Eric Zorn's blog about his White Sox columns last season. That's only the tip of the iceberg. Mariotti is never held accountable for what he writes. If you remember when the Bears drafted McNown, he was clamouring for him. When the Bears released him, he questioned how the Bears could ever draft him in the first place. Ozzie needs to choose his words a little more carefully. Swearing is fine, don't offend groups of people. Ozzie apologized for his word choice, but I am glad he's not backing down from Mariotti otherwise.

His son got hit in the ass. He should be pissed off at Ponson. Maybe he didn't try to hit any White Sox batter, but even LaRussa said it looked bad, and Ponson even said he didn't blame the Sox for being pissed.

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Jun 22, 2006 -> 10:39 AM) Uh, he called out his own paper for being TOO biased FOR the White Sox. Yea, I didn't get that. Marriotti seemed to be pissed off his paper pulled a negative White Sox column during a World Series, first one in Chicago in 46 years, that the White Sox swept. What could he have been moaning about then? Considering all the garbage he writes that they do print, this must have really been ridiculous and petty.

QUOTE(Hangar18 @ Jun 22, 2006 -> 09:16 AM) And how will he lose large groups? A SOX pitcher one day will have a bad outing, 2 innings, 9 runs and Ozzie will comment "he pitched like horse **** today". The media will run a ton of articles saying Ozzie must hate horses and horse lovers too, since they like horses, and they will call on him and the SOX organization to apologize to the Association of Horse Lovers. This stupid cycle will repeat itself and the media will continue to call it fact. Hes being called a national embarrassment? give me a break. No. Whether we like it or not, his name for Mariotti, who even said he gets called worse everyday, offends a lot of people. I've used the same word several times in my life, as I would suspect almost everyone on the board has. I don't remember if I've ever used it in anger, but I really don't see where that makes much of a difference. Ozzie did the right thing by apologizing for using that word, but not backing down on his disdain for that idiot. I'm not saying its going to happen, but what would happen if Slezak wrote a negative Ozzie column and he called her the c-word? He will and should be able to respond to and critique his critics all he wants. He just needs to pick his words more carefully. There's a reason people don't speak their minds to the press anymore. Anything you say can and will be spun to be used against you. Marriotti was saying he now is what he never desired to be, the news. If he doesn't desire to be the news, why does he continue to show his face on ESPN, why does he agree to discuss this story on the Score, why does the Tribune have quotes from him?

There's a difference. Ditka became focused on a lot of off the field things like endorsements, and he eventually lost his players. He's still beloved by the majority of Bears fans. Ozzie probably will never lose his players. If the comments continue he will eventually alienate large groups of fans. IMO the only way Ozzie will ever get fired is for saying something stupid and giving the White Sox no other choice. Hopefully, it won't come to that. I do see him walking away when the team eventually gets into a rebuilding mode, but who knows how long that will be.

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Jun 21, 2006 -> 08:23 PM) Fun fact. When the Sox got to 9 runs in the second inning they had scored an incredible 29 runs over the last 7 innings pitched by Cardinals pitching. Cardinal fans were just shellshocked in the stands. They seem as a whole to be pretty cool. There was a loudmouth in the section next to me who was very loud when Taguchi went deep in the first. He was reminded that the Cardinals scored in the first last night, and then the Sox come to bat and the first 4 batters score. Unbelievable.