Dick Allen

If someone finds this depressing, I don't think watching the Bears would be a good alternative.

Daubach was used. They could have pinch hit Rios, Miles, Burke,

I agree, Harris was up next But why did JM let Harris bat? Who would have played CF if we pinchhit for Harris and tied the game? That is why we didn't PH for Willie Rowand could have played CF, then you would have the pitcher hitting, but with the recent call ups the Sox would have been set for about 6 more innings.I don't blame Kimm for running on Nomar, his throwing hasn't been that accurate the last couple of years. He made a perfect throw.

Twins win 6-5

I think that goes without saying. JR said he wasn't going to announce plans until they were positive on what they were going to do, so if the plan changed a big deal wouldn't be made out of it. And from what it said in the media guide, that plan should have been announced already. I'm just wondering if the cost has skyrocketed on it. I have no idea, but if they are going to tear down the upper deck and rebuild it, I'd think that would cost a lot more than what US Cellular is paying. You have to figure they are going to keep the concourse in the upper deck considering all the money spent to renovate that last season.

Has anyone heard of the future renovations to the Cell? I'm wondering if they are having difficulty converting US Cellular's $3.5 million a year into construction bonds. I was going through the media guide yesterday, and it said the future renovations were supposed to be announced during the first half of this season. Maybe its gonna cost a little more than was previously thought.

When called, the infield fly rule is signaled by the umpire, hard to miss for a runner. It is ruled an out before the ball lands, and the runners protected from being forced out, even if the ball is allowed to drop. I still think there are players who would be confused. It wouldn't hurt to try it, the batter is out anyway.

Thomas was the lead runner at 2nd, and the one I was watching as the play had him in line of sight. Yes, he was just a very few feet off the bag anticipating the ball to be caught, and I really don't know where Maggs was. I've see the infield fly rule applied in the outfield in the past, but that was very shallow, only feet behind the infield. I don't know the rule, but think it s the umpire's descretion for a call. Last night's ball was too deep for the rule to be implemented, but it had the same effect on the runners. I don't think it was bad base running at all, just a bad break in circumstances. Speaking of the infield fly rule, I always have wanted a Sox infielder to purposely drop a pop up when the infield fly is in effect. I'd be willing to bet there are more than a few players who don't know the rule, and would become confused , and would take off to the next base, for an easy double, or triple play. Yeah, but we traded Jimenez a couple of months ago... Thats more reason to do it. If they did it while he was playing the infield, and threw the ball to him, he'd think that there was a force at second and screw it all up.

Thomas was the lead runner at 2nd, and the one I was watching as the play had him in line of sight. Yes, he was just a very few feet off the bag anticipating the ball to be caught, and I really don't know where Maggs was. I've see the infield fly rule applied in the outfield in the past, but that was very shallow, only feet behind the infield. I don't know the rule, but think it s the umpire's descretion for a call. Last night's ball was too deep for the rule to be implemented, but it had the same effect on the runners. I don't think it was bad base running at all, just a bad break in circumstances. Speaking of the infield fly rule, I always have wanted a Sox infielder to purposely drop a pop up when the infield fly is in effect. I'd be willing to bet there are more than a few players who don't know the rule, and would become confused , and would take off to the next base, for an easy double, or triple play.

The fact that Magglio easily made it into 2nd base, and Frank had a better look at the play does nothing for you? It was a bad play by Frank, he was out by a mile. I'm not blaming the game on him, but if was one of your whipping boys out on 2nd, you'd have a different opinion. No, I wouldn't. The ball should've been caught, the runners saw that and had to stay close to tag up if they had any play after the catch. Maggs is only slightly faster than Frank, and may have 'cheated' a bit on his lead, he does that a lot, but who would you figure to throw out if you were the fielder? I would have figured throwing the guy out at second, considering it was about 30 ft. from where the ball dropped. It really didn't matter, they wouldn't have scored then anyway. Its just that Magglio was there easily, and Frank was out by so much, 90 feet farther from the play.

The fact that Magglio easily made it into 2nd base, and Frank had a better look at the play does nothing for you? It was a bad play by Frank, he was out by a mile. I'm not blaming the game on him, but if was one of your whipping boys out on 2nd, you'd have a different opinion.

I think his performance last night should end the "he'll show up if the rest of his teammates show up" argument that the author of this thread is famous for. I was at the game, and am still trying to figure out how Frank got throw out at third on that pop fly. He had the best view of the ball, 3rd base was the farthest away, and it wasn't even a close play. Anyway, the Sox had plenty of chances, its too bad they could muster only 1 run off Burkett.

Let me ask you something, If someone was offering you $50 million more than anyone else, wouldn't you take it? ARod is a class act, we would be lucky to have him on the South Side. KW wanted him but Boras wouldn't even let him make an offer. It didn't matter, he had Hicks bidding against himself, no way JR would have ponied up the dough, and who could blame him? Larry Bowa was a Seattle coach in 2000, he said ARod was asking him a lot of questions about Chicago, and about JM. Bowa thought he was coming here. Shows the influence, and control Boras has on his clients.

I don't know what you're getting at. This BMR guy thinks 96% of people who post here are clueless about baseball. My point is that the point he made yesterday was about as clueless as any post ever, so maybe he should look in the mirror. He's not the genius he thinks he is.

I'd love to compare IQ's with you. I know what you wrote, you've got all your bases covered. But if the Sox lost last night, and lost today, the season would not be over, which is what I was pointing out. This psychology you mentioned is BS especially with this team. Are you still counting on Koch, or has Billy's performance at Charlotte, albeit REHAB, as you pointed out to me earlier(although he was throwing in the bullpen in Chicago, and KW,Cooper, and Billy said all the problems were ironed out), finally shown you the light?

Don't ever call me a dumbass, I know far more about the game then you ever will. We won one game giving a team its 100th loss, and, according to you, that 1 game is the difference between the season being over and having 2 guys step up, and the Sox winning the division.2 guys who aren't even pitching these 2 games, and winning the division. The Sox still have 7 games against KC and MIN even if they would have lost these 2, any fool would have known they still had a shot, because the most they would have been out was 2. Obviously, if Buerhle and Colon pitch lights out the rest of the year these 2 games won't mean a thing.

I have a question about playoff eligibility. I know players acquired after the Aug 31 deadline are ineligible, however, isn't there a way, by using the disabled list to get players on the roster? I know Rodriquez wasn't on Anaheim's roster until after Sept. 1 last year. Basically, I'm thinking the Sox could use Koch as a roster spot for someone they acquire after the deadline. Can this happen? Or does a player replacing an injured player have to be on the 40 man at the deadline?

Hawk did say it was the most underachieving team he has seen in 40 years the first half of the season. I think that is a slap at JM. He didn't have his team ready to play. I doubt Hawk hates JM, he just doesn't think he is a very good manager. He did take a few swipes at him last year, saying, that managers, like players, can have a bad year, and JM had a bad year. I don't think this year's performance from JM has impressed Hawk anymore than last year's. It was interesting that after those comments last season, JM was supposed to be on a panel with Hawk during Soxfest this year. They were supposed to be together a couple of times. Hawk was a no show both times, maybe he didn't want to answer questions pertaining to his comments. I also think JM's comments about anyone disagreeing with his decision to start Cotts in NY not knowing anything about baseball, may be swipe at Hawk and Ed Farmer, who also disagreed with the decision. I also think whatever Hawk thinks, JR is probably thinking similarly.

Where did it say he was sent down? Where was he sent to? Haven't heard anything about him coming back to Birmingham. Rex it was on Chicagosports.com. I couldnt get the link but it said he would be replaced sometime this weekend. Replaced in the starting rotation does not equal being sent to the Minors. I don't think he will be sent out because the Minor League season is over Monday. Also, there is a date after which you cannot bring down a player from a higher level. It is to keep teams from loading up for the playoffs. That date has passed. I doubt the Southern League would grant permission for Cotts to join the Barons. My guess is he is kept on the Sox roster and he will pitch when the opportunity arises, while they work with him on the side. In that case, no option is burned. They may have to assign him to the Minor Leagues, however, if they need to activate someone else before Monday so they will be eligible for the playoffs. That would be the exception. He's going to be sent down. He's out of the starting rotation, and his control isn't good enough, even for Manuel to have him come out of the bullpen. I don't know if he'll pitch for Birmingham or not. Probably not. His next appearance will probably be in the fall league. Knowing how JM waffles with every decision he ever makes, this probably means Cotts will appear in tonight's game.

You're right about Hawk and ex-big leaguers. That's why he fired Dave Dombrowski. Piersall constantly criticized LaRussa and his coaching staff. At one point LaRussa had enough, and actually went to a television studio where Piersall was at with 2 or 3 coaches, I believe one of them was Jim Leyland, and got in Piersall's face. I think they even threaten to get physical with him. Of course, that didn't stop Piersall, and he was eventually shown the door after another comment he made about player's wives.

You definitely would have to look at that, the road trip from Tampa to Detroit then to Cleveland which I believe they were 3-7, and the Texas, Anahiem debacle where they went 1-6. I just don't understand the huge descrepancy between home and road performance. You' d have to expect a few more wins coming at home, but the difference the Sox have may be one of the biggest in history.

Molto, you're fighting a losing battle. I agree with you and JM. This is just another excuse for fans to b**** about the manager. Those who know baseball and have been around the game know this was a solid decision. If there is one thing I have noticed on these boards since I've been reading, it's that many fans seem to develop personal vendettas against certain players and managers and can't seem to let it go. Taking the opportunity to give one of your horses an extra days rest late in August when the playoffs are a good possibility is a solid decision. No one is talking about the adverse affect in could have on Buehrle in late September. No one can guarantee we would have won the game if Buehrle pitched. Say they loose the game and now have Cotts and Garland going back to back in Detroit. This team could be staring a 2 or 3 game loosing streak right in the face. Instead, we have Buehrle, Garland and Loaiza going against Detroit and have a great shot at taking 2 of 3, if not sweeping, the Tigers. If you told most people on this board that we were going to go 4-2 on this road trip, most of them would be very pleased. Especially with our struggles on the road and our unexplainable troubles with the Tigers. EDIT: now all we have to do is go 4-2, but better yet 5-1. If he needed an extra day, why did JM state after the New York game that he'd probably be going to a 4 man rotation? If Buerhle needs all this extra rest, why did he move him up a game, against MB's wishes against Minnesota in May? I just wish this guy was consistent.

Who knows why he pitched bad. Maybe he was psyche to pitch against the Yankees and had a let down. Maybe he would have sucked against New York also. The move by JM suck all the wind out of the Sox sails, thats for sure.

Hawk questioned some of JM's moves in 2002. He said JM had a bad year in 2002. Is on record with that. He wants the Sox to win, and will express his disgust from time to time. Hawk may question some of JM's moves. I question some of JM's moves. I question some of my own moves. None of that is earthshaking. I have never seen one person agree 100% on another person's life. LaRussa is vilified on the card's MLB boards a lot, as LaLoser. And by the time Hawk fired him from the Sox, LaRussa was being challenged a lot in Chicago. The first time Hawk spoke of firing LaRussa, I was one of a firestorm of folks who called the Sox front office and daid fire Hawk, not LaRussa. A few months later when Hawk did the deed, it was pretty apparent that a change needed to be made for everyone's sake. In a lot of ways I wish LaRussa was still managing us but then again the constant LaRussa sucks threads herer would piss me of too. The only constant in baseball fandom is that every fan thinks they know more than every manager and if only given a chance, they could manage a team to 27 straight world series titles, which is why Veeck ahd such fun with his "fans vote on what play to call" promotion. Connie mack had some dismal seasons and some world championships. Stengal was a loser before he got to NY, won what, 10 world series in 12 years, an incredible feat, and then two years later lost 120. Which makes my point that the manager did not lsoe yesertday's games, the players did. The game would have gone to extra innings had we not given up the last two runs. Or we could have scored more and other players could have hiot like Everett did. The players lost yesterday's game, as they win or lose every game, as a team effort. That's true but its the manager's job to put them in the best postion to succeed and win.

If MB is hurt than he should not start at NY, and should not start at Det. He is not hurt, he wanted the ball. JM said there was a 99.9% chance he would start.MB won 15 in 2001, and 19 in 2002. If he was average, JM would probably be selling computers right now. He has also been on a role. JM owed him the ball yesterday if he wanted it. If the Sox face the Yankees in the playoffs and Mussina starts game 1, does JM start Cotts to get everyone else an extra day rest?By the way catching teams off guard with "surprise" starters I'm sure is not JM's motivation for his windsocking. He showed no confidence in his team yesterday.JM is quoted in the NY Daily News as saying the Sox will "probably go to a 4 man rotation" now. So Rogers' argument how this is saving the staff is now moot.