Harry Chappas

The bandwagon thing is kind of hard to call with the Hawks. They were huge in the early 90's and then they turned into the worst franchise in all of sports not that long ago. I was a season ticket holder from 92-07....not a bright move giving them up. We cancelled the day before Kane was drafted. There were times when I would just not go because they were so bad and it was not worth spending more money on them. When they had the ABC line I think I went to 3 games and simply threw out tickets to another 8 to 10 or so. Does this make me a bad fan? I am a season ticket holder for the White Sox and have been since 1990. If this team stays as hard to watch as they are now I will discontinue going this year. The enjoyment is not there and it cost to much to have a good time and watch miserable baseball. As hard as the Sox are to watch right now, the Hawks are that enjoyable. Thanks Rock.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ May 12, 2009 -> 10:14 AM) Hey, someone pointed out Soup had a great series. I sure hope Keith gets his head out of his ass. My unsung hero of the series is probably Dave Bolland. Every time I looked he was digging a puck out of the corner, or pressuring the Sedins. He is truly a player that does the little things. His line was one of the most important pieces of beating both Van and Calgary. I hated on Kane, Campbell and Buf all year. I am glad I was proven wrong. I think Buf really got into Roberto's head early in the series and it affected him throughout. He actually was about to break down after the game. He had to walk away becasue he was crying or about to. It was a great moment becasue you saw the emotion and the impact of losing and his beliefthat he let his team and city down. I actually felt bad for him.

QUOTE (shipps @ May 12, 2009 -> 08:47 AM) When they piss you off in the first inning do you just get up and leave the ball park? Honestly that would be awesome. I did Friday night. My problem is not that the Sox suck, there appears to be hope on the horizon. I would rather suck and get a high draft pick than wallow in mediocrity and end up with Lance Broadway. My problem is envy and primarily that the cubs may be good and enjoy the season and post season success while I am left to do something that I do not enjoy as much as watch the Sox. I know this is twisted but that is the way it is. If I could turn on sportsradio now and never have to hear about the cub, I would be fine with a 77-87 season.

I think Q was most happy with the play of Soupy Campbell as he pointed it out about three times during the press conference. Keith seemed to have a miserable game last night. I'd like a seven game Duck Det series to get him some rest. Byf's penalty was bad but he seemd to simply stiff arm the guy. Kind of offset the Eager penalty as that was a lucky one for the Hawks. Kane is 19. The future is quite bright if Huet earns his keep and Marty is resigned.

QUOTE (santo=dorf @ May 11, 2009 -> 07:52 PM) Aside from Flowers, how are the other guys from the Javy trade doing? KW told us we would like the way Lillibridge plays. They oughta see if they can lock up Windmill Ramirez long term. It is working for Floyd pretty well.

QUOTE (The Ginger Kid @ May 11, 2009 -> 07:50 PM) i'd spare the pen and make gavin stay out there and wear this s***ty effort. He makes enough money.

QUOTE (fathom @ May 11, 2009 -> 07:45 PM) Not sure, but his mechanics have definitely changed. He started trying that inside-out swing earlier in the year, and it's really slowed his bat down. When they put him in the 2 hole they probably told him his job was to get he guy over. He is not a major league hitter (yet / maybe) and really is unable to adjust to the pitcher. That is why I think they need to begin lookingat Greg Walker. There are no adjustments made to a pitcher.

Why do the Sox draft guys that can hit or throw anything greater than 90 MPH? Well if the Hawks win the cup there will only be about three weeks until Bearbonnais.

QUOTE (fathom @ May 11, 2009 -> 04:34 PM) Why cruel? Alexei's lucky he has a patient manager. Alexei should be very, very worried that he's struggling and the best Sox prospect in a decade is a SS. Half joking. The cruel part would be moving him to a new position while looking as lost as a player could look. Nix not playing shows the mentality that Guillen has towards certain players. What that mentality is I do not know but Anderson, Betemit and Nix are in that camp for whatever reason. You would think the grindiness of Nix would have him playing somewhere. Nix has shown to be a very capable shortstop and have some ability to do what they need out of the number two slot. Yet after being shut down all weekend there is, the flailing wonder again. I would like to see what Nix could do as there is some talent there. It is not the Andy Gonzalez situation of 2007.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ May 11, 2009 -> 04:30 PM) Wife just had a baby. Thanks well than I guess there are no other options for CF as it would be down right cruel to move Ramirez to center.

What happened to Scott Podsednik? I assume he is injured.

QUOTE (knightni @ May 10, 2009 -> 10:02 AM) That would create some severe absentee ownership issues. Plus, the NHL is a money pit. JR is never one to throw his money down a hole. JR lives in Arizona I believe. I am quite certain that Rocky and his group have met with JR to discuss the financial dealing of the NHL. I am really liking Buff and Campbell. I guess when you do nothing for 82 games, you are much fresher for the playoffs. Kaner also seems to be turning it on but he needs some more consistency.

Today....I am out. Why you ask? Well, let me tell you. As a seson ticket holder I have attended 7 games thus far. The White Sox are 1-6 and have been outscored 52-12. That being said I would have to say that the pitching in my mind is not the issue. My problem with this team is the same as it was last year. The pitching continues to have to make a perfect pitches every game, I understand last Tuesday was on Floyd as well as in Detroit. Colon yesterday was breezing along but as soon as the 5th rolled around, there was no room for error. This becomes taxing. My problem is that there were 4 players in the line-up hitting under .200 (Lillibridge, Thome, Ramirez, Miller). Is Pods hurt? Why has Nix now not played in two games? Why can't Ramirez play CF? Why can't this team find a back-up catcher that is at least servicable? The main flaw of this team is the hitting I.Q is really low. They do not work counts or make pitchers work. They all swing at the first strike they see. I have also never seen a team that when they are ahead in the count will swing at either a ball or a perfect pitch thus not using the count to their advantage. They also never fight off good pitches and foul them off. If a hitter has a nine pitch at-bat, it is a miracle. I would like to see the average pitches per inning that the Sox see as well as how many pitches per at bat they see. Pitchers seem to get in a groove and off they go with zero adjustments being made to a pitcher during a game. They never allow the starter to rest as their time at bat even when they score is probably 15-18 pitches max. Finally, this team seems to suffer from a run away and hide mentality. They never score late in the game, I understand they did Saturday. Once the sixth inning rolls around or a team gets to its bullpen, you can pretty much call the game....unless Derek Holland is pitching. Not sure if there is no advance scouting or they just are not able to hit bullpen pitchers. A good couple of days may brighten my mood but the rant above is why I believe they will be .500 team and are the things that drive me insane. The White Sox seem to want to change this with different hitters......well if Alexi Ramirez and Josh Field are in the long term plans, we will see much of the same going forward. I do not know if this is good or bad, so I guess I am glad that I am not the G.M. Go Sox!

Freel will play third and hit better than Ramirez would this is how things work out for the cubs.

From what I have seen of Nix, granted it is a small sample size, he appears to be a better SS than Ramirez. He also appears to be a better number 2 hitter than any other option in this organization. Put Ramirez in center and be done with it until Nix gets hurt which could be any moment.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ May 8, 2009 -> 01:44 PM) Its the assessed value unfortunately, but there are exception programs or you could hire a lawyer to decrease the cost. I hired a lawyer for my entire building and my taxes went down a couple of thousand bucks. I thought you were a lawyer.......or maybe just play one on Soxtalk.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ May 8, 2009 -> 10:37 AM) Ramirez will be in CF. The guy was fabulous last year. Fabulous. You don't give up on that after a month of the season. That said, if the right offer came along, knowing Beckham is in the wings, I would trade Ramirez for a young starting pitcher in a heart beat. So was Mike Caruso at one time.... just being the devil's advocate here nothing more than that.

QUOTE (Kalapse @ May 8, 2009 -> 02:06 PM) It's ridiculous. Scott Podsednik is just simply not a good enough player to pull this s***, he's been a marginal ballplayer for the majority of his career, HE'S the guy that other should be giving up his number to a new acquired star, not the other way around. Just the fact that Podsednik was willing to ask our STARTING THIRD BASEMAN to kindly relinquish his number bothers me. did he relinquish his number or take number 7 when Owens left?

QUOTE (Downtown518 @ May 8, 2009 -> 12:39 PM) I have a question regarding property taxes for anyone who may know….. I bought my first house in July 2008 for under market value. My realtor told me that my first tax bill would be based on the sale price I bought the house at. I recently received my first tax bill, for 2008 taxes, and on the bill my taxes were based on the assessed value of the home. So assuming she was correct, should my 2008 bill be based on the sale price of the house? Just looking for a little knowledge before I start making phone calls. Thanks for your help in advance. Go Sox!!! I could be wrong but sale value has nothing to do with property taxes it is assessed value. When they reassess your home you may see a change. You should appeal your taxes and state the decreased value at which you bought it and why it was lower (ie the house was trashed).

Kate is hot but i wished she died in season 1 her character is a waste.

What number was Jerry Owens? Is Jerry Owens part of the organization? What number is Josh Fields? Answer these questions and you will see that this is all really pointless and really has nothinn to do with Fields and Pods working out a deal.

QUOTE (Paint it Black @ May 8, 2009 -> 08:55 AM) But how does it help win you ball games? As has been stated a couple of times already, it make you uncomfortable as a hitter. If you have to look inside you can not dive over the plate for the outside pitch unless you are Carlos Quinten.

In the post game press conference that I was watching and missed the Hawks first goal, Guillen said that Nix would get another day at short then they would reevaluate the situation. I think Ramirez is going to be staring down the barrell of the Juan Uribe role really soon.

QUOTE (Paint it Black @ May 8, 2009 -> 12:56 AM) No, this stuff is for losers. How about actually beating KC, that helps a lot more than some silly ass bean ball war that leads to suspensions/fines/and embarrassment. Dye could have been lost for the year. The reason being because both Texas and Kansas City throw inside and the Sox do nothing about it. Have you ever noticed how comfortable they seem to be at the plate. Pitching inside forces players to move their feet and makes them uncomfortable. This is not a macho thing about who can hit who it is about not letting players dig in and get comfortable. Sammy Sosa was famous for digging in. In the 50'and 60's if you dug in like that you were getting drilled. You cna throw inside and not hit a guy that is more about what Floyd needs to do.

QUOTE (Whitewashed in '05 @ May 7, 2009 -> 09:29 PM) Gameday had Jenks at 98. Are they wrong? Yes he was a tad wild