Zoogz

QUOTE(SpringfieldFan @ Jul 7, 2006 -> 10:02 AM) You know what's interesting? The Sox have seven (!) guys on the all star team but not a single starter. After the substitutions, during the last few innings it might look like a full Sox lineup taking on the NL out there! SFF Considering that it's 3 pitchers and 2 first-basemen (plus Dye and AJ), it'd be awfully hard for Ozzie to put all seven out there at one time. But still, getting four out of the current nine players on the field is still almost half, and something to be proud of.

QUOTE(RME JICO @ Jul 7, 2006 -> 07:26 AM) I agree. The Sox need to work some of the farm system into the plan each year. Otherwise the team will get to the point where there is a huge drop off in the talent pool or payroll that one offseason cannot correct. Then you end up like the Yankees with ageing pricey veterans, a huge payroll, and a suspect farm system. I don't want to be overly disputational, but I did at least want to say that the Yankees did manage to maintain a dynasty with acquired "stars" of Jeter, Bernie Williams, Leyritz, Brosius, Soriano, and others. They did have mercenaries like Tino Martinez, Clemens, Cone, Knoblauch, and a few others, but when the Yankees started winning it was with shrewd investment. And even though the Yankees franchise has gone to super-spending mode in recent history, they are still working on a postseason streak that started back in 1995. The Yankees' payroll when they won the WS the last time was $92M (2000: see Baseball Almanac). This number was at the time the largest payroll in the league. But others spent almost as much; for instance, the Atlanta Braves spent $84M that very same year. It has been only the past three or so years that the Yankees found out that they can cover up mistakes with more money, something that not too many other clubs in MLB can do. Eleven playoff appearances, seven pennants, and four WS victories in the last eleven years is definitely something that I would love to emulate and consider a dynasty. Now though the biggest problem for the rest of MLB is that the Yankees' current "successes" are pretty difficult to swallow in terms of salary obligations. Once upon a time though they really did build a winner by smart drafting, smart signing, and smart trading. And it was not until the last three years or so that they have had to turn to the "200 Million Dollar" model. Sorry to bring this off-topic, but while I really hate the Yankees (and all their success), I also want to make sure that the record is straight that at one point, their whole team was not made up of overpaid (and old) mercenaries, and it was an organization that many in the league really should have thought about trying to copy.

Congratulations to the White Sox fans for voting A.J. into the All-Star game. It is sad that people do not realize that as far as the fan voting goes, the only reason Rodriguez was voted in was to make sure that Varitek and his bad numbers would not be rewarded, and it's hard to not pick a second catcher who is batting almost .400 through half a season. A.J.'s contributions definitely had to be recognized, and if it had to be in a 32-man setting, so be it. (Though in all honesty, if Joe Crede was on the ballot, I would have voted him over either Verlander or Liriano). Anyway, the other reason to be glad about this is that Pudge doesn't have to catch for even a half-game due to A.J.'s entrance to the game.

QUOTE(Greg The Bull Luzinski @ Jul 3, 2006 -> 06:01 PM) If Sox fans think Detroit hates us now over the all-star fiasco, I can't imagine how much they would hate us if Ben Wallace signs with the Bulls. Ehh, the All-Star game is all fine for me... the Sox went to the World Series last year, and if Ozzie wants to reward his players for playing so well, I really can't complain. I'll just let everyone else complain. As far as Ben goes, I can't blame him. The man fired his previous agent because he thought the Pistons were going to reward him and Ben didn't even want to fork the percentage over. But while the Pistons made him a fair offer, the Bulls made him a more-fair offer. Ç'est la vie. It does disappoint me that the Pistons and Ben couldn't come to an agreement, but I also am happy that the Pistons did win it once with him and I have faith that Joe Dumars can come up with another master plan... the Pistons definitely kept the best of the two backcourt executives. Sorry for dragging this off-topic. All I hope is that Ozzie can manage the AL to another All-Star victory. Heck, if he can do that then he can have all twenty-five of his Sox players on the team. Because I hope that either the Sox or Tigers (or even the Twins) can take advantage of home-field this fall... if any of us really need it, that is.

QUOTE(hawkitis @ Jun 28, 2006 -> 01:14 AM) Must of been a full moon - but everybody in the AL Central won. White Sox 4, Pittsburgh 2 Detroit 4, Houston 0 Cleveland 3, St. Louis 1 Minnesota 9, LA Dodgers 2 Kansas City 9, Cincinnati 8 Boy does the NL Suck! Hahaaaaaaaa And the Cardinals and Dodgers are (or at least were, in the case of the Dodgers) in first place. And Cincinnati is the wild-card leader. Add to that the Sox handing Pitt their twelfth straight loss, and Clemens getting his second loss... The AL Central rocks. Wow, that feels great to say...

Yep, another Detroit fan, but hopefully this message will be applicable for most people here. Firstly, I would like to say that I have also enjoyed the Tigers' start. BUT... posting on an opposing team's BB to brag about it is not my main plan. I don't know how many other Detroit fans may agree or disagree with me, but for all the Tigers fans that come here I do have a question. When your team is playing another team who happens to be 19-6 against your team through the start of 2005 and who has won a World Series just last year, and your team happens to be holding a razor-thin 2-game margin over them, how many of that team's fans do you expect to say that your team will be playing for a World Series? The Sox have been good for many prior years and awesome for the past two. I came here and signed up because it is nice to see what your rival says about your team. However, Tigers fans, please know that you cannot demand pragmatic arguments. This isn't a media outlet, this isn't even a newspaper which has to hold to any sort of journalistic standard. This is a webboard made up of rabid fans of your *current rival*, the team that has the same goal as the Tigers do which in some regards is mutually exclusive; only one team can really win the Central, and only one team can win the World Series. A team which is 53-25 is clearly a good team so far but ultimately has not even played half its games. As a fan of a Tigers team with win totals of 43, 72, and 71 through the past three years getting to 90 is terrific and the playoffs is just gravy. Why go out of your way to pick fights with other fans and then feel antagonistic and crummy about them when something special is finally happening to your baseball team? If you need to talk junk to your competitor to get yourself into the game more, so be it, but don't be surprised if some people don't exactly like it. Ultimately this is just my opinion, but I know I feel better by just taking in the debate and continuing to enjoy the Tigers breaking every *reasonable* projection that was made about them through the past offseason. White Sox fans, thank you at least for the candidness that you provide, and for your hospitality here. I love to hear honest opinions and as many as possible, and while some things on the White Sox (notably their manager) have rubbed me the wrong way personally, I must admit that I have been enjoying everything that this season has brought to begin with and hope that it will continue... and also have found a healthy respect for a club who has been 149-89 since 2005. There's a lot to emulate, even if I don't believe the manager is one of those things (so sorry...). With that said, I hope you White Sox fans don't mind a question as well and I also hope you don't think me too forward... as fans of the White Sox, and taking in account what has happened this year... was last year more fun where you had little doubt all year and little to play for until the end more enjoyable, or has this strange little streak for both teams been enjoyable to watch and follow? I certainly know my response, especially since the Tigers have never really been in the first situation since I started watching them in the early-90s, but I am curious to learn your reactions. Thanks for putting up with some of the more vocal of us, and I hope that I can come here for a long time even when the Tigers return to being bad. (Though I'm crossing my fingers that this won't happen for a while.)

QUOTE(whitesoxfan101 @ Jun 16, 2006 -> 10:57 AM) The Tigers don't hit lefties all that well According to MLB.com, those guys are 14-5 against LHP. The bulk of their regular lineup is all righties except for a SH and a leadoff LH. Oh well, we'll see what happens this weekend.