CSF

If Maggs can get his money, good for him. But I can't possibly see him putting up the same numbers he had at the Cell, in comparison to Comerica. Alot of homeruns he hit are going to become warning track outs unless he smacks the hell out of the ball. Plus, will his knee hold up with having to cover additional ground in Detroit.

QUOTE(Hall of Famer @ Jan 28, 2005 -> 03:29 PM) I may be wrong on this, but I can't recall Juan Gonzo ever playing for us... You should never let the facts get in the way of a good rip job. :rolly

QUOTE(YASNY @ Jan 28, 2005 -> 01:59 AM) This wasn't Jayson Stark's opinion of things. I just noticed that. My bad.

I wouldn't worry about it too much. Philly Stark is another one of those clueless East Coast writers who dove in headfirst to the gallon of Red Sox-Yankees koolaid. Though I do admit, I am surprised he didn't put his beloved Phillies on that list.

48% Barely Yankee. Lying bastards. I've spent my entire life in Chicago except for a few years in California.

QUOTE(TheBlackSox8 @ Jan 27, 2005 -> 12:28 AM) Who are the new Cub announcers??.....not like I really care. and not like anyone else actually cares. Len Kasper for PBP. Bob Brenly for color commentating.

QUOTE(Gene Honda Civic @ Jan 26, 2005 -> 11:45 PM) Reports from Soxfest were that he was not "fat" -- The reported weight gain is nothing to be concerned about Cool.

QUOTE(hammerhead johnson @ Jan 26, 2005 -> 11:50 PM) Yeah, you and the rest of your cub fan buddies. Ugh. Reminds me of last year's game at Wrigley when Chip & Steve both sarcastically said "He Gone" at the end of the 1st game. :headshake

Any reports on Uribe and the increased weight he gained during the early offseason. Has he shed the weight?

From the Sun-Times:

From Gamespot.com: Publisher will have exclusive third-party pro baseball rights beginning in 2006; deal still allows for first-party MLB games. Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported that Take-Two was in talks with the Major League Baseball's Players Association to ink an exclusivity deal similar to EA's pact with the NFL. Today, the athletic union issued a carefully worded announcement that it had struck just such an agreement with Take-Two--sort of. "The Major League Baseball Players Association ('MLBPA') today announced that it has reached an agreement in principle to grant sweeping rights to Take-Two Interactive, Inc., to develop and publish a broad portfolio of products that are expected to drive the baseball video game business to unprecedented heights," read the statement. Currently, Take-Two copublishes the ESPN Major League Baseball 2K series with Sega. The game is developed by Kush Games, a subdivision of Sega's internal sports studio, Visual Concepts, which Take-Two has acquired the option to buy. Initially, the vague wording of MLBPA's statement made it unclear if Take-Two had exclusive MLB rights after all. However, further along, the exact terms of the deal are spelled out. Starting in 2006, "Take-Two will have exclusive rights among third-party publishers to develop and market simulation, arcade and manager-style baseball video games on the current and next-generation PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo, personal computer and hand-held video game systems," read the statement. (Emphasis added.) Said third-party exclusivity will last for seven years, until 2012. Presumably, this means that Electronic Arts' pro baseball series will not return after MVP 2005 launches in March. But an EA spokesperson would not say the agreement marked the end of EA Sports baseball games. "We will launch MVP Baseball 2005 this spring, and we're exploring our long term options. This proves that there's plenty of competition in sports games," said the rep. However, the Take-Two/MLBPA deal is not totally exclusive, as the EA/NFL agreement was. "At the same time, manufacturers of video game systems will have the opportunity to develop and publish baseball simulation games for their own platforms," read the statement. That caveat is significant since one of the most popular baseball series, MLB, is published by Sony and internally developed at its 989 Sports studio. When contacted, Take-Two corporate reps declined comment. "We have nothing to add at the moment," said one. But that didn't stop John Olshan, the MLBPA's director for interactive games, from heaping praise on Take-Two. "The baseball video game business has been underdeveloped for years," he said. "The upcoming change in technology makes this the perfect time for us to implement our plan for growing the business, and we have no doubt that Take-Two's proven creativity and innovation, combined with their incredible distribution strength and powerful commitment to baseball, will add real excitement and depth to the video game marketplace. Baseball fans will be the big winners." GameSpot will have more on this developing story as further details emerge. By Tor Thorsen -- GameSpot

Nice read.

You give up a guy who hit .262 even though he was leading off, gives you speed, & pretty good D? Willie needs to stay right here.

QUOTE(Spod=Ratings @ Jan 22, 2005 -> 06:55 PM) Hey does anyone know who will host sox pragme.I loved Bill Melton but he isnt on Comcast. Please tell me it's not that cub lover Gail Fischer. Actually, before she started doing the Cubs pregame show, Gail Fischer was doing the Sox pregame show. IIRC, her last year handling the Sox telecast was 2000 during the playoff run. I thought she and Dave Otto didn't do a bad job when they did the pregame show in 2000.

Wouldn't be the least bit surprised if Isiah names himself interim coach.

From Robert Feder's column in the Sun-Times: The one decent show they had besides Boers/Bernstein, and that one's gone too. Yet Mike North still works. Tragic. :headshake

A "suit" that's not really a suit. Nice.

Dave Revsine, ESPN Sportscenter anchor is also a Sox fan.

Aaron Rowand

Even North says WSCR deserves a few barbs E-mail this story Printer-friendly format Search archives January 21, 2005 The personalities at WSCR-AM 670 dish out far more than they take. That's the nature of sports talk radio. WSCR, however, has been taking plenty this week after the fall Arbitron ratings had the station a distant second to its competitor in the format, WMVP-AM 1000. Bring it on, says Mike North. "People can criticize the station," North said. "So what? We deserve it. We didn't win this time." WSCR was blown away by WMVP's monster month in December. The original sports-talker has gone from dominating to having to play catch-up. WMVP deserves credit for creating popular programming. But WSCR also had a hand in this. As North says, let the criticisms begin: In talking to former WSCR employees and local radio insiders, you hear these knocks: North's new morning show isn't about sports, Dan Bernstein and Terry Boers are too arrogant during their midday program and Rick Telander's new afternoon show has yet to click, etc. But there's a common trend above everything else: WSCR has made too many changes throughout the years. Continuity used to be WSCR's cornerstone. After its debut in 1992, the station went six years without tinkering with the talent. It built a strong and loyal audience base during that time. Then morning man Tom Shaer left the station, and WSCR broke up the midday pairing of North and Dan Jiggetts and the afternoon tandem of Boers and Dan McNeil. The domino effect began. North's show is the fourth in the morning slot since Shaer departed. Telander's program also is the fourth attempt to find the right combination since the Boers-McNeil break-up. The only constant of late has been Boers and Bernstein during the midday, and their ratings fell during the last book. By contrast, WMVP has kept most of its key pieces in place—with the exception being the 9 a.m.-noon slot. Bob Snyder, the former general manager of WMVP, said he used to like when WSCR made changes because he thought it would help his station. "They had an eight- to 10-year head start on 1000," said Snyder, who has formed Beeson Broadcast Partners, a firm that consults with teams on media contracts and sponsorships. "That creates an extraordinary amount of habitual listening. Regardless of the intent, once you begin to make changes, naturally, it puts some of those habits in jeopardy. Sometimes in this business the best way to react is to not react. Change could be your biggest enemy." WSCR also has had several changes at the top. Current WSCR station executives say they don't want to dwell on the past. "We didn't make the latest changes because of the past; we made them for the future," WSCR program director Drew Hayes said. "We made changes to build the station for the long haul. I believe we made a bold move for the future." Much of the final outcome hinges on North, the station's heavy hitter since its inception. North wanted to be host for a broader, general interest show. Although sports still plays a major role, it hardly is the sole focus. With sidekicks Fred Huebner and Anne Maxfield, North muses on nearly everything, sometimes espousing conservative views that would make Rush Limbaugh blush. North says it will take at least a year for a sound verdict on his new show. He took heart that in the fall ratings, the morning show went from a 2.4 to a 3.2 in the all-important men ages 25-54 category. "I had been told we'd either go down or stay the same, so this is very encouraging," North said. Hayes is bolder in his assessment. "I believe Mike will flat-out succeed," he said. Still, North's show trails WMVP's national offering of Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic, who picked up some sports-talk listeners turned off by North's new approach. North is going to be expected to get those ratings up between a 5 and 6. Obviously, North and the station have a long way to go. But there's also a ways to go before WMVP can declare total victory, according to Snyder. "Winning one or two ratings books is a trend, not a definitive statement," Snyder said. "The battle is not over. But maybe for the first time ever, there is a battle." North is diplomatic and defiant. While congratulating WMVP for its success, he also predicts WSCR will regain its old spot on the throne. "Every time they've pronounced us dead, we've come back," North said. "I know we have a good product." Kaplan moving? David Kaplan could be WMVP's answer in filling the 9 a.m.-noon slot, sources say. The station has been in contact with Kaplan, who along with Tom Waddle is host for WGN-AM 720's successful 7-9 p.m. sports show. Kaplan's contract expires at the end of March. It likely would take a big money offer to pry him away from WGN, where he loves his relationship with the Cubs. WMVP, however, might just ante up. Hiring Kaplan would solidify what already has become a strong lineup. Tribune columnist Rick Morrissey will work the midmorning slot next week. Call ESPN's new dramatic series, "Tilt," averaged 2 million viewers for its debut Jan. 13. While the show bettered ESPN's average rating during the 8-9 p.m. Thursday slot, it trailed "Playmakers," which attracted 2.6 million viewers for its premiere episode. I'm going to give the show more time, but I can't say I was hooked after the first one. I had a hard time getting into the story, and they're going to have to convince me that these are compelling characters. Email: [email protected] Until recently, I didn't know what was worse; tuning into Mariotti and another one of his baseless rants on WMVP, or switching over to North talking about another one of his Vegas trips on the Score. Most times I turned the radio off until 10 when Boers & Bernstein came on.

Shingo's

I think they have updated all of the Sox players except for Vizcaino, Adkins, Jenks, Escobar, Baj, Borchard, Diaz, Grilli, Valdez, Walker, & Timo (they still have his 2003 scouting report). Here's the report on Buerhle:

Even though Come on Timo was hillarious, I voted for the Joe Crede call. He pratically screamed himself hoarse on that play.

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Jan 18, 2005 -> 08:44 AM) I gotta say, as a baseball purist, I love the idea, and I with the Sox would revisit it. I'm in total agreement here. I loved the early '90s pinstriped unis with no names.