iamshack

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Jun 2, 2010 -> 02:05 PM) Huh? I think he is trying to say that Pods could have saved our season...

QUOTE (The Gooch @ Jun 1, 2010 -> 08:25 PM) I also did legs and back today. This program sure does work the hell out of your legs... I am doing Cardio X tomorrow just to try something new. Then I will have 2 weeks left in the program, 1 week of each routine. After I finish, I plan to return to the gym for a month or two to put on some bulk, and then probably do P90X all over again. I will definitely use a lot of the exercises that I have used in P90X at the gym as well. Eventually, I would like to develop a plan that would include the P90X workouts as well as weightlifting at the gym. Gooch...great job, brotha. I found that after I finished the program I was sort of lost as to what to do. I kept doing the workouts a few times a week for a few weeks, but then I started feeling guilty about not doing them more often. So then I just took a few weeks off. After starting to see myself shrink, I started trying to workout again, but tried to sort of pick up where I left off. That did not work well. I could barely get through the workouts, and would sort of punish myself mentally for being so out of shape all the sudden. Then my mom came in to town for several days, followed by my best friend, so needless to say I hardly worked out at all during that time period. When things finally returned to normal, I just had to come to grips with the fact that I am not going to be able to keep myself in the shape I was when I finished P90X, unless I continue to workout like I did for the program. When you finish that program, you are in pretty elite condition, to be quite honest. And it's a condition that arises from working your ass off for 13 weeks. It's not a condition that can be arrived at by working out twice a week. So I either have to accept that I will not be in that state of conditioning, or I will have to work much harder at it than just a few times a week. That is what I am currently trying to come to grips with. In the meantime, I have started the program a second time. Let me know how things work out for you.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Jun 1, 2010 -> 03:59 PM) Alright, starting a 90 day challenge to my bday. My goal is single digit body fat, ripped up 6 pack, and hopefully not as much flat out weight loss as my other round. Doing the typical P90X 90 day schedule with some insanity subbed in for kempo, plyo and legs and back. I will also be doing 1 on 1 with Tony's Fountain of youth yoga instead of the 90 min bore. Starting at 183 lbs 13% body fat-ish 33 in waist for a 6"1" guy, I would like to stay around 180, so I will be ingesting alot of protein. I wish you luck, Rock...you are a madman... Legs and back today...ugh, sore...

Good discussion, guys. As for our career numbers against Harden, this is no longer the Harden of old. Let's get to him.

QUOTE (AWhiteSoxinNJ @ Jun 1, 2010 -> 03:42 PM) What happens when your left in the big leagues for 2 years to struggle. I bet he couldn't hit A-ball at the moment. He was player of the week or something just recently. He's hitting it just fine.

QUOTE (kev211 @ May 31, 2010 -> 04:15 PM) http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=5236340 seriously? Leave it to those Marlins to try and make money off this...

QUOTE (Tex @ May 31, 2010 -> 06:58 AM) I was watching an interesting documentary on the History Channel and the state of our roads, bridges, sewer, water, and electric grid is appalling. I use to think we would fall because of our debt, but now I'm thinking running out of electricity and not being able to flush a toilet may cripple up first. I saw the same documentary. The dams in particular was incredibly scary. There are something like 2400 dams in South Dakota and only 2 inspectors or something? The first example of this problem was the bridge collapse a few years ago...in...was it Minnesota? We have been neglecting our infrastructure for 5 decades....we're going to be paying the price very soon.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Jun 1, 2010 -> 12:47 AM) Their bullpen ERA through May 30th was 7.68. That's got to be some kinda record through two months. I'm too lazy to look it up. Hopefully Kalapse or qwerty can provide some insight. I have a feeling our bullpen might have challenged them some months between June and Sept of 07'...

QUOTE (fathom @ May 31, 2010 -> 09:55 PM) Arizona have the worst bullpen in the history of baseball? They lost tonight on a balk. Quite comical to watch, especially since they have the best TV announcer in baseball. Their bullpen blew one yesterday against the Giants. I watch a lot of their games because I enjoy seeing the NL West...and every game it seems to be "And the DBacks bullpen finds a way to blow another one..."

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ May 31, 2010 -> 04:57 PM) So I'm going to Portland tomorrow night after work. The interview is first thing Wednesday morning. Anyone know if you can bring a garment bag (suit) as a carry on? I'd hate to have to fold and pack the suit and dress shirt if I didn't have to. Pretty certain you can. Good luck my man!

QUOTE (WCSox @ May 31, 2010 -> 10:46 PM) If Beckham is still hitting like this in August, I won't complain too loudly if he were optioned to Charlotte. But I just don't think that this is the time to do it. Struggling and learning how to overcome adversity is part of becoming a professional in any line of work. I agree that he shouldn't be left hanging indefinitely, but panicking over his mental state after two bad months will arrest his development more than it will help. That's a fair point, and I see both sides of the coin. I'm not if I agree with that last statement, but honestly, neither of us can really know. I think from where we're sitting a reasonable argument can be made for either approach. We'll just have to trust that those in charge are balancing the long and short term goals of both Gordon and the team.

QUOTE (WCSox @ May 31, 2010 -> 10:15 PM) I don't think that confidence is a problem with Beckham. Agreed about working on his mechanics, but I don't necessarily think that a trip to Charlotte is necessary for that (at least not at this point). If he can't get his mechanics straightened out against back-of-the-rotation starters and in batting practice, one has to wonder what kind of instruction he's getting in Chicago. If Beckham is still hitting around the Mendoza Line two months from now, sending him to Charlotte might not be a bad idea - in the sense that he may respond better to a different hitting instructor. I watched a kid who was absolutely unshakeable last season. He was struggling defensively at 3b, but it seemed to roll off his back because he was helping the team out offensively. Now, I am watching a kid who is unsure of himself, who is massively frustrated, who is not particularly having a lot of fun out there. He's always screaming and swearing like CQ, throwing his equipment around, and probably just upset that he is not helping the team. I just think being removed from the pressure a bit would reset his focus a bit. Obviously, I may be wrong - really hard to make these sort of guesses without being involved or on the inside. But that is just what my eyes are telling me.

QUOTE (WCSox @ May 31, 2010 -> 10:04 PM) The thing about Beckham, though, is that he's not some 19-year-old a year removed from high school. He set school records in his three years at Georgia, hit well in A-ball after he was drafted, hit .394 in the Arizona Fall League, and then raked in AA and AAA before getting called up the following year. He has no more "developing" to do at that level. And his numbers in Chicago last year reinforce the argument that he belongs in the bigs. At the very least, hitting the panic button 8 weeks into the season is WAY premature. He was in Charlotte for a week basically. He was not in Birmingham for that long either, to be honest. Yes, his acension through the minor leagues was fast and easy. As was his rise with the big league club last year. But obviously, it was not something he has been able to sustain. Just to reset the debate here a little bit, I don't think anyone is arguing that Gordon has to go down to Charlotte to necessarily "prove he belongs," but rather he needs to go down to regain confidence, refresh his mental attitude a bit, and tighten up his mechanics against a caliber of pitcher that will allow him to do so perhaps a little more easily.

QUOTE (fathom @ May 31, 2010 -> 09:49 PM) Even though I swear it wasn't me who posted on Beckham's facebook, it's discouraging that he's disagreeing he's opening up too early. All he has to do is watch one at bat of his, and he'll see that he's not staying closed long enough. It's discouraging to me that he would even discuss mechanics with randoms on facebook. That's all we need is for him to start listening to fans.

QUOTE (fathom @ May 31, 2010 -> 08:56 PM) I agree with you, as we've had a few players in the past have a good first year only to fall off the face of the planet in the years to come. Quentin is in a position to follow this pattern, and unfortunately, you never know about Beckham also. I think you need to take it on case-by-case basis. Quentin does not strike me as a player that would benefit by going down. He has a lot more experience in the minor leagues and more sustained success in the major leagues than Beckham. But that is certainly something reasonable minds can disagree about. I certainly would not be upset if Quentin was sent down to try and work out mechanical issues. I simply do not have the requisite knowledge/grasp on their situations to criticize how they are handled.

QUOTE (fathom @ May 31, 2010 -> 07:44 PM) I agree with you about the development of Beckham See my last post in the "Beckham is Back" thread. Would our treatment of Beckham be excusable if he had not experienced the success he did last season? What level of success (or how long a sustained period of success in the major leagues) does one have to achieve before his further develpment becomes a concern? Does the success Gordon had over 300 PAs last season mean the organization can expose him as much as they want for the benefit of the MLB club?

QUOTE (fathom @ May 31, 2010 -> 07:38 PM) What wouldn't upset you? Lillibridge has no business being on a Major League roster. Because frankly, neither does Gordon right now. I'd rather see Lillibridge or Nix play second right now than Omar Vizquel. At some point, we have to concern ourselves with Beckham's overall development.

Wouldn't upset me in the least.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ May 31, 2010 -> 06:59 PM) Yeah, gotta give Shack some props. Lincy doesn't look right at the moment. And Ubaldo is basically Bob Gibson. Did Lincecum bother to check the runners today? I think his start last week was the first time I have ever seen a pitcher not even bother to look at runners.

Yoga today. Damn does that Warrior 3 kill my legs every time.

QUOTE (WCSox @ May 31, 2010 -> 04:57 PM) No, the "whole point" is some sort of illogical retribution on your part because Beckham has failed to hit over an 8-week span. There's nothing logical about replacing Beckham's bat in the lineup with Vizquel's, or helping Beckham to hit major-league pitching by putting him up against the same inferior level of minor-league/college pitching that he's absolutely smoked over the past few years. Think of it this way: When you master a video game at the Novice level, you don't improve at the Advanced level by continuing to beat up the CPU at the Novice level. I don't agree with what BearSox is saying, but he does have a point. Look at things this way...imagine Beckham had not been called up last year, and this was his first shot at the big leagues. Keeping him up for the benefit of the team would be viewed as toxic for his development. But because he did have success for 300 PAs last season, it is not. Should the success Beckham experienced last year excuse the organization from being more cognizant of his development as opposed to the needs of the MLB club?

QUOTE (RockRaines @ May 31, 2010 -> 02:00 PM) And then totally ruined it with a terrible eating/drinking weekend. I try to keep mine at 75ish, but during some plyo workouts ill just leave all the windows open. That's ok. Better to work hard to enjoy your holiday weekends and keep yourself in shape than to be a grumpy bastard in fantastic shape. We should all work out so we can have a little fun from time to time.

QUOTE (greg775 @ May 31, 2010 -> 02:36 PM) Texas is good. We'll see right off the bat if we can win a home series against a good team. Then lousy Cleveland again? We're going to find out quickly if the Sox indeed are playing better or if that is a myth. Yeah, but they are bad on the road.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ May 31, 2010 -> 02:07 AM) No way. Pitching match-ups like these bring the best out of guys. It's like when Lebron/Kobe match-up. You know they're bringin' it even harder than usual. I expect Lincy to meet the challenge. We'll make a friendly gentleman's wager then. I think Lincecum's having some mechanical issues that are f'ing with his mind a bit. That or he was a bit slow to come off the weed in his last start...

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ May 31, 2010 -> 01:42 AM) You're right about Ely and Garland. Contreras, however, would fare just fine in the AL as a set-up man/closer. Look no further than the great Carlos Silva...