iamshack

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jun 9, 2008 -> 12:00 PM) I am sure that if you could get Crede to sign a good deal (4 years or less) and stay with the Sox, that most people here would be happy to keep him around. Its just that, the chances of that are about 1 in 100. So you're saying there's a chance...

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jun 9, 2008 -> 12:10 PM) Well...here's the thing...how do you define talent? Jim Thome is the most talented if you judge talent by how far he hits the ball and nothing else. Quentin right now seems to be our most talented overall player with the bat. But Alexei is solid with the bat and also is probably our best athlete I'd guess...seems to be both strong and very quick...Quentin couldn't outrun Alexei if his life depended on it. I believe what Hawk said was that Alexei was the best "baseball player." Meaning he has the most talent in all the particular areas that make a good baseball player. Running, throwing with power and accuracy, hitting for contact and power, running to the ball, etc. Hawk qualified his statement by saying that there are other guys whose production was greater, but in terms of playing the game of baseball, Alexei is our best. Now Hawk is obviously prone to some hyperbole from time to time (or all the time), but I think the statement is pretty right on. In terms of overall talent to play the game of baseball well in all of its facets, Alexei has the best tools to do so. Now he just has to continue adjusting to major league baseball and I think we will see his production continue to rise.

That damn Kia commercial with the guy in his boxers is the worst running right now. Another good one is the one with the couple that is discussing what to do with their economic stimulus check. He wants a big screen tv but she wants to buy windows or something. They get the check in the mail, and he looks at his wife and says "this is a great deal of money." Hah....that always makes me think of Bill Maher making fun of George Bush and his stimulus bill. "They're giving us all $600. CASH!"

I was camping in Central Illinois this weekend. Friday night, we got NINE inches of rain dumped on us in a constant downpour from about 7 pm until 5 am. It was nasty, and quite scary. I think I slept in two inches of standing water. Not a fun night.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Jun 8, 2008 -> 08:07 PM) You ALMOST came around when your team won its first WS in 88 years? What would have made you come around? Apparently a repeat...

QUOTE (whitesoxfan101 @ Jun 5, 2008 -> 11:41 PM) The Tampa Bay GM would easily be executive of the year right now. And the season is only a hair over 1/3 completed, so let's keep that in mind. Kenny looks brilliant so far in terms of 2008, but emphasis on so far. Andrew Friedman has done a nice job. Then again, I think I could do a nice job if I walked into a system that was loaded beyond belief due to having the #1 draft pick for like 15 consecutive years. He did a nice job trading for Wheeler, signing Percival, acquiring Garza. But he walked into a system containing more talent than any team in baseball, and it's not particularly close. I'd be more apt to give Joe Maddon Manager of the Year than Andrew Friedman Executive of the Year.

QUOTE (gosox41 @ Jun 5, 2008 -> 10:29 PM) I'm still here. And nothing has been proven to me. Sure he's made some great movesm but his love affair with slow, one dimensional aging power hitters boggles my mind. I could go over the stats the last7 years, but I won't unless you insist because it gets repetitive. But the stats explain a lot about why KW isn't as great as some think. As for Floyd, I don't remember every saying he lacked talent. I remember saying he lacked confidence and was a head case. Big differece. I know the physical ability is there, but how many players with all the talent in the world fail to live up to the hype. Credit Coop and Ozzie for rebuilding Floyd's psyche. The hard part wasn't seeing this guy has a great curve ball, the hard part was getting hi to believe. But KW should get credit for getting him when he could have easily as seen him as another nut case. Oh come on! Kenny has GOT to be in line for executive of the year thus far. Sure, nothing has been won yet. But everything he said about who he's gotten in the last 18 months or so has panned out. Danks/Massett/Floyd/Ramirez/Quentin/Linebrink/Dotel....and I would bet a LOT that Swisher will be fine and rebound into the player we all know he is. Find me another GM that has done so much with so little to help his club in the past 18 months...

QUOTE (southsideirish71 @ Jun 5, 2008 -> 01:33 PM) Well I didnt think they had the foreshadowing of picking a SS in the next draft with their number 1 pick and signing Alexei Ramirez in the offseason. Yeah, you can't look at things that way. Would you rather they be stubborn about it, and make an even bigger mistake, by trying to plug in Richar when he isn't good enough? Should they refuse to address the position in order to defend a trade that didn't work out? Not all trades work out. It's a fact of life in professional baseball. You have to move on.

Jeesh, you guys are riled up....patience my friends, patience!

QUOTE (BearSox @ Jun 5, 2008 -> 11:53 AM) Well, the newest rumor is that he really want to go to either Boston or the Yankees, and to ensure he drops down that far, he is demanding 12 million from any team drafting him. I doubt if he does go to the Yankees or Boston that he would actually get 12 million and this is mainly a bluff so he can go to the team he wants. The thing is, by asking for 12 million, teams are less likely to call his bluff as no one is stupid enough to spend 12 million on a player who's never played in the MLB before. You just have to stop allowing the players and agents manipulate the draft this way. There may as well not even be a draft order anymore...

QUOTE (klaus kinski @ Jun 5, 2008 -> 08:33 AM) I was there and that ball left the premises as fast as any I've seen-and I was there for the Tejada AND Pasqua concourse shots. To this day, I feel they did not measure the Pasqua shot right-it hit the sign behind Right field reserved seats. 464 seemed a bit short too last night. Next hardest one I saw in person was Frank Howard hitting the wall behind the bullpen at Comisky probably in 1965 or so. Like I said, I was there too, and I never saw a centerfielder give up on a ball as quickly as DeJesus did on that ball.

QUOTE (quickman @ Jun 5, 2008 -> 12:27 PM) either way I hate the name. that in itself eliminates him!!! What about Buster Posey? Sounds like the newest teen pop star or something....

QUOTE (quickman @ Jun 5, 2008 -> 11:15 AM) and yes you would hear that from me no doubt. Furthermore, just heard Steve Stone say that all his scouts have said that Crow is a surgery waiting to happen. They won't take him. i would love Wallace if not because I know he can hit the tar out of the ball but because his name is better than Yonder. I mean really, what jersey would you rather buy? Wallace or Yonder? Now thats my pick Wallace, but the sox will surely dissapoint me. Well, his surname is actually Alonso....first name is Yonder...

QUOTE (quickman @ Jun 5, 2008 -> 09:39 AM) how cute was the mom? The mom was just an average looking blond. And probably in her late thirties. No one Miguel could've been involved with in that way. I really think they were probably old neighbors of his, or like I said, he had come to visit her in a school or a hospital or something...

Yesterday night I was at the game, and there was a blond woman with a cute little girl with her, the girl must have been no more than 5 years old. She was wearing an authentic Royals Miguel Olivo jersey, signed by Olivo himself, along with a pink and white Royals hat, also signed by Olivo. Whenever Olivo would come to the plate, she would go crazy, dancing around, screaming his name, saying cute things beyond her age like "Hang in there, Miguel," after he struck out. It was beyond adorable. My friends and I sat there trying to figure out how this could be....how a girl that age could have a Royals authentic Olivo jersey, in that tiny little size, when he just signed with them this season. This was compounded by the fact that the woman with her, whom we assumed was her mother, was wearing a White Sox pullover. The only thing we could think of was that they must have been neighbors of Miguel's back when he lived in Chicago, or perhaps she was involved in some sort of program in which he did charity work. Either way, it was obvious that Miguel still keeps in touch with them, as he must have been sending them these signed Royals items. I must say, it was very heartwarming, and quite adorable. And to those of you who are thinking Miguel was involved with the mother, no, it wasn't like that. You could tell.

QUOTE (tommy @ Jun 4, 2008 -> 11:44 PM) 464 official distance. Yeah, I was at the game, and 464 was what they posted on the scoreboard. I don't know if I have ever seen a centerfielder give up on a ball that quickly. Seems farther than 464 though, given the height it was when it hit the screen over the ivy...

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jun 4, 2008 -> 11:42 AM) So, seems like four possibilities here, as far as I can tell... 1. Send Wassermann down, Loaiza goes to the pen 2. Release Masset (no options), replace with Loaiza 3. This is a pre-cursor to a trade of some kind 4. Send Loaiza to Charlotte, and boot Tomo Ohka. He becomes the backup to the starting 5. I personally think that 4 makes the most sense. 3 might be good, depending omn the trade. 2 seems silly, as I don't think Masset is bad enough to warrant replacing him with Loaiza. And 1 would be odd role-wise, but might make sense. I am really hoping for 3 or 4. Yeah, this can't be to release Masset. I know his WHIP is a bit high, but you don't release ANY pitchers with a 3.38 ERA in the current baseball climate.

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Jun 4, 2008 -> 11:34 AM) Well if you have 2 players with very similar OBP and SLG numbers but one has a .050 point advantage in batting average, you go with him since a single > a walk. Example 1: Player A: .300/.380/.500/.880 Player B: .250/.380/.500/.880 It's player A all the way. Example 2: Player A: .300/.330/.500/.830 (IsoD = .030) Player B: .260/.370/.500/.870 (IsoD = .110) Now who are you taking? Player B.

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Jun 4, 2008 -> 12:00 PM) That's not what I meant. "Better" in terms of plate discipline. The higher the IsoD the "better" that hitter is at drawing walks that doesn't necessarily mean a player with a high IsoD is a more valuable hitter than someone with a low IsoD. Right. The better question is "Are hitters with a better IsoD generally more productive hitters"? That's sort of where I was going with that.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Jun 4, 2008 -> 10:40 AM) Im going to spitball a little on this one. I feel like in ST he wasnt as far up in the batters box as he is now. Since he is up so far I feel like he is getting to the breaking balls a bit earlier which is helping him make solid contact before they drop off the table. He has the fast hands to turn on any fastball and now his swing is beginning to stay in the zone longer which is allowing him to either make contact on breaking balls or foul them off. Makes you wonder why Pauly has never done this, considering how good he is at getting to the fastball. Although I guess this season, his problem has often been the change.

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Jun 4, 2008 -> 10:33 AM) IsoD = Isolated discipline. OBP - AVG = IsoD It shows how heavily weighted a hitter's OBP is by his batting average. The greater the difference between OBP and AVG the better. Well, in most cases, yes. I think that depends on slugging though. I'll take a guy with a .380 OBP and a .320 BA if he slugs over .475 or so versus a guy with a .400 OBP and a .275 BA that slugs the same all day, every day.

That's crazy....I didn't notice anything the first time...

QUOTE (LVSoxFan @ Jun 2, 2008 -> 03:06 PM) Roger that. Exactly my thoughts. I like the "baseball card" analogy. Here's one that my co-worker (Cub fan but baseball nut) floated: why not make Harold Baines the hitting coach? I mean, the guy could definitely HIT so it's not that crazy--or is it? Thoughts? I don't know Harold personally, but from everything I've heard he has an extremely quiet personality. I'm not sure whether he can communicate on the level necessary to be a good hitting coach. I certainly may be incorrect, but that is what I have read. Remember, it's not just whether one can hit, but whether he can teach others to hit.

Or who would win a spelling bee....

I really don't think Ozzie meant to throw Kenny under the bus. I think Kenny and Ozzie have had multiple conversations regarding whether Ozzie thinks Kenny needs to go out and get something else for the offense, and Ozzie has consistently said "no, we have the right guys." This was Ozzie's way of saying, "maybe I was wrong, maybe I do need Kenny to go out and get something for me." He was trying to motivate his players, not piss Kenny off. Unfortunately, he didn't think before he said it. And we all know Kenny is a fiery guy himself.