iamshack

QUOTE (fathom @ Apr 29, 2008 -> 09:57 PM) Who cares if we have a speedy leadoff guy. We have a #2 hitter who can't do anything fundamentally right at the plate. No one cares. But is Swisher a better hitter batting somewhere else than he is batting first?

QUOTE (almagest @ Apr 29, 2008 -> 09:53 PM) Okay, so tell us a better metric for evaluating offensive production. You must have one, since you seem to know for sure that OPS isn't that useful. Well, to be fair, DBAHO has been advocating one the past few weeks (can't remember the name) that more evenly weighs OBP with slugging.

QUOTE (Tony82087 @ Apr 29, 2008 -> 09:45 PM) We all are. However, there are ways to "shake the team up" without actually making it worse. I just can't stand the Jerry Owens argument for the lead off spot. Whats funny about all of this is the reason most are saying Swisher isn't a real lead off hitter is because Thome and Kong haven't been themselves at the plate this season. If they were driving our 1-2 in, Swisher wouldn't be an issue to people(he shouldn't be to begin with). The number one goal for a leadoff hitter is to get on base. There is no getting around it. Swisher does that better than anyone else the Sox could put in the leadoff spot. Case closed. My question, Tony, is whether putting someone at the leadoff spot that gets on base the most frequently is more important than putting the "optimal" batting order out there. I'm not suggesting Jerry Owens, but to me, the ultimate questions are these: "Does placing OC in the leadoff spot (and obviously someone else in the second slot, my pick being Swisher) make the lineup better even though you may have a player with a lesser OBP leading off? Would Swisher be a better hitter in the second slot than in the leadoff slot?" I tried to raise this point in my post on talkchicagosports. I'd love to get some responses.

QUOTE (joesaiditstrue @ Apr 29, 2008 -> 05:38 PM) when your 10/5 kicks in as a player, does it look badly upon your character if you deny a trade? is that generally frowned upon? It depends largely on the situation. If you're on a team that's clearly trying to rebuild, and they try to trade you to a favorable situation (i.e. a contending ballclub), yes, it is generally frowned upon. But if the team is trying to deal you just for the sake of dealing you, then no, most players are not looked upon poorly for executing their contractual rights. Many players these days will try and work with the team to try and amicably resolve the situation however, as they don't usually wish to stay where they are not wanted.

QUOTE (watchtower41 @ Apr 29, 2008 -> 02:45 PM) Thanks for the input fellas, nice to know that there's a bit more to do than just hit up the Mall of America during the day. Obviously kidding, but I've only been up to the Twin Cities twice, and both during the winter when you couldn't do jack outside. I'm thinking it would make for a nice little mid-week/weekend roadtrip for a relatively inexpensive get-away. We stayed in a hotel across from the M of A, and as I recall, it was pretty inexpensive. There is also a Gamekeepers there near the Metrodome, as well as many other restaurants and bars (I think we had lunch in a Harley Davidson restaurant or something? It's a nice place and we had a fun time.

QUOTE (watchtower41 @ Apr 29, 2008 -> 01:03 PM) Speaking of the Twinkies, I'd like to get some real impressions from people who have taken the trip to the Metrodome in the past. This stadium won't be around for long, and even though most fans bash the place as the biggest s***hole in MLB, I'd really like to take the initiative to make the roadtrip up there for a 3 game series against the Sox. For those who have been, would you reccomend it?? A few of my friends and I went for the first road series of the 05' season. The park itself is pretty much a piece of crap, but the people are extremely nice and polite. The Minneapolis/St. Paul area is also very nice, so it's not a bad place to visit. We asked around and were recommended to go to a bar called The Local, which is a nice Irish pub about 6 blocks or so from the Metrodome. It was a fun atmosphere during the afternoon, prior to the game. We headed back there after the game, and actually ended up seeing and meeting Aaron Rowand, AJ, and Joe Crede there. My friends made me leave because they wanted to go to the nudey-bar, which really angered me because the following Monday morning I read an article that Kenny stopped by The Local too and hung out with the guys. All in all though, it's a nice place to visit.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Apr 29, 2008 -> 12:51 PM) And 1st in MLB in cool factor. Yeah, my mom thinks he's hot.

I thought this was actually a week or two away still....but not according to Tim over at: http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2008/04/konerko-granted.html

The dude is just carrying us right now.

QUOTE (SoxFan562004 @ Apr 28, 2008 -> 04:31 PM) awesome, 2 hits and a single and nadda I have a difficult time paying any attention to your posts with that avatar of yours. Mercy!

QUOTE (southsideirish71 @ Apr 25, 2008 -> 04:41 PM) Get there early, and enjoy your night. Don't eat anything until you get there. Make sure someone can drive you home also. Got there about 6. Great Buffet. Free drinks (anything you want). Free ballpark food as well. Sat around and ate and drank until about 30 minutes after they postponed it. Get to go back tomorrow for the noon game, same deal, same free food and booze. I actually wasn't too disappointed it got cancelled. It's going to be a blast getting ripped and pigging out while watching White Sox baseball and the NFL draft tomorrow. Going to be an awesome afternoon...

Darn, I have to spend another few hours in the Jim Beam Club tomorrow afternoon since tonight was rained out....

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Apr 25, 2008 -> 01:33 PM) Frank appears to be backing down some: "The situation there, they had just spent $200 million on two guys," Thomas said. "I understand it and I respect it. Maybe it wasn't a good fit there for me. I'm just happy to be back here. I wasn't forcing their hand. For them to tell me I wasn't going to play every day and I wasn't in their future plans, it really wasn't a good situation. I respect J.P. for coming out and saying that to me and we parted ways, peacefully." I think he realizes that if he gets regular playing time in a place he is comfortable, the numbers will come and he will get paid next year regardless. There is no sense in b****ing and moaning about it now that he is in Oakland.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Apr 25, 2008 -> 09:19 AM) Yeah, the example he used was Floyd. And you're right, I doubt he was talking about BA. And I agree, BA should have gone to CF in that scenario. I think he wanted Uribe in there for his defense at second. I think he wanted to reward Alexei for his double earlier in the game and kept him in the game in center. What I would have done was let Alexei get another at bat in the bottom of the seventh, then subbed Uribe defensively in the 8th at second. He could have just subbed Brian in for Dye in the 7th instead of Uribe.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Apr 25, 2008 -> 12:08 PM) Wouldn't trading players at the deadline for squat, Durham, Lofton, Mackowiak, Iguchi be business decisions influencing baseball decisions during the actual season? Wouldn't keeping players in the minors to keep their arb clocks from ticking also fall under this category? The Blue Jays were within their rights. If they are as guilty as you say and really thought Frank was going to break out of it, they still have a lot more ABs to play with. Yes, I thought of those other scenarios, such as "showcasing" a player, and what the Rays tried to do with Longoria this year (before Aybar got injured and forced his promotion). But these are all custom within the industry and don't usually have a huge affect on a player's paycheck. You can continue to try and point out other scenarios which are similar to this, but are not. And you can continue to state that the Blue Jays were within their rights, which I have not disputed. But the fact is, this is almost unprecedented in its ethics, and the Jays have had raised eyebrows with their treatment of other players. And as for them waiting another 300 at bats or so, I think the Jays recognized the possibility of them being competitive in that division, perhaps around late July, and seeing the disaster it would be to release a player like Frank Thomas should he be hitting near what he is capable of. There is no way they could have released him then. They had to do it now.

No Walter Matthau/Jack Lemon movies?

It's really a combination of both. I think most Sox fans are intelligent enough (or perhaps heartless enough) to understand it's all about putting the best team on the field as possible, and a major function in doing so is making solid business decisions. I think no matter which players are on the field, if the team is winning, our fans will show up. That's not to say the South Side doesn't have it's favorites though, and you can hear that simply by going to a game and listening when the players take the field.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Apr 25, 2008 -> 09:05 AM) Frank's contract with Toronto was far from "customary" and several players have had their playing time cut in order for options not to vest. Bengie Molina for 1, with guess who, Toronto. Frank signed the contract.Frank grabbed a $9.2 million signing bonus. He was paid before he ever played a game with the Blue Jays. Maybe I might sort of see your point if Frank was benched while actually hitting, not mired in a 4-35 slump. Or maybe I might see your point if after a week or 2 Frank wasn't getting any time, and then popped off. But he popped off immediately and compounded it by blowing off his teammates after the game. He's a diva. Juan Uribe had an option for this year. KW took money out of his pocket when he said he wasn't going to exercise it, and Uribe signed for $500k less. Its business. He wanted him on the team, but not at the original price. No one wants a 40/41 year old Frank Thomas for $10 million a year. Frank was also quoted after he received his requested release that a lot of things were going on in Toronto that he didn't like. Evidently for $10 million in 2009 he was willing to overlook them. Is that a baseball or business decision? How was Frank's option year far from customary? Who are the other "several" players who have been benched so their teams could avoid option years vesting? How many of them were first ballot Hall of Famers, Dick? What does the fact that he had a signing bonus have anything to do with it? His signing bonus was $9.12 million, but his regular salary for 07' was only $1 million. I'm not sure why this has any bearing on anything. You keep saying the Jays "paid him before he ever played a game" for them. What does that matter? The money was guaranteed. Even if he had injured himself before every playing a game for the Jays, and could NEVER play a game for them, they still would have had to pay him for 07' and 08'. That's how baseball works. This is not the NFL. You keep bringing up that Frank was not hitting, and "mired in a 4-35 slump." Give me a break. That's like a week's worth of games. You honestly believe that the Blue Jays decided to bench Frank Thomas, for baseball reasons, indefinitely, over a week's worth of at bats? If you do honestly believe that (and I don't believe you do), than you're one of the very, very few. As for Juan Uribe's situation, his option was a CLUB OPTION. Completely different from a vesting option. The Club chose not to exercise Juan's option at their discretion. It was strictly a business decision. That is not even close to analogous to a player having a vesting option or performance incentives, WHERE THE CLUB'S BUSINESS DECISIONS OVERFLOW ONTO THE FIELD AND INFLUENCE BASEBALL DECISIONS DURING THE ACTUAL SEASON. I don't know how I can say it any more clearly. Additionally, Juan Uribe had underperformed for a period of two years, not a mere 35 at bats.

Jim Beam Club tonight....wooooooooooo

Ahh, stop hating on the PBR and High Life! At the bar my softball team is sponsored by, I used to drink Grey Goose and Red Bull in a pint glass. The prices were quite reasonable, I think like $6 per pint. An excellent deal. But then again, I was an excellent patron (read "alcoholic"), there 3-4 times a week. My tabs were generally $25-50 per evening, so I spent quite a bit of money there (American Express must really think I am pathetic). So anyways, they suddenly change the prices from $6 all the way up til $10. Now I am a reasonable person, so I understand maybe the $6 was a little low, but there just aren't enough women in there to pay $10 a pop. So to be an ass, I switched to drinking only PBR (my choice in college), or Miller High Life (because I, too, want to live the High Life). Now my tabs are more like $8-16 per visit, and they are making roughly $300-400 less off of me per month. The funny thing is, I've actually grown to like the Champagne and the PBR again. Yay me!

QUOTE (BearSox @ Apr 25, 2008 -> 12:28 AM) well, he did fail pretty badly on that hit and run attempt. That was a pretty brutal pitch to have to handle the hit and run with...I think it was silly to hit and run against Farnsworth....even he can't tell you where the pitch is going...

QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ Apr 24, 2008 -> 11:49 PM) Just a quick random thought... Everyone here accepts Crede as being a very clutch player, maybe one of the most clutch hitters in the league. Ye,t many fail to realize (or wish not to remember) that Crede was our last out in our only loss of the 2005 playoffs, that being Game 1 of the ALCS vs the Angels. Just thought I'd throw that out there. But yeah, anyway, the guy is clutch. This is a game where succeeding 30% of the time means you're one of the best to play it.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Apr 24, 2008 -> 04:35 PM) The question was Is trading Konerko now because of the no trade about to vest with the thought that if it wasn't about to vest they wouldn't trade him, really any different than cutting the playing time of an aging veteran with a huge option so that option doesn't vest? Another question for you specifically after reading this post, do you have a problem with the Frank/Toronto situation because they sat him or because you don't buy the reason they gave? In other words, would you still have a problem with it if they came out and told Frank they thought he was declining and didn't want to pay him $10 million so they weren't going to let the option vest? As for how they treated Frank, they paid him $18.2 million and granted him his release when he requested it so he could play wherever he wanted. I wish my employer treated me that poorly. I noticed you have not once addressed my argument in re what is "customary" in MLB. Once again, this is not a valid comparison. Trading Paulie before his 10/5 rights vest has no impact on his paycheck. Additionally, trading a player is an accepted and customary business transaction in MLB. Benching a player to prohibit him from reaching a performance incentive or having an option year vest is not. Why do you continue to struggle to see that offering a player an option year in his contract, and then making a baseball-related decision to affect that contract, as opposed to a strictly business-related decision is almost unheard of in MLB and therefore, being judged by many to be extremely unethical?

QUOTE (JDsDirtySox @ Apr 24, 2008 -> 11:49 PM) Every Party has a pooper that's why we invited you!

Well, don't get me wrong, it's a hell of a job to get a double off Joba at any time....but Quentin had 4 mistake pitches to hit that at bat and finally made it happen. That was by far Joba's worst pitched batter...