iamshack

How Rude.

QUOTE(jackie hayes @ Apr 1, 2008 -> 12:43 AM) What's important is to have a uniform interpretation, just as the strike zone is understood, even though it doesn't correspond to the book strike zone. Not to have everyone agree on just 'how interfering' different actions are, just to have everyone know what the standard is. No, I understand what you are saying, and I am willing to concede that it was probably interference, I guess it was just extremely frustrating after what happened about 30 seconds before that...as I said earlier, if that call happens in isolation, and not after the previous two calls most people seem to think went against us, it probably wouldn't have been nearly as big of a deal. And as for the spirit of the rule, you make a good point about the strike zone. However, it seems that perhaps the purpose of the rule should be revisited sometimes, as opposed to simply what has occurred in recent practice and judged to be "the standard," or "acceptable."

QUOTE(jackie hayes @ Apr 1, 2008 -> 12:04 AM) It doesn't really matter why. There's an interpretation that everyone knows and understands. Just as the strike zone that was called for years and is still more-or-less called doesn't correspond to the 'book' strike zone. Hey, maybe that lost us the game, too. Let's complain! It's accepted everywhere that a normal slide with the spikes down is fine as long as you can touch the bag. But for interference to have some meaning, you can't toss the guy around just because you're close to the base, as much as Hawk and DJ would like for the rule to mean that just for tonight. Suddenly, all Sox fans want to be strict constructionist legal scholars about it. The official rules don't explicitly mention thigh-grabbing!!! Hawk and DJ are ridiculous homers (as well as terrible announcers). If you go by their standard, a runner should be able to bear hug a fielder who's attempting to make a throw, as long as he's on the base. You really buy that? And the funny thing is, if we're being strict about it, there's nothing besides the ump's judgement that matters, anyway. Whatever he thinks intent means, it means. Either way, the Sox have no case. No, what I buy is that I see runners sliding all over the place with their spikes and legs flailing several feet away from the base and as long as they are able to get the base with their hand, it is not judged as interference. I'm just wondering how that causes less interference that what OCab did, especially considering MI's get their legs taken out and/or get spiked purposefully because of runners trying to hinder the fielder. That, to me, is far more dangerous and effective at hindering the fielder than what OCab did.

QUOTE(almagest @ Mar 31, 2008 -> 11:44 PM) I agree Cabrera was completely in the wrong, and this shouldn't even be an issue. But it is fairly obvious that Thome was going to be safe no matter what, so how was Cabrera interfering with a possible play at first in any way? If you look at the rule, it doesn't matter if there was going to be a play on the batter or not. When there are less than two outs, and the umpire rules the runner interfered with the fielder, the umpire is supposed to call both the runner and the batter out.

QUOTE(jackie hayes @ Mar 31, 2008 -> 11:24 PM) As for the interference call, it really doesn't matter. If the player tries to interfere, the runner should be called out. If there was no play, well, then the interfering runner f***ed up. Not the ump. That was the proper call, and I'm tired of hearing all these excuses. That play was called like slides at second have always been called, and suddenly we're all complaining about it. You want to break up the play, you slide hard with your body while still able to touch the base, you're fine. You start using your arms to grab the fielder or slap at the ball, you're not fine anymore. It's not that complicated. You continue to repeat this, but I'm just curious as to what your source is here. I think you're just making this up and expecting us to believe you. I understand the logic you're using, but their simply is nothing I have seen which states what you are stating. Why should a player be allowed to basically throw his legs and feet at a fielder some 4-6 feet off the bag but not his arms? It still comes down to what Hawk and DJ have stated for me, which is that they have never seen interference called on a runner when he is able to touch the bag with any part of his body.

QUOTE(BearSox @ Mar 31, 2008 -> 09:32 PM) Hawk is the biggest Sox homer in the planet. I love his hawkisms and love for the sox, but he's on the verge of being as bad as Ron Santo. And you're right, the only thing they did wrong was not huddle up and discuss it, but I think Thome would have been ruled out as it would have been bang bang, IMO. And for anyone whining about selective judgement, or whatever that crap was... boo freakin who, cry me a river. Every strike and ball called is judgement. Every bang bang play is judgement. Sometimes it goes your way, sometimes it doesn't. This is baseball, get over it. I'm ready for Vazquez on Wednesday... he's the only Sox starter that I trust to actually go out there and do good this year. Boo Freaking Who MY ASS. These guys are professionals, are paid extremely well for their services, and it is absolutely unacceptable to to miss that many calls. Not ONCE did they discuss the calls with other umpires for help. I can accept one bad call, but when it's more than that, that's quite ridiculous. Now I am still not sure whether Cabrera's slide was a poor call or not- by the rulebook, it was not, but in practice, the rule, as written, is not followed. And while the rule explicitly states that not only is the runner out in that situation, but the batter as well, it's extremely frustrating that an umpire would blindly follow the letter of the rule in one instance, but not in nearly every other instance that is commonplace in everyday play. Had that play happened in isolation, without the other missed calls, it would be easier to accept. But the fact that it happened so quickly after two other, game-changing calls were made, it was extremely difficult to accept and quite frustrating. But one thing is clear- that was not something that is usual or commonplace in mlb. That was ridiculous and something that those umpires should be embarrassed of.

Here is the rule for interference: Seems like they got the call right according to the rule, but unfortunately, that is not how they call it in practice. Players intentionally try to hinder the fielder all the time by sliding in and taking out the fielder, but they NEVER call interference on that unless the runner clearly has no chance to touch the bag. 67 Rule 7.08 B Comment: A runner who is adjudged to have hindered a fielder who is attempting to make a play on a batted ball is out whether it was intentional or not. If, however, the runner has contact with a legally occupied base when he hinders the fielder, he shall not be called out unless, in the umpire’s judgment, such hindrance, whether it occurs on fair or foul territory, is intentional. If the umpire declares the hindrance intentional, the following penalty shall Rule 7.08 apply: With less than two out, the umpire shall declare both the runner and batter out. With two out, the umpire shall declare the batter out.

Mark not looking particularly sharp today...

DrunkBomber, It isn't that we "selectively" are choosing what to react to or comment on because we can't put a dent in your rock-solid logic. It's that you go on and on with these rants and raves, off on tangents, etc. Simply because most of us choose to ignore most of them, such as your "opinion on trial" rant from earlier, does not mean you were in any way winning some sort of debate points. It means that no one felt like wasting their time and energy responding to your rant. Now just a few things: I've watched the larger sermons posted of Rev. Wright on YouTube, and to be honest with you, while they were inflammatory, I didn't even find them to be racist. But even if you do, as others obviously do, I'm a little confused about your reaction. You're on record in this thread over and over and over talking about Rev. Wright spewing hatred and how offensive it is to you, and yet you're also the one throwing the "racist" label around like you're playing ring toss and we are the targets. If you really cannot stand the hatred and inflammatory rhetoric, why don't you attempt to refrain from participating in that a bit yourself? In two threads in which you've participated heavily, you've now labeled Rev. Wright as racist, Barack Obama as racist, Michelle Obama as racist...what is all this accomplishing, other than to be more divisive? If those who are deeply offended by Obama's connections to Rev. Wright wish not to support Obama, they have that right. I'm not understanding what they want those of us who are not particularly offended by it, such as myself, to do about it.

QUOTE(nitetrain8601 @ Mar 25, 2008 -> 05:45 PM) He was very much available which is why a 3 way deal was in place to obtain him, but the Lakers wanted one more piece from the Bulls which is why it fell apart. Interesting. What was the deal?

Great! The Reverend is going to be a Tinley Parkian! A neighbor!

I'm guessing 86 +/- 6.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Mar 27, 2008 -> 02:52 PM) Is there some reason that Konerko's been replaced? Well, it isn't a trade or anything...he was just in the booth talking to Hawk and DJ.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Mar 27, 2008 -> 02:14 PM) That's because the plays that Sizemore and Granderson made while diving Anderson got to while standing up. The only thing missing from his repertoire out there was the climbing the wall home run robbing catch. +1 I have actually seen an article (I think it was written by Rob Neyer) that claimed Sizemore wasn't even that particularly good in center.

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Mar 27, 2008 -> 01:09 PM) Interesting. Despite the fact that a lot of people on this board have been panick-posting at laughable levels of hyperbole, so far, the poll shows only 2 votes for a record below .500. Well, you know it's one thing to b**** and complain, and completely another when you have to look at the actual numbers and pick your team to have a crappy season...

QUOTE(kyyle23 @ Mar 25, 2008 -> 06:59 PM) you gotta be kidding me. You hated staying there over the summer? How is that possible? No lines at the bars, sunset concerts every thursday, endless house bands at Pinch Penny with the occasional big name, walking the wine trail in Anna(or, stumbling the last half of the wine trail), no lines at the bars, afterhours parties every night, Sox games at the Cellar(as well as big buckets of peanuts for 1.50), Saluki baseball games on the hill, no lines at the bars. And on top of that, you can just take a weekend trip to St louis and party on the Landing. You better stay. I will be down there for 5 days and by the 5th day you will have the rest of your summer planned out. Carbondale changes your priorities. Priority 1. Alcohol Priority 2. Women Priority 3. Alcohol Priority 4. Women Priority 5. School Priority 6. Choosing who carries the other guy home Oh, how I miss my alma mater....those were the days.... I was reminiscing on Sunday remembering how my neighbors had an Easter jello shot hunt my last semester in CDale....the memories...

Oh man, I could write a novel...and the unfortunate thing is, it didn't stop in college... Ok, so I'll tell you guys a good story from about 14 months ago when we went to Florida for the Super Bowl. So we flew into Tampa on Friday, because it was cheaper than flying into Miami. We decided to spend an evening in Ybor City, as I had been there several years previously and had a great time. So we check into our hotel, then hit Ybor City in search of a comfortable, yet fun bar. We eventually settled on this place with a pirate theme- Gaspar's Grotto or something like that. And we're in there for an hour or so, and it's a decent time, but nothing too crazy. I'm a vodka drinker, so I'm drinking Red Bull/Goose and just sort of chilling. Then a new bartender comes on... This girl is tall and thin, but with curves in all the right places. Beautiful, really. After a few minutes on shift, she strolls over to my friend, his dad, and myself, and chats with us for a few minutes (we are sitting at the bar). After serving us a few more drinks, and after some idle chatter, she introduces herself as Amy, formerly a waitress at a Coyote Ugly nearby. And that should have been the tip off... So anyways, after a few more drinks, I'm getting a little buzz, and Amy starts flirting with me a bit. She starts asking me if I'd like to do a shot with her, to which I politely decline, as the night is still young and we have more friends coming in at midnight or so (it's only about 8 at this time). After some prodding, and her chiding my ability to hold my liquor, I relent, and we have a shot of some blue-looking concoction she has put together in a martini shaker... After another drink, she asks me if I'd like to do another shot with her, to which I reply some lame old line such as "What, are you trying to take advantage of me or something?" She says something flirty back, with a sexy grin, sort of batting her eyelashes at me. Then she lays down the challenge: "I'll bet I can drink more shots than you can without throwing up...." Fairly buzzed by now, and never one to have my masculinity, nor my ability to hold my liquor challenged, I sort of scoff at her, shaking my head, laughing her off. She pushes me further with a slight insult, claiming she's outdrank guys double my size in the past. For about the fourth time of the night, but this time with a purpose, I look her up and down, surmising she can't be more than 5'9", 125 pounds. And in my head I'm thinking, there's absolutely no way this tiny little thing can even keep up with me for an hour. But being the gentleman that I attempt to be whenever I still have my wits about me, I again politely decline, as I have no interest in being unable to walk out of this place of my own volition in a few hours. However, she once again continues to pester me about the idea, until finally she introduces the concept of a wager. Her initial offer is $50, if I can drink more shots than her without vomiting. Somewhat aware that I have a huge head start on her (I am probably 7-8 drinks, and 2 shots in already), I tell her if we are going to do this, I am going to make it worth my while. I counter with a $500 wager, to which, wild-eyed, she declines. However, she counters my offer with a $200 wager, to which we ultimately agreed. So I produce my cash, and she produces hers, and the contest begins. The rules are that we both drink the same shots, in the same volumes, and we each pick a shot on alternating shots. And so we began with another shot of that electric blue looking shot she concocted earlier. There is no time limit on how quickly we drink or how slowly, but as soon as the person choosing the shot is ready, the other person must oblige. I choose whiskey, as in my experience, most women my age are not particularly fond of whiskey, or any warm, hard alcohol. She takes it down, with sort of a fake grin on her face, but unable to hide her distaste for the warm alcohol working it's way down her throat and into her stomach. This goes on for several hours, at a rate of probably 6-8 shots an hour, until both of us are just really ripped up. My friends come at 1230, and I am in the midst of singing "Don't Stop Believing" by Journey, at Amy's request, with the karaoke dj. I'm dancing to some beautiful girl's rendition of "Killing Me Softly." I'm telling all my friends that Devin Hester is going to run back the opening kickoff of the Super Bowl in 40 hours or so... Around 1:30, I see Amy is starting to get realllly wobbly. I, myself, am feeling pretty great- almost euphoric even. I can see victory is in my grasp, and it isn't the money I are about, but that this girl thought she would take me down and couldn't. We do another whiskey shot, and at this point, I am alternating between Jameson and Jack, just to try and make her sick even more quickly. And then it is her turn (and by now she has put me through the gamut of awful shots, including all sorts of bombs, flavored vodkas, and even 151). And as she can barely stand anymore, and can barely pour the liquid in the shot glasses, she chooses the "blue" drink again. I laugh aloud at her, as I see she is choosing this just to try and save herself- closing time is coming soon- and she is trying for a push. And I pick up the glass of "blue" crap, swallow it down, and give Amy a smile. She sort of forces hers down her throat, gags a bit, but recovers admirably. And then I feel it. That feeling we all know...the ascension of warm liquid rising from my stomach, working it's way up. The shortness of breath...the warm saliva your mouth produces.... I calmly tell everyone I am going to the bathroom (at which point, someone has to come with me, to make sure I don't puke in there). I start briskly walking towards the bathroom, with my friend Brian in-tow. And suddenly, it's just too much to overcome....this huge rush of vomit comes flying up my throat, and as I try to block it with my palm and fingers, it just flies through the gaps in my fingers and out onto the floor. ..... And half the bar sees me, and all of my friends see me, and the bartender sort of sees me (she isn't seeing much of anything clearly right now). And there is a fairly decent size puddle of vomit of all sorts of my stomach's contents, probably half of it beginning to eat away at the wood, on the floor. I quickly take a step towards the bathroom.... And I SLIP and FALL in my own vomit, right on my ASS, in front of the entire bar, my group of friends, and once again, Amy the bartender. I get up, go into the bathroom, clean myself off, and prepare for my dejected walk out to the bar to concede victory to Amy. And as I walk up to her, and congratulate her on her victory, she laughs at me, and then shockingly, over the bar, motions for me to kiss her. And suddenly I am making out with her, after I just vomited not 5 minutes earlier, while my friends clap and laugh in the background... Sorry for the extreme length of the post guys, but I thought some might enjoy the story...and she did take my $200, btw. Thank goodness she didn't agree to the $500...

QUOTE(Jenksismyb**** @ Mar 26, 2008 -> 11:43 PM) Lol, Uma, Oprah, Opera, Oprah, whatever. I did watch them. Which way are you going with that? Are you saying I should be more upset about them, or that I'm taking them too seriously? Depending on what you say I'll give you my dissertation. I am not the person who had anything to do with the Oprah thing, so don't try to confuse anyone! Actually, I don't think they are anything other than inflammatory rhetoric. I didn't find them to be offensive, or racist, or anything like that.

QUOTE(scenario @ Mar 26, 2008 -> 11:04 PM) And ditto for Quentin, who has nothing left to prove hitting in the minors, but plenty left to prove in the majors... after his sub-Uribian 2007. I wonder if both Quentin and BA come out and play well in the first few weeks, if Kenny would look to deal Pauly before his 10/5 rights kick in....I know there probably isn't much of a market, but one would think the Yankees would at least be willing to discuss the matter...

QUOTE(scenario @ Mar 26, 2008 -> 10:55 PM) They already know both guys, Brian and Quentin, can field. They just want to see how they look hitting major league pitching, outside of spring training that is... And try to avoid moving Swisher around too much while he adjusts to playing outfield in the Cell. I know, I know....and one would think that BA is my brother for how much I fight for him around here... But I guess you're right. We can't trust what BA has done in the Spring until we see him do it for at least 100 mlb at bats this year...

QUOTE(CanOfCorn @ Mar 26, 2008 -> 10:12 PM) Of all the prospects that Kenny has dealt away, who do we really regret losing? Poor GM, eh? I wouldn't say he's a poor GM, at least he has the cojones to go after people. He isn't afraid to be wrong. And when he's right, he has every right to gloat, I think. Sure, he's made some poor moves. Sure he's called out players or managers in public, but if not for Ozzie and Kenny, the White Sox would be ghosts. No one would give a crap about this team. Personally, I think it's fun to think about what Kenny could possibly have up his sleeve, even if it makes me cringe. Poor...no. Ballsy...yes. Give me Ken Williams over Bill Stoneman any day and twice on Sunday. The one thing he does is make it fun. I couldn't agree with this entire post more. Excellent.

QUOTE(scenario @ Mar 26, 2008 -> 10:48 PM) I think what they're doing is creating a competition between Quentin and Anderson for the next two weeks for one roster spot. And rather than move Swisher back and forth between left and center, they decided to let him get used to one position... CF... while the other two split time in left. That's my guess. That may be, but that's taking a major strength away from BA in the competition. Almost like having a competition between a switch hitter and a non-switch hitter and telling the switch hitter he can only hit from his weaker side....

QUOTE(DBAH0 @ Mar 26, 2008 -> 10:46 PM) I think he's shown in the past week or 2 he's getting healthier. Give him the chance to start while Owens is on the DL I say. And if he doesn't produce like he's capable of, he can go on the DL before or after Owens comes back (possibly allowing Swisher to move to LF and BA taking over CF). He's got the most potential out of all our young OF's, and he should be given a chance to show it. Yeah, see this is probably my toughest issue....I love Quentin, and I believe in him...but I also realize what, at least I think, Brian can bring to the table...I just wish there was a way to get them both out there at the same time...

QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Mar 26, 2008 -> 10:33 PM) Having the highest upside/being the best LF on the roster? I am known to be a very big Anderson supporter, but I have said all along that if Carlos is healthy, he is this teams starting LF, with Swisher being the CF. If Anderson is the choice, then its Swish in LF, Anderson in CF. If it's Owens, screw Ozzie. Even right now, with his injury concerns?

QUOTE(DBAH0 @ Mar 26, 2008 -> 10:19 PM) And Swisher has played how many games in CF? The stats show last season that he was above league average argubly there last season for Oakland defensively. He is still basically learning the position, and should be getting better with each game. Aaron Rowand wasn't a stud defensive CF on his 1st season up with us I would argue. He deserves an opportunity to start there. Doesn't our team look a lot better offensively if we could play Quentin in LF? Scenario hit the nail on the head r.e Swisher / Anderson for CF. BA should be the 4th OF, no matter who the other OF's are. If he impresses in bench duty, then let him win the starting job from there, don't just hand things to him. EDIT: And I only argue about this with BA because of Quentin / Swisher. If either 1 of those guy weren't on our team, I'd be saying start BA at CF over Owens, because I've been a backer of him for a long time with his plus defense, and the fact that young hitters take time to adjust at the major league level. I only wonder what Quentin has done to be handed the job?