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QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Aug 29, 2006 -> 02:42 PM) I understand what you're saying with this, in that there's still room for this team to go 31-1 and play like it should for the last month of the season, but I'm afraid I don't "like" that fact, solely because we haven't played up to our potential to this point, so there's now very little time left for us to actually do it. Then again, one of my preseason predictions (man did I miss the pitching staff) was that Jim Thome would go down the stretch and be on fire, as a man-on-a-mission to finally get himself a ring. It'd sure be nice if that was the case. If Thome is coming back to hit in the 3 hole, I'd rather take my chances with him on the DL and keeping Dye hitting 3rd. Thome coming back to the 3 spot will seal our fate. Don't get me wrong, I want him in the lineup, just not hitting 3rd.

"Half-game" Vasquez has been consistently inconsistent, ergo his .500 record. He does however have a lot of value to a team that is DESPERATE for pitching, Baltimore, Texas, St. Louis, Philly, Boston, and Washington to name a few. Vasquez can bring the Sox a lot of "proven" talent in a deal. I'm sure KW is thinking the same thing. But one thing is certain, he has to go.

QUOTE(The Ginger Kid @ Aug 29, 2006 -> 02:04 PM) TB: 3-0 KC: 3-0 BOS: 2-1 CLE: 3-1 LAA: 2-1 OAK: 2-1 DET: 2-1 SEA: 3-1 CLE: 2-1 MIN: 2-1 24-8 = tied with Det-riot for the division, Minny eliminated You must be smoking from Freddy Garcia's stash. No Phawking Way. 18-14 or 19-13 look much more realistic.

QUOTE(Steve9347 @ Aug 29, 2006 -> 12:48 PM) 19-13 will it be enough? who knows, but that's how it finishes. I looked at the schedule pretty carefully and that looks about right, 19-13. I'm just not sure it will be enough. I think Ozzie helped the Twins gel with his "little Pirahnas" comments. It has become their rally cry and they are focused and inspired. I'm not sure they can be stopped right now.

QUOTE(TitoMB345 @ Aug 29, 2006 -> 07:44 AM) And Fossum comes in with a better ERA than Mr. Garcia... although its really not hard to do, unless you Javier Vazquez. But none-the-less, I expect a 10-8 victory, with 8 ER for Garcia over 4.2 IP, and then a huge 5 run 7th for the Sox to earn the victory for MacDougal. Nope. You got it all wrong. It will go like this; he will retire the Rays in order in the first. The Sox will take a 2 run lead in the bottom of the first only to see it evaporate in the second. The same thing in the third and fourth inning. Then he will cruise until the 7th and give up 2 more runs. The Sox will lose by one run, then Freddy will go to the post game conference saying he's tired of losing one run ballgames, that the offense just isn't pulling through. Final score Devil Rays 8 Sox 7. Go Freddy.....and be sure to toke up a couple of bong hits during the pre-game to help you relax.

QUOTE(southsideirish @ Aug 28, 2006 -> 03:11 PM) This is going to be a huge prediction, but I predict the Tigers miss the playoffs. I think they go 10-19, the Sox go 20-12 and the Twins go 21-12. That is what I think happens. The Sox win the Wild Card and the Twins win the division. I've looked at the remaining games for the 3 top AL Central teams and it doesn't look good for the Sox. I can't see them winning more than 19 games, tops. That last West Division roadtrip scares the hell out of me. The Sox play badly at these cities, and both are fighting for their playoff lives. Minnesota has a much more favorable schedule. They don't go west anymore, and they get KC 7 games and TB for 3 games, as well as Cleveland another 4 games who they have owned. They play their last 7 games AT HOME, huge. Detroit will have a moderate schedule as well. They don't travel west and will play KC 6 times. But their schedule is a bit tougher than Minnesota's.

QUOTE(kapkomet @ Aug 28, 2006 -> 09:55 AM) That's a good point. However, I still think there's some things that we're all not privy to which would be some reasons why this is happening. Just so I'm clear, I'm for BA over Mack - I agree with you all on that. However, I'm trying to say that there's a reason why BA is being 'protected' if you will. Now, there's a way to arise a man's curiosity. Inquiring minds wanna know.

IMO it's either Dye or Morneau with Ortiz a close third. I'm not drinking that Jeter kool-aid ESPN is trying to push on everyone. There are other players having much better MVP numbers than Jeter. I think whichever reaches the playoffs will swing the vote in their favor. I love JD, but Morneau has shouldered a bigger load for the Twins. The Sox offense has shared the production over 4 guys, Thome, Konerko, Dye, and Crede. Morneau is in the driver's seat right now, but since the Sox will go to the playoffs that leaves the Twins staying home. It's likely still Ortiz who gets the nod.

KW has done a good job of retaining prospects in the farm system and the offseason moves he made did improve the team to a certain extent. This year's apparent underachievement has fallen upon the starting pitching, and no one saw that coming. The foundation of this team revolves around Konerko, Dye, Crede, Garland, BMac, and Jenks. I believe all other pieces are interchangeable to a certain extent. If Anderson can become a CONSISTENT .270 hitter then he will be around a long time as well. All of these guys will be around for the next 10 years. Having said that, The Sox can grab 2 or 3 WS in that span. But I believe this is predicated less on what the Sox do than what Detroit, Minnesota and Cleveland do, because all 3 teams are extremely young and have TONS of talent. I think the AL Central will rule the Wild Card for the next 5 years, and provided the Sox play well in their division, they will likely be in the mix. I do contend that despite what has happened this year with the pitching, I would take my chances again with the same rotation next year, minus Vasquez, cause he sucks. I like the idea of bringing Tejada to play shortstop, but that means either Thome or Crede will need to go, or possibly Buerhle also. I absolutely love Crede, but his lower back problem is a huge liability. Thome is on his last legs and won't last another 2 years, but his left handed power would be extremely difficult to replace. They need to bring up Fields from AAA to see if he can take over Crede's spot. What I think is crucial is more team speed. This team has power but is very, very slow. We need speedsters at the top and bottom of the order, mixed it with some thumpers at the middle of the order, and we will have a very entertaining and very special attraction on the South Side.

QUOTE(Wealz @ Aug 27, 2006 -> 06:33 PM) Guillen's handling of Anderson, choosing which pitchers he faces, is a big reason why he has blossomed. Sure, it sucks to have Mackowiak in center at times, but that's the price you pay to make sure Anderson develops properly. You could blame Williams for not furnishing Guillen with a better alternative than Mackowiak in center. Amen.

QUOTE(SoxFanForever @ Aug 27, 2006 -> 10:13 AM) How about we replace the meathead manager who is putting all of these guys in a position to fail or not putting them in any position at all? I'm sorry to tell you this, but you have not a flipping clue what you're saying. You sound like the typical monday morning quarterback. If the pitching ERA was a half point lower we would have 85 games in the win column by now. It's that simple. When the starters AND the pen are blowing leads on a leisurely basis, it will look as if every......any move Ozzie makes is a bad move. Ozzie is not a great manager, by any stretch of the imagination, but neither is he a bum. Ozzie has the trust and respect of his players, and that is huge. I do think that someone other than Ozzie needs to pick out his coaching staff, cause I believe it is the worst of all the playoff contending teams.

QUOTE(Wealz @ Aug 27, 2006 -> 09:54 AM) He won a WORLD SERIES with the Chicago White Sox for goodness sake. Won 99 games, went 11-1 in the postseason, with a team that many didn't think would finish higher than third in its division, some said fourth, before the season started. That's why no one is near Guillen's level. Kenny Williams traded for Vazquez, gave up an awful lot for him and is paying him big money. How should Guillen handle him? I don't understand what's been bad about the handling of Anderson or McCarthy. I am rather surprised that Anderson is still in the majors. I even commented that Ozzie has given this kid the most rope I have seen for any potential major leaguer, except for maybe Corey Patterson when he was with the Cubs. Ozzie has been the most supportive of keeping that dead weight in the big club. So you are totally off-base when you suggest that he has mishandled Anderson. If anything, he doesn't want to put the kid in a position to kill the confidence he has gained with the way he's come along in the last 6 weeks. If he were to fall apart again he might never recover. Now, I'll give you that Ozzie must have something against BMac 'cause his use of him has been atrocious. Sheesh, if he's gonna be a starter, BMac needs to get thrown into the lion's mouth. I think Ozzie doesn't have confidence or doesn't like him personally.

There's no way "Half-game" Vasquez can even be considered in this conversation, and Garcia would rather be toking on a bong next to his swimming pool than bother with fanaticals getting excited over their team's post-season hopes. You can tell not only during the games, but more so after, that Garcia is not phased one way or the other, and would rather blame anyone but himself for a poor pitching effort, to include teammates and umpires. Jose is the one that has the best chance of shutting people down. Even in his bad outings, his stuff is still filthy, the only difference being that his control is usually shaky during those outings. Buerhle doesn't fool anyone, and his stuff is not overpowering. He either has IT or he doesn't, his record will likely reflect that for the remainder of his career.

QUOTE(fathom @ Aug 27, 2006 -> 03:57 PM) There's a lot more "debating" back and forth during the loser threads. A Sox win gives us a sense of peace, tranquility, and a general worth of positive expectation. Who needs to write about that? Whereas with a loss, the overall sense of dismay, anger, sadness, frustration, even betrayal are much more overwhelming, awakening a feeling of restlessness and worry that can only be assuaged by talking or writing about it, just to get it off your chest. The need to blame someone for the lack of execution is our way to justify the overall team's lack of performance on any given game or to justify our individual expectations. As I read these threads, Someone always F***s up when the team loses, according to the point of view of the person providing the criticism. That's where the thread gets lengthy, 'cause not everyone agrees on who f***ed up. Unfortunately, I personally find the threads more engaging when the Sox lose and find myself more involved in placing the blame on whoever I thought was most directly responsible for a loss. I'm sure some here feel the same.

Sorry to say, guys but I smell sweep. Sox cannot play and keep up with that style of baseball. But I think they'll be okay once the Twins leave town......till we see them again at the end of September.

I keep telling you people, this is 2004 all over again. We got nothin' coming. Wait till next year, and hopefully Ozzie learns to manage a bit better.

QUOTE(greg775 @ Aug 25, 2006 -> 11:59 PM) I can't believe some fans take Jim Thome for granted. Geez, do you know how stupid that sounds?? And as far as lefties. My god just because a lefty starts doesn't mean we see lefties the whole game. If we do our job we knock the lefty out. If you think we got a better chance with Gload over Thome ... you are mistaken. Keep drinking that Thome kool-aid. He looks like a little leaguer against lefties. Dye can hit both equally well. He should remain in the 3 hole. I'm not saying Thome is a bad hitter, he's just not AS good as Dye hitting left-handed pitchers. That makes him a liability in the 3 spot.

He won't even get 35. If he tries to go long ball, the Sox are done. He just has to do whatever necessary to put the ball in play.

We had a season similar to this one. It was 2004.........'nuff said.

QUOTE(WHarris1 @ Aug 26, 2006 -> 09:17 PM) JD is the only guy on the team with that look in his eye like he honestly wants it, or is hungry as Hawk likes to say. I actually feel for the guy. He bails us out time and time again and it's not enough. We will win few, if any ballgames if the pitching gives up 8 runs.

Did not capitalize on two Detroit losses, and this pretty much wraps the season as the twins KNOW how to play against the Sox. Get on first, steal second, cheap hit, score. Pierzinski must feel pretty helpless having a pitching staff that has no clue on how to hold runners on, and it reflects on him as much as the pitchers. If the Sox are not 3 games ahead going into that final series......it's over. I think it's over now, honestly, but I can't get myself to stop watching. I'll just have to stock up on Pepto-bismol for the rest of September.

What a way to manufacture a run. God I wish the Sox played that kind of ball.

QUOTE(fathom @ Aug 26, 2006 -> 07:38 PM) I think the Tigers will spend a lot of money though in the offseason. Also, they have some real good young pitching prospects. Also, Kenny Rogers could be 50, and we still can't beat him. We're going to have some issues in the division as long as we can't beat C.C., Johan, Liriano, Bernero and Rogers. The bottom line is we shouldn't win this season, since our pitching isn't up to par. There's nothing we can do about it. It just wasn't meant to be. I now understand how Steinbrenner feels when his team of all-stars don't win it. Somehow you feel you've been cheated. The talent in this lineup and the apparent pitching rotation, I realistically thought we would win 110 games this year. The pitching on this team has been an almost implausible letdown. No one expected a worst case scenario from this pitching staff, but somehow it happened. Someone F***ed up and allowed this team to underachieve for too long. I feel Ozzie's staff is not very professional, just a bunch of his old cronies. Cora especially, he hasn't a clue.

QUOTE(Brian @ Aug 26, 2006 -> 09:40 AM) Jose is gonna drop the hammer on these mofos and Johan is gonna get his sh*t kicked! Yeah, they're doing great!...................

We got no chance tomorrow, but they still have to play the game. Hope for Santana to sprain his wrist while he's shaving or something. We got no clue how to hit this guy.