BearSox

QUOTE(scenario @ Apr 2, 2008 -> 10:35 PM) Oh... that's right. What was I thinking? On a related note... is Bourgeois expected to be the CF in Charlotte? Or is it possible they'll use the Richar situation to give him time at second and prep him for a Ozuna-like utility role? I'm thinking Getz is going to be the full time 2B with Rouse (who I actually liked this spring) being the starting SS. With Anderson up and Owens injured, Bourgeois is probably going to play mainly CF, with probably a little LF, 2B, 3B and perhaps SS thrown in.

I really don't think Anderson is going to do anything (if he actually gets some AB's), and would be really surprised if he turns into anything more then a 4th OF/AAAA player, but I'd much rather see him out there then Uribe.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Apr 2, 2008 -> 09:51 PM) AJ hit well. Crede played. No Erstad. No Gonzalez. other then that, not much huh?

Vazquez was decent. He wasn't horrible, but he wasn't great either. However, he didn't get any help from the offense, and, IMO, that ball Sizemore hit out to RF should have been caught by Dye... well, at least he was a hella lot better then Buehrle. The thing that the Indians did really well was actually make Vazquez work. We didn't make Carmona work at all. And the offense returned to its usual lethargic self that we seem to remember so clearly from last year.

so, what was the difference in todays game from anyone of those 92 from last year?

QUOTE(daa84 @ Apr 2, 2008 -> 09:31 PM) that may have just bought alexei a few more games in the starting lineup You know what, I have no problem with Ramirez getting a lot of playing time this year because he has so much potential and, IMO, he is already a better hitter then Uribe and Anderson. I think the hits shall come. I don't think people should be complaining about Ramirez taking AB's away from Anderson/Quentin, because quite frankly it's that bum Uribe who is taking away AB's from them. Ramirez should be the starting 2B, and Uribe should be no where near this roster. Watching him play gives me hopes of a MLB career. And to go along with that, we have his partner in crapiness batting ahead of him in Crede. I wouldn't be surprised if Crede does so bad that we have to DFA him, taking away time from Fields for absolute no reason.

I've been meaning to post these predictions for a while and was planning on writing out this whole big thing, but do to time constraints, I'll just have to show my predictions (I made these before opening day, fyi). * indicates playoff team. AL EAST: Yankees*, Red Sox*, Devil Rays, Blue Jays, Orioles AL CENTRAL: Indians*, Tigers, Royals, White Sox, Twins AL WEST: Angels*, Mariners, Athletics, Rangers NL EAST: Braves*, Mets*, Phillies, Nationals, Marlins NL CENTRAL: Brewers*, Cubs, Reds, Astros, Pirates, Cardinals NL WEST: Diamondbacks*, Dodgers, Rockies, Padres, Giants (this should be a close one between the top 4 until near the end of the season) If you want me to explain any of these predictions, just ask. The only changes I think I made were possibly the wildcard winners.

I've been pleasantly surprised by A.J. so far this year. He's in better shape, and he has had a great approach so far. Instead of trying to pull everything, he's been taking what he's been given and hitting the ball where it's pitched. Hopefully he keeps this up.

QUOTE(greg775 @ Apr 2, 2008 -> 12:03 AM) It made no sense to trade an inning eater and stud like Garland. I know ... one game does not make a season, but I've always loved Garland. I hope Danks and Floyd prove me wrong as well as Jose. Big time question marks. I wouldn't call him a stud, but he's an above average pitcher who is entering his prime...

I don't know about anyone else, but I'd love to bring back Garland in the offseason. Innings eater who can give you quality starts... however, he'd probably choice to sign with his hometwon Angels before anyone else.

QUOTE(iamshack @ Apr 1, 2008 -> 08:21 PM) Watching Jon Garland pitch against the Twins tonight, and he's got the sinker working big time. I think he's got 7 or 8 groundball outs out of the 9 he has recorded thus far....sort of sad seeing him making that familiar slow walk off the field after each inning. I said it then, and I'll say it again, Garland for Cabrera was a horrible move.

QUOTE(Texsox @ Apr 1, 2008 -> 10:46 AM) Only this classic from Kong One of the best SC commercials ever made.

QUOTE(bigred3535 @ Mar 31, 2008 -> 09:27 PM) I'm sure this sentiment has been expressed, but I just have to say that I really thought we couldn't get unluckier than we were last year. But apparently the fates were just teasing us by letting us get back in the game, and then blowing it due to relief pitching (again) and bad umpiring. On the upside Swisher and Cabrera looked good, and even Uribe and Crede contributed (though I still wish they were gone). I also wish there was another game tomorrow...oh well. what do mean? By going a combined 2 for 9 with 4 K's, with a bunch of weak AB's? Crede's finally AB was god awful. Fine, you miss one hanger, but TWO!? Come on now. Plus, neither made any spectacular plays in the field, just a bunch of routine stuff. Side note, I'm not trying to chew you out either, as you seem smart enough to know that they shouldn't be on this team.

QUOTE(The Beast @ Mar 31, 2008 -> 09:24 PM) The umpire was not in a good position to make that play, so granted, that is poor positioning on his part to see the full play. What should have happened is that the umpires should have gotten together to discuss the situation, even if the call wasn't going to get reversed. As far as the Cabrera slide goes, it could go either way, but even Hawk said it was a clean slide, so, who knows. Is anyone ready to move on to Wednesday's game yet? I sure am. 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.

QUOTE(Phil McKrevice @ Mar 31, 2008 -> 09:15 PM) Technically, you're not allowed to intentionally take out anyone, regardless of whether you use your legs or arms. Whether or not it's more "acceptable" to use your legs instead shouldn't be the issue -- if you're going to allow someone to take out a fielder using their legs, you can't call them for using their arms. The rules don't make that distinction. Either call it all the time, or get rid of the rule. Selective enforcement is what everyone is pissed off about in this case. You have to make it look like your intent was to get to the bag, not take out the fielder. While Blake's whole intention was to take out Cabrera, it was not blatantly obvious. Cabrera's, however, was. He showed the whole world that his intent on that slide was to take out the fielder.

QUOTE(AddisonStSox @ Mar 31, 2008 -> 09:02 PM) My take... You would be hard-pressed to find any of my past posts condemning blown calls or actually blaming the umpires for effecting the literal outcome of the game, but, in this instance, the White Sox were on the bad side of not one, or two, but three blown, incorrect calls. Furthermore, anyone condemning Cabrera for his slide is just trying to stir the pot for pot-stirring sake. That was well within his rights as a base-runner and 9 out of 10 officials have allowed slides five times more blatant than that. However--and, in my opinion, this is the key...well, my key--these things happen in the game of baseball. Emailing the head of umpiring, or calling talk shows, or writing letters is just ridiculous. The game of baseball, like most games of professional sport, is a game of human error. Calls like that will happen and they will undoubtedly effect the outcome of the game. But, there are 161 more and these things tend to even themselves out. On a positive note, it looks like the offensive will be back this season and Masset was outstanding--good for him, considering many felt he was handed the last spot. You can't physically reach out and try and grab someone... that is exactly what cabrera did. That is not how you take out a fielder at 2B, and the umpire was right to call interferance. You take out a fielder at 2b by sliding into them, not attempting to grab and possibly trip them. It was a bad play by Cabrera, that's pretty much it.

QUOTE(Jenks Heat @ Mar 31, 2008 -> 05:47 PM) The fact that the so called ideal number two hitter had a simply awful at-bat and that Thome couldn't elevate the ball along with the fact that the Sox got themselves a new reliever that can't throw stirkes is what killed them. The 9th inning Joe Crede made me phyiscally ill. They did show some heart and Masset looked good. Buerhle needed to pitch ove the Cabrerra f'up. Those calls were not that bad, not good but not as bad as the Joe Borowski 9th inning show. oh man, he got two big fat juicy nothing curves, and he couldn't do anything with either. Sickening to see that.

QUOTE(lostfan @ Mar 31, 2008 -> 08:58 PM) Well Ryan Sweeney is batting .000 right now. Looks like he's a complete bust for the A's. touche... but I still like his odds better then Anderson.

if anyone knows where I can find them, please post here.

QUOTE(knightni @ Mar 31, 2008 -> 08:51 PM) Why is that something to be proud of? I was joking, calm down... of course I want Buehrle and the sox to do well. But I have a hard time seeing either happening over the course of the season.

QUOTE(BobDylan @ Mar 31, 2008 -> 08:52 PM) I don't want to see Uribe out there for long. But I do think he's the best option on the current 25 man roster. I'm probably in the minority that thinks that here. And I don't want to place the blame on him for this game. He probably should've turned that DP, but it feels like we're taking the Steve Bartman route here. Nobody remembers the play that happened before it. (In the Sox case, Cabrera's missed grounder. In the Cubs case, Alex Gonzalez's missed DP ball.) I'm probably over thinking this too. I haven't seen anyone knock him for the missed DP. I'm just assuming that's what people are pissed about when that doesn't seem to be the case. I'm not upset at the missed DP at all... I'm upset that someone like Uribe gets AB's over someone who actually deserves them. Watching Uribe (and Owens for that matter) make ordinary people wonder why they aren't in the big leagues.

Massett is only good when he faces the indians and comes in after Buehrle gets knocked out... as evident by last year when he did the same thing (except Buehrle got hit by a ball and had to leave as a precautionary)

Oh, and to all those who wanted Thome benched today... told ya so Sure, I wanted him moved down to the 5 spot, but I still thought he had to be in the lineup... Also, I remember someone giving me some crap for stating that I don't think Buehrle's gonna do all that great year based on his velocity decrease... so far, I am winning that arguement

QUOTE(BobDylan @ Mar 31, 2008 -> 08:24 PM) Why hang blame on Uribe? He didn't do all that bad. He was slow to turn a double play which wouldn't have mattered if Cabrera caught the DP grounder the play before. And K'd three times. (He might've missed a sac fly but for some reason my gut is telling me there were two outs. And he wasn't the only to miss a sac fly opportunity today, anyway.) But he was far from the reason the White Sox lost. I'd put it on Buehrle (obvious reasons), Cabrera (missed DP that led to 7 runs, terrible AB with sacks packed and 0 out) and Guillen for mismangement of PH situations. He had 3 pitiful K's... he doesn't belong starting on any major league team.

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Mar 31, 2008 -> 05:16 PM) EVERY slide like that is intentional. If you are going to call it, call it all of the time. Calling it when you feel like it is bulls***. That play was Cabrera's fault. You don not slid into the base and try and grab the fielder with your hands. That is obvious interfence. When you take out the fielder in that situation, you need to slide into the fielder while still being in arms length of the bag. Cabrera completely blew that, and the umpire was right to call interferance on that. You can't make it so freaking obvious and grab the guy. But the other two were pretty bad. The umpire at home was out of position and completely blew that call... but the umpire on first on A.J.'s play wasn't out of position, but you have to see that. Garko's foot was a complete 6 inches, at least, off the bag.