Texsox

QUOTE (RME JICO @ Apr 8, 2008 -> 10:51 AM) 160? If he plays a full season of games, he would have close to 200 K's. While putting the ball in play may lead to good things, most of the time and out is an out. Certainly you need to look at why he is striking out, poor pitch selection, getting fooled, etc. But I'm more interested in obp and ba.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan101 @ Apr 8, 2008 -> 10:30 AM) Guess who led baseball in RBI after the first week of the 2006 season. Chris Shelton. That's why you don't overreact to the first week like everybody here is. And why I don't overreact to one season. Same principle. I think what it answers is how healthy is Joe and how many people got on base ahead of him. You can't have 10 rbi if you always are hitting with no one on base.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan101 @ Apr 8, 2008 -> 10:34 AM) It's hard to say. He needs the work on fielding ground balls, but the quality of fields in triple a and the major leagues aren't comparable so that's not a great foreshadower for him, although the works helps anywhere. Being in triple a definitely won't help him at the dish though. His biggest weakness is hitting good pitches (especially fastballs) and he won't be seeing many of those anywhere except at the major league level. Great points. One of the factors that is somewhat frustrating is last season he showed he could play at the mlb level. Patience is so difficult for anyone, players or fans.

QUOTE (FlaSoxxJim @ Apr 8, 2008 -> 09:20 AM) Yes we have. Players who make $8 million a year are much too delicate to be asked to play two games in a single day. I always thought that owners need double the gate so they could pay $8 million a year players. BTW, one of my all-time favorite pitchers, Willllbur Wood once started, and lost, both ends of a double header.

QUOTE (FlaSoxxJim @ Apr 8, 2008 -> 09:19 AM) I understand your point but I don't agree with it, and not just because party affiliation makes for good scandalmaker fodder. The makeup of the legislature with regard to the R:D ratio largely defines the agenda of the legislature, so for general news stories I think it's good to let the audience know which side of the aisle a guy sits on as they listen to and try to digest whetever it is he's saying. If you live in their District you will know if you want to vote for him or not. If you do vote in their district it wouldn't matter. If Congressman Jim saved a baby's life it doesn't matter if he's a Dem or Rep. If he's gotten 200 parking tickets, again, it doesn't matter. If he's introducing legislation, then it does, because it gives us an idea if it will pass or not, face a veto, etc. The labels just create an opportunity for generalizations. Just because Congressman Alpha is a shmoe, doesn't mean Congressman Beta, from the same party, is too.

QUOTE (almagest @ Apr 8, 2008 -> 10:20 AM) Just wait until Crede has a slump. We Fields supporters will have our day! Nothing like having something to look forward to, a Sox player having a slump, that's a fan

One of the differences between AAA, AAAA, and MLB is the ability to throw any pitch on the 3-2 count. One of the biggest changes in baseball that I have seen is off speed at any time, in both leagues. Use to be with 3 balls here come the fast balls. Now a guy could be throwing anything. And it doesn't seem like walks are up. So they must be throwing for strikes.

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Apr 8, 2008 -> 10:12 AM) Indeed. Anyone who believes Wiki on face value deserves what they get. Like pages getting edited by the likes of us.

QUOTE (Alpha Dog @ Apr 8, 2008 -> 09:09 AM) My throwing of the term limits in there was more in disgust at how he has been in power so long that he doesn't seem to even try to hide it anymore. He wouldn't even answer if the place he was earmarking money for even exists! I would probably like a line item veto, or perhaps a law forbidding the attachment of nor-related items to bills. I agree. There is a sweet spot where they are there long enough to understand the job, be on the right committees, have some historical perspective, etc. The problem I see with term limits is real power will then reside with the people we do not elect. The staffers who stay year after year, for various officials, from both parties. Congressmen cannot be experts on every issue, so they rely on their staff to write position papers and advice. They also need to rely on their party. But at least in the end, they have to push the button and vote. Most of these staffers are very savvy individuals with a depth of knowledge that is very impressive. But I'd still want some elected officials around for continuity.

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Apr 8, 2008 -> 10:10 AM) You mean to tell me it's not Josh Fields?! I seriously can't help myself. I think this Crede/Fields thing has become a viral infection and it's spreading like wildfire... Post #5. Those that had the over 4 posts until Josh is mentioned are winners.

QUOTE (kjshoe04 @ Apr 8, 2008 -> 09:48 AM) If wikipedia is wrong, that means almost every paper I've written the last four years could be factually incorrect. I would never use wiki as a cited source, but I do look at the discussion pages and their sources for good ideas. Usually credibility is just two clicks away.

QUOTE (FlaSoxxJim @ Apr 8, 2008 -> 05:19 AM) Can anybody join the rant?? I have a rant. These scheduled days off after the opening game of a series like today vs. Minny and last week after the season opener @ Cleveland suck balls. The team has some great momentum going and doesn't need the day off. And I want to watch a damn ballgame tonight. /rant I understand the logic because of Spring weather, but have we forgotten about doubleheaders?

QUOTE (FlaSoxxJim @ Apr 8, 2008 -> 05:26 AM) I agree, it's incomplete reporting when a Congressperson's party affiliation isn't included in the reporting. On the other hand, every time Fox News "accidentally" puts the wrong affiliation on an elected official when a scandal breaks, that's just a funny look into the fact that Fox News doesn't think much of the intelligence of the average Fox News viewer. I'd rather they did not mention the party at all, unless it was relevant to the discussion. If the guy was trolling in an airport restroom, not important, if he is resigning, important.

QUOTE (Alpha Dog @ Apr 7, 2008 -> 09:28 PM) Well, the Senator in question is John Murtha, so I guess the answer would be 'no'. I am sure there are examples on the Rep side, but here is one example of the need for term limits. This man's ego is bigger than his state! And so, apparently, is his appetite for pork. We already have term limits. They come up for reelection. If you believe it is important, just vote for the other guy.

Tangent, should we make a distinction between athletes playing in China and American businesses playing in China? Seems if our corporations can go over there and play, making money for themselves *and* the Chinese, our athletes should be accorded the same opportunity.

I was going to attach this to one of the Fields threads, but I think it is a fresh alternative to the other 3rd base threads. A few bullet points to kick things off in search for common ground. White Sox 3b eras: Bill Melton Robin Ventura Joe Crede Coming era Josh Fields PTBNL Ventura the best of the lot Set our sights higher than Joe 2007 v. Josh 2006 Need to get Josh to Ventura levels or beyond over his career Developing Fields No rush, Crede is healthy and playing fine More instruction in AAA Is that good? Is that bad? Find spots for him to be successful So a discussion on the best way to develop Fields as our next cornerstone 3b. Limiting the discussion on developing a young player with great potential and not, hopefully, dropping into another Fields is better than Crede thread, which we have had enough of already. For his career, which makes Fields a better player, playing now, or waiting. Will it hurt, or will it help?

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Apr 8, 2008 -> 08:30 AM) I know you may all be suprised by this, but that means Wikipedia is wrong! They have Craig Wilson listed as opening day starter at 3B! And I'm not sure why I thought Herbert Perry was our 3B then...but I did. wiki wrong? Clear your cache

Great start. BTW, a trip down memory lane, Ventura once stretched a run like that for a month. IIRC he finished the month with a walk off home run.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Apr 8, 2008 -> 08:38 AM) You can't win a division in April, but you can lose it! Every game we can put between us and anyone else is a game they have to try to make up later. Every game is important. Sometimes we forget the basics. Great post. Looking over a couple threads and trying to think of every team since the early 70s, this team is easily in the upper half, perhaps the upper quarter. I thought that even before the start. Now, in comparison, they have bigger hurdles to overcome in Cleveland and (despite their start) the Tigers than most other seasons. But if they do overcome those hurdles, the playoffs would look better.

QUOTE (YASNY @ Apr 8, 2008 -> 07:59 AM) As a former moderator, let me say this. These guys and gals running Soxtalk are the best. No one gets booted without a long, protracted, and sometimes contentious discussion. The standard approach is to try and figure out what can be done to keep the person in question around. If somebody gets banned from Soxtalk, I assure you that they have earned it. Yep, with Tex "Patron Saint of Wayward Posters" as the court appointed special advocate, often with Hussein as a client LOL, maybe I shouldn't share but what usually happens is after dozens of comments back and forth, the mod who thinks the person should *not* be banned PMs them and asks them to tone it down, common' be reasonable, put those guys on ignore, etc. Then the person bites the head off of their last advocate, leaving no one left who thinks they should be around, and then their IP gets lost for a long time. By then three mods are pissed at each other for leaving some idiot around months longer than we probably should have. Of course the trolls that SS wacks in under 5 minutes are the exception, that's just fun to watch. I think SS had one Cub troll on his ass in under 90 seconds

QUOTE (shawnhillegas @ Apr 8, 2008 -> 08:36 AM) Who was the White Sox opening day 3rd baseman in 2000? Craig Wilson Jerry Manual was Manager of the Year and Frank got robbed as the MVP to 'roid boy. Edit: Did a couple searches, and there is conflicting information. But, I would say it is not Wilson.

QUOTE (FlaSoxxJim @ Apr 8, 2008 -> 08:39 AM) Good to hear. Now I'm off to get a good seat for the early bird dinner at Sizzler. Since you have been sitting at Denny's since 5:30 am with your trailer park name tag, and talking about how things are so much better "up north".

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Apr 7, 2008 -> 11:33 PM) And I'll stand by that statement to this day Unless you are playing games in the future and adding them to the stats, then we have two below average 3rd baseman, draw your line where ever you like.

BTW, I'll be even happier when we can compare Fields to Ventura or even Melton.

QUOTE (FlaSoxxJim @ Apr 8, 2008 -> 08:13 AM) Are you guys trying to tell me something? Yes we are, that good posters will not be treated like meat by ill mannered, inconsiderate, illogical, rude posters. When good posters, like yourself and others, are driven away by others, we'll look at what those bring to the party, and perhaps show them to the door. So we'll be protecting our senior citizens before they go all AARP on our ass.