bigruss

QUOTE (elrockinMT @ Aug 3, 2011 -> 10:27 AM) I hope winning ball games Right, Im sure he just wishes that wins are given to him, because he doesn't prepare like he wants to win them.

QUOTE (dasox24 @ Aug 3, 2011 -> 10:43 AM) I approve both of these ideas. I hate how Brad Biggs keeps saying the Bears won't go after Osi b/c they wouldn't lock up that much money at one position. Who give a s*** where we spend our money? If we're going to spend jack squat on the OL, then we might as well spend it elsewhere. And with Peppers/Osi coming off both edges, game over. Our D-Line would wreck so much havoc. Yup, if you're not going to spend that money in other areas, then you may as well pay that money in the area you are willing to pay for. But I think the Bears will be to cheap anyways to do this type of move.

QUOTE (elrockinMT @ Aug 3, 2011 -> 10:29 AM) I am sure they would too And that's not saying anything bad about unions, but maybe a different contract approach is something teams should consider. Why would player XYZ sign with team A who offers a team friendly contract while team B offers a player friendly contract?

It just wouldn't be smart business for any team to do this. A) The MLBPA would take this to court fast then you could say "breach" B) The morale of your team, hell you're entire organization of players would drop dramatically, thinking that the organization doesn't care about you as a player, only about money. THere would be no trust on either side from then on. C) No new free agents would ever sign here with B being the reason.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Aug 3, 2011 -> 10:19 AM) Than why does he make dumb buffoon comments. At some point, perception becomes reality. Oh and how often do you want to hear him talk about how he doesn't know who "so & so" on the Jays is who shut us down. The guy doesn't do any homework as a manager. Compare Ozzie to the top managers in baseball, whether its Joe Madden, Mike Scioscia, Girardi, LaRussa and you'll find out most of those guys watch tons of film and know what is going on. Is it there job to know all of the inner workings of a players swing, no, but they should be familiar with the scouting reports and know the team. Ozzie isn't familiar with any of it. Ozzie doesn't believe in scouting and doesn't believe in stats. So what exactly does he believe in?

It saddens me that this situation has gotten to this point. It was inappropriate for Twitter to be used in this fashion (whether Mr. Teahen did so on purpose or not, or if Oney did this on purpose or not), but the personal attacks should not happen in the media. There are too many parties like Mrs. Teahen that then get involved publically and are dragged into a situation that they shouldn't have to go through. As a White Sox fan who wants this team to win with class, I am thoroughly embarrassed by the whole event. We enjoyed Mark as a person in this city, and I wish it turned out better for both sides during his time here. I wish you and your family the best of luck in your future ventures, and hope the Toronto organization and family treats you better.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Aug 3, 2011 -> 08:06 AM) Sorry, but we only count games vs. ML offenses that aren't in giant parks. (Beltran not withstanding) So the 2010 Giants WS doesn't count?

QUOTE (greg775 @ Aug 2, 2011 -> 01:47 PM) If Lexi's been great, then I stand corrected. Maybe it's just the at bats I've been watching of late during my selective viewing where he's been a bucket of suck. If he has the stats, fine. Collectively it's all adding up to about 3 runs a game for this horses*** offense and for some reason I have grouped Lexi into the s***storm of late. Because a fan's eyes will deceit themselves almost every time. Yes, you can notice quite a bit from jut watching games, but you're going to remember just the great plays or just the terrible ones, especially if you're biased towards a player to begin with. Stats, combined with a fan's eyes, will tell you the closest thing to the truth.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Aug 2, 2011 -> 01:20 PM) Spoken anonymously on the Internet. This statement really enhances discussion. Guillen is not a redneck. I like his passion when he fights back and says how rich he is. He's one of those rare managers/coaches who is willing to say anything interesting. How many are there willing to stand up for themselves? There was Ditka. There's Ozzie. Piniella was colorful. Some of them were back in the day like Weaver, Lasorda Most are plastic puppets. I love Ozzie's feistiness. I love winning more, and winning with class.

QUOTE (Athomeboy_2000 @ Aug 2, 2011 -> 10:05 AM) The full image, this needs a caption: Woman - "They really should have bathroom cubbies"

Don't think I have to tell J4L to drink up, but have a good one man!

QUOTE (whitesoxfan101 @ Aug 1, 2011 -> 06:41 PM) Never thought I'd say this after 2005, but I will literally be THRILLED the day Ozzie (and his stupid kids) are gone. I hope he goes to Miami, they can enjoy his crap. Beinfest would fire Ozzie after about 2 hours of hiring him.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Aug 1, 2011 -> 04:06 PM) The wave isn't even a factor at our empty stadium. The ripple.

QUOTE (Kenny Hates Prospects @ Aug 1, 2011 -> 02:32 PM) Then why aren't the Orioles winning right now? Reality is very different. You plug in young, cost-controlled players who you think the world of and sometimes they become great and help you win. Most of the time they underachieve, often all the way to Japan or the indy leagues. It is pie-in-the-sky to believe that plugging in young players all the time actually works. It does not. Usually you deplete their value letting them struggle in the majors and then you're forced to move them for less and try to bring in a veteran to make up for lost time, and lost ground in the win column. And the poster I was responding to was trying to lay the blame for the farm on Kenny. Kenny isn't the one setting the limits on slot bonuses and draft budgets. He's not the one trying to stick with Selig. And yes, I agree, I'd love to see us play the same game as everyone else, but we're not going to, and that is not Kenny's fault. That doesn't mean I am absolving Kenny of everything. I am not. But he's been the whipping boy this year, and of all the criticism, the only area where I think it is even remotely reasonable to call for his head is in the area of personal ownership and control, and by that I mean he doesn't do what he wants to do all the time. That, however, is what he is paid to do. When he needs to overrule Ozzie he does not. I can see fans wanting to can him for not calling up Viciedo right now or for not firing Greg Walker or Ozzie. It is totally unreasonable OTOH to want to can him for signing Adam Dunn, or for drafting and playing (instead of selling high) on Gordon Beckham, or for taking on the contracts of Rios or Peavy. There needs to be a balance between effective draft and international signing and development along with good strategy and spending at the MLB level. Otherwise it is very hard to rebuild and remain competitive (as in the Rays losing their best players to FA or having to trade soon bound FA stars because they can't resign them). But teams that draft and develop well and aren't afraid to trade prospects (but also keep a few) are the ones who consistently succeed. Just look at the Phillies, they have acquired some of the best and biggest names out there for prospects the past 2-3 years, but they STILL have the #4 prospect in baseball. They can keep feeding that machine they have at the MLB level with great talent because they have the talent in the minors to trade. Boston is another great example of how to mix trades, FAs, and internally developed players. I actually have acclaimed KW many times for his ability to scout players close to the majors or already in the majors, especially pitchers. He's done some veryyy good low risk/high reward type moves in acquiring these players, but when it comes to getting that superstar or building a consistent winner, well, he's failed.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Aug 1, 2011 -> 02:11 PM) So let me get this straight.... - terribly overpriced roster - sub .500 team in a terrible division - awful divisional record - nonexistent depth in the minors - several untradeable albatross contracts - GM and manager that don't get along - manager's family members disrupting the club house via social media - consistent blowouts in media between ex players and management - fans no longer coming out Tell me again why there have been no changes in the front office?!??! It's easy to keep a job that no one holds you accountable for. JR/KW/Ozzie has a list of excuses for each one of those problems.

QUOTE (LVSoxFan @ Aug 1, 2011 -> 02:09 PM) Apparently in this thread we're not going to pin anything on KW, the way this is going. Who knew that lack of accountability even extended not just through the organization, but through Soxtalk? I think there are different levels of accountability, but yes everyone deserves to take on some accountability, especially JR, kW, and Ozzie.

QUOTE (Iwritecode @ Aug 1, 2011 -> 02:11 PM) Honestly, I was thinking that the drop-third strike rule only applied when the batter swung at the ball. I don't think I've ever seen in come into play when the batter didn't swing. My first sentence is still true though. You can't hit the ball unless you swing the bat. False, bunting is not really swinging the bat. Plus, a pitch could still hit the bat without the batter swinging it. It can hit off the handle b the hands and go in fair play, or do an even crazier off the barrel of the bat as the player ducks from a pitch at them. I've seen it happen.

QUOTE (Kenny Hates Prospects @ Aug 1, 2011 -> 01:46 PM) This is the worst argument of all. Fans love to pin farm system failures on Kenny Williams. Here are the problems with that: -Reinsdorf seems to be the only owner left who tries to do right by Selig. The rules don't seem to apply to most of the other teams. -Draft position makes it harder to get the guys (first round) that the Sox would see as deserving of over-slot bonuses and multi-million dollar bonuses. -ALL TEAMS fail to develop talent. This needs to be accounted for, with the Sox appropriately weighted because of their position. You can't fault Kenny for not signing players the Texas Rangers sign and for not giving out bonuses the Texas Rangers give out, because Reinsdorf would never allow for that. -Kenny trades prospects for talent. What so-and-so who is in another organization does or does not do does not matter anymore. The only thing that matters is what value the Sox got out of that player while he was here. So Kenny plays by different rules and he uses talent as trading chips. Whaddya know, a weak farm system results. In real life, ie not computerized internet baseball, the success of an organization is judged by success on the field and in terms of revenue. So I really don't care about what teams have better farm systems, I care about whether or not we are winning, and ownership cares about whether or not we're making money. Really, I don't care if we have the worst system in baseball as long as we win. And to that end, go ahead and take away all those trades Kenny made where he traded prospects for veterans, and pencil them all in, and try to see what teams we would have ended up with over the last several years. They wouldn't have been very good teams. That said, we could do a lot better when it comes to Latin American scouting and signing. But still, don't ever expect JR to greenlight a Yankees-esque total abuse of the system. You do realize that having a deep and talented farm system helps win, right?? Being able to replenish your team with young cost controlled players allows for bigger extensions or FA signings. Or you could trade prospects for players you want to fill holes (look at the Phillies). We handicap ourselves, whether that's JR or Kenny, we have no one to blame but ourselves. Go overslot, have better draft philosophy, develop better. There are way to many internal problems that hurt the Sox than external. Don't blame draft position, because other teams have shown that they acn have worst draft position than the Sox and succeed leaps and bounds over what the Sox do. And yes, we trade away prospects that go on to succeed, which wouldn't matter if the players we got back in return led us to a freaking playoff appearance (or better).

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Aug 1, 2011 -> 01:58 PM) Maggs, Dye, Frank, Jenks, Teahen....does anyone leave this organization quietly? We have a LOT of ego in the organization that is really to stubborn to give up any of their power/ideals.

QUOTE (maggsmaggs @ Aug 1, 2011 -> 01:54 PM) Despite all the backtracking from Teahen, I still think that tweet was directed at the Guillen family, and in particular, Oney. Yea it's clear he's trying to stay away from getting in trouble now from it.

This is where having had played baseball for a long time really helps out in the understanding of why it's not so easy to just change (and not saying anyone here has played less or anything like that). Choking up on a bat can be greatly uncomfortable for a batter and can mess a swing up even more as they are more concerned throughout the swing on their mechanics and distracted from just making contact with the ball. Now, this could potentially help break a bad routine, but it's doubtful. Im sure they've tried it in the batting cages, or similar "small" fixes, but it is up to the batter to be able to translate those fixes to the plate. This is where the hitting coach has their biggest struggle, how do they coach the player to the point where they can fix any mechanical issues without giving them so much advice that all the player is thinking about is their swing. You want the batter to be focused on just hitting the ball, the more concentrated (and loose, as weird as that may sound) on just hitting the ball the better they will play.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Jul 29, 2011 -> 09:30 PM) I wonder do Red Sox fans look at us the way we look at a team like the Royals. "We blitz the f*** out of everybody. But we can't seem to beat those mediocre White Sox." They would be a lot more vulgar, of course. LOL, I was thinking about that while watching the game. Love AJ's reaction to pretty much that same topic.

QUOTE (dmbjeff @ Jul 29, 2011 -> 03:48 PM) It really isnt a bad deal for the Mets. 3 holes are filled immediately with that deal. If I were the Mets, I certainly wouldn't look to deal Wright, but it isn't that bad of a deal on paper. They are looking for young, cost controlled players, not guys who are old (Thor) or close to FA (Quentin).

QUOTE (JoeCoolMan24 @ Jul 29, 2011 -> 03:37 PM) I didn't think this rumor deserved it's own thread, since it's pretty far-fetched, but some guy on twitter mentioned some trade rumor to Brett Ballantini.... Quentin, Floyd, and Thornton to the Mets for David Wright. That would suck. Doesn't make sense at all from the Met's perspective.

QUOTE (justBLAZE @ Jul 29, 2011 -> 03:01 PM) Jayson Stark An exec of one team that kicked tires on Carlos Quentin says he thinks #WhiteSox just laying groundwork to deal him this winter #trades Well, if they are prepared to see the offers potentially cut up to half of what is offered, sure, you go lay that groundwork.