bigruss

QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ Sep 22, 2010 -> 02:56 PM) We aren't. The Cubs are easily the majority in the city. With bandwagon fans, yes the Cubs do have more fans. I see that changing if the Sox actually consistently get to the playoffs and the Cubs faltering.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Sep 22, 2010 -> 01:44 PM) They also don't share their market with a bigger fan base either. Philly: 1.54 million Chicago: 2.8 milllion Even if we are splitting a city it is about even. Factor in more corporate sponsor opportunities being in a large international and national market, the Sox are in just as good, if not a better position than the Phillies if they got their s*** together.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Sep 22, 2010 -> 01:24 PM) Yes Florida will. You have the correct take on this. Your sarcasm meter never worked did it?

QUOTE (scenario @ Sep 22, 2010 -> 01:07 PM) Pujols is on record as saying where LaRussa goes, he goes, isn't he? And Reinsdorf says one of his great regrets was letting Hawk fire LaRussa. Why not right old wrongs and pull the coup of the century while we're at it? Konerko who?

So I am going to study abroad in Rotterdam, netherlands and will be leaving early January. Any advice when, where, to buy tickets? Any advice on who to fly? Would it be best to fly into Amsterdam instead and then take a train? Any Dvice is welcome. Thanks everyone.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Sep 22, 2010 -> 12:06 PM) Florida will fall in love with Ozzie Guillen. He is a rising star; already has one WS title before 50. Should get many more here, but too bad much of the fan base could not just accept the fact he knows what he's doing. I see what you did there.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Sep 22, 2010 -> 10:46 AM) Are those payroll figures actual money spent on salary though? I thought the Philles paid a good portion of Thome's salary, which would even out those numbers a bit. Also, were the Sox paying all of Javy's contract or did AZ help with that? The Phillies attendance the last 4 seasons has been 38k, 42k, 44k, & 44k. The highest the Sox have ever reached was 36k when the stadium opened and after the WS. Granted the Cell only fits about 40k, but knowing the history of Sox fans, I doubt they ever reach hit such high attendance numbers consistently, which also limits the payroll. I believe they are the raw payrolls not including cash from other teams, but I believe we are still around $5-10 million above the Phillies that year. Which still holds my argument, the Phillies started around the same payroll as the Sox, but with their decisions and organizational philosophy they have been winning at a high level each year, bringing not just local attention but national attention to the team, resulting in being able to afford, for now, the inflated payroll.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Sep 22, 2010 -> 08:52 AM) Poll: 1 In 5 Americans Believe Obama Is A Cactus I am actually disappointed that I know these are Onion articles before clicking on it, it added so much more fun when I didnt know until halfway reading through it.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Sep 22, 2010 -> 08:12 AM) Their 2010 payroll to start the year was $141 million, before adding Roy Oswalt (although the Stros are paying a large chunk of that). That's more than "a bit bigger than ours". QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Sep 22, 2010 -> 08:57 AM) I agree that they are doing some great things. But like Balta alluded to, there are only 2, maybe 3 teams with a higher payroll than them, so its not very easy to just model your organization the same way. They built up to that though. It's not like they started at $140 mill. In 2008 we had a payroll over $120 million, the Phillies were a bit under $100 million. That's over a $20 million difference that the Sox were ahead just 2 years ago. They increased that payroll because of the success they had because of their organizational philosophy.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Sep 21, 2010 -> 09:08 PM) They're the model organization in baseball right now. I fully expect the Phillies to get to the World Series again. And when Cole Hamels is your #3 man, you're pretty much the favorite. They make some questionable moves here and there, the contract extension to Moyer still baffles me, but their philosophy is one to model after. Their payroll is a bit bigger than ours, but they are a prime target for the Sox to emulate.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Sep 21, 2010 -> 06:09 PM) How many times has Ozzie basically asked or challenged management to fire him? About every other week.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Sep 21, 2010 -> 06:06 PM) Get ready for the Buddy Bell era. Yuk. Your posts are absolutely ridiculous. You really think that Buddy Bell, owner of a .418 winning percentage and who has never managed a better than 3rd place team, would be offered this position?

QUOTE (greg775 @ Sep 21, 2010 -> 06:01 PM) 2.) Florida will fall in love with Ozzie Guillen. He is a rising star; already has one WS title before 50. And Girardi wasnt?

QUOTE (greg775 @ Sep 21, 2010 -> 05:53 PM) Who cares? He didn't tell them to get drunk n drive. Hope you will be happy with our return to a revolving door of managers. Florida will be very happy with Ozzie Guillen. Right, because Florida has such long lasting managers.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Sep 21, 2010 -> 05:09 PM) That article in USA Today makes me think it's 60-40 Ozzie leaves for Florida. I could see him quitting at season's end. It's sad he can't be a White Sox lifer. Judging from Ozzie's quotes about "getting fired" all the time, he's still insecure about his status in Chicago. He probably does need a change of scenery which is pretty f***ing sad that we go from winning it all in 05, to driving the guy who finally got Chicago a WS title out of town. Five short years. It is sad. I mean LaRussa has had ups and downs in St. Louis and you never hear about it getting so bad they've driven him out of St. Louis. Let the revolving door of White Sox managers begin again. Very sad. Whether it is on Ozzie or somebody else, it's pretty apparent he personally feels the heat from reading his quotes. He'll find it very calm in Florida where nobody gives a s***. If we don't get Torre, this will be a massive FAIL. If Ozzie doesn't like the way the media operates in Chicago then he can follow his own advice and gtfo.

QUOTE (Jenksy Cat @ Sep 20, 2010 -> 09:21 AM) Huh? You do realize we already have like $85 million locked up with no catcher, 1B, or DH signed yet? Not to mention all the closer, bullpen spots, and reserves.

Strip clubs

QUOTE (Jerksticks @ Sep 19, 2010 -> 06:33 PM) Agree. I understand your school of thought on why the trade doesn't make sense. It seems you won't acknowledge old school guys like Jerry's line of thinking. You don't have to like it or agree with it, but it has its place. Because that old school train of thought leads us to having no flexibility. We now have a $54 million rotation with no ready replacements (IMO Sale isnt ready for a full season of starting, he needs to get stretched out for a year) while having little to no flexibility in terms of adding or keeping talent because of our payroll. We also dont have many young players ready to step in and contribute at the levels we would need them to. Suddenly that strength that was our pitching rotation turns into a burden because you flat out cannot afford them, and then if you trade one you have to plug in Sale sooner than desired or have a huge hole.

QUOTE (logic101 @ Sep 19, 2010 -> 03:38 AM) Kenny seems to follow a simple formula when he builds his starting staff. He wants 4 number 2 / borderline number one starters and can live with one bargin bin veteran for the fifth starter . When the Sox decide that someone either no longer has the makings of a #2 or will never be a #2, out they go. It doesn't seem to take them very long to size someone up an the major league level. A potential #3 or 4 starter is just a guy, get what you can for him...Gone. Look at John Garland, Brandon McCarthy, Javy Vasquez, Clayton Richard, and now Daniel Hudson. I don't think he cares at all if Richard or Hudson or Ely or Aaron Poreda become serviceable mid-rotation starters, he doesn't need them. And in theory, it makes sense. If you match up against halfway decent teams that have a starting rotation of 12345 with a rotation of 22225, you have a disadvantage in the first slot, a break even in the second slot, advantages in the 3rd and 4th slots and another break-even in the fifth. Over 10 games that figures out to be 6 wins ( slot 1 LL slot 2 WL slot 3 WW slot 4 WW slot 5 WL) .600 equals playoffs. The match-ups will be tougher against the best teams, better against the bottom feeders. At least in theory. And when you get into the playoffs, you figure one of your #2s will be hot enough to rank as a temporary #1...as Jose did in 2005. Danks looked like that guy for quite a while, Gavin looks like that guy at times - so does Jackson. If we'd gotten in, you'd figure at least one of them would be red hot...and Kenny's all number 2 staff would have a good chance in any playoff series. I know it's not that simple and clear cut, but this seems to be the way Kenny think and I'll bet he has done this calculation.

QUOTE (Jerksticks @ Sep 19, 2010 -> 10:23 AM) Disagree, he can hit 98 with his fastball while Hudson can't. Jax had proven he can be dominant at times whereas Hudson hadn't proven s***. I understand the years and paycheck thing, but there was a possibility that Hudson would never stick in the big leagues. I think the move makes sense from that point of view. I love everything Logic said. EJax also showed he can lit up as well as anyone else, in the "weak" NL nonetheless.

QUOTE (Jerksticks @ Sep 18, 2010 -> 10:08 PM) I think Jerry just fits into the school of thought that prospects are only that, prospects. He knows the insane majority completely wash out quickly. EJax has proven he is a good player already and will always fetch talent. Hudson could have imploded here and fetched little talent in the offseason and we'd be stuck with him. Obviously Hudson has excelled but from a risk standpoint, acquiring EJax kinda was a no-brainer. EJax did not show that he was a consistently good performer, he really only had one full season of being good. He was just as much of a risk as Hudson with a bigger paycheck and less years under team control.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Sep 18, 2010 -> 04:54 PM) Yeah doing things like bringing back Frank Thomas and Paul Konerko didn't make any sense at all... Major difference between giving the okay to spend more money and deciding if a player is worth a trade or not.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Sep 18, 2010 -> 07:39 PM) First he disses the fans and now he s***s on Nancy Faust. Why do people love this guy so much? He's not even a good manager. Chicago White Sox Polish sausage Ozzie Sausage World Series Ditka

QUOTE (JoeCoolMan24 @ Sep 18, 2010 -> 03:45 PM) J4L is fist pumping like a mad man right now. I never saw him state that he wanted them to lose. And really, from his comments, he probably could care less if they won or lost.

QUOTE (T R U @ Sep 18, 2010 -> 01:24 PM) Yes, 3 starts is plenty to judge a guy by when you are in a playoff race and cant afford to wait it out.. Jackson came here and pitched well because Cooper saw something he could correct with him and that's what has worked out.. Hudson only gave up one HR in 15ish innings, and his biggest downfall was his walks, which he never really had a big problem with in the minors. He had walked 11 batters in 15 innings with the Sox, that wasnt going to continue, as evidenced by the 12 walks in 65 innings with the Dbacks. ON both teams this year, Hudson has struck out 8 per 9 innings, so it's not like guys were clobbering him.