witesoxfan

I agree completely with that. Ron Gardenhire should have learned from Grady Little's job-costing mistake in game 7 of the ALCS last year...do NOT listen to your pitcher. He will try to tell you that he is fine and can go one more inning, and that was quite obviously not the case. Bring in Romero, and the game's over. I do have to admit...I didn't watch much of game 4. I was out of town for most of the game and quite honestly figured it was over when it was 5-1. I didn't see Gardenhire take on Santana or put in anyone. However, my dad had told me that Rincon's fastball was straighter then an arrow. That being said, putting Rincon in there is the right move...he almost always gets the job done, even without his best stuff...and just didn't do that yesterday.

qwerty, I'm trying to figure it out myself. How is OF easier to fill when we have a viable option off the bench for 1B in Gload, and we have NOTHING to put in OF? Trade Konerko before you trade Lee, IMO.

Frank Thomas was one of the, if not the most dominant hitters in the league for 6 years(from 91-97), and he fit that same category again in 2000. That alone will get him in the hall of fame, let alone his 2, should be 3 MVP awards, his OPS near 1.000(3rd best among active players, behind only Bonds and Helton), his .300+ career average, the amount of runs he created...what he's done is insane. To think he will not make it is absurd, even if he was a DH for most of his career. The real question is whether he is a first ballot HoFer or not...plain and simple.

Lee probably has the better trade value. Konerko's stats are obviously helped by playing in USCF, while Lee's are not as much. Lee's a better all around player and is hitting around .300 too. Lee is still improving, even at an age where most players aren't...but Konerko has pretty much hit his peak and will, in all likelyhood, only see decline from here. If you traded the higher value player, Lee would be off the team next year. Personally...I have no preference. Both could be kept, both could be traded...so long as good replacments were brought in, I could care less.

I'm just doing Java right now. That stuff looks Greek to me. I understand it's probably not that hard, but still. I'm personally wondering when we'll get into C++. cws and soxn...what was the class that you are doing this in(like its actual name)?

Last year...around the time they hired Epstein as GM

Is it wrong that my most memorable moment this year is not a White Sox moment? Because the moment that sticks out in my mind is what Rob Mackowiak did back in May. That was insane.

What was so great about Washburn-Ortiz-Appier in 2002? I would go as far as saying that rotation sucked ass. Just so you know how I feel...I do think you need good SP in the playoffs. But you have to get to the playoffs before you can win the World Series, you know? Gotta catch the cat before you can skin it. It's a lot easier to get to the playoffs with a good bullpen then it is with a good rotation.

2+, 1.3, same thing, right?

Holy s***, that's really good He was scheduled to make like $2+ mill with his option...getting him for $1 mill is a good move.

I think it was fun, personally. But then again, I think this kind of thing is fun.

When I look at Cy Young, I look at 2 things...#1, who is the best pitcher in the league, and #2, who is most valuable to his team's success. #1 can be a pitcher on any team...RJ is a good example. His team lost well over 100 games, but he is probably the best pitcher in the league, all things considered. #2 should be taken only from a contender's team is basically how much does he help is team win...this is purely opinion, but when I look at it, I think which guy has helped his team get to where they are...so I'm not going to consider RJ, because he's done nothing to make them a 100+ loss team. I'm going to look at a guy like Johan Santana, who has been a huge part of why the Twins are going to New York to play on Tuesday. That being said...it's gotta be D, I, or C, based solely on those numbers. If you gave me W-L, it would change my answer dramatically...but it would also give away who those players are, and that would ruin the fun of the "experiment."

Great bullpens had a lot to do with both of these teams successes. Without Flash and Rivera in the 8th and 9th(and sometimes the 7th too), there is a chance they wouldn't have won the division...given, they still would have had a playoff berth, but you get the picture. The Cards offense clicked and gelled right away...but that pen has been quite solid for them. Up and down that bullpen is solid relievers. Let me just ask you this...do you think it is a coincidence that several teams with awful/shaky bullpens(Cubs, Athletics, Marlins, Giants, Indians and White Sox included) choked down the stretch and didn't make the playoffs? And do you think it was totally coincidental that almost every playoff team has atleast a solid bullpen, and in about 6 of the 8 cases, a great bullpen? Is it completely coincidental that the Twins, who had the better bullpen then us last year, won the division? And do you think it was completely coincidental that when Oakland lost a very good closer who could come in and be lights out that they started to struggle? Bullpens have a huge, huge effect on teams, and if it isn't very good, you won't win. If you don't have a good bullpen, you either have to be fortunate enough to have it be just good enough, have your rotation be THE best, have an offense that shows up EVERY night, be a decent team in a s***ty division, or a little of everything to be able to make up for not having a solid pen. Almost every playoff team over the past 25 years has had a solid bullpen, at the very least. BTW...my definition of a solid bullpen is one that comes in and gives you good innings...probably an ERA of around 3.50-4.00, a combined WHIP of around 1.20-1.30, atleast 1 guy who can get tough lefties out, and preferably two, and a good closer.

Marte and Hawkins are very similar relievers...neither seems to handle pressure very well at all, but when put in set-up roles, the excel. I think big time pressure like that gets to both those guys. BTW...just an interesting tidbit. In 2001, the first year of this current streak for the Twins, they had probably the 3 hottest starters in baseball...Radke, Milton, and Mays...and they looked like they were going to take off and become a dominant team. Funny how that team didn't win the division due to its bullpen being very crappy. Also funny how that, the next year, when Romero, Hawkins, and Guardado all had huge years, the Twins won the division with ease...as they did last year...and this year, with Romero, Rincon, and Nathan, they again won the division with ease. And you guys think that not having a good bullpen is not the most important thing. I will argue that the bullpen is the most important thing to a baseball team, and that if your bullpen is lights out, you'll be lights out. St. Louis won 100 games this year...think their bullpen had anything to do with it? The Sox got real hot down the stretch last year...think the fact that they had one of the better pens in the league was a factor? You can look at almost any team, and usually one of the reasons is a good bullpen.

Expecting that is too much. He has been a .500 pitcher his entire career...I don't expect anything different.

Minnesota over New York in 4 Anaheim over Boston in 5 St. Louis over LA in 5 Houston over Atlanta in 4 Minnesota over Anaheim in 6 Houston over St. Louis in 7 Minnesota over Houston in 7

definately And it's sentence So yeah, you're right BTW...this Astros team is hella good. They have got to be a favorite to win it all with to be 7th time Cy Young winner and first time NL Cy Young winner Roger Clemens and Roy Oswalt going...that's, IMO, the best 1-2 punch in the playoffs. Santana is by far the best pitcher, but Radke can't touch Oswalt or Clemens.

Both Radke and Santana were pulled after 5. That WON'T happen in the playoffs, I guaran-f***ing-tee you that. You can almost count on Radke and Santana going 7 strong innings, giving up fewer then 4 runs, and then having Rincon and Nathan come on to close it out. If the Twins score atleast 4 runs in every game, they will probably win the World Series.

I'm a middle child. Got a sister who's 19, going to be 20 next month, and a younger brother who is 12.

Actually, this is mainly to Heads, but I figured if someone else knew, they could help me out... When did you change your sig from the Ben Davis one to the headcases one? I'm pretty sure it was quite some time ago...but I think that's why Davis is slumping. You asshole.

I have felt that way all along. You look at Minnesota, and yeah, they have a solid rotation, including the to be-Cy Young winner, but what really put them over the top was that bullpen. Romero has struggled some down the stretch, but they have had 3 very solid relievers all year long, plus Rincon and Nathan are for-sure pitchers who they know they can put out there and will get outs. The one thing almost every playoff team so far has in common is a great bullpen. LA, St. Louis, Boston, Minnesota, Anaheim...those 5 teams have quality pens, plus New York, Atlanta, Houston and San Francisco's are not too bad. The team's that have bad bullpens...the Cubs, Marlins, A's...they choked. Period. I would rather see the Sox bring in 3 very solid relievers rather then bring in 1 great starter...honest to God. Problem with that is that the relievers available this offseason is very weak. That could present a problem.

You mean 6 feet under? Yeah, it is definately pretty incredible. Much kudos to Houston.

I don't think I want Zito. His career numbers suggest he's a solid pitcher...but he is a serious fly-ball pitcher. That would not bode well in USCF. FYI...Zito's career GO-AO is 0.78...this year it is, coincidentally, 0.78, was 0.88 in 2003, and was 0.75 in 2002, his Cy Young year. In fact, his GO-AO has never been close to 1, unless you count 2003. I don't want Zito at all.

The Yankees are f***ing toast. Their pitching has gone down the s***ter. Vazquez-El Duque-Mussina with Brown potentially? Yeah, buh-bye Yankees.

I love it when big ranked schools like this go down...especially ones that I hate as much as Ohio State. WTG Northwestern!