witesoxfan

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ May 1, 2013 -> 10:04 PM) Great pitching and the longball. Earl Weaver's recipe. fixeded for you

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ May 2, 2013 -> 08:24 AM) Yes. 2 outs in the 9th inning with a 3 run lead. If AJ was the hated bad teammate people WANT him to be, the White Sox wouldn't have kept him around for 8 years, and signed him to 2 or 3 or 4 contracts. And again, AJ went out of his way to get hit. AJ was a good player and his TWTW is off the charts good. That far outweighed his PPAA (piss poor attitude attribute). He may be a jerk, but he is no where near Milton Bradley.

QUOTE (South Side Fireworks Man @ May 1, 2013 -> 11:05 PM) White Sox are totally classless. There was no legit reason to throw at AJ there. And the meatheads love it because they never appreciated AJ when he was here. No AJ, no White Sox World Series. AJ is better off with a real contender and the Sox are stuck with Flowers who not only can't hit but doesn't handle the pitching staff as well as AJ did and hasn't been any better throwing runners out. I'd say AJ gets the last laugh and the Sox just showed why they are the pathetic losers they have become. Good f***ing god, where to start? Then as a fan, you are also classless. Why else would you root for a classless organization? And you don't know that Reed actually threw at him. I'm sure he did - to protect Dunn and because it's AJ is basically their equivalent to Dunn right now, so it makes sense. Perhaps he just wanted to send a message and AJ stuck his elbow into it. And you love parroting the idea that nobody ever liked AJ. Quit acting like he's your son. AJ will be loved and appreciated in this town his whole life. He's a jerk, but he was a key factor in the Sox winning a World Series. The fact that you don't believe that White Sox fans appreciated AJ shows your true depth of knowledge as a fan of the White Sox that you can't look past the brim of your own glasses and see exactly how MUCH AJ was appreciated. No Paul Konerko, no White Sox World Series. No Juan Uribe, no White Sox World Series. No Tadahito Iguchi, no White Sox World Series. See what I'm getting at here, or do you want me to keep going? You make a broad, sweeping argument that "if no AJ, no World Series" without taking into context any other details. There were a lot of things that fell into place that year, and if you take any one of them out, that team almost certainly does not win the World Series. AJ didn't hit 80 homers and throw 15 no hitters, so let's not act like he was the only reason that team won the World Series. Cutting the rope 1 month into his career as a starter. Glad we did that with AJ after he put up a .269/.329/.358/.687 line in April. This is baseless, useless conjecture. The Sox, with injuries up and down the pitching staff, have the 5 best ERA in the AL right now. I don't know how else you're going to quantify "handling a pitching staff" so I'd say Flowers is doing just fine. Of course, because he doesn't step on people's backs and yell and scream and have the name Pierzynski on his back, he's obviously mishandled them. Again, these conclusions after one month. He was at 33% last year and has had all of 19 attempted steals against him this year. Because rather than keep an aging veteran who won't be in the league 2-3 years from now as anything more than a backup, they wanted to insert a guy who could be here for 1 year or 10 years to see how he handles the duty while they are in a transitional phase between generations of players. It'd be mildly surprising if they brought back Konerko this year too - are the White Sox going to be pathetic losers for letting him go too? Glad your son is doing well

QUOTE (Iwritecode @ May 1, 2013 -> 03:41 PM) There are other example of twins where one is gay and one is straight. In fact, my wife grew up with a pair as her neighbors. She said everyone knew even when they were kids that the one was gay . I don't think people can choose to be gay but they can choose how to live their lives. I have a cousin that is gay even though he has a biological son from his ex-wife. You mean like Jarron and Jason Collins?

QUOTE (Brian @ May 1, 2013 -> 03:49 PM) Heard that Britney Griner came out...after the NCAA tourney. Never made a big story of it. Is it more acceptable to be gay in the WNBA? Remember, not all wnba players look like Brittany Jackson. I don't think it's any more or less acceptable, but I feel like our society, for whatever reason, believes lesbianism to be more understood. Martina Navratilova came out more than 30 years ago at like the peak of her career. It's really a matter of gender differences.

QUOTE (TaylorStSox @ May 1, 2013 -> 02:44 PM) I don't think it's that bad of a comparison either. I was addressing the idea that Maddux thrived with average stuff, command and moxie, which just isn't true IMO. A stat I'd love to see is swinging k's in 2 strike counts. That would be an excellent way to show how good a pitchers stuff really is. Off-shoot quick here regarding Maddux - my favorite Greg Maddux moment comes from a really obscure highlight - couldn't tell you the date or the guy he was facing. Batter was left handed, and Maddux threw a two-seamer that looked like it was headed right at the dude, tailed back over the plate, and caught the inside corner for a called strike 3. Dude couldn't believe it because it was off the plate (I keep referencing that 4-6, because Maddux got quite a few off the plate), but it was close enough that the dude has to swing with 2 strikes on him. It was beautiful. Anyways, regarding the 2-strike date, I'd like to see it too, but it's obviously going to be skewed early on. As of now, it would appear that teams are sitting back on Axelrod's stuff and making him work - they aren't swinging at pitches outside or inside the zone (25.6% for O-Swing for Axelrod/28.5% O-Swing for Average; 58.2%/61.9% z-Swing for Axe/Avg) - and for good reason too, because they are putting everything they swing at into play - 67.7%/62.9% O-Contact, 93.1%/87% z-Contact). I think, to some extent, this works to Axelrod's advantage so long as he's throwing strikes. It seems obvious, but when he gets in front, he dictates the action and can make guys swing at pitches they don't want to (or think they want to, but really don't). When he starts getting behind, he is forced to come over the plate and teams will feast on that. It can work, but it's not a high ceiling type of pitching style. If you want to believe that this success is not a mirage of some type, I have 2 reasons: 1) Cutting back on the slider - Axelrod loves his slider (to the tune of 36.5% sliders thrown in his career compared to 42.7% 4 and 2 seam fastballs), but this year, his fastball usage is up to 44.8%, while his slider percentage is down to 30.6%. His curve and change usage are up slightly too, though not signicantly so. Still, having to essentially guess between fastball, slider, and some other offspeed pitch makes it a little uneasy at the plate because the pitches look the same. 2) He's throwing his 4-seam fastball as opposed to his 2-seam fastball. I'm simply guessing here, but I imagine last year guys were either looking slider away and fighting off or taking inside pitches, or they're looking 2-seamer inside and fighting off or taking any outside pitches. They'll miss more often because they're guessing, but when they hit, they hit it hard. However, the 4-seasm fastball shows similar locations and will cause hitters to be more apt to hit balls off the end of the bat or, if looking for a fastball, to roll over the slider. This is something teams will adjust to, so Axelrod will need to come back with adjustments of his own too. I think the first step would be refining that changeup to the point where he can use it between 15-20% of the time.

QUOTE (TaylorStSox @ May 1, 2013 -> 02:21 PM) I guess it's pretty subjective to how you define "stuff." Maddux had moderate velocity and movement on everything. That's having good stuff. Glavine didn't have good stuff, but excellent command. Perhaps the way to compare them is command within the strikezone versus command of an at bat. I watched both pitch extensively, but in their advanced age. The numbers indicate that they stuck to a lot of the same principles that got them 300+ wins. Just by looking at the numbers (and what I heard/noticed while watching) is that Glavine primarily stuck with going outside, outside, outside. It was a rare day when he'd come in on you. Meanwhile, Maddux just had absolutely pristine command within the zone and could throw any pitch at any time for a strike, and they moved too much to be able to touch them. That, and they both got pitches 4-6 inches off the plate prior to QuestTec. I still don't think comparing Axelrod to an older Maddux is a bad comparison.

QUOTE (TaylorStSox @ May 1, 2013 -> 01:26 PM) That's one of the biggest baseball myths I know. Maddux was nasty. Maddux was a Grienke better stuff. Maddux is 10th all time in k's. I think he was referencing old Greg Maddux - the one, who, from 2002 to 2008, had a K/9 above 5.4 just once. Beyond that, Maddux wasn't proficient about striking people out. In the prime of his career, from ages 25 through 32, he struck out 7 batters per 9, but he was never really much above 6 an inning. Maddux had the best command of any pitcher of his generation, and he was one of the best of all time. Getting calls 4-6 inches off the plate helps too. The fact that he threw 5008 innings (13th all time) contributes just as much to that. I really don't think a late career Maddux is a bad comparison though.

QUOTE (The Ginger Kid @ May 1, 2013 -> 11:33 AM) Please don't take this comparison the wrong way, but Axelrod is a pitcher in the sense that Greg Maddux was a pitcher. Not over-powering stuff, but he pitches with a lot of movement and deception. I think he's still got room to grow and improve. And he's shown some real grit on the mound. Dude's a competitor, and he may surprise us all. I really like Axelrod. He doesn't have a high ceiling, but he definitely has the ability to be a solid 4th starter. Anymore, I'd prefer him to Floyd in the rotation.

QUOTE (Cali @ May 1, 2013 -> 09:32 AM) Well Robin inherited a team that completely underachieved in 2011 under Ozzie almost in tact and turned them into playoff contenders just by getting the most out of them. The 2013 team is again almost intact from what Robin had last year and somehow all the good he bought from April-August is gone. Yes injuries are making him play AAAA players but really those fundamentals hits, with RISP and smart play from 2012 wasn't really evident when Beckham and Viciedo were playing either. And it doesn't have to get worse for this season to be a complete disaster, it could stay ostensibly the same and they still might lose 90. There were two majors differences between the end of the year lineup and the opening day lineup - Keppinger/Youkilis and Flowers/Pierzynski. Over the past few games, there have been four major differences - the aforementioned two, plus Greene (and Kepp) for Beckham, and a rotating disaster in LF. You are I think you are underestimating how badly this team is banged up right now. I also don't know how you came to the conclusion that they "still" weren't getting the hits when Beckham was in the lineup, as if he was somehow at fault when he was in the lineup all of 7 games before he broke his hand. There is no justifiable sample size in 7 games. If the team continues to lose, then they've gotten off to a good start, and if they start to win, then hooray. How about, when it comes to posting in this thread, people hold their chin up and force a f***ing smile? Jesus Christ, I swear that people will do anything they can to piss in as many people's cereal as they can.

QUOTE (Reddy @ May 1, 2013 -> 09:49 AM) obviously there's no way a woman could be the best actor of our time. Even the best female character of all time is played by a male

Cedric Benson was a key piece in the Bears losing the Superbowl

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ May 1, 2013 -> 07:34 AM) And Strasburg's elbow hurts. I hope the Nationals crash & burn. Good thing they shut Strasburg down in September.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 1, 2013 -> 09:00 AM) Paul Sullivan ‏@PWSullivan 12m Ricketts first threat: Will consider moving out of Wrigley if he doesn't get his signage. #HelloRosemont Hahaha that would be so awesome.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Apr 30, 2013 -> 06:25 PM) How can one stand by their stance. If they are in a stance, then they are in fact standing, and cannot stand next to their stance. MIRRORS

Cedric Benson wasn't a bad pick. He was just a moron who, after getting a vote of confidence from his organization regarding a previous DUI, proceeded to get another DUI. Then he had a few pretty good years with Cinci. David Terrell was a bad pick.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ May 1, 2013 -> 07:50 AM) Playing Flowers is giving up on season. I really hope he makes you eat those words.

QUOTE (GreatScott82 @ Apr 30, 2013 -> 02:18 PM) If there has been one thing that i've learned so far in the 2013 season- it is that our lack of farm depth has finally caught up to bite us in the rear. With all the injuries to Beckham, Viciedo, Floyd and Keppinger- there really hasn't been anyone to plug into those positions with exception of Gillapsie to help us compete. Wise is terrible, Jordan Danks is not that good, Greene does not belong in the bigs and Axelrod is a legitimate 6th starter/ long reliever at best. It appears as if it will be one of those injury-riddled type seasons. Unfortunately, our farm is just too weak to overcome something like this. Tyler Greene has an .855 OPS in 21 plate appearances. Dylan Axelrod has a 3.95 ERA in 21.1 IP, 5 starts. Viciedo wasn't lighting it up before he went down, Keppinger has been absolutely brutal, Konerko has an OPS of .700, Flowers has struggled, De Aza and Dunn have been all around bad - Alexei (sort of), Gillaspie, and Rios are legitimately the only offensive players playing worth a damn. I'm leaving the pitching staff out of this - they've been, generally speaking, fine. That league worst offense needs to improve or it won't matter how good the pitching staff is.

I prefer fTWTW myself

QUOTE (southsidepride15 @ Apr 30, 2013 -> 12:06 PM) It's too long already....how about TW² Silly, that is T² + TW + W². It would have to just be 2(TW), which looks far less cool

Nobody cares about your injury prone fantasy teams

QUOTE (Jake @ Apr 30, 2013 -> 11:58 AM) Any reason there are no women??? I PICKED NAOMI BANXXX

I think the difference in this is how absolutely driven by masculinity and testosterone male professional locker rooms are and the stigma that comes from being gay. Jason Collins has put himself at risk to be persecuted and outcast by his peers by a simple admission and look into his own life. I'm really hoping Nate Jackson writes an article on this.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Apr 30, 2013 -> 09:31 AM) He wasn't pale in Rum Diaries but he was basically a 1960's Jack Sparrow, since Jack Sparrow was based at least somewhat off his Hunter S. Thompson in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. And Fear and Loathing is one of my all time favorite movies

I picked up the One over the weekend. I am in love.