witesoxfan

QUOTE (LVSoxFan @ Apr 30, 2009 -> 09:47 AM) I'm not about to throw in the towel, considering I thought last year's team was going nowhere and they made it as far as they did. But really, we're in the same spot we've been in for three years: a middle lineup of aging, slow sluggers surrounded by no-names. Only our pitching is noteworthy. That we didn't get a leadoff hitter/CF in the offseason I thought was pretty ominous. That said, last year we managed to win the division, so who knows? Chris Getz Alexei Ramirez Josh Fields Carlos Quentin Brian Anderson more than half of the lineup, when it's healthy, is full of good, young, athletic players. The core of the lineup is aging and slow, yes, but those 4 will combine to hit 100 homers. I'm not too worried about it.

Johan Santana is the best pitcher in the league. /debate

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Apr 29, 2009 -> 07:28 PM) You know, it really does bother me. It's a shame but year's from now the 4 years Thome spent on the South Side won't be nearly as appreciated as they should be, I guess that's the price you pay when you're the type of hitter that Thome is especially when you're 35+ years old. And it's not just Soxtalk, it's the fandom as a whole. there are people who fully believe that Thome isn't a Hall of Famer. I find that to be completely absurd.

QUOTE (knightni @ Apr 29, 2009 -> 08:36 PM) Floyd gets so damn lucky with run support. Too bad he left an inning too early to win. he allowed 3 runs. And he really didn't get run support, the bullpen got the run support.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Apr 29, 2009 -> 05:40 PM) If you looked at his BABIP and some other sabermetric stats that I either don't know the name of or forgot, he was pretty lucky last year. What's even more intriguing is that he had about a 1 ERA in his first 8 starts and then a ERA near the mid 4s for the rest of the year. Gavin's still not there yet. As much as Ozzie wants to praise the guy, he's not a 20 game winner nor is he one of the best pitchers in league. He has the potential to be one, but his inability to find the curveball at his leisure is stopping him from becoming that kind of pitcher. When he doesn't have his stuff, he'll battle. But most of the time, the battle ain't pretty. I don't think he really had it today, but he battled and came out of it fine. Bottom line: Gavin Floyd, at this point, is a third starter on a lot of teams in baseball. The future is bright, but you're probably not going to see 17 wins and a 3.84 ERA out of him this year. I've been over this ad nauseum. His was freakishly lucky in regards to BABIP in the first half of the season (around .214) and his ERA was around 3.30 or so, but regression to the means took place in the second half of last season, and his ERA in the second half was right around 4.15 while his entire pitching game improved. No, I'm not worried in the least, and I still think he's going to have a breakout season. It's still April.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Apr 29, 2009 -> 05:27 PM) I think a lot of us knew Gavin was going to regress this year... I'm still not all that worried though. Hopefully, we get Getz back on Friday when we start the series in Texas. He's much better than Lillibridge, who is now getting exposed because he's getting more ABs. You knew he was going to regress after 4 starts. I know that overreaction is the norm here, but get f***ing real people. Anderson should have his head chopped off because he failed in an at bat, but then he gets hurt and you want to try and rebuild him. Floyd is brutal because he puts up a quality start and now he has already regressed. Let the season play out, JFC.

get better Brian also not worried about Floyd...dude gutted through a game when I'm sure he didn't have his best stuff and still provided a quality start. And Quentin is God...but you knew that

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Apr 29, 2009 -> 04:36 PM) Pujols? Don't think so. Over the last 3 years... 73/240 (.304) after count is 0-2 .263 with an 0-2 count. both are well under his career average. Relatively speaking, that's bad. Normally, both are f***ing amazing.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Apr 29, 2009 -> 04:29 PM) No, but someone made a sarcastic statement ("must have been his long swing") about how he was 3 for 10 in that situation (0 and 2) this year, as if that was evidence of some kind of amazing change in his swing and approach. exactly, it was supposed to be taken light-hearted. It's not a surprise that he sucks at 0-2, I'm sure even Pujols sucks when he goes down 0-2.

QUOTE (The Ginger Kid @ Apr 29, 2009 -> 04:11 PM) Why? It was a very big at bat. Dye with the bases loaded, down by 2, isn't a very big at bat?

QUOTE (qwerty @ Apr 29, 2009 -> 04:09 PM) I am personally getting sick of these home runs. wish they would have bunted their way on

so AJ can throw guys out I also like that people jump on Anderson for one bad at bat. I'm slightly worried about him hitting with runners on, but blame should be placed equally, because JD has not been good this game either.

AJ just ended the best scoring opportunity of the game

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Apr 29, 2009 -> 02:11 PM) There goes our best scoring opportunity of the game. Anderson and Ramirez will be in trouble with that big curveball. Betemit, too. Over/under on White Sox hits today? 3, 4 or 5? what up Miss Cleo

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Apr 29, 2009 -> 02:11 PM) Hitting homers and driving in runs is what Thome does best and it does help the team win. Maybe when the Sox won 1-0 against Minnesota last year, Jim should have tried to bunt down the 3rd base line for a single rather than hitting a homer for the game's only run. Funny, I saw no Thome complaints that night. word

QUOTE (Jenks Heat @ Apr 29, 2009 -> 01:42 PM) Bring up PODS to play LF and either leadoff or DH. No worse than having Lillibridge or Owens in the line-up. Podsednik as a DH. There's a wonderful thought.

QUOTE (BearSox @ Apr 29, 2009 -> 09:10 AM) I got a question... Why does Thome continually try and pull the ball when he has the shift on? He's a major league hitter right? He should easily be able to poke one out to the leftside for easy hits. I just don't get why he tries to pull and drive the ball when he is being given practically the whole left side poke the ball through for a hit. Hell, I'd love to see him lay down a bunt, if he knows how. His natural tendency is to pull the ball, and while he has good power to left and center field, he's at his absolute best when he's pulling it. When the situation calls for it, he does go the other way, such as when he can bring a runner in from 2nd or 3rd. Push come to shove, he's going to walk right around 100 times every season, and he's got ridiculous power to right field. So why would he try and poke a single to left field when he's just as likely to end up on 1st in the AB? I have no problem with the way Thome handles himself at the plate, and he's one of the smartest hitters the Sox have. He's just getting old and the bat speed is starting to slow down.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Apr 28, 2009 -> 11:48 AM) But we added Bartolo. and Jenks is still in town too

QUOTE (Cubano @ Apr 27, 2009 -> 11:10 PM) El Tanque Cubano winner

I'm personally pretty happy with Shawn Nelson as a late round steal. A lot of draft experts really like him as a receiving threat at the tight end position, and it's something the Bills really haven't had since the days of like Jay Riemersma, Lonnie Johnson, and even going back to Pete Metzelaars. If there is an in-house replacement for Peters who can atleast be solid, I'm pretty stoked about what this offense may be able to do, although I don't see Parrish making it out of preseason with the team simply because I think there will be a team that will give up a 2nd day pick for him. The backfield is pretty solid with Lynch, Jackson, and Rhodes, the receiving corps is legit, and Edwards is a pretty damn good QB when he's not hurt (which is usually atleast a game or two every year). I'm still pretty concerned about the defense, though it should be solid. Need Schobel to come back strong and Maybin needs to be a hell of a 3rd down guy this year.

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Apr 27, 2009 -> 05:45 PM) Heh, this was from his bachelor party. so I was right, mirite?

don't know about creeks and rivers to fish in, but the entire Rapid City area is a huge tourist attraction. If you do head to Mount Rushmore, make sure to stop by Keystone. It's along the way and it's just a town that is set up like an old western town with saloon looking buildings all over. There is also a saltwater taffy shop in Keystone that has taffy to die for, if you like it. It's absolutely gorgeous in the hills too as the scenery is something to die for. You can probably research a bit online, and there are some people you can probably talk to in Rapid too. There should be a game, fish, and parks building in the area, and they'd be able to help you out immensely.

QUOTE (Melissa1334 @ Apr 24, 2009 -> 09:45 AM) i dont like BA's, i had seen part of it before in this pic, now seeing it all, blah there's no way Q didn't get laid that night

over/under on Brian Anderson home runs: 4.5 I say way over

QUOTE (danman31 @ Apr 26, 2009 -> 08:55 PM) You should update your Sweeney tracker to include his sub .650 OPS so far this year. oh don't worry, it's been updated