beck72

QUOTE(Texsox @ Oct 9, 2005 -> 02:41 PM) Garland pitching 4th in a 5 game series would be more of an issue that 4th in a 7 game series. If the rotation made sense in the first round, it also makes sense in a second. Get your best guys out there first. Can Jon pitch better than Freddy or MB did in their starts? Probably. He should at least equal what those two guys did so why skip him? It's not like Garland was the 4th best SP all yr and those other guys were carrying him. I can see Jose going in game 1 and skipping Jon but not Freddy and MB.

QUOTE(DBAH0 @ Oct 9, 2005 -> 02:38 PM) With B-Mac waiting in the wings, one starter (most likely El Duque) won't be around in 2006. Pitching has been our strength, no doubt about that, but if you significantly improve your offense, and sign a replacement for the guy you trade (even though he probably won't put as good numbers), the net gain will be greater in my mind. Of course if you could just trade prospects instead of dealing from your rotation, that'd be even better. I say el duque. He's 46 and Jon is 26. Even with Bmac taking over at the 5th spot, do the sox have another bmac waiting in AAA? I don't see one. And w/ FA market very thin, the sox would be testing the laws of probability that all their SP's will stay healthy for 3 yrs in a row. No deal of their young SP's

QUOTE(YASNY @ Oct 9, 2005 -> 02:34 PM) How would you like to go to game 4 with the Sox down 2-1 and Garland on the mound and not thrown a pitch in a game sitaution in two weeks? Exactly. Garland will be needed. No one is debating this point. the sooner he throws, the better he'll pitch. The longer he sits, the rustier and worse he'll likely throw. Every game from here on out is big. Yet throwing Garland overboard as dead weight is what a lot of people seem to be suggesting around here

QUOTE(DBAH0 @ Oct 9, 2005 -> 02:35 PM) Young players who make $335,000 who can hit .308 (27HR)/.359/.553 are very valuable around the league. Of course a possible scenario is this, El Duque and Garland could be dealt, and KW could try to sign a Japanese pitcher like he did with Iguchi last off-season, but that's unlikely to happen. That said, Garland and Jose's value are the highest they've ever been. Looking at Jon's stats, he's decreased his walks by about 30, but still only struck out 115 batters. Now I know K'ing batters isn't the end all to be all, but it does help, and JG gives up the long ball more than say Mark Buerhle who also doesn't K a lot of hitters. It's one of the more interesting scenarios waiting in the off-season. with few SP's available around the league, why should the sox mess with the success they have had? no dealing their SP's

QUOTE(Frankensteiner @ Oct 9, 2005 -> 02:25 PM) Well, Garland is going to need to start a game here eventually, and you're just asking for trouble the longer he has to wait between starts. And I know we won the last series and that's great, but I didn't think Garcia or Buehrle had particularly strong starts. They were hitting rockets off Buehrle in Game 2 and Garcia lasted only 5 innings. From the sounds of it, people think Garland sucks and can't best the starts of MB and freddy. I disagree. jon is needed and should pitch in game 1 or 2.

QUOTE(greasywheels121 @ Oct 9, 2005 -> 02:07 PM) Pity aside, do you think Garland gives us our best chance to go up 1-0 in the ALCS, and is most deserving of 2 starts in the ALCS? Garland had a good year, but I don't think so on either of those questions. It's not just a matter of who can put the sox up 1-0. It's putting which SP in the best order that will help the sox win 4 games vs their next opponent. Not having Garland pitch in close to 2 weeks certainly won't help. Like a posted earlier, Jose loses game 1 and Jon was supposed to start game 2. The sox face the prospect of going down 0-2 going on the road for 3 games. The sox need to win at least 1 game at home before they go on the road. Having Jose pitch in game 2 would give the sox a good chance to at least get 1 win.

QUOTE(Texsox @ Oct 9, 2005 -> 02:15 PM) I knew if I read deep enough someone would have stated this. Bottom line Garland deserves a one start slot, not a two. Go back to Contreras, Buerhle, Garcia, Garland. It was the best shot in the first round and it is the best shot in this round. That is why you finish off teams early and hope the other series goes long. Can Garland give the sox a better start than MB and Freddy gave in their first games? Maybe. Maybe not. Is Jon a #4 or hasn't he been ahead of Freddy most of the yr? If it was a definite no than putting Jon back makes sense. If it's a toss up [and Garland has pitched well vs LAA], then sticking with Jon in game 1 or game 2 or even game 3 makes sense, all things being equal, seeing how the sox will need Jon this series.

QUOTE(kyyle23 @ Oct 9, 2005 -> 01:36 PM) Wow, I know exactly what Couch is talking about. Bruce Levine was talking about this just the other day. Levine said he was talking to Aaron Rowand when Couch came over to him and started asking him some questions, when Rowand turned on him and said basically "I have been reading your articles all year ripping on us, and I want you to know that we dont appreciate it. Throughout the whole year, you didnt need us, you didnt need our quotes, and now you do?" Levine said that Couch sat there and took it, and that Rowand went on for about 15 minutes. This was on Thursday morning, Carmen and Silvy were talking about Mariotti and asking about his Thursday column in which he mentioned "amateur media critics in the locker room", and this is what he was talking about. It was really funny, Levine hates Couch, so he was like "I cant believe he ran and tattled to Mariotti. Why doesnt Couch try and write his own columns?"

QUOTE(DBAH0 @ Oct 9, 2005 -> 11:45 AM) And Kotex Boy gets another little jab in at JR and the Cell; I guess jay doesn't realize Fenway will be damn cold and very empty [and probably yankee stadium] while the Cell will be filled and rocking next week The sox win and everything sorts itself.

QUOTE(YASNY @ Oct 9, 2005 -> 11:40 AM) The Sox should use whatever motivation works for them. f*** what any writer thinks about. To quote Bill Murray in "Meatballs" .... It just doesn't matter. I agree. I just think the sox player earned the right [a one time right--keeping on this kind of rant day after day would be obsessive and could take away from the job at hand] to tell couch to piss off

QUOTE(IlliniKrush @ Oct 9, 2005 -> 06:04 AM) And if the series never gets to a game 7? You only throw your ACE one time in the series. That doesn't make any sense. I say play to win this thing as quickly as possible, and don't bank on game 7's. Plan for that and you will lose with bullets still in your gun. Contreras going in game 2 [and presumably winning] would guarantee the sox at least 5 games. Contreras can go in game 5 on short rest if needed. But the sox other SP's have to step up. Garland has a fairly decent chance at stepping up and winning if given a start. It's not like he's Danny Wright or Jason Grilli

Having Garland go in game 1 makes a lot of sense. What if Contreras went in game 1, the sox lost, and now the pressure's on Garland to win game 2 after not pitching for 2 weeks. garland should pitch at least as well as Freddy or Mark. And that's not bad. In a 7 game series, all four SP's will be needed eventually. Get him in now before the long layoff could really adversely affect him Jon in game 1 will still probably out pitch whoever the angels or yanks would have going. But if he gets lit up or loses, you want the Sox ace in game 2 so the sox shouldn't be down 0-2 going on the road for 3 games.

http://www.suntimes.com/output/couch/cst-spt-greg09.html In Greg Couch's column, he writes about how the sox should be more motivated by history to win and not by settling personal scores. This is not this team's or any team's duty to excorcise the past failings of 88 years. This is a group of 25 players who have a duty to each other to win baseball games. When people [this writer or other fans] ask these 25 guys to go beyond winning the game, and try righting wrongs of the past that they had no part of, it's ridiculous The most telling part is near the end, where Couch writes of a sox player "in a very creepy rant", talking about him and showing clips of his past writings on the sox to people in the clubhouse. [That Couch was probably feeling "salty" as hell, and wanted to curl up in the fetal position at that moment contributed to this article] This isn't a distraction to what the sox are trying to do. It's a big part of what motivates these sox players. The sox roster is made up of guys with "chips on their shoulders" due to a variety of reasons. Mostly because they have experienced failure, and others have raised question marks about their ability throughout their baseball careers. That is an integral part of this teams makeup I don't know who the sox player was that started the "creepy rant". Yet he's within his rights to do so. When local writers and media do the Sox bashing from afar, [like when Levine callled the sox subs "scrubs"], the sox players have now earned the right to tell these bandwagon media types to f*** off. These media types are strangers who've avoided the clubhouse all yr long and now when the sox are winning want to get a quote or two. That their words should come back and bite them in the ass is justice Now if the players continue "ranting", then its a different story. My take is they'll likely focus on playing the game now that they vented. And continue working together and play their asses off to get 8 more wins for themselves. That 8 more wins would be nice for the city, the fans, old Aunt marta, whoever, would be icing on the cake

QUOTE(nitetrain8601 @ Oct 8, 2005 -> 03:14 PM) Ozzie is perfect for keeping the guys on their toes, but yet keeping them comfortable. Whether it's the "chicken or the egg" debate with Ozzie or the players getting it right, the players have learned to enjoy playing the game this year. Esp since they clinched, regaining their edge like they had early in the yr.

QUOTE(YASNY @ Oct 8, 2005 -> 02:44 PM) I don't think this is just a case of "media speak". I think this team has their focus right where it needs to be. That's what I've been thinking. These guys have been around long enough to know that there is more season left to play. More importantly, I think most of the guys have the right attitude--enjoying the ride and staying with what got them to this point.

QUOTE(bighurt2719 @ Oct 8, 2005 -> 12:19 AM) its written in stone in my mind. el duce has to be our set up man. what a clutch performance. im supposed to be doing property homework for law school and im drinking wine and celebrating. I LOVE THE WHITE SOX!!!! seriously though, we should have el duce as our set up man for the rest of the season. El Duque will be a bridge from the starters to the late inning guys like Cotts, Politte, hermanson and Jenks. Keep him out there until he gets in trouble, and it saves the rest of the bullpen. Bmac should also be put in the same role.

el Duque's performance showed that long relievers [someone who can go 2,3 innings no problem] are very necessary in the playoffs. Esp in a 7 game series. Having both BMac and El Duque could keep the rest of the pen very fresh, while the yanks and Angels could have guys running on fumes come Tues. That said, Marte should be left off and BMac added. Marte has been the most ineffective and inconsistent reliever. Bmac could very likely come in and shut down a team for 3 innings like Orlando did. Marte has trouble getting one guy out.

QUOTE(S720 @ Oct 8, 2005 -> 11:22 AM) Perhaps, it's homerism or home-team bias intuition, I strongly feel that this definitely is the White Sox's year. What team out there can sweep the champion Boston Red Sox, especially in man-handling in almost every aspect of the game? I'm praying for the Yankees to win, not because I'm afraid of the Angels, but the Yankees are full of the star players. It would be a much more exciting series to me if we play the Yankees in the second round. Well, here is hoping for the best. Regarding measuring success, to me it is already a very successful year. At the beginning of this season, noone including ALL of us had any idea how good this team would be, let alone advancing toward the second round in the postseason. However, since I've already tasted a piece of the PIE, I'm still hungry. I want ALL! One thing I do know---this team won't let up. They may not win it all [though if they win the ALCS I like their chances vs the NL]. But they will fight to the end. That's all a fan can ask of their team--showing up everyday and giving 100%.

Don't get me wrong, I'm as excited about the sox ALDS win as anyone. No Sox fan has seen this since 1917. We should be honored and proud of this team's accomplishments. Yet I found myself even more subdued after the game 3 win than when the sox won games 1 and 2. I'm not sure why. Maybe it's being spoiled by success. You get a little taste of it and you want more. But I think there's more to it than that. I sense it in the players comments as well--AJ, widger, Everett, PK, Ozzie--they want 8 more wins. They won't see this year as a success unless they get those 8 wins. As Sox fans, who have long starved for any kind of winner, whatever happens in the next week or two, most of us can look back at this season and view it as a success. I certainly will. This team has been discounted and written off all year long. But ultimately, this team will be measured by how close to 11 postseason wins they got. The number is three right now.

QUOTE(Greg The Bull Luzinski @ Oct 6, 2005 -> 11:57 PM) This is true. But if you are not nervous about Crede, would another error on Friday help? Crede has been great w/ the glove all year. I'm not worried now after 2 games

Crede isn't and shouldn't be going anywhere except to his spot at 3B and whatever spot he's hitting in the lineup. He's more than fine at 3b. The barehanded grap isn't automatic for any 3b man. Though Crede makes it look easy. I'd guarantee any people calling for Ozuna would scream bloody murder the first boot Ozuna would make. Not to mention the balls and plays he couldn't make that Crede could.

The sox must take advantage of their scoring opportunities

QUOTE(YASNY @ Oct 1, 2005 -> 08:22 PM) Gotcha! I'll stop hitting you over the head with a chair now. thanks. my head's a little sore.

QUOTE(YASNY @ Oct 1, 2005 -> 08:18 PM) It's never over till it's over. Now, it's over. But you called it a bit early. I didn't call it a win in the 9th. I just meant it in a "good luck" to them sort of context

QUOTE(YASNY @ Oct 1, 2005 -> 08:12 PM)