caulfield12

QUOTE (WHarris1 @ Apr 10, 2013 -> 09:19 AM) My birthday is December 23. For my 17th birthday I received a Brandon McCarthy jersey. I turned 17 in 2006. "December 23, 2006: Traded by the Chicago White Sox with David Paisano (minors) to the Texas Rangers for Jacob Rasner (minors), John Danks and Nick Masset." I think the time to buy a McCarthy jersey would have been sometime in August/September of 2005. Of course, for many of the reasons/players listed above, getting out in front of the crowd, especially with a young Sox prospect...has been a dangerous game with the GM for Sox fans. Imagine buying a Daniel Hudson jersey? Probably would have had to go the custom-made route, though. Or Brian Anderson...Rowand and Crede were popular jerseys, too. AJ.

QUOTE (IlliniKrush @ Apr 9, 2013 -> 10:33 PM) I own a Brandon McCarthy jersey, and I know someone that owns a Joe Borchard jersey. Don't do it, at least not for a long time. Although I did buy a Buehrle jersey in 2001 before anyone had one (his brother told me at a Cubs game is was the first one he had seen and asked me how I got it), and that worked out OK, but it's really rolling the dice. Haha, I know ALL about this. I have a Sammy Sosa grey road Sox jersey that I bought during his rookie season. Other than that, I've done okay. Harold Baines...and Darryl Strawberry/Mets wasn't a great choice in the long term. I'm just a huge fan of the minor leagues...so no matter what happens with Hawkins, I would rather wear one of his jerseys from Winston-Salem or BIRM than practically anyone on the Sox. Part of the fun is discovering a player and jumping on the bandwagon before it hits. Of course, all the hardcore Sox fans know who Hawkins is.

QUOTE (whitesox901 @ Apr 9, 2013 -> 10:17 PM) I always think about that too. Hunter instead of Swisher probably doesn't have that mental weakness vs the Twins in the late 2000s. Assuming Hunter didn't have a bad 2008 like Swish, they probably don't play a game 163, even with TCQ going down. True that. It would also be nice to imagine we had the horses to trade for Miggy Cabrera and didn't cast Jim Thome adrift in the ill-fated Kotsay/Jones experiment. Brian Anderson develops or Chris Young doesn't need to be traded for pitching. Joe Borchard becomes a star and there's no pressing need for Thome and/or Swisher from the LH side. Theoretically, we could have gotten away with Torii Hunter in CF, even though at that point he was more of a corner guy...especially after some of the injuries. In terms of ability, we haven't let many go that stand out, especially position players. Michael Morse is one, but he was years and PED's away from being a success at the time of the Garcia deal. Hudson, obviously. Brandon McCarthy, although that worked well for the Sox until recently. Clayton Richard...although we'll see how he does with the shortened fences. Frank Francisco, when he wasn't throwing chairs or acting like a lunatic. Getz has done okay with KC but he's more of a utility guy on a very good team. Jury's still out on Cris Carter, another hitter in the "all or nothing" Tyler Flowers mode.

QUOTE (Benchwarmerjim @ Apr 9, 2013 -> 07:57 PM) Escobar hit a HR. to the power alley. opposite field. where did that come from? a stiff 20 mph wind to LF blowing in KC The second coming of Andy Gonzalez. Well, from having lived in KC for nearly a decade, the ball can really fly out of there if it's warm enough and the winds don't knock it down...especially down the lines.

Don't forget Faustino DeLosSantos, haha.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Apr 9, 2013 -> 08:52 PM) Rios is starting to look like a guy the Sox should keep around for the duration. If the Sox trade him it might put him back in that old Rios funk that he shed long ago. For Rios' sake, and our team's sake, I'd keep him around. He looks comfortable at the plate and in the field and like he enjoys the game of baseball. Remember for a couple seasons straight he was a zombie out there looking like he was stealing money while moping around the diamond. Keep Rios. Greg, he'll be gone after next season. There's no way at that point in his career they'll extend his contract with the depth of minor league outfielders we have coming up. He was a zombie in 2009 (plus, Dye was hurt by that trade and was a sympathetic figure)....great for half the season in 2010 and then HORRIBLE in 2011 and great again in 2012...although, like the entire team, he tailed off at the end.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Apr 9, 2013 -> 08:48 PM) I would never trade Rios...because it's only going to be a salary dump, and that's not going to help improve this organization moving forward. Whenever we've done that, whether it was Ray Durham or Edwin Jackson/Teahen, no benefit has ever been derived that was discernible...and the downside of surrendering your best player in Rios for nothing in return is too high. It's a Marlins move. And, Thompson and Mitchell aren't ready to play at the major league level, just as importantly.

Agree... When I went to a game last summer, and was shopping at some of the sporting good stores, there was a complete DEARTH of Sox merchandise, compared to Cubs. If it wasn't for the gangsta rappers wearing our hats, we'd have nothing to feel positive about, lol. Obviously, they were prepared to market Beckham as the new golden boy and that fizzled out. Konerko has never been marketed outside of Chicago. Only by respectful media/announcing teams who always hype him as the most chronically under-appreciated/underhyped star player in the majors. Losing Buehrle and AJ hurt, there's no denying that. But there's just not a lot of passionate Rios and Dunn fans out there. The 2009 and 2011 seasons really hurt Alex with the fanbase, and Dunn's story is well-known and chronicled. There's an appreciation now of Rios' overall game, but not to the point where many would go out and buy his jersey. The only jersey I would buy would be Viciedo or Sale. After that, I'd probably buy a Courtney Hawkins jersey.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Apr 9, 2013 -> 08:40 PM) Yep, season has started. Caulfield is due for some trade threads soon Nope. There's nobody they really can trade, at this point, that would change anything in the overall big picture. Other than Sale. They're just going to have to wait for Sanchez, Thompson, Hawkins and maybe Mitchell or Walker. And see what they have this season in Tyler Flowers. Finally, hope Danks is a semblance of his former self. It's a roster pretty much stuck "as is" for now.

QUOTE (Baron @ Apr 9, 2013 -> 08:33 PM) I guess someone had to start the talk about blowing it up 7 games into the season while being tied for lead in the division. As last season proved, division leads don't mean anything until the last two weeks of the season.

The point of the thread wasn't about the "Sox fan as 2nd class citizen." It was about why there's a disconnect between the marketing strategy and what most Sox fans hoped for in terms of renewed interest on the part of "dormant" fans (particularly families) in 2013. It's the job of the marketing department to deal with this issue...2005 changed the culture, but it wasn't sustained. You'd almost have to argue that because of the thrills and experiences of 2005...that nobody could have predicted would happen in their lifetimes, everything else becomes dull and dim in comparison. There's not that sense of angst and apprehension in the fanbase...they're mostly contented to watch games from home and support the team when the weather is good or there's a marquee opponent or when they believe the team has the ability to go deep into the post-season. But it's a very conditional fandom. If you can't give me that same high and elation as 2005...then I'm not going to participate. Personally, because of the rivalry with the Twins, I almost enjoyed 2008 just as much...but a lot of fans don't see it that way, and felt we'd get knocked out right away by TB and that without Quentin and on the turf, we were toast. And that turned out to be true. DETROIT has a reputation as one of the worst cities in America....and yet fans of their team no longer feel second class. It's because they have three superstars on that team, and the possibility of another in Scherzer if he continues to progress. We've got Sale. But the fans don't seem to respond to watching him pitch like they used to with Randy Johnson in Seattle or Roy Halladay in TOR or even Zach Greinke when he was with the Royals.

QUOTE (Baron @ Apr 9, 2013 -> 08:26 PM) Oh for christ sake This team is in HUGE trouble if Viciedo, Flowers and Beckham all founder. That's not news. The only way for us to win is with dominant starting pitching and a better save conversion ratio than 2012. Everything went right last year and we still ended up short in the end. I don't think one game against the Nationals in April will tell the whole story....obviously....but they've really got to start playing much better defense, strike early in the game with RISP and get someone to step up in the bullpen. So far, it has been Addison Reed. Giving up those 7th and 8th runs really stung the comeback effort. And the real John Danks has to show up this season, at some point.

QUOTE (The Ginger Kid @ Apr 9, 2013 -> 08:23 PM) They fought back -- gotta like that, especially those of you who think the Nats are the best team right now Same old story. Late rally, too little, too late. More encouraging than just lying down, but Matt Thornton's always going to be Matt Thornton. He's just not going to get any better at his age....and is much more likely to continue regressing in his peripherals.

QUOTE (fathom @ Apr 9, 2013 -> 08:20 PM) Rios is just awesome He automatically becomes our best trade bait if this team does an April/May 2010 and 2011 disappearing act. Hopefully it won't come down to that and they start playing better. The bloom is already off the Donnie Veal rose. That was doomed to be another version of Politte/Cotts in 2005.

QUOTE (fathom @ Apr 9, 2013 -> 08:18 PM) They didn't want to have to give Jackson 4 years In hindsight, wish we'd kept Jackson and let Danks/Floyd go. Oh, well. Another KW gamble that didn't exactly backfire 100%...but it didn't pay off in the end, and it cost us Hudson and then Zach Stewart did about as well as Josh Stewart a decade before him.

QUOTE (fathom @ Apr 9, 2013 -> 08:17 PM) IIRC, the Sox tried like crazy to trade him and he had no value. I'm not so sure about that. He still had his A fastball. He went into that offseason as the leading contender for the closing position, and his new contract rewarded him as a pseudo-closer. It's always a matter of whether he can get that offspeed pitch over. Without it, he's now Billy Koch from the LH side.

QUOTE (fathom @ Apr 9, 2013 -> 08:14 PM) They're incredible, and could have been even better if they didn't waste money on a washed-up Haren. Lannan was their OD starter in 2011, right? They've made some curious pitching decisions. Edwin Jackson's a much better choice than Dan Haren at this point in their respective careers.

QUOTE (fathom @ Apr 9, 2013 -> 07:51 PM) BTW, coming into tonight, the Sox had 10 less walks than any other AL team and 29th overall. That renewed emphasis on OBP is really paying off. Other than Keppinger, Konerko and Dunn, we're in HUGE trouble in this area...and it's going to be a season-long issue. Maybe Flowers will pick up some walks, but his expected low BA will mitigate his walk totals. And this just in...Matt Thornton should have been traded after the 2011 season, when he still had value.

Ventura continuing to struggle with his bullpen management. You have a ton of young arms down there, use them. Perfect situation for Santiago...while it was only 4-2.

QUOTE (fathom @ Apr 9, 2013 -> 07:10 PM) I've always felt like Gavin's stuff would be great in the NL If Kyle Lohse or Kippie Wells can do it, so can Gavin.

QUOTE (Baron @ Apr 9, 2013 -> 07:09 PM) Gavin Floyd tomorrow....I guess Ill start drinking early. And Axelrod always has one of those 5-6-7 ER games just lurking around the corner. I'd be happy with 4-6 on this trip. Just don't have one of those April/May collapses like 2010 or 2011.

Well, one thing about last year's team...they didn't lie down and die in these situations. We'll see how they respond.

Jayson Werth looks like Tom Hanks in Castaway with that beard (at least his yahoo sport picture). What's with the recent beard trend? Not going to take off. Just when I say something nice about Peavy, the non-clutch, not-Big Game version returns. SIGH.

Gio still 0-4 lifetime against the Sox. At least we have that...or KW does. 60-40 career.

Rey Olmedo, your time to shine. Trying to reverse hex him, as I don't expect a hit but I would be happy to get jumped on just so we can get the lead.