caulfield12

I think there's also an argument for "reading them the riot" act, calling them to the carpet and leaving a 10% tip but letting them know your dissatisfaction and why you're leaving a more minimal tip. Some people prefer to create a scene and ream the waiter/waitress, then leave nothing. Personally, I usually prefer just to give a 10% or no more than 15% tip if I am unhappy with the service...or I simply won't repatronize the establishment. But sometimes there is a legitimate reason for why the service is bad, so I can understand some people wanting to understand the cause of the problem...and taking that into consideration in their tipping. For example, one of the normal servers is out sick, so all of the staff has 2-3 extra tables to deal with on a weekend. Is it fair to penalize the server in that situation? Or let's say it's a restaurant on I-80 and a huge tour or bus group just stopped by in the middle of the afternoon...sort of an anomalous situation that's hard to plan for when you run a restaurant, unless the bus/tour company has alerted you ahead of time. I tend to be more understanding in those particular situations. It's when there's seemingly nobody in the restaurant and you still have to fight to get attention or it takes forever for the food to be served that can be the most annoying.

QUOTE (2nd_city_saint787 @ May 26, 2012 -> 09:44 AM) He's highly thought of in KWs eyes, and in his first 2 appearances I see why. Then maybe his "eyes" should be paying more attention to whether our "prize" acquisition of the offseason, Molina, was actually playing Winter Ball in Venezuela or not.

QUOTE (farmteam @ May 26, 2012 -> 12:52 PM) I almost never post in PHT, but sure why not. The point of putting this into THIS discussion was to signal that maybe if that's the best you can say for why the farm system isn't barren, then maybe it actually IS barren. To not point that out would be, as you say, "farting rainbows." Now, I agree with SS2k5 that Sale is a great product of the system, and I've never been as down on our system as some people have, because it's been consistently good at pumping out role players like this. But the problem is when you're ONLY pumping at role players. Sale looks to be bucking that trend, but he wasn't mentioned in the original post. EDIT: I guess you could say the OP intended to include Sale among the "young pitching" comment, but my first post was referring only to the three mentioned in the title. The reverse way of looking that is we produced two strong closer candidates in Santiago and Nathan Jones that weren't on many Top 10 prospects lists for the Sox. Of course, you're talking relievers versus impact/All-Star level position players, but you can make the argument that their development (along with Reed) has paved the way for us to be able to deal Thornton, Crain and Floyd (the other young pitching prospects). If you take that money out of the payroll, you can legitimately make an argument for rolling the dice on the season by acquiring a David Wright type of impact bat. Not that I'm quite ready to advocate that, simply because we've seen how much difficulty NL players have had in their first couple of months (or even season) in the AL.

Leading back to the, WHAT IF DeAza and Viciedo played last year when they were most needed, or even Lillibridge? Ranger Rongey would argue that Dunn and Rios would have been ruined "forever"...or the team's chemistry/morale adversely affected by a Juan Pierre benching. Really hard to argue we "should" have won the division, as opposed to the 2010 decision about the the multi-pronged DH (Jones/Kotsay) versus Thome. But it certainly would have been a lot more interesting.

QUOTE (buckweaver @ May 26, 2012 -> 07:04 AM) Typically "Soxtalky" smarmy quote. Not that everyone is supposed to be farting rainbows and crapping moon pies, but what's the point of putting this into THIS discussion? On the topic, many people believe young player development is integral to building sustained winning. It's probably so. And organizations get evaluated on that...and on how they spend money on big name free agents. But what I do not see (next to never) is analysis of how GMs compare when it comes to plugging major league holes or adding the integral piece. Kenny Williams (and Ron Scheuler before him) is awfully good at that. We went for a number of years with some excellent rent-a-right-fielders. Albeit a week...but Orland Hudson is a great current example. De Aza's pickup off the scrap heap. Hell even the trade for Carlos Quentin. Many more examples out there for sure. So, to the Soxtalk braintrust, how important is this GM skillset vis-a-vis drafting/developing talent? And how do you rate Williams/Sox organization against others. Discuss. Back to lurking. Every big KW move...Jackson, Swisher (both deals), Dunn, Peavy and Rios hasn't worked out, at least to the point where their underperformances and payroll numbers forced us to cut about $25 million (Buehrle, Quentin, Santos) from the payroll. So yeah, we've been able to cover up on the cheap with moves like DeAza, Humber...Quintana would be another example...but we've still got gaping holes (future-wise) at 3B and catcher. All things considered, with the infusion of Reed, Nathan Jones and Santiago, our bullpen has been about as good as could be expected, but is still more talked about in terms of "potential" rather than all the pieces working together like in 2005. The closer we get to first place, the more we get away from "development/rebuilding" and the more dangerous our situation becomes, in the sense that being mired in the 75-85 win range is like death. Those numbers are going to give you low attendance (or falling attendance on a cyclical downtrend) and no sure-fire talent in the first round of the draft. Maybe somehow between Quintana, Axelrod, Zach Stewart, Castro, Hernandez, Doyle, Molina, Hernandez and Hector Santiago, we can fill out the bullpen, the final two rotation spots in 2013 AND survive the losses of Floyd, Thornton and Crain, as those are the only places we could conceivably cut without destroying our chances of competing this year. We definitely have more pitching talent in our system than at the same point in 2011...and Mitchell has made himself into a legitimate prospect again, so baby steps.

Except Wilson Alvarez was really powder river when he first arrived out of the Rangers' system in the Baines deal. That kid could throw the ball through a brick wall, always in the mid 90's and even touched 96-97-98 on occasion, when he really needed it. Quintana's more typically in the 89-92 range, but it's definitely working for him so far.

One thing I do find hilarious is we might not get anything out of Molina, who we traded a young, cost-controlled closer for...and that trade is still a disaster if Molina doesn't do anything at the big league level. But to steal Quintana from under the noses of the Yankees is KW at his best. First Contreras, now Quintana? Would really like to know more about who was scouting the Florida State League for the Sox and recommended him. He managed to get through the game today without having any of his offspeed pitches (curve/slider/change) working for strikes. When he did get them over the plate, they were smashed for doubles. That's pretty impressive for a kid who spent most of the season in A ball last year. He definitely didn't let the occasion of pitching against the AL Central leaders at home get to him at all. When he put runners on 2nd and 3rd and one out with the passed ball/wild pitch, he impressively got out of that key situation and didn't give up the lead, which is what you would have expected. Not to mention that the decision to stay with Santiago on the major league roster has been paying dividends as well. Axelrod, DeAza, Humber, Flowers, Lillibridge, Jones, Santiago, Ramirez, Viciedo, Reed, Quintana, Escobar, Beckham, Sale, Morel....that's not a bad list for our barren/unproductive farm system. And yet the biggest key this season has been the return to excellence for Dunn/Peavy, and Rios playing at a good but not great level.

kind of a miracle we're still ahead in this game... AJ has to do a better job blocking those pitches. Sometimes he gets lazy and tries to use his glove instead of moving with his body.

One pitch pitcher now. Can't even get his FB over. Needs the slider and change, and has lost his confidence in both of those pitches. A couple of times when he was ahead in the count, he got hit on his breaking stuff so he's totally gone away from it. Have to keep reminding ourselves he has less AA experience than Molina coming into this season. Choo and Kipnis, both LH, giving him the most problems, interestingly. Have reached 5/6 times. Zach Stewart warming.

Is there a market for catching now? Which contending team desperately needs one? When's the last time a starting catcher with AJ's numbers on a team that was only 3 1/2 (possibly 2 1/2 after tonight) was traded in late May? With his contract and the fact that he will cool off again soon...what are you realistically expecting to get? And what kind of message is that going to send to the fans, to trade Peavy or AJ in May or June when we're still very much in it? It's one thing to get back legitimate major league ready talent for our players, but if the fans see us simply dumping more players due to "saving money," our attendance will end up worse than CLE.

That has to be the fastest to 8 homers and 30 RBI's in AJ's career. Contract time. Gomez had given up 2 homers coming in. 2 homers in 2 innings for Sox. Jeff Manto Power. I'm pretty sure we never had a game last year where all 3 OF's hit home runs in the same game.

Nice call there at 2B on Duncan, NOT. Cue Hawk and Greg umpire rants. He should take a lie detector test to prove he really thought Duncan was out and not trying to throw the game or take a bribe.

QUOTE (chw42 @ May 25, 2012 -> 02:31 PM) When Jose Lopez is hitting 5th, you know damn well that's not a playoff team. Except you would probably say the same thing about whoever's our #2 hitter, #3 hitter (Dunn) and #5-6 hitter (Rios) coming into this season, not to mention 3B and Beckham. Lopez is really only in there because of injuries. And they do have the prospect of yet another return to Hawk's and Ozzie's good graces for Grazy Sizemore, the formerly legendary best all-around player in the AL Central Division.

So maybe we should sign up a bunch of random people in Lawrence to give their opinions about major league baseball...or better yet, we can have Ozzie there at Applebee's doing a promotion for SoxTalk. Why would anyone post here if they wanted the "average" fans' opinions on the White Sox? Wouldn't that be a pretty boring and uninteresting place? It would be kind of like talking to random blitzed Cubs' fans in the Wrigley bleachers in July and August about their new "up and coming" prospects. Questions for these average fans 1) Should Paul Konerko automatically be enshrined in the White Sox Hall of Fame and have his number posthumously retired after he was hit by a pitch? What would be the best way to honor his legacy? 2) Should lie detectors be admissable for proving guilt or intention in baseball with the decisions made by the Commissioner's Office? 3) Is it more important to win baseball games or incite bench clearing brawls which result in beers being dumped on the heads of opposing players who give the middle finger to Sox fans as they're exiting the field?

Or at least use the Donkey (Eddie Murphy) from Shrek with Konerko's towering statue/Scottsdale home pic.

QUOTE (greg775 @ May 24, 2012 -> 09:22 PM) 1.) Hawk doesn't suck at his job, either. Cmon. He's entertaining which is more than you can say for most of the clowns on other teams' broadcasts. 2.) I am from Mt. Greenwood, went to Queen of Martyrs then Brother Rice, played basketball and baseball. Came out this way for college, moved and returned later for work. Used to hate the Royals, but now I feel sorry for them and enough is enough and I wouldn't mind them winning if the Sox can't. I don't root for them, though. Just don't care enough to do that. Don't like the Chiefs either. So criticizing Hawk=criticizing Ozzie Guillen? Is there any difference? Wouldn't Robin Ventura fall into the same category as a "Sox legend," that we can't criticize him as a manager? Or Frank Thomas, if he was in the broadcasting booth? Greg, let's think about this for a second. Bill Walton and Magic Johnson are 2 of the most famous players in NBA history, particularly Magic. Do you think any Lakers or NBA fan would say it's unfair to criticize them for their downright horrible broadcasting abilities, which have no discernible connection with their playing careers or importance to their various franchises? Maybe Robin Ventura was picked to partially deflect some of the fans' dissatisfaction away from KW and the current state of the franchise. After all, had they picked your guy Francona, then they would have created more of a "win now" mentality and fans would be less forgiving with an outsider (comparatively, of course he managed Jordan with the Barons back in the day) at the helm. Or Bill Melton, for example. He's MUCH worse than Harrelson, he's borderline indecipherable or incoherent. Should we be precluded from criticizing him? Someone might express admiration for Hawk's lasting this long as a broadcaster with the Sox, over so many years...yet others would quickly say he's just not good anymore for the team or its future and not be wrong. At least with Harry, the Cubs were "lovable" and it became part of their brand and image. Does Harrelson add to or detract from the bottom line? I would have a hard time imagining many teenagers or 20-somethings that he appeals to...as opposed to fans in their 30's, 40's and 50's (and above).

QUOTE (greg775 @ May 24, 2012 -> 11:10 PM) Cleveland is for real. They were much better last year at this time, and DET was even further behind than now. We'll see. It's like every year saying the Royals are for real. Sure, they just swept DET at home, but can they continue to play this well in July/August/September? Like the White Sox, they've always faded down the stretch when faced with competition from the Tigers or Twins, except for 2007. The last time they came from behind to win a division was 2001, when MIN got off to a hot start like the Royals in 2003 or the Indians last year. But historically, they've always faded in the second half or collapsed in the end (2005).

QUOTE (Harry Chappas @ May 24, 2012 -> 02:56 PM) I think he meant Tigers not Tribe. Yep... Cleveland in first, DET in second, us pretty much out of it already. CLEVELAND 29-15/30-15 DETROIT 22-22/23-22 7 games back CHW 19-25/20-25 10 games back 3 1/2 back this year, DET 6 games back

The Alexi Casilla Twins fans have come to know and loathe. Where have you gone, stellar Koskie/Guzman/Rivas/Mientkiewicz infield defense?

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 24, 2012 -> 04:49 PM) And look at how many of those guys have bounced back since they got away from Ozzie. Nick Swisher... Jim Thome... Adam Dunn... Alex Rios. I don't know if it's completely fair to say Thome bounced back, since he was always pretty darned good with the Sox. His last year was a bit disappointing by Thome standards, but hardly "bad." But yeah, his 2010 season with the Twins was pretty impressive, while he was healthy and somewhat limited in his plate appearances and exposure to LHP.

Well, I agree that Quintana looked good in his one outing so far, and I guess for that fixed low cost, he's already been a success no matter what he does the rest of his big league career...but let's not forget, he has less experience above High A coming into this season than Nestor Molina. And Molina was the centerpiece of the biggest trade of our offseason, whereas SoxTalk barely even noticed the Quintana acquisition. I guess those are the type of maneuvers that usually have ended up as KW's best, the completely under the radar ones.

Very similar positions to last year. Tribe was 7 games back at this time last year, now 6 this season.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ May 23, 2012 -> 11:29 PM) All he has to say is Frank Thomas or Paul Konerko and nobody gives a s***. I'm not arguing, I'm just saying, those are two very well recognized names that people will always associate with the White Sox. Oh, and he doesn't have 2 seconds to look at a box score, but he does have time to do 2 nationally televised March Madness brackets. I generally don't care and I do agree with the general principle that any Presidential publicity is good publicity for a professional team, but don't excuse the fact that he doesn't know anybody because he's busy. Just say "he doesn't care that much about baseball but if he had to pick a team, because you do when you are a Chicagoan, he is a Sox fan first." It's much simple and causes me to make fewer posts like this one. http://spectator.org/blog/2010/04/06/re-ob...ite-white-sox-p This same question has come up in the past. In fact, at that time it wasn't answered, either, sparking this column.

QUOTE (flavum @ May 23, 2012 -> 03:58 PM) Has anyone else looked at Gordon Beckham's twitter and put 2 and 2 together and figured out he's dating Scott Fletcher's daughter? Interesting, if nothing else. Georgia boys always stick together. Scooter's daughter, hmm.... The funny thing is that Fletcher is also Greg Walker's assistant hitting coach with the Braves.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ May 22, 2012 -> 04:33 PM) Did I stutter in my post? Let me answer it for you. No I didn't because that is impossible while typing. I said let him do his job and Ozzie do his. As in neither interferes in the others. That wasn't GM love. That was "GM wanted real DH, manager didn't want real DH. Manager got his way. It failed. So GM gets real DH, manager throws hissy fit. Destroys team." Maybe if Ozzie's f***tard sons weren't given jobs by the team, then constructing teams would have been easier. But Ozzie want a team that couldn't hit home runs. Ozzie wanted a team of 9 Ozzie's on offense (see: s***ty, but grindy. No power.) and nothing but Buehrle's for pitching. The problem was the only soft tossing lefty that can pitch like Buehrle is Buehrle. He's one unique motherf***er. But we got Juan Pierre to provide the Ozzie-esque offense. Ozzie wanted to manufacture runs. You know what manufactures runs? Crossing home. Home runs facilitate that. Ozzie didn't like home runs because he had the HR power of Juan Pierre/Jerry Owens, so therefore, he didn't want them on his team, even though his teams were only good when they hit the f*** out of the ball. Made even more ironic by the presence on his roster of perhaps the best young home run hitter in baseball, Mr. Stanton. Hanley Ramirez isn't a bad hitter, either. Even Infante has emerged as a deep threat, but Logan Morrison has been pretty disappointing. Somehow they've been winning games with Greg Freakin' Dobbs as their clean-up hitter.