ILMOU

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Jun 18, 2009 -> 02:52 PM) I won't f***ing forget what you did today, Ozzie. Yep. He butchered this one bad. This was a W, ridiculous.

QUOTE (WCSox @ Jun 18, 2009 -> 11:09 AM) It WAS extreme desperation on the Sox's part. But it's been a glowing success so far, and kudos to Pods for stepping up his play. And he really is a good guy, who's easy to root for. I'll go so far as to say he deserves his wife's hotness.

QUOTE (Phil McKrevice @ Jun 18, 2009 -> 10:57 AM) This should be interesting... Looks like a delay at some point, but hopefully not a cancellation. Enough with the rainouts already! Do we need a daily meteorology thread?

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jun 18, 2009 -> 10:02 AM) I was on it for the simple logic that a healthy Pods was better than Wise and Lillibridge. Living here in Colorado, I got to see Pods playing sporadically for the Rockies last year, and frankly, I thought he was DONE. I held my tongue when we acquired him, but I thought it was EXTREME desperation on the Sox' part. Happily eating crow now.

QUOTE (YASNY @ Jun 18, 2009 -> 10:51 AM) Maybe they'll get back to scheduling all the crosstown games on the weekend, like they should, instead of trying to have the midweek sell outs they thought they'd have. Agreed. These games should always be weekend series.

QUOTE (Greg Hibbard @ Jun 18, 2009 -> 10:02 AM) To step back from this ridiculous argument a bit, would I be happy if the Sox won the division? Sure I would, if the Sox were addressing long term goals as well. Would I be happy with a division title at the expense of risking Quentin's health and not addressing the glut of dh's, the 3b problem, the CF problem? Absolutely not. Well, if there was any medical evidence stating that we're risking Q's health by asking him to play through the pain, if he can, then I'd be with you. Lots of players have played through it, more or less, with pretty fair results. It will be good to know IF he can play with some pain, cause this guy may never be completely healthy, given his history. At any rate, from all I've read, he'll be ready by ST even if he waits til October for a surgery, so what's the big deal? We're three freakin' games out! We've got 4 starters looking strong. Q can be the difference maker. Who says we're not addressing the other problems? Our top prospect is manning 3rd now and could be the difference maker himself. The "glut" of DH's is resolving itself with the expiring contracts or a probable trade if the Sox do stink it up over the next few weeks. Regarding the CF problem, KW's painted himself into a corner, granted, and waiting for JorDanks MIGHT be our best option at this point, though I realize that's an unsatisfying solution for this season. We still don't know who'll be available in trade as a stopgap CF, if we're fortunate enough to be buyers at the deadline. Our play over the next few weeks will (and should) dictate the speed with which the org addresses the problems, as well as how we handle Q.

QUOTE (Greg Hibbard @ Jun 18, 2009 -> 09:49 AM) So every batter who comes up with a .180 batting average has a "reasonable" chance of getting a hit each and every time. Ok. First, you compared our season probabilities to a game in the 7th inning, when in terms of games played, we're in what would be the 4th "inning" of a season, having played 65 0f 162. Now you're comparing World Series chances to a single at bat. Love your fire, man, but your analogies need some work.

QUOTE (Greg Hibbard @ Jun 18, 2009 -> 08:18 AM) Also, I don't understand how some people can strangle statistics like batting average, OPS, etc, and then the moment something disagrees with a "gut feeling" they have, they throw their entire philosophy on the relevance of baseball stats completely out the window for that set of statistics. Either stats and trends tell us something or they don't. OK, Bulldog, I'm going to break it down for you one more time, though I believe the inference should have been obvious from my posts. After stating that the chances were "less than 10%", your own regurgitation of the facts confirmed that 5 of 28 teams with the worst record in their league among playoff teams went to the World Series, which works out to ~18%. This percentage, and my observations from the Wild Card era, allow the Sox a "reasonable" chance, IMHO. To you, obviously, this chance is not "reasonable". It really is as simple as that. You then stated that the important number was 7.1% because only the Cardinals won it all. So the only successful season in a thirty team league is one where we win the whole enchilada? Really?

QUOTE (JPN366 @ Jun 17, 2009 -> 03:50 PM) E-mail Ed Collari, the announcer for Winston-Salem. He's very friendly and will answer questions for people. He passes on a lot of info to me. [email protected] Thanks, JP!

QUOTE (beautox @ Jun 17, 2009 -> 10:04 AM) This The sox are better off either moving through their old core, or letting the soon to be departed leave and picking up the picks. The sox future core is 300-500milb AB's away if that. Keep Thornton and Jenks, The rotation looks to be set with one of CR/AP stepping into the Rotation and locking it down and the other becoming a very effective high leverage reliever. The sox have a ton of money coming off the books next year, and honestly i would like to see them resign Thome on the cheap, one because Allen's power might take a while to develop at the major league level and two we need a couple LH bats and jim would be a great mentor on how to play the game. I concur completely. One guy I would REALLY like is the other guy in AZ, Dan Haren. Maybe he'll be available soon.

QUOTE (Cali @ Jun 17, 2009 -> 01:36 PM) Making room for Huddy in B-Ham? Been following DHudson pretty closely each start and his progress is impressive. But I don't know jack about him other than the more than one year old reports before last year's draft. Who can tell me how this guy projects and stacks up within our system? What's his ceiling, comparable current MLBer? Would you say that he's possibly our best pitching prospect in the system, if Poreda sticks with the big club? I know that many are high on Upchurch - does he have the highest ceiling, though a bigger unknown as he's just getting into pro-ball? I wish we had a JPN366 equivalent in Winston-Salem. I always appreciate the direct observations he provides from B'Ham.

QUOTE (GoSox05 @ Jun 17, 2009 -> 03:17 PM) Nice game by Danks and another nice game by Pods. The resurrection of Pods has really been an amazing thing, and I'm enjoying every minute of it. A true blueprint win for us. I'm looking for more of the same from Gavin tomorrow. It's great to see the ERAs of Floyd, Danks, and Jose dropping so precipitously over the past few weeks. If this continues, we definitely have a chance...

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jun 17, 2009 -> 12:04 PM) He is in extended spring training and will probably be in Great Falls, but those rosters have not yet been released. Thanks, they're season starts next Tuesday, so we'll know soon. I guess the mlb.com rosters listed are still from last year.

QUOTE (Greg Hibbard @ Jun 17, 2009 -> 01:09 PM) It's too bad I took the time to back up my points with data, because apparently you were just interested in flaming my post. I love the way nearly every opinion like this essentially ends with "because I think so" or "I have _____ opinion" Have a nice day!

QUOTE (Greg Hibbard @ Jun 17, 2009 -> 12:57 PM) Ok, since you singled out my abandon ship post, why is every "reasonable chance" post so statistically nebulous? They have a reasonable chance based on what evidence, according to you? I'm not taking the bait, Lil' Bulldog. Game to watch.

QUOTE (Greg Hibbard @ Jun 17, 2009 -> 12:43 PM) Which stat do you want to go to next? We disagree. They have a reasonable chance still, IMO. Don't get so worked up.

QUOTE (Greg Hibbard @ Jun 17, 2009 -> 11:59 AM) Earlier post: Even if we win the central with the worst record in the AL, I think out of all the world series participants since the 6 division format, less than 10% of them have the worst record in their respective league Later post: AL 6/14 times best record goes to the world series (42.8%) 3/14 times 2nd best record goes to the world series (21.4%) 3/14 times 3rd best record goes to the world series (21.4%) 2/14 times worst record goes to the world series (14.2%) NL 4/14 times best record goes to the world series (28.5%) 3/14 times 2nd best record goes to the world series (21.4%) 4/14 times 3rd best record goes to the world series (28.5%) 3/14 times worst record goes to the world series (21.4%) Thank you for making my argument for me. Your earlier comment doesn't exactly dovetail with the 14.2% and 21.4% above. This comparison to a 7-1 deficit in the 7th inning is beyond meaningless. Too early to pull the plug. In addition to the 5 WS participants with the worst records, just three years ago in our own division, Minnesota's season completely turned around about this time and they won 96 games. There's still time to see if this thing might come together for the Sox, and still time to shut down Q and/or make trades, if it doesn't. A productive Q is still a decent possibility this season.

Haven't seen him on any current roster or on upcoming Bristol/Great Falls rosters. Is he injured? Apologies for my ignorance.

QUOTE (YASNY @ Jun 17, 2009 -> 11:08 AM) I'm considering going to Cinci for the Saturday and Sunday games this weekend. Anybody have any recommendations as far as a good, reasonable hotel that's located near that ballpark? Any other type of advice would we be welcome as well ... bars, restaurants, etc. In '06 I booked a downtown Holiday Inn on Hotwire for $50/night. About 5 blocks from Great American. The downtown bars were loaded with Sox fans on the Saturday night, though that WAS the celebration season. Saw Garland hit a 3 run jack in an 8-1 Sox win, and got my only foul ball in a lifetime of attending games.

QUOTE (Greg Hibbard @ Jun 17, 2009 -> 09:31 AM) Shut him down. Even if we win the central with the worst record in the AL, I think out of all the world series participants since the 6 division format, less than 10% of them have the worst record in their respective league, and a lower percentage (only the Cardinals?) have actually won. The odds against are similar to coming back from down 7-1 after the 7th inning. The "plan for next year" crowd really burns my butt in situations like this. If you make the playoffs with a hot team, the won-loss record is virtually immaterial. IN ADDITION to the 2006 Cardinals, who gave the '02 Angels, '03 Marlins or even the '04 BoSox a great chance to win the WS? But each did, as a Wild Card. And that's just this decade. You're dadgum right I want the Sox to do all they can to make the playoffs this year! The meathook reality for Sox fans is that there will be no attendance at the Cell if we're not competitive. Our park is not a tourist attraction. Then, the $40 million + we've got coming off the books with expiring contracts doesn't necessarily get plowed back into payroll, until we start winning again. Kenny's "win-now and every year" mantra is borne more out of pragmatism, than a personal philosophy.

QUOTE (EvilJester99 @ Jun 16, 2009 -> 04:51 PM) I'd be shocked if they play this game... it is freakin pouring here. Looking at the radar, the rain's not moving out to the east too quickly, but it is moving somewhat. I think there's going to be a significant delay, but hopefully they play tonight.

QUOTE (kane0730 @ Jun 16, 2009 -> 02:24 PM) I'd really like to see Beckham 6th and BA 8th. That's the darn truth. BA is the worst run producer on the team and should be batting 8th, and only 9th outside interleague. Yes, I actually think DWise would drive in more runs in a season if they're both healthy and with an equal # of AB's. Yes, I know Wise blows, and is still the worse hitter overall than BA, much less an overall player.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Jun 16, 2009 -> 01:18 PM) Sorry, our team in a very unfriendly NL park spells disaster. Couple that with Contreras's terrible track record against the Cubs and we lose 2, maybe 3 at Wrigley. Cubs can't hit a lick right now. Our starters are beginning to roll. We win!

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Jun 16, 2009 -> 09:49 AM) Cubs take 5 out of 6. Ouch babe. Sox take 4 of the six and avoid a selloff, which may well happen if we DO lose 5 of 6.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Jun 15, 2009 -> 08:31 PM) Fukudome hit a slump in the last week, but until then he was batting over .300 and his OBP was comfortably in the .400s, and his OPS was somewhere about .900. Sure he is overpaid simply because of when he got his contract, but that's not exactly terrible. 'Dome is actually in a nearly month-long swoon, and his numbers are dropping like a stone. He's looking a lot like he did at the end of last year. i.e. BUST