TLAK

It wasn't as bad as this thread would make you think. Heres the heart of the line up, everyone had 3 AB except Dye who was plunked on the second pitch of the last appearance. Batter #of p Frank Thomas 9 Paul Konerko 9 Aaron Rowand 14 Jermaine Dye 12 Pierzynski 12 Prior threw 50 of 71 for strikes, Williams 14 of 23 and Dempster 4 of 8. I think they tried to work the count but when the pitchers throw that many strikes you have to swing or you'll just get called out anyway. Then the thread would be about a bunch of corpses too sleepy to take a whack. The grub did a good job, leave it at that.

This is becoming a memorable game.

QUOTE(Milkman delivers @ Jun 26, 2005 -> 02:57 PM) f***, apparently Prior IS God. Anyone have a pitch count on the Almighty? After 4 Garland 47 Prior 49

If the UMPs rotate normally, Lance Barksdale will be at Home Plate today. Barksdale ranks 69th out of 78 umpires in percent strikes called at 62.7%. Tops is Bill Welke at 65.6%. Doesn't sound like much but in a given game 90% of the pitches are obvious so everybody calls them the same. For example, Greg Gibson had no trouble deciding that the one that hit him on the forehead yesterday was a ball. So this % strikes spread is big when you consider it comes from the 10-12 debatable throws a pitcher offers in most games. Barksdale makes you throw the ball over the plate, this is good going against Greg Maddox. When he doesn't get the call on pitches a couple inches outside he becomes very hittable. With Barksdale, anticipate whinning and tears from the 3B dugout. I don't think it will have much of an effect on Contreras, when he misses it can usually be measured in feet while when his is on the ball goes right down the middle but nobody can hit it. Overall a plus for the White Sox.

QUOTE(SoxFan101 @ Jun 23, 2005 -> 12:51 AM) Morse was a decent prospect, I think because of his size or something it was said he might eventualy move to a different position... But he wasnt that big of a prospect i put him in the frankie francisco column...as in not 2 good of prospects that have been good. Morse was always projected as a fine hitter, I remember Greg Walker calling him the most talented minor league hitter in the Sox system at the time of the trade. The question on him has been his glove -whether he could field well enough to survive in the bigs, no matter how well he hit. I haven't seen him play but I looked him up a couple weeks ago and he had 3 errors in his first 9 starts. Just checked again and he's still at 3 with 18 starts so maybe he is settling in. The Sox get the Mariners again in August so we can all get a look at him. There is also a black mark on his record for getting suspended 15 days last year for an undisclosed reason. The rumor is roids.

QUOTE(AddisonStSox @ Jun 21, 2005 -> 10:57 PM) If I thought it was neat, does that make me the 19 year old exception? I, for one, thought it was pretty damn cool and my pops, a big fan, had an absolute ball with it. Thanks for your tolerance AddisonSS, I also took sh_t from my daughter at the game. 'who's your favorite Doobie Brother?', or 'do think they will be back tomorrow to run the bases?' (its seniors day). You young people think all think you're pretty funny! Fine, us old folks got our 10 minutes of entertainment and leave the other 3 hours for you to listen to singers named after pets! Rock on!

Hanging around after the Royals finished BP and the freaking Doobie Brothers come out about 45 minutes before game time. They did Listen to the Music and Rockin' Down the Highway. It was great! Then they did the National Anthem. They hung around the whole night because after the game I saw (I think) Tom Johnston and Pat Simmons in front of their buses talking to some fans. Were they on the radio or TV? I would love to hear Farmer interview Pat Simmons. White Sox baseball, expect the unexpected.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Jun 21, 2005 -> 05:28 PM) I've heard a ton of people around here giving up on him - saying we should trade him immediately because he'll never amount to anything or that ST was a fluke. I think those sorts of comments started immediately after the Texas game. My thought is that he needs to work on throwing his changeup as a strike, to take more pressure off of his fastball and curveball. If he does that i think he'll be what we saw in ST again. But I've heard quite a few people who've already given up on him. I think all this kid needs is some mileage on him. Start him Monday v the Tigers. I think he will get better each time out.

Just home now. God Bless the Chicago White Sox. God Bless Nancy Faust.

QUOTE(ScottPodRulez22 @ Jun 18, 2005 -> 10:39 PM) When was the last time we won on espn sunday night baseball? The last Sox Sunday night win was September 22, 2002 against Minny. This year they lost to the Twinks 5-2 on April 10.

QUOTE(YASNY @ Jun 18, 2005 -> 05:58 PM) There is one major problem with this scenario. You would have 15 teams in each league. With 15 being an odd number, you'd have a scheduling nightmare. You'd have to have at least one interleague series going on at all times or one team from each league would be sitting idle. Even with an interleague series going on all the time, I don't think this is doable. Thanks for your critique; the points are well taken. It's the purist in me that wants to see a balanced schedule, but the reality is that there is such a thin line between good and bad teams over such a long season that things really do even out. To my surprise, the flaws in the present schedule do not outweigh the scheduling difficulties you pointed out. I tried to prove statistically that the unbalanced schedule sometimes sends weaker teams to the playoffs when strength of schedule is factored in, because some teams rack up inordinate wins against bottom feeders that the other team doesn’t get to play as often. I found 3 questionable results, the '99 NL Central and the AL wild card in '96 and 2000. But the difference against common opponents was always much greater than against unbalanced opponents. While intuitively I would like to see a balanced schedule, the facts are that the current system does seem to select the right teams. Unlike others who, when the facts are against them, go out and get new facts, I have to conclude the present schedule is not overtly unfair. It’s not as much who you play as when you play them. A case in point is I'm glad the Sox got the Dodgers in June instead of April.

Am I the only one who doesn't know who Vince Vaughn is?

I would move Colorado to the AL West, Houston to the NL West to make 6 5 team divisions. Each division would play a 3 game home and 3 away against each team its opposite division, ie Al Central V NL Central. A 2 game home and 2 away series against each team in one of the other interleague divisions (for the AL central, NL East one year, NL West then next). A 3 game home and 3 away against all non-division teams in the same league. And 2 3 game home and 3 game away series against the other 4 teams in it's division. --This adds up to 158 games which permits the WC series to start earlier -something that should have been done when it started. --All teams in the same division play the same teams the same number of times home and away. --Every team in baseball will play at every park at least every other year. --Keeps the natural rivalry series which makes big bucks for baseball.

QUOTE(JimH @ Jun 17, 2005 -> 07:00 PM) The Hickory Pit? To my knowledge that was the only rib place on Halsted. It was originally on the NW corner of 28th and Union, which is now the St. Joseph's Club. In 1972 it moved to a building on the east side of Halsted, in the 2800 block. That building was torn down and senior apartments are now being built on the site. The family didn't want to run it any more and they closed it down about 3 years ago. I don't recall a BBQ restaurant that moved anywhere else ... ? Great job , you got it. Now I don't have to rack my brains overnight thinking about it, just he one in Beverly I can't remember. Damn, I remember the ribs, saucy and a tad overdone -like the Copper Mug in Cicero- but I can't place the name. b**** getting old. Thanks!

Jim, what was that rib place on Halstead? It was great, moved to Beverly and I don't know where it is now. I want to say the Homestead?

LA DODGERS AVG HR RBI Antonio Perez SS .348 1 7 Jason Repko RF .224 5 10 J.D. Drew CF .280 12 30 Jeff Kent 2B .284 13 51 Olmedo Saenz DH .313 7 30 Jayson Werth LF .243 0 8 Jason Phillips 1B .271 4 29 Mike Edwards 3B .323 0 5 Mike Rose C .111 0 0 D.J. Houlton RHP (2-0, 5.72) CHI WHITE SOX AVG HR RBI Scott Podsednik LF .286 0 14 Tadahito Iguchi 2B .286 5 29 Frank Thomas DH .333 4 5 Paul Konerko 1B .251 17 45 Aaron Rowand CF .282 5 28 Jermaine Dye RF .258 12 31 A.J. Pierzynski C .256 9 23 Joe Crede 3B .241 9 26 Juan Uribe SS .247 5 32 Mark Buehrle LHP (7-1, 2.91) Umpires: HP: Eric Cooper. 1B: Fieldin Culbreth. 2B: Marvin Hudson. 3B: Larry Young. Weather: 63 degrees, clear. Wind: 15 mph, L to R.

QUOTE(Jabroni @ Jun 17, 2005 -> 07:31 AM) It makes more sense that he is talking about Maddux, considering he just faced us in the first game of the series at Wrigley. Buehrle must have saw Maddux licking his fingers and not wiping them off from the dugout since Freddy started that game. I guess it could also be Zambrano but he already has the natural stuff to blow batters away. I doubt it is Prior. Could be, he's so old now maybe it's just drool getting on the ball.

QUOTE(Jabroni @ Jun 17, 2005 -> 07:22 AM) I hope you mean against the Red Sox. Rusch never pitched against us in the series at Wrigley. Last year, 4th of July weekend I think.

QUOTE(Jabroni @ Jun 17, 2005 -> 07:14 AM) Correction: 2 boners. I debated that too, but only one went for an E so I was conservative. What I think happened on the freeze play is he was the most surprised guy in the park when the ball got through Glaus and never expected to handle the play. Complete brain overload. I was not a Clayton fan when he was here and am perfectly happy to see him out in the desert, but the truth is the truth and he is usually a good glove man.

Great journalism. Now reporters don't even have to go to the park to get stories, just listen to the radio and make notes ... sheesh! I think the spit baller is Glendon Rusch. He threw a lot of funny balls against the Sox.

QUOTE(Capn12 @ Jun 17, 2005 -> 06:02 AM) Pauly, if I could just show you a couple things right quick... Year Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS 2001 CWS 135 433 62 114 21 4 9 60 33 72 10 7.263 .315 .393 .708 2002 CWS 112 342 51 86 14 2 7 35 20 67 5 1.251 .295 .366 .661 What part of The Choice's game was "best ever" may I ask while he was here? His fantastic OBP? Those 15 SBs he got in 247 games? Maybe those 53 Walks he took! I don't doubt that Choice had a pretty solid defensive game, but no way in hell does he posess an arm like Uribe, and Uribe has a HELLUVA lot more offensive ability than K-layton. Amigo, what do Clayton's offensive stats have to do with his playing shortstop? Clayton has been and remains a pretty good defensive shortstop, his strength being steadiness. He has a good arm, not great and good range, not great but rarely pulls a boner like the other night. His D is what keeps him in the big leagues, so his mistakes were remarkable and Kornerko remarked on them.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Jun 16, 2005 -> 07:26 PM) Is that a team option? Considering that the price of a quality starting pitcher in the FA Market has already topped about $10 million thanks to the Yankees last year, I'd say that in 2007 MB for $9.5 million might seem like a bargain still. Might even give us leverage to negotiate another 3 year deal. I think the current contract covered his final year or two of arbitration. When it runs out he will be a full fledged FA and command full market. One thing about Mark, he will do what he thinks is best no matter what anyone else thinks or says about him.

QUOTE(Jabroni @ Jun 16, 2005 -> 05:40 PM) Hmmm, who would that be? I think Glendon Rusch. Just my opinion.

QUOTE(Milkman delivers @ Jun 15, 2005 -> 09:33 PM) I think he would've needed a 5-run lead or less? He would have been good under 1,2 and 3c. Saves: Rule 10.20 in the Official Rule Book states: Credit a pitcher with a save when he meets all three of the following conditions: (1) He is the finishing pitcher in a game won by his club; and (2) He is not the winning pitcher; and (3) He qualifies under one of the following conditions: - (a) He enters the game with a lead of no more than three runs and pitches for at least one inning; or - (B) He enters the game, regardless of the count, with the potential tying run either on base, or at bat, or on deck (that is, the potential tying run is either already on base or is one of the first two batsmen he faces; or - © He pitches effectively for at least three innings. No more than one save may be credited in each game.

QUOTE(TLAK @ Jun 15, 2005 -> 09:31 PM) 3 inning save? Ozzie pulled him right when I hit the send button.