danman31

Charlotte wins 7-0. Owens 2-4. Tracey 9 IP, 0 R, 8 K, 1 BB, 6 hits. Agustin freaking Montero is up over this guy why? Box Score Birmingham lost 14-3. Liotta got rocked and the bullpen was no better. Box Score Winston-Salem scored 2 in the top of the 9th to break a tie and then gave up 3 in the bottom half. Cook with a grand slam. De Los Santos 2-4. Haggery 2-4 with a double and HR. Adam Russell with 6 shutout innings. His ERA stands at 2.38 on the year. Box Score Kanny had two All-Star reps for the SAL All-Star game tonight. One, Daron Roberts, is hurt. The other, Oneli Perez, pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up 2 runs (1 er) with 1 K and 2 hits. What else would you expect from a 20-50 team?

QUOTE(tigerfan @ Jun 20, 2006 -> 10:38 PM) I think that whoever manages in the all star game should be the manager whose team has the best record in it's respective league after a certain point in the season. I don't like it as it is now, with the two managers whose teams got into the world series the year before. IMO, last year was last year, it shouldn't play in to what happens in the following year. What do you guys think? You just want the Tigers manager to manage and you know you aren't winning the World Series. That's it right? Right?

QUOTE(Maverick0984 @ Jun 20, 2006 -> 01:56 AM) there are like 3 threads about this already :-/ maybe head to those. Yeah well they talked about it in the podcast.

To start some conversation: Pods is a streaky hitter, this is a down streak. He still is 13th in the AL in runs and has a .340 on base which is solid. Ozuna is awful in the field and can't keep up this pace as a hitter. Pods needs to get through this bad streak and once he does he is way more valuable than Ozuna.

This thread is ridiculous, but I'll put good money that Tabata won't be in the majors for any team in 2008. At least not opening day.

Happy Birthday!

Knights lose 6-4. Fields 2-5. Box Score Barons were off. Warthogs lose 4-3. Mercedes and De Los Santos 2-4. Whisler with another solid start. Box Score Kanny won 7-4. Johnson 2-3 with a HR. Gomes 2-4 with a run. Ricks 3-4 with 2 RBI and a run. Flores, my AAP, goes to 2-0. Box Score

Italy is simply better than the Czechs. I don't see Italy losing, I fear a draw.

It was a rough game to watch with my two favorite teams facing each other and the game itself was hard to watch with 3 red cards. The US played well and deserved the result and thanks to Ghana they have a good shot to move on. Italy was, for the most part, lackluster despite moments of brilliance. The open play definitely made the players work harder and I don't understand why Arena didn't use his final sub in the end of the match. McBride for Johnson would have made tons of sense. McBride was tired at the end and Johnson would be perfect for the open style. Johnson could use his speed in the open space and even if he wasn't able to do anything on the counterattack he would at the very least use his speed to rush Italian passes while they were trying to set up an attack. It doesn't even matter who the sub was going to be, you gotta make one there. Funny how Lewis and Beasley were out of the lineup after being put out of position in the opener. Beasley played better today as Arena stuck him back on the left. I still want to see Beasley starting on the left against Ghana. Dempsey was alright, but not spectacular. I liked seeing Bocanegra in the starting lineup and he will definitely start against Ghana with Pope out. It will be interesting to see the lineup with Mastroeni and Pope out. If I were making the lineup it would be Cherundolo-Onyewu-Boca Dempsey-Reyna-Beasley-Convey Donovan Johnson-McBride. 3-4-1-2 with Reyna playing a bit of D mid. I think Beasley and Convey could make nice overlapping runs making up for the lack of a left back capable of bringing the ball forward. I'm not a fan of Dempsey but he played alright and the options on the right are limited. Cherundolo can come up like he did against Italy. I really think the US is going to need 2 forwards. Ghana's strong on offense but weaker on defense and I think a more open game will result with this formation which would make the game fun to watch and plays more towards the US style. The US is going to have to defend Ghana's great one on one players and I don't think numbers will help because they aren't afraid to shoot from distance. I want the US to go at Ghana's defense. Either way that will never happen. Arena will probably stick with 4 at the back with Conrad, hopefully not Lewis. O'Brien might not be an option which leaves Reyna, Dempsey, Beasley, and Convey as the only 4 midfielders that have seen action so far. I doubt Arena would play those four together so he'll probably stick Johnson in with McBride with Donovan of course supporting. It will be interesting on both sides as both of Ghana's goal scorers today will have yellow card suspensions against the US.

QUOTE(Heads22 @ Jun 16, 2006 -> 10:27 PM) Yes, ISU is now catching up to the Big 8 in facilities. When will they be done?

QUOTE(SoxFan101 @ Jun 16, 2006 -> 08:37 AM) Not really... Kanny has been beyond horrible and the other 2 are avg. to mediocre. Winston-Salem has the 2nd best record in the Carolina League at 37-29.

QUOTE(3E8 @ Jun 15, 2006 -> 02:14 PM) All of the players you mentioned showed good eyes and plate discipline at the minor league level and were prolific at drawing walks, something Fields is not. The chances of him being as productive as any of the players you mentioned are slim to none. Comparing AAA numbers of the players mentioned: Fields (23): 33 BB, 65 K in 215 AB Dunn (21): 38 BB, 51 K in 210 AB Blalock (21): 34 BB, 61 K in 387 AB (started K'ing a lot more once he reached the bigs and his power developed in his first full season) Thome (21): 12 BB, 29 K in 151 AB Thome (22): 6 BB, 16 K in 48 AB Thome (23): 76 BB, 94 K in 410 AB Fields is close to Dunn and better than Blalock in walks. The Ks for both hitters were lower than Fields. Thome is a tough comparison because he started 1991 in AA, got promoted to AAA, and played 27 games in the bigs. 1992 Thome was back in AA for 30 games and had a short stint in AAA with another 40 games in the bigs. Between 600 minor league ABs in the minors in 91 and 92 he hit only 10 HRs and then in 93 finally got the power numbers going. Fields is getting compared to very good players here though. The thing is most rookie hitters don't hit well out of the gates. Dunn is the only one of those 3 to actually hit well out of the gates. If Fields is going to play with the Sox next year they will need to cover one of the current holes in the lineup so they don't have to rely on him doing well.

Charlotte Box Score Barons win 2-1 in a pitching duel between two top prospects. The Barons jumped on the bullpen after Anibal Sanchez got pulled. Liotta: 7.1 IP, 1 R, 5 K, 2 R, 6 hits. Nanita 2-4 with the GW RBI. Box Score W-S got rained out. Kanny lost 2-1 with all the runs coming late in the game. It was scoreless until the bottom of the 8th. Kanny rallied in the top half to tie it, but lost it in the bottom half. Sanchez 2-3 with an RBI. Derek Rodriguez actually had a good start (7 IP, 2 R). Ryan Rote picked up his 12th loss of the year, you gotta wonder if that team struggling is affecting the players more than their ability to succeed. A losing atmosphere kinda thing... Box Score

QUOTE(DePloderer @ Jun 14, 2006 -> 01:45 AM) Ehh sorry? Funny part is my favorite club in the English system is Cardiff City, obviously Welsh heh.

England has always been overhyped in my mind. Maybe, that's my issue with them. That and I just don't like the English (with an English grandmother no less). On another note I'm looking forward to the Ukraine Spain game tomorrow, I think it's a good matchup. Spain has been an anamoly on the international level and Ukraine has Shevchenko. It's a shame Tunisia-Saudi Arabia has to follow, that's not something I want on my tv.

QUOTE(SoxFan1 @ Jun 13, 2006 -> 04:00 PM) The Czech's are going to impress. Don't say they looked good because it was the U.S. The Czechs are the 2nd best team in the world. Forget rankings, look at records and talent. The Czech's are amazing. They made the US look foolish because the US is overrated. The Czech's are for real. Oh, and the Netherlands and Germany are both too inexperienced to compete with Brazil. Brazil played poorly and still won. You actually think the Czechs are the 2nd best in the world? Wow, that's a hell of a reach. The Germans have 8 players with 40+ caps and went to the last final. Inexperience?

QUOTE(Chisoxfn @ Jun 13, 2006 -> 03:08 PM) Argentina and the Dutch are possibilities and I don't know how you can count out the Germans. Can't see England doing it nor the Italy team of yesterday, but Italy has the talent and if they can build upon things as the cup goes on it could be a possibility. Yeah I don't know how I forgot Germany, they are my #2 pick in the tourney. England has the talent but they usually choke, similar to Portugal I guess. Italy looked fine, don't forget Ghana isn't that bad and Italy beat them by 2 goals.

QUOTE(SoxFan1 @ Jun 13, 2006 -> 10:49 AM) No one stands a chance against Brazil. The only teams I see competing with Brazil are the Czechs, French, and Portugese. That's a pretty awful group to pick that can compete against Brazil. France has major questions after the scoreless draw with the Swiss. Portugal has a history of underachieving so I'm not going to even consider them. The Czechs looked good but they were playing us. I'm thinking England, Italy, and maybe Argentina or Holland among a few others could hang with/beat Brazil. I'd be stunned if any of the teams you mentioned made it to the semis.

The US was quite awful today. A lot of good points have been made, but I'd like to add upon what has been said and add some ideas. 1. MLS does blow but it has breeded guys so they can go to play over in Europe. We don't have many guys that can go straight to Europe out of high school or college. 2. Eddie Lewis was pretty good as a sub in 02 IIRC and Arena should have played him more. Playing him at D was a joke. 3. Beasley on right? Are you kidding me? Arena was quoted as saying he got nothing out of Beasley. No s*** asshole that's your fault for putting him on the right for possibly the first time ever. Beasley heavily leans towards his left, but that's ok when you play him at LM or LW. Arena took Beasley out of the game and while Convey had a superb send off match he isn't as well rounded as Beasley. Arena probably figured Beasley would be better suited to play the right than Convey, but it just wasn't working. Stick Beasley at LCM in your 4-5-1 before putting him on the right. 4. Italy has a history of surprising upsets, letdowns, etc. but there is no Italy team that would surrender a goal to the performance of the US today. 5. The US will be lucky to get a point out of group play. They will be even more outclassed by Italy (who looked impressive against Ghana, Totti's injury status is in question but they won't need Totti against the US). After going 0-2 they won't try for their finale, much like 98, and like 98 will face another 0-2 team that's just happy to be there (Iran). On top of that Ghana might actually be better than the US right now. Sure, Ghana's defense was pretty suspect, but they got some talent up front and probably more over speed. 6. I'm rooting for Italy against the US. I heavily root for the Italians (going with my blood) and don't want the US pulling off some sort of miracle upset to ruin Italy's chances. Italy actually has a chance to do something this Cup. 7. Donovan isn't that good, period. He never dominates like people say he should, simply he isn't that good. He's fast with decent ball skills, but he's too undersized for forward and doesn't have the mind of a midfielder. 8. Arena needs to get canned. He has always picked bad players and tactics, but got away with it until now. 9. Keller was way overrated by the ESPN people. He's always been trash with the national team and that continued today. Maybe the goals weren't his fault, maybe he doesn't organize his defense well, but he is way overrated. I miss Friedel. That is all until the next US match when I get to watch the Azzurri f*** up the arrogant Yanks.

QUOTE(Chisoxfn @ Jun 12, 2006 -> 07:59 PM) Happy Bday Danny. Hopefully Kristin Kreuk blows out your candles. Haha yeah, that'd be pretty f***ing badass.

That was incredible. Japan got a BS goal in the 1st half against the run of play, but outplayed Australia in the 2nd half. This further proves that you can't sit on a 1 goal lead. Japan sat back with almost 20 minutes left and couldn't push it back forward once it was a tie game. It's possibly the dumbest tactic in soccer. So Cahill is now a God in Australia, right DBAH0?

Hogs lost 2-1 in a rain shortened 7 inning game. Box Score Kanny won 5-4. Sanchez 2-3 with a HR. Box Score

QUOTE(LowerCaseRepublican @ Jun 11, 2006 -> 05:46 PM) "Kyle's speech was a sophomoric attempt to voice his personal feelings. It was not intended to help the senior class, offer guidance or instill nostalgia, and it distracted from the dignity of the commencement ceremony," Libby wrote in an op-ed to her local newspaper, the Sarasota Herald Tribune." Yeah, and the rampant drug use, cheating and douchebaggery you and your friends participated in was totally dignified, right? GMAFB. And he did offer guidance -- he called them all out on being f***ing idiots. Yeah, that's what I was thinking. Plus the quote calling it 'sophomoric' is pretty hilarious. Sophomoric? Ohhhh, she called you a sophomore, what an insult! I hate class board members, they are really the worst. A lot of them just act squeaky clean when they actually aren't.

Knights Box Score Barons final was 9-6. Nanita 2-5, 2B, RBI, R. Schnur finished 3-4 with his 5th HR of the year. Box Score Hogs down 2-0 after 3, Moat starting. Kanny up 1-0 mid 3, Clayton Richard on the hill.

I officially hate Fullerton. f*** Fullerton. They should be called the dirtbags, not LBSU, with the way they play.