mmmmmbeeer

It might be out there, but I wonder if Walt's glasses on top of his head didn't catch Gus's attention. That's a pretty basic military deal, look for reflections. The camera on Walt, at one point, did a slight zoom in on his glasses. I don't know, I may just be reaching for a justification for Gus's super-senses. I do like the idea that perhaps he turned around for a completely different reason.

I don't have the patience to peruse Red Sox forums being their fans annoy me, but has anyone who has the patience read anything concerning who they may be targeting? Take a guy like Martinez, if given the choice between a powerhouse like Boston or a kind-of-in-a-rebuild team like the Sox, it worries me that we may not get who we target as the best candidate will choose the situation with the best chance of winning.

After a tumultuous 2011 White Sox season, nights like this remind me why I love baseball.

QUOTE (Cerbaho-WG @ Sep 28, 2011 -> 10:59 PM) Rays get out of it. Incredible. To say the least. I find myself oddly infatuated by every shot of Martinez standing next to Maddon.

Epic choke the last couple weeks by ATL.

QUOTE (SnB @ Sep 28, 2011 -> 10:24 PM) Thank you MLB network, thank you so much. This has been such a treat. Outstanding night of baseball. Can't believe the Braves are choking so bad and the Rays came back from a 7-0 deficit. Unreal.

I can't think of a more fitting way to end this season than what appears to be happening now.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Sep 27, 2011 -> 01:52 PM) Somebody should interview current managers in baseball like LaRussa off the record and find out what they think of the laughable KW. Wouldn't that be sort of redundant? You've already interviewed random people in Kansas.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Sep 27, 2011 -> 09:26 AM) I don't think it was just Ozzie not fitting well with the roster. I think that Ozzie is a different person these days too. This is the appreciation thread so I'm going to stop there. This is precisely what I was going to say....Ozzie has changed. While not as vocal on this board, I've wanted OG gone for a few seasons but that's only because he changed. When he came on the scene he was hungry, enthusiastic, and had a great gut for when to open his mouth and when to keep it shut. He kept media scrutiny off of his team when necessary by making himself the story. He was never a great strategist, but an outstanding leader. He's just not that man any longer. I'm not sure what corrupted him, but I hope that Miami gets a hungry Ozzie....they'll have a fun season or two if they do.

I'm excited. I think OG's act wore thin on the clubhouse and the front office. I think he brought a toxic atmosphere with him these last couple of years. I think this team severely underperformed this year just as much due to Ozzie as the players. This has needed to happen for a couple of years. Next year we'll get to see what has always seemed to be a decent roster playing in a less toxic environment. I expect good things.

I can't shake the info that said that they're looking to hire someone currently managing in the bigs. Outside of LaRussa, I'm kind of at a loss figuring out who that could be.

I'm fairly sure his point was that the teams he's put together were good enough to be in first place. It's up to the manager to continue to milk the talent to keep them there.

No love for Matt Kemp? Dude has had a ridiculous season...power, speed, and average.

I would like someone who has spent a majority of their time coaching sitting close to a great manager (Maddon, Soscia, Gardy, etc.). Someone who puts stock in the benefits of a strong ST. Someone who appreciates and employs strategy based on facts, not his gut.

So if the papers are to be believed and we see an entirely new coaching staff outside of Coop next season, which player benefits the most? I've got to go with Gordo. This is a guy who we has exhibited a beautiful swing and approach in the past and has "adjusted" right out of it. I look for Gordo to start being the guy we thought he could be if he has a new hitting coach and manager. Considering how Oz talked s*** about Gordo in '09, I don't get the feeling that Beckham likes playing for Ozzie.....and Walker should've (did if not for JR) lost his job because of the way Beckham is swinging the bat now.

QUOTE (VictoryMC98 @ Sep 10, 2011 -> 10:12 PM) Dunn didn't get the big pay day for hitting .037 against lefties.. did he? He got it for driving in Runs. Dunn is not in the situation if Rios, or Alexi gets hits earlier in the game. That wasn't the only time they had bases loaded and less than 2 outs. Ozzie doesn't need to show up Kenny.. Kenny's record is case enough for that. One of his smartest moves, was to start Dunn, who had success against Carmona, who is also struggling. Defending the indefensible....your avatar should be changed to a placard with "look at me" written on it.

QUOTE (VictoryMC98 @ Sep 10, 2011 -> 09:08 PM) Beckham never failed before pitchers started to make their adjustments to him. When he started to fail, he never knew how to get out of a struggle prior, and the majors isn't the place to learn. Look at Tank, they let him learn and take his bumps in the minors.. Now he is showing progress since last year. Yes, because we know Beckham couldn't hit 94MPH fastballs when he was a rookie.

I know Coop tried to get Jake to tweak his delivery a bit, but if his delivery were so risky as to make the acquisition a huge gamble, Coop would've stopped KW (or atleast hinted strongly that it was a bad idea). This was the first guy in MLB to come out and say Strasberg was destined for TJ and has overseen one of the healthiest rotations in baseball for the past several years. Coop knows what he's doing and I have full faith he was very involved in that acquisition. There's been no surer thing in baseball than Adam Dunn. You won't (and can't) convince me otherwise. There's no way the Sox could have foreseen what took place this season. Even switching leagues, there's been no precedence of a drop-off like Dunn's. Rios was a gamble and is certainly the one acquisition KW should take some blame for...on the other hand, Rios very much looked at as a "change of atmosphere" kind of player. All the tools in the world but inconsistent with questionable dedication just screams bad environment.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Sep 10, 2011 -> 11:06 AM) Five missed postseasons in the last six years. This isn't just about this year. This organization has been in a slow decline ever since the '05 World Series. s***, if Jerry Owens doesn't get hurt in spring training, we probably don't win the division in '08. Everybody knows Owens was Ozzie's boy toy and only injury forced him to go with CQ. This was the all-in year and the year that will likely cause someone to lose their job. Had they won this year, neither KW or OG would be on the hot seat. It is my opinion that KW had this franchise set up to win this season and save not only his own job but also his manager's. OG hasn't done a single thing this season (again my opinion) to uphold his end of the bargain.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Sep 9, 2011 -> 09:13 PM) If given the resources someone very ordinary could put together a terrific team on paper. The games aren't played on paper. The real good GMs, while always having their misses are best at projections. KW has been burned by his in recent years, at least when it comes to selecting hitters. Quentin was a home run, the rest the past 3 years, a huge swing and a miss. So projecting three players in their prime to continue to perform (Peavy, Rios, Dunn) was poor evaluation? We aren't talking about three guys that are 35 years old or three guys without proven track records (Rios is debatable), we're talking about three solid players. With Peavy, specifically, you're implying that Kenny should have known that Peavy would have a freaking muscle detach in his back (first time in MLB history)? If we pull up threads from before Spring Training, there was far and away a sense that the offseason was the most successful the Sox have had in years. There was a sense that this team would run away with the division. There was a sense amongst baseball analysts in the media that the Sox would dominate the Central. To now say that KW didn't field a solid roster, in hindsight after abysmal performances by 4 key players, is completely unfair. As Tex mentioned, I, too, find it rather easy to excuse KW of any fault for this debacle.

QUOTE (fathom @ Sep 7, 2011 -> 08:54 PM) Letting Omar hit here is just too funny I mean really, wtf?

I take solace in the fact that this season, in my opinion, was a complete failure because of poor coaching. Entire line-ups struggling for extended periods of time is an indictment of poor coaching. A team coming out of the gate in April making defensive and baserunning mistakes is an indictment of a manager who doesn't know how to run a spring training. An offense that has the hitters struggling the most in the heart of the order is an indictment of an incompetent, or vindictive in this case, manager. I feel good about next year with this same core if we have a completely different coaching staff.

I found it very telling that when Cowley was asked to explain the 10% of the blame that belongs to Ozzie he responded with a compliment to Ozzie...."He's too truthful.". Nevermind Ozzie's kids getting in the org's business, nevermind the contract talk in a pennant race, nevermind curious personnel decisions...."he's too truthful". Cowley didn't sound like a reporter with that response, he sounded like the mouthpiece he is accused of being.

Though I'd suspected it for awhile, I'm now absolutely convinced that Ozzie is trying to get fired. What a despicable man.

While I like DeAza's hustle...why in the f*** did Oz have the bunt on there? Juan Pierre can't steal a base against a pitcher with that bad of a move?!? Really?