Buehrlesque

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Sep 9, 2010 -> 09:40 AM) But being banned, now that is f***ing hilarious. Seriously, what was up with that guy? Jeez. Anyway, I am excited to see the debut of Brent Morel. The Sox are going to have to dominate the upcoming homestand to make the season interesting, but today would be a good place to start the massive winning streak.

QUOTE (The Ginger Kid @ Sep 2, 2010 -> 02:13 PM) so much depends on where the standings are on 9/14. I know it's wishful thinking, but it would be oh so awesome if we were only 3 back at that point. The Twins will be looking to seal the deal and they'll be pumped. Could be a great series. Then again, entering the month of June I was praying that the Sox could find a way to be within 4-5 games by the all star break. So strange things can happen. If the Sox get to that series only 3 back- meaning they made up 1 game while playing @BOS, @DET and vs. KC while the Twins played home vs. TEX, vs. KC and @ CLE, I'd take it for sure.

QUOTE (The Ginger Kid @ Sep 2, 2010 -> 01:20 PM) Agree, props to Walker. And you're right, it's the pen that put us in this situation. Twins have 29 games left against very bad teams. Lets say they only go 17-12 in those games, which is fair and perhaps too hopeful. For there to be a TIE, the Sox will have to go 21-8 to finish the season, and that includes 7 against a team with a better record than us (BOS) and a trip to the west coast where we've always struggled. Which means we'd have to do something like this: @ BOS 2-1 @ DET 2-2 (facing both Scherzer and Verlander) KC 3-0 MIN 2-1 DET 2-1 @ OAK 2-1 @ LA 2-1 BOS 3-1 CLE 3-0 It's only 4 games, but it sure feels like a lot of ground to make up at this point. Looking at the Twins schedule, I don't see them losing more than 11 games the rest of the way. I really think it is absolutely positively mandatory that the Sox sweep all three games against the Twins at the Cell. If they do that, all bets are off.

QUOTE (SoxFan562004 @ Aug 31, 2010 -> 09:06 PM) Just because he's the White Sox top prospect doesn't mean the White Sox should overvalue him. They have to realistically slot him as the rest of the league does especially if you see something of value you really want, and the White Sox said they saw some stuff on Jackson that they thought they could quickly fix. As far as Edwin Jackson's contract goes, well the deadspin documents shed a lot of light on how you can't always go by what we the public may think is a realistic revenue, they play in the 3rd largest market, a lot of things like TV and other stuff are going to be higher, the Rangers TV contract is about 60m, with the Sox owning 25% of Comcast, it's not unrealistic to think the Sox is in that ballpark... also, look at some of the things like Jumbotron messages on those sheets, they are a lot more than many people I've talked to thought they were. The trade was a success from the standpoint that Jackson has been purely awesome with the Sox, and I'm not saying it was wrong to acquire him. But if the situation was reversed, and the Sox had a $8 million pitcher with a 5+ ERA in the NL they were looking to dump, I doubt KW would have obtained a prospect as good as Hudson for him. Jackson could have an 0.00 ERA for the rest of the season, and Hudson could suck hard for the rest of his career, it won't change the relative values they had on July 30, 2010. All that said, thank God we have Jackson now!

QUOTE (Athomeboy_2000 @ Aug 31, 2010 -> 11:23 AM) I just read something interesting. If the Bills dont get a new stadium or move to Toronto before/after Ralph Wilson dies, Chicago might be an interesting home for the Bills. Gotta admit, I really like what is discussed in that link. I don't see it happening, but it would be very cool.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Aug 30, 2010 -> 07:51 PM) Germano in now. Is he the guy that was cheating on Gob Bluthe's girlfriend? Haha, couldn't let this one slide past without a comment!

QUOTE (justBLAZE @ Aug 29, 2010 -> 10:46 AM) Pierre LF Vizquel 3B Rios CF Konerko 1B Jones RF Pierzynski C Ramirez SS Teahen DH Beckham 2B Wow, Jones handsomely rewarded for his day yesterday- hitting 5th against a righty today.

QUOTE (bigruss22 @ Aug 29, 2010 -> 03:22 AM) Why is it that Hudson gets most of his credit due to the NL switch, yet barely anyone (besides Balta) brings up the point that Jackson was in the NL for months!! Jackson sucked in the NL. Jackson has been great with us, but I still dont like the value we gave up for him, mainly because of our lack of depth. That is what will stick with me through the history of this trade (not to mention the financial strangehold Jackson's contract puts us in). Totally, 100% agree with this. Jackson is great, but he didn't require us giving up our top prospect to get him. Value-wise, that trade will never make sense.

QUOTE (JoeCoolMan24 @ Aug 28, 2010 -> 01:55 PM) That's pretty obvious considering that NL teams substitute a great hitter (DH) for a non-hitter (pitcher), and usually build team around less power and more speed. Wait, are we talking about Ozzie Guillen? I thought he managed in the AL??

A wrench in the plans? From Rotoworld: I don't see the Dodgers jumping over four teams for the WC, but it is true that those top three teams (Cards, Phils, Giants) have struggled and I was surprised to see the Dodgers only 5 back (and the Rockies only 4 back).

QUOTE (fathom @ Aug 25, 2010 -> 11:28 AM) Didn't the Tribune article say that KW went as far as to show the text messages he got from Ozzie to prove they didn't believe they needed another reliever? Ugh, I'm so sick of the bulls*** between the GM and Manager. I believe Kenny is telling the truth. But does anybody else here wish that they actually TALKED on the phone, as opposed to exchanging a few texts? A conference call between Kenny, Ozzie and Coop, in which they discuss pros, cons and feelings about the situation, would seem to be more effective and leave less room for misunderstanding than short texts.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Aug 23, 2010 -> 12:49 PM) You're missing an important part of the equation here. Your goal is to watch important, pennant race baseball while getting paid to not solely watch the television. The following is what is expected from a paid employee of Joe's Sports Shack or whatever bar you work at... You: Work Them: Pay money, consume things, get blasted, and get what they want on tv. It's pretty easy. At least they aren't asking for a dogshow. Haha, true I guess. But it doesn't mean I have to like it!

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Aug 23, 2010 -> 11:32 AM) Really? If he's clearing waivers, being cut, and not being immediately grabbed, then a minor league contract is entirely plausible. At best maybe a Freddy Garcia, 1 year with an option deal. I meant for next year. If he doesn't sign anything right now that includes an option for '11, I think some team will give him a major league deal in the off season.

Ahhhh!! It happened again last night!! I had the Angels-Twins game on the TV, and multiple people walk in and are in full panic mode that I won't change the channel to the all-important Vikings-Niners pre-season game so they can see Brett Favre throw ONE DARN PASS. Seriously people?? His freaking press conference after the game was about 20X longer than his time on the field. One pass. One sack. Big deal!! I'm missing pennant race baseball for this? So aggravating.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Aug 22, 2010 -> 10:16 PM) Hawpe is a random nearly washed up person. The dude is being released while owed a decent amount of cash. Spring training is the time for "tryouts" not during a pennant race. You really think he's that bad? Sure he had a bad contract, and he was edged out in Colorado by younger players who also play much better defense. But I think it's just a down season. He's had an OPS+ over 100 every season since '05. He's been a good bet for an OBP over .380 and a SLG over .500 every year. He's only 31 years old. And his career road line is .274/.369/.471. Not as good as at Coors, but still respectable. He's been pretty bad this year, but I think he will rebound nicely- if not this fall then next year. I certainly don't think he will be had for a minor league deal, as was speculated here.

QUOTE (pittshoganerkoff @ Aug 23, 2010 -> 10:18 AM) On a side note, do you think if Jackson performs well (as he has so far) into next season that the Sox won't try to re-sign him? Would he be too expensive? His agent is Scott Boras. Most likely, there's your answer.

Gotta agree that swapping out Ditka Ozzie for some retread manager probably won't be any improvement. It'll just make most Sox fans miss Ozzie. The one exception, to me, would be Fredi Gonzalez. I find him intriguing.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Aug 19, 2010 -> 12:37 PM) I'm willing to bet you anything the Sox are less than 10 games out come Monday or Tuesday afternoon. Well, I was exaggerating. I just meant that if the Sox aren't really in the race, they won't look to add any pieces. If they win tonight and take care of business in Kansas City, I still think they have a shot at winning the division. However would Ozzie be willing to take at bats away from Kotsay to give to Hawpe, who is measurable better in every way but not splashy?

Rosenthal saying Hawpe won't clear release waivers until Monday or Tuesday. He'll be a cheap sign at that point, I wonder if the Sox will be interested. (I also wonder if the Sox will be less than 10 games out by that time.)

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Aug 19, 2010 -> 11:50 AM) If the Twins make the playoffs and the Sox don't, as much as I hate the Twins, I think I'm gonna have to root for them just so Jim Thome can finally win that ring that Joe Table cost him back in the 90s. I'm sure it'll be really unpopular, but, as hard as I am rooting against the Twins and for the Sox now, IF the Twins make the playoffs, I think I will root for them too. The Thome factor is big. Plus they built their team the right way- not just buying their way into success. They deserve it. Put it this way: if it's them or the Yankees, I will root for the Twins.

I agree with your point that something new always gets the buzz, but I think that general feeling across America/Chicago is much greater with football than it is with any other sport (hockey, basketball, even baseball). NFL Live just dominates ESPN, football coverage leads SportsCenter, people make plans to watch meaningless pre-season football games like they're a big deal and then analyze them like they have real implications. QUOTE ( @ Aug 17, 2010 -> 11:40 PM) I couldn't agree more with you. I find it that much more annoying since I consider the Bears to effectively be the Cubs of the NFL. Yes, they did win a title in some of our lifetimes, but they have a really annoying fan base and a sense of entitlement and royalty that is based entirely on distant history/success versus the present doings of the team. I am fairly certain that if the Cardinals had never moved from Chicago most Sox fans would have grown up Cardinals and not Bears fans. I feel the same way. I would be a bigger football fan if Chicago had a second team- either the Cardinals or some other relocated/expansion team. I guess I just never wanted to admit it because it would effectively be blasphemy to most of my friends and family. Thinking about it, man, those would be some pretty intense Sox/Cardinals - Cubs/Bears city rivalries.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Aug 17, 2010 -> 04:40 PM) Maybe I shouldn't say anything, because then Ozzie might think "youre right, I should break up the lefties" and move Kotsay back to 5th. Actually, I don't know if this is funny or sad, because I could actually see Ozzie doing this.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Aug 17, 2010 -> 04:32 PM) What's the deal with not breaking up the lefties and the righties at all? Yeah, having Kotsay and Pierzynski back to back seems stupid. Ramirez and Beckham are better hitters than both of them anyway.

OK, I don't know how popular this topic is going to be, but I am curious to see if there is anybody else out there like me. Does anybody else somewhat resent football for taking all the national and local attention away from baseball once NFL training camp starts? Sometimes it feels like the trade deadline July 31 is the last time baseball gets the spotlight, from a coverage/attention point of view. Then NFL training camp starts, followed by the ultra-meaningless preseason games that are really hyped up, (then 20 pages of coverage about Cutler's two, yes, two passes), and baseball doesn't really take center stage again until the World Series. I work at a bar with one big main TV at the front. Not once, not twice, but THREE times over the past two weeks I was asked to change the channel from a pennant race baseball game (twice it was the Sox) to a pre-season football game. I know I shouldn't complain about other people's preferences, but this always manages to get me frustrated. Don't get me wrong, I AM a Bears fan. But I am far and away a baseball fan first. Football only really matters to me on Sundays in the fall/winter. I don't hate football, but I can't stand how America and Chicago makes it such a big deal, bigger than baseball, while there are pennant races going on. Or when the Sox tank and a popular post on Sox message boards is "I've got one thing to say: Go Bears!" To me, the Sox are so much more important. Anyway, maybe I'm the only one who feels this way. Football is king, in this city and in this country, and I should just accept it. But does anybody else resent it a little?

QUOTE (RudyLawRules @ Aug 16, 2010 -> 10:09 PM) http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/38727801/ns/...ts-player_news/ I'm sure he'll be blocked by someone. I've been on the Hawpe bandwagon since the offseason, so I am at least semi-intrigued by this. His numbers haven't been too good this season, and his home/road splits are crazy. I don't think he'll make it all the way to the Sox, but if he does I would still take a flier on him. It's clear the Rockies don't want him anymore, so he could be had pretty inexpensively.