jeffthedude

If you can't expect them to sweep Oakland, then you certainly can't expect them to make the playoffs. This is probably the easiest stretch of the season for us (KC-Oakland-Seattle), and there comes a point in the season when you look at the schedule and say, yes, they need to win these games. This is a series the Twins would have swept. Actually, it's a series most teams would have--Oakland has won something like 4 games out of the last 30. We have lots of games against Boston, Tampa, New York, and the Angels coming up. Who really thinks we're not headed for total destruction in those games, especially considering how most people realize we're going to get swept by the Twins at the end of the season? I mean, this is a team actually thinks Ken Griffey is a major league center fielder, traded the farm for "Dirty .230" Swisher, does not have anything close to a fifth starter, and would have a losing record were it not for the stroke of luck that is Carlos Quentin. If after all that you STILL somehow think this team can make the playoffs, the least you should expect is a sweep of the AAAthletics.

Don't worry about Minnesota, we're going to get swept by Oakland here so they can do the honors of knocking us out. We won't be anywhere near first place this time next month. Our division is a one-team race.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Jul 30, 2008 -> 09:03 AM) If you're "out" they ban you from this site until spring training. I obviously don't contribute on here but that sounds about right. The deluded homer optimism on these fan sites is amazing. Just look at what the Sox are! Steve Stone said just the other day on the Score morning show that the Sox are an 86-87 win team. There's no shame in that. The question has always been, is the division so bad it can be won by an 86-win team, or is it better than that? And now it is completely clear the Twins are better than that, and better than us. They play a less challenging schedule than we do from here on out. If someone else saw a playoff team out there the past couple days, I'd like to know what game you were watching. The Sox need to drop the old, ineffective deadweight off this team and start stocking good young players for the future. The cupboard looks pretty bare right now. I'm not a negative fan. I follow the Sox for the fun of it, not just for the hope they will make the playoffs. They won't this year.

The pitching is due to get worse. The hitting is not due to get better.

QUOTE (ptatc @ May 27, 2008 -> 11:47 AM) Yes, it depends how it responds to interventions such as ultrasound and iontophoresis which are more conservative interventions to decrease inflammation. He may do well if these modalities keep the inflammation down with an occasional injections. However, the is the best case scenario. So if it takes 8 weeks, it takes 8 weeks. We could bring up Fields for another outfield experiment and switch Swisher to 1B, or we could bring up Eldred. I don't think that would represent any drop-off vs. a hurt and ineffective PK. This isn't Paulie's last year with the Sox and we need to take care of him. If a deteriorating PK is such a big piece that we can't afford to DL him, this won't be the Sox's year anyway. Give him his 8 weeks.

QUOTE (fathom @ May 21, 2008 -> 07:57 PM) I actually think the Sox offense is better. I like the Indians staff a little more, just because C.C. is more of an ace than Buehrle. Look at Javy's line. 7IP, 100 pitches, 2ER. Pretty. Just think how this is just expected from him and how this almost seems like a routine outing from the rest of our starters too, except maybe Buehrle. Anyway, it's awesome.

QUOTE (Heads22 @ May 20, 2008 -> 09:23 PM) I agree with you, but, in high leverage situation, you gotta go with the hot hand. I don't have a problem with him being used for the 1 batter there but for the past few outings he's been asked to take on whole innings on consecutive days, and you saw how he just pooped out on the last game of the Giants series. Seriously, how come we haven't seen BOOONE lately? Has he been looking bad? ARam: a good starting SS in 2009.

QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ May 20, 2008 -> 09:20 PM) Are you seriously complaining with the outcome of that inning? No! It's great, and Dotel has for the most part been going great. But everyone knows he's brittle and yet he's been used night after night after night after night. He is valuable and he better not break down from overuse.

Ozzie is bent on using Dotel until he breaks down, which is probably going to happen anyway. Meanwhile we haven't used Logan for a week.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ May 19, 2008 -> 11:10 AM) Don't want to harp on Dotel in 1 thread, but I'd like to note that his outing last night shouldn't have come as too much of a surprise, because he's probably been used more in the last 2 weeks than he should have been, considering his health issues in recent years. I don't like the idea of him pitching back to back games at all, especially not doing so repeatedly. Out of our last 4 series, he pitched in back to back games against the Twins, pitched in 1 game against Seattle, pitched in 3/4 against Anaheim, and pitched 2/3 after Friday off against the Giants. 5 appearances in 7 days is just too much for him to be making even if he winds up being effective. Back to this topic, Dotel and Linebrink have been way overused through the last couple series, while Logan and Thornton it seems have barely seen the field at all. Regardless of matchups, why couldn't Ozzie use Logan yesterday instead of trotting Dotel's tired ass out there again? Logan has had two short appearances since the start of the Angels series. They came in the first game of each series and he only threw like 10 pitches in each of them. Even after Dotel melted down he could have still gone with Boone over Masset. As good as Nick was, I don't actually think Ozzie *wanted* to put Masset in the game's highest-leverage situation. Am I missing something?

QUOTE (kyyle23 @ May 4, 2008 -> 02:18 PM) IIRC it is a 4 game series My bad. Well, in at least 2 of 4 starts out of a 4-game sweep then, while we're at it.

QUOTE (MAX @ May 4, 2008 -> 02:11 PM) Even if he was terrible for the entire rest of the year after the 7th, he would still be a better alternative than anyone else we have because of what he does early on in the game. Why not just bring up Fields to DH vs LHP and then after 7th inning? He's not really learning anything new in Charlotte. I wonder when was the last time a team was swept in a series where they had complete game starters in 2 of 3 games.

QUOTE (north side chi sox fan @ May 2, 2008 -> 07:13 PM) ?? Because the game has been over since the bottom of the 1st inning