Mr. Wedmesday

After reading almost all of this thread, I think it should be renamed "Who to blame for this season being over". It appears that many blame the coaching staff, some blame the FO, and most blame the players. They're all right. The fact that, with very few exceptions, most of the roster are putting up numbers so far below their career averages has to have an explanation beyond some evil mass hypnosis or bad juju over the Cell. How can it not? The question is not what's wrong with {insert player or coach's name here}. It's deeper and more insidious than that. The question is what's wrong with this organization? And sad as it sounds, the answer is....everything. Yes, the players need to perform. That is their job. But the situation at the "office" sucks, as it has for some time, with number of factors making it psychologically difficult to do their jobs. These guys have eyes, ears, and yes, brains. They have observed everything that has been critiqued on this board first hand, from last year's clubhouse scenario to offseason blunders to OG's family issues, to bizarre lineup decisions etc.,etc., ad infinitum. If we know that moving GB to 2B in favor of Teahan at third is not working out, so do they. If we know that Kotsay, Jones or whomever platooning at DH is at best, strange, so do they. If we know that had we not jumped on JP so early we could have had Damon in his place, so do they. If we know that Ozzie has a short temper, a big mouth and long hook, so do they. If we have big doubts about Alexei, so do they. If we think it's depressing to see a sea of green seats at most games, so do they. If we know that Kenny and Ozzie don't see eye to eye, so do they. If we know that JR considers Ozzie a member of the family, making him "special", so do they. If we know that JFP originally preferred the Cubs, so do they. And on, and on, and on. We see it--they are living it. Who here hasn't worked at a place that sucked the life out of them. A place that was so obviously dysfunctional that the only sane thing to do is just show up and keep your head down-- or quit? How many times can your incompetent management make obviously stupid decisions, decisions that affect your ability to do your job, before you just say f*** it? All you need is a decent HDTV to see the lack of....anything. Ozzie looks bored, having stated for the record that he'll never quit, they'll have to fire him, knowing how unlikely that is. AJ stands in and swings at the first pitch virtually every at bat--looks like he just wants to get his inning ending DP over with. GB stands at second, looks at Teahan and Alexei and might as well have WTF??? written on his forehead. Kotsay white-knuckles every at-bat because he knows as well as you do that he's a career pinch hitter. Jenks looks scared witless. The coaches look stupefied or just whipped. MB appears to be fantasizing about Busch Stadium. jFP appears furious that he actually ended up here. They all know they work for a mis-managed company that refuses to hold anyone accountable--and this includes everyone up to JR--so why try. Their boss' boss put incompetents in the next "cubicle", WTF???. Their boss makes bad decisions on a daily basis, WTF??? why expect success? The new guy makes 10 times the money and has ten times the ERA, WTF??? They see other teams with healthy cultures succeed in spite of lesser resources and talent. They see everything. And they see nothing being done to address it, WTF??? So, why not take charge yourself, become a clubhouse leader? Because your manager is a loose cannon who demands the center of attention and will kill your positive leadership because right or wrong it is all about him. And he's the owner's pet which prevents your GM from dealing with your dysfunctional manager..... A bad company can only operate with this type of toxic culture for so long before it totally collapses. That collapse is imminent, if not already here. A management consultant would prescribe swift, sweeping and most likely painful changes. Responsibility and accountability would be clear and consistent. Employees would have an incentive to succeed because success would become the new paradigm. Second guessing management would be eliminated because management would no longer make obviously poor decisions. Sorry for the epic rant, but I love the Sox and it is obvious they are rotting from the inside out. JR is far too smart a businessman to let this organization free fall much longer. The last thing this team needs is another day at the office. O

Puck Fake Jeavy! Sorry....the frustration is becoming overwhelming.

Eddie Olczyk, eeeeeeee-meeeeeediately following the Stanley Cup playoffs.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Apr 28, 2010 -> 11:12 PM) What makes him so good? He's none of the things that make Ozzie so bad of late.

Of course the season isn't over. We've got 5+ months of.....this....to look forward to! Ozzie needs to go, and soon. He appears to be managing to lose, perhaps due to residual anger over the issues with his son, twitter, etc. We've all seen him manage with smarts and heart in the past. He checked out mentally at the end of last year and this year he's long gone. That makes him incapable of motivating a team that needs to play over their heads to win consistently. Many of his decisions are so obviously bad they appear to be sabotage. Why bust your butt as a player if your manager will just lose the game for you anyway? I'd give the team to Joey Cora. He's everything Ozzie isn't, and we always seem to win when he fills in (just sayin'). Breaking up is hard to do, especially for the Sox. But a change is necessary--now, while the season is still salvageable. Where would the Blackhawks be if they hadn't replaced the beloved Denis Savard after a mere 4 game losing streak last season?

QUOTE (Ranger @ Mar 25, 2010 -> 01:19 AM) Not sure if you meant it to sound that way, but this is the old No-Lose Proposition: you get to say you think a guy isn't very good, but you will be happy if he does. That way if he stinks, you get to say " I told ya so," but if he's good, you get to be happy he was good. I wasn't aware this discussion was a zero-sum game. Can't we all be happy if Teahen performs? Even though some of us think(as of last week) he may not? This "No-Lose" theory only holds water only if you will be happy if he tanks, thus vindicating your POV. Of course I'll be happy if he does well--even if it's necessary to tell me "I told ya so". No, if he does well--and thankfully it appears he's headed in that direction--it will be a happy surprise.

QUOTE (chisoxfan09 @ Mar 23, 2010 -> 09:23 PM) ST or not, the Sox have been mired in major offensive suckage the last 2 games. At least Teahen got 1 of the four hits. Sorry the run scored was un-earned and I can't put those nightmare lack of effort/offense 10 shutouts out of my head from last year. Especially to AAA rejects. ^^^^ +1.

QUOTE (ChiSox_Sonix @ Mar 23, 2010 -> 03:08 PM) Paid too much as in Chris Getz and Josh Fields are so immensely more valuable? And yes, Getz's production would be relevant if you are comparing the "cost" of what it took to obtain Teahen. Every year here, no matter what, like clockwork, someone becomes demonized/idolized based off of 30 ST at bats. Love it. As I said elsewhere, I was referring to the extension Teahen received after the trade. Don't see how my comments on Teahen's disappointing spring, nor my response to the assertion that he's a great "minor league" player, in any way "demonizes" him. All I said was I think he's been mediocre as a major league player. Maybe that makes him a mediocre demon....bottom line is he needs to be at least solid for this team to succeed. No one will be happier than me if he lights it up starting April 5th.

QUOTE (bigruss22 @ Mar 23, 2010 -> 03:12 PM) I would agree if he meant the contract extension given to Teahen was overpaying. It was indeed the extension we gave him to which I was referring.

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Mar 23, 2010 -> 10:22 AM) The thing is Mark Teahen isn’t a mediocre talent. Mark Teahen is a great talent who has played mediocre at the major league level. OK, so Teahen is a great minor league talent. Go Charlotte! Since I'm only concerned with how he can help the White Sox win in 2010, and since we're discussing his struggles as a member of the Sox, my original observation stands: He will need a career year at the major league level to become an average major league player. That's also why I think we paid too much. As for his upside, I was comparing it to Alex Rios, not Chris Getz. Like Teahen's minor league greatness, how Getz performs is not relevant-- unless we are playing the Royals.

I've always seen Teahen as mediocre talent who happened to have great games against the Sox. I never like trades for "Sox-killers", as they tend to keep on killing the Sox by under-performing. I'm not worried about his ST performance--I'm worried that even if he matches his career bests this season he will still be nothing more than OK. Rios has been a major disappointment, but if he can even approach his career stats he will be a huge asset for this club. Teahen doesn't have the same kind of upside. Having said that, we paid too much for both of them...

New to the board. Might as well jump right in with: 1. Black Sabbath "Iron Man" 2. Deep Purple "Smoke On the Water" 3. Jimi Hendrix "Purple Haze" Opening riffs, volume at "11".