DBAHO

QUOTE(Kid Gleason @ Sep 16, 2005 -> 01:40 AM) I've been wondering this one for awhile now. How many games have we lost with Widger behind the plate? It has just been seeming like our pitching has never been as good when he was at the plate. Just speculation here, but does anybody have the numbers? I don't know how to get them...sorry...not that good at that type of stuff. I know Contreras really struggled in the games where Widge was behind the plate. But don't discount the role Widge has done as our backup, when you consider the alternative in Ben Davis.

QUOTE(Steff @ Sep 16, 2005 -> 01:35 AM) Vlad single handedly carried the Angels to the playoffs last year... They are waaaaayyyy better then good. Jason will tell you that. So you can just take him out the game and walk him. Just saying the likes of Steve Finley (who's been awful this year), Darrin Erstad and our good friend Orlando Cabrera don't really strike fear into pitchers this season. Not to mention, they've pitched above themselves as well.

QUOTE(southsideirish71 @ Sep 16, 2005 -> 01:18 AM) The Marlins and the Dbacks won with shutdown pitching. Guys who could strike out guys and could miss a lot of bats. Buerhle and Garland dont fit in that mold. But striking out batters isn't the end all to be all to be a succesful pitcher as well.

QUOTE(YASNY @ Sep 16, 2005 -> 01:30 AM) Someone posted something yesterday ... a column on the Angels ... The angst regarding the Angles lack of clutch hitting and the pitching questions could have been written ver batim about the Sox. Yep besides Vlad Guerrero, Garret Anderson and Casey Kotchman, Anaheim's offense ain't good at all, and Jason would tell you that.

QUOTE(southsideirish71 @ Sep 16, 2005 -> 01:09 AM) Actually when we had a 15 game lead, I thought it was going to be easy. I never thought that they would give this up like this. I think our offense has been terrible this year, but I never thought that the pitching would falter or the defense to lose so many games off the lead. I never thought that these games with the Indians would mean anything. I thought we would be within a game or so of clinching at this point. Then I opened up my eyes and looked as they s*** the bed..... So you thought the pitching was going to continue the way it was, even though the ERA's for Buerhle, Garland and Garcia were above the norm, and then of course the likes of Hermy, Politte and Marte in the pen?

I found this stat on Scotty and the team as well; Scott Podsednik Chi .645 .514 .131 The .645 equals the winning percentage with Pods in the lineup. The .514 is the winning percentage without Pods in the lineup.

QUOTE(Kid Gleason @ Sep 16, 2005 -> 12:52 AM) Soxfest??? Bahhhh, conventions are for geeks. And yet they get the chicks;

QUOTE(Steve9347 @ Sep 16, 2005 -> 12:39 AM) what's the point? if we do manage to hold off the Indians (doubtful) We will be 1 and done in the playoffs just like 2000. And we can just sit here right now, and say with 100% certainity that that is certainly going to happen if we make the playoffs?

I'm just goin to go away now.

QUOTE(greg775 @ Sep 15, 2005 -> 01:08 PM) I wish we had the tub Stairs and Graffy on our bench instead of Ozuna and Timo and Widger. KC don't hav Graffy no more.

Guys does it really matter how we win, so long as we WIN?

Good luck to him if it's the case, he's a good pitching prospect and some here were and still are quite high on him;

QUOTE(Jenks Heat @ Sep 15, 2005 -> 02:06 AM) I just think the wild pitches could be cut down. The other numbers sound average to me. Also the hitting sounds about average to me 4th in HR 11th in slugging, some disconnect here don't you think? I am not saying I am not happy to have the guy or that he isn't worth $3-5M but I thought he was a top catcher and he is probably average with the intangibles lifting him or dropping him as he is a personality that can be taken either way. When he faced us I thought he was worth more then what we are paying him now I can see why he got what he got. If you saw him in San Francisco last year compared to this year, I don't think you'd be saying he's been average this year. He wasn't regarded as a top catcher then, and well no-one really wanted him at all, with all the clubhouse cancer stories etc. But if you look at the impact he's had on our pitching staff, and if we didn't sign him we'd have Ben Davis up starting (ugh), Pierzynski has almost been the most important acquisition for this ballclub. His power numbers have increased way above the norm (from hitting at the Cell), but he's still hitting around .260-.270, he's got the potential for that to increase to the .300 mark still.

QUOTE(SnB @ Sep 15, 2005 -> 01:58 AM) monopoly money doesn't count. At least our money has different colors.

QUOTE(SnB @ Sep 15, 2005 -> 01:01 AM) i got 8 bucks an hour to sit in the cafeteria and talk to my friends. i love college jobs. I'll make almost $200 on Sunday Night, arranging and picking up shoes for 5 and a half hours. Check - Mate.

QUOTE(SuperSteve @ Sep 14, 2005 -> 01:16 PM) The key is to know alot of frat guys, and not actually join a frat. Drink for free, that's the way to be. No way Steven wants to pay for his friends, when his friends can pay for him to drink! Sounds like someone's used this to good effect. And please post more round here.

The love for Brandon McCarthy has been a rollercoaster ride. The "5 homers at the Cell" post still sticks in my mind to this very day. Look El Duque probably doesn't deserve another oppurtunity. But if he comes good, and can be used in the playoff, that's a big payoff. And B-Mac ain't gonna complain about his role anyway, which shows the type of person he is. You just hope this doesn't affect the Sox making October.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Sep 15, 2005 -> 01:38 AM) That was Orton's first start, on a visiting field, against one of the best defenses in the league, with no running game. Your boy Grossman, in his second season posted a stellar QB rating of 67.9 I love how Grossman is the second coming, and Orton is the horrible rookie. Grossman didnt do anything in his starts, and played against some weak defenses. Orton started the season opener, as a rookie (Grossman never did that) and performed well with no running game. Grossman still had bad numbers even in his second season. 1 td, 3 INT in three games. If Orton has not improved on that by his third game in his second season, I will think this over. Until then, Orton looks better. Grossman ain't my boy, since I have no infatuation with the Chicago Bears whatsoever. Don't forget in his 2nd season, Rex Grossman had to play under Terry Shea's system. How many QB's looked good under that? Would Kyle Orton? Doesn't Grossman deserve the chance to show what he can do under Ron Turner? And also, the Bears O-Line when Grossman was behind center would have been in the bottom 5 in the NFL. I don't care which QB you are (unless you're Michael Vick and can run all day). You're gonna get pressured and sacked a lot, and that hurts your numbers, big time.

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Sep 15, 2005 -> 01:21 AM) Email her a link to this post Or just quote SnB's post, and tell her that he's your boyfriend or something (although I'd imagine Ian would get pretty jealous at this arrangement).

When I got a lift into the city with my sister the other week, I am still shocked that she hasn't had a speeding ticket since she got her license. And then my Dad got one for being 3KPH over the speed limit (yes that's actually bookable down here), and needless to say he hit the roof and I quote "I will never drive my car to work again, and will catch nothing but public transport"....... Needless to say, that scenario lasted about a couple of days.

So my NFL thought of the day, ranking the teams in the NFC so far; Philly - Still #1, McNabb will get it going, once he's healthy. Atlanta - Great defense, Vick and Dunn look good, question about WR's still. Now this is where it gets iffy. The following teams could be ranked in any order; Dallas - Bledsoe looked good, as did receivers, defense looked promising at some points. Carolina - Losing Kris Jenkins is HUGE, but they're too good not to be bogged down from 1 injury. Seattle - Losing to Jacksonville in Jacksonville tough week 1 assignment. Still have a lot of Q's for mine, such as the receiving corp, and is their defense top 10 or not? St. Louis - Yep losing to San Fran. ain't good, but they're still a top 5 offense, as always it's the defense. New York Giants - Demolished Arizona in week 1, defense looks good, will depend on how quickly Eli can turn into a good QB. New Orleans - Great 1st week win, with Deuce and Joe Horn a good offense, excellent D-Line, usually comes down to the LB's and secondary. Tampa Bay - Griese still looks fairly good, and Williams is a big upgrade at RB. If they can get the defense back to where it was, they're gonna be pretty good again. Minnesota - Not a good start, but their offense is too good even without Moss and they've made a lot of upgrades on the D as well. They'll be back. Detroit - Good start against Green Bay, is the offense too conservative though, and is their defense good enough? Then you've probably got this group; Green Bay - Losing Walker not good. Defense maybe worse in NFL. Not good. Still have Favre and Green though. Chicago - Great defense. Terrible offense. Washington - Same as Chicago except they have Clinton Portis. Arizona - Were the sleeper pick for a lot of people. Arrington hasn't looked good at all though, and the defense was terrible in NY. Will need to improve on that side of the ball especially, stat. And then the last group; San Francisco - They'll be better than last year, and week 1 showed that, but they still need major upgrades on both sides of the ball.

QUOTE(Spiff @ Sep 15, 2005 -> 01:24 AM) Orton's rating was 52.8, I don't know why people are getting so excited. Yep, and you know opposing defences are just going to double Muhammed, and blitz all day long, and dare Orton to make a big play. The fact is, the Bears only scored 7 points. No matter what defense they're playing against, that's really gotta improve and stat.

There's a small inkling that I may be actually able to go to this, depending if I'm in the States of course.

QUOTE(fathom @ Sep 15, 2005 -> 01:02 AM) You can say that again. And I did. Stoopid internet.

QUOTE(fathom @ Sep 14, 2005 -> 11:55 PM) Here's a crazy idea.....play Anderson for Everett tonight! Or Borchard. Or Gload (but please don't bat them in the cleanup spot). But yes, Everett needs a seat on the pine and pronto.