Bananarchy

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ May 15, 2016 -> 03:55 PM) Do people really expect a,team to,go 4-2 every week of the season? It doesn't happen. Ever. There will be more bad weeks. The Cubs will even have a bad week. Voice of reason, here.

QUOTE (buhbuhburrrrlz @ May 15, 2016 -> 06:13 AM) staying in OKC I'm willing to bet this as well.

QUOTE (Thad Bosley @ May 15, 2016 -> 07:10 AM) LOL! I must admit, this really is one of your funnier efforts to try and defend the indefensible, and all just to be contrarian on your part. Seriously, you must be on the dole for Reinsdorf to go on these fanciful yet highly ridiculous tangents you do to try and defend that buffoon. But you do and therefore we just have to deal with it, and continually just call out its silliness. Attendance tripled from the time Harry Caray came to the Sox and when he left. It increased by 68% just after his first year and was tripled by the end of his second. He accomplished all of this - and again, it was explicitly what he was brought into do - with the weakest of tools to support him. He was broadcasting initially on a tiny, 5,000 watt radio station in LaGrange, IL when he first got to town, and then the best he got was a UHF TV station of all things, Channel 44. HARRY CARAY TRIPLED WHITE SOX ATTENDANCE WITH THE POOREST POSSIBLE MEDIA EXPOSURE AT HIS DISPOSAL. Bill Veeck, however, managed to get the team on WGN for 1981 before he sold the team. Then Harry had the power of the superstation and it's mega-exposure with which to sell the White Sox experience. And he did so brilliantly during the strike-shortened 1981 season, resulting in the highest TV ratings ever for the Sox at that time. But then the genius owners of the Sox committed what renowned White Sox historian Richard Lindberg (or as renowned Reinsdorf apologist SS2K5 refers to just as "someone") referred to as a "mistake" by letting Caray go to the Cubs, where he took that national exposure on WGN to make both he and the Cubs a household name. The Cubs haven't looked back since. HARRY CARAY TOOK THE CUBS FROM HAVING THE SAME KIND OF ATTENDANCE ISSUES AS THE SOX TO BEING THE NATIONAL PHENOMENON THEY ARE TODAY, ALL DUE TO HIS ABILITY TO SELL THE PRODUCT ON SUPERSTATION WGN. That could have and should have been the Sox. It's that simple. But our genius owners...SportsVision...and you know the rest. This post assumes that absolutely everything that happened in Chicago baseball had to do with Harry Caray, which could not be further from the truth.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 13, 2016 -> 08:23 PM) On what planet are these two posts similar? The only similarity I see is that they are about the same guy. Both are written in English? That's about it.

QUOTE (raBBit @ May 9, 2016 -> 08:50 PM) Is Gary Johnson out? He's in as per usual. He seems like the most sensible candidate in a Trump/Clinton election. I feel like I can't waste a vote on him this time around as I can't accept President Trump. That being said, I live in Texas and my vote doesn't matter.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ May 13, 2016 -> 01:31 PM) If you didn't have the volume on, how did you know Hawk went to the clubhouse? He has the volume on. He's just not happy about it.

QUOTE (shipps @ May 13, 2016 -> 12:54 PM) Dont ask me why I am doing this but I keep on running this draft lottery simulator and the Bulls get the 14th pick every single time. It makes you wonder how the hell did they get that number one pick years ago. That draft lottery was soooooo fixed. http://basketball.realgm.com/nba/draft/lottery_simulator It was pretty amazing, but not necessarily fixed. The Cleveland thing seemed fixed in the "LeBron Interim" years. However, they contract out the auditing and such of the draft, so I don't believe it's actually fixed.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ May 13, 2016 -> 01:00 PM) You would think people who supposedly can't stand Hawk and think the entire organization should be embarrassed by his presence, would be happy he left the broadcast for a little bit to go to the clubhouse. I don't think any of us want Steve Stone to pull double duty.

QUOTE (iamshack @ May 13, 2016 -> 11:19 AM) Since when did we think Hawk was professional? As we have stated like 4000 times on this message board, many love Hawk because he is exactly like us - he is a superfan. He feels the same things we do and he often says them. Whether you prefer that style or you prefer the more professional style, one cannot deny that there is some portion of the fanbase that loves it. I could give a s*** if it is professional for Hawk to go down and get us an update. What I appreciated is that he did and I knew Frazier was going to be fine rather than having to wait for some schlep that Frazier didn't trust to give me some vague report only confirming what I already know - that Frazier injured his mouth. Hawk is, by definition, a professional. We expect him to act like it.

QUOTE (bmags @ May 13, 2016 -> 10:31 AM) Pretty epic run for OKC just as people were ready to write their obit. Makes me think Durant will be staying put at least a while longer.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ May 13, 2016 -> 09:05 AM) I think he meant Caray's tenure with the Cubs was longer than Caray's tenure with the Sox. That's exactly what I meant. Thanks

So good to have a game today. Days off are depressing.

QUOTE (Kalapse @ May 12, 2016 -> 11:15 PM) Heh, of all the s*** players you could have named you chose the one guy Hawk would have left the booth to check on. Gotta make sure that seat didn't impact his strong arm. If Abreu got hurt, Hawk would send (in his words) a Latin.

QUOTE (miracleon35th @ May 12, 2016 -> 10:36 PM) I don't get most of the criticism of Hawk and I find most of it to be uncalled for or just plain pathetic. By the way, I have to discount any criticism that Hawk is a "homer" because so much of that comes from cubfans. Did you read the thread pointing out all the critical people assuming they're Cubs fans? Perhaps those who are old enough to remember Harry at Comiskey never tired of hearing "Holy Cow" for a decade followed by another ten years of it at Wrigley. Now Harry Caray's memory, the horn rimmed glasses, his restaurants and his 7th inning stretch call (which he did for 10 years at Comiskey) are part of cub tradition and remembered fondly by older Sox fans.. Harry was a legend, but he's been gone and he was with the Cubs longer. Seriously, Harry has nothing to do with Hawk, though. I wonder which announcer Hawk's critics believe has been as good or better than Hawk" Maybe Vin Scully, Harry Kalas, or one of the other all time greats? Baseball is a game of tradition so trashing someone who is a big part of White Sox tradition is something that I find to be curious. Because he's Hawk we can't criticize him? Please. He's bad. He's been bad. The home broadcasts are leaps and bounds ahead of the road offering at this point Anyone who does not understand that Hawk went down to see Frazier because Hawk was personally concerned (as opposed to going down there because no beat reporter was there) is missing the point. Hawk loves the team that he has been loyal to for decades and loves the players. He was one himself and knows what it is like to be injured on the field and what a serious injury to a key player could mean to this team. So when Avi went down with his shoulder, why didn't Hawk run down to the clubhouse? He has watched a ton of injuries, why the heck is Frazier special? I think Hawk is doing the right thing by cutting down on games until another full-time announcer is decided upon. My own opinion is that the new play-by-play person should not be Jason Benetti. Benetti has been just awful and I am being generous because he is a nice young man. I am going to start putting on the radio so I do not have to listen to his trite nonsense, his sophomoric questions and his lame attempt at being the straight man comic in his back and forth with Stone. Thank goodness you're not in charge, because Benetti has been widely praised for his ability to call baseball play-by-play. When Hawk indicates he wants to retire, I hope the Sox start to audition guest announcers to take over play by play full time after Hawk retires. Although Dan Plesac may not be a candidate, it will be very interesting to hear Plesac and Harrelson in the booth at Yankee stadium this weekend. Yeah, I'm pretty sure Benetti has been hired as a full time replacement down the road. I sure hope so. He's a great match for this organization and a local kid who genuinely pulled for the team he announces. This is just too much. See my comments in bold.

Glad to see OKC win, but this iteration of the Spurs will simply evolve into the next centered around Leonard and Aldridge.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ May 12, 2016 -> 01:49 PM) Russian Insider Says State-Run Doping Fueled Olympic Gold Shocking, right? I know when the olympics start they're going to be fun to watch (for a while), but it's becoming less and less likable. It seems like none of the international major events are even close to square anymore. Disappointing.

QUOTE (bmags @ May 12, 2016 -> 04:02 PM) I know lemons happen, but my wife and i both have had such horrible experiences doing that, I would rather get one new. It just sucks, i hate cars. I don't want to spend money on them. I hate every second I'm in them. I get the appeal for some people, but just aren't for me. Unless the car is a Lexus, I would want no part of that, either. My old A4 broke down so often, my wife made me swap it out.

QUOTE (Joshua Strong @ May 12, 2016 -> 07:31 PM) Seeing them at Lollapalooza and I'm going to try to see them in California I would love to hit Lollapalooza, but we just do ACL every year. This is the first year I'm really disappointed with the ACL lineup overall.

I would be interested to see whether a market like San Antonio can support a baseball team. When the Rangers played at Dell Diamond in an exhibition game, Round Rock was a mad house. I would be SO happy if SA got an AL team.

QUOTE (elrockinMT @ May 12, 2016 -> 07:40 PM) Take a look at Lincecum's stats. ERA might have gone up but less hits than innings pitched and lots of strikeouts. But walks are up. Injury was hip related and not arm trouble. He might be worth the shot Yeah, I'm starting to warm to the idea. Fifth starter. Worth a shot

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ May 11, 2016 -> 01:31 PM) The Cubs fans at least think they only need to give up minor leaguers for Trout, which is hysterical. I just can't see a way to trade for Trout and not severely alter their current team. I know it's Trout, but he can't play every position.

QUOTE (TitoMB @ May 8, 2016 -> 02:45 PM) Radiohead's A Moon Shaped Pool: 10/10, AotY. Unbelievable. Tears were shed. Pretty stoked to see them at ACL. Really good stuff.

QUOTE (Tony @ May 12, 2016 -> 05:59 PM) I actually think this year may be the worst, considering the Sox are in 1st place and leading the AL in wins. The over-reacting to every pitch is getting obscene. And before you post "That's just how it is every year", don't. It doesn't make it right. I think the reality is a bunch of us have forgotten how to win. To be good still involves losses. I would agree, the last couple of game threads have been pretty rough.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ May 12, 2016 -> 02:15 PM) This Rio thing is gonna be a litmus test imo. The water quality, the zika virus, the apartments that they werent planning on putting AC in, it seems like its gonna be bad. Agreed. Sochi was just the beginning. Rio could be a disaster.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ May 12, 2016 -> 03:09 PM) The Cubs are on track for a historical season and STILL talking about adding guys like Braun or Trout...or trading Soler to improve the team. That's not a bad thing to have high standards and want to improve a team or make it even stronger to get through the inevitable rough patches and stretch out a divisional lead. How many times have we heard "Well, our leaders Thome/Dye/Konerko got together with KW/Hahn and convinced him we have enough horses in the stable to win this thing..."? Of course, part of that's PR spin to convince the fans to buy in when money hasn't been spent in an attempt to improve the team. And you do have to give them credit, they did everything they could in 2012 with Liriano (flop), Myers (flop), Hudson (won a couple of games in the late innings but in general was toast) and Youkilis (great three weeks and then just couldn't hold it together health-wise)...2010, with Manny Ramirez, that was almost kind of insulting. *Checks website URL* *Checks Forum* The Cubs rant is a little out of place here, now isn't it? Yeah, I want this team to be better, but I'm not just going to cut players and figure it out.