Lip Man 1

Offense oh offense where for art thou offense? 12 games played, seven games three runs or less. Mark

QUOTE (MuckFinnesota @ Apr 17, 2016 -> 02:26 PM) More than anything, I'd like to see Frazier get going with the bat. He had 35 home runs last year and could be relied upon. I am expecting big things from him this year. And I expect our catchers not to look uncomfortable behind the plate and looking silly in their own at bats. To be fair he also wasn't the same player after the All Star home run hitting contest either. Mark

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Apr 17, 2016 -> 08:52 AM) Instead of stressing about what is going to go wrong, people could just enjoy what is going right. Good point but when you've had six losing seasons in the past nine years (historically the worst stretch for the franchise since 1968-1980) its understandable fans get concerned. Mark

QUOTE (Thad Bosley @ Apr 17, 2016 -> 08:52 AM) I don't think there's a Sox fan alive who hasn't enjoyed this first place start. We're winning for the first time in a very long time, and the experience is quite refreshing. I think the point some are trying to put forward in this thread is the sustainability of the winning given the continuation of the poor offense we saw all of last year. We were dead last in offense last year, and now early on we find ourselves third to last. It should get better as the season moves on, but when you acknowledge that the only real upgrade in the offense over the winter was Frazier, and to a lesser extent Frazier, it's fair to question whether the offense as currently constructed will be good enough for the long haul. Excellent post. Well said. Mark

I'd give Danks two, maybe three more starts. If he's still brutal I know what I'd do...he gone! (but I seriously doubt the Sox would eat that kind of money) The offense now is really starting to concern me. In six of the 11 games they've scored three runs or less. Sounds a lot like last year doesn't it? Mark

Absolutely love the winning, absolutely love the pitching but man the offense has got to start showing up. Can't expect the pitchers to keep going all year like this, they have to have some room for error. Mark

Just caught the post game show and watched the highlights from today. Have to say it's pretty hard to find fault with the way things have started. Hitting is still iffy but I think that's still because the weather hasn't been great temperature wise. Pitching has been superb but to me the biggest improvement has been defensively. They just haven't been making stupid plays on batted balls, they are catching what they can and not making a lot of mistakes. If you can pitch the ball and catch the ball you'll win a lot of games. I may have to figure out a way to get home this summer if this keeps up! Congrats to everyone on the start...keep it going! Mark

Anytime you can win in Minnesota it's a very good thing (just look at history...) Nice that Q got a few more runs than "normal" today. He should have had more to be honest with you. Sox are still leaving a lot of guys on base. And what can you say about Garcia swinging at the first pitch he saw after the bases were loaded on a HBP. Bullpen was rock solid today...even Jones. Well done overall. Enjoy the day off and take the series by winning Wednesday. Mark

For April 10 we've got one of the most dramatic moments in franchise history both audio AND video. It was Opening Day 1981 in Boston and Carlton Fisk returned only wearing a different uniform. He would immediately make the Red Sox pay for his contract debacle late in the game. Announcers: Harry Caray and Jimmy Piersall. Courtesy: WGN-TV. http://www.chicagonow.com/soxnet/2016/04/t...k-gets-revenge/ Mark

Had to cover Idaho State's spring football scrimmage so I taped today's Sox game. Haven't watched it yet but from reading the game recaps and seeing some highlights just a few thoughts. Congrats to ANY fan who actually watched that game in those conditions. That takes a lot of guts or a lot of something else (that comes in a bottle...) Nice to see the Sox offense wake up...better late than never. Melky had the biggest at-bat of the game...that was huge the way he battled. Congrats to Garcia who has had a miserable year to this point yet got a big three run home run to break the game open. Maybe this will be the start of something for him. If the Sox are going to get where they want to go they HAVE to have a good season out of him. Sale hasn't been in mid season form yet but he'll get there. Hard to 'feel' your pitches when its 30 degrees out. He was probably lucky to even feel his hand. Hopefully Q gets some luck for a change and some run support (and I don't mean two runs...) and they can take the series. Mark

A double header worth of historic audio for April 9th. First off we've got audio from April 9, 1976, the Sox home opener. Bill Veeck was back, it was the Bicentennial and the Sox shut out the Royals. Jim Spencer had the big blow with a two run home run and the crowd was simply wild about Harry! Announcer: Harry Caray. Courtesy: WMAQ Radio. Then we've got the final out from the last home opener at the original Comiskey Park, April 9, 1990 a Sox 2-1 win over Milwaukee. Announcer: Jim Durham. Courtesy: WGN-TV. Both items can be found at this link: http://www.chicagonow.com/soxnet/2016/04/t...st-opening-day/ Mark

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Apr 8, 2016 -> 06:15 PM) That's 5-15 for Danks now against CLE. Tipping pitches? DJ made the comment that at the end of spring training, he was aggressive and going after hitters, busting them in on the hands...after two hits today, he started to get tentative, trying to "trick" them or pitching defensively to avoid contact or perhaps attempting to be too perfect again. First couple of innings, there was the Avila error, Jackson throwing home when he should have gone to third to hold the runner to 2nd (that runner didn't score), Jackson taking a poor route on a ball into the gap (misread the wind, which will take him time to figure out), Avi getting thrown out after reaching via walk in a situation you can never get picked off with a runner ahead of you on 2nd who's absolutely not going anywhere (this after Avi swung at pitches he had no business swinging at with Salazar wild early). On the plus side, we have more team speed and athleticism, definitely more enthusiasm from Lawrie, more professional/veteran hitters....Eaton has looked REALLY good and adjusted quite well to RF more quickly than most thought possible. That said, this division is going to be tough with DET looking to have one of the best offenses in the AL (at least early), Miggy has his legs back and Victor Martinez looks like he did 2-3 years ago and Zimmerman can be a monster, etc. You have a feeling that health, the bullpen before Robertson, the missing bat at DH and the back end of the rotation are still going to be the biggest issues with this team. We have a better overall offense, position by position, but something STILL seems to be missing. Granted, Salazar has very good stuff, the weather was miserable and they were out of the game after the first couple of innings and probably just wanted to get it over with. The most important thing here is we can't get into one of those "the Indians/Royals/Twins/Tigers just have our number" modes where we go 5-14 or 6-13 against one particular team and scuffle to get close to .500 in the division with the rest of the teams in the ALCD. Just an unfortunate situation with the terrible weather and terribly disappointing level of play after looking improved after the first four games. Hard to say which is the real team...probably the .500ish version that's not as good as against OAK and not as bad as they played today. But the Indians have a formidable team and it's likely to get even better when Brantley subs in for Jose Ramirez. To expect to go anyplace in the division possibly leading to a post season spot you have to actually beat the teams in the division. The Sox record against the division the last three years in particular has been brutal. Mark

This and that. Game should have NEVER been played if for no other reason as a courtesy to the fans. They shouldn't be forced to sit through weather like that. As far as the game itself, given Danks' career history against Cleveland you'd think someone on the field staff might have suggested pitching him against the A's and giving someone else a chance. Sox are averaging 3.4 runs per game through the first five games. I don't think they brought in these new players for a repeat of last seasons type-offense do you? Although right now Garcia seems to be the main guy hurting things. Stat of the Game: Cleveland has been the home opener for the Sox five times since 2000. The ONLY games the Sox have won against them have been when Mark Buehrle started (05,06,10) them. Contreras lost the 07 home opener and Danks got murdered this afternoon. Mark

Have a lot on the plate for April 7th in our This Date In Sox History page at Sox Net, but of particular interest might be this audio AND video from 1994 when a certain basketball player cranked out the biggest hit in that years "Crosstown Classic" game. Announcer is Harry Caray. Courtesy: WGN-TV. Audio / video is towards the bottom of the page. http://www.chicagonow.com/soxnet/2016/04/t...s-off-the-cubs/ Mark

Very, VERY nicely done today. Stunned... floored by Latos' performance. Offense showed some life at least today. Best game this season. Take the opening series. Now we'll see what happens against a good Cleveland pitching staff...assuming they can play this weekend. Mark

QUOTE (mmmmmbeeer @ Apr 6, 2016 -> 11:31 PM) Avi already looks frustrated...that's not good. He's a DH, surely we can find a pro hitter for a few million that could fill that role much better. The problem is unfortunately nobody is available certainly not the first week of the season. Sox are pretty much stuck with him until maybe June when things start to loosen up and teams start to fall out of contention. If the Sox are in it they've got 13 million to play with (Thanks Adam!!!!!LOL) Mark

I understand it was Sonny Gray but he walked four guys too. Just a shame to waste the performance Rodon gave and a bad flashback to last year as far as poor offense. Offense just hasn't looked very good at all in the series so far. Will be very interested to see what happens Thursday. Latos is pitching, expect the A's to score some runs...can the Sox finally score say six or seven and maybe take three of four? Considering they won the first two, getting a split in the series would be a downer, you've got to take the series. We'll see. Also I thought I saw or read somewhere that the Sox hadn't gone 3-0 to start a season since 1992. If that's true, that's unbelievable. Mark

We've got some historic audio AND video for Tuesday, April 5th in our This Date In Sox History thread. First off is an audio cut from April 5, 1974. The streaking craze has hit America and Comiskey Park was no exception. On a cold opening day against the Angels some strange things took place. Announcers: Harry Caray and Bill Mercer. Courtesy: WMAQ Radio. Then further down the thread you can see the video and hear the call of one of the most remarkable fielding plays you'll ever see from April 5, 2010. Mark Buehrle and Paul Konerko turned the trick. Announcers: Ken "Hawk" Harrelson and Steve Stone. Courtesy: Comcast Sports Chicago. http://www.chicagonow.com/soxnet/2016/04/t...-a-team-record/ Mark

With the new season comes new and improved additions of "This Date In Sox History" historic audio. All new additions with links will be posted in this thread so you can listen and enjoy as you will. Feel free to post any memories of the events in this thread too. Thanks to Daniel Shapiro with his help actually getting the cuts posted (I record, edit them and send them off to him...) First off is a cut from April 4, 2005...the final out in the first game, of what would turn out to be a VERY historic season on the South Side. Announcers are Ken "Hawk" Harrelson and Darrin Jackson. Courtesy: Comcast Sports Chicago. http://www.chicagonow.com/soxnet/2016/04/1139/ Mark

QUOTE (SoCalSox @ Apr 4, 2016 -> 04:32 PM) Frankly, Hill pitching tonight makes me a bit nervous. Sox have never had much success vs this type of pitcher but hopefully with multiple new faces it won't be an issue. Agreed. Hill is a journeyman (he actually started the A.J. / Barrett fight game back in 2006 for the Cubs), a left hander, a spot starter and is simply an OK pitcher in my book. How many of those guys have shredded the Sox in the past? The Sox say they have a different team this year, consider tonight an excellent opportunity to start changing their perception by lighting this guy up. Mark

QUOTE (Iwritecode @ Apr 4, 2016 -> 12:28 PM) That last line should actually read 90 or more games because there's one year where they won exactly 90 games. Anyway, having looked up the records it's amazing how many years the Sox didn't make the playoffs simply because the Yankees were better. Of course that streak of winning seasons stopped right around the time they added the East/West divisions to each league. The Sox have never taken advantage of MLB adding to the number teams that can make it to the playoffs. They've never won the WC and even with a second WC now added, they still haven't managed it. very true. Mark

QUOTE (LDF @ Apr 4, 2016 -> 09:09 AM) i am not going to deny that the sox should have some really outstanding moments for the opening day game. but for one that i was there, was in the April 9, 1993, the moment is classic and which i think endeared him to the chi .... fans, and media alike. 6th inning and some really reclamation project went in the pitch hit. his name is Bo Jackson and he took the ball yard, over the yanks and won the game. that moment was the BEST for me. Actually despite Bo's home run the Sox got blown out that afternoon, 11-6. Mark

Nothing wrong with taking a shot, you can never have enough pitching options and the back end of the Sox rotation absolutely is a question mark. Mark

Just wanted to wish all Sox fans a good 2016 season. As far as the team, may they be productive, travel safe and win at least 82 games (anything over that is gravy in my book...) Mark

Thought this would be the right place to list all the picks the media, the national magazines and the baseball networks are making for the Sox for 2017. First off is Sports Illustrated (and it's not a happy one.) They have the Sox finishing 4th in the division with only a single game improvement to 77-85 from the final 2016 record. They do pick Chris Sale to win the A.L. Cy Young and the 'scout's take' section on the Sox is very positive (which somewhat makes their Sox pick puzzling...) By the way they have Houston beating the Cubs in the World Series. Mark