September 18, 200421 yr 29-31. that's absolutely horrible. Wow, I didn't realize it was that bad. :puke
September 19, 200421 yr From the point that Maggs and Frank were DL'ed, this season was in the crapper. The team we have on the field now is not the team we thought we'd be watching. In fact, I don't "blame" anyone for what happened this year. You take two of the best hitters in baseball out of a lineup, you have to expect things to go sour.
September 19, 200421 yr Exactly. I'm sick of these people that are blaming guys like Uribe and Harris for this season going down the toliet. For god sakes they both far exceeded most peoples expectations of what they would do in the offseason. For example most people thought Willie would hit about .210 and have an OBP of about the same. Instead he is batting .260+ with an OBP of about .340 in limited playing time. Thats not that bad for a guy who because of Ozzies ineptness only gets to play maybe twice a week. I don't blame him for not stealing more bases because if I was in that much fear for my job then I wouldn't try to do too much either. Noone can score from 1st better then Willie though. The point is that Willie and Juan shouldn't have been expected to make up the slack from Mags and Frank. We need to face reality. Joe Crede is a #8 hitter. Could we survive with that with a healthy Frank and Maggs? YES! Can we survive with that without Frank and Maggs and losers like Jose hitting .200? NO! If we stood pat this would be our: 2005 starting lineup: CF- Aaron Rowand SS- Juan Uribe DH- Frank Thomas 1B- Paul Konerko LF- Carlos Lee RF- Carl Everett/Alex Escobar/Joe Borchard C- Ben Davis/Jamie Burke 3B- Joe Crede 2B- Willie Harris Bench: Timo Perez-OF Wilson Valdez-IF Ross Gload-1B/OF Starting Rotation: Freddy Garcia Mark Buherle Jose Contreras Jon Garland Jason Grilli Bullpen: Felix Diaz-Long Relief Neil Cotts- Long Relief Jon Adkins- Middle Relief Damaso Marte-Setup Cliff Politte- Setup Shingo Takasu- Setup/Closer Jeff Bajenaru- Setup/Closer That isn't that bad of a lineup. Especially considering we would have a 4 solid decent starters the entire year. Add a top of the rotation starter to that, bump Jon to 5th and we really have something good here.
September 19, 200421 yr But were still in this.. :rolly Twins magic number is 2(counting their game against Baltimore today as an automatic win with Johan starting), and maybe 1, that means we only have to win 15 straight games and the Twins lose 15 straight more and WE WIN!!!!!! We are SO in this...anyone who says we aren't isn't a true Sox fan :rolly
September 20, 200421 yr I hope we never say our schedule looks better than the Twinks the second half, etc., in the future. I mean until we start beating the teams in our own horses*** div., the strength of schedule means nothing.
September 20, 200421 yr 29-31. that's absolutely horrible. Yeah, no excuse for that at all. We have to win at least 35 if not 40 of those games.
September 20, 200421 yr Exactly. I'm sick of these people that are blaming guys like Uribe and Harris for this season going down the toliet. For god sakes they both far exceeded most peoples expectations of what they would do in the offseason. For example most people thought Willie would hit about .210 and have an OBP of about the same. Instead he is batting .260+ with an OBP of about .340 in limited playing time. Thats not that bad for a guy who because of Ozzies ineptness only gets to play maybe twice a week. I don't blame him for not stealing more bases because if I was in that much fear for my job then I wouldn't try to do too much either. Noone can score from 1st better then Willie though. The point is that Willie and Juan shouldn't have been expected to make up the slack from Mags and Frank. We need to face reality. Joe Crede is a #8 hitter. Could we survive with that with a healthy Frank and Maggs? YES! Can we survive with that without Frank and Maggs and losers like Jose hitting .200? NO! If we stood pat this would be our: 2005 starting lineup: CF- Aaron Rowand SS- Juan Uribe DH- Frank Thomas 1B- Paul Konerko LF- Carlos Lee RF- Carl Everett/Alex Escobar/Joe Borchard C- Ben Davis/Jamie Burke 3B- Joe Crede 2B- Willie Harris Bench: Timo Perez-OF Wilson Valdez-IF Ross Gload-1B/OF Starting Rotation: Freddy Garcia Mark Buherle Jose Contreras Jon Garland Jason Grilli Bullpen: Felix Diaz-Long Relief Neil Cotts- Long Relief Jon Adkins- Middle Relief Damaso Marte-Setup Cliff Politte- Setup Shingo Takasu- Setup/Closer Jeff Bajenaru- Setup/Closer That isn't that bad of a lineup. Especially considering we would have a 4 solid decent starters the entire year. Add a top of the rotation starter to that, bump Jon to 5th and we really have something good here. I don't know why I'm even bothering, but your suggested lineup is so completely far removed from reality, it's almost laughable. You suggest almost no changes to a team that's woefully underachieved, and recommend giving yet another chance to players who've led the underachievement parade. I'm really glad the GM and the manager don't think like you do. For the last time, Willie Harris has NOT exceeded expectations. Maybe yours, but certainly not those of the manager and GM. And not mine or many other fans either. How you can possibly defend him not trying to steal bases because he's afraid of losing his job is, well ... ridiculous. Guillen WANTS him to steal, and has told Harris many times. What part of that don't you get???? In addition, your suggested bullpen would be a disaster. Short on experience, short on talent. You're going to be sorely disappointed, because big changes are coming. Don't be surprised if a couple of your favorites are on their way out.
September 20, 200421 yr I don't know why I'm even bothering, but your suggested lineup is so completely far removed from reality, it's almost laughable. You suggest almost no changes to a team that's woefully underachieved, and recommend giving yet another chance to players who've led the underachievement parade. I'm really glad the GM and the manager don't think like you do. For the last time, Willie Harris has NOT exceeded expectations. Maybe yours, but certainly not those of the manager and GM. And not mine or many other fans either. How you can possibly defend him not trying to steal bases because he's afraid of losing his job is, well ... ridiculous. Guillen WANTS him to steal, and has told Harris many times. What part of that don't you get???? In addition, your suggested bullpen would be a disaster. Short on experience, short on talent. You're going to be sorely disappointed, because big changes are coming. Don't be surprised if a couple of your favorites are on their way out. There are definitely going to be some huge changes coming, imo. There are only a couple guys on offense who are for sure going to be around next year. As far as the pitching staff, Buehrle, Freddy and Jose are definitely going to be here, Garland I think will still be pitching here as well although I'm not positive about that. In the bullpen I'm sure Damaso, Shingo, Cotts, and Adkins will be around but from there who knows. So overall there aren't a ton of guys that are safe so to speak on the roster, jmo.
September 20, 200421 yr I certainly wouldn't blame Willie Harris or Uribe for the season, but I sure as hell wouldn't count on these guys to lead us to the promised land either. For all you people that love Harris and Uribe so much, ask yourself, do you think these guys over 180 games (assuming they make the playoffs) can lead us to the World Series? If you think that, pass me some of the kool-aid, eh? I'm not saying they don't have a role on this team, but I am saying that if you are depending on them to lead your team through to a divisional title and into the playoffs, good luck watching the same crap we watched this year. Frankly, I don't want another rerun of the past three years next year. I've seen enough on this crew, and it's time for some PLAYERS, not "home run hitting machines", *cough, cough*.
September 20, 200421 yr I certainly wouldn't blame Willie Harris or Uribe for the season, but I sure as hell wouldn't count on these guys to lead us to the promised land either. For all you people that love Harris and Uribe so much, ask yourself, do you think these guys over 180 games (assuming they make the playoffs) can lead us to the World Series? If you think that, pass me some of the kool-aid, eh? I'm not saying they don't have a role on this team, but I am saying that if you are depending on them to lead your team through to a divisional title and into the playoffs, good luck watching the same crap we watched this year. Frankly, I don't want another rerun of the past three years next year. I've seen enough on this crew, and it's time for some PLAYERS, not "home run hitting machines", *cough, cough*. Amen, does a line up which includes, Crede, Harris, Uribe and Borchard strike fear into opposing pitchers?
September 20, 200421 yr Exactly. I'm sick of these people that are blaming guys like Uribe and Harris for this season going down the toliet. For god sakes they both far exceeded most peoples expectations of what they would do in the offseason. For example most people thought Willie would hit about .210 and have an OBP of about the same. Instead he is batting .260+ with an OBP of about .340 in limited playing time. Thats not that bad for a guy who because of Ozzies ineptness only gets to play maybe twice a week. I don't blame him for not stealing more bases because if I was in that much fear for my job then I wouldn't try to do too much either. Noone can score from 1st better then Willie though. The point is that Willie and Juan shouldn't have been expected to make up the slack from Mags and Frank. We need to face reality. Joe Crede is a #8 hitter. Could we survive with that with a healthy Frank and Maggs? YES! Can we survive with that without Frank and Maggs and losers like Jose hitting .200? NO! If we stood pat this would be our: 2005 starting lineup: CF- Aaron Rowand SS- Juan Uribe DH- Frank Thomas 1B- Paul Konerko LF- Carlos Lee RF- Carl Everett/Alex Escobar/Joe Borchard C- Ben Davis/Jamie Burke 3B- Joe Crede 2B- Willie Harris Bench: Timo Perez-OF Wilson Valdez-IF Ross Gload-1B/OF Starting Rotation: Freddy Garcia Mark Buherle Jose Contreras Jon Garland Jason Grilli Bullpen: Felix Diaz-Long Relief Neil Cotts- Long Relief Jon Adkins- Middle Relief Damaso Marte-Setup Cliff Politte- Setup Shingo Takasu- Setup/Closer Jeff Bajenaru- Setup/Closer That isn't that bad of a lineup. Especially considering we would have a 4 solid decent starters the entire year. Add a top of the rotation starter to that, bump Jon to 5th and we really have something good here. Ozzie has stated numerous times that this team needs playes with better OBP and more speed. How does your line up help in those areas?
September 20, 200421 yr Ozzie has stated numerous times that this team needs playes with better OBP and more speed. How does your line up help in those areas? Not to mention, he says nothing about the pitching situation, in terms of improvement. Komet said it best. If anyone thinks a starting lineup like that will get us to October baseball, pass along what you're smokin'. My guess is the 2005 White Sox will see two big additions to the pitching staff, one starter and one bullpen. As for the lineup, I'm thinking the bench will be revamped to provide more speed and versatility, and we'll see three new starters from the combination of an outfield spot, catcher, middle IF and 3B. Or, they'll go in a new direction at 1B but I'm not sure why it makes sense to start over at a position we're not particulary weak. Konerko has his downfalls but he's talented and brings a lot to the table. That being said, I would not be shocked if they trade him. As always, it'll come down to matching up with other team's needs, and getting the most value in return. It may be a case of the White Sox targeting certain players they feel will be available, and matching up trade-wise. One thing I'm certain of ... someone will be traded that we as fans don't want to see move on. Other teams want value, not our castaways. Here is the most encouraging bit of news as far as I'm concerned ... Guillen is really focusing on guys who have a high on base percentage. There needs to be a balance of power guys and on base guys with speed. Sox played "small ball" all through the 1950's and 1960's and never won the big prize. Yankees did, and they've always had a very balanced team, not one way or the other. I would expect this team will strike out less next year, and throw more strikes next year. Look for the bench to be changed around too. I like Timo, he can hit in the clutch but his defense is average at best and he adds no speed. Look for a guy who can be the 3rd catcher have the ability to play lots of positions, that's how it should be. Also, look for Borchard to start at AAA, I don't think he has much trade value. If he finally figures out how to strike out a lot less (a LOT less), then the Sox have a good dilemna on their hands.
September 20, 200421 yr 29-31. that's absolutely horrible. It's not horrible, it's mediocre, just as the Sox have been for the past 4 years.
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