Here's the lastest from Mariotti today. Sadly, I found myself agreeing with almost everything he said:

 

http://suntimes.com/output/mariotti/cst-spt-jay18.html

It's a VERY sad day when a Moron article gets anything right.

i still don't understand putting all the blame on KW, but yes, i agree with alot of what he had to say.

The blame goes to KW, fair or not, for not upgrading this team when it was clear that more was needed for this team to maintain success throughout the whole year. We even had a big struggle in August, and he still didn't obtain any offensive help. It was pretty clear the Reds weren't going to give up Griffey Jr. You have to know that will be his excuse if he's made the scapegoat after the season.

i still don't understand putting all the blame on KW, but yes, i agree with alot of what he had to say.

Well, FWIW he seemed to place some blame on JR too, I think implying that KW did not have the fiscal freedom to ( for instance ) take on Griffey's entire salary if everything else in the deal was acceptable for both sides.

What are the payrolls for all of the Central division teams? For the last 5 years, too?

 

What a piss-poor way to run an organization. We've had the highest payroll, besides the Tigers this year, I think, for a while in our division. Just a terrible organization.

2 points:

Nobody made any real significant moves at the trade deadline.

 

Our payroll, and those of other Central teams, reflects attendance. If we supported the team better at the gate, they'd spend more money and the division would be ours to lose every year.

Our payroll, and those of other Central teams, reflects attendance.  If we supported the team better at the gate, they'd spend more money and the division would be ours to lose every year.

 

We're spending 34 million dollars this year than the Indians. That's the worst excuse you could possibly imagine with this situation.

How are those $200M Yankees doing?

How are those $200M Yankees doing?

 

It's funny, with their big payroll, and their starting pitching has been saved by Chacon and Small.

Those Yankees look like they'll be making the playoffs over us as well. Mariotti is right. And Mariotti was a supporter of us since late June. Even on Friday when on the Coors 6 pack of questions with Jeff Brantley, he said he thought we'd still hang on slightly when Jeff Brantley thought we wouldn't make it.

How are those $200M Yankees doing?

 

They've, uh, got 26 rings. I'm sure a few drought years are killing them, though.

2 points:

Nobody made any real significant moves at the trade deadline. 

 

Our payroll, and those of other Central teams, reflects attendance.  If we supported the team better at the gate, they'd spend more money and the division would be ours to lose every year.

What are you, Jerry Reinsdorf's mouthpiece? We have over 2 million in attendance and this is one of the better attendance years in recent memory. What is their excuse for not getting anyone?

What are you, Jerry Reinsdorf's mouthpiece?  We have over 2 million in attendance and this is one of the better attendance years in recent memory.  What is their excuse for not getting anyone?

 

Nobody else made any moves, duh.

We're spending 34 million dollars this year than the Indians.  That's the worst excuse you could possibly imagine with this situation.

 

 

How are those $200M Yankees doing?

 

Money doesn't win championships...........heart does. We'd do well to remember that.

Money doesn't win championships...........heart does.  We'd do well to remember that.

 

 

2004 - Red Sox

2nd largest payroll in the league.

 

2003 - Marlins

I'll give you this one, but they beat the Yankees and Cubs... both high spending teams. If they didn't win, one of these two would have.

 

2002 - Angels

Yep, lots of money spent

 

2001 - Dimondbacks

Bought Johnson and Shilling for one year of glory. May not be as free spending now, but they did it the one year that counted.

 

2000, 1999, 1998 - Yankees

Yep.

 

1997 - Marlins

Spent like crazy for one year. Low and behold, it worked!

 

1996 - Yankees

Yep.

 

1995 - Braves

Yep.

 

 

Want me to keep going?

Edited September 18, 200520 yr by downstairs

2004 - Red Sox

2nd largest payroll in the league.

 

2003 - Marlins

I'll give you this one, but they beat the Yankees and Cubs... both high spending teams.  If they didn't win, one of these two would have.

 

2002 - Angels

Yep, lots of money spent

 

2001 - Dimondbacks

Bought Johnson and Shilling for one year of glory.  May not be as free spending now, but they did it the one year that counted.

 

2000, 1999, 1998 - Yankees

Yep.

 

1997 - Marlins

Spent like crazy for one year.  Low and behold, it worked!

 

1996 - Yankees

Yep.

 

1995 - Braves

Yep.

Want me to keep going?

 

 

You're missing my point. You can spend all the money in the world, if the team doesn't have any heart they're not gonna win anything. It doesn't matter what they're paid, they have to give a s***.

All season, Sox fans (myself included) were upset by the lack of respect the Sox were given by the national media. The "experts" at ESPN would say that the Sox weren't as good as their record would indicate. Inevitably a thread would start here telling the "experts" to f-off. Maybe they were right all along.

 

I still like the Sox team. I think they'll make the playoffs and because they have talented pitchers, they have a chance to win it all. However, their everyday lineup lacks an impact offensive threat. I'm not talking statistically (PK has HR numbers, Pods has SBs), but I'm saying there is nobody that an opposing team really has to be careful with. Unfortunately, they didn't make a move for a guy like Griffey when they had a chance at the deadline. For what KWilliams was being asked to give up to get Griffey, Burnett, et al, I'm glad he didn't make the move. I felt that way at the time, and I don't think it's fair to hold him responsible now that the Sox have begun to slide.

 

  I felt that way at the time, and I don't think it's fair to hold him responsible now that the Sox have begun to slide.

 

 

The Sox slide began well before the waiver deadline expired.

'Eff Mariotti. When the Sox were playing awesome he was b!tching about attendance, or Ozzie's demeanaor, or Hawk. Now that they're struggling, he continues to piss and moan like a little girl. So 'eff him.

 

After the Sox sweep the Indians this week I might personally waltz down to the Sun-Times offices and take a big, juicy dump right on his keyboard.

 

Don't agree with that jagbag. Please. He whines like a crabby chick on PMS. He's a negative creep.

 

Just watch. He's about to write a column about how great the Bears are after they destroyed the Lions even though he had not a single nice thing to say about the Bears during training camp or after the first game. He sucks. And then when the Bears lose again, he'll say they suck. He has no spine. NO SPINE!

 

Mariotti is a fat loser. He's absolutely worthless in this town.

2 points:

Nobody made any real significant moves at the trade deadline. 

 

Our payroll, and those of other Central teams, reflects attendance.  If we supported the team better at the gate, they'd spend more money and the division would be ours to lose every year.

I agree with point one but seriously disagree with the second.

MARIOTTI :finger

 

The thing that really annoys me about him is that he'll basically go in the middle of any team, point out some good things and bad things during the course of the year. And then no matter what happens, he'll be right since he covered every possible scenario imaginable.

All season, Sox fans (myself included) were upset by the lack of respect the Sox were given by the national media.  The "experts" at ESPN would say that the Sox weren't as good as their record would indicate.  Inevitably a thread would start here telling the "experts" to f-off.  Maybe they were right all along.

 

I still like the Sox team.  I think they'll make the playoffs and because they have talented pitchers, they have a chance to win it all.  However, their everyday lineup lacks an impact offensive threat.  I'm not talking statistically (PK has HR numbers, Pods has SBs), but I'm saying there is nobody that an opposing team really has to be careful with.  Unfortunately, they didn't make a move for a guy like Griffey when they had a chance at the deadline.  For what KWilliams was being asked to give up to get Griffey, Burnett, et al, I'm glad he didn't make the move.  I felt that way at the time, and I don't think it's fair to hold him responsible now that the Sox have begun to slide.

 

The "experts" also had us ranked 20th in the pre-season power polls

Marriotti is making assumptions he can't support with any evidence. He's blaming KW for not making a deal at the deadline while arguing that this was the year to bring in reinforcements because our competitors have so many holes and are vulnerable. How come our competitors, especially the Red Sox and Yankees, didn't go out and make the big deals necessary to close their holes? Because there was nothing really available at the deadline. It was a seller's market to the extreme.

 

Even if we had mortgaged the farm for Griffey, he would most likely be on the trainer's table right now like he is in Cincinnati. That would have been a disaster. It's easy for Marriotti to sit back and scream that something should have been done, but how many major league rosters has he assembled? How many conversations has he had with other GM's about making trades? How would Marriotti react if he made what he thought was a generous proposal for a player and the other team told him "no?" It's not that easy Jay.

 

Had the Sox acquired Griffey, you'd better believe Marriotti would be ripping the Sox for taking such a risk and betting a magical season on a player with Griffey's injury history. The only way Marriotti won't rip on this team is if they were to actually win a World Series. If they lost game 7 of a World Series he would rip them for not seizing such a rare opportunity.

Edited September 18, 200520 yr by infohawk