Why didn't you start a thread about Ozzie's tirade then? You can say he gets no credit but I'm sure if you started a thread praising Ozzie for getting the Starting Pitching going the majority of the board would have been right with you in heaping praise upon him. Sometimes you have to take the initiative, you better believe if Ozzie f***s up someone is going to be right there to b**** about it within a few minutes of the incident so when he does something positive like this the exact same should be done. Make an attempt to counteract the negative discussion with some positive news.

Um... I did point out the positive. I wasn't the one to point it out originally in this case (Rock was), but I agreed. I was supportive of him kicking a little ass in the clubhouse. Is that not an attempt?

 

And yes, I did add the negative part about the Ozzie bashers. I think some people just bash everything he does. That's pretty much what I was pointing out.

 

If it makes you feel better, next time I see something Ozzie does specifically that I really think was a positive for the team, I'll start a new thread. We'll see how many posts it takes for me to be told I defend Ozzie blindly and all the time, that whatever happened must be due to anything other than him, and that I shouldn't bother starting whole new threads just because of one thing Ozzie did right.

 

/jaded

Small sample sizes and no control means that you can't really say for sure one way or the other.

 

I'm thrilled with the last 5 starts by our pitchers, but let's wait until they face some quality hitting teams before we say they've turned the corner. By that means though, it's very nice to be at 4-4 when you take into account how bad our hitting has been. Rock and I don't agree on much, but we both pointed out yesterday that we just have to find a way to win some of these games with our pitching overcoming our hitting.

Eh...If it worked cause of Ozzie...great. If it worked cause of something else...great. Now if it was Ozzie...please b**** about our hitting to the papers as well.

No way I'm gonna annoit Ozzie as the king of problem solvers just because he was pissed our pitching sucked, yelled about it, and now its alot better....it was against one of the best hitting teams in baseball, and since then, we've gone out and faced a couple of pretty ineffective offenses, therefore making our pitching look that much better.

 

But I WILL give Oz all the credit in the world for standing up and pretty much telling our pitchers to man the f*** up already, and quilt throwing like its Spring Training. But all the talk in the world doesn't make Garlands sinker start sinking more, or Joses splitter dive harder...c'mon guys.

I've said it before and I'll say it again.

 

Ozzie is not a great in-game manager by any stretch of the imagination. He is often out-smarted by the moves other managers make, and does not always put his team in the best position to win.

 

But that's not why Ozzie was brought in. Ozzie was brought in because Jerry Manuel was managing perhaps the most lackadasical, uncaring team of ballplayers I've ever seen. They had no fight in them. They never seemed to have any balls. When a big game appeared, they'd fold.

 

Ozzie's job is to keep a fire lit under this team. In 2004-2005, it worked pretty darn well all things considered. The team went from being asleep to actually looking like they were playing hungry and took advantage of the talent they had.

 

In 06, they seemed to regress some. Lots of sitting back and waiting for the long ball. Very few cases where people manned up. Even when something big happened, like JD's home run off Nathan to tie the game, the team didn't get fired up, went scoreless for 3 more innings and lost.

 

Suddenly, we're looking like we might have some guts again. Garland stranding a runner at 3rd after a leadoff triple. Coming back against Oakland's bullpen yesterday. And the pitching staff responding here.

 

Ozzie's skill is as a motivator, not as a game-manager. He damn well better be able to have some success with the occasional rant, or there's no reason at all to keep him.

Um... I did point out the positive. I wasn't the one to point it out originally in this case (Rock was), but I agreed. I was supportive of him kicking a little ass in the clubhouse. Is that not an attempt?

 

And yes, I did add the negative part about the Ozzie bashers. I think some people just bash everything he does. That's pretty much what I was pointing out.

 

If it makes you feel better, next time I see something Ozzie does specifically that I really think was a positive for the team, I'll start a new thread. We'll see how many posts it takes for me to be told I defend Ozzie blindly and all the time, that whatever happened must be due to anything other than him, and that I shouldn't bother starting whole new threads just because of one thing Ozzie did right.

 

/jaded

How 'bout this. You blindly support Ozzie about as much as I blindly hate on Ozzie.

NorthSideSox72 and Kalapse create an Ozzie Equilibrium.

.

NorthSideSox72 and Kalapse create an Ozzie Equilibrium.

.

I almost peed a little there.

I almost peed a little there.

Sorry.

I wear adult diapers

I wear adult diapers

So do Fighter pilots.

So do Fighter pilots.

And astronauts.

And astronauts.

and psycho's on road trips.

I this thread.

 

How 'bout this. You blindly support Ozzie about as much as I blindly hate on Ozzie.

 

Fair enough.