They haven't even thrown the first drunk out at the Cell. Plenty of new faces around the team who are still trying to gel. Plenty of exciting baseball yet to be played.

 

If you want to be negative, there is a trhead for that. If you want to point out the birth mark on Cindy Crawford, the posts will be moved to the appropriate thread.

 

Let's have one place to go to feel better about this team.

Things will be better soon

I hope AJ keeps hitting. He looks like a completely different batter. He was one of the guys that needed to improve this year.

 

Now if we can get Quentin or Anderson in there, move Ramirez to 2B while dropping Uribe, then swap Fields with Crede, our lineup becomes pretty solid 1-9.

 

BTW, AJ currently leads the league in batting and Thome leads in HRs. YES!

Edited April 3, 200818 yr by RME JICO

If you only enjoy baseball when you're team is winning or a front runner, you might as well be a Yankess fan, and they only win the WS about 25% of the time, with the Sox you have less than a 1% chance.

 

I love watching Thome hit a couple homeruns, his arm extension just looks awesome to me. I like the personalities on this team. I wish I was back in Chicago more for games. I can spend an afternoon watching my college team play and have a great time, win or lose.

 

I'm hoping Crede plays well, and that Fields has a chance to play, I think he's going to be great. So no matter what happens, I'm happy. Those that have taken up sides, like Hatfield and McCoys will only be happy if "their guy" is starting.

I like the way Cabrera has been playing thus far.

I'm actually excited to see the development of Danks this season, as hopefully he can become a consistent member of the starting rotation for the next 5 seasons.

Nick Swisher is on the team.

I hope AJ keeps hitting. He looks like a completely different batter. He was one of the guys that needed to improve this year.

 

Now if we can get Quentin or Anderson in there, move Ramirez to 2B while dropping Uribe, then swap Fields with Crede, our lineup becomes pretty solid 1-9.

 

BTW, AJ currently leads the league in batting and Thome leads in HRs. YES!

Still, if I ever see AJ strike out on that damn uppercut swing with the bases loaded or runners on 2nd and 3rd, I'm gonna go Michael Barrett on his ass.

 

That being said, AJ is a .300 hitter when he wants to be.

Still, if I ever see AJ strike out on that damn uppercut swing with the bases loaded or runners on 2nd and 3rd, I'm gonna go Michael Barrett on his ass.

 

That being said, AJ is a .300 hitter when he wants to be.

 

They commented on the radio broadcast yesterday that AJ wanted to "lead the league in hitting" this year. That may be a bit of a stretch, but hopefully it shows where his focus is going to be.

They commented on the radio broadcast yesterday that AJ wanted to "lead the league in hitting" this year. That may be a bit of a stretch, but hopefully it shows where his focus is going to be.

From my observations, when he makes a deliberate attempt to hit for more power, his batting average drops considerably. I'd rather have the AJ who hits .317 with 12 HRs than the AJ who hits .253 with 22 HRs.

They commented on the radio broadcast yesterday that AJ wanted to "lead the league in hitting" this year. That may be a bit of a stretch, but hopefully it shows where his focus is going to be.

He is, mission accomplished.

Things will be better soon

probably as soon as we leave cleveland.

Positives today already:

 

John Danks.

 

 

 

Sub-positives:

Rebuilt bullpen works. Dotel, Linebrink both with good outings.

Uribe and Crede both hitting a little bit.

Wonderful game today. Even "watching" from CBS sportsline was exciting.

Positives today already:

 

John Danks.

Sub-positives:

Rebuilt bullpen works.

 

Yep, these are going to be key this year. Danks being able to anchor the middle of the rotation and the long relief being able to step up when needed will be necessary for the Sox to be playoff material. That and Contreras having a halfway decent season.

 

Oh, and the Sox just won.

Edited April 3, 200818 yr by WCSox

I hope AJ keeps hitting. He looks like a completely different batter. He was one of the guys that needed to improve this year.

If he continues to swing with a contact swing as opposed to his balls-to-the-wall-HR-or-nothing swing, he can be a good offensive player. It's when he just swings for the fences that his offensive game really drops.

Danks only threw 87 pitches when he left the game, had he hypothetically gotten the one out he was pulled for, he probably could've cruised thru another inning.

Danks only threw 87 pitches when he left the game, had he hypothetically gotten the one out he was pulled for, he probably could've cruised thru another inning.

 

Stone said Danks looked tired, and was starting to leave the ball up. It was a good idea to get him outta there.

Stone said Danks looked tired, and was starting to leave the ball up. It was a good idea to get him outta there.

Ah, the benefits of actually being able to see the game.

Stone said Danks looked tired, and was starting to leave the ball up. It was a good idea to get him outta there.

 

Gameday pitch locations agreed with Stone. He looked like he was losing some control out there.

Stone said Danks looked tired, and was starting to leave the ball up. It was a good idea to get him outta there.

 

Yeah, you definately wanted to make sure the kid didn't lose that game. You had to build his confidence and leave him on as high of a note as possible.

I'm amazed that Danks doesn't hate this team based on the way they sabotaged the otherwise respectable start to his career both offensively and defensively in every way possible.

If he continues to swing with a contact swing as opposed to his balls-to-the-wall-HR-or-nothing swing, he can be a good offensive player. It's when he just swings for the fences that his offensive game really drops.

I was saying the same thing to Zoom today...

I was saying the same thing to Zoom today...

And me, a couple hours ago in this thread

Yeah, you definately wanted to make sure the kid didn't lose that game. You had to build his confidence and leave him on as high of a note as possible.

 

Yep. It's a little worrisome to me that he's tiring after 80 pitches, but he's still pretty young and it's only his second MLB season. I think it's going to be really important to try to keep him around 90 pitches or so a game this year, so he can build up stamina gradually, and to keep his confidence high. It's also really obvious that he's going to have to have very good control to keep his pitch count low, otherwise he'll be gone after 5 almost every game.