February 21, 201115 yr http://sports.espn.go.com/chicago/mlb/news/story?id=6144985 Alex Rios likes White Sox's chancesEmail Print Comments By Doug Padilla ESPNChicago.com Archive GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Call it confidence in his teammates or some brash bravado -- some might call it a little bit of disrespect to the Minnesota Twins -- but Chicago White Sox center fielder Alex Rios said Monday that the White Sox are the cream of the crop in the American League Central. "Oh yeah, definitely," Rios said during his first day in camp. "We're the team to beat. We have good additions to the team. The core is solid, and with the additions, we're even stronger. I think we're going to give a hard time to a lot of people out there." Adding Adam Dunn and signing Jesse Crain away from the defending division champion Twins certainly lends credence to the perception that the White Sox could be the division favorites. But the Twins have experience at turning quiet winters into continued success. They know how to win, often with in-house talent. Manager Ozzie Guillen might be brash at times, but he has consistently shown plenty of respect to the Twins. "Never count those guys out; I never do," Guillen said Sunday. "We have a great division, a very, very tough division. Those guys still have the big boys [Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau], [Carl] Pavano signed back with them, they still have [Denard] Span and [Danny] Valencia. The ballclub is still there. Don't count those guys out because they will figure out how to win games. "But like I said, I'll take my chances with this ballclub. I think we have a pretty good ballclub and they're anxious to be on the field. I don't have to worry about the Twins or Detroit or Kansas City or anybody. I have to worry about the White Sox and make sure we do the best we can to get those guys going." Doug Padilla covers the White Sox for ESPNChicago.com and ESPN 1000.
February 21, 201115 yr Good. Hopefully the entire team will embrace this thought especially when traveling to Minneapolis.
February 21, 201115 yr This team needs to have a kickass mentality this year. They need to convince themselves that the Twins are s*** and they are THE s***. No more friendly talk about the Twins and how they're this well-runned organization. When you embrace your rival that much, something is wrong. You don't hear the same stuff from the Twins about the Sox.
February 21, 201115 yr QUOTE (chw42 @ Feb 21, 2011 -> 03:12 PM) This team needs to have a kickass mentality this year. They need to convince themselves that the Twins are s*** and they are THE s***. No more friendly talk about the Twins and how they're this well-runned organization. When you embrace your rival that much, something is wrong. You don't hear the same stuff from the Twins about the Sox. I somehow doubt that mindset will change this year. Ozzie, Hawk, and Paulie are still here.
February 21, 201115 yr The Sox #1 goal this season (aside from the obvious goal of winning games) should be to win the season series against the Twins. Had they won it last year, they would have been in the playoffs. They shouldn't be happy with anything less than 10 wins against the Twins. I think Dunn is going to have a big influence on that too. Having him in the middle of the lineup, as opposed to Mark Kotsay, should have a pretty profound effect on the entire team.
February 21, 201115 yr The pitching was the reason the sox didn't make the playoffs last year. The dh position had very minimal/nothing to do with it. Come on. Get with it.
February 21, 201115 yr QUOTE (chw42 @ Feb 21, 2011 -> 03:12 PM) This team needs to have a kickass mentality this year. They need to convince themselves that the Twins are s*** and they are THE s***. No more friendly talk about the Twins and how they're this well-runned organization. When you embrace your rival that much, something is wrong. You don't hear the same stuff from the Twins about the Sox. If Lovie Smith ever went on and on about how well run the Packers were, even 1/100th of how much Ozzie strokes the Twins, it would be considered a fireable offense by 99.99% of Bears fans. For some reason White Sox fans have tolerated the White Sox stroking of the Minnesota organization for years. 2011 needs to be the year it stops.
February 21, 201115 yr QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Feb 21, 2011 -> 03:48 PM) If Lovie Smith ever went on and on about how well run the Packers were, even 1/100th of how much Ozzie strokes the Twins, it would be considered a fireable offense by 99.99% of Bears fans. For some reason White Sox fans have tolerated the White Sox stroking of the Minnesota organization for years. 2011 needs to be the year it stops. When the voice of the organization, Hawk, does the same then of course it's tolerated by most fans.
February 21, 201115 yr QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Feb 21, 2011 -> 03:49 PM) When the voice of the organization, Hawk, does the same then of course it's tolerated by most fans. The entire organization's perception of the Minnesota Twins has to change. No one will ever convince me they haven't lost series in Minneapolis the last several years before one pitch was thrown.
February 21, 201115 yr QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Feb 21, 2011 -> 03:16 PM) The Sox #1 goal this season (aside from the obvious goal of winning games) should be to win the season series against the Twins. Had they won it last year, they would have been in the playoffs. They shouldn't be happy with anything less than 10 wins against the Twins. I think Dunn is going to have a big influence on that too. Having him in the middle of the lineup, as opposed to Mark Kotsay, should have a pretty profound effect on the entire team. This is the biggest thing they need to do in my opinion. I feel they NEED to win the head to head against Minnesota. It's crucial to dominiate in the AL Central games as well, not just the Twins.
February 21, 201115 yr Author QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Feb 21, 2011 -> 03:48 PM) If Lovie Smith ever went on and on about how well run the Packers were, even 1/100th of how much Ozzie strokes the Twins, it would be considered a fireable offense by 99.99% of Bears fans. For some reason White Sox fans have tolerated the White Sox stroking of the Minnesota organization for years. 2011 needs to be the year it stops. Sox fans aren't the meatheads that Bears fans can be. We can accept the truth.
February 21, 201115 yr QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Feb 21, 2011 -> 04:53 PM) Sox fans aren't the meatheads that Bears fans can be. We can accept the truth. This.
February 21, 201115 yr Mutha f***ing right Alex. I'm glad that SOMEBODY has the balls in that organization to say what needs to be said. That's what I'm talking about. I'm telling you - this is the year where the Sox dominate the twins. I can feel it. They won't be an issue by the end of the season.
February 21, 201115 yr Maybe it's just me but the Twins are the AL Central winners and that makes them the team to beat. That said...it would be very nice to see the whole team grab that attitude and hold on. I'd like to play Minnesota and not be sick to my stomach with nerves the whole weekend.
February 21, 201115 yr QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Feb 21, 2011 -> 05:53 PM) Sox fans aren't the meatheads that Bears fans can be. We can accept the truth. There's a difference in accepting the truth and just downright idolizing the competition.
February 21, 201115 yr QUOTE (juddling @ Feb 21, 2011 -> 06:34 PM) Maybe it's just me but the Twins are the AL Central winners and that makes them the team to beat. That said...it would be very nice to see the whole team grab that attitude and hold on. I'd like to play Minnesota and not be sick to my stomach with nerves the whole weekend. I haven't been sick to my stomach playing the Twins in a long time. I just expect them to lose (as does the team), and it just happens.
February 22, 201115 yr QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Feb 21, 2011 -> 04:53 PM) Sox fans aren't the meatheads that Bears fans can be. We can accept the truth. So you think Minnesota is great and should be destroying the Sox every time they go to Minneapolis? I read on this very board how the Twins would lose their home field advantage moving outside. It didn't improve the White Sox results. The attitude towards the Twins needs to change or the results will not.
February 22, 201115 yr Love this. I'm tired of the fear (yes, fear) this organization has of the Twins. Respect is ok, I respect what the Twins do as an organization. But you can't be afraid of them like we seem to be, Instead, show some confidence and belief that you're absolutely better than them. This is a good start. I'm not normally into stuff like this quite honestly, but the Sox need an attitude like this in regard to the Twins because what we've been doing (sucking an unmetionable body part of theirs at every turn) hasn't been working at all! Edited February 22, 201115 yr by whitesoxfan101
February 22, 201115 yr QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ Feb 21, 2011 -> 06:51 PM) I haven't been sick to my stomach playing the Twins in a long time. I just expect them to lose (as does the team), and it just happens. Pretty much. In the past 10 seasons, we've had a winning record against the Twins...once (2005). We're 11-25 against them the past two seasons.
February 22, 201115 yr Author QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Feb 21, 2011 -> 06:07 PM) So you think Minnesota is great and should be destroying the Sox every time they go to Minneapolis? I read on this very board how the Twins would lose their home field advantage moving outside. It didn't improve the White Sox results. The attitude towards the Twins needs to change or the results will not. Who in the White Sox organization said that the Sox should be getting destroyed by Minnesota?
February 22, 201115 yr QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Feb 21, 2011 -> 03:48 PM) If Lovie Smith ever went on and on about how well run the Packers were, even 1/100th of how much Ozzie strokes the Twins, it would be considered a fireable offense by 99.99% of Bears fans. For some reason White Sox fans have tolerated the White Sox stroking of the Minnesota organization for years. 2011 needs to be the year it stops. Yeah! I don't view the Twins with respect I view them with disgust. I wish our team did too. Hats off to them after the season but during? I do wish the Sox players would stop talking about how good the Sox are, just do it on the field.
February 22, 201115 yr QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Feb 21, 2011 -> 04:53 PM) Sox fans aren't the meatheads that Bears fans can be. We can accept the truth. There's a difference between giving credit where credit is due and giving them a blowjob whenever they possibly can.
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