I think we have two different situations, Manny can get moody ( last year the trade request was all because he couldnt go out of his house without people being all over him and his family -it got to him for a few weeks when his children got hassled----it wasnt baseball or team related really) but even then his teammates still all seem to love him and stand by him---nobody has ever said otherwise in the open anyway.... Hillenbrand took potshots at everybody and the whole organization after he left here, it seems something was going on in Toronto also and he is shooting at them as well
His manager in Toronto called him a cancer, nobody has ever said that about Manny---or much of anything bad except a few media people who like to stir the pot
I dont know Im not there------ and I like him as a player -but he sounds like a risk to me---but if some team really needs to plug in some RBIS and the chemistry isnt at issue he may be the guy...
The Chisox now know what it's like to play with a bullseye on your back...'Yeah,yeah,that's nice that you finally brought Chicago a championship last year---now stand up straight while we mop the floor with you'....They lost consecutive series to the Bosox,Yankees,Tigers and then Tom's stRanger's...Now the Red hot Twinkies coming up :blink: ...Not an easy part of the schedule,for sure,but now they're playing the hungriest teams in baseball...Last year,they played like they had nothing to lose,...which they didn't...This year,they have something to lose---the reigning championship....A great test of their mettle....
The D-backs are yesterday's blown save away from sole possession of "I don't want it,here,you take it" first place in the NL West...After finishing June with a 2-14 record ....AL definitely seems like the happenin' league this year....
Who was that Pedro? (not up on my birthdays)----I was within about 45 minutes of Shea yesterday I suppose I should have stppoed in and given him a cupcake.
On a live TV interview a few years ago he was asked if he had any goals that were unrealized and he said " Yea I'd like to F*** Sandra Bullock"
that's hilarious... well... two down to the Yankees with Millwood and Eaton having pitched... where are our bats? of course, it's hard to hit the relievers that are throwing 98 and 99 on the corners and getting the calls... but... we could also beat them next time... stuff happens...
Yea where are your bats ? are they wilting away in the Texas sun? That must be brutal playing there this time of year
.
Ive been on a mini road trip, but its good to see that the Sox have come back from their week of looking like a mediocre high school team and seem to be playing reasonably well again, although these West Coast games are tough to watch that dont start until 10 or 11 my time
When I was younger and more unemployed it was sort of cool to stay up and watch them, now that I am a marginally productive and an older toad Im lucky to make it until the 5th inning. The Sox station has finally figured that out and reruns the games at 6am, which is good but incredibly odd feeling to watch a game that early.........
There are some absolutely ridiculous trade rumors flying around here, which seems to be a pastime with just about anyone about this time of year, the closer the deadline comes the more I think just maybe some tweaking may be in order---but you never know---we will see soon enough
Tis the time of year for trade rumors... Soriano back to the Yankees?
About the only player being steadily included around here is Mench, who has been so streaky that he's being platooned... sort of a catch 22.
Here's four sites from this week's SI that might interest some around here:
baseballcrank.com Obsessed fanand New York City lawyer Dan McLaughlin's blog can be fun ("25 Least-Favorite Mets, Part 1") and thorough (a recent post examined team ERAs, finding that the 2006 Tigers stack up well historically).
sabernomics.com Economic thinking applied to baseball. You'll get statistical analysis on such subjects as why, since pitching coach Leo Mazzone left the Braves for the Orioles, both teams staffs have stunk.
Thehardballtimes.com When one of their writers comes up with a list such as "Ten Things I Didn't Know Last Week" (Frank Robinson has the most walk-off hits of anyone since 1957), odds are you didn't know them either.
whatifsports.com Match up two teams from any era in baseball, football, hockey or college or pro basketball, and get a simulated result. The 1955 Dodgers versus the 2004 Red Sox? Press a button, and the computer provides a winner and full box score.
Twins swept the free-falling Chisox and have caught them in the standings...Yanks are 1/2 game ahead in the AL wild card...My prediction from here on out: Twins are good,but not 34-8 good...The scouts will figure out Liriano and he'll soon find out it's just as easy to lose as it is to win in the majors...Twinkies will be the first to fade---they'll start losing and won't be able to figure out why...
The Yanks won't make the playoffs...They won't go away quietly,but they'll fall short...Bosox will win the division...Chisox will come close,but won't catch Detroit,...but will win the Wildcard...Mark Beuhrle will start giving up less than 11 runs per 9 innings and find the winning formula...stRangers will get some help and win the AL West ....
Gees Tom your a game and a half out, have Kansas City coming up, could conceivably be in first by this time next week and your packin' it in?
I love the practical pessimism of fans who've been around the block a bunch of times, but dont forget to mix in just a tad of faith and hope every once in awhile.---eh you may be right but hang in-this is when its all fun.....
The AL West plays each other so much down the stretch that its bound to stay close and be another exciting finish--anything can happen.Simon's foretelling looks very viable from my seats.
Cool links btw ( as if I needed yet another excuse to stay glued to the keyboard)
I just don't want to jinx them... know what I mean? Let's see if young Jon Daniels does anything... or who knows? ...maybe they'll have a "White Sox Sale" and be in the Series in a year or two... anyone remember that from a couple of years ago?
We really love them. I think we have one of the best infields in baseball... but right now (so far) they've been very average and would more than likely get eaten alive should they make it to the playoffs...
BUT
hope springs eternal... things could start falling right for them... maybe the off day today will help them "get their head right with ball"...
Yeah,whoever said "If you never expect anything,you'll never be disappointed" was probably a baseball fan...I don't remember that White Sox sale,Tom...I do remember them trading off some high end players about 6-8 years ago when they were only about 3 games out---but at the time were also hovering around .500....
One thing I'll note here is that even if your team record is not that great and you still make the playoffs,if you have two dominant pitchers you can really cause some trouble in the post-season....The D-backs were only 92-70 when they won the world series---not that great of a season record,BUT,they had the Johnson/Schilling factor....You get more days off in the playoffs,so your starters can start more games...Like,if the season were to end next week,I think the most fearsome team would be Minnesota,because of their two dominant starters...With the extra travel days,they can start 3-4 games in a short series and 4-5 games in a 7 game series...
maybe if we get a bat... and Millwood stays Millwood, and Padilla keeps pitching well, and if Eaton rounds into form that'll be just like getting a pitcher, and if Kam Loe comes back from his injury...
The bullpen's good (most times)... if Jon Daniels will go get us a bat (Vernon Wells?) we just might make a go of it...
The Milwaukee Brewers are trading slugger Carlos Lee to the Texas Rangers as part of a multiplayer deal, ESPN.com learned Friday.
The Brewers are sending Lee, minor league outfield prospect Nelson Cruz to the Rangers for relief pitcher Francisco Cordero and outfielders Kevin Mench and Laynce Nix.
Maybe Cordero will find himself, Mench has been platooning and streaky, Nix hasn't been able to stick with the big team... it's interesting that these are all players Doug Melvin drafted when he was Texas' GM... so he knows them...
And Lee's numbers look pretty good... I'd say it looks like Cordero and Mench for Lee and Nix for Cruz... my sources also say we'll throw in minor league lefty Julian Cordero.
A deal that serves both teams... did we over pay? ...probably, we're the buyers. Good luck to Coco and Shrek.
Well hope that works out for you--didnt you just say you wanted a bat?
ask and ye shall.....
I was wanting some pitching, but Im toning it down a bit , theres about $20Million worth on the DL (David Wells, Matt Clement, and Keith Foulke) who should be coming off soon and hopefully they'll able to contribute something. With all the good young talent the Sox have coming up I dont want to see anything too risky done like '03's Freddy Sanchez, (who now leads the NL with .351) for Jeff Suppan who only made a handful of mediocre starts. The Sox a bright future and are positioned pretty well right now to toss too much away in a sellers market
If we got a speed guy who could be counted on to come off the bench and steal a base when needed in the late innings, and maybe a consistant lefty bat off the bench I'd be content--but at this point one never knows
I meant that Melvin had drafted Mench and Nix (at least I'm pretty sure)... Cordero came from Detroit in the Juando deal...
Buck is already saying he's going to play Cruz in RF tomorrow...
Wells needs to come back... he's money in the playoffs... I forget the exact numbers but, if I'm not mistaken, he's got some of the all time best playoff stats...
Yea well -we will see---I know he is a money type of pitcher--- or at least was --he is 43 now and battling some seriously bad knees. He tried to comeback in May, and the very first time out took a cannon shot square off his bad kneecap, which downed him for another 2 1/2 months. You could be right(lets hope so)-- the brains are putting him out there Monday without any rehab starts, so they may know something that I dont( or maybe they are just tired of bringing some one new up every week to make one start) I'd love to see him return to his old form , but in the last year and a half he has been sporadic.
he probably could've prolonged his career a little bit (or been more sucessful these last couple of years) if he'd gotten in shape... I guess he never was "in shape" was he? coming back w/o any rehab starts? I assume he's been at least pitching 'simulated' games (whatever those are)...
I have the game on now... bottom of the first... Lee is DHing... standing O... WTF... sheesh... just kind of makes me chuckle... but folks here are hungry... and a little giddy...
no... it was a young guy... Luke Hudson, 29, 6'3", 195 and until tonight 2-3 with a 5.17 ERA... only 31;1 innings though with an amazing 16 BB to 19 KO ratio!
It was a total team effort tonight... three errors, listless bats, Padilla getting hit like he was throwing BP in the second... well... there's tomorrow, you're gonna have one of those games every once in a while...
Yea thats baseball----thats life---even against KC.....Sox were up 2-1 in the 7th and looking good, then unraveled in middle relief*, although I should give the Angels some credit, who played well.
I was hoping while they were in town, they could cross the river to MIT, get some scientists together and finally research the answer to how many Angels could dance on the head of a pin, but it looks like they came to play and deeper theological issues will just have to wait
*if its not a 'relief' to see these guys come in shouldnt they be called something else?
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kimberly
I missed the LLWS. The boy had baseball practice 4-7. Playing in a USSSA tournament this coming weekend. The new season has just started. Can ya'll believe we are in September of the ML baseball s
mstar1
Dont scare me like that Bolsh--the way you posted I wasnt sure if it was a done deal--I had to go check....Im on the fence whether to go for Halliday or not---I'd love to have him but I'd hate to give
hiway29
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mstar1
You talking about Manny?
I think we have two different situations, Manny can get moody ( last year the trade request was all because he couldnt go out of his house without people being all over him and his family -it got to him for a few weeks when his children got hassled----it wasnt baseball or team related really) but even then his teammates still all seem to love him and stand by him---nobody has ever said otherwise in the open anyway.... Hillenbrand took potshots at everybody and the whole organization after he left here, it seems something was going on in Toronto also and he is shooting at them as well
His manager in Toronto called him a cancer, nobody has ever said that about Manny---or much of anything bad except a few media people who like to stir the pot
I dont know Im not there------ and I like him as a player -but he sounds like a risk to me---but if some team really needs to plug in some RBIS and the chemistry isnt at issue he may be the guy...
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Tom Strange
nope... not Manny... the one I'm referring to couldn't decide which team to play for in the "World" championship (whatever it was called)...
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simonzelotes
The Chisox now know what it's like to play with a bullseye on your back...'Yeah,yeah,that's nice that you finally brought Chicago a championship last year---now stand up straight while we mop the floor with you'....They lost consecutive series to the Bosox,Yankees,Tigers and then Tom's stRanger's...Now the Red hot Twinkies coming up :blink: ...Not an easy part of the schedule,for sure,but now they're playing the hungriest teams in baseball...Last year,they played like they had nothing to lose,...which they didn't...This year,they have something to lose---the reigning championship....A great test of their mettle....
The D-backs are yesterday's blown save away from sole possession of "I don't want it,here,you take it" first place in the NL West...After finishing June with a 2-14 record
....AL definitely seems like the happenin' league this year....
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Tom Strange
tee hee simontheloaded! we be on espeen tonight... dangit! Millwood just gave up back to back two out triples... only one run though... damp yankees!
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Tom Strange
starman, did you light a candle and eat a piece of cake for the birthday boy today? (even though he's moved on)
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mstar1
Who was that Pedro? (not up on my birthdays)----I was within about 45 minutes of Shea yesterday I suppose I should have stppoed in and given him a cupcake.
On a live TV interview a few years ago he was asked if he had any goals that were unrealized and he said " Yea I'd like to F*** Sandra Bullock"
Oops
-I spit my drink all over the TV
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Tom Strange
that's hilarious... well... two down to the Yankees with Millwood and Eaton having pitched... where are our bats? of course, it's hard to hit the relievers that are throwing 98 and 99 on the corners and getting the calls... but... we could also beat them next time... stuff happens...
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mstar1
Yea where are your bats ? are they wilting away in the Texas sun? That must be brutal playing there this time of year
.
Ive been on a mini road trip, but its good to see that the Sox have come back from their week of looking like a mediocre high school team and seem to be playing reasonably well again, although these West Coast games are tough to watch that dont start until 10 or 11 my time
When I was younger and more unemployed it was sort of cool to stay up and watch them, now that I am a marginally productive and an older toad Im lucky to make it until the 5th inning. The Sox station has finally figured that out and reruns the games at 6am, which is good but incredibly odd feeling to watch a game that early.........
There are some absolutely ridiculous trade rumors flying around here, which seems to be a pastime with just about anyone about this time of year, the closer the deadline comes the more I think just maybe some tweaking may be in order---but you never know---we will see soon enough
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Tom Strange
Tis the time of year for trade rumors... Soriano back to the Yankees?
About the only player being steadily included around here is Mench, who has been so streaky that he's being platooned... sort of a catch 22.
Here's four sites from this week's SI that might interest some around here:
baseballcrank.com Obsessed fanand New York City lawyer Dan McLaughlin's blog can be fun ("25 Least-Favorite Mets, Part 1") and thorough (a recent post examined team ERAs, finding that the 2006 Tigers stack up well historically).
sabernomics.com Economic thinking applied to baseball. You'll get statistical analysis on such subjects as why, since pitching coach Leo Mazzone left the Braves for the Orioles, both teams staffs have stunk.
Thehardballtimes.com When one of their writers comes up with a list such as "Ten Things I Didn't Know Last Week" (Frank Robinson has the most walk-off hits of anyone since 1957), odds are you didn't know them either.
whatifsports.com Match up two teams from any era in baseball, football, hockey or college or pro basketball, and get a simulated result. The 1955 Dodgers versus the 2004 Red Sox? Press a button, and the computer provides a winner and full box score.
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simonzelotes
Twins swept the free-falling Chisox and have caught them in the standings...Yanks are 1/2 game ahead in the AL wild card...My prediction from here on out: Twins are good,but not 34-8 good...The scouts will figure out Liriano and he'll soon find out it's just as easy to lose as it is to win in the majors...Twinkies will be the first to fade---they'll start losing and won't be able to figure out why...
The Yanks won't make the playoffs...They won't go away quietly,but they'll fall short...Bosox will win the division...Chisox will come close,but won't catch Detroit,...but will win the Wildcard...Mark Beuhrle will start giving up less than 11 runs per 9 innings and find the winning formula...stRangers will get some help and win the AL West
....
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Tom Strange
"stRangers will get some help and win the AL West"... son, pass that over here!
I was all set to write "stRangers will stay just close enough to keep us interested until the last week... when the Angels will win the division"...
...but I can only hope you're right my brother...
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mstar1
Gees Tom your a game and a half out, have Kansas City coming up, could conceivably be in first by this time next week and your packin' it in?
The AL West plays each other so much down the stretch that its bound to stay close and be another exciting finish--anything can happen.Simon's foretelling looks very viable from my seats.
Cool links btw ( as if I needed yet another excuse to stay glued to the keyboard)
..since you are passing one around.......
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Tom Strange
I just don't want to jinx them... know what I mean? Let's see if young Jon Daniels does anything... or who knows? ...maybe they'll have a "White Sox Sale" and be in the Series in a year or two... anyone remember that from a couple of years ago?
We really love them. I think we have one of the best infields in baseball... but right now (so far) they've been very average and would more than likely get eaten alive should they make it to the playoffs...
BUT
hope springs eternal... things could start falling right for them... maybe the off day today will help them "get their head right with ball"...
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simonzelotes
Yeah,whoever said "If you never expect anything,you'll never be disappointed" was probably a baseball fan...I don't remember that White Sox sale,Tom...I do remember them trading off some high end players about 6-8 years ago when they were only about 3 games out---but at the time were also hovering around .500....
One thing I'll note here is that even if your team record is not that great and you still make the playoffs,if you have two dominant pitchers you can really cause some trouble in the post-season....The D-backs were only 92-70 when they won the world series---not that great of a season record,BUT,they had the Johnson/Schilling factor....You get more days off in the playoffs,so your starters can start more games...Like,if the season were to end next week,I think the most fearsome team would be Minnesota,because of their two dominant starters...With the extra travel days,they can start 3-4 games in a short series and 4-5 games in a 7 game series...
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Tom Strange
maybe if we get a bat... and Millwood stays Millwood, and Padilla keeps pitching well, and if Eaton rounds into form that'll be just like getting a pitcher, and if Kam Loe comes back from his injury...
The bullpen's good (most times)... if Jon Daniels will go get us a bat (Vernon Wells?) we just might make a go of it...
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Tom Strange
Here's the bat we wanted...
Maybe Cordero will find himself, Mench has been platooning and streaky, Nix hasn't been able to stick with the big team... it's interesting that these are all players Doug Melvin drafted when he was Texas' GM... so he knows them...
And Lee's numbers look pretty good... I'd say it looks like Cordero and Mench for Lee and Nix for Cruz... my sources also say we'll throw in minor league lefty Julian Cordero.
A deal that serves both teams... did we over pay? ...probably, we're the buyers. Good luck to Coco and Shrek.
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mstar1
Well hope that works out for you--didnt you just say you wanted a bat?
ask and ye shall.....
I was wanting some pitching, but Im toning it down a bit , theres about $20Million worth on the DL (David Wells, Matt Clement, and Keith Foulke) who should be coming off soon and hopefully they'll able to contribute something. With all the good young talent the Sox have coming up I dont want to see anything too risky done like '03's Freddy Sanchez, (who now leads the NL with .351) for Jeff Suppan who only made a handful of mediocre starts. The Sox a bright future and are positioned pretty well right now to toss too much away in a sellers market
If we got a speed guy who could be counted on to come off the bench and steal a base when needed in the late innings, and maybe a consistant lefty bat off the bench I'd be content--but at this point one never knows
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Tom Strange
I meant that Melvin had drafted Mench and Nix (at least I'm pretty sure)... Cordero came from Detroit in the Juando deal...
Buck is already saying he's going to play Cruz in RF tomorrow...
Wells needs to come back... he's money in the playoffs... I forget the exact numbers but, if I'm not mistaken, he's got some of the all time best playoff stats...
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mstar1
Yea well -we will see---I know he is a money type of pitcher--- or at least was --he is 43 now and battling some seriously bad knees. He tried to comeback in May, and the very first time out took a cannon shot square off his bad kneecap, which downed him for another 2 1/2 months. You could be right(lets hope so)-- the brains are putting him out there Monday without any rehab starts, so they may know something that I dont( or maybe they are just tired of bringing some one new up every week to make one start) I'd love to see him return to his old form , but in the last year and a half he has been sporadic.
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Tom Strange
he probably could've prolonged his career a little bit (or been more sucessful these last couple of years) if he'd gotten in shape... I guess he never was "in shape" was he? coming back w/o any rehab starts? I assume he's been at least pitching 'simulated' games (whatever those are)...
I have the game on now... bottom of the first... Lee is DHing... standing O... WTF... sheesh... just kind of makes me chuckle... but folks here are hungry... and a little giddy...
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Tom Strange
Who is this freaking Hudson pitching for the Royals? Tonight he looks like Cy Young!
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mstar1
What is he about 140 years old?
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Tom Strange
no... it was a young guy... Luke Hudson, 29, 6'3", 195 and until tonight 2-3 with a 5.17 ERA... only 31;1 innings though with an amazing 16 BB to 19 KO ratio!
It was a total team effort tonight... three errors, listless bats, Padilla getting hit like he was throwing BP in the second... well... there's tomorrow, you're gonna have one of those games every once in a while...
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mstar1
Yea thats baseball----thats life---even against KC.....Sox were up 2-1 in the 7th and looking good, then unraveled in middle relief*, although I should give the Angels some credit, who played well.
I was hoping while they were in town, they could cross the river to MIT, get some scientists together and finally research the answer to how many Angels could dance on the head of a pin, but it looks like they came to play and deeper theological issues will just have to wait
*if its not a 'relief' to see these guys come in shouldnt they be called something else?
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