Sunday, May 23, 2004
White Sox Times Archive April, 2004
4/30/2004
Game Postponed, Doubleheader Tomorrow
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* General
— Charles Rector @ 11:43 pm
Well, the White Sox/Blue Jays game tonight was postponed because of rain. There will be a doubleheader tomorrow, weather permitting. As it happens, there are other matters worthy of discussion here.
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Editors Can Be Just As Bad As Moderators And Others
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* General
— Charles Rector @ 5:10 am
From my experience, editors of internet news/reviews websites are often just as bad as many forum moderators. This is most interesting since my experience with editors in the offline world has generally been fairly positive. Guess that’s what the anonymity of the internet has led to: greatly lowered standards of the way that you treat people.
An example of this poor behavior by internet website editors was furnished by the editor of the Chicago Sports Review website after I sent him the following submission via E-Mail on March 23rd, 2004:
The Chicago Blackhawks Coaching Situation
Following the end of this season, the Chicago Blackhawks have at least one and perhaps two important decision(s) to make. Should Coach Brian Sutter, whose contract expires at the end of this season, be rehired? If not, then who should his successor be?
In this writer’s opinion, renewing Sutter’s contract is the best option. Sutter knows the team and is totally committed to hockey on a 24/7 basis. True, this season’s record has been one of the worst in Blackhawks history since Arthur Wirtz bought the club in 1954. However, this was caused by team management’s decision to blow up the team and the resulting flurry of trades combined with constantly sending players up and down the Hawks system has resulted in a constantly changing roster. Pretty difficult to win under those circumstances. However, unlike the Bulls, the Hawks have never quit and have kept on trying under Sutter’s firm hand. Another reason to retain Sutter is that he has finally found a way to keep Tyler Arnason fully motivated and playing solid hockey. Under a new coach, there is the possiblity that Arnason will revert to his old apathetic self and slack off. Perhaps the best reason is that in between Brian Sutter’s tenure (2001-) and that of his brother Darryl (1992-1995), the Hawks coaches were a muddle of mediocrity and given the state of Hawks management, its all too possible that a born loser will be Sutter’s successor.
However, if the Hawks do drop Sutter, there is a path that it should not take. This is hiring the coach of the Hawks primary minor league affiliate the Norfolk Admirals, Trent Yawney. Yawney is a minor league coach whose teams have been quite successful in the regular season, but not in the postseason. The minor league postseason is rather more intense than the regular season in much the same way that the NHL regular season is more intense than the minor league regular season. If a coach can’t make it in the postseason at the minor league level, then its a sure sign that he can’t make it in a NHL regular season.
Now, if the Admirals were to succeed in winning the American Hockey League championship this season, then that would be proof positive that he’s the man that the Hawks need as head coach. Until then, Yawney’s just another minor league coach and as such unfit to coach the Blackhawks.
Instead, the Hawks should consider hiring one of the assistant coaches, such as fan favorite Denis Savard, or someone who’s a proven head coach at either the NHL or college levels. One example is the head coach of the University of North Dakota, Dean Blais, who as the UND athletic department website put it, “The winningest active coach in NCAA Division I hockey. If the Hawks choose to take a post-Sutter road, it should be with a coach who is capable of bringing the young Hawks into contention for the NHL Central Division.
Upon reading this piece, can you see anything terribly wrong with it outside of the fact that it has nothing to do with the Chicago White Sox? Well, the editor of the CSR did, but he failed to at least email me that it was rejected. After waiting for a week for a response, I emailed him for what the article’s status was. He never replied. Several days later, I emailed him again on whether the article would be accepted or not, and he ignored that too. In the meantime, I wrote another piece about the White Sox and submitted it to him and never even received an acknowledgement that he had received it.
While this was going on, the CSR editor posted on a White Sox fan forum that he was looking for writers for his website to cover the Cubs and Sox this season. He also claimed that the CSR was a great opportunity for aspiring sportswriters.
After some hesitation on my part, I responded by informing the rest of the forum about the way that the CSR editor treated his writers by using myself as an example. The editor then responded by claiming among other things, that I am a “below average writer that has no logical basis to anything you say.” This from an editor who had published 2 of my submitted pieces, one of which was virtually word for word identical to what I had originally submitted.
As it happens, the CSR editor did not offer any explanations for why he did not at
least inform me that the piece on the Blackhawks was rejected or why my later submission was ignored.
However, the “no logical basis” bit does offer a clue. For what its worth, my conclusion is that the idea of rehiring Brian Sutter as Blackhawks coach struck the CSR editor as being so wrongheaded, so stupid, so illogical, that he decided that I was either an idiot who was not worth his time or a troll-like writer who was trying to use the CSR as a springboard for notoriety. Either way, he decided that he wanted nothing further to do with me so much so that he did not even bother to inform me of his decision.
If you are an aspiring writer, be forewarned. The internet is often a place where you will be treated like dirt. If you want to be treated like a professional, then stick to offline publications.
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Jose Lima To Be On Jim Rome’s Radio Show
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— Charles Rector @ 4:25 am
For what its worth, former KC Royals and current L.A. Dodgers pitcher Jose Lima is supposed to be on the Jim Rome Show tomorrow. KC messed up big time last year when they failed to resign Lima. Hopefully, Rome will ask Lima on just how Royals mgmt. failed to realize the pathetic shape that their pitching staff was in and how imperative it was to resign Lima. You might want to take the occaission to call in and shed crocodile tears over the demise of the KC Royals.
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As For Juan Uribe……………..He’s a Hero, Not a Zero.
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— Charles Rector @ 12:59 am
Despite the more or less universal belief among Sox fans last year that the trade of Aaron Miles to the Colorado Rockies for Juan Uribe was a disaster, the facts and stats thus far this season prove otherwise.
Juan Uribe Stats:
3rd on the team with 10 RBI’s.
Best batting average at .393
2nd best slugging average at .590
2nd best on base percentage at .439
Tied for most hits on the team at 24 even though the guy who he’s tied with, Magglio Ordonez, has 22 more at-bats than he has.
Juan Uribe Facts:
These stats are even more impressive when you consider that he was originally added to the team as an utility player. Hardly anyone, outside of some Colorado Rockies fans and the author of a certain Sox fan forum post that was deleted, ever thought that he was capable of such greatness. Even the GM who made the trade for him, appears to be surprised at the prowess of Juan Uribe.
Uribe for 2004 AL MVP!
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And The Moderators Are Often Hardly Any Better…….
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— Charles Rector @ 12:24 am
As the previous post showed, there’s a lot of garbage and scumbags on internet forums that are ostensibly set up for the intelligent discussion of pro sports. However, the folks who are supposed to keep a lid on this hogwash aka the moderators are often no better than the trolls and other delinquents. If anything, the moderators often engage in behavior that’s even worse than the crime.
Here’s a case in point from last fall. After Sox GM Kenny Williams traded career minor leaguer Aaron Miles to the Colorado Rockies for Juan Uribe, there was a great hue and cry amongst Sox fans certain that this was a horrible trade, that the Sox had been “fleeced.” Well, I looked at the Rockies websites and forums and found that Rockies fans were equally conviced that their team was the one that was “fleeced” and talked to a couple Rockies fans of my acquaintance who believed that Uribe was a much better player than his stats indicated and that they thought that Uribe was a continually improving player who was literally on the verge of greatness.
Well, I listened to what the Rockies fans had to say and after looking through Uribe’s record in the major and minor leagues and whatever else I could come up with, I decided that they were right. Juan Uribe really was a major pick-up for the White Sox. That being the case, I wrote up a post that summarized my conclusions and placed it on the forum of one of the principal Sox fansitesin the form of a new thread..
The next day, I checked that forum and found that my post/new thread was missing from the forum. I then saw that I had received a msg from one of the moderators. I was informed that my post/thread had been deleted and that if I did that sort of thing again, I would be banned from the forum. In the follow-up, it was revealed that the moderator had determined that my post had been made with the intent of creating controversy on the forum and not for any legitimate reason. In other words, my Uribe post was the work of a troll, not a serious Sox fan.
Now, you are probably wondering just what kind of sense that makes. Well, its like this. The feeling amongst Sox fans that Uribe was a dud, that the GM had screwed up big time was pretty much universal. In other words, there was a consensus, the idea that Uribe was worthless was the conventional wisdom among the Sox faithful. Everyone who was any sort of legitimate Sox fan “knew” that this was a bad trade. Therefore, the only persons who would post that this was a great trade, that Uribe was a good player with the potential for greatness, just had to be a troll. Only a troll would write such a post. Since trolls and troll activities have to be severely regulated, the moderator believed that my Uribe post had to be deleted. Of course, pro sports tends to bring out strong emotions in folks and forum moderators are not exempt.
Its because of nonsense like this (which has only gotten worse with the passage of time) that during the course of the past year, the level of my posting on internet pro sports forums has gone down about 90% and the level of my reading these forums has declined almost as much.
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4/29/2004
Real Men of Genius Internet Sports Fan
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— Charles Rector @ 11:13 pm
Over the years, I’ve increasingly lost interest in both reading and posting on Internet message boards and forums concerning pro sports. This spoof of the Budweiser “Real Men of Genius” ads that’s been circulating on the Internet basically sums things up for this writer:
Reeeeal men of geeeeeniuuuus!
Today we salute YOU, Mr. Really Mad Internet Sports Fan
“Mr. Really Mad Internet Spo-orts Fan!”
Only YOU can fully appreciate the mind-blowing tragedy of a bunch of 18-22 year old athletes you’ll never meet, losing a game.
“Don’t you TAAAAALK to me about perspective!!”
While others are too preoccupied with things like real life, you take your anger directly to the place where it will make the absolute least possible impact: An Internet discussion forum.
“Loggin’ on now!”
Your unique eye for logic allows you to sling turds of doom every which way, and then brag about how you were RIGHT as soon as one of the pieces sticks to the wall – regardless of how many dozens fell limply to the floor before that.
“See I told you sooooooo!!”
And if some idiot newspaper columnist has the gall to not be as incensed as you are, you unleash your fury down upon him with all the tenacity and mercilessness of a rabid pit bull with a tender buttock locked in its jaws.
“Total anonymity!”
So keep clicking away, oh Marauder of the Mousepad. Because when the results you so desire finally come about years from now, you can say it was because YOU demanded it.”
“How come they haven’t fired that dumb coach yet?”
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Starting Pitching Watch
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— Charles Rector @ 5:54 am
Here are the current stats on the White Sox starting pitching:
Loaiza 3-0 3.21 ERA
Schoeneweis: 2-1 4.38 ERA
Garland 1-1 4.55 ERA
Buehrle 1-1 5.84 ERA
Wright: 0-3 6.08 ERA
As you can see, Buehrle continues on his decline and fall, Wright is as horrible as ever while Schoeneweis continues to shine as does Loaiza. As for Garland, he is as lazy as ever.
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Zero the Hero
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* General
— Charles Rector @ 5:44 am
Thus far this season, White Sox fans have been complaining about relief pitcher Shingo Takatsu aka Mr. Zero, saying that he’s been a zero as pitcher. These compalints are without foundation as the following game by game breakdown of his performance demonstrates:
Apr 9 @ NYY W 9-3 - 1.0 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
Apr 16 @ TB L 0-3 - 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
Apr 20 NYY L 8-11 - 0.1 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1K
Apr 23 TB W 3-2 - 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER 0 BB 1 K
Apr 24 TB L 1-4 - 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB 1 K
Apr 28 CLE W 9-8 - 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
Since his 1st MLB game at Yankee Stadium, Takatsu has done 6 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, and 8 K, for a 1.50 ERA. Including that Yankees game, his ERA is 3.86 which goes to show how a bad initial showing can warp pitching stats.
May Takatsu/Mr. Zero forever shine in the Sox pantheon……..
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My All-Star Ballot
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— Charles Rector @ 3:34 am
Following is how I voted on the All-Star Ballot. 1st choice is AL, 2nd is NL:
First Base:
F. Thomas, CWS
H. Choi, FLA
Second Base:
A. Soriano, TEX
D. Jimenez, CIN
Third Base:
H. Blalock, TEX
C. Stynes, PIT
Shortstop:
J. Valentin, CWS
R. Clayton, COL
Catcher:
M. Olivo, CWS
J. Estrada, ATL
AL Outfielders:
V. Wells, TOR
J. Cruz, Jr, TB
A. Rowand, CWS
NL Outfielders:
A. Dunn, CIN
R. Hidalgo, HOU
R. Mondesi, PIT
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4/27/2004
The Hypocrisy of the Chicago News Media
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— Charles Rector @ 7:53 am
The Chicago news media is hopelessly biased against the White Sox and is madly in love with the Cubs. Consider:
Frank Thomas is a legitimate Hall of Fame candidate after well over a decade of consistently solid baseball. However, the Chicago news media treat him as if he was worse than dirt.. Perhaps if Frank was a wife beating steroids user, the media would be kinder to him.
On the other hand, Mark Prior is 24-12 after 49 starts, compared to Jason Bere who was 24-7 after 48 for the Sox in the early 1990’s. However, Prior has been made into a sort of living saint by the media and they run frequent updates about his progress.
And they say that the media is “objective.”
Yeah, right.
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A Royal Pain
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— Charles Rector @ 7:36 am
From:
http://www.robneyer.com/robrany.html
Rany: Maybe the Royals aren’t a contender - I know that’s your position - but until that’s proven, the Royals have to play as if they do have a chance - and that means pulling out all the stops against the Twins and White Sox.
Crappy managing - again, Graffanino lighting out for second base in the first inning cost us two runs. Crappy announcing - do Bob Davis and Paul Splittorff ever say anything that’s not 1) a cliché; 2) watered-down (when discussing bad performances by the Royals), or 3) obvious as all hell? Crappy pitching by everyone in the bullpen save Nate Field, who might be the best reliever we’ve got - he’s certainly the only one who can throw strikes.
If the Twins hit their way to a six-run rally, I’d tip my cap to them. But they scored six runs on three hits - and six walks.
Scott Sullivan: 11 strikes, 10 balls
Curt Leskanic: 12 strikes, 13 balls
Dennys Reyes: 6 strikes, 13 balls
And yesterday, protecting a two-run lead:
Jason Grimsley: 4 strikes, 11 balls
That’s beyond unforgivable. It’s unwatchable. And unless and until they start turning things around, I’m not sure I can bear to watch this team on any sort of regular basis. It’s just too painful.
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AL Central Pythagorean Standings
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— Charles Rector @ 7:29 am
Here are the Pythagorean standings for the AL Central Division thus far this young season:
Pythagorean W-L
Detroit (19gms) 11-8
Sox (18gms) 11-8
Twins (18gms) 9-9
Royals (17gms) 8-9
Indians (19gms) 7-12
Note the luck of the Twins…………….
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Please Trade Carlos Lee!
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* General
— Charles Rector @ 7:19 am
Carlos Lee has been a regular bonehead thus far this season. The Sox should try to trade him before he inflicts more damage on the cause.
Here are Lee’s situational stats:
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS
Bases Empty 17 33 3 12 3 0 3 3 2 7 0 0 .364 .400 .727 1.127
Runners On 17 31 5 5 1 0 0 4 6 6 1 0 .161 .289 .194 .483
RISP 13 12 5 2 1 0 0 4 3 2 0 0 .167 .313 .250 .563
RISP w/2 Outs 8 7 3 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 .143 .143 .143 .286
Bases Loaded 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 .000
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS
None on/out 9 11 2 5 1 0 2 2 2 1 0 0 .455 .538 1.091 1.629
None on:1/2 Out 17 22 1 7 2 0 1 1 0 6 0 0 .318 .318 .545 .864
Men on, 2 outs 12 13 3 1 0 0 0 1 3 2 1 0 .077 .250 .077 .327
Man on 3rd, < 2 outs 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 .000
These stats show that there is a difference in Lee’s approach at the plate when runners are on base as compared to when nobody’s on.
Lee simply does not produce RBI’s like a clutch hitter should. That’s because he’s an anti-clutch hitter. Ego and selfishness are his trademarks. If there is ever a World Series on the South Side, it will only occur after Lee is no longer disgracing the Sox uniform.
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Truly Hateful
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— Charles Rector @ 6:41 am
Point your browser to: http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2004/04/286523.shtml
And you will find this heinous headline:
Dumb Jock Killed in Afghanistan
And, scrolling down, you will find comments such as these:
how about, “privileged millionaire, blinded by nationalist mythology, pisses away the good life”
“Cottled sports star allows nationalism to foster jingoistic irresponsibility resulting in his death”
or how about….
“Citizen of empire allows ignorance to cause him to die for imperialism”
or maybe……
“Capitalist chooses to kill innocents instead of cashing check”
Tillman chose to go to Afghanistan. He’s partially reponsible for the deaths of hundreds, maybe thousands of Afghan civilians. No need to feel sorry for him, other than feeling bad that he was brainwashed into serving as a grunt.
hero fetishism and white supremacy
Were the Nazis heroes? Didn’t they also die for what they thought was right? Haven’t we all learned by now that *everyone* is doing what they think is right. The question is, what can be observed about their actions. Fighting in Iraq or in Afghanistan means you’re fighting for the wealth and power of Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Ashcroft, et al.
There’s a lot more of this garbage in addition to the above. If there is ever another 9/11 type terrorist attack, I hope that the scum who are responsible for this anti-American attack on Pat Tillman will perish in the attack. I know that sounds harsh, but that’s the way I feel.
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The News Media vs. the White Sox
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— Charles Rector @ 4:48 am
There has been quite a bit of talk lately about massive press bias against the White Sox. Want one good example? My county’s daily newspaper, the Northwest Herald, had the Cubs boring win over the hapless N.Y. Mets on Sunday on the front page of the Monday Sports section, but the Sox’s thrilling victory in the bottom of the 9th inning over Tampa Bay was on page 4. Inexcusable.
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Would You Believe?
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— Charles Rector @ 4:17 am
As Maxwell Smart would put it, Would you believe that the Kansas City Royals team ERA is 5.40 and ranks 13th in the American League with Seattle being the only team lowlier than the Royals? Its true.
I can remember how Royals fans howled in derision of the White Sox after their favorite team picked up Scott Sullivan after the Sox did not resign Sullivan. Well, guess who’s laughing now? We are! Serves those KC meatheads right! Take that, Tony Pena!
Yeah!
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The Scapegoating of Jerry Manuel
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— Charles Rector @ 3:55 am
I am sick and tired of the Jerry Manuel bashing that both the White Sox organization and a lot of fans and fansites as well as journalists have been doing.
Jerry Manuel was a decent manager for the Sox in 1998-2003 and had 4 consecutive winning seasons despite the fact that none of his teams had quite as high a talent level as the 2004 Sox. Ken Harrelson has been the most vocal basher, using the Sox telecasts to spout his verbal diarrhea. This includes the claim that the Sox would not have made the come from behind victories that they have made this year if Manuel was still the manager. This is poppycock since Manuel’s teams won numerous come from behind games every year that he was the manager.
The claim has been made that Garland is a better pitcher because Manuel is not around and Ozzie is a genius. Utter nonsense. Garland is finally coming into his own, but it is because Pitching Coach Don Cooper’s teachings have finally penetrated his cranium.
It will be most interesting to see what happens when the Sox go on their first prolonged losing streak. Will Ozzie still be hailed as a great motivator and leader? Or will the bitter reality that he is an ignorant buffoon as compared to the professorial Manuel finally sink in?
Jerry Manuel was a good manager. He does not deserve to be trashed in order to build Ozzie Guillen up.
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Bulls Blog
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— Charles Rector @ 2:22 am
Yes, there is now a blog devoted to the Chicago Bulls by a guy named Matt, who is both quite passionate and intelligent about the team. http://bulls.blogspot.com/
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How Embarrassed are Tampa Bay Fans Over Sunday’s Game?
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— Charles Rector @ 2:16 am
I have not been able to help but notice that none of the D-Rays blogs have had anything to say about the humiliating defeat at the hands of the White Sox complete with 4 different D-Rays pitchers in the 9th inning and the winning run being scored by a Juan Uribe walk because the D-Ray reliever was too frightened to throw anything that Uribe could hit at. Is this a subject that is simply too embarrassing for the D-Ray bloggers to talk about? Truly, the Tampa Bay fans are utterly embarrassed by this defeat at the hands of both the heroic South Side Sox and their own moronic manager aka “"Sweet Lou.”
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Sweeney in a Funk
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— Charles Rector @ 1:55 am
Thus far, Sox prospect Ryan Sweeney is only hitting .229 at Winston-Salem. However, its only 14 games into the minor league season, so he has plenty of time to turn things around and reassert himself as one of the very best OF prospects in all of the minor leagues.
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4/26/2004
Juan the Hero and Carlos the Zero
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— Charles Rector @ 10:00 am
Turns out that White Sox General Manager Kenny Williams’s pick up of Juan Uribe was a great move after all and that Williams’s signing Carlos Lee to a 2 yr. $15 Mil. contract was not so great. Let’s face it: If the lineup spots were reversed and Lee was in the batter’s box with the bases loaded, he would have gone down hacking away at pitches outside the strike zone.
What Williams really should do now is package Lee with Wunsch and trade them to Pittsburgh for Rob Mackowiack (Chicago native & Sox fan in addition to being a solid player) or to Texas for Alfonso Soriano or perhaps some other team for a decent player. That way, we can get some good out of an injury prone reliever and a space cadet player.
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4/23/2004
The Newest Power in the National League
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— Charles Rector @ 3:26 am
Thus far this season, the NL Central has replaced the NL East as the strongest division in the National League. Consider:
NTRAL W L PCT GB HOME ROAD EAST CENT WEST AL L10 STRK
Cubs 9 6 .600 - 4-3 5-3 2-1 7-5 0-0 0-0 7-3 W3
Cincinnati 9 6 .600 - 6-3 3-3 3-2 6-4 0-0 0-0 5-5 W1
Houston 9 6 .600 - 4-5 5-1 0-0 8-4 1-2 0-0 7-3 L2
St. Louis 8 7 .533 1.0 3-7 5-0 0-0 3-6 5-1 0-0 6-4 W2
Pittsburgh 7 7 .500 1.5 2-3 5-4 5-1 2-6 0-0 0-0 5-5 L2
Milwaukee 8 9 .471 2.0 3-3 5-6 0-0 5-6 3-3 0-0 4-6 L1
The weakest team in the NL Central is only 1 game below .500 and is only 2 games behind the leader. Truly, this is both the strongest and most competitive division in the league. Now if only the AL Central could become that strong!
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Scott Schoeneweis Pulls it Through
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— Charles Rector @ 1:06 am
Well, the Sox beat the Yanks in the last game of the series. Go Scott Schoeneweis!
20-win season for Scott Schoeneweis is right on track!
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4/21/2004
White Sox Ranked #3 Team in MLB
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— Charles Rector @ 4:17 am
From:
http://www.all-baseball.com/archives/2004_04.html#012926
3. Chicago Sox (8) The Southsiders trail only Oakland and Baltimore in the AL in ERA at 3.67. The starting staff has an ERA of 3.56 but has walked just as many as they’ve struck out–33.
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The Continuing Decline & Fall of Mark Buehrle
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— Charles Rector @ 4:06 am
Following is the the three year decline of starter Mark Buehrle as evidenced by his stats from 2001, 2002 and 2003 (in order):
ERA: 3.29, 3.58, 4.14
K/BB: 2.63, 2.20, 1.95
K/9IP: 5.12, 5.05, 4.65
BAA: .230, .260, .278
Buehrle’s decline is an indication that his arm is getting progressively tired. One would think that the Sox would opt to limit Buehrle to no more than 5 innings per start or to a strict pitch limit in the 75-100 range or perhaps even place him in the bullpen in order to at least lengthen out his quality service for the team. This is especially the case since Buehrle recently signed a 3-yr. $18 Mil. in guraranteed money contract with the Sox. However, the Sox have not evinced any awareness of Buehrle’s decline and appear to have their problematic pitcher on course towards lengthened stays on the mound.
Up until last night’s disaster at Comiskey Park vs. the Yankees, Buehrle was throwing an average 107 pitches per game. Folks, this is Dusty Baker territory. Unless Guillen institutes a strict pitch count on Buehrle, his decline will only continue to worsen.
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4/20/2004
White Sox Ticket Specials
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— Charles Rector @ 10:55 pm
The following is from: whitesox@lists.mlb.com :
Get Pepsi Half-Price Tuesday Tickets For April 20 - White Sox Vs. Yankees Game On-Line Now!
Now you can order Pepsi Half-Price Tuesday tickets on-line the day beforethe game! Starting at noon on the Monday prior to every Tuesday home game,purchase Pepsi Half-Price Tuesday tickets on-line at whitesox.com.
Simply type in the 12-digit UPC code from a Pepsi product (ie.0-12000-XXXXX-X) where indicated. Be sure to include hyphens, as shownhere.
When ordering Pepsi Half-Price Tickets on-line, you must use theTicketFast delivery option, which allows you to print your game ticketsright at your computer. You will receive an e-mail with your ticketsattached. Open the attachment, print out your tickets, bring them to thegates of the ballpark and enjoy the game! No waiting in line at WillCall! No need to visit the Ticket Windows!
Plus, when you order Pepsi Half-Price Tickets on-line, you save 50 percentoff regular on-line service fees!
Order your tickets for Tuesday’s game now!
There is a button on the bottom of this email and pressing it leads you to:
http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/cws/schedule/schedule_specials.jsp#tuesdays
And there is text that reads as follows:
Value Days
On select Sundays, tickets for kids 13 and under accompanied by an adult can be purchased at the ticket windows on the day of the game for just $1. Plus, kids can collect autographs pregame and run the bases postgame, weather permitting. Kids Day games begin at 2:05 p.m.
April 25 vs. Devil Rays
June 13 vs. Braves
July 11 vs. Mariners
August 22 vs. Red Sox
September 19 vs. Tigers
Tickets are half the regular price for all Monday home games. Half-price Monday games
begin at 7:05 p.m.
Buy Tickets June 21 vs. Indians
Buy Tickets July 26 vs. Twins
Buy Tickets August 9 vs. Indians
Buy Tickets September 20 vs. Twins
On Tuesday home games, redeem an empty Pepsi product at the U. S. Cellular Field ticket windows on the day of the game and receive a half-price ticket!
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4/19/2004
Danny Wright Needs to Go Back to Long Relief
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* General
— Charles Rector @ 11:09 pm
Last season, Danny Wright was both proven and effective in the long relief role. Here are his stats as long reliever in 2003:
16 2/3rdsIP 13H 6R 6ER 5BB 5K 3.23ERA
Long Relief is what Wright’s good at. He needs to be put back there now.
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2/3rds of Tampa Bay Series Won!
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— Charles Rector @ 3:16 am
Overall, it was a nice experience even if we didn’t get the hoped for sweep. Loaiza is looking better than ever and even got something that he did not get all last year: a shutout!
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4/17/2004
Is Ozzie Guillen Mimicking Dusty Baker?
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— Charles Rector @ 11:54 pm
Jon Garland pitched a career high 119 pitches in NY. Then 115 on the 14th. Sox pitching coach Don Cooper needs to protect Garland from Ozzie having too much faith in him – Garland should be on a hard pitch count of no more than 100 pitches. We need this guy in October – I doubt he was properly stretched out ot reach the 120 mark a week ago, and to back him up with a 115 pitch performance, that just shows that somebody’s not looking out for the pitcher.
Ozzie caught some flak for having a bit of a quick hook on Buerhle in the Opener, since then, the top three starters have averaged over 112 pitches per start. We all saw first hand what happened to Dusty Baker’s staff last year with the Cubs compared to in Florida where the pitch counts were monitored very closely on their young pitching.
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The Latest Cubs Blowup
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— Charles Rector @ 11:42 pm
Kerry Wood was ejected from today’s game in which his Cubs lost to the Reds by 3-2. What’s weird is that his tantrum happened right after Dusty Baker took him out of the ball game. Guess that 131 pitches was the right number for Wood to throw today, right Dusty? At this rate, Wood will be joining Mark Prior on the list of pitchers sitting out the year for Tommy John Surgery. Hopefully, the Cubs will burn themselves out on all that emotionalizing and they will go on to lose 100 games this year.
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Send Danny Wright to the Bullpen!
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— Charles Rector @ 2:30 am
Since Danny Wright is a proven long reliever and a failed starter, the Sox need to send him to the bullpen and promote either Jon Adkins or Neal Cotts to the 5th starter position.
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— Charles Rector @ 2:26 am
For sheer lack of logic, here’s the CSR editor’s rejection email of the original version of that Cubs playoff article:
Just finished reading your piece, or at least up until the final paragraph or two.
Now, although I’m a Sox fan and part of me would like to see the Cubs fail, your reason’s were simply untrue and had no backing to them. It was worsened by the fact that you continually repeated your transitions ("another way/reason,” “however,"). Plus, you mention a reason off the bat, then claim three more reasons, and then another reason or two after … it was never ending.
I do agree with some of your points. The Cubs haven’t improved themselves that much, Derrek Lee isn’t that big of a pickup, Barrett appears to be a downgrade.
In the end, it sounded as if you were more of a Sox fan, or anti-Cubs fan, who just wants them lose with no true reason for it.
I think something like this would need a TON of research to back it up, to where you statistically analyze the situation, OR it would have to be done in a lighthearted matter, kinda like a commentary.
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— Charles Rector @ 2:23 am
Here’s something else: The original version was emailed to the CSR editor on February 22nd, but it was published under the date of Feb. 18th and it does not have my name on it either.
Comments (0)
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— Charles Rector @ 2:14 am
Now, if you want to read the version that was eventually published, just point your browser to:
http://www.chicagosportsreview.com/localopinion/localopinionview.asp?c=97521
There is one glaring problem with the pubished version: no mention of the high probablity of injuries to the Cubs pitching staff due to Dusty Baker’s overruse of them in 2003. That part was excised because the editor of the CSR was afraid that Cubs fans would get the idea that the CSR was hoping that the Cubs pitchers would suffer harm and boycott the CSR as a result. Unreal.
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Why its Unlikely That the Cubs Will Make the Playoffs in 2004
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— Charles Rector @ 2:09 am
Following is the original version of a piece that was eventually published in butchered form on the Chicago Sports Review website:
With Spring Training just getting under way, the long-suffering fans of the Chicago Cubs are as optimistic as ever. Last year, their team came within 5 outs of the World Series. This year, their club has been bolstered by the signing of potential future Hall of Famer Greg Maddux. To these fans, it appears that their team has finally turned the corner to becoming a perennial contender.
However, this optimism is almost certainly going to be dashed. Previous Cub forays into the playoffs lead to losing seasons thereafter. This is not surprising since defeat in high-stakes baseball matches often have a lingering effect that carries over into succeeding years. Given the manner that the Cubs lost Game 6 of the National League Championship Series, it is likely that the effect will be even harder to shake off in 2004.
There are three other reasons why it is unlikely that the Cubs will make it to the playoffs in 2004. The first of these is that GM Jim Hendry has evidently let all of the praise that he continually reaps from the pundits go to his head. An example of this is WSCR late night talk show host Julie Swieca’s proclamations that Hendry is “the best Chicago sports GM.”
Certainly, Hendry has improved the pitching staff with the pick ups of Maddux and LaTroy Hawkins. However, pitching was already the team’s strong point. What really needed improvement was the offense. Hendry did make a good trade for Florida Marlins 1st baseman Derrek Lee who is at the very least the equal of the Karros/Simon tandem that the Cubs had at 1B last year. However, this was cancelled out by the fact that catcher Damian Miller was traded for a new starting catcher, Michael Barrett. While Miller was not a great hitter, he was better than what Barrett has shown thus far and Miller was also solid at defense and had a good throwing arm as well. This was a strange move given the fact that there were at least three quality catchers, Javy Lopez, A.J. Pierzinski and Ivan Rodriguez who were available as free agents. Hendry also chose not to resign such bench players as leadoff hitter Kenny Lofton, Randall Simon and Doug Glanville. Collectively, their replacements do not seem to be any better, and none of them are true leadoff hitters. What Hendry has done is upgrade the pitching and the offense has been slightly downgraded.
Another reason is the situation that they face in 2004. The East has traditionally been the strongest division in the NL. With both Atlanta and Florida both strong despite suffering some losses and Philadelphia being upgraded, it is very likely that the NL Wild Card will be in the East. In other words, its either win the NL Central Division or its bust.
The strongest adversary that the Cubs face in the NL Central is the Houston Astros. The GM of the Astros, Gerry Hunsicker, has been at work adding to his team since the regular season ended. For instance, he traded the increasingly unreliable closer Billy Wagner to Philadelphia and received what was generally considered fair value in return. Likewise, he traded 3rd baseman Geoff Blum to Tampa Bay and received good value for him. The Blum trade was also a case of addition by subtraction since Blum was platooned with Morgan Ensberg who generally played better than Blum. It is the opinion of several observers, such as Rob Neyer, that had Ensberg received more playing time at 3rd base, that could have made all the difference in the 2003 NL Central race. Hunsicker has also made some other moves such as the much ballyhooed pick ups of star pitchers Roger Clemens and Andy Pettite. By any way you look at it, Hunsicker has done a better job of upgrading the Astros than Hendry has done with the Cubs.
The third reason is that the 2003 Cubs were a fluke. In 2003, the Cardinals scored 876 runs, the Astros 805 and the Cubs 725. In other words, St. Louis scored 151 more runs than the Cubs while Houston scored 81 more runs. In other words, the Cubs offense that GM Hendry failed to address during the offseason, was swamped by the opposition. The main reason why the Cubs won the Central last year was that they went 27-17 in one run games. That proficiency was pure luck as shown by the fact that Detroit was 19-18 in one run games while Atlanta went 17-25 in such contests. Also, the final games of the 2003 season for the Cubs were mainly against the perennial doormats of the NL Central, the Cincinnati Reds and the Pittsburgh Pirates. Several of the Cubs had career years in 2003, not something that is likely to repeat in 2004.
Another way that the Cubs success in 2003 was a fluke was the play of the Houston Astros late that season. With just eight games left to go in the season, Houston had a 1 1/2 lead over the Cubs. During those final eight games, the Astros stranded a whopping 78 men on base. On one occaission, Houston had the bases had the bases loaded with nobody out in a game that they went on to lose. The Astros much-vaunted closer Billy Wagner blew two saves. In truth, the Cubs did not so much win the Central in 2003 as Houston blew it.
Another reason why the Cubs will not make the playoffs is that there is not much depth on the team. If a starting pitcher is sidelined due to injuries, then his replacement would likely be the unpromising likes of Juan Cruz or Todd Wellemeyer. If one of the team’s power hitters, such as Sammy Sosa, is sidelined who would replace his firepower?
The lack of depth is further exacerbated by the way that Dusty Baker handles pitchers. There is a website called Baseball Prospectus that has a ranking system called Pitcher Abuse Points that measures how a pitcher is worn down by such factors as total number of innings pitched and the pitch count. On this ranking, Kerry Wood finished at #1 while Mark Prior was #3 and Carlos Zambrano was #17. It is quite possible that Baker’s handling of his pitchers in 2003 will catch up with the Cubs’ young guns in 2004 and if just one of the Prior, Wood and Zambrano trio winds up on the DL List for long, or is out for the rest of the year, then the Cubs’ goose is cooked. Likewise, if the Cubs’ starters stay just healthy enough to stay in the rotation, but suffer a loss in effectiveness. Since pitcher abuse has been a hallmark of Baker’s managerial career, it is doubtful that the tiger will change his spots in 2004.
The Cubs’ failure to make the playoffs in 2004 could not have come at a worse time for the franchise. St. Louis is working on procuring young pitching through such mechanisms as the J.D. Drew trade. This pitching should be making its presence felt sometime in 2005 and that combined with the Cardinals’ fearsome lineup could make them the favorites in the Central from 2006 on. Also, the Pittsburgh Pirates seem to be getting their act together and have been making a number of interesting moves. Unless they blunder again, the Pirates could eventually become a contender in the Central by the end of the decade. Of course Houston will remain a powerhouse. Given the Cubs’ history, its quite likely that future generations of Cubs fans will look back at 2004 as a golden opportunity that Cubs management failed to capitalize on with that failure resulting in years of watching other teams in the postseason until lightning strikes again.
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4/16/2004
Clean Sweep of KC!
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— Charles Rector @ 5:00 am
During the past 3 days, the White Sox by scores of 12-5, 10-9 and 6-5 defeated the hapless Kansas City Royals. However, there were problems with Guillen’s management such as his using 3 pinch hitters in a row in the last game and his ongoing abuse of the Sox pitching staff. Mark Buehrle threw 110 pitches today on top of the 115 pitches in an earlier outing agianst the Royals and 119 pitches against the Yankees. Folks, this is Dusty Baker territory that we’re talking about and with the Sox pitching already so shallow, we can hardly afford to burn Buehrle out.
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4/14/2004
Who’s This Blogger Dude Anyway?
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— Charles Rector @ 10:18 pm
By now, you’re probably wondering just who this C.Rector guy is. Well, I’m 39 years old and am a former graduate student in history. Like so many other grad students, I ultimately failed in my quest for lasting employment in my field. Up to now, my most significant published piece was “D.P. Upham, Woodruff County Carpetbagger” that was published in the Spring 2000 issue of the Arkansas Historical Quarterly. Hopefully, this blog will be prove to be the launching pad for a brilliant writing career the profitibility of which will be such that I can be chauffered in a big black limo puffing on smuggled Cuban cigars with a blonde mistress at my side. Well, we all have our little fantasies, don’t we?
By the way, that C is for Charles.
Comments (2)
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— Charles Rector @ 10:04 pm
Interestingly enough one of the more adamant defenders of Dusty Baker on the pitcher overuse issue no longer has her own radio show. I wonder why.
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— Charles Rector @ 10:01 pm
That piece was originally written back in February and submitted to the Chicago Sports Review website. It was rejected, in part, on the grounds that the White Sox pitching coach would see to it that Manager Guillen would not overuse the Sox pitchers.
This was most interesting in light of the fact that last year, whenever callers to sports talk radio shows expressed fear that Dusty Baker was overusing the Cubs pitchers, the hosts of those shows would often claim that there was nothing to worry about since the Cubs pitching coach would not allow Manager Baker to overuse the Cubs pitchers. I know that history often repeats itself, but this is pretty bizarre.
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The Chicago White Sox Pitching Situation
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— Charles Rector @ 9:51 pm
We are used to seeing huge headlines when something newsworthy comes out. However, there are times when something remarkable occurs and hardly anybody notices. Such is the case concerning some interesting remarks recently made by White Sox rookie manager Ozzie Guillen.
According to a February 21 MLB.com article, Guillen said that, “I talked to (Sox pitching coach Don) Cooper, and I want these guys ready to throw nine innings right from the get go. I don’t expect that to happen all of the time, but that’s what I want.” Guillen was also quoted by MLB.com as saying that, “I won’t hurt my pitchers, and I’m going to protect them. But I’m going to give the kids a chance for me not to babysit them.”
In other words, Guillen wants to buck the trend in baseball where starting pitchers have been getting lighter workloads in order to reduce the number of pitching injuries. Increasing the number of innings pitched by starters reduces the workload on the bullpen which in turn makes the relief pitchers that much more proficient. However, it can also lead to injuries among the starters.
One manager whose method of handling pitchers often leads to over use and ultimately injuries is Jeff Torborg. White Sox fans may remember Torborg as the man who during the 1989-1991 seasons subjected Reliever Bobby Thigpen to a course that ultimately led to both the all-time saves record of 57 in 1990, but also to his prematurely burning out. During 2001-2002 and the start of 2003, Torborg was the manager of the Florida Marlins and his way of handling pitchers led to injuries due to overuse among several pitchers. Eventually, the Marlins dumped Torborg in favor of Jack McKeon whose superior management of the team’s pitching enabled the club to overcome their 16-22 start under Torborg and go all the way to a World Championship.
During 2001-2003, Ozzie Guillen served as the Marlins 3rd Base Coach. During both this time and Torborg’s earlier stint as Sox manager, Guillen had the time and place to absorb Torborg’s attitudes towards pitchers and how long they should stay on the mound. It would appear that Guillen has been greatly influenced by Torborg.
This attitude on Guillen’s part comes at a curious moment for the Sox. In terms of pitching, their staff is arguably the best in the AL Central, yet it is almost frighteningly shallow compared to the best of baseball. One reason for this shallowness is the three year decline of starter Mark Buehrle as evidenced by his stats from 2001, 2002 and 2003 (in order):
ERA: 3.29, 3.58, 4.14
K/BB: 2.63, 2.20, 1.95
K/9IP: 5.12, 5.05, 4.65
BAA: .230, .260, .278
Buehrle’s decline is an indication that his arm is getting progressively tired. One would think that the Sox would opt to limit Buehrle to no more than 5 innings per start or to a strict pitch limit in the 75-100 range or perhaps even place him in the bullpen in order to at least lengthen out his quality service for the team. This is especially the case since Buehrle recently signed a 3-yr. $18 Mil. in guraranteed money contract with the Sox. However, the Sox have not evinced any awareness of Buehrle’s decline and appear to have their problematic pitcher on course towards lengthened stays on the mound.
If the Chicago White Sox are to have any chance of winning the AL Central in 2004, the team needs to have its pitchers bright and chipper. That being the case, Sox fans have to hope and pray that while Guillen may share Torborg’s philosophy of pitching, the new Sox manager has greater talent and discretion dealing with pitchers than Torborg. As any further reason is needed for concern, the recent sidelining of Cubs pitcher Mark Prior is further evidence of what ill wind comes from pitchers staying out on the mound for too long.
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Game Postponed, Doubleheader Tomorrow
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— Charles Rector @ 11:43 pm
Well, the White Sox/Blue Jays game tonight was postponed because of rain. There will be a doubleheader tomorrow, weather permitting. As it happens, there are other matters worthy of discussion here.
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Editors Can Be Just As Bad As Moderators And Others
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— Charles Rector @ 5:10 am
From my experience, editors of internet news/reviews websites are often just as bad as many forum moderators. This is most interesting since my experience with editors in the offline world has generally been fairly positive. Guess that’s what the anonymity of the internet has led to: greatly lowered standards of the way that you treat people.
An example of this poor behavior by internet website editors was furnished by the editor of the Chicago Sports Review website after I sent him the following submission via E-Mail on March 23rd, 2004:
The Chicago Blackhawks Coaching Situation
Following the end of this season, the Chicago Blackhawks have at least one and perhaps two important decision(s) to make. Should Coach Brian Sutter, whose contract expires at the end of this season, be rehired? If not, then who should his successor be?
In this writer’s opinion, renewing Sutter’s contract is the best option. Sutter knows the team and is totally committed to hockey on a 24/7 basis. True, this season’s record has been one of the worst in Blackhawks history since Arthur Wirtz bought the club in 1954. However, this was caused by team management’s decision to blow up the team and the resulting flurry of trades combined with constantly sending players up and down the Hawks system has resulted in a constantly changing roster. Pretty difficult to win under those circumstances. However, unlike the Bulls, the Hawks have never quit and have kept on trying under Sutter’s firm hand. Another reason to retain Sutter is that he has finally found a way to keep Tyler Arnason fully motivated and playing solid hockey. Under a new coach, there is the possiblity that Arnason will revert to his old apathetic self and slack off. Perhaps the best reason is that in between Brian Sutter’s tenure (2001-) and that of his brother Darryl (1992-1995), the Hawks coaches were a muddle of mediocrity and given the state of Hawks management, its all too possible that a born loser will be Sutter’s successor.
However, if the Hawks do drop Sutter, there is a path that it should not take. This is hiring the coach of the Hawks primary minor league affiliate the Norfolk Admirals, Trent Yawney. Yawney is a minor league coach whose teams have been quite successful in the regular season, but not in the postseason. The minor league postseason is rather more intense than the regular season in much the same way that the NHL regular season is more intense than the minor league regular season. If a coach can’t make it in the postseason at the minor league level, then its a sure sign that he can’t make it in a NHL regular season.
Now, if the Admirals were to succeed in winning the American Hockey League championship this season, then that would be proof positive that he’s the man that the Hawks need as head coach. Until then, Yawney’s just another minor league coach and as such unfit to coach the Blackhawks.
Instead, the Hawks should consider hiring one of the assistant coaches, such as fan favorite Denis Savard, or someone who’s a proven head coach at either the NHL or college levels. One example is the head coach of the University of North Dakota, Dean Blais, who as the UND athletic department website put it, “The winningest active coach in NCAA Division I hockey. If the Hawks choose to take a post-Sutter road, it should be with a coach who is capable of bringing the young Hawks into contention for the NHL Central Division.
Upon reading this piece, can you see anything terribly wrong with it outside of the fact that it has nothing to do with the Chicago White Sox? Well, the editor of the CSR did, but he failed to at least email me that it was rejected. After waiting for a week for a response, I emailed him for what the article’s status was. He never replied. Several days later, I emailed him again on whether the article would be accepted or not, and he ignored that too. In the meantime, I wrote another piece about the White Sox and submitted it to him and never even received an acknowledgement that he had received it.
While this was going on, the CSR editor posted on a White Sox fan forum that he was looking for writers for his website to cover the Cubs and Sox this season. He also claimed that the CSR was a great opportunity for aspiring sportswriters.
After some hesitation on my part, I responded by informing the rest of the forum about the way that the CSR editor treated his writers by using myself as an example. The editor then responded by claiming among other things, that I am a “below average writer that has no logical basis to anything you say.” This from an editor who had published 2 of my submitted pieces, one of which was virtually word for word identical to what I had originally submitted.
As it happens, the CSR editor did not offer any explanations for why he did not at
least inform me that the piece on the Blackhawks was rejected or why my later submission was ignored.
However, the “no logical basis” bit does offer a clue. For what its worth, my conclusion is that the idea of rehiring Brian Sutter as Blackhawks coach struck the CSR editor as being so wrongheaded, so stupid, so illogical, that he decided that I was either an idiot who was not worth his time or a troll-like writer who was trying to use the CSR as a springboard for notoriety. Either way, he decided that he wanted nothing further to do with me so much so that he did not even bother to inform me of his decision.
If you are an aspiring writer, be forewarned. The internet is often a place where you will be treated like dirt. If you want to be treated like a professional, then stick to offline publications.
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Jose Lima To Be On Jim Rome’s Radio Show
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— Charles Rector @ 4:25 am
For what its worth, former KC Royals and current L.A. Dodgers pitcher Jose Lima is supposed to be on the Jim Rome Show tomorrow. KC messed up big time last year when they failed to resign Lima. Hopefully, Rome will ask Lima on just how Royals mgmt. failed to realize the pathetic shape that their pitching staff was in and how imperative it was to resign Lima. You might want to take the occaission to call in and shed crocodile tears over the demise of the KC Royals.
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As For Juan Uribe……………..He’s a Hero, Not a Zero.
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— Charles Rector @ 12:59 am
Despite the more or less universal belief among Sox fans last year that the trade of Aaron Miles to the Colorado Rockies for Juan Uribe was a disaster, the facts and stats thus far this season prove otherwise.
Juan Uribe Stats:
3rd on the team with 10 RBI’s.
Best batting average at .393
2nd best slugging average at .590
2nd best on base percentage at .439
Tied for most hits on the team at 24 even though the guy who he’s tied with, Magglio Ordonez, has 22 more at-bats than he has.
Juan Uribe Facts:
These stats are even more impressive when you consider that he was originally added to the team as an utility player. Hardly anyone, outside of some Colorado Rockies fans and the author of a certain Sox fan forum post that was deleted, ever thought that he was capable of such greatness. Even the GM who made the trade for him, appears to be surprised at the prowess of Juan Uribe.
Uribe for 2004 AL MVP!
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And The Moderators Are Often Hardly Any Better…….
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— Charles Rector @ 12:24 am
As the previous post showed, there’s a lot of garbage and scumbags on internet forums that are ostensibly set up for the intelligent discussion of pro sports. However, the folks who are supposed to keep a lid on this hogwash aka the moderators are often no better than the trolls and other delinquents. If anything, the moderators often engage in behavior that’s even worse than the crime.
Here’s a case in point from last fall. After Sox GM Kenny Williams traded career minor leaguer Aaron Miles to the Colorado Rockies for Juan Uribe, there was a great hue and cry amongst Sox fans certain that this was a horrible trade, that the Sox had been “fleeced.” Well, I looked at the Rockies websites and forums and found that Rockies fans were equally conviced that their team was the one that was “fleeced” and talked to a couple Rockies fans of my acquaintance who believed that Uribe was a much better player than his stats indicated and that they thought that Uribe was a continually improving player who was literally on the verge of greatness.
Well, I listened to what the Rockies fans had to say and after looking through Uribe’s record in the major and minor leagues and whatever else I could come up with, I decided that they were right. Juan Uribe really was a major pick-up for the White Sox. That being the case, I wrote up a post that summarized my conclusions and placed it on the forum of one of the principal Sox fansitesin the form of a new thread..
The next day, I checked that forum and found that my post/new thread was missing from the forum. I then saw that I had received a msg from one of the moderators. I was informed that my post/thread had been deleted and that if I did that sort of thing again, I would be banned from the forum. In the follow-up, it was revealed that the moderator had determined that my post had been made with the intent of creating controversy on the forum and not for any legitimate reason. In other words, my Uribe post was the work of a troll, not a serious Sox fan.
Now, you are probably wondering just what kind of sense that makes. Well, its like this. The feeling amongst Sox fans that Uribe was a dud, that the GM had screwed up big time was pretty much universal. In other words, there was a consensus, the idea that Uribe was worthless was the conventional wisdom among the Sox faithful. Everyone who was any sort of legitimate Sox fan “knew” that this was a bad trade. Therefore, the only persons who would post that this was a great trade, that Uribe was a good player with the potential for greatness, just had to be a troll. Only a troll would write such a post. Since trolls and troll activities have to be severely regulated, the moderator believed that my Uribe post had to be deleted. Of course, pro sports tends to bring out strong emotions in folks and forum moderators are not exempt.
Its because of nonsense like this (which has only gotten worse with the passage of time) that during the course of the past year, the level of my posting on internet pro sports forums has gone down about 90% and the level of my reading these forums has declined almost as much.
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4/29/2004
Real Men of Genius Internet Sports Fan
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— Charles Rector @ 11:13 pm
Over the years, I’ve increasingly lost interest in both reading and posting on Internet message boards and forums concerning pro sports. This spoof of the Budweiser “Real Men of Genius” ads that’s been circulating on the Internet basically sums things up for this writer:
Reeeeal men of geeeeeniuuuus!
Today we salute YOU, Mr. Really Mad Internet Sports Fan
“Mr. Really Mad Internet Spo-orts Fan!”
Only YOU can fully appreciate the mind-blowing tragedy of a bunch of 18-22 year old athletes you’ll never meet, losing a game.
“Don’t you TAAAAALK to me about perspective!!”
While others are too preoccupied with things like real life, you take your anger directly to the place where it will make the absolute least possible impact: An Internet discussion forum.
“Loggin’ on now!”
Your unique eye for logic allows you to sling turds of doom every which way, and then brag about how you were RIGHT as soon as one of the pieces sticks to the wall – regardless of how many dozens fell limply to the floor before that.
“See I told you sooooooo!!”
And if some idiot newspaper columnist has the gall to not be as incensed as you are, you unleash your fury down upon him with all the tenacity and mercilessness of a rabid pit bull with a tender buttock locked in its jaws.
“Total anonymity!”
So keep clicking away, oh Marauder of the Mousepad. Because when the results you so desire finally come about years from now, you can say it was because YOU demanded it.”
“How come they haven’t fired that dumb coach yet?”
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Starting Pitching Watch
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— Charles Rector @ 5:54 am
Here are the current stats on the White Sox starting pitching:
Loaiza 3-0 3.21 ERA
Schoeneweis: 2-1 4.38 ERA
Garland 1-1 4.55 ERA
Buehrle 1-1 5.84 ERA
Wright: 0-3 6.08 ERA
As you can see, Buehrle continues on his decline and fall, Wright is as horrible as ever while Schoeneweis continues to shine as does Loaiza. As for Garland, he is as lazy as ever.
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Zero the Hero
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* General
— Charles Rector @ 5:44 am
Thus far this season, White Sox fans have been complaining about relief pitcher Shingo Takatsu aka Mr. Zero, saying that he’s been a zero as pitcher. These compalints are without foundation as the following game by game breakdown of his performance demonstrates:
Apr 9 @ NYY W 9-3 - 1.0 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
Apr 16 @ TB L 0-3 - 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
Apr 20 NYY L 8-11 - 0.1 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1K
Apr 23 TB W 3-2 - 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER 0 BB 1 K
Apr 24 TB L 1-4 - 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB 1 K
Apr 28 CLE W 9-8 - 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
Since his 1st MLB game at Yankee Stadium, Takatsu has done 6 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, and 8 K, for a 1.50 ERA. Including that Yankees game, his ERA is 3.86 which goes to show how a bad initial showing can warp pitching stats.
May Takatsu/Mr. Zero forever shine in the Sox pantheon……..
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My All-Star Ballot
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* General
— Charles Rector @ 3:34 am
Following is how I voted on the All-Star Ballot. 1st choice is AL, 2nd is NL:
First Base:
F. Thomas, CWS
H. Choi, FLA
Second Base:
A. Soriano, TEX
D. Jimenez, CIN
Third Base:
H. Blalock, TEX
C. Stynes, PIT
Shortstop:
J. Valentin, CWS
R. Clayton, COL
Catcher:
M. Olivo, CWS
J. Estrada, ATL
AL Outfielders:
V. Wells, TOR
J. Cruz, Jr, TB
A. Rowand, CWS
NL Outfielders:
A. Dunn, CIN
R. Hidalgo, HOU
R. Mondesi, PIT
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4/27/2004
The Hypocrisy of the Chicago News Media
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* General
— Charles Rector @ 7:53 am
The Chicago news media is hopelessly biased against the White Sox and is madly in love with the Cubs. Consider:
Frank Thomas is a legitimate Hall of Fame candidate after well over a decade of consistently solid baseball. However, the Chicago news media treat him as if he was worse than dirt.. Perhaps if Frank was a wife beating steroids user, the media would be kinder to him.
On the other hand, Mark Prior is 24-12 after 49 starts, compared to Jason Bere who was 24-7 after 48 for the Sox in the early 1990’s. However, Prior has been made into a sort of living saint by the media and they run frequent updates about his progress.
And they say that the media is “objective.”
Yeah, right.
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A Royal Pain
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* General
— Charles Rector @ 7:36 am
From:
http://www.robneyer.com/robrany.html
Rany: Maybe the Royals aren’t a contender - I know that’s your position - but until that’s proven, the Royals have to play as if they do have a chance - and that means pulling out all the stops against the Twins and White Sox.
Crappy managing - again, Graffanino lighting out for second base in the first inning cost us two runs. Crappy announcing - do Bob Davis and Paul Splittorff ever say anything that’s not 1) a cliché; 2) watered-down (when discussing bad performances by the Royals), or 3) obvious as all hell? Crappy pitching by everyone in the bullpen save Nate Field, who might be the best reliever we’ve got - he’s certainly the only one who can throw strikes.
If the Twins hit their way to a six-run rally, I’d tip my cap to them. But they scored six runs on three hits - and six walks.
Scott Sullivan: 11 strikes, 10 balls
Curt Leskanic: 12 strikes, 13 balls
Dennys Reyes: 6 strikes, 13 balls
And yesterday, protecting a two-run lead:
Jason Grimsley: 4 strikes, 11 balls
That’s beyond unforgivable. It’s unwatchable. And unless and until they start turning things around, I’m not sure I can bear to watch this team on any sort of regular basis. It’s just too painful.
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AL Central Pythagorean Standings
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* General
— Charles Rector @ 7:29 am
Here are the Pythagorean standings for the AL Central Division thus far this young season:
Pythagorean W-L
Detroit (19gms) 11-8
Sox (18gms) 11-8
Twins (18gms) 9-9
Royals (17gms) 8-9
Indians (19gms) 7-12
Note the luck of the Twins…………….
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Please Trade Carlos Lee!
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* General
— Charles Rector @ 7:19 am
Carlos Lee has been a regular bonehead thus far this season. The Sox should try to trade him before he inflicts more damage on the cause.
Here are Lee’s situational stats:
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS
Bases Empty 17 33 3 12 3 0 3 3 2 7 0 0 .364 .400 .727 1.127
Runners On 17 31 5 5 1 0 0 4 6 6 1 0 .161 .289 .194 .483
RISP 13 12 5 2 1 0 0 4 3 2 0 0 .167 .313 .250 .563
RISP w/2 Outs 8 7 3 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 .143 .143 .143 .286
Bases Loaded 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 .000
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS
None on/out 9 11 2 5 1 0 2 2 2 1 0 0 .455 .538 1.091 1.629
None on:1/2 Out 17 22 1 7 2 0 1 1 0 6 0 0 .318 .318 .545 .864
Men on, 2 outs 12 13 3 1 0 0 0 1 3 2 1 0 .077 .250 .077 .327
Man on 3rd, < 2 outs 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 .000
These stats show that there is a difference in Lee’s approach at the plate when runners are on base as compared to when nobody’s on.
Lee simply does not produce RBI’s like a clutch hitter should. That’s because he’s an anti-clutch hitter. Ego and selfishness are his trademarks. If there is ever a World Series on the South Side, it will only occur after Lee is no longer disgracing the Sox uniform.
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Truly Hateful
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* General
— Charles Rector @ 6:41 am
Point your browser to: http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2004/04/286523.shtml
And you will find this heinous headline:
Dumb Jock Killed in Afghanistan
And, scrolling down, you will find comments such as these:
how about, “privileged millionaire, blinded by nationalist mythology, pisses away the good life”
“Cottled sports star allows nationalism to foster jingoistic irresponsibility resulting in his death”
or how about….
“Citizen of empire allows ignorance to cause him to die for imperialism”
or maybe……
“Capitalist chooses to kill innocents instead of cashing check”
Tillman chose to go to Afghanistan. He’s partially reponsible for the deaths of hundreds, maybe thousands of Afghan civilians. No need to feel sorry for him, other than feeling bad that he was brainwashed into serving as a grunt.
hero fetishism and white supremacy
Were the Nazis heroes? Didn’t they also die for what they thought was right? Haven’t we all learned by now that *everyone* is doing what they think is right. The question is, what can be observed about their actions. Fighting in Iraq or in Afghanistan means you’re fighting for the wealth and power of Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Ashcroft, et al.
There’s a lot more of this garbage in addition to the above. If there is ever another 9/11 type terrorist attack, I hope that the scum who are responsible for this anti-American attack on Pat Tillman will perish in the attack. I know that sounds harsh, but that’s the way I feel.
Comments (1)
The News Media vs. the White Sox
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* General
— Charles Rector @ 4:48 am
There has been quite a bit of talk lately about massive press bias against the White Sox. Want one good example? My county’s daily newspaper, the Northwest Herald, had the Cubs boring win over the hapless N.Y. Mets on Sunday on the front page of the Monday Sports section, but the Sox’s thrilling victory in the bottom of the 9th inning over Tampa Bay was on page 4. Inexcusable.
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Would You Believe?
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— Charles Rector @ 4:17 am
As Maxwell Smart would put it, Would you believe that the Kansas City Royals team ERA is 5.40 and ranks 13th in the American League with Seattle being the only team lowlier than the Royals? Its true.
I can remember how Royals fans howled in derision of the White Sox after their favorite team picked up Scott Sullivan after the Sox did not resign Sullivan. Well, guess who’s laughing now? We are! Serves those KC meatheads right! Take that, Tony Pena!
Yeah!
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The Scapegoating of Jerry Manuel
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— Charles Rector @ 3:55 am
I am sick and tired of the Jerry Manuel bashing that both the White Sox organization and a lot of fans and fansites as well as journalists have been doing.
Jerry Manuel was a decent manager for the Sox in 1998-2003 and had 4 consecutive winning seasons despite the fact that none of his teams had quite as high a talent level as the 2004 Sox. Ken Harrelson has been the most vocal basher, using the Sox telecasts to spout his verbal diarrhea. This includes the claim that the Sox would not have made the come from behind victories that they have made this year if Manuel was still the manager. This is poppycock since Manuel’s teams won numerous come from behind games every year that he was the manager.
The claim has been made that Garland is a better pitcher because Manuel is not around and Ozzie is a genius. Utter nonsense. Garland is finally coming into his own, but it is because Pitching Coach Don Cooper’s teachings have finally penetrated his cranium.
It will be most interesting to see what happens when the Sox go on their first prolonged losing streak. Will Ozzie still be hailed as a great motivator and leader? Or will the bitter reality that he is an ignorant buffoon as compared to the professorial Manuel finally sink in?
Jerry Manuel was a good manager. He does not deserve to be trashed in order to build Ozzie Guillen up.
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Bulls Blog
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— Charles Rector @ 2:22 am
Yes, there is now a blog devoted to the Chicago Bulls by a guy named Matt, who is both quite passionate and intelligent about the team. http://bulls.blogspot.com/
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How Embarrassed are Tampa Bay Fans Over Sunday’s Game?
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— Charles Rector @ 2:16 am
I have not been able to help but notice that none of the D-Rays blogs have had anything to say about the humiliating defeat at the hands of the White Sox complete with 4 different D-Rays pitchers in the 9th inning and the winning run being scored by a Juan Uribe walk because the D-Ray reliever was too frightened to throw anything that Uribe could hit at. Is this a subject that is simply too embarrassing for the D-Ray bloggers to talk about? Truly, the Tampa Bay fans are utterly embarrassed by this defeat at the hands of both the heroic South Side Sox and their own moronic manager aka “"Sweet Lou.”
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Sweeney in a Funk
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— Charles Rector @ 1:55 am
Thus far, Sox prospect Ryan Sweeney is only hitting .229 at Winston-Salem. However, its only 14 games into the minor league season, so he has plenty of time to turn things around and reassert himself as one of the very best OF prospects in all of the minor leagues.
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4/26/2004
Juan the Hero and Carlos the Zero
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* General
— Charles Rector @ 10:00 am
Turns out that White Sox General Manager Kenny Williams’s pick up of Juan Uribe was a great move after all and that Williams’s signing Carlos Lee to a 2 yr. $15 Mil. contract was not so great. Let’s face it: If the lineup spots were reversed and Lee was in the batter’s box with the bases loaded, he would have gone down hacking away at pitches outside the strike zone.
What Williams really should do now is package Lee with Wunsch and trade them to Pittsburgh for Rob Mackowiack (Chicago native & Sox fan in addition to being a solid player) or to Texas for Alfonso Soriano or perhaps some other team for a decent player. That way, we can get some good out of an injury prone reliever and a space cadet player.
Comments (2)
4/23/2004
The Newest Power in the National League
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* General
— Charles Rector @ 3:26 am
Thus far this season, the NL Central has replaced the NL East as the strongest division in the National League. Consider:
NTRAL W L PCT GB HOME ROAD EAST CENT WEST AL L10 STRK
Cubs 9 6 .600 - 4-3 5-3 2-1 7-5 0-0 0-0 7-3 W3
Cincinnati 9 6 .600 - 6-3 3-3 3-2 6-4 0-0 0-0 5-5 W1
Houston 9 6 .600 - 4-5 5-1 0-0 8-4 1-2 0-0 7-3 L2
St. Louis 8 7 .533 1.0 3-7 5-0 0-0 3-6 5-1 0-0 6-4 W2
Pittsburgh 7 7 .500 1.5 2-3 5-4 5-1 2-6 0-0 0-0 5-5 L2
Milwaukee 8 9 .471 2.0 3-3 5-6 0-0 5-6 3-3 0-0 4-6 L1
The weakest team in the NL Central is only 1 game below .500 and is only 2 games behind the leader. Truly, this is both the strongest and most competitive division in the league. Now if only the AL Central could become that strong!
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Scott Schoeneweis Pulls it Through
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— Charles Rector @ 1:06 am
Well, the Sox beat the Yanks in the last game of the series. Go Scott Schoeneweis!
20-win season for Scott Schoeneweis is right on track!
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4/21/2004
White Sox Ranked #3 Team in MLB
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* General
— Charles Rector @ 4:17 am
From:
http://www.all-baseball.com/archives/2004_04.html#012926
3. Chicago Sox (8) The Southsiders trail only Oakland and Baltimore in the AL in ERA at 3.67. The starting staff has an ERA of 3.56 but has walked just as many as they’ve struck out–33.
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The Continuing Decline & Fall of Mark Buehrle
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* General
— Charles Rector @ 4:06 am
Following is the the three year decline of starter Mark Buehrle as evidenced by his stats from 2001, 2002 and 2003 (in order):
ERA: 3.29, 3.58, 4.14
K/BB: 2.63, 2.20, 1.95
K/9IP: 5.12, 5.05, 4.65
BAA: .230, .260, .278
Buehrle’s decline is an indication that his arm is getting progressively tired. One would think that the Sox would opt to limit Buehrle to no more than 5 innings per start or to a strict pitch limit in the 75-100 range or perhaps even place him in the bullpen in order to at least lengthen out his quality service for the team. This is especially the case since Buehrle recently signed a 3-yr. $18 Mil. in guraranteed money contract with the Sox. However, the Sox have not evinced any awareness of Buehrle’s decline and appear to have their problematic pitcher on course towards lengthened stays on the mound.
Up until last night’s disaster at Comiskey Park vs. the Yankees, Buehrle was throwing an average 107 pitches per game. Folks, this is Dusty Baker territory. Unless Guillen institutes a strict pitch count on Buehrle, his decline will only continue to worsen.
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4/20/2004
White Sox Ticket Specials
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— Charles Rector @ 10:55 pm
The following is from: whitesox@lists.mlb.com :
Get Pepsi Half-Price Tuesday Tickets For April 20 - White Sox Vs. Yankees Game On-Line Now!
Now you can order Pepsi Half-Price Tuesday tickets on-line the day beforethe game! Starting at noon on the Monday prior to every Tuesday home game,purchase Pepsi Half-Price Tuesday tickets on-line at whitesox.com.
Simply type in the 12-digit UPC code from a Pepsi product (ie.0-12000-XXXXX-X) where indicated. Be sure to include hyphens, as shownhere.
When ordering Pepsi Half-Price Tickets on-line, you must use theTicketFast delivery option, which allows you to print your game ticketsright at your computer. You will receive an e-mail with your ticketsattached. Open the attachment, print out your tickets, bring them to thegates of the ballpark and enjoy the game! No waiting in line at WillCall! No need to visit the Ticket Windows!
Plus, when you order Pepsi Half-Price Tickets on-line, you save 50 percentoff regular on-line service fees!
Order your tickets for Tuesday’s game now!
There is a button on the bottom of this email and pressing it leads you to:
http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/cws/schedule/schedule_specials.jsp#tuesdays
And there is text that reads as follows:
Value Days
On select Sundays, tickets for kids 13 and under accompanied by an adult can be purchased at the ticket windows on the day of the game for just $1. Plus, kids can collect autographs pregame and run the bases postgame, weather permitting. Kids Day games begin at 2:05 p.m.
April 25 vs. Devil Rays
June 13 vs. Braves
July 11 vs. Mariners
August 22 vs. Red Sox
September 19 vs. Tigers
Tickets are half the regular price for all Monday home games. Half-price Monday games
begin at 7:05 p.m.
Buy Tickets June 21 vs. Indians
Buy Tickets July 26 vs. Twins
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On Tuesday home games, redeem an empty Pepsi product at the U. S. Cellular Field ticket windows on the day of the game and receive a half-price ticket!
Or purchase your tickets on-line by clicking the Buy Tickets links below starting at noon on the Monday prior to the game. Simply enter the 12-digit Pepsi product UPC code (ie. 0-12000-XXXXX-X) where indicated. Be sure to include hyphens, as shown here. Select TicketFast as your method of delivery. You will receive a confirmation e-mail shortly after placing your order. You will receive a second e-mail containing a file that must be downloaded so that you can print your tickets from your computer…no waiting in line for Will Call! Simply bring your printed tickets to the gates of the ballpark to enter. No need to visit the ticket windows! Plus, when ordering Pepsi Half-Price Tuesday tickets on-line, you save 50 percent off regular on-line service fees!
All Pepsi Half-Price Tuesday games begin at 7:05 p.m.
Buy Tickets Buy Tickets July 6 vs. Angels
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Buy Tickets April 15 vs. Royals, 1:05
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Sign up for the Silver & Black Pack and receive six coupons redeemable for tickets to any Wednesday or Thursday regular season home game. Members get to take part in an on-field parade prior to two select games and receive White Sox souvenirs and gifts. Membership fee is just $27. Join the White Sox Youth Fan Club online now »
Grand Slam Groups are an affordable way to bring your club or organization out to the ballpark. Grand Slam Group tickets are half the regular ticket price!
To find out if your group qualifies to receive half-price tickets with an already established Grand Slam Group, contact the White Sox Group Sales Department at 312-674-1000, or e-mail grouptickets@whitesox.mlb.com
Grand Slam Group Schedule »
Game dates and times are subject to change.
Comments (1)
4/19/2004
Danny Wright Needs to Go Back to Long Relief
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* General
— Charles Rector @ 11:09 pm
Last season, Danny Wright was both proven and effective in the long relief role. Here are his stats as long reliever in 2003:
16 2/3rdsIP 13H 6R 6ER 5BB 5K 3.23ERA
Long Relief is what Wright’s good at. He needs to be put back there now.
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2/3rds of Tampa Bay Series Won!
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— Charles Rector @ 3:16 am
Overall, it was a nice experience even if we didn’t get the hoped for sweep. Loaiza is looking better than ever and even got something that he did not get all last year: a shutout!
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4/17/2004
Is Ozzie Guillen Mimicking Dusty Baker?
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* General
— Charles Rector @ 11:54 pm
Jon Garland pitched a career high 119 pitches in NY. Then 115 on the 14th. Sox pitching coach Don Cooper needs to protect Garland from Ozzie having too much faith in him – Garland should be on a hard pitch count of no more than 100 pitches. We need this guy in October – I doubt he was properly stretched out ot reach the 120 mark a week ago, and to back him up with a 115 pitch performance, that just shows that somebody’s not looking out for the pitcher.
Ozzie caught some flak for having a bit of a quick hook on Buerhle in the Opener, since then, the top three starters have averaged over 112 pitches per start. We all saw first hand what happened to Dusty Baker’s staff last year with the Cubs compared to in Florida where the pitch counts were monitored very closely on their young pitching.
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The Latest Cubs Blowup
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* General
— Charles Rector @ 11:42 pm
Kerry Wood was ejected from today’s game in which his Cubs lost to the Reds by 3-2. What’s weird is that his tantrum happened right after Dusty Baker took him out of the ball game. Guess that 131 pitches was the right number for Wood to throw today, right Dusty? At this rate, Wood will be joining Mark Prior on the list of pitchers sitting out the year for Tommy John Surgery. Hopefully, the Cubs will burn themselves out on all that emotionalizing and they will go on to lose 100 games this year.
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Send Danny Wright to the Bullpen!
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* General
— Charles Rector @ 2:30 am
Since Danny Wright is a proven long reliever and a failed starter, the Sox need to send him to the bullpen and promote either Jon Adkins or Neal Cotts to the 5th starter position.
Comments (0)
Filed under:
* General
— Charles Rector @ 2:26 am
For sheer lack of logic, here’s the CSR editor’s rejection email of the original version of that Cubs playoff article:
Just finished reading your piece, or at least up until the final paragraph or two.
Now, although I’m a Sox fan and part of me would like to see the Cubs fail, your reason’s were simply untrue and had no backing to them. It was worsened by the fact that you continually repeated your transitions ("another way/reason,” “however,"). Plus, you mention a reason off the bat, then claim three more reasons, and then another reason or two after … it was never ending.
I do agree with some of your points. The Cubs haven’t improved themselves that much, Derrek Lee isn’t that big of a pickup, Barrett appears to be a downgrade.
In the end, it sounded as if you were more of a Sox fan, or anti-Cubs fan, who just wants them lose with no true reason for it.
I think something like this would need a TON of research to back it up, to where you statistically analyze the situation, OR it would have to be done in a lighthearted matter, kinda like a commentary.
Comments (0)
Filed under:
* General
— Charles Rector @ 2:23 am
Here’s something else: The original version was emailed to the CSR editor on February 22nd, but it was published under the date of Feb. 18th and it does not have my name on it either.
Comments (0)
Filed under:
* General
— Charles Rector @ 2:14 am
Now, if you want to read the version that was eventually published, just point your browser to:
http://www.chicagosportsreview.com/localopinion/localopinionview.asp?c=97521
There is one glaring problem with the pubished version: no mention of the high probablity of injuries to the Cubs pitching staff due to Dusty Baker’s overruse of them in 2003. That part was excised because the editor of the CSR was afraid that Cubs fans would get the idea that the CSR was hoping that the Cubs pitchers would suffer harm and boycott the CSR as a result. Unreal.
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Why its Unlikely That the Cubs Will Make the Playoffs in 2004
Filed under:
* General
— Charles Rector @ 2:09 am
Following is the original version of a piece that was eventually published in butchered form on the Chicago Sports Review website:
With Spring Training just getting under way, the long-suffering fans of the Chicago Cubs are as optimistic as ever. Last year, their team came within 5 outs of the World Series. This year, their club has been bolstered by the signing of potential future Hall of Famer Greg Maddux. To these fans, it appears that their team has finally turned the corner to becoming a perennial contender.
However, this optimism is almost certainly going to be dashed. Previous Cub forays into the playoffs lead to losing seasons thereafter. This is not surprising since defeat in high-stakes baseball matches often have a lingering effect that carries over into succeeding years. Given the manner that the Cubs lost Game 6 of the National League Championship Series, it is likely that the effect will be even harder to shake off in 2004.
There are three other reasons why it is unlikely that the Cubs will make it to the playoffs in 2004. The first of these is that GM Jim Hendry has evidently let all of the praise that he continually reaps from the pundits go to his head. An example of this is WSCR late night talk show host Julie Swieca’s proclamations that Hendry is “the best Chicago sports GM.”
Certainly, Hendry has improved the pitching staff with the pick ups of Maddux and LaTroy Hawkins. However, pitching was already the team’s strong point. What really needed improvement was the offense. Hendry did make a good trade for Florida Marlins 1st baseman Derrek Lee who is at the very least the equal of the Karros/Simon tandem that the Cubs had at 1B last year. However, this was cancelled out by the fact that catcher Damian Miller was traded for a new starting catcher, Michael Barrett. While Miller was not a great hitter, he was better than what Barrett has shown thus far and Miller was also solid at defense and had a good throwing arm as well. This was a strange move given the fact that there were at least three quality catchers, Javy Lopez, A.J. Pierzinski and Ivan Rodriguez who were available as free agents. Hendry also chose not to resign such bench players as leadoff hitter Kenny Lofton, Randall Simon and Doug Glanville. Collectively, their replacements do not seem to be any better, and none of them are true leadoff hitters. What Hendry has done is upgrade the pitching and the offense has been slightly downgraded.
Another reason is the situation that they face in 2004. The East has traditionally been the strongest division in the NL. With both Atlanta and Florida both strong despite suffering some losses and Philadelphia being upgraded, it is very likely that the NL Wild Card will be in the East. In other words, its either win the NL Central Division or its bust.
The strongest adversary that the Cubs face in the NL Central is the Houston Astros. The GM of the Astros, Gerry Hunsicker, has been at work adding to his team since the regular season ended. For instance, he traded the increasingly unreliable closer Billy Wagner to Philadelphia and received what was generally considered fair value in return. Likewise, he traded 3rd baseman Geoff Blum to Tampa Bay and received good value for him. The Blum trade was also a case of addition by subtraction since Blum was platooned with Morgan Ensberg who generally played better than Blum. It is the opinion of several observers, such as Rob Neyer, that had Ensberg received more playing time at 3rd base, that could have made all the difference in the 2003 NL Central race. Hunsicker has also made some other moves such as the much ballyhooed pick ups of star pitchers Roger Clemens and Andy Pettite. By any way you look at it, Hunsicker has done a better job of upgrading the Astros than Hendry has done with the Cubs.
The third reason is that the 2003 Cubs were a fluke. In 2003, the Cardinals scored 876 runs, the Astros 805 and the Cubs 725. In other words, St. Louis scored 151 more runs than the Cubs while Houston scored 81 more runs. In other words, the Cubs offense that GM Hendry failed to address during the offseason, was swamped by the opposition. The main reason why the Cubs won the Central last year was that they went 27-17 in one run games. That proficiency was pure luck as shown by the fact that Detroit was 19-18 in one run games while Atlanta went 17-25 in such contests. Also, the final games of the 2003 season for the Cubs were mainly against the perennial doormats of the NL Central, the Cincinnati Reds and the Pittsburgh Pirates. Several of the Cubs had career years in 2003, not something that is likely to repeat in 2004.
Another way that the Cubs success in 2003 was a fluke was the play of the Houston Astros late that season. With just eight games left to go in the season, Houston had a 1 1/2 lead over the Cubs. During those final eight games, the Astros stranded a whopping 78 men on base. On one occaission, Houston had the bases had the bases loaded with nobody out in a game that they went on to lose. The Astros much-vaunted closer Billy Wagner blew two saves. In truth, the Cubs did not so much win the Central in 2003 as Houston blew it.
Another reason why the Cubs will not make the playoffs is that there is not much depth on the team. If a starting pitcher is sidelined due to injuries, then his replacement would likely be the unpromising likes of Juan Cruz or Todd Wellemeyer. If one of the team’s power hitters, such as Sammy Sosa, is sidelined who would replace his firepower?
The lack of depth is further exacerbated by the way that Dusty Baker handles pitchers. There is a website called Baseball Prospectus that has a ranking system called Pitcher Abuse Points that measures how a pitcher is worn down by such factors as total number of innings pitched and the pitch count. On this ranking, Kerry Wood finished at #1 while Mark Prior was #3 and Carlos Zambrano was #17. It is quite possible that Baker’s handling of his pitchers in 2003 will catch up with the Cubs’ young guns in 2004 and if just one of the Prior, Wood and Zambrano trio winds up on the DL List for long, or is out for the rest of the year, then the Cubs’ goose is cooked. Likewise, if the Cubs’ starters stay just healthy enough to stay in the rotation, but suffer a loss in effectiveness. Since pitcher abuse has been a hallmark of Baker’s managerial career, it is doubtful that the tiger will change his spots in 2004.
The Cubs’ failure to make the playoffs in 2004 could not have come at a worse time for the franchise. St. Louis is working on procuring young pitching through such mechanisms as the J.D. Drew trade. This pitching should be making its presence felt sometime in 2005 and that combined with the Cardinals’ fearsome lineup could make them the favorites in the Central from 2006 on. Also, the Pittsburgh Pirates seem to be getting their act together and have been making a number of interesting moves. Unless they blunder again, the Pirates could eventually become a contender in the Central by the end of the decade. Of course Houston will remain a powerhouse. Given the Cubs’ history, its quite likely that future generations of Cubs fans will look back at 2004 as a golden opportunity that Cubs management failed to capitalize on with that failure resulting in years of watching other teams in the postseason until lightning strikes again.
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4/16/2004
Clean Sweep of KC!
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— Charles Rector @ 5:00 am
During the past 3 days, the White Sox by scores of 12-5, 10-9 and 6-5 defeated the hapless Kansas City Royals. However, there were problems with Guillen’s management such as his using 3 pinch hitters in a row in the last game and his ongoing abuse of the Sox pitching staff. Mark Buehrle threw 110 pitches today on top of the 115 pitches in an earlier outing agianst the Royals and 119 pitches against the Yankees. Folks, this is Dusty Baker territory that we’re talking about and with the Sox pitching already so shallow, we can hardly afford to burn Buehrle out.
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4/14/2004
Who’s This Blogger Dude Anyway?
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— Charles Rector @ 10:18 pm
By now, you’re probably wondering just who this C.Rector guy is. Well, I’m 39 years old and am a former graduate student in history. Like so many other grad students, I ultimately failed in my quest for lasting employment in my field. Up to now, my most significant published piece was “D.P. Upham, Woodruff County Carpetbagger” that was published in the Spring 2000 issue of the Arkansas Historical Quarterly. Hopefully, this blog will be prove to be the launching pad for a brilliant writing career the profitibility of which will be such that I can be chauffered in a big black limo puffing on smuggled Cuban cigars with a blonde mistress at my side. Well, we all have our little fantasies, don’t we?
By the way, that C is for Charles.
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— Charles Rector @ 10:04 pm
Interestingly enough one of the more adamant defenders of Dusty Baker on the pitcher overuse issue no longer has her own radio show. I wonder why.
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— Charles Rector @ 10:01 pm
That piece was originally written back in February and submitted to the Chicago Sports Review website. It was rejected, in part, on the grounds that the White Sox pitching coach would see to it that Manager Guillen would not overuse the Sox pitchers.
This was most interesting in light of the fact that last year, whenever callers to sports talk radio shows expressed fear that Dusty Baker was overusing the Cubs pitchers, the hosts of those shows would often claim that there was nothing to worry about since the Cubs pitching coach would not allow Manager Baker to overuse the Cubs pitchers. I know that history often repeats itself, but this is pretty bizarre.
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The Chicago White Sox Pitching Situation
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— Charles Rector @ 9:51 pm
We are used to seeing huge headlines when something newsworthy comes out. However, there are times when something remarkable occurs and hardly anybody notices. Such is the case concerning some interesting remarks recently made by White Sox rookie manager Ozzie Guillen.
According to a February 21 MLB.com article, Guillen said that, “I talked to (Sox pitching coach Don) Cooper, and I want these guys ready to throw nine innings right from the get go. I don’t expect that to happen all of the time, but that’s what I want.” Guillen was also quoted by MLB.com as saying that, “I won’t hurt my pitchers, and I’m going to protect them. But I’m going to give the kids a chance for me not to babysit them.”
In other words, Guillen wants to buck the trend in baseball where starting pitchers have been getting lighter workloads in order to reduce the number of pitching injuries. Increasing the number of innings pitched by starters reduces the workload on the bullpen which in turn makes the relief pitchers that much more proficient. However, it can also lead to injuries among the starters.
One manager whose method of handling pitchers often leads to over use and ultimately injuries is Jeff Torborg. White Sox fans may remember Torborg as the man who during the 1989-1991 seasons subjected Reliever Bobby Thigpen to a course that ultimately led to both the all-time saves record of 57 in 1990, but also to his prematurely burning out. During 2001-2002 and the start of 2003, Torborg was the manager of the Florida Marlins and his way of handling pitchers led to injuries due to overuse among several pitchers. Eventually, the Marlins dumped Torborg in favor of Jack McKeon whose superior management of the team’s pitching enabled the club to overcome their 16-22 start under Torborg and go all the way to a World Championship.
During 2001-2003, Ozzie Guillen served as the Marlins 3rd Base Coach. During both this time and Torborg’s earlier stint as Sox manager, Guillen had the time and place to absorb Torborg’s attitudes towards pitchers and how long they should stay on the mound. It would appear that Guillen has been greatly influenced by Torborg.
This attitude on Guillen’s part comes at a curious moment for the Sox. In terms of pitching, their staff is arguably the best in the AL Central, yet it is almost frighteningly shallow compared to the best of baseball. One reason for this shallowness is the three year decline of starter Mark Buehrle as evidenced by his stats from 2001, 2002 and 2003 (in order):
ERA: 3.29, 3.58, 4.14
K/BB: 2.63, 2.20, 1.95
K/9IP: 5.12, 5.05, 4.65
BAA: .230, .260, .278
Buehrle’s decline is an indication that his arm is getting progressively tired. One would think that the Sox would opt to limit Buehrle to no more than 5 innings per start or to a strict pitch limit in the 75-100 range or perhaps even place him in the bullpen in order to at least lengthen out his quality service for the team. This is especially the case since Buehrle recently signed a 3-yr. $18 Mil. in guraranteed money contract with the Sox. However, the Sox have not evinced any awareness of Buehrle’s decline and appear to have their problematic pitcher on course towards lengthened stays on the mound.
If the Chicago White Sox are to have any chance of winning the AL Central in 2004, the team needs to have its pitchers bright and chipper. That being the case, Sox fans have to hope and pray that while Guillen may share Torborg’s philosophy of pitching, the new Sox manager has greater talent and discretion dealing with pitchers than Torborg. As any further reason is needed for concern, the recent sidelining of Cubs pitcher Mark Prior is further evidence of what ill wind comes from pitchers staying out on the mound for too long.
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