has anyone ever used the headline "Danks for the Memories"? i think it's high time to if not...but not for that game.

Congrats Cubs fans. Nice win for you guys.

Couldn't see the game but caught the highlights.

Game of inches. Quentin and Cabrera were a couple feet from homers. We win if they get those couple of feet. They didn't. Sox lose.

Anyway, we get Marquis tomorrow. That should be a Sox win.

When will us Sox fans not believe the Hawk,Farmer,& the Ranger aren't gospel it isn't even All Star Break and the bullpen is lites out. Lets judge them on the year not 3 months!

Yeah, but they also win if when they get a leadoff double (6th inning, 9th inning) they are fundamentally sound and get him to 3rd, then in to score. All the more reason why Jim Thome had no business being at the plate in the 9th inning.

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After todays game I believe "Danks for nothin' " would make a better headline.

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Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

My buddy told me the Thome situation.

Man on 2nd, nobody out, batting for the pitcher.

I don't mind that move by Ozzie. At the very least you figure Thome could pull a ball, ground out, and move the runner.

Didn't work out. But it wasn't a bad move. Fuck Thome for not pulling the ball. My friend said he popped out to the short stop.

not so sure about that being true - at least basing a Sox win by virtue of Marquis being their opponent. The Cubs have simply shown an uncanny ability to come from behind and win. And when they are unable to come back, they make it damn close. It will certainly be another interesting game tomorrow, however.

I will be interested in seeing which Marquis shows up tomorrow. The guy from the last couple games who has been really solid, or the other guy.

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

I hope we get the Jose Contreras that says "wait a minute, I forgot, I'm 60 years old."

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Maybe these fucking guys don't suck as much as I thought. At least they won't get swept.
I still suspect I'll lose a bottle of scotch this weekend.

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We all have private ails. The troublemakers are they who need public cures for their private ails.- Eric Hoffer

Fuck you, Loggins. Your shitty music make me barf, Loggins.

if that is the case, then why take him out at wrigley? if he was just going to keep mowing the cubs down as you say (which looked entirely possible), let him bat, throw another inning or even 2, and the sox wouldnt need to pull him in an effort to score more runs. yes, you should always try to pile up runs when you can, but was the risk (removing a pitcher who is throwing very well)-reward (maybe the pinch hitter gets a hit or walks - starts a scoring rally) worth it? with a 2 run lead, maybe, maybe not. today, it worked, uribe got a hit. most of the time, it doesnt work. it is impossible to predict.

regarding taking danks out after 6 innings - i dont think it was a no-brainer that danks should have been removed in that situation, even with him due up. the sox had a lead, the cubs were doing nothing, and he only threw 85 pitches. i dont think it was a WRONG play to remove him, but to say that it any manager would have done the same thing at that time is wrong, particularly in lou's case. on several occasions this season he has let the pitcher bat in the 7th inning with a lead if his pitch count is down to get that extra inning of rest for the bullpen, and take advantage of a strong start, and not just carlos zambrano. i remember him doing it with dempster earlier this year where dempster took his at-bat in the later portion of a game, went out to start the next inning, gave up a hit or a walk right away, and lou ended up pulling him just like that anyway. he has also had times where he has pinch-hit. it isnt a text-book "in-this-case-you-always-do-this" situation. it depends on how your pitcher is feeling, how he is throwing, if he has enough in the tank. it is a gut call. that, to me, is the beauty of the NL. having to make tough decisions down the stretch during the game: try to get that extra run? keep in the pitcher who is mowing them down? either way, sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesnt.

BUT YOU'RE DROWNING IN THE PAST, MIKE. And I've got your life jacket RIGHT HERE. It's called the '80s. And it's gonna be around FOREVER.

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Spank, Ramirez has proven to be a quality hitter in the REGULAR season. His 162-game average is 30 HR 106 RBIs and .284 batting average.
Ramirez is hitting .196 in the postseason, which includes a stellar 0-for-12 performance last year. Overall, he's 11-for-56 (.196).
Over 162, Crede is averaging 26 HR, 87 RBIs and .260 batting average. BUT,
Crede has been BETTER in the POST SEASON. He's 13-for-45 overall (.289). He was 1-for-9 against Boston (.111), but 7-for-19 against the Angels (.368) and 5-for-17 against Houston (.294). He has a .622 slugging percentage, Ramirez is at .464.
Also, who has the better glove? Crede was awesome during their postseason run.

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President of Blake Shetlon fan club

Have they already cast the bust for Crede's HOF induction based on that '05 post season performance? I sure hear a LOT about that 15 game stretch when the two 3B's are compared......If we are taking into account what happened 3 years ago, can we also include the first 4 years of Crede's career? Man, those were some great years!!!!

I'll give Crede the glove love --- pre-back problems. Now? Not so much.

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I never said anything about Cooperstown.
What other 15-game postseason stretch am I supposed to use?
So far, Crede has proven to be a better player in the postseason.
I'll give you the part about Crede's back, because it has been an issue -- and not just this season.
As for A-Ram, he's NEVER had performance issues. Always a clean bill of health. He's NEVER had any injury problems, especially with his legs.
Cubs fans have also NEVER questioned his heart. I remember the high praise he received after a pop fly bounced off the top of his head to cost the beloved a game against Atlanta.

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President of Blake Shetlon fan club

shut it, steely dan! hey. i'm all right. i can keep the fire by myself!

Crede is probably one of my least favorite White Sox players (and I am still amazed that he wasn't traded away--Williams botched that up), but in his defense, he is OPSing about .900 which isn't bad. He's also on pace to put up the most HRs of his career. I'll trade the 15 more errors a season for that.

Still, when Baseball Reference shows Fernando Tatis as the most similar player to you, you've got some issues.

The comparisons are made more on what Crede has done during the regular season -- lifetime .260 average isn't so hot.
I just don't believe is his play during the 2005 postseason can be overlooked.

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President of Blake Shetlon fan club

You can put it on the boarrrrrd..........YES!!

Dye is a hittin' fool lately. Nice to jump out early on Marquis.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

Runaway meatball!

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Damn straight. These HR's are contagious. Nice to see Wise get one too.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

Shit, Contreras is really struggling today. This is a bad inning.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

Jose has already faced 1 too many batters. Time to get him the fuck outta there.

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Nah, leave him in to face Ramirez. Bring in the lefty for Edmonds.
Ozzie rocks

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

Horsehit. He should have been out of the game after Patterson's hit. Way to go Jose, you fucking asshole.

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It feels good to be a Cubs fan.

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

yeah...doesn't last too long though...

why the hell wasn't this the 2:30pm game? boston and st. louis? keep it.

I bet. That was a helluva an inning. Off to go see a concert and forget this game happened now.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

Jesus. It was just 4-1?