This is fucking pathetic.

I don't know what magical spell KC and Baltimore have over the Sox but I am fucking sick of it. These two teams must circle the dates on their calendars and draw a W on them when they play the Sox. Thank God Detroit lost tonight or I would be on full meatball mode.

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RFDC thinks I'm retarded.

C'mon. I know these last 2 games have sucked, but they still have a shot to split which is what a lot of us said we would be happy with anyway. Before this series, over the last 5 series before this one, they results were; 2 of 3, 3 of 4, swept, sweep, sweep. That is pretty damn good. They will turn it around starting tonite.

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Where did all the Oriole fans go? Only 3 games behind the Yankees, and if the season ended today, they are in the playoffs. Yet on Monday the paid attendance was just over 10k and yesterday it was 12k. And their opponent is in first place. WTF?

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Even the Oriole fans want no part of White Sox baseball.

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

Tickets sold, guys. That's how MLB measures attendance. Yeah, it did suck to see a lot of empty seats at Camden Yards the first 2 games of this series, but it's my understanding that kids have gone back to school in the Baltimore area. That might explain in part why that ballpark seemed to resemble recent White Sox games at the Cell.

That being said, I've got my fingers crossed that bigger crowds await the Sox when they come home.

SLUMP!

Sox were over 24K each of the last 6 homes games at the Cell. You need to do your job, SHARK, a lot better.

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Okay, Jim Rome... It didn't stop sports radio hosts, White Sox radio voice Ed Farmer & newspaper columnists from bitchin' & moanin'.

SHARK, just admit you were wrong about the Sox recent attendance and move on.

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They were bitchin and moanin about there not being packed houses for the Yankees. There's clearly more than the small crowds that Baltimore has, but a lot to be desired from a 1st place team in Chicago.

I was bummed as much as anyone not as many fans bothered to show up for the Yankees' series, let alone a Mariners' team that might finish around .500 for the season. It didn't stop Joe Sox Fan from packin' the place to see a bad Twins' team earlier this month. I don't get it...

So much for checking your facts, SHARK.....

Sox attendance during the last homestand;
27,561
24,247
26,319
25,058
24,562
23,146

I know those are not sellouts, but those are halfway decent attendance numbers. Those numbers are double what has been at Camden Yards the first 2 games of this series. It took me all of 2-3 minutes on whitesox.com to pull those numbers off the box scores...

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Frank, when the Twins last visited U.S. Cellular Field, they drew over 30,000. Go figure!

The lineups are in for the third of 4 with the Orioles, and there are notable changes for both teams. Those changes are in BOLD type.

CHW:
28 Dewayne Wise CF (L)
20 Kevin Youkilis 3B (R)
32 Adam Dunn DH (L)
14 Paul Konerko 1B (R)
51 Alex Rios RF (R)
24 Dayan Viciedo LF (R)
10 Alexei Ramirez SS (R)
17 Tyler Flowers C (R)
15 Gordon Beckham 2B (R)
Starting Pitcher: 33 Dylan Axelrod (RHP; 1-2, 5.63 ERA

BAL:
21 Nick Markakis RF (L)
2 J.J. Hardy SS (R)
9 Nate McLouth LF (L)
10 Adam Jones CF (R)
32 Matt Wieters C (S)
12 Mark Reynolds 1B (R)
19 Chris Davis DH (L)
35 Omar Quintanilla 2B (L)
13 Manny Machado 3B (R)
Starting Pitcher: 48 Joe Saunders (LHP; 6-10, 4.22 ERA w/ARZ)

Well that was a welcome change. Hopefully Axelrod doesn't give those 4 runs back in the bottom of the inning.

What a HUGE start by Axelrod. They need another one out of Quintana tomorrow. Hopefully the offense will make it easier on him. Detroit is down 1-0 in the bottom of 7.

Why the fuck does he have to bring Barry Jones in to get the last out? Couldn't Veal get one more with a 7 run lead?

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Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

KC beat the Tigers again this time 1-0. Lead is 3 games. Nice to see KC helping the cause.

They could have helped a little more by losing to us, but I'll still take it

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"All crowds boycotting football games shouldn't care who sings or takes a knee because they aren't watching." - Nas

This guy has been pretty good nearly every time they've sent him out there. After last night he has to get another start. I don't hate Floyd the way a lot of Sox fans seem to, but I'd have to think he's in danger of Axelrod taking that last spot from here on out.

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Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

This is the same thinking as Dewayne Wise starting when De Aza gets back. No.

Axelrod has been a nice spot starter. He has kept them in games. He has exceeded very low expectations which makes you think he is better than he is.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

It's a little different than that. I don't think anyone thinks that Axelrod is going to be better than Floyd over their next 100 starts. (Well, maybe some people do.) In fact, I'd bet against Axelrod ever making 100 starts. But he certainly can be better than Floyd over the next five or six. Especially as shaky as Floyd has looked recently. You're trying to win a pennant here. You put Axelrod in a tough spot yesterday and he got it done. And that isn't the first time. Yeah, I know his ERA is over 5.00. I just don't see how you wouldn't send him out there again after last night. They sent him down after the game though, so who knows what they're thinking.

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Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

His next start for me would be in giving a guy like Quintana or possibly Sale a rest but I wouldn't have him replace anyone unless Floyd needs to miss another start.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

Well, hopefully Floyd's arm has been nagging him a little and causing his lack of control with the curveball and they can get him straightened out. What absolutely can't happen at this point is sending him out there to walk half the lineup and get bounced after three innings. But now that I think about it, September 1 is almost here. Once they have the luxury of adding some more arms, a quick hook isn't going to be such a burden on the pen.

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Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

Go with the hot hand. No one is saying Wise should be the opening day starter next year but he should continue to play when De Aza returns. He's doing everything offensively that De Aza did and he's playing a much better centerfield. It's not guaranteed that De Aza will just pick up where he left off and if he struggles at the plate they cooled off a hot player in Wise. When/if DeWayne Wise starts playing like DeWayne Wise they can make the switch but for now don't fuck with a winning hand.

If a healthy Floyd pitched last night he would have crumbled. Hurt arm or not, it's his brain that let's him and the team down continually. I don't believe Floyd has the mental toughness to get the job done, especially when it is vital he does so.

I don't believe injuries are why the Phillies traded him away. I think his mental toughness or game intelligence was questioned.

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RFDC thinks I'm retarded.

Hey SHARKY-FISH where are my lineups?? Don't make me search the internets young man.

Sox:
Wise 8
Lopez 5
Dunn DH
Konerko 3
Rios 9
AJ 2
Tank 7
Ramirez 6
Gordo 4

O's:
MArkakis
Hardy
Jones
Reynolds
Ford
McLouth
Machado
Andino
Teagarden

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The one thing I don't like is the bench. Ozzie used the bench too much, but Robin probably does too little. Olmedo came into the game last nite in the 7th to give Youk a spell. No problem there. But why not throw Danks in the OF and Hudson at 2B or SS in the 8th as well? Maybe get them an at bat and keep them somewhat fresh. I know the rosters come up and the main guys have been getting it done, but who knows if Beckham twists and ankle sliding or Alexei gets hit in the hand and has to miss 3 or 4 games. Keep those bench guys somewhat fresh and give them an at bat when you can.

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Isn't Hudson still on the DL?

I like the Lopez addition this morning. I think when the playoff roster gets set, you'll see Flowers, Lopez, Wise, and Hudson. I'm not sure you could trust much off the bench until early August, anyway.

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