If he can tell the mechanics are off after five swings, that begs the question of why he didn't immediately work on the swing when he came to the Sox.

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

All I can add is that I can't stand Joe Cowley. Even though I'm a Cubs fan, I still follow the Sox. I can't read the sumbitch in the paper or listen to him on the radio without wanting to slam my head into a brick wall.

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Second City Saint

No, dolphin, I would not lie to you. I'm at the park for every home game, with with the exception of the Cubs series because they usually have us on remote. So, I'm there 78 times a season. The bullpen bar/Beam Club remotes are only on Fridays. Every other night, I'm in a broadcast booth about 2 doors down from Farmer/DJ.

I go to Arizona every spring (with the exception of last year). When I go, it's usually only for a week or two. I'd prefer to be there for the full month, obviously.

Take a look at outfielders' salaries around baseball and you'll see that Rios' contract is not all that high, as long as he performs to what he's capable. You're quoting the .775 OPS, but that career average will likely be above .800 after a few more years. His career is still fairly young, in that respect. He had 2 straight years at better than .850 followed by a season barely below .800 (.798) and had an off year last season. It is most certainly not out of the question for him to be back above .800 this season.

And when you look at those salaries, take into account that many of those 8 figure per-year contracts are for corner outfielders. Rios is playing one of the toughest positions on the field, and with a normal year for him, $12.5 mil really isn't a lot of money.

You said "widely reported" but a better phrase might be "widely speculated". Like I said earlier, blocking him from Detroit was a byproduct. KW wanted Rios and wanted him for a while, it just looks like he wasn't expecting them to give him away without a trade. You have to think about this: if teams are attempting to block a waiver deal, they aren't going to block a guy they don't want if that guy's contract is massive. That's a HUGE gamble when you don't have unlimited payroll.

Well, of course, the Sox have a top 3 or 4 payroll in the division. There are only 5 teams. The Tigers spent more than the Sox did the past two seasons, however. After a few years of having a top 5 payroll, they're back to the middle of the pack which is in accordance with their attendance. You're definitely entitled to your opinion on Williams, he's not perfect, but he's a pretty damn good GM. He's not even close to being terrible. I'm not sure you remember what "bad" really is.

You misunderstood Ranger. I said their payroll is always higher than 3 teams in their division. They are currently 12th in all of baseball. Thats not a low payroll team

775 is Rios career OPS. Thats it. Of course he can improve it. But why would anyone expect him to improve when it has gone down 4 straight years?

Yeah, but I don't care if his OPS drops from .865 to .852 from one season to the next. That doesn't indicate anything to me because it's not significant. The only thing that matters is that he had a bad year last year, and minus that, He's done pretty well since 2006. I'm expecting last year was an anomoly. And as far as I'm concerned, I don't really care about a player's first couple of years in the league because those numbers are almost always not reflective of what his career will be.

Which is why I'd say that if his career OPS stands around .775 even after another couple of seasons, that will mean more than it does now.

No, you're right, they don't have a low payroll. I didn't say it was. It's right around average or slightly above. I'm not what your'e getting at, but he's donw well with what he has. The only team that has done consistently well with a lower payroll is the Twins, but that organization has done some marvelous things in the last several years. That doesn't take anything away from Williams, though.

I am caught up in SOXFEST hysteria and I don't even have to go!!!!!!

BOTTOM LINE.......with this starting pitching.....they should be the OVERWHELMING favorites to win this putrid little Division of theirs.

Have to drop off the rest of the ticket money out there today.
Have to shoot the shit with Joe Rokas.

_________________
There goes one over the fence..Tru Link Fence..Beauty, Privacy Security....Call Tru Link.
Murph's Union 76 Truck Stop....A great Thanksgiving Tradition!!!!

WOO LIFE!!!!

You correctly used the word CONSISTENT in describing the Twins......Perhaps the geniuses on 35th Street who squander just as many 1st round draft selections as the Bumbling Bears ought to look to the Marlins as an example as to how to build a system with little or no money.
How many years did it take the baseball braintrust on the south side to figure out Duane Shaffer was an absolute idiot?
Did Shaffer evaluate talent from a barstool?

_________________
There goes one over the fence..Tru Link Fence..Beauty, Privacy Security....Call Tru Link.
Murph's Union 76 Truck Stop....A great Thanksgiving Tradition!!!!

WOO LIFE!!!!

Well....uh....hmmmm.....oh.....well.....maybe he was busy teaching Getz how to swing for the fences.....

_________________
There goes one over the fence..Tru Link Fence..Beauty, Privacy Security....Call Tru Link.
Murph's Union 76 Truck Stop....A great Thanksgiving Tradition!!!!

WOO LIFE!!!!

The most impressive thing to me about Williams is he unloads all of these STIFFS from the farm system and gets something valuable in return.

_________________
There goes one over the fence..Tru Link Fence..Beauty, Privacy Security....Call Tru Link.
Murph's Union 76 Truck Stop....A great Thanksgiving Tradition!!!!

WOO LIFE!!!!

I know that is going to be the theme going into this season but the Twins feature two MVPs in their lineup and 4 30 HR players overall. I wouldn't dismiss them.

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

I sure as hell am not dismissing the Twins...I am waiting for the HOOTERVILLE nonsense to start that somehow the Twins can't play baseball outdoors!!!!

_________________
There goes one over the fence..Tru Link Fence..Beauty, Privacy Security....Call Tru Link.
Murph's Union 76 Truck Stop....A great Thanksgiving Tradition!!!!

WOO LIFE!!!!

The Twins traded maybe the fastest player in baseball in Carlos Gomez for a sure-handed but unspectacular SS with 20+ HR power in JJ Hardy. There is NO way they make that trade if they are still playing in the baggy dome. There is also a rumor that they are close to signing Jim Thome. He's not exactly a protypical Twin either. I'm not saying they 'can't' play baseball outside but they are certainly changing the makeup of the team and that's a VERY good thing for the Sox.

WHY?
The Sox showed us last season they could not field the ball inside or outside.
What the Twins or anybody else does does NOT affect the type pf baseball the White Sox will be playing.

The famous Rev. Watkins used to come on WSCR and tell everyone the Cubs just don't have to get any better, the other teams have to get a little worse.
HASN'T WORKED YET.

The destiny of the Sox is controlled by the Sox...not where the Twins play home games.

_________________
There goes one over the fence..Tru Link Fence..Beauty, Privacy Security....Call Tru Link.
Murph's Union 76 Truck Stop....A great Thanksgiving Tradition!!!!

WOO LIFE!!!!

The defense is improved.

No, but WHERE they play does effect the Sox.

The cubs suck.

We'll see.....

The Twins are just going to freak out playing outside!!!!
They have never done that before!!!!!
THE DOME WAS A TOTAL ADVANTAGE!!!!
Pure Hooterville nonsense!!!!!
Hawk Harrelson bullshit for the weak of mind!!!!!

_________________
There goes one over the fence..Tru Link Fence..Beauty, Privacy Security....Call Tru Link.
Murph's Union 76 Truck Stop....A great Thanksgiving Tradition!!!!

WOO LIFE!!!!

I remember when the Twins played in The Met OUTSIDE with guys like Killebrew, Carew, Oliva, Allison, Kaat, Mincher, Chance, Hisle, Bostock........and they beat the dogshit out of the White Sox......I guess this Twins team will be intimidated by fresh air!!!!
LMAO!!!!

_________________
There goes one over the fence..Tru Link Fence..Beauty, Privacy Security....Call Tru Link.
Murph's Union 76 Truck Stop....A great Thanksgiving Tradition!!!!

WOO LIFE!!!!

Those guys don't play baseball for the Twins anymore.

Joe Mauer, born in St. Paul and Justin Morneau, born in Canada ARE on the Twins.
The whole point is the focus should be on the White Sox....not some wishy washy Hawk Harrelson inspired voodoo doll focus on the Metrodome and some idea that Major League ballplayers are going to meltdown playing outside.
The White Sox were miserable last season....the Twins can play their home games on Mars...the focus should be on the White Sox.

_________________
There goes one over the fence..Tru Link Fence..Beauty, Privacy Security....Call Tru Link.
Murph's Union 76 Truck Stop....A great Thanksgiving Tradition!!!!

WOO LIFE!!!!

If you've watched any Sox/Twins games the last few years it's not Mauer and Morneau who have killed them. It's Nick Punto, Carlos Gomez (gone!), Denard Span and Alexi Castilla. The fast bastards that hit the ball off the concrete and run forever. They won't be able to do that as well playing on grass.
I am focused on the Sox but to think where the Twins play 81 of their games won't have a dramatic effect on the division is very short sighted.

We will wait and see with the Twins....it is the damned White Sox, with their nonsense last season that drove me crazy..and that wasn't a long drive.

_________________
There goes one over the fence..Tru Link Fence..Beauty, Privacy Security....Call Tru Link.
Murph's Union 76 Truck Stop....A great Thanksgiving Tradition!!!!

WOO LIFE!!!!