Sox Town RIP

Most people take the changing of the seasons from summer to fall and fall to winter by the empirical knowledge of trees shedding leaves, snow accumulating and a frost in the air. Here in Chicago it's been signaled each year for the past century by Cubs fans strutting around in December like a banty rooster with its chest all puffed out.

Show me the hardware.

Oh, and Happy Holidays,
CP

Fastball......

Get a shrink!

cplz...I agree with you.

Fast is on his "own" roll!

I must say even I didn't think the sox would throw in the towel this soon.

The trade of Garcia was simply a money-dumping move and that's all there is to it. I thought the sox management said they would spend if the fans came out and supported them. I guess about 3 million fans isn't support.

The sox window is closing quickly.

TOO BAD THE CUBS WINDOW IS NAILED SHUT!

FB, stay in the now bro. The Sox seemed to have establish that they are pretty good at assessing and developing pitchers; and do a nice job of keeping them healthy too, unlike the Cubbies. Freddy is probably on the downside of his career, he is losing velocity on his FB, and I think he may be in the last year of his contract??? The two kids from Philly probably have very nice upsides and the Sox can keep them for a long time if they want to. I don't think Kenny missed on this trade. Kenny seems to have found a very nice OP in stockpiling pitching. It gets your club Ws during the season, and good pitching and positional talent in return when its time to deal.

I wish the Sox could find a better SS though. Uribe's glove does not make up for what he doesn't bring to the dish. 18 HRs or not, he's brutal.

From my historical perspective, Jose Valentin was brutal, Uribe was a definate upgrade from there. My how quickly we forget.

Once again, a cubs fans perspective is that any move made by the sox, regardless of how they finish, is tantamount to surrender. And of course cubs moves like wholesale changes in the outfield, middle infield and managerial staff can mean nothing but certain and immediate glorification with nothing to hinder the inevitable championship.

Someone please remind me...just exactly when was the last time that fairy tale came true on the northside?

Pardon me for digressing to my sophomoric roots, FBD, but... SCOREBOARD, SCOREBOARD, SCOREBOARD.

nuf said,
CP

It's no wonder pharmacutical companies choose Wrigleyville for amassing the largest pool on which to test anti depressants.

Facts are facts. KW has said that the Sox will not offer contract extensions to any of their starters when the time comes. Now, you can spin that anyway you'd like but it is what it is. The Sox have said that this new economic landscape is not one in which they choose to play, so that means that they'll be replacing their rotation with prospects. They've left themselves no other choice. Only time will tell if that is a winning method. If you think the Sox are better today without Garcia then that's your opinion.

I do know that the Sox just saved $10 Million for this year. If they don't turn around and put that right back into the product on the field then I'd be very disappointed if I was a die hard Sox fan.

Do you think that the Cubs will choose not to work an extension for Zambrano because of the changing economic climate? How about the Yankees,Red Sox, Dodgers or Mets? Either you're gonna play in this new environment and ante up to keep your rotation for a few more years or you're gonna gamble that the young pitchers you acquire will, at some point, pan out. Time will tell.

quote:

Originally posted by CPLZ:
From my historical perspective, Jose Valentin was brutal, Uribe was a definate upgrade from there.

Agree, but I still think it is a spot where the Sox can improve.

Tuz, I too wish they could teach Uribe a better aproach at the plate. That being said I still don't think they win in 2005 if they had valentine and all his errors at ss as compared to Uribe. Just think of all those 1 run wins in 2005, you don't win those games if you don't have solid defense up the middle.

"Pitching prospects" are a dime a dozen.

In the case of Major League Starting Pitchers, one on the team is worth 7 or 8 prospects..at least.

fsb...

How soon you forget...

Now all of you will get a chance to see McCarthy in the starting rotation.

The second "prospect" in this deal was Sox property that they traded to the Phillies for Thome...Likely a "loan" player.

Someone famous, Branch Rickey I think, said it is better to trade a player a year early than a year late. That said, I thought we would get more back for a starter like Garcia. But maybe they know more than we do. They did win a Series. And please don't go back to Reinsdorf is cheap and doesn't want to win. With his 7 world champions to none by any other Chicago owner in the last 43 years, it doesn't wash.

Does McCarthy in the rotation worry anyone??

Reinsdorf definitley has his cheap times and it looks like he is going into one now, right after sox fans filled his stadium to the tune of almost 3 million fans. As one of those fans, I'm very dissapointed to see they have decided they won't pay today's prices for players.

Jerry Reinsdorf had little to do with The Bulls winning 6 of those 7 Championships bballdad mentions. They would have won them without him. It was all about Michael Jordan......and Reinsdorf wasn't responsible for him being there. And like this white sox team, that Bulls team ended its' run prematurely because of management.

FB, under your scenario, an owner is never responsible for wins, only players. Of course it was Michael Jordan. It is always the players.
It always amazes me that Reinsdorf gets the blame for breaking up the Bulls, and no blame goes to Jackson or Jordan. Their egos had plenty to do with it. Jordan was mad because Reindorf didn't say the right thing while handing him a check for 33 million dollars. Give me a break! Jackson was mad that Krause did't invite him to his kid's Bar Mitzvah. These guys had giant egos, including Reindorf, and a breakup was inevitable. Why put all the blame on one party.
Also, Reinsdorf knows throwing money at players to keep a good team together doesn't guarantee anything. They told him he had to keep the spark plug Julio Cruz to keep the teams chemestry. He over payed for a guy and was stuck with the contract for years and they didn't win anything. If just spending money were the answer, the Yankees would win every year. They don't.
FB, Cub fans get jerked around by ownership more than anyone. They change managers over and over and each time the fans are optimistic for a year or two until he fails. Or they make a splach with a big signing and the fans pay for tickets another few years on the false hope. Meanwhile they lose year after year. How can you critisize Reindorf whose teams consistently win more than any other owner in this town, and be fooled by the Tribune making cosmetic changes over and over and stringing the die hard's along.
When will they ever have a farm system that develops players? That is the heart of a winning franchise. Enough said.

bballdad1954,

I agree with most of what you've said regarding what happened with the Bulls. But the Cubs, not entirely.

The Tribune, for whatever reason, is not just making cosmetic changes in the team. This is different and shouldn't be dismissed as "business as usual". The changes so far are very significant and Cub fans should be hopeful that things will get better very soon.

I agree totally that improving a farm system is vital to any organization's long term success. Quietly this past year the Cubs hired a gem away from the Blue Jays. Tim Wilken, the Cubs director of professional and amateur scouting was named the East Coast Scout of the Year. He is widely regarded as one of the absolute top men in his field and has been scouting for 28 years. John Stockstill wasn't the answer but maybe Wilken will be.

rosy,

Soriano IS different.

The rest of this sham is the same old cub B.S.!

Repeat after me....LILY IS OF NO USE!

They have NO pitching!

and..........Ramirez is a cancer.

bballdad....

I don't think the Bulls won in spite of Reinsdorf, but when I hear he is the best owner in town because he won 7 championships it has to pointed out that it had nothing to do with his ownership, but rather the fact you had a great basketball player on your team, which he had nothing to do with. To give Reinsdorf credit for winning 6 titles with the Bulls is credit for sitting in the chair in the office.....ithad little or nothing to do with his management style or decision making. It was all about Michael Jordan and to believe anything else leaves the question "Why aren't they winning any more Championships since he left?"

Soxnole,

I respectfully agree to disagree.

BTW, how did those Seminole's amass $1 Billion to buy the Hard Rock conglomerate?

In a word......CASINO'S

FBDAD: How many teams organizations in professional sports have EVER one 6 championships in 8 years, especially after free agency? They put two different casts around Jordan and Pippin. Remeber, when Jordan was a scoring machine, he needed help to win it all. They gave him the right help. Reindorf was then too loyal to Krause. It cost the franchise some years. But, they appear ready to compete and maybe win it all again. The Cubs have had 100 years. The Bears do it once every 20 years. The Hawks never do it. The Sox had the third best winning percentage in the 90's. The Braves were first (with Maddux leading the way). Then he won a series. I don't know what an owner has to do to impress you. Only winning it all will prove that what the Cubs are doing isn't cosmetic. Time will tell. I just hate to see such good and loyal people, Cub fans, get jerked aroung and fooled time and again. Sox fans don't show when the team stinks. If they start to stink again, we won't go again. Hey, maybe that will force management to compete. Novel idea. Cub fans should try it.

I agree, not many teams have ever won 6 out of 8 years. I just believe that it had everything to do with Michael Jordan and little to do with Jerry Reinsdorf. JMHO.

By the way, add the sox to the list of teams that win about every 100 years or so.

FB, I saw my team win it all. My step-father died at 80 and never saw his beloved Cubs win. I am happy with the World Series. I know you would be too if the Cubs would ever do it. They may never do it. Would I like the Sox to win again? Sure. But they can't take that 11-1 run away from me. It is really more than I ever expected, but I didn't even hope for such a dominant run to the championship. Ask any Cub fan what they would do for just one title.

Fb and bball,

As I have said many times in the past:

Jealousy is a beautiful thing when it is coming from the formerly smug side of our windy metropolis!

Oh yeah FB, do I need to remind you that we are 3 WC to your 1 over the last 101!?....and WE hold the ultimate (1906) tie breaker.

and the other tie breaker of total games played between our teams, by about 50 games!

....heh heh heh heh.....Sox & History Rule!