Tigers may be pussies, but White Sox are team lacking balls

by The Cheat on Jul 20, 2006 3:58 PM CDT in News Comment 44 comments

The White Sox largely held the Tigers in check this series, allowing them to score in just 4 of the 25 innings and holding them to just 8 runs in 3 games, but they failed when the pressure was on. The Sox lead after the 5th inning in each game, yet gave the game back late in each of the last two.

A opposite field bloop double by Curtis Granderson followed by a Baltimore-chop single back up the middle by Pudge tied the game at one headed to the seventh. Once there, Jose Contreras pitched just good enough to lose, walking Marcus Thames. He induced what looked to be an inning ending double play, but Joe Crede hesitated a beat allowing Thames to get in a good slid on Tadahito Iguchi, who has never been very good at avoiding take-out slides. Sure enough, given the extra out, Chris Shelton doubled deep to left center field to provide the winning margin.

What we've seen the last two games is an illustration of what made the White Sox the great team they were last season as demonstrated by the '06 Tigers and contrasted with the '06 White Sox. The Tigers held the Sox to just 3 runs in the last two games, never allowing a runner in scoring position yesterday, and wriggling out of the two good scoring chances today with minimal damage.

As much as Tigers' pitching deserves some credit for this, the Sox offense deserves blame. Scott Podsednik was absent this series. In fact, the entire top of the line-up was pitiful, specifically, the suddenly pixie-dustless Pablo Ozuna, who failed to get a key bunt down and eventually striking out on a series of balls outside the strike zone from Kenny Rogers.

The personnel on the field is more talented than the personnel the Sox employed last year, but they're simply not executing like team did last year. The answer to these Sox problems aren't going to be answered with a creative move by Ken Williams at the trade deadline, they have to be answered on the field. The players are ultimately the ones who determine the outcome of the game, and lately, as the Sox dropped 7 of their last 9, they just haven't been very good.

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How bout this

If we want to get Mack's bat in the lineup so bad, why don't we play him instead of Pods in left? Pods isn't running effectively, and the biggest thing he brings to the table is his bat, which Mackowiak, at least right now, can adequately replace.

by Corsair553 on Jul 20, 2006 4:51 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I disagree

With almost the entire post. Excecution, or as you put it, "balls", is not the problem. The Sox were a charmed team last year, as indicated by their record in one run games. Their pitching was charmed. Their defense was charmed.

Insert "lucky" for "charmed" in those sentences and it works even better.

Pythag wise, this team is much better than last year, take solace in that. The offense is slumping right now, that's the problem. When The top of lineup goes splat like it did in this series, the Sox will lose more games than they win.

Sure, execution gets magnified in series' like this, but really good teams don't rely on "execution"--because they are blowing teams out.

For the most part, the Sox have blown teams out this year.

I'm not nearly as upset as I thought I'd be after losing this one.

1 run loses happen, the Sox got used to winning more than their share last year. This year, I don't think they'll need to rely on 1 run games to make the playoffs.

That is good news.

The SP needs to improve, and for the most part, one Javier Vasquez hanging slider aside, it got better this series.

That is good news.

Oh, and DFA Widger please.

You're right Cheat: the personal on this team is better than last year.

It doesn't mean they will win more games, it doesn't mean they'll win the world series. It does mean the front office has done a good job.

There is a heck of a lot of chance involved in baseball, more than people seem to want to admit. It's why short playoff series aren't always won by the better team. It's why the Indians sat at home last year and the Padres went to the playoffs.

Sometimes the breaks don't go a team's way, but thats out of their control, contrary to popular opinion.

It isn't about having "balls", it's simply chance. It's more important to have talent.

The Sox have talent. I'm happy about that, and everyone else should be too.

by madvillian on Jul 20, 2006 5:14 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Wow.

A most thoughtful post.
Thx.

It should be called Bill Veeck Park!

by Chiburb on Jul 21, 2006 7:21 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

TJ said it best

I agree with you to a point, but can't help but think of that Thomas Jefferson quote, "I find that the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have."

I think the same can be applied to what we're talking about here.

Don't get me wrong. I completely agree that luck and chance are huge factors in baseball -- in life, really. George Will points this out brilliantly in "Men at Work" giving numerous examples of how things very easily could have gone the other way and completely changed teams, careers and the history of the game. Still, you can't argue with the fact that the Sox are not executing like they should.

Really good teams do need to rely on execution. They should be good enough to realize they can't rely on throwing eight runs on the board every game and execution is a big part of that.

by brookswashere on Jul 21, 2006 10:35 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

0-29

that's what our 1 through 4 hitters contributed in the final two games. wow.

contrast that with this: 3-4

that would be our number 9 hitter, the much maligned brian anderson.

by longdrive on Jul 20, 2006 5:28 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Where is it?

Where's the passion? Where's the hunger? Where's the drive? For the Sox, I think those are the questions of the day. This has now eclipsed poor individual performances at the plate, on the mound or in the field. Up and down the lineup, in and out of the dugout and the pen. This is a team-wide slump. I seriously think this team needs a wake-up call. Someone, something needs to jolt them from this dreary, dog days of summer slumber.

I've seen a lot of talk how this team is better on paper than last years - that's probably true. But last year's team had to contend with the memory of three years of having their hats handed to them by the Twins. They had no emotion on the field, and the Twins played balls-out compared to the Sox - we all remember when Torii Hunter bulldozed Jamie Burke in 2004. The Sox brought in A.J. because they wanted that hard-nose attitude. They wanted that emotional presence in the clubhouse and on the field.

But where has it gone?

In many ways, I think the Sox were bound to be slumping right now. I seriously do. I'm not defending it - I'm sick to my stomach watching games these past two weeks - but even with the good first half they had you could tell they were sleepwalking a bit and coasting. It was like "we're the world champs, baby" and they just seemed to figure they were going to win. And when they lost, it was like they were okay with it. So in many ways, you could see this coming. They say the toughest thing to do in any sport is repeat. And in watching the Sox, you're seeing that adage proven true right now.

In my opinion, the only thing that's going to change the way things are is if someone on this team - A.J., Konerko, Buehrle - gets pissed off and decides it's time to take this team out behind the woodshed. Someone has to call other guys out and expect more. When you see any of the players in a post-game conference right now, they're not mad about losing. They just seem like they can't figure out why they're losing. Instead of looking for questions, someone needs to be demanding answers.

It's time for the veterans to step up and get pissed off. Great leaders aren't just people who know how to win - they're guys who refuse to accept losing as part of the game. That's why the Yankees are so good year after year after year. The Sox could have that, but they need to get the heart of a champion.

by Happy Felsch on Jul 20, 2006 5:44 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I agree. I've been saying this for two months.

by southsidefan on Jul 20, 2006 5:57 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I disagree completely

Whenever a team loses fans always say it's lack of heart and passion. Please. I don't see any Sox that's obviously mailing it in (except Freddy maybe).

You know why the Yankees win year after year? They have 200 million dollar payroll and lots of good players.

Somone getting angry isn't going to magically win the Sox games. Focus and intensity are important, but the Sox are mostly losing because of bad pitching and (in this series) bad hitting by the top of the lineup.

by hitlesswonder on Jul 20, 2006 6:16 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Thanks

For injecting reason into this conversation. This isn't football, getting jacked up will just make things worse.

by madvillian on Jul 20, 2006 6:21 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

And good pitching and hitting are based upon

talent, preparation, concentration, execution, and intensity of effort, and passion. Passion includes having the strength to examine what needs to be corrected. It is not all about emotion, but rather is also includes thinking and self-evaluation. So, when Garcia, Vazquez and Buerhle can't see what fans, sportwriters, broacasters and all others see as their glaring problems, what should we think? Is that what you meant by "bad" pitching?

by southsidefan on Jul 20, 2006 6:51 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

you're all talking about different qualities

passion, intensity, whatever. they're not getting the job done. i don't think macho screaming in the clubhouse is going to help. things - obvious things - need to be corrected (bunting, fielding, pitching). if that's passion, fine. i'd call it execution and attention to detail. i don't think "intensity" is the problem; that, to me, suggests a lack of focus or a lackadaisical quality. i don't see that. i see failed execution. that says more reps, more practice. on his day off, pods needs to be fielding for about two hours straight. just about the whole team needs to work on their bunting in BP. coop needs to get his guys working on certain things during side sessions. and so on.

outside of freddy - who is done - this is relatively easy stuff to correct, as far as i'm concerned.

by larry on Jul 20, 2006 7:11 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

i agree

the inability to bunt for a team that uses the bunt more than any other is absolutely unacceptable. everyone knows ozzie is going to ask certain guys to bunt. those guys need to practice their bunting until they're competent. period. i don't think it's a matter of them not wanting it enough, it's just a matter of not working at it enough. ozzie or joey needs to take all the guys that will be asked to bunt (anybody but thome, konerko, dye, crede, and aj) and run them through bunting drills on a regular basis. seems simple.

i'm not sure that pods is going to get significantly better in left field, but practice certainly couldn't hurt. i really hope we can trade him for something decent in return in the offseason and find a new leftfielder. he's a one dimensional player and he's really not that great at that one dimension anymore.

by Ryno on Jul 20, 2006 7:20 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

That's an interesting definition of passion

You're extending the meaning beyond what I think most people would say is accurate. Passion is emotion. Thinking and correct self-evaluation are hallmarks of professionalism. It's hard to evaluate how professional the Sox are, not being part of the team. We don't know how hard certain players and coaches work to identify and correct problems.

I'm pretty sure the 3 pitchers you name and the Sox know they aren't pitching well. If you think their problems are easily fixed, maybe you could give Cooper a call and let him know what to do. What will give Garcia an extra 4 MPH? What fixes Buehrle's control? I don't even know what the deal with Vazquez is. Just dropping the curve ball isn't going to be enough to make him a winning pitcher. I think it's pretty unlikely all these guys don't care that they are pitching like crap and are just sitting back tossing down some beers (except maybe Freddy and it wouldn't be beer).

by hitlesswonder on Jul 20, 2006 7:14 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Extend the meaning of passion to meta-cogntion,

a combination of thinking, motivation and self-evaluation. I never said their problems are easily fixed, but all three have said publicly that they feel fine or don't know what the problem is. I never said the pitchers don't care, I said they seem to at least publically be declaring that they are stymied with their lack of good performances.

I trust that the coaches are helping players improve, as Cooper has had a session with Buerhle recently. I also hope that players are aware of their difficulties and prepare and practice what they need to.

What is frustrating is to see the SP make the same types of errors repeatedly. That means that they need to keep adjusting until they get it right. So, yes, I agree with you when I hope that the club is doing the utmost to effectively use thinking and self-evaluation or professionalsim.

by southsidefan on Jul 20, 2006 7:38 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

public declarations of being "stymied"

are certainly belied by what cooper has these guys working on in their side sessions. don't expect a pitcher to say anything other than "things are fine, i'm just going to go out and do what i'm supposed to." i would have thought everyone knows by now that nobody says much of consequence to the media. don't expect mark to say what is obvious to everyone: "i simply don't have the feel for my slider or change right now and that means i've got nothing."

by larry on Jul 20, 2006 7:44 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I trust that you are right and that Cooper is

making the right adjustments. But it's funny that guys say neutral, cliched stuff to the media about trying their best, when it obvious to the media, the public and other teams charting performances that they're not. In other words, what advantage does it give the pitcher to say nothing? AJ just told the public that Buerhle's fastball wasn't fast, his change-up wasn't changing, etc.

by southsidefan on Jul 20, 2006 8:00 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

you never had media relations?

don't tell them anything. ever. you start telling them anything and eventually you're giving them the signs for hit and run. if you stonewall them at the first question, they've got nowhere to go.

by larry on Jul 20, 2006 8:08 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Then let's stonewall them and go take care of

business on the field. This homestand will help show if we can bounce back and get going again.

by southsidefan on Jul 20, 2006 8:13 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I think they're

less likely to snap out of it if they agonize over every loss. There's no doubt the team has passion, it's ozzie's team after all and it looks like they come to play (almost) every day. The road might be tougher this year but i think they have what it takes to contend

by Hangwoofem on Jul 20, 2006 6:26 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I agree.

I have two pet peeves regarding the average White Sox fan.

Anytime we lose, it's because there's no heart, or no passion, or because the players don't care. There's a pretty decent chance that when you go up to the plate really 'passionate' to get a hit, that's when you pop up en route to an 0-4 day.
The 2000-04 Sox teams were bad because we scored a lot of runs. There are different variants of this theme uttered daily on sports radio when this team is on a slump. There's this ridiculous belief fueled by all the "smart ball" talk in the media last year that we lost those years because, basically, our offense was too potent. Our problem this year isn't that we're not sacrificing enough, although our execution has been worse, but that our pitching and defense have been much, much worse.

Part of that has been because of Mackowiak, most of it has been because our starters our following career bests with career worsts.

This team hasn't lost 7 of 9 because it can't bunt, or because they don't care. It's lost 7 of 9 because the offense has come back to earth, and our pitching staff isn't good enough to overcome that.

/rant

by chrome on Jul 20, 2006 11:05 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

It's interesting

That the discussion is focused on the semantics of "passion", and not say, what needs to be done with Javier Vasquez and the CF platoon.

by madvillian on Jul 20, 2006 7:20 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

CF platoon? that's simple

there should be no platoon

CF is for BA only, the end

HEY THIS IS JI
JIM THOME
THE PEORIA POUNDER

by The Wizard on Jul 20, 2006 7:23 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

and

javy needs to drop the curve. i guarantee that's 1 run off his ERA alone. hell, maybe more. perhaps i'm distorted in my recollection, but it seems that his problems usually begin and end with someone tagging one of his hangers.

by larry on Jul 20, 2006 7:34 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

to amplify

the problem with javy's curve is mechanics. it is painfully obvious that the problem - which has been present his whole career - isn't solved and probably won't be. he simply can't repeat the correct mechanics. so just give it up. it's basically his third choice pitch anyway so it's not like he's abandoning his bread and butter. two fastballs, slider and change is more than enough for this guy to succeed.

by larry on Jul 20, 2006 7:39 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Javie's curve

The pitches were called by the dugout yesterday - I assume in a effort to stay away from that pitch, and to try to help him avoid a meltdown. I don't recall seeing him throw a curve. I think those hangers were sliders.

Comonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn You White Sox!

by zokmaad on Jul 20, 2006 7:55 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

didn't watch the game

by larry on Jul 20, 2006 7:56 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I usually listen to the radio in the hammock

that one I watched in HD. The one to Monroe (who BTW has our number going back to last year) came in high
and gently broke down just in time for him to cream it.

Sadly Javie usually goes low and away. Over and over and over. Then poof. Maybe its his grip. Maybe his hand gets tired. Its hard to imagine not concentrating in that situation. But I've seen the
'please don't hit it' look on his face when he knows he's released a cookie.

Comonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn You White Sox!

by zokmaad on Jul 20, 2006 8:09 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Passion? Balls?

How about "urgency"? I do believe it is possible for some of the boys to have read their own press clippings which ALL talk about how favored they are to win this year (and look what happened to Peter Gammons after he was ironically quoted as saying "if you put a gun to my head, the White Sox win the Series in October" (to paraphrase). I'm as into Freud, Perls, and Sarte as the rest of you philosophes, but I think their is not a sense of urgency to this team. It may be that the chemistry is not as it was last year, when every guy seemed to have a buddy (Count/el Dook, Gooch/Takatsu - for awhile - , AJ/Crede/Rowand, etc. Carl Everett may be a gofball, but he may have been right when he questioned where the vocal leadership in the clubhouse would originate (mistakenly, he believed he was the straw that stirred the drink). In any team environment someone needs to step up and call a spade a spade - "we suck", or "get your heads out of your asses" - type feedback, and I can't see anyone doing it on this team at present.

By the way, what is the team record after Ozzie's sensitivity training? I rather enjoyed the Ozzie that told Maggs to "watch out" as opposed to the Ozzie that puts him on the AS team ahead of Crede to bury the hatchet. Even Ozzie looks a little weary of the fight.

Can't say this is surprising - KW burns brightly ans has positioneed the team for success but doesn't have to play every day. Would agree that, as politicaly incorrect that "macho" behavior might be, at some level every guy has to rise up and say "we wil NOT be beaten" - what happened to "win or die trying" mantra? Whos' hungry? I see no psychic deaths happening, no real angst at losing. You guys who have played the game know you can't be burining at 100% intensity all the time, but at what point does the volcano go off? I think losing 7 of 9 to your potential playoff opponents would be the limit for me.

by winningugly on Jul 20, 2006 8:06 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I probably shouldn't write headlines first anymore

I was just looking for an excuse to call the tigers pussies. Interesting discussion nonetheless, even if it is just a debate of semantics.

AIM: SouthSideCheat

by The Cheat on Jul 20, 2006 8:16 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Harrell

Gets shelled in his AA debut tonight.

AIM: i2ockbotm

by 3E8 on Jul 20, 2006 8:51 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

It's never good

when the 4th batter you face hits a grand slam.

by Bull Pain on Jul 20, 2006 9:30 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

startin to feel

like oz is not the manager i thought he was.....he's a great motivator and cheer leader but he's probably never seen the print-out on vasquez that says he gets through the line-up great the first two times and then beat up. thats what they were talkin about on espn telecast wed nite, and that's exactly what happened. i think he manages by the seat of his pants but would it hurt to get some statistical info printed in spanish. joe torre i believe relys on that kind of info and it could only help. we have a good ball club and last year we needed someone to believe in them and prod them forward into having some confidense.....this year that's not enough we need to play smarter. IMHO

by fredde on Jul 20, 2006 9:35 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

not sure if that's the case

for a guy who professes to not know much about stats, ozzie sure is able to cite stats. i think he knows a heck of a lot more than he lets on. right now, i think he's between a rock and a hard place. pull starters early and hurt their confidence and expose our shaky pen; or let the starters go deeper in hopes that they figure things out and get back to where they should be while watching them struggle to do so. i think the first tactic works well to an extent; however, there comes a time - and that time is here or soon will be - where he's going to have to forget how these guys feels and go to the early hook.

by larry on Jul 20, 2006 9:46 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

what Hawk said

Hawk said Javie is a pitcher that shows every hitter all of his pitches each at bat.

So by the third time around the hitter has the advantage. Solution? Limit pitch selection by hitter. Use location more. I think this is fixable.

Comonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn You White Sox!

by zokmaad on Jul 20, 2006 10:01 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Next Javier Start

That I can see on TV I'll try and remember to chart him.

Vasquez' "stuff" just doesn't seem that great to me. Sure he throws a 96 MPH heater, but his 4-seamer isn't a big riser, it mostly stays flat, his 2-seamer he doesn't seem to have much confidence in, and it doesn't run into hitters as much as is ideal.

His slider seems hit or miss, literally, hehe. Seriously though, his slider is great when he keeps it down, but he leaves a fair share of them up as well.

Ideally, the slider should be his out pitch, but he makes so many bad mistakes with it ahead in the count, I think he might just be better off trying to get ground balls with his 2-seamer.

The curve just needs to be dropped.

Does he have a changeup? I might be crazy, and it's perhaps the easiest pitch in baseball to learn, but I don't remember seeing many if any from him this year.

Put that down as another problem: inability to change speeds.

When those hangers are up and coming in at 85, it's not slow enough to even have guys out in front and off balance, it might as well be BP to major leaguers, and we've seen the results.

by madvillian on Jul 21, 2006 12:11 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

good point about changing speeds

hadn't thought about it until now but his pitches are in a pretty tight band, speed-wise. i'd be interested to hear about your chart.

by larry on Jul 21, 2006 12:13 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Vazquez

He actually does have a changeup, a good one, too. I'd love to see that pitch more than that loopy curveball.

Altogether, off the top of my head, here's his pitches:

Four-seamer -- 93-94 MPH
Two-seamer, sinker -- 88-91 MPH
Curveball -- 70 MPH
Slider -- 86 MPH
Changeup -- 80-81 MPH

He's gotta scrap that curveball.

by CWSKeith on Jul 21, 2006 2:17 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Interesting

I'm surprised he has a good changeup, although I rarely have the chance to see him on TV or in person. I also said it's the easiest pitch to learn so almost every pitcher has it. So I guess I shouldn't be that surprised.

Your thoughts do reconfirm the horridness of his hanging slider though. An 86 MPH hanger down broadway might as well be a 747 coming in for landing on a fruit roll up--sheet ain't gonna end pretty.

Thanks for that report. Do you have any more thoughts/obs on his 2-Seamer? He doesn't seem to feature it very often in my obs.

His 4-seamer coming in at only 93 MPH is bad news though. That's not good enough to strike guys out unless his offspeed stuff is working well. So far this season, that hasn't seemed to be the case.

by madvillian on Jul 21, 2006 2:37 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I'm not exactly sure what you mean by easy...

Sure, learning how to throw a change-up is easy (place ball in back of hand, wrap all fingers around ball, perhaps make circle with thumb and pointer finger for extra style), but learning how to throw it well is just as hard as any other pitch. I would argue that it's more difficult because it takes a certain element of finesse.

The best pitcher in the league (Santana) essentially features 2 pitches - fastball and change-up. If a change-up is that effective and that easy to learn, why don't more pitchers feature it? Santana, Hoffman (sans ASG), Maddox (minus 2nd Cubs stint) and Foulke (pre 2005) are the only pitchers - off the top of my head (this list could be expanded, but you don't hear too much about a pitcher with a great change) - who have mastered the change.

Bad Change-up = Hanging Curveball

by DeeDubs24 on Jul 21, 2006 9:35 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Easty to learn

Obviously hard to master.

by madvillian on Jul 21, 2006 9:50 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I was...

a decent pitcher in High School, but definitely not a power pitcher. I tried to learn how to throw a change (because I wasn't gonna overpower anybody) and just couldn't get it. I tried everything - different grips, different arm angles, different motion. Probably the most frustrating thing I tried to do in baseball. Needless to say, my pitching career after high school didn't last too long.

Jaime Moyer is another name that just popped into my head.

by DeeDubs24 on Jul 21, 2006 10:09 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Glavine?

by winningugly on Jul 21, 2006 11:19 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Forest/trees issue

Sure, helping Javy become a better pitcher is important. Sure, it's like a slowly unfolding train wreck to watch him melt down (ala Count 2 years ago, ala Garland 2 years ago, etc.) but there's a more fundamental issue here. When was the last time domeone other than AJ went in hard to break up a double play, and the next guy got the game winning hit? Last year it seemed to be that there was a hustle play each week that meant the difference in winning v. losing (hence the amazing 1 and 2 run win total). What's our record in close games this year? (No, really, I'm asking.) It seems like we are in danger of beoming the '05 BoSox - reigning World Champs that can bash, occasionally pitch, but no "elan", no mojo. The Tiggers have it this year.

And kid yourself not, nor should you listen to Leyland, saying the whole league is looking up at us because we are the defending champs. If we believe that crap we are truly viewing life from the rear view mirror - everyone in baseball is looking up at Detroit, and we are by 5.5 games. This team has to lok in the mirror and decide what they want to be, the "come to Jesus" moment when it all crystallizes and they KNOW no one beats them.

IMHO.

by winningugly on Jul 21, 2006 6:09 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

At least someone else gets what I'm trying to say

Perfect examples - the whole thing about not breaking up double plays with a hard slide, or plunking a Rangers batter after they've hit A.J. twice (see "Tracey, Sean") comes down to urgency, passion, hunger - whatever you want to call it. This is - with the exception of a few players - the same basic team as last year. And yet they're not playing with the same sense of urgency. Maybe losing a guy with a hard-nosed attitude like Rowand hurt more than losing his bat or glove.

Moreover, this isn't about Javy or Mackoviak or other individual guys not performing. Look at the team. When one guy is not performing, it's a slump, but it usually doesn't bring down the entire team. However, when the team plays nine straight games against the three best teams in the AL, and is lucky to come away with two wins (the luck refers to not getting swept by Boston), that's a team-wide problem. Javy, Freddie, Mackoviak - they're easy targets. But overall, the team just isn't getting the job done lately.

I know it's easier to point fingers at one or two problem players - but, man alive - in the last two weeks, I've seen all of these players called out: Pods, Mackoviak, Javy, Freddie, Buehrle, Widge, Pablo, Politte (now gone), BMac, and even guys like Gooch, Konerko and Thome have been called on the mat on this site in the past few weeks. That's close to half the team that we're accusing of not performing up to par on a regular basis. But no-one else other than me, winningugly and Cheat seem to see this as a team-wide slump that someone needs to step up and shake them out of?

I still think Cheat said it best at the end of his original post: "The answer to these Sox problems aren't going to be answered with a creative move by Ken Williams at the trade deadline, they have to be answered on the field. The players are ultimately the ones who determine the outcome of the game, and lately, as the Sox dropped 7 of their last 9, they just haven't been very good."

by Happy Felsch on Jul 21, 2006 10:17 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs