Paulie on 2011 and 2012

[raven1]

Originally Posted by Lip Man 1

Paulie at the Tribune says the Sox can have a successful year without making the playoffs and I agree. 82 wins for this bunch would absolutely be a "success" in relative terms.

Lip

That might be true if that is where they finish at the end of the year, but unfortunately anything but a reasonably good start that keeps the team in contention through July might trigger a "white flag" dump of key players (Floyd, Thornton, A.J., maybe even Konerko) that would doom any chance at even a .500 season. On the other hand, if they are in first place or close they might actually become buyers to fill any holes, bolster the bullpen, etc.

In other words, if they don't have a good record halfway through the season the team will probably never be given a chance to recover, especially if attendance drops dramatically & triggers a fire sale.

[doublem23]

Originally Posted by SoxSpeed22

Even though I think Stewart is better as a reliever too, pitchers learn more as their careers go on. There's a chance that he could have learned a few things this offseason about getting guys out and could have polished his changeup a bit. There are plenty of pitchers with worse stuff than Stewart who made it in the majors. He just has to figure out how to use his stuff better.

Right, plus I'll give him the benefit of the doubt until he's had a full year with Cooper. Jose Contreras was absolutely awful in his first two seasons mixed between the Yankees and Sox before he found his groove halfway through the 2005 season. I don't think Stewart has nearly the ceiling of Contreras, who was legitimately the best pitcher in the AL from July 2005-July 2006, but I could realistically see him as a good option at the back end of the rotation. That 5th starter spot is important, too.

[palehozenychicty]

Paulie was definitely more loquacious earlier in his career. But they are comments which come from the heart. I can live with that.

As for his prediction on the team, that's fine. We'll see. I think they'll be interesting to watch.

Sent from my iPhone using Forum Runner

[TheVulture]

Originally Posted by Madvora

http://www.whitesoxinteractive.com/v...ad.php?t=50745
http://www.whitesoxinteractive.com/v...ad.php?t=52230

Wow, I forgot the term "apaulogist" was part of the WSI vernacular.

[Jurr]

Apaulogists....forgot about that one.
The vitriol for Crede and Rowand was also plentiful.

Watching guys like Rios has left me too exhausted to bring the hate.
Let's hope this newer incarnation of the Sox is at least a bit more entertaining.

The good part about those teams in early WSI days was the fact that they may have been mediocre, but they seemed to care. They just found new ways to implode. The last two years have been draining.

[DirtySox]

Originally Posted by Lip Man 1

Paulie at the Tribune says the Sox can have a successful year without making the playoffs and I agree. 82 wins for this bunch would absolutely be a "success" in relative terms.

Lip

I'd argue that the amount of wins is irrelevant. Growth from Beckham, Morel, Dayan, Sale, Flowers, and Reed would be what I view as success. It's all about the kids and the future at this point. Reaching some arbitrary win amount while missing the playoffs does nothing for me.

[SI1020]

Originally Posted by TheVulture

Wow, I forgot the term "apaulogist" was part of the WSI vernacular.

I was having a pretty good day until I scanned both of those threads. Heaven help you if you go against the herd. Yes, PK would have been better served at times earlier in his career by shutting up, but talk about overkill. He's done mostly all right for us in the interim I'd say.

[doublem23]

Originally Posted by Jurr

The good part about those teams in early WSI days was the fact that they may have been mediocre, but they seemed to care. They just found new ways to implode. The last two years have been draining.

Oh yeah, those late 90s, early 00's teams had no talent but they played hard and were fun to watch. The past 2 years, everytime the Sox fall down by 2-3 runs I don't even think they have a chance to come back. They would just roll over.

[russ99]

I find it a bit convenient explaining everything away of last year to the previous coaching staff as many veteran players have done this spring.

The only problem with that is if we end up with the same issues, they then only have themselves to blame.

[JB98]

Originally Posted by SI1020

I was having a pretty good day until I scanned both of those threads. Heaven help you if you go against the herd. Yes, PK would have been better served at times earlier in his career by shutting up, but talk about overkill. He's done mostly all right for us in the interim I'd say.

There were times on this board where it was sin to like Paul Konerko. The accepted groupthink was that we should trade Paulie and give Ross Gload an opportunity. What an embarrassment that line of thinking was.

[JB98]

Originally Posted by russ99

I find it a bit convenient explaining everything away of last year to the previous coaching staff as many veteran players have done this spring.

The only problem with that is if we end up with the same issues, they then only have themselves to blame.

Last year was still Guillen's fault. He quit on the team in May, so the players quit also.

[BigKlu59]

Originally Posted by JB98

Last year was still Guillen's fault. He quit on the team in May, so the players quit also.

Perfect storm last year to spiral... Once Dunn and Rios hit the skids and became an albatros, there was no way the team could overcome giving up 9 outs a game and make magic happen. Ozzie kept tossing gasoline on the burning dead nag for effect, but as you say, the rest of the team played out the string.

BK59

[wassagstdu]

Originally Posted by JB98

Last year was still Guillen's fault. He quit on the team in May, so the players quit also.

Ozzie never quit on the team. He was forced out. You could say that KW was pushing him out by May, but to say that he quit on the team (because he continued to play Dunn?) in May is just nonsense.

[doublem23]

Originally Posted by wassagstdu

Ozzie never quit on the team. He was forced out. You could say that KW was pushing him out by May, but to say that he quit on the team (because he continued to play Dunn?) in May is just nonsense.

Well that all depends on how you've watched the last few years unfold and who you blame for the mess this team is in right now, but I definitely agree with JB's assessment of Ozzie's management last year, which seemed like he knew he wasn't planning on being back in 2012 and was basically just cashing his paycheck. The team came off very reflective of the attitude he set; no fire, no fight, just passing the time.

And, to be fair, Ozzie did quit on the team the last week of September. Sure, everything was done by then, but he didn't even have the desire to sit through 2 more games of crap.

[PatK]

The local media outcry, led by Dave Kaplan and Steve Rosenbloom, has been a complete joke made even worse by their obvious love of all things Cubbie.

And it's a shame hearing Brandmeier jumping on with it, which is no doubt because he's on the Cubs' flagship station.