Baseball Is Upon Us!

[heavenseeker]

i cant stand baseball.

[God the Father]

I'm not sure really what kind of analogy I can draw to the Red Sox situation.

In the beginning they traded Babe Ruth. There's Boston for you. Well, they didn't win for a lifetime, so people said they were cursed. More than likely they were actually just a lame franchise. So a few years ago they start getting good and they get hyped to the Moon. Red Sox nation anyone? Red Sox nation is complete and utter bull. Every team in the league has fans across the country. I'm a Mets fan and I live in the midwest. I know Mets fans at my school. But Red Sox nation is so special because the Red Sox have been awful for so long. So Boston gets all this money in and spends it on players, and they end up winning. Good for them. However there's nothing special about them, except that the ESPN headquarters is somewhere up in that God-forsaken region of the United States they used to call New England. So we have specials about the Red Sox finally winning one, and our ears dripping with raves about the New England Patriots. Believe it or not Era Might, the rest of the country doesn't care about Boston. It's even starting to swing back the other way to hatred. People are sick and tired. The White Sox got snubbed. Maybe it's because the people up at ESPN were upset that their precious Red Sox got flattened. But holy poo man, that was some pretty fine ball the White Sox played. I'm no White Sox fan, the Indians being my favorite in the division, but jeez o man, they did everything as good or better than the Red Sox, but no one is drooling over them?

No one cares about the Yankees. The people who don't hate them are sick of them. The people who like them are Grade A Jerkholes.

The East Coast isn't really all that bad. If you take away New England, really the only thing to bring it down is the Bronx. If you take that away, well heck, seems pretty okay. Yankees fans, and especially Boston area fans these days, are drunk off of victory. Drunk people are usually not fun to be around, unless you're drunk yourself. This is why Boston fans love to be around each other, and same deal with Yankees fans. Then they hit sober people.

[Era Might]

[khouse]

[quote name='God the Father' date='Feb 10 2006, 07:02 PM']I'm not sure really what kind of analogy I can draw to the Red Sox situation.

In the beginning they traded Babe Ruth. There's Boston for you. Well, they didn't win for a lifetime, so people said they were cursed. More than likely they were actually just a lame franchise. So a few years ago they start getting good and they get hyped to the Moon. Red Sox nation anyone? Red Sox nation is complete and utter bull. Every team in the league has fans across the country. I'm a Mets fan and I live in the midwest. I know Mets fans at my school. But Red Sox nation is so special because the Red Sox have been awful for so long. So Boston gets all this money in and spends it on players, and they end up winning. Good for them. However there's nothing special about them, except that the ESPN headquarters is somewhere up in that God-forsaken region of the United States they used to call New England. So we have specials about the Red Sox finally winning one, and our ears dripping with raves about the New England Patriots. Believe it or not Era Might, the rest of the country doesn't care about Boston. It's even starting to swing back the other way to hatred. People are sick and tired. The White Sox got snubbed. Maybe it's because the people up at ESPN were upset that their precious Red Sox got flattened. But holy poo man, that was some pretty fine ball the White Sox played. I'm no White Sox fan, the Indians being my favorite in the division, but jeez o man, they did everything as good or better than the Red Sox, but no one is drooling over them?

No one cares about the Yankees. The people who don't hate them are sick of them. The people who like them are Grade A Jerkholes.

The East Coast isn't really all that bad. If you take away New England, really the only thing to bring it down is the Bronx. If you take that away, well heck, seems pretty okay. Yankees fans, and especially Boston area fans these days, are drunk off of victory. Drunk people are usually not fun to be around, unless you're drunk yourself. This is why Boston fans love to be around each other, and same deal with Yankees fans. Then they hit sober people.
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AMEN BROTHA!

The Mets have always been my favorite NL team. They share a lot in common with the White Sox. They are the 2nd team in a big city, play in a crappy stadium, and are often overlooked by the media (even in their own city). I hope we meet in the World Series this year!

[Era Might]

[quote]I'm no White Sox fan, the Indians being my favorite in the division, but jeez o man, they did everything as good or better than the Red Sox, but no one is drooling over them?[/quote]

The '04 Red Sox would beat the '05 White Sox.

My favorite NL team was the Braves (and not because they used to be the Boston Braves). That team they had in the mid '90s was great. Maddux, Glavine, Smoltz, Fred McGriff, Mark Wholers, Chipper Jones, Marquis Grissom, etc...

I'm also a Marlins fan.

[curtins]

yanks are due for another title

when does spring training start?

[Tony]

[quote name='EAnn246' date='Feb 10 2006, 12:06 PM'][img]http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b71/pentopaper246/wahoo.jpg[/img]

Go Tribe!!!
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I saw Travis Hafner at a college basketball game near Cleveland (Baldwn Wallace game). I thought that was pretty cool.

[khouse]

[quote name='Era Might' date='Feb 11 2006, 07:01 PM']The '04 Red Sox would beat the '05 White Sox.
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Regular Season Stats:

Red Sox: Scored 949 runs, Allowed 768 runs
White Sox: Scored 741 runs, Allowed 645 runs

2004 Red Sox ERA: 4.18
2005 White Sox ERA: 3.61

2004 Red Sox Batting Average: .282
2005 White Sox Batting Average: 262

2004 Red Sox Regular Season Record: 98-64
2005 White Sox Regular Season Record: 99-63

2004 Red Sox Postseason Record: 11-3
2005 White Sox Postseason Record: 11-1 (tied for best of all time)

And don't give me nothing about the amazing comeback from being 3-0 because a truely great team wouldn't be down 3-0.

Chicago > Boston

and the payroll for Chicago was only around $70 million

Edited February 12, 2006 by khouse

[Era Might]

[quote name='khouse' date='Feb 11 2006, 09:35 PM']And don't give me nothing about the amazing comeback from being 3-0 because a truely great team wouldn't be down 3-0.

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That's bull, for the same reason great quarterbacks earn their bones late in the game. Everyone struggles. It's what you do in response.

[khouse]

[quote name='Era Might' date='Feb 11 2006, 07:46 PM']That's bull, for the same reason great quarterbacks earn their bones late in the game. Everyone struggles. It's what you do in response.
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You are right but at the same time their comeback is not as remarkable as a team going through the best teams baseball has to offer in the playoffs with only one loss.

11-1 > 11-3

[Era Might]

[quote name='khouse' date='Feb 11 2006, 10:00 PM']You are right but at the same time their comeback is not as remarkable as a team going through the best teams baseball has to offer in the playoffs with only one loss.

11-1    >    11-3
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The Red Sox were hardly a formidable opponent last year. Schilling was injured for most of the season, Foulke had a mid life crisis, and our offense was just inconsistent throughout the season.

Look, I respect what the White Sox did. I have no beef with them for beating us. They were the best team last year, and they deserved to win.

NEVERTHELESS, the '04 Red Sox still match up, and I'd willing to put money down that they would take a series against the '05 White Sox. Schilling and Pedro were on, Wakefield was his usual solid self, Derek Lowe was lights out throughout the Playoffs, and the bullpen was phenomenal. To say nothing of our offense that year.

Edited February 12, 2006 by Era Might

[khouse]

[quote name='Era Might' date='Feb 11 2006, 08:03 PM']The Red Sox were hardly a formidable opponent last year. Schilling was injured for most of the season, Foulke had a mid life crisis, and our offense was just inconsistent throughout the season.

Look, I respect what the White Sox did. I have no beef with them for beating us. They were the best team last year, and they deserved to win.

NEVERTHELESS, the '04 Red Sox still match up, and I'd willing to put money down that they would take a series against the '05 White Sox. Schilling and Pedro were on, Wakefield was his usual solid self, Derek Lowe was lights out throughout the Playoffs, and the bullpen was phenomenal. To say nothing of our offense that year.
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I will give you Schilling was injured but it did not matter if Foulke was playing or not because the Red Sox had zero save opprotunities in the 2005 playoffs and the offense was basically just as potent as it was in 2004.

2004 Regular Season Batting Average: .282 with 949 Runs
2005 Regular Season Batting Average: .281 with 910 Runs

The White Sox would beat the 2004 Red Sox for the simple fact that great pitching beats great hitting. The White Sox pitching out performed the 2004 Red Sox pitching. Here are the numbers:

2004 Red Sox Postseason ERA: 3.97
2005 White Sox Postseason ERA: 2.61

The White Sox pitching shut down a very potent Red Sox offense this postseason keeping them to .240 BA with just 9 runs scored in the game series. Because great pitching beats great hitting.

With the 2004 Red Sox staff it would be a close game but the White Sox have played and won close games all year. All four of the World Series games were one or two run games with the Sox being the victors. All through out the year the White Sox lead the league in one run victories because they could do more than just hit home runs. They played the game right from base running to their defense to their small ball tactics. Three of top 5 team ERAs came from the AL Central this year (CLE, CHI, and MIN) and the White Sox beat all those teams on a regular basis because they could manufacture runs.

Even the self-proclaimed Boston lover Peter Gammons said this White Sox team was the best all around team he has seen since the 1999 Yankees. No way the 2004 Red Sox are beating them.

[EAnn246]

[quote name='Tony' date='Feb 11 2006, 09:07 PM']I saw Travis Hafner at a college basketball game near Cleveland (Baldwn Wallace game). I thought that was pretty cool.
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That is pretty sweet!

[crazymaine catholic]

what do you cleavland fans think about coco crisp coming to the sox?

[Akalyte]

Red Sox are going to win it this year...