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Post by RocDoc on Oct 27, 2005 16:44:18 GMT -5
Well, I suppose pointing out my geography could be seen as begging for a 'Attaboy Sox fan'...but WTF, thanks. Like I think I said earlier here, I think the back and forth back biting by 'fans', the diehards, of either the Cubs or Sox, regarding not sullying some sorta idea of 'purity' is bullshit, especially if you're a born and raised a Chicagoan (and I was born in Chicago), in a town of loser teams...shit, just be friggin happy that someone here is winning. Moving here? Well, well. I'll just say you picked a good city. Jobs, I haven't looked for for quite awhile, but the Chicago Reader (our version of the 'Free Press' alternative weekly) always had the more interesting jobs...stuff at museums, nightclubs and shit... www.chicagoreader.com/class/index.html |
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Post by rockysigman on Oct 27, 2005 17:35:44 GMT -5
Jobs, I haven't looked for for quite awhile, but the Chicago Reader (our version of the 'Free Press' alternative weekly) always had the more interesting jobs...stuff at museums, nightclubs and shit... www.chicagoreader.com/class/index.htmlMuseum work is exactly what I'm hoping to end up with, if everything works out. Thanks for the link. I do appreciate it. |
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Post by strat-0 on Oct 27, 2005 20:09:47 GMT -5
Best of luck in the Windy City, Rocky!
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Post by rockysigman on Oct 27, 2005 20:38:49 GMT -5
Best of luck in the Windy City, Rocky! Thanks Strat! The move is probably at least a month off at the moment, but I'm getting pretty excited about it. Definately time for something new for me. |
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Post by Paul on Dec 14, 2005 8:59:25 GMT -5
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Post by shin on Dec 21, 2005 0:44:40 GMT -5
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Post by rockysigman on Dec 21, 2005 0:50:38 GMT -5
Eh, Damon is overrated anyway, and is on the decline. Yeah, they're better with Johnny Damon than they would be with Bubba Crosby, but whatever. If Damon wants to sell his soul, then so be it. |
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Post by shin on Dec 21, 2005 1:07:13 GMT -5
It's a seriously foolish move on the part of Sox management, even if his on the field performance is "on the decline".
Simply put, if you have to pay that extra 12 million to keep one of the most popular and iconic Red Sox players since Luis Tiant and he can still perform, then you make that extra investment, especially for a market like the Sox. You will get that money back over time through merchandise (Damon jerseys being sold by the truckful even in 2015? Better believe it) and fan relations. It isn't like Nomar to the Cubs or Mo Vaughn to the Angels...this is the MFY we're talking about here. Even Clemens took a stop in Beaver Country on his way to Yankee Stadium. This is a public relations nightmare and this may come back to bite this franchise for a while.
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Post by shin on Dec 21, 2005 1:08:30 GMT -5
And it's most certainly not like Bellhorn or Embree being cut and then scooped up by the Yanks to end up sucking for them, too. They didn't hurt us one bit and they deserved to be cut in the first place, no matter who they ended up with.
This is seriously like nothing I've ever seen in this rivalry.
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Post by rockysigman on Dec 21, 2005 1:14:23 GMT -5
Merchandising? Who cares about that? You know what really sells a lot of merchandise? Winning! And they can use that money in much better ways than spending it on Johnny Damon. For that price they can replace Damon with someone of equal ability, plus add another two quality players or so.
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Post by shin on Dec 21, 2005 1:33:09 GMT -5
What player of equal ability? Their contingency plan is trading Marte, the stud they just got for Renteria, for Coco Crisp.
Wow, that, as a fan, makes me think that the Sox are truly dedicated to winning by upgrading from Johnny Damon to Coco Crisp.
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Post by rockysigman on Dec 21, 2005 1:51:25 GMT -5
What player of equal ability? Their contingency plan is trading Marte, the stud they just got for Renteria, for Coco Crisp. Wow, that, as a fan, makes me think that the Sox are truly dedicated to winning by upgrading from Johnny Damon to Coco Crisp. Well, Damon is slightly better fielder, and maybe a slightly better hitter (really this might even be a push), and Damon is in his decline phase while Crisp is just entering the prime of his career. In fact, I'd be almost certain that by the fourth year of this contract that Damon got from the Yankees, that there won't be any debate that Crisp is better. To switch from Damon to Crisp and have a bunch of money left over to buy pitching help or whatever doesn't sound like a bad plan at all. Maybe not an upgrade at that one position, but not much of a loss if it allows them to improve other areas where they need help. |
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Post by shin on Dec 21, 2005 2:34:11 GMT -5
It's not a guarantee that Damon will be on the downside of his career. Now more than ever players are playing at a top level over the age of 35. Have you seen those Puma ads? Johnny's ripped, and if he can recover from a concusion to have a career year, while playing smashmouth/reckless CF slamming into walls and still being a top lead off hitter, his decline is not as obvious as it would be someone like Pedro. And you act like Coco Crisp is a shoe in to be a star. Assuming we even GET him (which we'd have to give up the stud Marte we just got, what the fuck ever), he could be a total bust. Clement couldn't handle the pressure, Renteria couldn't handle the pressure, Payton and Wells (  ) couldn't handle the climate...what's to say Crisp will flourish? We played this "go younger and save money for good signings and let the oldies go elsewhere" game this year and we did worse than we did last year. It's not always a matter of the talent on paper, sometimes it's about who can can cut it in a harsh and unforgiving market. And Damon has been the second best leadoff hitter behind Ichiro in the AL for the last three years. Crisp wasn't even leading off for the damn Indians last year. This is a downgrade and if it's an upgrade, you can't bank on that. |
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Post by rockysigman on Dec 21, 2005 2:55:01 GMT -5
That's awfully harsh on Clement. I realize his second half wasn't great, but he was All Star. He was at least as good as anyone expected him to be. And I don't know how you can know for sure that Renteria couldn't handle the pressure--there may have been other causes for his problems last year. And as for Wells....of course Wells could handle the pressure! He's played places with a lot more pressure than there (ahem...New York). The problem with Wells is that he's over the hill (and actually, based on what they paid him, he really had a decent year--he did no worse than anyone with realistic expecations expected of him).
I'm curious as to what criteria you're using to claim he's been the second best leadoff hitter (and that Ichiro is the best--maybe in the past, but definately not this past season), because, well, the job of the leadoff hitter is to get on base. Here are the OBPs for the AL leadoff hitters last year:
Derek Jeter: .389
Brian Roberts: .387
Placido Polanco: .383
David Dellucci: .367
Johnny Damon: .366
David DeJesus: .359
Chone Figgins: .352
Scot Podsednik: .351
Ichiro Suzuki: .350
Grady Sizemore: .348
Jason Kendall: .345
Carl Crawford: .331
Russ Adams: .325
Shannon Stewart: .323
So yeah, he was a good leadoff hitter, but to say that he was one of the one or two best seems odd, considering there were four lead off hitters who got on base more consistently than him, and three of those guys even have a little bit of pop in their bat.
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Post by shin on Dec 21, 2005 23:52:03 GMT -5
I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that I'd rather have Johnny Damon leading off than David Dellucci.
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) couldn't handle the climate...what's to say Crisp will flourish?