ChicagoSportsBlogs : Non Compete

The Sox were in Minnesota tonight and the game featured our new starter: Freddie Garcia. Freddie started the game pretty good -- He had four strikeouts with no walks and no hits for the start of the game (first few innings). He then seemed to get tired around the 5th inning. He gave up the lead he had, but he still has some nasty stuff. If anything the bats came alive and got us the win tonight. Specifically I'd like to point out how Jose Valentin had an error in the field only to come up to the plate later in the inning to hit a home run! Talk about making amends! I like the move Williams made, at least so far.

The Cubs are another matter. I missed the game because honestly, I was working. I did spend the afternoon listening to Portugal beat the Dutch to head into the Euro 2004 finals...now lets hope Greece can pull off another miracle win against the Czechs to join them in the final!

I'm watching Outside the lines right now on ESPN HD -- Jeremy Schapp sucks. This kid doesn't command an interview, and he sure as hell is not the guy to have on this show. The topic tonight is sports video game violence. Something near and dear to my heart. In fact, I think my next article will cover this subject because the interviews were a tad one sided. I'd be curious to see what people thought about the new flavor of sports video games that promote violence in the game...(MLB Slugfest anyone?)

Happy 4th everyone -- be safe out there and try to find some time to watch a ballgame while you are bbq'n!!

(updated my crappy spelling mistakes)

Just got a call from my bro in Boston -- I must have just missed this on SportsCenter. They supposedly reported that Freddie Garcia has been traded to the White Sox for 6 players...I can't seem to find anything to substantiate this rumor. No signs of the trade on the Sox web site or on espn.com --

More updates as I get them.

I know the Sox lost against the Cubs today in a game that got sloppy in the field. But I wanted to take this time to congradulate the Greek National team for beating France 1-0!!!

HELLAS ALL THE WAY

I have been debating about starting a seperate blog for technical information. Considering I don't want to open another account with another ISP to do this, I figured I would just add a new category and keep it from the main feed. So I will be blogging here about all things technical. You know, digital cameras, iPods, Tivos, HD TV, XBOX stuff, Playstation 2 stuff, maybe even -- programming and architecture stuff! Woohoo!

For now, I'd like to plug GMAIL. I dig  it. Even though I hate client side programing. But I guess the days of fat clients are upon us again.The site seems to be run inside a frameset and primary uses javascript to handle some of the cool interface tricks you see -- like the auto expanding reply box at the bottom of messages you receive. Strong work fellas -- strong work.

 

The NBA draft took place last night. The Bulls drafted UCONN guard Ben Gordon, Luol Deng, and Chris Duhon. I am going out on a limb here to say that this draft sucks for us. (Steve Kerr disagrees with me) Why do I say this? Because none of these players are contributing enough as rookies to get us into the playoffs. I don't care how weak the East is. We are rebuilding again. On the surface these guys are great ballplayers. Let me break down my thoughts on each of them:

Gordon: He is an amazingly talented ball handler and shooter. This guy has great skills. He can take anyone off the dribble. One on one, he will beat you to the bucket. His ability to break down defenders and to create is something this team lacks. I just question a back court that pairs him with Heinrich. I could be wrong, it might work out. But I don't see them really complimenting each other. Notice I didn't mention that he is considered small by NBA standards.

Deng: I don't want to call this guy an unknown. He went to Duke, and he was considered the second best high school player in the country two years ago, behind only LeBron James. He needs to improve his perimeter shooting, but he is a gifted basketball player who can handle the rock, and has great vision. He's not raw, just unproven. I think he has tremendous skill and he can contribute to our team right now as a starter -- but he is a young guy who most likely needs 3 to 4 years before we see his potential. I will say that he won't be freaking out at Skiles approach to coaching -- it can't be that different from the expectations under coach K and Duke. Which brings me to our next Dukie:

Duhon: Grant Hill light? Ultra Light? I don't care for this guy's game. I just don't. He is a senior and if anything I bet he can contribute more to this team as a rookie than the other two guys. Obviously the bench is now crowded with guards and his addition surely means that Jamal Crawford is gone. I think that starting him with Deng on the court is obviously going to be a good thing -- as far as familiarity goes. I just don't get excited with Duhon. Don't get me wrong -- I think he is a talented guy, but we need to make the playoffs. Duhon won't help in this regard. I could be wrong. Let us all remember we have a great history as of late with Duke players: Brand, J Williams, Duhon, and Deng....are we scouting any other teams? I'm sure guys who lost a total of 9 games their entire college careers are going to love playing with a team who's only reproducible skill is losing

I am disappointed with this draft because I thought Pax would be able to get a trade for a veteran player.
A blockbuster trade of some sort. Package Deng up with Chandler, sign and trade Crawford. I don't get it. We need veteran leadership. Maybe he and Skiles think that we give these young guys (Chandler, and Curry) till the trading deadline to show what they can do. If they start off crappy, then it's time to start dealing. Cut your losses. I will admit to you that this might be the best plan available to us. We are a super young team and I really want to watch good basketball. These young guys don't excite me enough to spend $75 a ticket to see them. Hell, they don't excite me enough to turn the game on the TV. Even in HD. That tells you something, doesn't it?

 

The Trib is reporting that the Bulls will announce they have traded a second round draft pick and a future first round pick (plus $3 million in cash) to Phoenix for the 7th pick in this year's draft. I wonder what GM Pax has in mind. Will he draft Ben Gordon from UCONN and use the 7th pick as trade bait? Whatever the case, everyone around the Chi believes that this experiment with the high school ballers is a failure. I tend to agree. I just hope that this time tomorrow, I won't be complaining about how crappy our draft was. But I have faith in Pax. He did draft Heinrich last year.

Baseball news: Both teams lost last night. What more is there to say? Except maybe that the Sox gave up a grand slam in the 8th to ruin our chances at keeping pace with the Twins. They beat the Red Sox and now have a 2 game lead in the division over us. Pitching is killing us. We need to make a move already. As for the Cubs, they totally blew a great comeback last night, losing to the Cards 10-9. It was a fun game to watch. The Cards bullpen did its best White Sox bullpen impression.

On a final note, I have been trying to spread a rumor that the Cubs and the Sox will do a trade between each other this week (or maybe next week, when they play again) The Cubs could trade an arm to us, like maybe that  Glendon Rusch character. They won't need him when Kerry Wood comes back, will they? But what would the Sox give the Cubs? I don't know, maybe Rowand, or Valentin, and Marte? Or Cotts? The cubs could use a short stop. Jose Valentin would be a nice addition to the north sider's team. Let's package up a trade sending Valentin, and Rowand for Rusch and a minor league arm. The Sox can move Uribe to short, and Mags gets signed and everyone is happy -- I'm obviously on something, I know...

Oh -- Good luck to the Greek National team tomorrow against France in the Euro 2004 Championships. They are going to need it.

Wow! What a game last night. I tuned in while the Sox were up 8-0. I got home late from work and while I love my iPod -- it doesn't have a radio tuner built into it. (that is another matter)
So I was feeling pretty confident we were finally getting the message, and decided to stop the slide for this month. Ozzie must have done a good job with his pre-game pep talk. I was impressed to say the least. Then I ran out to start dinner and found myself coming back to an 8-6 game. Uh oh, not again.
It didn't take long for Marte to get slaughtered. The game was 8-8, and then eventually 9-8. A home run by my favorite breakfast cereal made this game a  joke. I flip over to see what the Cubbies are doing, because it is St. Louis after all -- The Cubs actually reversed the situation and came from behind to take the game from the Cards. The June swoon floated down to the South Side this year -- but wait, there is more! We tied the game 9-9 and then the 10th inning comes and Jose Valentin smacks a 2 run homer, and let the fireworks begin! Wow! I can't believe these guys didn't give up. I can't believe they came back to win this game. I just can't believe that with the past few weeks of struggling, especially against the NL, that these White Sox come home, destroy the Indians in the first half of this game, FALL APART in the second half, and come back in such a dramatic fashion to win. I will spare you the sports clichés -- Let's just leave it at WOW!

We are 0-8 in the 5th starter position this year. The total ERA is someting like 11.59. This is completely out of hand. We need to make a move, and NOW. We are heading into a tough series with a Cubs team next weekend that needs to win so they can finally catch up to St. Louis. In fact, they need to beat St. Louis FIRST. I am sick to my stomach with this 5th starter issue. The game against Montreal on Saturday turned into a football game. We lost it by a FIELD GOAL. Kenny -- give them what they want in young guys -- get us an arm!

It's Friday, and I have a ton of work to do. I will make this quick...I brought a Father's Day Gift for all you Sox fans out there: Bill Koch is GONE. Whew! Tell me that isn't better than underwear and a tie. I don't feel bad for Billy. I mean his fastball disapeared on him, and so did his control...and lets not go into his tempermant. I will say that Billy was an apologetic guy, and overall knew he was given plenty of time here in Chicago to correct his ways. It just didn't happen. I think a new environment might do him good. His confidence should return with a new group of guys, plus he is playing in Florida now. If anything, Kenny Williams has freed up a little cash so that we can go out and get the media's favorite pitcher making the rounds in the papers here in the Chi...Freddy Garcia.

On a more global note: Greece is about to qualify for the Quarter Finals in the Euro 2004 Championships in Portugal. While I realize this is a big “who cares” for the majority of you out there, I wanted to wish the Greek National Team good luck against Russia on Sunday. GO ELLADA!

Have a nice weekend kiddies!

I know lots of you baseball fans could care less about the Euro 2004 tournament in Portugal.
But while soccer is considered a crap game in the US -- it does draw more than the average Sox game, and definetly gets better ratings than the Hawks!

Bear with me as I give congrats to the Greece team for a major upset on Saturday of host nation Portugal! Finally, we begin to erase the horrible results from the 94 World Cup. It was a fantastic win! I really wish that Real would get their EUFA coverage in order. When I signed up to watch this game, or hear the live commentary (after giving them $15.00) I ran into some XML problems. The feed wasn't working. It was a bad time to have technical issues. I think they have finally fixed the problems, or perhaps the fact that I gave in and allowed the spyware like application to use cookies on my laptop. Ever since I changed the privacy settings to be less restrictive I was able to get the feeds! I was eventually able to see the highlights of the Greek victory over Portugal. It was great! Yiassas Pedia, Zito n Ellada!

I must be getting daring -- I seem to think I can expand my audience by actually commenting on articles instead of just lurking, or keeping my thoughts to my self. Case in point: My first article. It's a tiny blurb commenting on Eric Zorn's column in today's Chicago Tribune.... To my two faithful readers out there -- don't get scared, I'm not selling out! As for the daily review in sports, I am taking the day off. The Cubs stank last night and so did the Sox. It is most likely the last day I can call the Sox a "first place" team. They are now tied with the Twinkies for first in the division....its going to be a rough month of June for these two teams...stay tuned Back in 5

I'm sitting here watching the Lakers pull away (finally) from the Pistons tonight. Its in overtime with 34 seconds left and an 8 point lead. A quick discussion this afternoon with my brother lead us down the path of how much the NBA sucks. Specifically how much the Lakers seem to suck. Now, let me be clear: I think the Lakers will win this series. Eventually. This sort of sentiment is very familiar to those of us in the Chi. The beloved Bulls used to get awashed in accolades and massive amounts of 4-0 predictions during our run in the finals. But that is where the similarities end. The Lakers are a pathetic champion. In game 1 these guys were asleep. They let a no name Pistons team show up and out hustle them on their own floor. They totally sat on their hands! The Bulls never packed it in during the playoffs. If anything, it was the opposite. The playoffs were what we lived for. I'm glad to see that the Lakers got their act together tonight -- and I am not trying to take anything away from the Pistons. They absolutely have a chance to win this series, because in fact the Lakers are their own worst opponent.

And what's with the thug beats in the background of some of the video highlight recaps? I'm not hatin', I'm just saying -- big beats and Disney don't seem to go together...

Oh for those of you who care, SportsCenter is finally in HD. Woohoo! The 10 bucks a month I pay for HD thru DTV is finally worth it.

I'd like to take the time to extend my congrats to the Tampa Bay Lighting. Game 7 of the NHL Stanley Cup Finals was on last night. It was a great game, and not only because it was seen in all its 16:9 HD glory. It was the way hockey was meant to be played. Two teams that fought to the end. Although, I must say I was disappointed that the Flames didn't win the cup, I do realize this could very well be the end of hockey as we know it. I won't get into the obvious problems that hockey has to face in the coming weeks. I know I owe you all an article on my thoughts on how to fix hockey. I'll actually get around to it this weekend and have something posted soon.

Finally, I was away this past weekend and didn't get a chance to comment on the crap that is Billy Koch. Its time for us to make a deal, and like I said previously, with Mags out and the starters in need of a 5th arm to help them out, I have NO IDEA what we are going to do about the bullpen. Maybe Takatsu will be able to handle it. The 35 year old rookie is the best arm we have, clearly, in the bullpen. Ozzie, its time to tell Kenny Williams that Billy Koch is done as a White Sox player. Cut him.

 

Jeez....The Sox go down again. And in extra innings no less. AND, Mags is hurt. This isn't as bad as the pain the Northsiders are going through right now, but it could prove disastrous. Lets all put on our GM hats and play my favorite game: Kenny Williams, GM.

What if Williams has been negotiating a trade behind closed doors for Mags? Maybe to get us a pitcher for that 5th spot of the rotation. He could be looking at a 2 or 3 player deal. I know it sounds crazy. How can we replace a guy who is batting .311 with 8 dingers and 34 RBIs (he has missed 9 games I think so far this season). I know that lots of folks don't want to see Ordonez traded. I also know there are rumors flying around that most recently the Sox made a $70 million dollar offer and he turned it down. Of course, this is probably FUD from the front office, but if it's true, wouldn't you try to get something for Ordonez? So an injury like this to his leg, which might require surgery is going to mess up any chance that Williams has in trading him. Which means we have no choice but to forget about this nonsense and just sign the kid. He is, after all, our best player.

Finally, I think its ok to admit that if we trade Ordonez before the season ends, we will have flashbacks to that infamous White Flag trade...we are all little trade shy since then, aren't we? (assuming we get to stay in first place of course)

That GM hat I put on must be on a little tight because I'm starting to believe my own delusions. Well, at least I can still say we are in first place!

At least not for the Sox. I love it when a sports team from the Chi makes it to the West Coast. Just like the Bulls during their "Circus is in town -- we gotta run to LA" tour every season, we can count on WGN and its late night coverage to keep us awake at night! Last night, it was Estaban Loiza and the first place White Sox in Oakland. The "Pathetics" as we used to call them when we were younger, and jealous, seem to own the Sox. According to every major article floating around town today, the Sox are an amazing 1-12 against the A's since 2001 (in Oakland). So who you callin Pathetic? Jeez, the only thing pathetic was the fact I am getting older and I can't stay up all night to watch these games. Especially since I can't blow off work the way I used to blow off classes...at any rate the game was exciting in the 9th. When Jose Valentin popped a steroid ball over the fence to tie the game. Turns out we blew it in extra innings (the 12th if you are curious) by giving up a walk off home run. It would have been really nice to fall asleep to a 5-1 victory last night, instead I greet the faithful this morning with a chipper: "We're still in first by a game and a half" One more thing: The crazy talk has begun at the Tribune. The back page this morning has some scary breakdown of what the Sox season would be like if they went to a four man rotation. I can't believe we're giving up on Neil Cotts already... HAH! Back in 5!