Posted by Roman Modrowski on April 1, 2007 09:47 PM|Permalink
Comments
Im picking the Cubs as well. Im a White Sox fan but as of now they only have three and a half pitchers. Vazquez only goes 4.5 innings and they have no #5. I hope they prove me wrong, go SOX!
The sox, peopole fail to realize that this team has won 90 plus game the last two years. Cubs are a very talented team, but so are the sox. With the addition od ernstad that line up 1-8 can be scary. Then you have pods coming back and him and ernstad batting 1-2 will hurt. People forget that the sox had 2 players hit for 30 homers and 2 hit for 40 with 3 of 4 bringing more than 100 rbi's. The cubs pitching is still a huge question mark, of the starting five the only one you can count on is big z. Their line up also is very scary but can they stay injury free?
This is a NO BRAINER.....the question is who wins more games....the Sox....now if the question is "who has a better chance of going to playoffs" then the Cubs would be the choice because of the weak division. In the AL Central, the Sox might win 92 games and not get in, while the Cubs could probably win the NL Central outright with 84......
stop talking about weak divisions unless you can get it right. When you have one team dominate(i.e. the Sandiego Chargers) than that is a weak division. When you have teams beat up each other than that is a strong division.
There is no big accomplishment when you have a big fat payroll team win it all, so screw the Cubs,(and I am a lifelong Cub's fan)let 'em lose. No one cares about the White Sox, so I won't waste anymore time on that matter.
Oh, and if you are going to cheese up this blog with fair weather comments, then keep them to yourself in Gary, or Rockford, or wherever you are from, 'cause you ain't from Chicago.
I hate to be the first one to throw cold water on the Cubs 2007 season in this particular blog entry but here goes; I can't see them winning more than 78 games. They will struggle, largely due to their pitching staff (or lack thereof). This is how I see the season going, a poor start the first two months causing angst among Cubs fans and Lou Pinella, followed by better play mid season and a better than average final 2 months which will get everyone excited about 2008. This will be a transitional year. I see the White Sox battling all season with the Indians, Tigers and Twins. I think they'll win 92 and maybe the division. The Sox will win roughly 10 to 15 more games this year than the Cubbies.
Cubs lineup is too full of sluggers. They needed to get an "igniter" Pitching will let them down again. The Sox have the most wins in the majors the past 2 seasons. I have to go with the Sox.
Roman responds: Alfonso Soriano can be a pretty good igniter. And the Sox will miss Freddy Garcia.
The Cubs are in the weakest division in baseball & the Sox are in the toughest, but I still think both teams will play a little over .500 ball, like about 83 games each. The only thing that will change that is if the Sox make the Rowand/Lieber trade before opening day. Then I believe the Sox will have the better record. Still it should be a fun season for Chicago baseball fans. By the way, GO SOX!
Don't you think it's ironic that Sammy Sosa was traded from the Cubs to Baltimore for Jerry Hairston and now both of them just made the Texas Rangers together? For this alone the Cubs will not do good. The White Sox are a different story....they still miss Big Frank.
Roman responds: I find it most ironic that after that trade, Hairston's the one implicated in a steroid controversy.
Let's get the facts straight if we are going to post. The Yankees have won the most games in the majors the last two years. Now, the Sox had 24 more wins than the Cubs last year. They will not make up that kind of ground. Their only hope is that Kenny Williams has managed to take a 99 win team to a 90 win team to a 85 win team. I believe by trading Garcia and crossing his fingers on a bunch of young power arms in the bullpen, he has done just that. He didn't notice what a bunch of young power arms did for the Cubs over the last five years. He is looking foward to injuries and inconsistency.
Roman responds: The Garcia move was based on finances. He's coming up for a new deal just like several other Sox players, so Williams had to prioritize. Still, he's going to miss him this season.
Cubs certainly put out the bucks ,but other than Zambrano the pitching isn't good enough to win a division. Milwaukee spent allot less & probably will finish ahead of cubs again.Milwaukee made smarter moves picking up Suppan over Marquis as a example. The DL twins right on time getting hurt or getting ripped right before end of spring training. Cubs maybe 85 wins at best ? The Sox would need a surprise or two on staff to step up to duplicate 05. Getting rid of Garcia a huge mistake. McCarthy wasn't exactly the next coming of CY Young & his trade may turn out to be a good move . Vasquez should been dealt instead of Garcia. Sox may win 85 at best,Id say closer to 75 games thanks to GM Williams slicing the starting staff.
Roman, Soriano is a great OFFENSIVE ballplayer but his defense is bad and especially when hes playing out of position. And which Garcia will the Sox miss? Certainly not the one last year who couldnt hold runners on and lost some off his fastball. Ill take my chances with young pitchers anyday.
Roman responds: Well, they won't miss a few of the pitching versions who took the mound last season.
Barring injuries, I believe the Sox will have the better record even though they play in a tougher division and league. The line-ups are fairly comparable between teams, but I think the Sox have better pitching and more depth. There are a lot of questions for both teams, but how those questions are answered will determine the outcome of the season and who ends up w/a better record.
Can Danks or Floyd step-up as 5th starters? Is Aardsma really as bad as he's been pitching in the preseason? Can Pods play like '05? Is Anderson as bad as he played in '06, or can he step up his offense? Will Uribe swing at every single pitch he sees? Will the Sox's top 4 starters continue their inconsistancies?
Is Rich Hill ready to be a major league pitcher, and will he live up to his potential? Can Cliff Floyd stay healthy? Will Izturis do anything besides play defense? Can Dempster close games? Will the Cubs have any starters step up after Zambrano? Can Soriano play center? Can the Red Head improve his defense and power output? Who will start in left? Is DeRosa a one year "wonder" or can he really be a starter? Will Neil Cotts be as bad for the Cubs as he was for the Sox last year, or as good as he was for the Sox in '05? Can anyone really make up for the loss of Mabry? ;)
Seems to me that the Cubs have more question marks, but it doesn't mean they can't win more than the Sox. Just hope they don't...
The Sox still have a potent offense and they shored up their bullpen.
The Cubs do not have the starting pitching. How many games will Pryor and Wood win together. 8? Not many.
Sox 92 wins, Cubs 78
By the way, this will be the 100th year without a series win Cubs fans. Like losing? Guess so.
Yea....so do you really think the Cubs are going to win more games then the sox??????Please...the Cubs are are a Corp....They have a revenue stream they try to keep...this is a corp...they think by spending all this money they will be better...kinda like the Yankees but this team is not the Yankees.....they have no clue about chemistry, potential and growth that is needed to be a winning ball club.....the sox have an owner that has a passion for winning...they have smart people making decisions developing a team that plays together....hard working....just like the bulls currently are....ironically its the same owner...the sox will have a much better record than the cubs....don’t you cubs fans get it...start looking at the big picture…
Dah-Sox! This is easy, but who SHOULD win more games??? The Cubs. They have it all. They have played the roll of the Yankees, but they didn't do that for DUSTY. Manager got nothing to do with it on the Northside. It was the Horses that failed - Woods and Prior that failed them. As they went - so went the Cubs. Their records are reflective of that team. NOW the Cubs have SPENT CASH and they will do better because of THAT alone. Northsiders can thank the Sox for that! Southsiders are increasing in ATTENDANCE - that is the only motivation that moves them. Dollars and that is it. Cubs will be better - because managment has been FORCED to pay up. Cub fans if you really want more - visit US Cellular.
Hey Stuckinwisconsin, when you want to talk about baseball try blogging again. It's apparent you don't know what you are talking about. I will tell you about fairweather fans, like the fairweather fan you seem to be. I am a Sox fan, grew up on the southside within walking distance of old Comiskey and don''t give a rat's you know what about what any Real Cubs fan has to say about me let alone a FAKE like you. You are obviously a fake Cubs fan as you for 1. Don't live in Chicago, 2 don't know what you are talking about and 3. want the Cubs to lose after the REAL Cub fans have been imploring management to spend money. Dude stop faking and start cheering for your real team, the Milwaukee Lewsers....Oh I mean the Brewers...and while you are at it take the Favre jersey off when you sleep at night....it's simply embarrassing to be that much of a Green Bay Fan.
Drew, if you are going to post get the facts straight. The 100th anniversary isn't until next year. If you don't have enough fingers and toes, use a calculator. I can't wait until the Cubs win a world series and are a "winning organization" like the White Sox, who win championships once every 88 years.
Roman responds: Well, I know people who are 88, but I don't know anyone who's 100.
The White Sox with their improved bullpen will end up in second place, but only if Thome,Crede and Podsednik stay healty,and Vazquez improves, and Contreras doesn't implode. Cleveland has bulllpen problems, Minnesota needs more starting pitchers.But Detroit is the real thing.
The beauty of the Cubs in Lou Pinella, strong bullpen,bench, and
decent replacment players in the Minors should the need arise.
St.Louis lacks decent pitching, and Edmonds and Encarnacion are hurt.Houston't pitching is also suspect. I look for Milwaukee to
improve, how much, I'm not sure.
Chuck Paredes
roman, youre absolutely right but you pointed at Garcia and said the sox will miss him. I, for one, dont. And you are correct that Buehrle and Vasquez and Garland must step it up. But I do love that bullpen
Hey Rick, "if you're going to post, get the facts straight". While you're busy ripping people for not knowing how to count, why don't you figure out who actually made the posting before ripping them. It wasn't me, it was TG Special. But I find it amusing that you made such a simple mistake, and now you look just as foolish as the person you're ripping. hahahahahahahahaaaa!
The Sox hands down. The tribune has failed cubdumb, but they will still sell out wrigley. The cubs overpaid for middle of the road pitching and unless Soriano can pitch and and play the outfield they are s.o.l. Not to mention they are batting him leadoff bad idea imo.
The sox do have some questionmarks but I am confident that Kenny will do whatever it takes to bring the team to the postseason. We have a young power bullpen along w/ Don Cooper. I believe Danks will post decent numbers this yr as the fifth starter. The offense will be one of the best in the majors. If pods can stay healthy and get on base the sox have a good shot at repeating. Also note that the division will not be as great as last yr.'s and I am not convinced that Detroit is legitimate they have as many ?'s as the sox. I think the sox will not only have the most wins, but will also win the division.
in response to Bryant:
That's how you keep it real-let's get this 'afraid to step on toes' mentality outta here. After all, if you are a Cubs fan (like me), then you don't know jack about the Sox. If you are a Sox fan (like you) then you don't know jack about the Cubs (or baseball for that matter). So if everybody would stop pretending to be Joe Predicto regarding the 'other' team,then this would be an awesome blog. Heres my pick : Cubs 162 wins /// Sox 0 wins
Don't worry Sox fans you'll 162 of something-maybe season ticket holders(perhaps an over-estimate)? Heres a riddle: How many free tickets will it take to fill out Comiskey (or whatever YOU corporate sellouts are calling it these days-oops did I press a button?) park on an average 3000 person day? The answer: 0 -who the h*ll wants to see the White Sox play.
I would also like reiterate that I hate the Packers more than I hate the Whitesox.
re: response to Bryant.
I almost forgot. You said I am a fake Cubs fan because "I Don't know what I am talking about". That statement does indeed make me a REAL Cubs fan in a REAL Sox fan's eyes. You must be the one who is fake.
Roman, my uncle was born in 1925. He served his country in WWII and raised a family. From the time he was a little boy, he was a Sox fan. He lived and breathed White Sox. He went to as many games as he was physically able to attend. He died in 1997 without ever seeing his beloved White Sox win a championship. My point was that there has been a whole generation of Sox and Cubs fans who have lived and died while supporting these two losing franchises. After 186 years of combined losing I think they need to show more. The Sox need to be like Minnesota, who has won the division 3 of the last 4 years. And the Cubs have to win like the Cardinals. Obviously, you disagree. You sound happy with the one you have. That's fine. We have different definitions of what a winning franchise is. By the way, if you are looking to meet some 100 year olds, watch Williard Scott on channel 5. He'll hook you up.
Roman responds: We had similar dads. Mine was born in 1920 and fought the Japanese in the jungles of the Philippenes. He died in 2004 as as the Red Sox were winning the World Series. I remember thinking, he died at 84 and didn't see either of Chicago's baseball teams win a World Series. Sad.
Hands down, the Sox....I can see it now, Soriano getting tangled in the ivy at Wrigley, the chants, Let's go Cubbies, when they're losing big time...it's nauseating!!!!Cubs in the 70's(though in their division, it might be 1st place) in wins, Sox in the 90's, again!!
in response to dupagesox---why are you spiting all this tripe about the sox with sox in your name. Also, the south siders dont have their own tickets scalped by their team. Talk about attendance all you want to, but Ill say this. There is a reason why the Cubs have almost waited 100 years between championships. We won ours in 05 so until you win something you need to be quiet
I agree that the Sox need more wins to win the division. However, I therefore believe the Cubs have the better shot at the division. I mean, both the Twins and Tigers got into the playoffs last year and neither one is getting any worse. But, the Cards and Houston are getting older and let go of a lot. I love the Cubs and may be partial, but I think Piniella has got it together.
Tony J., that was not 'dupagesox' that was me. See the poster of the thread is posted at the BOTTOM of the thread. Here's some more
'advice': Sox tickets are worthless and cannot be scalped.
youre right. And you can talk about whose team outsells or which team will win more. The Cub fans are like sheep. You havent won a world series in almost 100 years, and you wont win one this year and yet you still spout that tripe about attendance
The Sox division is ridiculously tough. The winner of that division will only have about 94 wins because the 2nd place team will have 92, 3rd will have 90. KC will have about 60. If the Cubs get any decent pitching from their staff, they will win a lot of games in their weak division. So, I see the Sox with 90 or 92 and the Cubs about the same.
Have you seen the big UnderArmour sign in the middle of Wrigley? Have you seen the Tribune Co(which is a MUCH bigger Corporation than the folks at US Cellular). Um do you know what a corporation is? Cuz I would think that a true Cubs fan would know seeing as how their team is owned by one of the largest in the country. As for fan attendance you really don't seem to know what you are talking about. The Cubs have done a tremendous marketing job to sell the Wrigley Experience and not the play on the field. If you take all of the tourists, and Brewer Fans who take up all the tickets at Wrigley Field(as many Cubs Fans complain about) and the casual observer away from Wrigley you wouldn't have that many fans in the park. Once again you seem clueless about Chicago Baseball. The Cubs fan base has been overtaken by people like you who don't know anything about baseball thanks to the WGN superstation and the fact that back in the early 80's the Cubs were the only team that people all across the country could see in the daytime. The fan base was further overtaken by people like you thanks to the Marketing strategy promoting the "loveable loser" mentality that seems more important to fake fans such as yourself as opposed to fans that really want to see their team win. Dude stop masquerading, you are a fake.
As for the Green Bay fan comment? That must have really gotten your goat. If someone said I was a Cubs fan I would completely dismiss it and not bother with a response. You also said that you would like to reiterate that you are a bigger GreenBay hater than Sox hater.....um where did you first make that statement? Because to "REITERATE" something means you have said it once before? Hahahahahaha maybe I am not the only one that has accused you of flying under false colors and being a Green Bay Fanatic! Someone accuse you of that in another blog? I bet they did!
Beautiful,just beautiful. The way I press your buttons.The way you respond with hate so engrained in the text. Did you wear out your keyboard typing that response? I did it again. My whole life I have been exploiting Sox fans for what they are,and what they never could be- as true and loyal as us lifelong Cubs fans. Ready for the Kicker? I'll go to more Sox games than Cubs games this year...again,because the tickets are free. So when you look down from
your "all you could afford" nosebleed seats into the club section and you see a guy in a BEARS hat not even paying attention to the game,oblivious to the point that he doesn't even know who the sox are playing, ask yourself this: "Have the lambs been silenced?"
Oh, I almost forgot. The Tribune is not as big as you pretend it to be in your world of self-pity ecstasy. Jerry Reinsdorf is worth alot more than the Tribune's CEO (Dennis Fitsimmons). Also U.S. Cellular does not own the Sox, So I don't know where you are drawing your irrational comparisons from. Like I said Sox fans,-if you can't cook,stay out of the Kitchen. Do not talk about business and corporations if you don't know what you are talking about.Stop trying to be our 'big brother'(or sister)by patronizing us about our teams ownership, when in fact your ownership gave us....let's see........an old bloated white guy!!
Jerry Krause engineered the mother of all gravy trains. Never has someone done so little with so much as he did (and don't even try to credit him with the Bull's championship).
Also, for your reference, the Tribune company is ranked way down at the bottom of the fortune 500 list...like 400th or something like that.So please, if you are going to trash us, pick a different angle.....pllllleaaasssseee. You are stale.
hahahaha....um once again you seem to be not only stuckinwisconsin but stuck in "not knowing what I am talking about land"....um....please try and pay attention. The Tribune company owns the Cubs......Jerry Reinsdorf owns the Sox....CEO's don't own companies they manage them. So your point of comparing a CEO's worth to a owner's worth is kinda well....pointless! HAHAHAHAHAHAH Your quote "oh they are only like 400th on the fortune 500 hundred"....oh yes poor small Tribune Company. Um, is US Cellular on the fortune 500? I am sure they are not, and looking them up is not necessary as I am sure you left their "ranking" off on purpose. Your leaving them off speaks volumes. Hahahahaha self pity?? Oh man dude you have me busting up over here, nothing to pity about on the Sox side of town. Our team is pointed in a great direction, with a better than average farm system and a team poised to compete now. We also have once again fake Cubs fans saying things like "oh I will be coming to Sox games cuz the tickets are free".....dude seriously NO real Cubs fan would come see the Sox play unless they are coming to the crosstown classic. You keep giving yourself away with every word.
Your insults are just SAAAAADDDD......your points are just WHACK HAHAHAHAHAHA...you make a self pointed reference to check the Tribune's status on the list and "conveniently" leave off the fact that US Cellular isn't even ranked. You try to confuse readers by comparing a CEO to an owner. Seriously, your red herring arguments aren't going to work. Dude Stop! You are just making me laugh too hard.
I have been giving you baseball lessons and history lessons, marketing strategies, torn apart your arguments, and finally gave you a lesson in logic(yeah I know logic is wasted on fake cub fans but I try nonetheless) LOL.......please don't embarass yourself by showing up to US CELLULAR Home of the WORLD CHAMPION WHITE SOX with a Bears jersey on. Be yourself! Wear your Favre jersey with pride! hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!
I've gotten dizzy reading some of these messages where the trash talking reaches new levels of incoherence. It's a bit deflating when at first glance I can't even understand what arguments some bloggers are trying to make. But I'll try going back to the original question (Cubs or Sox - who has better 07 record?). I am at a loss how anyone can say the Cubs will have a better record. It's going to take a bad year from the Sox and a good one from the Cubs for it to be close. Unless you like picking underdogs with even odds, anyone in their right mind needs to pick the Sox.
Sorry to disappoint some of our bloggers, but the Cubs are not going to win 90 games. If they win 85, that would be a huge improvement and just about the best anyone can expect of them. They may win the NL Central with 85 wins but will still fall short of the White Sox, who are definitely going to win 85 games and are more likely to win high 80's or into the 90's. Not that I'm overly enthused about my White Sox chances, but too many Cubs fans fall victim to wishful thinking every year. Most of the offseason moves have marginal value. And as talented as Soriano is, for some reason I think he has bust written all over him.
What moron said that a strong division is determined solely by all the teams in that division beating up on eachother? That is COMPLETELY false. You can have 5 of the WORST teams in all of baseball in the same division and being that all of those teams suck, they would inevitably "beat up on eachother" because they are evenly matched. Does that constitute a strong division? Of course not. It's a weak division. You have to look at the respective records of each team. The division that has the highest winning percentage among its teams collectively is the strong division. Sox will win more games than Cubs. Cubs have a better chance of making post-season due to the fact that they play in a WEAK division inside of a WEAKER LEAGUE.
Hey - I'm a Die Hard White Sox fan who happens to live in Rockford. Spring training records don't mean squat - heck I didn't even know a lot of players who tried out - get those words TRIED OUT. The Sox are in a monster of a division while the north siders are in perhaps the weakest division in the majors. Regardless of the north siders spending 380 million on players this eason - I see them finising 3rd - and sadly I see the Sox finishing in the same position 3rd. I just don't think that they have the arms to go any higher - and ea
Comments
Im picking the Cubs as well. Im a White Sox fan but as of now they only have three and a half pitchers. Vazquez only goes 4.5 innings and they have no #5. I hope they prove me wrong, go SOX!
Posted by: Jose | March 15, 2007 03:09 PM
The sox, peopole fail to realize that this team has won 90 plus game the last two years. Cubs are a very talented team, but so are the sox. With the addition od ernstad that line up 1-8 can be scary. Then you have pods coming back and him and ernstad batting 1-2 will hurt. People forget that the sox had 2 players hit for 30 homers and 2 hit for 40 with 3 of 4 bringing more than 100 rbi's. The cubs pitching is still a huge question mark, of the starting five the only one you can count on is big z. Their line up also is very scary but can they stay injury free?
Posted by: Shaun | March 15, 2007 05:54 PM
The Sox, because the Cubs are the...Cubs. It doesn't matter who they sign. They'll still stink and they'll still fill the seats.
Posted by: tjntx | March 15, 2007 08:54 PM
This is a NO BRAINER.....the question is who wins more games....the Sox....now if the question is "who has a better chance of going to playoffs" then the Cubs would be the choice because of the weak division. In the AL Central, the Sox might win 92 games and not get in, while the Cubs could probably win the NL Central outright with 84......
Posted by: Bryant | March 15, 2007 10:54 PM
stop talking about weak divisions unless you can get it right. When you have one team dominate(i.e. the Sandiego Chargers) than that is a weak division. When you have teams beat up each other than that is a strong division.
There is no big accomplishment when you have a big fat payroll team win it all, so screw the Cubs,(and I am a lifelong Cub's fan)let 'em lose. No one cares about the White Sox, so I won't waste anymore time on that matter.
Posted by: stuckinwisconsin | March 15, 2007 11:44 PM
Oh, and if you are going to cheese up this blog with fair weather comments, then keep them to yourself in Gary, or Rockford, or wherever you are from, 'cause you ain't from Chicago.
Posted by: stuckinwisconsin | March 15, 2007 11:47 PM
I hate to be the first one to throw cold water on the Cubs 2007 season in this particular blog entry but here goes; I can't see them winning more than 78 games. They will struggle, largely due to their pitching staff (or lack thereof). This is how I see the season going, a poor start the first two months causing angst among Cubs fans and Lou Pinella, followed by better play mid season and a better than average final 2 months which will get everyone excited about 2008. This will be a transitional year. I see the White Sox battling all season with the Indians, Tigers and Twins. I think they'll win 92 and maybe the division. The Sox will win roughly 10 to 15 more games this year than the Cubbies.
Posted by: Garry Wilbur | March 16, 2007 05:09 AM
Cubs lineup is too full of sluggers. They needed to get an "igniter" Pitching will let them down again. The Sox have the most wins in the majors the past 2 seasons. I have to go with the Sox.
Roman responds: Alfonso Soriano can be a pretty good igniter. And the Sox will miss Freddy Garcia.
Posted by: Fernando | March 16, 2007 06:11 AM
The Cubs are in the weakest division in baseball & the Sox are in the toughest, but I still think both teams will play a little over .500 ball, like about 83 games each. The only thing that will change that is if the Sox make the Rowand/Lieber trade before opening day. Then I believe the Sox will have the better record. Still it should be a fun season for Chicago baseball fans. By the way, GO SOX!
Posted by: allman | March 16, 2007 07:56 AM
Don't you think it's ironic that Sammy Sosa was traded from the Cubs to Baltimore for Jerry Hairston and now both of them just made the Texas Rangers together? For this alone the Cubs will not do good. The White Sox are a different story....they still miss Big Frank.
Roman responds: I find it most ironic that after that trade, Hairston's the one implicated in a steroid controversy.
Posted by: Jack | March 16, 2007 08:41 AM
Let's get the facts straight if we are going to post. The Yankees have won the most games in the majors the last two years. Now, the Sox had 24 more wins than the Cubs last year. They will not make up that kind of ground. Their only hope is that Kenny Williams has managed to take a 99 win team to a 90 win team to a 85 win team. I believe by trading Garcia and crossing his fingers on a bunch of young power arms in the bullpen, he has done just that. He didn't notice what a bunch of young power arms did for the Cubs over the last five years. He is looking foward to injuries and inconsistency.
Roman responds: The Garcia move was based on finances. He's coming up for a new deal just like several other Sox players, so Williams had to prioritize. Still, he's going to miss him this season.
Posted by: Rick | March 16, 2007 08:53 AM
Cubs certainly put out the bucks ,but other than Zambrano the pitching isn't good enough to win a division. Milwaukee spent allot less & probably will finish ahead of cubs again.Milwaukee made smarter moves picking up Suppan over Marquis as a example. The DL twins right on time getting hurt or getting ripped right before end of spring training. Cubs maybe 85 wins at best ? The Sox would need a surprise or two on staff to step up to duplicate 05. Getting rid of Garcia a huge mistake. McCarthy wasn't exactly the next coming of CY Young & his trade may turn out to be a good move . Vasquez should been dealt instead of Garcia. Sox may win 85 at best,Id say closer to 75 games thanks to GM Williams slicing the starting staff.
Posted by: Joe Hendrickson | March 16, 2007 09:23 AM
Roman, Soriano is a great OFFENSIVE ballplayer but his defense is bad and especially when hes playing out of position. And which Garcia will the Sox miss? Certainly not the one last year who couldnt hold runners on and lost some off his fastball. Ill take my chances with young pitchers anyday.
Roman responds: Well, they won't miss a few of the pitching versions who took the mound last season.
Posted by: tony j | March 16, 2007 10:21 AM
Barring injuries, I believe the Sox will have the better record even though they play in a tougher division and league. The line-ups are fairly comparable between teams, but I think the Sox have better pitching and more depth. There are a lot of questions for both teams, but how those questions are answered will determine the outcome of the season and who ends up w/a better record.
Can Danks or Floyd step-up as 5th starters? Is Aardsma really as bad as he's been pitching in the preseason? Can Pods play like '05? Is Anderson as bad as he played in '06, or can he step up his offense? Will Uribe swing at every single pitch he sees? Will the Sox's top 4 starters continue their inconsistancies?
Is Rich Hill ready to be a major league pitcher, and will he live up to his potential? Can Cliff Floyd stay healthy? Will Izturis do anything besides play defense? Can Dempster close games? Will the Cubs have any starters step up after Zambrano? Can Soriano play center? Can the Red Head improve his defense and power output? Who will start in left? Is DeRosa a one year "wonder" or can he really be a starter? Will Neil Cotts be as bad for the Cubs as he was for the Sox last year, or as good as he was for the Sox in '05? Can anyone really make up for the loss of Mabry? ;)
Seems to me that the Cubs have more question marks, but it doesn't mean they can't win more than the Sox. Just hope they don't...
Posted by: Drew | March 16, 2007 10:54 AM
The Sox still have a potent offense and they shored up their bullpen.
The Cubs do not have the starting pitching. How many games will Pryor and Wood win together. 8? Not many.
Sox 92 wins, Cubs 78
By the way, this will be the 100th year without a series win Cubs fans. Like losing? Guess so.
Posted by: TG Special | March 16, 2007 05:14 PM
Yea....so do you really think the Cubs are going to win more games then the sox??????Please...the Cubs are are a Corp....They have a revenue stream they try to keep...this is a corp...they think by spending all this money they will be better...kinda like the Yankees but this team is not the Yankees.....they have no clue about chemistry, potential and growth that is needed to be a winning ball club.....the sox have an owner that has a passion for winning...they have smart people making decisions developing a team that plays together....hard working....just like the bulls currently are....ironically its the same owner...the sox will have a much better record than the cubs....don’t you cubs fans get it...start looking at the big picture…
Posted by: Matthew | March 16, 2007 05:22 PM
Dah-Sox! This is easy, but who SHOULD win more games??? The Cubs. They have it all. They have played the roll of the Yankees, but they didn't do that for DUSTY. Manager got nothing to do with it on the Northside. It was the Horses that failed - Woods and Prior that failed them. As they went - so went the Cubs. Their records are reflective of that team. NOW the Cubs have SPENT CASH and they will do better because of THAT alone. Northsiders can thank the Sox for that! Southsiders are increasing in ATTENDANCE - that is the only motivation that moves them. Dollars and that is it. Cubs will be better - because managment has been FORCED to pay up. Cub fans if you really want more - visit US Cellular.
Posted by: Keith - Lifetime Southsider | March 16, 2007 07:39 PM
Hey Stuckinwisconsin, when you want to talk about baseball try blogging again. It's apparent you don't know what you are talking about. I will tell you about fairweather fans, like the fairweather fan you seem to be. I am a Sox fan, grew up on the southside within walking distance of old Comiskey and don''t give a rat's you know what about what any Real Cubs fan has to say about me let alone a FAKE like you. You are obviously a fake Cubs fan as you for 1. Don't live in Chicago, 2 don't know what you are talking about and 3. want the Cubs to lose after the REAL Cub fans have been imploring management to spend money. Dude stop faking and start cheering for your real team, the Milwaukee Lewsers....Oh I mean the Brewers...and while you are at it take the Favre jersey off when you sleep at night....it's simply embarrassing to be that much of a Green Bay Fan.
Posted by: Bryant | March 16, 2007 09:40 PM
Drew, if you are going to post get the facts straight. The 100th anniversary isn't until next year. If you don't have enough fingers and toes, use a calculator. I can't wait until the Cubs win a world series and are a "winning organization" like the White Sox, who win championships once every 88 years.
Roman responds: Well, I know people who are 88, but I don't know anyone who's 100.
Posted by: Rick | March 17, 2007 08:21 AM
The White Sox with their improved bullpen will end up in second place, but only if Thome,Crede and Podsednik stay healty,and Vazquez improves, and Contreras doesn't implode. Cleveland has bulllpen problems, Minnesota needs more starting pitchers.But Detroit is the real thing.
The beauty of the Cubs in Lou Pinella, strong bullpen,bench, and
decent replacment players in the Minors should the need arise.
St.Louis lacks decent pitching, and Edmonds and Encarnacion are hurt.Houston't pitching is also suspect. I look for Milwaukee to
improve, how much, I'm not sure.
Chuck Paredes
Posted by: Charles Paredes | March 17, 2007 08:26 AM
roman, youre absolutely right but you pointed at Garcia and said the sox will miss him. I, for one, dont. And you are correct that Buehrle and Vasquez and Garland must step it up. But I do love that bullpen
Posted by: tony j | March 17, 2007 09:30 AM
Hey Rick, "if you're going to post, get the facts straight". While you're busy ripping people for not knowing how to count, why don't you figure out who actually made the posting before ripping them. It wasn't me, it was TG Special. But I find it amusing that you made such a simple mistake, and now you look just as foolish as the person you're ripping. hahahahahahahahaaaa!
Posted by: Drew | March 17, 2007 03:21 PM
Cubs 95 Sox 89
Posted by: Dutch | March 17, 2007 05:58 PM
Screw The Sox! Screw the Sox fans and I hope they Flop!
Posted by: Scott Kenyon | March 17, 2007 06:02 PM
The Sox hands down. The tribune has failed cubdumb, but they will still sell out wrigley. The cubs overpaid for middle of the road pitching and unless Soriano can pitch and and play the outfield they are s.o.l. Not to mention they are batting him leadoff bad idea imo.
The sox do have some questionmarks but I am confident that Kenny will do whatever it takes to bring the team to the postseason. We have a young power bullpen along w/ Don Cooper. I believe Danks will post decent numbers this yr as the fifth starter. The offense will be one of the best in the majors. If pods can stay healthy and get on base the sox have a good shot at repeating. Also note that the division will not be as great as last yr.'s and I am not convinced that Detroit is legitimate they have as many ?'s as the sox. I think the sox will not only have the most wins, but will also win the division.
Posted by: DupageSox | March 17, 2007 10:59 PM
in response to Bryant:
That's how you keep it real-let's get this 'afraid to step on toes' mentality outta here. After all, if you are a Cubs fan (like me), then you don't know jack about the Sox. If you are a Sox fan (like you) then you don't know jack about the Cubs (or baseball for that matter). So if everybody would stop pretending to be Joe Predicto regarding the 'other' team,then this would be an awesome blog. Heres my pick : Cubs 162 wins /// Sox 0 wins
Don't worry Sox fans you'll 162 of something-maybe season ticket holders(perhaps an over-estimate)? Heres a riddle: How many free tickets will it take to fill out Comiskey (or whatever YOU corporate sellouts are calling it these days-oops did I press a button?) park on an average 3000 person day? The answer: 0 -who the h*ll wants to see the White Sox play.
I would also like reiterate that I hate the Packers more than I hate the Whitesox.
Posted by: stuckinwisconsin | March 18, 2007 12:59 AM
re: response to Bryant.
I almost forgot. You said I am a fake Cubs fan because "I Don't know what I am talking about". That statement does indeed make me a REAL Cubs fan in a REAL Sox fan's eyes. You must be the one who is fake.
Posted by: stuckinwisconsin | March 18, 2007 01:02 AM
Roman, my uncle was born in 1925. He served his country in WWII and raised a family. From the time he was a little boy, he was a Sox fan. He lived and breathed White Sox. He went to as many games as he was physically able to attend. He died in 1997 without ever seeing his beloved White Sox win a championship. My point was that there has been a whole generation of Sox and Cubs fans who have lived and died while supporting these two losing franchises. After 186 years of combined losing I think they need to show more. The Sox need to be like Minnesota, who has won the division 3 of the last 4 years. And the Cubs have to win like the Cardinals. Obviously, you disagree. You sound happy with the one you have. That's fine. We have different definitions of what a winning franchise is. By the way, if you are looking to meet some 100 year olds, watch Williard Scott on channel 5. He'll hook you up.
Roman responds: We had similar dads. Mine was born in 1920 and fought the Japanese in the jungles of the Philippenes. He died in 2004 as as the Red Sox were winning the World Series. I remember thinking, he died at 84 and didn't see either of Chicago's baseball teams win a World Series. Sad.
Posted by: Rick | March 18, 2007 08:07 AM
Hands down, the Sox....I can see it now, Soriano getting tangled in the ivy at Wrigley, the chants, Let's go Cubbies, when they're losing big time...it's nauseating!!!!Cubs in the 70's(though in their division, it might be 1st place) in wins, Sox in the 90's, again!!
Posted by: marie spence | March 18, 2007 09:20 AM
in response to dupagesox---why are you spiting all this tripe about the sox with sox in your name. Also, the south siders dont have their own tickets scalped by their team. Talk about attendance all you want to, but Ill say this. There is a reason why the Cubs have almost waited 100 years between championships. We won ours in 05 so until you win something you need to be quiet
Posted by: tony j | March 18, 2007 01:00 PM
Sox,of course.Are you kidding?
Posted by: mickeyrom | March 18, 2007 05:37 PM
I agree that the Sox need more wins to win the division. However, I therefore believe the Cubs have the better shot at the division. I mean, both the Twins and Tigers got into the playoffs last year and neither one is getting any worse. But, the Cards and Houston are getting older and let go of a lot. I love the Cubs and may be partial, but I think Piniella has got it together.
Posted by: Mike | March 19, 2007 12:59 PM
Tony J., that was not 'dupagesox' that was me. See the poster of the thread is posted at the BOTTOM of the thread. Here's some more
'advice': Sox tickets are worthless and cannot be scalped.
Posted by: stuckinwisconsin | March 19, 2007 11:17 PM
youre right. And you can talk about whose team outsells or which team will win more. The Cub fans are like sheep. You havent won a world series in almost 100 years, and you wont win one this year and yet you still spout that tripe about attendance
Posted by: tony j | March 20, 2007 09:29 AM
The Sox division is ridiculously tough. The winner of that division will only have about 94 wins because the 2nd place team will have 92, 3rd will have 90. KC will have about 60. If the Cubs get any decent pitching from their staff, they will win a lot of games in their weak division. So, I see the Sox with 90 or 92 and the Cubs about the same.
Posted by: biskit | March 20, 2007 10:00 AM
In Response to Stuckinwisconsin
Have you seen the big UnderArmour sign in the middle of Wrigley? Have you seen the Tribune Co(which is a MUCH bigger Corporation than the folks at US Cellular). Um do you know what a corporation is? Cuz I would think that a true Cubs fan would know seeing as how their team is owned by one of the largest in the country. As for fan attendance you really don't seem to know what you are talking about. The Cubs have done a tremendous marketing job to sell the Wrigley Experience and not the play on the field. If you take all of the tourists, and Brewer Fans who take up all the tickets at Wrigley Field(as many Cubs Fans complain about) and the casual observer away from Wrigley you wouldn't have that many fans in the park. Once again you seem clueless about Chicago Baseball. The Cubs fan base has been overtaken by people like you who don't know anything about baseball thanks to the WGN superstation and the fact that back in the early 80's the Cubs were the only team that people all across the country could see in the daytime. The fan base was further overtaken by people like you thanks to the Marketing strategy promoting the "loveable loser" mentality that seems more important to fake fans such as yourself as opposed to fans that really want to see their team win. Dude stop masquerading, you are a fake.
As for the Green Bay fan comment? That must have really gotten your goat. If someone said I was a Cubs fan I would completely dismiss it and not bother with a response. You also said that you would like to reiterate that you are a bigger GreenBay hater than Sox hater.....um where did you first make that statement? Because to "REITERATE" something means you have said it once before? Hahahahahaha maybe I am not the only one that has accused you of flying under false colors and being a Green Bay Fanatic! Someone accuse you of that in another blog? I bet they did!
Posted by: Bryant | March 22, 2007 03:00 PM
Beautiful,just beautiful. The way I press your buttons.The way you respond with hate so engrained in the text. Did you wear out your keyboard typing that response? I did it again. My whole life I have been exploiting Sox fans for what they are,and what they never could be- as true and loyal as us lifelong Cubs fans. Ready for the Kicker? I'll go to more Sox games than Cubs games this year...again,because the tickets are free. So when you look down from
your "all you could afford" nosebleed seats into the club section and you see a guy in a BEARS hat not even paying attention to the game,oblivious to the point that he doesn't even know who the sox are playing, ask yourself this: "Have the lambs been silenced?"
Posted by: stuckinwisconsin | March 23, 2007 01:14 AM
like I said--sheep
Posted by: tony j | March 23, 2007 12:30 PM
Oh, I almost forgot. The Tribune is not as big as you pretend it to be in your world of self-pity ecstasy. Jerry Reinsdorf is worth alot more than the Tribune's CEO (Dennis Fitsimmons). Also U.S. Cellular does not own the Sox, So I don't know where you are drawing your irrational comparisons from. Like I said Sox fans,-if you can't cook,stay out of the Kitchen. Do not talk about business and corporations if you don't know what you are talking about.Stop trying to be our 'big brother'(or sister)by patronizing us about our teams ownership, when in fact your ownership gave us....let's see........an old bloated white guy!!
Jerry Krause engineered the mother of all gravy trains. Never has someone done so little with so much as he did (and don't even try to credit him with the Bull's championship).
Also, for your reference, the Tribune company is ranked way down at the bottom of the fortune 500 list...like 400th or something like that.So please, if you are going to trash us, pick a different angle.....pllllleaaasssseee. You are stale.
Posted by: stuckinwisconsin | March 23, 2007 11:29 PM
re:stuckinwisconsin
hahahaha....um once again you seem to be not only stuckinwisconsin but stuck in "not knowing what I am talking about land"....um....please try and pay attention. The Tribune company owns the Cubs......Jerry Reinsdorf owns the Sox....CEO's don't own companies they manage them. So your point of comparing a CEO's worth to a owner's worth is kinda well....pointless! HAHAHAHAHAHAH Your quote "oh they are only like 400th on the fortune 500 hundred"....oh yes poor small Tribune Company. Um, is US Cellular on the fortune 500? I am sure they are not, and looking them up is not necessary as I am sure you left their "ranking" off on purpose. Your leaving them off speaks volumes. Hahahahaha self pity?? Oh man dude you have me busting up over here, nothing to pity about on the Sox side of town. Our team is pointed in a great direction, with a better than average farm system and a team poised to compete now. We also have once again fake Cubs fans saying things like "oh I will be coming to Sox games cuz the tickets are free".....dude seriously NO real Cubs fan would come see the Sox play unless they are coming to the crosstown classic. You keep giving yourself away with every word.
Your insults are just SAAAAADDDD......your points are just WHACK HAHAHAHAHAHA...you make a self pointed reference to check the Tribune's status on the list and "conveniently" leave off the fact that US Cellular isn't even ranked. You try to confuse readers by comparing a CEO to an owner. Seriously, your red herring arguments aren't going to work. Dude Stop! You are just making me laugh too hard.
I have been giving you baseball lessons and history lessons, marketing strategies, torn apart your arguments, and finally gave you a lesson in logic(yeah I know logic is wasted on fake cub fans but I try nonetheless) LOL.......please don't embarass yourself by showing up to US CELLULAR Home of the WORLD CHAMPION WHITE SOX with a Bears jersey on. Be yourself! Wear your Favre jersey with pride! hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!
Posted by: Bryant | March 26, 2007 04:56 AM
I've gotten dizzy reading some of these messages where the trash talking reaches new levels of incoherence. It's a bit deflating when at first glance I can't even understand what arguments some bloggers are trying to make. But I'll try going back to the original question (Cubs or Sox - who has better 07 record?). I am at a loss how anyone can say the Cubs will have a better record. It's going to take a bad year from the Sox and a good one from the Cubs for it to be close. Unless you like picking underdogs with even odds, anyone in their right mind needs to pick the Sox.
Sorry to disappoint some of our bloggers, but the Cubs are not going to win 90 games. If they win 85, that would be a huge improvement and just about the best anyone can expect of them. They may win the NL Central with 85 wins but will still fall short of the White Sox, who are definitely going to win 85 games and are more likely to win high 80's or into the 90's. Not that I'm overly enthused about my White Sox chances, but too many Cubs fans fall victim to wishful thinking every year. Most of the offseason moves have marginal value. And as talented as Soriano is, for some reason I think he has bust written all over him.
Sox 90 Cubs 81
Posted by: Sean Tunney | March 26, 2007 03:40 PM
What moron said that a strong division is determined solely by all the teams in that division beating up on eachother? That is COMPLETELY false. You can have 5 of the WORST teams in all of baseball in the same division and being that all of those teams suck, they would inevitably "beat up on eachother" because they are evenly matched. Does that constitute a strong division? Of course not. It's a weak division. You have to look at the respective records of each team. The division that has the highest winning percentage among its teams collectively is the strong division. Sox will win more games than Cubs. Cubs have a better chance of making post-season due to the fact that they play in a WEAK division inside of a WEAKER LEAGUE.
Posted by: spaulding | March 30, 2007 07:49 PM
Hey - I'm a Die Hard White Sox fan who happens to live in Rockford. Spring training records don't mean squat - heck I didn't even know a lot of players who tried out - get those words TRIED OUT. The Sox are in a monster of a division while the north siders are in perhaps the weakest division in the majors. Regardless of the north siders spending 380 million on players this eason - I see them finising 3rd - and sadly I see the Sox finishing in the same position 3rd. I just don't think that they have the arms to go any higher - and ea