Pulling no punches here. Not that I needed any further convincing that the Hawks are better off with Marian Hossa than with Martin Havlat.
Rozner, like me, believes a winger will be traded soon to create salary-cap relief. He's nominating Patrick Sharp and Dustin Byfuglien as possibilities. I'd throw Kris Versteeg's name on to that list as well. You have to figure one of those three will go, in order to help create the space needed to keep Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Duncan Keith next offseason.
it won't work and the Blackhawks will fail, even though the Wild are a bad team, and won't make the play-offs and Chicago will doesn't mean they are a better team, it just means they cheated, so there!
What's with Chicago sports fans whining everytime an athlete leaving Chicago? I have come to noticed that whether it's Maggs, Ben Gordon, Bernard Berrian, Joe Crede, and others that done a Chicago uniform. It's ridiculous and it makes Chicagoans amateurish not sophiscated as HEATHERINCHICAGO keeps pointing out.
It's funny. Havlat was the Blackhawks' best player in the playoffs last year. He was there for all the goals that was scored by the Hawks, and if you look at sites such as WSI, the 300 Level, or any other Chicago sports board, fans raved about Havalat being an indispensable player. Now, it's funny fans and sportswriters apparently are calling out Havalat for not being as good as he thinks he is.
So which is it, JB? Was Havalat good or was he never good?
As a wild fan, I love this signing. He is going to score, and he will provide toughness the Wild seemed to lack. I will take a guy who has a good track record to score in the playoffs.
Like I said, anytime a Minnesota sports team can steal a player from a Chicago sports team, it's beautiful. Here's hoping Havalat will not be a malcontent like Joe Crede apparently is doing with the Twins.
What's with Chicago sports fans whining everytime an athlete leaving Chicago? I have come to noticed that whether it's Maggs, Ben Gordon, Bernard Berrian, Joe Crede, and others that done a Chicago uniform. It's ridiculous and it makes Chicagoans amateurish not sophisticated as HEATHERINCHICAGO keeps pointing out.
It's funny. Havlat was the Blackhawks' best player in the playoffs last year. He was there for all the goals that was scored by the Hawks, and if you look at sites such as WSI, the 300 Level, or any other Chicago sports board, fans raved about Havalat being an indispensable player. Now, it's funny fans and sportswriters apparently are calling out Havalat for not being as good as he thinks he is.
So which is it, JB? Was Havalat good or was he never good?
As a wild fan, I love this signing. He is going to score, and he will provide toughness the Wild seemed to lack. I will take a guy who has a good track record to score in the playoffs.
Like I said, anytime a Minnesota sports team can steal a player from a Chicago sports team, it's beautiful. Here's hoping Havalat will not be a malcontent like Joe Crede apparently is doing with the Twins.
The only one who is whining is Havlat himself. Boo hoo hoo, the Hawks wouldn't give him the long-term contract he wanted. It's just business.
The Wild did not "steal" Havlat from the Hawks. The Hawks couldn't agree with Havlat, so they went to Plan B and signed Hossa. The Wild didn't sign Havlat until after the Hawks had a deal in place with Hossa. By that point, the Hawks were no longer interested in Havlat.
Havlat is good, but injury-prone and not worthy of a long-term contract. I've said all along I wouldn't give him anything more than two years. Apparently, the Hawks agreed. Hossa is a better player than Havlat, so I give Dale Tallon credit for moving along and finding a more than adequate replacement when it became apparent that negotiations with Havlat were going nowhere.
If you're happy about the Havlat acquisition, good for you. I'm happy with the guy we got in Hossa, and I imagine most Hawk fans are, too. I'm not whining, and there's no need to whine. As a Hawks fan, I have exactly what I want: A team that has a legitimate chance to win the Stanley Cup.
If you are allegedly not whining that Havalat is gone, why even post about him and at WSI? I am not referring to just you. I am referring to the Blackhawks cults (my new nickname for those johnny-come-lately fans) who have gone out of their way to rip Havalat since he left, which is funny since last month, everyone loved him.
Marian Gaborik left the Wild to a retirement home with the Rangers, and I have no bitterness. Same with Johan Santana. Maybe you and the culties should follow my lead.
As for Chicago sports fans whining about their heroes, that's a fact. Reading through message boards with Chicago sports fans, there is this anger and bitterness whenever their heroes depart, ans the comments speak for itself when guys like Maggs, Ben Gordon, and several other stars have left.
Now that you're a big Havlat fan, the least you could do is learn how to correctly spell his name.
A.J. Pierzynski gets booed every time he goes back to Minnesota. Why all the anger and bitterness? A.J. played well for the Twins and didn't even leave Minnesota on his own accord. He was traded.
Great question on A.J.
The reason why fans boo him is because he plays for the White Sox, which is the Twins' hated rival. If he played for the Rangers or the Royals, he would not get booed. Even then, those boos are nothing personal.
My issue with A.J. was that I thought he quit on the team the minute Mauer was drafted. He knew his time was limited, and he spent most of the time brooding about his situation rather than being a solution. That was my issue with him. He tanked it in IMO, and it's hard for me to respect A.J. for that.
Mauer was drafted in 2001. Pierzynski was the Twins full-time catcher from 2001-03. So, is it your contention that he started tanking it in June 2001 after Mauer was drafted?
Curious logic at best. Pierzynski's best season in a Minnesota uniform was his final one. He batted a robust .312 with 11 HRs and 74 RBIs in 2003. That .312 clip remains a career high to this day. Arguably, 2003 was the best individual season of A.J's career:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/pierza.01.shtml
One wonders what A.J. would have done had he been trying hard.
The fans boo him because he plays for the Sox? There are 24 other guys who play for the Sox, and A.J. hears the most boos by far. I don't think Minnesota people boo any of our other players.
So now you know a lot about Minnesota sports fans now, eh?
I ask Twins fans why they boo A.J. and the answer I gave you was the answer I gave them.
Talk about A.J.'s stats all you want in his final year with the Twins, but the bottom line his starters, Ron Gardenhire and Twins pitching coach Rick Anderson were annoyed at the lack of preparation and gamecalling A.J. did with the pitchers, which is why he was sent packing. I wasn't impressed with A.J. with the Twins here, and I am glad he was sent packing.
There is a reason why you don't see much outrage on White Sox players at the Dome. White Sox fans outnumber Twins fans at the Metrodome, and I doubt that's changing at the Target Field, which is one reason why I will never show up to Target Field when the 2008 AL Central Champs* in town in fear of my safety. Plus, Minnesota sports fans have class and manners unlike Chicago sports fans.
So now you know a lot about Minnesota sports fans now, eh?
I ask Twins fans why they boo A.J. and the answer I gave you was the answer I gave them. I think I have a good grasp of how Minnesota sports fans behave considering I talk with the fans all the time with their sports teams, which I root for.
Talk about A.J.'s stats all you want in his final year with the Twins, but the bottom line his starters, Ron Gardenhire and Twins pitching coach Rick Anderson were annoyed at the lack of preparation and gamecalling A.J. did with the pitchers, which is why he was sent packing. I wasn't impressed with A.J. with the Twins here, and I am glad he was sent packing.
There is a reason why you don't see much outrage on White Sox players at the Dome. White Sox fans outnumber Twins fans at the Metrodome, and I doubt that's changing at the Target Field, which is one reason why I will never show up to Target Field when the 2008 AL Central Champs* in town in fear of my safety. Plus, Minnesota sports fans have class and manners unlike Chicago sports fans.
A.J. was sent packing because Mauer was ready for the big leagues, not because he did a poor job.
We've always gotten plenty of Twins fans at U.S. Cellular Field, and they all loved Pierzynski when he was with the Twins.
Send me some links to articles where Gardenhire and Anderson expressed their annoyance with Pierzynski's game preparation. I'd be interested to read them.