hogan873

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Jun 9, 2010 -> 06:57 AM) So the decision to go with a flexible, speedy offense this year....success or failure?

Is it a bad thing when the thread following Strasburg's debut has more posts than many game threads?

QUOTE (Kenny Hates Prospects @ Jun 9, 2010 -> 12:04 AM) I'd actually like to shop Santos around. Santos has been a revelation for us and may end up a top closer for the next 6 years for all we know, but he still is an out-of-options player who needs to continue developing at the Major League level, and if someone came along offering an extremely talented prospect who is close and has option years remaining, especially a position player or SP, I'd make that deal ASAP. And this is why none of us are GMs. I'm not saying I disagree with you at all. I didn't know Santos was out of options...but of course our GM does, and if he finds the right prospect out there he may very well make a deal. Without having all of the info, many of us would probably vomit and curse and throw things if we heard that Santos was traded for a prospect. KW may have learned something this season about signing and acquiring a bunch of hopes and dreams and old guys. If he's still around next year (which I think he will be), I wouldn't be surprised if his philosophy is a bit different.

The Sox are finding new ways to lose. Last night it was a very rare implosion by Matt Thornton...although scratching out only 2 runs on a Kotsay (!) HR didn't help. Call it, ring the bell, throw in the towel. Make some trades and get us excited about the future.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Jun 9, 2010 -> 01:31 AM) If you really feel Peavy is this bad and has no value, I'm assuming you are in the fire KW camp as well as fire Oz camp. Because if Peavy is at the point scouts would be dumb to want him, then we can assume that was the worst trade in White Sox history. I still can't imagine one of the wealthy teams not thinking he could help them, just because he's Peavy. Has his value dropped that far because of his horrendous season? To us his value dropped dramatically. But, our team is the one having to deal with what is most likely an off year for an historically good pitcher. I wouldn't be surprised if a rich NL team would want him, but I'm not sure they'd give up enough for KW to consider a trade.

Let's see Freddy Garcia (FG)...Gavin Floyd (GF). Okay, let's refer to Gavin as Floyd, Gavin. Maybe reversing his initials will inspire a good start.

QUOTE (IowaSoxFan @ Jun 8, 2010 -> 08:37 AM) Which is an even worse team than we have now. I am not sure why people think we can trade off the scraps and turn this around, but that is what has happened the last few years and gotten the team to this point. The only way to get a good value for some of these players is to take back a bad contract in return. If you are going to sell off pieces you might as well sell the pieces that have value rather than getting a return of pennies on the dollar. As I was typing my post, I realized that it does make for a bad team (depending on what happens over the offseason). I've alluded to this before: KW doesn't seem like the type of GM that wants to spend a year or two rebuilding. I could be wrong, but I could see him clearing payroll with trades and getting only moderate returns in way of prospects. Then he could take the $ saved and go after some free agents.

So, looking at who could possibly get traded, who makes sense to trade, and who will not get traded, what does this team look like next year? I don't think the outfield changes, unless Quentin ends up being a DH...and in that case who takes over the outfield position? The infield will most likely have two changes, that being 1B and C. Of course we could be surprised, and Konerko re-signs for less money here. The starting pitching staff could look quite a bit different, depending on whether or not Buehrle and/or Floyd gets traded (I don't think Peavy is going anywhere). So, here's my guess: 1B - Viciedo or a FA 2B - Beckham 3B - Teahen SS - Alexei C - Flowers or Lucy LF - Pierre CF - Rios RF - Quentin or Danks2 or FA DH - Quentin or FA Pitching Peavy Danks ? ? ? I'll admit to not knowing much at all about our minor league system and absolutely nothing about the minors of some of the teams we will be making trades with. I honestly don't see a big change in the lineup, save for 1B and C, and that's iffy depending on Konerko. I hear different things about Viciedo, but I'm hoping we see him soon. I don't want to see Rios go anywhere, and I think Pierre is here to stay, too (and I don't really mind now as he seems to be trending back to his norm). The pitching to me is the biggest question mark. If Buehrle and/or Floyd get traded I imagine Hudson comes up. I'm not sure about Garcia...I'd be surprised if he finishes the year here and very surprised if he's here next year.

QUOTE (docsox24 @ Jun 7, 2010 -> 04:42 PM) imagine all you want but that is just not going to happen Why not? He's on pace for 93 rbis and 20 hrs. He's shown some life lately, and I'm talking about raising his average by about 45 points over the next 100 games. I'm not saying he will, but it's more than possible.

Yeah, I think Peavy is untradeable, especially considering KW would want something nice in return. His contract and performance make it almost certain he's on the 2011 staff.

I can't imagine KW going into next season without his team being competitive. Well, in his mind competitive, anyway. I see him making a few moves, hopefully getting some good prospects, and then trying to re-build in the offseason. I just don't see him making a bunch of trades, and then saying 2011 is a rebuilding year.

I don't think it would happen, but imagine trading Peavy and Buehrle and freeing up a ton of money for next season.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Jun 7, 2010 -> 08:07 AM) Despite hitting .209, he's still on pace for 93 RBIs, which is not a bad full season total. 93 RBIs whilst batting a smidge over .200 would be quite a feat. Imagine if he gets his average up (even to .250) and starts cracking a few more homers. Finishing .250 with 25 HRs and 100RBIs would be respectable.

I am in agreement now that one of the biggest (if not the biggest) issue has been the starting pitching. When Freddy Garcia, who many thought would never make it through spring training, is your second best pitcher (and THE best as of late), the you've got issues. Peavy and Floyd are huge disappointments, and so is Buehrle. All three of these guys have to turn it around right now in order for the Sox to have even a hint of a hint of a hope.

I was watching yesterday's game, and I heard Stone talking about Quentin. He was saying his average is quite low, but he's getting a lot of results out of his hitting. Imagine if he was hitting .260 or so. Quentin turning his season around could do the team a world of help. Of course there are many other pieces that need to start coming through to even have a glimmer of hope. Baby steps, I know, and there's not much time for baby steps.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Jun 7, 2010 -> 07:07 AM) You watch your mouth son. Don't make me come over there and wash it out with soap. Sorry, my emotions got the best of me.

This team is a bunch of meanies! They will have a game like yesterday and make us think there's hope. Then they'll go on a streak where they'll lose 5 of 7. But for some reason they just won't quite get to that magical 10 games under .500. Bunch of hope-getter-uppers! Either lose or win...don't jerk us around!

Some moves will be made...they'll have to. But, I don't see any of the starting pitchers going anywhere, except maybe Danks, only because he hasn't signed an extension. I think AJ will be moved, and maybe Jones. I hope Konerko signs again, but I wouldn't be surprised if he's dealt. I just don't think the starting lineup is going to look all that different come August 1.

QUOTE (PlaySumFnJurny @ Jun 4, 2010 -> 03:39 PM) Besides fun and exercise, one of the great things about participating in team sports as a kid is the chance to learn life lessons. One of the most important lessons is to play hard and play fair even though, in the end, there's no guarantee that you'll get what you deserve, and you might just end up getting your ass kicked anyway. Imo, this sort of rule--an attempt to legislate "fair" results--robs kids of that life lesson, to their ultimate detriment. I guess I'm old, but I see a correlation between this type of rule and the seeming sentiment that Galaraga should have been credited with a perfect game anyway. Yes, he got screwed. No, its not fair. But that's life. Its mostly fun, but some parts suck, and the sooner you learn to accept that, the better off you'll be. I'd rather my kid get a head start on learning that in youth soccer, than have to first confront that reality later on in life, over something more signficant. Well said.

A sweep is in order...and starts tonight!

I've coached youth hockey, little league baseball, and girls softball, and I've noticed one thing that's true with each of those sports: The kids are always asking "What's the score?" or "Who's winning?" Although the score and who won was more prominent in the hockey games, myself and the other coaches always told the kids that the key is to have fun and get better. For the most part the kids were pretty receptive, even after losing in the finals in a hockey tournament. Having said that, not keeping score is not the answer. I believe in the mercy rule. There are different variations, and I think both my son's little league and my daughter's softball league do well with their rules. And at the end of the game the kids line up and say good game. It really comes down to the coaches to ensure the kids are good sports about winning AND losing. Saying everybody wins is kind of ridiculous, especially when the kids are old enough to know that their team actually won or lost. But a team losing by default because they win by more than 5 goals? What the hell? In youth sports, the coaches have to take control and ensure their team doesn't run up the score. When I was coaching hockey, I've sat kids who wouldn't listen about passing the puck instead of scoring every time they touched the puck. And yes, some parents were quite pissed off, but others thanked me and said that's the only way they'll learn. No one wants to see a blowout in any sport, but especially in youth sports. If the league or organization doesn't have rules in place to keep it competitive and fair, it's up to the coaches to do so. But telling a team they lose because they beat the other team too badly? Come on. Just don't let that happen in the first place.

QUOTE (bigruss22 @ Jun 3, 2010 -> 07:59 PM) Tosh is great. Anybody know when SOA comes back? October

And how about Quentin's reaction to the HR? I'm sure he was beyond relieved that he redeemed himself after that terrible error. It's good to see that type of emotion. The guys in the dugout were quite celebratory as well.

I think Freddy has performed above abd beyond what any of us expected. I hoped he would perform well and be a decent 5th starter, but he's been consistently better than decent (minus 2 starts). He's the second best pitcher on the staff right now. I just hope he can keep it up all season. Something tells me that he may start breaking down, but I hope not.

Freddy will come through again and save the series.