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Why the Beltran Talk?


beck72
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I don't doubt the sox would like to sign carlos Beltran for $13-15 mill a yr. With his versatility, speed, power and defense, he'd be a good fit for the Sox. Yet with Brian anderson and Ryan Sweeney a year or two away, why would they get Beltran for 5 years, esp with rowand coming into his own? Skeptics will point to this being a "red herring", designed to trick Sox fans into believing management wanted to spend "big money but things didn't work out.

 

I think a bigger motive is more likely. Telling the league that the sox are interested in Beltran, with the intent to move rowand to either LF or RF, is more geared toward striking a deal with the other GM's. It lets them know the sox would be willing to listen to offers for a speedy CFer.

 

With Beltran's price and lengthy contract, [he'd be fine for $15 mill, yet the 5 years would be hard w/ anderson able to fill in next year but 2006 for sure], getting a CFer like Pierre or Posednik for a year or two is more reasonable than signing Beltran for 5 yrs. That would give the Sox time to ease in Anderson and Sweeney. Though I do see Anderson in the OF mix for 2005, if he's healthy

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Yeah I do agree with you but KW is on a win now who cares about the future kind of mood. I'm sure he does care about the future but he just wants to win now and worry about the future later on.

Getting a proven CFer like Pierre or Posednik would still fit in with the "win now" thinking. They'd be around for a year or two until Anderson and Sweeney were ready.

 

The only thing is which CFer's on other teams would fit the Sox needs [a leadoff type, LH hitter with speed].

 

I've come up w/ several. the two I mentioned. But also:

Endy Chavez, Mon.

Chone Figgins, Ana [if he can play a decent CF]

 

Anyone else have any thoughts?

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I don't doubt the sox would like to sign carlos Beltran for $13-15 mill a yr. With his versatility, speed, power and defense, he'd be a good fit for the Sox. Yet with Brian anderson and Ryan Sweeney a year or two away, why would they get Beltran for 5 years, esp with rowand coming into his own? Skeptics will point to this being a "red herring", designed to trick Sox fans into believing management wanted to spend "big money but things didn't work out.

 

I think a bigger motive is more likely. Telling the league that the sox are interested in Beltran, with the intent to move rowand to either LF or RF, is more geared toward striking a deal with the other GM's. It lets them know the sox would be willing to listen to offers for a speedy CFer.

 

With Beltran's price and lengthy contract, [he'd be fine for $15 mill, yet the 5 years would be hard w/ anderson able to fill in next year but 2006 for sure], getting a CFer like Pierre or Posednik for a year or two is more reasonable than signing Beltran for 5 yrs. That would give the Sox time to ease in Anderson and Sweeney. Though I do see Anderson in the OF mix for 2005, if he's healthy

Cause Andersom and Swenney (sp?) are corner Outfielders? ;)

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Cause Andersom and Swenney (sp?) are corner Outfielders?  ;)

IIRC, Anderson is a center fielder...

 

 

As for a couple of other names, Caveman Damon would be an awesome pick-up for this team, and it would give us two players at the top of the order who could purely hit in Rowand and Damon.

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Anderson is a CF, he plays CF almost exclusively and profiles there long term as well. Sweeney profiles as a RF.

 

As for other fill in guys for a year or so, I think Hairston of Baltimore is one of the best bets. He could move to 2B for 2006 if things don't work out for the Sox at 2B with Harris, etc.

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Anderson is a CF, he plays CF almost exclusively and profiles there long term as well.  Sweeney profiles as a RF.

 

As for other fill in guys for a year or so, I think Hairston of Baltimore is one of the best bets.  He could move to 2B for 2006 if things don't work out for the Sox at 2B with Harris, etc.

Hairston's a good name. Versatile as well. RF, 2B. Did he play CF or LF? Too bad he doesn't hit LH. Has Hairston hit leadoff at all?

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IIRC, Anderson is a center fielder...

 

 

As for a couple of other names, Caveman Damon would be an awesome pick-up for this team, and it would give us two players at the top of the order who could purely hit in Rowand and Damon.

Bost. should make some changes. Damon has been horrible vs the Yankeees. Could write his ticket out of town if Bos loses.

 

Maybe Bos. will go for Beltran. Can't see them letting the Yanks sign him as well.

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Anderson is a CF, he plays CF almost exclusively and profiles there long term as well.  Sweeney profiles as a RF.

 

As for other fill in guys for a year or so, I think Hairston of Baltimore is one of the best bets.  He could move to 2B for 2006 if things don't work out for the Sox at 2B with Harris, etc.

I'm not saying you are wrong, but a few scouts I talked to during the season think he will end up being a corner OF. I think that is where Josh is coming from.

 

I didn't really see him play enough while healthy to say one way or the other. He certainly isn't a burner, but he is a good athlete.

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I hate for my first post to be cynical, but I think it is a PR move like the "pusuit" of Alex Rodriguez. If Williams were interested in trading for a centerfielder, wouldn't he just contact teams he were interested in dealing with? It seems much more uncertain to hope they get a hint from reading the Chicago papers. I have no idea how such business gets done, so I could easily be wrong.

 

Anyway, I agree with the other posters here that there has to be almost no chance that the Sox get Beltran. It's likely that the Yankees cleared Contreras's salary to get ready for bidding on Beltran. And I have to think the Astros will be willing to offer him big money since he helped them win their first playoff series. And of course the Tribue keeps mentioing how much the Cubs want him (maybe every MLB is saying they're going after Beltran). Actually, I think the best case secenario is that the Beltran talk is just talk and nothing else happens. Worst case is that Carlos Lee gets traded to dump salary to pursue Beltran (which means the Sox get back prospects), and then Beltran shockingly still fails to sign with the Sox which leaves an outfield of Everett, Rowand, and Perez for next year.

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I hate for my first post to be cynical, but I think it is a PR move like the "pusuit" of Alex Rodriguez. If Williams were interested in trading for a centerfielder, wouldn't he just contact teams he were interested in dealing with? It seems much more uncertain to hope they get a hint from reading the Chicago papers. I have no idea how such business gets done, so I could easily be wrong.

Welcome to soxtalk!

 

I'm not sure how GM's do business. But reports that the Sox are interested in going after Beltran has been national [espn, sporitng news, sports Weekly, etc] not just local. Yet having GM's come to the Sox with proposed deals makes sense. "I've got a CFer--you interested?" should lower the cost than KW going to them. "I want your CFer".

 

Teams know PK and Lee could be had, as KW must have spread the word. Teams will come to KW for this. I'm sure if word leaks out that players from other teams are available, then GM's will contact that team.

 

Also, getting Beltran for the right price wouldn't be a bad idea. Prospects might not pan out, so why not go w/ a sure thing. Stud CFers like Beltran are hard to find. Yet getting a very good one is a little easier.

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Any more info on him than just "no"?

Well, Endy Chavez is not a great hitter. His BA/OBP/OPS last year was .277/.318/.688. He can steal bases, but that OBP is just not good. Really, he's pretty comparable to Willie Harris but with a somewhat better arm. If the Sox are going to move Rowand to right, I'd rather see them play Anderson or Escobar in center than give up something in trade for Chavez. Podsednik would be more interesting, but his BA and OBP were low last year as well (.240/.313 I think). And I imagine Milwaukee values him pretty highly (70 SB, fan favorite). Honestly, I would rather the Sox go for OBP than speed, if they have choose between the two, for a leadoff hitter.

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Hairston's a good name. Versatile as well. RF, 2B. Did he play CF or LF? Too bad he doesn't hit LH. Has Hairston hit leadoff at all?

I think they had him in RF a bit, moved him to CF and he really impressed them, even though it was for about 3 weeks or so. Then he cracked his ankle.

 

But yeah, he has the ability to play multiple positions and he could be a short term answer at one position and a longer term answer at another.

 

I don't know for certain if he's hit leadoff but he profiles as a guy who can. Good speed, doesn't strike out much, draws walks, etc.

 

He's an option, but who knows if KW is interested or whether the Sox and Orioles match up. The White Sox may have to take a contract from Baltimore to land a guy like Hairston ... possibly Gibbons. Who knows. There is speculation already that Baltimore may non-tender Gibbons. He had that bulging disc problem and another injury of some sort and just a disastrous year. Gibbons does have some talent though and may be a fit for RF ... at least for a year or two.

 

Decisions, decisions, decisions ...

 

Edit: Here is a little blurb from the Orioles web site, from a Q+A session, regarding Hairston:

 

******************************************************************

Before Jerry Hairston got hurt, he was playing the outfield pretty well. Is there any chance he could be in the outfield mix rather than headed for another team?

-- David Eyster, Herndon, Pa.

 

Hairston wants to be a Major League second baseman and likely will not settle for an outfield position to stay with the Orioles. He realizes he might have to move on to stay at second base and is prepared for such a fate.

 

*******************************************************************

 

Interesting. If the staff writer is to be believed, Hairston could be on the move, somewhere.

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I don't doubt the sox would like to sign carlos Beltran for $13-15 mill a yr. With his versatility, speed, power and defense, he'd be a good fit for the Sox. Yet with Brian anderson and Ryan Sweeney a year or two away, why would they get Beltran for 5 years, esp with rowand coming into his own? Skeptics will point to this being a "red herring", designed to trick Sox fans into believing management wanted to spend "big money but things didn't work out.

 

I think a bigger motive is more likely. Telling the league that the sox are interested in Beltran, with the intent to move rowand to either LF or RF, is more geared toward striking a deal with the other GM's. It lets them know the sox would be willing to listen to offers for a speedy CFer.

 

With Beltran's price and lengthy contract, [he'd be fine for $15 mill, yet the 5 years would be hard w/ anderson able to fill in next year but 2006 for sure], getting a CFer like Pierre or Posednik for a year or two is more reasonable than signing Beltran for 5 yrs. That would give the Sox time to ease in Anderson and Sweeney. Though I do see Anderson in the OF mix for 2005, if he's healthy

To answer your question, in general, you should ALWAYS take a proven superstar over prospects. Prospects hardly ever pan out.

 

Don't worry though, Beltran will play CF here when JR makes Boras his GM.

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Getting a proven CFer like Pierre or Posednik would still fit in with the "win now" thinking. They'd be around for a year or two until Anderson and Sweeney were ready.

 

The only thing is which CFer's on other teams would fit the Sox needs [a leadoff type, LH hitter with speed].

 

I've come up w/ several. the two I mentioned. But also:

Endy Chavez, Mon.

Chone Figgins, Ana [if he can play a decent CF]

 

Anyone else have any thoughts?

Why do people keep thinking Figgins has a shot at getting moved?

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Prospects hardly ever pan out.

Riiiiight ...

 

Like Carlos Lee, Maggs Ordonez, Mark Buehrle, Paul Konerko, Aaron Rowand, etc.

 

Lots of prospects make it, unless of course they run counter to your point of view.

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Hairston wants to be a Major League second baseman and likely will not settle for an outfield position to stay with the Orioles. He realizes he might have to move on to stay at second base and is prepared for such a fate.

Don't know that he'd have much of a say in where he goes and where he plays. He can't veto a trade.

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Why do people keep thinking Figgins has a shot at getting moved?

I think the Angels might have been willing to move Figgins before the Jose Guillen implosion. Next year, they'll be playing rookie of the year favorite Dallas McPherson (sp?) at 3rd, probably have signed a shortstop, and moved Eckstein to 2nd. If the outfield were full like this year, there would be no place to play Figgins. Still, he's young, cheap, and versatile so I think it would have taken a lot to get him. And now, with Guillen on the way out, I have to think Figgins will be starting in center. I don't think there's a chance the Sox can get him.

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Don't know that he'd have much of a say in where he goes and where he plays. He can't veto a trade.

Yes, agree.

 

We know, though, there are lots of posturing discussions that take place behind the scenes, particularly with agents. I would think though, he'd be more amenable to coming home to Chicago vs. some other teams. Certainly speculation on my part but it does make sense vis-a-vis a few different scenarios.

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