greg775

QUOTE (since56 @ Nov 4, 2010 -> 10:11 PM) If they are so good then how come one playoff year in the last five? Cause that's baseball. And inexplicably after winning the WS and looking like we'd be a regular playoff participant we of late decided we can't get up for games against teams in our own division. You got to beat Cleveland, KC, Detroit and Minnie and we just don't do it nearly enough. If we get owned by Minnie next year as badly as this year, I would assume Oz and/or Ken will be fired.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Nov 4, 2010 -> 03:29 PM) The Sox don't have to trade anybody to get a left handed bat considering the amount of left handed bats on the free agent market. I could see Carlos Pena being a guy the Sox target in the free agent market...guarantee him 2/$16 with a $12 mill team option or $2 mill buy out and see if he bites. I do think they have to trade a starter to free up some money, but they don't have to acquire a left handed bat in return. Hell, acquiring a package of minor leaguers wouldn't be the worst thing. When we talk money on here, I don't see how fans throw out 2/16 for Pena and seem appalled AJ might ask for that or Paulie might get 3 years 39 million. What is Teahen making? 5 mill? Edwin 8 mill?

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Nov 4, 2010 -> 02:52 PM) The thing that AJ's going to run into as a major problem is convincing other teams that he won't be a clubhouse cancer. The Sox at least know that they can deal with him personality wise for the most part, but every other team's players and often managers have had him get under their skin already. Plus, they know he has a history of having pitchers and coaches he doesn't get along with (i.e. S.F.) and there were probably a couple incidents in Chicago that filtered out that might make other GM's wary as well (the whole college football on every TV in the locker room thing from 09). I'd expect some team, maybe the Rangers, maybe others, will wind up making AJ an offer, but I really doubt that any team is going to go that aggressively after him. It'll probably be a situation like when he originally signed with the Sox...unless the Sox extend him, he'll be out there until January, some team will give up and realize their catching position stinks, they'll sit down with him repeatedly to make sure that they think they can live with him, and they'll put together an incentive-rich deal of some sort. If we acquire John Buck to replace AJ I think I am going to scream. As far as the above, I don't know. He's been with the White Sox a long time and not been a cancer here. I'd think in the right situation he'll be fine again. s***, maybe he grew up a bit in that regard. Maybe there's a statute of limitations on being a clubhouse cancer. I would just give the job to Castro if he leaves rather than a John Buck, though.

Think the Rangers would want AJ? I wouldn't discount it. It'd be a new challenge for him with decent pitchers to work with. I think if the Rangers were smart they'd go after AJP. Yes his intangibles are important IMO. I wonder if deep down AJ wants to stay or wants that "change of scenery" to fire him up. Didn't thome admit it really helped him this year, wanting to prove he wasn't done?

QUOTE (gatnom @ Nov 4, 2010 -> 01:29 AM) I think it's going to be hard for Ozzie not to give him the Mark Kotsay treatment when Morel (as he seems to be the plan at third) starts struggling. That's what I was thinking. I don't think we want Omar playing 100 or more games. And I do think we overpaid him, don't you? Unless half the salary is going for his coaching ability of our young infielders.

QUOTE (ChiSox_Sonix @ Nov 3, 2010 -> 08:04 PM) What'd we pay him last year? 500k? I'd offer him up to what we offered Omar actually. He can still play the OF and provides power off the bench. As a 4th OF he still provides value. Don't we have anybody in our organization that can fill that role? If not, we're pretty pathetic an organization. Jones is just another guy.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Nov 3, 2010 -> 08:12 PM) Well that limits his tradeability then, doesn't it? For all intents and purposes, Mark Buehrle is a league average pitcher who is going to be due $14 million next year. If the White Sox want to trade him, they will either trade him for nothing, or they will take on someone else's bad contract. Well if we can't move him, then I'd deal Edwin. Mark is still a good pitcher to have on the Sox IMO, I'm just saying we need to trade a starter to improve our lineup. If the Sox lose Paulie and AJ and add a couple average bats in return like Buck and LaRoche, we're not going to contend with the postseason chokers (I prefer that name to the Twins), we just won't.

You are probably right. Makes sense he'd at least play a few weeks of winter ball to work on some things like defense and plate discipline. Boras probably nixed it.

QUOTE (fathom @ Nov 2, 2010 -> 02:40 AM) You have to love Bochy getting credit for having Huff bunt in the 7th inning. In reality, the bunt took the bat out of the hands of one of their best hitters and put Burrell in a situation where he had to make contact. Edgar bailed out Bochy though. You don't like the bunt much do you? Do you ever see a situation where the bunt is called for? It's in everybody's playbook and has been used for decade upon decade. The White Sox bunted a lot in 05 and almost swept the entire postseason. How bout just credit Edgar and credit Boche? Boche just won the world series. He's a genius right now leading a franchise that never wins WS to a WS title. The big bad bashers the Rangers scored one run at home in the final 2 WS games. Small ball can be a nice complement to long ball sometimes.

I'd keep one of them, maybe two, Fred and Putz. There is no reason to consider keeping Kotsay, Jones or Manny.

QUOTE (Jerksticks @ Nov 3, 2010 -> 03:44 AM) Not saying you said this, but I think it needs to be said: Trading one of our starters for a huge bat does not hurt this ball club or put us into rebuild mode. I feel like I've bought in to the company line that our SP is our strength and we should not compromise it at any cost. While it is nice to have a team with 5 dominant starters, the fact remains that teams win the world series each an every year without 5 greats. Balance is the key to most things in life... What's wrong with trading a SP and just signing Garcia again? I hate that I can't remember any laugher-games from last year. I can remember countless 7IP 1 ER performances that ended in no decisions though. We've had a bad offense for 5 years now. Great post about buying into the company line about our starters being the group that should not be broken up at any cost. Baumgarner??? WS hero? We need some new bats and trading Jackson or Mark would be smart to get the right bat. I disagree Mark has no trade value. I just don't see that being the case. He'd have to be dealt to one of the teams with money though. Yankees, Boston, Mets don't want him?? Yankees continue to throw a lot of aging ragarms out there.

Why did Viciedo decline to play winter ball? He must be tired or something. That writer might still get the last laugh with his 3-year 45 mill prediction for Konerko. The guy is coming off a great year and we tend to devalue our own on this website. Konerko had an amazing season in this non steroid era.

This is a good thread. IMO the consensus is saying ... • Good move because of his coaching ability as much as his playing ability. • Good move because he provides good late inning defense at third and as an occasional fill-in at starter at third and second. • Bad move because Ozzie will play him way too much and he simply is not much a threat with the bat, despite the fact he had some big hits last year. He's another guy most wouldn't mind seeing bat ninth. My translation... We probably should have just signed him as a coach unless Oz signs a document promising that he will only start twice a week max.

I don't have the stats to back this up, but the scary thing is Paulie got so many key hits this season. Whether bombs or being one of the few White Sox to drill a single up the middle when we needed it. We had a streaky (at best) enough offense as it was with him; it is very scary to have him gone and see us try to replace those key hits. When you have good players like Paulie and they leave ... you have to admit that on paper, it is a hole that easily could turn us from an 88 win team to 75 in a hurry. Hope KW has a plan. Playing guys like Teahen and Omar a lot more is not a good plan. The Omar signing is a good start if he's a super sub.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Nov 2, 2010 -> 09:04 PM) He's really got two roles - UT infielder (and he's what I would consider "plus" at that role), plus infield coach. Hell, I think his influence on Alexei alone was worth half his contract from last year or more. Guys like Morel and Beckham and maybe Viciedo could learn a lot. It'd be kind of cool to give him a title player/coach but that's not going to happen obviously. Scares me a little that Ozzie will be tempted to play him A LOT if Morel gets off to a slow start with the bat. It's not that Omar isn't OK, but it'll be the same where collectively our lineup could be weak in nature with too many Omars in it on an everyday basis. Losing AJ and Paulie on paper we have slots to fill.

QUOTE (typewritermender @ Nov 2, 2010 -> 07:41 PM) I think there's a few things we need to turn this team around. One is a bit of a shakeup. That means good, new players. The other is young talent that we can develop & keep around for a long time. So, my new idea for an offseason gameplan: let Paulie walk. Let AJ walk. Go hard after Crawford, or Werth as a backup plan, and do whatever it takes to sign one of them. Trade Floyd (& maybe some throwins?) to Arizona for Montero and Brandon Allen. Use CQ as DH, Teahan as supersub/3B platoon with Morel. Resign Freddy and let him and Sale battle it out in ST for the 5th starter spot. Tank at 1B with Allen & Teahen as backups. I think this makes our lineup younger, more versitile, better defensively, and hopefully better offensively. Any thoughts on a cohesive offseason gameplan? I agree the team needs to be remade a bit. I would trade one starter (either Mark Buehrle or Jackson) and let AJ walk. Using a Rongey term, we can survive with one position being a weak hitter (let Castro start with Flowers the backup). However we will need some lefthanded pop somewhere. I have no idea what the plan should be, but I'd deal one starting hurler with the hopes of bolstering our lineup somewhere. I do believe Paulie is gone so that's gonna have to be addressed as well. I guess move Tank to first and hope for the best there. It might not be so bad if somebody teaches him to scoop.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Nov 2, 2010 -> 07:58 PM) Approve. I agree. Just hope he is a super sub. It's going to be easy for Ozzie to give up on somebody and play Omar every day, though.

QUOTE (bigruss22 @ Nov 2, 2010 -> 04:29 AM) There's a huge difference between Thome and the upocming Konerko contract, Thome only got 1.5 million which is nothing, Konerko will get aaround 3/30 and very easily more. Very true. I more meant that it was disheartening to see Thome wasn't washed up and being a thorn in the Sox side. Even though Paulie will command top dollar, I'd hate to see him go elsewhere and rake. Like fathom said, he may want to go elsewhere. We may make the decision easy for him if it's not a competitive offer. He may want to try it elsewhere, especially if somebody gives him an extra year or two. This is his final contract of note. To his credit, he had a great contract year. Now he has to cash in one final time. On another note ... would you let Dye come back for a Jones-like contract?

Man, the Giants win it in 5. That's like us winning it in four that one year. The Ranger bats were just dead. Don't get it. Except ... that's baseball. Can you believe Uribe and Rowand win another WS? That's just wild. I wonder if this one is sweeter for them. It certainly removes them from our 05 title a bit considering they were able to do it again in a short period of time. Good for them. I feel bad for Texas though. The Rangers had a great year. Cliff Lee is still phenomenal but he doesn't deserve some insane insane deal. Like 15 mill a year for 5 years or something. Cmon. Pitchers can fall apart at any time nowadays. Anybody who pays him Sabathia money is NUTS.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Nov 1, 2010 -> 11:36 PM) Thank you Greg. It is being addressed by the mods and admins. I would like you to just walkaway. Cool. Please don't suspend him 2 weeks; it's no big deal. Just advise him to put me on ignore IMO. I'm the only person that seems to get him so riled up he posts personal stuf that could get him a 2 week penalty box. that was a funny post by squert!

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Nov 2, 2010 -> 03:05 AM) Pena, Huff, Berkman, Dunn, Lee, LaRoche, Branyan, and Overbay are all solid, if unspectacular options, and that's not include Nick Johnson either. Beyond that, the Sox could easily go with Quentin or Viciedo at 1B. I don't think the Sox will bring Konerko back. As much as he's done for the organization, I just don't see how the Sox will be able to afford him, nor do I think they should commit $10+ mill annually, even if just for 2-3 years, on a mid 30s 1B who, prior to this past season, had put up like 3 straight seasons of ~.850 OPS seasons (good, but not spectacular by any stretch). How can they not afford him when they can afford Edwin Jackson of all people?? And to give Teahen money like that?? I said no, because I don't have much faith in our team lately, but I think he should come back at 10 mill a year for 3 years. 30 mill; 3 years. I can't imagine somebody giving him more than 30 for 3. It would be sad to see him walk and have a good year somewhere else. That Thome thing was disheartening this past season and we really need paulie even if he declines a bit which he probably will.

That's pretty awesome on paper we have our defensive 3B now for the next 10 years. Hope he can hit a bit.

southsider i'll leave this up to you since it's offseason and you are a mod. should i answer all of his questions to me or leave it alone?

QUOTE (TheBigHurt @ Nov 1, 2010 -> 08:41 AM) I was just reading the book of common sense and I read that often players will drop those cliches left and right out of loyalty and not wanting to cause a stir in the media, among other reasons. Clueless? I think so. "Wiseass Swisher?" Swisher was a really funny guy in teh clubhouse and got along with people. Hey, so in your book he should be a great guy! Amirite? Apply your own logic to every situation, bub! Or are you unable to practice what you preach? That stuff about you correlating "Ozzie's so funny" to his managing ability is utterly RIDICULOUS. Then seeing you being hypocritical with the concept as well is amusing. I really don't think you are actually putting any intelligent thought into the things you are saying. Also LOVE this mentality you have that every success is directly because of Ozzie. meanwhile NONE of our problems are apparently his fault. That's bias 101 for ya. The fact you bring up the tweets of Ozzie's son PROVES your ultimate ignorance. That kid was trashing KW and the organization making it sound like ozzie was a God and the organization were idiots publicly. Not to mention the whole "KW cheating on his wife" stuff. You gotta be s***ting me here, greg. Yeah, except we had guys that could bunt well and do it in the right situation rather than take the bat out of our best hitter's hands and negate the job of our leadoff hitter. I wonder if a thought even enters your head while you watch any baseball games. I really want to thank you, greg. Anytime I'm feeling down on myself or feeling bad about mistakes I've made, I look at your posts and instantly feel better. I don't know why you get so upset and personal with me. Sports are supposed to be fun. We disagree. So what? I love Ozzie; you despise him. Life goes on. I give examples like Konerko's quotes in the book; you dismiss them. Again, life goes on. Don't know why me simply disagreeing with you stirs so much emotion. I have never commented on another poster, just their posts. I'm not mad about it, just confused. I seem to instill hatred in many.

QUOTE (TheBigHurt @ Nov 1, 2010 -> 05:59 AM) Clearly my posts are sailing over the heads of every poster that replies to me. None of you guys seem to be able to interpret what it is I'm trying to say here so I guess I'll just drop it. SMH, really. Seriously? He's a funny guy so he must be a great guy? I'm honestly amazed you weren't one of those kids who waked right into some creep's van because he smiled and flashed candy in front of you. He can't manage for s***, throws his players under the bus, gets into trouble in the office, and maybe worst of all has s*** on the fans on more than one occasion. But yeah... he crakced some funny lines on TV, so he must be a great guy. Who cares how he manages, right??? He's funny, therefore he's a good manager! GMAFB. And you call this guy "fun." I always liked his humor, but IMO that's the only likeable thing about the guy as far as his baseball personality is concerned. Clueless. I was just reading the book of our 05 title by the Trib and I just read Paulie saying Ozzie was a big reason we won it all, cause the attitude in the clubhouse is always the same, constant, win or lose. Clueless? I think not. Throws what players under the bus? Guys like wiseass Swisher? We agree to disagree. I think Ozzie is a grade B to B plus manager in a league where nobody gets an A. He also took us to the promised land. I don't think a clueless person can lead any chicago team to a WS title. He also led a very weak team to 88 wins, albeat the 11-2 at the end of the year or whatever we went 9-2 was meaningless. Like the tweets of Ozzie's kid and Cowley, you people that want Oz out, who do you want as our manager? I mean I respect the names you'll come up with ... but will they really be better than Ozzie?? Those of you who hate the bunt also might want to rewind some of the 05 season and postseason when we bunted a lot. We had a better team; players win titles not managers. The key is not to have a total buffoon like Bevington; Ozzie IMO is fine.