maggsmaggs

Without him, we never win the WS in '05. That team was so special, because everybody did something that cannot be forgotten to help lead them to the promise land. I will never foget game four Freddy, bases loaded and you got out of it.

The problem is with all these youngester is that two will likely develope into major league starters while others will be hit by injuries and the ineffective disease. If we were to go young, it should be with Fields and Sweeney and keep a vet staff.

QUOTE(fathom @ Dec 6, 2006 -> 11:23 PM) Andrew Miller and Ledezma could be solid. Andrew Miller has a chance to be a stud. Two sick pitches from the left side with a deceptive delivery. WOW.

QUOTE(Rowand44 @ Dec 6, 2006 -> 11:05 PM) Please, please, please re-sign Mark. Right now, Buerhle is at his lowest value and we should definately try and resign him. Next year Mark will be back to the Mark of old. 3.50 ERA and plenty of innings.

QUOTE(Jordan4life_2006 @ Dec 6, 2006 -> 10:28 PM) Garcia is gonna dominate in the NL. Gavin Floyd in the AL? I don't even have to say anything. Garcia will be solid in the NL, but dominate. Nobody gets buy with a high 80's fastball and less than stellar control. He will have a 4.00 ish ERA.

QUOTE(IlliniKrush @ Dec 6, 2006 -> 10:25 PM) Someone explain how this makes any sense, because i'm not seeing it: Less teams in the market for starting pitching. Thus, less teams to bid and less talent in return. That is what he meant, but he certainly did not maximize the incoming talent, IMO.

Seriously, we save $10 million dollars, JR said b4 the deal we have payroll flexibility, so offer Bonds a one year deal worth $15 million dollars with an option for 2008 based on at-bats. He is 22 homers away from history, we would get so much media exposure because of it and our attendence would keep up. It would be a good deal. We have enough veteran guys to keep Bonds in check like Thome, Kong, Dye and AJ. Seriously, we save $10 million dollars, JR said b4 the deal we have payroll flexibility, so offer Bonds a one year deal worth $15 million dollars with an option for 2008 based on at-bats. He is 22 homers away from history, we would get so much media exposure because of it and our attendence would keep up. It would be a good deal. We have enough veteran guys to keep Bonds in check like Thome, Kong, Dye and AJ.

QUOTE(fathom @ Dec 6, 2006 -> 10:00 PM) I think we should use the freed up money to get a power hitting left fielder!!!! BB

Well we still gotta problem. Cause Floyd and Haeger are the same type pitcher. Long reliever/swingmen with nothing left to prove in the minors. Something else it up, don't worry folks. In two days, we will be seeing the total deal.

So where did this Rowand talk come from? Besides Dore and Comcast, I mean who told them that?

Background: As a freshman on Mount St. Joseph High’s junior-varsity team, Floyd watched his older brother Mike and Mark Teixeira, both seniors, play for the varsity. Three years later, Gavin and Teixeira were selected with the fourth and fifth overall picks in the 2001 draft, with Philadelphia also taking Mike in the 22nd round. The Floyd brothers were on the South Carolina campus ready to attend class before both agreed to last-minute deals with the Phillies, with Gavin receiving a club-record $4.2 million bonus. He made a strong pro debut in 2002, ranking among the low Class A South Atlantic League leaders in several categories. Managers rated him the league’s top prospect. The Phillies handled Floyd cautiously, starting his pitch count at 70 and stretching it to 100 as he gained strength and durability. Strengths: Floyd came to the Phillies with two plus pitches: his fastball and hard, sharp curveball. He throws the fastball 89-92 mph, peaking at 94-95 mph, with rapid arm action and a smooth delivery, and he used it almost exclusively to no-hit Lexington on July 24. Nevertheless, his knee-buckling curve is his best pitch because it can be unhittable at times. The organization asked Floyd to lay off his curve last season, urging him to develop the changeup that he never needed in high school. He has a nice feel for it now, and it could become a third plus offering. While Floyd’s stuff compares favorably to that of Brett Myers, he has a more laid-back personality. That doesn’t mean Floyd isn’t a strong competitor, though. His makeup and work ethic should allow him to maximize his talents. Weaknesses: Floyd just needs innings and work in game situations. He’s learning which pitches to throw in certain counts and how to read hitters. He throws strikes to both sides of the plate but is refining his command in the strike zone. Floyd must use his fastball more and not rely so much on his curveball. The Future: Though he’s as polished as any prep pitcher after one year in the minors, Floyd won’t be rushed. The Phillies’ minor league pitching depth will allow them to move him one level at a time. He can expect to start 2003 at high Class A Clearwater. Floyd profiles as a No. 1 starter.

nice one, you got me excited for a sec till I realized what actually happened.

A thing also about trading for Vernon Wells is that if we don't resign him, we get two draft picks for him, so replacing the prospects is not as hard and JD would be the same way b/c the Sox would undoubtedly offer them arbitration. Just something to think about.

http://taiwanbaseball.blogspot.com/ (under Monday, November 27th) I got this from WSI, but thought I would post it here rather than the futuresox board considering we really don't do lots of international signings like this. I like international signings, we really need to do this more, preferably with some Hispanic players, too. Here's his pic:

Boras forces teams to way over pay for players. Look at Tom Hicks, he paid like $8 million more per year than anyone else was offering A-Rod. He is not perfectly truthful with teams and is just a hassle to deal with. The Sox will tell Crede, guarenteed, "we want you here Joe, so we will offer you a fair deal that will support you the rest of your life. But we will make this one and only offer, if you accept, we are glad you chose to be a White Sox, but if you don't, we will trade you." They did it with Garland and they will with Joe, they will force Joe to act on his own will, not Bora$$.

This may have been discussed earlier, but Scott has gone good season, bad season, good season, bad season and now by this rate, 2007 should be a good one. He is the player the makes our offense go, regardless of what JD, Thome or Kong do. They can carry a team, but Pods can make our offense complete. Pods steals bases and can do the little things that makes this offense non-reliant on the homerun. Simply put, he is the single most important part of the offense. When he is on, the offense mashes. When he is off, the offense goes into a lull.

This deal clearly favors the Sox. Santana is a future Cy Young winner, he is 23 and he is only getting better. Santana is a stud.

We should be more concerned about upgrading LF than SS. Juan is a top-tier fielding SS and hits enough to start. He has to do better than last year and he bats 8th or 9th so its not that big a deal that he isn't a Michael Young type hitter. However, our leadoff hitter will likely be an outfielder and is as crucial a player as our 3-4-5 hitters. We need a guy to get on base at a high rate and steal bases more than we need an upgrade for our SS. Get rid of Pods first and then worry about SS. I would have no problem keeping Juan as our SS, but I would have a big problem not bringing in a new LF.

Javier Vazquez

Jereme Richmond, the top freshman in Illinois. verbally committed to Ill. In two years when the Dukes, UNCs and Kansas come calling, we might have another Eric Gordon situation. The kid is simply put amazing and I am happy he committed to ILL, but why as a freshman? Its way too early, just wait till your junior year at least.

I am happy for Juan. When it came out, I really thought he was guilty and the whole story seemed plausible about him and his brother. Glad the truth came out and he is perfectly innocent.

I would really have no problem trading two of our current starters and inserting B-Mac and Phillips in if we used the money to get a major upgrade in LF and SS. I may be one of the few, but I believe Heath could win 12 games and have a 4.5 ERA in the bigs next season.

QUOTE(GoSox05 @ Nov 21, 2006 -> 08:51 AM) Why doesnt any one mention Phillips as one of are top prospects with the numbers he put up? Is he just a good minor league pitcher? He is older for a prospect, doesnt have great stuff and doesnt throw hard. That's why. But as long as he keeps producing like he has done basically everywhere, I don't know why people underrate him so much. There was a point last season where I thought he could do better than Buerhle. Just watching him in the AAA All-Star game, it looked like he could be a solid big league pitcher. At worst, he is a lefty reliever.

QUOTE(Gene Honda Civic @ Nov 20, 2006 -> 10:02 PM) It's not so much BA as Phil Rogers. For some reason, the White Sox (Cubs and Rockies?) are the only teams that they don't have their own writers do the lists for. I believe callis does everything for the Cubs.

QUOTE(winninguglyin83 @ Nov 20, 2006 -> 07:40 PM) worst sox top 10 I can remember two 2006 draftees, a sure sign of trouble in the soft system. We need to improve our scouting. It's fallen badly in last four or five years. That's not that uncommon to have two recent draft picks in the Top 10. I am pretty sure when Anderson and Sweeney were drafted, they were in the top 10. Not to mention the years we had multiple first round picks, there were definately some recent draft picks in the top 10. The bad thing is we don't have a front-line starter in the system or a sure-fire all-star type offensive player. Fields and Sweeney are good, but both have significant weaknesses, something Chris Young didnt have.