bigred3535

Hey, let's be fair. Mike Maddux had a pretty good season in 1991. I'd take him over "The Show" in the starting rotation, anyway...

If a trade like that goes through, which I kind of doubt, we may as well give Gload a chance to see if he can hit major league pitchers. He may surprise some people. If that fails I would suggest bringing up either Borchard or Reed and moving Carlos to DH (with Frank at first) or first. Travis Lee and Simon are both kind of mediocre and I don't think they'd bring more to the Sox than any of the above scenarios.

The way I see it, there must be at least some shred of credibility in this rumor. The rumors are very detailed and the fact that there are several scenarios leads me to believe that this guy would not go to this much trouble to fabricate a story like this. So either this may be partially or fully true, or the poster is either a heartless loser who has no other desire than to get Sox fans' hopes up and burst their bubble. I find that unlikely since he's such a consistent poster on the WSI boards, although I very well may be wrong.

More than likely, yes. But that's not to say there couldn't be any Sox-Angels deal. Stoneman is always looking for prospects, so perhaps the Sox could use Cotts, Borchard or a couple of the mid-level pitching prospects (Diaz, Pacheco, Rauch, etc.) to get either Washburn or Oritz (who typically put up pretty similar numbers to each other, although I'd rather have Washburn since he's younger and done it longer).

Some interesting stuff that could pertain to Sox trades. He also lists six teams he believes have done well this offseason (in philosiphy and acquistions): 1. Mets, 2. Orioles, 3. Blue Jays, 4. Astros, 5. Royals, 6. Brewers.

Sorry, I had to comment on this. Izturis absolutely blows. He can't hit for s***. I would rather see Jose playing shortstop for the Sox until he's 50 and they're both retired than see Izturis as our everyday shortstop for the forseeable future. If people are b****ing and moaning about Harris at second, I'd hate to hear what they have to say about a DP combo of him and "Mr .590 Career OPS" Izturis. His OBP the last two seasons was .253 and .282! That's OBP, not batting average! This guy is like Rafael Belliard except without the defense, power and contact skills. OK, I'm better now. Glad to get that out of my system...I just hate to see rumors with Izturis mentioned in them. Oh, and at this point I would trade Reed for any number of young pitchers who have proven themselves over two or more seasons because: 1) Who knows if Reed will pan out? It looks as if he will, but there are no givens in baseball. 2) A consistent, young top of the rotation pitcher is harder to find than a young outfielder who hits for average. Especially since the Sox have Anderson and Sweeney (their two top picks of the last draft) both in the outfield.

If the Red Sox really want to unload Damon, if they pay three or four million dollars of his salary for next year that would balance out a Nixon dor Damon swap in the trade plans. However, as much as the BoSox love him, I think it would make more sense in this deal for Nixon to go, since if they keep him and lose Damon they'd essentially have three right fielders in Ramirez, Maggs and Trot. I also don't see any way that the Red Sox would want Koch if they're trying to get rid of Williamson. Koch is way, way, way too expensive for a set-up man (even though that's what the White Sox will probably use him as), especially since they just signed Foulke. Not that there's any reason that they'd be part of this deal, but it might be useful for Kenny to get Bill Mueller or Kevin Millar as a part of this trade if it happens. That way, should Konerks get traded there's a well above average player ready to step in. Both make about two million this year, so even if the Sox don't manage to unload Paul, they could stay around as a utility guy or be spun off in another deal for a pitcher. There's probably no way Kenny could pull that off, but it's just a thought.

Rotoworld's source was the Los Angeles Times, though.

Cardinals sign Marlon Anderson and Julian Tavarez. Sorry to those of you who wanted Anderson as the Sox's second baseman, but it looks like it's Willie or Uribe for the coming season. Interestingly they also signed Ray Lankford to a minor-league deal. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=1704464

I doubt Lee will put up 2/3 of the numbers that Paul does this year. The only thing he brings to the table is defense. A poor man's JT Snow if you ask me.

Bad news: Ramon Ortiz - S - Anaheim Angels Jan 9 Although there would seem to be the possibility of a match, the Angels aren't interested in trading Ramon Ortiz or Jarrod Washburn to the White Sox for Paul Konerko. The Angels need a first baseman and are looking to move one of the pitchers, but Konerko doesn't appear to be on their list. They might just sign Travis Lee. Source: Los Angeles Times Hopefully the Halos get desperate as the season approaches, otherwise it looks like that deal is dead. http://www.rotoworld.com/display1.asp?page=news&sport=MLB

What are you talking about? Nixon is much, much better than Jose. Look at the numbers from last year: Jose - .237 AVG, 119, hits, 26 2B, 2 3B, 28 HR, 74 RBI, 54 BB, 114 SO, 8 SB, .313 OBP, .776 OPS Trot - .306 AVG, 135 hits, 24 2B, 6 3B, 28 HR, 87 RBI, 65 BB, 96 SO, 4 SB, .396 OBP, .975 OPS The power numbers are very similar, but Trot's contact skills are ridiculously better. In addition, Jose's batting average has gone down in each year since his first with the Sox, so there's no reason to expect him to hit any better. In fact, Trot's season last year was better than Maggs's (.975 OPS vs. .926 OPS). The only category Maggs had a major advantage in was doubles, and that was primarily because he had 160 more at-bats than Trot. I think I would definitely do that deal if I were KW.

It's probably a good sign for the Sox that the O's are close to signing Palmeiro and Guerrero. If both these guys are signed (or even one), that probably means that the O's have spent all the money they've allotted for free agents (or at least I would hope, considering they've spent 8 million on Tejada and 5 million on Lopez. Maybe they won't have any money left for Ponson, which would make the Sox the top suitor for his services. In addition, if the Halos don't sign Palmeiro they will probably be very interested in Konerko, which could net the Sox Washburn, as another thread is discussing. Theoretically the Sox could get both these guys for about the same price as Konerko, and would end up with possibly the best rotation in the AL. I know I'm being overly optimistic and very hasty, but if KW could pull that off I think I would literally piss my pants in joy. I can guarantee I wouldn't complain about him for a long, long, long, long while.

Kenny says lots of things...does that mean that any of them are true? That's what I thought...

He probably is, but I don't want him there because if he ever is pitching well (which isn't that often to begin with), he always breaks down by the fifth inning when teams get used to his stuff. He was much better last year as a middle reliever and I hope that's where he's pitching this year.

I would like Konerko to stay too, as I think he'll rebound from last year and is one of my favorite players on the Sox. However, I'd rather the team be good than it be mediocre and have him around. It is much easier to find a good first baseman (perhaps Simon, if this deal goes through) than a good starting pitcher. It also makes monetary sense, since the Sox will save 4 million dollars if the trade happens, which they could use to fill other holes.

Around 4 million. I would be much happier with that deal than a Konerko for Weaver deal, which is what is being discussed with the Dodgers, correct? Especially since Weaver makes 8 million.

You may be thinking of Valerio de los Santos.

Most bullpens don't carry three leftie relievers, so I would be surprised to see him make the name unless he drastically outperforms Wunsch, or Wunsch gets injured, or traded (I doubt that will happen, unless he's a throw in in a possible Konerko deal). Of course, if Marte is closing that would make it two lefty set-up men, which is what the Sox carried last year, so I guess it's possible.

You guys that are going to Soxfest better pass on info about what's going on to those of us stranded in the various Death Valleys for Sox fans (not that there's really any place where we're all that plentiful...).

In my opinion, Rick White was a solid signing in theory, as is this one. White just pitched worse than anyone could have expected. Hopefully Politte can balance that out.

I'm pretty sure Santiago was signed to a minor league deal worth 550,000 if he makes the team. I can't find a press release or anything for it though, so I may be mis-remembering. Also, for those that were worried about Politte when the rumor first started, in the two months he wasn't closer his ERA's were 3.65 and 3.86 (very similar to 2002). Maybe he just couldn't handle the ninth inning pressure...I think it's a good pickup by the Sox. Good job Kenny.

The biggest downside to Walker is that he's 35, so there's not much potential for improvement, but I certainly wouldn't mind seeing him in Sox camp if he was signed to a minor league deal.

Padres designate Brandon Villafuerte for assignment and Blue Jays designate Pete Walker for assignment: http://www.rotoworld.com/display1.asp?page=news&sport=MLB I think the Sox could use at least one of these guys in the bull-pen. Villafuerte is only 29 and could be an effective set-up guy, and Walker could be used as a long reliever/spot starter, or even compete for the fifth starter spot. Rotoworld says the 'Spos are interested in Villafuerte, though, and since they had a worse record than the Sox they have first dibs.

I think it makes sense. The Angels signed two major starting pitchers who conceivably could be placed ahead of Washburn in the rotation. Then Ortiz, who is about Washburn's equal in my opinion. Behind him would be Lackey, who the Angels are still high on despite his very bad 2003 campaign. So if they had Washburn they would have an absolutely tremndous rotation, possibly best in the league. However, they have a weak lineup, especially since they lost Spiezio at first. They could trade from their deepest place, the rotation, stick either Bobby Jenks or Ervin Santana (their two top pitching prospects) in the fifth spot and improve their lineup with Konerko. Plus, I believe Washburn was on the block last year anyway. I'm not saying it will happen, but I think it would make sense for both teams if it did.