thomsonmi

Yes, but never let the facts get in the way of a good argument.

That was my thoughts...

Well, the Angels are clearing room... Reds acquired RHP Ramon Ortiz from the Angels for RHP Dustin Moseley. We like that the Reds are getting Ortiz here, but to sacrifice one of their top prospects for a pitcher who was probably going to be non-tendered? Maybe we'll withhold judgment until seeing whether the Reds can avoid arbitration and sign him to an affordable two-year deal. Going to the National League should be very good for Ortiz. The 31-year-old right-hander looked quite a bit better last year than he did in 2003, but he was still very inconsistent, frustrating the Angels. Maybe it will help that he won't have to worry about keeping his rotation spot in Cincinnati. He should be viewed as a potential bargain in NL-only leagues. Dec. 14 - 6:05 pm et

I believe (and maybe someone here understand the designated for assignment rules better than I) that Ryan Meaux is being released.

Maybe but probably not already.

I refer to the fact that they announced that they had waived Danny Wright just before they traded one guy (CLee) for two (SPod and Viscaino).

I'm just saying that the 40 man roster now only has 39 men on it. There is now room to sign a free agent or trade one guy for two. It's only speculation but why else would they do this.

I posted this in rumors thread but I think it bares repeating. The White Sox have designated LHP Ryan Meaux for reassignment making room for another player on their 40 man roster. They waived Danny Wright just prior to yesterday's trade.

According to rotoworld, the White Sox have designated LHP Ryan Meaux for reassignment bringing our 40 man roster down to 39. Could a move be pending? You may recall that they waived Danny Wright just prior to the trade yesterday.

A clue to why he is in Arizona can be found in his responses... "We're pounding on the pavement right now."

So, he's playing with us. Trying to stir us up for no reason. Bastard! :rolly

Clement lives in Chitown though.

If he was at Jerry's that would hardly be something he couldn't tell us, would it?

I thought the news from the interview was that KW was in Arizona and couldn't tell MJH why. Any thoughts? Who lives in Arizona?

Hopefully he leaves his Karl Malone impression at home.

Juggernaut, Excellent analysis! I agree with both suggestions and neither should keep us from still have $$$ to sign Clement.

From rotoworld.com... According to the Los Angeles Times, the Angels' offer to Matt Clement is worth $21 million over three years. It's going to take more than that now. It's believed that Toronto has a better offer on the table, and Cleveland, which is near Matt Clement's home, has made a similar proposal. The Red Sox, White Sox and Dodgers could also be in the running for Clement. Dec. 14 - 2:58 pm et Source: Los Angeles Times

I was a big Renteria guy but I've moved on. With the remake of this team, we need another quality pitcher and amongst this bunch I think Clement has the most value.

I know you're joking but I believe Jurassic Everett will be our 4th outfielder and backup to all 3 positions. He can't field worth squat but he's a better alternative than Borchard.

Having wasted too much time looking thru the major leagues list of first baseman, I must edit my post... About the only conceivable (realistically worth obtaining) left-handed hitting first baseman out there is Hee Sop Choi. I guess we're stuck with Jurassic as our lefty alternative.

Next moves (in the real world) ... Besides signing a quality starting pitcher (which is obviously the next move), I think they look to move Konerko and obtain a left-handed hitting first baseman. The middle of the lineup is still right-handed dominant and Konerko is the easiest of the bunch to replace. This probably doesn't happen until the non-tenders are done and we see who all is available because its unrealistic to think that we will go after Delgado. Though Crede is not the player Konerko is I don't think you can find a left-handed hitting third baseman who is at least equal to Crede. Finally, we need to get a middle infielder like Cora or someone else who is cheap but can fill in and even push Willie and Uribe because I'm not sure we should be counting on Valdez to do that.

I actually agree with you both on this. Not only will it be a PR nightmare but it would actually then be a bad trade.

Jeckle, I left out the Koch deal but frankly I liked the move when it was made. It was obviously a disaster but given that I liked it when it was done it would be fairly hypocritical of me to criticize it in hindsight. I also left out the Shingo signing though which was a positive.

I also like the Uribe acquisition...

AMEN! Though I may retract my amen if we don't sign a quality starting pitcher. I know I'm in the minority here but I've been thrilled with KW's work as a GM over the last three years. That doesn't mean that I think he's been perfect but it does mean I've generally liked all of his moves during that time period. Before all you KW haters unleash your wave of attacks, the Ritchie deal was awful and those who know me, know that I was highly critical of that trade the day it was made. He made an obviously rookie mistake in dealing with the Dodgers and aquiring the wrong guy. But, in the last three years I've liked... the Colon acquisition the first Everett and Alomar deals (though they didn't work out, it didn't cost us much) the Damaso Marte acquisition the Freddy Garcia acquisition the Contreras acquisition not giving Maggs the farm last year in negotiations and his last two amatuer drafts We haven't won anything during this time but I think during this time you can't blame what he's done. KW works under a management induced salary cap. I think Jerry mistakenly forces a small market budget on this team but I don't know how that can be blamed on KW.