Chisoxfn

Screw a 2nd football team in chicago.

Giants are looking flat, although they had a big interception on defense for a TD. Tiki has yet to get rolling.

I know this sounds retarded, but I thought it got ridiculous once they went to New York. Sure thats the famous part of the movie, but eh. It was alright, the time they are on the island was pretty cool. I got antsy during the final half an hour or so.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Dec 23, 2005 -> 02:37 PM) 82 on Sunday here. And its pretty darn sunny right now. We've had a wuss winter thus far, even by my sissy SoCal standards.

Watching a little football at home, helping out with the move as well. Can't wait till tonight, turkey is going in the oven in a few. Yumm.

Were in the midst of moving so for the first time pretty much ever we didn't put up a tree. My dad was trying to get my to help him put up lights at the place he's moving to, but I was scrooge and told him I didn't want to get off my lazy ass (he wanted me to do it the day after finals). I said we wouldn't be living there anyway during that time so whats the point. Hell I even stooped to gift certificates for my close family this year. Usually I try to be creative but I was worn out after finals and after buying my dad a DVD player for the new tv he bought, I just gave up. Everyone else in my family is a pain to shop for.

QUOTE(SEALgep @ Dec 23, 2005 -> 07:03 PM) This isn't rumored, but what about sending Garland to Boston for Andy Marte. Ride out Crede for this year, maybe use him for a trade at the deadline, and possibly deal Fields as well. It certainly makes Boston even stiffer competition, but could also make us solid at third for several years to come. Screw that, I'm not dealing to one of our major competitors in the AL and the BoSox are exactly that.

Like thats going to happen.

Let me say one thing. There is no freaking way the Cubs would knowingly make a deal where we got Prior. They along with anyone with half a baseball brain knows that if Prior is healthy than the Sox would have gotten themselves a perennial Cy Young award candidate and regardless of how Tejada is doing the Sox would be rubbing that into Cubs fans faces because a Cy Young pitcher is greater than Miguel Tejada. I'm sorry, Cubs should get smart and can Dusty "I kill pitchers for a living" Baker. That would be the best move the team could make to bolster its staff. Just the sheer possibility of Prior staying healthy and turning into one of the best pitcher in baseball for the next 5-10 years is reason enough not to make any deal which would send him to the Sox. By the way, yes, I like Jesus Prior a whole lot. I think he's a stud and I am not one of those people that thinks he's going to be hurt the rest of his career. I tend to think most of his injuries have been fluke injuries. Obviously you have to be careful with him, but you got to realize that Baker drove him worse than a rental car.

I think its a solid move by eac hteams. Of course this all depends on what the Jays can do with there bevy of 1st/3rd baseman. However Glaus is a force in the middle of a lineup. He can hit for 40 hrs if he stays healthy over the full course of a season and the Jays could use a big bat. At the same time Batista goes back to Az. He's a solid pitcher and can close if necessary and Hudson is a good infielder. I don't watch enough of Hudson, but I remember quite a few people always raving about Orlando. I never understood it but I always figured thats probably because I don't watch or pay much any attention to the Jays.

Its pretty short. Not much to talk about with Reynoso or Malone. Both are still incredibly raw. Malone has to prove he can stay healthy and find his release point. He's not the prospect he once was. As far as Reynoso goes he's never shown any consistency or secondary pitch. He does have a good arm though. Tracey is the only guy really worth writing about. Gotta improve the writeups in the future though cause this one really wasn't up to par, imo (I'm slamming myself).

NICK MARKAKIS is a name I've seen mentioned. He's the Orioles top outfield prospect. I don't know too much about him but I thought I'd at least share this. He was the 2nd best prospect in the Carolina League (High A) according to Baseball America. The kid shows really good patience and supposedly has plus raw power. In just 350 ab's in the Carolina league he hit 12 hr's and drew 46 walks. He also hit .326 in the AFL with a .408 OBP. The guy seems to be a pretty well rounded player. Heres what BA said:

I should add. Loewen's 2004 season was cut short with a frayed labrum. He didn't have surgery and instead worked on an off-season routine to help strengthen his shoulder. He pitched exceptional in the AFL in 05 posting a 1.67 ERA in 7 games (6 starts). Limited opponents to 19 hits in 27 innings while walking 14 and striking out 26.

QUOTE(Steve9347 @ Dec 23, 2005 -> 02:12 PM) i personally like this deal, bc bedard is a young lefty who we could use out of the bullpen this year, and could start next year. you throw in a prospect and im sold. we could lock up bedard for years. He is the same age as Garland, but I believe has higher upside. Bedard has been in the league less than Garland, so the White Sox would have more leverage contract wise for a few more years... and he sure won't cost 10 mil a season. Ya right. Garland is a lot better than Bedard. Garland has been a workhorse since coming up to the majors and has finally turned the corner. Bedard has an injury riddled past and has never shown any signs of durability. He'd be a great 4 or 5 starter on most teams (when healthy) but I never see him climbing the ranks to a #1 or #2 starter. I think Garland would be a poor teams #1 and a good teams #2 (I'm a big Garland fan though).

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Dec 23, 2005 -> 01:33 PM) I just keep coming back to this...in 2006-2007, we have Anderson, Dye, Podsednik, Owens, Borchard, and Sweeney all under our control. Dye is the most expensive of them, and he's seriously undervalued based on his performance last year. All of them are either ML ready or are nearly so (Sweeney being the only one who may need 2 years). That's 6 outfielders. We probably have room for 4 at any time, with 1 as a backup. Borchard may be lost if he doesn't make the team, but that still leaves us 5 guys. I just really dislike the idea of adding another outfielder when that's a position that we already have too many people at. We still have people who we need to move out of the way to allow the youth we do have to come in. Sween needs to live up to his hype one of this years (maybe he can finally be fully healthy and put on a true display this year, lord knows the talent is there). And as far as Owens is concerned, I'm still left wanting to see more. He's not good enough to play CF (defensively) although he could slide into LF. However, he's gonna have to catch on as a 4th outfielder first, imo. I think a year in Charlotte will do him some good anyway. He is a really good athlete though, however I'd like to see him run more and work on that part of his game.

QUOTE(bmags @ Dec 23, 2005 -> 02:47 PM) i'm guessing he was out of high school? He was drafted out of high school. Basically he was a consensus as the best player to ever come out of Canada (highest drafted Canadian). The O's ended up totally low balling him (scouts loved this kid and immediately thought super star potential). He ended up going to JC and turned into a draft and follow and the O's signed him hr's before the deadline (when he would have re-entered the draft in 2003) to a major league deal (got a good signing bonus too, something in the upper 4's, maybe even low 5's).

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Dec 23, 2005 -> 02:45 PM) Yes. I believe he's also had at least some limited health problems in the past, which is probably why he's still in their mid-level minor leagues. If he had any health issues they couldn't have been serious. He pitched in Low A for most of 04, and than a little in High A and than pitched in High A in all of 05. Made 27 starts in 05 (28 games) Made 21 starts in 04 He gives up under a hit per inning in his career and almost k's one per inning. Problem is he walks 5.45 per nine. He was the 4th overall selection in 2002 (however he turned into a draft and follow and signed in 03). The guy is 6-6 and has a nice frame for a lefty. He would have been a likely 1st round pick as a hitter as well. Throws a good fastball (low to Md 90's) and has a big breaking curve (his best pitch). Shows good feel for the changeup (still developing it though) and is working on a slider. Has a very smooth delivery, but needs to work on repeating it (with that he'll see improved command, especially on his secondary pitches). Quite a few scouts felt he had the best breaking ball in the Carolina league (thats a league that included Gio Gonzalez by the way). The guy had an ERA in the upper 4's at the all star break and went on a total run in the 2nd half of the season as he made quite a few strides. This guy could be a quick riser and has a lot of upside. Add in Bedard and another guy and I'd really like this deal. Or you can go after Penn and add two more good prospects (let Bmore decide). The nice thing about Bedard is that he'll be cheap for a few more years and when he's healthy he's had success in the majors. Plus he's a lefty that could fit in the pen and if one of our other starters faltered or were injured we could make use of him.

Not bad, you get yourself a package like Loewen, Bedard, and than a major league reliever and I could live. I think we could do better, but I'll admit that I think if healthy both Loewen and Bedard are good pitchers. Loewen has some filthy stuff but is still raw. He's had control problems but made some strides and can flat out blow away people.

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ Dec 23, 2005 -> 01:08 PM) Maybe the Sox should trade Garland to Seattle and get Jeremy Reed back and some bullpen help. Odd idea, but I love it. Sadly I really do. Reed would be a great fit for the Sox, but I think they are high on Anderson.

QUOTE(SoxFan1 @ Dec 23, 2005 -> 01:07 PM) I don't like that idea. He's had his glimpses but I wouldn't want to risk re-injuy, like Kalapse said. I'd put AP in instead. He's supposed to be 100%. The Bears weren't rushing him back and he's not suffering any effects supposedly. I have zero problem playing him. If we were rushing him back, that would be another story but the Bears were very very easy on him and let him get all the way back. Now thats he's healthy I'd play him.

QUOTE(Kalapse @ Dec 23, 2005 -> 12:39 PM) Harris said yesterday that he'll play vs the Packers. Benson on the other hand I'd assume will be held out, most likely for the rest of the regular season. Last I saw he was doubtful for Sunday. Benson practiced and will likely play. Supposedly if they clinch on Sunday, he's expected to get an extended look against Minny.

Harris is going to be a solid 2nd baseman. In fact, I already think he is.

http://www.futuresox.com/modules.php?name=...article&sid=242

QUOTE(WHarris1 @ Dec 23, 2005 -> 11:38 AM) Yeah I'm definitely a homer to say the #2 seed in the conference has a shot at going to the super bowl. Stop talking. Were better than the Cowpokes.....

QUOTE(hammerhead johnson @ Dec 23, 2005 -> 11:28 AM) Really? Angelo has established himself as a brilliant defensive scout. He gets plenty of praise, at least from those who have an opinion that matters. Of course, he's also a terrible scout when it comes to offensive talent. I don't know. Bradley, Berrian and Thomas Jones all look good. Jones is having a tremendous season and the Bears signed him to a very affordable deal. At the same time I think both Berrian and Bradley have flashed quite a bit of upside.