Chisoxfn

QUOTE(Milkman delivers @ Nov 14, 2005 -> 12:46 PM) A-rod deserved it more. I hate him and Ortiz, but he deserved it more. Arod >>> Ortiz. Lets not forget that Arod plays gold glove defense (even if he didn't win the award).

Khabi gave up some cheapiest against the Kings but must of played better against Edmonton. I was at the Ducks/Stars game last night and man do the Stars know how to move the puck and set up there offense. It was a thing of beauty to watch compared to the Hawks.

I got nothing but respect for Arod. I'm not the type of person that will hate a player for signing a contract that owners gave them. You can hate or knock your owner for offering the deal, but Arod and the players do nothing wrong. Why shouldn't they sign the highest contract out there (that fits there needs as well, such as location and other factors). We do the same in the real world. Just because they are doing it in a large scale (the $ amounts) doesn't mean its any different.

QUOTE(CWSGuy406 @ Nov 14, 2005 -> 02:34 PM) I think any Beane fan that tells you that he only looks at stats, and totally avoids tools, is a fool. Thats why he's the best of the sabermatric type GM's. Because he actually is willing to role with the punches. Everyone talks about him loving OBP, he didn't fall in love with OBP, he noticed that guys with high OBP's and OPS were not in demand at the time and he could get guys like Matt Stairs and company at a discount (people were paying a premium for other things). More recently there has been a shift in that trend and now OBP and OPS are becoming a premium and speed has been the bargain. Ken Williams jumped all over that this past off-season (well it wasn't just speed) but took advantage of it in a sense. You'll notice more teams factor speed and defense into the category. The same can be applied to the draft. Everyone mentioned Beane's love of college draft picks. He loved them because for a long time people were over-drafting high school players, which meant the college crop was deeper and one where you could get a better player with your pick. More recently thats tended to change a bit (or at least even out) and you'll notice Beane disciples (and Beane as well, but mainly Depodesta) go out and actually take a large amount of high school guys (other people caught onto the college thing and went heavy with that, leaving high school guys a better pick).

QUOTE(CWSGuy406 @ Nov 14, 2005 -> 02:34 PM) Jason -- It doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me, either, about Shea playing so neutral this year. Your theory/logic certainly makes sense. W/r/t Thomas, I'm not saying he's going to play again. But I think Piazza is going to ask for more guaranteed money than Frank will (maybe I'm wrong on that), and I think I'd rather have Frank on an incentive laden deal than Piazza with guaranteed cash. I'm sure some team will overpay for Piazza's services... Jackie -- I dunno, that may come to fruition, and maybe he just needs the 'days off' as a DH. But he hasn't been a really good hitter since 2003. Even if he does hit relatively well, I don't think it'll be much better than a .270/.350/.475 line. Don't get me wrong, that's an okay line -- I just think we can do a little better than that. Heck, if they're going to go on a route like that -- I'd much rather they go for Durazo. I think he'd come cheaper than Piazza (and Thomas for that matter), yet could still put up good numbers (provided, of course, he can bounce back from the TJ surgery). I think any Beane fan that tells you that he only looks at stats, and totally avoids tools, is a fool. My problem with Durazo is that he's plain and simple a Dh and unless your one heck of a hitter I'm not a fan of those type of DH's. That said if later on in the FA process he's sitting without a job, he could turn into a good option. Sometimes certain guys end up becoming great values because they just don't fit anywhere. This happened with Brad Fullmer back when he was with Anaheim (I'm talking a few years ago) and even Jose Guillen (who slipped through the cracks and signed a really reasonable deal). If Thomas was healthy I'd sign him, but right now I wouldn't and obviously (which I think has been mentioned a few times) you can't go with Frank and Durazo because that gives Guillen (a guy who loves depth) no options and would mean the Sox would have to carry less pitching (something he doesn't want to do).

QUOTE(Steff @ Nov 14, 2005 -> 01:13 PM) Schedule around...? And who's going this year? I'll be there as usual. Don't think the schedule is out yet, but I always assume about March 1st till the 26 or 27th.

QUOTE(southsideirish @ Nov 14, 2005 -> 02:20 PM) If everyone thinks North sucks then how the hell is he on the radio? Who listens to this guy. That is all I want to know. WHO LISTENS TO HIM? People do, people listen to Rome too. I can't stand either of them.

QUOTE(CWSGuy406 @ Nov 14, 2005 -> 02:11 PM) Wite, Jason -- I'm not buying the 'he played in Shea Stadium so his numbers are a little skewed' argument. First, bbr had Shea playing just below neutral (or, just a tiny bit as a pitcher's park) this year. If Shea Stadium was really taking away a bunch of homers from Piazza, he'd have a lot of doubles: he doesn't -- he had 23. With 19 homers. Next -- OPS+ accounts for that (park factors), and he still wasn't a very good hitter -- .251/.326/.452 is not the line you need out of a DH. Piazza, simply put, isn't a good option. At least with a healthy Thomas, you know you're going to get good production. The same can't be said (anymore) about Piazza. Why do you all just assume Frank is going to play again. There is no guarantee that he's gonna be back. Franks injury is VERY VERY serious and it has been re-occuring. Also, I don't need to look at stats to know that Shea is a pitchers park. The dimensions are spacious and the ball doesn't carry well there. They happened to have quite a few power hitters and there pitcher (namely the pen) tend to give up HR's. Sometimes the type of team you have plays into those stats. For example if a team had 6 or 7 30 HR guys and went to play in Dodger stadium you may get the stats to show up and say they were playing in a neutral stadium to maybe even a hitters stadium (especially if there team gave up a gazillion Hr's). We all know I'm not a big guy on stats. I look about 20% stats, 50% talent and about 30% into the salary (cause that is a definate factor, in fact it may be an even higher factor). I just don't think looking solely at stats does it. Hell I'm convinced that despite what all the Beane lovers say, they need to notice he does look at tools. If he didn't he'd of gotten some AAA stiffs that put up sick numbers in trades as opposed to the Dan Haren's of the world.

Abreu would be an awesome pickup. However, the Phils aren't going to just give him up. But if you could get a 3rd team to enter into the equation with Rowand, Marte and a good to very good prospect or two going to a 3rd team (which will in turn send the Phils one more piece they want) than I think you could get something to meshe. In fact, I think you could maybe turn a Rowand, Marte, Duque and good prospect or two (in a 3 team deal) for Abreu and a different left handed reliever (or something else that could help the Sox). Financially giving Duque in the deal will help the Sox take on some of Abreu's contract. The only thing is I really don't want to see Pods take over CF. The main problem is I don't see the Phils dealing Abreu, but if they can't unload Thome, than this could be their only option.

Offensively: 20-30 HR power (I think it will be more on the low end than the high) .260-.300 AVG (I think in the beginning it may not even be .260, but I do believe he'll turn into a .280ish hitter) 100 Plus strikeouts (early on we may see 130 or so) Defensively Strong, Accurate Arm Great Range Fluid Runner Baserunning Good speed (He'd be the 2nd fastest everyday player in the lineup this side of Pods) Could turn into a 15-20 stolen base guy The guy is a very good all around athlete and I'd say he has the ability to turn himself into a Torri Hunter type player. He doesn't have the pretty swing or the best eye, therefor I have a hard time seeing him ever turn into a great hitter. That said he has all the tools to be a plus defensive outfielder and should be a good hitter (a solid hitter with some pop). However, all that said, I don't think he's ready for a starting position and I would prefer to see him playing everyday in Charlotte for another few months. If he were to break camp with the Sox I'd like to see him play in a super sub role, ocassionally DH'ing, but giving Aaron, Scotty and Jermaine each time off (which should get him maybe 3 starts a week, possibly 4 considering how Ozzie likes giving guys rest). This should give him plenty of at bats to the point where he will be able to learn and make adjustments and be ready for a starting job in 2007 and if someone were to go down, he'd be ready to fill in this upcoming season.

QUOTE(Steff @ Nov 14, 2005 -> 02:08 PM) Uhhh.. you don't recall meeting him at Jimbo's...?? Thats why I said he was a nice guy

QUOTE(FGarcia34 @ Nov 14, 2005 -> 12:14 PM) On Rotoworld there is an article about possible trades and here were the ones involving the White Sox: Lyle Overbay - Brewers - Overbay is more likely to be traded than either Geoff Jenkins or Carlos Lee, but it looks like the Brewers are leaning towards keeping all three, at least until midseason. If they change their mind and deal Overbay, it’s not like they’d be risking everything on Prince Fielder being ready. They also have Corey Hart available to step in if Fielder falters. If they keep him now, the Brewers risk Overbay’s trade value declining as he gets more expensive. Trade possibility: To White Sox for OF Chris Young and RHP Sean Tracey Prediction: Stays Jon Garland - White Sox - It’s the same deal with Garland. Assuming no extension with the White Sox is reached, he will have just turned 27 when he becomes eligible for free agency next winter. If the White Sox lose Paul Konerko to the Angels or another team, using Garland as bait would be the best way to replace him. The Diamondbacks have talent to spare and would probably be the top candidates to land him should something happen. Trade possibility: To Phillies with C Francisco Hernandez for OF Bobby Abreu Prediction: Stays Hypothetically if these happened, which chances are they wont, this would majorly upgrade the White Sox offense. Goodbye Paulie but hello 2 stud players one of which is a perennial All-star and one has a cool name. But losing Jon seems out of the picture because we all know KW would not sacrifice pitching for hitting. So unless the phillies would accept Aaron instead of Jon this will never happen. But a guy can dream right. I throw up at the idea of a Chris Young and Sean Tracey deal for Overbay. Thanks but no thanks. I wouldn't deal Chris Young at least not for Lyle.

QUOTE(JUGGERNAUT @ Nov 14, 2005 -> 08:58 AM) Simply put offering Carl a new deal will cost the Sox far less than signing either Piazza or Nomar. Piazza to the Sox is pure fantasy. Carl will get 3-4 million, Piazza may only get 2 million although he could get some incentives. Nomar will probably get 4-6 million (if I were to guess) plus incentives.

This thread has been cleaned. Please go back to your regularly scheduled on the subject posting Oh and a timeout has been issued. I don't want to see threads constantly ruined. If you want to see a link, make one post, no need to make 18 posts about the subject and go on and on. I wish Dolgin nothing but the best. I only heard him a few times (since I'm an out of towner) but I enjoyed how he did prospect stuff and he was definately a nice guy. Best of lucky Bryan (Or Brian depending on the spelling)

Whisler lit up a summer league a few years back (Cape Cod league, IIRC) and was basically thought of as the best power hitting prospect in that league. However, he's never really done much with the bat and pitching wise I still think he's incredibly raw. The Sox basically have to totally develop him and I've never been a fan of the move. That said he has the ability to throw quite a few pitches, but I don't personally think he has any great pitch nor does he have great command. He's still a major work in progress and I'd like to see him get back to 100% as well.

I'll be doing some pieces once my break start, so that should help out a bit. I actually have a few things kind of starting up now.

QUOTE(Rowand44 @ Nov 13, 2005 -> 10:59 PM) I'd rather take a chance on Frank compared to Piazza, Mike hasn't swung the bat well for a while now, Frank proved in 04 he could still hit. Obviously the whole staying healthy part is going to be Franks main concern but I think if we can get him healthy, he can still swing that bat. I don't want any of them. If the Sox are going after Frank for a full time DH or Piazza as a full time DH, the club is going to be in trouble. I'm sorry, nothing Frank has done the past few years have given me any reason to think he'll come back from this injury and play 130 games.

QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Nov 13, 2005 -> 07:34 PM) The Nomar idea is something that might be worth looking into. However, he would DH for the majority, but Nomar might sort of go under the radar this off-season. I think there is still some gas left in the tank with Nomar, and maybe with him strictly being a DH, he could hit .290-.300 again.... Nomar is definatley a better option than Piazza. He's still a good athlete and showed late last season that he can still handle the bat. Once again your going after an injury proned guy and thats something I'd like to see the Sox stay away from.

QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Nov 13, 2005 -> 07:18 PM) We just came off winning the World Series. Were not trying to find magic in a bottle here and hoping for one more good year in Mike Piazza. Lets think bigger here folks, bigger. Im sure KW is. I'm totally with you on this thing bigger idea. That said, everyone wishing that Thomas will stay healthy and put up great numbers should realize Piazza is a more sure thing to stay healthy and at least put up average DH numbers. I'm not saying it would be a good move. That said, it wouldn't be a horrid move if no other options panned out. That said, if they lost Konerko and than signed Piazza as a DH, moved Dye to 1st and started Anderson everyday I'd be one pissed off fan.

QUOTE(CWSGuy406 @ Nov 13, 2005 -> 09:29 PM) Anyone notice how hard of a dip/decline Piazza is currently on? It's understandable -- he's a catcher, I'd assume that with all the moving they do behind the plate, their legs go pretty fast. Anyways, since and including 2000, his slugging %s have been -- 614, 573, 544, 483, 444, 452. His OPS+ are also on a steady decline -- 159, 150, 140, 124, 108, 103. He's barely a league average hitter now, and if I had to put money on it, I'd say that his numbers wouldn't be a whole lot better than last year, if at all. He'd be a slight upgrade over Carl Everett, but I'd rather just give Thomas another shot (or, platoon Gload and Anderson). Piazza was also playing in one of the better pitchers parks in baseball (shea). I think he'd be a better signing (considering he'll probably cost roughly the same as Thomas) because I think he's more likely to stay healthy (especially as a full time DH). People are writing off Piazza too fast, I think he has a solid year next season. I'm talking .280 20-25 HR, 80-90 RBI. That said, its a risk, but I'd rather sign Piazza than Thomas. I also think going with Piazza allows you the flexibility of giving him time off and getting Anderson playing time at DH and the other outfield positions in a super sub role. That said, I still want a serious upgrade at DH. Thomas/Everett would not be back if I were GM.

QUOTE(poorme @ Nov 13, 2005 -> 05:48 PM) i hope to hell he's ok. he's shown some flashes. i assume thomas jones will be gone next year. He's signed at a very affordable rate and will be back again next year. No reason not to. Plus you need to have depth and when you plan on playing smash mouth football its key to have not just one good back, but a couple and the Bears have that. In fact you could argue they have one very good back (Jones), one potentially great back (Benson) and one solid back (Peterson). But I may be over-rating all of them, cause I really think the oline deserves a lot of the credit (they rarely get the credit when an RB does good, but they always get the flack when an RB struggles). This year the Bears line has been one of the better ones in the league.

QUOTE(SoxFan562004 @ Nov 13, 2005 -> 03:00 PM) John Clayton was just on the ESPN Radio national show and said what a poster said a few posts above, it's far less serious than everyone thought, Benson was seen walking around in the lockerroom without crutches or any assistance. I was looking at the injury and it looked more like the type of movement that would cause a strain (not that I know anything, just based on watching all the different injuries via highlights the past couple years). At 1st I was really worried and it looked nasty, but it looked like everything was structurally alright and he was actually able to get some weight on it. I'm guessing its a 2-3 week thing. Luckily Jones and Peterson will be able to get a steady dose next week. The only thing that sucks was that Benson has having a really solid game, but Peterson came in and handled things.

Chicago isn't the 3rd largest market. As much as I'd like to be biased. Anaheim and LA both drew over 3 million fans. One at 3.4 the other around 3.6 and I assume the Padres did 3 million again as well. SoCal is a baseball hot bed right now. Thats just me commenting on Juggs: Boston New York Chicago

Aside from Chris Young, no one in the system has the power potential of Collaro. I still don't think that makes him top 10, but if he learns a little more discipline and continues to improve, he may turn into a pretty solid major leaguer. Oh tops on my list is Chris Young. Top 5 Chris Young Brian Anderson Daniel Haigwood Gio Gonzalez Ryan Sweeney

QUOTE(IlliniKrush @ Nov 10, 2005 -> 01:33 PM) So i'll be at the Notre Dame game Saturday, 10th row. Thanks grandma. Freaking awesome. I'm jealous. Hopefully you'll be watching an ND drubbing