Chisoxfn

Welcome to Soxtalk I know exactly what your talking about in regards to this season. I'm still taking everything a day at a time, but it just feels special and almost every day the Sox make my smile just a little bit bigger

Also wanted to add if the Sox were looking for a left handed reliever Scott Eyre (former Sox) wouldn't be a bad pickup from the Giants. He's pitched in 44 games this year with a 2.80 ERA and has given up just 23 hits in 35.1 innings. Also averaging just over a strikeout per inning. He does walk guys though (19).

Its just a rehash of the Southtown article. However, I can't say I'd give up Bobby Jenks because I Think he can help the team now, plus when your keeping your payroll down and are already spending big bucks in your starting rotation, I think its apparent you got to develop relievers from within (cause you can't afford to go out to FA for both, imo). Cotts and Jenks can be two of the better relievers in baseball and the Sox will be able to control them for a while. Of course Politte and Hermy were pretty nice FA pickups, lol. On a sidenote, Alou keeps talking about how good the Giants pen will be next year. I do think the Giants will have some interest in Willie Harris, especially since I think Ray Ray will be traded (he's having a good year too).

First off if the Sox could deal for Schmidt and Vizquel you do it. Deal Willie Harris, Brandon McCarthy, Ryan Sweeney and one more good to solid pitching prospect (or if they want something else not named Chris Young or Brian Anderson) plus a guy like Baj.

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ Jul 7, 2005 -> 09:12 AM) I was reading somewhere were it was believed Arizona is scouting TB. I guess they are trying to get Baez. I don't think the Dbacks and Sox are good trade partners. The Diamondbacks are pretty happy with Javier or at least I think they are and to be honest, I don't see the Sox going hard for Javier. Kenny wants to make a splash and while I know he wanted Javier pretty bad in the past, I don't think he's the type of guy that would put the Sox over the top. Plus Kenny isn't going to deal much from the major league roster. I could see one reliever getting dealt (if Jenks kicks total butt) but aside from that the only way they trade a reliever is if they added someone like Wagner, Guardado, etc via trade. Now Willie on the other hand, I could see him getting dealt to a team like the Giants.

QUOTE(Rowand44 @ Jul 7, 2005 -> 09:11 AM) Have you seen him pitch recently?? If so what did you think of his stuff? I saw his last start where he got bombed but I was impressed with his stuff, imo you'll see him really start to improve here in the next few weeks. I didn't see his last start but I saw you talking about how he pitched pretty well despite the stats. The big thing I have noticed is that his secondary stuff looks there. The only thing is he's struggling with his velocity (but that could definately come back as his arm gets closer to 100%). At the same time when his command is on (and he had been rolling up until that previous start) he's still dynomite. He has good movement and is a total beast. Like I say I'd trade a few of the Sox top prospects for him, but I'd also be quite interested in Omar. I love Uribe to death but Omar is a leader that could help this team while Uribe could turn into a super utility guy giving the Sox incredible depth. Plus he can spell Crede at 3rd at times. I don't necessarily have a problem with it and I don't think Omar is the kind of guy that would have any type of negative impact on chemistry. On top of that I really think he'd help this team down the stretch and hopefully in the postseason as well. Obviously he's signed for a year too long, but whose to say the Sox can't acquire him for this year and than trade him off to someone else later on. Omar is hitting .303 in a pitchers park. Drop him to the 9 spot or even slide him to the 2 slot, moving Guchi down, regardless, it would give the Sox a little bit more pop and we all know he can play D (so can Uribe though). It also gives the Sox an extra weapon if anyone goes down (knowing you can plug Uribe in at any of the infield positions). The move would spell the end for Willie though because right now Ozuna >>>> Willie.

QUOTE(quickman @ Jul 7, 2005 -> 06:37 AM) Cotts pitched two night in a row. AZ scouting, good trade bait for a starter. Not trying to start anything so please everyone calm down. He's young, pitching well, and the Sox are looking for a starter and AZ looking for bullpen help. Good god, I'll puke if the Sox deal Cotts. You don't trade him, the guy is so freaking good. He's the best reliever this club has next to Politte and Hermy and he has the ability to be even better.

QUOTE(JimH @ Jul 7, 2005 -> 05:58 AM) Everybody is looking at everybody, it's the nature of major league baseball two weeks before the trading deadline. I agree with you, I think the Giants thing still has legs, and I also believe KW has Plan B (and maybe even C, D, and E) in place. I tend to think the Sox are in a holding pattern with the Giants and I also think there is at least some smoke to the whole Vizquel/Schmidt possibilities. Both would be very nice addition to this club, but the question for Schmidt is the cost. I still think Schmidt has a lot left in him and this is his first season of not being an ace in the past couple. As long as he has a clean bill of health, I'd pick him up. However, I'd make damn sure if I gave up Bmac/Anderson and one other prospect that I'd be getting Omar as well.

QUOTE(Rowand44 @ Jul 7, 2005 -> 08:57 AM) I was just going off of what bham said since he's seen him pitch the most and he never mentioned the change but maybe since all of his other pitches were so impressive he jsut didn't feel need to mention it. Well I also think your onto something in terms of him giving up or rarely using certain pitches since moving to the bullpen. His main arsenal would be the FB, Yacker, and Sinker. If he pitches well I think you'll see the Sox slowly start working with him on refining his change and getting it out there as well, however, the Sox philosphy is typically to not really mess with a guy when he first comes up. They'd like a guy to be able to get comfortable and than work a bit with him during that offseason as well as spring training. I also think you'll see Brandon sporting a cutter this spring. The Sox didn't want to do much this spring cause it was kind of the first time around, but now I think they'll agressively work on him because they feel he has a very bright future (rightfully so) and now he's had some time up.

Welcome Aboard Always great having another Sox fan aboard

QUOTE(BlackBetsy @ Jul 7, 2005 -> 08:28 AM) Yes, Jenks does have 99 mph fastball. But the only thing you need to do to hit a 99 mph fastball is to time it. Ask Paul Konerko. He took turned a Matt Anderson 100 mph fastball around real quick in the 10th inning one game. But that curve is filthy. The last pitch he threw was redickurous - it nearly made a 90-degree angle into the ground five feet in front of the plate and the batter swung at it! If Jenks is going to be dominant, it'll be because of that yakker. The other nice thing is that it looks like Jenks fastball has some pretty good movement, where Andersons was a lot more straight. Of course your dead on BB, if Jenks can't get anything else over for a strike, than hitters would be able to hit his FB. However as long as he snaps off a few curves and gets ahead of batters, he will be unhittable. Now we get to see whether that will happen

QUOTE(Rowand44 @ Jul 7, 2005 -> 08:27 AM) We haven't seen his plus change because he doesn't have a change. Jenks has a change or at least he did back in the Angel organization. He also used to dab with a slider. The funny thing about Jenks was he almost had what you'd call 4 plus pitches as a starter and thats why so many guys really liked him. IIRC the Angels organization wanted him to take some pressure of his arm and he kind of stopped using the slider. I'm not sure if he throws it much at all anymore. As far as the change goes, its still an inconsistent pitch but I know it was something he worked on a lot in the Angels system. Once again can't speak too much about how often he used it in Bham, but I don't think it was near as much as he did in Anaheim. I'm assuming since he's in the pen he realized you just go with your couple very best pitches. However, this guy could be the next Gagne, especially if he mixed in a decent change every once in a while. Of course the key to him will be command and health.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Jul 7, 2005 -> 06:51 AM) Right...come on-its not like it was Tommy-john or anything. He is throwing the ball fine in his rehab, and is gaining velocity. You dont think he has the ability to close games? All it takes it two fastballs and a splitter. The ankle is just as important to a pitcher as the arm is. Without a healthy ankle Curt will never be a semblance of his old self. It would be like pitching on a bum shoulder. Its just too difficult to plant and get all the power if the ankle isn't what it once was. Now I'm sure Curt is still regaining strenght in the ankle, but there is zero guarantee that his ankle will ever be what it was and that could have a big time impact on the Curt Schilling Boston gets this year. At the same time Curt could very well get stronger and stronger (his ankle) and eventually be the same old guy.

QUOTE(BHAMBARONS @ Jul 6, 2005 -> 10:41 PM) I was impressed had some control issues but that was it. (The kid throws lots of change ups) Ya, its supposed to be his best pitch. I'm think he also has a pretty good curve or slider, but can't remember which at the moment. Definately does a lot to keep guys off balance. He's probably one of my favorite prospects.

QUOTE(Rowand44 @ Jul 6, 2005 -> 10:38 PM) I have not seen Tyler pitch but he has a better arm then Gio?? No doubt about it. I'm talking about power arm of course. Lummy has an outstanding fastball with some good movement on it. Gio has the better curve, but I have more questions about Gio than most. Of course they are mainly because of potential durability problems, but I also think he needs to be careful that he doesn't rely too much on the curve because at the major league level hitters won't chase his curve and he'll have to be able to spot his fb and change (which I've heard are pretty good at times). The thing that kills me about Lummy is he's barely been healthy since joining the org. This is just my random opinions. I also happen to think Sean Tracey has the best arm in the org this side of Bobby Jenks (in terms of minor league prospects).

Hey Bham, I don't have the box score up but I was gonna ask you how Haig pitched tonight. I know he was slated to start (I'm assuming he did) and was going to see how he looked (this was his bham debut IIRC).

QUOTE(minorsfan @ Jul 6, 2005 -> 07:32 PM) Looks like you are right.. I think they may have some troubles if they have more games that they need to rely on the relievers. With Meaux out and Jenks to Chicago... so far it seems they haven't received anyone to help fill the gaps (Tom???). Only Reynoso (who gave up 2HRs, 3 ER in 8th with a 2 run lead), Pollok (walk off 2 run HR with a 1 run lead) and Lamura in the pen. A little short, no???? Corwin Malone will now be pitching out of the pen with Haigwood replacing him in the rotation. The move is nothing against the way Malone is pitching, rather a way for the Sox to take things slow with Malone. IN fact they are quite pleased with Malone's progress thus far. But your right on the pen being short right now.

QUOTE(danman31 @ Jul 6, 2005 -> 09:32 PM) It's too early to tell. The 2004 draft is looking a lot worse than it did going into the year. Whisler is struggling mightily, Lumsden hasn't pitched all year, and Fields isn't thriving like we'd hoped. With that said, Lucy is looking better and the other top picks are looking even better (Gio, Liotta). Ultimately you can't say until 5 years down the road, but I still like the 04 draft better talent wise. 04 was a good draft. Only pick I hated and still hate was the Whisler pick. I've seen him pitch and he has the ability to throw a lot of pitches and he's got a good arm, but I just don't see any one real good pitch nor does he have the command. Of course he's in the lower levels for a reason and everyone knew he was raw. I know the Sox like his potential a lot and I guess we will see. The guy I probably like the most of that draft class pitching wise is Lumsden. He's got the best left handed arm in the system when healthy. Looking forward to a week or two from now when he rejoins the bullpen and eventually a rotation.

Happy Birthday Brandon. Hope you have a good one

QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Jul 6, 2005 -> 09:05 PM) It is very possible this could be an auditon for a trade, very possible, but I dont think that will be the case. However, he could almost be a centerpiece to a big time trade. If I were another team, I'd have to say of all the guys in the system, I'd demand Jenks, Young and than McCarthy. I'd also take Tracey over Gio and Anderson over Sweeney. In fact Anderson could basically get pushed up into the A list, although I'd take Young over Anderson (if I were the opposing GM). Thats just my perspective on what I'd be doing if I were another team.

QUOTE(sox-r-us @ Jul 6, 2005 -> 09:37 PM) Ironically that makes it even now because I am still mad over Varitek getting in as the Last Man Vote over a White Sox player a few years back (Cannot remember the White Sox player who did not get in because of that.....might have been Frank or Paulie) I'm pretty sure it was Paulie. I think Paulie has been in the last man once and Frank was in it once as well.

QUOTE(longshot7 @ Jul 6, 2005 -> 09:37 PM) Way to go, guys!! Since getting booted from the other site, I have come to enjoy Soxtalk a lot. Have they ever had an on-air mention? and I was on pins and needles for Scotty - it had to have been a landslide. He deserves to be there and we came through for him! Go us!! This was definately a 1st for being on a game. I know SoxNet got a few mentions and Soxtalk has had some on the radio (mainly from call-ins) but thats about it.

QUOTE(Kalapse @ Jul 6, 2005 -> 09:29 PM) That's exactly what I've been thinking but it will also bring people here who didn't know that Soxtalk existed that might actually know a thing or two about Baseball. Exactly, the bad ones will be weeded out quickly but I'm sure we'll get plenty of good posters and readers from the shoutout that will help make the board even better and more knowledgeable.

QUOTE(Chisoxfn @ Jul 6, 2005 -> 09:25 PM) Whats Sports Page? Nevermind, I should just learn to read on in the thread

QUOTE(Kalapse @ Jul 6, 2005 -> 07:36 PM) They just mentioned Soxtalk.com on Sports Page. Whats Sports Page?