Chisoxfn

Oh ya, I remember ya from one of the chats. I remember talking about Freebyrds with ya and how their burritos are the s***

Freddy is big, strong, and seems to be in pretty good shape. He may be the exatc kind of pitcher that JR feels comfortable making a long term financial investment in. I just hope it has the opposite result as the Jamie Navarro fiasco. The only good thing about that was when the Sox finally shipped his ass out and us fans were all able to enjoy the benefits in the 2000 season.

Here is a quote from pitcher Travis Blackley (a teammate of his from AAA): "All four pitches were strikes today," Blackley said. "It's nice when you've got that kind of accuracy with your pitches, that helped a lot. I like pitching to Ben, he calls a good game, he's big and solid behind the plate, he's just a huge zone to aim for. I like pitching to him. I like pitching here, too."

SoCal...hell, its not too often I'm this excited about the Sox. Anytime after a trade I get all antsy and when I saw Ben Davis name involved I thought, this really could be another sleeper that Kenny picked up. He seemed to be off everyones radars all day, so I figured I'd bring up some info on him and I'm not at all saying he'll be a stud, but he's got a chance.

Around the Horn: Catcher - Jan 19 2004 Take notes on what scouts and Melvin and others thought of Davis entering this season (that was just 3 months ago...well from the start of the season). However, I must of been wrong thinking he calls a good game, although I did see a few scouting reports that said he did so. He seems to have pretty good power potential though.

I know...what else can an insomniac do at 2:20 in the morning though

I put a lot of stock in calling a good game and I'm trying to find it, but I know I've read some articles probably a year ago with Mariners pitchers talking about how much they liked throwing to Davis.

2001 (135 games) = 36% 2002 (77 games) = 44% 2003 (72 games) = 35%

In conclusion, combine his 2002 2nd half with his 2003 1st half and you have a guy who hit .294 with 11 HR and 55 RBI in only 255 at bats. I'm intrigued in his potential. He's a better defensive catcher then Miguel (Thats right, I'm going out on a limb) and offensively he is probably a bit behind Miguel, but he isn't as far back as some of the numbers would suggest. Remember, Miguel's numbers are a little inflated by the fact he is mainly playing and hitting left handed pitching. He has struggled all season against righties, something that Ben Davis also has had trouble with historically.

Here is a little more info on him: 2003 Pre All Star Break: .294 AVG, 5 HR, 32 RBI, .333 OBP, .823 OPS (thats pretty darn respectable). Now double that out and he has 10 HR and 64 RBI, which isn't too shabby. He of course went into a big time funk. Actually at the dead half way point, he was hitting just over .300 for the Mariners. So in the 2nd half of last season he went into a funk. He hit just .140 in the 2nd half of last season (94 AB's). I should mention he had those 5 HR in only 153 at bats. IF you assume 500 at bats in a full season you would get about 16 HR's and 100 RBI's although I think that may be pushing it (especially the RBI totals). While further looking at Davis 2003 stats you'll notice he had only 2 poor months, August and September. He hit .250 or higher every other month. He also showed pretty good road splits (Well compared to his home splits) hitting .248 on the road overall. When looking at Davis 2002 season you'll see he hit an impressive .294 on the road with a .338 OBP, and a .822 OPS. After the break he hit .294 with 6 HR and 25 RBI in just 102 at bats. Over 500 at bats, this would project to a tad under 30 HR and once again quite a few RBI. Of course, this isn't to say he'd actually do those numbers. All I'm tyring to say is, this guy worked hard and has always been characterized as a good kid who has a tremendous arm (33% thrown out and 44% thrown out recently; 50% this year, but that was 2/4). He also is good at blocking pitches and has shown a good catchers ERA. He has also learned from a good fundemental catcher Dan Wilson. Manager Doug Melvin was frustrated with Davis struggles and it basically got him in the dog house this season. He started off pretty poor in Tacoma and has since really picked it up. If you ask me, we are getting a guy that could be a lot closer then we all think.

I'm still looking for some other articles. But this article can tell you he's had two halves in the major league where he has hit at a .294 clip and he's always shown a decent eye. I'd say the Sox may have a real sleeper on their hands. Oh ya, and a 44% gunning down runners clip is pretty damn impressive if you ask me. I also took a look at his catchers ERA and with the Mariners it was in the 3's. They have had a good staff, so I don't know what the teams overall ERA was in those years, but I think Davis was one of the guys they preferred throwing to. If Davis slowly works things out, the Sox may not be missing a catcher.

Its good to be Ben Davis - June 22, 2004

Well his previous start he finally started flashing some signs. Who knows whats up with him, but his velocity has been down in almost every one of his starts.

It always confuses the hell out of me.

Well, call it a 2 mill a year discount to play for Maggs then. I do think Cheat is right and he will get the largest contract ever signed by a pitcher in Franchise history. Hopefully he does better then the current holder of that honor (Jamie Navarro or at least I'm 99% sure thats who it is).

Plus count me as someone in the camp that thinks Garland is pretty damn good. He seems to have the luck Buehrle had most of last year, so I'm kind of predicting that he will have a Buehrle like 2nd half this year. I expect and we will see big things from Jon G in the second half of the season, imo. Oh ya, anyone know if Scho's injury could potentially be more serious then we think. I still think he could turn into a weak spot in the rotation. He won't be as bad as what the Sox had in the 5 slot, but he still isn't what I want if the race is close. Getting Russ Ortiz or another good pitcher, would make the Sox chacnes that much better to make the playoffs and remember, they can't win the series without first winning the division or the wild card.

I think 9 mill this year and next year, which makes him a definate no. The Sox should see what Davis and the current core can do. As long as the players can come up with the ocassional timely hit, drop the bunt, suceed in the hit and run, and of course call a good game while playing good defense, than that is satisfactory for now. IF they need more offense by the deadline, then they can address that. I'd say that the idea of Jones in CF, Rowand in RF (Borchard eventually in RF) and Ortiz joining hte pithcing staff with Juan Cruz in the pen is what intrigues me next (I will continue to say this, lol).

So what do you guys think to Garcia signing like a 4 yr 32 mill deal with maybe a club option for the 5th year. It seems to me like 8 mill a year would be a good deal for both sides.

Here is the thing, let Maggs walk or have Jones here this year and the next 3 years to me is a no brainer. The fact the Sox also get Russ Ortiz and Juan Cruz makes it more fantastic because it gives the Sox more good pitching, which is what they will need. I love Maggs, but we have a good offense and Jones, while not Maggs offensively, is a good offensive player that will fit in with other good offensive players in Chicago. Borchard, Rowand, Lee is an outfield that scares the hell out of me next year. Now having Jones, Lee and one of Borchard/Rowand play isn't quite as scary. Plus if the Sox say they can get Garcia signed then I expect it to happen relatively shortly. KW doesn't do contract negotitations, he just agrees to the finally terms and maybe has some ocassional involvment. From what i understand Rick Hahn is in charge of them, although Kenny and of course ownership have the final say. This means Kenny can still work the phones while Hahn can fully concentrate on getting Garcia inked long term. I want him here and I want him signed long term now.

I dunno, didn't KW give up on Rick White relatively quick as well as D'Angelo Jimenez. I mean, he stuck around with him for half a season and called it quits on him. Kw seems to admit his mistakes. The only guy he really stuck with was Todd Ritchie and Royce Clayton.

No, not if Garcia leads to the Sox to the playoffs. I don't want to sit back and watch. The Sox have done that for years (minus last year) and it hasn't gotten them somewhere. They are finally gonna try and grab the series by the horns and not wait for it to fall in their lap but go and get it. Who knows if it will work, but I like this approach a heck of a lot better. Plus, if you go out and make a push, then your gonna improve attendance, which bottomline is what its going to take to continue to make this club better and better (ie, higher payroll).

When it comes to the back end of the rotation, I think a quality start deserves a different value, but when it comes to the front of the rotation, it should have a higher value. Bottom line is, a quality start from your 4th and 5th is to basically keep you in the game and ocassionally win you a game, but from your frontline pitchers it is for them to go out and grab the game and win the game for ya.

I actually am in the camp that likes the deal and am now hoping the Sox can do the rumored Maggs deal. Resign Freddy, get Andruw and all of a sudden you have at least two guys that help this team now and will be here a few years from now. I also think the Sox would have a shot at resigning one of Elo/Ortiz at the end of the season meaning they'd have a rotation of Buehrle, Garland,Ortiz, Garcia (in no particular order) for the next few years, leaving one opening for someone like Cotts, etc. If their is one thing I've figured out in baseball, its that having good pitchers and some stability in the rotation, that can really help you be a juggernaut and some type of dynasty. Plus a rotation of Buerhle, Garcia, Elo, Ortiz and Garland would be some kind of nasty with Scho, Cruz, Politte, Marte, Shingo, Adkins, Cotts in the pen.

Its good to have ya back Matt and you missed a pretty wild day. From the Andruw Jones/Russ Ortiz rumor to the Sox win, to the Freddy Garcia deal and of course my Cal State Fullerton Titans winning it all!!!!

Hey Brando, how are things going with your acting?