Chisoxfn

I knew it wouldn't take long for heathers reaction...now i don't want to know what you do with that pic

Likely 4.5 mill after arbitration. Green is a good defensive outfielder, it just doesn't make sense to move him to first, although your right he has said he'd move. I think the Dodgers would prefer keeping him in right. They wanted to move him to left cause Burnitz was whining. Burnitz sucks, especially if you stuck him in right...I think that shows what the Dodgers braintrust is working with...ie they are really idiots

Ok...thread is now closed and a poll with all the nominations will be created and will be up for 5 days..after that the top 3 will be the first members of the Hall of Fame

There I am

Most likely because they may need to move Perez's contract and in moving him, then they can take on and get a good power hitter. If I were them I'd go with the cheaper route and keep the pitching, but Perez doesn't get along with some of the players there because of how upset he got with the run support and heartless play of some guys...I think Green was one of them. Wasn't it perez who would of had a no hitter had Green not half assed a play last season (Arguably) and then perez went off saying thats why this team can't produce or something like that. He also doesn't get along with Tracy. perez seems to have a lot of fire though.

Hankins is definately opening up his possibilities as an uber utility man. Thats going to definately have some value, especially when the Sox carry someone like Sandy who has a tendency to get hurt. It can be a way to carry three catchers, without kind of carrying three catchers.

As a gm, I'd be very aware of it and scared out of my mind of it. For that reason I wouldn't be a huge fan of taking him longterm. If Vlad stays away from the Yanks, then I seriously believe you'll see the Yanks make a big push at Magglio...possibly finding a way to get Soriano and Johnson..with the Sox not needing to give up a top top prospect.

I'd say a package of Rauch, Magglio and Borchard could possibly land you those two...but when you mix in Konerko, I think it makes it harder. The thing is the Yanks have two good outfield options in Sheff and Vlad. If Vlad stays with the Expos then it could get interesting cause the Yanks could make arguments to take Maggs over Sheff because he's younger, better defensively and has a much better attitude. I think if Vlad stays, which is something I think will happen, then the Ordonez to Yanks rumors will really heat up and they could just get them to overpay. I know the Yanks have scoffed at the demands the Dbacks have for Schilling which is Soriano and Johnson. The question is, would an outfielder that is gonna be there a lot longer potentially be worth it to them. Schilling is quite the risk...although he's also an ace, but at 36 the question is for how much longer. If Vlad signs and things heat up, the Sox could maybe squeeze quite the deal out of the Yanks and land those two. If thats the case i'd make that deal in a heartbreak, deal Konerko and Borchard to the Dodgers for Perez..and keep Lee, Soriano and Thomas as your "heart of the order" and I'd still think Cameron could be a great option in center but use wsf's idea of the outfield with Reed/Rowand in right, Lee in left and Cameron in center. That would mean you stick Soriano at 2nd though, meaning you need to get a leadoff hitter cause I don't think Soriano should leadoff. Still I also forget you got Johnson in the middle of the order too. That to me would be the sweetest deal, especially in all the financial relief.

I'd rather get absolutely nothing in return, which I think in the end could be a viable option...cause the Mets could take him and try working with him. If it pays off he will appreciate it and give them a discount and they are set with a close and didn't give up much more then a hill of beans. Otherwise they eat the contract which they can afford to do and they don't have a long term deal on their hands.

Well if it gets Buffy to the Sox games...it may be a good rumor to start

Considering how busy they are gonna be trade wise, I think its gonna be hard for them to make much of a splash early in free agency. The key for the Sox will be to unload Koch/Konerko and one of Lee/Maggs. I am not involved in the contract situation, but if I think I could get Maggs at around 8 or 9 mill for 4 years and maybe give him some incentives like an MVP is an addition 2 mill ro something like that to give him the ability to make more...then I'd keep him cause he can really be a cornestone of an offense and put him with Thomas and I'd be comfortable especially with someone like Cameron and Crede around that and then Reed, some youngsters and a leadoff hitter. For Ponson, I wouldn't give him that kind of money and I'm a huge Ponson fan...I'd rather wait and see what solid pitcher is out there and grab him as well as getting Odalis, plus Lee could very well be the trade bait in getting your 2nd starter.

Lol....so your saying we should bring silver bullets to Sox games I can see the next PR scare of the Sox...crazed tries to shoot Maggs with a silver bullet claiming he's a vampire.

Brian Giles is one player that I'd say is very comparable with Magglio, except a righty. Give or take a few things, but Giles signed a deal for a small market team longterm at about 8 mill. Now some things were different then and he wasn't a proven star, but he's not really a star right now and I'd say his contract is more then fair. Giles and Maggs aren't very marketable in a sense and they are just short of being superstars. I think we'll really be in for a shock..especially the players when they see some of the salaries the big name players get. Colon will be the only one that breaks the bank, imo. Hearing that Matsui would only get about 5 mill tells me that things are definately taking more of a downgrade then last year. Mix that with an extraordinary amount of players available and there will be a lot of bargains out there latter in free agency which is why a team trying to sell some guys is gonna be best off doing it quick, cause later on people are gonna find some bargains and just say, hey, will go with this.

That could be...this could also be a ploy by the Sox to kind of call out Maggs or put some pressure on him in a sense saying, fine we'll move ya. Were not gonna reach those demands so quit thinking so ridiculous, although I highly doubt it. I can't agree more though...Maggs isn't a superstar, he put up basically Carlos Lee numbers...give or take. Lee is gonna get like 6 mill a year or so, how much better is Maggs...really, just a mill or two better, imo. Right now his defense isn't declining, imo. I think this was possibly his best defensive year of his career. I was really impressed with him out there.

Right now the reports are Vlad may only find 12 mill a year and thats probably gonna keep him with the Expos. If Vlad is only worht 12 mill a year, then I have Maggs worth at least a few mill less cause Vlad is quite the player. And Sheff will only get like 10 mill and I presume it will be less and well he's also a better player then Maggs at this point. Maggs is good, but when Vlad and Sheff gets less then Maggs thinks his worth, it will be a real wake up call. Now would someone maybe pay 9 or 10 mill for Maggs, maybe on the open market, but I don't see him getting anymore then that if he tests free agency.

I'd say Dreifort and Brown are two contracts they are stuck on and somehow they don't project that type of stuff, but I agree they could get it done. I think their quandry is since they've gotten stuck on some of the pitchers they have offered big bucks too, has led them to wonder whether its worth giving a pitcher a long term deal at huge bucks, especially at a position that has a very short expectancy cause usually closers are 3 or 4 years and then out.

Creepy in what way? I am with ya all along, I think he's an 8 mill a year player. How he comes up with 15 mil is propostorious but at the same time the White Sox seem to be one of those teams that hasn't figured out the salaries in baseball are inflating at a pretty big rate and only stars are gonna get big bucks. Maggs is good, not quite a star..I'd love to have him around at 8 mill a year, even 9. He's productive, a good guy and can do the little things. But where he comes up with 14 mill, nuts simply nuts. I gotta believe after he sees what Sheff and Vlad get (Like 10 mill and 12 mill respectively; I wonder if Sheff even gets that) then he'll figure out what his value is and the Sox can get him signed longterm and Maggs can have his future secured and never have to worry about money again. And with Jose, I'm gonna go on the belief that Kenny had an idea that Matsui wasn't gonna be out there and knowing that he figures Jose will be very marketable when the time comes, so instead of losing him for nothing, he's gonna be able to get something valuable in return, maybe even someone like Itzuris or whoever who can be a long term solution at shortstop and come at a cheap price.

There were rumors floating in season that the Dodgers would do it in order to free up the money to sign Nomar.

I wasn't one that roasted ya. I've annoited Prior in that category for a while. I may of said let him pitch, but i do believe I've always said only injuries woulds top him from a few cy Youngs, but I definately remember that debate. Overhyped yes, but Wood on the most part was huge in the playoffs and dominating. But even against the Cubs, if you keep it close, turn it over to your pen which kicks butt and then tests out the Cubs crappy pen, well I'd take those chances.

Well the best rotation in baseball has got to be the Cubs, especially if the Yanks lose Pettite, Rocket and then Boomer goes elsewhere or retires. The Sox still have Elo (If he pitches like last year...thats an ace...but no guarantees...of course at the same time there is no guarantee that Colon wins 20 which we all assumed entering this year and people have assumed that many times. Show me a staff 5 strong with options in case of injuries (Ie..Wright, Scho, Cotts, Rauch) and then I'll be impressed with the chances of making the playoffs cause once your there anything CAN happen. A rotation of Elo Buerhle Perez (Whose pretty good, imo) Garland Insert 5th (Sign or Trade) but I want a quality pitcher, not an ace Thats a team with a few potential aces (I'd list the 4 guys all capable of throwing a dominant start or two..who knows if it will happen but they all got the stuff and they will keep ya in games). Mix that with a strong strong pen and your definately in position to go somewhere. Have a great defense and now your really talking...have great baserunners and some guys that can make things happen with the bat (hit and run...go with the ball...basically good situational hitters) and your gonna have a team ready to compete for it all, imo. An ace would be nice but not many teams have the luxury of having a few aces. Heck, the Sox had 3 aces last year and where did it get them?

As far as the payroll from my above example. About 34 million in the offense...depending...kind of a high estimate. This is definately worrisome, BUT, move Jose which wouldn't be too bad and figure a way to get Itzuris and you save 4 mill and I think once you renegotiate with Magglio, you'll save about 4 mill so eventually you'd get it down to about 26 mill. Pitching Wise Perez - 4.5 Elo - 4.5 Buehrle - 4 Garland - 2 Other Starter - 2 (Should be plenty to get a solid guy; if you deal Lee u could get a quality young pitcher that is still signed for cheap too) 17 mill. So thats now 51 mill before moving Jose and renegotiating with Magglio. But it figures Buehrle signing an extension and Garland signing one. U could be a little cheaper if you just go through arbitration. So now budgeted isn't much for the pen, but u have Marte, Wunsch, Scho and Wright for about 4 mill meaning you have 3 to add two guys. Do some interesting maneuvering and you could get in around 58 mill and then if ya clear the 8 mill you'd be in around 52 mill to 54 with all your relievers and figure a little extra in salary you have to take and that gives ya about an extra 4-5 mill to pick up in trades. I call it viable. If Cameron won't come for that price, then look to insert Jose cruz Jr in left field for cheap and play Reed in center (Cruz could be had for 2.5 mil or so saving you a little more). This is a way to keep Maggs and Thomas together and have most of hte team signed for the next few years so you don't really have to worry near as much the next few seasons about going over budget.

Gagne has been rumored to be on the block because of his demands...likely 10 mill a year. Don't think they will trade him this year, but possibly next year.

On the plus side, KW wasn't the GM at that time. It was wrong how he was treated, but kind words and the ability to play in a big market and get on a ton of highlight shows could be reason enough for him to come back. Especially because I believe the Sox have a manager he'd like to play for. I think a lot of fun to watch players will like to come to the Sox. Of course you have to get JR and KW to be smart with the money they have and try to get JR to pony up a bit more, but the Sox could dfeinately position themselves to have an OF of Reed, Cameron, Maggs next year and afford to have good pitching too. And do it at like 53 mill. I swear I could at least throw so many ideas to KW and just let him and his people here them out so at least they see where soem of us are coming from. My wish list include Perez...another starter along with Perez...two quality relievers....Mike Cameron. Thats it.

I thought he was last year...but I don't have the sheet on me.

I'd like to see the Sox move Konerko, Koch and even Lee to clear payroll to keep Magglio and give him a new contract at 9-10 mill a year. Hold out for him to figure it out right now and just put the team in position where they can pay Maggs a little over market value for the season. When he sees what Vladdy and Sheffield get he'll quickly realize he better take a fair offer cause the economy is only going to continue to correct itself for the next few years (By economy I mean baseball economy and deflating towards what players should be making). By moving Konerko...the toughest of the tasks then you open up a place to bring someone like Robin for a year to play with a righty and kind of platoon at first with Thomas DH'ing and can have Maggs in the cleanup spot and your platoon in the 5 hole with Crede in the 2 hole. Lee brings you starting pitching and then I'd like to see the Sox who would need two out fielders, go after Cameron for like a 3 yr 10-12 mill deal to play center and plan on Reed/Rowand in left. If you need to use Borchard to get rid of Konerko for Perez you do it. Then dangle Lee for a legit leadoff hitter or another starter and then the Sox don't even have to look at free agency other then to add a vet or two to the bench as well as a vet or two to the pen. Think of this Trade for a leadoff hitter (using Lee) - 2nd Baseman (could just sign Alomar/Vina and trade Lee for another starter) Jeremy Reed Frank Thomas Magglio Ventura/Righty FA (maybe a Reggie Sanders or Rondell White; whoever is hanging around) Mike Cameron Jose Valentin Joe Crede Miguel Olivo Thats got some speed throughout the lineup. Only Thomas and Crede are slow and everyone else can flat go. You would have some k's, but most of the guys that whiff are also patient. Ventura, Thomas, Cameron is improving at that. Your leadoff guy, Reed, Magglio likely won't k (well Reed won't once ready, imo..so I probably shouldn't project that). Defensively damn..that outfield could flat get to the ball and in the infield we all know Robin can pick it at first and everything else would be solid. Find a way to move Jose and get Itzuris and your still in good shape but free up 5 more mill.