Chisoxfn

QUOTE (GreatScott82 @ Nov 14, 2008 -> 01:26 PM) There is no way Fields gets the ax on a starting position again this year. Either he starts with us or he gets traded. With guys like Getz, Beckham and maybe Viciedo waiting in the wings, it may make sense to trade him for the right price. I'm going to hope that if he sticks around that the Sox really know that his health issues were the cause of his dissapointing season. I still am not the biggest FIelds fan because he has holes in his swing that will prevent him from being a perennial all star (unless he hits 45+ hr's a year) because he'll never hit for that great of an average. He does have good speed though for a 3Bman, upside (as much as I hate on the guy, he has the tools and is cheap and affordable).

Varitek is a good leader but the Sox have AJ and I don't see Varitek taking a backup job (plus there is the whole issue with them both being lefties). I do think a team could get lucky on Varitek with him rebounding to an extent but he's definitely on the downside of his career.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Nov 15, 2008 -> 08:17 PM) The Brewers are reversing course and apparently not going to spend big bucks on a FA closer...not even B. Lyon. They feel that they've been "relatively" successful in the past with the likes of Cordero, Turnbow, Torres. Perhaps they also feel a little burned by spending money to give Eric Gagne one more chance to prove he's not the same pitcher he once was. I would honestly think if the Brewers were going to try and compete the Sox and Brewcrew could work a blockbuster deal involving Jenks. Brewers have a lot of nice chips and you could even expand to go after Prince Fielder (although Fielder's value is > Jenks in my book).

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Nov 15, 2008 -> 08:11 PM) Why is that so tough to imagine? Bobby was a 24 year old AA pitcher when he replaced Hermanson in '05. Did this comment come from the Sox org? I also don't think that we should compare Jenks situation with Links in the sense that they don't have the pure stuff. However, Link does have a nice fastball but I don't think I'd describe him of having "closer" stuff. I do think he has the potential to start as one of the last guys in the pen and eventually develop into a set-up type guy.

QUOTE (shipps @ Nov 16, 2008 -> 05:58 AM) Yeah that sounds great,although I might not wanna take Mar being I see him all the time now.I didnt know you still had that place in Arizona.Is it near Glendale? 25 minutes away. It's in Mesa. Rented most of the year but we always keep it free for a couple weeks in March so when we go to spring training we got the place to stay.

QUOTE (shipps @ Nov 15, 2008 -> 10:24 AM) Have you purchased any type of package deals when you went?Like a hotel+game tix kind of deal.Is there anything like that as an option? Just come out when I come out and get Scalise to go...you'll have a free place to stay at and all you'll have to cover is tix and airfare (I'll have my car there).

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Nov 14, 2008 -> 11:17 AM) I would trade both of them for him and a pen prospect to be quite honest. He would be a perfect fit for us considering I think Danks will be a corner guy when he comes up and Rasmus is a plus fielder with a plus plus arm in CF. I disagree with you. Danks has better defensive tools, whether your talking about CF or the Corner outfield spots.

Hopefully he gets claimed and the Sox can clear that cash.

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Nov 14, 2008 -> 10:27 AM) By "dangling" do you mean "Mark Gonzales just threw his name out there because he knows nothing of the Cardinals Organization"? The Cardinals were unwilling to even talk about moving Rasmus just 4 months ago when better players were being offered up for him, they're not going to relinquish him now for 1-2 years of Dye and his 8 figure salary, Rasmus is far too valuable to that organization. Rasmus is far too hyped by that org, but you are right in stating that they will never give him up or it would take a lot more than his true value to get him.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Nov 14, 2008 -> 10:14 AM) Whatever you are on, I will have some. We have Dye probably under control for 2 more seasons and he's been one of the most productive outfielders in baseball since putting on a White Sox uniform. Rasmus is a toolsy prospect that is a stage or two more advanced than Jordan Danks. Danks is actually a better athlete and while there is a ton of hype over Ramsus I think people should take a look at his stats cause they aren't exactly dominant. I'm not saying he doesn't have the tools, I'm just saying that he isn't a sure fire prospect (nor is Jordan Danks) where as Dye is a borderline all star year in year out. That has value and that value is more than Rasmus on his own. Say the Dodgers lose out on Ramirez, I'd much rather put together a package for Kemp. Kemp is a far better prospect than Rasmus and has had a good deal of success at the major league level already and has fallen out of love a bit in LA. I'd be thrilled to get Rasmus because of the tools he brings but again, I'm not doing it for Dye straight up (albeit I should factor in that the Sox would be able to do something awful nice with that 12M in cash).

He'd be a nice fit, but I wouldn't trade Dye straight up for Rasmus. I would probably trade a combination of Dye & Javy for a package involving Rasmus, a pitching prospect, and Ankiel. Rasmus is also a bit overhyped, imo. Very talented in terms of tools but he hasn't necessarily dominated the minors.

Really enjoyed role models. Good movie to take your girlfriend too (assuming she can take a few crude jokes) because its a comedy with a solid story.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Nov 13, 2008 -> 09:40 AM) So, the 2 supposed "go here if you're ever in Philly and want a cheesesteak" places are Geno's and Pats. Pats is better but if you want to be a big you can just get one of each as they are diagnoally across the street from each other.

I loved the attitude OC brought.

Depends, if you moved Jenks I wouldn't be opposed to it. But it depends on the guaranteed years and price.

QUOTE (YASNY @ Nov 14, 2008 -> 01:11 AM) Some of you are jumping the gun here. It's hardly a foregone conclusion that he will sign with the Sox. This is 1000% true. Until it happens I don't count on anything.

I don't know, Kenny and Ozzie both love Paulie to death. He gets frustrated at times but I've never seen him call out a teammate not named Frank Thomas in the media. He has his fire (ie, when he gets out) but as a whole he's a big time professional in the clubhouse.

QUOTE (DBAHO @ Nov 14, 2008 -> 08:50 AM) I think at least now they're taking steps to rectify that, and our draft haul this year was probably the best it's been for about 5 seasons at least. Still I'd like to get them more involved in Latin America. I don't disagree that they've made progress the past two drafts, but there is a much longer track record of failure. Kenny has done a great job of selling his prospects at high values though.

QUOTE (kjshoe04 @ Nov 14, 2008 -> 06:54 AM) Can I ask why everyone thinks Jordan Danks will be ready for a starting job in 2010? The guy is a phenomenal athlete who is a better wood bat player. I don't know if he'll be ready in 2010 or not, but one things for certain the guy has the tools to be a Grady Sizemore like player (a bit less power, but that the type of all around athlete he is). Again I'm speaking purely from a tools standpoint and I'm also a guy that has drooled about Danks since the Sox initially drafted him and continued to do so after seeing him play in college multiple times (in person and on tv).

QUOTE (thomsonmi @ Nov 13, 2008 -> 09:25 PM) I know that the whole idea of sites like this is essentially to second guess everything our GM does, but what the hell does Kenny Williams need to do to gain the respect of the folks who post on this cite. As best as I can tell, the tone towards the moves he makes is continuously critical. The vast majority of posters here think Kenny always overpays in the trades he makes. And, the vast majority think he sucks at drafting talent. I am left to wonder by what stroke of incredible luck does he manage to come up with players like Carlos Quentin, Alexi Ramirez, John Danks, Jermaine Dye, Bobby Jenks, Tadahito Iguchi, AJ, Gavin Floyd, Matt Thornton, etc... It's not that I don't think its acceptable to question Kenny's decisions. It's simply that there is a stupid level of criticism towards him in which it is continuously suggested that somehow he has a history of bad decisions when frankly the opposite is true. Draftin talent falls on a lot of people, but look at the history of guys who have suceeded via the draft during Ken Williams reign. Case closed on that and this is coming from a guy that backed Kenny when practically everyone wanted him ousted (I'm a huge KDub fan).

Congrats CQ. You had one of the greatest seasons in White Sox history as far as I'm concerned. Completely dominant. In fact, had he stayed healthy he would have rivaled only the great Frank Thomas in terms of amazing seasons.

I'm quite interested to hear what happened in his workout (which was scheduled for today).

QUOTE (G&T @ Nov 13, 2008 -> 02:42 PM) uh...so how is that different from what I said? Sorry, I quoted the wrong post.

QUOTE (G&T @ Nov 13, 2008 -> 01:06 PM) Garland for OC was not a massive bust. Bulls***....OC filled a major hole (albeit he didn't fit in as planned) and is going to get the Sox additional compensation.

Here's some info on Marquez from a Yankees Blog: While there has been considerable debate as to whether Jeff Marquez projects as a back-of-the-rotation starter or a bullpen arm, BA sees his value as a “workhorse groundball machine who fills the No. 3 or No. 4 spot in the rotation.” Jeff Marquez’ Repetoire: Four-Seamer: low to mid-90s, downward plane, good command Sinker: 89-93 mph, excellent run and sink, primary pitch Changeup: solid-average pitch, primary secondary offering Curveball: least-polished pitch, struggles to keep near the zone According to BA's 2008 prospect handbook, Marquez has the best pickoff move by any right hander in the system. He doesn’t possess a true strikeout pitch and often relies on the defense behind him. While the approach often draws comparison to Wang, Marquez is a much different pitcher. Whereas Wang throws most of his offerings hard, Marquez varies his speeds. "He's relatively pitch-efficient, so if he's commanding well, he is a guy who can get through six, seven innings with 80 pitches or so," Trenton pitching coach Scott Aldred told cbssportsline.com. "He doesn't labor through a lot of innings because he forces hitters to make contact early." Development/Progress: -- Jeff Marquez’ Career Stats -- Marquez saw action in both the Gulf Coast League and the NY-Penn League after signing in 2004. After surrendering less than a hit-per-inning, New York pushed him to Charleston. He made 27 starts for the RiverDogs, going 9-13 despite a 3.42 ERA. Marquez ranked second on the team to Chase Wright in wins, innings pitched (139 2/3), and strikeouts (107). In 2006, Marquez' season was interrupted when a shoulder strain sidelined the righty for July. He logged 92 innings for Tampa and posted a 3.61 ERA. Promoted to Double-A Trenton for 2007, Marquez earned Eastern League All-Star honors. Marquez went 15-9 with a 3.65 ERA for the Thunder, leading the league wins (15). The emerging workhorse tossed 155 1/3 innings (second most in the EL) and threw two complete games. Baseball America Prospect Rankings: 2006 - #9, 2007 - #12, 2008 - #7.