Chisoxfn

QUOTE (fathom @ Nov 13, 2008 -> 12:51 PM) Sox got Betemit also Awesome, I've always liked Wilson for his solid bat off the bench plus his ability to contribute at multiple infield positions. I was actually going to mention that he would be a nice pick-up in addition to Marquez.

QUOTE (fathom @ Nov 13, 2008 -> 12:47 PM) If we had to dump his salary, then we might as well have a fire sale. Where did Swish fit on this ball club. He can't play CF nor can he leadoff or be at the top two spots in the lineup and the two corner outfield spots are already covered with Konerko being a superior first baseman (even in Konerko's worse season he was still a more productive player than Swisher). Bottom line I think we need to realize the Swisher deal was a bad one, luckily none of the guys the Sox gave up have developed into studs, but a year forward if I was another team there isn't a chance in hell I'd give up anything superior in terms of prospects for Nick Swisher (a guy that was one of the worse everyday players in all of baseball last year). So what did Kenny do, he tried to target a guy whose stuff he liked that he figured he'd could get some value out of. I have no idea what Marquez is capable of, but Kenny likes guys with sinking fastballs and I'm sure the scouts identified something they liked and an issue they could address while watching him in the fall league. Will he pan out, I have no idea, but I for one am thrilled that I won't have to watch Swisher hit ever again. I loved the idea at the time of the trade but he just doesn't fit on this current club and I ultimately believe moving him will help free up some other moves, potentially the signing of a reliever plus the cuban kid.

QUOTE (fathom @ Nov 13, 2008 -> 12:46 PM) I honestly think KW believes the window for this team to compete might be over, and that's why you hear names like Dye, Jenks, Swisher, and Konerko being thrown around. BS, this team's window may have adjusted in terms of contending for a series but in the past year they added young talent like Danks/Floyd/Ramirez/Quentin. I don't think there are many teams in baseball that got that sort of impact out of four young players who had never proven anything in the majors prior. I think the reality is Kenny wants to get a few younger vets to fill in though and will utilize Dye/Konerko/Swish/Javy as the bait to help get him to that point. Basically put, I see him trying to extend his window and getting his vets in line to where they'll still be in there prime when the young players mentioned above (plus Beckham/Poreda) hit there primes.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Nov 13, 2008 -> 12:43 PM) There has to be something else although Swisher was god awful and still has $24 million left on his "reasonable" contract. If this "prospect" is all they got back, the Swisher trade of last winter probably will go down as KW's worst so far. If this is all the Sox got, they definitely sold low on Swisher. He's bound to rebound and his contract wasn't bad but I'm thinking this was much more of a contract clearing move than anything else. Probably not something that will get any of us excited, but if it frees up funds to ensure we can lock up guys like Danks/Floyd/Quentin in the future, plus frees up the money to sign Viciendo and enable some interesting trades I'd be happy. I'm still hoping that Cano is part of the deal as well, haha.

QUOTE (winninguglyin83 @ Nov 12, 2008 -> 06:50 PM) story in tomorrow's Tribune says that two NL scouts say Kenny Williams is shopping Jermaine. The Sell High theory. and he will probably have more suitors than Thome or PK. Also says that Jenks could be moved. Sounds like Kenny is trying to be creative and get younger.' http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseb...0,7366873.story I'm really intrigued to see what ends up happening this off-season. Kenny has a variety of options and I really do believe he's one of the smartest GM's in the game. He may not always get the greatest value in certain trades (can give up too much at timesm) but the guys he targets tend to pan out and often times in a big way and thats a major plus in my book. He's also done one hell of a job in just one off-season, where this team is younger and much better off, despite having zero farm system. The system is now on the mend and two to four years I think the Sox will be the envy of most of baseball.

That is a nice return for the Rockies. I definitely would be down on picking up Jimenez or Francis.

Babich is terrible. No adjustmnets or blitzing creativity.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan101 @ Nov 9, 2008 -> 11:37 AM) They'll put up 7 and 8 win seasons like this year is going to be at current pace, but they'll never get back to where they were earlier in the decade without having uninhibited trips to the Illinois talent bank like they did in those days. I'm not saying they are going to have multiple BCS appearances and dominant 10 win teams but I expect them to be able to maybe be a little lesser version of Wisconsin, where they consistently contend and ocassionally get into the top 15 (I've thought Wiscy has been overrated for some time, in the pure sense that they aren't an elite team, but they've had many above average to good teams) .

Maynard is f***ing terrible.

Bears fans are f***ing disgraceful...shut the f*** up. Grossman is going up against one of the best defenses in the NFL and led a nice touchdown drive and made one mistake. He did miss a shot at moving the chains but nothing boo worthy. f***ing pathetic the way that guy has gotten treated.

I don't know, I'd like to think you'd have quite a bit of motivation if you are very talented and know that your just a year or two away from getting big major league bucks (if you can get out). But than again you really have no idea whether you'll be able to defect.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan101 @ Nov 9, 2008 -> 11:33 AM) I'm happy you feel that way. As long as Zook and Weis are around to get all of the good Illinois players though, Iowa will have problems having any sustained success because they need to be able to raid Illinois in order to be good, so to be fair, it would be hard for anybody to right the ship at Iowa. The only reason Iowa was so good earlier this decade was due to the fact that Illinois had Ron Turner and Notre Dame had Ty Willingham, and neither could recruit for sht. But the Hawkeyes talent level isn't great right now, they aren't recruiting well, and they are like an SEC team (or Penn State) in terms of the number of arrests they have. Ferentz is perhaps the most overpaid coach in America now that Fulmer was fired, and if he's not he's certainly top 5. He's getting back to recruiting quality football players. They aren't getting top 20 recruiting classes but they are getting good football players and athletes and Ferenz is now getting back to doing what he does best which is coaching them. There oline is looking very good and should be set for a few years and at QB they have a good number of options going forward and the WR's are developing nicely.

QUOTE (kyyle23 @ Nov 9, 2008 -> 11:30 AM) Im listening to the game, so my viewpoint is definitely skewed (as in, not there at all), but I havent heard Jeff Joniak say play-action yet. And thats where Rex completely excels, is off the hard fake play action. Forte has already scored a TD(albeit on the throw), and the defense is geared up for the run. I just dont understand why Turner is so schizophrenic when it comes to playcalling. There really was very few offensive drives where Rex even had a chance. The offense was just backed up to where they had to be conservative. You can't fault Turner or Rex (his pick was great D in single coverage, although you could question whether the ball should have been thrown but thats because i just don't think you should go deep to Booker unless he's wide open). Forte has looked very good though. I expect a lot of play action in the 2nd half.

QUOTE (Heads22 @ Nov 9, 2008 -> 10:43 AM) He's what, 4-6, against Iowa State? The man has a horrible time beating us with superior facilities and, in most cases, talent. And I don't think 21 arrests, including his son, from 07-08 is righting the ship. I hope he stays there forever, cause he's certainly not worth the money he's getting paid. You'd be thrilled if ISU had a coach that has accomplished what Ferentz has. It isn't even a debate, we'll see what happens in basketball as Lickliter continues to get his guys in but in football there is no argument. Sure you won some head to head but last I looked Iowa has churned out bowls most every year under Ferentz and will do so again this year and hopefully they'll finish in the rankings. THe arrests all happened very early in the season and it sounds like Iowa has really put the hammer down. Oh and need I mention that pretty much every major conference college team will have a year or two where they have arrests and crap like that. Not making excuses cause its pathetic regardless, but just saying.

Well I'll take a new punter...Maynard was great for a long time but he's lost it. That was a terrible kick (zero hangtime and poor distance) and it led to that great field position for the Titans (and the opportunity for such a big return).

QUOTE (knightni @ Nov 9, 2008 -> 10:47 AM) I'm thinking that the Bears should look at getting a punter in next year's draft. Yep. Defensive line has looked great except when it comes to the pass rush, but the Bears haven't exactly blitzed in passing situations yet. Vasher and Tillman have played very well though as its hard to defense an over the middle pass when Collins gets that much time. Time for a good drive here though cause the defense has been on the field for a while and obviously the titans are currently in a good spot in terms of field position (with the Bears being backed up again).

I actually really enjoyed this weeks episode. Thought it was one of the better ones all season.

I wouldn't be shocked at all if the Sox had a plan of turning Poreda into the closer by the all star break while they utilized the matchups of Thornton/Dotel prior to (plus pick up another reliever, maybe a Juan Cruz). Plus, given the cost of closers (financially speaking), you might be better off having a young closer who will be cheap for years who you can than spin off when they get closer to getting paid big bucks. Poreda projects to be a potential elite reliever (given his stuff) but the question is obviously whether they believe he'll be able to develop enough secondary stuff to be a potential front line starter.

QUOTE (whitesoxbrian @ Nov 8, 2008 -> 08:07 PM) Okay, so now it's 17-3 USC. How about another TD, Carroll? TT just manhandling OKST. If they beat Oklahoma in 2 weeks in Norman...wow. So, let's say: Oklahoma beats TT next week. Texas loses to Missouri in the Big-12 title game. Alabama loses a regular season game, then beats Florida in the SEC title game. Then who plays for the national championship? I'm sorry but it'll be a joke if USC plays in the national championship game. Florida, Texas, Oklahoma, Texas Tech and Alabama all have better resumes, even with a loss.

QUOTE (Heads22 @ Nov 8, 2008 -> 06:19 PM) At least it keeps Ferentz in Iowa City. He still has one hell of a time against Iowa State, and while they can win when they come in motivated like they did last year, things figure to be different next year. Iowa is quietly getting back to being pretty good and I find it hillarous how the only thing you can point at is Iowa State beating Iowa a few times. Last I looked Iowa has completely kicked ass during the Ferentz era when compared to the Clones, but than again so have most programs And I'm happy Kirk stays. The ship has been righted and is heading back in the right direction.

Tons of penetration...I love it...Time for a turnover or at least a turnover on downs

I think the Bears defense is showing up. The key will be the pass rush on the 3rd down's though because if Collins gets time with single coverage he'll make plays. Offensively obviously the key will be the performance of the line and RExy.

QUOTE (scenario @ Nov 8, 2008 -> 05:02 PM) The AFL is considered an 'elite' talent league. The fact that he is excelling here this soon is a very good sign. I think (my opinion) that he'll start the year in Birmingham and has a good shot of being in Charlotte before year end. It is still very early, but I'm starting to think he'll be penciled in as the opening day starter a season from now.

QUOTE (winninguglyin83 @ Nov 6, 2008 -> 06:52 PM) huge, huge, huge day for Gordon Beckham in AFL Two homers, a triple and two singles. 5 for 5 with seven RBis. Also scored five runs. Only downer is that he was DH, not SS or second baseman. Cole Armstrong is having a huge mini-season out there. He had three hits and launched his sixth home run. Jordan Danks went 0 for 5. Poreda did not pitch. Here is the link to the box. : http://mlb.mlb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?si...scowin_peswin_1 The system is getting much stronger and they'll have a plethora of picks. I'm really liking what the new regime is doing and I think Buddy Bell commanding the organizational viewpoints down in the minors is a really good thing (I love having baseball people taking care of that end of things...and a very good baseball person at that). The Sox made the playoffs but I honestly think the best is yet to come with Kenny making some more good moves and a nice little core of young players being ready in the next couple years (to team up with a nice group of young major leaguers they already have in Quentin/Ramirez/Danks/Floyd/Richard).

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Nov 7, 2008 -> 11:14 AM) Quote from Beckham. What a great attitude, until Walk gets ahold of him. Walk is a good hitting coach. I'll continue to stand by that too.