Chisoxfn

QUOTE (scenario @ Jul 30, 2008 -> 09:25 AM) Could you comment a little more on this issue? I'd like to hear your perspective on it. Seems like the age-issue has developed its own mythology with many fans and it would be nice to know what is 'real'. The Age issue went away after 9/11 when the US cracked down on the fake birth certificates and that sort of stuff. The young players just can't get away with that phony documentation anymore, at least not when it comes to them playing professionally within the states (minor league or major league level). If they are playing in the Venezuelan leagues there is the possibility that they aren't the age they indicate. Realistically the only players who could be of the wrong age are players who already were granted visas pre 9/11 (El Duque, Contreras, etc).

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Jul 30, 2008 -> 05:12 AM) Saw There Will Be Blood over the weekend. What an odd movie. Seriously, I was puzzled through that entire movie going what the hell am I watching.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 29, 2008 -> 04:45 PM) There's so many jokes one could make about this one... Seriously, don't get in the doorway during an earthquake. Get under a table or desk. The doorway thing is an old myth because when people built houses 50 years ago with those big, powerful doorways, the house would get demolished but that doorway would wind up standing. Most doorways don't do anything similar these days. s*** thanks for informing me of that. I always would get under the doorway during an earthquake. It was what I was taught (unless I was in school, in which case we did the hands over our head and kneck while we were under the desk).

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jul 30, 2008 -> 09:05 AM) why didn't anybody tell me Puddle of Mudd concerts suck? I left like an hour into it and just went to the bar to get hammered. Now I have a headache. The fact that the band came to the Dakota's should have been the first hint that they blow.

QUOTE (kapkomet @ Jul 30, 2008 -> 04:57 AM) As a rule, you don't have companies keeping that much cash in a bank, they have the money working for them. And if they do have that much cash, it's usually tied to a line of credit that's underwrited by A/R or some other collateral - so I would think that they would just simply lose access to that short term cash. I agree that most instances have any short term cash sitting in something that is making additional money, but often times that will be a money-market account and don't those fall under the same risks that a typical savings/checking account would have (and the standard FDIC $100K).

We know how infatuated I've been with Tracy in the past. I really like this guy as an above average 6 hole hitter. He can play both 3B and 1B and would be a great acquisition because he could have a long-term future with the club as well. I don't know what the Dbacks would be looking for though. They want to improve there offense so I'm guessing any piece the Sox give up for Tracy would have to be a piece the Dbacks could use to acquire a big bat. Surely they would have no interest in Konerko, despite the fact that they have previously been rumored to have interest (no recent rumors).

QUOTE (Jenks Heat @ Jul 30, 2008 -> 08:00 AM) He had Spahn as well on a close pitch. He seemed to get jobbed although he was always near the zone. I liked how quickly he worked and he seemed like he could really project into a nice pitcher he lookedot have a good upside. Ya, that 5th inning I was questioning the umps zone. I don't think he pitched to the point that he should have given up 5 runs in that inning, thats for certain. Mauer/Morneau were the only guys who actually hit the ball hard. Defensively the Sox once again looked like s*** behind him, but than again, thats been the norm on the season.

If those three guys are healthy and on the court come playoff time, you are talking about a title contender. Rafer Alston, Luis Scala, Head, etc are all solid role players.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Jul 30, 2008 -> 06:49 AM) I don't think you know what you're talking about. He refused to sign the 5-50 deal that was offered by the Bulls, as did Ben Gordon. Even after a down year, Deng still averaged 17 points and 6.3 boards despite being injured most of the season. I have a feeling he'll be averaging 22/8 this year. Deng has a tremendous attitude, has continued to work out and improve and had a down season and still put up pretty good numbers. The kid is going to be a very good player and I still believe that him and Sefolosha will be the best Bulls long-term (yes, thats right, I'm not slurping Derrick Rose).

QUOTE (whitesoxbrian @ Jul 29, 2008 -> 09:57 PM) I wonder if we could deal Gordon and Hinrich to NY for David Lee... That would be a terrible deal, value wise.

Sox won't deal Poreda unless they are getting something pretty special. They think very highly of Aaron.

I will s*** a brick if the Sox acquire Fuentes. Why you ask, because I can't imagine how much the club would be overpaying for a reliever who will be walking in the off-season.

Alright Sox, time to wake the f*** back up and start playing baseball again (I'm speaking about pitching & defense).

Interesting stuff. That lefty sounds like a nice projectable arm that I would love to get into the Sox farm system. Hopefully Cuban players have taken note to the success Contreras and Ramirez have had with the Sox and that this makes the Sox one of the front-runners to get Cuban defectors (or at least those that aren't looking to completely break the bank).

I want to point out that its never a good thing when you have to bench a guy making 12M a year for the next few years. It prevents you from moving him and obviously since your benching him you are clearly getting on production. The deal which was once a bargain is quickly turning into a complete albatross. I love Paulie for all that he's done in a Sox uniform, but I honestly could care less what the Sox could get for him as long as they could find a creative way to unload that contract and free up first base.

Man, Richard pitched better than his line would indicate. I'm really impressed with that kid. He's got a shot at being a pretty damn good pitcher, imo. I'm not saying #1 or #2, but legit #3 who will ocassionally shut teams down. I'm still not sure if he has a good enough breaking ball, but everything else he has is something I like. Worse case your talking about a shutdown lefty reliever.

He got totally f'd on his first walk. The 2-2 pitch was a strikeout (how that wasn't a strike is beyond me).

Holy cripes, Clayton Richard has one hell of an arm. I'm excited about what him, Danks, Floyd are going to do for the Sox over the next few years. I realize its just a few starts and I'm on the DVR (so I'm only into the top of the 5th) but he has a few different variations of the fastball and a very deceptive delivery (gets good sink on one of his FB's, plus has a very good looking changeup).

I honestly wouldn't have a problem with a three man platoon between the two spots with Anderson getting starts in CF when Swish is at 1B and Paulie ocassionally playing 1B with Swish on the bench. Realistically they have gotten nothing out of CF/1B on the season. In fact, I bet if you look at the season production at those two positions they are amongst the Sox are amongst the worst, if not the very worst in all of baseball.

QUOTE (RME JICO @ Jul 29, 2008 -> 06:07 PM) This is a nice deal for the Angels, but it is not like their offense was that great to begin with. 19th in the MLB in runs? 23rd in OPS? Not very impressive. Tex will help, but it seems like their record is somewhat misleading. 65-40, yet they only have a +39 run differential. Something has to give. The Angels win low scoring games. Its what happens when you have the best executing offense in baseball (in the sense of stealing bases, moving runners over, manufacturing runs) mixed with a strong bullpen, defense, and rotation. The Angels will play in a lot more 1 run games with most, but they also pull out a lot more of those games because of there ability to beat teams when they shoudln't (by scrapping runs).

QUOTE (almagest @ Jul 29, 2008 -> 01:26 PM) So what about a guy who hits .260 with 35 hrs as opposed to a guy who hits .300 with 10 hrs? I'd have to evaluate the preference on a ball club based on who the other 8 players on the lineup are as well as what else they do well. Ie, what positions do they play? Does the team already have a lot of pop (if so, than I'd probably take the .300 hitter)? Do they play premium defense, steal bases, draw walks, strike out a lot, etc. Say its a .260 hitter who doesn't draw walks, strikes out a ton and is a pure DH compared to a .300 hitter with 20SB speed who plays good D and gets on base at a .360 type clip (with few strikeouts). I'm going to go with player 2. However, it all depends cause there are certain instances where I'd take the .260 hitter (ie, if a team doesn't have many power hitters). Or if that .260 hitter who hits for massive power also hits a s***load of doubles and gets on base 40% of the time.

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Jul 29, 2008 -> 03:35 PM) $14M, yeah not a chance. They would also probably have serious talks about extending Vladdy, but given his decline maybe the Angels figure they'll give Tex a fat deal and let Vladdy walk a year from now (as opposed to going long-term with you).

QUOTE (Tony82087 @ Jul 29, 2008 -> 02:29 PM) Just checked, and you are correct on the Vlad deal. I'm 99.9% sure Anderson has an option as well, but there is no way the Angels will exercise that thing.

QUOTE (Tony82087 @ Jul 29, 2008 -> 02:01 PM) Halos are going to have some money to spend. Vlad-KRod-Garret Anderson are all FA's after the year. I think there is an option on Vladdy. Krod and Anderson are gone and they'll look to do whatever they can to move Matthews. So they should have significantly more money to play with this off-season. In addition, Garland probably won't be back as Adenhart will likely slide into the rotation. Tremendous move by Anaheim. Kochman is good but Tex makes the Angels lineup significantly better and I expect the Angels to make a serious effort to resign him.

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Jul 29, 2008 -> 12:41 PM) But he's wrong in his analysis. Those stats are monitored for a reason now; they are important. Batting average isn't the most important statistic. We've grown smarter since that line of thought was the popular one. I still am a believer that batting average is a very very important stat. But I fall in the minority on that cause everyone else always talks to me about slugging percentage and I think that shows that a hitter has multiple skill-sets and not just the ability to hit singles. However, I still think to be a good hitter it is a pre-requesite that you must hit for an average. If you don't hit for an average, than you better make up for it in other ways (ie, hitting for a lot of power, playing tremendous defense at a premium position). Just like if two guys hit for a good average, you can look at other things they do well to indicate whose a better player. Obviously you prefer a guy that hits .300 with 35 hr's as opposed to a guy who hits .300 with 10 Hr's.