CWSGuy406

QUOTE(danman31 @ Nov 22, 2006 -> 08:06 AM) Paulus just dribbles around the arc until he makes a purposeless pass. He is a good passer, but a poor decision maker at best. If he was capable of doing some sort of penetration he has the big men and shooters to create a ton for this team. Also, McRoberts had one of the worst games I've seen from a star big man in a long time. Yeah, I certainly can't argue with that. I'm surprised they went away from Nelson. I realize that Crean stopped double teaming the post after the opening five (or so) minutes, but he still should've had more touches. And I've always thought Paulus is overrated. Turnovers at bad times, can't play a whole lot of defense. And Scheyer isn't confident at all yet. He missed that layeup BADLY down low, and his three point stroke is off. He's another guy who's okay defensively, but he's not exactly a stopper on the other side of the court.

QUOTE(whitesoxfan101 @ Nov 22, 2006 -> 05:23 AM) I bet on Marquette to win straight up. MONEY IN THE BANK!!! All of Duke's slow, white guys simply can't handle the speed of Marquette. Congrats to CWSGUY, great win, and that Wisconsin game is going to be an unbeaten showdown it looks like. Nice. Gosh damn -- did McRoberts cry on every shot that he missed or what? Obviously, the guards played spectacular tonight, but Oose played a real good game defensively. He got beat a couple of times, but for the most part, held his own with McRoberts and the other Duke bigs down low. What more can be said about the three guards up front? Matthews didn't have a great game, but James played unbelievably well. McNeal played great, too, although I wish he had that take-it-to-the-basket attitude on every possession; I don't like him taking a dribble and a step-back shot, which he tends to do once or twice a game. I'm stoked... for about the first twenty-five minutes, it just felt like a game that Marquette would hang around in but not ever take the lead with. Duke got up five, but that little in-bounds play to James got 'em going. F'n A, Marquette!

QUOTE(ptatc @ Nov 21, 2006 -> 09:39 PM) Crap!! I feel old. Have a couple at the Gym for me!!!! Go Warriors!!! (I'll never let it go) If you're reasonably close to Milwaukee, try to make it up to a game this year. The team is freakishly athletic, and as I'm sure you know, has been hyped to death. I fear that the games where the shots don't fall might get ugly, but they're fun to watch when they're going good. ESPN2 tonight. We are! Marquette!

QUOTE(ptatc @ Nov 21, 2006 -> 07:23 PM) Are you a Marquette grad? I knew there was something there I liked!!!!! Nope -- a current undergrad.

QUOTE(ptatc @ Nov 21, 2006 -> 01:35 PM) Wow. I've been fixed. I guess I've reached the pinnacle now. (however, I still disagree.) Hehe. I didn't mean for it to come off so snarky, but I obviously have strong feelings w/r/t Young (as IlliniKrush or SnB can probably tell you). //locker

QUOTE(ptatc @ Nov 21, 2006 -> 12:32 AM) Overpaid? He traded a broken down pitcher who won't throw more than140 innings again in his life, a decent middle reliever and a good hittng prospect and a top 25 prospect in all of baseball for an innings eater talented starting pitcher. Fixed.

QUOTE(WHarris1 @ Nov 21, 2006 -> 04:44 AM) Scheyer, not that I give a damn about spelling but just for future reference. No, I should probably know the correct spelling of a kid from Illinois. BTW -- I think Paulus is going to have a tough time tomorrow night. Ditto Scheyer (as mentioned above). Coach K is going to have to go zone, because (without sounding too much like an arrogant bastard) those two can't man-up on James and McNeal/Matthews.

Awesome -- Duke tomorrow night. Matthews played really well on the offensive end. The best part about the win tonight was the effort down low. Marquette outrebounded Tech by at least ten. The trio of sophomores combined for 50+ points. Tomorrow's going to be fun. I don't know if we have anybody who can guard McRoberts, but neither Nelson nor Shaier (sp?) will beat us. And if Coach K tries to go man, Wes Matthews will eat Schaier alive.

QUOTE(WHarris1 @ Nov 20, 2006 -> 09:52 PM) I really don't see how ND should be able to jump over Michigan, maybe it's just me. I agree. I think everyone knows that whoever ends up playing Ohio State, there's going to be b****ing from someone. An interesting scenario would be if Arkansas beats Florida in the SEC Championship game, while ND beats USC next Saturday. Who goes then? I don't think ND should get to go; although their loss to Michigan wasn't necessarily reflective of their 2006 team, they lost big at home to the Wolverines. Is it really fair to have ND jump Michigan? Arkansas had arguably the second "best" loss, but it's not like they played USC close; they got destroyed, at their own place no less. If that scenario happens to play out, I think we're seeing a rematch. If USC happens to win out, though, I think all of this is mute and the Trojans will play OSU.

Gosh damn do the voters suck. Pujols was quite clearly the best player in the NL, and I think you can make a case for Beltran even being better than Howard. Beltran is quite obviously a much better baserunner, and he plays elite defense in CF, where Howard can't even play a good 1B. He honestly should be DHing. Yikes...

QUOTE(Chisoxfn @ Nov 20, 2006 -> 06:41 AM) Alright, name 10 2nd baseman that had better offensive careers up until this stage of Soriano's career? I'm no baseball historian, but... -Biggio (arguable, but check out his age 25-30 seasons. Average OPS+ of better than 125 while playing MUCH better defense than Soriano at 2B). -Robbie Alomar -Joe Morgan -Rogers Hornsby -Jeff Kent (Kent exploded in his 30s, so no, up until age 30 he wasn't as good as Soriano has been. That being said, I would be willing to wager a LARGE amount of cash that Soriano won't be nearly as good as Kent was. Kent also played 2nd base well into his 30s, while Soriano isn't playing 2B at age 30.) There's five, three of which are clearly above Sori, two of which are debatable, and I'm sure someone can scrounge up another five. But this is tough; Soriano is done as a 2nd-baseman, whereas all these guys played at second well into their 30s. So in essence we're now comparing an OFer, or a bad defensive 2nd-baseman, to guys who were good enough to stick at 2nd for a majority of their careers.

QUOTE(Chisoxfn @ Nov 20, 2006 -> 05:07 AM) Ummm...Soriano is an above average left fielder and I assume thats where he will play. And I have no doubt he'll continue to improve in LF. He has a good arm and good range. Jason, they have him pegged as their starting CFer. Per ChicagoSports.com: http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sp...-home-headlines Tough, asking a 31 year old who's never played CF to play it at Wrigley. I can't see Soriano being anything better than average in CF, and there's the potential that he's really bad out there...

The end of this Bulls game has been absolutely sickening. They've missed about seven jump-shots in a row. Not one guy on the team can get to the basket when they need it. They had the Deng/Walton matchup but chose to let Gordon and Hinrich jack up threes. Deng did get the ball once and, rather than make a move to the basket, took a jumper a half of a foot in front of the three point line. It's tough... From the bits and pieces that I've watched of this game, it looks like they got a pretty good defensive effort. With these free throws, LA is going to end up scoring ~80 points. That's solid, but when you can't score, it really doesn't mean a whole lot. Paxson is in a tough spot, too. I'd assume that the Knicks will end up finishing in the bottom ten, so I wouldn't necessarily want to package that pick, but this team needs a "go-to" guy offensively. Also, Daisasuke Matsuzaka was at the game (for those who didn't see). He's a Bulls fan, so, in games he doesn't pitch against the Sox, I will certainly be rooting for him.

QUOTE(IlliniKrush @ Nov 20, 2006 -> 02:48 AM) Wow, you're really new at this whole college bball thing aren't you Yeah I know, Duke trumps all. Whatever, I'll live. The channel settings for the semis were pre-determined before the tourney even started, so I guess I can't be too mad. The game will probably be on somewhere up on our campus. Direct TV includes ESPN U, yes?

Texas Tech vs Marquette tomorrow. I'm sure glad they're showing the Duke/Air Force game on ESPN2, not Marquette/Tech. Ugh...

QUOTE(WHarris1 @ Nov 20, 2006 -> 02:34 AM) hehe http://cubsrumorsandnews.blogspot.com/ Did you read his proposed trade? He says they'll send a combination package of Matt Murton and Jacque Jones for Jake Westbrook, yet who is his LFer in the proposed lineup? Murton and Jones. Apparently they're getting Jake Westbrook for free. Hendry must be a real smart man.

QUOTE(beck72 @ Nov 19, 2006 -> 12:10 PM) Also, am I the only one who would like SS Joaquin Arias included in a deal? He skipped low A ball, and hit .300 in AA last yr. though he hit .260 with a sub .300 OBP, he hit and got on base every other spot he's been http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/A/Joaquin-Arias.shtml Why would we want Arias? We pretty much have the same player ALREADY in our system. Oh, and Lopez wasn't lucky enough to play in the PCL, either...

QUOTE(Craig Grebeck @ Nov 19, 2006 -> 05:32 AM) Jon had one good year, and the rest have been brutal league average, which is pretty damn good considering the innings he gives us. Please, no one ever enter wins into a discussion about pitching quality ever again. Fixed.

QUOTE(santo=dorf @ Nov 18, 2006 -> 12:02 AM) I'm not saying you're trying to have it both ways Dick, but these are common comments on Soxtalk. The Sox were still in it when Garcia nearly threw a perfecto, but that Oakland series was killer for me. //Note to self: Six september starts are worth more than the 27 that preceded those six. Got it.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Nov 17, 2006 -> 09:13 PM) I dont know how important the offense is for a guy who may play once every two weeks. I would rather have someone who can call a good game and slow down the running game. The past two seasons, our backup catchers have a combined average of ~135 ABs per season. That's more than a month's worth for any normal position player. Considering our starter is a lefty, and that the main offensive weakness on this team is it's lack of production vs southpaws, I'd consider getting a backup catcher who can do something with this stick vs lefties is QUITE important. Just look north at what the backups for Minny and to a lesser extent Detroit have done for their teams.

QUOTE(santo=dorf @ Nov 17, 2006 -> 08:11 PM) What are you trying to say about Ervin? What are you trying to say about Ervin? He's pitched about 135 innings on the road. Are you saying those innings have any predictive value whatsoever? You honestly believe he's going to be a six ERA pitcher going forward because his road stats (which, as I said, are in an extremely limited sample)? Maybe you're not meaning that, but it sure seems like you're indicating that you'd strongly dislike a Garcia for Santana trade. BTW, call me crazy, I'd throw in Fields even if we didn't get anything back besides Santana. One year of Garcia + Six years of Josh Fields for what, four years of Ervin Santana? Hellzz yes, although I don't really like Fields as a prospect, so maybe that clouds my judgement.

I honestly can't imagine Stoneman doing Garcia for Santana straight up. If Kenny got that done, it'd solidify give the Sox in that they'd have two pitchers who they'd control for the next four years (at least). It'd also allow the Sox to make a play for next year's stud Japanese pitcher, who, from the short highlights I've seen, has looked better than Matsuzaka. I really wish I had a name to go with the idea; I know Cheat knows it, as I'm sure someone else (I hope) around here does, too. Since I'm not much of a fan of Josh Fields, I'd offer something like Garcia + Fields for Santana + Izturis. Maicer is a cheaper option than Cintron and has better on-base skills, so Ozzie could do more of a platoon at shortstop with Uribe. I'm giddy of the thought of having Santana in a Sox uniform. If Kenny pulled off something like mentioned above, I'd be content the rest of the offseason, no matter what else (good or bad) happened.

QUOTE(nitetrain8601 @ Nov 17, 2006 -> 05:06 AM) I don't care about his homers. We have boppers. We need to get guys on base. And since when has Uribe ever won a GG? Yup, so lets sign Alex Gonzalez of the career .292 OBP variety to 3/$15. How's that sound? f*** boppers -- let's get guys who have the amazing ability of not being able to get on base nor hit for power. Woohoo!

QUOTE(SoxHawk1980 @ Nov 17, 2006 -> 02:29 AM) Did you actually watch Sox games this season? Until September, Guillen routinely used Cotts as the #1 lefty in high leverage situations. That is just a fact, and it is a fact that was complained about on this forum on a daily basis. Umm -- as I said, after June, Neal was below Thorton. Neal was still used a lot, but when it got to the later innings, Guillen went to Thorton as his first lefty. Cotts was certainly used too much, that I agree with, but Thorton was definitely "higher up" than Cotts. Yeah, I'm glad you can evaluate talent on 63 innings. You're one helluva scout. What, his meaningful ones, like his minor league stats? Or the 63 IP that you can apparently take a lot out of. Here's what the guys at Bleed Cubbie Blue says (from SouthSideSox): But you know what, I'll just take your word for it. You're obviously a professional scout or a GM disguised as a Soxtalk poster. Vasquez is pretty irrelevant. A throw-in. He had a nice year last season, good K/IP numbers. If he becomes a major league LOOGY, that'll be pretty good.

QUOTE(SoxHawk1980 @ Nov 17, 2006 -> 02:19 AM) Gee thanks. Sometimes the truth is funny. One more thing. The beloved Thornton has had one good major league season. Of course it was this last season and that is all that most fans remember. If KW doesn't add a better lefty reliever and he probably won't, then Thornton will be the lefty set up man, meaning he'll get a lot more high leverage innings than he had last year. Don't be surprised if Thornton isn't exactly lights out next year. And that's different from this year how? After about mid-June, Thorton was the #1 lefty in high-leverage situations. Heh... Great analysis. Good stuff there.