CWSGuy406

QUOTE(southsideirish71 @ Aug 6, 2006 -> 07:08 PM) What exactly does Pods do well. No one is defending Podsednik, not me nor Felix. Tito made a dumbass comment about our offense not being 'real', despite leading the league in runs scored, so I called him on it. Yes, of course I'd love a guy with a .500 OBP leading off. Oh well, we don't have him, and Pods will probably get the boot next year so we can all sing and dance. But for the next two months, he's our leadoff man, so that's that.

QUOTE(TitoMB345 @ Aug 6, 2006 -> 07:03 PM) The sooner Scott Podsednik is gone, the sooner we become a real offense. The guy is terrible. I've disliked Podsednik ever since we've gotten him, but how is this offense not 'real'? It's the best in the league in runs scored...

Javy's only at 81 pitches. I'd try and milk every out I could get from Javy this game. As Balta said, we're just beginning a stretch of 23 straight games without a day off.

Really questionable pitching right here. Everything is away away away. They refuse to go inside with these bottom of the order hitters. I don't get it. Pitch a two seamer inside, get the broken bat, and get out of the inning.

Gosh damn. At-bats like THOSE are why I still hold out a little bit of hope for Javy to turn it around. His pure stuff is nasty, and right there, that was a great job of attacking Cat. Couple of fastballs away, good movement to the corner, and that nasty slider down and in to finish him off. :sigh So much f'n potential...

I think that if the Sox really wanted to replace Gload with a true fourth OFer, that it would've been done already. At this point, it's hoping for something that isn't going to happen. Cruz would be a perfect fit, too. I remember reading from Dodger fans that he can still play all three OF spots decent enough, and over the past two seasons against lefties, in about 150 ABs, he's smoked lefties to the tune of an OPS around .950. I'd like to see if the Sox could convince him to play at Charlotte for a month and then be a September call-up. If that doesn't happen, he probably isn't coming here.

QUOTE(dasox24 @ Aug 5, 2006 -> 04:17 AM) I'd also like to add that if Shelby can keep hitting the ball well, he may turn into our only other real 2B prospect after Getz. Our system is so weak at that position, though then again, whose isn't these days? Shelby is one of the few guys from this draft who I'm really going to try and keep my eye on. I liked his power for a second baseman (.629 SLG% at Kentucky), and considering how weak the Sox are as an organization up the middle, they could really use a 'breakout' player in that area.

UZR? A guy in the Cardinals organization, I think, came up with UZR (Ultimate Zone Rating), so I would guess that that's what they're talking about.

QUOTE(SoxHawk1980 @ Aug 5, 2006 -> 01:26 AM) Does excellent season and a bunch of crappy seasons make you a "proven ML pitcher"? If so, what has he proven? That you don't know from month to month what you're going to get from him? That he's inconsistent? That he's unreliable? If so, I agree. WTF are you talking about? "Crappy" seasons? From 2001-2004, he was a league average pitcher who gave you about 190 IP per season. Considering how early he had reached the majors, in comparison to most pitchers, those are pretty damn good seasons. QUOTE(SoxHawk1980 @ Aug 5, 2006 -> 01:37 AM) His season as a whole has been horrible. In the last month, he has been mediocre. (.328 OBP, .469 SLG in July). I recognize that Anderson and Garland are doing better recently than for the first three months of the season, but in evaluating them, I'm not going to pretend that the only thing that is releveant is their recent performance. That would make for some pretty weak analysis. Then fine, look at the season as a whole when it comes to Anderson. How many runs has he saved above the average centerfielder? Baseball Prospectus said that Anderson had one of the best half seasons EVER defensively from a centerfielder. Considering that CF is one of the most important defensive positions on the spectrum, I'd have to say that Anderson has been pretty decent for us this year. It's funny how YOU'RE the one talking about intelligence.

Shades of '05 there. He gets hit hard on all three balls in play, but good defense picks him up. Good to see. et's get "Doc" out of this game...

Don't know if anybody else got the latest Baseball America, but they rate the "Best Tools" for the AL, NL, AAA, AA, and A-ball. Couple of interesting notes... -Iguchi is rated as the second best defensive 2nd-baseman in the AL, behind Luis Castillo and ahead of Adam Kennedy (they do top three for each category). I love Tadahito, but there's no way he's the second best 2nd-baseman defensively in the AL. He's good on balls hit right at him, and his footwork looks good, but I think he's really lacking in range. I'm stunned Mark Ellis didn't make it... -Derek Jeter was rated as the second best defensive shortstop. :puke Now, for a couple of notable Sox mentions... -In the IL (AAA), they have Josh Fields as the top "Batting" prospect. Other notable mentions were Jerry Owens as the "Best Baserunner" (sell high, Kenny!), and Casey Rogowski as the "Best Defensive First Baseman". -In the Southern League (AA), they have Lance Broadway as possessing the "Best Breaking Ball". -In the Carolina League, they have Dewon Day listed as the "Best Reliever". He's been dominant this year; 45 2/3rds innings, 2.76 ERA, with 62 Ks. Too bad he's 25 and only in A-ball, his numbers not very impressive at all.

QUOTE(Drew @ Aug 4, 2006 -> 06:55 AM) Chone Figgins, yes? Of the career .344 OBP variety? If we're going to go after the super-utility type player, please let it be the better one, Ryan Freel.

I think Kenny is going to make a real strong effort in putting this team atop the categories it lead last year -- pitching and defense. As such, I don't think Uribe is going anywhere, despite all the calls for him to be removed (in most cases for lesser options or guys with huge contracts despite minimal improvements). So LF looks like the obvious spot to upgrade. Sweeney might just be the answer. I can't say for sure, but I'd have to think he'd be an upgrade defensively over Pods. I can't see him having any worse of an arm, and from what I remember in Spring Training, he struck me as an athletic kid. I think he'll struggle, but not as much as Anderson has this season; I'd guess a .275/.330/.400 line, which, in itself, isn't very good, but when counting defense, is an upgrade over what Pods has done this year. And, as much as some (ehem Flash) like to beach about our lack of production from our farm system, there's a chance that next season, two-fifths of the rotation will be homegrown (Buehrle and McCarthy), along with a third of the batting order (Anderson/Crede/Fields-Sweeney). That's not half bad. I'm personally hoping that Sweeney/Anderson will be a fixture in our OF for the next seven-eight years.

I love the Marlins, and I think that although the Marlins don't draw well, they have a lot of baseball "fans" all across the country who sympathize with their situation, yet realize that they're doing a helluva job despite having a payroll less than what A-Rod makes. Simply put, the Marlins know how build a team. And it pisses me off when teams like the Pirates cry poor, while the Marlins are able to stay competitive on a payroll that's the third of the Bucs'. As far as if the Marlins can compete in the near future, why the hell not? The Dodgers and D-Backs farm systems get talked up all the time, but the Marlins are right up there. There's a chance that the 'Fin rotation over the next couple years -- with Josh Johnson, Anibal Sanchez, Ricky Nolasco, Yusmiero Petit, not to mention Dontrelle and Olsen -- will be the best in baseball over the next three-four years. That team is fishing super deep in pitching, in a park that is money for pitchers. If that team could find itself a CFer for next year in the mold of Mike Cameron or Brian Anderson, ie someone who will go get just about everything hit in center, watch out. There's no doubt, though that the major league ready "prospects" in that organization is the best in baseball.

no

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2538688 I'm wondering why we didn't block him...

I have a couple of questions (you don't have to submit them all) -Do you think Ray Liotta can bounce back after his struggles in AA, as well as being sent down back to Winston Salem? -What type of player do you see Ryan Sweeney turning into? Scouts tend to that he will eventually develop more power, but the stats have yet to back that up. He is hitting for a little bit more power this year (.442 SLG%), but some of that probably has to do with the bandbox he's playing in. -What are your thoughts on Lance Broadway? -Now that the system has been emptied out (especially with the recent trade sending Lumsden and Cortes to Kansas City), any sleepers in A-ball that we as Sox fans should look out for?

What exactly did Bomar and Quinn do?

Since people are seemingly having a lot of fun with this (you guys will love the last one)... -Send Vazquez and some cash to some other team for prospects. -Send those prospects acquired along with Josh Fields, Scott Podsednik, and Freddy Garcia to Houston for Willy T (I don't like him very much, but he'd be an okay fourth OFer) and Roy Oswalt. -Offer Riske arbitration. -Sign Kerry Wood to an incentive laden deal. 2B Iguchi LF Sweeney DH Thome 1B Konerko RF Dye C Pierzynski 3B Crede SS Uribe CF Anderson Bench = Cintron/Gload-Rogo/Stewart/Tavares/Mack Rotation = Contreras/Oswalt/Buehrle/Garland/McCarthy Bullpen = Jenks/Thorton/Cotts/MacDougal/Riske-Tracey-Logan/Wood

QUOTE(TitoMB345 @ Aug 2, 2006 -> 09:55 PM) No, don't think I was saying Cintron should replace Iguchi, but I think Cintron is a better backup 2B then SS. You're talking about Cintron? I put the laugh icon up because I thought your comment about "not having very good range" was said about Uribe. You're right; I don't think Cintron does have very good range, either, although it's perfectly acceptable from a backup player.

QUOTE(TitoMB345 @ Aug 2, 2006 -> 09:38 PM) Everytime I see him play SS, he looks out of place. Doesn't have very good range either, IMO. I think he'd be better at second, and have Pablo play SS. wait, one more time....

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Jul 29, 2006 -> 05:25 PM) He would be one of the best players on the team. The guy is a stud, and was a star amongst stars in the WBC. We should put all of our resources out there to get him. I agree. If he does defect sometime before this offseason, he's target #1. He'd be a perfect fit, although you can't put him in LF long-term; that decreases his value, and your probably not getting the best of his athleticism. I'd put him in Charlotte for a year, pick up Iguchi's 2007 option, and in '08, we'd have a new 2nd-bagger. It's not that I don't like Iguchi, it's just that he'd be turning 33 after the '07 season. His range isn't very good as it is, and I don't think it's likely to get better.

Gary Matthews... Ick. His stats this year just scream "FLUKE!". His career best OPS coming into this season was .811; this year, he's at .882. That .882 number is also over 130 points above his career average. He turns 32 in less than a month, and -- I'll be damned! -- it's a contract year. Yeah... let the Cubs throw $20 million (at least) to this guy.

FWIW, I'm not pulling the Oswalt name just out of anywhere. He apparently wasn't too happy about the deadline talk with his name included... http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article...sp&c_id=mlb

QUOTE(EvilJester99 @ Aug 2, 2006 -> 07:45 AM) Doesn't Mulder have a messed up hip?? I think that is what's causing most of his problems...IMO Yeah, Mulder's definitely been real bad this year. Plus, the Sox can't afford to take a chance on a 'reclamation' project. I don't know why you posted the whole reliever list. I'd say our bullpen is set next year with Jenks, MacDougal, Thorton, and Cotts already there, along with a small shot of Riske being resigned. And then there's Boone Logan and Sean Tracey who will probably be given shots to win the last spot in the 'pen. None of those OFers look too appealing, either. We'll have a spot open in LF, and that really might be it. I could see the Sox standing pat and going with Sweeney in left. I think Kenny might go nuts to get a real dominant starting pitcher (Oswalt?).