CWSGuy406

Palehosefan, an honest question here: what would you have done differently w/r/t this year's draft? Do you like the McCulloch pick? It seemed like, on draft day, as we were all sitting around here, Bard kept on falling and falling and falling. And we all know what eventually happened when Bard was taken. But McCulloch didn't seem like a bad pick. Baseball America had him rated as a mid-first round talent, so I think we did pretty good. I personally would've liked to have seen the Sox grab Pedro Beato. He's got a real nice frame, at 6"5 210, and from the scouting report, he throws 1-2 MPH harder than McCulloch. But he's already had TJ surgery, so there are durability concerns. I guess you could also make an argument for Chris Perez, although I'm weary of taking closers so high, as their ceiling is extremely limited.

QUOTE(JimH @ Aug 1, 2006 -> 05:42 PM) Yes he did a nice job. Maybe it was a weaker Royals lineup that gave him more confidence, but he is an extremely competitive guy and it was good to see. More than anything, with McCarthy, it looked like he had a plan last night. You saw him doing two things; hit his spots, and set up pitches. For example, to one hitter last night, he threw two fastballs at the hitters eyes, only to get the K with an offspeed pitch low in the zone on the next pitch. Which brings up a whole 'nother discussion -- the pitch selection. As much as our starting pitching has been bad, the pitch selection (outside of Garland's latest starts) has been brutal. So many instances over the past couple days where I'm thinking to myself, "WTF are you doing?": -There was an AB in the Baltimore series to Melvin Mora. It was early on in the game, not really an important plate appearance at all. But Vazquez (I think it was Javy, though I might be wrong) had gotten ahead on Mora 0-2. His third pitch? A two-seamer trying to catch the upper, outside part of the plate, allowing Mora to extend his hands and just push the ball into RF. -Yesterday, early in the game, Contreras had Costa down 0-2. Costa fouled off some tough pitches up in the zone, and the Sox bailed him out by trying to place a fastball away. Maybe it isn't that easy, but once you have the guy on the ropes (ie in a 1-2, 0-2 count), don't you want to go soft away (changeups, sliders, curves, forkballs) and hard in (running that two seamer or four seamer in on the hands)? I can't remember once this year when Vazquez got a guy in an 0-2 count, and actually used the next couple pitches to set up his slider. I know he's hit a lot of guys this year, but he has good control, and, just as important, he has good movement on his fastball. If he's scared of pitching inside, then you might as well trade him now, because he's practically useless as a pitcher. I'm one of the few who still believes that Javy can still be a decent starting pitcher for the White Sox. Why? His stuff still rates better than any starter on our staff outside of Contreras; good movement on his fastball, nasty slider, decent changeup. It's not like his stuff deteriorates once he gets past the fifth inning, either; he just seems to hang more pitches. But it also seems to me that the he tries to get the same hitters out the same way he did through the first time through the order. If that plan was a good one (like, pitching inside, breaking more bats, using the slider down and away), that'd be one thing -- but his plan, as of right now, sucks. Bleh -- that's a lot of typing.

QUOTE(BigSqwert @ Aug 1, 2006 -> 06:44 PM) Why would a pitcher be distracted by someone who doesn't run? See: yesterday's game. Pods doesn't have to steal bases to be a distraction. Maybe he should take bigger leadoffs, with no intention whatsoever of stealing second; rather, make the pitcher throw over more. Maybe it'll lead to a few more pitcher mistakes for Tadahito and Thome. I've disliked Scott since last season, but I much prefer the Podsednik who runs only on guys with long deliveries/bad catchers to the one who's running for the hell of it.

So there is a radio personality that's worse than Mike North. Amazing...

Broadway almost has that K/BB ratio up to 3-to-1. That's encouraging. He's still not a leaguewide top pitching prospect, but I think there's a good chance that (so long as he finishes the season strong) he's the Sox #1 prospect after this season.

QUOTE(Chisoxfn @ Jul 31, 2006 -> 08:27 PM) He is very well regarded and your right about his defense, but he's not been quite as hideous since he moved to 3rd base a year or so ago. But ya, this is a pretty highly touted kid who really hit well last year for Jacksonville in the Southern League. I don't understand where Guzman fits in Tampa Bay's future. There's obviously a huge logjam in the outfield, and also on the left side of the infield. Eventually, they're going to have to deal some of these guys for pitching...

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ Jul 31, 2006 -> 08:18 PM) Its funny how much worse of a player Izturus has become on this board once its gone from KW wanting to get him, to his now being on the Cubs. ??? He has a career line of .261/.295/.338. He isn't an efficient base stealer, but he has some speed. His only real asset is his glove. He's a bench player.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Jul 31, 2006 -> 08:13 PM) Yeah, not lead off by any means. I was saying fast, and makes contact. He is better than what they have. Yeah, he's more than what I thought the Cubs would get for Maddux. That said, his optimal role would probably be as the role Alex Cintron plays for us. I don't think he should start on any team that wants to contend for a championship.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Jul 31, 2006 -> 08:10 PM) Top of the order, and to play 2b or SS. Its better than Nefi Perez, and they traded walker. Top of the order, in the sense that he's fast? Because his OBP skillz are slim to none.

Craig Wilson for Shawn Chacon!??!!?!? What the gosh darn, Littlefield?

Did I just hear that right? Matt Stairs traded to Texas?

They're saying Todd Walker is Padre for a minor league player.

QUOTE(Chisoxfn @ Jul 31, 2006 -> 07:22 PM) Nady is a better player, imo. But I like Xavier Nady. Considering Duaner Sanchez is out for a while, this is a good move by the Mets, imo. I also think Phillips was onto things when he mentioned that they could enter the Soriano talks to replace Nady if they really wanted to. It seems like a pretty solid move for Pittsburg. I didn't mean the Nady/Wilson comparison as a bad thing -- if Pitt had more offensive players like Wilson, they'd certainly be a much better team. Nady is putting up an .813 OPS and is 27 years old. Hernandez is a fungible reliever, and Perez needs a LOT of help.

QUOTE(Chisoxfn @ Jul 31, 2006 -> 07:15 PM) Oliver Perez to the Mets??? Oliver Perez + Robbie Hernandez for Xavier Nady Isn't Nady basically the same player as Craig Wilson?

Anybody read anything about Todd Walker going to the Pads?

See, now, this has Kenny Williams written all over it. A player who will be here beyond this year, is in his prime, and would immediately upgrade the part of the team that the Sox are supposed to be best at. Yikes, I'd probably trade our top three 'spects (Fields, Sweeney, and Broadway) for Oswalt. They can have Garcia, too. Free agent at year's end, I believe.

Heh, reading an article over at BTF on this situation, a quote something along the lines of, "The Astros informed several teams that Oswalt won't be available anymore" came up. You KNOW that Kenny was in on that, even if it hasn't been reported yet. My guess is that Kenny might've offered a package something along the lines of Garcia + Podsednik + Fields. Just a wild-ass guess though, nothing more, so don't read into it.

Tito -- I'm not defending his batting eye. It could certainly use improvement. I think you're giving him the short-end-of-the-stick defensively, though. I really doubt you could name five shortstops in all of baseball who you can say are, without a doubt, better defensive shortstops than Juan Uribe. Is he the best? It'd be tough for me to make that claim. I'll stick with this: you're not going to find a whole lot of SSs better than Uribe. You're also ignoring the above average power that Juan posseses (for a SS). His IsO (SLG% - BA) is at .196, which is pretty solid. His OPS his been steadily climbing since June, mainly because of his ability to hit for xtra bases. Finally -- I've seen you bash Uribe, but I haven't seen you bring up a replacement. Tejada? Well, that deal isn't getting done unless we include McCarthy. That'd mean we wouldn't be able to move one of Vazquez/Garcia this offseason, and we'd also add another (close to) $9 million to a payroll that figures to get larger with Crede getting more cash, along with small raises for Buehrle, Iguchi, and Dye. Furcal? I know you didn't bring his name up, but it makes me laugh when I see his name as a possible trade target for next year. The guy makes close to $10 million more than Uribe, yet has a career OPS only 20 points above Uribe's. Their defense is comparable. The only thing that Furcal really does better is steal bases; and that's not worth the $10 million difference in their salaries. I'll close on this, because we've collectively spent too much time debating this. Uribe isn't a perfect player. But he's not someone who's going to hurt you, either. I'm perfectly fine with him and Brian Anderson hitting 8th and 9th, as they play the two most important defensive positions damn well. And, as has been shown this year -- run prevention > run production, and team defense certainly plays a huge part in that.

QUOTE(TitoMB345 @ Jul 31, 2006 -> 12:27 AM) And think how much better he would be if he had plate discipline. Then we'd be talking about a real hitter. Oh well, so what? Not every player has the eye of Albert Pujols. You're doing what bad teams do. They look at what a player can't do, rather than what they can do. We have a SS who plays elite defense at one of the most important defensive positions, and who hits for a good amount of power. Is his streakiness bothersome? Sure -- but it's not like he's paid to be a superstar. He's getting paid a reasonable amount of cash, and he's a pretty solid value for what he does.

QUOTE(Milkman delivers @ Jul 31, 2006 -> 12:26 AM) Is some team really doing to be stupid enough to take Vazquez or Garcia off of our hands without us eating a decent chunk of their salary? I don't think anyone will. To get rid of either of them, we'll have to throw some money the other team's way, too. Why wouldn't someone take Garcia? He's got the notion as a "big game pitcher", his contract is pretty reasonable considering the market, and his ERA isn't brutal this year; we all expected better than 4.85, but that isn't awful. In the NL, He's probably a 3.90 ERA guy who will give you innings -- that's valuable. I doubt the Sox would get a Mark Mulder type package, but I think we can grab two B-grade prospects.

QUOTE(fathom @ Jul 30, 2006 -> 11:33 PM) There was an article in the Tribune over a month ago which went into detail about the Sox financial situation. In the article, it said that the Sox might have to trade some players in the offseason in order to clear up payroll for next season. The article mentioned how a lot of guys were already signed for next year, and it was above 90 million was what they stated. After reviewing that page, there's a lot of errors. Examples are Dye's not making only 1 million next year, same with Buehrle. I realize there are errors, but it works both ways. The page also has Thome making $14, when he's really only making $7. It also has Vazquez making the full $12.5 -- I believe it's only $9-10. Here's the 13 highest paid players on the Sox: 2007 Salary Buehrle - 9.5 Contreras - 9 Garcia - 10 Garland - 10 Konerko - 12 Vazquez - 10 Dye - 6.5 Thome - 7 Pierzynski - 5.5 Uribe - 4.15 Crede - ??? Iguchi - 3.25 Mackowiak - 2.5 So you're estimate was closer than I thought, but it's still at about $95 million (I'm giving Crede about $6 million). In itself, I guess you were right, but that doesn't include the fact that the Sox will probably be shedding $10 million with the trade of Vazquez/Garcia, and adding in McCarthy.

QUOTE(fathom @ Jul 30, 2006 -> 09:53 PM) The way things look now, we're not going to have much money at all to spend to upgrade the team. I believe we already have about 100 million locked up in 13 players. Fathom, WTF are you talking about? Look here at the Sox payroll info -- it's not even close to $100 million locked up in 13 players. I don't know where the hell you pulled that number from...

FWIW, the Sox would probably get two draft picks for Zito, as (if the trade went through), the Sox would almost definitely offer him arbitration. In essence, the trade would be: Two-three months of Barry Zito + two top 40 draft picks for Garcia + Cash + Broadway + Fields (minimum) I think the better bet would be waiting in the offseason to deal Fields. The Sox have two known teams who are after Fields in San Diego and Philly. Make one of those teams pay a bunch for the guy they percieve as their future thirdbaseman. I really want to wake up tomorrow and see that the Sox have traded a combination of Haeger/Phillips and maybe Owens (??? -- a lesser prospect is what I'm getting at) for Brady Clark.

QUOTE(Frankensteiner @ Jul 30, 2006 -> 01:12 AM) Our offense is better than what we've seen from them post ASB, but I seriously doubt they're as good as they were in the first half. Probably somewhere in-between. With so many undisciplined pull-happy hitters (not to mention guys putting up some career numbers), we're bound to run into a couple of slumps. In that sense, I don't think we can consider ourselves like the Red Sox who have consistant, high OBP hitters and can overcome bad pitching. I think the notion that the Sox are "pull-happy" really gets overplayed on this site. Look at our lineup: Podsednik generally is not a pull-happy hitter. He can slap it the other way. Iguchi - Well, if you think he's a pull-hitter, then I don't know what game you're watching. Thome - He's obviously the biggest pull-hitter in our lineup, but even he can go opposite field -- usualy for a homer. I am waiting, however, for him to slap a bunt down the first base line one of these days. For a big man, he's not too slow. Konerko - When Konerko slumps, it looks like he's a pull hitter. When he's going good, he uses the whole field and hits the ball where its pitched. Dye - I laugh when I see Dye called a pull hitter. Hell, the guy was just about the only player not trying to hit it over the LF scoreboard in the Home Run Derby. He was hitting 'em to straight center. No way he's a pull-guy. Pierzynski - Looking at Pierzynski's hit chart at US Cellular Field, I'd say more than 40% of his hits have been to center or LF. Last year, it seemed like he was more of a pull-hitter, but this year he's definitely done a real nice job going oppo. Anderson - Through the first couple months of the season, I would've probably characterized Anderson as a "pull-hitter". Lately, however, he's been wearing out that RCF gap, and it's nice to see. Uribe - Uribe can slap the in any direction, although most (all?) of his power is in his 'pull'. I obviously overanalyzed the point, but you get what I'm saying.

QUOTE(TitoMB345 @ Jul 29, 2006 -> 07:19 PM) What about Short Stop? I want a consistent hitter and fielder to play the position, not someone like Uribe, who lets his cold streak at the plate effect his play in the field. Why does everybody want to replace Uribe at short? Even though he's a streaky hitter, he's still one of the better defensive shortstops in all of baseball. And, overall, he's a fine #8-9 hitter who you can "hide" when he's slumping. His OPS is up to .721, now. I know his arm has been a little more erratic this year, which has caused some to dislike Uribe a bit more, but I still trust him going into the hole and making that throw over most other shortstops in baseball. Furthermore, the names that have been brought up as possible replacements are either not realistic (Tejada) or not that much better overall (Furcal). I'm 100% sure in saying that Tejada would cost the Sox McCarthy, along with two (maybe all three?) of Sweeney/Fields/Broadway. So the Sox would be adding another what, $10 million bucks, without being able to shed a starting pitcher next season (ie lose Garcia's big contract). I almost laugh when people bring up Furcal at all; the guy is making $13 million this year (and for the next three seasons, IIRC), has an OPS that's all of ten points higher than Uribe's, and their defense is comparable. Uribe is a relative bargain. The Sox have him locked up through next year at under four million dollars, and might even have an option through '08. When his defense starts to decline, then we can start talking about Uribe's replacement.