CWSGuy406

Buehrle is hands-down the number one pitcher on this team. No knock against Garcia, but Buehrle's our ace...

QUOTE(Soxnbears01 @ Jan 12, 2005 -> 07:37 PM) when are you getting down there keith? i'm pretty sure i won't be getting there till saturday afternoon Same here. I won't be able to go to any of Saturday's festivities, stupid basketball f***ing practice right in the middle of the f***ing day, four to six. I'll be there Sunday, though, and my brother will be there for the first two days. We're all staying in the same room, correct? I should get there right around 8-ish Saturday night. Hopefully I'll be able to grab a bite to eat with you guys. Brian, I'll talk to you sometime later tonight or tomorrow, as far as you getting in contact with my brother on Friday night. I'll be pissed as hell if Iguchi is presented as the Sox newest signing on Saturday, and I'm not there to witness it. I do think, that something new will happen Saturday or Friday or Sunday, sometime during the weekend.

QUOTE(Soxnbears01 @ Jan 12, 2005 -> 06:12 PM) I'm more interested in the Q&A sessions and stuff like that than the autographs to tell you the truth. Same here. If I happen to run into one of the guys, it'd be cool to get a picture with them, but I probably won't be waiting in any lines for autographs...

QUOTE(JUGGERNAUT @ Jan 11, 2005 -> 10:45 PM) Because that's the biggest change. You have Val+Uribe's production to compare vs Uribe's+Harris'. There is a big dropoff between those two pairs. Harris had some very bad months. Ok....? And Valentin had one really bad year... 2005 Harris/Secondbaseman brought in >>> 2004 Valentin. Book it.

QUOTE(jackie hayes @ Jan 11, 2005 -> 09:15 PM) Whatever Johnson does in the long run, last year's draft looks pretty bad for the Bears, especially in the lower rounds. Joe and Harriot lasted all of a minute or two before they were cut, Marshall is hanging by a thread, and Krenzel might be soon. I hope they alter their philosophy a bit -- speed's fine, but it's not everything. I disagree. That draft has the potential to send us four starters/quality players in Vasher (could be our nickleback next season), Berrian (had a very solid year once he got the rookie-jitters out, speedy, should be the number 3 receiver next season, loved by this coaching staff), Tommie Harris (awesome), and possibly Tank Johnson. I'll bash Angelo for some of his signings, some of his contracts given out, but one area where I cannot bash him is drafting.

QUOTE(JUGGERNAUT @ Jan 11, 2005 -> 08:07 PM) Quote: Maggs > Dye, Lee >>> Pods. You are forgetting three other spots: 2B, SS, & C. Maggs > Dye, Lee >>> Pods, Val >> Harris, AJ > Burke+SAlo+Olivo When you look at it that way then Dye & AJ are a wash & they drop out. You are left with Lee >>> Pods, Val >> Harris. I'll add El-Duque >> ELO, Garcia+Herm+Vizc >> spot starters+relievers. So there lies the dilemma. Has the improvement in pitching made up for the dropoff from Lee to Pods & Val to Harris? I don't think it has. I'm confident in Garcia+Herm, but not Vizc. If you trully believe there is going to be a dropoff in Rowand & Uribe then it's hard to say the Sox will be able to overcome the loss of Lee & Val. Remember that when I refer to Val here I also mean the presence of Uribe vs Harris. Harris had 409ab, Val 450ab's, & Uribe 502. So with Val gone Uribe & Harris will split those 450 ab's. That will push both Uribe & Harris over 600 ab's unless KW adds someone else. Why are you comparing Harris and Valentin? IMHO, our infield situation as of right now is better than what it was going into last year. Valentin was dropping off heading into last season, and Uribe was an unknown quantity heading into last season -- he actually wasn't the starter, Harris was. So -- based on last year's starters, I'll bet that 2005 Willie Harris + 2005 Juan Uribe will be >> than 2004 Willie Harris + 2004 Jose Valentin. I don't think we're losing much with Valentin not on our roster. We'll lose some power from the left side of the plate, but Harris will also get on a lot more than Valentin would have...

Good points, Gene. This team is getting a lot of players who will be in different roles, too. For example, Hermanson will be coming here eclusively as a reliever. Vizcaino will be coming here not as the number one late-reliever (behind Kolb, of course), but here he'll be behind or near Marte and Shingo. Does the Win Shares' statistic take park dimensions into consideration, too? Because, Dye, Pierzynski, and Podsednik will all almost undoubtedly boost their stats, even just a little bit upon last season's numbers. I also believe that Crede and Harris (whoever we get to play 2B) will improve upon last years' numbers, but that should be evened out by a dropoff in production from Rowand and Uribe (again, I say very slight, if at all). One last thing: Is comparing last years team to this years' team a good tool to use, or no? I believe everyone on this board will agree we've upgraded at most positions on our team, or have stayed with equal production, except LF and RF (a healthy Maggs is > Dye, and Lee >>> Podsednik, unless Pods repeats his 2003 season). We've improved our starting rotation. We've improved our bullpen. What did we win, 80-some-odd games this past year? That was with an awful RFer from July on, a bad DH from August on, a bad 3Bman throughout the year, a terrible bullpen (Marte and Shingo discluded), and one hole(s) (at some points in the season, two) in the rotation. If this team is fairly healthy (I'm expecting injuries, El Duque and Thomas being two who I expect to go down, at some point next season), I don't see why our floor shouldn't/isn't 85 games... Our floor.

QUOTE(quickman @ Jan 11, 2005 -> 06:11 PM) Agreed, this guy is a piece of s***. He is not a member of this board correct? Beastly, I'd appreciate if you could throw something at this kid's head, courtesy of me...

QUOTE(Rowand44 @ Jan 11, 2005 -> 05:08 AM) It was probably both of them, I don't think Ozzie cared for Carlos's approach at the plate but I could be wrong. That's stupid. Grr... The stubborness of some people absolutely piss me off so much! (Not you Rowand or Yasny, talking about Ozzie a bit here). Didn't Konerko strike out more than Lee? Gosh, did he make himself into such a complete player -- power, plate discipline, contact, and defense -- he improved himself in every year at one point in time with the Sox. And all we got was a journeyman CFer with one good season, and a solid reliever. A little frustrating, but as they say, life goes on...

QUOTE(Chisoxfn @ Jan 11, 2005 -> 04:10 AM) It would be interesting if they acquired Byrnes and Octavio Dotel and were then able to deal Marte or another reliever for a middle infielder. I'd definately agree with that. But I think we both realize its quite unlikely, but with Kenny anything is possible (I mean that in a good way cause I truly think he's always open to finding new ways to make the team better and I love that, although its not panned out thus far I really think it will this year). I know most on this board would probably be in total disagreement with me, but if Kenny got a package of (just using an example) Byrnes, Dotel, and a highly-rated prospect, I'd definitely pull the trigger. Rowand is a solid player, but if some team would have been willing to really, really overpay for him, I'd definitely pull the trigger...

QUOTE(lvjeremylv @ Jan 11, 2005 -> 02:14 AM) OK..who should they have got instead? It's still a salary dump. The purpose of the trade wasn't solely talent for talent -- rather, it was talent for some talent but mainly to clear money to make more moves. As to who they could have gotten instead -- you've got to believe that there was a better offer than Podsednik + Vizcaino for Lee. I mean, Vizcaino is a very nice reliever, but he's no centerpiece, and Podsednik has really only had one good season. If they wanted to clear up room for payroll, and still make the same moves such as adding Pierzynski & Hernandez, I would have traded Konerko for Julio & Hairston from Baltimore (not a great deal, but clearing up money is the main point in the deal). In making this deal, you get your leadoff hitter in Hairston/Harris platoon -- as well as solidifying the bullpen. Then, you go out and get El Duque, and Pierzynski -- in this situation, one would assume you'd be confident, or semi-confident, in every position on the whole team -- the bullpen is improved with Julio and Hermanson, the rotation is improved with El Duque, and you still get your offensive additions in Hairston, Pierzynski, and Dye -- you lose Konerko, but keep Lee (the better all-around player), and you live with Gload at first, getting a platoon player if he proves unable to handle lefties. This is all speculation, but I believe that this situation would have left us with a better team today. JMHO. EDIT: This situation above has no bearing on what the team should have done, because as Jim and Beck have stated numerous times, this organization clearly isn't happy with Harris, and clearly wouldn't give him the chance to leadoff (even as part of a platoon).

QUOTE(lvjeremylv @ Jan 10, 2005 -> 10:34 PM) Not probably - we DON'T get either one. So we didn't trade Carlos Lee for Scott Podsednik, Luis Vizcaino, and Travis Hinton. We also effectively acquired AJ Pierzynski and Orlando Hernandez. So basically, we got our leadoff man (unless he proves he's not fit for the job), a #3 starter (which obviously at the same time solidified our #5 spot), a good arm for our bullpen (can you ever have enough lively arms in the pen?), and a catcher who can actually handle himself at the plate for Carlos Lee. Advantage Sox IMSO. Sorry for bringing back the past and harping on this again, but I still don't understand why Konerko couldn't be replaced in the trade instead of Lee... I mean -- while Podsednik is really good once he gets on the bases, he's really only had one good year in his major/minor league career. And, while Vizcaino is a nice player too, I really think that Konerko would be about equal to Vizcaino/Pods. Then again, if Podsednik has a 2003 like season, you'll hear no complaining from me, and the trade will be a total winner for us. But, I'd be so much happier right now if this team still had C-Lee, rather than Konerko. Oh well, the sun will rise tomorrow, I guess...

Tilt premieres on Thursday, for you poker fans. From the makers of Rounders, too, and Rounders was one of the best movies I've ever seen...

And Favre throws another interception -- man, he's having such a s***ty first half. Culpepper to Burleson makes it 24-10. The shootout at Lambeau continues!

QUOTE(Flash Tizzle @ Jan 9, 2005 -> 08:14 PM) You sound as if Munoz possesses potential to replace Marte's talent. Sox desperately need a strong bullpen for no other reason than El-Duque's questionable health. If he enters a "dead-arm" stretch, and is unable to eclipse 5 innings, I'd wonder how the bullpen would manage for 4 innings without Marte. Personally, I can't stand these offseaon moves in which we take one step forward- two backwards. It's obvious with the offense, which was often inconsistent, change was imminent; but our bullpen was never dependable. Politte/Hermanson/Marte/Vizcaino/Shingo is a stellar bridge to assemble from starter to victory. If any of our starters have a mediocre outing, Ozzie will have no restraint in removing his pitchers. It may sound ridiculous to covet Marte over Castillo, but I believe he's incredibly vital to our teams success. Great post. We have what I see as two question marks in our rotation in El Duque and Contreras. We know what we'll get from Garland, Buehrle, and Garcia -- most likely, the first two will be 210 IP+, while Garcia will be right around 200 IP. Garland will give us a sub-five ERA, and Buehrle and Garcia should be able to put up sub 4.25 ERA's, most likely better than that. As for El Duque and Contreras... El Duque, when healthy, we know what we'll get from him. But -- how healthy will he be? At some point this year, he'll most likely break down at least once. And, with Contreras -- how many starts will he be unable to get out of the second inning, because of endless walks? We know he'll have his starts where he'll absolutely dominate, but he's also going to have some real s***ty starts, too. Which makes it such a key to have an excellent bullpen. For those of you Marte nay-sayers, I really don't know why. Marte had an awful year last season, and was still a very good reliever for us. I'd definitely do Harris+Cotts+PTBNL for Castillo, but I don't want any of our key, late-inning relievers (Vizcaino, Shingo, Hermy, Marte) being part of the deal...

As a Bears fan, this game is really tough to watch (though it's a lot easier on the eyes with HD-TV ). As much as I hate Mike Tice, Randy Moss, Chris Hovan, and all those Viqueens (including that moronic Minnesota writer), I'm cheering for them because I just cannot cheer for the Packers. And what do ya know, a huge play to Moe Williams gives the Vikes the early 7-0 lead...

QUOTE(WSFAN35 @ Jan 9, 2005 -> 07:01 PM) Who knows what we're going to get with Marte this year. He reported to camp last year out of shape with five miles off his fastball. He's not the same pitcher that he used to be, and while he might get it back, he might get worse. Why not trade for a sure thing in Castillo? Marte isn't a sure thing? Marte had what many people called his 'worst' season last year, and he still had an ERA under 3.50... We're at a point right now where we have (IMHO) four solid relievers in Marte, Shingo, Vizcaino, and Hermanson, a couple of question marks with potential to put up solid numbers in Politte and Cotts, and then our long relief guy (who you hope to give you good innings) in Adkins/Diaz. I'd like to keep it that way...

I honestly believe that Jermaine Dye and AJ Pierzynski are going to come in here and become fan favorites instantly. More people should know that Dye turned down more money to keep a hand-shake deal with Kenny. He's one of only a few people (I could be wrong about that) in the majors who would do that...

QUOTE(Rowand44 @ Jan 8, 2005 -> 06:50 PM) Bunting is a skill. I'm not saying willie can't become a good bunter but as of right now he's brutal at it. I think it's much more about confidence. Obviously, you'll be a lot more confident in it if you practice it a lot, but Harris isn't a terrible bunter. And bunting definitely shouldn't be a reason to like/dislike a guy.

QUOTE(Rowand44 @ Jan 8, 2005 -> 05:52 PM) I have no problem with willie, I've said that before, however ray can bunt and knows how to steal bases, also ray has consistantly had a very good obp, ray would be a great guy to plug in, in the 2 slot of the order. Bunting is a confidence thing. If your a confident bunter, it's easy to get it down. Harris obviously wasn't confident last year, and, how could he be confident? He was jerked around in the lineup way too often, IMHO. Durham is making way, way too much money for us to take on. No thanks... Oh, one more thing. Durham knows how to steal bases, yet only has 23 in the last three years...

QUOTE(103 mph screwball @ Jan 8, 2005 -> 05:28 PM) If the Sox can afford Durham, couldn't they afford Polonco instead? I think he'd be a better fit if the Phillies would part with him. Maybe KW is putting pressure on the Iguchi negotiations. Excellent point. If your gonna go one step for the older, worse player in Durham, why not go the extra mile and get the younger, and making-less-money Polanco? I'd (easy for me to say sitting right here, right? ) take on the five million in his contract for Adkins and Harris. Or, hell, maybe we could just get him for Adkins. They lost Rodriguez in the Lofton trade, so I bet they could probably use another arm in their bullpen, a young one, too.

If Cairo is only getting 900K from the Mets, Cora should barely make 500K from another team. If they're letting the Mets grab Cairo for less than a million, it tells me they might be in higher pursuit of Iguchi than we think...

QUOTE(Tannerfan @ Jan 7, 2005 -> 08:42 PM) I say Rowand because he's a more disciplined hitter. But what I don't understand is why Harris takes so much heat when Crede is clearly our weakest infielder. Welcome to Soxtalk, and excellent first post ! I agree 100%. One thing, though -- Harris shouldn't play 2B when a left-handed pitcher is the starter. Hell, put in Valdez at second against LHP's, but Harris can't start against a lefty...

FWIW, he flat out denied the card-playing report of Tomko, calling it second hand news, stuff like that...

I posted this in the 'AJ Signs Thread', I'll post it here too. If you want to hear AJ's conference call and hear him talk about his new team, here it is: WhiteSox.com Here's to AJ having one helluva year!