CWSGuy406

I agree, 3E8. Put as less stress on those arms as possible. It will pay off in September when Freddy Garcia and Mark Buehrle are fresh, as we go into those final 17 games against the AL Central. Our bullpen will be much fresher, too, come September, than it would normally have been. Wow -- I really like this move...

I'm in awe. I'll tell ya, I'll be real dissappointed if I wake up tomorrow and find out that this rumor is false. We can now, actually, go on a winning streak for five or more games. If, God willing, our starters all catch fire at the same time, we might be able to put on one of those double-digit winnings streaks. Boy, would that be nice. Hopefully this move will loosen up Contreras a bit, too. No excuses. He's got his family here, another Cuban, he's set to go for his Cy Young season the Yankees were hoping for when they bought him -- except, it will be in the White Sox pinstripes (or so I hope).

I'll tell ya, while I wasn't an advocate of the Lee trade, I haven't been happier about our pitching staff in quite a while. Buehrle/Garcia/El Duque/Contreras/Garland, with a bullpen of Cotts-Adkins/Politte/Vizcaino/Hermanson/Marte/Takatsu is really, really good. I love it even moreso because I feel that our bullpen has a chance to be awesome, too. Nice job, Sox, and please, don't let this be a rumor -- please, let it be true!!!

SS71, is that Grilli in your avatar? A college picture of Grilli?

I agree, but I definitely think that St. Louis is going to overpay for Eckstien. IIRC, isn't Hector Luna their starting SS right now if they don't get anyone? Eckstein would be a better pickup, but I wouldn't be angry if Cora was the one picked up...

Well, if the signing is true, than for the first time in over three years (or is it four?), we have FIVE -- count 'em, five capable starters. I'm worried about Contreras, but it feels good. I think we have a nice pitching staff on our hands this year, and I really think one of Eckstien/Cora will still be added.

Cheat, I'm waiting for what you think on this trade. What was El Duque's ERA+ in his years at NY?

I'm hoping to get my hands on one of those blue seats, I don't care if everyone else calls them ugly, I'd definitely love to have one of those bad-boys in my basement...

Howcome his homerun numbers, RBI numbers -- actually, all of his numbers -- are down playing away from the Cell, then?

Unfortunately, the reason Paully's numbers are so is because he plays in such a hitter's haven. Look at his road splits -- pretty terrible. A star player deserves an eight-figure paycheck, and while Konerko is a nice player, he sure isn't a star...

I think -- like Anthrax said -- a two year deal, perhaps, right around five million per year, with a team year third option for six million would be good. Definitely, like it's been mentioned though, incentive-laden contract, for things like IP, ERA, as well as how the team does...

I have to admit, the picture that they have up at whitesox.com looks pretty good (with all of the seats that forest green color).

Even with Boston, did Cabrera even reach a .300 OBP...?

Yeah, so....? I still see the same things I saw on ESPN.com. 2004 BA of .286, OBP of .327, and an .833 OPS -- better than any year Cabrera has ever had...

Who the hell are you talking about? Maybe you're the one who's blind to stats. Uribe hit .283, with a .327 OBP (I don't even know what the hell OBS is...). He also had an .833 OPS, 26 points higher than Cabrera's BEST year. And, Uribe has only played a couple of seasons, unlike Cabrera, who's played longer. So, should I take the better defensive shortstop with better power, a better average, a better OBP, at less than three million or the worse shortstop, with a lower average, a lower OBP, and a very poor OPS at 8 million? Is there even a choice?

Uribe Range Factor - 5.21 Cabrera Range Factor - 4.12 So, while Cabrera make .005 errors less per game, Uribe gets to a ton more balls hit in his zone.

You still haven't justified giving Cabrera eight million a year, and you never will. He's had one good season. He sucks. He'd be an awful two hitter, and I'm glad that this organization (apparently) made no effort to sign him -- one of a few correct decisions this winter, IMHO.

Derek Jeter won a gold glove...

Uribe is much better defender at SS than Cabrera is. Better arm, more range. No buts about it, I know who I'd rather have at SS...

And we're asking you a very simple question. Cabrera at 8 million per year?

Clement @ 8 Million >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Cabrera @ 8 Million.

How would Cora improve the Sox defensively? Maybe Cora is as good as Harris defensively, but definitely not better. I highly doubt that Cora has more range than Harris does... Also, someone else said it, Cora can't hit lefties either. What do we do when a lefty takes the bump? Don't get me wrong, I think Cora would be a nice pickup, but we'd still be stuck in a hole vs. left handed pitchers, at second base.

Will we find out about ALL of the non-tenders by midnight, or will there be a bit of a waiting period before we find out all of the names?

A couple more Non-tenders: Mohr had a .394 OBP last season? In limited at-bats, of course, but damn. What the hell is Sabean doing?

Qwerty, just drop it. Raff, welcome to Soxtalk, glad to see some of you long-time lurkers posting for the first time. Anyways, I had no problem with your topic. Good post for discussion, and no one else really posted it anywhere else. Addison and Tony were just commenting on how there's been a lot of new posters coming in lately (which there has been). As for your topic, I think Podsednik needs to prove that he isn't a one-year wonder to a lot of people. I also think Contreras needs to be a consistent pitcher this season. If he pitches like he can, he's capable of domination. My final key is Shingo. If he can hold down the closers role, it won't force us to shuffle our bullpen, and we'll have a damn good bullpen if Shingo is able to succeed. Like you said, we're all in the same boat here. Go Sox!