hogan873

QUOTE (justBLAZE @ Dec 20, 2010 -> 01:08 PM) What was reported long ago is now official. Finally. Crain to the Sox 3-years, $13 mil. $4 mil in '11. $4.5 mil each in '12 and '13. - Doug Padilla I like the deal. Hopefully Crain will do for the Sox like he did for the Twins...especially against the Twins!

Finally watched the last episode of The Walking Dead. What a great series. I hope it's as good with an extended second season. So what did the doctor whisper to Rick towards the end?

When I saw the thread title I thought it was going to be another "why did we acquire Peavy?" or "he's always hurt" threads. What a pleasant surprise. Certainly we should all be concerned if he doesn't return to form, but I like the guy, and I like his attitude. I'm on board with the Peavy is a bad-ass club.

I didn't even have to think about this one, and it seems like the consensus it what I was thinking. Obviously being a Sox fan and watching the cover-your-eyes and cross-your-fingers show that was Bobby Jenks last season leaves me clicking to vote Crain over and over until my mouse broke. But, what would an outsider think? What would a Red Sox fan want? We saw Jenks struggle, and we threw things. And we saw Crain come in and handle our batters. So, for me (and seemingly many of you) it's an easy vote. But a lot of that vote is based on emotions.

Good luck to Bobby in his new Sox. He's going to be under a lot of pressure in Boston. I hope for his sake he pitches better than he did this past year.

My wife and I watched season 1 of Modern Family on DVD in about a week then started in on season 2 on the DVR. One of the funniest shows on TV. Last night we watched the episode about the chirping fire detectors when Phil lost it and started hammering them off the wall. I couldn't stop laughing when he yelled, "I just detected your ass getting kicked!"

On paper, this team is better than last year's team. The lineup is much better, and the starting pitching is about the same...better if Peavy comes back healthy. And the bullpen looks fairly solid right now. Konerko will most likely not repeat 2010, but he could still be a .270, 30 HR, 90+ RBI guy. Buehrle may actually be better, as someone pointed out he was a bit unlucky at times. Realistically, this team should be a 90+ win team. A lot will depend on how Alexei, Gordon, and Rios come out of the gate.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Dec 16, 2010 -> 01:19 AM) If the Sox truly need to save money, I'd trade Jackson for prospects to somebody and let Sale start. Then sign Freddy for one mill or somebody of that genre. I think Jackson will be a big part of the rotation this year, so I doubt he's going anywhere. Plus, there's already some question about Peavy, so trading Jackson leaves them with three solid starters...not good enough. As far as Freddy, he'll get a lot more than $1 million. I could see him getting 2 years for $7 or $8 million, or one year for upwards of $5 million.

This is the best I've felt about this team in a while. The offense looks downright imposing, and the starting pitching could be quite scary...especially if Peavy comes back healthy. The bullpen is the only concern right now, and the Crain signing makes it a little less concerning. One more quality bullpen arm and this team should easily compete for the AL Central and even the AL.

I don't know. MLBTR is saying the offer is in addition to the Crain deal. I guess we'll have to wait and see. If it's in addition, a salary dump trade has to be coming soon.

I'm glad to see the Yankees not landing Lee. Seems that their money did them no good this time around. It's early, but they are looking like losers of the offseason so far. No doubt they will make a move or two shortly and make themselves look better. As far as the Phillies rotation...wow. Thankfully they are in the NL.

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Dec 9, 2010 -> 04:52 PM) Yeah, it's pretty brutal. Perhaps they're saving money to go towards payroll but hiring a child to do all signage work for them, not to mention a bizarre choice for the featured players. For anyone that can't see the link here's the billboard: I almost shat myself.

I wonder what pitcher they could be targeting. Is it speculated to be a SP?

QUOTE (fathom @ Dec 9, 2010 -> 10:46 AM) And there goes my work day. My thoughts exactly. I came into work today thinking I could concentrate on what I'm supposed to be doing since the Dunn and Konerko deals are done. Oh well. It's my Friday anyway.

QUOTE (JoeCoolMan24 @ Dec 8, 2010 -> 06:07 PM) Interesting how I didn't find a show on ESPN (ATH, PTI, First Take) to have a segment about the Dunn or Konerko signings, yet they had a segment about Carlos Pena today. Also, on ESPN's bottom line today I saw they mention "Dunn and Konerko were both listed among the worst defensive 1B in baseball according to advanced fielding metrics". LOL, ok cool guys, thanks for pointing out their flaws. I saw that. I just rolled my eyes. When the Sox signed Dunn, their top stories were Jeter talking to the Yankees again and the 2024 World Cup being played in Qatar.

I was certain this was a sarcastic thread. Cowley was reporting the same thing everyone else was, which as it turned out may have been inaccurate. We'll never know exactly what went on behind the closed doors and neither will Cowley.

One thing I think we're missing here is the fact that we don't know exactly what has transpired over the past three days. We have been going off of tweets and posts from people who have sources, hear things, etc. We don't know that it was all PK who held this up. And we don't know for sure that he was asking for $15 million a year. My speculation is that the sticking point was the third year. And they came to an agreement including the third year with some creative deferrment. I'm not saying PK is innocent at all, but to say he's greedy and he acted like Jeter...I don't know.

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Dec 8, 2010 -> 10:47 AM) I've heard he's lost 40 pounds. Now all he needs is a new head on his shoulders, a work ethic, a time machine, and he'll be good to go. Well, he could be a great clubhouse domino player.

The Pirates are kicking the round tires of Bartolo Colon. Good luck, guys.

QUOTE (lasttriptotulsa @ Dec 8, 2010 -> 10:03 AM) 135 HRs in 3 years? Not likely. Dunn however, might. I don't know why I thought he was closer. Yes, that seems unlikely.

QUOTE (bschmaranz @ Dec 8, 2010 -> 10:02 AM) That's exactly how I'm looking at it. I was on the DLee bandwagon but that was because I was under the impression that Konerko was costing us 15 per. I'm happy with this and I like that they got creative in order to give him that 3rd year. Good work Jerry, good work Kenny. I agree. With Pena getting $10 million, D. Lee might end up getting more than we were thinking yesterday. I like having the middle of the lineup we have now.

I now expect a trade or two to happen soon. I imagine KW has other plans he was waiting to kick-off once the PK deal was done.

This is good and unexpected news (the money anyway). Maybe the third year was the sticking point. The money per year is quite reasonable. Now, can PK get to 500 HRs in the next three years?

It certainly sounds like Konerko will be back, and I'm good with that. As far as the money, I think it has been demonstrated that the Sox have the money and are going to spend it. I'm not overly concerned if Konerko gets $14 million a year or so provided they still go after a bullpen arm or two. Kerry Wood is most likely out of the picture due to him wanting too much money. But there are other FA out there, plus there's trade options. A PK signing today solidifies the lineup, but there will still be questions about the bullpen. So, it may be good news followed up by some nail-biting and swearing. However, I think the Sox will spend the money to get some decent bullpen help.

QUOTE (chisox2334 @ Dec 8, 2010 -> 07:48 AM) so what is everyone's guess that will happened today? I think Konerko signs, but most of us will think it'll be for too much money. My prediction, the Sox cave and sign him for 2/$28 million with an option for a third year.