hogan873

Pulling Your Pods?

"No word on what the Sox plans are for Cannizaro, but I ultimately believe this move had more to do with AAA than the majors. The conspiracy theorist out there may think Cannizaro was acquired to replace Getz (who'd go on the DL), but even if Getz injury was more serious than we've been told (leading to the DL), the Sox would first turn to Brent Lillibridge." Ugh, I hope not.

QUOTE (fattyguy78 @ Aug 13, 2009 -> 12:35 PM) Hawk was saying something ridiculous the other night and correct me if im wrong but i think he said the aj has never been on the dl either...i thought that was crazy considering the amount of abuse his body takes Yes, I heard him say that, too. And I thought the same thing. It's surprising that a catcher who's been playing for as long as he has has not been on the DL.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Aug 13, 2009 -> 10:54 AM) But that all said, AJ brings a lot more to the table than a bat and a glove. This is my line of thinking, too. He's a guy who can lead a team just by being there.

Has AJ played any other positions...not necessarily in the majors but in the minors or college?

QUOTE (SoxFanForever @ Aug 13, 2009 -> 10:45 AM) Well the Ol' Hawkeroo has been watchin AJ play since his days in Florida as a youngster when the oranges were in full bloom and the breeze was comin off the ocean don'tcha know. Nice

I know this is a topic we have discussed before, but I thought maybe we should talk about some of the good things going on with the Sox. I was listening to ESPN 1000 a few days ago, and they were saying that Hawk said that AJ is the smartest baseball player in the game right now. Local baseball expert Bruce Levine agreed that AJ is one of the smartest. I would tend to agree that he's a smart ball player. But more than that, he is such a pain in the ass to other teams. I remember when he was with the Twins, you had to hate him. Now, even when he goes back to Minnesota (where he WAS loved) he gets booed. Think of all of the things he has done here as a Sox. The big things are easy to remember; the biggest being the dropped third strike in 2005. There must be so many other things that he does that we don't see. On top of everything else, he's having a career year. He's got one more year with the Sox (I think), and beyond that it's hard to tell what would happen. I would think that Flowers would be MLB ready by 2011.

One can't help but feel that this team will not go far in 2009...if they even make the playoffs. Detroit and Minnesota are trying to let the Sox take the division, but the Sox are not capitalizing. Unless some of the key players turn things around fast (Dye and Quentin, I'm looking at you), making the playoffs will be difficult and going deep into the playoffs will be impossible. I agree that 2010 and beyond is what KW is really looking at. Winning the division in 2009 would be a bonus.

The offense makes Mike angry (I'm Mike). And I'm not too excited about Pena, either. But, Pena giving up the walk off single to Griffey in the 14th doesn't happen if the Sox were to actually score a run. Pitching was good on both sides, but the Sox had more chances and should have scored.

A belated thanks! I don't check this forum much...

Good article. I was and still am a big fan of what KW did in acquiring Rios. He's what the Sox needed, and KW went out and said, "I'll take him, and you'll get nothing in return and like it." Of course, Toronto's GM didn't have a problem with it because he shed payroll. I suspect Rios may take a few games to get comfortable, but his presence will be felt right away. Aside from being a legitimate CFer, he will allow Dye, Pods, Thome, and Quentin to rest without the team resorting to sticking Wise out there.

Rios and Beckham will get into a friendly hitting war resulting in a combined 12 for 12 with 6 HRs and 19 RBIs. Each will also steal 3 bases. Not wanting to feel left out, TCQ will hit a ball so hard that it will go through the centerfield wall.

I'm getting tired of watching Dye hit into double plays. He's obviously in a slump, and I'm trying to remember everything good he's done. But, damn, maybe he needs to sit a game or two. I hope that his slump won't be magnified by the acquisition of Rios.

QUOTE (son of a rude @ Aug 11, 2009 -> 07:14 PM) I hope Blobby Junks is over his kidney stones. It would be nice to have him back and effective. Poor guy just looks like a big teddy bear out there when he's having trouble. Blobby Junks, though...nice.

QUOTE (GO CHI SOX! @ Aug 11, 2009 -> 08:14 PM) Does anyone know if Rios is playing tonight? He's not starting.

QUOTE (joejoedairy @ Aug 11, 2009 -> 07:03 PM) Fister.... hardly know her!

QUOTE (SoxAce @ Aug 11, 2009 -> 04:27 PM) El Caballo for Pods. Can't believe I'm saying that, but we wouldn't have a W.S. ring without Pods in 05. I totally agree. This was going to my favorite for the same reason you stated. Without Pods, the Sox may not have won the WS in 2005.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Aug 11, 2009 -> 03:14 PM) If he averaged those numbers each year I'd be very happy. Hell yeah.

Did...did you say "Behoove"?

I too agree that KW deserves props. If I had the time and the gumption, I would go back and look at what he did and what he sent away in order to end up with Danks, Floyd, Quentin, Alexei, Beckham, Peavy, and Rios. And a lot of the deals he has done came out of nowhere. Arrogantly Quiet...that's what he is.

The face of 2010 has been largely drawn in the past few weeks. However, there are still holes or at least concerns. I think what happens down the stretch will factor much into what other changes the team goes through before next year. The biggest question mark right now is probably OF. I'd be happy (or at least content) with an OF of Pods, Rios, and TCQ for 2010, but not beyond. 2011 should be the year of Danks II or Mitchell. Then what do we do about the DH? Dye or Thome? Thome's left handed bat may be a better weapon, but Dye has the advantage in age. A rotation of Buehrle, Peavy, Floyd, and Danks makes us all giddy. But, who is the fifth starter? I'm not sure we go out and get another starter. More than likely it's someone from within. Hudson or maybe even Carrasco. I'm not thinking much happens in the off season other than a bullpen arm. So, my prediction: 1 - Konerko 2 - Getz 3 - Beckham SS - Alexei LF - Pods CF - Rios RF - TCQ C - AJ DH - Thome Buehrle Peavy Floyd Danks Carrasco Dye, Jenks, Linebrink, Wise are all gone.

Yes, Royce could not hit, but he was a better defensive SS than Alexei and Jose.

Feeling bad about having so many OFers and wanting to give everyone playing time, Ozzie has decided to go the way of slow pitch softball: Left Field - TCQ Left Centerfield - Pods Right Centerfield - Rios Right Field - Dye Then he will allow Wise to play a deep SS and run around like a madman.

Thanks for posting what he said...I can't listen at work either. It is nice to see KW talk like this. I would hope that Dye isn't whining about potentially not getting as much playing time. His lack of offense and suddenly worse defense should lead to a few games riding the bench. I agree that Thome and Pods would be more positive about it. You might even see Pods explode offensively as he turns it on to prove his worth.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Aug 11, 2009 -> 11:38 AM) If Pods is in the lineup, he'e leading off. I don't think there is any doubt of that. When Pods is NOT in the lineup, I'd like to see Getz leadoff on those occasions, to see how he handles that. But I suspect that is where you may be right, that Rios would lead off when Pods is out. There would never be a reason to NOT lead off with Pods if he's in the lineup, that's for sure. And I would tend to agree with you that Getz makes more sense as the lead off guy when Pods isn't playing. It will be interesting to see where Ozzie hits Rios. Does he bat 2nd over Beckham? That might be a tough decision considering how well Beckham hits in the 2 hole. I suppose the most important thing about acquiring Rios is that he can play a good CF.