GreatScott82

KW is going to make 1 big splash this winter.. . Since we have depth in the farm- i can see one big name coming here. Not 2 or 3. Likely one big name with some more mediocre additions to come. I'm guessing the one big name will be a guy we haven't even heard rumors about yet. Hopefully it addresses the leadoff spot. I truly believe we will be able to aqcuire a DH cheaply later on in the winter when the market sorts itself out.

Just the fact the Sox are connected to names like Gonzalez and Upton give me pleanty of reason to hope that KW will make some sort of a big splash this winter.. I can't wait for those winter meetings!

I like it! Welcome aboard Omar! Our bench is pretty solid both defensively and offensively.

QUOTE (spiderman @ Nov 21, 2009 -> 12:55 PM) Agreed, though I hope that any deal for an older guy is a 1 year deal with a club option. I agree. However, im guessing in order to sign Matsui- we would have to garuntee 2 years and probably a 3rd year club option.

It would be best if the Sox waited to see how the market plays out when it comes to the DH signing. There are a lot of names out there so im sure once january hits and Matsui hasn't signed on with a team he would eventually accept a 2 year deal worth $12 million or so. . should be interesting to see things play out.

This is no secret. . still a nice read. Most of the moves KW will make this winter will be via trade. The last time the Sox went on a free agency signing frenzy was the offseason before the 05 campaign when they signed Iguchi, El-duque, AJ, Hermanson, and JD. KW had more flexibility when he traded away Carlos Lee's contract. If KW trades Konerko or Jenks- he will have alittle more flexibility to the fill some of the holes via free agency.

QUOTE (SoxAce @ Nov 19, 2009 -> 02:50 AM) Nah.. we'd get by. Then again.. I haven't been an active member the last couple of years like the original clan/prime (man I still miss Nuke, hi8is, etc..) days back in 2004-05 like I used to be so I shouldn't talk. OT: Speaking of which (old times), maybe I should bring back the Ben Davis fan club. I still got the PM's of the original members for a good laugh. And yes qwerty, tmar, supersteve, willie etc.. were club members back then. Good competition with aboz and the Buehrle fan club actually. I'm still in that Buerhle fan club. . look under my name

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Nov 18, 2009 -> 05:32 PM) So people would be willing to give up 1 of Floyd or Danks for a 1 year rental of Halladay and at the same time leave us with zero funds left for the DH/LF spots? Adding Halladay to that rotation is simply overkill. You can't offset a weak offense by producing a moderate upgrade out of your #3 starter spot. Couldn't agree more. our rotation is set. this team still has too many weaknesses. Adding another Ace would be overkill. We still need a leadoff hitter, DH, and depth in the pen. Fortanately for KW he has enough depth in the farm to go out and make a few deals. I also agree with Mark Gonzalez- I believe KW will make one big splash this winter. Rather it be Adrian Gonzalez or Carl Crawford- that is yet to be seen...

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Nov 17, 2009 -> 04:59 PM) This only makes sense if we don't expect Flowers with this organization in the near future. Things that make you go hmmm. . . .

it doesnt matter. . as long as they are all on base for A-Gon In all seriousness, i trust KW in brinking in a decent leadoff hitter.. . Hotstove is only begining to warm up.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Nov 16, 2009 -> 07:22 PM) yeah, but one bust or one bad contract or one injury to anyone and we're in real deep trouble if we hand out $18 mil a year to AGon. If you look at the big picture we have a 2 year window at winning this thing. Buerhle's contract runs out after 2011 and, Peavy's deal is over after 2012. Say the Sox pull off this deal, we have 2 years to decide rather to sign him to an extension or move in a different direction. It would be one thing mortgaging a good chunk of your farm for a guy with 1 year left on his contract, but the fact he has 2 years remaining gives the Sox an advantage. This is the perfect time to pull off a deal of this magnitude.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Nov 16, 2009 -> 07:17 PM) Projecting where the current crop of guys will be a year from now is difficult enough. Talking about Phegley and Mitchell filling those holes...that's impossible to project at this point. True. . but both have the pedegree of becoming very good players. . . Mitchell looked mighty impressive in the college world series and Phegley is quickly turning into a quality catcher for the organization. . .

QUOTE (Princess Dye @ Nov 16, 2009 -> 07:05 PM) They'll pay him his market value later on. We'll have cheap talent for awhile here. At that point you have a payroll of... Peavy, Rios, Floyd and not much else as we stand currently. The Sox are in a great position to deal for AGon and sign him to an extension after the 2011 season. . By then guys like Jared Mitchell and Phegley should be ready to come up, so even if we do trade Hudson, Flowers and more- we are still in great shape going forward. Get it done KW!

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Nov 16, 2009 -> 04:41 PM) Morales always struck me as similiar in both origin and skill-set to Dayan Viciedo. Like Dayan, Morales is a guy that was thought to be moved off position and into the outfield at some point. So, yeah PK can either play 1st or DH. They are also looking to replace Vlad's bat in the lineup. .

This potential deal makes sense on so many different levels. Mike Scioscia and PK have a relationship dating back to their Dodger days, the Angels tried to sign him back before the 06 campaign. LA is the one place PK would waive his no trade clause. For the Padres, they would have more young talent to work with, most young and rebuilding teams would be drooling. As far as the Sox go, they would save money. Key phrase there- save money. (Use that money toward a leadoff hitter and DH) They would get arguably one of the best left handed power hitters in the game and be in position to not only win the central- but to make a run at the whole enchalata!

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Nov 14, 2009 -> 03:23 PM) Yup. Crawford at age 28 has played more MLB Ball than Figgins by age 32. Stolen more bases too. I only bring this up because with these speedy guys...the punishment of playing the game that way sometimes seems to be cumulative. its a point worth taken. however, with the white sox rotation, there is a good 2-3 year window to compete for a WS title. Now is the time to aqcuire a guy of Crawfords caliber. Crawford is a stud and i dont see him slowing down anytime soon. Well at least over the next 2-3 years.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Nov 14, 2009 -> 03:18 PM) Here's a shocker as a comeback...which guy do you think has played more MLB games? Crawford or Figgins? Hmm seems like a trick question. I'm going to go with Crawford. He came up at a very young age.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Nov 14, 2009 -> 03:10 PM) So you can guarantee me that a speed guy isn't going to lose his speed or that a guy who missed a good chunk of last year won't start getting hurt? He is 28. So by the time his next contract ends he will be 33. He will slow down with age- but not that much. Look at Chone Figgins- he was faster when he was younger, but the dude can still steal bases and is a great contact hitter. IMO $75 million for Crawford would be a huge bargain.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Nov 14, 2009 -> 03:02 PM) Is Crawford going to be worth the 5/$75 or more he gets as an extension? Yes.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Nov 11, 2009 -> 09:56 PM) They have needs all over the place. I don't know about you, but I'd rather have Hudson and some other pieces that can fill out my lineup card than a slightly upgraded young pitcher. The key for them should be to score as many mlb-ready or near mlb-ready prospects with high ceilings as possible. They're not trading Gonzalez for the salary relief here. They're using him as way of rebuilding their core very quickly. ^^^ exactly. If you could bring in a young stud catcher, a potential top of the rotation starting pitcher and perhaps an upper quality OF- your are quickly improving your team in all areas of the game.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Nov 11, 2009 -> 09:38 PM) I'm not the expert on the service time issue, he has 1.18 years of service time so far. I think that means he's pre-arb for 2 years. Thanks. . should be interesting to see how SD handles this unique situation.

I'm not so sure Danks or Floyd would 'need' to be involved. Danks and Floyd will be getting more and more money each year that passes. I'm pretty sure SD is looking 2-3 years down the road. If thats the case, a deal centered around Hudson and Flowers is a real possibility. How many more years does Bucholz have before he reaches arbitration?

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Nov 11, 2009 -> 08:03 PM) Because he makes $12M and isn't that good of a hitter, he'd be tremendously overpaid. Well A-Gon is tremendously underpaid so it would even itself out

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Nov 11, 2009 -> 06:25 PM) I think Thome may be the only guy on the FA market who actually would willingly DH. pretty much. . everyone seems to think they are 'stellar' defensively still. If we bring Gonzalez over- PK would be an excellent DH. .

MLB Network seems to think Boston has the edge on the Adrian Gonzalez sweepstakes. . SD's new GM was Theo Epsteins Assistant and knows Boston's farm better than anybody. Does Boston have a deeper farm than us? As far the PK situation goes. . why would we have to trade him if we aqcuire A-Gon? He would simply be our DH and he could play an ocassional 1B- similar to Frank Thomas before he became a full time DH.