Marty34

Hafner breaking his bat and flying out to the track made me raise an eyebrow. Is the ball juiced?

Might have to think about a way to get Teahen in the lineup against righties like Masterson.

If Ohman can't be trusted in these situations he was a bad signing (which he was).

Vizquel should start for Morel. Masterson can be tough on right-handed hitters.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Mar 28, 2011 -> 03:08 PM) I like this daily posting of a topic that questions a player or the payroll. Me too.

Let's put it this way, I don't think he has a better year than he did last year. We need three starters to be better than MB this year.

QUOTE (Elgin Slim @ Mar 28, 2011 -> 12:16 PM) But the question is: Will JR and KW have the patience to stick with the current team if they get out to a .500 start over the first two months and attendance stays similar to last year? I get the sense from upper management that if the team gets off to a slow or even .500 start AND fans aren't coming to the park in the way they had hoped, then by the ASB the dismantling of the 2011 Chicago White Sox will have already begun. That's the thing. As a best case scenario, I seriously doubt attendance will be up anything more than marginally this year. Economic times are not lending themselves to people going to the ballpark. If the Sox win big this year they will see the attendance bump next year, otherwise I believe it will be a tough go

QUOTE (chwhtsox @ Mar 28, 2011 -> 11:47 AM) How can you worry about the holes on our team and use the Yankees as an example of teams we have to play? The Yankees are nothing more than a sexy name these days. EVERYONE has flaws right now, most are far worse than ours. The Yankees have far better resources (money, better farm system) to address their holes than we do. The Yankees may have a down year, but you can bet the next time a pitcher is available via trade or free agency, they'll be at the front of the line to acquire him regardless of cost.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Mar 28, 2011 -> 11:20 AM) How is something we were told was going to happen, a major disappointment? If it was going to happen, why is Phil Humber the 5th starter.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Mar 28, 2011 -> 11:14 AM) We have the easiest schedule in the AL. Source? That schedule is not easy in April.

QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ Mar 27, 2011 -> 07:55 PM) This is pretty much how I feel. I'm more excited for this team than I've ever been for any team besides maybe 2006. But, Peavy has to be at least good when he returns. It's gravy if he's a stud, although he absolutely needs to be a dependable pitcher. I don't see how you can be excited if it's based on Peavy even just being dependable. Regardless of how the Sox front office wants to paint it, peavy's "setback" is a major disappointment. We have 12 games (8 on the road) against the Yankees and Rays in April to go along with a 3 game series in Detroit. Phil Humber is the 5th starter, very scary.

Winning a division at this payroll level is not enough and relying on Jackson and Floyd to step up to help form a big three is a gamble I'm not very comfortable with.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Mar 27, 2011 -> 02:43 PM) -How is Buehrle a question mark? I'd say he's one of the steadiest players in the game. -Konerko will almost certainly regress but that will not offset the Dunn addition. Konerko was worth 4.2 wins last year, but the 1B/DH output when using Kotsay as well was 3.5 WAR. If Konerko has his standard 2.5 WAR season, Dunn only has to put up 1 WAR to match. Considering Dunn isn't going to be playing the field much, there's a chance that he will put up a 3-4 WAR from the DH position, which would leave the Sox at around 5.5-6.5 WAR between 1B and DH. That's almost twice as much production. -Who needs to improve that much more? The Sox won 88 games last year. There are players and areas that can improve - Ramirez, Pierzynski, Quentin, Pierre, Rios, the bullpen in general, the 5th spot in the rotation, production at 3B - but in general, the Sox had a good team last year and only lost one real solid contributer from last year in Putz. He was replaced by Crain, who should be solid. Ohman is OK. Dunn is a monumental improvement over Kotsay. The biggest area the Sox lost production was the bench, but it should be good enough. As has been mentioned, there are risks with and holes with every team. It would be nice if they had a perfect roster, but they don't. Hopefully they can win the division this year. Fair points on the offense. Do you disagree though that the idea of the Sox being World Series contenders is predicated On Peavy returning not just healthy, but being that top-of-the-rotation guy he was acquired for?

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Mar 27, 2011 -> 02:16 PM) Bringing Flowers with based on his good ST would be crazy. If there's ever a guy who could benefit from playing every day...it's him, if his swing is back on track. It's not ideal. If Flowers has a future with the Sox it's going to start as being the backup C. This would be like a 3 week tryout.

a pinch-hitter for Morel would be more valuable than Lillibridge or a seventh reliever. Flowers would be the best option. He could also get some AB's as the backup C.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Mar 27, 2011 -> 01:26 PM) This is one of the least logical posts I have ever seen on this site. What are all these question marks? #5 spot in the rotation? Sure, until Peavy is back. The bullpen? Yes, but so are most bullpens and we at least have some talent. What are the other ones? You could make an argument for 3B, but at least you'll get good defense from Morel. Quentin is a slight question mark, but we only need him to do a little bit better than last year. If you're so eager to start rebuilding, go become a Pirates fan. I'm sure their fans wouldn't mind swapping teams with you. Starting rotation question marks are Peavy, Jackson, and I'll throw in Buehrle. Konerko regressing would offset Dunn addition somewhat. Beckham should be a whole lot better, but who else is it realistic to see improvement from offensively?

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Mar 27, 2011 -> 01:09 PM) Only young fans are pessimistic. Marty, aren't you the one who complains that Reinsdorf is cheap non-stop and now complain about the payroll being to big? No.

I just think this team has a better chance of finishing below .500 than it does winning a divisional playoff series. Their payroll number should provide a better downside.

Too many question marks for a team with this payroll. after watching this spring, I'd rather have started the rebuilding than go 'all in" Particularly since so much of the Sox being World Series contenders is predicated upon a Cy Young type version of Peavy. Peavy returning throwing 85-90 won't cut it.

I believe we'll see big performance drops from Buehrle and Konerko next year. My biggest concern is I don't see the top of the Sox rotation being able to compensate for Buehrle and the 5th spot.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Dec 15, 2010 -> 09:45 PM) Because Putz was coming off of an injury plagued year and had bone spurs removed from his elbow. He signed a 1-year "prove it" type contract to cash in, and lo and behold he got a 2 year deal this year with an option for a 3rd that is more expensive per year than the deal the Sox just gave Crain. I don't give a damn what Putz signed for this offseason.

QUOTE (bigruss22 @ Dec 15, 2010 -> 09:32 PM) You won't get anyone worth a damn than. Putz was on a 1-year deal last year . . . I'm willing to say Crain will not put up a year as good as Putz did in any of the three years of this deal.

QUOTE (TomPickle @ Dec 15, 2010 -> 09:28 PM) Almost all relievers (non-closers anyway) are 1 inning set-up guys, what more do you want? I don't want to sign non-closer free agent relievers for more than a year.

Not a fan of this move. Don't know the dollars involved, but you can bet they paid a premium for an *at best* 1 inning setup guy.

QUOTE (ScottyDo @ Dec 11, 2010 -> 04:34 PM) If it's ever known that you have money to spend on payroll, you'd better spend it or risk pissing off a LOT of fans, so you're right, it's always best to say you don't have any. I've used that trick on my girlfriend before This, of course, has nothing to do with whether or not they do have the cash budgeted. Exactly. You can count on one thing with the Sox and that is they will always have their financial house in order and that's to the credit of Chairman Reinsdorf. Despite the public "All In" stuff, they'd never gamble on one year especially in this economic climate.