CanOfCorn

QUOTE(Flash Tizzle @ Sep 29, 2007 -> 08:26 PM) You just have to wonder when the breaking point will be. Will it take two, three seasons of drafting in the Top 10 for Williams to attempt a rebuilding project? And even then, will it be too late? I can't believe Dye, Konerko or Thome -- our offensive core -- will gain much value in the upcoming seasons. Vazquez and Jenks may be worth something of value, but I doubt they'll take a chance dealing either. Williams only trades players at their lowest value, not their heighest. We're modeling ourself into an organization with a high payroll tied into inmovable pieces, without the benefit of a healthy minor league system to even out the salaries. No one can possibly believe our future is bright. I do. Why? I'll give you a couple of reasons. One, the White Sox are signing players that WANT to play with the White Sox, it's called a core, fellas. And I believe they are truly embarrassed by this season. They are OLDER, not old. Except for Thome, who really only is a part-time player, batting only. Two, they are signing these guys to BELOW MARKET contracts. If this doesn't work, in '09, I'm guessing the average salary will be higher than it is in '07. I like re-signing AJ if only for continuity. And for that amount of money, he's easily tradable, if needed. They definitely need to start drafting/producing better from the minors, but since we don't have that flexibility, we gotz to pay.

QUOTE(aboz56 @ Sep 29, 2007 -> 12:46 PM) Mackey is out on $10,000 cash bond this morning and has a hearing scheduled for Oct. 16th. Unless this is all a mistake, there's no way he's going to IU. This is quite shocking to me as I've met the young man and spoken with him. By my accounts, he's a polite and soft-spoken kid. That said, he obviously has problems that need to be addressed and basketball should be the least of his concerns. As much as I want to think he's innocent until proven guilty (or anyone for that matter), he's got to be seen as stupid for putting himself in that position. Dood...just stay away!

Hey fine...I'll take Ryan Theriot then. I'll take him over any of the fa's shortstops that are going to be out there.

QUOTE(thedoctor @ Sep 20, 2007 -> 09:33 AM) good hire. i'm happy to have jerrance back. admittedly he is not the most experienced candidate, but that's my only reservation. the discussion about hiring a "chicago" or "cpl" guy was way overblown. The best part about this hire is that he LOVES Illinois. And that sure can't hurt in recruiting, no matter where or who. Nice job, Bruce.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Sep 13, 2007 -> 02:21 PM) POTY material right there And who else would you have liked to play LF? I mean...1 year for just under $3 mil isn't bad. And hindsight is ALWAYS 20/20. I wasn't happy about Pods being brought back either, but I was a lot happier that he was brought back cheaply than paying out the arse for Pierre, Roberts or Matthews Jr. If they can re-sign Uribe for under $3 mil, AND there are no other options at SS, then what the hell? He had a very rough off season. Maybe he can get back to at least .250/.300. that wouldn't be horrible. But Uribe is NOT, I repeat, NOT, who I want for SS next year.

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Sep 11, 2007 -> 12:37 PM) All makes sense, except the last sentence, which one cannot possibly know until the dust settles after this offseason. I disagree...the rookies are playing in near stress-free situation. There's no pennant race. There's no Wild Card berth. It's just play the string the best you can. All of which, if you ask me, will help these players next ST. they can relax. They have seen the best in the division...and they can just play. Call me an optimist (no really, it's ok), but I think the likes of Richar, Fields, Floyd, Danks and maybe even Owens will be much better next year.

QUOTE(Rowand44 @ Aug 29, 2007 -> 07:49 PM) Illinois has offered Brandon Paul. Football? I thought he was going to FSU?

QUOTE(witesoxfan @ Aug 30, 2007 -> 02:16 AM) $12 mill for a top 8(-ish) centerfielder who KW has had a boner for in the past, and it may only take a 2-year committment? Sign me up. Shoot, for either of them, I wouldn't mind that deal.

What did the Sox have in 2005 that they don't have now??? A chip on their shoulder. And don't give me that "some experts picked them to be 4th in the AL Central" crap. What they need are people who WANT to win. They need more Thome's, but with nads. Someone like, and I really hate to say this, Gary Sheffield. When he was playing, the Tigers were playing well and in every game. Since he's gone down...they aren't the same. Someone that gets in your grill, but not annoyingly like AJ. That "anger management" thing that Ozzie had to go to really scared him straight, it seems. He's not being Ozzie. And Ozzie IS the personality of this team. I'm glad he said this and it's probably tame considering what he probably said behind closed doors. At this point, I can see someone that none of us would have expected to be moved...to be moved. I don't know who it is, but I can see it. Start benching people Oz. Make a point. Go back to the Ozzie of 2005. Manage angry.

QUOTE(Markbilliards @ Aug 29, 2007 -> 01:44 AM) Thank goodness for the person who reported that. It's so easy to just shrug certain talk off as a joke so much of the time, its good to know that a student took it seriously. That's the first thing I thought of too. This student should be applauded and be used as an example for all students. Jake, I'm glad you and the rest of your school are ok today.

I am...McLovin.

You sure it wasn't McKay Christensen? /green

This is really what I would do... Not go to a board of fans who are ripping on me constantly.

If someone HAD to be fired...I think it should be Walker. Only because the hitters haven't had hardly ANY success the last year and a half. Except for Dye last year and well, no one this year. But, I don't think he will be fired...he'll be re-assigned. And 101...let's not go there, buddy. Schuerholz is one of the best in the game...he won 15 division titles in a row. How many rings with the Braves??? One. And I bet you can ask every single Braves fan that if they could either have 15 in a row or that one ring in the 90's, I think most would say the ring. And I would as well. As I said in another thread...I like Kenny because he takes a risk...sometimes it backfires, obviously. Sometimes it doesn't, 2005. But, he's not afraid to pull the trigger and take the heat, even if he gets testy about it.

QUOTE(whitesoxfan101 @ Aug 27, 2007 -> 11:06 PM) KW inherited a team coming off a division title in 2000, and has guided us to 1 playoff appearance in 7 years, that's NOT a very good GM. And how are all the moves we made to fix the bullpen working out? How about our farm system, where is our Hunter Pence? That's right...let's compare ourselves to every other team in the league. You know, the Twins can say, "Where is OUR Hunter Pence?" The Rockies can say, "Where is our Johan Santana?" The Dodgers can say, "Where is our Justin Verlander?" Any team can say something like that. Here's what I will give Kenny (and I'm not a KW apologizer, it wouldn't matter who was there, if he makes a bad trade, then I'll call him out on it)...he takes chances. Maybe they are too risky sometimes, but they are chances. Many times people on this board have said that middle relievers are too unreliable from year to year...well, they took a chance on hard throwers with shoddy control, and it failed. The Padres, for example, have a bunch of castoffs and misfits, too...with their rock being Linebrink, who ended up having a bad season and traded...and they are in second place. Basically, what I'm saying is that Kenny puts himself out there. He tries different things. He's not afraid to fail. And when he needs to hold up a trade, he will. Purpura was afraid to pull the trigger. He made ONE big trade (Jennings)...Pettitte and Clemens were hometown guys who WANTED to play with the Astros, Purpura didn't woo them. Personally, I give both KW and Ozzie one more year. If they can't get their s*** together by September '08 and at least compete for the division title...they gawn. Not because I think they are bad at what they do, but because the Sox will need the change.

QUOTE(Gregory Pratt @ Aug 27, 2007 -> 07:37 PM) Sweet Jesus. +1

QUOTE(whitesoxfan101 @ Aug 27, 2007 -> 03:40 PM) I doubt it, the Astros owner is a lot more proactive than Uncle Jerry. It'll take at least 2 more years before we do something this logical unfortunately. Purpura was NOT a very good GM. He inherited the 2005 team. He just wasn't very good. Garner...meh. Middling at best. The difference is, this is Ozzie's FIRST managing job...so I would hope they would give him a little extra time to try and work itself out. Garner has managed before and you know what you are getting. Plus the Jennings trade...didn't turn out so well.

I'm going with 1997. Granted, the Sox were probably not going to catch the Injuns that year, but the White Flag trade KILLED me...absolutely KILLED me. The entire org. gave up that year, and THAT is inexcusable.

One full game of bunting only.

Win or lose, the White Sox are MY TEAM. It hurts when they lose and it's awesome when they win. This year is horrible, as was the second half of last year, and I think Kenny and Ozzie are going to be on a shorter lease next year. If they start just as bad, someone is going to be fired. I would also expect one of the coaches to be gone after this year. I understand all the negativity, but I think if you took every Soxtalk poster and mashed their baseball knowledge together, you wouldn't equal either Kenny's or Ozzie's. Sorry guys, but we aren't that smart.

QUOTE(Gregory Pratt @ Aug 23, 2007 -> 02:13 PM) This is our annual sixty-one: the single-minded harping record. You're trying to set a record for most Cubs comments, breaking either Hangar's record or Cuck the Fubs: last year Flash tried to break the record with Liriano: SSI71 is trying to break the record with Walker but he's faltered of late: WhiteSoxFan101 is trying to crack it with Ozzie: LV wants to do it with Rowand, but he doesn't have the longevity or the total posts on it to make it: I'm trying to do it this year with Gavin Floyd and John Schuerholz. * I've posted about the Cubs before??? I don't think so...and actually, this was more of a Tigers question. Thanks for playing though.

Why??? With Sheff hurt and out indefinitely...who's going to spot DH??? I don't understand this move for the Tigers.

Texas says hello. Wuss.

If only she woulda read it in Klingon!

QUOTE(witesoxfan @ Aug 22, 2007 -> 10:50 PM) I really don't think the value for Garland will be up or down whether the other option is Scott Elarton or Johan Santana. I understand what people are saying...the prospect of acquiring Garland goes down or up based on the pitchers available, but it won't make or stop a team from giving up the value for Garland. Just because Johan's on the market doesn't mean a team is going to offer scraps for Garland, and just because Garland is far and away the best pitcher on the market doesn't mean a team is going to give up their entire farm system for him. It just won't happen. You are right. But you are also taking it to the extremes. For instance, if the Astros wanted Santana last year, they would have gotten Pence AND Hirsh. Both were number 1 prospects hitting and pitching in the 'Stros org. I think what the Sox were offered, and what the Rocks got, was about what Garland would get. But, with no Santana on the market, ya never know...the Sox could get both. That's all I'm saying. It's not extremes, it's a player switch.