fathom

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Nov 24, 2010 -> 05:34 PM) Good god almighty. I read through the last half of this thread and I wanted to cut myself. This thread blows. Just cause CarGo didn't win the MVP is no reason to end your life!

QUOTE (Palehosefan @ Nov 24, 2010 -> 01:55 PM) I just accepted that this Duke team was likely going to win back-to-back titles before the season started. Irving is a fantastic PG. The only thing that will hold Duke back again is their post play. But Plumlee looks pretty damn good. As I said a few weeks ago, and I know you are a great cbball guy, is that Duke not being picked #1 by everyone is absolutely crazy.

QUOTE (Heads22 @ Nov 24, 2010 -> 04:10 AM) Was told he's our most impressive practice player. I'm pretty sure same information came from Michigan State about his practice ability, yet it never translated over to the games.

QUOTE (MuckFinnesota @ Nov 24, 2010 -> 02:36 AM) Fine, then how do we know that this information is credible? What posters are the ones with insider information? Till there is some evidence then I don't believe fathom that people would just yield this information to only certain members of soxtalk.com. Information is credible because everything that's been told has been accurate.

QUOTE (Heads22 @ Nov 24, 2010 -> 02:34 AM) I hope it's because they are missing Chris Allen. I hate watching Chris Allen. Does so many things poorly on the court. He's like the exact opposite player that D. Anderson is for you guys now.

Michigan State has not looked good at all this season. And Kemba Walker is the best pg in the country, hands down.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Nov 24, 2010 -> 12:44 AM) I wasn't really standing up for AJ, but was more pointing out the facts vs the "clubhouse rumors" that were entirely BS and the lack of evidence to support "our players" not liking AJ. Our players like AJ, according to direct quotes. Trust me, if AJ was complete crap, I wouldn't want him back. I look at our in-house options and the available free agents and AJ is looking sexier by the nanosecond. No one said it was the players, but the organization in general. I don't know who, but that could include Ozzie or KW or numerous others. From all accounts, they were beyond eager to get rid of him for a few reasons (salary and diminished productivity being a few of them).

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Nov 24, 2010 -> 12:11 AM) Well, if they did it was severely under the radar, lets put it that way. Everything I've heard, and I see what you might be implying, is that Dunn is the primary target of the Sox this offseason.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Nov 23, 2010 -> 10:49 PM) That's from the most respected member of the White Sox and arguably the face of the franchise. Get out of here with this "you won't BELIEVE what we know from behind the scenes! I GOT INSIDE INTEL." Well, the only person with 100% legit inside information was the one talking about the Sox trying to trade AJP for anything last season without finding any takers.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Nov 23, 2010 -> 10:51 PM) Thome and Dye were kicked to the curb? I'm missing your point with this one, yo. Not before Swisher and Cabrera and McCarthy, etc.

QUOTE (Kenny Hates Prospects @ Nov 23, 2010 -> 11:41 PM) Even if this is true I really don't care. He's clean and he plays hard. He does his job well. If anyone on the Sox is more interested in getting along at backyard BBQs then they can get the hell off this team. I care about winning and postseason baseball, which unfortunately AJ has probably experienced more than any other Sox player sans Andruw and Omar. I don't care if they all hate each other and they all want to rip each other's throats out after the season. Just win. AJ gives the team the best chance of winning of all the realistic options out there. And if Kenny is concerned about getting along with people then he can go f*** off too, because he can't get along with anyone himself, and he's the one who brought in notorious cancer Manny Ramirez to right a ship that only sunk because he couldn't offer Mr. SuperFriendlyILoveYou Jim Thome a $1M contract in the spring. Nice rant, but the sentence is bold was definitely not true the past few years. You saw what happened when outsiders came in and caused disturbances in the clubhouse with Konerko, Dye, and Thome.

QUOTE (Kenny Hates Prospects @ Nov 23, 2010 -> 11:26 PM) What act? The only place I read about that is here and it's from the same "sources" every time. I don't buy it. AJ shows up and plays baseball. The only thing I care about is putting down the fingers, blocking balls in the dirt, and hitting a little bit. AJ does all three, but I think because he does it with fire and a little bit of flair people ride him harder. It's unfair IMO. He's just a difficult person to get along with. Even the best man at his wedding told me that no one actually gets along well with AJ. I'm surprised things have stayed so strong between him and the Sox this long.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Nov 23, 2010 -> 11:23 PM) He doesn't fit them at all. They're looking for OBP guys or guys who can at least crack the .300 OBP mark. That's not really Olivo. I know...I think Olivo is extremely overrated, as Colorado was the perfect place for him to hit due to his inability to hit offspeed pitching. He put up a terrible 211/276/322 on the road last season.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Nov 23, 2010 -> 11:21 PM) Honestly, I'd take my chances with Miguel Olivo before giving A.J. arbitration. Bill Simmons chatted today about how Red Sox are going to go after Olivo.

QUOTE (Kenny Hates Prospects @ Nov 23, 2010 -> 11:20 PM) This "no one wanted him" crap is simply you making stuff up. You have no proof he was unwanted and you have no idea what Kenny was asking in return. You have no idea about the inside information some people have on this board.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Nov 23, 2010 -> 11:15 PM) It wouldn't surprise me at all to see another catcher here next year, and the act of AJ is the primary reason why. Agreed, and I'll be totally fine with it. I can't believe anyone would really want the Sox to sign AJP to a 1 yr, 8 million dollar deal.

QUOTE (Kenny Hates Prospects @ Nov 23, 2010 -> 11:07 PM) Yeah because overpaying by $1-2M on a one-year deal in order to put something legitimate behind the plate during the last season Mark Buehrle and Edwin Jackson have on their contracts is really atrocious. You ever think maybe AJP has worn out his welcome here? The Sox were definitely looking to trade him last season, but no one wanted him. Luckily for AJP, he hit well the last few months or else he'd be looking at a much smaller deal. And I'm sorry, but 1-2 million dollars is a lot of money for the Sox in situations like this.

AJP for 7-8 million would have been an atrocious contract. I'm happy to see them looking elsewhere or trying to get him for cheaper.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Nov 23, 2010 -> 08:54 PM) Honestly, if you want to get a player who would really fit in, and is playing well again, that answer is Gilbert Arenas. Been reading the Bill Simmons chat log today?

I'm 100% sure the trade went down Wednesday afternoon around 2PM, with Gio's name coming out an hour or so later.

QUOTE (Ozzie Ball @ Nov 23, 2010 -> 02:03 AM) Flowers' stock clearly slipped this year, but he still hit for good power and walked at a good rate. I could see bumping him out of the top 10 if you've got a deep system, but when you're bumping him for a 24 year old middle reliever who's just hit double-A, I'm not sure it's defensible. I do agree with this, the fact Carter made the top 10 is a joke. However, Baseball America tends to overrate players that participate on international teams, and Carter had a big write-up a few weeks ago about his inclusion on Team USA.

QUOTE (maggsmaggs @ Nov 23, 2010 -> 05:30 PM) I'll say it again and again, when was the last time the Sox actually signed a top-tier free agent? They don't get involved in a bidding wars in free agency. I refuse to believe we will be a top contender for any of the big boys except Konerko since he is one of own. The Sox MO is try to find free agent bargains, re-sign their own guys and trade for proven talent. They just don't do the big-time free agency thing, which in some respects is good because then you don't become the Cubs and get stuck with horrendous contracts. I'm right there with you, as I've been saying for years now that it's not even worth following FA for top players cause we're not going to sign them.

If the rumors have any bit of truth to them, then I'm happy that it appears we have some money to spend.

Washington looked amazing last night.

QUOTE (justBLAZE @ Nov 23, 2010 -> 04:48 PM) Any chance SOX just bluffed to get the price up so Tigers can sign Martinez but lose out on Dunn ? They're supposed to be able to afford both of those guys.