fathom

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ Nov 14, 2007 -> 04:21 AM) I think there will be a backlash if the White Sox don't pick up a big name this offseason whether its through free agency or trade. KW can talk about 2007 being a fluke, but the White Sox were also below .500 the second half of 2006 mostly because of the same problems they had in 2007. This team needs a couple of major changes or chances are its more of the same and probably even worse in 2008. I agree, there will be a lot of negativity in the media if the Sox miss out on a big acquisition this offseason. Personally, I'll have no problem if they don't blow the budget this offseason.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Nov 14, 2007 -> 04:12 AM) And, to a lesser extent since he's still younger, Ryan Sweeney. And anyway Fathom, nice job tossing the dynamite into this thread. It's just that I saw all those names in the Daily Herald article....and I'd rather have Chris Young over all those guys. Anyways, I shouldn't have brought this up, and I'd rather we just get news reports about the negotiations instead of this argument. My bad!

To be fair, it's an organizational failure with what's happened in CF, especially Brian Anderson.

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ Nov 14, 2007 -> 04:04 AM) With what they have to pay Vazquez, that trade is going to wind up costing them over $25 million next year alone. Vazquez had a nice season, but on a team that lost 90 games so it was a waste. If he returns to his previous form, the Sox will have a guy with good "stuff" whose performance is league average or below and a CF that may or may not be as good as Young, and they will make a combined $25 million +. That kind of money saved makes you a player for Johan Santana. This was exactly my point, well done. BTW Santo=dorf, keep up the quality posts. I was lurking on another site, and your comments on Hunter and Crawford have been sensational.

QUOTE(AWhiteSoxinNJ @ Nov 14, 2007 -> 04:00 AM) Sounds like a message to KW and other GM's to pony up more $$$ rather then him actually signing in Texas. Don't be so sure of that....there's been buzz for a year now that Hunter would end up in Texas when he became a FA.

With seeing all these ridiculous contracts, can I get state that the Chris Young trade really hurt this franchise. I'll shut up now and take the criticism.

QUOTE(DBAH0 @ Nov 14, 2007 -> 03:03 AM) Yeah it does actually. The thing is here, would the Cubs be better off is signing Fukedome instead of trading for Crawford. My thinking is, they could do both, but the Cubs would have to trade Pie instead of Soto, and then you would have an OF of Soriano, Crawford and Fukedome. And Tampa also have Dioner Navarro at C, albeit, he hasn't really produced offensively yet. Absolutely...those are 3 integral players for the Cubs, and it would be way too much to get Crawford, who will be a FA again before you know it.

QUOTE(whitesoxfan101 @ Nov 13, 2007 -> 08:14 AM) Watching Gordon a few times now between the exhibitions and tonight, he's a very unique player. I can't really think of anybody that he reminds me of actually, the closest thing I can come up with is he's kind of like a cross between Dwyane Wade and Mitch Richmond with his athletic ability (Wade), 3 point shooting (Richmond), and ability to slash to the basket despite being a bit undersized for a 2 guard (both). On another note, when people look back at the 2007-2007 all NCAA freshman team, they'll just be amazed at the 1 and done talent this year: G: Derrick Rose G: Eric Gordon G: O.J. Mayo F: Michael Beasley C: Kevin Love And hell, that doesn't even include guys like Jonny Flynn, who broke Carmelo's record for points in a Syracuse debut tonight, and Kousta Koufos, and Jerryd Bayless, etc etc. As for Ohio State, they seem to have a starting 5 that can really play, but they need to figure out who will make up/be good enough to be in the rotation and make up the bench. Jamar Butler losing weight and moving back to point is going to lead to a big year for him IMO, Lighty will get his chance to show why he was a 5 star recruit, and Koufos and Hunter inside is really solid, plus I like Diebler's ability to shoot (even though he was awful tonight). We will see beyond the starters, but I'm sure Thad will find a few guys that can contribute bench minutes with all the talent he has (Lauderdale, Terwillger, Turner, Hill). Blake Griffin is the most underrated freshman in the country. He's just an amazing athlete...maybe the most impressive combination of strength/agility I've seen in the college game.

QUOTE(CWSGuy406 @ Nov 14, 2007 -> 01:02 AM) WTF? How is Marshall the guy to go after? The same Sean Marshall who barely holds 1.5-to-1 K/BB ratio? No -- the starter who averages about one K/IP is the guy who's overrated. Riiiight... Please send me some of that ganja you appear to be smoking. The same Sean Marshall that couldn't reach 85 mph during the 2nd half of the season? Rich Hill has a ton of trade value, but Tampa really should try to get Hill, Soto, and Marmol.

QUOTE(BaseballNick @ Nov 13, 2007 -> 05:41 PM) This morning on Mike & Mike, Steve Phillips gave his two cents on the FA and trade markets. He thinks the Sox are the favorites to sign Hunter and believes they are also a going to acquire Cabrera (at the expense of Jon Garland). I wouldn't put much stock in what Phillips has to say, but it makes sense and he's not the first to offer this opinion. I'd be really happy with these two additions, but the two most glaring needs on this team would remain unaddressed: bullpen and a high OBP leadoff hitter. BTW, team speed would still be pretty awful. Adding the offense that Cabrera and Hunter would provide, compared to the position players they'd be replacing, would be enough to offset the OBP concerns and a lot of our bullpen issues. However, there's no chance that we acquire Cabrera, as our prospects just aren't good enough.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Nov 13, 2007 -> 04:50 PM) Garland would probably put up not only the most wins, but perhaps the best era on that staff in the nl central. He would prob put up a mid 3 era if not lower. I really feel like a lot of people don't appreciate him for some reason. He should have a ton of trade value, and since there's no chance we extend him this year, he better get traded.

QUOTE(JDsDirtySox @ Nov 13, 2007 -> 04:20 PM) ESPN Radio Update this morning states the Cubs are putting together a trade package for Rays OF Carl Crawford. Ugh, please don't happen. That would be a pretty dominant 1-2-3-4 if that happened. I assume they'd have to give up Hill, E. Patterson, and someone like Marmol and Hart. Once again, our lack of minor league development is just killing us when it comes time to make trades.

FWIW, I heard yesterday that Fukudome is likely to sign with the Cubs.

That was a fantastic catch by Berrian.

Great call on 1st and 10, down 3, with 4 minutes left.... a sweep to Benson?

It's sad watching what's become of Urlacher out there. He looks so stiff, and just has no explosion anymore. The play of the game, as of now, was him getting burned by a rookie tight end for a 3rd down conversion.

Wohoo!

Griese can't even lead this team to a first down. Let the Rex or Orton show start.

Tim Tebow with just a ridiculous game today. The Heisman really should be between him, Dixon, and Daniel.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Nov 11, 2007 -> 02:24 AM) I wouldnt mind taking a flier on Ray Durham, since SF wants to get rid of his bad contract, maybe they would want to take one of ours? Ray Ray can still put up a .350 OBP and can help out with the dev of Richar. Just a thought. Say no to Durham. I like him a lot, but his bat speed is really bad now.

QUOTE(Rex Hudler @ Nov 11, 2007 -> 01:57 AM) Still just an exhibition, but IU leads Pembroke 52-35 at the half. It's bombs away for Eric Gordon with 24. If this team can actually play some defense, this team might be dangerous. Jamarcus Ellis is really disappointing tonight. He's very lazy with his passing, and his defense is bad. Already looks like Crawford is going to be taking his place in the lineup.

QUOTE(Buehrle>Wood @ Nov 10, 2007 -> 04:45 AM) The first was in a topic created by a mod. The mod asked everyone to turn on their inboxes, didn't give a reason. They do that every once in awhile so it didnt seem like a big deal. But then some one posted "Big, no HUGE news is coming soon guys". When I clicked in, the topic was locked. Then when I clicked out, the topic was gone. Then a thread popped up "Big news coming soon". Didn't make it in there, already deleted. Next minute there is a "Big news coming soon?" thread asking about what was up with the last two posts. Again deleted almost immediatly It probably has to do with recruiting, and the likely commitment then of A. Johnson.

There's nothing on the 3 main Illini fan sites. Any idea about the topic of those posts? I could make some predictions on what it might be, but that would be simple speculation.

QUOTE(Buehrle>Wood @ Nov 10, 2007 -> 03:46 AM) Anyone know what this "big news" is coming out for Illinois basketball? What's this about? Where are you seeing rumors?

I would have liked that trade a lot. It would seem like KW is going to go around and try to find another reliever then, with Sweeney as the trade chip. As I've told quite a few people on this site, the Sox are absolutely disappointed in Sweeney's development, and wants to trade him now before he has no value.