fathom

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Mar 19, 2008 -> 09:52 PM) How many times has McD pitched over 3 innings of relief and kept a team in the game? How many times could he do that on back to back days? Come on. We dont have ANYONE to fit the "rubber arm" role except for Masset or Maybe Broadway. With the way Ozzie manages, it doesn't seem like we've needed a long man too much.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Mar 19, 2008 -> 09:46 PM) Who is going to handle middle relief, be the swing man and eat up all the garbage innings? Have MacDougal start the year as the garbage man.

I thought I read somewhere that if no one claims him, we owe him 4.1 million no matter what.

QUOTE(iamshack @ Mar 19, 2008 -> 09:38 PM) I thought it was 10 days? Secondly, the Orioles may have been trying to get us to eat $ or take back Payton in exchange. Regardless of Roberts, this may be a way to get the O's to pick up the entire contract. Irrevocable waiver is 72 hours right now.

QUOTE(scotty22hotty @ Mar 19, 2008 -> 09:37 PM) Why didnt KW just trade him for a low ranking A player and avoid the 4.5 million risk? This seems like a bonehead move... Absolutely correct, I don't think everyone understands what this particular waiver situation is.

Very impressed with Ramirez. Heck, he took a 3-2 offspeed pitch for ball four. That's better than most of our veterans.

QUOTE(iamshack @ Mar 19, 2008 -> 09:31 PM) Well, it certainly was not a good situation to be in, but I agree with the other poster who pointed out that with no ss, we might have had to pony up more for Cabrera. Either way, it doesn't look like the decision to resign Uribe will cost us anything. Someone will pick him up on waivers. I highly doubt someone claims him in 72 hours. Also, after thinking about this more, there's no way this is a prelude to a Roberts trade. If it was, we wouldn't have released Uribe. We would have just included him in the trade.

QUOTE(Jenks Heat @ Mar 19, 2008 -> 09:26 PM) I wouldn't say gross error I would say calculated risk. It was not like he had all offseason to make a move. He had 10 days after the World Series and he could not force the issue and risk not having a SS. If KW said we can not make a move because they are short on cash then it is a bad move. Christ they are eating a $4.5M contract. Maybe the Angels were trying to decide if they wanted to work with Colon and therefore did not need Garland. I love how people think that KW is trying to sabatoge the whole season just to piss us off. It is a $4.5 M gamble that they could lose, it did not hamper them getting anther player so what is the big deal? How do you know that 4.5 million couldn't have been used elsewhere to upgrade this team?

Not sure if this was posted, but Sox can't comment on this for 72 hours.

QUOTE(CanOfCorn @ Mar 19, 2008 -> 09:15 PM) And once again I say, perhaps the Angels came to the Sox with the Garland for Cabrera deal. It is impossible for any GM to know the status of EVERY SINGLE player out there. KW talked about a list of guys they wanted to acquire, and Cabrera was on that list. Plain and simple, he should have had an idea about whether or not he'd be an option prior to re-signing Uribe. If they really did DFA him today, I hope people will stop making excuses for KW and just admit it was a gross error.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Mar 19, 2008 -> 09:16 PM) Is Masset getting shelled or are the miscues by Toby Hall hurting him that much? Every ball is getting hit hard. Some of the outs that have been made were rockets hit right at our fielders.

I'd much rather Wasserman and MacDougal made the bullpen than Masset.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Mar 19, 2008 -> 08:40 PM) Fields was just pulled in the 1st inning of today's game for a pinch runner. Fields for Roberts, here we come....BARF!

I think we might see an Anderson/MacDougal trade for Ellis or Anderson for J. Barfield.

Maybe the Sox are close to trading for Roberts?

QUOTE(iamshack @ Mar 19, 2008 -> 06:35 PM) So what is he striking out on 196 times down there? Since when has striking out been such a bad thing? I'd rather have Fields swing with authority and miss than have Crede just do his typical weak pop up to the right side when he's trying to protect. Weren't Tigers fans complaining about Granderson striking out too much after his first full year? That worked out well.

FWIW, Crede has a career OPS against LHP of .790. Fields OPS is almost .300 higher than his. This really should be a no-brainer for a team that blows vs LHP.

QUOTE(iamshack @ Mar 19, 2008 -> 06:30 PM) That's bs and you know it, Fathom. He struck out 196 times in 647 ab's in Charlotte. There's plenty of experience he could gain there. Actually, a few weeks ago, he was saying that he's not used to facing 95/96 mph fastballs like he's been seeing in ST so far. He said that he didn't see that in the minors, and then when he came up last year, pitchers were throwing close to 91/92 mph. No one on this site knows more about the Intl League than me, and I guarantee you there's not a lot of fireballers down there. There's a reason crafty southpaws like J.P. Howell dominate that league.

Fields had a 1.07 OPS vs LHP. His bat needs to be in the lineup, period.

QUOTE(iamshack @ Mar 19, 2008 -> 06:25 PM) So now you're going to argue that Josh has nothing left to learn as a hitter? There is no one in the minor leagues from which he could learn something? He needs to learn more plate discipline. He needs to learn how to put the ball in play to the opposite field more. He needs to work on his footwork and timing at 3rd base. Look, I don't disagree that Josh wouldn't substantially hurt the team if he were the starting third baseman. But I also don't believe that he had nothing more to learn as a baseball player, whether it be at Charlotte or not. Fields has quite a few homers to the opposite field. He's also our best breaking ball hitter. Quite simply, he struggles against good, high fastballs. The only level he can get experience with that is in the majors.

QUOTE(iamshack @ Mar 19, 2008 -> 05:53 PM) Ok, so I just wasted several minutes of my life reading through this entire s***storm. This thread is like every negative poster on Soxtalk's wet dream. Why is it that some people actually enjoy when the organization does something they disagree with so they have a chance to tell everyone else how much smarter they are than the general manager? As much as all the pro-Fields people want to poke fun at "Crede's Crew," and facetiously compare Joe to Brooks Robinson, one would think Josh Fields was David Wright or Ryan Braun. The world will not end if Josh has to go to Charlotte for a few hundred ab's, guys. Just like the world will not end if Joe is traded to SF or LAD. But wow, why do some of you even watch the team or read the newspaper if it makes you so damned miserable? Some of you are incredibly-gifted whiners. It's sad, as there was actual legitimate baseball conversation in this thread. I can't wait for someone to open up the all-negative thread so we have to stop reading comments that have nothing to do with the Sox or baseball, and are just attacks on what people think.

QUOTE(SoxWS05 @ Mar 19, 2008 -> 05:11 PM) KW also said he would not negotiate with Buehrle mid-season...boom 5 year contract. Wake me the next time we negotiate successfully with Scott Boras. We're like a college basketball program that can't accept partial qualifiers and junior college players.

QUOTE(SoxWS05 @ Mar 19, 2008 -> 05:07 PM) If he comes in and proves himself healthy, I would give him 4 years 30 million. That's 7.5 per year. Good deal on both sides. You do know that KW has said that Crede/Boras have no desire to extend their deal with the Sox this season, correct?

QUOTE(Jenks Heat @ Mar 19, 2008 -> 05:05 PM) For every Marlin, the Royals, Pirates, Reds, Twins, D-Rays, etc. say hi. And what do all those teams have in common....lack of financial resources!

If the Sox were intent on letting Crede start at 3rd base if he was still on the team this year, then they made another huge error in judgement by not making Fields into a left fielder.