fathom

QUOTE(Chisoxfn @ Dec 18, 2006 -> 01:56 AM) Very good, plus he hits LHP and has been an everyday player many a time for that minor league team known as the DRays. This is a fantastic deal and we got him for a lot cheaper than I thought (assuming that the 3 mill plus figure is over the course of 2 years, meaning he gets just over 1.5 million a year which is nice. I love this deal because it makes sense. Just like before the 2005 season where we made a few moves that just seemed so logical. That offseason, we didn't have a starting catcher, and AJP was on the market looking for a team. Also, we didn't have a realistic 2nd baseman, and Iguchi was lurking as a FA. This offseason, we desperately needed a back-up catcher who could hit LHP. Hall is a great fit because he's a contact hitter, and that's very important because of the tough LHP we face. We could have spent 3 million more on this deal for him, and I would have been happy.

Think of it this way....Borchard, Baj, and Gload are now Thornton, Cintron, and Sisco. Like I've been saying, these are the deals KW excels at.

Great trade...I like Gload, but as long as PK and Thome are healthy, he's useless on our team. Sisco has a lot of potential, and we just have to get him to slow down out there. Hopefully this means we're going to add another righty hitter off the bench.

QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Dec 15, 2006 -> 02:05 PM) Bye Javy..... That would be fantastic!

QUOTE(iamshack @ Dec 15, 2006 -> 03:00 AM) That's interesting, because the Cards were the ones insisting that the Schmidt deal wasn't done the first day it was reported because his agent told them they were still in the running. Apparently, they were making quite an offer to him, despite preliminary reports (which proved to be correct) that he had signed with the Dodgers. The Cards knew that they'd have to offer the 4th year in order to get Schmidt to play in the midwest. They weren't willing to do that, as they didn't want the extra year/money on the books.

QUOTE(DBAH0 @ Dec 15, 2006 -> 02:56 AM) Was that when he was at the majors or when he was hitting in AAA for Ottawa (because he had some pretty nice numbers to finish off the season with in AAA IIRC). It was when he was in Ottawa. He definitely ended up strong, as his numbers were mediocre around the ASB. I just can't imagine him being our 4th outfielder having to face the tough lefties in our division.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Dec 15, 2006 -> 12:34 AM) Isn't it absolutely amazing how Ozzie will go to great lengths, even lose ballgames, in order to get the lefty-righty matchup with his lineup, but then he'll leave Neal Cotts in against a righty who is 3/3 with 3 home runs in his career against him? If you know more than him, then why aren't you the manager of the White Sox?

QUOTE(Chisoxfn @ Dec 15, 2006 -> 12:24 AM) If we move Buehrle and get Humber instead of Pelfrey, get a lower level guy that you think has some upside and Milledge than you got yourself a deal. I don't mind it since Mark will be long gone anyway. KW's philosophy has always been that if you're going into your FA year, and you're not going to sign an extension, he'll look to move you. That's the main reason I was stunned that Garland was the one we were shopping, and not Buehrle. No one appreciates Buehrle more than I do, but it's quite clear he's not coming back here in any way, shape, or form after 2007 unless it's in Interleague play. I was told by someone in the Cards organization that one of the reasons they didn't go all out after Schmidt and Suppan is because they're saving up money for Buehrle after this upcoming season.

It's just too bad KW isn't comfortable when he's the one trading veteran players for prospects.

QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Dec 15, 2006 -> 12:14 AM) Then no trade. I agree with you, I dont think Pelfrey gets moved, but 3E8 is dead on. We traded one starter. We all knew that was going to happen. Now the Sox could get away with trading another starter if it was a Pelfry/Milledge type package, but thats about it, and Kenny has come out and said that. I'm not going to go dig for the quote, but it was something along the lines of "The only way we trade another starter is if we get two major league pieces back in return" The Sox don't need to trade another starter. They needed to trade one of Garland/Vaz/Garcia, and did that. I've changed my stance, and I want the Sox to trade Buehrle. We could get Lastings and another pitching prospect from the Mets for Mark. There's not a chance in hell we re-sign him after next year, so lets get a marquee outfield prospect for him who has the chance to be a very versatile offensive player I still can't believe thought that KW traded Garcia away without getting someone who he's sure can help us in 2007.

The Mets aren't going to give up Pelfrey. The sooner people realize that, the sooner these proposed trades will be a little more realistic.

QUOTE(CWSGuy406 @ Dec 14, 2006 -> 11:42 PM) Like it or not, he might already be here. Yep, like I fear, we won't upgrade our 4th outfield position. I saw Terrero play quite a bit last year, and never did he strike me as a MLB caliber player.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Dec 14, 2006 -> 10:49 PM) Yes, Wilson is a Free Agent, he signed that deal with the Astros and then was cut mid-season, the Cardinals signed him for the rest of the year as a stop-gap measure. Needless to say, I would be happy if we got him. I can't believe we still haven't secured a 4th outfielder after this debacle we saw last season.

I'd love for the Sox to get Lastings. He has that super high ceiling which is a little different from our typical draft picks.

QUOTE(Milkman delivers @ Dec 14, 2006 -> 10:39 PM) Ray King would be nice if he could be his old self, but I'm not sure if that's possible. Greene's splits for RH/LH are basically equal. I'd take a back-up catcher that could hit .250...how's his defense? I thought I remember hearing that Greene is one of the worst throwing catchers in baseball. Is Preston Wilson really a FA? Also, don't be surprised if Erstad is a possibility. KW loves him.

QUOTE(santo=dorf @ Dec 14, 2006 -> 10:19 PM) That trade is WAY one sided. Come on. I don't even know if the Yanks would give up Cabrera and Hughes for our 3 guys.

QUOTE(SoxHawk1980 @ Dec 14, 2006 -> 09:41 PM) Standard Soxtalk response: "Hey, it is mid-December. There's lots of time for KW to work his magic." I have a strong feeling that the same people that are saying this now will come up with a new refrain if no significant upgrades have been made by the end of ST. By then it will be, "We didn't need any upgrades. The 2006 team underachieved so we can expect the 2007 to be better with essentially the same players." I'm just amazed that I'm hearing Sox management, as well as fans, state that they don't think Pods ever recovered from his hernia surgery. I guess hernia surgery impacts your vision and arm, as Pods inability to swing at the 3rd strike and his pathetic display in the outfield were two of his biggest issues.

QUOTE(jasonxctf @ Dec 14, 2006 -> 09:27 PM) i think people are frustrated by the lack of upgrades that have been made so far this year. going into the off season we needed 1) A Backup Catcher 2) Middle Relief 3) A new Centerfielder 4) A new leadoff person 5) A new shortstop and so far we've upgraded at 0 of these positions. Pitchers and catchers report in 3 months and the free agent market is dwindling. I think a lot of Sox fans feel that the "shot clock" is running out and we are going to be stuck with... 1) Chris Stewart or Sandy Alomar 2) No middle relief upgrades 3) Brian Anderson in CF 4) Scott Podsednik leading off 5) Juan Uribe starting at SS and what did we do to improve our team????? PERFECT POST!

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Dec 14, 2006 -> 09:25 PM) Our offense really isnt the issue, even though its being attacked here, our pitching staff needs to improve for us to win the division. if you take our 2006 team and make them play the season 10 times, I believe last season would be one of the worst for the amount of talent we had. Even with our pitchers underachieving during the first half of the year, we had a 6 game lead at the ASB due to the great offense. Once the offense hit the skids and started to underachieve, we couldn't make up for our poor pitching. Like you said, our pitching should be better, but I think our hitting will have a hard time ever getting close to the level it was during the first half of 2006.

It's going to be fun watching Floyd play the outfield at Wrigley.

QUOTE(redandwhite @ Dec 14, 2006 -> 09:20 PM) If he can repeat his stellar defense, that's completely acceptable. Still, I'd rather a guy that could get on base at two of the three positions I mentioned considering outside of Konerko, Thome, Dye, and Iguchi, nobody else does. Wouldn't you agree? Ozzie and KW don't really care about OBP. They never have, never will. Ozzie would rather have his speed guy at the top of the order. The biggest reason this offense tanked in the 2nd half was due to the poor performances by many of our hitters against LHP, especially Thome and Iguchi. Adding a player or two that can mash LHP would really help, as there are amazing lefty pitchers in our division.

QUOTE(redandwhite @ Dec 14, 2006 -> 09:01 PM) Good Post, post padder. Well, I only respect posts from people that don't know two s***s about baseball, like Santo, Rock, etc. Seriously, does every post you ever make have to insult someone? What's worse though, 25k posts on the message board for the team you love, or 4k posts on a message board for a team you don't root for?

QUOTE(redandwhite @ Dec 14, 2006 -> 08:57 PM) At this point in time, do I realistically see the White Sox winning the World Series? Well, I'd never say never, but with major holes in center field, left field, and short stop among others, at this point I feel as if it's unlikely. Cool, thanks.

QUOTE(CanOfCorn @ Dec 14, 2006 -> 07:06 PM) Hell, look at the late 90's Yankees. Sure they had star power, but they still had the O'Neil's and the Brosius' that know their role and play it well. Pods may not have had a great season last year. But, so what? He knows his role on this team and does his best to keep in step. I would MUCH rather pay him $3 mil for ONE YEAR than Pierre or Roberts for 3+ years. That's the problem...Pods doesn't know his role. He doesn't hustle at all on the field, and he goes through stretches for weeks at a time where he doesn't steal a base. I was really hoping to see some creativity by the Sox this offseason, especially in trying to find a righty 4th outfielder who can mash LHP. Then, we could have just gone with a platoon in LF with Mackowiak and that player, and the production offensively and defensively would have been so much more.

QUOTE(southsideirish71 @ Dec 14, 2006 -> 04:53 PM) Now this I will echo. Abreu would of been a nice OBP guy for our lineup. I dont know about leadoff, but he could of been a nice OBP guy to put in the 3 hole in front of the mashers. He's better than our current leadoff hitter in literally every single offensive category.