fathom

Cubs are close to signing Lilly. That's going to be fun to watch when the wind is blowing out at Wrigley.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Dec 4, 2006 -> 06:20 PM) I think Aaron Rowand has become the White Sox fan's version of cocaine. Yeah, getting rid of him brought a guy who hit 40+ home runs and should hit 500 next year, yeah he spent half last year on the DL, and yeah, his offensive numbers simply aren't good, but PEOPLE JUST CAN'T STOP THINKING ABOUT HIM AND WILL GIVE UP ANYTHING TO GET MORE OF HIM. What if we get back the 2004 version of Rowand? Why shouldn't we think he can accomplish those numbers again? There are three things I like about Rowand more than Anderson: - Ability to hit LHP - Leadership - Ozzie's confidence in Rowand compared to Anderson

I'd be all for Garcia/Anderson for Rollins/Rowand. In today's market, Rollins contract looks pretty damn good. Also, as much as I dislike Rowand due to his reputation among Sox fans, at least we wouldn't have to worry about Ozzie mishandling our CF position anymore. Also, the more things happened last year, the more I began to realize that Rowand did have a lot to do with the chemistry. And let the record state that I was one of the first ones stating how overrated Rowand was/is.

QUOTE(103 mph screwball @ Dec 4, 2006 -> 03:42 AM) What a great way to get Crede to sign that extension. Leak a rumor that the Sox want to trade the small town Missouri kid to the evil empire and their vampire media. And a team with an unlimited budget. Yep, I'm sure Crede would just hate to go there.

QUOTE(DBAH0 @ Dec 2, 2006 -> 01:37 AM) The only way Pods is going to be effective is if he 100% healthy, and I cannot stress that enough. Well, Pods better toughen up, because it's very hard for speed players to stay healthy throughout the entire season. One more thing to suggest to Pods...I don't care what happens on the play, keep running full speed until you hit first base.

QUOTE(TheOcho @ Dec 2, 2006 -> 12:16 AM) The main problem I have with Scott is since '04 his Stolen bases keep falling and the caught stealing continue to remain a concern. '04 - 70 '05 - 59 '06 - 40 I also don't buy into his whole "injured" excuse. If he was really injured since ... last year? Shouldn't he NOT be playing? Oh yea ... then there is his fielding with no arm. My two biggest problems with him are his K totals (swing the freaking bat) and his horrific fundamentals. Caught stealings don't bother me as much, as at least that means he got on base. I've never seen a supposed "speed" player who takes more called third strikes than he does. The whole point of being a slap hitter is to make contact as frequently as possible.

QUOTE(santo=dorf @ Dec 1, 2006 -> 11:21 PM) Gload was even worse in 2005, and if it doesn't guarantee Pods will be on the team, why are you flipping out so much? Wasn't Gload injured all of 2005? And my stance on this changed once I realized this isn't the same as signing a FA and not being allowed to trade them for a certain amount of months. Either way though, it's amazing to see that some people think Pods wasn't really that bad. QUOTE(TheBigHurt @ Dec 1, 2006 -> 11:58 PM) I generally (although not always) agree with you on things, but you are doing exactly what I've said. YES Podsednik in the 2nd half of last season had an OPS below .600, and had a horrific SB/CS ratio. It would be one thing if he contributed in the field or with fundamentals, but he was arguably one of the worst players in baseball at both. All I'm hoping for is that if we keep Uribe at SS and Anderson in CF, we drastically improve ourselves in LF. The division is too strong to keep the same roster from last year, unless we're counting on Dye, PK, and Crede to have career years again. It's not like we have a roster full of guys heading into their peak years.

QUOTE(Melissa1334 @ Dec 1, 2006 -> 10:49 PM) wow, we want to be a championship team and were gunna have ross gload as our left fielder? We would have had a better chance of winning the WS last year if Gload was our LF instead of Pods. It really is just mind-boggling how so many people seem to forget how bad Pods has been for the last year and a half. But I agree with what some of the wiser posters have stated....this move doesn't guarantee he'll be on the team in 2007.

QUOTE(aboz56 @ Dec 1, 2006 -> 10:34 PM) Hey, after a while I get tired of people talking about a journeyman backup as the best option for our team in LF. Is it safe to say we're a team with a star right fielder, and then four or five 5th outfielders on the roster? If only we could acquire Rowand, then we'd have a 4th outfielder as well.

With the news that Zito might be going to the Rangers, there goes the two teams most desperate for one of our starters, even though the Mets still might need another one.

QUOTE(To LA from Chicago @ Dec 1, 2006 -> 08:24 PM) All I want is for Scottie to SWING THE BAT! He strikes out WAAAAAY too many times looking... [

It's pretty obvious that Ozzie doesn't feel the desire to get him into the rotation. That's why I have no problem at all if we trade him for a big time player. McCarthy's only role next year with the Sox should be as a starter. Anything else is just asinine.

QUOTE(WhiteSoxfan1986 @ Dec 1, 2006 -> 08:11 PM) How about we trade freddy to the M's for Reed, Morse, and a prospect. We then ship that prospect to Florida for Olivo. Miguel Olivo would be the ideal back-up for this team.

I apologize to any overweight, teenage girl that is in this thread. Now put down the Krispy Kreme, and go run on the treadmill. You have a full season ahead of screaming for every Podsednik grounder to the first baseman. Time to get in shape! QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Dec 1, 2006 -> 06:46 PM) Its a Soxtalk tradition. I expect nothing more out of this results now crowd. It's more about the current market and the trends than it is what has actually happened. If you listen to KW, he even seems shocked about what is happening. I don't think we'll only get a minor league reliever if we trade a starter though. I'll give KW more credit than that. QUOTE(Gregory Pratt @ Dec 1, 2006 -> 06:47 PM) I'm not even going to get into why it's crude to make fun of fat teenage girls. Come on, it's a joke.

QUOTE(Vance Law @ Dec 1, 2006 -> 06:42 PM) The pitching being absolutely brutal is the reason we didn't make the playoffs last year. The pitching being excellent in 2005 is why we even got into the playoffs, and then why we dominated in the playoffs. If the pitching had only been substantially worse last year than in 05 we would have made the playoffs, but instead it was drastically worse. Great pitching carries subpar offensive team into the playoffs. Really bad pitching causes an excellent offensive team to not be able to make the playoffs. That's the thing....our offense wasn't excellent during the 2nd half of the season. I'm pretty sure it was in the bottom 50 pct of the offenses in MLB during the second half. QUOTE(Gregory Pratt @ Dec 1, 2006 -> 06:42 PM) I just think it's crude to say, "Christmas has come early for teenage fat girls" after Podsednik re-signs. We've been joking about this for almost a year now. Have you ever been to a wrestling event where every single female that is slighty overweight has a Matt Hardy sign? That's how it feels to go to a Sox game.

QUOTE(CanOfCorn @ Dec 1, 2006 -> 06:37 PM) Who do the Sox take off the 40-man roster then? I don't know...is the great Edwin Sierra still on the 40-man?

QUOTE(hitlesswonder @ Dec 1, 2006 -> 06:33 PM) My fearless prediction is that the 2007 team will feature Pods in LF, Alomar as backup catcher, Sweeney/Owens in CF, and either Vazquez or Garland traded to Texas for minor league closer Nick Masset. And a 4th place finish. I'll be happy to be proved wrong on any of this. Yep, it seems like we're going to have Sandy as our back-up catcher. I said this a week ago, but I had the way this offseason is going so far. I still hold out hope that something good will happen at the winter meetings, but everything seems to be going against the Sox in terms of the moves they'd like to make. QUOTE(Gregory Pratt @ Dec 1, 2006 -> 06:34 PM) He's the baseball equivalent of the Hardy Boyz.

QUOTE(Melissa1334 @ Dec 1, 2006 -> 06:28 PM) lets just say we keep pods in lf and dont trade uribe because it seems like kw likes him...its going to be the same crap all over again.... 8)uribe 9)anderson 1)pods 2) gooch.... Yep....and that 8/9/1 is one of the main reasons that we didn't make the playoffs last year. Their contribution during the 2nd half of the season was just pathetic. I could care less about the speed on the team. I want good MLB players that are tough outs and play smart.

QUOTE(Melissa1334 @ Dec 1, 2006 -> 06:24 PM) than we would have no speed at all on this team...iguchi,dye,anderson, theyre about avg. you have to have atleast one player that can be a threat on the bases. When Pods is getting caught stealing or picked off 35 pct of the time, I'd rather have no speed and just let our money players do their job instead of giving up outs.

QUOTE(aboz56 @ Dec 1, 2006 -> 06:18 PM) Gload can hardly throw the ball, why in the hell would we put him in LF. That'd be worse than Pods defensively. Sweeney needs more AAA seasoning (he's what, 22 now?) and Mack isn't an everyday player. And Jose Guillen is a cancer. In no way am I defending Pods but your suggested moves don't make us any better off than we are with Podsednik. Pods can't throw the ball either. The problem is that at least Gload and Mackowiak can give you some offensive production. Either way, I was really hoping we would bring in a legit, every day LF this offseason. No more of this platoon bulls*** with two guys who can't catch the ball and combine to hit 5 homers on the season.

QUOTE(Hatchetman @ Dec 1, 2006 -> 06:14 PM) yay. we signed the white figgins and didn't have to give anything up for him. Except Figgins knows how to steal, can actually throw the ball, and can hit triples while being versatile.

QUOTE(aboz56 @ Dec 1, 2006 -> 06:12 PM) Hope that he improves next year and stop b****ing. That's my advice. Who's that, Podsednik or Ozzie?

BTW, Christmas has come early for the fat teenage girls at The Cell.

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ Dec 1, 2006 -> 06:03 PM) KW and JR must be in the holiday spirit giving out a nearly $3 million gift. Worst case if they couldn't acquire anyone, I'd rather non-tender him and put Sweeney in LF. This is a waste of $3 million. Too bad they couldn't spend $3 million on the bullpen. Or Mackowiak....or Gload QUOTE(SoxHawk1980 @ Dec 1, 2006 -> 06:05 PM) Wow. A zero-tool player who was one of the very worst players in MLB last year. This is an indefensible signing. It is a complete waste of $2.9 million. Podsednik isn't even a decent 5th OFer. There are many AAA players who are better than Podsednik, including some in the Sox organization. In my opinion Ryan Sweeney is not yet ready for the majors and he's still better than Podsednik. Pods skills have continued to diminish since the end of 2004. Not only did he lose his power right away, but he's lost about 2 steps on the bases. I can't wait for people to say he's still injured this season.

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ Dec 1, 2006 -> 06:03 PM) KW and JR must be in the holiday spirit giving out a nearly $3 million gift. Worst case if they could acquire anyone, I'd rather non-tender him and put Sweeney in LF. This is a waste of $3 million. Too bad they couldn't spend $3 million on the bullpen. Yep...I can't believe they brought him back after making it known how much they disliked him last season. I'm still a believer that KW has been caught with his pants down this offseason, and never expected to see the contracts/money that have been given out. I recall hearing him say he wanted to upgrade our speed and relief this offseason, and there's been no improvements at all. I'm now a believer in Jason's desire to see the Sox sign Jose Guillen.