fathom

I would love for the Sox to go after Jayson Werth. The Illinois-born corner outfielder would look good out there against LHP if healthy.

QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Dec 13, 2006 -> 05:27 AM) This was the latest thing I have seen about Sandy, from the 7th... The article I read stated early December, so that is actually promising news. Give me Toby Hall....he's a tough out against LHP and doesn't strike out much. I'll also add to the fact that he's one of the nicest guys in the game.

QUOTE(ptatc @ Dec 13, 2006 -> 05:25 AM) Only as a coach I hope. Didn't you see the article last week that said the Sox are talking with Sandy, and clearing up a roster spot was something that needed to be done in order to add a player?

Can you smell it? It's the Sandy Alomar Jr. experience coming back soon to the Cell.

Gagne is a lot like Bonds, from my viewpoint. Both were amazing to watch during their big "run", as they've dominated their position like no one else has before them. However, it's hard to ignore the changes to their body, as well as what happened to them as soon as the steroid testing came into play. I remember watching Gagne face the Cubs when he was a starter, and he was a skinny guy throwing around 92 mph. The next year, here comes the huge guy throwing 98 or 99 mph to the plate.

QUOTE(Gregory Pratt @ Dec 12, 2006 -> 08:33 PM) Ensberg had the worst year of his career at the plate and still killed Crede in OBP. As far as the overall package, I think Ensberg's more valuable than Crede. Good defense, fair hitting, good batting eye, decent power, healthy body. If Ensberg were non-tendered today, I'd love to have the Sox sign him and deal Crede for a good strong package. Morgan Ensberg was absolutely horrendous last season. He plays in a hitters paradise, and he was benched for a portion of the season. And his defense at 3rd base is pathetic. His throws often times resemble that of a bowler. He's a great guy....but was very crappy last year.

QUOTE(WhiteSoxfan1986 @ Dec 10, 2006 -> 07:14 PM) Let's keep our f***in starters. Haven't we learned anything from pre-2005? I don't want Floyd or Haeger in the rotation. Don't worry, Coop can fix anyone into becoming a starter. I couldn't agree with you more though. One starter was fine....two starters is idiotic.

QUOTE(Rowand44 @ Dec 9, 2006 -> 05:02 PM) It's amazing how much everyone is overreacting when everyone knew that a starting pitcher was going to be traded this offseason. I think more people are reacting to KW's statements about letting our pitchers go instead of bringing them back when their contracts are done.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Dec 9, 2006 -> 03:40 AM) I don't think it'd be funny at all, I think it'd be great, because that would at least be a small sign that Floyd is not a lost cause. and probably means McCarthy isn't Cy Young.

QUOTE(ptatc @ Dec 8, 2006 -> 09:00 PM) Or possibly they are looking beyond the stats and thinking "while he hasn't put it together yet, he went through growing pains last year and is ready to contribute as a last man out of the bullpen role." If you only look at the stats (they are important however) anyone who struggles early in thier career (insert any of a number of names here ie, ventura, crede, garland) would never get a chance. Or you could talk with people who saw him pitch over the last two years and they say that he's far from being a MLB caliber pitcher. His career right now is quite similar to that of Borchard's.

QUOTE(Rowand44 @ Dec 8, 2006 -> 08:50 PM) Barring more moves to the pitching staff, Floyd will be in the bullpen to open the season, I'm almost certain. Which is just so puzzling to me, as KW and Ozzie said their main goal this offseason was to upgrade our bullpen.

I can't believe people think Floyd is such a lock to make the 25 man roster next year. They must be seeing different stats than I am.

There's going to be quite the outcry on here when Buehrle take a home team discount to sign with the Cardinals. I still think he should be the one we're looking to trade now, and not Garland.

A very, very influential person in the Cubs organization once told me during a job interview that it doesn't matter what your personal beliefs are, the second a team starts signing your pay checks, that's the only team you should root for.

Foulke's best days are way gone. I'd rather let some other team give him a big deal, and have him spend half of the season on the DL. We have two possible back-up closers if Jenks goes down....that's pretty good. The only issue is that we have NO ONE ELSE in the bullpen that can be trusted. Sounds a lot like last year.

QUOTE(iamshack @ Dec 8, 2006 -> 04:21 AM) Someone has to be the voice of reason. Look, I am not big on rich guys whining. But Gil Meche just got $45 million. Enough said. Alot of teams are going to regret their actions of the past month. Let's be glad we aren't going to be one of them. We have very fickle fans, and there's been too much said recently about how our fans won't show up if we don't win. Thus, when our fans do show up, it's insulting to hear this type of talk. There was no reason for Reinsdorf to single out Buehrle. If he's so sure that he's going to go to St. Louis, then KW should be trying to trade him in a 3-way deal instead of Garland, who we have here for 2 more years.

It would be nice if the leaders of this organization would stop whining in the press about salaries. Nothing infuriates a fan base more than having to hear these type of complaints.

QUOTE(RX Bandits @ Dec 7, 2006 -> 05:55 PM) BUT THERE IS NO MARKET FOR A LF. Thats why Pods is back (very cheaply I might add concidering the market). We will look back at this offseason 3 years from now when the market corrects itself and all of these silly contracts will put some teams into deep holes. Thank god Kenny is not giving Dave Roberts a boat load of money to suck. I still think I'm the only one who doesn't consider the Roberts contract very bad. It's KW's job to go out and find a LF for this team. Settling with Pods because "you know what he'll give you" is just stupid. Pods was one of the worst starters in baseball last year.

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Dec 7, 2006 -> 04:59 PM) It wasn't that simple apparently. I guess Toronto offered Frank $8 million up front, where as Oakland just offered him a salary. As I heard on the radio, sounds like Frank is having some more cash flow issues.

QUOTE(ChiSox9 @ Dec 7, 2006 -> 05:53 PM) I just dont understand a majority of the posters on this board. All last season we hear rants and raves about "Trade Garcia" "McCarthy in the Rotation" Now, McCarthy IS in the rotation... how did this team lose ground on where they were last year?? Even though Freddy won 18 games you all wanted him gone.. and claim McCarthy is the next coming of Christ. I dont think the issue is Garcia being gone but more so what KW got for him. I hate to break it to you all BUT a 30 yr old pitcher making $10M in his contract year with this market is not 1) going to settle for an extension 2) is not going to bring you a Vernon Wells. I hate to say it but ... Freddy was IMHO the 2nd to last pitcher in our staff, KW got what he could for a guy that would walk next season. So lets say this, the trade never happens, we loss Freddy after the season and we get WHAT?? 2 draft picks??? I would rather have a former top prospect with MLB experience and a lefty with good minor league experience than... Joe Blow and John Doe (only draft picks)! Also keep in mind: Freddy CANT hold on a runner to save his SOUL! I think it's cause KW said he wouldn't make any move that wouldn't help the 2007 team squad.

QUOTE(RX Bandits @ Dec 7, 2006 -> 05:48 PM) not everyone is going to hit .300/20 hrs/80rbi's I think Anderson's glove saved a lot of runs last year, especially with two slow corner OF's I wouldn't mind Anderson in CF if we could upgrade our LF position.

QUOTE(RX Bandits @ Dec 7, 2006 -> 05:44 PM) Figgins is a black scott podsednick who is really fast, but not necessarily a base stealer who has little upside. The two prospects have a greater upside, and they are PITCHERS. Chone has stolen 114 bases over the last two years, and he DOESN'T have the injury issue that Pods has. Chone also uses his speed to hit a lot more triples than Pods.

QUOTE(RX Bandits @ Dec 7, 2006 -> 05:41 PM) I'm not saying they're not issues, im saying its way too early to be b****ing at kenny for not getting a back-up catcher. People dont understand that being a GM is like a chess match. You're not going to fill every hole in two weeks. I dont understand how Brian Anderson killed us last year. He hit .300 the second half. Brian Anderson sucked last year offensively, there's no other way to put it. I was clamoring for Ozzie to start him every day in CF, but he was not a contributor.

QUOTE(RX Bandits @ Dec 7, 2006 -> 05:35 PM) LOL you're worried about middle relievers...who are the worst players on a major league baseball team? I think Ardsma is a solid upgrade from cotts. I am also not concered abut a back-up catcher, with it being december and all. As for the LF position, I said it a couple a posts ago, Pods contract > Dave Robers contract. Pods is only around for a year and at least you know what you're going to get out of him. I'm not worried about CF, in fact, I believe Anderson is better than Rowand. It was Andersons first full season, I think we're expecting too much out of him. As for Uribe, All I want is a .240-.260 hitter and decent defense. Really there is not a SS on the market worth getting. Great, so we're going into the season with the same issues that really hurt us last season. Back-up catcher is very important, especially with the great LHP in our division. It almost seems like it would have been better if we went 81-81 last year if we weren't going to make the playoffs. Too much nonsense about how we won 90 games, etc., and didn't make the playoffs. WE WERE AN AWFUL TEAM DURING THE 2ND HALF OF THE SEASON.

QUOTE(RX Bandits @ Dec 7, 2006 -> 05:28 PM) Kenny said is was the best deal available. I don't understand why people dont trust him/ want him to make so many moves. People, we're not the cubs. We won 90 games. Although it did not translate into a division title like we all expected, kenny doesn't have to wheel and deal BECAUSE THERE ARE FEW HOLES TO FILL! I think Kenny has done a fantastic job of not overpaying. Really, Pods got about 2 million for one year, while 55 year old dave roberts got 14 million over 3 years. No thanks. We have no back-up catcher, horrific left fielder, and bad hitting players in CF and SS with no legit back-up. There are holes on this team, don't kid yourself. We also are stuck having 3 guys in the bullpen that we can be confident can get guys out. KW hasn't improved our bullpen like he said he would.