fathom

I'm worried that I'm going to be missed in the opening night game thread because I'll be at WrestleMania that night.

Scared? Pardon my language, but I'm not f***ing scared of anything. Who cares about our ST record. Ozzie's been playing a ton of young guys, and I'm not sure some of the pitchers we've had go in the 9th inning would be able to pitch a 1-2-3 inning in Little League. We won the World Series last season. Who knows how many times in our lives we'll be able to go into a season saying that. It would be great to repeat this season. If we don't, then life will go on. The positive ramifications of winning last season (mainly, more people in the stands = higher payroll) will be felt for the next few years at least. I know I'm one of the more negative posters on this board, but this season is going to be a lot less tense for me this season. Go Sox....and I hope the Cubs go 0-162.

QUOTE(Gregory Pratt @ Mar 22, 2006 -> 03:22 AM) This guy is the most dangerous player on the team, talent-wise. He is? I'd say that the man with the consistent 99 mph fastball is.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Mar 21, 2006 -> 11:07 PM) Losing 10 mph off his fastball didnt help. The thing is, no one thought he really threw the 95 mph like it was reported. I knew a few people who saw him pitch in the A's system, and he was always in the low 90s. That was just a terrible trade though all around for the White Sox. Oh well....KW's made some great deals since then, so it's just interesting to think about some of his earlier moves.

QUOTE(jphat007 @ Mar 21, 2006 -> 10:48 PM) I was talking about 9-10 games in left like last year. Mack will play right when Dye needs a break. And that would be fine. Quite simply, I thought Borchard would have been a better fit for this team on and off the field (I hate Gload's attitude). However, there's no point in really complaining about the 25th man on the team. I just hope we don't keep Thornton on the MLB roster just because of any ego issues with KW and Cooper. Let him go to the minors and work out the obvious problems he's having right now.

QUOTE(jphat007 @ Mar 21, 2006 -> 10:38 PM) While Ozuna's range isn't all that spectacular, he makes the plays he needs to make and does a pretty solid job out there. I definitely wouldn't call him an adventure. Certainly not spectacular, but adequate for the 9-10 games he'll be out there when Mack isn't playing or when Mack is in another spot. I'm pretty sure I watched every game last season, and I don't remember Ozuna playing at all in RF. And as for Gload in the outfield.....I still have nightmares of him playing in RF at Wrigley.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Mar 21, 2006 -> 10:30 PM) I trust Mack out there more than either of them, and I think Ozuna can still play some corner outfield as well, can he not? Ozuna can't play RF, and he was an adventure in LF. I guess I was hopeful that Mackowiak would be used primarily as the 3rd base back-up when we acquired him. Not a big deal though. I think Gload can be a consistent threat for off us the bench.

QUOTE(BigSqwert @ Mar 21, 2006 -> 10:27 PM) Yay. Great trade. I still wish Borchard would have made the team. I trust him in the outfield more than I do Gload.

Yep....this guy is terrible. We're better off with him starting off in the minors. He's a liability to be in the majors when we break camp.

QUOTE(SSH2005 @ Mar 21, 2006 -> 01:16 PM) The White Sox traded a AAAA reliever in Bajenaru for a good utility infielder in Cintron and you said that it wasn't a steal. But trading a starting pitcher with a cheap contract who is on par with Matt Clement in terms of production for a good outfielder with upside is more of a steal? Come on... A decent starting pitcher like Arroyo with a dirt-cheap contract (3-years, $11.25 million) has a lot of value in the current market. You pretty much know what you are going to get from Arroyo -- he's a league average #4 or #5 starter with a really cheap contract. Those are very expensive these days. I really like Wily Mo, but this was a great post by you jabroni. Pena was a free swinger with the Reds, where everyone just swings for the fences. It will be interesting if the Red Sox try to make him a more disciplined hitter. Arroyo is on the downside of his career though, as is Clement. I'm surprised that the Reds couldn't have gotten more for Pena. They probably would have been better off trying to trade Dunn, and getting back a better starting pitcher. All I know is that I've seen Wily Mo, and he can be goofy on the field. The Red Sox better make sure he acts more Papi-ish, and not Manny-ish.

Look for the Cubs to heavily pursuit Soriano if he continues to b**** about playing in the outfield. I'd rather they not get him, as I think he'd make that lineup a lot better.

I just wish we had a month worth of minor league work to get Thornton into the right frame of mind under Cooper.

Sounds like Contreras might be reverting back to throwing more overhand instead of 3/4 in order to take the strain off of his elbow. Hopefully the elbow heals, as he was much more effective when he could throw at different angles.

QUOTE(southsideirish71 @ Mar 20, 2006 -> 04:38 PM) clocked as high as 97mph with no control maybe coop can get him under control ala Jenks. This is a low risk/high reward type move for the sox. If they can get him under control sometime this year, he has a hell of an arm. I've seen him pitch a lot, and he's more in the 92 mph range consistently. He does have a very good arm though. I think we faced him in his MLB debut as a starter, and only beat him cause of control issues.

Good trade for the Red Sox. Pena has a ton of potential.

QUOTE(retro1983hat @ Mar 20, 2006 -> 04:28 PM) Longest Homer in USCF history: Joe Borchard I thought that was Hawk's nose?

BTW, kudos to everyone (JimH, etc.) who predicted Borchard wouldn't make the roster this season.

Quite disappointing that we held on to Borchard so long that all we could get is a mediocre reliever that makes Marte look like he has pinpoint control. Oh well.

At least Thornton's consistent. Lefties had a WHIP of 1.69 vs him, and righties had a WHIP of 1.68. He's not very good.

QUOTE(Palehosefan @ Mar 20, 2006 -> 04:34 AM) Tyler was held back in 1st grade, and Rush didn't attend prep school from what I remember. Had a normal high school career after transferring to Mt. Zion for his junior year. Rush attended quite a few high schools, and there was some concern he wouldn't even graduate. There were a lot of rumors about him attending the IMG Academy, etc. One of the schools he went to early on in his high school career no longer exists.

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ Mar 20, 2006 -> 01:28 AM) Do you have the photo a split second before this showing the push of the Washington player? Notice his legs, he's probably grabbing the Illinois player so he won't fall down. Should we start posting all the pictures from the Arizona site of the contact that was made on the "steals" the Illini had in their comeback last season?

QUOTE(jphat007 @ Mar 19, 2006 -> 11:15 PM) What are you talking about. I don't have anything against Cintron. He'll be a very solid backup. All I was saying to fathom was that Cintron won't see a lot of time at 2b (no more than Ozuna last year) because Iguchi is at 2b. I don't have any gripe about anything. ANd I didn't take offense at anything. I'm not sure what you are talking about. I don't think Ozuna started more than one or two games at 2nd base last year. He had 11 total AB at that position.

QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Mar 19, 2006 -> 11:13 PM) You say you think Cintron is going to play 2b alot. I believe we are going to see Mackowiak in CF alot next season, and im a B.A. fan... I'd just like to see Mackowiak get 15 starts or so at 3rd base, and especially against tough sliders like that of Clement, Bonderman, etc.

QUOTE(jphat007 @ Mar 19, 2006 -> 11:07 PM) Yah, if Iguchi gets hurt. There is no reason to think otherwise. Unless you are going on spring results. And I don't think any sensible poster here would do that. I'm not going by spring results. I don't even know what his average is. I think Cintron can really help against tough righties with sliders. I'd love to see Ozzie play Cintron at 2b and Mackowiak at 3b against these types of pitchers (even though Mackowiak will likely be used in the outfield). Also, did anyone catch an update on Gload's injury? Hawk said it was a knee injury.

QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Mar 19, 2006 -> 10:56 PM) Was able to see a few innings, and really liked what I saw from Mack and Cintron. There going to fit in GREAT with the Sox. I think Cintron is going to get a lot of playing time at 2nd base.