fathom

Well, considering that the Angels valued Shields so much that they wouldnt give him up in any trades this year, I think some GM's might disagree with you. He has everything you need to be a top set-up man or could even start if you wanted him. If you're comfortable with Politte being the main set-up man, then I guess there's no reason arguing Shields case.

With an offseason coming up in which the Sox will likely see a massive overhaul of their roster, do you trust Kenny Williams in his decisions? Of course, only time will tell with any moves he makes. However, whenever I hear that the Sox are thinking of trading some of their big chips like Paul Konerko or Carlos Lee, I get worried that KW will not get enough value in return. One particular thing that scares me is that the Sox might settle for a lot less than market value for these guys in order to get a player to play Ozzieball. Now, Juan Pierre is a unique player that I wouldnt mind coming to the Sox in a deal, but there's no way that the Marlins will take on the 8 million dollar contract of PK or Lee. I don't want to see KW give up one of these guys for a grinder like Figgins or Eckstein. Now, if there are other players involved in the deal, that would be fine. How about trading Konerko to Angels for a package that includes Figgins and S. Shields? Another thing about KW is that even if he does trade one of our biggest contract guys, I'm worried he won't turn around and spend that money on the roster.

Not only has Grilli been ineffective at the MLB level (his performance only seems good compared to our other 5th starters this year), but I don't trust a veteran pitcher who had a 4.83 ERA in the minor leagues! There's no way in the world that a team with Jason Grilli in their starting rotation will be a playoff caliber team. Every start that Grilli has, he's one pitch away it seems from getting knocked out of the game early. He's no different than Danny Wright.

With Ordonez likely gone, would everyone rather have Borchard or Everett in RF? Keep in mind that Everett will be making about 4 million. For my money, I would take Borchard over Everett in a heartbeat. I don't think the Sox pitching staff could handle having Everett in RF on a regular basis. Give me Borchard and see if you can get out of Everett's deal and use that 4 million for other holes.

And this is the exact reason why myself and others were b****ing that Borchard was being benched a few weeks ago. If the Sox decide to keep him next year, fine. However, the last week or so has done nothing but increase hit trade value.

Sad thing is that the Mets gave the Cubs their 2 runs also. Now, hopefully Astros, Giants, and Padres go on to win today. Cubs will likely still make it, but it would be nice to make their fans go crazy before hand.

NBA Tv did this with NBA Live and a few games this year, and it was the dumbest thing I've ever seen. Also, in regards to who's playing, I'm sure it will just be computer vs computer.

How about the fact that if we didnt make the Garcia deal, we would still have Reed and Olivo on our roster, and a lot more money to spend on an "ace". We would have been able to fill more of our holes without the deal, but there's no going back on it now.

Also, I love the effort that J. Burke has brought to the Sox, but I'm a little worried that his expectations are going to be a little high. Burke has been swinging Lew Ford's magic wand for a long time this season, where it seems everything he hits goes through a hole in the infield, etc. Now, I know this is cause he has a nice opposite field swing, but considering he doesn't hit for a lot of power or walk much, Burke could easily fall back to a .250 hitter or so. I have no problem w/Burke as a back-up catcher, but I don't think he's ready to be a 4-5 game a wk starter at the MLB level.

Well, considering that the Twins don't start Lecroy unless it's against lhp, and they didnt go into the season with Blanco catching, I can't buy into that argument. Guzman is much better than Valdez is, and the Twins don't even start Rivas on a constant basis.

Rowand and Uribe better be starting for the Sox for at least the next 3 years. However, please tell me that you're not telling me to go look at Valdez's stats over the last week or so to try and prove he should start at the MLB level? If we go by end of the year stats, Craig Wilson would have been an MVP for the Sox about 5 years ago. Valdez could be a utility guy in MLB, and nothing more. Even Ozzie has said that.

Also, if Gload does start, then Konerko would not be on the team. No way Gload will start in the outfield next year. I've been incredibly impressed with Ross this year, but I think he'd be much better off starting 2-3 times a week, and not everyday.

So you really think a team that starts Gload, Burke, and Valdez would be able to compete for a division title? It''s not a shot at those players, it's called being a realist. You could have the best pitching staff in the world, but if your hitting sucks, you aren't going to win consistently. Just look at the Dodgers last year.

No offense 3E8, but if those guys are starting next year for the Sox, the Sox would be one of the 5 worst teams in baseball next year.

With 2 guys on, and no outs, Ozzie had Rowand bunt against the hard throwing Macdougal. It didnt take long for Rowand to pop the bunt up to the pitcher. Uribe grounded into a dp on the next play.

Am I crazy for thinking it's obvious that Ozzie's managerial strategy won't work in the AL? All this bunting is worthless when you have a slugging team. Even if we get some more "grinders" (which is slang for cheap average players), I still don't think that frequent bunts is the way to go.

Ozzie, Ozzie, Ozzie: Stop having our guys f***ing bunt. Absolutely terrible managing.

I've been concerned w/Freddy's velocity ever since he came to the Sox. I used to remember him throwing 95-96 mph. Now, everything is 91-92. I wonder if he fell in love with the offspeed pitch too much.

A lot of times, when you play for one run, that is all you get. Playing in a hitters park at the Cell, and with our pitchers not exactly being dominant, rarely will one run when you the game.

I would love to know an approximate percentage of what type of success the White Sox had in innings that they attempted to bunt a runner over? I've always believed that on a team with power hitters that aren't very good situational hitters, you're better off saving as many outs as possible.

Honestly, what more does KW have to do to put his job in jeopardy? What a total loudmouth jackass. His decisions are poor "on" and "off" the playing field.

I still remember going online after the Sox/Cubs game the day the trade was made, and I thought it was a joke. Honestly, it felt like someone had kicked me in the stomach. On one hand, it sucks that Frank and Ordonez got hurt cause we couldnt compete for the division. On the other hand though, it sucks that our front office is going to escape this disaster of a season by blaming it on the injuries. It would have been great to see how things would have went.

I think that if Juan Uribe is either the 2b or SS for the Sox next year, and they find a replacment as the other position, then I have no problem with Crede at 3b. 3b are pretty expensive to find, and Crede can give you solid power numbers if he's batting in the 7-9 range. However, a starting lineup of gload at 1b, everett at rf, harris at 2b, and crede at 3b would not be the way to go.

If Cotts doesnt learn a better offspeed pitch, he's never going to be the pitcher that many on this board think he can be.

Congrats to Crede for an impressive night. I still think this organization will have a hard time getting rid of him after all the years of praising him through the system.