ZoomSlowik

Please no to J.D. Drew unless he is around $8 mil or less. Don't be sucked in by this one year of relative health and solid production. His career high in games played is 135. This guy is about as injury prone as they come. This is the kind of guy you should avoid in free agency- a player with an injury riddled history coming off a career year and seeking a multi year deal for tons of money. Someone is going to sign him for at least 5 years and $60 mil IMO, and I think they'll regret that eventually. By the way, even this year I wouldn't say he is as good as Maggs at his best. Drew's numbers this year- 114 games(35 games left), 90 runs, 28 homers, 78 RBI, .305 average, .419 OBP(I'll admit that last number is pretty impressive). Maggs' best year- 153 games, 116 runs, 38 HR, 135 RBI, .320 average, .381 OBP. Maggs has a better list of full years for comparison than Drew, but it appears that they are about a draw in runs and homers, Maggs has a good lead in RBI and BA, while Drew walks a bit more, although it is hard to tell because Drew has never played a full year. So I'd say Maggs is a better hitter and neither really have a lead in fielding or running(neither are stellar). Since this is his first full year, how can you say Drew comes through when his team needs him? You don't think the Cards needed him the last few years, while he was alternating between getting hurt and sucking? His one stellar year before this he only made it through 109 games, and he had years where he only hit .242 and .252. Maggs' career low is .282, and he has been able to stay on the field before this year. Drew has talent, but he looks like a pretty big risk for a major contract. I'm not necessarily saying we should keep Maggs rather than sign Drew(although I'd like to see it happen depending on how his knee holds up and what kind of contract he can actually get), but I am saying I'd rather see them do other things with their $ this offseason. I'd love to see Clement, Perez, or Pavano, while adding Cattalanato in RF, Koskie or Glaus at 3rd, another solid arm in the pen, and Renteria or Cabrera at SS(yes, I know it is highly unlikely we see all of those, but 3 or 4 out of 5 would be nice. The pen shouldn't cost much, and Koskie and Cattalanato should be affordable).

I agree that they just did a terrible job picking this team. In the past the US had excellent point guards to run the team and guys that could hit outside shots. There isn't anyone even close to Magic Johnson, Isaiah Thomas, John Stockton, or Jason Kidd at the point, and no marksmen like Bird, Reggie Miller, Mitch Richmond, or Chris Mullin either. The best shooter on the team is probably Iverson, which is kind of sad. Once so many guys turned them down, I really think they would have been better of sending a team of college all-stars. There are several point guards and shooters at the college level like Chris Paul or Deron Williams that would kick ass in international play, and you could still get decent big men like Simien, Roberts or May. This looks like a really good year for college talent though and I'm not sure that is the long term answer.

Anyone in league 2, sorry I ignored this for a while, I just moved back down to school and my internet has been messed up. Since we now have a full league, start giving me draft times that work for you. I prefer that you post it in the league page so that I can find it easier, but you can post it on Soxtalk to.

I still don't know about Reed. He wasn't exactly destroying the ball before the trade. Realistically, his hype is based on one season at AA. Granted he killed the ball, but he hasn't exactly hit the cover off the ball for several years. Until I see him hit about .280 in the majors I'm not gonna worry about trading him.

I know ESPN seems to be biased against the Illini. They had them at #10 in their preseason poll, which is ridiculous, and Vitale didn't have Brown or Williams on any of his "Rolls Royce Teams" which is at least as ludicrous if not more so. I think the line on the game will partly depend on how the real polls come out, a lot of people are going to bet just based on those(I know it's dumb, but who said gamblers had to be smart?). If they are something like 3 and 4 in the polls, I would think the Illini would be about a 3 or 4 point favorite, but if for some reason Wake is like 2 while the Illini are 8, I think Wake MIGHT be a favorite. Personally, I think the Illini are a very good but not great team, at least for right now. Their backcourt is one of the best in the country, and they started playing some good defense about mid way through the Big Ten schedule. But I think they are going to be a little inconsistent until their post scoring becomes more constant. Augustine has potential, but it seemed like almost all of his points came off of plays by Brown or Williams. They'll beat a lot of teams, but I think they'll struggle against some better teams, especially those with good post scorers(IE Duke, UNC, Wake, maybe MSU if they could develop another big guy to complement Davis). I'm really looking forward to finding out what will happen with these better teams, I can't wait for college basketball season.

If a team puts their DH on the field at another position, they can no longer use the DH and the pitcher must bat in that spot. I remember this because there was talk of the Yankees switching Giambi and Johnson late in a game, but they couldn't do it because of that rule.

Home court advatage matters, but teams still lose on their home floor all the time. I said I think it's going to be a close game between Wake and the Illini, so I'd rather not touch it. I didn't leave Head out, I was comparing their 3 guards to Illinois' 3 guards. Their other two guys are solid shooters that can also handle the ball, I'm not so sure Head could. If you could read you would notice that I was referring to a Williams on Wake, which would be Eric. It'd be kind of hard for someone on the Illini to be better than anyone on the Illini. I agree, the Illini are one of if not the favorite, but it's still considered a race until some clinches it. I think it will come down to the Illini and MSU, maybe Wisconsin depending on how Tucker comes back and if Chambliss or Wade can cut it at the point.

I understand that the US guys are used to getting the benefit of the doubt, but some of them were pretty iffy. Part of that could be blamed on the US guys for not knowing that they are going to call it more closely. I had a feeling this team was going to suck, but I didn't think they were going to lose to Italy. If they got the real stars instead of guys like Odom, they'd be find. Guys like Jefferson, James, Wade, and Carmelo have talent but don't really belong on this team. I'd also love to see guys like Garnett or either O'Neal instead of Stoudemire and Okafor. These guys are all very athletic but have very little experience and haven't really learned how to score yet. If this team had guys some guys that could shoot they'd be fine. Getting white guys that know how to play won't really work because we don't have any.

I agree with you on many of the games, but I really think some of them are going to be interesting. I think you're putting a little too much into the Home Court Advantage. It helps, but if you play a good team it can be countered. I kind of like MSU. Duke doesn't have a whole lot of depth, and both teams should struggle at the point. I think MSU is going to have a pretty good year, Hill Torbert and Davis are pretty good. I kind of like Maryland in the game too. Wisconsin is really going to miss Harris and Tucker is going to be coming off an injury. Is Chambliss going to be eligible for this game or any others in the first semester? He'll help out a bit, but Maryland is going to have a solid team. I think Wake and Illinois is a really tough one to call, but if I had to bet on the game I'd take Wake. Brown and Williams are solid, but Paul is just awesome. To me Gray, Downey and Paul is a slightly better backcourt. Williams is a better post scorer than anyone the Illini have, and Levy is too athletic. I think Wake is a little deeper too. The Illini should be right in the Big Ten race, but Wake matches up a little to well with them in my book, altough a good shooting night can negate that. I think NU might sneek up on some people this year. They'll probably struggle early, but once Thompson becomes eligible that gives them a real big man for the first time in a while. They still won't keep up with U of I or MSU, but I think they'll pull a few upsets and might make the tourney. It all depends on how good Thompson and Doyle(another transfer) really are.

I just made my thoughts known on the thread I started. I'd appreciate it if someone merged the threads, I thought I made some good comments. This team doesn't have the true stud point guard like Kidd or any outside shooters like Allen or Hamilton. This team is going to struggle when teams play zone D on them, which seems likely. Nevermind, someone did. Thanks.

Ugly display by the "Dream Team." The game showed a lot of flaws. Marbury is the team's only true point guard, and he wasn't playing a lot. This caused a lot of turnovers. Also, Italy dropped back into a zone defense, negating our driving ability and post advantage. This wouldn't be a problem if the Team USA had any perimeter shooters, but they don't. The US team also showed little defensive ability, fouling numerous driving players and leaving open 3's, which were buried. The refs seemed to be biased against the US. There were a couple of plays where a foul was called, but the basket was not allowed. Also, numerous questionable traveling calls were made, and driving Italian players seemed to be given the benefit of the doubt. Plays that would be a no call in the NBA were called as defensive fouls. However, it wouldn't have mattered in the end because the US struggled to score. I think this shows that something on the team needs to change. We need to either make participation mandatory if accepted or include a bonus from the NBA. This team clearly would have benfited from the presence of players like Kidd(help ballhandling), Garnett(defense and jump shooting to break the zone), Kobe or McGrady(a little bit of everything), and Allen or Hamilton(major increase in outside shooting). Another option is keep a constant roster to improve continuity, but this is less likely, one because players likely won't commit long term, and it probably wouldn't help that much because European teams will play together longer.

I think our team will be solid next year if we resign Maggs. That gives us a great middle of the order with Maggs, Lee, Frank, and Konerko with Rowand fitting in somewhere. The rotation should be pretty good with Garcia and Buehrle at the top, Garland being a decent #3 or 4, and Contreras hopefully pitching to his talent. I'd like to see us get another good bullpen arm, or maybe another starter. If Maggs goes, I want to see Cattalanato in right and someone like Pavano or Perez added to the rotation. My dream move is getting Renteria at SS, but I'm not sure how likely that is, with or without Maggs coming back.

Did they really mention Delgado? I was listening shortly after Kenny left and they were speculating that it was probably Burnitz or Finley. I'm not sure I would want Carlos anyways. Yeah, when he is healthy, happy, and on, he's a force to be reckoned with, but that hasn't happened this year. Cattalanato would have been my vote for Blue Jay player.

He's 32, but who knows how accurate that is. It seems every offseason a whole bunch of latin players add 2 or 3 years to their age(I think the Cubans are a little better than some of the other countries in terms of accurate ages, but I could be wrong). Someone said he is going to pitch Tuesday, but that's just what I heard from someone else on the board.

I'm still in. I'm always going to be a Sox fan, I don't care if they lose all 162. I still think they'll get back in it. We still have a decent rotation, which I think got a little better with Contreras(I have faith, mainly because he has much better stuff than Loaiza). I just hope the bats wake up a bit, I'm not sure how much faith I have in the current lineup(especially if Everett's injury is worse than we think). I gotta imagine we're going to lose every 1 run game for the rest of the year.

Berkman and Maggs are potential FA too, and Matt Clement, all would be nice to acquire/keep. And what do you have against Glaus(I wouldn't care about Crede if we got him), Kent, Percival, Guardado, Benitez, Hoffman, and Wagner? Those guys are all huge upgrades, although I do believe a couple of them have some kind of options. By the way, unless we somehow get Eric Gagne, every pitcher gives up game winning hits every once in a while.

Sorry I posted my comment twice, the site crapped out on me mid post, I didn't think it went through. A couple comments on previous posts. I don't think it would really matter much if Loaiza were "tipping his pitches" for two major reasons. One is that he has several that he throws, making it a little harder to discern, while Contreras mainly relies on his fastball and forkball. A key part of making his forkball effective is the hitter thinking it is a fastball. I suppose Loiaza could be tipping when he is going to throw breaking stuff, but that leads me to my second reason. Contreras has explosive stuff, so if the hitters stay off balance they are in trouble. If Loaiza isn't tipping, it doesn't seem like it matters because his stuff isn't that sharp anymore. Plus most of his pitchers seem to be in the 85 to 90 range, making it a little easier to pick a pitch and kill it without having to really worry if it is actually a fastball or a mediocre slider. As for the Cubs, they gave up some real talent, both now and in the past. Bobby Hill was a key part of the Pitt trade, and he was right up there with Patterson on their prospect charts when they traded him, and they gave us a 1st round pick in Garland for Matt Karchner for some strange reason. This time they gave up Beltran, a 24 year old reliever with electric stuff that has already pitched in the majors for a solid stretch, and Harris, a 23 year old that was hitting .308 in AAA. I don't know much about Jones, but he is also supposed to be a solid prospect. All that for a terrible defensive SS that hits .267 away from Fenway.

I like this move in pretty much every way. Loaiza has shown that he was a fluke and isn't anywhere near the pitcher he was last year, and he is expecting a big deal this offseason. What we got is a somewhat troubled starter, but he has monsterous stuff and may improve dramatically without the constant pressure that was present on the Yankees. Not only does he have a mid 90's fastball, but he has an absolutely filthy forkball. If he ever gets confidence in his stuff, he's going to dominate. Plus supposedly Cooper found a flaw in his delivery that was tipping his pitches, which will hopefully help. The best part is the Yankees are eating a bunch of his contract and he is signed for two more seasons. There's been some dispute over how much we are paying, but I would rather have him than Loaiza whether we are paying $4 mil or $6 mil per year.

I like this move in pretty much every way. Loaiza has shown that he was a fluke and isn't anywhere near the pitcher he was last year, and he is expecting a big deal this offseason. What we got is a somewhat troubled starter, but he has monsterous stuff and may improve dramatically without the constant pressure that was present on the Yankees. Not only does he have a mid 90's fastball, but he has an absolutely filthy forkball. If he ever gets confidence in his stuff, he's going to dominate. Plus supposedly Cooper found a flaw in his delivery that was tipping his pitches, which will hopefully help. The best part is the Yankees are eating a bunch of his contract and he is signed for two more seasons. There's been some dispute over how much we are paying, but I would rather have him than Loaiza whether we are paying $4 mil or $6 mil per year.

I fogot about Chris Snopek, that was funny. Some of those guys from the 2000 group look pretty weak. Who would have thought Buehrle would be by far the best so far with Rowand probably taking second? How the heck was Thomas #7, wasn't he the top overall pick?

I hate to turn this into a Cub board, but it was a backwards rip on Kenny. The Cubs don't give up nothing and get talent. For one, they can afford to take on payroll, so they already start off having to give up les talent. Second, they've given up some solid prospects. At the time of the Ramirez/Lofton deal, Hill was right up there with Patterson on their prospect lists. He was just starting to get a real shot in the majors when they traded him. And this time, they gave up a a young reliever with dominanting stuff who has already been in the majors, and a guy hitting .308 in AAA. We don't even have guys doing that right now(Couldn't find anything on Jones, but he is supposedly a good prospect) They can afford to not give up their top players(altough some of the big prospects are not doing so hot anyways) because they have a deeper system. It's a little easier to build a farm system when you draft in the top 10 every year. The Sox have done that once recently, so they haven't had a shot at guys like Prior and Wood like they have.

That's taking only a 30 something game schedule from this year. Go to ESPN.com and look at his splits for the last 3 years. At Fenway- .343 On the road- .267 Plus he's a terrible fielder, he already has 6 errors. Project that over the whole season and he's over 30.

It already has: we got a real ace pitcher for once(at least it looks that way). Our staff in 2000 was a joke, Wells bombed, and Colon was only okay. Garcia is a pitcher that can actually strike people out and can shut down a good team, and Buehrle is still here. This year can't really count against that core. Maggs wasn't playing for a lot of this year, (and I'm not even counting the stretch between DL stints) and Frank has been out a bunch too. We were right in it before Maggs got hurt again. Those two guys make a huge impact on this team.

Well Frank has an option for next year so he should be back. I'd certainly give Maggs a solid offer. I would think the best option for both parties would be a one year deal somewhere between $6 and $10 mil. That way he gets some money and gets another shot at FA next year, and the Sox aren't locked into a long term deal with a player that might have a serious injury problem. However I'd personally give him a reasonable long term offer, something like 4 years $40 mil.

I agree. We kill the Twins in this division with those two, and if we can get out of this slide we still have a shot. We still have some talent, we just need someone other than the middle 3 and Rowand to start hitting, and Jose to stop dropping balls. I know he always does that, but he had a nice stretch there.