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QUOTE (WCSox @ Feb 12, 2010 -> 03:11 PM) Indeed. He has the range to play LF, but his arm is in Pods territory. Unless there are inferior options for LF, he's a DH now. That said, he'd be the the solid leadoff hitter that this team has been lacking for most of the past 3 years. In terms of pure arm strength Pods is well ahead of Damon, Johnny rivals Juan Pierre for the worst in the game.

QUOTE (Tex @ Feb 12, 2010 -> 03:30 PM) I was hoping for an Emmit Smith kind of one day symbolic signing. The greatest batter I've watched. 1. They'd have to clear a spot on the 40 man roster since a minor league contract really wouldn't count 2. Since anyone on the 40 man roster is considered "active" in the offseason I do believe signing him would push back his possible enshrinement date by 2 years. It really wouldn't be worth it.

QUOTE (ChiSox_Sonix @ Feb 12, 2010 -> 02:11 PM) espn.com's player stats say otherwise. But regardless, using the fact he DH'ed 1 time last year as a reason why he can DH this year is absurd. (I'm aware you weren't the one to bring that up) You really should use baseballreference.com for thing like this, or for most anything for that matter.

QUOTE (bucket-of-suck @ Feb 12, 2010 -> 01:00 PM) AJ DH'd last season. 1 game in mid September when we had 3 catchers on the roster. Yeah, that doesn't count.

His final game played was August 29th, 2008.

QUOTE (SoxAce @ Feb 11, 2010 -> 11:08 PM) We'll see in the next couple of years if Kent, Bagwell, Piazza, etc.. are on the report (as there have been rumors about them... though I still think Kent's clean, even though he's a complete douche.) I don't think Bagwell's getting in, even though he's never been named it's widely accepted by baseball people that he was a user that's why you haven't heard his name in 4 years. He's up for election next year and I'd say he'll get less than 40% of the vote even with his incredibly gaudy numbers.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Feb 11, 2010 -> 10:54 PM) His attitude isn't any different from most guys who have been as productive as long as he has. Lots of these guys are proud (cocky) and tend to make excuses for their decline in productivity. Nothing new there. So what if he's whining. It just takes one team to pick him up. He's not going to be highly paid, however. He's going to have to adjust to that fact mentally. It'd suck if the team that picks him up gets a less than stellar effort from JD just because he thinks he's underpaid. I'd be surprised if he and Thome both don't wind up with some team. But it's interesting that nobody has gobbled them up yet. I still say JD wasn't that disgraceful of an outfielder, but it sure took a long time to get those long legs moving sometimes. Thome already signed with the Twins. And the #1 reason Dye isn't drawing much interest from teams is because he was an abomination of a fielder, if he were even mediocre out there he'd have a job right now. Unfortunately for him teams are starting to value defense and the word is out on JD.

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Feb 11, 2010 -> 11:01 PM) You think Biggio is a lock for the first ballot with Robbie getting snubbed this year? But anyways, it's amazing to just look at some of the numbers this man put up in the 90's. You can only just say "Wow." Robbie was snubbed for non-baseball related issues (John Hirschbeck, this is also why Kent only has a 70% shot at 1st ballot induction IMO, well that and his defensive inadequacies), Craig Biggio has one of the cleanest reputations of any player in the game's history, his numbers are more than hall worthy and there's never been an inkling of steroid abuse (this should easily put him over the hump while going up against some of the biggest roiders of all time, Biggio's induction would be a statement.)

I'm already looking forward to my trip to Cooperstown in 2014. Problem is . . . other players up for election in 2014: Maddux (lock), Glavine (lock), Kent (70/30 at 1st ballot) and Mussina (outside chance at the hall, next to no chance at 1st ballot induction). Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Curt Schilling, Sammy Sosa and Kenny Lofton should be on their second go round after failing to be inducted in 2013. (Biggio and Piazza are near locks as first balloters in 2013) Lucky for Big Frank there is no limit to the number of players that can be elected, however the BBWAA have their own bizarre unwritten rules and biases.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Feb 11, 2010 -> 08:25 PM) I'm just worried that a lot of that better-ness may be related to the Yankee stadium. Like it or not, he's actually quite a bit older than Kotsay. What about 2008?

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Feb 11, 2010 -> 03:10 PM) My big hope is that the money in the two year deal is low enough to where Damon thinks he can get more money in '11, so he jumps on the one year deal. Heyman seems to agree, he just mentioned that the Tigers' offer may be north of $14M over 2 years but that Damon may prefer a 1 year deal.

He was actually a worse hitter leading up to Rios' arrival on August 12th than he was after: Jul 17 - Aug 11: 100 PA, .156/.240/.300/.540 Aug 12 - Oct. 4: 146 PA, .197/.329/.295/.624

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Feb 10, 2010 -> 02:32 PM) Got my preorder for Heavy Rain in... It's getting some great reviews. However, it's looking like a rental to me. It's an 8 hour play through with minimal replay value. It's definitely a must play though.

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Feb 9, 2010 -> 01:25 PM) It was a mistake. I had no intention of offending anyone, and I could do a lot worse of an insult on someone then to misspell his name. Although, substituting a V for an S is a pretty damning accusation. I hate every hall of famer including Babe Tuth and Ricky Mantle. It's the internet, petty is commonplace. It goes back to Javy Vazquez, those who disliked him felt misspelling his name was a fine way to belittle him, spelling his name "Vasquez" was a fine way of showing how inconsequential he was and just how little they thought of him. Since you've done it in a few threads I just assumed.

QUOTE (bucket-of-suck @ Feb 9, 2010 -> 12:54 PM) Please tell us how a .365 OBP is OBP-challenged and a .308 AVG is struggling to get on base. Well, it's at which you're more inclined to believe: 4 years, 2600 PA and a .286/.329 AVG/OBP . . or . . . 1 year, 425 PA and a .308/.365 AVG/OBP (not to mention the .273/.326/.337/.663 line he put up after May 31st which falls right in line with his performance each year dating back to 2005) The Sox bought Pierre at his absolute highest value. If anyone out there truly believed Pierre is ~.365 OBP hitter the Dodgers wouldn't be on the hook for 57% of his salary and have a couple mediocre prospects to show for him.

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Feb 9, 2010 -> 10:30 AM) It's cool we have Omar Visquel. So are you intentionally misspelling his name out of disrespect or are you just oblivious to the correct spelling of the surname of the hall of fame SS who's likely been in the league since you started watching baseball?

QUOTE (kev211 @ Feb 8, 2010 -> 11:27 AM) Hopefully they don't mess this up, and still keep him and his number on the outfield wall. They're not truly un-retiring his number, Aparicio's just giving Omar his blessing to wear his number as a tribute for a 1 season. Once Omar leaves at the end of the season the number will go right back to being untouchable, nothing in the ballpark will change, instead of Omar having a 17 on his back it'll be an 11. Given that it's a tribute from one Venezuelan to another and one hall of famer to another and it's being done with the blessing of Aparicio I don't see what the problem could be. Hell, 11 isn't even Omar's typical number, that'd be Ozzie's 13 so this is a 100% tribute to one of his heroes.

QUOTE (Springfield SoxFan @ Feb 7, 2010 -> 03:31 PM) ^^Really, you think A Gon would command $180 million? Well . . . 7/$126M - Vernon Wells '08 (29) 8/$136M - Alfonso Soriano '07 (31) 9/$141.5M - Todd Helton '03 (29) 8/$152M - Miguel Cabrera '08 (25) [still had 2 years of arbitration remaining so he receives only $26.3M in the first 2 years, he gets an average of $21M annually in the 6 free agent years that were bought out] 8/$160M - Manny Ramirez '01 (29) [$20M annually] 8/$180M - Mark Teixiera '09 (29) [$22.5M annually] Assuming Gonzalez tests free agency following the 2011 season what will truly determine his value will be the long term deal Ryan Howard signs with the Phillies in the next 2 years, any long term deal Prince Fielder gets before then and to a lesser extent the deal Pujols gets from the Cardinals. Gonzalez, Fielder, Howard and Pujols are all scheduled to become free agents following the 2011 season, Howard and Pujols are near locks to stay where they are so their deals will set the market for Fielder and Gonzalez who are more likely to test free agency. Gonzalez will be 30, Fielder 28, Howard and Pujols both 32. Howard's new deal will be the one to watch and given the deals handed out to Teixiera and Miguel Cabrera over the past 2 seasons you'd have to think it'll be in the high $22M-$24M range annually for 6 to 8 years (Howard being 32 years old could screw with the length of the deal a bit) depending on what the economy looks like 2 years from now.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Feb 6, 2010 -> 05:22 PM) Dent still doesn't get in after like 20 years but Randle does relatively quickly even though they have the same # of sacks for their career (or so says some quick, not-that-deep googling I just did). FFS, who does Dent have to blow to get in? Randle is the all time leader in sacks at the DT position, made 7 pro bowls compared to Dent's 4, was 1st team All-Pro 6 times compared to Dent's 2 and also made First Team All Decade for the 90's (voted on by the HoF voters), no such honor for Dent. Basically, Randle is considered a top 2 -- if not the best -- tackle of his generation by the people who vote for the Hall of Fame.

QUOTE (rowandrules83 @ Feb 6, 2010 -> 01:39 PM) Not sure if this has been posted, but this is pretty cool. Unfortunately, I'm not sure if it will make me buy MLB 2K10 instead of The Show. http://www.cnbc.com/id/35124184/ Personally, I'll be sticking with the superior product. Some marketing gimmick that'll be over 3 hours after launch isn't quite enough to convert me. Video Games | MLB 10: The Show | Joe Mauer Gameplay HD XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii

QUOTE (dmbjeff @ Feb 5, 2010 -> 03:50 PM) With Pierre's speed, there is no reason we need to bunt him over to 2nd on the times he reaches 1st base. That's insane. He should be getting on base, have the 2nd place hitter work the count and have Pierre on 2nd base 80% of the time via a SB. Then the #2,#3 and #4 hitters all have a shot to get him in. That is ideal, I don't see alot of bunting from the 2 hole this season. 75% And tell that to Ozzie, he's the one that had an American League power hitting ballclub put down 47 sac bunts last season (that doesn't even count all the failures that resulted in 2 strike counts, you can probably double the 47 to account for this) including 8 by Alexei Ramirez and now that we have a quicker more "versatile" team that fits more to his '03 Marlins mold I don't think there's any doubt you're going to see the attempted bunts increase in 2010. If you're looking for a 2 hitter that can work the count and hit behind in the count (when he takes 2 strikes waiting for Pierre to run) then Alexei is in no way your man, you're asking an incredibly impatient hitter (3.45 pit/pa, well below average) to take 3 pitches waiting for Pierre to get the right pitch to run on then have probably your worst breaking ball hitter attempt to make contact on a 1-2 slider off the plate or curve in the dirt. In our new NL style offense Alexei is best suited around 7th where he doesn't have to worry about playing small ball.

QUOTE (heirdog @ Feb 5, 2010 -> 02:48 PM) Pierre may not be the reason Alexei sees breaking balls but because Alexei sees breaking balls, Pierre will have an easier time stealing bases at a higher clip. So Alexei should bat second. How about the fact that Alexei is probably the team's worst bunter and would be asked to bunt near every time Pierre reaches bases in our new NL designed offense?

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Feb 5, 2010 -> 08:24 AM) I think a whole lot of this stat relates to Alexei. There was one point I recall one of our annoucers saying on a pitch to Alexei early in the season "Curveball, strike, Alexei looked like he'd never seen a breaking ball before" This is it right here. It has nothing to do with a lack of a true base stealing threat at the top, it's all about individual scouting reports. Scott Podsednik got on base at a decent clip last year and was more than willing to attempt to steal second -- even to a fault -- and yet our #2 hitter's FB% took a precipitous drop after the first month of and a half of the season when Podsednik took over the leadoff duties from the Getz/Lillibridge constituency. Why? Well it certainly wasn't a possible downgrade in stolen base threat in the #1 spot, Getz wasn't exactly a high volume base stealer; he only attempted 4 SB in his brief role as leadoff man (18 GS, .350 OBP) whereas Podsednik quickly solidified himself as a threat to run with 5 attempted steals in his first 7 games as the team's new leadoff hitter. Pods finished with a .355 OBP, 41 attempted SB and 11 times picked off in 119 GS as the leadoff man, this is a baserunner that the opponent's battery had to keep a close eye on. What changed in mid May was the installation of Alexei Ramirez as the team's 2 hole hitter taking over the reins from Josh Fields. A mere 51% of the total pitches Alexei saw last season were fastballs good for 6th fewest in all of baseball whereas Josh Fields saw a hefty percentage of fastballs at 62.5% that would have put him in the top 25 percentile had he reached qualified status. It's a tale of two hitters who are complete opposites, in '08 Alexei Ramirez proved that he can easily catch up to major league heat but consistently looked baffled by any kind of offspeed pitch (aside from the occasional hanging curve) and this carried over to the 2009 season. Josh Fields on the other hand couldn't come within a half foot of a pitch that top 88 MPH, teams quickly picked up on this and served him nothing but the express. Beckham on the other hand was rather average at a 58% FB% since he showed that he could pretty much hit anything. So the incredible disparity comes from the 280 PA Alexei saw in the 2 hole. Juan Pierre swiping 70 bases next year isn't going to amount to a rise in the #2 hitter's FB% if the player plugged in to said role doesn't prove that he can hit a f***ing breaking ball. Believe it or not but pitchers aren't so frightened of a base stealer taking second that they're going to groove fastball after fastball against a fastball hitter in an attempt to keep the speed demon at bay. If this were the case Evan Longoria wouldn't have been near the bottom of the league in FB% with Carl Crawford and his 76 stolen base attempts on base ahead of him 36% of the time last season.

UPDATED VERSION [02.05.10] (CLICK FOR FULL SIZE) Updated the player numbers

QUOTE (JDsDirtySox @ Feb 4, 2010 -> 10:56 PM) Just so some of you don't sled into a tree on this one. O-Dog is a good player... but he is definitely on the decline. Despite winning another GG last year... several scouts think his range is very average now. Ronnie Belliard took his starting job at the end of the season last year in LA. Things people forget about that situation: Belliard hit .355/.399/.616/1.015 over the final 2 months of the season and sitting down Hudson a few times a week kept him from reaching plate appearance based incentives.