Kalapse

QUOTE(BureauEmployee171 @ Dec 21, 2007 -> 11:58 PM) My best estimate is that a 47 would serve a role that player who is no longer with or will not be with the team had. And - it's much more possible Ramirez starts the season in the minor leagues. And I have no fear of what I say - because nothing that I say is libel, nothing is illegal, nothing is against MLB or club policy. I know the difference between important information & information to be given to the public. Would you like me to say that OFP on Ramirez is 75 just to make you feel good? You'll quickly find out the truth & my words won't have much acclaim. Speaking matter of factly is never an issue. Thanks for all the information you've provided. Honestly, before today I really didn't know anything about the guy, it's good to have someone around with your resources and insight to shed a little light on moves like these.

QUOTE(jenks45monster @ Dec 21, 2007 -> 11:41 PM) Lived up to expectacions yes, became superstars, no. I just think that he won't live up to this superstar attention he is receiving. That's sort of the point if they weren't superstars in Japan then there's no reason to believe they'd suddenly find super stardom over here. Ichiro and Hideki were above average to great players over there and they've been above average to great over here as well. Iguchi was a pretty good player over there, was expected to be about an average offensive player over here and lived up to those expectations. Taguchi and Shinjo were ok starting players over there, expected to be nothing more than role players over here and what do know they lived up to those expectations. If you're going to go by how past Japanese position players have faired in the US when projecting Fukudome's transition to the American game then there's a damn good chance he's going to be a pretty good player over here similarly to how he was over there. Hell I think Shingo lived up to expectations just fine, he was never expected to be a star closer over here but for 1 season he was pretty damn close. He was older and approaching the end of his career, signed a short term, cheap deal with a US team and held his own for a whole season. Look no further than the Dodgers' closer, Saito for an example of a Japanese player who has long exceeded expectations and has become one of the best closers in American Baseball. Just going off the top of my head I can't think of many Japanese players (pitchers or otherwise) that have been busts in the United States. The Japan/US transition has actually worked out rather well.

QUOTE(jenks45monster @ Dec 21, 2007 -> 11:32 PM) Agreed about Fukudome. He was overpaid but at least 8 mil. IMO. And in the end most Japanese players are no more than decent in the Big Leagues, with the exceptions of Ichiro and Hideki Matsui. Aside form Kaz Matsui how many Japanese star position players have been disappointments in the United States? Guys like So Taguchi and TaYoshi Shinjo were never all that good in Japan, they pretty much lived up to expectations in the US.

Posting an .872 OPS in your first 166 big league ABs is pretty damn impressive especially when you're 23.

Levine said it was $4.75M TOTAL which does not sound right at all. I'll just assume he misspoke and it's actually 4 years, $19M.

QUOTE(Jenks Heat @ Dec 21, 2007 -> 06:53 AM) I don't agree at all. I think Fields and Danks if not rushed would be impact prospects. Floyd is still young and has the stuff. With Floyd and Owens you need the good old rose colored glasses a little bit but there is something there. I hark back to the days of Jason Bere. Not a-lot was thought of him (at least I never heard of him) and he came out and lit it up. DLS and Egbert could be impact by the trading deadline and very expendable depending on what happens in June. Jason Bere was rated the #8 prospect in all of baseball by BA in 1993 ahead of guys like Manny Ramirez, Javy Lopez and Johnny Damon. I suppose someone thought he was pretty good.

QUOTE(Steve9347 @ Dec 20, 2007 -> 01:16 PM) You do realize that Crisp is just 1.5 years older than the magical Owens, right? At least coco has put up an OPS of .800+ before... he could easily get back to the .790-.810 range, especially in the Cell on a team committed to give him playing time. Don't forget, his poor years were highlighted by a pretty bad injury that affected his hitting. He's supposedly 100% now. Yes, he's supposedly 100% NOW after posting a .638 OPS over the final 2 months of the '07 season and a .418 OPS in 33 postseason ABs. But hey 3 years ago he posted an .810 OPS! Excuse me if I'm not excited about giving up young talent for an outfielder who has been terrible for 2 full seasons and the #1 excuse for his s***ty performance is an injury that doesn't seem to go away. Maybe I love Jerry Owens or perhaps I don't think the minimal upgrade from Sweeney/Anderson/Owens to Crisp is worth the talent it would take to bring him here.

QUOTE(Steve9347 @ Dec 20, 2007 -> 01:11 PM) Maybe in hell... where players with no talent are nearly as good as players who have proven they can put up consistent numbers on the ML level! Yeah 3 years ago. He's been dreadful for 2 full seasons now, perhaps it's not a good idea for an aging 4th place team to weaken an already depleted farm system in order to acquire a guy who they're praying will return to the player he was 3 years ago. And even if he did revert to his 2005 form he's still not good enough to pull this team out of the basement. Unless the Sox are giving up a couple AAAA relievers a Crisp deal will do nothing but hurt this franchise in the long run.

This is pure dominance thus far. 4-0 on Lang's 2nd of the game.

QUOTE(bmags @ Dec 19, 2007 -> 01:14 AM) plus sinker? The hate for Jon Garland on this board is beyond ridiculous. You really shouldn't take the misguided thoughts of one rogue poster as a consensus ideal of the board. Jon Garland was an above average starting pitcher during his time in Chicago, if someone feels he has been mediocre then they either a.) don't fully comprehend the meaning of the term or b.) don't know how to interpret the statistics. Jon possesses a plus sinker and usually a pretty good fastball (at least in terms of velocity) he's been a pretty steady #3 throughout his career, easily one of the most consistent (from season to season) and durable starting pitchers of this decade.

QUOTE(southsideirish71 @ Dec 18, 2007 -> 11:33 PM) Some retarded trade rumor site on the internet regurgitated what Phil Rogers proposed on Monday. Like Phil is a source of anything worth while. Yeah I just saw that someone posted the same entry in one of the pinned topics.

And where did you see this? I assume you got it from http://mlb-rumors.blogspot.com/. After 5 minutes of research I have concluded that the website in question is full of s*** and should not be treated as a legitimate source of information. After reading their "White Sox Shopping Cabrera?" entry, I'm a little pissed. Here it is: They made up the underlined portion, it's total bulls***. They also completely fabricated the portion in red. Here's the Phil Rogers piece they linked to. Alright, someone tell me where in that quote is there ANY indication that 1.) The Sox are not willing to sign Cabrera long term and 2.) That they're thinking about dealing him? It's all just speculative bulls***. He has no quotes from KW or JR, no claims of inside information, no secret reports from unnamed league executives all he has is A DAY DREAM. He's just spitballin'. All I see is a few points: 1.) The Sox should lock up Cabrera to a long term deal before Christmas (opinion) 2.) Cabrera didn't seem like he was in a hurry to sign a long term deal when first acquired 3.) If the Sox can't get him locked up before Christmas they should trade him to Boston for a couple overpayed asshats (SPITBALLIN') NEW TRADE WINDS RULE! *No linking to any website with ".blogspot" in the address.* mlb-rumors.blogspot.com is NOT a legitimate source of information and should be completely ignored.

QUOTE(TheBigHurt @ Dec 17, 2007 -> 03:22 PM) There's always someone on this site discrediting good players. It would be nice if he could manage more than 350 ABs in a season, of course I doubt turning 38 years old will help all that much. That .728 2007 OPS and pathetic range in CF sure are sexy though.

QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Dec 16, 2007 -> 11:23 PM) I love my new Avy..... You son of a b****.

QUOTE(DonnyDevito @ Dec 15, 2007 -> 11:20 PM) I guess that's what one receives for attempting to bring positive light regarding the 2008 White Sox. Perhaps, this up and coming season is the one where Chicago finally finishes in last place. Being positive is one thing, being wrong is another.

QUOTE(DonnyDevito @ Dec 15, 2007 -> 10:53 PM) So your stance is Jerry Owens has never hit a ball in the gap or down the line?! I added some information to my original post, in case you have yet to see it. My stance is that he had less XBH last year than any other regular leadoff hitter in baseball and the least XBH of any regular OF in the American League. If 8 gappers/doubles down line is proof of something positive to you then I'd like to know what of.

QUOTE(DonnyDevito @ Dec 15, 2007 -> 10:29 PM) i hear all of this doom and gloom prophecy. i think it's hogwash! has anyone ever heard of the theory that young players actually progress and get better by the more time they get and by the more experience on the field that they have? I guarantee players like Richar and Quentin are going to attract quite a following next season. Not to mention that a player like Owens may actually surprise some folks. Jerry Owens is a man I like to talk about because while many of us wanted other CF's who are a ton of miles on their legs, Owens is a young man who started from nothing on the Sox and could barely hit the ball out of the OF. What he has grown into is a decent young player who has plus plus speed and can naturally steal the bases like no other player on our roster. During last season he showed more plate discipline with the more time that he had. Owens has great range in CF and I think he will also surprise some folks. i used to think the kid couldn't hit the ball out of the infield but he grew into a player who has shown he can hit some gappers and some shots down the line and with that elite speed of his, his singles easily turn into doubles. No he didn't. People like to act as if his first call up last year didn't count so I'll just stick to his final 332 PA of the '07 season. Over those final 303 AB he had 7 2B and 2 3B. Pathetic, I know. Out of the 7 doubles only 1 of them was a single that he stretched into a double, 4 were gappers (3 to LF, 1 to RF) and 2 were down the line. As for the 2 3B that he had, 1 was dropped into the left center field gap in Oakland and the other was down the right field line in Seattle. All 9 XBH in 303 ABs proves is that he has a whole lot of trouble getting the ball out of the infield.

QUOTE(Gregory Pratt @ Dec 15, 2007 -> 08:04 PM) I don't think Clemens is the greatest pitcher of his generation. I count Maddux, Martinez and Johnson better than him. Can anyone tell me why he's better than any of those guys? I think Martinez has a clear-cut greater peak. Maddux has, I think, a greater career with no evidence or trace of steroid use (although some argue that he doctors the ball, but I couldn't care less about that as I don't believe in throwing a fit over Gaylord Perry or anyone else). And I do believe that Maddux career is better than Clemens' career even without giving note to Clemens + steroids. Johnson? He was a beast. Considering the era in which he pitched I believe Pedro Martinez, in his prime years, was the most dominant starting pitcher in Major League Baseball History and I'm not sure it's even close. And yeah, on my list Johnson and Maddux are definitely ahead of Clemens.

Yep and the guys who admit to using HGH before 2005 are also denying ever using steroids.

QUOTE(Linnwood @ Dec 15, 2007 -> 04:46 PM) Okay, so now two players named have confessed. Anyone still want to claim that it is just hearsay? Gary Bennett also admitted to using HGH, which confirms another portion of the Mitchell Report.

QUOTE(jackie hayes @ Dec 15, 2007 -> 04:27 PM) Pettitte fesses up: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/sports/AP-...-Admission.html Nothing quite like f***ing over a good friend. If McNamee was telling the truth about Pettitte then why should we believe that he'd lie about Clemens' usage.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Dec 15, 2007 -> 03:23 PM) Right now, it's Furcal, CabO, Renteria, and possibly guys like Eckstein, Uribe, Vizquel, and the usual filler. Those first 3 make it a decent market if none of them sign before they leave, and the development of new SS's by a bunch of teams lately may well cut into the market a bit. I mean, the big spenders are all covered easily at SS except for us and Detroit. The Angels have 3, the Dodgers have Hu, the Braves have Escobar, the Mets & Yankees will scoff at SS's, the BoSox are stuck under Lugo's contract. There'll still be a market with teams like the Tigers, White Sox, Giants, Blue Jays, and a few others thrown in needing guys to play that spot, but it's nice that the real big money teams shouldn't be in the market. Renteria has a pretty reasonable team option for '09, if he's even decent next year I suspect Detroit will activate it. So that takes them off the market for a SS and leaves Furcal and Cabrera as the only good options.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Dec 14, 2007 -> 05:59 PM) Well, they're certainly better than they were heading into the day at the major league level, but I'm not sure that comes from this trade at all. Was Valverde nearing FA? He's heading into his second year of arbitration. He made $2M last year so he is looking at a substantial pay raise.

QUOTE(Heads22 @ Dec 14, 2007 -> 05:58 PM) yuck ^^^ Yeah, I'd rather he not. And just because someone wears a Sox hat doesn't mean they're a fan of the team. It's a very stylish and popular cranial accessory.

QUOTE(Kid Gleason @ Dec 14, 2007 -> 01:48 PM) DARK KNIGHT TRAILER!!! Hurry, before it gets pulled!!! http://www.judao.com.br/cinema/noticia/ass...he-dark-knight/ f***ing chills. Ledger is going to be amazing as the Joker.