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QUOTE(SoxFan1 @ Jun 4, 2007 -> 12:08 AM) He was pretty damn good up until his injury. And with the rate of pitching, he'll get his money. Marquis got 7 million for a 6.02 era. Except you're talking about the White Sox here, not the Cubs. KW will not overpay for mediocre starting pitching. Oh, and I'd like to congratulate Lopez on being just terrific in his first 4 starts in this National League. And I'm sure all his elbow issues will simply disappear as the season goes on.

QUOTE(SoxAce @ Jun 4, 2007 -> 12:06 AM) I doubt it. Especially in this day and age with teams. Some idiot organization would need pitching help badly so I'm almost positive that he'll be making 5+ unless he gets no offers for a starter and is offered a bullpen role. I'm talking in terms of the White Sox, if he's playing for the Sox next year it's for no more than $3.5M a year. It really doesn't matter how much he could get elsewhere, KW isn't going to throw $6M a year at a piece of s*** like Rodrigo Lopez.

QUOTE(SoxFan1 @ Jun 3, 2007 -> 11:46 PM) Lopez is making 4.3 million now, so he would be somewhere around 5.5-6 I would guess. And we would also add Linebrink to the bullpen so chalk that up as another 4 million or so. Considering influx on the contracts of Eckstein and Rowand, I'd guess we'll be around 90 million next year. I don't know about the rest. Maybe we go out and try to get Jones or re-sign Buehrle in this scenario. If you add $8M on to the total for Linebrink and Lopez then you're at $83M. And just because Lopez made a little over $4M this year doesn't mean he's due for a raise in free agency, he's not very good and is having some serious health issues this year. Unless he comes back this season and dominates, he's looking at a 2 year deal with a very small minimum salary ($3M) with some solid incentives. QUOTE(hitlesswonder @ Jun 3, 2007 -> 11:46 PM) Other people here would know better than me, but I think with attendance dropping this year the 2008 payroll will be close to the 2005 level (75 to 80 million). So, I think the payroll figure is pretty likely correct. Certainly there won't be room for a signing of someone like Ichiro, Hunter, or someone like that. I think the thing to expect is a couple of signings of lower-level free agents to inflated contracts because the Sox will have enough money for that and need to bring in some bodies. And, really, wouldn't it be worth it to see Erstad and Rowand in the same outfield? Imagine the moment when they put each other on the DL by colliding while diving for a ball that rolls for an inside the park HR. I bet it would happen opening day. 2005 attendance goes towards 2006 payroll, 2006 attendance goes towards 2007 payroll and 2007 attendance goes towards 2008 payroll. Considering how high this year's attendance will be, I'd say the 2008 payroll will be $100M+ any dip in attendance won't be felt payroll wise until the '09 season.

QUOTE(SoxFan1 @ Jun 3, 2007 -> 11:24 PM) 1B- P. Konerko - $12M 2B- D. Eckstein - $5M SS- J. Uribe - $5M 3B- J. Fields - $400K LF- D. Erstad - $3.25M CF- A. Rowand - $4.5M RF- R. Sweeney - $400K DH- J. Thome - $7.5M SP- J. Garland - $12M SP- R. Lopez - $2M??? SP- J. Danks - $400K SP- J. Vazquez - $11.5M SP- G. Gonzalez - $400K ~$64.35M I assume the bullpen and Bench stay the same so that's an additional $7.2M for the bench and $3.5M for the bullpen. ~$75M So the other ~$25M is simply pocketed? Can we fire KW now just based on the possibility that he may put together a roster similar to this?

QUOTE(iamshack @ Jun 3, 2007 -> 11:08 PM) But it would be a coincidence in definition only if it happened at the same time as Walker's firing. But it is not a result of his firing, and thus, if it is going to occur it will occur whether he is fired or not. I'm not a Walker "backer"- I don't claim to have anywhere near the knowledge or experience to know whether the reason the player's aren't producing is because of something Walker is or is not doing- but I do know this: last year, they hit, and Greg Walker was our hitting coach, so it obviously isn't that our hitters cannot hit with him as our hitting coach. I also know that last year for the majority of the year our starting pitching sucked. We have 4 of those same 5 guys back right now and they all look pretty solid. Should we have fired Cooper? I don't know maybe Coop should have been fired but at no point in time during the year did the entire pitching staff pitch well below the reasonable expectations bestowed upon them all at the same time. At no time last year did the Sox rank dead last in the American League in pitching. Considering the personnel Cooper had last season I'm really not surprised at the struggling that took place. And to say that firing a hitting coach and the offense turning it around at about the same time is only coincidence is an opinion not a fact. In my opinion getting a new voice in the hitter's ears at this point in time could do wonders for the lineup.

QUOTE(iamshack @ Jun 3, 2007 -> 10:59 PM) That's nonsense. Firing the hitting coach has never been a sure-fire way to get everyone hitting again. At times, it has happened, probably more as a coincidence than anything else, as good hitters will always begin hitting again as a result of the law of averages. i guess Cooper should have been fired last year due to the starting pitching being terrible. I never said it was a sure fire solution but if there is even a possibility as you stated that firing the hitting coach could get the hitters going even a bit then I don't see the harm in it. As so so so many Walker Backer's have stated: these are professional hitters, Greg Walker isn't really having a huge effect on their production anyway so what's the harm in firing him now? Coincidence or not, at this point I think it's worth the gamble considering the downside is really quite minimal.

QUOTE(Buehrle>Wood @ Jun 3, 2007 -> 10:53 PM) Again, if someone like Walker really has no effect on the players' play, then what would be the harm in firing someone like him? I truly believe it is as simple as this. If the only real reason for keeping him on board is that he really doesn't have much of an effect on the players anyway then what's the harm in firing him in hopes that the offense could get going under someone else's watch?

QUOTE(striker62704 @ Jun 3, 2007 -> 09:59 PM) He's the batting coach. Whats your first grade teachers job? To teach addition and subtraction. But if you give the wrong change as a McDonald's cashier does everyone start posting on your elementary school's website to fire your first grade teacher? No. The McDonalds cashier thing is just an analogy. Yeah, that's his job title. What is his job description. And a better analogy would be Walker is your McDonalds Supervisor and under his watch you and 6 other employees have been taking regular afternoon s***s in the deep fryer. There is no real way for the restaurant to get rid of the lot of you due to cooperate and FDA regulations, so they're stuck with your miserable ass no matter terrible your fries are. In the past when fry cooks had acted up firing the Supervisor would give the whole group a little jolt and brought about some overall acceptable production in the french fry department. Really Walker isn't doing much as your Supervisor just kind of standing around watching his professional fry makers struggle to make a quality french fry so firing him would be no big loss in the grand scheme of things but canning his ass now could get the fry makers going and the McDonald's could once again start performing at the level excellence which is expected of it.

Here is a simple question for you Striker, no one else, just you. What exactly is Greg Walker's job?

There was this strong feeling of tension throughout the entire episode. It was just incredibly well done. I don't remember ever feeling legitimately nervous while watching a TV show like I felt tonight.

QUOTE(fathom @ Jun 3, 2007 -> 09:05 PM) We're going to be opening up a lot of payroll though with Buehrle and Iguchi leaving, and Crede's money opening up. Even if our payroll goes down, we should still have some money available. If we lose all of our FA, and still don't have money.....then that's just pathetic. Think, not want. It's just for fun of course. Your predicted roster comes out to about $97.5M not including any bench players, so you're talking at least a $100M payroll next season.

On Opening Day David Eckstein will be the starting second baseman for the White Sox.

QUOTE(South Side Fireworks Man @ Jun 3, 2007 -> 04:39 PM) Send down Aardsma for Floyd. DL or send down MacDougal and replace him with Bucvich. Send down Andy Gonzalez and bring up Fields and start him at 3B tomorrow. Alternate starting Crede and Fields, and if Fields shows he's ready, Crede can be traded. Yeah, because Floyd has proven he can get AAA hitters out right? No, at this point he'd probably be the worst pitcher on the big league team based on his 2007 numbers, he's been absolutely horrid. Platooning Crede and Fields is not going to help anyone, you don't promote a prospect like Fields just to platoon him with another righty, if he's going to be on the big club then he needs to be playing every day.

QUOTE(southsideirish @ Jun 3, 2007 -> 05:27 PM) Yeah he is having a bad year, but to say he is lesser than Uribe is bulls***. Uribe is terrible and lately can't even play defense. If he can't play defense then he is worthless. Vizquel can at least do that and do the little things well. They're both terrible and have also been even worse than horrid over their past 14 games (sub .400 OPS for both) but season stats are clearly in Uribe's favor and a misplayed ball on the s***ty rug in Toronto is not going to get me to say Uribe has been playing bad defense because I don't believe that one bit. And when exactly was the last time you watched Vizquel play in the field? How's his range been this year? Is his arm strength up to snuff or has he reverted to bare handing every ground ball because his arm is falling off and his side arm tosses aren't getting it done anymore? QUOTE(southsideirish @ Jun 3, 2007 -> 05:36 PM) He is slower than Uribe? I don't buy that. I'd say it's about equal at this point with Vizquel being the superior baserunner by far.

QUOTE(Wedge @ Jun 3, 2007 -> 04:18 PM) why the hell do we want Crawford? It probably has something to do with him being young, good and he fills a glaring need (mainly the need for a good, young player). Plus he's perpetually available since the D-Rays have 7 outfielders as is (even though he's probably not available at all and never has been).

QUOTE(briguy27 @ Jun 3, 2007 -> 04:08 PM) i hope tomorrow while we're playing, dye gets mysteriously taken out in the 3rd, and then we get word he, along with broadway and fields, have been traded to the rays for crawford. if only crawford could come out of the bullpen.... Enough with the asinine trade speculation. If I have to read Dye and Crawford in the same sentence again I'm going to lose it. New rule, if you have no idea how the trade market works, have absolutely no clue what a players value is or can't comprehend the fact that some teams have no use for certain old, expensive soon to be free agent players then you are not allowed to make up trade proposals.

QUOTE(BearSox @ Jun 3, 2007 -> 03:43 PM) Simple, we Vizquel and a spect like Fransden. The Giants move Aurillia to SS and Feliz to 1B, with Crede playing 3B. What's with all this Vizquel bulls***? His name has been mentioned numerous times over the past week and it makes no sense at all. He's 40 years old and producing like he's 40, yeah that .552 OPS is f***ing hot. The guy is a lesser player than Uribe at this point in his career and will be a free agent at the end of the season, talk about a terrible fit.

QUOTE(fathom @ Jun 3, 2007 -> 12:11 PM) Yep, what we need is someone who can pitch to contact. Too many of our relievers have to rely on the strike out in order to get guys out. I don't even want to know what percentage of hits does Aardsma allow on balls put in play. NAME BABIP MacDougal: .382 Sisco: .362 Aardsma: .352 Masset: .321 Thornton: .319 Logan: .304 Jenks: .264 The only reliever with a sub 3 BABIP is the f***ing closer.

QUOTE(greg775 @ Jun 2, 2007 -> 11:26 PM) I'm all for change, but the Sox wouldn't have been any worse had they kept all the players from the world championship team instead of the tinkering they've done. The players we've acquired with the exception of Jim Thome haven't done squat. And as much as I like Thome, don't you all agree he's no longer capable of carrying a lineup? He's getting older and definitely hasn't hit many homes in bunches this season. I'm surprised anybody would want Oz and/or KW fired however. Again ... they led us to a World Series title. This franchise and this city hasn't done squat with the exception of the Oz-KW led title season. As of a week ago Thome had a 1.227 OPS, in case you don't know, that is insanely high. Before his injury Jim Thome had created more runs than any other player in baseball, A-Rod included. Jim is perfectly capable of carrying a lineup, hell he nearly pulled it off for the entire month of April. He just needs to get over this oblique injury which is pretty obviously still bothering him.

QUOTE(LosMediasBlancas @ Jun 2, 2007 -> 02:26 PM) In one of the worst performances ever, Sweet Lou just went nuts on an ump. Complete with dirt and cap kicking at the ump. The Sheep littered the field with trash. Classy, classy all the way around. And people wonder why Cubs fans are so hated, dear god are they classless. If I'm Bobby Cox I'd refuse to send my team back onto the field unless the fans were removed from the bleachers, I don't feel safe sending Andruw Jones and Jeff Francouer out there when they could be pegged in the back of the head with a baseball/cellphone/dildo by some classless asshole.

On July 7th last season the Sox started their toughest stretch of the season with series against the Red Sox, Yankees, Tigers, Rangers and Twins the Sox managed just 3 wins during this 14 game stretch. They plummeted from 1 GB to 8.5 and were unable to recover from this horrific stretch of baseball. So during the toughest streak of games last season a stretch where they wouldn't be able to feast off of s***ty NL Central competition the Sox laid a monster egg.

QUOTE(RME JICO @ Jun 2, 2007 -> 12:02 PM) Yeah, I say no to Dusty, but I wouldn't mind Razor. If the Sox were forced into a rebuilding mode I'd absolutely love to see Razor promoted to head coach. He's already spent some time with the kids in the Sox' system and from all accounts works incredibly well with young players.

QUOTE(whitesox07champs @ Jun 1, 2007 -> 11:35 PM) Have we been watching the same games this year! I think it's pretty obvious that I'm not a big fan of Ozzie's but I would never ever choose Johnny B. Baker over him.

Swapping Ozzie with Dusty would be an absolutely brutal move and would make Sox baseball completely unwatchable.