southsideirish71

QUOTE(Heads22 @ Nov 15, 2006 -> 10:11 PM) Young K'd out a ridiculous amount..... Joe Crede K'd what 111 times his last year in AA. Our Lord and Savior Aaron Rowand K'd also 117 times his last full season in AA.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Nov 15, 2006 -> 07:20 PM) I know there were more than a few people here who liked him as a backup option for the Sox...so to shoot that idea down... Blanco signs 2 year extension with Cubs. Thats a lot of money for a backup. But with whats out there right now, it was a good signing. I was hoping the sox would of picked him up. He would of been a nice right handed bat to complement AJ in the catchers position.

QUOTE(winninguglyin83 @ Nov 15, 2006 -> 05:29 PM) won't bother me if BA is dealt. will bother me if they get only scraps for him. We can't keep wasting Number One draft picks. And if he was so flipping bad (which he was in the first half) why didn't they do something about this last season and send him back to AAA to fix his stroke and confidence. Brian has the same hole in his swing that every single player that comes up through our organization has. He has a long looping swing, that can be exploited by low and away pitching. Crede was horrible at it until recently, Rowand couldn't hit it, and was exploited by sliders in his last year here, Borchard couldnt hit anything low and away, you name the prospect and they can hit low and away. We breed softball type hitters, lift and pull and drive for yardage. The first hitter that I have seen come up without that methodology is Ryan Sweeney. Something seriously needs to be done in the minors with our hitting instruction. I know that rookies struggle, but good lord do ours just drop dead for a few years and take forever to mature as a hitter. We should hire someone that can teach a nice line drive swing. When they come up here and they can make some contact, then you start to work on picking a pitch to drive. Not every single pitch, especially on 2 strikes is a candidate to drive out of the park. IMO I see something from Brian, I think that with the right hitting instruction and the right mechanics he can be a really good player. I think he has the natural physical skills to hit for average and hit a 280 in this league. But not with his current swing mechanics. I find it funny that the Rangers think that he would be a good fit because he can work with their hitting coach. We cant give up on this kid just yet, unless someone gives us a kings ransom.

As long as the insane dwarf who runs their country gets underage girls, and nuclear weapons all is well in the NK. I wonder if the cure is somehow linked to plutonium or centrifuges. If so they are on the verge of a breakthrough.

QUOTE(redandwhite @ Nov 15, 2006 -> 12:18 AM) Theo has done a lot of wrong. Of late, he's done more wrong than right. And no, as much as I respect Jason, he's wrong. Not only would 51.1 million dollars not be enough to ink the both of them for two seasons combined, the Red Sox wouldn't have done that, because they would be right near or possibly over the Luxury Tax, something they have come out and said they wouldn't do. Schmidt might be able to be had, in addition to Matsuzaka. Curt Schilling and him are friendly and said today he'd love to talk to him and do some convincing. 51 million + whatever Boras bends your team over for. Say he gets 3 years at 10 mill, which will be a low ball. Thats 81.1 million dollars over 3 years for one pitcher. Tell me again, how that is so much better than getting Zito and Schmidt and paying some luxury tax. At least those two have won in the majors, at least those two have been in playoff baseball. 51 million dollars might as well be a luxury tax, except it benefits no one besides some Japanese team.

QUOTE(Rex Kicka** @ Nov 15, 2006 -> 12:05 AM) That's great that this is what you see. Unfortunately, it is not what the DOJ is arguing. This specific argument refers to the appeal by Qatari Citizen Ali Saleh Kahlah Al-Marri. He entered the country with his family on September 10, 2001. He was arrested and transported to a naval brig where he has been held under the classfication of "enemy combatant" ever since. He has been denied any kind of legal hearing and has been held indefinitely without charges. Al-Marri was a student at the University who was living in the United States legally. Here's his brief. http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/pdf/al-marriappealbrief.pdf There were a few guys on flight 93 that were in the US legally as well. They just were innocent foreigners who wanted to be commercial flight pilots.

QUOTE(Jimbo @ Nov 15, 2006 -> 12:08 AM) Call me crazy but I really dont want prospects for our starting pitchers...I want proven talent. We need pitching to replace pitching, and proven talent is going to cost you a s***load. If we can extract a teams version of Bmac, like someone like a Pelfrey for 86mph Freddy Garcia, call it a day and run to your hideout and take off your mask.

QUOTE(redandwhite @ Nov 15, 2006 -> 12:09 AM) The YES Network is broadcast overseas. It's been rumored that NESN will go the same route and as a result money will be made. Has Theo ever done anything wrong in your eyes. 51 million just to negotiate with a pitcher who has some serious wear and tear on his arm. Maybe Theo should ask Bill James about pitcher abuse points. As Jason had said, you could of taken the large amount of money you dished on a might be and put in on 2 of the offseasons best starters and still had some change left over.

How stupid can a club get, 51 million dollars just to get the pleasure of getting bent over from Boras. I wonder how his arm will hold up with going every 5 days, and having the mileage of the silly 150 pitch games and crap that they put him through. Now lets see if the SABR community craps all over this, because if they apply pitcher abuse theories to this guy, he is a walking time bomb. Red Cubs strike again.

QUOTE(Gregory Pratt @ Nov 14, 2006 -> 01:22 PM) I wonder what we could get for Jon Garland in a trade. He'd be my first choice to ship out for young pitching + some youth in position players as I think he's overachieved heavily, but he has fair numbers and good win numbers, so I figure someone'd be willing to overpay for him. Contreras, too, as well as Buehrle. Garland is a sinkerball pitcher playing in an extreme home run park. IMO there are 2 types of pitchers the sox should employ if they want to keep this style of park, sinkerballers and strikeout guys. Out of all of our pitchers Garland would be the last pitcher on the list I would trade. He is young, is affordable, and has some good upside still. Bmac is the next guy I wouldnt trade. The rest, whatever gets us the best deal.

QUOTE(Rowand44 @ Nov 14, 2006 -> 12:52 AM) Well to be fair, Crawford is a different type of player and I believe that's the reason every wants him. He's a young player with ridiculous potential and is a solid leadoff hitter already. I agree with your main point though, to have two guys like Pelfrey and Mac in the rotation starting next season is just invaluable to a franchise. Pitching is what wins in this game. Its the formula that keeps on getitng teams to the postseason and to the world series. Why do we think that Boston just paid eleventy billion dollars just to pay a Japanese pitcher a kings ransom. Pitching is at a premium. If we can spin Vaz or Garcia off and get someone like Pelfrey to mix up with Bmac it will help our team more in the long run than having a guy who will become a lift and pull powerhitter the minute he comes here.

QUOTE(Jordan4life_2006 @ Nov 14, 2006 -> 12:44 AM) Rowand, my friend, Carl frickin' Crawford! I like B-Mac, too. But if Kenny was able to pull off what Tony proposed, I'd s*** my pants. How many years have we had rediculus offense, and then we trotted the likes of Felix Diaz, and company out there. I would rather stock up on pitching, and just go easy on the bat in LF. Everyone looks at Carl and drools, but we all need to remember what happens to players when they come here. I dont care how they hit before, the minute the come into the homerdome they forget everything they have learned, and just lift and pull. Carl will become power Carl, and we will see less and less of his speed. You will just have another power guy in a lineup of powerguys. Bmac and Pelfrey with our current offense > Pelfry and current offense + Carl. Hell we might as well just kept Mags, Carlos Lee, and just stayed the good ol softball team we have been for years.

yawn

QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Nov 12, 2006 -> 11:31 PM) From the links I see on ESPN, Walker already made more in 2006 than what Myers did in 06. Walker is going to get paid this off-season, and I dont really have a problem with it being from the Sox. Guy has put up solid numbers the last 4 years. But his numbers against the tough lefties of our division are not that good. Twinks Morneau is hitting 400 against him Mauer is hitting 714 against him Injuns Hafner is hitting .385 Sizemore is hitting .750

QUOTE(mr_genius @ Nov 11, 2006 -> 07:08 PM) the democrats want to make Charles Rangel the chairman of the ways and means committee? this is going to be funny. the guy is completely incompetent. And they are putting John Conyers, who has been posting mock impeachment trials, in charge of house judiciary committe. This is the same tool who wanted to impeach Reagan for invading Grenada.

QUOTE(Texsox @ Nov 10, 2006 -> 09:47 AM) Of maybe the weight loss throws off his mechanics and he regresses. He has been throwing near 100 since he was a lot younger, and he wasnt this heavy back then. I think if anything, his coming into ST last year out of shape and heavier caused more issues that anything. He needs to run, run and doing some more running. That and not eating thirds and he will be fine for 07.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Nov 8, 2006 -> 09:04 PM) Seriously, I'm not bragging. Barring legitimate campaign finance reform to the extent that all money is thrown out of politics, I give it about 6-8 years before the Dems are corrupt enough that they deserve to be thrown out, assuming they aren't beaten out of it beforehand. That's just how our system is built. People try to go into it with the best intentions, and there's just so much money being tossed around that within a few years, people start taking and taking and taking and taking. Speaking of which, what happened to Rep. "Money in the Fridge" Jefferson? Ah, runoff election. I think they wont be able to control themselves. They will put Conyers in a position that will allow him to move forward with articles of impeachment. He has been working on mock proceedings for years now, what in the name of god do you think he will do when he gets a chance. I am just waiting for when they start to tax the living crap out of everything. I love it how democratic strategists are on TV trying to paint Pelosi as a centrist. I have even seen some posters in Fillibuster try to do the same. If she is a centrist, Bush is a liberal.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Nov 6, 2006 -> 08:14 PM) Great, just watch, another of the guys we tried out in those dark 03-04 years as a starter will now come back and become a solid bullpen performer for someone else. At least it's not the Tigers this time. This is a picture of Felix when he was a member of the whitesox. I wish he was a member of the tigers, good lord just think of Thome facing Mr. batting practice should give everyone chills.

QUOTE(mr_genius @ Nov 7, 2006 -> 08:26 PM) even if the dems take the house and the senate i wouldn't call it a "mandate" to raise taxes through the roof, cut military intelligence, and lock up the government with constant bi-partisan bickering. if the dems try their usual nonsense it'll only help the republicans in 2008. :vomits thinking about my taxes going up. Nancy Pelosi as the speaker of the house scares the hell out of me.

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Nov 7, 2006 -> 10:51 AM) Well everyone has been looking for a LF with a high OPB and OPS... Think about how big and strong all of our players would get also.

QUOTE(CWSGuy406 @ Nov 6, 2006 -> 03:16 PM) Pelfrey is close. Some argued that he was the best pitcher of the 2005 draft despite the fact that he went 9th (two pitchers went ahead of him). Jason raves about his stuff, too, as do any Mets fans who have a reasonable clue about their farm system. I personally think that people even hoping for Pelfrey are nuts (myself included). 6'7 with a fastball that is in the mid 90s that can go as high as 97. Yeah if KW can pull this off, he is officially a Jedi Master.

Before anyone starts with the pussy calls on Brian. Anyone that questions the toughness of someone with dysentery or a parasite needs to travel outside the US and see what happens when you get the bug. I got it a couple of times in different locations around the world, and no matter how many precautions you take, you still can wind up getting it. Just imagine the worst stomach pain you have ever had, like a bunch of knives stabbing you, and then make sure your stomach twists and turns where you can barely sleep. Then figure you will be on the toliet for the most part of the time, now add that soreness to the mixture. You cant eat because your stomach rejects just about everything you eat, nor do you have the urge to eat. I got it travelling to India, to Mexico of course, and to Brazil. Each one was a different flavor of it. The worst one I lost 14 pounds on a 190 pound frame in 1 week. It took over a month to get back to eating normally and not having stomach pain. Now I wanted Brian to play in Winter ball to work on his jumps as much as the next person. But once you get this type of bug, forget it. He needs to get better, and then work his ass off to get ready for the fight of his life in ST. He needs to seriously come out smashing in ST.

QUOTE(DBAH0 @ Nov 4, 2006 -> 07:01 AM) Right now I think there's only 1 spot for either Ross Gload or Rob Mackowiak (unless a guy like Cintron is traded, but then you need another infielder). Here's how I see the bench; C - Blanco or Stewart Cintron Ozuna Then you have 2 spots for Gload, Mackowiak or Terrero, if you carry 11 pitchers (if I added that up right). And I think Terrero is going to be given a good chance to win a backup OF job for the simple fact he can handle CF defensively which Kenny Williams has said was something he needed to address. Who knows, Kenny could bring in someone else maybe even. The biggest bench move we can make this offseason is picking up Blanco. He can hit lefties, call a good game behind the plate, and throw out runners. With the way Ozzie likes to sub his players, we need to make sure that AJ has some sort of backup. With the amount of tough lefties we face in our division, this is key.

QUOTE(BobDylan @ Nov 2, 2006 -> 07:24 PM) I really can't see McCarthy on the team next year. Every part of logic pointed towards putting him in the rotation last year. Why did he stay in the bullpen? Ozzie runs the team. There's an issue between them--be it his mentality or his stuff or that he just doesn't plain like him--but as much control KW has, Ozzie is no pony. He's here to do it his way and only his way. Given that, it's KW's job to go out and get the players that work for Ozzie. It starts with the guys at the top of the order. So your suggestion is that we are going to sink boat loads of money keeping around aging pitching, some of them who pitched like crap last year just because of a perceived tiff with Ozzie. Mr 2005 Gload says hi. He was on the Ozzie hated list, yet seems to survive on this team for some reason. 3 pitchers, 2 of which pitched with decreased velocity. One of them publically showed up their team multiple times and pretty much said yeah I dont give max effort against teams that he doesnt term as good enough for his golden 86 mph effort. How about this for predictions, I see Freddy fastball gone, gone to the NL. I see bmac in the rotation ready to go. If we trade bmac and keep freddy fastball lobbing up 86 mph garbage in the heat of the summer, we might as well white flag it and rebuild if that is our strategy.

I think what we will all find out at the end is that KW will try to turn whatever tradeable assets we have, including one of the Buerhle, Freddy, Vazquez group, into some younger pitching. He was sniffing around Baltimore a bit last year with bedard in the offseason, and with Cabrera in the trade deadline time. Bedard will be almost unatainable, but a guy like Cabrera is something in KW's ilk, great arms no control. A guy with phenominal stuff, but has problems getting the best out of it. This is what KW is famous for. After last years debacle KW realizes more than anything that pitching is the key ingrediant, not offense. He is also trying to build a repeatable champion. Something that gets refreshed throughout the years. Trading guys for cusp prospects that may need a change of scenery. I think that KW will wind up shocking us with some arms more than bats this offseason.