jeremyb

Yeah, but will have 100% of his armspeed and range of motion back? Will he experience bouts with "soreness" every other start? There is being "back" and then there's being BACK!!!

If by ".300", you mean .270, I agree. If by "16 SB", you mean 10 SB/6 CS, I agree as well. (time chips at your legs) If by "15 SH", you mean "15 wasted outs", yeah agree still. Were you also one of those fooled by Rickey Henderson back in 1999? Cuz' he looked fantastic that year and some teams actually considered giving him a lucrative two-year deal at one point during the off-season. Giving 8 M for 2 years to that Toon dog is not something I would do, but that's just me. Ignore 2001-2003 at own risk.

Few questions: What does X-Ray say? What does bone scan say? What does MRI say?

Somewhere Kelly Wunsch joyfully weeps.

This team is notorious for performing well when the stands are empty and the season is all but over. And how the hell did Buerhle get a win today? Mr. Overrated flat-out did not deserve it.

How do you say "too little, too late" in Irish?

I guess my issue is with people who expect Omar to come in next year and post 375 OBP/425 Slug and play the kind of defense he played 10 years ago just because he is Omar. IMHO, he'd be hard-pressed to put up 340 OBP/375 next year and his defense is quite overrated. That's 4 Mill that are better spent elsewhere as I think Uribe will finally be able to avoid long slumps while maximizing the hot streaks next year. I'll take that chance. Of course this comes with the understanding that Sox acquire Pierre from the Marlins to lead-off and make Rowand a #2, which he is more suited for. If that deal falls through however, and Vizquel's demands come down a notch, then bring him aboard. I guess.

Did I mention I do not believe one stinkin' word coming from this organization? That's right, I did.

Offensively, all you have to look at is his 2001-2003 production to understand how the "swan song" reference might be apt. His batspeed will pretty soon rival Robbie's. His range and arm have been pretty subpar for a while (making a highlight reel out of a routine grounder in the hole? that's our Omar alright), but his saving grace is those soft hands, so fielding % makes his fielding seem like a big asset whereas in fact it's been pretty unspectacular for a few years now. And it will not get better in his late-30s I promise you that. Watch Uribe out-perform Vizquel in every way in 2005, at 30% the cost. Just watch.

You are aware of the fact that during the August Meltdown Sox lose a bunch of 1-2 run games, and that Borchard's 350 OPS heavily contributed to quite a few of them, effectively all but ending the season? It'll take a loooooot of 500-foot bombs for Borchard to redeem himself in the eyes of Sox fans. And rightfully so.

So basically we're talking about paying the New Carl Everett (but with a more serious condition) 12 M? No thanks, I'll take Adrien Beltre for I-Rod type money instead. I like my risks with high upsides.

I was off by 4 feet in my initial estimation. I am blind as a bat.

504 feet.

Borchard with what looked to be a 500 foot blast. Wow.

Considering he'll be a DH playing the field, how much are you willing to spend on someone with his health issues? 5 M?

"Barely" as in David Eckstein or Carlos Lee?

25 M can buy you a lot in the FA pool considering that 1st year salaries (see I-Rod, Tejada, Rolen) are usually pretty low.

Honestly, I don't think Beltre's batspeed, all-field power and, more importanly, a much-improved focus/eye are going anywhere. Ditto his GG defense. If anything, at just 25yo he's likely to keep up the pace. Is he 1100 OPS good? Probably not. But in our bandbox of a ballpark, 950-1000 OPS is something I would definately bet on. I guess I've seen too much of him this year to believe this year is but a fluke. If Beltre was a "proven" commodity, you wouldn't be able to get him for anything less than 14-15 Mill a year based on the sick numbers he is putting up this year and his agent. There is a risk that he might revert back to old form and that's the reason why Sox might be able to afford him. I wouldn't mind a back-loaded contract similar to I-Rod's. But that's just me.

Maybe next time.

So wait a minute here. Sox stand to lose: Magglio - 14M Konerko/Lee - 8/8.75 Koch - 6.2 Valentin - 5 Loaiza - 4 Everett - 2 (minus buyout) Schoeneweis - 1.8 Politte - 900K Wunsch - 800K Sandy - 800K Timo - 800K Jackson - 800K Robbie - cash That means up to 45 million will be freed up. By some accounts, 2005 payroll will be at least 10M higher than the 2004 one, which sits near 70M mark. (2004 payroll is 16M higher than the 2003 one for the record.) So logically, Sox could have up to 55 million to spend on FA, extensions and arbitration awards. Shingo gets a 1.5M boost Hurt - 2 Konerko/Lee - .5/1.5 Buerhle - 2 Freddy - 5 Davis - 2 (he was free in '04) Garland - under 1 Uribe - under 1 Rowand - under 1 Marte - 750k Contreras - 6 (free in '04) Willie - peanuts Borchard - peanuts Burke -peanuts So even after beefing up the bench and back-end of the pen (mostly with cheap rooks like Bajenaru, Munoz), that still leaves a lot to be spent on major FA upgrades at 3B, CF as well as SP and RP. Presumably.

Are we operating from the premise that the 2005 payroll is 80 M or 65 M?

2005 Vizquel: 38 years old 330 OBP 360 Slug average speed below-average range below-average arm slightly above-average fielding % 4 million salary. People, please recognize his 2004 for the swan song it so obviously is and move the [bleep] on.

Right now it stands at the spectacular 4.91 but during Sunday's game it hit 5.00.

BTW.... The great Scott Rolen is making 7.7 M this year. I-Rod is making 6.5 M. Tejada - a whopping 4.7 M. Why should (until proven otherwise) one-year wonder Beltre make more than 5-6 M next season again? Sure, in the 3rd or 4th season of the typical back-loaded contract, one would expect the rate to go way up, but since we're talking about fitting him into the 2005 budget, he should be surpringly affordable thanks to his pre-2004 mediocrity, Boras or not. And after 2005, one of Konerko/Lee is lost to FA, so Beltre will be just as affordable thereafter.

Unless it's Pedro or RJ....I am actually fine with either Pavano or O.Perez. No they're not aces per se, but they won't cost 17M and 15 M, nor are they 41yo and 33yo respectively, either.