jackie hayes

Mixed. Swisher has a lot of upside with the Sox, but Matsui may be a reach. You shouldn't panic on of this year, when Milledge and Butler are going late and Rasmus, Maybin, and...crap, I know there's one more guy I'm forgetting...anyway, those guys will probably be coming up at some point. Hamilton is a good pick and good value. You need better/more pitching, especially with Lackey down and two questionable closers, and you may want to take a flier on a catcher with more upside. Edit: I was thinking Molina was yr catcher, then realized that I glanced over Martinez. Never mind about that last part, but Molina isn't very useful, he's droppable for someone with more upside, a pitcher, whatever.

Fwiw, the article states that either Anderson or Ramirez will start in cf on opening day, and it doesn't mention Quentin at all. Also says that Ramirez may lead off some, and with Ozuna leading off the opener, I'm not sure how often Swisher will be leading off, really. I think I'm more confused now than before I read that.

QUOTE(BobDylan @ Mar 23, 2008 -> 11:57 AM) I want to write books, but I need something to pay the bills in the meantime. The appeal of Toronto is the cold weather and city. I know I can get that here in Chicago, but I'm tired of Chicago and it's retarded expensive to live here. Well, you'd fit right in in Boston...

Trying to find an appropriate nickname for Alexei Ramirez: QUOTE(Leonard Zelig @ Mar 23, 2008 -> 12:37 AM) I heard Ozzie call him the Cuban Missile. QUOTE(SoxFanForever @ Mar 23, 2008 -> 01:19 AM) So I guess calling the 2B situation the Cuban Missile Crisis would be too easy? QUOTE(RME JICO @ Mar 23, 2008 -> 08:08 AM) Since Uribe is involved, maybe "The Bay of Pigs" would be more appropriate.

Great deal for Detroit, imo. This is well below his market value as one of the top 5 hitters in baseball and they get all his prime years. This blows. Btw, check out who sponsors his baseball-reference page: http://www.baseball-reference.com/c/cabremi01.shtml

QUOTE(Athomeboy_2000 @ Mar 22, 2008 -> 11:06 AM) My apologies if I didnt get your sarcasm. but unfortunately with all the crap going around the internet about him these days, you never know what people actually think or believe. It is common practice on here to make your text green if you are being sarcastic. Please accept my apologies. Green just takes away some of the fun. If you see green text, you know from the get-go that what you're reading is not serious, which takes away the surprise. I'll use green sometimes, but if it's off-the-wall ludicrous, like this, I assume people will understand. But, yes, it was sarcastic. Now, his frequent afternoon teas with bin Laden, on the other hand...

Open question: How over-the-top does one have to be to make others realize it's sarcasm?

Well, Obama certainly has the most to be worried about, given his trips to terrorist training camps and whatnot.

On Swisher -- I don't think one can draw any definite conclusions without comparing his numbers to other cfs. (Is that wrong?) What's the average for a cf, and what are some examples (say, Andruw Jones, Torii) that would help benchmark those numbers? On Uribe/Cabrera and Crede/Fields, I think that basically agrees with most other stats and eyeball evaluation. Uribe was spectacular, has regressed a good deal, Cabrera's steady, above average but not elite. Fields is below average and far from Crede. A healthy Crede, anyway. On Danks -- I can't imagine Fields helped, but I don't imagine it was a big part of his regression. And I think most of us want Quentin there, IF he's healthy. But that doesn't seem to be the case. And since we're talking defense, we should note that Anderson is still technically on the team, as pointless as that may be.

QUOTE(knightni @ Mar 21, 2008 -> 07:56 PM) XXX-Ram then? If it made sense, I'd allow it for the humor value. As it stands, I only give you my best curmudgeonly, Grumble, grumble.

QUOTE(knightni @ Mar 21, 2008 -> 07:46 PM) X-Ram? No. DONE.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Mar 21, 2008 -> 06:50 PM) I dont understand how anyone can compare A-ram to Pablo. Pablo wishes he had that gap power. His wrists arent half as strong as A-ram's O no, let's stop this s*** right now. I don't want to start getting confused about 'which' A-Ram we're talking about, because then it'll lead to us all putting numbers next to names just like in basketball and football and I'm tired, tired, f***ing tired of LT2, CP3, and I do not want to be figuring out just who the hell A-Ram5 is. Let's stick to A-Rod, O-Cab, and F-Her and be done with it. DONE.

DRAFT TONIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 9:30 pm Chicago (central). Be there -- to draft your own team, and to witness how I continue my dominance over all you peons.

QUOTE(iamshack @ Mar 19, 2008 -> 05:56 PM) The Cubs fans have been squatting on Orioleshangout.com while the two teams have been rumored to be involved with the Roberts trade. That's a Cubs fan on an O's board posting. Given the name, I figured that. Just joking around (hence the smiley).

From the Orioles board (member "Harry Carry"), can anyone confirm? Do we avoid Levine so completely that O's fans hear him before us?

QUOTE(iamshack @ Mar 19, 2008 -> 05:35 PM) If you look at what I posted when we first got word of this, you will see I had the same opinion then. They wouldn't have DFA'd him if they didn't think someone will pick him up. I'm just saying, it's far from a certainty. How would the Sox know that he'd be picked up, anyway? If there was interest in him, he would have been traded. The Sox may be betting that he'll be claimed, I'm not sure. But even then, I don't have to think they're right.

QUOTE(iamshack @ Mar 19, 2008 -> 05:31 PM) Well, it certainly was not a good situation to be in, but I agree with the other poster who pointed out that with no ss, we might have had to pony up more for Cabrera. Either way, it doesn't look like the decision to resign Uribe will cost us anything. Someone will pick him up on waivers. I'm really not sure about that, whatever Orioles fans say.

QUOTE(iamshack @ Mar 19, 2008 -> 04:47 PM) Well, from what I saw (not sure if we are both looking at the same board), but they are actually worried he won't fall to them... Yeah, most are. I agree, the consensus there is to pick him up. One guy asked what they could do if he fell through waivers, another claimed (incorrectly) that by claiming him they'd only have to pay the minimum while the Sox would have to cover the rest. So, some doubt, but you're right, most want him.

QUOTE(southsideirish71 @ Mar 19, 2008 -> 04:43 PM) He was HBP. Phew.

QUOTE(iamshack @ Mar 19, 2008 -> 04:36 PM) Interestingly enough, I just meandered over to the O's board and their fanbase seems absolutely in favor of picking him up...(not that it's their decision). For the most part, yes. Some would prefer to wait to see if he makes it through waivers. Obviously, I hope they do, but if I was them I'd prefer to use the 4 mil to sign someone overslot, to toss onto the pile they'll have ready for Teixeira, whatever. We'll see.

QUOTE(Wanne @ Mar 19, 2008 -> 04:11 PM) Why not? Perfect one-year stop gap IMO for not bad money. Because the O's are gonna suck and suck hard no matter who they have at ss. They have AAAA scrubs to throw in there for $4 mil less than Uribe, and you won't see any difference in the standings.

I know the O's don't have a ss, but I still don't see why they'd want Uribe. They're in a pure rebuild mode right now. The only use they'd have for him is to hope he has a very strong first half so they could get something in a trade. I don't think I'd pay almost $5 mil for that lottery ticket.

Whoa. Despite everything, Juan is responsible for my single favorite Sox memory. Those two plays to end game 4 are my favorite part of the whole run. Good luck, Juan.

QUOTE(knightni @ Mar 19, 2008 -> 02:49 PM) ND/George Mason ND will win. There, done.

QUOTE(knightni @ Mar 19, 2008 -> 09:23 AM) Damn. I forgot about the NCAA Tourney. Oh, c'mon. Wisconsin will beat Cal St Fullerton. There, no reason to watch now.