AddisonStSox

QUOTE(Rowand44 @ Jun 27, 2007 -> 04:16 PM) As of now Fields is an average 3b imo. He's perfectly capable of making the routine plays but he doesn't have a ton of range at this point. That could improve but he's never going to be Joe there(most people aren't). I really doubt that he's in left next year, Crede will be elsewhere by the start of next season imo. Woa, watch it. That might be putting your head a bit too far out in front of your skis. If you look at where Crede was at Field's current juncture of their respective careers, Fields is far ahead of the curve. Fields may not have the minor league accolades of Crede, but, his play on the field is superior to Crede's at that time.

QUOTE(whitesoxfan101 @ Jun 27, 2007 -> 04:16 PM) Just when I thought Bruce was making progress.....silly me. ...anyone following this closley knew Liggins was nothing more than a pipe-dream. I'm glad to be done with it. Also, it puts the O & B in a better position for Darius Miller. I'm not going to lose a wink of sleep over this commitment.

...I'm not a fan of the guy--but, he is amazing!!! ...in a completely plutonic, baseball kind of way.

QUOTE(Kalapse @ Jun 27, 2007 -> 03:51 PM) I'm not even a Chris Young fan. ....sureeeeeeeeeee you're not.

QUOTE(Kalapse @ Jun 27, 2007 -> 03:36 PM) He was rated the 12th best prospect in the game by Baseball America in February. Good luck getting better value than that for Vazquez. To say it's simply a "man-crush" that this board has on him is beyond ridiculous, the guy has become a fan favorite in Arizona and is considered one of the best young players in the game by the leading minor league publication. Yeah, it's probably just a man crush. ...talk about "man-crushes" and everyone gets hot under the collar!

Keep in mind it behooves Buehrle greatly to not mention any negotiation on the day in which he is starting. ...one of baseball's unwritten rules--you do not interfere with a starting pitcher on the day in which he starts.

QUOTE(CWSGuy406 @ Jun 27, 2007 -> 03:01 PM) Offman: "The Score has learned Buehrle is close to an extension..." Sticking to their guns. Keith, they have to. To come out with a mea culpa at this point would be credibility sucicide. Nobody really has any genuine idea what is actually in the works except those close to the situation.

...to get anything of worth out of the Dodgers farm system for impending free agent Dye would be a masterstroke for Williams. The Sox have no leverage in this situation. I would be absolutely thrilled to net anything of considerable worth.

QUOTE(kapkomet @ Jun 27, 2007 -> 10:27 AM) Mmmm, hmmmm. Can I start the BS flinging party? I just can't believe this at all. I hope I'm wrong. Once again... Whether the deal is done or nearly done is neither here nor there. The REAL story out of all these reports is that the White Sox and Buehrle are once again sitting down and negotiating. That is the real story. This is a postitive and must be intrepreted as such. Very encouraging

Whether the deal is done or nearly done is neither here nor there. The REAL story out of all these reports is that the White Sox and Buehrle are once again sitting down and negotiating. That is the real story. This is a postitive and must be intrepreted as such. Very encouraging.

Had we actually been in the hunt this year, this would have been a God-send. No use for him this year.

Ha. Nice.

Heh. This is fun. I'm getting a taste of what it must be like to be a USC student/fan and it's awfully satisfying.

Anyone who really feels the front office is sitting on their collective hands needs to have their head examined. Posturing is the name of the game. A little posturing goes a long way.

Enter the, "Can a Chicago Sports Franchise Really Cry Poor and Fail to Match Cap Figures with the other Major Cities", discussion. It won't just go away. It's the 800lb. gorilla in the room with these guys--they are always aware of it, the fan base is always aware of it, but it never is addressed directly.

QUOTE(Steff @ Jun 19, 2007 -> 10:07 AM) Somehow I don't think Kenny gives a crap how hot it gets. Yeah, that's about right. I'm not going to disagree about that. It will be the old White Sox chestnut: "Well, we attempted to bring Buehrle back, but, it just couldn't work out. But, hey! At least you all saw we gave it an honest go. Now, come back and buy tickets to see Jerry Owens. They'll cry poor, claim Buehrle was really just out for the money, and then passive-aggressively wish him the best of luck.

QUOTE(Wedge @ Jun 19, 2007 -> 09:53 AM) Those Javy and Jose extensions look really dumb right now. Don't be so sure. Those are players that are now under contract for multiple years. That is something opposing clubs are very fond of--proven pitchers under a contract already set in stone. Those contracts have value in and of themselves. If Buehrle is looking for 5 years from the White Sox, you simply have to do it. If Buehrle will accept $15M for 5 years, you race to the checkbook and make it happen. Now, with these sentiments public, the White Sox will feel considerable heat bringing him back for only 5 years. The heat just got turned up.

Ok, ok, I've seen enough of this nonsense. If any of you truly believe Williams does not know his team is out of the race, you are really just daft. What is the guy supposed to say? "Yes, we're done, let the pillaging begin!" No. Konerko's comments can be interpreted in the same vein. "Yeah, boss, we're done. We can't win with these guys. I'm the captain and I'm telling you we're toast." It's time for a reality check. Williams and the very bright, very astute Rick Hahn both know this team is toast. This is all just posturing. It's how the game is played. Moves will be made to better the club for 2008 and beyond. Just hang in there.

Happy Birthday, Buddy!!!! Wish I could have joined you for the game, but, we'll make sure to celebrate properly. Have a good one!

Such a sad story. He was already starting to bring about some credibility to a historically poor program. Here's hoping the program can build on the foundation he was setting.

QUOTE(spiderman @ Jun 18, 2007 -> 03:55 PM) Yeah, I see the Sox signing Zambrano to 5-7 year deal worth 18 million a season. Have another Although his pronoun agreement is a bit troubling, I think his intent is clear. He felt the Mets would trade for Buehrle mid-season, then allow Buehrle to reach free agency while signing Zambrano in the off-season.

This is McPhail just biding his time before being appointed the next Commissioner of Major League Baseball.

QUOTE(Gene Honda Civic @ Jun 18, 2007 -> 01:50 PM) That answers everything. That's a pretty terrible (offensive) outfield. Not as bad overall as the Fields/Terrero/Sweeney outfield I saw proposed above, but really bad, 4th place, maybe even 5th place bad. Your preferred outfield is almost guaranteed to hit fewer than 20 HRs as a group, and would feature only one player who gets on base at an above average rate. Judging the HR statistic to determine the potency of a ballclub again, eh? Hmmmmmm...that has worked in the past.

QUOTE(southsideirish71 @ Jun 18, 2007 -> 01:30 PM) I would disagree with you on Murtons value. He is a line drive hitter with some pop. He would project to be a decent LF. You put Sweeney in RF, Ichiro in CF, and Murton in LF. It gives us a mix of some line drive hitters who can get on base, with some of our power guys. Its a nice mix, and balances our lineup more. The only way I would say that Murton doesnt make sense, is based on if we send Buerhle to the Mets and get Gomez and/or Milledge back. I like Murtons bat. You bring up a roving OF instructor to work with him, before and after this year on his fielding. Its LF for gods sake, and you dont have to be that talented defensively to play a half way LF. If he had been granted the opportunity to develop properly I would fully agree with you. However, as I've said, I fear his development has been stunted beyond repair. I was a big fan of his play before he was mishandeled so very badly. Now, I worry that he would ever be able to contribute at a similar clip from before his gross mishandeling. And as you and I have talked about so ofter, Ichiro is the savior for the the outfield. It's as simple as that. If the Sox are serious about contending once again and the purestrings have not been sewn shut, Ichiro needs to be brought in as your leadoff and RF concerns will disappear for the next five years. We'll see how things play out with deadline trades and such. But, Ichiro simply makes too much sense for a team looking to contend. I would love to see LF Sweeney-CF Erstad (at 6M as his contract stipulates or better yet, Rowand at maybe the same price)-RF Ichiro. All of a sudden, many questions and concernes are answered. QUOTE(Gene Honda Civic @ Jun 18, 2007 -> 01:31 PM) CF is the more difficult position to play. It would be "pussyfooting" around to put him in RF/LF to start with a second offensive black hole like Erstad manning CF. There is a reason that Sweeney has taken almost every start at CF in Charlotte since the All-Star break last year, and it's not because they intend to use him as a LFer when he's eventually given a starting position. Using your logic, the Sox have hurt the development of Sweeney for the last calendar year by allowing him to play all but about 10-15 games in CF. They're trying to maximize his value to the team, which would mean he mans CF until he becomes a defensive liability there. Then it is a elementary disagreement on development philsophies. I can live with that. I maintain my position. If asked, "Where do you feel Ryan Sweeney's defense will best serve the Chicago White Sox?" I would reply: left field. I feel that if you put Sweeney in left field to begin his career, he will not only provide well-above-average defense for his position, but will hone his skills as time goes on instead of re-learning on the job. As anyone who has played the game can tell you, the reads on balls in CF and the reads on balls in LF differ tremendously. Career left-fielder--that's what I'm looking at.

QUOTE(Gene Honda Civic @ Jun 18, 2007 -> 01:14 PM) Sweeney's bat won't rate as average anywhere but CF next season. (Think Alex Rios in '04/'05) He figures to be able to competently be able to cover CF for at least a few years before he loses a little bit of range. Short of signing one of the big name free agent CFers next year, if Sweeney is being penciled in anywhere (and given his stagnation this year, that's not a guarantee) it should be CF with the Sox looking to find replacements at the easier to fill LF and RF posistions. (Though I fully expect Erstad to be back taking up one of those spots) Completely disagree. Sweeney projects as a career-corner-outfielder. Don't pussyfoot around and put the kid in CF for a year or two, then have him platoon for a while, then maybe send him back down to work in the corner-outfield positions..etc. We've seen this story time and time again. The kid is going to be one of the White Sox outfielders of the future. Reinsdorf will not sign marquee free agents at every position on the ballfield. There is going to have to be some league-minimum production at at least one position nearly every year. Next year, it looks like Fields and Sweeney--you have the holes at 3B and LF respectively taken care of, invest elsewhere.