Punch and Judy Garland

Yeah as atalented as Bradley is, he is not a clear upgrade on our corner positions and you dont want to rely on him in center if you could help it and he's not a guarantee to stay healthy.

Roy Oswalt has been the Opening Day starter in Houston even when Pettitte and Oswalt have been there. Mark should remain ours even if Jose went on to win 20 games. Loaiza took a back seat after 21 wins so I see no need to change. He is the face of the franchise (as far as players go) so he should remain the Opening Day starter

QUOTE(Steve9347 @ Dec 10, 2005 -> 02:34 PM) This guy has something against Carl Everett, to say the least. I guess he ignored him the past two years when he was a great teammate on a championship ballclub. Good riddance to Carl Everett. They can have the jerk

QUOTE(Wedge @ Dec 10, 2005 -> 02:19 PM) I have no idea why anybody would think Boston is going to be any good this coming season. They've got a ton of holes on that team. I actually think the Jays have a great chance to win the east this year. What if they pick up Frank Thomas as a DH? Because the Sox will have better starting pitching (not saying much), a better bullpen (it can't get worse) and their lineup will still be good with Manny/Ortiz. IF they don't resign Damon they will have to come up with something. THe Jays can contend but I think they are a bat shy for certain. And its a big bat they need. Can they get anything for Batista? WIll their setup men be able to get the ball to Ryan? Their lineup has nice parts but still needs real thunder and Frank Thomas would be an excellent low cost choice for them

QUOTE(Kalapse @ Dec 10, 2005 -> 02:05 PM) I would of had zero interest in bringing Milton Bradley to the Sox. Sounds like a good trade for both teams. The Dodgers need to rid themselves of Bradley while the Pirates need bats badly. I'd do it on both sides

QUOTE(Steve Bartman's my idol @ Dec 10, 2005 -> 01:08 PM) Didn't we learn that Munoz is not a major league pitcher? I don't think we learned that. We may have learned that he isn't a starter but how much do you learn off one horrid start. I think he could still be a LOOGY, and better than Kevin Walker at that

The fine is just but the timing is too late. Whatever. This isn't worth getting too excited about anymore

Vidro doesn't hit enough to play first so this is a real problem. Plus, NIck Johnson is probably their best offensive player anyways. This is not good. NOt sure what kind of market there is for Vidro but I'm pretty sure its not a good one

QUOTE(BlackBetsy @ Dec 9, 2005 -> 08:48 AM) I just don't see anything less than McCarthy or Garland + Uribe + prospects getting Tejada. And I'm not sure the Orioles would even go for that. THat would be probably correct unless they are going to bypass getting a great arm and instead try to get another name which is possible since its the Orioles

QUOTE(AnthraxFan93 @ Dec 8, 2005 -> 11:43 PM) When was the last time they had an actually SP who was worth a damn? Mike Mussina probably.

I am not that concerned because I don't think its a question of ability. I think he's gotten messed up because of that home park trying to play long ball and its affected his swing overall-amplified on the road. I think he's a batting title caliber hitter that should hit 25 homers but he seems to want to be more like Teixera. Thats why I'm not worried, I think he can turn it around very quickly if he gets his head on straight

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Dec 8, 2005 -> 09:16 PM) The WaPo reported that there was an enormous amount of tension in the O's clubhouse last year, including players who were set to go to florida for Burnett, and specifically tension between Sosa and Tejada. That's at least something. That is true and I heard that but if Sammy Sosa is the only confirmed guy, with Sosa's histroy, its hardly an indictment of Tejada

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Dec 8, 2005 -> 09:02 PM) How exactly would you prove that other than looking at the numbers? Are you expecting a guy to come out and publically say he wasn't trying hard? (well, could happen, Vince Carter did it, but only after he was out of Toronto). I mean other articles, quotes from people around the organization. If you base it just on his play, then a lot of guys can be accused of a lot of things that aren't true, thats all I'm saying

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Dec 8, 2005 -> 08:57 PM) If he was trying his hardest and still putting up those numbers...then there was something SERIOUSLY wrong with him in the 2nd half last year. Either he was playing hurt or he stopped taking his B-12 shots or something. His numbers are ridiculously bad after the AS Break last year. I believe someone in this thread compared his 2nd half numbers to Machowiak's. Players have bad halfs, players wear down. Todd Helton had a bad first half. Was it because he quit? I am not familiar enough with the day-to-day operations of the Orioles but unless someone here can find some real proof other than declining numbers or Rotoworlds blurb-then you guys are jumping all over a guy based on speculation

What f***in proof is there that he didn't try in the second half? Because rotoworld says so? THats not enough

I think half the teams in the league will line up for Tejada. If they trade him, and I seriously doubt they do, they should be able to get a pretty good pitcher in return. For what it's worth, I'd trade Garland for Tejada in a heartbeat. THat being said, thats just fantasy talk

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Dec 8, 2005 -> 07:12 PM) You have to wonder whether the mess that their club house turned into after Palmeiro was suspended and then blamed Tejada in the press could be a major contributor to this. Ya also have to wonder if the Sosa trade also helped. Here's an idea...Manny for Tejada, Boston pays the salary differences? I still like Miguel. A lot of the crap that's happened in Baltimore has been out of his control with Sosa, Raffy, and his manager not lasting. Plus, that article you got is pretty slanted so just remember that there are two sides to the story and picking the side Peter Angelos isn't on isn't always a bad idea

He would be a good backup for Crede. I do believe that Borchard can handle being the 25th guy on a team and a last guy on the bench. Not sure if it will help his development though. Wasn't Marte originally a Pirate? Thought so. Also, I thought the Pirates were enamored with Borchard in the past. Surprised they didn't ask for him too

I remember watching Farnsworth face him when he was a Cub. Franco obviously can't turn on a fastball anymore. What does Farns do? Throws him fastballs away and Franco just drops the bat and ropes a double to the opposite field. Smart hitter given his limitations. Also proof what hard work and body maintenance can do

I thought so but I've read where they added King and Mesa because they legitimately wanted to improve their pen. Could just be the pr line though. If nothing else, expect Fuentes to be a hot commodity come July

Yeah Gammons said 11 and he gets the Sawx scoop so the 8 and 3 makes a lot of sense. Why is their a buyout? Is there a 5th year option I forgot about?

Renteria for five million a year is pretty nice, even if it cost them a good prospect. I am surprised they wouldn't live with Wilson Betemit as their SS. THey know their system better than I do though

Bullpens don't need tow lefties, they are a luxury. We have righties who get lefties out anyways. The Marlins and Angels won championships without left-handed relievers and we still have Cotts.

Maybe one of thse years they'll get a pitcher. They make a defensive upgrade here but Javy is a great hitting catcher, while at 1B-DH he's more of a middle of the pack bat or not even

QUOTE(Felix @ Dec 8, 2005 -> 11:53 AM) Why is it obvious that they won't do Marte for Lugo straight up? Marte is going to be far better than Lugo ever will be.. Maybe its not obvious but they haven't done it yet and there has been some posturing over the last few days. I surmised that the Rays want a little something more to do it-in large part because its a division deal. Lugo-Marte could still happen but I htink a third player becomes involved-or the Rays are trying to make the deal bigger to include Huff and one of the Red SOx premier pitching prospects