hitlesswonder

QUOTE(fathom @ Dec 2, 2007 -> 10:30 PM) Lots of rumblings that Cubs might sign Fukudome in next few days. My fearless predictions (based on no claims to inside information or even intelligent analysis): 1) Fukodome to the Cubs 2) Coco Crisp to the White Sox (after Johan goes to NYY). 3) Bay not traded till after the season starts, and not to the Sox. OK, it's not an informative post, but I think it's certainly up to Trade Winds standards

Great column. Pohlad really has to be one of the worst owners in baseball. It's amazing that the Twins organization is as successful as they are.

QUOTE(wsgdf_2 @ Dec 1, 2007 -> 10:37 AM) Bad bad trade. On the other hand, you're right... if the Mets were specifically looking for that combo of players, the Sox don't have it, which is sad for us. Oh, I agree it's bad trade for the Mets. I was just saying that the Sox couldn't have topped the Nationals offer if the Mets wanted a C & OF. What makes the trade even worse for the Mets is that the Nats traded Schneider because the can start Flores whom they claimed in the Rule 5 draft from the Mets last season. So the trade is really like Flores & Milledge for Church & Schneider. Bowden did really well.

QUOTE(buckweaver @ Dec 1, 2007 -> 07:09 AM) I think you're wrong, here. This is the equivalent of the Sox giving Toby Hall and Jerry Owens. That's just not true. Hall had a .466 OPS last season while Schneider was .662. Also, Hall ripped up his shoulder while Schneider has a strong defensive reputation. Church has a career .810 OPS in 4 major league seasons and can play all the OF spots. Saying he's a 4th OF is...well I don't know what team that's on. The Sox have no equivalent players at C and OF in their organization (Church = cheap, .800 OPS OF in the major leagues, Schneider = C that can throw someone out and has an OBP over .326 (as not good as Schneider may be, the Sox have no one like him). It's sad, but if the Mets wanted help at those positions, the Sox could not beat this deal.

QUOTE(iamshack @ Nov 30, 2007 -> 09:30 AM) Dreaming. This is not a salary dump for the Bucs...it's a move to try and increase the number of solid position prospects in their system. I'm sure it will take 2 close to mlb ready players and a solid prospect at least. The Pirates GM is new and I don't think he'll want the fanbase to see his first deal as a big loss. He's not going to move the best position player on the team unless he's sure he's winning the deal. Something like Fields, Gio, and Uribe at the least? I'd much rather see the Sox sign Fukodome, but that's a long shot.

QUOTE(sircaffey @ Nov 29, 2007 -> 11:56 PM) Are we really a better team with Cabrera rather than Garland? I think the downgrade from Garland to Floyd is a bigger issue than the downgrade from Cabrera to Uribe personally. We've seen 5th SP problems over the past 10 years. Get ready to experience those again. It's certainly possible that you are right. But the only position the Sox have any semblance of "depth" is starting pitching. It makes sense from that standpoint to try to fill your biggest voids by dealing from strength. And a lot of people believe a good position player is more valuable than a good pitcher. In any case, if he isn't traded I'll be interested in seeing when in 2008 Gio makes his major league debut.

QUOTE(fathom @ Nov 29, 2007 -> 09:40 PM) I still can't believe KW signed Uribe, and then traded our best chip for another SS less than 10 days later. It's really disappointing to see what's taking place so far, and I like OC. If the goal was to acquire a player to improve the Sox in 2008, I doubt KW could have done better than Garland for Cabrera. I don't actually like the trade (I would have preferred prospects in return), but that move isn't bad for 2008. That's assuming Cabrera can post a .340 OBP again and Uribe would post a .280 OBP. The biggest sinkholes offensively on the team were SS/CF/LF. Obviously, SS and CF are the hardest to fix and Williams seems to be focussed on those two. I just hope he is and will fill them with the right players, and that Owens isn't starting in LF next season. Since I've promised not to descend into negativity, I won't venture an opinion on the chances of those things happening.

QUOTE(michelangelosmonkey @ Nov 29, 2007 -> 02:44 PM) Evaluation of young pitchers is and will always be a crap shoot. Brandon Webb's minor league stats did not foretell greatness. Santana was 20-20 with nearly a 5 ERA in the minors. Unitl they come up and do it in the majors consistently...they are just prospects. Webb's HR/9 rate in the minors was 0.33 and had a 3.71 ERA in parks very favorable to hitters. That may not have foretold greatness, but it was the mark of a very good pitching prospect. I agree -- some guys with great minor league numbers don't pan out and some guys with bad numbers do. That doesn't mean that minor league performance means nothing and should be ignored. It means that great minor league numbers make it more likely that the player will succeed in the bigs but don't assure it. So, for the Twins, let's go ahead and admit Liriano is better than Danks/Gio/Floyd assuming he's close to healthy. That leaves Bonser/Slowey/Baker: Bonser: Minor/Major league ERA: 3.63/4.71 Slowey: 1.93/4.72 Baker: 2.99/4.71 Danks: 4.20/5.50 Floyd: 3.69/6.30 Gio: 3.49/??? ERA isn't enough to really evaluate (Danks pitched in some tough parks, etc.), but none of the Sox troika has had the overall minor league and major league success that the Twins trio has had. No it isn't.

QUOTE(G&T @ Nov 29, 2007 -> 01:43 PM) That's not really true. He got money in place of another player. Why should he automatically take another player that he doesn't want when he can use the money to sign a guy he does want? If the choice was between $1.5 million and a prospect that probably won't crack the bigs, or won't contribute as much as Linebrink, then he did get max value. I agree. You absolutely can't take money out of the equation. Every team has a limit to it's payroll, so clearing salary to sign a free agent or take on another contract is valuable to any team that does it. And that is why the Pods for Lee/Viz deal wasn't a disaster.

QUOTE(michelangelosmonkey @ Nov 29, 2007 -> 08:25 AM) You denigrate the Sox prospects and uplift others...so I guess...Go Twins? That's obnoxious -- I think the Sox 3 young pitchers aren't better than the Twins top 4 young pitchers so that makes me a Twins fan. Whatever. If the Sox had better prospects, I'd "uplift" them more. It's not like I'm the only person that thinks the Sox aren't awash in young talent. And it's not like I said Gio/Danks/Floyd sucked. I think Gio is a very good prospect -- I've probably underestimated him in the past. I said he might be better than Slowey (who was AAA pitcher of the year last season). It's not that I'm ripping the Sox players here, I just think you are really underestimating the Twins pitching.

QUOTE(michelangelosmonkey @ Nov 28, 2007 -> 09:31 PM) The Twins...if they trade Santana...are counting on guys no more talented than Danks/Gio/Floyd to be 1 through 5. That sure would be scary to me if I was a Twins fan. Liriano, Baker, Slowey, Bonser and either Hughes or Bucholz from the Santana trade are no more talented than Danks/Gio/Floyd? It might be possible that Gio is better than Slowey, but other than that I think that statement is completely wrong. If you look at the minor league stats, the Twins pitchers performed better than any of the Sox trio you mention.

QUOTE(kwolf68 @ Nov 28, 2007 -> 01:02 PM) Three prospects isn't even an initial offer, it's a joke. When Hunter gets $90M, asking for 3 prospects isn't a joke (I also read they'd take a major leaguer and one top prospect). Lot's of teams need OF help and can't afford Hunter/Rowand/Jones. MN, FLA, and the White Sox are 3 such teams. The Red Sox may not get 3 top prospects, but they'll get a lot in return for Crisp.

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ Nov 28, 2007 -> 07:01 AM) Its not out of the realm of possibility that Rowand's price will come down from what he wanted earlier, but I'd prefer Crisp myself But what would you be willing to give up to get him? BOS supposedly wanted Laird and a top pitching prospect from Texas. The Sox might have to work out a three-way trade to fit what BOS reportedly wants (catcher, right-handed setup man, lefty corner infielder). The Sox have little value to move to get this done without opening up a huge hole on the major league roster -- it seems like the only things the Sox have to trade that have real value are Gio and DLS. It seems like at least one of them plus some other stuff would have to get moved to get Crisp.

QUOTE(29andPoplar @ Nov 27, 2007 -> 10:27 AM) Frankly I don't much care about 2011, the whole baseball world could be different by then and likely will be. If they say they want to win in 2008, then go with that mindset and further, act like it. Go get some players and fill your holes with guys that are available and are proven. Just my thoughts. I like that plan a lot. I think to really compete in 2008, the Sox need a significant overhaul. Depending Fields, Owens, and Richar to all play at a major league level in 2008 seems like too much. Freel at 2B and leadoff would be a good move if the Sox could get him for something like Broadway. That would let the Sox grab a LF like Jenkins, Nixon, Kielty, or Gonzalez on a short-term deal. Of course they still would need a CF (Rowand or Fukodome?). That's a lot of movement, and I doubt it all happens. At least the offseason won't be boring.

QUOTE(29andPoplar @ Nov 27, 2007 -> 10:04 AM) And I know what I'd do for a lead off hitter, but I don't run the club, I just add thoughts on a message board. What would you do for a leadoff hitter? I'd actually probably hit OCab #1 and have or Richar hit #2. But I have feeling Jerry Owens is the likely leadoff hitter at this point.

QUOTE(TheBigHurt @ Nov 26, 2007 -> 12:51 PM) We need a leadoff man. Crawford would be fine with me (IF we could get him). What other good options are out there (serious question)? I really, really think Jerry Owens is already penciled in as the Sox LF and leadoff hitter for 2008. The Sox had Fields not play LF in the AFL and KW has said the Sox are looking only to acquire one outfielder and that OC will hit #2. That makes it seem like the Sox already know who their LF & leadoff hitter in 2008 will be.

QUOTE(fathom @ Nov 26, 2007 -> 12:45 PM) All along, I've just said the one thing I don't want to hear from KW is the same tone he used last offseason with "market correction". I'm confident KW will take a new approach this offseason....but he can't start blaming other teams if they go the extra mile to get the player they want. He's the person who wasted 4.5 million on a SS we don't need now. I think it's pretty clear that I'm not a big fan of the job Williams has done/is doing. But even I can't begrudge him the Uribe signing. They needed to have at least 1 guy in the entire organization that can play something resembling major league SS. At the time, there really wasn't much choice I think. And it's not much money at all, and it's only one year. Vizquel got more money. Here are the FA SS options out there: The Uribe signing isn't a big deal. And for a team with question marks at 3rd and 2nd, he's an OK backup that is overpaid by $2M a year. That's not that bad. If Williams trades Uribe for nothing and turns around to sign Izturis to a 2 year/$8M deal then we can talk...

I think it's weird how people (maybe the sports media) have blown Hunter up into a being a great ballplayer. He's good, but I don't think he's great His defense is deteriorating (he's even talked about moving to RF or LF in 2 or 3 years) and his offense is over-rated. His park-adjusted numbers for 2007 are .266/.333/.416. I'm not upset at all that the Sox didn't sign him....

QUOTE(witesoxfan @ Nov 25, 2007 -> 11:07 PM) There's no reason to trade Contreras right now without getting something that has value to the MLB club in return. That's true. And if the Sox can actually use the money they'd save to sign 2 OFs and a starting pitcher like Clement I think that'd be OK. Spending it all on a mega-deal for Rowand I'd be much less in favor of. Only the Sox know if there are free agents out there that they want and need the extra money to sign. If no one like that is out there, they might as well keep Contreras and hop he can raise his trade value.

QUOTE(Rex Hudler @ Nov 25, 2007 -> 11:09 AM) Any team making that high of a percentage of three point shots when taking that many has my respect. My thinking is, maybe teams should guard them better! They have my respect, too. There's no "right way" to win in my book. And, really, maybe jacking up a ton threes doesn't require talent but hitting them definitely does. I've heard inside players derided for dominating a game simply because they are tall, but I've never seen a bunch of quality outside shooters put down as not having skills before. That's a new one.

QUOTE(DBAH0 @ Nov 25, 2007 -> 05:55 AM) Muniz had a 2.45 ERA and 23 saves in AA this season. Why would the Sox have to give $5M to the Mets? They're getting back a AA reliever (in other words, nothing). I don't expect anything in return for Contreras, but $5M is a lot of money to throw in.

QUOTE(fathom @ Nov 24, 2007 -> 01:23 PM) Tampa would laugh at that trade offer. They probably want something similar to what the Marlins are going to get from the Angels for Miguel Cabrera. The Marlins are likely to get Kendrick, Mathis, Willits, and Ardenhart. Why in the world would Tampa want Uribe, an average pitching prospect in Danks, and a fading prospect in Sweeney? I really think the Sox would have to send the Rays Jenks as part of a package to get Crawford. Jenks, Danks, and DLS would probably get it done. I doubt Danks, Gio, and DLS would be good enough, but the Sox could try...

QUOTE(Markbilliards @ Nov 24, 2007 -> 12:28 PM) Aaron Rowand is a better baseball player than Jerry Owens. Jerry Owens is a better lead off man than Aaron Rowand I'm not sure that Owens is a better leadoff man than Rowand, if they both post the same OBP as they did last season.

QUOTE(BearSox @ Nov 23, 2007 -> 11:47 PM) Looks like Jerry Owens will be playing LF and leading off for the White Sox, especially if the White Sox sign Jones or Rowand... Everything seems pointed in that direction: Fields not playing LF, targeting CFs that aren't "leadoff men", and OC penciled in at #2 in the order. Is Owens actually good enough to help the Sox compete for a playoff spot?

QUOTE(spiderman @ Nov 22, 2007 -> 09:26 PM) I'd love to move him, but I don't think anyone wants him or the conract he has. Mac's contract is $2M in 2008 and $2.5M in 2009. That's nothing. He pitched well in 2006 and last year was by far his worst career year. Maybe he's done, but if I were another and could get him for trash I'd do it. I'd rather have Mac on his contract than Linebrink for 4 years & $19M.