hitlesswonder

QUOTE(fathom @ Dec 5, 2006 -> 04:06 PM) Nightmare offseason checklist: - Bring back Pods - Bring back Sandy - Trade one of our starters for Rowand Wow -- we have the same list. Actually, the last line on mine is " Trade one of our starters for Rowand or trade one of our starters for a middle reliever and a LOOGY" I can't decide which deal I like less the Rowand one, or the starter for Yankee relief pitching one.

QUOTE(elrockinMT @ Dec 5, 2006 -> 10:04 AM) Reading about these rumored deals is making me think we are just begging people to take one of our starters. There is no gain for the Sox. What are we thinking? We have damaged goods? I think Milledge and Pelfrey would be a great deal if Williams could pull it off -- you're talking about getting the Mets equivalent of McCarthy and Chris Young for one year of a starter who had a 5 ERA last season(Buehrle). That package is more than what the Diamondbacks got for Vazquez and Javy had 2 years left on his contract. In fact, I doubt the Mets will move Pelfrey, since they are still stung by the decision to trade Kazmir and Pelfrey is probably one of the top 5 starting pitching prospects in baseball. I agree that Williams should hold out to get the best possible deal (considering the state of the farm system). But if people think Milledge and Pelfrey wouldn't be enough for Freddy or Mark, I have a feeling they are going to be disappointed in whatever trade KW finally makes.

QUOTE(Frank the Tank 35 @ Dec 4, 2006 -> 12:55 PM) This is the most awful trade I've heard all off-season. This one is worse: Possibility: Buehrle to St. Louis for Chris Duncan and RHP Blake Hawksworth As much as I'd love the Sox to get a prospect that plays catcher, Clement won't be able to help the Sox in 2007 and I don't want to see Alomar back there again. Clement's numbers were terrible last year -- was he hurt?

QUOTE(RibbieRubarb @ Dec 4, 2006 -> 07:09 PM) And your source on this is who...? Don't make stuff up around here...not nice. I'm not making it up. Guillen said unflattering things to reporters about McCarthy several times last season. Here's a link to the Suntimes article about one of them. So, it's true, I don't know for sure what Guillen thinks of McCarthy. Maybe I should have said something like "given what Guillen has said about McCarthy my impression is he doesn't like him". But I'm not basing my impression on nothing...though you could argue no one should form an opinion based on something in the Sun-Times

QUOTE(fathom @ Dec 4, 2006 -> 05:00 PM) That's why I am an advocate for trading him for a potential Hall of Famer in Carl Crawford now, while he still has top value. As much as I liked McCarthy in 2005, he showed me nothing last season. Don't forget this...Ozzie isn't comfortable with McCarthy. Even if he starts for us in 2007, he'll have the tightest leash in history. I agree. Ozzie dislikes McCarthy almost as much as Anderson, McCarthy's been a HR machine in the bigs, and no one knows if he can even post 5 ERA in a full season. Scott Baker of the Twins was regarded as being the same caliber of prospect as McCarthy and he bombed last season. Felix Hernandez struggled, and McCarthy isn't in the same league as him. If the Sox could get Crawford for McCarthy, a relief pitcher(MacDougal or Jenks I guess), and Brian Anderson they should do it.

QUOTE(fathom @ Dec 4, 2006 -> 11:57 AM) I'd be all for Garcia/Anderson for Rollins/Rowand. In today's market, Rollins contract looks pretty damn good. Also, as much as I dislike Rowand due to his reputation among Sox fans, at least we wouldn't have to worry about Ozzie mishandling our CF position anymore. Also, the more things happened last year, the more I began to realize that Rowand did have a lot to do with the chemistry. And let the record state that I was one of the first ones stating how overrated Rowand was/is. Is Rollins really a good leadoff hitter? Looking at his stats, his OBP is always around .335ish. That's pretty close to Pods territory. Rollins has some power, but I don't know anything about his defense. I'd like the Sox to get a leadoff hitter that plays 2B or SS, but I'm not sure Rollins OBP is high enough. Or that Philly would trade him for Garcia (I'd bet not -- although Garcia+Uribe+Fields might do it). AnywayI'd rather see the Sox try for young pitching with Garcia. Rowand for Anderson is a wash a best I think. Rowand may be better next year, but he'll cost something like $4M more next season.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Dec 4, 2006 -> 11:48 AM) Terrible move for the White Sox. I have to go ahead and agree with that. Rowand seems like a great guy, but he had 2 significant injuries last season and seems like he's established himslf as around a .750 OPS player with a decent glove and bad OBP. If the Sox want another OF, I think they should go after someone that provides some OBP, which Rowand doens't. Just for the record: Post-ASB numbers for Anderson BA/OBP/SLG/OPS: .257/.301/.393/.694, for Rowand .257/.327/.407/.734 and Chris Dial's defensive metrics had Anderson at +5 RS/150 and Rowand at -5 RS/150. The RS/150 part is runs saved per 150 innings or something like that. Anyway, I know how inaccurate defensive metrics are, but I think this supports the idea that Anderson is at least about the same as Rowand in the field. Anyway, I don't think the Sox should trade anything of value to get Rowand back. And if he does come back, I'd rather see him platoon with Sweeney than start full-time.

QUOTE(aboz56 @ Dec 4, 2006 -> 11:36 AM) Interesting if true, who reported it on ESPN 1000? I for one would love to have Rowand back, but that's just me. It was Levine. And both the Trib (as someone pointed out) and Gregor in the Daily Herald mention Rowand prominently. Of course, Gregor hates Anderson almost as much as Ozzie does. Gregor also suggests acquiring Darin Erstad, though he doesn't mention Erstad's .221/.279/.326 BA/OBP/SLG line lsat year. And yes, that is actually worse than Anderson's .221/.281/.361 line (and Anderson woud seem likelier to improve, being 8 years younger). Wish I could get paid to write stuff like that.

If you add in all the caught stealings, Pods OBP last season was around .296. He's not good.

QUOTE(Rowand44 @ Dec 2, 2006 -> 11:51 AM) Well if we indeed would have been stuck with him he would have never had to pitch with the game on the line. He's not a great reliever by any means but having a guy with a high 3's era in the back end of your bullpen isn't exactly the worst thing in the world. This honestly makes no sense to me, we either get picks or get "stuck" with a guy who isn't very bad at all. Agree completely -- there's a good chance Aardsma is worse than Riske next year.

Really, given how Ozzie apparently feels about McCarthy: and his obvious dislike for Anderson, I wonder if the Sox wouldn't be better off trading them both. I know it's foolish to trade young major league pitching, and trading Anderson now would be selling low. But given who the manager is, and his obvious disdain for both players...maybe the Sox would better off doing it. BA, McCarthy, MacDougal, and Broadway might be enough for the DRays to trade Carl Crawford. Honestly, given KWs history of making big trades, his repeated public stance that McCarthy is untouchable, I wonder if he's just driving up the price.

QUOTE(fathom @ Dec 1, 2006 -> 11:48 AM) Great, another season of no tools Podsednik out in LF. I can't believe KW failed to upgrade the LF/leadoff position. It almost seems like people forget just how awful he was last season. Does this mean we also don't acquire a back-up outfielder, and go with Mackowiak as our back-up in CF and Ozuna in LF? My fearless prediction is that the 2007 team will feature Pods in LF, Alomar as backup catcher, Sweeney/Owens in CF, and either Vazquez or Garland traded to Texas for minor league closer Nick Masset. And a 4th place finish. I'll be happy to be proved wrong on any of this.

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Nov 27, 2006 -> 03:53 PM) Brock for Broglio? Hall of Fame? The guys has barely played in the MLB. Let's get back to this in a few years and see where things are at. Hey, I used italics on "possibly". Predicting a HOF for any player is insane, I agree. But I do think Young is the best position prospect in baseball. And I think Brock for Broglio (young OF for journeyman pitcher) is scarily apt at this point. So sure, Young may flame out. And I actually stiil have some slight hope JV could pitch well next year (he and Garland were the only 2 that looked like they weren't hurt to me last year). My point really was that it was a bad trade (AZ would not trade Young for a pitcher like Vazquez now -- he's clearly more valuable at this point). How bad remains to be seen, but what's done is done. The Sox just need to make a good decision with Vazquez now. I'll admit I'm not smart enough to be sure what that decision should be.

It was a bad trade. And I think it possibly will be one of Brock-for-Broglio proportions (that's right --I said it -- Chris Young has HOF type talent). Everyone can go ahead and say he's just a prospect, but he is the best position player prospect in baseball. All that being said, KW was sure at least one of the Sox starters would go down, and he thought that getting Vazquez (probably the best SP on the market) would get them back to the playoffs. Even though I thought it was bad trade, I understand that. Unfortunately, no Sox pitcher really went down with an injury, if they were hurt they just pitched through it and sucked for most of the year. Plus, it should be mentioned, last year the Hardball Times thought that Vazquez was primed for a breakout/rebound year based on his peripherals in AZ. They could probably predict the same this year since Vazquez always has great peripherals and never actually pitches well. Anyway, it was terrible trade. But other teams have made them too (Boston traded Bagwell for 22 innings of Larry Andersen I think). The important thing is for KW to make the right decision now. Can they somehow get Vazquez to pitch well for two years, or are they better off trying to flip him for Lastings Milledge and hoping that Milledge turns out to be half the player that Chris Young will be. I'm guessing the latter is the better option.

QUOTE(Gregory Pratt @ Nov 24, 2006 -> 11:17 PM) Ha! Jenks AND McCarthy? We need a strong bullpen, thanks. Jenks stays. I know it's not a trade everyone would make, but I think that's the kind of talent it would take to get Crawford (who is young, all-star level talent, and signed through 2010 I believe). Jenks did have a 2nd half ERA of 5.72 and I think MacDougal might be just as good as Jenks. The Sox definitely would need to bring in another setup man then, somehow (too bad Speier signed with LAA). I still think the Sox have more acceptable options for putting together a bullpen than they do for a leadoff LF/CF Anyway, I know I may be the only person who would make that trade, but I was just trying to put together a reasonable proposal for a premier player.

QUOTE(103 mph screwball @ Nov 24, 2006 -> 02:29 PM) Fix centerfield with someone who can lead off. Let Pods earn his job. I want him back because I feel he is worth the risk. If you want to take a chance on a player improving in 2007, IMO Brian Anderson is a much better bet to do that than Pods. And BA is making the minimum. If the Sox do bring in a different CF, I hope they stash BA in AAA. It doesn't cost them anything to do so, and I think he'll only increase his gtrade value racking up some decent numbers there. I really hope the Sox do take a run at Carl Crawford. I would take a lot to get him, but I'd be willing to trade McCarthy and Jenks to do it. And I think the DRays migth consider that deal.

QUOTE(Gene Honda Civic @ Nov 22, 2006 -> 01:00 PM) On this day before we give thanks... I'm thankful you're not our GM. I disagree...he was able to get Crawford for Vazquez and Fields. That's a great trade. I'm surprised he was able to talk the DRays into that one.

QUOTE(Gene Honda Civic @ Nov 22, 2006 -> 03:18 PM) Why would Cinci want to get rid of a cheap, versitile, excellent defender, with a high OBP? Because Wayne Krivsky is the GM? There's always hope.... QUOTE(IowaSoxFan @ Nov 22, 2006 -> 03:50 PM) Freel strikes out too much to lead off for us. He strikes out a lot against the mediocre national league, imagine what he would do playing with the big boys Alright, if Freel can get on base at a .360+ clip and be a little speedy, why does it matter how much he strikes out? And, I don't understand why he would strike out more in the AL.

QUOTE(Chisoxfn @ Nov 22, 2006 -> 11:11 AM) Those stats are ridiculously awful. I was just looking through a couple other positions. Pods 3rd best left fielder...need I go on. Figgins 4th best centerfielder...again a joke. The things is, that even if Dial's defensive metrics (the ones shown here) aren't extremely accurate, GMJ being ranked dead last means there's a good chance he's not a good CF. He may not be as bad as the numbers make him look, but I think he's certainly not above average. Here's what I know about his glove: 1) In 2003 when I saw him play with the Orioles (just a couple of games), he didn't look good in the OF. 2) I saw him make two great webgem catches on ESPN last season. 3) Dial's numbers say he's not good. I'm inclined to believe last years highlight reel catches have inlflated his defensive reputation. On he plus side, GMJ does take walks which soemthing LAA could really use in front of Vlad.

QUOTE(Rowand44 @ Nov 20, 2006 -> 07:48 PM) I'm surprised you of all people would consider Danks and Young equals. Young is one hell of a prospect, dont get me wrong, but getting an arm like Danks is much, much more valuable than an outfielder like Young. I'll be contrarian -- I'll take Chris Young over John Danks anytime. Young profiles as a CF with power, OBP, speed, and a good glove. And he'd play everyday. Moreover, Young's performance at AA and AAA were fantastic. The power display he put on in Birmingham at his age marked him as a special prospect. John Danks numbers don't look like he projects as an ace to me. I'll admit he's young for his leagues and he's a lefty that strikes people out. And he pitched in some tough parks. But his AA ERA was 4.6ish and AAA was 4.33, his WHIP has been around 1.4 and HR/9 1.4. Again maybe that's all PCL-related but he gives up a surprising number of hits and his control isn't great. I'm sure scouts know more than I do, but given the risk in any pitching prospect, Chris Young is much more likely to contribute meaningfully at the major league level than someone like Danks. Danks may turn out to be great, but it's not like his minor league numbers are Felix Hernandezesque. I have to say, I'm shocked to see rumors saying that all Javier Vazquez can bring in return is Nick Masset...a minor league reliever. The way I read it, it sounded like Texas thought Danks for JV one for one was overpaying. If that's really the market for Sox starters, I wouldn't blame KW for sticking McCarthy in AAA and waiting instead of picking up a minor league reliever right now.

QUOTE(Rowand44 @ Nov 20, 2006 -> 01:04 AM) Wells would have been much worse than mediocre if he was pitching in the American League those seasons. As for the Koch trade, if we don't have Neal in 05, who the hell knows what happens. That's crazy. In 2003 Wells had a 3.28 ERA in the NL in about 200 innings. If you figure it would be a full run higher in the AL (which is crazy, 0.25 runs would be much more realistic), then he's at 4.28. That's about the same level as Buehrle pitched that season. And it would have been a hell of a lot better than the 6+ ERA Dan Wright (the 5th starter) posted. By 2004, Wells was already pretty clearly injured, and I don't think he would have done much better than a 5 ERA in the AL. Pathetically, that still would have a been a god-send as the 5th starters on that team were beyond terrible. Look, I think Williams is a very good GM. In 6 years as GM, he's made 2 trades that I think hurt the team. That's a great record. But it's silly to pretend that he's never made a mistake.

QUOTE(sircaffey @ Nov 20, 2006 -> 12:10 AM) This is what I'm saying...If KW trades Sweeney for Neifi Perez and Sweeney does not pan out in the future, that doesn't make it a good trade because KW could have gotten more than Neifi Perez for Sweeney. The thing is, it's hard for us to know that KW could have gotten more for a particular package. Maybe you're hooked up with MLB people and actually know more than the average message board reader, but I have no real idea of what the market is for players. I'll admit that I thought KW overpaid for Garcia. Reed was one of the few Sox prospects that places like BP and Baseball America really, really liked. And I thought that KW overpaid for Thome. I know that Gio Gonzalez could still turn out to be a special pitcher, but that trade looks a lot better today than I thought it did at the time. Someone brought up the Kip Wells trade, and I think that is one trade that really did hurt the Sox. Although Wells may have been mediocre (and he actually was pretty good in 2003), having his mediocrity in the #5 starter slot in 2002 through 2004 might have brought the Sox a division title. The Koch trade is similar, in that having Foulke in 2003 could have meant a division title (or more). But there may have been payroll issues with that trade that KW couldn't control.

QUOTE(Jimbo @ Nov 15, 2006 -> 01:55 AM) Crisp was hurt most of the year, and did his best to come back, despite the injury. Crisp has never been a high OBP player (career OBP .329). His career OPS is .745. He is at his peak, in that he is 27, and so it might be reasonable to hope for a year like 2005 (career best) where he was around a .340 OBP with an .810 OPS. I think he didn't play well in CF at all last season (some metrics have him being the worst CF in the AL that qualified with enough innings). And regardless of what you think of metrics, the Red Sox are interested in moving him after trading a big, big time prospect for him and locking him up with a new contract. I think they aren't happy with his glove in CF and don't think his bat is adequate in LF. I don't think Crisp is a bad player, and he's definitely quite a bit better than Pods, but I'd hate to see him hitting 1 or 2 in the White Sox lineup. QUOTE(DBAH0 @ Nov 15, 2006 -> 02:09 AM) In 2005 he had a .300/.345/.465 stat line, which would look very nice for our leadoff hitter. In comparison, Podsednik had a .261/.330/.353 line. Maybe it's just me, but .345 is not a good OBP for a leadoff hitter. Iguchi could do that. And Crisp has to hit .300 or above to get his OBP that high, since he doesn't walk. Factor in that you would have to give a up a useful pitcher to get him, and I'll pass on Crisp.

QUOTE(Hatchetman @ Aug 9, 2006 -> 12:10 PM) even guys that turn out to be end of rotation starters have terrific AA stats. somebody do a web search on "lance dickson" Great point. Isn't it customary in any discussion of Sox pitching prospects to bring up Scott Ruffcorn, as well? How about Feliz Diaz? He ripped up AAA, pitching in a band-box in CHA. Broadway hasn't accomplished anything like those two did yet, and they weren't big league pitchers, so I don't see any cause for optimism right now. Just my opinion, which really is worth less than many posters here, but Broadway's numbers and the scouting reports on him make me think he won't even make it as an end of rotation guy. He has 1 pitch that might be major-league quality. His numbers look like a product of BHAM, he has a bad SO rate and gives up a ton of hits but has somehow avoided giving up runs. Carlos Marmol had a lot better numbers in the same league, and it's not like he has dominated the NL (although he does have a major league arm, so there's hope for him). Just because Broadway is the Sox best SP prospect doesn't mean he's actually a good SP prospect. Matt Garza will debut for the Twins this week, it'll be interesting to see how he does.

QUOTE(farmteam @ Aug 3, 2006 -> 12:49 PM) I may be showing my ignorance here, but is that a problem? I just meant as opposed to hitting for power. His slugging pct. has been pretty poor, and he projects as a corner outfielde, so it's a concern. His HR total for this year equals his career total coming in, so maybe he is developing some power. But it could also be Charlotte's park.