nitetrain8601

QUOTE(fathom @ Sep 30, 2006 -> 07:04 PM) Don't listen to what you read in the press....there's a zero percent chance that Podsednik is brought back. My answer to this question would be either Juan Pierre or C. Crisp. Okay, who does Boston have to replace Crisp in CF? No one. They're in the same position as us. Prospects mean nothing, they're trying to win now because that's the window. Juan Pierre may be here, but my money is that he'll be in CF because that's where Ozzie would use him. Podsednik will probably be back with this team IMO.

QUOTE(fathom @ Sep 30, 2006 -> 07:06 PM) He was a guy who I was thinking we should try and get at the deadline this year, as he could help us against LHP in LF. Uribe is much more dangerous on offense though...and doesn't have the attitude issues that AGon has. This lineup already has dangerous hitters, it needs more consistancy. A consistant hitter is better than some guy who's going to have a crazy 3 weeks of the season. Also AGon > Uribe defensively. Uribe only has the arm and he gets very wild with it.

QUOTE(beck72 @ Sep 30, 2006 -> 12:11 PM) For Ozzie, it's guys who can make contact/ situational hit/ create their own offense rather than swing for the fences and hit into DP's. Which is why Walt Hriniak would make much much more sense than Greg Walker as hitting coach.

QUOTE(Gene Honda Civic @ Sep 30, 2006 -> 01:53 AM) So what does AGon bring to the table that Uribe doesn't? Low OBP? Check Good Glove? Check Power? disappearing... wonder why? How is he an upgrade? Uribe had a terrible year, and he's still arguably better than AGon. I fail to see how an OLDER player with a lower career OBP and less power and a less range than Uribe is an upgrade. Spin this season's numbers anyway you want, but Uribe is better bet to be a more effective offensive and defensive player than Gonzalez in '07. A Gon is defiantely more consistant than Uribe, both offensively and defensively

Hell no. You could easily get guys who are decent hitters with no power. The key is getting guys who can get on base. With that, everything else comes. We need to surround our big boppers with guys who can get on base, not subtract one of them.

Podsednik or Pierre. I think I'm going to say Podsednik though.

QUOTE(witesoxfan @ Sep 30, 2006 -> 03:52 AM) McCarthy had good enough stuff coming out of the minor leagues to be a middle of the rotation starter. Guess what, he listened to what you want him to do about however long ago, and he has started to develop a 2-seamer. Pitchers can get by with a straight fastball so long as their complementary pitches are good enough. From what I have seen of Santana, his fastball is straight as hell, but he keeps hitters off-balance unbelievably well with his change and curve. That's just plain and simply having good command of his pitches. That's what McCarthy possesses too...adding a 2-seamer to that, and having good command and control of that is only going to make him better. (fwiw, Santana's changeup is the best in the league, and his slider is nothing to scoff at either...if you can throw a 75 MPH changeup with a 96 MPH fastball, and then mix in an 89 MPH slider too, while having good command and control, the other team is done almost every time. McCarthy could potentially at some point down the line develop into a pitcher like that, but it's not next year) I thought Santana clocked in at 97-98. Anyway, McCarthy doesn't have a fastball like that and probably never will. There's a big difference. That's why I was saying, he doesn't have enough velocity to get away with his fastball. Like you said, a 75 MPH changeup with an at least 96MPH fastball is devastating because we're talking a good 21MPH difference with pinpoint location, control, and coming from the leftside.

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Sep 29, 2006 -> 02:55 PM) If the Sox picked up Barry Bonds, I would get a refund for my season ticket money and simply not go to any games. I joke not. That would be fine with me, means 1 more shot of me getting tickets.

I'm going with Minny winning the series.

QUOTE(marsh @ Sep 29, 2006 -> 04:54 PM) I don't want alter boys, I want good ballplayers. Freel can get hammered every nite if it doesn't affect performance. Ozzie could just get one of his sons to be his chauffeur. What is the consensus on Lugo's defense? He played short on a crappy Tampa field, plus one of the reasons Tampa's hot shot SS prospect didn't get called up earlier was because of his shoddy D. They didn't seem to mind Lugo playing there for a couple years. Thoughts? He's crap IMO and always has been.

QUOTE(Buehrle>Wood @ Sep 28, 2006 -> 11:09 PM) When getting arguably the country's best player just isn't good enough. Like JimbosDrinker said, Gordon isn't even a lock and it looks more and more each day that he'll be going to IU. I think Gordon is a great player because he doesn't seem like a guy where you have to kiss the ground he walks on and baby him, but unfortunately most recruits are exactly that way. Weber can't handle those types of recruits which is why he's losing to almost everyone. He's getting owned big time by all these different coaches like the one at ISU and a Kelvin Sampson at IU who hasn't even been able to set up shop completely yet there. Hell, Matt Painter seems like a much better recruiter than Weber. In the end, I know this sounds like hindsight, but I think the Illini should've gone after Thad Matta when they Tom Crean told them he wouldn't leave Marquette. Matta is great at recruiting and is great at getting the best out of his players. Hell, I think I'd rehire Lon Kruger. I know it sounds like a lot of complaining on my part, which it is, but I'm calling it how it is. In college, talent is a huge part of successful program.

Probably Houston in the NL because I want to see Biggio get his ring. In the AL, the Twins because that will showcase Johan dominating in the playoffs and show Kenny and Co. that maybe they should spend a little more money in international scouting instead of feeding us pitchers with little to no stuff but "know how to pitch".

QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Sep 29, 2006 -> 03:42 PM) I understand that. But shouldn't your dislike fall on the people that hype him up, rather than the pitcher. Shame on him for putting up great numbers in the minor leagues, and shame on him for not having a chance to start this season..... To me, it's also his stuff. I don't think he'll have those high K totals over the course of a season. He'll have more K's than Buehrle, but all I see him as is a RH Buehrle with a teeny bit better stuff. He has a great change and his curve was great last year, but his fastball was as straight as an arrow and he didn't have the velocity to get by with that last year. This year, he still has a great change, his curve became a bit worse with the new overhand motion and his fastball still isn't enough to fool hitters over the course of a season. I'd like to see him at least develop another pitch like a 2-seamer before I deem him God like so many others have.

QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Sep 28, 2006 -> 11:06 PM) You have a problem with McCarthy because other people hype him up. Interesting... Actually yes. You would've thought this guy was having his wing built right next to Jeremy Reed's in the Hall of Fame with the way people talk about him.

QUOTE(whitesoxfan101 @ Sep 28, 2006 -> 10:26 PM) Illinois didn't offer Brackins and never wanted to, but ISU is recruiting just as well as Illinois right now. That's sad IMO. I know Iowa State is supposedly supposed to be up and coming(at least according to Heads ), but the Illini came off a National Championship appearance two years ago and can't capitalize off of that. That doesn't bode well at all.

QUOTE(DBAH0 @ Sep 28, 2006 -> 09:54 PM) Remember if you trade Mark Buehrle, next season you will most likely have 5 RHP's in your rotation, and that can't be good when you have the likes of Justin Morneau and Travis Hafner in your division. That doesn't matter when your only LHP can't pitch to neither RHP or LHP.

QUOTE(Heads22 @ Sep 28, 2006 -> 04:58 PM) By the end of the month, ISU should know whether they get the Brewster duo of P'Allen Stinnett and Andre McFarland. If so, that's 5* Craig Brackins, 4* P'Allen Stinnett, and 3* Diante Garrett and Andre McFarland. God, it'd be cool if Iowa State became a force in the Big 12 again. Seems as if ISU is outrecruiting Illinois as well.

I hate to say I told you so, but I was calling for Wainwright last year and all I heard was how he was going to be an injury prone prospect.

QUOTE(Kalapse @ Sep 28, 2006 -> 06:23 PM) 1.) It looks like Soriano will only speak to teams that will allow him to play 2B next season he does not want to play the OF anymore. 2.) Lets just say the Sox did sign both Pierre and Soriano and stuck Soriano in LF and Pierre in CF. That would basically be the worst defensive outfield in baseball, you'd see a ridiculous amount of balls dropping especially in the gaps. Much worse than Podsednik in LF and Mackowiak in CF?

QUOTE(greg775 @ Sep 28, 2006 -> 05:26 PM) Bmac should host his own radio, tv show. He should run for office. Never has a guy done so little and gotten so much praise. I mean I hope he does well, but man, the manlove. That's exactly my problem with him. He gets too much credit for doing a whole lot of nothing. Reminds me of Kerry Wood up until last year.

QUOTE(whitesoxfan101 @ Sep 27, 2006 -> 10:40 PM) B-Mac in Buehrle's rotation spot, new LF and SS, bullpen help, the end. So reload I guess. I agree. QUOTE(RockRaines @ Sep 28, 2006 -> 10:56 AM) They are both excellent #2 guys, in fact they both have an .837 OPS in that slot, Young is just a better leadoff guy than Crisp is. After coming back and looking at young's stats, he is exactly the type of guy we need on this club. Clutch, hits to the opposite field, and doesnt try for the longball in all situations. Check out these numbers for 2006: Bases empty .310 .355 .794 Runners On .322 .361 .848 RISP .411 .444 1.053 RISP/2outs .415 .483 1.049 Man on 3rd Don't worry, if we were to get Young, Greg Walker would change that in a jiffy. Remember when Thome and AJP sprayed the ball? Pull and Lift baseball. Our first step this offseason should be firing Greg Walker. QUOTE(witesoxfan @ Sep 28, 2006 -> 11:29 AM) So Daniels would turn down a SP with World Series experience for a SS who is not really a SS? k I thought Young was back at 2nd with Ian Kinsler playing SS.

QUOTE(Rex Kicka** @ Sep 25, 2006 -> 05:19 PM) I dont see how building an olympic stadium to be stripped down after the olympics will bring tourist money after. I'd rather see Chicago spend the money on updating its transportation system and making the lives of people who actually live there better first. And that's how we'll get the money, via the Olympics.

QUOTE(Flash Tizzle @ Sep 24, 2006 -> 07:50 PM) Well, I'm certain there's a large group of people living around the proposed Olympic area who wouldn't consider this a benefit. Gentrification pushes out the poor. On a personal level, I just find it strange to look ahead to 2016 and realize I'll be 31 years old. I'd like to anticipate all the diversity of the Olympics, and how it would bring in an amazing amount of women; but then it occurs to me -- I'll be too old to work the barscene looking for European/South American athletes. Lol, I'll be 30. How crazy would that be? Anyway, the plan is for Olympic Village to turn into Condo's and affordable housing which is much better than the parking lot it currently is.

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ Sep 24, 2006 -> 04:48 PM) I really hope Chicago doesn't get them. It seems like a collossal waste of money to me. The Olympics being in other cities has never made me want to visit that city. Building a 95,000 seat stadium and then chopping it down to 10-20000 for what? What could they hold there? The security issues I could do without. Just say no. Let's see: 1)Privately funded. 2)Brings in revenue to hotels which means it brings in money to the city. 3)Creates more jobs. 4)Allows for renovations and further gentrification of the city. I say yes yes yes and yes again.

We just need guys who could get on base. Speed is overrated, especially if you can't get on base. Podsednik was great last year because he got on base at a fairly decent clip, and when he did, he was a lock to be in scoring position. Now he sucks at getting on base and when he does get on, half the time he's getting thrown out. I just want to see this team as a whole have a higher OBP.