sircaffey

Take away Carl's Twins series and he has been absolutely terrible. Worst 3-4-5 in baseball...

QUOTE(jackie hayes @ May 16, 2005 -> 09:01 PM) He is, but abs where you draw a lot of pitches are not brutal. Enough of those, he'll certainly start hitting. Brutal would be striking out on 3-4 pitches. Pauly has had a ton of these kinds of ABs and he's hitting worse as time goes on.

QUOTE(jackie hayes @ May 16, 2005 -> 08:58 PM) He's not playing well. But drawing out the pitch count is a good thing, not "brutal". Why is that a good thing? Maybe if this is a tough SP, but this is a 1 inning reliever. Jump on a pitch...Pauly is brutal right now. Don't know how you can't say he isn't when he's hitting .190.

QUOTE(CWSGuy406 @ May 16, 2005 -> 08:52 PM) Wow. The first curveball from that guy is on a 3-2 count. Tip your cap, Paully... How about Pauly hits one of the other 1000 pitches he saw that AB...? Pauly is flat out terrible right now. Brutal...

Is Carl getting on anyone else's last nerve? Frank please hurry back...

Wait till it gets close to the game. I nabbed 4 tickets, upper deck behind home plate for $30 each last year...

QUOTE(qwerty @ May 12, 2005 -> 11:38 PM) Say good by to our top prospects and say hello to an insane contract. So the Rockies wouldn't trade Helton for Dye? Damn... And I don't want Preston Wilson anywhere near US Cellular. There is sure to be a better option in RF...

I'm just shocked we're winning without Pauly. Guess that gets me even more excited. Perhaps he's helping the team with his suckiness by building up the potential explosion he's gonna have starting in a week and a half at Wrigley.

QUOTE(DBAH0 @ May 12, 2005 -> 11:33 PM) Now here's an interesting scenario here from Ken Rosenthal. If we could dump Dye for Wilson (bout a $6 mill diff in salaries), would you do it? I'll take Helton instead...

God that team sucks... Maybe the Sox can pick up Wagner and have a representative...

QUOTE(Punch and Judy Garland @ May 12, 2005 -> 06:03 PM) I don't know that he will but Mo Olivo sorta hurts your argument. I said major league talent...Olivo doesn't have it. Major league potential, yes...Major league talent is not something he was or is yet. I guess I worded it incorrectly. KW will not move an important piece of the so called puzzle to get another piece of the puzzle. If Contreras is still pitching well come the deadline, I think there is a slim to zero chance KW moves him without getting a SP of the same quality in return, which is unlikely. KW loves the pitching staff and to trade from it doesn't seem likely...

QUOTE(JUGGERNAUT @ May 12, 2005 -> 05:07 PM) But we've dealt quite a few prospects over the years to net nothing better than 2nd place. I didn't say Contra for Huff straight up. His age doesn't matter as much as his mileage. He doesn't have any where near the mileage on his arm that El Duque has. If Contra has less than 5L before the break with this offense he's sure to have a solid ERA. Contra has always been pegged as a guy that when it clicks for him he could be a dominant pitcher. There's certainly enough there to build a trade around w/out spending a top prospect in the pkg. If that were to happen, then there would be no need to trade Jose. KW is not going to trade from a solid staff that he is in love with. If Contreras is doing what your hypothetical situation suggests, then KW would be much more willing to deal Anderson than Contreras. Also, TB is not 1 year away or even 2 years away from contending. Their staff is in shambles. Why would they trade their one big bargaining chip for a player that will only help them be 20 games under rather than deal Huff for 2-3 solid prospects. It makes no sense. QUOTE(JUGGERNAUT @ May 12, 2005 -> 05:07 PM) A greater need at that time though might be Shingo. It might be worth creating a pkg around Shingo to get a quality reliever like Dotel. But let's see if Shingo can turn it around first. Maybe he'll start brushing some hitters back to regain that inside corner again. Do you actually believe KW is going to add to this team by trading major league talent? Nothing in his past suggests that he will this year.

QUOTE(JUGGERNAUT @ May 12, 2005 -> 03:46 PM) One of the things that always surprises me about some WSox fans is just what they think it will take to trade a player. Have they learned nothing from the trades Beane makes for Oakland? What did Beane pay to get Dye in his prime? What did Beane get for Hudson & Mulder? What did Philly get for Rolen? Big names are traded for less than what you expect all the time. It's just a matter of what a team thinks it needs to help it win. I don't remember a mid thirty year (could be 40) old veteran pitcher who makes a lot of money in any of those trades. ONLY young quality players. QUOTE(JUGGERNAUT @ May 12, 2005 -> 03:46 PM) TB simply has to make a decision of what will help them win more games in 2006 at less money: adding Contra or signing Huff. If only it were that easy. Except there happens to be many other teams in the league willing to do better than Jose Contreras. Let's just say hypothetically that TB lost all their intelligence and was insane enough to take Contreras for Huff, why would the Sox subtract from their team for the stretch run? I think KW would be much more willing to deal prospects than take out a piece of the rotation...

QUOTE(JUGGERNAUT @ May 12, 2005 -> 11:19 AM) As for Huff, I disagree. With Gload being injured the need for a LH hitting 1B has risen. He's struggling now which means you would pay less to get him. It might be as simple as Contra + cash. That's assuming BMac is ready to join the rotation. No way in hell it would only take Contreras and cash for Huff. TB doesn't want an aging veteran pitcher. Huff could easily bring in some quality young talent. TB would never want Contreras... Closers switching league has little or no effect. They don't face the DH instead of the pitcher 3-4 times a game. That's where the inflation in ERA is for starters. As far you saying this: "I want the following everyday players in 2006: Pods, Iguchi, Thomas, , Crede, Rowand, Anderson, AJ, Uribe. That's a lineup that could lead the AL in offense." That's pretty optimistic considering we currently have a lineup very similar to that, that happens to be very poor...

QUOTE(beck72 @ May 11, 2005 -> 06:49 PM) I'm not suggesting the sox bullpen is bad. It's very solid. Just if it could be made stronger and potentially dominating one, it would make the sox ready to win for a short playoff series. Just think about it this way. Think about last year's crappy bullpen and the negative effect that it had on the team. Then contrast that with the bullpen this year, and you notice a huuuuge difference no? Well now add in Billy Wagner and you would notice an even bigger impact to this team's performance. The bullpen is vital, and if we add Wagner, we suddenly are playing 6-7 inning ballgames... On a related note, had we kept Foulke instead of getting Boch, then I think we would have seen 2-3 division titles since 2000... Bottomline, successful playoff teams have great closers. Bullpen by committee does not cut it.

QUOTE(beck72 @ May 11, 2005 -> 06:45 PM) Any trade would get the Sox ready to win deep in the playoffs. For a team that hasn't had many shots at the playoffs, let alone a W.S., trading a top minor leaguer in order to win in 2005 might be well worth it. Not to mention the Yankees and Red Sox appear vulnerable in contrast to years past. If there were a year to be solid and make a run at the AL Championship it's this year. With all this being said throughout the thread, does anyone really think KW WOULDN'T deal Anderson for Wagner? I very much see KW going hard after Wagner, and hopefully getting him. Also, JR/KW have already stated many times before the season that there is room to add payroll midseason if we have a need...

Also, reminds me of the Angels when they won the World Series. Their pen was scary good and really carried their somewhat average rotation.

QUOTE(Punch and Judy Garland @ May 11, 2005 -> 05:20 PM) Billy Wagner is no question mark. He's a top 5 closer and if we get him and Hermanson is our 8th inning guy with Marte/Shingo/Viz/Politte taking the 7th and part of the 8th-we'll be playing 6 inning games and we'll be a legit World Series threat. No doubt...It also takes a lot of pressure of Ozzie in handling the bullpen. Now, w/ Wagner, he can almost not go wrong with how he handles the 7th and 8th innings. Having to not worry about who's pitching the 9th and not be worried that he's going to struggle, would be a tremendous luxury for Ozzie.

QUOTE(witesoxfan @ May 11, 2005 -> 05:03 PM) With the way prospects have worked out for the Sox, I'd almost rather trade them at peak value for a shot at the World Series than hang onto them to save a little money in the future. Yep, I'm w/ you...Wagner is definitely worth the shot.

It's still amazes me that people get so attached to certain prospects that they have almost never seen play. I remember people this way with Rauch, Borchard, Malone, etc., etc...Too bad we held on to them too long... Wagner completes our pitching staff, and makes it quite possibly the best in the AL.

Yeah, I would have liked to see Pods in the game too, but he is 1 for his last 11 maybe Oz wanted to give him a break. I don't know...All I know is Oz is in love with Timo and seems to think he's a leadoff hitter, power hitter, and centerfielder all rapped into one. I do like how he is trying to mix things up with the middle of the order. Carl has been pretty damn bad for a while now. He hasn't square anything up for a while. I was growing tired of his weakly grounding to second or failing with runners on 2nd and 3rd with no outs. I hope Rowand has a tremendous day today, so Oz thinks about sticking with Rowand in the 3 hole. Rowand's my pick to click...get 'r done...

QUOTE(Chisoxrd5 @ May 10, 2005 -> 02:12 PM) Thanks Coach Wannstedt... I agree with your earlier post in the aspect of IF we need a closer come the end of July, and we remain in the lead for the central or the wildcard, then all bets are off on who gets dealt. Billy Wagner would be a GREAT acquistion but to trade the farm for him is a steep price to pay, and better end with a trip at least to the ALCS. Woah easy there. We are only discussing a hypothetical deal sending 1 top prospect from a position that we are strongest in and 1 B grade prospect. "Trade the farm" is a bit of an overstatement...

If the Phillies were willing to deal Wagner for Anderson, Diaz, + another spect yet the Sox passed on the deal, and then Shingo or Hermy blows a game or two in the ALCS, what would the perception be? "Oh but we still have Anderson." I have a hard time thinking that KW wouldn't pull the trigger on that deal. I'm w/ KW's mentality. There's been too long of a drought. If this is our best chance to win the AL or WS in a long time, then I would make the trade and worry about some prospect that may or may not pan out later. NO REGRETS!

QUOTE(AnthraxFan93 @ May 10, 2005 -> 11:43 AM) Instead of Wagner, what about KW old Pal Beane.. and get Dotel? Ehh, I'd much rather stick with what we've got than get Dotel. No more OAK closers for me...

I'd do it for sure. Wouldn't think twice about it... Prospects are prospects. Seeing as how the Sox have had next to no success with "top prospects" in the recent years, I would deffinitely give up one of a handful of good OF prospects that we have. Wagner would make our pitching staff just incredibly scary good. Imagine Buehrle-Garcia-Garland-El Duque in the playoffs with Politte/Vizcaino for the 6th inning, Marte/Shingo for the 7th, and Hermy for 8th, with one of the best closers in all of baseball finishing it off in the 9th. That's hands down the best pen in baseball. Pitching wins in the playoffs and we would have the best pitching going into the playoffs. Also, closer by committee has failed miserably in the past. I would like to avoid that trend if at all possible...