Jabroni

Sorry, yeah I meant Ozuna. Wow, now we need Burke's defensive abilities at 1B? That's what Konerko and Gload are for. Burke played all of 2 games at 1B last season. Keep in mind that he didn't start those 2 games at 1B either. He was a late inning defensive switch.

Indeed, good post.

Versatile? Burke can play some 3B but Ozuna already plays it better. With Willie also expected to make the roster and back up 2B/SS, why do we need Burke's ability to play 3B on the bench? By the way, how often do you see backup catchers pinch-hit in the A.L.? Burke had 4 pinch-hit at bats last season. Ben Davis had 1 pinch-hit at bat last season.

Agreed. Widger's defense at catcher is better than Burke's. I think Juggernaut likes Burke because he can also play some 3B. But Ozuna can also play some 3B and he can play it better than Burke.

Burke has cleared waivers already. Widger likely wouldn't. Pierzynski is going to get almost 500 at bats this season. If Widger struggles in his very little playing time we can just bring up Burke, hope Widger clears waivers, and send Widger to Charlotte. This isn't that difficult to understand.

"WHEEEEEEEEE!!!" Lay off the bud, DJ.

My guess would be the Mets. They just signed Kelly Stinnett but if they don't feel that he can adequately back up Piazza they may be interested in Davis. They have also fallen out of the Charles Johnson hunt since it looks like the Devil Rays will snag him. Piazza sucks behind the plate and Stinnett is old. They could use some young knees to back up Piazza behind the dish. This article explains what happened to Widger last season... "Recharged Widger ready to play Catcher happy even though roster spot is not definite" http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article...t=.jsp&c_id=cws

Looking for a new job... hopefully.

The guy that many people here wanted to trade for this offseason -- Javier Vasquez.

Carl is going to have a huge season. He's always had the swing but now he's actually in shape.

Where the hell have you been? Bruce LeVineLine reported that A.J. is not on the trading block. He also said that the Sox could trade Davis by the end of the day. Widger would be our our backup and Burke would be our third string catcher in Charlotte.

Yep, I was about to say that. Davis is a better lefty hitter than righty. If we keep Davis we would essentually have two lefty-hitting catchers since Davis sucks batting righty. Pierzynski and Widger would give us a lefty/righty platoon at catcher.

Yep. Chris Widger .242 career AVG .403 career SLG Mike Matheny .239 career AVG .336 career SLG Now, I'm not saying that Widger is on par with Matheny but this is likely about defensive prowess behind the plate. By the way, Ben Davis hasn't even been a better hitter over his career than Widger... Ben Davis .237 career AVG .366 career SLG

I think if we are keeping Widger over Burke as our backup catcher it will be because of his defense.

I just found this nicely typed up report from another Sox site...

Sandy was 55 years old. He will be back as a bench coach someday.

Burke was a non-roster invitee just like Widger. The Sox could have added either to the roster if they wanted to.

I read at another Sox board that Bruce LeVineLine also said that Widger will be the backup after Davis is traded. Is this true? Poor Jamie Burke. But I guess LeVineLine also said that the Sox would end up eating some of Davis' $1 million salary but still end up saving money on the deal and get something back.

He never had a shot anyways.

Maybe not. The Dodgers have a catching duo of Jason Phillips and Paul Bako. They also have Dioner Navarro as their third string catcher in the minors. Honestly though, I wouldn't mind packaging Davis and Politte for someone and giving Politte's roster spot to Adkins. Politte just scares me on the mound. I sure wouldn't mind that trade though.

Dustin Hermanson's suspension is now just 1 game instead of 3 as reported by WSCR 670 The Score! UPDATE: ESPN 1000 reports Hermanson will serve the suspension on Wednesday, April 6 so he will be eligible to pitch in the home opening against Cleveland on April 4.

http://www.rotoworld.com/content/playerpag...guenum=&id=6835 Is there any doubt now that Konerko should have been an All-Star last season over Ken Harvey? :headshake

Ex-Sox news... http://www.rotoworld.com/content/playerpag...=138206&id=6440 http://www.rotoworld.com/content/playerpag...=138186&id=7036

Great thinking there, bud. Surprisingly, the Pirates actually finished last season with a better record than the Mets... 2004 Final Standings Pittsburgh Pirates 72-89 New York Mets 71-91 It's hard to believe that the Pirates finished with a better record than the Mets last year but they did. If the Mets hadn't claimed Valdez, the Pirates would have claimed him. They had the next dibs on Valdez.

I know we need a taller SG but I would never even think of trading Hinrich for Pietrus.