WHITESOXRANDY

Let's say that Ryan is starting somewhere in the Sox outfield on opening day. What do you think his offensive production would be ? I'll start: .265 / .310 / .400 23 doubles, 5 triples, 12 homeruns 62 runs scored 57 rbi's 8 stolen bases Is this too optimistic ? I know some things depend on where he hits in the order. Anyone think that he wouldn't stay up the whole season ? How do you think he'd do as the regular CFer ?

The Sox HAVE to trade him. No one can tell me that a guy with his veteran and World Series track record that's just thrown a 2-hitter yesterday after a NO HITTER last month won't be a hot commodity come the trade deadline. The Sox will NEED whatever he can bring them. Even if the Sox trade him, they can still sign him at then end of the season.

I agree with most of that. I'd be happy to sign Rowand and I think he'd give the Sox a break on the price. I wouldn't trade for him. That makes no sense. I still think if that happened they would need another really good young outfielder for next year along with Rowand and Sweeney. Not Owens, Anderson or Fields - I mean really good. Rios, Baldelli, Bay, Crawford, etc. I don't understand the Sox philosophy. Shouldn't they be getting big time offense from the outfield ? C'mon ! To me it's easiest to get your best hitters / offensive players in these positions in this order: DH- Thome (solid) FIRST BASE- Konerko (good/keep him) OUTFIELD- ideally there would be 3 serious offensive threats here. Last year the Sox had one and this year have none. If they really want to use Sweeney then they must come up with 2 big run producers here. Rowand doesn't really qualify but when you add in his intangibles to this team he's acceptable only with another big bat. SECOND BASE- not a really demanding physical position. I'd rather have a big time offensive player here that doesn't have to be a gold glover. THIRD BASE- defense is important here but if the rest of the infield is solid then you can live with a huge bat and fair glove. SHORTSTOP- yes it's a defensive position but there are enough good offensive SS's around that can handle the glove adequately that there is no need to settle for a .250 OBP. CATCHER- defense is clearly number one since it affects the pitching staff so much. BOTTOM LINE: GET SOME HITTERS IN OUR OUTFIELD !

Someone please help me understand this situation. Wouldn't the Sox either sign him before the deadline or trade him ? Why would they keep him the whole season ? Wouldn't their chances of signing him then be tiny ? And, if they did wouldn't it cost them much more after other teams drive up the bidding than it would now ? I would think that since KW declared that no contracts would be negotiated until after the season that the Sox would be foolish not to trade him in July. As well as he's pitching, they should be able to get a good haul for him from a contender versus nothing almost assuredly. Personally, I wish they would re-sign him now. Is that even a possibility ?

I can really see the Giants being interested in Crede. It makes sense because: a. They could use a solid defensive third baseman. 2. Any team that can give Barry Zito $ 126 mil. will not be afraid of re-signing Crede or dealing with Borass. They'll probably tell Scott "you owe us for the Zito deal". c. They probaly won't bring back Bonds so maybe they'll get more serious about fielding a complete team. 4. Crede is a veteran and although he's still kind of young, he's not too young for this team. He's still heard of the Beatles. Although I have no idea what we could get from the Giants for him, I think they would be as good a team as any to deal with since they aren't afraid to trade young players and that's what the Sox need. I HOPE IT'S TRUE !

I'll add my 2 cents in. Firstly, I specifically asked WSI to permanently ban me from the site so that I was no longer tempted to waste my time on there - for the reasons others have mentioned. Secondly, although I don't believe this team will make the playoffs now (I didn't before the season either) I still support the team and am going Wednesday night. I'll still watch most games and go to a number of them but if this same play continues thru June, I would rather watch a changing team with an influx of seriously good young talent play out the season than continue to watch a dull team that continually finds a way to lose.

I wish that Sox fans would remember these 2 things: 1. The Sox are not trading for ARod and it's doubtful that he is traded at all. He would only be a rental and what's the point of that ? 2. The Sox are NO way going to sign ARod as a free agent. There would be a better chance of Juan Uribe leading the A.L. in walks next year. a. once again, all together now, BORASS is his agent b. The Sox aren't spending that kind of money on any player

QUOTE(Controlled Chaos @ May 31, 2007 -> 12:56 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> AJ made a heads up play...he didn't cause the ball do go in the dirt. The two plays aren't even comparable. You're the second person to say he drop the ball becuase he was distracted? As if it was just because there was some noise around him and he dropped the ball. The ball dropped for a hit because the noise came from where his own player was. Put that pop up a foot from the stands in an away park with a 1000 fans screaming at the top of their lungs and he'll catch it. It isn't noise that caused him to miss it. It was moving out of the way when you hear a teammate call it. Only it wasn't his teammate it was a bush league player that is desperate to show us all that money has nothing to do with class. With all due respect, I'm glad that you never played on my team. AROD might go down is THE greatest player ever and to you he's bush league. You don't what you're talking about.

QUOTE(caulfield12 @ May 31, 2007 -> 12:38 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Teams that might be looking at Sox players Giants, Dodgers, Angels, Brewers=Joe Crede (although Braun is long-term solution for MIL) Angels=Dye Braves=any starter, Mack and/or Cintron Brewers=Thornton, Logan or Sisco Cubs=will trade outfielders for pitching help Mets=pitching Phillies=bullpen Yankees=pitching Possible targets of interest for the White Sox... Mark Teixeira Dunn Griffey Rich Harden Noah Lowry Jose Capellan--Milwaukee (reliever) Jose Castillo--Pitt. Chris Burke Willy Mo Pena Baldelli Chad Cordero Melvin Mora (OF) TEIXERA - borass no Dunn- don't need him, have Thome, don't need another DH or a million k's Griffey - this isn't 1997 Harden - yeah, Sox should make a 3-way for Prior too Chris Burke - meh Willy Mo - another project, if, maybe, could be -just what the Sox don't need Baldeli - I'd take a chance on him and his price should have dropped by now Mora - is old and expensive Cordero - ok Castillo - what's there to get excite about ? Capellan - ok Lowry - ok The Sox need some impact players. I would rather see them overpay in talent to get a few special players. What guy on this list is even better than Joe Crede other than TEX ?

Instead of making a post about how we need to get rid of all these players to be more twinlike, you could have succinctly put it like this: The Sox need to get new scouting and development people. EXACTLY. This is why the Sox have to trade for other team's major league ready players. And, yes, they can turn this bunch of players into a few of those. But, that's my point. The Sox need to unload all of these players in order to turn this team around. Unloading just a couple will not get them enough young talent back to make much difference. Personally, I would much rather watch an exciting young team with many players on the cusp of stardom win 75-80 games than watch a bunch of old slow boring used to be's win 75-80 games. The Sox will still have enough pitching to stay afloat and be very competitive. A rotation of Vaz, Gar, Danks and either 2 young guys or 1 and a vet will be enough. They will have enough bullpen arms also. The pitching will be fine. Mostly, it's the lineup that needs a bunch of tinkering/ replacing.

I'd give the flubs a little bullpen help for Matt Murton.

QUOTE(Balance @ May 31, 2007 -> 12:01 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I don't see anything wrong with what A-Rod did. If you can't tune out one person trying to distract you by shouting, do you really belong in the Major Leagues? They can tune out a ballpark full of little kids asking for an autograph but saying "boo" to them will distract them from catching a pop-up. My team won the World Series in 2005 and I'll cherish that memory as long as I live. Turns out part of the reason that they won had something to do with a heads up play by our catcher at the time. A lot of players wouldn't have done what he did. I'll always love that catcher and my memories of winning it all.

Probably, the 10 most important players to the White Sox future are in other organizations right now.

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/6864414 This is a link to the A-ROD flap. I think it's a joke. ARod hits a pop and yells somethingl ike "I got it" and the Blue Jays let it fall in for a hit. Then, they whine about how bush league ARod is. Maybe it's just me but I always liked to win. It's not like he cheated or did something against the rules. Personally, I would love to have a team full of overpaid star athletes that want to win this badly that they would lower themselves to yelling "got it" in order to win a game. Do you agree or disagree ?

There's no harm in keeping Haeger in AAA for even a couple of more years. Do the Sox really have 5 elite starting prospects needing to be in Charlotte ? If they did, I think they dump Nunez first. It's worth taking a risk on Haeger in case he becomes another Wakefield. It's not costing the Sox anything and if he's looking good but they decide they are uncomfortable with a knuckler then they can trade him. But, I wouldn't bring him up this year - never until his command is good. I'd stick with bringing in the 4-A guys for now. Maybe one will get hot.

Ok, if the Sox don't turn things around in the next 3-4 weeks we can pretty certain that the playoffs are out and this team needs an overhaul. I can't see any reason to hold onto but a few of the position players. catcher - A.J. and Hall - might as well keep them. Better to focus efforts on improving the team elsewhere. shortstop - Uribe - why keep him for $ 6 mil. when it shouldn't be that hard to replace him with a young SS with upside that's cheap. Maybe one that can get on base at a good rate. Trade him now or pickup his option and then trade him - whichever is easier. second base - Iguchi - I like him but he should be traded now. This is a KEY position. Second basemen are the most underrated and inexpensive of all positions. The Sox need to get a great athlete here. Find a guy like Brian Roberts or Hudson for example - can hit, steal, leadoff and field. Even if you have to pay $ 7 or 8 mil. a year here it could be well worth it. third base- trade Crede now or at the end of the season at the latest. Fields could probably be close to his equal overall right now. This makes us younger, faster ,more athletic - more TWIN-LIKE. First base and DH - keep Konerko and Thome. The Sox would be best served going younger, faster and more athletic around the rest of the diamond and keeping what they have in these 2 big boppers. Outfield- keep Sweeney and Erstad. Yes, I said Erstad. Believe me, I thought getting him was ridiculous but he's really been fine. The Sox would be well served to keep these 2 and add 2 more young outfielders with high upside such as Milledge and Baldelli. A good mix of 3 young guys and Erstad would be ideal - 2 lefties and 2 righties that can play all 3 outfield positions. Might as well trade Anderson, too. starting rotation- keep Vazquez and Garland. I'm not in love with either one of them but they are signed, durable and average or better. Keep Danks. I would like to see Buehrle re-signed but that won't happen now so they must trade him. I would also trade Contreras now or after the season at the latest. He's too inconsistent and isn't getting any younger. bullpen - what are you going to do ? They got a bunch of young guys that throw hard. They wanted that and knew that most of them didn't have command yet. Why else would they have been available ? They aren't bad. They are young and need time. I'd hold onto them if I could. So, I see no point in keeping Dye, Buehrle, Uribe, Pods, Anderson, Iguchi, Crede or Contreras. I'm pretty darn sure that if the Sox unloaded all of these guys along with a few prospects that they could acquire 2 good young outfielders, a young SS and some excellent pitching prospects. They could sign a free agent second basemen. Even an elite one is not that expensive. I think they could be very competitive next year if they did this. I think it would be a huge mistake not to get anything for Dye, Buehrle, Pods and Iguchi and not to get what they can for Uribe, Crede and Contreras. Payroll would also be significantly reduced by doing this so that if a team needed to unload a really good player in a salary dump , the Sox could be there ready. Anyway, that's what I'd do if I could. Trading 7 pretty good big leaguers should net an excellent haul of good young players and top tier prospects to fill really just a few spots and who knows maybe there'll be a star or two in the bunch. Besides, it's been very evident this year that the Sox farm system is almost barren of talent. They really need to reload here for some depth. Why is that the Twins always seem to bring up players anywhere on the diamond to replace injured players and they perform as well the starters ? And, the Sox get nothing when they dip down for help.

Every other team in baseball can fleece the Pirates but not us. No matter what Jim Hendry does, he'll always be a hero for getting Aramis Ramirez and Kenny Lofton for nothing . Couldn't we get Jason Bay ? Ofcourse if the Sox got him he'd probably become slower and worse defensively. It just seems to happen that way.

Fields is hot right now. They should bring him up and stick him in LF. Even with no LF experience he'll be better than Craig Wilson and Wilson hasn't hit squat in a year. He's cold as ice. Then, when they trade Crede in July, Fields can just move in.

Rogers is an idiot. Yes, the Vazquez trade will hurt because Vazquez will never be the pitcher that so many thought he would be. And, the only thing that really hurt was giving up Young. But, the rest of the guys are meaningless. I'll bet the Sox sign Rowand in the offseason. The Thome deal was a good one. The guy leads the major leagues in OBP ! He's still pretty healthy and the Sox will start to roll again now that he's back.

I'd be willing to make a move for Griffey also. But, if you have to give up Contreras, what would be the point ? It would be a salary dump for Cincy so if the Sox took his whole contract thru 2009 they shouldn't give them anything more than Luis Terrero. If Cincy pays half, I'd give them any 2 pitchers in Charlotte. We have to remember this guy could be out for the season by tripping on a sidewalk crack.

Konerko, Dye, Crede and Iguchi will not hit .200 this year. These guys ALL will start hitting soon. Thome's coming back soon. Pods and Hall will be back. Relax. We have no choice. Nothing of significance can be done now. Next year is a different story. Crede can be moved and replaced with Fields. The Sox can trade for Carl Crawford. They can find a speedster for 2nd base. Chances are there wil be 2 new outfielders next year to go along with Sweeney. I'd keep Konerko and Thome. I'd consider replacing A.J. or Uribe. But, I have a feeling that Uribe will still improve. The Sox are 18-16 with the worst offense in baseball. I'm feeling pretty good right now about the rest of the season. I'd be willing to give up a few pitching prospects for Crawford. Who do the Sox have that looks like they MIGHT be anything special after Danks and maybe Gio ?

If the Sox swept the Yanks, I'd forget about it by July. If the Sox swept the flubs, I would be talking about it for years.

How embarrassing this will be for the White Sox. They would be better off trading all of their draft picks to any team that will let them pick their top 2 prospects.

Wow! I thought I was a dark cloud. The White Sox are definitely and above average team. If they were in any division in the N.L. they would probably win it. In the A.L. West, they might win it too. They are .500 right now with arguably their 2 biggest offensive players out and the rest of the team in a hitting slump. These guys will hit and the pitching is very good and very deep. That will always give you a chnce to win. Will it be enough to make the Playoffs ? Don't know but they are only 4 games back and Thome will be back in a week. I certainly wouldn't give up yet. KW did an excellent job with the pitching staff. He didn't do enough to fix the OF situation but if Hall didn't get injured, I think that things wouldn't be so bad. I really didn't expect us to catch Detroit because they have the best all-around team in baseball. I think the Twins will finish 4th and Cleveland has holes. Defense isn't good and I still don't like their bullpen. The Sox still have a shot at the wild card. If they are out of it by July, then KW can trade some parts. I'd rather see them trade guys then get draft picks. They've proven they don't know what they're doing with that.

The WHOLE offense has sucked. Erstad hasn't sucked quite as bad as some others. THERE. Feel better ? Personally, I wouldn't even care about how fast our leadoff hitter is or our team speed if we just had a bunch of guys with high OBP. I'd take a team full of Kevin Youklis's. Just get on base. Stay there and don't get thrown out trying to steal. Don't try to hit homeruns. Don't strike out a lot. Take the walks. Make contact. Get some base hits. Get on base 35-40 % of the time. A lineup full of those guys will score enough runs consistently to get the job done.