Rowand44

Going to my first game tonight. Free is a good price. I'm excited to see Portland in person as well.

QUOTE(juddling @ Jan 3, 2008 -> 03:45 PM) i think the same was said when Royce Ring was traded. He then went on to be traded 3 or 4 more times that season IIRC. Sox traded him twice in the last few years and Phillies got him and gave him back so mabye his sh*t isn't as good as everyone thinks it is. Alright, a Gio and Ring comparison is quite ridiculous. I'm not Gio's biggest fan but those two aren't even comparable.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Jan 3, 2008 -> 03:09 PM) Well, defensively, Fields is a question mark, but Cabrera is an exclamation point. Konerko is solid, Richar is solid and could be very good. Dye is weak, Quentin I really don't know, and Swisher I really don't know. So on defense we are sorta hanging a lot on Cabrera to be our stud aren't we? Ya, pretty much. I wasn't even really talking about defense, though you make a good point. I'm just extremely worried about this teams starting pitching.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Jan 3, 2008 -> 03:05 PM) Just an exercise...no particular order implied here. Cabrera - 8 home runs Swisher - 25 home runs Thome - 40 home runs Konerko - 30 home runs Dye - 30 home runs Fields - 30 home runs Pierzynski - 10 home runs Quentin - 25 home runs? Richar - 10 home runs Being pretty conservative overall except assuming a full season for Thome...That right there would come to 208 home runs. The least of this teams worries is power. We haven't had to worry about power for a while now. I'd like a little more speed in the lineup but this team is going to score some runs, I just don't think they're going to be able to prevent them very well.

QUOTE(Chisoxfn @ Jan 3, 2008 -> 02:12 PM) I remember a lot of us were saying that if Garland/Garcia/Contreras pitch like they were capable that this team would be stellar. It turned out that all of those things happened and the Sox kicked butt. People were really in love with the 05 off-season (I know I was). The only potential knock was the fact that value wise the Sox got there asses handed to them in the Carlos Lee trade (but the extra money helped the SOx out big time). Yup. NSS, you should have been here, this place has never been happier.

QUOTE(Chisoxfn @ Jan 3, 2008 -> 02:05 PM) But could Paul Konerko, Joe Crede and prospects get that deal done? Nah. Trust me, if we could land Bedard some how, I'd flip flop on this trade about as fast as anyone. Getting a guy like Bedard would make us legit contenders imo.

QUOTE(bmags @ Jan 3, 2008 -> 02:00 PM) But if floyd/danks fail, i don't think that it would've been Gio and DLS that we would've gone to this year anyway. Gio would have had a shot, DLS obviously not.

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Jan 3, 2008 -> 02:00 PM) I think the most important point in there is that he hadn't played CF before 2007. Which means he's not going to be great at it, but also means he is likely to improve in 2008. By the way, just looked - also no CF in the minors for Nick. He was a true rookie at it. Definitely a good point. It'll be interesting what the Sox have planned with him.

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Jan 3, 2008 -> 01:56 PM) Stats, FWIW... FPct: .986 (would be around 15th of 18 qualified CF) RF: 2.62 (would be around 12th of same) ZR: .836 (would be around 17th of same) Had 1 OF assist Not looking great statistically. But that may not be a great measure, with his limited time there. IMPORTANT NOTE: He had barely ever played CF before 2007 (3 innings TOTAL at major league level), so he was in learning mode. If he can learn... Ya, I appreciate the post but no offense, I'm just not a huge fan of defense stats. Would definitely love to talk to someone who has seen him play out there a number of times.

I'll ask again but does anyone know how good of a cf Swish is? I honestly don't recall see him playing center, so I'm very curious.

QUOTE(whitesoxfan101 @ Jan 3, 2008 -> 01:47 PM) We still aren't a team that's going to the playoffs, but at least we are improved to the point where we can go around .500 and finish in 3rd. The problem just remains we have no farm system, that is KW's undoing. Which does what for us exactly?

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Jan 3, 2008 -> 01:47 PM) A lot? Almost no publications picked the Sox to go post-season. Now on here, I wasn't around, so I don't know. Were Soxtalkers saying the 2005 team was post-season bound? Ya, I meant around here. The masses were pretty excited about that team in 05 on this site, a lot of people thought that team was going to contend.

QUOTE(CanOfCorn @ Jan 3, 2008 -> 01:42 PM) White Sox Spring Training 2005 says hello. People keep on saying that, but a lot and I do mean a lot of people here thought the Sox were a legit contender. This year, not so much.

I think you'll see Swish bat 2nd with OCab leading off, at least to start the season, something like: Cabrera Swish Thome PK Dye AJ Fields Quentin Richar I got to admit that lineup looks much better than last years, the rotation still is just ugly at this point.

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Jan 3, 2008 -> 01:39 PM) Oh crap!!!! I knew I missed someone. So with Ozuna, the bench is full with Uribe OR Crede staying, but not both. And you lack a true 1B in that mix, but I'd imagine someone could pick that up (at which point they'll tear a ligament and Ozzie will be made a pariah). You can use Swish at first. And barring injury, Kong has played a crap load of games every year anyways.

QUOTE(Controlled Chaos @ Jan 3, 2008 -> 01:38 PM) So if we go out and grab Roberts and Bedard it's world series 08 Then we'd be a serious contender, too bad we probably don't even have one prospect that Baltimore would want at this point.

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Jan 3, 2008 -> 01:37 PM) That makes sense. Owens as a 4th OF (probably what he needs to be anyway), playing some CF and LF off the bench and pinch-running. Ramirez to back up Richar at 2B and maybe get some time in the OF as well. So, the bench has (barring trades): Owens (LF, CF) Ramirez (2B, CF, RF) Hall © Uribe (SS, 3B)???? ???? Crede will be gone. And Uribe might be too. So, who is your backup for the left side of the infield? Uribe might stick around and be that guy for SS and 3B. That still leaves one more bench spot, most likely a lefty-hitting guy who can play corner IF... any ideas? Could the team go with just those 4 on the bench? Or maybe Crede stays too, and you get him part time at 3B, with Fields/Crede also relieving Thome at DH and PK at 1B? Pablo.

Alright, I'm going to stop b****ing about the deal cause I hate to be that guy, so I'll change the subject a bit: Anybody know how good Swish is in cf?

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Jan 3, 2008 -> 01:23 PM) True on the system. But if you can find a way to start Quentin, Swisher and Dye in the OF, with Fields-OCab-Richar-PK on the IF, I am starting to think the Sox are going to have a pretty potent lineup. Its just that 3-4-5 of the rotation that scares me right now. The lineup and bullpen I think will be good. Bench we'll see. And I do think at this point that KW will attempt to trade Uribe (soon) and Crede (in ST) for whatever pitching prospects he can get. I'm fine with the lineup, I've been ok with it for a while. It's the rotation that scares the hell out of me. There is absolutely no way imo that we can count on Contreras, Danks and Floyd to all be successful this season. Even Vazquez to a lesser extent is a little bit of a question mark.

QUOTE(Chisoxfn @ Jan 3, 2008 -> 01:17 PM) 3 best prospects for a guy whom you have control through 2012 (given his option). This is the exact type of move I love. Quentin/Swisher are two long term outfielders to go with Josh Fields and Danny Richar. I agree with you about maybe not being able to compete but this move really allows the Sox to potentially make another move or two and given the cost, I think this is great value for one Nick Swisher (DSL is 3 f***ing years away....so much can happen than that I have no problem selling him at a high now; Sweeney is probably the guy I will miss the most because we may be selling him low; Gio is being sold high and the one thing that sucks is that he was close to being MLB ready). This may also be indicative of the fact that Kenny thinks pretty highly of Lance Broadway and Jack Egbert. Honestly, I can't blame Kenny from moving a couple prospects. Sweeney was being replaced by Quentin so basically when you really think about it, you could make a case that it was Chris Carter/DSL/Sweeney/Gio for Quentin/Swisher. Also better yet, the Sox didn't financially f*** themselves or give up 2 draft picks like they could have with a massive signing of Hunter or Fukodome. In fact, couldn't you make a case that Fukodome at his peak would be lucky to be as productive as Swisher already has been at the major league level. I hate giving up prospects, but god damn, I'm in love with this move in the sake of the Sox getting what I consider fair value on a young stud in baseball. The only thing is, I will admit, I don't necessarily think it makes them a contender. For me it's simple, two years ago I would have loved this, right now, I hate it. Our franchise is still in no position to compete and now we've made it that much harder to compete in upcoming years.

QUOTE(Felix @ Jan 3, 2008 -> 01:16 PM) Swisher is only 27. He's a great offensive player, and solves the centerfield problem. Sure, it sucks seeing Gio go, but Swisher is a better player than Sweeney and DLS is still miles away from producing in the major league level. And this team is still miles away from competing this season. If Swisher was the last piece for this team to be a contender then I'd be all for this. We're still miles behind Cleveland and Detroit and now we have absolutely nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing left in the system. Konerko better be gone within the next few days.

And we're still in no position to compete for anything. I like Swisher but to give up your 3 best prospects for him with the position that our franchise is in, is just bad imo. I hate this.

QUOTE(Steve9347 @ Jan 2, 2008 -> 11:20 PM) Nik and his .900 save percentage doesn't exactly suggest #1 goaltender. Just because Lalime isn't the answer, that doesn't mean Nik is... and Lalime sure doesn't make the "highest salary of any Chicago Blackhawk in team history." Well I definitely shouldn't be jumping in this argument but if you think next year is "the" year wouldn't you want the best goalie possible, even if he is overpaid?

QUOTE(Jimbo's Drinker @ Jan 2, 2008 -> 09:57 PM) Looks like you guys are on your knees too much Ya, kind of like you guys were last year with the refs so they'd give you 6 points in the sweet 16.

Well we officially suck. Suck real bad. Like horribly suck. Like the suckiest bunch of sucks that ever sucked.