BrandoFan

hey i have a question. How come everyone always capitalizes BMR? Its Bmr afterall. Why does idseer never, ever capitalize? One of nature's mysteries. You tell US. ??

hey i have a question. How come everyone always capitalizes BMR? Its Bmr afterall. Why does idseer never, ever capitalize? One of nature's mysteries.

yeah and lets bring back Lamar Hoyt to his cy young level.... If there's coke, anything is happenable.

Konerko has no value whatsoever, something that us only amplified by persistent rumours of his hip/back condition. Let's face it: Sox need him to build on what he started in 1999- he had the prettist, quickest swing of any RH prospect baseball, and only seemed to get better 1st half last year. The something terrible happened.... He needs to find his mojo and then this team will be a FORCE to reckon with. Can you imagine the effect it would have on the entire team if Kong comes back from the dead? All of the sudden, Hurt/Maggs/Lee/Valentin/Dayber wouldn't feel the need to carry the team, more line-up protection, etc....

His ability to play CF in the Majors seems to be the biggest question about him. I have not seen him play so I can't really offer up an opinion either way. I can say that he has only played 2 or 3 of his 11 games with the Barons in CF to this point. Has played mostly RF. One thing is for sure: as far as Sox are concerned, his value is at its highest as a CF'er and it goes down as a RF and even more so as a LF, Maggs and Lee simply have too much power potential at this point, imho. If Bullard is right about his arm--and I have no reason ro doubt the validity, one would need a strong arm to handle RF--then I can easily see him play in Cell CF; if Maggs/Rowand can handle it, I would expect a more athletic Jeremy to do the same. Again this is pure speculation on my part, at this point.

I agree, no reason to trade Elo whatsoever...unless we're talking about Giles/Guerrero/Suzuki-typer player. And knowing KW, there is no way he will rip people off in a large-scale trade... (Elo was indeed pretty flat today, but he still managed to pitch as well as Colon and Wright did....combined , in terms of pitch quality, Alou homer excepted.)

Much appreciated insider stuff, B. I am glad he is not overmatched at AA, and frankly I am beyond surprised to hear that his arm is not weak at all...can he really play major league CF in your estimation?

Mariners are contending, they won't give us Cameron unless we give them something they need in return.....which is basically....NOTHING. The Mariners are the best team in baseball right now and probably have no interest in trading Cameron back to the Sox. CWSOX45 Besides Ichiro, the Mariners have aging Roid Boonem, Olerud and Edgar who can break down at any time....their bullpen is shaky and with Moyer being 41 and their best pitching prosect basicvally cooked, they have NOONE to step in other than Piniero and maybe Garcia....The are the biggest over-achievers in baseball, it makes me sick. They will need players past this season...tho not likely, a fair deal for Mike is possible.

Carlos Lee and E-Lo stay here...got it?

I can dream, can't I? Now Mike Cameron is another story altogether...his numbers would go up at the Cell versus Safeco and his money even from the 6th spot...he can run and play D, with the best of them and is relatively cheap.

I think you grossely overestimate Castillo's skills, his salary situation and the fact that he is yet t see 1 AL pitch...at the same time discounting Jimenez's god-given (that's what so upsetting to see him dragg his lazy ass like that) hitting talent and deceptive athleticism...he is cheap too.

If this team is to contend and make the post-season Jimenez and Harris will not cut it, we're going to need Castillo. CWSOX45 But he is pretty mediocre even in his CONTRACT year after spending 7 years in the league! Jimenez will be ok, not what he was in April, but far from what he is in June, Greg Walker will make sure of that, lol...compared what we gain in Suzuki/Cameron in CF versus what we have now...not even close.

Let's hope you're right on this one...in my defense, he's been atrocious this season both in ERA/WHIP and Inherited Runers Scored... If he ever gains what he lost, it will be grea- he is a workhorse against whom hitters at times had no chance , in his first 8 innings with the Sox back in 01, he gave up like 1 hit, lol

I don't know his contract situ, but I'll wager he will be asking for 7-8 Mill a pop. As a sub-700 career OPS hitter coming into this season, this dude has no power/RBI-driveability; he gets caught stealing too much to be called a greta BR'er and his defense is mediocre...The add the switch to the new league and the1st year struggles that are sure to follow... I'd rather keep Harris/Jimenez who are 3 years younger and have better hitting potential while making league minimum than to pay so much for Castillo. I want Ichiro for that money and I want him NOW!

For someone who supposedly throws in mid-90's and has a good secondary pitch, he sure as hell K's a lot of people... Can you break his repertoir down for me, oh sexy-Rexy? Thanks.

I know, right? LOL (Incidenally, I think it's time people stopped gushing about how great Alex Sanchez and Fossum are, k? They will be solid, but I don't see the AS talent in either)

How you can put Valentin (near 800 OPS even after a s***ty start, best overall defense of his career, new-found clutch swing, really good baserunning, emotional leadership, etc) in the same sentence as Crede, Konerko and to lesser extent Jimenez is mind-boggling.

IMO there is no such a thing as "always knew" in baseball. Everyone knows Jimenez has All-Star instincts/talent/eye and someimes shows flashes of brilliance in spite of himself....but I wouldn't be surprised one bit if he became a bum. Such is the nature of things. Look at Lowell, Mora, Mueller, Byrnes, etc...they are NOT nearly as good as they've shown this year, but if you were to go by their play prior to this season, you would have seen good players, but no all-stars,

When they 28yo goes from being a 700 OPS player to 900 OPS player, in a pitcher's park at that, it's only natural to express one's healthy doubts. Can this be his break ot year? Of course, but I'll go with a career year. There are a lot of guys who hustle...

LOL. I was just about to comment that Jeremy Reed was NOT STRUGGLING. Thanks for the laugh, maybe we'll see Jeremy up in Charlotte soon?! CWSOX45 Hey, let's get the guy to Birmingham first! He still hasn't played at home yet, so I haven't seen him. How long until BA/BP/ESPN lemming their way unto his bandwagon? Another aspect of his game that gets overlooked is his Beltran-esque base-running -- he is not blazing fast, but he is an instinctual, high-% runner who not only steals bases, but also scores those precious extra runs, stays out of DPs, etc. How is his defense? His arm is supposed to be pretty weak for a CF'er, but his value as a LF'er is much less since Carlos Lee is about to break out and we have Maggs in right. However, if he hits over .330 in that ballpark, Sox will have no choice but to call him up soooner or later.

Me and you agreed that back in 2001, he used to have both stuff and poise for a 24yo rookie... Since then, however, he lost 3mph on his fastball, his slider is merely ok and his once near-12-to-6 curve is a crush-able hanger more often than not. His change-up is futile. The league has been KILLING him, absulutely eating him alive and, what''s worse, he's been allowing a scary amount of other people's runs virtually every appearance...something which led to his being in Manuel's doghouse.

Magglio's Shao-Lin-style flying kick was absolutely hysterical...priceless stuff, really!

**load blowing all over the 19-inch screen**

Now Byrnes is the guy I would be sceptical about--he is not as good as the stats suggest. Better than Singleton OBP-wise, but is playing over his head even more so than either Lowell, Renteria or Mora. He is Jeremy Giambi of last year/Bill Mueller of this year but with better defense, younger and cheaper.

It was nothinng but a sub-point. I just think he is that good and as long as JR is opening his wallet... Have you seen any of his recent at bats, even with half of Yankes either on DL, just from the DL or in huge slumps? The dude is absolutely CLUTCH (61 ribbies) and only will get better with more runners on and better line-up protection....And you can't compare the huge adjustemnts he had to make in a completely different style league/country to relatively routine changes the league has been makng on him. As soon as he sees enough two-seamers and tweaks his swing a bit, he will have no major weaknesses. Period. He will be an All-Star LF/CF for Yanks in the next 4-5 years IMO. His contract is not that huge. (Why are you so afraid to take a stance on the issue? Saying "Mark Prior is future HOF'er" doesn't in fact mean it's a 101% foregone conclusion just like saying that "Matsui will be a really good hitter and is a money player right now after only 4 months in a foreign environment, under super-pressure not only from NY fans but also from his homeland" doesn't rule out the possibilit that he may in fact be a bust......BUT if I was a betting man, the odds are definately on my side at this point. It goes without saying that ANYTHING can happen, injuries, mental breakdowns, etc...and I am not afraid to be wrong in the long run, such is reality and such is human nature.)