Hey fellow Hoseheads,
First time poster. Man, I LOVE some of the avatars (TheBlackSox8)!
BTW, I post under this handle on BiscuitBabble.com, THE best Blackhawk forum.
Gammons is a fool. The Sox have been an 85 win team for years with the following formula: an abundance of right-handed power and decent pitching. But we were always lacking speed, lefty hitting, defense and competitiveness.
So what did we do this offseason? Lost Lee and Maggs, but we still have two righties around #4 in the order who can put up 40 HR, 130 RBI seasons (Konerko and Thomas). If Dye stays healthy (and none of his injuries are chronic —like Maggs' are), then you have a guy who can put up 25/95 also.
We've also heard hints that the clubhouse will be a better place without those two. Remains to be seen, but it's possible.
The defense overall is MUCH better. Yeah, Pierzynski is not great defensively, but he's not terrible. The outfield has much more speed. Rowand is much better than Lee. Podsednik is probably as good as Rowand in center. Dye is a notch better than Maggs. Uribe and Iguchi tighten up the middle infield.
Pierzynski might not have Valentin's power from the left side, but he'll get on base a lot more. Plus there's Crazy Carl and Podsednik is a lefty too.
Podsednik stole 50+ more bases last year than our lead-off guy. Period. When he's on, Konerko and Thomas will see many more fastballs.
The 'pen is at least deeper, if not better. The rotation is probably better, maybe much better.
To me, the only thing that keeps the Sox from adding 5-10 more wins this year is better competition in the division. But the Tigers are really the only team that's markedly improved itself— and that's only on paper right now.
