YASNY

QUOTE(The Ginger Kid @ Nov 17, 2006 -> 12:44 PM) He's not terrible at 3b but he doesn't belong there. I've seen him make some pretty dazzling plays however. The trouble is the Angels move him around too much. Put him in one position and let him play the year there and I think you'll see him take off. He's an excellent bunter and dynamite on the basepaths. That's the best arguement I've seen that supports Figgens. Good job.

QUOTE(Milkman delivers @ Nov 17, 2006 -> 12:27 PM) Not at all. There's absolutely no chance. That was my point.

QUOTE(Milkman delivers @ Nov 17, 2006 -> 12:19 PM) Actually, the Blue Jays finished in second place last year. No s***? Well damn. Okay then, do you think they have a legit shot at winning the East with the addition of Frank? Not being difficult here ... Just asking.

QUOTE(Gene Honda Civic @ Nov 17, 2006 -> 12:17 PM) Defensively, Figgins is an above average center fielder. He'd figure to be the best LF in the game if he played there all year. He'd be a defensive upgrade of 10-15 runs a year. Their batting lines are a wash, but Figgins has more upside than does Pods. On the bases, it's not close. Pods has lost 2 steps, not one, and Figgins is an elite basestealer. This season there was a difference of 20 net-stolen-bases between the two, which works out to about 10 runs. So even if their bats are a wash, Figgins is 20-25 runs better than Podsednik, which works out to about 2 wins in the standings. Factor in that Figgins still has some room to improve with the bat, and you could easily make the case for Figgins being 3-5 wins better than Pods. Well worth the upgrade. You make some legitimate points. But I'm not at all enamored with Figgens. I just don't think he's that much better when we are talking trading one of starters and consider Figgens as a difference maker vs. Pods. He's better, yes. But not 'worth the upgrade' in my opinion.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Nov 17, 2006 -> 12:12 PM) Especially at 3B, he is a butcher there. He also has the same noodle arm as PODS if I remember correctly. Yet, they aren't comparable. To me, one is a carbon copy of the other.

Two points to make here, and they are somewhat contradictory. 1. Frank signed a nice big contract which he deserves. Good for him and I hope everything works well for him. 2. Frank wants a ring, but he signs in a division where the top two teams have been the top two forever. And the team he signed with ain't one of them.

QUOTE(WCSox @ Nov 17, 2006 -> 12:05 PM) I never said that Figgins was a "significant upgrade." But he is an upgrade. Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Pods a FA now? Okay. I'll give in. he's a miniscule upgrade. Not enough to make a diffeerence, but whatever. Pods will be a FA if we don't offer arbitration, I believe.

QUOTE(WCSox @ Nov 17, 2006 -> 11:58 AM) Of course, Pods can't play defense in LF (much less at CF and 3B as well) and is constantly re-aggravating the strained groin he suffered over a year ago. I'd take Figgins over him in a heartbeat. You threw the stats out there and said they weren't comparable. I compared them. Still, Figgens is not even close to a significant upgrade. Figgens ain't exactly a defensive whiz either.

QUOTE(WCSox @ Nov 17, 2006 -> 11:47 AM) Figgins has a career .345 OBP (not great, but not terrible) and has averaged 57 SBs over the past two seasons. His numbers were down last year, but he's still young, he can play a number of positions, and we'll desperately need a leadoff hitter when Pods leaves. Comparing Figgins to Pods is ridiculous. Agreed that this would be a backup plan. KW definitely needs to try to get more (i.e., a young starter). But if he can't, I wouldn't mind seeing Freddy's $10 million salary, Pods' bad defense/injuries, and a low-level prospect shipped out of town for Figgins. Pods career OBP .342. Averaged 49.5 SBs the past two seasons. Not much difference there that I can see. Certainly not a major upgrade.

QUOTE(whitesoxfan101 @ Nov 17, 2006 -> 08:58 AM) Well yeah, but this is an average relief pitcher. Relief pitchers, outside of the really good ones, don't have any value at all, as has been proven as long as the day is. Jesse Orasco wasn't exactly graet, but he pitched till he was almost 50 years old.

QUOTE(Capn12 @ Nov 17, 2006 -> 06:29 AM) If I'm presented with the opportunity to move Garcia for Santana, then I have to SERIOUSLY hold back my giddyness if I'm KW....I would be all ears at that idea, unless they started kicking around the wrong names to go with Garcia... Read again the way that is worded. Santana would be part of a package, not Garcia.

From the Sun-Times: I don't covet the idea of facing Freddy in the playoffs, but any package that includes Santana sure gets my attention. Here's the link. Scroll down, as it appears to be a blank page at first.

From Bruce Miles in The Daily Herald, this one sentence blurb ... Has anybody heard anything? Speculation welcome, as well.

It would have a combination of all these qualities, or lack thereof. A lot of people vote due to only party affiliation, which is mindnumbingly stupid imho.

The latest on the Sox-Rangers front from Phil Rogers:

QUOTE(whitesoxfan101 @ Nov 17, 2006 -> 12:50 AM) Ozzie, is that you?? HOORAY APPENDAGE BALL!! His handed ness means nothing, the talent does. On one level, you are correct. However, lefties in general do get more of a shot and are more in demand. Therefore, that particular appendage does have an influence on perceived or potential value.

After reading this thread, a few points .... 1. We don't know who the 'real' Neal Cotts is yet. 2. Don Cooper is a decent pitching coach, but he's no Johnny Sain. Let's get a grip on reality folks. 3. Aardsma is young and hasn't had as many opportunities to succeed as Cotts has. Let's see what happens. 4. Cotts, after last year, is as much of a question mark as Aardsma. Either one could have a 5.25 ERA or a 3.25 ERA next year. 5. Cotts has value as a lefty. However, after last year, do you want to see Cotts come in to face Travis Hafner with 2 on and 2 out? 6. You can't teach 'heat'. Aardsma has more than Cotts. 7. Vasquez is a wildcard in all this that may turn out to be a decent pick up in addition to Aardsma. There are risks involved in any trade. Williams has examined his team and has a plan. This is the first step in that plan. He has, I'm sure, received input from his scouts on both acquired pitchers. Cotts, as far as the Sox are concerned, is a known quantity after 3 full seasons in the bigs. This trade is not one that can be legitimately panned or cheered at this point.

She's been officially elected as the presumptive speaker. What a great day for America!

QUOTE(aboz56 @ Nov 16, 2006 -> 12:09 PM) What I find troubling is that we give up on a young guy after one bad season. I guess KW thinks the league figured him out and he won't/can't return to 2005 form. I tend to disagree and believe that Cotts will really be solid out of the pen again very soon. If "the league figured him out" then changing leagues would lead to him being solid out of the pen again very soon.

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Nov 13, 2006 -> 02:21 PM) Which coincidentally is who Jay stole his whole, "I know everything better than everyone else" schtick from. Great! Chicago following in New York's footsteps.

Mike Lupica has also authored some books.

QUOTE(aboz56 @ Nov 12, 2006 -> 09:57 AM) Not surprising to see Crede there at all. Out of all of the players in MLB with 30 hrs this past year, he had the lowest OBP and drew the fewest walks. Not good. 28 walks for an entire season is just ugly IMO. Don't get me wrong, I love Crede and think he's great, I'm just not as high on him as some of the other Soxtalkers...cough...greasy....cough....soxnbears...cough....illinikrush.. What your forgetting is how hard it is to come up with a good 3B. They are hard to come by. Nothing to write home about between Ventura and Crede.

Boston offered Crisp to the Sox for Buehrle at the trade deadline last year. I doubt they'd give him up for just Cotts.

QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Oct 13, 2006 -> 02:55 PM) Caught a little bit of Dan Patrick on my way home yesterday, and he was actually pretty good. He was talking about how when a team like Detroit comes along, and ESPN is WAYYYY off on their predictions, all the sudden the Tigers "Are a team of destiny..." Same went with the Sox last year. ESPN is always trying to cover their tracks. ESPN caters to the east coast fan base. When the Yankees and Red Sox are out of it, they have to say something. It doesn't take a lot of insight to give after-the-fact kudos to Tigers now that they are the AL champs.

The NL was so pathetic this year that this thread should never have been started.