Princess Dye

To me, Abreu makes sense. He can move a little on the basepaths. To me that was one of the underrated things about CQ - he can run, not amazingly but not a detriment either. We need more of that, and OBP. The two RFs in question are both reaching middle-30s, so go with the guy that fits our needs more. Dye's trade value wont get any higher i would say than right now. It can get a whole lot lower though, obviously.

If he's at that point where expectation might be a little inflated for him, i bet the team would look to move him for pitching. They apparently had that mindset with Chris Carter, to dump 1b potential. The organization still needs that before they need a power hitting 1b

He seems really confident right now. He loves the fact that people doubted him before this past year. But really behind the successes of Danks/Floyd/CQ/Alexei we had stuff like Crede/Contreras failing as an offset. This year the backup plan is, in several places, the only plan. And then we have backups to the backup plan. Who's on first,etc.

Is there motive behind this? Just revving up the fan base? I'm curious, does anyone remember him doing this as a precursor to a big move.... b/c he likes being The Sleuth The Sequel Or is it seriously just to get us ready for 'standing pat.' I feel like right before Gooch got done he announced that it wasnt going to happen, no?

Well Cabrera and Renteria hate each other, and it's likely that Guillen is a Renteria guy dating back to the Florida days.

Sounds good, our farm system needs all it can get. A nice year for rebuilding the system and (hopefully just) retooling of the already contending team.

These dogs are really good. I'm gonna miss those. Hopefully they put in Vienna Beef. I'm not Jewish but to the exact letter of the law, mass produced stuff like Bests Kosher isnt actually kosher. There has to be a rabbi involved in the preparation, hence Skokie's Jewel keeping one on staff at their kosher deli.

Every time i hear about Poreda he sounds like a potential reliever. Additionally, is the fear with Flowers that his bat wont be good enough to warrant putting up with weak D behind the plate? Is he projected as AJP type hitting? less? I know little about him.

This may not be thread worthy

QUOTE (Leonard Zelig @ Jan 22, 2009 -> 04:38 PM) You all are confusing America with the USA.My mother is from Peru and has always strongly believed that America should never be the term used to describe U.S.A. The Spanish for "American" down there is "Estados Unidiense" which roughly translates to "United States-er"

Good catch about "Pudge," that nickname has always felt wrong to say in terms of Rodriguez.

If this is actually a guy the Sox want but cant get, that does not say a lot for our finances at this point. If anything it looks like more salary will be slashed if we cant even get this guy at a low price.

if there's already a thread my bad, delete

Wow they just talked to some Urbana troops at the inauguration on CNN, the Cubs fans outnumbered Sox about 6 to 1...Obama to his credit let them have it. Even despite their sacrifice Obama was all, "OK fine pass the mic, we'll get to a Sox fan here sure enough"

QUOTE (Kenny Hates Prospects @ Jan 16, 2009 -> 10:29 PM) Owens may be a better bet to reach his mediocre-at-best ceiling (speedy, powerless CF with no arm who really should be playing LF) than Lillibridge is to reach his ceiling (star-caliber everyday SS and lead-off man) but that doesn't mean you ignore the potential of one player and hope for mediocrity out of the other. Lillibridge also, to his advantage, can play multiple positions well AND can pinch run, so even if he doesn't hit he's still more valuable than a guy who can't play any important position and can ONLY pinch run. The Sox say they think they've identified some issues with Lillibridge and they think there's some things they can fix so hopefully that is the case and Brent makes the Javy trade a steal. Also, minor league numbers only mean so much anyway. In the case of a guy like Broadway for example, they mean a whole lot because the guy has to show he can get out minor league hitters on limited stuff to deserve an opportunity. If you take a guy with nasty stuff who sucks in the minors, like say Grant Balfour for example, he could just all of the sudden "figure it out" and make some changes which lets his natural ability work for itself. With a guy like Owens, or Brad Eldred, or someone along those lines who only has one tool, they have to play very well to deserve a shot, because when they are given a shot you are essentially asking a Major League team to ignore all those players' flaws and act as if those flaws are not important. With someone like Lilli OTOH, someone who has the tools and ability to play a premium position very well, those guys just need to come through in a few opportunities and they're given the keys until they fail. It's a bad example as the players couldn't be more different, but Carlos Quentin was the same way. He popped in during I think the third game of the season and did a nice job, so he just stayed there. If that had been DeWayne Wise for example then he wouldn't have stuck, and the only reason Wise did stick at the end of the year was because the Sox were playing for their lives. I have to add though that I understand Owens is getting lots of hype from the Sox once again and may in fact be the starter on opening day. That's Ozzie though. The Sox know he has no power, they know he can't take a walk, they know he can't play CF, they he has no arm, and they know he isn't even that great of a baserunner, but they're apparently willing to overlook all of that for speed. And that I guess just goes to show you how high Lillibridge's stock could climb if he impresses in ST. Your point about Lillibridge's higher ceiling makes sense, although I will just throw in that his age and recent performance has to make one think he's getting into a point in his career where the big move upward gets harder and harder to make.

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Jan 17, 2009 -> 03:06 PM) Why wouldn't we be pursuing Hudson? Injuries, money, age, Getz, Lillbridge, Nix, Beckham and Betemit. Not in that order. All the logistical things could be solved if you envision Hudson as a future LF or Beckham as a future SS. To me none of those other potential 2Bs are owed much, can all go down for all i care. i think next year should be a potential year to win. The money thing could go away if Dye is dumped. To help the top of the order (and get some pitching for Dye) it would be worth it. The Sox might reverse course and do this if 2 yrs is really on the table as the article contends.

QUOTE (Sec101Row1 @ Jan 16, 2009 -> 11:42 PM) Remember Opening Day 2007 ? Chi White Sox IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Contreras (L, 0-1) 1.0 7 8 7 1 1 1 63.00 that was like the worst day of mylife

QUOTE (Kenny Hates Prospects @ Jan 16, 2009 -> 09:02 PM) Brent Lillibridge: He has the chance to really, really, really impress. He has speed and he plays defense so it's a given he'll get lots of opportunities from Ozzie. I imagine they'll use him at 2B, SS, 3B, and even CF during ST, and I think all he has to do in order to make the team is play D and steal a base or two. If he can hit a little bit he'll get himself a lot of playing time. With a great ST he'll break as the lead-off man. I'm really pulling for Lillibridge too because if he can show he's ready to play in the Majors then he just might be the difference between Anderson in CF (my preference) and Jerry Owens in CF (which is not something I'm looking forward to). The post in its entirety is awesome. About this part though.... isnt it worth something that Owens' career stats at AA and AAA both trounce what Lillibridge has done at each level, albeit with less opportunities? And Lillibridge is almost 26 yrs old. EDIT: i probably shouldnt say 'trounce' - but he's just proven to be a far better minor league walk-getter than Lillibridge

How is 'what pitcher can eat or drink more' beating my thread c'mon people

QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ Jan 16, 2009 -> 07:03 PM) Most likely? 1.) Colon Thats kind of my thinking too which made me start thinking of the thread. Of all these guys we're counting on to surprise, he's the least of a long shot.

er Anderson and Wise i guess too, although unless Lillibridge becomes leadoff man (or some acquisition) then it doesnt look like theyll get much of a chance to play.

Getz Lillibridge Viciedo Colon Marquez Fields Nix Poreda Richard Owens Betemit Contreras i suppose leave off the players you dont think will even make it

Did anyone already make the two-pitchers weight joke regarding this thread title yet? I dont want to read it all. EDIT: oh it's all recent, dammit i didnt want to be the one that did it.

I mean, even when you rely on a guy to not get injured, you're still making the type of leap of faith move that paid off for us in 2005, w/ Pods, Gooch etc. So in short, to win, you need a few of those to work out, no matter who you are and what your payroll is.

If we're talking about 4 and 5 starters, and if yu hated Javy Vazquez last year..then you really cant have tons of problems with this possibility.