Milkman delivers

QUOTE(SoxHawk1980 @ Dec 17, 2006 -> 06:28 PM) Huh? Did somebody wake up on the wrong side of the offseason today? What would make me happy is upgrading this team in significant ways. One hole we had was backup catcher and it has been filled very nicely. I made my comment in response to someone who said that with this season, he was fully satisfied with the offseason even if no other acquisitions are made. I'm not. I don't see how anyone could be. A third place team needs to fill some holes. Essentially standing pat isn't enough. What would make me happy? A real overall upgrade to the team. Not an overhaul. Not necessarily bringing in a marquee player. But something that does good job of filling a hole from the 2006 team. If you're referring to me, that's absolutely not what I said. I said I'd be happy with a right-handed 4th OFer and another reliever.

QUOTE(SoxHawk1980 @ Dec 17, 2006 -> 02:48 PM) I don't know if we "would've won quite a few more [games] with legitimate back-ups at C and CF." I think better backups at C and CF would have helped us a little, but those minor positions wouldn't add significantly to the win total. A significantly better bullpen would definitely help. I don't know if the 2007 bullpen is going to be significantly better than the 2006 pen. I think it definitely will, especially if we add another reliable reliever. We're going to have MacDougal for all of this year, instead of just half the year. That itself will improve the bullpen. We also won't be starting the year off with Politte on the team, who was the absolute worst pitcher in all of baseball. If Aardsma/Sisco/Logan/etc. can put together a decent year, we'd have a very solid pen.

QUOTE(SoxHawk1980 @ Dec 17, 2006 -> 02:20 PM) I just don't like the fan perspective that says "We were great last year, no matter what the results were. With essentially the same team next year, we should expect very different results." We won 90 games. We would've won quite a few more with legitimate back-ups at C and CF, not to mention a better bullpen. I can't imagine our starters being as bad as they were last year.

QUOTE(SoxHawk1980 @ Dec 17, 2006 -> 02:11 PM) That's quite a gamble. How much of the team's play was underachievement? And did any players overachieve last year? Shouldn't we expect them to regress as well? I still think standing pat as a 3rd place team doesn't make much sense. This is all so very surprising to me.

IF this is true, I'd be happy with this offseason if we could add a legitimate back-up CF who hits righty...and possibly one more reliever.

QUOTE(Kalapse @ Dec 17, 2006 -> 01:19 PM) Holy hell it's a festivus miracle. It's not December 23rd.

YES YES YES YES

QUOTE(R.J. @ Dec 17, 2006 -> 01:00 AM) Great trade. Gload is a solid bench guy but an underwhelming option as a late inning pinch hitter, and though I loved having the guy on our team I was never happy when he got a rare start. Sisco is indeed the perfect Coop reclamation project, because he came so cheap. Let's see what he can do. Now maybe sign a guy not unlike Erubiel Durazo and see if he'd be of any value in Gload's old role. No, Gload's old role is completely obsolete right now. The real necessary bench role is that of back-up CF. EDIT: The guy must also be righty.

QUOTE(LosMediasBlancas @ Dec 17, 2006 -> 12:47 AM) I love the heat, but isn't it more efffective to have a few fireballers mixed in with a few junk ballers in the pen? Hitters won't have to make many adjustments when they know every guy in our pen is gonna throw 95-100 mph heat. The Royals might have become our farm system. Just like the Cubs have the Pirates, we have the Royals. And concerning the theory of having different pitchers, our guys have their differences. Jenks has that 12-6 curve besides his heat, Thornton sorta has a slider (when he's really on), MacDougal throws that 97 mph heater that runs in on righties. I don't know anything about Aardsma, honestly, but Sisco supposedly has a damn good slider to compliment it. Basically, I'm saying that it's alright to have all these hard throwers because they seem to each have something about them that separates them from the next guy. It won't be the same look from each and every guy.

QUOTE(CWSGuy406 @ Dec 16, 2006 -> 06:50 PM) FWIW, here's an article from BP talking about the trade and some of Sisco's behavior problems: http://www.baseballprospectus.com/unfiltered/?p=104 This does not please me.

Aardsma is a righty. It seems a few people think he throws with his left hand.

I love Gload, but I love Sisco's upside much, much more. Gload was completely expendable, seeing as his role on the team was very minor. I wish him luck. Sisco can be very good one day. How hard does he throw?

Got my pin set today.

Ray King would be nice if he could be his old self, but I'm not sure if that's possible. Greene's splits for RH/LH are basically equal. I'd take a back-up catcher that could hit .250...how's his defense?

QUOTE(LowerCaseRepublican @ Dec 14, 2006 -> 06:45 AM) Amy Zidian released means one thing. We must make a stable of Cade, Murdoch, Jamie Noble and Jimmy Wang Yang. Make Yang the leader of the stable and none of them acknowledge that he's actually Asian. I've heard good things about Yang, but I never watch Smackdown. What does everyone think of him? Also, I met Cade and Murdoch at a Shell station after Raw on Monday. They're good guys, and I think they're good wrestlers. Their finisher is pretty sweet, and they've got a couple other move sets.

Wow, harsh words from redandwhite. That shouldn't be tolerated.

QUOTE(Kalapse @ Dec 13, 2006 -> 10:58 AM) The team holds a $5M option for the 2008 season, so if Juan has an above average season in 2007 that option will likely be picked up. And you are correct Juan fired Scott Boras in 2003. The fact that Juan dropped Boras as his agent and then signed an extension with the Sox shows that he cared more about playing here than making more money. And yet, Joe Crede still has Boras as his agent...and some people still believe Crede when he says he won't let his agent get in the way of re-signing with the Sox.

Once again:

QUOTE(Kalapse @ Dec 12, 2006 -> 07:54 PM) Take a look at Ed Sprague, Kelly Gruber and Fernando Tatis' career stats compared to Crede's. Ed Sprague especially. There has been many a third baseman to peak at age 28 or so and put up a 30/100 season never to come close again. Sprague's numbers are eerily similar. We can only hope that Crede has a career as illustrious as his, ha. QUOTE(astralpanda @ Dec 12, 2006 -> 07:59 PM) Yeah seasonS, The fact that he put up those numbers behind Konerko and Dye and sometimes AJ says a lot about his production. Put him in the 3/4 hole asnd he could go 40/120! Okay, THAT"S a stretch. You see, in baseball, as players gain experience, the good ones tend to get better. Crede is one of the good ones. Hate to break it to you but we're not getting Ensberg or Aubrey Huff. I'm sure you're crushed. And I'm sorry you have such a skewed view of a player who probably is only slightly better than mediocre.

QUOTE(astralpanda @ Dec 12, 2006 -> 07:43 PM) I said around 30/100. He went 30/94 last season and I can only see him getting better but that's just me. That's what you said. And that was a lie. Besides last season, Crede has never even sniffed 30/100.

QUOTE(Kalapse @ Dec 12, 2006 -> 07:37 PM) Joe Crede has never had a 30 HR 100 RBI season and Joe Crede is just as greedy as his agent not that there's anything wrong with that. Ha, and he's only even come close once. I agree with whoever said that Crede is the most overrated player on the Sox. He is, by far.

QUOTE(fathom @ Dec 12, 2006 -> 05:06 PM) Gagne is a lot like Bonds, from my viewpoint. Both were amazing to watch during their big "run", as they've dominated their position like no one else has before them. However, it's hard to ignore the changes to their body, as well as what happened to them as soon as the steroid testing came into play. I remember watching Gagne face the Cubs when he was a starter, and he was a skinny guy throwing around 92 mph. The next year, here comes the huge guy throwing 98 or 99 mph to the plate. That's not good enough. I need a needle directly out of his ass to be sure about this one.

Considering how great everyone says Hirsh will be, it's amazing that the Rockies got him AND Taveras/Buckholz for just Jennings. I still doubt that KW will rip a team off for Garland/Buehrle/Vazquez.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Dec 12, 2006 -> 01:51 PM) Is there evidence around Gagne anywhere near what we've seen with McGwire or Bonds? Don't give me that BS, Balta. Everyone and their brother knows that he juiced, regardless of the evidence.