NorthSideSox72

QUOTE(NUKE @ Dec 31, 2006 -> 04:02 PM) They wanted Hussein to feel right in his element in his final minutes. Then perhaps Rumsfeld should have been there to shake his hand right before he hung.

QUOTE(YASNY @ Dec 30, 2006 -> 08:48 PM) From Baseball America's Jim Callis: Aaron Cunningham???

QUOTE(Gregory Pratt @ Dec 30, 2006 -> 02:32 PM) I think it's pretty naive to think he came here because we gave him the best chance to win. He came here because we'd offered him the best contract at the time, he had accepted, and didn't want to let Kenny down by going back on him. So its naive to think he chose Chicago because he wanted to be on a winner, but makes perfect sense to say it was because he was "honest"? I don't doubt that the handshake agreement was part of the decision. But Dye absolutely had a better financial offer to take, and chose not to, to play here. QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Dec 30, 2006 -> 02:48 PM) Nor should he. I'm really not sure why any player would give a team a "discount" With THAT said, If the Sox offer a good, fair deal to Dye, and lets say Tampa comes along with a better offer, a 33 year old Dye strikes me as a player that would rather be on a winner,especially at the point he's at in his career, rather than a team like the Rays. My point exactly. Thank you for clarifying.

QUOTE(Gregory Pratt @ Dec 30, 2006 -> 12:07 PM) No. He has a history of taking the best offer he'd gotten -- here -- and then getting a new one AFTER but keeping his original word. If the Rangers had offered him the bigger contract before we had, there's no way he'd have turned them down. Money talks. That said, I admire that he's a man of his word, but he's exactly that. He's not, on the other hand, a guy who takes less money just because he likes the environment. I think it was as much a desire to play in Chicago for Ozzie on a team with better prospects for winning as it was a desire to be "honest". But that is just my opinion. QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Dec 30, 2006 -> 12:08 PM) The other issue of course being that f***ing 3rd base slot...which also is keeping us from dealing another of those guys. Anywho, I really don't want to see Sweeney traded, and I don't think Owens has that much value at all, but that's probably me just being too attached to Ryan. Indeed, the 3B thing is complicating. If you re-sign Crede, suddenly Fields' value goes down a bit. If you trade Fields, Crede goes to the bank. I do think that the former is less evil than the latter, as Fields' value drop won't be as huge due to Crede's signing as Crede's raise would be if they know we are over a barrel. I tend to think a little more highly of Owens than others here. His lack of organized play shows, but if you consider that and look at his numbers and level jumps, I think he's doing quite well. I'd be he'll have a very good year at Charlotte in 2007.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Dec 30, 2006 -> 12:00 PM) I don't think it's totally out of the question that if we offer JD a 3 year deal this offseason, he won't take it. The main reason...his injury history. Teams don't forget things like that, and if he were to have a year that he missed a lot of time, even on a freak injury, it could seriously hurt his earning potential. It'd have to be something like 3/40 to be fair at this point (considering the fact that he'd only earn $7 million this year without an extension), but that might be a decently smart move for both sides. But it would be a sacrifice of some potential long-term money for JD in exchange for more security in the near-term, so who knows if he'd take it. And Dye is not exactly young at this point. And he already has a history of taking a good but not necessarily highest money deal to stay where he wants to play. I don't think its out of the question. And in fact, if you do get Dye to re-sign or extend this offseason, then suddenly the Sweeney/Owens/Fields group is more tradeable (not all of course, but one or two). Depending on the LF situation (one of those three maybe become our LF in that scenario).

QUOTE(YASNY @ Dec 30, 2006 -> 11:13 AM) Everybody seems to assume Dye will move on, but I haven't seen anything from him that says he wants out of Chicago. Sure, he said he'd like to play for the Ranger's new manager, but that doesn't mean we can't resign him. If he does indeed stay, then fantastic. I was just saying that we should be ready that he won't, and that will probably mean Sweeney in RF.

QUOTE(knightni @ Dec 29, 2006 -> 10:49 PM) Baldelli in left, Anderson in center.. Pods off the bench, then Sweeney replacing Pods in 2008. Makes sense. Pretty much what I suggested, except, ship off Pods if we can. And Sweeney may have to replace Dye, unfortunately.

All hell broke loose a while ago. A wave of violence associated with Saddam specifically in this case is inevitable as well, regardless of whether he is executed or withheld from execution by the occupying force. Therefore, I think the only logical solution is to allow the Iraqi system take its course. Let him die.

QUOTE(YASNY @ Dec 29, 2006 -> 12:16 PM) FoxNews just reported that Saddam has NOT been transferred to Iraqi custody yet. Weird. Why? I hope they (whoever "they" are in this case) aren't trying to block or slow the execution. I don't think that will go over well.

Are people here thinking Baldelli for CF, or LF? I don't see Baldelli being worth SO much more than Anderson that he's worth, say, Anderson-Floyd-Broadway. Anderson showed signs of improvement last year. I'd rather try to get Baldelli in ADDITION to Anderson, instead of replacing him... Maybe we can give up something more like: --One of Floyd/Broadway/Haeger --One of our other pitching arms that is not quite as highly regarded as those top tier guys (maybe Phillips or similar) --Pods and/or Jerry Owens (the and/or depends on the caliber of that 2nd pitcher) Keep Anderson, and have him, Baldelli and Dye in the OF. Rays get two pitchers, a replacement OF and maybe another young prospect OF. Then in 2008, if we can't sign Dye, you have Sweeney ready. Scenarios are fun.

QUOTE(beautox @ Dec 29, 2006 -> 08:49 AM) if were going to rebuild do it right, don't half ass it. Send Crede Dye and MB packing, next year move two of Javy, Jon and Jose. Or, let's not rebuild. Let's work young, cheap talent in year by year, like we are already doing. That way, your team is successful and competitive every year. This team, right now, has the talent to be a post-season team (whether or not they make it is of course another story), AND is set up well to continue to be that for a few seasons after. So why destroy that?

QUOTE(beautox @ Dec 29, 2006 -> 08:34 AM) Hes back, along with his beautiful wife. OK, so, WOW... Oh yeah, and... wow, Jose Lima can get himself into a starting rotation a this point in his career. Mets are desperate.

QUOTE(greg775 @ Dec 29, 2006 -> 01:29 AM) Baseball is back on the big big salary kick. Amazing how the owners can't control themselves. Amazing. Look for ticket prices to continue to skyrocket. Jerry needs to be willing to keep up or see us fall in the standings. Gotta spend some money. If the Giants can pay Zito that kind of money ... wow. You can't win pennants with pitchers who are prospects. Gotta have some Buehrles, Jose's, Freddies to go with the Charlies. Pay up, Jerry, or sell the team. That's amazing. In the same post, you say "Amazing how the owners can't control themselves", then "Pay up Jerry, or sell the team."

Something to keep in mind too... when we traded Garcia, that freed up 9M per year essentially. So now, if we did sign MB to a new contract/extension, adding that to the 9.5M his option costs, and suddenly you have 18.5M a year available for him. So, if you wanted to sign him and could (for, say, 17M per), you'd be able to afford it with no net hit on the salary of the starting 5. Just sayin'.

OK, since others are adding seconds... 6. I have never met any other poster, let alone other Admins or Mods, on this site (at least, that I know of). 7. I've been to 9 foreign countries on 3 continents. 8. I was in 7 car accidents during my first 4 years of driving, NONE of them being my fault, but only been in one since (I wrecked a squad car in that one, though). 9. I've been hit by a car as a pedestrian twice. 10. I led the first group ever to hike the new official southern anchor leg of the Continental Divide Trail, from the Mexico border to I-10, in New Mexico.

QUOTE(SoxHawk1980 @ Dec 28, 2006 -> 02:08 PM) I think there would be much less. If you let leak that Buehrle is asking for $15+ million a year for 4+ years and then say that the team is going to spend that money to fill other holes, that would quell much fan unrest. No it wouldn't. Logic might tell you that makes sense, but there would be plenty of b****ing in the fan base about that.

QUOTE(YASNY @ Dec 28, 2006 -> 02:04 PM) So your saying there wouldn't be any significant fan uproar when we let Mark walk with nothing but two draft picks in return? There will be uproar no matter what, at this point, unless the team were to sign Buerhle to a new long-term deal. But in reality, that sort of deal might make the team a lot worse in the long run. That is KW's tough spot, as was pointed out earlier. Now, which will cause a worse fan reaction - trading Buerhle, or losing him after 2007? If you take a new contract out of the picture, for this question.

QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Dec 28, 2006 -> 01:59 PM) They trade Buerhle, it will be looked at as a White flag deal, and the Chicago media will tear Williams and the Sox apart. Now I'm not saying it would be the wrong move. I am an advocate of seeing what you can get for Mark now, but at the same time, you have to look at the big big picture, and that includes the casual fan and media. Trading 3 starting pitchers, 2 of which were faces of the World Series club really hurt the image of the club, at least to the general public. A good baseball move always isn't a good marketing move, and some times those things have to be looked at. As Boz said, Kenny is in a very tough spot here. You stick with Mark, he plays out the season, we see what happens. The season is over, he walks, we get picks back that wont be ready till AT least 2010, and who knows if they ever make it out of AA. Or, do you see if you can get some AA-AAA guys now, take a step backwards in 07, and really get ready for 08 and beyond? I like that idea, but having an "off" year in 07 might not fly with alot of fans... You are definitely right about the fans. And if, for example, Buerhle and/or Crede, two of the most popular players on the team, get sent packing before 2007... there will be consequences. Winning is big, but not everything. To clarify, move Buerhle now if you get a really great offer, like what I said earlier. But the offer would need to be really, really great, and involve at least one pitcher ready to go in 2007 and do well. If that offer isn't out there, then leave him there for his last year, and let the crew of impressive young arms develop for a year. I just can no longer say "keep Buerhle regardless" anymore.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Dec 28, 2006 -> 01:54 PM) Certainly not how I read it, he was replying to a post that specifically mentionned Dems trying to improve the situation, and said that "They need to shut their mouths", so I figured he was targeting specifically the Democrats. Anywho, if I'm wrong I'm wrong, but that's how I read it. Plenty of venom coming from both parties in Congress. And although Reid has irritated me thus far, I do give a lot of credit to the Dems in general for apparently extending the first few olive branches.

QUOTE(YASNY @ Dec 28, 2006 -> 11:55 AM) Oh man ... that was so 'out there' that I thought it was in green neon. If you were joking, then nevermind. I wasn't sure. I've seen posts of that nature too many times that were not jokes.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Dec 28, 2006 -> 01:49 PM) I always new Rick Santorum was a Democrat. EM didn't refer to a specific party. I assumed he meant both.

QUOTE(SoxHawk1980 @ Dec 28, 2006 -> 01:44 PM) Remember that Buehrle is a rental. And that he is coming off a genuinely bad season. I don't think KW could get 3 top tier prospects for him. He got only 1 top tier prospect for Garcia. I say do it. And use the money to get us the best leftfielder money can buy. If you mean this offseason, then it doesn't matter how much money you free up, there are no decent OFers still on the market. Trading Buehrle would cap a white flag offseason, thus giving up completely on 2007. I can't get behind that. Getting the best LF money can buy doesn't necessarily mean a free agent. There are other ways. I will admit that trading Buerhle puts this offseason over a certain line. As of this moment, I feel this team is a little better than at the end of 2006, and WAY better for 2008 and beyond. If we trade Buerhle though, even if we get what I projected, a logical argument could be made that we will take a step back in 2007. White Flag? Uh, no. But our pitching strength is certainly diminished, or at least there is a strong probability it will be diminshed (not a known fact, of course). But even at that, I think if the offer is truly spectacular, it has to be considered.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Dec 28, 2006 -> 01:38 PM) No. I would want to get at least the equivalent of what McCarthy netted us...2 solid, ready or nearly ready MLB caliber players/top prospects, and something else thrown in to sweeten the deal. A lefty who should chew up 230 innings should be at the top of the list for a lot of teams. Hell, how much were the A's talking about for Zito last offseason? I agree. I think MB should net more than B-Mac did, actually. Ideally, a leftfielder who is significantly better than Pods, and 2 high level pitchers as you described them. That would probably make me pull the trigger.

I'll tell you what Buehrle is NOT worth. He isn't worth 36 John Danks'. That is what we are talking about here, dinancially, at 18M/yr. 36 Danks/B-Mac types. The market for pitchers is so absurdly top-heavy at this point its a joke. I'm really starting to see KW's logic. Much as I like Buerhle, if you can get 3 top tier young pitchers for him just at the cusp of ML play (or 2 pitchers and a couple very high level positional prospects), I say do it. And use the money to get us the best leftfielder money can buy. And after all of that, we'd STILL have money to burn.

QUOTE(juddling @ Dec 28, 2006 -> 12:24 PM) 4. I've been verbally berated in public by Stephen King That is a story I'd love to hear sometime, in another thread.