NorthSideSox72

QUOTE(Wanne @ Nov 18, 2005 -> 04:11 PM) I've been thinking about this ever since I've been reading about Rowand being possible bait. I'm thinking for who. A few teams mentioned were the Yanks and I believe Marlins. What about if the Mets move Cameron...and KW was looking for a left hand stick...do you think the Mets would move Floyd? Just a rambling thought....but my original question...would people be ok with Pods moving to CF. I know this debate was rampant last year. Obviously his arm is much weeker (but not as week as OneDog's was). With the right arms around him, yes. But I don't see any LF's that we'd be likely to go after anyway. It all depends on what we gain from the scenario. I'd give a little on CF defense if we gained big in other areas.

QUOTE(fathom @ Nov 18, 2005 -> 03:53 PM) Not a chance in hell I would give up those 3 players for any player not named Albert Pujols. I would, in a second, for Ichiro. Won't happen though, they'd want one of our SP's.

QUOTE(TheBigHurt @ Nov 18, 2005 -> 02:46 PM) I heard from a coupla topics that said Carl Everett is gone, but no info. What happened? He was bought out of his option by the club, a few weeks back, around the same time Frank was bought out. But the general concensus at this point seems to be that it's unlikely Carl will be brought back. Frank's buyout was a way to save money and either let him go OR offer him a more appropriate contract. With Carl, it seems like the club is just not interested in bringing him back. But you never know for sure, I suppose, until he signs elsewhere.

QUOTE(Steff @ Nov 18, 2005 -> 01:26 PM) I said this a while ago. Dye to 1st, Itchy to RF. I'm down with that. Ichiro being the solid defender he is, with the arm and speed he has, I was thinking he could play CF. Send Rowand in a trade, maybe, since he can probably play any OF position. Leave Dye in the outfield, instead of making him learn a new position. I think Ichiro would make an excellent CF, an excellent 2-hole hitter, and an excellent fit in the clubhouse with his work ethic and style of play.

QUOTE(YASNY @ Nov 18, 2005 -> 02:19 AM) The Tribune Co doesn't want anything to disrupt their gold mine and the Sox winning has threatened to do that. I really don't think that our winning the world series will make much of a dent in their "gold mine". We'll draw more at The Cell, and the Sox will do much better financially. But in the short run, don't expect the Cubs to feel much financial pinch. I'd predict that their attendance will be nearly the same as last year, maybe just slightly less. And their TV and radio deals will not deteriorate, nor will the income they get from the local rooftops. A few less Cubs hats and jerseys maybe, but that cash goes into the MLB pot anyway. Bottom line is, we'll probably do much better in 2006 on attendance and finances, but that will not really be at much cost to the Cubs. In the long run, however, over a five to ten year period, as the neighborhood around The Cell changes, and kids start growing up choosing the Sox to follow more often... then, you might start to see Wrigley become slightly more empty, like it was in the 70's and early 80's.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Nov 18, 2005 -> 10:12 AM) Heres the thing: Scott Eyre. Ok, he is a good lefty reliever, yeah he can get some lefties out. Compare our bullpen, the twins, Cle, and the cubs. So they go out and get Scott Eyre. Does he look to be any better than many of the pitchers that are on those 3 AL Central division teams? Would you think Scott Eyre is a shut-down reliever? Seems to me that they are overpaying just because he is a lefty. Frankly I would rather have one of our righties over Scott Eyre at that cost. Has anyone looked up his stats lately? Career Era's by year 1997-2005 5.04 5.38 7.56 6.63 3.45 4.97 1.59- 11 IP 4.46 3.32 4.10 2.63 Looks like his career avg is about what he usually performs at. His career ERA is 4.52. Marte's is about 3.20. Polite is just a hair over 4. Both guys make lots less money that Eyre, and are better pitchers overall. Saying that this guy is overpaid, is almost an understatement. They absolutely overpaid. But he is pretty good for a left setup guy - look at his era over the last 4 years. It's about 3.63. Four years is not a fluke. And if you look at his whole career, he looks like a guy who has been gradually, in fits and starts, getting better. If we could have gotten him for Marte money, I think it would have been a good move, since I think Eyre is getting better and Marte is... unpredictable. But, all for naught, since the Cubs buried him in cash.

QUOTE(YASNY @ Nov 18, 2005 -> 12:17 AM) Hendry has been criticized for two years for not upgrading his bullpen. He really had no choice this offseason. Eyre is a good pitcher and Hendry went and got him. I'm not gonna knock this move from a Cub perspective. That said, I'm glad the Sox didn't sign Eyre to the same deal. I agree with this, all around. He is a good setup guy to have, but at 3/11, they overpaid. Me thinks Hendry is trying to prove he isn't like previous Cub GMs who have generally used the bullpen as a dumping ground.

QUOTE(tonyho7476 @ Nov 17, 2005 -> 01:27 PM) Well, you go into spring training, assuming Brian Anderson will be the centerfielder (if Rowand traded) and then if Owens impresses, maybe he beats him out or is a backup...if not, off to Triple A That's about what I was thinking.

QUOTE(sircaffey @ Nov 17, 2005 -> 12:52 PM) And completely against Ozzie's style... Probably so. And I don't think it's the LIKELY scenario. I am thinking a likely outcome is that it's Thomas OR Thome at DH. And Gload is the backup 1B/DH on the bench. And I think we'll re-sign PK. Rowand goes with a pitcher or two (Marte, maybe El Duque) to Philly, and we promote Anderson to starting in the OF, and Owens on the bench.

QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Nov 17, 2005 -> 12:40 PM) I know Rock, and im giving you the fire. Heres the deal, IMO. Frank is just as much as an injury risk as Thome is, if not more. So obviously in both cases, you need some insurance. However, your argument is instead of getting Thome for lets say 8, 9 mil a season(obviously Philly is paying alot of it) we get Frank for about 3 mil. We now have 4 or 5 million dollars that we can play around with because Thome is not here. We can spread that money out, but what else do we need? Really the only thing that needs to be addressed is DH, 1b, and a LHRP if Marte gets moved. So my next question would be if we have that 4 or 5 million to spend on a backup for Frank, what player are we going to pay 4 or 5 million to sit on the bench and wait for Frank to break his ankle.... You follow me? Seriously though, I'd like to see use re-sign PK, trade for Thome with some salary taken by Philly, and re-sign Big Frank to an incentive-laden contract. One of those two DH's (Thome or Thomas) will be healthy, most likely. If both are, great. Thome can spell PK at 1B and Thomas can DH behind Thome and pinch hit. Yes, I realize this is an expensive option, but to me it's the best-case scenario right now.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Nov 17, 2005 -> 12:32 PM) Just trying to fuel the debate fire Tony........ With PK at 1B, and Thome at DH, we do have a suitable backup in place. He's not nearly the cailber of hitter either of them are, but he's suitable for a LH 1B backup: Ross Gload. ...waits for Rock to go ballistic... Just trying to incite a riot.

QUOTE(SSH2005 @ Nov 17, 2005 -> 08:53 AM) Jim Thome & Brian Anderson >>>>> Carl Everett & Aaron Rowand ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Anyone found any confirmation on this? Like money and time? I don't see any releases in my usual places to look.

QUOTE(indyman @ Nov 15, 2005 -> 04:59 PM) Your observation is possible. However, the point I'm trying to make is to assume his numbers will "improve dramatically" is at the very least open to debate. And to assume someone else can step into the two slot, and meet or equal Tad's production in that slot is also questionable. I agree with your last sentence. And I agree that the improvement is an unknown (which is why I used the word PROBABLY, before the words you quoted me on).

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Nov 15, 2005 -> 04:52 PM) It is also worth considering that there may be more here than the statistics can show. When Iguchi first came over here, he didn't know any of the pitchers he would be facing or how they would pitch him. It took him quite a while to settle into a role, and over a month before he hit his first HR, IIRC. As the season went on, he did adapt to his role...which in a huge number of cases, involved pushing the ball to the right side. As the season went on, you could even see this in the way he was swinging - he'd try to inside-out pitches even when no one was on base (it's probably hard to adapt to not doing that on some pitches.) When he'd hit a home run, a lot of times he'd even hit that to right field. I don't think we can really give a perfect estimate of how his numbers would change if we stuck him in a run-producing spot in the lineup the whole year and let him try to produce runs out of that spot...through either hitting the ball over the wall or driving the pitch where it's easiest to hit it. Thief!!!!

One other thing to keep in mind: in becoming a 2-hole hitter, he adjusted his style of hitting not just swing-to-swing, but as a whole. That means that he took himself out of his usual swing and adapted, for the sake of the team. It would have been difficult in some given at bat to change back to his natural, more leveraged hitting style. Not impossible mind you, but more difficult. Therefore, I think it's likely that if he gets to hit 6-7-8 somewhere, he can regain a hitting style more natural to him, and probably improve his numbers dramatically.

This happened a few years back in Scotland, to a puppy or kitten (I forget which). I remember the story because not only was it green, but it then changed colors like 4 or 5 times in its first few weeks or months of life, before settling into something normal. They had pictures. It was bizarre.

QUOTE(Steff @ Nov 15, 2005 -> 03:11 PM) It's always been 40% in October, 40% in December, and the balance in January. This year the dates were/are 10/14, 12/1, and 1/20/06 I actually didn't realize you could do partial deposits, except in that World Series promotion they did (note: I had only had seasons once before, in 2005, and we bought the Ozzie plan in-season). So I just paid the whole thing when I bought my 27-game plan last month. Would have been nice to hold onto some of that cash for a while longer. Lesson learned.

QUOTE(Steff @ Nov 15, 2005 -> 11:51 AM) Not sure on the perticulars, but I imagine their main homestead would be the filing state. When my dad moved to Illinois from Florida, Florida was his main homestead for most of the year so he didn't have to pay Illinois state tax the first year. When my mom came a few months later Illinois was her main homestead that year and they ended up owing Illinois a few bucks. Regardless, I would say you're right in that they get concessions when those situations arise. As a general rule, individuals pay income taxes to states based on residence. Corporations and organizations, on the other hand, pay their payroll taxes to the state based on location of entity, which may or may not be the state the employee resides in. A corporation may mave employees working out of state but not have to set up a local entity, but often they end up having to to dothat. Not all states are the same, either. I used to work in Illinois, then moved to work in Tennesee (which has no income tax) for the same company. I stopped paying income tax. But my company had to pay to set up a business entity in Tennesee, because of TN special rules. So they paid their payroll taxes in Illinois, but had to shell out tens of thousands of dollars to set up the entity in Tennessee as well. Ouch!

QUOTE(BMac41 @ Nov 14, 2005 -> 11:35 AM) INDIAN WELLS, Calif -- Three years after... BTW, as a general rule, you should cite your quotations. Otherwise, it looks like you wrote it yourself, which is plagiarism. Did you? I assume this is from a newspaper or something, but who knows?

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ Nov 11, 2005 -> 05:41 PM) Like she said, for all the bad that is perceived about the guy, he obviously doesn't run balls out, and takes lazy and bad routes to balls in the field ( if you watch closely you will find out most major leaguers don't run balls out all that hard, including many White Sox) he is loved by teammates and fans of the teams he plays on. I truly believe if the talent KW had to give to get him and the amount of money they had to pay him weren't so high, he would be salivating over this guy. That would certainly be your prerogative. I personally would not. I think the money can be much better spent elsewhere.

QUOTE(Steff @ Nov 11, 2005 -> 05:13 PM) I think it's funny how he's thought to be a cancer but his teammates love him and the Boston fans seem to bow down to him.. weird. I said nothing of cancer - I don't know they guy. But I did absolutely say selfish and lazy, because of what I can see with my own eyes. He's lazy in that he doesn't run out plays hitting or in the outfield, and he's selfish in that he constantly complains, as if he has it tougher than everyone else. Given the strength of Ozzie's clubhouse, I see no reason to bring in someone like that.

Predicting how teams will do in a baseball season is a shot in the dark. Predicting what players will change to what teams makes that look easy. This guy is just setting himself up to be wrong. What a moron.

QUOTE(sayitaintso @ Nov 11, 2005 -> 02:58 PM) I don't know if this has already been posted or talked about, if it has i'm sorry. Aaron Rowand - OF - White Sox The Yankees asked the White Sox about center fielder Aaron Rowand, but they were told by GM Ken Williams that there was no potential for a match. It's not out of the realm of possibility that Rowand will be dealt, but the White Sox would probably be better off waiting a year. Brian Anderson hasn't proven he's ready to take over in center field. If Rowand isn't an option, the Yankees could look at trading for Milton Bradley, Brad Wilkerson or Juan Pierre. Bradley's issues reportedly have much of the club's front office against a potential deal, but he's plenty talented and he'd come cheap. Nov. 11 - 4:02 am et Source: New York Daily News There is an entire thread called "Yankees inquire about Rowand" or similar, right on page 1.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Nov 11, 2005 -> 12:59 PM) The Chicago White Sox? Not interested. "He's not that kind of guy," Ken Williams, general manager of the World Series champions, said Thursday. "We have a certain kind of chemistry." Point made. Boston will not be dealing Ramirez to Chicago. I love KW. He pretty much just said, "Manny is selfish and lazy". Which he is. Good call.