NorthSideSox72

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 13, 2010 -> 07:49 AM) If it actually works, yeah, that would be genuine good news. Yeah I agree, stopping most or all of the flow would be very good news.

This HR derby is making me ill. Joe Morgan and Crhis Berman? Ugly. Further, its hilarious that these guys are RIVETED to the hitter when its Ortiz or Swisher, and then they bring in celebs and tell stories when anyone else is up. And WTF is up with Andy Petitte doing some feel-good commercial with his kids? Isn't this guy a documented roider? He's the guy you want as your example of some great character?

QUOTE (lostfan @ Jul 12, 2010 -> 03:37 PM) IIRC JD used to routinely put up UZRs in the -20s. Yeah, TCQ is pretty bad, but he's not as bad as Dye's last couple seasons.

QUOTE (Chet Kincaid @ Jul 12, 2010 -> 03:18 PM) The DH question becomes moot if he could be relied upon to keep that up. He can't be. That is a blistering pace, I'd say the chances of that happening the rest of the year are less than 1%.

Hawk and Stoney are pretty bad. Mostly its Hawk who is bad though, and I think Stone is a great color guy, who would be fantastic if the Sox got a real PBP guy in the booth. Even at their best Hawk and Stoney are color guys, they are just bad at PBP, leave way too much dead space, and spend far too much time going off on story tangents. I know Harrelson is a Sox institution at this point, but I'll be happy when he retires.

Shirek back off the DL, still don't know what his injury was. Made a scoreless 1 IP relief appearance in the last game before the break, so I assume he's back in the rotation again when B-Ham returns.

I'd say its actually too late, as much as too soon. He's just now apparently coming out of his funk, so don't mess with him any more than necessary. Might have made sense a couple weeks ago as a way to change his approach, might make sense later if he really picks it up, but right now it doesn't.

Dispicable Me was funny, not as good as Toy Story 3, but wasn't trying to be either. Not as deep, but more funny moments. Agreed with Kyle, the Minions were hilarious. Just a solid comedy.

Serafin was promoted? Hadn't even noticed. For a guy drafted in the 37th round who can't hit 90, he's been doing pretty well for himself. Got roughed up a bit in his first game at High A though. And boy do I live me some Brent Morel.

QUOTE (JoeCoolMan24 @ Jul 9, 2010 -> 03:43 PM) Yeah, like a trade. He is looking like somewhat of a bust. I defended him for most of the season, but now I am losing faith in him. Bust? After raking last year, he has half a season in AAA where he strikes out a lot (and 37% is indeed a lot), but still posts a .770 OPS and has 15 HR in 243 at bats, and has significantly bettered his defense while in the sysyem... and he's already a bust?

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Jul 9, 2010 -> 03:17 PM) Seems like things are moving pretty fast. SI_JonHeyman #rangers 1 of a few teams jumping in with big snag in yankees/lee trade talk 2 minutes ago via mobile web A FEW teams? Fascinating. Please no DET or MIN. Pretty please an NL team gets him.

QUOTE (JoeCoolMan24 @ Jul 9, 2010 -> 03:11 PM) Apparently the "mystery team" is the Rangers. I would believe they would offer a package around Smoak. We'll see if their finances even allow for that sort of move.

Just curious... any bats on the Mariners that we could use? I don't see any, other than Ichiro who obviously is not happening. Just in case we try for Lee, wondering if its part of a bigger deal.

Sherman latest: 2:44pm: The Mariners are backing off, according to Sherman. The Yankees believe they are no longer in the Lee sweepstakes, as the M's have gone in another direction (all Twitter links). Sherman says 'the Yankees aren't getting Cliff Lee,' since another team has entered discussions aggressively. Heyman latest: 2:57pm: The Mariners didn't accept the Yankees' offer of Montero, Adams and a third prospect, so the Yankees may walk away from the discussions, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (via Twitter). I pulled this from MLBTR consolidation. MIN? CHW? Who might the other team be?

QUOTE (Brian @ Jul 9, 2010 -> 02:57 PM) Dagummit Could go NL, might end up even better. Or, MIN, and get a lot worse.

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Jul 9, 2010 -> 02:55 PM) Francisco Cervelli? Young, defensive wiz who is garnering more and more love in NY. Not sure now, maybe, but I think I had it in my head it was this guy.

QUOTE (docsox24 @ Jul 9, 2010 -> 02:51 PM) Montero is considered a poor defender and will likely move off C. CJ is not a prospect at all CJ is not a prospect worth anything in trade, but that doesn't mean he's entirely not a prospect. I still think he's got a shot to be a utility IF on this team in a year or so.

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Jul 9, 2010 -> 02:50 PM) He's not, he's just like Tyler when it comes to that. Really? I must be thinking of someone else, I thought NYY had a defensive guy at C they were high on, I assumed it was Montero. Clearly I'm not up on some of the prospects in other systems.

QUOTE (pktmotion @ Jul 9, 2010 -> 02:34 PM) Wow, No, what a sound rebuttal. Montero's line after 4 seasons: .309/.368/.486/.855 Flower's line after 5 seasons: .281/.392/.490/.882 Flowers also has ~20 more HR/ ~60 more RBIs. Flower's(.63) BB/K ratio is better than Montero's(.53). The only thing Montero has on Flowers is the bloated over-evaluation of AL-East minor league systems. But back to the comparisons. 2B David Adams 3 seasons: .281/.370/.439/.809 CJ Retherford 4 seasons: .283/.336/.464/.800 CJ has 3 times as many HR and twice as many RBIs than Adams. RHP Zach McAllister: 37-27 3.14 ERA 1.204 WHIP Carlos Torres: 35-32 3.49 ERA 1.317 WHIP McAllister is better than Torres here. But keep in mind Torres has pitched fairly decent when he was called up to the Majors. Very similar trade packages; only thing is NYY prospects are ridiculously overvalued. Retherford is a man without a position, he's a sub-par defender everywhere on the field, and probably a utility man if he makes the majors. There are also some makeup questions about him, and his attitude. Torres is just not nearly the prospect McAllister is, without even getting into the age discussion. Torres is a nice guy to have in the system, but nothing terribly special. Best case he's a back of the rotation starter for a weak team, more likely he's a long or middle reliever. I just saw K's post, and yeah, Flowers is not only much older and slower to develop, but also I believe Montero is considered a defensive wizard, and I don't think Flowers is anything like that.

You have to compete for the division first and foremost, as others have said. What happens in the playoffs is always a crapshoot. Lee not going to MIN is great. NYY is less than ideal, NL would be better, but NYY is still worlds better than MIN.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 9, 2010 -> 02:31 PM) Ugh, Castro needs to be playing against LHP! And Greg, still don't think they're trying to get #400 at home for Andruw? Just my guess, but I'm thinking that they are playing Andruw more for three reasons: 1. They are getting less and less confident in Kotsay's ability to play in the OF (TCQ is at DH tonight, coming back from injury) 2. They want to give him some regular at bats for a few days to see if that can get him out of his funk 3. They want one last long look at him, before deciding soon who to replace with the bat they are likely to acquire

QUOTE (Gregory Pratt @ Jul 9, 2010 -> 02:19 PM) That is not, as you know, what I wrote. This team probably won't make the playoffs. They were dog s*** for 2 months then got hot. The Tigers and Twins are both contentedly mediocre. Our offense is and will remain atrocious. There are good things about the team, sure, but this is not a legitimate contender. And I think you and every other person who's going to be offended by my post in defense of Oswalt knows that. LOL, half a game out in July and the Sox aren't legitimate contenders? So far, only you and Keith Law seem to be in that boat. Sox of course may not win the division, probably a 50% shot at best, but to say they aren't contenders is ridiculous on its face. No team that's in the standings where the Sox are at this point can be counted out as a legitimate contender.

QUOTE (pktmotion @ Jul 9, 2010 -> 01:23 PM) Wow so it looks like Jesus Montero-David Adams-Zach McAllister for Cliff Lee. We could have gotten Lee for Flowers-Retherford-Torres. Unbelievable. I don't get surprised when the Yankees sign top guys in FA, but when they dupe teams into these trades; it's pretty evident how good their front office is. Flowers is not nearly as highly-regarded as Montero. Also, NYY can afford to take on the full salary without flinching.

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Jul 9, 2010 -> 01:14 PM) We've probably been the least represented organization in this game in the last 6 or 7 years due to trades and callups and what not. And also in the case of this year, as well as a few other years recently, because our system didn't have a whole ton of great talent in the minors.

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Jul 9, 2010 -> 12:39 PM) Then I disagree with that part of the rules and will stop posting in the buster...because, IMO, it's a rule that just goes too far. Not being able to wish ill will upon anyone in the public eye?! Really?! Way over the line of needless suppression of free speech. To be clear, "ill" isn't failing to get elected, or being arrested, etc. Its physical harm or illness, as the word connotates. But hey, if you don't like it, feel free to leave.