ScottyDo

QUOTE (iamshack @ Dec 13, 2011 -> 01:32 AM) I'm just disappointed JR is too cheap to step-in like he did with PK. My friends and I are all sitting around with a few brewskis wondering where it all went wrong. Don't be sad drunks, it'll all be cool. He'll have a statue someday and probably a job as a pitching coach, I would bet

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Dec 12, 2011 -> 11:10 PM) http://rotochamp.com/baseball/TeamPage.aspx?Team=CWS God, you'd love to have those numbers out of Peavy, Humber and Sale. Too bad it's ONLY about a 5-10% probability. DeAza 785 OPS Ramirez 734 OPS Konerko 873 OPS CQ 835 OPS AJ 726 OPS Morel 739 OPS Dunn 718 OPS Rios 689 OPS Beckham 689 OPS That is a damn fine rotation if those numbers are anywhere close to true.

QUOTE (fathom @ Dec 12, 2011 -> 07:01 PM) Rowand to the Marlins on a minor-league deal. You can't make this stuff up! Hahaha no way! Next fish: Crede.

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Dec 12, 2011 -> 07:26 PM) I read the guy on the Sox that got the most interest at the meeting was Lillibridge. That in itself shows how much trouble we are in. Nah, not really. That just means that other GMs see him as affordable from a trade perspective. Danks would still net us waaay more, but there are fewer teams in the market for him because he's going to cost a lot in terms of prospects.

QUOTE (flavum @ Dec 10, 2011 -> 05:49 PM) Anyone speak spanish? What's Molina saying? I haven't had Spanish since high school, but I'm pretty sure the first part is "I'm sorry to leave and change teams to the White Sox, but I believe I will have a chance this year to play" or something along those lines. Then he says how he thinks this change will give him a chance to make an important impact. Later he says he's feeling sad and happy about the trade, and he's proud of the job he did in Toronto, but knows that he might have a starting job in the future with the White Sox. Also, he said something about how he talked to the GM of the White Sox and that he said he was happy to have Molina. I also think he mentioned that the GM said he would have a better chance to start with the Sox than otherwise. That's about all I got out of it. He said something about being invited to the league towards the end, and then I couldn't catch anything at the VERY end. Very rough translation, my Spanish es muy mal these days. Doesn't sound like anything earth-shaking in the interview, though.

I hear he's in the best shape of his life, so maybe I should re-think my position...

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Dec 10, 2011 -> 07:48 PM) Looks unnatural, like it's his Halloween costume or something. Like he's gonna put his Sox cap back on when the party's finally over.

QUOTE (TheHugeUnit @ Dec 10, 2011 -> 10:18 AM) I would think that means they're more likely to deal Gio. Beane will deal him if he gets what he wants. I think thats a piss poor return for Cahill tho. I love Parker but I thought they could of gotten more. Here's the thing about fire sales: rarely do you see trades like Liriano/Nathan for Pierzynski. Most of the time, people feel like the prospect haul that comes back for the proven player is "less than they could have gotten". The thing is, if you're saying "they could have gotten more" for 80% of trades...well, then, the market has spoken, and these GM's probably COULDN'T have gotten more. I only mention this because of the stink over Santos, and all the speculative insistence that we "could" have gotten more. I'm aware that he appears not to have contacted the Red Sox, but it's really an unprovable point to ascribe value to how much a player could have netted in a trade.

QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ Dec 9, 2011 -> 12:44 PM) The inside portion of rebuilding is done, at least. One trade and one signing and they're legitimate contenders for the division maybe as soon as this season. As usual with the vaunted Royals...I'll believe it when I see it. Until then, they are the same 70-win scrubs they always were.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Dec 9, 2011 -> 03:06 PM) That's the sentiment I'm hearing a lot. "Somebody will close." Unless the guy is an instant sensation, that means 2-3 guys will each blow 2-3 saves before they are replaced. That's considered a mild disaster in closer-land. Well, this trade making sense is predicated on a continuation of a rebuild in which our main focus is not winning games next year anyway, so saving them is a low priority. Having a good closer is a high priority on a contending team -- though nobody should pay uber-millions for a closer because new ones spring up all the time and are under-leveraged by relegating them to a single situation.

Okay, so let me get this straight. The Twins need arms so badly that they're going to keep a guy who wasn't even able to crack our top 10 prospects on their 25-man roster for a substantial period of time? They have to have a better option in their system somewhere, or is their farm more salt-laden than ours, even? Agree with Obama here, he will be back in Charlotte in May.

QUOTE (MAX @ Dec 9, 2011 -> 02:13 AM) I am really tired of the idiots here. I don't believe for a second that many posters here are posting genuinely. When your team does not appear to have an obvious direction, there are going to be a lot of varying opinions about where we ought to go and how we got here in the first place. I am certain everyone is sincere, but very few see eye to eye on everything. It was a lot simpler a year ago when the sentiment was "WOO DUNN!!!!!!!" and, like, two people saying "Boo, he strikes out too much and is an NL-only hitter". Also, that's a mighty high horse you got there, partner.

QUOTE (ptatc @ Dec 8, 2011 -> 08:49 PM) I don't understand why so many people keep saying this. Of course it is on him. He is the GM. I think last year he had a good plan. He signed Dunn who was very consistent until last year. Rios had a pretty good year the previous year. The only problem with the plan for last year that I had was no proven closer. It wwas a good plan but didn't work. Either way it's always on him as he is the GM. I think my point is that there's nobody to blame but him if you're looking to bestow blame for Buehrle's departure, but I have no criticism of the two biggest moves that put the team in such a bad position: the Peavy trade and the Dunn signing. Dunn looked like he would put us over the top and appeared to be about right price-wise.

I wonder if the Marlins fans can spell his name yet?

QUOTE (knightni @ Dec 8, 2011 -> 08:23 PM) Is STL moving Berkman to 1B or would they be interested in Paulie? Maybe we can trade them Bueh...aww, I made myself sad...

QUOTE (greg775 @ Dec 8, 2011 -> 04:05 PM) That is total bulls***. Maybe he couldn't inspire these zillionaires (like Robin is going to be able to do that, sure) but he wanted to win. The team simply sucked and frankly the players looked like they could not give a s***. Ozzie didn't want to win? Right. And Mark wants to play for him. And the Marlins want him. Smart people hired him. But he doesn't want to win. Some statements from the anti-Ozzies amaze me. Ozzie may have given up on those bums who took the field every day. That may be the one bad thing about having a former player manage. He can tell a team that doesn't care and doesn't have "it." With Robin's personality he will do no better in that regard. It's on the players. THEY SUCKED. The dude definitely made some bizarre lineup decisions late in the season when we were still only a handful of games back. And then, instead of focusing on the division race, he was talking about his contract status and how great he is. If you are not willing to concede complete apathy, then he was just criminally bad at his job.

QUOTE (ptatc @ Dec 8, 2011 -> 07:49 PM) I disagree. I don't think the Sox would give him a 4 year deal especially at that kind of money, at his age even without the other contracts. I wouldn't. I tend to agree with you. But it may well have limited their ability to discuss contract extensions previous to free agency which could have wrapped him up at a more manageable salary. In the end, it's on KW for creating a team situation which requires a rebuild, no matter what aspect of the team you blame most. The GM ultimately has the most control over a team's destiny, aside from the players themselves. That said, my complaints are retrospective. I have no problem with the club's decision not to retain Buehrle at that rate, I just wish it wasn't so because I heart him.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Dec 8, 2011 -> 06:30 PM) Really? I'm not so quick to give up on Dunn...I know, we've had this argument before. But I think he'll bounce back and be just fine. At the very least, it doesn't make sense to trade him when his value is literally the lowest it could possibly ever be. I don't know if he'll bounce back, but you'd gave to give up him AND a bag of balls AND a suitcase full of cash just to get a PTBNL, so you just ride it out. EDIT: I guess his value would be lower if he was dead, so maybe not literally. But close.

QUOTE (rowand's rowdies @ Dec 8, 2011 -> 12:51 PM) Gio Gonzalez Daniel Hudson David Holmberg Faustino De Los Santos Need I continue? He's referencing the fact that everyone (myself included) has been lamenting the status of our minor leagues as barren and disgraceful. Yet, in our barren, disgraceful farm system, Doyle isn't even in the top 10 on any list I've seen, so losing him should upset nobody. Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't adding/removing people from the 40-man affect how much they get paid? If so, why would you use up a transaction on a guy who is waaaaay down your pecking order on the off chance that they might get drafted? If there is no way in which messing with the 40-man affects anything, then yes, it is really stupid to leave any roster spots open before the Rule V draft. There has to be some sort of consequence to adding people right before the Rule V and then dropping them from the 40-man immediately after, right? I could be totally wrong on that. Either way, care little about the loss of some pitcher who could not even crack our terrible Top 10.

Also, what I REALLY don't want to see is him start the season in the field and hitting well, because then people could say "OMG IT MUST BE BECAUSE HE'S IN THE FIELD!" and demand that he be in the field at all times -- when, in reality, he stands a good chance of reverting to offensive form regardless of whether or not he plays defense. Start him off at DH, please, so we can see if he'll figure it out on his own without seriously harming the D.

I think it's grasping at straws by a bunch of people (i.e. everybody) who have no idea how to explain his insane plummet. "Ummmm....x changed....so let's change x back? I guess?" Can't say I have a better theory for his inexplicable change myself, though I'd much rather put him on the bench than let him see the field. No sense in hurting things if you have no clue whether or not it will yield any benefit.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Dec 8, 2011 -> 05:22 AM) I should have specified in a coaching/management/front office role... Buehrle definitely will not be doing that. Although I certainly wouldn't rule him coming back to a contending Sox team in 3-4 years, especially if the Marlins are willing to subidize part of the salary cost. Buehrle will come back in a trade the very instant the Marlins win the World Series.

QUOTE (fathom @ Dec 8, 2011 -> 04:37 AM) Benoit was also coming off of one of the more dominating relief years in a long time. I think pretty much everyone outside of Detroit and Benoit's agent felt that the deal was over market value, though, considering the volatility of the position. The classic GM maxim is you don't pay for what a player has done, you pay for what you think they'll do.

QUOTE (fathom @ Dec 8, 2011 -> 04:32 AM) Wow did the Brewers screw up by offering KRod their arbitration. Basically is going to end up costing them the chance to sign Aramis Ramirez and Latroy Hawkins. Also, it looks bad for KW when Hawkins signs for less than what Frasor will get. I dunno, it looks middling when you consider what Benoit got last year.

QUOTE (bmags @ Dec 7, 2011 -> 09:09 PM) That thought literally terrifies me. Me too. That's why it's hard for me to embrace a full rebuild, even though I know the alternative could be much, much worse in the end. You never know how long it will be before you escape.