WCSox

QUOTE (JoeBatterz @ Jul 31, 2008 -> 11:19 AM) Maybe Griffey can come in and throw a tupperware party for the team. So are you saying that morale has no impact on performance in the workplace?

QUOTE (joesaiditstrue @ Jul 31, 2008 -> 11:05 AM) And Bernstein is already ranting about this being a ridiculous trade that's stupid and makes no sense. He's totally bashing the trade. Came home for lunch today and watched the trade deadline special on ESPNEWS. Gammons and Phillips both commented about the positive psychological effect of getting a player at the deadline, even if said player isn't really needed. I'm still not a fan of Griffey playing CF, but I imagine that everybody on the Sox (outside of maybe Paulie) is excited about their GM adding a future-HOF bat to their lineup. Last year was a good example of how poor morale can sink a talented team.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jul 31, 2008 -> 10:06 AM) They are trying to get Jason Bay as a replacement plus prospects; they'd have Bay and the prospects for a while. They'd also be getting as much value for Ramirez as they could, rather than letting him walk at the end of the year for nothing. It makes sense to me. The Marlins do it because they get half a year of a fantastic hitter in a year when they have a chance at the playoffs, they actually get some fans to show up to some games, and they add a prospect or two as well. The Pirates do it for the prospects. Since they want Bay, it's not surprising that the talks have gone nowhere. I didn't realize that Manny's contract was up this year. But if that's the case, they'll get draft picks for him, no?

QUOTE (WinningUgly85 @ Jul 31, 2008 -> 10:01 AM) Now is the time to trade Konerko for more relievers. I say we get rid of Paule...TODAY! and quite frankly, I am tired of his slumps. (1) Paulie hasn't hit all year and his playing through a minor injury. His trade value hasn't been this low since 2003. (2) Paulie still has about $30 million left on his deal and it's unlikely that Kenny will eat any of it. (3) Paulie has 5/10 rights and can veto a trade. (4) The coaching staff and front office generally like Paulie. Stranger things have happened, but I seriously doubt that Paulie will be dealt within the next two hours.

QUOTE (ChiSox35 @ Jul 30, 2008 -> 09:02 PM) Just about everything he's done has been good for a laugh and harmless unless you're the Red Sox ticket guy. I still can't believe that the BoSox are seriously considering trading their best hitter when they're only 3 games out of first and only one game ahead of the Yankees. They've been putting up with his crap for several years, and would've traded/released him over the traveling secretary incident weeks ago if they found his behavior completely unacceptable and wanted to get rid of him on principle. Can't they put up with him for two more months, plus October if they're lucky?

Griffey isn't the perfect match but his .355 OBP is pretty respectable, not to mention a major upgrade over Paulie's .312 OBP.

QUOTE (ChiSox_Sonix @ Jul 31, 2008 -> 09:41 AM) Was Cinci at home? Because thats an awfully short flight to Minneapolis... It's possible, but I'm not sure if you'll see him in uniform tonight. Not sure if the Sox would want him running around on the turf in MIN either. And for all we know, Griffey might still get dealt somewhere else in the next few hours. QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 31, 2008 -> 09:48 AM) On this season, I'm really not sure about Griffey being a huge upgrade over Swisher. Griffey's numbers are only slighly above Swisher's when you factor in ballpark factor, and a decent chunk of that can probably be explained by "Which player is hot right now". We're talking an OPS+ of 104 for Griffey and 98 for Swisher, and Griffey's been hot while Swisher's been cold for the past 2 weeks. Offenseively: (Griffey + Swish) > (Paulie + Swish) And as previously stated, Swisher has been pretty bad outside of June. My only concern is Junior as a defensive liability in CF.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Jul 31, 2008 -> 09:31 AM) So this was asked before, but given that it's only noon-ish what are the odds Griffey plays tonight? I don't think you'll see Griffey in a Sox uni until Friday.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Jul 31, 2008 -> 09:23 AM) White Sox confirm Griffey will start in CF regularly, with Konerko going to the bench. I'm wondering if they'll begin working Dye in at 1B slowly. They don't want Griffey in CF for the long-term.

QUOTE (alexgtp @ Jul 31, 2008 -> 09:15 AM) Dye to play first base. Griffey to RF. Swish stays in center Wrong color. That's a reasonable possibility.

QUOTE (heirdog @ Jul 31, 2008 -> 09:11 AM) I don't think you are any more of White Sox fan because you defend Paul Konerko...if anything you are less of a fan for not fixing what is broken and Konerko is broken right now. I won't question another poster's fandom, but saying that "this isn't 1996" is a silly argument given how awful Paulie has been. I agree that Paulie's taken way too much crap here, given what he's done for the organization in the past and given that he's currently playing hurt. But if Kenny can acquire an aging-but-still-productive Griffey to replace Paulie in the lineup, it's a step forward offensively. And as long as they don't ask Griffey to play CF, they won't be sacrificing on defense.

QUOTE (Reddy @ Jul 31, 2008 -> 08:58 AM) yeah damn this HAS to mean either Swish or Pauly are gone... but i can't believe we'd dump Swish... isn't he our 1B of the future? I don't see either of these guys going anywhere. Paulie has about $30 million left on his deal and is playing (poorly) through an injury. Who wants a guy like that? Swish appears to be in the Sox's long-term plans, and I don't see him being moved either.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jul 31, 2008 -> 08:44 AM) Griffey is hitting .245 with 15 homers. Last year Konerko hit .259 with 31 homers and everyone was saying how much he sucked... The only way this is any good is if KW has a corresponding move. Given that Griffey's numbers are a hell of a lot better than what Paulie is currently hitting, I disagree with your statement. If Griffey moves to RF, Dye moves to 1B, and Paulie moves to the DL, this could work out very well.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jul 31, 2008 -> 07:35 AM) Konerko can't be traded. The White Sox don't pay contracts when they ship people off. Konerko has no trade rights and no team will assume the contract. Konerko also has little trade value when he's hitting around the Mendoza Line and playing with tendinitis in his hand.

QUOTE (WilliamTell @ Jul 31, 2008 -> 07:21 AM) I've asked the Thome question before and since we didn't see Thome at 1B during interleague when Konerko was down, we definately won't see him at 1B now. You're probably right. QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jul 31, 2008 -> 07:28 AM) This involves 1B somehow, I have to guess. So which scenario is it... --Griffey starts in CF, Swisher to 1B, Konerko to the bench? --Griffey platoons with Konerko and 1B and relieves the other OF's on occasion? --Griffey to RF and Dye to 1B, Konerko to bench? I really hope that it's not the first option. That would be a disaster. If I had to guess, I'd say that Paulie goes on the DL and Dye gets moved to 1B. I don't think that this deal would've happened if Paulie hadn't been injured and wasn't struggling so badly, so that makes him the odd man out. And I get the feeling that Griffey would get massively pissed if he weren't an every-day starter.

Wow, this is weird. Could this mean that Paulie gets shut down and Thome moves back to 1B (or splits time with Paulie there)? Because I don't see Griffey playing CF with Anderson, Wise, and Swish at this disposal. At least we didn't have to give up too much for him.

QUOTE (Wanne @ Jul 30, 2008 -> 03:34 PM) Swish is pretty decent at scooping Didn't he botch a semi-errant throw from Alexei about a week ago? It wasn't an easy play, but I remember thinking Paulie probably would've come up with it. These are valid arguments, especially with Paulie's arm going to crap over the past couple of years. Heck, I'd argue that Swish not needing to reach across his body to apply a tag during a pickoff attempt is also a plus. That said, being able to scoop balls out of the dirt and being a large and forgiving target are probably the most important defensive attributes for a 1B. Frank excelled at both, which is why his fat ass and girl-strength arm didn't get in the way of him being an every-day 1B for the first half of his career. Having a 1B with good range and a good arm (e.g., Mark Grace) is always a plus, but there's a reason why guys like Frank, Mark McGwire, and David Ortiz played 1B for years. The best thing about Swisher playing 1B is Anderson playing CF. I've played CF and 3B from Little League through Beer League and have no idea what you're talking about.

QUOTE (DBAH0 @ Jul 30, 2008 -> 08:18 AM) It's sad he's fallen this far from the player he was in the 2005 playoffs. We just had to re-sign him though. Yeah, we did. And he was pretty f'n productive prior to the 2005 playoffs, not to mention hitting .313 and putting up a .932 OPS in the first year of that big contract and not exactly sucking last season either. Give the guy a break, he's playing through an injury. We've seen this before (2003) and he managed to bounce back. QUOTE (joesaiditstrue @ Jul 30, 2008 -> 08:08 AM) i find it funny that everyone believes "The Sox need Konerko healthy and performing to be competitive this year" +1 The Sox have an assload of talent in their lineup, along with a better defensive option at 1B. If Paulie needs to split time with Swisher at 1B or sit on the DL for a while, so be it. There's more than enough power in the lineup to make up for his absence. The Sox have much bigger problems in Crede and Contreras being hurt, along with a probable necessary shutdown of Danks in September.

I was under the impression that there's more than one Pretender, and that Chrissie Hynde is one of them.

QUOTE (Wanne @ Jul 29, 2008 -> 06:32 PM) I do. At least Swisher can make a throw to second base. Plus the thing I like about Swish being on the infield is his enthusiasm. He's pretty solid over there...plus the fact his energy is sorely needed on the infield instead of out in the outfield. Paul Konerko brings the enthusiasm of a cold sore to this team right now. From what I've seen, Paulie is much better at scooping balls out of the dirt than Swish. And I don't understand how infield enthusiasm differs from outfield enthusiasm.

QUOTE (nitetrain8601 @ Jul 29, 2008 -> 06:27 PM) Swish at least is really great defensively at 1B. PK has nothing in the tank it looks like. I don't see Swisher as a major upgrade at 1B from PK. That said, I wouldn't mind seeing Anderson get more time in CF. Anderson is a major upgrade over anybody on the roster in CF.

QUOTE (Texsox @ Jul 29, 2008 -> 10:28 AM) If there ever was a guy that Sox fans should get behind and hope he improves it's Kong. He's been a decent, stand up guy, plays hard, has never in my memory embarassed the team. I'd rather be cheering for someone like that to get healthy and regain his form, then some of the other guys that have wore a Sox jersey. Absolutely true. That said, when you start a "positive thread" about a guy who is making a ton of money and playing like absolute crap, you're almost looking for a fight. I don't believe that anybody here would root against Paulie. That's just silly.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jul 29, 2008 -> 09:15 AM) This wasn't meant to be a Konerko VS. Swisher thread, I just can't understand how this guy' s*** doesn't stink. At least Paulie has an injury excuse and the excuse some think he's old. Using that logic, Swisher has the "I can play something other than first base" and the "I'm not a financial albatross" excuses. No doubt that Swish has been a disappointment at the plate this season. But I'd say that his contract and the fact that he's contributing outside of the batter's box has a lot to do with why he's taking less heat from the fans than Paulie.

QUOTE (Texsox @ Jul 29, 2008 -> 06:43 AM) Sox Not Likely To Add Piece Williams, Sox Content to Stand Pat Sox Most Agressive Team Which to believe? Given that the media have morphed into used car salesmen over the past couple of decades, the answer is, "None of the above."

QUOTE (pcullotta @ Jul 29, 2008 -> 05:49 AM) Paulie sucking has definitely gotten more of the fans attention but has anyone really looked at what Swisher has done in July? Swisher also hit .315 with 7 jacks in June. I don't believe that Paulie's bat has been an asset for any significant period of time this season. Paulie gets slammed because of his contract and the fact that he isn't worth much defensively. While Swisher is having a pretty weak season offensively, nobody expects him to hit 30-40 jacks and his low BA is less of a problem when he's not carrying a $60 million contract with 10/5 rights. Swisher is also a positive defensively and has exceeded expectations in CF this year. There are valid reasons why Swish is currently taking less heat from the fans than Paulie. Assuming that Paulie's hand isn't throbbing with pain every time he picks up a bat, he's just going to have to work through his funk. Drop him to 8th in the lineup if need be. If his hand is still hurting and limiting him mechanically, shut him down.