WCSox

QUOTE (fathom @ Jun 22, 2010 -> 07:53 PM) Please by ok Alexei No kidding. I don't want to regret releasing Nix.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jun 22, 2010 -> 05:56 PM) I would imagine it's because the Sox believe that Viciedo can hit a fastball, and that he can hit LHP better than Jayson Nix. Aside from the fact that Nix isn't the only one capable of playing the position. It makes more sense for me to have Vizquel play 3B until Teahen comes back. It's better to do this in September, giving Viciedo 9 extra weeks of at-bats. I'm not so sure that he's only staying for a month, which is my point of contention. My feeling is that Kenny is desperate right now, just as he was last year with Beckham.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jun 22, 2010 -> 05:26 PM) To say Viciedo sucked balls last season is a bit of a stretch. He was a 20 year old living in a foreign country virtually on his own playing baseball. If that's not culture shock, I don't know what is. After an adjustment period (namely, his terrible April, where he put up a .511 OPS in about 80 PAs), he went on to have a pretty solid season (about a .750 OPS) while being 4 years younger than the league. I'd say that's a pretty good season. It was calculated at one point in time that, with a rough translation of his AA stats to I believe high-A, he would have put up an OPS of like .875. So you're basically saying that he was rushed big-time last year. So why rush him again this year? Again, he's only 21. Small sample size against significantly inferior pitching. I don't see the point in taking at-bats away from Viciedo while he's still developing as a hitter. He's obviously not going to be an every-day player in Chicago. You even projected that he won't hit RHP well, so what's the point? The Sox are a lot more than a lucky hot streak from Viciedo away from being true contenders, so stunting his growth "for the good of the team" makes little sense.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jun 22, 2010 -> 05:04 PM) I really believe more in Viciedo at this point (in our ballpark) than Teahen/Beckham/Quentin. Call me crazy. Just a feeling. That feeling is commonly known as "desperation."

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jun 22, 2010 -> 05:01 PM) - .298/.353/.606/.959 in May - .302/.351/.547/.898 in June - K% (in terms of ABs) of 17.7% in May and June - .365/.431/.827/1.258 against LHP He won't draw many walks at this point in time, and he'll almost certainly struggle against RHP, but he can hit, and it appears as though he will destroy LHP right now. Viciedo also sucked balls last season. Agreed that he's looked nice over this very small sample size, but there's still little evidence that he's ready for the bigs. Numerous Sox prospects have raked for several years in the minors/college and have struggled big-time in Chicago. Throw Viciedo's age and your assesment that he won't hit RHP effectively into the equation and I see little reason to bring him up right now. Let him have a sustained year of success first. Given that he's unlikely to help this hapless team this year, his development should be paramount. That said, letting him face major-league pitching when the rosters expand later in the year might not be a bad idea.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jun 22, 2010 -> 04:56 PM) I'm not sure why there is the assumption Mark Freakin' Teahen has more upside offensive THIS season than Viciedo. It's going to take Teahen a couple of weeks just to get back to game speed. If Viciedo can catch fire (en fuego), why not ride the hot rookie like we did with Beckham for 2-3 months last season? Maybe it's the assumption he will make one error per game at 3B? I don't know. It can't be worse than Teahen down there, and he's got Vizquel for the games we're leading late. Because, as mediocre as Teahen is at the plate, he's hit major-league pitching reasonably well for several years. Viciedo is 21 years old and is JUST beginning to hit minor-league pitching. The grass isn't always greener on the other side. And you don't throw an unknown into the lineup when you're still in the hunt.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jun 22, 2010 -> 04:46 PM) Why can't Viciedo hit? Last I heard, he's not anywhere near ready to hit ML pitching.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jun 22, 2010 -> 04:37 PM) Then I guess you cross your fingers and DH Teahen, hope he gets hot and leave the Viciedo/Vizquel combo at 3B, with Viciedo/Jones/Kotsay also getting some AB's at DH. I don't know what you do with Jones now. Just hope he can get hot again or release him...seems it's him or Viciedo as the next roster decision, although his defensive abilities make him hard to cut, even if he can't hit his way out of a paper bag. DHing Teahen wouldn't be a bad idea. If you want a rotating DH, Teahen/Jones is a much better option than Kotsay/Jones. Of course, that also puts Vizquel in the lineup every day, which is an offensive drag. I would hope that Teahen moves to a corner OF position next year.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jun 22, 2010 -> 04:19 PM) If Teahen's really our third best position player, I'd still rather have Snopek/Norton/Herbert "Milkman" Perry down there. Quite a few complained when Joe Crede would be a mid 700's OPS guy (mostly due to his lack of walks), and he was one of the 2-3 best defenders in baseball most seasons. Teahen is one of the 2-3 worst, if not THE worst. Vizquel and Viciedo? Yes. Just to have the alliteration with the two "V's" together. The problem with this approach is that neither of these guys can hit. As bad as Teahen is at 3B, he's been the fourth-best hitter on the roster. If you want to move him from 3B, you need to find a way to keep him in the lineup.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Jun 22, 2010 -> 11:20 AM) I'm not talking about the Sox. I'm talking about the Blue Jays. My bad.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Jun 22, 2010 -> 10:53 AM) They are 4.5 games back, with a heck of a pitching staff. There is no way in hell they are going to give up in mid-June at 4.5 games back. What the f*** is the point of even having a professional team if that is going to be the way they operate. This is pure and absolute nonsense. The Sox didn't have anything close to "a heck of a pitching staff" in '97, when Schueler sold off 3.5 games behind Cleveland. That said, I agree that Kenny won't sell if we're still this close a month from now.

QUOTE (BearSox @ Jun 21, 2010 -> 04:27 PM) I really don't see the point in either Dunn or LaRoche. They are both decent stop gaps, but neither puts our offense over the hump. If we can get 1 of them without giving up any of our top guys, fine, sign me up. But the only way such a move makes sense is if we make other moves as well, such as upgrading one of the corner OF spots, and 3B and 2B. From what I've seen, I like Viciedo's swing and the fact he showed some good oppo pop (hit the ball hard 3 times, all to the right of 2B). However, until he learns some plate discipline, and I doubt he's gonna learn it this instant, he won't be what the doctor ordered for 3B. And we already established that Teahen isn't the answer either. Give Beckham 2 more weeks, and go from there. If he can hit the ball half as well as he did last year, he can stick at 2B. And while Quentin is only hitting .210~, he is at least producing runs, so I think we can stick it out with him in the OF for a while longer. If he can get up to .250, with his eye and power, we'd be in good shape. I know the royals are asking a lot for him right now, but I would not be opposed to try and swing a deal for DeJesus. Massive upgrade over Pierre (keep Pierre on the bench as a situational player, a role he thrived in when he was in LA). Maybe we could also try and get Alex Gordon in the deal as well. Gordon would be a huge question mark at 3B, but the potential would be worth the risk. If our pitching staff keeps improving as a whole, I'd be excited if we could some how pull of a mid-season over-haul that turned our lineup into: 1. DeJesus, LF 2. Ramirez, SS 3. Rios, CF 4. Konerko, 1B 5. Dunn/LaRoche, DH 6. Quentin, RF 7. Pierzynski, C 8. Gordon, 3B 9. Beckham, 2B Unlikely scenario, but its fun to play arm chair GM Yeah, unfortunately, there's no way that Kenny's going to go out and get three solid players like that. That said, I like DeJesus as well.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Jun 21, 2010 -> 02:40 PM) I'll take the strike outs if he can hit for good power. Besides, Dunn strikes out even more and he's not projected to be that much better of a hitter than LaRoche this year. For a guy who strikes out as much as LaRoche, a .347 OBP isn't that bad. If he could be had for relatively cheap, he'd be a nice temporary left-handed bat, a massive upgrade at DH, and would be able to spell PK at 1B.

Fielder and Dunn are pipe dreams. The Sox aren't going to give up any highly-regarded prospects this year, and both would cost at least one. LaRoche and Berkman and are the most realistic options. Given Berkman's age, recent injury issues, and complete loss of power this year, I'd go with LaRoche.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jun 17, 2010 -> 03:56 PM) I think Iwamura and Nix both suck. People get mad at KW for getting ex Royals, now some guy the Pirates will pay off to play somewhere else becomes wanted. If either gets extended playing time, it means the team is terrible. Who cares about them? This team is already terrible. The starting lineup will have three holes to fill next year, and the funds will not exist to fill all of them with above-average talent. Couple that with Teahen's bad defense at 3B and there's an opportunity to make an improvement. If Iwamura can be had for next to nothing, I don't see the harm in giving him a shot. If he doesn't work out, you can always DFA him or use him as a utility infielder (and DFA Nix). At the very least, he's capable of playing competent defense on the left side of the infield, which Nix apparently cannot do.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Jun 17, 2010 -> 10:47 AM) The guy is already 31. You give him another year or two, odds are his skills will be on the decline, if they aren't already. 31 is not old for a guy who you may have on your roster for 2-3 years.

QUOTE (Chet Kincaid @ Jun 17, 2010 -> 06:09 AM) He's another lefty bat too. Eh.. maybe he can be a reclamation project that will have a rebirth of sorts. He can be like AJ was when he got here. If he can be had for cheap, I wouldn't mind giving this guy a year or two to see if he can get back to his Rays level of play. Iwamura at 3B, Teahen in RF, and Quentin at DH would be a defensive improvement next year.

QUOTE (beckham15 @ Jun 16, 2010 -> 06:59 PM) kenny already said he was going to be in for the DC series maybe he just came a little early thats all Perhaps a visit to the White House?

QUOTE (pktmotion @ Jun 15, 2010 -> 03:48 AM) But the Sox taking Ozney at round 22, where he was projected at 8-12. Just goes to show what those projections are worth. If Ozney was a legit prospect, one of the other 31 teams would've taken him somewhere between rounds 13-20.

QUOTE (jamesdiego @ Jun 14, 2010 -> 01:28 PM) I gotta believe that JR would do whats best for the orgainization. After all of the horrible business decisions that JR, Einhorn, and the rest of the ownership group have made over the past 29 years, I don't share your optimism. JR allowing Kenny to walk to placate Ozzie would be par for the course for him.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Jun 14, 2010 -> 11:46 AM) Beckham is to the point he probably should be sent down not to find his swing and all that, but as a pure demotion. Yes, because punishing a second-year player for not producing is more important than trying to develop him into a productive player.

QUOTE (lord chas @ Jun 13, 2010 -> 07:54 PM) he doesnt have a clue at the plate now. at the very least if we send him down it gets him away from walker I've been against sending Beckham down, but it's clear that Walker isn't helping him at all. He needs to get his swing back under somebody else.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Jun 13, 2010 -> 06:08 PM) Being a GM isn't like being a manager. You don't need years and years of on the job experience to be a good GM. Sure, just look at all of the highly-qualified armchair GMs on Soxtalk! You need to know how to evaluate talent, which is why a lot of GMs were former scouts. You also need to know the league and each team's farm systems extremely well.

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Jun 13, 2010 -> 10:50 AM) AJ is not going to come back here to split duties with Tyler Flowers. He's not the mentoring type. I suspect if we resign AJ, Tyler will be traded. This has about zero chance of happening. And the fact that AJ gets sand in his snatch over sharing a clubhouse with Flowers makes me not want him on this team in 2011.

Hopefully the rain stays away.