WCSox

QUOTE(beautox @ Jun 19, 2006 -> 01:46 PM) What? are you serious? do your homework buddy. Crawford compared to Rose (Most career hits - 4,256) its posts like that, that make me quote Back to the Future "Hello? Hello? Anybody home? Huh? Think, McFly. Think!!!!!" Oh, so Crawford's the next Pete Rose now. Let's get busy on his Coopertown plaque! BTW, nice personal attack. You sound like a really intelligent in-duh-vidual.

QUOTE(Kalapse @ Jun 19, 2006 -> 12:55 PM) No they really don't expect that much, Santana is seriously no where near the level of Hernandez or Liriano. They want a guy like Santana then another spect like Brandon Wood or 2-3 other lesser prospects which is a s*** load but in the end is about even. Santana is only 22 and is already the third-best starter on that staff, which is damn impressive since this is only his second year in the league and the two guys ahead of him (Colon and Lackey) are pretty damn good. His drop in WHIP (1.39 to 1.14) and increase in K/BB (2.11 to 2.82) from last year to now are pretty freaking impressive. Felix may have better stuff and might be more highly-touted, but Santana is currently pitching circles around him. Given that starting pitchers (especially young, cheap ones that are already thriving in their second year) are inherently more valuable than CFs, I'd say that the Devil Rays just turned down a pretty good offer. And for them to claim that Anaheim "low-balled" them shows that they're not well-connected with reality. As A.J. Burnett showed this past winter, quality young starting pitching is at a premium right now. Yeah, Crawford was the Devil Rays' "token" All-Star in 2004, simply because every team has to represent with one player. Being the best player on the worst team in the majors doesn't necessarily mean much. Carl's a very solid player who has been very average at the plate coming into this season. But since he's having a good first half, everyone's on his jock like he's the next Barry Bonds. And if the Devil Rays are so sure that his hitting numbers are going to increase at their current rate, why are they trying to deal him now? If Crawford hits 25 HRs and puts up a .360 OBP over the course of a full season, they'll probably get a lot more more for him in December. FWIW, I full expect Crawford to continue to progress as a hitter... it's just a matter of when he'll stop. Given that Crawford's seen major-league pitching for the equivalent of ~ 4 full seasons now, I'm skeptical that he'll ever be a 30-HR hitter. Here's my take on these two. If Crawford develops like you (and others, apparently) think, he has a chance to be the next Bernie Williams (with more SBs early in his career). That's a pretty freaking good player. If Santana continues to develop at his current pace, he has a chance to be the next Roy Oswalt. If I'm a GM and have to choose between a starting pitcher and a CF and the age/contracts/injury history are approximately the same, I'm going with the starter every time.

QUOTE(ZoomSlowik @ Jun 19, 2006 -> 12:39 PM) They want a young potential stud starter along with at least one other stud prospect (although they are currently aiming for more). So, they expect somebody like King Felix or Liriano PLUS a stud prospect... or three or four... for Crawford? And anything else is "low-balling" them? GMAFB. :rolly

QUOTE(atrain081 @ Jun 19, 2006 -> 11:58 AM) I gotta say, nobody expected the Tigers to contend in this division; what do they have to lose? On the other hand, the Chisox are the defending champs, and were said to have only improved in the offseason. The pressure is on us; we're the team everyone says will be contending in October. The Tigers may feel the Sox pressure, but not so much from anyone else (media, etc.). If anyone should be pressured, it's us, but it's really early, and I doubt that either team feels much pressure at this point. Alternatively the pressure may be on the Tigers because they haven't had an 80-win season since 1993, while the Sox "broke the curse" last year, became the toast of the town, and are still riding high off of that momentum.

QUOTE(Kalapse @ Jun 19, 2006 -> 11:26 AM) You seem to be much higher on Ervin Santana than most people are, Jared Weaver is a much better bet than Santana to be future ace. Also, the it seems the D-Rays have been the ones who are reluctant to make any sort of deal involving Santana, they want more in return. It doesn't seem you've followed Crawford all that closely either, he's WAY better than you portray him to be. The guy is only 24 years old and already has a world of experience, he's improved upon his OBP big time this year, he's began taking more pitches and working counts nicely and thus has an OBP 41 points higher than his AVG which is quite an improvement for him. 2 things that will come with age for him is power (already has 10 HRs this year, it's amazing how his power has been improving over the past few seasons, 10 then 15 now he's on pace for over 20 also with age he is gaining plate discipline. As he continues to get ABs he's learning to work counts and take walks. The guy is turning into an absolute stud with an incredibly affordable long term contract, he'll be much more valuable than a guy like Santana in the long run if both of thier career paths go about according to plan. I'm aware of Crawford's talent, but it's not like he's the second coming of Griffey, either. And these improved statistics that you're reporting barely cover 1/3 of a season. I'm sure that he'll develop into a very good player, but a starter with Santana's stuff is worth more to a team in the long run. And if the Devil Rays actually want MORE than Santana for Crawford, they're dreaming. Ervin Santana is only in his second year and he's already put up a 1.14 WHIP with a K/BB ratio of almost 3. He throws a 95-96 MPH fastball and has great offspeed stuff, including a really good hook that he locates well. I wouldn't put him up there with Felix Hernandez, but his upside is comparable to Liriano's and, IMO, higher than B-Mac's. And considering that the Angels lost Washburn in the offseason, Jeff Weaver has been a bust, and that Colon has had a ton of injury problems, they'd be flat-out stupid to trade Santana.

QUOTE(Dam8610 @ Jun 19, 2006 -> 11:06 AM) Who said anything about Jered Weaver? I said they're offering Santana. Ervin Santana has absolutely filthy stuff (7-3, 1.14 WHIP this season) and will probably be one of the better pitchers in the AL in a few years. There's no way that the Angels deal him, especially when he's dirt-cheap. Crawford is a base-stealing monster and plays good defense, but doesn't hit for power, strikes out a lot, never walks, and his .320 career OBP is very low for a top-of-the-order hitter. In other words, he isn't worth a future ace.

QUOTE(RX Bandits @ Jun 18, 2006 -> 10:52 PM) I hate when people say that NL baseball has more stratigy because of the double switch. I hate that as well. What "stragegy" is involved when the #8 hitter never sees a pitch to hit? The purists also fail to recognize that lineups aren't based solely on how well the players hit. If that were the case, BA and Uribe would be riding the pine right now. Ozzie pinch-hits Mackowiak, Ozuna, and Cintron A LOT... and always has to weigh their increased hitting prowess vs. their inferior defense when doing so. No strategy, my ass.

QUOTE(Dam8610 @ Jun 19, 2006 -> 08:59 AM) Oh, and the rumor I've been hearing most prominently about Crawford is Ervin Santana to Tampa for Carl. That has as much of a chance of happening as the Twins trading Liriano for Crawford. There's no way that the Angels trade away their future ace for Kenny Lofton Jr.

QUOTE(Kalapse @ Jun 19, 2006 -> 09:30 AM) The fact of the matter is, this pitching staff from top to bottom would absolutely dominate in the National League Garland and Garcia would've had trouble dominating a AAA team with the way they've been pitching so far. Agreed that, overall, Sox pitching would fare better in the NL, but the back of the rotation would still get hit.

QUOTE(Dam8610 @ Jun 19, 2006 -> 09:08 AM) I agree with what pretty much everyone else is saying here that there's 0 chance of him being the starting LF next year. Furthermore, I think his path to the big leagues is blocked pretty well for the next 2 seasons at least, which is why I think he'd make an excellent trade chip. Agreed. I could see Pods being dealt after this season, but Fields won't replace him immediately. I'm sure that KW doesn't like the possibility of another highly-touted prospect hitting below the Mendoza line in our lineup next season. Pods is unspectacular at the plate at times, but Ozuna isn't much worse, his defense in LF is comparable, and he's cheaper. And unless his back becomes a big problem, I don't see Crede going anywhere.

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Jun 19, 2006 -> 09:51 AM) To be honest, I think the turning point for his season will be the 3 run homer he hit against Cleveland when the Sox were down 10-2 on Sunday nite baseball. It might have seemed meaningless when he hit it, but that AB seemed to have awoken his bat. Hopefully he keeps this up, along with Juan at the bottom of the order. Getting the 8-9 guys going would be HUGE. That may have been a turning point for the entire team. They were getting embarrassed on a nationally-televised game and fought like hell to come back in the bottom of the 9th. Even though they came up short, it was still impressive as hell and showed a ton of character on part of the team... especially BA.

QUOTE(Soxbadger @ Jun 17, 2006 -> 04:13 PM) Who cares about whether or not it was part of Western Culture or not. Slavery was part of western culture, but clearly today it is not tolerated. The argument is off point, but anyways the Supreme Court has no problem putting the right to consume food or drink, or drugs into the rational basis test. In which the govt just need to prove legitimate interest. The comparison of drinking to slavery is ridiculous. One infringes on several fundamental rights. The other arguably IS a fundamental right, given the history of our culture. There is no "rational basis" to completely ban alcohol consumption among adults, just as there is no rational basis to ban smoking or caffeine consumption.

QUOTE(G&T @ Jun 18, 2006 -> 01:48 PM) I'm not complaining, they play the teams on their schedule and that's it. But come August they will have a tougher time of it. Exactly. Right now, the Tigers are on pace to win 105 games. Do you think that a team with mediocre defense, no bench, little ability to manufacture runs, and only one veteran starter who has put up solid numbers of the course of a full season is going to be playing at this level down the stretch? Neither do I.

QUOTE(Jordan4life_2006 @ Jun 18, 2006 -> 01:11 PM) Anybody agree with me that this was the best week of baseball the Sox have played so far? I don't know, but It'd be difficult to argue against it.

QUOTE(Sox It To Em @ Jun 18, 2006 -> 01:02 PM) Too bad the Cubs are abysmal. The Sox can't control what the Tigers do when they're not playing them, so there's no point in worrying about them. They need to focus on playing fundamentally-sound ball and winning each series. If they succeed, they'll be fine.

QUOTE(StrangeSox @ Jun 18, 2006 -> 12:54 PM) 8IP, 4H, 1ER for Garland, plus a homerun. Great game. ^^^ Jon picked an ideal time to have the best game of his career. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come (on the mound, at least). Solid execution of small-ball (except for the botched suicide squeeze) and great defense from Uribe as well. I like the way they're playing right now.

QUOTE(Steve9347 @ Jun 17, 2006 -> 01:58 PM) um, that's what i was talking about. Right, but that's IF he wants to pitch long relief. El Duque didn't and KW shipped him out. BTW, dumb question, but does Belfour really have a Sox sticker on his mask?

He's given up 4 ERs in three innings so far today. Move over, Mark Buehrle!

QUOTE(The-Legend-Of-Pujols @ Jun 17, 2006 -> 01:45 PM) Carlos Marmol will be better than any Sox pitcher in a couple of years you can bet on that.

I'm sure that Coop could get him back to an above-average level, but there's just no room for him here... unless he wants to pitch out of the 'pen.

QUOTE(Soxbadger @ Jun 17, 2006 -> 12:21 PM) If I was around in the prohibition era, I would of argued that it was unconstitutional as well. But those battles have lost consistently, otherwise you would see Marijuana being legalized. You're comparing apples and oranges. The consumption of alcoholic beverages has been an integral part of Western society throughout most of recorded history. Marijuana usage, however, has not. But if the Court has historically not seen it that way, I can only say that they're wrong.

QUOTE(Soxbadger @ Jun 16, 2006 -> 01:40 PM) Wcsox, Yah just noticed I put possessive there for no reason, but its just an internet board I dont use my trusty wordperfect or spell check even. I was just yanking your chain. I agree that the Ammendment to ban flag burning is stupid and borderline fascist. But I disagree with you on one point... There are a lot of people who would argue that the manufacturing and consumption of alcohol is a fundamental right, despite the government's right to regulate its transportation and sale.

QUOTE(Soxbadger @ Jun 16, 2006 -> 11:03 AM) Although this law would have been really popular with the Hitler's, Stalin's, of the world. You're going to have to do better than that if you want to be an ACLU attorney.

QUOTE(Jordan4life_2006 @ Jun 16, 2006 -> 11:27 AM) I'm worried. Sorry, I just can't feel comfortable knowing Uribe/Anderson/pitcher are gonna be hitting back-to-back-to-back. Add to that we've got Pods in a serious funk. This is a pretty s***ty time to not be able to use our leading HR/RBI/OBP/OPS guy. Thome's also been in a funk for the past couple of weeks. We're going to miss him, but not like we would've at the beginning of the season. Plus, he and the hot-hitting Pablo are going to get their share of pinch-hits. Agreed that the Uribe/Anderson/P "trio of death" is going to be brutal, though. Ugggh...

QUOTE(Jordan4life_2006 @ Jun 16, 2006 -> 09:07 AM) Not if our pitching is up to par. I am worried about the offense with Thome out. Considering who we're facing, I'm not worried about that. I'm worried about Freddy serving up gopher balls to Dunn, Griffey, etc.