WCSox

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Jul 30, 2009 -> 05:28 PM) Just kill me. He’s one of the most pompous, arrogant broadcasters in the game. Is he the "An Aaaaa-bomb, from Aaaaa-Rod" douche, or am I confusing him with one of their other crappy broadcasters? It's amazing that the wealthiest, winningest, and most-storied franchise in MLB has such crap in the booth.

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Jul 30, 2009 -> 05:18 PM) Extra Innings has blacked out the White Sox broadcast. If this game gets played, i get to listen to Michael Kay for the next three hours. I don't feel so bad about being at work right now.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 30, 2009 -> 09:40 AM) So you're saying he didn't starting putting up Hall of Fame numbers for a period of time because he simply changed his hitting philosophy? LOL, just like Luis Gonzalez's "I just started trying to pull the ball" excuse.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jul 30, 2009 -> 10:10 AM) But people aren't going to look at it that way. They didn't look at the 98 trades that way either. They are going to look at it as the Sox quitting again on a season where they were right there. It would be a PR disaster and would lead to a fall in attendence, which would lead to a slash in payroll. And that's the point. I was angry, but not furious at the White Flag deal because I understood that the Sox didn't have the pitching to compete in the post-season. (Nor did the Sox have the offense to compete with the juggernaut that Cleveland had at the time.) Heck, the Sox didn't even come close to the division title when Sirotka out-pitched Alvarez down the stretch. The media tore Reinsdorf to pieces 12 years ago, and they'll do it again. And all of the uninformed casual fans will ditch the Sox because of it. And as Dick pointed out, the Sox aren't going to get anything close to what they got from the Giants in '97.

QUOTE (Pumpkin Escobar @ Jul 30, 2009 -> 08:50 AM) I'm all for going for it but past history and our sub-500 record against the AL central, West, East doesn't give me a whole lot of confidence. I agree that we probably won't make it and that our roster would be more competitive two years from now if Kenny dealt Dye, Thome, Jenks, and Dotel within the next 24 hours. The problem is that holding another firesale while three games out at the end of July would be the worst business decision that the Sox ever made. It would be White Flag II, and the franchise might never fully recover this time.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jul 30, 2009 -> 07:57 AM) The White Sox learned their lesson the last time they unloaded when they were 3 games in back of a much better team than the 2009 Detroit Tigers. Besides, other than Dye, there really isn't much for the White Sox to trade that will net you anything better than Jon Adkins. So really you're looking at trading Dye for some prospects, and I believe his option for next season goes up $1 million if he's traded, so considering his age, his range, and finances, the prospects may only be B prospects, or trying to beat Detroit with JD. Thome, Dotel, Linebrink, Contreras, they aren't going to net you can't miss prospects. Pods isn't going to get you much. The Angels might be interested in renting Thome for a month and a half, as Vlad hasn't exactly been kicking ass this season. It would depend on whether or not Thome wants a shot at a ring badly enough to be a platooning DH. That would be a real long-shot. It would make more sense to hold onto Dye and Thome, and take the draft picks if they're let go this winter. If the Sox continue to falter over the next couple of weeks, putting Dotel, Contreras, and Pods on waivers would be a good idea. It'd be worth seeing if Kenny could get something halfway decent in return for one or more of them.

QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ Jul 29, 2009 -> 08:08 PM) And he can help his case by trading some of the higher-paid guys for some prospects and to free up more money. QUOTE (BearSox @ Jul 29, 2009 -> 08:26 PM) Either make a move to actually improve this team, or start selling. There's no way that Kenny can sell while three games back at the end of July. Remember what happened when Schueler did this 12 years ago? He can try to deal middle-tier free-agents-to-be after the deadline, but he's going to get squat in return. I'm trying to stay above the doom and gloom, but it's difficult to see this team going anywhere in October. If they don't at least split the series with the Yankees, the combination of that and losing 6 or 7 to the Tigers and Twins will be a confidence-killer.

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Jul 29, 2009 -> 03:38 PM) I been watching players in MLB for 40 years. The things he does aren't just coincidence . His abilty to go with the pitch, yet turn on a pitch when needed or just hit one up the middle are phenomenal. He does whatever the situation calls for . He's made quick adjustments at every level .He's a team first kind of guy and those types don't come along very often . If that's "crowning his ass" so be it. I'm sure that Rays fans were saying the same thing about Longoria last year. But that doesn't mean that he's going to be the next Ted Williams. I project that Beckham will be a lot more like Chase Utley, with maybe a little less power. That's really freaking good, but let's not get carried away here.

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Jul 29, 2009 -> 03:08 PM) I'd just rather not pigeon-hole Beckham. I can see him succeeding anywhere that you might need him in the lineup. He's that good. Let's not "crown his ass" as the next Frank Thomas just yet.

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Jul 29, 2009 -> 02:52 PM) I don't think that's getting carried away at all. He'll hit for average and power , no doubt about it. If Beckham ends up as our #3 hitter, that means that either he's going put up a .900 OPS or the rest of our offense is lacking in power.

QUOTE (chisoxfan09 @ Jul 29, 2009 -> 09:22 AM) How could he have been so incrediby boneheaded and thick in a bad economy year? Man this guy is just delusional. Oh well the reality will bite him in the butt when Haladay's trade goes way down. I mean JP Ricciardi. I don't think it's so much that he's boneheaded as the fact that he's off-the-charts arrogant. As one poster already noted, his strategy doesn't fit this economy at all.

QUOTE (FlaSoxxJim @ Jul 29, 2009 -> 11:43 AM) Cool! This is the first year in about 5 years I didn't shell out for Extra Innings package and tried to go with radio feeds only. Nice to catch a game on teevee once in a while. I miss getting all the games on Extra Innings and keep threatening to buy the second half at the reduced rate. And then the Sox cough up a bunch of games and I put my wallet away again. Isn't the reduced rate something like $130? I seem to remember getting Extra Innings as an early, renewing subscriber for $160 last season. The reduced rate isn't much of a discount in comparison.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 29, 2009 -> 09:03 AM) Beckham is probably not going to be an allstar at 3rd base. To start off, ARod, Young, and Longoria are there for a long time, and then every year it seems like there's more than a few guys who step up and put up near .900 OPS's there. He'll need to be legitimately hitting .330+ and putting up 30+ HR a year before he's an all star there. Especially with Longoria's glove. Beckham at 2b is an all star right now. The only 2b with a higher OPS than him is Zobrist. I meant to convey that he's going to be an All Star-caliber player, and I'm assuming that he's not going to stay at 3B for the long-term.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Jul 29, 2009 -> 08:47 AM) Option A: Gold Glove caliber defense, .322 OBP, 27 years old. Option B: OK defender, .228 OBP, 31 years old. That pretty much says it all. You could even change Option B to "good defender" and the choice would still be a no-brainer. There's no question in my mind that Ozzie has a personal vendetta against Anderson. Unfortunately for Josh, he can't play defense and has to compete with a future All Star at 3B. So dealing him makes sense.

QUOTE (WSoxMatt @ Jul 28, 2009 -> 04:37 PM) I've got to give Buehrle some creative points for this gift. It seems like the type of present that each one of the players and coaches actually will keep on their shelves at home. My only question now is this: Which one of his teammates will actually take a celebratory drink from the $180 bottle? That's a pretty cool gift. I'm a scotch guy, so I'd definitely drink it at some point. You can always keep the bottle and personalized bag.

QUOTE (Jenks Heat @ Jul 28, 2009 -> 07:10 PM) Isn't that the record Jenks tied in 2007 that Gathright got the hit to end? Yep

What a season for Mark. Now if only Pods could catch...

QUOTE (iamshack @ Jul 28, 2009 -> 05:34 PM) The guy is a below-average fielder This is what really doomed him. The Sox were patient with Crede putting up a .300 OBP with average power for years because he could play 3B competently from the start, and improved steadily. (It also helped that Crede didn't have to compete with a stud like Beckham.) As I've said before, I saw Fields as an eventual corner OF or a replacement for Paulie at 1B. Players at those positions can't get away with mediocre OPS numbers. As for Richard, I fully expect to see him back in the rotation if Colon is pitching poorly down the stretch. I think that he's ready.

QUOTE (son of a rude @ Jul 28, 2009 -> 03:53 PM) I'm sure he is smart enough to see that the pen is desperate for lefties, especially with Thornton expecting his kid. And if not, I'm sure that somebody explained it to him. After what he did in his last two starts and after Ozzie very publicly praised his pitching, I don't think that Richard is feeling depressed right now. QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 28, 2009 -> 04:29 PM) Which is why I think we'll wind up regretting moving Fields for pennies on the dollar. Because I think it won't be hard for another team to develop him. It's not like we haven't seen major flashes ourselves. Well, it's nice to see that Fields still has enough value that Kenny is dealing him. But I basically agree that Walker didn't tap his potential. I don't think that Walker is a bad hitting coach or that Fields is necessarily going to be a future All-Star, but I think it's fair to say that he just wasn't going to work out in the Sox organization. I wish Josh the best.

QUOTE (Tony82087 @ Jul 28, 2009 -> 02:28 PM) It came up in the chat last night, but I have no problem with the Sox seeing what they could get for Lexi on the open market Agreed, although I'd wait for a team to over-pay for Alexei at this point. Until I see more evidence of him taking plays, I'm still relying on this guy to help fill the void that will be created in the middle of the lineup in the not-too-distant future.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Jul 28, 2009 -> 02:11 PM) I understand what you're arguing, I just don't agree with you at all. All the available evidence completely contradicts everything you are arguing. The fact that they would change his position to something he never played before in his career, basically giving him a crash course in Charlotte, seems to me like something that is much more potentially damaging than simply moving him up in the order. The "evidence" that you're citing is a teeny sample size of a month and a half. The truth is that we don't know how Beckham will respond to being moved around in the order (remember how Dotel, a veteran and former closer, responded to moving into the setup role last season?). Or how he'll react to his next slump, after tasting ML success. Or how he'll react to a tight division race in September. Or, if we get lucky, how he'll react to playoff baseball. While Beckham may look like the next Derek Jeter right now, we've seen so little of him that it's difficult to predict his future play with a high degree of certainty. I understand your point, and think that it's a strong argument. However, I think that the Sox just need to be ultra-careful with Beckham at first. ESPECIALLY when Alexei is hitting reasonably well in the #2 spot and the rest of the lineup is pretty solid. If Beckham were a year older and/or had some more major league experience under his belt, I'd feel differently. And thanks for disagreeing with me in a civil tone.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Jul 28, 2009 -> 01:57 PM) Honestly, you're not answering the question about Beckham. He's jumped 2 levels in the midst of one season, changed positions, and still posted an .840 OPS after an 0-13 start. Doesn't it appear as though the understand how special he is and aren't afraid of "stunting his growth" like you originally claimed? After throwing all that at him, is a move to 2nd from 7th - 9th really going to pose a substantial risk of setting him back? Maybe, maybe not. Are you willing to take that chance in playoff contention down the stretch with the best infield prospect you've had since Robin Ventura? I'm not. Not when Alexei is doing just fine in the two-hole for now. It's not like the rest of our lineup completely sucks nuts and we're relying on Beckham to be our savior. I realize that nobody on this board has a vested financial interest or their job partially relying on Beckham's development. But try to put yourself in Ozzie and Kenny's shoes. Might you be a little more cautious? Might you be a little more concerned about Beckham's development than trying to win at all costs with a team that struggles to play .500 ball?

QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ Jul 28, 2009 -> 01:36 PM) I wasn't talking about this season. I was talking about last season. LAST season, when Bruce was batting higher in the order, they had 3 players with an OPS over .800. Bruce was sharing significant time with Patterson and Freel last season, and was often hitting 5th and 6th in the lineup. How does that compare to Beckham being permanently penciled into the two-hole a month and a half after being brought up from AAA?

QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ Jul 28, 2009 -> 01:29 PM) The Reds have no talent? Are you not aware of Brandon Phillips and Joey Votto and Chris Dickerson? The Reds currently have ONE player with an OPS of .800 or higher in their lineup (Votto). For comparison's sake, the Sox have four. Because of this, the Sox don't need to rush a raw rookie into the top of the lineup.