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QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Dec 12, 2007 -> 08:19 AM) The funny thing about that headline is, the only reason Hendry has "deep pockets" is that he is spending someone else's money. Its an odd position to be in, but there it is. He basically has NO pockets, just a pile of phantom cash to spend. All this talk about Jim Hendry's pockets is disturbing.

QUOTE(Vance Law @ Dec 12, 2007 -> 12:16 AM) Thank you. Of course he's overpaid. He was a free agent. I'm still waiting for anyone to give one single instance of a free agent (without injury concerns) not getting overpaid. This is right. I think the reason that folks often say that a team "overpaid" is because they compare to whatever contracts were given the year before. But the market increases every SINGLE year -- no matter what Kenny Williams thinks. That's why you can look back and see guys like Reggie Jackson and Joe Rudi, in the first free agent crop, getting about $500,000 a year. That seems silly now. And it's because we understand, intuitively, that the market increases. In fact, the only time that the market didn't increase was 1987 -- and the reason was collusion. That doesn't mean that there aren't bad signings. But there's risk in almost any enterprise. So -- you either go along, or you build another way. But if you're a GM or an owner, you don't whine about it. You don't like it? Find another line of work.

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ Dec 11, 2007 -> 10:01 PM) And the drunks in the RF bleachers will be shown bowing to him constantly next summer. God, this is so true.

QUOTE(fathom @ Dec 11, 2007 -> 09:51 PM) KW failed last offseason, he failed last season, and he's doing awful so far this season. Can't we promote him to some higher position, and let someone else take over? Something that's killed us in our trade chances this offseason is how bad all the young arms we acquired last year have been. Bingo. Last year's Kenny Williams cry-baby-fest about "the market" and "a correction" resulted in Aardsma, Sisco and Heartburn. About 72 wins -- and only 72 wins - later, we're a bottom-feeder and look like it: you think Torii Hunter and Fukudume couldn't see that? Thanks, Kenny, for your plan last year. It's been a boon for this year, too.

QUOTE(DBAH0 @ Dec 11, 2007 -> 09:36 PM) Ha. Well so much for him desperate for a 3 year deal. $13M a season is a lot for an unproven OF in the MLB, but that's the current market. Right now it looks like Rowand for the Sox, unless they want to get back in the Crisp negotiations. I'll be shocked if we acquire Pierre fathom. I think it'll be Crisp, and I think we'll overpay for him. But, then, I thought that after we missed on Hunter.

QUOTE(Capn12 @ Dec 6, 2007 -> 07:24 AM) Its not $18 mil per, just looks that way on the surface. '08: $9 million '09: $15 million $12 milion signing bonus. Wonder if the signing bonus is Andruw's insurance against the Mitchell Report . . .

QUOTE(DonnyDevito @ Dec 6, 2007 -> 12:54 AM) now it is rowand or bust! or atleast a career year from owens or bust! Don't forget Pablo. I see him putting up .357, with 34 home runs and about 147 RBI.

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ Dec 5, 2007 -> 07:09 PM) As "horrible" as people might think he is, he hit .278 with 15HR and a .359 OBP with the Dodgers last year. That's not exactly a hitters paradise in LA. I wouldn't want to pay him $7 million, but if he wanted to play for half that, its certainly more production than they got out of Pods. Wasn't there some innuendo, by the DBacks ownership, about his jump in power numbers? Maybe keep an eye on the Mitchell Report on this one.

QUOTE(santo=dorf @ Dec 4, 2007 -> 10:11 PM) Hey that's nice, but Darin Erstad isn't with the Sox any more. In fact, most of us wish he could be erased from White Sox history. How long until he gets hurt on the sideline? Uh, yeah -- I know that Erstad's not on the Sox anymore. I didn't realize that I'd entered the hyper world of White Sox Interactive.

From Gammons: • If Darin Erstad doesn't find a job that suits him, there is word that he could return to the University of Nebraska, his alma mater, and be an assistant coach for the football team. A punter in college, Erstad was part of the Cornhuskers' 1994 national championship squad and remains one of Tom Osborne's favorite players.

QUOTE(SoxFanForever @ Dec 4, 2007 -> 04:43 PM) Yes, he played LF when they had Lowell. He played quite a bit of RF in 2003. They used Conine in left.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Nov 19, 2007 -> 11:33 AM) one of the things that is being overlooked is the leadership qualities of O-cab. He is an energy guy and a leader. That is something that was lacking last season. Cabrera was absolutely critical for the Red Sox in 2004. The drop-off to Renteria the next year, in intangibles and stick, was significant. Cabrera is a smart hitter who makes contact (something we desperately needed), he drives in runs, and he is an outstanding shortstop. Yes, he's older than I'd like, and, yes, he's in the last year of his deal -- but he is exactly the kind of player this team has lacked for the last two years -- heady and puts the bat on the ball.

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ Nov 6, 2007 -> 06:05 PM) KW's "market correction" will have to wait for another year. LOL

QUOTE(Rowand44 @ Oct 13, 2007 -> 03:48 PM) He was fantastic in the playoffs and had a very good 06 season but has been mediocre with the stick for most of his career. I love Joe but he's a great defender and a mediocre offensive player, that's it. Still, even Crede's great 06 season was no where near just Burrell's career averages. I like Burrell's OBP (quite a bit), but mark me down as one of the few who wouldn't bite on this deal. If we're going to add payroll, doing it for another slow, defensively challenged corner outfielder, who's a .260 career hitter and strikes out almost as much as Thome is not where I'd vote for putting our money. And, yes, Crede's a question mark -- but you know exactly what you're getting from Burrell, and I'm not a big fan of him for this already slow, strikeout-too-much, defensively slow team. Even IF Philly would subsidize it -- which is not at all clear -- this isn't the move for me.

QUOTE(DrunkBomber @ Oct 13, 2007 -> 02:40 PM) I have never checked that site out. Why are so many people banned form there? Is it just a forum? Oh yeah, it's a forum. If by forum, you mean the Kremlin in, say, 1954.

QUOTE(Jenks Heat @ Oct 4, 2007 -> 09:57 AM) Someone oughta check Big Z's package for a foreign substance as he goes to it quite often. I am not joking either. You have to wonder. He is one of the all-time groin-grabbers -- constantly moving around the furniture down there. Z is a real strange fellow.

QUOTE(CWSGuy406 @ Sep 23, 2007 -> 04:29 PM) Just this weekend? I'll try to sum it up the same way an avid Brewers' fan did over at BTF: The Brewers had an MVP candidate (Fielder), a ROTY shoe-in (Braun), another ROTY contender (Gallardo), one of the better closers in baseball this season, a team that's going to finish the season with 225 homers, and they STILL found a way to lose the worst division in baseball. Ned Yost's decision-making has been absolutely exposed, and it sickens me (when I glance at the Journal Sentinel) to see people defend him. He's brutal and makes some moves that are worse than ANYTHING Guillen has ever done. Every word is true. But the same can be said for a team with a $100 million payroll, 3 All-Star position players, a $4 million manager, a $91 million starting pitcher, a $55 million starting pitcher (Lilly), the league's best relief pitcher (Marmol), and the league's best deluxe utility player (DeRosa) -- until this weekend, that team was exactly 1 game up on the Brewers. And they call Piniella a genius . . .

QUOTE(fathom @ Sep 23, 2007 -> 03:55 PM) If the Cubs continue to get the long ball hitting and relief that they have been over the last few weeks, they'll be the team to beat in the NL. I'm not sure yet. I think that both of these qualities have been very much helped by the lousy teams they've been playing. (Marmol is the exception: he's great against everyone.) On the one hand, the bullpen hasn't had to work very hard against most of these lineups, which have had 1 or 2 dangerous hitters. And, conversely, the Cubs hitters have struggled against good pitchers most of the year; take a look at the tripe that they faced during the last week. Gorzelanny's the only good pitcher that they got to. Harang handled them. Everyone else (including Arroyo) was outright terrible. So I'm not sure what to make of it, except that the rest of the league leaders are struggling at the same time the Cubs are surging. Might not mean much -- the Cardinals were absolutely brutal last year in September, and they flipped the switch in the playoffs. We had our issues in September '05 before pulling it together the last week of that season and carrying it into the playoffs. I'm convinced that there is just no formula for figuring these things out.

QUOTE(Greg The Bull Luzinski @ Sep 23, 2007 -> 03:20 PM) I suspect most of Wisconsin has already given up on the Brewers and was watching the Packers today. So since an entire state has forgotten about the time, I think it is time we did too and closed this God foresaken thread. Agree with the sentiment to bury this thread -- right next to the Brewers 2007 season. Thought the Brew Crew could have done some damage if they'd actually gotten home only a couple games behind; truth is, their starting pitching the past couple of weeks has been outstanding, but Sheets's injury (again), their awful bullpen, playing an actual major league team (unlike the Cubs), and some truly weird managing by Ned Yost killed them this weekend. (By the way, Saturday's game should be filed in the Strangest Management of a Game Hall of Fame: for the life of me, I cannot quite understand how Ryan Braun can ever come out of a game where the Brewers don't have a lead; that -- and the Craig Counsell "I must bunt at all costs" effort -- and allowing Damien Miller to remove the bat from his shoulder on a 3-1 pitch with the bases loaded were all, well, strange moves. Kudos to Ned. Did you hear that, Ned? Kudos, my odd-looking friend!)

QUOTE(Greg The Bull Luzinski @ Aug 25, 2007 -> 04:49 PM) Gold. I only changed one thing/ Perfect edit.

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ Aug 25, 2007 -> 04:42 PM) Or Farmer's. I don't think a jury of his peers would convict Singleton if he took out Farmio "Chris Singleton pulls out a knife, jabs me in the heart. That's what you do when you kill a man with a knife; you stab him in the heart. Line shot foul by Erstad. Bleeding on the mic now. That's what happens when you have a knife wound in your heart; you bleed on the mic. Erstad goes down swinging. Feeling faint now. That's what happens when the blood drains from your body; you feel faint. Here's Andy Gonzalez. Pretty much dead now, Chris Singleton. Good night, everyone. Go crazy."

QUOTE(Greg The Bull Luzinski @ Aug 25, 2007 -> 04:37 PM) One only look to the Bible for Moses to compare what somebody Contreras's age has done before. I wouldn't mind seeing Jose bring a couple of stone tablets out to the mound. That visual might save the season for me.

QUOTE(Greg The Bull Luzinski @ Aug 25, 2007 -> 04:36 PM) That's too bad. Given the opportunity, I would have urinated on them both. And is there nothing sadder than wasted urine? Lotta Jerry Manuel references today. And a nice shot of Singleton in the booth. He looks as bored as Uribe does every game. That's an excellent reflection on both, by the way.

QUOTE(Greg The Bull Luzinski @ Aug 25, 2007 -> 04:32 PM) Here's only 12 years younger than than 50 year old young stud Jose Conterares who we have for two more years! I dare you to prove that Contreras is 50. Contreras, my friend, is 74 years of age. What he's accomplishing at this time is unprecedented.

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ Aug 25, 2007 -> 04:28 PM) At least KW got Mike Myers. He's impressive. Myers is a terrific young pitcher.