iamshack

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Jul 29, 2009 -> 03:20 PM) You mean 2 years, $10M total? He's not getting anywhere near that. One would think he has a chance at 2/$7 M or 1/$4 M....MAYBE

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Jul 29, 2009 -> 10:59 AM) Why am I not seeing this deal anywhere but from some guy's twitter? It is being reported by Fox Sports as well. http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/9866498...y's-edition

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 29, 2009 -> 10:28 AM) Boston isn't offering Buchholz. They'd be stupid to do so, quite frankly. How do you know this? It certainly is being reported that they are...

QUOTE (DBAHO @ Jul 29, 2009 -> 10:25 AM) Here is the package for Lee; The question I have, is how is this info getting released so accurately and officially? Sounds like the Phillies are trying a little gamesmanship with Ricciardi right now...

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 29, 2009 -> 10:24 AM) If you believe his deadline yesterday, he is getting nothing for him this year. And anyway, I seriously doubt he could possibly get a better offer than the ones that have been thrown around, including the nearly official one of everything but Drabek from the Phils. That deadline was nonsense. If Boston wants him, they'll get him. Especially if they are offering Bucholz and other top spects like Masterson or Bowden...

QUOTE (chisoxfan09 @ Jul 29, 2009 -> 10:22 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. Well don't rule out Boston getting a little loopy and overpaying for Halladay.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 29, 2009 -> 10:20 AM) The price for Lee is going to be lower than the price that the Jays are asking for Halladay. The price for the Shroud of Turin is going to be lower than the price the Jays are asking for Halladay.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Jul 29, 2009 -> 10:14 AM) Ricciardi watching his options dwindle Yeah, I was just going to say...I'd love for the Phillies to get Lee and have the Red Sox start slowly decreasing their offer for Halladay...

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Jul 29, 2009 -> 10:00 AM) I still say that the Sox should deal as many non-Beckham spects as it takes to land Dan Haren. The DBacks have already insisted they are not willing to move Haren, because he is part of their core.

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Jul 28, 2009 -> 09:04 PM) I've stopped watching. I can't handle this s*** along with the Twin's broadcasters. I just can't. Yeah, watching it with these assholes going on and on is pretty difficult and awfully frustrating. I cannot f***ing stand this Dick Bremer.

How do they even get these lame f***ing hits? I can't even watch anymore. This is f***ing ridiculous.

We just can't f***ing play in this dome.

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Jul 28, 2009 -> 08:17 PM) Trayce Thompson mention on the Twins broadcast. Kid's already striking fear into the Twin City Heart. Hah, yeah, except they mentioned that it was a "curious signing, notable only because he is the son of former Gopher Mychael Thompson..." Curious to sign your second round draft pick?

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Jul 27, 2009 -> 07:15 PM) It more than adequately represented the pure elation of Sox fans everywhere at that very moment but from a technical standpoint it was terrible. I can definitely see why non-sox fans would find the call excruciating. I don't think Hawk has ever been too concerned about his calls from a "technical standpoint."

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jul 28, 2009 -> 07:57 PM) You are seriously comparing a guy who hit 27 HR in his rookie season to a guy on the local softball diamond? No, it was an extreme example. But to be honest with you, if he doesn't figure things out soon, that's where he'll end up. So he hit 23 HR's one season in the big leagues. Even better, he did it in his first full season. Big deal. The annals of baseball history are filled with guys like Fields who experienced some level of success before the league adjusted and they never recovered.

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Jul 28, 2009 -> 07:28 PM) The Twins broadcast just had a Brett Favre update. Kill ME! It appears you and I are in the same boat today. Aren't you enjoying the discussion about Metrodome Memories right now with Tom Kelly?

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jul 28, 2009 -> 07:07 PM) I am in the very small camp with Balta on this one, that I think Fields has a good shot at being a good major league power bat in the next couple years, somewhere. Its too bad he was handled the way he was, although the result was Beckham, and you can't complain too much about that. Richard to the pen is a bad joke. Just a stupid move. And I know about Wise and The Catch, but really, he just shouldn't be on the major league club. Honestly, there are all kinds of baseball players that have massive power potential. All you have to do is go down to your local softball diamond and watch some of these guys hit a 12-inch softball. Power potential alone does not qualify you to be a successful major league ballplayer. The guy is a below-average fielder and he cannot hit mediocre fastballs. Those facts have a hell of a lot more to do with his current status than his power potential.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 28, 2009 -> 06:25 PM) Considering that everyone says that Walker has no say with the veterans, when you start having to trade away failed first round picks with ENORMOUS power, that is an epic fail by your hitting coach. Honestly, I would buy into this crap if there was a pattern of guys who had failed to hit here and then moved onto other organizations where they started living up to their "potential." But it just hasn't happened. We haven't had guys leaving here and suddenly turning into all-stars elsewhere.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 28, 2009 -> 06:05 PM) Kotsay has a pretty hot wife, I believe. He sucks though. There is a picture of her in this thread somewhere. She is hot. But I imagine most of these guys have hot wives.

QUOTE (Soxfest @ Jul 28, 2009 -> 05:07 PM) Good luck to BA........Guillen and KW hated him but they love Wise. If this train of thinking between the OG and KW continue I will start having different conclusions of what their true problems are! That's just not true. Kenny was BA's biggest fan, and the only reason he stuck around as long as he did. I am actually surprised that Kenny could actually move him...

QUOTE (WCSox @ Jul 28, 2009 -> 03:37 PM) 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. Well, I understand that his major league sample size is indeed small. But it is also the only sample size available. It isn't like I am spinning the numbers in one way or another. Secondly, it isn't exactly just the mlb experience you can point to. This kid has been leaving an impression on people since he was 13 years old. And not that most talented players who make it this far didn't, but he seems like he leaves a wake of pretty impressed people behind him everywhere he goes. And he has done absolutely nothing yet to contradict that. Sometimes when a kid has it, he just has it. I think Gordon has it. As for your concerns about Gordon playing in a playoff situation or a pennant race, I have no qualms about him being out there, and would have none were he to be batting second. To me, the guy is a top 3 hitter on our team right now.

QUOTE (WCSox @ Jul 28, 2009 -> 03:05 PM) 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? 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. I have no financial interest on the line regarding the team, other than my sheer obsession with the organization, but I was still very nervous about them moving Gordo to third. In fact, I am still not happy about it and would rather Fields play 3rd and Gordo play 2nd instead of the current positioning - that is how important I think this kid is to our Organization. But moving him up in the order seems miniscule to me compared to asking a guy to go play a new position on the major league level less than a year after he even began playing pro ball.

QUOTE (WCSox @ Jul 28, 2009 -> 02:52 PM) 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? 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 they 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?

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jul 28, 2009 -> 03:23 PM) Or maybe they don't want to double the pressure by making him hit #2 AND adding a new position to his resume? Don't you believe that if the kid can learn 3rd base on the fly, while also making error after error after error (and probably being more embarrassed than he has ever been in sports in his entire life, for that matter), and still hit major league pitching at the age of 22 at this clip tends to show he is a really special kid? I mean, come on here guys, if the kid can hit, he can hit! He has an .840 OPS in his first 150 ABs as a 22 year old with less than 1 year of pro ball under his belt! And that is with an 0-13 start. He still faces major league pitching down at the bottom of the order. The big jump here was from AA to the mlb pitching and he has managed to hit it very well. I sincerely doubt changing his position in the order is suddenly going to make him look like a fool out there. I see one thing offensively that he needs to work on, and that is his approach against outstanding pitchers. You can tell he is still a bit hesitant and less confident against the best pitchers. Guys like Nathan he looks completely different against than your average pitcher. Once he gets the confidence to realize he can hit the elite pitchers, he will be really cooking...

QUOTE (WCSox @ Jul 28, 2009 -> 03:19 PM) I agree that Beckham certainly comes off as more mature than his age. Maybe that's the case (as it was with Jeter). But if it's not, you run the risk of stunting Beckham's development. Do you want to take that chance on the best infield prospect you've had in 20 years? I don't. I'd hit him 8th or 9th this year, let him develop without the added pressure, and then put more responsibility on him next season. You've already done that by forcing him to play a position in the major leagues which he NEVER played before his career. Do you really think they are concerned about stunting his growth?