iamshack

I agree it would be nice to sign Sheets, but I don't think they want to take the risk with him. True, our training and medical staff has been very good with keeping our arms healthy, but Sheets is entirely different. The guy basically gets hurt every year. And I don't think you can claim any rotation with Sheets in it as "set" for three years unless you have a stud arm in the minors ready and able to replace him at all times. Given our question marks right now, I just don't think it's a great fit. All that being said, I wouldn't mind a 1-year deal with big time incentives if Sheets decides he would rather wait for the economy to recover before singing a multiple-year deal...

QUOTE (philadelphia sox fan @ Jan 20, 2009 -> 10:15 PM) Hm... good point. I'm still going to wait though before I give them my numbers When you bought it, did you give them your email address? When I have bought products there in the past (such as my iPhone), I had my receipt emailed to me. Perhaps they have a list of everyone who purchased that model # and the attorneys sent out emails to everyone who submitted them to Apple when purchasing?

QUOTE (shipps @ Jan 19, 2009 -> 11:17 AM) I have a habit of keeping EVERY ATM machine reciept I get, I have atm reciepts from when I was in high school. And also random reciepts of like fast food places which there would be absolutely NO reason to keep. Its all out of fear, its been engraved in my brain from my parents that reciepts are the most official of all officiallity. I am the complete opposite. I have no atm receipts. I pay absolutely no attention to my finances other than my available balance. I am terrible. I do keep receipts for the consumer goods I buy, but never have cared for banking paperwork. I don't know why. Probably because it is a reminder of how little money I really have. Another thing I do is keep boxes. If I buy something, I always keep the box. I have shoeboxes, the original boxes for all of my mid-sized electronics, etc. I find that they come in handy when you are moving and have to package those items up again. However, it becomes a pain in the ass to store all these empty boxes in the meantime. Plus, the movers told me last time I moved that I shouldn't be repackaging these items in their original boxes, because then employees of the moving company know what the items are and will steal them from time to time. Brilliant!

One night I was drinking wine after going through all my vodka and Rockstar. Someone bumped me and I spilled the wine all over my new Carlos Quentin t-shirt and a pair of shorts. I quickly disrobed and threw my clothes in the washer (didn't want Carlos to be ruined). In my hurry, I forgot to empty the pockets of my shorts. The next morning while looking for my phone, I finally checked the washer. My phone had gone through an entire wash cycle (an iPhone). My drunk ass did not even realize my phone was missing that night or that I had put a $400 phone through the wash cycle.... Miraculously, the phone came back to full functionality after a few hours of drying out...

Jose is an animal! Gotta love this guy. Say what you want about him being 274 years old, he is in outstanding physical condition.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jan 11, 2009 -> 06:56 PM) Marti would be a really nice fit considering the Sox have a serious need in the back of the rotation. Agreed...makes you wonder if Kenny has been talking to Torres about him the last several weeks, and thus his seeming non-plan in terms of bringing in any other veteran arms. I found his denial of interest in Garland particularly odd...

I love how when this was first posted on whitesox.com, the headline read "Thompson agrees to pitch in the WBC." Got a laugh out of that...

QUOTE (GREEDY @ Jan 11, 2009 -> 11:14 AM) I didn't say that I wasn't crazy! It is easier to defend Blagojevich's matching track suits, than it is baseball conspiracy theories. I also forgot to to mention that it is good to hear the people of South Dakota haven't been effected as much by the economic crisis. In all honestly, I just was trying to make an amusing post reflecting the economic crisis baseball apparently has fallen into. I find it hard to believe that the owners are in worse shape than the auto industry (who it appears also overpaid its workers to a degree that will not longer lallow them be profitable). My thesis in college was a Walmart bashing, business ethics, ass whooping opus. Now a few years later I am kind of wondering if we should be happy that Wally World paid their employees what they could afford to give them, while still remaining an economic force? Maybe we need to stop wanting big business to play UNICEF, and let them keep the USA on top of the world. I'd bet we'd all be better for it. Before you think I am turning this into a political rant, let me say that I think this offseason might just be the MLB owners getting their employees in check so they make sure they are stil a growing, economic force. See my post above. Also, even though Wite is the guy in SD here, it is a fact that the economies of the Dakotas are increasing as opposed to those in almost every other state.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jan 11, 2009 -> 10:05 AM) I don't think there's any question the player's association is going to argue collusion. I would think there probably is some to some extent but they won't be able to prove it and because so many people are hurting, their cries will never go anywhere. They can talk about Broadway shows closing, but how many tickets have already been sold for MLB in 2009? Its not like their multi-year contracts with networks are going away anytime soon. The Club level at USCF found a new sponsor for 2009. I think owners are taking advantage of the situation and at least enough of them are being smart enough where the others don't have to bid against themselves. Anytime Kyle Farnsworth can get a 2 year $9 million contract, I will question if funds really are drying up. Oh, I'm not surprised the Union may argue collusion. But the Union will argue anything which could possibly net their players more money. Half of this is the Union's fault to begin with, because they ignorantly urged almost all players to decline arbitration - those players now stand to make significantly less than had they accepted. So now they're going to argue collusion. I don't see anything wrong with the Owners seeking to protect themselves financially. And it is not just a matter of this year, but next year, and the year after that, etc. These contracts certainly impact more than just one season. Additionally, I think there was a trend forming anyways toward cheap, younger players with the success of the Rockies and Rays the last few years. Sure, the Owners can use the economy as an excuse, but I think that excuse will ultimately be laid out more on the fans than on the players and agents. Finally, you've still got your Atlanta's, your Boston's, your Cubs as well as both NY teams out there spending....are we to believe that all teams other than these are the ones involved in the collusion?

QUOTE (GREEDY @ Jan 11, 2009 -> 09:47 AM) You do a fairly decent job of contradicting yourself. First, you say that all of the guys I listed were either overpaid or their contract was on par. Then your very next point states "the economy is in a poor position to give out lucrative deals". So which is it? I didn't pick the best deals for my argument, I choose the last five or so middle tier veterans that signed. I stick by my statement that these contracts are all down either half the mula, or they are half as long as they would have been just one offseason ago. And yes it is fairly easy to pick apart the value/ability of any aging "non superstar", good job. I know this is wild conspiracy theory talk and it is very hard to defend, but I really feel the lukewarm FA market is one part slumping economy, NINE PARTS the owners posturing before s*** hits the fan in 2010. I'll give you a pass on your Uribe Man-Love, but bring it up again and you are getting it Love, Mr. Boras/Tellum/attempting-to-be-MLB-agent So you are arguing collusion, seriously? So what would you argue about the offseason of 2000? Of just a few years ago? I think it's just economic reality...I'm curious to see what these owners lost in the market between October and now...

QUOTE (santo=dorf @ Jan 10, 2009 -> 11:30 PM) Follow the dipping blue line. Thanks for posting that.... Defensive metrics?

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jan 10, 2009 -> 11:58 PM) I really HOPE it's NOT Livan Hernandez. He's one of the main reasons we were able to beat the Twins last year, his presence instead of Liriano in the middle months of the season. Well, then again, there's always a possibility Cabrera and Crede will be the new left side of the Twins' infield. It would just be very strange to see, especially Joe, that's for sure. I can't see them signing Joe considering they have that concrete playing surface....can't imagine Joe or Boras would want that either. Possibly when they open their new stadium in 10', but not this year.

QUOTE (GREEDY @ Jan 10, 2009 -> 11:43 PM) While defensive ability is a tad hard to measure effectively, Michael Young is definitely not average. +/- has Young ranked 28th, 32nd and 27th over the past three seasons, and that is against qualifying shortstops, making Young either the worst or second to worst for the past three years (that is as far back as James' site goes). RZR is kinder to Young, especially in '08, but in '05 it rated him last. His OOZ (out of zone) play totals are near the bottom despite playing everyday. Yes, "He Blows" might have been an exaggeration, but he isn't good, and Young is only getting older. "Putting the bat on the ball" is easy to measure, but hard to gauge it's importance. Obviously, anyone who watched the Sox daily last year saw how horrible Swisher was, while his OBP was still somewhat respectable. So, last season definitely took a little bit of steam out of OPS being the "end all" stat in my eyes. I will give you that. I have no problem with an aggressive hitter posting a high batting average and a low OBP if he hits for power. Young does not hit for power. Milton Bradley's OBP was literally 100 points higher than Young in '08 while hitting in the same conditions. That means Young, a non power hitter, was on base one time less than Bradley every 2.5 games. Bradley just signed a deal for less than half of the money that is owed to Michael Young. I don't want to upset you as I read the forum often and respect your opinions, but another thing I have noticed over the years is that when someone uses the words "Pretty" "Damn" "Good" and "BallPlayer" in the same sentence... it usually also includes the word "Grinder". Greedy, Just curious...is it possible to measure Young's defensive metrics away from Arlington? As has been mentioned, part of the reason the hitters at Arlington benefit is because they cut the infield about as short as the greens at the US Open on Sunday. Just as it benefits their hitters because they get many more base hits that get through the infield that normally wouldn't, their infielders also have to play on that field 81 games a year. Do the metrics suggest he is better away from the Ballpark @ Arlington? Again, I'm just curious...

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jan 6, 2009 -> 03:59 PM) And lifetime concessions rights to Boog Powell's stand while they're at it. Is that the Ribs? Or is it pulled-pork?

Got this from www.orioleshangout.com: Scott Garceau just reported on 105.7 the FAN that a deal that sends B-Rob could possibly include Jermaine Dye coming back along with Floyd. FWIW....

QUOTE (SOXOBAMA @ Jan 5, 2009 -> 11:53 AM) I have a cousin who would love to be a vendor or usher for the Sox. Does anyone know how he can contact the Sox about a job position. I think they usually have an open house for the vendor positions in conjunction with the company that handles the food and drinks at the Cell....should be able to find it through the White Sox or that company.

QUOTE (Princess Dye @ Jan 4, 2009 -> 11:48 PM) Ooh got it. You mean the program entitled "Hot Stove" ? Yeah, I think so...I didn't see it myself...got a text from a friend...

QUOTE (Princess Dye @ Jan 4, 2009 -> 10:41 PM) For our "hot stove report" they should play a recorded chorus of cricket sounds. You should check out the mlb network if you have it...I heard they covered the AL Central tonight...

QUOTE (Gregory Pratt @ Jan 4, 2009 -> 06:41 PM) That's after-the-fact assessment, though. Know what's a bad contract? GMJ's. Nobody in their right mind would've thought he'd do what he did again; it was a career year in Texas, and I'm sure there must have been some rumors within the business about PEDs, too. Jones' had a bad result but it wasn't a stupid move. It just turned out wrong. I tend to agree with you GP; the one thing going against your hypothesis is that the Dodgers didn't really even need Jones when they signed him. They had already committed a more terrible feat by giving Juan Pierre a 5/$45 million contract the year before, and had both Ethier and Kemp waiting in the wings. Signing Jones basically forced them to juggle the playing time of Ethier and Kemp (at least while they were stubborn enough to play Pierre because of his contract), and thus, they left much better, cheaper production sitting on the bench for many games during the first few months of the season. It wasn't particularly a great signing for them, but I'll agree, not many had any clue that it would turn out as bad as it did...

QUOTE (scenario @ Jan 4, 2009 -> 06:08 PM) Imagine how badly KW would getting barbequed on this board if he had signed Jones to the type of deal the Dodgers did. Unfortunately I have to admit that I was a proponent of signing him...I still think he will revert to some level of the form he used to have, but I must say, his rapid decline is certainly puzzling...

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Jan 3, 2009 -> 04:03 PM) When has KW traded a proven young first round major league arm for an older 2B, and when has he gone out and signed a notoriously lazy, overpaid, possible PED user? I was referring to KW going out and acquiring players he has been connected to through the press or through baseball circles. He did it with Contreras, he did it with Vazquez, he did it with Jr, etc, etc, etc. Not claiming that trading Floyd has "KW" written all over it, but I was pretty shocked when he dealt BMac, Rowand and Garland. He clearly isn't afraid to make a move when he is confident in his plan.

QUOTE (TheBlackSox8 @ Jan 3, 2009 -> 02:25 PM) Trading Dye for Bailey-esque pitcher, and signing Orlando Hudson sound like KW moves. Trading Floyd for Roberts and trading for Jones sound nothing like KW moves. I agree with most, I'd rather try in-house options. They don't sound like KW moves? Have you been watching the same guy I have?

This guy is the O's main beat writer, so I don't think it should just be dismissed out of hand...especially since I guess in the comments section of the article, a fan asked who the O's would then plug in at 2b, and the writer said "I'll have that name in my next blog." Seems like the guy thinks he has something here... I don't like the idea of the trade either, but as others have said, I trust Kenny enough to believe that if he made this deal, there would be other deals forthcoming... I guess we just have to wait and see..

QUOTE (scenario @ Dec 25, 2008 -> 11:28 PM) There you go (link). Unbelievable. The timing on that is just unreal....and for Pauly to somehow even catch that ball...wow!

May I start the Manny, Manny! chants yet?