BearSox

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Apr 8, 2009 -> 07:38 AM) Kanny has both Escobar and Kuhn? Along with Persichina and Morel? Who loses playing time, since those 4 play 3 positions? Also, seems odd to me that Innouye is repeating Kanny as a catcher, and Dubler is apparently going to be asked to repeat Rookie ball. Morel is in W-S.

Here's the official roster: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/st...ros&cid=580 Logan Johnson at catcher? That type of versatility will serve him well. He has a knack for getting on base, has some pop, bats lefty, and has a little speed, as well as the ability to play pretty much anywhere on the field. He should have a shot to make it to the bigs as a utility player. Having a third guy who can play catcher is big, IMO... however, it'd be more important in the NL then AL since we have the DH and don't make as many subs. However, that type of added versatility is good to have.

This is gonna be an important year for Kent Gerst. Hopefully we see Hudson and Carter moving up the ranks quickly as well. I'm really high on these guys, especially Hudson. I think Hudson might be the best starting pitching prospect we have.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Apr 8, 2009 -> 06:05 AM) Well, one thing's for sure, they have a powerhouse down in AA. Guess we can pretty much skip even looking at the Charlotte results...all the action will be in AA and lower levels of the system. Assumption is Torres would be playing SS with Gookie Dawkins at 2B...although L. Nix will take his spot eventually. Or Lillibridge...

QUOTE (TheHolyBovine @ Apr 7, 2009 -> 09:42 PM) It doesn't really matter how many kids Dukes has, either. If that were some kind of real standard for decency, the NBA wouldn't exist. And now you would know why I don't give two s***s about the NBA. I'm all for big families, I want a lot of kids... but there is a big difference between that, and having 10+ kids with several different women all by the time you are 20. Not to mention impregnating a 17 year old when he was 24. That just shows a complete lack of morals and complete disregard for human life quite frankly.

QUOTE (R.J. @ Apr 7, 2009 -> 09:40 PM) That's funny because Bobby threatened to kill his pitching coach when he played for Little Rock. Bobby said it was a "figure of speech." The coach didn't recall it in that light. I don't want to pick on Bobby or even suggest that the turnaround in his life and career was something you can expect to happen in other situations, but if we had declined to take a shot on him because of his laundry list of behavioral problems, god knows what happens in '05. There's a big difference between saying you're gonna kill some one after an argument, and sending pictures of guns to your baby's momma and telling her how you have planned to kill her. Also, it seems like everyone has forgotten how Dukes had to be physically restrained by the team last year from attacking Manny Acta for yelling at Dukes for doing some stupid ass dance after he hit a home run.

QUOTE (santo=dorf @ Apr 7, 2009 -> 09:35 PM) Neither Jenks or Everett had their fathers convicted of murder when they were children. That's a bad point. It's not Dukes' fault his father is a POS. It is Dukes fault that he has pretty much followed in his father's footsteps though.

QUOTE (TheHolyBovine @ Apr 7, 2009 -> 09:34 PM) All three have/had anger issues coupled with substance abuse and female problems. Are they really that different? Show me where Jenks has threatened to kill people and been arrested on different occasions, or show me where Everett has had 10+ bastard kids with several different women and impregnated a 17 year old. Get a grip dude. These situations aren't close to comparable.

QUOTE (R.J. @ Apr 7, 2009 -> 09:04 PM) Dukes is the classic example - you wither care about character and personality in your players or you don't. I think we can all agree that throwing that away, Dukes would immediately become our starting center fielder and make a huge impact on our lineup. He takes walks, he's a power/speed combo player with tremendous upside. Of course he's also a terrible human being. We saw last year that guys who don't mesh with the clubhouse don't last on this team. We saw that guys who don't know their role or clash with Ozzie will not be welcome. I think this pretty much rules out nay acquisition of Dukes. On the other hand, before coming to the White Sox, Bobby Jenks was pretty widely accepted to be a psychopath too. I don't think Carl Everett won any humanitarian awards. And then there's that guy behind the plate, who has a similarly spotty reputation. If you'd refuse to acquire a guy who would be a monstrous upgrade just because he's a prick, then you're making a misjudgment. But we'd be right to remain weary of giving up too much to acquire a player who might cause trouble and eventually warrant his release. It's a classical risk/reward scenario. Jenks and Everett were not even close as to being in the same boat as Dukes. Sure they had their problems, but Dukes takes it to a whole other level. It's silly to compare Jenks and Everett to Dukes.

QUOTE (R.J. @ Apr 7, 2009 -> 09:10 PM) For reference, the Nationals gave up Glenn Gibson to acquire Dukes. Gibson was a 19 year old pitcher from A ball with good peripherals and about 70 innings under his belt. THAT, I'd give up in a heartbeat. But I'd hold on to our top 10 guys in this instance. The Nationals are also one of the worst run organizations in baseball and are already headed in the direction of being yet again one of the worst, if not the worst team in the MLB.

QUOTE (knightni @ Apr 7, 2009 -> 08:40 PM) The #2 hitter's job is to strike out a lot and sacrifice himself so that the leadoff guy can get to 2nd base. what!?!? Strike out a lot? The no. 2 hitters job is to move the runner along, and get on base possibly for himself. If the no. 2 hitters job was to strike out a lot, Fields or Wise would be the perfect candidate. That is just beyond ridiculous what you just said. I hope you were joking.

QUOTE (GREEDY @ Apr 7, 2009 -> 09:04 PM) Elijah Dukes for Adam Russell etc. is laughable. The Nats would start with Poreda... start with Poreda. He is 24 and posted an .860 OPS in '08. He is a legit 30/30 candidate. I'd trade ANY of our minor league talent outside of Beckham for him. Yep. He's also a legit 30 to life candidate. It's a shame to, cause he is such a great talent and could be one of the best young players in the game up there with the Upton's and Longoria, etc. But he just doesn't care and has no regard for anyone.

Hell no. Dukes is a dirtbag, and you could make a good case for him to be kicked out of the league. Wanting him, and in fact wanting us trade anything of value for him is beyond stupid. It's just a matter of time before this scumbag is locked up for a long time.

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Apr 7, 2009 -> 06:29 PM) Apart from the pitching, there seems to be a lot of suckage going down in Charlotte. well, we have a bunch of AAAA players pretty much there. Our only position player prospects there are Armstrong and Lucy, and both of those guys are down on the prospect list. Well, this makes it easy for us to call up our studs from AA when needed and get them starting right away without having to make any tough roster moves.

QUOTE (WCSox @ Apr 7, 2009 -> 06:32 PM) I'd say Alexi as well. Less K's than Fields and more speed on the bases. Not that Getz appears to be overwhelmed or lacking in confidence (far from it), but I'm not sure that it'd be a good idea to throw him into the leadoff spot tomorrow. Development-wise it might be better to keep him in the two-hole for a while. (That said, I have no idea who in the heck else on this team could legitimately hit leadoff.) I say give it a week. If Wise is still sucking and Getz is playing solid, you make the changes. Everything I have seen of Getz so far is that there is no indication of him being overwhelmed or anything. He easily won the 2B job in what seemed to be a tough battle, he is emitting confidence everytime I see him bat. He's just a baseball player. He just wants to play, and I get the feeling from watching him is that he doesn't get intimidated much. He's extremely smart, and the best option we have for leadoff.

QUOTE (knightni @ Apr 7, 2009 -> 06:30 PM) Why not Anderson? He still hasn't proven he's a major league hitter and still strikes out a lot.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Apr 7, 2009 -> 03:57 PM) Still don't have a problem with giving him a shot as a platoon player given how he hit last season and in ST. Just don't want him hitting leadoff. Completely agree. Wise has good speed, is some-what clutch, and has some pop in his bat. His D is decent as well. I personally don't mind him as a platoon player in CF batting 9th. However, I'd prefer to see Anderson as the main starter getting around 60% of the playing time.

Ramirez, easily. Besides the 6-8 hole, the 2nd hole is the best spot in the lineup for him. He won't draw a ton of walks, but he knows how to put the ball into play. He doesn't K a ton (will probably average somewhere between 60-80 a year for his career) and can simply put the ball into play. He also has great speed, and has shown he can bunt, and he does have some bat control. I don't know where this junk about him having no bat control is coming from. Also, with Fields, I'm hoping maybe he can cut down on his K's to 120. If he does that, he will have a shot. I'm really likely this new improved Fields. He has been mentally sharp, and seems to be playing with a lot more confidence.

Well, my understanding is that Egbert got put in the pen, and the 5 starters are looking like: Broadway, Marquez, JVB, Whisler, and now Gobble. I think it would have made a whole lot more sense to not sign Gobble and put Cassel into the Charlotte rotation, but maybe that want him and all the other prospects to develop down at AA together, kind of mesh together.

those, and various porn websites....

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Apr 1, 2009 -> 10:34 PM) I'd without hesitation give up a first and third this year. But a first or second next year as well? For a team with all the holes the Bears have? I don't think so. This is a franchise and all pro QB. I'd pull a Ditka and give up our whole draft this year for him.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Apr 1, 2009 -> 10:20 PM) I wouldn't do this for Peyton Manning. then you are f'n crazy.

Think about the possibility of this being the rest of our offseason: -Sign Pace, Holt, and Lucas. -Trade our 1st and 3rd this year, a conditional pick in 2010 that can become a 1st rounder (automatically a 2nd or 3rd round pick no matter what), Orton, and one of Vasher, McBride or Graham (whichever one Denver feels would be the best fit, I think it would be Graham) for Cutler. I think/hope that would get the deal done. That's jizz worthy right there.

QUOTE (Athomeboy_2000 @ Apr 1, 2009 -> 03:36 PM) Megan McCain says this man (kinda NSFW) is the best man to lead the GOP. Congressman Aaron Schock. I really doubt any Republican cares what Megan McCain thinks (regarding politics and the GOP at least). She probably thinks Schock is "dreamy" and has a crush on him or something. I don't mind Schock, but I really don't know what he stands for. Perhaps he could be an image of the GOP in the future, but not right now. He's like 28 or 29 or something, right? He can't even be elligible to run for president for another 6-7 years.

To be fair though, there are still plenty of good people and good priests in the catholic church. It needs some reforming, no doubt, but that is not outside the realm of possibility.