BearSox

I'm hoping Jerry Owens as well. 1. Jerry Owens, CF 2. Jayson Nix, 2B 3. Dayan Viciedo, 3B 4. Josh Kroger, LF 5. Michael Restovich, DH 6. Ben Broussard (???), 1B 7. David Cook, RF 8. Donny Lucy, C 9. Javier Castillo, SS That would be a pretty solid AAA lineup.

Personally, I'm in favor of keeping baseball in the continental US and in Toronto. I just think making baseball so international, it would kind of take away from the game. I wouldn't mind seeing a Latin America League started with teams in all those cities though. It could either be an independent league, or you could affiliate it with major league teams.

Seems like all those personal problems took a toll on Michael's baseball career. He seems like a very solid minor league option who might be able to possibly make it to the big leagues as an option in September if he preforms well with Charlotte. I hope him the best. I really like all of our minor league signings so far, Van Boschten (or whatever), Krueger, Restovich, etc. All guys who were once considered top prospects and are loaded with talent, but haven't done much at the major league level.

QUOTE (Cubano @ Feb 4, 2009 -> 12:02 PM) No, I have not heard anything knew. If I do, I will let you know. They are probably stuck in the D.R. waiting for their Dominican papers so Bud Selig can declare them free agents. That is the price to pay for being Cuban I guess. Hey, hopefully one day Cuba will become a free country. That'll be great not only for the people of Cuba, but for baseball as well. I suppose Cuban baseball would take a big hit though since a lot of those players would then sign with Major league ball clubs.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Feb 2, 2009 -> 12:21 PM) Any rating for Viciedo at this point is VERY silly, at best. Flowers also seems to be getting the short end of the stick, compared to where he's normally at...which is 3rd or 4th, especially if he can stick as a catcher, he'd be #3 behind Wieters and Posey probably in MLB if he has another season like last year (plus the AFL.) I also don't see how Lillibridge can be completely out of the picture (well, "sleeper") after one injury-riddled season. Honestly, what's the big difference between Vidiedo and a first round draft pick out of high school? Both are about the same age, and no one but actual MLB scouts get a chance to see these players play. With all the hype Viciedo has had, as well the fact he played professional ball in Cuba since he was 16(?) (which is much better then high school ball), and that we committed 10 million dollars on him, I'd say he should be rated pretty high.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Feb 8, 2009 -> 02:05 PM) AAA or the big leagues. He's what, 19 or 20? I say we lower our expectations a bit and plan on him being in AA (maybe even single A) and go from there. It all depends on how he does in spring training, but if the season started next week and we had to set all the rosters, Viciedo would be in A Ball.

It is amazing how bad he has gotten from being one of the games elite players. I think it's safe to assume he was PED user.

maybe that's just how the state he went to school worked? Don't all states have different rules/laws determining when someone is suppossed to start school?

I like it. Worst case scenario is that he provides us with a quality backup option for the outfield down at Charlotte. Best case, he shows that talent in spring training, and wins the CF job (platoon with Anderson?).

Do catchers even call the games anymore? Doesn't it all come from the dugout now?

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Feb 8, 2009 -> 09:17 AM) Wasn't Konerko a catcher? I get your point though, and the switch is likley if he continues to grow. It also depends on whether Fields progresses at the position. Yep, Konerko was drafted as a catcher, but only played his first two pro seasons there. After that, he got moved around from 1B, 3B, to LF, but mainly played 1B. We even played him a little at 3B, but that was probably during interleague play and we had to make room for him and Thomas.

like someone else said, this arguement over 3B or 1B or OF, or whatever is pointless until someone actually sees him fielding. As for his hitting, it looks like he knows what he's doing there, and he's got a lot of pop. I personally could care less about the little things in his swing as long as he knows what he's doing, has a good approach, is comfortable, and hits the s*** out of the ball. There's been plenty of hitters who didn't do everything "fundamentally" regarding their swing, but still hit the s*** out of the ball.

QUOTE (fathom @ Feb 7, 2009 -> 01:27 PM) I ask kindly to stop PM'ing me before this blows up more. Thanks guys. lol, sorry fathom, didn't see this post.

He is massive. Not fat or anything, but just massive and built.

It'll be funny if the rumor we all dismiss right away as BS is the rumor that comes true. I agree that this is garbage though.

Personally, for me I'd be something like: LINEUP 1. Getz/Lillibridge, 2B 2. Ramirez, SS 3. Quentin, LF 4. Dye, RF 5. Thome, DH 6. Konerko, 1B 7. Pierzynski, C 8. Fields, 3B 9. Wise/Anderzon, CF This makes the most sense, IMO. Not the greatest, but Getz and Lillibridge can be a pretty decent combo at leadoff. Getz is more of the OBP contact type while Lillibridge is more of a traditional speedster. I'd prefer a true, legit leadoff hitter, but that isn't really a possibility right now. Ramirez, while he might (or probably) hit a sophomore wall, he still makes the most sense in the 2 hole. Has great speed, can bunt, can move the runner over, and can on base himself. The heart of the order should be solid, and the bottom looks decent if Fields, Wise, and Anderson are at least decent. BENCH C, Armstrong/Miller/Lucy/Stewart??? INF, Betemit UTL, Lillibridge OF, Anderson Gotta go with 4 bench players again with 2 HUGE question marks in the rotation. Besides for the backup catcher, I really like our bench though. It has Power (Betemit), Speed (Lillibridge and Anderson), Defense (Anderson, Lillibridge is decent as well, IIRC), and Versatility (Betemit can play all over the INF and is a switch hitter and Lillibridge can play the MI and LF or CF). As far as backup catcher with AJP, my ideal guy would be a righty who is an excellent defender, and can hit lefties. Someone like Ramon Castro (solid defender, isn't the greatest hitter but is solid vs. lefties with a LOT of pop). But since it looks like it will be between the guys I mentioned, I'd prefer Armstrong as he seems to have the most potential of all of them and is a solid defender as well signs of being a decent hitter. Also, since it looks unlikely we'll platoon A.J. because there haven't been any good options, the backup doesn't have to be a righty. Personally, if we don't have a platoon, I'd prefer to see a guy be the set catcher for a certain pitcher. So AJ gets Mark, Danks, Floyd, and Richard/Marquez/Broadway/Poreda, while Armstrong gets Colon. ROTATION Buehrle Floyd Danks Colon Richard/Marquez/Broadway/Poreda I see this as our biggest weakness. My feeling on Buehrle is kind of inbetween, I can see Danks or Floyd hitting a wall (happens a lot with young players), Colon might make it out of spring training, but even if he does, I'm not expecting anything better then a 4.5 ERA, and Richard or Marquez (it's likely gonna be one of the two) is very blah. Jose Contreras might come back, but even if he does, I think he'd be better suited for the PEN. PEN CP, Jenks SU, Thornton SU, Linebrink SU/MRP, Dotel MRP, Russel MRP/LRP, Carraso MRP/LRP, Poreda This seems to be our strongest spot, but I think it's gonna be pretty good or god awful with no inbetween. Jenks should at least be solid, but Thornton hasn't shown any consistency, Linebrink is still a question mark, can Dotel stay healthy for another season? Russel will hopefully improve, but who knows. Carrasco should be solid though, and Poreda, if his stuff is there, can be dominant.

The only ways I see this is happening is the following: 1.) We are planning on trading one of Dye, Konerko, Thome (unlikely, but the most likely of all the scenarios I see) 2.) We plan on playing Abreu in CF (highly unlikely, maybe when he was younger) 3.) We plan on moving Konerko to 3B and Abreu/Dye to 1B (extremely unlikely considering how we signed Vicindi and with all the high praises for Fields) Odds are that this is BS anyway.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Feb 2, 2009 -> 11:43 AM) AJ is not a prototypical #2 hitter, but he did reasonably well in that position last year. Its not as bone-headed as some are making it out to be, when you have a team full of big boppers like the Sox have. They don't really have great options for #1 and #2. Our roster is going to be filled with stupid actually. 1.) Having one of Wise, Owens, or Anderson being a full time starter 2.) Having one of Wise or Owens potentiall being our leadoff hitter 3.) Having Pierzynski bat 2nd (this will be stupid no matter what. It was fine for a little bit last year when AJP was hot, but eventually AJP had to be moved back down) 4.) Having once again the slowest lineup in baseball (one of Thome, Dye, or Konerko had to be moved) 5.) Having 2 of Colon, Richard, Broadway, Poreda, or Marquez in the rotation 6.) Having what looks to be Corky Miller as our backup catcher (this one is still pending)

QUOTE (fathom @ Feb 1, 2009 -> 08:45 PM) If you believe KW, everyone has been wrong so far. AJP will bat 2nd again. http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseb...0,5416853.story And if AJ does bat 2nd again, KW and Ozzie are even stupider then I thought.

QUOTE (SoxFan101 @ Jan 31, 2009 -> 07:47 AM) Nah I still stand by that was a ridiculously bad trade, at that time the economy was fine and carlos lee was a good player, even if the main goal was to dump his salary there had to be much better packages of players available. Carlos Lee is a bum and a loser. It was a good move just to get him out of the clubhouse.

I've been critical of Fields, and haven't been to high on him since his pathetic performance last year, but if he's got a new approach at bat, can at least maybe hit the fastball, and has improved his D, then he should/could be a decent player. I see his ceiling pretty much being a .250 hitter, with 30 HR and 90 RBI potential, with a .350 OBP and decent D. Not bad for a thirdbasemen. But he needs to prove he has done what I have mentioned before I think he can even be a remotely serviceable player.

By the sounds of it, he seems to be the perfect pull happy candidate for Greg Walker...

I like that Quentin is going. It's good for him, he will be getting his swing back and just getting back to playing baseball after breaking his hand. And as for him not playing for Mexico, that'd make no sense. I don't like having any of our pitchers playing in it, especially Danks and Dotel. Danks needs to keep his arm fresh for the season, and Dotel needs to pitch as least as possible with his injury concerns. Also, Thornton should avoid it as well. He's the key for our bullpen, IMO. However, all in all, I wish the WBC would go with basically only minor leaguers like the Olympics did. I like the idea of the WBC since the Olympics are getting rid of it, and this past year they even ruined it with some new stupid rules, but I hate the idea of having key players on teams, especially pitchers, participating. However, I do like minor leaguers getting added development in the WBC.

that can by a LOT of Big Macs...

Such a damn shame. I would go into more detail, but this isn't the right place to do so.