BearSox

Man, is it good to hear that Danks is all but signed and that we haven't given up on Long just yet. However, if we can't get long, we should use the money we were going to give him and try to sign some of the later round picks out of high school who dropped because of signability concerns. If we miss out on Long but then get James McCann and Randall Thorpe, I'll be very happy. This is turning into a great draft for us and really putting some talent into the system.

Can't we have all three. I know we won't have all three, but that would be a sick booth with Hawk, Stone, and D.J. It would be tough to say by to D.J. but Stone would make it a lot easier. :uhoh

QUOTE (Heads22 @ Jul 1, 2008 -> 09:00 PM) As is Carlos Quentin. He actually smiled after D Weezey crossed home. Everytime Quentin smiles, a panda is born. Also, Alexei Ramirez = Star

Only bad thing... Danks still only has 5 wins when he should have around 10 now and easily be an all-star. Slowly, but surely, Danks is turning into the ace of the team.

Not only is Alexei a stud, but he's also clutch... Man, we have really found us something with him!

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Jul 1, 2008 -> 08:36 AM) .249, but with 20 hr and 55 rbi. He was also 29 then, not 32. Things change. Also .249 > .215 I also tend to look at his 2006 stats to see the type of hitter he's truly become. Right around my estimations of .260/30/90 with a .259/31/90 season (and I didn't even look it up). That's the type of hitter he is IF HE'S REALLY LUCKY from his return from the DL til the end of the season. Hell, to break .260 he'd have to hit nearly .300... I don't hate the guy, I just have realistic expectations... 2006 was Konerko's best season... and if you forget, in 07, all three of Dye, Konerko, and Thome had pretty bad seasons. So, why is Konerko being held to the standards of 07 when Dye isn't? Plus, so far this season, Konerko hasn't been healthy at all. You aren't looking at this realistically. You are looking at this in a very biased view. I know hitter degress as they get older, but to assume a hitter can turn from a well above average hitter to a very mediocre hitter in just a short time of 2-3 years, you must be crazy. You act as if the gap of 29 to 32 is some jurastic gap in which someone will turn into half the hitter he once was. I don't know what PK did to you, but you aren't looking at this realistically at all.

Jumping in late here, and while his value is not through the roof, MacDougal still has value, and could be a key piece as a throw in a deal. Too many underestimate the value of pitchers with MacDougals stuff. Every team in the league would be willing to take a chance on him. Look at Aardsma, he was as bad, if not worse than MacDougal last year and we did get two borderline decent prospects for him. While we didn't get much for Aardsma, we still got more for him than what we did for Iguchi last year. With the way some people act, you'd think people with MacDougal's stuff grows on trees.

Please, lets send Lee back to reality... HE IS NOT THIS GOOD OF A PITCHER!

Man, do I love that we signed this guy. I think he is my favorite pick from the previous 2 drafts all together.

I really like Dublar. He's not the usual defensive minded catchers we always seem to draft. And judging by that article, if he is not a starter at catcher, he can be a valuable bench/role player. I don't know why, but I think Dublar will be/is a similar player to Pierzynski.

So pumped we got Upchurch signed. He was 1st or 2nd round talent that fell because of concerns about signability. I watched his scouting video and was very impressed with him. Between him and Hudson, I think we have 2 very good pitching prospects coming from this draft.

IIRC, wasn't Konerko hitting around .250 at the time of the All Star break in 05?

Good article! Man, it would be great if Danks signs. We need as much talent as possible in this system.

Johnson's almost end of June stats are: .279 AVG | 12 HR | 43 RBI | 3-4 SB-ATT | 76 G | 275 AB | 43 R | 25 BB | 53 SO | .819 OPS

Something is seriously wrong with us if we don't pound the crap out of Sowers.

So far Brent Morel has been Great Falls everyday thirdbaseman. He started off slow, but has recently started to heat up by batting .469 over his last 8 games. His almost end of June stats are: .362 AVG | 11 G | 47 AB | 11 R | 17 H | 0 HR | 3 RBI | 5 BB | 5 K | 7-7 SB-ATT | .881 OPS The fact that he is 7 for 7 in stolen base attempts really stands out to me.

Hunt has been getting more work recently, and has been doing fairly well for Kannapolis. I am not completely sure, but he may have also taken over the closer role for Henry Mabee who was promoted to Winston-Salem. His almost end of June stats are: 2.87 ERA | 1-1 W-L | 4 SV | 16-8 K-BB| 15.2 IP | 15 G | 1 HR | 6 R (5 ER) | 13 H

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Jun 30, 2008 -> 08:49 AM) A productive Konerko may be a thing of the past. At this point he's too streaky. If you think you're ever seeing Paul Konerko hit .280 again, well, props to you, because I just don't see it. At this point, at best, he's a .260/30/90 guy. With the boppers we have elsewhere in the lineup, I'll take the defense in the outfield and Swisher's increased range at 1B over that. Geez, you'd think Paulie is 37-38 based on some of these posts. The guy is 32, and to assume he will never be anything more than a very mediocre power hitter, especially in the following 3 or 4 years, is crazy. Will he be anything more than a very mediocre power hitter? I don't know, I can't see the future. But I think he deserves the benefit of the doubt due to his baseball knowledge and his career success.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Jun 30, 2008 -> 08:42 AM) We aren't really losing out on a big bat though. We've got plenty of boppers in the lineup. Anyone who thinks this team is better with Konerko is sorely mistaken. So, you are telling me that this team is better WITHOUT a healthy and productive Paul Konerko? WOW!

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Jun 30, 2008 -> 07:38 AM) The longer Konerko is out, the better this team plays. Swisher at 1B helps our OF by having Anderson or Wise in CF. That and Konerko's .215 average make him rather worthless to the squad. We lose NOTHING without him in there. OR, he hasn't been preforming this season due to his injuries and with him being injured we are losing out on a big bat in the middle of the order...

C - A.J. Pierzynski 1B - Nick Swisher 2B - Gordon Beckham 3B - Josh Fields SS - Alexei Ramirez LF - Brandon Short CF - Jordan Danks RF - Carlos Quentin DH - Paul Konerko 1. John Danks 2. Gavin Floyd 3. Dan Hudson 4. Mark Buehrle 5. Lance Broadway SU - Aaron Poreda CL - Bobby Jenks

QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ Jun 29, 2008 -> 05:41 PM) How were all 3 wind-aided? I'd agree on Quentins, but Dye's was smashed and Alexei's was similar to the 2B he hit. And if they were, why didn't Crede's go out? Or Alexei's 2B? Or both of Lee's 2B's? JD's got in on him and just kept carrying, and Alexei's double was actually hit harder than his home run.

Willy Taveras and his amazing .252 average and .301 OBP (and that's with him playing half of his games in Colorado!)...? I'll pass.

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Jun 29, 2008 -> 01:42 PM) Alexei is just a stud. We pretty much found a 5 tool player for absolutely nothing, doesn't get much better than that. And on to the other stud, how about that homer by CQ last night? It almost looked like he half swung a pitch out of the park. Absolutely ridiculous power. Yeah, but if not for the wind, that's an out. Man, the wind helped us out big time yesterday. All 3 homers were homers because of it.

It's gonna be tough to say goodbye to Alexei after June, but that wallpaper is sexy.