BearSox

QUOTE (lostfan @ Jun 3, 2008 -> 06:58 PM) lol, I'm not a wacky liberal, people assume that, but i'm not. In my eyes you are

QUOTE (lostfan @ Jun 3, 2008 -> 05:36 PM) Oh my bad, I thought you were putting Puerto Rico in the category of the DR or what have you. Us sane conservatives and you wacky liberals can never quite understand each other

QUOTE (fathom @ Jun 3, 2008 -> 06:25 PM) I've heard Cubs will take Kelly if he's there for their pick. I really think we might see Posey fall to us (despite what my brother says). If KC doesn't go with Smoak, then San Fran is a definite possibility for him. And if that's the case, it would look likely that one of Posey or Skipworth would be there at 8. I for one would rather have Skipworth and am not as high on Posey as some, but if Posey was there (and Smoak and Crow were not), I'd have no problem with the pick. Catcher has been such a need for this organization for so many years, it's hard to complain about a guy like Posey who could fix our problems at catcher for the next 10 years. EDIT: I've also heard that San Fran could go after Gordon Beckham. I for one hope they do. An ideal (but not-likely) situation would have Hosmer go at 3, have the Orioles go with Crow instead, and have the Reds go with Casey Kelly. With Beckham and Kelly being somewhat reaches, IMO, that would likely leave two of Matusz, Smoak, Skipworth, and Posey there at 8 for our picking. Worst case scenario is that Smoak goes no. 3 overall, Baltimore goes with the safe lefty Matusz (meaning the Reds will go with Crow by default), and San Fran goes with Posey (and Florida with Skipworth by default). That would leave us with our picking from Beckham, Wallace, Alonso, Hunt, and Cashner.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jun 3, 2008 -> 05:05 PM) According to Bruce Levine, people close to Ozzie said he spent the last 48 hours contemplating if he still wanted this job. Obviously, he must have decided that he does. same old song...

QUOTE (lostfan @ Jun 3, 2008 -> 03:57 PM) Puerto Ricans are US citizens well duh, they are a territory of the U.S. Any non-nitwit knows that. I was just saying if they went to one of the U.S. Territories like Puerto Rico.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jun 3, 2008 -> 06:09 PM) I know this isn't much, but the word around the BA offices today is don't expect any surprises in the top 7. That means T. Beckham, Matusz, Crow, Posey, Alvarez, Smoak, and who, Alonso? Hosmer. Word is the Royals are willing to pay the big bucks for him, and he is a legit top 5 talent, IMO. I see that top 7 going as: 1. Rays - Tim Beckham 2. Pirates - Pedro Alvarez 3. Royals - Eric Hosmer 4. Orioles - Brian Matusz 5. Giants - Buster Posey 6. Marlins - Kyle Skipworth 7. Reds - Aaron Crow I wouldn't be surprised to see a flip-flop with Matusz and Crow, and I wouldn't be surprised if KC changes their mind to Smoak. One surprise I could see happening is if Crow is gone by 7, I could see Cincinnati going with Casey Kelly.

QUOTE (Cubano @ Jun 3, 2008 -> 03:35 PM) Escobar came to the USA by boat. He elected to stay in the USA and entered the draft. If someone comes after the draft, then you wait until next year draft. Escobar had no name so he had no business going to a third country to obtain legal papers. Nowadays, it becoming increasingly difficult for cubans to go use the third country route. many of these governments are lefty and simpathetic of the cuban regime. Alexei has a dominican wife. She was studying medicine in Cuba. He visited the D.R. in the past, but this time he did not return to Cuba. He got his D.R. paper through the wife. His wife is a doctor now. So, if you go the third country route, you are a free agent, while if you go straight to America or a place Puerto Rico, you are a draft eligible player?

I have a question... why was a defector like Yunel Escobar drafted, while another defector like Ramirez was a FA?

QUOTE (Tony82087 @ Jun 3, 2008 -> 04:05 PM) I guess I'm just tainted by the whole Royce Ring fiasco. (I know he was drafted 18).. oh, what could have been with Cole Hamels going all of 1 spot ahead of us. We still probably wouldn't have draft Hamels if he was there, but it's fun to think about.

QUOTE (Tony82087 @ Jun 3, 2008 -> 02:59 PM) With a Top 10 pick, is it EVER a good idea to draft a reliever??? If it is the second coming of Rivera, then yes IIRC, Colorado drafted the closer out of Vanderbilt last in the top 10. However, they might be converting him to a starter, so I don't know.

lol @ Ozzie's changes... big change!

QUOTE (DBAH0 @ Jun 3, 2008 -> 02:33 PM) Uhh Matusz at #8 would be a fantastic result for the Sox, unless you would prefer a Brett Wallace there instead. I'm not a big fan of pitchers with no real plus/out pitch with the no. 8 selection. His curve and change are borderline, but he has some mechanical issues and has trouble repeating his delivery. I see too much Jeff Francis in him.

I'm not gonna lie, Morales looks a lot older than 25 or 26 to me.

Ah, there is nothing like playing online and being in a bases loaded situation with a 2 run lead with 2 outs late in MLB the Show, to induce an easy out only to have someone walk in front of the tv and block your view just long enough so you lose the ball, it roles in the outfield and two runs score to ruin your lead. I wound up losing the game in 10 (other guy was home)... I almost threw my ps3 through my tv.

Mayo's got some rumors... http://draft.mlblogs.com/archives/2008/05/...rumor_mill.html I'd be sick to my stomach if draft Cashner. The only pitcher I'd be happy about at no.8 is Crow. I wouldn't even be happy about Matusz as he reminds me too much of Jeff Francis.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jun 2, 2008 -> 10:46 PM) Bear, I want to point out, that its hard to have any sort of intuition on anyone without at least seeing them play or reading scouting reports (stats are not something you can really infur off of, unless you are going strictly by the cover and stating guys over such and such OPS are good, guys with a WHIP of X are good. Not saying anything is wrong, just saying sometimes you may want to gut check some of the ballsy statements (or just preface it by stating its based on nothing more than a gut feeling). That said, I love your enthusiasm when it comes to the farm and it spurs some very good debate/discussion on here. Plus, as anyone whose been here for a while knows, I've made my fair share of bold, completely based on gut posts (see practically every guarantee I've ever made regarding who I think the Sox will trade for, LOL). I know for me, I stated my opinions on Fields and get bold but I try to back them up based on what I've seen (mixed in with the fact that everyone on these boards has come to realize I hate guys that hit .250 and strike out 150 times (no matter how many freaking hr's they hit, well, if they hit 50 plus, I'll put up with it, LOL). Or If I haven't seen a guy and I'm basing it off what I've read, I try to include that information. Anyway, enough of these, lets figure out who the hell the Sox are going to draft and hope like hell he's going to be a superstar (and hopefully we get plenty of good players in the remaining rounds). Well, the only thing I've read about Retherford talked about his athleticism, how he could play anywhere on the field, and his baseball smarts. First name that popped into my head was Inge when I read that about him. I have a hard time seeing him become a major force with the bat, but with his athleticism, baseball IQ, and ability to play everywhere, he can make it as a bench player, IMO. I doubt anyone here has ever really seen Retherford, so any prediction I make is as bold as any prediction anyone else makes.

QUOTE (Tony82087 @ Jun 2, 2008 -> 08:37 PM) So you're making these predictions and projections off a hunch that you have from a guy that you have never seen play?? For guys I have never seen before, all I have to go off are stats and just intuition.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jun 2, 2008 -> 08:16 PM) You keep saying these things about his hitting, like he isn't going to hit in the bigs, and comparing him to Inge... again, what leads you to these conclusions? So far, he seems to be hitting quite well while moving up. What leads you to have such a negative view of his hitting? Just a hunch... I could very well be completely incorrect.

So far through 6, Charlotte leads 6-2. Richar 1-3 with a 3 run jack. Fields 1-2 with a BB and a K. Owens 2-3 with a rbi, and Getz 1-3 with a rbi. Whisler so far with a 3 hitter with 2 ER (3 R)... 2 of those hits left the park.

QUOTE (Tony82087 @ Jun 2, 2008 -> 08:02 PM) No, you still haven't answered it. You made the statement that Swisher AND Konerko shouldn't be considered as "trading starters" My question was why aren't we considering them starters? Because of two bad months? Oh, I thought you were asking the same question as Heads, my bad. I said at this point they shouldn't be considered starters. Of course they are going to get their playing time, but right now they are close to being the worst starters in the bigs. Hopefully that all changes, but if we did trade them right now, we wouldn't be losing much with whomever we had to replace them.

QUOTE (Tony82087 @ Jun 2, 2008 -> 07:55 PM) That really didn't answer my question at all, and Anderson has nothing to do with it. Really, it didn't answer your question? Like I said, I wouldn't bench Swisher. I was pointing out that a defensive OF of Ethier-Anderson-Quentin would be one of the best in the game. I know I wasn't all that clear to begin with, and I apologize.

QUOTE (Heads22 @ Jun 2, 2008 -> 06:52 PM) I see Getz on the big league squad at some point this year and as our backup IF next year. I wonder if he's got any ability to backup at 3B? Well, he's been playing SS and LF, I think he could play a little 3B. Hopefully if we send Wass down, Getz will "getz" the call.

QUOTE (Tony82087 @ Jun 2, 2008 -> 07:49 PM) So because of a bad two months by a 27 year old and 32 year old, they aren't starters anymore? Really? See the reply I just made to Heads. Plus, if you remember, I am one of the biggest anti-Anderson guys here.

QUOTE (Heads22 @ Jun 2, 2008 -> 07:48 PM) I don't see Anderson starting for us unless Swisher's leg falls off, and I don't see us moving Swisher any time soon for all we've invested in him. I never said I would start him. I'm just saying, having Ethier-Anderson-Quentin from left to right would be a pretty slick defensive outfield. I should note, I really hope we don't have to see Swisher in CF next year. Hopefully he gets moved to either LF or 1B, depending on how the offseason goes. If we could get Ethier, trade Dye for something valueable, and move Quentin to RF, I wouldn't mind Swisher in CF as much. I'm not saying Swisher is bad in CF as he has actually been pretty good, but he just isn't a true CF. He has been playing most of his games in the Cell which is one of the easier CF's to play though.

QUOTE (Heads22 @ Jun 2, 2008 -> 07:44 PM) I'd love to see Ethier roaming around LF and Q in RF for us. And yea, Colletti wouldn't do that deal, but it also wouldn't make sense for us to deal three starters for one. At this point, Swisher and Konerko shouldn't even count as starters. And yeah, Ethier-Anderson-Quentin would be a pretty sick defensive outfield.