BearSox

QUOTE(max power @ Mar 27, 2008 -> 04:05 PM) 90 wins exactly. 2nd behind the indians. The tigers win 79 games. wow, the Tigers win only 79? With possibly the best offense in baseball, and a pitching staff which ain't all that bad, they only muster up 79 wins? But we get 90... wow. I'd take it, but I am being kind when I say HIGHLY unlikely.

If Javy gets some help from the bullpen, and a little run support, I can see him making a run for the Cy Young. Give him 5 more wins last year (he got ripped off of at least 7 or 8 W's last year due to the pen and lack of run support), and I think he would have been in the top 3 of voting, if not the out-right winner.

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Mar 27, 2008 -> 03:42 PM) Is referring to McCulloch as a "piece of s***" really necessary? as a person, I'm sure he's a nice guy. I got nothing against him... but as a baseball pitcher, he sucks. I'll edit it to be on the safe side however.

what makes Brian Anderson so good on defense is that he makes excellent reads. Some of the best defenders were able to tell where the ball will be just by the swing and crack of the bat. He is able to do that, which allows him to put his head down, run to the area of where the ball will be, regain his barrings, look up and catch the ball.

74-77... a little better then last year, but not a whole lot. Our rotation is significantly worse, and while our bullpen looks improved, which I think it is, you never know. Our offense is better, but by how much? Swisher is a good OBP guy with some pop and such, and is surely and upgrade, but he is no world beater. I really like Quentin and Ramirez, but how much playing time will they get? Anderson, we'll see... if he ever plays. Crede I'm not expecting anything out of, and Uribe will be his usual s***ty self. Plus, once Owens is back he's gonna play, and he is complete garbage. I'm expecting a real bad first half, but I hope in the 2nd half we can finally get our youth in there, and hopefully all of Contreras, Crede, Uribe, and Dye preform good enough so we can actually get something out of them. Perhaps Dotel can be possible trade bait at the deadline as well. My hope is that on August 1st, Quentin will be in RF, Anderson in CF (Owens sent down/benched), Swisher in LF, Richar and Ramirez platooning at 2B, and Fields at 3B. Egbert and Broadway should both get their chances, as well as maybe even Poreda quickly escalating. Just imagine if we selected Joba over that nothing baller McCulloch back in 06...

QUOTE(fathom @ Mar 27, 2008 -> 09:46 AM) I'd be thrilled if Swisher hits first all season. I think vs. Lefties, Swisher is better of at the 3 spot with Ozuna leading off. Vs. righties though, Swish should lead off.

Owens does not play better defense. The only think Owens does on defense better is that he is very good coming in on the ball, as evident by all those very good driving catches he makes coming in. However, Owens does not know how to go back nor does he know how to actually read flyballs. Plus, his arm makes Pods arm look like a canon. Pods on the other hand was actually able to read flyballs and get the ball in much faster then Owens. Owens is not an OF, he is just someone who was fast, so he got stuck in CF. As well as that, Owens has proven to me he doesn't have a clue what he's doing up there at bat. First off, he has a horrible stance and swing that makes it impossible for him to hit for any power what-so-ever. Pods actually knew what he was doing up there. If Owens could match Pods 06 numbers, I'd be shocked. In my mind, it's no question, Pods >>>>>>>>>>>>> Owens.

QUOTE(DBAH0 @ Mar 26, 2008 -> 05:23 PM) bearsox, ST is not the end all to be all. Just because Dye struggles in ST, doesn't mean he's going to suck this season. Post ASB last season, his OPS was above .900 last season IIRC. He has shown what he's capable of when he's fully healthy. He's argubly our best hitter when he's in form. It's not his stats that worry me, it's his play. When I evaluate a player, I look at their play first and fore-most. And right now, Dye is slower then molasses. Not only is he slow in the field, but he has absolutely no bat speed. I've seen rusty gates move faster then Dye's bat. And Dye's slow bat has been why he has such a bad spring.

QUOTE(Greg The Bull Luzinski @ Mar 26, 2008 -> 09:46 PM) Being the negative S.O.B. that I am, I will counter your cited upgrades: 1. Really we are switching Cabrera for Richar/Iguchi since Uribe will probably getting most of the playing time ... but at another position. 2. I suspect healthy Jerry Owens will move Quetin to the bench a lot when he is healthy. Pods is approximately equal to Owens. 3. Anderson has improved but will probably rarely play. 4. I will say the bullpen IS better. 5. Good 1-2 punch in the rotation. But after that, I only have expectations for Danks. We exchanged Garland for Floyd in the rotation which is a downgrade. A healthy Pods is a ton better then a healthy Owens.

QUOTE(nitetrain8601 @ Mar 26, 2008 -> 08:25 PM) I don't see Swisher batting 3rd. I think he'll bat behind Thome, Konerko, and Dye on OD. I'm pretty sure Ozzie already said somewhere that he'll be hitting Thome 3rd. Ozzie already said Swisher will hit 3rd and Thome 5th vs. lefties... So, I'd assume the lineups would be something like: vs. lefties/opening day: 1. Ozuna, 2B/LF 2. Cabrera, SS 3. Swisher, CF/LF 4. Konerko, 1B 5. Thome, DH 6. Dye, RF 7. Pierzynski/Hall, C 8. Crede, 3B 9. Quentin/Anderson/Ramirez/Uribe, LF/CF/2B vs. righties: 1. Swisher, CF/LF 2. Cabrera, SS 3. Thome, DH 4. Konerko, 1B 5. Dye, RF 6. Pierzynski, C 7. Crede, 3B 8. Quentin/Anderson/Ramirez, LF/CF 9. Uribe/Ramirez, 2B That's pretty much how I'd have it, except Crede would be replace by Fields, and Uribe would be off the team with Ramirez and Ozuna handling 2B until Richar returns. Oh yeah, Owens would be off the team as well. I'm hoping Ramirez will get around 300-350 at bats this year, getting playing time at 2B, SS, and the OF. Hopefully he can work on his D at SS so he can take over there full time next year.

QUOTE(iamshack @ Mar 26, 2008 -> 05:06 PM) It's a 2 year, $22 million contract with a mutual option for '10 and a $1 million buyout. I'm relieved, cause that means we will only be wasting 23 million on Dye... unless he re-learns how to hit and regains his bat speed.

well, he still must be injured, because this spring training, Dye's bat has looked slower then ever. I still think that 3 years, 30 some million dollar deal we gave him was f***ing stupid. We could really use those 2 draft picks (especially since we are losing one for the Linebrink signing, which I hate as well). We'll, I'm still excited about Quentin and he'll be fun to watch, whenever he gets healthy and gets his chance.

Phillie is paying 5.5 million of his option? I thought it was just the 22 million over the 3 years.

QUOTE(max power @ Mar 26, 2008 -> 04:47 PM) To say dye regressed is a bunch of bull. His whole career has been up and down. When he has been healthy, Dye has preformed. If you call down him being always injured, I guess his career was up and down. He wasn't injured last year however, and last time I checked, having super slow bat speed is not an injury.

QUOTE(elrockinMT @ Mar 26, 2008 -> 04:17 PM) I like it when AJ homers. Sox have offense for sure. I like it when A.J. decides not to pull everything and hits for average instead of power.

QUOTE(ptatc @ Mar 26, 2008 -> 04:08 PM) Do you honestly think they don't have a plan or are you just trying to stir up trouble? The plan is obvious. They wanted to trade both Uribe and Crede but had no takers. They have to start both of them to drum up trade value. It sucks in the short run but will be better in the long run. Uribe was on waivers to see ifthe could pull him back and make a trade. It hasn't happened yet but it will. the sox will gain a player from the Crede trade and another year of service for Fields. i don't think there is ever a problem with too many good players. Who wouldn't known that Anderson would have put his head on straight this year when he hasn't in the past? Quentin if not used extensively this year is the replacemenbt for Dye next year, it is not a waste to season him a little more. For all your complaining about there being no plan, I see a good plan with backups built in for injury cases. We have a few older players so you see waste and redundancy, I see backup plan. The plan is obvious, you just don't like it. I fail to see how's that possible now since Dye is signed to a fairly large contract for 2 more years after this season... and Dye has regressed more so then any other player in baseball over the past year. So, if has the type of year I see him having, it's gonna be a tough to unload him. And are you seriously gonna sit there and tell me the Giants will not give anything for either Crede or Uribe, when they are going to have players from a-ball to start for them. Kenny Williams has some sick dillusion that Crede and Uribe are actually worth something more via trade. There is no reason why we should have pulled Uribe back from waivers. The other team would take on his 4.5 million dollar contract, that is incentive enough to let him go bye-bye.

I call on the top sig makers of soxtalk with this request... I have a Javy Vazquez sig request, and I would be very appreciative if someone could make me such a sig. If someone does indeed agree to make a sig, I would like it to have "Javy Vazquez" as the main text, with "Chris who?" directly under it. Also, I would like it if my moniker could be present in one of the corners. Here is a picture you could use: If thats no good, you can use your own picture of him, or request to have me find a different one. Thank you to whoever, if anyone, does indeed makes this sig.

now, if the intentions are to make an unbiased film just presenting the life of Bush and such, I have no problem with such a film. However, if they are going to make it into a Bush is the devil, he sacrifices babies type of movie, then I do have a bit of a problem with that.

I was thinking... if we aren't competitors this year, and the possibility for a world series isn't looking so great in 2009, does Thome ask for a trade to a team ready to make a push?

so, doing some looking ahead: Is this Thome's last year with the White Sox?

oh come on, please sell to EA!!! I am dying for the return of MVP Baseball!

Great post Steve, but I'd like to add something: Why did KW trade Jon Garland for a guy to replace Uribe if he was just going to have Uribe start somewhere else on the infield? He traded a solid no.3 starter (at the least) who is entering his prime for Cabrera to replace Uribe, right? It makes no f***ing sense, and just goes to show you after we missed out on both Torii Hunter and Miguel Cabrera, KW was just making moves for the sake of making moves. Now, not only is this season looking like a waste, but we have very little future as well.

Joba is a stud though... he's not gonna be a good one, he's gonna be a great one. Also, that list is terrible. That is the type of list you come up with off the top of your head with in 20 minutes, and really put no effort into research or the rankings.

QUOTE(DBAH0 @ Mar 25, 2008 -> 08:33 PM) I mean I worry as well, what if Uribe puts up .270 with 30HR's this season? Do the Sox re-sign him to a big contract? Because I think he would pack it in ALA Beltre, because he hasn't performed any other season when his contract hasn't been on the line. trade him at the deadline... and hopefully Crede and Dye will follow him.

QUOTE(DonnyDevito @ Mar 25, 2008 -> 07:50 PM) no way it could be weaker than podsednik's! Oh it is. I think my niece can throw a ball farther then Owens.