bigruss

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Nov 10, 2008 -> 02:44 PM) He would be an ideal guy for the Rockies to target. I wonder if Chris Carter or Aaron Cunningham winds up in this. I dont see Carter going there because he is more of a DH, but he is such a great hitter maybe Colorado thought he is worth it. I could def. see Cunningham being involved or Gio.

Apparently the A's have acquired Matt Holliday, as of now details are not available. From Mlbtraderumors.com sourced Jon Heyman from SI.com

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Nov 10, 2008 -> 02:26 PM) I’m hearing some very strong talk that the A’s just acquired Matt Holliday. Does anyone else have confirmation? MLBtraderumors.com jsut reported it, according to Jon Heyman from SI.com

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Nov 10, 2008 -> 01:25 PM) Seriously though. Would we be able to get Peavy with a package of Richard, Broadway, Getz, and maybe one other fringer, because thats what the Cubs are offering. But Peavy wants to stay in the NL /green

QUOTE (scenario @ Nov 9, 2008 -> 11:59 PM) Maybe I'm wrong but I have a hard time imagining that Red Sox fans are sitting around talking about trading Jonathan Papelbon for the good of their ballclub. (Papelbon is a few months older than Jenks, makes a little more money, and has basically the same amount of MLB service time.) Does Papelbon have a screw in his arm? Plus the Red Sox can take a hit financially with bad contracts compared to us.

Regarding uppercuts, a good swing will have a slight uppercut, this comes from pro hitting coaches, and almost every major league swing has a slight upperswing if you look at the video, its not a dramatic upper cut, but just enough to get lift, and backspin on the ball, which allows the ball to travel farther, plus as mentioned earlier the trajectory of pitches is downward so you have a better chance to hit the ball if your on the same plane.

QUOTE (sox4lifeinPA @ Oct 29, 2008 -> 07:56 PM) http://www.theblackfriday.com/ so far only Sears has published their ad Sears Samsung 32" LN32A300 LCD HDTV $499.99 just go to walmart.com for some good deals everyday, they have a sharp and a toshiba 32" for $500 each, they both have gotten great reviews and have good specs. But let me know if theres a 32in deal out there for like $350 or $400, I really hope that stores and producers get desperate enough to mark it down that much, it would be so sweet.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Oct 29, 2008 -> 12:12 PM) We dont want to forfeit the lighter weights at the wrestling meet? Sexy Lexi would still be on the team.

QUOTE (SoxFan101 @ Oct 29, 2008 -> 05:32 AM) I dont understand how you figure we are better off with a poor starter over a dominant reliever. Our bullpen is in need of a 2nd lefty in the first place and Richard would not only fit that bill but possibly be pretty dominant in it. As a start your looking at a guy in the era range of 5 that is probably not going to go long into games and tax our bullpen. I didnt, I said based off of wite's comment of "mediocre starter or dominant reliever" that i would take the mediocre starter, but thats me. To me, mediocre means average, so that would be 4.5-5 ERA with about a .500 W/L column, I would take that out of our 5th starter position and would feel much better going out and getting guys who can take the long relief role that Richard will most likely have. Now, in real life and not theory, I put Richard in the bullpen because right now I think he wouldnt be a good starter (he could improve before the season and I may change my mind) but he didnt seem effective enough yet, but enough so from the bullpen to have a spot there.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Oct 28, 2008 -> 10:39 PM) It sounds nothing like Danks. Danks came up with a good fastball and changeup and his curveball hasn't fallen far off even though he doesn't even feature it a ton anymore. He's learned a cutter and become a stud pitcher. Richard's cutter won't do as much for him and I think he has the stuff to be a pretty dynamite reliever but pretty mediocre starter. Which one is more valuable? Which one do we need now? I would go with starter right now based off your assumptions, just because it would be cheaper to go with Richard then any free agent (duh) and I dont really like any FA more than Richard except maybe a Colon or Garcia, even then Im worried about health there. I feel like a bullpen piece could be found for cheaper (whether inhouse or FA) and be effective enough to not hurt us.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Oct 28, 2008 -> 08:34 PM) I'm just going to say very quickly that I don't understand how Gavin Floyd was "stolen." He had fallen out of favor in Philadelphia and was included with a talented pitcher who had stunk in AA the year before for a pitcher who had thrown 200+ innings the previous 6 years, had World Series experience, and was coming off a solid season. Perhaps KW knew he was injured and he dealt him for chump change, but that's more than a bit unethical as it is. KW traded Freddy Garcia for the best package he felt he had on the table, and Gavin Floyd was a highly valued commodity coming back to the White Sox. Carlos Quentin and Bobby Jenks were stolen much moreso than Gavin Floyd was. The Sox gave up an A-ball slugger and a 40-man roster spot respectively for the aforementioned; compare that with a guy who helped the White Sox win a World Series. You tell me who was more stolen. But Blum helped win us a World Series! So did El Duque, and many other guys like Timo Perez. We either let many of those guys go outright or traded them for scraps, I dont think that argument is a good one at all. A GM should go after guys who can perform in the clutch, but it shouldnt be the main reason to go after them unless they are jsut a role type player. If a GM was able to acquire a team full of ARods and Sabathias, and just dominate in the regular season, and then when playoffs came around they stunk, would he really be blamed? I dont think he should, he should go after the best possible players and its up to them to perform up to their ability consistently. Anywho, Freddy was a pitcher breaking down, or at the very least was looked upon as a fatigued pitcher at the time, so his value wasnt that great. Floyd's value was basically gone, atleast thats the feeling I got when we got him, and Gio was the real prize in the deal with the hope that Coop could fix Floyd.

I see no problem with this, its low risk, high reward. If anything, hes down at Charlotte. Best case scenario, he gets comfortable with the team and lives up to the past hype he had and comes out in a season kindof like a Ryan Ludwick guy (Im not comparing them really, jsut saying he could have a breakout year, how do you know for certain that he cant or wont at this point? Its baseball, anything can really happen, and so can us trading for a big time shortstop or secondbasemen to make it even less likely that Nix actually makes the team, but right now hes a cheap, possibly good pickup for us).

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Oct 28, 2008 -> 03:55 PM) .125 average with 17 k in 56 AB. Looks like a future Charlotte Knight. Wasnt he recently highly touted? I think his defense was atleast. Could be a good backup option.

QUOTE (maggsmaggs @ Oct 26, 2008 -> 04:09 PM) Oh yeah great movie. Didn't cry during it, but that is just one fantastic movie. If you guys like to read, def check out the book, its one of those types thats 100x better than the movie thats already great.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Oct 22, 2008 -> 08:27 PM) I didn't even think we'd be talking about decent years for him though. Well, I took form your previous post that you thought he might be below-average in his first couple of years, as you stated he has turned into a Moyer like soft tossing pitcher, but if you look at Moyer's stats thats pretty average, youre talking about 200 innings, and about a 4.5 era (recently its ranged between 4 and 5, though he did have a 3.71 era this year). So I dont know if you were actually talking about comparing Zito to Moyer's performance, or just the type of pitches he now has, but Moyer has been solid in the NL. Basically, I took it as you saying he would be average to below-average while progressively getting worse, and I was just stating I didnt think anybody could predict he would be out of a SF Giant rotation in less than two years.

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Oct 22, 2008 -> 08:49 PM) Billy Beane did too. His decision not resign Zito was not only a financial one, but also one where the organizations projections had Zito experiencing a significant drop-off in the near future. Zito, at his best had an insane curveball to offset a mediocre fastball. The A’s organization reckoned that as soon as Zito lost his finite control of that curve, he would lose his value to the organization as well. Yea, makes sense why they wouldnt try to compete with large offers, but mostly because they couldnt afford to compete, i mean few teams could counter a deal like that of the giants for a player who had shown to be on the downward slope. If they could get him for what they thought was a fair deal, i bet they sign it, but every team is going to value a player differently, the Giants jsut thought he was a valuable piece who may help them win the division, obviously it backfired big time.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Oct 22, 2008 -> 07:13 PM) Quite frankly...yeah. I'm not sure I predicted an ERA of 8, but seriously, I though he was falling apart. His fastball was losing 2 mph a year. He'd gone from being a hard thrower to tossing softer than Jamie Moyer within about 3 years, and that was before the Giants signed him. Exactly, you said it right there, you didnt think he would be THIS bad, I predicted he would have one or two decent years, but after that lose any reason to be starting, but who could predict he would be taken out of the Giants rotation in just the second year.

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Oct 22, 2008 -> 04:29 PM) The man traded Liriano, Bonser and Nathan for AJ, signed Zito, made a habit out of signing over the hill veterans, and drastically undervalues Tim Lincecum. I don't think we can put to many positive spins on his intelligence. AJ back then was a promising young catcher, which basically is a HUGE commodity to have, Nathan was not a prime closer then, Liriano had extreme injury concerns (and look what happened, he had tommy john), and Bonser was a pretty good pitching prospect but not great. At the time, the trade did not seem that bad, what happened afterwards is what made it suck as much as it does. The Zito signing has no real justification, though one could argue to take some blame off of him for his rationalizing that Zito would be able to keep his #1/2 starter status if he pitched in the NL, I mean did anybody think he would tank THIS badly? Atleast this quickly? Of course, its the risk you take with any FA, or any player in general, sometimes they just fall apart, its baseball. s*** happens.

QUOTE (GreatScott82 @ Oct 22, 2008 -> 04:21 PM) Apparently the Giants are listening to offers for Cain this offseason. They are in search for some sluggers for the outfield. Our 3 best trading chips this winter will be Dye, Vazquez and Konerko in that order. A Dye for Cain trade maybe a possibility. If you can sell high on a player who has probably peeked for his career you have to pull the trigger. I know there was mention that the Twins are talking about offering Delmon Young for Cain. If i were the Giants that would probably be a little more attractive due to Young's age of 23. But KW has been known to sweetn up the pot a bit. Sabean aint that stupid, you would have to throw in a bunch of young prospects, even then I think any team can beat our offer for what they need (which is younger players who are cheaper, unless Sabean really believes his team can compete after losing Cain).

I love my nicknames: WalRuss DangerRuss MonsterRuss DangerRuss was the most common for baseball, and WalRuss for everything else.

My high school, one of the top in Michigan, mandated 6 courses a semester, and optioned to take a 7th, but if u played a sport it was impossible to take that course. After a history/government/social science class, language, math, english, science, not to mention most students a music class, you usually only had 1 class open for electives and required classes like art, PE (which u needed 2 semesters total of, one of which was covered if u played a sport for a full year), and health, so really you didnt have much chance to take an elective. Yes, you could just take the bare requirements to graduate, like three years of science, but many colleges shun that. My Senior Year last year: AP English (Year) AP Govt (Sem) - Advanced Law (Sem) AP Statistics (Year) AP Latin 5 (Year) Trailblazers (Year) The Optimist (School Newspaper) So I had two electives because I decided to not take Physics, and I am not in music, plus had all my requirements fulfilled so I was able to continue takeing Newspaper, which I was an editor on. Trailblazers was a class where we drove each day to an elementary school and tutored a student there for the year, great experience there.

QUOTE (Cubano @ Oct 14, 2008 -> 04:42 PM) I wrote about this guy a few weeks ago. His name is Juan Carlos Moreno. He was a gold glove SS in Cuba for the Isla de la Juventud Grapefruit Growers. He was a back up for team Cuba in WBC # 1. I do not know how much he has left, but he should be a cheap option for any team al SS or as a back up. He is going to play for the Cibao Giants (Gigantes del Cibao) in the dominican winter league. Juan Carlos Moreno, the first guy from left to right. The guy on the right is a cuban pitcher. I think he is Braves LHP Francisley Bueno, but he may be somebody else. Any knowledge on his offense or what type of contract would require to sign him? Basically, is there a real chance of him coming here and whats the scouting on him?

QUOTE (Melissa1334 @ Oct 14, 2008 -> 05:06 PM) what does the "t" stand for? ive seen it used a lot THE Carlos Quentin

Just joined, now you can all bask in the glory that is my picture with my Rowdy impersonator!!! Woot!

QUOTE (Fantl916 @ Oct 14, 2008 -> 04:25 PM) I am a huge advocate of dealing for Rickie Weeks. He has been constantly hampered by random nagging injuries (wrist, hammy). I truly believe a change of scenery will do this guy absolute wonders. I think something like a solid prospect and good bullpen arm could get it done (think John Ely and Boone Logan/Wasserman). He is low risk, huge reward. Don't forget this guy was a top 10 prospect only a few years ago, and has 30 home run, 30 steals in his arsenal. You let him get healthy, stick him at 2nd base, and take the pressure off of him by batting him 9th. He essentially then becomes an emmensely talented #9 hitter capable of hitting 30 home runs and playing secondary leadoff, and not killing you with his .230-.250 average. You would still have to search for a leadoff guy, but Weeks could be absolutely huge for this team... I hope KW goes hard after him, and we land him... he'd instantly be my favorite White Sox... Hes also a liability in the field, once again he has talent there but doenst use it properly. I dont think that trade would entice the Brewers.... He would be your favorite over TCQ or Danks or any other star on this team right now? Also, I am not racist or anything, I jsut find it interesting that many athletes who are perceived as five tool players are usually minorities, which makes sense because from my experiences in playing sports the most athletic kids are usually nonwhite, but alot of these players get huge attention on their potential, that they have a quick swing, they have a strong arm, they are extremely fast. Seems almost too good to be true, and I think it is, for most of these guys dont have baseball skills, from inexperience or jsut not having it. Yes they can launch a ball in bp, or run a fast times in drills, but when it comes down to it they dont have 'it' to fulfill that potential. Im talking about guys like Adam Jones, Delmon Young, Weeks, etc, I just dont have any faith as a baseball fan that these guys will ever live up to their potential. Yes, they are all VERY young, and have loads of time to get there, I jsut dont think they many of these athletes have the baseball instinct that is required to succeed at this level. Once again, I am not racist, nor trying to be, for there have been white guys with the skillset but lack of baseball instinct also. I guess I am comparing them to guys who have tremendous baseball instinct, but no athleticism, and how they may also succeed at lower levels but once the competition gets harder they cant keep up, except alot of these guys are never placed with the huge potential tag. Sorry to hijack this thread, jsut something that came up in my mind.