bigruss

QUOTE(Wealz @ Apr 15, 2007 -> 08:52 PM) Not even close. Top 10-15 is what I'd consider blue chip. Here is Baseball America's Top 15 prospects for 2006 1. Delmon Young, of, Devil Rays 2. Justin Upton, ss, Diamondbacks 3. Brandon Wood, ss, Angels 4. Jeremy Hermida, of, Marlins 5. Stephen Drew, ss, Diamondbacks 6. Francisco Liriano, lhp, Twins 7. Chad Billingsley, rhp, Dodgers 8. Justin Verlander, rhp, Tigers 9. Lastings Milledge, of, Mets 10. Matt Cain, rhp, Giants 11. Prince Fielder, 1b, Brewers 12. Howie Kendrick, 2b, Angels 13. Alex Gordon, 3b, Royals 14. Andy Marte, 3b, Indians 15. Ryan Zimmerman, 3b, Nationals Brian Anderson was ranked #51, Jenks #24, anywho These top 15 are considered franchise players, ones that you can build a rotation or lineup around. I dont think AAAnderson was considered that, but was considered as a good player who had a chance to be great but would hit .280 with 20 hrs. That doesnt seem to be blue chip to me.

QUOTE(StrangeSox @ Apr 15, 2007 -> 08:46 PM) He was a top 100 prospect at one point. Oh if I had the time to name every player that was once a top 100 prospect and didnt amount to jack-squat.

QUOTE(StrangeSox @ Apr 15, 2007 -> 08:40 PM) alert the presses, a rookie struggled at the plate and improved over the year. How the f*** can he prove it if he's never given playing time? I agree with RockRaines here, he needs to go to AAA. There he can prove himself as a hitter again and then contribute to the Sox.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Apr 15, 2007 -> 08:29 PM) What the f*** has Anderson done? Erstad looks better in the field, has an actual approach at the plate, and is able to do the small things. BA isnt up to snuff in any of those categories right now. Thank you, that is exactly how I feel. Anderson showed that what, he can hit at best .250 for half a year? I'm not trying to say that he wont be a good player, but he needs to prove it. Yes, he should be in the minors to do that, but he does not deserve to be out on the field unless he is subbing defensively for Pods.

QUOTE(winninguglyin83 @ Apr 15, 2007 -> 08:08 PM) With all the things Ozzie is saying about Anderson and the limited number of at bats he has gotten even while Erstad has struggled, I have my doubts they really believe he is the CF of the future. So if he isn't, who is? Don't see one in our system. We'll have to go get one -- and don't say Ichiro for CF. To me, the best hope is to keep trying to develop pitchers. So far it appears KW has done a nice job of making over the bullpen. The guys at Birmingham -- Gio, Egbert, Honel, Day -- are off to solid starts. If a couple of them come through and we get something out of either Broadway or McCullough, that's a start. I'm more concerned about the outfield. I figure Dye is gone. they're down on BA. Erstad is running out of fuel. Pods has no future. Looks like we need to rebuild the entire outfield to me -- and we have little proof that Sweeney will produce legit AL power numbers. Our pitching has been really impressive so far, AA guys have really stepped it up, and AAA has some talent there too, and the bullpen so far has been a pleasant surprise (except for jenks) I really look forward to Cunningham contributing, but he may be 2 or more years away, but Anderson should be given a shot later this season if Erstad continues his struggles. He needs to prove that he can put up the offensive numbers, and that may require a short demotion for now (not like he is getting a chance with the Sox anyway). I still like Owens, in that he has needed more time because of concentration on other sports like football in the past, and could still prove to be a decent leadoff man. Sweeney is very interesting to me, he could develop more power this year and make everybody forget about his struggles in the minors of hitting homers, but I wont complain with a corner outfielder who can hit above .300 with 15-20 homers and good defense. He may never be a #3 or #4 hitter, but to me has a good shot at #2 or #5/6. I didn't like the Javy trade, as I envisioned an outfield of Young/Anderson/Sweeney with Owens in the mix somewhere too and I just drooled at that thought. But this is baseball, and of course Young gets traded and Anderson doesnt live up to his hype, while Sweeney is still showing promise and Owens had a major hump at AAA last year.

QUOTE(caulfield12 @ Apr 15, 2007 -> 04:29 PM) I don't know, sometime I think we tend to overcredit Carl Everett because he was here when we won it all and Thome wasn't. He was very unproductive in the 2nd half of 05 and had to be dropped in the order. We had Gload and now Erstad that can play 1B and the outfield, as well as Pods. What we need is a player that has a lot of the positive qualities that Everett had, without the baggage taht went along with him. Thome, Konerko, Dye, Erstad....they all tend to be the strong, silent, lead by example types. AJ is our only crazy person in the clubhouse, I think we need some more (besides Ozzie) to shake things up. Our ballclub might even be TOO nice, TOO soft. They respect each other too much, and there aren't enough of the kind of players who will get in someone's face if things aren't done the way they are supposed to be done. Erstad is supposed to be that guy And where is Rowand?????!!!!!! we may need some more character to fire up the club, but really a team only needs one or two guys for that job. A team full of them is a sitting-disaster

QUOTE(GreenSox @ Apr 15, 2007 -> 01:30 PM) I don't see a sell-off. We're going to be competitive - probably not win it - but competitive. That said, no matter what happens, we'd have some big decisions. In the offseason, I could consider the following: First, I'd ditch Thome and keep Dye - he's a good hitter, can play the field. I don't think he'll command the salary everyone seems to think he will. Further, Thome really clogs the bases when he gets on, and makes immediately neutralizes any speed we may have. Second, I'd re-sign Crede, Uribe (at least he has some pop; beats good field and no hit) and MB (unless he's lost it, he's a really good #3 quality pitcher). Third, I'd package Fields with a couple of pitching prospects for a young outfielder who can lead-off. Fourth, I'd sign a veteran hitter who can play first, and the outfield - Carl Everett type. As for Garland, Vasquez and Contreras, they're all good pitchers, but I find none of them overly compelling, so I'd let 1 of them walk. MB's value is that if he hasn't "lost it" he can deliver a lot of quality innings as a #3 and that's value.- The only part I really agree with is that I dont see a "sell-off" happening, just more of a drop-off to the 80 mill. range. Anywho, on your points: First: Thome has a no-trade clause and probably will only move if the Sox convince him that they are rebuilding and probably wont compete, and he has too much desire to win a championship. Furthermore, Dye is an average fielder atbest now, he looks really slow and his age is definitely showing. As much as I would like to see him stay, I just dont think the money he will recieve will be worth it. And yes, Thome is slow, but produces a ton of RBIs every year, and gives us that great 1-2 punch with PK Second: Resign Crede? We'll have to see at the end of the year, I really feel that Fields will be ready and do an admirable job next year filling in for him. Crede is a health risk, plus we could get some very nice prospects in return to help us out while still having Fields keeping the dropoff to a mininum. Uribe to me deserves only a 1 or 2 year extension, he needs to be more consistent at the plate, otherwise I wouldnt mind trading Crede for a SS prospect (and more). Beurhle is not worth the salary he will be making as a #3 pitcher, I would much rather sign a filler #3 for much less and hope prospects will continue to produce at our top levels and eventually the bigs. Third: I wouldnt mind trading Crede for a SS who could lead off (and more like I said before). But Fields should be a good player costing us much less than Crede, while Crede will bring more in return in a trade most likely too (if he has a good, healthy year). And I feel that the Sox should be keeping as much of their pitching prospects as possible, in case of injury etc., plus with contracts like they are, we can afford to lose a Beurhle etc. Fourth: Carl Everret??? Oh God, the horror.

wow, just checked gameday and saw that our 1-4 hitters have a grand total of 0 hits, with 5 strikeouts

QUOTE(Kalapse @ Apr 13, 2007 -> 08:08 PM) Ok and Erstad isn't really doing as well as some hoped. What's wrong with posting his s***ty batting average? And by spotlight, I mean the whole OF situation and this board in particular. im jsut saying that if somebody is going to blame erstads batting average, or hitting in general, for the sox losing/sucking, then they should also blame other "underperformers", Dye and Iguchi have had even less success than erstad so far this season so they should be blamed for atleast the same amount for the white sox's failures

QUOTE(Kalapse @ Apr 13, 2007 -> 08:03 PM) There are no real options on the current roster to replace those 2. They're also not under the spotlight like he is either. not under the spotlight??? they should be leading the team, they were catalysts to our success and now they dont need to perform? i dont get that, every player is under the sportlight, it doesnt matter if your with the freakin nationals, every player needs to perform or they will lose their job

dye looking impressive once again

QUOTE(Capn12 @ Apr 13, 2007 -> 07:59 PM) grindErstad down to a healthy .231 well better than iguchi's .167, or dye's impressive .192 lay off him for now, if you complain about one guy then you cant forget about the others who are struggling

still, javy at 44 pitches thru 2 innings, needs to get some quicker outs or we may need some extra work from the bullpen

OMG did grady just strikeout, vs the whitesox???? i think i fainted

i def. saw taht preview, completely forgot the movie(smokin aces i believe??) and had a good laugh, then remembered how liotta had disappeared from prospect talk and started to seriously think it might be him

ESPN...yes i do love reading their website and regularly watch sportscenter, but c'mon, they overplay so much, Duke vs. North Carolina and the Yanks vs. BoSox, it makes me sick, esp. with annoying stories like Barry Bonds, god i hate him enough, i dont need them reinforcing that more or giving me that much more time to look at his slimy face and listen to his steroid induced high pitched voice

just saw that McGinley is getting married, congrats to him

QUOTE(fathom @ Apr 10, 2007 -> 11:39 PM) Are you trying for the jinx? i thought about it, but then realized just how weak this lineup is and had no worries

is it jsut me or does the A's lineup look realllllllyyyyyy weak? i mean shannon stweart after kendall? then the almighty bradley and piazza? even swisher had a low average last year ( around .260 i think)

woot!!! kkkkkkkk

sweet double play, lets go javy only one more out

javy getting wild now

And JD is a godfather!! yes!!!

I must say that supermarket sweep show was amazing, hahahaha anywho, JERMAINEDYE4MVP we need a new nickname for you, and i will quote the janitor from scrubs for this one: how about whiney face? no? well, i definitely like whiney. or scooter? because its short for scooter pie and i hate scooter pie

im still being amazed by aardsma