JUGGERNAUT

You make it sound like he ONLY caught Mark & that's not true. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/gamelog?statsId=6717 As I said earlier I can buy the argument that Widger is better at blocking pitches in the dirt than Burke. That takes greater precendence on a team featuring Contreras, Marte, Shingo, & Hernandez. Every game there is likely to be several such pitches. The backup needs to be ready to play in the event AJP gets hurt in a game. Not just spelling him on days off. With dirt throwers in the rotation & the pen the guy best able to block those pitches should be the backup. Widger is probably a better glove than Burke. Haven't seen enough of him to say that with confidence. I have seen Jamie & he's not very good & blocking pitches in the dirt. But when it comes to a strong bat & strong arm Burke has accomplished MORE of late. There's no reason to diminish that in your support for the non-roster invitee. Jul 1 Garland 2-1W @ MIN Jul 8 Loaiza 9-8W @ Cell Jul 23 Loaiza 6-4W @ Cell Aug 21 Stewart 10-7L @ Cell Sep 1 Grili 6-4W @ Cell Sep 3 Garland 7-5W @ Cell Sep 11 Grili 13-6W @ LAA Sep 17 Grili 10-11L @ Cell Sep 19 Garcia 6-1W @ Cell Sep 22 Grili 7-6W @ Cell Sep 24 Garcia 6-8L @ Cell Oct 2 Grili 2-10L @KC Totals: 8W, 4L incl Mark 17W, 8L FYI Mark had more quality starts w Burke than any other C.

By your argument alone where's the logic in messing with success then? We know what Burke can do pitching Mark. Widger's an unknown. Liked the last 3 girls at the dance analogy. So true! I think Burke lost favor w Oz when Hunter bowled him over.

I do not fear the Indians. Nothing about their pitching staff scares me.

Ryno's MLB outlook: NYY - ALE div winners & World Champions MIN - ALC div winners LAA - ALW div winners CHW - ALWC winners. This sink or swim team will swim in his opinion. BOS - Hard pressed to make post-season. NYY's have the edge in H2H & drop-off in rotation & IF D leaves the team suspect against the better teams in the league. STL - NLC div winners & World Series particpants ATL - NLE div winners SFG - NLW div winners CHC - NLWC winners. An improved pen should be enough. NYM - CHC wins the NLWC over the NYM on the strength of it's pen. That seems pretty reasonable to me, though I would give the edge to the FLM over CHC & NYM. They came close last year with a rash of injuries & they should be able to avoid that kind of bad luck two yrs in a row. If Ryno's right then the CHW will likely lose the opening round to the NYY's. Looking to 06, an improved rotation & a secured OF & middle IF should make the ChiSox more competitive. Could be the year they win back the division crown.

I nominate this as our best game of CAC 05

Hitting Indians : Should lead the ALC in BA Fielding Twins : Everyone has IF changes in 05, but Twins traditionally play better D. Starters Twins : Mays looks like he's back. Bullpen Twins : The ChiSox have closed the gap but edge to Nathan. Team Twins : The team win the best rotation & pen usually is a division winner. Runner Ups: Hitting ChiSox : Should lead the ALC in R Fielding ChiSox : Closed the gap on the Twins Starters ChiSox : Should prove to be 2nd best rot in div Bullpen ChiSox : Twins have more dominant pen, ChiSox have healthiest & most experienced Team ChiSox : Leading all runner up categories there should be no doubt Pitching & D wise I believe the ChiSox have done enough to close the gap with the Twins. Getting an edge on the ALC is crucial.

Would you trade Contreras + Garland for Javier? I would. I'm praying both can put together solid 1st halfs so that trade will look enticing to the DBacks. The emergence of BMac makes both of them expendable in exchange for Javier. It's a solid $ dump for Zona & they get to mid rotation guys in return. Both should fit the mid rotation mold in the NL.

Bad day for Javier (3 HRs) but then again it's Arizona. http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/boxscore?gid=250330129 ChiSox 13R, 15H. Zona 0R, 4H ............ ChiSox HR CE(6), PK(4), JC(2), AR(5) I'd still take Javier over El Duque, Conteras, & Garland.

There's a clear pattern in this thread when it comes to Burke. Since you can't make an argument based on any REAL numbers you continue to denegrade the man on the believe that in your opinion there's no such thing as a late bloomer. The only fact you have to support your argument is how long it took Burke to crack the ML's & the ChiSox treatment of him since. How do I know he has a better arm? Because I'VE SEEN HIM PLAY. I'VE SEEN HIM THROW. I've likewise seen Widger & he has a hard time getting rid of the ball. I've not seen enough of Widger in defense of in the dirt pitches to claim he's any better than Burke in that regards. But if he is then I could buy that as a strong argument: Contreras, El Duque, Marte, & Shingo are notorious for wild pitches.

He still has to catch the ball & throw runners out. His bat no doubt contributed to many of those close games as well. He has a much better arm than Widger.

In defense of the Lee trade/$ dump, it was $16M well spent: $5M Herm, $5M Iggy, $6M (AJP, Vizc, & Pods) + ml. If you accept the ChiSox are tapped out $ wise, then a 5 for 1 move doesn't look all that bad. A lot of analysts have used El Duque for the $ swap comparison & that's a mistake. That looks much worse because he's not expected to pitch more than 100IN. When you take him out of the $ swap for Lee it looks much better.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/gamelog?statsId=6717 Burke 3+ AB games: W10-3, W11-7, L9-5, W6-2, W2-1, L2-1, L12-0, W9-8, W3-2, W14-0, W6-4, L10-7, W9-8, W5-4, W7-5, W7-3, W13-6, L6-1, L11-10, W6-1, W7-6, L8-6, W5-4, W9-2, L10-2 17W, 8L. He's caught his share of quality starts & his share of bum losses. But look at the record in close games. I hope the ChiSox reconsider Widger over Burke.

Burke has the better arm. His CS% is nearly twice Widgers over the past 3 yrs. Both of them have played about the same number of games in that time. Widger has never handled this staff in a ML game. Burke has. I remain unconvinced but appreciate your effort

Did you mean Ozuna? Valdez was claimed off waivers by the NYM. Both Burke & Ozuna are inexperienced at 3B. Burke can play some 1B as well as most athletic C's in the league can. That makes a difference if you want to sub Koney with a RH bat.

I've got confidence in Iggy. I think he just needs more practice & experience on grass fields & those GG's of his will come thru for the ChiSox. I still think it was a great signing by KW. If you assume the ChiSox are tapped out $ wise than the Lee $ dump was put to good use (16M = (5M (Herm) + 5M (Iggy) + 3M (AJP) + Pods + Vizc). Money wise you could make the argument it was a 5 for 1 trade. It doesn't look as bad from that perspective.

Yes I've watched the games & yes his sure hands remind me of Clayton. Doesn't make many mistakes but doesn't have the better range either. If they were vying for a starters job I would agree that Widger's glove probably rates slightly better than Burke's. But they are vying for a bench spot & in that respect the player's bat is more important than his glove. Burke is MUCH more versatile coming off the bench than Widger is.

I've read that Widger as a non-roster invitee was signed to a ml contract. He doesn't have to clear waivers. That's no reason to add him over Burke.

I'm sorry but I just can't buy these arguments vs Burke. Yes Widger's ML experience swamps Burke, but what have you done for me lately? Since 2003 Burke has been hitting the ball well at every level he's played. Widger has not. 3 yr Splits: CW vs LH 39AB .256A .302O .359S, vs RH 127AB .260A .301O .339S JB vs LH 67AB .313A .373O .403S, vs RH 61AB .361A .400O .410S Burke is a MUCH better hitter than Widger right now. Burke has the obviously better arm with a much better CS%, & CERA is a wash when you compare AL to NL avg's. Widger is less error prone, but not to a degree where he deserves it over Burke. Add to that the fact Burke can play corner IF & LF if need be & he's the obvious better bench player choice. What I hate the most in KW's mistreatment of Burke is how it reflects on other players in the ml's. They look at Burke & shake their head wondering what they must do to make it to the big show. The term late bloomer is not a fantasy. Such players do exist. Have thoughout the history of the MLs.

There was an article out of Rays land that stated AJP was on the block but ESPN's report squashed that. It's clear now they got Davis & AJP mixed up in that report. It makes sense since AJP has much greater trade value. http://www.suntimes.com/output/sox/cst-spt-doug30.html As most of you know by now Valdez was claimed off waivers by the Mets. Starters: MB, FG, JC, OH, JG, Relievers: NC, DH, CP, LV, DM, ST = 11 IF : JC, JU, TI, PK, IFB: RG, WH, PO = 7 OF: JD, AR, SP, OFB: CE, TP = 5 C: BD, & AJP = 2 If Davis is traded Widger is the likely backup since he still remains on the 28 man roster. Widger & Burke are the same age (33) but Widger is MUCH more experienced: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/fielding?statsId=5434 Widger career #: 532G 1592AB .242A .299O .403S He's spent time with NYY & STL over the past 3 yrs. 2002 NYY 21G, 64AB .297A .338O .375S 2003 StL 44G, 102AB .235A .279O .603S 2002 NYY C .983FP% 6.69RF 27.3%CS 4.63CERA 2003 StL C .995FP% 6.43RF 33.3%CS 4.39CERA Enough to make Davis expendable. For the Burke fans: 2004 CWS 57G 120AB .333A .386O .408S 2004 CWS C .987FP% 6.97RF 42.1%CS 4.78CERA I think it's a mistake. Widger has not made a ML roster since 2003 & Burke has a better RF & CS% than Widger. Burke outperformed Widger in ST. You don't lose anything starting Widger in AAA & Burke has earned that bench spot. He's much more versatile than Widger.

http://rays.tbo.com/rays/MGBXRO03X6E.html Another catcher, A.J. Pierzynski of the White Sox, is on the trading block. Are they that impressed with Widger?

I just hope Tucson hasn't made the ChiSox arms tentative again going into April. I'm counting on AJP a lot to make sure that doesn't happen. Where they in AZ in 2000?

I think if the ChiSox are again amongst the worst in MLB in team ERA they'll be looking to get out of AZ fast. You don't spend over 1/2 the team's payroll on arms, suck that bad, & then think AZ has nothing to do with it.

I'm not sold yet on Iggy being a high 200-near 300 hitter. Mainly because I don't know how many hits he had in Japan based on beating out a throw on the turf. I do see a guy with enough speed & enough power though to hit a lot of doubles. I'd be surprised if he doesn't lead the team in that category with Frank being out a month. I've seen enough patience by him at the plate & in light of his numbers in Japan to think he can both bunt & walk to get on. So I think he'll have a solid OBP. But I'm looking at mid 200 average for Iggy. He should rank in top 5 in R scoring on the team. As for his D I don't want to over-judge him just yet. He's coming to grips with the fact that he can't rely on his turf speed to get to balls. He'll have to get better jumps on balls. That could come with experience. Turf or not it's hard to win a GG in any league & he did in Japan. I think we owe him a few months before we making any judgment of him.

Burke would remain after Thomas returns if & only if Davis is traded.

I agree with the rest of you. He must have read a blurb that the Sox were looking to trade a C (Ben Davis) & was looking for a hopeful angle to get AJP back. Nothing else makes sense because the ChiSox ST era's in 05 aren't any better or worse than they were in 04. Until proven otherwise AZ wrecks the confidence of ChiSox pitchers. If they want to prove me wrong then do it on the field. The ChiSox should be playing in Kissimmee & enjoying Walt Disney World & Universal with their families when they aren't playing.