Lemon_44

i was basing it on the thread on page 2, the SN:scouting report on Nunez. It says a plus fastball(94-96) and a slider that is his key pitch to having success. I'm sure he may have been a little tight considering it was his ML debut but i didn't see anything close to what i'd consider a plus fastball.

how come it always seems like the Sox's top pitching prospects are being said to have fastballs that top out 3-5 mph faster in the minors than what they actually show up with at the MLB level. Nunez, i know it was his debut, looks like another in a long line of supposed flame throwers that didn't show anywhere near the kind of fastball they were reported to have. The gun today had him at 91-93 while it was reported that he could bring it at 96-97. It was the same thing with Poreda and goes all the way back to Massett coming up. Does US cellular have a slow gun or are these guys a bit overhyped. I know the be all,end all is not how hard you throw but i was kind of disappointed when his first fastball showed at 91 today when i was expecting to see at least 95. The main thing is he got the out and looked pretty poised but still..........

it's going to be a very busy off season. I think Thome, Contreras, and,likely, Dye are all gone. That's alot of money freed up. You also have Jenks as a trade chip. CF has be the #1 priority to be addressed. I think it will be addressed through a trade. Maybe the Sox do a deal with Toronto with Jenks and Rios being the main players. But who knows what Ricciardi wil think Rios is worth. He way overplayed his hand with Halladay so he could do the same with other players. I think KW/OG like having that LH power bat in the middle of the lineup. That's why i think they'll make a strong FA run at Hank Blalock. He's a Thome type hitter.

i don't know if KW would spend the money but i would like to see a roster of: CF-Figgins 3b-Beckham RF-Dye DH-Blalock 1b-Konerko LF-Quentin C-AJ SS-Ramirez 2b-Getz bench: Nix,Wise, Flowers,Fields SP-Peavy SP-Buerhe SP-Danks SP-Floyd SP-Duscherer RP-Pena RP-Carasco RP-Nunez RP-Thornton RP-Linebrink RP-lefthander CL-Jenks

you could argue that Ozzie has been harder on Alexei than any other player this year. I think OG gets easily frustrated with guys who waste their talent and don't do what they're supposed to. Take his comments about Lillibridge early in the year. Ozzie said if he did the right things he could make 10+ mill playing this game but if he keeps doing what he was that he'd end up playing in Korea.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jul 29, 2009 -> 10:46 AM) Is this yours, or someone else's? If it is someone else, please cite your source. it was at http//:majorleaguejerk.com/2009/06/02/congratulations-chris-young-youre-the-worst-everyday-hitter-in-the-league/

Here's a guys opinion on another Sox prospect that has failed miserably and joins the cast of BA,Reed, Borchard, Sweeney, etc. There are moments in this world, they don’t come around often, but there are moments when, and I’m not exaggerating here, there are moments when you are forced to look in the mirror and tell yourself, “There ain’t no one in the world who can do what I do worse than I do it.” There’s a pride in that sort of honesty. A certain amount of realization that could possibly create some sort of cathartsis. Some sort of monumental change that will transform that person from their current, lousy self into something better. Arizona’s Chris Young desperately needs that moment. Now. As it currently stands, Chris Young is easily the worst everyday player in all of baseball. As of yesterday, in 49 games played totalling 175 PA, Young had a league worst .220 OBP. That’s a full 21 points lower than the next worst. Part of the reason for that low OBP (in addition to his astounding BA of .174)? How about the fact that he has only walked 8 times all year. Eight! That’s 4.7% for a guy who used to be the leadoff hitter. Combine that with the fact that he strikes out 28.7% of the time and you see a guy with the 6th lowest BB/K in the entire sport (.17). Now Hef. Sure he’s not doing anything to get on base. But he’s probably hitting the ball hard every now and again right? No, dummy. Weren’t you listening? This guy has almost no value with his bat. His slugging percentage is an impressive .313 which puts him behind such sluggers as David Eckstein (.322), Willy Tavaras (.335), and Yuniesky Betancourt (.344). He has 11 doubles, 1 triple, and three home runs (along with his 14 singles for a grand total of 29 hits all season). But at least he’s stealing bases, right Hef? Right? Totally. Of the 23 times he’s sat on first base this season (not counting fielder’s choice outs–14 singles, 8 walks and a HBP), he’s swiped 4 bags. But he’s also been caught twice for a SB rate of .667 which is below the magic number of 75% which is supposedly the break even point. So…he’s costing the team runs in the few times he’s actually getting on base. Which is bad. I think. But certainly, certainly, oh dear god, certainly he has to be a good defender? Right? He can’t be utterly worthless, can he? Finally. You finally got me. Chris Young has been pretty good with a glove this year. He’s fast, has a decent eye for running routes to the ball and has made 2 or 3 great jumping catches to end the game and save the (few) wins for the team. He isn’t utterly worthless.

The sad thing is we're sitting here talking about Jenks lack of velocity and you have JP Howell coming in throwing an 85 MPH heater and striking out 2 of 3 with weak grounder back to him for the 3rd out.

whoeversaid the scouting report to hit the first fastball probably has it right. He was throwing a 92 mph fastball down the middle last night. Not too many guys are going to miss that, especially when they are looking for it. Still,if he was getting up there at 95-97, they're not hitting the rockets that they were last night. I couldn't tell if he was throwing the cutter but he needs to get that heater back up, at least occasionally,to 95+ to put it the hitters mind that he still has that.

QUOTE (Pumpkin Escobar @ Jul 20, 2009 -> 10:19 AM) I wouldnt mind getting Bailey or Harang. Bailey because of his upside and he has looked good in 3 of the starts e has had since being called up. Harang had been good for a nice 3 year stretch before encountering injuries and what not. He has been horrible his last 10+ starts for Cinci - I think I read that he hasnt won a game. A little change of scenery, put him on a competitive club where he isn't expected to be the Ace and that mythical Coop magic and maybe we'll have ourselves a ballplayer and he'll come at half the price of most of the big names. Dusty Baker ruined him according to a buddy of mine who's a huge Reds fan. He said Harang hasn't been the same since Dusty used him on an off day last year. I guess he threw something like 5 innings in an extra inning game and never really recovered. i just looked it up. Harang pitched 4 innings of an 18 inning game against SD last year. He was lights out that game,pitching 4 innings,2 hits,0 runs, and 9 k's. He threw 63 pitches that day 3 days after throwing 103 pitches. He then made his next scheduled start but only laste 73 pitches. It is intersting that his ERA did skyrocket after that. That occured on May 25 and he had an ERA of 3.32.It continually rose,almost evry start, to a season high 5.59 on Aug 16. during which he went 2-8.

QUOTE (GreatScott82 @ Jul 19, 2009 -> 10:05 PM) I really think the Phillies are going to crack and offer Drabek. If that happens expect to see him in a Phillies uniform soon. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writ...ml?eref=writers i'd really like Halladay but if those names being thrown around are true the Sox definitely won't be frontrunners, or even in the mix. Nor could i blame them. Still, it would be awfully nice to have a guy who's going to go out and,most likely, shut down whatever team he's facing.

did you ever think Ozzie,instead of the ridiculous claim that he was setting him up to fail, put him in a tough spot to prove himself. Let's say Poreda gets out of that jam then Ozzie has another viable lefty he can bring in tough spots. Poreda didn't get the job done, so be it. When you think about it, Ozzie put him a no-lose situation. If he fails,like he did, he's a rookie in tough spot.No biggie.If he comes through, he shows he merits more time.

While the media and fans are focussing on trying to acquire the likes of Halladay or Haren, who are some other lower profile pitchers you think KW might look at? I don't think he'll make the move to get a Halladay, Haren, or even re-visit Peavy and Oswalt. However, there are some good pitchers out there could help out the Sox alot down the strecth and wouldn't cost the entire farm system to acquire. The number 1 guy, to me, that stands out is Aaron Harang from Cincy. They are falling out of the race and he's not getting many wins for them. He's 5-10 this year, and after a 6-17 last year, he could probably be had at a relatively cheap price. In 2006-2007 he was a combined 32-17 witha sub 4.00 era. The downside is that he's making 14 mill this year and hasn't been the same pitcher, results-wise, since signing his new,big money deal. That could be a red flag. I was at the game when he faced the Sox in Cincy and he looked to have pretty good stuff so maybe he needs a change of scenery. A couple other guys that come to mind are Doug Davis from Arizona and Jarrod Washburn from Seattle. KW likes trading with the D'backs and Davis, while 4-9, has a 3.41 era. To get Washburn, Seattle may have to slip a bit further out but he's having a nice year at 7-6 with a sub 3.00 era. Some younger guys that may be harder to get that KW may look to make a run at could be Lannan,from Washington, and Zach Duke,from Pittsburgh. With the trades the Pirates have been making maybe KW could get Duke for a package of BA, Lillibridge, and McCulloch.

QUOTE (Kenny Hates Prospects @ Jul 15, 2009 -> 12:46 AM) Peavy is a bigger health risk who is on a bad contract and plays for a team that is desperate to unload his salary. Halladay will cost a lot, but Peavy will be little in comparison. The Jays want Beckham as the centerpiece, and the Pads took Poreda. HUGE difference there. Well, they want Drabek as a centerpiece from Philly and the Phils said that's not happening either. They may want Beckham but they aren't getting him. I'm not so convinced that Peavy doesn't have more value to the Sox because of his contract. Halladay is probably going to want a 5 year deal for astronomical dollars and he'll be 33 when that happens. At least Peavy has youth working for him. I'm not saying Peavy is a better pitcher,he's not, but his overall situation is more condusive to the Sox way of dealing with pitchers contracts. It gives them a cost certainty. In the end, i don't think they'll get Halladay or Peavy. KW doesn't seem the type to get into a bidding war and that's probably what Toronto is trying to make happen. I think he'll give his best offer and if that's enough, fine, if not, fine as well.

QUOTE (Kenny Hates Prospects @ Jul 14, 2009 -> 11:25 PM) Kenny does that deal with his pants off. JP Ricciardi: "I've been cornholed!" when you consider Richard/Poreda and 2 minor leaguers would've gotten Peavy, i don't think that's too much of a reach. Peavy,at the time, was every bit the big name Halladay is. Maybe even moreso because he is younger and signed longer. 2 hard-throwing young lefties already pitching at the MLB level carries alot of weight these days and Fields, no matter how much people dislike him, still has more value than a minor league mid-range prospect. A deal for Halladay is going to cost the Sox less than what the deal for Peavy did. At least it should.

the type of deal i could see KW making is picking up Vernon Wells and having Toronto pay 1/2,or more,of his salary. Wells seems like a KW type of player(reminds of a Dye/Hunter type) and he's made a big deal like that for Thome in the past. Plus Wells isn't going to gut your farm system to get him. Toronto sheds a bunch of salary and the Sox get the everyday CF they so desperatlely need. Danks is probably a few years away so Wells could man CF until he's ready and then move over to LF/DH when the time comes. You get CQ back and add a guy like Wells and this lineup is deadly. Podsednik will still have plenty of AB filling in for guys. Anyway, you wouldn't let a Podsednik playing well keep you from doing a deal for Wells no matter what.Pods will be lucky to be on the team next year.

i think a deal of Richard, Poreda, Fields, and another prospect would get Halladay. That's 3 young guys who are already at MLB level and an upcoming propsect. That's rumored to be more than what they are looking for.

i voted for Richard but i think if Colon has some good starts if/when get back that the spot is there for the taking. Otherwise, i ride it out with Richard. What is Poreda struggles. then you have 2 guys you can't count on. Poreda is staring to earn a couple more appearances as of late but i don't think he's ready to handle a full lineup.

why change anything? The team is playing well, the bullpen roles are set, and evrything is looking up in the 2nd half. Sure CR needs to pitch better but he's a 5th starter in his first full year in the majors. I know it would be nice if he was 8-4 with a sub 4 era but he's going to struggle and we should expect a slightly under .500 record with a 4.5+ era this year. So he's had a bad stretch.Every pitcher has them. I give him about 5 more starts and then get a better read on him. If he's still struggling then send him down. I don't know how anyone can predict success or failure for Poreda on his 7 innings of work. I haven't been all that impressed by him and think he would get torched the 2nd time through any lineup. Just like everyone talks like Beckham is some kind of superstar when , in fact, right now he's a below average 3b batting in the .230's.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Jul 9, 2009 -> 10:30 AM) You have to admit he has a great first read on balls. he does, but shouldn't that be the case with most major league CF'ers outside of Fukudome?

How did Anderson get a rep for being a great defensive player? From what i've seen, he's an above average CF,not great by any means. I mean it's not like he's a young Jones, Griffey, Beltran,or Hunter out there. Maybe it's the fear of seeing Podsednik on a full time basis,or a very old Griffey last year,that has upped people's evaluation of his defense. BA is not going to hurt you but let's not make him a gold glove caliber CF either. If he was that great defensively, and taking runs away all the time,i think Ozzie and the Sox could live with his horrendous hitting.

as sad as it is for Anderson, i think Wise adds more to the team. He is a lefty off the bench and can steal some bases. I think they are about the same defensively with Anderson having the edge while Wise is probably more of a threat to make soemthing happen at the plate. I think Anderson knows he going down when Quentin comes back. It's just something in hise demeanor lately that makes me think that. Ozzie had Wise starting over BA to start the year and BA has done nothing to wrest the job from him so i don't see how, if it comes down to those 2, that Ozzie keeps Anderson over Wise.

On Mike and Mike this morning, Olney said it will probably take 2 or 3 top propsects for Halladay.Either 2 ML ready guys (Richard/Poreda?) or 1 ml ready and 2 top minor league prospects (Richard, Danks, Hudson??) would probably do the trick. He said he thinks Philly is a strong contender to get him. Not that that means anything.

If i'm KW, i keep trading with the D'backs until i lose on a deal. I like the trade. You're getting a guy who has already had some success at the big league level for an average to above average prospect. The jump from AAA to the bigs is enormous and ,i think, sometimes gets overlooked. Allen may never have one bit of success at the major league level,he was,by no means, a can't miss prospect, while Pena has already shown he can get ML'ers out and has great stuff. I was listening to Indians radio announcers last night and they were talking about how you can't really just go by stats at minor league level when projecting to the ML level because of how big a jump it is. They were talking about how Fausto Carmona's game, on paper, looked great in his first AAA start bceause he only walked 1 guy and put up nice numbers. In reality, they said if it was a big league game, he would have had about 5-6 walks because ML'ers wouldn't have been swinging at the pitches that the AAA's were. So, i'm going to go with Kenny and the Sox scouting staff on thsi trade and say it will be a win for the Sox.

KW has to be looking at CF or one of the top end starters. I'm sure the Sox aren't completely comfortable with Podsednik roaming CF. I think there could still be plenty of AB's for him on a rotating basis by giving CQ,JD,JT, and PK occasional days off. As for top end starting pitchers, if KW obtained any of the afore mentioned pitchers, the Sox would become immediate threats to win the AL. Let's say Halliday is acquired. A rotation of him, MB, Danks,Floyd, and Contreras (especially if he keeps pitching the way he has)would be the best in the AL,maybe all of baseball. On top of that, you have the best bullpen in the AL. Then,you'd hopefully add a healthy Quentin for the second half and the Sox are as legit as it gets. I don't think Dye is going anyhwere. He's just too valuable right now. I wonder if Walt Jocketty goes to bed every night kicking himself for not making the Dye for Bailey trade. The Reds,in my opinion, would have a comfortable lead in that division if they had a right handed bat the caliber of JD in that lineup. All because they were too cheap to take on Dye's salary at the expense of Homer freakin" Bailey,who has started to show some life but is far from a finished product. Thank you Walt.