Lemon_44

i think we trade him for Noah Lowery

QUOTE(lostfan @ Mar 29, 2008 -> 02:38 PM) You beat me to it. If anyone actually "KNEW" what Anderson would do at the MLB level at this point, he wouldn't even be sniffing a major league roster. Well, if Owens didn't get hurt he probably wouldn't be on the major league roster. One Owens returns, unless BA manages to light it up, he'll be sent down. The guys has been severely overmatched when the games count.I don't buy into spring training stars. That said, Ramirez could just as easily flame out as well. You know once the word gets around, he'll see about 1 fastball for every 15 breaking balls.

I'll go with Ramirez in CF over Anderson. Neither has proven himself at the ML level but you know what you're getting with BA and it's not good.

i don't get it.Before ST started no one wanted BA even sniffing around the Sox. It was, i hope he hits well at Charlotte so he raises his trade value. Now, it doesn't look like he's a starter and Ozzie should be roasted for it. Anderson has earned a spot on the team but i'm pretty sure Ozzie is going to put what he thinks is the best lineup out there. Until BA hits consistently at the major league level, i like an OF of Dye, Swisher, Quentin with Anderson a late inning defensive replacement. If Quentin struggles then Anderson will get more chances. Whoever is playing better will probably remain once Owens returns from the DL. Let's face it,when Owens returns, he's going to be the CF and leadoff. Ozzie likes speed and Owens has it. I'm not ready to write him off like alot of people. I thik he has shown a gradual improvement against major league pitching and am willing to give him a chance. I think he deserves as much a chance as BA had,and that was a whole year of batting .200,before writing him off.

QUOTE(Kalapse @ Mar 3, 2008 -> 05:30 PM) IP: 1.0 H: 0 R: 4 ER: 4 BB: 9 SO: 0 HR: 0 ERA: 23.14 At least he didn't give up any hits. Like I said before, some time soon Lowry is going to have another MRI and they're going to see structural damage in that elbow then he's going to sit on the bench for a year and a half. He looks like he would fit right in with last year's pen.

When you think about it, the Sox have improved their roster as much as anyone,outside of Detroit, in this off season. They've added 6 players in Cabrera, Swisher, Dotel, Linebrink, Quentin, and Ramirez without having to give up any major league talent, except Jon Garland, who was gone after this year anyway. Also they are not stuck paying an aging CF 90 million dollars the next 5 years. People rip KW because of the people he missed out on but Miguel Cabrera was pretty much a pipe dream and Detroit gave up their entire minor league prospect list to get him. Not signing Hunter will turn out to be a blessing.Who knows what you're getting in Fukodome and Rowand, i don't think, was really ever in the picture. Acquiring another SP would have been nice but there really wasn't a whole lot out there.Plus, KW may still swing a trade for somebody.I still won't be surprised to see an Angels trade go down. But the two main weaknesses last year were the bullpen and getting guys on base. I think the Sox have addressed those issues nicely and all's it cost them was minor leaguers and cutting the dead weight from the roster. Throw in the return of Ozuna and Crede and your roster looks even better.That's 8 guys you have added. Crede may still be dealt but nothing is for sure. Detroit still looks like the team to beat but the Sox are going to be right there. People like the big splash signing or trade but KW has quietly put together a very quality roster. We won't have to watch the likes of Gonzales, Aardsma, Sisco, Pods, Erstad, et al come in a flounder away. The Sox will have quality at every position, assuming Danks and Floyd make the expected improvement.

Clemens's very first excuse in the Wallace piece was pretty stupid. Clemens was asking where are the syringes if he was being injected and that it would be known if he bought a bunch of syringes. That's prety flimsy in itself but wasn't there syringes when he shot up with butt numbers and B12? Clemens is scrambling for whatever he can try and grab onto. It's pretty funny to watch.

QUOTE(RME JICO @ Jan 8, 2008 -> 11:01 AM) That was an amazing decline. In 545 ABs, he only hit 24 HRs, compared to 42 HRs in 454 ABs in 2006. 18 less HRs in 91 more ABs. Injury, lack of PEDs? He's now off the B12. Look at him physically, he looked alot smaller last year. They did their job though. He got the big contract he wanted.

QUOTE(sircaffey @ Jan 7, 2008 -> 11:45 AM) I'm just curious, but why do you think Eric Wedge is the worst manager in baseball? I live in Ohio so i get bombarded with Indian news and he just does some strange things. I may have exagerrated a bit but he does do alot of head-scratchers. It's been awhile so i can't remember any specifics right now but i'd much rather have Ozzie and he does some unconventional things but i usually agree with most of his moves.

I don't understand why everyone is conceding the division to a battle between Detroit and Cleveland. I can see Detroit being the team to beat as they are monsters on paper. However, their key players, Rogers, Mags, Sheffield, Pudge, and Renteria are getting old an injuries can becaome an issue. But they are, hands down, the favorites. But, when it comes to the Indians, i see them as having a bunch of question marks and could easily be overtaken by the Sox. People question the Sox 3-5 starters. What about Cleveland? Byrd is going to be off the HGH and may heave it up there at 65 mph this year. He's as much a question mark as Contreras. Westbrook is ther #4. He's as inconsistent as anyone in the league. To me, he's Gavin Floyd with experience. Granted, he's done more than Floyd but Floyd, if he develops, has a higher ceiling. In the other spot,I'll take Danks over Laffey anyday. When it comes to the top end the rotation, Cleveland is no lock to be better than the Sox either. Sabathia is, no doubt, a stud. But you never know how many times he can pull his 300+ pound butt out to the mound and not get hurt. Carmona had a breakout year but let's see how he follows that up. Buehrle and Vasquez, assuming Javy doesn't relapse, are a very solid 1-2 punch. All things being equal, Clevelands top end is better but you know the Sox guys are going to make all their starts.As hard as it is to believe, i think the Sox have a better bullpen. Jenks vs. Borowski is a no-brainer in Jenks' favor.Linebrink is more established than Betancourt and the other guys are a toss up. In the field, i think the teams are similar. Cleveland has Sizemore and he's the best on either team. But the Indians have questions in other positions. In LF,they have a platoon system with Michaels and Delluci. They are both solid guys and would have the edge, right now, over Quentin. CF, Sizemore easily but Swisher is no slouch. In RF, i'll take Dye in abounce back year over Gutierrez. In the infield, Crede or Fields, i'll take over Casey Blake. Blake's consistent and is going to give you about .270/20/75. If Crede is healthy, there's no doubt who the better 3B is. Fields has to build on last year but he has some pretty impressive power potential. At SS, it's about a wash. Peralta is probably the better offensive player but Cabrera may be better all around. 2B, they both have youngsters and it's to early to say who is better between Richar and Cabrera. 1B, Konerko is much better than Garko, unless Garko is hitting against the Sox . Garko still gets platooned. Cleveland's catching is better than the Sox. DH-wise, Thome needs to stay in the lineup.If he does, he and Hafner are a wash. If he doesn't, Cleve is way better. Throw in the fact that the Indians have what may be the worst manager in baseball and i think these teams are pretty much dead even. I know i'm looking at this from a Sox perspective but i think it comes to down to whose bullpen performs better this year will have the better team. THe Indians are younger but the Sox hitters, at least you wouldn't think, can't have as bad a year as what they went through last year. I'll say the Tigers win the division but the Sox and Indians will be in a dogfight for the WC with NY,Bos,and Sea(i think the Angels walk away with the west).

Well,using his flawed logic, how can he use Chris Young as an example.He's a .230 hitter in 500+ AB's(plus i'd still rather have Vasquez). Columnists just try to get responses and think what they write has any significance. It usually is meaningless drivel. I also like how he uses Hemond compared Sweeney to Baines. Big deal.That means nothing.Bill Walsh once compared Jake Plummer to Joe Montana. I like the trade. I have no data, but i'd guess that out of all these "can't miss" young pitchers you hear about in the minors that the % that actually have an impact at the ML level is less than 20%.

Uribe, Broadway,Anderson for Roberts. I don't know if that would be enough but Roberts has the steroid cloud so his value is going to be down. I don't buy anybody who said they did it one time. Unless by "one time" they really mean one year.Who knows how long,if at all, Selig suspends him. Also, I would try and keep Richar and play him in a utility role this season.

QUOTE(2nd_city_saint787 @ Dec 14, 2007 -> 11:15 PM) if you dont get lincecum from the giants then you tell them to buzz off and talk to the Angels about PK lance broadway and a reliever for Willits Kotchman and santana....you get 3 pieces to this years puzzle, you get younger, and you get cheaper. I also think vaz, uribe, crede and count need to be dealt too. Vaz has a lot of value and should give you a decent return. I dont wanna trade Buehrle cause i see him as being to good a good teacher. Maybe if you'd put Figgins in instead of Willits i'd like it. I may be in the minority here but i am juts not a Willits fan. I want to see him put up consecutive years with good numbers. I think last year may have been a bit flukish. I don't think you could get Kotchman, Willits, and Santana for PK alone. At least you should be able to.I still wouldn't like that deal. Any deal with Anaheim,if i'm KW, has to include Figgins and go from there. Isn't PK only 31? People talk about him like he's about 38. I know he has hip issues but 31 is pretty much in your prime. PK to the Angels for Figgins and Garland .

Plus, it's not like Giambi went voluntarily.Selig forced his hand by threatening suspension if he didn't "cooperate". Not even close to Thomas volunteering to talk to them.

Doesn't Anaheim need some left handers in the bullpen. If Crede shows healthy,give them Crede and either Logan or Thornton for Figgins. I don't understnad all the love for Willits. It's not hard to find guys like him. Owens can be every bit the player Willits is. Konerko is a much greater value than Kotchman. You can pretty much put up .270/30/100 for Konerko. Who knows what Kotchman will develop into. You may get a higher average but, i don't think, you get anywhere near the overall production. Then you throw in the leadership factor Konerko has in the clubhouse and it's even more one-sided.

One thing i don't get is if BA was ,supposedly, good enough to be given the starting CF spot on a WS team, why isn't he ,at least, being considered for the position when the Sox only have Owens out there? The guys has all the tools,minus the brain. Maybe he gets his head on straight and can turn things around. I'd rather see what he and Owens can do than give a bunch of money to Rowand. Some guys take longer to develop. I'm not saying it will be the case, but maybe it is with Anderson. I agree that him producing,at any level, can only help the Sox.

Nobody knows what kind of career Hart is going to have. He might be a 1 year wonder like Bill Hall or he might be a perrenial all star. The start is promising but there have been alot of guys who have had nice starts to their career and flushed out rather quickly. I don't think that will be the case with Hart but, who knows? One thing we do know, when healthy, Joe Crede is an all-star,gold glove caliber 3b. Those type of guys just don't grow on trees. Obviuosly the key is health but Rolen is a guy who comes to mind that has health problems and bounced back nicley. He's better than Crede but Joe is, at least, in the same ball park. KW has really put a damper on Crede's trade value by thinking he "needs" to trade him. There's no way he get equal value in return.Of course, i'm assuming a healthy Crede and that he's been cleared for all baseball activities points in that direction. Go back to 2006. You don't think the Brewers would've traded Hart for Crede. That trade would've been crucified on the Sox end of things. But, it's not 2006 either.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Nov 30, 2007 -> 01:32 PM) No. I'm not so sure now. The Mets didn't exactly break the bank for Milledge. Church is solid but nothing great and a defensive catcher who hit .235 last year is less than what i thought they could get for Milledge.

Hopefully KW looks into trading JC to the Mets since Minaya seems determined to try and re-assemble the Cuban National team pitching staff. I wonder if Contreras and Sweeney could land you Lastings Milledge? I know he played well down the stretch but, back in June, his trade value was practically nothing. I'm sure the Sox would have to pick up some salary but Milledge has alot of potential. I wonder what kind of trade value Sweeney has. Ozzie raved about him a couple years ago but he hasn't really done anything with his chances. I think, at best, he could turn out to be a Shawn Green type hitter or,at worst, never see MLB again.

QUOTE(CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Nov 24, 2007 -> 11:00 AM) I'm sorry if you think I was disrespecting your loyalty to the Sox. It's just MY way of looking at things. I mean seriously 1 WS win in 90 years and still being a Sox fan almost neccesitates blind optimism or institutionalization in my eyes. Instsitutionalized? I should be. My teams are the White Sox, Arizona Cardinals, Bulls, and Columbus Blue Jackets . Thank god for Ohio State.

I don't see Beane trading Haren unless it's an offer that blows him away. There was always talk about him trading Zito, Mulder,et al and he either waited to the last minute or just let them hit FA. Oakland is budget restricted so Haren is a very good deal. I can't see them leting him go. But, i guess you never know.

QUOTE(Kalapse @ Nov 26, 2007 -> 09:34 PM) That's pretty funny, did you seriously just compare Joe Crede's best season to just a random year in Lowell's career? Don't you find that sort of silly? What if I compare Lowell's '07 numbers to Crede's '07 numbers? Or Lowell's '04 numbers to Crede's '04 numbers? Or Lowell's '02/'03 numbers to any year of Crede's career? Lowell kicks the s*** out of him in every scenario. Take a look at what Mike Lowell does over an average 162 games season: AB: 591 | R: 80 | 2B: 41 | HR: 23 | RBI: 97 | .280/.344/.468/.812 | OPS+: 110 now compare what Lowell does on average to Crede's career year: AB: 562 | R: 76 | 2B: 31 | HR: 30 |RBI: 94 | .283/.323/.506/.829 | OPS+: 107 So yeah, just an average season from Mike Lowell is better than what Joe Crede can do when at his best. The part of your post that I put in bold is just plain wrong. Even in his very best season Joe Crede only managed an .829 OPS. So lets say Joe Crede was the 1B for the Cincinnati Reds in 2007 and posted an .829 OPS that would be the 16th highest OPS out of 20 qualified 1B. So Joe Crede at his very best is in the bottom 25 percentile for 1B when it comes to the most important basic offensive stat. That's not good. And stop posting Crede's '06 AVG as .290, last time I checked .283 is not equal to .290. If I use your silly logic then I suppose I could post his '06 AVG as .276 and that would be acceptable. No i used Mike Lowell's american league numbers. My whole point is that they are pretty comparable players. Crede has basically played 4 full year at MLB level. Compare that Lowell's first 4 and they are not that different. Lowell's breakout year came in his 4th year(.276,32, 105,.350, .530),the same as Crede's. Without the back injury,that's a major wild card, you would assume Crede would continue to improve.Plus he's 4 years younger than Lowell. Also, if you want to post his average as .276 in 2006, it doesn't really bother me. I was going from memory until i looked it up.

QUOTE(witesoxfan @ Nov 26, 2007 -> 11:55 AM) You are using a silver slugger to determine the better hitter, rather than actual numbers. Your argument is going nowhere. What i'm saying is that Crede can/has put up what are considered very good numbers for a 1b. His .290 with 30 HR's in 2006 is better/similar to Konerko in '07. That's why i don't get all "he would have terrible offensive numbers for a 1b" argument. Lowell(2006) .284 BA, 20 hr, 80 rbi, .339 obp, .475 slg% Crede(2006) .283 ba, 30 hr, 94 rbi, .323 obp, .505 slg% I guess you guys are right, Lowell's numbers are a ton better .

2006 American league silver slugger at 3B, Mike Lowell,NO,Joe Crede, YES. To say he can't put up offensive number is ridiculous. Lowell has been more consisten over his career but a healthy Crede is no slouch. The qusetion is whether he's healthy. Crede had been becoming more of an offensive force every year until his back gave out. Someone suggested Crede and a prospect for Abreu. I said you do that deal. I don't think the Yankees do that deal but,if they did, i would assume Crede at 1B or DH.Where else would he play?

QUOTE(sircaffey @ Nov 25, 2007 -> 12:33 AM) Joe Crede would be one of the worst 1B in the league. Lowell at least has a very good bat that would offer above average offensive production for a 1B. Crede's production would be well below average. no basis at all for that statement. 3 years ago,Lowell was as unmovable a player as Contreras is now. He was a throw in to rid the Marlins of his contract in the Beckett trade. Fenway park has greatly benefitted him. Crede hit what, .290 with 30 hr's in 2006? To say Lowell would be better is pure speculation.