witesoxfan

And I thought I was obsessed with Pokemon. ...

I dunno. I happen to like the Nats rotation quite a bit, but a lot of that has to do with the park they're in. Hernandez-Patterson-Armas-Ortiz-Lawrence/Drese is pretty solid up and down, and they do have some depth in the rotation, which is a pretty big advantage. I think Ortiz is about ready to have a huge year in a great park for him to pitch in.

QUOTE(VAfan @ Jan 8, 2006 -> 09:35 PM) 2. Anyone here think Javier Vazquez is a better pitcher than Contreras, Garcia, Buehrle, or Garland? Anyone even take him over Brandon McCarthy? If you want to challenge the premise of the post, you have to step forward and make the case that Vazquez is better than one of those guys. Give me Javy over Contreras, McCarthy, and Garcia. Vazquez's numbers were really only skewed in 2 spots - hits, and runs allowed. Both are very directly related, and with him pitching in a big ballpark while also pitching with a mediocre defense behind him, he struggled. Moving to the Cell, I expect to see his homer totals perhaps increase a little bit, but he now has one of the better game callers in the game catching him, while also having one of the best defenses in the majors playing behind him...I see him improving quite a bit. If I had to take a guess as to where his numbers will be...I'll say anywhere from 14-20 wins, depending upon run support, with a 3.25-3.50 ERA and a WHIP around 1.18ish and 200-220 IP with better consistency than people think.

QUOTE(nitetrain8601 @ Jan 8, 2006 -> 08:34 PM) Soxtalk.com = Only place where Torii Hunter isn't deserving of a Gold Glove. So basically what you're suggesting is that Frank Thomas should have won the Silver Slugger for DH last year.

I have never seen anything like Vince Young. He is fast as hell, he is big, he is one of the best runners I have ever seen, he has a solid arm, he has an accurate arm, and he seems to almost always only make small throws. The kid is special as hell, and will make some team very happy they took him 5 years from now.

QUOTE(White Sox Josh @ Jan 7, 2006 -> 05:06 PM) How can you say Clemens is past his prime? He had an ERA below 2 this season. A player's prime does not refer to how well they are performing, but a certain age in a player's career. It generally lasts about 5 years, when their production peaks, and then slowly starts to come back down. If you look at Clemens numbers before going to the NL, he had ERAs in the 4.00s with the Yankees towards the end there, and was a flat out mediocre pitcher. Due to him being a smart pitcher, who still had good stuff, he was able to attack weaker NL lineups that had not seen him, thus allowing him to be as dominant as he was(fastballs 5 inches off the plate being called strikes never hurts either). Clemens is waaaaaaaaay past his prime. That doesn't mean he can't perform well though.

From everything I've heard, Anderson's better defensively than Rowand. He just basically has to get a feel for the OF in CF, and then he will be just fine. As for Abreu...he is not a gold glove caliber defender in RF. The day Derek Jeter won a gold glove at SS was the day that any credibility a gold glove gave to a defender vanished. Hunter was not a gold glove CFer last year because not only were some of his reads off, but the guy missed the last two f***ing months of the season...that's just ridiculous. That being said...Abreu is probably better defensively than Dye is in RF. I'm still not sure I make this trade...part of the reasoning for KW making some of these trades were due to the players wanting to come to Chicago...Thome did, Mackowiak did, Vazquez obviously didn't mind it due to him not blocking a trade to Chicago, and, for the most part, he traded players that had very little impact on the chemistry of the clubhouse, aside from Rowand, and KW himself said that was harder for him to take than it was for Rowand. I bring this up because JD obviously likes it here, Contreras has said he's comfortable here, and there has been no indication from Abreu concerning his wanting of going to Chicago. I just don't think there's any substance to this at all, and if there is, I'd be shocked as hell.

QUOTE(RME JICO @ Jan 7, 2006 -> 11:43 AM) If we are talking about who is the best GM right now, it is KW hands down. Beane has done a great job of creating above average teams that burn out. I repeat, they have never even seen the ALCS since he has been the GM. Until then he is not a Top 3 GM. Schuerholz has been great over a longer period than any other current GM, but the Braves have not won a thing since 1999 when they lost the WS, so he is 2nd. Then you take Shapiro, and he used a $40 million payroll to field a 90+ win team. He is #3 right now. I had a lengthy post written out, and then I reread what you said. A's payroll/wins 2000 - $35,821,333 - 91 wins(first place, AL West) 2001 - $39,070,750 - 102 wins(second, AL West, first, AL Wild Card) 2002 - $48,018,317 - 103 wins(first, AL West) 2003 - $57,771,334 - 96 wins(first, AL West) 2004 - $59,112,167 - 91 wins(second, AL West) Beane looks better to me than Shapiro. The Indians payroll is so low right now due to all the non-arbitration eligible players right now. If you're reasoning for Shapiro being 3 is due to him winning 90+ games with a $40+ mill payroll, than I think that's a little shortsighted...any team under the right circumstances can have a sub $40 million payroll, have everything click, and find themselves at 90 wins. Hell, if you are going to say Shapiro is right there due to the $40 mill payroll thing, then Larry Beinfest is near the top as well...afterall, he won the World Series in 2003 with a team whose payroll was about $45 million.

I do not care if he is not one of the choices, I choose Bobby Jenks. No one has chosen him, so I do. Oh, and I actually got AJP.

QUOTE(ZoomSlowik @ Jan 6, 2006 -> 03:05 PM) Also, I'm not 100% sure what Davis' contract situation is, but Alexander and James didn't have a lot of value to potential trade partners because both only had one year left on their contract and were/are seeking sizeable long term contracts. Teams didn't want to give up a 1st or 2nd round pick on the chance that they couldn't resign them. Also, if they did decide to sign them, both would be signed to rather large deals that stretched well past 30, something most teams don't want to do with runningbacks. Alexander will be 29 by the start of next season, James will be 28, Davis will be 25. History suggests that although Alexander and James are much better backs, they've probably got 3 or 4 years left of production, while Davis has more like 7, and at a much lower cap price. If you're a major contender with a need for a runningback and have a lot of cap space, James or Alexander would have been a good fit. There aren't too many teams like that however. Davis signed something like a 4 year deal worth $21 million or some such contract before last season I believe it was..so its not that unaffordable. I will say if Davis is traded, the writing is on the wall. From the Texans point of view, trading Davis would appear to be a dumb move, considering everything.

QUOTE(farmteam @ Jan 6, 2006 -> 08:19 PM) I think I'd rate Schuerholz ahead of KW. He's won an insane amount division titles in a row, while still keeping a stacked farm system. Being able to do it like Schuerholz has over an extended period of time is amazing...but some of that also has to do with longevity. It could be like saying Nolan Ryan was a better pitcher than Sandy Koufax because he won more games...but it could end up being like saying Nolan Ryan was better than Jack Morris, which is true. Kind of a hard point to argue at times, depending upon how you view the situation. Are you looking at how he goes about improving the team and the situations he puts his team in?...or are you looking about how he builds the team, or the amount of games/titles he wins while the team is under his reign? I tend to look at it from the former point of view...but that's just kind of how I look at things.

QUOTE(DBAH0 @ Jan 6, 2006 -> 07:19 PM) Just imagine if they had actually kept Scott Kazmir. They wouldn't have Victor Zambrano. That's probably the biggest loss of all time. He has amazing control.

Why do If not believe Arn? Is it because I'm in denial of Frank leaving, or because I'm being realistic?

#1 #2 #4 #7 #8 #12 #13 #16 Those are the playoff teams from last year. The one team who probably deserves the most credit on there is Cleveland - 93 wins on a payroll less than the left side of the Yankees infield makes. That is incredible. For as much as everyone hates them on this site...much kudos goes to the Indians from me. That's remarkable.

QUOTE(Flash Tizzle @ Jan 6, 2006 -> 07:01 PM) Honestly, I wouldn't doubt a trade of Prior for Abreu/Top Prospect, then in return, Hendry packages Murton/Hill/prospect for Zito. Cubs wouldn't exactly need a cheap OF alternative considering all probable outfielders (Abreu/Jones/Pierre) would be locked up for several years. With the abundance of offense, Cedeno could then be penciled in as SS. That would make a hell of a lot of sense for all parties. As is, Oakland's rotation is probably overcrowded(Zito-Harden-Loaiza-Haren-Blanton-Saarloos, and one could even include Kennedy and perhaps Gaudin), so getting rid of Zito before you get nothing for him does make a lot of sense for the A's. That seems to be quite similar to the packages they have gotten from St. Louis and Atlanta for Hudson and Mulder, so I can see Beane making the deal. Hendry has shown a love for Zito and wants him pretty badly, so I can see him paying a pretty penny to get him. Chicago's OF situation just perfect right now, but Dusty appears to hate playing rookies and non-veterans for whatever reason, which makes no sense at all no matter the situation(but then again, not much Baker has ever done has made a hell of a lot of sense), so bringing in a veteran player helps Dusty in that regard. And in order to counter the Sox additions of Thome, who is a name player, Mackowiak, who grew up as a Sox fan in Illinois, and Vazquez, who is just a very solid pitcher, they bring in both Abreu, who is a name player, and Zito, also a name player. Both help the Cubs in that regard, but I am personally unsure as to why they'd make the trade...Prior is just as good - possibly better than - Zito, and Murton's production per dollar earned will probably make him a better player to have in the lineup over Abreu...but Abreu will probably produce slightly better than Murton will at 30-40X the cost. I see Philadelphia making the deal to cut more salary while improving their pitching rotation quite a bit. I just am not sure who they'd replace Abreu with...Jason Michaels? It won't be Kroeger who they just picked up off waivers, as he's probably a year or so away still...maybe they're open to trying Abraham Nunez in RF, or moving Burrell to RF and going with some sort of platoon in LF. There are question marks on all 3 accounts, but by and large, I can see why all 3 teams would make the respective moves. Good thought.

QUOTE(heirdog @ Jan 6, 2006 -> 03:17 PM) Witesox fan, sorry about that. It was a bad joke. Just got a little punchy on a friday and lost my internal filter. Eh, don't worry about it. I just like being a smartass sometimes.

QUOTE(rventura23 @ Jan 6, 2006 -> 03:23 PM) is boone actually starting? thats pathetic It'll probably just be a Boone-Matsui battle in ST for 2B.

I wonder if Snow could be as productive hitting in front of Ramirez and Ortiz as he was when he was hitting in front of Bonds in 04. If so...it's an excellent pickup. If not...it's still a good pickup.

QUOTE(heirdog @ Jan 6, 2006 -> 03:08 PM) Beane blows Thanks for an intelligent response. I really agree with a lot of the points you made, and will reconsider everything I have ever believed in my life. ALL HAIL HEIRDOG! :headshake

QUOTE(RME JICO @ Jan 6, 2006 -> 02:32 PM) I was just curious on who else you felt was up there. Beane has done a good job, but the A's seem to max out and fall short of anything significant. The A's have never even made it to the ALCS under Beane. So even though his teams put up good records, that is somewhat deceiving by the way they play in the post season. It is possible that they just had easier schedules to get those records, because they are consistently bad in the post season under Beane which doesn't really seem to add up. I would say KW #1 Schuerholz #2 Shapiro #3 Beane #4 I think it's wrong to include Shapiro in the top 3 due to the fact that he's never led a team to a playoff series...unless he was GMing the Indians in 01, and if memory serves correctly, Hart was still GMing at that point. And Rowand, I have told you that I think Beane will get one sooner or later. There is no arguing that he hasn't put his team in a position to win a series...luck has just gone against them.

QUOTE(Texsox @ Jan 5, 2006 -> 11:11 PM) Both teams played to form. It was one of the few times the game lived up to the buildup. I'd disagree. USC was pretty bad defensively all game long, and really had nothing going offensively aside from their second drive and the entire second half. Pete Carroll didnt really do a great job of coaching either, especially on that 4th and 1-2. Bush had just started to get into some sort of rhythm running the ball, Texas's defense was starting to tire out, and instead of going to the outside with Bush, went inside with White...I thought that was just a dumb playcall, both before hand and in hindsight. That tends to bring up the question as to whether you go with the hot hand, or what got you to the point you're at. In a case like this, I'll take the latter...in some cases, I take the former. It's all moot at this point. As far as college games go...I'll take the 2002 Fiesta Bowl over this. Pretty similar games all around though...a team with a 34 game winning streak going in with a starting QB who has lost only 1 game in his college career with an abundance of talent around him losing to an up and coming undefeated team with 1 star player offensively to go along with a good defense. It's just too bad that USC couldnt have kicked a game tying field to send it to overtime. That would have been fun as hell.

QUOTE(southsideirish @ Jan 5, 2006 -> 01:27 PM) How do you figure Dom Davis will get a 2nd round pick when Seattle and Indy couldn't get that when taking offers for James and Alexander last year? There is no way in hell that Houston will be able to get a 2nd round pick for Dominic Davis. The Bills got a 3rd round pick from Tennessee for Travis Henry. Maybe that's just cuz Tom Donahoe was smart and took a draft pick from the 2006 draft instead of the 2005 draft. That being said...Davis is being paid like a starter, not a backup...so I don't see anyway possible for Houston to get a 2nd round pick for him, unless some team decides they need a starting HB next year and are willing to pay it. If so, the Texans could easily get a 2nd round pick.

QUOTE(Damen @ Jan 6, 2006 -> 12:02 AM) And 5 strong starters. Nah. 6 strong starters

QUOTE(RME JICO @ Jan 6, 2006 -> 01:40 PM) Who are the other 2 GM's? It is hard to say that anyone has done a better job in the last 2 offseasons than KW has. He brought in Ozzie, then made a ton of other bold moves. I think there are only 4 starters left from opening day 2004. Paulie, Crede, Mark, and Jon. That is one hell of a turnover while winning a World Championship and fielding another winner for 2006. 83 wins to 99 wins and a WS Championship in one year. Top 3 does not imply KW is 3rd best...it implies he's one of the best 3 GMs in the game. That's not bad at all. To clarify a little more about my personal opinion, I think KW is probably a top 2 GM along side Billy Beane. I'm probably stirring the pot a little bit by talking about Beane, but he put out a very good defensive team last year with a relatively solid but young pitching staff to go along side a good offense...all while "rebuilding." He nearly won the west and he's in a very good position to actually do so this year. The A's won atleast 90 games in a season for 5 straight seasons(00-04), and won 88 last year after getting off to a 17-32 start...it's hard to deny him as one of the best GMs in the game. I'm not saying this of course because of Moneyball...though it probably helps...and I'm not saying it solely because he's a sabermetric GM, because I thought DePodesta did a pretty mediocre job in LA, and Ricciardi has been mediocre in Toronto too. At the very least...KW and Beane are 1-2 in whatever order you wish...atleast I figure they are.

QUOTE(Yoda @ Jan 5, 2006 -> 05:06 PM) Pedro Martinez-Tom Glavine-Kris Benson is a very good 1-3 punch in the NL East. The three of them give you innings and can be on their game almost every start. Even though Glavine is 39, he can still put up some good numbers. Not to mention that his home is Shea Stadium. Everyone knows what you’ll get from Pedro and Benson has some pretty good stuff. The offense is one of the best in the NL, if not, in the ML. From top to bottom they’ll have men on base for Delgado, Beltran, and Wright. Meh, I'm not a huge fan of Benson. Seems to be a very mediocre pitcher to me with mediocre stuff. A good 4 or 5, but a so-so 3. They'll be in the hunt for SP come deadline time in all likelyhood...it's just too bad they stripped about their entire minor league system bare to the bone, as they have virtually nothing to trade whatsoever.