witesoxfan

So instead of winning 77 games, we win 80 instead? Sweet...or not

So Todd Helton is a member of the Yankees next year. What's your point?

You HAVE to mention the Twins in any argument about potential World Series contenders. Not doing so is ignorant. Santana is about as dominant as Pedro was during his stretch in the late 90s, and if you have that on ANY playoff staff, you are a favorite. They also have Radke, who has pitched well in the playoffs before, along with Silva, Lohse, or even Mulholland to give them 5 innings or so. Their bullpen is one of the best in the leagues and is quite deep(whichever starter(s) is not used, plus Rincon-Romero-Nathan, along with Balfour and Roa if you want to count them)...they will be a VERY scary team come postseason time. As of right now...I'm crossing my fingers that Minnesota doesn't win the whole f***ing thing...because they very well could.

I have no problem with getting rid of Crede. If we would not contend next year, it would be obvious to keep him, but I do believe that KW will make 1 or 2 last pushes to make the team a playoff team, and I believe Crede will be dealt. I also see him being replaced, and for that matter, he will be replaced easily. As I have mentioned before, resigning Jose is always an option, and then letting him hit solely against RHP...there's Beltre if you want to pony up the money and see if he can have another MVP season(which is a possibility, but could involve getting rid of Konerko or Lee). You can sign Koskie, who will probably be a FA, you could put in Uribe at hope he does not get into an extended cold streak, like he has every year of his career, or you see what Cleveland does with Casey Blake. He is having a very solid year, and there are others who could take his place in Cleveland. I personally think they will just end up making him the full-time DH with Boone playing 3B for them next year, but perhaps he could be let go, and if he is, the Sox should snatch him very quickly...stick it to both Minnesota and Cleveland with that move. Keeping him is also an option, but if he doesn't break out next year and have atleast a fast start, his value will drop very quickly...people usually use 3 years as a measuring stick for players(which is why Jon Garland is getting so much s*** for being so s***ty in his 3rd full year as a starter, and why people want to get rid of him). Basically, if you don't trade him, you lose a ton of what you could have...but you could also get lucky and he could have a very good start, and you could have a cheap, good 3Bman. As I think you probably know, I don't think you take the risk...trade him as part of a package and get a good player...preferably a solid reliever.

I never knew you did : Damn, better poker player and I'm a mod now too...what you got on me now? BTW...just so we all know...I will not be able to fully start moderating until about Sunday. I'll going out of town, and won't get back until Sunday.

Either he's actually thinking they needed a white player on there for reasons I don't know, or he's referring to the almost typical white NBA player...a little slower, without the insane cross over moves and the awesome dunks, but a guy who shoots the ball very well and plays very fundamentally sound basketball.

I would add something, but Beck has said everything I've needed to say. Vizquel is, in a nutshell, an Ozzie Guillen ballplayer. Willie Harris is a #9 hitter until he can learn how to hit consistently, get on base consistently, learn how to steal bases better, learn how to drag bunt, learn how to flat out drop one down and beat it down, and he does need to get a little pop in his bat(and I'm not talking about even double digit homer power...hell, he doesn't even need to hit 5 homers...but he needs to utilize his speed, and in order to do that, he needs to start turning singles into doubles, doubles into triples, and in rare cases, triples into homers, along with bunting, stealing, taking the extra base, and some of that he already does). I'd still like to see Jose resigned to face solely RHP and hit in about 6th or 7th(because, as I have said before, whether you like Jose or not, you cannot deny what he brings to the plate against RHP...IIRC, about .255 22 50 .900 OPS...very solid numbers)...this is, of course, assuming Crede is shipped out in a deal, and Jose resigns, knowing he will have to play 3B.

Sandy was a hell of a player during his career. I too think it is over though. As for a position he could take...he could probably be a scout of some type, perhaps someone who works with young pitchers and catchers, or even take over as a minor league manager or at the very least take over as a minor league coach for one of our lower levels.

Yay! Thanks Jas, Alex, Alex...everyone here who helps make Soxtalk a great place to be. It's an honor to be a moderator...now I get to mess around with a little more stuff(JOKING...lol)

Jeremy, I don't think he thinks that we'll play .700 ball and make the playoffs. I think what he's suggesting is that we'll play like we did down the stretch in 2002...when we were way out of the race, with no pressure on us. IIRC, we played very well down the stretch, and Frank hit about .390 in September of that year. Note again, when there was no pressure on the team. However, this team is not very good against lefties...I too have a feeling tomorrow could be ugly.

Here's another thought of the month. SS2k4 no longer has 20,000 posts.

Well that's your problem right there, you're looking at ERA, which is not always truthful when talking about a reliever. Cotts has struggled starting innings, and then he usually departs and Koch/Thrller came in and let those runners score. However, he has been very good at not letting inherited runners scoring...I do not have the stats in front of me, but I do know this is true...others(specifically Cheat, among others) know where to find the amount of inherited runners scored. Along with having great numbers in that, he has a good K/9(almost 9), and a good K/BB(about 2), and considering he's only allowed 6 homers in 45 innings...as a rookie without dominant stuff, that's pretty good. His WHIP is a little high, but he has also struggled a little with his control(which is why his K/BB is only 2 when his K/9 is around 9). Once he gains a little more control of his pitches, he could be a stud reliever. Just as a point...he has allowed fewer hits then he has innings pitched, and that includes all of his rough outings, including his one and only start in Minnesota. Cotts has been much better then people give him credit for this year. He has a bright future ahead of him.

Harris you already talked about. But why Adkins and Cotts? They are rookie pitchers, and usually, rookie pitchers will make mistakes if they don't have dynamite stuff(and some who DO have dynamite stuff STILL make mistakes). When I look at Adkins and Cotts, I see two pitchers with good arms and good stuff who will both be good pitchers someday in the majors...Adkins definately as a reliever/setup guy, and Cotts either as a reliever or starter. These are not AAAA guys...they are guys who are inexperienced when it comes to pitching in the big leagues. When they cost us games, part of the blame goes on KW for not bringing in another player to allow one of them to get seasoning in the minors, and part of it goes on Ozzie for bringing them in in pressure situations(for example...seeing Minnesota play almost everyone of their games, I have seen how they develop their relievers...other then JC Romero, who just burst onto the scene in 02, what they have done is bring up about 1 rookie reliever at a time, let him pitch in some games where he will not affect the outcome, and let him get experience that way...I recall when Juan Rincon was getting lit up seemingly every night...now he is a stud. They seem to be doing that with Jesse Crain now too) Borchard and Crede is too early to tell right now...both could improve, but who knows. Stewart I do agree is a AAAAer...almost comparable to Mike Porzio, but it seemed that Porzio had a better arm, and that's not saying much for Stewart.

He's having the best offensive year for all AL center fielders. That does not mean he is THE best AL center fielder. I'd probably take Torii Hunter over him if it came to right down to it. Better defense, along with a boatload more talent. Plus, this isn't exactly the fairest either...it does not include NL CFers, and there are a few NL CFers who are either better then Rowand, are having better years then Rowand, or even both(Edmonds, Beltran, Jones, Finley for sure, and then Cameron, Pierre, and Patterson, depending on what you are looking at in a CFer). He's good...I won't deny that..and he works his ass off. He's just not the best yet.

Anyone up for a game? I'll start a table in case anyone is SimonSays321's HE

I'm cheering for the Giants or Padres...whoever. Anyone but the Cubs.

5 back with 2 months left is better then 9 back with less then a month and a half left, right? And now I don't have school tomorrow too. Yay!

What lead to their demise in 2001 was Kelly's persistance on using LaTroy Hawkins as closer. He blew like 9 saves, had an ERA around 6.00 and a WHIP around 2.00. And you thought Koch was bad

Paul Konerko

Anybody actually checked out that ilovebees thing(other then fotop)? Personally, I think it's funny. And I still can't wait for Halo 2 to come out.

If Player A comes out of CF and Player B, who was DHing, goes into CF from DHing, the team DOES lose their DH for the game and the pitcher bats in the spot where Player A was. If Player C pinch hits or pinch runs for Player B, the team does not lose the DH(I know you didn't ask that, but I thought I'd say so anyways)

This is true. I don't know why it is that he does it...I would guess too many mistake pitches...but when you have the stuff he does, you can get away with some mistakes like that. I thought the more interesting stat was that, if I heard it correctly, Santana has 11 straight starts allowing 4 hits or fewer. That's insane. If he were on the Yankees, and he pitched this well, he'd probably already have 15 or 16 wins. In Minnesota, he has gotten s*** for run support...he lost a game to us and his only mistakes were walking Thomas and giving up a homer to Lee...Garland gave up 1 run over 7 innings and Marte shut them down for 2 more. And just on Sunday against the Red Sox, he gave up 3 runs over 8 innings(BTW, I think that was the most runs he'd given up in his last 11 starts...in the 10 before that, he'd given up 2 at the most, and usually 1 or none), and was trailing when he was taken out...lucky for them, Mike Timlin sucks complete ass, Kapler had a poor throw home, and Cabrera booted it, and they got 2 runs. And those were just 2 off the top of my head. The fact that he only has 10 wins is sad. With the way he has pitched over the last 2 months, he should have atleast 15 wins by now. The fact that Minnesota has this guy for 3 more years is a scary thought. He is like Pedro Martinez from the left side, but is actually durable.

I think I might actually get that. However, I better ask...since I already have the first Halo, which $119 package should I get?

Michael Lewis

I've played PokerRoom before. BTW...I get the chick with really big boobs on my table!