witesoxfan

Maybe I just haven't seen enough of Esteban this year, but I thought he looked kind of fat. Did he go to the Bartolo Colon school of pitching in the offseason or something? Maybe it was just that he didn't have a a long sleeve t-shirt on.

Just to help your point here... Probably the best catcher in the game, Ivan Rodriguez, is represented by Scott Boras. The Marlins won the World Series last year with Ivan Rodriguez as their starting catcher. What's even more impressive then that is that they also took on a ton of Mike Hampton's salary(IIRC, around $10 mill of it). This means they had $20 mill committed to their catcher and a pitcher on a division rival. And this year in Detroit, he's only hitting .370 and is a major reason they are only 5.5 games out of first place.

Haven't I been telling you guys for like 3 months that he does come on here? He just decided to post now!

That's how I see him more or less too. With the way he can lead, and his charisma and energy, I imagine he'd be a hell of a coach. And it wouldn't surprise me one bit if he took the route Ozzie did...get various coaching jobs around the league(mainly 3B coach), and just get a job from there. If Ozzie ever bails on us or we ever fire him(say 5-10 years down the road) I would not mind seeing Jose come in here as a coach at all.

Give me Schneider or Kendall...hell, if Davis can hit .260, let him play. Our offense is good enough. We just need a serviceable guy who can hit a little and play some defense with a good arm while also calling a good game.

I think if Jose Valentin doesn't go into coaching/managing a baseball team that going into the booth is something he would probably do. I just wonder if he would go into English or Spanish broadcasting.

He won't be a member of the Yankees. They have nothing to give up(unless they want to take on 50% of what ARod makes and then trade him to Arizona, and I have my doubts about that one)

Kind of funny you say this. Almost everyone thought the Yankees or Dodgers all but had Freddy Garcia...it was just a matter who who was going to actually get him. Then of course the White Sox upped their offer, and the next thing you know, Freddy Garcia is a member of the White Sox. KW is not afraid of paying high prices. He gave up 2 studs and another with a ton of potential for a guy he didn't even know he would have next year(and of course, we have since resigned him). I wouldn't say that KW can't get RJ. No way in hell.

If RJ goes somewhere, it will be to Anaheim or Chicago...that is honest to god how I feel. I could see Anaheim definately giving up Shields and MacPherson. I could also see us giving up Borchard, Diaz, Rauch, Sweeney...basically anyone(except perhaps Anderson). I could also see us giving up some major league talent(mainly Rowand, but I could also see Lee or Konerko being apart of the deal to take up some of the payroll). I think we have enough to get him. It is just now up to who makes the best offer. This I am sure...he will not end up on the east coast(unless it is the Braves, and I don't think the Braves will get him)

If the Cubs want Nomar bad enough, I could possibly see a trade of something like Clement-Rusch/Mitre/some other potential starter and prospects for Garciaparra and Lowe. I could see something happening very easily. Boston was doing well even when Nomar was out, and they could very much use the pitching. The Cubs probably figure since they fixed Aramis's defensive problems at 3B, they can help Nomar at SS, and that they could give up some pitching. Maybe they can do an actual swap...Nomar and Lowe for Clement and Gonzalez(when he comes off the DL of course). Boston then uses AGonz as a utility IFer(or they let Bellhorn play everyday, but have him remain as the utility IF, and when someone needs a day off, Agonz then plays), and Clement in the rotation, while the Cubs then just put Nomar and Lowe where they need. I could also see where the Cubs would put Lowe in the bullpen again too...they've been looking for a closer, and while Lowe was s*** closing in his last year of doing it, maybe a change of scenery would help him again.

That actually does make a lot of sense. There are rotating doors in and out of the stadium, and when you leave, you do feel pressure pushing you out. I just think that adding pressure in both the top and bottom of innings would be a little more fair.

cw, it's a little late, but Happy belated-Birthday nonetheless! Don't know if I can say Go Dolphins, but I hope Go Michigan works well. Go Michigan!

Disco Demolition Night Personally, I cannot say taht I was alive. In fact, I'm not sure my mom had met my dad. But where were you? And what were you thinking?

That's sweet. Someone likes my sig.

And Overbay is probably going to have to be traded in a couple years too with Prince Fielder coming up through the system. That Brewers team could be pretty solid for quite some time. I just wish their ownership would open up the wallet to keep some of those guys.

I sure as hell would. I'd also trade quite a bit for RJ. Not the farm(due to several things), but I'd still love for KW to get him.

I'm going to love seeing the NL kick the holy s*** out of the AL. I'd also love to see the every team needs a representative rule to be thrown out. What in the blue f*** is Ted Lilly in the game for? And another rule they should make is that Ron Belliard can not play the All-Star game ever, because he sucks ass. Yeah I know, I missed the All-Star rant post...so sue me.

There is no tournament of champions anymore.

Timo's defense is s***, and he has a weak arm. But he has given this team a shot in the arm offensively, and they click when he plays. It's funny, because he doesn't do anything well. He has little to no power, is not fast, and does not have a very good bat(.260-.270 is decent). We need Timo on this team. He will be huge for our postseason run.

And consider the two team's August schedules. Ours consists of sub-.500 teams, with the exception of 6 games against the Red Sox, 1 make-up game against the Phillies, and the first game of a series against the A's. Consider then that the Twins consists of all +.500 teams(assuming you count the Indians as a +.500 team, and I do), with the exception of 3 games against Seattle. Then consider that we end the year with 11 games against the Royals and Tigers, including 8 of those against the last place Royals. Then you look at the Twins last 11 games - 7 games against the Indians, 3 against the Yankees, and 1 against us. Personally, I love our chances, even considering how s***ty we are playing right now.

The Twins were 7.5 back at the ASB last year. One trade later, they are celebrating their 2nd consecutive AL Central title. The Cubs are in essentially the same position. They have a weaker team in front of them in the standings, but have not gotten it going yet. If the Cubs get going, the Cards are f***ed.

Russian, Swiss, you knew what I meant.

I do agree, it could have been big lift. We win that game, maybe Diaz doesn't have as much pressure on him, and he pitches well too. Then maybe we actually put up a crooked number against the Cubbies on Sunday. We could have easily swept them, along with taking 2 of 3...Friday was essentially the clincher. I don't know what's wrong with ELo...the lost velocity couldn't be that much of a problem, could it? I mean, you'd think that a pitcher would eventually adjust to that...Mike Mussina has lost velocity, but has adjusted a little, why can't ELo? I'm just wondering if he hasn't lost some intensity out on the mound. Losing his personal catcher couldn't be that big of a deal to him, and if it is, he needs to get his panties out of a wad and realize he is pitching for a team in a goddamn pennant race. We need ELo of 2003 to show up(or we need to get Randy Johnson). I can handle this s*** from ELo if he is pitching from the 4th or 5th slot in the rotation...not in the #3 slot though.

It's not like it's a big secret. You can find it almost anywhere.