witesoxfan

You are so right. And the Price is Right!

No way in hell does Atlanta get Taylor without trading up. If Washington doesn't take him, Detroit will(unless Williams/Fitzgerald drop, and I see no way of that being possible), Taylor is gone. Not sure about Gallery yet. It really does depend on what the Raiders do. If the Raiders choose to take a QB(would probably be Roethlisberger, though if San Diego for some reason takes Big Ben, it would be a no brainer to take Eli; they could take a QB though...Gannon isn't getting any young and Tuiasosopo, or however the hell you spell his name, is most likely not destined for greatness), or IMO the more likely route is Williams or Fitzgerald. That leaves Arizona with probably Big Ben(or the other of the receivers...that choice is up to them...however, I think they take a QB), New York with Gallery, and Washington with several options and only one pick(possibly Udezi from USC, Harris from OU, Taylor and Wilfork from Miami, and maybe others, but those are the 3 I would bet on them looking at...I'll say they take the Wilfork, just for the hell of it, because I believe he is moving up quite quickly on the boards), Detroit then with Taylor, Cleveland with probably Winslow II, and Atlanta with the other receiver not taken by Oakland(or if Arizona takes that receiver, I would venture to guess that Cleveland takes the QB not taken, and I could see Atlanta taking Roy Williams here, possibly a DE, possibly moving to later in the draft and taking Tommie Harris...all kinds of things could happen with this pick).

Damn. Too bad for Juan. He seems to be a headcase, but if he could get his s*** straightened out, he'd be damn good. If the Cubs want to give us another starter, I'd be more then happy to(though we don't have any more Matt Karchner's)

But that's why he did it in the first place. With Thomas drawing more walks, he is less likely to hit the ball then Maggs. With him being a fly-ball hitter, he is less likely to ground into a DP. Maggs is a line-drive hitter who hits the ball hard...sometimes the ball ends up on the ground, and when it does that with a runner on 1st, it is usually a DP.

He'll probably be this year's Scott Sullivan.

You and I think alike. Some people's optimism just slowly grows until they know the team will win. That did not happen to me. It was basically an overnight thing. I went from thinking this year was going to be awful to thinking this year was going to be great. We are going to destroy the AL Central, sweep right through the playoffs, and be World Champions, and by the time we are at the All-Star break next year, teams still won't know what hit them way back in 2004.

Old Dutch...Dill Pickle....mmmmmmm

Not unless you want David Wells or Ryan Franklin I'm pretty much set.

If I may take a moment to shine on my fantasy league two team...that f***ing sucks ass. Now, back to real life. I was watching SC, and they were talking about some Mitre guy maybe taking his spot until he came back...what happened to Juan Cruz? Hell, if he isn't even their spot starter, give up a solid bat for him. Cruz has a lightning arm.

If we are no where near contention at the deadline, he is gone. If we are anywhere close, he is still here. I voted yes, however, we should undoubtedly get some comp picks for him(offer him arbitration is all we need to do...that's win-win, because he can either accept arbitration and he is here for 05, or he signs elsewhere and we get the other team's first rounder(unless he signs with one of the league's 15 worst teams) plus a sandwich pick)

Probably the main reason Maggs grounded into 20+ DPs was because Thomas would draw a walk with 1 out or no outs, and Maggs would hit a hard ground ball.

You have to give something to get something sometimes, do you not? Who else is attractive to other teams on our team that is easily replaceable? Lee comes at a cheaper rate(about $7.5 mill a year, and while that's not cheap, it's not hugely expensive, like Konerko's is...also, Lee is making about $6-6.5 mill this year) Regardless, 61382 was talking about trading him in 2005 or 2006, though I was referring to trading him this year(as I said, you have to give something to get something sometimes)

61382, I'd take middle ground between our two predictions. I think a mixture of good mixture of younger and older talent would be great and IMO is the best mix for success(which is part of the reason the Royals scare me...their rotation is subpar though, and with 4 lefties in it, I like our chances against them). One thing I like is the fact that you and I are seeing eye to eye on the Expos middle infielders. I think I would try and trade for Vidro at the trade deadline(and if he is a FA after this year, I'd try to resign him), and after this year try and sign Cabrera. However, the major knock on getting Vidro is the lineup, and more specifically, who leads off and who bats where? Would you go with Vidro 2B Lee LF Maggs RF Thomas DH Valentin SS Konerko 1B Crede 3B Rowand CF Olivo C Or do you drop Vidro down to 2, Rowand up to leadoff(that kind of scares me), Lee to 5th, and everyone else down? I don't like that idea for two reasons: 1) Rowand's leading off, and 2), Crede is hitting 8th, and I think that's a little low...I see him as about the perfect 7th hitter right now. Or do you have Lee leadoff(which scares me big time, especially when you don't know if he'll walk like he did in 2002 or if he won't like he's done in 2000, 2001, and 2003). I think that's the main knock there and where a team like maybe Detroit comes into the equation(believe it or not). I'm not sure exactly what they are doing, but I'm sure that if we offered them say Felix Diaz and Rowand that they'd be willing to deal Alex Sanchez(which would be a boost to the team and gives Ozzie Guillen a Juan Pierre-type player). At that point, it becomes much easier to make the lineup(though if I made the lineup, Crede would still be hitting 8th, however, that is just something you have to deal with). OK, enough on that point, let's move on. About Maggs, as I have said, that most I would offer him is $13 mill a year. Maybe we go 5 years(which would be all that I would go, especially with him being 30. You sign him to say an 7 year contract and that takes him to 37, and at that point his skills are starting to decline, and at $13 mill a year, that is quite a bit for a guy who will probably put up .280 30 100 numbers if we are lucky(and he could just as easily put up .260 25 80 too, maybe worse...those numbers are not even close to worth $6 mill a year, much less the $13 we'd be paying him...hell, Carl Everett put up about .290 30 90 with the Rangers and Sox, and he got I believe $3 mill a year from Montreal...what's that tell you?). If he is using Vlad as a comparison, he is way off. Sheff isn't a bad comparison, however, Sheff is also older and does not have an agent but rather is his own agent(I believe he is, isn't he? Anyways, I would venture to guess that with an agent he could have gotten $14-15 mill a year) I would say Thomas, at the very least, will retire as a member of the White Sox and will play 3-5 more years. How's that for simplification? I would guess that they could also deal Konerko if they take practically nothing. Regardless, I have said that I would take Hundley from LA so long as they gave us a solid reliever too. Hundley is a bigger piece of s*** then Konerko is(especially for the price), so I would also ask LA to take on about $2 mill of Hundley's salary. That gives us another decent left-handed stick off the bench, and insurance in case Sandy gets hurt for an extended period of time. Regarding Buehrle and Lee...I just wasn't sure. Also, wasn't Wainwright in like AA last year with the Braves? I figure he'd be ready by 05 or 06, whenever Buehrle would be dealt for him. I'd take him, regardless, because he was a pretty good prospect for the Braves when they dealt him, and is obviously still a good prospect since he was only just dealt this offseason. And I just misunderstood what you were talking about with Seattle. My bad. I have little doubt we'll see Reed this year, probably Borchard, hell, maybe if we're lucky we'll even see Honel or Wing in a September callup(though part of me doubts that). We could see a lot of action. I am quite excited about the future of the organization, especially the lower minors and seeing who pans out. And it will be amazing to dig this out in 2007 and see how right I am!

These threads can be merged, but... Sweet. I have wanted this move for quite some time now. Gives Maggs more RBI opportunities and really does not effect Thomas at the plate at all.

Sweet. I have wanted this move for quite some time now. Gives Maggs more RBI opportunities and really does not effect Thomas at the plate at all.

Do you know how awesome that would be? That would be bonerific.

How would SS2k4 know what piss tastes like? Unless.... :puke

I like Dill Pickle chips too. Also, Jalepeno are great. Probably my 3rd favorite(with Dill Pickle being #1...not sure what #2 is, but I know I like it more then jalepeno...maybe it's salt and vinegar...I'll have to see later). Damn, I may have to go to the store right now and get some.

No he doesn't. He basically said he made 2 bad moves, and really only one of them was(taking Ring over Blanton). We got Olivo in the Bradford deal, and while Olivo is pitiful now, he should blossom into a pretty good hitter as he matures and has a cannon on his arm. Bradford is a solid middle reliever.

Well it was close anyways. I still like my chances a lot, and with Kentucky losing, I like my chances a lot more of getting all 4 of my teams to the Final Four.

That would be perfectly fine with me if they are jinxed now.

Hey, be nice to people from North Dakota

You are probably right in most regards. However, I just kind of threw this together without putting a ton of thought into it(considering what was up there as it was...I did think some of the things out, which is obvious). About Garciaparra and mainly Cabrera...for some reason, I did not even think about Cabrera, yet I have supported bringing him to the Southside on this board. I think he would be an excellent addition and would be a solid #2 hitter with great defense. That is something Ozzie would love from his SS. I think I just went with a name everyone knows. Cabrera is definately someone I would be interested in and if Uribe does not cut it at 2B and Harris sucks again, I would see if Ozzie can talk Jose into moving to 2B(though it would be a difficult transition), and hope KW can pick up Cabrera. Either that, or they can just flat out go and get Jose Vidro. Either would be OK with me. I am not sure what the deal with Maggs is. Part of me thinks he returns to the Sox, the other part thinks he leaves(that's kind of obvious...what other choice would there be? ). I think that the Sox will, at the very least, offer him a contract of about 4-years $52 mill, or something around $13 mill a year, and see if he accepts. If he does, we are probably lucky, and if not, we see the end of Maggs in a Sox uniform. If we are completely out of it, I see Maggs being dealt. I don't see us being completely out of it, so I think Maggs is with us all year. Thomas has publicly said he wants to be with the Sox till he retires. I assume he wants 500(since he's said it publicly), and I figure he'll be at around 440-460 range this year, and fairly close to 500(probably 470-490, maybe even 500) by the end of 2005, assuming he stays healthy. If he doesn't get to 500 by the end of 05, I would guess he plays 06, and if he doesn't have a ring with us by 06, I would hope he'd play atleast one last year with the Sox. It's hard to say at this moment whether he would or would not. I would almost put money on it that Konerko is dealt either this year or next year. I just think that he is too much of a burden for the Sox, and they will have to pay for it. I would love to see him dealt in a cost-cutting move and then seeing Randall Simon come in(for a marginal prospect...his on-base and OPS numbers are probably awful, and you have to throw 4 pitches way the hell outside to walk him, but he seems to be a very clutch player...I would love to have him), and then with some of that money saved bring in Urbina to help the pen(that would be a deep-ass pen too). Regarding Harris...I agree. I was just mainly using what would happen if everything turned out right in this. I agree he probably won't do much. I think, if he pans out the way I think he'll pan out, he'll end up like Orlando Palmeiro(assuming he can play LF and RF as well) or maybe even Denny Hocking, only with much more speed. Either that, or he will end up a AAAer all his life. I'd agree with Uribe, unless they acquire Vidro at the deadline(before the Yankees get him). However, that's where I like our situation over the Yankees. Selig actually shot down a deal last year because the Yankees were giving too much money in a deal and were basically buying a player, and I think that could give the Sox an advantage if they were to want a Jose Vidro. Give the Expos two decent prospects and he could probably be had. I think Buehrle will be dealt soon enough too. He seems perfectly happy in Chicago, but I just don't think the rotation is built around him(then again, I don't think the rotation is built around anyone), and we could feel he is expendable(again, unless we are in it at the break, which as I have said several times, I think we will be). Again, you and me both feel Lee will be dealt, and possibly even this year. I don't think he is dealt to Seattle though, unless we got Winn or Ibanez. I believe they are playing Ibanez in LF, Winn in CF, and Ichiro in RF(though that could be switched up a bit), with Edgar DHing...I just don't see how Lee fits into the picture. I could see LA, with us getting a prospect or Perez or maybe someone else entirely. I could also see Baltimore as a possibility, with us maybe getting Matos and/or Ainsworth. Also, Oakland could be a possibility, but we would undoubtedly have to take on atleast one contract of their's. There are a few teams I could see coming into the picture, but Seattle is not one of them. I think the Helton deal could get done assuming Colorado took on some of the salary and/or the team played well enough and enough fans showed up(which is not how it should be)that JR actually opened his check and gave us a $70-80 mill payroll. That seems a little odd, so Colorado would have to take on quite a bit of salary for that move to work. I would love that move to death though, and that would give us the lefty bat we have needed for several years now(however, a slight concern would be how he was effected by playing very, very few if any games at Coors Field). Your lineup looks solid enough to me. I'll take it. I mean, you gotta let the young guns come up at some time, right? Just not sure they'd be all ready by 2007. I could definately see us being a very good young team though, and the one thing I would like on that team more then anything would be a veteran prescence(other then Crede), and that is where a Thomas or a Maggs comes into play. I think if you put Thomas into that DH spot, and he retires the next year, that could be potential back-to-back division winners. Those young kids would need someone to look up to when times are bad(as goofy and corny as that sounds), and Thomas would be the guy to lead them. I would personally also like the same thing in the rotation, but you can only do so much. That team could do some serious damage. I'd take that along with my $90 million fantasy team whose foundation is created right here in 2004.

Damn, you and must have picked a lot of like up until the Elite 8. I think you and I have the exact same Sweet 16 teams left.

No caps lock? Congratulations!