witesoxfan

I'll just say this much, don't be surprised if Jeter does move. There will almost certainly be better 3Bman available at the deadline this year then 2Bman, and if so, I have little doubt that Jeter is moved to 2B atleast for the time being, or at the very least, have ARod and Jeter split time between SS and 2B.

Because it was brought up in an article and so we decided to talk about it. Besides, while it is nice that ST is starting, pitchers and catchers reporting really effects the general public very little. Once the position players report is when s*** starts getting heated up, because then they get sharp and then they start playing each other and then they have exhibition games. Besides, if you didn't think into the future and consider some options, you'd be SOL by the time that time came.

Absolutely. I do believe SSI and I have reconciled our differences, or some s*** like that, and I am no longer calling him an idiot, and that I feel he is just a little uninformed on the age issue, however, I have dropped that because it was quite obviously going nowhere. I'm veyr much over that. Agreed. This is true. I believe the Yankees led the AL in strikeouts last year(offensively...not sure who led it pitching-wise; also, they may not have led, but if they didn't, they were damn close). They only got to the World Series. Agreed and agreed, especially with the last one. 9-pitch at bats where you end up striking out are very good at-bats not only because it makes a pitcher throw more pitches, it also forces them to throw more pitches, featuring their stuff, and sometimes, that is not a good thing to want to have to do. Very much agreed with that, however, just one technical thing...he DID take the Giants to the World Series in 2002 and was 5 outs away from winning the whole f***ing thing. Part of me wishes very, very badly that we had fired Manuel at the end of the 2002 season, because if we had, we would probably have been in the playoffs in 2003 and in line for another incredibly great year this year, if not coming off a World Series victory. Some folks don't believe it, but the manager, IMO, makes that big of a difference. And most likely a World Series victory if they get a break or two in the playoffs, unlike the large number of breaks the Marlins got to win the series.

Either Gagne got screwed, Koch is being overpaid beyond belief, or both. I'll vote for both. BTW, nice to see you back killa

Exactly right with Loaiza. However, with Gagne, he was not asking for $10 mill. He was aksing for $8 mill. Correct me if I'm wrong, but did Foulke not get 3-years, $21 mill from Boston? That's $7 mill a year. Gagne has been so insanely dominant as a closer, including winning a Cy Young, and he only gets $5 mill? I still think the arbitrator ruled wrong...Gagne should have easily won. He is not exactly in the Rivera echelon of pitchers just yet, but you give him 2 more years like this, and I say he is in, and he's worth $10-12 mill on the open market. $8 mill is actually the middle ground, and I'm not sure if that's what Gagne's agent was looking at or if that just ended up like that, but I personally think it was a wise choice in figures, and they just flat out got screwed over. I do think that if he asks for $7-7.5 mill, he probably wins. And yes, it would be insane to pay a guy for one awesome season. Cleveland would still probably be paying for Joe Charboneau(assuming he would have done that within the past 5 years and you correctly adjust his stats....yeah, they'd pretty much be f***ed...he probably would have been a 35 homer guy in his rookie year and he'd be gone by now). And for a real case of this happening....I bet the Twinkies are kicking themselves right now for giving both Radke a $9 mill a year deal and giving Mays guaranteed money in the first place. They owe Radke $10 mill this year(the final year of the deal), and they owe Mays about $5.75 mill this year and $7.25 in 05...Radke was something like 12-16 in 2000(the year he signed the contract), and Mays has literally had only one good year, 2001 where he went 17-13 with a 3.16 ERA in 233 innings, and that is it.

I could only wish.

Just to anyone in general, cheat, playa, PA, showtime, etc...all our great image creators....I figured instead of creating a new thread, I would just decide to put it on here. I believe a signature is needed. It had been blank for way to long for me, and my masterpiece of a Soxtalk official logo is great, I think the signature could be improved. As soon as someone makes a claim, I will get them a couple images and a general idea of what I want.

That has been taught to him for about 10-15 years. He still doesn't know it. Won't change this year I wouldn't think either.

Hi, who am I?

Gotcha, I did misread it. I still think their offense will probably improve by the end of the year though as I think they will either acquire a good offensive 3Bman or 2Bman sometime before the deadline and either they will put him in at 2B or they will move Jeter to 2B, move Arod to SS, and put their 3B in place. No hard feelings though.

It has been reported, but not verified; no; and Astacio's arm is in s***ty-ass shape to answer your questions.

If that midget is 6'5'', yes, you are correct. I mean, he DID manage 10 years in San Francisco for a reason. Maybe you didn't read it carefully enough....I said in the past 10 years, if not longer...probably is longer. I would say he is one of the better managers Chicago has seen in quite some time....not sure exactly how long that time period is, because I have only been on this planet just over 16 years and have not done a ton of research on Chicago baseball managers of the past 100 years, but I would guess that just based on his credentials and the fact that he took a team that finished well below .500 with Baylor/Kimm and took them within 5 outs of getting to the World Series says something about him. I would say he is atleast a top 10 manager in Chicago history, if not top 5. If I did more research, I'd probably be able to say for sure. I speak the truth. I am a White Sox fan, and I dislike the Cubs with a passion...but I look at the team and I see a team that is not only a contender for their division crown but a contender to win the World Series. The most Sosa has ever struck out in a season is 174 in 1997, and he then struck out 171 times the next two years(while hitting 66 and 63 homers in those same two years), and he has not broken the 160 K barrier since 2000. I would venture to guess that he strikes out somewhere around 150 times. The most Alex Gonzalez has ever struck out is 149 times in 2001, his last season as a Toronto Blue Jay. The past two years he has struck out 136 and 123 times respectively...I expect him to strike out about 130 times or so this year. Moises Alou is the one that cracks me up...have you even looked at his stats? Alou has NEVER struck out 90 times in a season, in fact, the most he has ever struck out in one year was 1998 with Houston...he struck out 87 times. I think you would take his .312 38 124 .981 OPS with 87 strike outs if you had to. Patterson struck out 142 times in his only full season in the majors and 77 times in the 83 games he played last year...leading me to believe he strikes out a little less then once a game, meaning he'll probably strike out about 140 times this year. And I don't think the K-record is a lock, however, I am not a betting man. Otherwise, I would be much better(unless it is just a friendly bet with nothing to lose by personal pride...is so, I'm game ) Alex Gonzalez is the main reason the Cubs didn't get to the series. Dusty can't field for him, but if he could, the Cubs would have been in the series. Literally, if Gonzo fields that, we are still probably sulking after the Cubs won a World Series for the first time in some 95 years. It had nothing to do with mis-managment of the bullpen. Prior was in cruise control until Gonzo misplayed that. He then got erratic, and Kyle Farnsworth was brought in(who had been very solid for Dusty all year long), and Farnsworth proceeded to give up just a few hits, and from what I can recall, all hell broke loose after that. Who gives a s***? We have suspect team defense and virtually no team speed as well. They also have arguably the best starting pitching in the major leagues(IMO is is the best by far....Prior, Wood, Maddux, Zambrano, and Clement as your #5, a guy who as recently as 2002 had an ERA of under 3.75 and as recently as last year won 14 games. That is an insanely deep and talented starting rotation...if any of them gets injured, another can pick up the slack. I will go as far as saying that this Cubs rotation could be one of the best rotations the majors have seen since the Braves showed us Maddux, Glavine, Smoltz, and Avery when they were all in their primes), and we don't. They have a very underrated offense, and quite possibly, we have an overrated offense. The only thing we may have on them is a better bullpen...and that's not even guaranteed as well with their addition of Hawkins, who is a huge stud. I think you need to stop this blind hatred and total detestment of the Cubs and just look at the team as if they were any other team for a second and realize that they are a very, very serious threat to do a s***load of damage on the MLB and could do some very, very serious terrorizing in the playoffs. I hate them as much as every other person on here, but I look at things objectively, and realize that the Cubs are a very good team, with a very good manager. BTW, have you EVER considered looking at stats and using facts to backup your thoughts, or do you just spout s*** off the top of your head?

Remember this? They could not control Boone getting hurt. Had Boone not gotten hurt, we are not having this conversation, because they still have Soriano at 2B and Boone at 3B. This is not the case, because Boone got hurt, and they went out and got ARod. If Boone is healthy, duh, almost everyone takes Soriano and Boone over Arod and Enriquemiguel Wilsoncairo...plain and simply, it is two good hitters over one great hitter and two utility INFers. But Boone is not healthy; therefore, Cashman and Steinbrenner did something about it and acquired ARod to play 3B. Plain and simple, you cannot say "Do you want Boone and Soriano or ARod and Cairo/Wilson?" because there is no choice to this.

Which is complete and utter bulls*** if you ask me. Go by what they have done within the past 2-3 years, not their entire careers. Go by what their peers have done and what they are making(not what the FAs signed for)...for instance, Billy Wagner makes $10 mill, Mariano Rivera makes $10-$11 mill, John Smoltz makes like $10.5 mill, and those guys cannot touch what Gagne did this year statistically). If we resigned Esteban Loaiza at the end of this season based on his whole career, the son of a b**** would be lucky as hell to get a guaranteed contract.

For MY Cubbies? What in the blue-f*** are you talking about? I hate the Cubs with a passion. I just look at things as they should be looked at instead of throwing on the rose-colored glasses and instantly saying the Cubs suck and the White Sox rock and the White Sox will win the Series and the Cubs will get completely destroyed by everyone and will struggle to win 50 games. Dusty Baker may not have a World Series ring, but he has been 6 outs away from winning the series(when he was unfortunate enough to have Rob Nen blow a save when Nen had not blown a save throughout the playoffs IIRC), and he was 5 outs away from getting to the World Series when he was unfortunate enough that his SS has hands of stone and booted a taylor-made DP, and had his SS recorded that DP, the Cubs probably go to the Series and win the whole thing. I personally feel he is the best manager Chicago as a city(including both the White Sox and Cubs) has had in the past 10 years, if not longer, and I'm sure many will agree. And the 2004 Cubs will not set a record for strikeouts, unless you are talking about pitching wise. They'd have to strike out 1400 times, and that will not happen. They'll probably strike out over 1000 times, but not nearly 1400.

Well, for starters, they wouldn't have signed probably both Pettitte and Clemens.

I would guess the average closer would blow 6-7 saves a year. Gagne hasn't blown a save for well over a year(going back to 2002), that is, unless you count the All-Star game. In some cases, you are right. However, there are some exceptions to the rule...Mariano Rivera, Eric Gagne, Billy Wagner...those types are worth the money now a days to just come in and close.

Agreed. And I could personally easily see the Padres pulling a White Sox circa 2003....try to load up on too many power hitters, become very, very streaky with just solid starting, and end up at around .500. They could also be like the 2002 White Sox and have a decent offense to go along with a ton of power, and not just a ton of power with very few runs(considering all the homers that were hit) And the injury bug could hit the Padres as well. I believe Giles was hurt for like the first month or two last year, and Nevin has been very, very injury prone over the past 2 years. Both offenses could surprise a lot of people.

Chicago time, but no where close to Chicago, Illinois. Also, as far as the time is concerned...I'm fine with it being like past 7...should be no problem for me.

Your second point is most of the time closely related to your first point. If a team will spend money, FAs will want to go there. Do you think IRod wanted to go to Detroit, because I don't. Not until he was offered $40 mill over 4 years that is. Then Detroit became his favorite city in the world.

Shaky? No. Sosa can be counted on for 40-50 homers, Alou for probably .300 25, Aramis could have another great year for the Cubs, Derrek Lee is way better then Randall Simon/Eric Karros, Barret will probably be better then Miller, Patterson will be better then Lofton, and they now have Greg Maddux....and they were 5 outs away from being World Series bound, had Alex Gonzalez not booted the ball that he did in the top of the 8th(you can say all you want about Bartman, it was Gonzo that blew it for the Cubbies).

Or if he just didn't hit against lefties period. He wouldn't hit 30 homers just against righties, but I imagine his average would improve over .240 or whatever it would be if he hit solely LH. I have no doubt that a GM would give him that much for a year....if his team is a solid SS away from winning, of course they wouldn't be afraid to give $4 mill to Jose....in fact, if absolutely needed, they would probably give $5.

Agreed. That's why Nady will play in AAA this year. If Nevin is healthy and playing 100%, he's good for .290 30 100 .850 OPS or so, and he could be potentially better than that. The thing concerning him the most is injuries. He is one bad slide away from going on the 60-day DL. If that happens, either Nady would be called up, or Long would be used in his place...either way, Sosa destroys either one statistically. That's a pretty big if coming back from surgery to repair his torn ACL. That's kind of a wait a see situation. I think we're comparing offenses here dog...stay on topic I'll personally give a slight advantage to Vazquez....but they are both very weak offensively. I'll take Vazquez's .260 .340 OBP over Gonzalez who was at .228 .295 last year, with better homer and rbi totals by quite a bit. I'd say SS is the main weakness on both teams. As I said, I'll take the Padres offense over the Cubs offense, but I'll take the Cubs rotation over almost anyone(and like I said, by almost, I mean I'll have to seriously consider Chicago-Houston, Chicago-Oakland, Chicago-Boston, and Chicago-New York, and that is about it)

We almost had him too. And then Atlanta said they would give Damian Moss. That made the deal. Two teams later, Moss is down in the southeast again.