witesoxfan

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Jan 26, 2011 -> 03:37 PM) Pretty damn good? He's been about league average the last three years [think Bronson Arroyo] and is the epitome of inconsistency. Javy Vazquez with slightly worse stuff. I think this entire statement is wrong. #1 - a 4.15 ERA over a 3 year period is extremely good, especially doing it in the American League (for the majority of it). It's not Cy Young good, but if you are going to say something that is above average is league average, then I am going to have a problem with it every single time. Have some perspective here. Over the last 3 years, Edwin Jackson is tied (with, not so ironically enough, Bronson Arroyo and Joe Saunders) for the 46th best ERA at 4.15. You can't simply divide those guys up and say that he is a league average #2, but I would say that you can safely slot him as a pretty good all around #2-3 pitcher on pretty much any staff in the league. That is extremely valuable and, as I said, pretty damn good. #2 - Bronson Arroyo is also a pretty good pitcher as well, but he would never survive in the American League. He survives by floating junk up there and pitching around good hitters, while Jackson goes right after hitters. I think if you just compare the stuff that both of them feature, you'd make the correct conclusion as well. #3 - Jackson's ERAs the past 3 years have been 4.42, 3.62, and 4.47. He hasn't thrown fewer than 183.1 IP the previous 3 seasons. He hasn't walked more than 78 or fewer than 70, nor has he allowed more than 27 homers nor less than 21 homers. His strikeouts have shown the greatest inconsistency, but that is because they are trending upwards, which is a good inconsistency to show. Calling him the epitome of inconsistency is hyperbolic and, quite frankly, wrong. #4 - I think Jackson has better stuff than Vazquez does, but perhaps part of that is because I believe he locates better as well as the fact that he has 2 extremely good pitches instead of 4 simply good pitches. It gives him less to mess around with, and thus, allows him to keep those two pitches extremely sharp. He has other pitches that work too, but they are not his main pitches, which is just fine. Also, considering Jackson has pitched on two postseason teams, and, upon arriving in Chicago last August, pitched his ass off, the stigma that Javy Vazquez carries is not nearly the same as the one that Edwin Jackson carries. I think that covers about everything. QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Jan 26, 2011 -> 04:47 PM) Whoopie! A #5 starter. Nothing says getting optimal value for your top pitching prospect then a #5 starter. Again, have some perspective here. He is going into the season as the #5 starter, but you know as well as I do that he could have the best ERA on this team, especially if he continues to show what he did down the stretch last year. He could ultimately be a top 10-20 pitcher in the American League.

Just perusing through the SLAM forum, and it would appear as though Soxtalk is collectively going to Florida. There are separate threads about Orlando, Jacksonville, and Miami/Fort Lauderdale. Just thought it was ironic.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Jan 26, 2011 -> 12:10 PM) No, it's more of a product of his career 48-51 record, 4.62 ERA, 1.462 WHIP, mediocre peripherals, only 1 year left on his current contract and his agent, whom we don't deal with. Of course, over his past 3 seasons, which spans 606.2 IP, he has put up a 37-32 record, a 4.15 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, improved control from his first few years in the majors, and an improving K-rate. Oh, and his HR/9 is 1.1 over that time, but that's manageable. Speaking of his K/9 rate - it was 5.3 in 2008 when most people thought he was just lucky. It moved up to 6.8 in 2009 with the Tigers, and it was 7.8 this past year in Arizona and Chicago (including 9.2 during his 75 innings with the White Sox). He's not the same pitcher he was his first few years in the league and using those numbers to skew his most recent statistics doesn't show his true value as a pitcher. You know that and you're better than that. I can understand being upset about what the Sox gave up and that they didn't get an elite pitcher back and any number of other things, but suggesting he's a mediocre or even bad pitcher is wrong. Edwin Jackson is pretty damn good.

QUOTE (flavum @ Jan 25, 2011 -> 10:31 PM) Sox took Mitchell at 23. Angels took Trout at 25. Just sayin'. Yep, and the Padres took Donovan Tate 3rd and the Orioles took Matt Hobgood 5th. You can't predict something like Mike Trout's emergence, and it's entirely possible that he isn't anywhere close to the same prospect in Chicago due to different organizational philosophies. There really shouldn't be a single person on here who was disappointed by the Jared Mitchell pick, because he is still an incredible talent and could very easily develop into a great leadoff or #2 hitter down the road.

QUOTE (JoeCoolMan24 @ Jan 25, 2011 -> 06:15 PM) I can't believe that AA is setting himself up to make a run at Pujols. Would Albert even want to go to Toronto? Probably not. They could also be saving this money because they have a ton of early picks in this draft and are looking to spend out the ass. If you bring in 6 ridiculously talented players (who they can take because of signability), your already good system takes another huge step forward.

I'm more surprised that they didn't retire Linebrink's number

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Jan 25, 2011 -> 10:50 PM) I swear to god I thought we were talking about E-Jax right there. Ha, well while that may be true, and Jackson could certainly be a dynamite reliever, he has proven to be an extremely durable starting pitcher and very capable of doing so. It does go to show that trading Jackson for Joba just simply does not make sense.

QUOTE (chisoxfan09 @ Jan 24, 2011 -> 11:16 PM) It´s unfortunate he has not been able to develop his offensive as quickly as the hype had made it out to be. He can be solid but for what we paid we have not seen a return at all. Well 2 years left before the ARB kicks in so let´s hope this year he does something. He showed great bat speed, great power, and solid contact skills. He needs to work on working a count, but as mentioned, he's 21. Guys that make huge impacts in the majors at the age of 21 are the types of players who can develop into Hall of Fame players.

I think we should concentrate more on the fact that Rashard Mendenhall humped the s*** out of Ben Roethlisberger.

Go Packers I guess. It would be a pretty fitting end to Brett Favre's career to have his former team win it all during his last year, in which he was a colossal failure.

Along with that, the negative stigma surrounding gambling and baseball as well as Las Vegas having about a gazillion other tourist destinations, I don't think MLB in Las Vegas stands a chance. The AAA team will suffice.

No, Viciedo has no chance of overtaking Juan Pierre for left field, and no, he is not going to take over Teahen's job, and I strongly doubt that he will be on the opening day roster, though that is at least plausible. Most indications are that Viciedo is nowhere close to being capable defensively in the outfield, and he's not going to suddenly be capable through Spring Training. He needs tons of live action in the outfield, so that is what he will get in AAA this year. If a bat is needed at some point during the season, as opposed to a mere live body who can play a few positions, he will probably be the first called up. As of right now, the White Sox want to get Viciedo's bat into the lineup, but they have all 3 spots that he is capable of playing locked up for 3 years at the very minimum. The best way to get his bat into play is to put him in the outfield. He has to be able to play the outfield before he can be an outfielder.

QUOTE (JoeCoolMan24 @ Jan 24, 2011 -> 12:39 AM) Humber. Might as well include the entire AAA rotation if you're going to include Humber.

QUOTE (GREEDY @ Jan 23, 2011 -> 05:55 PM) I am sick and tired of seeing this organization trying to force players into defensive positions where below average is the best case scenario/goal. Dayan is a First Basemen or a DH. Viciedo was never going to be a gold glover to begin with. Increasing his versatility to get that bat into the lineup is the ultimate objective here. If anything, they are moving him because they already have a player at one of the positions he plays who is good defensively and has a pretty good bat to boot. So settle down and live with him in the outfield for a while. He's going to be below average wherever he plays on the field, so if you can get his bat into the lineup, and he doesn't kill you defensively, you should be happy.

Did anyone else see Rashard Mendenhall humping Ben Roethlisberger after the first kneel down?

QUOTE (beautox @ Jan 23, 2011 -> 02:16 AM) I personally feel that the Rays and Jays will be sitting atop the east when the season ends. I'm not confident in Boston's rotation as both the rays and jays have supeior pitching and depth. I seriously feel unless cashman Hal burns through the yankee's farm system for some legit pitching, it won't matter who they hand the games over to in the 7-9th. You did remember that they traded Marcum to Milwaukee when you made this post, right? The Jays don't stand a chance in that division, and I don't care if you aren't confident in Boston's rotation (Lester is still amazing and they should be able to get a 4.50 ERA from the combination of Beckett, Buccholz, Lackey, and Matsuzaka) because their offense could score 900 runs even if there is another down offensive year. I think that the Red Sox could quite legitimately have an All-Star at every position except C and CF, assuming Lowrie is their starting SS and Scutaro hops around the infield.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jan 22, 2011 -> 08:04 PM) Really, go look at their lineup statistics last year. Their lineup was an abject disaster. This was the 2nd worst offense in the AL last year and the 2nd worst pitching staff last year. I don't think they're near the Yankees without a few rotation miracles, but this isnt' a few smaller improvements to the Oriole's lineup; this is a complete overhaul. They removed the guys who weren't long-term solutions, they kept all of their young talent, and they surrounded them with short-term option guys who they can either hold onto if they make a real run or they can trade away easily. Lee and Vlad are both old players who almost certainly won't be with the team beyond 2011 (and may change uniforms during the season), JJ Hardy may or may not sign an extension, and Mark Reynolds, though intriguing, isn't exactly the type of player who is a cornerstone. They haven't really done anything this offseason to improve their team in the long-run. Part of the goal is simply getting better and making improvements where you can, and I can appreciate and respect that, but if they are anything better than an average offense, I will be extremely surprised. I will agree that there is upside and that, even in that division, there is a good chance that they won't lose 90 games next year.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jan 22, 2011 -> 07:50 PM) I dunno, they "could" be better than we think. Matusz, Arrietta, and Tillman all are up and in have some big league work, Guthrie isn't bad...it's not the Red Sox...but compared to the Yankees...if you drop Captain Cheeseburger, it's not all that different. Cervelli/Martin vs Wieters is probably advantage Wieters Teixeira vs Lee is advantage Teix Cano vs Roberts is advantage Cano Jeter vs Hardy is probably leaning towards Hardy right now, but I'd say this is a toss up Rodriguez vs Reynolds is advantage Rodriguez Gardner vs Scott is probably advantage Gardner because of the defense assuming they sign Vlad, and it's clearly Gardner over Pie/Reimold Granderson vs Jones is advantage Jones Swisher vs Markakis is advantage Swisher (though Markakis obviously has the ability to improve quite a bit) Posada vs either Scott or Vlad is probably advantage Yankees The Orioles have a lineup that could put up some runs, but let's not get carried away and say that they are anywhere near the Yankees. There is a reason that the Yankees 30 more games last year and it wasn't because of CC Sabathia, and 3-4 smaller improvements to the Orioles lineup isn't going to change that dramatically either.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jan 22, 2011 -> 10:22 AM) So, they lose Crawford and Pena, and bring in Damon and Manroid for $7 million. I guess it isn't bad. They still have a 1b hole, they have no idea what they'll get from Manroid honesty, and their bullpen is still weakened, but with that starting rotation they can hang. I think they'll probably go with Dan Johnson at 1B. I expect something similar to Jack Cust in his numbers, perhaps something like .230/.350/.450.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jan 22, 2011 -> 04:17 PM) Beckett's injury history. Papelbon and Jenks in the bullpen are both iffy right now. They lost Adrian Beltre who gave them a spectacular season last year, and they have to move Youkilis back to 3b to put Gonzalez into their lineup. They lost a lot of production from Victor Martinez, and Saltalamacchia/Varitek is a very weak catching combo. They got about 1 1/2 of a full season out of their 3 starting OF's last year; they added Crawford to that mix, but Ellsbury, Cameron, and Drew don't exactly have spectacular records of health. Lackey and Matsuzaka are at worst worrisome right now. David Ortiz's slow starts and weight issues. They ought to win that division and should do so easily, but this is baseball...one wrong injury combined with a couple players struggling is what killed the Red Sox last year. They still have plenty of depth in both their rotation and bullpen though. The Adrian Beltre knock is a legitimate one, but Gonzalez and Crawford should more than make up for that. They have 4 outfielders who would start pretty much anywhere else in the league, so even if you want to argue that Ellsbury, Cameron, and Drew are injury prone - there's no way I'd make that argument - they have the depth to overcome one injury, and they almost certainly can replace another one with a replacement level player from the minors. Lackey should be better this year, but he will still give about 200 innings of good pitching. I don't think they are counting on anything from Daisuke other than being a capable 5th starter. They also didn't have one wrong injury and a couple players struggling...they had about a million significant injuries last year. If they stay healthy - big if - they should run away with that division.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Jan 22, 2011 -> 12:38 PM) Abreu/Hunter/Wells is one of the best oufields in the league......in 2006. I'm still having a hard time believing that this trade happened, that its not an April Fools joke. Desperation at its finest. Yes it is, but Abreu will be DHing. They are going with Wells-Bourjos-Hunter from left to right. That is significantly better.

In a chapter entitled "Bright Stars," Hawk would talk about Carl Yastrzmeski for 10 pages and then ramble on about some golf trip for another 40.

Thank God

QUOTE (JoeCoolMan24 @ Jan 22, 2011 -> 02:46 AM) But the way you worded it made it seem like it was a bad move because of the contracts involved. I still don't think Wells for Napoli/Rivera is a terrible move at all, the money makes it bad. Werth to the Nats obviously isn't a bad move, but the money makes it bad. Over the past 4 years, Vernon Wells has put up a WAR of 1.5, 1.5, 0, and 4. That is 7 WAR over a 4 year period. Over the same time frame, Mike Napoli has put up WARs of 1.5, 2.7, 2.7, and 2.8. That's 9.7 WAR over a 4 year period, and that is in 1,000 fewer plate appearances. I think I've said enough.

BTW, I love the Wannstedt hiring. I've never actually been a Wanne fan, but you can't question the experience he will bring to the sidelines as an assistant.