witesoxfan

QUOTE (whitesoxbrian @ Aug 14, 2008 -> 01:21 AM) Hey witesoxfan, I was reading a magazine in which they said the 2nd best sports store (not sure if it's a card store or an actual apparel store) in the USA is somewhere in ND (or was it SD?). What do you know about that? I've probably heard of it, but off the top of my head I'm not sure as to what it is. I believe there's a restaurant in Grand Forks that has Roger Maris' name in the name and there are quite a few sports memorabilia items in there, and there's a Roger Maris museum in Fargo, but the Dakotas are a bit bigger than the general preconceived notion so it's not something that comes up in idle conversation often.

QUOTE (BearSox @ Aug 13, 2008 -> 07:05 PM) I don't think there is anyone in their right mind that would choose Swisher and Broadway over Sweeney and Gio right now. Gio would look awfully good filling in as the 5th starter for Contreras... You can cut your boner for Sweeney off any day now and to answer your question, the Sox would look a hell of a lot better at this moment in time with Gio Gonzalez in the rotation rather than Lance Broadway (although I think Gio would get lit the f*** up in the Cell, he is a better option than Broadway). However, the Sox would be in 2nd place by about 5-6 games if they had Sweeney in CF all season rather than Nick Swisher, and the clubhouse wouldn't be nearly as entertaining. Furthermore, the Sox have Swisher nearly as long as the A's have Sweeney, and Swisher's a superior player to Sweeney, and KW has been one of the best GMs in baseball at finding starting pitchers who teams have either thrown to the way side or undervalue and has turned them into good starting pitchers (like 4 of the 5 starters in the White Sox rotation at the beginning of the year). I'm not worried about KW trying to find another starter in the least. So, in my right mind as I'm completely sober and just getting ready for work, would gladly take Swisher and Broadway, and I have every reason in the world to justify such a decision.

Very good draft by the White Sox this season. This should be a good beginning to restocking a barren farm system.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Aug 12, 2008 -> 01:06 PM) Please tell me you weren't driving. never...I swore about 4 months ago that I'd never drive after I had more than 2 drinks ever again in my life. I've done it before and was lucky enough to never have hurt anybody, but it's the stupidest thing I've ever done. As a matter of fact, I had 1 beer at like 3 in the afternoon, 2 at dinner that night (which was 6:30), and I didn't want to drive, so yes, in that regard, I'm a smart drunk. I just don't feel safe at all when behind the wheel.

QUOTE (whitesoxbrian @ Aug 13, 2008 -> 11:27 PM) I actually love the city and the park, so it's not that. It might just be that they flat out stink and have so much money invested in so many medicore players (with the exception being Ichiro). They came close last year- great. Many picked them on this website to make the playoffs this year- exactly, so now that they aren't even close to that, they've under-achieved badly this year, and because of it, the team will be in shambles for so many years to come. It's going to be tough extending Felix now, too. I really, strongly doubt the Mariners will be in shambles...they still have a pretty good minor league system, have a great connection to the Japanese market thanks to the owner and Ichiro, and have pieces that they can deal for prospects. I also don't know why it would be tough to extend Hernandez, seeing as how he won't be a free agent until like after the 2011 season and every single one of their "bad" contracts will be off the books by then. The bigger debate will be as to whether or not they'll want to resign him, because for all we know, his arm might have been torn off by a pack of wolves in the greater Washington region. Seattle belongs nowhere on this list at all, and I can't see any argument justifying such a claim.

QUOTE (Gregory Pratt @ Aug 14, 2008 -> 12:26 AM) I'd have defended Gavin Floyd when he was 22, too. Hell, I'd be defending Floyd now if his BABIP weren't ridiculous and his HR rate weren't still bad and his K/BB weren't sketchy. As it is I just shrug and say, Maybe he's figured it out but it doesn't look like that to me. Congratulations to him for having a decent year. Do it through September and next season. Good luck. And I wouldn't believe that you could get him for Brian Anderson, either. The development of his peripherals as the season has worn on suggests to me that he's atleast starting to figure it out and should be a solid #3-4 starting pitcher (for 5-10 years). I also think that the Reds are souring on Homer Bailey but that you can't just give up a pitcher with the ability of Bailey after 2 seasons. I give someone who was as highly touted as Bailey atleast 4 years to develop into something solid; if not, then you can give up on him while he will still have value at 24 but you also have a pretty good read on his development as a prospect. You don't give up on him if you don't find the value you should (but you almost certainly will).

QUOTE (fathom @ Aug 13, 2008 -> 10:29 PM) I was just making a tasteless joke. that went right over my head

QUOTE (WhiteSoxfan1986 @ Aug 13, 2008 -> 11:30 PM) I'll say Washington. At least teams like KC and Cincinnati have won a world series. If Cincinnati is on the list, Pittsburgh is on the list as well. Cincinnati was a powerhouse in the 70s and won a World Series are recently as 1990. Anyways, this is easily the Montreal/Washington franchise.

QUOTE (Soxfest @ Aug 13, 2008 -> 03:07 PM) Yes now lets get Danks signed and the draft will be good not withstanding KW Jr! No, it will just be a good draft.

QUOTE (Brian @ Aug 12, 2008 -> 11:55 PM) What a douche. Chad Johnson may legally change his last name to "OchoCinco" so he can have it on the back of his jersey. I think "Overrated" would fit better. I think it's hilarious and I generally never get tired of Chad Johnson's act.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Aug 13, 2008 -> 10:34 PM) I love the Sox, but I'm amazed by the Twinks. WHY

QUOTE (Karko's Throat Skin @ Aug 13, 2008 -> 05:18 PM) I am more optimistic about Broadway than I was about Richard. I have a feeling Broadway is going to give us some quality innings this year. What does his fastball top at? as I recall, he's pretty much generally in the 88-91 range QUOTE (daa84 @ Aug 13, 2008 -> 10:11 PM) except the phillies damn you beating me to it

Gio Gonzalez was a supplemental rounder and has been dealt on several occasions. Happy to see Beckham signed...his signing is a huge shot in the arm to a porous minor league system.

QUOTE (WCSox @ Aug 12, 2008 -> 09:32 AM) If I were to guess, my feeling is that Shapiro isn't exactly eager to help out a division rival and is asking for more than the average GM for Byrd. Which is why he dealt Byrd to Boston for a PTBNL or cash? Are you f***ing serious? This is one of KW's non-moves that is going to drive me wild, even amongst rumors prior to the season that Byrd is (and potentially still is, for all I care) an HGH user. Byrd's dealing isn't going to f*** the Indians in the long run, regardless of whether he helped the Tigers, Twins, or Red Sox...so why did the f***ing Sawkx give him above all? I don't get it I would like to point out that one of the Sox best A-ball sluggers returned, in net, Carlos Quentin. Precisely. No catch. That's what Chris Carter, who was a monster in low-A Kanny, was traded away for last year. Nothing against the dude (I love him...I interviewed him)...but he was in A-ball (and as I recall, he's putting up good numbers this year too...he should be a major league power hitter someday), showed promising numbers, peripherals, and measurables, and was traded away for a dude who the DBacks had thrown in the scrapheap. KW can trade those A-ballers for MLB players any day of the f***ing week as far as I'm concerned. A Carter for Quentin trade doesn't happen any day, but a Shelby and Fields for Beltre plus a bit could help the Sox dramatically. Just saying. You are merely talking of Konerko here, right? Cuz I know you hate Thome, but, God-forbid, he's once again one of the best hitters in the league. God-forbid. Cuz, thanks to him, the Sox won that last game against Detroit 6-5. Without Thome, the Sox probably lose (and I italicize probably because whoever wasn't in the lineup that day could have hit a homer too). Speak what you want of late and close stats, but, as far as I'm concerned, early and close means just as much, because, if your bullpen is good, late and close means absolutely f***ing nothing to me. He's going nowhere and I hope you know this by now. I also hope you understand that the Sox pen has gone to absolute s*** since Linebrink went on the DL; had he been healthy this entire time, I imagine the Sox would be 3.5 games up at this point. Without Linebrink, there has been a huge struggle to get to the 9th, let alone keeping the game close to even get to Bobby. When the bullpen was healthy, it was clockwork - 6th inning, starter leaves; Dotel enters, does work; Linebrink enters, does work; Jenks enters, does work. It was clockwork, and the bullpen has struggled to conform to that. They'll struggle when he gets back too. If they're in first when the bullpen gets back to 100%, the Sox will win the division and if they hold a lead in the postseason, it'll be a struggle for any team to beat them. QUOTE (Kalapse @ Aug 12, 2008 -> 12:38 PM) Technically Linebrink cost us a 2nd round pick and the Cabrera/Garland deal should be a net gain prospect wise when both hit free agency after this season. QUOTE (WCSox @ Aug 12, 2008 -> 02:37 PM) That's because the Sox farm system is almost completely depleted of ML-ready players, and all the more reason for Kenny to think twice about depleting it further. Kalapse's reasoning has brought us to another point...Garland was traded for the White Sox shortstop this season plus two draft picks in the 2009 draft. I would venture to guess that the Sox will draft within slot at about #22 (or wherever), they'll reach for a guy at 37 (or whatever it is) and take a guy who was slotted for the mid-to-late 2nd that they like who should make the majors and have value in a trade or at the MLB with their sandwich pick. I don't think they get good value for the second 1st rounder, but maybe they do, and if they do, f***ing fantastic. KW is restocking the farm systemt and he'll continue doing it just as he has; he will also continue depleting it at a rate that you've never seen, yet he'll deal no-namers and guys who have the tools yet still can't succeed in the majors at an uncountable rate. It's fascinating, isn't it?

QUOTE (Vance Law @ Aug 12, 2008 -> 05:05 PM) Uribe would be nice to have as a 4th middle infielder defensive sub if he's real cheap. Like $2 million. I bet someone will give him more than thatm though. I agree, I agree, and I agree. Further than that, I see the Red Sox attempting to deal Julio Lugo this offseason and trying to sign Uribe. Uribe has 30 homer potential with a .250 average and gold glove defense...they tried that with Alex Gonzalez but I'd bet a good amount of money they'd try it again. I envision Boston signing Uribe for a 1 year, $5 mill contract with a team option for the next year worth around $7 mill and slipping him into the starting lineup at shortstop.

Yeah just f***ing pound the f*** out of the Royals. I wish somehow, someone could just randomly pound the f*** out of Greinke. He has the stuff to be a #1, and he atleast now has the mentality for baseball...it's just too much and that peckerhead needs to be taught a f***ing lesson. Throwing at players in two consecutive starts is a little f***ing bush league and something needs to be done about that.

I think the theme is that everyone thought Swisher would have a better season than he has had. I don't know what I said about his average, but I am quite sure I felt strongly that he would have a power season similar to his 2006 season rather than anything similar to his 2007 season. So he's a disappointment. I love and still do love Javy, and his outing tonight gave me a mild boner (even against the Royals, which is a lineup he will dominate almost regularly). Still, the thought of him being a ball-less pitcher who does not pitch well under pressure still resides under me, though I do have faith him in and he'd have a spot in any rotation I'd ever build. He's a fantastic #3-4, but to count on him to be a #2 on a contending team's rotation is wrong; from everything I've seen of him in a Sox uniform, he doesn't generally perform well until the team is coming from behind or the team is dead, hence his breakthrough from August and beyond in '06, his fantastic season last year when the Sox lost 90 games, and his struggles this year as the Sox are in a monstrous battle for 1st and 2nd. It sucks, but he starts in game #4 for me in the postseason. So that's a (huge) disappointment. It's still not out of the question for this one to be reversed...he just has to be less of a #4 and more of a #2...meaning he'll be a #3 at year's end (with an ERA anywhere between 3.75 and 4.25...it's at 4.50 at the end of the night, so it's not unreasonable). And I do love Javy. I was wrong on Quentin - I figured he was a #7 hitter and never saw the "TCQ" quote ever before like June. Disappointement as it may be, I saw Quentin contributing...just not as an MVP candidate. I'll take being wrong in that regard, so long as the rest of the media gets over their love affair with heroin and the ability to recover from it. I was also wrong on Alexei, and have said on this board (namely to AddisonStSox, who I was hoping would come back here and rub atleast something in my face). I did want him to get regular playing time somewhere, and the DL stint to Uribe was a super blessing in disguise. Yeah, superwrong...he has, perhaps, been the best hitter in the majors since June 1st, and I'm glad as hell for it...#6 in the lineup is perfect right now for Alexei. Hugely wrong on him. I also had no understanding of how good Danks' cutter has been to him, and I hope that he will continue to perform well into September. I was comparing him here and everywhere to Jeriome Robertson, so seeing as how he's been one of the best pitchers in the league, I'll gladly eat that bowl full of crow. I hope he holds up until late October. I didn't see Gavin having the season he's had, but I've always been one of his biggest supporters, and even though I envisioned him having a 4.50-5.00 ERA, I think I'm good since I atleast thought he'd be solid in that regard. I won't count it. I was wrong on Konerko, as I never expected a season as poorly as his...underachieving is natural though, so I'll take his as me being wrong due to the laws of averages. Someone on this offense had to regress, and it may as well have been one of the most obvious candidates who no one gave any regression to. I still wouldn't deal him in the offseason for anything that you wouldn't give up for an .850 OPS 1Bman. Eric Karros name does resound loudly in my ear though. I hated the Linebrink signing, thinking he was what he was with the Brewers last season. Yeah, he has been the f***ing cog in the bullpen, and it's been terrible since he's been injured. I want Linebrink back. It's still not a great long-term move, but it's not an immovable contract by any means...and, if anything, it tells you that KW will give long term deals to relievers with ease, but not to starting pitchers because, generally, relievers command fewer dollars and are still movable with absurd deals, whereas starters with similar deals - ala Mike Hampton, Denny Neagle, Barry Zito - are not nearly as movable. I predicted the Sox would be near .500...I think I predicted 83-85 wins, somewhere in the neighborhood, but never predicted Danks and Floyd would be as good as they have been. I figured this year was, as some have mentioned, a good transitional period and it would be a building block where the Sox would be competitive but nothing near a division winning team. I was apparently wrong. (and this is nothing compared to what I said prior to the Swisher trade, where I was fully for a complete rebuilding and said the Sox were no where near a competitive team and that KW should, essentially, be fired because he believed they were competitive (they signed ERSTAD as if he were a good player). I was wrong and I believe, at this moment in time, that this team will be playoff bound, though their progress throughout the playoffs will be determined by how good the offense is performing going into it) There are likely others I missed, but whatever...I will say that, looking at the peripheral numbers, you (whoever wants him) should be happy you have Javy rather than Garland, because I fully believe that Garland would have a much higher ERA than Javy would right now and I'm glad KW traded him when he did.

QUOTE (JPN366 @ Aug 13, 2008 -> 12:09 AM) Valido! Valido! Valido! His stock has never been higher, 3 HR & 27 RBI. He'd defy logic and become a stud for the Pirates. let's hope we get anything for that POS

Not positive, but I'd imagine you don't get paid in the Olympics. Again, I'm not sure, but I imagine if you are called up, you get the pro-rated salary for the minimum major league wage from this point forward. I love the US as much as anyone, but I'd gladly take that money above anything else. There's a monstrous difference between $100,000 over 3 months rather than representing your country...one involves $100,000 and the other doesn't. Through all of this, he had little choice at all, so nothing is really up to him...it was win-win either way, so he's lucky to be goddamn good at what he does (or injuries), regardless of whether he has success in the majors or not.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Aug 12, 2008 -> 10:34 AM) I can't imagine Halladay would clear waivers or get anywhere close to us. Hell, I'd claim him if I were the Pirates. Burnett has a reasonable shot of at least being able to move to some team that might want him, but I wouldn't move Poreda for him, not when he can opt out of his contract at the end of the year. Poreda for 1.5 months of Burnett is a horrendous deal. The White Sox can claim Halladay before the Pirates. He wouldn't get to the White Sox though.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Aug 11, 2008 -> 09:51 PM) Man, that is so wild. Four at NY that late in season?? Three at pesky KC and three at a place that is a house of horrors for us. All I can say is if we make the playoffs we sure deserve it. The bottom line is we can hope for no better than 2-2 in New York, a sweep of KC (if our team has any balls) and then one of 3 or 2 of 3 in Minn. Let's say 2 of 3 in Minn, that would be a trip of 7-3 at the very best. If we only win 2 of 3 in KC it'd be 6-4. Asking for a 7-3 roadtrip ever is pretty crazy. I'd ask for that to be 5-5 with 2 of them coming against Minnesota.

I've mentioned Adrian Beltre on several occasions and I tend to think he'd come rather cheaply. He's fantastic defensively and underrated offensively, especially considering he's playing in a pitcher's park, and I would possibly deal Fields for him too, though one would obviously rather not. I do believe the Sox will heavily pursue Orlando Hudson should he hit the free agent market with the intentions of moving Alexei to SS. If the DBacks lock Hudson up after dealing Bonifacio, then attention is turned to Mark Ellis who is a very underrated player around these parts; if adding at 2B fails, I think they may turn their attention to someone such as Rafael Furcal, Edgar Renteria (if the Tigers don't pick up the option which is a strong possibility with how poorly he has played this season...he seems to be much more of an NL player though), or praying and hoping that Cabrera accepts arbitration and they merely have shortstop locked up for next year with the intentions being that Alexei will remain at 2B for a few years or that whoever the SS the Sox bring in moves to 2B in a year or two. If all that fails, the Sox could look to acquiring someone like Brian Roberts too or bringing Iguchi back on a short-term, cheap deal with hope that a return to Chicago rekindles something in him. I also have no reason to think that the Sox won't bring in another project starting pitcher come the offseason with others within the organization (Poreda, Richard, Egbert, Ramirez) competing for that 5th starter spot too. Also, if he could be acquired anything near cheap, Daniel Cabrera will be a member of the White Sox too because KW has a 2 foot boner for the dude. However, with Peter Angelos running that show, he won't be cheap. I believe that may even be cutting it short and a bit cheap, but I'll gladly take Beltre/Hudson/Cabrera over Blake/Grudz/Perez...Beltre is, IMO, a superior player to Blake, does not involve a long-term deal, and has more upside than Casey Blake. Orlando Hudson is fantastic defensively, is not old, and is a pretty damn good #2 hitter. He may be forced to leadoff simply because he's the best option for it, but he is good enough to handle it well...sort of a mini-Rollins. And Daniel Cabrera or Aaron Poreda (I don't think Richard/Egbert/Ramirez are really logical options but only time will tell) have upside and, with a few changes or additions to their repertoire, could be top of the rotation starters. Blake's having one of the best seasons of his career at the age of 34; I don't think it's maintainable and I figure he's slightly better than a league average player with poor defense at a pretty important position defensively. Grudzielanek is old and getting older, his stats are starting to fall off a little bit, and he's been injured more in the past 3-5 years than Hudson has been and that's something that generally doesn't improve with age. I also don't understand your fascination with plopping Odalis f***in Perez in the middle of the rotation; his ERA last season in the AL was 5.57 and his ERA the previous season was 6.20 (6.83 ERA for the Dodgers, 5.64 for the Royals). He's a dude that pitches well in pitcher's parks, and USCF is anything but a pitcher's park. Add to it that the only AL team he pitched against this year was Baltimore and even they torched him. No, Odalis sucks and the Sox should really only acquire him if it's to be a 6th starter.

QUOTE (whitesoxbrian @ Aug 12, 2008 -> 01:57 AM) Could my boy Odalis Perez still clear waivers for Washington? LHP and his ERA is 4.1. We could have a L, R, L, R, L rotation from here on out and then use him or Vazquez in the El Duque role when we get to October... Yeah I talked about Odalis already. He's gross as anything other than a 6th starter.

QUOTE (whitesoxbrian @ Aug 12, 2008 -> 12:39 AM) If we have an offseason of Odalis Perez, Grudz/Hudson, and Casey Blake, I'll be satisfied. why are Odalis Perez and Casey Blake so cool? I've never understood. Blake's a good hitter, but he's a terrible defender...you may as well go with Fields since atleast he'll be cheaper. Odalis Perez is having his first good season in years and years and he's doing it in a pitcher's park in a very weak NL where there's no pressure at all, and on top of it all, his season isn't really even that good as he's averaging just 5.1 IP per start. I'd be surprised as hell if he kept his ERA under 5 in the AL and want nothing to do with a 5th starter who doesn't atleast eat a good amount of innings (in order of importance, I'd look for quality, upside, and endurance/durability). I don't know that Odalis Perez really offers any of those. I don't know what KW has planned but I do know that if Odalis Perez and Casey Blake are on your wish list, you are probably a fan of the Kansas City Royals too, because that's something they should be satisfied with.

QUOTE (whitesoxbrian @ Aug 11, 2008 -> 11:12 PM) Not if he's going to keep getting hurt- I'd take Grudzielanek for 1 or 2 years. f*** that