witesoxfan

It is pretty easy to clear room for Clark if you were to really think about it. Take like 2.9 seconds and the answer should come to mind.

atleast you weren't on Oprah

QUOTE(WHarris1 @ Feb 15, 2007 -> 03:32 PM) That was actually a better answer than I was expecting. Solid. were you expecting something about being 12 years old? cuz that's what I was going to say, but that is such an old, recycled joke that it lost its humor 3 years ago (when you were like almost actually 12). So I just refrained from making it because I had nothing better to say.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Feb 15, 2007 -> 09:50 AM) They had to it was doctors orders based on the health of his arm. He needs to have a set schedule. sucks for Boston. You'd think working 70 innings as opposed to 200 would be easier on the arm. Guess I'm not a doctor.

QUOTE(AbeFroman @ Feb 15, 2007 -> 04:17 PM) Kerry Wood is injured.... In other news, the sun rose this morning, its cold in the arctic, and the harlem globetrotters have defeated the washington generals. f*** are you serious, s*** i had a lot of money on that game

QUOTE(southsideirish @ Feb 15, 2007 -> 01:38 PM) Second - no I don't need the same exact situation. I need something comparable to where someone was mediocre his first year, then failed as terribly as McCarthy did coming out of the bullpen and was still a good pitcher later. All you need is one That's exactly what it looked like at the end of the year when he dominated Cleveland, an opponent he had faced all year long.

QUOTE(Colorado Sox Fan @ Feb 15, 2007 -> 03:22 PM) Contreras, Jon Garland and Javier Vazquez all should be situated to have solid seasons. Based on what? So Vazquez wasn't solid last year I take it?

that is unf***ingbelieveable

QUOTE(Kalapse @ Feb 14, 2007 -> 11:16 PM) He's going to be dealt somewhere this year and he will be a difference maker, he'd look awful good starting in LF as well as backing up Anderson in center. I'm really not sure you can rule the White Sox out of potentially acquiring him either. KW has proven that if he feels the team has a need in Spring Training, and there's a player who may fit the need, he will go out and acquire that player. However, the Brewers may want something of significant value, and KW hasn't proven that he's willing to give that up. Matt Ginter, Jeff Bajenaru, and Joe Borchard are scrap heap pieces at best. actually, upon thinking about it again, he may be had for cheap. He was pretty much s***ty last year, and the Brewers have like 39 outfielders that are ready to be called up to the majors. It could be a perfect buy low situation for the White Sox, and that would allow the Sox to dump Pods off somewhere to a team willing to give him a shot (which could be a perfect buy low situation for said team).

QUOTE(gosox41 @ Feb 14, 2007 -> 10:33 PM) I was just listing areas that needed improvement and statistically (at least offensively) stood out to be holes. Uribe and his .260 OBP is not good. Anderson wasn't good last year with the bat. Being that I don't have as much time to follow baseball and the minors as closely as KW (or for that matter as closely as I used to) nor do I have a bunch of scouts to report to me I can't name names. Off the top of my head, why not Garcia for Humberto Sanchez and Melky Cabrera (to play LF) But I'm pretty sure when you trade 2 starting pitchers, one a young cheap up and comer with some decent potential, and one a big game pitcher who finished strong that KW could have addressed one of these holes instead of acquiring all the pitchers he did. There are probably some young minor league stud OF prospects something the Sox seem to lack. Since I'm not privy to trade talk, I don't know what was being offered for Garcia. I trust that KW made the best baseball deal he could but whose to say he couldn't have traded Garcia to another team for a good OFer and a Gavin Floyd type prospect. That's where I tie this in to how I feel about the Garcia trade. I hope Gavin is more then a #5 starter in 2007 who psots a 5+ ERA and averages his 5 innings. I have no choice to trust the scouting of Floyd and the magic of Cooper because Floyd is in a Sox uni. I agree a lot more with the McCarthy trade then the Garcia trade, mainly due to Floyd. I hope I'm wrong and Floyd lives up to the hype taht made him a first round pick. Bob Uribe had about the 11th best SLG% out of all MLB shortstops, and he had the 12th most XBH's. Using both OBP, SLG, and defense, I figure Uribe is probably about the 15th best SS in the league - meaning exactly in the middle - with the potential there to be a top 10 SS in the league next year. It's almost guaranteed that he can't put up a worse year, even with his offseason troubles. I'd probably put him at putting a .725-.750 OPS next year with the capabilities to go up to .800. I find that quite realistic, and so long as the glove shows up too, those will be great numbers. Anderson wasn't good last year overall, but he was a rookie (worst.excuse.evar...I'm using it anyways), and he was pretty respectable beyond June 11th (something to the tune of around .280/.330/.400 - Kalapse/someone else will have the exact numbers in a flash because he/they is/are the man, and I'm too lazy to look it up), but Ozzie for whatever reason refused to give him full-playing time and insisted on platooning Mackowiak and Anderson, killing the defense in CF during the times Mackowiak was out there. Anywaysm, so long as he doesn't party like a mad mofo, and he works his ass off, he should have a respectable year at the plate, and he'll be good in the field. Regarding the Garcia trade - you mentioned that you don't have the time to follow it enough, so I'll just let you know now that the Yankees reportedly turned down Mark Buehrle for Humberto Sanchez, so they are pretty high on him. You weren't going to get Melky along with him for Freddy, especially with a free agent class as deep in mediocre starting pitching as this year was, and seeing as how the Yankees essentially intend to build a World Series winner with the most mediocre starting staff ever, they were pretty much in heaven. I've explained that I don't really feel that CF or SS were holes, and that LF was, so I'm just kinda pissed about that. There were several options available to upgrade LF if only Ozzie didn't absolutely have to, have to, have to have a leadoff hitter than can run fast. If that was the case I would have almost been happier with KW throwing globs and globs of money at Juan Pierre (if only I were serious would it be funny). Had he brought in someone like Trot Nixon or David Dellucci to have in LF, and then either used Perez or Ozuna out there with them, or gone out and gotten like Craig Wilson, Jose Cruz Jr, or Preston Wilson, and then set up such a platoon in LF with Iguchi leading off, I would have been in heaven as a fan. As it is, I'm not nearly as excited, but I have my hopes. I just have to hope Erstad leads off most of the year, because if he does, he's atleast pretty much guaranteed to put up a .333 OBP, and it should be consistently. If he does so, it'll be better than his sub .300 OBP that he put up in the second half last year (which is beyond unacceptable). All I can do is hope. QUOTE(YASNY @ Feb 14, 2007 -> 10:57 PM) That's a cop out. I'm just asking for a reasonable alternative. Brady Clark wouldn't be bad

QUOTE(Vance Law @ Feb 14, 2007 -> 09:33 PM) False, 9 - 6 with a 4.02 ERA is not spectacular. And it very likely would not have gotten him on the All-Star team if his coach wasn't picking the players. Shoota's exactly right on this one, Buehrle was All-Star caliber in the first half. He was somewhat inconsistent, but you are pointing out his ERA without making note of his Cubs start where he had an ERA of 18.00. Should one start be counted against a pitcher simply because it reflects greatly upon his overall numbers? I don't feel as though that should be the case, but perhaps I'm just in the minority (though I completely doubt I am). Going into his game against the Cubs, his ERA was 3.22. All Star worthy or no?

QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Feb 14, 2007 -> 08:38 PM) We have been a "HR or Nothing" team for the last 7 years. Get used to it. If you don't like it, I would sugguest finding a new team, because it seems thats the way the Sox like to be built. Another interesting thing about this decade is that the Sox have hit 200+ homers every year of it. The last time they didn't was 1999 when they hit a whopping 162.

QUOTE(gosox41 @ Feb 14, 2007 -> 06:59 PM) I don't think the team should be downgraded, but I think LF is not the only area that needed to be improved. CF and SS are issues. Hopefully Anderson will mature and Uribe will be playing for a big contrct. Then who? Find someone at SS and CF that KW could have acquired for a reasonable price while also maintaining some type of core that will allow the team to remain competitive beyond 2007. (and please don't say Aaron Rowand, because he's not an upgrade over Brian Anderson)

QUOTE(mmmmmbeeer @ Feb 14, 2007 -> 06:18 PM) With a $30M payroll. Thanks for pointing out another reason why it's so ludicrous to take on this strategy and expect success, we have money whereas OAK and MIN never have. Their GMs build on the fly because that's what they HAVE to do. So I ask...how has this team been downgraded severely from last year? The only thing that should have been upgraded, but was not, was LF, and atleast there the Sox have options in-house should Podsednik suck complete ass. There's no reason one of the 6 in-house candiates for the 5th starters job can't give the Sox a respectable season, I can't imagine the rotation being much worse than it was last year, and the bullpen has almost undoubtedly improved. And I must also ask...how would the Sox have been able to spend money while also remaining competitive through 2008-10? By signing Gil Meche or Gary Matthews for $10+ mill a year? Juan Pierre for $9? Dave Roberts for $6? It was far too risky to give money to such inconsistent players. KW is not Jesus Christ, and as far as I can tell, it was probably impossible for him to fulfill the fan's expectations.

R&W, I'm just wondering, does it bug you that the Sawks are going into ST without a defined closer? I mean, personally, it just makes no sense to me as to why they'd remove Papelbon from the closer's spot when he was so otherworldy effective last year. I mean, imagining Schilling Matsuzaka Beckett Wakefield Lester/Clement/Pineiro/anybody with something like Papelbon Timlin Donnelly Igawa Romero Pineiro/Tavarez/whoever else or something close to that, and that seems like a damn good pitching staff to me. You can pretty much accept having a mediocre or even a bad 5th starter, but having some guy who's likely never closed in his career closing has to be a bit scary, especially seeing how important the closer role has become.

QUOTE(Jimbo @ Feb 14, 2007 -> 02:00 PM) I believe we won the world series by making smart financial decision and not believing the hype of "quality" free agents. This shows the unbelievable talent of our GM. If you are going to whine about not getting good free agents go cheer for Jason Marquis and Ted Lilly. The course of action made by KW this offseason is genius. or sanity, whichever term you prefer

QUOTE(mmmmmbeeer @ Feb 14, 2007 -> 05:48 PM) I can't think of a single team outside of Oakland and Minnesota that has successfully competed every year while always building for the future. It is NOT an easy task and even those teams have yet to reach their ultimate goal. Even Minnesota has lost 90 games this decade. That's something the White Sox organization can't claim for shame.

QUOTE(RibbieRubarb @ Feb 14, 2007 -> 06:49 AM) Zito has a Cy Young and more playoff experience. That gives him more leverage in $$$. He has Boras as his agent, so that too gives him more leverage.

QUOTE(Jimbo @ Feb 14, 2007 -> 02:25 PM) Yeah Red, your wayyyyyyyyy off here. There are many many european hotties on the tennis tour better than her. I can't think of others, little help here? HAWTIE alert

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Feb 14, 2007 -> 02:31 PM) On Sportsnight they said "the loveable losers no more" when describing the cubs. Umm excuse me? When did they not finish in last place in 2006? last time I checked, they haven't won a game yet this year, so I don't know how they can claim they still aren't the loveable losers.

QUOTE(Heads22 @ Feb 12, 2007 -> 11:49 AM) CYCLONE WRESTLING IS BACK The #3 Clones slapped around the #2 Mizzou Tigers last night, 27-12, without one of our starters. We've lost twice to #1 Minnesota this year, but we're so much further ahead than where anyone thought we'd be. We've got a legit shot to win a national championship in something for the first time in like 10 years. Oh, Jas, Iowa is ranked tenth. How are Lang and Glasser doing for Minnesota?

QUOTE(southsideirish @ Feb 14, 2007 -> 12:24 PM) Isn't Jason Jennings younger, cheaper, and better than Freddy Garcia? I think the answer is yes to all 3 of those questions. He is indeed younger. He is about $3.5-4 mill cheaper. Better is extremely arguable. 2006 was the first year since 2002 that Jennings ERA was south of 5, his WHIP has never been below 1.37, his K/BB ratio is less than 2, his command of the strikezone is pretty mediocre, and his K/9 of 6 is middle of the pack at best. He'll probably have a solid year next year, but there is potential for Jason Hirsh - the main part of the deal for Colorado - to be better than Jennings as early as next year. For Freddy, 2006 was the first time since 2003 that his ERA was north of 4, his WHIP hasn't been above the 1.37 WHIP that Jennings put up last year since 2000 (his second year in the league), his K/9, while even worse than Jennings at 5.6, is helped by his K/BB of 2.8. The fact that he also pitched in the AL - which was clearly superior to the NL offensively last year, even considering that the pitcher hits in the NL - only helps his case. I'd take Taveras over Podsednik any day of the week and twice on Sundays. He's got no power at all, but he gets on at roughly the same clip Podsednik does while also being able to steal a base. Beyond that, he actually provides range defensively - the type of range you'd expect from someone that is faster than s*** - and he has a strong arm as well. He may not be good, but he'd be a better option for Podsednik, and I know that for a fact. It's almost too bad that the Astros wouldn't give up Pence along with those same three that went to Colorado for Garland, because then Podsednik is traded for anything.

QUOTE(spiderman @ Feb 14, 2007 -> 10:24 AM) I don't lump Vazquez in with the #5 starter, but he's been up and down, and inconsistent the past few seasons. He clearly comes into the season as a better pitcher than Gavin Floyd. As far as Ozzie's handling of Vazquez, I do believe that he'd prefer to give every benefit of the doubt, but how many times did we see relievers warming up in the bullpen come the 6th inning because Vazquez could implode ? Of course, when he's pitching well, Ozzie's going to stick with him, just as he would with anyone else on the staff, but he has also had to have the bullpen ready earlier than he would like. I don't find your numbers for Vazquez to be crazy at all - in fact, he's capable of putting up big numbers, and next to Contreras, he has the 2nd best stuff on the staff. He just needs to become more consistent. I'm a believer that Mark Buerhle will win 15-18 games, and return to his usual self so if you're right about Vazquez improving upon his numbers, then the White Sox should have a good season. As far as I recall, later in the season Ozzie seemed to stop warming pitchers up in the 5th and 6th unless Vazquez was getting into troubles. I of course do recall Ozzie warming pitchers up in the 5th and 6th and him pulling Vazquez at the earliest signs of trouble, and I am completely against that policy simply because it's probably the easiest way to destroy a pitcher's confidence. At those times, you simply need a pitcher who knows what he needs to do, and I think (hope) that Vazquez is in that category after having spent a season within the AL again. I obviously can't guarantee anything, but I have high hopes. And just a point of technicality, but Vazquez has the best stuff out of anyone within the White Sox entire organization, aside from Jenks. A mid 90s fastball that moves, along with 2 plus breaking pitches is better than Contreras's fastball-splitter/forkball combo (which is ridiculously good all the same). It's a matter of harnessing it, simple as that. Finally, I too have been a big believer that the Sox rotation will rebound to slightly better numbers in 2007; not 2005 numbers where the Sox have 4 starters with ERAs under 4, but rather something along the lines of 2 guys having ERAs under 4 with 2 others having ERAs in the 4.20-4.60 region. I'm not really naming names, I'm just kinda basing that on probability and career numbers. Perhaps an unwise belief, but I find it reasonable enough.

QUOTE(santo=dorf @ Feb 13, 2007 -> 09:08 PM) So why did they bother trading for him the first place? Urbina was in high demand back in 2003. ask John Hart

QUOTE(Jordan4life_2007 @ Feb 14, 2007 -> 01:42 AM) Nothing against you, but I find it mind-boggling that the guy that got roasted all year long (Kalapse's intimidation has a new name sig being the cherry on the sundae), the guy that people couldn't wait to get rid of soon enough, is the same guy that has everybody crying and whining that we didn't get enough value for him? What exactly were we supposed to get for a guy that had exactly one year remaining on his current contract? Somebody please enlighten me. People probably would have liked to have seen the package the Rockies got for Jennings - a good young starter, a fringe MLB pitcher, and a CFer. Floyd and Gio have to cover the front two in some form, and some (me included) may consider Floyd slightly more than a fringe MLB pitcher. Perhaps not this year, but his upside is higher than Buccholz. And it wouldn't surprise me in the least if Gillick was ready and willing to give Rowand back to the Sox, and KW turned it down simply because it would have cut a ton into the Sox budget. I'm not exactly sure who else is in the Phillies system that the Sox could have used, but mainly the fans just wanted some other piece thrown in, even if said piece didn't make it to AA.