beck72

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Mar 14, 2010 -> 05:56 PM) Carrasco gave the Sox 3+ innings 9 times last year, 8 of those turned out to be losses. Ideally, the long man would keep the other team from scoring and the offense would rally. The sox offense has not been an offense that could rally from a deficit.

Santos may be able to give the sox an inning at a time. But the sox need a guy who can throw 2-3 innings a pop, keep them in the game, filling the role similar to what Carrasco did last year [though not for 4-5 innings when Colon and Jose blew up]. The Sox likely won't need a true long man, but a guy who can go multiple innings. Santos isn't reliable yet and needs work still to get to that point. IMO, nothing short of perfection in 15+ innings should keep him from going through the waiver process. The sox aren't in the business of letting their bullpen guys get on the job training at the major league level, which is what Santos would require. One spring isn't going to cut it. If the sox are intent on keeping Hudson in AAA as a SP, then Torres likely is the last man. He's shown he can get outs at the major league level. Right now, I'd say Torres and even Greg Aquino are ahead of Santos. Aquino has looked sharp from what I've seen, throwing strikes with some good stuff. The sox look like they're trying to stretch him out.

Welcome aboard Cy! With Jones seemingly back in shape, and Vizquel and Kotsay for the IF, the rotating DH makes much more sense. While the offense may not see a big jump, the added defense should more than offset the loss of HR's. Teams are moving away from the power/ no field DH, to add better defenders in the lineup--without losing too much offense.

QUOTE (scenario @ Mar 7, 2010 -> 05:09 AM) The decision to send Hudson to Triple-A Charlotte as a starting pitcher or keep him as a reliever "is something that goes through our minds every meeting we have," manager Ozzie Guillen said. If he's one of the best pitchers in the bullpen, I think the sox have to go with him. If the starting 5 are all healthy during spring, and able to get their work in, Hudson should be in the bullpen. If there are any health questions about the 5 SP's or setbacks, then I think Hudson may start in AAA.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Mar 6, 2010 -> 05:11 PM) They obviously have money to burn this year, so its not an albatross in 2010. Maybe it will be next year, but why get rid of him now? If he's a lock to be horrible in the second half, shouldn't the data used to provide that conclusion also conclude he should be lights out the first half? And if Jenks is too expensive and Putz too risky, why would you want both on the team in 2011? Let it play out. You can never have too many relievers who can get people out. A couple of these guys will probably be ineffective or get hurt. I think Linebrink comes up pretty big this year. His arm problem is behind him and he's coming off 2 years of less workload. I think he can stay strong the entire year. If he can throw his breaking ball for strikes, he will help immensely. I don't see it being a lock Putz returns to his 2007 form, or Jenks becomes a beast again (although his new dedication with the weight and the drinking can only be encouraging). If the Sox really needed the money to make a run at someone, I could see trying to pawn him off, but they aren't in that situation. A few things: *If a team like the Cubs are in dire need of an arm, it may be the exact time to move him. Linebrink may good in the 1st half, but overall, it's highly unlikely he'll be worth the $10 mill. owed him the next 2 years. *As far as Putz/ Jenks for 2011, worst case scenario, there is a risk that both aren't sure things and the sox can only afford one if they have Linebrink on the roster. I think an in shape/ done with drinking Jenks should bounce back in 2010. And Putz seems healthy and should be decent this year. Yet if Linebrink blows again, the sox are stuck with him and would have to make a decision on either Jenks or Putz. IMO, Putz / Jenks >>> than Linebrink and either Jenks or Putz. And it gives the sox financial flexibility to add a bat Right now, the Cubs may gamble on Linebrink being healthy and being effective for them in the NL. For the sox, I think it's more of a gamble to hold onto him and expect him to earn his $10 mill. Esp. if the sox think Hudson could fill Linebrink's spot. I really like Hudson this year as a Scot Shields type who go two innings to get the game into the 9th.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Mar 6, 2010 -> 01:55 PM) Linebrink had a 2.37 ERA the first half of 2008 then got hurt. He had a 1.93 ERA the first half of 2009 then lost location and confidence. At least it wasn't physical. There is reason to believe he's not as worthless as some are making him out to be. I think he could have a big year. I wouldn't trade him just to free up money that may or may not be used or to give a guy who just became a pitcher a prominent role in the bullpen just because he struck out the side in an early spring training game. Guys like Santos who played winter ball, are going to be way ahead of everyone else early. Be careful what you wish for. I know Linebrink has had good 1st halfs in recent years. And he likely will be around. But his contract could be a big albatross going forward--esp. going into 2011, with them not being able to afford both Jenks and Putz. The sox could be looking at an ineffective Linebrink and his $5 mill. and deciding between an expensive Jenks or a risky Putz. Hudson could fill Linebrink's role at a fraction of the cost this year, and the sox could then afford both Jenks and Putz next. I wouldn't part with Linebrink unless one of Hynick, Torres, or Marquez really stepped up to take the long man spot, to go along with Hudson in short relief. Santos isn't the answer and needs more time to develop as a pitcher. He's not going to get that unless he's in AAA-after being exposed to waivers. Cabrera can't solve his control problems in one spring.

I wouldn't be surprised if there were 2 open bullpen spots, if the sox could get Linebrink to waive his NTC to go to the Cubs. The Sox may not have a better chance of unloading Linebrink with the Cubs in dire need of an experienced bullpen arm with Guzman likely going down. It wouldn't have to be for much talent wise, as getting rid of the $10 mill. owed Linebrink would be well worth it. The sox can't and shouldn't count on Linebrink to give them much.

QUOTE (WHarris1 @ Feb 20, 2010 -> 11:31 PM) It's not that I think we should drop 8M on Damon, I just get ill thinking of all the Kotsay ABs we're going to have to witness this year If Andruw Jones is anywhere near healthy enough to play OF and hit near his 2007 season [which is what seems to have been the enticement made by Ozzie to Jones--get in shape and you'll be competing for full-time work]--it's not Kotsay who will be seeing those AB's. It'll likely be Pierre and Q who will be getting days at DH, with Jones seeing most of the AB's. Though I'd rather see Kotsay at 1b when the Sox hit vs RHP, with Konerko sitting, with his ugly splits in recent years vs them.

QUOTE (chunk23 @ Feb 20, 2010 -> 01:58 AM) We have a hole in LF, might have a hole in CF, and have a hole at DH. I'd take issue with the first two holes. There are questions around Pierre and Rios, certainly. Yet their track records suggest that they're more likely to be avg or above than below avg [which in my mind is a hole]. I know DH is the weakest link right now. Maybe that's why Damon filling that would be a big boost in most of our eyes. But the Sox weak areas on offense are not nearly as big as 2009 with Anderson/ Wise in Cf, Getz at 2b and Fields at 3b as they've had success in the bigs. Not to mention the pitching staff with 4-5 questionable and the bullpen not as strong leaving Spring. Looked at as a whole, though, the 2010 sox "holes" are far less than 2009. Esp. with the pitching set up to be very special and potentially dominating. I'd rather the sox add another bat to the DH mix. Yet I can understand the "wait and see at the ASB how big the DH hole is/ what other holes are" because the sox may need the extra cash to acquire another bat or arm. Say Thornton or Jenks/ Putz goes down and the Sox are leading the division. The sox would have to overpay in terms of prospects and cash to get that bullpen arm. It's far easier and cheaper to get a bat for DH mid-season than it would be to get a bullpen arm.

QUOTE (quickman @ Feb 19, 2010 -> 11:20 PM) That would be great playing Boras like that, I hope your right but doubt it very much. It would be better if AJ walked over with a cocktail and said what the hell is your agent doing? We had this thing all worked out! It's also a reflection of Damon, though. He has to know Boras is pissing on the legs of the only 2 organizations left wanting him. He's got to man up and say "Let's get this soap opera over and strike a deal". Boras is now acting like it's the Tigers and sox fault Damon didn't get his $10+ mill. deal and Damon is a party to it.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Feb 19, 2010 -> 10:10 PM) Boras has no morals whatsoever, the guy's like the African warlord of agents. This thing has been so damn messy that nobody's right anymore. None of us know anything. And GM's are in the dark as well. They don't know what offers are out there, and they do wind up "bidding against themselves" sometimes. Boras exploits that to the extreme, where he plants false "deals" and "offers" and no one knows what to believe.

QUOTE (South Side Fireworks Man @ Feb 19, 2010 -> 10:49 PM) And now we see why KW was smart to pull his offer. Now the Tigers feel no pressure to meet these demands. When they say "No" Damon can either take their $7M offer or have Boras tell the Sox that if they put their $6M back on the table he'll sign immediately. It's also Kenny probably having enough of the Boras B.S. where everything turns into a soap opera. There is the possibility of Damon accepting a sox deal. But on the sox terms, not Boras'. The "new" demands by Boras shows he's a jag trying to screw teams out of every dollar, if Det. never offered a 2nd yr and the $7 mill. has a lot of deffered cash. The amount of misinformation--outright lies--coming from Boras has to drive teams crazy.

QUOTE (Real @ Feb 18, 2010 -> 02:52 AM) is it 4.5 million with 2 more million in deferrals, stretching that total amount to 6.5 million? or is it 2.5 million up front with 2 more in deferrals making 4.5m total? #WhiteSox 1-yr offer to Damon includes heavy deferrals. Present-day value in $4.5M range. Keep hearing Damon does not want #Tigers. http://twitter.com/Ken_Rosenthal/statuses/9253718394 Seems like $4.5 mill. for 2010 and more down the road

That Detroit hasn't signed Damon up to this point in the last 2 weeks, with the biggest money on the table, says to me he really doesn't want to go there. That the Sox are so close with being at least $2 mill short [if Rosenthal's $4.5 mill, Sox offer with deferrals is true], says a lot. The sox must have heard enough that if they are close to Det's offer, they feel confident they can land him.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Feb 17, 2010 -> 04:41 AM) I wonder what source Rosenthal got his initial (the wrong one) report from about the Sox making a second offer. The denial on the 2nd offer could also be a Sox plant that doesn't want word leaked to the Tigers, so the money wouldn't be upped. Yet if there was an increase, you could bet Boras would trumpet it loud and clear to get the Tigers to up their offer.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Feb 14, 2010 -> 01:42 AM) Do you mean he'd gain HR's going from Yankee Stadium to the Cell? I don't buy that, if I'm reading this right. ANd his groveling back to the Yanks? I think that's because no one offered him anything close to the $ that they offered originally when he turned them down outright. I just pointed out that he'd likely hit more HR's at the Cell than at Comerica. By all accounts, Damon seemed to be asking for close to what he was making last year [$13 mill] from all teams--the 2 yr, $14 mill, offer from the Yanks was early on. Teams might have been interested before they spent all their money if Damon and Boras had considered a deal for less than $10 mill. Boras and Damon really botched this offseason. That's why they might be willing to take a 1 yr deal to a contending team rather than say a 2 yr deal where he's locked in so Damon could play where he wants in 2011 [prob. NY or Bos].

QUOTE (balfanman @ Feb 13, 2010 -> 11:42 PM) I'm not totally disagreeing here, but why would the Cell be a better place to hit in for a guy like Damon. Isn't the Cell more friendly to home run hitters, but not so kind to doubles and triples hitters. I think Damon would hit well in Detroit. The Cell has a reputation to being more kind to HR hitters over the years. Comerica Park--not so much. Some of his doubles to RF would turn into Hr's, like the improvement many are expecting from Teahen. Damon seemed ready to grovel back to the Yanks. Maybe part of it was his 17 HR's at the new stadium.

QUOTE (BaseballNick @ Feb 13, 2010 -> 09:09 PM) You do realize he just put up very good numbers in the biggest market there is, yet is trying to find a suitor for 2010? That kind of negates the whole "sign with the White Sox to get noticed" theory. If he's not taking a 2 yr deal with Det. for what has been reported, then he's playing for 2011. That 2 yr deal with Det. could all be a smokescreen though. But if it's between Det. and Chi. for similar cash [esp. at this point, with ST right around the corner], my point holds.

If Detroit and the White Sox offer similar money, my bet is Damon picks the Sox. He wants to play for a bigger payday in 2011, ala Bobby Abreu. To do that, he needs to put up good numbers [the Cell would be better for him than Det.] and the larger market of Chicago would get him more publicity. If the Sox are out of it come July, he could always be moved to a contending team-which would suit the Sox and Damon [as the larger stage of the playoffs again would help him land a decent contract in 2011. If he's against a 2 year deal, it shows Damon wants to keep his 2011 open for a return to the Yanks. Signing with Det. for 2 years could be a nightmare for him.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Feb 12, 2010 -> 02:29 AM) It just seems to me kind of odd, the best Damon could do yesterday was a one year contract for $4 million with half of it deferred, and now today he's at over $14 million for 2 years. Something, somewhere doesn't add up. Either he doesn't have that particular offer on the table or Boras scammed someone into believing that another team had made a similar offer. I can't see 2 teams all of a sudden going that high. For one year and $7 million, maybe $8 million, yes, but not 2 years. Maybe the Sox are offering him 1 year at $5-6 million with some incentives. At least then if he gets paid, he's put up some numbers. I agree. Something doesn't sound all on the up and up.

QUOTE (bmags @ Feb 6, 2010 -> 03:34 PM) Is this renewed "we're gonna trade from Agon" talk coming from any news or just the burning desire to feel like our administration does care about not losing. See post #334. If SD is intent on trading Gonzalez--which is very much implied by the fact that they cannot afford a long term deal like the Twins and Mauer--then the sox can't be overlooked because of KW's history of dealmaking and the sox need for a bat like Agon.

Also to be considered, any team that would trade for Adrian would also net 2 draft picks if he left via free agency. IMO, the price for Gonzalez would be about 5 top prospects. If a mid season trade came about, I could see Jared Mitchell [available to be traded in early June] being the key piece along with Flowers. Mitchell has more upside than Hudson, yet is 3 years away from the bigs. If the sox see a window to win with the pitching led by Peavy, would they part with Flowers, Hudson and Mitchell group + a couple of pieces? That's what SD would almost surely ask for. And I can't say I'd offer that to SD. Jordan Danks doesn't have near the "excitement" that Mitchell does, yet could offer the sox nice complimentary skills with his defense, and solid offense, if Danks' fall ball was an indication of what his future could be [with "sure thing" bats like Beckham and Gonzalez, the sox wouldn't need headliners like Mitchell could be but some role players thrown in]. Jared could offer skills that fill a highlight reel. But can he put those together to make a big impact in the majors? Or is he a Carlos Gomez type who offered promise and potential, and helped the Mets land Johan Santana? That's what the sox have to see as they watch him in high A this year.

QUOTE (That funky motion @ Feb 2, 2010 -> 02:19 AM) From Lynn Henning of the Detroit News: Johnny Damon, the free-agent outfielder who helped the Yankees to a world championship in 2009, would be happy to talk with the Tigers. “Johnny believes the addition of him to Detroit’s lineup would make the Tigers a winner,” Scott Boras, Damon’s agent, said during a Monday phone conversation. Boras agrees. “He’s batted .363 at Comerica Park, he has a .412 on-base percentage at Comerica,” Boras said. Boras added, quoting Damon before Damon signed earlier contracts with the Yankees and Boston Red Sox: “I told you I could make the Yankees a winner, and I told you before I left Oakland (where he played in 2001) I could make a Boston a winner.” Boras says Damon has the same disposition toward the Tigers in 2010: “I can make the Detroit Tigers a winner,” Boras said, citing Damon’s words to him in December. Damon in Detroit makes sense for the Tigers offensively. He might even be a defensive upgrade to Carlos Guillen, as well, who attempted to man left field in Comerica Park on a regular basis for the first time ever in 2009. Guillen’s UZR/150 at the position, over a measly 42 games, was -12.7 and, given his injury-prone ways, it would be worthwhile to use him as the designated hitter rather than in the outfield. Damon has absolutely no arm, but his range is not as bad – it is definitely still a negative, according to RngR, though not a huge negative – as many perceive it to be. Will Detroit be willing to spend on Damon, though? In the end, that’s the real question. Sounds like Damon and Boras are so desperate to land a gig that they have to go out begging like this to Detroit.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jan 31, 2010 -> 06:21 PM) Damon turned down a $6 million deal from the Yankees that he talked them into offering before they gave up on him and signed Winn. I think he may well wind up retired. IIRC, $3 mill. was deferred, interest free. Media reports never stated how long the $3 mill was deferred for, though. In essence, it was for $3 mill. for 2010.

Right now, Damon may be his own worst enemy. In an interview with Jon Heyman, Damon stated that "taking a 40% pay cut [from his $13 mill salary, which would be $7.8 mill.] didn't seem to be the right thing to do" back when the Yankees were offering him 2 years and $14 mill. Granted, this was before the Yanks signed Nick Johnson, and Damon wanted to see if he could get a better offer. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writ...ml?eref=writers You wonder if he's finally accepted the fact that he probably will have to take a 50% cut in salary. Vlad certainly had to, with his $5 mill. deal. From the sounds of it, Damon might be insulted by a $5 mill. deal, something the Sox would offer. Most people think it's Boras giving him bad advice. But it's up to Damon if he wants to play in 2010 to accept the big pay cut--no matter how good his 2009 year was.