beck72

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Oct 30, 2009 -> 11:01 PM) Now you've used the word probable and that just strikes me as foolish.Regardless of what your original point was there's no good reason for me to believe Kotsay will outproduce Hermida in 2010 given that it's been 6 years since he eclipsed Hermida's 2009 wOBA. Good to hear

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Oct 30, 2009 -> 10:15 PM) That wonderful 127 PA sample size aside Kotsay is 8 years older, also a poor outfielder and hasn't posted a .320+ wOBA season since 2005 meanwhile Hermida has posted wOBA's of .372, .321 and .329 since 2007 when he played his first full season in the majors at age 23. If I had to put money on who would be the more productive bat in 2010 I know who I'd put my money on and it's not the 34 year old who I doubt would even hold up physically if given a full season's worth of PA. My main point was that as a 1 year stop gap, until Danks is ready, Hermida isn't worth the price in terms of talent. While I wasn't talking about having Kotsay as a starter, he would be a better fit for the sox as a part time player, who could play an occasional RF, and see time at 1b, and prob. post better numbers than Hermida [albiet with less PA's, as Kotsay isn't a fulltime player anymore]. I've talked before about seeing what Coco Crisp is looking at in terms of $, and if the price is right, a 1 yr deal wouldn't be bad. He would allow the sox flexibility in the OF, with the ability to play LF and CF, with Quentin DHing, and Rios moving to RF at times.

QUOTE (ChiSox_Sonix @ Oct 30, 2009 -> 03:25 PM) Ok well that's just a gross exaggeration. Hermida had an OPS of .729 in 2008 and an OPS of .740 in 2009. Kotsay had an OPS of .783 with the sox. It's not that much of a stretch to say Kotsay may out hit HErmida in 2010. Hermida hasn't for power for 2 yrs. And his defense isn't good.

QUOTE (qwerty @ Oct 29, 2009 -> 05:27 PM) As i said, we need arms in the pen one way or another, i don't care how they are acquired. I would also say relievers in general are a crapshoot, bullpens as a whole do not have to be. There are many relievers around the majors that you know pretty well what you are gonna get year in year out. That is not to say those relievers cannot have a down season here or there. The key is finding those consistent relievers. A team cannot go into a season having almost everyone in the pen a question mark, and hoping they live up to their potential. It rarely works, and if and when it does, it doesn't last exceptionally long. A good bullpen is a key, making a game practically over after 6-7 innings compared to 9 innings is a nice luxury to have. The angels and twins have been doing it for years, among others. I'm not saying it's easy, but it can be done. I think Hudson will be to the Sox what Daniel Bard was to the Red sox this year-their 7th, 8th innning guy. Add in Pena, Linebrink [who should be counted on for the 1st half at least], Thornton, DJ Carrasco, Jenks isn't going anywhere, the sox still need a dependable late man. I see the sox offering a decent deal to a guy like Rafael Betancourt, who will likely be not offered arb. Or an incentive laden deal for a guy like Kelvim Escobar [probably not going to be a SP] coming off injury.

Hermida isn't the answer. Mark Kotsay is likely to outperform Hermida in 2010. The sox need a lefty bat who can also play above avg. defense. Might as well wait until Jordan Danks is ready than trade some talent for Hermida.

QUOTE (SoxAce @ Oct 28, 2009 -> 07:26 AM) All this talk about Retherford and Jo. Danks is the one putting up .436/.542/.667/1.208 numbers so far. Really good to see. It's great to see. Hopefully he can be ready to contribute in Chicago sometime in 2010.

QUOTE (madbilly @ Oct 21, 2009 -> 05:02 PM) The problem with that is chances are we don't have the "budget" flexibility to get really revamp the pen. We can either spend it all on one good 7th/8th inning pitcher or go out and get 2/3 good complimentary pitchers to round out the pen. As of right now we need another lefty and someone to take over that 7th/8th inning roll that Dotel had. Is Jimmy Williams good enough to be the second lefty, I know he was good when we first called him up but then went through a rough patch. Is Pena going to take over for Dotel? What about DJ do we move him out of long relief to help out in the later inning. If we do that then do Torres & Hudson fill the long relief roll? In my opinon our pen is the biggest concern this off season. I think Hudson is going to be in the bullpen and should be every bit as solid as Dotel in the late innings. Pena should be OK as well. I don't think the sox are going to spend big money on a bullpen guy--mostly because there are few guys worth it. I could see the sox take on a "risk" like a guy coming back from injury, ala Kelvim Escobar. Looking back at Linebrink's stats over the years, he's put up solid numbers in the 1st half. If he's healthy as he's stated in the papers, Scott should be OK for the first few months. I just wouldn't count on him for much after the All Star Break. Internal options from guys in the minors seems like the best way to go for the sox, whether it's SP's turned relievers or guys like Nunez

QUOTE (madbilly @ Oct 20, 2009 -> 11:20 PM) I think you said something about that right before spring training. If that's true his shoulder must be altering his mechanics to the point where where he can't keep them consistent. He can be a "key reliever" but we need to find someone else to be able to work the 8th alongside him enable to get him the rest he needs. The pen was money the first what couple months of the season, but as soon as Dotel started to loose it, so did Linebrink. It might be coincidence, but maybe he was feeling to much pressure to preform perfectly with our "7th inning" guy stinking up the joint. Welcome aboard as well I think Linebrink should be counted on to be a solid arm for the bullpen--esp. for the 1st half. It's the 2nd half that the sox need to have someon else ready to take his place.

QUOTE (balfanman @ Oct 20, 2009 -> 04:54 PM) Hello everyone; This is my first post (please be gentle) although I have visited this site for years. Let me first state that overall I like Ozzie as a manager and think that he does a good job. That being said, this is one of my "bones to pick". Linebrink is a great example of a reliever that Ozzie goes to much too often, especially early in the year. I realize that games in April and May count just as much as games in August and September, but I think that you need to use your entire bullpen, especially early in the season to not only find out what each reliever is capable of in game situations, but more importantly to pace your top relievers so that they can be effective later on in the season. It seems to me that there are too many games early in the season when we see the same 2 or 3 relievers. Could it be that guys like Linebrink , with their limited physical health are worn down by the time crunch time comes? I know that it would help if you had other quality arms to turn to, but what good is burning out your good arms early. Welcome aboard One thing with Linebrink is his 2nd half splits. He's been horrible for the last 5 or so years after the ASB. That, IMO, is on Linebrink not Ozzie. Linebrink stated that he might start throwing in Dec this year in the offseason [once a week]. IIRC, he stated that he would mostly just rest his arm in the offseason. With his poor 2nd halves, he needs a better training regimen instead of just rest. What he's been doing hasn't been working. He also said he was healthy this offseason, which would allow him to throw and train.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Oct 12, 2009 -> 01:14 PM) This whole notion that Pods is a new man now is kind of crazy. Check out his 2003 season. He was better in every way than he is now, yet the next season, and there were no injuries and he was in what should be the prime of his career, his numbers, except for SB, dropped drastically. He isn't going to steal 70 bases anymore and giving him anywhere near $5 million would be insane. He was a .300 hitter in 2009, that doesn't mean he will be anywhere near that in 2010. His baserunning and fielding are most likely only going to get worse. Who knows, maybe all of baseball will agree with the point of view I have, and aren't all sold on Pods going from out of baseball to a top leadoff man overnight, and he will be available at a cheaper rate. He should follow the money and if a team wants to give him $5 million a year, he should take it. I just hope it isn't the White Sox. I feel the 2009 Pods was Cinderella and the clock struck midnight when the season ended. It's not that he's a new man. It's that his style of hitting has changed. He used to wait for strikes, letting the FB's down the middle go by him esp. when he was ahead in the count. This year, he was swinging at them. Also, when he was behind in the count, Pods was slapping them on the ground to try and get IF hits. It worked. That kind of approach should also work in 2010--provided he sees most of the time at DH and only steals when given the sign to. I just have a hard time seeing who out there via trade or free agency who can replace Pods' 2009 numbers--which the sox need. For 2010, Pods seems as good a choice as any.

With Kenny supposedly telling the scouting staff to look for OFers after spring training, I would think an OFer would have to be on KW's AFL wish list. That said, it makes sense to get an OFer who can hit from the left side, as the sox are weak from that side. Here are some names that could be on the list, whose parent clubs have major leaguers who might be blocking them, making them trade bait: Andrew Lambo and Trayvon Robinson, LAD; Steve Susdorf, PHI; Tyler Henley and Daryl Jones, STL; Bryan Peterson and Greg Burns, FLA; Ryan Kalish, BOS; Colin Curtis, NYY;

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Oct 12, 2009 -> 04:10 AM) And this is the problem with Podsednik. He's just been too inconsistent offensively in his career to be relied on to be our DH. If I thought he could match his 2009 numbers in terms of OBP and SLG, while improving his baserunning a little bit, then I'd take him back in a heartbeat at a $5 million / 1 year deal to be our DH. Unfortunately, I see his AVG falling back in line with his career norms which woudl cripple any value he might have. Plus you know Ozzie would keep penciling him in the lineup day-in-day-out. I just don't see how Podsednik being our DH will work out again. Let's be happy he filled in nicely this year and move on to greener pastures. Pods changed his hitting approach this year and was very consistent all season. He became more aggressive when he was ahead in the count, which led him to see more fastballs, him hitting the ball hard and increasing his SLG. And he also tried to make contact when he was behind. This led him to have a ton of IF hits. Barring injury, Pods' hitting shouldn't change much from his 2009 numbers. Esp. as he'd see less time in the field, Pods should be a solid bet to stay healthy and replicate his 2009 year. I just think it would be hard to pass up signing a .300 hitter who can post an above league avg. OBP for a relatively cheap deal [which Pods should sign as he comes with risk]. The sox know the risk better than other teams and will probably be comfortable taking it.

QUOTE (Kenny Hates Prospects @ Oct 11, 2009 -> 08:51 PM) That may make sense from an economic standpoint, but there are problems: 1. Just about every team is looking to dump salary which means they're likelier to hang onto those guys 2. IMO the market for cheap young players is at it's highest point in quite a while, while veteran players are becoming undervalued, so the cost (in talent via trade) vs. risk (of the player not developing) aspect of acquiring such a player might not be worth the effort 3. Kenny wants to win in 2010, and veterans present a better chance of helping that cause Kenny is one of the best GM's in the game as far as evaluating talent, and you can't get any better than Hermie and his staff, so if the Sox find a young player that they really believe in who isn't going to cost an incredible package then I'd definitely be in favor of that. For now though, I'd look to find potential bargains on proven commodities who are at least versatile defensively and are also at an age where they can be expected to perform if healthy. That's why I said Coco Crisp made sense, esp. as it would give the sox flexibility in all 3 OF spots, with Crisp able to play LF and Cf and Rios CF and RF. I wouldn't necessarily agree that veterans give the sox the best chance of winning in 2010. The sox starting staff is set with vets. But if Kenny started trading some of the vets on offense [AJ, PK, Alexei], the sox ceiling could actually be higher--depending on the return. That's because those guys could give the sox major league ready players with upside that could at least equal what the vets gave the sox. PK esp. scares me for 2010. AJ also would be at peak value.

QUOTE (GreatScott82 @ Oct 11, 2009 -> 05:29 PM) Michael Bourn! Won't happen but could you imagine that dude in our OF and our leadoff hitter? Wow! I suggested targeting him after 2008 when he hit .228 with an OBP under .300. With his speed and defense, I thought he was a better option to rebound in 2009 than Owens, or Anderson. He had done well in his previous years showing the ability to hit for avg, and get on base. The question is, who out there has had a poor 2009, yet has the kind of tools that would fit in well with the sox needs [speed, defense, OBP, ability to hit for avg.]? It may be a young guy who struggled in his 1st or 2nd yr, though has had success in the minors. I would think that kind of young OFer would make more sense than trying to land a big name young gun who had a very good 2009

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Oct 11, 2009 -> 03:13 PM) Maybe one whose name rhymes with "Ludson" Besides Hudson, the sox won't have another SP in AAA or AA who could step into the rotation. Carlos Torres prob. isn't the answer with his control issues. If you're beefing up the pitching, after the bullpen, getting another SP prospect would be ideal. Ely and Shirek, the next two SP prospects, don't have all that much of an upside.

QUOTE (Kenny Hates Prospects @ Oct 9, 2009 -> 12:34 AM) +1 We just got an awesome rotation. Why do people even think about messing with it? I mean I could understand it if people started salivating over the far-fetched idea of trading Floyd in a deal for Haren, but subtracting from the starting staff without adding anything better? That kind of defeats the whole purpose. IMO, we need to think in terms of complimenting our strength, and more than anything right now that means we need OF defense. I agree. If anything the sox should add to the pitching this offseason--be it the bullpen and or a SP prospect that could possibly pitch in 2010.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Oct 10, 2009 -> 11:42 PM) The Yankees, etc., may be stacked with talent, but you put us in a best of 5/best of 7 series against any team in the league, if our starting pitchers are healthy, we can hang with them. Not without better defense and a more versatile offense. The sox don't have the guys--position players-- with the upside or the talent to hang with the best teams in baseball.

QUOTE (son of a rude @ Oct 10, 2009 -> 08:24 PM) I guess i like risk taking in baseball you guys then. I would love to see him keep doing it. We could probably at leasst get some sort of decent relief pitchers for AJ. The probability of Johnson getting hurt at DH is less than it normally would be. Flowers has potential, but i agree he would probably have worse offense year than AJ. Johnson + Flowers + whatever we could snag with AJ > AJ in my opinion. I would rather Kenny take the risk. If he does, chances are we either narrowly make the playoffs and get eliminated first round, or have a great chance at winning it all. Trading AJ and signing johnson wouldn't hinder us for the future either. AJ is probably gone after this year regardless. If it were possible, i would like to see how Flowers can handle the rotation in spring training before we trade AJ. That would be the biggest concern i have. I made the thread a bit back about this possiblity. http://www.soxtalk.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=74797 My personal opinion, is AJ's value would never be higher via trade so the sox would have to look into it, esp. if Flowers is ready to play everyday as a C. If the sox want to go safe, trading AJ wouldn't be in the discussion. Playing it safe may help the sox get into the playoffs in 2010. But looking how stacked teams like the Yankees and Angels are, the sox won't sniff the World Series without a major upgrade in talent at multiple positions--something that can only be accomplished by trading guys with value to other teams. the sox farm system isn't all that deep at the top levels. Guys like Alexei and AJ have a lot of value. One team that could use AJ is the Rays--which has some young, major league ready talent.

QUOTE (WCSox @ Oct 10, 2009 -> 06:25 PM) That depends on what the Sox are willing to spend this year. If the budget is $90M, spending $5M on Pods would be a really bad idea. If the budget is $110 M, it might not be a terrible idea. I'm assuming that the former budget is more likely. Even if it's not, I still think that the Sox can do better value-wise than a guy who will be 34 next year, gets hurt easily, can't play defense, can't hit for power, has a bad SB%, and has averaged a mediocre .326 OBP over the past four seasons. Given Pods' age and long injury history, I don't see a change in off-season workouts having much of an impact on his long-term durability. The 2009 Scotty Pods was much improved over the 2005-2008 versions. His approach--esp. when he was behind in the count-- of just hitting balls on the ground to get IF hits, and being more aggressive at the plate, taking strong cuts at 2-0, and 3-1 pitches instead of watching them go by, will play well in 2010. The 2011 Pods? Not interested. But having him as a 1 yr stop gap, for $5 mill.? I'd have to say yes and so too will the sox if that's the money. Anyone else they try and acquire, via free agency or trade, will prob. cost more than Pods will. And, as much as I like Crisp on a cheap deal, and Getz, I don't want them as the #1 and #2 options hitting leadoff.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Oct 10, 2009 -> 06:31 PM) Think LH middle-of-order type hitter first, position second. Sox have a lot of movable parts defensively, no too mention a DH opening. I do think plus defense is or should be up there as well.

Kenny made that trade already--Alex Rios. People may not agree, based on his 2009 numbers with the sox. Yet Kenny is counting on Rios playing up the his large contract. I for one think he will. What I do think is the sox need a young lefty bat for the OF. I would look to a few names in the AFL.

QUOTE (WCSox @ Oct 10, 2009 -> 05:55 PM) IF Pods can stay healthy for an entire season and put up an OBP of .350 again, I agree that he'd be worth $5M. But I doubt that both of those things are going to happen. As it stands right now, the Sox already have $71M committed to salary next year, and that doesn't include the one-year deals that will have to be doled out to Danks, Quentin, and (possibly) Jenks. Given that, the massive hole in the middle of the lineup, and the money that will have to spent to round out the 25-man roster, the Sox would literally need another $100M+ payroll to be able to afford Pods at $5M. Pods supposedly changed his offseason workouts, and he didn't have an injury this year. With him seeing less time in the OF and more at DH, that would give him more rest and lessen the chance of injury. His $5 mill. salary wouldn't bust the sox budget. IMO, it's far more likely to see a Pods signing plus a few low budget deals like a Coco Crisp and a FA bullpen arm for the same price of a Figgins or an Abreu. Though I could see a Konerko trade that would bring back salary relief and a lefty bat, ala Konerko to the Dodgers for Loney.

QUOTE (WCSox @ Oct 10, 2009 -> 04:34 PM) There's no freaking way that I pay Pods that much. Especially with the need for another high OPS bat in the middle of the lineup and our bullpen in relatively bad shape. I'd rather use that money to over-pay Abreu or over-pay Bobby for one more year. I'd much rather give Getz a shot at leading off (at least he doesn't get picked off or thrown out 1/3 of the time) and play Kotsay or Nix in LF. Pods should be able to get a $5 mill. type deal this offseason, from some team. IMO, that's worth it for the Sox if he can duplicate his 2009 offense. If the sox play him mostly at DH, and only let him steal bases when he's given the steal sign, then he's more likely to stay healthy for the entire season and not kill them on the bases. Pods' production would be hard to replace. And from Ozzie's comments, wants the sox to strike a deal with Pods if at all possible. Ozzie was very critical of Pods early in the season about him on the bases. But that seems like water under the bridge by his latest comments. I've always liked Getz. But I don't think he's ready to take over full time hitting #1. If you hit Getz at the bottom of the order, ala what the Angels do with Aybar and Izturis, it's like having two leadoff men. There aren't really a lot of options for the sox with OF guys and hitting leadoff. I like Coco Crisp. But he wouldn't hit leadoff. If Crisp is healthy, though, having him hit #8, 9, would make for a strong bottom of the order [though both Getz and Crisp could hit either leadoff or in the #2 spot with improvements]. On offense, it was the middle of the lineup that killed the sox. Quentin, IMO, is the key to the 2010 Sox.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Oct 10, 2009 -> 12:52 PM) Pods is looking for a decent payday and probably multiple years. I don't mind that the Sox kick the tires on a new contract and if Pods is willing to come back here for reserve OF money, bring him back. If he wants starter money for multiple years, say good bye. His fielding and baserunning are only going to get worse and chances of him duplicating his offense from 2009 are very slim. I want the White Sox to quit "settling" for guys with low baseball IQs, which Pods has. I understand you can't have a roster full of guys who really know what they are doing, but finding a leadoff man, if its someone new or even a guy like Beckham who just knows what he is doing at all times on a baseball field, is imperative. Bringing back essentially the same cast that led to 2009s dissappointing end will not produce an exciting 2010. I expect a lot of changes. Giving Pods some decent money, or at least money that guys at least used to get when they put up his 2009 numbers, is a mistake. A big mistake. Coco Crisp will probably be out there cheap. That's one guy I would look at. If he's healthy, I think he would be an excellent fit, plus you don't have to worry every time a ball is hit in his direction. I too expect a lot of changes. Tinkering around with a mediocre team won't make the sox contenders. Guys with value will have to be traded for the sox to make any kind of improvement. Alexei comes to mind first. I wouldn't mind paying Pods $5 mill. for one year with a 2nd yr team option/ buyout clause to be the regular DH and playing some LF. I just don't want him in the OF fulltime or stealing bases. Just get on base and hit in the lead off spot. I don't see better options out there for the sox that make sense hitting #1. I agree on Crisp. His defense in LF and CF would be welcome. He should come cheap. The only question is how the shoulder injury will affect him. At least it's not a leg injury that would negate his plus defense.

Looking at some stats, Christian Marrero had outproduced Brandon Allen in AA, hitting .308/.348/.501 in 2 levels. He also is a lefty bat and plays 1b. Did his development allow the sox to trade Allen for Tony Pena? Marrero is only 5 months older than Allen. I haven't heard much about Marrero. What do people know about him? Is he a possible replacement for Konerko?