beck72

Alexei isn't an option for hitting #1. I can see Getz there eventually. But I'm not sure if he can handle it to start the year. Hopefully one of Getz, Lillibridge or Nix could hit #1 so the sox can play Anderson in CF, relegating Owens to the bench.

I don't have a problem with the sox going into 2009 with so many young guys being added into the mix of sox veterans. I would like the sox to have vets at the top of the order, so the young guys could be moved in slowly with less pressure hitting at the bottom. That's my biggest concern, that the Sox don't have guys to get on base and hit for high avg. in the 1 and 2 spots. Having Owens et al hitting at the top isn't reassuring. Though the sox big guns-CQ, Dye, Thome, PK, and AJ-still need to carry the team offensively. The playoffs showed how old, slow and one dimesional the sox were. The sox have improved upon that in 2009, with the additions of Lillibridge, Getz, Fields, Owens,Viciedo, Nix in at least 3 spots. In the near future, the sox should be even more well rounded offensively and defensively, with guys like Beckham, Jordan Danks, Shelby added in. The bullpen is better and deeper. Though health is still the biggest question mark. If the sox bullpen stays relatively healthy, it should be a strength. It has to be for the sox to contend. If the sox need help at the deadline, they are in a position to add a piece or two. IMO, teams will be looking to cut costs. Instead of prospects, teams will be looking to shed salaries. That should mean the sox can add without trading top prospects if they take on the cash.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Feb 8, 2009 -> 08:57 PM) Depending on how Getz and Lillibridge look in spring training, O-Dog, according to a couple of reports, one being Steve Stone, may be looked at as a CF. Supposedly, Lillibridge can play CF, but Getz is an infielder. Hudson is probably a one year stop gap way below market value in preparation for Beckham. Come to think of it, I beleive if the White Sox sign Hudson, it would be specifically to play CF. Ozzie has already said Beckham will have to switch from being a SS because of Ramirez, so he most likely will be a 2B. Getz and Lillibridge and Nix probably don't have much of a long-term future with this team as anything but a utility player unless there's a major injury. I could see Hudson being moved to the OF. But he'd have to be in camp. Waiting too long and the sox would run out of options. The sox seem really high on both Getz and Lillibridge. But putting either of them in the leadoff spot is asking for too much at the start of the season. With Hudson on board, the sox could move slower with Getz and Brent.

Cafardo of the Boston Globe had this nugget that the Sox, Cubs and Dodgers are after Hudson. The Sox would seem in the best spot to add Hudson quicker than the other two, with the Cubs sale and the Dodgers looking to add their big bat, ala Manny first. http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/reds...t_go_by/?page=5 Even though Hudson would cost the sox a draft pick, the top of the order would be adressed.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Feb 5, 2009 -> 04:08 AM) I will go on record as saying that Dye's the superior hitter, but he does not do nearly as much with the White Sox current lineup construction that Abreu would do, and that I am all for trading Dye and $3 mill for Bailey and a raw lower level prospect and then signing Abreu for $8 mill with a team option for next year. If the Reds are willing - I think some depends on whether or not they are interested or would think about bringing back Dunn - I could definitely seeing this being one of the few times the Sox would include cash in a deal just because of how much better the Sox are in the long-term. Well said. If the sox could trade Dye, they'd almost have to include cash in a deal. But if the sox could sign Abreu for $8 mill, they could part with the difference in Dye's salary. Abreu's OBP skills [which could be used at the top of the lineup, hitting leadoff or #2] are needed far more than Dye's power in the 4th-6th spots. Esp. as the sox are getting younger and need to work guys in at the bottom of the order, the sox need a stronger top. Abreu could be signed to a deal after 2009 and used at DH in 2010+.

QUOTE (whitesoxbrian @ Feb 5, 2009 -> 04:01 AM) IMO Abreu makes us the favorite in the ALC. His OBP is 30 points higher then Dye's, he had a better AVG by a few points, he had 100 RBI unlike Dye, and I'm going to guess he had more SB's. Abreu would probably be our #2 hitter, no? He'd probably leadoff.

The state of the economy is a big factor for 2009 and beyond, as attendance is sure to be down. KW seems to be using the Dow Jones as just an example of that fact. Long term deals for guys like Danks and Q may be for far less money than similar players got last year. I'm not sure if the "market" has been set for guys in their arb years, so the sox waiting and seeing what kind of deal they can strike makes sense.

I don't think the "pipeline" is drying up. I take KW's comments more that Torres is looking for a place where his clients will get a good opportunity and fit best. Gomez may not be a fit for the sox, even though most people around here aren't very comfortable with CF/ leadoff possibilities of Owens or Lillibridge. Kenny seems determined to give guys like Owens, Lillibridge and Getz a shot to hit leadoff. Now Marti, that may be another story. If the 4-5th SP's don't impress in Spring, I could see KW making a big play for him.

QUOTE (Pumpkin Escobar @ Jan 24, 2009 -> 07:58 PM) What's up everyone? First post! I don't agree with that. They hit him well last year, so did the Astros. The year before it was like the Pirates who hit him well and I don't think they are an AL caliber lineup. By that logic, Buehrle must not be very good cuz he had more then 1 AL actual team knock him around a lot last year. I've seen Sheets pitch a few times in person and I think his stuff is overwhelming when he is at 80% health or better. When he is healthy, he doesn't rely on his fastball as much but he does pretty well with it regardless. I'm not sure if I agree about the location of them, so I'll watch for it a little more carefully this year. I think he'd be a valuable addition to our rotation for several reasons. The first being that he is pretty good and better than what we have right now. The second being that it'd split our rotation up nicely going from LRLR in arms. He also loses the pressure of being the Ace in our rotation because of it's depth. If he needs to miss a couple days/starts, we can let him instead of forcing the issue on him. If you buy into the Cooper effect, then he can hopefully help Sheets as well. The downside is price. I saw today that gm's still would be shocked if he gets 2 years 20 mil. If thats the case, I'd sign him. We'll lose our pick but it Sheets pans out over the two years, we'll get a return on our investment and get his compensation. Maybe we need to deal something to create payroll, and I know most are against dealing Dye but if it nets us prospects and Sheets, I'm on board. Unfortunately, none of this will happen. Welcome aboard! IMO, Sheets at 2 yrs, $20 mill. would be a nice pickup for the Sox, though it's not my money. If the sox are truly looking to contend, they need that extra SP if they aren't going to spend cash/ trade to help the offense. They have bullpen depth. But the rotation is far from settled. The sox need to keep Danks and Floyd healthy in 2009, and keep their innings down. Sheets should be able to give the sox 180 + innings. For the 5th spot, and fill in should one of the 1-4 SP's go down, Colon, richard, Marquez, Poreda, and for the 2nd half Jose should keep the sox competitive in the AL central.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jan 17, 2009 -> 07:38 PM) Kris Benson is going to throw for scouts next Saturday, and in the week after that, it's likely that Mark Mulder -- who, like Benson, is represented by agent Gregg Clifton -- will throw off a mound for scouts. Two advance scouts say that they think Mulder could be the hidden gem of this free-agent class, because if he can restore his arm angle -- and that's been the focus of his offseason work -- he could be a very effective pitcher for relatively little money. www.mlbtraderumors.com If the hometown boy Mulder wants to come home, it wouldn't be the worst signing.

QUOTE (knightni @ Jan 17, 2009 -> 04:24 PM) Chuck James would be a great reclamation project. IIRC, James is an extreme flyball pitcher. He'd give up close to 40 HR's if he threw half his games in the Cell. He gave up 30 two yrs ago in 160 IP.

As far as Pie, goes, I'd like the sox to take a gamble on him-provided the sox could get a leadoff hitter elsewhere so that BA and Pie could platoon in CF. I'm not sure what his defense is like in say LF or RF, if he's even played other spots besides CF. It's too early to call a 23 yr old a bust. But it's very clear he doesn't fit on the Cubs in 2009. He's out of options and the Cubs have Gathright to take Pie's place this yr. But I do think another team [that has no intentions of battling for a playoff spot] that can put Pie in the lineup everyday for 50-75 games straight could potentially benefit more from acquiring Pie than the sox would. The sox would be looking at a platoon guy. Though they could have him fight it out in CF with BA and he could outshine the "competition" of BA and Owens and earn an everyday spot, like Alexei and Quentin did in spring '08.

QUOTE (Kenny Hates Prospects @ Jan 17, 2009 -> 03:34 AM) Greg Walker was quoted I believe last season saying that going into the 2006 season the Sox knew Brian had huge problems with his swing but chose not to do anything about it, instead letting him try to just get by on natural ability. So the GM knew he wasn't ready yet still didn't acquire a veteran replacement, then the hitting coach chose to ignore Brian's problems, and then Ozzie threw him under the bus for not hitting, even after he said repeatedly in ST that all Anderson had to do was play defense. I'm not making excuses for Brian, but the Sox set him up to fail. They knew he wasn't going to hit and they knew he needed to put in a lot of work in order to hit, and instead of having Brian work on his swing in Triple A and trade for or sign an adequate replacement - the Sox spent I think something like $7M that year on Cintron, Mackowiak, and Widger/Alomar when that could have gone to a CF - they instead decided to go with a plan that they already thought was going to fail. I hope the BA in 2006 experiment was part of an old, bad philosophy that no longer exists and that the Sox have learned their lessons by now. If you don't think your minor league hitters are capable of hitting Major League pitching then don't call them up. Bring in a cheap veteran instead if you have to. IIRC, it was that the sox tried to get Anderson to make some adjustments [to his swing, approach to baseball, such as being more professional] and that Anderson didn't take to the suggestions. Anderson even admitted as such that he didn't do what he needed to do. That seems to be in the past, and that's a good thing for BA and the sox.

QUOTE (knightni @ Jan 17, 2009 -> 12:56 PM) Except he's slow as anything to home plate. That, and the sox have talked about how long Jose takes to get warmed up, that the bullpen wasn't a great option for him in the past. But if he needs to go the bullpen to prolong his career, due to health concerns, he may have to.

Freddy should sign with the sox. He probably knows the sox won't screw with him. He may not get the same treatment elsewhere, from another team he's not familiar with. If he's throwing well, Freddy will have a spot. If not, he'd likely be in AAA. Same with Colon-though I could see Colon refusing a AAA assignment if he thinks he can land a starting spot on another MLB team. Freddy might refuse as well. They both need to prove to other teams that they can get major league hitters out in 2009 for a contract in 2010. They can't do that in AAA. Right now, the sox can offer FG a chance to compete for the 5th spot. He has to prove himself in spring. But the chance should be there.

This is good news. I don't think the sox will be counting on Contreras to be ready to start the year, though. They should take it slow with him, so he can be a big time factor in July and the 2nd half. I still expect the sox to sign Freddy as well, to compete for the 4th / 5th spots. *Worst case scenario--both Freddy and Colon get hurt before Contreras gets back. The sox have to make do with young starters. *Best case scenario--Freddy and Colon are throwing well. Contreras looks great in AAA rehab. Marquez and Poreda also look ready to fill in at the 5th spot. The sox can trade either Freddy or Colon near the deadline for help/ prospects. Either way, getting another SP in FG [probably cheaply like another Colon deal] can't hurt. It would just give the sox more SP options and could strenthen the bullpen by sliding a young arm from starting to the pen--Richard, maybe an Egbert.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jan 16, 2009 -> 02:11 PM) Braden Looper or Yadel Marti would be fine for that role. I forgot about Marti. From Marti's interview, he stated he needed to take care of his family [ie. he needs the money]. If the sox signed him to an Alexei type deal, that would have guaranteed money even if he was in the minors, that would be another very nice SP option for the sox.

QUOTE (TheBigHurt @ Jan 16, 2009 -> 08:58 AM) So I'm led to believe you think Bartolo and Freddy will play from here on out with no problems and revert? Hell, could happen, but it's quite unlikely. It simply doesn't pay to rely on such players and not have backup plans or better options. That said, Bartolo was a nice pick-up at that price. You get my point, though. If the sox sign Freddy, it's probably with the idea that only one of Colon or Freddy will "revert to form", and be the 4th starter. That leaves Marquez/ Poreda/ Richard/ Egbert for the 5th spot. If the unlikely occurs and both Colon and Freddy stay healthy, so much the better. The 5th starter types have options and can throw in AAA. The problem becomes what if both get re-injured and/ or suck. IMO, the sox should still acquire another SP who could be the 5th Starter. A guy who threw in AA or AAA last year but could start in AAA and be ready in case of injury.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jan 15, 2009 -> 02:50 PM) Where would they play Uggla? 32 homers ,.360 OBP, a fraction of the cost of Cabrera and Cabrera now has the reputation of being a "me" guy and the Marlins probably don't want to surrender their first round pick. I don't see any way this happens. Hanley Ramirez BTW is a brutal SS defensively. Brutal. It would really be something if OC was moved to 2B because of him. I'm not trying to get into the minds of the Marlins. But they do need to add hitters-esp. a #2 hitter like Cabrera. They are capable of winning the division with their 83 wins last year, without much offensively. Uggla, though, has been mentioned to be on the block, and possibly moved from 2b. Who knows if Hanley would be agreeable to move to 3b.

QUOTE (Hawkfan @ Jan 15, 2009 -> 07:35 AM) The excitement around this news is a joke. I love colon as much as the next guy, but in what way does this put us over the top? I think everyone here is just happy we did something. I wouldn't call it excitement in the least. It's just something that shows what direction the sox are headed. If the sox are after Colon and/or Freddy, it shows they won't be going after a SP who wants a multiyear deal like Garland.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jan 15, 2009 -> 01:54 PM) Putting OCab at 2b and to hit #2 would help improve their offense The question is finding a suitable trading partner for Uggla AND whether a team like the Marlins is willing to pay an Orlando Hudson or Orlando Cabrera $6-9 million per season with their budgetary constraints. The Marlins had only one starter hit over .277 last year-Hanley. If they added Cabrera's bat, he would be an improvement. I'm going by published reports that say the Marlins might be interested. Whether there's truth to it, who knows. But their offense needs help. With the Braves, Phillies and Mets making improvements, the Marlins need to add as well.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jan 15, 2009 -> 01:48 PM) The one problem with trading Konerko is that we don't have anyone to play that position, now that Swisher's gone to NY. It couldn't be Thome, realistically. That would leave either Dye, Fields, Viciedo, Allen and Tyler Flowers as the five best candidates. Solving the leadoff problem is harder to do than finding someone to play 1b. Doug Mientkiewicz comes to mind as a platoon guy/ defensive replacement in the "Ross Gload" mold. Though a guy like Lyle Overbay could probably be had [team needs to pare payroll, have larger contracts already tied up]. If the sox did trade PK, they would have to be thinking about Dye for 1b. It would save his legs and extend his career. Though in 2009, Dye could see a lot of AB's at DH when the sox face a LHP.

I can see why the Marlins would want OCab. They only have Hanley on offense and they still won 84 games. Putting OCab at 2b and to hit #2 would help improve their offense. They also have a lot of young talent in the minors through their trades, so losing out on their draft pick would hurt them less than a team like Toronto.

I agree the Figgins signing wouldn't interfere with a trade. The Angels had to come up with a deal or go to arb. If anything, reaching an agreement earlier rather than going to arb. might make a deal more likely to occur. A Figgins deal really does make too much sense for the Sox. Not sure if the Angels realy want to part with him or not, and what they'd want in return from the sox. Yet Figgins would solve a lot of questions. While he'd likely play LF, it would allow the sox to play Anderson full time in CF, Fields/ Viciedo at 3b, and Getz/ Lillibridge at 2b. Those young guys can hit near the bottom of the order with less pressure while getting the needed experience to play in the bigs. He'd also be insurance at CF and 3B, if those guys don't perform.

IMO, Colon and Freddy should be counted on for one starting spot. While conceivably, they should be 4th and 5th if healthy, those are big IFs. Best case scenario is both are healthy and effective and Marquez and Poreda can be in AAA ready should Colon or FG go down or suck. Richard should get a shot for the 5th spot, and will probably pitch multiple innings in spring as preparation for the rotation. But if Freddy and Bartolo win the spots, Richard would be in the pen. He'd likely be needed esp. for the long man if those other two are in the rotation. If they sign both Freddy and Colon [to 1 yr, incentive deals], these would be decent low risk moves. It's much better than locking into Garland for $20 + mill. for 3 yrs. I'd still like to see the sox add a decent arm that could be in AAA to start the year but be another option besides Marquez and Poreda. A guy like Bailey would be ideal, as he could work on a few things and not be pressured to be in the rotation right away. Maybe that was thinking behind the talk of Dye being available [per Heyman/ Rosenthal-a big name] for top pitching prospects that are not major league ready.