caulfield12

QUOTE (GreatScott82 @ Aug 2, 2009 -> 06:03 AM) From what im hearing, Tampa may not have the funds to grant Crawford's $10 million club option. I heard 2 things. I heard the Rays are going to take the option and shop him this winter (most likely) and I also heard they might even consider taking the $1.5 million buy out. If they are to shop him you HAVE to look into it this winter. If we could aqcuire Crawford and sign him to an extension, Soxtalk shall no longer have leadoff envy!! As far as Jordan Danks goes: He is currently hitting .297, 61 runs, .385 OBP and 36 RBI. Not stellar numbers but not to bad. I'm guessing if he continues to show progress, and rocks it out in Fall ball and in ST i say let the young man learn at the big league level while hitting 9th. No way the Rays don't keep him and get the best return...letting him go and spending $1.5 million for the buyout is simply insane for their organization to ponder....bad enough they let Edwin Jackson get away for almost nothing.

Mauer seems ticketed for 1B eventually... If he was an everyday catcher, MAYBE. But that's such a huge long-term deal, only 3-5 teams in baseball realistically could offer it and survive him suffering a major injury.

Crawford is probably better suited for LF, because of his arm, with Jordan Danks/Mitchell/FA taking CF. Probably we'll try to keep Pods if he doesn't fall apart b4 the end of the season. However, Crawford will cost a ton, and there's no guarantee we'll keep him. Holliday's a Boras guy, so that more or less nixes that idea. Figgins is definitely the most logical, probably at 3B but possibly CF. It doesn't seem for the present that Ozzie wants to move Beckham off 3B, but I think they would have to decide which would give them the best possible defensive alignment (guessing they'd move Becks to 2B) with the acquisition of Figgins. Wouldn't go 3/30 for him at his age and with a so-so injury history in recent years...more like 2/18-20, take it or leave it. Would still be interested in Orlando Hudson, if the Dodgers don't control his rights for next year. In that scenario, he'd stay at 2B with Beckham remaining at 3B. Could definitely live with that. Viciedo, however, has REALLY REALLY picked it up...I think too many are discouraged, but if you look at his July numbers, he's really progressing nicely...and he's the heir-apparent at 3B, whether in 2010 or 2011. Flowers won't be on the everyday roster until AJ's gone or disabled.

QUOTE (ChiSox_Sonix @ Aug 1, 2009 -> 07:09 AM) I don't want Hudson anywhere near the AFL this year. I'd send Viciedo, Retherford, Nunez, Santeliz, Hernandez, Micthell and Shelby Are either Retherford or Morel viewed as legit prospects within the organization? With Getz and Nix, Beckham and Alexei, that infield's pretty well set, and CJ won't hit for enough power to play 3B or 1B at the big league level. Maybe, just maybe, he can make it as a utility player on an NL team. I think we can only send six, is that correct?

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Aug 1, 2009 -> 05:28 AM) keeping Danks' 5.2, 3 ER performance out of the picture, here are their lines since interleague began (according to B-R)... Gavin Floyd - 2.33 ERA, .538 OPSA John Danks - 3.45 ERA, .658 OPSA use any analogy you want to, but Floyd has been the FAR better pitcher since late May, even if Danks has been good. Point being, as of this moment right now, I want Floyd starting game motherf***ing 2 of the playoffs for me, if only to break Buehrle and Danks up. All 3 have proven their worth, and all 3 give me hope and reason as to why I believe the Sox will win the division this year. This. Although not exactly the way I'd put it. But short, concise, brief, pithy and to the point.

I think Santeliz and Omogrosso have a chance as relievers as well...one of those 2, or Nunez, would be okay. Link's fallen back a bit...not sure they are huge Francisco Hernandez fans, but his numbers are outstanding for the Barons.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Aug 1, 2009 -> 03:24 AM) Write today down as the day the Sox acquired an MVP and a CY Young Award winner. It is also the day I declare that I think the Sox are going to be World Champions this year. You're really asking a lot from Quentin, Pods, Peavy, Jenks and Linebrink for that to happen....maybe Pena can do a reasonable impression of Liney? It would be interesting to see if KW considers making him a starter again, like he was in the D-Backs organization b4 2006. But all those players I mentioned would have to stay healthy and/or really pick up their level of play. And we're sacrificing some games against tough competition (got lucky today with Mitre match-up) with those 3 fifth starter slots coming up. As far as our OWN division (and not all of MLB), I still think DET has to be considered the team to beat because of the acquisition of Washburn, who's ready to pitch for them NOW. And, if you look more closely at Thomas' numbers in RF this year, they're ALMOST as good as Beckham's, he's quietly had a very good rookie campaign...though I still think Romero, Andrus and Porcello are a little bit ahead of Beckham, who's gaining momentum fast. The Yankees' announcers mentioned Slayer for ROY, mentioned he was leading in RBI's, BA, SLG and OBP among all AL rookies. I guess Reimhold and Wieters in BALT could make some noise too.

Any speculation on our 6 players for AFL? Danks? Viciedo? Hudson? Ely? Shelby, III? Flowers to continue working on his catching for an extended period of time? Maybe a reliever like Santeliz or Nunez? Mitchell? Phegley (who's REALLY struggling so far in his adjustment to pro ball, putting up Francisco Hernandez-esque, the catching prospect, numbers)? Maybe they will give Gartrell a shot coming off this season's numbers and hope to catch lightning in a bottle like they did with Wise.

Indians were celebrating on the field like they won the WS after trading V-Mart, DeRosa, Cliff Lee, Francisco and Garko tonight. They really needed that win after blowing the 5-3 lead on the Guillen homer. Minnesota continues to really miss Neshek. He was the glue of that pen, and nobody they've tried in the 7th or 8th (Bonser, Bass, Ayala, Crain, Guerrier, Keppel, Mulvey, Balfour, Rincon, Humber) had/has had any success on a consistent basis getting the game to Nathan over the last two seasons.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Aug 1, 2009 -> 02:28 AM) If you are talking top 4, I'd have to say the White Sox. But right now Peavy is hurt so they can't truly be in that discussion and we know I feel this way because I absolutely love Gavin Floyd too. I put the Sox at the top because I don't buy Joba as a starter (can't go deep into games yet) and Pettite isn't as good as he used to be. Boston has a great 1-2 but Wakefield is on the DL, Bucholtz is unproven and Penny/DiceK/Smoltz haven't looked good. Really love the ANgels, they right now are my 1. No true ace but Lackey/Saunders/Weaver/Santana is pretty damn good when healthy. Drays have a shot to be the best but Kazmir hasn't been that great, Price hasn't yet made the strides everyone expects him to make one day. I love Matt Garza though. I would have agreed over the last couple of seasons....maybe the Rays or Angels. But look at Santana's ERA. He's Contreras April/May bad at this point. Saunders was almost as good as Cliff Lee last year, and a tick above Danks. Lackey is at 4.00, a bit higher than usual for him....maybe wear and tear on his arm over time? Weaver always shut down the Sox, so maybe he seems a bit better because of his dominance personally against us. Buchholz obviously has the raw stuff and has had some pretty decent results before falling off the map last year...one of Buchholz on the trade market was probably equal to Richard/Poreda/Carter combined. They were lucky to only have to part with Masterson in their trading frenzy. But pitching prospects are tricky...look at Homer Bailey, the Yankees' young starters, Price hasn't exactly lit the world on fire as easily as predicted.

QUOTE (DukeNukeEm @ Aug 1, 2009 -> 03:21 AM) That obviously has not been the case with the rosters and manager that Kenny has been very largely responsible for. Other GM's might just be bulls***ting because they know the Sox are always looking to trade and its a valuable line of communication to keep open if they're trying to move someone. But then again, that's equally valuable for the Sox either way. If a team has a player on the block more often than not they're expecting Kenny to at least give them a call. Were the only ones without a Red Sox/Yankees payroll that can create so much roster flexibility. Well, I'm thinking that it would be reasonable to assume that Carter was switched for Hudson (from the time of the first trade)...there was no reason to ALSO include Broadway and/or Hudson, because, as DeLuca wrote, the Padres were just trying to "save face" and get another team to take his entire contract off their hands....of course, Broadway was gone, but maybe the first trade was including Broadway and Hudson instead of Russell and Carter?? Just speculation. Richard might become even a #3 starter in the the NL, and he's very affordable for them, so it's a good fit. Don't see Poreda making it. Russell was finished with the Sox, maybe people are upset because he was a Top 5-6 prospect in our system when it was so weak...and Carter, well, remember what has happened with Gio, Faustino DeLosSantos and even the likes of Lumsden and Cortes, who was ranked a top 50-60 prospect in ALL of MLB not so long ago.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Aug 1, 2009 -> 02:05 AM) Tyler Flowers and Sergio Rodriguez are far from table scraps. Dayan Vicideo (Swisher's money) is also far from a table scrap. The Sox traded 1 top 50 prospect for a 27 year old ace (widely considered one of the 5 best pitchers in baseball). I'd say that from a personell stand-point you are talking about a potential steal. I think Richard turns into a solid starter for a long-time, RUssell is a 6th inning reliever, Poreda turns into a set-up guy, and Carter is an X-factor but I don't see him as being a front of the rotation starter (and he's still in A ball). So basically if every guy hits his peak I'm still freaking a-ok with this move. This is of course assuming Peavy's arm doesn't fall off. Santos Rodriguez of the 1.80 ERA in Bristol and nice K/IP ratio?

Until Peavy blows out his elbow, misses 18 months and we all say it was the worst trade of his tenure, lol....when the Sox couldn't find a fifth starter down the stretch in a very winnable division and Peavy is unable to come back. Let's hope we never have to read a thread about that eventuality.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Aug 1, 2009 -> 12:46 AM) Remember when like 2 years ago our farm system was absolute s*** and one of the bottom 10 in MLB? And today we have enough players that we can put together a decent package for one of the better pitchers in MLB, and STILL have decent talent in the system - Danks, Viciedo, Flowers, Hudson, and then there's Beckham who is pretty much in the same age/experience category. Not to mention Mitchell, T. Thompson...what's the latest with Morgado and Goodwin? Haven't been following prospects forum as much since BIRM's roster was decimated.

Why would we trade our best young starting pitcher for a LH bat when we can cheaply acquire it on the FA market without giving up anything? And Hudson alone wouldn't get us Carl Crawford b4 he's a FA, either.

As to our OF, they'll have to bring in at least one player OR move Alexei out there. They still probably need a corner, although Kotsay might impress and be asked to stick around as the 4th OFer. Gartrell might get a look too. Doubt they are including Restovich, Cook or any of the AAA guys in their thinking. Shelby, Danks and Mitchell are looking more at 2011 arrivals, or late 2010.

Would KW dare to give Contreras a one year, incentive-laden contract for $3-5 million plus incentives to be the 5th starter (and keep him around Viciedo and Ramirez)? Are Torres or Hudson ready? Should they bring in a Jon Garland/D. Davis/Paul Byrd type for one year, like they tried with Colon this season as a low-risk roll of the dice.

how could the stupid Indians blow that game? Jesus Wood.

How did Konerko cost us a run? Not tagging on Damon's catch?

Quentin robbed twice in one week... Kotsay crushed a ball to end a game. Tough luck...leaving those runners on 2nd and 3rd with no outs is guaranteed to come back and bite us. Jesus...another tough luck out for Kotsay, thought it was gone for sure.

Kerry Wood just blew away Granderson was a 95 mph letter high FB to end a threat, Wood will have at least a one run lead to get the save...Indians with a chance to add some insurance runs. 4-3 Indians holding on for now. 5-4 Twins over the Angels in the 8th. Napoli homers off Guerrier, 5-5 now, nice comeback by the Angels.

"Literally, with two minutes left, I'm on the phone with Axelrod and I'm on the phone with Kevin Towers, and [assistant general manager] Rick Hahn is on the phone with Major League Baseball because it has to be in," said Williams with an exasperated laugh. "I really didn't think it all was going to come together in the end. I was prepared for it to not meet the deadline. It all came together with 23 seconds on the clock." In November 2008, the Padres were working with the Braves on a Peavy trade, in which Peavy would be traded to Atlanta for SS Yunel Escobar, OF Gorkys Hernandez, P Blaine Boyer and one of P Charlie Morton or P Jo-Jo Reyes. [10]

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/p...-real-this-time To read the write-up here of Dexter Carter, you'd think he was the second coming of Dwight Gooden.

Another possibility: Tigers with Verlander/E. Jackson/Washburn/Porcello/Galarraga (backed up by Miner/Bonderman/Willis/Robertson) But I was thinking more of 2010+ than just this year... Think this writer wants to bury his column now?? We’ll start with Jackson - odds are that Dombrowski sees him as a young, high upside hurler who just had a breakthrough season and established himself as an innings eater at worst with potential to become a mid-rotation starter. After all, he threw 180 innings, posted a 4.42 ERA, just turned 25 years old, throws hard, and was considered a top prospect not too long ago. However, Jackson didn’t have any kind of breakout year - he’s the same pitcher he’s always been. His FIP in 2007 was 4.90. His FIP in 2008 was 4.88. He cut his BB% down by over a full walk per game, but his strikeout rate fell from 7.16 to 5.30, canceling out the effect of the better command. The huge drop in ERA was thanks to the significantly improved defense the Rays put behind him (.351 BABIP in ‘07, .301 in ‘08) and some good luck stranding runners. The Rays defense isn’t going with him to Detroit, and the luck probably won’t either. Jackson’s not useless - Marcel thinks he’ll put up a 4.64 FIP over 160 innings next year, so that makes him about +5 runs worse than an average pitcher and +15 runs better than a replacement level version. As a #5 starter, he’s not a problem, but that’s all he is. To get Jackson, the Tigers parted with Matt Joyce, one of the few promising young players they had left in the organization. I generally don’t go for one for one comparisons that often, but in this case, the Jayson Werth comp works so well that I feel obligated to put it out there. Joyce is, essentially, a left-handed Werth - a guy who can play very good defense in a corner OF spot, has gap power and will walk occasionally, but whose lower contact rate will always keep his average down. Depending on how well he adjusts to being a full time player, the Rays should expect something between .260/.320/.430 and .270/.340/.470. That makes Joyce something like a +2 win outfielder right now, and if he hits the high side of that projection, it’s more like +2.5 to +3 wins. Joyce is a better player, right now, than Jackson. He’s also under team control for two extra years and isn’t arb. eligible after the 2009 season as Jackson will be. For the Rays, this is a huge win - they solve their right field issue with a quality, low cost player that easily gives them the game’s best defensive outfield. A Crawford/Upton/Joyce trio is going to be staggeringly good at chasing down balls in the gap. To boot, they open up a spot in the rotation for David Price, so they’re almost certainly going to be upgrading their rotation simultaneously. The Rays get a lot better, while the Tigers shuffle pieces around and cost themselves some flexibility. Thumps up for Tampa, and a big thumbs down for Detroit.

Nix in too much of a hurry to make the DP with Posada running and took his eyes of the ball. Interestingly, Pena was a starter for the D-Backs until 2006. Wonder if they would consider giving him a shot at starting again with the Sox in ST next year? A lot depends on what happens with Jenks, Linebrink and Dotel the remainder of the season.