caulfield12

The thing with Pettitte is having a veteran, stable leader on the team for about $10-12 million for one or two years would really be a bridge to the next generation of Sox starters like Poreda, Richard, Marquez, etc. Not interested in signing Penny, Oliver Perez, Wolf, Garland, Eric Milton, Paul Byrd...anyone like that, for over 2 years. PERIOD. The question is, is it worth the money? Well, we all know that the playoffs are all about getting hot at the right time, and our pitching rotation was totally out of whack (and overworked) by the time we got to TB, not to mention the fact we never play well in domed stadiums. Still, I'd much rather invest that money in stabilizing the starting rotation than putting it into the offense at this point. We need at least one veteran starter if we're going to contend next year. It's pretty obvious KW is waiting for the bottom to fall out of the market and to see what bargains (like Cabrera) are out there. In another 2 months, things might look dramatically worse for the FA market, even in starting pitching.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/chi-1...0,2965427.story Even the Cubs have a lot of concerns about advertising revenue going forward...so you know it has to be a concern to almost every MLB franchise, with the probably exception of the Yankees, Mets and Red Sox. Even the Dodgers are getting a little "cost conscious" (letting Furcal go, and it's natural with those contracts for A. Jones, Pierre, Schmidt, etc.) It will also be interesting to see if it's the Angels or Red Sox winning the bidding for TEX. The Yankees are going crazy though...Kei Igawa's deal was $46 million if you include the outrageous "posting" fee. I guess shedding Abreu, Giambi, Mussina and possibly Pettitte, they feel they can afford to take on that extra payroll.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/chi-1...0,2965427.story BOSTON (AP)—As the Boston Red Sox pursue Mark Teixeira, their owner said Wednesday the amount they’re willing to spend on free agents depends on the nation’s economic problems and the player involved. With as many as five teams showing interest in the first baseman, there is serious doubt the Red Sox would go longer than the eight-year contract the Los Angeles Angels, Teixeira’s former team, have offered. “We all have limits,” Red Sox owner John Henry said in an e-mail to The Associated Press. “Eight years is a very long time in baseball and everywhere else.” He also said the amount the team is willing to spend on a free agent “depends on both” the economy and the player being sought. “Baseball as a whole has not yet been hit by the financial crisis, but it will,” Henry said. “The degree is in question and won’t be answered for a while.” www.yahoosports.com

Well, there are certainly different kinds of broken legs. It appears this is a stress fracture with a 4-6 week healing time frame, compared to something like Jermaine Dye's horrific foul ball, there's no relationship between the two injuries. However, these types of injuries (like shin splints or hamstrings or groin pulls/adductor muscle) are ALWAYS a concern for a player whose primary "plus" skill is his speed and fielding ability. That said, there's certainly no harm in having another option in camp. At least we already have Wise and Anderson as "insurance", but Wise is definitely not a CFer by any stretch of the imagination. I know a lot of people would prefer Anderson as the everyday player, and I would probably agree with it, were it not for the fact that we don't have any leadoff hitter on the roster that's currently better suited for the position than Owens and possibly Lillibridge. The Cubs signing Gathright and dumping Pie eventually is further proof of the value of someone in that role.

I would guess that $70 million number would be "pure" profits, at least the conjecture from Forbes....although I'd doubt JR and the managing directors would agree, though. I'm almost positive they would not be including the money that has been going into stadium improvements over the last 5-6 years. I'm also not sure if those revenues include "luxury suite" rentals by corporations.

Here’s a friendly wager for (Dayton) Moore. Here’s a list of a number of players that are or were available for around the league minimum: Waechter, Eduardo Morlan (Rule 5 pick by the Brewers from Tampa Bay), Jesus Colome (non-tendered by Washington), Joe Nelson (non-tendered by the Marlins), and Muntader Al-Zaidi (just signed by the Yankees.) Using whatever metric you prefer – ERA, ARP, WXRL, whatever – I’m willing to bet that including Farnsworth and the first four pitchers on that list (I’m not sure the shoeicide bomber is ready for prime time), Captain Tightpants will rank no higher than third among these five pitchers at the end of 2009. Unless the metric you prefer is “salary”. from royalsblog I guess KW prefers the flexibility of DJ Carasco for that last spot out of the pen...or, if consider Carasco 5th, then the competition is really Nunez (Yankees), Jimenez (Blue Jays castoff), Poreda/Richard, Wasserman and Adam Russell for that final position.

I think the deal for Ken Griffey, Jr., he's just starting to collect the bulk of his deferred money. Not quite as crazy as the Herschel Walker contract, but close...

Do those revenue figures include any monies generated by World Series and playoff appearances in 2005 and 2008 (now I see 08 is not included)? Broadcast revenues (WGN, etc.)? Parking and concessions? I know we have one of the highest average ticket prices in the majors, and I'm sure parking and concessions have to be up there as well...which is why I would have thought our revenues should be at least a BIT higher than our "average" as far as attendance. Source of figures? MLB? Forbes? I guess it's a little misleading to include the 2008 attendance figures without including revenues generated....that would seem to "skew" the average up a couple of ticks. I would think we're something like 10th-13th in revenue generation during that time, just guessing though. And I'm a bit surprised the numbers for 2006 are so low, with all the season tickets and "sellouts" we had. I guess you have to take into consideration the diminished seating capacity as one equalizing factor.

There's a good possibility Furcal would be at 2nd, with Escobar at SS and Kelly Johnson in LF according to most reports out there. Escobar is unlikely to be traded or be part of the Peavy package, but MAYBE! Also, LHP Eric Milton's name is surfacing on the market in the "retread" department as yet another "buy low" fifth starter prospect/suspect. Of course, with our overabundance of lefties (Poreda, Danks, Richard and Buehrle), Oliver Perez or someone like Milton would seem much less likely...as that would put us at 4 lefty starters if things play out according to theory.

Wouldn't Pat Burrell be just as likely (if not moreso) than Dye if Abreu is legitimately trying to stay around the $16 million mark per year? Of course, most are expecting him to come down to $10-12 million per season, but Dunn/Griffey/Rivera/Bradley/Hermida are just AS LIKELY to be potential targets as anyone. Ibanez's goofy contract does kind of throw a wrench into things. Of course, everyone's also sitting around waiting to see what will happen to Manny Ramirez down the line, too. Not so fast on Furcal, YET. 8:35am: ESPN's Jerry Crasnick has a source saying no agreement has been reached, but the Braves are confident and interest is mutual. The "speculation" is that Furcal will start at 2B, Escobar at SS and Kelly Johnson in LF.

Mike Powers, the agent for right-hander Daniel Cabrera, said he received calls from five clubs on the pitcher between midnight and 12:30 Saturday. Cabrera, 27, became a free agent at midnight after the Orioles declined to offer him a contract. Powers said he has heard from more than 10 clubs on Cabrera and received two offers. Numerous major-league scouts are expected to be in attendance Tuesday night when Cabrera pitches in the Dominican winter league. Cabrera's velocity dropped from 96 to 99 mph to 88 to 91 in September, one scout says, raising concerns that he might be injured. Powers, however, said that his client is fine. from foxsports.com

Thanks, Forrest!

QUOTE (elrockinMT @ Dec 15, 2008 -> 02:00 PM) Richard will get his chance. Maybe the Sox will sign the likes of Jon Garland as the #4 starter for the team in 2009? I see no reason not to give him another go with the team If he wants $12-13 million per season for 3 years, that's the exact same contract we got out from under with Vazquez. I'm fine with Garland to "hold down the fort" for 2 seasons at $10 million per season, but nothing above that makes financial/payroll/economic sense for the White Sox, at least in their current mode of doing business.

It was a strange sight to see a 50 something gym teacher hitting fungoes to Thai students on my way home from university this afternoon. Actually, most of the kids throw hardest underhand (like fast-pitch softball), but there were some really talented players for such a young age. They are/were terribly lacking in fundamentals (things like backhanding a groundball to your right if you field with your left hand, they couldn't turn their gloves...getting down on grounders and putting the glove down and then bringing it up instead of stabbing down at it...getting in front of the ball instead of the 'ol Juan Uribe ole style of playing it off to the side...catching with two hands...getting a running start into a flyball instead of catching it flat-footed or backpedalling) but it was interesting to watch practice for 30-45 minutes. The kids are running around without any shoes on, in uniforms/skirts...well, it's like nothing you would ever see in the US.

The point is, every team has to play through injuries and can certainly make excuses, but Ozzie doesn't. The fact is, we finished one game ahead of the Twins. We weren't going to easily walk away with the division, any more than the Twins were going to take it away from us. Both teams had plenty of excuses that could be called upon. The Twins could certainly cry "small market" and that they would have won had they not had to let Santana and Torii Hunter go, and had Brad Radke not retired, etc. What happens is what's supposed to happen, lol. I've made excuses over and over again for 2003 and 2006, but I've come to the realization that we were the better team was just a rationalization. If we were the better teams those years (of course, in 2003 Jerry Manuel is conveniently blamed), then we would have won, simple. But to say we should have walked away with the AL Central last year is pretty preposterous.

Nope...just made it up. Felt like being creative this boring (yes, not every day is exciting, even in Bangkok, despite the 1980's hit song) night in Thailand after having a few too many San Miguel Lights.

How did he miss President Bush's ears? They're almost like Lillibridge's. I'm not sure, but even MacDougal might have had a 50/50 chance of being on target in that situation. Speaking of fun around SoxTalk, who's up for another Willy Taveras thread??? Can SOMETHING/ANYTHING please happen soon to discuss!!!! I'll give an example from today's KC Star. Usually Joe Posnanski is one of the best (and funniest) writers out there, but he tried a little too hard today. OK, I’m convinced now. Fire everybody. Fire Carl. Fire Herm. Fire Gunther. Fire the players. After that game, there’s really nothing to say but: Fire them all. And they should not stop there. The Chiefs should hire Greg Robinson back just so they can fire him again. They should call John Mackovic just to remind him that he got fired. They should bring in Donald Trump to walk through Arrowhead’s coaches offices and the locker room, just so everyone will fully understand what’s going on. Nine positives to be taken from Sunday’s loss to San Diego. 1. Nobody set themselves on fire. 2. Nobody’s pants fell down; and that’s a full four quarters of pants-up football. 3. The Chiefs players did not start punching each other on the sidelines. 4. All the Chiefs players remembered to wear helmets and shoes. 5. Nobody set themselves on fire … oh, wait, used that one already. 5. Not one Chiefs player was abducted by aliens (the last concerns were relieved when rookie defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey was spotted running off the field in the fourth quarter). 6. The Chiefs sacked San Diego quarterback Philip Rivers three times on Sunday — that’s a season high. That gives the Chiefs nine sacks for the season, and five of them were sacks of Rivers. 7. No Chiefs player, at last check, contracted measles. 8. Herm Edwards did not try to trade an open Senate seat for campaign contributions. 9. Carl Peterson did not draft Trezelle Jenkins again.

Which leads right back to my point about their bullpen being horrible/atrocious because 1) they never replaced Neshek at the beginning of the year 2) Nathan collapsed on the road down the stretch 3) Balfour and Rincon were let go 4) Crain, Guerrier, Bass and Bonser weren't capable of pitching in the 8th 5) They went cheap and traded for Guardado instead of getting RH guys in Hawkins or Bradford...when they already had Mijares, Reyes and Breslow Usually four non-decisions aren't going to go against you....out of four starts. It should be 2-2, statistically, do you not agree? That would mean 8-3 and not 6-5, which is a huge difference in the standings.

Last 13 starts for Livan Hernandez. 73 2/3 IP, 119 H, 6.96 ERA (Twins go 6-7 in those games) Last 11 starts for Francisco Liriano Liriano goes 6-1

Undoing this move has been mentioned on other threads...not sure exactly which one.

Francisco Liriano says "I disagree." If they would have brought him up 6-8 weeks earlier, they take the division pretty easily. If Neshek isn't out for the entire season and they actually spend the money to replace him, they take the division. Same thing with acquiring either Hawkins or Bradford at the break instead of Eddie Guardado. Heck, if they hadn't signed Hernandez, Lamb and Monroe, they'd have won...or if Cuddyer hadn't been injured, etc. Yes, we lost Crede, Contreras, Linebrink and Quentin, but to say we'd have walked away with the division easily simply isn't true, because no team is 100% healthy for an entire season, not even the 2005 White Sox (Pods, Big Hurt, Hermanson).

Maybe that's where Ricky "Wild Thing" Vaughan is now pitching these days, with Willie Mays Hayes.

President Bush. Signing will be announced at US Cellular Field on Tuesday, as soon as US State Department background checks are approved and a visa is issued. Kennny Williams had a brief statement for the media at 702 CST: "That guy can bring it! And he's not afraid to throw at people to get them off the plate. In the past, Ozzie had problems with Sean Tracey and Jon Garland decking opponents. Well, we like this guy's long arm motion, extension and wrist snap, and feel that with a few adjustments, we can get his fastball up into the mid 90's. If he can throw a pair of shoes at speeds of 73 MPH (our JUGS assessment from video analysis), just think what he'll be able to accomplish with an offseason of tuturing with Don Cooper? We're already at the breaking point with our payroll, and, after looking at what the Pirates did in creatively assessing the pitching market and signing two former Indian national team cricket players, we think we're opening up a new Middle Eastern Pitching Pipeline, just like our vaunted Cuban Connection. Not to mention that our White Sox logo has been recently showing up on Iraqi hip hop videos as well as Al-Jazeera broadcasts. It just seemed like a good fit in terms of merchandising, and Brooks Boyer agreed that bringing more Islamic fans to Comiskey could be just the revenue stream (the Cubs just announced a plan to allow fans to skate for $10 at Wrigley Field on January 4th http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseb...,0,65793.story) we needed to let us go out and add a Willie Taveras/Gathright/Gomez burner type that might really put us over the top in terms of competing once again for the AL Central title." The unnamed prospect will sign a one year deal for the major league minimum. "The last time I signed someone strictly from watching video, it was Tad Iguchi. We feel this guy can have a similar impact down the line for us," offered the always-interesting Williams. Ozzie Guillen, relatively a White Sox expert on political affairs, and someone who's been unafraid to take on fellow countryman Hugo Chavez had this to say. "We can't really go wrong with this pick-up. It's classic KW, low-risk, high-reward. He's always joking with me about our team being the United Nations. With the president's approval rating at all-time lows, we felt that the attendance boost alone by putting him out there on the mound instead of Marquez might be beneficial to our bottom line. We anticipate a walk-up gate of 5,000 plus on the nights when he pitches." Guillen had just gotten off a conference call with local Birmingham McDonald's franchisees, having forwarded a picture of Cuban 3B prospect Dayan Viciedo with a promise to send ANY cashier a $100 voucher for White Sox merchandise in return for refusing to serve Dayan any combo meal, even medium size.

I think the consensus around the league right now is that Phil Hughes is more likely to settle into the major leagues as a 4/5 starter and that 1/2/3 was being a bit unrealistic/overhyped. Still, you could have said the same things about Gavin Floyd or even John Danks heading into 2008 and been correct...or that nobody expected Jose Contreras to go from an ERA of nearly 5 in NYC to the best pitcher in the game of baseball in the span of 18 months.

Okay, Cortes/Torres, whatever the hell his name is...if he's rated 50-something in the entire minors by MLB, then somebody out there likes him a lot, not just Sox minor league fanboys and Aaron Miles/Aaron Rowand groupies.