caulfield12

Game on. Soon to be 7-6 Tigers...Span comes through with a huge, clutch triple. Runner on 3rd (Harris) with only one out, two chances to tie. Huge for the Tigers to blow a 7-1 lead in a pivotal division match-up.

However, if KW did get a RH hitting outfielder with pop, that player would be guaranteed 30-40% playing time as the RH DH/PH for Thome regardless of what happens with Quentin and/or Pods health-wise.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 3, 2009 -> 07:44 PM) No way a GM makes a trade right now then has the guy he trades for get benched behind Quentin, even if there's only a 33% chance that Q comes back healthy. But that works both ways, KW has the leverage to say he doesn't HAVE to do the deal as he's not really desperate...with the 2008 AL MVP coming back soon. They don't have him over a barrel, just like when we had six starters in terms of depth in 2005. Then there's the other question of how long Pods can stay healthy, too. Does KW really believe that Quentin can return to form and that Pods can avoid the injury bug looking at the back of his baseball card for the past five seasons?

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 3, 2009 -> 07:44 PM) Really, if KW makes any deal right now with how this team is playing its because he's decided to clear some space, maybe even for Allen. There really is no where for anyone to play that gives us a big upgrade. With Allen gone, then we pretty much have to keep Thome somehow next season...don't we?

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 3, 2009 -> 07:41 PM) Where would any of those guys play? I'm going under the conservative evaluation that Quentin won't make it back and last for long this year...Plan B/C/D.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 3, 2009 -> 07:39 PM) My prediction would be a Josh Fields for Cla Meredith deal. Padres were interested in Fields in the past, and rumor is Padres will be trading Kouzmanoff soon. Kouzmanoff/Ramirez/Beckham >>> Beckham, Ramirez, Getz/Nix

Would like to see the White Sox make a run at Fukudome again and see how much the Cubs would be willing to eat on that deal...we wouldn't have to give up much. Prefer Fukudome to Rowand in terms of those contracts and future ROI, but both would be high-risk moves...even if we have the financial flexibility. Don't dismiss the idea of KW going after Pierre with Manny back in LA. Ozzie has the love for Pierre from his Marlins days.

Would they be willing to give up Lewis? Winn has been rumored to be coming here for 3-5 years, seemingly. How much money would we have to eat on Rowand's contract? Will the Giants subsidize ala the Thome trade? Who would we be willing to give up to save the money from the minors?

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 3, 2009 -> 07:30 PM) BTW, KW is supposedly trying to make a deal very soon (according to Will Carroll) What are the rumors? Pitcher or CFer? 3 baserunner gunned down by OLIVO. Just please STOP...

Greinke at 2+ ERA for the first time all season...

Can't believe I'm saying it, but this is starting to look a lot like the 2003 season...thankfully, the Twins don't have the same pitching, bullpen or defense as that team.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jul 3, 2009 -> 07:22 PM) As long as we keep Poreda or Carrasco fresh for Clayton's starts, I wouldn't mind another option off of the bench. Ward/Kroeger? Or just arguing for keeping both Anderson AND Wise on the team?

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jul 3, 2009 -> 07:21 PM) Yer what hurts? I've heard of amputees with "phantom pains," but the Quentin empathy pain is pushing the boundaries of medical science, lol. Having suffered the same injury playing softball, definitely it's the worst thing ever except for pulling an oblique and constantly tweaking it. Back pain, a close third...and kidney stones. All...not fun.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 3, 2009 -> 07:15 PM) With a really good arm, playing 3b instead of SS makes your throw longer, wouldn't that make it much more likely that a throw is going to sail on you? Does Beckham really have such a strong arm? All the scouting reports said "average or slightly above average" for SS when he was drafted. I haven't seen him play at all since ST (here in Thailand now), so how could you compare his throwing ability to Valentin/Uribe/Crede/Ramirez? Maybe he's try to get a little extra on his throws from over there and he's changing his natural throwing motion a bit??? Danksie getting back below 4.00 ERA for first time in months...who'd a thought Jose, Gavin and Danks would be in the positions they're at statistically NOW after six weeks into the season?

QUOTE (Princess Dye @ Jul 3, 2009 -> 07:13 PM) To be rabidly pro-Pods on here would be to take a 'non-internet-smarts' position, i'm sure 90% of the pro-Pods people out there were 05 sentimentalists or even people with a passing fancy of the team. so to be all for him at that point, in this setting at least, takes a lot of guts Or teenage girls who were saddened by the loss of Garland and/or fans of Lisa Dergan being back out at USCF.

QUOTE (Princess Dye @ Jul 3, 2009 -> 07:11 PM) Please lets stop running on Olivo. We're doing just fine with the bat. Do this against someone who's cannonless Not to mention you take the bat out of the hands of Dye/Thome/Konerko. It's not like Wise isn't going to score on a single (usually), just a case of forcing something that wasn't there. Maybe Ozzie asked him to be more aggressive on the basepaths and try to make some things happen? Running on his own? Missed hit and run?

Who would you rather have playing 2B everyday for the remainder of the season, Chris Getz, Juan Uribe (assuming we could get him back) or Jayson Nix? Nice job Wise...it's not like Olivo is famous for having a BAD arm, geez.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 3, 2009 -> 06:53 PM) Nix's OPS against RHP is only .651, and in 38 at bats he's hitting .181 against them. Getz is hitting .244 against RHP and currently has an identical .651 OPS until his next AB against Greinke. But doesn't a middle infielder that plays Gold Glove defense and hits 18-24 homers per season (let's say Nix is similar to Juan Uribe, maybe a higher walk %) more valuable in our park than Chris Getz? After all, we did make the playoffs twice with Juanie, despite his deficiencies. If they're equal in OPS (small sample size arguments cut both ways), the only arguments are that Chris balances the line-up, has more speed/stolen base ability and is a better contact hitter/execution/bunting/fundamentals. Or wouldn't it be better just to give up on Wise/Anderson (defensive sub) and see what Nix could do playing everyday in CF for 2-3 weeks....before KW possibly trades for another veteran CFer.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 3, 2009 -> 06:50 PM) Hell of a swing by PK. He's been going to right with great effectiveness this week. Ever since the first week of ST, he's been doing this...maybe sacrificing a tad bit of power, but me likey the 290+ batting average Konerko. Much more dangerous and consistent. Tony Pena might be one of the five worst hitters (far worse than Andy Gonzalez!) in the last decade of MLB play. (Please don't jinx him into a base hit with that comment).

QUOTE (greg775 @ Jul 3, 2009 -> 06:53 PM) Slowey's down, 6-0. Tigers abusing him. Looks like the Twins can still get back into it, though. Unknown named French on the mound for the Tigers. Anyone know much about him? Then again, if the Twins' offense is like the Sox against unseen pitchers, the Twins are doomed. With Delmon Young (sub 600 OPS), Gomez and Punto at the bottom of the order, they're pretty anemic once you get past Mauer/Morneau/Cuddyer/Kubel. Crede is at his typical .232 but does have a 750 OPS in his defense.

QUOTE (elrockinMT @ Jul 3, 2009 -> 11:29 AM) That is a good point but I think Nix is the super sub and it should stay that way Why? If Nix has the better OPS against RHP's AND plays significantly better defense at 2B, what's the strongest argument for Chris?

This is just dumb. If you want to trade anyone, it should be Fields, but then you'd be dumping him at pretty much his lowest possible return. Anderson has ZERO value...below even Joe Borchard when he was traded for Thornton. With the uncertainties about Viciedo's defense and CJ Retherford looking more like a utility guy at the next level, you have to hold onto Josh "just in case." Trading Anderson, as much as I dislike him as an everyday player, is silly AND stupid. KW's not going to stick Danks, Shelby III or Mitchell onto the major league roster in the heat of a pennant race. It's just putting way too much reliance on the health of CQ and Pods...

QUOTE (RME JICO @ Jul 2, 2009 -> 08:34 AM) Not LH, but Matt Holliday? Holliday is such a huge question mark because of his production outside of Coors Field. Now, you could argue Coors and USCF are comparable and that he could put up those same numbers, but the trade cost is going to be a pretty good ransom...and who's to say some of our own internal options (Danks/Mitchell/Shelby/Gartrell/Cook) won't be much better options from a cost/benefit perspective, giving us the financial flexibility to finally go out and get a legit CFer after four years of malaise?

If Danks/Mitchell/Viciedo/Flowers/Allen can develop (two or three of those guys), we get some off-the-bench contributions from Retherford or Shelby and one of the relievers with a big arm like Omogrosso, Nunez or Santeliz catch fire, we should be in great shape. We are still short legit starting prospects at the AA/AAA level, with D. Hudson being perhaps the most closely-scrutinized these days.

Nix STILL has a .685 OPS against RHP...which is a bit better than Getz. We're talking small sample sizes in his career...although the minor league numbers could be SOMEWHAT indicative. We should also keep in mind he was 0 for 17 in his career against LHP coming into this season and 7 for 39 against RHP. Nobody can argue Jayson doesn't play better defense...so I don't think it's quite so clear why we are giving 65-75% of the AB's to Getz over Nix. Amazing how fan perceptions change when a guy has a few good (or bad) games. But is ANYONE calling for Josh Fields to get more AB's after his two homer game or solo homer this past week? I think this phenomenon is especially true in the case of Alexei Ramirez defensively and many posters wanting to move him off SS. He's still projected to have "only" 20 errors at SS, which isn't close to as many errors as Jose Valentin committed on a yearly basis.