whitesox61382

Gonzalez has dominated Bristol so far. His current line is: 6 IP 4 H 0 ER 1 BB 12 SO There have been a couple of opposing coaches who have raved about his stuff in some articles. You shouldn't get to excited about a guy dominating rookie ball, because it happens so often, but this kid has a chance to be an absolute stud. A lefty with a fastball consistantly in the 90-92 range, a devasting curve, a good change-up, and very good control. That is the recipe for sucess. I agree with your Anderson opinion. Like I have said many times, I am a U of A student and got to see him play in person about a dozen times, and it was clear that he had a ton of potential. The one thing I worried about was his strikeouts and overall plate disipline, but they haven't been a problem so far, and with that question answered positively, the sky is the limit. If I had to compare him to a major leaguer, than I would say Torii Hunter is the most accurate. Anderson isn't quite as good defensive, than again who is, but he is a very good defensive CF. He has a similar approach at the plate as Hunter. He has similar power potential(20+ HR's and 30+ 2B). He has similar plate disipline(40-50 BB 90-100 SO), maybe a little better. Anderson might hit for a slightly higher average(.270-.280 range). Both have above average speed, but aren't serious BS threats, although Anderson should be a double digit SB guy and could be a 20+ guy. Overall Anderson is a pretty complete player and the athlete that a one-dimensional offense like the Sox needs. Some of my own personal notes: LaMura has been pretty dominating since moving up to AA(17 IP 10 H 3 ER 3 BB 15 SO). He has always had a good arm, but never really put it all together. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come. I have no clue who De Los Santos is or what kind of prospect he is, but it is hard to ignore the fact that he is hitting .439 in 41 AB's at Bristol. It might be a mirage, but it is still worth noting. Another prospect to watch is Allen, the high school outfielder taken in this past draft. This guy has ton of potential, but is very raw. He could be an all or nothing prospect. If he realizes his potential, than he could be a star. If he doesn't, than you will probably never hear his name in the majors. There is little in between space. As someone else mentioned, Schnurstein is really starting to heat up. He might be feeling the pressure with Fields being drafted in the 1st round. He was considered the Sox only legit 3B prospect with a clear path to the majors, but things have changed with the addition of Fields. It is nice to see him hitting again. Does anyone have any info on this F Hernandez at Kannapolis? He has put up some impressive numbers so far. Andy Gonzalez could be putting himself back on the prospect map. He has great plate disipline and good power potential, and has really hit well of late. Finally, can we please promote Rogowski?

You guys are drasticly overrating Miles. Batting average is a very important stat, but it isn't the only stat that should be looked at. The fact of the matter is that Miles has 13 extra base hits in 216 AB's in the best hitters park in the game(maybe ever), which is down right terrible. He has a grand total of 9 walks in 216 AB's, which is also down right terrible. He has below average speed for a middle infielder(4 out of 7 in SB), and he is a below average defensive player. So lets recap. Good BA, no power, no plate disipline, below average speed, and below average defense = utility infielder on a team that isn't 20 games below .500. Arron Miles is a Rey Sanchez clone.

Are you getting scared about your Patterson prediction? Your Patterson OPS threshold continues to rise. What was the last prediction, that he won't have an OPS above .760 at the end of the season? I hate to be right when talking about a Cubs player, but I warned you that he could have a big second half, and while it isn't "officially" the 2nd half of the season he has raised his BA and OPS from .246 and .700(on June 6th) to .281 and .794(currently). If you still wouldn't do that Clement and Patterson for Maggs and Wunsch deal, than you are a poor judge of talent and don't understand what this team needs. The Sox have clearly shown that the offense can live without Maggs(they are actually scoring more runs since Maggs went on the DL than with Maggs in the lineup), that starting pitching is the biggest weakness, and that Maggs is all but gone after this season, yet you would still not do this trade. For your sake, I hope that you are never in the Sox front office, because if you turned down one-sided trades like the above, than the Sox would never get out of their cycle of mediocre.

He is available. There have been numerous articles written about him being available. It is a classic case of the Expos trying to get rid of salary for prospects.

If the Sox want a 6M/yr pitcher, than why don't they go after LHernandez instead of Ortiz. Here is a statistical comparison of the two over the last two seasons. LHernandez(2003) 15-10 3.20 ERA 233.1 IP 225 H 57 BB 178 SO 1.25 WHIP Ortiz(2003) 21-7 3.82 ERA 212.1 IP 177 H 102 BB 149 SO 1.33 WHIP LHernandez(2004) 4-7 3.37 ERA 117.2 IP 109 H 36 BB 88 SO 1.23 WHIP Ortiz(2004) 6-6 4.18 ERA 88.1 IP 84 H 47 BB 73 SO 1.48 WHIP LHernandez is better across the board, has been consistant, and is signed long-term. He has a lower ERA, pitches more innings(good thing since the Sox pen is suspect), walks fewer, strikesout more, and has a lower WHIP. This is a good example of why wins are a poor measure of a pitchers effectiveness. LHernandez is clearly the better pitcher, but he pitches for the worst team with the worst run support. I don't see why the Sox don't go after LHernandez. He is turning into a Colon clone(the Colon before this season) and for far less(6M/yr is a pretty reasonable price for LHernandez). I guess that this would make too much sense.

I have to agree with everyone in this thread(except Mr Showtime and israel). I am usually a big fan of trading prospects for proven major leaguers, but this deal has mistake written all over it. When will you guys(a few not all) learn that wins and loses are a terrible tool to meassure a pitcher by? Sure in the end that is the only thing that counts, but wins and loses are determined by a team and a starting pitcher is just a small part of that team. You could have put Clemens, RJohnson, Maddux, and any other of the most winningest pitchers over the past decade plus, on last years Tigers team and they would have probably lost 15 games. Does that make them bad pitchers? Conversely, you could put any so-so pitcher on a team like the Yankees and they would probably win 15 games. Does that make them good pitchers? The point is that wins are a terrible tool to measure pitchers by, and just because Ortiz won 21 games last year doesn't make him a great pitcher. The fact is that he a 4.00 ERA pitcher in a pitchers park in the NL. That translates to an ERA of about 4.50 in a place like Chicago. Factor in his salary and the fact that he is a rent-a-player, and there is no reason to give up top prospects for him. Look at the Braves message board and you will see that the majority of them are begging that the Sox take Ortiz off their hands(almost as bad as Sox fans and Koch) and are saying that they would trade him for a bag of balls in return. Ortiz doesn't have much trade value. As someone else pointed out, there is a possibility that Rauch could outpitch Ortiz over the rest of the season. I would offer them Rauch and maybe a marginal prospects like Spidale for Ortiz. If they don't like it, than fine. There is no reason to morgage the future for a player that will only bring marigal gains. I would much rather trade Borchard or Reed instead of Anderson or Sweeney. This rumor better not be true or else KW will be run out of town.

Brando...when will you learn that an arguement that isn't supported by facts/stats against an arguement that is supported by facts/stats makes your arguement much weaker. For starters, you lie about making that prediction when he was 5-1, because the article that started this whole arguement came out well after May 6th(the day in which Clement was 5-1). Nice try, but please don't lie in a pathetic attempt to make a weak point. You simple looked a Clement's stats and found the point when he peaked and said that was the date you made your prediction hoping that no one would call your bluff. The only thing worse than not supporting your arguement with facts/stats is lying to try and make a point. I really hope that you are not a lawyer. Secondly, don't play dumb and believe that wins are a good way to judge a pitchers affectiveness. We both know that wins are determined by the TEAMS play in which the starting pitcher is a part of. Finally, Clement hasn't fallen off. In fact he has been very consistant and IMPROVED in the month of June. His 2.22 ERA in April was going to go up some no matter what(almost no starter in todays game keeps an ERA in the low 2's for an entire season). He had a solid month of May with an ERA of 3.54, and improved that in June with an ERA of 3.14. So I ask, where is this fall off that you predicted? Answer...he hasn't occured. Nice try though keep wishing, because that is the only way that you speculation is going to occur. Defensive stats(with the exception of errors) are about as worthless as a record player. Zone and range stats are simple ignored by baseball expert/analysist/scouts, so please don't use them to prove a point because they hold no water. You think Rowand has more range, but I think that Patterson has more range. Here is an unbias piece from Patterson's ESPN profile: "He shows good range and a strong throwing arm in center field, and with more experience he might become one of the game's best defensive center fielders." Patterson is a very good defensive CF whether your blind ass wants to admit it or not. Have you not watched any of the games or baseball tonight over the past month? They guy has made at least one great catch a day it seems and is a regular on web gems. Saying that Patterson appears fast because he has short legs that he moves fast might be the stupidest thing I have ever heard in a good month. Not only is that not true, but that is like saying Edmonds doesn't have good range because he has to dive for balls that other CF don't have too. It simple holds no water(like everything else that you say). His OPS was well above .800 last year and is rising as we speak. I know that you a sweating underneath hoping that you don't get proven wrong yet again(it is becoming common for you...maybe you just aren't a good judge of talent). In the end, the facts are that the Sox offense is scoring at a similar rate with Maggs in the lineup and out of the lineup(the pitching is to blame for the struggles of late). If the Sox could win just half of the 5th starter(EXTREMELY likely if you replaced the 5th starter with Clement), than this team would be easily in 1st. It is as clear as night and day that this trade would improve the Sox now and in the future, but for some reason all you see is gray.

That is a terrible trade purposal. This is why Gammons is officially considered an idiot by the majority of people in the baseball world. As someone else pointed out, their home and away splits are almost identical, which suggests that Coors Field has absolutely nothing to do with their struggles. So why give up two of the Sox better prospects for 2 question marks? Like I have said many times, the Sox can't afford to settle for a veteran bottom of the rotation pitcher, they need a bonafide front of the rotation starter if they are serious about contending. As someone else mentioned, I would take a chance on that trade for Spidale and Pacheco(maybe a slightly better pitching prospect), but Jennings and Chacon have absolutely no trade value at this point, so giving up 2 top prospects for them is just plain stupid(like Gammons). With that said, Gammons throws around some pretty interesting names. Garcia - This sould be KW 1st choice. We can only hope that the M's go on a losing streak and decide to trade him. Zito - I doubt that the A's trade him, but it is worth asking. He would look pretty good in a Sox uniform. The problem is that the A's are in contention and want a proven bat and bullpen arm. PS...does anyone else think that Oakland is getting riped off in that deal? I mean Zito is a 26 year old front of the rotation starter, Rhodes is a decent reliever off to a bad start, Wood and Johnson are decent prospects, and they throw in some cash to top it off. Teixeira is a good looking young hitter, but is a career .255 hitter in 711 career AB's(.242 this year), and Cordero is very good, but is no spring chicken at 29. Urbina/Maroth - I like this combo much better than Rockies combo of Jennings/Chacon. Urbina is a proven reliver and Maroth is a pretty solid young pitcher who has put up respectable numbers. Catalanotto - I have always liked this guy. He won't put up eye-poping stats, but he is a pure .300 hitter, which would mix in nicely with the current sluggers. Nady - The Padres have always wanted to trade this guy, which is odd. He has boatloads of talent and would be worth taking a chance on. The problem is that the Padres want a starter and are in contention, so they want someone that is going to help them now

Brando, you entire Clement arguement is based on speculation and has no facts/stats to back it up. That makes for an extremely weak arguement on your behalf. Clement has been very consistant and very good over the past 2+ years(500.1 IP = very large sample size) with an ERA of 3.70. That translates to an ERA in the 3.90-4.00 range in the AL, which is the about the ERA of a "playoff calibur" #2 starter(as I showed in a previous post). More importantly, it is a DRASTIC improvement over the production that the Sox have gotten from the 5th starter. The Sox have shown that they can live without Maggs bat in the lineup, so the difference between Clement and the 5th starter makes this a trade that drasticly improves this team. He is not injury prone, so will you quit with that BS? There is absolutely nothing to support your injury prediction, which is why your arguement is very weak(as always). I am a Rowand fan, and believe that he deserves more PT, but the fact of the matter is that Rowand can't consistantly hit righties. His overall stats are good, because Ozzie has hidden this flaw. If Rowand played everyday, like Patterson, than his numbers would take a SEVERE hit. At this point I would say that they are even offensively, but Patterson has the long-term advantage since he is younger and a lefty. Defensively, Rowand certainly has a better arm, but Patterson has better range, so I would call it a draw. I think it is fair to say that they are even, but Patterson's long-term prospects are better. Keep hoping that Patterson doesn't prove you wrong. You said he wouldn't top the mid .700 OPS range when he was slumping. Now he has gotten to that range and you have raised it to not toping the .760 range. What happens when his OPS reaches the .800 range? He has proven you wrong so far, and a strong finish is likely. You are on thin ice in this arguement and have really put yourself on a limb by saying that he won't top the .760 range. Simple put, this trade would improve the Sox both in the short-term and long-term. To bad that it isn't a realistic trade and that the Cubs would be crazy to do such a deal.

Brando, how is that Clement and Patterson for Maggs and Wunsch trade looking now? This team has shown that they can survive without Maggs in the lineup(averaging 5.86 runs scored since he went on the DL), and Patterson is an improvement over the current trio holding down the spot. Did I not tell you that Patterson was due for a hot stretch and that he could have a big 2nd half? He has seen his numbers improve drasticly over the past couple of weeks(.246 BA .700 OPS to .267 BA .761 OPS). He has 23 extra base hits, 9/12 in SB, improved plate disipline, and has played some great D(multiple web gem catches over the past couple of weeks). Imagine if the Sox were throwing out Clement and his 3.07 ERA every 5th start. This team would have AT LEAST 5 more wins with Clement in the 5th hole instead of the current 5th starters. Clement has shown that he is MUCH MORE VALUABLE THAN Maggs, especially since the Sox offense hasn't suffered without Maggs and we know how drastic an improvement that Clement would be over the 5th starters. Factor in that Maggs is probably gone after this year, and that deal is pretty one-sided. Yansy 1) I was talking about the teams play as a whole(over the entire season). In other words, an inconsistant team that struggles to be above .500. Thats what most experts/analysist thought was likely this offseason and it appears to be a reality. Hence, the "real" Sox. 2) Manuel was a poor manager...no questions asked. To think otherwise is just plain stupid. A fair way to judge a manager is to accurately judge the talent of a roster and determine if they are underachieving(or overachieving). The true sign of a good manager is to get the most out of the talent on the roster. The past two years the Sox should have won the division(according to the stats), but other factors(ie poor managing) cost the Sox. The amount of mistakes that Manuel made over the course of a season was amazing. Factor in that he never motivated this team and this team appeared to be going throw the motions, but nothing more. Not only that, but the Sox always seemed to finish the year on a good note and pad the record after they were out of contention. Only an idiot would think that Manuel was anything but a good manager. Thank You

Having Maggs back will help the offense, but the offense hasn't been the problem of late. Unless Maggs has learned how to throw a 95 mph fastball, the Sox pitching will still be a problem. Actually the Sox still have a very tough schedule in which 56 of the 95 remaining games are against teams with a .500 or better record. Last years second half has nothing to do with this years second half. Just because the Sox played well last year in the 2nd half doesn't mean that a similar fate will occur this year. So you can't fall back thinking that the Sox will have another great 2nd half(it is possible, but not certain). Ozzie is a great "cheerleader" and clubhouse leader, but his in game managing has been questionable. You can credit it to him being a rookie for now, but that rookie card doesn't work in the 2nd half. He needs to learn from his mistakes by the 2nd half. Lets also not forget that Sox fans were praising Manuel in his 1st year(won manager of the year) only to find out that he was not a good manager. Give Ozzie some more time before you declare him as a good or bad manager. Thinking that Ozzie will lead this team to a great finish is baseless and optimistic(although I hope that it happens). Can you please show some examples of people saying that this season is over(from regular posters)? I know that I certainly wasn't saying that, and if you thought so, than you completely misunderstood me. I was pointing out some problems with the hope that they can be addressed to give this organization a better chance of winning the division. Until the Sox are mathamaticly eliminated I don't give up on the season, and even then I still hope for the best and a strong finish.

Here are your direct words: "Kenny will go out and get the necessary parts to make this team competitive." You need to be a little more accurate with your words. This sentence looks like you are saying that in order to make this team competitive, that Kenny would have to go and get the necessary parts. It appears that you were the one putting words in your mouth, but weren't accurate in your choice. The fact that you later backtracked to cover your ass further proves this point.

Its good to see that the Sox two talented lefties(Lumsden and Gonzalez) got off to impressive debuts. I have high hopes for these two guys, and with Honel and Wing injuried, these two youngsters could establish themselves as top pitching prospects in the organization with a good year.

It isn't that I believe that the play of late is what I expected, but on the whole that this team is starting to perform like I thought it would, ie an inconsistant team that struggles to stay above .500. They overachieved to some degree in the 1st two months and they have come back to Earth the past two weeks, and that is what I meant when I said they are starting to look like the "real" Sox that many expected this offseason. As someone else pointed out, this is the same team that won 86 games last year with a worse starting rotation. Furthermore, it appears that you are agreeing with me without even knowing it. By saying that KW needs to make some moves to make this team competitive you are pretty much agreeing with me . It will take quite a bit to land Garcia, Finley, and another quality reliever. It will probably take more than it took to land Everett and Alomar last season, since quality starting pitching is always a premium and half the teams in contention will be after Garcia. Finley is comparable to Everett from an asking price standpoint, so the Sox will probably have to give up quite a bit to get those 3.

Like I said in the beginning, no offense, but most people understand that what I was saying was a figure of speech and you didn't uinderstand that. Furthermore, Sosa and Prior have had almost nothing to do with the way that the Cubs have played of late, and please don't tell me about their "presence" because that is complete BS. The Cubs have won 8 out of their last 9, and Prior has pitched in two of those games. He was very good in 1st(5 IP 0 ER) and below average in the other(5 IP 3 ER). It is also worth noting that Prior pitched the game below this winning stretch and got hammered(the Cubs lost). Sosa has played in 2 games during this winning stretch. He had a very good game in the 1st and a poor game in the 2nd, so believing that Prior and Sosa are the main reason for the Cubs winning of late is simple untrue. Prior has pitched only 1 good game during the stretch and Sosa has played in only 2 games during the stretch. It has been the hot play of some(Maddux, Rusch, Patterson, DLeee) and consistancy(Zambrano, Clement, Alou, Ramirez, Barrett) of others that have fueled the Cubs winning streak, and not Sosa and Prior. Please get the facts straight. Sox fans can hope that Maggs will have a positive influence on the team, but this teams problems are in the pitching staff something that Maggs can't help out all that much.

Come on, I love Hawk, but he is as optimistic as can be. The fact of the matter is that the Sox have never been a consistant team, and for that matter, very few teams are consistant or "hit their stride". That is simple an optimistic saying to help downplay the struggles of the Sox over the past couple of weeks. The Sox offense has been inconsistant over the past couple of years, with almost the same players, so why should we believe that they will all of a sudden see the light and become consistant? They are in the top 5 in almost every major offensive catagory, so improvement is not likely since there is nowhere to go but down. With the exception of Marte and Takatsu, the bullpen is one of the worst in the majors. It is that simple. There are only 2 guys that can be trusted in close games. The 5th starter has been a big problem, but even the top 4 have been hit hard the past 2 weeks(an ERA well over 6.00). Most "realistic" fans/analysist thought that the top 4 were overachieving(before the past 2 weeks). Buehrle has seen his numbers get worse the last 2 years, and has shown no signs of breaking that trend. Loaiza had a fluke year and was going to come back to reality this year, maybe not back to his high 4.00 ERA days, but nowhere close to last years production. Garland is potential on paper and nothing more. Sox fans have been waiting for him to show that potential for an entire season and he has yet to do so and the clock on him is running short. Schoeneweis came into this season with a career ERA as a starter around 5.25. The fact of the matter is that the Sox rotation(the top 4) is filled with middle and bottom of the rotation starters, and when you add in the 5th starter, you have a very suspect starting rotation from top to bottom with no true front of the rotation starter. They say pitching wins championships, and the Sox simple don't have the pitching. This is why the Sox need a bonafide top of the rotation starter like Garcia, and not some scrub bottom of the rotation starter like Benson. They could also use another quality right handed reliever. I was talking with some friends of mine that are Brewer fans, and they said that Kolb could be avaliable if the Brewers fall out of contention. I would also feel more confident if the Sox aquired Finley to play center and add another lefty bat to the middle of the lineup. Add these 3 players(Garcia, Kolb, and Finley) and the Sox have a legit shot of contending, but the cost in prospects to get all 3 of the above players would be huge. It would deal a big hit to the Sox minor league system and possible hurt the future of this organization, especially if the above players leave after this season. That is why I say that the Sox are at a crossroads. Do they take a chance and empty the farm system, or do they weakly attempt to contend with the current roster and work on building towards the future?

danman, no offense, but please think before you post. I didn't mean literally the "real" Sox, it is a figure of speach, and by that I mean as a whole the team is currently playing at the level that many "realistic" fan/analysis thought they would(ie .500 baseball). With that said, injuries are a part of the game. Sure the lose of Maggs has hurt some, but almost every team in the majors has at least lost one KEY contributor for an extended period of time. Furthermore, the production that the Sox have gotten in RF(without Maggs) is similar to that of Maggs. Maggs(in RF) .313/8/34 .896 OPS All other RF .290/3/17 .806 OPS So the lose of Maggs shouldn't be used as an excuse for the Sox play of late. If you have the ability to look at this team realisticly, than you are certainly worried about the way that this team has played of late. KW we need you to make a couple of good trades if the Sox are serious about contending.

This team has overachieved before the past 2 weeks, and it appears like we are seeing the real White Sox over the past 2 weeks, which is not a good sign. The starting pitching has been down right terrible with an ERA just under 8.00 in the last 2 weeks. The bullpen, with the exception of Takatsu, has been terrible with a 6.92 ERA(without Takatsu) over the past 2 weeks. The offense has been inconsistant, scoring 10+ runs 6 times in the last 2 weeks, and scoring 3 or fewer runs 4 times(possible 5 if this score continues) the last 2 weeks. Ozzie has made multiple mistakes, and at this point of the season he should be making this many mistakes. This team is at a crossroads. They are at least 2-3 good players away from being a legit contend, and they would have to morgage a lot of the minor league system to aquire those players(for the 2nd year in a row). Or they can continue with what they have and hope that some youngsters will develop(for once) and try and build for the future.

For starters, as many have already pointed out, this trade was an addition through subtraction. We know that this guy Wilson Valdez isn't going to be a HOF player, and he probably won't be a good starter in the majors, but he might be a good utility infielder. He is a little old, but his stats over the last year and half are similiar to another older former Sox "prospect" named Aaron Miles. Miles has a little more pop than Valdez, but Valdez has much better speed(and defense). If Valdez can find a way to hit .270-.280, than he can certainly be a solid utility infielder(with his speed and defense). Lets not also forget that KW has a nack to find "sleepers", especially in the minors, and this guy has been a different player over the past year plus. The point is that he might be a little more than a bag of balls, which is more than what most Sox fans thought they would get.

Kid, you are just not getting it. You only need one start to get an accurate judge of a pitchers stuff(whether he throws a perfect game or gets hammered). There are guys that get hammered, but you can see that they have the stuff to be good pitchers, and Munoz just isn't one of those guys. He has below average stuff. It is that simple. He isn't as bad as this start would indicate, but he just doesn't have the stuff to be a good starter in the majors. Please nod your head and say that you understand this simple concept.

His curve isn't as good as advertised. The one thing I noticed right away is that he slows his motion to throw his curve, which tips the hitters, and is the main reason why the Expos have been crushing it. He also has no contol of it either. If you like his curve, than you are basing your opinion solely on the hype before the game, because his curve has been awful and has been crushed today. Just because the ball is up doesn't mean that a hitter shouldn't swing at it. Often times a pitch up in the zone(out of the strikezone) is the best pitch to hit, especially if it is a hanging breaking ball or below average fastball, which Munoz is throwing. The fact is that it was a bad pitch in which Munoz missed his location and Rivera crushed it. He also doesn't pitch inside, and when you have below average stuff, than you can't be affective if you don't pitch inside. The balls on the ground have been crushed. The infielders have no time to move in either direction and thats why Uribe hasn't gotten to any of them. They have been line shots. The simple fact is that you are viewing this game with your rosy colored glasses if you have anything positive to say about Munoz's outing.

I am usually not one to judge a prospect on one start, but you can get a good judge of a pitchers stuff, and Munoz simple doesn't have major league stuff. It is that simple. Sure he isn't quite as bad as this outing would indicate, but he has below average stuff. It is that simple. He has a below average fastball with no movement, he slows his motion when he throws his curve which tips hitters off(he has so-so control of it as well), he doesn't have a plus breaking ball(the Expos are all over his curve), and he has so-so control in general. It doesn't take a pro scout to realize that this guy just doesn't have the goods. Maybe he can be a decent lefty reliever, but he just doesn't have the stuff to be a starter and if you can't see that, than you need to watch a little more baseball.

This is embarrassing. Munoz is just another pathetic overhyped pitcher who just doesn't have major league stuff. This guy is a career minor leaguer in the making. He has no positive stuff. Pathetic. 10 runs in 2 innings to the worst offense in the majors. I SERIOUSLY think I could actually do better than that.

going to have above average stuff? I am getting sick and tired of pitching prospects with below average stuff. Guys who can't throw over 90, don't have good control, don't have a plus breaking ball, ect. You can add Munoz's name to the list of overrated pitching prospects(Rauch, Diaz, Wright, ect) who are decent enough to take advantage of inconsistant minor leaguers, but don't have the stuff to be a good major league starter. Munoz has a straight fastball in the 86-88 range, a decent curve although he slows his motion to throw it which tips off the hitters, and so-so control. That is not the recipe to be sucessful. I get sick of watching dominating pitching prospects like Prior, Wood, Zambrano, Beckett, Burnett, Penny, Willis, Sheets, Sabathia, Hudson, Zito, Mulder, ect come into the majors and dominate. For once I just wish the Sox could have a dominating pitching prospect with great stuff.

I hope that this wasn't directed towards me, because at no point did I say anything about giving up on the season, so please don't put words in my mouth in a pathetic attempt to prove a point rookie. Unlike a lot of Sox fans, I view the Sox realisticly and have the ability to look past the rosy colored glasses that you and other Sox fans veiw the Sox with. I understand that this team is far from perfect and that certain areas need to be improved if the Sox are going to win the division, and more importantly make a run in the playoffs. I just gave the facts on this issue. The facts are that Buehrle's has a negative trend over the last couple of years and if that trend continues, with his pretty drastic salary increases over the next couple of years, could become a burden for this team. Unless JR decides to continue to raise the payroll, the Sox can't afford to spend 9M(his salary in a couple of years) on Buehre's current production. Of course the Sox aren't going to trade him this year, but if the Sox can get a couple of good major league ready prospects for him and use the money they save to go after a FA pitcher like Pavano(for example), than I think the Sox would be in a better situation. Just something to think about. On the other note, the Sox starting pitching the past week and a half has been undeniable terrible and this has to raise a red flag to Sox fans who have the capability of veiwing this team realisticly. Most people would say that the Sox starters have overachieved(before the Philly series) and that this is a sign that they are coming back to reality. Add in the 5th starter problems, and the Sox really need to address this area if they want to improve their chances of winning the division and making a run in the playoffs(since starting pitching is the key). So as you can see this isn't me giving up on the Sox, this is me being realistic and pointing out the weaknesses that some overly optimistic Sox fans(like yourself) choose to ignore, in an attempt to improve the team and their chances of making the playoffs. Thats a free lesson for you rookie. Have a nice day.