Marky Mark

Sexy Alexei did play 11 games in center field last year. 1 Error. I remember no details of how he looked out there. This is meaningless because it was only 11 games but, when playing CF he raked in .179/.207/.250/.457

By tomorrow this will be heating up all over again. It's been off and on the whole offseason.

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Dec 11, 2008 -> 05:36 PM) Remember I think, it was the game before the Crede walk-off single off of Joba, when Abreu absolutely crushed that Grand Slam, and our spirits? What does that have to do with this subject? Nothing, just nostalgia http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CH...200804220.shtml Yes I remember feeling down about that.

QUOTE (CanOfCorn @ Dec 11, 2008 -> 02:19 PM) False...you never kick a man in the jubblies. The person below me had a mullet/fade in the 80's. False, I wanted to but my mom wouldn't let me. I thank her for that now. The person below has no idea what to get his wife for Christmas.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Dec 11, 2008 -> 03:12 PM) He may be better in the field, but is not a better hitter at all. He bring a little more power, thats about it. Abreu gets on base more, hits for a higher avg, and hits better with RISP and in the clutch. The reason to want Abreu over Dye is only in the case that Dye brings us pitching and we need to sign a corner OF'er. In that case Abreu+pitching is much more valuable than Dye, probably twice as valuable. Don't forget, Abreu also still has some speed in him too. Plus homers always come easier on the Southside.

What's the difference between "non-tendering" a player and "releasing" a player

First off, why aren't we considering keeping dye and signing abreu? LF-TCQ CF-JD RF-Bobby A Just kidding. Ok, 2 questions for those who actually can answer based on knowledge: 1)How is Abreu's arm? Compared to JD? 2) The Yankees did not offer arbitration to Abreu, correct?

QUOTE (Kenny Hates Prospects @ Dec 11, 2008 -> 12:50 PM) I believe the rules are that, for the Double A portion, you have guys who have been in a system for 3-4 years and have never risen above A+ ball. That gives them a chance to move up. With Triple A portion I think it's the same thing except for guys who haven't risen above Double A. And I think in either case I think they have to stick on the roster for a full year or else move up. But I'm not sure of that. Edit: Either way it doesn't seem like the minor league phase is all that important because don't these guys become minor league free agents after 5 seasons anyway? Players signing out of college have 5 seasons, guys out of high school have 7 seasons before free agency. So, a AAA team cannot select someone in the rule 5 draft who played in AAA? They have to be at least AA? If that's so, then the only point in a major league team selecting someone would be if that player was in AAA, otherwise, if he never made it above AA they can obtain him via minor league draft. Right?

Defensively though, I think people will see that his arm is not as impressive as they thought when he's making the throw from SS. Tad Iguchi/Cintron/Big Mack made Alexie look like he had a canon from 2nd (he does have a good arm, but not absolutely top notch caliber). I think at SS he'll have a better arm than Cabrera, but a worse arm than Uribe.

What are the rules for the minors part of the draft? Same age/time rules I assume, but what about the roster part. If a minor league team takes a player from another team, say if the Barons took a guy, are they required to keep the guy on the baron's roster the whole season or eles return him?

Does anybody else hate Boers and Bernstein? I feel like they never know what they're talking about, nor does it seem like they even watch the games.

Broadway has still not even been remotely close to as bad as McCullouch. It's not like the Sox have given him much of a chance anyway. Who knows how much Wilder had to do with this. Bureau said he had a lot of American guys involved in the corrupt signings as well.

QUOTE (kjshoe04 @ Dec 10, 2008 -> 01:37 PM) False The person below me enjoys reading. Unless it is baseball related, that is very false. I have had gator, it was tasty. The person below me has made over a 1000 dollars in the stock market at some point.

True, but they generally weren't hitting back to back right? HR leads off, while MC bats third, right?

Over the years I've always enjoyed admiring how many walks a player could draw in a season. Probably with the blessing of Frank Thomas in my White Sox lifetime I've been able to enjoy this more than others who didn't grow up watching a player get walked so much. I feel like the majority of the time walks are attributed to the "good eye" of the batter. However, I think almost as often walks should be attributed to the player's reputation of power just as much if not more than their "good eye". For example, in '07, Hanley Ramirez showed that he can hit for not just some power, but good power by slamming 29 HRs over the course of the season. As this reputation for power became well known by everyone by '08, Hanley started to gain walks. He went from 52 walks in '07 to 92 walks in '08. Did he simply get that much better as judging when to swing? Or could that have been because his reputation changed from a speedy leadoff hitter to the best power hitter on the team, making pitchers want to work around the strike zone more in avoidance of the long ball? In '08 Sox fans watched Alexei Ramirez show an ability to hit the long ball, yet show no sign of an ability to walk. I think next season we will see his walk total at least double and go over 40. Yes, he is a free swinger, but I feel like pitchers are more aware of his reputation now, the fact that he can hit the home runs. So, what I wanted to ask others is, do you feel like a player's ability to walk is based more on their "eye" or their reputation for big power and Xtra base hits? Naturally other factors do weigh in, particularly who is batting behind the player in the batting order. Just curious what others thought.

QUOTE (ChiSox_Sonix @ Dec 10, 2008 -> 10:16 AM) I'd trade pretty much anyone in baseball for Hanley Ramirez straight up If you had Jay Bruce, would you trade him for Hanley?

For me, this would be an obvious yes. Take the player in the premium position, who does not have an injury history, who has both power and speed and the age advantage. Of course, there is no reason or chance that this trade will and would take place, I was just curious to see how attached some Soxtalkers are to CQ.

QUOTE (joesaiditstrue @ Dec 9, 2008 -> 04:16 PM) Jermaine would have to accept that trade, as the RSox are on his list of untradables Oh yeah. I forgot about that one. I still predict it!

I predict Jermaine Dye and John Shelby for Clay Bucholtz.

OAK is supposedly interested. Not a team we want to sign him. http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8916168

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Dec 9, 2008 -> 11:11 AM) He's also the handsomest man in all the world. X 100 !

QUOTE (LosMediasBlancas @ Dec 8, 2008 -> 10:15 PM) TRUE. The person below me dreams in color. True. The person below me has had a naked picture taken of them at some point as an adult.

do we have any secondary confirmation that he DID decline.

I didn't read back to see if someone set it already but Red's GM claims he hasn't talked to the Sox since before Thanksgiving and this deal is not true. Big J says no.

False, but I did watch all the episodes of VH1's "The Pickup Artist 2" The person below me works or worked at one time in law enforcement