ILMOU

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 2, 2009 -> 10:23 AM) Prior to the installation of the scout seats I've been 4th row behind home plate. The father of a good friend of mine was the CFO of the City of Chicago for 25+ years, working under both mayor Daley's. In 2000, we sat in the extra field-level seats by the dugout installed just for the playoffs, and watched Edgar and the Mariners beat us to a pulp.

QUOTE (flavum @ Jul 1, 2009 -> 08:49 PM) Flowers has Your Love by The Outfield. It's taken. No kidding? Maybe all our top prospects should be using it.

QUOTE (flavum @ Jul 1, 2009 -> 08:36 PM) Barons tied it up in the 9th. Flowers is up...he needs a new walk up song.... Nothing But Flowers by the Talking Heads?

Let Beckham hit in the 2hole while Lexi is out. Pods Slayer JD Thome Konerko AJP Nix Getz or Fields BA Still pretty good, potentially.

QUOTE (beckham15 @ Jul 1, 2009 -> 06:49 PM) alexei with a bloop single Lexi's starting to stack up the multi-hit games. Yes, there will be NO sophomore slump after all.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jul 1, 2009 -> 06:28 PM) Would anyone dare go after Edwin Jackson as a FA??? Or is he going to have a difficult time sustaining this year's success...not unlike signing Beltre after his huge season in LA. Yes, he's always had the arm, and he's perfect for Coop to tinker with and get even better. See, I told you Castro should be batting 6th!

QUOTE (beckham15 @ Jul 1, 2009 -> 06:04 PM) or even better have him hit ninth....that AB didnt look very good Castro has blown so far, yes, but I want BA to get used to the 9hole and a just-get-on-base-and-turn-the-lineup-over mentality. He'll never be a run producer, so don't put him where he needs to be that, as Ozzie has, batting him 7th so frequently, with Beckham below. As long as BA's in the lineup, he should bat ninth. He does the most good/least damage there.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 1, 2009 -> 06:00 PM) That won't do. No it won't. Beckham really should be batting 6th in this lineup. Castro 8th.

QUOTE (chisoxfan09 @ Jul 1, 2009 -> 12:39 PM) Tony, I think the MLB policy will random test all players at some point in their careers so maybe we will know at some point. They don't test for HGH yet, and there are other substances as well. I truly hope he's clean, but he came into the game at a time when the PED's were so rampant, so he had to be exposed to it constantly. Wouldn't be surprised if Edmonds and other former teammates show upon that 2004 list. Of course, this is all speculation, not accusation. Sadly, its a fine line in the present environment. Albert is probably the most consistent hitter I've ever seen. He has the shortest "slumps", if you can even ever call them that.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jul 1, 2009 -> 01:37 PM) Did Hawk move into the front office again? Hilarious. Hawk was like the mediocre holdem' player at a table with Helmuth, Chan, Negreanu etc. He had the gambler mentality, but his reasoning was not good.

QUOTE (chisoxfan09 @ Jul 1, 2009 -> 03:16 PM) Stan, are you workin today? Not working too much today, but I mostly wrote that baby last night. Then edited it this morning after sobering up. The original version had us moving moving Rios and cash on to the Cardinals for Ankiel - then turning Ankiel back into a pitcher when Q returned to the lineup.

QUOTE (kane0730 @ Jul 1, 2009 -> 03:08 PM) The Line up: Podsednik lf Ramirez ss Dye rf Thome dh Konerko 1b Castro c Nix 2b Beckham 3b Anderson cf Ozzie finally puts BA in the right place, in the 9 hole, but Castro is batting way too high. Please flip him with Beckham next time Josie pitches, and I'll like it a lot better. Some improvement is better than none, I guess. Glass half full. For the remainder of this season, assuming Pods stays healthy and Lexi continues his resurgence, I want Slayer in the 6 hole, and no lower than 7th after Q returns. Ozzie seems to want to completely group together and separate the "plodders" from the "rabbits", presumably, so he can live out his small ball fantasies more consistently in each game. The only problem I have with it, is that Slayer has run-producing capability, and we'll need it more than his bunting capabaility, especially while Q is out.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Jul 1, 2009 -> 03:06 PM) Unfortunately, the Twins are also winning. True, but we'll be moving past them soon enough. Time to make hay in these games vs. the lowly Tribe and Royals, then head into MN riding high.

Giambi with 2 run jack. A's leading Tigers 4-1 in bottom of 6th. We get within three games tonight. Get it done, Titan.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 1, 2009 -> 01:28 PM) You just wrote a 13 player, 2 team deal. Wow. Yes. I need a life.

The team is improving and the future is bright, but I want to win now. Just after the ASB, in about three to four weeks, the picture should become a bit clearer for teams like the Sox and the Jays. I'm thinking we're buyers, they're sellers. They probably regret the Rios deal hugely and would love to get rid of it. We might also have a clearer picture of whether Q will be able to contribute this year, or should be shut down. Let's say the news is bad, and he'll need at least another 6-8 weeks of rehab or will be shut down completely. Let's say Fields looks pretty decent between now and then. We can still win it all, this year and next. And we'd still be well set up for the longer term. So, maybe I was sniffing too much glue last night, but I came up with the following. The mother of all Sox trades. The Anti-White Flag Trade: Sox get: Halladay Rolen Rios $15-20M cash Jays get: Fields Poreda Jordan Danks Dexter Carter Carlos Torres Cook OR Gartrell Ely Upchurch Morel Nathan Jones OR Santos Rodriguez Or a similar package. Even with the cash payment to the Sox, the Jays get over $80M in payroll off their books, get rid of the Rios deal, and get a bevy of prospects. Fields gets a change of scenery and a chance to play every day. Poreda will get a better look immediately. They'll market it as their "Herschel Walker" trade. The cash pays for the salaries of all three Jays for the remainder of this year, essentially, so current payroll is unchanged. The three have a total salary of $36.5M for 2010. This is countered by the 39.5M coming off the Sox books at season's end (Count, JD, Thome, Dotel) including the $1M buyout on JD. Only Rios remains after 2010. More on that later. Yes, it's a king's ransom for 1 and a half years of Roy and Scott, but the vast improvement in our farm system/drafting makes something like this possible. We still have Hudson, Shirek, Omogrosso as starter prospects for 2011, or a touch sooner. Egbert replaces Torres as the emergency AAA callup starter. The Sox win the World Series this season and next. Our matchup with the current best team in baseball, the Boston Red Sox: Rotation: Halladay v. Beckett Buehrle v. Lester Floyd v. Wakefield Danks v. Smoltz Contreras v. Penny or Dice K (if he gets healthy) Bullpen: Jenks v. Papelbon Thornton v. Okajima Linebrink v. Bard Dotel v. Saito Carrasco v. Delcarmen Richard v. Masterson By position (or function in the case of outfielders): Konerko v. Youkilis Beckham (at 2B) v. Pedroia Lexi v. Lugo (or Lowrie, though he may be out for this season) Rolen v. Lowell AJP v. Varitek JD v. Bay Pods v. Ellsbury Rios v. Drew Thome v. Ortiz Our lineup: Pods Lexi JD Thome Paulie Rolen AJP Beckham Rios Theirs: Ellsbury Pedroia Bay Ortiz Youk Drew Lowell Varitek SS I like theirs better at the top, ours better at the bottom, very close in the middle. I especially like our 4 man playoff rotation matchups, feeling that we have a definite advantage with our game 3 and game 4 starters. I give a VERY slight nod to their bullpen, though they blew a 10-1 lead in two innings last night. They have better outfield defense, but ours will be improved with Rios replacing Q. Our infield D will solidify greatly with the steady veteran hand of Rolen at 3B alongside Lexi on the left side, and Beckham moves to his best defensive position. Their bench is more experienced with Kotsay and Baldelli, but I like BA, Nix and Getz on our side. If Q does recover, our outfield is crowded, but our options are many. For instance, if Pods gets hurt or otherwise tanks, Rios could leadoff. IMO, the starting pitching makes us the better team, and the better team in the playoffs. Our rotation is also much younger, with much better injury histories, which is key. In 2010, we have mostly the same team, with Q replacing JD in the OF. Richard replaces Contreras in the rotation, and possibly gets supplanted by Hudson mid-season. Pods will be signed to a one year deal with options for a 2nd, pending performance met, and NO NTC, because he could yet become a valuable trading chip if Mitchell is ready by this time next year. I anticipate some lineup movement as well: LF Pods (possibly Mitchell eventually, but probably have Rios lead off during transition) 2B Beckham RF Q DH Unknown left hander with power, possibly Thome cheap. Preferably Dunn in trade*! 1B Paulie 3B Rolen SS Lexi C AJP CF Rios With 2010 pay increases to Danks, Jenks and a few others inevitable, plus a few contract escalations, payroll should sit between $105-110M, before the DH is added. * I want the ’10 DH to be Adam Dunn, getting him to agree to a $12M options for 2011-2012 (he gets $10M in 2010, before becoming a free agent) so we have him for two+ years. Brandon Allen will be a key piece of that trade. I can’t see the Nats NOT trading him, considering that they have to take a longer view in their situation, and only have him controlled through next season. In 2011, Mitchell, Dayan and Flowers and/or Phegley join the roster, replacing Pods, Rolen and AJP, and Halladay and PK come off the books, so KW gets huge payroll flexibility once again. Dunn moves to 1B, or stays at DH if 1B is all Dayan can play, in which case we acquire a 3B, or see what the farm has to offer. Roy becomes a FA, but may give us a hometown discount after back-to-back championships. Or we decide to sign a younger ace. Or we decide that Danks, Floyd, MB, Richard, Hudson/Shirek is plenty good, and spend the money elsewhere. Rios $5.9M this year together with $9.7M in ’10 isn’t too bad. The big caveat is the $50M that will still be owed to him from 2011-2014 (including the $1M buyout for 2015). Still, not TOO much of an albatross – a better player than Fukudome, for about the same price. With approximate payrolls of $100M in ’09, 115-120M in ’10, and somewhere around $110M in 2011, we could have a dynasty. I’m somewhat confident that the vast improvement in our drafting and player development will be able to prep new prospects for 2012 and beyond, after the virtual raping that I’ve proposed here. Back to the model glue. Flame away.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Jun 30, 2009 -> 07:25 PM) Beckham is literally unstoppable right now. He's a difference maker. We're on our way. Bacon is sizzling! Bacon is bringin' it home!

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Jun 30, 2009 -> 03:32 PM) Why the f*** would Nix LEAD OFF? Agreed. Flip Nix and Beckham, flip BA and Fields, then I like the lineup a lot more.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jun 29, 2009 -> 10:46 PM) His Contract is a deal breaker. Ethier fits the bill but again the only way the Dodgers give him up is if they can get Cliff LEe or that sort of pitcher. Only way we get in is if the 3rd team prefers prospects and the Dodgers don't have the right combination of prospects to get the deal done and the Sox do. Thome's contract was a deal breaker for the Phillies, coming off his horrible injury season of '05, but the Phils ate half of the deal, so it got done. It can happen.

QUOTE (BearSox @ Jun 30, 2009 -> 02:05 PM) A core rotation of Halladay, Buehrle, Floyd, and Danks would be awesome. Make it so, Kenny!

One more thing: really, really hope Nix hits well enough to stick as the utility guy. He's likely our best defender at three positions.

A good debate, yes. For me, the jury is still out. I THINK I know what we have in Fields. Not passing judgement completely yet on Getz. Agree with Balta that his ceiling is a lefty Theriot, which would be just dandy if the OBP is good. This would be a lot better than an Aaron Miles obviously, but he could go either way.

QUOTE (BearSox @ Jun 30, 2009 -> 12:53 PM) Odds are they get rid of Rolen, Rios, Wells, etc. even if they don't get great offers, before they get rid of Halladay. Would be intriguing, if it looked like Q could not return to form in '09, come July 30th.

QUOTE (chisoxfan09 @ Jun 30, 2009 -> 11:56 AM) Stan would you part with both Poreda/Richard to even begin the trade talks as part of a package? I think it will take at least 5 quality propsects for the Jays to even think about it. But don't think their needs are the same as SD's. They have some young pitchers and maybe some bats are what they are looking for. As much as it would pain me, I'd part with the following to land Big Roy: Poreda and Richard Hudson OR D. Carter Brandon Allen Link or a similar level relief pitching prospect (Nathan Jones, Santos Rodriguez?) Maybe you're right about them wanting position players more, but you can't have too much pitching, and it's always very tradeable. We'd still have Flowers/Dayan/Jordanks etc. so we're not too depleted on the farm. I really like Hudson, and I have to believe his prospect status is climbing rapidly. Would this be enough?

QUOTE (beck72 @ Jun 30, 2009 -> 11:31 AM) As much as Toronto say they want to keep Roy, I don't see how they do it financially. If the Sox have the same deal on the table for Halladay, that they did for Peavy, IMO, Toronto bites on it. God, I hope you're right. If this came to pass, I'd plan on some vacation time in LATE October.