ILMOU

I think we're still going to see Dayan in Chicago sometime this season - either due to injury or otherwise. Liked what I saw from him and Allen a lot.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Mar 19, 2009 -> 01:49 PM) It's funny because it's true.

QUOTE (Flash Tizzle @ Mar 19, 2009 -> 01:34 PM) What a courageous sequence for Owens: Walk, SB, R. Yeah, this sucks. Looking at the lineup, it would appear that they're still trying to force-feed us Owens and AJP as the 1-2 hitters. This is killing me, because even after they suck in those positions starting on 4/6 and are subsequently moved down (AJP to 7th or 8th, Owens to Antarctica), the damage to our season will already be done.

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Mar 17, 2009 -> 12:14 PM) I'm glad we're going to hit Chris Getz at the bottom of the order to keep the pressure off him, it's a shame that you can't hit rookies/young players at the top of the lineup, just don't tell this to Ron Gardenhire. ^^^^^^^^ Nice sarcasm, and total agreement. This "too much pressure" batting leadoff crap is just that.

I never liked the Vazquez trade from the get-go. This, and the trade to acquire Swisher, as well as Aaron Cunningham for Richar are the only significant trade mistakes KW has made, IMO. It wasn't so much that I was certain Young would become a star - he hasn't yet, and might never. It was because Javy was 11-14 with a 4.42 ERA in '05 pitching in lightest-hitting, biggest average ballpark division in baseball. There was likely someone better we could have received for Young, El Duque and Vizcaino. We lucked out on the Swisher trade in that DLS may never be the same after his injury - otherwise that one would truly blow. Nice recovery with Marquez, it would appear, however. We'll see if Cunningham becomes a player - I think he'll at least be a contributor. Overall, KW's record is outstanding on trades. And, yes, let's get Jimmy Edmonds in here if nothing changes in the next 10 days-2 weeks. Ozzie's going to have to get over not wanting Getz to be a leadoff man to start his MLB career, because right now he's our best (only) option. This "too much pressure" stuff seems overrated to me. Here's a St. Patty's Day toast to DWise stinking it up the rest of the month.

Thing is, unless the Union capitulates to the players giving up blood samples several times a year, and those samples are frozen and retested as technology advances, there will always be doubts about Pujols and everybody else. This is unfortunate for those who stayed clean. They can regain the trust of the avid fan if they do this, but the casual fan (most of them) won't care that much anyway, as evidenced by growing attendance through this era. Until they do, the record book and HOF are a hollow mockery of what they used to stand for.

Soccer hasn't ruined anything. It's irrelevant in this country, and likely always will be. Whatever growth in popularity it has had with younger kids is due to parents not wanting to see their kids breaking their necks playing football.

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Mar 16, 2009 -> 08:47 AM) You're avatar makes me cringe every single time I see it. I don't know why. I hate that guy. What guy? What am I missing?

QUOTE (AWhiteSoxinNJ @ Mar 14, 2009 -> 07:51 AM) I thought we wanted to get younger? Yes. But fielding the 9 best position players is the imperative. April 6 is not the time to see what the youngsters can do. NOW is. If Wise continues his spring, he'll be the favorite - this scares me greatly.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Mar 13, 2009 -> 09:57 AM) Because, quite simply, look at the trend lines. In 2005 at AAA, Wise put up a .639 OPS. In 2006 at AAA, after some time at AA tearing it up, he put up a .796 OPS. In 2007 he put up a .757, in somewhat limited playing time (was he hurt?). In 2007 at AAA he put up a .967 OPS at AAA and a .757 OPS in the big leagues. His numbers are at least going the right way. Owens's #'s are going the wrong way. I will choose not to comment on Cook because I'm going to wind up agreeing with you. To me, the obvious explanation is that Owens is a player whose OBP will depend HUGELY on his ability to run, as all he can do is slap the ball. More so than a player like Wise, who has some pop. Owens is 28, or soon will be, and he looks like he's lost some speed already. I don't really like DWise at all, but if CF becomes a platoon, I want to see him there over Owens.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Mar 13, 2009 -> 06:57 AM) Anything below that mark and you make your line-up much more dangerous moving Ramirez to CF, inserting Beckham at the leadoff spot and starting SS and Getz/Nix as the LH/RH platoon at 2B. If Getz is good enough, there's no need for a platoon - his splits have been nearly identical.

QUOTE (forrestg @ Mar 13, 2009 -> 09:41 AM) Beckham is as good as advertised Yes he is. If Beckham is our best 2B, he should be starting from Day 1. Of course, every game counts the same, but IMO, the start of the season is perhaps the most important. Unless a team just KNOWS they're good, by their collective pedigree, overcoming a bad start is very difficult. A team with several new and unproven pieces, like ours, needs to gain their confidence from winning early. Beckham will be Pedroia with a little less speed and a little more power. I'll take that.

QUOTE (DBAHO @ Mar 11, 2009 -> 09:24 AM) I went with everyone else. If BA can hit for as well as he did in the 2nd half of last season, he should start. The Sox need to hope that Jordan Danks turns into the long - term leadoff solution at CF though. I also would like to see Shelby get the majority of his time at CF going forward, if they think he's got the skills, as an insurance policy for JorDanks. LF and RF MAY be occupied for a long time, depending on where Dayan winds up, and I think Shelby has some nice potential.

QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ Mar 11, 2009 -> 12:03 AM) In a dream scenario... 2B Getz SS Beckham LF Quentin DH Thome RF Dye 1B Konerko CF Ramirez C Pierzynski 3B Fields/Viciedo Love that lineup as well, SF1. I might flip Getz and Becks in that order, but otherwise perfect. Becks may well be a doubles machine, and I'd rather see Getz give up the AB's to move him over to third in late/close game situations. One caveat is that I need to see Lexi more in CF, to really endorse a move there.

QUOTE (joesaiditstrue @ Mar 10, 2009 -> 09:22 PM) It'll either be Owens or Getz, and I'm hoping to god it isn't Owens I'll settle for Getz, but I'm holding out hope for Slayer - and the grooming of Getz to be the utility guy down the road - OR a move of Lexi to CF, and they all start. I understand Getz has played some SS - does he have the arm to also play 3rd?

The first paragraph of the article say it all - kudos to KW. The "doubters" whoever they are, must like being proven wrong. The Floyd trade may eventually rival the Twins trade of AJP for all-time steals. Freddy won ONE game as a Phillie - Gavin may win 100+ as a Sox.

QUOTE (DukeNukeEm @ Mar 12, 2009 -> 01:00 PM) Hanley Ramirez would be a godsend. I'm seeing a lot of Hanley and Grady - both excellent choices. A stud righty starter would also be sweet. Living here in Colorado, I'm turning queer for my man Ubaldo Jimenez. Anyone see his 10 strikeouts in 4 innings vs. Ned the other day? (I know it's the Netherlands, but still). Guy's going to be as good, or better, than Lincecum - you heard it here first. His body foretells a longer career than Lincecum as well.

QUOTE (bmags @ Mar 10, 2009 -> 01:30 PM) I really don't buy that. Frankly, each off season we give our ideal lineups and say, 'oh but ozzie is too stupid to do that because he has a man crush on x, etc.' 'If owens hadn't gotten hurt Quentin would've never played' etc etc. But last year we were all saying how the best place for swish to hit was at the top because of his high OBP, but we all said that ozzie's obsession with speed would never let that happen. He let it happen, and it failed, and he made due with the best he had. I think Getz will be our leadoff hitter, but I don't think it is good for Getz to hear it's his position to lose. For Fields, I think it was better for him to hear this was his shot, don't f*** it up. But for Getz, the competition is healthy and he just needs to worry about his position. I think we've created a caricature of Ozzie that is not realistic. He's not perfect, but more often than not he just strings us along for a while before making the correct (in our opinions) decision. Well put.

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Mar 10, 2009 -> 01:16 PM) There is no one. It's Alexei, Owens, Anderson, Wise, Getz, Nix, Pierzynski or Fields to fill 2 spots. Only 1 of those guys looks like a top of the order hitter and he's a an unspectacular rookie. Alexei is my #2 hitter. This is very true. To make another point about my feelings on Lexi's ability to adjust to the 2 hole, I believe there's a relationship between dangerous(ness) and OBP. For instance, before Sosa roided up, he rarely walked, but after he became super-dangerous, pitchers were far more careful about throwing him strikes - he was smart enough to recognize this, adjusted, and started walking 100 times a season. Of course there are guys who swing at everything, no matter what, and those guys eventually don't see too many strikes. It's a fine line, certainly - I think the jury is still out with Alexei on how he could evolve. His baseball intelligence gives me confidence.

QUOTE (danman31 @ Mar 4, 2009 -> 01:26 AM) The Bogut argument doesn't fly, everyone knew that draft class wasn't good. D-Will and CP3 are pretty damn good so it's turned out better than a lot of drafts. But yes, at the time, no one in that draft (including Bogut) looked as much like a "franchise player" coming out as Rose, LeBron, Ewing etc.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Mar 10, 2009 -> 06:35 AM) Trust me, winning had nothing to do with AJ's talent in the 2-hole, he was just better than what we had at the time which was nothing. AJP was putrid as a #2 hitter last season. ^^^^^^^ I'd also like to give Lexi a shot at the 2 hole - it may "force" a little more patience on his part and increase his OBP to acceptable levels. He's a very smart and instinctive player who may be able to adjust.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Mar 10, 2009 -> 11:56 AM) With Fields looking good, multiple 2B candidates also looking good, and the pitching solidifying... CF is the one position left that I see as problematic for the team. I don't like any of the 3 supposed candidates for the job. I'd really, really like to see them give Kroeger just a game or two in CF, to see if he can man the position without totally sucking. We're a pretty smart group on this board, mostly, if I do say so myself. From what I've gathered from reading our postings, it seems like most of us thought that while there were numerous ?'s with 3B, 2B and CF, our options at 2B and 3B gave us confidence that these positions would work themselves out, but that CF would remain murky, at best. It's early, but it appears that's the way it's going. Kudos to us! I'd like to learn more about Kroeger's ability, or lack thereof, to play CF. Give him a few games there at least Oswaldo. The 'outside the org' options, if there are any, I'm sure are being scoured by KW. Otherwise, go with BA if the 2B winner can also lead off. If not, pray. I'm still somewhat confident that the body of work we get from our CF's this season will be better than the '08 production. Not saying much, I know.

QUOTE (fathom @ Mar 10, 2009 -> 11:37 AM) Stay cold Jerry! Exactly. This is some of the best news of the Spring. I hope someone reminds Ozzie, that having been caught 3 times already, JO would need at least 12 consecutive successful SB's to make that stat a positive.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Mar 6, 2009 -> 02:56 PM) Matt Holliday, Jason Bay, Vladdy (albeit he's older now, still solid), Magglio (option), Dye (option), Ankiel is a pretty damn good crp of FA outfielders. Shouldn't Abreu be on that list too? He's on a one-year deal.

QUOTE (Cubano @ Feb 28, 2009 -> 12:30 PM) Here is Jose Julio vs Yadel Marti in 2007. Go to the 3:57 mark on this video to see Jose Julio Just watched the video. Good to see he's a lefty. Even if B. Allen makes it as the team's future 1B or DH, I want the other guy to be a lefty too.