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QUOTE (Marty34 @ Dec 11, 2011 -> 10:20 AM) Maybe Molina was their number 1 target all along and when the Jays agreed there was no reason to offer Santos around to drive up his price. With guys like Bailey and Marmol on the market, the Jays could have gone elsewhere if the Sox drove too hard of a bargain. I don't have a problem with the way Williams handled this. Nor do I. Hopefully, Nestor will be a much-needed win for KW and the Sox. If he's of our 5 starters by 2013, and considered on of our top 3-4 in 2014 going forward, that would be a nice win.

QUOTE (3E8 @ Dec 11, 2011 -> 09:16 AM) Balta and Cy, well said. Don't completely disagree, but "targeting" specific prospects has served Kenny well. Jon Garland, John Danks and Gavin Floyd come to mind. All well-undervalued by the teams who traded them. Of course, there are exceptions too. Personally, I'm glad we didn't entertain trades with BoSox or Yanks, who routinely get their prospects overhyped by the WWL and other media outlets.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Dec 8, 2011 -> 03:53 AM) Now that I'm a bit more level headed. __________________________________________________________________ For the past eleven years, there were a few constants in my life. Seeing the same friends, coming to the same home, and Mark Buehrle taking the ball every fifth game during baseball season. Now I'm at college, but I still had Buehrle. Now that's gone. Buehrle was like a friend that you never really knew, he was reliable, a great person, and you loved him. When some friends and I were at Blockbuster, we got in the car...I was wearing my Mark Buehrle shirt (during baseball season I only wore it every day he started a game and no others) and I heard Farmio say "Mark Buehrle has retired all twelve batters he's faced." Ok, four innings of perfect ball is nothing to get excited about...but I did. I sped home to turn on the game. DeWayne Wise catching that ball released the most unbridled emotion in me that I've ever really had, including out 27 of Game 4. I watch that play now and it isn't the same. It's over in like three seconds. Not three hours. Mark was more than a baseball player to me. He was an inspiration...honestly, I kept trying at making my high school baseball team, where I knew I had no place, because Mark made it off hard work, not talent. Every day he pitched, right under my jersey was my now tattered Mark Buehrle t-shirt, because honestly, the guy is the only celebrity "hero" I ever had, him and Paulie. But Buehrle wasn't a highly touted prospect. He was kid who didn't make his HS team, pitched in JC with OK stuff, but made it to the big leagues and was a great human being. I could wax poetic about Buehrle for paragraphs, but it's pointless as he's gone to the home of the Hollywood Heat and the second running of the Oz Show. Where LeBron and Co. have a pre-season celebration, where Ozzie and Loria try to be flashy, where the 72 Dolphins b**** and moan every year...the Patron Saint of the Southside has no place in South Beach, yet there he is. I'm wearing my Buehrle shirt one last time tomorrow, then the shirt I've worn more than any other will be retired until Buehrle rejoins the Sox or retires himself. Mark Couldn't have said it better myself. An extremely sad day for this fan. My favorite Sox player ever. Who ever did more to get guys out with the stuff between his ears, instead of god-given talent? Noone was like this guy - absolutely unique. I'll truly miss Hawk uttering the phrase "Vintage Buehrle". To me, that meant one run allowed on 11 hits (all singles) thru 8 innings, with a pickoff and three or four DP groundballs.

QUOTE (wallyburger @ Dec 8, 2011 -> 06:17 AM) My sentiments , exactly. Josh Johnson is the ace of that staff in Miami and Anibel Sanchez is the #2. Looks like Mark will have to compete with Ricky Nolasco for #3 in that rotation. That's is a lot of money for a #3. Have you seen Mark's interleague numbers? He'll be a STRONG number two starter for that club.

Cowley just trying to drive wedges, and create news from Nothing... Dave Nothing, assistant maintenance engineer at the Cell, and Cowley's only remaining insider.

It's probably already been written in this thread, but I believe a move to hire Thome would be, more than anything else, an attempt to fix our (very) "poor man's Thome", Adam Dunn. That said, I love the Gentleman, and wouldn't mind seeing him back in the org.

QUOTE (Harry Chappas @ Oct 14, 2011 -> 11:41 AM) and he would retire I agree with this. If Dunn is truly and obviously done, a buyout will be negotiated that will cost the Sox less than the remaining $28M. JMO.

I expect a rotation of Sale, Floyd, Buehrle, an unknown pitcher that we get in trade this offseason who turns out to be pretty good, and one of Humber, Stewart or Axelrod as the #5. And I expect it to be a good, cost effective rotation, headed by a dominant Slim Unit, who should really be hitting his stride by then. Man, J4L sure is negative this time of year. He has to know we'll be better than what he envisions. Get that man some Oxy to wash down with a 40 or 2, cheer him up.

QUOTE (VictoryMC98 @ Oct 4, 2011 -> 07:52 PM) I like this signing.. with how bad this team is.. They made a smart move here. This is a rare one that most all of us can agree upon. Bargain price for quality, late-inning relief.

QUOTE (elrockinMT @ Oct 5, 2011 -> 11:03 AM) I can see Frasor gone as we have several potential minor league righties that can step into the spot, but we need three lefties in the pen. You never have enough lefty relief help so Thonton is needed and is the expereince we need also. 5 innings of experience from Santiago and have him step in and take over from Sale and Thornton? I wouldn't think so Lots of teams do fine with only two lefties in their pen. Three is nice, certainly, but if they have to cut, would you rather see Buehrle not re-signed if Thornton's $12M were the difference? Let's not elevate everything to which we've become accustomed, to an absolute necessity, in the offseason, as we did during this past season. Lefty relief arm(s) that are near-ready might be part of the package in the coming trades. Given the managerial vacuum, perhaps it's a good thing that Coop will have an even larger say for the short term on whether Santiago is ready, or what talent he likes in other orgs. that could be acquired. Either way, I trust his judgement. The simple, huge, and overriding concern going forward is, IMO: Can we score enough damn runs? For the rotation, pen, and defense, my cup remains half-full going into 2012 and beyond.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Oct 5, 2011 -> 07:36 AM) http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseb...0,7989644.story I've been thinking, in regards to Santiago, that the org's desire to trade Thornton will be much higher if they have enough confidence in the kid. Could be another substantial payroll cutter, along with the expected (by me, anyway) shedding of Q and Danks (OR but not AND Floyd). I don't want to see Frasor back at anything close to the $3.75 option. With Reed added to what we already have, plus the Humber and Stewart loser for the 5th spot possibly becoming the longman, I'm not concerned about the right side. Ohman could be more of a "key figure" than most of us would want him to be, but it might make the most sense to eliminate Thornton's salary, if the return is fair.

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Oct 2, 2011 -> 07:46 PM) Those kids need a good ass whooping. Prediction: The rug rats will contribute to Ozzie's firing during year two of his four year deal.

QUOTE (DirtySox @ Oct 3, 2011 -> 07:13 PM) I would agree. A few days ago Goldstein tabbed him as a likely three with an outside shot of becoming a two. Boys sellin' my man short. Slim Unit gonna be da bomb. Fastball will also be a plus pitch as a starter once he inevitably fills out, at least a little bit.

Doug Fister, the most brilliant, under the radar mid-season move in baseball. Kudos to Double D.

QUOTE (Thad Bosley @ Sep 20, 2011 -> 12:21 PM) Perhaps Mr. Reinsdorf can say to the Marlins "Sure, you can have Guillen, but you have to take Rios with him. They come as a set." That could be one creative way to remove that albatross of a contract. Love it. It would be like KW haunting him in his new digs.

QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ Sep 20, 2011 -> 08:33 AM) This thread will go exactly the same way any Walker thread does. Totally. Hopefully, you've cut it off before we get more of the same. Nothing new to say until we know for certain if he's coming back or not.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Sep 17, 2011 -> 04:33 PM) Its pretty interesting he had nothing to say before this 0-20, and he did have him bat clean up the last week. Ozzie is an ass. And he's poison to a young player like Viciedo. Can't be fired quick enough.

Damaso Marte.

QUOTE (fathom @ Sep 15, 2011 -> 02:21 PM) De Aza should be playing instead of AJP in order to see if he has any chance of being more than a platoon player. I do predict Viciedo homers tonight, maybe even twice. This is exactly what we need to determine, especially having the luxury of being out of it.

Quantity isn't the problem with the rotation next year or beyond. Our fate will depend on the quality of Peavy's and Sale's performance. I expect Danks traded, Buehrle re-signed. We know what to expect from Floyd. Chances are, one of the rest will be an adequate 5th starter, and a second will be an adequate 6th to cover for Sale's limitations. I hope we put this 6 man crap to bed, with Peavy being normal again in 2012. I'm not sure it really helped anyone at the end of the day. For next year, I expect slight, though not dramatic improvement for Peavy, and mostly excellence for Sale, even if only for Alas, I'm afraid we'll suffer from insufficient run production again next year, though possibly, hopefully, to a lesser degree. We score enough runs, we'll compete. Pretty simple for me, anyway. My cup remains precariously half-full for 2012.

Nice game, kid.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Sep 12, 2011 -> 03:17 PM) The Marlins have, when healthy, one of the better young/talented cores in the game. Hanley Stanton Morrison Sanchez Johnson Nolasco Anibal Sanchez But like you said, that's the wrong division to be in right now. With the run the Phillies are on and that avalanche of talent Atlanta has on the horizon, everybody else is playing for third place. And the Nats probably have a leg up on that.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Sep 12, 2011 -> 02:23 PM) The book is out on CQ. Nothing that happens from here on out will change any perception of him. .800-.825-ish OPS, mediocre to bad defensively, and very much injury-prone. And about to get expensive very soon. That's probably true, but he does need to show that he's healthy at present.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Sep 12, 2011 -> 12:56 PM) MDGonzales Mark Gonzales Quentin activated but not in Sox's lineup He may not be ready yet, but we need to play him a lot these last two weeks and hope he leaves a good impression with potential offseason suitors.

I doubt we'll choose to add payroll at 3B next year with Morel's 2nd half improvement. He has what I would call a "reasonable shot" at becoming a solid everyday player and we should be able to give him the job next year. He has shown more patience of late. I still hope he can be a 2 hitter eventually, though he has to continue to show OBP improvement.