MO2005

100% Yes for me. Name the last Sox pitcher that has been drafted by us and gone through the ranks in Charlotte and succeeded. Peavy is a stud pitcher and would help this ballclub. His salary is scary for some, but for me I'm not freakin out givin the guy an option year at that price. The market should be high again for players after this whole economic crisis passes. The guy will only be 31 and still in his prime. You also build your whole entire pitching staff around a guy like him. Buehrle becomes the number 2 again and Danks a 3. I'm just pissed that the Sox did not offer the most to this deal for him. I am just so uncertain still with our farm system because of our history. *Frustration*

Come on Peavy...hurry! This thread will easily go 100 pages by 1:00

And again...Everyone is acting like this is a shocker that the Sox are where they are. All offseason a few of us said that this team will suck and not compete. People bashed claiming we are not real Sox fans, but I will say one thing about that. Real fans are realistic. This offseason was garbage! Kenny didn't do jack this offseason except pick up guys he thought were going to come out of the gates hitting and pitching. The problem with that is that they are too inexperienced and YOUNG. We have a selfish ballclub that I have been saying since 2007 needs to be broken up. We have a hitting coach who might as well not have a job if the hitters keep getting the blame. We have a manager who puts out a different lineup everyday and can't stay consistent with one. I mean in all seriousness this thread should be changed to As expected...

QUOTE (Chisoxrd5 @ May 5, 2009 -> 10:14 PM) This seems cruel and unusual to me. Broadway has no business being on the roster. This team has at least 5-7 roster spots right now that are occupied by marginal or sub-par major league talents. It's really not fair to single him out. Instead, be angry that the team spent a first round draft choice on a guy whos biggest criticism the year he was drafted was that he had good numbers but marginal stuff. Marginal stuff, especially from a RHP, is usually never effective against professional hitters. I can't really blame Broadway for the cards he was dealt. Here's why this team should just forfit now!

Here are the Sox problems.. Alexei Ramirez - timing is wayyyyy off. Late on fastballs and early on breaking/curve balls. Hawk said it great last night that when this happens, usually it can last almost a whole season. If that's the case, we have problems. Brett Lillibridge - Just can't hit period or play defense. First of all this guy has no place in center field and his defense is horrific. It is almost like Ozzie and kenny are refusing to send him down because they don't want to feel like the Vasquez trade went for nothing. AJ - Cannot throw runners out, so everyone runs on us. Gavin Floyd - I said it before the season started. Had a career year last year and was going to be hard to duplicate. He is not in command up there on the mound right now. Mentally he is breaking down, losing confidence, and allowing the big hits. Jacobs 3 run homer last night. Josh Fields - Strike Out King Pods - Last Resort for now and using it. Jose Contreras - Shouldn't be starting or even playing. But how can you sit 10-15 million a year in salary? Bullpen - Relying on them too much right now to save games for us with our starting pitching/ inconsistent offense. We all remember what happened in the 2nd half last season when our bullpen was lights out in the beginning of the year, right? The problem is our bullpen is not even lights out right now. Is there anyone in this bullpen you feel 100% comfortable with to hold a lead? Situational Hitting - Still does not exist. I don't care what anyone says, but if you do not have a situational hitting ballclub, you will not win a championship. Yes we could still wina division title because our division is weak, but not a championship. I blame this entirely on Kenny Williams for STILL not getting the players that can do this well. Since the 2nd half of 2006 we have not been great at getting runners over and in. Hitting sac flies when we need them or like last night runners on third with less than 2 outs and failing to get them in.

I just don't get why so many people are acting surprised about this team right now. We all know this team will NOT compete this year and really this season is for us to see what the kids can do. If we wanted to win then Kenny would of pulled some triggers on some deals this offseason and Ozzie wouldn't be so damn inconsistent with his lineup selection. Did anyone catch the Ozzie interview yesterday with John Miller during the game. The hilarious piece of that whole interview was when John mentioned to Ozzie that this team just relies on the long ball. Ozzie's response was we have more speed this year..Are you kidding me..yes more speed, but Ozzie one small problem...What good is it when they can't get on base!

Is this like a belated April Fool's Joke?

Ozzie does not like Brian Anderson! This is why..The guy should be traded now because we may get something decent for him!

QUOTE (BobDylan @ Apr 14, 2009 -> 05:29 PM) Why don't we stop sucking off that 2005 team? Why stop?? They won a frickin championship!

Good pickup in my eyes. I just don't think Brian Anderson is meant to be a starter on this team. I mean in all seriousness Wise vs. Podsednik? They are pretty much the same offensively...

Who is out there for us to grab?

Alright lets just wait till halfway through the season when everyone is whining and crying that we need Crede back!

Great Move for the Twins. Not so great move for the Sox. I mean if he stays healthy, which I doubt, but if so I am going to dread the late inning situations against him. When healthy he is a potential gold glover/all star. Patient hitter at the plate and doesn't strike out much. We have a guy in Fields who strikes out a ton and plays ok defensively. Twins upgrade..sox downgrade..this offseason sucks!

QUOTE (DBAHO @ Feb 12, 2009 -> 01:37 PM) Well for starters I'm a lot more confident in this team right now than I was this time last season. That should tell you something about the moves KW has made. Explain...how are you more confident?

QUOTE (jphat007 @ Feb 12, 2009 -> 01:27 PM) LOLOL. What the f*** is the difference? KW has no more money to acquire players. Bottom line. There is no money in his coffers. Whether JR is hording a bunch of cash or not doesn't make a difference. It's not like we're the little sisters of the poor here. We have a 100 million dollar payroll. There is no money. I edited out some f bombs My point exactly Jerry Reinsdorf!

QUOTE (Greg Hibbard @ Feb 12, 2009 -> 10:44 AM) Assuming all the major deals are done and we head into Spring training with close to the current roster... Why would an experienced, seasoned GM head into spring training/regular season relying on so many of the same things going right that went _inexplicably_ right last season? It's one thing to praise him for scooping undervalued legit major leaguers and turning them into productive major components on a team. It's quite another to thing they will magically retain what can only be described as peak value year after year after year. Even if we accept the fact that CQ is a fantastic all-around ballplayer, how many individuals are able to his .290/30/100 year after year after year? How many that do break out with a single season like that are pitched much differently in year 2 and regress a bit? Even if we can establish that Gavin Floyd has come around and developed into a solid #3 starter, how do his peripherals suggest anything but a ceiling of 15-17 wins and a slightly above average ERA given his skill set/tools? Is it likely that Ramirez will be able to have a similar season and have as many clutch hits? Is it acceptable to just pencil John Danks in for another 3.32 ERA season - a season that was over 2 runs in ERA better than his previous? Moreover, why are we even considering relying on guys like Contreras (injuries), Richard (little experience), Broadway (wayyyy unproven) as part of a competitive major league rotation? Why is Josh Fields going to work out at third base? Who sees anything of value in Wilson Betimet and why? Why are incomplete and substandard guys like Brian Anderson, who has admittedly been screwed over at times by this organization, still being considered as starting pieces of the puzzle? Why is this team still saddled with effectively 4 dh's, a problem we have wrestled with for going on 6 years? I guess my main question is...where the bleeping hell is our insurance policy? There are so many questions regarding this team that as it appears now the decision making process has been somewhat baffling. From a transparency standpoint, all that's been done is shedding of payroll, and no major pieces have been added. What's especially baffling about this is that KW is setting this team up to be constructed primarily in such a way that he will shoulder 100% of the blame if it does come in at anything less than 80 wins. He's asking somewhat unproven breakout stars to sustain apparently unsustainable levels, and asking AAAA (my term for major/minor 'tweener like Betimet) and AAA caliber players to rise to occasions they haven't been asked to rise to before. Dude I love your post! Finally someone with some guts just to admit the truth! I mean I am tired of people on this saying and stating that Lillibridge is going to do this..or Owens will do this..or Getz/Fields/Nix will do this. I mean I understand people being optimistic, but let's just cut to the chase here and be honest with ourselves. Everything Kenny has done is set up exactly like you said to blame himself at the end of the season. There is way too much pressure on these young guys to perform when we all know we know absolutely squat about these guys other than what they did in the minors. Quentin had ONE good season with us. I would like to say he could duplicate, but you can't really judge a player and say he is a hall of famer/superstar after one good season. I mean how many players in this league have flopped after one good season? Ramirez..same thing! Danks and Floyd had horrible 2007's and rebounded in 2008. Again players with one good season. I know everyone is basing their predictions off of last year and what these players did. There is that possibility that these players may of just had career years. I don't know...but what i do know is that there are too many question marks to even have any confidence in this team this year. I am just a die hard Sox fan disappointed with the direction Kenny has taken since 2005. Prove me wrong, but how can anyone be confident in this team? See what I never understand about Kenny is how he contradicts himself all the time. He wants young guys, then he doesn't..then he does..then he doesn't..This is why are minor league system has sucked now for the longest time because we trade everything away. But now he wants to develop..Make up your mind Kenny!

QUOTE (jphat007 @ Feb 12, 2009 -> 11:54 AM) Because there is NOOOOOOOOOO MORRRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEE MONEYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY Bulls**t you are going to tell me there is no more money! Are you Reinsdorf's accountant, funds holder, money guy? The answer is no..The only source you have is the economy and what the internet tells you. There is money..there always is..it just depends on the owener spending it or not!

QUOTE (heirdog @ Feb 11, 2009 -> 02:41 PM) He won them over when they signed him...he made them feel confident in his abilities with BP. If he doesn't pan out, they can still go with an outfield of Owens, Anderson, and CQ (a 2009 version of Pods, Rowand, and Dye). They have replaced Dye's slugging with Fields at 3rd. So yes. 2009 version of 2005? What a joke! Come on Anderson is no way near the player Rowand is. Yes Rowand is a little overrated, but Anderson is a little leaguer at best. Come on with that comparison man. Fields will strike out about 200 times in a year so that will lower some percentages. How do you call that a replacement when the guy strikes out about 2 times the amount Dye does?

QUOTE (Stan Bahnsen @ Feb 11, 2009 -> 11:58 AM) Disagree. Completely. We'll still be OK, but Abreu would make us better. Angels aren't all that - much more of an "aging" team than the Sox actually, at this point. They won't be as good as last year. Explain how we are going to be ok? This should be rephrased to we are a questionable team right now with young guys that we don't know what we are going to get out of. I have been saying this since the offseason started that the Sox are a huge questionmark. Abreu even in center or left would have been a great investment at the cost and we easily could of plugged him into the 2 hole. I just don't understand how we offer 8, but he gets signed for 5.

OBP 2008 Stats Wise .293 Anderson .290 Owens .250

Will he be invited to spring you think?

QUOTE (lostfan @ Feb 10, 2009 -> 08:48 AM) Good lord. Did you actually look at his stats down the stretch? Yeah and did you look at the rest of the teams stats down the stretch besides Alexei and Thome? I don't recall many hitting .300? It's unfair for many of you to bash Wise. Look at what we have in center right now...Owens, Anderson, or Wise? Brian cannot hit and believe me if you watched any of the 06 season I recall Anderson being under .200 for like the first half of the season when the team was on fire. Imagine how he'd do if he played full time when the team was playing crappy? Owens I don't remember being any better other than he could probably steal 40 bags. But how is that possible if the guy has trouble getting on base? If you could tell me out of those three both offensively and defensively should start based on prior statistics. Wise is my pick at the bottom of the order hitting in the 9th spot. Just my opinion...

I don't know about 74, I think more like 78-80. I do know one thing though if that happens, we are going to have a lot more Ozzie fun filled speeches about his team on t.v.! Maybe he'll go on the radio and cuss out more chicago radio people. Something to look forward to in 2009!

Are there any new updates from the Sox side on this guy?