Kenny Hates Prospects

QUOTE (whitesoxbrian @ Oct 6, 2008 -> 08:27 PM) Didn't Rios just get $100 million from Toronto?? From Wikipedia: Rios has agreed to a six-year contract extension with the Blue Jays through 2014 for $64 million. It also has an option for 2015 that would make the deal $77.5 million. That's a fabulous contract. He's coming off a bad year, but I doubt even the idiot in Toronto is dumb enough to trade him.

QUOTE (fathom @ Oct 6, 2008 -> 07:50 PM) People to target, besides the obvious Hudson/C.C./Blake/Furcal/Figgins: - Grudz - Brandon Phillips - Rickie Weeks - Alexi Rios - Fred Lewis Grudz would be a great stopgap, especially since Getz is ready should something go wrong. I'd rather have Grudz for one year on the cheap with a team option for a second, and not pay out draft picks, than bring in Hudson on a 5-year $65 million deal or whatever it will take to land him. Hudson is a great player, but that money would be better off spent in other areas. Then again he appears to be one of Kenny's guys, so I expect a serious run. I LOVES me some Alex Rios. If KW could find a way to trick JP Retardi into giving him up for another all-or-nothing pitcher like Javy Vaquez and a couple overrated prospects I would jump for joy. I doubt he's dealt though. He'd be our CF for a long time. Rickie Weeks, no thank you. I've seen too much of him to know that I don't ever want him on my team.

QUOTE (fathom @ Oct 6, 2008 -> 08:10 PM) We should be seeing Alexei bat 2nd and CQ bat 3rd for the next few years. BTW, what's Alexei's contract status? 4 years, like $5 million total or something. Very, very, very cheap. I'm thinking he'll get a re-worked contract that is extended out a couple years sometime after next season. He deserves the raise and the added security wouldn't hurt at all.

Watching Alexei, it seems he's become much more selective at the plate as the season has gone on. When looking at his gamelog, you see his BB/K numbers seriously improve in September and in the postseason. March + April: 33 AB, 1 BB to 6 K May: 61 AB, 1 BB, 9 K June: 93 AB, 4 BB, 9 K July: 91 AB, 3 BB, 14 K August: 107 AB, 1 BB, 13 K September + October: 107 AB, 9 BB, 11 K We all know Alexei isn't going to ever walk a whole lot, but if he can maintain his September + October BB/K numbers throughout the next season, he could easily end up a .350 OBP type of player, if not a bit higher. For example, if Alexei had walked 9 times per month this year and hit like he did, he's getting on at a .362 clip. If Alexei's increased discipline is for real, then I think you have to move this guy up. You want to give him more at-bats, but you also want him to be able to utilize his speed, and he can't do that as often if he's hitting behind the slow sluggers. Because he makes very good contact and has speed he would make sense as a #2 hitter, but then again if you put him there you'd have Ozzie taking the bat out of his hands at times. If his discipline does hold up I think Alexei best profiles as #3 hitter, with Quentin as a clean-up hitter, but in order to do that the Sox have to get some players good enough to hit first or second. If the rumors are true and KW is going to go hard after both Hudson and Figgins, a Figgins-Hudson-Ramirez-Quentin top four is pretty f***ing sick actually. Lots of possibilities there. So anyway, who thinks Alexei's BB/K numbers the last month are a sign of things to come from him? And where would you hit him next year?

I hope the Rays win the ALCS because I hate the Red Sox and I hate ESPN. Go Dodgers/Phillies!

Great points. This team made some huge strides this season. After 2007 I was one of those people who thought there was no choice but to rebuild. Thankfully Kenny made some great moves to get this thing back on track. His only bad move was Swisher, but in hindsight he looks smart so far by selling high on Gio and DLS. I just wish he'd done it for a better player, but oh well. The other moves have more than made up for that one bad deal, and I'm hopeful that Swisher still brings us a solid player over the offseason. One last thing: please Kenny, for the love of God, make Thome put down a f***ing bunt every once in a while when he's being given almost the entire left side of the infield. All he has to do is show he can get the damn thing down and if he does it a few times then teams will reconsider the shift. He could raise his batting average 30 points by just doing that. It's not like there are no home run hitters behind him. If the Sox don't care about taking the free baserunner and actually prefer the typical Thome groundout into the shift or strikeout, then please get him the f*** off this team. Please. I can't take this s*** anymore.

QUOTE (Frankensteiner @ Oct 6, 2008 -> 06:42 PM) Why is OC gettinng singled out? He's one of the few veteran players on this team who actually lived up to their career averages. fathom's had some weird psychotic hate for him all season and I can't quite understand it. His pointless throw to the plate that probably cost the Sox a run, as well as his taking two Sonnenstine meatballs right down the middle before swinging at a tougher pitch is pretty much the story of the season with this guy. He's not that smart player we were told he was. He's run in stupid situations like stealing third with 2 outs when a single scores him from second, he's complained about everything, he's called out the team like he has any reason to... he seems to believe in his head that he's some great shortstop when he's really not. He is a solid player, but he's nothing more than that. Any team that thinks Orlando Cabrera is the answer is going to have a bad contract on their hands when it's all said and done.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Oct 6, 2008 -> 06:34 PM) Griffey won't be around. The bigger question is whether or not Brian Anderson and Fields will be, along with Swisher and Vazquez. I'm willing to do sig bets with anyone who disagrees with me when I say Vazquez will make his next start in a Mets, Braves, or Phillies uniform.

BTW, IMO there were three giant plays that hurt us (aside from our pathetic offense against that Sonnencrap): 1) Gavin's horrible pitch to Upton for his 2nd HR 2) Floyd walking Crawford to lead off the inning 3) OC's dumbass throw Floyd I can definitely forgive. He pitched a better game than his line will show and we wouldn't be here without him. OC however has been doing this stupid s*** all year. GTFO Cabrera. Take your money and show off your "gold glove defense" and "smart style of play" elsewhere.

QUOTE (whitesoxbrian @ Oct 6, 2008 -> 06:12 PM) That's what it needs to be changed to. How about good riddance OC, Crede, Javy, and Swisher. I wouldn't mind Griffey back as a 4th OF and pinch hitter for a couple million. His regular playing days appear over. Swisher OTOH = see ya later you smiley asshole.

Pujols Sabathia Jurrjens

Quentin - because he was far and away the most dominant selection prior to injury, and post-injury nobody else has been able to dwarf his numbers Lee - because you'd have to be retarded not to vote for that guy Alexei - because going from short-season Cuban ball to facing Major League pitching and THEN having an All-Star caliber year is FAR more impressive to me than playing your way up through the minor leagues and then succeeding The MVP award is up for grabs I think and I really hope Pedroia doesn't get it. He's a very good player, but I think his hype has way too much to do with where he plays. If Carlos Quentin played in Boston it would be a slam dunk. And, with the Red Sox pitching, as well as having Manny for most of the year, you could easily say the Red Sox would be in the playoffs without Pedroia. You can't say the Sox would be in the playoffs or in position to make the playoffs without Carlos. Cy Young is a lock for Lee. One of Alexei/Longoria is going to lose out, and it's unfortunate for both to come out in such a strong year for the AL in this category. Galarraga and Span are also very deserving but will become victims of the strong 2008 AL rookie class.

QUOTE (Chet Lemon @ Sep 30, 2008 -> 12:37 PM) 5. Weather. It’s expected to be in the 60’s with wind gusts up to 30 mph blowing toward center-right center. Not good for Blackburn, who’s has left the ball up too much in recent starts. He did pitch better against the White Sox at the Dome, but he’ll need to be better tonight. That is f***ing scary. Please Johnny, keep the down DOWN to those lefties!!!

QUOTE (CWSOX45 @ Sep 30, 2008 -> 11:59 AM) Blackburn SUCKS on the road. At home he has an E.R.A. of 2.96, while on the road I'm pretty sure it's above 5. I know most of you will badger me for this, but the Twins are a GARBAGE baseball team outside the Humpy Dome. That place is a dump and I can't wait until it's demolished. Minny at home: 53-28 Sox at home: 53-28 Minny on the road: 35-46 Sox on the road: 35-46 The Sox are just as much of a garbage team on the road as the Twins are, although the Sox are 31-30 on the road when not playing in a dome. When playing in TB, MIN, and TOR the Sox are 4-16. Those numbers do show a disadvantage for the Sox, but then again that disadvantage would be very small considering the quality of competition. TB might be the best team in baseball (what would the Angels' record look like if they didn't get all that ALW padding?), the Twins are a playoff contender, and Toronto for most of the season had an excellent pitching staff. I'd say overall the dome disadvantage is overblown and the results of our playing in domes mainly show that we've faced top competition and our team isn't all that great. Kind of went off track there but whatever. Playing at home is a huge advantage for us though, especially against Blackburn who really isn't all that good. PS I had a dream Danks went 8 innings today giving up just one run. I hope I'm psychic.

QUOTE (southsideirish71 @ Sep 26, 2008 -> 09:44 PM) Kenny f***ed up when he decided to go for his crush instead of getting pen help. Kenny was supposedly targeting Huston Street but the Sox didn't like the price, which I guess was probably Fields or Poreda. At the time it looked like a great deal to pass on, but Huston's been lights out lately. Oh well though. This team sucks so bad that no one addition was going to put them over the top anyway. I can't wait until the first day after the regular season. I expect the axe to fall quickly on a number of these guys.

WE WANT KOBE!!! (CLAP, CLAP, CLAP-CLAP-CLAP)

QUOTE (Sox It To Em @ Sep 26, 2008 -> 09:23 PM) This guy has an ERA of 6.75. Sweet, let's get him on our team.

I hope all this walking is benefitting some cause worthier than the official Carlos Gomez spazz foundation.

Los jugadores de los Sox bullpen chupas el jugo de los penes del infierno.

Edit: NM HR

QUOTE (fathom @ Sep 26, 2008 -> 08:48 PM) Yep, we paid like 10 million for two guys in Dotel and Linebrink that we can't even use in close games in the last month of the season. Similar to how we traded our 3 top prospects for a guy who couldn't start in the 2nd biggest series the organization has had in a decade. I know, but who was he supposed to get? If you look around the league, I think it's unanimous: relief pitchers f***ing suck. The Swisher trade sucks but I'm hopeful he'll either get closer to his great year in Oakland or we'll get something good for him over the offseason.

QUOTE (Jenksy Cat @ Sep 26, 2008 -> 08:44 PM) did you miss the first half of the season? Yeah really. He spent 9.5 million on two guys, and once Jenks hits arbitration and Dotel gets his raise, we'll have like 14 million or so tied up in Jenks, Thornton, Dotel, and Linebrink. He overpaid for help, but I guess he should've budgeted another $10 million plus. God this pen sucks ass.

QUOTE (daa84 @ Sep 26, 2008 -> 08:40 PM) im not a nick masset fan, but im not gonna lie it wouldnt be bad to have him on our team right now Anyone is better than the crap we're trotting out there. I'm still shocked that the Sox didn't call up another reliever, like Link, Rodriguez, or Poreda. Just someone else would've been nice.

Damn, Carrasco is auditioning for Dotel's job. Now it's MacDougal's turn. My God this team f***ing sucks. LOL another HBP. f*** you Mike MacDougal.

Dear Kenny, As a fan I expect more than positive attitudes out of the players I root for. I also expect something more than a media circus out of the manager running the show. Please give us some players who can play and a manager who can manage. If necessary, make Guillen watch tape of the men he supposedly idolizes in Gardenhire and Cox so that way in the future he'll understand why he's supposed to idolize them. Balance the attack and don't be afraid to put players capable of playing defense on the field. Thank you.