Kenny Hates Prospects

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Dec 6, 2009 -> 10:25 AM) It wouldn't but it takes two to tango. Why would another team give up something useful for Jenks and pick up Jenks' money especially after he came off a mediocre at best season and finished the season hurt? The rumor is Jenks is getting into better shape, but we have all heard that before. He was at an autograph signing a couple of weeks ago, and judging by some photos I saw, looked as round as ever. I think the Sox would trade him if they could get something for him, but chances are, they won't. If that is the case, its best for the Sox to offer him arb, and if he shows up at Spring Training heavy and throwing 91 and looking like he won't be earning his $7 million, just cut him. It seems harsh, especially since he probably has earned more chances than others, but money comes into play. Guys that break down in their 20s who really don't do anything about it, don't suddenly stop breaking down. It will be interesting to see how Jenks proceeds this winter. If the Sox could get the equivalent of a Santos Rodriguez/Nathan Jones type player for Jenks - someone who is talented but is still a ways away and doesn't take up a roster spot, and who basically meets or exceeds the value of a 2nd round pick - and then put that Jenks money towards another veteran on a 2-year deal with possibly an option for a third, then I would do that. I wouldn't ask for anything more than that for Jenks because I agree with you, he's not going to be worth a really great prospect or anything like that. But I think Jenks does definitely have *some* value if for no other reason than the fact that he'll make in arb what would be his market value or less, and he's only a 1-year commitment versus the other closers on the market who will all want at least 2 years guaranteed. I do kind of disagree about the breaking down part though since IIRC his main issues were with his non-pitching shoulder and kidney stones. Jenks was still going out there on many occasions and flashing very high-level stuff even though he didn't always get the job done in the way he was expected to.

QUOTE (GoodAsGould @ Dec 6, 2009 -> 09:54 AM) Jones should have only gotten a point taken away and won the match, Hamill's shoulder got messed up before the illegal blows even took place. Also, it was ridiculous the ref didnt stop the fight when Jones was just pummeling away on Hamill, Ive heard that Mazzagatti or whatever is the worse MMA ref and that night he showed it. The DQ was total bulls***, but the blows were illegal. It's a bulls*** rule, but it's still a rule. Thank the screwy athletic commissions for that, and Rogan was exactly correct when he was talking about why they're illegal. It may sound dumb to believe that the rule exists because of meaningless karate ice-breaking exhibitions and so forth, but there still are all kinds of misconceptions stemming from TMA. For example, one of the reasons pressure points and all that were outlawed way back is because people actually thought we'd be seeing death touches and s*** in the Octagon. It's f***ing ridiculous. I understand why you want to protect the spinal cord and everything, and downward stomps/knees to the heads of downed opponents, but really, what are the differences between a 200+ lb pro fighter landing a downward punch to the head and a soccer kick to the head? What are the differences between the force of an 11-5 elbow with crushing force and a 12-6 one? What are the differences between attacking a pressure point in the wrist and cutting off the supply of blood to the brain via choke? It's dumb as hell. But anyway, I too thought Bones was going to force the stoppage there, but not all of those shots were getting through and the round was coming to a close, so I understand why the ref let it go on. The doctor probably would have stopped the fight after the round anyway. What really got me was the post-fight interview where Hamill didn't do the right thing and admit he stole the fight. He won on a meaningless minor technicality after getting absolutely dominated in 10-8 fashion and yet he still didn't want to admit Jones got screwed by the AC.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Dec 6, 2009 -> 07:43 AM) Schaub got KTFO by Nelson, Nelson gets the 6 figure contract. Kimbo and Alexander danced in circles for 5 minutes, threw a few punches, wrestled around just a little bit, and Kimbo got the decision in a boring match. Mitrione KO-ed big baby(missed the fight). Schoonover lost to McSweeney, he really never had a shot, McSweeney was all over him. QUOTE (The Critic @ Dec 6, 2009 -> 08:36 AM) Schaub did a nice job escaping the Vanilla Mudslide, but took a HEAVY shot to the ear/temple and went night-night. Jon Bones Jones got DQ'd for using the point of the elbow to Matt Hamill's face, but Jones' ankle sweep takedown of Hamill was SICK! That Kimbo/Alexander match was worthless. Yeah the first round sucked, and they were totally gassed in the third, but holy s***, did you guys miss that ridiculously sick belly-to-back suplex Kimbo pulled off on Houston??? My God, I was screaming! That was some serious Kurt Angle pro-wrestling s*** right there. I never, ever thought I'd become a Kimbo fan, but he's won me over. Houston was supposed to destroy him, yet Kimbo was the one who pushed the pace, plus he hit a nasty suplex, he got the takedowns, he looked to GNP, he took the mount, took the back, tried to sink in chokes... yeah his cardio sucks and he's not a top-level HW by any means, but he's improved a lot already and he comes to fight. He gets my respect for sure, and I do want to see him again. That Kimbo-Alexander fight to me was a lot like Coleman-Shogun 2. Yeah both guys were out of shape and everything, but there was emotion and energy there, and that 2nd round definitely made the fight worth it. OTOH, the McSweeney-Schoonover fight shouldn't have even been on TV. As a supposed dangerous kickboxer, McSweeney is disgustingly bad, and Schoonover doesn't even come close to being UFC caliber even though he does have heart and a chin. McSweeney should be food for CroCop in his next fight.

QUOTE (Melissa1334 @ Dec 5, 2009 -> 08:29 AM) that doesnt fly at all with ozzie. he has two rules remember, be on time and the anthem. so as dumb as it may sound,we wont get him because of that too That's not dumb at all. You don't have to love the way America currently operates in order to appreciate all those who fought and died for reasons much greater than themselves, including the one which allows foreigners like Carlos Delgado to come here out of poverty and accumulate millions and millions of dollars for themselves and their children. And the "be on time" thing? Yeah, that's pretty f***ing important too.

QUOTE (longshot7 @ Dec 4, 2009 -> 06:56 PM) who cares? Almost everyone.

QUOTE (beck72 @ Dec 6, 2009 -> 07:00 AM) With the lack of quality relievers out there period, lefty or righty, Jenks should be kept, even if he makes more than he should. I think that all depends though. I mean, Jenks should get $7-8M this year in arb, which means that if he's at least pretty good in 2010 then he'll be looking for at least $10M in arb going into 2011, his last arbitration year. If the Sox could deal Jenks for prospects and dump his salary, and then sign Soriano/Valverde for 2/$18 or something (the same amount or less), then that could work out a lot better. Because of how we finished, if we signed Soriano/Valverde we only give up a 2nd rounder, and we should be able to recoup that value in a Jenks deal, and possibly get a little more. At least that way we get some cost certainty, and depending on what is out there, we may even be able to improve in 2010 as well. That might sound redundant, but because of Jenks' arb situation we're basically shelling out $7-8M for him this year and hoping he's good, and then if he is, we still may have some serious reservations about tendering him a contract in 2011, meaning we could lose him for nothing. Unloading him now, getting a little something back, and then picking up another 2-year option wouldn't be a bad thing at all IMO.

QUOTE (beck72 @ Dec 6, 2009 -> 06:56 AM) I'd like the sox to add a bullpen arm. Florida is supposed to be shopping both LHP Reynel Pinto and RHP Matt Lindstrom. Lindstrom was hurt last year [the first year he's missed games and his walk rate went up] and IIRC started the year as their closer. If he's healthy, he could be a good buy low candidate, as he threw very well in 08 and 07, as he has that mid 90's heat the sox don't have currently that they need to diversify the pen. Pinto does have control issues, so he's not really a good fit [unless the sox see something fixable in him that FLA hasn't been able solve--not likely]. http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/chi-0...0,7509175.story The key point in that article though is "arbitration eligible." Jenks, Danks, Q, Pena, Carrasco, and Teahen are all due for raises in arbitration as it is. There's no reason to trade talent for a project who we may be forced to overpay before we even find out if he's going to work for us or not. We should scour the Rule-5 eligible players list for another lefty to compete with Williams (assuming we keep Jenks) and then, if we really do want another righty reliever (which I don't think we do - I think we'll go in-house) then instead of paying $1-2M+ in arb AND giving up talent off the farm, we should just try to put that money towards a veteran in FA and look for both proven success and cost certainty without giving up a prospect.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Dec 6, 2009 -> 02:55 AM) well stated. The Angels would use Konerko, and they'd use him a lot, but if they can find someone else to take on Matthews Jr for less, they'll be willing. It'd be crazy for them to not be interested in Adrian Gonzalez too, but they have other needs to deal with, and if they can settle one of those needs (which would be DH), I imagine they'd do it, especially if they can move Matthews and get out of that horrendous contract with very little else attached. Agreed. Konerko is on a bad contract, but as a free agent in this market he could easily be looking at $7-8M on a one year deal given his ability to play 1B. GMJ as a free agent in this market would be lucky to get $1.5M guaranteed. Konerko is probably a $4-5M overpayment in 2010 while GMJ is probably about a $9.5-10M overpayment in 2010, and unlike GMJ, Konerko would actually fill a need. On top of that, GMJ is owed another $12M in 2011, and with regression, GMJ can't be viewed as being worth more than $1M in that year. If the Angels were to trade GMJ for PK straight-up, they would essentially free themselves of about $16-17M of bad commitments - and to put that in perspective, for an average team that's about 20-25% of a payroll year, or enough money to pay for 3+ years of Rule-4 drafts, or enough money to sign a proven above-average player on the open market for 2 years. In fact, if the Sox were to just do GMJ for Konerko, I would expect the Angels to contribute so much in terms of prospects that the Sox wouldn't have to add anything more than Hudson + 1 other prospect to get Gonzalez. *edited the above*

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Dec 4, 2009 -> 02:55 PM) Zito and Hampton have to be the two worst. Super-long-term deals for starters, and they just handicapped their respective teams with their presence. At least the shorter deals didn't lock up teams as long. Agree. No way do Schmidt (3 years) and Andruw (2 years) belong on there over guys like Soriano (8 years) and Helton (9 years).

QUOTE (Princess Dye @ Dec 4, 2009 -> 02:01 PM) We must be one of the few potential contenders out there with two spots available still (DH and OF). Another nice byproduct is you can DH Quentin and save him up a lot, and get better OF defense to boot with GMJ/Rios/Kotsay. Or DH Pods, etc. Agree, but the idea of any of Jones/Kotsay/GMJ DHing on a regular basis is frightening, and even if you do DH CQ, IMO the defensive gain going from CQ to GMJ or Kotsay isn't worth the loss in production from the OF, especially if we don't get a lead-off hitter and we end up leading off with GMJ or something. Yuck. And again the money issue is horrible for us in 2011 if we have Matthews. GMJ gets $11M in 2010 and $12M in 2011, meaning that's $17.5M in 2011 for Linebrink and GMJ for about $2-3M worth of production. If we had to take on GMJ to get AGon I'd do it, but Linebrink has to be part of the deal. Sox trade: Konerko ($12M in '10), Linebrink ($5M in '10, $5.5M in '11), prospects Angels trade: GMJ ($11M in '10, $12M in '11), prospects Padres trade: Gonzalez ($4.75M in '10, $5.5M in '11) Sox get: Gonzalez, GMJ Angels get: Konerko, Linebrink Padres get: Sox prospects, Angels prospects The Angels would add $6M to the payroll in 2010 which would fill the DH hole and add another arm to the pen (at least for the first half), and then cut payroll by $6.5M in 2011. The Angels actually get better in 2010 and save money in 2011, so that is why they would have to trade prospects. The Sox would cut $1.25M off the payroll in 2010 and add $12M to the payroll in 2011 (which is what a departing PK would otherwise free up). Edit: Also Cot's says GMJ's full NTC expired after '09 and he only can void a deal to one of four unnamed clubs for the remainder of his deal. So as long as the Sox aren't one of those four teams that would be one obstacle out of the way. In my scenario above though Linebrink is included, and he does have a NTC, although I don't know if it's full or partial.

QUOTE (Pants Rowland @ Dec 4, 2009 -> 11:51 AM) Adrian Gonzalez is probably worth trading Hudson and others but I am not so sure about Upton. My point is beyond just the Gonzalez/Upton talk. Every time I see a thread with a trade proposal for some player with a decent stick, people are really quick to pull the trigger on some excellent young pitchers. I have yet to see one player elevate the White Sox offense to the next level since Julio Franco was the DH. You could make a case for Thome in 2006 but that really did not sustain itself in the 2nd half and the cycle continued in subsequent seasons. If the player in question also brings a tremendous upgrade defensively, as you say for Upton and possibly Gonzalez (Konerko is not bad at 1B), then maybe it makes sense but I just am amazed at how few people recognize how detrimental the defense was last year, in particular in the first half, not to mention Alexei's brain cramp filled second half. I agree Hudson is an unproven commodity and you trade him if you can get an elite player like Gonzalez, but Danks and Floyd should command a huge payload in my opinion. I haven't seen much here suggesting we trade those guys. That has been mentioned a few times but I imagine the majority of the board would be VERY against anything involving Danks, Floyd, Q, or Beckham. None of those guys are going anywhere. Agree on Upton too. They would both cost the farm, but I'd much rather deal the farm for Gonzalez because that kind of bat is one that Upton will NEVER have - at least not the one named BJ. Upton does have a huge ceiling but it's kind of a damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don't situation with him. If we acquire him and he goes off like he's supposed to, then in arbitration he's going to rake us over the coals. If he's cheap in arb then it's because he didn't do jack, and if he's moderately priced in arb then he really didn't give us the lift we needed. At least with Adrian we KNOW we're getting an elite lefty bat, and we KNOW we're getting it cheaply in terms of salary for the next two years. The only drawback with Adrian is that he's a FA after 2011, but depending on where we are and where baseball in general is economically, we can't at this point *entirely* rule out an extension or a re-signing, and at least if he does go he's as good a bet as any for 2 first-round draft picks.

QUOTE (ptatc @ Dec 4, 2009 -> 12:16 PM) He did take a chance on AJ. AJ is one that most people still can't stand in the clubhouse but busts his tail on the field. however, I don't think Padilla has the upside to help the club like AJ so I don't see it happening either. Really? Who doesn't like - scratch that - who doesn't LOVE AJ??? I can't believe this. AJ is the f***ing man.

QUOTE (R.J. @ Dec 4, 2009 -> 01:31 PM) They can work as hard as they want but he's not going anywhere unless they eat about $15 million. There are guys that will do what he does for the major league minimum. Maybe see just how desperate the Cubs are to ditch Bradley. My guess is: not enough. I actually think that if the Angels ate some salary to make the contracts equal then the Cubs would do that deal in a heartbeat if they could, straight up. GMJ at least can play the field, and plus he's only asking for playing time, he's not making a huge scene publicly where he's being called a cancer - at least not to my knowledge anyway, because I haven't heard that GMJ is a clubhouse cancer. I really doubt the Angels would make that move though because Scoscia seems to be pretty strict about who he does and does not let into that clubhouse, especially after the Jose Guillen fiasco.

QUOTE (Princess Dye @ Dec 4, 2009 -> 01:14 PM) I hate to say this but if he and Adrian Gonzalez were traded here (as we had speculated about before)..... i think GMJ would play a lot for us in RF. Not that this is particularly uplifting in any way. I would be absolutely fine with a situation where GMJ backed up Rios in CF, Kotsay and GMJ backed up Q in LF, and Jones and Kotsay platooned in RF while we waited for Danks (if he would still be here after the deal). If we moved out Paulie in the deal then 2010 wouldn't be a major issue because we wouldn't be adding to the payroll this year, but the problem with GMJ would be all that money owed in 2011. I still think it's possible if not likely that if the Gonzalez-Paulie-Angels 3-way rumor was true, GMJ was in those discussions. But I really, really doubt he was going to the Sox. GMJ IIRC has a full NTC and as bad as he wants out of LA, he still wants to start. Why would he give up being a bench player in Southern California for an annual contender in order to be a backup for a team that plays in a cold weather city and has only made the playoffs on three occasions over the last decade? Doesn't sound like a fit, and again, I doubt Kenny would want all that 2011 money tied up in him. Linebrink's deal alone is bad enough. A deal that puts GMJ in SD as a starter, even without a set position, where the Sox eat cash so the Angels don't have to, makes a lot more sense IMO than GMJ coming here.

IIRC this is Harrell's last option year so they'll have to call him up at some point anyway. Ely should start in AAA. Shirek will begin in Birmingham but should be expected to get to Charlotte at some point next year, if not by midseason. And of course Torres, Hynick, and Marquez are on the 40-man as well, although who knows about Marquez's health. Carrasco's workload should be diminished with all our SP and he can spot start. The point is, we have enough #7 starters as it is, and if we reeeeeeeeeeeally needed another one, I wouldn't expect a GM who is known for both making the clubhouse a priority as well as requesting input from his veterans and his manager, to acquire a player that neither his manager nor his veterans can stand. Rumor = bulls***.

QUOTE (soxfan3530 @ Dec 4, 2009 -> 09:37 AM) has alexei fallen so out of favor on this board that people would consider giving up danks/floyd and the missle for the likes of Dan Uggla???? I hope not. Dan Uggla is no prime Robbie Alomar or anything.

I like the upper portions of the list mostly, but the bottom part is pretty confusing. Overall however I love the list because of this part: I'd like to know a little bit more about these defensive skills and what they're comprised of, i.e. arm strength, hands, release, etc. but that alone is a pretty big statement. I have to say I really like the Hudson-Viciedo-Mitchell order to the top-3. I would go Flowers-Hudson-Viciedo, but I like Mitchell, Hudson, and Viciedo all more than Flowers, so I like that a lot. It's kind of ballsy to rank Flowers after those three (even though I can agree with that) and it's also pretty ballsy to rank Morel ahead of Danks too, which I also agree with. I'd rank Danks over Morel personally because of upside, but Morel's floor is quite a bit higher IMO and Morel appears to be the safer bet to turn into a valuable Major Leaguer. But yeah, the bottom parts I really don't agree with at all. One thing that is especially confusing is why CJ is at 11 and Torres at 16. If he's going by upside + readiness, then I understand CJ at 11, but Carlos Torres shouldn't even be on there, especially ranked above all those other guys. And of course there are all kinds of crazy rankings, like Nathan Jones at 31, Trace Thompson at 17, the entire Griffith/Heidenreich/Infante/Upchurch/Leesman group missing the top-32, etc. And it goes on.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Dec 3, 2009 -> 04:51 PM) Marcus honestly looked defeated when Schaub got up. It was like he didnt have a plan B after he couldnt maintain the mount and beat Schaub down. The look on his face when they stood up again said it all, and *pop* Schaub rocked him and he couldnt even defend himself when he went down. I know he is "Big Baby" and this nice guy and all, but he is a huge muscle and he needs to realize that and maintain that aggression. I don't know where he's training at, but he's 35 already, so he needs to get with some top-class HW wrestlers and just focus on takedowns and positioning, because that man has some pretty vicious GNP potential. He may not be a wrestler at a base level, but his strength, power, and explosiveness could have him taking down a lot of guys at HW, and as long as he can do that and keep them there, he's got a pretty good chance of doing some damage IMO.

QUOTE (MHizzle85 @ Dec 3, 2009 -> 05:06 PM) I have that trouble everytime I watch it, I have class until 9 so I end up catching the replay and have it spoiled right before the fight for the night. Except yesterday it was spoiled for me when I heard this guy in my class talk about who won. I wanted to hit him kinda. You should have. BTW your boy Rampage is coming back and he says he wants Rashad.

QUOTE (SoxFan562004 @ Dec 3, 2009 -> 04:47 PM) Marcus' did not have a great base, if you listen to his corner they keep yelling at him about maintaining a base, Roy does a fantastic job of doing it. IIRC his corner had also been yelling at him to take the mount in the first place instead of letting him do some damage from side mount first. I'm usually one of the first to be put off by fighters who try to play it so safe that they never go for mount, but when you're as big and powerful as Marcus is, you really only need to land one good shot and then you're in position to finish. So in hindsight that was a little weird, especially since earlier on in the show Rampage was saying how he didn't really want to train the guys too much, he just wanted them to get the basic stuff down enough to where they could win fights.

QUOTE (SoxFan562004 @ Dec 3, 2009 -> 02:27 PM) Looks like Dos Santos vs. Yvel at 108 That fight is going to be awesome.

QUOTE (bucket-of-suck @ Dec 3, 2009 -> 12:35 AM) Danks is decent: Career: 31-33 - 4.06 ERA - .258 AVG - 1.33 WHIP That is 3rd or 4th starter material on an average MLB staff. There are 30 teams in MLB. Even if you want to go by his career line and include his rookie season where he posted a 5.50 ERA, in order for your statement to be correct you would have to at least list 60 other starting pitchers in baseball who have been better than that over a 3 year period. Good luck with that. Danks may be a #3/#4 for US but we also have one of the best starting staffs in all of baseball. Danks is an ace or #2 on most teams out there.

QUOTE (qwerty @ Nov 30, 2009 -> 03:18 AM) It's not ridiculous in the slightest, i see it here and many other places on a pretty frequent basis. I also said it seems that way, not that they do indeed care more about minor league championships, it's how they present themselves. Clearly there is nothing wrong with winning a minor league championship, or for players to play in the AFL. Attack you for wanting your home team to win a title? Not in the slightest. You or anyone can wish for your hometown team to win it all, that's your prerogative. David cook was drafted at 22, reach winston salem at 24, and got no significant time in birmingham until age 26, he currently is 28. Cook was never highly touted or thought of (realistically speaking) as anything more than a back up outfielder, and that was several years ago already. You can like him all you please, but there is a reason why he has never made it, the dream is over. Broad generalizations? At age 26 you are no longer considered a prospect, even if you may very well still have the talent and ability to succeed? Common school of thought. The skill set a player posseses is not the end all be all, but at what age and level that players hones his talent is the tell all. Every team has a time table for their draftees for when they ideally see them moving up the ladder, it's no secret. Some are worked with less than others when they slip behind too far, injuries are less forgiving, but the point still stands. Northside and yourself seem to believe a player can crack and stick into the big leagues later than than the data suggests. I tend to go with the extensive amount of data that suggests otherwise. Blasting people? If only. Gartrell i think of even less than omogrosso (relievers have the most leeway out of any position), if he were to make it, which i highly doubt he does, it will not be with this organization. I'm having the same problem here that ranger is having in the adrian gonzalez thread. The game and how it works/runs has been this way for a very long time, and when you think about it, it's amazing how little things have changed over the years. Any examples of players that make it and stick when 26 or older in any era are in such a minority that it's kinda ridiculous. Aberrations. Aberrations. Aberrations. Nothing more. Truly though, i am done with this thread, and i'm staying out of this forum entirely until spring training. Okay, so Sherrill and Putz are both aberrations then. You're still missing the entire point. Age only matters to a degree. If you have the arm to pitch in the Majors then teams give you shots. There's no age for learning how to pitch. I can agree with your argument a bit when it comes to position prospects, but pitching prospects are a completely different story. Grant Balfour didn't figure it out until he was 30 years old, and then he regressed again. But the arm is there and that's why he'll keep getting chances for as long as he wants to play. So what if Omogrosso will be 26 next year? If he can throw strikes in the low to mid-90's with sink and get his slider over once in a while from a low 3/4 vs. righties then he's going to at least make a pretty damn good specialist option. He may not have the best arm in our MiLB relief corp but he's got a good one. BTW, Santos Rodriguez will be 22 in Kannapolis and Nathan Jones will be 24 either starting in W-S or debuting in Birmingham. Does that mean we should think about writing them off pretty soon? I think you're getting way too caught up in your stats which include all kinds of arms who are inferior to Omogrosso's to make your point. As relievers go, he's one of the better arms in our system, so if you're going to compare him to other pitchers who didn't turn out, at least be fair enough to limit the field a bit before you make your graph or whatever. I imagine what your stats are telling you is that because of Justin Cassels don't make it at that age then one Omogrosso shouldn't be expected to either. It's not the way baseball is. Teams go by talent and ceiling, then everything else. And if Omogrosso doesn't make it, it doesn't prove your point that 26-year-old relievers can't stick, it proves the overall point that it is tough for just about any relief prospect to come up and consistently throw good strikes in MLB.

QUOTE (qwerty @ Nov 30, 2009 -> 03:18 AM) Javier lopez, who is different than javy lopez made the majors at 25 and has stuck around every year since. Aardsma cracked into the big leagues at 22 for 10.2 inning, was in the minors all of the next season, and has been made more than 25 appearances in every season from 2006, when he was 24 years old. Lopez also has a fastball velocity of 86.2 for his career, not exactly my definition of a power arm. Sorry, meant to say power arms and lefties. Aardsma's age when he debuted had nothing to do with why the Red Sox acquired him. They acquired him because of his arm. The reason he has made so many appearances has to do with a lack of option years (2007 was his last one), which is why we traded him in the first place, because we couldn't send him down. Boston had to do the same thing and that's how the Mariners got him.

QUOTE (bucket-of-suck @ Dec 2, 2009 -> 11:46 PM) Light-tower power? Are you high? The guy slugged .468 last season. Light tower power means you have tremendous raw power, and has nothing to do with SLG%.