chw42

For that 1 TB external, checkout Newegg.com or the CompUSA (it's actually a TigerDirect) in Naperville by Fox Valley Mall. I'm pretty sure iPod prices will stay stable on BlackFriday.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Nov 24, 2009 -> 12:55 PM) I bet Boston would, if the Tigers would take back a deal not including Buchholz. Discussions should start with Buchholz. This isn't Victor Martinez we're talking about, this is Miguel Cabrera.

Frank's 94 season was Barry Bonds post-2001 caliber. He would have had 55-60 home runs and 150+ RBI with an OPS over 1.200. The guy has a career OPS+ of 156, which is 20 points higher than Ken Griffey Jr.'s career OPS+, somebody most consider a sure first-ballot hall of famer. If Frank doesn't get in first-ballot, something is wrong with baseball.

Not many teams can afford him...

You can start becoming nervous if the team we have now is the same team we have in March. Right now, it's a matter of being patient.

Who voted for Miguel Cabrera? Is this the same guy who voted Verlander for Cy Young? Idiot...

QUOTE (flavum @ Nov 23, 2009 -> 11:36 AM) Rice's career was more compact. His peak numbers were over a 10-12 year period where he was clearly one of the elite run producers and feared hitters in baseball. Baines accumulated big numbers over 20+ seasons. If you're an "accumulator", you have to get to 500 homers and/or 3000 hits. Baines didn't get to either and he never got close to winning an MVP. He came in 9th once and 10th once. He just doesn't cut it as a Hall of Fame player. He got his number retired and a statue from the White Sox...that's his Hall of Fame. I'd say Baines was a lot more consistent throughout his career. Rice really leveled off after 1983, but you're right he was a monster for a couple of years, which makes him one of the elite players in the league for nearly half a decade, something that Baines was not. However, you can say that consistency can also get you somewhere, just look at a guy like Craig Biggio. Granted, he's nothing spectacular, but the fact that he is an accumulator with 3,000 hits and played many weaker positions will probably get him into the hall sooner or later.

QUOTE (fathom @ Nov 23, 2009 -> 11:33 AM) Was it speed or just being in the right place at the right time? He had a huge hole to run through, and probably 99 pct of the running backs in the NFL score on that play. Either one works because Forte hasn't gotten either one so far this year.

The only good thing coming out of last night's game was Kahlil Bell (I always think of Khalil Greene when I hear see name for some reason...). After watching Forte run like a 35 year old for most of the year, it was refreshing to see a burst of speed.

He won't get in. His offensive stats are nice, but the fact that he was a DH for the second half of his career probably put the nail on the coffin. If Jim Rice can get in with his stats, so can Baines. The only difference is that Rice actually played a position on the field and that matters.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Nov 22, 2009 -> 08:04 AM) This is unacceptable. They don't even eat Chop Suey in Japan... On another note, I honestly don't see any team going after Matsui with mad money. Seattle might do it, but they have Griffey as a full time DH. I don't think they want to bench him, even though they should. At this point, he's just a DH and hitters that can only be a DH aren't worth much of anything in terms of value.

QUOTE (beck72 @ Nov 22, 2009 -> 08:48 AM) http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/10357594 I'm glad to hear the Sox seem to be keeping their options open regarding Teahen at 3b. I guess it comes down to who the Sox can add at 2b, 3b or the OF that would allow them to move Teahen away from 3b. Here are a few options that come to mind: 3b: [Which would move Gordon to 2b, and Teahen to RF or 1b]. *Adrian Beltre. Wouldn't cost a draft pick, though he's a type B. Seattle won't offer him arb. Would solidify the left side of the IF with his defense. Would likely get a 2 yr, $12, 13 mill. deal. The sox would still need someone for leadoff, such as a Randy Winn for RF or Pods for LF. I like Randy Winn for RF [1 yr, $5 mill], with Teahen for 1b. Beltre's power should come back moving away from Sea. and getting healthy, which could make up for Winn's lower power numbers in RF. Under this scenario, Konerko would likely have to be moved to afford both Beltre and Winn [most likely in a salary swap for bad contracts]. Thome could then be signed for DH [1 yr, $5 mill] and provide the sox with LH power. Getting all signed would be tough. Though the sox could sign Beltre to a lower 2010 salary, such as $5 mill. in 2010, and $7 mill in 2011, with PK's salary coming off the books. The sox could sign Pods to lower deal, have him for LF, with Quentin going to RF. Yet I like the defensive improvements that Beltre and Winn would give the Sox. *Chone Figgins. Too expensive. Likely not happening. 2b: [which would move Beckham back to 3b, and Teahen to the OF or 1b] *Orlando Hudson. Though the sox would likely lose their 2nd rd draft pick, he would likely take a 2 yr deal, for $11, 12 mill. He could hit at the top of the order, and is solid at 2b. *Felipe Lopez: It wouldn't cost the sox a pick, as he's a type B. And he's a better defender than Hudson. Hudson is a better overall bat, and Lopez may have had a career year at the plate in 2009. Lopez should get a similar deal as Hudson's 2 yr deal, for $10, 11 mill. I question Lopez as he's moved around a lot, not by his choice. What are some other options/ ideas if the sox are still looking at having Teahen for other than 3b? Teahen should be playing right field or DHing. Winn is getting old, he had a bad season offensively in San Francisco last year, but his glove is still decent. I don't actually think he's worth 5 million in the market right now. I like the idea of Beltre, his home/away splits are crazy. Safeco has sucked the life out of him, but I'm not sure $7 million per is enough for him. Either way, like you said, for any of these deals to be done, we need to shed some contracts, most likely Konerko's or maybe even Jenks' arbitration.

QUOTE (scenario @ Nov 20, 2009 -> 01:15 PM) Not really. But if he doesn't, it could mean we'll flip him during the offseason for another team's former first round bust... ala Borchard for Thornton. That passing thought just interested me for a minute. I'm pretty sure he does have some options left.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Nov 20, 2009 -> 01:11 PM) Right now he would be a waste of a roster space. He would essentially be a pinch hitter against lefties and pinch runner. He can also play great defense. Although with Vizquel taking over the defensive replacement role, I don't know where you can fit him. I like Nix's potential a lot. Hopefully, he will stay in the organization somehow.

QUOTE (scenario @ Nov 20, 2009 -> 01:06 PM) Anybody know if Lillibridge has any options left? Does it really matter?

I actually like this. Vizquel can be a very good defensive replacement and he can fill in once or twice a week at SS, 2B, or maybe even 3B. It gives Ozzie a lot of flexibility. His defense is still well above average and his bat is well below average. However, defensive contribution is almost just as important as offensive contribution. Even though Vizquel posted only a .301 wOBA last year, his near 9 UZR made him worth 1.2 wins, which is pretty impressive for a guy his age. You guys wanted better defense right? Well, here you go. At around a million, this is a great signing.

QUOTE (smalls2598 @ Nov 19, 2009 -> 01:27 PM) Tim Lincecum repeats as Cy Young in a close vote. Lincecum had 100 points; Carpenter had 94, and Wainwright (who had the most 1st place votes) finished third with 90 points. MLB.com article Real close, but Carpenter should have won.

If Kenny gets this deal done, he is officially a god.

QUOTE (G&T @ Nov 12, 2009 -> 03:40 PM) Here is the link. NY Post He compared them over the past 3 seasons. Jeter contributed 6 more wins in that time than Damon, that's 2 more wins per season. That's not comparable.

QUOTE (SoxFan562004 @ Nov 12, 2009 -> 02:12 PM) http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/j/jeterde01.shtml BR have Damon as the 8th similar batter to Jeter and they both suck out loud on defense (even as a Jeter hater I will admit he was better this year, but the best in the league as a GG should indicate is a joke). Jeter would be worth more on paper because he plays SS over OF, but then you have to weigh his defense against his offense. Even when you weigh his defense to his offense, which WAR does, Jeter has had a 4+ WAR 6 times out of the past 8 years. Damon's only done it twice since they began to record the stat in 2002. As bad as Jeter has been on defense, Damon's been about as bad as an outfielder. He is much less valuable.

QUOTE (G&T @ Nov 12, 2009 -> 06:50 AM) I can't find the article referenced, but I read it yesterday and, from what I recall, Boras did not say Jeter and Damon were comparable. He said that Damon made Jeter better and that the Yankees are paying for more than just Damon's numbers, but Jeter's improved numbers with Damon in the lineup. So he's trying to say that Damon made Jeter...? That wasn't what I heard from the shows on ESPN (but then again, should I believe what they say?). I guess you can argue that in a way, but I think New Yankee Stadium made Damon and Jeter better last year more than anything. Plus, Jeter's improvement in fielding has nothing to do with Johnny Damon.

QUOTE (MattZakrowski @ Nov 11, 2009 -> 06:23 PM) I dunno, his Grindy index was 53 points lower than Scott Podsednik's, his Ultimate Scrap Rating was a whopping 124 points lower than Chris Getz's. No thanks. But seriously, 1 please. His Wins Above Grinder (WAG, pronounced like vag ) was also lower than Alex Rios. ALEX RIOS! I didn't even know he was a grinder. Oh BTW, the highest WAG ever belongs to Darrin Erstad, which was over 9000. Aaron Rowand is second with a 8997.

Every year, Mr. Borass puts out propaganda for his players. This year, it's much of the same. He overvalues his players and he looks like somebody who is clueless about baseball and the value a player contributes to a team. This year though, he made leaps towards insanity by saying that Johnny Damon (his client) is comparable to Derek Jeter. Not only is this a totally flawed statement in the world of casual baseball fans, it is also an extremely flawed statement in the world of sabermetrics. Believe it or not, Derek Jeter had one of the best, if not the best, years of his professional career this past season. He had a wOBA of .390 and for the first time ever, an above average UZR, easily making Jeter one of the most valuable players in baseball this season. In fact, he only contributed one less win than Albert Pujols with a WAR of 7.4. Now Johnny Damon is a good player. He's about as old as Jeter, gives good offensive production, but also plays horrendous defense. Plus, the fact that he plays a corner outfield position doesn't help his case in terms of value. His WAR this past season was a 3.0. That's a difference of 4.4 wins between him and Jeter, which is insane. For those who do not know about WAR, 1 win share accounts for 10 runs of production, which comes from both an offensive and defensive standpoint. Therefore, Jeter saved/created 44 more runs than Damon. With WAR, any player with a WAR of 4 or above is considered as a premier producer. Therefore, Jeter is literally a little more than twice the player that Damon is in terms of Wins Above Replacement. So in terms of metrics, Jeter is far superior. But what about in the casual sense? Derek Jeter is a future first ballot hall of famer. Call him whatever you want, it's going to happen and he actually does deserve it. So it's safe to say that even the most casual of fans would think of Boras as a crazy idiot. I'm pretty sure that Boras is smart enough to know that what he's saying is totally false and he's just trying to lure some stupid GM into thinking this way. However, how many GMs are stupid enough to believe something like this? I think it's gotten to the point where if I'm a general manager, I am insulted by Boras' comments since they're basically aimed towards general managers. So if he thinks that I'm stupid enough to believe such rubbish, what is his perception of my baseball knowledge? Hopefully, no GM falls into the Boras trap this off-season going after Holliday or Damon, especially Damon. I think this act is getting too old and he's crossed the line, even for the most casual of baseball fans and maybe even Brian Sabean.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Nov 11, 2009 -> 10:21 PM) Royals to sign former White Sox IF Wilson Betemit. Hahahaha, only makes their defense that much worse.

QUOTE (ChiSox @ Nov 10, 2009 -> 09:38 PM) *insert random nba superstar here* could. that was so close that you have to just stay with the call on the floor. garbage like this is why i barely watch the nba. If that was Kobe, it would have been good no matter what. Nobody would believe that Brad Miller can make such a shot. Honestly, if the NBA was corrupt like that, the commissioner's office would have called the refs and told them to keep the damn play. That's one of the plays of the year if it stayed.