gatnom

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jan 25, 2010 -> 02:28 PM) How do you catch lightning in a bottle if there's such a big logjam that none of them ever play? I guess you could hope that you catch that lightning in spring training and go from there.

QUOTE (Ranger @ Jan 25, 2010 -> 03:55 PM) I don't think the odds are that heavily in favor of the DH sucking. I think there is a good chance, but I don't think it's that strong. I also think there's a pretty good chance that the DH isn't necessarily good, but that it's good enough. I also believe it's a mistake to put this much weight on the designated hitter. The Sox will not win, or lose, the division just because of it. While a real, good hitter would make the lineup better, it's going to be up to the lineup as a whole to get it done this year. The DH appears to be a weakness, but it's probably not going to be the one thing that makes or breaks them. That's too much emphasis to place on one guy in the lineup. Does it matter if the DH position is the proverbial straw that breaks the camel's back? I notice that in a lot of your posts you mention how X, Y, and Z didn't or won't "break" the team, but the fact of the matter is that with those issues resolved the team wins more games, period. The question is not whether our current DH platoon could be good enough depending upon certain (in this case favorable) circumstances. Rather, it is a question of whether or not Jim Thome makes this team a better ball club. To me, it seems pretty obvious that he does.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 16, 2010 -> 10:41 PM) That is pretty much in line with what was expected for both of them. Glad it is done, and again no arbit trips for the Sox. Aren't Danks and Pena arb eligible?

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jan 16, 2010 -> 03:40 PM) Going to 4 years is the key there...Thome is simply older, and more likely to be down this year. The Thome vs. Guerrero argument is pretty much moot at this point, but Thome did have the better year last year even when you factor in his pinch hitting in LA. Vlad is also due for some sort of a decline himself seeing that, even though he isn't as old as Thome, he is going to be 35 in a month. All those years playing on turf in Montreal won't be helping him either.

QUOTE (MattZakrowski @ Jan 12, 2010 -> 08:54 PM) And that's why Juan Pierre should bat 9th. Agreed, but he wasn't acquired to bat 9th, unfortunately.

QUOTE (Vance Law @ Jan 12, 2010 -> 07:57 PM) Anybody who thinks this means Flowers is going to be traded is a crazy person. I don't know who thought he would be on the team sitting there on the bench all year. Has he proven that he's a great defensive catcher? Could he use more seasoning at the position? Has he not only played 30 games at AAA? Is AJ still here for this year? Is he the left handed power hitter that we need at DH? Everything always pointed to him playing at AAA this year. And people, please, come on. Mark Kotsay, a nice utility piece and pinch hitter, will not be the strong side of a DH platoon for us. I can see a scenario where the Sox could be very high on Miguel Gonzalez while simultaneously thinking AJ has a few more years left in the tank. I hope you are right about Kotsay.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Jan 12, 2010 -> 06:02 PM) considering the ramifications of a player becoming injured when he is counted on to be an integral part of the offense, and the lack of a quality fulltime replacement, I disagree. I consider a leadoff hitter to be a fairly integral part of an offense.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 11, 2010 -> 05:38 PM) Yeah, all of those one year deals this off season are really going to kill this franchise... If we don't end up signing a DH, I can see that killing us this year (though I still think big Jim comes back). These players might not be ideal, but I'd rather have them on one year deals than giving similarly mediocre players multi-year deals. Will they kill the franchise? No, probably not, but that's not exactly what he was saying either.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jan 8, 2010 -> 05:50 PM) Except Pods had an aberrantly good year and was healthy, neither of which are likely to happen again in 2010. And Pierre is a better defender. So, yes, Pierre is worth more. Pierre had an aberrant year himself. The four years before last he put up a line of .286 .329 .359. Personally, I'd rather have neither on my roster next year.

With those kind of stats, one would have to think he'd been juicing.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 8, 2010 -> 10:07 PM) You mean like the Sox trading for Pierre? That's sort of what I meant with a lack of suitors. edit: I suppose I should have been more overt in saying that Pods was definitely not getting that from anybody and that he could have been had at a much more reasonable contract. Whether or not it would be cheap enough to make the Pierre deal look really bad instead of just in between meh and bad, we probably won't ever know.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jan 8, 2010 -> 09:49 PM) Yeah, 2/$15 mil was what they reportedly asked for last October. Call me crazy, but I think more than a lack of suitors dropped that price. I take it they were never reported to ask for anything reasonable?

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Jan 8, 2010 -> 05:54 PM) At this point, JD is easily the best target who can be had and could fit in our budget, and he'd sign a one-year incentive-laden contract. Did Jim Thome kill your dog or something?

QUOTE (iamshack @ Jan 8, 2010 -> 08:21 PM) The White Sox think paying Juan Pierre 2/$8 is a good idea. You're saying it's not a reasonable argument to say Scott could have gotten somewhere close to that? I don't think its a good idea. History seems to indicate that really neither will be a very good baseball player next year. Were there any reports on what Scott was asking from the Sox?

QUOTE (bmags @ Jan 8, 2010 -> 05:38 PM) oh f***, that was the price tag? s***...I'd rather have pods for that than Pierre for two goddamn years. +1

Am I the only one who remembers this going on in the summer? Or has my life been a lie for the last 6 months?

QUOTE (Jerksticks @ Jan 6, 2010 -> 09:35 PM) Chunk I meant that he's looked at as a weak link next year. Probably because of the playoffs, Yankees fans are more excited about Gardner. Who cares about the Yanks, on to our DH. I'd rather let spring training play out before signing anybody. Let's see if we have 10 Major League producers for 9 positions before we do anything. Our division isn't running away if we wait til May, June or even the deadline to sign an out of work DH. What if Flowers rakes in ST? What if Andruw Jones is a beast? And these guys can play important positions. All we need is someone to be Hot Carl this year. Our division may not be running, but our options will be.

QUOTE (SouthsideDon48 @ Jan 3, 2010 -> 12:19 AM) Wow, congratulations to Floyd! This is awesome. I'm happy he's getting married, because I actually thought he was gay. I was going to post something about how it says nothing about who he was marrying, but it appears that gay marriage isn't allowed in Florida. I guess that means Gavin is off the hook. For now.

QUOTE (DGSOXFan14 @ Dec 28, 2009 -> 11:48 PM) Just thought since this best of the decade talk was going on that I would post this: Images Of The Decade Although, I dont think I saw the White Sox once... ...still a good video though. They had the Tigers winning the ALCS, though.

QUOTE (Real @ Dec 27, 2009 -> 09:49 PM) I told my father this, and I'm sticking by my guns....although I could be wrong of course My prediction: Hudson and/or Flowers will not be part of the White Sox organization before opening day, I have a strong feeling about this You know, normally I'd be in agreement with you, especially in Hudson's case because he really came from nowhere, but I think Kenny sees something in his current prospects that he hasn't really before. I would think that if Kenny intended on trading some blue chip prospects, he would have done it a couple weeks ago.

QUOTE (Ranger @ Dec 26, 2009 -> 01:19 AM) I also think it's absurd that because we have access to SABRmetrics, some of us think they have a better idea of how to put together a team than the people who are paid to put together a team. This isn't fantasy baseball, and a real team doesn't work like that. I think it's great when people have thought their ideas through and try to support them with facts the best they can. It's better than foaming at the mouth. I just think that some people should be aware that numbers aren't everything and that because you're able to cite zone ratings, doesn't mean you have definitive answers. I think the bold part above is exactly what SoxAce was getting at with the "I'm always right" thing a few posts back. Now, even though he and I pretty much agree with you, I don't know that the stat people around here would exactly put together worse teams. Just because people are paid to do something does not mean they do it well. There are plenty of coaches and GM's out there are quite frankly terrible. Does it mean that because they are paid their opinions are worth more than a well-informed fan? I don't think so. I'm not saying that specifically Kenny is a bad GM because I think he's one of the best in the business, but just because he is the one paid to make the decisions does not mean that his decisions are necessarily the best ones. Also, regardless of UZR etc. it is pretty obvious to the eye that Dye and Podsednik aren't very good in the field. Quentin with his injured foot looked pretty terrible out there as well. Was it the biggest problem with the team? That's debatable, but it was definitely up there.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan99 @ Dec 20, 2009 -> 10:59 PM) Angelo is the far bigger problem. As long as he is around I'm not sure it matters who is coach. I agree, but Lovie probably has to fall before Angelo. One step at a time.

QUOTE (Ranger @ Dec 20, 2009 -> 08:09 PM) Mark Kotsay doesn't have the same tools that Juan Pierre does. They don't play the same positions, they wouldn't bat in the same spot in the order, and they don't have the same skillsets. You can argue whether you think Pierre is all that good or not, and that's fair, but he's capable of being an everyday player (Pierre didn't miss a game for 5 straight years) and is capable of being an average leadoff hitter which is much tougher to find than utility IF/OF types. And for a guy who will play every day, the Sox are only paying him $1.5 mil more than they're paying Kotsay for his services next year. Mark Kotsay can play LF/RF and 1B; Juan Pierre can play LF. I'd bring up stats to compare fielding ability, but Mark Kotsay has only played 34 innings in LF. They also have no control over where they are put in the lineup, so that really isn't a reason he should be getting paid more than Mark Kotsay. He should be batting ninth, not first because if the last four years have shown anything about Juan Pierre it's that he is a below average leadoff man. You could probably make a case that $1.5 million is worth the stolen bases he will provide and the ability to play every day but what about the additional $5 million we are paying him next year? At the end of the day Juan Pierre is what he is, and that is a below average leadoff man. Is that what you want to pay $8 million over two years for? QUOTE (Ranger @ Dec 20, 2009 -> 08:09 PM) These are pretty good acquisitions given the budget contraints. You get the players you can with the money you have. If you blow all of it on one guy, and leaving nothing to fill the rest, that one guy won't make up for what you're missing. That's what the unknowns are for. These acquisitions may be good and they may be bad, and they may even be bad if the said players perform better than what was expected of them. Neither you nor I know exactly who was available and for what price, but if the aforementioned question marks fail to get back to their better days it won't matter whether or not Omar Vizquel is getting paid to do what our coaches are being paid to be able to do. Kenny is definitely not finished, so it's hard to argue definitively against your points. Let's hope he has something good up his sleeve. QUOTE (Ranger @ Dec 20, 2009 -> 08:09 PM) Not all holes are created equal, but when you add all those holes together, they become one big cavern. This cavern you speak of could be filled with a boulder and a few pebbles as well. QUOTE (Ranger @ Dec 20, 2009 -> 08:09 PM) Shack, I use phrases like that for people that are absolutely confident in themselves that they have better answers than the general manager. Sometimes people don't understand and not all ideas are good ones. And if anybody is able to, with any real-world certainty, provide a different plan with real names and real salaries to fill ALL of the holes the team needed to be filled and within the budget, I'd be happy to listen. I'm not arguing these are exciting moves, but given what they have to work with, I think they've done about as well as can be done so far without going over budget. Unless you have some sort of inside info, I'm not sure why you are exempt from this "my answers are better than your answers" thing. I mentioned earlier that it's impossible for us to know exactly who was available and for what price, barring your potential inside information thing of course. There is no possibility of "real-world certainty" for somebody who is completely out of the loop in Kenny's office. You have no more proof that they have made the best possible moves than I have that they haven't. Why is it that your opinion is that much better than anybody else's? If you know with "real-world certainty" that these are the best moves, I will gladly concede the point.

I'm kind of digging out this post from awhile back Ranger, but I felt like some of your points weren't completely addressed. QUOTE (Ranger @ Dec 20, 2009 -> 11:11 AM) No offense, but you probably wouldn't be a very good GM because I'm not sure you understand the economics here. Basically, you would've preferred they fill 4 or 5 holes with absolute unknowns? Not all holes are created equal, Ranger. I don't exactly agree with all of his points, but the holes on the bench are nowhere near as important as the holes in the everyday lineup, especially in the AL. Whether the money from the players they acquired for the bench could have been used to fill a bigger hole such as our DH or LF/RF remains to be seen, but I would rather have a good everyday lineup and an unknown bench than a meh everyday lineup and a good bench. It's not that I even dislike the signings at face value either. If we had already set up a good everyday lineup, I would be happy with these veteran signings for the bench, but as I believe KHP said elsewhere, it seems like the Sox are going about things backwards. QUOTE (Ranger @ Dec 20, 2009 -> 11:11 AM) I think that would've been a terrible idea, and trust me, you would've been saying, "why didn't they get some proven guys to play here or there?" At least we know the realistic potential for everyone he's acquired. You would've complained if they didn't make a serious move to fortify the pen. You would've complained if they made one huge signing, but then filled the rest of the vacancies with $500,000 players. I don't think it's a good idea to presume exactly how he would react. Some people would definitely be freaking out over it, but how do you know for sure this poster would be angry with such a scenario? QUOTE (Ranger @ Dec 20, 2009 -> 11:11 AM) On what planet would Pierre be getting $1.5 million? Coco Crisp is about to get $5 mil from the A's. Marlon Byrd? Really? Wow. The last four years Juan Pierre has posted an OPS of .703. Mark Kotsay, who just happens to be making $1.5 million, has put up the paltry OPS of .700. Kotsay actually has the superior OPS when you take into account the park factors (84 OPS+ versus 83 for Pierre). I realize OPS isn't an end all be all statistic, but it seems to point out that Pierre making $1.5 million can and probably should happen on the planet we know as Earth. Let's not also forget that these numbers include the couple months that Pierre played way over his head, at least for recent history. The problem is that this team simply was not good last year. These acquisitions like Teahen, Pierre, and the guys we signed for the bench are the kind of acquisition that you make to round out a roster, not play a vital role in its success. I believe in a previous post I made to you I outlined all the various question marks this team has, and we haven't added anything in the form of a certain bat to look to that will make it seem like this team has at least improved going forward. We have lost a lot of production from Thome, first half Dye, and even Podsednik who even though he probably won't repeat his numbers again this year, did put up decent numbers last year. I believe that Kenny knows this as well as we do, and that's why we are hearing (or at least were) that he was looking into acquiring a bat. If we say signed Jim Thome and called it an offseason, the team as constructed could definitely make some noise even deep into the playoffs, but you are putting a lot of hope into the fact that all these underachieving players can turn it around, which some people around here are taking for granted.

QUOTE (SockMe @ Dec 20, 2009 -> 02:06 PM) It was $20 per player but as usual I found a way to meet them with out paying. Intentionally left vague?