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QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Sep 22, 2009 -> 05:36 PM) If Upton ever could get motivated to play up to his potential he would be in the MVP race every year. If he can't play for Madden, I really wonder if he would be better elsewhere, or if he's just a guy everyone will be left with wanting more. Defensively Upton in CF and Rios in RF would be about as good as it gets. I would prefer crawford. Upton has issues with playing hard. I would gladly give up Hudson for Crawford

QUOTE (Disco72 @ Sep 22, 2009 -> 02:32 PM) Then again, even though he missed time, this has to be career year(ish) for Mauer. True and no clue how they will play in the new park. I expect the Twins to be the favorite though, they always seem to be there and play very well fundamentally. I think the Tigers will be worse. The division is there for the taking, we just need to make some moves to take advantage of it and not sit on our hands.

QUOTE (Disco72 @ Sep 22, 2009 -> 01:23 PM) The only two players who we could reasonably expect a "bounce-back" year from are Rios (see posts above mine for that argument) and TCQ (who you even admit should be between his excellent 2008 and disappointing 2009). The Sox will almost certainly add someone better than what Dye has put up in the 2nd half, it would be pretty difficult to find a worse hitter than 2nd half Dye. Then there are young players that *could* improve like Beckham, Alexei, and Getz. I agree with you that AJ and Paulie will be hard pressed to repeat their 2009 seasons. As Balta said above, the offense, specifically in the 2nd half, is so awful given this level of talent, it would be hard to repeat if we just played the season over. With all that, how does the offense end up worse? It is literally almost impossible even with 7 regulars coming back. I didn't mean to say they would be worse, thats pretty much impossible. I just don't think they will be significantly better, not enough to warrant a division title or world series contender. I think Alexei is what he is now, I dont see him improving. Beckham should get better. Individually they may look talented, but together it just isn't working. They are terrible situational hitters, whereas teams like the Twins seems to be very good at getting runners home. The two new players they bring in need to be impact players to improve this offense to a contending level.

QUOTE (ChiSox_Sonix @ Sep 22, 2009 -> 12:36 PM) Because it helps his argument to say that players with good years this year (PK, AJ) will regress but those with bad years will continue to have bad years. Are you saying that you are confident he will hit 280 next year and that you would be happy going into next season with the same offensive players?

QUOTE (Disco72 @ Sep 22, 2009 -> 11:57 AM) So you think that: 1) the Sox will resign Dye and he'll be just as bad as he's been the 2nd half, 2) that Rios will continue being so much worse than his career averages, 3) that TCQ will continue to be injury prone and reasonably unproductive, and 4) the Sox will not bring in a single new starter / position player? Or that the replacements for the above players will play as bad as this year's starters did? Some of those things may happen, but all of them won't. There are 7 position players coming back - Beck, Alexi, AJ, Paul, Getz, TCQ, Rios. AJ and Paulie will not be as good as they were this year. TCQ will be somewhere between 08 and 09, but it certainly is possible that he will continue to be injury prone. He has been his whole career. Rios is not good. He has always been overrated and never close to the 30/30 that was projected of him. I don't think he will be as awful as this year but he won't hit 280. Thus, the balancing of those 7 players will be close to a wash. My point is if you are relying on bounce back years for these players, you are in for a huge disappointment. Anyone who says that our offense has not been horrible has not been paying attention. Anyone who thinks that it will suddenly turn around is foolish. Sitting around and waiting for guys to magically turn it around instead of recognizing that they aren't that good is a recipe for more losing. Those two new starters to bring in are going to be the key but they have to be significant offensive players for this to work. I just don't see how thats possible given the current salary structure of the team.

QUOTE (Disco72 @ Sep 22, 2009 -> 11:50 AM) It would be hard for our offense to be worse in 2010 than it has been the 2nd half of 2009. Most AAA players could put up the lines that Rios and Dye have been putting up for the last couple of months. I am still very optimistic for 2010. Actually it won't be hard because we have the same players here next year.

QUOTE (tommy @ Sep 21, 2009 -> 10:27 PM) At this point we are so f***ing bad, I'm not even sure if we should be looking forward to 2010, UNLESS there will be a major overhaul. Which doesn't seem so. I agree with this. The offense is horrible and its not going to be any better next year without a major overhaul. However 7 of these starters are back with only RF and DH to fill. Please someone tell me how we are going to win the division with such an awful lineup.

QUOTE (kitekrazy @ Sep 21, 2009 -> 11:12 AM) That's the thing. We keep looking at Detroit but you have to pass the Twins. You actually have to win some games of your own. Considering we haven't even won 1 of the last 4 series there is no signs whatsoever of winning this division. The Tigers are giving it away but the Sox aren't man enough to take it.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Sep 17, 2009 -> 09:47 PM) This is a much better team right now than its record says. And it will be even better soon. how is this a much better team? the offense is awful. AJ and Paulie will not be this good next year. At some point you have to recognize that its not a slump, its just bad hitters. Also, we don't have a metric ton of young talent, not sure where you are seeing that. Who do you think is so talented that isn't here? Danks? Viciedo?

QUOTE (Jenks Heat @ Sep 17, 2009 -> 02:03 PM) If the White Sox hit they will win the division. Last night is exactly why they may not. Unfortunately they have not hit all year. Too many holes in this lineup and next year it doesnt look much better with pretty much the same guys returning.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Sep 15, 2009 -> 08:22 PM) If his fielding problems were due to inexperience, I would love to see him play. I just think his problems are from a lack of concentration, and positioning, both things that can be fixed immediately. I would think the Sox would want him to take a break and lift some weights, maybe drink a few milkshakes. Man I wish I could sit around and drink milkshakes!!

I think he is a far better million buck option than fat Colon was. I don't know how anybody could have thought he would give us even 20 starts this year. At least Freddie has some heart and guts.

QUOTE (soxfan3530 @ Sep 16, 2009 -> 01:39 PM) no thank you. like the previous poster im fine with the garcia torres hudson options. spend your money elsewhere. like figgons! I agree, as long as Peavy is healthy we can go with Freddie or a kid as the 5th starter. The money would be best spent on the bullpen and some offense (which I think is looking pretty bad for 2010 right now).

QUOTE (elrockinMT @ Sep 10, 2009 -> 05:58 PM) I think you make a valid point and one I have argued in the past. We all want to win and that should be without argument. But, when we have someone not performing to a high standard for whatvere reason, or just becasue we don't seem to take a shining to a player, the clamor is to cut them, trade them, blow them up, etc, and not realize that people have slumps and bad years. I look at the clamoring that was done on Vazquez and Swisher for instance. Both could have helped this team in 2009. One can certainly aergue about a future contributor being acquired, but those two have worked well for their new teams. We may react to quickly and regret the move that is made. We need to stop, take a step back and a deep breath and think that 2010 may bring a healthier player or just a clean start. Trades and FA signings are made to plug holes in your team not create more or just set up another problem. Thats true, we certainly would have made the playoffs if we had Javy this year. I sure hope Flowers turns out to be the stud catcher of he future because hes all we got left in that deal. Of course we do have Chris Young back in Rios, albeit with less power.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Sep 10, 2009 -> 12:32 PM) I'd just like to point out that if we gain one more game on DET in the next week, then we will be less than 6 games back, with 6 games remaining against them. Still a long shot, but, just saying, it means we control our own destiny. The fat lady is warming up back stage, but she ain't singin' yet. Its very unrealistic to think we will sweep 6 games from Detroit. I know we all want to have a shot and make that last series at home fun and seem like a playoff. So I think we need to be no more than 4 games out before that series. That way a 5 of 6 does the trick. If we can somehow be 3 out than 4 of 6 would make it very interesting. So go KC today and finish the sweep!

QUOTE (greg775 @ Sep 9, 2009 -> 10:53 PM) What did Rios do now? Or just sad in general? he raised his average with us by going 1-6

QUOTE (docsox24 @ Sep 9, 2009 -> 10:45 PM) and of course the tigers miss both Grienke and Halladay. oh my bad, they face roy on monday, didnt realize it was 4 games

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Sep 9, 2009 -> 10:40 PM) Do people still realistically think we have a chance in hell of catching the Tigers? That ship sailed about two weeks ago. and of course the tigers miss both Grienke and Halladay.

QUOTE (EvilJester99 @ Sep 9, 2009 -> 10:11 PM) Oh well Rios more of the same thus far. you only have to watch that swing for four more years

QUOTE (chw42 @ Sep 4, 2009 -> 11:33 AM) I'll admit it, before this year, I thought he was overrated. I used the same arguments you're using. Never hit many homers, blah blah blah. The thing is, the guy hits a bunch of doubles, has the ability to steal 30 bases, and plays great defense in center field of all places. His stats might have looked ordinary last year. He almost hit .300 and hit only 15 home runs. But guess what? He was worth 4.5 wins above average. Any player above 4 wins is all-star caliber. If you want to compare him to any players...Let's just say he was better than Curtis Granderson by .7 wins. He was 4.5 wins above average in 2007 and 2.9 above in 2008. This line from BP sums it up "Rios is a complementary player miscast as a star."

QUOTE (hogan873 @ Sep 4, 2009 -> 07:32 AM) There's no guarantee that Rios will turn it around and get back to his career numbers. But, it's more likely that it will happen vs. him putting up atrocious numbers forever. The jury still has to be out on Rios. We have to see him the rest of the season and into next season before we can declare him a dog...and I don't see that happening. Someone posted that it's a very small sample size, and that's true. It's like if we were to have started screaming and crying over Cutler's poor performance in the first pre-season game. I'm one of those who thinks Rios will come around. If he can get back to his career numbers (or even close), he's a much better choice than BA. I'll take .280 with 15-20 HRs, 70+ RBIs, and 30 SBs in addition to him being a good CFer. Many people are saying that some are too quick to judge and next year hs should get back to his norm. The truth is his career numbers are not at all that good. He has 82 homers in 6 seasons. He has hit more than 17 homers once. He has never walked more than 55 times. People perceive him as a 30 homer guy because thats what scouts or baseball people tell us. But hes not even close to that. His numbers with us, without the face, look like Brian Anderson but he will always get a much larger opportunity than BA because of the "potential". I think his upside is a .285 20 hr guy. Hes not a superstar, hes not an all star, and there are plenty of CF better than him. He is certainly not a $60M player. I think he may have a decent year or two for us, but he won't earn that salary. I predict he will end up being one of the most disliked Sox players of our generation.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Sep 3, 2009 -> 04:02 PM) Yeah and we get the Royals and Indians and Orioles who we don't dominate enough. Nice win, but we got our own problems to not worry about the Dubs. Its nice to win a couple. Tigers sweep Indians and take care of business which we could not do against crappy Cle. The Tigers schedule is really really easy so I don't see them losing much.

QUOTE (MexSoxFan#1 @ Sep 3, 2009 -> 03:39 PM) Cubs are worse than us,LOL kotsay is a waste