Adele_H

Ramirez footwork and attitude leave much to be desired so far thi season....... have his haters looked what the hotdog Orlando Cabrera been doing defensively lately? Not only as he not able to make near the spectacular plays Alexei does, he makes just as many bone-headed mishaps for Oakland. Conclusion: Ramirez is the SS of the future and the decision not to bring OCab was a good one.

WHAT ABOUT BABIB/RC27/over replacement-value Bill James? How's that stat looking for Peavy's BFF? So Getz didn't make a play? Is that an excuse to proceed to give up 4 runs? How about a couple of splitters that Derrek Lee would have missed by 5 feet combined in that situation? Like you say, the guy is making big money to make big money to close out important wins like yesterday's. Come to think of it, Linebrink was lucky that ball by Jake Fox got held up, with Brian Anderson making a leaping play. Wrigley not mixing well with the dude recently.

Trade value? Look, I am not exactly in the Poreda-next-Randy Johnson-but-better camp, but what's the rush to get rid of him?

Secondary pitches not quite polished? I'll say. His arm slows-down to a virtual crawl on change-ups even on television. That's Neal Cotts-vs-Josh-Phelps-HR-foul-HR-foul-actual-HR waiting to happen.\ Also would be nice if he could break 93-94 once in a while based on all the hype from AA stadium gun.... Say what you will about Thornton and his being a wuss when it comes to his slider, but Matt fastball is both fast and accurate.

I can live with Carlos Lee production. Lee has become more of a pull (HR) hitter over the years, though, he can be successfully pitched middle-away -- whereas with Viciedo there is still hope he can be an all-field HR monster in a few years. As for defense, I don't think it's necessarily the athleticism that disqualifies Viciedo as 3B. I am sure as he hopefully gets in better shape, he can be at least as "athletic" as Ventura or Crede. Pablo Ozuna was quite athletic but he was bloody horrorible But I fear that even as strong an arm as he has, Viciedo may lack the natural instincts/dexterity/focus to be an everyday INF on the major league level --- just like El Caballo.

See that's another thing: all this "so and so is more valuable as a ____" can be a bit misguided IMO. I am sure Edgar Martinez's bat would have been more valuable as a CF, but there was a reason he was a DH. Hell, look at Soriano on the Cubs. Brutal 2B, but decent (when healthy) in LF. Easy decision to make which position he should play.

Flowers, Viciedo, JorDanks I get.... but Shelby? How is he not anything more than a homeless man's Chris Young?

did you watch him (try to) drive the ball lately? Konerko has always been a mechanically-high-maintanence & moody/streaky guy. Going back to 2nd half of 2007, he's just generally not been as explosive a power hitter despite playing in HR heaven. These types of wrist injuries are a b****, I agree, but after a while it's just an excuse for being jammed by get-me-over fastballs Paulie used to send 450 feet into LF frozen-rope style. is that if Sox are really that high on B-Allen, if he's that much more versatile than Konerko.... might want to start the transition process or at the very least a DL stint.

Sellers? Maybe if back by 8-10 in July. Certainly would be CRAZY to sell off now. Last thing Sox want is piss off Sox fans and steer them toward Cutler-fied Bears, resurrgent Bulls & Blackhawks or even Cubs by pulling off a perceived White Flag II-point-O. Then again, momentum-crushing losses like today's certainly don't help the overall mood of JR and K-DUb. Damnit, .500 was well within range.

Fact: Linebrink can hit 96 mph. Fact: Linebrink has a nasty splitter and decent breaking ball (although apparently his arm hurts if he throws them too much, boo-hoo cry me a river Scott) Fact: Linebrink got control. Then why the hell does he break Sox fans' heart like this? I almost threw up every time he failed to put away a Cubbie w. 2 strikes on them while up 5-1. Bad pitch selection; worse execution. Getz being a bad defender and ump squeezing the zone is no excuse. Unbelievable 2 years in a row this red-faced duderino does this at Wrigley.

Jason, what's Hudson's stuff like? and does Allen have the batspeed and bat-control to handle ML pitching?

Those who've seen him pitch... does Omogrosso throw a legitimate 99 mph or is he a typical Sox prospect who loses 3+ MPH on a plane ride to Chicago upon promotion?

With Konerko taking pitiful swing since his wrist flared up, would Allen be that much of a downgrade? Paulie needs some time off -- and Josh Fields can't hit a ML fastball (consistently). I'd love for Brandon Allen to pull a Ryan Howard on us once promoted to the bigs.

indeed I am,

meant Reese defensive (type), not offense. Robbie Alomar better comparison Also what "success" has Beckham had at 3B thus far? He's been pretty bad thus far defesnively at every position, both in the minors and majors. Scouting reports that have him as a "plus" defender in any way shape or form are a (hype) joke. It's just that at 3B, Beckham at least has a chance to be league-average with the glove, eventually. His offensive potential is what hopefully will make him a valuable player.

Viciedo seems to have the hand-quickness and strength to be a good ML'er. His propensity to go oppo at a relatively young age is also a plus. As others mentioned, pitch selection, pitch selection pitch selection, that will decide his fate --- he will never be Frank Thomas, but he can't be Willie Mo Pena or Eric Munson, either. Defensively Since 3B has always seemed destined for Beckham (his lateral quickness and agility are not suited for either SS or 2B where you want guys like Pokey Reese or young Furcal), Viciedo looks like a future DH.

I am sorry, how is this NOT Jerry Owens 2.0 again? (serious question as I never seen him play)

Are you kidding? This is close to the perfect Sox-appropriate video. When they show it before home opener this year, I teared up but in a manly way. Don't change it.

Wondeful news. To quote the exceedingly immortal genius that is Hawk Harrelson.... "Hell yeah!"

Shingo was never figured out. The guy made fools of some pretty damn good hitters in '04 even after they faced him earlier, read the "book", etc. It was simply the case of Shinguchiro-san losing the pin-point control due to age, injury and experiencing a Brad Lidge-like loss of self-confidence after that 3 HR debacle against the Tribe.