Eminor3rd

Yeah I bet they have a tons coming off the books, so they know they'll sign him regardless.

Werth is SO overrated.

My impression of Diaz is that he's an extreme platoon-split guy. Could be wrong.

I'm afraid Lee may be damaged goods. Guys with bad backs tend to have a tough time bouncing back.

This seriously made me more excited than Dunn or Pierzynski.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 2, 2010 -> 04:14 PM) The issue with this is...what do we do with Ozzie's usual desire for 2 lefty setup men in the bullpen. Raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaandy Williams!

This thread is evidence that we need the capability of green font in thread titles.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Nov 30, 2010 -> 12:15 AM) Fowler's OPS is .221 better at Coors for his career. A strikeout machine and a 4th OF for a guy who makes hardly any coin. KW can do better than that, and I don't even like Gavin Floyd. Agreed. Floyd is worth more than this.

QUOTE (hitlesswonder @ Nov 28, 2010 -> 01:03 AM) It's the CQ for Ibanez trade that's the most mind-boggling. Ibanez will be 38, gets $12M, can't play the field, and had an .800 OPS last season. I repeat: CQ+ $12M for an .800 OPS DH. That was my reaction too. Imagining that trade is obnoxious.

QUOTE (sircaffey @ Nov 27, 2010 -> 07:33 PM) That's pretty much what he was the previous 3 years until this miraculous career year at age 34. Exactly.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Nov 25, 2010 -> 10:03 PM) You mean "2006"? Touche.

I like PK at 2/24 or 3/30, but that's it. I think he reverts to 270/340/500/28/90

I don't see him coming back after a non-tender. Remember all the bad press about management calling him fat?

Yeah I don't like this. If Floyd goes, we need to fill a big hole, because we'll be creating one at SP. Ian stewarts's value is allin his power, which isn't elite, and he's been playing at coors. I'd take him, but not as a centerpiece for Floyd.

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2010/11/dbac...-zach-duke.html Nevermind.

That offer is bogus. No way vmart wouldn't have accepted 3/48 over 4/50 to teams with essentially the same chance of contending and offer identical roles.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Nov 22, 2010 -> 03:46 PM) http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/p...raps-zach-duke/ Why Zach Duke isn't that bad... See? I know it's early, but it wouldn't be the worst thing ever. Certainly not Teahen extension or anything. Low walk, high groundballs isn't so bad for the Cell, right?

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Nov 20, 2010 -> 10:00 PM) Absolutely not and I've never implied that, but I don't think Zach Duke is going to have to settle for a minor league deal, and, quite frankly, he shouldn't have to with the abundance of organizations that lack starting pitching. I also really don't think that he'd come here even on a minor league deal because he's not likely to get a chance to pitch in the rotation, and he could very well not get a chance to pitch out of the bullpen either. I will say, without considering any of the current Sox minor leaguers nor any potential minor league free agent signings (and that could include Duke too if he signed here), the Sox currently have 7 players players on the major league roster that I would rather have start a game than Zach Duke. He's going to be expensive, relatively speaking, and I don't think that he really offers any upside whatsoever. Well, I agree with you, that he shouldn't be paid much and that he shouldn't pitch if we have all of the guys we have now. But what I was implying is that if we took him as a downgrade in the 5 slot, we might be able to trade a pitcher for a big bat, and end up better making the sacrifice. But, yeah someone like AZ or Milwaukee might sign him for $2.5m.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Nov 20, 2010 -> 07:31 PM) Which just leaves him as terrible, which the Sox shouldn't invest in either. Would you prefer Brandon Hynick? Garrett Johnson? Those are our AAA pitchers. How is Zach Duke on a minor league contract not 30 times better than some replacement level scrub from Charlotte? Do you think we should just run the same team out as last year?

The reason he got DFA'd isn't because he's terrible, it's because he won't be worth his arbitration raise. If no one claims him we could get him on a minor league deal, or really cheap major league deal. Again, not ideal, but we have nothing but pure garbage in our AAA system, so a guy with not terrible MLB stats that can eat innings can be tremendously valuable at #5. Remember, we haven't resigned Freddy Garcia and we don't even know for sure if Peavy will pitch next season. We can move Pena or Sale in but we're already going to lose Jenks and we haven't resigned Putz. Can we even afford to lose the bullpen arms? Look, all I'm saying is that we're used to trying to put a good pitcher in all 5 starter slots, but you don't have to do that to win. And as badly as we need offense right now, I think putting someone who is reliable and has the ceiling of a decent #4 at the back of the rotation would open up our trade possibilities. All of a sudden we could trade Floyd or Jackson and not literally have a nameless scrub from AAA move in. Remember, we're not talking about trading for him, we're talking about bringing him in on a peanuts-salary for no cost in talent.

EJax or Floyd trades might make a lot more sense if we had Zach Duke at the back. I know Duke isn't awesome, but he's a serviceable back-end guy for sure, and he's two years removed from an all-star appearance. What do you think? Trade a pitcher for a Granderson or even a Fielder if we had Duke? EDIT: http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2010/11/pira...oche-young.html

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Nov 19, 2010 -> 11:12 PM) So in essence, a young/cheap/talented/under team control for the next 6 years SP for two months of Jackson, only to trade him for a 30-year old that's had one truly great season and can't hit pitchers who throw with their left-hand. Awesome. You know what they say... cut your losses

If I was Towers, I'd be looking to deal Upton. The reasoning? Too many eggs in one basket. Even if Upton hits his ceiling (.285/.370/.580/40/125 maybe?), that team is several large pieces from competing. The pitching staff is in shambles, and they're shopping Reynolds and looking to Juan Miranda or Brandon Allen at first at the moment. All signs are pointing to competing in 2012 at the earliest, and if he can extract surplus prospect value out of moving Upton, and spread that value around the field instead of leaving it all in RF, I think he comes out a winner easily. Upton will probably be a great player, but there's a lot of risk involved, too. If Upton fizzles out, and Towers had a shot at 5 great prospects in a year where he wasn't going to win anyway, all of a sudden holding onto him becomes a really bad move. It's just a matter of diversifying assets, IMO.

I think I'd make the deal. Resign Freddy Garcia and convert T-Pain to a 5 starter and ditch whichever one is worse when Peavy returns and/or Sale forces himself into the rotation. TCQ becomes your DH. I like it. I'm in favor shaking things up.

It would be Beckham. Kelly Johnson is a FA, right?