DBAHO

An Owens / Ozuna platoon could probably give you an adequate enough production from the leadoff spot (if Owens could get a .350-.360 OBP against RHH's). But unless you're going to bench Quentin, there's no spot for that with the addition of Swisher. My hope is Cabrera's offensive numbers rise enough moving to the Cell to give him say a .340 OBP, and I think that may be good enough. Swisher COULD leadoff, as other hitters with low averages such as Brad Wilkerson have done it before, but ideally you want him at #2 or #3 in the order. Hence why I think if a trade's made it could be for a 2B, although I think Richar is capable of having a pretty decent OPS, the Sox may not give him that chance to show it. If they could acquire a Figgins, a Roberts etc. they'd do it. The problem is, they really don't have much less to deal. A few relievers, Joe Crede, a couple of spects but not much.

Just 1 thing people are overlooking, Brian Sabean is under pressure to win NOW. They need to keep attendance above 3M in order to pay off the debt that was financed to build the new ballpark over there. And without Bonds, the only way they're going to do that is by putting a winning product out on the field. Trading for Crede would help that process. He'd make a big difference to their infield defense if he was completely healthy. I don't think they'll trade Cain or Linecum. But getting 1 of Lowry or Jonathan Sanchez is more likely.

So what's the impact if Edwards nominates Obama as his preferred candidate in terms of support and delegates? And what difference does it make if he does it before or after Super Dooper Tuesday? If he does it before does it give Obama a lot more momentum, which translates into more votes across the states?

Ok, so would people rather Sanchez or Lowry for Crede at this point? I'm probably leaning towards Sanchez myself.

Considering how many 1 run wins we had in that season, taking Pods out of the lineup could have indeed been the difference in us not making the playoffs. How many times did he get on base to start a game, Gooch sacrifices him across, and then Everett or Konerko drove him in? A lot of times.

Not the worst situation for him there. If a Taveras goes down, he could get an opportunity perhaps. I'll always be thankful for 2005 (even if you weren't very good post ASB).

Swisher did play CF in a big park in Oakland though. And he had a RZR rating in 2007 better than Aaron Rowand did in 2005 IIRC. And he'll have less ground to cover at the Cell. So I think he may surprise some people. He won't be great, but hopefully we can pick up defensively in other areas e.g Cabrera over Uribe, Fields improving at 3rd, Quentin playing at LF (stud defender).

So Romney's basically done now?

Ok so he goes to the Pirates. What do you expect in return for him? An OF such as Chris Duffy? Another prospect? FWIW, I think he'd make a lot of sense for the Padres. Would be an excellent defensive CF for them if he could actually prove he could hit decently enough. Would probably make for a good 4th OF / late defensive replacement in any case.

And that shows how important it is to get off to at least a somewhat decent start. He's a notorious slow starter, but he really fires up in the 2nd half of the season when the weather is a lot warmer (probably the same for all of our hitters really). I think he'll put up around an .825-.850 OPS though, which is pretty good. An he's got the potential for more, as shown by those splits before.

QUOTE(Steve9347 @ Jan 30, 2008 -> 11:27 AM) The Twins a. would not trade santana to the white sox b. would laugh in your face if you made that offer how is that offer comparable to the deal they got from the mets? it's a laughingstock. Yeah I know the Twins wouldn't trade with us, but I'm just thinking hypothetically here. As for the offer, ok we'll make it a 4 player deal, and add John Shelby. DLS + Gio + Sweeney + Shelby VS Gomez + Guerra + Humber + Mulvery. DLS and Gomez is a wash IMHO. Both have high talent, but we don't know if they'll ever reach it. Gomez probably has the edge because he's more advanced. Gio and Guerra depends on whether you want someone who can help now. Guerra probably has the higher upside, but I think Gio could possibly start in an NL rotation this season. Sweeney vs. Humber. 2 former highly rated prospects whose stock has fallen quite a bit. Depends on what you would rather I guess. Shelby + Mulvey. 2 moreso underrated prospects, again depends if you want the pitcher who keeps the ball in the park, or a promising 2B/CF who could start 1 day. I'm only asking the question, because right now I'm wondering how it would impact our payroll now and in the future by having Santana instead of Swisher. Would Owens be guaranteed a starting spot in CF? Would we have signed Octavio Dotel etc.? Does having Santana in the rotation instead of that package of guys and paying him more money make us a better all around ballclub? Would we score enough runs to win enough games for Johan?

Just on Dye and Konerko, I think they've got at least 1 good offensive season left in them. Can someone post Dye's post ASB splits, I think they were pretty decent IIRC, after he re-signed and going thru all of the trade rumors. Yes they're getting older, but for both it was their worst season at the Cell (when especially for Dye the move from Oakland to Chicago really improved his numbers). I'd expect at least a little improvement from him. Konerko probably also. As for Thome, well I'd expect him to decline, just because of his age.

Just on daa84's post, would you rather have given up Gio + DLS + Sweeney for Santana (and re-sign him at say 6 years, 130-140M) or those guys for Nick Swisher who's signed to a more affordable contract and could put up 35HR's and a +.375OBP?

QUOTE(Whitewashed in '05 @ Jan 30, 2008 -> 09:52 AM) Lol not exactly... If Liriano returns to form. I don't expect that to happen, well at least not in his 1st season back from major surgery. I'd expect us to be better against lefties anyways, with the new additions we've brought in, and Dye and Konerko should hopefully have better seasons also.

I should rephrase that then. Brady is hated by all MALES outside of New England (except for 1 Gregory Pratt).

I think the Hughes deal was him + 2 solid spects, but the deal breaker was the Twinkies also asking for Ian Kennedy. Hughes would have given the Twins 5 years of at least a #2 starter in the AL. Gomez may not ever reach the level of play of which his level of his tools are. But we'll wait and see. I'm just glad that Santana's finally out of our division. I imagine our numbers against lefties as a whole for the team will go up for the simple reason that Willis is in (load the lineup with RHH's) and Santana is out.

He'd make sense for the Reds considering the age of their OF's, and the fact that they gave up Josh Hamilton earlier this off-season. I wouldn't expect much for him now, hence why it doesn't make sense to deal him at this point.

Maybe he can appear on the Super Terrific Happy Hour Show then.

FWIW Gueera was one of the guys we were speculating about when the Contreras or even Vazquez links to the Mets were happening. Obviously an 18 year old starting in AA must be a pretty decent spect. If he has a good season, his standing as a prospect will really begin to rise.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Jan 30, 2008 -> 08:57 AM) He's thinking "well, this is better than a 2nd rounder and a sandwich pick and it saves me $15 million or so this season". Flawed thinking then. He could of had Phillip Hughes earlier in the off-season (if indeed that was true). Instead, it looked like he settled for a need (another toolsy young OF, but they already got one of those for a great young pitcher in Delmon Young). And are Minny going to spend that $15M? Not likely. Unless they load up in the draft and on international signings, which will make me feel a little queasy (considering their record there).

Woods. The only reason I'd consider to be Brady, is because of Gisele Bundchen. Woods is probably the most dominant golfer ever. Can Tom Brady he's the most dominant QB ever? No, I don't think he can. Woods is more marketable, he has a worldwide fanbase, unlike Brady who's probably hated outside of New England (and who no-one besides Americans would know). Besides I would rather be able to rip a drive 300-350 metres, instead of throwing a ball.

Wow. I really like this deal for the Mets. They didn't give up Martinez, and they got the best starter on the market. Don't know what Bill Smith was thinking here. Could be a long season in Minny. Guess this means, Joe Nathan may be on the market now also.

Well obviously we're going to have 12 pitchers IMHO (especially if they want to hang onto Masset which sounds like a real possibility after KW's comments at SoxFest). So that leaves 4 spots for the bench. Hall, Owens / Quentin and Ozuna are definites. It may be a good idea to hang onto Uribe for insurance, but I'd still dump his contract if I could. Ramirez could surprise, but probably a good idea for him to start at AAA. So that 4th spot is still up in the air.

Yeah I know people down here who do that Flash. We've got a work triathlon happening in a month or 2, and a few are doing that type of training to get fit, instead of just the usual jogging for half an hour or so. Apparently it's more effective.

QUOTE(Mr. Showtime @ Jan 29, 2008 -> 03:17 PM) I've just got it to keep tabs on people that I don't get a chance to talk to. Which is sorta lame, yeah. Critic, I'm warning you.. Or you use it to bug me and a few other people.