DBAHO

All that wrapping paper..... wasted.

A lot of people here really like Castro going into last season. He's Arnie Munoz like, with a small build. He had numbers of 1-1 2.35 ERA in Winstom - Salem, and 4-0 in Kanny with a 3.00 ERA. He should start next season with either the Warthogs and Barons, and with the lack of good lefty relievers in the system, he could move quickly if he continues to post good numbers at every stop.

1- Miami has shown to be a far more succesful franchise in the past decade than Chicago. 2 - Miami Lifestlye >>> Chicago Lifestyle. 3 - Miami gave Saban total control. 4 - Miami has an owner that won't meddle in team affairs. 5 - Get a West Coast offensive co-ordinator like Brad Childress who's had previous success with A.J Feeley, and pick up a good RB and / or a good WR, and Miami could have an Atlanta like rebound year next season.

I'm pretty sure Hankins was let go as a minor league free agent, although Rex can probably clarify on his situation a little better. We did have Mike Rivera down at Charlotte as well, not sure what the status on him is. Hankins would pretty much just be another back - up though, pretty much a Jamie Burke clone who hits for a little less average.

Get Heads included and you've got a threesome.

You would not believe how huge they still are down here especially in the teenage girl demographic.

The Sox knew before the 2004 draft that they were short on catchers in the minor leagues. Right now, it looks a lot better though with Francisco Hernandez and Donny Lucy both fairly good prospects. The problem is, they both are least 3 years away probably with Lucy and Hernandez only hitting in rookie ball down in Great Falls and Bristol. Long - term I think Hernandez could turn out to be a Victor Martinez clone, depending on whether he can continue hitting for a high average as he goes higher through the minor league system. Personally I think the Sox could try to use stopgaps for a few seasons before these guys are ready. Jamie Burke can definitely hit at the major leagues, and should be an excellent backup / rotation guy to have off the bench. Ben Davis is the wildcard. It'll be interesting to see what type of year he has stats wise hitting at the Cell, that will make or break his future with this ballclub. We all know KW loves him, and he has a pretty damn good arm. However out of the 4 catchers we had in 2004, Davis had the highest ERA of over 5, which will be a problem if that doesn't improve in 05. Quite ironically, I think Olivo had the best ERA catching and of course there were reports of him not being a good game caller. Looking at the free agent and trade market, I don't think it's likely we'll be getting anyone at the moment. But I think there will definitely be some options come the 2005 off-season. If Oakland's catcher prospect they acquired (Daric Barton?) moves real quick through the system, it could make Kendall expendable, although it'll be more likely he'll be moved in 2006. Bengie Molina is another guy who could be forced out like David Eckstein was, if Anaheim decides to go for an upgrade at the position. There should be some options out there, but at the moment, I can't see the Sox really making much of a move at the position.

Meh at least there's no snow down here, I saw some footage of what it was like Ohio over there yesterday, wowzers. Although down here today it is supposed to be raining a bit which will put a bit of a dampener on things unfortunately. And Tex if I remember tomorrow, I'll start a Merry Christmas Texsox Thread instead.

Well I did work yesterday at 9 a.m til 12 so I guess I can consider that to be a half day's work for Christmas Eve. I'm not sure what my Christmas Wish is, just for SoxTalk to keep growing in posters and the great discussions to keep on coming. And Merry Christmas to everyone over there tomorrow while I get to enjoy mine today.

Looking at the stats, there are some that suggest that Miller Park is a hitters park and vice versa. Milwaulkee have had some very good hitters in their lineup over the past few seasons such as Sexson, Overbay and Jenkins, but some of their hitters excel at home like Overbay and Jenkins while others don't. Just look at the splits of some of their hitters from the past season; Scott Podsednik - Home: .213/.297/.317 Away: .274/.330/.411 Lyle Overbay - Home: .322/.411/.477 Away: .280/.359/.480 Craig Counsell - Home: .225/.348/.302 Away: .255/.311/.327 Brady Clark - Home: .230/.341/.301 Away: .335/.433/.500 Milwaulkee's ERA was also 4.09 at home, while it was 4.40 away, although that could be due to a comfort zone. Looking at the Park Factor, Miller Park was ranked 11th in runs with 1.042. It was below 1 in HR's and hits however, but very favorable to doubles, triples and walks. What does that mean? Milwaulkee probably didn't have enough power hitters, hence why they were so hot on Carlos Lee. And the Cell will still be Coors Field of the AL, we just won't see as many home runs as we would have last seasons. But guys like Jermaine Dye could hit 30+ HR's there, and he wouldn't normally at many other ballparks in the league. But compared to the Park Factor of this season, home runs will go down from about 1.4 to about 1.25-1.3 I'd say, while doubles, triples, hits and walks will all possibly see a slight increase, which is what we want to get more of into the lineup, balance.

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And that was mostly at Miller's Park which is not a hitters park (just look at Podsednik's splits hitting there in 2004). In 2002, when he had his best season with Arizona which is more of a hitters stadium, he had splits of .324/.441/.612 against LHP.

Hammer came up with some very good points about Gordon. Everyone in Chicago is already giving him the title of the next "Air Jordan" and I think that's some very unfair pressure to put on the kid. Defensively, he's going to be abused in the post for the next decade, and yes the assist / turnover ratio has go to improve. Amazingly I think Curry still has the most potential out of all the Baby Bulls, but the best I think you'll see from him is averages of 15/8, which granted is not that bad at all for a center. Hinrich gets the most out of himself, but long - term I still think Luol Deng is going to be the "man" in Chicago for the next decade, depending on FA moves etc.

Tomorrow Morning we'll all be opening our pressies. And of course I'll be the first one at SoxTalk to celebrate Christmas before everyone else.

Spivey would be a nice addition as I think he's very good against LHP. It is likely he's coming, no it's not. If we want an infielder who can hit LHP, Miguel Cairo is our man. If we want a great defensive infielder with an excellent OBP, Alex Cora is our man.

Something tells me Cairo could now be the guy, not Cora. But I think it'll definitely be one of those two.

Screw Happy Holidays. Merry Christmas to all!

From the Sun - Times;

This should clear things up payroll wise;

Boy you'd hate it to end up being Alex Cora we sign wouldn't you.

If its Eckstein, it's going to be because he can hit LHP better than Willie.

If he stays healthy, this guy is a #2 starter on most rotations in the league, one of the most underrated pitchers in the league. How he only signed for 1 year 4.5 million, while Kris Benson gets 22.5 million over 3 years really annoys the hell out of me.

Of course it is. Would he have taken that deal with any other team in the league? Probably not.

Happy Happy Happy Happy Birthday!!!

Realistically if you're a young player on the Giants, the only position you have a chance at starting is the Bat Boy, but they took care of that a few years ago.