DBAHO

2004 Spring Training though he had lots of nagging injuries which limited the AB's he had, and he couldn't hit above .200 until April 16. But the more I look at Ecky, the more it seems he could fit our needs if he was signed which I still think is doubtful. I'm pretty sure St. Louis will offer him the starters job at SS since they missed out on Polanco, which would leave us with Cora if he isn't signed by another team.

That's just half the fun. The other is not getting to throw snowballs at each other.

Found this about the Dodgers and "El Duque", even though it's from an article written 4 hours ago, it could be old news considering the Friday used;

Luckily I did all of my Christmas Shopping 2 days ago, the first time in a week I've actually had some free time, since I had worked 5 days in a row prior to that. With all the money I've made from that though, I'm thinking of having a splurge on an XBOX and Halo 2 after Boxing Day when the real sales start, hopefully I can get a special deal.

It just seems to be the general consensus going around the MLB that Eckstein is injury prone, probably a little more so than Cora, but yes they both have had injury problems over the past few years and have missed games because of it. Cora has played in more games over the last 2 years though, a good sign.

There seem to have been a lot of people around here lately who have been jumping on the David Eckstein bandwagon at the expense of Alex Cora. Frankly, I'm not one of those people, and I'll show the Pro's and Con's of each player. Alex Cora PRO - Has more power than Ecky. Has a higher On Base Percentage. Can field at both second and shortstop. Is a lefty hitter. CON - Tends to be very streaky throughout the season. Had a very bad 2003 stats wise. David Eckstein PRO - Would provide loads of energy to this ballclub. Steals more bases than Cora. Hits lefties better than Cora. CON - Can tend to be very injury prone. Would probably come a little more expensive than Cora. Doesn't have a huge arm for a shortstop. All in all, because he'll come cheaper, can field in both infield positions and with the family connection, I think it's definitely more likely the Sox go for Cora instead of Eckstein.

2003 - .340, 27 HR's, 109 RBI's, .438 OBP 2004 - .333, 24 HR's, 89 RBI's, .399 OBP. Can field at both second base and shortstop as well.

Carlos Silva, Joe Mays and Kyle Lohse most likely.

Hernandez is a Type B free agent. Pretty sure the Yanks will get a second round pick.

This is an old Hardball Times article about Hernandez and other starters before FA;

Orlando Hernandez - 8-2, 3.30 ERA, 36 BB's, 84 K's, 8.93 K/9, WHIP 1.29. And the Yankees did offer him arbitration so they'll get a pick.

Mike Mussina? Jon Lieber? The Sox are obviously making this move because of what has happened with the RJ to New York trade falling over, which means that they are probably out of the Vazquez hunt.

You can also argue that he's never had any success outside of New York. Let's see what type of effect Don Cooper has on him instead of Mel Stottlemire for a change. I think El Duque knows he has something to prove, if he makes this move.

This is only probably happening because the Sox feel that they can't sign Cora or Cairo if they signed a Perez or Miller. At least the it won't be Jason Grilli as the 5th starter next season by the looks of things.

Miller or Perez. They're both susceptable to injuries, but they both have the highest upside out of any starter left available on the free agent market.

Don't Go Out There. Not really a big song for them though.

Now if only he could hit a jumper.

Maybe he had some character issues, or stuff wise nothing really jumps out at you, but numbers wise he's been pretty succesful in the minors.

For those of you playing at home, let's check out the numbers over the last 3 years, to see who is really the better shortstop. Juan Uribe or Orlando Cabrera? 2002 Uribe - .240, 6 HR's, 49 RBI's Cabrera - .263, 7 HR's, 56 RBI's 2003 Uribe - .253, 10 HR's, 33 RBI's Cabrera - .297, 17 HR's, 80 RBI's 2004 Uribe - .283, 23 HR's 74 RBI's Cabrera - .264, 10 HR's, 62 RBI's HardballTimes' thoughts on Cabrera on the signing, and before the free agent period began. Uribe' numbers have shown that they are back on the upswign. He feels comfortable here in Chicago with the Latin style clubhouse run by Ozzie, and those numbers should continue to improve, and they could be Miggy Tejada like in 2 to 3 seasons. Cabrera on the other hand is already in his prime, and that showed in his 2003 season. He needs protection in the lineup though, otherwise he won't hit very well at all, as shown by his 2004 Expos numbers. 17 HR's is the most Cabrera has ever hit in a season though, and he would be lucky to reach 25 even if he hit here for us at the Cell. Yes there's no doubt, Cabrera numbers would improve significantly if he did hit here, but it's definitely not worth paying an extra few million per season over Juan Uribe, who is younger and yet to reach his prime. Why even go for Cabrera when you have Alex Cora on the Fa market, who could come for about $2 million a season. Look at their numbers from last season. 2004 Cabrera - .264, 10 HR's, 62 RBI's Cora - .264, 10 HR's, 47 RBI's. Cora hit in a pitcher's park in Los Angeles, and granted his numbers in 2003 were down. But his OBP in 2002 was .371 and in 2004 .364. Hitting for us at the Cell, I'd say there's definitely more a chance his numbers will improve and his OBP will stay in the mid to high .300's. Plus he's an excellent fielder, and can play at second base as well as shortstop. For way less money, signing Cora not only makes more sense, it still leaves us in the hunt for our main need, which is a starting pitcher.

Yeah, he had good numbers in B-Ham, I was suprised Kansas City got rid of him.

Too bad they have Cezar Izturis there, and he won't be moving, especially for Valentin.

Could it actually be possible that he could actually hit under .200 there next season?

What's to say that number won't improve even more, if he moves from a pitchers park in Los Angeles to a hitters park in Chicago?

So you'd rather spend $32 million over 4 years on an infielder who in the first half of 2004 hit .233 from April to June, instead of filling the main need of this ballclub which is a starter and a catcher. Can you try and show me the justification in that?

If the Dodgers didn't sign Kent and kept Beltre instead, they probably wouldn't have signed Jose Valentin and would have kept Alex Cora instead. Good players often get non - tendered, often because of the team's payroll situation and their inability to afford them.