The Ultimate Champion

QUOTE (SOXOBAMA @ Oct 18, 2012 -> 12:38 PM) I guess with the ticket prices slashing, we will probably see a lot of the payroll cut as well.. I wouldn't be surprised if the Sox traded Dunn & Rios, while AJ & Peavy days in a Sox uniform are over. I think the days of a $60M payroll are gone. I wouldn't be shocked to see all of what you mentioned happen, but if it does, we'll be landing some free agents.

QUOTE (Iwritecode @ Oct 18, 2012 -> 11:12 AM) Has this been made official yet? Everything I read still refers to KW as the GM and Hahn as the asst GM. IIRC it was Heyman that broke this. Kenny seems to like his national guys more than some of the local ones so it looks pretty likely coming from such a solid source. Either way, we shouldn't expect an announcement until after the WS when the offseason officially begins.

QUOTE (ewokpelts @ Oct 18, 2012 -> 10:51 AM) I think Kenny "officially" moving upstairs will help, as there were plenty of people I spoke with this year that wanted him gone more than Guillen. I think fans will see a "change" in style under Hahn, and my get excited. And whoever those people are, they probably aren't very observant, and I think that out of respect for them and their families we as Sox fans should refuse to acknowledge their former opinions as they have quite obviously been proven so wrong that it would be cruel and borderline inhuman to continue to point out their mistakes in opinion. Also, if Hahn was indeed behind the Nestor Molina move, so far that leaves him with a big 0-for-1 which should of course excite no one.

Also, if I'm Kenny and I'm thinking about possibly moving Viciedo in a big deal for a right-handed ace, I'm going under the radar and targeting Brandon Morrow.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Oct 16, 2012 -> 08:15 AM) Yeah I have to imagine that if Felix got dealt, the package would be huge to get him. I could see Dayan being part of it, but you are probably giving up Sale instead of Molina. Nobody ever lands a proven commodity the quality of Sale in those types of deals. If Felix went, he'd go for multiple stud prospects and we wouldn't have the goods unless we threw in other MLB talent. Viciedo + Reed + Santiago + Flowers is a definite haul, but we don't have that one "can't miss" type position prospect that Seattle is almost certainly going to demand; all we have are interesting high-ceiling types with large to gargantuan holes in their swings, plus a couple interesting types like Sanchez that aren't going to cut it. Felix is just a pipedream IMO. I see why people here want to contend next year (contending is a lot more fun than losing) but I think we'll be making a major mistake if we don't "finish the job" this season. Crain, Thornton, and Floyd alone could bring us a good deal in return if we do the scouting, i.e. we're going to need to target talented buy low types with those guys, but we have a GM who has done an excellent job of picking those types up in the past. We have lots of money coming off the books with free agency, plus Dunn is at least *maybe* tradable where he definitely wasn't before, and Alex is definitely tradable if your bottom price is the salary relief and a useful part or two. Also we have some very valuable, cost-efficient, team controllable types without huge ceilings that could go in the right deal, i.e. Jones, Reed, DeAza assuming we get a better fit back (as in a CF who wants to play CF for DeAza, etc.). All in all we have so much flexibility that we can probably make something like 90% of the types of moves you see any organization make over any offseason: we can take on salary dumps; we can add free agents big and small; we can trade the big-name 1 year left guy like Paulie; we can trade proven pitching for prospects and also trade pitching prospects/young MLB pitchers for more proven pitchers; we can give you a closer; we can go after good, MLB-proven position players; we can acquire the buy-low types; we can trade proven skill position players for prospects; etc. etc. etc. We don't even have to resign any of our free agents because we have potential replacements everywhere except at 3B with Youkilis, because even with Peavy we're getting Danks back which could allow the Sox to slide Gavin in behind Sale. We can almost due it all this offseason, to the point where the Sox are going to be listed as "in" on almost every interesting player this offseason, and the only thing we definitely *can't* do is send a bevy of big-time prospects to another organization for a Felix type. But that's it. We just need to finish the job and keep adding the parts because we're getting close to having that core to build the next true (read: not surprising) contender around.

QUOTE (fathom @ Oct 14, 2012 -> 10:03 AM) If ARod goes anywhere, you'd have to think it would be the Dodgers. Truth. And that would be called spending your way right out of contention.

QUOTE (The Critic @ Oct 13, 2012 -> 06:23 PM) Did KW mention wanting to trade for A-Fraud 8 to 10 years ago? Because that would mean it's time for him to actually acquire him now. Kenny's rep for this kind if stuff is more like, trade for the guy in the last year of his deal, get him somewhat on the cheap, and hope he's motivated & sparks the team. That's usally how it works. With Manny it was that, but more an issue of making a major mistake (IMO maybe the most crucial mistake in KW's career) by passing on Jim Thome as a DH for $1M and having to try to spot-patch a major lineup hole at the last instant. If we get Arod it won't be until several years have gone by since you're paying him for a long time if you make the deal now. Contreras was a multi-year commitment, same with Peavy and Alex, but all 3 of those were extremely talented players still seen as in their prime. ARod may already be past his (it's hard to tell when your prime ends when you're shoving things up your ass to raise your power numbers). I think Beckett would have been more of the idea KW target had he not gone to the Dodgers.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Oct 13, 2012 -> 03:01 PM) What I see is that the Sox had above average pitching and above an above average offense... Which led to an above average win total of 85. Yeah. They looked like an elite team for a while before they started to really fade. I think it's more likely that the talent was there, but some of it wasn't healthy enough and some of it just wasn't durable and experienced enough. Also, just want to take the time out and say that chw42 is one of the better posters here. I kiss ass but only when it's warranted, so here's a lil smoochie right on the buttcrack from yours truly.

Yeah, an old roider with a s***load of cash due to him who doesn't have the stones and whose teammates can't seem to care about. And who should probably become a DH pretty soon. This is definitely a typical KW move. ...... NOT! Hahaha.

QUOTE (Jerksticks @ Oct 11, 2012 -> 11:48 PM) Bob Brenly and Len Kasper are everything that is wrong with broadcasting. They have no insight into the thought processes going on inside players' heads. That is something completely unique to a Hawk broadcast. Don't believe me? Get MLB.tv. The only things that bother me are the over-repeatings of advice to youngsters, specifically the "plenty of guys in Cooperstown who couldn't hit a curve, you just gotta cover the fastball" type offerings. Even though that is probably the best advice a young, aspiring hitter can ever hear, it still annoys me because I've heard it a hundred times. But shame on me because some kid somewhere is taking it to heart at that same moment of my petty annoyance. The day hawk hangs it up will be one of the saddest days of my life, I can guarantee that. Shame on any of you who don't love him, I just don't understand where you are coming from as Sox fans. This is a great post. Hawk's knowledge of the game is consistently under appreciated and it's funny how often he out-manages the manager. Same with Farmio & Stoney. I think most if not all diehard Sox fans have their "Oh for f***s sake STFU!" moments with Hawk. For me it's the focus on blown calls affecting the run total while we're making errors/getting hurt on bad pitches/stranding runners/consistently failing to score in innings where the lead-off man reaches/etc. Other things are annoying too. But I really love the way he regularly points out that's it a game of pitching and defense based around mistakes, where good pitchers make good pitches if they have to and good hitters stay in the AB long enough to force a mistake. So much of baseball fandom is centered around the value of offense and how you break that down, but that's the wrong way to look at the game and I like how Hawk explains that. Stoney is exactly the same way.

Ideal for me: Sale #1 Peavy #2 Danks #3 Sox acquire a big-armed MLB-ready RHSP prospect via trade with another team and slot him here as the #4 Quintana #5 BattleAxe in the pen as the long man to eat whatever innings are necessary Also ideal for me would be to see float a package of Reed + Santiago + Thompson on the market because I think if you do you'll land a pretty big fish.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Oct 10, 2012 -> 01:20 PM) You know what amuses me? IMO Rios and Dunn are untradeable, but as soon as Rios and Dunn become free agents, somebody will sign them to a similarly ridiculous free agent contract and probably shortly after that team will try to get rid of them. Ditto Peavy. He'll sign some ridiculous deal again and shortly after he'll be on the market. Baseball economics intrigues me. I figure in a year or two we'll be hearing how Pujols is available and the Angels are desperately trying to dump his contract. I disagree that both Rios and Dunn are untradable. I think you could move all of Alex's salary and get one good piece plus. Dunn I think you may be able to move somewhere with the acquiring team absorbing all his salary and sending something meh back. I'd be willing to bet on Rios, but Dunn, maybe that value is lower. Re: FA, with Rios it's easy to see a team giving him both years and dollars if he keeps it up. Dunn OTOH already hit FA once and had to settle for a 2-year deal at a much younger age. Dunn has red flags everywhere but has made a career producing over them. Top LH power hitters who are OBP machines aren't supposed to settle for the types of deals Dunn has had to settle for at the ages Dunn has signed them. That's kind of why I think we can move him if we want to, because I imagine a team is far more likely to take a shot on 2 years of Dunn rather than 3+.

IMO if the team is good enough for a long enough period of time, enough people will go out of their way to show up and support the team. If OTOH the team keeps up with this good year/bad year/mediocre year/bad year cycle, and if the good teams are underdog overachievers while the bad teams are pathetic underachievers, then you'll continue to see all those really cold days in April and too much rain/too many scheduling issues affecting the walk-up in August.

I just want something to happen. Someone needs to get fired. NOW. Heads need to roll after that September. Any site keep records of the names of vendors including their salaries and contract lengths? Let's find the most expensive nacho slinger and fire his ass. Time to cut back, get younger.

QUOTE (Swingandalongonetoleft @ Oct 9, 2012 -> 07:31 PM) Nowhere in my post did I call him Vin Scully. For what it's worth, I think he's right at about DJ's level. Right. Agreed. Stoney's back. Very good. Okay so when's baseball getting started again? These threads all suck now. How long til opening day? What about the Winter Meetings? Free Agency? The GM Meetings? Please, for the love of GOD, somebody tell me the names of all the middling prospects we need to fear losing in the Rule-5. I'm not scared yet, somebody needs to make me scared. When can Kenny make a trade? f***.

QUOTE (Swingandalongonetoleft @ Oct 9, 2012 -> 02:22 PM) Vastly improved by the end of '06 and throughout '07, and better yet since. After hearing them during spring training in '06, I was pretty resigned to sticking with Hawk and DJ on tv- and I probably would have, had it not been for work. Fortunately, I was driving from either Naperville or Wheaton to St. Charles in traffic around the 7 o'clock hour, so unless I was going to the game, it was either Gameday (or whatever variant ESPN has)on a 3G phone while driving, or listen to Singleton stammering for the first few innings. I chose the latter, and you could hear the improvement almost week to week. Of course, Stone came aboard in 2008, and while it wasn't quite as good as when Rooney was there, it wasn't off by much. Yes, he has improved vastly. He's now a mediocre color man who adds next to nothing unless you're strickly a casual fan. He's basically exactly what ESPN hired him to be. Congrats to him. Barry Rozner knows 100x more about baseball than Singleton does (at least as far as what trickles down to the fan) and as far as I know Barry never even played it. The Sox & Bulls unfortunately have a long, storied history of intermittently hiring bums to fill large roles in/around the organization. Thankfully Stoney is 100% legit and is 100% coming back.

QUOTE (Brian @ Oct 9, 2012 -> 02:40 PM) When Farmer took over for Rooney, he had a real sense of entitlement on air. Acted as if he was some HOF pitcher and I feel that wasn't a good fit for Chris who was just starting in the booth. I honestly feel its hard for any color guy to be good with Ed who just talks over them most of the time. This how Farmio always is. And truthfully, Singleton was so abysmal that he *deserved* to be corrected and coached on the air for all to hear. Chris was like an 800lb woman on an airplane, ie there is no fit.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Oct 9, 2012 -> 12:14 PM) Singleton has done a very good job on the national broadcasts. I disagree. He's better than he was here, but he's still bad. Funny enough, I actually tried listening to a couple innings of the All-Star game on the radio this year (I just missed baseball, that's all) and ESPN, typically given their commitment to quality sports coverage, had John Rooney as the lowly roving interviewer speaking to players in the clubhouses while Singleton called the game. And I say that's funny because going from Rooney to Singleton on the radio was about as large a downgrade as you'll ever see made anywhere. Ever.

I forgot about DeAza. He gets an A too. I thought he was a bench player trying to stretch it; turns out he's a legitimate MLB starting OF. He's been one of the better finds on a team full of great finds.

QUOTE (justBLAZE @ Oct 9, 2012 -> 10:01 AM) Wow, he really loves it here. His honesty has always been his quality.

QUOTE (staxx @ Oct 8, 2012 -> 07:23 PM) KW: (A) - ill be the first to say he got lucky Then he'd probably be the second.

A = Performed well above salary and reasonable expectations for his abilities and/or roster spot: AJ Rios Sale Quintana Axelrod Jones Wise Veal B = Played very well overall/took big steps forward/etc.; Player probably worth more during this season than he was paid by the Sox; Roster spot easily justified: Reed Crain - slightly outperformed his contract; paid to be a top setup man & he was Myers - his help goes well beyond what the Sox gave him *this* season, however the buyout/possible reworked deal affects this ranking Youkilis Viciedo - haters gonna hate Santiago - he was bad early on but he proved he is a Major League pitcher and a valuable piece Omogrosso Flowers C = Played well enough to earn his salary/roster spot & playing time: Alexei Beckham Dunn Paulie Peavy - $17M + $4M guaranteed buyout = $21M pitcher and that he was definitely not; if you ignore the buyout then he pitched well enough to earn the $17M Thornton Floyd Jordan Danks - happy for him & HR was great but mental mistakes should have him lower at a D; I just like his progress so I'm putting him here D = Performed at a level below what he is paid/played under his roster spot: Humber Stewart Lillibridge Septimo - talent is there & showed enough of it to get another shot at a lefty specialist role when Thornton is traded this offseason F = No excuse for being on the team, let alone the a trip to the pay winda (is Dusty Rhodes still alive?): Uh-Ohman Rongey the Ohman lover with his rah-rah pro-Ohman postgame crap Not grading: Soxtalk whipping boys and/or tiny sample size players & Danks who was injured

QUOTE (TaylorStSox @ Oct 8, 2012 -> 08:16 AM) Did Jesse Crain spend his evenings running over your guy's dogs or something? IP: 48 ERA: 2.44 WHIP: 1.08 Hits: 28 K: 60 Tough crowd. Well I know for a fact he done kicked the s*** out of mine.

Grading Robin: Game management: C Overall preparedness/following the scouting report: D Getting the players to wake the hell up and earn their paychecks: A+ Handling veteran egos: A Handling rookies/young players: B- I don't know how exactly to weight that stuff but Robin is at least a solid B IMO. The team came together for a good part of the season & Robin is a huge part of the reason why. He has a lot of work to do to climb into the upper echelon of MLB managers but he's a good one already. IMO one of the biggest tests will be to see how the players respond to him in year 2. Almost any "player's manager" could have come in after Ozzie and made an improvement. We'll see what happens there, and the next time he has a contender, we'll see how he handles the vets then. The game stuff could all improve in time but the biggest part of the job is ego management & maintaining control of the team/clubhouse.

Sometimes when there's a flow you just have to go with the flow, accept it, even though some times it hurts & makes you kind of angry, a lil nauseous, puts you on edge. You can't really stop the flow, the flow only stops when its time. I think God does it for you.