103 mph screwball

Basically calling us scrub fans because the Sox are going to sell out and the Sox have a payroll closer to KC and Brewers than the Mets. Anyone have time to call this blow hard and remind him that the Sox have a >100 million dollar payroll and a World Series ring? This crap is nothing less than a smear campaign. Mariotti has a new soulmate.

KW mentioned that Sisco went straight from A ball to the bigs due to the rule 5 draft and that hurt his development. KW also said that the White Sox have spotted something that was tipping his pitches and it should be easily fixed.(almost missed that due to North rambling) He also felt that even though there may not be big names, he thinks the bullpen will be one of the best in the league next year.

Wouldn't hurt to explore another quality bullpen arm. Maybe that could free up Sisco and or Massett to convert back to a starter ahead of schedule and perhaps be more valuable. All depends on if KW can swing a deal that can make the club better now and 3 years from now. That would depend on the asking price for Cordero. Anderson and Broadway were mentioned for Soriano. That is not necessarily what it would take to acquire Cordero.

If he disrespects veterans, Ozzie would hate him and keep him on the bench. The attitude and the NY prospect hype makes me less than enthusiastic about getting this guy unless he comes cheaply.

Baldelli is not worth the asking price. That seems to be a common theme for devil rays players. Also, if Anderson is part of the trade, the Sox would still not have a back up CF which is probably not a good idea with Baldelli's history of injury. D-rays need to move him. As reasonable as his contract may seem to some people, it would be a huge part of the D-rays budget. Personally, I'm not very impressed with Baldelli. He'd be an upgrade, but he wouldn't be worth the money the Sox would have to pay him AND the talent the Sox would have to give up get him.

KW would love to have him. JR would spend the cash. Still, not going to happen. Roger would go somewhere familiar even if the Sox were given the chance to be highest bidder.

I'd love to have Mulder. He may even take a bit less cash than market to come here and his market value will be down due to the injuries. Sure, it would be a gamble. If he were to return to form in July, then the Sox could move him into the 5th spot in the rotation if our youngster of choice needs more time in AAA. Or, if our youngster is 10-0 with a 1.29 era, then KW could move a different pitcher in the right deal. Mulder could also be brought in mid season to give JC a rest or heal something. He's good injury insurance for any of our starters. If Mark goes to the Cards next year, Mulder could be an option to replace him. I see many positives. The only negative is that he may suck and the money is wasted. At least he wouldn't cost any prospects to acquire. KW would be smart to work out an incentive laden, mutual option, win - win contract. Now if the Royals want to give him 5 years 10 million....nevermind. I'm a gambler but that would be crazy.

I'd like to see an open competition between him and Uribe this spring. Uribe could use a fire under his behind and Cintron deserves a shot. Best player win. I know Uribe can play near gold glove D and makes more money, but if he is the better player, let him prove it. Uribe can be that right handed bat off of the bench and be a good super sub. Somehow, I feel this idea will get me scolded here at Soxtalk. I'm not saying dump Uribe, I'm saying let him earn his job. Either way, glad to have Cintron back.

I liked the joke. I vote knuckleball!

Happy Birthday Childhood Hero!

QUOTE(sox-r-us @ Dec 25, 2006 -> 10:17 PM) We really do not have any BIG name that we can give up, so I doubt we are involved. I am assuming we are not giving up Buerhle which is how I see it now that we traded BMac Crede is a big name. The Sox could be the team suppling little names and acquiring a big name. KW thinks big and a nice way to remind the fans that the plan still is to win the World Series in 2007 would be to add salary to bring in a star if the deal was right.

I saw no mention of the Sox. Interesting, and I appreciate the information, but the Sox are not specifically mentioned. Three teams and BIG names is intentionally vague. No telling with KW. He has money and a revitalized farm system.

I overreacted to the Garcia trade and with time, it has grown on me. I flipped out over the original Garland rumor that didn't involve Hirsh. I shocked by this move, but I'm going to trust that KW knows what he is doing. He really wanted Danks and Masset and there may be more to McCarthy that we do not know. The Sox sure are stacking up the arms and the offseason is not over yet. Thanks McCarthy! Wish you well!

As long as the Sox keep the payroll in the 100 million ballpark, I'll trust KW to make the moves he feels will help the team win. I will not accept going cheap unless the Sox are just totally rebuilding after a few more championship runs. So far, the Sox do not appear to be having a fire sale. KW has earned some benefit of the doubt from me when evaluating pitching talent from other organizations. Also, KW is not necessarily done dealing this offseason. I'm looking forward to seeing these arms in spring training.

This is an impressively solid move. He and AJ will make a good combo behind the plate. I really didn't think KW had a chance after hearing that Hall wanted to start. He should get plenty of playing time coming off of Ozzie's bench and hopefully he can continue that near 300 average vs. lefties. Add my congratulations to KW on another fine effort to improve the Sox! Good news 2 days in a row!

QUOTE(RME JICO @ Dec 15, 2006 -> 03:41 PM) I do know if this has any bearing on offseason moves but the 2007 White Sox calendar has Pods, Konerko, Buehrle, and Garland on the cover. It would be kind of weird to put a player on there that was close to being traded or that would eventually be traded (Garcia, etc). So is this some kind of hidden statement. So does this mean Garland and Buehrle are staying put? My 2006 calendar has Frank Thomas as December and Aaron Rowand as August. I think it just shows how far in advance they start working on the calendars and will not be any indication of future offseason moves.

Keep 'em coming StatManDu. I find your posts interesting and appreciate your time and effort. Thanks.

What is Brandon Duckworth's major malfunction. That kid looked good for the Phillies several years ago. Can Coop fix him?

As a little league catcher, Fisk was my baseball hero that started my Sox fanaticism. I remember the Sox getting Ron LeFlore and I was excited about him coming to the Sox. For reasons I do not completely remember, I was a fan of Tony Bernazard. Cheers to Tony Bernazard!

I like Toby Hall's 3 year numbers vs. lefties. How is he defensively? Would someone educate me about things like his arm and handling a pitching staff? I would appreciate a scouting report. Any predictions of how much he would sign for?

Very interesting. Thanks

I'd trade Vazquez over Garland because I think Garland has been the better pitcher. Also, Vaszquez will be making more than Garland even with whatever money is coming from Arizona. (12.5 in 2007 and more through arbitration in 2008). MB and JG are buddies so maybe that will help keep him. If there is no chance of MB re-signing, trade him then and keep both JG and JV.

This was a new rumor to me, so I thought I'd put it here for anyone who might not have had the time to read through all of the Garland to Houston rumor thread. Thanks iamshack. The fact that the Astros had the same interest for Javier Vazquez as Garland is news to me. Again this was deep in the Houston thread. Thanks EvilJester99. Mods, I hope it's not a problem that I add this info here. Those short on time may not be able to read all of the big treads and miss what I consider to be new information.

QUOTE(greg775 @ Dec 8, 2006 -> 09:38 PM) I'm amazed even our owner thinks the Cardinal hat is an issue. Amazing. Jerry is wrong on that one. The White Sox don't have to wear Sox hats and jerseys everywhere they go. It's a free country. Wasn't that pic of Mark taken by some fan? It's not like he paraded around telling people to take his pic and proclaiming his love for the Cards over the Sox. The guy is a Cardinal fan. Big deal. That said ... we might as well trade him to the Cards now. If I was Mark I'd be pissed and not want to pitch for the Sox anymore after the Reinsdorf slam. I think Jerry was just making a point that Mark will have other places to go including his childhood team. My problem with JR's comments have nothing to do with a stupid hat. It sounds like he is complaining and crying poor. It may be true that it is not realistic to have a payroll of 150 million. Just say they plan on keeping the payroll as high as possible to continue giving the hard working Sox fans their money's worth when they come to the park. Whine about free agent salaries to the other owners.

QUOTE(jasonxctf @ Dec 8, 2006 -> 08:44 PM) anyone else see $4.15 million of wasted dollars in this projection????? Not unless you want Cintron as your SS. I see 2.75 million that may be better used.