yesterday333

The Madrigal Mystery Tour is coming to take you away, coming to take you TODAY! (sorry for the bad joke, as a huge Beatles fan I couldn’t stop myself)

I wonder why there is no DH in the away line-up...

And if the go to an automated strike zone it further negates his weakness, which is receiving... Ive heard he call a good game and controls the base paths

man Collins is not as bad of a catcher as some people make him out to be. He is a below ave catcher. He is not the butcher Mercedes is. He more than acceptable to catch 30-40 games in a regular season. And if he hits in the bigs he will be a very valuable piece to have.

Every year they have a minor league season in Arizona. I don't think the weather is as big of a deal as you are making it out to be.

Living in Montana I don’t get to go to any games and the only people I have to celebrate with are on this board. Doing this could bring back baseballs popularity as well. If we have an exciting team there could be a bunch of new white Sox fans out there!

This absolutely should be a competitive year. We are wasting years of control of all our young guys the more we "wait til next year." Last year we couldve gotten a couple pieces to help this year but according to all the comments made this was suppose to be the year we started our run. Our front office has fallen on their face once again and sadly I have lost hope that they will ever get it right in FA. Our team will get better and more exciting but I dont think we will ever make that move or moves needed to get over the top. It will always be guys that the front office has to try to convince us will be "that" piece.

From what I’ve read, he calls a good game and has a good arm, but his receiving and framing are the problem.

Interesting. No HS SS, and 1 college SS. Lots of OF and pitching right now.

I have been hoping for a Sheets promotion. I would like to see him get a shot in the bigs before Vaughn gets called up. it would be nice to if he worked out to have him and Vaughn share time at 1b and DH in the future.

Does this mean ample interest is confirmed? can we change the name of the thread?

Well Abreu hasn't been through the wars. Fans want $ spent wisely so we can afford more good players. I want to keep Abreu, I don't hate Abreu. But I think he will take less money to stay here and we don't need to give a 3 year contract.

I don't think you lost this argument. Just because he is on a losing team does not make him a loser. Like you said he has a place on a winning team. I do think he is trolling you.

Also the reason it isn't done yet is because the closer we get to the deadline the more panicked these teams will become and give us greater leverage in negotiations.

His value has clearly changed since the trade. And we are not getting 4 guys back for him, especially cant miss prospects. If he gets traded it will be for a really good prospect or 2 who are ready to contribute next year. And the reason they will be more valuable is because they will have more years of cheaper control. I do think you are right about Bummer, the only way he leaves is if it is for a kings ransom.

If we are not contending in his last year of his contract, and it doesn't seem like we will resign him, we can still trade him, which is worth a lot.

There are a few players from the Twins that are ranked a little lower but are close to the bigs I would be interested in. Nick Gordon, Stephen Gonsalves and Luke Raley would all be interesting pieces to get back from them.

Haha, the problem with that is this board loses its collective minds. Everybody freaks out and thinks we are never going to win another game again. The negativity is quite awful. But hopefully this is our last year getting a good pick for a long time.

In order to avoid the whole service time issue, couldn't we sign him to an extension?

That's the thing... it MAY have hurt them. You really don't know if it did. What if he had a rough couple games that cost them wins in those first couple weeks?

This is how I feel. I completely agree with you.

I hoping for him to get a chance in the bigs before Vaughn comes up. Who knows how fast they will move Vaughn.

I am wondering if Sheets might get promoted this season.

I totally agree. That is a big IF. I get why didn't go after anybody last year besides MM and Harper, but this year you had better be going after the top players. I think coming away empty handed or a couple of B or C FAs it will be worse than missing out on Harpchado...

I do agree with Stone on this. We were never meant to win this year. it was fun being around 500 for the first half. But next year we should have at least a decent lineup and an improved pitching staff. if we add a couple big pieces this off season next year we should be winning and competing for the playoffs.