December 30, 200223 yr i am still in wonderment of the billy koch trade. but my thinking is the this guy is going to come back to haunt us in the future. i have always like his stuff and thought he could come on in the end of next season. what is kw thinking here. i need some explaination pls.
December 30, 200223 yr Originally posted by LDFi am still in wonderment of the billy koch trade. but my thinking is the this guy is going to come back to haunt us in the future. i have always like his stuff and thought he could come on in the end of next season. what is kw thinking here. i need some explaination pls. I didn't like the trade the day it was made and I still don't like it. I like Koch's attitude though. Unless Koch has a career year as a closer, you won't be able to judge who got the best of this trade until we see what Valentine does. I believe the change in scenery and clubhouse attitude will do Foulke more good than Koch. Like I said the day of the trade, I will reserve judgment on all KW deals until I see for myself. Nothing disappointed me more than being correct about the Toad Ritchie deal.
December 30, 200223 yr I was iffy on the trade too, but we got a solid lefty starter for a solid righty closer. then we gave up a backup catcher for a power-hitting minor league OF. plus Koch till 2005 for Foulke who is a FA. also keep in mind that our strong point next season and for a few years will be in the pen, so Valentine going won't really hurt us outside of when we play the A's.
December 30, 200223 yr Edwin Almonte, Royce Ring, Dave Sanders, Arnie Munoz. Shrug, he was expendable.
December 30, 200223 yr Originally posted by Cerbaho-WGEdwin Almonte, Royce Ring, Dave Sanders, Arnie Munoz. Shrug, he was expendable. Does KW think it is going to take Royce Ring 3 full seasons in the minors to prove himself capable of closing? He must considering he's so proud of the fact that Koch is our's for 3 seasons when Foulke was a free-agent at the end of 2003.
December 30, 200223 yr Never place your eggs in one basket. Koch, we know, can close. Ring MIGHT be able to close, and hey, if you have a setup guy who has closer stuff, it makes it a 7 inning game
December 30, 200223 yr Originally posted by Cerbaho-WGNever place your eggs in one basket. Koch, we know, can close. Ring MIGHT be able to close, and hey, if you have a setup guy who has closer stuff, it makes it a 7 inning game I suppose. Just that I don't want Ring to be another Crede..... waiting for a closer spot in the pen to open up. I've heard nothing less than spectacular predictions for this kid as a possible big league closer.
December 30, 200223 yr Author Originally posted by CubKilla Originally posted by Cerbaho-WGNever place your eggs in one basket. Koch, we know, can close. Ring MIGHT be able to close, and hey, if you have a setup guy who has closer stuff, it makes it a 7 inning game I suppose. Just that I don't want Ring to be another Crede..... waiting for a closer spot in the pen to open up. I've heard nothing less than spectacular predictions for this kid as a possible big league closer. koch like some has said is here and now. regardless of who is in the minor and coming up, joe has some great stuff and might be up half thru next season. if joe v develops and remember he is a 95+mph fastball with a wicked arsenal of other pitches, was he worth the trade? i was busy when the trad went down, but i had some second thoughts about it. right now i do not like it.
December 31, 200223 yr Originally posted by Cerbaho-WGEdwin Almonte, Royce Ring, Dave Sanders, Arnie Munoz. Shrug, he was expendable. almonte has been in the minors for what seems like forever.....ring?? when will he be useful?? sanders is in the same boat as almonte and munoz??? i place him up there with ring....valentine could have helped us out this season, as im sure we would have seen him up here after spring training.......so to say he was expendable, i think i would have given up one of the others first...........
December 31, 200223 yr Almonte is better than Valentine. At AA Almonte had an ERA 1/2 a run lower than Valentine. At Charlotte, which is very tiny, his ERA was 2.50. He's gone up through A-AAA one year at a time, and he will make the Sox pen this year. If the Sox carry 11 pitchers, we'll probably see a bullpen of: Koch, Osuna, Marte, Wunsch, Glover, with a fight between Almonte, Ginter, and Porzio. I'd like to see Almonte, he's ready, and Ginter and Porzio blow. Ring will probably reach the Sox later this year if he has a solid season.
December 31, 200223 yr Originally posted by CubKilla Originally posted by Cerbaho-WGNever place your eggs in one basket. Koch, we know, can close. Ring MIGHT be able to close, and hey, if you have a setup guy who has closer stuff, it makes it a 7 inning game The bullpen is a bit different. Their are many slots their so Ring won't be held back once he's ready. Guys like Osuna will likely be gone at the end of the season and Wunsh could be as wel. This will give the Sox a year where some of their younger guys currently in the pen(Glover, Koch, Marte, etc) can continue to grow and then people like Ring, Munoz, and Almonte can step in for the older vets as we have newer guys take their place. You never should bring a guy straight from the minors to closer, imo. I suppose. Just that I don't want Ring to be another Crede..... waiting for a closer spot in the pen to open up. I've heard nothing less than spectacular predictions for this kid as a possible big league closer.
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