October 18, 200322 yr 1. Seek a trade with the Rockies. Not only do they have a bunch of good young talent, they have the absolute dumbest general manager in the bigs. They could write a sit-com around this guy. They are always crying for pitching, even if they can't get anyone out. Plus they are trying to decrease payroll. Case in point is Jay Payton, a terrific left fielder who they fear will command about $3 MM at the arbitration table. They would probably go for someone like Ginter, Malone, etc. Of course this is dependent on whether or not we sign Carlos et al. A possible drawback to trading with the Rockies is that if they outsmart us like everyone else does, there won't be a big enough rock to hide under.
October 18, 200322 yr First thing we need to do is settle our pitching staff. we've three starters locked in. Need to make/get a decision on Colon. Then we need to upgrade at Number Five starter. Who will close? Gordon is not under contract. If he leaves, it will be Damaso. Koch remains a ???? Job One is upgrade the pitching. As for our position players, we need to eliminate at least one lead-legged bopper and add somebody with some wheels who knows how to get on base. Easier said than done.
October 18, 200322 yr I just don't see giving Gordon closers money which is what he thinks he can get. Whether he gets it or not, who knows. All I know is this was his first full season in a long time and I don't quite trust that he'll be able to have another.
October 18, 200322 yr Author Gordon still has awfully good stuff -- I hope we keep him. Of course, I have no idea how much he thinks he is worth. Getting rid of either Konerko or Big Frank is virtually impossible, unless the Dodgers step up. Back to Jay Payton; his game is solid, except for a glass arm, but he can hide it pretty well in left. He can throw to second okay. Someone will swindle the Rockies out of him. Might as well be us.
October 19, 200322 yr "Not only do they have a bunch of good young talent" Who are you talking about? I just looked through their stats from last year, and I didn't see a bunch of good young talented players. Helton, Walker, Payton, and Wilson were really the only good offensive players that had good years last year and none of them are younger then 29. "Case in point is Jay Payton, a terrific left fielder who they fear will command about $3 MM at the arbitration table." I am sorry, but Payton and the words terrific left fielder should not be in the same sentence. He is a decent left fielder, but isn't as good as Lee. Another thing that you have to consider when looking at offensive players from Colorado is inflated offensive stats because they play in such a great offensive park. For example, your boy Payton never produced an OPS above .778 before arriving in Colorado. "First thing we need to do is settle our pitching staff." I couldn't agree with you more. I think pitching is priority #1 followed closely by improving the middle infield. "Gordon still has awfully good stuff -- I hope we keep him. Of course, I have no idea how much he thinks he is worth." For 1M/yr Gordon is a good risk to take, but for 3-4M/yr(what he might get this year) at his age, with his injury problems, and the amount of IP he had I think that is a bad risk. I agree that the Sox need to get at least 1 quality right handed reliever, but I would rather spend 3-4M/yr on a guy like Hawkins, who has similar stuff, is younger, and not injury prone.
October 19, 200322 yr Gordan's age and past arm troubles is not worth the cash he will want next year.........Phillies closer anyone
October 19, 200322 yr Author Before Payton came to the Rockettes, he was beset with shoulder problems -- two major surgeries. That's why his arm is lacking and why the Mets gave up on him, but he covers a hell of a lot of ground in a big ball park. Payton also hit very well on the road, so you can't credit Coors Field for his stats. Before he got hurt, he was the best offensive prospect in the Mets system, by far. Big minor league numbers. He also had a tremendous college career at Georgia Tech -- big numbers. The guy can hit, run, steal, field, everything except throw. Compared to Carlos, he is much better defensively, not even close. I've probably seen him play over 100 games in the last year and a half. The Rockettes are under a lot of financial pressure, and they have made it known they don't want to go to arbitration with him. They expect him to get $3-3.5 MM. Regarding their young players, I was talking about guys like outfielder Rene Reyes, who hit .350 at AAA, and third baseman Garrett Atkins, who lhit .320 with power at AAA. They are cheap, and the Rockettes will give them every chance to start next year, making Payton available for a trade. If we offered a couple of pitchers like Ginter and Malone, they would jump on them like a tall dog. We gave up more than that for Robbie Alomar. Payton's best years are right in front of him. All contingent on our not signing Lee, as I said earlier.
October 19, 200322 yr Gordan's age and past arm troubles is not worth the cash he will want next year.........Phillies closer anyone Jose Mesa.
October 19, 200322 yr Jose Mesa. No, Mesa licks Howard Stern's butt cheese....as does Mike Williams. So yes, I can say and see Gordon becoming the Phillies closer.
October 19, 200322 yr What do you guys think of the idea of bringing in relievers like • Dan Plesac, Philadelphia • Ricardo Rincon, Oakland • Eddie Guardado, Minnesota • Steve Kline, St. Louis • John Franco, Mets • Kent Mercker, Atlanta • Jeff Fassero, St. Louis (club option for 2004) • Terry Mulholland, Cleveland
October 19, 200322 yr What do you guys think of the idea of bringing in relievers like • Dan Plesac, Philadelphia • Ricardo Rincon, Oakland • Eddie Guardado, Minnesota • Steve Kline, St. Louis • John Franco, Mets • Kent Mercker, Atlanta • Jeff Fassero, St. Louis (club option for 2004) • Terry Mulholland, Cleveland What about either of these names: Hasegawa and Hawkins
October 19, 200322 yr What do you guys think of the idea of bringing in relievers like • Dan Plesac, Philadelphia • Ricardo Rincon, Oakland • Eddie Guardado, Minnesota • Steve Kline, St. Louis • John Franco, Mets • Kent Mercker, Atlanta • Jeff Fassero, St. Louis (club option for 2004) • Terry Mulholland, Cleveland We don't need another lefty.
October 19, 200322 yr I dont think I want anyone from Colorado unless their last name ends in elton. Yeah, we're going to get Jose Jimenezelton. I would take Jimenez, if they'd pay for him and we got him for cheap. Maybe we could get him back to pitching well.
October 19, 200322 yr What do you guys think of the idea of bringing in relievers like • Dan Plesac, Philadelphia • Ricardo Rincon, Oakland • Eddie Guardado, Minnesota • Steve Kline, St. Louis • John Franco, Mets • Kent Mercker, Atlanta • Jeff Fassero, St. Louis (club option for 2004) • Terry Mulholland, Cleveland What about either of these names: Hasegawa and Hawkins That'll do.
October 19, 200322 yr I think Damaso should close. He is one amazing motha f***a, an under 2 era i believe and NO respect. He simply dominates, and not giving him the job would be an unwise decision.
October 19, 200322 yr "Payton also hit very well on the road, so you can't credit Coors Field for his stats." His home and away splits are pretty drastic. .917 2003 home OPS .813 2003 away OPS 1.416 2002 Coors OPS in 74 AB's .751 2002 OPS as a Met .982 2002 OPS as a Rockie I would say those are pretty straight forward stats that tell the entire story. Payton's numbers have REALLY benefited from playing in Coors. He is nothing more then a high .700/low .800 OPS guy away from Coors, which is nothing special. Lee has put up better numbers over his career, has much more potential, and is 3 1/2 years younger. If the Sox move Lee, than maybe Payton might be a decent CHEAP replacement, but the outfield is not weakness. The Sox need to focus on retaining/improving the pitching, and then try and improve the middle infield. Payton is nothing special and doesn't address a major weakness. "The guy can hit, run, steal, field, everything except throw." Steal??? He has never stolen more then 7 bases in a season, and has been caught stealing more then he has stolen a base over his career. Over a 162 game season he averages 7 SB and 7 CS while Lee averages 12 SB and 5 CS. I am not the smartest person in the world, but I think Lee's SB numbers are better. "If we offered a couple of pitchers like Ginter and Malone, they would jump on them like a tall dog." Why would we give up a pitching prospect, something the Sox don't have a lot of, for an outfielder, something the Sox have too many of? That just doesn't make any sense. You trade from your strengths to improve your weaknesses, not the other way around. "What about either of these names: Hasegawa and Hawkins" I agree with you on this, espeically Hawkins. He is #1 on my right handed reliever wish list this offseason.
October 19, 200322 yr What do you guys think of the idea of bringing in relievers like • Dan Plesac, Philadelphia • Ricardo Rincon, Oakland • Eddie Guardado, Minnesota • Steve Kline, St. Louis • John Franco, Mets • Kent Mercker, Atlanta • Jeff Fassero, St. Louis (club option for 2004) • Terry Mulholland, Cleveland What about either of these names: Hasegawa and Hawkins Get those two to replace Sully/Gordon and I'd be very happy.
October 19, 200322 yr Gordan's age and past arm troubles is not worth the cash he will want next year.........Phillies closer anyone I say Gordon goes to the Cubs.
October 19, 200322 yr I say Gordon goes to the Cubs. That makes definate sense. They are gonna be adding a few arms.
October 19, 200322 yr Here is an idea. The Cubs are likely going to make a push at 2nd to get someone to replace Grudzelanek. Grudz has one year left on his contract and we know koch is the same. Grudz makes less though, maybe you could do a Koch/Grudz swap. Not sure how great of an idea this is, but the deal would temporarily fill a hole for the Sox and then they could concentrate on getting a solid shortstop or something. Its not gonna be easy moving Koch, I know that.
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