I would love to have Castillo as our #2 hitter. He can bunt and steal bases. I don't mind that he has no power whatsoever. He is a perfect #1 or #2 hitter. But at the same time, I would hate to give up Marte. I do think that Marte and Willie for Castillo would be a fair trade. I still don't see it happening though.

This Castillo rumor is heating up folks. Hearing about it from a couple of 'sources'.

And Shingo?

 

Or Hermanson, Vizcaino; how will the transfer of leagues effect their statistics?

 

IMO, the priority to upgrade 2B is not a necessity at this point.  When mid-year approaches, and the usual bottom feeders are auctioning players, surely a solid 2B/RH utility player can be acquired. Will a pitcher of Marte's stature be available?

 

By the same token, which position would take more talent to acquire midseason, a top 2b or a top set up man? 2B.

 

While upgrading at 2B may be a luxury, what is the backup plan for leadoff if Pods fails, gets hurt etc? Acquiring a leadoff man midseason would cost an arm and a leg. Castillo fill the hole at 2b, and give the Sox a #2 hitter, and leadoff hitter vs LHP [and provides Pods insurance]. Castillo wouldn't just replace Harris. He'd drop Uribe out of the #2 hole [a great thing, he's better down in the order like at 7] as well as be that leadoff backup plan

This Castillo rumor is heating up folks. Hearing about it from a couple of 'sources'.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Who besides the WhiteSox.com message board?

Don't underestimate the importance of a deep, solid bullpen. I would absolutely love Castillo, but I'd hate to see Marte go. Damaso is a huge part of this pen, especially since Cotts is the only other LHP (that is unless you consider Kevin Walker part of the team).

 

I know you have to give something to get something, but I don't know that this is a wise investment.

No, no...and NO.

 

We signed Marte to a 3 year deal for ONLY 4.5M + options for 2007 and 2008.

 

You aren't going to find another pitcher like Marte who will take a contract like that, EVER.

 

That's VERY cheap for someone of Marte's quality, and I say we keep him rather than trading him away and weakening our pitching staff.

 

-y2

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/gamelog?statsId=6419

The numbers don't mean much in that win share report, but the rankings defintely have meaning. Take a look at Rollins.

 

Castillo R/RBI gms = 85, Harris projected to 78 full-time, & C Lee was 92 in 04. Led all Sox by 10%.

ow look at Rollins: R/RBI gms vs AB

Apr 7/71, May 14/107, Jun 19/122, Jul 17/120, Aug 21/114, Sep 20/123

Tot: 98 that's about 7% more than C Lee.

 

He avg'd 33 SB/yr in recent yrs, & he's a capable switch hitter:

 

vs. Left 165AB .303A .365O .473S .837OPS

vs. Right 492AB .285A .342O .449S .791OPS

 

He made 2.5M in 04, & is expected to cost less than Castillo in 05.

 

Defensively: .986% 4.01RF .858ZR

vs

Uribe: .983% 5.29RF .881ZR

Castillo: .991% 4.81RF .858ZR

Harris: .990% 5.16RF .822ZR

 

RF - is a measure of how many plays a player made in that year

ZR - is a measure of how many plays a player made vs other players fielding a similar zone.

This Castillo rumor is heating up folks. Hearing about it from a couple of 'sources'.

 

 

Please share your sources.

If KW includes Marte in this deal, we're screwed. It won't matter what Castillo does. With no lefty set-up man, the Sox can forget the playoffs.

If KW includes Marte in this deal, we're screwed. It won't matter what Castillo does. With no lefty set-up man, the Sox can forget the playoffs.

 

Someone forgot to tell the Red Sox to get an improvement over Alan Embree and his 4+ ERA. Or the Yanks. Or the Angels. Neal Cotts is better than what these teams have for LH set up

 

Oh, and Welcome to Sox talk

Compare Marte's 03 vs 04 appearances & it's really 3 bad gms out of 72 that inflated Marte's ERA in 04. 

 

You are acting like practically every other relief pitcher does not have two or three bad innings that inflate their era's. You can't just say that those outings never happened and pretend their era is lower.

No, no...and NO.

 

We signed Marte to a 3 year deal for ONLY 4.5M + options for 2007 and 2008.

 

You aren't going to find another pitcher like Marte who will take a contract like that, EVER.

 

That's VERY cheap for someone of Marte's quality, and I say we keep him rather than trading him away and weakening our pitching staff.

 

-y2

 

 

This is the best argument I've seen to support the "don't trade Marte" point of view. Still, Castillo brings so much to this team that we lack. I don't know if it would be possible to get him without giving up Marte. Honestly, to me this is a very tough call, but I still would have to lean toward getting Castillo if we can.

You are acting like practically every other relief pitcher does not have two or three bad innings that inflate their era's. You can't just say that those outings never happened and pretend their era is lower.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Wrong. I said I could care less about his era. I look at his impact as a reliever on wins & losses. His 59 scoreless appearances is what sells his value to me. Adkins, Herm, & Vizc are wll below that. Not even close.

 

I'm shocked some of you still don't have a picture of what this season is going to be like. We are now Chicago's version of the Twinkies. Gone are Lee & Maggs. On the shelf for a while is Thomas. Gone are the blow out games. The vast majority of games will be hard fought & the Sox will win or lose them with pitching. Not an avalanche of runs. Those days are long forgotten.

 

This bullpen is going to have to protect more 1 & 2 run leads than at any time in recent Sox history. The wins & loses are going to be in their hands. Mostly Marte's & Shingo's. Another way of putting it is that they are just as important to the Sox as Nathan & Romero are to the Twins.

 

They wouldn't do this trade & either should I. I was open to the trade if Vizcaino proves himself early on but then I thought if he does that he'll cost much more than Marte in 06. What's the point? There is a greater likelihood that Marte will finish in the top 10 in NPERA in the AL in 05 than Vizcaino to finish in the top 20. If we lose Marte, & neither Hermanson nor Vizc finish in the top 20 we will lose the division.

It's that simple.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n...1534EST0307.DTL

Rollins in 05 for 4M. I like that. That's about 1.5M less than Castillo. I wonder what the Phils would want.

 

I don't think we can rule out Polanco either. A 5.1M backup IF doesn't sound practical for the Phils. Especially when the Sox are in need of a starting 2B.

Here's a situation where the player can't possibly be happy so the Sox are at better strength in working a trade. If I'm KW I'm on the phone with the Phils over Polanco. Getting him should cost less than Marte.