January 31, 200521 yr Chicago White Sox Gained: Tadahito Iguchi, A.J. Pierzynski, Orlando Hernandez, Scott Podsednik Lost: Carlos Lee It might reasonably be argued that the White Sox don't belong on this list, especially considering that I've left the Reds off the list. But that Lee-for-Podsednik trade just keeps eating at me, and I suspect that only Iguchi, who of course is unknown to most of us, is capable of saving this winter for the Sox. At one time Neyer was complaing the Sox were too dependant on the longball and needed to be faster and better defensively. KW makes those moves and...we didn't improve. :banghead I know some might disagree with Kenny's moves, but out of 32 teams we are NOT in the bottom 10 of improvement. Here is the FULL article. It's illegal to post that full article from insider. Isn't a mortal sin to question Bill Beane in Bristol?!? However, it's not illegal to give a link to the Lite version of the ESPN site, which displays the same content for free.... Stupid ESPN. http://lite.espn.go.com/mlb/columnist?id=1980522 Edit'd by Cheat Edited January 31, 200521 yr by Gene Honda Civic
January 31, 200521 yr We only look good on paper, lets wait and see till mid-season.. Who cares what ESPn says..lets get on the field and do it there..
January 31, 200521 yr The good news is this is the same stuff we saw prior to the 2000 season. No one picked us, no one thought we did anything worth while in the offseason even though we did a lot. And look what happened, we won the division.
January 31, 200521 yr Geeze, we shall see I guess. But you heard it from me first...the drought is ending this year.
January 31, 200521 yr LOL, in his little thing about the a's he calls dye a "pretty good everyday player" but fails to mention his signing with the sox :headshake
January 31, 200521 yr Author Here is the FULL article. It's illegal to post that full article from insider. Isn't a mortal sin to question Bill Beane in Bristol?!? However, it's not illegal to give a link to the Lite version of the ESPN site, which displays the same content for free.... Stupid ESPN. http://lite.espn.go.com/mlb/columnist?id=1980522 Edit'd by Cheat Thanks Cheat!
January 31, 200521 yr I sent Rob a little piece of my mind. I'll post his response if I get one. Hopefully I do because I titled the e-mail "I really liked your Least Improved Teams List" just so he would open it.
January 31, 200521 yr QUOTE(whitesoxin' @ Jan 31, 2005 -> 04:56 PM) I sent Rob a little piece of my mind. I'll post his response if I get one. Hopefully I do because I titled the e-mail "I really liked your Least Improved Teams List" just so he would open it. What did you say in the email???
January 31, 200521 yr Subject: I really like your article on "As Bad as it Gets" To: rob.neyer@dig.com Now since you have opened this e-mail, I would like to inform you that this article was probably the worst article ever written. My first complaint is, where in the heck is Jermaine Dye? You mentioned that he departed from Oakland, but forgot the minor detail of him signing with the White Sox. Also, you ripped the Carlos Lee for Scott Podsednik AND Luis Vizcaino trade. This move by Kenny Williams (the Chicago White Sox General Manger, as I am sure you did not know), opened up room on our payroll for the signings of Orlando Hernandez and Tadahito Iguchi. So basically this trade boiled down to the White Sox gaining three starters, two of which were gaping holes in last years team, second base and the fifth starters slot, a reliable bullpen arm, and only losing one starter who was most likely leaving the team after this year for a big salary elsewhere. Carlos was probably also not going to sign a long term contract becaue of the outfielding prospects that are in our system. You also did not mention the signing of Dustin Hermanson, a dependable bullpen arm. I have one other observation. On your list, the Cubs were included. You placed Nomar Garciaparra, Todd Walker, and Michael Barrett on this list of players "gained". If I am not mistaken, all three of these players were on the Chicago Cubs last season. Please explain to me how these guys were "gained". The only player on that list that is new to the team is the Jerry Hairston. The Sosa trade isn't even official yet, and the players aren't official either. You and all your other ESPN colleagues never cease to amaze me. Thanks for your time. -Will
January 31, 200521 yr What a f***ing dolt. He left off three of our additions, and doesn't realize that uneven trades usually mean freeing funds for a team with a budget.
January 31, 200521 yr QUOTE(3E8 @ Jan 31, 2005 -> 11:00 PM) What a f***ing dolt. He left off three of our additions, and doesn't realize that uneven trades usually mean freeing funds for a team with a budget. Never let facts get in the way of a good story.
January 31, 200521 yr Awesome e-mail whitesoxin'. I hope you get a response. It'll be interesting to see how Neyer digs himself out of that hole.
January 31, 200521 yr QUOTE(SoxFanForever @ Jan 31, 2005 -> 05:05 PM) Never let facts get in the way of a good story. How often do you read neyer? How often does he write a fluff piece like this with little to no statistical documentation to back it up?
January 31, 200521 yr If Pods can give us .280/.350/60-70 sb's to go with Vizcaino, I would consider the trade a success, even without factoring in the money it freed up for our other signings.
January 31, 200521 yr Let's play devils advocate --- Lee>Podsednik Maggs>Dye That's making yourself worse with two acquisitions. The biggest gain to the pitching staff is a guy who has averaged 40IP the last two years and might be 40+ years old. The biggest gain in the IF is a complete unknown, who neyer acknowledges might have the biggest impact of the group. Pierz is a large upgrade assuming he can quit being a douche to those around him.
January 31, 200521 yr I have a hard time faulting KW and JR for anything to do with Maggs. We offered him 70 million dollars, and he declined. Back to the drawing board.
January 31, 200521 yr QUOTE(Gene Honda Civic @ Jan 31, 2005 -> 05:18 PM) Let's play devils advocate --- Lee>Podsednik Maggs>Dye That's making yourself worse with two acquisitions. The biggest gain to the pitching staff is a guy who has averaged 40IP the last two years and might be 40+ years old. The biggest gain in the IF is a complete unknown, who neyer acknowledges might have the biggest impact of the group. Pierz is a large upgrade assuming he can quit being a douche to those around him. I see your point. But the way I look at it, the worst that can happen is we fail to win the divison. Just like we've failed in 01, 02, 03, and 04. So if we don't win it this year, it sure as hell won't be because we didn't have Maggs or Lee.
January 31, 200521 yr QUOTE(Jordan4life_2004 @ Jan 31, 2005 -> 05:22 PM) I see your point. But the way I look at it, the worst that can happen is we fail to win the divison. Just like we've failed in 01, 02, 03, and 04. So if we don't win it this year, it sure as hell won't be because we didn't have Maggs or Lee. Like I said, just playing devils advocate.... If the list was made on Friday, it would have been criminal not to include the O's. Even with the addition of Sosa, they have to staff and I think should be included.
January 31, 200521 yr Dye was listed as a loss for Oakland, yet he didn't mention where he ended up, in addition to forgetting to mention Vizcaino, he didn't bother to mention the Hermanson signing either. BTW, 2005 Dye> end of 2004 Magglio who would have costed a minimum of $11.2 million. How the f*** is that not an upgrade?
January 31, 200521 yr The signing of Garcia should also be taken into account here. We did not have him to start the '04 season. A mid-year 30+ million dollar contract will prohibit major signings in the offseason. KW did so much with what he had.
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