Young players who make $335,000 who can hit .308 (27HR)/.359/.553 are very valuable around the league.

 

Of course a possible scenario is this, El Duque and Garland could be dealt, and KW could try to sign a Japanese pitcher like he did with Iguchi last off-season, but that's unlikely to happen.

 

That said, Garland and Jose's value are the highest they've ever been. Looking at Jon's stats, he's decreased his walks by about 30, but still only struck out 115 batters. Now I know K'ing batters isn't the end all to be all, but it does help, and JG gives up the long ball more than say Mark Buerhle who also doesn't K a lot of hitters. It's one of the more interesting scenarios waiting in the off-season.

with few SP's available around the league, why should the sox mess with the success they have had? no dealing their SP's

How would you like to go to game 4 with the Sox down 2-1 and Garland on the mound and not thrown a pitch in a game sitaution in two weeks?

 

Could having him come out of the pen in game 1 work?

Could having him come out of the pen in game 1 work?

 

It could... but it might blow up in our faces as he's been a starter all of his career.

with few SP's available around the league, why should the sox mess with the success they have had? no dealing their SP's

With B-Mac waiting in the wings, one starter (most likely El Duque) won't be around in 2006.

 

Pitching has been our strength, no doubt about that, but if you significantly improve your offense, and sign a replacement for the guy you trade (even though he probably won't put as good numbers), the net gain will be greater in my mind.

 

Of course if you could just trade prospects instead of dealing from your rotation, that'd be even better.

How would you like to go to game 4 with the Sox down 2-1 and Garland on the mound and not thrown a pitch in a game sitaution in two weeks?

 

Exactly. Garland will be needed. No one is debating this point. the sooner he throws, the better he'll pitch. The longer he sits, the rustier and worse he'll likely throw. Every game from here on out is big. Yet throwing Garland overboard as dead weight is what a lot of people seem to be suggesting around here

Could having him come out of the pen in game 1 work?

 

Yeah, that would be a great idea. 3-2 game in the 7th inning and here comes Garland on 9 days rest.

you guys are acting like the Angels scoring a couple of runs off of Garland early would be insurmountable. Our offense has been really clicking in the last 8 games. Have some faith that we can give our pitcher a cushion and he can get into the groove.

 

He did win 18 games this year. I know he was 0-2 against Anaheim, but I believe he can pitch well enough to get the job done.

 

Again, Garland or Contreras is going to pitch game 1 and game 2, in some order. Why does the order even matter?

Garland pitching 4th in a 5 game series would be more of an issue that 4th in a 7 game series. If the rotation made sense in the first round, it also makes sense in a second. Get your best guys out there first.

Again, Garland or Contreras is going to pitch game 1 and game 2, in some order. Why does the order even matter?

 

The earlier they pitch in the ALCS, the earlier they can come back and do it again. I don't think we're going to do what we did to Boston here. This will certainly go more than 4.

With B-Mac waiting in the wings, one starter (most likely El Duque) won't be around in 2006.

 

Pitching has been our strength, no doubt about that, but if you significantly improve your offense, and sign a replacement for the guy you trade (even though he probably won't put as good numbers), the net gain will be greater in my mind.

 

Of course if you could just trade prospects instead of dealing from your rotation, that'd be even better.

 

I say el duque. He's 46 and Jon is 26. Even with Bmac taking over at the 5th spot, do the sox have another bmac waiting in AAA? I don't see one. And w/ FA market very thin, the sox would be testing the laws of probability that all their SP's will stay healthy for 3 yrs in a row. No deal of their young SP's

Young players who make $335,000 who can hit .308 (27HR)/.359/.553 are very valuable around the league.

 

Tracy's OBP is pretty low, and if we're giving up our good starting pitching I'd rather get a more complete hitter. Also, Tracy is a 1B (or RF) and dealing Garland only makes sense if the priority is to re-sign Konerko. With Konerko at 1B, where would we play Tracy?

Garland pitching 4th in a 5 game series would be more of an issue that 4th in a 7 game series. If the rotation made sense in the first round, it also makes sense in a second. Get your best guys out there first.

Can Jon pitch better than Freddy or MB did in their starts? Probably. He should at least equal what those two guys did so why skip him? It's not like Garland was the 4th best SP all yr and those other guys were carrying him.

 

I can see Jose going in game 1 and skipping Jon but not Freddy and MB.

Tracy's OBP is pretty low, and if we're giving up our good starting pitching I'd rather get a more complete hitter. Also, Tracy is a 1B (or RF) and dealing Garland only makes sense if the priority is to re-sign Konerko. With Konerko at 1B, where would we play Tracy?

I'd call Tracy a pretty complete hitter.

 

Our main weakness for our offense for this season was against righties. Tracy is a lefty hitter who had splits of .324/.370/.582 against righties this season. Compare that to say Paul Konerko who's our main offensive threat and his .290/.373/.522 splits against righties.

 

OBP to me won't be that important with Tracy anyway. He'll be in a run producing spot, and an .911 OPS looks godly there compared to Carl Everett and his .745 OPS.

 

Tracy would DH even if Konerko re-signed. He also gives you the versatility to play 3B/LF if needed, which would seriously improve our rotations of the lineup.

If the rotation made sense in the first round, it also makes sense in a second. Get your best guys out there first.

 

But the rotation in the first round was made, at least in part, to correspond to the rotation order in which the starters ended the season. Garland pitched on Saturday in Cleveland, after each of the other 3 playoff starters, so it was only natural that he start the 4th game of the series.

I figured it would almost have to be Garland. Otherwise, he'll be "too" rested, perhaps.

 

Although Jon has had a break-out sort of year, there's still a bit of nervousness over which Garland will show up this time around.

 

I think Jon will rise to the occasion. He has something to prove.

 

Question: how does he fare at home as opposed to away?

Can Jon pitch better than Freddy or MB did in their starts? Probably. He should at least equal what those two guys did so why skip him? It's not like Garland was the 4th best SP all yr and those other guys were carrying him.

 

As "shakey" as MB and FG seemed to be on the hill, guys, let's not lose perspective. Against one if not the best offensive club in the AL, their ERA wasn't bad at all.

Question:  how does he fare at home as opposed to away?

 

Home: 10-6, 3.56 ERA

Road: 8-4, 3.44 ERA

 

I don't think it really matters much when it comes to Garland.

It could... but it might blow up in our faces as he's been a starter all of his career.

 

Didn't he come out of the bullpen quite a few times his first couple of years with the Sox? I think he even pitched out of the bullpen in the 2000 post season.

Edited October 9, 200520 yr by BigSqwert

Didn't he come out of the bullpen quite a few times his first couple of years with the Sox?  I think he even pitched out of the bullpen in the 2000 post season.

Garland didn't make the playoff roster in 2000.

 

He came out of the pen 2 times in 2000... and 19 times out of the pen in 2001.

Can Jon pitch better than Freddy or MB did in their starts? Probably. He should at least equal what those two guys did so why skip him? It's not like Garland was the 4th best SP all yr and those other guys were carrying him.

 

I can see Jose going in game 1 and skipping Jon but not Freddy and MB.

 

You know what we need from Garland, the 1st half of this year kind

If the rumors are true that Garland is now pushed back to Game 4, then I stand corrected and shame on you channels 2 and 9 for saying Garland right away!!!

Garcia at home in Game 7 scares the hell out of me.

Wow, I'm very surprised to see him starting game 1. Go get them Jon, whoever they are.