could be something (most likely not)

[dyuen]

I'm sorry but Alex Rios is a long way from an All Star. He's making $10 million with a .247 .296 .395 .691 line. He wouldn't get anywhere near that money if he was a free agent this year.

 

Correct, finally some logical thinking here.

[ScottyDo]

Jenks has all his health issues, Linebrink is Linebrink, Randy Williams has never done anything worth mentioning, Pena is still a highly-talented work-in-progress, Putz is coming off surgery. The only virtual certainty is Thornton.

 

Yes, we have some nice bench players. The problem is we do not have any starters for RF or DH. We've blown our wad on bench players and reclamation projects. You can even make the argument that we have actually downgraded from our already pathetic 2009 offense. The only way that wouldn't be the case would be if both Quentin and Rios perform up to their expectations and Paulie doesn't regress. Who is going to replace the 1st half Dye had, or Thome, or Pods? This offense as currently constructed is terrible.

 

Jones doesn't have hardly any potential anymore. He has slowed down a ton. It's not like if the 2009 Texas version of Andruw Jones got regular playing time he would have been good again. The guy needs to come up with a time machine.

 

The time of year really doesn't matter if we're out of money. We're stuck with Paulie and Linebrink, and Kenny has already said Jenks will be the closer. Where are we going to come up with the funds to sign anyone good? We've blown our resources on luxuries. That's why the offseason blows. I realize this will be very unpopular among the "it's only December!!!" crowd but I don't care. So far, Kenny's offseason grade should be no better than a D.

There is still time to make a trade that dumps sallary. People are so quick to say that nobody would EVER take Paulie (i know, NTC) linebrink (NTC again) or Jenks, yet there are all sorts of iffy contracts shuffled around as the year progresses. Also, we tend to undervalue our own players pretty constantly because we're a smarter/more cynical fan base than most, so I wouldn't rule out a sallary-dumping trade just yet.

 

Also, the offseason has not yet begun to heat up, so you can assign him a D but you could assign a D to a hitter that bats .200 in April too. Doesn't mean jack squat because april MVP is rarely october MVP and april goat is rarely october goat. Sorry if that metaphor is a little off-base but I think you get my point. Wait till February before you start worrying.

 

Aaaalso, as some have mentioned before, Peavy and Rios were essentially moves for this offseason. I don't think the Rios acquisition was an appalling move like some people seem to think. In fact, I think if KW had made that move yesterday, there would be a moderate smattering of optimism about the whole thing. It's just that we set an artificial division between the end of october and the beginning of november as the time to make impactful moves.

[Kenny Hates Prospects]

1. KW spent his money for next season on Peavy and Rios at the end of last season. I don't know what big money move you were expecting but the expectioins should not have been very high.

 

2. I see you don't care for the contracts of Jenks, Linebrink and Konerko and think they are weighing down the possibilites of KW making a move. Most GMs seem to agree with you and nobody wants them and their contracts. If KW were to make a trade with any of them, he would need to eat so much of the contract it would n't give enough salary relief to be of any benefit.

 

So again I'm not sure why you would have expected any big off season acquisitions when it was pretty obvious KW did most of his big acquisitions at the end of last year.

Well, we've spent $2.75M on Teahen considering the $1M from the Royals; $1.5M on Kotsay; $500k-$1.5M on Jones; $1.375M for Vizquel; $3M-$6.25M on Putz and that's apparently what we had to work with. So that's $9.125M-$13.375M on bench players and reclamation projects. Matsui is signing for $6.5M. Call me crazy, but I'd glady give up all of those guys and take Carrasco and league minimum bench fodder if it meant having a real DH.

[Chisoxfn]

To ignore how poorly Rios hit would also be a mistake.

He definitely hit real bad and I kind of think Kenny would take a do-over if he had to do it all over, but the club has a lot of Rios left under contract and historically speaking he's been an above average right fielder and if you moved those stats to left and factored in his defense, he's an above average centerfielder.

 

I hate writing a guy off over a horrendous two month stretch. The Sox have tapes and he's had a lot of major league success. Rios will figure it out.

[Chisoxfn]

vlad isnt coming to southside folks. ozzie wants dh that can play the field and he dosent fit the description. sorry

If Matsui could play the field, so could Vladdy. Not regularly, but you could always stick him in left in a pinch. I wouldn't recommend it, but with an off-season of rest he'd be capable of playing 1-2 times a week in the field.

[Chisoxfn]

But he is coming off 4 awful seasons in the NL -- .329 OBP and .688 OPS, fun -- and put up a .263/.317/.324/.641 over his final ~300 plate appearances last year. I'm not willing to give up a player and pay $6M-$8M over 2 years on a bad baseball player just because he's fast and hits singles.

I agree, 6-8M is way too much if that is what it ultimately takes. If you can get him in the 3-4M range, than I could see it making a bit of sense, given the Sox financial restraints. It goes hand in hand with a supposed Crisp signing, it wouldn't excite me, but in combination with a good DH signing, I'd say the team would be in a great position to contend.

[ScottyDo]

Well, we've spent $2.75M on Teahen considering the $1M from the Royals; $1.5M on Kotsay; $500k-$1.5M on Jones; $1.375M for Vizquel; $3M-$6.25M on Putz and that's apparently what we had to work with. So that's $9.125M-$13.375M on bench players and reclamation projects. Matsui is signing for $6.5M. Call me crazy, but I'd glady give up all of those guys and take Carrasco and league minimum bench fodder if it meant having a real DH.

you can't just ignore the bench. at least $5m of that HAD to be spent. especially considering fields would have been our 3b option under those circumstances.

[Leonard Zelig]

vlad isnt coming to southside folks. ozzie wants dh that can play the field and he dosent fit the description. sorry

 

People keep posting this, but Ozzie is the one who mentioned it and he doesn't acquire the players, so we don't really know if that is the case.

[dyuen]

He definitely hit real bad and I kind of think Kenny would take a do-over if he had to do it all over, but the club has a lot of Rios left under contract and historically speaking he's been an above average right fielder and if you moved those stats to left and factored in his defense, he's an above average centerfielder.

 

I hate writing a guy off over a horrendous two month stretch. The Sox have tapes and he's had a lot of major league success. Rios will figure it out.

 

I sure hope he does. I just think to rely on this happening and him being the key aquisition to make the playoffs might result in a lot of unhappy sox fans.

[chetkincaid]

People keep posting this, but Ozzie is the one who mentioned it and he doesn't acquire the players, so we don't really know if that is the case.

 

Plus didn't Ozzie call DJ Carrasco the team MVP? I'm not sure Ozzie is in the loop when it comes to aquisitions.

[Kenny Hates Prospects]

you can't just ignore the bench. at least $5m of that HAD to be spent. especially considering fields would have been our 3b option under those circumstances.

Yes you can. Just bring in a s***load of invites to spring to fill out your bench. Who really cares? I'd like to know how any combination of this all-star bench lineup we've got is going to make up for what a hitter like Matsui would have provided as a starter.

 

I'm done with this. The moves themselves, in a vacuum, are not bad moves at all. The overall idea however of blowing our payroll flexibility on a bunch of Adrian Griffins is. We're not a National League team playing in a pitcher's park. We do need some actual offense here.

[ScottyDo]

Yes you can. Just bring in a s***load of invites to spring to fill out your bench. Who really cares? I'd like to know how any combination of this all-star bench lineup we've got is going to make up for what a hitter like Matsui would have provided as a starter.

 

I'm done with this. The moves themselves, in a vacuum, are not bad moves at all. The overall idea however of blowing our payroll flexibility on a bunch of Adrian Griffins is. We're not a National League team playing in a pitcher's park. We do need some actual offense here.

One could argue that many, many teams have lost out on the playoffs on the back of horrible bench play. You could also argue that teams have lost out because they were missing that ONE position player but I don't tend to think one argument is more valid than the other.

[Chisoxfn]

I sure hope he does. I just think to rely on this happening and him being the key aquisition to make the playoffs might result in a lot of unhappy sox fans.

The key things to consider is the following:

Quentin will hopefully be healthy and if that happens he'll be a hell of a lot more productive

- Beckham will have a full year under his belt

- Rotation will be much better

- Pen should be solid; Pena, Linebrink, and Jenks are better than they've shown and a healthy Putz would be a nice upgrade

- Teahen should be a better hitter than Getz

- Rios has a history of being significantly better than shown

- Ramirez will be much better defensively and in year three much more consistent

 

Obviously all of the above might not happen, but I expect most of the above will happen and that alone makes the Sox a hell of a lot better of a club.

[ScottyDo]

The key things to consider is the following:

Quentin will hopefully be healthy and if that happens he'll be a hell of a lot more productive

- Beckham will have a full year under his belt

- Rotation will be much better

- Pen should be solid; Pena, Linebrink, and Jenks are better than they've shown and a healthy Putz would be a nice upgrade

- Teahen should be a better hitter than Getz

- Rios has a history of being significantly better than shown

- Ramirez will be much better defensively and in year three much more consistent

 

Obviously all of the above might not happen, but I expect most of the above will happen and that alone makes the Sox a hell of a lot better of a club.

+1 from the rosy optimist

[justBLAZE]

I have a gut feeling we're gonna end up with Podsednik in LF and Thome in DH

[flavum]

I have a gut feeling we're gonna end up with Podsednik in LF and Thome in DH

 

That would really suck.

[chetkincaid]

I have a gut feeling we're gonna end up with Podsednik in LF and Thome in DH

 

 

This is what I've been saying all along. 88 wins and first round exit, here we come!

[Kalapse]

This is what I've been saying all along. 88 wins and first round exit, here we come!

If this team gets into the playoffs they have a damn good shot at winning it all, I don't give a s*** how man games we win, if the pitching holds up and we get into the playoffs I'll be pleased. This isn't the NBA we're talking about, if you're one of the 8 teams lucky enough to still be playing baseball in mid-October you have a shot at making a run especially if the top of your starting rotation is especially strong.

[jphat007]

This is what I've been saying all along. 88 wins and first round exit, here we come!

 

It'd be a small miracle if that offense made the playoffs.

[justBLAZE]

If this team gets into the playoffs they have a damn good shot at winning it all, I don't give a s*** how man games we win, if the pitching holds up and we get into the playoffs I'll be pleased. This isn't the NBA we're talking about, if you're one of the 8 teams lucky enough to still be playing baseball in mid-October you have a shot at making a run especially if the top of your starting rotation is especially strong.

 

I'm not necessarily knocking this, I still would love Thome to hit 600 in a Sox uniform, but at this point I don't see (as of right now) how we can compete with the Yankees, Red Sox.

 

I think we can win the division even if Scott and Jim are back.

[Ranger]

Why would this be sarcastic? It appears we've blown our payroll room on bench players and reclamation projects. Kenny has been more under the influence than under the radar at this point. I really hope this changes because this is the most disappointing offseason I've ever experienced, given what the expectations should be knowing our starting rotation.

 

The deals for Vizquel, Jones, and Putz are not preventing them from making any big moves. If they are unable to make a big move, it isn't because they've signed 3 guys for less than $6 million total.

 

 

Then that is a very mediocre offseason. One really good and one really bad. Especially considering how bad we need offense.

 

 

Well which acquisition makes this "really bad"? Rios? I think it's much too early to say that as he's really only had one bad year. And I think talented ballplayers are allowed to have a bad year here and there. Of course, it's a gamble because of his salary but that doesn't make it a "really bad" acquisition...especially when you consider KW gave up no players to do it.

 

He's strengthened the bench and it's mid-December.

[chetkincaid]

If this team gets into the playoffs they have a damn good shot at winning it all, I don't give a s*** how man games we win, if the pitching holds up and we get into the playoffs I'll be pleased. This isn't the NBA we're talking about, if you're one of the 8 teams lucky enough to still be playing baseball in mid-October you have a shot at making a run especially if the top of your starting rotation is especially strong.

 

Oh yeah?? With that line up? Here's your 2010 ALDS breakdown:

 

Game 1

 

Yanks 1

Sox 0

 

WP: Sabathia

LP: Peavy

 

Headline - PEAVY PITCHES 3 HIT GEM IN LOSING EFFORT

 

 

Game 2

 

Yanks 2

Sox 1

 

WP: Burnett

LP: Buehrle

 

Headline - BUEHRLE DOMINANT, ONLY TO BE LET DOWN BY SOX OFFENSE

 

 

Game 3

 

Yanks 1

Sox 0

 

WP: Petitte

LP: Linebrink

 

Headline - DANKS FIRES 9 SHUTOUT INNINGS - SOX ELIMINATED IN 10TH.

 

Game over, series over. The yankees win... thaaaaaa yankees win!

Edited December 14, 2009 by Chet Kincaid

[soxfan3530]

doom and gloom seems to be coming earlier and earlier each off-season.

[NorthSideSox72]

doom and gloom seems to be coming earlier and earlier each off-season.

People are just impatient and have short memories. If we haven't somehow acquired all stars at every position by thanksgiving, the offseason is a failure.

 

[Dick Allen]

I will agree if the offensive improvement is going to be based on Rios, Quentin being fully healthy for a full year, having Beckham an additional 2 months, that this has been a bad off season, because you have to remember the Sox lost a lot of HR and RBI with Thome and Dye being gone, and some batting average with Pods being gone and most of their steals with Pods and Getz gone, and the offense clearly wasn't good enough last year. You would probably be looking at a wash at best, but its the middle of December. No reason to panic yet.

 

I will say when I read where Ozzie said Vizquel may be leading off and even DHing occassionally, it scared me. But he has to just be talking out of his behind.