Bored... so I'm comparing opening day of 2005 to 2010.

2005/2010

 

C- AJ Pierzynski AJ Pierzynski - 5 years older, 2005 wins.

 

1B- Paul Konerko/Paul Konerko - 5 years older, 2005 wins.

 

2B Tadahito Iguchi/Gordon Beckham - Tossup, but Beckham has more upside than Tad had.

 

3B: Joe Crede/Mark Teahen - Gotta go with Crede, especially on defense.

 

SS: Juan Uribe/Alexei Ramirez - Very close with Uribe's superior Defense.

 

RF: Jermaine Dye/Carlos Quentin- Very Close, CQ gets win for defense and return to 08 form.

 

CF: Aaron Rowand/Alex Rios - Rowand all the way, nothing shows me Rio's will be any better than Aaron.

 

LF: Scott Podsednik/Juan Pierre - Very close, tie.

 

DH: Frank Thomas/Carl Everett - Andruw Jones/Mark Kotsay - Frank Thomas, no question.

 

Bench:

 

Pablo Ozuna/Omar Vizquel - Omar for the late inning defense.

Willie Harris/Jayson Nix - Willie for the speed, defense.

Brian Anderson/Andruw Jones or Alejandro De Aza (Depends on roster spot with pitchers) - Prefer Jones if his defense is any close to past form.

Timo Perez/Mark Kotsay - Timo was faster, better defense, more useful.

Chris Widger/Ramon Castro - Ramon Castro considering he actually hits this year.

 

 

SP:

Mark Buehrle/Mark Buehrle - Close, but Buehrle is also 5 years older.

Freddy Garcia/Jake Peavy - Peavy all the way.

Jon Garland/John Danks - Danks is more consistent.

Jose Contreras/Gavin Floyd - Tie, both around high 3's in era, occasional great starts and bad starts.

Orlando Hernandez/Freddie Garcia tie, expect mid 4's-5 in era, not too many innings, injuries.

 

Closer: Shingo Takatsu/Bobby Jenks Jenks more proven.

 

Setup: Dustin Hermanon/Matt Thorton Thorton's great, no injury risk

 

Pen:

 

Damso Marte/JJ Putz Tie, Putz has to bounce back from injury but has more upside.

Cliff Pollite/Randy Williams Both had similar prior years, Pollite is was more proven.

Brandon Mccarthy/Carlos Torres or Dan Hudson Very similar situation

Luis Vizcaino/Scott Linebrink - Vizcaino for the Linebrink meltdowns and crapness.

Neal Cotts/Tony Pena - Tie, both had similarly bad previous years and similar career numbers.

Winner: 2005, 13 - 12

 

Think both teams are very similar, 2005 had better defense/power/over hitting, 2010 has slightly better starting pitching, bullpens are similar.

It's fun to look at, but the 2006 team was far more talented than the 2005 team was, and that team, though winning 90 games, didn't really live up to everyone's expectations. These comparisons, quite frankly, don't mean a hell of a lot.

Outside of attitude, Rios is so much better than Rowand. He had a poor second half last year. It happens it guys' careers. But you can't forget about Alexis Rios before that. He has a history of doing everything right. We'd be foolish to think that he's gonna be bad forever.

 

Aaron Rowand had a great attitude, but its not like he was an all star caliber player here.

Bored... so I'm comparing opening day of 2005 to 2010.

2005/2010

 

C- AJ Pierzynski AJ Pierzynski - 5 years older, 2005 wins.

 

1B- Paul Konerko/Paul Konerko - 5 years older, 2005 wins.

 

2B Tadahito Iguchi/Gordon Beckham - Tossup, but Beckham has more upside than Tad had.

 

3B: Joe Crede/Mark Teahen - Gotta go with Crede, especially on defense.

 

SS: Juan Uribe/Alexei Ramirez - Very close with Uribe's superior Defense.

 

RF: Jermaine Dye/Carlos Quentin- Very Close, CQ gets win for defense and return to 08 form.

 

CF: Aaron Rowand/Alex Rios - Rowand all the way, nothing shows me Rio's will be any better than Aaron.

 

LF: Scott Podsednik/Juan Pierre - Very close, tie.

 

DH: Frank Thomas/Carl Everett - Andruw Jones/Mark Kotsay - Frank Thomas, no question.

 

Bench:

 

Pablo Ozuna/Omar Vizquel - Omar for the late inning defense.

Willie Harris/Jayson Nix - Willie for the speed, defense.

Brian Anderson/Andruw Jones or Alejandro De Aza (Depends on roster spot with pitchers) - Prefer Jones if his defense is any close to past form.

Timo Perez/Mark Kotsay - Timo was faster, better defense, more useful.

Chris Widger/Ramon Castro - Ramon Castro considering he actually hits this year.

 

 

SP:

Mark Buehrle/Mark Buehrle - Close, but Buehrle is also 5 years older.

Freddy Garcia/Jake Peavy - Peavy all the way.

Jon Garland/John Danks - Danks is more consistent.

Jose Contreras/Gavin Floyd - Tie, both around high 3's in era, occasional great starts and bad starts.

Orlando Hernandez/Freddie Garcia tie, expect mid 4's-5 in era, not too many innings, injuries.

 

Closer: Shingo Takatsu/Bobby Jenks Jenks more proven.

 

Setup: Dustin Hermanon/Matt Thorton Thorton's great, no injury risk

 

Pen:

 

Damso Marte/JJ Putz Tie, Putz has to bounce back from injury but has more upside.

Cliff Pollite/Randy Williams Both had similar prior years, Pollite is was more proven.

Brandon Mccarthy/Carlos Torres or Dan Hudson Very similar situation

Luis Vizcaino/Scott Linebrink - Vizcaino for the Linebrink meltdowns and crapness.

Neal Cotts/Tony Pena - Tie, both had similarly bad previous years and similar career numbers.

Winner: 2005, 13 - 12

 

Think both teams are very similar, 2005 had better defense/power/over hitting, 2010 has slightly better starting pitching, bullpens are similar.

 

 

I too am bored so ill play along.

 

C Im gonna give the slight edge to 05

 

1B 05 hands down pauly had a monster year

 

2B 10 I expect Gordo to meet if not exceed all our expectations

 

3B Im actually gonna go with teahen here i think he matches credes 22/62 but will but up a beter average/obp/2B/runs

 

SS Lexi and its not even a question for me

 

RF If healthy imma say Q

 

CF Rios all the way, the guys a former all star and i dont see his struggles continuing

 

LF 05 Pods, any other pods=push

 

DH no question Thomas/Carl they combined for 35 homers and 113 RBI (just saw that stat for the first time today and wow never realized so much production came out of the 2)

 

my boredom is turning into tiredness so im gonna skip the bench and relievers

 

05 mark

10 Peavy

10 danks if the blister is no longer an issue

im with you...Push

10 Sweaty Freddy and its not even a question, i talked about this awhile ago last year freddy only had 2 games where he allowed more than 3 runs (one of those being his first game back from injury) and also only 2 games where he walked more than 1 batter where he a (yes i know he only pitched 9 games)

 

jenks 05

If the 2010 bullpen matches the 2005 bullpen and Danks has the year in 2010 that Garland had 18-10 3.50 ERA 220+ innings, and Floyd and Peavy can match 2005 Freddy Garcia 14-8 3.87 ERA, or 2005 Jose Contreras 15-7 3.61 ERA, then you could say the 2010 team is a frontrunner for another WS trophy. Buehrle certainly is no lock to match 16-8 3.12 ERA. I know the rotation is getting a lot of attention, but chances are those 4 aren't going to combine for 62 wins. Not all of it will be their fault. Without looking it up, I would imagine when most of those guys left with a lead in 2005 in the sixth or seventh inning, they got a win.

 

Comparing a roster to the 2005 team is fun but meaningless.

you know how i knew 2005 was different? Because we got off to a fast start just like 2000.

 

Every year we've started off fast and got into first place we've done really well. The slow starts where we dilly dally i worry, and 2006...sigh. yeah.

CF: Aaron Rowand/Alex Rios - Rowand all the way, nothing shows me Rios will be any better than Aaron.

 

I disagree. I would take pure talent over grindiness any day....

Bored... so I'm comparing opening day of 2005 to 2010.

2005/2010

 

C- AJ Pierzynski AJ Pierzynski - 5 years older, 2005 wins.

 

1B- Paul Konerko/Paul Konerko - 5 years older, 2005 wins.

 

2B Tadahito Iguchi/Gordon Beckham - Tossup, but Beckham has more upside than Tad had.

 

3B: Joe Crede/Mark Teahen - Gotta go with Crede, especially on defense.

 

SS: Juan Uribe/Alexei Ramirez - Very close with Uribe's superior Defense.

 

RF: Jermaine Dye/Carlos Quentin- Very Close, CQ gets win for defense and return to 08 form.

 

CF: Aaron Rowand/Alex Rios - Rowand all the way, nothing shows me Rio's will be any better than Aaron.

 

LF: Scott Podsednik/Juan Pierre - Very close, tie.

 

DH: Frank Thomas/Carl Everett - Andruw Jones/Mark Kotsay - Frank Thomas, no question.

 

Bench:

 

Pablo Ozuna/Omar Vizquel - Omar for the late inning defense.

Willie Harris/Jayson Nix - Willie for the speed, defense.

Brian Anderson/Andruw Jones or Alejandro De Aza (Depends on roster spot with pitchers) - Prefer Jones if his defense is any close to past form.

Timo Perez/Mark Kotsay - Timo was faster, better defense, more useful.

Chris Widger/Ramon Castro - Ramon Castro considering he actually hits this year.

 

 

SP:

Mark Buehrle/Mark Buehrle - Close, but Buehrle is also 5 years older.

Freddy Garcia/Jake Peavy - Peavy all the way.

Jon Garland/John Danks - Danks is more consistent.

Jose Contreras/Gavin Floyd - Tie, both around high 3's in era, occasional great starts and bad starts.

Orlando Hernandez/Freddie Garcia tie, expect mid 4's-5 in era, not too many innings, injuries.

 

Closer: Shingo Takatsu/Bobby Jenks Jenks more proven.

 

Setup: Dustin Hermanon/Matt Thorton Thorton's great, no injury risk

 

Pen:

 

Damso Marte/JJ Putz Tie, Putz has to bounce back from injury but has more upside.

Cliff Pollite/Randy Williams Both had similar prior years, Pollite is was more proven.

Brandon Mccarthy/Carlos Torres or Dan Hudson Very similar situation

Luis Vizcaino/Scott Linebrink - Vizcaino for the Linebrink meltdowns and crapness.

Neal Cotts/Tony Pena - Tie, both had similarly bad previous years and similar career numbers.

Winner: 2005, 13 - 12

 

Think both teams are very similar, 2005 had better defense/power/over hitting, 2010 has slightly better starting pitching, bullpens are similar.

 

Franks Thomas only played a month in 05.

Franks Thomas only played a month in 05.

and hit 12 big HRs. which could be more than we see from the DH this year...

Outside of attitude, Rios is so much better than Rowand. He had a poor second half last year. It happens it guys' careers. But you can't forget about Alexis Rios before that. He has a history of doing everything right. We'd be foolish to think that he's gonna be bad forever.

 

Aaron Rowand had a great attitude, but its not like he was an all star caliber player here.

 

Per season average:

.283, 11 HR, 42 RBI

 

2005 Post-season:

.266, 0 HR, 3 RBI

 

He's been deified by some because of running into walls and being super-grindy, but Rowand was a good player here, never a great one.

Certainly not worth the money SF ended up giving him IMO.

I disagree. I would take pure talent over grindiness any day....

 

Rowand wasn't "GREAT" but he busted his ass in the outfield, hit decent, had a great attitude, and seemed like a great clubhouse guy. The last two can go a long way in keeping a team loose and having fun/winning games.

 

Rios is talented, and has potential to put up better numbers, but I don't see the defense topping Rowand or his attitude.

Per season average:

.283, 11 HR, 42 RBI

 

2005 Post-season:

.266, 0 HR, 3 RBI

 

He's been deified by some because of running into walls and being super-grindy, but Rowand was a good player here, never a great one.

Certainly not worth the money SF ended up giving him IMO.

 

RIOS:

$9.7 million in 2010, $12 million each in 2011 and 2012 and $12.5 million apiece in 2013 and 2014, and $13.5 million team option for 2015 with a $1 million buyout.

 

Rios isn't much of a bargain at all.

RIOS:

$9.7 million in 2010, $12 million each in 2011 and 2012 and $12.5 million apiece in 2013 and 2014, and $13.5 million team option for 2015 with a $1 million buyout.

 

Rios isn't much of a bargain at all.

 

That wasn't the point he was arguing

RIOS:

$9.7 million in 2010, $12 million each in 2011 and 2012 and $12.5 million apiece in 2013 and 2014, and $13.5 million team option for 2015 with a $1 million buyout.

 

Rios isn't much of a bargain at all.

 

If he gets back to his '06/'07 level he is.

RIOS:

$9.7 million in 2010, $12 million each in 2011 and 2012 and $12.5 million apiece in 2013 and 2014, and $13.5 million team option for 2015 with a $1 million buyout.

 

Rios isn't much of a bargain at all.

I'm afraid he may turn out to be the Todd Ritchie of position players. Of course I want to be wrong.

Rowand wasn't "GREAT" but he busted his ass in the outfield, hit decent, had a great attitude, and seemed like a great clubhouse guy. The last two can go a long way in keeping a team loose and having fun/winning games.

 

Rios is talented, and has potential to put up better numbers, but I don't see the defense topping Rowand or his attitude.

 

based on what Kalapse was saying when Rios was acquired, Rios is an elite defensive talent in CF. One thing I always remembered about Rowand was that he could get most everything side to side, and a lot of balls over his head, but if it was in front of him he froze a lot.

If he gets back to his '06/'07 level he is.

Not really. He was good to be sure, but nothing special.

 

Per season average:

.283, 11 HR, 42 RBI

 

2005 Post-season:

.266, 0 HR, 3 RBI

 

He's been deified by some because of running into walls and being super-grindy, but Rowand was a good player here, never a great one.

Certainly not worth the money SF ended up giving him IMO.

 

And all of the years that were in that deal.

That wasn't the point he was arguing

Yeah, I don't care about Rios compared to Rowand. All I was saying is Rowand was not the superstar some fans' revisionist history makes him out to be.

Rios isn't a bargain, but Rowand at SF money would have been wasted money as well.

Yeah, I don't care about Rios compared to Rowand. All I was saying is Rowand was not the superstar some fans' revisionist history makes him out to be.

Rios isn't a bargain, but Rowand at SF money would have been wasted money as well.

 

Rowand has limited upside as well. He's really only had 2 good seasons (both were fantastic seasons), and otherwise he's been a below average hitter his entire career, and his defense has really started to fall off quite a bit in the past few years. I think the most you can hope for out of Rowand is something along the lines of a .270/.330/.420/.750 with about 15 homers and 35 doubles with average to slightly above average defense. It's solid, but it's not outstanding. Rios can provide quite a bit more, and has, as recently as 2008 (.798 OPS), and if he can put up something around what he did in 2006 or 2007, he's going to be well liked on the South Side.

Yeah, I don't care about Rios compared to Rowand. All I was saying is Rowand was not the superstar some fans' revisionist history makes him out to be.

Rios isn't a bargain, but Rowand at SF money would have been wasted money as well.

 

Thank you for speaking the truth

 

Not really. He was good to be sure, but nothing special.

 

Maybe not a bargain. But if he's to get back to '06/'07, combined with the fact he's one of the most gifted defensive outfielders in baseball, I doubt you'll find many (save greg775 and jphat) that will be complaining too much about the contract.

Not really. He was good to be sure, but nothing special.

A guy with gold glove defense who averages 16 bombs and 77 RBI's playing CF for the Chicago White Sox, a team that started Dewayne Wise on opening day last year, is plenty helpful

A guy with gold glove defense who averages 16 bombs and 77 RBI's playing CF for the Chicago White Sox, a team that started Dewayne Wise on opening day last year, is plenty helpful

lol ok yes, he's significantly better than dwayne wise but you know...tallest midget and all...

lol ok yes, he's significantly better than dwayne wise but you know...tallest midget and all...

One midget is significantly taller and better at baseball then the other. Rios hit a wall last year, he'll recover. The last guy we gave up on over one bad year was Swish, how'd that work out for us?