I remember watching ESPN late last month and Tim Kurkjan (sp?) said that Loaiza is a pretender and will not win that many games after the All-Star Game. Not only did Loaiza make fools of the NL All-Stars, he's gone 4-0 with a 2.36 ERA I believe. And news to all the other doubters, the only winning team Loaiza has had trouble with was Seattle, and that's behind him now. All other teams he has dominated, and if it wasn't fore the dead offense against Detroit Loaiza could've been 17-3 right now, yes, 17-3. He has a 3-2 record vs. Detroit and a 1.23 ERA. It's amazing. Loaiza is for real, and I hope the White Sox pick up that option, because this guy has carried the team all season long and has not once complained about run support. I am also looking forward to our playoff push. Loaiza will probably win 20 games, and we have Cotts, Buehrle, Colon, and Garland to hold these teams down. I like them odds.

The surest off season thing the Sox will do is to pick up his option. 4.5 million is cheap money for this kind of performance - even for the tightwad Mr. Reinsdorf.

The surest off season thing the Sox will do is to pick up his option. 4.5 million is cheap money for this kind of performance - even for the tightwad Mr. Reinsdorf.

$3.5 mil

3.5 million would be a bargain

Since JR says he'll dish the $ out if the fans come, and the fans ARE coming, I don't think we're gonna have to worry about players not being signed during the offseason.

I remember that SC where Kurkjian was all over Loaiza, and I was thinking, "What do you have against him? How bad do you expect him to be to not win 20?" Loaiza contines to pitch awesome and I love that he is showing up his doubters.

The surest off season thing the Sox will do is to pick up his option. 4.5 million is cheap money for this kind of performance - even for the tightwad Mr. Reinsdorf.

Surest, I don't know... many guys have been 1 year wonders...

 

But I hope I'm wrong... wow I've never quite caught myself being so pessimistic.

 

And does it really matter what you call the ESPN Analyst, the doesn't deserve a last name wiht the s*** he gives us! He's a :dips***

I remember that SC where Kurkjian was all over Loaiza, and I was thinking, "What do you have against him? How bad do you expect him to be to not win 20?" Loaiza contines to pitch awesome and I love that he is showing up his doubters.

Yeah, that's another think. He said Loaiza wouldn't win 20 and I'm like WTF he has 13 already. It was so funny. What does ELo do? Another 2 wins. 15-5 now. I mean come on, let's stop trashing a guy that's had like 1 bad outing.

$3.5 mil isn't a whole lot of $$$$ for a vet starter. That's a pretty safe risk.

1 year wonders usually are flukes because of their past, or their opponent. Loaiza has faced some good teams and his past is well...in the past. That cut fastball wasn't there last season. This is a brand NEW pitch. If he continues to throw it, he's going to be great as long as that pitch works like it is now.

You know what impresses me most about Esty. He said he hopes the Sox pick up the option, and doesn't care that he could make alot more money because he's happy here. He's not just a one year wonder, he learned he doesn't need to throw 96 mph, and has pinpoint control with a dominating cutter, that's not gonna change next year. He may not win 20 games, but he sure will remain the ace of the staff. I'm just worried about Colon staying put, which i don't think he will.

If it wasn't fore the dead offense against Detroit Loaiza could've been 17-3 right now, yes, 17-3.

18-2 -- don't forget about the game against Baltimore where the Sox lost 1-0 when Loaiza was on the hill.

Am I the only one who thinks that Loaiza could actually be a 20-game winner already?

 

There are 3 1-0 losses, and he went 5 innings against San Diego and only gave up 3. He could have won all 4 of those games. He also lost 3-2 to Tampa(#20), got a ND against Minny(6 IP, 1 R)(#21), got a ND against Arizona(7 IP, 1 R)(#22), and he got another ND against KC(7 IP, 3 R)(#23)

 

That is sick. If he got as much run support as Roy Halladay, we would be talking about a possible 30-game winner....no s***. Or at the very least, 25-30 wins.

Esteban has developed a great cut fastball and is getting everyone out. I dont see how he can lose that pitch in the offseason or overnight and not return to dominating form next year. It should be the biggest no-brainer for the Sox to pick up his option.

 

We love you Loz

Am I the only one who thinks that Loaiza could actually be a 20-game winner already? 

 

There are 3 1-0 losses, and he went 5 innings against San Diego and only gave up 3.  He could have won all 4 of those games.  He also lost 3-2 to Tampa(#20), got a ND against Minny(6 IP, 1 R)(#21), got a ND against Arizona(7 IP, 1 R)(#22), and he got another ND against KC(7 IP, 3 R)(#23)

 

That is sick.  If he got as much run support as Roy Halladay, we would be talking about a possible 30-game winner....no s***.  Or at the very least, 25-30 wins.

You and Clujer make a good point. Loaiza really has had just 1 or 2 starts where he didn't deserve to win. It's kind of funny, he could've been 23-2 by now. And 3 1-0 losses and a 3-2 loss to TB is his teams fault. Pitiful run production.

the thread title has intrigued me all day - have we had any ELo doubters here since maybe the 3rd game of the season? ELo has been the one player we have all agreed on, as I recollect it

the thread title has intrigued me all day -  have we had any ELo doubters here since maybe the 3rd game of the season?  ELo has been the one player we have all agreed on, as I recollect it

I think we have all pretty much undoubted, if you will, Loaiza after what he did in May. Before this year, he had a history of having a great April(he has a career ERA of under 3.00 in April IIRC), and then tanking big time in May(his career ERA in May, coming into this year, had to of been something like over 6.00 or 7.00). Once he got through May, pretty much unscathed(he had one of his 2 or 3 bad starts of the year against Seattle then), there were no doubters.

 

You can usually count on one bad start a month, and his bad starts are nothing like Garland's, Colon's, or Buehrle's bad starts. His bad starts are like 5 or 6 innings, with 4 or 5 runs given up. That's a great start from most #5 pitchers, and is a relatively decent outing for most aces. And that is a BAD outing for him.

 

If he doesn't get the Cy Young.....I'll probably be doing some of this....

 

I think the key to Loaiza's success this year, in addition to his awesome cutter, is the fact that he has matured. He used to just takle the mound every fifth day and not prepare for the game. The fact that Toronto released him was a wake-up call for him. He now watches video of opposing hitters and has a gameplan when he takes the mound. We just happened to be the fortunate beneficiaries of this new maturity and dedication of his part.

Since JR says he'll dish the $ out if the fans come, and the fans ARE coming, I don't think we're gonna have to worry about players not being signed during the offseason.

 

Gimme a break. If you really believe this, you're going to be very disappointed when '04 rolls around and Colon or Loaiza, Everett, R. Alomar, Valentin, and maybe a few others aren't resigned by the CEO. Of course, a deep playoff run or a WS appearance could change JR's thinking .

If he doesn't get the Cy Young.....I'll probably be doing some of this....

 

 

I would probably be doing something along the lines of...

 

:fyou :finger :fyou :finger :fyou :finger :fyou