Soxbadger

I think Pujols has the best chance to win each of those awards, I do not think he will win them all, just that when you look at each award Pujols has a legitimate chance to each one, if not a favore to win each one. I picked Berkman as MVP because I just have a feeling he will put up big stats finish 2nd in a few categories to Pujols, and that Houston will have a better record so Berkman will win the MVP. We are guessing, and I would like to hear an argument against Pujols for any of those categories, I would say that he is top 3 in each. And with the way I suspect the Cardinals to go they are going to get in a lot of slug fests, and he will beat up on Reds, Pirates, and Brewers pitching. With Edmonds, Renteria, etc his lineup is better than Helton and Bonds is getting older. What can I say, I think Pujols is the next Thomas or Bonds and Thomas was capable of winning any of those 3 awards any year. I just am not sure they will give MVP to a player who is on a team that does not make the playoffs, especially if the Cards are around .500 and the Astros are the dominant team. Id say if he is 1st in 2 of 3 parts of the crown Pujols does not win MVP unless the Cardinals are in the race, but if he wins 2 of 3 that would still mean I picked the most correct. Hes such a good hitter, its hard to tell which stat he will do the best in. SB

NL MVP: Lance Berkman ROY: Edwin Jackson (Edited for Cabrera) NL Pennant: Houston Astros Batting Champ: Albert Pujols HR: Albert Pujols RBI: Albert Pujols Cy Young: Andy Pettite Saves: Octavio Dotel Wins: Andy Pettite That is if Caberera is still a rookie. Sb

C. Rector, I think I am as big of a Schoe supporter as there is on these boards, but to say hell win 15-17 and Buerhle will win 12-15 is negligent when you look at the statistics that you point of for Buerhle. Schoe has never had a statistically better year than Buerhle, but yet you all of a sudden have him coming in to win 15 games where as Buerhle will undoubtedly regress (according to your logic). Season TM G GS CG SHO IP H R ER HR BB SO W L SV HLD BLSV ERA 2000 Ana 27 27 1 1 170.0 183 112 103 21 67 78 7 10 0 0 -- 5.45 2001 Ana 32 32 1 0 205.1 227 122 116 21 77 104 10 11 0 0 -- 5.08 2001 CWS 32 32 4 2 221.1 188 89 81 24 48 126 16 8 0 0 -- 3.29 2002 CWS 34 34 5 2 239.0 236 102 95 25 61 134 19 12 0 0 -- 3.58 2003 CWS 35 35 2 0 230.1 250 124 106 22 61 119 14 14 0 0 -- 4.14 Buerhle in more IP gave up only 2 more ER's last year than Schoe did in his best year. I like Schoe's potential and his arm, but I think Buerhle will out perform him next year, and there is really nothing to suggest Buerhle is not the better pitcher from past performances. SB

It doesnt help that Frank is in front of Maggs. I cant even count how many times Frank gets to first and Maggs proceeds to GIDP. SB

Im excited, and I hope at this point unless the Sox are blown away with a deal they do not trade Thomas or Maggs. Konerko I could still live with being moved for a good sp, but its getting to the point where I think a trade will only hurt where this team is going. I also am excited about seeing Harris play, and Rowand being given the CF spot the entire year. I think that Crede will finally hit his stride and become a permanent .285+ 20 hr, 80rbi 3b with a good glove. I cant wait to see what Lee, Thomas, Maggs, Konerko can put together numerically now that Lee has improved his game, and Konerko is bound to do better than last year. As for pitching, I think Beurhle breaks out as a clear number 1 starter, and becomes the best pitcher in the AL Central hands down. I think I will be pleasantly suprised with Loaiza coming back for another stellar year, and Jon Garland improving and finally breaking the .500 mark. I am excited to see Schoenweiss in the SP role, as last season I thought he did better with no runners on: By Situation: AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB HBP SO SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS None On: 139 1 31 6 0 2 2 5 2390 0 .223.260 .309 .570 Runners On: 111 34 32 4 01 34 142 17 2 1 .288 .369 .351 .721 For some reason, Maneul always brought Schoe in with some one on base and it seemed to rattle him. When he started the inning with no one on, he always seemed to do much better. I think this will really impact him as a SP, because he has a good powerful fastball and some what funky motion as a Left hander. I think if he can keep his walks down he will be fine, and with none on he only gave up 5 walks in 139 abs, compared to 14 in 111 with runners on base. I am excited with the bullpen if Koch can come back at all, because i think Zero, Wunsch and Marte will give us good depth and good lh and rh matchups. And lastly, Im excited to see who will win the 5th spot and what our team will look like come opening day. Hope "spring"s eternal. We may not have the team on paper, but you never know, and that is why spring training is so exciting. SB

I thought Cotts looked good for his 4 starts and especially since he was making a jump from AA to MLB. I think if he would of had some more time in AAA then his control would of been better when he hit the majors. But the Sox were in a pennant race and had NO 5th starter, they brought up Cotts because they thought he could pitch as well as our other 5 starters, (which I think he did). Id say in a year or 2 he will be a nice part of our rotation, with success only going up from there. I doubt he breaks camp with the Sox, and Id expect him to get a full season of AAA and then compete for a spot in 2005. SB

Hes from South Korea, lol Zero played on the same team as Ishii though, and is reportedly friends with him. SB

This is a similar package that was rumor back when there were rumors of Freddy Garcia being nontendered. I love Maggs, but the package Seattle is offering would just solve so many needs, and we have outfielders, we need pitchers. Not to mention Soriano is like getting a Jackson or Miller. SB

The website is strangely entertaining. And with all those statistical analysis of era's etc, they are going to have freakish baseball knowledge. Sb

Sox Win, Sox Win Now lets see the Tribune report that our school children beat their school children. Im some what reminded of the Simpson's episode where Homer makes the Nuclear Power plant for the childrens contest. Sb

While I think our farm system has always failed to be flashy "Borchard, Rauch", it has produced both solid offense and defense. With our home grown talent and even a small free agent budget, we would be a front runner. You cant expect your farm system to be perfect, but it has put us in a position where if we had any money at all we could fill our holes easily. SB

I would put Erstad at first base before C. Lee. Then the Outfield is Maggs, Rowand, C. Lee. Not sure what Roger's was smoking, but even the Angels are considering putting him there, so that he will be less prone to injury. SB

Well I would say that those four alone make up a good bull pen, most consist of 6-7, and they have 2 leftys with impressive stats (Coyler and Martin), and Driefort, Ashby etc would be their 7th if they went with a 12 man pitching staff. I mean Gagne was the cy young, Mota is considered one of the top set up men, and Shuey has always been reliable. The rest of the pieces just fall into place with those 3. SB

lol I did not think I needed to preface that it would be illegal, which it would be. Thats why its a "wish" and not "hope". Although there is always plenty of talk about illegal things going on in baseball. I mean it is illegal to use steriods in the United States, yet baseball players who are caught are just warned. I bet there are some wink and nod deals out there, just no one would ever admit to it. And your a Michigan man, its illegal for college basketball players to take money, that does not mean they wont do it. SB

I wish Reinsdorf made a deal with McCourt that we would get a Jackson or Miller for Konerko if he approved him as the new owner. Reinsdorf was on Selig's committee who decided on whether McCourt should be recommended. SB

Actually the Dodgers still have one of the best bullpens eventhough they lost Quantril. SB

Im not really much for scouting, all my beliefs would just be parroting what I read on this board so most likely my guesses would of been the same as those I percieve to be the most knowledgeable, and who actually have had the chance to see these players. The point of my post is, good luck to any and all players who are in the Sox system and read these boards. I think that all of us wish everyone of you the best of luck, because if you are all awesome it only helps the team in the long run. And making it to the minors is better than most of us could of even dreamed of, many would of just liked the chance to play in High School. Best of luck and keep up the hard work, and hopefully every one of you that has posted on this site makes it to the Majors, and becomes far richer than I could ever imagine. SB

1) They are trying to get a monopoly on pitchers who used to be good. 2) They just assume that 2 or 3 of their starters will undoubtedly get hurt. 3) They are run by Evans. Id say their rotation will be: 1) Nomo 2) Ishii 3) Weaver 4) Perez 5) Alvarez/Lima/Jackson. The dodgers just have to many pitchers, I mean they still have Gange, Mota, and Shuey in the pen. Right there is already 10 pitchers and thats not including Driefort, Tom Martin, and Andy Ashby. I guess they just really like to sign mediocre players that they dont really need. SB

Its I-ROD Why are you disgracing the name of one of the best White Sox players in history. Next thing we will be talking about Air Kobe or Air James. if I say ill take up a cause Ill stick to it, until i forget. SB

And yeah, it was a good question, and awesome it got answered. Unfortunately I doubt the answer they gave you was the one that you had hoped for. SB

I would not really say that William's answered your question. I mean yes there are words involved, and it is in response to your question, but the words really are meaningless when they are broken down. "It's an all-inclusive style of management that I subscribe to. In terms of actual decisions that I have to make in terms of personnel, those are my decisions and my staff's decisions. " Really you and your staff make decisions? I thought people outside of the orginization sent you chain letters that you used to plan for the future. "Obviously as an owner of any corporation or company, there are certain parameters we have to work under. " The answer to your question would of been: These are the parameters that Reinsdorf has us working under. And the funniest part is: "But to a great degree, Jerry lets the people who run his organization do just that." Translation: Jerry lets us some days make our own decisions, but most of the time he does what he wants. I doubt Williams even wrote this, sounds like an intern or some one else writing some flimsy answer that is just lip service. SB

I watch every Sox baseball game during the year, and I watch every Bears game also. I like both sports and to think that you are a truer fan of vanilla because you only like vanilla ice cream is not a very strong argument. I mean who are true Sox fans? SB

I think your preaching to the choir about Maddux. Hed cost us less than we were going to spend on Colon, $10 mil for 3 years, and could put up better numbers than Colon for the next 2 years. Also it would stick it to the Cubs, and maybe, just maybe the Sox owners will think it through and realize some of those Cubs "fans" will pay money to see Maddux pitch regardless of if it is on the South Side or North Side. Sb

Rex, Some times I wonder that question myself. What if the Sox had a Mo Vaughn, Darren Driefort, or so many other free agents who were overpaid. Maybe the Sox management is right in trying to play for the All-Star break and making moves then. Atleast that way if we went through a horrendous streak of injuries in the beginning we would not of wasted money on that season. Who knows, I just hope for the best, and hope that our players play to their level and then everything will work themselves out. SB

Konerko for Ishii would be an interesting proposition. I think Ishii makes less than Perez, so the money might offset the talent. Eventhough Ishii has a sub 4 era, you have to look at this statistic: Away 4.70 4 5 0 0 13 13 0 69.0 67 41 36 8 43 56 .258 Above 4.5 away from the pitcher friendly LA park, and this is in the national league. I do think Ishii would be an interesting pickup, especially if it was for Konerko. SB