Soxbadger

If you look at Colon's statistics you will notice that he actually pitches better in the A.L. then the N.L. 2002 Cle 16 16 4 2 116.1 104 37 33 11 31 75 10 4 0 0 -- 2.55 2002 Mon 17 17 4 1 117.0 115 48 43 9 39 74 10 4 0 0 -- 3.31 Then look at Milwood in 2002 2002 Atl 35 34 1 1 217.0 186 83 78 16 65 178 18 8 0 0 -- 3.24 Milwood has good stuff, he can pitch in the A.L, if anything he is only going to get better in time, he has a few good pitches, and can be dominant at times. If he can string the dominance together like 2002, your looking at 20 wins, but on average Milwood will get you 14-16 a year. SB

My first post on these boards was how I thought the White Sox should try and trade for Milwood last year because the Braves were going to dump him for anything they could get. I still think Milwood is a good investment because he is only 29, and eventhough his Era went up his k/bb was still pretty close. That indicates to me that it was not that he lost his stuff, just that more hits were getting through, maybe an off year. The only stats that changed between 2002 and 2003, was hits run, and earned runs. In reality Milwood only gave up 30 more hits than 2002, an avg of 1 hit per start. The only real glaring stat is 20 more earned runs in 2002, but if you take away a 7 run start and an 8 run start, he pitched pretty well in 2003. i really think Milwood could do well in Chicago, and if his price is lower than Colon he may be a better fit. SB

As much as it would be exciting to get a Japanese import in a White Sox uniform, unless we move Valentine it is unlikely he will play here. If we do trade Valentine, then Kaz becomes a viable option. I doubt we will sign him for him to play 2nd, especially since other suitors will want him at SS. SB

The only thing I saw that was odd was: A St. Louis reporter voted Sheffield first and an Atlanta reporter voted Pujols first. SB

Rex, The answer is because Sox fans do not trust Reinsdorf. If they honestly thought showing up would make him give us a great team, then it would be sold out 3-4 times a week. But people dont trust Reinsdorf. We dont trust the Owner who took apart the Bulls. We dont trust the owner who was a large part of the reason the World Series was not played, when the Sox were in First place and people were showing. We dont trust him because of the White Flag trade, etc. You cant trust an owner that has shown nothing but the unwillingness to go out and win a championship. Even when he won with the Bulls, he was cheap about it. Sox fans want to go to games, they just dont want Reinsdorf to get the best of them again. That is why the Sox have to be winning before people will show, because nothing but actual proof will do this time. Weve believed him before, now its time that he believe in us. SB

I dont know. You have to determine what Piazza is worth, which could be very high to almost a salary dump. The Mets are trying to get rid of payroll, Piazza is 15mil worth. I could see a lot of AL teams wanting Piazza. A great hitting catcher who can dh. I was thinking the M's, because their production from catcher sucked, and Edgar only has one year left. He could catch this year, and then move into 1b/dh role. The M's would trade us Freddy Garcia. So for us its Koch for Garcia The M's would probably have to give the Mets more or take Cedeno. thinking crazy I could see it evolve into this: Mets get: Magglio, Koch, Cirillo. Mariners Get: Piazza, Cedeno, Valentine White Sox get: Floyd, Garcia, Guillen. Sox lose, 25 mil in payroll, gain 13 mil. Net loss: 12 mil Mets lose, 21 mil payroll, gain 23 mil, net gain : 2mil Mariners lose 13 mil payroll, gain 25mil, net gain: 12mil The sox might have to take about 6mil from the mariners some how, so that it would even out money wise. The Mets gain an all star outfielder, the reliever they wanted and only gain 2mil The Mariners lose only 1 player they want Guillen, and get a ss that has power, an all star catcher with health issues, and Cedeno who could play outfield with ichiro in CF, or who could be on the bench. The Sox gain a starting pitcher with some up side a good shortstop, and an outfielder from the left side. Im sure nothing like this will happen, but in the day and age of money is king, 3 team trades will become much more comon. SB

I specifically stated the Sox would not be getting Piazza. Yet all of the replys are to that question. I think the Sox have no want for Piazza, But LA, Mariners, etc might be interested. I was saying that Piazza might be moved by the mets in a 3 team deal, with them getting Koch. I do not think the Sox are getting Piazza Jeez SB

It seems the Met's are trading Piazza and I was just wondering what his value is on the trade block? I do not think he is an option for the Sox, or that we even want him, just that the Mets are interested in Koch, and maybe Piazza could play a role in a 3 team trade. The stumbling block seems that the Mets want Cedeno to go to the Sox, but the Sox want not part of that. But if the Mets free up 15mil from their salary, they could take Koch with out us getting Cedeno. So I was wondering what value would the Mets be seeking for Piazza? because some team might be out there that does not want Koch, but would be interested in Piazza, and have a player we want. SB

If they are losing Olerud thats a different story. Otherwise I think the M's might want to take a shot on Koch. At 6mil a year, hes not that bad of a risk, especially since they are giving up apitcher they basically do not want. If Koch fails, they just lose 6mil for one year and they are done with it. Last year the Mariners bullpen had injuries that cost them. I doubt they will think an extra arm will hurt them. And Garcia is a million times better then Cedeno. SB

Where would Konerko play? Didnt Edgar resign and dont they have Olerud. They are trying to dump him, but I assume they want something they can use. Not just 8mil for the bench. SB

ive been trying to figure out a way for the white sox to get Garcia since the middle of last season. I think that he is comparable to Colon, and had an off year last year which he can rebound from. The Mariners wont be interested in Konerko, so the only offers we have are: Koch, Lee, and Maggs. What would be nice is if we some how got garcia for koch. Both had bad years last year, and they both are comparable in price. We lose $2mil, but we are in reality saving 11mil. We would probably have to give up a prospect or 2, but I think the mariners are down on Garcia, just like the Sox are down on Koch. Both need a change of scenery. Koch + Colon would have equaled = $19mil Garcia= 8mil Those are big savings, and Garcia could be just as good of a pitcher as Colon. He is a player I actually hope we get.

In a strike situation, as long as the owners stand together, the players can never win. Most of the owners in baseball, as in other sports, have made their money off of things outside of baseball. To them, baseball is a "sport". Even Reinsdorf one of the cheapest owners, made his money from real estate, not baseball. Once the players strike, they will soon find out that they have no marketable asset besides for playing baseball. Sure A-Rod will hold out for his $20mil a year contract, but with out baseball where is he even going to be paid 6 figures? Most players are ill suited for anything else but baseball, many of them never even went to College, or graduated. The sad thing is, if the players were smart, they would start to talk to MLBPA and tell them they should initiate salary cap talks. Now this seems counter intuitive, but if the players ask for a salary cap at say $90-$100mil, they will see there salaries go up. Since most teams are below $90mil, players will actually get more money. Teams like the White Sox will be forced to spend $90mil because no fans will accept that the rest of the teams are spending $90, and Reinsdorf is not. Look at the NFL and NBA, almost every team is at or above the salary cap. The players wont have to worry about "soft" markets, or about collusion, because they will always know teams are going to spend to the salary cap. If the players asked for a salary cap, I think the owners would jump on it. And if it was high enough, they would profit. ::Shrugs;: While I dont hope for a strike, I do hope for parity and instead of money being everything, skill and talent finally making a difference. SB

That order is not that bad at all. Although I bet we could get a better RF then Rowand. Everett could play there, and then we could get a cheap pure DH. Maybe a Fulmer, etc. Or Spiezo at 1b, Thomas DH. We just need to be more flexible, and Im starting to think the only way this can be done is by getting rid of $20mil payroll through trades. Koch, Konerko, Maggs Some of them have to go. Sb

Being that I have only really witnessed this new era of baseball, I believe that stealing, speed, etc, can win baseball games. There really is no reinventing the wheel, and the only reason that power has become so prevelant is based purely on fan interest. There is belief that fans like the long ball, therefore teams try to get players who hit home runs. But if a team won with very little home runs, all of a sudden people would want to win that way. The game is ebb and flow, and the reality of the situation is, I think the White Sox have the best chance to win with players who possess speed, as opposed to power. Power players get the big contracts, speed players often slide through the cracks. If we spent our big contracts on pitching, and reserved our offensive contracts to speed players with lower salaries we could be competitive. The basic problem with our franchise is that we have no real direction. We just stay in the middle, some speed, some power. SB

Forkit, The reason why as a businessman they can not offer $5 tickets right before the game is because it will lower the amount of people that purchase tickets ahead of time. Its the same problem that the Airplane industry has. They are going to fly the plane if it has 150 passengers or 75, so why not sell the last 75 at 50% discount a week before the flight? The problem is that the 75 passengers who already booked the flight will get screwed over, they will next time wait till the last minute to buy a ticket and try and save the 50%. Eventually very few people will buy tickets a head of time when they can save money. The same for baseball, if I can wait till gameday to buy a ticket at cheaper prices, it si giving me so much more power. I can buy tickets for games that are good weather, that have good pitching match ups, or are against better teams. All the risk is on the side of the White Sox, and they will lose more revenue because every $25 ticket they lose is worth 4 people. $25-5= 20/5=4. So for it to be profitable they will need to replace every $25 with 5 people, and that just is not feasible with the park only holding a limited amount of people. That being said, Reinsdorf is a greedy owner. He has more money then he will know what to do with, and while $5-10 mil in payroll increase sounds like a lot to the average person, it is a drop in the bucket to a Major league owner. The only reason Resindorf is in sports is for power and money. He has no passion like other owners, and thats why he would rather die then ever risk even losing $1 on the White Sox, or Bulls for that matter. Also, I would not overestimate how much Reinsdorf knows about business. He made his money in real estate, a much different market then sports. If he wanted only money he would of sold the bulls and white sox together during Jordan's final year of playing, maximizing the value of both franchises. Instead he sat on them, much like you would do for real estate appreciating, and when the time comes to sell he will lose $100's of millions. So in reality, it is best to have a winning team if you are going to sell, and an average team if you are going to hold. I expect when Reinsdorf is going to sell he will load the Sox on talent, and sell the next year for a much higher value. In reality the Sox could be one of the most expensive and lucrative teams if they are winners. ::shrugs;: Its all so problematic to try and break down sports on an economic level, thats why most owners are not in sports to make money. Ah well, as for what I hope happens: I hope the Sox sign Pavano, I would kind of be interested in a deal for Freddy Garcia, I think he could be the inning eater that Ponson will be and if he can get his stuff back has much more upside. Signing Latroy Hawkins or Tom Gordon. But the harsh reality is, most likely the White Sox will need to rely on cheap players stepping up to make a big impact. SB

::shrugs:: Steff, Dont take it to personally, everyone loves to tell other people when they are wrong. I may not post much, but I have always found your posts to be insightful, and in most cases on the money. SB

The ratings came out for compensation from losing free agents, For the prominent Sox Free Agents, Everrett, Colon, Alomar, Gordon, and Alomar are all A type players which means we will get the most compensation. Valentine is a type B player. I was just wondering if anyone knew the value of these ratings, and if the Sox will recieve them. I remember people saying something about needed to offer a contract... Just thought it was interesting to see that all the Sox are in a position to be compensated very well for losing these players. (Edit here is the link) SI. Com Free Agent Rating SB

At 6mil, Frank is not that bad of a player. He still hit 40 hrs, and had a decent obp. It is possible, if not likely that Frank will hit better than .250 next year. If he even hits .280 with 30-40 hrs, I would be very happy with him at $6mil per season. It was only last year that he was trying to get over $10mil, the sox have saved 40% on his salary. SB

2003 - Tot. 31 31 4 216.0 211 94 90 16 61 134 17 12 0 99.6 1.26 .257 3.75 Those were Ponson's combined statistics. So I guess player (A) does not even compare to Ponson. Ponson had lower era, whip, etc/ SB

I believe its Ponson and Colon. And Ponson does not really make me all excited. Last year I was excited about maybe getting Millwood or Colon. This year, hmm you gotta get a Vazquez or Pettite. But Ponson will want to much for what hes worth. I mean sure, if we can get him at like 5-7 a year, but hell want closer to 8-9. He can sign with a big money club, we need to save our money for players who will be worth it. SB

Source? And lets just hope Colon accepts and shows that his whole "I want to stay here" shtick was not just hot air to get a better offer from Boston or NY. If we keep Colon, our pitching staff will still be solid and well have a chance to compete. Who knows, maybe Reinsdorf is finally sick of turning on Fox Net and hearing about the Cubs, I know I am. SB

I thought about giving up, but I just cant, not with the fact that there are only 10 games left. So instead of just letting another season slip by, Im gonna hope to hell that perhaps all things in the end do work out. Thus, the reasons why the White Sox still have a chance: 1) If they win tonights game they are only 1.5 games back with 1 more game to play then the Twins. 2) The White Sox have out played the Twins in 4 of the last 6 meetings, but have only won 2 of them. 3) The Twins have an outstanding record against the Tigers, the White Sox have one of the worst if not the worst. 4) Besides for Santana, and some days Radke, the Twins other starters are nothing special. Why do all of these things that seem to point towards the White Sox not making the playoffs give me hope? Well its the old fact that eventually over enough time, all things even out. So for all the lucky breaks the Twins have gotten, it is now time for the ball to bounce the other way. For all of the bad luck the White Sox have gotten, its time for them to have something good happen. The White Sox just need to win 2 more games then the twins do in this final stretch and they go to a playoff game. 2 more games then a team that is far from dominant... The D-Rays blanked the Red Sox, you really think its that far out of the question that Cornejo has a great game against the Twins? They just have to win tonight, and they have to keep winning. They dug themselves into a hole, and true playoff teams find a way to get out of it. SB

Im some what nervous but all I can think is this: The statistics point in favor of the White Sox every game, last week we lost 2, we should of only lost one. All things being equally, in the end things usually even themselves out. I expect the White Sox to take care of business and things will work out for them. SB

I know that many people are disheartened by the last 2 losses to the Twins (I am included in these people). But here are 2 statistics that may just bring a little hope into your day... .286 and .260. The first being the Twins batting average vs RH, the second being the Twins average vs. LH. Now in the series against the Indians, the Twins will face 3 LH pitchers, and 1 RH pitcher. The right hander being Jason Davis who is 2-2 vs the Twins, with 2 good outings, 1 average outing, and 1 bad outing. So perhaps the Twins schedule is not so outstanding, atleast in their perspective, as LH pitchign is probably their greatest nemisis. I just hope that the White Sox finally understand that only they themselves can take care of business, and that they need to go out there and win. SB

I think your "realistically" is perhaps a bit pessimistic... 3 out of 4 against Twins this series, I would say is pessimistic-realisitic. Garland vs Santana I would say is the only matchup where the Twins actualy have an advantage with starting pitching, and even there Garland has been very good the last month or so. A sweep is really not that far out of the question if the pitching shows up. 2 out of 6 against Twins and Boston, I would say that is pessimistic. Realistically I expect the sox to go 3-3 or 4-2. Against Boston the Sox just barely lost both games, and in the end all things usualy even out, so I see them taking 2 of 3 from Boston, cause Boston really did not look like they could handle the Sox pitching. And now that the Sox are more familiar with the Boston staff they usually do bteter. I would also venture to say the Sox take 2 of 3 from the Twins depending on the starting pitching. Unless the Sox throw, Wright and Garland, we should have favorable pitching in atleast 2 of the games, perhaps even all 3. To think that being at the Metrodome makes that much of a difference is to go against the facts of this year. The twins have not been a monster at home this year, and the White Sox are playing much better defense. As for the rest I would say that you were actually fair as for what you believed. Although I doubt the Twins are going to just run off all these victories against crappy teams, especially since outside of Santana they can get lit up every night. I expect the Tribe to take 1 or 2, and Detroit to take 1-2. In the end we cant look to what the Twins are doing, if we win the games we play, we take first place. And thats all you can ask of your team, is just to go out and win everyday and hope for the best. If the White Sox win, theyll be in the playoffs, if they lose, theyll be watching on tv. Its as simple as that. SB