fathom

Here's a plan that I thought could be possible considering the contracts we have in place: - Trade Paul Konerko, D. Marte, and J. Garland to the Braves for R. Furcal, Juan Cruz, and J. Capellan. - Trade Crede and Borchard to DBacks for S. Hillenbrand, Choate, and Valverde - Sign Troy Glaus to about 8.5 mil a yr - Extend Uribe's deal to 3 yr, 7 mil dollars and make him full time 2b. - Give Ben Davis a 2 yr, 3 mil dollar deal, and have him and Burke patrol the C position. - Unfortunately, Everett and his 4 mil will have to play RF. - Hypothetically, a healthy Frank will DH at 8 mil a yr - Trade W. Harris, Chris Young and Tracey to the Angels for S. Shields (he can be a starter) - Sign Josh Fogg to one yr, 1.25 mil deal (he isnt great, but he's more reliable than our previous number 5 starters) Thus, our lineup would look like this: ss- furcal cf- rowand lf- lee dh- thomas 3b- glaus rf- everett 1b- gload/hillenbrand 2b- uribe c- davis/burke The rotation would be Garcia, Buehrle, Contreras, Shields, and Fogg The bullpen would be Shingo, Cruz, Cotts, Choate, Adkins, and Valverde. Now, I know a lot of people will say that they think that team wouldnt be a division winner. However, these deals would go a long way into restocking and improving the team for the future. Capellan would give us a future stud rhp, possibly a closer. Juan Cruz could be a dominant closer in the right system, or he could be a starter. Valverde could be the dominant closer that we've been lacking lately, and let Shingo thrive in a set-up role. After the 2005 season, the Sox would have Furcal, Rowand, Glaus, and Uribe for sure. With B. Anderson, Sweeney, and Fields lurking, they could possiby fill a lot of holes (Glaus could move to 1b). Also, the staff would have young guns like Cruz, Capellan, Valverde, Cotts, McCarthy, and Diaz?

Just say no to Matt Clement. He's so inconsistent, and he's the type of pitcher that excels in the NL because no hitting pitcher can touch his slider. Also, lefty hitters have a much better time hitting him than righties. Look at our two biggest rivals in the division, the Twins and Indians. Both these teams are lefty dominant. Clement is not a good match for the Sox.

The outfield is going to be a total mess, as will the infield, and possibly starting pitching, catcher position, and relief. Us Sox fans have to face it, this team is not in a prime position to field a division winning caliber team next year without some enormous changes to this team.

Personally, I think Uribe is a great infielder. He has an incredibly accurate arm, solid range, and good coordination. There hasn't been a Sox infielder I've been more confident in when the ball was hit to him as I've been with Sox (in the last about 10 years).

Yeah, I wonder why more teams don't brush back Sosa more considering how much the hbp messed him up afterwards.

I wish Hawk would stop making excuses for some of our players during a game. He said that the count got Grilli when it got full, and that's why J. Jones hit a homer. Well, this is the same guy that says how hard it is to hit in the majors now when you have a 3-2 count cause the pitcher can throw anything.

I'll pass on Torres for one reason. He's lost two games to the Cubs in the last 2 weeks. If you can't find a way to strike out C. Patterson, then you're not that good, IMO. As we speak, the two dicks in the Cubs booth, Chip and Stone, are ripping on Torres for being a skinnier Antonio Alfonseca.

Yes, Cooper has shown me nothing in terms of being able to improve guys. Loaiza proved that he was just a fluke. I can't believe they havent taught Cotts a new pitch yet. Why not try and teach Marte a changeup? It just seems like we're such a easy team to hit against.

Let me add that Julio and Chacon both seem like assholes also. Julio has a history of throwing at players.

Please tell me that KW was not serious when he said that Grilli has impressed him this year! The guy has average stuff, but just terrible command of his pitches. When a guy doesnt even come close to being good in AAA, there's no reason to think he'll be effective at the MLB level. He's no different than Danny Wright.

Even though Sox fans will complain, the best thing the organization could do is forget about Ordonez in their plans. No way can the Sox afford a 10 million dollar question mark when there are so many other holes they need to fill. Also, it kind of irks me when I see that KW is upset that they didnt have a contract in place so that they could just worry about his health. I know KW needs to say the right things in the press, but I'm thankful that they don't have Ordonez signed to any big long-term deals. It seems like this injury is the beginning of the end for his career.

The thing is, if we plan on playing Everett in the OF, then there's no way we can play Timo out there also. The defense would be just too poor with those two out there in terms of range. Even when Everett has been in shape, his outfield defense was just real bad. I hope KW knows what he's doing!

Definitely would rather have that 4 million dollars free to go after other players. Everett in RF goes against every speed/defense idea that Ozzie and KW have. I guess this means that Borchard will get traded in the offseason, cause he's getting too old to be in the minors if they expect him to ever contribute in the majors. This whole Everett thing illustrates how KW has no consistent plan with this organization.

Talk about a game here that illustrates how piss poor the Sox player development is, and how great the Twins are at developing players.

Yeah, nothing like seeing one of your true starting pitchers get crushed by a AAA team.

Not exactly a lot of ABs vs lhp for this stat to mean too much in the scheme of things. Yes, it's good that he's shown he can hit efficiently vs lhp. At least if he does start next year, he hopefully won't be like Valentin, Jimenez, and/or R. Alomar and be a total liability against a particular type of throwing pitcher.

Making Gload the 1b creates as many holes as it solves, which makes it a silly move to make. Think of all the good lefty starters in the AL central. Gload doesn't have a lot of MLB at bats vs lhp, and it's going to be tough to have to start against AL central starting pitching when about 33 percent of them are lhp. Therefore, we'd need another righty to come off the bench to play 1b. And no, I don't think Frank can fill in here. I can't picture Frank being too mobile in the upcoming years.

In my opinion, Juan Uribe is a difference maker. Yes, he struggles mightily at times. However, he's the type of player that when he's on, he can lead a team. This was illustrated at the beginning of the season when there wasn't a tougher out in the AL. If you can have a difference maker at 2b in the AL, then you are at an advantage. 2b is a very weak position in the AL, and Uribe could easily be one of the best overall in the future.

Congrats to Paul Konerko on homer number 40. Thank god we didn't trade you in the offseason when your value was low.

Anyone that has weak groundout to 2b by Willie Harris wins the prediction pool tonight. Now, I wonder who will win the pool for when Garland blows up this game?

How can you say 2005 wont be a disaster after you just said that it looks like Gload will be our starting 1b? Nothing like making a career journeyman your starter at a power position to guarantee 4th place. And by the way, maybe some of you Sox koolaid drinkers should read what others outside of the Sox organization or fanbase are saying about the Sox future. Not very promising, to say the least.

Buehrle's at 110 pitches, and Ozzie keeps him in to start the 9th to give up a homer. When is he going to learn? I'm sorry if some people are sick of hearing this complaint (can it Tony), but it's just ridiculous managing. There's no reason to risk it. Ozzie has been the biggest disappointment on the Sox this year, not Crede or anyone else.

Not to sound cynical, but tonight is the perfect example of why Willie is not a good hitter. A weak infield pop up, a groundball to second, and a strikeout looking. Exemplifies Willie's struggles this year.

Who's this announcing right now on WCIU?

Wow, Henry Blanco is making Buehrle his personal b****.