fathom

I've seen a lot of rumors and personal opinion on this board lately (it's been a great time though), and the following is a list of things I don't think will happen: - Sox sign A.J. Pierzynski....I haven't seen one source mention that the Sox are interested, and I doubt after articles like the Cowley one today will the Sox be in a hurry to add a questionable clubhouse character. - Sox sign Orlando Cabrera.....Not a chance in hell that KW spends like 8 mil a year to get a SS who is not nearly as good as Juan Uribe. Miguel Cairo or Jerry Hairston Jr. would be much better fits for the Sox, and much cheaper - Sox keep A. Rowand in any Randy Johnson deal. Don't kid yourself folks, there's no interest by anyone in obtaining Everett. Hell, we were hoping he wouldn't activate his player option this year. Rowand would be at the core of any trade we would make.

Neal won't be a starting pitcher in the majors. He only has one pitch that he can count on, and his control is not consistent enough to last 5 innings. Even in the minors, he would only average like 5 innings a start because of control issues. Cotts is effective because of his unique delivery, etc. However, that type of delivery is more effective because hitters only see it once a game when he pitches in relief. Also, Cotts benefits by pitching in relief cause he gets to face more lefties than if he started a game against a set lhp lineup.

The DBacks already have one butcher of an outfielder in Luis Gonzalez on their roster, no way would they want Everett on their roster also. They need a CF, and obviously Everett is not a CF. So anyone that thinks this deal would be Everett, and not Rowand, is 99.9 pct wrong.

If KW is really interested in trading our top prospects like Sweeney, then he would be much better off trying to use an asset like him to acquire the type of 2b that Oakland wants for Tim Hudson. A possible 4 years of Hudson will be a lot more valuable than one to two years of Randy.

According to rotoworld, Matt Clement was in Arizona visiting with the DBacks yesterday. Well, according to the MJH, they thought that KW was calling from Arizona. It's very likely that KW was talking with Clement or Clement's agent then. However, there is also news that he will visit the Angels and Dodgers this week, with the Angels being a serious contender to sign him.

The starting outfielder they want is definitely not Everett, it's A. Rowand. Why in the hell would the DBacks want Everett?

Dear lord, please don't give up that much for Randy Johnson! If KW did this, he would be basically giving up on the future of this organization for what would likely be an ill-fated run at the pennant. RJ doesn't make this current squad the instant favorite to win the AL. That's the only way you could justify a trade like this.

Since Ordonez and Lee left, and Frank got hurt, you could make a very strong case for Uribe being behind only Konerko and Rowand.

Amezaga is a terrible, terrible hitter. We can't afford any more weak hitters in our lineup. I'd rather have Valdez than Amezaga...he's that bad of a hitter.

It's not just local writers that are bashing the trade. Basically every single baseball analyst thinks this was an awful trade.

BTW, there hasnt been a single source that has said the Sox are interested in him. I've seen rumors linking A.J. to the Dodgers, Phillies, or Red Sox.

I think what people are talking about in regards to A.J. not wanting to play against the Twins is that there was an article saying how the only thing he ever wanted to do before a game was watch the Twins games on the TV in the clubhouse instead of going over scouting reports with pitchers.

This brings up an interesting dilemma: spend all our remaining money on a pitcher that only goes 1 out of every 5 games, or sign a catcher with "most" of our money who would play in 4 out of 5 games?

An A.J., Burke combo would be perfect. Burke could play against tough lefties like Santana and C.C., and he can continue to be Buehrle's personal catcher. Honestly, the situation makes way too much sense, but I highly doubt A.J. will be offered by the Sox.

A.J. is the type of "impact" player that KW said he would consider with the free money. He's definitely one of the best catchers in baseball, and he fits our needs so much. Yes, he's a questionable character, but the Sox haven't exactly brought in guys with sterling reputations in the past.

Why is everyone so convinced Clement will be going to the Angels now? They still have Washburn to deal with as their 5th starter, and Byrd's contract is basically the same amount of money as was the salary of Ortiz.

I'm more worried about the Red Sox signing Clement now than I am anyone else. With Pedro gone, and a hole in their rotation, I think they're our biggest competitor to sign Clement. I know they had their eyes on him all last year.

Yeah, foxsports says they'll try and trade Washburn now. Washburn wouldn't be a good fit with the Sox, he gives up too many homers. I do get a little worried that KW might try and trade Konerko for Washburn though.

Read a rumor on WSI that the Angels have signed Paul Byrd. If this is true, that could be great news in our hunt to sign Clement, as the Angels were long thought of as a favorite to land him. I don't really think they need more starting pitchers with Colon, Lackey, Escobar, Byrd, and Washburn/Ortiz.

Only problem I have with something KW said about Podsednik was how he had to get used to wind patters to be a better outfielder. Ummm...a lot of the Brewers home games are played in a dome. Put me in the camp that the Sox would be much better keeping Rowand in CF, and Pod in LF. Arm strength is much more important for CF, and Rowand is 10 times better than Pod at throwing.

If we sign Cora, and intend on keeping Willie, then I don't like this addition at all. What the Sox need is a right-handed hitting 2b or utility infielder that can face lefties in place of Willie. Also, Cora isn't exactly a dangerous hitter at the plate, but he can handle the bat well in terms of bunting and making contact. I would rather he start at 2b over Willie, but we all know that will never happen under this regime.

I agree with Jeckle that if KW doesn't spend this money that he saved in the lopsided trade, the Sox are going to be in for a PR nightmare.

Nationals have made it pretty clear that they won't trade him.

After having about 10 hours to think about the trade, I got more upset with the whole thing for one main reason: we took our best player, and we traded him without filling any of our holes. Not only that, the main player we received in the deal could easily prove to be a one year wonder. If KW does decide to save the money for a deadline deal in June, I will guarantee you that the money wont be spent as we'll be looking to trade guys like Konerko and Shingo instead of going out and getting someone. The team we have right now is nowhere near good enough to win the division.

I think it's safe to say that if Podsednik continues to play like the way he did last year, the Sox will be awful next year, and KW will get fired. Our only hope is that he brings a new approach this year, and reacts well to what others tell him. IIRC is that he didn't exactly take well to Brewers mgmt telling him to change stuff.