ZoomSlowik

QUOTE(daa84 @ Oct 10, 2005 -> 01:32 PM) sure thing, just come up with the 50 mil its gonna take to sign PK, the 30 mil itll take to sign wagner, and the 43.5 mil still due to thome on his contract, the 5 mil thomas will command, and i think we might have a solid team! please, even the yankees dont spend like that in one offseason Your point is well taken, even though the Yankees have spent that much on a couple of occasions (got Giambi, Matsui, and I think Brown in the same year, and the A-Rod deal alone rivals the totals, much less adding Sheffield too). Wagner might not be feasible (although I doubt he gets $10 mil a year) or a direction they would go, but Thome is possible. A major factor in the Thome deal will be how much money the Phillies will eat on that contract. It will also depend on how desperate they are to get rid of him. The only comparable deals that immediately come to mind are Kevin Brown to the Yankees and Sammy Sosa to the Orioles. Both deals involved slumping/hurt former superstars with burdensome contracts. I'm not going to discuss the first because the Yankees were willing to absorb all (or nearly all) of the money. The Sosa deal seems more relevant. The Cubs payed about $12 mil of his salary for this season, with Baltimore dealing with the rest and the buyout/options. In return, the Cubs got a borderline major league starter and some decent but not stellar prospects. Judging by Phily's payroll, something similar may happen. They've got other holes to fill, and his contract is a major impediment to them being able to sign players. Because of this, we may be able to get them to either accept much less than Thome's value in players or pay the first year of his deal in return for some better return. It seems like they could use Marte to fill in their bullpen since they'll lose at least one of Urbina and Wagner, and maybe use Hernandez as a starter. If we could do that and throw in a decent prospect, they financial burdens on us would be much less severe.

This definitely qualifies as a weak class. There are some big names, but many are past their prime, ie Sammy Sosa, Nomar Garciaparra, Frank Thomas, and Mike Piazza. The closer group is pretty good, but there isn't much else. The only definite impact pitcher is Burnett, the only impact position players are Konerko, Furcal, Damon, and Giles if he moves to a more hitter friendly park. Plus, there is definitely no monster FA that everyone wants like the Beltrans and A-Rods of past years. There should be a decent amount of player movement, but that's true every year. Some of the names available in trades are much more intriguing, like Ramirez, Griffey, Dunn, Soriano, and Thome.

While I agree that resigning Paulie is a serious priority (can anyone really argue otherwise right now?), if he can't get Paulie back I trust KW to do something with the offense. I seriously doubt he thinks he can get by with merely moving Dye to first, plugging Anderson into right, and using Everett/Thomas as the DH, especially after the success we've had this year. I think this offseason showed that if he sees a major problem with the team (and I can't believe that he wouldn't think it's an issue), he'll do something to rememdy it. I've heard mention of several serious hitters potentially being available, and if he can't get Paulie I'm sure Kenny will do something, and he might be planning it regardless.

I'd rather face the Yankees. First off, we shut down their offense when we played them this year. They only scored more than two runs in half of the games, scoring 3 twice. Plus, they haven't done that much thus far against the Angels outside of game 3. Cano seems to be their only guy hitting that well right now, and their entire offense seems to be hit or miss. The Angels, on the other hand, hit us fairly well, without Vlad IIRC. They seem to have the type of hitters that do damage against us: scrappy hitters who aren't afraid to take it the other way. Also, they seem to have more holes than the Angels. Johnson just doesn't look like the guy we think he is, and the rest of their starters have their ups and downs. Their bullpen is also a major issue outside of Gordon and Rivera, and their defense is less than stellar. Frankly, it's highly possible that the Angels' starters won't be much better though. Lackey has to pitch tonight, meaning he won't be available until probably game 3. The same goes for Colon if they go to game 5. Either way, Byrd and Washburn are going to have to pitch, who aren't intimidating matchups at all. It just seems like we'll be in more close games if we play the Angels. With the Yankees it seems like they either get shut down or hit the cover off the ball. That's not conducive to winning a 7 game series.

Another possible reason brokers have so many tickets could be the fact that they just cough up the cash for numerous season tickets. Think about it. Even assuming they didn't make the playoffs, you can still make a killing on Cubs/Yankees/Red Sox and a couple of other games, plus no matter how low the attendance is for a given game someone is going to be willing to pay a ton for good seats. Then, if they make the playoffs you can make a serious killing. Is it so unbelieveable that a major broker bought something like 25 season tickets? I don't think so. Frankly, I don't like this whole E-ticket thing. first off, unless they have some kind of safe-guard that I don't know about, you could print copies and sell each ticket multiple times. The unsuspecting fan wouldn't find out until they get to the gate and the ticket has already been scanned. Then if you don't know the person, you're screwed.

I got the same message with my order. I ended up getting some shirts at Grandstand. I absolutely had to have them for Saturday so I could harrass the hell out of a couple of friends. I even have the "Go Go White Sox" fight song burned on a CD about 20 times for that purpose. The hat I ordered is in transit, but that really sucks that I couldn't get the s***s. I ordered it an hour after they clinched, tops. Just as well, I wouldn't have been happy when I saw that Crede wasn't on the shirt.

What's interesting to me is that there are already World Series tickets listed on stubhub, obviously at obscene prices.

QUOTE(Chisoxrd5 @ Oct 6, 2005 -> 01:14 PM) Those are auctions...they will end up going for way more...Looks like I'm dropping $300 plus a ticket for game 1 or 2... I did score 4 for game six...upper deck though 542, row 8...I'll probably sell them and put it towards my upgrades I'm still shocked by how well you did Steff... It definitely looks like it will be at least #300 a seat, and not necessarily for good ones...

QUOTE(Chisoxrd5 @ Oct 6, 2005 -> 01:10 PM) Uhhh....I'm not seeeing anything even remotely that cheap... Me neither. The only tickets for $200 that I see are in 558 and 512, and they're kind of up there too.

My Dad and I got on shortly after noon on 3 different computers and got squat.

My Dad and I got jack s***. Both of us were on pretty early using 3 different computers and got nothing.

For some reason I have a hard time buying the Colts defense. Sanders and Bracket are playing better than expected and Reagor is looking good, but they still don't have the greatest linebackers or secondary. I know I said it would be improved before the season, but not this much. Interestingly their offense is only averaging 8 more yards than their defense is allowing, but 13 more points. I think their offense will get stronger and their D will get a bit weaker. The fact that they aren't exactly playing powerhouse offenses (Baltimore, Cleveland, Tennessee, and Jacksonville) to this point almost certainly is a big reason for their good early start on D. In the long run I'm starting to like the Steelers. We'll see how good they really are in the coming games, when they play San Diego, Jacksonville, and Cincinnati.

The Latino Heat pulled out a win against Kalapse for the title in league #5, despite some controversy. Congratulations. I was well out of the running despite my taunts. More importantly, I took the title in soxtalk keeper league #2. Off to a good start!

As I said, in the league thread, relax. The practice of cycling starting pitchers (and position players on days off) is common in fantasy leagues in the playoffs. It probably happens in every other league, so don't really understand the problem. Anyways, I haven't gotten a lot of responses, so this won't be a keeper league.

No gripes with your lineup and rotation.

QUOTE(SnB @ Sep 29, 2005 -> 02:42 PM) let me say it WHITE SOX WHITE SOX GO GO WHITE SOX !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm about to play that for the rest of the day!

I gotta go do a victory shot as soon as I find my Sox shot glass! Let's win the whole damn thing now!

On the White Sox home page, there is a link to purchase AL Central Division Champs stuff. I don't know how fast they can ship stuff. I would assume that Grandstand would have stuff already. I know when the Illini made the Final Four, they had stuff available at the shops that night. I'm not going to go too nuts on this stuff though, since I plan on buying more Sox championship stuff at the end of October.

QUOTE(Randar68 @ Sep 29, 2005 -> 01:17 PM) My projections are not based on Anderson's numbers. They are based on his physical abilities, quick adjustments, and performance at an accelerated pace to-date. How many RBI's do Uribe, Crede and Rowand have hitting out of the 7, 8 and 9 spots? What are their averages and power numbers??? Anderson will be starting in CF on opening day 2006, Rowand is replaced. I don't know what you call "playing full-time", but sure seems to fit the bill for me. When did Ryan Howard come up? Does he play in USCF why routine fly balls turn into HR's? None of those players on the Sox have 75 RBI, and only Uribe really has any chance. Right now none of them are hitting .275, only Rwoand is close. Crede is the only one with 20 homers. However, the bigger issue is that all of those guys have significant experience in the majors. I'd like to know what inside information you have that guarantees that Anderson will be starting in CF next season, cause I seriously doubt it. Howard has 300 at bats thus far on the season, which puts him roughly half-way between Crede and Ozuna. He doesn't play in the Cell, but Citizens Bank Ballpark is one of the best hitter's parks in the league. Without the stats in front of me, I'd say it's comparable to the Cell. Regardless, Howard has considerably more power than Anderson and has been one of the best hitting prospects in baseball for several years. He would have probably been up at least last season if not for Thome. Comparing him to Anderson is pretty ridiculous. Edit- US Cellular's park factor in homeruns is 1.20 this season, which makes it the 8th best park in the league for homeruns. Citizens Bank Park has a park factor of 1.134, which makes it the 10th best park in the league for homeruns.

QUOTE(Randar68 @ Sep 28, 2005 -> 11:45 PM) IMO Aaron Rowand and a first-year Brian Anderson are equivalent offensively. That being said, Anderson has far greater potential, is cheaper, and is the better move looking towards the future... If you're not losing anything in the order or defensively, I don't see how you can possibly NOT play him everyday... Anderson puts up minimum of .275-20-75 numbers his first season hitting in the #7 hole... book it. Anderson will not get close to those numbers. First off, he'd have to be a full-time starter, something I doubt that he will be next year on a team that should be competitive. Most of the rookies that put up numbers like that are on horses*** teams. Second, only a handful of rookies get to 20 homers every year, and most of them don't have that many RBI or the batting average that you are suggesting. For instance, this year, only 3 qualifying rookies have hit 20 homers. One, Ryan Howard, is a much better prospect, has more experience, and fell short of the RBI totals. Another, Nick Swisher, hit only .232. The final is Johnny Gomes, who also fell short in the RBI department. All of these guys hit higher in the order than 7th and still couldn't get the RBI (Swisher might, but I digress). In the last 5 years, only 4 players have reached all of those criterion you listed in their rookie season. One, Albert Pujols, is arguably the best hitter in the league. Another, Jason Bay, is a rising star and IIRC was a better prospect. Eric Hinske and Jody Gerut appear to be first year flukes and have since fallen off the face of the earth. Only one of them played on a decent team. There are plenty of guys with Anderson's stature, minor league numbers, and more experience that couldn't reach those numbers, so your projections seem hoplessly optomistic. First, expecting the Sox to give him the starting spot outright seems a little foolish considering they should compete for the division again next year. Second, expecting a guy with 28 major league at bats to perform that well is even more hopeful. I'd be happy to make a ridiculous sig bet on this topic.

After a rough week at work, a man decides that he's going to go and and have some fun on Friday night. He goes to several different bars and gets extremely drunk. The next day while fighting through his hangover, he suddenly remembers himself in a bathroom with a golden toilet. He assumes that he must have seen it the night before. The man is determined to figure out where he saw this. He starts to retrace his steps from the night before, going to every bar he can remember visiting. After no luck, he is very frustrated as he comes to the last bar in town. He walks in and says to the bartender, "I don't suppose you guys have a golden toilet?" The bartender has a confused look on his face and doesn't say anything for a while. Suddenly, he bursts out laughing. He turns to the bar's owner and shouts, "Hey Frank, I think I found the guy that crapped in the tuba!"

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Sep 28, 2005 -> 04:21 PM) It has been pointed out before that A-row is pretty below avg OPS-wise for a starting CF'er. We DO need a little more power in the OF to account for PODS less than desirable slugging %. Im willing to bet that there are several teams who would like the services of A-row after his defensive gems this season. We all know that we have Anderson, and Young chomping at the bit to get some playing time on the big club. And I think maybe they need a chance? Why does everyone suddenly care how many homers we hit, or how many we get from what position? Does it really matter that much if our CF hits 12 or 20? Wasn't the whole point of our offense to rely less on the homers? The Yankees don't have a whole lot more homers in the outfield than us (Matsui is barely over 20, Crosby has 1, Williams has 12, Lawton has 13 on the whole year), and their offense seems alright. We're still near the top of the league in homers anyways, and it isn't helping. If Anderson hits .250 with 20 homers, virtually no walks, and 130 K's, how does that help the situation? He's a rookie! He's not going to come in and hit .300. Young is even farther from being ready to produce. He's got talent but he's raw. Adding more guys that can't get on isn't going to solve our problem. Even in a season that it seems a lot of us are disappointed with, Rowand is hitting over .270 and has an OBP around .330. While it's not stellar, it's not terrible either. How about we deal with the guys that are hitting around .250 with OBP's under .310 first like Everett, Crede, and Uribe?

I'm not exactly jumping to put Anderson in center for Rowand. He's far from a certainty to improve on Aaron's numbers. He strikes out a ton. He had 10 K's and no walks in his stint so far this year, and struck out roughly once a game in the minors. That's not exactly a good sign for his near future in the majors. Could we put up with another guy putting up Crede-like numbers? I doubt it. Then we're back to the same problem, and Aaron's gone. It's not like Aaron is expensive, and we have bigger liabilities in our offense. A real DH would go a long way toward helping our offense, instead of a mediocre hitter like Everett and praying that Thomas stays healthy. Replacing Crede as another spot to improve makes sense too. You can probably get away with someone that isn't exactly Brooks Robinson at 3B with someone with as much range as Uribe at SS. With Uribe, the options are expensive and result in a major defensive dropoff. Plus, as was said, Pods with a healthy hamstring has a big impact on the offense, so trading him isn't as good a move. Plus, Williams would be conceding that the new approach has flaws, which probably isn't going to happen.

Carlos Delgado, Brian Giles, Juan Pierre, and resigning Paulie? Not a chance in hell.

I love the Tracy idea, and frankly with Nomar's injury history, he should be affordable enough to take a risk. No, I don't want him to play short over Uribe, but when healthy he can hit well enough to make sense at 3rd. Edit- on further analysis, I don't really like those 5 errors in 29 games at 3rd. How long before Nomar becomes a 1B or a DH?