South Side Fireworks Man

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Oct 28, 2007 -> 10:39 PM) You're worried about OF Defense? Then I got news for you. We've actually got 2 more quality defensive OF's hanging out in winterball this season because they've been struggling with the bats. As soon as Crede is moved out of the way, then you put either Sweeney, or for defensive purposes, Pref. Anderson in CF, and you suddenly have one of the better defensive OF's in baseball with Owens's speed in LF. True, but then you suffer defensively with Fields at 3B. Again, the addition of A-Rod would offset much of that. It works for me either way, but I'd prefer Crede at third with Fields in LF and Owens in CF. I don't think Anderson will ever make it as a major league starter.

QUOTE(southsideirish71 @ Oct 28, 2007 -> 10:31 PM) I dont care what it takes or how many years, you sign Arod. His impact to the financials for the franchise will offset his salary. You immediately trade Konerko to the Angels to restock the system a bit, and put Fields at first. Thome, Arod, Dye, and Fields would be serious power. Arod as he gets older could slip into the DH position, and he will break records in our bandbox of a park. The revenue from him would be silly. Agreed. Even if they don't trade Konerko, with ARod at SS, they could afford to put Fields in LF, Owens in CF, and Richar at 2B. That's three minimum salaried players in the starting lineup. Outfield defense would be a litle shaky, but ARod would more than offset that. Add a couple of solid bullpen arms, and the Sox are in business as serious contenders.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Oct 28, 2007 -> 10:27 PM) Care to guess the Texas Rangers' record the year before they signed ARod? 71-91. And they weren't exactly 2 years removed from winning it all. I know, but now A-Rod is already financially set for life. He's still going for the humongous contract, but this time I think winning is more important to him than it was when he signed with Texas. The fact that the Sox are just two years removed from the World Series and only one year removed from a 90 win season should help though.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Oct 28, 2007 -> 10:20 PM) I gotta admit...I don't know about all the salary constraints...and I don't know how practical it would be to throw a bunch of money at him for a long time, but this is still the organization that threw all that money at Albert Belle a decade ago, and he would be a perfect fit for that position. Who knows if he'd actually want to play with Ozzie though, after Ozzie's random remarks before the WBC, despite the apology. Something tells me that Ozzie and Alex would get a long fine--they'd have one of those relationships like AJ and Ozzie or Frank and Ozzie. Just my hunch... My big concern would be Kenny being able to convince him to play here after losing 90 games this past season.

KW should be on the phone to Boras as soon as it's legal offering A-Rod $300M for ten years. A-Rod would fit right in with the Sox, giving them a legit number three hitter for once and plugging a major hole at SS. He'll bring in a lot of money int the later years of his contract as he closes in on the all-time HR record. The only risk would be if he sustains a major injury but sometimes it's worth a gamble. Do it KW!

QUOTE(witesoxfan @ Oct 15, 2007 -> 02:56 PM) .242/.306/.485/.791 Those were Jermaine Dye's splits on the day he signed his extension. It was for 2 years. He's also been injured (because of his body, not because he ran into a wall or had his ATV fall on him), saw his numbers drop dramatically this year, turn into a bad to mediocre defensive player, get slower, and get one year older (going from 33 to 34 is meaningful). Aaron Rowand put up a .309/.374/.515/.889 line, plays great though occasionally incorrectly rated defense (some people think he's a godsend, some think he's mediocre, but really it seems overall he's in between those two), is quite durable when he's not letting ATV's fall on him or running into walls (he played 161 games this year, and played 157 for the Sox in 2005), stopped running this year but doesn't appear to be completely slowing down, and is just entering his prime. Rowand's more valuable than Dye on the open market right now, and by quite a bit both in money per year and long-term. I do not want Rowand on the South Side for 6/$84, nor do I want him for 5/$70 or 6/$78, but he will get something very near both of those numbers. If it is the Sox, it's an understandable decision and it atleast plugs a hole, even if plugging said hole is only with a .750 OPS. I also think if we are giving a long-term contract to a CFer, I'd rather go with Rowand over Hunter. Hunter's ankle leaves me with big time concern for him in the long run. My hunch is he signs with the Sox for something around 4/$50M to 5/$60M. Considering the Sox' other apparent options, I'll be satisfied.

QUOTE(CWSGuy406 @ Oct 8, 2007 -> 09:46 PM) That might give us the worst defensive team in all of baseball. It's much better than this year's team.

Owens LF Renteria SS Thome DH Konerko 1B Dye RF Rowand CF Pierzynski C Fields 3B Richar 2B

QUOTE(DaGame2584 @ Oct 7, 2007 -> 10:27 AM) He seems to be interested in signing with the Sox. Where did you hear/read that?

QUOTE(kyyle23 @ Oct 6, 2007 -> 08:26 PM) i remember someone on the score picking the Cubs and explaining that the offense will overwhelm the young D-backs staff. 5 runs later.... LOL! I heard one of the Score's resident [/color]geniuses talk about how the only team that could afford to lose game one lost it so it's no big deal.

QUOTE(Jordan4life_2007 @ Oct 6, 2007 -> 07:09 PM) This better be Livan's last inning. It's amazing he's made it this far. He might be the worst pitcher in baseball. Livan Hernandez is a winner. The Cubs are losers.

QUOTE(Kalapse @ Oct 3, 2007 -> 07:41 PM) Picking up Uribe's $5M option is not the only way to bring him back. You use the $300K buyout then offer him a 1 year deal worth $1.7M + a s*** load of offensive incentives and a $5M-$6M team option for 2009 (along with a $500K buyout). He gets $2.5M guaranteed in the deal with incentives that can add on another $3M and he gets another contract year to prove he's worthwhile long term investment.. I thought offensive incentives were not allowed in major league baseball contacts. Only games played, starts, etc.

QUOTE(Gregory Pratt @ Sep 30, 2007 -> 11:07 AM) If Bonds comes in, I hope his tendons give and we're stuck paying him 15+ to sit on the DL. I don't want any part of Bonds being on the White Sox. But if the Sox did bring him in, I would hope he hit 88 home runs and drove in 200 while playing a flawless LF. That's just me though. Maybe because I'm a Sox fan.

QUOTE(Chisoxfn @ Sep 29, 2007 -> 06:58 PM) AJ is one of the better catchers in the league and another two years works for me. I am scared that they have so many guys under contract > 30 as that could get this team into trouble. However, AJ is an asset and one of the better catchers in the league. Agreed on all counts.

QUOTE(fathom @ Sep 18, 2007 -> 07:24 PM) I think one of the main downfalls of the team this year was the just horrible bench. Cintron's numbers won't look that bad at the end of the year, but he was worthless for the first 130 games of the season. Toby's been the worst player in baseball this season as well. I agree 100%. Unfortunately, the Sox had to rely heavily on their bench players as starters.

Gload is good.

Nice game by Garland.

QUOTE(santo=dorf @ Sep 11, 2007 -> 09:43 PM) What will it take to keep Gonzalez away from this franchise, a deportation? He's only playing the positions major leaguers don't want to play.

Carlos Lee with what may be a game-saving catch!

QUOTE(fathom @ Sep 8, 2007 -> 05:42 PM) What has he done controversial to win games this year? AJ has been arguably the Sox' MVP for the past three seasons.

QUOTE(fathom @ Sep 8, 2007 -> 05:33 PM) Um, no AJ plays day in and day out, plays the most demanding position and plays it well, and comes through in the clutch. And every now and then does something "controversial" to win big games. Um, yeah.

Pierzynski is the Sox' best player.

Walker and Baines.

Josh no-Fields stands and watches the catcher run back after a dropped third strike then gets thrown out at first. I hope the Sox are through drafting football players to play baseball.

I didn't see today's game. How did Fields look in LF today?