South Side Fireworks Man

QUOTE(santo=dorf @ Jul 1, 2007 -> 02:38 PM) You think Ichiro is going to ask for a NTC this offseason? I don't know about that but two things I'm sure of are he's going to ask for a ton of money and he's going to want to play for a winner. So unless the Sox go on a tear for the rest of this year the other points are moot concerning the Sox and Ichiro. Considering Ichiro's age, any team that would give him a full NTC for five years would be taking a huge risk.

Gonzalez comes through in the clutch!

Nice job, Luis!

QUOTE(santo=dorf @ Jul 1, 2007 -> 02:25 PM) Blame the market. When the Sox don't sign any free agents because they are demanding NTCs, blame the market. What leadoff type FA didn't the Sox sign because he was demanding a NTC? Way to go, Josh!

QUOTE(fathom @ Jul 1, 2007 -> 02:13 PM) FWIW, Gavin Floyd pitched today, and walked 6 guys in 5 innings. That makes me think Buehrle isn't getting traded in the next 24 hours. For crying out freakin' loud!

QUOTE(fathom @ Jul 1, 2007 -> 02:09 PM) Strained left rib muscle for Barbaro. Once again, thanks KW! I didn't know that type of thing was contageous. He must have been sitting next to Thome.

Pods has strained left rib muscle per Hawk.

QUOTE(Buehrle>Wood @ Jul 1, 2007 -> 02:06 PM) Haven't been watching, but Pods got hurt I assume? What happened? He led off the game hitting a long fly ball. Bottom of the inning was out of the game. Rotoworld is reporting an "undisclosed injury."

Gonzalez is a beast.

QUOTE(Chisoxfn @ Jul 1, 2007 -> 01:50 PM) Are you serious? Just kidding.

QUOTE(TitoMB345 @ Jul 1, 2007 -> 01:49 PM) Cintron is terrible. He, and Andy Gonzalez need to be gotten rid of. Reassign Gonzalez and DFA Cintron. Cintron definitely has to go. Gonzalez would be OK taking Cintron's spot on the bench.

QUOTE(Chisoxfn @ Jul 1, 2007 -> 01:43 PM) I doubt he could have been dealt this quickly. However, contrary to popular belief Pods is a s***load better than most everyone in the current Sox lineup and at least based on the quotes he gives a damn about whats going on. I just figure no team would deal for Pods until he gets a couple weeks up and shows he's healthy. Same for Dye. He has been traded. I got this from an unnamed source outside of the organization who is familiar with the situation.

Podsednik was just traded for Barry Bonds.

The Sox should give him his NTC for the rest of this year and next two at $14M per year, then give him market value ($19M) for the year he has no NTC, then back down to $14M for the year he becomes a 5/10 player. So in essence it would be a $61M/4yr contract. That way the Sox maintain the integrity of their "no full NTC policy" and Mark gets no-trade protection for the years he's giving a home-town discount. If an extra $5M over four years isn't worth it to JR to keep Buehrle around, then he doesn't really want to be fair to Buehrle anyway.

QUOTE(witesoxfan @ Jun 30, 2007 -> 10:15 PM) If you are living in an apartment, are you going to pay more for 2 months' rent or 3? Same type of concept, only on a bit more of an exponential level; the Sox can get a package of 3 players with like a top prospect and then two other smaller players, or, if lucky, 2 top prospects for him; if they wait until the deadline, they might get 1 top prospect for him, and it'd more likely be a low ceiling guy and 2 projects. I understand all that, but to say Buehrle's fate should be decided by Tuesday at the latest is a stretch. If KW is not satisfied with whatever offer he's getting he certainly still has time to hold out for a better offer. He may get a couple of teams to bid against each other as the deadline approaches. Or a team may get desperate as the deadline nears and their other plans fall through. There are many scenarios too numerous to list here. I'm sure KW has already been listening to offers for Mark and I'm sure they'd like to know what they are going to do one way or another as soon as possible. But to name an arbitrary date like this Tuesday as some sort of deadline is not accurate.

QUOTE(Flash Tizzle @ Jun 30, 2007 -> 09:00 PM) Yeah, that's great. About Buehrle, his fate should still be decided by Tuesday (at the latest) regardless of our success these next few days. What's so special about Tuesday? The trade deadline is July 31st.

QUOTE(hitlesswonder @ Jun 30, 2007 -> 10:16 AM) I agree. Williams should be fired. Whatever the goal of this fiasco was, it was handled incompetently. You guys make me laugh sometimes. So KW should be fired over a bunch of conflicting erroneous newspaper/sportstalk radio reports from unnamed sources? B)

QUOTE(SoxPride56 @ Jun 30, 2007 -> 08:34 AM) God I hate Kenny Williams right now... way to f*** this one up buddy! Kenny can only give what JR allows him to give a player.

Contreras better cut down on that drop-down side-arm crap and go back to throwing majority of his pitches over the top, using the drop-down only once in a while to fool hitters not most of the time as he's been doing. Cooper shouldn't have encouraged him to drop down so much last year. I remember when Jose was still going strong Coop was talking about adding yet another angle to his delivery to make him "even more dominant." It seems as since then he has forgotten about throwing over the top and has fallen in love with the sidearm slot. He's not been as effective since.

Sox win, 8-4.

Sox win, 8-4.

QUOTE(santo=dorf @ Jun 27, 2007 -> 09:29 PM) Because the getting the number 1 pick is not the only way for this team to help them out in the long run, and it shouldn't certainly not be the goal of this team. If this organization wants to turn it around, it's going to take a lot more than a simple pick. If you are rooting for the Sox to lose, you are not a fan of the team. It's as simple as that. Amen. ( well I guess one could still be a fan, but a misguided fan at that.) Another thing to consider is the ability to attract quality free agents. The Sox are more likely to convince a free agent to sign on with them if they go on a tear in the second half and finish with a respectable record than if they finish with 90 losses or more. Just for example, does anyone think a guy like Ichiro would consider signing a contract with a last place team next year? Money is a major factor but not the only factor. Having a chance to win means a lot to some players. And regardless, I want the Sox to win every time they play.

Nice win.

Tonight would be a good night for the return of the 100mph fastball.

Crap.