South Side Fireworks Man

QUOTE(klaus kinski @ Jun 18, 2007 -> 10:05 PM) The base running has gone downhill since Tim Raines has left the coaches box I noticed that too.

QUOTE(fathom @ Jun 18, 2007 -> 10:04 PM) Very exciting ending to the Brewers game. What happened?

Owens with a rookie mistake.

Fields with a rookie mistake.

QUOTE(fathom @ Jun 18, 2007 -> 09:33 PM) That's just fantastic. Things continue to get better this season. Slight strain of right quad per Hawk.

QUOTE(fathom @ Jun 18, 2007 -> 09:32 PM) Great swing by PK there.....he hasn't done that enough this year. I liked that whole sequence of events--the SB by Iguchi followed by that swing and flair hit by Paulie. And the way things have been going, that's a nice run to pick up and may yet prove to be big in this game.

That was nice.

QUOTE(Nokona @ Jun 18, 2007 -> 09:18 PM) I still can't figure out what posessed JD to actually run for once Those injections in his knee(s) are supposed to lubricate the joint. Maybe he's feeling better than he has all season. Two amazing catches by "old cement shoes."

QUOTE(Chisoxfn @ Jun 17, 2007 -> 11:51 PM) Bottom line, reup with Buehrle, extend Garland....sign a few free agents but also use the money to re-up guys you do like and obviously spend some of it on scouting, etc. Thank you.

QUOTE(RME JICO @ Jun 14, 2007 -> 06:37 PM) That is hilarious that you mention the combined winning percentage of .442, since it is actually higher than the Sox at .435. Based on those facts the Sox will split these 20 games and be 37-45 in 20 games. At most I see them winning about 12 and being 39-43. The way they've been playing, they'll split if they're lucky! QUOTE(RME JICO @ Jun 14, 2007 -> 06:37 PM) Is the Sox are going to become sellers, I really hope they do it early and get more value for the trades with a smaller market. Also, teams should be willing to pay more if they are going to get more time out of that player/trade. I thought the conventional wisdom was they can get more by waiting until the deadline nears because teams become desperate. I guess the real trick is to get the contenders in a bidding war for your guy so maybe we'll begin to see a lot of planted rumors in the papers involving Sox players. KW usually likes to fly under the radar, but in this case it may serve him well to do the opposite.

If they can win 15 out of the 20 that would put them just over .500. Going into the season if you were to tell me the Sox would be a .500 team at the All_Star break I would have been disappointed. Now, I'd be ecstatic. So, just for the sake of discussion, if they were to win say 15 out of the next twenty, should/would they then be buyers or sellers?

QUOTE(WCSox @ Jun 14, 2007 -> 12:26 PM) I would've loved Figgins two years ago, but I'm not so sure now. I know he got off to a terrible start, but I think I saw he was hitting around .260 recently. I haven't seen how he's playing defensively or how many stolen bases he has. I'd consider him as a possible replacement for Iguchi, and his versatility makes him a good guy to have around. I'm not advocating making him the centerpiece of a trade, but I would go after him as a smaller piece of a bigger trade.

QUOTE(Chisoxfn @ Jun 13, 2007 -> 11:16 PM) I think the perfect scenario is getting Thome to agree to a deal, getting some two upper echelon prospects for him, plus one good prospect (all being guys that are on the cusp to major league ready) and than building a team around younger position players, Konerko, AJP (possibly), a FA outfielder (plus likely a trade pickup via the OF) and a rotation of Vazquez/Garland/Buehrle/Danks (plus one guy and that is still a pretty damn good rotation, imo). Moving Dye and Iguchi as well and maybe even Uribe. And I'm not overly concerned with losing Thome, simply because I think this team could find some solid bats (no one near as good as Thome) but I'll take quality bats throughout the lineup, extra speed, and an improved defense (plus the idea of having a legit top of the order, hoepfully a bullpen laced with youngsters and vets and a strong rotation). That is the thing, would Jim be willing to just stay in Chicago and no he may not ever make the playoffs again or would he be okay with a move as long as it took him to a place he'd be happy (and I think you should be careful and at least try). Thome is going to continue to get hurt yet he still has amazing value...I say do it. We're on the same page. I'd like to see the Sox re-sign Buehrle even though it goes against their philosophy of not giving long-term contracts to pitchers. I think it is a good philosophy, but I also think an exception should be made in Buerhle's case because he's still young and has proven to be very durable over the years and appears to be the type of pitcher that isn't prone to arm trouble. That being said, if they can get a great haul for him, they'd have to consider it. That's th problem with not negotiating during the season. How can the Sox be sure Mark will re-sign next year? Even if they are willing to offer him say $18M for five years, what guarantee do they have that the Yankees or someone else won't offer him $20M for seven years? Maybe KW can work out terms of a trade for Mark and then before pulling the trigger approach him and tell him, "I have a trade in place that would send you to The (insert team). We'd rather keep you around however, so if you're willing to sign right now for (insert salary and years) we'll call off the trade and give you a full no-trade clause for the rest of '07 and all of '08. If not, the trade will be made tomorrow." As for Thome, I highly doubt he would waive his no-trade clause and I wouldn't mind having him along with Konerko anchor the offense next year. But if he would be willing to consent to a trade, I would gladly see him go if he can bring back some top young talent in return. As for the rest of the roster, A.J. stays and every other position player is on the bubble. In the bullpen Jenks and Logan stay, Massett stays either as a reliever or possible future starter, and everyone else is also on the bubble.

QUOTE(fathom @ Jun 13, 2007 -> 11:00 PM) All I know is that if we're in a situation where we have to give up Buehrle, Garland, Thome, etc., and we keep Vazquez and Contreras, then KW better be fired. Right now one of the last guys the Sox should give up is Garland, although no one is untouchable.

QUOTE(fathom @ Jun 13, 2007 -> 10:58 PM) The Yanks would never give up Cano in a deal, as his replacement wouldn't match him in terms of production or age (contract). People are really overestimating how much we could get for players. I agree with you. I hope we're proven wrong, however.

I doubt if the Yankees would do it, but if the Sox can get Cano and Cabrera along with a top pitching prospect for Buehrle and Iguchi I would do it in a second even though I wish the Sox would re-sign Buehrle.

QUOTE(Kalapse @ Jun 13, 2007 -> 09:24 PM) Can you name me a single ace pitcher (he's going to be making ~$100M that's Ace money) as downright crazy and classless as Carlos Zambrano? You're right about that part, but I'd still be willing to take a chance on him because of his talent and his age. I think he's going to mature, especially if he can get away from the Cubs. Maybe being around a guy like Buehrle can help and I think Ozzie will have more success handling his fellow countryman. Ironic as it may seem, I also think working with A.J. would benefit him. It sure would be interesting, anyway. Again, my interest in signing him is predecated on him pitching well for the rest of the season proving he does not have a physical problem with his arm.

QUOTE(Kalapse @ Jun 13, 2007 -> 09:09 PM) Yes Zambrano has proven his durability with the 6-7 MPH drop in velocity he's experiencing this season. It seems that a lot of pitcher's velocities have dropped this season, with Verlander being an exception rather than the rule. Maybe it's the lack of amphetamines/steroids. He pitched well the other night and is usually a slow starter. We'll see how he finishes up the year. Of course if he doesn't pitch well for the rest of the season and looks as if he has some type of physical issue you're not going to give him big money. Zambrano has always been something of a head case, but I think getting him out of that organization and into a better environment will do wonders for him. He has just turned 26. Edit: And anyone who beats the s*** out of Michael Barrett can't be all bad.

I would make two big FA signings for 2008: Mark Buehrle and Carlos Zambrano. Although this would go against the White Sox' long standing policy for pitchers, they are both still young and so far have proven to be durable workhorses, and you build championships around starting pitching. This would allow the Sox to trade Contreras and have a starting rotation of Buehrle, Zambrano, Garland, Danks, and Vazquez. Looks good to me. On the offensive side build the lineup around Thome DH fourth and Konerko 1B fifth. Keep Fields at 3B and A.J. at Catcher. The other five positions are what Kenny will have to fill with younger players obtained in trades or maybe mid tier FA's like Aaron Rowand. In the pen, build around Jenks and Logan. Maybe a couple of our highly touted starting pitching prospects can come up and help in the pen or be used in trades to obtain bullpen help along with position players needed. It's going to be an interesting offseason.

QUOTE(whitesoxfan101 @ Jun 11, 2007 -> 11:12 PM) Our organization is, AT BEST, in an equal position now as it was when he took over. IMO it's worse off than it was then, and that was 6 years ago. If that isn't a damning statement about his job performance, I don't know what is. Piss and moan, piss and moan. The World Series Title counts for nothing with you. Of course you know so much you could have done a much better job than Kenny. QUOTE(Soxbadger @ Jun 11, 2007 -> 11:51 PM) People on this board are AT BEST half as smart as they used to be. You spout on this board like you are a god, as if you have some sort of insight that no one else in the world has. But honestly you know nothing about the Sox, nothing about being a Sox fan, and show absolutely no loyalty towards your team. Williams won a championship. Not one of us on this board had ever seen that prior to KW being hired, and many of us may never see it again after. If KW was not our GM it is pretty likely that we do not win the 2005 World Series. And maybe it was a fluke, who even cares, the point is, WE WON THE WORLD SERIES. No one can ever take away the parade, the singing on Wacker, any of the moments that every real Sox fan got to live. So Im going to give him the benefit of the doubt, they won 90 games last year, why dont you check how many times they won 90 games in back to back seasons before KW. And Vazquez is a good pitcher, cant win games when no one is scoring runs. Id say Vaz will likely have the lowest era of any Sox pitcher this year. What a terrible player.

QUOTE(whitesoxfan101 @ Jun 11, 2007 -> 09:40 PM) -See if the bullpen can be the worst of all time. fathom posts a thoughtful positive post and you respond with that.

QUOTE(santo=dorf @ Jun 11, 2007 -> 09:27 PM) I watched the game, and it was a small joke towards your obsessiveness about our middle of the lineup. Even if I was looking exclusively at stat sheets, I would've seen he wasn't in the lineup. Speaking of stats, have you found any to support your case or are you still relying on others to do your work?

QUOTE(santo=dorf @ Jun 11, 2007 -> 09:00 PM) Thome didn't even get on base tonight! Thome didn't play tonight. Pay attention to the games, don't just bury your head in the stat sheets.

QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Jun 11, 2007 -> 08:50 PM) I didn't watch the whole game, but I didn't see Vaz get "lit up" any time during this game.... Vazquez pitched pretty well tonight but once again the Sox offense, particularly the guys who were expected to carry the team, did absolutely nothing.

QUOTE(whitesoxfan101 @ Jun 10, 2007 -> 03:35 PM) I love ignorant meathead fans. I bet you wish the Bears woulda started Kyle Orton too. I love whiners who resort to personal attacks when they disagree with someone. For the record, I never wanted Kyle Orton to start, so you lose your bet. But that has nothing to do with White Sox baseball, which I thought this forum was about. All I asked was how many Go-ahead RBI's Thome had. I don't know the answer so I thought one of the stat heads here could inform me. What a mistake I made asking a question about White Sox baseball here, I guess. And although you're response seems irrelevant and really doesn't deserve a response by me, if you've inferred somehow that I don't want Thome in the Sox' starting lineup you're sadly mistaken. In fact I hope he starts some of the games in NL parks. I always said he's a good hitter but I just don't think he has come through in the clutch as much as he is expected to. And I didn't single him out either. In my post I mentioned the middle of the Sox order has not produced and I named the middle of the order: Konerko, Dye and Thome. These three are being paid to carry the offense and right now it's nearly the worst offense in baseball. Right away some here overreacted that I mentioned Thome. I guess he's been driving in a lot of clutch runs late in close games that somehow I'm not remembering. But there is no disputing that the offense has been the major reason the Sox are off to a poor start. Now go whine and call names all you want.