Balta1701

QUOTE(Steve9347 @ Mar 30, 2007 -> 02:05 PM) How does Cleveland consistently get ranked high every year, yet every year they fall flat on their faces? Maybe they should put it together for an entire season before anyone runs for the hills. Nearly taking the Division from the Sox in 05 and barely missing the playoffs is hardly falling flat on their faces. In 06, the Tribe had the best run differential of any team to lose that # of games in MLB history. The odds of them performing that poorly while being that good again are so incredible it's hard to calculate. The Tribe got awfully unlucky last year, in no small part thanks to the way their pitching was set up. With another year under their belts and some major defensive upgrades...that team could really pull off a huge improvement this year, depending on injuries.

I strongly disagree with 2 of the moves decided during St...everything involving Erstad and Logan in AAA, but those are not the key parts. If the starting pitching and the majority of the Bullpen do their jobs and kill people like they should...then Ozzie will be right and this team will kick ass. The starting pitching right now has me terrified. But 7 strong 2 run innings from Buehrle and 6 tolerable innings from Garland yesterday have me feeling a lot better than I did 2 days ago.

7 hours away from my PC, 2 runs, 7 innings for Mark...I'll more than take it. If Buehrle and Contreras do their jobs, then the rest of the staff could be .500 pitchers and we might well win this division.

QUOTE(BigSqwert @ Mar 30, 2007 -> 01:50 PM) Wow. I almost spit out my soft drink as I read that. It's the classic "Give 1 guy a 15 second head start and see if everyone else can catch up" scenario. Santana + Nathan. It's simply impossible to have a bad pitching staff with that. It's always going to at least be decent.

QUOTE(GoSox05 @ Mar 30, 2007 -> 11:57 AM) These are pitchers that they drafted right? That some good drafting. Verlander was a #2 draft pick in 2004. Maroth was a 3rd round pick in 1998 by the Red Sox, dealt to the Tigers while still around A-ball. Bonderman was a #26 pick in the 2001 MLB draft by the A's. He was considered a mistake of a draft pick by Billy Beane, and was dealt as the player-to-be-named in the deal that sent Jeff Weaver to the A's. Zach Miner was traded to the Tigers as part of the Kyle Farnsworth deal. Chad Durbin is a journeyman who started his career with the Royals and has pitched with Cleveland, Arizona, and Detroit in the past 2 years. He has a career record of 17-30 and an ERA over 6. I have no idea what Detroit sees in him.

QUOTE(ZoomSlowik @ Mar 30, 2007 -> 11:51 AM) If you knew that type of season was coming, you're either Nostradamus or an incredible homer (not that I'm complaining that it happened ). Man, I wish I was here before that season started so I had some record of my ramblings at the time, but I was really pumped coming into that year. Really really pumped. Pumped enough that I spent the $150 on the MLB extra innings package that year for the first time, after not getting it the couple years beforehand. And as a broke grad student, that's a ton of cash.

Erig Gagne is going to start the season on the DL to give himself a little more recovery time. He also took out a 1/2 page thank you ad in the LA Times today addressed to fans of him while he was with the Dodgers. A's 1st baseman Dan Johnson tore cartiledge in his hip and will start the season on the DL. The Angels signed Scot Shields to a 3 year, $14.6 million extension running through 2010. SO FOLKS, THEY'RE NOT TRADING HIM.

CC threw 50 pitches in a bullpen session today, ate a cheeseburger, and pronounced himself ready to go for Monday.

QUOTE(Kalapse @ Mar 30, 2007 -> 11:41 AM) Now do they go with Miner or Miller? We can only hope they want to give Miller a bit more seasoning before they start his arbitration clock and instead turn to Zach Miner to fill out the rotation. At least the Sox proved they could hit him last season. With the way Miner pitched last season, I think they'd be crazy not to give him a shot at least for the first month or two. Slowed down later in the year when people got to him, but he started off 6-1 with a 2.57 ERA before the AS game, gave them 100 innings, and wound up wiht a 7-6 record even with some struggles down the stretch (like a lot of the Tiger pitchers).

QUOTE(BigSqwert @ Mar 30, 2007 -> 11:34 AM) I agree but if they somehow manage to hang around until July he might prove to be a nice shot in the arm for them when he returns. Totally the wrong way to phrase that. Anyway...I think there's also a real chance that Rogers could come back and struggle more than helping when he does return. I wonder how that newfound positive attitude he seemed to have last year will be able to take this injury.

QUOTE(CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Mar 30, 2007 -> 10:06 AM) Thanks.. of course no trade clauses can be waived can they not ? Yes they can. However, when Thome was traded from the Phillies to the Sox, he indicated he would only waive that clause if he was going to the Indians or the Sox, because he wanted to stay in the midwest and have a chance to DH.

Well, I still remain quite happy that no one in the government has bothered to step in and create legislation helping to clean up the identity theft problem in this country. Banks just need more money! Seriously, businesses and private entities really need to face much, much stronger punishments for failing to secure people's personal data. This is just obnoxious. The LAT Here gives some advice i've been following for years; don't trust debit cards at all.

QUOTE(CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Mar 30, 2007 -> 09:43 AM) Its just a matter of time before Dye, Crede, Thome and Gooch are sent packing for more youth and we're praying for somebody/anybody from the young pitchers we traded for to step up and do something . Jim Thome continues to have a full no-trade clause.

QUOTE(Rowand44 @ Mar 30, 2007 -> 09:48 AM) Looks like Majerus to Iowa. Why do people keep hiring that guy when everyone knows he just can't keep his health together?

QUOTE(jphat007 @ Mar 30, 2007 -> 07:43 AM) I'm not seeing that anywhere in the story. Is there another article out there I missed? Linkity, this mornin'.

QUOTE(klaus kinski @ Mar 30, 2007 -> 09:16 AM) Just like any team, we will depend on a few players having Career years to get us over the top. This is entirely possible if Vazquez, Contreras, Buehrle, and Garland raise their games. Fixed that for you. Don't kid yourself people. Just like any other season...it's the pitching that decides this season.

QUOTE(witesoxfan @ Mar 30, 2007 -> 09:00 AM) And I think you are right. In CF and the 5th starter, he can't lose. He got Anderson on the roster over Terrero, and Sisco over Logan. It's a bit ridiculous to be honest. At least one of those was the right choice.

QUOTE(caulfield12 @ Mar 30, 2007 -> 09:25 AM) If Logan is closing games this year, we're in serious trouble. He will be, just in AAA. Anyway, the thing i was implying was that if our 2nd lefty was a bit more intelligently chosen...it might be more tolerable to put Thor into the closer role.

QUOTE(witesoxfan @ Mar 30, 2007 -> 08:55 AM) Thornton should not lead the closer by committee; no way do you put your best lefty - but not best reliever - into that situation and then leave Sisco out to dry. Of course, if we had the lefty with the 0 ERA in the pen instead of the lefty with the 6 ERA...

QUOTE(shoota @ Mar 29, 2007 -> 06:45 PM) Someone remind me what happened to Jamie Burke. He's Seattle's backup catcher.

QUOTE(santo=dorf @ Mar 29, 2007 -> 06:44 PM) Do you really want the Sox to flip Buehrle for another Gavin Floyd and ex-Sox prospect? Buehrle for BMac and another pitching prospect? I'm game!!!!

QUOTE(Heads22 @ Mar 29, 2007 -> 06:06 PM) :uhoh BA 3 run HR Well, at least there's one guy on our bench who can hit minor league pitching....

I think this pretty much sums up everything I've been saying for the past 6 years. Yeah, why would the U.S. have any reason to care about the successes of the Taliban in the border region of Pakistan and how it is gradually destabilizing a nuclear power. We need more Bible!

QUOTE(wcw2323 @ Mar 29, 2007 -> 02:33 PM) I would love to see this kid get a shot with another team. I think the Sox would be making a huge mistake if they traded him though! Don't say that. The more times we say something would be an insane mistake, the more likely they seem to be these days. Charlie Haeger should be traded. Immediately.

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Mar 29, 2007 -> 01:17 PM) Anyone know who this Smith kid is, catching for the Sox? I don't see his name on any of our minor league rosters. I'm kind of surprised, knowing we're a little thin on catchers, that they aren't playing Wiki, or Lucy, or someone who the organization may need this year or next. Wiki took over the catching duties in teh 6th. Garland with a 123 6th inning.