Balta1701

QUOTE(Heads22 @ May 10, 2006 -> 09:55 AM) The emoticon display problem has been fixed.

QUOTE(Rowand44 @ May 10, 2006 -> 09:28 AM) The problem with that is he was considerably worse once his back got messed up last year. I have no doubt Dustin can tough it out if need be but would that really be beneficial to the team? His back was actually hurting for most of the year and he was playing through it...it just took away his ability to pitch when it got even worse.

QUOTE(aboz56 @ May 10, 2006 -> 09:20 AM) Sometimes I think Crede sort of has a cult following around here. Dude, after that 10th inning against Cleveland last year...can you blame any of us?

QUOTE(greasywheels121 @ May 10, 2006 -> 09:09 AM) AJ, no question. I'm not worried about the Widge, as he's simply our backup. However, I just feel more comfortable with AJ out there, and it's apparent the pitchers feel the same way. I want Haeger talking to Pierzynski, if he were to get in any jams. Plus the guy can hit this year. Which one is better on balls in the dirt?

QUOTE(Cuck the Fubs @ May 10, 2006 -> 08:54 AM) Actaully Zambrano is going today and then I think Guzman on Thursday. Guzman being a rookie, correct? ;-)

So, we have 2 catchers. Ignore the fact that the Halos have a righty on the mound...who do you want trying to catch the Knuckleball tonight?

QUOTE(YASNY @ May 10, 2006 -> 09:01 AM) Again, I can't disagree. However, if KW thinks keeping Fields might be trying to fit a square peg into a round hole, and he can trade him for a better fit, he'll do so. Well, I think we're agreeing to agree to agree here, but I'll fire this back...until we know whether or not we'll be losing Crede to trade or FA at the end of 08, KW is not going to be getting rid of Fields. But the problem is...that sets the kid up for 3 years in AAA. Now to me, that's just crazy talk. If he can hit in AAA, you have to consider bringing him up somewhere and letting him start adapting to big league pitching, but at the same time, you can't just dump him until you get Crede signed through the end of the decade. So for a while, you're probably better off trying to fit him into whatever hole we have in the lineup just so that his bat can start seeing ML pitching, but you're in no position to trade him until you know what you're doing with Crede. He's still our best negotiating leverage with Joe.

QUOTE(YASNY @ May 10, 2006 -> 08:55 AM) You going in there as "Suck the Fox"?

QUOTE(YASNY @ May 10, 2006 -> 08:51 AM) I can't disagree with you. But, I can present another question. Wouldn't his trade value be greater as a 3B than an OF? Of course, it would be much greater if could effectively play both. Well, the question then is who we're going to trade. If he's a 3rd baseman who can hit 30 home runs, yeah his value will be greater than an outfielder who can do that. But that doesn't mean his value to us would be greatest as a 3rd baseman. If he could cover one of those corner outfield spots, that could just increase the "Loaded-ness" of our lineup if he does make it up and Crede winds up staying.

GO GET EM CHARLIE!!! MLB's due for another quality knuckleballer to appear, and the Sox are due for a pitcher to come up and blow someone away in his first start. Kinda like that Ervin Santana kid did to us last year. And oh yeah, he has the #3 offense in MLB to back him up.

QUOTE(Cuck the Fubs @ May 10, 2006 -> 08:43 AM) How? Pierre robbed Bonds of 714 last night They still have 2 more games, and plenty more rookie pitchers.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ May 10, 2006 -> 08:44 AM) He wont have a huge chance of breaking in our OF either. With Sweeney, Owens, Anderson probably filling the gaps. There was talk of moving him to 1st base, but with Paulie there long term, and Thome as our DH, theres also a log jam there. Who knows what we will do with this kid. Well, the one thing I'll say in reply is this...what are the odds that all 3 of Sweeney, Owens, and Anderson will wind up being great successes in the big leagues? I for one am not going to project a 100% success rate on our outfielders, and I think having a backup plan might be a good idea.

QUOTE(greasywheels121 @ May 10, 2006 -> 06:32 AM) Haha. You're brushing it off as if it were nothing. Dye looked great tonight, for not seeing live pitching for about a week. That could mess someone's timing off big time. Yet, he came back without missing a beat, with the oppo-field HR. He did look a little slow in the field to my eyes. May have just been taking it easy his first time out.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ May 10, 2006 -> 08:25 AM) I think Thome will finish under .300, just based on his career numbers. However his OBP will be over .400 which is what his true value is. He really does make this lineup more dangerous though. Just not relying on Konerko for all the power is making the lineup more loose and comfortable. Thome is also used to shouldering the entire offensive load for a team, so he really takes alot of the pressure off. Also alot of the player have been interviewed, and they claim that one of the things Thome does best is come to the clubhouse with the same attitude everyday. He is never upset about K-ing 4 times, he is the same guy. I think that blind confidence has rubbed off alot on crede, AJP, and Dye. Jermaine Dye's performance this year has been a bit overshadowed, but he is really important to our lineup. Last year he started out the season in a huge slump, and still ended up with a great season. This year he has a ton of protection in front and behind him, which is causing him to relax and swing the way he is capable of. Our 3,4,5 hitters have to be one of the best heart's in the game. Iguchi is benefitting from having murderers row behind him. I think there's some more influences you're underestimating. With Iguchi, for example, he's not sitting there and waiting for Podsednik to steal or sacrificing himself as a productive out nearly as often, because with Thome behind him, there's no great reason to open up a base, so he's just putting his best swings out there. Konerko, I think, has finally gotten that piece of "Pull hitter granite" out of his skull, and now he's decided to be a good hitter who pulls the ball most of the time. In fact, a lot of our guys are using the opposite field more than they did last season, Konerko and AJ and Crede most notably. It's also worth noting that now we actually have a reason in our lineup to have managers screw around with their pitching staff...i.e. you bring in a lefty to pitch to Podsednik and Thome, and it winds up draining your bullpen depth sooner. There's a lot of things going on there. I think I like just about all of them.

Ok, so I just replied to 1 person's quote in a thread, posted it, then replied to another person's quote, and the system joined those 2 posts together automatically. Is that normal? Because if it is, it's really cool.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ May 10, 2006 -> 08:32 AM) Fields does rake though, I would hate to trade young talent like that, but it appears thats what we will have to do. Is there any chance this team will start wising up and playing Fields in the OF a little bit at some point this season? QUOTE(SnB @ May 10, 2006 -> 08:30 AM) with the amount of time it took for crede to turn into anything, i really don't think the sox are putting too much faith in fields being able to take over for crede, at least i hope so. The good news is...thanks to Crede, there's no reason to Rush fields to the big leagues to fill any kind of hole. We can hold him at AAA til we're 100% confident he's ready. We can give him 2 years at AAA, then still have an All Star Third Baseman that we can trade for pitching before he's a FA, if we can't get a way to sign him. Here's the real question IMO...can Ozzie carry 3 3rd baseman on his all star roster?

QUOTE(Jordan4life_2006 @ May 8, 2006 -> 12:37 PM) I got this series going 6 games. That's it. The Mavs don't fool me. They are not capable of beating the Spurs 4 times in a playoff series. Now they only have to do it 3 times, all of which are at home.

QUOTE(Cuck the Fubs @ May 8, 2006 -> 08:49 PM) He's washed up, and he just got lucky at the start. That start was a lot more than luck. That was Guile. That was skill. Greg Maddux is still one of the smartest pitchers in the game, and age is not going to change that. There will be plenty of nights when his arm just can't do what it used to, but there's going to be plenty of others when his arm is just right on the money. Especially if the Cubs don't overwork him (with that manager, not bloody likely).

QUOTE(DBAH0 @ May 8, 2006 -> 08:31 PM) 40IP and not 1 HR this season is mightily impressive indeed, especially down in a hitters park at Charlotte. 20BB's though, so if the Angels are patient at the plate, that spells trouble. Happily, the Angels are #13 out of 14 teams in the AL in terms of OBP this year.

QUOTE(Jordan4life_2006 @ May 8, 2006 -> 08:27 PM) It's getting uglier and uglier for those bums. They're already down 6-1 in the 4th with Cy-Maddux on the mound. Make that 7-1. You know, I really don't like having to enjoy it when Maddux loses. Why couldn't he have signed with someone I don't mind?

Link.

QUOTE(EvilMonkey @ May 8, 2006 -> 07:18 PM) Ever hear of a gate? Have you ever tried to cross the border at one of the places where there is a wall and a gate? Hope you have a good 3 hours on a fast day...if you really want inspections of every vehicle, hope you have a good 12.

QUOTE(NUKE_CLEVELAND @ May 8, 2006 -> 06:32 PM) Is that with or without the 2 decimal places reserved for cents? Do people still use half-penny's?

QUOTE(DABearSoX @ May 8, 2006 -> 08:12 PM) Everytime I think about it its a bunch of bulls***..... You need offensive production for a defensive award.....Its like giving the 6th man award to Michael Jordan One of these years, they'll actually fix the way the gold gloves are awarded.

QUOTE(SpringfieldFan @ May 8, 2006 -> 07:41 PM) OK everyone, pony up here - if Count misses more then a couple starts, does Brandon eventually move to the rotation, or has he already been "Cotts'd"? To be honest, I haven't liked the decision to make him basically a setup man. Last year he excelled in long relief and frankly, he hasn't looked that great in the late inning role. Plus, he would already be somewhat conditioned to move to the rotation if he were still a long reliver. The dude was our rotation insurance! I know, I know, he is too valuable as a reliever now to be moved. SFF If right now, the trainers thought Jose would miss more than 2 starts, I would want Brandon. Pitch Garland on Wednesday if Brandon needs another day, but I don't want Haeger having to be counted on for more than 1-2 games. No offense to Charlie.