Balta1701

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ Nov 29, 2005 -> 03:22 PM) For a guy who hadn't pitched forever, and had gone through what he had gone through, he was very impressive. Those walks meant nothing, and Buerhle wasn't brought in because of ineffectiveness. Why is it I remember being really pissed off at the ump that inning? I get the feeling I remember Marte was being squeezed quite a bit.

QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Nov 29, 2005 -> 03:07 PM) I just dont understand why people are so behind Marte. He has had two above average seasons since 2003, and looks like a completley different pitcher than he was in 2003. On top of all that, from all reports he isnt the most well recieved player on the team. What makes you think Marte can get back to 2003 form? What has he shown you to tell you that? Well, if nothing else, last year he had games where he was just as dominant as he was in 2003. All he was doing different was following through on his pitches nad throwing strikes.

Via ABC: Insert your own joke about modern times here.

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ Nov 29, 2005 -> 12:15 PM) Last time I checked, its perfectly legal for Irvin to take a drug test. What kind of legal issue is he checking on? This is a guy who was caught with the pipe on him. Maybe it isn't is, but his story would make anyone wonder. If he really wanted to clear his name, taking a test immediately probably would be the best thing to do, unless he just wants a few days to flush his system. Presumably there could be a risk of him being charged with something along the lines of obstruction of justice if he insists he did nothing, possibly testifies as to that point, and then takes a drug test which proves the opposite.

QUOTE(SoxFan101 @ Nov 29, 2005 -> 02:31 PM) Besides the colts is the AFC really that good? I mean the Patriots are a shell of their former self and that division is by far the worse in the NFL yes worse than the NFC North. The Bengals are pretty good but are they really better than all of the NFC playoff teams and the Steelers have looked pretty bad this season although they have had QB injuries(like we havent ). Than the Jaguars really arent all that good especially now since Leftwich is out. Even with Leftwich I dont really consider them better than the Bears... Denver has looked really good this season and are either the 2nd or 3rd best team in the NFL but KC is far from impressive and Chargers are a good team but against other good teams they have lost all their games(Dallas, Denver, Pitts, and Eagles with D-Mac). The Chargers are vastly better than their record - some of their losses have to come down to poor coaching - there's got to be a reason why they keep coming down to the end of games with the lead and losing them. KC May be more impressive than you think, depending on injuries.

It's just not right if Texas doesn't get the chance to hit that milestone.

QUOTE(Mercy! @ Nov 29, 2005 -> 02:18 PM) I read your linked summary. Didn't find the whole speech. Didn't see any plan. Does Joe have a plan? What is Joe's plan? His plan is to win, just like our President. We won't retreat - that'd be a victory for the terrorists. We'll stay until we win. (No, I don't know what "Winning" over there means either).

So do they know how many legs he has?

Furcal has narrowed his choices to the Cubs, Dodgers, and Braves, and will likely make a decision before the winter meetings start next week.

QUOTE(Wanne @ Nov 29, 2005 -> 11:42 AM) What the heck is it with these teams throwing all this money at pitching...could the "White Sox Effect" be in play here?...or just desperate times?!? Do you think the A's spent too much throwing a three-year contract worth nearly $21.4 million to Esteban Loaiza? While that's not out of line for a staring pitcher...for him it is IMO. I think your main problem is the "Desperate times" part...there's simply no one available on this FA Market, so teams with money to spend from attendence boosts and revenue boosts this year aren't being smart about how they spend it.

QUOTE(longshot7 @ Nov 29, 2005 -> 01:55 PM) is it just me or does every other person around have a Family Guy avatar? My god.... I just post a lot.

QUOTE(mr_genius @ Nov 29, 2005 -> 12:46 PM) meh, Germany will probably just give in to their demands. Dude, that joke only works when it's France.

QUOTE(Milkman delivers @ Nov 29, 2005 -> 12:54 PM) Overbay still an option? What would we have to give up to get him?

Who's the highest paid shortstop in baseball other than those 2? Rollins? Renteria? Aside from Renteria, what shortstop would they buy to play 3rd base?

QUOTE(SSH2005 @ Nov 29, 2005 -> 12:46 PM) I guess the Rangers and Diamondbacks would also be very interested in Marte considering their bullpens sucked last season. This would make some sense with the rumor that the Sox fallback plan on Konerko leaving could be Troy Glaus or Hank Blalock. Look at his splits against lefties. Myers owns lefties but righties kill him. Ozzie would only use him against lefties. We hope.

QUOTE(mr_genius @ Nov 29, 2005 -> 12:43 PM) Yea, those are good points. I just don't think an extra 3 million or so per season for Konerko would break the budget if we're playoff contenders every year. But you're right, we do need to get Garland signed before he becomes a FA. If we don't we're going be facing the same type of situation in a couple of years. The only way that signing both Konerko and Garland (and AJ) is impossible is if we don't get a salary increase commensurate with the big attendence increase last year.

QUOTE(KevHead0881 @ Nov 29, 2005 -> 12:41 PM) I was being sarcastic (hence the green), but no, I don't want Giles. I don't think I'd want him if we had to slightly overpay him The only person out there who we can get by "Slightly" overpaying for him right now is probably Konerko.

QUOTE(fathom @ Nov 29, 2005 -> 12:38 PM) I think any significant addition to this team will come via trade. Which then brings along the question...what are we willing to give up? If we sign that Myers dude...ok, Marte is a trade piece...but look how little Florida got for Mota. You're not going to replace PK with just Marte. Borchard? No one wants him. We just traded 2 of our best starting pitching prospects That basically leaves us I think with Tracy, and our outfield talent as potential trade bait. Sweeney might not fetch enough right now because he hasn't shown much power...Anderson is probably going to be our starting CF next year...which basically means in my eyes we'd probably be talking about dealing Owens.

QUOTE(KevHead0881 @ Nov 29, 2005 -> 12:29 PM) The way I see it is that the production of a healthy Thome would make up for losing Konerko state wise. In order to improve our lineup over last year, we'd have to find a more productive replacement for Carl Everett. May I suggest Brian Giles? Only if you want to massively overpay for him.

QUOTE(fathom @ Nov 29, 2005 -> 12:33 PM) JimH and I clearly don't agree on much during the season. However, I agree with almost everything he's stated during this offseason. If we lose PK, I'm not going to start conceeding the division to the other teams. If anything, I'd be excited to see what additions KW would make to this team. If this were last year, I would agree with you. But look at the FA Market this year. There's a reason BJ Ryan is getting so much. There's a reason Giles is asking for a 5 year deal. This FA Market is horrific. Last year, we were able to find bargains in people like Dye, AJ, and Iguchi. Can you see anyone who's left out there who is a potential bargain other than a guy like Nomar or Thomas who has been hurt for years?

QUOTE(JimH @ Nov 29, 2005 -> 12:20 PM) Well I'm not the GM I'm just a fan, so I don't know. But I suspect it will involve finding a guy who can play a lot of 1B while serving as insurance at 3B. Maybe a combination of two guys. In addition, I see them bringing in a #2 hitter no matter what. In other words, it'll involve finding a guy who basically either isn't available on the FA Market or who is a significant downgrade from PK offensively. Or, in other words, it'll involve either us not winning the Central Division next year or it will involve us trading away our up and coming outfield talent to try to fill the gap.

QUOTE(SSH2005 @ Nov 29, 2005 -> 12:13 PM) And what would that be? Plan B if Konerko leaves is to figure out what Plan B is and tell people.

QUOTE(Rowand44 @ Nov 29, 2005 -> 10:49 AM) It'll be Iguchi unless Owens is somehow the starting cf which I highly doubt or if we trade for a 2 hitter. He's still a much better option then Juan. Just to play Devil's advocate for a moment...what if 2006 started off with the Uribe of the first months of 2004 making an appearance?

QUOTE(kapkomet @ Nov 29, 2005 -> 09:36 AM) Of course he's wrong... because he doesn't support your views, among other reasons. And if it's 10,000 or 20,000, it's 20,000 vs. 27 million people. The point remains the same. The nitpicking is amazing and I'm done with all this for a while. Nitpicking like say...only acknowledging the most superficial of the points I made?

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Nov 29, 2005 -> 10:41 AM) You can never have too much pitching Ok, who's available to pitch? Right now we have 6 starting pitchers, a full bullpen, and the only real quality bullpen guys have already been grabbed (aside from basically Wickman). Seriously...for us to hire pitching, we'd have to find someone who's a better option than the guys we have now, and there's not a single pitcher on the market other than AJ Burnett who even comes close, and given that he'd cost almost as much as PK and he wouldn't really be better than anyone in our staff except MAYBE Garcia...that answer doesn't tell me anything. You can have too much pitching if you have so much pitching that you can't throw guys out there, and you can have too much pitching if you have so much you can't afford an offense (for example; Minnesota last year).