Balta1701

Make BMAC the closer! The smartest comment here was the one that said BMAC cannot go 10 days without pitching. If the Sox have a hole in their bullpen such that he can get several innings in against big league hitters every few days, then there's no good reason to send him down unless he struggles in that role. If he has to go more than 3 or 4 games at a time without pitching, then it's suicide to keep him up. Given how much Viz has struggled lately, I can see a role for BMAC there, but I'd still be concerned given how many other arms our bullpen has.

Trying to judge guys MLB talent after 1 or 2 games is just insane. Santana had a terrible first game and a great 2nd game. Who knows which one will show up for his whole career. McCarthy had a good first game and a good spring training. Who can say that he won't suddenly hit his own skid that he can't get out of (God I hope not.) Any young pitcher you bring up can have a tremendous upside or a tremendous downside. If my memory serves, back in 2000 if you were to rank the Sox's pitching prospects, you'd have said 1. Kip Wells, 2. Garland, 3. Buehrle, while today I'd say that the ranking order has been totally reversed. Both McCarthy and Santana have some filthy stuff they can throw up there. Let's see how they use it before we try to rank anyone.

QUOTE(Cubs Suck23 @ May 25, 2005 -> 11:01 AM) If MLB ever lets Pete Rose in the HOF than they have to let Shoeless in as well You know...I'm going to start saying that every time I hear someone say that Pete Rose should be in the HOF.

QUOTE(Milkman delivers @ May 25, 2005 -> 10:29 AM) I think he means Widger behind the plate. It's been a while since AJP had a day off. I wouldnt' complain about that, i just haven't seen anywhere else on this thread where people have been saying that A.J. needed a break, only our struggling infielders.

QUOTE(AddisonStSox @ May 25, 2005 -> 08:54 AM) I think you're looking at both Widger and Ozuna in there for the next two games. However, I've said it before and I'm sticking to it: As Hawk said, Uribe has one of the ugliest swings in the game and we have to be happy with whatever offensive production he gives us because he'll go on tears with the best of em', but he'll also fall into some of the worst slumps in baseball. Are you saying Widger playing at 3b for Crede? I'm sorry, I just don't think that'll happen. There's too much of a phobia (often well deserved) about not leaving yourself with a backup plan at catcher in any game, given how important that position can be for a pitching staff. Playing both catchers at the same time really risks hurting 1 of them and leaving yourself without a good backup option. My suggestion would be to give Ozuna a few games at each spot, 3b and SS, and hope he can manage there while the other 2 try to get their swings back together.

QUOTE(Chisoxfn @ May 24, 2005 -> 03:25 PM) Chavez for Crede and Bmac would be a good deal for us even if Bmac turned into a good pitcher. If Bmac busted or didn't live up to the hype it would be an unbelieavable deal for the Sox. You're right, it would be a good deal for us even if Bmac turned into a good pitcher. But I don't expect him to turn into a good pitcher. I expect him to turn into a great pitcher. If he were to turn into a great pitcher, 35 starts a year, 15-20 wins per year, etc., then this would be a terrible deal for us.

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ May 24, 2005 -> 03:21 PM) One huge difference is BMac is a pitcher. The Sox have a few OF prospects, although I bet one day they will regret trading Reed. Good starters are very expensive. BMac will be pretty affordable for several years. Right now, the only way it looks like we'll regret trading Reed is if we also trade Anderson and Sweeney. We've got Rowand under contract for a while and for cheap, we've got Pods for cheap, and we've got at least 2 more guys on the way. With that many outfielders, trading 1 of them for pitching seems like a smart move to me.

QUOTE(robinventura23 @ May 24, 2005 -> 02:58 PM) Might be just fluff. Who knows. What happens if one of our starters goes down again? Who do we rely on next? Adkins? Diaz? Munoz? :puke This is just talk. I don't think BMac's going anywhere. Exactly - McCarthy right now is our insurance policy. We're only in first place this year because we have had 5 starting pitchers all year, and BMac is the guy who can make sure that fact never changes. If this sort of trade happened, we wouldn't be trading away a prospect, we'd be trading away one of our key pieces for this year.

QUOTE(YASNY @ May 24, 2005 -> 09:55 AM) So .. would Houston eat 3 million to save 8 million? With Clemens, I think the answer is absolutely not, for 1 simple reason. Clemens doesn't cost them a dime. Last year, the Stros made a fortune by having Clemens; he brought fans to the ballpark in droves. Right now, they don't have a good team, so they won't have a pennant chase or playoff games to bring in the fans. In other words, having Clemens is about the only thing they have to sell Tickets. He is their single best draw, and the Astros wouldn't have signed him for $17 mil without knowing they'd get more than that back on their investment. If someone wants to get Clemens, that team will be picking up his salary + the 3 million and also finding a way to give Houston a few players. Otherwise, the Astros have no reason to part with him.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ May 24, 2005 -> 09:38 AM) But I think it was a bad post to begin your posting with. Ross Gload will never be a starting 1b, he is a bench player and fill in guy, thats it. If a guy can hit .300 and play solid defense at the major league level as a first baseman, he is better than a bench player/fill in guy. The key there, btw, is the hitting better than .300 part. Playoff teams just can't afford to have a 1b who doesn't produce any offense, even if he is solid on Defense.

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ May 24, 2005 -> 09:20 AM) Keep in mind, when we get to the end of July the season is more than half over. That means a team isn't paying $18 million for Clemens but more like $7 or 8 million. Also keep in mind that there's a clause in Clemens's contract that stipulates that if he's traded from the Astros, he's owed another $3 million. So if a team wants him they're not paying 7 or 8 million, they're paying like $11 million.

Chicagosports.com has put up a bundle of articles on Ozzie, some of which I can only assume will show up in the print edition at some point. Here's the banner one: They also have: Ask Ozzie Ozzie Quotes Ozzie Stories

On BBTN last night...during the highlights of both A.J. and Paulie's long balls, they were saying that both of them deserved all-star slots. Harold Reynolds has pushed Paulie for the AS team a couple of times. Personally...I say that if MB and JG aren't on that team...I don't watch the game.

QUOTE(tonyho7476 @ May 19, 2005 -> 05:54 AM) Yeah, a nice 3 year deal sounds good to me. Lets keep this guy. NO mattter what, I believe we have this guy next year, due to arbitration. Can anyone confirm that? Yes, A.J. still has 1 arbitration eligible year. Happily, because the Giants seem to have been mysteriously unhappy with his performance, they cut him while he still had some arbitration-eligibility remaining. So basically, no matter what, he's here in 06 as well. A.J.'s been one of those little ingredients that it seems we've been missing since maybe even Fisk's retirement. How many guys have we gone through since then? Anyone else remember Brook Fordyce? A.J. keeps this up for a few more months...and he'll have more than earned one of them Reinsdorf 3 year extensions. Keep him behind the plate...keep some consistency in the way our catchers call games, let BMac & Gonzales develop with a good catcher, and this team will be pitching well for a long, long time.

QUOTE(1549 @ May 16, 2005 -> 07:14 PM) I'm bored...why not? At my dad's suggestion I downloaded the song "Return of the Native" by Fever Tree. It is pretty awesome. I've been listening to a lot of Piebald, Jimmy Eat World, and Ben Folds lately. Top 10 songs on my play list right now: Ben Folds: Army Ben Folds Five: Brick Ben Folds: There's Always someone cooler than you Jimmy Eat World: Sweetness Jimmy Eat World: Get it Faster Not much new stuff, but mostly songs that I am getting into again I gotta admire a BFF fan...saw them about 4 times before they broke up, amazing shows. Can I reccomend you check out their first, self-titled album, if you haven't done so already? Some of their best songs are on there: Philosophy being the best one. There's some other jewels on there: Underground, Jackson Cannery, Best Imitation of Myself, etc. Whatever and Ever Amen has a few jewels on it too.

QUOTE(FlaSoxxJim @ May 18, 2005 -> 11:03 AM) I think it should open a big can of wormsfor the Administration since as we have all been told, a nation that harbors terrorists is as bad as the terrorists themselves. I say 'should' because in reality it won't officially phase the Administration, just like none of their hypocrasy ever phases them. I heard on the radio this morning that the guy was actually preparing to leave and earlier offered to leave so he would not put the US in a compromized position. It will be interesting to see what we do with him now. I'll be impressed if the U.S. does the right thing and either extradites or jails the guy, but I sincerely doubt it. The Cuban vote in Florida is far, far too important to the Republican party for them to risk losing it in a PR fiasco. Especially with Jeb still the sitting governor down there. Say what you want about Castro...the guy blew up a plane. You should not be able to do that without going to jail. He should be treated no different from one of the Lockerbie guys.

QUOTE(witesoxfan @ May 18, 2005 -> 10:41 PM) There is some guy named Frank Thomas Yeah..... When Buehrle wins game 300 for the Sox...then he'll rank up there with Frank in my book. Nothing against Mark, love the guy...but Frank Came up at almost the exact time I became a Sox Fan...and he's been here ever since. If Reinsdorf lets him leave....man will I be furious. I want that scoreboard at the Cell exploding with the # 500 on it for that man.

QUOTE(SleepyWhiteSox @ May 18, 2005 -> 12:42 PM) Something's up...I'm feelin' a little uneasy... Yeah...Paulie needed to get 1 more hit beyond that 2 for 3 to start the game. Now you can feel at ease.

And AJ leaves the park for 4 days in a row. You think he's going to like hitting in the Cell?

Paulie is 3 for 4 today, Dye has 3 doubles. Each of them has raised their batting average 30 points. The world is ending tonight.

QUOTE(fathom @ May 18, 2005 -> 01:12 PM) Great job by Cliff against Mench, who looks just amazing at the plate right now. I won't miss him when he departs this city, that's for sure. Man has he fouled off a lot of pitches today.

QUOTE(Steff @ May 18, 2005 -> 01:08 PM) I thought Shilling was in the 40's with that stat..? Just Googled it - his number with Arizona was 39 straight into the 6th, from 2001-2003.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ May 18, 2005 -> 01:07 PM) why not put shingo in, whatev Not with people already on and Soriano up...game could close up way too fast. If Politte gets out of the 8th, I say give Shingo the 9th to get him some more work.

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ May 18, 2005 -> 01:05 PM) Hawk just updated this... 37 straight starts that MB has worked into the 6th inning or later. He needs what, 1 more to catch Schilling's number now?

2 hits for the Rangers, 1 out in the 8th...time for Buehrle to get a standing O.