Frankensteiner

A-Rod having an out clause makes him a lot less attractive. That means Boras is looming...

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Nov 1, 2006 -> 11:31 AM) Hahahahahahaha. Keep digging buddy.

QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Nov 1, 2006 -> 11:19 AM) Your concerned with injury and age concerns with Thome, yet Thome is not only a bit younger than Sheff, but also was semi-healthy this year(at least played the whole year, not saying he was healthy while doing it) while Sheff was out for most of the season..... Well, I did say I was unsure about Sheff being the guy we need (because of the age/injury concerns you listed). I do think we need another big bat in the lineup. I have a hard time believing that. He's never been a 35-40 HR before this season. His previous high was 33. Personally, I think he'll put up something between an .875-.925 OPS next season. It's an improvement over his first season here (and well above his career averages) but not close to what he did this season.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Nov 1, 2006 -> 11:13 AM) You would trade Buehrle for Sheffield, but not Garcia? Thats not going to go a long way for your credibility as a sox fan. Which pitcher was shutting teams down to end the season? And which one was getting destroyed left and right?

With Dye likely to regress and injury/age concerns with Thome, I would hope the Sox pick up a hitter of Sheff's caliber. I'm not sure if Sheffield is that guy, but I wouldn't dismiss this as easily as some here. I certainly wouldn't do it for Freddy... perhaps Buehrle, but not Freddy.

QUOTE(Gene Honda Civic @ Oct 13, 2006 -> 12:00 AM) If you've got Fields>Arod>Iguchi>Konerko around the horn, you might have a below average defensive player at every infield position, including catcher. There's no denying that A-Rod has been bad at 3B the last 2 seasons, maybe even the worst 3B in the league this year. I don't think it's a stretch to say that he's lost a step defensively, and that he won't be the fielder that he once was in Seattle and Texas. That defensive infield is still better than the Arod-Jeter-Cano-Giambi combo that the Yankees were running out there, and what do you know, they ended up winnnig more games than the Sox despite not having the "great" left side of the infield in Crede and Uribe.

I wouldn't be at all dissappointed if we could trade Crede and get a good return package for him. He's had a career year and has chronic back issues. I'm not really expecting a repeat performance next season. If KW can sell high on this, then great.

QUOTE(Kalapse @ Sep 28, 2006 -> 06:23 PM) 1.) It looks like Soriano will only speak to teams that will allow him to play 2B next season he does not want to play the OF anymore. 2.) Lets just say the Sox did sign both Pierre and Soriano and stuck Soriano in LF and Pierre in CF. That would basically be the worst defensive outfield in baseball, you'd see a ridiculous amount of balls dropping especially in the gaps. Dan Plesac raved about Pierre's OF defense yesterday in the final Cubs post-game show of the season on Comcast. I don't think Plesac's blowing smoke up his ass, especially since it seems as if Pierre won't be with the Cubs next season. He's got no arm, but his poor range is exaggerated, imo. By the way, I would have no problem with signing Soriano to play 2B and getting rid of Iguchi. We can easily sign a stopgap for LF until Sweeney/Fields are ready to contribute (I'd even go with Gonzo in that case). We have nothing remotely close at 2B.

Jimmy Rollins for Garcia and Uribe is not realistic. I would trade 2 of Vazquez/Garcia/Buehrle. See who brings the most back. If it's all the same, Buehrle would be the first to go. I would then sign Soriano for LF in hopes of offsetting possible down years from Thome/Dye/Konerko/Crede. If Juan Pierre is available and we still have money left over, then sign him up too. Basically we have to improve two from the LF/CF/SS deathspots. I don't think there's a realistic upgrade for SS (hope we stay away from Lugo).

I will be back on the Buehrle bandwagon as soon as someone can tell me a tangible reason as to why I can expect better performance next season. "Just look at what he's done over his career" is not a tangible reason. On the other hand, I don't think there's a tangible reason as to why he was so bad this season. He had terrible location all year but that's a symptom and not a cause. As far as your sig, Flash: ( + ) x / =

Flash, your sig is a thing of beauty. LOL.

QUOTE(fathom @ Sep 23, 2006 -> 02:07 PM) When the Sox are rumored for the next two months to be in the hunt for Pierre, Anderson is going to have no one to blame but himself. I begged for him all season to get more playing time, but now that the season is almost over....it's time to admit that Anderson sucked this season. If we can also find a nice offensive upgrade in LF, I wouldn't mind Pierre in CF. At least Pierre can play Ozzie ball if called upon (great bunter, can steal, and HE'LL MAKE CONTACT). I agree. He looks terrible and I found it amusing how many here were on Ozzie for his comments on Anderson. The guy's been a HUGE disappointment. Those stats on Crede are also alarming. Because of those back problems, we can add him to the list of players who might take a step back next season (a list which includes Dye, Thome, and Konerko). Basically, we need offensive upgrades.

QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Sep 22, 2006 -> 11:56 PM) Have to play the teams in front of you. NY,Detroit,Minny all played the NL to. Kenny, you got some work to do. Way more than I thought you were going to have to do. -Fix the pen. You can't just count on three guys all the time. Just doesnt work. -New Blood in the rotation. Its becoming clear Freddy and Count need to be shopped, hard this winter. -New LF.Enough said. -New SS. Something needs to be done -Backup catcher. Wheels Alomar aint going to cut it. Not with AJ was his mile long swing. Agree on all points except those there. I wouldn't shop Jose because it seems as if his last two poor outings have been injury related. As we've seen in his starts against Oakland and Boston, he can still dominate a lineup. I don't think the same could be said about Buehrle. Like I've said in the gamethread, watching these last few games makes me think this team is in a worse position for next season than what I thought 2 months ago (and I wasn't particularly high on our chances even then). We need another offensive stud at either SS or LF. That's a must, imo. Then hope for the best with the starting pitching. Although Buehrle's general s***tiness has me wondering whether or not he should be the one going at the end of the season. People will crap on Garcia, but if him coming up with a new pitch has lead to his recent success, then I have a tangible reason to expect a good season from him next year. I don't have any tangible reasons to expect the same from Buehrle or Vazquez.

QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Sep 22, 2006 -> 08:38 PM) Minny is going to be around all year, but I dont buy the Tigers coming into next season. Unless they make some pretty significant changes to that lineup, it doesnt scare anyone, and its getting older. I agree their Tigers lineup isn't that great. But it's comparable to White Sox pitching. And I don't think their pitching will suffer as much as our hitting next season. I think we do have more money to spend, though, so maybe we can buy some good offensive players to ensure our hitting staying at a comparable level.

QUOTE(beautox @ Sep 22, 2006 -> 08:34 PM) How do you figure? Liriano is out all next season, radke is done. First, Liriano had two MRIs with no new structural damage. Second, you may notice a Twins team without Liriano and Radke is still kicking our ass in the standings. This is pie in the sky speculation at best. Speaking of regression, we can look at Jermaine Dye next season. A 37 year old Jim Thome probably won't be as good as the 36 year old Thome, if he even makes it out for 100 games next season. Then there's guys like Crede and Konerko who have statistically had their best seasons in 2006. I think our hitting will regress more than Tigers pitching. First and foremost, our starting pitching sucks. I have no idea how that is not an area of need in your mind. It seems as if you're implying this same Sox team with slight tweaks could overtake the Twins and Tigers because of those teams regressing?

As far as next year is concerned, we're actually in a terrible position in comparison to the Tigers and Twins.

Career year for Matthews, imo. I know if he got together with Greg Walker, he'd hit about 30 points lower while improving his HR numbers by around 3.

Mark Buehrle is as much to blame for this season as anybody. He's been pathetic.

QUOTE(Greg The Bull Luzinski @ Sep 18, 2006 -> 07:58 PM) The Sox can't beat the Tigers, but maybe, ... just maybe they can beat the Lions. In baseball or football?

At least MNF looks like a good game tonight.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Sep 18, 2006 -> 07:53 PM) So, you'd advise dumping Crede, Pierzynski, and Anderson? Did I say that?

Iguchi at .365/1.006 OPS in September. One of the few players that has actually shown up this month.

We have 4 automatic outs right now at the bottom of this lineup.

It's amazing to think just how many players on this team have had a completely disgraceful September.

9/17 at Kansas City -- W 9/18 at Kansas City -- W 9/19 at Kansas City -- W 9/20 at Kansas City -- W 9/21 at Minnesota -- W 9/22 at Minnesota -- L 9/23 at Minnesota -- W 9/25 KANSAS CITY -- W 9/26 KANSAS CITY -- W 9/27 KANSAS CITY -- W 9/28 DETROIT -- L 9/29 DETROIT -- W 9/30 DETROIT -- W That's 11-2. We can still get to 95 wins. LET'S GET IT DONE!!