spiderman

Swisher played 60 in CF, 57 in LF, and I think a bunch at 1B (Per Murphy on the Score)... Maybe he does end up being the CF.

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Jan 3, 2008 -> 01:23 PM) True on the system. But if you can find a way to start Quentin, Swisher and Dye in the OF, with Fields-OCab-Richar-PK on the IF, I am starting to think the Sox are going to have a pretty potent lineup. Its just that 3-4-5 of the rotation that scares me right now. The lineup and bullpen I think will be good. Bench we'll see. And I do think at this point that KW will attempt to trade Uribe (soon) and Crede (in ST) for whatever pitching prospects he can get. Agreed - the lineup, assuming that some of our hitters get back to what we thought we had, is going to put runs. The top of the lineup (Cabrera-Swisher, Swisher-Cabrera) is a little different in that there's not a ton of speed, but both can get on base. It's that rotation that scares the hell out of me.

QUOTE(Chisoxfn @ Jan 3, 2008 -> 01:09 PM) I know when he was in the minors a lot of people thought he'd play center. That said, he's a bigger guy so I don't think he'd have the range for CF. Quentin would be more likely to play CF, imo. This move gives the Sox a huge OBP guy to have near the top of the order and gets them another young position player (although they obviously gave up a couple of there finest prospects). My question is does this make the Sox consider moving one of there veteran bats. So, who bats leadoff then, Swisher ?

Why is this a great trade ? Last 3 years, his batting averages are .236, .254, and .262 2 years ago, in 157 games, he had 35 HR and 95 RBI. Last season, he had 22 HR and 78 RBI. What is his contract situation ? I know he's only 27, but is he signed for a few more years ? What position does he play ? CF ? LF ? Where do we stand on a lead off hitter ?

QUOTE(The Beast @ Jan 2, 2008 -> 06:01 PM) Well, there's Patterson and Lofton available. I think Fogg, Garcia, and Colon are still out there, too. I'd like Patterson for a 1 year deal, but I doubt Boras would go for that.

75 wins here we come.....Not much is different than last year - we traded our #3 starter for a SS....the offense will be helped, the pitching staff won't be. Linebrink may help, but middle relievers have a funny way of being up and down, and he's changing leagues, so we shall find out on him.

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Dec 31, 2007 -> 11:36 AM) With all the talk about the tight 3-way race among the lefties, let's not forget that Iowa is looking very close for the GOP as well. 3 polls out in the past week (that are not Zogby or ARG and that use a decent sample size), show this (from oldest to most recent): ------------QC Times--Strat. Vision--Mason-Dixon Romney____27_______27________27 Huckabee___34_______29________23 Thompson___11_______15________14 McCain______8________14________13 Giuliani______8_________4_________5 Paul________8_________4_________5 Romney and Huckabee are very close, though Huckabee seems to be possibly be fading a bit. Thompson and McCain are both still within striking distance, at least of making some noise. Giuliani and Paul appear to be non-factors in Iowa. Hunter doesn't even register in the polls. Speaking of NH, that tells us some things about what is at stake in IA for these folks. Last 3 valid polls there... ----------Rasmussen--USA/Gallup--BG/UNH Romney____31_______34________28 McCain_____27_______27________25 Giuliani_____13_______11________14 Huckabee___11________9________10 Paul________7_________9_________8 Thompson___3_________4_________3 So, to me, here is what this does to Iowa... --Romney, if he wins Iowa, becomes the clear leader --Huckabee has to win Iowa or at least stay close, because he's well down into 4th in NH --McCain, if he can pull off an upset in Iowa and win, becomes the leader. Even if he places 2nd or 3rd, with his strong NH, he still has a shot. --Thompson must win Iowa to stay alive. --Giuliani is out of the running in IA and 3rd in NH - he is near-death at this point in the race. I don't see how he can win. --Paul and Hunter are done. Good analysis, but I do think Giuliani is alive and looking ok as long as nobody sweeps the early primaries - he probably would like Huckabee to take Iowa, and McCain NH so there's no clear momentum as the bigger states come into picture, but I do think that he has made this much more difficult by ignoring the earlier states (until he was getting massacred in Iowa/NH, and decided to campaign there some for a better showing).

QUOTE(GreatScott82 @ Dec 26, 2007 -> 10:14 AM) Good research on Floyd's past Skeet. However, its going to take more than Floyd to get one of these players... I think both Bedard AND Roberts will be dealt this offseason. The Cubs are still going strong for Roberts, while many of the NL west teams seem to be after Bedard... I think either of these players helps the Sox.. I would love it if KW brings in both... If KW can somehow do this, we would instantly become a contender IMO Bring it on If the White Sox had a rotation of Buerhle, Bedard and Vazquez, I wouldn't care if Jerry Owens was in CF. Of course, it would probably cost the White Sox Josh Fields, Gio Gonzalez and whatever else top talent they have in the minors....this would be a team, with 3 shut down potential players, who can keep the White Sox in contention, and maybe a divisional contender with those 3 starters, and a lineup featuring Robers, Cabrera, Thome, Konerko, Dye, AJ,..... I can dream...I see no chance of this happening in reality.

There wasn't an option for me so I couldn't vote. Kenny should not be fired, but he should be scrutinized.

QUOTE(vandy125 @ Dec 23, 2007 -> 03:16 PM) It's not just polls. I've heard many people on TV talk about getting inundated with emails whenever they show anything. I'm not sure that you can base your statement on one, googlepages web page... There has to be some organized movement going on over the Internet to explain this - he's a fringe candidate if you look at any poll yet he almost always wins any kind of debate on the news channel. I don't buy it.

I tend to think that we just signed Andy Gonzalez's replacement - basically a guy who can play anywhere on the field. Given how cheap this contract is, I have to assume that most around the majors don't see much impact, more of a bench option, super-sub guy. I have no problem with this signing as he is so cheap, it doesn't impact the payroll if he does flop. We still have the same issues as before though - a CF to lead-off, a LF who's suspect/prospect, a 3-5 in the rotation that is very questionable to downright bad, and a bullpen that hasn't changed much since last season ended, I'll call the bullpen a marginal improvement since we are still depending on MacDougle/Thorton to have good seasons. Cabrera will probably be a nice pickup for the #2 hole in the lineup, but Kenny really messed up with resigning Uribe to the 4.5 million deal, and we now have two guys at SS making a combined $11.5 (or so) million. I have no idea why Kenny was so worried about not having a SS on his roster at the start of free agency, Uribe is horrible, and that was a pretty bad blunder. Overall, I think this team is about the same as last season, I'll give them, as we stand, around 75 wins.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Dec 21, 2007 -> 08:14 PM) For an order of magnitude fewer dollars than what the Cubs gave to Fukudome (and for a younger guy at that), it's a reasonable risk. What would you rather have for $4.5 million, one year of Juan Uribe, 4 years of Alexei Ramirez, 2 months of Fukudome, or 1.5 months of Torii Hunter? I don't even think it's a risk at all for just over 1 million a season.....and with at least potential of some upside.

QUOTE(DBAH0 @ Dec 21, 2007 -> 07:53 PM) It's 4.75M total according to the White Sox official site; If this is accurate, I don't have any issue with the signing - I don't know if we just signed a starter or Andy Gonzalez's replacement though.

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Dec 21, 2007 -> 05:30 PM) Updated offseason checklist... --Upgrade CF: check (Ramirez) --Upgrade LF: check (Quentin) --Upgrade SS: check (Cabrera) --Upgrade bullpen: at least partial check (Linebrink) --Release Erstad: check --Release Podz: check --Release Gonzalez: check --Release Myers: check Left to do... --Trade Crede --Trade Uribe --Maybe upgrade an SP slot --Try to strengthen the farm system a bit (hopefully the two trades above will help that) So far, not bad. Still a stretch to compete, but, they're closer now. And they look a lot better than they did last season, no doubt. Let's hope KW can get 3 or 4 of that last set of items completed before ST starts. --Upgrade CF: check (Ramirez) --Upgrade LF: check (Quentin) --Upgrade SS: check (Cabrera) I have a hard time calling the CF/LF moves upgrades until they do it on the field. Yeah, Quentin should be better than Andy Gonzalez in LF, but I also worry that these moves, if they do work out, are just not enough to catch Detroit/Cleveland.

MLBTradeRumors said this a while back - If Ramirez is truly capable, his agent should position him as a shortstop. Rotoworld says - The White Sox and Alexei Ramírez have agreed to a four-year contract, a source told ESPN Deportes. The source said Ramirez had individual workouts with the White Sox, Red Sox, Indians, Reds, Cubs, Mets, Yankees, Twins and A's before making his choice. Ramirez has experience at second base, shortstop and in center field, giving the White Sox plenty of options in how to use him. He'd make the most sense for the team in center field right now, though it's possible he'll need some time in the minors before he gets his shot. The supposed 26-year-old played only briefly in the Dominican Republic this winter, going 1-for-14. Indians scout John Mirabelli says: "He's played at a high level, but he hasn't played at this level," "He came up as a shortstop and middle infielder. He got to the national team, and they wanted him to play outfield. He's a pretty athletic guy that presents versatility."

1) What position does he end up starting at ? 2) Do we know what his best position is ? 3) Any idea (I know nothing has been releasd) on what kind of contract he'd get ? 10 million a year, more/less ? 4) What kind of numbers can we project for this guy ? 5) Is he a SB threat, top of the lineup hitter ?

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Dec 21, 2007 -> 01:05 PM) Do you own a home? Do you have a mortgage? Or have you ever invested in anything? If you did, you'd get it. I do have a condo w/mortgage, and a 401K.

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Dec 21, 2007 -> 12:56 PM) He's right. Its not that simple, no matter how simple want to make it seem. Explain then.

"You are assuming we had $75 million," said Williams, when asked about the Hunter offer. "We were hoping to get that along the way, and ultimately, [the move] would pay for itself to a large degree. [Chairman] Jerry [Reinsdorf] authorized it, and I appreciate him having the faith in me to go out on a limb, because it took us well above break even. "This is like your personal finances. There has to be a certain amount of fiscal responsibility, otherwise you will put yourself in a situation where you have to do without something that's very vital to the functioning of the house. "Going a couple of years back, if I made some decisions on some of the players people were urging -- it goes back three, four, five years ago -- if I made those decisions in the fashion the public wanted me to do," Williams added, "we would not have been in position years later to extend [an offer to] Konerko or Garland, the first time, or Mark Buehrle. "People say to look at today and only today, but I have to look at where we were and where we are going. You can't take one action and have it prevent you from doing something that might be important to the overall picture. I have not found a way to articulate that point in a way that people understand or accept ****** I'm getting dizzy from the spinning!

It's probably the worst day of the week for me to listen to games on the radio, but I'll take it as this is an upgrade for at least 13 games. How many years does Singleton have left on his contract ? Just the 1 year renewal ? If it's only the one year, I wonder if this opening could allow Stone to eventually take his job....I'd really like him on TV though, but that radio booth is so bad, I'll take it.

Our #3, #4, and #5 starters are major question marks. Above all other reasons, this is why we're a 4th place team.

QUOTE(sircaffey @ Dec 17, 2007 -> 12:30 PM) First, KW didn't graduate from Stanford. Second, he wasn't accepted to Stanford because of his academics. Thirdly, I'm not saying Kenny is a moron. In fact, it appears he's a very articulate, intelligent man. There are many intelligent articulate baseball fans. That doesn't mean they would make good GMs. As far as the bullpen goes, you would have to have a hell of a memory to remember what little old me thought of the bullpen. It doesn't matter what I thought because I'm not getting paid to make the decisions. KW did strengthen the bench and the middle infield. He brought in Cabrera forcing Uribe to the bench. He didn't bring in a CF, yet, because the ones that he wanted were too expensive. You can't get around the budget no matter what you think of your team. I don't see how bringing in a 33 year old SS and locking in an aging middle reliever for $19 mil is "building towards the future." If he was building for the future, he would have gotten a package for Garland that was meant for the future. He would not have brought in a player that would only be under contract for one season if he didn't think this team could compete in 2008. Generally you don't bring in players on the downside of their careers if you are building for the future, do you? If you really think Garland was traded for Cabrera because of the extra draft pick you are grasping for straws. If KW really cares about the draft picks and building for the future, why did he sign a type A free agent middle reliever forfeiting an even higher pick? Sorry, I don't buy this crap that these moves were made for the future. Good points - that is clearly not rebuilding, more reloading/adding on to what you currently have. These moves were made to win now, not some secret rebuilding plan that nobody realizes is actually happening.

QUOTE(witesoxfan @ Dec 17, 2007 -> 01:58 AM) There's no way he thinks this is a good team; why do you think he didn't jump to conclusions and bring in Rowand or Jones? or why he hasn't strengthened the bench or brought in depth to the middle of the infield? The opportunity has presented itself, and those moves would have pushed a team that is "close" to "over the top;" if he really felt this team was that good, why would he have not made one of those moves? Why? There was never any interest in Andruw Jones, and Aaron Rowand wanted more years than the White Sox were willing to offer. As for middle IF's, I don't think he's really in position to do anything there until he figures out Uribe's future. Right now, we also have Pablo coming back as well so has 2 backup IF's, but getting rid of Uribe's contract is probably proving more difficult than originally thought (another really bad move by Williams because as we stand today, we have about $12-13 million committed to our SS position).

QUOTE(witesoxfan @ Dec 16, 2007 -> 11:47 PM) Are you f***ing kidding me right now? He didn't think it needed major changes, yet was in the Torii Hunter bidding until the end and tried to acquire Miguel Cabrera? KW realizes this team sucks, missed out on his targets, and is giving the company line right now to keep fans interested so he won't lose revenue. He also realizes it will take nothing short of a mini-miracle for this team to compete, but he's not about to tell that to the media. KW's failed the two past offseasons, but he's not a moron people. If you think so, you need to do some checking yourself. He didn't just luck his way into a degree from Stanford. By major changes, I meant an overhaul of the existing team, and his goal was to add on to the current team, which has not been a good team for the last season and a half. If you think that Kenny believes his team stinks, then I'd be interested in your response to Kenny's comments last week: We still have a pretty darn good baseball team," Williams said. Seems pretty clear to me that he DOESN'T think his team stinks, and he has been saying this for awhile. I don't believe it has anything to do with PR, instead much more to do with his personal believe in the 2005 team that still has several parts on the current roster. I also think that Kenny wouldn't be signing Linebrink to long-term deals or trading for 33 year old SS's if he thought this team couldn't compete so I think you're right in that team isn't very good (I say 4th place), but Kenny is clearly not on board with that line of thought. For the record, I haven't called Kenny a moron, nor am I calling for his firing.

Kenny's biggest problem has turned out to be that he seems to have unconditional believe that this team is a good team, and doesn't major changes. It hasn't been a good team since the all-star break in 2006 yet Kenny is on record several times, including just a few days ago, as saying his team is good, and upgraded from last off-season. They seem to believe that every player who struggled last season will rebound, and while possible, is that going to be enough to overcome a shaky rotation, and a bullpen that still looks very questionable, not to mention Cleveland and Detroit in the division. I think the White Sox, as we stand today, are a 4th place team in the AL Central.