spiderman

QUOTE(CanOfCorn @ Jan 6, 2007 -> 08:55 PM) Because, Mark Buehrle is 28 years old. He's just comign into his prime. He doesn't throw hard or with a lot of torque on his arm. He doesn't deserve 7 years, $126 million, but then again, no pitcher does. If the Sox could give him 4-5 years for maybe $14 - $16 mil per...I think that would be good. If he turns it down...he turns it down...but I think the Sox should try. He isn't 38, he's 28 people. OK, that sounded great, but back to how the White Sox do business, specifically in regards to pitchers. Do we really expect the White Sox to offer him a 4 or 5 year deal given that they don't do that currently for pitching contracts ????? If you read my previous post, I'm in agreeance with you - I also want Buerhle back, but someone's going to have to bend, and considering the White Sox contract length policy (or restrictions) to pitchers, what they will be willing to pay, and the stock of young arms in the minors, I think Burrhle would have to take a contract in the White Sox mold, probably a 3 year deal in the 35 million range.

I'm more concerned with his defense than his offense, but, now in his 2nd full season, I expect him to strike out less, and improve that avg to the .250-.260 mark.

QUOTE(Straycats @ Jan 6, 2007 -> 10:01 AM) my lineup would be 1 Rocco Baldelli CF (Gio and Mc Cullogh was traded to T Bay) 2 Omar Visquel SS ( Phillips and Owens traded to SF) 3 Jim Thome DH 4 Paul Konerko 1B 5 Jermaine Dye RF 6 AJ C 7 Joe Crede 3B 8 Tadahito Iguchi 2B 9 Scott Podsednik LF We're not trading Gio Gonzalez, and probably any of our higher ranked young pitchers. QUOTE(WilliamTell @ Jan 6, 2007 -> 07:25 PM) LF Podsednik 2B Iguchi 1B Konerko DH Thome RF Dye 3B Crede C Pierzynski SS Uribe CF Anderson seems kinda like last year. That looks right on, and here's hoping that we won't be so damn HR dependent, and we can actually manufacture some runs. Given how HR dependent we were last season in the 2nd half (especially) I'm rather shocked that, to this point, the lineup from last year is still intact.

QUOTE(beck72 @ Jan 6, 2007 -> 08:38 PM) From Mark's point of view, he should be well compensated next yr. He's been one of the most consistent SP's in baseball. He looks around the league and sees crap pitchers getting over 5 yr $55 mill deals, why shouldn't he look for the best deal out there for him and his family. A normal, good yr in 2007 should net Mark at minimum a 4, 5 yr deal worth $60-75 mill. The sox should ante up--provided he returns to form this yr. Which IMO, he will. Yet they shouldn't get too crazy in terms of money or length beyond what I suggested above. Why should the White Sox ante up if they feel their prospects can carry the load? Doesn't that defeat the purpose of acquiring all these young arms ? I'd love to have Buerhel here long-term, and I think the Whie Sox probably do as well, but I don't see them bending very much considering they are so high on their prospects, and KW has spoken at length about how out of control the market is.

ESPN LINK Uribe maintains innocence, expects case to be resolved "I'm confident that this will clear up soon and will not affect my plans to be on time to the Sox camp from day one," Uribe told ESPNdeportes.com from his home in the Dominican Republic. "This Monday will be key in the case because the accuser is going to present the alleged witnesses against me. I'm innocent, so I'm sure that nobody can testify that they saw me in an event where I wasn't present," Uribe said. "When [it] all happened, I was at home talking to my father. There are a bunch of people that can corroborate my version. Nobody saw me [at] that place during the shooting," Uribe said. "Better yet, the Dominican police found out that my gun was not discharged, and the paraffin tests on me were also negative," Uribe said. "I'm innocent and I will prove that in court. I hope that this can be solved very soon to [clear] my name, and my family can relax," he said. "The White Sox know all about the case," Uribe said.

Good point, should have added that Konerko will lead the league in GIDP, and will go through three or four stretches during the season where you can walk away from TV, and just assume that he's going to ground into a DP.

QUOTE(SEALgep @ Jan 6, 2007 -> 04:30 PM) If we're in contention, I agree. KW will want to go for it. However, it will be interesting if MB is doing well, keeping trade value high, and we see Danks, Sisco, and Gio lighting it up in AAA. If we're in contention, I'm assuming Buerhle's part of it - KW is not going take that sort of chance just to get a few more prospects when, as you say, Danks, Sisco (he'll probably be in the pen), and Gio are already lighting things up in AAA.

I thought this thread was about Brian Anderson's take on the trade.

QUOTE(beautox @ Jan 6, 2007 -> 04:18 PM) Anyone else think Konerko has a shot at the HOF he currently has 245HR at age 30, and to get to 500 he needs to average a lil over 25 for the next 10 years. I'd love to hear everyone's opinions on this. No way. Konerko's '07 numbers: AVG: .283 HR: 33 RBI: 105 SB: 0

QUOTE(elrockinMT @ Jan 6, 2007 -> 04:14 PM) We won't lose him for a draft pick. He will be traded before that happens. I would like to see MB stay, but I don't see it happening with the way the free agent market went absolutely nuts. The Sox won't pay and instead will look to trade him for prospects. I don't think he'll be traded in-season unless the White Sox aren't contenders. Williams likes the pitching staff, and he feels confident enough in the offense to have not touched it so he obvioulsy feels this team will be AL contenders next season. If that holds true, we're not trading Buerhle for prospects in August.

Here's the problem. He's not going to take less than $14 to $15 million a season for at least 4 seasons, and the White Sox probably won't offer anything more than a 3 year contract in the $11-$12 million range. Someone's going to have to bend here, and I have a hard time thinking it's Buerhle's, given the free agent market, and what some team will likely offer. On top of that, considering that the White Sox are probably not going to offer the same contract that some team will on the free agent market, it's easy for Buerhle to say that all things being equal, the White Sox are his choice.

QUOTE(CanOfCorn @ Jan 3, 2007 -> 04:41 PM) Or a LF? I mean, Pods is a trading chip...he's not much worse than Pierre, Roberts or Matthews and he's cheaper. The problem with making a change for a LF is that you're also probably looking for a leadoff hitter unless you believe Ryan Sweeney can win the job in CF, and also bat lead-off, a tall order for a rookie OR Alex Cintron, not a guy I'd want batting lead off either. I really think that, for better or worse, Podsednik is going to be our LF by default simply because it's difficult to trade for someone else who can step into that role at the top of the order.

QUOTE(G&T @ Jan 3, 2007 -> 04:24 PM) Steve Stone is on the Score right now, and I'll just throw this in here. Stone says that he had learned to trust in what KW does because the organization is great at evaluating talent both in and out of their organization. He does not believe that the Sox are done making moves. Boers just said that MB will only get Ted Lilly money ($10 mil). Dan rightfully yelled at him. I also heard that - that may have been the 1st time I've heard an actual disagreement between Boers and Bernstein. I thought Bernstein was more on the money, saying that Buerhle will probably end up in the $14 million per year range, but Stone believes there will be a market correction next off-season. I could be wrong, but I thought I had heard that next off-season, the crop of free agents is even better ???? Stone did say that he didn't think the Sox are done, but didn't really say what he thought he would do. Bernstein mentioned SS and CF (I believe that is what he said) - I don't think SS will change - Uribe/Cintron is average, and it's not like there are a plethora of SS available. CF is the one position that I could see a possible upgrade as Williams did say earlier that they are still considering their options, but I really can't see anything more than a stop gap option like a Brady Clark type player coming in. We'll see though....

QUOTE(fathom @ Jan 3, 2007 -> 01:36 PM) Spring Training might become a mess if the contract issues with all of our 2007 Free Agents becomes a big story. Hopefully Ozzie and KW will just shut their mouth and put the best team on the field. The free agency status of Buerhle, and Jermaine Dye will be the top story of spring training - there's so much time down there for the media to keep this story running, and I'm sure Ozzie/Kenny will add some fuel to the fire at some point.

QUOTE(G&T @ Jan 3, 2007 -> 09:05 AM) Agreed, but would have moved both if he could have. At the least, KW seems very comfortable with what he has. I also find it funny that after a long interview, the only sound the Score played of it in their update was that KW wanted Rowand but couldn't get him. We agree - I'm sure Williams went into the off-season thinking that he would have a new LF, but once the market got out of control for players not necessarily better thatn Podsednik, he decided to give him another season - I'm sure if Pods starts slowly, LF will be a position around the trade deadline for Williams to look at as well as giving younger players a shot. The Score, in particular, Mike North, has been saying the White Sox wanted Rowand back, but since this didn't happen, maybe they're just trying to save face a bit. QUOTE(klaus kinski @ Jan 3, 2007 -> 09:58 AM) So after this, is the pitching sequence Buehrle, Contreras, Garland, Vasquez, then #5? I think it's going to be subject to spring training competition, but it will most likely, IMO, be 1) Contreras 2) Buerhle 3) Garland 4) Vazquez 5) Floyd QUOTE(G&T @ Jan 3, 2007 -> 10:38 AM) Yes, and KW basically said that he is not ruling anything out. It's not that he won't sign MB, but with all his talk about contracts and years, MB would probably have to give a discount to stay and I don't see that happening. There were no mentions of trades. If anything, Willams sounds as if he's going to enter next season with the 4 veteran starters - something that I was glad to hear. I wouldn't expect Buerhle to be with the White Sox past this season though.

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ Jan 3, 2007 -> 08:53 AM) I like Anderson, but he is going to still struggle at least another season or so. Pods is truely one of the worst regular players in baseball. I don't understand the logic of letting a guy who doesn't get on base that much, who gets himself out a lot on the basepaths, and a guy with really horrible baserunning instincts, I have seen him not get an extra base numerous times, while guys with half his "speed" take an extra base easily, not to mention his defensive shortcomings, lead off, let alone play regularly. If Pods is leading off for the White Sox in 2007, 2007 will be dissapointing for White Sox fans. As Williams said though, did you want to give a player a ridiculous free agent contract who hasn't done much more than Podsednik or keep him for one more season ?? I'll take Podsednik for 1 year, 2.8 million over some 5 year/50 million we saw for a Gary Matthews. And yes, if there is an upgrade available for Pods in LF, I'm all for it, but I just don't want to overpay for a guy.

QUOTE(fathom @ Jan 3, 2007 -> 08:48 AM) He definitely didn't give a glowing review of Pods and Anderson. When you start saying things like "we know they can handle playing in Chicago"....that's like saying "she has a nice personality". Guess we disagree on Pods - I never said he gave a glowing review of either, in fact, I have said now 3 times that Williams says Pods had a down year - that's not glowing. I just believe, based on Kenny's comments, that he's more down on Anderson than Podsednik. Wiliams, as you mentioned, indicated, that he could be looking for other possibilites still for CF.

With the attendance, can the White Sox compete given the market ? We have given players (Burehle, Garland, Konerko) contracts, so it's unfair to say the White Sox have no interest in signing players. The market will dictate what we do. When Mark was struggling last year, we went to him, and talked to him about an extension - it didn't work then, and it certainly won't work now. Long-term extensions historically don't work out for the club. I won't mortage the future of the franchise - I can't enter into too many long-term deals, and would lose flexibiltiy on putting together a good team. Some of the moves this off-season will go a long way in giving us flexibility. Williams on Frank Thomas: I give him credit becuase he still played in pain, obvious the way he was running. Williams on getting rid of the lefty Cotts: Neil takes the job very seriously, one of our hardest workers. He was expendable because we had Matt Thorton, Logan can get lefties (and righties) out in the back of the bullpen as time goes on. Plus, we liked who we got back, both playes, in the trade.

QUOTE(fathom @ Jan 3, 2007 -> 08:38 AM) Two quick thoughts: - KW mentioned that they're still looking at some guys for CF. - KW seems anything but confident in Anderson and Podsednik. I'd disagree about Podsednik - he did say that he's coming a down year, but who hasn't ? He also mentioned that Pods can deal with the Chicago landscape. As far as CF, Yes, he did say that, but I got the impression any names that could be had would be nothing more than scapegoats.

Detroit's young pitching staff, Minnesota's team, how much of these moves had to do with keeping pace ? You'd better analyze your competition. Would you take Detroit's staff over the White Sox ? No, but Williams belives their staff is going to be tired. Williams on the bullpen: People always want the veteran names, this will be one of the best bullpens in the league. ** Caller 2: Now that Ross Gload is gone, how do we fill his void (what ?): Williams: "Thome is the DH, we'll give him a break with a lefty on the mound. Toby Hall can rest Thome, Mackowiak can be the jack of all trades (LF/RF/3B/1B) and Cintron can move around the infield. The important thing is we got Cisco, another power arm, a Rule 5 guy who was tipping his pitches, and never got a chance to develop. Crede's situation: Williams: Josh Fields is ready now. Crede will need a break here and there - his condition is what it is. When a guy tells you he doesn't need surgury, Williams will be ok with that. We'll just have to see how this plays out. I'm optimstic, it will flare up, we'll just have to deal with it. I'm friendly with Boras, just not his price tags - I'm continually amazed at what he gets on the market, and I'm not going to play that game.

CF Job: Williams "We played with it a little bit. We weren't happy with the overall production, but the alternatives out there didn't fit with us. The trade's out there didn't work - ridiculous asking prices. Were the Phillies one of th teams ? Yes. Williams loves Aaron Rowand. Would he have wanted him back ? Refuses to answer the question becuase of his current players, but obviously, the answer is yes. On Brian Anderson being over-cocky: Williams has talked to him about a few things - needing to fit into the major league lifestyle, there's a growth period, he'll be all right. On Podsednik: Maybe what we have, and they've proven they can play at a championship style level, in Chicago, you'd better keep what you have, they had a down year, but who doesn't ? On the starting pitching: Burhle, Contreras, Vazquez, Garland to have rebound years because they are rested. ***** Caller 1: Thome and Buerhle's health: The stressful innings/the load pitching the extra innings (month of playoffs) hurt Buerhle tired out the staff, and that's why he traded for Vazquez. We'll be better off that he got rest...No answer on Thome's health.

QUOTE(witesoxfan @ Jan 1, 2007 -> 11:37 PM) A left-handed specialist? Pitchers with his stuff really aren't ever specialists. I think they are going to put him in situations that he is likely to succeed early on - remember, despite the talent he does have, he sucked last year. I think early on, we won't see him much in late inning situations, but will be more of a 5th/6th inning guy.

So far, Williams says McCarthy will have a servicable career, and says McCarthy's public comments about his role on the team didn't bother him, and had no factor in moving him. He was simply going into camp with a big battle with Gavin Floyd who has the type of stuff to succeed in US Cellular. North gives Williams the benefit of the doubt for the moves, and has said so now about 3 times. Williams on the young pitching: We can't live (moving the young players) the way we were - in Gonzalez and Denks, the Sox have two of the best pitching prosepects in the game, and have good movement on their fastballs (key at home). In comparison to some of the pitchers he now has, McCarthy's fastball did not have that movement, but he has shown the ability to adapt - this trade was as much about Massot going in the bullpen (just a tick less than Bobb Jenks in MPH) as acquring Denks. North will now take calls from the listeners (interesting that his two co-hosts, Fred and Annie, don't get to ask questions. Let Annie ask a question, she's qualified!)

QUOTE(SEALgep @ Dec 31, 2006 -> 07:04 PM) I believe the thinking is that we'd include one of our four major league starters. Obviously not straight up for Milledge. Gotcha....Vazquez for Milledge ? If so, I'd rather keep the pitcher, and just hope that our young OF's can improve next season.

No thanks on Cordero, at least that is what I expect the White Sox to say - if you've heard Kenny Williams talk about the bullpen, they are extremely excited about what's currently down there and I think he feels that the pen is a strength of the team, and they don't need to upgrade further.