Vance Law

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Aug 17, 2010 -> 02:16 PM) Or because the Twins choked against the Royals when they could have easily put us down for the count. Can't be true. The Twins don't ever choke. The Twins always are the best.

QUOTE (WCSox @ Aug 16, 2010 -> 12:48 PM) Pretty much. Thome and Damon both have a WAR of around 2, while Kotsay and Jones roughly cancel each other out with an approximate WAR of 0. So we'd be ~1 game out instead of 3 games out right now, if you think that WAR is an accurate metric. I would slightly disagree here. I, like many people, had no problem with the signing of Jones. As a 4th OF who can play all of the positions well, and hit lefties quite well, that was a very smart signing by Kenny for dirt cheap. Ozzie said (I'm paraphrasing) he couldn't justify bringing in Thome and only playing him one or two games a week. Why the reporters didn't push him to explain this "logic", I do not know. He saw (and sees) no problem with playing Kotsay at DH 4 or5 games a week, however. Kotsay 4 or 5 times a week, but Thome could only play there once or twice a week. So, I disagree with the notion of Jones' positve WAR canceling out Kotsay's negative. Thome and Jones would have been a perfect platoon at the DH position, and even better once it becomes clear to put Jones in RF and Quentin at DH against lefties. So Thome's 2.1 WAR and Kotsay's -.08 is basically 3 games, maybe more considering Thome would have 50 more plate appearances if he'd taken all of Kotsay's.

QUOTE (MattZakrowski @ Aug 6, 2010 -> 01:15 PM) The kind with a sense of humor? I love baseball more than anything, but it's a game. It should be fun, and Swish was a fun player, even while underperforming (and by underperforming, I mean still being better than the Old Man and the 4A guy). Exactly. If Swisher can fit in and be loved by the A's and loved by the Yankees and put up an OPS in the .880s in the 250 games since leaving the White Sox, he's not the one necessarily with the problem. It's possible that a loudmouth jackass of a manager is also to blame. I wish Kenny could have stepped in and helped the communication so we didn't end up just giving away Gio and Sweeney for nothing. And as noted above, Swisher's "terrible" season with us still beats the living crap out of Kotsay's. I can't recall seeing a season as unlucky as Swisher's .249 BABIP with a 20.9 line drive rate. That just doesn't happen. And as expected he's been outstanding in his 2 years since leaving

No harm in trying. Zero risk, potential upside. Most any baseball player could outdo Kotsay, why not Delgado.

QUOTE (RudyLawRules @ Aug 5, 2010 -> 03:10 PM) TMK with a big STFU to SoxTalk. LMAO. I hate to disagree with the other half of the Justice System, but... Mark Kotsay: 1 Soxtalk posters who want him dfa'd: 76

QUOTE (Chet Kincaid @ Aug 5, 2010 -> 02:28 PM) Mark Kotsay just told soxtalk.com to go f*** yourself lol Kotsay: "See, Soxtalk. I told you I could put up a .654 OPS while monopolizing the DH at bats. And you people wanted Jim Thome.

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!

If Kotsay is the real team player he's made out to be, he will do the right thing and fake an injury.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Aug 4, 2010 -> 10:30 PM) The response to the WAR stats for Thome and Kotsay would be something like this: If Bobby Jenks hadn't blown those two games against Minnesota and Seattle, we'd also be up 4 1/2 games on the Twins, and most of the losses during this stretch of games since June 9th were those That's not a valid argument, and I assume you know it. Kotsay was 0 for 7 with 1 walk in those two 1-run losses. By the "logic" you use here, Kotsay could strike out in every single plate appearance all season, and yet he wouldn't be "responsible" for any loss the team had. If the pitching had just not given up any runs, the team would have won. It's not Kotsay's fault. His batting line shows that he's helping the team toward losing every time he's in. And every game he plays, there were 3 better options to be DH sitting on the bench (4 if you include Castro).

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Aug 4, 2010 -> 05:50 PM) Kotsay had an OPS of .384 in April and .504 in July. Freddy Garcia has a career OPS of .434. Just sayin. Carlos Zambrano has a career OPS of .633.

Kotsay has turf bat. Kenny should have sent him packing. Lillibridge should be DHing right now. Ozzie is such a clown.

DFA Kotsay. Pay him a few bucks to play cards with the team before games and drink beer in the clubhouse. Really chemistry things up. Make him the Designated Chemist. Just without the baseball playing and taking up a spot on the roster.

QUOTE (bucket-of-suck @ Aug 2, 2010 -> 01:10 AM) Isn't that what happened with Rios? Rios did not have no-trade protection.

QUOTE (Chet Kincaid @ Aug 1, 2010 -> 08:53 PM) Ah nevermind. I just looked up Fukudome's offensive numbers and he sucks. Not with that OBP and his plus defense he doesn't suck. But he's sure not worth his price tag, which means he could likely pass through waivers, and then a deal could be worked out where the Cubs pay a big chunk of his salary.

That's where I goofed up, the team waiving the player can rescind the waiver. A team making a claim can't rescind the claim. So like I though, the only way to "block" someone from another team is to claim them yourself. QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Aug 1, 2010 -> 06:59 PM) Yes...it's plausible, but the odds are that it would require taking on a bad contract (a-la Rios last year). Or simply an upcoming free agent on a non-contender. Not that I assume it likely, but can players' non-trade clauses come into play, like Derek Lee for example. Does he have any sort of "non-waive" rights?

Can someone explain the particulars with Detroit or Minny potentially "blocking" someone from getting to us. They can put in a claim on somebody (say Derek Lee for example). They can then either move forward with acquiring Lee if the Cubs were actually intending to move him (like Rios last year) or they can remove their claim, correct? At that point no one has claimed Lee and can't the Cubs just attempt to send him through waivers again? The same team that just removed the claim they made on Lee couldn't do the same thing again, correct? Am I right in thinking that the only way to "block" someone from getting to the Sox is for that team to actually acquire the player?

The fact that we didn't seek to get Laroche in the deal makes it clear to me Kenny intends to get a bat in the end game. I'd honestly be happier keeping Jackson (who put up a 3.62 ERA for the Tigers in 219 innings last year) and doing something else to pick up Scott or Berkman.

QUOTE (Frank_Thomas35 @ Jul 29, 2010 -> 12:27 AM) People on the Chicago side agree with other reports; market for Dunn increasing with D Lee's fear of leaving the comfort of the North Side Mediocricy. Lots of scouts were also at the game granted we were also playing Seattle who have to be sellers. Per chicagobreakingsports: http://www.chicagobreakingsports.com/2010/...de-options.html I don't think that makes much sense. I don't see teams that were targeting the inferior (this year) and right-handed Lee rather than Dunn, now instead going after the more expensive Dunn.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 28, 2010 -> 08:27 AM) Well...first of all, you're assuming there's no negative effects on the guys we have from them pitching with zero extra rest. This season, Garcia's ERA is 6.03 on normal rest, 4.79 with 1 extra day, and 3.12 in games after 2 extra days of rest. Mark!'s ERA is 5.11 on normal rest, 3.67 on 1 extra day, and 2.48 after 2 extra days. Floyd is 4.48 on normal rest and 2.06 on extra rest (this could, of course, just be a function of when his extra rest games came relative to June/July, when he got hot). D1: the Pitching Danks is 3.59 on normal rest and 2.64 on extra rest. Wow, I was not aware of that breakdown. Pretty eye opening differences.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 28, 2010 -> 12:41 PM) Mark Kotsay will not lose his at bats. I can only hope this is not the case. Kenny can dfa the mfer. With the virtually zero trade talk we've heard (relative to Dunn, Fielder, Oswalt) about Berkman, Laroche, Luke Scott, Hawpe, I've got to think we could get one of them without giving up Hudson. Damn has anyone looked lately at what Scott has done? .935 OPS on the year. 1.074 OPS in his last 51 games. And that's hitting in the AL East on a s***ty team. Get him!

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jul 27, 2010 -> 10:23 PM) If all the rumors are true, probably what KW is weighing is if he can get another pitcher, or if he can't can a guy like gulp, Marquez, give you what Hudson is going to give you the rest of the year. If he thinks that its a 6.00 ERA and 5 innings a start, I think he pulls the trigger. Unless my counting was wrong, it looks to me that we could skip the 5th starter without pitching anyone on short rest enough times that a 5th starter needs to make 9 more starts. One of those would be the final game of the season, so I will subtract that one (if we still had not clinched the division going into the final game, someone would go on short rest or multiple starters would be available in the bullpen). So let's say we need 8 starts from a 5th starter the rest of the year (assuming our others stay healthy). What is the difference between Hudson and Torres/Marquez in those 8 starts? How many of those 8 do we expect to win with Hudson vs. the others? I probably should have noted who the starts are against.

QUOTE (JoeCoolMan24 @ Jul 27, 2010 -> 07:58 PM) Omar sure thinks we need to add another player to this team.... "I think we need to add something," Vizquel said. "If it's not another pitcher, probably it's another hitter. This is a time where we really need to make a step towards getting better and to separate between the teams that are around, having a chance, and the teams that really need to go on to the playoffs. "I guess the final cut is coming. This is the last time to make a change, and I think that with another guy on the team, we might secure the next step." I enjoyed his first comment. Well if it's not a pitcher, then OBVIOUSLY it's a hitter. lol. Good lord. Omar for player-manager. Ozzie for Spanish-language radio color man.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 27, 2010 -> 09:33 PM) Twins are a good team that have a fantastic 1-2 combo going in Liriano/Pavano and their hitters are making great contact at the plate. We all knew it wouldn't be easy, but I'm very happy with the ability this team is showing at home. Not to overly belabor the point, but it just keeps on rearing its head. Imagine the Sox with an entire season of Thome instead of Kotsay combined with subtracting him from the Twins lineup where he's been filling in for Morneau now for 3 weeks. Their focus now could entirely be trying to pick up a 5th starter.

Linebrink? No way! This is a great opportunity to get Jenks in there so he can get his one more successful inning and return to closer duties. This is sarcasm.

What did we get for Contreras last year? What would it take to get a Westbrook or a Millwood? Are they better than Torres/Marquez?