caulfield12

YEP. Hopefully standard means Kotsay now has a "standard/regular" place wearing out the bench except when he's needed to PH or play D for Paulie in the late innings.

And the Yankees/Mets/Sawx would invoke their "territoriality" priviledges and scream until they were blue in the face. Look at how long and hard Angelos fought over Washington getting a team that close to BALT. Just wait and see what happens if San Antonio ever tried, the Houston/Texas franchises would go absolutely nuts blocking it.

I wasn't worried about Reed at all. I was more concerned about Olivo getting his offensive act together and becoming a dominant catcher, but his game-calling and strategic side never evolved defensively. He was like a two-trick pony, that arm and pop/speed from the offensive side. And I liked the versatility of Morse, Seattle really tried to find a home for him at different positions, but he was a "tweener" everywhere you put him on the diamond, like a 6'3" small forward in the NBA. I don't know the actual number, but Abbott hit around .400 for most of the year with Hickory in 1993/1994, one of those years. It was unbelieveable. He overshadowed Ordonez at that point....in fact, it was 94 I'm pretty sure, because I was working in Augusta. JD came in one night and used my phone, he was playing for Macon. Andruw Jones the next year, I saw him maybe 20 times when he was already a legend at 17-18 or whatever his age was back then. Also, Vladimir Guerrero and Ruben Rivera were the Gods then. Missed Jeter's massive error display at Greensboro by one year. Jose Guillen was the best player on our team...since I spoke Spanish, and he didn't, I always had to help him out. He'd actually stabbed one of his teammates in Bradenton, the Pirates were scared to death of his personality even then but also scared to death not to promote him to A ball and see what type of a diamond in the rough they had. That guy had a monster arm, 2nd to VLAD and ahead of Dye back then. Could do everything but run, just amazingly talented. And he's really a small/short guy if you see him in person. I remember him going into McDonald's all the time trying to struggle to order a hamburger, that always cracked me up big-time.

Would the Twins be a small or mid-market team, then? Would there be 3 tiers..? Big market, small and middle? Teams like SD and Arizona...are the Padres small and Arizona medium? Is Arizona small market because they almost went bankrupt and were driven into debt by overspending, or SD because Moores is having personal problems (see LA)? Having only both LA teams and SF on the West Coast, who else would comprise that division? Seattle would complain if you put them against the BIG 3. Then Oakland, Rockies, D-Backs and Padres would be together? Still, the numbers are challenging...one team gets screwed (like the Braves in NL West) and has to travel more than the others. Should the McCourts' divorce make the Dodgers a middle market teams? How do we classify Seattle? Do we put them in the same category as the Rockies or "big market," even though Seattle is a secondary market compared to the top ones in baseball, it's just that they seemed to operate like a bit market team for half the decade with the new stadium and booming attendance. Should Milwaukee (small market), Minnesota, Tigers, White Sox and the Rangers/Astros be lumped in together? Then you have the Royals, Pirates, Reds, it becomes a huge mess because the Cubs would have to travel all over the US, along with the Cardinals (small market seeming like a bigger market in revenue production).

I mean in terms of getting the most out of his baseball ability...it was never, ever going to translate at the major league level. He never had the power for 1B or a corner spot, or the athleticism for CF. It's a little bit like the Sweeney situation, but he was a "raw" high school athlete from Iowa with that beautiful, "projectable" swing from the LH side, natural/fluid fielding mechanics, the idea he would naturally evolve into a 18-24 homer guy with less average than Olerud (another great college player). I'll name another for you. Jeffrey Abbott...he put up amazing numbers at UK and also in the low minors, only to disappear very quickly from the face of the Earth...the unforgettable Ramirez of FLA, the "anti-Abbott" was acquired by KW, who always goes after that and guys like D'Angelo Jimenez. But those guys taught (or should have) that character counts as much as ability. Everyone in the clubhouse hated Jimenez and Thomas almost killed him before he had to be restrained by teammates.

QUOTE (Mauer_MVP @ Apr 20, 2010 -> 04:38 PM) Great start to the season!! Go Rays!! Yes, and check back with us when you've beaten a team other than the A's in the playoffs. Yeah, yeah, yeah...1987/1991, we get it, but you wouldn't have won those without the random luck of playing in the WS in odd numbered years, entitling you guys to the biggest homefield advantage in baseball. But that luck can go both ways, haha, see Game 163 in 2008. KG JR, THOME AND DANKS. Scoreboard.

QUOTE (Chet Kincaid @ Apr 20, 2010 -> 03:25 PM) Never can have too many Darrin Erstads, David Ecksteins, and Aaron Rowands. Jeremy Reed is a perfect example. Reaches potential/limits in college with an aluminum bat. So much of drafting is "projectability." His upside was limited very much from the beginning, yet he was the College Player of the Year, correct? Beckham also was...but there's a big difference between the two, it's not just power and playing a middle infield position.

But, Devil's Advocate, Dye had to play in that cavernous Oakland Coliseum with so much foul ground. What's the park adjustment factor downward for offensive stats there? Dye put up good numbers with the Braves his rookie year and also with the Royals when he was healthy. Just the fact that he was coming of a huge injury and was a "project" at the time we took him doesn't mean he was a bad hitter. Heck, you take any guy who's a better hitter than a defender in the 2nd half of his career, USCF can really make him look good. He led baseball in homers from his position, but he also gave up untold runs with his lack of range and lazy throwing mechanics and "plus arm" that was merely average while we had him. Let's not forget, the best deal he can get now is for $3 million USD. There's a reason for that much bigger than just the second half of one season. Look at the back of his baseball card, Ozzie would say. Well, there's a lot more to it than just hitting homers. Ask the Mariners' GM.

I think the only way to "sell" trading Buehrle would be the Cardinals angle...that it was his lifelong dream to go there, proximity to his family, etc. It would really suck, though. He's one of those guys you'd love to see play his entire career with one team...and he might just walk away. Let's say we weren't in it next year, there'd be a tremendous amount of pressure on KW to deal him to a contending team for 2-4 months...any of the Top 10-12 teams in baseball would absolutely love to have a WS-experienced veteran like that in a stretch drive. As I said, I don't foresee it happening, but then it really seemed possible that many of the veterans would be gone in 2007 and he held onto all the pieces, which worked out brilliantly in 2008.

QUOTE (chisoxfan09 @ Apr 20, 2010 -> 01:12 PM) Tim Dierkes from MLBTR speculating on what could happen if the Sox were to be really out of it this summer and hold a firesale: Link: http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2010/04/if-t...me-sellers.html I don't see any of this happening and I think MLBTR is an ok site with rumors but flame away!!! The names you don't see popping up yet but would be interesting: Buehrle, Peavy, Rios, and, to a much lesser extent advisable...Danks

Then you go back earlier, when we had a mini-sale: Ray Durham for Jon Adkins fiasco...one of his five worst moves of all-time James Baldwin for not a whole lot in return Kenny Lofton for Felix Diaz, of the reported mid 90's heat that turned out to be 89-91, just like Adkins, another "fireballer" Howry for Frank Francisco and that Korean dude, you have to give him credit for unearthing that gem, although we quickly repackaged him for Everett By the way, that other Korean or Taiwanese pitcher we signed about 4-5 years ago, that was pretty much a disaster, wasn't it? July 25, 2002: Ray Durham was traded by the Chicago White Sox with cash to the Oakland Athletics for Jon Adkins.[4] July 28, 2002: Kenny Lofton was traded by the Chicago White Sox to the San Francisco Giants for Felix Diaz and Ryan Meaux (minors). July 29, 2002: Sandy Alomar, Jr. was traded by the Chicago White Sox to the Colorado Rockies for the unforgettable vowel-laden Enemencio Pacheco (minors).[5]

We ran statistical calculations until we were blue in the face...projecting this offense. I don't think anyone is really surprised. It's the off performance by Peavy that has everyone the most concerned, although he did bounce back his last start.

''It's OK, even in a 12-game span or one game, it's perfectly OK to be disappointed and upset,'' Paul Konerko said of the building doom and gloom around the team, ''but as long as you come back the next day and can cut that baggage away, that you can still have that belief that what you're doing as an individual or as a team, you're doing it the right way and that will win out, you have to trust that. ''You can't say, 'Well, we're doing everything right, what if we just never get it going?' You can't think about what ifs like that. Guys fight that. You fight it on a personal level because we've had a few good offensive games, we've had games where we didn't score runs but everybody did the little things right. There have been games where the ball just happened to be hit in the wrong place, there was this crack and we didn't take advantage, and it's then easy to say, 'OK, we're not doing this right, we have to change something.' You don't trust what you're doing then, you stray from it. Especially early, it's easy to stray from yourself or the team, from the concept that you laid out in the offseason and spring training. You can't do that. ''You make minor adjustments as you go, but that doesn't mean that if it doesn't go well you shouldn't be pissed off. You just need to come back the next day with the same beliefs. So far, everyone has done that.'' suntimes.com He's a 1B, after all....I think you have to give those contract numbers to a "premium" position like SS, CF and C or perhaps the right pitcher. Paulie being a leader. It's why we will really really miss AJ, Paulie and Buehrle someday in the not-too-distant future. Hopefully Peavy and Beckham can start picking up some of the slack there, and Teahen/Pierre.

That's why I was being sarcastic. I guess I need to use green. Although you can argue that Wise, Lillibridge, Anderson, Fields, Corky Miller, Torres, Colon, R. Williams, Owens ARE NOT MUCH BETTER than Josh Kroeger in the overall scheme of things, yes? You just answered your own question. He saw how well that worked last year and at least TRIED to adjust philosophically this year.

Danks with another hit to get up to .306. Atta boy, at least some positive offensive developments SOMEWHERE to discuss. Now 2/3, .320. 1.014 OPS.

If Josh Kroeger is our 1B/DH next year, then I'll start to actually get worried about KW's sanity. Or Maurice Gartrell.

What about Teahen's judgement fielding that bunt in the first series? That was another key, momentum-changing play...

HUH? You're saying he will get $160-240 million dollars on the free market?

It makes perfect sense. The Red Sox are desperate. They're 4-9, same as us. They just got swept at home. Epstein won't stand for that very long...their fans are too spoiled. And they have the pieces and financial ability to make a trade happen. You've got to be kidding me if you think we couldn't have added Damon, Matsui, Thome, O-Dog or Vladimir Guerrero to our roster...the "will to win" is usually blocked with financial reality, in BOS, that financial reality is in a different stratosphere altogether. Plus they let Jayson Bay go and didn't seriously pursue Holliday. You're telling me that KW can go to JR AGAIN after taking on Peavy and Rios with mixed results (at best) and expect to get the go-ahead to sign Adrian Gonzalez to an $80-120 million dollar extension? REALLY? I don't think so. Maybe I should have chosen my phrasing more carefully...it's not that we don't want to win, of course we do, we just have more limited (and now dwindling resources), and most of KW's bullets are already spent...as we saw the last 2-3 weeks of the offseason when we missed on any targets we might have had. Losing Mitchell further complicated our compass of which direction to go in (adding/subtracting). As we've heard a million times, our offseason was Peavy/Reason, not Teahen/Pierre/Vizquel/Jones/Putz. Although I think both Putz and Jones both have the chance to be among the five best steals of the offseason...at least one of them. KW's specialty. I'll use another image. Minnesota always had the "WILL TO WIN" but they were always 2-3 players short of competing with the big boys. That was 100% on Pohlad, who despite being one of the richest owners in baseball, was very very penurious with the pursestrings. No way I could ever say Brad Radke or Mientkiewicz didn't have the will to win, they just didn't have the ability to add superstars to their roster and keep them. Now they do.

AGREED about A-Gon. 100%. We're too far away that one player simply isn't enough to offset the margin of error in the ALCD. Maybe we'll change our minds again, but right now, 10% chance. Besides, the Red Sox have the will and desire moreso than we do after the Rios and Peavy moves last year. KW's bullets are mostly spent, and Mitchell going down further damped enthusiam for dealing Jordan Danks.

Texas? Houston (traditionally, you can't blame them for tuning out this year if they lose Berkman/Oswalt) and the Rangers have good fanbases, the Rangers attendance is up again this year, right? Colorado really plateaued and then their fans came back with the World Series and winning baseball. Seattle, with a competitive ballclub, they're doing much better again. The trouble spots are obviously OAK, KC (just need a winner, MIL proves a small population base can support a team, and new stadium), PIT, TOR, CLE (ever since Dolan deconstructed the 2002 team....and now shedding Sabathia/Lee/DeRosa/V-Mart, the fans just don't trust ownership), both Florida franchises (stadium/multiplicity of issues too long to discuss), WASH/BALT, TOR. That's 10 teams...not including San Diego, so let's say 11. That's a pretty significant %. I also didn't include CINCY, who was able to sign Chapman, so I'll look at that as a positive sign for the future of that franchise. If/when McLane sells the Astros, all bets are off, but they have a relatively new ballpark, they just have to become competitive again. Fans in PIT, KC, Baltimore and Toronto, as well as SD and Houston...those six teams, there's very little to look forward to. At least the Nationals have Strasburg and higher draft picks to rebuild for the future. I think the presence of NY/BOS/TB just dooms the bottom rung teams, to the point where they fans have given up. Both BALT and TOR have had longstanding and proud baseball traditions, but they, also have high hopes for the future with their young talent. Even then, though, it's a LONG LONG row to get to first place or the wild card. What did TOR draw against KC at home last night on a Monday? Must have been brutal...

As stated, how many 3B or 2B have been converted to SS? Probably, in basball history, just as many athleticaly gifted CFer's have gone to SS in their minor league careers...who can also go to 2B, like Shoemaker (I think) with the Cardinals. Teahen tried 2B, RF, LF, 1B...he wasn't even close at 2B, but can you imagine him at SS? No way. That's why Uribe is so unique, he can play 2B, SS and 3B to a lesser extent equally well. Someone like Jayson Nix can't make that transition, for a number of reasons. Valentin played 2B/3B/CF after they took him off SS, but that progession almost never goes from one of those positions TO shortstop.

Because it's 5X harder to find a starting SS than a starting 2B...just like finding a corner outfielder/DH is 10X easier than finding a leadoff hitter with high OBP skills and an 85% success rate stealing.

Robin Ventura worked very hard to go from and average or even below average defender at OSU to make himself into a Gold Glove level player at the hot corner...I don't know how to explain Fields, part of it is lack of instincts (Joe Crede was never close to fast, but he was QUICK) and part of it was simply "baseball IQ" or whatever you want to call it. Maybe because he was never 100% devoted to playing baseball....before bad oe lazy habits had become ingrained that were too hard to unlearn or retrain? It's not like we never have had terrifically athletic players...it's just that Borchard, Fields, Brian West, Brian Anderson never seemed to have high aptitude for the mental part of the game, like Beckham does, but Alexei Ramirez (another athletically gifted player), does not. At a certain point, it's not teachable or coachable. Like Borchard, he was the nicest, most well-spoken, most humble kid in the world...perfect player to build a franchise around. I think his off-the-field qualities enhanced his projectability and the reach became justifiable, plus he was left-handed.

QUOTE (zenryan @ Apr 20, 2010 -> 02:07 AM) Nice to have a day like yesterday where the Sox didnt lose. No, it's actually quite bad. We're 2-0 on Mondays and 2-9 the rest of the week.