caulfield12

QUOTE (bmags @ Aug 3, 2009 -> 01:10 PM) Not a fan of this article. It was a weird way to frame the salary argument. Why bring up Carlos Lee as your example when he is meeting expectations, and therefore, arguably, living up to the numbers on his deal. Why not bring up a real suck contract with a bad player. It would have been stronger to say the money from Carlos Lee's contract brought a championship that Valentin, Lee, Ordonez and Thomas (out for most of that season) didn't.... Carlos LEE

QUOTE (Princess Dye @ Aug 3, 2009 -> 12:32 PM) Richard's ceiling appears to be that of solid #3 starter Poreda, now that he's away from the team that drafted him, is going to start being looked at as bullpen-type because of his makeup Obviously we cant judge the deal yet, but the guys we sent are replaceable. Peavy does some things that are very hard to find, and JR gets to take on that type of starter with his preferred method -- 4 year contract or less. His point about the big contract is a good one, but we're the kind of team that has to overpay anyway. I would rather have this on the books than have another one of those offseasons where FAs turn us down and we have to settle for Nick Swisher. Actually, we underpaid Dye, Buehrle, Konerko, Alexei Ramirez, Viciedo, etc. All had bigger offers from other teams, or would have had them on the free or open market. The thing the author totally discounts is the positive affect on the fanbase, increased attendance (not quite the Halladay affect in TOR, but it will be interesting to see attendance in his home starts versus other starters, especially his first 2-3 starts), increased season ticket renewals for 2010, etc. In other words, renewed positive optimism for the future of this ballclub. Peavy, GQCQ and Beckham, for example....can sell tickets in a way that Richard or Poreda never could dream of. You're not a former Cy Young winner for nothing, and I like the "shot across the bow" aspect of ramming it down the throat of a Cubs' franchise that is very much paralyzed financially. Even if he is DEBATABLY overpaid by $3-4 million per year at the back end, I think he more than compensates by generating additional revenues, goodwill from other free agents that will give the Sox extra consideration now (someone like Figgins)...the type of starting rotation we have, of course other players would love to play here.

QUOTE (Pumpkin Escobar @ Aug 3, 2009 -> 10:00 AM) Anyone see us floating a Longoria like offer to Beckham? 6 years 13-15 mil? Not quite yet. Give it one more season....not that he'll pull a Chris Young, but there's no rush. And the economy could go either way. Better to wait until everything is clarified in terms of the financial direction of the game of baseball, the White Sox and just the US economic situation in general.

Why waste Viciedo's arm at 1B? He's capable of playing LF or RF possibly...as well as 3B.

I don't know...sometimes when I see Lillibridge pictures, he reminds me of Elijah Wood's character from SIN CITY...equally creepy.

I REALLY REALLY want to start a string of threads about Willie Taveras coming here next offseason with KHP. By the way, Coco Crisp might be available again if the Royals don't keep him...exactly the kind of situation where KW will go out and take a smaller risk and bring him in for one year and see what happens...like the White Sox used to do with the revolving door of RFers in the 90's like Dave Martinez, Ellis Burks, Mike Devereaux, Lyle Mouton, Cory Snyder, Shawn Lil Abner, Matt Merullo, Pasqua, etc. TWO YEARS for CHONESTER, that's the max I would go...$16-19 million. Take it or leave it...

QUOTE (Markbilliards @ Aug 2, 2009 -> 09:21 PM) Just lost a lot of respect for Caulfield I should have known better...I have the "workout" tape of all-time with that soundtrack. My favorite, Eye of the Tiger, of course. Brigitte Nielsen used to be "hot" but she's so horrible now...and Dolph Lundgren always reminds me of the time when he, Seagal, and Jean Claude Van Damme were the at the top of action genre after Stallone and AH-NULD. NOW BACK TO OUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED THREAD. Yes, so strange to see Aardsma, Masset, Frank Francisco (was our property briefly) and McDougal all prospering. Four POWER RH arms, our biggest weakness currently.

The 3 ER in 21+ IP his last three starts....hitting 94-95 MPH consistently in the middle to latter innings....and he controlled the Brewers, one of the top 2-3 offenses in the NL, for most of his SD debut start two nights ago. You could understand why players might feel "sacrificing" 3 spots starts was questionable. Of course, we won Carrasco's spot start (luckily against Mitre) and Torres pitched extremely well compared to expectations coming into that game.

Adkins Diaz Barcelo (although injuries wrecked his stuff b4 the majors) Rauch (he was never a devastating FB type of pitcher, from the beginning...but especially after the labrum tear) Poreda Ginter Corwin Malone Brian West Royce Ring Joe Valentine Danny Wright could rush it up there b4 injuries wiped him out, too. Kip Wells always had "ace" stuff, just couldn't put it all together mentally. You could argue that Buehrle, Garland (sort of ours) and Josh Fogg all enjoyed success at the big league level because of pitches other than a 4 season fastball. Richard is a good counter-example here. Just maturity and maybe his almost Ivan Drago-esque (Rocky III reference) workout regimen.

I think we have to temper the Miguel Cabrera Lite idea...but anything approximating Carlos Lee's career with the White Sox would still be a bargain for this guy. He has a great arm, which is something Lee was lacking, and he seems quicker and more agile at 3B (from what I saw in ST) than Lee or Konerko ever did...not that either were close to acceptable at that position.

IMO, they can't take long term risks with Peavy (although there seems to be insurance, like the David Wells contract, to mitigate the downside risk) AND Alex Rios both having major struggles or injury problems. Rios is paid like an All-Star caliber player, and he hasn't been that for quite some time now. There are many more palatable options. Before, we could have used that leverage to get Rios and Rolen for very little (just taking on the contracts, basically, for salary relief/budgetary freedom for JP), but he can't afford to make himself look bad. Many writers are already calling for him to be fired, just because he didn't trade Halladay AND for the Vernon Wells and BJ Ryan contracts...not to mention Rios'.

QUOTE (Princess Dye @ Aug 2, 2009 -> 04:08 PM) I know it's not the NBA with its luxury tax, but still..... ...... we regard Linebrink as untradeable. And it's probably true. But why cant we just move him for another guy who's underperforming, perhaps on a slightly more palatable deal? You never see those deals in MLB. Borchard for Matt Thornton... Anderson for Kotsay Broadway for Castro

Trading Jenks for Crawford makes very little sense, to the Rays. How could they afford to pay a closer $8 million (plus) for only two seasons under their control when they can't afford Crawford, one of the most popular and likeable players in franchise history, for just one season? Yeah, I get that they might have more depth in the outfield than at the back of the bullpen, and that just sticking Grant Balfour into that role won't necessarily work out wonderfully, but I would be hugely concerned in the Rays' FO about acquiring someone with his medical history and with a seemingly declining fastball...despite his wonderful assortment of pitches and devastating offspeed stuff when he's on and has almost complete command. You give up Crawford for Joe Nathan (one or two years), but not Bobby Jenks. There are too many other comparable options that are less risky, someone like Jose Valverde comes to mind.

QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ Aug 2, 2009 -> 03:25 PM) He hit 95 today, he's certainly not done. He just need to improve his control and get some confidence back. But is it an arrow-straight 95 like Aardsma, Embree and Koch? Movement, command/location and getting ahead in counts is always the key out of the pen, and having a second pitch with a 10+ MPH differential from the FB...unless you're Mo Rivera.

Supposedly, his fastball is in the 91-94 MPH range still, right? I haven't seen him pitch live or on t.v. in at least two months, though. Has he thrown too many sliders or is he getting hit on the FB? Location? Arm/shoulder issue? Confidence/psychological? All of the above? On the surface, he looks like a decent reliever, strictly going by the numbers. But the reality is far different sometimes from the statistics...which is why baseball is such an interesting game to follow.

Or will his arm rebound at some poin in the future? Should we shut him down for 2-3 weeks and hope he can bounce back? Will Nunez and Pena supplant him? Thankfully, with Contreras, MacDougal and Dotel coming off the books, this is really the only BAD contract KW now has to worry about...with Konerko really rebounding well this season from an injury-prone 2008 (wrist/hand, oblique pull) to have perhaps the most consistent offensive output of his career.

Farmer said that was the fastest a leadoff triple dissolved into nothing that he'd ever seen in his broadcasting career. Probably not our day. You just can't "expect" to sweep the Yankees four in a row. Maybe they're relaxing with the Twins and Tigers already having lost.

Ummm...Joe Crede and Orlando Cabrera to the Twins, as predicted in the offseason.

QUOTE (knightni @ Aug 2, 2009 -> 10:16 AM) Sir, may I see your man card? *rip* Next you will ask me to see "I Love You, Man!" or "Yes, Man" Please don't, lol

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Aug 2, 2009 -> 10:11 AM) Maybe he can sing the national anthem instead of Liz Phair..... Liz Phair is cuter and rocks for an "old chick" IMHO. Ten years ago, I had a really big crush on her...like Sarah McLachlan, too. Maybe the only SoxTalk member to go to Lilith Fair???

We haven't traded Fields for just nothing. KW won't just give him up like he did Broadway and Anderson...there's always the possibility with Thome/Dye leaving he gets a 3rd and final opportunity, although it really does seem the writing's on the wall with his recent comments...not quite a war of words with KW and Ozzie like Rauch had in the media, though. Bridges are 75% burned at this point. KW's smart enough to know Nix/Getz can't handle 3B...Viciedo MIGHT arrive for 2010 and Morel/Retherford are long-shots at best. He can sit on Fields for now, wait for him to "recover" his ST stroke (short and quicker) at Charlotte and maybe he becomes a starter again in 2010. Or he finds a Mora/Rolen/Encarnacion/Wigginton (thinking Herbert Perry here) veteran on a one-year deal. Adrian Beltre would be "dreamy" but depends on Thome/Dye re-signings. Too bad Adam Dunn couldn't play 3B. I'd love to see them give Blalock a shot to return to that position with us...if the money's right. He also helps solve the LH bat issue/absence of Thome being gone in all likelihood.

Brian Simmons says hello...can't really remember Cangelosi's defense. Kenny Williams...Jimmy Hurst....Anthony Webster...Jeremy Reed also chime in.

And the 6-foot-5, 240-pound Richard, 25, topped out at 94-95 mph with his fastball while keeping the Brewers off balance with a 82-mph change. “I like the tempo,” Black said. “He worked fast and threw a good game. That was a pretty solid outing for a guy who flew into San Diego this morning.” After learning of the trade yesterday, Richard drove to his home in Lafayette, Ind., last night and then traveled to Indianapolis yesterday morning to catch a flight to San Diego. Over his past three starts, including two with the White Sox, Richard has allowed three runs over 21 2/3 innings. Like Latos three nights earlier in Cincinnati, Richard retired the first 10 hitters he faced and didn't give up a hit until former Padre Mike Cameron lined a double over Gwynn's head in the fifth. “He did a fantastic job,” Gwynn said of Richard. “That's one of the top three offenses in baseball and he held them to two hits.” San Diego Union Tribune

QUOTE (GreatScott82 @ Aug 2, 2009 -> 06:03 AM) From what im hearing, Tampa may not have the funds to grant Crawford's $10 million club option. I heard 2 things. I heard the Rays are going to take the option and shop him this winter (most likely) and I also heard they might even consider taking the $1.5 million buy out. If they are to shop him you HAVE to look into it this winter. If we could aqcuire Crawford and sign him to an extension, Soxtalk shall no longer have leadoff envy!! As far as Jordan Danks goes: He is currently hitting .297, 61 runs, .385 OBP and 36 RBI. Not stellar numbers but not to bad. I'm guessing if he continues to show progress, and rocks it out in Fall ball and in ST i say let the young man learn at the big league level while hitting 9th. No way the Rays don't keep him and get the best return...letting him go and spending $1.5 million for the buyout is simply insane for their organization to ponder....bad enough they let Edwin Jackson get away for almost nothing.

Mauer seems ticketed for 1B eventually... If he was an everyday catcher, MAYBE. But that's such a huge long-term deal, only 3-5 teams in baseball realistically could offer it and survive him suffering a major injury.