caulfield12

He doesn't look incredibly out of shape right now, certainly not quite so bad as reported. But he definitely needs to shed 15-25 pounds. Let the excuses roll in from other organizations about why they didn't sign THIS Cuban, lol. It would be incredibly interesting to see which teams submitted offers to Torres, and for how many years and dollars.

QUOTE (Stan Bahnsen @ Nov 20, 2008 -> 05:03 PM) This could be great news for the Sox. I'm sure we'll get plenty of comments from other team reps that saw his workouts, after the signing becomes official. Since he's "only" getting 11 mil, there must be some doubters. The Sox probably give this kid his best opportunity to get motivated and succeed at the big league level. Does this mean Fields is likely gone in a trade now? Does it make KW more likely to trade Dye? Fields SHOULD be given every chance to show how he can perform in ST...if for no other reason than to increase his value to other teams. From all reports, Viciedo is at least 1-2 years away. If nothing else, based on his being so out of shape, it will take him at least one season in the US with Sox trainers/nutritionists/strength and conditioning people. I also think there's a possibility we see either a platoon or the acquisition of a Blake level of player for NO MORE than 2 years. They also have to decide as soon as possible whether he's best-suited for LF, 3B, RF, 1B or DH and make all possible efforts to get him acclimated to playing that particular position exclusively. Cubano, when was the last time two position players from Cuba were on the same infield (or outfield, for that matter) on an MLB team? Has it ever happened before? The strange thing is that we've now found a pipeline into Cuba (and Japan with Takatsu/Iguchi to a lesser extent) but the same thing hasn't transpired with young Venezuelan players despite having the most famous/successful Venezelano ever. For now, I'll attribute this to Wilder and other internal organizational weaknesses, but there's really no excuse for not having 2-3 future studs from that country as well. But we'll take whatever we can get.

QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ Nov 20, 2008 -> 02:42 PM) You also have to consider that he is a very well-liked player and that he was a part of the historic Yankees. I think he's definitely going to get in when you consider those things, plus his numbers. Plus he went to Stanford and can do the NY Times Sunday Crossword Puzzle.

First of all, it's a huge injury risk to slide headfirst into 1B. Second, it actually slows you down, this is a proven/statistically-valid point. Second, you're leaving out the 2000 season, when we finished 28 games over .500 and the Twins 24 games BELOW .500. Not even our putrid 07 team managed to accomplish that, in all its Andy Gonzalez-ness. Include 2000, and we're ahead of the Twins in overall record. The coin flip has been the rule of baseball for decades. Should we apologize to them? Maybe the AL should give up some of those World Series titles in the last 15 years, too, with the home field "unfairly" going to the All-Star game winner. Nobody expected TOO much out of Griffey. Swisher, yes. But Griffey had been battling injuries all season long. We don't need pure speed. We need baseball players who are more athletic and can score from 1st on a double, 2nd on a single and from 3rd on sacrifice flies...and hopefully not hit into 20+ double plays per season.

At $16 million per season for four years, he can just import her with him and build his own personal cable access network for her, like Wayne's World.

QUOTE (gosox41 @ Nov 19, 2008 -> 11:33 PM) The asking price on Crisp has gone down a lot. Didn't Boston want a lot more for him from us a couple of years ago? There was even talk they wanted Buehrle for Crisp, although that was ridiculous to Sox fans.

QUOTE (Dan @ Nov 19, 2008 -> 11:45 PM) Does anything the Cubs do make sense? They signed Dempster for 52mil for cryin out loud. Yeah, but we're paying Javy $23 million for two seasons. That's only a difference of only $1.5 million per season. I think I'd rather have Dempster's contract if I could exchange it for Javy's straight up as of today. I wouldn't think twice if it was 3 years intead of 4, but that obviously increases the risk to the Cubs.

QUOTE (MO2005 @ Nov 19, 2008 -> 08:04 PM) Seriously instead of investing so much time into this post, invest it into some common sense..Number one why does ANYONE want these players on this team. They make no sense anywhere near this team. Eric Hinske vs. Brian Anderson? Jason Varitek vs. Cole? Pedro Martinez vs. Clayton Richard or Poreda. It is a waste of a couple million dollars that could be used elsewhere. Speed does not slump!!! If you throw guys like Jerry Owens, Wily Taveras, Chone Figgins, etc. etc. into speed roles, they will use speed to create opportunities. Winning in baseball involves role players. If Owens job is to bunt to create an opportunity, then let him bunt 100 times next year to get into a pitcher's head that he is hard to get out. Look what makes the Twins so damn successful. Everyone hates them because guys like Gomez and Span will bunt to just create opportunities. What I am saying is instead of talking about backup guys that we already get enough of on this team should be swapped for guys like Nick Punto, what about him? Howie Kendrick, what about him? Damn I'll even go out on a limb here and say Felix Pie as a back-up..Kenny knows he needs someone to put some fear into opposing pitchers! Now Mike MacDougal is a waste of a couple of million that could be used elsewhere. To say bringing in someone like Colon, Garcia or Pedro as the fifth starter is a waste of money...well...it's far from clear that the White Sox even view Poreda as a starter for 2009, and it's far from clear that Richard can consistently get through opposing line-ups the 2nd and 3rd time around. Yeah, we're not going to bring in Varitek as a back-up or even platoon, and it's also far from clear that we've just given the job to Cole Armstrong already. We don't know what KW's thinking, but I doubt it's whether Eric Hinske would be better than Anderson/Wise/Owens. The reason the Twins scare other teams is because of that dome...mostly. Before, it was Liriano/Santana and then Nathan...that could be intimidating. I don't think Jerry Owens will ever intimidate anyone like Pods did the first 3-4 months of 2005. Taveras? Closer. But Punto diving into 1B when he's out on a routine grounder to SS by 15 feet? Well, that's just kind of silly grinderism. Pablo Ozuna brought much of the same to Sox, by the way. The Twins have won 4/7 division championships, the White Sox 3/9 and a World Series. Why should we be copying them, exactly? Especially since they are moving into a new facility and it's unclear how that will translate...they certainly were a horrible to average road team last year. Finally, if we should emulate anything, it's the Twins' success in incubating Scott Baker, Liriano, Perkins, Blackburn and Slowey within the last couple of seasons. We really haven't been able to get one legit starter to the big leagues since Buehrle/Garland/Wells.

Sorry, just waking up here in Thailand. Shouldn't have said it in that way...no, I don't have any "insider/Cuban" information on Viciedo. Just speculation like everyone else. Although if we do trade Dye for Victorino, move Quentin to RF and Viciedo is our new LF/3B platoon, it would be interesting to say the least. Apparently KW didn't show any interest in Crisp at all. Darn. I had him pegged for bringing in Blake and Crisp at the start of the off-season. Crisp had a .392 on-base percentage after the All-Star break this past season and played very well in a season in which he and Jacoby Ellsbury exchanged the roles of starter and extra man because of injuries to J.D. Drew and Manny Ramirez. He is one of the better defensive center fielders in the game, and his .751 OPS in 2008 and his stellar defensive play are upgrades for the Royals -- whose center fielders had an OPS of .638 this past season. The Red Sox surveyed what was a surprisingly small market for Crisp -- Cincinnati was the other club with the most interest -- and decided that with Jeremy Affeldt starting out the 2008 free-agent market by signing a two-year, $8 million deal with the Giants, it likely will be easier to find another outfielder than secure a low-cost power reliever. Peter Gammons

QUOTE (elrockinMT @ Nov 19, 2008 -> 06:51 PM) We trade Jermaine Dye for Victorino? Why? Dye is still a solid ballplayer with much value to the Sox. You fill one need and open up a second Because it's much harder to find a quality CFer than a corner outfielder, although Dye's numbers put him in "elite" company for the past four years at that position. Victorino's a younger player near his prime years, Dye's aging, losing range and might be an injury or full-time DH waiting to happen. We've been lucky with him so far, for the most part, coming off the injuries he had in Oakland. Victorino has a more affordable contract...you can move Quentin over to RF. It's much easier to find a LFer (heck, Josh Fields is a possibility) to get "average" MLB production out of without overpaying than to find a Top 10 MLB CF. Irony, of course...we had Reed, Anthony Webster, Rowand, Brian Anderson and Chris B. Young four seasons ago (a seeming embarassment of riches), and none of them have turned out to be the long-term solution for various reasons.

The BEST we could hope for in this pitching market from the FA market is Oliver Perez, Randy Wolf or Jon Garland. All will probably make MORE than Javier Vazquez, and for 3-5 year contracts. Well, Wolf, maybe not, but close. Halladay would cost us almost about the same as our winter stove moves for Pujols, Jose Reyes/David Wright and Evan Longoria. If they want to give us Vernon Wells and eat part of that contract, KW could potentially bite on that one...or Rios.

QUOTE (bigruss22 @ Nov 19, 2008 -> 05:21 PM) He was only the starting DH and what, #3/4 hitter? The argument is that he was the WORST of the starting line-up (how you can compare his numbers to Iguchi or Pods and state with equivocation Everett was "worse" or less important is beyond me, it's certainly not crystal-clear)....then you have the five starting pitchers, Jenks, Hermanson, etc. It's a logical argument...but one that will never be settled, because that team was always more than the sum of its individual parts, which is ALWAYS the case with championship teams unless they're the Yankees or Red Sox that can just overwhelm with talent. However, the best Yankees teams weren't just big budget successes, they had their share of Scott Brosiuses, Miguel Cairos, Mike Stantons, Jeff Nelsons and Paul O'Neills who weren't stars, but they knew how to win. Everett's the same type of player. A winner. As much as I don't get out Viagra and genuflect at the Rowand shrine, he was also the kind of player whose intangibles were hard to measure in box scores, like Iguchi. But I'll take the stance that each of these players have a special place in my heart...for SOMETHING that season...Timo's pinch-hitting to win a couple of games, Widger being part of the run in the line-up to rip homers off Randy Johnson, etc. Blum's liner off Wandy Rodriguez. Harris' single to get into scoring position for Dye, etc.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Nov 19, 2008 -> 04:27 PM) What is this? 2001 when those guys were considered young? Just making an exaggerated point that superfast baseball players (with speed being their main asset) aren't usually GOOD baseball players OR football (Renaldo Nehemiah, Alexander Wright, etc.) players, although turning track stars into wide receivers makes a BIT more sense from a logic POV. For every Vince Coleman or Willie McGee that drove the Cardinals' offense, there was a Curt Ford and fortunately for us, Lance Johnson, who didn't fit in. AHA. That's the type of player we need, the modern-day equivalent of the ONE DOG. The players mentioned were just facetious mentionings of players who never amounted to much and are/were borderline starters/prospects/suspects. With the White Sox, the name Julio Ramirez comes to mind, not really for his speed solely but as someone hyped as a five tool player that was a dud. At least Pods had some "baseball skills" by the time he finally reached the majors with the Mariners, but he was still a pretty one-dimensional player.

Suppose it works both ways....the "reasonable" contract makes him much more affordable to keep but also more attractive for other teams to acquire. He's a name player to most casual fans and Roto participants, but I still don't think he's the difference maker that many are looking for...where he's clearly a better option than someone like Coco Crisp. I lived in KC for ten years (1996-2007) and I've seen enough of him in CF at Kauffman to realize he's not someone I'd want out there for the White Sox, at least at that position, on an everyday basis. If he was healthy enough to play 150-155 games, that is. In fact, you can argue the Royals had to take on a contract that was a little steep for them (once again, historically) because they've learned DeJesus is NOT the answer at the position, and neither is Joey Gathright.

If they don't get Burnett, they seem determined to take Lowe...still waiting word from Mussina this week on his plans. I think both of these deals will end up being disasters for the Yankees, especially if they go 5 years with Burnett, or even 4.

http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/reds...as/extra_bases/ Deal confirmed at Boston Globe now. Interesting note: Some think Justin Masterson's going to the rotation (Buchholz/Wakefield spot) with this move, as Ramirez slides into Masterson's set-up role.

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Nov 19, 2008 -> 10:05 AM) The A's organization is develooping quite a pedigree with Francona, Wash, Mancha, and now Waka really branching out. The Man from LaMacha...not to mention they incubated GM's Ricciardi and DiPodesta (not for long in LA), maybe I'm leaving a few others out. Grady Fuson.

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Nov 19, 2008 -> 10:01 AM) Wow, the Royals are really good at making moves that force them to make other moves. A name change, perhaps? Kansas City Logjams? Maybe they'll now give us Billy Butler, who will make up for our losing out on Viciedo. Immobile but the potential to rake. I still think DeJesus, Teahen and Gathright are likely casualties. The problem is that Guillen is really a DH, masquerading as a RFer. I do think that things are really changing economically in baseball when the Royals can afford to take on Meche, Guillen and now Crisp with the downturn we're in. And the Red Sox are the ones shedding salary here. Maybe Maier in LF/CF.

QUOTE (SoxFanForever @ Nov 19, 2008 -> 09:59 AM) I think you mean Joey Gathright. Hahaha...I'm on drugs today. Kevin Bacon Six Degrees of Separation...thinking overwhelming speed...Carl Lewis in CF...Justin Gatlin...Joey Justin Gathright, lol.

QUOTE (G&T @ Nov 19, 2008 -> 09:37 AM) I hope you aren't correcting his spelling. It's "rapport." 1. repoire 11 up, 15 down Stupid people use this word when they mean "rapport". ". . . Given our 'repoire' I know your intention in saying it was not to make me laugh." So much for my University of Iowa education and six years of teaching. I should have gone to Northwestern, lol. This ranks up there with uncharted/unchartered waters I think. mlbtraderumors.com (By the way, Jenksy market just shrunk a little more. Valverde and Wigginton were put on the market by the 'Stros.) 8:48am: According to Brian McRae reporting for Sports Radio 810 in Kansas City, the Royals acquired Coco Crisp from the Red Sox for reliever Ramon Ramirez. I emailed McRae to confirm, and he said, "It's a done deal." The Royals get speed and a capable center fielder, while the Red Sox receive a quality late-game reliever. Crisp, 29, hit .283/.344/.407 in 409 plate appearances this year. His center field defense saved 26 bases over the average last year, but was two below this year (he did battle groin, hamstring, knee, and foot issues). Crisp will earn $5.75MM in '09 and has an $8MM club option with a $500K buyout for '10. The Red Sox trim payroll here, as Ramirez is not yet arbitration-eligible. He will not reach free agency until after the 2012 season, so the Red Sox impressively acquired four years of his services. The 27 year-old posted a 2.64 ERA in 71.2 innings this year while whiffing 70. The Royals might have to add a reliever to compensate for his absence. They're also a bit heavy on outfielders at this point. HEY, we can trade them Boone Logan for Justin Gathright and all of our CF problems are solved...lol. That would be like having Carl Lewis play CF. Cool!

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Nov 19, 2008 -> 10:33 AM) Sox could still target DeJesus. I don't think the Royals will move him but there is obviously a good rappore as the Sox and Royals have made numerous deal in recent years. REPOIRE Rally McBoone/Dougal. LOL. I think some money must have changed hands from the Red Sox to the Royals...we'll find out later I guess.

QUOTE (Frank the Tank 35 @ Nov 19, 2008 -> 10:22 AM) This just became more feasible... Royals got Coco from Boston (as reported on the Score). As I stated in my offseason projection plan, the Royals have some position players to trade. They now have Gordon, Butler, Shealy, Jacobs, Teahen, DeJesus, Gathright, Crisp, Guillen, and eventually Moustakas to fit into 6 spots. My feeling is that they will try to trade DeJesus. He can be susceptible to injuries, he's not a CFer, he can't hit for enough power to play the corners, he's getting into that stage where he is overpaid for what he brings to a small market team...like Johnny Damon Lite. The Royals parted ways with Beltran, Damon and Dye when they became too successful, holding onto one-time franchise player and most popular Royal Mike Sweeney. I don't think DeJesus will be there long-term...Moore knows he's a complementary player on a great team, not a superstar.

QUOTE (scenario @ Nov 19, 2008 -> 10:08 AM) The Cubs would prefer Abreu or Ibanez, but aren't sure they want to pay for them. Reports are the Yankees will offer arbitration to Abreu.

Everyone seems to know/believe he can and will hit... The question HAS to be about what position he will play and why would he show up to the biggest workout in his life after waiting for so long for such an opportunity and be incredibly out-of-shape? I mean...Torres has babysat/incubated enough baseball players in his career, and a lot of money was riding on this for him as well. Just doesn't make sense why he would look like a cross between Cecil Fielder and the Michelin Man with a little of Jack Black from The Fatties/Tropic Thunder thrown into the mix.

QUOTE (rangercal @ Nov 19, 2008 -> 07:42 AM) I prefer the new Indian actress/model in "Slumdog Millionaire" with my popcorn. She's the hottest thing since, well, the Ecuadorian or Peruvian javelin thrower whose image was cavorting around here in recent days as a signature.