Soxy Posted December 3, 2003 Share Posted December 3, 2003 Im all over the Jacque Jones Bandwagon. I fully agree! If our hitting coach can get him to make them pitch to him (and be more patient) he would be an amazing all arounder. I really like Jones, he plays with heart and is fun to watch. But I don't know if the Twins will trade him to their biggest rivals. But it would be nice of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
witesoxfan Posted December 3, 2003 Share Posted December 3, 2003 Latroy Hawkins was a 4.50 ERA reliever with two good seasons under his back. Rincon and Belfour have as much chance of being sub-3.00 ERA studs again as Sullivan and Wunsht. Wake up. Minnesota is an 80-win team next year. All we gotta do is play fundamental baseball and come through in the clutch (we haven't done that since 2000), and ewr win the division by 10-12 games. Even if they are an 80-win team(which I have thought the past TWO seasons), that may still be enough to win the division. The Indians still suck ass, the Tigers still suck ass, the Royals will probably come down to earth a little, and we are doing all of nothing to try to improve our chances....we could see the Twins win the division by 5-10 games again, easily. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrandoFan Posted December 3, 2003 Share Posted December 3, 2003 Even if they are an 80-win team(which I have thought the past TWO seasons Twins were 5 games UNDER at the 2003 ASB. All we had to do is play decent, fundamental baseball (little less overswinging, a little less GIDP with RISP, a little more bunting with a GW run on 2nd and no outs, etc) against the WEAK competition in that span for Minnesota to fall apart and not even go after Stewart.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
witesoxfan Posted December 3, 2003 Share Posted December 3, 2003 Twins were 5 games UNDER at the 2003 ASB. All we had to do is play decent, fundamental baseball (little less overswinging, a little less GIDP with RISP, a little more bunting) against the WEAK competition in that span for Minnesota to fall apart and not even go after Stewart.... And they had the best record in baseball after that. They won like 43 games in the second half, didn't they? Could have been more too had they not put a AAA team on on the field against the Tigers. I still think they make the Stewart deal even if we go on a little run, and we still lose the division. With the way we looked in those last two series of the year against the Twins, I have almost no doubt in my mind we lose the division to them. That all falls strictly on the manager. He's not here anymore, and I think we all know why he isn't here anymore. And hopefully Ozz brings what we needed last year this year. It's still gonna be a year too late though IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrandoFan Posted December 3, 2003 Share Posted December 3, 2003 I still think they make the Stewart deal even if we go on a little run, and we still lose the division. With the way we looked in those last two series of the year against the Twins, I have almost no doubt in my mind we lose the division to them. This is simple: If we play in the first half like we played in the second half (against TOUGHER schedule, mind you), we would have been 10-12 games ahead of the (5 games under .500) Twins, and they would have NEVER gone after Stewart, wasting Kielty in the process, because they'd realize it's over. Hell, despite the s***ty and uninspired and selfish ball we played, Sox STILL were 2 games ahead of the Twins as late as middle of SEPTEMBER. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YASNY Posted December 4, 2003 Share Posted December 4, 2003 The Sox simply cannot come out of the box so lethargic this year. They have to come out hitting, pitching and hustling. For once, there will be some excitement building around the team when the kids get out of school and maybe some of them will actually talk their dads into taking them to USCell to see a game or two. They screw up any chance they have of having a banner year attendance-wise by stumbling out of the gate every year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshPR Posted December 4, 2003 Share Posted December 4, 2003 Posted on Wed, Dec. 03, 2003 SHOOTER: Losing Hawkins gets Twins a draft pick CHARLEY WALTERS Pioneer Press Columnist AAs a result of free-agent Twins relief pitcher LaTroy Hawkins agreeing to contract terms with the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday, the Twins will get the Cubs' first-round pick, No. 24 overall, in June's amateur draft. The Twins have the No. 21 overall pick in the draft. Although Hawkins' $11 million deal has been reported to be for three years, Hawkins, who turns 31 on Dec. 21, has an opt-out clause after two years. If Hawkins averages 60 appearances a season for the Cubs, the three-year deal would increase to $12.5 million. If Hawkins becomes the Cubs' closer instead of setup man, a distinct possibility considering the unpredictability of Chicago closer Joe Borowski, the deal would be worth $15.2 million. Hawkins grew up in nearby Gary, Ind. Insiders say Hawkins' deal includes a $2 million signing bonus. • The Twins are expected to re-sign closer Eddie Guardado for about $7.5 million for two years. But the Twins' Plan B, if they are unable to sign Guardado, is to try to sign free-agent right-handed closer Roberto Hernandez of Atlanta. However, there's a good chance Hernandez will sign with the Chicago White Sox because his former teammate and pal, Ozzie Guillen, is the White Sox manager. Stay away from Hernandez and his no control 90 MPH fastball Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greasywheels121 Posted December 5, 2003 Share Posted December 5, 2003 Molto, great post. We agree about the KW aspect, the Sox have tried for the past few years to fly under the radar when it comes to leaking stuff out about who they're considering, trade rumors, etc. You are right, there could be a blockbuster looming, who knows. And KW has always proved to be aggressive, if not on target all the time. As for the Cubs, it depends on how deep one's dislike for the Cubs runs. Mine runs very deep, and as such, I really hate to see them do anything that appears to be an improvement. Hawkins may work well for them, but he's really just come into his own the last 2 years, and he's been pretty well protected by the rest of that Twins bullpen. So while I'm happy to see the Twins lose him, I wish he'd gone elsewhere other than the Cubs. I totally agree. KW has done a very good job in the GM chair. We know KW does deals etc. in a different manner. We really had no idea that we were getting Colon last year. KW definitely has something up his sleeve. We'll just have to wait and see what it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heads22 Posted December 5, 2003 Share Posted December 5, 2003 And, regardless of what the Cubs do, they still suck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greasywheels121 Posted December 5, 2003 Share Posted December 5, 2003 And, regardless of what the Cubs do, they still suck. As Harry Caray always said..."Cubs when? Cubs when?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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