winninguglyin83 Posted January 19, 2004 Share Posted January 19, 2004 Buehrle and Paulie for Pujols and Morris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
witesoxfan Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 Buehrle and Paulie for Pujols and Morris We'd be getting ripped off! About the up-the-middle thing....recall the Twins from last year, with Pierzynski, Rivas, Guzman, and Hunter. It would be hard as hell to find 4 better players then that, along with an awesome bullpen. Same with 2002 for them. In 2001 with the Indians, you had Diaz(who had his best year by quite a bit), Alomar, Vizquel, and Lofton, 4 very good players defensively, and to boot, they had a stellar bullpen. In 2000 with the White Sox, you had Johnson, Duham, Valentin, and Singleton, all 4 good, not great, and underrated defenders. Durham has little range but turns the DP very well, Valentin who has range as we have seen but at times can have stone hands and an erratic throwing arm, and Singleton, who as Hawk has said in the past, is deceptively fast. And Johnson is a solid catcher. And I forgot to mention with those same White Sox, they had a pretty damn good bullpen too. You can go back to all winning teams, and in most of them, the two constants are being good up the middle, and having a good bullpen. Hell, it's won the AL Central for a few years now, atleast 4 from off the top of my head, and probably even more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
israel4ever Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 Pujols wants long-term deal By R.B. FALLSTROM, AP Sports Writer January 18, 2004 ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Albert Pujols wants a long-term contract from the St. Louis Cardinals, and he doesn't plan to give them a bargain. ``What do you mean?'' Pujols said Sunday at the team's annual winter fanfest. ``This is business. There's no break here. ``You try to get what you deserve and that's what I want. I've taken care of my business in the field the last three years and hopefully I get treated respectfully, that's all I ask for.'' Pujols, who won his first NL batting title and finished second in MVP balloting behind Barry Bonds last season, expects to file for arbitration Tuesday. Both he and the Cardinals anticipate Pujols, 24, will win a record arbitration award. The Cardinals reportedly offered Pujols a $55 million, five-year contract. Pujols refused to discuss the status of talks. ``It's a tough negotiation because it's obviously a player that has never been in this category before,'' general manager Walt Jocketty said. ``There are very few comparables.'' In 1997, Mark McGwire signed for less than market value with the Cardinals, soon after joining them in a trade from Oakland. But Pujols, who batted .359 last season with 43 home runs, 124 RBIs and 137 runs scored, doesn't plan to do the same. After watching the team allow Eduardo Perez and Miguel Cairo to leave as free agents this offseason and seeing the Cardinals trade J.D. Drew and Eli Marrero, Pujols said it might be best not to get too attached. ``I'm pretty sure it's going to work out,'' Pujols said. ``It's great to stay with one team and not get traded. ``I love the city, I love the fans, but also you need to understand this is business. Next year I could be somewhere else.'' The Cardinals don't see that happening. Manager Tony La Russa said the team wanted to make Pujols a ``Stan Musial, where he plays his whole career here.'' Pujols said he won't let his contract status affect his play. He made $900,000 last year, the largest one-year deal for a third-year player, and is due for a huge raise no matter what happens. ``I've been getting ready working out, and I'm not even thinking about it,'' Pujols said. ``It doesn't matter how much money I'm going to make, the money is not going to change the way I play the game.'' La Russa has no worries about Pujols' commitment. The only question is where he'll play. Pujols, who played left field last year, likely will move to first base after Tino Martinez was traded to the Devil Rays. But Pujols played four positions regularly in each of his first two seasons and he's willing to play wherever he's needed. ``It doesn't matter to me until we break camp and we start the season, and even then during the season if somebody goes down and I have to move to the outfield, I'll do it,'' Pujols said. ``Because I'm a teammate guy.'' Pujols was limited in his throws last year by a sprained elbow ligament. He said he's been throwing without problems for almost a month and a half. ``It feels fine,'' Pujols said. ``It doesn't bother me at all.'' The Sox wouldn't sign Pujols if he offered to play here for $10 million/per. JR ain't spending money! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steff Posted January 20, 2004 Author Share Posted January 20, 2004 No s***... <_> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
israel4ever Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 Spring training hasn't even started and you guys are already writing off the Sox? I think they are gonna have a very talented team. I just hope Koch and Kornerko can rebound for sub-par seasons. I don't think Loaiza is a fluke but I'd be suprised to see him win 20 games again. The key to his success last year was adding a cutter to his arsenal. Garland needs to get his butt in gear and live up to his expectations. You know he has the potential. Sox should hire McDowell for a pitching coach. He had the best attitude I've seen any pitcher have. Attack attack attack. Don't nibble. I think Rowand and Harris will contribute alot to our team because their style of play is just like Guillen's style, hustle hustle hustle. Sox Rule! Welcome Striker!!! We all love the Sox, just like you, but you gotta be realistic. They aren't nearly as good as the 2003 squad, that lost EIGHT players and didn't (really) replace any of 'em. If EVERYTHING works out for the Sox this year, we could finish in 2nd! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kapkomet Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 One could argue that the Sox were an underacheiving bunch last year (in April and May they sure as hell were, forget September... they were gassed from trying to play catchup from April and May.) So if this year's group is overacheiving, they're about the same place they were last year - 4 games is not that far from the playoffs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elcaballo45 Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 I never like articles that have anything to do with Elcaballo's position being taken by a fellow LF! Even if it is Pujols, although i did see he might be playing 1B this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YASNY Posted January 21, 2004 Share Posted January 21, 2004 I never like articles that have anything to do with Elcaballo's position being taken by a fellow LF! Even if it is Pujols, although i did see he might be playing 1B this year. Hey. I'm a Carlos fan too, but let's be real. I'd take Pujols for Carlos Lee in a heartbeat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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