Sox aiming for Eckstein...

[SoxPride56]

I guess I am ready to see a team like this next year:

 

1. Eckstein, SS

2. Fields, LF

3. Thome, DH

4. Konerko, 1B

5. Dye, RF

6. Pierzynski, C

7. Crede, 3B

8. Rowand, CF

9. Richar, SS

 

BENCH: Jerry Owens & Andy Gonzalez - "dynamic bench duo!"; Lucy - C; Pablo Ozuna - INF; Alex Cintron - INF

 

ROTATION: Buehrle, Vazquez, Garland, Danks, Egbert/Floyd/Gio/Broadway

 

BULLPEN: Jenks, MacDougal, Thornton, Linebrink, Logan, Broadway/Floyd/Sisco/Aardsma

 

------

 

I don't want to see a team like that, but I am prepared to.

 

 

 

What about Jose C.?

[Jeremy]

Well, no, we have a lot of guys who can hardly double.

 

Sure, that's a big part of it too but I'd still say it's largely due to our poor batting average.

[Kalapse]

A small defense for David Eckstein, he is very popular. He puts asses in seats, because there is something to like in a 5'7'' grinder shortstop.

If he's so popular then why aren't the Cardinals even making an attempt to re-sign him? They have no other in-house leadoff options and no middle infield prospects. Why are they letting him walk?

[santo=dorf]

If he's so popular then why aren't the Cardinals even making an attempt to re-sign him? They have no other in-house leadoff options and no middle infield prospects. Why are they letting him walk?

We should start a website posing as Cardinal fans demanding Walt to re-sign him for the reasons you mentioned.

[spiderman]

I guess I am ready to see a team like this next year:

 

1. Eckstein, SS

2. Fields, LF

3. Thome, DH

4. Konerko, 1B

5. Dye, RF

6. Pierzynski, C

7. Crede, 3B

8. Rowand, CF

9. Richar, SS

 

BENCH: Jerry Owens & Andy Gonzalez - "dynamic bench duo!"; Lucy - C; Pablo Ozuna - INF; Alex Cintron - INF

 

ROTATION: Buehrle, Vazquez, Garland, Danks, Egbert/Floyd/Gio/Broadway

 

BULLPEN: Jenks, MacDougal, Thornton, Linebrink, Logan, Broadway/Floyd/Sisco/Aardsma

 

------

 

I don't want to see a team like that, but I am prepared to.

 

If the White Sox were to sign Rowand for $9-$10 million a season for 3-4 years, I don't think he' dbe batting 8th.

[Balta1701]

If the White Sox were to sign Rowand for $9-$10 million a season for 3-4 years, I don't think he' dbe batting 8th.

All but 2 years of his career, Aaron Rowand has not been better than a #8 or so hitter in the AL.

[mr_genius]

Eckstein?

 

wtf

Edited September 2, 2007 by mr_genius

[spiderman]

All but 2 years of his career, Aaron Rowand has not been better than a #8 or so hitter in the AL.

 

Then I'd question signing him to that sort of contract if you didn't think he'd be able to bat higher in the order. Can't our money be spent better than on a #8 hitter ?

[DBAHO]

Uribe needs to be replaced as he's had 3 seasons here and gone down offensively in every one. He's not getting any better and is a liability at anything more than $2-3M.

 

But Eckstein ain't really the answer. We'd suffer defensively, and I don't think he's all that good (although I'm sure KW would talk up the "grinder" factor).

 

Hence why dealing Garland to a team such as the Dodgers for Chin - Lung Hu and more prospects makes more sense.

 

And after Contreras' outing today, there may be some hope we can deal him as well (and not have to pay some of his salary to get him dealt).

[greg775]

If we want to contend, we need to sign Torii Hunter caliber type players.

I love Rowand but would rather have Hunter and A-Rod.

This organization needs to act like a big money WS champion not shoot for cheap alternatives like Richar, Erstad, etc.

[greg775]

Why not? Reinsdorf owes it to the fans who should call the Better Business Bureau to complain about their bang for the buck this year.

[Kalapse]

If we want to contend, we need to sign Torii Hunter caliber type players.

I love Rowand but would rather have Hunter and A-Rod.

This organization needs to act like a big money WS champion not shoot for cheap alternatives like Richar, Erstad, etc.

Big Money Organizations (BOS/NYY/NYM/CHC/CHW/LAA) all have young, cheap alternatives on their rosters, it's a necessity really. The key is to have a nice balance of high priced veterans and very cheap younger players which is something the Sox are trying to do right now with Fields, Richar, Jenks, Dye, Konerko, Buehrle and Thome.

 

I'm pretty sure everyone would rather have Hunter or Arod over a guy like Aaron Rowand but in a league where Vernon Wells is getting $100M+ and A-Rod is looking for $30M a year sometimes the cheaper alternatives are the better value buys.

[Kalapse]

Please, for the sake of the board, try and understand the economics of the game, a little better. Your asking for the Sox to spend 40+ million on two players. TWO. The Sox payroll this season is roughly 103 million, which I believe is in the top 5 in all of baseball. If you really expect ANY owner to spend 40 million on two players in the same off-season, it's unfair of you to slam ownership, as you have no idea on how things work.

Not just $40M+ a year but a probable $250M+ investment in two 32 year old players.

[DBAHO]

The only way the Sox could think about signing Rowand or Hunter IMHO, would be to trade BOTH Contreras and Garland, basically for prospects (including a young SS that can play right now).

 

You free up $20M then, because remember some people have speculated that Hunter could get 5/75 or even 18M a season, while Rowand will probably get around 5/55.

 

Payroll has increased from season to season, but I wonder if it will increase as much as it has in the past considering;

 

1 - Our subpar season.

2 - Have we put more money into player development / scouting / Latin America etc.

 

This team can be fixed for a quick rebuild, but I think it's more likely on the trade market than the free agency route myself.

[CaliSoxFanViaSWside]

Chicago White Sox = Baltimore Orioles

 

This team is not one or two players away from contending. We've got last-place talent in Chicago, and the minors hold very little promise.

 

We have the fourth-highest payroll in baseball. Don't think failure is the result of not being aggressive in getting high priced veterans; we're not the Twins trying to decide which of our home-grown superstars we can afford to re-sign and which we'll have to let walk. No, our problem is that we've overpaid for players in their decline phase. This is a fact and adding Eckstein, Hunter, or Jones would be going down that same path of failure we've already seen from the Orioles and now the White Sox over the last two years.

 

What we need is young, cheap talent in our system. What we do not need is more declining veterans with eight-digit pricetags and multi-year demands.

 

I agree. Eckstein is not the answer either at short or 2nd base. Uribe for all his pitifulness batting plays good D and has a great arm . I'm sure the pitching staff loves him at short . If you want to play Go-Go White Sox baseball that starts with pitching defense , and speed. Couldn't Furcal provide defense and speed ? That should be KW's primary target. Then pray Contreras wakes up and pitches good the rest of the season so we can dump him. Next should be finding a way to rid ourselves of Thome. Old slow and injury prone doesn't fit in with a team who will already have plodders like Konerko , AJ , Crede and an aging Dye. It's not necessary to have one constant DH. Dye , Fields, Crede and others can share that role. Next sign Rowand . Maybe not the best option out there but fills a huge outfield hole adds speed and defense , adds to team chemistry reuniting the 3 stooges and stimulates fan interest. We need to keep drawing fans if we want to sign key free agents.

Edited September 3, 2007 by CaliSoxFanViaSWside

[Jeremy]

I agree. Eckstein is not the answer either at short or 2nd base. Uribe for all his pitifulness batting plays good D and has a great arm . I'm sure the pitching staff loves him at short . If you want to play Go-Go White Sox baseball that starts with pitching defense , and speed. Couldn't Furcal provide defense and speed ? That should be KW's primary target. Then pray Contreras wakes up and pitches good the rest of the season so we can dump him. Next should be finding a way to rid ourselves of Thome. Old slow and injury prone doesn't fit in with a team who will already have plodders like Konerko , AJ , Crede and an aging Dye. It's not necessary to have one constant DH. Dye , Fields, Crede and others can share that role. Next sign Rowand . Maybe not the best option out there but fills a huge outfield hole adds speed and defense , adds to team chemistry reuniting the 3 stooges and stimulates fan interest. We need to keep drawing fans if we want to sign key free agents.

 

If we jettison Thome, our best hitter, and consider sticking with Uribe, our worst hitter, then I think our league worst offense will be worse next season, regardless of whether or not we sign Rowand.

 

[CWSGuy406]

FWIW, I believe Eckstein was rated average defensively according to UZR. It'll be interesting to see what comes up on Tango's Fan Scouting Report which he's conducting right about now.

 

I really wouldn't mind Eckstein for one year, but I doubt the Sox could get him for a year. If the Sox could grab Eckstein on a one-year deal, I'd look at not picking up Uribe's option but still keep him on board in more of a super-sub role (think 2004).

 

But even if the Sox did sign Eckstein on the ideal one year deal, it's still -- as a poster at SSS put it -- "putting a bandaid over a gaping chest wound". They need to find an option, even if it's a player like Richar (not Richar himself) -- in other words, a player who they're not 100% in, but could still give him a season to see if he can establish himself.

[BearSox]

As much as I dislike Eckstein, I wouldn't mind bringing him in as a bench player to back up at 2B and SS, and also bring in a real SS like Hu.

[Bubba Philips]

As much as I dislike Eckstein, I wouldn't mind bringing him in as a bench player to back up at 2B and SS, and also bring in a real SS like Hu.

Lets take a chance on Hu no matter what.

 

[hitlesswonder]

If we jettison Thome, our best hitter, and consider sticking with Uribe, our worst hitter, then I think our league worst offense will be worse next season, regardless of whether or not we sign Rowand.

I'm going to go ahead an agree with that. Why do people want to drop Thome? It makes no sense for a number of reasons:

1) He's the best hitter on the team, the only one with OBP skills.

2) He's not that expensive and is a relatively short term commitment.

3) He has a no trade clause

4) If you want more speed from the DH slot...well, whatever. If "plodders" are a concern Crede and Konerko are the ones you should look at.

5) If you want to trade a bat, Konerko is the one. LAA and BALT probably still like him and his contract is more onerous than Thome's. Plus it should be easier to come close to replacing Konerko's production.

 

You can argue the Sox should semi-platoon Thome against LHP and I'd agree...

[Dick Allen]

I'm going to go ahead an agree with that. Why do people want to drop Thome? It makes no sense for a number of reasons:

1) He's the best hitter on the team, the only one with OBP skills.

2) He's not that expensive and is a relatively short term commitment.

3) He has a no trade clause

4) If you want more speed from the DH slot...well, whatever. If "plodders" are a concern Crede and Konerko are the ones you should look at.

5) If you want to trade a bat, Konerko is the one. LAA and BALT probably still like him and his contract is more onerous than Thome's. Plus it should be easier to come close to replacing Konerko's production.

 

You can argue the Sox should semi-platoon Thome against LHP and I'd agree...

Thome got blasted last season for only hitting 42 homers, driving in 109, hitting .288 having a .416 OBP and 1.014 OPS. So this season he will be considered worthless. People want to replace him with someone who does about half of what he does, but someone who can play a position for those 9 away games at NL parks, obviously not realizing that will misplace one of the other regular players.

[CaliSoxFanViaSWside]

If we jettison Thome, our best hitter, and consider sticking with Uribe, our worst hitter, then I think our league worst offense will be worse next season, regardless of whether or not we sign Rowand.

 

I never said stick with Uribe I said get Furcal. With a full year of Fields and Crede and possibly better years from Dye and Konerko and a good year from Rowand I think Thome is replaceable. I realize his limited no trade clause is intact but on a team I'm thinking about there no room for one dimensional players. Speed, defense , pitching. So often the impact of great D is overlooked. We saw where great pitching and D along with timely hitting can do in 2005. We need to get younger more talented players not hang on to the aged and aching . That premise removes Thome , Contreras, Pods and Erstad. If Owens improves enough to bat .280 or higher and draw some walks I think the offense would be fine. I know theres a lot of what-ifs but its always that way when speculating about future performance of players.

[witesoxfan]

As much as I dislike Eckstein, I wouldn't mind bringing him in as a bench player to back up at 2B and SS, and also bring in a real SS like Hu.

 

a bench player like Erstad was this year. Meaning he's going to start when he's healthy.

 

signing Eckstein is a terrible move.

[CaliSoxFanViaSWside]

Thome got blasted last season for only hitting 42 homers, driving in 109, hitting .288 having a .416 OBP and 1.014 OPS. So this season he will be considered worthless. People want to replace him with someone who does about half of what he does, but someone who can play a position for those 9 away games at NL parks, obviously not realizing that will misplace one of the other regular players.

 

Personally I love Thome and he deserves to DH on a contending team and get a ring. I'm hoping its possible to get him to waive the NTC , trade him to a contender and get some value in return. We need young talent plain and simple.