Does anyone else like the fact nobody is giving the SOX a chance in 08

[yoyozuna]

After watching the always "entertaining" Chicago Tribune Live and see that their was so much hopelessness in there Sox discussion (oh by the way the CUBS are gonna win 95 games) I realized that there is so much despair out there. I personally like being the underdog. So instead of putting up line ups and stats I would like to keep it simple. Here are a few things that we have going our way and could help. PLEASE keep in mind this is for fun and assumes that there is probably a move or two left in old KW.

1. Defense should be pretty damn good.

2. Starting pitching questions are mostly a matter of youth. If ONE of these guys steps up we will be pretty solid

3.We've got SWISHER. He's the spark people have been whining about since Rowand left.(Better hitter to boot)

4.There will be no pressure b/c nationally there's no one giving them a chance in hell.

5.When clicking they can be one hell of an offense! And our OBP should go up with Ocab and Swish.

6.Finally there are a lot of BP ?s but the guys that are ?s have all done it before. Basically its a mental thing.

 

GO SOX!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Bring on the 95 win CUBS in the WS!!!!!!!!!

 

 

Oh almost forgot that CTL host KAPLEN is a MAJOR TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLL. The other panelist know it too! Who is this clown!

[soxfan3530]

i like your optimism, but this team as currently assembled has very little chance of competing with the tigers and indians.

Edited January 19, 2008 by soxfan3530

[DABearSoX]

Who knows,no one gave a chance in '05 either....

 

it all comes down to starting pitching and producing runs....if we have mediocre pitching and long balls like normal, we aren't goin anywhere.

[Gbubbs]

Well, I was excited about our bullpen upgrade this morning. But, alas, that didn't go through. Also, I am not sure about your optimism on the defense. Horrendous? I don't think it's that bad, but a lot could go wrong. I assume the increased offense should offset the D.

 

Things to do to give a little credence to your optimism:

 

1) Finish signing Dotel

2) Add a starting pitcher (Colon if he still has an arm attached to his body; Freddy would come back about the time we would know about the need to replace a back 3 starter)

3) If possible, get Bill Hall to play 2nd, CF, 3b and be a possible SS in the future (Maybe Crede and some prospect if the Brewers would do it.)

4) Everybody hold hands and chant Ozzie for a higher power while at Soxfest.

 

I don't like to focus on other teams as Kenny should focus on making this team better--as he has committed to win this year; however, I am still not sold on the Tigers. They look like they have the potential for a lot ogff injuries: Irod, Jones, Shef, Rogers. Mags etc are all getting older and more brittle.

 

 

[The Ginger Kid]

i like your optimism, but this team as currently assembled has very little chance of competing with the tigers and indians.

You can add the twinkies to that list too. I think Young is going to take off in that organization.

[GreatScott82]

Im going to wait and see what KW does with the remaining offseason before i make any judgments. I could careless what any critics think. Right now we may see an upgrade at 2B. We sill may get Dotel or another reliever, we may get another starter. Whats going to happen with Crede and Uribe? THis offseason is far from over....

[Soxfest]

Not Really!

[spiderman]

Im going to wait and see what KW does with the remaining offseason before i make any judgments. I could careless what any critics think. Right now we may see an upgrade at 2B. We sill may get Dotel or another reliever, we may get another starter. Whats going to happen with Crede and Uribe? THis offseason is far from over....

 

I think Dotel would be a nice addition, but I don't expect any major league help when Crede is eventually dealt.

 

I think this is our team - we have a potentially very good lineup should Cabrera and Swiser live up to expectations at the top of the order and the middle of the lineup returns to the form of previous seasons.

 

The bullpen will most likely be improved. After all, how can it be any worse than last season ? (I guess Jenks could implode, but let's hope not).

 

Everything goes back to Contreras-Denks-Floyd in the starting rotation. That's the key - 2 of these guys have to be good.

[greg775]

4.There will be no pressure b/c nationally there's no one giving them a chance in hell.

 

I like your optimism, too, mainly because of Swisher.

Hopefully he's a good grinder, not an Erstad.

As far as pressure ... I don't think big league players feel that much pressure. We've got a lot of veterans and still have some guys from the WS title team. I don't think pressure matters.

[ScottyDo]

yeah, i kinda do like the position we're in. While I agree that players don't usually suffer much from pressure, I do think there is a slight mental aspect to the position, in that teams who are handed the championship before the season even starts (tigers) often don't do what they're supposed to do.

 

Also, just looking at our team in a vacuum that doesn't include the tigers or indians, our team is fairly decent. We have some dead weight in Crede and Uribe but that's actually okay with me. It's far better than a mad scramble for talent. Talent we have. There are question marks surrounding the back of our rotation, however I've seen flashes of Buehrle in Danks and flashes of an unhittable beast in Floyd when he gets that curveball over. Likely, one of them will not live up to expectations this year, but I consider it fairly likely that one of them will.

 

And this is how I prefer to judge teams. In a vacuum. Are they good or are they not? If not, they won't compete. If they are good, they will, despite who they're theoretically looking up at. I guess we'll find out, but with the additions we've made I'd say we have a 50/50 chance of being a good team.

 

Also, sports pundits are mostly idiots. Most reports I've read still cite our "aging ballclub" as a concern, which is just wholly inaccurate nowadays.

[GoodAsGould]

We could contend definitely. If we sign Dotel that could help us achieve that greatly by giving us a great backend of a bullpen. That being said... if we are out of it I really hope we trade off some veterans.

[witesoxfan]

I really don't think people understand how much the Dotel signing would mean. That's a world of difference.

[southsider2k5]

You can add the twinkies to that list too. I think Young is going to take off in that organization.

 

I am curious about Young in Minnesota. They are known as a regimented organizaiton that demands fundimentals and good behavior from their players. Does that sound like Young to you?

[The Critic]

I am curious about Young in Minnesota. They are known as a regimented organizaiton that demands fundamentals and good behavior from their players. Does that sound like Young to you?

Not now it doesn't, but the right environment can benefit a younger player. Young is still maturing as a person and being around people who demand accountability, while at the same time respecting you as a person, could help him grow.

Of course, that's not a certainty, but what is in life?

 

As for the original question, I don't care what the "experts" think, and the Sox shouldn't either. (It's obvious to me that they do, though, given their ridiculous feud with Eddie Munster.)

I just wish I felt better about the rotation. Spots 3-5 scare the crap out of me.

[Rowand44]

If Danks and Floyd produce decently then we have a shot. That's a huge IF though and I just can't see it happening. We really improved our offense and I think our pen is going to be pretty solid as well but once again, the rotation scares the hell out of me.

[SnB]

If Danks and Floyd produce decently then we have a shot. That's a huge IF though and I just can't see it happening. We really improved our offense and I think our pen is going to be pretty solid as well but once again, the rotation scares the hell out of me.

this is pretty much it. If we can sign one more starter, I'd have some "false" hope. The back end of JC-danks-floyd is awful.

[daa84]

people will be surprised at how helpful it will be to get wastes of space like pods, uribe, owens, erstad out of the lineup.....assuming swisher puts up .270 .380 .475, cabrera puts up .275 .340 .400, and quentin (whose acquisition i love more and more everyday, the guys lowest OPS in the minors was higher than Fields highest while playing at a higher level at a younger age) should reasonably put up .260 .350 .400....if all those things happen our offense will be SIGNIFICANTLY upgraded....guys like uribe pods and erstad were literally useless offensive players....not to mention two of our big bats, PK and Dye had a down year last yea and should bounce back

 

i actually do think this team can compete...especially with solid performances from the starters....our pitching staff will really be the determining factor...we need an 05 like performance (buerhle to be buerhle, vazquez to repeat what he did last year to replace freddy, and jose to be the jose of 05, which may be dreaming) then if one of floyd or danks can take the next step to fill garlands shoes (id take a 4.6 ERA over 30 starts) then we have a decent shot...in the end i think the tigers will be too good and we wont quite have enough...right now if i had to guess i think we are an 80-84 win team (with the possibility of hitting 88, 89 if things go really well ie a contreras return and floyd emergence) and the tigers are probably a 90-92 win team with 100 win capability

Edited January 19, 2008 by daa84

[Vance Law]

people will be surprised at how helpful it will be to get wastes of space like pods, uribe, owens, erstad out of the lineup.....assuming swisher puts up .270 .380 .475, cabrera puts up .275 .340 .400, and quentin (whose acquisition i love more and more everyday, the guys lowest OPS in the minors was higher than Fields highest while playing at a higher level at a younger age) should reasonably put up .260 .350 .400....if all those things happen our offense will be SIGNIFICANTLY upgraded....guys like uribe pods and erstad were literally useless offensive players....not to mention two of our big bats, PK and Dye had a down year last yea and should bounce back

 

i actually do think this team can compete...especially with solid performances from the starters....our pitching staff will really be the determining factor...we need an 05 like performance (buerhle to be buerhle, vazquez to repeat what he did last year to replace freddy, and jose to be the jose of 05, which may be dreaming) then if one of floyd or danks can take the next step to fill garlands shoes (id take a 4.6 ERA over 30 starts) then we have a decent shot...in the end i think the tigers will be too good and we wont quite have enough...right now if i had to guess i think we are an 80-84 win team (with the possibility of hitting 88, 89 if things go really well ie a contreras return and floyd emergence) and the tigers are probably a 90-92 win team with 100 win capability

 

That's just about the same assessment I'd give, daa84. I'm maybe even a little more optimistic. If hitting and winning are "contagious", (just as losing and not hitting are) I'm really looking forward to seeing this lineup. I can't wait to see a healthy Quentin out there. The difference between just having a winning season, and being in playoff contention is "how good will the 3-5 starters be." If, combined, they are just league average, we should be in the running.

 

[CanOfCorn]

Last I checked, every team is 0-0. After that, no one knows what's going to happen. So, yes, I'm always optimistic at the beginning of the year. Otherwise, what's the point of being a Sox fan or even a baseball fan.

[ChiTown364]

If the marlins could win it all in 03 with a small payroll, anything is possible. There's always some teams that just suprise everyone, I think one of those teams is the Sox

[southsider2k5]

Not now it doesn't, but the right environment can benefit a younger player. Young is still maturing as a person and being around people who demand accountability, while at the same time respecting you as a person, could help him grow.

Of course, that's not a certainty, but what is in life?

 

As for the original question, I don't care what the "experts" think, and the Sox shouldn't either. (It's obvious to me that they do, though, given their ridiculous feud with Eddie Munster.)

I just wish I felt better about the rotation. Spots 3-5 scare the crap out of me.

 

It is a plausible scenario, but I think it would be more likely if he had come up through their system. I guess we will see, but for our sake, I hope it blows up in Minnesota's face.

[haroldbainesknees]

Conventional wisdom, read (ESPN) indicates no team should show up for spring training outside of the Red Sox & Tigers.

 

Certainly Detroit , Cleveland, & the Eastern division superpowers are the favorites. However if recent history is any evidence the favorites of the punditocracy rarely play accordingly, 02 Angels, 03 Marlins, 05 Sox, A 83 Win St. Louis team, even the 06 Tigers came out of nowhere.

 

Remember the Sox 06 after acquiring Vazquez and Thome?

It was supposed to be a cake walk to repeat in the Central that year. How did that turn out?

 

We have made some good moves. I really like the Swisher move offensively speaking, though I think he will remind me of Mackowiak in center. The Quentin move has a great deal of upside. Cabrera is certainly an upgrade over Uribe.

 

I can't say I agree with the Linebrink signing, however, if our bullpen becomes solid/stable, which is possible with bullpen volatility from year to year

 

AND Floyd or Danks show growth

 

AND WE Receive a shot in the arm from a young starter, Egbert,? Broadway?

 

We may have a fun, intersting summer.

[Wanne]

We may have a fun, intersting summer.

 

I'm looking forward to it. Kenny will have one more move in him within the next 2 weeks also IMO. I think the Sox will be a lot better than people are giving them credit for. I also believe we'll see a much more relaxed team this year as well.

[Princess Dye]

I like it simply for the fact that there's just less talk in general. Like '05. When the exhibition is talked up insane amounts it just hurts my head.

 

I know, why am I on a message board, etc.

[LukeGofannon]

No.