Sox interested in Cuban 3rd Sacker

[Cubano]

I sent an email to one of the guys who ripped him a little bit. The guy supposedly is the Peter Gammons of Cuban baseball. The one thing I have a problem with is the assumption a 19 year old is ready to go really based on Ramirez who is 26. I don't believe any Cuban defector has had much of an offensive impact his first year in the US other than Ramirez, and this kid is only 19.

 

We have not gotten a real chance. Many defectors come to the USA once the season started. Ramirez came before the season started. Hopefully, cubans will get more chances from now on based on Alexei's performance.

 

[Cubano]

I think you would appreciate even more the 2nd and 3rd chances they gave to El Gran Titan de Bronze to get his act together.

 

Yes. However, Contreras had a bad 2004. He never live to his high expectation except for the second half of 2005 and first half of 2006. He may have been a Cy Young if he had put this performance in one season. Contrears is from a very very very small twon called Las Martinas. No electricity, etc. In other words, he is from the country side. Then, New York and his demanding fans. His ex-wife and daughters in Cuba. I read his wife was stopped by the police and called b****, etc. This is one thing about cuban players. We carry this liability about your state of mind. It is also true that you are getting paid and your team expects you to perform no matter what.

 

Contreras had a bad 2007 too. I think Contreras age is catching with him. The over use in Cuba may be slowing him down too.

 

[ThunderBolt]

Wow, I didn't think of that.

I’m not too worried about the kid not having the Missle and Contreras around in the Minors. For one, assuming that the kid starts in AA the new manager of the Barons Everado Magallanes speaks fluent Spanish, and is apparently a very friendly guy. Not to mention the kid will have numerous teammates, and special instructors around him from day one. I can easily see the White Sox doing a similar thing to what the Cubs dif for Fukudome last year. They’ll invite the kid to Spring Training, and also invite a Cuban Veteran to show him around (as the Cubs did with Shingo Takatsu) just to get the kid acclimated before sending him down to the minors.

[RockRaines]

Wow! This is refreshing. I did not read the Julio Lugo comparison here.

 

Thanks!

 

 

When el Duque defected, Felipe Alou, then the Giants manager said:

 

"el Duque is nothing to be crazy about"

 

I love all these baseball minds and reporters running their mouths even when they have not seen the guy play. Let's wait when he jumps in the field. Your performance in the field will dictate everything. Some accept the challenge and perform. Others never live to their high expectations.

Our resident "scout" said Omar Infante.

[ILMOU]

Yes. However, Contreras had a bad 2004. He never live to his high expectation except for the second half of 2005 and first half of 2006. He may have been a Cy Young if he had put this performance in one season. Contrears is from a very very very small twon called Las Martinas. No electricity, etc. In other words, he is from the country side. Then, New York and his demanding fans. His ex-wife and daughters in Cuba. I read his wife was stopped by the police and called b****, etc. This is one thing about cuban players. We carry this liability about your state of mind. It is also true that you are getting paid and your team expects you to perform no matter what.

 

Contreras had a bad 2007 too. I think Contreras age is catching with him. The over use in Cuba may be slowing him down too.

 

Cubano, really appreciate all your insight. What I really want, though, is to get my hands on an Alexei #21 Cuban National Team Jersey like the one in your profile, or preferably a replica. I'd like to wear it, not hang it on a wall. That would be so cool.

 

Any help is appreciated. I've tried the obvious, like E-Bay.

 

 

[Cubano]

Cubano, really appreciate all your insight. What I really want, though, is to get my hands on an Alexei #21 Cuban National Team Jersey like the one in your profile, or preferably a replica. I'd like to wear it, not hang it on a wall. That would be so cool.

 

Any help is appreciated. I've tried the obvious, like E-Bay.

 

 

Stan,

 

You quest is almost impossible. It is easier to go to Iran and bash the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and comeback alive than to find Alexei's jersey. Usually, you can find jerseys at the airport and tourist spots in Cuba. You find them for the cuban team and cuban series player jerseys. If there were Alexei's jersey, all of them are withdrawn from the market. You may find somebody that bought one and wants to sell it, but this would be a miracle.

 

How about the WBC site?

 

Never mind. Cuba us not even listed because the Embargo.

http://shop.mlb.com/category/index.jsp?categoryId=2194484

 

 

[CaliSoxFanViaSWside]

I am pretty happy with my statement!

I was pretty content with mine too. I said he'd get a long look in ST and unless he's outstanding (which he was) he'd start the season in AA or AAA.

 

One scouting report was pretty much dead on about him , good athlete , good wrists, young Ernie Banks /Hank Aaron body type.

Edited November 11, 2008 by CaliSoxFanViaSWside

[RockRaines]

Stan,

 

You quest is almost impossible. It is easier to go to Iran and bash the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and comeback alive than to find Alexei's jersey. Usually, you can find jerseys at the airport and tourist spots in Cuba. You find them for the cuban team and cuban series player jerseys. If there were Alexei's jersey, all of them are withdrawn from the market. You may find somebody that bought one and wants to sell it, but this would be a miracle.

 

How about the WBC site?

 

Never mind. Cuba us not even listed because the Embargo.

http://shop.mlb.com/category/index.jsp?categoryId=2194484

its totally ridiculous isnt it? cant even get a jersey sold of a player. When is it going to end?

[ILMOU]

Stan,

 

You quest is almost impossible. It is easier to go to Iran and bash the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and comeback alive than to find Alexei's jersey. Usually, you can find jerseys at the airport and tourist spots in Cuba. You find them for the cuban team and cuban series player jerseys. If there were Alexei's jersey, all of them are withdrawn from the market. You may find somebody that bought one and wants to sell it, but this would be a miracle.

 

How about the WBC site?

 

Never mind. Cuba us not even listed because the Embargo.

http://shop.mlb.com/category/index.jsp?categoryId=2194484

 

That's a bummer, but thanks. Looks like a gotta go to Cuba!

[DukeNukeEm]

its totally ridiculous isnt it? cant even get a jersey sold of a player. When is it going to end?

Pretty soon, Castros brother appears somewhat willing to talk and so does the new Administration.

[RockRaines]

Pretty soon, Castros brother appears somewhat willing to talk and so does the new Administration.

There are alot of ways that Cuba and the US could benefit from an open relationship. Think of the tourist ops there, the goods exchanged, even sports.

[iamshack]

That's a bummer, but thanks. Looks like a gotta go to Cuba!

 

I think he is saying even in Cuba, the jersey is no longer sold because Alexei defected, which obviously is not very well looked-upon by the powers that be...

[lostfan]

There are alot of ways that Cuba and the US could benefit from an open relationship. Think of the tourist ops there, the goods exchanged, even sports.

It'd probably quietly kill the Cuban government too, if we were really serious about doing it.

[lostfan]

I think he is saying even in Cuba, the jersey is no longer sold because Alexei defected, which obviously is not very well looked-upon by the powers that be...

Yeah, once someone defects, they try to pretend that player never existed.

[Cubano]

Pretty soon, Castros brother appears somewhat willing to talk and so does the new Administration.

 

 

I heard or read than one before. President Carter and presidente Clinton tried to have normal relations but the cuban taliban always find a way to do something to prevent a good relationship. He dos not want a good relation because he coulod not blame anybody for his own crap. Now, he blames USA for everything. Actualy, this is a norm around the world. I said: Let the world kill each other and when somebody cry for help or do something USA do nothing.

 

If USA does something we are bad. If USA does nothing, USA is bad.

 

Hell with Europe, Middle East, Latin America, Asia and anybody inside or outside The Milky Way.

 

Drill, Baby, Drill!

 

Watch out for inflation down the road. We do not drill and at the same time we are pumping billions $$$$$$$ into the system.

 

Obama 4 and out!

 

 

I know I may catch hell from some of you Chicagoans and Sox fans, but that is OK.

 

 

[scenario]

New article by Scott Merkin today on Viciedo. Some old info... some new.

 

Here's a quote that frames the timing of workouts, etc...

 

Torres, who also represents fellow Cubans Alexei Ramirez and Jose Contreras, has acknowledged said offers. He doesn't intend to truly get serious about them until Viciedo's workouts for numerous interested teams are completed Thursday evening in the Dominican Republic.

 

"There definitely are some firm offers in place, and I'm actually scheduled to meet with some team later today," Torres told MLB.com during a phone interview Tuesday from the Dominican Republic. "But I've not responded to one thing.

 

"We are shooting to get things done after Thursday's workout and before Monday of next week. Once we move to that stage of the negotiations, we intend to close the deal. I would prefer him to start getting adjusted to his new team."

Edited November 11, 2008 by scenario

[caulfield12]

I heard or read than one before. President Carter and presidente Clinton tried to have normal relations but the cuban taliban always find a way to do something to prevent a good relationship. He dos not want a good relation because he coulod not blame anybody for his own crap. Now, he blames USA for everything. Actualy, this is a norm around the world. I said: Let the world kill each other and when somebody cry for help or do something USA do nothing.

 

If USA does something we are bad. If USA does nothing, USA is bad.

 

Hell with Europe, Middle East, Latin America, Asia and anybody inside or outside The Milky Way.

 

Drill, Baby, Drill!

 

Watch out for inflation down the road. We do not drill and at the same time we are pumping billions $$$$$$$ into the system.

 

Obama 4 and out!

 

 

I know I may catch hell from some of you Chicagoans and Sox fans, but that is OK.

 

Must be a sense of disappointment in the Cuban community about the election...for many years, the conservative/Catholic Cuban vote helped secure the state for Republicans, at least in recent elections.

 

Now the state has become a richer mixture of Hispanic cultures, and they voted in Obama in most states by 2 to 1 margins, eschewing their church's position (I say this as a Catholic, lol) and favoring the economic over the social/moral (fwiw, peace and social justice issues are perceived as more important to Democrats, it's just that the abortion issue is always paramount...but not in this election year).

 

Even if they started drilling all over ANWR, it would take many months if not years to see results. That's just a stopgap solution to a long-term, endemic problem that needs to be addressed going forward. I think you will see any bailouts of the auto industry with lots of "green initiatives" imposed in terms of developing alternative energy/hybrid/battery-solar powered cars again.

 

It's not WHETHER we do something, although even President Clinton admitted that abandoning Rwandans was his biggest mistake...it's HOW we go about doing it. We can be strong/forceful without doing it in a unilateral/militaristic fashion, and we can seek international cooperation and financial assistance without having our troops under UN Command.

 

Friedman in the NY Times had a very good article about how all the countries in the world that were "free riders" under Bush (Japan, China, Germany, France, Russia, etc.) had to make a commitment to work with the US in the future, to share some of the costs and burdens...

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/09/opinion/...amp;oref=slogin

 

Just interested in your take on that, Cubano. Don't want to get into a discussion better reserved for another page...but, in the new spirit of bi-partisanship, I'm hoping we can have a peaceful/thoughtful exchange of ideas, lol.

Edited November 12, 2008 by caulfield12

[BearSox]

I heard or read than one before. President Carter and presidente Clinton tried to have normal relations but the cuban taliban always find a way to do something to prevent a good relationship. He dos not want a good relation because he coulod not blame anybody for his own crap. Now, he blames USA for everything. Actualy, this is a norm around the world. I said: Let the world kill each other and when somebody cry for help or do something USA do nothing.

 

If USA does something we are bad. If USA does nothing, USA is bad.

 

Hell with Europe, Middle East, Latin America, Asia and anybody inside or outside The Milky Way.

 

Drill, Baby, Drill!

 

Watch out for inflation down the road. We do not drill and at the same time we are pumping billions $$$$ into the system.

 

Obama 4 and out!

 

 

I know I may catch hell from some of you Chicagoans and Sox fans, but that is OK.

You are a great great man... This post is better suited for the philibuster section where we talk politics. I completely agree with your post.

[SadChiSoxFanOptimist]

Must be a sense of disappointment in the Cuban community about the election...for many years, the conservative/Catholic Cuban vote helped secure the state for Republicans, at least in recent elections.

 

Now the state has become a richer mixture of Hispanic cultures, and they voted in Obama in most states by 2 to 1 margins, eschewing their church's position (I say this as a Catholic, lol) and favoring the economic over the social/moral (fwiw, peace and social justice issues are perceived as more important to Democrats, it's just that the abortion issue is always paramount...but not in this election year).

 

Even if they started drilling all over ANWR, it would take many months if not years to see results. That's just a stopgap solution to a long-term, endemic problem that needs to be addressed going forward. I think you will see any bailouts of the auto industry with lots of "green initiatives" imposed in terms of developing alternative energy/hybrid/battery-solar powered cars again.

 

It's not WHETHER we do something, although even President Clinton admitted that abandoning Rwandans was his biggest mistake...it's HOW we go about doing it. We can be strong/forceful without doing it in a unilateral/militaristic fashion, and we can seek international cooperation and financial assistance without having our troops under UN Command.

 

Friedman in the NY Times had a very good article about how all the countries in the world that were "free riders" under Bush (Japan, China, Germany, France, Russia, etc.) had to make a commitment to work with the US in the future, to share some of the costs and burdens...

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/09/opinion/...amp;oref=slogin

 

Just interested in your take on that, Cubano. Don't want to get into a discussion better reserved for another page...but, in the new spirit of bi-partisanship, I'm hoping we can have a peaceful/thoughtful exchange of ideas, lol.

 

You gotta love any Soxtalk post that includes the word eschew.

 

Way to go Caulfield.

[Cubano]

We have to develope other energy alternatives for sure. The USA car manufacturers made this to themselves. However, just by drilling now, oil price should come further down. Watch out for another oil spike a few years from now. Maybe Obama can escape after his first term and be re-elected. However, you watch the democrats going out because an oil spike and inflation skyrocketing. OPEC is full of crap. USA must stop sending money to all these rogue states. We are transferring our wealth to them. The UN is full of crap. They are worthless as far as I am concerned. UN is a joke. US must not wait for the world to take care of business. The problem with remaining isolated is that somebody will challenge us like in WWI and WWII. As long as this "somebody" does not go after England, let them kill each other.

 

We should have an OPEC for wheat and any other major product the USA produce. Then, manipulate the prices. If you starve, that is OK.

 

 

As for my felow cubans in Florida. The old guard has been dying for a few years. Castro still talks about Batista. Batista's grandchildren are dying. The new cubans come to the USA and other countries asking for asylum and other immigration status. Then, after a year many go back to the same place they came from. It is true that Castro guards us pretty well. But if I have to decide on this matter, I would require that no cubans go back or you are ging to be deported. In many european countries not going back to the country you escaped from is a requirement to keep your status. The new cubans wanted Obama so he can lift the travel restrictions.

 

I am amazed how people forget so quickly. I guess many people suffer from short term memory loss. President Clinton went to the Balkans. Clinton went after Somalia, but he embarrased himself. Clinton bombed Iraq a few times too. This begs the question:

 

Who was more of a warrior?

 

Bush or Clinton

 

 

By the way, some studies have shown that for each $1 reduction in gasoline prices, the economy could pick up 3 millions jobs from the $100 billion savings that goes into the consumers pocket. Consumers will have more disposable income to spend. Obama would do not jack to the economy. This is a normal business cycle. Let the banks fail. Let people loose their homes. Let the unions ask for more so companies move to China to hire semi-slaves. This is what we called Capitalism. Bush is not responsible for the people who took extra risk when buying a home. Bush is not responsible for China, India, Brazil, etc growing their economies and driving oil price up. Bush is resposnible for Iraq as well as the Congress who said go after Iraq.

 

Who are responsible for the mortgage mess?

 

They are on youtube and they have escaped any media scrutiny. I was discusted with the cuban media. They are the worst, but the USA media is not far behind.

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MGT_cSi7Rs

 

 

The only thing you heard in the media was about Pailin this and that. The only thing the media did not about Palin was how good or bad she is in bed. She was not the best VP candidate, but I prefer her leading the drilling charge than Pelosi's circus.

 

 

Barney Frank should resign.

 

I am out of the politics discussion.

 

 

 

[DukeNukeEm]

They are on youtube and they have escaped any media scrutiny. I was discusted with the cuban media. They are the worst, but the USA media is not far behind.

Hahaha.

 

 

I will say unchecked Capitalism is no better than Communism in the end, and I get the feeling that's what you're proposing. Either way you're going to be paying the piper, whether its big business or the government.

[Cubano]

Hahaha.

 

 

I will say unchecked Capitalism is no better than Communism in the end, and I get the feeling that's what you're proposing. Either way you're going to be paying the piper, whether its big business or the government.

 

No. You have to have some regulations. Let the unions do their thing. When they ask for too much, the companies move. The ones that did not regulate Freddy Mac and Fannie Mae were the democrats. Everything was honky donky for them.

 

How an american company can compete when China does not allow its labor to form real unions? They move to China.

Edited November 12, 2008 by Cubano

[South Side Fireworks Man]

I heard or read than one before. President Carter and presidente Clinton tried to have normal relations but the cuban taliban always find a way to do something to prevent a good relationship. He dos not want a good relation because he coulod not blame anybody for his own crap. Now, he blames USA for everything. Actualy, this is a norm around the world. I said: Let the world kill each other and when somebody cry for help or do something USA do nothing.

 

If USA does something we are bad. If USA does nothing, USA is bad.

 

Hell with Europe, Middle East, Latin America, Asia and anybody inside or outside The Milky Way.

 

Drill, Baby, Drill!

 

Watch out for inflation down the road. We do not drill and at the same time we are pumping billions $$$$$$$ into the system.

 

Obama 4 and out!

 

 

I know I may catch hell from some of you Chicagoans and Sox fans, but that is OK.

You won't catch any hell from me, Cubano.

[Cubano]

Mortgage modification plan for loans held by Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE) announced today.

 

The plan is designed to keep delinquent homeowners in their homes by restructuring their loan payments according to their monthly income. For those who are working extra hours to keep their payments current as best they can, the bad news is they won't qualify. In order to qualify, you have to be delinquent by at least 3 months. Hmmm, something just doesn't sound fair here, but.....this is OK I guess.

 

We reward excesive risk taking. More government handouts. I got to love this comming from a communist country.

Edited November 12, 2008 by Cubano

[NorthSideSox72]

Political discussions should take place in the Filibuster forum, in SLaM. Not in here. Any further political posts will be moved.

 

If you do want to talk politics, please do head over into the Buster. Just make sure you read, agree to and acknowledge in the MUST READ thread in there first. There are some great discussions going on in there.

 

But this thread needs to be about baseball.