Teahen's struggles...

[ChiliIrishHammock24]

I have yet to see anyone say that Morel is ready for the bigs yet.

 

"at some point" was in my statement, not right now. He is going to start the year at AA, and I would be willing to bet he is the next guy in line at 3B if he fails, unless they decide to have Nix or Vizquel be the starting 3B.

[joeynach]

Another thing you have to look at with Teahen is that alot of players have at least one bad month. Their play is very streaky. So even if Teahen has a bad April, who's to say he can't rebound the rest of the year. I'd rather have him batting .200 in April than in September. Ultimately I think he'll come around.

 

Yeah I agree with this, plus its also not unheard of for a player to come over in a trade a struggle in the early goings. Sometimes it just takes some time to adjust and get settled and just play ball. Give Tehean some time to go through these motions and then you can pissed if hes hitting .200 at the end of June and butchering the ball all over the IF.

[Quin]

The Rios money could have been used on a lot of things, but Rios was one of Kenny's longtime targets and I highly doubt Kenny is regretting that because he could have gotten so-and-so. If Rios were still out there Kenny would still be trying to get him.

 

The biggest money eater here is Linebrink. Rios is very, very capable of performing up to or beyond his level of pay whereas Linebrink is waaaay below it with no hopes of reaching it. Konerko is of course way underperforming his salary also. But the Paulie deal had to be done, even if in the end it turns out that in 4 of the 5 years he signed for he didn't meet the value of his deal. So I guess the point I'm making is that if we're looking at things in hindsight and questioning what could have gone where, I wouldn't be pointing at Rios. For about 1 1/5 terrible months, this guy gets just as much s*** as the Erstad/BA/Owens/Mackowiack/Terrero/Wise/Pods CF monster did, but if you took all those players and added up their talents and then multiplied them by Aaron Rowand you still wouldn't get a player as talented as Rios. Let's just please give this s*** a rest and let him prove himself already.

 

Don't forget Swisher.

[jamesdiego]

Maybe just like he said, he'll play better by getting consistent at-bats while playing hi favorite position. No more excuses now though. His dog seems to have more important things on his mind: "is the Tribune ever going to spell Mark Teahens name correctly?" per twitter

 

I have faith in Buddy Bell's evaluation, he'll be serviceable.

 

[Princess Dye]

Paulie deal had to be done, even if in the end it turns out that in 4 of the 5 years he signed for he didn't meet the value of his deal.

Seems like no one ever wants to come right out and say the PK contract was a mistake.

 

There are so many ways to spend $ at that position. If it was a less popular player, many would here be saying that deal cost us a second championship.

[GoodAsGould]

Seems like no one ever wants to come right out and say the PK contract was a mistake.

 

There are so many ways to spend $ at that position. If it was a less popular player, many would here be saying that deal cost us a second championship.

 

Ive never been a big Konerko fan, but the year the Wsox were primed to win the WS was 2006 and Konerko was really good that season.

[Balta1701]

There are so many ways to spend $ at that position. If it was a less popular player, many would here be saying that deal cost us a second championship.

Frankly, that's hard to believe. Not only would it have been opening another hole in the lineup that we'd have to have filled somewhere...but the only way it could truly have cost us a championship is if you could take that $60 million and manage to nail several bargains correctly with it. The odds are that we'd have wound up spending $20 million of it on Andruw Jones in 2007 or out-bidding the Cubs for Soriano or something like that.

[tips8888]

MLBTraderRumors

 

Is Lowell a possibility?

 

 

The Latest On Mike Lowell

By Luke Adams [March 21 at 10:16am CST]

Although a Mike Lowell trade isn't the sure thing it once seemed, there's still a chance that a deal could be completed, according to Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald.

 

Silverman mentions four teams that are possible landing spots for Lowell: the Astros, Marlins, Rangers, and Twins. Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe wonders if the White Sox could be added to that list as well. Each of these teams has potential question marks at first base or designated hitter, or just could use another right-handed bat.

 

Alex Speier of WEEI speculates that the Marlins' willingness to return Jorge Jimenez to the Red Sox could signal that Florida's need for a corner infielder isn't that strong. If the team feels confident enough in either Gaby Sanchez or Logan Morrison at first base that they'd cut Jimenez, that could mean a diminished interest in Lowell as well.

 

Lowell will, of course, have display good health before any club thinks about acquiring him. Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston tweets that the Rangers, among other teams, are scouting Lowell today. The 36-year-old is scheduled to play third base for the first time this spring.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Full Story | 7 Comments | Categories: Boston Red Sox | Florida Marlins | Houston Astros | Mike Lowell | Minnesota Twins | Texas Rangers

Edited March 22, 2010 by iamshack

[Quin]

Frankly, that's hard to believe. Not only would it have been opening another hole in the lineup that we'd have to have filled somewhere...but the only way it could truly have cost us a championship is if you could take that $60 million and manage to nail several bargains correctly with it. The odds are that we'd have wound up spending $20 million of it on Andruw Jones in 2007 or out-bidding the Cubs for Soriano or something like that.

 

I think we'd have been Stuck with Soriano.

 

2006 was worth it.

2007 was about in between, because he still hit HR and had RBI's, but the average was down.

2008 wasn't close.

2009 was better than 2007.

2010 he shall hit .320, with 45 HR, and 130 RBI. (Also, since he can't slip n' slide, Buehrle will ride out to every game on a unicorn).

[knightni]

Doubtful. Lowell's older, injury-prone and expensive.

 

Better to move Beckham back to 3B if they get desperate.

[Balta1701]

Doubtful. Lowell's older, injury-prone and expensive.

 

Better to move Beckham back to 3B if they get desperate.

Who takes over the other IF spot? Retherford?

[knightni]

Who takes over the other IF spot? Retherford?

Probably Teahen just spot starts and platoons with Nix at 2B.

[Ranger]

Finding an adequate OF is a lot easier than finding a front line starter, no matter how good your rotation currently is. If as KW said, the White Sox would have had the best rotation of all time, I think that's more preferrable than Rios in the OF and the current rotation, even though it looks pretty, pretty good, especially if the plan is not to use Rios in CF full time.

 

 

But they didn't need a starter. They needed a CF. If finding a good CF was so damned easy, they wouldn't have gone 3 years without one.

 

 

Seems like no one ever wants to come right out and say the PK contract was a mistake.

 

There are so many ways to spend $ at that position. If it was a less popular player, many would here be saying that deal cost us a second championship.

 

That's because it wasn't a mistake. They paid less-than-market value for a popular, productive player (who, by the way, had a very good first year of that contract). The rightful expectation on the part of the White Sox was that he would have 3 good years of production (until he turned 33) before he began to naturally decline, but would still have fairly productive seasons in the final two years of the deal. That's the way deals work: teams often sign good players to multi-year deals with the knowledge there will be some dropoff by the final years of that contract. That's the price of dealing on the open market for desirable players.

 

What could not have been foreseen is the dramatic decline in '07 and '08. There was no way to see that coming, and it would've been impossible to predict.

 

The flipside is that the organization can say "we don't give out long term contracts, ever." To which fans would complain about that too. That's quite a hell of a leap to suggest signing Konerko cost them a championship. If signing him to that deal was a dumb mistake, then you may as well call the Angels dumb, too.

[knightni]

I'm perfectly fine with Kong's deal.

He earned most of it. That's all you can expect out of most players.

[southsider2k5]

I'm perfectly fine with Kong's deal.

He earned most of it. That's all you can expect out of most players.

 

Not to mention the Sox would have been crucified for being "cheap" if they didn't resign their top free agent because of money after winning a World Series.

[Heads22]

Let's wait to replace Teahen til after he's played a game that counts.

[ptatc]

Alex Rios' contract has no merit? I just stated facts. KW said he had a trade for a pitcher that could have made his rotation the best ever. He said they ran into a problem with an extension. These are facts. I said not having to owe $60 million to Rios probably would have helped with the extension. I also said maybe not, because it may not have been the extension. Perhaps Halladay or whoever it was just said no. IIRC, Halladay has a NTC.

 

I also love how you rip me for speculating, then speculate yourself. As for spending, the White Sox have recently spent a lot more money on starting pitching if you break it down $/player than any other position. 2006 the only 2 players on the roster being paid more than the 5 starters were Thome and half of his salary was being paid by Philadelphia, and Konerko who was a post season star for a championship team. Konerko at that stage was owed about the same as Rios is right now.

 

If KW was at least semi- prepared to make a deal with Halladay or whatever pitcher it was that was going to make his rotation the best of all-time in his words, I'm sure he knew it would cost a pretty penny not only prospect-wise, but money-wise as well. Adrian Gonzalez, if the Sox somehow get him, is going to be just as expensive, if not more if they want to extend him.

 

Rios has a lot to live up to. Paying someone $60 million for 5 years is expecting he will perform a lot better than an average player. He needs to be better than the "well he's better than Dewayne Wise" thoughts. I don't see where 25 or so spring training ABs shows he's ready to live up to his end of the deal. I hope he does, but nothing has been answered yet. I'd bet the ranch if he was placed on waivers, he wouldn't be claimed. If he was making $1 million a year, he most certainly would be claimed. His contract has plenty of merit.

 

I would bet that if this was truly the case it had more to do with the length of the contract. The Sox have shown they will offer pitchers good money it's usually the length of the contract with which they have a problem.

 

[SoxAce]

Let's wait to replace Teahen til after he's played a game that counts.

 

Thank you voice of reason.

 

The man has changed his swing in games that don't count yet. Let him iron out the kinks before the season and if he hits like this the first month, then you can rip him. Like I said before, I would still bank on him hitting better during the season than some of these guys (including some guys on our team) hitting .400+ right now. Changing your swing, your mentality, teams, etc.. isn't easy. For a while in these ST games, he was having the worst luck of any hitter on the team. (his BABIP was off the charts his first 15 or so ABs) It's not like he's hitting weak grounders/pop-ups to people until recently. He was hitting the ball, just right at people. I am still more interested in his defense at 3B playing full time but that's just me.

Edited March 22, 2010 by SoxAce

[Jordan4life_2007]

This thread is ridiculous. I'm going to bookmark it and bump it in a couple months.

[iamshack]

This thread is ridiculous. I'm going to bookmark it and bump it in a couple months.

Or on Opening Day when he hits a homer and knocks in 4 runs.

[Jordan4life_2007]

Or on Opening Day when he hits a homer and knocks in 4 runs.

 

This thread by itself has made me a Mark Teahen fan. I've never witnessed an overreaction of this magnitude to a spring training slump since I became a baseball fan back in '91.

[knightni]

This thread is ridiculous. I'm going to bookmark it and bump it in a couple months.

 

 

This thread by itself has made me a Mark Teahen fan. I've never witnessed an overreaction of this magnitude to a spring training slump since I became a baseball fan back in '91.

 

 

My only comment was to a MLB Trade Rumors thread involving Mike Lowell.

 

I'm playing wait-and-see with Teahen.

 

If he can't break .250 by June, I might say something then, because his statistics historically trend similarly to Linebrink's.

 

He bats well early on, then fades in August and September.

[qwerty]

My only comment was to a MLB Trade Rumors thread involving Mike Lowell.

 

I'm playing wait-and-see with Teahen.

 

If he can't break .250 by June, I might say something then, because his statistics historically trend similarly to Linebrink's.

 

He bats well early on, then fades in August and September.

 

His september/october ops of .777 is higher than any other month(s). You are correct about his august, as his .718 ops is his lowest.

[Dick Allen]

This thread is ridiculous. I'm going to bookmark it and bump it in a couple months.

I think Teahen is a mediocre player, but you're right, its 20 spring training ABs some are freaking out over. Everyone will have a string of 20 AB when the games matter that will be this bad. Be thankful he's doing bad in games that don't count.

[southsidepride15]

How? Aside from May his OPS's for each month were .728, .670, .663, .604, .553. The .728 is the only one that's not awful (I'd categorize it as bad) and that's made up by my calling a .553 OPS "awful" rather than something much, much stronger.

 

 

I think by saying "that is a huge stretch" 2k5 was in agreement with your comment. As in a 5 month "slump" is a long stretch of time for Rios or anyone else in a Major League uniform.