FanNation - The Republic of Sport

I would agree it's time for the Sox to make some moves. Being a Tribe fan, I was disappointed with the Central division. Hey! (aside from the Tigers) Lil' competition here! You guys have the 5th highest payroll in baseball and get 72 wins. C'mon! And also...Please get rid of Ozzie. Guys, let's not lie to ourselves here. This guy makes a mockery of the game. Yeah, yeah 2005. I know. But it'll be 2008, and the Indians would appreciate it if you could use those dollars toward a stronger 3rd or 4th place finish. Let's say maybe above .500?

Aaron Rowand would inject a lot of life into the White Sox clubhouse. I've said it since he left, he was a spark plug for the team. He was probably their biggest cheerleader, and a damn good centerfielder as well. I wasn't sad to see Brandon McCarthy go, and this year made me feel even better about him being gone. Hope the Rangers enjoyed his 5-10 record and 4.87 ERA.

That 2005 time had everything go right...their pitching staff was so very over-rated since then...Dusty Baker, a supposed expert in baseball, even said on 1 June that, by the end of the month, the W. Sox would be within a game of the division...I looked at the team and said, they'll be lucky not to be in the cellar by then...I was WAY closer to the truth then he was...they battled KC for doormat supremacy to the very end...

White Sox management, really did a disservice to McCarthy...if they had kept him as a starter, they would have had a gem, but they jerked him around...

As bad as McCarthy was this year, he was better than Contreras, Floyd and Danks...

McCarthy was in no way better than Danks. And at the very least Contreras showed life again at the end of the season in meaningless games.

Don't pull out statistics it doesnt really matter if McCarthy had an ERA that was a run lower than Danks, they were both hovering around that beautiful number 5.

What I hope doesnt happen is see Rowand return and go back to the hitter he was. In the 2005 playoff run, he was impatient and swinging at everything. Hopefully this wont be an Adrian Beltre kind of thing where he only performed well in his contract year.

One lesson you need to learn right off the bat, Jim L., is that Dusty Baker should never be listened to... ever.

You're right about the pitching staff, though-- they were overrated. Actually, I've never been a big fan of Kenny Williams, but I think he was in a tough spot there. That whole team rode those pitchers in the playoffs in '05, and pitching is a hot commodity. They were CAPABLE of repeating '05's performance, and that's actually worth a ton in as free agents (although not as much in trades). What I mean is, if they'd have looked to replace those guys via free agency, they'd have had to pay an absolute fortune for guys who had never done what they did. So it was a tough spot because it's hard to get rid of guys who you at least know "CAN do it" (whether or not you think they'll do it again) for guys who have never done it.

Not sure I agree with you on McCarthy-- I think that was a trade worth making.

ok stop panicking this team will be fine they a bad year, it all begin with a disappointing bullpen, that on paper looked great at the beggining of the year with all them power arms,mcdougal, thorthan, jenks, all throw in the mid 90s only jenks had a good year i think thorthan will bounce back they will address the rest i promise you, also this team did not hit for the first 2 months of the season they were a joke that will not happen again, as far as the starting pitching burele was his usual self and will be again, garland was very consistant except for a 4-5 straight start period, look it up, vasquez was good all year, contreras stunk he is a queston mark, danks was better than you think until he tired down the stretch. now all these pitchers had some many games that the bullpen blew for them, also every time a pitcher left a game with men on base they scored which also helped blow up their era i mean every god dam time, also i do not know if you realize how important crede is to this team clutch hitter, he never even played his game cause he was hurting from the opening bell, until he finely shut it down, listen i am not saying they are gonna win the world series but i promise you if they come back with the same team
(which they will not see torihunter) they will contend do not forget they won 93 games the year before and did not get in, kenny is gonna make some changes @ they have some young players ready to help ie broadway,fields,owens, ect you real chisox fans know were i am coming from so stop panicking relax an chill let kenny do his thing

The McCarthy deal was definitely a great trade better you got two young decent pitchers for one decent pitcher that I scene get jacked out of the park every time he came out to pitch. So I really don't mind this trade but the Rowand/Thome trade I had a problem with. First I felt they should have keep Rowand in center and have Frank Thomas play DH because look at Thomas stat in 2006 then look at Thome they were relatively the same. Not only did they get rid of a pretty good center fielder and replace him with Brian Anderson (let me not start on him) they also got rid of of #1 prospect in Gio Gonzalez and another minor league pitcher that is on the Red Sox 40 man roster with a great strikeout rate.

well, of course, I never really listen to Baker. He said during the same show, or the night before (I forget which) that if he was gonna start a team around any oneplayer, it'd be Derrek Lee...if it wasn't obvious he didn 't belond in the booth as an analyst, it was right then...Lee is a fine player, but c'mon now...

The Mc Carthy trade was good for the Sox, but only because they messed with McCarthy so much when they had him that he was no longer effective...they weren't keeping or using him as a starter...which is what he should be...his arm strength went down and that's as much to do with his struggles as anything else this season...

Danks stunk...only a W Sox fan and Hawk would say otherwise...

Jim,

As a White Sox fan, I will admit too that Danks wasn't good. He had maybe 3-5 decent starts, but otherwise he was not an effective major league pitcher. Honestly, I just don't understand why some Sox fans (and Hawk) herald him as the next Johan Santana. I haven't seen it thus far. On one positive note, I do like the fact that Danks is like Buehrle in the way he attacks hitters with a lively fastball. He is young, so who knows...

Danks may end up doing very well...he won't be a Santana, but neither will anyone else...my point was that a W Sox fan in here said they were fine withthe McCarthy trade and pointed out hisrecord and win-loss total...and I pointed out that he was bteter than Contreras, Floyd and Danks...and only bias fans would think otherwise...what Danks does later, who knows...may turn out great and may not...

As far as Hawk goes, he's a m.oron...he thinks every Sox player is the best or has the potential to be the best....he should get out of the booth, and put on a cheerleader outfit...or a mascot uniform...

Crede and G Floyd to the Red Sox for C Crisp

What??? That would be a steal for the Red Sox and no way will it happen. Talk about a pipe dream.....

Andruw Jones is practically a Sox player right now.

I would be too worried about Andruw Jones' batting average last year to sign him to a rich long term contract such as he is asking for. I would prefer Hunter or Rowland.

hey tribe boy, we've got our championship, where is yours?