Good Read

[lhnp]

Here's a good article about the Sox offseason moves.

http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/a...cago-white-sox/ (http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/a...cago-white-sox/)

Hey, now it's only been 1 day between posts!

[idseer]

interesting article. except i see a much brighter outcome as a result. i posted this elsewhere and thought i'd bring it here for your enjoyment. :) i warn you ..... it's fairly positive.

..............................................................................

this will NOT consider the possibility of injuries. it's something every team faces and there is no reasonable way to incorporate them into an analysis like this. i am also taking into account magglio and thomas mia.

starting pitching: BIG +
MUCH improved over last year. garcia for a whole season, and 4 other veterans. compare that to last years starting crew and the incredible poor 5th pitcher performances.

relief pitching: BIG +
much improved over last year with the additions of hermanson and viscaino and the subtraction of koch, jackson, and the totality of other losers we had to go to.

regular lineup: big +
we essentially had no catcher, no shortstop (only exception is power ... which we didn't need), no 3rd baseman, no 2nd baseman and no right fielder.
we have filled ALL of those positions except 3rd base.
more broken down would be:
c - improvement (big)
1b - same
2b - improvement (big)
3b - same
ss - improvement (big)
lf - same (harder comparison and one on one i think lee is certainly better, but when added to the whole we do not drop here)
cf - same
rf - improvement
dh - improvement]

bench: +
ozuna, gload, davis, borchard (not over used like last year), possibly valdez, perez, burke, harris is a lot better than what we had most of last season.
the bench isn't a huge plus but i believe it IS better with more people knowing their roles.

coachiin staff: +
i'm thinking oz will be a better manager this year with a year under his belt. and the staff as a whole will be better.

[Sxy Mofo]

more broken down would be:
c - improvement (big)
1b - same
2b - improvement (big)
3b - same
ss - improvement (big)
lf - same (harder comparison and one on one i think lee is certainly better, but when added to the whole we do not drop here)
cf - same
rf - improvement
dh - improvement]

bench: +
ozuna, gload, davis, borchard (not over used like last year), possibly valdez, perez, burke, harris is a lot better than what we had most of last season.
the bench isn't a huge plus but i believe it IS better with more people knowing their roles.

coachiin staff: +
i'm thinking oz will be a better manager this year with a year under his belt. and the staff as a whole will be better.
dh is an improvement with frank healthy, but who knows how long we have to wait and if he'll be solid.
2b is a toss up right now. I haven't heard that iguatchi (or however you spell it) is having a great preseason, of course, that could all come down to him having to make the adjustment to the bis similar to ichiro.
ss is a big improvement, even though uribe isn't a superstar. Couldn't handle much more of valentins errors and the .130 batting average.
lf improves in the field but not as good at the plate. However, if pods can turn it on, we won't lose much with the loss of lee.
rf will be better if dye is healthy. not better than mags, but we didn't have mags most of last year.

pitching, bench and coaching staff should all be better. I think we improved, but we'll need some things to click, and some bounces to go our way to be a playoff team.

[idseer]

dh is an improvement with frank healthy, but who knows how long we have to wait and if he'll be solid. i was actually not considering thomas. everett this year will be a big improvement over everett and whoever else dh'd last year. just my opinion of course but i think everett this year and last are 2 different guys.
thomas 's return will just be that much more a plus for the team.


2b is a toss up right now. I haven't heard that iguatchi (or however you spell it) is having a great preseason, of course, that could all come down to him having to make the adjustment to the bis similar to ichiro.
iguchi has impressed me a lot so far ... and i think he's ahead of what might normally be expected regarding his adjustment (at least baseball-wise). he's a big improvment in the field over harris and the man will hit .300 and with some authority (again just my opinion :)).

[Sxy Mofo]

i was actually not considering thomas. everett this year will be a big improvement over everett and whoever else dh'd last year. just my opinion of course but i think everett this year and last are 2 different guys.
thomas 's return will just be that much more a plus for the team.
I can't put that much faith in everett, but I hope you're right.

iguchi has impressed me a lot so far ... and i think he's ahead of what might normally be expected regarding his adjustment (at least baseball-wise). he's a big improvment in the field over harris and the man will hit .300 and with some authority (again just my opinion :)).
He has impressed you? That's good to hear, I've been reading some reports that say somewhat the opposite. I have yet to watch a game, and probably won't out here in colo unless they're on wgn. I can't wait to rid myself of this college debt, make more money and get mlb extra innings.