Viva El Birdos (Free subscription) | 10/30/2009
I'm still in Japan, but the internet situation has gone from worse to bad. Sister blog South Side Sox has its own reasons to wonder about the value of hitting coaches—in this case, of standing pat following Alex Rios's disastrous first year in Chicago. I'm not extremely familiar with the situation, but the case against Greg Walker seems to be the case against Hal McRae and, to be fair, most hitting...
South Side Sox (Free subscription) | 10/29/2009
More photos » by Elaine Thompson - AP Alex Rios is pulling off the ball just a tad... Browse more photos » Alex Rios has $58.7M left on his contract, is coming off a season in which he hit .199/.229/.301 after joining the White Sox , and has, at times, appeared completely lost at the plate. But don't worry, Greg Walker is planning a special trip to Puerto Rico help turn Rios around. As...
The San Francisco Giants Blog (Free subscription) | 10/28/2009
MLBTradeRumors .com posted and interesting piece today regarding the different players around baseball that are being vastly overpaid. After looking at the list, it makes me feel a little bit better about the Rowand , Renteria and Zito contract disasters, and it also got me thinking of how to possibly get one of these guys, most likely Rowand , off the Giants hands. Now, this is mostly just speculation...
MLB Trade Rumors (Free subscription) | 10/28/2009
Got a bad contract on your hands? Maybe you can swap it for another team's problem. I'll list the bad contracts, you connect the dots. Vernon Wells, Blue Jays - five years, $98.5MM Alfonso Soriano, Cubs - five years, $90MM Barry Zito, Giants - four years, $83MM Alex Rios, White Sox - five years, $59.7MM Travis Hafner, Indians - three years, $40.25MM Aaron Rowand, Giants - three years, $36MM Carlos...
South Side Sox (Free subscription) | 10/27/2009
More photos » by Ben Margot - AP Browse more photos » The good people at ACTA Sports provided me a sneak preview at the 2010 Bill James projections, which will be made available the public the the 2010 Bill James Handbook ( available next week ). James tends to have the most optimistic projections of any of the major forecasters, specifically for young players (read: unestablished players,...
Bluebird Banter (Free subscription) | 10/26/2009
Well, that wasn't a fun game. Angels lost more than the Yankees won but that's life isn't it. You grow up being told that the good guys win and then you grow up to find out that, in real life it doesn't work that way. The Angels made more stupid mistakes in this series than you'd expect a playoff team to make. Tonight, Vladimir Guerrero decides to run off first base on a short fly out to RF and he...
Bluebird Banter (Free subscription) | 10/21/2009
More photos » by Frank Gunn - AP He has a pretty swing, when it is working. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Frank Gunn) Browse more photos » When Alex Rios came up to the Jays I thought he was ok but didn't have enough power for a corner outfield spot. He seemed to be a good enough player but he didn't do anything well enough to make you think he should be an everyday player. He had speed...
MLB Rumors - MLBTradeRumors.com (Free subscription) | 10/19/2009
Next up in our Offseason Outlook series, the White Sox. Their likely commitments for 2010: C - A.J. Pierzynski - $6.25MM C/DH - Tyler Flowers - $400K 1B - Paul Konerko - $12MM 2B - Chris Getz - $401K SS - Alexei Ramirez - $1.1MM 3B - Gordon Beckham - $400K IF/OF - Brent Lillibridge - $403K IF - Jayson Nix - $400K LF - CF - Alex Rios - $9.7MM RF - Carlos Quentin - $550K+ OF - DH - Dayan Viciedo - $1.25MM...
The Big Dead Sidebar (Free subscription) | 10/06/2009
In short, yes. Just like the remaining two-years and $21 million remaining on Milton Bradley's contract will likely handcuff the Cubs this offseason, Alex Rios' bulky contract in which he is scheduled to make $58.7 million through the 2014 campaign will hamper the White Sox. For years, Kenny Williams and the South Siders have coveted Chone Figgins of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The
MLB Trade Rumors (Free subscription) | 10/05/2009
Recently, the South Side of Chicago has been identified as a logical destination for Angels third baseman Chone Figgins as he heads into free agency. However, manager Ozzie Guillen doesn't envision the 31-year-old utility player fitting into the White Sox' budget, reports Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times. Cowley says that in 2010 high-priced pick-up Alex Rios will take over in center field and Carlos...
The Sporting Blog (Free subscription) | 10/03/2009
For Kevin Towers , a history of winning was no longer enough. For J.P. Ricciardi , a sterling reputation had lost its luster. For both GMs, currently on their way out of the big chair for the Padres and Blue Jays, respectively, a lack of results has resulted in a lack of a job. But for one of their teams, this firing may turn out to be an error. Being a "good guy" isn't the point of the...
Sliding Into Home (Free subscription) | 10/03/2009
After countless mistakes, topped off but his ridiculous asking price for Roy Halladay which kept from making a trade He probably had to, J.P. Ricciardi has been fired as the GM of the Blue Jays . “This was a tough decision and a difficult one for me personally as I have enjoyed J.P.’s friendship and his perspective on the game,” said Paul Beeston, acting President, and CEO. “J.P....
The FanHouse - Charlotte Bobcats (Free subscription) | 10/03/2009
by Ed Price Filed under: Blue Jays J.P. Ricciardi, fired Saturday morning as general manager of the Blue Jays, will be remembered for spending plenty and not winning enough. Hired in 2001, Ricciardi was charged with trying to compete with the Yankees and Red Sox in the AL East. To do it, he splurged on free-agent signings such as A.J. Burnett and B.J. Ryan and long-term deals for Toronto players Vernon...
MLB Trade Rumors (Free subscription) | 10/02/2009
Time for another round of links... David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal Constitution wouldn't be surprised if the Braves could get a team to pick up Derek Lowe's contract. The righty has $45MM remaining on the four-year deal he signed last offseason. Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star says there's "significant discontent" towards Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston. It's just not as bad as Ken...
MOUTHPIECE Blog (Free subscription) | 10/02/2009
Yesterday, the Internet cruelly reminded me that Chris Carpenter — a pitcher! — had six RBI in the Cardinals’ win, the entire total Alex Rios has had in his time with the White Sox. This is, by all accounts, pretty sad. But as we know, Rois has been downright awful since Kenny Williams claimed him [...]
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