Comments on: Organizational Rankings: #17

By: Patrick

Patrick — Sun, 14 Nov 2010 14:00:02 +0000

Matt Thorton wasn’t a waiver claim.

He was acquired from the Mariners of all teams.

It was a swap of 1st round busts.

The Sox were fed up with Joe Borchard (he of the largest signing bonus in club history due to the fact that he had leverage as a Stanford QB)

The Mariners were willing to give up on Matt Thorton in exchange for Borchard’s promise (he does, after all, have the record for longest HR hit in new Comiskey [The Big Hurt is a close 2nd]).

Anyway, the MVP of this trade is Don Cooper. It took only a couple of bullpen sessions with Coop for Thorton to iron out his mechanics- he’s been “Easy Heat” ever since.

By: Bce??p???A??e?

Bce??p???A??e? — Sun, 31 May 2009 17:00:47 +0000

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By: Keith

Keith — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 19:57:57 +0000

Meh — like I said, both sides seemed to have buried the hatchet. I also think that Guillen thinks that his saying “stupid shit” (not necessarily the article above, but some of the other things) is a way to keep the pressure/attention off the players and on him. I guess it’s just kind of however you want to look at it…

And — even if I grant you Thomas — I’m still not seeing all of these players who have hated playing under Guillen to the point where it’s a detriment for the Sox to have him as manager (which is really what’s relevant).

By: Wally

Wally — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 16:45:31 +0000

I’d like to point out, in the end they both say it was nothing, but that’s what they have to say when questioned about it later. Guillen says stupid shit about his players from time to time, how much he really means by that, I don’t know. Maybe he’s just a hot head with a big mouth, but it happens.

By: Wally

Wally — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 16:41:38 +0000

I’m pretty sure this isn’t the only one of its kind: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2040251

By: Keith

Keith — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 16:28:56 +0000

I’m not really sure what you’re referring to, Wally. I can’t vouch for the days when Guillen and Thomas played as teammates but when in 2004 and 2005 I can’t recall Guillen and Thomas having any issues. In fact, I think I recall a quote from Thomas reflecting pretty kindly on Guillen as a manager.

Perhaps you’re thinking of Kenny Williams? He was the one who got into it a bit with Thomas but even that died down rather quickly — heck, Williams almost always brings up Thomas in a positive light when discussing the steroids issue, noting that Thomas is one of the guys who stood out as ‘doing things the right way’.

By: Wally

Wally — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 16:08:01 +0000

Frank Thomas says hi.

By: Wally

Wally — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 15:58:41 +0000

Thunda, I’m not sure how I would take that the wrong way, it is what it is. So to answer your criticism: Yes I did look at the projections for this year, but I also looked at the farm rankings, and used what I knew about ownership/FO tendencies. For example, the Rangers are out of it this year, but they have one of the best farm systems in the game right now. However, I see a GM that has a dubious trade history, and appears to have major problems signing good pitching. Add it up, and despite their farm system, I’m not terribly optimistic about their chances going forward.

Then you comment on the Rays. Well, they have a very good team, but it probably isn’t going to reach the playoffs this year. Second, they have a great farm, so they look good past 2009. However, what happens when all this young talent starts getting expensive? I can’t answer that question, so I have to take them down a peg or two.

Also, ask yourself this question: If this we strictly a PECOTA projection, why are the dodgers so low? Why would I put the favorites in there division behind a team expected to finished 3rd?

Lastly, this wasn’t meant to be terribly insightful all by itself, just the ranking without much explanation can’t tell you much. But it was fun for me to put together, and I figured it would spark some conversation.

By: Erick

Erick — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 14:42:05 +0000

Also “worst of the new stadiums” is arguable, but certainly it has been vastly improved since it opened, particularly with the modifications to the upper deck. People seem to get hung up on the Not Camden Yards-ness of it, but it really is a good place to see a game that has improved since it opened. I don’t expect the writer to address that in detail in a summary of this length, but it seemed worth noting.

By: Erick

Erick — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 14:28:50 +0000

He mentions that he misses some. He doesn’t need to address them individually in a one-paragraph summary. If you look at the sum total of Williams’ moves as GM, B- is pretty accurate.