Kudos To Kenny

[hold2dibber]

I was among may who were pissed off this offseason when the Sox had an exodus of top quality free agents and replaced them with a bunch of no-names. But as it turns out, in every case, KW was absolutely right, at least so far (although, in fairness, he wanted Colon and would have given him big $). Check out this comparison of the guys who left and the guys who replaced them:

Graffinino: .272 avg, 1 HR, 18 RBI, .678 OPS, earning $1,100,000
Uribe: .291 avg, 11 HR, 35 RBI, .853 OPS, earning $350,000

Everett: .268 avg, 1 HR, 10 RBI, .766 OPS, earning $3,000,000
Rowand: .299 avg, 8 HR, 19 RBI, .878 OPS, earning $340,000

Alomar: .235 avg, 0 HR, 7 RBI, .630 OPS, earning $924,000
Harris: .267 avg, 0 HR, 13 RBI, .677 OPS, earning $318,500

Colon: 5-7, 6.17 ERA, earning $11,000,000
Schoenweiss: 5-6, 4.36 ERA, earning $1,175,000

Gordon: 0.81 WHIP, 1.62 ERA, earning $3.5 million
Takatsu: 0.73 WHIP, 1.19 ERA, earning $750,000

Sullivan: 1.41 WHIP, 3.29 ERA, earning $2,100,000
Politte: 1.38 WHIP, 4.45 ERA, earning $800,000

And I haven't even brought up Perez v. Daubach. Plus, I, among others, thought KW was nuts for picking up Valentin's $5 million option. However, as of right now, Valentin is 1st (by far) among AL shortstops in HRs (with 17), 1st among AL shortstops in SLG (.590) and 2nd among AL shortstops in OPS (.951). He deserves All-Star consideration and has been invaluable from the left hand side of the plate.

KW ain't perfect, not by a long shot, but you've got to admit that he's made some brilliant calls lately.

[jabrch]

Potw!

[Frater Perdurabo]

I think it is a combination of good foresight, the limited budget and some "luck."

No matter what the cause, I'm pleased with the results.

[Scotty347]

Unbelievable! Great job KW!

:dtroll: <-- Southpaw

[Brian26]

Great post.

I guess it also goes to show you that name value doesn't always win championships. Sure, seeing Robbie Alomar and Carl Everett's name penciled in our lineup everyday may make it look more intimidating on paper. However, guys like Uribe and Timo have been unbelievable steals and are producing when it counts.

[Kadafi311]

Excellent post.

Nice to see it all spelled out like that.

[Blob]

Much props to KW!

[34rancher]

I still wish that we had Gordon and Sullivan. That would have been the best pen in baseball. But, I am happy none the less.

[munchman33]

:reinsy

"***!!! How are we supposed to drop our big contracts if the guys making nothing are keeping this team in contention!"

[gobears1987]

nice post, but the KW haters will deny it as lies and beg for Colon.

[kojak]

Great post.

I guess it also goes to show you that name value doesn't always win championships. Sure, seeing Robbie Alomar and Carl Everett's name penciled in our lineup everyday may make it look more intimidating on paper. However, guys like Uribe and Timo have been unbelievable steals and are producing when it counts.
And what about the chemistry quotient? Gotta be WAY lower with the loose cannons Robby and Carl.

[iwannago]

I agree so far so good, but I think its too early to clink glasses.

[Mickster]

http://pix.auctiva.com/pix/10/94/18/__mp/kudos_boxes.jpg:)