Sarava

Aaron is a credible Bears insider.

Just asking - is anyone concerned that some NL Central pitchers' numbers are fluffed up because these pitchers faced garbage offenses most nights?

I don't know. One wouldn't think so. But on the other hand, the whole NL Central seems to be moving backwards. I would include Kopech for Woodruff. Not Vaughn or Crochet though.

We don't know if Q would even sign here. I mean, even if he does well, if there's no injuries and Kopech comes up at some point, he would be squeezed out to the pen. He might rather find a spot with a more secure spot in the rotation.

I think the Woodruff stuff comes from the Not Steve Cishek dude on twitter, who probably has been right more often than most of the other Sox 'insiders'. People probably figure if they considered it last season, they still might?

Gray scares me after how he sucked in New York. Could he be one of those guys that is better off on low pressure teams and towns? But I like that the Sox still seem to be aggressive and going for it. Sounds like they're just waiting for something to pop.

I'm not so sure they wouldn't move either of them. I think Crochet is less likely to be moved than Kopech and Cease at this point. But if you're going for it and you trade for a good starting pitcher, you're going to have to give up something that stings a bit. I've said this name before...what about Kyle Hendricks? Who knows if the Cubs would move him with where they're at now. He's World Series tested. He's as consistent as any starter in baseball. He's on a nice contract, with 3 years and 42 mil left, plus an option year (not sure of the terms). He would probably fit in as our #2 behind Giolito, and ahead of Lynn and Keuchel.

I wonder if the Sox would consider calling the Cubs up about Zach Davies? He could fill in nicely for that extra starter they need, and they're only on the hook for this coming season, if Jerry is worried about longterm commitments. He makes 8.5 mil in 2021 it looks like.

Happy New Year everybody!

Sad thing is - he turns 85 in less than 2 months. Does he understand he can't take it with him? Just flippin' go for it for once.

He seems to think one of the 4 lottery tickets the Cubs got back is equal to Kopech?? Weird

It's too bad the Sox don't have the same aggressiveness from ownership. Can you imagine a rotation of Giolito/Darvish/Lynn/Keuchel,Cease or Kopech. My God...

You gotta admire San Diego's aggressiveness. The Clevinger trade has a setback, so they go and get an even better #1.

Giving Lopez another shot in the rotation makes me cringe. I mean, it probably will happen when injuries occur at some point in 2021. But that's the only path that is acceptable to me. The Sox need to get a #4/5 starter, period. Be it Quintana, Musgrove or someone else. I would worry that if it's Quintana or someone else on the free agent market, that might take away the dollars that could otherwise be used on a shutdown closer. And I keep thinking back to 2016, where the Indians and Cubs rode shutdown pens to the World Series. We shouldn't underestimate what a killer pen could do for the Sox.

Speaking of Ed Howard. I wanted him over Crochet. Time will tell how that pans out, but it sure feels like I was wrong. I'm glad we have Crochet.

I think you're over-valuing Stiever if you think he will bring back something better than Musgrove - who IMO is fine as a #4/#5 starter.

I think we've seen this act play out before. If Hendriks liked the Sox offer, he probably would of signed by now. Hopefully the Sox are prepared for the backup plan when he signs elsewhere.

Yeah...that's why I went with Sale. They didn't ask who had the best career with the White Sox. They asked who was the 2nd best player. It's Chris Sale and it's not even close.

I wanted Castellanos bad last winter. But after starting 2020 hot, he crashed pretty bad last year. But I know it was a weird pandemic year...

I'd go with Sale

Eh, I just take it as he just enjoys trolling on the internet. To me it's mostly fun and harmless, but to each his own. And I'll save name-calling like being a 'giant douche' for the wife beating types of the sports world.

I don't blame them for wanting to wait. If the season starts say in July, the pandemic is probably starting to wind down and you have paying fans at the game. Everyone makes money then.

The Sox are pretty loaded for position players already. Especially if you get the hoped for growth from players like Eloy and Robert this coming season. If they come up short anywhere compared to other playoff caliber teams, its probably in the starting staff. And the Nats just showed us in 2019 how a dominant top heavy staff can be ridden to a title.

A trade like that might make sense to be honest. If the Sox are at the deadline cruising in first place, but have some starting pitching depth issues. A Kopech for Yu Darvish trade might win you a World Series.

We're probably paying for the Julio Cruz contract. They don't want to put all their eggs in one basket.