[Your Realistic 2014 Lineup]

C FA

1B -Abreu

2B - Semien

SS - Ramirez

3B - Gillespie

RF - Garcia

CF - FA

LF - Viciedo

DH - DeAza

 

Bench: Garcia, Keppinger, Flowers, someone who can hit

 

Dealt - Dunn, Beckham

 

[spann?]

For a team in transition, he is perfectly passable. There's no need to spend an exorbitant amount on a CF when the difference he will make is 72 or 76 wins. I don't understand why you'd want to spend a ton when it really won't matter this year.

Who says I want to spend a ton? Don't need to spend a ton to improve on OF defense or to improve CF. The D was awful last year on this team.

And who says we're in transition? We just made a big FA signing and we have a number 1 starter.

I would probably keep DeAza, absent a good offer for him. Nothing wrong with a little depth. And if we can somehow move Dunn, he could play some DH and spell Vic in CF.

[spann?]

If you want to outbid the Cubs, Red Sox, Mariners, etc., for Ellsbury, sure.

 

Not going to happen.

 

With the dollar figures being bandied around this offseason, the likes of Granderson and Saltalamacchia don't even make a whole lot of sense.

 

 

 

If Marcus Semien wins ROY, we get a 725 OPS out of the catching spot and 750-775 out of 3B, as well as progression from Viciedo/Abreu/Garcia, then we can start talking about upgrading CF again.

He very well be not worth trading for, but we certainly do need a CF.

 

Da Aza is not passable.

[spann?]

Can't see the Sox going for him. The Sox don't really need to upgrade the OF, they got a lot more pressing areas like 3B and C that need attention.

Who, pray tell, do we have to play CF?

CF if a top need for this team.

[Sox to Make Hard Push for Granderson]

It makes me think KW is running the team.

That's his M.O. - low OBP, declining veterans.

[Sox to Make Hard Push for Granderson]

What good is Sox offseason, if we can't sign more declining veterans that Williams fell in love with 5 years ago?

[Make your arguments why Ventura isn't like Baker?]

I realize it was garbage time, but the manager would put the worst hitter on the team, L Garcia, at lead-off when he played.

[Make your arguments why Ventura isn't like Baker?]

But he did have Shin-Soo Choo sacrifice bunt 3 times this year. He also batted Brandon Phillips cleanup in the playoffs between Votto and Bruce - after Brandon Phillips put up a .706 OPS this year.

Believe me, I don't want either one of them managing the White Sox.

I thought Hahn was from the new-breed of baseball thinkers.

[Make your arguments why Ventura isn't like Baker?]

Baker never intentionally walked Chris Getz.

[How Should Rick Hahn Fix The White Sox]

I vote for a strong retool. Basically every starter except for A Garcia should be replaced. they absolutely should deal De Aza, who as a decent hitter, might bring something in return, but whose brain dead play needs to be off this team. Ramirez too. They need a complete culture change, but obviously that wont' happen because of the retention of Ventura.

[One move...]

The Sox need to move out a lot of dead wood: Ramirez and De Aza for sure; Dunn would be number 1, but it's not realistic. We need a new culture here. Move Viciedo and Beckham too. Tired of players that swing at the ball in the dirt. Sox need a lot more OBP too, as well as power.

I'm fine with trading Santiago if you get full value.

[Jeff Manto fired]

It's scapegoat time on the Southside.

Can't possibly be Robin's fault. He's even clowning it up in garbage time. Gotta put the worst hitter at leadoff, L Garcia, because he has speed!

[Hahn:Ventura will return in 2014]

Robin, if you care about the White Sox, resign. You didn't do the necessary work to ready yourself for this position and it shows. And you know it.

[Hahn:Ventura will return in 2014]

What has Manto done to get canned? He didn't intentionally walk Chris Getz. He didn't pitch Reed 8/11 days or 6 in a row when the season was beyond lost. He didn't start bunting and doing other choke maneuvers with a 3 game lead with 3 weeks to go. He didn't manage the team to 100 losses. He wasn't responsible for lack of fundamental play, season long clowning on the basepaths or poor defense. He didn't automatically intentionally walk an opposing batter whenever a base was open with less than 2 outs in a walk off situation (that poor decision-making itself cost the Sox several games this season).

I guess what Manto has done is that he did not play for the Sox in the 1990s.

Manto may be a bad coach, but Ventura is incompetent at this point in his career. He should manage in the minors for 5 years and then try this again.

[Hahn:Ventura will return in 2014]

It's outrageous, really. Lose a 100 games with a team that they thought was a fringe-contender, and bring back the manager. The only reason is because his name is Ventura.

Just as soon sign De Wayne Wise back and his .267 career OBP to be the top bench bat again.

[Ventura wants to stay]

And then there's the VEntura strategy. Over-use pitchers, never sit Alexei (he still won't in September garbage time) intentionally walk Chris Getz...heck, whenever a team has a runner on and base open when they can walk off, intentionally walk the batter to clog the base (that nonsense has cost us several games). 2 runners on down 2 in the 9th? Bunt the ball.

He's a lousy manager all the way around.

[Ventura wants to stay]

Why does Robin all of a sudden want to manage forever? If his stance has completely changed, my guess is he'll sign that multi-year extension if it's offered again this offseason.

 

If we suck defensively and on the basepaths again next year, Robin should be on the hotseat. He probably won't be, though, cause Sox are not going to be in the news much next season if we are out of it in May. My guess is attendance also will take a big hit this time if we suck a second consecutive season.

Next season?

What, pray tell, has he done to keep his job after this season? If his name weren't Robin Ventura, he'd out a week from yesterday.

[Ventura wants to stay]

He gets one more year at the very least. Ozzie had a year like this and they won a division the next season.

Remind me what year that was again when Ozzie won 60?

 

It must be nice when the non-performing employee get to decide whether he stays or not.

[Rick Hahn on The Score right now....]

And as far as I can tell the team forgot to hire any staff other than a pitching coach this season, that hurts too. Can't figure out what they were thinking going into the season with no manager or practice.

Let's just hope they hire professional manager next year, instead of a JR/KW fav.

[How comfortable are you rooting for the draft pick?]

I don't root for the Sox to lose. I do root for the Astros, marlins, Cubs, Brewers, Padres, Giants, Twins to win though. (did I miss anybody?).

[The Question that Begs to be Asked and Answered]

Axe looks finished.

But Ventura leaving him in to give up 8 hits and 2 walks over 2 innings is amateur hour. Ventura had to see all 8 hits and 2 walks to decide he didn't have it?

[Jesse Crain dealt to Tampa Bay]

We needed Lindstrom in July? I thought the team was more than out of the race by then.

 

In the fangraphs world he's already put up $4 million in value this year. In the B-R world he's put up more.

We needed him to pitch well in July so we could trade him.

We sure as heck don't need him now.

[Jesse Crain dealt to Tampa Bay]

Matt Lindstrom is making a much stronger case for having his option picked up and being the veteran setup guy in the pen than I ever expected him to.

Wonderful.

When we needed him to pitch well....i.e. July..he was atrocious.

Isn't his option for like $4 mill?

[Avisail Garcia is the truth.]

No it isn't. Wil Myers is a much higher rated prospect than Garcia.

The recency of Myers and Segura are a reason why no A prospects were exchanged at the deadline. Hahn found an A- he liked and perhaps graded as an A so that's good.

[Avisail Garcia is the truth.]

I guess it's relevant to this thread, is anyone else disappointed about the prospects we received from the Red Sox? I mean Montas has a big arm and control issues so he's a wild card but the other two? eh

What strikes me is that the Tigers gave up Garcia AND a relief pitcher for Iglesias. It's hard to believe that they had to throw in extra. I would have thought that the reliever should have come to us (don't know if we liked him in particular, but his value seemed like it should have come to us). But I guess Hahn finally got someone to offer up an impact prospect he liked, so he jumped on it, understandably. I didn't think we'd get an A prospect for him and we did, so I'm satisfied.

 

I would suggest that we start talking to the Orioles. They seem to give up solid prospects for mediocre starting pitchers. And send the relievers to Arizona - they give up starters for middle relief.

 

Detroit might see Iglesias as an impact player for them. He's a top notch defender on a team whose left side defense is otherwise bottom-notch.