Jake

I have a feeling his value isn't as high as we expect. Closer is a position that you tend to benefit most by trading at the deadline when somebody really, really, really needs one

QUOTE (southside hitman @ Dec 11, 2013 -> 10:34 AM) Scott Merkin ‏@scottmerkin now Eaton: "It would be great if I could hang my hat around .300, 100 runs scored and an OBP around .400. I think it’s definitely doable." Ugh, now he's throwing out projections. Kid, just go play Those aren't projections, those are goals

The only version of Viciedo that is likely to make it to the 2015 roster is one that you wouldn't mind DHing

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Dec 11, 2013 -> 08:35 AM) Buffalo Chicken for me at Subway and I absolutely love it.

I think Sizemore would be a better comp

QUOTE (He_Gawn @ Dec 11, 2013 -> 07:19 AM) Yes, he's climbing very quickly. His upside through the roof. Showed up to IU at 6'8", and now looks to be a legit 6"10". That's whats really making the difference, along with his motor. Not to metion it looks like he put on about 30 lbs of muscle in a matter of months. If he stick around, Indiana's a title contender. Unfortunately for IU, I don't think he does. I suspect foul play

QUOTE (TaylorStSox @ Dec 11, 2013 -> 01:59 AM) By getting who? We profiled a target and used an asset to attain him. That trade wasn't about getting perceived value. It was about using an expendable asset to fill a piece that KW thought would improve that specific team. They targeted Pods and spent what was needed to obtain him. It's not a game of accumulating the most WAR. It's a game of finding the best pieces that fit, to go along with the best pitching. We're trying to build a team. We've done it by acquiring a dynamic OF, a prototypical lead off hitter,a super sub with high upside and a prototypical power hitter. If you have 2 aces and you use one to acquire a position of great need, you may have "lost" the individual trade, but you still made your team better. For one, I think we won this deal by any measure. Second, it's hard to argue that we lost the Lee deal since we won the WS. With that said, who is to say we couldn't have gotten a guy like Chone Figgins instead? The Angels had a wide open DH spot and Figgins could have played LF better defensively, been just as spark-y and grind-y and hit better than Pods. Maybe we go 11-0 in the playoffs instead of 11-1. Maybe we win 102 games instead of 99. Hard to prove and disprove these arguments, but it isn't outside the realm of possibility that we could have gotten Chone instead and that the franchise would have been better for it.

QUOTE (danman31 @ Dec 10, 2013 -> 11:38 PM) Yes. Nothing major, but it does seem to not register messages as read sometimes or adds them back to my inbox. Anyone else ditch the fingerprint scanner on iphone? The thing was too picky so I finally bailed on it. It was more effort than it was saving. If I just washed my hands or got out of the shower and tried to use my phone it would never work. It was also picky if I was any bit sweaty. Heck, sometimes I don't know why it didn't work in what seemed like optimal conditions. Hopefully it continues to be improved as I can see its usefulness in the abstract

QUOTE (TaylorStSox @ Dec 11, 2013 -> 12:22 AM) I've never understood this "won the deal" mentality. It's not a video game. It's not about "winning a deal" based on your perceptions of value. It's about improving the team. I know exactly what you mean. The usefulness of that kind of thinking is determining whether you should have been able to pull off an even better deal, though. The Pods and Vizcaino deal is our example of a deal that works out for everyone, but I think you could still legitimately question that deal on the basis that maybe we could have done even better for a premier hitter like Lee.

QUOTE (DukeNukeEm @ Dec 10, 2013 -> 08:43 PM) We have a glut of LHP, this made sense even if I was a real fan of Hector's. The problem is we got crap in return. Adam Eaton cant hit. I dont get it, and now were going to deal DeAza for a lottery ticket prospect. What does this net us other than a new face? I mean, unless Hahn does something super fancy (or teams somehow arent aware of ADAs sucktitude) this boils down to: Solid lefty with good potential Low caliber starting CF for Low-middle caliber starting CF Mediocre prospect Team didnt get better unless they see something in Eaton that indicate he will get good. How do you interpret a .381/.456/.539 in AAA as a guy that you can easily declare "can't hit"? That AAA line is a 163 wRC+, meaning he was 63% more productive than that league's average, adjusting for ballpark factors. One does not simply outproduce the average PCL hitter by 63% and be a s***ty hitter, especially with no other data to the contrary. He finished that season by posting a 118 wRC+ in the MLB. Then last year he misses the entire season, no spring training, and survives at the big league level by hitting at a level that would make him look like a slugger on the 2013 White Sox. This player is his bat and all scouts agree that it's his best tool. He was a top 100 prospect, something we rarely have, and a top 3 prospect in an absolutely loaded Arizona system. Even as a prospect, he was never "mediocre," at least not after his rookie ball season when people realized being 5'8" didn't stop him from pounding professional pitching.

It is obvious that we will sign Brandon Inge then

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Dec 10, 2013 -> 06:32 PM) I didn't see many of the games, but did he show sufficient range on any of the plays you saw of him at the end of the year? I know he's played a lot and prefers to play SS, but you have to be able to cover a ton of ground. I haven't seen any evaluators go out on a limb to defend his defense at SS, but I haven't seen anything overly critical either - most just refer to him as an average defender. I watched maybe 15-20 games of his on MiLB.tv and I actually thought he looked excellent at SS. Range is difficult to evaluate on TV, but I think he'll be sufficient as a defender.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Dec 10, 2013 -> 06:30 PM) Why would they want Gillaspie? Trading Ramirez for Murphy really doesn't make sense either. They have no need to spend a lot on a SS unless it's a significant upgrade due to the presence of Ruben Tejada, and the Sox don't have an adequate replacement for Ramirez at SS, unless you want to see Leury Garcia play there. I don't advocate this for opening day 2014, but...Marcus Semien is clearly that player

Santiago for Eaton is the fairest part of this deal. AZ got absolutely f***ed in this one. Trumbo is not very good and doesn't fill a need. Skaggs is too high a price for getting worse at everything but bopping homers

He's worth more to us than anyone else. Such a high ceiling, not a high cost, years of control. If he puts up another year like last year, his value probably doesn't change from what it is now.

Why in the world would they trade Seager? I'd guess you're looking at a Q plus ADA package to get him

Somehow people have totally begun to stop appreciating Johnson's ceiling. He could be what we normally call a number 2 starter.

QUOTE (bucket-of-suck @ Dec 10, 2013 -> 05:24 PM) Agreed. I'm not a fan of it either. Ackley is Seattle's Beckham. Just thought it was an interesting nugget I heard. Sounds like kind of of a mixed camp at 3B but it's really hot focus for the F.O. They are really active in talks so far down at the meetings. Seems like more than the past few years. I wouldn't be suprised if they make a few more deals this week. 3B is the focus. Do you think they have a preference for which of Viciedo/ADA stays, all things being equal? Of course, things won't be equal due to the trade market, but I can't decide which they'd rather see. Still a whole hell of a lot of potential value in 24-year-old Dayan, but more certainty in ADA

QUOTE (fathom @ Dec 10, 2013 -> 05:27 PM) I still believe that the Rangers RIDICULOUS trade they made for Garza messed up everyone's expectations for what Peavy would net the Sox. Of course, Edwards is the only player in that deal who still looks like he's worth a s*** and he's in A-ball.

Odd that he didn't wait for a midseason game against the Sox to announce it

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Dec 10, 2013 -> 04:51 PM) Single A prospect, Pitcher I've seen you post this more than once. Is this more than hope/speculation?

We have a lot of guys that are similar to Jacobs, but he is the worst of them defensively. We have enough contact-challenged prospect OF that I don't care too much to see him go, especially as our OF is pretty crowded with cost and team-controlled players now

QUOTE (rowand's rowdies @ Dec 10, 2013 -> 04:45 PM) Word in Arizona is that the PTBNL is Brandon Jacobs our prospect OF and that Eaton was a me type selfish player who was not liked in the clubhouse or by management. I liken him to an young Darin Erstad, but with a little more pop. Not sure how I feel about this one, but we got a young hitter for a young pitcher. Jacobs is a flawed prospect but I guess I can deal with it. Wouldn't have believed we needed to part with him to get it done

ADA for Daniel Murphy would certainly make some sense for both teams, I think. Similar caliber players in a similar contract situation going both directions.

If you're not hunting with your bare hands, you are pathetic