Jake

I've gotta say he seems under-qualified even for a non-roster invitee.

I wouldn't necessarily take it as 100% gospel that Bregman was never offered for Sale. For Houston, it's a very self-serving rumor in that other suitors won't make as good of offers if they believe the competition hasn't offered top prospects. It may be a true rumor, too, but we've heard some far-fetched things about HOU-CHW talks, like that Gammons tweet from a while back.

I thought Maddon had more bad decisions than good ones in the World Series and that Game 7, even though it was exciting, was a pretty badly played and managed game for both sides.

If they win, you just let them play. It's highly unlikely that if they're winning, it's because the players reveal some underlying level of ability indicating they are really able to compete in the long haul. So you don't do much of anything to add to the team short of perhaps considering veteran free agents who couldn't make it onto a team in Spring Training. If the trade deadline comes around and you within a game or so of playoff contention, you might have to hold off on trading the Quintana types who are still on the team..but if you're in a situation more like the Yankees were this season, technically in it but not super close, you still move guys off the team.

QUOTE (PolishPrince34 @ Dec 17, 2016 -> 11:32 AM) I've always wondered how much cash the teams get when making a trade for cash considerations. Anyone have an idea? I would guess $10,000-$50,000. Probably little lower than a Rule 5 pickup. I believe there is a minimum, might be $10k

I don't see why Tilson is any worse than Jerry Owens, who was once our opening day leadoff hitter

What are the chances we let Kevan Smith split time with Narvaez rather than bring in some outsider?

I want them to win every time I watch. This is especially true for a team like the White Sox, but in general every time a fan comes to see your team play or sees your team on TV, you risk losing that person by playing s***ty. I don't care that much about whether we pick 1, 5, or 10. We don't stand to gain in international free agency anymore, which was a big part of the Cubs plan. Cubs got: Rizzo in a trade for a prospect that was in the system when Epstein took over. Bryant #2 in the draft Russell in a trade for Samardzija. Javier Baez was taken #9 in the draft in 2011, before the rebuild began or Epstein took over. Arrieta was acquired in a trade for Scott Feldman, a vet signed to the MLB squad for the purpose of trading for prospects. Hendricks was acquired in a trade for Ryan Dempster. Willson Contreras was an international free agent acquisition in 2009, long before any rebuild began. Miguel Montero via trade after transition to "win now" mode. Travis Wood, Pedro Strop, Carl Edwards, Justin Grimm, Mike Montgomery, Aroldis Chapman in trades. Trevor Cahill as a minor league free agent. Hector Rondon in Rule 5 draft. Via free agency: Jon Lester Ben Zobrist Dexter Fowler Jason Heyward John Lackey Some bit players in WS run who might become important this year: Almora, #6 pick in 2012 Schwarber, #4 pick in 2014 I write this to say that the extent to which losing had something to do with the Cubs winning, most of it had less to do with the losing and more to do with the trading of veterans and getting something in return. I think rooting to lose every game very well may have more costs than benefits. Hell, the Sox got the best draft pick (at the time, at least) in 2014 at #3 anyway.

Especially at a fan event, I don't think it's appropriate to boo a player who has done nothing wrong except play badly. The same thing with Dunn. Just because these guys make a lot of money, that doesn't mean they aren't human beings who deserve to be treated right. If you're mad about the bad play and the big money, boo the management.

As far as Keith Foulke trade goes, important to keep in mind that Foulke was in a walk year and Koch was pre-arbitration. We also got Neal Cotts back in that trade, who ultimately probably provided us more value than that one year of Foulke would have.

Comparing the price the Cubs paid, when they were arguably a good closer away from their first WS in 100 years and had plenty of near-MLB and MLB players in the positions Torres would play, to this situation probably won't make you happy about anything that could plausibly happen. Same goes for the Shelby Miller trade. If the GM is drunk when he makes the deal, great, but you can't bank on that stuff happening.

Benetti brings out a different side of Steve, but it's just a more arrogant one.

Wouldn't shock me if Musgrove is the guy the Astros don't want to part with.

Something I think is encouraging about Anderson is it looks to me that while he has very bad plate discipline, I think his pitch recognition isn't bad. Some players are undisciplined but also have bad pitch recognition, which is very tough to teach. I think Avisail Garcia is a player who has bad pitch recognition, so even when he has a good plan at the plate he may end up swinging at bad pitches because he failed to realize what it was he was swinging at. With Anderson, even when he flails at a slider, he often looks to me like he knew it from the start but just couldn't stop himself from pulling the trigger. If I'm right, it won't take an amazing feat of coaching to get his strikeout rate down.

There are reasons for serious concern with Anderson, but he could get slightly worse with the bat and still be a useful player due to his defense and the position he plays. The optimistic case for him is that he was an inexperienced player when he was drafted and has basically never had the chance to spend much time at any level. It isn't crazy to think that getting settled in at the MLB level, where he can't be pushed to any higher levels of competition, might result in improvements across the board. I also think that his Adjusted Contact score is not a bad sign. Suggests that more balls in play is his main hurdle, which I think is the most likely improvement he will make (lower K%, that is).

Hawk is uniquely qualified to pump up underachieving young players

He was the player who made the most positive contribution to the day-to-day watchability of the team. And while I suspect he's a bit immature and perhaps rubbed some of his teammates the wrong way, I found him easy to root for. I hope players fans can gravitate towards get on this team soon...I think Tim Anderson might be too much of the quiet type for the job.

If you want to look at blown saves for a non-closer, you also need to look at holds. Holds+saves/blown saves is roughly comparable to save percentage. With that said, setup guys are often asked to come into more challenging situations and to pitch multiple innings more often, giving them more chances to "blow" the save opportunity that they never had a chance to finish.

Having a non-horrible pitch framer is useful because you don't want to stack the odds against your young pitchers. If you're going to bring in a vet trying to rebuild his value, you'd like for him to be a guy who can help develop your pitching staff.

Yeah I don't think Millar was meaning to convey any inside information

I really didn't think the league would value Eaton this highly, but they do. I think there was a good chance that he would never be seen as a potential 6 WAR player again.

My feeling is that in the winter, all the GMs know that 1B aren't really that hard to find and that just because Abreu is a pretty damn good hitter doesn't mean you have to sell the farm to get him. Come July, though, there are going to be 2-6 contenders who aren't getting production at 1B, DH, or perhaps another spot who will do anything to get a lively bat in their lineup. I look at it the same way that I do the idea of trading relief pitchers. You want to trade a reliever for a young Chris Davis? You won't do it in the winter.

I had my eyes on Severino as a secondary piece in a WAS deal. He's no Pudge (either one of them), but has a good shot at being a solid regular for a long time

I'd like to see Pedro Severino as a second-tier piece in a Nats deal. Would be our Opening Day catcher in all likelihood. Not huge upside, but good chance of being a longtime major leaguer.

Sounds like the hotel bar kicked the GMs out. Bob Nightengale ‏@BNightengale 7m7 minutes ago The #Whitesox did not come close to trading Chris Sale tonight but acknowledge the #Nats were very aggressive in proposals