Dam8610

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Sep 26, 2014 -> 07:10 PM) You have to judge guys on an individual basis. PK's performance has nothing to do with how VMart will perform at similar ages. PK's a walking cripple. To do what Martinez did this year you have to be pretty healthy. I'm actually shocked at how many people don't want one of the best hitters on the planet for 3 years. Are we so steeped in mediocrity that not only do we accept it but we yearn for it ? Do Dustin Ackley's beckham-like numbers or Rasmus' viciedo-like numbers really appeal to so many ? Have we gotten rid of the dead weight only to acquire more of the same ? Konerko and Dunn, two older sluggers who declined over the past 3 or 4 years and were highly overpaid as a result, have much more to do with the mediocrity than Beckham or Viciedo. Ironic, then, that you would talk about shedding the dead weight to acquire more while advocating for signing Victor Martinez.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Sep 26, 2014 -> 03:16 AM) .303/.376/.847 lifetime. If hehas his career average year, he is pretty damn good. Not many players hit their career averages very many times after 35. QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Sep 26, 2014 -> 03:29 AM) I knew he'd come back with the career yr. stuff but you beat me to the punch. It's been like 5 yrs since the guy hit under .300 and how good do you have to be to have a career yr. at 35 ? Answer: Really good and really smart too. 41 K's this year. 41 ! Adam Dunn never sniffed .300 and usually had 41 K's some time in May. Just to be accurate on Konerko he came in 13th in MVP voting during his age 35 season and was an All Star in his age 36 season . Just to be accurate, Konerko's age 36 season represented a significant dropoff from his age 35 season, and his age 37 and 38 seasons fell off a damn cliff. Aging is extremely unkind to athletes, and I wouldn't want to be stuck paying Victor Martinez for the type of production Konerko has had for the past two seasons.

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Sep 25, 2014 -> 11:17 PM) Do you like what you've seen of Abreu. I'm sure you do. Great season right ? Well VMart has been just as good as Abreu in his age 35 season. He has the highest batting average in his career, the highest OBP ,SLG , TB , OPS, and OPS+. He's doubled his career best in intentional walks and has K'ed just 41 times in 627 PA's. That's almost 90 less K's than Abreu. In many respects he's been better than Abreu. Just how fast do you expect him to fall off a cliff ? According to what you're saying he's got 1 good year left in him after a monster of a season. It helps a lot hitting behind Cabrera and hitting behind or in front of Abreu would be just as good. Sox fans need something to get excited about . As I've already said if you get him and McCarthy and Dave Robertson we will be contending because we'll have a better lineup bullpen and rotation especially if they are all signed for 3 years we can contend for those 3 years while also working Rodon, Bassitt, Montas, Danish and any other pitching prospect that develops into the rotation and pen which will cost the bare minimum that players make in their 1st 3/4 years in the league. Contend for 3 yrs then contend after that with a (hopefully) very strong rotation after that anchored by cheap young talent. You can't wait till the year after to get a big bat in free agency because we're likely to be outspent by all the high rollers which will probably end up the case with VMart also. BTW I've been the one tossing around Michael Saunders name but the Sox would have to trade for him and we are woefully short on pieces ( talent) to trade if we don't want to touch our minor league guys. Your argument in favor of Martinez is actually the problem with him. You're right, he had a career year at 35. What do you think the probability he'll repeat at 36 is? How about at 37? 38? Let's put it this way, the types of players that continue to produce at elite levels through their age 38 seasons usually end up in Cooperstown. I don't see Martinez as that caliber of player, and if you hated Adam Dunn at 4/$56, it's highly probable that you'll despise Victor Martinez at 3/$60. Look at Paul Konerko's last 4 seasons. Konerko's age 35 season was near MVP caliber, and his decline began at age 36. The last 3 seasons of Konerko are a decent window into what Victor Martinez is likely to give you for 3/$60. If you still think that's a good idea, then I hope that either the White Sox disagree or Victor Martinez defies probability and logic.

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Sep 24, 2014 -> 08:50 PM) You said a lot but you said nothing. Don't spend money on old bats in free agency. You know that pretty much anyone who reaches free agency is on the old side . The Sox have needs but all you said is acquire. Didn't say how to acquire but our quality tradeable assets are scarce but we have plenty of payroll room. That would suggest the Sox are more likely to explore the free agent route But don't sign the big names but you want 2 starting OF's and hopefully one is a middle of the order bat ? Do you know what starting outfielders and middle of the order bats cost ? How exactly do we get all that talent without trading anyone or signing anyone to a big free agent contract ? Now Colby Rasmus is 28 and a free agent had a lot of trouble beating the shift and swung at a lot of pitches out of the zone. I think wherever he signs it will be to play on a grass field. He thinks the turf in Toronto has a lot to do with nagging injuries with his hamstrings and hips. He still probably gets $10M a yr. for anywhere from 3-6 years from somebody . Is he someone you like being one of the younger free agents ? He had good years in the past but when he's bad he hits like Viciedo but is a much better fielder. Is a guy who just as likely to "hit" as he is to "miss" a way to build a championship caliber team ? Where is the power coming from next year without Dunn and maybe without Viciedo ? Without naming names , dollars and years it's rather easy to say don't do this or that but how do you execute it ? When is the year we are supposed to be ready? Abreu needs some quality bats around him in the lineup . Should he try to do it all by himself ? Do you want him to be turning 30 and the Sox are still filling holes by trying to nickel and dime their way into a playoff team ? The rumors have been the the Sox do intend to try to get VMart. Now if that's the truth , great , I'm 100% for it . The team has it's big names locked up and the rest are a long way from peak earning years. They have money to spend . Spend it on the best and lets get the talent level on this team higher and try to compete before Sales arm or Q's arm falls off. VMart isn't Dunn maybe the whole Dunn deal has clouded some peoples judgment . He hits for average and power and would be a great asset for our younger player's development and he's not likely to sign a lengthy deal at his age . If he wants 5 years yeah, forget it, but if he'll take 3 we have a few years to work our current starting pitching prospects into the rotation and compete at the same time. So I highly doubt signing a few free agents to 3 year deals with the amount of payroll space the Sox have is going to hamstring the team especially when the long term goal of competing every year isn't going to cost much if our young pitchers can step in. If you think that spending in free agency will make this team about 20 wins better and capable of sustaining that level of success for the next 5+ seasons at least, then disregard my post, as the premise of the entire thing is that it's going to take longer than this off-season to build a sustainable contender, likely another full year. That said, Victor Martinez is not the answer unless the question is "Who can the White Sox sign to a contract they'll regret by midseason 2016?" He's 36 years old and it appears that some team is going to give him $20 million per year for at least 3 years. That will hamstring the process of putting together a competitive team for 2016 and beyond. If the team wants to spend $20 million this off-season, they should acquire three or four players who could give much bigger returns on investment. I didn't get into specifics because I haven't really studied the free agent class, but you mentioned one guy that might fit the bill that I'm taking about in Rasmus, Markakis is another guy that might work if the O's don't pick up his option, and I've heard the name Michael Saunders tossed around, which doesn't seem like a bad idea either. The savings you get between two decent bats vs. Martinez could be spent on a pen arm or two, then toss another $15-20 million in for another pen arm and a decent SP and you've set the stage well for 2016. If the team improves 5-10 wins with that kind of off-season, then you go get the big bat in the 2015 off-season, when the entire contract will occur in competitive years.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Sep 24, 2014 -> 02:19 PM) That's a pretty good post as I am honored you have expressed my position pretty accurately and your toilet paper line was quite well written and funny, especially for an internet forum. True I don't have much confidence in the Sox bringing in their minor leaguers to fill future roles. I hope you are right about Semien at short. I would prefer your option 3 at this time. Let Lexi play some more for the Sox until Anderson is ready. I'm assuming Anderson was a solid No. 1 pick, but I am getting worried that his defense may suck. The best thing I've heard about his defense on this board is it figures to get better since he's young. I actually am in favor of Semien playing second next year. I don't want to see him butcher third defensively any longer. So I want Gillaspie to platoon with somebody at third and pray his defense gets more consistent; Lexi at short; Semien at second and Abreu at first. That's a playoff caliber infield. Yank Lexi out of there and it's a sub .500 team infield (or worse as I expressed earlier) unless Abreu goes bonkers with 60 homers. I appreciate the compliment, but I again have to disagree with your assessment, mainly because I feel that we have completely different assessments of the level of talent on the team, the team needs, and the level of talent it will take for this team to compete. The main reason I would be in favor of trading Ramirez is that I see 2015 as the tail end of the "not-a-rebuild" phase. As such, it's a good time to find out if Semien, Sanchez, and maybe Micah Johnson can be effective major league players. It's highly unlikely that all three won't be able to hack it, so if two don't work out, fill that hole in the 2015 off-season. Whether or not Alexei is traded this off-season, the White Sox need to find a RH utility player who can take starts at 2B, 3B, and possibly LF do they can play matchups well. If Alexei is traded, you're probably looking for a starting caliber bat there rather than a quality bench guy. Again, you're not going to be able to gain 15-20 wins in one off-season without spending an obscene amount of money, depleting the scant resources of the farm system, or both. Thus, if you get an offer that blows you away for Ramirez, it would be foolish not to pull the trigger.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Sep 24, 2014 -> 08:28 AM) I agree with all of this, but just want to note on the bolded - that's a lot of crap the Sox are shopping. It's the same problem they had at the deadline this year and it's the major problem with the current roster construction, but it's a very good problem to have. Right now, the Sox have a few very talented, high upside players on the roster - specifically Sale, Quintana, Abreu, Eaton, and possibly Garcia (though I'm still timid, he's acquainted himself fairly well and he should be a good bat moving forward, if nothing else). The problem is filling in around them - the back of the rotation needs help, the bullpen is very mediocre, and there are still holes and upgradeable positions throughout the lineup. Those are much, much easier to fill than giant, glaring holes where you need big time production. Basically, if you shop those other guys, don't expect a lot because they are not very good. I agree with pretty much everything you're saying, and with marginal value in mind, I think Gillaspie is pretty much untradable, since I doubt other teams will value him at his performance level for the year, especially since he fell off a cliff in August. That said, he's 28 and is performing like an above average 3B. That leaves Ramirez as the only guy you're going to get much value for, and that should only happen if an offer is to good to resist. Viciedo might net a reclamation project, and Danks would net another bad contract at best. I realize that you're not likely to pick up anything of value for anyone else, but on the off chance that you can, take it.

As for the thread premise, here goes: DO acquire at least two hitters, preferably OF, one of which should be LH and ideally both starter caliber. If I were doing the shopping, I would be looking at potential guys and reclamation projects here. A guy who the front office thinks could be a middle of the order bat is a must, but other than that I would look for good defense and low K rates. One of these holes may be able to be filled internally with Semien depending on how okay you are with he and Sanchez both playing major roles in 2015. DO acquire a solid, #2-3 type RHSP, and a couple of quality bullpen pieces. Doing this will place the Sox in the best position they can be in to contend next year, while also giving some flexibility at the trade deadline if things break poorly, as they did this year. Doing this will also give the Sox a starting 5 that can at least compete for the first half without having to force their hand on Rodon, assuming that you believe that two of Noesi, Danks, Carroll, and Bassitt can give you quality 4 and 5 guys. The other plus from that group is the two that don't make the rotation may be able to be used to improve the bullpen, which will need several upgrades from any and all sources possible for this team to compete next year. DO shop everyone on the ML team except for Sale, Q, Abreu, Eaton, A. Garcia, and anyone under the age of 25. To me, if the price is right on anyone else, you take the deal. The only players that would require a major return in my book would be Ramirez and Gillaspie, because I feel that the production of either would be particularly difficult to replace, and would create a ripple effect of platoon problems, unless you feel Semien can replace Gillaspie's production. Also, if you can sucker someone into taking Danks's contact, great, but unlikely. Viciedo would be a great guy to move as well, especially if you can get anything of value for him. DO NOT hand John Danks a 2015 rotation slot. To me, if the team goes out and signs a #2-3 caliber starter, then rotation slots 4 and 5 should be completely up for grabs. I have a feeling Noesi will pull down one of those slots because he has pitched fairly well for the White Sox this year, but I would like to see Bassitt, maybe Carroll, and hell even Erik Johnson get a shot at a starting slot. I hate the idea of making decisions on sunk costs, and to me, the only reason Danks would even be considered for the 2015 rotation is the sunk cost of his contract. If that's the case, then make him the long man and give a guy like Bassitt a shot to develop. That would be ideal to me, with the eventuality being that Rodon takes one of the 4 or 5 slots when he is ready. DO NOT spend big money in free agency on an old, "proven" bat. Signing a guy like Victor Martinez would set this team back in its goals as he is 36 and will get WAY too much on the open market. Paying a 36 year old $20 million per year for 3 years is obscenely stupid unless you feel that that player can put your team on a championship contending level. Without significant other spending, Victor Martinez would not do that for the White Sox. Nor would Russell Martin, nor any of the other 32-36 year olds available. DO NOT go into "Win Now" mode. This is a ~75 win team. To be a playoff team, it will take a ~15-20 win improvement. It would be nigh impossible to gain that ground this off-season, and it would be bad to do so for the overarching long term goal of building a consistent championship contender. Gaining another 5-10 games this off-season should be the goal, with the full force of "Win Now" mode coming into effect after the 2015 season. Obviously, that doesn't mean start trading away the farm at that point, but I feel as though 2016 is going to be the realistic beginning of the White Sox competitive window with this core.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Sep 23, 2014 -> 11:25 PM) Amen. You don't trade Alexei unless you have a replacement. As it stands, if the Sox trade Alexei and put L. Garcia at ss, you are looking at probably the worst team in Sox history. The automatic out that Garcia accounts for, does not bode well when guys like Viciedo and Flowers go into prolonged slumps. I don't care what WAR says, I'm saying if you trade Alexei and replace him with L. Garcia or Semien, you got a CERTAIN last-place team on your hands. Of course some fans don't mind finishing last. It's like it's part of the rebuilding plan. I can't even imagine a .500 team on the south side the next 10 years the way it's going now. And Anderson might not be the answer from what I've been reading about his defense. How do you think one finds a replacement for a player? There are very few options for this. 1) The team rids itself of the player and acquires a similar or higher quality player externally, via trade or free agency. This seems to be the solution you advocate in practically every situation. This is also the solution that gives you a crapton of untenable payroll commitments eventually, if you go the free agent route, or leaves you with a barren farm system if you go the trade route. 2) The team rids itself of the player and finds a replacement internally. From your posts, I gather that you find this option unpalatable in practically all situations, as you seem to value minor league baseball players at roughly the same level the average person values toilet paper, virtually useless, save for the exact right situation. The problem with this line of thinking is that the only way to turn talented young baseball players into effective major league contributors is by allowing them to get the experience they need to develop into those roles. 3) The team keeps the player until the player's value is less than that of a league average or worse replacement, then replaces him either internally or externally with the best available option. You also seem to be okay with this strategy, but to me, it leaves a lot of value on the table, because this strategy precludes "selling high" on a player, which is when you will be able to maximize value. I also have to disagree with your assessment of the team's prospects of winning next year should they decide to start Semien at SS. There is a chance that he will be a terrible starter, but I think there is a higher chance that he'll cut down on his K rate, improve his BB total, keep his ISO in the .125-.150 range, and be a .700-.750 OPS SS. That's at least league average, and certainly not enough of a black hole to justify keeping Ramirez over maximizing his value.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Sep 1, 2014 -> 08:14 AM) The past few years, I have been hearing more and more people calling it the "non-waiver trade deadline". That's what it should be called.

QUOTE (GreenSox @ Aug 31, 2014 -> 04:29 PM) Bullpen and emergency starter. Depth He's a sunk cost. Do what you can with him. I agree with this. Is it asinine to think he could be part of the bullpen solution seeing how they have to pay him anyway? Also, is it possible that a young arm not named Rodon could contribute to the rotation next year? Perhaps Bassit impresses for the rest of the season and can earn a spot? I know Danish and Months are too far away to contribute in 2015.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jul 7, 2014 -> 08:52 PM) IF he turns out to be Jose Quintana, would that be an awful thing? Quintana sans the bad luck and NDs would be fine. I assume you mean statistically, of course, because the stuff is completely different.

QUOTE (bmags @ Jul 7, 2014 -> 04:05 PM) Sigh, already a projected #2 without a pitch thrown. Just my opinion, but he projects as a very good #1 if he can get rid of the kinks in his mechanics that developed last year and develop a little better control, both things that the White Sox have had a good deal of success at developing in pitchers.

To people who know more about this sort of thing than I, is Recchia a "real prospect" or a "AAAA/Filler guy"?

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jun 20, 2014 -> 09:29 AM) Randy Johnson had an 80 slider. Maddux had an 80 2-seamer. Blyleven had an 80 curveball. Those are the types of pitchers you talk about with 80s. Either way, I could care less if those are maximums or whatever. Courtney Hawkins maximums are probably 65/80/70/80/80, but you don't see people talking that stuff about him. There has to be some sense of realism. Okay, watched Maddux and Johnson again, it's been a while, and Rodon's slider has similar movement to Johnson's, and his two-seam fastball has similar movement to Maddux's, though I would say is more comparable to Colon's because it's faster than Maddux's, and Rodon is FAR from the pinpoint control with his two-seam fastball that Maddux had with his. But if Maddux represents an 80 two-seam fastball, and Johnson represents an 80 slider, then Rodon has the POTENTIAL to have both, provided he can develop proper control of the two pitches. The determining factor in all of it is going to be whether he can get the kinks out of his mechanics and improve his control. If he does, he'll be the ace everyone projects. If not, he'll probably still be decent just because of the ridiculous amount of movement he has on his pitches.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jun 19, 2014 -> 09:13 AM) Yeah, I agree. In his prime, Pedro probably had close to an 80 fastball, 80 changeup, 70 slider, and 65-70 command. Again, please don't mistake the second number on those grades for a projection. They are more like a maximum or a ceiling. I hope that perhaps it makes more sense in that context. Since you're grading pitches, though, could you name off some guys who had/have 80 sliders and some guys who had/have 80 two-seam fastballs?

QUOTE (Feeky Magee @ Jun 18, 2014 -> 08:22 PM) Future grades are supposed to have at least some level of realism. I listen to a decent amount of scouting podcasts and when they're extremely excited about a pitch, one they think could be elite, they'll hang a 70 on it. 80 is basically seen as generational. I haven't heard anyone get close to a 70 on Rodon's fastball, never mind an 80. This is fair, as I indicated, I'm not a scout. I very well could've misjudged the scale, since I was viewing 80 as a plus-plus offering, but not once in a generation per se. That said, the best way I can think of to describe the movement on his slider and two-seamer is that he has the left handed version of Jeff Nelson's slider and Bartolo Colon's fastball. The only thing making the slider better at the moment to me is the degree of control he can exercise over it. If he can learn to place both of those pitches on both corners of the plate, he'll be one of the toughest pitchers in baseball to hit.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jun 18, 2014 -> 09:48 AM) I really enjoyed the write up, but I will quibble with one detail. The White Sox will not call up Rodon in May. Either he will break camp with the team, or he will be up in the middle of June. With Super2 status looming, anything else in between doesn't make any sense. Excellent point that I wasn't aware of due to not knowing those rules as well. Thanks for the input. QUOTE (Feeky Magee @ Jun 18, 2014 -> 04:28 PM) Future grades of 80, 80, 70 and 65 for his pitches with 65 command? That's the best pitcher of all-time. Note that those are potential grades, not projected. He's not going to get to all of those. Also, I'm fairly certain several of the best pitchers of all time had two pitches that would grade out at 80 with command that graded out at 65 or higher.

QUOTE (Chilihead90 @ Jun 18, 2014 -> 01:00 AM) Also, do you really see him signing and going straight to AA or AAA? That seems aggressive. Not that the idea of him making the Sox bullpen at some point ISN'T aggressive. But I guess I figured they'd start him in High-A Winston Salem for a few weeks, then maybe go to AA Birmingham if he dominates W-S. My apologies, I didn't clarify. I think Birmingham is the absolute highest they'd start him, more likely Winston-Salem as you said, but I believe he'll spend most of the rest of this year at either Birmingham or Charlotte. Even with the command issues, he's that good in my opinion. That is, of course, if he signs.

I didn't want to call it a "scouting report" because I don't think I have that good of an eye, but since the White Sox picked Carlos Rodon, I've found as much film on him as I could find and watched it, and these are the impressions I came away with. Pitches Rodon appears to have four pitches, three of which grade out to me as potential plus offerings. Rodon's Slider, Two-Seam Fastball, and Four-Seam Fastball all grade out plus, with a Change that could develop into a decent-good pitch. Below I grade these pitches as current and potential. Slider 70/80: This pitch is currently Rodon's bread and butter. When it's on, the movement is incredible, and when it's off, it's still a damn good pitch that he's able to exercise excellent control over, hitting either corner of the plate for strikes with it seemingly at will. His command of his Slider is what makes it his best pitch currently, and it is definitely a plus-plus, swing-and-miss type of offering that will only get better over time. Two-Seam Fastball 60/80: After hearing all the hype about Rodon's Slider, watching him pitch and seeing this offering was like opening a present on Christmas morning as a kid. The movement on this pitch is disgusting, it looks like a faster version of his Slider. This, in my opinion, has the potential to be his best offering, and a devastating out pitch for years to come. If Rodon develops into a frontline starter, it will be the combination of this pitch and the Slider that will put him there. He's going to need to develop better control over it, which is the only reason I don't grade it ahead of the Slider now. Once he has that control, though, I believe this will be his best pitch and his out pitch. It is also potentially a plus-plus, swing-and-miss offering. Four-Seam Fastball 55/70: This may be illusory and telling of how little I know, especially since I've only ever seen Rodon listed as a three pitch pitcher, but I'm fairly certain in the video I've watched (none of which had radar guns on them), I've seen a Four-Seam Fastball that he rarely throws. That said, when I've seen him throw it, he has great command of it, and it pops the catcher's mitt. This pitch has the potential to be plus just because of how hard he throws, but he'll need to work it in a lot more if it's going to get there. Changeup 40/65: Rodon's Changeup is very much a work in progress. It has the downward movement you like to see, and it flashes potential of a swing-and-miss offering at times, but he doesn't have even close to the command he would need for it to be a plus offering. I think this pitch will max out at good, but with the other offerings that's all he'll need, provided he develops those other offerings. Command 45/65: After his Sophomore year, Rodon would have graded out 55-60 in this category, but in his Junior year, he seemed to develop a couple of hitches in his mechanics that need cleaning up. Pitching coaches will need to work with him to get him to complete his delivery and not "overthrow". When his mechanics are off, he puts too much effort into his delivery, and as a result, moves his head during his delivery and loses control of his pitches. Fixing this minor mechanical issue should give him at least good and MAYBE someday plus command of his pitches, but I have doubts on that last part. Projectability Rodon is a workhorse who looks to be ready to handle a major league workload, and his body and mechanics do not suggest a breakdown. Mechanics are very sound apart from the aforementioned issues in his delivery, and he tends to repeat his delivery very well, especially when he's on. Does not present inverted W in delivery at all (this was something I looked very closely for). Provided he is able to develop better command, Rodon projects as a #1 starter who will pitch 200+ innings each year with a high strikeout rate. Major League ETA Provided he signs with the White Sox, I see Rodon spending the remainder of the year somewhere high in the minor league system, either Birmingham or Charlotte, mostly to fix his mechanical issues in his delivery. I believe he will make his ML debut as a starting pitcher in early 2015, either April or May. If Rodon develops as he could, Sale and Rodon could give the White Sox the type of one-two punch at the front of the rotation that the Diamondbacks had when they won the World Series, essentially by having arguably the two best starting pitchers in baseball. We can only hope. Please add your thoughts to this, I'm looking for knowledgeable opinions and thoughts on this subject, which is why I decided to post this here.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Aug 15, 2009 -> 08:17 PM) I think people think certain players are clutch because they have succeeded in a larger number of situations in high leverage situations than other players simply because they had more opportunities to do so...so even though a player's percentage of success in those situations may be similar to their career numbers, the sheer number of opportunities they have experienced, and the corresponding number of times they have succeeded, presents the illusion that they have been "clutch," even though it is more likely that they simply have had more opportunities. Case in point is Mr. Jeter. Maybe this is me, but did you just contradict yourself here? First you said certain players are clutch, then you said that due to more opportunities over a career, some players can appear to be clutch.

QUOTE (jasonxctf @ Aug 15, 2009 -> 07:52 PM) that weights a players performance in an AB/IP based upon the importance of the event? Javy Vazquez pitches well in games that don't matter Jim Thome hits home runs in bunches, when a game is out of reach Scott Podsednik/Joe Crede hits well in clutch situations Alexei Ramirez hits well in extra innings. "A clutch-o-meter?" For hitters, there is something called LIPS. It stands for Late Inning Pressure Situations, and it's basically the splits of the player from the 7th, 8th, or 9th inning in any game in which the margin between the leading team and trailing team is 3 or fewer runs. What studies of LIPS over the years have found is that the term "clutch" is a myth, as no player's LIPS stats have a large margin of difference from their career stats overall.

Any chance of a Dan Hudson write up? I'm sure you've seen him pitch a few times with his 9 starts in AA.

QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ Jul 28, 2009 -> 02:14 PM) I'll always remember him for 3 things: His celebration of Pods' walk-off in Game 2 of the WS. His dominance of Felix Hernandez in Seattle. His catch in 163. Don't forget sending a Cub to the hospital in that brawl.

I thought you were going to suggest Dunn, which I wouldn't mind, but any team's chances at getting Ryan Zimmerman from the Nats are slim and none and slim is leaving the building.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jul 22, 2009 -> 12:31 PM) Okay, I've split out the thread. I called it fantasy because this is much more like a Fantasy Sports Trade than a real trade and I want real trade discussion in our thread. Once you see this Dam, let me know, and I'll move it over to the Fantasy Forums where people can continue to discuss it there Okay, I was just trying to create less clutter by going to an existing thread for my purpose.