TaylorStSox

Eaton's mannerisms are super annoying too. Dude, just do your job. You're a light hitting, not that fast filler, just do your job.

"Back to back walks. That is not good." No s***, Hawk. Your announcing is not good. I can't believe that hack still has a job. It's been so long since we've had a decent announcer that I can't remember what a good one sounds like. "That's not good." Thanks, Ken, thanks.

I love when civilians say things like "they better gather intel." Video games, man.

GOT is into Winds of Winter with the Sansa and Littlefinger story's and will be with Bran by next season. Hopefully they power right through the awfulness that's Dany's story as well.

QUOTE (fathom @ May 30, 2014 -> 10:43 PM) Trayce just can't get it going this year. Disappointing to see his development go backwards. At this stage, it's hard to imagine him becoming a big leaguer. I was probably more bullish on him than any prospect in the system. I really like his tools and his swing, UT he just can't put it together. It's extremely disappointing. Hawkins has to be the number 1 prospect in the system again.

QUOTE (Kalapse @ May 31, 2014 -> 01:08 AM) <!--quoteo(post=2988284:date=May 31, 2014 -> 12:33 AM:name=TaylorStSox)-->QUOTE (TaylorStSox @ May 31, 2014 -> 12:33 AM) <!--quotec-->There was a "This Week In Baseball" about Pedro Martinez years ago. He had the biggest fingers I've ever seen. He could bend every finger back to his wrist. He was a freak. He was the best pitcher I've ever seen. He put up ungodly numbers, right through the apex of the so called "steroid era." He was tiny. Yeah, I second this. The greatest I've ever seen, the best of his generation (sans Maddux) and an all time great. Just the thought of Pedro gets me all swole in the penis area. That dude who made the steroid freaks look pathetic, that 5'10" b**** on his 3rd team with that rising fastball, disappearing change and swagger for days, as if Brian Jordan's stance wasn't f***ing stupid enough, he amplified it with his ridiculousness. The nastiest mother f***er to ever stand 10 inches above the ground. Buhner and Junior just look stupid when faced with true perfection. He literally had 5+ pitches. Literally. He was just beautiful. I'd kiss him if I ever saw him.

If Don Cooper says it's bulls***, it's bulls***. Point blank.

There was a "This Week In Baseball" about Pedro Martinez years ago. He had the biggest fingers I've ever seen. He could bend every finger back to his wrist. He was a freak. He was the best pitcher I've ever seen. He put up ungodly numbers, right through the apex of the so called "steroid era." He was tiny.

I f***ing love this. Mechanics are f***ing garbage and always have been. Pitchers either have the ability to absorb punishment or they dont. This whole argument has been going on in cycling for way longer than baseball. I'm a cyclist and the pseudoscience of "fit" has been an issue forever. It's all bulls***. Either you have it, or you dont.

I think it depends on how far away we really are and if you can eventually turn Quintana into 2 or more valuable pieces. Sale is a bit different in that true aces are so hard to find, yet his health will always be a concern. If you can swing a Ricky Williams type deal for him, you have to take it.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 30, 2014 -> 09:44 AM) Still trollin it hard today I see. It would be cool if there was a stat that tracked his posts that either incite or perpetuate an argument. I'd guess it's around .960, the vast majority of which are of the "quoted reply" variety. Boredom's gonna boredom.

I'm down to trade anybody for the right deal. I think you can make a good argument to trade Sale before Quintana.

You guys are getting trolled super hard; no lube.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ May 29, 2014 -> 02:25 PM) The Saladino is not a strawman. If Youkilis, Myers, or Liriano become available for non-essential pieces in the minors, and the team is competitive, why wouldn't you make that move? At the end of the day, I agree that I don't believe this team will remain competitive, but I'm not about to rule them out or start talking about trading guys yet. I have seen teams with 2 key pieces band pieces together and end up winning divisions and wild cards. The early 2000 Twins teams come to mind in that regard. Until that point comes, there's no point in even bothering trading pieces away. If somebody wants to trade us a vet or a flier for a a non prospect, that's fine. I I don't have to pay the guy. Nobody's going to trade us a difference maker for a non prospect though. I definitely would trade our older assets to build though. I'd be all over Ramirez for prospects, or anything for Beckham. I don't see either as part of a long term plan.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ May 29, 2014 -> 02:09 PM) I have yet to see anyone suggest trading off big pieces (except me in hypothetical scenarios involving outrageous trade ideas, like acquiring Giancarlo Stanton), but if the team is competitive, it's counter productive to trade MLB players contributing towards that success for the future, even if the long run goal says it is for the best. And, if the team trades Tyler Saladino for a substantial upgrade in the rotation, bullpen, or lineup, are you really going to be upset? The Saladino point is just a strawman; not really worth acknowledging tbh. I don't think it's counterproductive to trade assets for the long term future for this team. The offense is flukey, the bullpen sucks and the starting staff is hodge podge of good and awful. This current team has little to no upside.

When did I say to use assets for relievers? I would never do that. A. Our bullpen sucks with little hope of improving this year. We have 1 or 2 guys with good stuff. B. We have 2 good starters, AAAA filler and John Danks. C. Trade some assets to keep building for that 2-3 year plan.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ May 29, 2014 -> 11:45 AM) Let's just GET to a playoff game first. Petricka and Webb both have potentially dominating stuff, particularly Webb. Putnam, like Tanaka, has a ton of movement on his pitches and doesn't have to throw harder than 87-90 MPH to be effective. In fact, part of his effectiveness comes from not looking like 85% of the middle relievers out there today who are all throwing mid 90's. I'm not into making moves that sacrifice the future to get swept in the first round.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ May 29, 2014 -> 11:23 AM) Or for a 3rd round draft pick. Williams got suckered into this line of thinking with big money deals for Dotel and Linebrink after 2007. So what happens...those usually dependable guys, like a Scott Downs or Scott Shields, suddenly lose it and then you're stuck with ugly bullpen contracts. Just follow the Tampa Bay Rays bullpen construction model the last decade, or the A's (until they foolishly went for Johnson, falling into that same "must have closer" mode which Beane has always run away from, trading closers at peak value and replacing them with cheaper, more promising youngsters). Or even the Royals (but ignore the rest of their issues, like hitting and starting pitching). How many world series have those models won? I don't want to model anything after the A's. The Rays are a nice story but they get pounced in the playoffs for a reason.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ May 29, 2014 -> 11:26 AM) I agree with your logic regarding outliers, but I think the reality is that there are very few relievers that can be relied on to produce stable results for more than a couple years. To some degree, the art of building a bullpen is lightning in a bottle every year. I agree with that, but is there a single pitcher in the pen with the kind of stuff that dominates playoff games? Bella is about it.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ May 29, 2014 -> 10:52 AM) Coming into 2005, our best reliever was Takatsu (other than Marte), and he lasted what, 2 months? Jenks wasn't even on the radar, and Hermanson was a flier because of his injury problems. Politte, Cotts and Vizcaino? For the last six weeks, until Lindstrom went down, Petricka/Putnam/Belisario/Webb were all pitching very well or great in the cases of the first three guys. Now, they're out of their natural roles and starting to struggle again. You get a reliable guy at the back of that pen and everything falls into place. You don't need to reinvent the wheel and sign Dotel/Linebrink to huge veteran contracts to solidify things. In fact, the only really bad signing (other than Paulino) has been a veteran LHP in Downs who has a mid to low 2's ERA for the last seven years, but looks cooked now. So what? You build your team expecting to catch lightning in a bottle? There are outliers and exceptions, but it's retarded to build your team expecting that to happen. I loathe when people use outliers as examples. It's such poor logic? Is there another Jenks? Montas doesn't have 4 elite pitches.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ May 29, 2014 -> 10:31 AM) Lock Beckham down for 4/$24M and let him be the face of the franchise. I don't want the face of the franchise to be that ugly.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ May 29, 2014 -> 10:29 AM) Unless there's another 2009 version of Jake Peavy out there, or 2004 Jose Contreras...a seemingly bad contract that only requires a little bit of talent in return and not a megadeal like the Freddie Garcia one for Reed/Olivo/Morse. Another quality starter to go along with the Sale and Quintana, all bets are off in a playoff series which also involves Abreu's healthy bat. You need a lot more than 3 starters. Our pen sucks. I wouldn't count on a single pitcher in a playoff situation. We're still 2-3 years away. Trade Beckham. Trade Ramirez.

I don't think Viciedo is close to his peak yet. I also wouldn't make moves that hinder long term development for the sake of possibly competing for a WC this year. This staff is not good enough to advance in the playoffs. I want to compete for World Series, not wild cards.

This team won't contend with this pitching staff.

I think Reeds change is actually his best pitch. When he has a feel for it, it has a ton of drop.