Lillian

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Sep 8, 2015 -> 07:55 PM) Then what would they do with LaRoche? If the front office is not willing to accept that they made a serious mistake in acquiring LaRoche, and recognize his salary as a sunken cost, they can forget about fixing this team, for next season. They are not going to compete with him in the middle of their lineup. That has been apparent since very early in the season, and is now irrefutable. I don't care what they do with him, they have to be willing to move on.

QUOTE (Vance Law @ Sep 8, 2015 -> 07:30 PM) I think all of the Arenado discussion is kind of silly. It's not going to happen. It wouldn't be worth it for the Sox to give up whatever they'd have to to get him. Trading for CarGo, who only has 2 years left and is paid quite handsomely would make more sense potentially, as he'd cost less in trade. Maybe if the Sox can't get one of Heyward, Upton, or Cespedes that could be worth investigating. Todd Frazier only has 2 years left on his deal and the Reds should trade him. But they've said that they won't. Sox should try to get one of those aforementioned outfielders. Try to sign Zobrist to play 3B. If they can't get him, I'd sign Daniel Murphy from the Mets. He's got a career .780 OPS against righties. Platoon him with Saladino if you like. Here's my ridiculous idea as a counterpoint to the Arenado talk. Sign Chris Davis to play 3B. He started out as a third baseman. Played 15 or 20 games there last year. I'll assume he's bad defensively and that 40 home runs probably offsets that. Let half of the year play out. If it's working, keep going. If/when LaRoche is at the end of his leash, Davis takes over DH and backup 1B (he's even played a bunch of RF this year). I can go either way on signing Alexei. I think Saladino can approximate him for no money. I'd at very least bargain Alexei down to $7 million or something. QO to Shark. E Johnson joins the rotation. This is what I have been hoping for. I would just put Davis at DH, and not use LaRoche. Hopefully, he could be unloaded before signing Davis. With that bat in the lineup, there would not be a need for a real productive bat at 3RD. I'd let Olt get a chance to prove that he can hit Big League pitching. You all know that I have argued, for a long time, that the biggest flaw in this roster was having LaRoche in the middle of the lineup. If they can fix that, without diminishing their outstanding pitching, they can compete.

In addition to the $10 million cost, there is the issue of getting playing time for future potential players, who might be part of this team, going forward. A double play combination of Sanchez at SS and Micah Johnson at 2ND, is simply not good enough. I would rather see if Saladino can play good enough defense to hold down SS, until Anderson is ready. His bat is probably good enough for Short, but not the hot corner. Sanchez is my preference for 2ND. I've like him for a long time, and am pleased to see him making the adjustment to MLB pitching. Micah Johnson must prove that he can play a position, in order to be promoted. It would be huge if Olt could finally show that he can hit Big League pitching. With his power at 3RD, the Sox should be able to solve the middle infield questions, as there are plenty of options.

Why in the world is Abreu batting 2ND? It's not like we have so many terrific middle of the order hitters, that we can afford to bat our slugger, in the 2 hole. I'd still like to see the switch hitting Sanchez, get a chance to take that spot. That is where he thrived, earlier this season at Charlotte. Now that he's been hitting, it would be useful to find out how he could fill that role, going forward.

Lately, Danks has been even more impressive than the ERA. In his last 7 starts, he didn't give up any runs, in 3 of them. In a 4TH start, he gave up just 1 run. He did get bombed in 2 starts, giving up 6 runs in each, but I'll take that kind of overall performance, from the Fifth Starter, any time. In his last start, I didn't see the whole game, but I noticed that he was hitting 92 and 93 MPH, on a few pitches. Perhaps his strength and velocity are getting back to his pre-injury level. If he can maintain his recent velocity, and continue to locate, he'll be able to contribute, going forward.

That answers my question. Thanks "Little Hurt". Very interesting thread.

Whether or not the Sox and Jays would want to agree to such a deal is less interesting to me than the entire concept of trading a player, to be awarded to a team, at the end of the season. Does anyone know if that is permissible? I suspect not, but I'll research it.

Toronto is clearly the best team in the hunt for the 2ND Wild Card, and they are going for it, with the acquisitions of Price and Tulo. However, they still need one more pitcher, to go along with the best offense in baseball. Why not give them Samardzija for one of those middle of the order bats, in their organization? The Jays certainly have enough of them. I know that both Encarnacion and Bautista have team options for next year, but will be free agents, at the end of next season. How about this?: Give them Shark for Encarnacion and Pentecost, but they can keep Encarnacion, until the end of the season. Then, after the season, the Jays have to give the Sox Encarnacion, whose $10 Million option would be renewed for one year, and take La Roche. Is that even permissible, under the MLB Collective Bargaining Agreement? I suspect that it is not permitted, or we would see that kind of trade deadline deal, all the time. The selling team, is looking ahead to next season and beyond. They don't care that much about the remainder of the current season. The Sox would be virtually conceding this year, but would be in good shape for next season, and would have some payroll flexibility to plug another hole, or 2. At least the Sox would have a middle of the order bat, to protect Abreu, with no big salary commitment.

It's time to move Sanchez to his accustomed role of the number 2 hole hitter. He had terrific success there, at AAA.

I'd love to see them make Boston burn through their pen, in the first game of the series. Knocking out the starter, with 1 out in the top of the 4TH is a start.

10 Game hitting streak for Sanchez

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 27, 2015 -> 04:30 PM) I don't think there's any chance they're "going in another direction" with that contract, but they're at least giving him some time off hopefully. Of course, the real irony would be if he got today off then faced a lefty later this series. I can dream, can't I? I've been saying it all season long: "This team is going nowhere, this season, or next, with Adam La Roche hitting in the middle of the order."

The fact that LaRoche is sitting against a RH pitcher is the most encouraging part of that move. If he were just sitting vs. a lefty, it wouldn't be all that significant. Sitting even against a righty, should give us hope that the Sox are finally ready to go in another direction, unless he's injured or ill.

QUOTE (BigHurt3515 @ Jul 25, 2015 -> 07:32 PM) Can we bring up Micah and have him DH instead of LaRoche? That has been my thought, for a while now. The problem is getting rid of LaRoche, first.

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Jul 25, 2015 -> 07:20 PM) Nice to see Sanchez up to .207 now after that dreadful start. This has been the pattern in his young career. He seems to take a little time at each level, but makes the necessary adjustments, and ultimately begins to hit. I still think that he is going to become a very good player at this level. You have to love his defense. He also seems to have a pretty high baseball acumen, for such a young guy. I hope some of you are beginning to warm up to him.

QUOTE (bighurt574 @ Jul 23, 2015 -> 05:40 PM) I'm not seeing it, and I don't think he'll be worth the contract he ends up getting, so I almost hope we don't sign him. And if he's willing to give a hometown discount, I'm guessing the Cubs will get it, not us anyway. Why do you think that he would be more likely to give a "hometown discount" to the Cubs? I understood that he has some hard feelings toward that organization. Moreover, he's always been a big Sox fan.

I assume most of you have seen this article today: http://m.whitesox.mlb.com/news/article/137...10400-819207683 Anyone have strong thoughts on these players?

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Jul 20, 2015 -> 08:29 PM) Would you really want to give him a chance over Saladino? IMO, Tyler is the better player both offensively & defensively and it wouldn't even be a question who I give the everyday at-bats at SS to. If it is true that Saladino is a better defensive SS, I would absolutely prefer Tyler. In fact, I even like Saladino better if he is only as good as Garcia. It was my understanding that Leury was clearly the better defensive SS. If anyone can make a comparison of the two players' respective defensive skills, that would be helpful.

Why isn't Leury Garcia in the mix to temporarily fill the hole at SS, if Alexei is not brought back? He's a strong defender, with a canon for an arm, and is having a pretty good year at AAA.

I've said it before, but it bares repeating: The problem with La Roche is that he is counted on to be our clean up hitter, which he clearly is incapable of doing. The objective should be to unload his contract and clear a spot for someone, who hopefully can fill that spot in the lineup next season. Do you really want to go into 2016 with Adam La Roche in this lineup? How many at bats Shuck gets, in his place, the rest of this season is irrelevant. This team is going nowhere this year, but has the pitching to be contenders next year, if the offense can be fixed. Upgrading La Roche should be one of the highest priorities, in achieving that objective.

An under appreciated fact is that he hits both right handed and left handed pitching equally. He's only had a hand full of at bats vs. LHP this season, but he has proven that he can handle southpaws. I've liked him for a long time, and have been disappointed that he hasn't been given more playing time, especially as poorly as so many guys have performed. Although he lacks power, he gets on base, and doesn't strike out much.

Regarding Sanchez: Remember that he has been able to make the adjustment at every level, and has proven that he can hit at AAA. He hit .300 there last season. He had a great Spring, and tore up AAA this year when he was sent down. He has had some pretty good at bats, lately. I think that he will make the adjustment, and become at least a League average hitter, for his position. Don't discount that he is a switch hitter, and historically has been about the same from both sides of the plate. I think eventually he will be a very good #2 hitter. That is the place in the line up where he was having such good success at AAA. He seems to have a very high baseball acumen, and to me, looks like he knows what he's doing. He is still very young, and appears to be a quick study. I hope that he is given more time to learn to hit MLB pitching. And finally, his defense at 2ND really is very good. Is there anyone here who disputes that? The difference between Johnson and Sanchez, in terms of giving a player time to adjust, is that Sanchez has proven that he is a good defensive player, which is a skill that translates at all levels. Johnson has not demonstrated that he is a good defensive player, anywhere. They both hit at AAA, but you never know about translating that to the Majors.

I didn't say there should not be a trade. What I said was that I don't think that the Sox can afford to trade two starters. As you know, I have been favoring a trade of Shark, for quite a while.

I agree with those who reject the idea of trading both Samardjiza and Quintana. That would leave this team with a weak starting staff, and probably still an anemic offense and poor defense. It makes far more sense to maintain the one strength they have, which is after all, the most important part of a team; PITCHING. Of course, they are going to have to acquire one or two more impact bats, but not at the expense of trading two starters. Does anyone think that Davis could be signed as a free agent, after the season? I'm sure that it would require a very expensive contract, but he would look pretty good as a DH to replace La Roche.

QUOTE (southside hitman @ Jul 8, 2015 -> 10:42 AM) Would be a pure salary dump at this point. I would rather see if he can rebound in the 2nd half. No real reason not to, it's not like he is blocking anyone. While he isn't blocking anyone now, he would be blocking whomever the Sox target as his replacement, for next season. If they can dump that salary, they may be able to find a legitimate left handed clean up hitter, which this lineup sorely needs.