Lillian

QUOTE (StRoostifer @ Nov 14, 2014 -> 01:10 AM) I think the best the Sox could hope for is JR Murphy or a prospect of equal value. I cannot say it enough, Alexei does not have the value people would like to think he has. Put it this way. If I were looking for a SS, I would not be willing to give up too much for Alexei for reasons I've already listed in this thread. Honestly, I'm not so sure I'd give up Greene for Alexei straight up. You've probably stated your reasons elsewhere, but please reiterate why you think Alexei does not have the value, which many of us perceive. He is durable, provides Gold Glove caliber defense with great range and a canon for an arm. Offensively, he is a run producer, with a little pop, and a stolen base threat. And, he is signed to a reasonable contract for 2 more years. Hey, if other GM's don't see the value, keep him. He certainly has great value to the Sox!

QUOTE (StRoostifer @ Nov 14, 2014 -> 12:59 AM) Agree with everything you say. I think Gillaspie is still young enough to continue improving but how much is the question. I'm hoping the Sox try to grab Headley and use Gillaspie as a backup at1st and 3rd base as well as batted in the DH slot. I like Gillaspie's versatility and bat. Defensively I think Flowers can handle ground ball pitchers but pitch framing is a different story. I agree that Flowers needs to work on pitch framing but I'm concerned about finding a different catcher and then find out that catcher lacks in another area. Flowers will continue to get better so unless an obvious upgrade comes along, he's the guy. Hopefully the Sox figure it out before Danish makes his debut because that kid induces a ton of ground balls. Sox have time as far as Danish is concerned though. My problem with trading Alexei is replacing his defense won't be easy. IMO, the Sox best bet is Sanchez at SS and Semien at 2B, or at least with the players the Sox currently have anyway. Do you think that Sanchez has the arm to play SS? Their respective roles were exactly reversed in much of their Minor League play.

QUOTE (WhiteSoxLifer @ Nov 13, 2014 -> 01:13 PM) Top 5 blockbuster trade ideas 4. Alexei Ramirez to the Yankees, Shane Greene to the White Sox http://www.sportsonearth.com/article/10123...o?tcid=tw_share Take a look at his Minor League Stats. He consistently gave up a lot of hits. I'm not impressed. Doesn't look like he'd be much better than Noesi. His limited time as a rookie, last year, was ok, but based on those Minor League stats, I wouldn't have great expectations.

A couple of points: 1) If Martinez signed for 4 years, $68 Million, with the Tigers, it would have cost the Sox more. Didn't he indicate that he really wanted to return to Detroit, if they were close on their offer? 2) The Sox do not need just another left handed bat. They specifically need a MIDDLE OF THE ORDER, left handed bat. Therefore, names like Colby Rasmus do not qualify. Melky Cabrera, perhaps, but I'm not holding my breath.

I don't see any other viable option to fill the need for a left handed, middle of the order bat. I'm now in favor of continuing to acquire young talent, and to target 2016 as the year to seriously contend. Let's see what they have in Garcia, Rodon and a couple of the young middle infielders, maybe even Wilkins. Then fill in the holes, in the next off season. That would mean that Hahn looks to the international market, to spend some of that money, burning a hole in his pocket. Might as well also trade Alexei, and get more youngsters. Sorry to be so negative, but I don't see how they put a contending team on the field this year. Even if they spend and extra $40 million, over last year, whom are they going to acquire, that would make them competitive for this season?

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Nov 12, 2014 -> 07:00 AM) Isn't his agent Boras? Another reason to think there is. 99.999999% chance he signs with another team. Boras is indeed his agent.

Just to clarify my thoughts: I am not in favor of signing any pitcher to a 7, or 8 year deal, maybe not even 6 years. They are simply to fragile. Now, if there were a reincarnated Hoyt Wilhelm or Wilbur Wood, out there, I might reconsider. It's unbelievable. These modern day pitchers are only asked to throw 100 pitches, every 5 days, and they can't stay healthy.

QUOTE (shysocks @ Nov 11, 2014 -> 05:27 PM) Scherzer in quality starts: 1.46 ERA, average 7 IP Scherzer in non-QS: 7.02 ERA, average 6 IP Danks in quality starts: 2.48 ERA, average 6.2 IP Danks in non-QS: 9.43 ERA, 5.1 IP Scherzer is a much better pitcher. Of course he is!! I wan't arguing that he wasn't. Just some interesting observations. I also didn't mention that Comerica is an easier place to pitch. Thank you for taking the time to do the statistical calculations on the respective ERA's for both pitchers, in the various circumstances.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Nov 11, 2014 -> 04:54 PM) My presumption is you could trade for a Jackie Bradley, who Boston has soured on. Also depends on what the view is of best statistics for defensive players. For example, if you focus on UZR, Bradley, Markakis, Aoki all rank very highly amongst outfielders. They don't necessarily all rank highly from a DWAR perspective. Dustin Ackley might be easily available. Again, I'm focusing on defense here and not saying that all of these players are there. Maybe you have that guy on your current roster in Jordan Danks (not sure how he'd grade out defensively over a full season). Danks is probably still regarded as the best defensive outfielder in the organization.

Here is a surprising statistic, which might change one's perspective: Quality starts in 2014: Max Scherzer 21 out of 33 starts. John Danks 20 out of 32 starts. That was using the old formula, which is 6 or more innings, 3 earned runs, or less. And we are considering giving Scherzer $25 Million for 6 years, while we are all desperate to unload Danks, and his contract. Very interesting!!

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Nov 11, 2014 -> 12:58 PM) One big problem there... we don't have $55 million to spend. How do you know that? J. R. may be willing to go to $110 or $115 Million. He has certainly been there before. Those players would not only have a better likelihood of winning, but they would put more fannies in the seats.

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Nov 11, 2014 -> 12:21 PM) I'm coming around to thinking the Sox could sign 4/5 free agents in the affordable category like Melky, Rasmus, Neshek, Janssen, McCarthy , Miller. Most of these guys won't get more than 3 years maybe 4 in some cases. Even Headley doesn't look like his cost will be prohibitive. Surprisngly the Sox haven't been linked to any of these guys.... yet. I'm not advocating it, but what if the plan is exactly the opposite? Maybe the front office thinks that it makes more sense to gamble on 2 or 3 stars, who are likely to add significant value to the team. What if they paid V. Martinez $20 million, Scherzer $25 million, and added one reliever for another $10 million, for example. In that scenario, they would have a contender. None of the teams in contention have stars at every position. They don't need to "fill every hole" with great players. With a nucleus of Eaton, Abreu, Martinez, Gillaspie/Semien, Garcia and Ramirez, they don't need much from the other outfield position, second base, or catcher. Jordan Danks and, or the recent acquisition of Shuck could provide good defense, and whatever offense they produced, would be a bonus. If Sanchez functioned well, as the other half of the DP combo, he wouldn't be depended upon to provide much offense either. Flowers is at least a good defensive catcher. If those three guys averaged .240, and caught the ball, the Sox could win with them, at the bottom of the order. A starting staff which added a right handed Ace like Scherzer, wouldn't need a lot of run support. The #1 through #3 of that staff would be as good as any top of the rotation in baseball, and then they still have Rodon coming soon. Maybe that is the plan. You could make an argument that spending $55 million for 3 difference makers, is more likely to make the team a solid contender, than spending close to that, for a bunch of guys who aren't much better than what they already have. Again, I'm not advocating it, but I wouldn't criticize it, if that is the way Hahn is trying to go. I do know one thing; Rasmus, Melky Cabrera, Headley and whomever else they might try to acquire, wouldn't inspire the fan base anything like Martinez, Scherzer and one of those bull pen studs.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Nov 8, 2014 -> 12:07 PM) Dunn and Martinez might be the least comparable players in the history of baseball. They have age and position in common. Other than that, there isn't a thing about the way they play the game of baseball that is similar. Thank you for posting that comment. When I read it, I thought the very same thing. They are completely different types of hitters, and I much prefer the Martinez type to Dunn, even in Adam's prime, when he was hitting 40 homers every year.

Don't tell the Mariners, sshh, but Viciedo derives his power from a violent, very hard swing. It may inhibit his ability to ever become a decent hitter. Saunders probably has a better chance to become a decent hitter, while displaying some power. Unlike Viciedo, it doesn't appear that he is trying to kill the ball. That certainly is a nice, fluid swing. It's a little long, which is accentuated by his height, but it is pretty.

Never mind.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Nov 7, 2014 -> 10:49 AM) Yeah, it just seems like we're a little short here. Feels like the plan should be to do whatever we can to get competitive via trade for 2015, fill in the holes with low-commitment guys inf ree agency, and then take that core all the way in 2016. VMart-type signings to be considered next offseason. The problem is; there are no "VMart-type' signings in next years free agent class. Not if, by "VMart-type", you mean extraordinary, professional, big run producing hitters, who strike out very seldom.

Thanks for the comments. It appears that perhaps the best course is to let him start the season at AAA, and work on polishing his defense at second. I don't find the assessment that he has "hard hands", very encouraging. A guy with foot speed, and hard hands, seems better suited for the outfield. However, so be it. Let's see if he can 'soften' his hands, a little. So, back to finding a left fielder. Some suggest Semien. Next?

Do you gentlemen think that Johnson could provide solid defense at second? If not, then the Sox should think of a position change. If LF is too great of a challenge for him, at the Big League level, then perhaps he should spend some time there at AAA. It doesn't seem like a good move to put him at a key defensive position like 2ND, unless he can provide solid defense. That is a greater defensive liability, for the team, than a less than competent left fielder. What exactly is his greatest short coming at second? How well does he turn the double play?

"NorthSide", you posted the answer to my question, just as I was posting it, precisely at the same moment. What would be the harm in letting him get some playing time, out there, in Spring Training. I pretty sure that he is not ready to play second base on a contender (as Hahn suggests that he expects the Sox to be).

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Nov 7, 2014 -> 10:01 AM) Twice. He had a nerve thing in his throwing arm. The good news is, the second surgery is a permanent fix, so it shouldn't recur. The bad news is, it may have been caused by bad throwing mechanics. Despite Buddy Bell's repeated protestations otherwise, Jared Mitchell has not shown any reason to believe he's a major league outfielder. I hope that changes, but I doubt it. May and Hawkins both have at least a couple years, if they ever get there. You can't build around assumptions of their presence at this point. I understand that, but why not worry about who is, or is not, capable of filling holes, when the time arrives. Right now, there is a hole in LF, or RF if you move Avi to Left. I still think that the question is: Could Johnson play LF, without creating a defensive liability out there? We're pretty sure that he would be a defensive liability at second. Or, maybe the argument is that Micah is not ready to contribute on offense. I don't get the sense that the organization thinks that, do you?

Well, it does seem the organization is determined to use Johnson somewhere, on the Major League team. I just hope that it isn't second base, because he is apparently not very good there. The defense up the middle is just too important to sacrifice, unless the player can provide a major offensive contribution. One thing Beckham provided, that was often under appreciated, was a great double play combo with Alexei. I hope they are able to maintain that strength, and Sanchez seems to be the best candidate to provide it. He seems like he could be a pretty good 2 hole hitter, with good contact skills. In a similar way, with Johnson batting 9TH, Eaton would provide good skills to bat behind a speedy, base stealing threat, like Micah. Leave the slow power guys in the middle of the order.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Nov 7, 2014 -> 09:47 AM) He probably COULD play there, but putting him there comes with a high opportunity cost, because it seems like his bat is probably best suited for the middle infield, and then that prevents us from getting a better bat to stick in LF. Basically, it might end up being the best configuration for us next year, but it shouldn't be the plan right now for the offseason. I thought that Davidson was ultimately better suited to play LF, than 3B, providing of course, that he gets back on track. Then too, there are several promising guys who could eventually fill the outfield. I'm thinking J. Mitchell, Jacob May and C. Hawkins. It seems that they are really in greater need of finding someone to get them through the next season or two, before those guys are ready. I think May will eventually take over in CF, and Eaton will move to LF, if he's still around. Eaton just seems like the kind of guy who will slow down due to injuries and age, and without speed, he wouldn't be much of an asset.

With all of the talk of needing to find another outfielder, why not consider Micah Johnson for that role. He is ranked as our #4 prospect, and would provide tremendous speed to our lineup. Speed seems to be the new trend of the game. He is arguably ready for the Big Leagues, but is not yet a polished infielder. Some have speculated about his potential as a center fielder, but that would take considerably more development time to master. Left field would not require a strong arm, which he apparently lacks. The outfield would sport tremendous speed with Johnson, Eaton and A. Garcia. That would leave 2ND to a solid defender; Sanchez. Semien could effectively platoon with Gillaspie at 3RD. That would free up the money to pay a high priced free agent, left handed hitting DH, and a starting RH pitcher. The bullpen could be the best place to allocate the rest of the money. What is the likelihood that he could play a respectable LF? Here is my lineup, using Johnson in LF: CF Eaton 2B Sanchez 1B Abreu DH Martinez (I hope, I hope) RF A. Garcia 3B Gillaspie/Semien SS Ramirez C Flowers LF M. Johnson

I do not want the Sox to trade Alexei. He is the perfect player to anchor our young infield, until his successor can take over. That may be Anderson, or it might be Rondon. However, neither of them are ready. There are no other guys in the organization who are ready to provide the kind of defense that Ramirez does. All of our other infielders are better suited at 2ND. He also is a solid bat, with a little pop, and a pretty run producer. It makes no sense to trade him, if the Sox are really going to try to contend this season.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Nov 7, 2014 -> 09:08 AM) He's as good of a defensive SS as you'll find in the minors. There are some clips on youtube and countless articles from prospect guys. Keith Law raved about him and said if he hits above the Mendoza Line he'll have a big league career. Nathaniel Stoltz from fangraphs is also a huge fan. Again, have you seen any assessments of his arm strength and accuracy?