Vance Law

QUOTE (SoxPride18 @ Oct 8, 2015 -> 02:49 PM) Trade 1B Adam LaRoche + cash to the Pirates for 2B Neil Walker Explain how/why you think the Pirates would want to trade Neil Walker for Adam LaRoche.

QUOTE (Lillian @ Oct 8, 2015 -> 02:30 PM) Don't you think that it's a little too soon to give up on Garcia? Why not let Thompson and Garcia compete for an outfield spot? That middle of the order doesn't look like it would score a lot of runs. I hope the front office can do better than that. With Hahn (or was it Ventura?) publicly saying "he's nowhere near yet the player we think he can be" it doesn't sound like they aren't giving up on him, and also aren't selling low and trading him. He has minor league options left. No reason to get rid of him now, and I highly doubt they will. He also will not be guaranteed a starting job. It is nice that he has in his arsenal that opposite field swing. He needs to pound way way more extra base hits. My theory is he has vanity about the wrong thing- batting average. I believe the Sox have communicated to him what he needs to do, now we see if he can do it.

QUOTE (SCCWS @ Sep 29, 2015 -> 05:26 AM) That makes no sense. Of course you are not going to trade him for 3 pitchers who are all worse. But would you trade him for a starting 3B and C or a SS and CF. If you can fill 2 offensive holes w players who can hit and defend in positions like 3B, SS C or Of in a trade w 1 or 2 good prospects then you really consider it. I didn't say trade him for 3 pitchers who are worse. I said he'd be replaced with 3 pitchers who are worse. With 2 holes already needing to be filled in the rotation in the next 2 years and enough question marks with the unprovenness of E. Johnson, Fulmer, Montas, Beck, or some scrap heaper, it doesn't make a ton of sense and doesn't seem reasonably likely that the Sox should/will open up another huge hole in the rotation. In short, they aren't trading Quintana.

QUOTE (ChiSox59 @ Oct 8, 2015 -> 12:23 PM) I watch a lot of Twins games. Plouffe is pretty mediocre at 3B defensively. He is also a sub .700 OPS guys against RHP. No thanks. Mediocre defense? A .742 OPS? He's been worth an average of 3 WAR the last 2 years. We haven't had something that good at third since Beckham's rookie year.

QUOTE (BrianAnderson @ Oct 8, 2015 -> 01:07 PM) Just another thought would maybe be someone like a Josh Harrison for 3B/multi UTIL man. He is signed through 2018 and Kang came on strong. In that case I'd go Eaton, Harrison, Abreu, Melky, Heyward, Trayce. As someone pointed out to me, they only have Neil Walker for 1 more season. He's more likely to be traded, or just held onto one more year before Harrison moving to 2nd base. Pirates also have 2019 and 2020 options on Harrison.

QUOTE (soxfan2014 @ Oct 8, 2015 -> 10:36 AM) Agree. I would call Minnesota and ask what it would take to get Plouffe. That'd be a pretty easy obvious move to make if it weren't in the division. Can anyone think of a recent similar trade we pulled off with an intra-division team and both teams were trying to compete?

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Oct 5, 2015 -> 07:59 AM) MLB teams use coaching firings as misdirections. They fire your manager to appease the mob, despite the fact that there's tons of evidence -- observational, anecdotal, sabermetric, and otherwise -- that suggests that the manager has very little, if anything, to do with how well the team performs. Why are you all playing into this? If you want to hold the White Sox accountable for losing, do it by asking why we have Avisail Garcia. Do it by pointing out that there were signs that Adam LaRoche or Alexei Ramirez would fall off a cliff. The players are the ones that are failing. Changing managers will do nothing to help your team, so stop letting the media and PR department "satisfy" you with manager-personnel decisions. Thank you.

QUOTE (SCCWS @ Oct 5, 2015 -> 05:37 AM) What you failed to include was that the team scored 961 the year before in 2003. Theo's first year also. I think you missed my point and my sarcasm entirely. My point was that conventional/non-rational wisdom says Terry Francona is a "Bad Manager" because of 4 losing years. Never mind the fact that the team sucked. Then bad manager Terry Francona is hired to take over the Red Sox, wins the World Series, and is now a "Very Good Manager." Never mind the fact that he simply walked into managing an insanely good, 939 run scoring team. How would 2004 Terry Francona have fared with a team of the caliber of the 1999 Phillies? How would Robin Ventura have fared as manager of the 2004 Red Sox?

Difficult to say what Trayce's role will be next year on starting day. If the roster were the same as it is today he's at very least platooning with LaRoche and pushing Avi or Melky to DH on those days. More likely it's basically an open competition between he and Avi and whoever plays best plays more. I don't think LaRoche gets traded because they couldn't get 50 cents on the dollar for him and you may as well see if he can still hit righties. He'll fail and be dropped/benched, succeed and be kept if the team's doing well, or succeed and be moved when opportune. As many of the prime FAs are outfielders, there's the chance we sign one which could potentially create a logjam for part of next year. And I have no problem with Avi or Trayce spending some time in AAA while the scenario plays itself out. Maybe it would be a good idea to send Avi there to get rid of his hard-on for batting average and learn how to slug, and oh yeah, play defense. I don't see them trading Avi yet because his value is so low, he's all potential, and he's got options. He's also 24.

First leadoff man for the Sox with above a .750 OPS (.760, for that matter) in consecutive seasons since Ray Durham.

QUOTE (harkness @ Oct 4, 2015 -> 10:09 AM) He got fired after that 4th season and didn't manage again for another 4 years. Managing terrible Phillies teams to 4 straight losing seasons, he was so awful that they had to fire him. Luckily, the Red Sox knew exactly when he would be a great manager (4 years later) and he won a World Series in his first year managing them. Oh, by the way, the team scored 949 runs.

QUOTE (BrianAnderson @ Oct 3, 2015 -> 07:38 PM) Must be an injury??! How does a 15 game winner not have a spot somewhere on a postseason roster?? They've added Price and Stroman's back. Buehrle would be 5th starter which they don't need. They should add him to the bullpen, but maybe they're adding another position player.

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Oct 3, 2015 -> 07:36 PM) Bumped- yet another clutch PH RBI from him tonight, and a spectacular catch last night. I hope he stays on as the 4th OF next year. It would seem that spot is needed for Thompson or Avi. Not sure why they didn't trade him by end of August.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Oct 3, 2015 -> 03:02 PM) If that team was as good fundamentally as they were in 2012 but Konerko was toast and Sale was hurt, IMO they're a .500 team or nearly so. Again IMO, the reason they were SO AWFUL in all caps was that they suddenly were the worst fundamental, worst defense, stupidest team I'd seen in my time as a White Sox fan, right after the best fundamental team I'd seen as a White Sox fan. Someone has to hit the ball. 748 runs in 2012, 598 runs in 2013. If Viciedo and Beckham and Flowers and Gillaspie and Keppinger had gone on elsewhere to become great players, you'd at least have the s***ty argument of "bad with Ventura, good when they played elsewhere." But we know now who these players are; offensive and/or defensive black holes and/or out of baseball. Konerko and Dunn retired. So the position player value has to come from Alexei's defense and DeAza/Rios as 1.5 to 2.5 WAR corner outfielders. That's it. And Dunn as a more or less league average slugging DH. There's no surplus value. That's how you end up with a team with a 28th best 4.1 total position player WAR. All of those players are either retired, in the minor leagues, or a more depleted/declined version of their 2013 selves. Total WAR for that 2013 team's starting position players in 2015 is 0.1 WAR.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Oct 3, 2015 -> 02:14 PM) That team was supposed to be competitive. They had a $115 million+ opening day payroll. They increased their payroll significantly from 2012. Saying the 2013 white sox were a laughable roster is the same hindsight as saying the 2015 roster was. We were supposed to compete those years and talked like it during the offseason. I'm aware of the hindsight. I'm saying from right now, it's insane to think that team could compete, or to hold Ventura accountable for them sucking. Konerko is supposed to be the best hitter on that team. He was already toast.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Oct 3, 2015 -> 01:40 PM) The White Sox kind of took a step back on purpose in 2013 and 2014. I would have been fine with a change but I don't really care in all honesty. They need players. You can't purposely "lose" for 2 seasons, try to win in 2015, and then say Robin Ventura has had 3 straight losing seasons. It's a dumb argument. Of course he did. They didn't have the talent to win the last 2 years and knew that from the start. This year is a different story. I just hate season that dumb "he's been bad for 3 years" argument. It's lazy. More common sense! Thank you. I will list the 2013 starting lineup that was supposed to "compete for the playoffs," and you will laugh. Alejandro DeAza Gordon Beckham Paul Konerko Adam Dunn Alex Rios Dayan Viciedo Alexei Ramirez Conor Gillaspie/Jeff Keppinger Tyler Flowers

QUOTE (Lip Man 1 @ Oct 3, 2015 -> 12:22 PM) However I find it odd that over the past few years more often than not when a new player puts on a White Sox uniform something happens.More often than not they perform worse. Why is that? Do a quantitative analysis of every new player for the Sox in recent years (the Ventura era I presume is what you're referring to) then do the same for every other baseball team. Do the same for the White Sox other another manager (perhaps Guillen). Control for age/level of decline-phase. Then present your results.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Oct 3, 2015 -> 05:50 AM) Bochy managed teams have lost at least 86 games 8 times. His first 2 seasons in SF, they lost over 90 each time. Now he is a genius. Funny how a better roster works. Go check out Joe Torre and Booby Cox records when they didn't have good players. Even Joe Maddon's. Common sense! Thank you.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Oct 3, 2015 -> 08:54 AM) http://www.southsidesox.com/2015/10/3/9443...t-robin-ventura As things stand right now, they're going to be picked for last place (behind DET) by about 80% of the baseball writers out there. And that woul be the case even with Yasiel Puig and Iwakuma/Latos coming on board, possibly. Does it matter where the baseball writers predict they will finish? Does it matter that some picked this team to win the division?

QUOTE (kitekrazy @ Oct 2, 2015 -> 10:00 PM) That should be directed at KW. When Ozzie left there really wasn't a formal hiring process. No interviews, just persuading an former player with no experience to manage a team. I would direct blame first at: Adam LaRoche Avisail Garcia Jeff Shark Alexei Ramirez (for half the season) If those guys play as expected, way less meatheads are going crazy about the manager, who doesn't matter.

Is there video or audio of Hahn's press conference anywhere?

QUOTE (GreatScott82 @ Oct 2, 2015 -> 04:48 PM) Normally a manager gets fired after two years of missing the postseason... Tony LaRussa sure didn't.

QUOTE (scs787 @ Oct 2, 2015 -> 04:18 PM) Glad I'm not the only one who finds it funny. I'm of the belief that your hitting coach is responsible for the hitters and the pitching coach the pitchers. A manger, IMO, just keeps everyone in line so to speak. Hitting has been a big issue and yet I only hear Steversons name when I bring him up. Are the baseball players responsible for anything?

QUOTE (Lip Man 1 @ Oct 2, 2015 -> 09:14 AM) An organization in serious trouble and that's their idea of fixing the brain-trust, not bringing in new people from outside the organization to look at the number of problems with new ideas. Manager barely matters unless it is someone as insane and toxic as Ozzie. Ned Yost was the biggest dumb piece of s*** manager in baseball, until their young players finally started playing well. Now he's a genius. And if you want to argue "hey, I never said Ned Yost is a genius," then look at the Royals record and see how much the manager matters if you have a lineup full of valuable players. The amount of anger and vitriol heaped on Robin is at about a 10 when it should be more like a 1.5.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Oct 2, 2015 -> 05:47 AM) Meh. They need better players before I worry about the manager. Thank you.