caulfield12

Remember Hahn's comments last year about justifying going after Tanaka because it was believed he could be the ace of a rotation....which turned out to be true for a half-season? And he was beginning the prime of his career? That's never been applied to Maeda. Once. I still think if he was another Iwakuma, Kuroda or Chen (Orioles/Taiwan), it would be a nice addition....but then you have the Safeco effect to take into consideration with Iwakuma. Even veteran Chris Young looked pitchable there. Maeda could just as easily end up as another Kei Igawa, Irabu, Dice-K. The biggest problem for me is his upside is Iwakuma, not Tanaka. And that's not the kind of $100+ million wager you make. You go after two Moncadas before you take one Maeda.

QUOTE (Andy the Clown @ Nov 20, 2014 -> 05:15 PM) I like winning. I like Melky because he's a good player, and good players helps teams win. I don't care if he's the worst person in MLB. /thread That's fine. So are Scherzer, Shields, Lester and Hanley Ramirez, but we're not going to be paying them, either. It's not about "good." It's about weighing past results/risk mitigation versus future return on investment.

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Nov 20, 2014 -> 04:20 PM) I like Melky too but if trhe Sox refuse to go 5 years they probably don't get him which means a much less talented list of FA's left to sign. There's still Saunders who can be traded for especialy if it's the Mariners who sign Melky. I think Rasmus would be much better off just being one of the guyts rather then "The" guy he was always supposed to be. Still rather have Melky and Rasmus or Melky and Saunders than Melky and LaRoche even if it means Rasmus trying to re-establish his value on a short term deal. LaRoche has been consistent but not sure I trust Robin to bench him against LH's and he is 35. I value 4 good OF's being fresh playing DH or sitting out a day per week as a way to keep them healthy and productive. Rasmus would benefit greatly from that since he might be more like Eaton in that the daily grind in CF is just too much to handle. At this point Rasmus should be a corner OF where I think his defense will be much better but can also play CF to rest Eaton. He wouldn't be the 1st athelete that needs to be coddled and appreciated rather than blamed for everything. LaRoche just doesn't do it for me as far as age and overall team versatilty . Rasmus and Cabrera are youngerish vets who fit better with the core. If Melky signs elsewhere you know the next articles we see will be " Sox interested in Colby Rasmus. " How far down the FA agent list will the Sox have to go before they actually sign someone who has any amount of talent and upside ? Sox have interest in VMart, Sox have interest in Sandoval, Sox have interest in Miller, LaRoche etc etc until we're settling for scraps once again and the compete year is pushed back to 2017 . The only bit of light I'm still capable of seeing is the Sox getting a good piece or 2 for Alexei and some, if not most, of this website will be saying "well ,there goes competing for 2015 down the tubes." Pretty much agreed. This is where you have to look at remaining asset allocation. I'd prefer to trade Viciedo (since he's not going to improve with us at this point) for Saunders, bring in Rasmus and sign Morse for DH. That gives you two younger players who have underperformed expectations but have upside and a solid/experienced veteran bat in Morse to solidify the middle of the order and take some of the pressure off Avisail. Same with Rasmus. And you just don't want to go into the season without a decent fix for a possible Eaton injury again. With Rasmus, you don't have to surrender that 2nd round pick that turned into one our more exciting prospects in Adams. I could be misreading things, but Cabrera at $48 million for 3 years or $60 million for 4 just isn't enticing enough because of the PEDs, his so-so defense, erratic results (and sure, Rasmus has been equally inconsistent), in general being leery about overpaying another veteran who could quickly decline and the fact that main reason we're chasing him is that he hits LH. If the main reason is that you could feel confident putting Cabrera behind Abreu in the line-up...that's not enough.

QUOTE (bear_brian @ Nov 20, 2014 -> 09:30 AM) Not sure where you are getting the $10 million remaining number from. The Sox could go anywhere from $90 to $100 million total payroll. Right now, including Viciedo's estimated $4.5 million, the total is about $ 62 million. that could leave them with as much as $40 million to spend - $14M for Melky, $9M for Kendry Morales, $12M for McCarthy, Masterson, Maeda or Hammel, and $5M for Luke Gregerson is one way of spending that money. Getting Cabrera as a switch hitter, and getting Kendry Morales as a switcher, greatly improves the overall lineup and its flexibility. Gregerson's going to be more pricey than Duke in this market, especially if his agent can market him as a potential closer option. BTW, I thought someone said we were at $66 million with Duke added? Maeda's probably going to be over that $12 million....McCarthy at or below, Masterson below and Hammel a bit below. They're not going to shell out any more than $6-8 million for Kendrys Morales based on his aging and performance last season with the Twins and M's. At any rate, I don't see how they can make all their fixes this offseason without going well over budget, which most are projecting at around $90 rather than $100 million, based on attendance/overall revenues/diminished ratings from Comcast/lost sponsorships, etc. They could PERHAPS jump that high, but only for the right players at the right prices, and that's unlikely in the FA market. Not without trading Ramirez, Danks (which means taking back another bad contract, or adding more payroll ostensibly) or one of our better prospects (Montas, Danish, Hawkins or Anderson).

I saw a couple of projections in the $145-155 million range. That's a LOT more realistic. Still, he hasn't been completely consistent the last five years...on the other hand, he was better than Scherzer in 2014, arguably.

I'd rather go for broke and trade Alexei Ramirez and B pieces for Cespedes + Craig, Middlebrooks OR Bradley, Jr...but that wouldn't even make any sense unless they could extend Cespedes, who's reportedly asking for a $100+ million contract (which probably isn't even warranted).

QUOTE (WhiteSoxLifer @ Nov 20, 2014 -> 08:50 AM) They probably still need a shortstop They're very unlikely to trade Norris, and Vogt or Jaso isn't the type of return we'd be looking for on Alexei. If they're willing to trade Josh Reddick AND Vogt or Jaso for Ramirez, then it becomes at least a more interesting discussion. I could see Reddick/Jaso as the offer. Not including Norris and probably not Vogt since they control his rights for a long time.

QUOTE (scs787 @ Nov 20, 2014 -> 09:14 AM) I've been meaning to make a thread about "Who bats 2nd" because I've grown tired of seeing Lexi ground into DPs but man, I didn't realize the 2 hole was THAT bad at getting on base. A .279 OBP??! Yikes. Fixing that ahead of Abreu and coupled with Eaton should go a long way in helping the offense. See Gordon Beckham's stat line.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Nov 20, 2014 -> 09:12 AM) Until he started juicing, he used to be a good defender. He can throw. One good thing is if he gets suspended the Sox won't have to pay him. Does anyone really think he didn't juice in 2014? I also don't think that scenario is part of the "dream package" KW promised, either. We might as well hire MAYHEM from the All-State Commercials to patrol LF in that case.

Adding Dioner Navarro is not going to make any type of significant difference to the White Sox challenging for the AL Central in 2016.

His bat is clearly an upgrade, at least for two seasons....but his defense isn't very good. Certainly, that's better than what we saw out of LF in 2013/14, but how much is it actually worth? Are the Sox willing to go to 4 years for a player beginning the downside of his career? Signing Cabrera might only leave $10 million of new spending on the table, and that's going to have to pay for a DH, a closer and a 3 starter in the rotation. Not possible without trading Ramirez and/or dumping Danks and going with Semien/Sanchez/L.Garcia at SS.

1) The White Sox are being or have been attached to about 2/3rd's of the free agents out there, other than Scherzer/Shields/H.Ramirez/R.Martin/Cruz. 2) To our knowledge, not a single contract offer has been made. (We do know the Cubs were 2nd in the Martin sweepstakes and were in the $60-65 million range and considering budging on the additional year. Of course, like the Sox many times, finishing second doesn't get a trophy or banner in the outfield.)

Uh-oh, we're already heading for the Filibuster section two weeks after the midterms. Barring any governmental assistance, it's going to take private dollars to return to relevance again.

QUOTE (WhiteSoxLifer @ Nov 20, 2014 -> 08:45 AM) Vogt is the only one to play any time at first. Norris only played there once in his career and jaso only twice. Figure jaso and Norris are primary catchers with vogt backing them up and at first would have to imagine pretty hard to pry one lose. They also have Freiman for 1B. Seem pretty set...except for the back-end of their rotation...and they replaced Cespedes bat (finally) with Butler, at least in their minds.

Jaso has one year before he becomes a FA. Derek Norris, they're not going to trade him away. I also don't think they would part with Vogt so easily, either. So you're basically renting Jason for one season to be part of a platoon with Flowers, then you probably lose him to free agency.

QUOTE (hi8is @ Nov 20, 2014 -> 02:54 AM) You're absolutely correct. And the best scenario for hi8is for 2015 would be waking up to a doctor telling me I've been the first human ever to be medically gifted an eternal life, that I now have a fifteen inch penis, and that anytime I say the word "poop" a million dollars will be deposited into my bank account. Poop. You catch my drift, sonny? Wouldn't 10-12" be more ideal? Lyle Mouton.

QUOTE (LDF @ Nov 20, 2014 -> 07:59 AM) for me. and i am interjecting here, i really like any 3 of the catchers from Oak. they all can play 1b, dh and of course catching. 1 of them can play 3 b and the other can also play the OF. they are cost control. the thing is, if Oak was needing some young pitchers, and are incline to trade, would they be interested. If we had any... We're unlikely to trade Montas or Danish for those guys, and the A's aren't ever going to rely on the likes of Noesi/Carroll/Beck/Bassit/Rienzo, etc.

QUOTE (SoxPride18 @ Nov 20, 2014 -> 07:55 AM) I actually agree with all 5 points from Rogers. What's Maeda's ceiling? I thought I read he was a back of the rotation type guy? Anywhere from a 2-4, but most project 4ish....because of the lack of velocity and nasty movement on his pitches like Tanaka. Plus the usual concerns about his frame and elevated pitch counts/workload. On the plus side, scouts have had a chance to watch him more closely during the MLB All-Stars tour in Japan this week.

QUOTE (oldsox @ Nov 20, 2014 -> 07:39 AM) Who is Kent Maeda? KenTA? Whatever his name is....Japanese (believed to be) mid-rotation guy, best one from their professional leagues likely to be posted. Didn't realize he and his agent were going to be in Nashville.

http://www.providencejournal.com/sports/re...-trend-last.ece “The TV deals are the single most important variable in how aggressive a team can be,” said Cubs president Theo Epstein, whose organization has positioned itself (not sure how the author thinks they've done anything but being forced to wait for the Comcast deal to run its course) to negotiate a new TV deal after 2019. “You can chart a team’s spending in certain offseasons based on the timing of their TV deal and how it big it was. It’s something fans are starting to become more aware of and track, but it’s really a driving force in the industry dynamic that goes unseen.” (A month ago, Epstein told season-ticket holders that the next TV contract will be “the magic bullet, the paradigm-shifter.”)

Miami currently has the worst local TV deal in all of baseball, paying them $13-18MM annually (the Dodgers’ deal, in contrast, pays them $334MM per year, Gaines writes). Gaines notes that having a legitimate superstar on the team will increase the value of the new TV deal. Gaines speculates that negotiations could begin in 2016 as there appears to be some kind of opt-out on the current contract, which runs through 2020. Indeed, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that they are aiming for a new TV deal to begin in 2017 — which, perhaps not coincidentally, aligns with the first significant spike in Stanton’s salary. www.mlbtraderumors.com http://www.businessinsider.com/giancarlo-s...ontract-2014-11 In a full column, Rosenthal points out that the Rangers, Tigers and Angels each spent significant money prior to signing their new TV deals so they had a more attractive product in place for negotiations. For example, the Mariners just upped their contract to $118 million per year, partially explaining the investment in Cano/King Felix and some of the other big/ger names they're being connected with so far this off-season like Nelson Cruz and Yoenis Cespedes (just changed to Jay Z's sports rep agency, obviously a Cano connection there). And the Mariners have rebounded all the way up to 7th in the tv households chart. http://www.foxsports.com/mlb/story/stanton...es-sense-111914 http://www.businessinsider.com/new-york-ya...ratings-2014-10 If you look at the attached chart, the White Sox were probably 25th (there are no ratings for the Dodgers and Blue Jays, and I assumed the Sox were also ahead of the Astros), with 39,000 households per game. Interestingly, the Cubs were only 2 spots ahead with 54,000. The Tigers were 2nd (159,000). Amazingly, the Indians were 10th at 99,000 per game in a "mediocre" season. The Royals and Twins were middle of the pack, which is quite resilient for the Twins' organization. Even though their fans are staying away (CLE and MIN), their local tv viewership is quite solid. If the White Sox went out and got Maeda, Papelbon (for Danks?) OR another RH closer, Ethier/Crawford/Kemp and pieces (for Danks/Ramirez) OR LaRoche/Rasmus/Morse...you would argue THAT potential team wasn't TOO far off. (It's also interesting in the Phil Rogers piece that he supposes Viciedo is going to be around in 2015).

QUOTE (Lillian @ Nov 20, 2014 -> 04:48 AM) To further clarify a couple of points, regarding what I posted above: 1) A deal involving Alexei for Ethier and Schebler, is feasible. However, we can certainly argue over the exact details eg; the Sox could insist upon some cash, or an additional player. 2) Ethier and Ramirez are the same age, but Alexei's skill set is likely to decline faster than Andre's. Ramirez depends upon his speed and range, to remain an elite SS. Ethier is a patient, professional hitter, with a high OBP. Those are the kinds of skills that are easier to sustain, late into a player's career. 3) When I said that the Sox had only one potential LH impact bat in the organization, I inadvertently overlooked Wilkins. He is still young enough to be considered, but he doesn't seem to be part of the organization's plans. Perhaps another successful season at AAA will change that HIGHLY doubtful.

Doc Holladay...where are you? Hamels, Cliff Lee, Buchanan, Jerome Williams and Miguel Angel Gonzalez/Pettitbone. That's a big mess from the 3rd starter on, and Lee hasn't been healthy, either. Papelbon for Danks makes SOME sense, although I can't believe that would be much of a rotation solution for the Phillies, either.

QUOTE (hi8is @ Nov 19, 2014 -> 11:07 PM) I'd say that 20 innings is somewhat important when talking about a relivers second half. It raises my "uh-oh" meter. This is coming from a guy who knows not what xFIP means, so please do enlighten me. Fielding Independent Pitching. It attempts to strip away a team's individual defensive effects (in other words, the defense makes a Royals pitcher better than he actually is, or makes a White Sox pitcher look worse) and forecast what that player would do in a completely neutral context setting.

Anyone going to be suckered into Episode 1 of Hunger Games? Or just wait for the finale? It's supposed to make $150 million or so in the U.S., and god knows what crazy numbers it will do here in China. Interstellar here almost beat the U.S. box office...it was pretty close.