caulfield12

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Nov 4, 2014 -> 09:49 AM) The difference being is that no one is talking about the White Sox as a World Series team next year, while the Royals are looking to get back there next year. Take away your ace, and that becomes incredibly harder. The Red Sox (if they spend a mint on free agents), Orioles (if they keep Cruz and Markakis and continue to improve the rotation), Angels and possibly the Tigers (depending on what happens with Victor and Scherzer) all will be favored over the Royals at the start of 2015. A lot depends on Richards' time frame for the Angels...but it wouldn't be a shock to see Las Vegas betting line setters favor the Angels over the Royals even if Richards isn't projected back until mid-season. After 29 years of drought, nobody in KC actually has the brazenness to expect the World Series again in 2015.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Nov 4, 2014 -> 09:47 AM) Haven't you heard? The Royals pitching prospects are all guaranteed to immediately succeed and have zero injury risk. Well, the difference is they have 6-7 options for the final spot in the rotation. The White Sox have Rodon, and then: Bassitt, who would actually prefer to be a reliever Beck, who can't strike anyone out and looks to be a long man or pen piece for now Montas, who is more likely to become closer out of necessity Danish, who's unlikely to be in the Sox rotation plans until 2016 or 2017 Right now, it's going to be either Carroll or Bassitt unless they sign someone or make a trade.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Nov 4, 2014 -> 09:45 AM) Don't compare the Royals with the Giants. That is beyond silly. The Royals had not "been there" in 29 years. There is no reason to think with their limited resources ( I actually read where trading Alex Gordon is a possibility) that they are the next Tampa Bay Rays. You seem to have Finnegan in the HOF already, but chances are you are more than a little overboard. I'm sure more have Rodon there already. They're not going to trade Alex Gordon. Who would be stupid enough to come up with that idea??? He's their franchise player right now, along with Sal Perez and Yordano Ventura.

The good thing about this is the GOP will be expected to, like, produce some type of results and IDEAS that aren't from Cantor in the next two years... What will really irritate them is if they blow it (the coming opportunity) so badly it gets another DEM elected president in 2016. I remember 1994 like it was yesterday...but that scale/scope of that was much more unexpected than anything that will possibly go down today election-wise.

Other than signing Lester or Scherzer, what team in the majors is going to have the perfect rotation? The Giants are probably going to lose Peavy and Vogelsong. They're going to plug in the gaps with Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum, in all likelihood. Is that a surefire plan? As always, it depends on health. Tim Hudson's 39 going on 40. I remember something about him being the oldest pitcher to start a Game 7. Y. Petit was ONCE a top starting prospect a long time ago but he doesn't throw much harder than Dylan Axelrod.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Nov 4, 2014 -> 09:25 AM) That rotation doesn't have questions in it? lol. Is that even an argument? At any rate, it's still going to have questions in it even if they idiotically re-signed Shields with 257 innings pitched and 7 or 8 years or whatever at over 200 IP (just like the 2006 White Sox starting rotation and KW discovered far too late). The only ones who wouldn't lead to questions would be Scherzer and Lester...but those questions would be when those contracts would blow up in their faces. Even if things go right with Rodon, the White Sox have two more huge question marks. If Finnegan pitches as expected as a starter, they will have a pretty competitive rotation, and they can reallocate Shields' money to improving their offense at DH and RF. Not only that, but Aoki isn't a very good defender, so someone like Rasmus and Martinez would vastly improve their offense and defense...at two positions.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Nov 4, 2014 -> 09:15 AM) Their bullpen is about to eat a lot of their payroll, and as bad as Shields was in the postseason, he was really good in the regular season. It is highly doubtful they can replace that, (227 IP 3.21 ERA) and this is a team that barely made the playoffs and 99% of the time would have lost the wild card game. They could be decent, but I doubt we are looking at a run Royals contention. The Giants have averaged about the same number of regular season wins (87-90) in 2010/12/14 and have three World Series championships to show for it. It's simply a matter of getting there. Seattle was badly fading down the stretch. It wasn't THAT close where you can say they BARELY made it.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Nov 4, 2014 -> 09:12 AM) World Series teams don't go into seasons with that many question marks on their team. Is it really THAT difficult to replace Billy Butler's DH production and Aoki in RF when Dyson might already be better? That's not a lot of question marks. Imagine they add Victor Martinez and, let's say, Rasmus. That suddenly becomes a team where Omar Infante is the only "breather" in the line-up for an opposing pitcher, if you want to call him that. Moustakas struggled in the regular season, but they're not going to replace him after hitting five homers and playing so well in the post-season, any more than the White Sox are going to replace Conor before 2015.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Nov 3, 2014 -> 07:08 PM) They are going to have pressure to go after a starting pitcher, whether it be Shields or someone else. WHY? They have Ventura/Duffy as co #1's going into the season, then Guthrie and Vargas for the back end. It would be like assuming the White Sox would need a pitcher when they only have one rotation hole, when in reality there are probably two more(depending on your feelings regarding Danks and Noesi) and that's IF Rodon makes it in 2015. Ventura Duffy Finnegan (the Royals see him exactly as the White Sox view Rodon) Vargas Guthrie Kyle Zimmer (depending on health, was pulled from AFL) Sean Manaea Liam Hendricks Lamb Binford If they're going to make ANY move in their rotation, it's for a one year veteran "placeholder" to have as additional insurance for Finnegan, but I'm not even convinced 100% they will go that route. They might even look at Aaron Crow as a possibility, although it's a longshot.... The Royals have DH and RF (do they add another big name or platoon Dyson with someone?), and the only other starting position that's open for debate about changing is 2B with Omar Infante, but they absolutely don't HAVE to get rid of him, either. So you're telling me if the White Sox had THREE high draft picks all close to ready for the majors....and there was only ONE available spot in the rotation, and then you had three or four other realistic possibilities in Hendricks, Lamb, Binford and Aaron Crow, that you'd STILL pull the trigger on expensive/overpaid veteran starting pitchers in the McCarthy/AJ Burnett/Peavy/Volquez/Hammel/Vogelsong/Masterson/Kuroda, etc., tier???? Even with the injury to Zimmer, I think a big-time pitching move is highly unlikely.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Nov 4, 2014 -> 07:09 AM) Did you mean Dickerson? Nope. Blackmon. I don't think they're going to make Dickerson available.

And yet Nightcrawler (sadly for good movie-making) still almost lost a battle with second week movie, OUIJA, which almost nobody likes except for teenagers and those who grew up with the board game. Stonehearst Asylum 4/5 (awesome movie I'd never even heard of, Sturgess/Beckinsale/Ben Kingsley all very good) John Wick 4.5/5 (you just have to see this movie, it's becoming a cult classic already...a mix of Taken, Man on Fire and Gladiator all rolled into one)

QUOTE (Chilihead90 @ Nov 4, 2014 -> 01:14 AM) Or maybe he's a spokesman for Bosley. "That Ben guy sure doesn't have much hair" "Meh, he's Ben Balder" "I'm not only the Hair Club president, I'm also a client." Sy Sperling

Maybe he's losing his hair?

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-leag...-185956282.html Maddon went back to Ray with counter-offer but they weren't willing to make him one of the five highest paid managers in baseball...were willing to increase from $1.8 to $3 million. According to this article, Scioscia, Girardi, Francona and Showalter ($2.6-2.9 million) were the four highest paid managers in 2014, with Maddon fifth (somehow) and Mattingly 6th. Not sure what other managers would be #4-5 in 2015 that Maddon and his agent are saying he wouldn't have been paid in the TOP FIVE with a $3 million salary. http://wallstcheatsheet.com/sports/the-6-h...html/?a=viewall Leyland and Dusty Baker were in the $3-3.5 million range...Torre was making $7.5 million per season with the Yankees before he retired.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Nov 3, 2014 -> 07:33 PM) It is just an assault on your senses. I love how Gareth Evans directs the big fight scenes, Like the scene in the kitchen and in the first movie the scene with Rama and his brother vs the little mad dog. So brutal And to your How to Train your Dragon comment, I am very much looking forward to the third movie. The 3d is so well done It's essentially Dolphin Tale 1/2 (two parallel stories of struggling to overcome disabilities), but much better than the "true life" story. All the critics are making the same type of comments about John Wick (a new breed of action movies, transcending achievement, etc.), but it's unfortunate that Keanu Reeves is like a 1000 pound anchor tied around the neck of any movie he's associated with these days.

QUOTE (Bigsoxhurt35 @ Nov 3, 2014 -> 10:27 PM) Blackmon or CarGo would be my guesses. Dickerson is only 25 Id be shocked if they moved him. They have a surplus of outfielders. Matches up well with our need for a LF. And who here is willing to give up Tim Anderson for Blackmon? Montas? Because that will be the asking price...not 2-3 "second tier" guys like Beck, Sanchez and Trayce Thompson cobbled together into a package.

QUOTE (LDF @ Nov 3, 2014 -> 07:16 PM) or this was Cuddyer way of saying FU for giving me a QO. He's going to be lucky to get $8-10 million per year on a 3-year deal on the open market because of his age and defense. They're giving Cuddyer a gift by paying him $14.3 million or $15.3 million for one season, unless his career's totally going to fall off a cliff this year performance-wise.

QUOTE (shysocks @ Nov 3, 2014 -> 06:54 PM) I would guess the Royals aren't willing to spend that kind of money, whether he fits their roster or not. He's the perfect "contact hitting" role model for Hosmer, Moustakas and Gordon. Anything less than $60 million over three years and the Royals will be interested. KC is more of a doubles' park in April/May/September...but that won't bother Martinez at all because Comerica plays similarly. Plus they've got quite a few Hispanic players in Herrera, Escobar, Bueno, Infante...and, most importantly, Sal Perez, who's also Venezuelan and seen by many as the "next Yadier Molina." He could replace Raul Ibanez as a "leadership figure/role model" in that clubhouse. They lose Shields/Butler/Aoki and end up replacing them with V.Martinez/Volquez/mystery outfielder who's an upgrade on Aoki and/or platoon partner for Dyson. With Martinez in the line-up, you can afford to play Dyson and Cain together defensively more often in the outfield.

The Raid 2 is even better action (almost non-stop), although the plot's (and who goes for the story to this type of movie?) more compelling the first time around. In addition, The Book of Life was a lot more fun than I expected...especially if you're at all interested in Mexican/Hispanic culture. Also caught up with How to Train Your Dragon 2, and even though it didn't measure up to the first one, it was still a very good animation movie and I missed out not seeing it in the theatre with IMAX/3D/surround-sound. Finally, has anyone seen The Maze Runner? DVD or watch in a theatre? It just came out last week here in China. It's really weird the way that some movies arrive here (like Into the Storm) just because they're "action" movies, whereas most good dramas/comedies never see the light of day because of cultural differences.

Hard to say. A lot of players would take someone trying to grab them (while in the stands) the wrong way, BUT BUT BUT it's in his home park, so you'd think he would at least consider the possibility that his home fans were trying to prevent an injury in that situation.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Nov 3, 2014 -> 05:04 PM) We can't ignore the additional cost of forfeiting all international signings for two years as well. This smells like something that's going to be nuts to me. I highly doubt Hahn takes this kind of risk. If he was the age/experience level to get a deal like Abreu/Tanaka, that would be ONE thing. As he's going to dramatically affect the international spending limits, it's pretty much cost-prohibitive from two different standpoints...unless your scouts are 100% convinced the risks are worth it and he's a once in a generation five tool player, then you have to pass because of how out-of-whack spending has gotten on the Cuban market (largely due to the success of the White Sox with "undervalue" signings of Alexei and Abreu, as well as the initial success of Puig on his $42 million dollar deal).

If Santana/Bauer/Carrasco ever get on a roll to go along with Kluber, watch out. If all those guys pitch up to their potential in CLE, they might actually end up with the best rotation in the division unless Rodon becomes the equivalent of Jose Abreu as a pitcher. Cleveland still has to shore up their bullpen and get a comeback season from Kipnis. As far as Victor Martinez on the Royals, that would give them almost perfect balance, with Martinez/Gordon/Hosmer/Moustakas from that side...to go along with Escobar, Perez, Infante/2B, Cain, and not sure if they're ready to replace Aoki with Dyson or would prefer to add another veteran outfielder or possibly create a platoon with Dyson.

Well, nobody's going to want Michael Cuddyer now via trade. That seems to force them to move Dickerson, Blackmon (that one doesn't make sense, he started off superhot early and peaked, then had a rapid decline) or CarGo. Then there's Stubbs as well. One theory is that Cuddyer might be moving to 1B...but that's a huge QO for an average at best 1B who's likely to underproduce as he gets older. What's Morneau's status at the moment? They have to decide whether to pick up his option, which is "pretty" affordable, right?

If the money's going to ANY Cuban, it would be better invested in Moncada than Tomas or Rusney Castillo. The problem's that Moncada is the long-term play here, and how willing is JR to open the purse strings for a guy who might not contribute until 2017 (at the earliest) or 2018? As a White Sox fan, if it's an EITHER Moncada or putting $30-40 million into these next two offseasons, then you have to take the "win now" approach even though Moncada has superstar written all over him and the majority of FA acquisitions are LIKELY to be more incremental improvements, barring a major surprise and opening of the purse strings.

Victor Martinez, 3 years for $48 million, I'm okay with that. The problem is 2015's likely to be his best season of those three, and the timing's off by one year...where when we needed him in 2014 form, we'd be getting a predictably diminished return already in 2016. Royals are a MUCH better fit for Martinez. (Although I doubt they're willing to give him four years, either). Maybe they'll go 3 years/$54-56 million.