caulfield12

QUOTE (greg775 @ Oct 23, 2014 -> 12:10 AM) That was a pretty good game for a 7-2 game in my opinion. I still can't believe Cain scored so easily on that bullet base hit to left. I'm used to Sox station to station baseball. Butler looked good tonight. KC will miss him in the lineup in SF. There's really no way he can play. No where to put him. Not without benching Hosmer, which isn't happening with Butler on the way out the door. Ishikawa (the equivalent of Conor playing LF) had a bad throw to the relay man on that play....otherwise it would have been very close at the plate.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Oct 22, 2014 -> 10:58 PM) With Peavy's performance tonight, I'd sign Jake to a two-year deal for six million a year. Can Sox get him on the cheap? Nope, he's likely to receive $10-12 million per season for 2 years. Also VERY likely to stay in the NL this time.

Assuming Shields loses again to Bumgarner in Game 5, it obviously puts the onus on the Royals to beat both Hudson and Vogelsong. At this point, it's looking like it comes back to KC with the Royals down 3-2 and Ventura/Peavy for Game 6 and Guthrie/Vargas/Duffy (whoever pitches the best in the game the Royals win in SF) for Game 7, if it gets that far. The only other option would be to start Finnegan, but he's not stretched out, has been in relief for 5-6 weeks and could only go 2 or MAYBE 3 innings at the most.

Interesting decision to not carry Ibanez on the bench....could have used him there against Machi. We'll see how it turns out. And apparently Yost made the right decision, in hindsight of course. Herrera has 9 pitches so far, and full rest, so he should be able to go 1 2/3. Lefty (former Sox) Javier Lopez in to attempt to get Gordon to roll into a DP. Gore's going to be tough to take out at 2B unless it's hit right at a middle infielder on the ground. Guess we'll find out if Gordon can bunt. OR NOT.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Oct 22, 2014 -> 07:35 PM) It's finally happened. Someone has massively overestimated the price of several free agents. I don't know about massively. They'll each get $10-12 million or so, minimum. Massive would be if they were all at $7.5 million AAV or less. That's not going to happen with the dearth of quality starting pitchers on the market. Masterson, he probably will prefer a one year deal to re-establish value, but those other guys will all for sure be in that range, maybe it will end up being two year deals instead of three, that's also possible. Look at what Josh Johnson got with his spotty injury history. Nolasco, Hughes, Haren, Feldman and Kazmir, etc. We'll see.

QUOTE (LDF @ Oct 22, 2014 -> 06:52 PM) those dang freaking kids..... no respect for old men. yeah, down here they go after the people who download movies. warner bros are leading the charge. Gran Torino movie images come to mind...

QUOTE (pettie4sox @ Oct 22, 2014 -> 07:24 PM) Peavy is lucky he has a giant's offense to back his ass. I seem to remember a five run leading evaporating in a blink against the Tigers in the middle innings in 2012.

Ventura doesn't have his best stuff. Seems like the effects of soreness/injury are limiting to the 95-97, touching 98 range....when he averaged 97 in the regular season. Also probably not a good thing when you have to go to Frasor and Finnegan if they need to cover the 5th and 6th. This is a game where Yost is going to be challenged to take his finger off the trigger as far as bringing in Herrera the next time Posey/Sandoval/Pence come up to bat. Tough decision. They have to win this game, pretty much. Especially when Vargas/Guthrie don't exactly inspire fear in the opposition.

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Oct 22, 2014 -> 12:46 PM) Ya, if 3/45 was his highest offer, I think he'd be a member of the White Sox. He'll get a lot more. We gave that type of money basically to Buehrle, Danks and Peavy. But there's no way the AAV is $15 million for only three years. That's what guys like Masterson, Santana, Peavy and Volquez will be getting from some short-sighted GM.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Oct 22, 2014 -> 03:23 PM) If you're filling up a position where we have a hole with a long term, cost controlled talent, that'd be a move I could get behind. Except Taveras isn't like Quentin, he hasn't proven to be that productive at the major league level when healthy...at least not yet. I have SOME faith in Steverson now, but our track record with non-veteran hitters has been pretty abysmal recently, other than Abreu and Alexei, who weren't developed internally. Sure, Taveras supposedly has even more TALENT than Avisail, but who's to say Anderson isn't going to be the much better player when all is said and done? It's always going to be easier to find outfielders than middle infielders (especially SS), and there are a lot of flaws from what we saw out of this kid when he was with the Cardinals. It's not a mistake that he was stuck behind Grichuk down the stretch. OSCAR TAVERAS: He did fine with his increased playing time after the Craig trade, building a seven-game hitting streak in early August and enjoying a 12-for-31 surge later in the month. He has hit .273 since the All-Star break, .324 since Aug. 15 and .400 thus far in September to quell fears about his swing length and bat speed. Taveras turned 22 this summer, so he is just hinting at his long-term potential. Physical maturity, improved offseason training and regular at bats in 2015 should help him blossom as a run producer. stltoday.com/sports (Gordon) In the end, the Cards are going to end up playing Holliday, Taveras and Grichuk, with Jay (despite his hot post-season) and Bourjos jettisoned. Or they might keep Jay, but all indications are that Taveras is still in their long-term plans, and big-time.

QUOTE (StRoostifer @ Oct 22, 2014 -> 01:05 AM) I agree but Scherzer and Lester will raise the bar and teams are desperate for starting pitching so at this point its possible. Its supply and demand. I am very curious to see what kind of demand there will actually be for his services. Who knows. Shields could end up in a situation like Kyle Lohse a few years ago where few teams were interested and end up with a smaller contract than speculated. Peavy's going to be limited to the NL, probably...at least if teams are smart. So once Scherzer and Lester are gone, and you're one of those 8-10 teams on the cusp of being a couple of players away from a playoff team, are you really going to rely on Edinson Volquez or Justin Masterson when you put Shield's statistical and health record up against the rest of the competition?

QUOTE (greg775 @ Oct 21, 2014 -> 08:12 PM) So what is Shields worth now? He's not looked like an ace in the postseason at all. Tonight he was downright awful. I say you pay him 8-10 mill a year for 3 years (total of 24 to 30 mill) and that is it! You get to 15 million a year for that guy and you are not smart. Frankly, is he better than Peavy? So tell me, what is he worth and what will he get?? Not worth it, but that's irrelevant. What will he get for his "intangibles"? I still think it's going to be $80-90 million and four years.

Sandoval's making himself some bank with this postseason.

Jackson, with some of his peripheral numbers...at least looks like the better bet...it's not the craziest idea in the world if his stuff's still there. A lot of players (see DeAza) perform differently for a team in contention compared to one eliminated in May or June. It also gives both players a fresh start/clean slate and they wouldn't have to uproot their families, either.

Bumgarner's pretty much the best pitcher on the planet right now. Lots of pressure on rookie Ventura not to get into that dreaded 2-0 hole going to SF for Game 3. Not an unexpected result to anyone who's been following both Shields and Madison this post-season.

http://www.beyondtheboxscore.com/2014/10/4...rics-revolution AJ Hinch and the marriage between SABER front offices and on-field staff decision-making

QUOTE (LDF @ Oct 21, 2014 -> 09:38 AM) what gets me is when Danks signed his contract, he was healthy. he got hurt in the performance of his job, pitching for the white sox. is it his fault that he got hurt or that he sign a contract before he got hurt. this is the main reason why the players combine and formed the union. to protect themselves. if no team wants to take a risk on him the player but they then have to take his contract. he pitch well for the sox, before his injury and still should have loyalty of the fans. if not, then fans are indeed fickle. human nature...half the Royals fans are frustrated with Shields, Giants fans with Lincecum, Bears fans with Cutler, we live in a 24/7, "what have you done for me lately" media-driven culture the reason many Sox fans have been patient with Danks is precisely for those reasons....whereas they weren't so patient with Peavy or Dunn when they struggled or were injured

QUOTE (LDF @ Oct 21, 2014 -> 09:26 AM) but no one gave up on him as posters have done with Davidson. because he was a high school prospect with limited experience even at that level because of his football time/injuries...aggressively promoted perhaps too quickly, although his results were still pretty great overall in 2012 despite the obvious flaws in his hitting approach and pitch identification

who are cletus and alvarez? are we seriously considering Rondon and a former speed skater to be in the plans any time before 2017/18? that would be a mistake....Anderson's going to get there first, anyway i'm also not sure that semien or sanchez should be counting on anything coming into next spring training...the White Sox better have a more appealing option for LF than Semien IMO, at least if they want to encourage the casual fans they're serious about competing

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Oct 21, 2014 -> 08:49 AM) Seems he had it better than most. A color commentator for the team while raking in an extra $150k to show up at a few things a year. He was very critical of the team and wants to be treated like George Brett. Sometimes guys act like spoiled, jealous brats. IMO, that is what Frank White did. They have tried to reach out to him but nothing will be good enough. I bet someday, maybe even already, he is privately regretting not appearing with all the others in the Royals HOF. You can't get that back. He probably was holding out for more ass kissing and it wasn't coming. It is too bad it came to this point, but it is hard to feel sorry for Frank White. And yet no matter what happened in the past with KW and Frank Thomas, or the entire organization and Ozzie Guillen...neither one of those players/managers will be treated in the same manner as the Royals and White over the last half decade.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Oct 21, 2014 -> 08:16 AM) No but I think the point being made is the 20 or so really good starts or the 26 with an ERA of 3.18 are the starts being ignored. Danks will be the first to tell you he didn't have a good year, but overall there were definitely some positives. He wasn't, as a few wanted to point out, the 3rd worst starter in baseball. Not even close. http://espn.go.com/mlb/stats/pitching/_/se...ric/order/false There's SIERA, FIP, FIP+, Defense Independent Pitching.... This one has both Danks and Noesi in the bottom five. Of course, that's with the caveat that it's the "top 88" pitchers that are qualified. So you can say he's one of the five worst third starters...along with Noesi, which is the rosy picture. Or you could of course argue that for $13-15 million you could find a lot of pitchers to give you similar or better statistics. If you move the bar down to 100+ IP, you get a screen of 149 total pitchers. Now obviously some of those guys were rookies, some were up and down, some were injured/not durable, etc. However, that screen that would in effect give you roughly five starters per team (some would be 6-7, some just 4, etc.) you'd find Danks at 139/140. Here's the bottom 9 below them... Roberto Hernandez Marco Estrada Scott Carroll Brad Peacock Miguel Gonzalez (who started a post-season game for BALT) Nick Martinez Chris Young Nick Tepesch Franklin Morales The presence of three starters in the bottom 11 for the majors should tell you all you need to know about 2014, just like the presence of two rookie Rangers and Colby Lewis. 125. Edwin Jackson 131. Justin Masterson 134. Shelby Miller 138. Ubaldo Jimenez With Ubaldo, we would have had 4 of the bottom 12.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Oct 21, 2014 -> 07:59 AM) Just a thought, but maybe his managing in the minors showed KC he wasn't major league managing material. I don't know why he would be owed the job. Clearly, there was some pent-up frustration with the fact that he did spend three years in the minors and had also been a first base coach. Especially because Buddy Bell had two opportunities and Hillman was a complete and utter disaster. Tony Muser wasn't much better, although he's more respected in Royals' circles to this day. Another factor is probably all those guys like Ventura, Ausmus and Matheny that had virtually no experience. Having lived in Kansas City for ten years, the affection for White is even more than White Sox fans feel for Ventura. In the end, there's a lot of pride involved. Can you imagine Reinsdorf lowering the salary of Skowron/Melton/Minoso/Thome, etc., from $150,000 to $50,000? That would never happen. Nor would they replace Farmer/Harrelson/DJ with the likes of Rex Hudler. It's the accumulation of many things. Everyone could see that the Royals were foundering, and White was honest about it...to the team, that's being too negative or critical. There are obviously two sides to every story. All those ex Royals from the 70's and 80's set a standard of excellence and they felt the organization and Glass family had gotten too far away from what made it great. From the Passan article, more recently, it seems that White's pride isn't allowing him to give in when the olive branch is being extended a bit.

QUOTE (LDF @ Oct 21, 2014 -> 07:55 AM) the thing I like, but at first was questioning my selection of Hawkins. but I am glad that the group is in the same thinking. Hawkins, I really thought he redeem himself and push his star to the top 10. well, he was #1 coming into 2013, but that season pushed him back in almost everyone's minds....

After that, White worked in the front office. He did not like it. He made it clear that he would like to be considered for Royals manager, and backed up his ambition by going to Double-A Wichita and managing in the minor leagues for three years. The Royals instead hired veteran manager Buddy Bell -- a good baseball man who in 24 years of playing and managing had never reached the postseason. When that did not work out, they hired Trey Hillman, who was managing in Japan. It was a pretty clear statement. White went to work full-time in Royals promotion. When Hillman didn't work out, the Royals hired Ned Yost, who has managed the Milwaukee Brewers for six years to an overall losing record. Somewhere in there, a Frank White statue was built and placed outside the stadium. from a joe posnanski article 2 years ago http://www.sportsonearth.com/article/40420...anged-from-team here's a recent one about the somewhat thawing relationship between the Royals and White...he's gone to at least 3 games now in September and the playoffs, but still won't go down on the field and hasn't been offered to throw out a first pitch

QUOTE (beautox @ Oct 20, 2014 -> 03:10 PM) seeing how he is 26, left handed and plays second base I wouldn't be against the sox going after him and utilizing their substantial depth at MI to make a deal. I would prefer they keep Semien and break him in as the UTL role and platoon partner with Conor at 3B ideally taking over at SS or 3B if Conor falters or if Alexei gets traded. That frees up Micah, Sanchez and if the right deal came along Anderson to be moved. Eaton Semien Fernandez In front of Abreu really excites We'll see how well Rusney Castillo does. The Dodgers signed a couple of Cubans for the middle infield (in the $20-30 million range) and neither of them have made an impact yet.