caulfield12

QUOTE (chw42 @ Oct 15, 2014 -> 05:07 PM) They're going to have a long layoff between now and the World Series. That's good for Shields (worn down), Ventura (ouchy) and Duffy...other than that, no major injuries. Finnegan, Herrera, Davis and Holland have been used so much in nearly every game that the layoff shouldn't do anything but help...maybe the timing of the bats, but that's going to happen regardless against good pitching.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Oct 15, 2014 -> 05:07 PM) They're going to have a long layoff between now and the World Series. That's good for Shields (worn down), Ventura (ouchy) and Duffy...other than that, no major injuries. Finnegan, Herrera, Davis and Holland have been used so much in nearly every game that the layoff shouldn't do anything but help...maybe the timing of the bats, but that's going to happen regardless against good pitching.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Oct 15, 2014 -> 06:43 AM) They have some pitching depth but that's the place where they seemingly will need to add with both Liriano and Volquez being FAs and Tallion still on the TJS recovery path. Taillon. Morton's out, too. There might be a bigger battle over those 2nd tier guys like Peavy, Liriano, Hammel, Volquez, Wei-Yin Chen, etc. FIP ERAFIPDiff.Justin Masterson5.884.501.38Kevin Correia5.444.670.77Colby Lewis5.184.460.72Ervin Santana3.953.390.56Brandon McCarthy4.053.550.50Max Scherzer3.152.850.30Hisashi Iwakuma*3.523.250.27Ryan Vogelsong4.003.850.15Hiroki Kuroda3.713.600.11Kyle Kendrick4.614.570.04 xFIP ERAxFIPDiff.Justin Masterson5.884.081.80Brandon McCarthy4.052.871.18Franklin Morales5.374.530.84Colby Lewis5.184.360.82Kevin Correia5.444.670.77Hisashi Iwakuma*3.522.850.67Ervin Santana3.953.470.48Dan Haren*4.023.700.32J.A. Happ*4.223.950.27Kyle Kendrick4.614.350.26Hiroki Kuroda3.713.540.17Ryan Vogelsong4.003.960.04Max Scherzer3.153.120.03

And the Pirates don't even need Alexei Ramirez anymore, they seem to be happy with Mercer despite his offensive shortcomings. If Polanco makes it, they're pretty much set, although they do need to worry about keeping Martin/Liriano and that pitching staff intact. As mentioned earlier, Tabata and maybe Snider will become/have become expendable, although the team was very happy with Snider's performance the last 2 months after Polanco struggled and had to go back down to the minors.

Marcus Stroman also comes to mind...Roy Oswalt. Pedro Martinez. Gio Gonzalez.

http://m.mlb.com/news/article/98572178/sta...at-speed-can-do A look at Dyson's speed....they did the same thing with Lorenzo Cain on a catch in RCF....21-22 MPH at top.

By fielding percentage, Royce Clayton is a god.

Guys like Travis Snider, Van Slyke, Endy Chavez, Denorfia, Nyjer Morgan...those are the part-time/platoon players we might end up with for 2015 if we can't hit on our top targets, but probably not part of the long-term core. Tabata, Domonic Brown...Pedro Alvarez, etc. Matt Joyce, maybe. Aoki, since the Royals will give Dyson a shot at everyday playing time, in all likelihood. Then again, you never know. Five or six years ago, nobody would have predicted where Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion are in their big league careers. Melky Cabrera, albeit his success is tainted. Billy Butler, another possibility. I'd rather they populated the roster with these lower-risk types than allocate long-term money for Ethier, Josh Hamilton, etc. If you're looking at a core piece, the only really logical fits are Tomas and Rasmus, and both come with lots of warts. I think I read somewhere where Shields is likely to get $64-72 million over 4 years. If that's the case, and not 5-6 years and over $120 million, then some of those players like Sandoval, Cabrera, H.Ramirez and Victor Martinez come back into play, but I'm doubtful about it happening when all is said and done. Everyone's going to wait and see how much Scherzer and Lester get...that will set the market.

The Yankees lost 4 games in a row to the Red Sox in the 2004 postseasn, don't forget that one. Two games in a row isn't all that unusual. http://www.kansascity.com/sports/spt-colum...cle2696524.html Scott Downs a twitter star after playing catch with Orioles' fans/young kids http://www.kansascity.com/sports/spt-colum...cle2756469.html Finnegan comps "broke Royals' fan and his g/f" two of his ten allotted player tickets for Game 4

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2231597...us-mlb-marriage http://www.tampabay.com/sports/baseball/ra...winning/2112336 "They're very good," players union chief Michael Wiener said. "Their baseball talent selection has worked well. They've been creative in terms of economics and contracting. … They are a well-run team. They are a smart team. That has to be admired and has to be respected." Certainly they are intelligent, organized, prepared, creative, thorough and forward-thinking: like their aggressive posture in signing young players to long-term deals to limit costs and gain extra years of control. They have developed some unique philosophies and priorities: like their offseason approach of considering any move that best improves the team rather than targeting only a specific need. They devote tremendous time and energy into injury prevention: like their shoulder exercise program for pitchers that not only is individually tailored, but mandatory and monitored. They have a cutting-edge computer system — named Uncle Charlie — run by a crew of researchers and analysts (some working off-site) who process and analyze massive amounts of data on topics ranging from umpire's strike-calling tendencies to forecasting when pitchers are likely to break down. Besides all they do, stressing flexibility on the field and off, there is also a guiding principle about what not to do — like not having a set payroll, not paying players for past performance, and only making trades when they get what they want rather than settling for the "best" offer. "Anytime you have to do something, it's not advantageous," principal owner Stuart Sternberg said. "So we would much prefer to have the option to … make the decision out of desire rather than need."

QUOTE (StRoostifer @ Oct 14, 2014 -> 10:28 PM) Have you forgotten about Flowers? Unless Flowers is traded, Phegley will be competing for the backup role. IMO, Phegley is traded at some point during the off season and the Sox look for a LH backup or possibly a starter. NOPE. Flowers veteran like Soto/Ross or possibly Phegley K. Smith Nieto

QUOTE (Jake @ Oct 14, 2014 -> 07:10 PM) Well if we can arm the black folks well enough, the NRA might start supporting background checks and such like they used to THE PURGE

Ten postseason victories in a row for KC, going back to the last three games of the 1985 World Series.

Would like to see Smith as the back-up someday, but Smith will be at Charlotte with Nieto at BIRM. Maybe they'll bring in a veteran to push out or at least compete with Phegley, like Geo Soto.

The problem is the #1 priority of the offseason for TOR is probably bringing back Melky Cabrera somehow.

From that list, Aoki, Markakis (depending on price), Nyjer Morgan (buy low), Endy Chavez (platoon with Viciedo, but likely to end up in NL), Rasmus and Denorfia are the most likely. Victor Martinez and Yasmani Tomas are undoubtedly out of our price range/off the fa price tag insanity meter. Liriano (unlikely after 2012) and Peavy as second tier pitchers. Uehara, Romo (2 years, $10 million) and K-Rod (2 years, $16 million) for bullpen...Miller and Robertson too expensive. And Morales, Delmon Young, Butler and LaRoche at DH (if he doesn't stick with Washington/declined option). There's almost nobody to get excited about that's not going to be incredibly expensive. When Soto, AJ, Ross and Buck are the four catching options after Martin, you know you're in trouble. I'd roll the dice on Rasmus before I would pay Markakis $13-16 million per season in his decline years. Markakis was never a $17.5 million player to begin with, and he certainly won't be in the future.

QUOTE (StRoostifer @ Oct 14, 2014 -> 12:05 PM) There is that idea above. ^ Since you're not in the Ethier fan club, the Sox could trade for Belt and still sign Ramirez to play 2B while playing Semien at 3B or vice versa. Then all the Sox need is a 4th OF/DH type like say... Domonic Brown? What asset do we currently possess that the Giants would accept for Belt? Let's get away from Erik Johnson/Davidson/Thompson/Walker/Beck/Mitchell type ideas and back to reality. Fwiw, Hanley Ramirez is MUCH more comfortable at 3B than 2B.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Oct 14, 2014 -> 02:56 PM) I am interested too, but I think we saw some of that in 2012. The Sox went out and got Youkilis, Liriano, and Myers for what looked like virtually nothing at the time. Knowing how the Twins work their magic, Escobar naturally turned into a good looking player. Guys who had lower value than normal and looked like potential boom players. I think with an upgraded farm system, you may see better players brought in, but I don't think he's going to be a guy who will be too willing to overpay. In some situations though, you do have to. Liriano was a guy I did want the Sox to keep after 2012 as I though he could be good with the Sox like he was with the Pirates, but I don't think his style really meshed well with Cooper's. It would have made sense to do what the Pirates did and convert him to a two-seam sinking fastball pitcher and away from overreliance on the 4 seam and slider. We actually had the infield defense to go along with that strategy in 2013, except at 3B. And, as soon as you mention Liriano, Volquez is another name that pops up...given up for dead and then he ends up being the ace of the staff down the stretch over Cole/Liriano and gets the wildcard start (which obviously didn't go very well).

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Oct 13, 2014 -> 12:43 PM) I got the impression it was more about frame and body type, than current BMI or muscle bulk. Where is the exact original "worrisome" quote about his frame/body style? It was something along the lines of the scout not being in love with his body, but enamored with his arm, more or less.

http://www.kansascity.com/sports/spt-colum...cle2693814.html What the Royals should do with their new bounty of riches from post-season baseball, more season tickets for 2015, etc. ... But the Royals have an important incentive to make reasonable increases in their spending — to push their payroll closer to the middle of baseball’s hierarchy. They want to ensure this success that’s been eight years in the making lasts as long as possible. Their horrendous television contract, a deal that runs through 2019, makes this even more urgent. The Royals earn $20 million or less from that deal each year, a fraction of many teams they’re competing with even as their broadcasts have set multiple ratings records this season. If the Royals can keep their TV ratings high for the next few years, there is hope inside the organization that they can renegotiate and extend that contract a few years before its expiration. The best way to increase TV ratings, of course, is to win games, which means the Royals could actually make money in the long term by spending money in the short term. That approach worked for them this year — no matter the perception, a $92 million payroll could easily have led to the team losing money this season — and could work as a bigger play as well. None of this changes the enormous likelihood that Shields and designated hitter Billy Butler will be gone next year. Shields will probably draw offers of up to $20 million per season for four or five years. Butler has a $12.5 million team option that is a virtual lock to be declined, and the Royals have been steadily moving away from him in their long-term plans. Including Butler’s buyout and other factors such as pitcher Luke Hochevar’s pending free-agency, the Royals should have a little more than $25 million coming off the books to go along with a possible increase in spending. But they are also obligated or likely to pay around $20 million to $25 million in raises to players such as outfielder Alex Gordon, catcher Salvador Perez and first baseman Eric Hosmer. There are a lot of moving parts here, but the vast majority of the money coming off the books will be used on keeping other pieces of the team together. That means any free-agent signing, or a trade that takes on money, would have to be funded by an increase in payroll. That’s where this playoff run will continue to shape the franchise. The Royals will have more money than usual, and an increasing financial and competitive incentive to spend it. Already, this playoff run has changed so much about the Royals. But the best part may be yet to come if the organization uses this success to improve its future. Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/sports/spt-colum...l#storylink=cpy

Balta's last line was funny at least.

And yet if we offered Walker/Thompson/Mitchell together as a 3 player package, we couldn't even get Maurer from the Mariners back in return. At least for Hawkins, we can still have "reasonable" hopes of him reaching the majors and making an impact.

If you're not getting a subsidy for Lee's deal, that would blow almost 65-70% of your "payroll increase" on one pitcher...and leave you short 2 bats and 2 arms in the bullpen. It's a tough situation for Hahn. It'a almost like he has to use or leverage those initial signings to get the last 3-5 pieces in place. And a lot of players are going to be skeptical until they know the White Sox are close to being "all in" on competing in 2015. Now maybe you can get a Rasmus, or certainly Kendrys Morales, whose value is on the decline...but I find it hard to imagine that guys like Sandoval/Ramirez/Victor Martinez would be all that interested in the Sox unless we blew the other offers out of the water, which doesn't seem very likely with our recent FA history (other than Adam Dunn and the Abreu deal).

See Albert Pujols/StL. Luckily he forced their hand in the PR battle, and the fanbase (mostly) was relieved. At any rate, Shields is reaching the point with one more bad start in the post-season where they'd have to remove him from the #1 spot in the rotation for the World Series. The problem is that Ventura's now a little ouchy/iffy...and there's no way you lead off with Guthrie or Vargas. That leaves Duffy, and it seems there are legit concerns about letting him start due to that injury from September, although why they're leaving him on the post-season roster in that scenario makes almost no sense. Maybe they think the value of including him on the roster is worth it, even if he's the last pitcher out of the pen. Strange situation. A bit like Shelby Miller last year with the Cards.

When I went down in flames (defending a friend who I'd recruited to the site because I thought it would be cool...of course he was being attacked by the mods about his music opinion, of all things)...I at least asked to be banned permanently. Seriously, that's the kind of site that almost makes you want to be a fan of another team, and does more harm than good...that's the sad part as a Sox fan, and it's not like we are such a huge number in the first place these days.