caulfield12

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Sep 5, 2014 -> 02:11 PM) I actually thought Towers was already fired. The writing was on the wall when Larussa came on board fwiw

QUOTE (LDF @ Sep 5, 2014 -> 10:28 AM) without factoring the prospects that the sox have to sacrifice to get him, I will deal with the salary aspect. a big team like Dodgers who has their own tv deal would likely benefit from union with Stanton. first Stanton will make the Dodgers a very attractive team to watch, to clamor to go and see, which will improve on the attendance and finally advertising. it a win, win situation. as much as I wouldn't mind the sox going for it, it would be too much to pay to get him here in chi. They would have to trade kemp ethier or Crawford first They have to replace Hanley Ramirez possibly They will be interested in Russell Martin They have Kershaw greinke ryu puig Adrian Gonzalez kemp not lacking star power Otoh they have Peterson Uriah ands seager to get it done prospect wiseThey also need to improve back end of the pen

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Sep 5, 2014 -> 01:46 PM) The best I can figure, this is a complete list of FA/potential FA who have an OPS over 700 for the season. Guys with an asterisk have club options. OBP SLG OPS Victor Martinez (35) 404 569 973 Michael Cuddyer (36) 380 546 926# Nelson Cruz (34) 328 520 848 Corey Hart (33) 334 507 841# Russell Martin (32) 408 415 823 Mike Morse (33) 338 477 815# Adam Lind (31)* 364 446 810#home run numbers are down Melky Cabrera (30) 348 457 805 Aramis Ramirez (37)* 347 453 800 Hanley Ramirez (31) 350 434 784 Delmon Young (29) 335 445 780# Rickie Weeks (32)* 341 429 770 Josh Willingham (36) 350 416 766# Pablo Sandoval (28) 331 434 765 Ben Zobrist (34)* 357 404 761# do the rays keep him???probably or would have been dealt Denard Span (31)* 348 413 761 Torii Hunter (39) 312 439 751 Colby Rasmus (28) 289 449 738# Nick Markakis (31)* 342 391 733# J.J. Hardy (32) 320 392 712# only if they deal Alexei Asdrubal Cabrera (29) 312 400 712# good buy low guy familiar with division see hardy comment Endy Chavez (37) 323 386 709# great defender perfect fourth outfielder Alex Rios (34)* 311 398 709 Billy Butler (29)* 325 382 707# see Cabrera ###Most likely players sox would pursue

QUOTE (hi8is @ Sep 4, 2014 -> 11:39 PM) I was super bummed when we didn't nab him Especially since he's EXACTLY the hitter we need now for LF/RF, albeit right-handed.

QUOTE (Jerksticks @ Sep 5, 2014 -> 12:19 AM) I'm starting to think the 2015 2-hole hitter isn't on the team yet unless his name is Gillaspie, and by all measures the Sox just don't believe in that. Alexei Ramirez is too easy to get out any time he's not dialed in, and he's consistently trotted out #2. Flowers, Viciedo, Avi, Sanchez & Semien are all too free of swingers or just too inexperienced to give the second most ABs of the season too. If we add a tough-out kinda guy for #2 i think the rest falls into place nicely and we'll be pretty solid top to middle with potential at the bottom. I would love Sanchez/Semien turning the lineup over but not at 2. We need that "glue" guy, like Matt Carpenter with the Cardinals who can hit first, second or even third on occasion. Like Orlando Cabrera in his prime, but with a higher walk rate. Or Iguchi would be another example. Semien can't do it unless he dramatically cuts down on his K's. I don't think they'll stick him at 2 until they break him in at the bottom of the order (successfully), 8th or 9th after Flowers.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Sep 4, 2014 -> 11:22 PM) Avasail is going to be everyday next year, bank on it. Second, they will spend, but im not convinced its next year. The rotation is an issue however and I dont know if they are going to see if they have it in the system or if they have to trade or buy it. Hahn would obviously like to fill the pen through fringe trades like he has recently as well as a garbage heap pickup but the rotation is going to be difficult to patch. I'm hearing there is a ton of payroll room, a TON. But Hahn is reluctant to do a KW and spend money horribly with a team that finishes 10 games out of the division. Hopefully between Sanburn, Olacio and Snodgress, one of those guys makes an impact and soon...Bassit, perhaps. I'm dubious about Taylor Thompson being viable with his lack of overwhelming stuff, but you could have said the same thing about Putnam and he has a way of missing more bats in the 80's than most relievers do in the 90's. Beck's another option for the bullpen, presumably.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Sep 4, 2014 -> 10:51 PM) It would be hard to take a good hitter like Conor out of an MLB lineup. He has a spot but not in the heart. Second, the Sox are spending money. They hope to pick up probably one or two proven pen arms, and obviously someone in the rotation. Signing an actual middle of the order hitter will be more difficult. When they want to complete the payroll will be over 100 million IMO Since they began this year at around $91 million, and they were something like 22nd in the majors in Opening Day payroll, I'd argue that $110-115 million is where they need to be (at least) before the 2016 season. That's still going to put them somewhere around 17th-23rd in the majors. Not much room for error. And unless Hawkins is a 5 hitter and Anderson a 2-3, they're going to have to spend a lot of money or talent/resources on acquiring a middle of the order hitter. Despite his work ethic, I'm still not 100% convinced of Avisail's abilities as a run producer/power bat.

QUOTE (scs787 @ Sep 4, 2014 -> 07:46 PM) Certainly not wrong, but that team still had a big time offense. We need a Dye to our PK(Abreu). If they can snag Stanton they're probably gonna be willing to put that payroll back up into the 120 range. Say Stanton gets 25M a year, that'll put the Sox salary at ~75M next year, 71M in 2016, Danks and Lexi's 25M come off the books in 2017, and Abreu/Sale are the only guys locked up in 2018. Trading Lexi for pitching could also free up even more $. If they do decide to get that payroll back up to ~120 Stantons ~25 wouldn't prevent them from adding pitching. When does Quintana's deal end? Shouldn't it at least be through 2018, if not longer?

QUOTE (StRoostifer @ Sep 4, 2014 -> 06:47 PM) I second this. Not that I'm against Stanton, dude is a f***ing stud, but I'm not willing to give up an outlandish price for him. Fortunately there are others teams that would and have more to offer. Someone ,I forget who, mentioned Boston. This is the likely team considering Boston has the desire, the prospects and the history of making big trades with the Marlins. Fathom, and I also said Giants/Dodgers/Cardinals/Red Sox. Well, LA just doesn't make sense unless they clear that OF logjam, as it is, they can't find a place for Joc Pederson to play. So we'll be offered Andre Ethier, Kemp and Carl Crawford again, with salary subsidies attached. The Giants and Braves (although I doubt they'd spend that time of money, not to mention they have to consider what to do with Heyward)....always seem to have the pitching but lack hitting. The Cardinals, it's scary to think of him there, but they have never been a franchise to give out a $175-250 million contract (see their own home-grown superstar, Pujols' exit). The Red Sox make a TON of sense. You have Cespedes just for one more year, Ortiz/Pedroia/Napoli aging, if they could bring back Lester and pair that with acquiring Stanton, they'd have a real shot next year. They would definitely have to part with Bradley/Bogaerts/Middlebrooks and 2-3 more pieces, like De La Rosa or one of their other young pitchers, Ranaudo, Workman, etc. I'm the Marlins, I would probably go after Swihart, Bogaerts (buying low), Mookie Betts and two pitchers.

QUOTE (StRoostifer @ Sep 4, 2014 -> 06:47 PM) I second this. Not that I'm against Stanton, dude is a f***ing stud (BEAST MODE), but I'm not willing to give up an outlandish price for him. Fortunately there are others teams that would and have more to offer. Someone ,I forget who, m Fathom, and I also said Giants/Dodgers/Cardinals/Red Sox. Well, LA just doesn't make sense unless they clear that OF logjam, as it is, they can't find a place for Joc Pederson to play. So we'll be offered Andre Ethier, Kemp and Carl Crawford again, with salary subsidies attached. The Giants and Braves (although I doubt they'd spend that time of money, not to mention they have to consider what to do with Heyward)....always seem to have the pitching but lack hitting. The Cardinals, it's scary to think of him there, but they have never been a franchise to give out a $175-250 million contract (see their own home-grown superstar, Pujols' exit). The Red Sox make a TON of sense. You have Cespedes just for one more year, Ortiz/Pedroia/Napoli aging, if they could bring back Lester and pair that with acquiring Stanton, they'd have a real shot next year. They would definitely have to part with Bradley/Bogaerts/Middlebrooks and 2-3 more pieces, like De La Rosa or one of their other young pitchers, Ranaudo, etc.entioned Boston. This is the likely team considering Boston has the desire, the prospects and the history of making big trades with the Marlins.

Everyone's suddenly forgetting how we won a championship in 2005. That team didn't have any superstars or HOF players, other than Thomas on his last legs and sitting out. Pitching, pitching, pitching. And solid players at every position who played together as a team, and played the game the right way. And an amazing bullpen, a once in every 20-30 years performance out of all the pitchers. Creating this superstar-driven team with Sale, Abreu and Stanton just isn't the way to get there.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Sep 4, 2014 -> 02:23 PM) Giancarlo Stanton is 24. You would only make this move if you felt 95% sure you could extend him, and there's no way that would be less than a seven year deal at the absolute minimum. That would absolutely be a better bet for production than all of those guys. Can you think of a better and more likely sourced of sustained production than Stanton's age 25-32 seasons? I like Anderson, but I'd be shocked if the chances he ever becomes as productive as Stanton are more than 1%. And what makes you believe the White Sox, as of right now, or going into this off-season, would be in a position to convince him to sign that type of long-term extension to a 95% degree of certainty? If he's not happy with the Marlins and they managed to compete all season without Jose Fernandez, why wouldn't he want to sign a contract with a team like the Cardinals, Giants or Red Sox that are setting up to compete for the playoffs each and every season? It's POSSIBLE, merely because of the presence/s of Sale/Abreu/Rodon, but Carlos would have to emerge by June/July next year as a legit #2 already for this type of move (and accompanying extension) to work out. And maybe that's why Stanton hesitates. On Monday afternoon, he declined to discuss something so wispy as an MVP award, but did talk about the dedication to an offseason program that has kept him on the field. He's played in every game, starting all but one. "The way I felt last year, with the whole situation of losing and not playing my best, that was one of the worst feelings I ever had," he said. "I put it as a waste of time. I spent all that time in the offseason. To lose 100 games and to not do my best? It was like, 'What'd I do all that in the offseason for?' " Now he's a .300 hitter, .322 with runners in scoring position. He leads the National League in on-base percentage, in part because he leads the league in intentional walks, and OPS. He's become an elite right fielder. He walks by and big leaguers look him up and down, shake their heads and mutter a single word: "Beast." So, who's with him? The Marlins? Loria? And what about tomorrow? How about then? "We've definitely done better than anyone thought we would do," Stanton said. "At the same time, we're still not where we need to be to keep playing beyond the designed schedule. …I want to be the only game on TV at the end of the day. (sounds a LOT like the White Sox right now.) "We're definitely in a positive direction. But we have a month to go to make the playoffs." The question, then, again: Does this season, one that is just OK but brighter than most, change anything? He thought again, perhaps of these five months, perhaps of these five years. "There's still a long ways to go to be in the same conversation with the best of the best," he said. "I'm hungry for that." Tim Brown www.yahoo.com/sports

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Sep 4, 2014 -> 02:11 PM) Sorry to cross sports here, but this logic sounds exactly like the Bulls under GarPax. I truly do believe that Tim Anderson will be a good shortstop at the major league level, but if you were put into an opportunity like that to acquire (another) bonafide superstar, you absolutely pull the trigger and you don't look back. In this instance, it wouldn't solely be a win-now move because Stanton is going to be 25 years old next year and you would re-sign him to a huge deal - sometimes, that's the price of business. It would be a move for the short-term and the long-term. This does fit sustainable success because you'd have 2 top 30 hitters in the game and 2 top 30 pitchers in the game for like the next 5 years at the very minimum. You can seriously fill in around that and let it roll for a while. Plus, that intial offer wasn't including Rodon either, who could be good. You constantly criticize and say that the plan wouldn't be to compete until 2017 or whatever and then wouldn't trade 4 prospects for Giancarlo Stanton because those prospects could be good? That is why the phrase "talking out of both sides of your mouth" was invented. There's no need to talk about Stanton anymore because it's beyond a pipe dream. Now we have no choice but to universally praise the front office around here? Two months ago, most of SoxTalk was TALKING about the possibility/probability of competing as early as next season. Now that talk has pretty much been completely shelved and we're revising/walking it back to say that it was 2016 all along, which does sound a lot like what the Cubs do, and why it won't play with Sox fans. But c'mon. This is stupid. Because the White Sox are never going to give Mike Stanton the $150-200 million that some other team will give. (btw, didn't our owners just try to lead a rebellion of other owners because he believed Manfred was too chummy with the players' union and wasn't dedicated enough to controlling the escalation of salaries???) You call it the cost of doing business, but the White Sox have proven time and time again more than MOST teams that business/profit/sustainability comes before the anomalous Albert Belle and Adam Dunn-like splashy moves and signings. Of course, in a VACUUM not connected to reality, if I knew I would control Mike Stanton's rights through 2021 or 2022, I'd make that trade. It's not my money. I'm not Mike Ilitch or Mark Cuban or Arte Moreno or the LA Dodgers/Walter/Guggenheim partnership. Essentially, we've made essentially two prospect trades like this in the past 10-15 years, for Freddie Garcia (because we knew we could extend him) and for Nick Swisher, which obviously was a disaster. And then there was the White Flag Trade. So three.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Sep 4, 2014 -> 01:10 PM) But Schwarber was an overdraft by the Cubs and Theo Epstein, therefore good. Tim Anderson was a draft pick by the Sox, therefore bad. It has been true of nearly every Sox hitting prospect since Rowand and Crede, pretty much...but maybe Anderson's the one guy who finally escapes the Buddy Bell Bermuda Triangle of unrealistic expectations and praise for position players. Scouts love him, moreso than anyone else in our organization, other than Rodon. Even if Schwarber "should" have gone 10-20 or whatever, that doesn't mean he's not going to be any good...we all know where Mike Trout went in the first round, it doesn't mean much at all until you pick up that wooden bat and head out to the minors to prove yourself. Right now, looking at results/performance/trends, the one who looks to be an overdraft of all their prospects was/is Almora.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Sep 4, 2014 -> 01:10 PM) But Schwarber was an overdraft by the Cubs and Theo Epstein, therefore good. Tim Anderson was a draft pick by the Sox, therefore bad. It has been true of nearly every Sox hitting prospect since Rowand and Crede, pretty much...but maybe Anderson's the one guy who finally escapes the Buddy Bell Bermuda Triangle of unrealistic expectations and praise for position players. Scouts love him, moreso than anyone else in our organization, other than Rodon. Even if Schwarber "should" have gone 10-20 or whatever, that doesn't mean he's not going to be any good...we all know where Mike Trout went in the first round, it doesn't mean much at all until you pick up that wooden bat and head out to the minors to prove yourself.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Sep 4, 2014 -> 10:24 AM) I don't know, and I don't know why you're limiting it to just those guys. If you offered Semien, Montas, Hawkins, and Michaczewski for Stanton, and they said they'd do it if you substituted Anderson for Semien and Beck for Montas, are you really going to say "NO ANDERSON IS OUR FUTURE WE CANNOT DEAL HIM AT ANY COST!" when Stanton is that good? Of course, not, you'd make that move in a second. (they likely wouldn't say that, this was merely a hypothetical example of when you'd trade certain players). So much of what you are saying is subject to the teams with whom you'd be doing business, how they value the players, and who you're trying to acquire. A team like the Astros or Padres are likely going to value prospects over established players, while you may be looking to make 2-3 smaller upgrades or looking to acquire a bad contract or a lesser player via trade instead. Speculation like this is idle and pointless. I'm saying three things - that the Sox are almost certainly not going to sign a free agent tied to draft compensation, they will still be active in free agency otherwise, and that they will likely seek upgrades through trades. I'm really not saying anything else. It's not profound or bold in any way. No, I wouldn't. Because we'd still be left with our crappy crappy bullpen that lacks any leadership, Ventura as manager, expected/predictable below-average offensive production from every position in the line-up going into 2015 but Stanton/Abreu/Eaton and maybe Ramirez and Avisail Garcia...stuck with John Danks in the rotation for two more years and also not 100% sure what Noesi's going to produce, and lacking plus defenders all around the diamond and not an extraordinary amount of team speed or fundamentally-inclined players. Heck, we don't even have any type of guarantee that Rodon's going to be a #2 as early as 2016. Assuming Micah and Semien both played a lot and gained experience in 2015, they'd have enough speed finally...which means that acquiring Mike Stanton would be the ultimate "win now/all in" move for one season only, 2016, even moreso than Adam Dunn was. If I firmly believed that Anderson was going to be a franchise player and cornerstone to build around and would stick at either SS or 2B, there's just no way I'm making that gamble if I'm Hahn. It's only an interesting question because of that final 2016 contract year. That's where the calculus of risk of NOT doing anything significant and having Abreu/Sale/Quintana/Eaton/Avisail get injured starts to weigh on your mind as a GM. However, it's not the kind of move that fits Hahn's suggested pattern of "sustainable success" by any sort of definition.

QUOTE (The Wiz @ Sep 4, 2014 -> 11:42 AM) Sign Victor Martinez, Justin Masterson, and bullpen arm. Trade for Matt Holliday (need to make room for Piscotty and their glut of OF prospects) and other minor deals for relief pitching help. Trade Alexei and let Semien/Sanchez/Johnson/Gillaspie battle it out for PT from the 2B/3B/SS positions. Offense will be much improved with two impact bats behind Abreu. While they are older and expensive, they will only be on the books for a couple years so you can compete with them and have time to find younger replacements. Rodon will be up sometime in June most likely. Whatever you do, hold on to Danish, he will be good and get a cup of coffee in September. 1. Eaton, CF 2. Semien/Sanchez/Johnson/Gillaspie, 2B/3B/SS 3. Abreu, 1B 4. Martinez, DH 5. Holliday, LF 6. Garcia, RF 7. Semien/Sanchez/Johnson/Gillaspie, 2B/3B/SS 8. Flowers, C 9. Semien/Sanchez/Johnson/Gillaspie, 2B/3B/SS Also look for a left handed hitting catcher who can platoon with Flowers. Easier said than done. 1. Sale 2. Quintana 3. Masterson 4. Danks 5. Noesi Bullpen still a crapshoot but can't get much worse. The Cardinals love Holliday, he's their leader now in many ways, along with Molina. Despite his age and somewhat diminished production (around an 800 OPS, which is still pretty respectable), they think his body type and notoriously brutal and grueling off-season workout habits will push his productive years into the mid or even late 30's.

Especially since the even more injury-prone Josh Johnson, for example, received more. So who's the fourth best free agent pitcher in the game, after Scherzer, Lester and then Shields? Coming into this season, it was definitely Masterson. And that would have put him in that $12-16 million dollar per season category. Now he's suddenly down to a mere $6 million? That's about as conceivable as $16 million.

Starting pitching, dominant/lockdown bullpens and defense win you championships. Trout's part of all 3 elements working together. That said, the Angels are going to really be in trouble without Richards in the playoffs IMO.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Sep 4, 2014 -> 09:51 AM) How much do you think Tomas is going to get? I'm guessing you think somewhere in the range of $120-140 million. I don't think Martin will get anywhere north of $40 million, Masterson $6-10 mill on a 1 year deal, and that leaves $10-30 mill for relievers in the $200 million threshold you've set. In other words, I don't see any way that's possibly close to $200 million. Not sure it's a playoff team, but let's be realistic. $85-90 million for Tomas, maybe $95 Masterson for at least $30 million Martin for $50 million, based on the complete dearth of other catchers available, the Salty/McCann deals last off-season, etc. RP basically $15-20 million. Maybe off by $10-20 million, but I might just as easily be right.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Sep 4, 2014 -> 09:51 AM) How much do you think Tomas is going to get? I'm guessing you think somewhere in the range of $120-140 million. I don't think Martin will get anywhere north of $40 million, Masterson $6-10 mill on a 1 year deal, and that leaves $10-30 mill for relievers in the $200 million threshold you've set. In other words, I don't see any way that's possibly close to $200 million. Not sure it's a playoff team, but let's be realistic. $85-90 million for Tomas, maybe $95 Masterson for at least $30 million Martin for $50 million, based on the complete dearth of other catchers available, the Salty/McCann deals last off-season, etc. RP basically $15-20 million. Maybe off by $10-20 million, but I might just as easily be right.

AMERICAN LEAGUE Top 10 vote-getters, with first-place vote tally in parentheses 1. Mike Trout (35) 2. Robinson Cano (1) 3. Felix Hernandez (2) 4. Jose Abreu (1) 5. Josh Donaldson 6. Alex Gordon 7. Victor Martinez (1) 8. Jose Altuve 9. Nelson Cruz 10. Adrian Beltre Trout, clearly, has graduated from hero of the calculator-carrying crowd to a more mainstream MVP acceptance, and if our panel is any indication, he will get the honor so many believe he was due in 2012-13, when Miguel Cabrera beat him out both times with more traditional MVP stats. With a career-best 31 homers and 98 RBIs entering Thursday -- and so many plate appearances still in front of him -- Trout fits that traditional formula. It certainly doesn't hurt his cause that his Angels are in line for their first October entry of his career or that Cabrera's physical issues have caused a statistical setback. What's particularly interesting about Trout's candidacy is that his stolen-base tally has taken a drastic dip, and the defensive metrics aren't quite as kind to him now as they were in '12 and '13. But the power numbers and the legitimate postseason hunt have undoubtedly augmented Trout's case, while guys like Donaldson of the A's and Gordon of the Royals seem to have taken his place as the candidates whose value is a bit more nuanced -- they ranked first and third, respectively, in the Baseball Reference WAR calculation, sandwiched around Trout and getting a big boost from their sensational defense. Neither Donaldson nor Gordon received a first-place vote in our poll, but two Mariners -- Cano and Hernandez -- did. It will be interesting to see how the voters handles those dual candidacies, because you can make a strong argument for both guys as the primary catalyst for the Seattle's rise to contention. They'll have trouble overtaking Trout, though, in large measure because they're likely to steal votes from each other. Abreu will also have difficulty, albeit for a different reason. Since the 1995 postseason expansion, the AL MVP has come from a non-playoff team just once (Alex Rodriguez, Rangers, in 2003). So while Abreu's .322 average, .985 OPS, 33 homers and 99 RBIs all compare favorably to Trout, his team's spot in the standings -- the White Sox are in fourth place, 13 games under .500 -- is likely to render his cause moot (and Trout, of course, plays a more demanding defensive position). There is time for voters to get swept into the late-season story lines. Gordon, who is already getting "MVP! MVP!" chants from the Kansas City faithful, can present a compelling case if he leads the Royals to their first October berth in 29 years. Right now, though, the AL MVP Award is Trout's to lose. from mlb.com FWIW, I didn't include Beltre since the Rangers are the worst team in baseball, and Altuve for the same reason, although both are having pretty brilliant seasons. Donaldson and the A's are REALLY struggling, 6 weeks ago he would have been considered a Top 3-4 candidate surely. Cano has risen with the Mariners in the standings, and Seager's deserving of some credit there as well as King Felix. Interestingly, nobody voted for Cano in the poll, although I probably did him a disservice pairing him with Seager.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Sep 4, 2014 -> 09:42 AM) You don't have to bring in Heyward or Stanton. You don't have to trade someone from the major league team. You can, but you don't have to. The Sox right now have plenty of good prospects that, while nice to have, are non-essential. Sure, at least one of Semien/Johnson/Sanchez. One of Danish and Montas. Probably Hawkins, although is power is badly needed in the major league outfield, it's at least 1 1/2 to 2 seasons away. Barnum would be nice to hold onto to see if he can develop, just like Rondon. So if you traded Semien or Sanchez, Danish or Montas (choose the one who becomes either a starter or closer, trade the other), Courtney Hawkins and let's say Trey M., what exactly does that get you? We'd still hold onto Rodon, Adams, Timmy Anderson, two of our middle infield prospects, Danish or Montas, Davidson and Erik Johnson, Beck, etc., but what would you realistically expect to get in return for those guys?

QUOTE (Harry Chappas @ Sep 4, 2014 -> 09:21 AM) People fail to realize Verlander was injured this past offseason and may not have been fully healed or back to 100% the entire season. Everyone in Detroit knows he had the now infamous "core (abdominal) muscle repair" surgery in the offseason. It's just hard to determine if the performance dip is related to that (at all) or 100% about Leyland putting too much wear and tear on his arm from 2006-2012. One can at least imagine he's not getting enough drive and whip from his torso....we all know everything's connected, that a lot of Verlander's fastball comes from leg drive, which is related to your abdominal muscles flexing as well.

QUOTE (staxx @ Sep 4, 2014 -> 09:15 AM) Tomas, Masterson, Martin and RP. playoff team. You've also just spent approximately $200 million. Good luck thinking JR will agree. The ending of the movie Magnolia (except it will rain down more Abreu's and Alexei's) is perhaps more realistic than that.