caulfield12

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Sep 4, 2014 -> 09:31 AM) You are seemingly completely ruling out the possibility of a trade. I don't understand why. If they are going to get an impact player (or two), I envision it coming through trade, and I definitely see that happening. Who they give up is an entirely different question, but there are all kinds of possibilities on that front. This is a weak free agent class. Other than Alexei Ramirez (obviously there are arguments on both sides of this one), who are you willing to part with that has any value to another team? We all know the KW move would have been to fashion some sort of package out of our minor leagues for an established major league player...which worked well in 2004 and but didn't work so much after 2008. What would you be able to get back trading Conor Gillaspie? Probably not as much as we think, right? Viciedo's flaws have been discussed and dissected ad infinitum, so that's not going to accomplish much by trading him, either. Let's face it, unless we trade Tim Anderson, it's doubtful we can arrange a trade that will bring back a young, cost-controlled player in the vein of a Heyward or Stanton, and even that type of move's dubious if we have no way to keep them with the organization long-term.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Sep 4, 2014 -> 07:55 AM) Semi-active. If the don't cost a pick, I can see the Sox being involved. If they do, I do not. I don't think they'll completely abstain from free agency. We can practically guarantee the Micah Johnson isn't ready, that Carlos Sanchez will be adequate but not great at 2B (650-675ish OPS)....the big wild card right now for next year is Marcus Semien IMO. If he can become a legit force, then the line-up starts to take shape, along with the emergence of Avisail Garcia as a legit force in the middle of that line-up. If not, they're in a world of hurt, and you start having conversations about either spending their way out of the mess going into 2016 or trading Abreu/Sale/Quintana and building around Rodon, which I'm sure NOBODY wants to ever see happen. It's unlikely that Wilkins even ends up as even the part-time DH, from everything scouts have said about Wilkins' flaws/defects. Many are also calling for a Gillaspie regression....Alexei can't be any better than this season, anything can happen with Flowers and it's hard for Abreu and Eaton to be much more productive (Adam just has to stay on the field for 145-150 games).

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Sep 4, 2014 -> 07:33 AM) I was thinking of this last night - I'm not sure how much it will matter if the Sox have a protected pick or not. They will likely be semi-active in free agency, but as we saw last year, if there's a marginal talent that will cost the Sox even a 2nd round pick, they are not likely to pursue that option, and there is no one attractive enough in free agency this year for the Sox to concede either a 1st or a 2nd. Victor Martinez is the one that comes immediately to mind, but I think the Sox would be absolutely insane to give up even a 2nd round pick to the Tigers to sign a 36 year old player. If he's not offered a QO - which, why wouldn't he? - then I can see the Sox interested, but even that'd be a really short term deal. Given Hahn's signings in the past, with a tendency towards guys who produce ground balls, I also can't see them being interested in James Shields either. Basically, getting a higher pick isn't a bad thing, but they're already going to end up with a good pick, so the best thing to do is hope the young players hit well and keep developing, win or lose. (not trying to thread-jack or say this thread is stupid, as the work put into it is appreciated) The problem with this line of thinking is that Anderson/Montas/Hawkins/Danish are all probably at least 1.5 seasons away. (Not to mention that Davidson for the moment doesn't look close to being a viable option at 3B, and likewise with Erik Johnson and the starting rotation.) That means they're probably not going to be ready to legitimately compete as part of the team until AT BEST the start of the 2017 campaign, assuming they get their feet wet from July-September, 2016. The White Sox simply can't afford to punt away two more years of Abreu and Sale, because Chris is a sort of ticking time bomb that as soon as it goes, it blows up with it any chance for the White Sox to be competitive. And we also aren't sure exactly how long Abreu can play without experiencing more serious foot/ankle problems as well. In 2008, before Quentin broke his hand...if you would have predicted the rest of his stats with the White Sox and then seen what we got in trade return, you wouldn't have believed it. You can never take ANYTHING for granted, ask the A's and Tigers how well that's going for them. At any rate, if they're left trying to compete with the likes of Rasmus, Markakis and Morse (one of them, guys not receiving QO's), that's just not going to be a big enough improvement offensively to move the meter. It might actually be a downgrade, for all we know. Probably not, but maybe.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Sep 4, 2014 -> 08:17 AM) Agree fully. I don't even think most posters here can identify the Sox beat writers at this point. It's nothing like when Gonzales and Sullivan were covering the team before, and they weren't even THAT great.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Sep 4, 2014 -> 08:27 AM) Also, I've always liked Pablo Sandoval, but there are maybe actually NO examples of guys that fat being good in their 30's. And he's kind of famous for being really difficult to convince to lose weight. I'm not trying to be mean, but with a trend that stark, that's a very high level of risk. These types of deals are so risky anyway that I don't like the idea of taking one that comes with more risk than usual. You guys are right, this FA class sucks. That's why it's Russell Martin or bust to me. Tony Gwynn, although I'm not quite positive he weighed as much as Sandoval. Pretty close though.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Sep 4, 2014 -> 09:08 AM) Your variety is naming cubs prospects in any thread you can. And trying to pose them in an argument against another point. Gillaspie vs Flowers? Schwarber hits a lot, but Almora? Hawk cutting back on road games? Bryant will hit 40 homeruns guaranteed, but what is Baez OPS if Hawk isn't calling the game? Spencer Adams or Chris Bassitt? The answer is Arrietta, or is it? Maybe it is not, maybe it is Hendricks, Alcantara or Vitters I sincerely hope you are entertaining yourself.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Sep 4, 2014 -> 08:18 AM) Gillaspie is weak defensively and he has not hit as well late into the season. Beyond that, it's easy to overlook the production, both offensively (even if below average) and defensively that Tyler Flowers has provided. Frankly, in today's game, if you have a catcher that can play close to 75% of the games behind the plate and remain a non-blackhole at the plate, you have a fairly valuable commodity. That he's also been productive defensively is an added bonus. I think, if Semien shows he's good defensively at 3B, Gillaspie is going to be a guy that sees significant time at DH next season. Not to say he won't play 3B or 1B next year (making the assumption, of course, that he'll be with the team), but if there's a better alternative at 3B, you go that route. I think the odds of winning the AL Central are actually higher with Adam Dunn as DH than Conor Gillaspie in 2015.

http://www.freep.com/article/20140904/COL08/309040066/ Detroit columnist addresses the impact of the photo hack/leak on Justin Verlander and the Tigers' season. Taking some really pointed comments from the fans in the comments section...not one supporter that I can see. Lots of jealousy, though.

At least half of Farmer's and Harrelson's broadcasts are name-dropping the same set of about 50-75 names from the past, at least I sometimes throw a little variety into it to spice it up.

Schwarber really had a great offensive season, he averaged more than one homer in less than every ten AB's, with three stops along the way. http://www.milb.com/player/index.jsp?sid=m...tching/2014/ALL Tyler Kolek didn't do anything particularly impressive, giving up quite a few hits and walks, as expected. And didn't even average a 9 K/IP ratio in just 22 innings (18, with 13 BB's). http://www.milb.com/player/index.jsp?sid=m...itting/2014/ALL Nick Gordon, Twins, failed to put up a 700+ OPS in the Appy League. http://www.milb.com/player/index.jsp?sid=m...tching/2014/ALL Aaron Nola put up a very solid half season after being drafted by the Phils I haven't been following all the other players, but I read where the Royals were considering promoting Brandon Finnegan (LHP, TCU) to the majors this September. http://www.milb.com/player/index.jsp?sid=m...tching/2014/ALL Kyle Freeland/Evansville also got off to a very nice start with the Rockies. http://www.milb.com/player/index.jsp?sid=m...itting/2014/ALL Finally, Alex Jackson held his own in AZL play, but didn't dominate offensively like some expected/predicted.

Dunn 106 homers in 1841 career White Sox at-bats= 1 in 17.38 Viciedo 63 homers in 1608 career at-bats= 1 in 25.52 Extrapolated over a full season of 600 AB's, Dunn would hit (on average) 34.5 homers, Viciedo 23.5. Now if you want to argue about Dunn making $6.25 million next year and Viciedo earning $4.75 million...then it's an interesting argument.

QUOTE (Vance Law @ Sep 4, 2014 -> 12:48 AM) The top 5 home run hitters since 2012 Chris Davis 110 Miguel Cabrera 107 Edwin Encarnacion 106 Adam Dunn 97 Giancarlo Stanton 96 If you can be one of Earth's best home run hitters and have an above average on-base percentage, you are a valuable baseball hitter. To think otherwise is weird. What is his OPS over that time frame, compared to the field of all major leaguers? And if you include 2011 as well? You could probably take Dayan Viciedo's 58 homers over almost 3 years and that, alone, would look good...unless you start taking into consideration his defense and low walk rate, then it doesn't look quite so good. What about salary dollars PER home run? That changes the equation dramatically as well.

But Danks believes they have a strong foundation -- Chris Sale, Jose Quintana, Abreu, Eaton, Garcia, Carlos Sanchez, Marcus Semien, Dayan Viciedo, Carlos Rodon and several young arms in the bullpen -- to build on and aren’t far away from being a competitive team for a long time. csnchicago.com/Dan Hayes

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Sep 3, 2014 -> 09:55 PM) That's fine but you're literally name-dropping Cubs prospects for no reason. Fine, then there are still arguments to be made that Russell OR Schwarber (especially the former) might end up being better players than Baez or Soler. It's hard to argue against Bryant RIGHT NOW, but it's not simply three players in the discussion, it's at least 4 and possibly 5 (although Schwarber probably can't be in that conversation unless he can catch, as opposed to playing 1B/LF/RF).

http://nesn.com/2014/09/white-sox-announce...run-call-video/ Is this Stone? I can't get it to download.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Sep 3, 2014 -> 09:52 PM) Your obsession with Cubs' prospects is unparalleled. I like to study all of the teams' systems, but the Cubs or Astros are more entertaining for differing reasons.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Sep 3, 2014 -> 09:47 PM) Tallest midget contest, my friend. Tallest midget contest. They've definitely won the "media war" the last 6 weeks. Whatever that's worth. Not that it's a surprise at all...with the writers having had to wait 2-3 years to finally see these guys. Meanwhile, the White Sox (wisely) decided not to bring up Rodon, just as the Cubs have apparently decided with Bryant, who also has Boras as his agent. Honestly, I'd say the Bears, D-Rose and Baez/Soler have won the media war, moreso than the Cubs as a team.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Sep 3, 2014 -> 09:43 PM) Ugh. Have the Cubs passed the Sox as best team in the city? Yikes. Certainly the most entertaining/exciting right now. You've got Hendricks and Wada, Arrieta showing ace stuff, Rondon, then the three new dynamic players in Alcantara, Baez and Soler. On the other hand, Rizzo and Castro are out, but they've been playing much better baseball overall the last 2-3 weeks. We've basically got Sale/Abreu, Eaton and Avisail...and those who get excited about Semien/Sanchez at-bats. And watching Alexei play defense.

Then you've still got Russell, Almora, Schwarber, McKinney and Vogelbach.

QUOTE (GreenSox @ Sep 3, 2014 -> 09:28 PM) I thought they were going to a 6 man rotation for the last month. I'm not sure the point of wheeling Danks out there anymore. They really needed to dump him in July. Now, just let him rest. Cue discussion regarding the merits of stretching out the shoulder capsule and building up strength/stamina versus the seeming diminishing returns of running him out there every fifth day the last 5-6 weeks.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Sep 3, 2014 -> 08:43 PM) HE SUCKS! WHY DIDN'T WE TRADE HIM? They could have just DFA'ed him or done one of those "for a player or compensation to be named later" to a contending or even semi-contending team...just to get them off the roster and open up tryouts for 2015.

Wouldn't be surprising at all if we finish in the bottom 3-4 in Runs Scored/Runs Allowed by the end of this season. Right now at -81. Houston, Texas, Arizona and Colorado are the only teams worse at the moment...we've passed Boston in this dubious stat.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/stats/pitching/_/co...rue/order/false Danks currently at 93rd out of 96 qualified in ERA. Only ahead of Buchholz, Colby Lewis, and....you guessed it, Edwin Jackson.

QUOTE (fathom @ Sep 3, 2014 -> 08:17 PM) Not really sure why Lindstrom's getting innings right now. Still shocked they didn't unload him for a bag of baseballs on 8/31. Danks ERA up to 5.12. It would be great if they can unload him this offseason and pay maybe half his remaining salary. Not dumping Belisario or Lindstrom makes no sense at all. Guerra should always be pitching in the 8th to show he if he can still get it done (or not). Also, Gillaspie has REALLY been fading down the stretch.

Soler with five doubles already (Baez with five as well in an 3+ weeks of AB's) and Hendricks cruising. Brewers are in real danger of missing out on the playoffs.