caulfield12

Being inside the protected picks isn't going to matter that much, because we're not going after Lester, Scherzer or Shields. Same thing with Sandoval and Hanley Ramirez. Who else would we be interested in that's going to get a QO? Russell Martin, I guess. But 15 teams will be after a catcher. Yasmani Thomas and Rusney Castillo wouldn't be affected by being in the protected 10 picks. Same with the Japanese starting pitcher (although I think after what happened with Tanaka they would steer clear). Nelson Cruz should be on our target list...but for nothing more than a 2 year contract with an option for a third year. Victor Martinez...maybe? But probably going back to the Tigers in all likelihood. Seems we'll be picking through the bargain/flawed/damaged goods bin, looking at guys like Masterson, Colby Rasmus, Michael Morse, etc.

I think I actually like the second one in the Hobbit series more than the first, but you always knew it was going to pale in comparison to the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Can't say it was the wrong step not to have the Hobbit first, because the interest might have waned before they ever got to LOTR. Sort of like what happened with the C.S. Lewis series following The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.

QUOTE (oldsox @ Jul 30, 2014 -> 06:17 AM) Hawk used to say, "I love to watch Ray run." I love to watch Eaton run. First to home, who is faster? Eaton by a hair I think. I'd give the advantage to Durham on triples by a half-step, on the other hand.

QUOTE (Feeky Magee @ Jul 30, 2014 -> 03:01 AM) This is great info for a stats/farm nerd. Keep posting man! Sounds like Pitching 101 from the Minnesota Twins from 2001-2010 (Rick Anderson)...first pitch strikes can make up for a lot of deficiencies, although having Radke, Santana and Liriano helped a lot, too.

1) Relievers are fungible Who were the five best non-closer relievers in baseball last season? About about in 2012? And in 2011? The list in 2013, judged by ERA+ is Neil Cotts, Luis Avilan, Alex Torres, Craig Breslow and Tanner Scheppers. In 2012, it was Scott Atchison, Eric O'Flaherty, Darren Oliver, Robbie Ross and Jake McGee. In 2011, it was David Robertson, O'Flaherty, Scott Downs, Mike Adams and Greg Holland. One name duplicated on the lists, which looked at relievers who did not have a start, threw at least 50 innings with an ERA+ of 150 or better and less than 10 saves. In 2014, none of the players from 2012 fit that criteria, much less make the top five. That's despite lowering the inning cap to 30 for the current season, too. The point is that relievers are fungible. They rarely sustain success from year to year. Remember when Mike Adams was a setup man extraordinaire? Outside of San Diego, he's proven just as unreliable as any other non-closer. Closers, too, will often be unreliable, which is why so many teams look to bolster their bullpen as they try to contend. Who would have thought two years ago that Koji Uehara would become unhittable or that Zach Britton would turn into a great closer for the Orioles? But, that success rarely lasts. With someone like Houston's Tony Sipp, what are the chances that he's able to remain this good for multiple seasons? What are the chances he pitches like he did in 2013 with Arizona or his 2010 or 2012 seasons in Cleveland? If teams are lucky, they nab one reliable closer for a two-year stretch. That's what Houston did with Chad Qualls and why they're likely to keep him around next year, too. But, counting on multiple guys performing that well? It's asking for trouble. Houston's not going to just give Sipp away. After all, he's cheap and under team control past this season. But, if a contender needs a lefty and is willing to give up talent for him? They make that move 10 times out of 10. www.crawfishboxes.com You likely won’t find a reliever cracking the top 10, but closers David Robertson, Francisco Rodriguez, Casey Janssen and Rafael Soriano have been excellent, while Luke Gregerson and Andrew Miller have been lights out in a setup capacity. www.mlbtraderumors.com (Tim Dierkes power ratings for FA's)

QUOTE (GreenSox @ Jul 29, 2014 -> 11:27 PM) With Sale, Quintana, and presumably Rodon, Sox don't need to invest resources an another Ace level starter. What the Sox need is pitching depth. The gains from that aren't as great as the gains we would get from a couple of 3/4s, a LF who can hit. Or a 2b. Tyler Flowers and AJ Pierzynski are 24th and 25th (next to last and last) in OPS for catchers with 225 or more PA's.

QUOTE (GreenSox @ Jul 29, 2014 -> 11:27 PM) With Sale, Quintana, and presumably Rodon, Sox don't need to invest resources an another Ace level starter. What the Sox need is pitching depth. The gains from that aren't as great as the gains we would get from a couple of 3/4s, a LF who can hit. Or a 2b. Tyler Flowers and AJ Pierzynski are 24th and 25th (next to last and last) in OPS for catchers with 225 or more PA's.

I think it's worth remembering that Torre was fired by three organizations, the Mets, Braves and Cardinals. It took all those negative experiences for him to finally put it together with the Yankees. Yes, Ventura has a very calm and poised demeanor. He doesn't get too high or too low. He's not a rah rah type or a tactician. I still can't imagine him (RV) dealing with the press as well as Torre does in markets like NY, Philly, Boston, etc. You also have to remember that Torre had some great coaching staffs with guys like Stottlemyre and Zimmer to lend a helping hand. With the White Sox, other than Cooper and maybe Steverson, it's hard to say that we've consistently that one of the best support staffs because until recently we've usually been limited to former White Sox players except for hitting coaches. Ventura's definitely not one of the top 10-15 in terms of strategy/tacticianship...that's obvious. And I'm not sure what managers could have led the 2012 White Sox past the Tigers...or held onto the lead. We'll never know. That said, he's done as well as possible or better than expected with the 2012 and 2014 White Sox, and much worse than expected last year....a team that arguably had a lot more talent and more veterans but simply gave up and mailed it in. He's kept this year's team together (I think having a younger, hungrier team helps) until this point. There's not much any manager could do with only three decent starters, a mess of a bullpen....and outside of Eaton, Ramirez, Gillaspie and Abreu, there have been a lot of offensive disappointments (DeAza, Beckham, Viciedo, Flowers). Dunn has been about where we expected. In short, two superstars have really kept this team within hailing distance of .500 for most of the season. So once again it's hard to say Ventura has been great when there are 2 guys in Sale and Abreu capable of finishing in the Top 3 of the MVP and Cy Young races.

QUOTE (SoxPride18 @ Jul 29, 2014 -> 09:40 PM) Giants make too much sense for Beckham They're looking at Aaron Hill or Chase Utley, if they can pry him away from the Phillies. Beckham doesn't make sense in that sentence. Both would be better fits than Beckham in the NL (especially Hill), and would have an easier transition to an NL playoff race/clubhouse.

QUOTE (LDF @ Jul 29, 2014 -> 05:41 AM) I just don't know, are they trying to soft soap HOU miss deeds by reporting that HOU has subtly improve the talent in the minors? I will admit I am confused on the intent of the article. I guess the national baseball media has really been hard on the Astros this year...and the Astros' version of SoxTalk, some of the main writers are wondering why all of a sudden the local media (it would be like if the Trib and Sun-Times suddenly had White Sox players anonymously complaining about Robin Ventura's managerial style or Don Cooper or something that always stays in the clubhouse leaking). Also, this idea that it's so weird or unusual for a minor league prospect to stop by in the morning on his way to another assignment (when he has to go from Lancaster, CA to Corpus Christi and Houston's in the middle anyway)...to work with the major league pitching coach. It's obviously a pretty negative environment in Houston right now....and the team has also gone into another tailspin after getting close to respectability about a month ago. Interestingly, nobody's complaining about possibly trading those three starters. Just that they might not get as much as they want for Kuechel (or Keuchel, however you spell it) and that Cosart has a reputation for being difficult for everyone to deal with (your basic prima dona, pain in the ass), so that might also hurt his value too despite having the best stuff of the three.

There's a reason we're proud of the fact that the White Sox had the most quality starts over a period covering much of the time Cooper has been here. Sure, worst-case scenario it's a 4.50 ERA for the game, but usually not. It's saying more often than not, a team with a good offense/bullpen has a chance to win the majority of his starts. Worth the money we're paying him? Probably not. Can we recover from trading him? Surely, just as easily as the Astros if they trade their top 3 (and Danks is really a 4th starter now, or a 3 on a bottom 1/3rd of the league team).

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Jul 28, 2014 -> 11:10 PM) Damn Goose, that's cold. He probably got confused with Ramon, Jose or Benito or something...wasn't exactly clear who the autograph was for.

QUOTE (flavum @ Jul 28, 2014 -> 08:11 PM) The Kenny in the player portion was Kenny Lofton. Are you sure about that? I know there were a lot of problems around then...with Jimenez and Lofton and Lee, in terms of attitude/chemistry in the clubhouse. Thomas got into a fight with either Lofton or Jimenez on one famous occasion and ended up sitting on him...not sure which player, my memory's a bit hazy now 12 years later.

http://www.astroscounty.com/2014/07/oh-you...-me-or-day.html You have got to be kidding me, Appel's bullpen should be a non-story http://www.crawfishboxes.com/2014/7/21/592...he-aiken-effect Impact of not signing Aiken/Nix/Marshall on the Astros in the future...9 opinions all say it's really not that bad and most are positive about it

http://www.crawfishboxes.com/2014/7/28/594...-reporters-with On whether there's a bias in the media now against the Astros' front office

I think the part that's funny is the role of China/Taiwan in this whole thing. The boys (especially) in this country just go crazy over every pretty girl, whether it's online or JAV, so that this situation went out of control in Taiwan makes perfect sense (even David Beckham was swallowed up by so many fans and female/male admirers he literally had to run away from one public event in Shanghai or Beijing that got totally out of control)...the most followed woman in the whole world for Chinese is Sora/Sola Aoi, a porn star. In the end, I think the reason for her popularity (volleyball player) is her Asian look and height/legginess...because Asian men go crazy for tall/thin/fair or white-skinned (in general).

QUOTE (flavum @ Jul 28, 2014 -> 06:59 PM) Chicken Willie Thompson. That's right. At least he was nice enough to mention Kenny Williams twice, both as a teammate and GM. I miss that 1990 team. So much fun when a team loaded with so many young prospects begins to fulfill its potential. Unfortunately, we had to contend with the A's/Blue Jay's and then later the Indians' onslaught.

Sanchez was one of the prospects falling the most in the recent Top 100 update.

QUOTE (SoxPride18 @ Jul 28, 2014 -> 07:29 PM) Could just be a bad year for Davidson and Johnson, they could always rebound next season. Both are young. And who was it that said Angel Sanchez was the 2nd most exciting pitcher in the system lol? Ever since he said that, Sanchez has been getting lit up. That statement (although it was more in jest as Montas and Anderson had just gone down to injury, Davidon/Johnson/Semien were struggling) and Mitchell Boggs as the closer hasn't worked out very well.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jul 28, 2014 -> 12:39 PM) To me, I'm assuming Matt Kemp's contract is like Vernon Wells' contract when he was traded to LAA. Yes, there is some chance he regains the form he once had, but he's been absolutely terrible defensively to the point where Adam Dunn is a similar fielder in the outfield. There is virtually no chance you even get half value right there. So, are Seager or Pederson going to be worth $70-80 million over the next 6 years? Perhaps, but that's an incredibly risky proposition. I think that's probably what you'd hope their peak value to be in the first 6 years. If they completely bust, then you're left with an albatross of a contract and a busted prospect and lost service time for other prospects too. Best case scenario, you get a decent hitter in Kemp, a really good hitter in Pederson/Seager, and you are still paying $21 mill a year for the combo. Worst case, Kemp continues being a mediocre hitter, the prospect busts, and you're looking at $21 mill per year for 0 production. And people are upset about Dunn because he can't really play the field and he strikes out a lot. That would put Dunn to shame. I think if it were BJ Upton we were talking about instead of Matt Kemp (4 years, $60 million or so left), it'd be worthwhile to have this discussion, but I can't imagine it being anywhere close to worth it with Kemp. I don't think Lester makes a lot of sense, at least at the moment, and given his likely cost, I don't think he'd be worth it either way. Lester's headed for $135-160 million free agency, according to Lou Merloni. Wonders why they (Red Sox) haven't even offered the "hometown discount" $110-125 million deal before he leaves via trade? Greinke at $147 million gives you a good idea that avoiding that Lester deal in his 30's might be a pretty good idea.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jul 28, 2014 -> 11:05 AM) Willie Chill is Willie Harris. Juice Franco a non mention. That guy was awesome as a White Sox. What did he call Willie Thompson the clubhouse manager? He had a nickname too, like "No Neck" Williams.

I thought I distinctly heard him say "Julio" though. Which means either Franco or Cruz, I guess. No Sammy "The Panther" Sosa mention, of course.

Appel got promoted to AA with something like a 9.62 ERA, fwiw.

They would have to eat half that contract. Doesn't make any sense when you can go after Nelson Cruz, Y. Tomas, Melky Cabrera, Rasmus, Markakis...maybe Michael Morse or Victor Martinez.

QUOTE (flavum @ Jul 27, 2014 -> 04:08 PM) Frank cut 50 names: I don’t have all day here, I only have 10 minutes and I might be over. Sorry. I’m an emotional guy because I wear my heart on my sleeve. So I will give my guys a verbal montage. Please bear with me. “One Dog (Lance Johnson), Rock (Raines), Grebeck, R.V. (Ventura), Ozzie, Joey (Cora), Pudge (Fisk), Karko, Psycho Lyons, Bo (Jackson), Ellis (Burks), Black Jack, the Deacon (Warren Newson), Sugar Ray (Durham), Alex (Fernandez), Wilson (Alvarez), (Jason) Bere, Roberto (Hernandez), Thiggy, James Baldwin, Billy Bob (who is that, Billy Joe Robidoux, lol??), Buehrle, Hot Rod (McCray) -- thanks for the program Hot Rod. “D. Bo, Magglio, Carlos, Rowand, Jermaine Dye. He’s here today along with Aaron Rowand. Ivan (Calderon), Phil (Bradley), Paulie, Crede, Uribe, Charles Johnson, Sandy (Alomar), T. (Tony) Phillips, Harold, Melido (Perez), Howry, Foulke, Mike Jackson, Flash (Gordon), Kenny (Williams), Sandy, A.J., Robbie (Alomar), McIlroy (Chuck McElroy), (Matt) Merullo, Spanky (Lavalliere), Julio (Franco), Willie Chill (Thompson), Singleton, Mouton, Davey (Martinez), El Duque, Fordyce, Leifer, G. Bell, C. Everett, Danny Pasqua, D.J., McCaskill, Paul (Donn Pall), (Mike) Huff, (Jose) Valentin, (Jeff or Jim) Abbott, (Mike) Devereaux, Cammy Cam (Mike Cameron), John Kruk, Sirotka, (Joe) Magrane, (Marvin?) Freeman, (Chad) Krueter, (Greg Mr.) Norton, Tartabull, (Darren Lewis) D. Lew, Scott Eyre, Navarro, (Chad) Bradford, (Frank) Castillo, Mark Johnson, Garland, (Sean) Lowe, (Cal) Eldred, Graffanino, Marte, Bartolo, Cotts, (Gary) Glover, Loaiza, Contreras, Freddy (Garcia), Politte. “I know it’s long. Sorry. “Jenks, Lee, B.A. (Brian Anderson), Podsednik, Blanton, Keko, Duke, Gaudin, Harden, Haren, Kotsay, The late Joe Kennedy. He left us too soon and was a special friend of mine. Saarloos, Huston, Zito, Kendall, Melhuse, Swisher, Chavy, Crosby, Ellis, D.J., Scutaro, Milton, Kielty, J. Payton, Doc Halladay, Accardo, A.J., Downsie, Frasor, Rios, Casey, League, McGowan, Marcum, B.J., Towers, A. Hill, Vernon, Johnny Mac, Orlando, Reed, Raja and Big Red. “Yeah it was real. You guys were my family away from home. I miss all of you. I’m glad to have known all of you. I’m sorry I couldn’t name the rest of you guys. I’ll probably get hit in the head right now from the guys in the back. But thank you man.” Sounded like he also said Ron Darling...no Scott Radinsky, Pablo Ozuna, Norberto Paco Martin, Greg Hibbard/Hibbie, Timo Perez, Willie Harris, Kenny Lofton (who he famously got into a fight with in the clubhouse and ended up sitting on him I think), Iguchi, Widger, Gload It was hard to hear....sounded like he said "Billy Ball" Billy Bob?? And D Bo? (that has to be Darryl Boston, oops) Not sure if it was Jeff Abbott or Jim Abbott (one-armed pitcher)....going back to that time, from those players, probably Jim Abbott