macsandz

QUOTE (spiderman @ Dec 6, 2011 -> 09:57 AM) If the White Sox resign Buerhle, wouldn't the Sox trade Danks to avoid A) having 3 left handers in their rotation and B) to avoid losing him in free agency without getting a few good prospects back this off-season? If we are to believe all the speculation, it seems unlikely that Buehrle will be back, and Danks/Floyd (maybe both) are to be moved this off-season. The Sox are not going to resign Buehrle. Why is there so much speculation that they will?! Let it go, people.

QUOTE (pittshoganerkoff @ Dec 6, 2011 -> 07:38 AM) What are the chances a trade happens today? I hope things start rolling so we'll have an idea of what kind of team we'll be watching next season. As I've suggested a couple times recently, I think the meetings will conclude with not much if any Sox moves occurring. All this talk of shopping players and overhauling the roster is just that...talk. A lot has to come together for significant deals to happen with this roster. The climate is pretty strange out there right now and Kenny is in his own world when he has assets to dangle.

QUOTE (CyAcosta41 @ Dec 5, 2011 -> 01:24 PM) Great. It's a free country. Then, no deal Yank-mes! If the Yanks are "unwilling" to trade talent for talent, then plug Banuelos or some of the usual retreads into the rotation THIS season. Go explain that to your fans, Cashman. The Sox should (FINALLY) be unwilling to trade valuable chips for other team's junk. It's only when you walk from the junk that other GMs will start understanding they need to offer actual value to get a deal done. I REALLY hope that this is the year KW finally understands that when you have some leverage you actually use it. The free agent SP market is so thin that someone will step-up for quality, affordable, young pitchers like Danks and/or Floyd. This entire process should be about finding that someone. I haven't been in the war-room, but far too often it sure seems that KW has telegraphed his punches and has jumped at first offers because he just had to get something done (e.g., BOTH Swisher trades -- in-coming and out-going). Kenny! You're holding some cards with Danks, Floyd, Quentin, and Thornton. Play your cards! Don't get played. Danks is not as movable as many think. No team us give up a top prospect for one season of control.

This Winter Meetings thread has become the MB56 thread...

QUOTE (hi8is @ Dec 4, 2011 -> 01:27 AM) What's the background on Perez - research showed little other than Keith Law's #7 MLB prospect pick. No chance Q pulls anybody even close to Dom Brown. Danks neither.

Just because the Sox are willing to deal doesn't mean it's gonna happen. Fans are acting like some huge makeover will occur next week. It takes a lot of moving parts to come together for multiple deals to happen.

Until Beckham can make the necessary adjustments to counter the league's adjustment to him he's gonna struggle. It's that simple. That's what separates production from persistent failure.

QUOTE (gatnom @ Dec 1, 2011 -> 12:21 PM) Regardless of how well he has performed at his job, it's just a sign that they are planning on increasing their efforts to bring in Latin talent, or at the very least they understand that it is a problem. So, I think we should have been excited about this regardless of how slow our offseason has been. It's a nice sign, but quality international player acquisition has still been limited by the new CBA as compared to what it used to be.

QUOTE (VictoryMC98 @ Nov 30, 2011 -> 03:03 PM) Maybe I am missing over the last 3-4 years some good to star quality Jays latin player that came out of their system.. They're coming. The Jays have the deepest system in baseball right now. No joke.

Salary dump for decent prospect unless part of a package.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Nov 26, 2011 -> 06:48 AM) Is there something I'm missing with Alonso that make people think he is a super stud of a player? I've honestly never been a huge fan of his and much of that has to do with his career .837 OPS in the minors. I get that, sometimes, power takes a little bit of time to develop, but that is still not hugely impressive for a guy who people hold in such high regard. Sure, he killed the ball in the majors last year, but he had fewer plate appearances than Viciedo did. He has a lot working for him - good walk and contact rates, decent power - but I'm just not seeing this superstar that everyone else is. I'd compare him to Billy Butler, but Butler did a hell of a lot more with the same things working for him in the minors. He seems like a 1-4 WAR player (depending a lot on his defensive value), which obviously has its value when it's cost controlled, but I'm not sure it's something we should be gushing about. There's surely value there but not unless the Sox are willing to make some incredibly bold steps in the direction of rebuilding. Pure hitter. Not many around. This organization needs one. Bad.

QUOTE (JoeCoolMan24 @ Nov 26, 2011 -> 02:48 PM) Danks, Thornton, Escobar, +cash to AZ for Tyler Skaggs, Jarrod Parker, and Gerardo Parra. Do it Kenny. AZ wouldn't trade Skaggs for anybody on the Sox roster.

The Cubs have nothing to do with any of this.

If you have the opportunity to land Alonzo you do it. The guy would instantly become the best hitter in the entire organization, outside of Konerko.

Reds are looking to deal Alonzo:... Reds get: Danks Thornton Sox get: Alonzo Daniel Renken (SP) -- Reds Shopping Yonder Alonso For Pitching By Mark Polishuk [November 24 at 11:31pm CST] The Reds are offering Yonder Alonso as trade bait in their search for a closer or a No. 2 starter, reports Yahoo Sports' Tim Brown. Reds GM Walt Jocketty has spoken to several teams --- including the A's, Blue Jays, Indians and Rays --- about Alonso, though we heard earlier this week that the Reds thought Alonso was too much to give up for Oakland closer Andrew Bailey. Alonso is regarded as Cincinnati's top hitting prospect, if one without a Major League position since Joey Votto is cemented at first base. The 24-year-old has an OPS of .837 in four minor league seasons and hit .330/.398/.545 in 98 plate appearances with the Reds last year. If the Reds were willing to move him, you would think Alonso would be too much to deal for any closer, not just Bailey. Jocketty has said his club's top priority is finding a starting pitcher this offseason, so while the Jays and Indians have some good young arms, they wouldn't be willing to deal a top-of-the-rotation caliber of starter for which the Reds are looking. The Jays and Tribe also have other options at first base, though Adam Lind, Edwin Encarnacion and Matt LaPorta wouldn't be major obstacles if Toronto or Cleveland had a legitimate shot at Alonso. The A's and Reds might not be a match on Bailey, but Jocketty might deem possibly-available pitchers like Gio Gonzalez or Trevor Cahill worthy of moving Alonso. The most logical match would appear to be Tampa Bay, who has a big hole at first base, lots of pitching and a need for a controllable young talent like Alonso. The Rays could offer Wade Davis or Jeff Niemann, though the Reds are more likely looking for a pitcher like James Shields. (Obviously David Price and Jeremy Hellickson are staying put.)

I will say that Alonzo can barrel it up. He's a guy that will just hit wherever he plays. And Reed is the future closer for this team. Not Santos, IMO.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Nov 19, 2011 -> 12:35 PM) I think the Sox can afford Buehrle, but the problem is, if the Sox are looking at committing to a 2+ year rebuilding process, then spending $45 million on Mark! for the next 3 years is just not a good investment. Plus, there's a real good chance dnaks is gone. He may put up numbers similar to Mark!, but he's going to get a contract twice as big. Both are gone, IMO.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Nov 15, 2011 -> 02:14 PM) http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/white-sox/..._medium=twitter Kuhn's job to lose.

QUOTE (gatnom @ Nov 11, 2011 -> 12:26 PM) We don't actually have to become the Kansas City Royals to have some decent prospects in our system outside of a reliever and a couple guys with strikeout issues. If we smartly trade off a couple of our more expensive players and then stop pretending that farm systems are worthless, we'd be just fine. And, there is certainly something more substantive in having a good farm than just being at the top of a prospect list. You know, the actual prospects within our system. Thank you. The problem with the system isn't just lack of any quality depth, it's the approach to the farm system. They refuse to invest in it at a level even close to the rest of baseball so the only way to restock it is to deal for prospects. If they are cutting back on payroll you must build from within to sustain any kind of success. That is the importance of the system. As you can see, the franchise is a f*cking mess because of all this.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Nov 10, 2011 -> 06:41 PM) Mediocrity>complete s*** For f*cks sake, this team has got to do something to build up this atrocious farm system. Aside from Addison Reed they literally have nothing coming. They won't invest in the DR, won't pay above slot in the Rule 4 so if you have to open the store and deal the SP chips they have. DO IT!

QUOTE (joeynach @ Nov 6, 2011 -> 01:21 PM) I know for a fact Gordon Beckham is and thats been part of his demise since the 09 season. If you look at Fangraphs for Beckham and look at this plate discipline category you can see evidence of this White Sox (or Beckham's) hitting philosophy. Beckham had an O-swing % of 24.7 in 2009, that stat measures the percentage at which he swings at a pitch outside of the strike zone. That number climbed to 32.1% in 2010, and an awful 36.9% in 2011. This can also be seen just watching him play as most of us have seen him swing at pitches outside of the zone a lot more frequent, and his BA and BABIP has suffered b/c of this. Our hitting coach needs to approach Beckham with selective aggression and plate discipline, not be ready to hit in all situations philosophy, that will just re-enforce bad habits. If Manto cant use simple stats such as O-swing to help Beckham make an adjustment then hes garbage and I stand by the title of the thread I started. Heard Manto on the radio regarding Gordon as saying he's "not a mechanical hitter. I'm gonna tell him to let it fly..." The single worst approach Beckham can take is to become MORE aggressive: -- FANGRAPHS Since his breakout 2009, virtually nothing has gone right for Beckham. Pretty much all of his rate stats have gone in the wrong direction since his rookie year. His walk rate has dropped, his strikeout rate has risen and his slash line has dropped every season. For a guy who was supposed to be prepared for the big leagues, Beckham has really regressed. In some of his scouting reports, Beckham was recognized for having above average pitch recognition. Oddly enough, he still seems to have retained that skill despite his decline. Looking at his pitch type values, Beckham struggled against the curve ball last season, but was able to hold his own against other pitches. He was particularly strong against fastballs and sliders. Beckham was even able to improve against change-ups, signaling the first time in his career that he posted a positive pitch type value against the pitch. Beckham may be able to recognize pitches, but he’s making poor decisions at the plate. With each passing season, Beckham has been more aggressive. This isn’t only reflected in his poor 6.3% walk rate either. Beckham’s O-Swing% has increased each season, meaning he’s chasing more pitches out of the zone. Opposing pitchers took notice, throwing Beckham fewer pitches in the zone last season. While he’s also swinging at more pitches in the zone, he’s struggling to make contact with those pitches. One of the other majors reasons for Beckham’s struggles last season was his extremely high infield fly ball rate. Beckham’s rate soared to 21% last season. A player that hits such a high number of infield flies isn’t making great contact, and won’t post strong averages. If Beckham can’t correct this problem, he’s going to have a hard time posting batting averages in the .270s.

QUOTE (Harry Chappas @ Nov 4, 2011 -> 01:01 PM) The White Sox are not a good situational hitting team and they have a low BABIP because they swing at any pitch that is close to being a strike and then get themselves out. This is the mantra that I heard from Jeff Manto this morning. This appears to be their philosophy and the Twins pitch to this and admit that they simply let he White Sox get themselves out. What is changing? Am I to now believe they will change this theory based on the pitcher? I am not getting a good feeling about this the more I hear. The approach is simple: Be ready to hit. This doesn't mean you don't take a pitch. That is any good hitter's approach - The good one's can track a pitch and adjust, the bad one's can't. It's having a plan based on situation.

The Sox system is abysmal because they don't draft quality (as they refuse to pay above slot) and their international reputation is a disgrace thanks to years of corruption. It's their own fault and it will continue to be a detriment until there is a massive shift in approach going forward.

I have no problem with Manto's quotes. This is all basic Bill James. The idea is to not make an out but empty walks are often useless. There are advanced stats to measure hitter productivity and the Sox have been HORRIBLE in their approach for years.

QUOTE (mcgrad70 @ Oct 31, 2011 -> 11:35 PM) Just more of this trying to catch lightening in a bottle crap. Why can't this organization just go out and get legitimate major league quality ballplayers? What is the problem? So, you're b****ing about a move that hasn't actually occurred?