Jerksticks

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Sep 7, 2013 -> 05:23 PM) Miami is a pretty new franchise in a city that has no fans at all. No one cares about anything down there, which is what makes Cleveland so bad. They have had baseball for a century, and are all Indians fans, and they still can't get anyone to go. I remember when they had that consecutive sellout streak going at the jake. What happened to end that?

I'd bet Alexei is as good as gone.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Sep 5, 2013 -> 12:35 PM) To keep this up though he's going to have to develop that power more. A ton of bloops to right is great but to keep people honest he has to start pulling that inside pitch harder when guys give it to him. I see some Joe Mauer in his approach to the outer half of the strike zone. This bodes well for his future in 2 strike counts, but you're right, it would be nice to see him punish some guys inside earlier in his ABs. He's shown he can recognize and punish hangers which is good too.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Aug 30, 2013 -> 05:21 PM) The problem with this pitching staff is we're going to have to "sell low" on someone. I put that in quotes in order to include one other option in the same phrase; sticking at guy at AAA/in the bullpen who could be in the rotation. You're 100% right that having 6 starters would be a great thing particularly to have backup for those guys, but the counterpoint is...keeping one of the 6 as a backup reduces the value the team could be getting out of him for next year. It might well be the right move to do if the right deal becomes available at other positions, but "wasting a year of Rienzo/Johnson in the bullpen" is selling low/not getting full value out of a guy in exactly the same way as "not getting quite a good enough deal for Santiago" is selling low/not getting full value out of a guy. Interesting. I suppose one could argue that Rienzo (with his nice transition thus far) and Johnson (with his 1.00 WHIP and other telling stats) have zero left to prove at AAA. If I understand you correctly then it is impossible to get maximum value out of Sale, Danks, Q, Santiago, Rienzo and Johnson next year. The only way to get the 6th man to contribute is to turn him into a position player via trade. Let's assume we aren't trading Sale. Nobody is giving a MLB-ready player for Danks or Rienzo. But GMs will pay dearly for a Q or Santiago as we've all been advocating for a while. Johnson is a wildcard. I wonder what the FO thinks of him. What is his value in a trade this offseason?

What if Castro and Rizzo really are duds? None of Baez, Soler, Almora and Bryant will crack the bigs next year either. This could get depressing fast for cubs fans.

I love how he swung at the first pitch against Crow. He's gotta know that Crow can throw gas. Recognizes hanging off speed pitch almost instantly. To me that seems like a really good sign.

I love that we get to sell Santiago or Q for a good young player. Almost feels free since their greatness just fell into our lap. It's like stealing. Can anybody compile a list of 20-24 yr old 3B breakout types?

Wow. It's cool trying to picture how fast all that happened so that no time was called.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Aug 20, 2013 -> 03:20 PM) BECAUSE ONLY 8 PEOPLE IN THE HISTORY OF THE GAME HAVE HIT THAT MANY HOMERUNS WHY IS THAT SO HARD FOR YOU TO UNDERSTAND?!?!?! Dude. Greg's point is that it's unprecedented how a guy who might reach 600 home runs can't even be given away. 15 million dollars for 40 hrs and 100 RBIs. Bad ass "production" as many claim yet 29 other teams say hell no. How is that not unprecedented? Examples please. All bashing aside.

QUOTE (winninguglyin83 @ Aug 20, 2013 -> 04:19 AM) Order some coffee in Kanny because according to Twitter, there's a Danish on the way. Love it

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Aug 19, 2013 -> 10:34 PM) Most likely because thats truly the only time you can try it. Last year using his old approach the Sox were in a pennant race. His old way he got 41 HR's and 96 RBI you can't change in the middle of that. What if he sucked at it ? The precise time to try it is when you have nothing to lose. Interesting point: The FO asked Dunn to change his approach going into this year despite his "productive" 2012. Even in his comeback year management insisted he change his approach. So many of you cling to his 41 HR 100 RBI as production, like he wasn't a problem last year. Management disagrees with you...why is that? I think I know. 110 hits. That's right. 110 hits all year out of the 3-hole. That's a minimum of 52 games without a hit. Lucky for everybody I did the math. He actually went hitless in 69 games last year. 69 if I added right. He started 145 games in the #3 spot and got a hit in barely half of them. Phantom production at its finest IMO. Sure you can't discount the 41 HRs just like you can't discount the 430 PA that ended in s***.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Aug 19, 2013 -> 08:58 PM) I know I despise Dunn the player (not the person) and may not be capable of being objective, but reading Dunn's new take on hitting also made me mad. I mean these arguments for hitting the ball to the left side are pretty f***ing obvious. It doesn't take a rocket scientist or Bill James to realize you uh, might hit the ball to the third baseman, since there IS NO THIRD BASEMAN. Dunn said: ""Sometimes I'll get up there with a runner on second and I look and there's a huge hole almost at shortstop and you're basically giving yourself up, but you're really not. If you hit the ball over there, it's a run. I'll literally get jammed as bad as I can get jammed and it's a slow roller out there that barely reaches the outfield grass and yet it gets the job done." My comment: Well no kidding, Adam. How old are you and you are just now realizing this is a possible line of attack?? I'd really get mad when he would hit into the shift in a tie game or close game with runners on base. It's like THERE IS NO THIRD BASEMAN, just dribble one that way. I just wish he'd go away so I don't have to think about him any more (and yes I realize he's had some big hits in a Sox uniform as well). This is beautiful. Good post man. It's like if you can't hit situationally then you shouldn't be hitting in an RBI spot in the order. If you can't change your approach then you aren't a top hitter. And if you aren't a top hitter, then wtf are you doing batting third?

QUOTE (elrockinMT @ Aug 19, 2013 -> 01:31 PM) Calm down my friend. Dunn was being honest and criticizing himself. He isn't blaming anyone else. I like the way he has stepped up Stepping up is getting RBIs no matter what. 14 million worth every year. Admitting it was "your bad" 2 years later after a whole coaching staff was fired and the team was forced into hybrid rebuilding because of your stubborn ways makes me want to puke. Now all of a sudden he's going to listen to coaches? When it doesn't matter? When the talented all-in team is gone? GMAB.

What an asshole. That's all that article says. "My stupid stubborn ways". What a boner. Get the hell off our team.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Aug 18, 2013 -> 07:28 PM) If Phegley has that low of a ceiling then I still don't know how he was able to destroy charlotte and I don't know why everyone was so desperate to call him up as the next hero. But yeah, Abreu is just too good of a fit for this roster. Most teams have some pretty crappy regulars. It's just the reality of the post-steroid era. Abreu makes so much sense. And then I say we need 1 more high-impact bat. Then we can afford to let some young guys develop: Beckham, Garcia, Tank, Phegs. If any of those guys figure out their potential we become an instant, young powerhouse. We can become the envy of MLB in one offseason, potentially.

Logan Morrison is one of the most average replaceable players in baseball.

QUOTE (fathom @ Aug 18, 2013 -> 03:05 PM) Hopefully we get to see Petricka today Yea! Perfect time eh?

QUOTE (GreenSox @ Aug 17, 2013 -> 10:31 PM) There are more right-handed hitters and more of the best hitters are right handed. No harm in shopping him. His only problem this year has been giving up homers. A bigger home park might minimize that. The Sox have other needs. I agree. It's not that any of us care about the handedness, the debate is about what the FO thinks. Maybe the Giants want another lefty signed for a while?

QUOTE (SoxAce @ Aug 17, 2013 -> 08:54 PM) How does the return for Santos (who actually was a closer for us) look? You gotta take every trade with hindsight. Not every closer is going to be Rivera, 02-04 Gagne, etc. How do we know if Webb is going to do what Reed has done? Hell, Reed was the more promising prospect in the minors and put up better stats. As much as I like Webb (who I believe can turn into a tick below rookie version of Bobby Jenks) he's a complete wildcard. Kid was a bit of a headcase mentally at times as a young starter. Glad he's found his niche and is succeeding though. I agree. I wasn't trying to make it seem like Webb is the answer; far from it. He might not ever sniff the success that reed has had. My point was that I'm not sold on Reed having the complete package to shut teams down in pressure/playoff situations. Time will tell but I guess I'd rather let another team overpay for him now while the jury is still out on him. If he loses any more velocity he's toast. Sell high now in a package for another MLB-ready position prospect like Garcia. Another Garcia or two and we are young and set everywhere. I'm all for using Reed.

QUOTE (SoxAce @ Aug 17, 2013 -> 05:43 PM) I'm probably Webb's biggest fan (liked him since his draft year and was my sleeper pick for two years) but I find it funny people are adamant on trading Reed who is only six months older than Webb, has major league experience and is cost controlled. Reed's been a closer for years. No doubt in my mind he's good enough and has the mindset (who knows with Webb). Why is it funny? I think some of us just feel uncomfortable when Reed is out there. He's good most of the time but he's rarely 1-2-3 nails in the coffin. You gotta be able to appreciate that point of view.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Aug 17, 2013 -> 05:11 PM) I'm not sold on Reed as a closer for a contending team. I think his stuff is best suited for set-up. Hard for me to disagree with you. Excited to see what Webb brings. Lets hope Addison doesn't get totally exposed the rest of the year so we can trade him for other young talent.

QUOTE (knightni @ Aug 17, 2013 -> 11:43 AM) Danks will be shopped, I'm sure. There's no way that they keep 4 of 5 starters as lefties next year. Especially if they want to try Johnson in the rotation. I agree with the lefties idea but do you really think the Sox will go into the season with Rienzo and Johnson both in the rotation?

Dunn apology makes me want to barf. It's seriously like a disease that takes hold of a man's mind and forces him to forego rationality because a ball goes far once in a while.

QUOTE (ChiSoxJon @ Aug 16, 2013 -> 05:11 PM) Rotation: 1. Sale 2. Quintana 3. Santiago 4. Danks 5. Rienzo Call-ups: 1. Johnson 2. Leesman Bulpen: 1. Axelrod 2. Webb 3. Petricka 4. Castro 5. Jones 6. Reed 7. Rodriguez Depth: C: Phegley, Flowers 1B: Dunn 2B: Beckham, Garcia SS: Ramirez, Semien 3B: Gillaspie, Keppinger LF: Viciedo, Tekotte CF: De Aza RF: Garcia DH: Konerko This looks like what we currently have.

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Aug 13, 2013 -> 09:41 PM) Looks like my theory about Dunn being a better hitter when playing 1st base is correct. .190/.288/.415./703 as DH. .258./374/.511/.885 playing 1st this year. So if the Sox get Abreu to play 1st they either should get rid of Dunn or tell him his future is at DH weather with them or someone else and hope he can wrap his head around that and play him at DH the rest of the year. Or play him at 1st a bunch see if he can maintain his good hitting and try really hard to rid themselves of him in the off season. I think you gotta do everything in your power to get rid of Dunn. Just do it for the fans. Wipe the slate clean. 30-40 productive swings per year...poor guy.