Special K

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ May 19, 2015 -> 10:18 AM) No it's not. Sacrifice bunting there is stupid and gives you less of a chance to win. I would have criticized Robin for bunting. I loved his answer in post game. He said they had 3 tries to get a single. I will never understand the infatuation with giving away outs. I will never agree that having a guy on 3rd with one out is "stupid" and gives you a better chance to win than having a guy on second with no outs, especially when you are only playing for 1 run, not several runs. A single does not guarantee the run will score. You want to get a guy on 3rd and then have 2 chances to knock him though a myriad of ways including a sac fly. Plus it brings the infield in and increases your chances for a ground ball to get through. Makes way more sense than just playing for a hit, especially given the batter that was up.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ May 19, 2015 -> 08:50 AM) Removing your starting short stop just to bunt is not basic, it is ridiculous. If Robin wanted a bunt, ask Alexei to bunt. So you don't think he should have bunted?

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ May 19, 2015 -> 08:45 AM) And even with hindsight, Soto struck out anyway so Sanchez had to get a hit, and if he didn't you would have had Beckham, considering he was the only guy left playing SS and no one left on the bench. The White Sox had a walk off win, have won 6 in a row and instead of enjoying it, you reach to try to bash Robin. He did nothing wrong. No manager would have yanked Alexei there. Maybe baseball has changed, but, I think in a 1-1 game in extra innings, where the Sox only run came from stealing home, at least 1 manager in baseball might think it's a good idea to lay a bunt down in the bottom of the 10th with runners on 1st and 2nd and nobody out, when you have a hitter who is 0-3 at the plate, rather than gamble and let Alexi swing away. It was a bad decision. And as for hindsight, the entire landscape of the game changes if it's 2nd and 3rd with one out. Soto may be intentionally walked instead, and he may change his hitting approach at the plate. I promise you 9 out of 10 managers will bunt in that situation. Just don't want to lose that way in the future.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ May 19, 2015 -> 08:38 AM) So it's Robin's fault Alexei swung at the first pitch and popped up. For some reason if he had doubled and won the game you wouldn't have given Robin kudos for that. The Robin bashing has really become laughably ridiculous. No it's Robin's fault for not taking him out and bunting to move the runners over to second and third with one out in an extra inning game. That's about as basic of a managerial decision as it can get. Leaving Lexi in obviously didn't work out too well, unless you thought the infield pop up was a good result.

Very excited about the W for a myriad of reasons. Now above .500, Sale pitched great again, Sanchez looks like he could be a real contributor. That being said, what's getting lost in this is the fact that Robin almost cost us another W and he's really taking no heat for it because of the euphoria of the win. Leaving Ramirez in and letting him swing at the first pitch with runners on 1st and 2nd and nobody out was such an amateur decision. Ramirez was 0-3, and he can't bunt to save his life. Should never have been hitting in that situation, and should definitely not have been swinging at the first pitch. Almost blew a golden opportunity.

QUOTE (Dunt @ Apr 15, 2015 -> 08:29 AM) I definitely know who he is now If he does this all year, it will be the first time I've ever thought paying a ton of money for a closer was worth it. Our bullpen was a disaster all year last year. It's been lockdown with Duke and Roberts at 8 and 9 (in a small sample, albeit). I remember we blew many games in the late innings last year, especially early on. Huge difference when you can hand off a lead to your bullpen and count on them to lock it down. Remedy for a successful season.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 15, 2015 -> 12:16 PM) Chicago White Sox ‏@whitesox 45m45 minutes ago The first 20,000 fans who attend the game will receive a replica Konerko statue, presented by XFINITY. Not saying Paulie doesn't deserve it, but the sox are going to have to enter the triple digits for jerseys soon. They retire numbers like they're giving away candy.

QUOTE (chitownsportsfan @ Dec 3, 2014 -> 11:48 PM) He doesn't like Chicago, it's well known. He specifically had a beef with Q back in the day. I'm sure it's nothing he couldn't be talked into but it doesn't help imo. That said, Sox don't have the pieces to get this done and they aren't close enough to contending to bother anyways. They'd be much better signing Melky (or better, Headley) and then seeing what they can do to improve the pitching without breaking the farm system again. Focusing on just last years stats alone, which may or may not be right but it is the most recent sample, I don't think Headley is that much of an upgrade of Gillaspie. We are going to spend $40M+ for not that much of an upgrade when we have a gaping hole in LF? For a LF, Viciedo's production is abysmal, just absymal. I'd much rather spend that kind of payroll on Melky, who will be a significant upgrade in LF. His OBP is 70 points higher, his avg. is 70 points higher and his slugging is 70 points higher. Gillaspie had a higher batting avg, higher OBP and a higher slg % and made $500,000 last year. Assuming Headley makes $10 M next year, is he really worth 20x more than Gillaspie at this point? Whereas Viciedo is going to make $4.5M? Just doesn't make sense to me, unless I'm missing something (which is always possible).

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Dec 2, 2014 -> 09:50 AM) I always thought he was only a starter, but it looks like they have moved him back and forth. Looks like he might be a starter now 2009: 37 G, 4 GS 2010: 31 G, 14 GS 2011: 2 G, 0 GS 2012: 50 G, 12 GS 2013: 32 G, 31 GS His last 2 full years were pretty impressive. Even if he doesn't end up starting, could be a solid reliever and then when someone under-performs or gets hurt, move to starter. Of course, this all assumes he will be back to form after TJS. 2012 26 ATL NL 10 (W) 1 (L) 1.57 (ERA) 2013 27 ATL NL 15 (W) 12 (L) 3.11 (ERA)

QUOTE (SoxFan562004 @ Dec 2, 2014 -> 09:20 AM) Especially with FAs they'll constantly pop up since they shed a bunch of payroll and are well under where they usually are, I'm sure every agent of every FA is just throwing them in the rumor mill. If Kris Medlen is non-tendered, why (and I don't know the answer to this) is he not being discussed as a possible cheap alternative for another starting RHP? His numbers are pretty respectable, albeit, he's coming off a major surgery. I understand he might not start right away either, but, might be worth taking a flier on IN ADDITION to another pitcher... can never have a too big a stockpile in case somebody doesn't pan out or somebody goes down.

I keep hearing about all this Alexei for Shark talk. No trade for shark will involve Alexei. Sox are in win now mode and Oakland is looking for prospects, not an aging SS. It will clearly be for prospects, and sox may not be that concerned about that because they will be compensated for a draft pick if they don't extend him, which I think they will. This article seems toduggest it could happen soon http://www.southsidesox.com/2014/11/29/730...ja-trade-rumors Apologize if it was linked already.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Nov 21, 2014 -> 09:50 AM) No. No no. No. No No No No. No. No. Im not for Rodon starting out of the 'pen. I was responding to the hypothetical rotation proposed above. I prefer he start on the 5-man rotation. That being said, your response was a little bit of an overreaction. It's not like Sale or even Buehrle for that matter didn't have success starting their careers out of the 'pen.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Nov 21, 2014 -> 09:36 AM) The lineup would look nice, but the pitching staff is still cringe-worthy at the back end and in the bullpen. L Eaton CF S Cabrera LF R Ramirez 3B R Abreu 1B L Gillaspie DH R Garcia RF S Semien 2B R Ramirez SS R Flowers CA L Sale L Quintana R Noesi L Danks R ? At that point, we would have to make a trade or hope to improve internally. You do have to factor Rodon in at some point, and if he starts out of the bullpen, the sox have already upgraded their pen this year with two solid lefties. Then really all you need to do is find starting pitcher to hopefully slot in the 3 role... and have Noesi as your 5 and really hope Danks has a strong year. But still, it's not a stellar rotation.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Nov 21, 2014 -> 12:57 AM) Not at the speculated dollar levels of $80-120 million. If the numbers were in the 50's or 60's, I think they'd definitely have to give it strong consideration. All I have to say is that you are going to have to spend something if you want to get something... Cannot remember the last time (I'm sure somebody else on here can remind me) the Sox landed a top free agent positional player. I'm not going to count the Abreu move as he had not yet played a game, but, even if we do, the results we had would suggest it's not a bad move going for Hanley. Not suggesting throwing hundreds of millions like the Marlins just did, but, going after these B+ free agents like Hanley for somewhere in the range like you mentioned has to occur otherwise we will keep losing with guys like Gillespie, Flowers, Tanks, etc. Gillespie had a fine year last year, and it's okay to have 1 or 2 guys like that on your roster, but, not 4 or 5.

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Nov 20, 2014 -> 10:32 PM) So please give us all your good judgement besidees Melky for DH ? Starting pitching? Relief pitching ? payroll ? International signings ? Compete year ? Give up draft choices ? Trade minor leaguers ? It's quite disheartening seeing every suggestion shot down "I wouldn't give so and so more than X dollars for X years blah blah blah yadda yadda yadda . Seems to me nothing would get resolved among our fine posters except say no to all FA 's because of PEDS , their daddy is a problem, too old , coming off a bad year , bad idea, coming off a good year , bad idea. You all have paralysis by analysis. Sorry Andy didn't aim this at you in particular but there are a lot of risks involved and you take your best shot based on past and upside and defense taking as much into consideration as possible and then it's "poor judgment" while 90% of the naysayers never have a plan of their own just some vague idea of how much the Sox have to spend and what everyone fairly deserves on the FA agent market. FA is like the draft. Its crap shoot and when it isn't you pay the highest amount and many years for the best players which turns that into an even bigger mess of a crapshoot. You pay the piper in one way or another eventually . Not the right plac for this, I know, so please excuse me while i digress, but, is there any indication sox are looking at Hanley? Feel like adding him and a melky or Rasmus would make us instant contenders....

Four words: Joe Borchard John Rauch

QUOTE (Special K @ Aug 7, 2013 -> 05:06 PM) That is certainly thinking outside the box. I'd actually rather improve via trades versus free agency. Everyone always overpays in free agency to get anything decent, e.g. anibal sanchez. The Sox will never outbid for a superstar. Our only chances of getting such players is through via free agency, e.g. Peavy (I understand it's debatable if he is a superstar, but for argumentative sake). I think if we end up spending in free agency it will be a disaster (Dunn) because we will never outbid for sure-fire talent. Thus, trading to improve (and drafting), in my opinion, is the way to go. FYI - I understand Sanchez is having a solid year. Still think they overpaid, although, it's not the point, because there are a million other examples of teams overpaying for free agents.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Aug 7, 2013 -> 04:56 PM) Now THAT would be interesting and equally unprecedented. That's not what Bernstein is suggesting, though. That is certainly thinking outside the box. I'd actually rather improve via trades versus free agency. Everyone always overpays in free agency to get anything decent, e.g. anibal sanchez. The Sox will never outbid for a superstar. Our only chances of getting such players is through via free agency, e.g. Peavy (I understand it's debatable if he is a superstar, but for argumentative sake). I think if we end up spending in free agency it will be a disaster (Dunn) because we will never outbid for sure-fire talent. Thus, trading to improve (and drafting), in my opinion, is the way to go.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Aug 7, 2013 -> 04:42 PM) Interesting strategy that will force teams like the Red Sox, Rangers, and Cubs to pay fair value in terms of prospects in any trade scenario. Teams like the Pirates, Royals, Indians, Reds, to name a few can use the Sox to take on a bad contract like say Cliff Lee. How can teams like the Pirates, Royals, etc. use the Sox to take on a bad contract like Cliff Lee. I am not following. Could you please elaborate?

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Aug 7, 2013 -> 04:28 PM) Bernsrein mentioning the Sox and salary cap threshold shows he has absolutely no idea what he is writing about. He thinks it is the NBA. I think he was referring to luxury tax when he said "salary cap threshold".

QUOTE (JohnCangelosi @ Jul 11, 2013 -> 02:26 PM) That he has finally "figured it out"?? He's looking good at the plate and it seems the times where he's getting completely blown away is nearly non existent from the limited AB's I've seen out of him this year. After 147 AB's, he has a .347 BA and .817 OPS. I know we have him under control for another year or two but is this the time to sign him to a team friendly extension? If we wait until the end of the year, and he finished the year hitting somewhere around .320 with a .800 + OPS, he may just choose to ride out his arbitration year or two and go for the bigger payday. He's a marketable guy and could be a decent guy to build around to keep the average fan excited about the team as well. Please discuss. A month of good baseball is not worth an extension. If he is still hitting like this next year, then offer an extension. If he does not take it, that is a risk I take.

QUOTE (The Ginger Kid @ May 1, 2013 -> 12:16 AM) Take a deep breath, exhale, and say goodbye to the worst month of southside baseball in some time. Screw you, April 2013 There's no way the defense remains this bad. The talent in the bullpen is for real. There's no way the ineptitude with RISP remains this bad. The weather in Chicago has been absolute s*** - this will not last. Beckham, Viciedo and Johnny Danks are coming back. And they can even bring Gavin, if they want. There's no way the same coaching staff who did such a masterful job of bringing this team together last year has now given up or lost their ability to make this a focused bunch. Would you rather have a crappy April or a crappy September? They got their bad month out of the way. And the biggest positive I can offer you: HOW IN THE HELL CAN A TEAM WHO PLAYED THIS BAD BE ONLY 10-15 AND ONLY 5 BACK? They've actually played better than the Angels and Toronto, two teams expected to dominate this season. My eye is on one of the WC spots, will be all summer. Let's get this s*** started already. It seems to me that the Sox are notoriously terrible whenever the weather is cold for a game. Are there any statistics to back this up? If so, this is a product of preparation. Seems to not make much sense to me to prepare in Arizona weather up until the season starts and then jump into 50 degree weather for the start of the season. Maybe the team should consider coming back a week or so early and become accustomed to playing in cold weather... And yes, I do realize this is contrary to the way things are typically done in MLB, thinking outside the box here. And for those of you who bring up last season's record in April and May, please remember it was 90 degrees by April.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Mar 20, 2013 -> 09:23 PM) If Reed pitches like he did in the first half of last year, this answer would rapidly be "yes". Right now, no, but we have the talent to do that. We may well have more gas in the pen than anyone. If I were KC I would hold on to Chen and pitch him exclusivley against the White Sox. There's not a chance they beat him.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Feb 20, 2013 -> 03:13 PM) If his back isn't going to hold up in Chicago, it won't in Charlotte either. If he has 2 months of health in his system and he is better than a guy like Sanchez, you take him for 2 months. Morel is horrible. I think this board has amnesia.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Feb 8, 2013 -> 01:56 PM) 2004. The biggest move the Sox made was trading Aaron Miles for Juan Uribe. in hindsight that move was brilliant