Special K

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Jun 3, 2016 -> 11:14 AM) CarGo for Fulmer would be a huge overpay. If that's the cost, I'm going to Milwaukee to see what it costs to get Lucroy, who would provide an insane upgrade over Avila & Navarro. While I think we have to improve the DH spot, there may be cheaper, more effective ways of doing so than giving up one of our top two prospects for CarGo. Might be an overpay since we would only have 1 more year of control. That being said, we are unable to get a top tier bat through free agency (Abreu more or less doesn't count because he was kind of a mystery, not a known commodity). That's just a fact. We also know the White Sox organization simply cannot develop a top tier bat. That is also a fact. We do know the Sox can develop pitching. We also don't know what we have in Fulmer at this point, though I still think he will be good. But even if we unloaded Fulmer, we'd still have a very solid 3 in the rotation. I think it's a lot easier to sign serviceable 4th and 5th starters than it is to obtain an impact bat. But if we were to do this trade, knowing our luck he'd probably turn into another Gio.

QUOTE (flavum @ Jun 3, 2016 -> 11:43 AM) Right now, you have to assume 90 wins is what is needed to get the AL Central. So the Sox need to get to 60-48 after 108 games to be on that pace. I'll keep track of this for the next 54 games, and up date after each series. You'll see if the Sox are ahead or behind as we go along.... at Det 2-1 vs Was 2-1 vs KC 2-1 vs Det 2-1 at Cle 1-2 at Bos 2-2 vs Tor 2-1 vs Min 2-1 at Hou 2-1 vs NY 2-1 vs Atl 2-1 at LAA 2-1 at Sea 1-2 vs Det 2-2 vs Chi 1-1 at Chi 1-1 at Min 2-1 at Det 1-2 I don't see us going 8-4 over the next 12...

Carlos Gonzalez. I would like to see a package centered around Carson Fulmer if that would get it done. Another reliever would also be nice. We could obviously use another SP, but, I think the bat is the bigger need.

Jay is definitely not the impact bat this team is looking for, but I would take him if he's a throw-in as an enticement to take on Shields and a terrible contract. We can play match ups with him and Jackson and he's also solid insurance. But I would still like to keep looking for a DH. We DESPERATELY need a DH. Finding an upgrade over Avi and Sands should not be this hard.

I think that if the Sox are not in playoff contention at the trade deadline (which I still think they will be because they aren't as bad as they have been lately), they should do a tear down. I hate the thought because I love our core of good players (Sale, Abreu, Q, Frazier, Rodon). But this "rebuild on the fly experiment" for the last 5 years will have failed miserably. We are either unwilling or do not have enough money to sign a top free agent. Therefore, we sign and/or trade for middle of the road (and in some cases sub-par) free agents to fill gaps that we can't otherwise fill with our minor league system. This type of team constructing gets us exactly where we have been the last 5 years, right around .500. (It's infuriating, but maybe management allows it b/c the fans stay somewhat interested.) But from a winning perspective, we're never going to be a perennial winner with this type of formula. To be a success, you either sign big FAs, or build talent from within, (or do a little of both). But none of this is what the Sox do. Therefore, if we're out of contention, I would suggest a total tear down and try building up talent from within and sucking for a few years a la the Cubs. Otherwise, next year, we'll just see more of the same.

I was on the Rollins train as much as anyone... but at this point, Saladino has proven himself to be the better player. We don't know where Saladino's ceiling is, but we know exactly where Rollins is. Moreover, Saladino is outhitting and outdefending Rollins. He should be getting all of the starts. It's ridiculous that Robin doesn't have the guts to sit to Rollins just because he's a decorated veteran. I can't say enough bad things about Ventura.

QUOTE (soxforlife05 @ May 27, 2016 -> 10:47 PM) The rotation has been above average. True. It's the only reason we're a half game up.

QUOTE (harkness @ May 27, 2016 -> 10:47 PM) Ventura is hot garbage... He isn't the only reason the team is bad. It's not all on him... but he brings nothing to the table. Basically couldn't sum it up any better. Hot garbage... I never find myself praising a move he's made. Only criticizing. But it ain't all on him.

At this point, I think we have another 3rd-4th place team on our hands gentlemen. Sorry to break it to ya. Robin is truly awful; he finally tried batting someone that isn't a black hole in the line up in the 2 hole, which did seem to give some life to the offense. But in the end, he's also stuck with the roster he was dealt, which consists of 3-4 black holes on offense (C, DH, SS, CF), and a weak back end of the rotation. In the words of Denny Green, "the Sox are, who We thought they are!!!"

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ May 26, 2016 -> 12:16 PM) I think we are going to see Anderson a lot quicker than some do. Agreed. This whole situation stinks like Kenny Williams.

It's an utter embarrassment that Robin continues to bat Rollins or Saladino in the 2 hole. I think it's a contributing factor to the lifeless offense for sure. There are two perfectly better options and Robin refuses to go there. He prefers a black hole. There will never be a big rally at the top of the order with a black hole there. Robin is bad.

It's the same problem every year... the team CANNOT hit. Last year, we had black holes in the lineup at OF, DH, C, SS, 2B and 3B. This year, we have black holes in the lineup at SS, C, DH and OF. We need at least one more impact bat. Also, everything is even worse when Abreu struggles. Not to mention, Robin likes, no wait, he LOVES, to have a black hole in the lineup batting second after Eaton, which makes no sense whatsoever. Robin refuses to put Lawrie or Melky batting second. I don't see any point in having a lead off hitter with a high OBP if you're not going to put someone batting second who can move him along... The problem is three fold: need at least another impact bat; need Abreu to get better; and need Robin to learn how to put a lineup together (and that doesn't mean batting Abreu second).

QUOTE (BrianAnderson @ May 24, 2016 -> 02:27 PM) I can't tell if that's sarcasm or not without green text! So I am going to half defend my stance? haha. It's a bunch of "nice" pieces between SS, C, DH, 2B, CF -- however there is a reason all were available for the contracts or trades we received them for/in. It was awesome when they were all doing their jobs terrifically on offense/defense/timely hitting. It's just unrealistic to expect that all year. Now we aren't going to go 1-23 w/ RISP like we did against the Royals either. So sky is not falling. This is a good team. not great. Frazier, Abreu (although struggling), Melky, Eaton can carry this team as long as 2-3 of those other 5 positions are doing their job at any given time. I'd like to shore up ONE. ONE total position. And if I am being choosy it's DH -- reasoning being its the lowest we'd have to return assets in for a trade. You can find a guy who can hit and not play D for a reasonable price. Lawrie is acceptable. Jax is acceptable in CF for his D/avg. bat. Catchers are not easy to come by. SS is alright if you value D (saladino) or leadership (rollins) or can have 2nd half pop/offense (Anderson) ... so I'm okay there too. DH with Sands, Shuck, Garcia, etc is brutal. It feels like the Mark Kotsay years.... This wasn't sarcasm. I agreed all the way.

QUOTE (BrianAnderson @ May 24, 2016 -> 01:17 PM) the Sox have known about the opt out clause the whole time with Loney. Highly doubt they see him as an upgrade. I'm not thrilled with any of the guys: Shuck, Sands, Davidson, Sanchez, etc. for the role we currently have. I'm not the guy who is going to overreact, but clearly we outplayed our actual team value early, now were playing worse. This team cant survive all season as currently constructed. When you have Garcia/Sands, Lawrie, SS, C, and Jackson youre bound to have more than a few on really cold streaks and the team can't withstand that. We need a bat. and we need one soon. It's not Loney. Should be looking to a bigger name. Why couldn't you be as good at hitting as you are at identifying the problem with Sox 2016 offensive line up as currently constructed?

I think Texeira should also be on Sox radar.

QUOTE (elrockinMT @ May 24, 2016 -> 12:36 PM) Yes, but Sands plays the OF and Loney doesn't Yea, Loney is a definitely "no." But it shouldn't have anything to do w/ the fact that Sands plays the OF. If we get a guy who can mash but exclusively plays DH (or 1B), we should immediately replace him w/ Sands or Garcia.

QUOTE (OmarComing25 @ May 23, 2016 -> 08:50 PM) No I get his point just fine. He claims everything is going right, and that is patently false. And even if they have over performed, those wins are already in the bank. Even if you think the Sox are just a .500 team, that means you now expect them to win 85-86 games, which was enough for a playoff spot last year. All fine. But all things considered, I'll still take another bat to upgrade what is sub-par offensive production for a position that is solely dedicating to producing offense. Not just looking to squeak by into a playoff spot.

QUOTE (OmarComing25 @ May 23, 2016 -> 04:20 PM) I do not agree that everything is going right, nor does this team need everything to go right. Plenty has gone wrong and they're still in first place. You're acting like this is a true talent 70-win team. Rollins, Navarro and Avila are all hitting worse than last year, with Jackson and Abreu hitting significantly worse than last year. Sale and Quintana have done amazingly well, but that's almost canceled out by the dropoff we have experienced from Rodon and Danks compared to last year (the 5th spot was a concern going into the year but it's been even worse than expected). Latos had a great start, but has already pitched poorly enough recently to get his numbers back to where projections had him. The bullpen pitched over its head in April, but a lot of that luck was canceled out by the disastrous last couple of weeks. I guess I'm just not seeing all the luck you're seeing. Lawrie and Avi have played above expectations but not outrageously so, Frazier is pretty much in line with what we expected, Melky bounced back to his 2014 numbers, and Eaton has been hitting like this since last May. Since you still haven't answered, who are the smoke and mirrors players? And why does someone playing above expectations mean they're certain to come back down, but someone underperforming doesn't mean they'll go back up? Everything is certainly not "going right", that seems like a gross exaggeration to fit your narrative. Are you that high on the Indians/Royals/Tigers or am I just missing something here? What is the true talent of the White Sox in your opinion? Sure not many predictions had the White Sox making the playoffs, but it wasn't something that was totally unexpected either. Even Fangraphs writer Dave Cameron, who rarely says anything positive about the White Sox, wrote that there was a good chance the Sox would be good this year. No one thought the team was going to keep winning at a .700 win pace, but the talent of this team is still a lot better than you're giving it credit for. I think you are missing his point, which is that this team is outperforming what they were expected to do. Very few, if any, would have predicted the Sox to be in first place at this point. That fact that we keep out performing with an under performing DH gives me and probably other pause, as odds are the team will begin to suffer on offense with a hole at such a crucial position in the lineup.

All this tells me is that we need another impact bat. We're not going to win this division with a Sands/Garcia DH duo. DH is a position that is usually a plus in the lineup and it's been either neutral or negative this year. And the need for another impact bat is only highlighted when the offense and team has struggled like it has the past 10 games... I do think another bat is more important than another SP...

QUOTE (BigHurt3515 @ May 19, 2016 -> 04:34 PM) Not sure what Rollins you have been watching.. And to be fair pretty much everyone on our team is awful at bunting. If Saladino is going to be awful at hitting, he should at least be able to lay down a bunt. I'm not saying Rollins has been lighting it up, but he's been better than Saladino. Should Rollins ever bat 2? Absolutely not. But that's Ventura's terrible decision.

Saladino has no business getting more PT than Rollins, IMO. He is not an everyday player. He can't hit. He is Go-awful at bunting. But he's a decent defender. Rollins at least is not a black hole in the lineup offensively.

Avi has created a minor predicament. He was an obvious choice to upgrade the lineup at DH. However, he has been serviceable to date. If we are to upgrade offensively - which I think we need to do - where is our biggest need? Personally, I still think a power hitter to replace Avi makes sense. We are also struggling for production at SS. Tho, there are probably even few options available there. If Anderson keeps playing well, he may be our best option at an upgrade there.

Exactly. They may be interested in saving the cash.

I still like the idea of focusing on trading with the Yankees (assuming they stay out of it). Texeira or Beltran would be solid options to add. Nice to have a veteran hitter with pop down the stretch.

QUOTE (BlackSox13 @ May 16, 2016 -> 05:42 PM) Same here. Tucker would be a nice asset to have. Seems more of a platoon bat at this point but I'd take it. Tucker could bat and play LF against RHP and Melky could DH. Avi could take LHP and DH or play LF with Melky at DH. Question is, what would Tucker cost to acquire if he is available via trade? I would imagine the price would not be cheap. Except Avi can't hit left handed pitching.