Eminor3rd

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2014/03/rang...nd-catcher.html Rangers Seek Depth at Second and Catcher Gordon Beckham! Go! You can have Hector Giminez too.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Mar 25, 2014 -> 07:20 AM) Even if Quintana improves, I just don't think the stuff is there for him to be that good. You can see this with his SwStr%. Sale is consistently above average in the 10.5%. Kershaw has typically been around 11% in recent years and it was a ridiculous 17.7% last year. Last year, even with an increase in SwStr%, Quintana's 8.8% was below the 9.3% league average. He could improve that and still be only about average. I honestly don't feel bad in saying that this one is going to be wrong. Unless he gets more tilt or slide on his slider to help differentiate from his cutter, he simply doesn't have the stuff capable of doing that. In fact, I'm actually expecting him to regress back to about a 2.5-3 WAR pitcher this year with his K-rate normalizing and being in the 6.75 range. Agree 100%. I think we saw his peak last year, but the improvements in his stuff are likely to be sustainable, so he should still be solid.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Mar 25, 2014 -> 07:07 AM) Has Beckham played an AB since his injury? Any talk on him playing today/tomorrow? Yesterday during the game, Hawk said that Beckham took groundballs and felt fine, but that he had yet to swing a bat.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Mar 24, 2014 -> 06:20 PM) Is it not ownership's responsibility to grow the customer base. They're trying to do that now by creating a sustainable model for wins instead of stupid, flashy moves that impress people like you for about 19 games until you start b****ing about Adam Dunn.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Mar 23, 2014 -> 08:39 PM) Good one Roostifer. Now compare the NBA and MLB caps. Rushing to others defense as often as you do, you're well on your way to becoming a minion. Marty, can you do me a favor and just publicly acknowledge that you're aware that baseball teams are businesses? You keep acting like you don't get it, which is frustrating, but then I realized you've never actually said that you DO get it.

QUOTE (IowaSoxFan @ Mar 24, 2014 -> 12:08 PM) Week stats: Newcomb - 8 IP 4H 0R 0ER 3BB 7K Season - 5GS 0.00 ERA 32.2 IP 14H 1R 0ER 15BB 38K Rodon - 4.2 IP 6H 8R 0ER 4BB 8K Season - 6GS 2.18 ERA 41.1 IP 33H 23R 10ER 15BB 50K Hoffman - 7 IP 6H 3R 3ER 2BB 2K Season - 6GS 4.03 ERA 38 IP 29H 20R 17ER 17BB 39K Beede - 2.2 IP 6H 11R 5ER 5BB 2K Season - 6 GS 2.06 ERA 35 IP 20H 17R 8ER 11BB 42K Brady Aikens last start was the 18th - 4.2 IP 0H 0R 0ER 1BB 12K lol 12 Ks in 4.2 IP. High School is ridiculous.

I'm 100% for this -- this was on my personal offseason wishlist. I thought it'd be a bit more money though, I wonder if his garbage spring brought the price down a bit.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Mar 23, 2014 -> 06:14 PM) So would I, but he is still a bust. What's your point?

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Mar 23, 2014 -> 05:44 PM) Not really.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Mar 23, 2014 -> 05:34 PM) What is the difference? Are you joking?

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Mar 23, 2014 -> 05:31 PM) Yes, but you still said even if he couldn't play, blowing $60 million wasn't a big deal. Yes, $10m per year wasted is 33% less painful than $15m, and 60% less painful than $25m. And, given his youth, a busted Abreu is likely to be less useless than a busted Santana (who would ruin entire games by himself) or busted Hamilton (who would likely not even play because he'd be injured). Not sure why you think there's no difference. I would rather pay a bust like a league average player than I would pay him like a superstar.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Mar 23, 2014 -> 05:31 PM) You prefer losing and not spending money to losing and spending money. I don't see the difference. Becuase one leads to years of continued losing, the other leads to improving and eventually winning.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Mar 23, 2014 -> 05:20 PM) You can lose that way, or you can lose rebuilding, but some how losing and rebuilding (not spending money) is a victory to some. Marty. Seriously. Don't pretend like you think rebuilding is about the present and not the future.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Mar 23, 2014 -> 05:18 PM) Yet in the Jose Abreu thread you said if he were a AAAA hitter, $10 million a year for 6 years, really wasn't a big hit. Right. Because Jose Abreu is 27 and they're paying him $10m/yr, which is very much not 32+ and $15-25m like I just said.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Mar 23, 2014 -> 06:11 PM) You win some, you lose some. Which is why you don't take massive gambles that have high risks of ruining your franchise for five years. Like paying 32+ year old, injury-prone free agents $15-25m per year because of their successful "track records."

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Mar 22, 2014 -> 09:17 AM) You like the Sox core better than the Cubs core? I like Abreu and Sale much more than any players in the Cubs franchise. I like Eaton and Semien slightly more than I like Castro and Rizzo. I like Bryant, Baez, and Soler much more than I like Anderson, Hawkins, and Thompson. I think the Cubs have more high ceiling talent in the low to mid minors, but I think we have more talent in the upper minors and at the ML level, which is why I think our window is as close or closer.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Mar 22, 2014 -> 08:25 AM) Winning the trades isn't enough. Did they assemble the core of the next championship team by virtue of these trades. That was the fall back plan in keeping the team together last year. By trading Peavy, Rios, Floyd, etc... they would be able to quickly rebuild. I don't Leury Garcia is what they had in mind for Rios, but maybe the rest of the guys they got will make up for him. What is the ETA of this rebuild? It will of course depend on how these young guys play this year, but I can tell you the ETA is a LOT closer than the models that the Cubs, Astros, Marlins, etc. have been employing. I mean look at the Cubs: they're on year three and we're arguably just as far along in year one. We have less ammo in the lower minors, but there's no reason to believe we won't continue to acquire it via the draft and international market this season and next.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Mar 22, 2014 -> 08:05 AM) You're buying into the hype machine that MLB has started to create. An MLB draft pick isn't worthless, but it damn near is to a franchise that pulls in the revenue the Sox do. It is a great cover to give a fan base for not to spending money in free agency. There's something incongruous to targeting prospects in trades that are well past the midpoint in their development while in the same breath talking up the value of keeping draft picks. The bolded line in your post above is so demonstrably, factually wrong that I am again wondering if you are aware of what sport this board is dedicated to following. As to the final sentence, I'll repeat this again since you didn't read it the first time: It's about infusing talent at all levels of the system. Again: It's about infusing talent at all levels of the system There is nothing "incongruous" about it -- throwing all your eggs into a single high-variability basket is a huge risk that is not likely to work, at least according to recent precedent (see Royals, Mets, Blue Jays). See also the concept of using organizational depth to fill bigger organizational holes (pitchers to position players). See also the concept of selling high (many factors point to Santiago as a HUGE regression candidate, namely low HR/FB rate, high strand rate, and a FIP nearly a run higher than his ERA) and buying low (Eaton coming of an injury-riddled season where his fairly substantial hype had deflated). It's not FanGraphs, it's f***ing logic. It's about infusing talent at all levels of the system.

I think you're forgetting how young Hawkins is. 2015 is his age 21 season. He's much more likely to get a cup of coffee in 2016 and really have a shot to stick in 2017. He could be there permanently for the first time in 2018 and still not be behind compared to average.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Mar 21, 2014 -> 09:11 PM) If that were the case why did they specifically target Major League ready prospects. The point of taking a lesser prospect because they are closer to the majors is to shorten the rebuilding process. If they were going to cut ~$35M in payroll they should have just targeted the best prospects period. You bolded the line in my quote that is the answer. They can buy young prospects, they cannot buy MLB breakout candidates. They got the guys they wanted. No one, anywhere, at all think the Sox lost any of the trades they made. Try to find one.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Mar 21, 2014 -> 05:52 PM) Which is why limiting the prospect options to Major League ready ones made me cringe. I disagree that we have players after this group that will be options. If these guys fail, Sale has to go on the market. Off season of 2015 will they be good enough to keep Sale? It's about infusing talent at all levels. They increased international spending for the super young, they are drafting smarter (and higher =\ ) than ever before for the 18 to 22 year olds, and they are making trades to acquire controllable ML pieces.

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Mar 21, 2014 -> 03:59 PM) Flowers hurt on swing. Hawk speculates its an oblique. Catching situation just went from bad to worse. I think Hawk might somehow be SPONSORED by the oblique.

I'm cool with Ervin Santana being nicknamed "Voldemort" this season if you guys are.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Mar 21, 2014 -> 03:31 PM) If Marty enjoyed let downs anymore, he'd be a Cub fan. Honestly, I think if the Sox win the World Series this year, Marty will find a way to be disappointed in how it was done. "Oh, you guys think that it we won it all just because FANGRAPHS lists us as the World Champions. Sure."

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Mar 21, 2014 -> 03:28 PM) Yeah, they only gave the biggest contract ever to an international player, then bid on the guy who beat that contract, plus put in a bid on McCann. They weren't looking to spend at all. Cheap bastards. Haha seriously. THEY SIGNED THE LARGEST INTERNATIONAL FREE AGENT CONTRACT IN HISTORY