Eminor3rd

QUOTE (rangercal @ Jan 8, 2014 -> 02:19 PM)

Thrilled that Frank got in on the first ballot, my alltime favorite player. But very disappointed in the lack of support for Estaban Loaiza

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jan 8, 2014 -> 08:44 AM) jeez, what did Lyle Mouton ever do to you? Yeah!

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jan 8, 2014 -> 10:03 AM) Here's a guy who needs to be deleted from all future votes. He only voted for Jack Morris. Eliminating everyone from the steroid era because he doesn't know who did and who didn't. How does he know no one from the non steroid eras didn't use a PED? http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/10259259...-hall-selection FWIW, I heard an interview with him and he said that he'll probably abstain for the foreseeable future in reaction the the vitriol he has received lol.

QUOTE (Jake @ Jan 7, 2014 -> 10:49 AM) ss2k5 said it best -- if they think Castro is going to be great but see some flukiness in Quintana, they'll deal. If they feel really strongly in just one of those directions, they'll try to swing a deal. If they think both are going to be 4 WAR players for the foreseeable future, they probably won't do it. This ^

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 7, 2014 -> 10:47 AM) For me it really seemed to happen with the 1987 rookie race. What happened that year blew away everything that had happened before it in all MLB history. Check this article out: http://www.sfgate.com/sports/kroichick/art...ids-2637503.php Tom House says he was doing it in the 70's

QUOTE (Jake @ Jan 6, 2014 -> 05:43 PM) That's true, for sure -- I suppose I only give limited credence to that award since it constantly has too much of a "popularity contest" influence that is the exact thing sullying the HOF process. Nonetheless, it is one of the best things he has going for him given how almost all advanced statistics find him to be a worse pitcher than the other two despite pitching much longer to accumulate more WAR This is why I don't like it when people use a lack of awards to hold a guy like Mussina down. The guys that do so are (typically, not necessarily you, Balta) the same guys that argue that MVP and Cy performances have to go to guys on winning teams, even if they weren't actually the "best player." I think WAR is a great tool for this type of career evaluation because it bakes in context in a much more objective manner -- which is the same thing you try to do by talking about awards, just in a much more precise way.

Piazza is the greatest hitting catcher of all-time, except for maybe Bench. The defensive rating on his WAR gave him the position adjustment but docked him defensively for his poor arm -- which was the only way they knew how to numerically measure catcher defense before the UZR/pitch framing era. It's very possible that he was not as bad as his caught-stealing rate suggests, we'll never know unless someone does some really rigorous film analysis. The case for Piazza is open and shut, IMO, if you just compare him to his contemporaries: http://www.fangraphs.com/graphsw.aspx?play...1000898,1009334 He had a higher peak than everyone in that graph except Bench, and was surpassed in career value by Fisk only because Fisk played like eight more seasons. While the C defense component of those fWAR figures is certainly incomplete, the offense is environment-adjusted. If you think Yogi Berra was a HOFer, Piazza is an easy in. Here's the graph above but with Ivan Rodriguez added: http://www.fangraphs.com/graphsw.aspx?play...1000898,1009334

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Jan 6, 2014 -> 10:15 AM) Baseball America released their list of Top 30 White Sox prospects today. I don't have the entire transcript and I'm old school and still purchase the Prospect Handbook anyway, but this is tweet is interesting from Daryl Van Schouwen. Daryl Van Schouwen ‏@CST_soxvan 3m #WhiteSox top prospects, per Baseball America: 1 Abreu 2 EJohnson 3 Anderson 4 Davidson 5 Semien 6 MJohnson 7 Hawkins 8Thompson 9Beck 10 May Having Hawkins at #7 is very interesting. I think Anderson at 3 is the biggest surprise to me.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jan 6, 2014 -> 10:07 AM) Then you acquire someone else. Wieters could certainly be available too, plus you can probably trade for Saltalamacchia too. There are going to be other players available next offseason if necessary. I disagree. Both those guys are older, come with less control, and are worse. And they may not be available. I agree with your general premise, but in the current situation, we're talking about a C that is young, controllable, MLB-ready, and left-handed. I think he fits perfectly with the window-to-contention that Hahn is building right now with a bunch of guys that are ready now or next year. I also don't think a guy that fits that well comes along every offseason. I don't know what the price is and I don't know if we should pay it, but I do think that this is one of those trade candidates (there aren't many) that the Sox should consider trading prospects for at this point. He's going to be useful for at least four years, and that's about as far out as you can plan for a team anyway.

Only if you're p**** whipped

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jan 6, 2014 -> 09:57 AM) Since people seem to be so high on this, let me just ask this - what's the difference between acquiring Castro (or someone similar) next year versus this year? I don't see him being more expensive. I think the Sox will be in a better position to deal prospects at that point with another year of drafting, developing, and acquiring prospects. They'll know for certain whether or not acquiring a catcher is a good idea. I don't see them being competitive this year even if they do acquire Castro without giving up Quintana. So what reason do they have to acquire him? It simply doesn't make sense yet. Well, the biggest reason is that he may be traded somewhere else instead.

I'm pretty sure that Jason Castro is worth more than Quintana. There's certainly no way we'd ever get both him and Altuve for Quintana and Sanchez. I'd say QUintana and Sanchez sounds about right for Castro alone.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jan 5, 2014 -> 09:36 AM) Wasn't there some article written years ago which pointed to the zits on Piazza's back as some proof he was juicing? Yeah, Murray Chass cited it in his latest "personal vendetta" blog: http://www.murraychass.com/?p=7013

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Jan 4, 2014 -> 09:37 PM) Blame Bud for that. From that era, if he looked like a steroid user and hit like a steroid user, then I would say he was a steroid user. Don't see why he should get the benefit of the doubt. So like Frank Thomas?

QUOTE (Stan Bahnsen @ Jan 4, 2014 -> 08:43 PM) Put me in the opposite camp here. He's WAY better than any of the options being discussed, and would have cost a lousy ~$20M for three seasons. And I'm no fan, mind you. Same here. I was wary of him at 4/48 and all, but 3/21? He doesn't even have to be a league average player to be worth that, and you'd only be stuck with him through age 31. I can't believe we wouldn't have offered 3/24 or something considering that NO one needed a youngish C coming off a breakout season more than us. Letting him go to Miami for 3/21 is Hahn's worst move of the offseason, IMO.

QUOTE (elrockinMT @ Jan 4, 2014 -> 04:45 PM) Do the Sox have an interest in John Buck the catcher? MLB network guys were making a case for the Sox to sign Buck

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Jan 4, 2014 -> 12:19 PM) Abreu will play 145 or more games this season barring injuries. We're not paying him what we're paying him so that he gets front row seats to games. It's weird when you refer to yourself in the third person.

I have a Ron Karkovice shirsey, so that would work for me.

http://www.mlbgifs.com/wp-content/uploads/...tonHighFive.gif

QUOTE (Chilihead90 @ Jan 2, 2014 -> 02:33 PM) Trea "Burner" Turner does not sound like a #3 overall pick to me. Yeah, after reading his and then Hoffman's profile, Hoffman sounds like a much better choice. Especially considering our system's much better track record for developing pitchers.

Ok, so turns out that book comes to your email via PDF. Cool stuff, here's the write-up on Trea Turner (assuming the guy won't be angry at me for posting a "teaser"):

QUOTE (Jake @ Jan 1, 2014 -> 03:05 PM) Coop pitchers have tended to opt for the cutter for that purpose in the past, since it can be easier to learn. Wouldn't shock me if he starts throwing one. Would give him a Maddux-like fastball repertoire. He already has a ton of lateral movement on his fastball though. Seems like a cutter would just be a worse pitch. Knowing nothing about him other than what I just read, I'd much rather see him develop something with more of a velocity drop-off. I think you're right that he needs to go balls out on learning the change.

The more I think about this, the more I'm convinced that someone is going to be traded soon. Even if it's just giving Keppinger away. There's no room for guys that we've acquired this offseason.