thxfrthmmrs

QUOTE (bmags @ Nov 18, 2014 -> 01:10 PM) Right, but Boozer at C would have been a nightmare, Gasol at C is not. But his rebounding is not as good as Noah's. But this may be premature, as Noah was basically rebounding unchallenged yesterday. I don't understand how Blake/Jordan could be so bad. (edit: at rebounding) Unless it's broken don't fix it. Noah's D at C has been amazing the last couple of years. Our D and rebounding has took quite a hit trying to implement the news guys into the rotation. In the long term, I too, would like to see more of Noah at C. Then again, part of our struggle up to this point could also tie back to Noah's knee issues.

Unless Dodgers is ready to make Seager a full time 3B, it does not make sense for them to trade a top level prospect like Pederson for Alexei. The only way this makes sense for them is unloading a bad contract like Either or Kemp, plus a couple of mid level ML ready prospects for Alexei and Danks.

QUOTE (TheTruth05 @ Nov 18, 2014 -> 01:10 PM) Miller would also cost at least $25 more. Point is, Miller is better, and could be 5 WARs better according to WAR

QUOTE (bmags @ Nov 18, 2014 -> 01:01 PM) It's largely to protect Gasol from the P&R which he is notoriously horrendous at guarding. He couldn't be worse than the Carlos Boozer

Playing devil's advocate to raise a point here. Is it double standard that we constantly use WAR to grade players nowadays, but when it comes to actually paying the players, we aren't thrilled to pay $10 mil for a 2 WAR player but are fine with $5 mil for a 1 WAR player? Even without looking at WAR, Miller is still a 8th inning/ closer material while Duke is more of a 7th/8th inning guy. If you want to argue about years here, Miller will be 33 at the end of a 4 year deal and Duke will be 36 at the end of this deal.

QUOTE (bmags @ Nov 18, 2014 -> 10:33 AM) He also looked so much more comfortable with playing C again. I realize noah at PF is better than Gasol at PF defensively, but I feel like Noah at C is so much stronger at C that it's worth it. Also, in the first five minutes, what I was allowed to see, Loved when Jimmy took Chris Paul matchup right away. I haven't been paying close enough attention to get the breakdown of how much Noah has been playing at PF. But I agree that it makes no sense to constantly take your DPOY away from the basket to guard the PF, who's usually a stretch 4 these days. I know Gasol can protect the rim, but Noah does so much more around the rim than Gasol could.

QUOTE (jasonxctf @ Nov 18, 2014 -> 12:04 PM) yeah i saw that too. messed up wording by Dan Hayes. I think he meant that Duke allowed 20% to score, which the Sox allowed 68%. I think he meant 32% for Sox. If you allow 68% (2/3) of the inherited runners to score, you're the worst bullpen in history.

I also want to note that Noah has notched exactly 6 assists for 5 games in a row. If he gets 6 assists for 6 straight games, we might be at some sort of records here.

Was mad other dudes picked up AP in both of my leagues before I did. Glad to see I didn't miss out much.

QUOTE (LDF @ Nov 17, 2014 -> 07:45 PM) both?? maybe 1 and a regular starting pen guy who is healthy. 2 will put the sox behind the 8 ball. esp in the first month of the season when it is cold and windy, the team will need healthy arms and also remember the sox will not go with the 5 man rotation until 2 or 3 week of the new season. Agreed for the most part except for the bold. Morrow had only a finger injury this year and recovered fully. He was actually pitching for the month of September. If the Sox think they can fix him, he should be ready to go right out of the gate. Hochevar had TJS early this spring, and should also be ready to pitch right away as well. While it might take him a while to get back into form, he's well worth the risk. Considering the $40 mil contracts Robertson and Miller demands, this guy can provide the same results at a fraction of the cost. QUOTE (raBBit @ Nov 17, 2014 -> 10:52 PM) Good to see, I thought I was getting annoying suggesting Hochevar over and over again. You aren't getting annoying until you make a new thread about the guy.

I like how we spend more time debating on Rose headlines than discussing the actual game! Anyways, Jimmg is now averaging over 41 mpg on the season. I guess their plan is to run him to the ground this year and let him become someone else's problem next year? Would have like to see Dougie, Snell or even Nazr get some burn in the 4th.

Reclamation projects like Hochevar and Morrow hasn't been mentioned a lot around here. I think both can be had for around 1 year $5 mil deals. I think there is a good chance that either, if not both, will bounce back with the Sox. Hochevar, if comes back healthy from TMJ, can be a low cost option at closer. Morrow brings mid rotation stuff to the table, worst case he could be a useful piece in the bullpen.

No more than $15 mil on a 4 year deal. It's either Melky or Tomas for me in terms of outfield help, where I would go 7/$84 mil for the latter.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Nov 16, 2014 -> 12:48 PM) That was a sweet play by Cutler.he has so much ability, but obviously his brain will always hold him back. I've said many times and I will say it again. Cutler is a much better QB when he rolls out of pocket and buys more time with his feet. But often times he forces a throw on his back foot when staying in pocket. That play was Rodge-esque.

Now we are just getting bullied. They know we couldn't stop them for s***, so they can run any trick play in the book and get away with it.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Nov 14, 2014 -> 02:00 PM) Engel's speed tool is better than Thompson's. Thompson though, has an above average arm (just like Engel), and significantly more power. Both struggle with contact, raw hit tools. Thompson has proven more at yoinger ages per level. Saying the statement "couldn't be more inaccurate" is hyperbole. I'd rank Thompson higher too. As in Wite's statement that Thompson has far better tools than Engel, which I called "couldn't be more inaccurate". As I said, they have similar tools. One thing we are not looking at here is Engel has a stronger chance of staying in center, while Thompson has been long projected as a corner outfielder as his body matures. I think the fact that his defense has improved over the last couple of years in center has quiet down that notion, but I still believe Engel has better tools as a defender, and could offer more value in the future as a center fielder.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Nov 14, 2014 -> 10:08 AM) Again, some of the grades could be for when he watched those guys play, and having conservative grades on things is not a bad thing. Dewon Day supposedly had an 80 slider but we obviously never saw that and he didn't do anything in the majors. Had they called it a 50 or a 60 with flashes of 80, nobody would have thought differently. He mentions that those pitches can be great, but they are usually not. That's just fine. Also, Thompson has put up far better numbers than Engel and has far better tools. It's really not even close. Also, Thompson has spent 5 years in the White Sox minor league system compared to the 2 for Engel and Thompson is still just 9 months older than Engel. Thompson has proven he struggles with contact, but he's still also going to be 24 and likely heading to Charlotte, whereas Engel will be 23 and heading to high A, where Thompson was playing - 3 years ago. I am not even a big Thompson fan, but saying that Thompson and Engel are comparable prospects is crazy. I don't think either statements are true. If you adjust their stats based on their age vs competition, Thompson does have the advantage in that department, but not by a wide margin. As far as tools go, the statement couldn't be more inaccurate. Outside of their hit tool, Engel has some of the best tools of anyone in the system, and has been compared to Mike Trout without the bat. While the comparison is a bit of a reach, it's been well documented that he's a plus plus runner with plus range in center. Both tools are superior to what Thompson has to offer. I believe he also brings an above average arm and above average raw power to the table as well. It's also worth pointing out Engel was rated as one of the best athletes in the entire 2013 draft. At the end of the day, I agree with McDaniel's rank for Engel, but I don't see how Thompson is being ranked so high when he brings the same tools and flaws to the table as Engel, but has not made much progress in the past 3 years.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Nov 13, 2014 -> 07:27 PM) Oh my goodness jesus H christ. So in a little over an hour, we've got Davis surpassing peak KG, Hakeem, Duncan and being more valuable going forward than a top 5 player of all-time, injury proof, physical marvel and the greatest offensive wing talent of all-time? #soxtalk The fact that he's top 5 player (still debatable) player of all time speaks more on his overall body of work and his career accomplishments. You can't deny that he will not be the best player in the league in the near future.

Very informative article, but he's definitely conservative on his tool grades and future projections. Many reports call Rodon's slider an 70/80 pitch ever since he started pitching as a pro. McDaniel has it as a 65/70 pitch. Same with Micah's base running, when healthy, he's closer to 80 runner than the 65 suggested. And I think if Danish, Adams, or Montas makes the majors, they will be better than #4 starters. The fact that he ranked Thompson so high and yet also trashes Engel for his hit tool also suggests flawed logic here. They are essentially the same player with the same tools and same flaws.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Nov 13, 2014 -> 12:40 PM) I'm still taking Lebron or Durant. If I am choosing my franchise cornerstone from here on out, I don't see how you can pick Lebron or Durant over AD. Durant is a finished product and Lebron is set to decline in a year or 2. OTOH Davis is growing like crazy and no one knows what his potential could be. AD is already a force on offense with his athleticism and would only get better with refined post moves. On defense, he will likely win 3-4 DPOY before he retires, that's what separates him from Durant. All the talks of closing games is not merited either. I could see AD getting the ball at the end of games. He's already won a game at the last second this year on a play called for him. It's not like he's Shaq or Howard who you can hack or trap in the post to take them out of the equation. He will be more effective in that role once he develops a more reliable offensive game.

QUOTE (Brian @ Nov 13, 2014 -> 06:12 PM) AD will be better than Duncan when he retires. /runs and hides Better stats, PER, WARP? Yes. But a lot of Duncan's legacy lies on his postseason success and overall playoff appearances. I can't see AD touching that.

What would peak Anthony Davis look like?

I guess the days of advanced stats are here? Felix has slight advantage in traditional stats, but Kluber wins out bWAR and fWAR easily. It's either that or much of voting is done based on park factor.

KING KLUBER

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Nov 12, 2014 -> 04:07 PM) $17.5 mill for a DH. I am not upset they did not sign him. Given the minor inflation between now and 4 years ago, the number is close to the Adam Dunn contract. Not that Dunn lived up to that contract by any means.