ChiSox59

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Aug 6, 2015 -> 03:16 PM) He will have no problem clearing waivers. If someone claims him, the Red Sox will be doing an Irish jig. I wouldn't be very surprised if someone claimed him.

QUOTE (AustinIllini @ Aug 6, 2015 -> 10:22 AM) How many seasons does this or some variation of this have to happen before we start over, though? All but one in the last 9 seasons has been "Well, player X is battling an unseen Y injury and player Z is going to rebound next year and the pitching has been good and the offense has shown signs...". Wake up. They have the worst offense in the AL and now the pitching is going south. I am awake. I just said the offense sucked in the post you quoted. 10 days of poor pitching doesn't change my mind about the staff - it still ranks 3rd in the AL in WAR after getting shelled a few times recently.

With this pitching staff, this team doesn't need a full rebuild. Those that think they do are just b****ing to b****. It is the same group of people everytime. Simply put, the Sox dug themselves a hole the first 2 months of the season that they were unable to dig out of - poor pitching, god awful defense and a historically bad offense will do that. The pitching has rebounded and is now one of the best staffs in MLB this season. The defense has been much, much, much better this summer. The offensive has shown signs, but definitely needs work. IMO, a 3B and C would be my top priorities this offseason, but I don't know how you'll find longterm solutions. The FA class is void in those positions (I would resign Soto, though), so it will require Rick to make a couple trades. I don't think LaRoche is going anywhere, but I do expect him to rebound some next year. He's battled a hand issue all season, which obviously has negatively impacted his bat speed. The biggest issue I see is there are no "quick fixes" to this offense. I think it just needs another chance, which isn't what most here want to see, but I just can't see any other way around it. But a full rebuild is out of the question - and rightfully so.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Aug 5, 2015 -> 02:24 PM) He does a great job of putting the ball in play to the right side, that keeps his average from dropping that low. However, because he's constantly flipping the ball the other way, he's never driving the ball so it becomes a very, very punchless batting average. He was able to do that against minor league pitching because they don't get the scouting reports saying "don't put the ball right here to this guy" and because the control in the minors is lower. In the big leagues, people are just avoiding giving him the ball he can bloop to RF and it's killing him right now. He's absolutely talented, but that only gets you so far. There's no problem with playing as many talented guys as possible even if they've struggled early in their career...as long as you're not dumb enough to count on them as key parts of teams you expect to contribute on a team that must win this year to justify big trades or FA expenditures. Avi would be an absolutely unbelievable slow pitch softball player (as would any MLBer, but really, he'd be unreal).

QUOTE (AustinIllini @ Aug 5, 2015 -> 02:10 PM) This 670 the Score feed... ...radio gold. No but seriously, this is awfully uncomfortable. The TV interview wasn't any better.

Avi says...SUCK IT b****ES!

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Aug 4, 2015 -> 10:34 PM) Fwiw, Chris Bassitt has a shutout going against the Orioles tonight. 6.2 ip, 4 h, 2 bb, 6 k....2.66 era on the season He'd look good in the Charlotte rotation. Because that's where he'd be.

QUOTE (Special K @ Aug 5, 2015 -> 09:08 AM) Ron Gardenhire. Gah. The crusty old man? I'd much rather get someone younger and more in tune with where baseball is headed.

Is it CBB season yet?

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Aug 3, 2015 -> 07:43 PM) Then they shouldn't have signed him. Find a different RH bat. The moment we signed LaRoche we needed one and that was seemingly why Bonifacio made sense to people in the first place. When Boni was signed, I figured it was to be the weak side of the 3B platoon. Beckhams signing threw a wrench in that. I get why they wanted to play Avi every day in RF heading into the season. I don't disagree that another RH bat would have been ideal, but to me, it was Beckham not Boni that screwed that up. I liked the Bonifacio signing - it made a ton of sense and I was one of the biggest proponents of it around here. Robin botched it, but w the way Boni has played all year (albeit in a very SSS), maybe he had a good reason why. But alas, the Sox have a chance to sit LaRoche against LHP now. I doubt they will, but they should. I know you agree.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Aug 3, 2015 -> 07:08 PM) Yes, Bonifacio or Beckham. If Beckham was playing for Gillaspie and you need Soto as a backup C...then put Garcia at DH and Bonifacio in RF. That's what the plan should have been from the day Bonifacio was signed. If we weren't willing to do that then we should have found a different RH hitter and not signed Bonifacio. I'm fine w that argument, I'd probably play Boni out here too, but I understand why they didn't.

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Aug 3, 2015 -> 06:26 PM) They haven''t made the decision to sit LaRoche against lefties and they knew the splits when they acquired him. 5 months of playing him against lefties. What makes you hopeful they will do it now ? Roster construction. Who exactly was a better fit to DH against LHP? Shuck? No, he's a lefty too altho hasn't shown extreme platoon splits, still not gonna DH him or put him in RF against LHP. Bonifacio? Wasn't going to be Gillaspie. Beckham...well he'd ready be a 3B versus the LHP.Soto? Then you have no backup C...you get the point... Now with Trayce they can him him in RF (better for D) and DH Avi who shows a notable platoon split favoring LHP.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Aug 3, 2015 -> 01:52 PM) I think ChiSox59 is speaking more towards his attitude and general focus in his posts rather than them having differences in opinion. Correct.

The Rays lineup is hideous.

QUOTE (Knackattack @ Aug 3, 2015 -> 02:45 PM) They don't have to trade for anything since it was outright waivers. Just got him for nothing Correct. I missppoke - it was outright waivers.

Its a bummer, the Sox probably could have gotten him for a live arm in Single A on Friday. The Jays have no leverage here against the A's. Basically give me something that is worth more than the $20K fee we'll get if we put him on non-revocable waivers.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Aug 3, 2015 -> 02:05 PM) Chris Cotillo ‏@ChrisCotillo 1m1 minute ago Danny Valencia does not get past Athletics on waivers, as Oakland claims him before CWS could get the chance. Before anyone but the A's could get the chance.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Aug 3, 2015 -> 02:03 PM) Billy f***ing Beane. Rhett Bollinger ‏@RhettBollinger 2m2 minutes ago Danny Valencia was claimed on waivers by the A's, the Blue Jays just announced in the pressbox Son of aaaaaaa.

QUOTE (LDF @ Aug 3, 2015 -> 01:30 PM) wow that was harsh. the mods and admin on this site does a great job and an equally great job in the prospect rpts. are they right, no. are they wrong, no. but it is a fans fyi for fans. i appreciate these rpts. His post had absolutely nothing to do with prospect reports or administration of the website. His post said that he expected the White Sox to do the opposite of what he thinks they should do...something he says in nearly all of his posts - whether it be indirect or direct. It just gets brutal to read. The guy clearly knows baseball and advanced stats, but the negativity is just brutal to read. He also considered Melky Cabrera a sunk cost as recently as 40 days ago or so and he is now one of the hottest hitters in the league and his slash line is now pretty much at his career averages. So his negativity has certainly cause him to lose some of his objectiveness. I appreciate the work that the admins do too. I love reading Soxtalk, and FutureSox. That has absolutely nothing to do with constant blind negativity.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Aug 3, 2015 -> 01:22 PM) One remarkable thing might be...he might have pitched so poorly overall this season that you could legitimately see his price dropping into the range where the White Sox could afford him. Why they'd want him after this season I have no clue. But since I think it's a terrible idea, I assume the White Sox will do it. Why don't you work for a front office? Just curious - you seem to think you're well suited for the job.

QUOTE (flavum @ Aug 3, 2015 -> 11:48 AM) It's probably just a service time thing. They usually wait to the day of the first game to make it official. Right, but its already noon. They could have made it the announcement this morning.

I wonder if the delay in the official announcement (since Carroll was optioned, seemed likely someone is on the way), is the hope that they can get Valencia off waivers today to take the roster spot. Not exactly sure what time of the day that the claim will be officially awarded, but it should be today sometime.

QUOTE (LDF @ Aug 3, 2015 -> 11:33 AM) and does anyone really think that the sox will pay 15 mil for a platoon player??? Well, to be accurate, LaRoche is a $12M player this year, and $13M next year, so not $15M. And that is exactly what they did when they signed him. LaRoche's splits have always been such that she shouldn't play against LHP. It really isn't that difficult. Due to the way the team was constructed, there weren't really any better options on the roster this season. However, like I said, that may be changing if Thompson is called up and/or Valencia is acquired. The Sox are paying LaRoche the same amount whether he plays everyday or not. Giving the team a better chance of competing by letting him ride pine against LHP is better for the organization than just running him out there. I am confident (hopeful is probably the better word) that they'll make the right decision if they have a truly better option on the roster. Thompson in RF and Avi at DH would be one of those. Valencia in RF (may not be any better than Avi in the OF, so they're interchangeable in this scenario) and Avi at DH is another.

I don't even know who to root for in the MN/TOR series. I suppose a split, but its painful!!

QUOTE (LDF @ Aug 3, 2015 -> 11:18 AM) ok, no offense, why not?? 1. the sox gets a comp pick 2. shark signs for 1 yr as the QO price, shark rebuild his value, and the sox reaps the reward of his effort. 3. the yr after, the sox gets a comp pick or he signs a club friendly contract. Here is how it will go: 1. Sox give Shark the Qualifying Offer; 2. Shark rejects said Qualifying Offer in hopes of securing a long term contract; 3. Shark sits on the market and watches Price and Cueto set the price for the top of line SP; 4. Shark signs in January or February for something far less than Price and Cueto, and the team who acquires him, gives up their first round pick. Why it is not a win-win, is Shark would have a draft pick tied to him. It would improve his market if he didn't. But it today's game, pretty much all good FA will have a pick attached to him, so it is less of a big deal than it was before the new CBA. But it is still a 1st round pick, and most teams hate forfeiting picks.