Southwest Sider

Ynoa a bust? Dudes just turned 23. Coop'll fix 'em and we just snagged another bullpen piece. Yeah buddy!!! Edit: probably not this year though. Still hasn't cracked AA.

It seems the Sox are trying to move Danks, but if that doesn't happen then this is what happens next season. Your rotation is set. Nothing Rodon can do to change that unless Noesi absolutely lays an egg in Spring Training. You have a couple of months to see what you have in Danks and Noesi. I know a lot have soured on Johnny, but I still believe he can be a good #4/#5 type (maybe a little overpaid but oh well). Noesi also shows promise and definitely deserves a shot to see what he can give us. You have Rodon continue to adjust to life as a professional baseball player, without thrusting him into the spotlight. If Danks or Noesi suck or someone gets injured, you use someone else until Rodons correct arbitration clock time. If our rotation is SOLID, and we are contending, bring up Rodon in the bullpen. If our rotation is solid but for some reason we are not contending, let Rodon finish the season in the minors accumulating innings. That's my two cents.

I wasn't a huge fan of trading a guy like Semien. He had some nice clutch hits last year, which helped me become a fan of his. But I also really want Samardzija in this rotation, and Semien seems like the exact kind of guy that Billy Beane would target. High OBP potential. Bassitt is another nice piece, as well. Given the choice between Noesi and Bassitt, I think I keep Noesi. I'm happy with the fact that we were able to keep Anderson and a few of our other core prospects. The discussion in the last few pages as revolved a lot around the question of should the Sox be trying to contend now. Obviously, they are, but are they making the right call? I think you have to consider that the contention window has kind of "prematurely" (if you will) opened. A couple years ago we just had Sale, and while Sale is awesome, if you don't have the right pieces in place, then you cannot contend. But then you start to consider that we also have Quintana, Abreu and Eaton. 1 more elite player, and 2 more if-not-elite-then-very-good players who are good NOW. If you wait one or two years to go for it, then who knows what kind of position you could be in. Maybe the Sox wait a whole 2 more seasons before deciding to go for it, but as they get to the offseason players who were good now no longer are good, or get injured. Then you get into a situation where you planned to contend, but the pieces were not in place anymore and then Sox fans have to wait even longer for the Sox next contention window. All that said, I agree with what the Sox are doing. This has been an excellent offseason so far, and they are VERY close to having a solid group. And the more I think about it, should some of the above happen within the next two years, you still are not strapped for cash and you still have prospects to work with one way or the other, all the while having tradeable assets on short term deals. If it doesn't work out, you can trade Alexei, you can trade Laroche, you can presumably trade Duke if he continues to play well, and you can also trade Robertson. Sure, he's on a 4 year deal now, but the man should have no problem remaining an elite relief pitcher for the next 2 years, and if things don't go well for the Sox as far as contending goes, I think teams would love to trade for 2 years of Robertson. I'm loving it. Kenny was right.. it's getting back to where we can start dreaming and believing again. And it didn't really take long at all.

So, I'm finding this thread to be a little redundant, is anyone else? Every rumor or murmur will have a topic thread created for it already.

QUOTE (South Sider @ Dec 8, 2014 -> 09:34 AM) All the GMs are in their war rooms having coffee and breakfast. Or maybe Hahn and Beane are getting a skillet and discussing the trade already. Hahaha! Of course, Ken Rosenthal would be in disguise sitting at the table next to them and tweeting: Rick Hahn and Billy Beane getting a skillet together. Trade coming soon?

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Dec 8, 2014 -> 09:31 AM) MLBTR needs to step up their game. They haven't put up anything in two hours. All the GMs are in their war rooms having coffee and breakfast. Or maybe Hahn and Beane are getting a skillet and discussing the trade already. Hahaha!

Looks like it'll end up being Duquette. This topic could probably be unpinned and have "may resign" text removed.

It's a really good thing that the Sox found a way to keep Hahn around. If Kenny ends up splitting, at least we still have Rick. Kind of a shame Tony LaRussa has a home now. If Kenny splits, I wonder how interested he'd have been to take his old job.

Wow, this really came out of left field. I don't think the Sox have a CEO position. The only position above KW is Howard Pizer at Senior Executive Vice President. And one would have to assume that Kenny would have to be financially invested in the team to be a Vice Chairman. Presumably, he'd also have to get voted in by the group? Different ownership scenarios between the Sox and Blue Jays, being that they are owned by Rodgers Communications.

Stuff like this happens when you play like a dirtbag (RE: Corey Perry). Nice hip check, Ballard.

Very happy to beat Les Habitants at the last minute, but I would have loved to have saved a victory like this for a team like Nashville... ohhh they think they are going to get at least a point... oh wait, nope! Not quite!

QUOTE (Real @ Dec 4, 2014 -> 10:34 AM) signing scherzer isn't a flop if he doesn't come with a world series appearance, just a playoff appearance alone would keep the seats filled for the following season casual fans like the big shiny names, and most fans of any team are casual fans It's true. Laroche, while a good player, isn't going to attract extra fans to the park. Scherzer or Lester would. Shields, to a much lesser degree, might. You have to spend money to make money, right?

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Dec 4, 2014 -> 10:13 AM) I'm telling you, we have more payroll and adding a REALLY good RHP to the rotation immediately makes us contenders IMO. Agreed with this. Scherzer would be amazing, but I'm excited for the team to add any really good RHP right now. I hope it gets done.

A big part of people wanting to go to games is having players who are worth it. At my job, we planned out going to a game a month in advance and did our very best to guess which day would be a day that Chris Sale pitches. Chris Sale is an electric player. People will pay to see him. Problem is, Chris only pitches 1 out of every 5 games, so having Sale on your team only boosts your attendance 1 out of 5 games. You need offensive players who are also electric. Jose Abreu is the prime example of this. He alone can draw more ticket sales. I didn't go to any Sox games 2 seasons ago. Who would? The team was lousy and didn't have any electric offensive players. Fast forward to this past season. We all witness what Jose Abreu is doing. It's amazing... it's... fun! It's worth shelling out a bunch of money to go see him play! If you can't go to a game and expect the Sox to win, then you need to be able to go and at least see top-notch players. Abreu/Sale is pretty much the only reason I decided to go to games this past season. Funny thing is... Abreu went like 0 for 8, and Sale didn't pitch too well the game I went to, and the Sox got shut out in the first game and lost the second game. But I still enjoyed myself. As for having a lot to do after the game.... eh. For me, it's all about pregame. The ability to tailgate, drink and eat before going in. That's worth a lot to me. Post game, it's usually to the point where I'm ready to go home anyway. I'm not going to go drink more at a bar. Maybe during a day game I'll go somewhere else in the city afterwards. Being a suburbanite, there's a fairly long drive to get home to consider.

Obviously, I'd love to have Scherzer on the team. History says that Boras usually gets what he wants with big free agents, sadly. However, if it comes down to February, and Scherzers best offer doesn't completely annihilate what it seems like Lester would get (6/145), are you guys in? Would you offer and sign Scherzer to a contract like 6/165? I think he'll still end up with his 200 million, but I think I'd be in at the former price.

Nice win! I always love seeing the Blues go down!

Just when things are starting to look very bright for the Hawks, this happens. Crow!!! There will be plenty of time for you to dance after your NHL career is over!! Well, Raanta played well when Crow was injured last December. Hopefully he can do that again. And if not... there is Darling.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Dec 2, 2014 -> 12:45 PM) I don't think we want to see the White Sox trade for Samardzija. I really don't. Beane typically asks for and gets the moon for his players. I've read a lot of your posts here before creating an account, and you seem like a very knowledgeable poster. A post of mine detailing an offer I'd make for Shark is in the last page. Do you have any thoughts on it? Would you do that deal? Would the Sox do that deal? Would Beane die of laughter? It's clear the Red Sox can surpass that deal, but if they don't....

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Dec 2, 2014 -> 11:53 AM) I think they could easily acquire both Lester and Samardzija. Frankly, they need to as their rotation is incredibly thin. Frankly, the more I think about this, the more I think Beane is using the White Sox as leverage against the Red Sox. The Red Sox are in a much better position to trade for Samardzija both regarding their minor league depth, their major league team, and their ability to spend. I just don't think the White Sox can afford to trade quite a few of their guys right now. Good point... sigh. I can only hope that Boston doesn't blow Beane away with an offer. If given the choice between two packages of similar values between White and Red Sox, I would have to think he would choose the White Sox offer if only to not bolster an opponent that he may see as more of a present-time threat to his World Series chances.

QUOTE (MDWhiteSoxFan @ Dec 2, 2014 -> 11:50 AM) What in your mind does Hahn give up for Shark that would be in lines with the future plans? I'm not too knowledgeable about White Sox prospects, so ultimately whatever deal I put out there is probably either not good enough, or too good. I'm also biased, because I like Semien and think he can become a quality major league player. Personally, I like to pencil him in as the 2B of the future, which leaves him out of this deal. Obviously, everyone loves Anderson and many are penciling him as the SS of the future. He's not in my deal. It also seems like the Sox are not interested in punting 2015, which means that we need Alexei Ramirez and he cannot be traded. I'd try to sell Beane on a 3 or 4 player deal. I would throw out an offer of Montas, Sanchez, Davidson and maybe one of our players who could be deemed as a "lottery ticket". Not really sure who fits that profile. For us, yes it would stink to lose Montas, but we've already got what I perceive to be our RF of the future out of the Peavy deal, and if we can use one of the pieces of that deal to bring in another SP, I'm all for it. He is a promising player and you know, you have to give up something to get something. Sanchez is another player I like what I saw from in limited ML action, and hopefully Beane did too. This will give him another MIF prospect to work with and he will have a nice surplus should he be interested in trading any of them in the future. Finally, it seems that Billy Beane likes "buy low" candidates, and Davidson could be a real target for him (or he could not). He had a bad year but he's still a younger guy and hopefully learning. I don't think Davidson is "done" by any stretch of the imagination, and he could end up being better for it. Time will tell. For me, I like that deal for the Sox because we give up the 2nd best player from the Peavy deal, our acquisition from the Reed deal, and one or two of our homegrown types for a legit #2/3 pitcher, with that idea that the Sox will aggressively pursue a semi-longterm deal. I know there has been debate in this thread about if we should even bother giving Shark an extension, but I think it would make a lot of sense to do that for a couple of reasons. 1) He seems to be durable, with a delivery that doesn't seem to be too susceptible to injury. 2) He really is a good pitcher, and you can never have enough really good pitchers. 3) It is conceivable that he could take a slight discount, especially if the Sox give him an offer competitive with what the market bears for Lester and Shields. It sucks to think about sinking $20 million into one player, but you will never be lucky enough to have a complete rotation with Sale/Quintana type players for the kind of money they are making. One of these days, as much as the Reinsdorf may not like it, the Sox are going to have to be players in the actual starting pitching market. Shark seems like as good a bet as any. I like him better then Shields. He should cost less then Lester. He will cost less then Scherzer. If, for some reason, you can't agree to a deal with Shark, then you get to extend a qualifying offer, and move on to a pretty decent class of free agents. You absolutely pursue one of Cueto, Price, Latos, Zimmermann, Porcello and of course, Shark with the idea that you will sign one of them. It's plain and simple, the Sox need another great starting pitcher, and they're going to want one that they can pencil into the rotation for a few seasons. You're not going to sign Shields, Lester or Scherzer, but you still at least want one for the rotation for 2015. Trade for Shark, do everything you can to resign him. If all else fails, sign a free agent next offseason. Either way, you're going to have to pay them the big bucks. It all depends on if Beane is asking us to mortgage our future. Any deal involving Anderson and Semien I am not cool with unless the deal is expanded to include more players coming from Oakland.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Dec 2, 2014 -> 11:09 AM) Tracey Myers ‏@TramyersCSN 17m17 minutes ago Patrick Sharp joining the #Blackhawks at practice today. Excellent. It will be nice to have Sharp back on the point soon. If the team keeps playing like this, and the power play gets a boost.... look out NHL.

I'd kill to know how far apart Beane and Hahn are. And what kind of deal Boston is offering. They may not even have one on the table yet. Boston might be waiting for Lester to decide where he's signing before making a real offer for Shark. That makes it tougher for Hahn, because he may be offering a nice deal for Shark, one that Beane might even consider taking, but Beane also knows that if Lester signs with anyone other then Boston, he could potentially get a better deal from them. Even though I can't stand the Red Sox, it is undeniable that they can spend a lot of money. I guess I'm hoping that they do sign Lester, so that the other major bidder for Shark is now out of the bidding.

QUOTE (LDF @ Nov 30, 2014 -> 10:34 AM) so much for trading with Minny, Det and Cle, uh. In certain situations, it can be okay, heh. Like a couple years ago when we were in the race and traded for Liriano. Deals like those seem to happen only during the season when it becomes clear where your team stands. Minny knew they were out, so they traded us Liriano. Sox knew they were out, so they traded Peavy to Boston. The offseason is so different, though. Minnesota, right now, has hopes of winning the division. Therefore it would be almost unfathomable to deal with the White Sox even if both teams improved from the deal. What I'm getting at, though, is that Boston has had it FAR too easy this offseason up to this point. They signed two of the biggest bats available. Forget the White Sox, why would any AL team be interested in helping the Red Sox acquire a good starting pitcher for Cespedes, someone that they want to get rid of? Boston should have to pay out the nose to trade for a good starting pitcher.

Count me OUT if we're pretty much trading Alexei for Cespedes. I want an outfielder as much as the next guy, but not for our short stop. And not a guy like Cespedes. And certainly not to help an AL team like Boston get better.