OmarComing25

QUOTE (Whitey @ Nov 25, 2015 -> 09:14 AM) Sitting through the past season, I anxiously awaited the accountability and change that undoubtedly would have to come as a response to the overall ineptitude and lack of effort we witnessed last year. Instead, we get the same coach and management back next year, with no real plan in place. Next year could range anywhere from them being a perennial contender, to them needing a complete rebuild… they just have to let it percolate a bit to figure it out I guess. This shows that they have no real vision at all for the future, and no faith in their own scouting abilities. If they did, they would know exactly where they stand, and they would be hitting the ground running. Instead, they are just flopping in the wind, going day to day (decision by decision) it seems. That is pretty alarming to me. Strong contender for biggest overreaction of the offseason post so far.

QUOTE (BlackSox13 @ Nov 24, 2015 -> 08:56 AM) It is a good strategy considering they have not won a WS in over 100 years and made it to the NLCS last season. Will the strategy work? Who knows but we'll have a better idea by the end of February. Not really, unless we know all the offers teams made. Any free agents that sign with the Cubs are likely to have taken the highest offer.

QUOTE (SoxPride18 @ Nov 23, 2015 -> 10:54 AM) Another blow up scenario. Resign RP Matt Albers 1 year/3 million Resign C Geo Soto 1 year/2 million Trade SP Chris Sale, CF Adam Eaton, and C Tyler Flowers to the Red Sox for SS Xander Bogaerts, C Blake Swihart, CF Mookie Betts, 3B Rafael Devers, and SP Henry Owens Trade 1B Jose Abreu to the Mets for 1B Lucas Duda, SP Noah Syndergaard, and SP Gabriel Ynoa Trade SP Jose Quintana and 2B Micah Johnson to the Diamondbacks for RF Ender Inciarte, SP Archie Bradley, SP Joan Lopez, 2B/SS Chris Owings and SP Brandon Shipley Trade RF Avisail Garcia to the Phillies for 3B Cody Asche Trade LF Melky Cabrera to the Astros for UTIL Nolan Fontana and SP Asher Wojciechowski Trade CP David Robertson to the Blue Jays for SP Justin Maese and SP Clinton Hollon Lineup: CF Betts RF Inciarte (L) SS Bogaerts DH Duda (L) C Swihart 1B LaRoche (L) LF Thompson 3B Asche (L) 2B Sanchez/Owins OF Shuck, C Soto, UTIL Saladino, UTIL Sanchez/Owings Rotation: SP Syndergaard SP Rodon (L) SP Owens (L) SP Bradley SP Danks (L) The Mets wouldn't trade Thor for Abreu straight up (nor should they), let alone add two more players with him.

QUOTE (zenryan @ Nov 21, 2015 -> 02:43 PM) Should've been PI in the end zone against UF. Two blatant PI that weren't called. FAU should have won. Thankfully I trust the playoff committee saw that.

QUOTE (zenryan @ Nov 21, 2015 -> 12:52 PM) Florida is tied with Florida Atlantic in the 3rd....0-0 Overtime now, and the refs bail out Florida. The amount of close escapes Florida has had against crappy teams this year is ridiculous. What a joke.

QUOTE (ChiSox59 @ Nov 20, 2015 -> 01:17 PM) You'd sure think so, but it wouldn't be the first time Robin has chosen not to follow clear platoons. Obviously LaRoche didn't play much in the 2nd half, but it wouldn't shock me in the least to see him get starts against LHP early. Melky needs to be the DH as often as possible. Conor had only 15 PA against LHP this year, that gives me the confidence that Robin will platoon LaRoche, especially because it's the last year of his contract, there's no need to "justify" the salary anymore. But you're right, it wouldn't be that surprising if he didn't.

http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/cubs/post/...gue-in-playoffs Arrieta says he had dead arm during the playoffs. Surprised Maddon doesn't take more heat for riding him so hard in August and September, especially since it was clear he was going to blow past his previous career high in IP.

QUOTE (Special K @ Nov 20, 2015 -> 12:42 PM) I'm not saying there won't be a slight improvement, but at this point, I'm not counting on it. As far as the comparison to Dunn goes, wasn't his knee also ailing him in 2011? I believe there were also some family issues, so there was some sort of explanation for his poor year. I haven't heard anything that might account for LaRoche's play other than the fact that he is just isn't good anymore. LaRoche was clearly not 100% healthy in the last few months of the season. No one is expecting career averages LaRoche next year, but s*** happens, poor years happen, he was pretty good just two years ago, it's not unthinkable he can bounce back to something like .750-.775 OPS, especially if Robin limits his ABs against LHP, which I think he will (Thompson likely starts those days, with Melky taking the DH spot).

I really doubt Hahn wants to do a scorched earth rebuild. You can rebuild without blowing it up, which I think Hahn wants to do.

QUOTE (GREEDY @ Nov 19, 2015 -> 02:11 PM) This is why I think Hahn is likely to blow this thing up. Aggressive but realistic moves just can't put this roster anywhere close to contention unless Mekly & LaRoche somehow miraculously get back to career averages. You act like we lost 95 games last year.

QUOTE (jasonxctf @ Nov 19, 2015 -> 12:34 PM) What was Trayce's wRC/WAR for the last 2 months of the season? That's kind of my point. In small sample sizes, the guy was gangbusters for the first 30 or so at bats. Then he dropped off dramatically. I'm sure Avi's wrc/war was great for the first month or two of the season when he was hitting above .300 too in 155AB's. You're still ignoring defense here.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Nov 19, 2015 -> 12:14 PM) The Cubs still love Baez. There are some in their organization who think he would be a better SS than Russell. I mean, the guy has his flaws, but he was still rated as a top 5 prospect in all of baseball just a couple years ago for a reason. We aren't getting him cheap if we want him.

QUOTE (ChiSoxFanMike @ Nov 19, 2015 -> 12:09 PM) Is that true? If so, the Cubs are idiots. It wasn't just Baez, he would have been the centerpiece of a package. Also it wasn't confirmed IIRC, was just speculation.

QUOTE (ChiSoxFanMike @ Nov 19, 2015 -> 11:31 AM) I wonder if the Cubs would trade Baez for Avi and Danish/Beck/etc? Cubs refused to give up Baez for Tyson Ross (at least that's what I took away from last year's trade deadline), they would laugh hard at this proposal.

QUOTE (LDF @ Nov 19, 2015 -> 10:54 AM) 2 totally different things. What is different? He posted that Eaton doesn't count as a win in talent evaluation all because 1 really bad month supposedly discounts two really good seasons. Where's the logic in that?

QUOTE (lasttriptotulsa @ Nov 19, 2015 -> 10:39 AM) I think the question is not really whether Walker is better than Sanchez, it's more is the difference between Walker and Sanchez worth trading prospects away and adding a difference of roughly $9.5 million dollars in salary for a guy with just one year team control? And, in my opinion, the answer to that question is no. Especially when we have other greater needs when could spend that money and those prospects on. If Walker had another year of control I'd consider it, but just for 2016? Pass. We have too many holes to commit to one-year guys.

And because Eaton had a poor April that somehow discounts him too, even though his overall numbers for the year were pretty good.

QUOTE (oneofthemikes @ Nov 19, 2015 -> 09:55 AM) But part of the problem is that they are so poor as talent evaluators that even in "an offer they like" they will likely end up with sub par pieces coming back. Right because the Sox have never made a good trade or picked up guys undervalued by other clubs that turned out well for them. The Sox have done a very poor job of developing position players, but they've done OK in trades and international signings, this narrative that they're 100% incompetent when it comes to identifying talent is so lazy and tired.

QUOTE (fathom @ Nov 18, 2015 -> 08:33 PM) Phil Rogers ‏@philgrogers 32m32 minutes ago Theo Epstein and Jeff Samardzija hanging together tonight in Chicago. Cubs have an interest in him. #HotStove #Cubs Man imagine the fury on this board if Jeff goes back to the Cubs and has a great season.

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Nov 18, 2015 -> 07:01 PM) I feel like his fastball got hit a lot because he was cutting down on sliders. Not sure the stats back that up but I'm sure someone who knows where to find his BAA on fastballs and BAA on sliders and changeups will tell us. Lefties I think also hit him much better than in past years. Maybe too many fastballs instead of sliders to LH's ? http://www.fangraphs.com/pitchfx.aspx?play...&position=P

I still don't think Greinke would have won if he pitched for the Pirates or Cardinals instead with the same numbers.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Nov 18, 2015 -> 06:16 PM) Baez is a guy I wouldn't mind the White Sox gamble on - I like the idea of piling up guys who have talent but who have had major issues in the past to see if they can turn things around. That's one way to fix the mess fairly quickly - find a guy another team gives up on that turns his career around. However, I'd look at him that way - nothing more than a low value gamble, whereas I think they'd still like to get substantial value for him. I wouldn't mind a Baez gamble either, but not as a centerpiece to a Quintana trade, no thank you. Also for those who want Schwarber, Quintana should not be traded for a DH projected at 2 WAR and with whom we would still royally suck against LHP. Maybe if other pieces came with Schwarber, but I feel like the Cubs would push for a 1-to-1 swap.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Nov 18, 2015 -> 05:57 PM) Generally half surprised that Detroit still looking to "all-in" it again. Can't help but expect them to do something big in the FA market after that deal. With the Verlander and Cabrera deals, what other choice do they have?

Even if ISIS started successfully pulling off attacks in the US, you'd still be much more likely to die driving to work than in a terrorist attack. Precautions are good, but you have to draw the line somewhere.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Nov 18, 2015 -> 02:54 PM) Best FIP because of what. Because FIP values strike-outs more than anything out, but a good pitch still is effective. With the same defense, Greinke gave up fewer hits and had a lower WHIP. Yes, Kershaw gave up more homeruns than would be expected and he shouldn't have, but whatever, that doesn't matter because this is based upon real performance and this season he really did give up those runs. Just because they had the same defense doesn't mean it affected their performance in the exact same way. Defenses don't play the exact same way every game. Kershaw led baseball in lowest exit velocity coming off the bat. You're giving Greinke way too much credit for the outs he got without a strikeout. His absurdly low BABIP (.229 vs. a career .298) suggests he was a huge beneficiary of good luck. Hell Brett Anderson led the MLB in soft-hit% and gave up the lowest line drive rate of all qualified starters, yet behind that same defense he still had a BABIP over .300.