Black_Jack29

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Jul 24, 2016 -> 10:10 AM) If his point truly was that he was angry the team was more concerned about PR and marketing than winning, then I actually think he wants to pitch for the sox and win. He just chose an extremely childish way of making his point Sale has been at war with Kenny Williams since his rookie season, and I think that the "more concerned about PR and marketing than winning" bit was just a reason to dump more fuel on the fire.

QUOTE (ptatc @ Jul 24, 2016 -> 10:07 AM) If it truly was that big of a deal, he could have pitched today. They could have used the ill excuse. To me it shows a mental weakness in sale. I have never heard anyone use the uncomfortable uniform excuse for performance. He just didn't want to wear them and this is how he thought it was appropriate to punish the people who were going to make him do it. In addition, it shows that Sale has contempt for the Sox organization. If Sale was known as a happy-go-lucky type, I'm sure that his actions would've been viewed as a prank, and he would've just been verbally reprimanded and fined. But the Sox's response clearly shows that Sale wasn't just joking around, and that the Sox are tired of putting up with his crap. As was mentioned earlier in this thread, this is likely tied to the leaked rumors that the front office is currently shopping Sale, which Sale is apparently unhappy about. So, to me, the jersey incident isn't so much about the jerseys as the long-standing feud between Sale and the front office.

I think it's pretty obvious that Sale doesn't want to play for the Sox anymore. Combine that with his inability to control his anger and the quasi-dead-arm issues that he seems to suffer in September, and I don't see how he's going to be somebody that you can count on in October. Given that, the Sox's record, the Sox's needs at at least three positions, and Sale's team-friendly contract, Hahn should look to trade him now, rather than a year or two from now. It would take a really nice package of young, ML-ready talent, but I think that the Sox would be better off if they ditched this mental case and strengthened the team in other areas.

Benetti is competent and brings some much-needed humor to the broadcast, but I think that he sounds a little generic at times. Then again, it's his first season and I think that he'll grow into a solid PBP guy. The current arrangement with Stone works because Stoney is a baseball encyclopedia and future HOF broadcaster. The roles are well-defined: Benetti calls the on-field action and Stone offers the analysis. There's no conflict or ego collisions. I loved 1990s Hawk, but that guy is gone and it's time for him to hang up his mic.

QUOTE (soxforlife05 @ Jun 23, 2016 -> 03:19 PM) He left 2 runners on with no outs, I don't think you can say that. ... and only gave up one run through five innings prior to that. While three runs over five innings may not qualify as a quality start, it's far from a bad one. Meanwhile, Albers could not only not keep those two inherited runners from crossing the plate, but also allowed two earned runs of his own. Hell, he couldn't even record an out before he was pulled. So, yeah, Albers sucked today.

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Jun 23, 2016 -> 02:06 PM) Well, his line would've been much better had they not brought him out for the 6th. Albers deserves most of the blame there. Even if Shields' two walks cross the plate, the Sox would've still been up 4-3 if Albers had been able to do his job. It's amazing how far Albers has fallen over the past month and a half.

QUOTE (sammy esposito @ Jun 22, 2016 -> 05:41 AM) Since Thome we have not had an effective left handed hitter who could play the designated hitter role effectively if Morneau could play first base even better. Thome did receive the comebackplayer of the year award. Dunn's second year with the Sox was pretty good.

QUOTE (Thad Bosley @ Jun 21, 2016 -> 12:22 PM) Can I get this in writing, please? I wish that I could help you there. I really think that this is his last push. JR will be 82 in 2018 and I don't think that he's going to want to continue running the day-to-day operations while the team rebuilds for another push in 2020.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Jun 21, 2016 -> 12:46 PM) And Shields is the first move Hahn has made where my initial thought was "...this is bad." Exactly. I liked the Samardzija trade but hated the thought of Shields from the get-go. Given that Hahn tends to be rational and measured, I'm wondering if the Shields move was his call or Kenny's.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jun 21, 2016 -> 12:33 PM) It would happen because the front office decides that this strategy didn't work, and that the time has come for real change. I think there is about a zero chance of it happening, as the more meatball portion of the fanbase would absolutely meltdown, and the organziation knows that. Of course, JR has done that before and the meatballs have returned as soon as the Sox have become competitive again. It's almost pointless to care what the meatballs think about a rebuild when they won't show up to watch a .500 team that's only three games behind in a weak division. My guess is that JR pulls the plug sometime between July of 2017 and July of 2018 and that he puts the team up for sale afterwards.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Jun 21, 2016 -> 11:33 AM) Added comments in bold. I pretty much agree with your comments. Hahn's big screw-ups were Shields, LaRoche (nobody saw that coming), Sharks (again, nobody saw that coming), and letting Konerko collect too much money while in severe decline. The other moves that he made that didn't work out are far less consequential, IMO.

QUOTE (Lip Man 1 @ Jun 21, 2016 -> 11:23 AM) A poster at another Sox web site, compiled a list of positive and negative items in their opinion Hahn has done. I submit it here without comment for discussion purposes since that seems to be a running debate right now. "There are basically 4 things I think Hahn has done well, and 2 of them are contract based. 1.) Sale's contract 2.) Quintana's contract 3.) Sign Abreu 4.) Trade for Eaton The rest of his timeline as GM is a mess. 1.) Chose Flowers over Pierzynski 2.) Jeff Keppinger for $12 million 3.) Traded Matt Thornton (who was still productive last year and has played in the postseason) for no MLB talent. 4.) Traded Jake Peavy (who went on to contribute for 2 World Series champs) into Avisail Garcia 5.) Traded Alex Rios (who went on to contribute for a World Series champ) into Leury Garcia. 6.) Extended Robin Ventura 7.) Paul Konerko's last 2 years for $16 million 8.) Addison Reed for Matt Davidson 9.) Rushed Rodon to MLB 10.) Traded Dunn, Beckham, and De Aza (2 of the 3 having an impact on postseason games) for no MLB talent 11.) Adam LaRoche for $25 million 12.) Jeff Samardzija for Marcus Semien, Josh Phegley, and $10 million 13.) Melky Cabrera for $42 million 14.) David Robertson for $46 million 15.) Todd Frazier for Trayce Thompson, Micah Johnson, and $16.5 million 16.) Mat Latos 17.) Jimmy Rollins 18.) Waiting at least 2 years too long before releasing John Danks 19.) James Shields for Erik Johnson and $27 million 20.) Has refused to fire the coaching staff. 21.) Spent five million on utility infielders Beckham and Bonifacio who did nothing." Feel free to comment on what you think. I agree with some of the items, disagree with some others. Mark While many of these negatives are definitely Hahn's fault, Robertson and Melky have both been worth the money, Frazier was a smart trade, and Rodon performed well for a guy who was "rushed." There are a lots of legit gripes about Hahn, but this list goes way overboard. Also, if Kenny hadn't turned the Sox farm system into a mess, Hahn wouldn't have had to hold on to a mediocre John Danks to anchor the #5 spot or gamble on Jimmy Rollins or Mat Latos. Edit: Sorry, I thought that this was your list. I didn't read your post closely enough.

The Sox aren't going to trade Sale or any other of their elite players this season. They're too invested in winning now. Next July may be a different story. I also think that when the Sox do trade one of their studs, it's Sale and not Q. Sale is under team control for one fewer year, has more dominant stuff, and will net the better package. IMO, the Sox will need Q for the rebuilding process.

QUOTE (ChiSox59 @ Jun 21, 2016 -> 12:18 PM) Jose Quintana is a #1 on most teams. This season, yes. Prior to this season, his numbers would make him a #2 on a lot of teams.

QUOTE (Joshua Strong @ Jun 20, 2016 -> 04:23 PM) If you're doing a rebuild, who's untouchable/who are you holding on to? I would say that Rodon, Anderson, and my current prospects are all untouchable going forward. You? Definitely Rodon and Anderson. And I'd probably add Quintana to that list. He's very cheap for a #2 and under team control through 2020. He's also under-valued to the point where I don't think that trading him would net a fair return. I wouldn't say that Eaton is untouchable, but I'd strongly prefer to build around him and a GM would really have to overwhelm me to get him.

QUOTE (chitownsportsfan @ Jun 20, 2016 -> 04:55 PM) Hahn has to be smarter than this. You either give him the dreaded vote of confidence or you spout a platitude like "we evaluate everyone on a daily basis blah blah blah". Perhaps I'm not well-versed enough in executive-talk etiquette, but I'm not seeing much of a difference between the bolded above and what Hahn said... QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Jun 20, 2016 -> 04:02 PM) Colleen Kane ‏@ChiTribKane 2m2 minutes ago Rick Hahn gave same line on Robin Ventura: "I don’t think it’s in anybody’s best interest to comment on the status of anybody in uniform." To me, both of those statements are a form of, "We're not going to comment on coaching staff or players right now." And I don't see what's wrong with that. Also keep in mind that the Sox front office tends to say what will further their cause, regardless of the truth. Given that most of the Sox fan base wanted RV run out of town a month ago, it would be counterproductive of Hahn to come out and publicly give RV a vote of confidence right now.

QUOTE (IowaSoxFan @ Jun 20, 2016 -> 11:50 AM) Robertson, Melky, Navarro, Shields, and maybe Frazier if he picks it up in July. The rest would be on the market after the season when there would be more bidders available. No GM in his right mind would trade for Shields. Navarro may be a tough sell as well.

He's progressing nicely, especially for a guy who was promoted to the bigs pretty much immediately. He's a solid #3 who will likely be a top-of-the-rotation guy in a couple more years.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jun 20, 2016 -> 11:18 AM) The Sox had to wait on Renteria because if Bud Black got the Washington job, he was going with him. We do know they wanted to speak to Sandy, to say one was the #1 choice, we really don't know, but the Sox seem happy with what they got. Sandy did say he wouldn't take the job out of respect to Robin, but I believe he refused to interview. It's possible that Alomar didn't take the job for the reason that he publicly gave, but I think it's naive to take those comments at face value. If Alomar was interested in taking a managerial position in the foreseeable future, remaining as first-base coach on a team whose manager has a proven track record and isn't really on the hot seat doesn't make sense. My guess is that Alomar is either happy doing what he does in Cleveland, isn't interested in making the leap to manager any time soon, or doesn't think that managing the Sox would put him in a position to succeed (or perhaps a combination of all three).

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Jun 20, 2016 -> 10:57 AM) NO. It's because he saw the writing on the wall of Ventura getting fired in season and didn't want to be the Elephant in he room with people clamoring for him to be the replacement. Yeah, it has to be that. It can't be because Alomar wanted to wait for the opportunity to work for a better-run organization. Renteria had no qualms about taking the bench coach position and, presumably, the manager position next season. That tells you that he actually wants to work for the Sox. If I'm hiring and the guy I liked the most chose to continue in a lower-level position with a different organization, I have second thoughts about interviewing that guy again.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Jun 20, 2016 -> 10:34 AM) Carlos Rodon has Scott Boras as an agent. I think it's very unlikely even though I'd be trying to lock down something right now. If Rodon wants to take the money early, he'll do it regardless of what Boras wants. Rodon has been pretty solid for a young pitcher so far, but has not exactly been setting the world on fire, which reduces his leverage. Regardless, Rodon can't hit free agency until 2022, so he's part of the rebuilding plan, regardless of what he chooses to do. Renteria is arguably a better fit at this point because he's familiar with the current players and the organization. Continuity is important, which is why a lot of bench coaches get promoted when their managers are axed. The Sox didn't hire a reasonably successful former manager as a bench coach to be a bench coach for long. That doesn't necessarily mean that Alomar won't be managing the Sox next year, but I think that Renteria has to be their first choice at this point. Alomar's refusal to take the bench coaching job this past winter may have also been the polite way of saying that he's not all that into the Sox.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Jun 20, 2016 -> 10:27 AM) THere's no way that Rodon is signing an extension and I very much doubt that Renteria is managing next season. Sandy Alomar much more likely in my opinion. You may be right about Rodon, but young pitchers are far more inclined than position players to to take the big payday when they can. Sale and Q both did. Injuries frequently destroy pitching careers. I disagree with you about Renteria. He was clearly (to me) brought in here to eventually replace RV, as he's had decent success as a manager and is fluent in Spanish. When JR fires (or "promotes") RV this winter, I guarantee you that Renteria will be offered the job. Whether or not he takes it may be a different story.

The Sox have committed too much money and have too much talent in the clubhouse to blow it up right now. I'd say that they're at least 12 months from that point. If I were in Hahn's position, I'd sign Rodon, Lawrie, and Frazier (assuming that he starts hitting again) to extensions this winter and do what I can to address DH, C, and CF. If the Sox are struggling in July of 2017, I'd seriously consider dealing Sale, Robertson, and Jones to the highest bidders at the deadline. I wouldn't do a full rebuild, as they should have enough of a core at that point to compete in 2019. That core would include Quintana, Rodon, Fulmer (hopefully), Eaton, Anderson, and Frazier (see above). If I were JR, I'd look to replace Kenny with Hahn and hire a new GM in the winter of 2017/2018. I'm assuming that Renteria will be our opening day manager in 2017 and I'd keep him and his staff in place during the partial rebuild.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jun 18, 2016 -> 08:56 PM) 9 consecutive years with over 200 innings pitched, there has to be something physically wrong...maybe not a tear, but a fraying, so to speak. If there is something physically wrong with him, it's going to be more difficult for him to recover at age 34 than it would've been able to at age 24.

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Jun 18, 2016 -> 08:01 PM) Send him to the 15 day DL with a phantom injury, hope he figures it out in that time. That's exactly what I would do. And have him work heavily with Coop. I never thought that the Sox would screw up as badly as Jaime Navarro again. Boy, was I wrong.