Black_Jack29

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Apr 13, 2016 -> 11:39 AM) It would be pretty easy to explain that by A.) playing in Seattle and B.) not playing full time. Jackson had 656 PAs in 2014 and 527 PAs in 2015. Being dealt in each of those years probably affected him more than the ballpark or his playing time. Hitting in Seattle's cruddy lineup certainly didn't help him, though. It'll be interesting to see how he does in a hitter-friendly park like the Cell. Jackson's in a contract year and is hoping to cash in this winter, so hopefully he resists the temptation to press.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Apr 13, 2016 -> 12:26 PM) Austin's career OPS is .731. He put up a .730 in 2014. I know. His offensive numbers have fallen since his days in Detroit, though, so I'm being conservative. I'd predict him to be somewhere in the .710-.730 range over the next couple of seasons.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Apr 13, 2016 -> 11:08 AM) This is a really good post. I would argue he is one of those players who could outproduce slightly from an offensive position (vs. his minor league numbers) given his tools. That said, if Thompson actually posts a .730-.750 OPS while playing plus defense in center, I'd call that a really good player. I don't know whether he will do that or not, but I talked to a scout at spring training and he had nothing but nice things to say about Trayce and his view was that Trayce was going to be a solid starter. That said, Sox really liked Trayce...they weren't dying to get rid of him, but they had a massive hole at 3B and hand to find someway to address it if they intended to contend. I'd call that a slightly better player than Austin Jackson. I think that the Sox really liked Trayce as a fourth outfielder. Beyond that, probably not so much. Maybe he'll surprise us in LA, but I wouldn't hold my breath.

QUOTE (OmarComing25 @ Apr 12, 2016 -> 08:03 PM) He's only being mentioned because Avi is that bad. You might think it's laughable but he's likely an upgrade (however slight it is) over Garcia. DH is a big hole right now. Avi's track record certainly suggests that, but we're only seven games into the season and it's certainly possible that Avi could be a .730-ish OPS hitter this year. That's obviously not optimal for a DH, but not terrible for a young player who's still developing and isn't taking up much payroll. The best-case scenario would be Avi improving over the next three months and the Sox landing a left-handed bat at the trade deadline. The only problem there is that the Sox don't have much left to trade (outside of Anderson or Fulmer, who are probably untouchable).

The Sox will continue to run Avi out there five days a week because they're looking to see if he's developing as a hitter. I wouldn't expect to see him go anywhere for the next few months.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Apr 11, 2016 -> 05:31 PM) The Twins are so bad they gave up 4 runs while Quintana was pitching.

QUOTE (OmarComing25 @ Apr 11, 2016 -> 06:26 PM) I love beating the Twins. I hope they don't win a game this season. They're way overdue for a win, so I'd be happy with 2/3.

QUOTE (South Side Fireworks Man @ Apr 11, 2016 -> 06:26 PM) Yeah, I think I'm really going to like him from what I've seen so far. If he keeps hitting like this, yeah. And if he can hit like he did in Detroit, then hell yeah.

Nice! Given the way that the Twins played the Sox last season, this was a nice way to set the tone for the series. Hopefully they can do the same with KC this year.

QUOTE (South Side Fireworks Man @ Apr 11, 2016 -> 06:18 PM) Avi could be playing everyday in AAA. He's still young with options. He's playing almost every day in the majors, which is better for him developmentally than AAA. That said, it's not necessarily the best thing for the Sox.

QUOTE (South Side Fireworks Man @ Apr 11, 2016 -> 06:17 PM) But Sanchez would be a great defensive improvement at 2B. This is true. Though Lawrie has looked better so far than I expected.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Apr 11, 2016 -> 06:12 PM) Frazier took his time getting to third lol He can join Albers and Navarro in that foot race

Frazier paying some nice dividends so far

Damnit, Robin...

Nice hustle

Looked safe to me

QUOTE (chw42 @ Apr 11, 2016 -> 04:44 PM) You know how managers are. When they see lefty-lefty, they can't resist. Especially Robin. Sadly, this is true.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Apr 11, 2016 -> 04:42 PM) Can we leave Albers in for Mauer? I know Duke is just going to walk him or give up a hit. With the way that Albers has been throwing, I don't see how Robin could *not* leave him in against Mauer.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Apr 11, 2016 -> 04:37 PM) They brought in Austin Jackson to replace him. Defensively, at least. Jackson's also an improvement over Eaton in CF. I'm sure the Sox believe that Avi is going to be more useful as a DH. They also missed an opportunity to bring in Loney to platoon with him, which I thought was strange.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Apr 11, 2016 -> 04:29 PM) It tells me they don't have better options, not that they think he is great. After the winter they had trying to replace him, that tells the rest of us what the Sox think of Avi. I never said that they thought he was great. He's a work in progress. And, sure, who wouldn't want an All Star-caliber outfielder like Cespedes or Gordon instead of Avi? That's a no-brainer. Especially when your window for winning is now, and not two years from now. The fact that the Sox were looking to replace a player doesn't mean that the player is awful or will undoubtedly be playing in Japan two years from now. It means that they were looking to get better. And there were several good outfielders on the FA market a few months ago.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Apr 11, 2016 -> 04:24 PM) You could argue it, but you'd be wrong. The fact that Avi is on the 25-man roster and isn't riding the pine all that often tells me all that I need to know about what the Sox think of him.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Apr 11, 2016 -> 04:19 PM) The Sox spent the entire winter trying to replace the guy, but don't think that Jerry Sands or Travis Ishikawa is a better option. I'd hardly call that a ringing endorsement. Given that Austin Jackson was their big outfield acquisition, I'd argue that they didn't try all that hard.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Apr 11, 2016 -> 04:18 PM) what is Sano upset about? Albers and Robertson both got an extra day off yesterday, so this might be Q's lucky day.

QUOTE (Baron @ Apr 11, 2016 -> 04:14 PM) Maybe....I know crazy idea...nobody they were talking with wanted him But they wanted Trayce Thompson instead? Look, the Sox clearly think that Avi is going to be an every-day ML player. Otherwise, he'd be in AAA right now.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Apr 11, 2016 -> 04:03 PM) Which trade packages did the Sox miss out on? No, my point was that if the Sox didn't think that Avi was going to be a legit major league RF or DH, they probably would've dealt him by now (say, him in the Frazier deal instead of Trayce). But they didn't, and that seems to indicate that they're confident in him developing into every-day player.