Tigers Sign Damon - 1 yr, 8 mil; NTC

[bmags]

Yeah "pulling the offer" is really strange language.

 

But nonetheless the nail is in the coffin as far as I'm concerned.

 

Seriously, someone buy a. jones some nice, nice steroids, plz.

[BigSqwert]

Yeah "pulling the offer" is really strange language.

 

But nonetheless the nail is in the coffin as far as I'm concerned.

 

Seriously, someone buy a. jones some nice, nice steroids, plz.

[Dick Allen]

Reminiscent of how things stayed cordial with Peavy and eventually it all worked out in the end.

 

KW perhaps has learned after his series of blowups (pre-2007 for the most part)

He obviously feels Damon is still a pretty big contributor and not signing him probably means a division rival signs him, so I'm sure he's doing everything he can to keep the door open as long as he can without risking hurting the team, and getting the message across to Damon, because for all we know he might not have known that time was of the essence here, that the decision has to be made sooner rather than later. I think the big decision is 6 weeks longer to stay at home and having to spend the summer in Detroit, vs. 6 weeks away from the family and. summering in Chicago at probably a little lesser wage. You could make cases for either team being better than the other with the addition of Damon. I think the White Sox are better with Damon than Detroit would be, but I could understand it would be a tough decision even if being in downtown Detroit makes you wonder if you're in the US. Its really only a 6 month committment, and 3 of those months you're on the road anyway.

Edited February 20, 2010 by Dick Allen

[WCSox]

Quentin being healthy is a big if. Considering the offensive production of Dye and Thome hasn't been replaced, a hitter like Damon at DH is critical for the Sox to succeed.

 

Dye has been so bad post-ASB in two of the past three seasons that replacing him won't be difficult at all.

 

We need our current younger players (Quentin, Rios, Alexei, Beckham) to produce. If two of those four have down years, we're screwed with or without Damon.

 

[bmags]

It's called adhering to a budget. Most teams can't spend $60M on their pitching staff, over-pay guys like PK, Rios, and Jenks, and round out every other position with $6M+/yr veterans like Damon and Matsui. The Yankees and Red Sox can, but the White Sox can't. And until the Sox become an elite revenue team, that isn't going to change any time soon.

 

You are missing the point. Our budget is 100 mill and with that budget we have gigantic holes on the team.

[WCSox]

You are missing the point. Our budget is 100 mill and with that budget we have gigantic holes on the team.

 

Funny, the Twins have holes in their offense as well, yet they manage to win the division most of the time. What's our excuse?

 

[bmags]

Funny, the Twins have holes in their offense as well, yet they manage to win the division most of the time. What's our excuse?

 

I think it's "you can afford to have holes when you have 2 fantastic hitters and other good hitters" as opposed to "you can't afford to have holes when you have average production from others"

[Dick Allen]

I just hope on the first day of spring training if Damon doesn't accept, we don't hear a rather well-known line used by KW concerning finances.

[Flash Tizzle]

It's called adhering to a budget. Most teams can't spend $60M on their pitching staff, over-pay guys like PK, Rios, and Jenks, and round out every other position with $6M+/yr veterans like Damon and Matsui. The Yankees and Red Sox can, but the White Sox can't. And until the Sox become an elite revenue team, that isn't going to change any time soon.

 

Frankly, I'm more pissed that the Twins can win the division semi-consistently with crap like Alexi Casilla, Carlos Gomez, and Delmon Young in their starting lineup.... yet we can't win with elite hitters like Jim Thome and Jermaine Dye in ours. Maybe we need to steal their hitting coach.

Well, around those crappy Minnesota hitters are the likes of Denard Span, that mead head Morneau, Mauer, Cuddyer, and Kubel. Just as around Thome and Dye were 661 AB's in 2009 split among Lillibridge, Fields, Wise, and Anderson.

 

Also, I can understand the unwillingness to budge with Boras if Damon's demands are excessive; but ultimately, Williams put himself in this position. It's embarrassing that we enter 2010 with Jones and Kotsay splitting time at DH.

Edited February 20, 2010 by Flash Tizzle

[sin city sox fan]

Has Damon called Kenny yet begging him to put the offer back on the table?

[WCSox]

I think it's "you can afford to have holes when you have 2 fantastic hitters and other good hitters"

 

We've had more than our share of "fantastic hitters" (Thome/Dye/PK/Q) and it hasn't worked out.

 

as opposed to "you can't afford to have holes when you have average production from others"

 

Well, that's what happens when you sign veteran players to large contracts, or trade for veteran players with large contracts. That obviously limits what you're able to spend elsewhere. So what's your solution? Going over-budget isn't an option. The other option is to not spend on pricey veteran talent (like the Twins), but that would contradict your own argument that Kenny needs to spend more on veteran talent.

Edited February 20, 2010 by WCSox

[bmags]

It's not a contradiction at all. KW made this team the way it is, and when you are spending 100 million already and have the best pitching staff of your life it's good value to spend another 5 mill on a DH to help further ensure a pennant.

 

I think the solution is that the sox much earlier on should've put a lot more money into the draft and player development. We'd be in a lot better shape if we did. We haven't...and so we only have andy gonzalez's to plug into our system when we can't afford half of the veterans salary.

[WCSox]

Well, around those crappy Minnesota hitters are the likes of Denard Span, that mead head Morneau, Mauer, Cuddyer, and Kubel. Just as around Thome and Dye were 661 AB's in 2009 split among Lillibridge, Fields, Wise, and Anderson.

 

Way to ignore PK, Beckham, Quentin, Crede, Griffey, Swisher, etc. I hope that you're not trying to argue that some of the on-paper talent that Kenny has put in the field in the recent past is consistently inferior to what MIN trots out in a typical year.

 

[WCSox]

It's not a contradiction at all. KW made this team the way it is, and when you are spending 100 million already and have the best pitching staff of your life it's good value to spend another 5 mill on a DH to help further ensure a pennant.

 

Well, Damon is apparently looking for a lot more than $5M if he rejected a $6M offer and still hasn't accepted a $7M offer.

 

I think the solution is that the sox much earlier on should've put a lot more money into the draft and player development. We'd be in a lot better shape if we did. We haven't...and so we only have andy gonzalez's to plug into our system when we can't afford half of the veterans salary.

 

I agree. But that ship sailed years ago, so what's the point in complaining about it now?

 

[bmags]

because it's a direct judgment of the management of the chicago white sox.

 

[Flash Tizzle]

It's not a contradiction at all. KW made this team the way it is, and when you are spending 100 million already and have the best pitching staff of your life it's good value to spend another 5 mill on a DH to help further ensure a pennant.

I think the solution is that the sox much earlier on should've put a lot more money into the draft and player development. We'd be in a lot better shape if we did. We haven't...and so we only have andy gonzalez's to plug into our system when we can't afford half of the veterans salary.

Doesn't it seem like we've been coming back to this solution for YEARS? I know I have. If you put your money into player development, and sign those draft picks exceeding slot recommendations that other teams look over, you'll have a better shot of saving money down the line and avoiding situations such as the one's we're in. An intelligent, well run organization should always strive to have several quality pre-arbitration players on its roster.

 

Even just one player makes a difference. Imagine if we didn't have Beckham around. That'd be a whole another problem to deal with, wondering who the hell will be at second base.

[longshot7]

You are missing the point. Our budget is 100 mill and with that budget we have gigantic holes on the team.

 

To be fair, we don't have gigantic holes on this team. They've done a better job this year at filling their holes than in the past.

[WCSox]

To be fair, we don't have gigantic holes on this team. They've done a better job this year at filling their holes than in the past.

 

No kidding. How many teams don't have an above-average #4 pitcher or an elite setup man?

 

[chunk23]

To be fair, we don't have gigantic holes on this team. They've done a better job this year at filling their holes than in the past.

 

We have a hole in LF, might have a hole in CF, and have a hole at DH.

[Flash Tizzle]

Way to ignore PK, Beckham, Quentin, Crede, Griffey, Swisher, etc. I hope that you're not trying to argue that some of the on-paper talent that Kenny has put in the field in the recent past is consistently inferior to what MIN trots out in a typical year.

You're just making a parody of my parody at this point. My post was just to point out that around those crappy roster fillers for the Twins were quality players.

 

 

[knightni]

You're just making a parody of my parody at this point. My post was just to point out that around those crappy roster fillers for the Twins were quality players.

This whole thread is turning into one sarcastic parody.

[ScottyDo]

To be fair, we don't have gigantic holes on this team. They've done a better job this year at filling their holes than in the past.

Yeah, this.

 

People are just getting their hyperbole-pants on because they think the biggest hole (DH) should be easy to fill. I agree, to a certain extent. Except I'm somewhat satisfied with half the platoon so I really only see half a hole. But I'm not lamenting that we trot out some disgrace of a team.

[longshot7]

We have a hole in LF, might have a hole in CF, and have a hole at DH.

 

No, we don't. Pierre is playing LF and Rios in CF. You might not like them, but they're playing those positions. By definition, that is not a hole.

 

Also, not having a set DH (which is what I would prefer as well) is not a hole. There are players to fill that position.

Edited February 20, 2010 by longshot7

[chunk23]

No, we don't. Pierre is playing LF and Rios in CF. You might not like them, but they're playing those positions. By definition, that is not a hole.

 

A below average player is considered a hole, you're just being pedantic.

 

edit: for the record though I do expect Rios to bounce back. Still not a certainty though.

 

edit 2: Depending on which Teahen shows up, 3b is another hole.

Edited February 20, 2010 by chunk23

[bmags]

If we put a really small log into LF, who might get on base because of his/her strike zone, is this a hole?

 

edit: its

Edited February 20, 2010 by bmags