Multiple Sources: Sox actively shopping Quentin

[Marty34]

I'm of the opinion the Sox have more money to spend than they are leading on and will do so regardless of ticket sales. KW always says he's out of money . . .

[ScottyDo]

I'm of the opinion the Sox have more money to spend than they are leading on and will do so regardless of ticket sales. KW always says he's out of money . . .

If it's ever known that you have money to spend on payroll, you'd better spend it or risk pissing off a LOT of fans, so you're right, it's always best to say you don't have any. I've used that trick on my girlfriend before

 

This, of course, has nothing to do with whether or not they do have the cash budgeted.

Edited December 11, 2010 by ScottyDo

[justBLAZE]

 

Kenny Williams

On tickets/bullpen:

"I'm encouraged by the excitement from our fans," said Williams, who reiterated how he is not looking for a pure closer as much as a versatile late-inning type like the role J.J. Putz held in 2010. "Perhaps if that excitement manifests itself into turning out to more ticket sales, perhaps that might free up some more cash to do something.

 

"I'll listen to anyone," added Williams of trade possibilities. "But I said it right there up on the podium [for the Konerko signing], how I'm not really motivated to take anything away from what the Major League roster looks like, from what the everyday roster looks like."

 

On moving Viciedo:

"Again, I don't really like to talk about these types of things because it can change in the matter of a phone call," Williams said. "I'm not really interested in moving Viciedo either for a reliever. It doesn't work for me."

 

On Quentin:

"Carlos Quentin is going to have a big year," Williams said. "He has big talent, and even in a down year average-wise, he is very valuable.

 

"No matter what his average is, he picks it up with on-base percentage. Then, if he has a good year, it becomes a great year.

 

"He plays hard and has the ability to set the tone for a game with a hard slide into second base or taking first to third aggressively. There's much more to Carlos' overall game than just hitting for average."

Edited December 11, 2010 by justBLAZE

[Dick Allen]

I'm of the opinion the Sox have more money to spend than they are leading on and will do so regardless of ticket sales. KW always says he's out of money . . .

You probably are correct. Most of the time they say they are out of money, they wind up spending some more.

Or,

 

It could be something similar as to what I posted yesterday. One of the Rangers co owners is supposedly personnally funding the Cliff Lee bid and if Lee signs his salary won't come out of their baseball operations budget, but this owner, who is a billionaire, will be on the hook. Perhaps JR or some of his partners some of whom are also making tons of money with the Bulls are or will be willing to do the same thing obviously on a much small scale.

Edited December 11, 2010 by Dick Allen

[joeynach]

If it's ever known that you have money to spend on payroll, you'd better spend it or risk pissing off a LOT of fans, so you're right, it's always best to say you don't have any. I've used that trick on my girlfriend before

 

This, of course, has nothing to do with whether or not they do have the cash budgeted.

 

Great comment on the girlfriend. I think its also interesting to note that having $$ to spend is based on a revenue projection. If reality works out to have better results than projections than there should be more $$ to spend. What if season tix get to an all time high. What if the sox start the season 15-2 and the entire month of May gets sold out, etc.

[Marty34]

If it's ever known that you have money to spend on payroll, you'd better spend it or risk pissing off a LOT of fans, so you're right, it's always best to say you don't have any. I've used that trick on my girlfriend before

 

This, of course, has nothing to do with whether or not they do have the cash budgeted.

 

Exactly. You can count on one thing with the Sox and that is they will always have their financial house in order and that's to the credit of Chairman Reinsdorf. Despite the public "All In" stuff, they'd never gamble on one year especially in this economic climate.

[Lillian]

Are u saying Pierre+CQ for Victorino+Reliever?

 

I doubt that the Phillies would want Pierre. There wouldn't be any room for him in their outfield, with Brown, Quentin and Ibanez.

I was assuming that Pierre would then be traded somewhere else for a reliever.

 

[Dick Allen]

I doubt that the Phillies would want Pierre. There wouldn't be any room for him in their outfield, with Brown, Quentin and Ibanez.

I was assuming that Pierre would then be traded somewhere else for a reliever.

I'm guessing you will be the happiest Sox fan on the planet once Juan Pierre's White Sox tour of duty is over.

[Balta1701]

I'm guessing you will be the happiest Sox fan on the planet once Juan Pierre's White Sox tour of duty is over.

Until Jordan Danks takes over LF and leadoff the next year.

[southsider2k5]

It might actually be a fun experiment to try this: tweet whatever you see based on a little online research and see if you can scoop Cowley at every turn. That'd REALLY piss him off.

 

It would be like taking candy from a baby. All you would have to do is tweet the posts of the people who know what they are talking about on here and you would kick his ass all over the place.

[southsider2k5]

I'm guessing you will be the happiest Sox fan on the planet once Juan Pierre's White Sox tour of duty is over.

 

I can think of one who will be happier.

[ScottyDo]

It would be like taking candy from a baby. All you would have to do is tweet the posts of the people who know what they are talking about on here and you would kick his ass all over the place.

I'm not above taking candy from the right baby...

[Lillian]

I'm guessing you will be the happiest Sox fan on the planet once Juan Pierre's White Sox tour of duty is over.

 

You may be right about that.

 

In the meantime, will someone explain to me why a guy like Pierre doesn't choke up on the bat?

As long as he can't drive a ball into the gap, why not choke up and just try to make contact. He's not a bad contact hitter, but he would probably be better if his hands weren't down on the knob. I've never understood why guys with no power don't choke up.

I'm old enough to remember Nellie Fox, and his hitting style would suit a lot of today's players.

 

That's just one of the things about Pierre's game that I find frustrating. If he choked up, maybe he'd be as hard to stike out as Fox was. Nellie used to strike out only about 11 to 13 times a year!!

[fathom]

Juan Pierre is one of the hardest players in baseball over the last 15 years to strike out.

[knightni]

If he doesn't choke up, he can get to the outside pitches and flip the ball into left field.

[Dick Allen]

You may be right about that.

 

In the meantime, will someone explain to me why a guy like Pierre doesn't choke up on the bat?

As long as he can't drive a ball into the gap, why not choke up and just try to make contact. He's not a bad contact hitter, but he would probably be better if his hands weren't down on the knob. I've never understood why guys with no power don't choke up.

I'm old enough to remember Nellie Fox, and his hitting style would suit a lot of today's players.

 

That's just one of the things about Pierre's game that I find frustrating. If he choked up, maybe he'd be as hard to stike out as Fox was. Nellie used to strike out only about 11 to 13 times a year!!

I don't think Nellie ever struck out 20 times in any season. Those days are long gone. It used to be almost an embarrassment to strike out 100 times in a season. Now guys who have little power do it consistently. To be fair to Pierre, he is one of the toughest players to strike out in baseball.

[ScottyDo]

If he doesn't choke up, he can get to the outside pitches and flip the ball into left field.

Can't he get a longer, lighter bat and have the same effect while improving his leverage? I don't know bat regulations.

[Balta1701]

Can't he get a longer, lighter bat and have the same effect while improving his leverage? I don't know bat regulations.

The problem is...if he's already got a fairly quick bat, a lighter bat will translate to less power. Juan Pierre with less power. Think about that for a momen.

[knightni]

So, you want him to bat with a cane?

[Lillian]

The problem is...if he's already got a fairly quick bat, a lighter bat will translate to less power. Juan Pierre with less power. Think about that for a momen.

 

Thanks for the comments on choking up. Those were some interesting points that some of you made.

This board is indeed a pleasure.

[ScottyDo]

The problem is...if he's already got a fairly quick bat, a lighter bat will translate to less power. Juan Pierre with less power. Think about that for a momen.

I think that's the hazard of choking up in general. He may actually be more valuable with an increased contact rate and even less power, though I'm not sure. I mean, at this point you're really talking about zero power anyway, so it might make sense. I dunno, I'm actually not really advocating this change, but it might be worth considering.

 

Polanco has made a decent living choking up, and he was sure a thorn in our sides. There are many ways in which using Polanco as a model fails, though, since Polanco still made it over the fence on a somewhat frequent basis.

[Lillian]

In thinking more about choking up, it's not just a way to cut down on strike outs. The hitter also benefits by increasing the rate at which he can "square up" the ball, through better bat control. More line drives translate into more hits. In addition to affording better control, choking up also shortens the swing.

 

It's too bad that the technique has all but disappeared.

[knightni]

It shortens the bat and the area that you can hit with.

 

You can count on one hand the guys who've choked up in the last 10 years.

If guys like Rod Carew, Tony Gwynn and Ted Williams didn't do it, then I fail to see the overall value.

[Vote4Pedro]

here is the tribune link shooting down the rumors

 

Sox not shopping Quentin

Edited December 12, 2010 by beckham15

[Princess Dye]

Am I right that this is most people's guess:

 

Sox shopped Quentin. Offers were underwhelming. They now are leaking this 'not trading CQ' thing pretty fiercely because they know they can't get value.

 

Now deciding whether or not they'll get an OK reliever via FA or move some prospects. And perhaps looking into some deal where they can at least save $1-2M by dumping Teahan + cash on someone?

Edited December 12, 2010 by Princess Dye