Despite our good season, we have MANY ?'s

[caulfield12]

Especially when you consider 2013:

 

 

Who plays 3B?

Do we trade Ramirez or hold onto him waiting for some of our other (outfield) prospects to develop?

Is Konerko really slowing down finally, or is it simply the wrist/bone fragment issue bothering him?

What will we get out of John Danks?

Quintana in sophomore campaign?

Will the real Gordon Beckham please stand up?

What will be Santiago's role?

Can Addison Reed, Jesse Crain, Thornton and Jones be counted on?

Which Veal will show up, the journeyman or reincarnation of Neal Cotts 2006?

Can Dunn and Rios repeat?

Does Viciedo have a role on this team if DeAza's not going to want to play CF?

Is Wise actually a part of the 2013 plans at this point?

Where will AJ, Youk, Peavy, Floyd, Crain and Thornton end up to start 2013?

 

 

The Tigers have fewer questions:

 

1) Can Victor Martinez adjust to being a full-time DH/occasional 1B?

2) Can they live with Peralta and Infante's defense up the middle?

3) Will Dirks repeat or go into a sophomore slump?

4) Is Avisail Garcia for real?

5) Can Scherzer and Verlander stay healthy for another season?

6) Do they want to live with Delmon Young and Boesch offensively/defensively?

7) Will the real Alex Avila please stand up?

8) Can Austin Jackson repeat the huge strides he's made in 2012?

[Andy the Clown]

This is our last hurrah. It will be a very different team next year, and probably not in a good way.

[Dick Allen]

The Sox and especially their fans, should worry about these things after their 2012 season has concluded. There is nothing that can be done about them right now. Maybe try to enjoy the race to the finish and hopefully the playoffs instead of the impending doom that is now 2013. Of course that impending doom was also in place for 2012 one year ago.

[southsider2k5]

This is our last hurrah. It will be a very different team next year, and probably not in a good way.

 

The same thing was said after 2011.

[LittleHurt05]

Wow, really? There are 12 days left in the regular season, and despite popular belief, the White Sox are in first place. The off season is very long and slow, there will be plenty of time to talk about the Sox crappy farm system, aging roster, blah blah blah. Can't people just enjoy the first real pennant race in 4 years?

[Dick Allen]

Wow, really? There are 12 days left in the regular season, and despite popular belief, the White Sox are in first place. The off season is very long and slow, there will be plenty of time to talk about the Sox crappy farm system, aging roster, blah blah blah. Can't people just enjoy the first real pennant race in 4 years?

And its not like these same things haven't been brought up by the thread starter 1000 times already, although I do give him credit for trying to offset his total bummer thread starter by throwing in some Tiger dilemmas.

[The Ultimate Champion]

We're in a great spot right now, better than it has been in a long while for us.

 

We have 2 very clear potential courses of action. We have lots of youth, lots of 1-year remaining players, lots of free agents with money coming off the books, and a few veterans we will be able to either deal off or try to win around.

 

The rest of the season and the playoffs will help decide what direction we'll go in. KW/Hahn aren't going to be handcuffed this year; if they wanted to move Dunn and/or Rios they could, and Gavin's value is going to be pretty clear (a couple decent specs, nothing more) so the decision on him should come quickly. OTOH, if they want to bring in a couple veterans, bring AJ back, etc. they can. Flowers is nice trade bait if he's not going to be your 2013 starter.

 

We also have been going in the right direction on the farm & this last draft was a breath of fresh air, same with all the signings in international free agency this year. The farm is producing talent, and even though it's hard under any circumstances to sign and develop impact players, we're at least adding potential impact prospects who will accrue the value needed to bring back good, proven MLB players in their prime.

 

There's no need for doom and gloom. Besides, I'm sure Hahn wants to put his stamp on this team, and running it into the ground with 90+ losses each year probably isn't on the agenda. I doubt JR wants to see it either. We should either look to contend next year (nothing wrong with that) or potentially sacrifice 2013 for an extended playoff window in 2014 and beyond (nothing wrong with that either).

[fathom]

Especially when you consider 2013:

 

 

Who plays 3B? Probably someone that no one has mentioned on this site

Do we trade Ramirez or hold onto him waiting for some of our other (outfield) prospects to develop? Ramirez shouldn't be going anywhere, as it's not like he makes a ton of money and it's not like Profar is waiting in the wings to replace him.

Is Konerko really slowing down finally, or is it simply the wrist/bone fragment issue bothering him? Clearly injured

What will we get out of John Danks? Probably a lot of runs allowed after the Sox score

Quintana in sophomore campaign? He'll be fine as a #5 starter

Will the real Gordon Beckham please stand up? I'd rather he crouch

What will be Santiago's role? Starter hopefully

Can Addison Reed, Jesse Crain, Thornton and Jones be counted on? You can really never count on any relievers from one year to the next

Which Veal will show up, the journeyman or reincarnation of Neal Cotts 2006? Cotts never had the type of stuff that Veal did to make lefty hitters uncomfortable at the plate.

Can Dunn and Rios repeat? If not for last season, people would be saying Dunn was having a bad season. Rios will probably be a little worse next year, but he should be better than he was last season due to the changes to his mechanics.

Does Viciedo have a role on this team if DeAza's not going to want to play CF? They'll make De Aza play CF. If he doesn't want to be, then he'll probably be the one dealt and not Viciedo.

Is Wise actually a part of the 2013 plans at this point? If it's as a 4th outfielder/reliever, then why not? He's better than JorDanks

Where will AJ, Youk, Peavy, Floyd, Crain and Thornton end up to start 2013? White Sox, Cubs, Dodgers, White Sox, White Sox, Red Sox

[Baron]

How many teams right now with a 3rd baseman that can hit and play decent defense are saying " We need to trade him right now!" ?. Probably none. Which is why Youk will be on this roster next year.

 

 

[fathom]

How many teams right now with a 3rd baseman that can hit and play decent defense are saying " We need to trade him right now!" ?. Probably none. Which is why Youk will be on this roster next year.

 

Youk has turned into a 1 tool player, being that he can hit for power. He's limping towards the finish line right now. I love the production he gave us the first few months he came over, but it seems to be in the best interest of the Sox to look at other options this offseason. At most, I'd offer him a 1 year, 5 million dollar deal. If he wants more money/more years (which seems like a given), then you thank him for his contributions and wish him luck.

[Greg Hibbard]

There were many questions about many of the same players prior to the 2012 campaign, and many of them worked out just fine. Who plays third, who is beckham, is konerko done yet, what about rios and Dunn, etc.

[fathom]

There were many questions about many of the same players prior to the 2012 campaign, and many of them worked out just fine. Who plays third, who is beckham, is konerko done yet, what about rios and Dunn, etc.

 

Question #1: Can Chris Sale be an effective starter

 

Compared to this time last year, the Sox future seems much more stable to me.

[caulfield12]

His batting average for post-ASB went under .200 with yesterday's 0-fer.

 

He does have a mid 700's OPS, at least, which is 200 points better than Morel would have given us, but worth $13 million?

 

Plus his spotty defense and a significant number of missed games and nagging injuries.

[Dick Allen]

Youk has turned into a 1 tool player, being that he can hit for power. He's limping towards the finish line right now. I love the production he gave us the first few months he came over, but it seems to be in the best interest of the Sox to look at other options this offseason. At most, I'd offer him a 1 year, 5 million dollar deal. If he wants more money/more years (which seems like a given), then you thank him for his contributions and wish him luck.

He hit well at home when he was with the Red Sox this season and has an over 1.100 OPS at USCF. He was 1-34 at Detroit and 3-39 at KC this season. The White Sox seem like the perfect match for him. I can't see anyone offering big money and mutiple years. Given him a lesser deal with some incentives and hope for the best. Who knows, maybe Morel is healthy next year and looks like a ballplayer. Stranger things have happened although not much stranger.

Edited September 22, 2012 by Dick Allen

[caulfield12]

And its not like these same things haven't been brought up by the thread starter 1000 times already, although I do give him credit for trying to offset his total bummer thread starter by throwing in some Tiger dilemmas.

 

 

Here's the sunny side, just for you. (Although I have a hard time imagining having written more than 50 of these opening post threads in my lifetime, I guess 1,000's pretty close).

 

Beckham wins the Gold Glove in 2012 over Cano and becomes a consistent 700-725 OPS guy, maybe even 750.

 

Ramirez gives us essentially what he has for the past 4-5 seasons with no "aging" regression, especially defensively.

 

Viciedo cuts down on his swing with two strikes, learns to take more fastballs to RF and CF and ends up a 280 hitter with 30 homers, 90 RBI's and a decent OBP.

 

Quintana and Santiago are both the real deals and end up anchoring the rotation while Danks scuffles.

 

Sale makes it through 2012 and 2013 without any "wear and tear" hiccups.

 

Trayce Thompson continues to evolve into a legitimate CFer prospect and ends up having a super solid August/September with the Sox, leaving lots of questions about who to keep and who to trade between DeAza, Viciedo and Mitchell, who makes tremendous strides in 2013 at Charlotte and mirrors his 2012 all the way through the AAA season, cutting down his K's.

 

One of the AFL guys like Thompson, Rienzo or Salvador Sanchez makes the team out of ST.

 

Nate Jones and Addison Reed become a devastating closing tandem, with pinpoint command and mastery of their sliders....Jones starts the 9th against lefties, Reed against RHBers.

 

Donnie Veal isn't a one year wonder.

 

Tyler Flowers improves on AJ's defensive numbers while putting up a .230 average, lots of walks, 22-24 homers and 67 RBI's.

 

Beck, Rienzo, Molina, Castro or Johnson emerge as a legit starter for 2014 with a Daniel Hudson/McCarthy-esque run through the minors.

 

Carlos Sanchez continues to make strides and becomes a legit 3B with doubles power, solid defense and occasional homers and SB's.

[caulfield12]

Question #1: Can Chris Sale be an effective starter

 

Compared to this time last year, the Sox future seems much more stable to me.

 

 

It's definitely more stable, simply because of Sale, Rios and Dunn.

 

HOWEVER, there are almost as many ?'s as the past off-season. A lot of them can be answered with money, and that's where that $5-10 million from the playoff shares would really help, as well as an increase in season ticket sales for 2013.

 

On the other hand, we have a big-time closer dilemma at this point. No answer at 3B, but Flowers has made enough strides you could argue he deserves 3-4 months to hold the starting catcher role in 2012.

 

Thornton, Reed, Crain and Jones have all shown flashes and also been horrible quite often, especially Reed in the 2nd half. You almost never know what you're going to get out of Matt Thornton on a game-by-game basis.

 

Viciedo's done just enough to alleviate any concerns whether he's an impact hitter. As you've mentioned many many times, there are now serious concerns about his ability to hit RHPers, especially ones with dominating stuff. If he's a platoon player against only LHP, that's a big loss to the organization moving forward.

 

All that said, the Tigers are going to be much more formidable next season....there's no doubt about that.

 

And can we honestly say we expect to put an improved team on the field for 2012 from what we have now with Youk, AJ, Myers, Peavy, Floyd, etc.???

 

 

 

Edited September 22, 2012 by caulfield12

[Dick Allen]

It's definitely more stable, simply because of Sale, Rios and Dunn.

 

HOWEVER, there are almost as many ?'s as the past off-season. A lot of them can be answered with money, and that's where that $5-10 million from the playoff shares would really help, as well as an increase in season ticket sales for 2013.

 

On the other hand, we have a big-time closer dilemma at this point. No answer at 3B, but Flowers has made enough strides you could argue he deserves 3-4 months to hold the starting catcher role in 2012.

 

Thornton, Reed, Crain and Jones have all shown flashes and also been horrible quite often, especially Reed in the 2nd half. You almost never know what you're going to get out of Matt Thornton on a game-by-game basis.

 

Viciedo's done just enough to alleviate any concerns whether he's an impact hitter. As you've mentioned many many times, there are now serious concerns about his ability to hit RHPers, especially ones with dominating stuff. If he's a platoon player against only LHP, that's a big loss to the organization moving forward.

Didn't you already write off next season a few months ago?

[caulfield12]

Didn't you already write off next season a few months ago?

 

 

The week that Chris Sale was pulled from the starting rotation and made a closer, yeah, that would have been the end of our season as far as competing for the division.

 

And I still stand by that statement to this day.

[The Ultimate Champion]

All that said, the Tigers are going to be much more formidable next season....there's no doubt about that.

 

No doubt about it? This is baseball.

 

The Tigers *could* have been better this year, having replaced VMart with Prince, adding Anibal Sanchez midseason, etc. but steps back from Avila, Boesch, Raburn, etc. have them where? They have more talent this year than they did last, but last year they stepped up & played like men when it mattered & they won their division outright. This year every time they get near the front of the line they stumble and have to stop to change their underwear. Next years team, for all we know, could be a 78-game winner.

 

There is never any reason for a GM or an organization to form it's plans even slightly based on what another division rival may or may not do in the future. That's a loser's mentality. All we have to do as an organization is figure out which way is best for now & the future, and economics & this year's attendance is certainly going to play a role in that, and then whatever course is decided, we need to add the most talent possible in the most cost efficient manner possible both in terms of payroll and prospects traded.

[SI1020]

This is our last hurrah. It will be a very different team next year, and probably not in a good way.

Unfortunately this post I agree with completely.

 

[SI1020]

The same thing was said after 2011.

Good point. It's possible that Hahn/KW can pull some rabbits out of a hat. Possible, but to me things look tough in the immediate future. It sure would be nice to at least extend this season a little bit.

[Baines3]

I hope Youk stays next season but I have my doubts on it.

[GreatScott82]

I am definitely not concerned about 2013 yet. However, we will FINALLY have $ to spend and we do have tools to be creative.

 

 

[kitekrazy]

And its not like these same things haven't been brought up by the thread starter 1000 times already, although I do give him credit for trying to offset his total bummer thread starter by throwing in some Tiger dilemmas.

 

Their fans want everyone gone except Fielder, Cabrera, Scherzer and V. That also goes for the manager and GM. Scherzer's a bargain for them right now. If this guy continues to progress, they are going to have to dish out some serious money. They already outbid every team a great deal signing Fielder. They are willing to spend money but they are not the Yankees when it comes to revenue.

 

Their fan base has every right to be far more pissed than Sox fans. Two aces and 2 MVP candidates are not good enough to overcome dumb baseball. They remind me of the early century Sox teams.

 

[caulfield12]

Their fans want everyone gone except Fielder, Cabrera, Scherzer and V. That also goes for the manager and GM. Scherzer's a bargain for them right now. If this guy continues to progress, they are going to have to dish out some serious money. They already outbid every team a great deal signing Fielder. They are willing to spend money but they are not the Yankees when it comes to revenue.

 

Their fan base has every right to be far more pissed than Sox fans. Two aces and 2 MVP candidates are not good enough to overcome dumb baseball. They remind me of the early century Sox teams.

 

 

Except those 2002-2010 Twins' teams could go for entire seasons with 3-5 or fewer blown saves...or losses when the club was leading in the 7th inning and beyond.

 

We have the power and defensive similarities with the 1987 Twins, but none of the execution and clutchness, at least not recently.

 

Those teams almost NEVER beat themselves. How many games that we've lost since, say, the Baltimore series, could we honestly say that? Or for the entire season?