southsider2k5 Posted January 21, 2013 Share Posted January 21, 2013 QUOTE (CWSpalehoseCWS @ Jan 20, 2013 -> 09:44 PM) I know that this is EXTREMELY unlikely, but Bourn is still available and a LH bat... I doubt the Sox would make a move like that, especially considering his agent, but he really does fit that impact LH bat that would help the team. He was looking for a 5 year 18 million deal with Borass as his agent. Plus he would require the loss of a 1st round draft pick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Y2Jimmy0 Posted January 21, 2013 Share Posted January 21, 2013 QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 21, 2013 -> 08:22 AM) He was looking for a 5 year 18 million deal with Borass as his agent. Plus he would require the loss of a 1st round draft pick. SS, you nailed it. The draft pick rules are really affecting Lohse and Bourn. Bourn would've gotten the $$ I think if it weren't for having to give up that draft pick. It's just not worth it. Many teams would be fine with either giving up the pick or paying the large $$. Not both though. And sign me up for Kelly Johnson and Kottaras. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyyle23 Posted January 21, 2013 Share Posted January 21, 2013 QUOTE (SpainSOXfan09 @ Jan 21, 2013 -> 12:53 PM) Interesting series of write ups from Yahoo's Jeff Passan (I've read stuff from him before and he does not seem to be too bad) on ranking all MLB team's offseason. The Sox come in at 18 but he is pretty sober about the prospects for a playoff run. Link: http://sports.yahoo.com/news/no--18-white-...-215701921.html Article: No. 18 White Sox: Tough for Chicago to prove last season's surprising run wasn't a fluke By Jeff Passan Editor's note: Yahoo! Sports will examine the offseason of every MLB team before spring training begins in mid-February. Our series continues with the Chicago White Sox. MLB Springboards: No. 30 Astros | No. 29 Marlins | No. 28 Mets | No. 27 Rockies | No. 26 Twins | No. 25 Pirates | No. 24 Indians | No. 23 Mariners | No. 22 Padres | No. 21 Cubs | No. 20 Brewers | No. 19 Red Sox 2012 record: 85-77 Finish: Second place, AL Central 2012 final payroll: $101.8 million Estimated 2013 opening day payroll: $119 million Yahoo! Sports offseason rank: 18th OFFSEASON ACTION On opening day last season, the White Sox carried a payroll of $96.9 million. Today they stand more than $20 million higher, and all they have to show for it is a 32-year-old who has gotten full-time at-bats once in his career, will man a position he has spent less than a quarter of his career playing and got a three-year contract nonetheless. Oh, and a reliever who throws hard. Other than that, the White Sox's offseason has been dandy, thanks very much. Jeff Keppinger was the White Sox's biggest offseason acquisition. (AP) This is what Backloaded Contract Hell looks like, and with Jerry Reinsdorf pulling the budget reins like he's Santa and Rudolph is getting a little frisky, the White Sox are staring at a potential transition year. Already gone are one stalwart (catcher A.J. Pierzynski, to the Rangers) and three midseason acquisitions, Kevin Youkilis (New York), Brett Myers (Cleveland) and Francisco Liriano (Pittsburgh, ostensibly). Now comes the part where the White Sox have to win with even lesser personnel than the group that blew a playoff spot in 2012. The not-really-a-third-baseman who had 418 plate appearances last season and is guaranteed $12 million over the next three years is Jeff Keppinger, whom Joe Maddon used in Tampa Bay last season to platoon perfection (.376/.402/.521 against lefties) but is neither good enough against right-handers nor in the field to merit a multiyear deal with a starting job. The third-base market thinned quickly, and with the Yankees chirping about a two-year deal, Keppinger played free agency to perfection. Because the money isn't enormous, new general manager Rick Hahn – elevated to the position when Kenny Williams ascended to team president – won't necessarily regret if Keppinger spits the bit. Nor will he care if the signing of Matt Lindstrom, erratic fireballer, turns conflagrant for its one season. The last time the White Sox devoted significant money – well, it has a chance to be one of the worst contracts out there. And they've got some other whoppers that, in hindsight, probably were ill-advised. Which is what made the White Sox winning at the clip they did last season so shocking. And which makes any expectations on this season so misguided. REALITY CHECK So, where to start? Should it be with the guys who don't get on base, which is pretty much the whole team, or just the guys who play every day? Or should it be with the pitchers whose ERAs didn't exactly match their peripherals and thus are looking at serious regressions this year? Actually, perhaps it's best to save those gems for later and go with the pitcher responsible for the majority of the payroll hike this year, that aforementioned significant money. For the first season of his five-year, $65 million deal, left-hander John Danks earned $2 million. This year, and for the next four, that annual figure jumps to $15.75 million. For that, the White Sox get a pitcher coming off shoulder surgery that limited him to about 50 innings last year and is expected to keep him out a portion of this year. Just 28, Danks has time to recover. It's just going to cost a lot, and even with advances in surgical technique, the return from shoulder work remains a crapshoot. Chris Sale and Jake Peavy were excellent atop last year's rotation, though because of Sale's perceived fragility and Peavy's injury history, health always will be a question with them. Beyond them, there is the underachieving Gavin Floyd and a pair of effective rookies from last season, Jose Quintana and Hector Santiago, the former of whom doesn't strike out nearly enough hitters and the latter of whom walks far too many to repeat their performances. Shoulder trouble limited John Danks to nine starts last season. (AP) And then there is the White Sox's lineup. If Alex Rios shows up again – it's really a year-by-year proposition at this point – and Adam Dunn tries to balance out his 200 strikeouts with 40 home runs, that helps. And if the White Sox's up-the-middle infield trio of catcher Tyler Flowers, shortstop Alexei Ramirez and second baseman Gordon Beckham can at least try to get their on-base percentages above .300 … well, they might get a round of applause from the bench. Because all eight White Sox bench players with at least 50 plate appearances last season couldn't muster a .300 OBP. The 2012 season for the White Sox was as much about overachieving as it was succeeding. It did nothing to solve their failure at developing position prospects of any consequence (their only homegrown players are Ramirez and Dayan Viciedo, two Cuban refugees, and Beckham, a bust) and only served to put Chicago in that desperate no-man's land of mediocrity, where it's good enough to keep alive flickers of competitiveness but ultimately not a playoff team. If you're not going to be good, it pays to be really bad. In between shouldn't cost almost $120 million. SAVIOR The Paul Konerko of 2008 – the one who looked like he didn't have a good at-bat left in him – resurfaced in the second half of last season. Before the All-Star break: .329/.404/.528. After: .263/.333/.437. Respectable, of course. Just not Paulie. Even at 37 this spring, Konerko is the White Sox's sine qua non. If they want a chance at parlaying Robin Ventura's second year into an even greater success than the first, it starts with first-half Konerko. If second-half Konerko shows up, the White Sox could be in even more trouble than we imagine. http://www.soxtalk.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=87831 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chisoxfan09 Posted January 21, 2013 Share Posted January 21, 2013 http://www.soxtalk.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=87831 Just deleted my post if you want to also delete this one. My Bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyyle23 Posted January 21, 2013 Share Posted January 21, 2013 QUOTE (SpainSOXfan09 @ Jan 21, 2013 -> 12:55 PM) Just deleted my post if you want to also delete this one. My Bad. No biggie, just leading you to the discussion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SOXOBAMA Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 Hahn said on Comcast, that a few additions to the club could happen this week Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicago White Sox Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 QUOTE (SOXOBAMA @ Jan 22, 2013 -> 05:07 PM) Hahn said on Comcast, that a few additions to the club could happen this week Hopefully some additions to the bench, which is a serious weakness right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chisox2334 Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 one of them has already been announced. Only he can't talk about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flavum Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Jan 22, 2013 -> 05:28 PM) Hopefully some additions to the bench, which is a serious weakness right now. I don't see them doing anything with the bench. Dewayne Wise- they like him as a 4th outfielder/ once or twice a week starter at leadoff. Angel Sanchez- can play all three infield spots. Rule 5 draftee, so he either makes the team or probably goes back to Anaheim. Hector Gimenez- backup catcher. Can hit a little and pretty good defense. Jordan Danks or Blake Tekotte-- Lefty bat/good defense/can run It's not the sexiest bench, but in the AL it's not as important. Plus it's something that can be addressed in July once there's more clarity if they're going to contend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SOXOBAMA Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 I hope the other addition will be a high impact lefty bat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerksticks Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 QUOTE (SOXOBAMA @ Jan 22, 2013 -> 06:30 PM) I hope the other addition will be a high impact lefty bat Hell I'd take any kind of impact bat. It's the impact part that we are starving for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicago White Sox Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 QUOTE (flavum @ Jan 22, 2013 -> 06:30 PM) I don't see them doing anything with the bench. Dewayne Wise- they like him as a 4th outfielder/ once or twice a week starter at leadoff. Angel Sanchez- can play all three infield spots. Rule 5 draftee, so he either makes the team or probably goes back to Anaheim. Hector Gimenez- backup catcher. Can hit a little and pretty good defense. Jordan Danks or Blake Tekotte-- Lefty bat/good defense/can run It's not the sexiest bench, but in the AL it's not as important. Plus it's something that can be addressed in July once there's more clarity if they're going to contend. I'm higher on Gimenez than most, but he's still completely unproven with the bat and is 30 years old. As a backup catcher, he's going to get a decent amount of ABs. Flowers started 40 games last year, my guess is the back up catcher this year starts closer to 50 to 55 games. Angel Sanchez is also unproven and is our only reserve infielder at the moment. Escobar, Olmedo, & Lopez combined for 151 ABs last year and that doesn't include any of the ABs Hudson may of have as a reserve. Regardless, he'll be used more than just a late-inning defensive replacement and his AAA stats are highly inflated by playing in the Pacific Coast, which makes me very skeptical of him. Also, the fact that the three guys he's backing up are all right-handed doesn't help matters. As for Danks or Tekotte, they offer nothing that Dwayne Wise offers. Maybe Danks is a little stronger defender, but for pinch-hitting, base-running, and even spot-starts I'd go with Wise. Therefore, they offer minimal value to the team IMO. These things all add up and can cost you some wins in the end. A bench doesn't need to be perfect, but it shouldn't have as many holes and risks as our bench currently has. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fathom Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 That's a terrible bench, but thankfully a few additions are likely to be added to it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baron Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 (edited) QUOTE (fathom @ Jan 22, 2013 -> 08:26 PM) That's a terrible bench, but thankfully a few additions are likely to be added to it Yeah I expect a few names to be added to the bench.....but as its sorted right now...that list is awful. Edited January 23, 2013 by Baron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 QUOTE (SOXOBAMA @ Jan 22, 2013 -> 05:07 PM) Hahn said on Comcast, that a few additions to the club could happen this week What? He has to be sleeptalking amitrite? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cali Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 QUOTE (SOXOBAMA @ Jan 22, 2013 -> 03:07 PM) Hahn said on Comcast, that a few additions to the club could happen this week In Kenny's 9 years, I don't think he ever said that once haha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chisox2334 Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 i think only addition being announced is signing of lindstrom. I heard the interview and they were all laughing o yea I have something announced lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Allen Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 QUOTE (chisox2334 @ Jan 23, 2013 -> 05:13 AM) i think only addition being announced is signing of lindstrom. I heard the interview and they were all laughing o yea I have something announced lol. That is because he cannot announce the signing until it is official, but everyone knows the deal there. Hahn did imply that there was more than one, although it did seem Lindstrom was perhaps the biggest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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