Potential Trade Targets

[Dick Allen]

Ok. For all of you Smart Alecks, I would be satisfied if Adam La Roche could hit .260, with an OBP of close to .375.

If he hits 20 homers and 25 doubles, and doesn't strike out 35% of the time, which is what he is doing now, I'll stop complaining. Oh, and Robin has to find a way to be sure that he doesn't start against any lefties.

 

Does anyone disagree that the Sox would have been better off with K. Morales, Adam Lind or Andre Ethier?

As of now, those choices look a little better, but it's a long season. Robin was slammed in game threads for putting Morales on base. Ethier was going to be given away. Lind basically was given away and has back issues. When the season is over, I think when you look back objectively, LaRoche won't be such a bad decision.

[ChiSox59]

Ok. For all of you Smart Alecks, I would be satisfied if Adam La Roche could hit .260, with an OBP of close to .375.

If he hits 20 homers and 25 doubles, and doesn't strike out 35% of the time, which is what he is doing now, I'll stop complaining. Oh, and Robin has to find a way to be sure that he doesn't start against any lefties.

 

Does anyone disagree that the Sox would have been better off with K. Morales, Adam Lind or Andre Ethier?

 

You expect a guy that has eclipsed a .375 OBP exactly zero times in his career to do it for the first time at age 35? Hmmm...

 

Plus, Adam's OBP is currently in the .360's, so not all that far off. But, a .375 OBP is a fairly high bar to set.

 

I do agree that he should play less against LHP, and we have the bench flexibility to make that happen.

Edited May 20, 2015 by ChiSox59

[caulfield12]

Any criticism about walking Morales was based on how he hit in 2013-14 and not being adjusted for his significant improvement with a normal spring training and timing back, injuries largely overcome, etc.

[Balta1701]

As of now, those choices look a little better, but it's a long season. Robin was slammed in game threads for putting Morales on base. Ethier was going to be given away. Lind basically was given away and has back issues. When the season is over, I think when you look back objectively, LaRoche won't be such a bad decision.

Adam Lind has a .610 OPS against lefties and a .994 OPS against righties. If the worry is "LaRoche is terrible against lefties" then Lind is having that same problem.

 

One difference? Fewer PAs for Lind against lefties, fewer PAs against righties for LaRoche.

[Rowand44]

In the off season, the Sox could have acquired Kendry Morales, Adam Lind, or Andre Ethier. Yes, I know that Ethier wasn't a free agent, but the Dodgers were rumored to be willing to virtually do a salary dump. Instead, they signed the second coming of Adam Dunn.

So far, he is the biggest problem with this offense. But then, I've beaten that horse to death and you all know what I think. This offense is terrible, and La Roche hitting in the heart of the order, as our only left handed power bat, is the most glaring deficiency. If they expect to compete, the front office better try to fix the

problem that this lineup has, with a clean up hitter, who is a strike out machine, and is totally inept vs. LHP.

You should probably wait until after mid May to start b****ing about Laroche. You're going to make yourself look silly as the season goes on.

[Lillian]

You expect a guy that has eclipsed a .375 OBP exactly zero times in his career to do it for the first time at age 35? Hmmm...

 

Plus, Adam's OBP is currently in the .360's, so not all that far off. But, a .375 OBP is a fairly high bar to set.

 

I do agree that he should play less against LHP, and we have the bench flexibility to make that happen.

 

Precisely my point. No, I don't expect him to put up an OBP of .375, but that is what I'd expect a good cleanup hitter to do, especially if he strikes out as much as

La Roche is doing.

[Balta1701]

Precisely my point. No, I don't expect him to put up an OBP of .375, but that is what I'd expect a good cleanup hitter to do, especially if he strikes out as much as

La Roche is doing.

His OBP against righties right now is .388.

 

There's an easy solution to this.

[chitownsportsfan]

LaRoche needs to play more 1B and bat less against LHP. He's not really being used properly imo.

[Boopa1219]

Jesse Hahn would be nice to have as a number #5. Plus he's a ground ball pitcher and that profiles well in the cell.

[Rowand44]

How you can bring up Ted Williams in a discussion about Adam La Roche, is beyond me.

Adam is currently hitting: .207 .281 .310 vs lefties. That is not good enough to play, let alone bat in the heart of the order.

Last year, it wasn't much better .204 .284 .336

 

Pardon me, if I expect better from our clean up hitter. I wish that some of you

would think about what you write, instead of racing to try to disparage someone else's observations. Look, you're entitled to your

opinions, but I hardly think that criticizing the move to acquire A. La Roche is worthy of ridicule.

 

And, while I'm at it, my interest in acquiring Grady Sizemore, a couple of years ago, turned out to be a disappointment. Ok. so what.

He was only 31, at the time, and had been a terrific player, before all of the injuries. All I ever said was that I thought that he would have

been a good gamble. He could have been acquired for practically nothing, while other guys, his age, like Choo and Cano, were signing enormous

long term deals. Sizemore had put up similar numbers to Cano, at the same stage of their careers, before the injuries.

 

I have always had a soft spot for a comeback story, and with all of the hard work that he put in, to try to come back, it was

intriguing to me. So I have been wrong on that assessment, so far, but there were other teams who were willing to make the same gamble.

It's a matter of risk vs reward. Put it to rest already, guys. Geez, will I ever live that one down?

People ridicule some of your opinions because you get absolutely obsessed with some silly ideas and make post after post about them.

Edited May 20, 2015 by Rowand44

[Y2Jimmy0]

The way the roster is constructed, I'd take my chances with LaRoche against LHP. Beckahm will be playing 3rd. That leaves Flowers/Soto which they won't do, Shuck, and Bonifacio instead of LaRoche. I'd rather just take the chance that LaRoche hits a couple of fastballs. If they can get an Aramis Ramirez for cheap, then yes maybe sit LaRoche vs some LHP.

[lasttriptotulsa]

How you can bring up Ted Williams in a discussion about Adam La Roche, is beyond me.

Adam is currently hitting: .207 .281 .310 vs lefties. That is not good enough to play, let alone bat in the heart of the order.

Last year, it wasn't much better .204 .284 .336

 

Pardon me, if I expect better from our clean up hitter. I wish that some of you

would think about what you write, instead of racing to try to disparage someone else's observations. Look, you're entitled to your

opinions, but I hardly think that criticizing the move to acquire A. La Roche is worthy of ridicule.

 

Ted Williams was brought up to show that even the greatest hitter to ever live was significantly worse against LHP than RHP. You seem to think that there is this bevy of lefties out there that can hit LHP and that the Sox just don't sign them for whatever reason and that just isn't the case.

 

You mention Ethier, Morales and Lind as if they would be better. They have OPSs of .643, .727 and .610 respectively against LHP for their careers and all three would have come with major red flags. Ethier comes with a ridiculous contract, Morales was sub-replacement level last year and Lind has trouble staying on the field. LaRoche was the safest and smartest pick of the four.

[Lillian]

Well, let's hope that those of you who are optimistic about Adam are right. Somehow, I just can't help but keep getting flashbacks to the other Adam era, and it's

not a pretty picture.

[South Side Fireworks Man]

How you can bring up Ted Williams in a discussion about Adam La Roche, is beyond me.

Adam is currently hitting: .207 .281 .310 vs lefties. That is not good enough to play, let alone bat in the heart of the order.

Last year, it wasn't much better .204 .284 .336

 

Pardon me, if I expect better from our clean up hitter. I wish that some of you

would think about what you write, instead of racing to try to disparage someone else's observations. Look, you're entitled to your

opinions, but I hardly think that criticizing the move to acquire A. La Roche is worthy of ridicule.

 

And, while I'm at it, my interest in acquiring Grady Sizemore, a couple of years ago, turned out to be a disappointment. Ok. so what.

He was only 31, at the time, and had been a terrific player, before all of the injuries. All I ever said was that I thought that he would have

been a good gamble. He could have been acquired for practically nothing, while other guys, his age, like Choo and Cano, were signing enormous

long term deals. Sizemore had put up similar numbers to Cano, at the same stage of their careers, before the injuries.

 

I have always had a soft spot for a comeback story, and with all of the hard work that he put in, to try to come back, it was

intriguing to me. So I have been wrong on that assessment, so far, but there were other teams who were willing to make the same gamble.

It's a matter of risk vs reward. Put it to rest already, guys. Geez, will I ever live that one down?

For what it's worth, I think you, Lillian, are one of the best posters on this forum. Your posts are always well thought out and civil. You come across as intelligent, well informed and courteous. I don't always agree with you but you are never petty, crude or childish. I appreciate your contributions to this forum and I hope you continue to share your opinions despite some of the ridicule you get from some here.

[Lillian]

For what it's worth, I think you, Lillian, are one of the best posters on this forum. Your posts are always well thought out and civil. You come across as intelligent, well informed and courteous. I don't always agree with you but you are never petty, crude or childish. I appreciate your contributions to this forum and I hope you continue to share your opinions despite some of the ridicule you get from some here.

 

What a nice and thoughtful thing to say. I appreciate it very much.

Thank you.

Edited May 21, 2015 by Lillian

[caulfield12]

For what it's worth, I think you, Lillian, are one of the best posters on this forum. Your posts are always well thought out and civil. You come across as intelligent, well informed and courteous. I don't always agree with you but you are never petty, crude or childish. I appreciate your contributions to this forum and I hope you continue to share your opinions despite some of the ridicule you get from some here.

 

 

Seconded.

 

It's a baseball forum. 90% of the ideas we come up with in our heads are probably going to be unrealistic. Just for fun. Or at least it should be.

Edited May 21, 2015 by caulfield12

[caulfield12]

Jesse Hahn would be nice to have as a number #5. Plus he's a ground ball pitcher and that profiles well in the cell.

 

 

The book the Astros had on him was that he had difficult throwing inside fastballs consistently.

 

I'm to the point of always being leery about pitchers who come from the NL or AL West, translating that success in the tougher divisions. Scott Kazmir would probably turn into John Danks/Barry Zito pitching half his games in Chicago.

 

But the main reason is guys like Harrell, Stults and Clayton Richard survived...even did well over there for stretches.

Edited May 21, 2015 by caulfield12

[Whisox05]

In the off season, the Sox could have acquired Kendry Morales, Adam Lind, or Andre Ethier. Yes, I know that Ethier wasn't a free agent, but the Dodgers were rumored to be willing to virtually do a salary dump. Instead, they signed the second coming of Adam Dunn.

So far, he is the biggest problem with this offense. But then, I've beaten that horse to death and you all know what I think. This offense is terrible, and La Roche hitting in the heart of the order, as our only left handed power bat, is the most glaring deficiency. If they expect to compete, the front office better try to fix the

problem that this lineup has, with a clean up hitter, who is a strike out machine, and is totally inept vs. LHP.

 

Honestly Laroche has been part of the problem but not the biggest problem. The whole offense is the biggest issue. Now yes the sox have been picking it up more lately but if all of the players on offense were producing to their norms things would be alot different. Eaton is still batting in the .230's and has a below .300 obp. Melky isn't hitting what he's capable of. Abreu has a 14 game hitting streak going into tonight but only has 7 rbi's with 3 double plays and 12 strikeouts in the time. He's had 95 runners on base when's he's come to the plate and only driven 16 rbi's this whole year. Laroche isn't hitting lefties and has a low average and striking out. Avi has been actually producing way more then most on this board would think. Conor is pretty much a platoon player. Ramirez doesn't seem to have a plan at the plate. Catching has been horrible. Replaced a possibly offensive second baseman with bad defense with a good defensive that may not be a constant offensive player. The biggest thing I hope the sox do is get back to is a normal or bit better offense for each players norm and get a catcher that can hit.

Edited May 21, 2015 by WhiteSoxLifer