vilehoopster

Let me give my plus and minus on TA. First of all, you have to see him live to see the balls he gets to and to understand how much range he has, and also how good his arm is. Really something special. On the negative, no one has brought up his terrible base running, just completely bone-headed at times. Was it yesterday or the day before he got thrown out trying to steal 3rd which completely killed a possible rally. Also, he gets picked of 2nd base way, way too often; one time seem too often to me. I remember his getting picked off 2nd base three times or so last year, and it happened again a couple or few weeks ago. How does that happen? It seems a high school JV player wouldn't have that happen, how can it happen with Tim? Tim has many, many more positives than negatives, but the base running thing is frustrating because it's such an easy fix.

I also want to say thanks for starting this thread. I usually try to find the time to check out the "that's a Sox Winner" thread after every W. It's just good to see them.

Abreu's second RBI today shows his value. 1st of all, he got the first RBI of the game (Hell, he batted in all of the Sox's runs today). Back on topic. The bases loaded against a young guy throwing 100 mph, less than two outs. You have got to put that ball in play. Anderson with his .330 or so average strikes out on three pitches. Abreu, and experienced veteran not in anyway in decline, gets his bat on a ball and the slow roller to 3rd scores the insurance run. You guys who complain about his bat slowing down and all that BS, that was a great at bat, great: a clear compare and contrast between Abreu and Anderson. Yes, he got lucky, but his skill was putting the ball in play to get lucky. And he will continue being this lucky for years yet. Pay the man: three years and at least 36 million. And if you think the Sox showing a valued warrior the respect and paying him what he deserves will keep them from signing some other free agent, you're just being ridiculous. If you have to reach to that level of fantasy to argue against Abreu's value and why he should not be resigned. You're already lost the argument.

Agreed, if these guys are so easy to find, can we get one in right field for the games this weekend.

And you know what. The team will already be really good, but it will be better because of Abreu's clubhouse presence. Again, any coach in any sport talks about how important good leadership is. It's not just a meme.

And who would that replacement be? Do Robert or Mandrigal play 1st base? I didn't know that. Is it A. J. Reed in AAA? Is it Sheets in AA with his .261 average and his .763 OPS? No wait, it's Vaughn. He was the best batter in college ball last year (I hear that quote over and over). He is dominating Single A pitching to the toon of batting .250 with a OPS of .765. Is he gonna be in the majors next year? . . . nope. Or the year after that . . . nope. Probably by 2022, but not a sure thing. And by then Abreu, as history strongly indicates, will have 60 more career home runs and about 200 more career RBIs. Pay the man what he has earned and deserves.

A loyal, consistent, and outstanding player. He deserves the respect of ending his career with the White Sox and not being nickeled and dimed out of a few million dollars. I say three years and 36 millions, at least. And if he is only productive one more year (Which I absolutely doubt as he shows no signs of slowing down), he has still earned it for his loyalty, clubhouse presence, and constant and consistent production. I just don't get you guys. Some people on here are still expressing regret that we didn't sign Machado ( a complete and total dick and clubhouse cancer) for over $30 million a year for ten years. Yet you want to insult a loyal warrior and get him to sign for only two years for less than 20 million for both years. I don't get it. Right now, Abreu has two more home runs than Machado, 25 more RBIs and a better OPS than Machado. I don't begin to get it.

I always thought that North Carolina was the state that came closest to Indiana when it comes to caring about basketball.

I know I'm late to the conversation. But I glad the Sox did not sign Machado. Roid rage or not, he is a complete and total dick. I'm proud to be a Sox fan, and I want my team to have players we can be proud of and who represent the city of Chicago. To me, the throwing the bat is nothing compared to the time he rolled his bat toward the catcher who was looking up to catch his foul ball, hoping the catcher would trip on his bat. It would have been awful tough to cheer for a dick like Machado. I probably would have, but I'm really glad he's not wearing a White Sox uniform and we don't have to suffer the embarrassment of his antics as a White Sox.

Was that Tim or was the guy just that fast going to first?

You see that slide past the bag out all the, all the time. It seems like that should be really pretty easy to avoid if you pay attention to what you're doing. What else do you have to have your concentration on once you reach the bag? But it must be tougher than it looks.

Wow, it's nice to see McCann hitting the ball again. I was really starting to worry he was going to regress back to that .230 hitter we got from Detroit.

That's what I'm thinking. Just walk his ass and take your chances with the next batter. He is insane.

Also, what you said about Steele Walker in RF and then moving Eloy to DH does make sense. If Eloy isn't showing marked improvement on defense by mid-next year, you're right. Have to really start looking at moving him to DH as Abreu (really actually does) starts to decline. But in the mean time, give him a chance to improve.

We agree on that one.

Good point. When you see stuff like that, it's very disconcerting for many reasons.

Bill's mind was blown wide open long ago. I think at a Dead concert in '91. One of several Dead concerts Bill was at that year.

I don't think last year's Giolito is what he is now or will see going forward, of course not. But I don't think the Giolito we saw the first half of the season will be the Gio we see going forward either, for whatever reason I don't know. I think that was aberration. I think the one we see now is the one we're gonna see the rest of his time with the Sox. Not spectacular like he was earlier this season, but a good solid, smart pitcher who takes the ball and most of the time gives you a chance to win and will get you around 14 wins a year. Do you agree?

Or show some patience

You can always get an DH who can bat (well not the Sox this year, but usually). There aren't too many left fielders out there who are going to get 40 or so home runs for the next 10 years or so. He has a good work ethic; he will get better and be more than adequate.

That's about the only time Ricky has them bunt that I agree with.

This is an overreaction. We need his bat in the lineup from left field. He'll get better and do just fine there. Every player on the team can't DH.

This 100%

Back to Eloy not catching that ball. Do you think he catches that next year?I would say yes. He's already improved a ton from the start of the year.

Nice shot, pretty well thought up. But really, calculus is cold, hard math. Analytics is using biased math to justify opinion. Mark Twain: There are lies, damn lies, and statistics.