vilehoopster

Calisoxfan --- Pollyanna 2.0 -- I'll be okay soon, but right now I don't want logic; I wanna complain. So, I will continue to do so, and I'm doing to you what your profile picture is doing.

"I'm going to choose to find enjoyment in the growth of individual players. Wins and losses haven't mattered to me since they traded Sale et al. If enough individual players improve, the wins will come as well. " I understand you point and I get it that it is only spring ball and the future will be better, but really, your Pollyanna speeches sound empty and silly. I understand that we need to be patient; but when I go to the park, I want to see the White Sox win. When I turn on the game, I want to see the Sox win. And your disregarding that for "enjoyment in the growth of individual players" is bullshit. You don't even believe that. You're just saying that to further you point about remaining patient. But come on?? This has been a tough, tough spring. And being down 9 to zero to the Cubs after two innings has to be the low point of a very unfulling spring so far. I (and most of us) understand your point. But can't you just close your eyes behind your rose-colored glasses and let us b**** some. Nine to nothing to the Cubs after two innings . . . .

I really hope that they're not going to just give it to Santana. Really, why give to Santana over Banuelos or even Covey? What's the logic behind that?

Why such a late debut? Was he hurt or something else?

I want to add my voice to all who want them gone. They aren't worth a damn, and all they are is a reminder of how cheap-ass and pathetic the FO was when it refused to pony up the needed money to get Machado.

I have a million more times faith in Banuelos, Medeiros, and especially Rodon than I do in Covey and Fulmer. Both those two have stunk for years. God Damn, Covey is 5 and 21 for a career, and Fulmer was terrible in both the majors and AAA last year. Set those two free and look someplace else. Anyplace else, including Banuelos and Medeiros.

I am happy with the two bull-pen guys. And really, Nova, at worst, has to be less bad than Shields or Covey. Any money spent so I don't have to watch Covey start a game is money well spent as far as I'm concerned. But as for the Machado buddies, it was embarrassing to get them in the first place (embarrassing bordering on pathetic). So I say, get rid of those two as quickly, quickly as possible. They piss me off that they're here; just the mention of their names angers me. Plus, rationally, they have no point to being on the team. All they do is take bats away from younger players. If I were in charge of the White Sox, I would tell those two to not even show up at spring training any longer. We'll try to move you as soon and cheaply as we can.

Boy, I really think that the Sale coming back here ship has sailed. I don't think the parting was too friendly. But even (by some really outside chance) that we did resign Sale, do you really think Lopez is not gonna be part of the rotation next year, Lopez??? He looked great down the stretch. You have more confidence in three huge unknowns: Cease, Kopech, and Dunning, than you do in Lopez. I also think Giolito will be part of the rotation next year too. Now for Giolito, I can see why others doubt him, but I still think his upside will show this year. But I am no where near as confident in Giolito as I am in Lopez. Your listing Cease, Kopech, and Dunning as starters next year just proves that old adage. The unknown backup quarterback is everyone's favorite player.

Have an ERA of under 4.75, which doesn't sound great, but a huge improvement. It would give him another year in the rotation. Cut way, way, way, way, way down on walks. Not absolutely suck up the first inning of half of the games you start, so the team feels like you're giving them a chance to win.

While we slowly die waiting for any news about Machado, this is the post I was hoping to see; this one and the example of Jose Quintana. That's what I was hoping for in posting my question, some optimism and a reason to be intrigued about the upcoming season. Thanks

Banuelos in play at No. 5 Keep an eye on left-hander Manny Banuelos as the leading candidate for the White Sox fifth starter. There was enough interest in the one-time highly-touted prospect to make a trade with the Dodgers for the 27-year-old on Nov. 1, instead of waiting for him to possibly be non-tendered. "When we were viewing that [prospective non-tender] list with our scouts, [scout] Bill Young was the one who pounded the table and said this kid is back to who he was before. He can help us now," White Sox general manager Rick Hahn said. "We made a small trade for him with the Dodgers and added him to the 40-man [roster] ourselves to sort of beat that market." Banuelos is out of options. So, the White Sox will have to decide on keeping him by the end of camp. The southpaw, who primarily will be competing with Dylan Covey for a rotation spot as of now, could work out of the bullpen as well. So this was MLB.com a couple days ago. So it seems that Manny B. is, for now, our 5th starter. Do you think he can come back from that injury early in his career and be a real quality starting pitcher after being pretty average in the minors the last couple years? Does that happen? That scout quoted seemed really excited about him. Can anyone think of a pitcher whom a team picked up for pretty much nothing who became a valuable starter or bullpen guy for years for a team? Or is this a situation where he's just less bad than Dylan Covey (God, I don't want to see Covey starting this year!), My guess is that, at best, he'll be H. Santago 2.0.

Jon Jay is 33 years old and never played in the all-star game. Avi is 27 and played in it in 2017. He think he has a much, much greater upside. We'll see who's right. I already told you, I'm a Avi fan.

New York sports writers and media people saying there's no way Machado is going to sign with the White Sox. They're all over the internet and MLB.com. Their New York bias is just so obvious. It absolutely cracks me up. And you know what? He may not sign with the White Sox, but if that happens, it doesn't make these yak heads supreme confidence in the superiority of New York any less laughable.

I'm a big Avi fan, so therefore, I think the Rays got a steal. If he has a bad year with his injuries like last year, Avi is gonna hit 20 home runs and bat .250. But if he can stay healthy, he's gonna hit 30 home runs and bat, at least, .290. I believe that totally. Jon Jay, is gonna bat .255 and hit 5 home runs for the Sox, with a weaker arm than Avi in the outfield, but more range (I'll give the Avi detractors that much). So, I think the Avi will be a much better bargain.

"Moncada, in what is considered a bad first full year still hit 17 HR, had 55 XBH and played solid defense." Come on, man, it WAS a bad first full year, just plan bad. When we got him, he was considered the # 1 prospect in all of baseball. What was it, 210 strike outs or something like that? You can't put a good face on that. Also, his defense was far, far from solid. I would use the adjective terrible. Yes, great arm strength and coverage range, and I am confident that he will soon play very good defense, but last year was not solid. You lose credibility when you say otherwise. Also, let's compare his year with the most recent # 1 prospect in all of baseball, Acuna. Last year Acuna hit .293 with 26 home runs and he did it in almost 150 less at bats. That's what I would expect from a # 1 prospect in all of baseball in his first year, not .234 and an OBP of .315. Now, I'm not saying that Moncada is a bust, nor is the rebuild a bust. But the truth is that Moncada is coming along significantly slower when anyone (realistically) expected. Let's hope that next year is a break-thru year for him and his talent or the rebuild will certainly take a setback.

Because I am both embarrassed and worried. We get his brother-in-law for $9 million when there's no place to play him ? That's not enough so we then sign his other MIami training partner? Did White Sox keep Castillo at catcher and get rid of the other two because Castillo is a Machado buddy? Too me, there is a level of desperation here that is approaching pathetic. It's embarrassing, and it's gonna be super/ ultra/ meta (pick your adjective of choice) embarassing if Sox did all this and then don't get Machado. Seriously, signing his buddies and then not signing Machado will make the Sox a laughing stock of the league, and much worse, of the fans on the North Side. Plus I have another worry. What if we do sign him? Are we creating a prima donna who will be impossible to control. If we have a Machado and his buddies clubhouse, who is gonna really be running the team? Are the Sox setting themselves up for a situation like Lebron James had in Cleveland? James ran the Cavaliers for a while there. He told the owners to fire the coach and bring him his choice as coach and the Cleveland owners did what he said. He told them who to trade and trades to make and the owners did that too. If once we do get Manny, isn't there a real possibility that this could happen with the White Sox. First of all, there are indications that Machado can be a problem: the dirty play (stomping 1st basemen's feet). There's also the lazy play; you know you're lazy when you get booed in LA during the World Series. So, he does have issues coming in. So we got his buddies for him. Is it really a stretch to think that he will imput and where and when his buddies play? If he's unhappy because his buddies aren't playing, is it the really that hard to to think that word might come down from up high that his buddies need to be playing more and at whatever position they want? If he's unhappy with Renteria for getting on him to hustle more and work harder, is Rick gone? I could see this happening. Couldn't you? Also, what position is Machado going to play? We all assume 3rd base. But doesn't he prefer shortstop? What if he insists on playing short? Is it bye bye Anderson after the Sox invested all that time in him and he's finally ready to start paying off. By looking at some of the comments on the various threads, I think there are some who agree with me that our pursuit of Machodo has become . . . . something.

I agree with you, but how about development from those three and sign Kikuchi, if not too expensive. That would be a nice step forward.

I'd do that in a minute.

I agree. Really think Sonny Gray is the way to go. There is so much potential for him to be a real difference maker for White Sox. He's under 30. Get him away from the melting lights of New York media, Cooper him up a little. I really think he could become a top of the rotation guy again. And I don't think we should even low-ball NY, offer someting real, a top 10 to 20 level prospect and maybe a throw in.

Encarnacion is going to make 20 million in 2019. Just saw that on MlB. At 35 does anybody think he's worth that much money . . . and whomever we trade for him. I don't think so.

He was let go by the Padres, had knee surgery after the season; seems he was let go to make room for all their upcoming young pitchers. We still need a 5th starter. (You guys know this stuff better than I, so that's why I'm asking.) Can we give him some sort of minor league offer/contract and bring him to spring camp and give him a look? He's from Lafayette, IN and I'm from the area,so I'd like to give him a chance to pitch for the White Sox. Is that realistic? Is it worth the effort?

So I was watching ESPN this week on the Harper topic. The first show was (I don't know for sure) MLB Baseball, I think. So it had a panel of five guys, and the first topic was where will Bryce Harper end up. (I don't remember too well, so don't call me out.) But the first guy says the Phillies, the next guy says the Dodgers. Then the next guy says the White Sox, and the other two guys start laughing. I'm not kidding; they chuckled at that one. Then yesterday on Pardon the Interruption, Tony Kornheiser was talking about where Harper might end up. He mentioned the Philles, the Dodgers, and the Yankees. Then as he was ending up his talk he said, almost this exactly, "The idea that Harper is going to the White Sox is just silly." If this was Wilbon, the Pro-Cub A-hole, I could have just dismissed it, but I don't know. I'm starting to feel maybe I've been delusional about getting Harper. Are we White Sox fans just fooling ourselves thinking there's a good chance we could get Harper?

I stand corrected on the injury thing. I remember the shoulder thing now, but the other ones seem really rather minor. As to what Nate Jones makes, I looked it up on MLB.com and it said 4.65 million, so I think that one is correct.

He has no upside. Yes, he has potential. Yes, he could magically lead the league in BABIP again and hit .330. But no one is going to give you anything of value for him even then, and then what? He is a FA after 2019. Are you prepared to then pay him $15M AAV for his huge 2019? Absofuckinglutely not. $8M is not a lot in today's game. I agree. But Avi would be lucky to get half that if he is gets non-tendered. There are better players on the FA market, now and many more will join after tomorrow, that the Sox could sign for less, that would have more upside to the org. First of all, I am absolute stumped on the difference between upside and potential. In this context, doesn't upside mean potential to do well and help the club win games . . . upside? Avi has a ton of upside/ potential if he can bat over .300 again and hit 25 or 30 homers. That would help the White Sox win a lot of games. . . ie upside. And I got news for you, if he bats over .300 next year and hits about 30 home runs, abso-stinking-lutley I would pay him 15 million a year so he can come back and do that again the next year, and so on. And there are not better players in the free market for 8 million. And I don't want trade value for him. I don't want to trade a guy batting over .300 for another who maybe, in a couple years might end up batting .300. I want him to keep batting over .300 for the Sox and hitting over 25 home runs. That to me is serious upside. I don't see how that is complicated.

This is the guy who started this thread. Sorry about the bold. I typed it in google docs to have spell check, and when I copied and pasted it, it came out bold and I didn't notice. After discussing the concept of arbitration and sub-abritration to death, let's back on the original topic of is Avi worth keeping for 8 million. I still say absolutely yes. Again if Nate Jones is worth taking a chance on for 4.65 million, than Avi worth is chancing 8 million on with all his potential People complain that he is oft injured, but only the last couple years. I don't remember him having health problems his first three years with the Sox when he was a .250 hitter. The reason why he didn't play more was because he wasn't good enough to be a full-time player, not health. (If I'm wrong on this correct me.) But don't come on and implied he's been injured his entire career because that's not true. He's been injured a lost less the last couple years than Luis Robert. Do we get rid of him? Also, many people are saying that he's terrible on defense. That's not true; three years ago he was terrible on defense. The MLB.com article describes his defense as "servicable". I would agree with that; he's average, adequate. Now if we are playing Palka or Delmonico in the outfield, they are terrible. And I have news for you: Eloy is not going to be to be playing defense as well as a healthy Avi will be next year. Others are bringing up this or that metric that seems to show that Avi was lucky batting .330 in 2017. So what does that mean, without what luck or chance this metric seems to show, would he have only batted .315 or .310?? That still sounds excellent to me. That .330 average was in 2017. I say it again, are our memories really that short that we can't see beyond last season and the disappointment we feel about Avi, as well as the entire team? Also, people keep bringing up where is he gonna play when Harper gets here. Really, really??? Do you really think Harper will be here next year? Look at the history of the White Sox. Any time you look at any rumors online on who is most likely to sign Harper and five or six teams as mentioned, I have never seen the White Sox listed. Sure if Harper were coming, I would say let Avi go, but come on people, let's return to the real world in which exists the White Sox as we know them.