greg775

QUOTE (illinilaw08 @ Sep 14, 2017 -> 11:40 PM) When it's just words? Forever. Do you really want to start World War III because North Korea said some provocative stuff? Their first strike could wipe Hawaii off the map or even parts of the mainland if our defense system doesn't do its job. QUOTE (Heads22 @ Sep 15, 2017 -> 02:20 AM) Yup, forever. If they want to start a war, we can and will finish it. No reason to fire a shot before a shot needs to be fired. But who gets hit by the first nuke if they fire a few? Their words are fighting words. If we were saying this type of crap to say, China, that North Korea is saying to us, you don't think they'd strike us?

QUOTE (chitownsportsfan @ Sep 14, 2017 -> 09:38 PM) New title: Are we allowed to get excited about Moncada at this point? Sure. Nobody should have ever been down on him. Why? His pitch selection. His speed. His bat speed. The eye test.

QUOTE (ecupittfan @ Sep 15, 2017 -> 01:49 AM) You mean you dont want to trade a 26 y.o. All Star OF going into the prime of their career for a career .250 minor league hitter who has 9 MLB hits so far and is only 3 years younger. Not to mention Avi is a good teammate. Lets put it into perspective. Today Avi got 55% of the total hits that Kelly has in his MLB career. Seems like a really good trade idea. What we need to do is give Avi a decent 4-5 year deal and wrap him up for the prime of his career. Sensational take. QUOTE (Quin @ Sep 15, 2017 -> 01:50 AM) Because Kelly's glove is legit and could be a huge boon for the young pitching. If you want my comment and promise I won't be banned I'll comment. Otherwise I better leave it alone.

QUOTE (soxforlife05 @ Sep 14, 2017 -> 10:53 PM) Glad he's doing well to finish the year because now we know he'll bring back a good player if he gets moved. As always I still recommend the sell high this offseason with Avi Are you one of those guys that doesn't want to pay anybody? Hell the Sox could easily go that route. The core of our rebuild will be guys we don't have to pay for years. If you don't want to pay anybody (and I suspect JR and Hahn are in that camp) by all means trade Avi. I would assume he will be traded. Yes I am one of those who believe our team counts pennies (even tho we signed Robert for a nice check). QUOTE (Lillian @ Sep 15, 2017 -> 12:45 AM) How many top 50 position player prospects does it take to produce one guy, who ever puts up a year like the one Avi is having? Look, I love these young prospects and the whole rebuild, as much as anyone, but at some point, it seems like you have to appreciate the rare successes and try to hang on to them. Avi is a young guy, and has many years of his prime before him. I hope that they extend him and lock him up for the next 5 or 6 years, to take him through his prime. He and Abreu, who could ultimately move to DH, could comprise half of the middle of the order, for the upcoming window of contention, beginning in 2019. I want both of them on that roster. I hope that Moncada becomes a Tim Raines, Ricky Henderson type lead off guy. If you plug Jimenez into the middle of the order and add one big left handed bat, you have the run production needed to win a lot of games. Beyond the production, there are a also few intangibles that come with keeping guys like Jose and Avi. Jose is a terrific leader and club house guy. Both could provide some important veteran presence, on what will be a very young team. There is also something about the camaraderie of maintaining a core of guys, and not turning over the entire roster. It is also difficult to build fan loyalty to a revolving door of prospects. I just don't think that the success rate of prospects is high enough to trade away every prospect that works out, for the hope and "promise" of more and more prospects Post of the year. Great post. QUOTE (Tony @ Sep 15, 2017 -> 12:58 AM) Pretty solid take, Lillian. I can't put myself on the trade Avi bandwagon yet. Based on his age, I just don't agree that he won't be a solid contributor when this team is supposed to compete. Superlative post. QUOTE (Tony @ Sep 15, 2017 -> 01:21 AM) 1. I don't think the decision to give him an extension needs to be made in December. It can be made in June of 2018 if necessary. And if you've come to the decision you DO want to sign him to an extension in June of 2018, that ideally would tell us he is playing like the 2017 version of Avi, not the 2015 version. 2. I'm still not convinced his value is enough for the Sox to move him for value. Everyone in the trade Avi crowd seems to be saying the same thing..."SELL HIGH! HE WON'T COME CLOSE TO THESE NUMBERS AGAIN!!" If that's the case, why would any GM offer anything of value? The two statements totally contradict themselves. 3. The biggest problem I have is the idea he doesn't fit with the core. If you believe this isn't Avi and next year he's going to bat .255, that's one thing. I'm not going to be able to change your mind. But if you believe he can duplicate this type of season, but are just worried about how he fits with the "core", I have a major issue with that. Nice post. I agree especially with No. 2. QUOTE (Lillian @ Sep 15, 2017 -> 01:30 AM) Obviously, it depends upon how much money it would require to lock up Avi, for the next 5 or 6 years. If it is going to take more than what the Sox would have to pay for a proven free agent, such as Machado, then the money would be better spent on the more established player. I'm assuming that since Avi has a couple of years to go, before free agency, that he would consider signing an extension, to increase what he would make over those 2 remaining years, and acquire some security for himself. A contract that would take him to age 32, would still give him one more shot at a bigger deal, when it expires. One more point, which some of us are overlooking, is the possibility that we haven't yet seen the best of Avi. He has tremendous power. He may end up hitting a lot more home runs and driving in more runs, even at the expense of sacrificing a few points on that impressive batting average. Look, it's always a gamble with any of these players and the huge money that they are paid. However, a reasonable contract would seem like a worthwhile risk. Another winner of a post.

Did you see that fifth hit by Avi today?? A routine ground ball he hustles it into a hit? With the team in the midst of a miserable season? Yeah he gets paid a lot to hustle. Big deal. I give him credit. The guy has had an incredible season, fricking incredible. Did you see his postgame interview with Hawk and Stoney? How sheepish a grin and humble?? This guy should be a favorite of all Sox fans and 'many' want him traded (some for a so-far flop of a St. Louis catcher taken in the second round). Frankly I'm sad by this attitude. Worse but I don't want to get banned. Avi baby!

QUOTE (cjgalloway @ Sep 14, 2017 -> 09:39 PM) Because many see STL as a fit for Avi. Give me Carson Kelly and a Hot N' Ready for Avi and I'd be stoked.. Mostly about the pizza though Carson Kelly, lol. Why in the heck would ANYBODY want Carson Kelly over Avi at this point? My gosh the grass is always greener. Why not say Bubba Starling? What the hell has Kelly done so far between the ages of 17 and 22 to make you want him? He wasn't even a first round draft pick which is so important to the rebuild people. My gosh. Talk about undervaluing your own.

How many wild statements are we going to allow? At some point the fighting words will be answered. With Trump as president don't be surprised at some vicious USA response at some point. China? How bout stepping up before we drop a few nukes on N. Korea. Them are fighting words from N. Korea ... again. How long can we just ignore them? https://www.yahoo.com/news/north-korea-thre...-045536190.html

QUOTE (BlackSox13 @ Sep 14, 2017 -> 06:42 PM) The Tigers have had a nice run but alot of us Sox fans have seen the writing on the wall for a while. With those contracts, s***ty farm and under performing, it was inevitable. I will credit some of you for always pointing out their bad contracts and how they would ultimately suck. You know who you are. Nice job. I hope some of your other predictions come true re. the Sox. QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Sep 14, 2017 -> 07:15 PM) I would make a small wager that Avi Garcia is not on the White Sox roster when Eloy Jimenez makes his major league debut with the White Sox. I have no idea if you are an Avi lover or hater, but can you guys see why I get so upset in these threads? In Greg's world, when Avi goes 5-for-5 with 7 RBI and ups his average to .333 I want to read unabashed love for the guy. Read through this thread, except for Scoots it's neutral Avi at best; trade talk galore. His lousy years must have really soured some on Avi. The guy has had a sensational season. Not even an Avi appreciation thread yet. An Avi trade thread, though, would be very popular. QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Sep 14, 2017 -> 07:20 PM) Trade. Probably this winter. I think he would have been gone already if Hahn had his way. I don't know why you'd trade a guy that young and that productive unless you want to tank again next year. Seriously. I realize he could flop next year but this year was phenomenal. QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Sep 14, 2017 -> 08:20 PM) Usually when teams do this, the next game it seems like they barely eek out runs. But they have been on a pretty decent roll with the bats lately. A roll I can't remember for years. True dat. Sox have been putting up runs against Central Div. teams not named Cleveland of late. But you are right after a game like this, bet the under tomorrow. It just happens in baseball all the time as Dick said. QUOTE (bmags @ Sep 14, 2017 -> 09:53 PM) Whoa what an offensive day for the first 5 hitters. 6 times on base for Yoan! 7 RBI for Avi! Damn That's the kind of post I like bout Avi. Unabashed happiness. If you all love Avi and I'm reading it wrong, my bad. I just sense many want him traded asap. The happiness quotient. ... Anderson: 3-7 today, 2 RBI, up to .258 Moncada: 4-5, two walks, up to .229 (no need to speak any negative words about him any more; as some of us have said all along he's the real deal; the eye test totally tells you that; i love the fact he's selective like Big Hurt) Abreu: 4-5, two RBI, up to .308, are u kidding me? What a roll he's on Avi: 5-5 a home run, 7 RBI, Even Hahn has to be impressed. WTF. Now 17 hrs, 77 rbi; numbers getting up there to where they need to be with juiced ball Davidson: 3-5, with 3 RBI; as a Davidson lover I'll take it Tyler: 0-6, poor guy had a lousy year. Bad back. KC Smith: 2-5, .282 batting average; can he eke out a Tyler Flowers career? Meaning 5-10 years? Nice pension? Hanson 2-5 with a walk. Hitting .225. Engel: 1-for-6, .187, love the way he plays CF but he has no future in the bigs. Can't hit the roundball Shields: Try to dump him on somebody this winter. Seven Ks today; nice job. He's 4-6 now with 5.43 ERA; I'll say this he's way better than Holland. Albuquerque, Volstad, Holmberg: Can't say I care bout any of 'em. GO SOX!

As I predicted, he turned it around vs. KC pitching. He'll be fine.

QUOTE (soxfan2014 @ Sep 14, 2017 -> 06:16 PM) But you fail to understand that it's easier said than done to move someone to catcher who has likely never played the position. I know. But remember how badly TA was doing? I was projecting stats and he projected to be a decent catcher. I'm glad he's doing fine now and looks like a Lindor superstar candidate frankly now. QUOTE (BlackSox13 @ Sep 14, 2017 -> 06:26 PM) Yeah, I'm thinking that taking a young fast short stop and moving him to catcher where he's going to be squatting every game will do nothing but hurt his speed. If TA is to be moved from SS, which I don't agree with, it should be to the outfield where his speed would be better utilized. That said, IMHO, TA is right where he should be, at SS. Funny. As I was typing this post TA knocked in two with a single. He's on a roll which is great. Might hit .270 by season's end. QUOTE (soxfan2014 @ Sep 14, 2017 -> 06:30 PM) And if they want him to catch, he would likely be in the minors for a few years. Outfield would be the logical move. I'm not advocating for a move just disagreeing with the catcher move. He reminded me of a shorter Sandy Alomar. QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Sep 14, 2017 -> 06:36 PM) I can't believe people are actually treating greg's idea here with anything other than a LMAO. Anderson isn't going anywhere. Anderson at the time of the discussion was sucking horribly. Now he's doing fine.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Aug 24, 2017 -> 02:54 PM) Ended up staying at Mirage it was pretty nice. Maybe would have liked a more upbeat casino, but there is also something to be said for having a place to stay that is actually relaxing after youve been out all day/night. How was the pool party with DJ; which one did you go to? Does Britny really lipsynch and not sing during the show? Did u gamble much?

Any travel experts on here? What's the best way to get to Sacramento from KC around the holidays? Very expensive to fly to Sactown from KC. Like 600 ish. Is the drive from Oakland to Sactown OK or a nightmare? Is it really 1 hr 20 mins; is the drive from Reno to Sactown better? I prefer SW Airlines obviously. Thanks. Is there a logical route I'm overlooking?

QUOTE (raBBit @ Sep 14, 2017 -> 05:28 PM) I agree it doesn't make sense that the media has a war on the marketplace of ideas but that's how it is. ESPN fired a tennis announcer for using the term "guerilla warfare" during a Venus Williams match. ESPN fired Curt Schilling after he said he disagreed with the transgender bathroom ruling in North Carolina on his personal Facebook page. ESPN fired Mike Ditka after he said Obama was a bad president and hed be voting for Trump. ESPN suspended Linda Cohn for saying ESPN has gotten too political. Hill makes some generalization about the POTUS and his administration and insults the people who voted for him and they do nothing. She's in line with the groupthink. She represents what Bob Iger and Disney prefer politically so she gets held to a different standard. ESPN has taken sports, something we love in and use as an escape, and jammed their political garbage in it. Their business is being swallowed as a result. Viewers are leaving as if their content was transmitted on DVDs. They're a horrible business and they will suffer as a result. I hope their employees find new jobs before ESPN's leadership lops another group of employees. This is a good post. There's no doubt ESPN would have fired any announcer who blasted Obama on Twitter. Case closed. She called Trump a white supremist and also had some additional tweets saying the only reason he won was white privilege. She should have been disciplined the same way as the others. All Linda Cohn did was bash her own company for huge mistakes. The president of the company supposedly is really overmatched. I do like what ESPN does, though. They make their decision, issue a statement saying Jemele knows she made a mistake, then crickets. They know the story only has legs for 48 hours or so. Ride it out. However if they suspended Jamele, think about it. The story would have legs forever. All the groups in America would have gone NUTS had Jamele been suspended. Picketing at ESPN, maybe even riots. ESPN made the right call here in terms of America 2017, but the wrong call as a company because they've set the precedent in firing/suspending others for controversial statements. See where I'm going? If ESPN had suspended Hill, wow. The protests would have been out of control, again, maybe even violence.

QUOTE (bmags @ Sep 14, 2017 -> 03:57 PM) I do think it's kinda hilarious how I go into every game thinking we can win, compared to 2015 when we were "competing" and I went into every game thinking "how could we possibly score enough to win?" edit: And we are 20 games below that team. With all due respect, you think we can win when Shields, Holland or Pelphrey pitches? Or are u talking about the last 2 weeks? QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Sep 14, 2017 -> 04:54 PM) Wasn't Greg the person who said that originally? More proof Ron = Greg. Greg was serious as TA's numbers were projecting OK for a catcher offensively not so much as a SS. TA is hot and I love it but some of you forget how badly he was hitting. HIs free swinging style, ala, Salvy Perez swinging at everything, made him an intriguing transformation candidate to catcher. I had my reasons. Ron is trolling big time.

Sale and Q would be looking mighty good in a wildcard game. You get in the 7 game series and anything can happen. Sox bullpen probably would have imploded as had been the pattern in previous seasons, however. Good closer but the setup guys probably would have imploded.

QUOTE (ron883 @ Sep 14, 2017 -> 02:31 AM) Forgot about catcher. Tim Anderson will be the catcher Cool if true.

QUOTE (elrockinMT @ Sep 14, 2017 -> 12:58 AM) We can win it all in 2018 I worship u as a fan, but how? We ain't got the projected roster yet for 2018.

QUOTE (ron883 @ Sep 14, 2017 -> 12:10 AM) This team looks good enough to compete for the WC or division next year. Indiana have some stats who are aging. Never know what happens in baseball. Sox will also have Kopech and eloy at some point. Rodon/Kopech/Lopez/giolito/ shields or guerrero or Stephens or Adams 1B abreu 2B moncada SS TA 3b Davidson/nicky/yolmer DH delmonico/davidson/abreu RF avi CF leury/engel LF nicky/eloy Supersubs yolmer/leury Bullpen - wing it. I think this team will be a pleasant surprise and the Sox very May well have a chance to compete. Not quite. Lineup isn't good enough yet unless Eloy is in it and Robert is in it. You didn't list a catcher. We have none good enough and Leury and Nicky frankly aren't playoff caliber starting players. The bullpen is so bad it's beyond description. Starters Rodon (hurt) and Giolito and Lopez are great but again, Rodon is hurt and two starters aren't enough. Team would have to do a lot of work roster wise to win next year.

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Sep 14, 2017 -> 01:23 AM) Giolito was coming on strong in his last 4 or 5 starts in the minors. Heaping credit on Coop while asking is he our only good coach is naive. The Sox have a system wide pitching philosophy in place. SUre Cooper deserves credit but so do all the pitching coaches throughout the minor league system. If true, great. What about hitting instruction?

QUOTE (Scoots @ Sep 13, 2017 -> 10:28 PM) What a fricking outstanding season for Avi. The whole damn year. Pushing that average back to .330 now. Wasn't down to nearly .300 like a month or so ago? Just amazing. Love this post, Scoots. Avi mania. QUOTE (soxforlife05 @ Sep 13, 2017 -> 10:43 PM) Another great start for Giolito. Boy remember when people were freaking out about his 5-6 ERA in AAA a matter of months ago? Cooper is that good. Is he the only good coach in our organization? Not trying to flame or anger anybody, just asking cause Coop has a lot of success stories.

KEEP WINNING. I love it.

Anderson, Avi, Abreu (sac fly), Giolito, Moncada. Am I forgetting anybody? As expected, Moncada and TA with good series off the Royals' horrific staff. TA nearing .260 BA. He's turned his season around and should be vaulting on the lists of baseball's top prospects after fighting thru the personal tragedy.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Sep 13, 2017 -> 08:18 PM) Jose Abreu has skills that don't always age particularly well, while Lorenzo Cain does. Jose Abreu is a good player and will likely provide positive value until he is 36 or 37. There is reason to look to sign Abreu to an extension. Cain gets hurt fairly regularly though. Glad to hear from a supporter that seeks an extension for Abreu.

Since we're discussing Jose's salary and worth, I looked up some things. Here is how my mind works as an eye test, traditional stat guy and not an advanced stat guy and also NOT an age guy. Many people on this site (most?) are advanced stat people, definitely age people and definitely not eye test people. Jose turns 31 in January. So because of him being old by "new" age baseball standards, I'm of the opinion 'most' Sox fans would not want to pay him anything significant. He's ARB the next two years and free agent in 2020. There's no way in hell any new-age fan is going to want to sign him for the 2020 season at anything more than 8-10 million a year. Tell me if I'm wrong. My point is: They'll be OK if he gets paid decent bucks in arb. the next two seasons as we continue to lose, but if fans have their way NO WAY JOSE will be part of the rebuild. My question to you is ... some teams still will sign guys like Jose. Why in the hell would they do that entering his age 34 season? We're not the only organization that has an advanced stat fan base and front office that considers anybody over 32 OLD OLD OLD. So who is gonna pay these guys? What teams will want a 34 year old Jose at the 15-20 a mill pricetag in 2020? I would say by then Sox fans would be OK with 6-10 mill a year MAX for Jose going forward. Now Please comment on these Royals. Hosmer: Free agent turns 28 in October. Hmmm, most fans would be in favor of signing him 3 years max at about 20 mill a year. After that he's getting old. What do you say he's worth? Is Boras going to get him a Verlander like deal? Do the big money teams give him 7 years, 25 to 30 mill a year?? He'll be mighty old at the end of that 7 year deal. Moustakas: Free agent turned 29 on Sept. 11. Hmmm, getting old by fan standards. Again, I'd suspect most fans would be 'OK' with 3 years at 15-20 mill a year for Moustakas. What team is gonna give him 7 year deal at 20 to 25 mill a year?? He'll be 36 and a bum at the end of that deal if you go by the age police. Finally, Cain: Free agent turns 32 in April. My gosh that is OLDDDDDDD. He has good advanced stats this year, horrible traditional stats of 49 RBI. Now according to the new wave baseball age police he's way too old to get a good deal now. Fans happy with 8 mill a year the next 3 years? But will the Mets or Yankees or somebody give him a 6-year deal at 18-20 mill a year?? What say you? I want to be educated on how age factors in what fans think nowadays. Don't forget, Cespedes got a 4 year deal at about 26 mill a year last offseason. He's been hurt. Had a horrible year by traditional stats, good WAR.

Scoots is a great fan; that is all. Read his posts to see why I say that. Go Scoots! Keep posting!