greg775

Violins were playing in our church choir on Christmas Day.

QUOTE (The Ultimate Champion @ Dec 28, 2013 -> 01:16 AM) I love the Konerko move. It makes great sense to put a vet like that and a consummate pro on the bench to help a bunch of young hitters adjust. Great move for the future. And Hahn's already stated that Dunn is going to fall in line. Nobody in the organization, apparently not even Dunn himself, wants that guy here. I hope he's gone, and I trust that the Sox will Linebrink him if they absolutely feel they have to - or maybe, they Andruw Jones him as the Dodgers did to get out of that deal. Right now Dunn is only taking a spot on the 40, but as it gets closer to ST, if he's still here, they're going to have to get thinking about letting him go. I think it's the same problem as last season. Sox can't dump him cause Jerry doesn't like paying for players who are on other teams. It's almost his unwritten policy. So Dunn is here until the final day of that contract mercilessly runs out. Or a team is willing to pay almost all of that deal and send us a couple low level prospects as well. Jerry isn't eating significant dollars on contracts.

QUOTE (Wanne @ Dec 28, 2013 -> 01:51 AM) If you go into next year with the mindset this team is going to be a contender I'm afraid you're going to be very disappointed. These moves were made for the future....not 2014. I have one question for you guys who think it's determined the team will stink in 2014 ... why do we have this playoff-ready pitching staff for a team going nowhere? Why didn't we spend some cash like the Yankees to upgrade maybe two more positions go with these dandy trades and win our s*** division right now?? With Leyland gone, the Tigers will be nothing to fear anymore. If this team is going nowhere FOR CERTAIN, then why not shut down Sale until we're ready to contend. Just don't even pitch him. I mean he's developed. Why waste one pitch out of that arm if it's 100 percent certain we're not winning anything next season?? Before you blast me, I think it's a legitimate question. Maybe even leave Danks on the shelf all year, too. And Quintana. He's also been stretched out enough that he's major league ready for contention.

I'd hate to see him stop right now. I hope he pulls the trigger on a major trade. I know we have some lineup upgrades already if Eaton opens in CF and the new third baseman as well to go with Garcia for a full year in right, but I'd like to see a huge trade involving multiple players. Surely somebody wants Beckham, a former first rounder and some of you insist DeAza and Viciedo have value as well. I'd like to trade one of them. How bout Beckham, Viciedo and a minor league pitching stud all in one package for some more good players? If our new 3B and Eaton aren't ready for the majors, our team is gonna resemble last year's team so much. I'd say 90 plus losses will be a certainty. I'm confident he'll make a good trade UNLESS our players have absolutely no value or trash value, which I guess, is possible. I believe in Rick Hahn, though.

Well, Anchorman II had some incredibly funny moments. I thought it was a great movie to see on Christmas night and I laughed out loud a few times and give it a thumbs up. I can see why some people would hate it for 2 hours but I would think that would have to be a Will Farrell hater. Very funny stuff IMO.

Jeopardy was on the TV at my mom's house too much over Christmas week. Kind of boring.

I hope the kid who killed four teens learned from this. It really would be a crime if he/she doesn't give a s*** about what happened. I know nothing about the case. That kid should be thankful every day he's not in jail and pretty much dedicate a lot of his life to charitable works. Certainly if he gets in trouble again, he'll be put away a long long time. I would think his car would have the breathalizer ignition system the rest of his life.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Dec 19, 2013 -> 02:16 AM) If Shin Soo-Choo is turning down $140 million for 7 years from the Yankees, he's going to regret that one for a long time...watch, he turns around and gets signed for $150 million or $160 (which is what he believes he can get after the Ellsbury signing). I wouldn't go anything over $100 million, and that I would probably regret quickly. Coming back to the AL, I just don't see him having another year like he did with the Reds last season. Just when you think teams are getting fiscally responsible (well not responsible, but better) you see an offer like NY made Choo. What were the Yankees thinking? Seven years?? You know he'll be good to excellent maybe 2 of those 7 at best.

QUOTE (scs787 @ Dec 19, 2013 -> 06:36 PM) Bullpen might not even skip a beat without Reed. Jones-Downs-Belisario-Lindstrom-Veal are probably all locks. I can see Webb and Petrika battle for a spot, and Rienzo and Paulino battle for the 5th spot with the loser getting mop up duties. Gotta love the fact that between Downs, Belisario and Lindstrom they pitched 172 innings while allowing a combined 6 HRs....Addison Reed gave up 6 by himself in 71. I hope you aren't blasting Reed. If everybody on our team performed as well as he did we'd have had a good season. I will bet you anything our closer gives up more than six home runs this season IF he pitches in as many games as Reed.

QUOTE (Waygodai @ Dec 18, 2013 -> 07:03 PM) My bad on Viciedo; did Sox extend him since or did the ML service clock start in 2010? Yeah, defense at catcher position is certainly a priority, even though hiding or platooning Flowers in the 9-hole is possible, you can't hide his D. As you said Eaton has CF covered, because between Nick Swisher in 2008, Alex Rios, then De Aza, I was ready to gouge my eyes out. The fact that UZR apparently had Swish Nickowiak and Rios in 2010 as all time great defensive season at the position… only discredits UZR, haha no for real, UZR was wrong: Rios could barely handle RF just a few years later, makes no sense. Didn't even figure guys like Samien or Micah Johnson let alone Carlos Sanchez into the equation as far as 2014 goes. I mean, it's one thing to be high on A-list guys like Abreu, Eaton or Garcia. It's another on B-listers. Odds are heavily stacked against them historically, just cold hard reality. Baseball being so stat-oriented, it's easy to fall into a trap of projecting minor league production to the bigs. I mean, would one ever use NBA D-league or college football stats when talking about prospects of those respective sports? Of course not: you scout the player, not the stats (to the best of our admittedly limited ability as fans, however informed). The Keppinger stuff you mention makes sense, but after making excuses for the likes of Beckham and Gillespie, frankly I was all out of them, haha. Losing organizations, and loser fan-bases, always seem to be chockfull of excuses, ya know? Then again, maybe that explained why a LHP-slayer like Kep was so inept the few AB I did see him play. "Personal problems". Ok, let's assume that for a moment. Also part of what made Joe Maddon a good manager is proper utilization of utility guys like Keppinger; this is where hopefully Rick Hahn and the new hitting coach can help Robin Ventura, Mark Parent get the best of their bench which IMO they failed to do in 2013. Alexei effin' Ramirez. Sigh. As one of his earliest backers and defenders, honestly even I've had just about enough of his showboating/coasting act. The dude is pretty much the only player I've ever seen who has made ZERO adjustments over, what, 6 years and somehow managed to lose weight during one offseason, LOL! He's like Adam Dunn in a way, neither is what one would call a baseball "lifer". Just getting by on pure talent (problem is, it gets harder and harder as they get older to even stay at par). Didn't Dunn even admit he would have rather been a football player? Even stickfigures like Soriano muscled up over time and tried to improve, nope not our Cuban evidently. With the dude's talent, the hand quickness, hand-eye coordination, plate-coverage, fearless demeanor, the speed to leg out a ton of "cheap" grounders, AR should be hitting .300 with his eyes closed…. with enough bad & mediocre pitchers around in MLB hanging enough 2-0 get me over cookies for Ramirez to hit 15-20 line-drive HR into LF-LCF at the Cell. In the 2-hole, with Eaton on base, opposing pitcher distracted, pitching out of the stretch and infield pulled up, all Alexei would be asked to do is punch a ton of soft liners & grounders to RF to spark rallies with big boppers coming up. Easy. Or rather, it would be easy if he didn't try to complicate everything. Enter long-loopy uppercut overswing galore, resulting in JoeCredePopsItUp to first-base coach box. And defensively, don't even get me started: that much range, arm-strength, aggressiveness = all the makings of a potential Gold Glover. Even UZR used to agree FWIW. But because mentally he goes to the proverbial zoo, fumbles routine grounders, takes horrendous angles, awful footwork, terrible positioning on outfield relay throws…and is a giant p*ssy when it comes to any contact around the 2B bag, which leads to a ton of would-be Caught Stealing ending with a SB or error unfairly charged to Sox catcher…… Terrible jumps on bases at times, not paying attention as a baserunner, either. Basically: I wonder if it's really worth it anymore given the 10+ million dollars a year price tag going forward. At 26 and making just 1.5 mill per, there was a chance Alexei would get acclimated to MLB, get coached up a bit and try to improve if only to earn himself a big contract. But now at 32 or whatever he is, maybe that's all we get. Between dealing Ramirez and Dunn, Rick Hahn could free up some 25 mill to play around with next off-season. I'd love for Sox to acquire a true #2 starter so that Quintana-Danks-Johnson can slide back to more comfortable 3-4-5 roles. After the 2003-2004-2006-2009-2012 5th starter debacles that killed the playoff chances, would be nice to have a veteran stabilizing presence back end of the rotation starter insurance. And a few spare affordable Jesse Crains to beef up the pen. Plus raises and arbitration. Nothing fancy. Then again, wouldn't surprise me if both of those dudes bounce back in 2014, stranger things have happened before. Dunn certainly has the financial incentive as a FA to, you know, "pick up a bat" in the off-season and whatnot That's a great post. Makes me never want to see Lexi play again.

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Dec 18, 2013 -> 07:05 PM) Besides Sale being under .500 and Scherzer having an insane record I couldn't even tell you what other pitchers W-L looked like. It's absolutely meaningless to me. Oh and good luck Gavin. I feel that you became an extremely underrated pitcher around these parts and hope you do well in Atlanta. It's funny how W/L used to be the sole barometer of excellence before the days of Sabes.Think about it. You didn't have a chance in hell to win a Cy Young for decades w/out a good win loss record.

No offense, but what team would trade for either of Viciedo/DeAza? I mean what team would be thinking either of those guys is attractive to make a deal for? I'd be able to stomach Tank another season to see if he can emerge if we'd get lucky enough to dump Dunn. DeAza would be OK if he'd stop the bonehead plays.

QUOTE (shakes @ Dec 18, 2013 -> 07:12 PM) They won't consider a contract like that nor should they. Developing pitching is their strong suit. Why bury themselves in a contract that has potential to be suffocating? If you keep financial flexibility you can make mid level upgrades through free agency or have the ability to take on contracts other teams can't afford. I would have rather been Washington and got Fister for a song this offseason, than give an unknown pitcher a 7 year contract at a bloated rate because he is 25 and they might have the money to do it. Tanaka's contract will be the riskiest of the offseason. Why bury yourself in a contract that could be suffocating? Can you say Peavy, Rios, Dunn? The Sox do it on occasion as well as many other teams. I do agree we need a lot more to win the division. I wish we'd do something major because with Leyland gone, we might be able to contend SOON. Cleveland might be the new Detroit in our division.

Just curious since I am out here and have to listen to people worshiping the team. What do you all think of Kansas? Do you think the team is a serious national title contender or a total pretender? Are you high on them or low?

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Dec 17, 2013 -> 08:04 PM) Those guys who wanted the veteran backup catcher would get your wishes granted with Buck. If it were a minor league deal (or something similar), I have no problem with John Buck. He seems to be a great guy in the clubhouse (the GIF provided is him consoling Matt Harvey the day he found out his UCL was torn), at one point had a strong arm and quick release behind the plate (no idea what it's like now), has some pop, has been in the league and been around so he knows what to expect, and would presumably know his role coming into the season. The problem is he can't hit the ball. He'd be buzzkill. If you want Buck, I'd just keep Flowers.

I thought that was a good long post. I disagree on Gillaspie being good with the leather, but you did have a caveat saying he was good for a guy getting used to the bigs. It was a good post in that it did point out reasons some of these guys might bounce back. I didn't realize Viciedo was in a contract year, but if he is, he does have great incentive to get in good shape and improve. I do hope Nate is a good closer but I also hope the Sox are prepared to yank him out of the role quickly and/or have closer by committee if they have to. Think about how bad a team we'd have been last year, historically bad, if Addison hadn't been a fairly reliable closer. I'd give Addison a solid B or A-minus. Nate drives me crazy with his delivery and though I hope for the best I could see him being horrendous. Also even though it's been popular to say managers do nothing and don't matter, I personally think Cleveland has a very good manager and we just might have an average one at best. We'll see. Robin had a great first year; horrific second year. Now this year we find out if he's decent or not.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 17, 2013 -> 08:18 PM) I agree with you on Dunn but it's been made clear the White Sox are still trying. If they don't move Dunn, then it's virtually impossible to have either Gillaspie or Keppinger on this roster. The bench winds up being Konerko, De Aza/Danks, backup catcher...and then an infielder. Gillaspie cannot be that infielder because he's never played even 2b professionally, let alone short, and Keppinger doesn't get used at short very much either. A bench of Konerko, De Aza, Backup catcher, and Keppinger is a silly bench since no one has any confidence with Keppinger's glove. You've pretty much got to dump 2 of them, even if it's for nothing. I think you are right. I have this sick feeling John Buck is going to end up a White Sox. I'd prefer we make a deal for somebody besides Buck and simply dump Flowers. I can take Phegley and a new guy at catcher. I also have a feeling Hahn has more moves in him. I bet he dumps DeAza or Viciedo, just a feeling.

QUOTE (Chet Kincaid @ Dec 16, 2013 -> 11:15 PM) I don't think it matters if the club isn't competitive. I think you have the freedom to give several tryouts to see what you have. Are we still a last place team? If so why so? I assume the guys that think we are a 95-loss team for sure, hate our position players like Becks, Viciedo, DeAza, Lexi and the black hole(s) at catcher; or you think our new guys are destined for a year or two of mediocrity as they learn how to hit? Are you assuming that now that we don't have a closer we'll have a 50 percent save rate or something? I thought the experts said our pitching staff as it stands is playoff caliber. I don't see why we can't play .500 ball if we acquire a catcher who can hit .280 and another bullpen arm. I also trust in Hahn and I think he smells a contender in our division if he can make a few more magical moves.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Dec 16, 2013 -> 11:46 PM) I cannot stand Jones's delivery. There is absolutely no deception. If he goes through a dead arm period and loses a couple ticks on his FB I think he'd get hammered. That delivery with a 94-95 MPH FB is a lot more of an issue than when he's hitting 97-100 MPH. I also hate his delivery, despise it.

QUOTE (Real @ Dec 17, 2013 -> 04:10 AM) "While watching the young third baseman over the course of a couple of days in Chattanooga, a scout I was talking to made a great point when I questioned whether or not Davidson was an everyday player at the big league level due to his questionable defense and propensity to strikeout. His response was to the effect of, "The requirements to be a starting third baseman at the major league level aren't as high as they used to be." He was right." http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/matt-davids...g-report-video/ What's with all these high strikeout guys? From watching those old Sox games on youtube (and some of those teams were godawful), one thing I noticed is guys had no problem going the opposite way and actually putting the ball in play. These high strikeout guys annoy me generally.

QUOTE (thxfrthmmrs @ Dec 16, 2013 -> 10:12 PM) All signs point to Hahn having no interest in long rebuilds. All trades he's made so far, he's only targeting 1 player who's close to ML ready, and not any low A players which would reduce the total amount of talent he can net in the return. I like that about him. If his plan fails, at least I can see his thought process.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Dec 16, 2013 -> 10:07 PM) Concerns about Davidson's K rate and his glove, but still like the move. My opinion: Daniel Webb is the closer by end of 2014 if not before, maybe even out of ST. Also would say 90% that either Beckham or Keppinger are gone very soon, possibly both. Semien becomes the 2B. Rick Hahn is not boring. He's done a TON in basically a year. If he has a decent glove I hope he's willing to work a ton to improve it just a bit. I realize it's probably not going to get much better than it is now, but I hope this is the type of player willing to put in some work to improve. Does anybody know if he is a "good" defensive third baseman?

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Dec 16, 2013 -> 09:46 PM) Exactly. We're not going to lose 100 games but even if we do, who cares as long as our young hopefully core players progress the way we all hope they do. I like the trade, but if we lose 100 games I'll be insanely furious.

QUOTE (bmags @ Dec 16, 2013 -> 08:11 PM) Let's hope we get lucky (this organization deserves to be lucky IMO) and these players pan out. Hahn will have rebuilt this team with ML ready players that we'll have cost controlled. This will allow us to plug in gaps with FA. Well put. I hope this guy makes the team out of spring training. Then I will purchase mlb.com if I don't have to watch Kepp/Gillaspie any more. This gives us Davidson at third, Lexi at short, Semien at second and Abreu/Paulie at first. That could be a winning infield if like you say, we get lucky. Now I'd trade Beckham for a catcher or another reliever. If we want to win, we still need a catcher who can hit a bit. I hope Davidson is good. At least on paper he's as good as any team's prospect there, like a Moustakas, etc. This guy has the credentials to be a big leaguer. Who's our closer now?

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Dec 14, 2013 -> 04:31 PM) At this point, there is no downside to giving guys like Viciedo and Beckham another year. Their values suck anyway, there really aren't great replacement options. You play them and hope they do something. If they don't you can always non-tender them. Neither player will make a difference in winning a division title next year, so the point is mute. Yes there is a downside. If Beckham is the s***ty baseball hitter most of us think he is, then get on with it and dump him on some other team. Viciedo ... I could stand seeing him get another season to try to emerge, but Beckham's time has come. Put somebody else at second just for something different. I hope Hahn has some more moves up his sleeve. It's been said before but there's no reason to lose 95 or more games with the pitching staff we have.