greg775

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.

QUOTE (qwerty @ Dec 10, 2013 -> 03:19 PM) I used to post here and there at some point. I mean to the tune of 25-30 posts per day. Then my father got ill, he has had 14 stent '' procedures'' to his right leg. In my book, if they cut you open, it is a surgery, though now it it's just a new cute term these days to keep people at ease. He still ended up getting his right leg amputated because of cellulitis. My father has been diabetic going on twenty years now, he has been taking insulin for over half of those years, as he hits upwards of 500 at times on his sugar count. He has also had 8 stent surgeries (oh yes, procedures) to the heart. Three eye surgeries. My dad has always had a problem with his right eye, as in basic training during his Vietnam war games he got shot point blank with a BLANK. Ergo, shrapnel was lodged within, and they had to remove it on the spot. Advance 40 plus years, just to find out it was not all removed. He also fell from a 40 foot pole, which was part of the daily routine in basic. This happened during the winter with a sheet of ice several inches thick. How did he land? Feet first. Naturally it is hard to believe, but I have had several confirm it via his scrapbooks from his time in Vietnam. My father also broke his back while working on the dock. He was lifting something he lifted daily for years, weight wise that is, roughly 70 pounds, and it just shattered. So to this day he has a metal plate, screws, and bolts to keep himself upright. He was confined to a bed for nine months. This was almost 23 years ago, as he is currently 68 now. Back to those stents on the heart, well he has had four heart attacks in the past nine months, and he had a quint bypass after the first two. After the first two they found out that he has pancreatic cancer, which very well is the most deadly of all cancers. This specific cancer eventually shuts down all of your internal organs one by one, it is simply nasty. My father was having anxiety, which he would never admit to after the first two heart attacks, so they put him on Zoloft. He had been on it for several months, and he had a reaction to it that put him in a state of delirium. Ever see or hear of the film ''Harvey'' with James Stewart? He was living it. So they took him off it, and by they, I mean Hines VA. Months go by with him being off of it and they started sending it again (either comes through the mail or you can pick it up there when present) so he started taking it again without really taking much notice. For the past several years he has been on upwards of 18 medications, some as many as four times a day. So... when he sees a medication he takes it as noted, without thinking twice, because he never has known what half of them even are for. I suppose I can understand how a person would be like that, but there is no damn chance I personally am taking something without knowing what it is... and what it is for. Not to mention the side effects. Though I suppose when you take that much medication, just about everything under the sun could possibly be a side-effect. My mother and I end up finding out he had been taking it for almost a week, and a couple days prior to Halloween he started acting forgetful, loopy if you will. By the day of Halloween, he did not know where he was, who I was, or my mom. What he did know is that we were playing a big elaborate hoax on him, and we were the reason he got sent to Desert Storm along with a whole troop of other wheelchair bound soldiers. The day of Halloween we take him to Hines, they see what we see, run tests galore, and they believed that it was a morphine overload (was not breaking down properly) along with the Zoloft that brought this upon. The day after Halloween he has another heart attack while in Hines, and he essentially stopped breathing on his own. He could have breathed on his own, but he would have died due to exerting so much energy just to catch a grasp of air. So they stuck a tracheal intubation tube down his throat, to get the fluid off his lungs, and of course allow him to breath, without it, he was a goner. He was in a coma during this period of time. My father also has had fluid removed from his lungs 10 times in the past five years, and during that span he has had pneumonia several times. Roughly 90% of people that die due to this cancer do so undiagnosed. Those of which that get diagnosed die within nine months on average. To reach five years? The odds are between 1%-3%. Anyway, pancreatic cancer is the toughest of all cancers to detect based on where the pancreas is located within us. A special test has to be done, hence why so few ever get diagnosed. What I am currently in the process of doing in trying to contact every cancer society that will listen, so that I can get in touch with a child prodigy named Jack Andraka. Andraka has created a test strip that can detect said cancer in just five minutes, but it will potentially take upwards of 15 years before it goes through all the loops to get it marketed. Once I have Andraka on board, my intentions are to get a Kickstarter or any other sort of fundraising sort of thing going to create the first full feature length documentary based around this nasty cancer. I plan on speaking to all of the leading experts outside of Andraka, those that currently have the cancer, the loved ones of those that do, and the loved ones that have died because of it. Even celebrities that are living with it would be a much added bonus. It's so draining on the caretakers, that is why I feel it is a much needed aspect of the documentary. This ride, not just the cancer, has been a complete and utter toll on my mother and myself during this period. I simply need, not want, the world to know more, so much more, about this atrocity. Sorry for the jabbering, it was just for those that may have wondered where I have been all these years, as my activity has been almost none. Also, it felt good to get it off my chest, even if it is to people I have never met, nor ever will. I know I have been a pain in the ass in the past, I mean to my knowledge I have the highest warn rating in the sites history, but thanks for listening, for those of you that have made it this far. There likely are some grammatical errors that I have made within this post, but I have been up going 32 hours, with only and hour and fifteen minutes sleep prior, so I do not really give much of a s***. On my good days I get four hours of sleep, and even when that occurs, it is in the form of intervals. I have always done such, and most do not understand how I function. Hell it's the reason why I left school my freshman year of high school and became an autodidact. Technically, I suppose I have always been, but I was not labeled one until that point. Everything just moved too slow for me, and it does this this very day. You see, this is why I do not post, as I can go on, and on, and on even more.. My damn brain never takes a rest, it's so very exhausting. I will shut the f*** up now. Good day, talk to you in another seven months. Sorry. I read your entire post. That is just one, sad story. I will say a prayer for you all now. It just truly goes to show health is the most important thing we truly have. We can't ever take it for granted. You dad has had so many things wrong with him physically it's impossible to fathom. I can't even imagine insurance paying for all that, either, though that is a different topic. My prayers go to your dad and you guys.

QUOTE (pettie4sox @ Dec 12, 2013 -> 05:00 PM) We've been together almost 2 years now. I can see her getting complacent. I'm not a picky guy when it comes to how women dress or use make up (that's their prerogative). Hell, I don't care about her grooming habits either. I don't expect her to be a super model, but to just be in moderate shape would be suffice. She's gotten bigger and I'm just thinking to myself why does she think this is OK? I try to be passive aggressive by getting on the scale, showing her how my clothes barely fit anymore and stating how good it feels. Getting into shape too has caused my mind to wander since I see fit and hot women at the gym. She's got to know you are going to dump her over weight. If you are getting in shape and she's getting bigger, she's toast and she probably knows it. You are not married. You can dump her and move on for whatever reason you want.

QUOTE (ptatc @ Dec 11, 2013 -> 12:26 AM) I define it as a guy who goes out of his way to be mean or belittle people, especially the ancillary non-baseball people around people like the clubhouse people and the medical staff. Obviously, I'm sensitive to the medical staff who work their a** off to keep these guys on the field. He's not like Bonds who is in a different a** class but would ignore most people. AJ would treat people poorly not necessarily other players, although he did that too, but most commonly the others around. This is what I call a bad person. He is not the only one by far, I've seen worse than him but he is in the team picture. Cool ptatc. Thanks for the info. AJ is a dick, but I've also been around sports figures and met so many who are assholes I don't consider it a real problem. It is great when you run into some nice ones. I don't know why he'd be mean to medical personnel who are trying to help him. I would think medical personnel would have the upper hand on AJP so to speak since they are the ones curing whatever ails him. I believe he's a dick. I just know there are many in all clubhouses. How many would you estimate ptatc? Are 1/3 of a clubhouse total assholes or closer to half?

I'm at the Florida basketball game and AJP is supposed to be here tonight. I wonder if I tell him I'm one of his bigger supporters on Soxtalk he would refrain from hitting me. I better not risk approaching him lest he hit me or act rude to me, could affect my feelings for him forever.

QUOTE (ptatc @ Dec 9, 2013 -> 10:25 PM) He is a bad person. Not a bad player. He was a very good player and helped the Sox win. No doubt but let's not confuse that with being a class act or good person. I don't believe I am telling the truth, I'm speaking from experience. Although I did drink alot more in those days. I believe you pt, but what is a bad person? Do you agree there are major assholes all throughout baseball? I mean these are rich, spoiled individuals who have been stars their entire lives and I'd assume at least 50 percent are total jerks. I do believe you ptatc; I think you are one of the best posters in the history of posting. But what constitutes a prick? What has AJ done that would vault him to the top of the prick list in a sport full of jerks?

No one will ever change my mind about AJP. You can do whatever you want. I think criticizing him is almost sacriligious. OK I know that's the wrong word, he's not a religious figure. Criticizing him I think is ... ridiculous. Can't think of the right word. I praise him and applaud him as a Sox fan.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Dec 8, 2013 -> 05:47 AM) Great post. A.J. will always be one of my favorites for what he did on the field, but clearly he was/is a s***ty teammate off it. Not sure why some people refuse to accept this. Why the hell was he a s***ty teammate? He sounds like a team leader to me.