LDF

QUOTE (black jack @ Jan 22, 2015 -> 12:30 PM) I'm secretly hoping for one more splash this weekend. Thank YOU Douglas. i don't know why, but all this time i thought as you, a final piece being picked, whether it thru a trade or fa. that will be right before the weekend or on sat night. that will be 1 hell of a start for the fest. well, one can hope i guess.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jan 21, 2015 -> 01:46 PM) "Frank" with Michael Fassbender and Maggie Gyllenhaal has to be the weirdest, yet strangely compelling movie ever made about a band. For 85% of the movie, Fassbender's wearing a giant head like Big Boy mashed together with the old Astros logo. Everyone in the movie is mentally ill except for the main protagonist. It also captures the idea of "pure music" coming into conflict with commercialization/Twitter/social media universe and the SXSW music festival. I don't know how to describe it, but it's got a 92% rating at Metacritic and it's just a really cool original movie. Another one, Harry Potter and Zoe Kazan in "What If," which some critics are claiming is a better romantic comedy than 500 Days of Summer. Definitely worth a viewing. Now on to IDA, a Polish film which has won a lot of accolades. i like watching foreign movies, sometimes the subtitles gets a little annoying b/c it is too fast. i just saw a russian movie called the Admiral. great movie, a true account of this person in real life. the actress in it is absolutely gorgeous. i had to read up on him in Wikipedia. you can see it on youtube.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jan 22, 2015 -> 02:39 AM) http://www.movieinsider.com/m13053/unfriended/ Will tech-based thrillers or horror movies become the next big thing? Tales of Mystery, a co-production between Hong Kong and the mainland, uses the popular WeChat app as the basis for a thriller. If the film succeeds financially, it could usher in more tech-based fright flicks. In North America, the sub-genre is starting to gain more ground thanks to Unfriended, a thriller about teens who are haunted by a dead girl over a Skype group chat. The first trailer for Unfriended generated a ton of online buzz last week. http://pro.boxoffice.com/statistics/news/2...ies-set-to-rule when it comes to judging movies, i am totally weird in this area, so i usually have to see them myself. some movies i find great all for different reasons than most will think about. so this one, i really have to go and see it. i have no imagination to fall back on.

QUOTE (Chilihead90 @ Jan 22, 2015 -> 05:44 AM) The idea is that you just drafted a guy, and you don't want him to be a liability because some coach overused him in the CWS. There have been stories in the past of teams being upset that certain programs will fully exhaust a pitcher in the CWS because they already know he got drafted and if he blows out his arm, who cares, he left the program already. Rodon had some of these issues being pushed 130+ pitches for a team his coach knew he would never play for again. And another reason could be that players may try harder if they are pushing to increase their draft stock, not saying "Well, I'm a millionaire already, f*** this team, get me out of here so I can start pro ball". I get both points, they make sense for a team perspective. But from a fan perspective, it's annoying because I really enjoyed following which players the Sox drafted that are in the CWS. I promise you I would have never watched a Rice Owl baseball game if I didn't know the Sox had drafted Christian Stringer. But being able to watch guys like Gordon Beckham and Adam Engel and Jared Mitchell with rooting interest was actually fun. Now, I'll probably watch significantly less of the CWS this summer. pls do not take this the wrong way, but i don't know if you are editorializing the statement made. either way, it is a great argument. a side i never really thought about. great post.

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Jan 22, 2015 -> 09:37 AM) First, disappointment that Hahn didn't sign another piece and now this. Already setting up scapegoats for the upcoming season when it goes bad. Despite what we all think we know about baseball even scouts can't tell who will be good and who will be bad most of the time. So yes I like Avi because he's strong young and fast and tore up AAA. He's got flaws like every player so can I just look forward to the optimism of spring without all this negative Sox fan crappola ? I know optimism is kind of equated with blind faith and surely anyone smarter will dig deeper and find reasons anyone can fail. So optimism equals idiocy and negativity equals brainiac .I will now take my happy pills and imagine every young Sox player has a chance to be very helpful to the team. wow, you and i know we had some problems looking at things differently. but this, in my opinion has to be the best post you have ever written. this is as far as my memory will allow to remember.

QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ Jan 22, 2015 -> 04:43 AM) POW's are a different story, obviously. I'm talking specifically about a sniper shooting an enemy. A sniper looking through his scope at an enemy combatant who doesn't have a gun in his hand at that very moment can still shoot him. ok, i can see that. but you are still missing an important part of caulfield12 reply. the first sentence of women and children in the same situation of the movie. but if you may, let me also play the devils advocate. it is a really screwed up way of thinking for other people who has little or no value on lives based on religion or perception to use women and children in the first place. either way. thanks

QUOTE (GreenSox @ Jan 22, 2015 -> 04:56 AM) No We need our young players. The world doesn't end in 2015. the virtues of renting Shark are dubious enough. The love for the 2008-2013 model is beyond belief. here is a friendly question. if that final piece of the missing puzzle is a prospect |s| being moved, you rather fore go a trip to the playoff, b/c you value the prospects more??

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 22, 2015 -> 02:39 AM) The Cubs were the idiots for entering into a contract with the rooftop owners in the first place. If they hadn't been worried about getting a cut of their revenue, and thus legitimizing them as a business, they wouldn't be in this situation today. thanks for providing further info in this.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jan 21, 2015 -> 11:59 PM) http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-leag...-011454392.html Rooftop owners' lawsuit heading towards Federal court as much as i think this is a stupid lawsuit, i still hope they win against the sCrubs.

QUOTE (Chilihead90 @ Jan 22, 2015 -> 01:05 AM) We now have another month to argue about who we take at #8. The league is close to pushing back the draft until July 1st, so protect those who play in the College World Series. how is that suppose to protect those in the world series??

QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ Jan 21, 2015 -> 09:46 PM) What does that matter? And even with the stipulation that a person isn't holding a weapon, if it's a known enemy, it makes no difference if they're armed at the exact moment. at the Battle of the Bulge, WW2. the nazi killed american soldiers that were POW, it was at Malmédy. by your statement, it was ok b/c they were known enemies??? pls explain, and if i was wrong, then i am sorry for implying that.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 21, 2015 -> 10:49 PM) New details on how a Moncada contract could be structured. Tax money is due one month after the signing period closes. While Moncada has to sign a minor league deal, any bonus can be paid over a three year period of unlimited installments, and not just immediately, or within the first year. http://www.baseballamerica.com/internation...e-yoan-moncada/ here is the same question i asked before. if the skills are there, would you sign him, if the upside is a tick lower than Jose A????

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jan 21, 2015 -> 11:50 PM) Also, I think this is the Sox most upgradable spot. There are still a few pitchers available who would be certifiable upgrades which would allow Noesi to remain on the MLB roster as a swing man/long reliever which also increases the depth of the team and helps safeguard against a disaster. C, 3B, and 2B could probably be upgraded too, and you could think about a mini-blockbuster that sends Garcia out and a proven RF in, but those are all a lot more complicated. Adding one more starting pitcher does not. This is one of those moves that doesn't make sense at the beginning of the offseason, but now that it's played out and you can see the holes, this is something that would really some sense. brother welcome to the club. sox baseball 15. yesss.

QUOTE (The Ginger Kid @ Jan 22, 2015 -> 12:26 AM) Really hoping Johnson makes a splash this spring and snatches the opportunity. The idea of him hitting 9th with spanky and melky coming up....that's good stuff. again as a reminder, soxfest up next and then spring training. can't freaking wait.

QUOTE (Armchair Hahn @ Jan 21, 2015 -> 11:11 PM) the truly successful teams have a nice mix of homegrown players, a couple of key free agents, and a seemingly endless supply of players that can replace the homegrown players when they hit free agency and become too expensive. we know from experience that draining the farm of all talent can only work so long before you are an aging team full of paralyzing contracts. the sox system is all screwed up before Hahn came in. really bad drafting and other things stated in a previous post. the thing is the sox may be 1 more player that might make the difference. this is a steep price to pay, but it has to be paid. to give the sox that little extra to really help in the final end. the sox is still rebuilding and i am still looking at the main core not to be touch except for 1 piece. that is up to Hahn and his negotiating skills. if that player is to be a rental, then the sox will have 2 draft picks coming plus their own to continue the rebuilding. that price has to be paid.

QUOTE (The Ginger Kid @ Jan 22, 2015 -> 12:33 AM) there's something to be said for the "intangibles" that come through when a guy works his ass off after a pretty serious shoulder injury to get back on the field with his teammates well before expected, even when that team is not competing for the post season. I like this kid a lot. The second coming of Mags but only better, IMO. that is what sold me on him. his desire to get back to the field instead of taking the rest of the yr off.

QUOTE (thxfrthmmrs @ Jan 22, 2015 -> 12:20 AM) Pretty sure that was someone from Soxtalk tweeting at Callis asking about the Top 100, not the other way around lol. go ahead and ruin my parade.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jan 20, 2015 -> 03:41 PM) I am not sure I understand the bolded. Callis does follow us on Twitter and we've interacted a few times, but I am quite sure he and MLB are not going to be linking to or mentioning our top prospects list. That said... the new Future Sox T25+ list is being worked on right now. Votes are mostly tabulated, write-ups underway. Planning to go live next week. i meant it as a compliment, the work you and others have done, has been short of a masterpiece. Future Talk should be extremely happy. i did not want to get too sappy.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Jan 21, 2015 -> 08:32 PM) I was going to mention Danks as well cause I still like him. Your post makes me add him. So you got Sale, Q, Shark, Danks and maybe Rodon at some point? The Sox still could suck, but I don't think you can argue that the pieces are there. Even if Gillaspie sucks we have a realistic option to put in to replace him. p.s. Why am I forgetting second base? With Semien gone, who starts there? Funny that such a dime a dozen position we have no automatic starter yet. i am using the old Murphy law in this, to justify my concerns. and then i keep remembering what O'Reilly had to say about Murphy.

QUOTE (Jose Paniagua @ Jan 21, 2015 -> 09:43 PM) Interestingly, we have some padding at 3b with Bonifacio and even Matt Davidson, who actually has MLB success...but has been nearly forgotten about What's frightening about Avi is that RF is so completely and thoroughly his. It's a situation where he will get every last chance...he'll go unchallenged all year for that slot and the only thing stopping his PA #s will be injury. there is going to be a little domino effect here. how does conor, sanchez and avi perform, which will dictate where Bonifacio plays. lets not forget about if there is an injury.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Jan 21, 2015 -> 09:23 PM) Right, but they're a necessary evil. The fact that they bust a lot just means you need a bunch of them. If you don't develop any homegrown talent, you have to buy it on the free agent market, and the Sox can;t afford that. I mean, look at this year's team: Payroll is almost $120m and we still have holes to fill, despite the fact that our contract situation is relatively clean AND we have several major contributors that have come from our system. I can't think of a single WS winner that didn't have major core pieces that were homegrown. I'm with you on the bird-in-the-hand thing, but prospects are about the future, where aging veterans are far from sure things themselves. If we're going to actually achieve this "sustained winning" thing, we gotta always keep on eye on the three-year plan. and even then, the sox still have some homegrown players on that team. good point.

QUOTE (Stev-o @ Jan 21, 2015 -> 08:53 PM) My point is..."prospects", more often than not, remain nothing more than prospects. IMO, if you can trade them for proven commodities that can help you win NOW, you do it. As some wise dude once said, "a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.". that whole thing sounds like a lot of KW saying. but just to trade for the sake of trading is not a wise way to use your prospects. even i who is spouting on trading the prospects, will say, make the best possible trade for the right reason.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Jan 21, 2015 -> 09:30 PM) Yeah, that's what we were told about Dayan. Put me in the camp that isn't high on Avisail...although I was very impressed with his work ethic and attitude last season...so maybe he will surprise me. but with DV he slid backwards.

i will need to really see him in a full season before i really judge him. his limited action, for me, is not enuf to judge. if his defense is bad, then it is going to depend on his bat.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Jan 21, 2015 -> 08:48 PM) Yeah, I also would have liked to see a reclamation-type pitcher thrown in on a one-year deal -- and we may still see that happen. yeah, but it would be nice to wish. i really hope some posters really drill the management at this yr soxfest.