Chisoxfn

Congrats!!!

So I'm not going to make some big winded post as what I am posting is purely based upon conjecture (along with some of Hahn's quotes) but I've heard Hahn talk a lot about working to fix our offense, but like last off-season, I've heard so little about our defense? It just makes me go hmmm, have we learned nothing from our struggles the past few years. I realize that good defensive, OBP guys don't grow on trees (and to be frank, OBP and good defense are the Sox two biggest achiles heels) but for us to consistently talk about offense just strikes the wrong chord to me. I have watched a team that has been fundamentally bad for the past few years and last off-season we tried to fix the offense while ignoring defense. Sox deserve the benefit of the doubt cause they have yet to make a move this off-season that made the defense worse, but they also haven't upgraded the defense either (which is fine...only position they addressed was catcher and net net I'd say that move was defensively neutral to slightly positive while offensively having the upside to be positive).

I think a lot of this depends on how plan A goes. It would appear, based upon rumors, plan A is to upgrade the offense and it includes being surprisingly aggressive in the FA front (i.e., Upton / Asdrubal or even someone like Kendrick). If you go that route and than stick with Saladino at SS, I just don't get it. If you are going to spend the money and put out the stops, don't you have to make sure you really have relative solid options across the lineup and I don't think Saladino as your starting SS is a great option (backup plan great). That said, I don't really understand yet what we are doing and where we are headed, but to the defense of Hahn, etc, unfair for me to reach those conclusions based purely on rumors. I think if we sign someone like Upton, it means we are going to add another good option somewhere and also means we bring Alexei back (or find a similar type vet player). I think 2B is where we'll see a young player get their shot. Other than 2B (Micah / Sanchez / Saladino) and Trayce, we don't have another young position player who could potentially be ready for a contending team. IF we are going to contend, please make sure we can contend, if not, lets make sure we take the long view and lets focus on adding long-term assets and figuring out if we have any other internal assets.

So as a new kink...we've pinned the two bigger / most relevant actual sox rumors. Let me know if you all think of that as a plus. And I also have to give everyone a lot of credit, I think the overall baseball discussion has been really quite excellent. Credit for all the amazing members on this site!

Frazier is probably the best, most realistic fit their and if we are seriously looking at Upton, than I kind of hope we are seriously looking at Frazier. It would mean we were a little right handed heavy, but at least we would be addressing / filling two major voids in the lineup. Plus Frazier is more than solid defensively, which helps from that perspective as well. I just presume the Reds asking price will be too steep.

Any word yet on who the Dodgers gave up?

Insane. That said, Tigers have at least focused some attention on an area they have sorely lacked the past few years (between this and the acquisition of Krod).

What amazes me is how Krod is continously undervalued compared to so many guys. Interesting how wide some of the disparity on signings have been.

Appreciate all the feedback. Seems like discussion is up, although we still have to work on the semantics (might be pinning...hot Sox news on the top) to ensure it stays relevant, although overall discussion helps. The fact that you can scroll a page and see all the big news and then choose what you want to discuss / read in more depth is really nice. As I warned people when making the switch, their would be some kinks and we might need to move back, who knows. So far I like what I'm seeing (and the site posting stats/traffic are also looking very nice compared with recent traffic as well as historical trends around the winter meetings). In fact, this weekend saw more traffic than any non-move weekend in recent site history (possibly longer...although I don't remember all the moves to check back..just went back a couple years).

QUOTE (Chilihead90 @ Dec 7, 2015 -> 10:19 AM) Because it's a dumb concept that most people here don't agree with. Dumb or not...it is the rules. And dumb is open to debate.

Welp...this has turned into a catch all.

Game started off looking like one of those games where you don't strike early, you leave a team in and you lose. Our inability to hit field goals, but just as importantly, our inability to get TDs in the redzone got us. Defensively we were will prepared to deal with the mobility of Gabbert. Reminded me of a game against the Seahawks a few years ago where Russel torched us late in the game with his legs. All that said, we aren't a great team, we all knew this team was devoid of talent. I was surprised we were so conservative against a good team. Langford and Jeffrey had some critical drops that prevented us from moving the chain and potentially get points. Cutler missed some big plays that were their. Just a poor offensive performance. And obviously Gould with two relatively routine misses.

Damn

I think this is one of the better moves of the offseason to date

QUOTE (Baron @ Dec 4, 2015 -> 12:48 PM) See that's part of the problem. Apparently dissenting opinions are treated with hostility. So sorry I don't believe he's the best when it comes to the Bears. If you dont like that I dont know what to tell you. Maybe take your own advice. Part of the problem? If you treat people who have inside info like a dick, what do you expect? It has nothing to do with this site, rather you consistent willingness to go bash media people on the twittersphere. If that gives you kicks, great, but I find it rather pathetic. I'm not certain what the dissenting opinion is related to? I'm purely talking about a track record you have of bashing the media and individuals with those sort of opinions as well as the track record to blast them on twitter where you can do it in a nameless / faceless fashion. It is pathetic. Their is no other possible conclusion to come to other than that. This is not debating whether X or Y player is a better fit or which scenario is more reasonable. And when it comes to members of this site, I'll protect the right of any poster with some legit inside info who shares that info and will take offense when people want to "bash" said individual. Said bashing just ruins it for everyone else.

I actually think the Sox are more transparent than plenty of organizations. This isn't as lose as the org was back in the Guillen era (when we probably were the least discreet club on the planet) but since I have 3 non-white sox teams in the general vicinity of me, I'd tell you the Sox transparency is no different than that of the Angels / Padres / Dodgers.

QUOTE (Baron @ Dec 4, 2015 -> 12:13 PM) I think his reporting is shady at best and his followers are bullies. Kind of reminds me of incarceratedbob. Lemming has been the best / more accurate person out their when it comes to following the Bears (so not sure what is shady about it). Maybe you should spend less time getting your panties in a bundle when someone on twitter reports / mentions something. These people do the best that they can and the alternative is for none of the info to exist and just wait to hear what actually happens. I also hate how good people with inside info eventually stop sharing such info because people react / respond to them like you. Reality is the info is going to more often than not not come true and people should just understand that. I've been wrong on inside info and I've been right.

You know...its great to hear about the offense, but what about the historically bad defense the Sox have played the past few years? The fact that I keep seeing all this talk about the "offense" makes me worried we are still in delusional fill and aren't focused on addressing the right problem. That said, the offense we brought in thus far is at least solid defensively (i.e., catcher) and lets be honest, most of the so called "offense" on this team that sucks defensively also tends to suck offensively so those hills are probably going to get filled by a better defender anyway (if we actually address them). Thanks for sharing the summary

QUOTE (bmags @ Dec 4, 2015 -> 12:18 PM) ? That first Turner should be Penny. I have corrected it.

QUOTE (bmags @ Dec 4, 2015 -> 11:21 AM) Exactly. Do you remember the hard sell Hahn gave on Brad Penny last offseason? Ha. I was just responding to DA about how Brad Penny was supposedly competing for the rotation last spring as well. In Penny case their is no upside, but their is zero chance this team has currently earmarked Turner for a rotation spot. That said, they view him as depth and sure, he could show he's healthy and has all of the stuff that once made him a top prospect / effective big leaguer (and he's still very young) but I think it is more likely we see him in the pen. That said, if his stuff is back, I'd have different opinions and I'm not clear as to how much injuries truly impacted him the past two years.

People people...calm down here. And I fully support a seperate walking dead thread if people want one as well. That is fine with me. Certain shows just generate tons of random discussion.

Looks like an interesting season, but I'm still extremely confused as to the set-up. Seems like extremely unfair with all the mismatches of sexes, etc. They clearly have to have some twists to help normalize things.

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Dec 4, 2015 -> 06:42 AM) I appreciate you making the effort and I'll also point out that I make an effort to get used to new stats. I don't say negative things too much any more about sabermetric offensive stats but the defensive ones are still a bit much to handle. I think pitchframing is cited way too often and people do trust the new data and guys like you who spout it for fear of falling behind the times or appearing stupid (ones who trust it without hesitation ,not you) Now too many people think Flowers was good defensively which is absurd because he might (and I say might with great hesitation) get some strikes called that aren't strikes . The data may say its 169 or 38 or somewhere in between but as you acknowledge just because the data has assigned it to the catcher doesn't mean its the catcher who caused the difference As for my issues . I've seen the Gameday app online many times And pitch f/x does follow the flight of the ball unless the graphics used on Gameday are for show.I know it also shows its ultimate destination. Even if the final location of the pitch is basically unimpeachable my issue stills lies with how its determined to be a ball or strike. In order to get a true view of the strike zone one first must see the stance of the hitter . Then to be truly accurate you need a directly overhead view of the plate This will determine if any part of the ball went over the plate. . Then you need a side view . After its determined that the pitch was over the plate , next you see if it was in the batters strike zone . While it was crossing the plate was it between his lower knees and whatever the upper part of the zone is now (varies from ump to ump). If pitch f/x uses all that then I apologize for wasting your time but I'm pretty sure it doesn't. So if I have it right it still takes a person prone to his own biases and judgments about the strike zone to call a ball or strike from what he sees as location from pitch f/x. I do accept that how the catcher catches the ball affects how the ump sees it but also how he sets up and catches the ball as close as possible to where he set up. The example you cited about dropping a pitch right down the middle and it being called a ball , frankly I don't see a lot. What I do see a lot more often is when a catcher sets up outside and the pitch goes inside and the catcher has to move a lot to catch the pitch, that pitch is called a ball when it appears to be a strike much more often. That means the ump is giving the catcher and the pitcher some credit for doing what they tried to do which in my eyes means the pitcher has to be accurate as to where the catcher sets up. I give the catcher almost no credit for crouching still and presenting a target and catching the pitch as quietly as possible ( meaning glove doesn't move very much after he catches the pitch). In other words, an umpire is more consistent and accurate when the pitcher displays those same qualities. Good discussing it with you though. I just don't think even if you do trust it ( which I don't) the significance of how important it is is pretty low. I mean if Flowers was 2nd in HR's or RBI's or in batting average or walks or OBP or slugging or OPS ,OPS+ or wRC it's highly doubtful he would be non tendered. There's a few guys out there whose defensive skills make the a much more valuable guy and Tyler Flowers isn't one of those guys by a longshot and that's the truer crux of the matter. Shy / Cali...just wanted to point out that you two have some awesome discussion going on and the way you all are handling the back and forth is also awesome!

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Dec 4, 2015 -> 08:30 AM) Derrick Rose sucks now. The Bulls aren't winning a title. They'll never do this but they should take a step back this year. Gasol has stated that he is opting out after the the season (as he should). In my opinion, the Bulls should deal him. They should trade Noah as well. I know that leaves them pretty thin but it doesn't really matter and I'd rather obtain assets now than get nothing in the offseason. This would be the best course of action for now and the future of the franchise which is why they'll never ever do it. When did Gasol say this? Last I heard he said he hasn't even though about his contract and he doesn't intend to think about it until the offseason. That was per KC Johnson like a day ago.

Look forward to catching up on it today.