Chisoxfn

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Nov 21, 2014 -> 05:14 PM) I wasn't a big Avi fan, but he won me over getting back last year. He obviously wants to be great. I think he will be fine. I agree, the dedication he showed to get back, when you combine it with his tools, gives you reasons for optimism.

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Nov 21, 2014 -> 05:03 PM) The first 2 moves of the offseason kinda make it feel like the Sox want to compete next year. Agree and I still think they are planning on making a "splash" move as well. This is a very nice signing though. Decent AAV but for 2 years, limited risk and he should be a productive player who helps make us a much better team. Also fills a good need. I like this more then going 3 / 30 on Butler.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Nov 21, 2014 -> 01:37 PM) Chest contusion from running into the brick wall names Demarcus Cousins I will be stunned if we win this game. Might as well give Nik and Dougie lots of minutes.

http://sportsmockery.com/2014/11/report-ja...nearly-benched/ Interesting Per John Clayton cutler almost benched. Again, if this is the case, it really makes you wonder who okayed the Cutler deal. Did Emery basically tell Trestman this is what we are going to do and you will like it? If any coach would accept that, it would probably be Trestman who is very passive as a whole.

Great article. I thought this quote stood out and was very interesting. In theory, the Sox often do this and I guess we'll see how Davidson / Johnson handle it but we also will see how long-term Hawkins is able to grow from his aggressive assignment 2 years ago (he rebounded decently last year but still has areas to fix).

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Nov 21, 2014 -> 12:49 PM) Rose, Gasol and Hinrich all out. Whelp, that'll be a terrible game to watch. What happened to Hinrich? Is it his wrist from the fall he took on that flagrant foul.

I know one thing. Bruce for Q would be very bad for the Sox. Bruce and Latos for Q is intriguing but Latos is a FA at the end of the year, isn't he? Or is he under control for 2 years total? I really have a hard time justifying a trade of Q where we aren't getting a young, cost controlled superstar back. I will say that trade(Bruce / Latos) makes the Sox better next year, but I don't know that it makes them better long term. I think I would rather just have Q and sign someone and be happier with that in comparison.

QUOTE (bmags @ Nov 20, 2014 -> 08:33 PM) Ugh. Screw this game. Refs put everyone in foul trouble, Bairstow in. The officiating was extremely one sided in this game. Made it very hard for the Bulls to stay in the game / take the lead. I don't complain about officiating a lot but it was really bad last night and not bad as in bad for both teams, but very bad for the Bulls. McDermott continues his streak of awfulness. Niko looks like he has star potential. Again, not saying he'll reach it, but his scoring skill-set appears to have a ton of upside and defensively I expect him to grow and be a pretty solid defender and a very good rebounder.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Nov 20, 2014 -> 11:50 AM) I'm sure that's how they justify it to people, but the studios want the money. The Hobbit is a perfect example. I think those movies suffer by being stretched out to 6 hours instead of 2-2.5. If they wanted to preserve the story they could make it 10 hours but that doesn't make it a worthwhile movie-going experience. I think the Hobbit is a great example of that. I feel like the Harry Potters were good and it worked for them and Lord of the Rings being stretched was fine, however, the Hobbit being stretched has led to the movies being more boring then they should be (as they should be excellent). I will see MockingJay though. Wife and I love the Hunger Game movies. We don't watch many movies anymore, but that is one we will definitely catch.

I am okay with this, especially with what he would have gotten in arbitration. I do think he's the type of reliever that will have his share of good years (along with his share of bad years).

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baske...1120-story.html Looks like both of them will be out till next week.

I figure they will sit him today and play him tomorrow against Portland. Presume they don't want him to come back and play back to back, so you wait till tomorrow, play him and then he gets Sat / Sun off and then you see if he ends up playing in that back to back. Who knows, they might say, we let him miss these two and he can play on Monday and get a lot more rest. I'd also be careful with Pau, you don't want this to get worse.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Nov 20, 2014 -> 10:26 AM) Rasmus strikes me more and more as a guy who isn't very mentally tough, is prone to pouting and excuse making, and doesn't respond well to adversity. There is always something wrong. I agree with you. I really don't like the idea of Rasmus, unless it is a one year deal with options where we have some upside. I much prefer Cabrera at 3 yrs 40M or so (even 45M).

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Nov 20, 2014 -> 09:23 AM) I don't see the White Sox being done reliever shopping. I bet we see a right hander with closing experience signed. There are still about half a dozen guys who could be targeted. Oh I agree. I don't love or absolutely hate the Duke signing but I don't think it solves our pen alone. The bigger priority in our pen is still out there and I am hoping we address it. It was surprising we jumped this soon on a non-closer though. I would have thought we would have been better served letting the market settle and then seeing who would be out there on shorter term deals who are quality (as I expect that will be the case, just like it often is when it comes to relievers). However, presumably they had seen enough on Duke to like his long-term potential and figure they wanted him around for the longer haul and also wanted to make sure they weren't entirely pot committed to sitting around and waiting, kind of like I presume they will from a closer perspective. My guess is it will be a while until we make the next move in our pen and will let the market play itself out a bit. I think the next play the club will make will either be a trade to free up funds or a signing of an outfielder, such as Melky. Maybe they surprise us on Panda but I doubt it.

QUOTE (bmags @ Nov 20, 2014 -> 07:54 AM) He's shooting 19% on uncontested 3 pointers. I'm convinced he'll be good come jan-feb, let's say post all star break. But it does seem like after every game people are convinced any offensive dry spell would be fixed by Doug McDermott. The dude is like boozer plus/minus territory on the court. Agreed. And I want to point out, in no way shape or form am I saying he's bad or anything of that sort. All I'm saying is he is a rookie and we need to all temper our expectations and have a little faith in Thibbs. The fact that Dougie is still getting minutes and being allowed to make mistakes is good and I guarantee they are working very hard with him in the league. I think his transition is even more difficult since he is so used to playing with the ball. The one thing that disturbs me is early on, when I thought he was more effective, he was moving more without the ball and lately he seems far more stagnant. In reality, he has the ability to be a similar player to MJD and It is good we have MJD around to help him. You look at how decisive Dunleavy is when he has the ball and it is great. He can pass, shoot, or dribble drive. McDermott is a better finisher so I think upside wise he has a chance to be a much better overall scorer then Dunleavy Jr. He will never be a star though or at least I don't think he will. But what we want is a valuable contributor who is a good asset as a secondary piece and he very much can be that. His skill set is also a very nice fit on this club, especially when we have a guy like Butler who it looks like we can pencil in on the perimeter for the next few years.

I just know one thing. If I see Krod sign for like 7-8M per year for 1 or 2 years, I'll be very upset. Unless of course that is him signing with the Sox. I think we need a closer to help settle everything down. You get the back of the pen controlled and it usually puts the rest of the pen in a much better position to succeed.

QUOTE (bmags @ Nov 20, 2014 -> 07:31 AM) Some cold water for the overheaded loins of doug-mcdermott-starter fans: http://www.blogabull.com/2014/11/19/724625...ike-dunleavy-jr Right now, McDermott doesn't even look like an NBA player at times. He really has looked bad as of late. Again, not calling him a bust and I'm a patient guy, just find it absurd everyone saying he needs more minutes and those people that still seem to think he should be starting (although no one on this board has said that recently in regards to starting). Guy needs to gain confidence and pronto cause he really seems to be struggling with his current role. Namely it would help a whole lot if he could get his shot back on track.

QUOTE (ptatc @ Nov 19, 2014 -> 12:39 PM) He isn't going to pitch more than 165-175 innings this year so you just need to figure out how the Sox want to use them. It is also why you could see certain scenarios where he does end up spending time in the bullpen, as a way to manage his innings.

Before people say I'm too lazy to read the link, it is the fact that I can't read any twitter links.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Nov 19, 2014 -> 01:09 PM) And I will elaborate, I believe Zach Duke is not premium talent. He is a journeyman at best player who switched some things up and had a freakishly good season, a season which even you would probably admit was highly unlikely and even more unlikely to repeat. Everyone is looking for LH relief pitching. If it was reasonably thought throughout the league that he could sustain his 2014 performance, he would have been paid more than $15 million. Hopefully, they can get at least a good couple months out of him before the clock strikes midnight. I can buy into a lot of this. When you look at his stuff, it is hard to be overwhelmed with joy. All that said, this organization has had a strong history at being able to scout and evaluate pitchers better then most, so just because others didn't give him more, doesn't necessarily mean anything. Part of this really comes down to, is what he did last year sustainable long-term and was that really what drove it, or was he really more lucky and it is being masked by the coincidence that he changed arm angles. Sox payment would indicate they think this will carryforward. If he doesn't, while not crippling, it will still turn into a misuse of funds. I just know one thing, I think we need to sign a closer so I hope we get one cause Duke alone, along with internal people, doesn't provide us with a bullpen that will help us contend.

What did the tweet say? Did we sign him?

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Nov 19, 2014 -> 12:43 PM) I'm still hoping this is Jason Castro. Seems like a completely logical White Sox move. I think Castro is overrated. I'd like him and like to take my chances but I don't know that he can't kill you at the plate. I very much think he can. It is all in a matter of how he ultimately develops. Good thing about catchers is, they tend to develop more slowly so you can see more guys that were once highly touted eventually pan out and be productive.

QUOTE (StRoostifer @ Nov 19, 2014 -> 11:42 AM) I'm thinking more along the lines of a platoon with Flowers. Navarro hits right handers better so it could work. I know. My point was if the org is planning to contend, but more if most everything goes right, then I wouldn't tie-up 5M in resources for a platoon and would instead invest more at bats into Flowers and his development (cause we have more potential long-term upside). If we think we are going to be legit contenders, then I think the $5M spent to have an effective catcher platoon would be valuable.

If we intend on being very serious contenders, I think the move could be a beneficial one. If we are going to give it a conserted effort but more focused on long-term targets, then I think we are better served sticking with Flowers.

QUOTE (TheTruth05 @ Nov 19, 2014 -> 04:48 AM) Potential Cards + Lester + Cubs Saltyness= Awesome. I can't see the Cards going 7 years big money on Lester. It is the opposite of everything they do. I could see them going 3-4 with a lot of AAV but that is it and I can't see Lester taking that. Butler at 10M per year purely depends on how much you think last year was an abberation. At 10M and over 3 years it doesn't cripple you. I would have thought a good deal would have been 3 yr 24M.