Chisoxfn

I still don't get why we didn't non-tender Dayan.

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Dec 10, 2014 -> 07:26 AM) I'd assume there'd be a Danks domino to fall if something like this happened but who knows, the Sox still might have a bit more cash to play with than they're letting on. I'd think if we signed Volquez, we'd see Danks moved for a Dodger outfielder (or another outfielder of sorts). I'd be absolutely okay with that.

Really...so pathetic: 16: That’s how many times in the past 20 seasons, including this one, that the Bears have missed the playoffs, a sobering reality that leaves them in rare company in the NFC. Since 1995, the only teams to have fewer than five playoff appearances are the Lions (four), Bills (four), Redskins (four), Cardinals (three), Raiders (three), Texans (two) and Browns (one). The Lions and Bills are still alive to reach the postseason this season. The Browns entered the league as an expansion team in 1998. The Texans did so in 2002.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Dec 9, 2014 -> 03:02 PM) Someone with a better baseball mind tell me if we should expect Samardzija's current trend to continue and for him to be one of baseball's best #2 starters the next couple seasons. His command has improved with more time as a starter and he has plus stuff and a good makeup. I think the best of the Shark is still to come.

Gordon is a good player but the price would be extremely steep and I can't see any way for Sox to justify that sort of price for Dee when you have a player like Micah who could turn into that type of player. I just don't see it and think the resources can be better allocated elsewhere. I am actually pretty surprised Dodgers would consider moving him. They obviously have a top prospect who plays 2B in Guerrero, but with Gordon pretty cost controlled, didn't think it would make sense to deal Gordon (guy whose ear was bitten off by Miguel Olivo).

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 9, 2014 -> 11:24 AM) Sigh. We have to manage his innings, can easily do that by starting him out in the pen and slowly stretching him out and getting him into the rotation later in the season.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Dec 9, 2014 -> 02:10 PM) 5 years 120 million sound ok? Sounds a little steep. That is essentially a 6 yr deal (given we have him this year).

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Dec 9, 2014 -> 08:54 AM) So if you trade Danks, leaving Sale-Shark-Q at the front of the rotation, you now have to fill two slots with some combo of Noesi, Beck, and/or someone you acquire in the meantime. That is a steep drop-off. Rodon can be a 4th, but they are making it sound like he's in the pen to start (or AAA). The other considerable pitching prospects (Montas, Danish, Adams, etc.) are not ready, and the guys between like Recchia are not likely to be much more than #5 guys. You have no room for error. You'd need to find another starter, maybe a McCarthy or someone like that. I don't think you want to go into 2014 Opening Day with Beck, Recchia or anyone else at that level in the rotation if it can be avoided. Both may be more ready later, but neither are now IMO. I think if you move Danks, you are looking at adding a vet starter on a 1yr deal. We also have Rodon so some of this also depends on that.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Dec 9, 2014 -> 08:48 AM) Agreed. They will want him here for long term. I'd bet money they have a pretty good idea what he wants to sign for, otherwise this deal doesn't happen. I agree with you. I think Rick will work hard to get him signed. My guess is they back channeled to get an idea and at least figure they have a 50% chance of doing it, which for the Sox, was worth it.

QUOTE (Baron @ Dec 9, 2014 -> 08:51 AM) Who on the score was reporting this? Don't remember...but I think a few posters were talking about it in one of the other main threads so I created this as I thought it was at least deserving of its own thread (vs. being burried within the massive Robertson / Shark threads.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Dec 9, 2014 -> 08:49 AM) The Dodgers wouldn't eat enough money to make the move entirely payroll neutral, but they would have to eat some. Danks is owed $28.5M Crawford is owed $62.2M The difference is $33.7. Somewhere around half that amount may be the right figure. I don't know if you do that deal without getting something like 20+M back. I suppose Viciedo could go as well, which moves a little bit more in payroll. I still don't think Alexei is necessarily off the table, I think the key is what the Sox feel they could get for him. There is a lot of time left in the off-season and Hanh / Kenny still have bullets and payroll as far as I'm concerned.

QUOTE (Joshua Strong @ Dec 9, 2014 -> 05:20 AM) I think that one of the biggest reasons that contributed to the Sox horrible bullpen, was the fact that everyone was pitching in roles that they were not suited for. A big reason for that was that Nate Jones, who was supposed to be the closer, was lost to TJ. I think that it's best to build a bullpen from the back going forward, knowing who your closer is going to be. So I ask you who is going to fill what role in the bullpen? Having a quality closer is such a stabilizing fact. It allows everyone to have more set goals and really stabilizes the entire pen, imo. I still think we could use another arm but what we have done makes our pen significantly better than a year ago. Under no scenario would it have been okay for the Sox not to have added a proven closer.

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Dec 9, 2014 -> 08:45 AM) That's why I would have loved Reddick so much. And one of the reasons I like Headley too but at this point I think Conor's our 3b and we're just going to have to upgrade in left. But who knows, Rick might have some trades up his sleeve to improve at both spots. I don't think the Sox are sold on Connor as an everyday starter. I think they see value in him but would prefer him in a super utility role. He could probably play OF, 1B, 3B, and even a bit of 2B off the bench if you let him work on it. I am not saying he could play those positions well but could provide a lot of flexibility and you could leverage advantageous matchups.

Not sure if major beatwriters have reported or not. We all know we have a major need in the outfield that hasn't been addressed and Crawford is a guy the Sox have liked. The move also would be payroll neutral. If Crawford really is getting healthier, might not be a bad get, although I would still think we'd need to have money come over as well. I think Danks sadly, has more trade value then CC. The question I ask is, if we are going for it, and we can pull this deal off, thus staying relatively payroll neutral, could the Sox next plan be upgrading the Sox D at 3B by jumping in on Headley? I've long said we should stay away from him cause of his back issues, but if you are going for it and the Sox like his medical records, etc, there is no denying Headley's defensive skill-set and bat would be major upgrades at 3B. A lot of this all hinges on what JR and ownership are comfortable with from a payroll perspective, but you could do that and stay under 110M, potentially. That said, you'd have to go toe-to-toe with the Yanks again and I presume they will be very aggressive with Headley now. PS: I still think Ethier makes far more sense, but either way, Dodgers need to send substantial cash for it to make sense for Sox.

QUOTE (farmteam @ Dec 9, 2014 -> 06:23 AM) I don't really know if a hard and fast rule is necessary. I tend to use spoiler tags if I'm talking about it in the few days after it airs. To me that is a good guideline. A day after, probably too soon, given a lot of people DVR and watch within a few days. Makes it nice cause you can come in and talk about one of the shows you saw without having another show you watched (but haven't caught up on from the night before) get ruined.

We still have to significantly upgrade the defense. If we are going to build our team around the strength of pitching, we can't continue to ignore defense. Our team defense is just as bad today as it was when we started the off-season. That has to be addressed. Hanh / Kenny have to make another move and at a minimum we need a quality outfielder. Ideal scenario you get a quality outfielder and 3B and at that point, I say you are even favorites or close to even favorites. However, I doubt we have resources do to that.

Chris is a great guy and I think he'll be a quality reliever. I think we miss him more then we miss Semien, not because I am saying Chris is the better player, more because Chris filled a bigger need on the team. He was one of the few in-house major league ready pieces that I think will be a very good reliever. Wish him the best of luck!!!

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Dec 9, 2014 -> 06:21 AM) With Robertson and Samardzjia on the team now, what's the plan with Rodon? Does anyone else think that if he pitches well enough in Spring Training to earn a rotation spot, the Sox start him in the rotation as he might provide the best shot at the playoffs or wait to try and delay his clock? I think we let him start in the minors, however, if you put him in the pen and think he can still develop his secondary stuff, etc, then I am okay with it, as long as the goal is to stretch him out so that he's starting by mid-season. The reason I say that is, no matter what, we aren't going to let Rodon go 200 innings, so we have a lot of luxury in how we handle his innings, imo, and if you let him start the year in the pen and slowly stretch him out, you kind of by nature will limit his innings and # of starts so that you can keep him on a somewhat normal progression. Still...all that said, my preference is let him pitch to earn a starting job. If he does, awesome, if he doesn't, let him get his work in the minors. Injuries, etc, happen and it is nice and crucial to have depth.

QUOTE (Bigsoxhurt35 @ Dec 8, 2014 -> 10:57 PM) @susanslusser: Big-league source tells Chronicle: #Athletics to get RHP Chris Bassitt from #WhiteSox as well as infielder Marcus Semien (as expected). I support that. Would have preferred Beck being the pitcher over Bassitt, mainly because I think Bassitt can be a good reliever. Again...two guys, none of which are top 100 guys, a few months after the so called genius GM traded a top 10 prospect for Shark.

QUOTE (Bigsoxhurt35 @ Dec 8, 2014 -> 10:55 PM) Nightengale said comiskey lol From his days as a beat reporter. Or at least I think that was one of his original jobs.

Nightingale appears to be the most pro Samardzija and Sox talking contract than everyone else I've heard. I like hearing that cause he's got as close of an ear to our front office as any member of the media.

PS: If you all don't realize it, you all rock. Soxtalk.com has 2161 combined posts (probably more by the time I hit submit) vs. the 2nd largest Sox site, WSI, which has 69 posts between the Shark and Robertson signing. As Hawk would say...Soxtalk.com and its awesome members....YESSSSSSSS!!!!

QUOTE (raBBit @ Dec 8, 2014 -> 10:43 PM) Dan Hayes has gotten much better on TV. Spoke confidently and competently for a national viewing. He has done a fantastic job today. Looks very comfortable on the roundtable right now.

QUOTE (Tony82087 @ Dec 8, 2014 -> 10:37 PM) Keep in mind too, with Sale and Q locked in to awesome deals, it's easier to stomach higher priced FA deals... Plus you have Abreu at a fair deal and Eaton is also a very good contract as well. I really wonder if we can find a way to move Danksy.

So do we thank Adam Dunn for going to Oakland and doing what he does best...missing out on the playoffs? Because of that, Beane ends up firstling everyone, haha. PS: Dunn, while completely unproductive with the Sox, was class, and I am an ass.