Chisoxfn

QUOTE (bmags @ Oct 17, 2014 -> 11:22 AM) Raise your hands if you remember a DJ williams play as a Chicago Bear. Linebacker is one of the few defensive positions that when you don't notice a player, it is typically a bad thing. I do recall he had a couple nice plays early last season before getting hurt. Shea, I can think of times I've noticed him where it is good and bad but you at least see that he's been in position to make plays, etc. Bostic is the guy I still don't think isn't very good either but we'll see. I also don't like fact that he's this young with back injuries in the NFL.

QUOTE (bmags @ Oct 17, 2014 -> 11:17 AM) Excited to have some more depth at LB. Still hope that Sharpton plays. Sharpton was solid last year too. I think he should be playing. We'll see what happens. I really have not been impressed by DJ Williams at all.

QUOTE (bmags @ Oct 17, 2014 -> 07:42 AM) Last night was fun seeing Jimmy destroy some scrubs, but man, this team seems really raw. I'm guessing Jimmy will play 2nd unit too, sitting probably for about 10 minutes for a rose-kirk-dunleavy/dermott - pau/taj - noah/pau lineup. I think maybe Jimmy posting up and Niko staying out wide will help, because he is just not strong enough at all yet. But right now, the brooks-hinrich-mcdermott-nik-taj is atrocious. We may be in for a disappointing "BURN IT ALL" November before the team finds their footing, and likely they'll grind out a bunch of wins with d. Hard to tell in preseason. But for one, Doug needs to get way more selfish on taking his open 3 pointers. He is there for spacing and theres no point to it if he's just gonna pump and drive like every other player on bulls. With as many new players we have (and you might as well count Rose as new), including a couple rookies who we expect to log minutes in our rotation, we should expect some up and downs, especially early in the season. We'll just have to remember that and relax and as the team has time and gels, we should see ourselves emerge.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Oct 17, 2014 -> 08:04 AM) The bolded is 100% true. The frustrating part is that they all HAVE been revisited and rethought, but the mainstream media still cling to every conclusion from Moneyball, clearly having missed the ENTIRE idea of the book, which was NOT "steals are bad, bunts are bad, defense is overrated, homers are king, walks are king," but rather "use sabermetrics to identify over and undervalued skills in the current marketplace/run environment, and acquire/punt skillsets depending on conditions." That those aforementioned concepts happened to be the overvalued and undervalued skills/strategies in 2002 has been the bane of the SABR-friendly fan over the last seven or eight years. Because people like Hawk and Joe Morgan were offended by Michale Lewis' tone as it was filtered through the media and never bothered to read any of it in the first place. Not a criticism against you at all, but the mainstream in general. I fully grasp the above concept and have always understood moneyball with the impression that it wasn't that walks and homers were king, it was really more that walks were being extremely underrated and under valued in relation to their importance to their game and I have never had a problem with sabs it is more that I Think a lot of people severely misuse them and don't have a thorough enough understanding of the limitations of various aspects (but that is another debate and I will also say I guarantee there are some stats that I once went into in depth that have since been revamped and I may not be aware of that). I However, I think a similar approach is still being taken by a lot of people in certain areas and if you look at the difference in runs between the Royals and Sox defense, you are talking about nearly a run per game difference. That is insanely huge, especially in an era where there are few elite hitters. The reality is, when it comes to helping the net run differential, if I'm the Sox, I might be able to make far bigger impacts by cleaning up my defense and pitching staff then I can by acquiring bonafide impact bats (and I say that because there are just so few of them available).

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Oct 16, 2014 -> 05:08 PM) Some times I really hate advanced stats, because there is no way those two are in the same stratosphere offensively or defensively. Though those numbers are distorted by going two years instead of one. It can be hard for us to truly say that unless we also watched a good chunk of Sox games. I will say I long thought the board was overly negative on De Aza but obviously everyone here had a pretty good understanding of what he was, etc, where as our images of Markakis are likely more based upon what we saw over multiple seasons with limited grand scheme exposure.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Oct 16, 2014 -> 03:46 PM) You say that as though we haven't seen successful closers throw in the low 90s and survive because of control and having an off speed pitch - specifically a change up. Danks has been fairly effective against righties and lefties in his career and one of his problems right now is a dip in fastball velocity. If he could get that back in the bullpen that could at least allow him to be of some use and clear the rotations slot out. Because he relies so heavily on the change up, he doesn't make a good situational lefty, but if he could get a little velocity boost in short stints...I dunno, it might be worth a shot. I would push this to PTAC but another reason Danks may not be a good fit for the pen is guys with / who have had shoulder problems may have much more difficulty handling the extra games / back to back game use vs. a normally healthy pitcher. I don't know that for a fact, but I've heard it said before by various pitchers during telecasts.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Oct 16, 2014 -> 04:12 PM) First of all, welcome to modern day MLB. You're literally not moving on from high strikeout guys, they're all over the place. Secondly, he had a down year, with some major fielding issues and injury issues, both of which went to the plate with him. He's 27, at that age its entirely possible he could pull things together next year. Hell, he could probably be even better if he stays healthy and is put in the right setting. He's not the greatest hitter in human history, but he shouldn't have a very high price, he would fill a need on our team, and he'd be less of a long term money commitment than most of the other DH options. He ought to at least be on the list. Just cause more guys do it, doesn't mean you have to accept it or think that it is valuable. I could also say, look at the teams in the playoffs (small sample size) but the teams who are having the most success do not strike out a lot.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Oct 16, 2014 -> 04:02 PM) Morales put up a whopping .612 OPS last year. I can give excuses why both of them had a down year, but man, Morales was as punchless as Gordon Beckham. Maybe Alvarez's foot problems continue and Morales makes a comeback if he actually has a spring training, do your homework and a physical on both, but given an even choice? The guy who is 4 years younger and hit a helluva lot better would make more sense to me. And no one is giving legit "Bullpen help" for Viciedo. Viciedo is a borderline non tender candidate. The reason why I'd think Alvarez might work for him is that Alvarez is on that same path and it'd be a "fresh start" setup for both guys. The thought of replacing Dunn with Alvarez, let alone what you'd have to give up to get him, doesn't excite me. I've already made my case that I don't want another player like Dunn around. I also don't want a pure DH, I want whomever we bring over to be able to play positions and to ultimately end up seeing our outfielders and other players maybe get days off by DH'ing.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Oct 16, 2014 -> 01:17 PM) I'd be willing to put a nice offer out for Markakis. If we can't find a lefty 30 homer bat for the OF, he is the next best thing. I would agree. Would be nice if he was a better defender. Given his tools, its hard to understand why he isn't.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Oct 16, 2014 -> 01:00 PM) The Royals has a losing record in one-run games this year, they were 22-25. In general, outside of two hot stretches, weren't they a sub .500 team?

QUOTE (IowaSoxFan @ Oct 16, 2014 -> 12:59 PM) I knew someone would catch that as soon as I posted it. Here is a question, would you rather be relevant and in playoff contention 80% of the time (making the playoffs more often then not while not winning the series) or be relevant once every 30 years and win the series that one time. For me I'll take the relevant and not winning series vs. extended periods of irrelevance.

QUOTE (spiderman @ Oct 15, 2014 -> 07:54 PM) Is this guy going to get a job or what? I get it's tough, but he's been on the short list now for about 3 years. Let's go Joe! Harder to get that final job when the team you are with has struggled. Sox make the playoffs and / or rebound and you'll see Joe get that job.

QUOTE (IowaSoxFan @ Oct 16, 2014 -> 12:57 PM) The overall Royals model is to suck for a decade and load up on prospects and eventually some will pan out. Correction....three decades.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Oct 16, 2014 -> 12:52 PM) I'd be stunned if he wound up on the White Sox, personal opinion. He might get too much money from a team like the Dodgers, but I bet they have initial conversations with him and have him on their high priority list.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Oct 16, 2014 -> 12:36 PM) This is the most jaw dropping post I have ever seen under this username and I absolutely love it because it's 100% correct. Jerk I don't dislike metrics I just a lot more has to be thought of then just spitting out the metric. I also still think defensive metrics have their flaws, but they have been improving significantly and the value of defense is at an all time high over the past 20 years given the fact that we appear to be in a low scoring era. I also think a lot of the general saber themes have to be revisited (e.g., playing for the long ball, etc) as a lot of those decision points likely change given that in general, the value of a run is more important now than it was 5 years ago.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Oct 16, 2014 -> 12:29 PM) The team has 2 possible bullpen lefties on the roster in Surkamp and Snodgress. Many didn't notice but after his 2nd callup Surkamp did very well as a bullpen lefty role. What I'd guess they'll do for lefties in the bullpen, based on this franchise's previous moves, is sign one LHP to a 1 year contract, maybe 1 year with an option, and let those 2 lefties compete for the other spot in ST with Surkamp having the inside track due to experience and the other takes a key bullpen role, possibly closer, at Charlotte. I think they will be after Andrew Miller.

QUOTE (bear_brian @ Oct 16, 2014 -> 12:12 PM) Our fielding percentage and the Royals was almost identical. We scored more runs than they did, hit many more homers; they hit for a higher average and stole many more bases. On the surface the difference was indeed pitching - their team ERA was 3.69. ours was 4.09. That is over half a run a game difference. So, one way to look at getting better is to indeed fix the pitching staff, especially the bullpen. No secret, huh!? Fielding percentage is a horrendous metric to evaluate defense. Using advanced defensive metrics, the Sox this past year, ranked 28th in team defense (Astros / Indians were worse) with our defense costing us 48 runs. The Royals defense ranked 1st and saved 74.8 runs.

QUOTE (shysocks @ Oct 16, 2014 -> 10:28 AM) Correct. I think that's exactly why it's silly to go prescribing that we follow some team's "model" as a path to winning. Just try to do everything well. If the Royal Model is the way to go, then let's just emulate any team that ever had a 9-game winning streak. The key to winning a world series starts with making the playoffs and ideally the more you make the playoffs, the better your odds to advance further and be hot at the right time. In baseball, more then any sport, the best team doesn't necessarily win the series. It is almost the complete opposite of basketball.

QUOTE (Jerksticks @ Oct 16, 2014 -> 10:34 AM) Id say way above average up the middle though. It's really just Avi at this point. Eaton is our best defender and Ramirez is slightly above average. We'll see what we get out of 2B. Hard to say we are way above average in those spots though as Ramirez defense has been declining. I'd be curious where our overall team defense ranked by advanced stats. I'm going to guess amongst the worst in the league.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Oct 16, 2014 -> 10:29 AM) I agree the defense could be better, but Garcia is going to be out there. Eaton is solid. Maybe an upgrade in LF. 3B could use some improvement. SS, 2B, and 1B are going to be internal, as well as probably C. If you can get a middle of the order LH hitter and improve the defense all in one signing or trade, that seems ideal. I just think we have to live with the White Sox having an average defense. Average defense would be a significant upgrade. The problem is right now our defense is not even close to that. We were well below average at LF / RF / 3B. Technically we are also below average at 1B as well.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Oct 16, 2014 -> 10:25 AM) IMO, the Royals are clouding our judgement, everyone. The reason they are winning is because they are currently doing EVERYTHING better than everyone. To me, we should think of our priorities in terms of the holes we need to fill, and we should fill the holes with guys that are good at as much stuff as we can afford. A run scored is a run saved. vice versa. Priority 1 = corner OF bat, preferably left-handed. Ideally, it replace Viciedo. If not, it platoons with Viciedo. Move Garcia from RF to LF if necessary. Priority 2 = acquire many pitchers, both starting and relieving. Reclamation projects with upside, young castoffs with upside, undervalued assets, etc. To me, we have only two guys locked in the rotation next year. Noesi, as much as we're impressed, ended up with a 4.75 ERA (4.83 FIP). Danks can be DFA'd for all I care. We'll find a place for Rodon when we're ready. For the reclamation model to work, you need to bring in four guys for two spots so that when you end up with Felipe Paulino, you have Jason Hammel to use instead. Same with RPs: the list of guys who are good relievers for more than a few years is extremely, saddeningly small. Get good, cheap arms with warts and expect 25% of them to stick under your tutelage. Priority 3 = acquire good catcher that is here for several years. Flowers will make a good backup. Prioritize defense/handling over offense. It can be a veteran or a young guy, whatever. I agree with priority 1. To me you need to get a good bat who can play defense and preferably allow us to move Garcia to LF where maybe he can turn from a liability to a neutral player and with time a potential asset. I'm less concerned with catcher but he calls a good game and is better then most while being cost effective. I'm okay with him unless there was a significant upgrade to be had, of which I don't currently see.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Oct 16, 2014 -> 10:19 AM) Moto X 2014. If you're on Verizon, there's a Droid Turbo that's virtually the same phone, but with a QHD display and a 3900 maH battery (that'll last like 2-3 days). Does it have bloatware?

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Oct 16, 2014 -> 10:14 AM) I am going bullpen, LH middle of the order bat, starter. Defensively, 3B an OF spot, maybe C are really all that would seemingly be addressed by trade or FA signing, so that can be a part of #2. IMO, a good bullpen makes the team, as is, a lot more interesting. A couple more additions, and it could turn into good times. I think with a better bullpen we are better and only reason I had it a little lower on my priority was the fact that I'd like them to do most of it via trades and lesser signings while going after one guy we think can be our closer. Whether it is Andrew Miller or Robertson, I'm okay spending money in that area as long as it isn't too long term. We need someone at the back end to stop things and that will help as it pushes other guys down. I also think some of the guys in our current pen could be decent options, especially as you find a guy or two who come in. I also think guys like Bassit can help too. However, our defense is just horrific. We have too many guys that are significantly below average players and a lot of those guys are also average to below average hitters. Combine that two and that is something that will really really hurt a club.

As far as I'm concerned, Priority 1 is fixing the defense, Priority 2 is fixing the pen, and priority three is finding another starter. In terms of adding a bat, all great but you hope you can accomplish that in conjunction with priority 1. Adding bad defensive players really just isn't a good strategy given our existing defense and how bad it is.

QUOTE (bmags @ Oct 16, 2014 -> 09:28 AM) Yeah, you know I think they had a lot of cover to increase prices considering the price of other phones. They are no longer new, and I don't think there is a need for them to. It still annoys me they had to make it so big. A 5.2 inch version would be ideal. You get top end specs and don't have to worry about any bloatware.