Chisoxfn

Snell / Taj / MJD is a steep price to get Martin, Thompson and Waiters. However, it does significantly upgrade our wing play (Martin / Waiters is upgrade over MJD/Snell). Thompson is a nice young low post player, not sure how his defense is. Bulls clearly get younger (at PF and SG) and add a lot of quality assets for a trade (not sure what it does for our cap situation a year from now). However, I overrate Taj as I feel he is such an elite defensive player whose offensive game doesn't hurt you. If Thibbs thinks he can get defense out of the guys, I don't mind. Waiters made some strides last year, not sure what his long term upside is. Martin is older and kind of reminds me of a poor mans Rip Hamilton. Probably an awful comparison but I'll go with it.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan99 @ Jul 25, 2014 -> 09:04 AM) I'm too young to remember the hype for Maggs but looking at his minor league numbers, there was no reason for him to be hyped until 1997. His numbers till he hit AAA were very pedestrian. Then he had a great year as a 23 year old in AAA, was considered a top 100 prospect, started the next year with the White Sox where he had a solid rookie year and then he was terrific from year 2 on. I literally remember watching him in September and going who is this guy and wow he can hit. Then the next year he hit more and kept getting better and better. Totally came out of nowhere so bad comparison to Ravelo whose consistently been productive but he's probably one of the least hyped stars I can ever remember (based upon minor production, hype, etc). Yes, guys like Pujols and Piazza were late round picks but when they were coming up through minors, you had heard about them, etc. Edit: And by watch, this was before the MLB extra innings days (or at least when I had it) so it would consist of my weekly white sox game on TV and reading the box scores every morning going, wow, who is this kid. I think I read the box scores every day for like 9 consecutive years from the time I was like 6 to 15 or so (and then moved to the internet).

QUOTE (whitesoxfan99 @ Jul 25, 2014 -> 09:18 AM) They need to completely blow up their team. I would be basically trying to trade the entire starting rotation, Papelbon, Rollins, Utley, Byrd, Ruiz and Howard. That team is really bad, really old, and expensive. There isn't a single player on that roster who is under 30 that is good (other than a couple of relievers). They need a team to really want Hamels who will take on other bad contracts without sending over cash. Basically, they need a team like the Dodgers to do what they did a few years ago when they got Crawford, Gonzalez, and Beckett and completely bail out the Red Sox. Unfortunately for the Phillies that is unlikely to happen. Hamels and Utley are the two guys with much any value and even Hamels value is limited in the fact that he's signed to big money until he's like 38 or something. Lee is a solid pick-up for a contender, except for the fact that he has a huge buy-out, something like 12.5M so Phils would have to at least send that type of cash over to get a halfway decent prospect or two. Stuff like this is why I'm totally fine dumping Danks and having all of the flexibility we can. Danks isn't a bargain and while he isn't a bad pitcher, he isn't going to be key when our core matters and that money can be invested in other areas, imo. I feel same way with Alexei and that is mainly because I believe we'll see pretty significant declines in his defense which will totally limit his value going forward.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Jul 25, 2014 -> 08:53 AM) Ignore salaries for a minute. Who is most likely to be the most productive hitter between now and the end of the 2016 season: Ryan Howard Adam Dunn Andy Wilkins Probably Dunn but I wouldn't think it would be a wise strategy to pencil any of them into our lineup.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jul 25, 2014 -> 08:51 AM) If you got them for an effective cost of say $5 million annually, would you rather have Howard or Dunn going forward. Absolutely neither of them. I certainly don't want Dunn to play another game with the White Sox.

Phillies have a lot of guys who make a lot of money that are going to get traded. And will likely have to eat a lot of cash in these contracts. Will be interesting to see what they do. Hamels, Lee, Utley, etc. Howard is just awful so I don't know who would pick him up. Hurt the last couple of years and just signed to an awful deal.

I keep hoping he turns out like Maggs. I never remember hype around him and he just hit and hit and hit. Obviously different positions and I'm not comparing too but hoping this can be the case. I was also very young at the time so maybe Maggs was hyped and I never knew it. I just remember him coming up and hitting from the very start.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jul 24, 2014 -> 02:25 PM) At the end of the day, it can't hurt, and could really only help. Technically, it can hurt. Poorly written, misspellings, etc. I usually tell people they should go short and sweet with it and that has always been my approach. More winded you get, more likely you end up hurting yourself vs. helping yourself. The key is really just to remind thank them for your time, indicate your interest, and try to highlight some confidence regarding why you would be a good fit and that you look forward to hearing back from them, etc (try to make it customized so you highlight something unique you heard from the interviewer, etc, too). Spend time checking grammar, etc. Basically do the opposite of what I do when I post this site (which is just type and hit post without ever going back to rereading). I am okay looking like a fool on her, but not in a professional setting, take your time and make sure you are absolutely comfortable with what your are sending.

QUOTE (pettie4sox @ Jul 24, 2014 -> 02:14 PM) Silly question, but could a thank you gesture of any sort make or break an individual getting a position? I think it can. If you totally nailed it, it wouldn't impact, but if you did good but they weren't 100% certain, something like this could help push things over the top. Depends on the organization. Some orgs move pretty fast and make a go / no go decision that same day of the round of interviews and in those cases, clearly the email won't be a make or break-it. In other cases, it can be a longer process and those emails further push the interest and highlight some of the communication skills, etc, and can be a difference maker and something an organization takes into consideration (a key piece..probably not...but still important).

QUOTE (scs787 @ Jul 24, 2014 -> 01:03 PM) If it is going to happen I wish they woulda just got it over with.....I'd assume signing him would better help match up salaries and that's why they didn't just trade his rights. Right? No; I presume by trading him, the cap hold for him goes so it is a moot point.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Jul 24, 2014 -> 12:11 PM) Yes, I just email the HR person in that instance. If they are good at what they do, they will forward it on to the hiring manager. the other thing is you should make it a habit to ask for whomever you interviewed business cards / contact information. Although, in this case, if it is over the phone, just reach out to the person who contacted you and mention you are going to send a thank you number and wanted to get their contact info.

QUOTE (pettie4sox @ Jul 24, 2014 -> 10:50 AM) Is it a common practice to mail thank you cards to your interviewer(s)? Thank you cards can be a nice touch, however, you need to do an email. The timing of an email is real time and that can be very key vs. the thank you cards will be a few days till they are received / read.

QUOTE (SCCWS @ Jul 23, 2014 -> 04:07 PM) Q is really pitching well this year. Imagine if he gets pushed back to a #3 when Rodon arrives. I thnk we have a shot to have a great rotation in 2016. Now hopefully we find a closer by then as well. These Rodon will be our immediate #2 comments are just ridiculous. Sale didn't come in and be our instant #1. It ultimately happened but that isn't where he was penciled in and those sort of results are extremely rare. The expectations around here for Rodon are just ridiculous. Seen way too many, he'll be a #2 next year comments. That would be awesome but I certainly wouldn't expect that.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Jul 23, 2014 -> 03:44 PM) Someone will take him if we eat some salary, but he won't bring anything significant in return. Honestly, if I were Hahn I'd take on most of his remaining salary and hope for an A ball lottery ticket. We are better off giving Semien or Sanchez the ABs and I personally think Marcus would be an improvement right now. Beckham really needs to go by July 31st. I think if we released Beckham, there is a pretty decent chance he would go unclaimed, meaning, under any scenario, we are going to have to include cash just to get someone to take on and pay part of his salary. I could be wrong though and maybe someone would put a claim on him and pay the remainder of his salary. To be honest, I'd be ecstatic if I was Hahn and could just dump the contract without sending over cash. Anything else is pure gravy and either way with him off the roster, we can start giving at bats to guys who may be part of our future plans.

The more you look at Beckham and what he makes, it would be insane for anyone to give up anything of value for him. He is beyond bad. Career OPS+ of 84 and a current OPS+ of 76. We should just DFA Gordon....we aren't going to get anything for him and the more at bats we give him at this point, with someone like Semien, etc, who at least haven't had the book written on them yet, the better.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Jul 23, 2014 -> 01:16 PM) Correct, between the 2nd and 3rd rounds. Thanks. I'd like to accumulate some of those. If we could get something like that for Becks, it would be worth eating some salary. Again, I don't think anyone would and I'm too lazy to look up who all won the competitive balance picks and whether they even have a need at 2B.

QUOTE (scs787 @ Jul 23, 2014 -> 01:18 PM) Oh boy....Gonna laugh it's something weak like signing Robbie Hummel. And it was Hummel. Timberwolves PR @Twolves_PR · 39s Due to overwhelming demand, we'll go ahead & spill the news now: The #Twolves have signed forward Robbie Hummel. Welcome back, Robbie!

QUOTE (scs787 @ Jul 23, 2014 -> 01:18 PM) Oh boy....Gonna laugh it's something weak like signing Robbie Hummel. Probably Levine.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jul 23, 2014 -> 01:10 PM) Um. Timberwolves PR ‏@Twolves_PR 1m #Twolves making an announcement at 3:30 pm CT. Stay tuned to http://Timberwolves.com for more info. Probably something that is not at all related. If they were going to announce love trade on web, reports would have leaked by now.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Jul 23, 2014 -> 11:52 AM) Plus for Gar's credibility in the league he can't state a deadline and then not follow through with it. Maybe once, but not as a matter of practice. I think GM's put deadlines out there all the time. I think the key is standing pat on what you are willing to give up, etc. The amount of misinformation out there this off-season is crazy so at this point, I'll just sit back and wait. As much as i've knocked on Love for his weaknesses and why I don't think he's a top 5 player, I would make the trade offered in a heart beat and root him on and hope they can win multiple championships. I am a huge fan of Klove.

QUOTE (SoxPride18 @ Jul 23, 2014 -> 12:35 PM) Mariners got a competitive balance pick in Round B so that could be used in trade talks as well. I would love to acquire that and a prospect for Viciedo. What is round B? Is that like in between 1st and 2nd or in between 2nd and 3rd or something?

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jul 23, 2014 -> 11:27 AM) I understand that, but exactly how does cutting the auction short help Minnesota? I understand if they really like this Bulls deal and think it would be off the table. But even Gar/Pax aren't that dumb. When LeBron agreed, decisions had to be made, there were back up plans. It's not like the Bulls can easily send this package for another star. It's pretty much Love or bust for a few teams. At some point, all franchises need to put an end to the rumors, etc, and prepare for the season.

I got to say...at this point, why not bring him up to the majors.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jul 23, 2014 -> 11:18 AM) This trade cannot even become official for a month if it is as advertised. So how you fill out your 12-15 guys IMO is pretty irrelevant. I could understand the Bulls putting a deadline on it, I just can't see them enforcing it. It's not like there are a bunch of these types of guys available. And if the Bulls think Love to Cleveland is inevitable, they might as well play along to help Minnesota extract everything they can from them. I think it can be a deal just pending final conclusion in a month but technically be done; Kind of like a lot of those late June deals that were made but couldn't become effective until July. I think everything in those cases is worked out and finalized and it is just a matter of the final stamps but teams can't be secretly shopping around for better offers, etc. At least that has always been my understanding but maybe that is an unwritten rule that could be broken. I guess the other question is has McD technically signed that contract?

QUOTE (bmags @ Jul 23, 2014 -> 11:12 AM) Honestly, I don't think it is. Bulls will need to fill out the team with vets if this takes place. They will be a lot more limited in 2 months, or minnesota will need to send more back to fill out the roster with more than 10 day contracts. Yep; I think Marion would be here pretty quick if Bulls could pull this deal off. We'd clearly need to bring back Nazr as well.