Chisoxfn

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ May 12, 2010 -> 10:35 AM) If Bosh and Lebron want to make a deal to play together, they can do so in NY without either having to lose money. And in NY they don't get to play with Noah & Rose. The whole reason people are saying Chicago is attractive because it has the money, two real nice pieces (Rose & Noah), and a couple tradeable chips or workable players (Deng/Hinrich). Plus there is Taj and JJ.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ May 12, 2010 -> 11:13 AM) If Lebron really wants to play with Deng...then he can sign here and then tell the ownership he doesn't want to have Deng traded. Deng is literally the only guy that really matters in that talk. Hinrich is a remote, remote possibility if the cap is high enough, but really, it's 95% got to be Deng. It sounds like it might be Hinrich though. And it is quite possible that if we got LBJ, the 2nd signing would not necessarily be a max guy. It could be Bosh taking a small discount, it could be the Bulls putting together a trade for Jefferson, etc.

Alright Danks, battle through this. Offense, put up a crooked number...tie this game up...than take the lead for good!

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ May 3, 2010 -> 03:37 PM) But Sox director of player development Buddy Bell admitted that although Viciedo's talent led to certain expectations, they were limited. "I don't think we had any expectations other than getting him to do different things he needed to do," Bell said. "Coming from a different country, just understanding the culture, understanding what we do here is a lot to take in, in one year. "The game is played a little bit different than what he's used to. It's played at a little bit of a slower pace in Cuba, and when you get over here, there are certain things they have to do that they're not used to, like running balls out. The perception that you get from Dayan sometimes is that he's not ready or prepared, but he's the greatest kid in the world. All you need to do is tell him what he needs to do, and he's terrific. Those are the kind of things he has to make habit. Quite honestly, he's got to do better, but offensively and defensively, he's making great progress." Last season, Viciedo hit .280 with 12 home runs and 78 runs batted in for Double-A Birmingham. In 10 spring training games, he is 4-of-22 (.182) with a run scored, two RBIs and seven strikeouts. And the numbers game is not in Viciedo's favor right now. Although he played well enough at third base last season for Birmingham, the acquisition of Mark Teahen from Kansas City to play third for the Sox, complete with a three-year, $14 million contract extension, has essentially forced the Sox to look to first base as a possible destination for Viciedo with Paul Konerko and backup Mark Kotsay both becoming free agents after this season. "We're kind of going back and forth with that right now," Bell said. "[Viciedo] is going to play a little more first than he ever has in the past because of the depth we have there right now, and we feel like Dayan is probably a better fit than the other two guys (Kotsay/Konerko or Flowers at 1B???), so this is probably his quickest path." The other problem with Viciedo playing third is that he is listed at 240 pounds, but he looks considerably heavier and needs to improve his physical condition. "I think that's fair," Bell said. "But he's a typical 18-, 19-, 20-year-old. Your body kind of gets away from you like when you go to college, but we have him on a fairly strict program, and he's starting to lose some of his baby fat." Viciedo said it "doesn't matter" whether he plays third or first but agrees his weight is a concern. "Right now I feel healthy, but I know I have to lose a little more weight to be more comfortable playing," he said. The Sox love his hands and his power at the plate. "We're still working on his feet," Bell said. "Part of that is changing his body. He's kind of a young hitter right now where he gets out of control, so we have to kind of back him off a little bit, which is really hard. But I'd rather do it that way than have a guy who's passive that we've got to push. We've got to get him more under control, more balanced. But he's got great ability. I think it's just going to take a little bit more time." Bell compares Viciedo to Cuban-born Angels first baseman Kendry Morales. "He was supposed to be the next great thing," Bell said of Morales, "and he had to spend a few more years in the minor leagues, and now he's one of the better players in our league. I think it's very similar." Being the next great thing does have its drawbacks. But Jordan Danks, who played with Viciedo in Birmingham and became close friends with him despite the language barrier, said it did not appear to faze Viciedo. "I think he handles that weight [of expectation] really well," Danks said. "He was born to play baseball. He said he knew that as soon as he got drafted out of high school. He was real mature at a young age, and I really don't think it's that big of an adjustment for him [to be playing in the U.S.]." Guillen said he still has high hopes for Viciedo. "I expect a lot of things from him," he said. "He's a different type of guy. He doesn't look like a Latino. He's so laid-back and sometimes with Viciedo acting that way, people think he's lazy, but no, that's the way he is." www.espn.com It is stupid if we are changing Viciedo's position because of Teahen.

QUOTE (iamshack @ May 3, 2010 -> 01:41 PM) I'd be shopping the hell out of Greinke right now too. His value will never be higher. And by the time they are any good to where he can actually make a difference for them, he will be walking via FA. The Royals have a very strong farm system and two really really good offensive prospects (Hosmer and Mosfauka or whatever the hell his name is). Mellville isn't panning out as planned ,but he still has middle of the rotation upside and the Royals have invested a ton in the draft and have a very strong system. Hochevar is looking like he has a ton of potential and his stuff has improved significantly over the past year or so (velocity, etc). So I don't know that I'd trade a guy like Greinke who is signed IIRC.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ May 12, 2010 -> 10:57 AM) The math doesn't change. If the cap is at around $56, then the Bulls can sign a guy to a max deal and be sitting at around $49 million or so, leaving them $6-7 million or that they could take on in a sign and trade deal. If the cap is lower, then they have less free space, and they have to match a higher percentage of the contract in the sign and trade. If the cap is at $50 million, then the Bulls either have to match the full contract (i.e. they have to package Rose and Deng) or they have to sign one of the guys they currently have (i.e. Warrick) to a $5 million deal and include him in the trade. The key is, who the Bulls feel they should trade is going to be heavily based upon who the first target is. The only team that appears to be potentially open to a sign and trade are Phoenix & Toronto (Amare & Bosh). And I think the Bulls #1 target is LBJ so you wouldn't want to trade someone Lebron feels would be a good fit.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ May 12, 2010 -> 10:00 AM) Depends on what they gave up in the sign and trade and where the cap actually winds up sitting. If it's a $56 million cap and they were able to move Deng, then yes. They could also possibly pull it off at this level by moving Hinrich or Hinrich + Johnson. If it's a $52 million cap, then if they moved Deng, Gibson, and Johnson, probably yes. If it's a $50 million cap, then no. If the Bulls do a sign and trade, they will almost for sure do the sign and trade after having signed one player to a max contract.

Yep, haha.

The good news is he sounds confident. I think he just feels a lot of pressure and because of that he's just tight. Still has a very good eye though, but he's just got to get his head movement down, which seems to be caused a lot by him over-swinging. He'll pull out of this funk or at least I hope he will.

Per Mike and Mike this morning, Broussard feels that if Lebron Leaves, from what he has gathered and from the people he has talked to, Chicago is at the top of the list for Lebron. I still dont buy it but according to Broussard thats what he thinks and has heard. Feels that even if the knicks add a second FA they dont have the supporting cast and Chicago has the big market and players to offer.

Pierre won't be near as bad as some of you indicate. He isn't a stud leadoff hitter, but he isn't the worse either. His play definitely hurt the squad for a while, but as I've mentioned, some of our guys will hit better and we won't continue to hit .200 or so with RISP. So to get that number up, we will see this team hit a hot streak with RISP and produce more. As that happens and as we hit more in general (which will happen), this team should hit a streak. Factor in what is a good pitching staff (despite the numbers) and this is a team that is capable of putting up a pretty big run, imo. And that is why it is stupid to give up on a team in April. Maybe it never pans out, but there is no reason the above can't happen.

Breaking in a glove is such a pain in the rear. Only have had 3 gloves my entire life and usually it takes me an extended period of time until I'm ready to truly use the new glove. I heat it, put it under the mattress, use shaving cream, etc. Its a process that I continue to repeat until I'm perfectly happy with the mitt. But once you are, man its nice.

QUOTE (The Gooch @ May 11, 2010 -> 03:08 PM) Although I understand where you are coming from, these weren't just "some illegal activities". The Russians helped mastermind and fund the assassination of the key country's leader, and the President is willing to knowingly let his wife sign the treaty in his place with the same country that was behind the attack. Not only that, but were behind an attempted nuclear attack on US soil. Ya, that is not something you just allow to be covered up. It also sounds like it might go a lot further. Jack is wrong too in the way he is going about it, executing people, but I'd side more with him.

Awful. I never b**** about Lost, but that was atrocious.

QUOTE (knightni @ May 12, 2010 -> 12:00 AM) For me, Wade to Chicago is a better option than LeBron. Even if he isn't as good, there's less trash attitude - possibly cheaper too - plus he'll be back "home". He won't be cheaper, has more injury issues, and isn't as good. Lebron is the best player in the NBA and if the Bulls can get them, they should do it at all costs.

Alright Danks. This is a huge game, early must win. Get er done!

I should add that I fully believe in the Sox rotation and I know if/when it gets hot, this team could run off 15 to 16 wins over a 20 game span based upon hot starting pitching and just mediocre hitting. And I'll say right now, I think this team has a few 5 game winning streaks in them.

QUOTE (iamshack @ May 11, 2010 -> 01:25 PM) No one is saying ANYTHING about luck. And I am not disputing the difference in the record. What I am saying is from your impressions of this team - that they are bad - you think you have a pretty good idea of just how bad they are. And yet, with just 2 or 3 single different occurences inside of literally thousands of them, our record could be DRASTICALLY better. So what I am challenging is not the facts, but rather, that when just a few individual occurences out of thousands can impact a team's record so dramatically, that you have not seen nearly enough to make any kind of accurate judgment on might happen in the remainder of the next 130 games. Not even close. It is this reason that you will never see any significant trades made until the beginning of June. GM's really need enough time to get a true handle on there team. Do you know a decent amount through 30 games, sure, but 30 games is such a small sample in the grand scheme of things that one hot streak or cold streak has such a strong impact on how you rate a team.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ May 11, 2010 -> 01:15 PM) I don't things are quite so bleak. Let's go back to the end of 2007. Our minor league system was even looking more brutal, agreed? The only glimmer of hope was Owens/Fields/Wasserman and the fact that we hadn't dealt Buehrle/Dye, etc. With the additions of Floyd/Danks/Ramirez/Quentin to that ballclub, we went from 72 to 89 wins, a 17 game differential. There's absolutely no reason that can't happen again. 2005, coming off that mysterious 2004 offseason, we caught lightning in a bottle and never looked back. Yes, 100%, KW'd need to make the "RIGHT" moves in the prospects acquired department....if it was 2002 all over again with our returns (the only decent one we got back was Frank Francisco), then I'd tend to agree with you. Things would look a lot different to me if Mitchell was raking now at Winston-Salem or even BIRM, and looking 1 1/2 years away instead of 2 1/2 to 3 years out.... Yes, I do agree trading out of that most valuable core (Thornton, Danks, Peavy, Floyd, Rios) is riverboat gambling at its best and Jonestown suicidal at its worst, but I have zero belief that KW won't do at least SOMETHING and sit back on his hands while Rome is burning. Numerous times, they both said they won't tolerate and sit idly through another 2007, yes? We do need a lot of things to break right with Flowers, Morel, Viciedo, Danks II, Shelby (possibly), Santeliz, CJ Retherford...but I don't think we can say we're any worse off now than in 2007, with the possible exception of the Twins looking like a "dynasty" and spending more money than us on payroll. OTOH, look how good the Tigers and Indians (and White Sox in 05/06 and 08) have looked at different points and how each team "collapsed" and fell back to earth, only to be resurrected like a phoenix out of the ashes. It's always possible in this division, it's just that the margin of error is razor thin with Mauer signed until forever (then again, he goes down due to injury and their franchise is seriously imperiled, with 20% of payroll soaked up by ONE player, that almost never works, see A-Rod) and the Twins being finally able to compete on a level playing field with us and DET. I agree everything looked bleak and I give Kenny massive credit for what he was able to pull off. Our team is in much much better position that than 2007 club. That said, Kenny pulled off one hell of an off-season and I don't think you can regularly expect any GM or front office to be able to pull off something like that.

I think he had been rumored to be brought into the organization and we knew it would be in an international scouting capacity. However, I think this is the official annoucement and it appears that he is being brought in as much more than a consultant. Sleuth should be a pretty good hire for this and given his relationship with Jerry I would think he'd be capable of getting Jerry and ownership to deep further into there pockets when it comes to investing in the international front, something the White Sox have severely missed out on over the past 5-10 years. Basically put, Carlos Lee & Magglio were the lone successes (albeit good ones). And than you have the recent cuban influction. Outside of that we have had very very few quality prospects to rise through the system which we acquired on an international standpoint.

QUOTE (flavum @ May 11, 2010 -> 01:06 PM) Shack-- There's a huge difference between 13-19 and 16-16. I hate to break that to you, but there is. Just do this...assume the Sox are out of it until they get to .500. When they get there, then see how many games out they are, and go from there. Until they get to .500, there's no point in being Mr. Positive. Look at how many late games this club has blown. Much more than the typical ratio's and enough to state that a 3 game swing would have been the norm. Add in the fact that we've had a good bullpen for the most part and you'd have to think we'd fall on the other side of this process as well coming up. It doesn't always work out that way, but I don't think it is tough to say that this team probably should be .500 and has been a little on the unlucky side (not even factoring in our below normal averages and significantly higher ERA's).

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ May 11, 2010 -> 02:01 PM) The one guy missing from your list is Rios...who I think is the key guy if you're going to do the firesale. I didn't even mention Rios because he isn't tradeable. He falls similarly into the Peavy/Buehrle/etc mode where any value you'd get for the player is off-set by the fact that he has a significant long-term contract and while he is playing great this year, I don't see any team willing to take on that contract and give us quality chips. Basically put, this team doesn't have many guys that would fall into a firesale. And if we did go into firesale mode, it isn't as if we would be clearing payroll to than re-invest it in the following year. We would be clearing payroll because our team sucks and attendance is coming down and payroll will come down with it. So there would be very little value gained by moving a Rios/Peavy/Buehrle except from the financial standpoint. Sure we might get some B prospects, but I'd be quite surprised if we were able to turn those guys around for a few A prospects. I might be wrong though because it all depends on the market and if Peavy and Buehlre are kicking ass we might be able to get quite the haul for them and that might be enough to really speed up the rebuilding process.

The Sox will be in serious trouble if the team collapses. You guys should know that. We haven't dedicated enough money to the farm system and don't have a lot of tradeable assets to the contracts in place and the fact that most of our tradeable assets are guys we don't want to trade (Floyd/Danks) as they would be key building blocks. So Peavy/Konerko/Buehrle are all key guys that we could move, but wouldn't get a lot for due to there contracts. Paulie might be the exception on this because he's putting up massive numbers and only has this year remaining on his deal. But his pending FA will reduce his value a bit. Danks/Floyd/Quentin/Beckham/Ramirez are all guys that are potential building blocks that we probably wouldn't move because we'd have to trade for prospects and push everything back a few years. Quentin/Ramirez might be guys we'd look into trading, but there production hasn't been as good recently and because of that I don't know how beneficial a trade would be. Andruw Jones would be a good piece to sell come July if we aren't in it and he is still hitting. His contract is a steal and plenty of teams could use a player like him at his price. Jenks - most likely to get non-tendered Thornton - s***loads of value with 1 year remaining. If we were going to go into a rebuilding mode, we'd probably have to move him cause there is little value holding him due to the fact we would be a few years away. But the thing that is the most scary, is that if we were to go through a complete rebuilding due to salary restrictions, we just don't have the prospects at hand to even be close to being competitive. It would take years to get to that point, imo, since we don't have the trade chips necessary to help restock the system. We'd basically be completely reliant on the draft in the upcoming years to rebuild the system (outside of Viciedo, Flowers, Huddy, Morel and a few other guys). That is where Kenny's lack of setting aside enough resources towards our minor league player development and acquisitions has really killed the squad.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan101 @ May 11, 2010 -> 01:43 PM) Certainly, which is why you wait until July to decide what kind of trades you want to make (if any). I'm not sure how much the Twins are going to regress though. They'll probably have a mild regression, but if the Sox are going to get back in the race, it'll be because they play really well. And while I do feel this pitching staff could get hot, I can't say the same for this offense. As much as some guys will eventually hit better, I think it's unrealistic to expect guys like Konerko, Rios, and maybe even Andruw Jones to keep hitting as they are right now. I don't think Paulie will continue producing like a mad man. Rios might not stay quite on par, but the reality is we have pretty much 6 guys performing at historically below career norms and that will not continue. Those guys might not reach there career numbers, but it is relatively safe to say most of them will improve from where they are at at a significant level (low .200 avg will not hold up, no way, no how). And the starting pitching, barring injuries, should see significant statistical improvements as well. Combine those two areas and it is not unrealistic to see the Sox go on a large hot streak. All that said, the Sox have recently underperformed and that trend is somewhat alarming, imo.

It should probably also be pointed out that this club has been in so many games that it has lost. Which is a good indication that from a talent standpoint, we are not over-matched. When you add in how far below norm our team statistics are, you'd have to think that things would even out. And from that same standpoint, a lot has gone well for the Twins and they will see a swoon at some point. It is just a matter of time. They are a very good team though and it is quite possible that the Sox have already buried themselves, but to state that with extreme confidence would be very foolish at this point.