hogan873

QUOTE (greg775 @ Jul 28, 2016 -> 01:42 AM) We're not very good that is for sure. But I think we've waited too long and I'd prefer the trades this winter now. Still 3+ days before the deadline, and there hasn't been many trades yet. I expect a flurry of action over the weekend. I hope the Sox are involved but only if they get what they are asking for. If no one will offer what they want to the likes of Sale or Quintana, they should definitely wait until the off season. I think the same is true for some of the second tier guys: Robertson, Melky, Shields... I would expect a team like the Dodgers may offer a huge package for Sale, but I still wonder if it'll be enough. They've said already they'd include Urias, but the Sox should ask for much more.

Tyrant is excellent this season. I don't know if many people watch it, so I fear this might be its last season. I'm an episode behind, but Ray Donovan is having a solid season, too. And if you turn your brain off and enjoy, The Last Ship is good entertainment.

This team is so frustrating. Less than a week ago I was pretty sure one of Sale or Quintana would be dealt plus maybe another player or two (Melky, Robertson, etc.) and the Sox could add some really good young potential talent. Now they decide to go on a run, and while doing so look really good against a very good team (Cubs). I still don't think this team as constructed will compete, but my guess is that they (the front office) is holding onto that hope. I wouldn't be surprised if they stand pat or make a minor move to "add". However, unless a team overwhelms the Sox with an offer, I now don't see Sale or Quintana going anywhere. I could see Robertson being dealt even if they think they can compete. Maybe Robertson to the Nationals for a package centered around Robles or Severino and Ward. Ultimately I'd like to the Sox add some position player prospects. I know pitching is extremely valuable, but the Sox lack depth in position players.

QUOTE (Knuckles @ Jul 27, 2016 -> 08:29 AM) Someone on twitter said it's all smoke and mirrors, his FIP is high and so is his BABIP. Latos part deux? He's obviously pitching better than he really is, and it really stands out due to his horrendous first three starts with the Sox. But, I would imagine he'll level out as a guy who will give you a 4-ish ERA while eating 180+ innings. For what the Sox are paying him, that's not bad.

I'm so sorry for your loss, Jeremy. My thoughts are with you.

I just can't condone what Sale did here. I can understand his frustration about not winning and thinking that the team is more interested in marketing. But to shred all of the jerseys and throw a temper tantrum just makes him look like a fool. The Sox did the right thing by suspending him, but I'm not sure it'll do any good. If anything, he might even be saltier about the whole thing. Before all of this, I was barely willing to accept the idea of trading him for a huge haul. Now, I'm more willing, but I'd still want to see a huge haul. My concern is that if he isn't traded (now or in the off season), will relations between him and the Sox ever heal?

QUOTE (lasttriptotulsa @ Jul 22, 2016 -> 07:23 AM) What exactly is wrong with a 26 year old 2B who can hit you 50+ extra base hits, play solid defense, swipe a few bags and has about a league average bat overall? Yeah, he's pretty low on the list of problems this team has. As far as I'm concerned, if the Sox rebuild (full blown or not), you keep Lawrie. He's young enough that he should improve a bit, and he'd be some good stability along with Anderson in the middle infield.

QUOTE (knightni @ Jul 21, 2016 -> 07:57 AM) I don't see how any team can give fair value for either of them. Both are under very friendly contracts and neither are in their prime years yet. I don't think that you should trade them at all. You've got Sale, Q, Rodon, Fulmer right now. You're set for pitching for the next 4-5 years. How many other teams can say that? This is a good point. I think a knee jerk reaction is to trade one (or both) of them and stock the minors with young talent. But a rotation of Sale, Quintana, Rodon, and Fulmer is pretty damn good. My concern is that the Sox don't build a team around those guys to win. If the Sox do sell, hopefully they can off load some guys (Duke, Robertson, Melky) and get some potential back for them. They are going to have take this "going for it" mentality seriously soon if they want to use the likes of Sale and Quintana to make a run at the post season.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jul 19, 2016 -> 09:23 AM) Is this supposed to be Ventura or Chris Sale? I guess it could be either one except for the coma part...that's all Ventura.

"Do you guys know how many fans back in Chicago went to sleep last night thinking that the latest slump in this s*** show we call the 2016 season was over? Well, not a lot, but that's besides the point. We let those fans down again, guys. Again. Do you guys want to play baseball? Do you care about winning? I may look like I'm halfway to a coma most of the time, but I care. I occasionally wake up long enough to see this s***. And what I see makes me sick." *sits down with a huff* *points at Abreu and Robertson* "Did you know that soxtalk.com is going to remove you shlubs from the banner? Did you? Yeah, how does that make you feel? I wish I could get paid millions of dollars to do a s***ty job-" *snaps his head up when he hears snickers from the group* "Yeah, keep laughing, asshats. You're going to cost me my job." *points at Avi* "And what the f*** do you do here? What purpose do you serve?" *stands up and starts pacing* "You know, I might just call it quits. You guys depress the hell out of me. I'm going to go ask Hahn to trade me to the Cubs. I'll just go be their locker room custodian." *smiles dreamily* "Yeah, that sounds nice. Later losers.* *walks out of the locker room*

QUOTE (Lillian @ Jul 18, 2016 -> 09:53 AM) I've never liked the concept of "batting practice," because seeing slow pitches, from a shorter distance, does nothing to help the hitter's eye to become accustomed to the type of pitches, which he will see in a game. If anything, it could be detrimental. Several years ago, I wrote an article about it, and gave it to Greg Walker, who was then the Sox hitting coach. He agreed with me, but it's hard to break baseball tradition. The point is that the Home Run Derby is much too much of that potentially detrimental activity. Not only are the pitches not representative of what a batter sees, but the swings are not the kind that he should be taking in a game. So much of hitting is timing and getting the eye trained to follow, and see pitches. The more rounds and pitches that a contestant sees in the Derby, the more likely he is to screw up both his timing and his swing. At this point, I'd like to see Frazier take a day, or two off, just look at some regular pitches and then start taking BP in the cages, off a pitching machine, throwing MLB caliber pitches. Maybe he could stand in the "box," just to look at the pitches, during one of the starter's side sessions, out in the bullpen. This guy has had a bad swing all season long, and all those pitches in the Derby likely did little to fix it. His homer, or strike out approach couldn't have been helped by the Derby. The last thing a guy needs, who is leading his team in homers, but last in average and OBP, is to be participating in the Home Run Derby. I won't argue any points about the Home Run Derby. I see both good and bad with it, and one could always argue that it screws up the participants for the rest of the season. However, batting practice is a valuable part of a hitter's training every day. Tee work, side toss, soft toss, BP fastballs...it's all stuff hitters do each day. Slower pitches from a shorter distance are, in my opinion, more effective than a pitching machine. Live pitching is more effective because of the variation in location and speed. Besides, some extended BP hitting (like the home run derby) isn't going to destroy a hitter because the pitching is slower.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Jul 15, 2016 -> 03:41 PM) So is Elliott in prison or a mental institution? QUOTE (BigHurt3515 @ Jul 16, 2016 -> 12:50 AM) Are you talking about the routine he is going through? I gathered that his routine was self-driven. Living with his mom, staying away from electronics, keeping the journal. He said he was living with his mom because she was the strictest person and that would help him. On another note, what a premiere. The show is about as good as it gets.

Should probably change the thread title to Calling All Trolls. Abreu has been getting better consistently since his bad start. He may not be hitting as many home runs, but he's hitting line drives to all parts of the field. Frazier is what he is. I'd like to see a better BA from him, but he is a three outcome guy. What makes him more valuable than say Dunn is his defense and what he brings as a teammate. It's easy to look at the guys in the middle of the lineup and say they're at fault when a team is struggling, but they are not the only reason the Sox scored one run in four games. A team has bigger problems than two guys when they reach that level of suck.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jul 11, 2016 -> 02:05 PM) Frazier sucks, correct? Want to know something funny? Frazier has a higher OBP than Trayce. Yeah, he sucks. On pace for 46 HRs and 104 RBIs. Low BA or not, those kind of numbers help a team win.

QUOTE (chisoxfan310 @ Jul 8, 2016 -> 07:28 AM) I love what Tim Anderson has done so far but what is the ideal spot in the batting order for him? If his obp is mostly going to stay close to what his batting average is, he needs to hit like .330 to be considered a good leadoff hitter in my opinion. A .301 obp from your leadoff hitter is not good. Edit: I do know he may make adjustments and become more patient over time but I'm mostly talking for now. He would definitely need to get better at taking walks to be a good lead-off guy. But the combination of him and Eaton at the top of the order is working so well. For now, I don't think the Sox want to change anything. Ultimately if he doesn't take more walks, I would think he would be better suited as a #2 or #6 hitter. He'd be decent in the #2 spot because he makes contact and has the speed. He might do well down around #6 with his higher BA and decent power. I would imagine that the Sox are working with him to become more patient.

Provided Morneau is able to join the club after the all star break, the Sox will have a couple weeks to see if he'll contribute enough to worry less about adding an impact bat. I'm sure, however, they will be in talks with teams laying the groundwork for potential deals. Jay Bruce makes sense, especially if he stays healthy and continues hitting well. He probably wouldn't be outrageously expensive, either. I don't see a deal for Lucroy happening as that would require a trade of Fulmer. Otherwise, I'd like to see them add another bullpen piece or two. I'm still not sold that this team will compete. Adding a bat and some pitching will help, but that bad stretch through May and part of June was pretty telling. I just don't want to see this team trade away a good chunk of their prospects now that they are actually building a decent farm system.

Got around to watching the Person of Interest finale last night. What a great show. I've enjoyed every season, but this (unfortunately) short season was the best. It was obviously left open to a spin-off, especially with the group in DC.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Jun 30, 2016 -> 01:33 AM) OK get rid of Lawrie and it'll be Davidson at third, Anderson at short, Saladino at second and Frazier DH. That's a start. Saladino and Davidson and Anderson have a fighting chance. Lawrie is the least of this team's concerns. He's been decent and actually pretty good in spurts. Plus his energy is something this team needs.

Season finale of Turn was great. That show, along with The Americans, is some of the best TV on right now in my opinion. Another one of my favorites, Tyrant returns next week. Looking forward to that.

I'm quite impressed with what I've seen so far. His defense has been great, which is what was expected. Aside from his lack of patience (which will hopefully improve as he sees more ML pitching), his offense is better than what I expected. He has more power than I thought, and he's fast when he gets on base. I like him hitting lead-off even though he hasn't walked yet. Having him and Eaton at the top of the lineup has been exciting. If he can start taking some walks, they'll be a very dangerous duo setting the table for the power.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Jun 24, 2016 -> 07:41 AM) I mean, am i really reading an argument about the validity of a bet(and the qualifications of said bet) that ends in someone eating a hat? message boards ftw now and forever. CB2.0 wouldnt have eaten the hat anyways Well, we don't know that. The thing about message boards is that they're basically anonymous. We don't know if this individual eats hats (or other clothing for that matter). I believe, however, had Shields gone more than 5 innings as defined by the bet maker (recording at least one out after 5 innings), the taker of said bet may have asked for a video of the hat being eaten.

Does either team want to win?

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Jun 22, 2016 -> 04:00 PM) Nothing wrong with a little psychological reference! Well, nevermind, using the same one twice in a day is kinda weird What do you call a psychologist safely stealing a base? A Freudian Slide.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Jun 22, 2016 -> 02:31 PM) Wins are very important. I love how the sabes people love their advanced stats and yet the established baseball announcers and former players who are color analysts ONLY mention the traditional stats - wins, losses, ERA, strikeouts, walks. That said, I wish we'd trade Q to a team that could score him some runs for his sake. It's like Pavlov here - Q on the mound, the hitters don't hit. Wins are important, especially to the common fan. And you're right that the color announcers tend only to mention the traditional stats. Steve Stone did mention the other day that WHIP is an important stat, especially for relievers. Oftentimes you'll see a closer with a losing record but good other stats because those occasional blown saves can turn into losses. As far as Quintana, I've had to correct my wife and son multiple times when they've said that he's not very good. They're looking at his record without looking at one of the other most basic stats for a pitcher: ERA. Quintana's run support is horrendous. He's 5-7, and he has the lowest ERA on the team (2.63). The argument has been that wins don't matter as much when you're looking at a pitcher's value. That I will agree with. To say that Quintana is not nearly as valuable as Sale because he's 5-7 while Sale is 12-2 is very shortsighted. The other traditional stats and the advanced stats matter in regards to his value.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Jun 21, 2016 -> 11:15 AM) Remember last week when people were mad the Sox didn't use Putnam? He was hurt. They just didn't want the other teams to know. So why use him last night?