hogan873

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Dec 4, 2014 -> 11:34 AM) Zippers are instrumental in easy access to your junk. Assuming you're wearing pants with a zipper.

Scherzer would be a game changer for the Sox. Granted he would consume at least $25MM of the payroll each year, but that would give the Sox a rotation of Sale, Scherzer, Quintana, Rodon, and Danks for a few years. That's insane...aside from Danks. I also agree, though, that if Scherzer were the only other major addition, the Sox would need a big boost from Garcia, Viciedo, and Semien...and the bullpen is still questionable at best. I'd love to see Scherzer on the south side, but unless the Sox are willing to add $40MM or so from where they are right now ($25 for Scherzer and another $15 for other holes), I'm not sure he would be enough.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Dec 4, 2014 -> 07:58 AM) Homeland has been exceptional the past few weeks. The last two episodes were so intense. Excellent TV.

You know, it's surprising it took nearly 50 posts before someone mentioned their junk.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Dec 4, 2014 -> 08:07 AM) Probably 20. But that's not the reason I gave up my season tickets after a decade. Going to a game is pricey and sometimes annoying as hell. You will drop 50 bucks on food and beer at least these days and the game experience is ok for the price. However, sitting in front of my or a bars giant HD TV is sometimes just as nice if not better. I agree. I know this topic has been brought up many times in the past and has incited arguments. But, there's no arguing that it's just too damn expensive to go to many baseball games. I like to get to at least one Sox game a year, and we'll try to hit a ballgame while on vacation (regardless of who's playing). It's a cool experience to see a game live. But watching a game on my HDTV, kicked back in my chair with a 6-pack of Sam Adams that cost about the same as one beer at the park...that's cool, too.

Simple enough thread, but how many of us recite the ABCs in our head before posting?

While we (im)patiently wait for the Winter Meetings and something exciting to happen, I've appreciated the threads that have been started over the past few days: Hamburgers, Songs About Women, etc. So, I figured I would contribute to the distraction. What is on your bucket list for sports? What stadiums would you like to visit? What sport would you love to see live? Any player(s) you'd like to meet? Being a huge baseball fan, I'd love to see a game in every park. My wife, kids, and I all love baseball, and we've started adding a ballgame to our vacation each year. Last year we caught an Indians game. Next year we'll be visiting Mammoth Caves and Louisville, so we're going to swing by Cincinnati on the way home and catch a Reds game. There are a couple parks that are high on my list though: Fenway Park and PNC Park. Otherwise, just about at the top of my list is getting to see a Steelers game at Heinz Field. I'm originally from Pittsburgh and a die hard Steelers fan. I will get to a game...hopefully soon. Getting there is easy. Getting tickets will cost a bit, but it'll be worth it.

Enid - Barenaked Ladies

I lived on the Outer Banks of North Carolina for about five years. There's a place down there called Dune Burger that makes outstanding burgers. Nothing fancy about them. Just big, flat patties on a fresh bun with the normal fixings. Lots of grease. Served in wax paper in a plastic basket. Part of what made it so good was sitting outside at their picnic tables with the ocean just feet away. I gotta get back down there and get a burger.

Very dark episode of SOA last night. I usually wait until the weekend to watch it, mainly because it's at least 90 minutes, but I figured I had to watch the last two episodes live. Two of the deaths I expected, , but I was surprised they happened in this episode. The third death, , was a surprise. I still don't see a scenario where Jax doesn't end up in jail or dead. He truly has become the guy he vowed never to be. He's worse than Clay was, in my opinion.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Dec 2, 2014 -> 09:28 AM) Do you guys have Smashburger there? I've been to Smashburger once. It was decent, but I prefer the burgers at Schoops (same concept of smashing the patty).

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Dec 2, 2014 -> 07:49 AM) It'd be an overpay though. The deal would still be Anderson for 1 year of Samardzija regardless of what he does when he gets here. I wouldn't want the deal to happen unless Samardzija extended right away for a decent contract. Otherwise, it's a year of Samardzija and a crap shoot.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Dec 2, 2014 -> 07:40 AM) I dont know, to me Anderson isnt in the same stratosphere as Russell. Not even close. He is one of the better Sox prospects in a while, but Russell is elite right now. If Anderson went for a rental, I would be pissed. If Shark extended right away, im cool with it. I agree here. If Anderson were traded for Shark and he didn't extend right away, we'd be waiting all season to see what he'd do. And if he goes to free agency, I don't think the Sox have a great chance to re-sign him. If the Sox extend him right away to a decent contract, I could see it being a good deal.

QUOTE (glangon @ Dec 2, 2014 -> 07:19 AM) For a one year rental player, I'd pay Leury Garcia and Erik Johnson and see if they will bite on Leury's speed and versatilty and EJ being a former top 100 prospect. If we can't get Beane to budge on that, I'd maybe throw in Jordan Danks and Andre Rienzo and see if we can fool them into that trade.... Billy Beane would laugh hysterically as he hung up the phone.

So, if I've read through this thread correctly, Samardzija has only one year left on his deal. If the Sox (or any team for that matter) traded for him, they would have an opportunity to extend him. But, I get the feeling that he'd want to test the free agent market. So, would the team have to make a qualifying offer to receive a draft pick if he signs elsewhere? And if that's the case, is it worth trading an Alexei or Anderson to get him? I have mixed feelings about this. It seems like if the Sox trade Alexei, they're hurting 2015. But if they trade Anderson, they're hurting 2016 and beyond. I don't know that one year with a (slim) possibility of an extention for Samardzija would be worth it. Is he expected to get $15+ million a year after 2015? I don't see the Sox doing that, especially in a lengthy deal.

As far as fast food, I haven't had many other than the common (McDonalds, Wendy's, Burger King, etc.). McDonald's Jalapeno Double is pretty good, but Wendy's has the better burgers overall. Not exactly fast food, but Schoops makes some great burgers. Portillos' burgers are outstanding. When we go there, it's hard for me not to get the beef. But my son usually gets the burger and doesn't finish it...so that works out for me. Moe Joe's in Plainfield has a wild boar burger that is top notch. Has a nice little spice to it. They also have a burger called the Resurrection Burger with a fried egg on it. It was excellent, but it tore me up. As far as making my own, I like to mix in some BBQ sauce. I haven't experimented much, but I'd like to change that.

I used the long holiday weekend to get caught up on Sons of Anarchy. We were six episodes behind. It's tough to watch the episodes during the week because they're all at least 90 minutes. But, since we had some free days, we binged on it. Wow, a lot of stuff happened in those episodes. The last two are sure to be intense. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out. I'd be surprised if Jax doesn't end up dead or in jail. Last night's Walking Dead fall finale was great. I think we all figured a main character would be killed off, but who it was and how quickly it happened was a surprise.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Nov 25, 2014 -> 09:39 AM) All you have to do is look at Clayton Kershaw's extension as a starting point (remember Clayton didn't get that contract as a free agent) and think about what Chris Sale could get as a free agent to know what he is worth. It's amazing to think that the Sox have two pitchers who, if free agents, would be easily getting $150-$200 million contracts. The scary thought is, what happens when they are free agents.

I didn't want to start a new thread, so I figured this might be the best one to post in. The winter meetings are coming up quickly, and the Sox will surely be busy. They've already made a couple decent moves by filling two important holes. One could argue (rightfully so) that Duke and LaRoche don't completely fill those holes, though. Obviously the bullpen needs more, and we'd all like to see one more LH bat. I get concerned, though, when I see a team like the Red Sox make two huge moves in one day, signing two of the more coveted free agents...two free agents that the White Sox have been linked to in some fashion. Now, I think we can all agree that spending $100 million on Sandoval is an overpay, and we're glad our Sox didn't make that move. But, I'm still concerned because I just don't see the White Sox making that one BIG move that gets the attention of the baseball world. I don't care what ESPN thinks; they'll be wetting themselves over the BoSox's new acqusitions for quite a while. But what about getting the attention of other teams? Will the White Sox be making any moves between now and spring training that will make them true contenders for 2015? I could possibly see the Sox signing Melky, but that seems a little less likely after the signing of LaRoche. There is still the possibility of Alexei being traded in a move that brings Kemp or Ethier to the Sox. That could be big, but it still lacks what the Sox will need to be truly considered contenders. I guess what I'm getting at is, what moves will get the Sox over the hump for 2015? I'd love to see the Sox shock the baseball world and sign Scherzer. Then have them make a trade that sends Danks' bloated contract somewhere in return for an outfielder. There are a few free agents that could help the Sox right now, but with the Ramirez and Sandoval signings, there's no doubt that the quality free agents are going to cost a lot. There are trade opportunities that could help the Sox right now, but to get what we'd really want it would take Quintana. Do the White Sox have a hope, a prayer, a chance to compete in 2015 without blowing up the budget and/or trading some young, cost-controlled talent? I want to say yes, but I get more concerned each day.

If the White Sox were to target any of the Red Sox outfielders, it would have to be Betts...if for no other reason than the guy's name is Mookie.

Nice signing. Good pairing with Abreu.

QUOTE (LDF @ Nov 21, 2014 -> 12:12 PM) ok then let me ask you this, is it not reasonable to expect more from the Reds, or am i overvaluing Q?? No, you're not overvaluing him at all. Aside from being a very good LH pitcher, he is very cheap and under team control for several years. I think that if the Reds want Q and the Sox want Bruce, as Bucket said, a third team would likely have to be involved to make it work. Personally, I don't see a deal that makes sense unless the Sox get back Bruce and another very good pitcher who is under team control for a while.

I can say this much - I don't know if I will get any work done while the winter meetings are going on. The early talks and rumors have already reduced my productiveness.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Nov 21, 2014 -> 09:04 AM) I just want to say this, and it will not be the last time I say this: if people do not want the White Sox to bring in people connected with PEDs, then they may as well DFA Tyler Flowers and Jose Quintana now. Yeah, it's short-sighted to say we don't want anyone who was ever associated with PEDs on the Sox. There are more guys out there who were taking that stuff than we will ever know. Cabrera got caught, and his case was more high-profile because he lied. But, he's still a good hitter and would immediately fill a need and a wish at the same time.

QUOTE (SoxFan562004 @ Nov 21, 2014 -> 08:14 AM) but if they're willing to take on payroll, I imagine you can find a "salary dump" type situation with another team and don't have to give up Q. With common trend here, intrigued by Bruce, but not for Q, unless Sox are going to make a crazy move for a SP. Scherzer?