hogan873

QUOTE (lasttriptotulsa @ Jan 24, 2014 -> 08:49 AM) Anybody else just avoid a thread completely once Marty starts posting? I actually make a point to check it out because you just know there's going to be some classic stuff. Sit Chris Sale for a year, trade Chris Sale... I know what he's getting at in regards to signing a pitcher in the hopes that he'll either be good for 3-4 years or be good enough to trade at the deadline. BUt the way it's presented is comical.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jan 23, 2014 -> 08:24 PM) Abreu could do that and still have this be an under .500 team. QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jan 23, 2014 -> 08:49 PM) They could all do that and still win only 85 games if they field the ball as well as last year. Mr. Grumpy Pants. Unfortunately, you're right. The Sox need to win about 25 more games than they did last year to have a realistic shot at the playoffs. A lot of things will have to go right.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jan 24, 2014 -> 06:27 AM) If it is a good pitcher it increases the talent level and inventory of the pitching staff, and the ability to turn so,e of that inventory into other pieces. I am not thrilled with Jimenez or Santana moving forward, but if the White Sox think they will be quality pitchers for a couple of years, it makes a lot of sense signing them and flipping them or trading someone else because of their presence. The White Sox are running out of parts to trade. You want to rebuild through the draft, just look at Theo. it takes a long time. The goal is to get better. The we lost 99 games so we should not sign good players makes no sense to me. Therein lies the problem. Looking at the list of available SPs, which ones have a good chance of being either good for a few years or good long enough to flip for more young talent? It's a gamble with most of those guys, especially considering what the price would be. I'm all for signing someone who can help the team in 2014, but they Sox really need to consider what will happen after 2014. Who knows, one of these guys could be lightning in the bottle. Maybe they sign aguy who tears it up the first half and is then traded for some great young talent. We'll look back and say that it was a good signing. But if they sign someone who stinks it up who goes out with an injury, we'll say it was a terrible signing. There's a ton of risk right now, and the Sox have to weigh those risks against possible rewards.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Jan 23, 2014 -> 08:35 PM) If you take your premise to its logical end, Chris Sale should sit out next year. His health is a much bigger risk to the franchise than any contract the Sox can enter into. QUOTE (greg775 @ Jan 23, 2014 -> 10:40 PM) I do agree with Marty on this. For all the people who have written off this upcoming season and say the Sox have no chance (which I'd agree with if Hahn doesn't make another deal or two), why even pitch Sale? Why risk it? Put him on ice so to speak for a full season and just save him until the team is ready to win. I mean what can he possibly gain from more wear and tear on the arm? If this season is just a "get a ton of at bats for Abreu, Eaton, Davidson, Semien, Phegs, Garcia, Viciedo campaign" why risk Sale's health til the team actually needs him? Sale already knows all there is to know about pitching. Any innings in a season we don't contend risk his long term health, right?? I prefer Hahn make another move or 2 and try to contend this year. Talk about trolling. Sale can continue to improve as he pitches. Sitting him for a year (I'm still baffled by the mere suggestion) would do nothing but possibly cause him to regress. There are health risks for anyone, and Sale is not a bigger health risk than any deal the Sox can enter into. Signing a 31 year old pitcher to a 4 year $40MM+ contract has much more risk. Here's the point that you are missing (or refuse to accept): There is no reason to go spend money on a veteran starting pitcher just to sign a veteran. It doesn't make any sense, and we should just stop talking about it.

QUOTE (TheFutureIsNear @ Jan 23, 2014 -> 03:27 PM) Is the world ending and you're not telling anybody?? You do know there will be a 2015 MLB season right? And I'm pretty sure the White Sox are still participating. Not every move has to have an immediate impact. And signing any SP doesn't affect Erik Johnson....taking away a rotation spot from the other 2 guys? Don't care. They are dime a dozen 5th starters who can be found anywhere. That was my point. Why spend money on a veteran SP for a year just to bring in a veteran SP. I don't see the Sox signing a veteran SP for 3-4 years. That's the kind of move they are shying away from. Bringing in Tanaka would have been keeping in line with what they have been doing: building for the future. Signing a 32 year old pitcher for 2014 doesn't do anything for the future, unless they're counting on said pitcher being great and then trading him for prospects at the deadline.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Jan 23, 2014 -> 02:39 PM) It's like some people suddenly don't even want to compete for a few years, thinking it means we are in total rebuild mode. We STILL have a lot of veterans on this team and a lot of good pitchers on this team. We play in a HORSEs*** division. Detroit just lost a Hall of Fame manager and Fielder. We could win this thing if we added a good veteran starter/inning eater/winner and a catcher who can hit. Now if you are saying our defense is so putrid, so horrific, that we cannot compete, perhaps I can buy that argument. But aside from defense, adding a starter like Santana and a good catcher and we should be a contender. Detroit is still a good team. The AL Central has not been a horsedung division for a few years now. I think it will require less wins to take the division this year, but I would say the winning team is going to need at least 85-86 wins. Adding a veteran starting pitcher over going with Johnson/Surkamp/Rienzo is not going to get the Sox substantially more wins. I don't understand the fascination with spending money on a SP just to spend money. Don't confuse the fact that the Sox were willing to spend $20MM per on Tanaka with their willingness to spend money on another starter...especially one that might be with the team for only a year.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Jan 23, 2014 -> 07:57 AM) Multiple baseball writers reported that every offer was in the 6 year $120 million range as a starting point. Don't know how true that is. Sounds about right. Rock has said that around $20M per year was the max, and that they were essentially out of it when it went over 6 years.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Jan 22, 2014 -> 08:56 AM) Yep, supposedly. Supply and demand I guess. Shows you how great of a bargain we got on Abreu IMO. This is what I keep thinking. There's a chance that Abreu's contract is going to look like a huge bargain in a year or two.

Okay. With Tanaka off the table we can get back to what the Sox might do next. Hahn has said he could see some tweaking of the team. One of De Aza or Viciedo will almost have to be traded. The question is whether they package one of them with others to try for a catcher.

QUOTE (thxfrthmmrs @ Jan 22, 2014 -> 08:49 AM) Props to all those who fooled themselves into believing Sox were higher than the Yankees on Tanaka's destination list. I never thought the Sox would be able to match what the Yankees would. My guess is that the Yankees' offer was way above and beyond the other teams' offers.

Yeah, good luck to him in NY. That would not have been a good contract for the Sox.

Based on the reputable sources (Rock, bucket, a few writers), there has been no news from Tanaka. Everything is speculation right now, even though most seem to think its down to the Cubs, Yankees, and LA. Remember that the Sox weren't viewed as favorites to land Abreu until right before the announcement was made. I'm not saying the Sox will land Tanaka (I'm still thinking he'll sign elsewhere), but all of the tweets, blurbs, blogs, etc. are nothing but speculation right now. The quotes from the Sox have alluded that they most likely won't have the highest bid, but they believe that it won't come down to JUST money. Hahn has done a great job rebuilding this team since the summer. Tanaka could be a key part in something pretty special for quite a few years. Let's keep our fingers crossed.

You won't be able to swing a dead short stop without hitting a first baseman in the Sox clubhouse.

The last bit of info I can find on Robles is that he was granted free agency in November.

Doug Padilla tweeted that the Sox are showing their confident side. The attached article summed it up perfectly stating that the Sox are both favorites and long-shots to sign Tanaka.

I think there's been enough discussion about the rumors and supposed news via Twitter that we can all agree that no one in the US, let alone a bunch of bloggers, knows what Tanaka is thinking right now.

QUOTE (dayan024 @ Jan 21, 2014 -> 12:42 PM) Jeff Passan ‏@JeffPassan 12m One official involved in the Masahiro Tanaka bidding believes the winning contract is going to fall somewhere in the six-year, $120M range. Jeff Passan ‏@JeffPassan 3m For what it's worth, plenty of the rumors -- which most believe are spurious -- have the Cubs in as the high bidder, blowing away the field. I find it hard to believe that a 6/$120M contract blows away the field. My guess is that all of the bids are close to those numbers.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jan 21, 2014 -> 01:05 PM) Please no at that money. I think spending any more than about $30M on this guy will end up being a mistake. Um...the posting fee alone is $20M. Or even if you are only talking about the contract, $30M is like 1.5 years of his potential contract.

QUOTE (ScottyDo @ Jan 21, 2014 -> 11:18 AM) Dude, what part of "all tweets are newsworthy no matter what" don't you understand? I bet you're gonna complain about Sam Waterson's liveblog of the Golden Globes I'm about to post here, too. Welcome to the 21st century, man, this is modern media. It's already next week in Japan though, sources say. Something about that part of the earth being closer to the sun and the rotation of the earth being 1.254% faster near the Sea of Japan and how much healthier Japanese people are...

Why does Hahn have to be doing such a good job with this team? A couple years ago, the Sox would never be in the hunt for a guy like Tanaka. Now we're all sitting here on the edges of our collective seats, being completely unproductive at work. Thanks, Rick.

If Tanaka is not a fan of snow and cold, this is a bad year for Chicago to have such a brutal winter. Of course baseball is played in the spring and summer, but at this rate it will be snowing on opening day.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Jan 21, 2014 -> 08:59 AM) At this point, does anyone here REALLY want the Chicago White Sox to spend like $25 million per season on a Japanese import whose k/9 went way down and bb/9 went way up over the last two years? No. If he signs somewhere else for $25 million per for 6+ years, I say fine. The Sox can focus elsewhere. I'd be okay with a 7/$140 million deal, but I really think at least one team will be offering more.

I'm really enjoying True Detective. It seems like it is a slow burn working towards an explosion.

I think the fact that the Sox are even involved is quite telling on what direction the team is heading. I can't imagine the Sox even being interested in a potential $140 million guy a few years ago. I'm sure that the $20 million max posting fee is a big factor, but the moves the Sox have made since the Garcia acquisition has shown that they are truly focused on building for the future. Bringing in Tanaka on a 7-year deal (even at $20 million per) would help to solidify the future even more. That being said, I'd still be very surprised if the Sox end up signing him. There's no doubt they will be outbid, so the hope is that Tanaka doesn't sign somewhere JUST for the money.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Jan 16, 2014 -> 11:16 AM) If they keep Nieto he has to stay on the roster all year. Meaning it would most likely be He and Phegley. Flowers would have to go. If they could acquire Nieto rather than using him as a Rule 5 selection, they could send him to the minors and keep Flowers if they wanted to. I learn something every day here. So, since he was a Rule 5 guy, he has to be on the 25-man roster? Unless they acquire him some other way. Well, only time will tell, but if he's as productive as Flowers or Phegley, the Sox are propbably better off with him and Phegley (or Flowers) because he's young and can hit from the left. Regardless, it looks like there will not be a big upgrade at the catcher spot. Could just be an investment for the future.