Marty34

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Aug 14, 2013 -> 04:21 PM) I'll be very unhappy if he signs somewhere for like $80 million and that place is not the Chicago White Sox. I'll be less annoyed if someone offers him 9 figures. $80M is too much. $50M-$60M range would be on the edge of acceptable. Concerns of a slider-speed bat. I have visions of a guy like Viciedo swinging through 91-92 mph fastballs.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Aug 12, 2013 -> 06:46 PM) Least surprising post of the decade. Seriously? I don't think it tops you cautioning everyone on Garcia.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Aug 12, 2013 -> 05:54 PM) So are you interested at 6/90? Just to put that in perspective, that would be $25M more than the Sox have ever paid anyone.

Market for Cuban players is overinflated, imo. Tread carefully.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Aug 11, 2013 -> 07:46 PM) So if it was Gillaspie/Keppinger at 3B (if they can't dump Keppinger), Beckham at SS, Semien at 2B, Viciedo/Dunn/Wilkins at 1B, Flowers/Phegley catching....DeAza in LF, Ethier or Upton in CF and Avisail Garcia in RF, that would make them more competitive quicker? HOW? That's an awful team too.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Aug 11, 2013 -> 07:35 PM) C'mon, Marty...you can't go around paying $40 million for prospects unless they are absolute blue chippers, and no team is going to give up two or more of them so they can acquire BJ Upton. This just isn't realistic. I get what you're saying, but I think it would be extremely difficult to find that deal, and then even more remote that such a deal would actually work out for you... There are a lot of moving parts with this strategy, but what does a Kendry Morales signing accomplish? If the Sox have a payroll floor for next year make good use of it by getting prospects who might be on the next good Sox team.

QUOTE (South Side Fireworks Man @ Aug 11, 2013 -> 07:36 PM) Yes. I want the Sox to try to contend next year, not suck again like this year just so they can get another top 5 pick in 2015. I don't want them to sign any of these guys to ridiculous contracts, but I do want them to try to acquire a couple of free agents to make the team competitive again. I know Morneau supposedly hates the Sox, but if they somehow acquired a guy like him to play 1B and got McCann to catch split some time at DH/1B, and they can piece together a bullpen, they can easily be contenders again next year and still be in a position to continue to retool and improve more for 2015. They'll be competitive quicker by not signing these guys next year.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Aug 11, 2013 -> 07:28 PM) Except for Greinke and Josh Hamilton? Sorry Marty, had to...but we can be buddies now, I agree with 60-65% of what you're saying these days...well, not about Viciedo. Perhaps you've seen the light. I've been saying it all along, btw.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Aug 11, 2013 -> 01:44 PM) I suggested this in another thread: Go very hard after one big name free agent from this list: McCann, Cano, Choo, Ellsbury (there may have been one or two more I listed) Offer them a 4 year deal that is insanely front-loaded, as in $25M or more for the first year but then only $10M or so the rest of the years. It might convince them to come here when other teams will inevitably be offering longer deals, but it handcuffs the payroll in 2014 when there's a lot of money to spend and little hope of winning anyway. Then, the Sox still have plenty of money to spend in 2015 and beyond to lock up younger players and/or sign another free agent. The Sox don't dabble at the top end of the free agent market (for good reason.) Terrible idea given where this team is talent wise.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Aug 11, 2013 -> 02:10 PM) With where we are now, I really like the idea of going after Morales. We simply have a gaping hole at 1b next year. Konerko shouldn't be brought back even if he wants to come back. Morales on a 2-3 year deal fills that hole and he can move to DH if we ever get someone to fill that role Add at least 1 bullpen arm. Maybe 2, if we need a lefty also (although we have a bunch of candidates who could fill that role). Any young guy you're giving up on...you give up on him because of what you know and no other team does. You give up on him because of how he's taking to coaching. Oh, and find a new manager who can make these players look like they care about playing again, the way they did in 2012. Would rather lose games with guys who look like they care than this comedy of errors. Morales does nothing for this team except eat ~$50M in payroll. He'll be a bad contract by mid-2015.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Aug 11, 2013 -> 01:18 PM) So we're going to eat $40 million for a few prospects, essentially? That's ridiculously stupid. That destroys the whole point of acquiring prospects instead of just signing proven players. Not at all. What free agent are you going to pick up for $40M over the next two years that makes the Sox a contender?

QUOTE (iamshack @ Aug 11, 2013 -> 11:26 AM) You think the Braves are going to give us good prospects to take BJ Upton after one year of signing him? Good luck. Not the Braves. The Sox assume his contract and deal him to another team for prospects.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Aug 11, 2013 -> 10:02 AM) He's 100% against signing free agents for more than 2 years, but is all for taking on half of Ethier's deal which has 4 years remaining. I wouldn't waste too much time trying to understand his plan. It's called options my friend and for that you need cash.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Aug 11, 2013 -> 09:58 AM) I don't understand what the point of taking other bad contracts is when we just dumped our own relatively decent contracts. You think a team would be willling to give the Sox a couple of prospects if they could get B.J. Upton for 4y/$20M? I think some team might.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Aug 11, 2013 -> 10:15 AM) And their age 23 seasons? Point well taken.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Aug 10, 2013 -> 11:14 PM) You're not right YET. He might go to another organization and turn into Bobby Bonilla. For the sake of coparison, in Bonilla's age 24 season he had an OPS+ of 118, Viciedo's currently sits at 82.

QUOTE (GreatScott82 @ Aug 11, 2013 -> 06:24 AM) The smartest approach would be to continue selling off guys like Danks and Dunn. Use some of that saved money on international signings and the future. I know it sounds ridiculous but the Sox are better off long term if they have another down year in 2014. If the Sox have consecutive years of obtaining top 5 draft picks ('14 and '15) they will be in great shape. I believe signing guys like McCain, Ellsbury or Morales to mega deals will not do us any good for the long term. It honestly defeats the purpose of trading Rios IMO. If the Sox truly believed they had a chance at competing in 2014, they would have kept Rios and just moved Garcia out to LF. I think Hahn is thinking long term with these moves. He is thinking draft, international signings and more development for the prospects in the system. The worst thing the Sox can do this winter is spend just enough money to be average at best (81-81). This would not help us long term. This offense has too many holes to patch up in one offseason. I truly believe the plan is to be aggressive in the FA market in 2015, which in my opinion is the right thing to do. I agree, but I don't think Hahn is going to wait for the draft. I think the short-term plan is try to find a bad contract or two and get 3 or 4 more prospects. If they can get another everyday player or two by doing that I think they'll be in pretty good shape with the payroll going back down to ~$40M in 2016.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Aug 10, 2013 -> 08:07 PM) So avoiding big deals like Morales, McCann, and Ellsbury? Or just Ellsbury? I'd avoid them. I think if they're going to spend money like this they'll take on a bad contract at a discount.

I want them to have as much payroll flexibility as possible going into the winter to explore short-term contact and in-house options to improve the offense. One would think the offense has to be better than this year. I think the pen though will take a step back.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Aug 10, 2013 -> 05:41 PM) Its easy to look smart when you don't like any prospects. The majority of prospects fail so statistically you'll be right more often then not. It's easy to shrug and hide behind most prospects fail anyway argument too.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Aug 10, 2013 -> 04:14 PM) I don't mean to sound harsh but it wasn't as if he hasn't been playing the past 2 years (his spleen was removed in December 2010). You can't compare Carlos Quentin to Josh Phegley. You seriously can't. Jesus, you act like I'm calling him a bum. I'm just saying your approach of giving everyone 2 years is completely asinine and tiresome. At this point, your, just give them 2 years argument makes you no better then Marty and you are much smarter then that. How much of Casper Wells or Blake Tekotte do you have to watch to realize they suck and shouldn't be given starters at bats? Good organizations give the most of their major league at bats to either good players or players who have the ability to develop into good players. That doesn't mean all of them pan out but loser organizations are giving excessive amount of at bats to players the quality of Blake Tekotte. Having to give at bats to those type of players is an indication on the type of offensive prospects and talent you have (or more specifically the lack of talent you have...or at least talent which is near major league ready). By the way, if Trayce Thompson came up and hit .150 for the entire rest of the year, I wouldn't call him s***. I wouldn't hand him a starting job next year either but I certainly wouldn't write him up. Why, because I know he's a raw prospect who still has a lot of strides to make at the plate and being patient could really turn out to be valuable. Note, I don't actually endorse calling him up either at this point because he has a lot to learn still at the minor league level. But if this team had a bad rotation and was in a full complete rebuild, then I might have a different opinion on the matter and might say let him learn at the big league level. Please. You pseudo-prospect and stat guys slay me. For all the grief took for not liking Viciedo, looks like I was right.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Aug 10, 2013 -> 01:32 PM) If Viciedo, Phegley, and Garcia can do what they're capable of next year, this could be a cooking offense. Personally though I'm expecting all 3 of them to strugglle mightily to the point where people here want them all released by June. What makes you think Viciedo is going to struggle mightily next year?

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Aug 10, 2013 -> 12:38 PM) You know, if the Angels chipped in a bit I might consider Pujols... Thought about that, but that is a mega-monsterous deal when the guy is healthy. Would not do it.

QUOTE (SoxPride18 @ Aug 10, 2013 -> 12:07 PM) Not at all. At best anymore he is a platoon player. And is on the downside of 30 Dodgers will have to pay a good deal of money (half?) of that contract to have him taken off their hands. These are the kinds of players the Sox should be looking at.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Aug 10, 2013 -> 11:47 AM) Yet you mentioned Andre Ethier. Precisely the type of player the Sox should look at.