southsideirish71

Fowler is not worth what becomes a late first round draft pick. If we sign him and lose the pic then keeping the Shark and offering him arbitration was just a waste of time. We should of just traded him at the deadline and picked up prospects. Its one thing to lose this pic for an Upton or Gordon. Its another thing to lose it for 2nd and 3rd tier guys.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jan 22, 2016 -> 02:24 PM) So is the belief that this would only be a 1-year deal? I'd much rather see it be a 2-3 year deal. A 30 year old guy from the NL who just had his numbers plummet. What could go wrong with that investment.

QUOTE (SoxSteve @ Jan 22, 2016 -> 01:42 PM) Good points but disagree with a few things. First of all the players we gave up for Shark didn't fit the Sox good at all. Semien is a nice player but his defense will NEVER be good enough for short IMO. The problem with the Sox is we have very good pitching with very bad defense. If your going to be a good pitching team and that seems the direction we are going in with a Sale, Q, Rodon, Fullmer Johnson rotation i think it defeats the purpose to have a Semien at short. I would rather sacrifice hitting for fielding at certain positions when your pitching is good. That's why a Anderson -Lawrie combo doesn't excite me. I'd much rather have a great hitting outfield with a great DH hitting and sacrifice some of that with defense on your infield. And i don't consider Phegley and Bassitt prime pieces to the White Sox future. Obviously the trade didn't work out with Shark being horsehit but i don't think we mortgaged any of our future with that deal. That being said we have a disjointed team right now with the below average defense in both the outfield and infield with above average pitching. How we solve that is anyone's guess. Well the A's disagree with you. The A's are working with Ron Washington on Semiens D.

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Jan 22, 2016 -> 11:18 AM) Then it's just backlash speculative bulls*** not based on anything concrete against a guy who many are envious. Yes it's one of many things to be investigated. But when it get's more attention than is warranted and is cited as if its a fact it's irresponsible . There's one main reason that the Sox won't go longer term and it's that unless you are the Yankees Dodgers Red Sox it is fiscally irresponsible to hand out longer term contracts that pay for declining years. That has been apparent for years that those deals invariably becomes albatrosses to teams that don't have deep pockets. Unfortunately those contracts have been standard practice in MLB for years but the Sox still play the game hoping against hope and getting all our hopes up by playing the game and coming up short most of the time. When they do play the game and actually sign a FA they end up losing because the 2nd tier guys are almost always ore risky than the 1st tier guys Less financially volatile but more volatile as far as being productive on the field. In the last 2 years the Sox have given up 2 draft choices for free agents and possible a third if Desmond becomes a reality. Also 4 minor leaguers last year and 5 this year . Add up all that and it's 11 players from the minors and possibly 12 . Everyone says oh they will never be impact players . Yet Semien is already in the top 10 MLB SS according to MLB network analysis . Who knows who else may become valuable . Shark Lawrie and Frazier , that's 5 years total on the MLB field for 9 minor leaguers and 2 draft choices. I thought recently Hahn spoke of sustained success . How are they going to do that if they have to keep restocking the farm and getting outbid for FA difference makers ? Dumpster diving is pure luck. Relying on the few high end minor leaguers is highly speculative that they will make it. The only way to win the minor league game is have a deep system where more players can surprise you with unexpected development to offset those who disappoint you. The system is even less deep than it was now. In 2 years we start all over again because Melky, Lawrie Frazier are gone. Or we don't compete in those 2 years and trade off pieces. Either way it's starting over. Hahn has been a colossal failure . Getting Abreu and signing Sale Eaton Quintana to great deals doesn' t come close to all the failed money poured into unproductive FA's and prospects traded off. Those are a lot of players and years of control . So far it's his legacy that being below .500 or investing enough to be .500 and having no farm system is about what to expect. Great post

QUOTE (BrianAnderson @ Jan 21, 2016 -> 03:54 PM) Although I like the pick ... Gordon Beckham, Lance Broadway, Brian Anderson, Walker .... I'm too tired to think of the rest .... they all called. The Sox don't have a great past in the draft. Very likely the 28th pick wouldn't turn out to be anything. Just because they drafted dumb in the past doesnt mean the pick doesn't have value. We need to get better with our impact selections and use of the bonus pool.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jan 21, 2016 -> 12:23 AM) “A lot of people don’t understand that one guy can change the whole culture of the lineup, either positive or negative,” Harrelson said. “On the positive side, one guy can change it and I think that guy is Todd Frazier. The big thing for me is he can catch the ball at third base. And the next thing is, he’s going to protect the best hitter on our club. It’s contagious.” ZIPS projects that Frazier will hit .255/.318/.449 with 25 homers and 80 RBIs for the White Sox this season. Harrelson hopes those numbers are on the low end. But even if they are correct, Abreu and the White Sox offense should see a significant increase. “If he does that, he’s going to make Abreu 10-15 percent better and it’s going to take a lot of heat off (Avisail Garcia),” Harrelson said. “What a great year Abreu had because they had nobody to hit behind him. For him to get 30 and 100 again with no protection, it would be like if they had nobody to protect Miguel Cabrera, he wouldn’t hit anything either because nobody would pitch to him.” http://www.csnchicago.com/white-sox/hawk-h...&ocid=yahoo Every year at soxfest we see this from Hawk.

QUOTE (Yoenis Cespedes @ Jan 20, 2016 -> 10:44 PM) This ain't what we discussed, White Sox. Yo isn't cool with you no more. Outro. This would work better if you took this act to twitter and used google translate to turn it into spanish. Then we could have posters quote it as a source.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Jan 18, 2016 -> 03:49 PM) I would much rather sign Austin Jackson than Dexter Fowler. Jackson lets you keep you the comp pick and gives you another good defender. It could move Eaton to an OF corner. It also allows you to sit LaRoche vs LHP if they also keep Avi. Sox have had weirdly constructed teams before. The sox need to maximize any capability it has to stock the farm system with talent. With a comp pick that pretty much is a late first round pick the only reason we should vacate it is if the talent and the impact to the team is worth it. Dexter Fowler will make the team better. He however is not worth a first round pick. Sign Austin Jackson or Cespedes. Draft talent and for god sakes develop it.

QUOTE (GoSox05 @ Jan 13, 2016 -> 08:33 AM) White Sox to name Jason Benetti as Hawk Harrelson's half-season replacement There is a couple audio clips in this article of Jason calling some home runs. Solid all around. Love the hire.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Jan 11, 2016 -> 08:48 AM) Hated that channel. Any radio station that features Kaplan and Haugh as their superstars is garbage in my book ^^^^^ THIS

QUOTE (AustinIllini @ Jan 1, 2016 -> 03:09 AM) Stars have allowed 16 goals in the last 10 games. They're playing extremely well at the moment and still have yet to lose consecutive games. Anything can happen in the playoffs, but they're so much better than the Blackhawks right now, it's not even funny. Ask Nashville and St Louis about their regular season championships. Both in years looked better than the Hawks in the regular season. Then the playoffs happen.

Maybe they are waiting until Thursday evening at 11:59pm to announce the signing. That would be a cold blooded move that would impress some people and show the world that Hahn has stones. f*** you Ghost of Dick Clark. My name is Rick Hahn how you like my balls dropping.

QUOTE (ron883 @ Dec 25, 2015 -> 01:01 PM) Hahn needs to send a message to sox fans. He needs to show his dedication to the job by making a Christmas Day trade. He needs to show he has stones to make a move like that. Sign Upton or Gordon today, you win my respect. A Christmas signing is cold blooded.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Dec 22, 2015 -> 09:23 PM) It was the weirdest forced/chosen retirement I can recall. Iirc he didn't want to take less than a certain amount, and I think he didn't want to DH If he would of accepted a DH role he would of played beyond that. By the time he decided to open to DH it was too late.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Dec 22, 2015 -> 09:12 PM) Do you really want a separate thread on John Smoltz replacing Harold Reynolds with FOX? The main reason I included that was because Trayce Thompson is one of the targets...once again, do we want a separate thread about that topic alone (interest in a former White Sox player by another team seemingly being of interest to MOST SoxTalk posters)? Should I start a separate Jackie Bradley, Jr. thread? Trayce Thompson Trayce also big time bloodlines as the son of former NBA player Mychal Thompson and the brother of Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson. Thompson made his Major League debut in 2015, appearing in 44 games with the White Sox before being dealt to the Dodgers this winter in the three-team Todd Frazier deal. Thompson was a second-round pick by the White Sox and has shown a nice blend of power and speed, with 20/20 potential as a centerfielder. However he has also shown little plate discipline, striking out 26% of the time with a 6.6% walk rate. He hit well once he was promoted to Chicago this year, hitting .295/.363/.533 in 133 plate appearances with five home runs. His walk rate surged with the White Sox to 9.6% while he cut down on his strikeouts, although there are small sample size issues. Thompson is 24 years old, so his ceiling is not high, but he has power and speed, which the Royals will love, and his right-handed bat could fit in the lineup well.

They are obviously going for it. Now they should sign Gordon/Upton/or Cespedes. Cant be in the middle. They already went this far.

Anderson, Fulmer and Adams are the ones that everyone will want. I don't know if I would part with any of them for 2 years of control.

To me here are my thoughts. 1.) Can Trayce Thompson become a everyday major leaguer. Can he hit consistently enough over the course of a season. Can he deal with the adjustments that people will make. 2.) Can Laroche bounce back. Is it a sign of age or did he just have injuries he is over. 3.) Erik Johnson. Can he take the next step and solidify that spot at the back end of the rotation. 4.) Fulmer - can he progress through the system and be the next + arm up. 5.) Eaton - slow start after the contract. Can he just be himself and play hard and keep healthy. 6.) Is Anderson up at the end of the year or in 2017.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Dec 9, 2015 -> 08:06 PM) BREAKING: White Sox have acquired Brett Lawrie from the A's in exchange for LHP Zachary Erwin & RHP J.B. Wendelken. Well thats a hell of a lot better than I could of imagined. Make sense after it didn't materialize until now.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 9, 2015 -> 02:01 PM) Link We'll see if that holds for next year, "Defensive stats from 1/2 a season" are obviously volatile, but there's possibly a lesson in "guy goes to another organization and he's had so unbelievably little coaching that it takes 3 months before the team throws up their hands and brings in a specialist to do what should have happened with him 3 years beforehand". Thats a pretty big indictment for our minor league system. Explains a lot.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Dec 9, 2015 -> 09:48 AM) The Braves have done an incredible job and you're not wrong but the Sox would have to move Abreu/Sale/Quintana/Eaton. The Sox really have no complimentary pieces. Robertson and that's it. 1.) Stars (using the word liberally): Abreu, Sale, Quintana, Eaton 2.) Young assets that are potential building blocks: Rodon, Fulmer, Anderson 3.) Nice young pieces: Thompson, E. Johnson and Montas 4.) Tradable assets in a teardown: Robertson and maybe Jones. My point being, would a tear down like the Braves be possible without anyone notable? I certainly don't think so. However, I think the Sox can swap some younger assets for better fits at positions of need. That being said, if I am them, I am considering selling high on Quintana/Robertson, keeping the QO pick and gambling one 1 yearr FAs (Pearce, Latos, a reliever) that could potentially flipped in July and building for 2017. Especially given how the college draftees have been flying to the Majors recently. Looking towards 2017, the Sox could add a lot of talent by doing the following: 1.) Getting a Miller like haul for Quintana 2.) Getting a good return for Robertson 3.) Getting three top 50 draft picks 4.) Getting a return for 1 yearr FAs that work out. 5.) Getting Anderson, Fulmer, Montas and Johnson to develop. This is a great plan.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Dec 9, 2015 -> 11:32 AM) Seriously. Gordon's front has been quiet to. Upton was linked to Angels, then it was immediately shot down. Then he was linked to the Orioles, then it was shot down again. Garfien tweeted "Sox working a lot, could be lining up some moves" or something of that nature. For good reason. No way I'd put a 9 digit expense on him. Gordon is probably going to go after everyone plays out Heyward and then Upton.

QUOTE (bmags @ Dec 9, 2015 -> 11:04 AM) It kind of bothers me that the white sox, of all places, cannot try out to see if Trayce is something worth keeping. Kenny williams gives zero f***s about prospects. If he wants someone he will burn it all down for them.

QUOTE (SoxPride18 @ Dec 8, 2015 -> 05:43 PM) Ken Rosenthal ‏@Ken_Rosenthal 1m1 minute ago Source: Zobrist choosing between #Mets and #Cubs. Comparable offers. Only question is which team he wants to join. #Nationals on periphery. The Mets are closer and he would start.

QUOTE (SouthSideSale @ Dec 8, 2015 -> 04:07 PM) What are you talking about? You want the Sox to stand pat? I don't. I want them to improve. Yes Kenny we know your position. Burn it down for a chance to win this year.