3E8

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Nov 9, 2010 -> 07:34 PM) I believe his change was rated higher than his slider which he used primarily as his offspeed pitch out of the bullpen. Not sure pitch development is a very big issue for this kid. You would be incorrect. It was clear from watching the games that Sale was just throwing fastballs and sliders, but here is pitch F/X data as well: Sale Pitch F/X 67.5% fastballs 28.1% slider 1.6% change (6 total pitches)

Judging from fans in the TV thread, notables later in the week are Jon Hamm Wednesday and Julie Bowen Thursday

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Nov 9, 2010 -> 03:37 PM) Yes, a bigger need. I could live with Viciedo filling the 1b/DH role and a cheap additional DH (or RF) signing to cover the additional spot, but I dread going into this season with something less reliable than Jenks in the closer's spot. Completely disagree. We have two guys in Thornton/Sale who averaged over 12K/9IP last season who could be moved to the closer role. It could actually be closer by committee because Thornton is traditionally better against LHB (although decent against RHB as well) and Sale was absolute murder to RHB (.454 OPS against, albeit a small sample size). Even Santos could be considered. The above situation makes me much more comfortable than filling our 1B/DH/RF positions with Viciedo, Quentin, and someone cheap. These are players in the game every day, unlike the closer. We need to add a OBP/SLG threat to the lineup and Quentin/Viciedo are huge question marks and both poor defensively. Konerko and Jones accounted for 54.6 of the 87.7 positive offensive runs above replacement (i.e. 62% of the offense which was above replacement value) and they are free agents. 1B/DH/RF are always 3 of the 4 positions providing most offensive output, and we cannot say for sure who will occupy any of them, while in-house options are not strong. That is scary. The Twins lost Nathan for the season last year and no one noticed. But if they didn't have Thome to fill the DH role when Morneau went down, the AL Central race would have been closer.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Nov 9, 2010 -> 02:47 PM) The most obvious need on the whole roster right now is a closer. I'm going to go big and say Soriano. More than a 1B or DH? There is no clear replacement for either of these spots yet. And our biggest power threat from last season is a free agent. QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Nov 9, 2010 -> 03:13 PM) I don't know if the Sox could afford him, but this move would make me very happy. It would be a big misuse of resources in my opinion. After a stellar season, Soriano is going to cost a boatload of money and our first round draft pick. Not smart for a team with budget constraints, weak farm system, and perfectly viable closer option in Thornton.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Nov 9, 2010 -> 12:26 PM) On average, your typical 5th starter picks up only about 20-25 starts and throws about 120-ish innings. Sale hasn't made 30 starts, but he's pitched around 150+ innings each of the last 2 years. If Sale does what he's done the last few years...he'll be more than adequate in the 5th starter role. The guy has already proven he can get people out at the major league level, the guy has proven he can carry the innings load against lesser competition. It's possible he could still benefit from some time in the minor leagues...in particular if he has any issues with the control on his tertiary offspeed pitches. The injury issue is the other thing to consider...but then, why would you make him a starter in the first place if you thought he was going to get hurt pitching 175 innings this year? You have to consider in the past two years when Sale was racking up innings as a starter, his competition was the D-I Atlantic Sun conference. To pitch over 100 innings against the American League will be drastically more challenging for Sale. He proved he can get major league hitters out as a reliever, where his appearances are short. Working out of the pen kept his velocity up and allowed him to be a two-pitch pitcher. This won't be a recipe for success as a starter when he has to throw 100 pitches per appearance and his velocity dips back down to the low 90s. It isn't just possible Sale would benefit from time in the minors if he is to become a starter, it is definite. He needs to develop his change up and prove he can maintain success as a starter against tougher AA/AAA competition before joining the Sox rotation.

Do you guys think Sale is ready to begin the 2011 season in the starting rotation? He has never started a game in professional ball, and wasn't made a starter at the collegiate level until his second year. Basically in the past three years, he has started less than 30 games. Before entering the Sox rotation, he's going to need significant time at the minor league level. To start this process next season means a talented cheap-as-possible arm is removed from the bullpen, and leaves us with 5 pen spots to fill on an already tight budget. I'm all for maximizing Sale's value and making him a starter, but I agree with Cooper that it shouldn't be started next season.

I wish Conan would stop strapping on the guitar unless he's gonna do his lullaby skit

QUOTE (fathom @ Nov 8, 2010 -> 04:19 PM) If Konerko leaves, there's a great chance Lee signs with the Sox. He wants to stay in Chicago, and Ozzie loves him from his days in Florida. I like Lee, but he showed some signs of significant decline last season. QUOTE (RockRaines @ Nov 8, 2010 -> 04:30 PM) Maybe he did, and maybe it was just a bad season for him. His OPS has been fairly consistent over the past several years and after he was traded from the Cubs he put up an .850 OPS which is just slightly below his career avg. I like his defense better than Konerko and to be honest, I would prefer him over Kong as his contract. DLEE has actually been a better hitter over the past few years on avg save for this season where Kong was out of his mind. Lee was hampered by injury for a good part of the year. He just had surgery to repair his hand today. I see him as a bounce-back candidate who could be had on a 1-year deal to rebuild his value before a final large contract. Our training department would hopefully be able to help him stay off the DL. I think he is a perfect FA target for the White Sox considering our budget.

Kettle brand spicy thai potato chips, win.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Nov 8, 2010 -> 02:54 PM) Really, the Rays spending that kind of money? I don't buy it. Reports are that they are going to cut back on payroll, so you are probably right

Jack White performing on tonight's premier, sweet

QUOTE (smalls2598 @ Nov 8, 2010 -> 08:52 AM) I like this: The author must have forgotten about Troy Tulowitzki

What do you suggest

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Nov 7, 2010 -> 09:34 PM) You have no real idea if that's true or not. Giants pitching did awfully well. In a previous thread you had no real idea or not if the Tigers would be spending money this offseason, yet said they would not be anyway without providing any evidence for your claim. Going by OPS against and WHIP, the Giants' pitching staff 3 worst months were 3 of the 4 months that Posey was behind the plate (June, July, August). Their pitching staff had an unreal Sept/Oct (.543 OPS against, 0.945 WHIP) which really improved their overall 2nd half numbers. Their bullpen also got bolstered by bringing Ramirez over from Boston after Posey took over catching. Posey was the 2nd/3rd best bat on a team that was below average in scoring runs. His OPS was over 150 points higher than the aggregate of other NL catchers. The offensive value he provided is obvious. There is no clear link between Posey and Giants pitching performance. Without a full season catching a major league staff and not actually becoming a catcher until college, it's probably safe to say Posey hasn't had enough time to really hone his game calling/managing skills yet. Like I said all instances are different, but in this case Posey's bat was of greater value than his "intangibles".

It all varies by team, by pitching staff. The World Series champion Giants were 19 games over 500 with Posey, and this is mostly due to his bat, not intangibles

We have improved a bit since firing Shaffer and promoting Laumann. Three guys have already had success at the major league level (Beckham, Hudson, Sale), another is ready for full-time spot this year (Morel), and a top CF prospect (Mitchell).

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Nov 5, 2010 -> 10:38 PM) I'm not gonna question his recent success or doubt that he will get that contract. But damn, thats a lot of money to pay a 32 year old with maybe 4 great seasons. Yet he'll still probably be worth it and more. It's not like his high marks have been sporadic throughout his career. They are three elite seasons in a row with over 650IP. And I would not expect age to affect a guy relying on pinpoint control like Lee as severely as a guy who relies on velocity for success

Daniel Tosh does that bit. It's on one of his CDs, the track is 'Hollywood Made Me Queer'

QUOTE (elrockinMT @ Nov 4, 2010 -> 01:50 PM) And don't you see that with all catchers? Looking into the dugout mind you, but at times managers do call pitches Not Ozzie.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Nov 4, 2010 -> 11:52 AM) The Sox bench called pitches alot of the past few years. Watch AJ look to his left constantly before calling the pitch. That is him looking for pickoff/pitchout signals, not which pitch to call. You will notice he only does that with a runner on base

Pena seems too risky to commit almost $20M to. His plate discipline has decreased noticeably each season since 2007, as has his line drives. Would rather gamble on a guy with less red flags who won't cost so much

Morel and Valencia are near-perfect offensive comps for each other. Morel is better defensively, but still Valencia is an above-average defensive 3B.

Cutthroat was hilarious. What the hell happened to Ty. He's a b****, I'm glad he lost. My DVR missed the next week preview, is CT finally gonna be on

It's just WAR as calculated by fangraphs. They have their own formula. For instance you can also look up WAR at baseball-reference.com, but it will likely be a different value for the same player

Well if Jones is in a platoon, he would not necessarily need to accept more playing time than 2010. And we have to remember Quentin isn't exactly a good bet to stave off injury himself. Quite a few injuries for such a young guy is worrisome. Carlos missed almost 20 games in 2010 with injuries to five different parts of his body, and had the same inconsistencies as Jones (who missed 3 games for his neck, and 5 games for his back). Quentin will likely cost more than 2x Jones in 2011