CaliSoxFanViaSWside

QUOTE (fathom @ Jan 14, 2016 -> 06:04 PM) Sure but if they stick to 3 year limit then Orioles have an advantage I have absolutely know idea why they would stick to 3 years with him . That would be his age 30, 31 and 32 seasons. It's not unreasonable to go 4 or even 5 years for him which would bring him through age 34. If the Sox thought they could get production from Adam LaRoche's age 35 and 36 seasons why wouldn't they pay for a much more athletic guy like Cespedes age 33 and 34 seasons ? I just don't get what the FO is doing. They have to go at least 4 years to be taken seriously . Cespedes will not want to re-enter free agency after his age 32 season.

QUOTE (ptatc @ Jan 14, 2016 -> 05:24 PM) I think a 5 year deal would be a mistake for a player that inconsistent. Don't quite get the inconsistent label being attached to Cespedes. 1st year did well . Pitchers probably didn't quite know how to go at him. 2nd Year sophomore slump. Easily his worst year but still had an OPS+ of 103 which only 2 Sox players had last year ( only looking at last years roster not Frazier or Lawrie) 3rd year. Improved from 2nd year. Got 100 RBI's. Re-adjusted to the pitchers adjustment to him . All offensive categories up except HR's 4th year. Very good with Tigers and even better with the Mets. Again improved from previous year in all offensive categories. Career: 122 OPS+ , .486 slugging. .805 OPS Sox could really use another RBI guy who knows the AL Central otherwise it's Abreu and hope Frazier hits AL pitching better than his last few counterparts to join the Sox from the NL did.

QUOTE (Dunt @ Jan 14, 2016 -> 09:00 AM) I dont see why Cespedes would take a 1-2 year deal with the Mets over a 4 year deal with the Sox. That makes absolutely no sense. I think it makes plenty of sense. The NL has a bunch of weak teams with weak pitching . That's exactly how Cespedes put up the huge numbers last year. He can bet on himself to A) not get hurt and B) feast on that bad pitching in the NL. Then he reenters the market with a more consistent track record and less competition. He knows the AL has a bunch of tough teams with a lot of good pitching. Staying in the NL strengthens his chances for another very good year. It's a risk but athletes are supremely confident in their abilities and I'm sure his agents would rather he bet on himself so their payday can also be bigger if it all works out as planned for him

QUOTE (Knackattack @ Jan 14, 2016 -> 01:16 PM) Gonna guess 1/6.5m w/ 1m worth of incentives Terms haven't been disclosed yet other than it being a 1 year deal with an option year. I guessed long ago if the Sox were to resign him, which I didn't think they'd do, it would be in the 3-5M range and I'll stick to that with the Padres if it ever gets disclosed.

QUOTE (BlackSox13 @ Jan 14, 2016 -> 12:02 PM) Since we're looking in hindsight, the time to trade Alexei was last winter when the Mets were reportedly interested and the return was speculated to be either Flores or Wheeler. I remember there being a thread on the rumor of Alexei to the Mets and the expectations on a return for Alexei were ridiculous. Again, its all in hindsight and irrelevant now. I wish Alexei nothing but the very best and I really hope SD signs him over Desmond. Maybe Alexei can mentor Amarista. Soxtalk was pretty split on either trading him coming off a decent season or keeping him. Can always re-visit the thread to see who was right. Just pretty odd that the Sox got nothing for him when they could have and also Samardzija . Lost opportunities really seem to be a theme that hurts the Sox even though we can never know what they would have received back for either . Good luck Alexei thanks for the memories.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Jan 13, 2016 -> 06:41 PM) I mean, I get where he's coming from. You've got two aces up front, a possible ace after them, then two wild cards. If it was poker 2 aces and 2 wild cards would be 4 Aces with a possibility of 5 Aces.

QUOTE (blackmooncreeping @ Jan 7, 2016 -> 10:39 PM) Id be very interested in seeing what lncecum might have left That's who I was thinking that the Sox might have an interest in. Not sure if he'd get a ML contract though. Minor league deal or is someone willing to put him in the rotation from the get go at this time ?

QUOTE (IowaSoxFan @ Jan 8, 2016 -> 11:59 AM) CarGo makes sense in that he will be the least expensive option is younger than Cespedes, plays RF, and fits in the three year window that the Sox supposedly do not want to surpass. I imagine a package would be built around Anderson and Fulmer to get the deal done with some other pieces thrown in there. Cargo and Cespedes are almost the exact same age. Cargo born 1 day before Cespedes.

QUOTE (bmags @ Jan 7, 2016 -> 06:28 PM) He was responding to a poster literally asking for a list of the tier 2/3 pitchers, chill. If a mod said stay on topic and I've seen it many times would you tell them to chill ? It was a polite suggestion .

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jan 7, 2016 -> 05:59 PM) Ian Kennedy, Latos, Fister, Chen (probably too expensive, at one point Boras was aiming for $100 million) and Y.Gallardo are probably the top five remaining pitchers on the market. Except for Fister, all of them should be in the $12-16 million range. Latos might be on the lower end as well. Chen the upper end and probably unaffordable/Boras Factor. But you have to look at JA Happ's contract and think anything is possible with pitching contracts STILL, as well as Leake's deal with the Cardinals. These aren't dominating or frontline starters by any stretch of the imagination. There are other threads to talk about pitching. Just sayin' this the Cespedes threasd.

In the last 3 years Cespedes has 462 AB's with RISP . In those 462 AB's he has 191 RBI's . 191 !! With the bases loaded in the same time frame he has a .455 batting average , .788 slugging pct. and 1.220 OPS. OK only 33 AB's with bases loaded but still you get the point .

It's my personal opinion that Cespedes will sign ,at the minimum ,a 5 year contract. That would take him through his age 30, 31, 32, 33 and age 34 seasons. This is not unreasonable to expect . He has carried teams on his back a few times and has good defensive numbers. He is a run producer. He loves hitting with men on base. He has seen a sports psychologist to better prepare himself to perform and focus in situations that require a big hit. He is exactly what they need. You can gripe about him being inconsistent . All that means to me is that he only carried 2 teams on his back out of the 4 he's played for. (Oakland and Mets ) How many guys are even capable of that ? Harper ? Pujols in his prime ? Who could possibly be better to pair with Abreu ? How sweet would it be to have a 3,4 ,5 all capable of 30+ HR's ? Abreu and Cespedes are RBI machines.They will push each other to excellence. This needs to happen.

QUOTE (Frank_Thomas35 @ Jan 6, 2016 -> 08:44 AM) Where you at Bucket? rabbit? Feed the masses I don't understand the desire for inside info. Plenty of people on Soxtalk have analyzed the situation perfectly. Gordon would end up being the cheapest and most signable for lesser years. Common sense would tell you he would be the Sox 1st choice of the big 3. People on here were saying Upton to the Orioles as a threat almost a month ago. Also despite the many tweets linking the Sox to the big 3 it just means they have been trying and they'd be stupid not to with the market looking favorable. However ,as Rosenthal pointed out , MLB has money up the ying yang and sooner or later it comes to the forefront . The Sox do not f*** around with the bottom line very often so it's always made anyone of the Big 3 other than Gordon a long shot.

QUOTE (Jose Paniagua @ Jan 6, 2016 -> 08:32 AM) Good call. lefty bat too. It's not crazy. Something is holding up everything and it might actually be (in part) us. With this chasing Gordon thing (also a lefty bat) Sox have no ammo left for another big trade. They got nothing left in the minors close to ML ready and the high upside guys left down there are guys the Sox want to keep. They would create another hole trading from the 25 man roster. They have to keep Anderson because he is the heir apparent at SS. Have to keep Fulmer because Danks probably goes bye -bye after this year. Have to keep Quintana unless they get the " small army" they've been looking for and there's no depth with Montas gone.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jan 6, 2016 -> 07:35 AM) If we get him, great. If not, easy to live with not paying him 100 million dollars based off of a career year at 30 Just for the sake of accuracy Cespedes was 29 last year not 30. Albert Belle came off of a pretty huge year before the Sox signed him and for his age 30 season with the Sox his numbers did drop but that 2nd year with the Sox at age 31 he was back to being a monster again. Of course Belle had many established seasons with the Indians unlike Cespedes who hasn't been around that long. Imagine if Cespedes ,after some time in both leagues, has a better idea now of what to expect. He could have a few more huge years ahead of him. His upside is the highest of any OF and his down side isn't as bad as Gorodn or Upton (since he would be switching leagues).

Not sure that this affects the Cespedes/Upton market much. Gordon always seemed to want to stay in KC. Cespedes/Upton probably are open to any team willing to pay. Don't have much hope the Sox land either one but I didn't from the beginning of the whole process. The best chance the Sox had was with Gordon because the contract would be shorter and less expensive . Now if they want Cespedes ( who was my 1st choice) they will have to pay dearly . Cespedes will be over $100M and probably easily over. The whole reason why I started the other thread on what options the Sox pursue if one of the big 3 wasn't signed (subsequent threads were all copycats ) was because it just never seemed likely to happen. Cespedes would sell tickets paired with Abreu and possibly more season tickets than last year. Question is do the Sox have the cojones ? Albert Belle signed with the Sox for his age 30 season. Here's hoping Cespedes is the Belle of this years ball . I will gladly look like a moron for my pessimism .

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Jan 3, 2016 -> 04:05 PM) I have a good feeling something is gonna happen today There's a feeling I get when I look to the west.. I'm hooked on a feeling , I'm high on believin'... Feelings whoa ooh ohh feelings.. See me , feel me, touch me, heal me.... Cum on feel the noize... I feel like a number... I feel like makin, I feel like makin' love to you... I feel good. I knew that I would now.. And I can't fight this feelin' any more... And I got a peaceful, easy feeling... She's in love with me and I feel fine. I've gotta feeling, a feeling deep inside oh yeah .. When the dog bites When the bee stings When I'm feeling sad I simply remember my favorite things And then I don't feel so bad Edit: I keep adding more but if you want to kill time you can name the bands. Should be easy to anyone over ummm hmmm 45 ?? Yea go with 45 like the rpm record.

Best catcher Sox have had in my lifetime. I always know his birth date is 12/26/1947 because he is exactly 10 years older than me.

QUOTE (ChiSox59 @ Jan 2, 2016 -> 05:18 PM) He clearly meant 5/102. Then he better write what he means or edit it

QUOTE (GreenSox @ Jan 2, 2016 -> 06:06 AM) If they only want 3 years, then frontload, not backload. Offer Cespedes 3/102, with an opt out after 3. 24 per for 3 years, then it drops to 15 per for 2. Opt out after 3. 3/102 would be 34M/yr . 3/72 is 24M AAV .

QUOTE (ChiSoxFanMike @ Jan 1, 2016 -> 03:27 PM) Couldn't this exact same phrase have been said after Adam Dunn's 2011 season? His tenure with the Sox after that wasn't perfect, but it was leaps and bounds better than 2011. I don't think LaRoche will be any different. The worst case scenario for him next season IMO is .210 or so with 15 homers. I've seen this said a few times and Dunn was 32 in 2012 and LaRoche wil be 36 . Pretty big difference . Not sure why I keep seeing so many people saying he will rebound. I hope he rebounds but expecting it is quite another thing. I expect him to be bad because he is over the hill. Blaming it on a hand injury which required no DL stint is just some way to justify misguided rebound talk. LaRoche said at one point late in the season that he would've benched himself 2 months before Ventura did. http://www.csnchicago.com/white-sox/adam-l...-two-months-ago. Also in that article: LaRoche continues to be mystified by the particulars of his struggles. He has had difficulty spotting any significant differences when he looks at video of his swing now compared with when he has had past successes. Whereas he didn't panic when he struggled earlier in the year, as he always has, LaRoche admitted "when you get on later in the year it gets more difficult." The only thing I could find in a limited search for an injury was patella tendinitis . "The lingering knee malady has kept LaRoche out of the lineup since Sept. 13, but he believes he originally suffered the injury two months ago". That was from Sept. 24 . From July 22: White Sox 1B Adam LaRoche believes struggles are mental by Marty Gitlin | CBSSports.com Struggling first baseman Adam LaRoche can only watch so much tape of his approach at the plate and swing. He realizes that his problems are more between his ears than what he sees on replay. LaRoche has been a dud in his first year in the Windy City. He is batting just .221 with nine home runs and 33 RBI in the middle of what should be a strong lineup. He is batting a mere .160 (8-for-50) with no taters and two RBI in July. "You keep swinging and you keep working," he told MLB.com. "There's only so much video you can watch, only so many things you can go back and look at that you think might have been different in the past. The fact is you just have to get in the box and be confident, expect good things to happen."

QUOTE (SouthSideSale @ Dec 30, 2015 -> 04:30 PM) Lol wut? OK geez some of you guys... His "see you next year "comment doesn't mean he thinks what Nightengale said is contradictory . It means see you next year ,like in a few days is next year guys. They aren't close to signing anyone so give it a few more days.. next year, get it ?

QUOTE (Al Lopez's Ghost @ Dec 29, 2015 -> 10:07 AM) I believe raBBit tweeted earlier today that 2 ain't happening. Astounding that anyone actually needs confirmation from Bugs Bunny that the Sox wouldn't be signing 2 high priced free agent OFers. Inside sources don't take the place of common sense. I'm still coming to grips that the Sox would even sign one of them and I still won't believe it til it's confirmed.

QUOTE (ChiSox59 @ Dec 28, 2015 -> 09:25 AM) A Parra/Avi platoon in RF would be better than league average offensively. Avi kills the defense platoon, but I am not ready to call Parra (the strong side of the platoon) a bad defender quite yet. He was among the best in the league a mere 2 years ago. LF - Gordon CF - Eaton RF - Parra/Avi platoon DH - Melky Late inning defensive replacement / PH - LaRoche That alignment IMMENSELY improves the OF defense and gives the Sox a great lineup. This is the best case scenario in my mind. It would be way too expensive unless you can get Parra on a 1 year deal . Rather see Parra money go to address starting pitching depth .Ideally you get someone exactly like Trayce Thompson (cheap, good defensively, power, offensive upside) to play RF and eliminate Avi altogether by trade or sending him to the minors. Late in the game do you want Avi in the OF if he pinch hit for Parra ? I sure don't. Also Parra may not be suited for CF any more. It's probably why his defensive ratings were way down. The 4th OF needs to be able to back up CF . Getting Trayce back would be a lot less expensive than paying too much for the likes of Parra who fell off a cliff from his NL hitting once he got to Baltimore. Bring back Trayce, bring back Trayce !

QUOTE (BlackSox13 @ Dec 26, 2015 -> 05:56 PM) That would seem the plan for now. Melky LF, Avi/LaRoche DH and the Sox make a move for a right fielder. I could be way the hell off base with this but I think alot of the Gordon speculation is due to the media. The Sox were rumored to be quite high on Upton long before the media ran with the Gordon hype. Upton and Cespedes have been eerily quiet so the media needed something to run with. Avi or LaRoche will be gone imo. How can they possibly carry both ? If one of the Big 3 is signed then Avi becomes 4th OF for which he is ill-suited defensively. Or he's in the minors.