CaliSoxFanViaSWside

QUOTE (bruni @ Dec 1, 2015 -> 05:48 AM) The real shame is that our asleep at the wheel front office failed to anticipate the release of Valencia from the Blue Jays last summer. He would have been a serviceable stop gap for 2 years until Michalczewski was ready (assuming he realizes his potential - eye roll, I know). Instead we will likely overpay for Lawrie or spend our limited budget on Freese. Either way, this team continues to tread water and get lapped by others in its own division, while wasting it's few upper tier talents. You might also conclude that the Jays would have realized he had value and tried to trade him instead to desperately seeking third baseman teams like the Sox instead of just giving him away. Not sure when they DFA'd him, August 1st ? Anyway probably right after the trade deadline so maybe Toronto pretty much had to DFA him since the trade deadline had passed. The jays were pretty buy getting players and maybe they just didn't have time to trade him after acquiring Tulo, Price, Revere .Revere was the last one picked up on 7/31 .

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Nov 30, 2015 -> 04:05 PM) I think Brett Lawrie should be considered a target if he can be had at a price that reflects his risk. If he didn't have warts, he wouldn't be available in the first place. For those that feel the Sox are in a payroll bind while also pot-committed, the only way to make up the talent gap cheaply is to gamble on some upside. Which is what I've been saying all along. That includes upside in their own players regardless that many fans have all of them pegged as utility players.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Nov 29, 2015 -> 09:33 PM) Signing Zimmerman to a 5 year deal, instead of the expected 7 years is pretty big. The Tigers should probably stop throwing large contracts around, but it's not really a bad deal on paper. But it will be. More ammo for the NL vs. AL war. I don't expect his ERA to be under 4.00 . That TJ surgery arm only has a certain amount of time in it.

QUOTE (soxfan49 @ Nov 29, 2015 -> 11:45 AM) Agree. My only concern now is getting more from guys like Shaw, Garbutt, Teuvo, Kruger, Kero, etc. Hossa has been playing well, the Anisimov line is on fire and Toews is Toews. Right now it looks like the scoring depth isn't there. In lieu of those guys stepping up the other key is the scoring from Keith, Seabrook and Hjalmarrson on the trip. I'm guessing Keith especially knows this and I've seen him deep in the offensive zone on more occasions recently than I have in a while.

Good job Kim wherever you are. Much appreciated everyone who contributes to Future Sox .

What a wild game at the end. Forgot it was a day game didn't DVR since I had to work. Come home to see how it ended in the highlights. Circus trip has turned pretty good the last few games.

Sayonara DV

QUOTE (Vance Law @ Nov 27, 2015 -> 05:06 PM) This dude looks better than Hwang to me. Free agent, no posting fee. http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2...buhiro-matsuda/ We talked about him in some other thread and I was even looking for it because I couldn't remember his name but I couldn't find it to bring his name back up for this Hwang thread. Thanks for bringing him back to the forefront. Hope he's talking to more than just the Padres.

QUOTE (ChiSoxFanMike @ Nov 27, 2015 -> 09:56 AM) I'm probably in the minority, but I'd give up Anderson + Adams/Danish/etc for Longo. Then I'd sign Ian Desmond to play short. Where are the Sox going to get all this money to afford Longoria and Desmond ? The Sox are not spending big bucks this winter. Wouldn't that be somewhere around $20-25M per year for those 2 plus giving up prospects . I know the Sox need another power bat but it's likely it's not going to be some big ticket free agent or a trade for some declining veteran with a big contract. Hahn must be working like crazy to try to fleece someone because their options are severely limited for those of you seeking some kind of miracle. We might get a few minor upgrades and a few defensive upgrades but much more than that and I'd be shocked. The Sox will just be dealing in spare parts like Avila and hoping someone surprises them on the plus side for once instead of the acquisitions falling apart that has happened so much over the past few seasons. Why pay big money for guys to suck when a guy like Avila or Lawrie will be much more affordable to suck or possibly improve over their recent seasons ?

QUOTE (BlackSox13 @ Nov 26, 2015 -> 03:38 PM) Here's a list of the top 20 at 3B. http://espn.go.com/mlb/stats/batting/_/position/3b/sort/OPS How many of these 3B are really available for trade and how many of them are worthy of Q? I'm liking the idea of Lawrie more and more. Also should be pointed out it looks like ESPN used the Baseball reference WAR which had Lawrie at a 1.9 WAR but there is a BIG discrepancy between the Fangraphs WAR (0.6) and Baseball Reference. Since I'm still getting used to looking at these kind of stats I know I must be missing something because even comparing his previous years WAR on both sights there are far different numbers. Anyone want to help me out here ?

QUOTE (OmarComing25 @ Nov 26, 2015 -> 09:28 AM) Ok I'll bite, where has Robin failed with platooning in the past? Who should he have used differently? I'll just throw in that as pointed out in SSS someone like Soto got only 4 pinch hitting appearances which seems odd since he was the only RH power off the bench. Plus Robin didn't play him much while he was doing well. The second half Soto was bad but the 1st half he could've been used more. Also LaRoche played a lot in the 1st half even though he never really got untracked all season. Now with a club as offensively challenged as the Sox you'd think Robin would play a hot hand more even though there weren't very many hot hands to be found. I know they got him for a reason and they made every possible effort to play him to get him to hit to try to get some positive return on their investment but at some point it had to stop and in my mind it wasn't early enough.

It's Miller time !

I'd love to see a shuttle pass down at the goal line.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Nov 26, 2015 -> 06:08 PM) O line is a mess. 3 guys blocking nobody Thought I'd tune in since the Bears have been playing close games even though I dread watching Bear/Packer games because they are so one sided in recent years. Unfortunately so far seems to be the same old story . Rodgers getting all day to throw and Cutler running for his life and a bunch of Bear penalties and GB not committing any . It's just disgusting watching now.

QUOTE (BlackSox13 @ Nov 26, 2015 -> 03:38 PM) Here's a list of the top 20 at 3B. http://espn.go.com/mlb/stats/batting/_/position/3b/sort/OPS How many of these 3B are really available for trade and how many of them are worthy of Q? I'm liking the idea of Lawrie more and more. People seem to be in a big hurry to deal Q but I'm sure the Sox want to avoid that if they can. They also need to realize that there just aren't enough good 3rd basemen to go around without a big contract attached . If Lawrie can rebound to a 1.5 WAR which is entirely possible as projected by Steamer , getting him ends up being a decent move if the Sox can avoid giving up more talent than he's worth . For those who think Lawrie sucks there will probably be at least 3 or 4 teams who want him which just proves the lack of quality depth at the position league wide.

QUOTE (GreenSox @ Nov 26, 2015 -> 04:58 PM) Because he's not very good and will cost a legitimate prospect like Micah. And Oakland will do with Micah what Don Ventura will not do: play him and watch him hit. And I'm sick of deals with Oakland. They never turn out well. Yea but the whole problem with Micah and many Sox is that we can't really count on him defensively. The pitchers need to know that every effort is going to be made to get better defense behind them while they incrementally build the offense. Maximize the pitching by preventing runs while also trying to build up an offense that isn't defensively challenged.

QUOTE (WhiteSoxLifer @ Nov 26, 2015 -> 12:54 PM) Ya of course lawrie would be the guy they target cause he fits right on with their low average, chance for high power, high strikeouts and low obp. Im getting pretty tired of sox going after these type of players. If lawries power goes down with the Sox then you have another dunn/Laroche. Sox can't afford to continue to have these type of players and we know the sox can't correct the offense issue in these players The Sox are in no position to be targeting a better player at 3rd base. It's close to catcher as far as good ones go. Sox need a guy there who can play everyday and still has upside and is fairly cheap. That's just what you're going to get. Sorry.

QUOTE (ChiSoxFanMike @ Nov 26, 2015 -> 10:52 AM) Why? None of them are that great. Bit of an overpay only because of minor league depth. To me Micah Johnson and maybe some A ball prospect.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Nov 26, 2015 -> 11:02 AM) Yea, but Valencia has almost exclusively hit against lefties since his rookie year because he has been so bad against righties. He is only a platoon, you are still looking for a 3b And that is not me endorsing Lawrie, that guy is never healthy He was pretty healthy last year for the 1st time in a while and the Sox have a track record of keeping players healthier than average. I think he is just the type of guy the Sox are targeting more so than Valencia who is 5 years older. His K rate was way up , maybe swinging for the fences too much ,and his OBP sucks but I like he's an AL player. Good candidate for a bounce back ( way more so than LaRoche since I see his name being bandied about for a rebound). Maybe if he sticks at 3rd and plays less 2nd base his defense might also rebound. This is precisely who the Sox should be targeting for 2016. Micah Johnson for Lawrie straight up.

QUOTE (AustinIllini @ Nov 26, 2015 -> 11:06 AM) Agreed. It's picks like that which breed winners. The fact is, drafts are going to be huge for a quick Blackhawks rebound. So far, so good. Now it's Defense that's going to be huge going forward. I'm sure you know Panarin went undrafted but the Hawks signed him as a KHL free agent. He was already being called "the Russian Patrick Kane " before they signed him and those reports appear to be spot on. The way you wrote makes it seem like the Hawks drafted him.

Haven't read the article yet but just saw a segment on the MLB Network about the changes Johnson made to his delivery and showed video example of it and its night and day. To put it in a nutshell to me his delivery now looked more compact, everything closer to his body and head . He went outside the organization to make these changes so despite the Sox reputation for developing pitchers he went elsewhere and very glad he did. To me it's no big deal. You get the help where you can find it. They brought up how when Roy Halladay was young he was getting hit around and threw over the top . Mel Queen then changed his arm slot to more 3/4 and it made all the difference. Looking forward to Johnson becoming the pitcher he could be if he's not traded. Now having read the article its was also Verducci on the MLB Network talking about EJ.

QUOTE (soxfan49 @ Nov 25, 2015 -> 08:53 PM) Kane and Keith, also. A lot of Hawks had good games. Not to rain on anyone's parade since the Sharks had a 6 game winning streak coming in so you might think the Hawks pounded on a hot team. However the first home game after a road trip is often called a "trap" game because once you get home the player tend to take care of business at home like any time anyone gets back from a trip be it the dog or unpacking or catching up with the family. The Sharks just looked terrible in the 1st period and outside of a strong start to the 2nd period weren't making great decisions on the ice.

QUOTE (Tony82087 @ Nov 25, 2015 -> 07:53 PM) http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=788864 Panarin the early leader for ROY. With guys like Eichel and McDavid getting all the press before the season, getting Panarin was quite the coup for the Hawks.

QUOTE (SouthSideSale @ Nov 21, 2015 -> 12:26 PM) Adam Engel - OF - White Sox White Sox outfielder Adam Engel was named Most Valuable Player of the Arizona Fall League. The 23-year-old, ranked as the 17th best prospect in the White Sox organization, hit a blistering .403 (27-for-67) with 12 extra-base hits and 10 stolen bases. He's expected to open the 2016 season at Double-A. Source: Phil Rogers on TwitterNov 21 - 2:59 PM Just saw Phil Rogers on MLB Tonight on the Basball Network talking about Engel among a segment on Standout AFL Performers. Dustin Ackley, Nolan Arenado, Kris Bryant have also won the MVP Award in the past.

QUOTE (WhiteSoxLifer @ Nov 26, 2015 -> 03:54 AM) http://m.sfgate.com/news/article/Jed-Lowri...-to-6657610.php Ran across this article. Basically with the A's getting Jed Lowrie they will either move Brett Lawrie or Danny Valencia. Both of them are drawing interest from AL teams. Sox could use either of them tho with Brett lawries offense falling in line with sox hitters I would rather get Valencia who produced better numbers. Valencia had a career year yet Toronto DFA'd him he was claimed by Oakland. What a windfall for them but he is entering his age 31 season already. Real nice power numbers and OPS last year between the 2 teams. Plays OF too. Lawrie still only going to be entering his year 26 season and many on here have wanted him for years. Decent pop , poor on base skills . OPS pretty steady the last 4 years between .706 and .729 I think getting either one would be great. Lawrie is supposedly more available. I can see the Sox being all over trying to get Lawrie. Still young and controllable and produces a positive WAR but only a 92 OPS+ . Also plays 2nd base.