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QUOTE (Frank_Thomas35 @ Dec 18, 2013 -> 08:12 AM) Nope left handed and the dudes only 23, has plenty of time to develope. He clearly wouldn't start at MLB level but work his way through the minors. B-R says right handed as does fangraphs and baseball prospectus.

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Dec 17, 2013 -> 12:23 PM) Mine was way prettier. I always said "look at all the pretty colors" when i saw yours.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Dec 18, 2013 -> 07:50 AM) http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2013/12/phil...assignment.html He was just dropped for a reason -- he's had a couple disappointing seasons. But he's got a high pedigree and we have so little in the system that this is the most obvious fit of the offseason. When Rick Hahn acquires him soon, this will be the thread of discussion Have faith in the Hahn! Hit his peak in A ball. What a find ! And he's righthanded.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 18, 2013 -> 07:11 AM) I think that's a sign Belisario hasn't been finalized yet. I think Konerko's last contract had him getting $1 million in 2014 as part of the deferred payments, so in reality he's being paid in total $2.5 million this year and that's actually accurate. Abreu's signing bonus is being counted off the books by a lot of people and it seems no one knows yet how to divy that up. I don't know how to deal with it either...when I try to count it people tell me I'm wrong to do so. You may be right about Belisario since I can't find anything on the Sox website about the signing. He may be in Venezeula and unable to take his physical right away. He's had some history of visa issues. It's been about 2 weeks since the story about signing him. As far as the bonus goes B-R says "Signing bonuses are as of now all assumed to have been paid at the time of signing. " which I suppose means it's not considered a part of payroll since it's not a salary. Still seems rather odd if the Sox are $25M or $35M below last years payroll and got another $25M from TV money , thats still $50-60M more in savings from last year. If you look to next year Dunn's $15M and $25M TV money is another $40M . Even if you use attendance and advertising losses as excuses for keeping payroll down still looks like the Sox have $90M/100M more for 2014/2015 . I can't imagine them going after Tanaka since you have to spend $20M for nothing but the right to sign him. But Choo as a LF seems pretty doable. Sure fills that middle of the order LH bat and OBP guy Hahns been looking for all rolled into one.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 17, 2013 -> 11:19 AM) He stopped doing it because B-R started doing it for everyone. Ok I don't see Belisario's $3M on there or Abreu's $10M signing bonus so that adds $13M to their total of $80 which takes it to $93M and they said $11M in arbritration raises while I said $12M so my figure of $94M in Post #86 was pretty much dead on. One minor quibble they have Konerko at $2.5 but he's really only getting $1.5 this year and $1M in 2021.

QUOTE (hi8is @ Dec 14, 2013 -> 10:49 PM) This is exactly who Frank Thomas was to the fans who followed him closest. I'm sure many of you can attest as well with similar stories. Frank was the reason I became a Sox fan. Being a born and raised Southern Californian, there really was no other reason for a 7 year old boy to latch onto the Chicago White Sox. All it took was one ESPN highlight of him mashing a Mike Mussina meatball out to the left field concourse. And so a childhood obsession began. Whenever the Sox were in town playing the Angels, my dad took work off... Bringing me with him for a series long indulgence of modern day Cracker Jack glory. My pops was a pretty smart guy - the first thing he taught me about the spectator side of Baseball was, "get to the park early." Real early. Four hours early. We would wait for players to arrive and get their signatures with a black felt tip Sharpie pen. It was a crap shoot I'd soon learn. Some players would quickly sign for a couple of people without breaking stride or taking their sun glasses off. Others would treat fans as if they where air and walk right by. The first time I saw Frank Thomas walk up with his six foot five frame holding two hundred and something pounds of muscle - I figured it would be a tough autograph to pull off. He always was dressed as a consummate professional. A full suit with a coat. Nice slacks and a fleece sweater. Not flashy or arrogant but rather, as a man who was there to do a job. Being that he was one of the most talented players on the planet - I expected him to just blow by all the fans. They swarmed up quickly... Clearly everyone had really been waiting for him. It was a shock seeing what happened: Frank walked up to the entrance door. Removed his glasses. Turned around and smiled. He said two words, "Line up!" and then resumed back to smiling. About fifty or a hundred people would stand in a single file line. We all fell into formation. The Big Hurt stood there and signed every autograph. He shook any outstretched hand. He posed for any picture requested. He treated everyone as if they where equals. The respect we had for him as a baseball player was returned to us tenfold as fans. The first time I saw this system - I figured we just came on the right day. Got lucky. It was a priceless moment. I've no clue who won or lost the actual game but I'll never forget that moment. After the stadium emptied, my dad turned to me and asked if I wanted to wait for the players again - this time catching them as they exited. To a seven year old, "sure!" is the only possible response. And so we waited. About two hours later, Frank appeared at the player door, yet again in his professional attire. Everyone saw him and lined up. The man signed autographs for at least another hour. Amazing. And so began a family tradition. For nearly the next decade - we always saw the Sox play in Anaheim. More often than not, Frank would sign for hours before or after a game... Sometimes both. Unbelievable. Consistent. Humble. Amazing. Powerful. One of a kind. Those are words that not only define his career on the field but they also are appropriate descriptions of his character. Two years ago, right before getting married and starting a family of my own - I had a chance to save up some cash and surprise my dad with a trip to Chicago. It was our first trip to The Homeland after all of those years on enemy grounds. I wrote to Brooks Boyer and told him a little about my Dad and his selfless dedication to me during all of those Sox away games. After so many years waiting around for autographs and seeing the Angles beat our Sox - my pops was finally treated to a surprise on a new level. Brooks instructed me to meet him at the field on our last game of a 7 game set. We arrived an hour before gates opened to the public. He greeted us - shook my dads hand... And walked us into the executive offices. He walked us down under the stadium, by the players locker rooms, and up through the umpire tunnel. We arrived behind home plate. The look on my Dads face was priceless. He had no clue any of this would happen. Standing behind home plate, on the dirt of US Cellular Field... My old man cracked a smile like Frank Thomas always showed and teared up a bit. Bad. Ass. Thanks Frank Thomas for introducing me to the White Sox. Thanks for absolutely crushing baseballs. For inspiring me to play the game. For showing me how to handle success with grace. For affording me the opportunity to know gratitude and show appreciation on a Big Hurt scale. Thanks for leading me to the best organization in all of sports. An organization where everyone from the top down treats each other like a family. Thanks for being a legend of mythic proportion that can now be passed down to a son of my own once he's born this March. He'll be three weeks old when the 2014 season opens this year. He'll be wrapped in his first Sox jersey - watching his first game with Daddy. Here's to hoping that by 2021 - when I go wait around with my boy at first first ball game - that some now unknown player will treat us with so much dignity. I doubt there will ever again be a player of such a Big Hurt magnitude. But hey, here's to hoping... Right. Frank Thomas is already in the Hall of Fame to me. Period. I wish every voter could see this. I am so impressed... you didn't say poop once ! Who are you and what have you done with Hi8is ? Are you going to name your son Frank ? Congrats man !

I'm still trying to figure out how much the Sox have saved last year and this year with the trade of Peavy, Rios, Thornton and Crain, Konerko's and Floyds salaries this year ,adding in the arbritration raises (12M?) + Abreu, 4.75M total for Belisario and Paulino, 1.5 M for Konerko .Then you have the +25M per season through 2021 for TV money . I probably missed a guy or 2 figuring Avi and Leury Garcia, Eaton, Elmore and Davidson salaries balance out losing Wise, Axelrod, Angel Sanchez, Reed, and Santiago. Right now I'd say the Sox have $94M committed to 2014 so far . $84M if you don't want to count Abreu's $10M bonus. So right now they're $25M under last years $119M player salary payroll but have $25M more in their pockets of TV money. Does that necessarily mean the Sox have $50M more to spend on payroll if they wanted ? Let's subtract from that $10M for the 2014 draft and another $5M for international spending ( http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/news/artic...ws&c_id=cws ). That's still $35 million left over compared to last year. Is all that offset by attendence drop from last year ? Am I missing something ?

Try on Your Brand New Sox and one old familiar One.

So from what I gather we now see no need for De Aza, Gillaspie and Dunn. 3 things they all have in common is being LH. Dunn most likely is staying but now De Aza has more hope of staying just for his lefthandedness . A LH or SH (Nieto , but is he really a serious option) catcher should probably be next or De Aza for another LH outfielder .

I guess we need new banner now . Sale and ????? Abreu, Avi , Davidson, Eaton. Without Sale, Brand New Sox.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Dec 16, 2013 -> 11:44 AM) Kevin Towers baffles me EVERY time Diamondbacks blew 29 saves last year. Tied Houston for last. Getting Trumbo means Prado moves to 3rd and he's under control for 3 years. Davidson was expendable for a ML closer.

If the Sox could get Middlebrooks for Alexei I think it would've been done already. I think Boston would say no to that. He is exactly what the Sox are looking for. I know a lot of people aren't thrilled with him but that's what happens when you shed payroll for youth. I've thought all along that 3rd base would be one of the last positions the Sox try to fill since Gillaspie hit 14 HR's last year , is LH and shows a good approach at the plate. If say he can hit 20 HR's this year , continue drawing walks , raise his batting average , improve his OBP to around .330 and improve a little bit with the glove that would be solid.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Dec 15, 2013 -> 01:05 PM) Was hoping Bush would fall down before he scored, but oh well. Cleveland may have layed up on that play electing to get the ball back rather than let the Bears run the clock down.

QUOTE (Lillian @ Dec 15, 2013 -> 05:25 AM) Well, that stat is a little sobering. If it's not a function of the small sample size, that would certainly refute my argument. The kinds of skills to which I referred are some of the more "translatable" skills in baseball. The ability to take pitches, draw walks, bunt, and hit behind the runner are skills that players should be able to execute, as they progress up through the various levels of play. They are not the kinds of skills that are likely to disappear with tougher competition. Of course, we would have to expect his numbers to be significantly diminished, however is it so unreasonable to expect him to be able to still execute the tasks I listed, with respectable proficiency? I just checked his Major League split stats on hitting in various batting order slots. He has only had 37 career at bats, in the #2 hole. While those results were awful, the sample size is way to small. Maybe the problem was that Arizona and Houston didn't use him correctly. My argument is that if he is to have any significant success, it would likely be as a number 2 hitter. Just so you know how small the sample size was he hit .200 with the Astro's last year batting second, 5/20 OBP .273 ,and with the D'backs in 2012 he was 1/17 in his rookie year, .059 , OBP .111 . So his sample size is very small . His grand total AB's in 2 brief cups of coffee in the ML is 188 . His MLB batting average is .223 ,OBP .290 .

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Dec 12, 2013 -> 07:12 AM) And it is highly unlikely. The Sox like his talent though, and if the Nats didn't believe highly enough in him to promote him to AA, it's certainly possible that the Sox will trade someone or send some cash to retain the rights to him. If not, they send him back and they're out $25K, which is the same as about 10-14 days worth of work for a guy making the major league minimum. There is no risk to this move whatsoever. Thanks just wanted to make sure I was correct . Not upset at all just making sure I had the right info.

So lemme see if I got this right . Nieto who was 23 in A+ ball has to make the Sox 25 man roster or else they send him back to the Nats ? Sems highly unlikely since Phegs and Flowers both hit AAA pitching pretty well and Nieto hasnt even sniffed that level yet.

Sharp PP goal . Kane sweet assist.

Blackhawks PP gave up 2SH breakaways and Raanta stops both. Flyers still beating on the Hawks.

Why does anyone watch the Bulls sucking when the Blackhawks are so good and kicking ass tonight ?

Seabrook joins the scoring party 1:05 into the 3rd period. Emory finally pulled. 6-2 Hawks.

Blackhawks just put up a 5 spot on the Flyers in the 2nd period against Emery ,lead 5-2. Keith (PP), Shaw , Handzus (SH), Versteeg and Toewes with goals. Both Flyers goal are PP's. Flyers also trying some Broadstreet bullying tactics.

QUOTE (sammy esposito @ Dec 11, 2013 -> 12:57 PM) As a white sox fan part of this, it is wishful thinking but just perhaps they will transform Elmore into the player he should be when teamed with a former team mate and friend. I'm realistic but we may find if there is anything to this scenario in March when Elmore and Adams will get a chance to show their stuff. That's exactly my thinking. It's easy to say he's a scrub because he appears to be one. He'll get a chance to show what he's got in Spring Training and if he's good enough he'll stick. It's not like Leury Garcia has shown any exceptional skill besides speed . His defensive versatilty and speed however might be enough to win the job over Elmore who probably, though versatile, can't cover ground like Leury in the OF or IF.

QUOTE (pittshoganerkoff @ Dec 11, 2013 -> 06:08 AM) I had to go look up Elmore. I forgot the Sox had picked him up. His minor league numbers are pretty good. I wonder if he has a shot at being on the MLB roster in the spring. He's part of the " Lollipop guild" that Hahns been getting, Leury 5'7", Eaton 5'8" Elmore 5'9" . This would have worked much better had Guillen still been the manager since the "lollipop guild" belongs in the "Land of Oz".

QUOTE (Lillian @ Dec 11, 2013 -> 06:21 AM) You're right, and the use of that term by both Hahn and the author of the article was one of the things that made me think there might be a bigger master plan here. Wouldn't Eaton and Elmore be a refreshing change for our miserable OBP top of the order hitters? My comment was pretty much tongue in cheek but Elmore would have to make the team over Leury. Does seem like Elmore is more useful with Eaton around though and willing to sacrifice himself for the good of the team. I 'm thinking Hahn likes baseball players and our drafts in the future will go back to getting more baseball types and fewer multi sports types.

QUOTE (Lillian @ Dec 11, 2013 -> 05:56 AM) Perhaps Hahn has bigger plans for Jake Elmore than most fans think: http://www.foxsportsarizona.com/06/20/12/R...?blockID=749442 Eaton and Elmore were team mates at Reno, and were on base "machines" at the top of the order: http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/t...cgi?id=1c0d7c8a Hahn may be thinking that Elmore could play third, and bat second in the order. There just may be "a method to Hahn's madness". The author called Elmore a "dirtbag". Hahn called Eatona "dirtbag". Coincidence ? I think not. Very grindy stuff.