BlackBetsy

Jose Lopez is hitting third for the Mariners. Wow, that's sad.

QUOTE (flavum @ Aug 10, 2009 -> 08:32 PM) This Thompson kid--I could see him having a Ryan Sweeney-type ascent through the organization. Cup of coffee then shipped off to Oakland with the rest of the prospects?

Well, I was against it, but now I'm going to root for this guy. He is way overpaid for sub-800 OPS production, but I hope to God that he earns his money over the life of the contract. Some positive thinking for you: 1993 - Sox pull Ellis Burks (OF) off of the scrap heap - he puts up a 114 OPS+ and helps the Sox to the playoffs 1994 - Sox pull Julio Franco (DH) off of the scrap heap - he puts up a 136 OPS+ and helps the Sox to the division lead in the strike season 1994 - Sox pull Darrin Jackson (OF) off of the scrap heap - he puts up a 111 OPS+ and has one of the best seasons of his career 1995 - Sox pull Mike Devereaux (OF) off the the scrap heap - he puts up a 115 OPS+ and gets flipped mid-season. 1995 - Sox pull Dave Martinez (OF) off of the scrap heap - he puts up OPS+ of 113, 122 (career high) and 104 on the cheap for 3 years 1996 - Sox pull Danny Tartabull (OF) off of the scrap heap - he puts up OPS+ of 111 and knocks in 101 runs. 1996 - Sox pull Harold Baines (DH) off of the scrap heap - he puts up OPS+ of 132 1999 - Sox pull Chris Singleton (OF) off of the scrap heap - he puts up OPS+ of 105 and locks down a shaky CF position for playoff team in 2000 2005 - Sox pull Jermaine Dye (OF) off of the scrap heap - the rest is history 2008 - Sox pull Carlos Quentin (OF) off of the scrap heap - TCQ. So the Sox have had a great history of picking up discarded OF over the last 15-20 years. I hope it continues and isn't a Cory Snyder situation.

This Masterson guy has amazing breaking stuff. Hate the fact that the Sox will face him for the next 4-5 years.

I just wanted my 1000th post to be in praise of Gordon Beckham. Oh, Gordon Beckham, I offer this 1000th post in praise to you. Your doubles that hopefully will turn into homers. Your wild throws trying to make great plays that in time you will learn to stick in your back pocket. Your tendency to come through in the clutch. The fact that you chose a number that will be cool enough looking on the outfield wall when the Sox retire it. Gordon bless Soxtalk. And Gordon Bless the United States of America.

QUOTE (WCSox @ Aug 8, 2009 -> 10:22 AM) Can they get around with with designating him as a PTBNL? No. A PTBNL cannot be on the 40-man roster.

QUOTE (tonyho7476 @ Aug 8, 2009 -> 09:20 AM) I have loved Rios from the first time I saw him play against us. Yes, man crush. However, something tells us this will just not happen. I hope though. I'm not sure why. Rios is .252 / .295 / .432 against the White Sox. 5 home runs in 36 games. Rios career splits I fervently hope this does not happen. Rios against AL Central teams, FYI: Detroit: .279 / .321 / .465 - .787 OPS Minnesota: .316 / .326 / .496 - .822 OPS Kansas City: .325 / .400 / .447 - .847 OPS Cleveland: .230 / .296 / .401 - .697 OPS OPS vs. playoff teams: NYY - .789 BOS - .954 (by far his best) LAA - .658

QUOTE (Kenny Hates Prospects @ Aug 7, 2009 -> 11:14 PM) Players like him? First off, there aren't just a lot of "players like him" around with comparable packages of talent. Secondly, you're saying he had his peak at 26? Yeah, going to have to dispute that one and say there's ample time for improvement. Some players don't hit their prime until later. And lastly, if the Sox put in this claim they've looked at him and have seen things they think they can fix. He has power potential and would be moving from a dome to grass within a hitters park plus is a natural CF so it's not like we're talking about some corner OF here. He only plays RF because the Jays have Wells who USED to be awesome in CF, and apparently the Jays are keeping Wells there to justify his contract. If he had such 5-tool talent, he'd show it by age 28. His best season came at age 26 when he put up a solid but not great .858 OPS / 122 OPS+ for a corner outfielder. He's healthy now and there's no reason to believe that he's going to be much better than he is now and that he tops out about where his age 26 season was. That's a solid LF er, but not a 12 million dollar per year guy when you have other players on your team (Q, Beckham, Alexi, Jenks) that you are going to have to start to pay arbitration dollars to or try to lock up long term over the next 6 years. Here are the outfielders 28 or younger who are performing better than Rios right now from an OPS standpoint: Braun, Upton, Kemp, Ethier, Choo, Swisher, Adam Jones, Victorino, Crawford, Granderson, Pence, Markakis, Melky Cabrera, Cody Ross, McLouth, Franklin Gutierrez, Ben Francisco, Grady Sizemore, Corey Hart, Dexter Fowler (who?), Michael Bourn, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Denard Span. $12 million a year for the 24th best outfielder in the league 28 and under? And there's only 33 OF that are qualifiers and fit the age 28 and under category. Change the criteria to ages 25 to 31 - a player's prime - and Rios is 33 out of 38 among OF qualifiers. Change the criteria to age 28 through 34 (the length of his contract), and he's 24th out of 25. The only guy lower on the list is Vernon Wells.

QUOTE (Kenny Hates Prospects @ Aug 7, 2009 -> 10:50 PM) At this point in time I agree, but he has the potential to become an $18-20M type of player as a CF. He's not doing it now obviously so he's considered overpaid, but this kid has tons of talent and we'd be getting him through his prime. No, he's 28 right now, not a kid. We'd be paying him $12.5 million a year when he's 34 years old. Players like him do not peak through 34. Likely, he's already had his peak with an .860 OPS. It would be different if he was 25 years old and struggling through his fourth year in the league. He's not. He should be in his prime and the last two years he's been a sub-800 OPS player.

Thanks to Phil Rogers, who predicted that we will win the division. Criminy.

QUOTE (fathom @ Aug 7, 2009 -> 10:30 PM) So Rios has about 6 years and 62 million remaining on his contract? If KW wants him, you don't even think of trading prospects for him. Unless Toronto is going to take $30 million of the $62 million in salary. Then you probably can give up an Infante + Shelby + Retherford, something like that. Maybe even you give up Torres. If Rios costs only $32-$40 million over the next 6 years, it's an OK pick up. But the $62 million sucks up a lot of money that you could be using to, say, lock up Beckham long term.

If Ricciardi tries to hold out for a prospect in return, he's an even worse GM than the person who claimed him on waivers.

QUOTE (R.J. @ Aug 7, 2009 -> 09:37 PM) Worst case scenario is you get stuck with a big contract, That's a pretty bad worst case scenario, given the way the Sox run their finances. The Yankees can absorb a contract like that. The Sox can't easily, especially now that they've picked up Peavy's deal.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Aug 7, 2009 -> 09:05 PM) Why do you suggest he should be playing a corner spot? Because he plays a corner spot now. Vernon Wells is actually not that good in CF, but yet he plays CF over Rios. He'd be better than Pods, and that's about it.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Aug 7, 2009 -> 08:48 PM) Looking at how the contract is structured, I actually think there is a pretty good chance that the Sox claimed him. They have a lot of money coming off the books in the next few years and Rios fits a need. Low OBP centerfielder who really should be playing a corner spot? We have that one covered pretty well for a lot cheaper, thank you very much.

This is an unmitigated success for the Blue Jays and probably a disaster for the team that picks them up. I mean, the Blue Jays just probably cleared enough money off their books to keep Halladay.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Aug 7, 2009 -> 07:13 AM) I understand the blister issue, but he was bad before and has been bad since. Is it time for a quick DL trip? I think he gets a little too frustrated with things like the bunt in the 1st inning and the non-strike calls. He's a fierce competitor, but he can't get upset about his teammates and umpires - he needs to keep his competitiveness focused on the opposition. That said, his defense really let him down yesterday.

QUOTE (mr_genius @ Aug 5, 2009 -> 09:58 PM) trade him. failed 2/3 times. Only because he's setting the Angels up for the playoffs. They only think they got him out on certain pitches. He will turn and burn those pitches in the playoffs. He's laying a trap for them. That's how good he is. He'll be so good in the playoffs, they'll give him the Conn Smythe Trophy.

QUOTE (Paint it Black @ Aug 5, 2009 -> 09:51 PM) Really? Mike Shannon is like Hawk x10000000000 with the umpires. He's also Cardinals Ron Santo. No thanks. He's not as much of a homer as Hawk, but he is pretty obnoxious. Rooney is best in class, however. Farmer really dragged him down - I think Rooney would be good doing games all on his own. On a related note, DJ makes Farmer a lot better. Challenges him much more than Singleton and the broadcast is much more lively. I like DJ away from Hawk.

Did you see the way Beckham set that home run up with the double? I mean, he could have hit the home run himself, but he is a good teammate and wanted Thome to feel better about himself. That's how good Beckham is.

HI GUYS ITS JI JIM THOME.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Aug 4, 2009 -> 09:20 PM) A 94 mph fastball combined with Petco? He could give some really good numbers for a few years. I tend to agree with this. Lefties take a while to figure things out and that was the real issue with Richard - mentally he wasn't there yet. I think a few years in Petco where mistakes aren't necessarily home runs will turn him into an above average starter. I wouldn't be surprised if Clayton is someone who is considered a #2 type starter in 3 years. Nor would I be surprised if he's bouncing around as a LOOGY.

Setting all the cartoonish Beckham love aside, you HAVE to say that Beckham smokes the ball like no Sox rookie since Frank Thomas. I mean, the kid is truly amazing. He's just hitting hard line drives, many of which are just too low to get out of the park. I'm starting to believe that those doubles are going to turn into homers. I'm starting to believe that Beckham's upside is Paul Molitor + 10 homers / season. Which is scary good at 3B, 2B or SS.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Aug 4, 2009 -> 07:06 PM) So is Young a guy who is salvageable? Mike Cameron is a guy who had a pretty rotten year at age 25 as Young seems to be doing. Cameron was .210 / .285 / .336 in 1998. He turned it around pretty nicely, but never really is going to hit .300 and always will strike out. I'm a little surprised by how Young has struggled. Young's year in Birmingham was ridiculously impressive. Not only did he set extra base hit records, but he got progressively better every month - fewer strikeouts and more walks. I thought he was going to be the kind of guy who makes adjustments and has eye-popping peak numbers....like .290 / .400 / .520 with plus plus defense in Centerfield. His problems may be mental - maybe he stopped working hard enough when he made it to the big league level, or maybe he got super conservative and he just keeps going back to the same routines because he had early success, even if they were bad habits. Young needs a change of scenery - I think he should go to a pitcher's park so he's not trying to jam the ball out of the park every AB.

Ugh. 3 runs against Sabathia is a tall order.