Dam8610

QUOTE (greg775 @ Sep 23, 2014 -> 11:25 PM) Amen. You don't trade Alexei unless you have a replacement. As it stands, if the Sox trade Alexei and put L. Garcia at ss, you are looking at probably the worst team in Sox history. The automatic out that Garcia accounts for, does not bode well when guys like Viciedo and Flowers go into prolonged slumps. I don't care what WAR says, I'm saying if you trade Alexei and replace him with L. Garcia or Semien, you got a CERTAIN last-place team on your hands. Of course some fans don't mind finishing last. It's like it's part of the rebuilding plan. I can't even imagine a .500 team on the south side the next 10 years the way it's going now. And Anderson might not be the answer from what I've been reading about his defense. How do you think one finds a replacement for a player? There are very few options for this. 1) The team rids itself of the player and acquires a similar or higher quality player externally, via trade or free agency. This seems to be the solution you advocate in practically every situation. This is also the solution that gives you a crapton of untenable payroll commitments eventually, if you go the free agent route, or leaves you with a barren farm system if you go the trade route. 2) The team rids itself of the player and finds a replacement internally. From your posts, I gather that you find this option unpalatable in practically all situations, as you seem to value minor league baseball players at roughly the same level the average person values toilet paper, virtually useless, save for the exact right situation. The problem with this line of thinking is that the only way to turn talented young baseball players into effective major league contributors is by allowing them to get the experience they need to develop into those roles. 3) The team keeps the player until the player's value is less than that of a league average or worse replacement, then replaces him either internally or externally with the best available option. You also seem to be okay with this strategy, but to me, it leaves a lot of value on the table, because this strategy precludes "selling high" on a player, which is when you will be able to maximize value. I also have to disagree with your assessment of the team's prospects of winning next year should they decide to start Semien at SS. There is a chance that he will be a terrible starter, but I think there is a higher chance that he'll cut down on his K rate, improve his BB total, keep his ISO in the .125-.150 range, and be a .700-.750 OPS SS. That's at least league average, and certainly not enough of a black hole to justify keeping Ramirez over maximizing his value.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Sep 1, 2014 -> 08:14 AM) The past few years, I have been hearing more and more people calling it the "non-waiver trade deadline". That's what it should be called.

QUOTE (GreenSox @ Aug 31, 2014 -> 04:29 PM) Bullpen and emergency starter. Depth He's a sunk cost. Do what you can with him. I agree with this. Is it asinine to think he could be part of the bullpen solution seeing how they have to pay him anyway? Also, is it possible that a young arm not named Rodon could contribute to the rotation next year? Perhaps Bassit impresses for the rest of the season and can earn a spot? I know Danish and Months are too far away to contribute in 2015.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jul 7, 2014 -> 08:52 PM) IF he turns out to be Jose Quintana, would that be an awful thing? Quintana sans the bad luck and NDs would be fine. I assume you mean statistically, of course, because the stuff is completely different.

QUOTE (bmags @ Jul 7, 2014 -> 04:05 PM) Sigh, already a projected #2 without a pitch thrown. Just my opinion, but he projects as a very good #1 if he can get rid of the kinks in his mechanics that developed last year and develop a little better control, both things that the White Sox have had a good deal of success at developing in pitchers.

To people who know more about this sort of thing than I, is Recchia a "real prospect" or a "AAAA/Filler guy"?

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jun 20, 2014 -> 09:29 AM) Randy Johnson had an 80 slider. Maddux had an 80 2-seamer. Blyleven had an 80 curveball. Those are the types of pitchers you talk about with 80s. Either way, I could care less if those are maximums or whatever. Courtney Hawkins maximums are probably 65/80/70/80/80, but you don't see people talking that stuff about him. There has to be some sense of realism. Okay, watched Maddux and Johnson again, it's been a while, and Rodon's slider has similar movement to Johnson's, and his two-seam fastball has similar movement to Maddux's, though I would say is more comparable to Colon's because it's faster than Maddux's, and Rodon is FAR from the pinpoint control with his two-seam fastball that Maddux had with his. But if Maddux represents an 80 two-seam fastball, and Johnson represents an 80 slider, then Rodon has the POTENTIAL to have both, provided he can develop proper control of the two pitches. The determining factor in all of it is going to be whether he can get the kinks out of his mechanics and improve his control. If he does, he'll be the ace everyone projects. If not, he'll probably still be decent just because of the ridiculous amount of movement he has on his pitches.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jun 19, 2014 -> 09:13 AM) Yeah, I agree. In his prime, Pedro probably had close to an 80 fastball, 80 changeup, 70 slider, and 65-70 command. Again, please don't mistake the second number on those grades for a projection. They are more like a maximum or a ceiling. I hope that perhaps it makes more sense in that context. Since you're grading pitches, though, could you name off some guys who had/have 80 sliders and some guys who had/have 80 two-seam fastballs?

QUOTE (Feeky Magee @ Jun 18, 2014 -> 08:22 PM) Future grades are supposed to have at least some level of realism. I listen to a decent amount of scouting podcasts and when they're extremely excited about a pitch, one they think could be elite, they'll hang a 70 on it. 80 is basically seen as generational. I haven't heard anyone get close to a 70 on Rodon's fastball, never mind an 80. This is fair, as I indicated, I'm not a scout. I very well could've misjudged the scale, since I was viewing 80 as a plus-plus offering, but not once in a generation per se. That said, the best way I can think of to describe the movement on his slider and two-seamer is that he has the left handed version of Jeff Nelson's slider and Bartolo Colon's fastball. The only thing making the slider better at the moment to me is the degree of control he can exercise over it. If he can learn to place both of those pitches on both corners of the plate, he'll be one of the toughest pitchers in baseball to hit.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jun 18, 2014 -> 09:48 AM) I really enjoyed the write up, but I will quibble with one detail. The White Sox will not call up Rodon in May. Either he will break camp with the team, or he will be up in the middle of June. With Super2 status looming, anything else in between doesn't make any sense. Excellent point that I wasn't aware of due to not knowing those rules as well. Thanks for the input. QUOTE (Feeky Magee @ Jun 18, 2014 -> 04:28 PM) Future grades of 80, 80, 70 and 65 for his pitches with 65 command? That's the best pitcher of all-time. Note that those are potential grades, not projected. He's not going to get to all of those. Also, I'm fairly certain several of the best pitchers of all time had two pitches that would grade out at 80 with command that graded out at 65 or higher.

QUOTE (Chilihead90 @ Jun 18, 2014 -> 01:00 AM) Also, do you really see him signing and going straight to AA or AAA? That seems aggressive. Not that the idea of him making the Sox bullpen at some point ISN'T aggressive. But I guess I figured they'd start him in High-A Winston Salem for a few weeks, then maybe go to AA Birmingham if he dominates W-S. My apologies, I didn't clarify. I think Birmingham is the absolute highest they'd start him, more likely Winston-Salem as you said, but I believe he'll spend most of the rest of this year at either Birmingham or Charlotte. Even with the command issues, he's that good in my opinion. That is, of course, if he signs.

I didn't want to call it a "scouting report" because I don't think I have that good of an eye, but since the White Sox picked Carlos Rodon, I've found as much film on him as I could find and watched it, and these are the impressions I came away with. Pitches Rodon appears to have four pitches, three of which grade out to me as potential plus offerings. Rodon's Slider, Two-Seam Fastball, and Four-Seam Fastball all grade out plus, with a Change that could develop into a decent-good pitch. Below I grade these pitches as current and potential. Slider 70/80: This pitch is currently Rodon's bread and butter. When it's on, the movement is incredible, and when it's off, it's still a damn good pitch that he's able to exercise excellent control over, hitting either corner of the plate for strikes with it seemingly at will. His command of his Slider is what makes it his best pitch currently, and it is definitely a plus-plus, swing-and-miss type of offering that will only get better over time. Two-Seam Fastball 60/80: After hearing all the hype about Rodon's Slider, watching him pitch and seeing this offering was like opening a present on Christmas morning as a kid. The movement on this pitch is disgusting, it looks like a faster version of his Slider. This, in my opinion, has the potential to be his best offering, and a devastating out pitch for years to come. If Rodon develops into a frontline starter, it will be the combination of this pitch and the Slider that will put him there. He's going to need to develop better control over it, which is the only reason I don't grade it ahead of the Slider now. Once he has that control, though, I believe this will be his best pitch and his out pitch. It is also potentially a plus-plus, swing-and-miss offering. Four-Seam Fastball 55/70: This may be illusory and telling of how little I know, especially since I've only ever seen Rodon listed as a three pitch pitcher, but I'm fairly certain in the video I've watched (none of which had radar guns on them), I've seen a Four-Seam Fastball that he rarely throws. That said, when I've seen him throw it, he has great command of it, and it pops the catcher's mitt. This pitch has the potential to be plus just because of how hard he throws, but he'll need to work it in a lot more if it's going to get there. Changeup 40/65: Rodon's Changeup is very much a work in progress. It has the downward movement you like to see, and it flashes potential of a swing-and-miss offering at times, but he doesn't have even close to the command he would need for it to be a plus offering. I think this pitch will max out at good, but with the other offerings that's all he'll need, provided he develops those other offerings. Command 45/65: After his Sophomore year, Rodon would have graded out 55-60 in this category, but in his Junior year, he seemed to develop a couple of hitches in his mechanics that need cleaning up. Pitching coaches will need to work with him to get him to complete his delivery and not "overthrow". When his mechanics are off, he puts too much effort into his delivery, and as a result, moves his head during his delivery and loses control of his pitches. Fixing this minor mechanical issue should give him at least good and MAYBE someday plus command of his pitches, but I have doubts on that last part. Projectability Rodon is a workhorse who looks to be ready to handle a major league workload, and his body and mechanics do not suggest a breakdown. Mechanics are very sound apart from the aforementioned issues in his delivery, and he tends to repeat his delivery very well, especially when he's on. Does not present inverted W in delivery at all (this was something I looked very closely for). Provided he is able to develop better command, Rodon projects as a #1 starter who will pitch 200+ innings each year with a high strikeout rate. Major League ETA Provided he signs with the White Sox, I see Rodon spending the remainder of the year somewhere high in the minor league system, either Birmingham or Charlotte, mostly to fix his mechanical issues in his delivery. I believe he will make his ML debut as a starting pitcher in early 2015, either April or May. If Rodon develops as he could, Sale and Rodon could give the White Sox the type of one-two punch at the front of the rotation that the Diamondbacks had when they won the World Series, essentially by having arguably the two best starting pitchers in baseball. We can only hope. Please add your thoughts to this, I'm looking for knowledgeable opinions and thoughts on this subject, which is why I decided to post this here.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Aug 15, 2009 -> 08:17 PM) I think people think certain players are clutch because they have succeeded in a larger number of situations in high leverage situations than other players simply because they had more opportunities to do so...so even though a player's percentage of success in those situations may be similar to their career numbers, the sheer number of opportunities they have experienced, and the corresponding number of times they have succeeded, presents the illusion that they have been "clutch," even though it is more likely that they simply have had more opportunities. Case in point is Mr. Jeter. Maybe this is me, but did you just contradict yourself here? First you said certain players are clutch, then you said that due to more opportunities over a career, some players can appear to be clutch.

QUOTE (jasonxctf @ Aug 15, 2009 -> 07:52 PM) that weights a players performance in an AB/IP based upon the importance of the event? Javy Vazquez pitches well in games that don't matter Jim Thome hits home runs in bunches, when a game is out of reach Scott Podsednik/Joe Crede hits well in clutch situations Alexei Ramirez hits well in extra innings. "A clutch-o-meter?" For hitters, there is something called LIPS. It stands for Late Inning Pressure Situations, and it's basically the splits of the player from the 7th, 8th, or 9th inning in any game in which the margin between the leading team and trailing team is 3 or fewer runs. What studies of LIPS over the years have found is that the term "clutch" is a myth, as no player's LIPS stats have a large margin of difference from their career stats overall.

Any chance of a Dan Hudson write up? I'm sure you've seen him pitch a few times with his 9 starts in AA.

QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ Jul 28, 2009 -> 02:14 PM) I'll always remember him for 3 things: His celebration of Pods' walk-off in Game 2 of the WS. His dominance of Felix Hernandez in Seattle. His catch in 163. Don't forget sending a Cub to the hospital in that brawl.

I thought you were going to suggest Dunn, which I wouldn't mind, but any team's chances at getting Ryan Zimmerman from the Nats are slim and none and slim is leaving the building.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jul 22, 2009 -> 12:31 PM) Okay, I've split out the thread. I called it fantasy because this is much more like a Fantasy Sports Trade than a real trade and I want real trade discussion in our thread. Once you see this Dam, let me know, and I'll move it over to the Fantasy Forums where people can continue to discuss it there Okay, I was just trying to create less clutter by going to an existing thread for my purpose.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Jul 22, 2009 -> 12:16 PM) In case you haven't figured it out, this is a thread about actual baseball trade discussion not personal X-Box leagues. It's not an XBox league, but if you don't like it, ignore it. I happen to respect the opinions of quite a few people here, and I wanted an outside opinion on it.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Jul 22, 2009 -> 12:13 PM) I didn't know Ricciardi was a Soxtalk member. What's that mean? In case you haven't figured it out, this is in a game where each person controls a team and can trade players as they see fit.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jul 22, 2009 -> 12:05 PM) If money isn't a factor than the Sox are basically getting all stars for each prospect dealt. Boston gets totally screwed giving up Lars and Lowell for PK. If money was a factor than Toronto would be doing incredibly well as they'd get Halladay and Rios contract off there books and get a lot of talent and I mean a lot. Chicago would be doing the worse because they'd be taking on a lot of contracts. So basically this deal is great and I should jump at it if I get the chance? I have the lead offer for Halladay before the addition of Anderson, they're looking for power hitting corner IFs, and they want to dump Rolen. Boston came to me with the offer of Anderson and Lowell for Konerko and Kuhn.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jul 22, 2009 -> 11:43 AM) Boston just traded for LaRoche and Lowell might be out for the season. The Sox are also taking on an insane amount of payroll so I'd hope they'd be getting 40M in cash or so. See, I knew Lowell was on the DL, but I also did a little bit of research before posting this and found an article dated just a week ago that said he could return to Boston's lineup soon. Should I take that to be false then? EDIT: Also, in this scenario, Boston does not have LaRoche, and financial constraints are not a concern, so the insane amount of payroll doesn't really matter.

Okay, don't flame me for this, this is not a rumor, this is not something I think will happen (so please spare me the "get off the XBox" comments), this is something I'm looking for advice on. If offered this deal, would you take it (assuming financial constraints were not a concern)? Toronto gets: LHSP Aaron Poreda LHSP Clayton Richard 3B Dayan Viciedo RHSP Dexter Carter 1B Lars Anderson (from Boston) Chicago gets: SP Roy Halladay 3B Mike Lowell (would move to 1B) RF Alex Rios 3B Scott Rolen Boston gets: 1B Paul Konerko OF Tyler Kuhn

Since the idea has already been floated, how much might it cost in terms of prospects to get Rios and Halladay from the Blue Jays? Can someone give me a sample package?

QUOTE (DaveBrown85 @ Jul 4, 2009 -> 10:19 AM) I am a big white sox fan and everytime i hear that Journey song it pisses me of...I almost hate it as much as the stupid go cubs go song Why would you hate that song? That's almost like hating a player on the 05 team.