TaylorStSox

If this was any other sport, I'd say keep him. However, when you only impact every 5th game, it's probably worth trading him for multiple players that may be able to impact 145.

I love Lip threads because they always work under this insane assumption that the Sox management is somehow purposely trying to lose in order to make a penny. This s*** has been going on for over a dozen years on Sox fansites.

We talked about his swing a fair amount when we first saw him. It's so flawed. It's flat and he can't get enough lift on the ball. He's basically a naturally fat guy who's an exceptional athlete. He's fundamentally flawed in just about every aspect of the game. I'd be shocked if he ever developed.

QUOTE (ewokpelts @ Sep 28, 2015 -> 05:49 PM) I work in the west loop. And at night. Trust me, no one is by Madison and damen at night unless the uc is open. So go 6 blocks east of the UC and it's packed with great bars and the best restaurants the city has to offer. The UC is a half mile from the trendiest neighborhood in the city. BTW, I actually live close to the neighborhood. It's 2015, not 2010.

QUOTE (ewokpelts @ Sep 28, 2015 -> 05:11 PM) The united center is Ina sea of parking lots and has worse surroundings than million dollar homes in Bridgeport. And no tailgating. The west loop? The most thriving neighborhood in the city? When's the last time you went down Madison at night?

The problem isn't that the neighborhood is bad, it's that there's nothing to do. Times have changed. People want to do more than just go to a ball game. Bridgeport is just boring tbh.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Aug 24, 2015 -> 12:51 AM) Bill Maher is an awful athiest. As an athiest, I hate people who go out there and make fun of other people's religions and make it seem like they're all inferior people. Maher's one of those guys. You're not going to get religious people to change their minds. If they do, it's not because you yelled at them and told them they're stupid. Maher mocks religion because the abuses of the institutions are dangerous.

At Pedro's peak, he was the best pitcher I've ever seen. I think he threw 7 plus pitches. He was just amazing. He also has some of the biggest hands I've ever seen, which gave everything he threw movement.

I still like the Peavy trade. We got some high upside players and Garcia is worth the risk. He's toolsy as hell. He just has some huge flaws that could have been corrected.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jun 29, 2015 -> 07:01 PM) Goodbye, $175 million or maybe even $200 million. That's well beyond what we spent this offseason on LaRoche, Cabrera, Robertson, Samardzija (one year payroll addition), Bonifacio and Zach Duke combined. The biggest problem is we're not playing in OLD Comiskey. If we had a huge outfield like Minnesota does, it would make more sense to spend millions on RF defense, but we're in a park that rewards offense first and foremost. I think the Sox play in a park that rewards home runs, not offense. One of Hahn's many flaws in assembling this team is that it's full of gap hitters, including Garcia. Also, I don't think you can ever discount the value of defense.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jun 29, 2015 -> 11:04 AM) I think in the big picture it is really obvious what the organizational structure is. Rick is 100% on board with what Kenny and Jerry want done here, or he wouldn't have taken our GM job in the first place, and he wouldn't have turned down all of the other organizations who wanted to interview him. I don't get what the trend is here to try to separate Kenny and Rick, but if they weren't on the same page, at least one of them would not be here. They were all singing a different tune when they liked the moves in the offseason. Personally, I didn't like anything aside from the Laroche signing.

QUOTE (kitekrazy @ Jun 26, 2015 -> 12:37 PM) This team isn't suppose to be this bad on paper. So what is the problem? Unfortunately holes can't be filled unless the can convert all of these pitchers they keep drafting into catcher, 3B or whatever. It was bad on paper though. Most sites predicted we'd be bad. The biggest indictment of Hahn is that he built one of the worst defensive teams I can ever recall. He did this despite knowing this team's strength would be pitching. Hahn has been garbage. Fire Hahn, KW, Bell...hell, fire everybody and start over.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jun 25, 2015 -> 03:38 PM) Maybe we can bring in someone who was really good at stealing bases in the 1980s to coach his technique... What's Willie McGee up to?

I don't see Johnson's speed translating to the majors either.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jun 24, 2015 -> 03:02 PM) LaRoche is a C. He's about where he should be, but certainly no better. Personally, Abreu is a C- for me. He's contributing better than anyone else but he's absolutely incredibly disappointing on the year so far. He's still a B to me, but the lack of power over the last 600 AB's is incredibly concerning. I'd move him in a second.

Adam Kenobi? That's so insulting to Star Wars. At least they could have used one of your decent players. As a Star Wars fan, I'm actually serious.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Jun 24, 2015 -> 02:37 PM) Stop the silliness. Keep Sale, Abreu, Q, Rodon and our new No. 1 draft pick and trade EVERYBODY else ASAP. The issue is that nobody else wants those players, we don't have the minor leaguers to replace them and we haven't the means to replace them. That's why I think they should trade assets to acquire more pieces. IMO, we need a C, 2nd, SS, 3rd, LF, and probably CF and RF too.

QUOTE (LDF @ Jun 24, 2015 -> 01:59 PM) who is DR?? i am missing something, sorry. Tl;dr. Internet abbreviation for "too long;didn't read." It's like my reaction to a Caufield post.

I'm a simple guy. This is how I view the situation. Guy 1: Hey, what about that racist that killed a bunch of people in SC? Guy 2: Tragic. We should use this as opportunity to discuss race relations. Guy 1: Agreed. Maybe we should start by removing the state endorsed symbol of hate flying over the capitol. Guy 2: Seems like a good start.

That's like tl;Dr version of the entire thread.

People are really taking issue with a tragic event being the catalyst for positive change? The flag is offensive to a large number of Americans. It represents oppression, terrorism and treason. The removal of that symbol is an acknowledgment and a positive step forward in race relations.

QUOTE (ChiSox59 @ Jun 23, 2015 -> 04:11 PM) Root for the Cubs!! That's mature.

QUOTE (Señor Ding-Dong @ Jun 23, 2015 -> 03:43 PM) 1. We wouldn't need to start over if our players would just play to their career averages, but apparently that's impossible to do in a Sox uniform. Virtually everyone has regressed, from guys like Eaton and Gillaspie who were solid for us last year to our big free agent signings/trade acquisitions like Cabrera and Samardzija. Even Abreu has regressed, though that's not entirely his fault. If our guys were playing to their career averages or even reasonably close to it, I have no doubt we'd be in the thick of it even with cruddy defense. 2. We could/should be winning right now, but instead we're underachieving. If this continues, we're probably a lot more than three to four years away from winning given our dearth of position player prospects and our inability to develop those we do have. 3. I agree that Abreu's window is pretty small, but why Sale? He's 26 years-old and at worst a top three pitcher in baseball. The injury concerns have been mostly unfounded up to this point. I think he has a lot of time left as an elite player. 4. No team should ever be afraid to move anyone, but that doesn't mean they should move them just because they can. 5. So? 6. The Sox can't afford to rebuild because they're largely incapable of developing position players. I like Rick Hahn and the moves he's made. They were good moves on paper, they just haven't worked out for whatever reason. Having said that, the philosophy of this organization is flawed and outdated, and as long as Kenny Williams, Buddy Bell, and Doug Laumann are around that's unlikely to change. Unless they're MLB-ready or very close to it, I would hate to trade our cornerstones for position player prospects as I have absolutely no confidence that our organization will be able to develop them properly. I would say our best bet is is to hope our players rebound to their career norms and shop players like Samardzija, Ramirez, Danks, etc. or clean house in the front office and embrace a philosophy that's founded on baseball skills and defense rather than raw athleticism and power. Neither of those things are likely to happen, so things look pretty bleak right now. I think the Sox should purge the entire organization and start over. There is precedence. As constructed, it's clearly not working. I'd be open to trading Sale because I don't think it's ever wise to work under the assumption that a pitcher will remain dominant over the course of several years. Sure, there are plenty that do, but I wouldn't count on it Obviously, it's tough with Sale because you'll never get equal value, but we're so far away that it won't matter. Even if most of the players were playing to expectations, we'd be mediocre to bad IMO. This team doesn't have a lot of talent and it's the worst defensive team I've ever seen. I don't think much of Eaton or Ave and I don't like Johnson and Anderson as middle infield prospects.

QUOTE (ChiSox59 @ Jun 23, 2015 -> 02:41 PM) You're making less and less sense with each post. Ffs. 1. The Sox need to start over. 2. They are 3-4 years from winning. 3. Sale and Abreu have small windows. 4. The Sox shouldn't be afraid to move them. 5. They don't sell tickets. 6. Southsider has a long standing argument that the Sox can't afford to rebuild because of the fickle fanbase.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jun 23, 2015 -> 02:31 PM) Foolish is thinking that a franchise which can't do something, will all of the sudden people able to do exactly what it hasn't been able to do for decades. Trading Chris Sale would be putting the future of the franchise in the hands of this organizations player development staff. If I am a betting man, I bet on the Chris Sale and Jose Abreu of a few years down the road being better then whatever pile of players we get for them, and don't even think twice about it. I am sure as hell not trading either because they aren't showing up on enough billboards. LOL. I never said you should them. I said you shouldn't be afraid to move them