chitownsportsfan

QUOTE (BigHurt3515 @ Mar 10, 2016 -> 05:18 PM) Mine can't even run a stream for more then 5 seconds with it jumping around and stopping and changing quality levels. I swear MLBTV gets worse every year when it should be getting better Many times the issue has nothing to do with your computer or local LAN or WLAN but the backbone of the Internet itself buckling under the deluge of streaming. IIRC MLB.tv has been working on a bunch of back end stuff but networks are under more strain than ever and even with their compression tech it's a ton of bandwidth to push.

Sanchez quietly turned in a pretty good 2nd half last year. He's a guy to watch IMO. Won't ever be a star but could still turn into a solid regular at 2B. His glove is an asset and he doesn't have to hit more than 280/320/380 to be a solid everyday player.

QUOTE (3GamesToLove @ Mar 8, 2016 -> 02:40 PM) On the streets of London. nice sig. DFW's essays on sports are his best work IMO, where he did his clearest writing. As for Latos, anything he gives the Sox is a bonus.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Mar 7, 2016 -> 08:50 PM) Remember 2006? Power was fun. That was a fun team until September when they stopped hitting but yea a lot of 10-6 victories that year. Looking at that B-Ref page for that team looks like they lost 8 of 9 in early September and that killed them. I remembered something like that happening so at least I'm not quite senile but it's hard to believe that was 9 f***ing years ago. Hell, I was still in college. Crazy.

I'd rather give the PA to Avi but I guess La Roche has "value" as the primary backup to Abreu at 1B. I do wonder why they haven't been training Avi at 1B however.

Great signing. No multi year commitment and only 5 million is perfect for Jackson. Was worried about doing something like 2 years 15 million but obviously that didn't come to pass. Interesting the Sox apparently weren't the highest bidder but won out on other factors. Hahn did work this offseason. I really don't think any move he made has much downside and the club is now ready to really move into that middle tier where if a few things break right you could see 88 wins. They should really just cut LaRoche but I guess they are hoping for a dead cat bounce and maybe they can unload him on some sucker at the deadline.

QUOTE (BlackSox13 @ Mar 4, 2016 -> 05:16 PM) It's a Bruce Levine article. Nothing to see here folks, move along. I don't follow the Chicagoland media that closely is Levine the Sox mouthpiece the same way KC Johnson is for the Bulls? Whenever the Bulls want to make something public they always leak it to KC.

Seems like a pretty obvious "calm the masses" type leak from the FO. Nobody really makes trades this time of year especially not involving major players like Braun or Cargo. I'm guessing it's because by now payrolls are pretty much finalized. How are the Sox gonna afford CarGo or Braun given they apparently can't even afford Austin Jackson?

I like that he's more open in my very amateur opinion it should help him increase his pull power. That said, unless he improves his pitch selection he's going to keep hitting a lot weak ground balls to 2B. He's not Vlad, nobody is, gotta swing at stuff in the zone.

Also, I've come around on Austin Jackson given that other targets have moved on and that Jackson's price certainly won't be more than 1 year 7 million at this point. His defense in CF won't be elite, it probably won't even be good, but it will probably be about the same as Eaton's and obviously you eliminate the worst of the bunch in Avi by moving Eaton to LF. In theory LF would be less taxing on Eaton's body than CF as well and that would another benefit.

Given how bad the projections were the past two seasons -- well under 80 wins on all the major sites -- and now there's some that actually have the Sox winning the division and most have the floor at 80 wins -- I'd think there'd be some optimism around the club. Every season is its own entity. The Sox certainly don't deserve the benefit of the doubt but if you can't get excited for the season on March 1st then I personally don't even know why you follow the team and sport. You can be optimistic and realistic, it's not some false duality. I'm realistically expecting around 80 wins, better but not enough. That said, I'm optimistic that with some internal improvement during the year the Sox could give us a pennant race, or at least a WC2 race. I'd love that.

QUOTE (Harry Chappas @ Mar 1, 2016 -> 04:56 PM) He can hit. Just not well enough to overcome his defense, poor base running and lack of baseball IQ. Actually, last year he didn't hit. If he hits, he's a 1 WAR player. If he doesn't, he's replacement level or worse. He needs to hit. I haven't given up on a 280/330/450 season from him in '16.

QUOTE (bmags @ Mar 1, 2016 -> 03:16 PM) Noodle Arm Eaton can hit 100 mph http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/the-outfiel...-who-threw-100/ lol, must have really torched the worms around second base! Eaton's problem with his arm seems to be throwing it mostly straight into the ground or wildly off target. If he could get a better launch angle maybe he could put that velocity to better use.

Any defense can be decent if you are good up the middle. Problem is, that ain't the Sox. Eaton I would say is average, has good range but mediocre instincts and a noodle arm. Sal could be good at SS but until he's out there on the 6th day in a row in the middle of July you can't really mark that down. Middle case he's an average defensive SS, much like Ramirez. Rollins? There's no way I can see him being average. Maybe "below average" if he can keep his body fresh but there's not much upside there. As for 2B, well, Lawrie really doesn't grade out well there by either sabermetrics or scouting reports. Not ideal. Not a disaster like Micah but not ideal either. Catcher seems to really be the only position up the middle where you'd say they project above average. Not good. The problems in the corners just add to all this but if they at least had solid defenders at C, SS, 2B and CF you could see how they get to middle of the pack overall. Given that they don't, I really don't see it unless Lawrie is better than advertised, Jose turns into a good 1B, and Avi goes from "disaster" to "passably mediocre".

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Mar 1, 2016 -> 02:02 PM) Daryl Van Schouwen ‏@CST_soxvan 33m33 minutes ago Watch Tim Anderson hit hot liner off VP Ken Williams' golf cart. … via @youtube Williams looks like he's on the Barkley diet. Anderson's swing looks tight and quick. Can easily see why he has maintained a high BA given his speed and contact skills. He really doesn't need to take a lot of walks if he can hit 280-300 in the bigs. That would be like a 280/310/400 line on a conservative .120 iso in his prime. That and solid defense would make him almost an All-Star at SS. If he can hit 300/330/450 in his prime then you really have something.

can the season start already?

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Feb 25, 2016 -> 01:21 PM) Levine said he wanted an opt out in Baltimore, so if it was 3/$33 the 1/$13 is less money for sure but it's a smaller scale Heyward took less money. The Sox might have offered him 2/$20, which technically is more money, but in reality, not really if he can get more than $7 million in 2017. Hahn is nothing if not creative with contracts it really does seem like the Sox don't have much budget room not only this year but in upcoming years. They couldn't extend a vesting option for 2018 that would have put them over the top? 2 years 20 million with a 13 million vesting (say 500 pa) option for '18 might have gotten the deal done.

What a bummer, the Sox couldn't top that offer?

Most White Sox move ever. WTF, he better not actually make the team. edit: actually, looking at his stats maybe he should make the team. He hasn't cratered quite as much as I thought.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Feb 21, 2016 -> 10:41 PM) I think recurring fluid problems related to cartilage (and we have zero idea if 90 cubic centimeters of fluid drained two years ago is particularly significant or not) that are ongoing for two years now aren't completely minor because of 1) his size, 2) the fact that he's seen a decrease in velocity of roughly 1.5 MPH from his prime years with the Reds, although we'd have to look month by month last year at the fangraphs charts, as there were indications of velocity coming back a bit more the 2nd half, 3) the fact that his injury treatments/prognosis and readiness to pitch have caused issues in the past with at least one training staff. There's a reason the Sox got him at the price they did -- his medicals. Fluid in the knee is just a symptom of structural damage and is the body's response to injury so in itself it tells us nothing other than something isn't right in his knee. Now, pitching isn't exactly golf but it's not basketball either. Can they manage the pain and swelling and can he pitch through some soreness and stiffness? Who knows. He probably will be skipping starts left and right so Johnson better be ready.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Feb 18, 2016 -> 06:27 PM) Not really. If KC was only offering 3/50 at that point, but the White Sox offer came in and forced them to go higher, plus Gordon never really had interest in going where but KC if he could help it, then that is the textbook definition of leverage. Likely scenario from the Royals was "tell us when you get a serious offer and we'll do our best to match it". Likely scenario from the Sox: "here's what we can offer if you get a better offer come back and we'll see what we can do". At that point the Royals outbid anything the Sox could put out and that was that. I agree it was a classic case of using other others to set your salary range and then eventually coming back to the place it made the most sense for both sides (for both the royals and gordon) to sign.

QUOTE (Dunt @ Feb 18, 2016 -> 05:30 PM) At games, posting here. I knew what they were then and had much different expectations. There is no excuse not to finish the job at this point though. They have far too much top end talent to not being going after it harder. That doesnt mean they need to trade the likes of Anderson or Fulmer or even Adams, but there were incremental upgrades there to strengthen this team. Sure they've done a decent job, I would even go as far to say that I've liked every move theyve made this offseason. Not replacing Avi though deserves an incomplete final grade. He's been an absolute butcher in every facet of the game. I can understand this. It's been a long time in the wilderness.

QUOTE (southside hitman @ Feb 18, 2016 -> 05:27 PM) I agree with this. It sounded like Gordon and Cespedes just used the Sox/others as leverage to get the deal they wanted from their incumbent clubs. We would of been outbid by Mike Ilitch for Upton and perhaps the Sox don't see Fowler and his lackluster splits against RHP's as a worthy investment. The reality for a team like the White Sox that strongly values financial flexibility is any kind of major free agent signing is going to have to be a perfect fit. A good example is Jose Abreu. They acted aggressively and decisively in his pursuit, outbidding several other clubs. That's a nice way of putting their inability or unwillingness to hand out large FA contracts. That said, I don't see the point in beating that dead horse. It is what it is. I'm not going to root for a new team and the Sox aren't going to turn into the Tigers, just the way it is. Maybe when JR sells but until then they will be run at least most of the time -- as a business with a hard cap on payroll.

QUOTE (fathom @ Feb 18, 2016 -> 05:17 PM) I'll wait until the performance on the field illustrates that. Last year at this time, we thought Hahn put together an upper-tier team. who thought that? Certainly wasn't the projection systems that had them at 76-78 wins. This year I've seen them lowest at 82 and highest at 88. They are better on paper now then any time in the last few years.

QUOTE (Dunt @ Feb 18, 2016 -> 04:46 PM) Really makes you wonder if they ever even had a plan honestly. I mean, KW sure made it sound like Hahn wasnt prepared earlier this offseason. I have no idea what this FO is doing anymore, and it's really tough to rationalize why I continue to give them so much of my time and energy. I wish the Bears were good so I didnt need to agonize over the Sox all winter. my goodness. Where were you in 13-15 then? Those teams were much worse on paper and the system was consistently dead last in MLB. As I've continually said, the ORG Hahn inherited was arguably in dead last in overall system talent: international, minors, and MLB. Now they are clearly middle tier without significantly mortgaging the future. Overall, they've done a decent job. Not a great job, but not a bad one either.