Balta1701

Bring it. This is one tough road trip. They do that, they'll have earned a spot in the hunt.

This is going to be one heckuva tough road trip. A quality start would be huge. Heck, 6+ innings and 4 ER would be huge.

QUOTE (greg775 @ May 24, 2015 -> 09:31 PM) Garcia is a good player. He needs to learn to settle down just a bit IMO. Can you imagine if he was a bit more selective at the plate? His defense? I haven't watched enough games to say he's a disaster out there. To the experts ... is he adequate in rf or is he a disaster defensively? Currently he's a disaster out there.

QUOTE (raBBit @ May 24, 2015 -> 08:28 PM) Do not let facts cloud your reasoning. LaRoche (LaDunn?) has parallels with Dunn so he's the problem. It's not that our 1-2 hitters who had OBPs over .350 last year can't crack .300 this year. It's not that our best hitter is having a sophomore slump. It's not that our reigning Silver Slugger shortstop is hitting at the worst rates on his career. And it's definitely not because our C, 2B and 3B are offensive black holes. The offense is in a bad place and that's obvious. Trying to pin this on one player is entirely silly. We had holes and they are still holes. We have productive players and they are not performing to their ability. At some point this will flip to an extent and regress to the mean. That's not to say this team is capable of being an elite offense but they most definitely can hit better than they are hitting right now. The 12th in the AL ERA from their starters isn't helping either.

QUOTE (SCCWS @ May 24, 2015 -> 07:31 PM) Semien may be worse defensively at SS than Johnson was at 2B The good news? If you're 5 games below .500, at least you're paying them a minimal amount to learn the game

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 17, 2015 -> 07:53 PM) Dan Hayes ‏@CSNHayes 17m17 minutes ago In their first 20 games, the #WhiteSox scored 64 runs. In their past 14, they've scored 68. In their past 17 they've scored 65.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ May 24, 2015 -> 04:49 PM) Well every recent Cuban player seemed to level out after the first hot season, so I hope they took into account some regression. That being said, this version of Abreu could be enough but zero starting pitchers have an ERA under 4, the leadoff hitter can't get on base, and the two big offensive FA acquisitions aren't hitting. That and defense. This version of Abreu is an ok player. Still worth his contract but no where near "the best hitter on earth" which is what he looked like for good parts of last year. This version of Abreu can fit into a lineup on a winning team that you've built with lots of pieces around him. Last year's version of Abreu was good enough to compensate for other holes in the lineup. We built this team this year on the assumption that Abreu was good enough to compensate offensively for some of the holes in the lineup and that it wouldn't kill us if 3b/C were below average. And since its Memorial Day, at least for the first evaluation period of the season, that has been a terrible bet. Bad enough that a smart player might take their losses and walk out of the casino.

Jesus we follow this with an 11 game, 10-day road trip.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ May 24, 2015 -> 04:33 PM) He hasn't been that disappointing, his 2014 numbers weren't sustainable. If "Jose Abreu's 2014 wasn't sustainable" then the entire offseason plan was complete foolishness. The one thing that made a decent case to me for "spending $50 million and trading for a guy on a 1 year deal" was "we don't want to waste Abreu and Sale being this good". If Abreu wasnt' that good then there's nothing to waste.

QUOTE (TitoMB @ May 24, 2015 -> 04:27 PM) what happened to avi he had a hit earlier today, but he's also hurting badly from that knee. Any extra time sitting they can give him is a good thing.

QUOTE (greg775 @ May 24, 2015 -> 04:21 PM) I thought he was pretty good except for his sloth-like game on defense. Last year at this time, Jose had hit 15 home runs and had missed time due to a foot injury. Aside from that injury he was basically putting up a .975 OPS. This year, Jose has 7 home runs, has not hit the DL, and has about an .825 OPS. Jose Abreu's offense right now is a massive disappointment, and his defense seems worse than it was the 2nd half of last year.

QUOTE (fathom @ May 24, 2015 -> 04:06 PM) I was expecting more from Adams and Montas, as I thought they were 3-4 in terms of our prospects. They haven't been bad, just not elite. In general it just seems no one has really taken a step forward to become a possible big league contributor in the future they we weren't already counting on (Guerrero would be the most improved) Step back for just a second though. Montas threw 81 innings last year and jumped up to BHam as a starter. That's a lot to overcome. Spencer Adams is 19, 1 year out of high school, and he's in Kanny. Use a "normal team" calendar not a "White Sox" calendar where anyone who isn't in the big leagues by 20 is a failure and they're both making big jumps this year already.

QUOTE (greg775 @ May 24, 2015 -> 04:18 PM) I bet there are a lot of people like me. Now that all the 05 guys are long gone and it's a new group of players, I have no attachment to any of them. So trade any or all of 'em if it makes us better, except Abreu (maybe Sale). Just to keep poitning this out....Jose Abreu is a major part of the problem right now.

QUOTE (fathom @ May 24, 2015 -> 04:16 PM) It wouldn't shock me to hear Q is available at the deadline. He's a good pitcher on a great contract, but if you can bring in a starting position player and a good prospect, then it could make sense. He's not pitching well enough to convince anyone to give up what he should demand based on his performance the last 2 years. Too many teams will think his 2014 was a fluke and he's an average pitcher like he is this year.

QUOTE (reiks12 @ May 24, 2015 -> 04:15 PM) Yeah but Sale is one of the only two marketable players on this team. They aren't going to trade him. Not with the abysmal attendance figures and low popularity in the city. They're not successfully marketing the team as it is! They're losing games, they're getting no attention in the city, no one cares. Plus it's not like he's out there pitching like a cy young competitor! People aren't coming to see this team and no one is interested. "But if you trade sale people won't come to see the team and no one will be interested!". So what exactly would be different?

QUOTE (Harry Chappas @ May 24, 2015 -> 04:15 PM) 3-8 .....5-6 if everything goes right. At this time they should be listening to offers on everybody. 68k showed up to witness this s*** show. I was there tuesday thursday friday....they duped me again. I think they'll probably have a positive record and creep closer to .500 because they're going to keep themselves in that netherworld where they're not competitive for anything but they're not truly far enough out to sell things and fire people.

QUOTE (reiks12 @ May 24, 2015 -> 04:10 PM) Lol you guys talking about trading Sale. If that happens you might as well relocate this team In another thread we've got people talking about how this is a terrible, bandwagon fanbase that will not come out to support the team. They've got the great sweetheart deal to keep them in the ballpark for the next 10 years, but if this fanbase is so terrible...

QUOTE (greg775 @ May 24, 2015 -> 04:07 PM) 8-1 against a team that swept us in Minnie. We've lost six of seven to Minnie, lol. I swear, don't let Paulie get on a plane. Interim manager with Big Hurt the hitting coach. Hire LaRussa this offseason to manage. Beg Tony to save the franchise. If not him, Leyland. Beg them. Begging a guy to come in for 1-2 years to "save the franchise" sounds silly to me. We need someone who can take time and give the team a chance to grow up and recover from this trash.

QUOTE (fathom @ May 24, 2015 -> 04:02 PM) Why not trade Sale then? Especially it he's a two-pitch pitcher now, why not deal him before his elbow explodes? It won't happen, as this team will try to compete next year. This season has convinced me that we should. They blew this year and in the process blew next year IMO, leaving them a much longer rebuilding project.

QUOTE (fathom @ May 24, 2015 -> 03:57 PM) By no means am I a big Samardzija fan, but I liked the trade cause I didn't think anyone in package they gave up would be a difference maker I disagreed with the concept. We were trading away the building depth in our minor leagues and doing so for a "1 year, all-in" kinda move. We had so many different needs that "hold onto your developing minor league depth until you have too much" seemed like a much better plan to me than hanging everything on "this team is ready to compete right now." Then again, I also had zero confidence in the team's management

QUOTE (fathom @ May 24, 2015 -> 03:38 PM) Seems like a lot of players are slumping hitting for the Sox minors. Davidson looks like he's going to end up being a massive bust unfortunately. I know I might be in the minority, but is anyone else disappointed in the progress of the system so far this year? I feel like last year was a bigger disappointment with seemingly "everyone struggling or hurt". This year some guys are up some guys are down early.

QUOTE (fathom @ May 24, 2015 -> 03:48 PM) It's a strange situation, as almost all of Hahn's moves have made sense on paper. For one reason or another, a lot of them haven't worked out so far. The most logical explanation is the players just have underachieved significantly to their ability. To me, the following moves were good and made sense, regardless of what the production has been: - Eaton trade - Reed trade - Abreu signing - Melky signing - Samardzija deal - Robertson deal - Boni/Beckham deal I was ok with the Reed trade but was a bit worried about strikeouts and hoped they'd done their homework. I did not like the Samardzija deal, I just shut my mouth on the Cabrera deal because roids, the Robertson deal made sense but it made sense in the context of "we've spent big on Samardzija and LaRoche with him", and I wouldn't have done the Samardzija deal so I wouldn't have spent that kind of money on a closer either.

QUOTE (greg775 @ May 24, 2015 -> 03:41 PM) I disagree. Semien was gobbled up. Ditto DeAza. I think LaRoche and Lexi and Melky will be popular targets of NL teams. Shark will be wanted by everybody. Ditto Robertson and Duke. TRADE, TRADE, TRADE. Yes, Robertson is the one guy I think we'd have a shot at a decent return for, but the "multiple contract years" for several of these guys really hurts in this case. If someone wants to take on LaRoche at the deadline they have to take on like $15 million total. Robertson would be a major upgrade to some team's bullpen, but they also have to be able to commit that kind of money for 3.25 years.

QUOTE (WhiteSoxLifer @ May 24, 2015 -> 03:36 PM) Well they could have the resources next year. If they trade off say like shark, Laroche and ramirez at the deadline then you save some money this year and now the sox would have 30+ million that they had on the roster this year they won't have next year. Plus some of the smaller contract like bonifacio, Beckham, and flowers will be gone next year. I'm sure they could dump off Beckham and bonifacio at the deadline also. Unfortunately, LaRoche and Ramirez aren't currently playing well enough that anyone is going to give up anything useful for them, and trading Samardzija at the deadline doesn't save much money. Furthermore, if they just trade off Ramirez and they have to choose from "Anderson or Sanchez" as his replacement next year, do you have confidence in those guys making this a competitive roster? Yes they'd save money by trading LaRoche and Ramirez, but who replaces them? We'd have $22 million to spend yes, but we'd have weaknesses at SS, DH, 2b?, 3b, and C again.

QUOTE (fathom @ May 24, 2015 -> 03:17 PM) I agree that they won't have the funds when it comes down to it, but they'll still consider pursuing him. Personally, I think all the resources need to go into finding a C and 3B. i don't think they have "resources" at all. I think they spent them this year, unless they're willing to trade Rodon.