Balta1701

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Nov 5, 2014 -> 12:20 PM) That will be a good problem to have. I want thing to play himself into max money. Hopefully he keeps taking that step forward! Personally I think we should have stepped up our offer cause its going to cost us more going forward but at least he is saying and doing the right things. He is a bad man on defense...bad! Butler playing into a max contract would be annoying in terms of having to pay it...but with the cap spiking next year it wouldn't be an unbearable hit.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Nov 5, 2014 -> 01:33 PM) It's joking of course, but it does seem to work out that way. The Republicans are trying to kill off their base and the Democrats are trying to keep them alive. That's Medicare, not medicaid

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/i-team/a...ticle-1.1997828

QUOTE (soxfan2014 @ Nov 5, 2014 -> 11:17 AM) Also saw that Beckham is projected to get $5mill. Glad we will be paying someone 1/10 that price to put up similar/better numbers than him. He won't be offered arbitration.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Nov 5, 2014 -> 11:00 AM) Couldn't we have said the same thing about Erik Bedard after he was traded to Seattle? "One of these years, he's going to throw a full season and prove to all of us that it was worth it." Bedard's inning pitched starting with his first year in Seattle (2008): 81, 83, 129.1, 125.2, 151, 75.2 http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/...r01.shtml?redir Erik Bedard never put up a full year and when he was finally sort of healthy enough to put almost a full season, he was no longer very good. I just don't think Brett Anderson should be in the cards for the Sox unless it's as a late flyer in January and only if he's asked to be the 5th starter at the very most. We can talk about Carlos Gonzalez's injury history, but it's nothing compared to Anderson's. To be fair, Erik Bedard's price tag for Seattle was a whole lot higher than what we'd be giving up for brett anderson, and if Anderson was only able to give us the first 1/2 of the season he keeps the seat warm for Rodon.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Nov 5, 2014 -> 10:24 AM) I am pretty sure with arb awards, you can waive him in spring training, if it ever came to that, and only be responsible for 20% of the award. Would that only be if the White Sox actually went to arbitration with him? Because they wouldn't do that, like every other team they'd sign a contract somewhere before the hearing.

QUOTE (bmags @ Nov 5, 2014 -> 09:58 AM) Will be hilarious when Dems will also be too timid to remotely deploy any of the blocking tactics GOP deployed because it may hurt their weakest seats which they'll lose anyway. Bah, they'll do just about everything that was done the last few years. The Senate may let Obama veto a few things just because they're unhappy with him right now as it is, but it's abundantly clear no one cares about senatorial procedures any more. The one thing that might be an interesting long term shift is if Mitch knows its coming and changes some of the rules to cut out the things he's been doing for the last 6 years.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Nov 5, 2014 -> 10:16 AM) I am one of the few who is not sold on Noesi. So you think we need 1.5 starting pitchers to compete and you're still wanting us to spend $15 million on a DH?

QUOTE (Lillian @ Nov 5, 2014 -> 10:12 AM) For those of you who advocate not spending big now, but rather continuing to rebuild, with an eye toward 2016, exactly what would you do? Who would you try to acquire now? Who would you target for 2016? With the way my roster is, I'm playing too many rookies and inconsistent performers to count on competing this year even if I spend big money. if I'm not willing to trade the chips I have at AA, I go for the moderate-level pieces in FA, try to fill the holes I have with warm bodies such that I can either get really lucky and make a playoff push or I can trade the ones I do have, see if I can get a bad contract swap with Viciedo before Dec. 2, and leave myself payroll flexibility to target Hayward or Upton for that OF slot next year when guys like Rodon, Semien, and the bullpen pieces I'm still assembling are no longer rookies. Either pick that option or hit the trade market hard. Don't play the in-between game, either go all in on winning right now or go all in on playing for time.

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Nov 5, 2014 -> 09:55 AM) I say probably over .500 because I don't like making definitive statemenrts like I know that it will actually happen . I could've phrased it " we WiLL be 10 games above .500 but I'm just taking my best guess here. Who the hell knows what would happen but I'd rather take the shot at it in a yr where our 1st round pick is protected and we have the payroll space to take advantage of that. I think you're exactly right, that team is probably over .500, but if a few things are iffy it could still be well under .500. Hence my problem with spending big on VMart while still being cheap elsewhere. if you're going to sign Victor Martinez, you're making an all-in move. Stop fiddling around and commit to it. Victor Martinez and a couple relievers makes us a "maybe over .500 team", but add in a top flight RF and now we're talking about a team well over .500. Tim Anderson + Montas is probably a good start on the way to making that happen, that ought to clear someone loose, maybe even one of the guys from the Braves. If you're not ready to trade the guys we have on their way to AA not named Rodon (fine, he's too pricey even for me to move), then you're not ready to sign Victor Martinez.

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Nov 5, 2014 -> 09:43 AM) Guess I'm more optimistic than you are. Let's say Abreu, Sale Q, and Eaton perform equally well as last year. Now add VMart to the offense . Even you said his most likely best yr. if he is signed would be in the 1st yr. of the contract. Say we swap out Viciedo for Saunders or someone equal ,not trade Viciedo for that player just replace one with the other. Improve the bullpen to the point where it might be somewhat better than middle of the pack rather than at rock bottom and the Sox probably are over .500 . If a few other things go right such as Rodon and Bassitt shining a bit getting some combination of 15 W's between them, then we are in contention. Maybe Danks can even do better or Noesi . I'm not counting on it but I'd give it a 33% chance. So you've spent $30 million+ on Martinez and 2 relievers, the OF is unnamed and we're hoping for the best, we've got basically no space the next year in Free Agency because no big contracts end and several guys get more expensive, and we're "probably over .500". You've therefore summed up my problem with the concept of spending $30 million+ this offseason.

QUOTE (IowaSoxFan @ Nov 5, 2014 -> 09:39 AM) I can see him staying as the RH piece of a DH platoon. The problem with that is that he's a terrible hitter against both pitching sides.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Nov 3, 2014 -> 07:13 AM) Sorry to crush your dreams Lillian, but the Phillies already re-signed Grady for 2015 QUOTE (hi8is @ Nov 5, 2014 -> 12:46 AM) I'd actually be down to take a flyer on him - provided it was cheap. Even adding the link from Oct. 24.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Nov 5, 2014 -> 08:04 AM) At his age, and with his splits....he could get $10 million, perhaps, but I don't believe he's a $15 million a year player in his mid 30's. Not at 1B/DH. I think you're way overguessing on Rasmus but I think you're accurate, maybe even a bit under, on Laroche.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Nov 5, 2014 -> 07:00 AM) How many months until they try to impeach Obama? If he does something bold on immigration, next summer.

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Nov 4, 2014 -> 09:59 PM) I don't think anyone responded to this and if makes a whole lot of sense. Only sign as many free agents as you can afford that fit your team not just hitters. Let's say the Sox sign VMart and 2 other guys who were given a qualifying offer . Then we give up what ,a 2nd, 3rd and 4th rd pick in one draft class. Beats the hell out of losing #1 's in separate years. You could sign VMart , Melky or Headley and a few 2nd tier relievers (those who don't cost $9M+) or a SP . Is this possible ? Are there rules against beating the system in this way ? Yes, that is all ok and doing that in 1 year does minimize your total losses.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Nov 4, 2014 -> 09:37 PM) Lol Scott Brown Apparently Maine and Connecticut have seats up for election in 2016!

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Nov 4, 2014 -> 05:38 PM) Yeah, he's a bad reserve. If you find a better OF, you DFA him. The bolded is exactly what I mean by "insurance policy." But $4.5 million goes a decent part of the way towards finding a better OF. That's a lot of money to waste on an insurance policy against coming up empty in the free agent market when $4.5 million extra to spend is insurance against coming up empty anyway!

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Nov 4, 2014 -> 05:15 PM) The bolded is a great point. Still, $4m isn't much for an insurance policy. Because if he couldn't find anyone better over the offseason, we might as well give him another shot in the dark until someone else emerges. However, I'm saying that assuming that I'd be totally comfortable DFA'ing him at any time and eating that money. If his contract guarantees his roster spot, then I'd dump him for sure. I can't think of him as an insurance policy because I can't think of him being useful in a backup role. An insurance policy is what you use when something goes wrong, so what do we do if things go right and we find a better starting OF somewhere? Like I said we can't keep him on the bench because he's such a poor fit for that role, he's shown no success with the bat to justify thinking of him as a DH option, basically he's an insurance policy against us failing to find a replacement for him. But Hell, play that guy we just picked up on the waiver wire, he literally cannot be worse.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Nov 4, 2014 -> 05:07 PM) As anti-Viciedo as I am, I'd tender him a contract. You try to trade him, but if that fails, you find him a platoon partner. If that fails, you give him another year or replace him and eat the $4m. This is a season where we can afford to carry that $4m in dead weight in the worst case scenario. I wouldn't. I'm done with him, and I'm convinced that he'll be the starting LF if he's tendered a contract because that means no one wanted him before that deadline. He's not going to have higher value in January than now, he's a terrible, terrible, terrible option as a backup OF because of defense and baserunning, and we've already seen Rick get stuck with guys people talked about him trying to trade because he offered them arbitration and no one wanted them until the end of the year.

QUOTE (peavy44 @ Nov 4, 2014 -> 04:53 PM) Keep drinking the cubs coolaid he wont be a cub lol Says the guy with the same name as a pitcher so focused on going to the Cubs with Lester that his mind was more on that than it was on GAME 6 OF THE ****ING WORLD SERIES

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Nov 4, 2014 -> 04:49 PM) Having Martinez would also mean less PH in the late innings Robin would have to think about. But more pinch runners

He'll be a Cub.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Nov 4, 2014 -> 04:42 PM) I don't think anyone's disputing that Victor is the best hitter available this year, but they are all either substantially younger, substantially cheaper, or don't come with draft pick compensation. Balta's point, I think, is that there are other options and that there are always other options. I really think LaRoche is the best option. If we all agree that healthy expectations for Martinez and LaRoche are ~125 and 115 wRC+, respectively, then we're talking the difference in going with LaRoche equalling about getting 10% less offense for 50% fewer total dollars, 50% fewer years, and no draft pick compensation. You get most of the production and a bunch of money to spend on something else too. There's a decent chance Butler is even cheaper and his career numbers are just about as good as the other guys, the only Q I'm left with is what we do with the other lineup slots we have available. This wouldn't bother me that much if our manager was willing to put a series of righties together in the lineup but he's not, so we do need a LH bat there.