Balta1701

QUOTE (Jake @ Sep 7, 2014 -> 02:30 PM) I admittedly don't expect a ton, but they've been fine since the first drive. I'm willing to accept that our defense will occasionally let the opposing team have scoring drive and then rarely stop the opponent when they get the ball on the 8 yard line Overall the Bears and Bills D's have given up similar numbers of total yards, but the 2 turnovers stand out.

So, both the O and the D look familiar.

QUOTE (SoxAce @ Sep 6, 2014 -> 10:06 PM) This is one of the better games I've seen Wilkins have since he's been up as far as offensively. Hit everything hard. Even his last at bat was a good at bat. Kluber just made a good pitch on him. I agree it is pretty discouraging so far, results wise. I'm just glad Sanchez looks terrific... so far. Wilkins has been a slow-adapter the first month or two at each level, we should have expected the same from him here, which is why it was actually important to get him up in early August when he should have been.

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Sep 6, 2014 -> 09:35 PM) what the hell is that mascot supposed to be?

QUOTE (SoxAce @ Sep 6, 2014 -> 07:48 PM) When Konerko retires, he's probably top 3 best fastball hitter on our team. (barring changes) Paul Konerko's been a pretty weak hitter against fastballs the last 2 years

Link

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Sep 5, 2014 -> 10:20 PM) I feel like the wording of this quote says it all: He can play it off until a player is actually found guilty in a court of law, however long that happens, if it even happens. Right now they can just play the "due process" card. That is fair in our system and I don't see how a reasonable person can object to that. The issue would be if he plea bargained out and he used the "he wasn't convicted by a court" out when that's basically the same thing but different language. Its difficult to fire a person for this type of issue when the law hasn't decided yet. I will grant there is a contrast between that treatment and the Aaron Hernandez treatment which also seems appropriate to me.

QUOTE (fathom @ Sep 5, 2014 -> 10:29 PM) I've always been under the impression he'll stay in Baltimore, as he's the owner's favorite player. My clear issue with Martinez is that i think fair price is an over-bid, so I accept that as a potential issue, but out of all the lineup fits he's the one who catches my interest. With his age I'd pay more overall for him than VMart if I had a scout telling me that he could recover a portion of his previous form.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Sep 5, 2014 -> 10:20 PM) Oh, defintely. I'm not saying he doesn't make sense theoretically. In fact, in a way, he makes perfect sense if we treat as something of a buy-low change of scenery candidate. I'm with you there for sure. I'm wondering what the setup with Nick Markakis will be. He's had 2 down years but is still not ancient like Martinez, he's had 2 down years so there's a decent chance he doesn't get the QO that costs you a draft pick and a substantial amount to your signing pools, he's a left handed hitting corner OF so he fits our needs, but do you think the 2 straight down years is the end of his really productive career or do you think he's got a multi year recovery to his previous production set up?

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Sep 5, 2014 -> 09:18 PM) The Harbaugh brothers have not responded to the domestic violence issue very well this past year http://deadspin.com/jim-harbaugh-says-dome...228066/+barryap It doesn't appear to be his job to hand down the discipline and I can tolerate that. The NFL can and should wait until law enforcement issues a report of some sort and they can make a decision at that point, suspending a person before law enforcement has done its job seems like it doesn't fit the system of justice I believe in. The problem for 49Harbaugh is the contrast with the previous "They won't play for us" statement. If you just say you'll follow the decisions of the NFL leadership and you trust your commish you never have a problem because no one cares to quote it.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Sep 5, 2014 -> 10:09 PM) Era? Whip? K/9? Jose Quintana's FIP this season > Michael Pineda's FIP this season in his, um, 8 starts.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Sep 5, 2014 -> 10:07 PM) And everyone wrote off victor Martinez three years ago too. Baseball is a what have you done for me lately kind of game. You realize that's like saying "Jim Thome was a hall of famer so everyone who strikes out 175 times in a year is going to the hall of fame", right? Victor Martinez is having a career year at age 36. We should say screw it to Martinez and sign Konerko for 3 more years this offseaosn. Martinez had his best year at 36, Paul konerko can only get better from this point and getting better after that time is the norm, right?

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Sep 5, 2014 -> 10:04 PM) Have u even looked at his current stats or watched him pitch recently? I'm guessing no would be the answer to that one. Pineda's velocity in his 4 post DL starts? 92.5, 91, 93.5, 93.5. Quintana's velocity in his last 4 starts? 91.5, 92.5, 92, 92.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Sep 5, 2014 -> 10:04 PM) Have u even looked at his current stats or watched him pitch recently? I'm guessing no would be the answer to that one. 8. Starts. Since. 2011.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Sep 5, 2014 -> 09:47 PM) Betances throws 100 and that's his second or third best pitch. He's going to be one of the best relievers in baseball for the next five years. Apparently nobody has seen how good Pineda looks now...because the Yankees wouldn't accept Quintana even if he originated in the royal system. Pineda has made 8 starts since the end of the 2011 season and you'd trade Quintana for him because those 8 starts + a really good reliever somehow >>> Quintana? By the way, we have control of Quintana for longer than the Yankees have control of Pineda. That's remarkable.

QUOTE (Buster Posey @ Sep 5, 2014 -> 09:38 PM) Correct, which is why I noted that his overall numbers aren't particularly impressive; however, he plays in the American League and has the opportunity to DH, which may help him extend his career. I'm not sure how to explain his drop-off this season. His career splits show that his batting average is lower (.286) when he plays 1B. He's hit .311 for his career as a DH. There's a path that could get him there, but it involves him having a decade that is a hall of fame decade in the next 10 years or so. He's got a decent start but he'd have to keep that rate up for the 2nd half of his career and you just don't expect that, especially for guys who have had injury issues in their first career half and now are switching to positions where your offensive output has to be higher to be above average. He won't get into the HOF if he's an average 1b/DH for the next 6-7 years. He has to be really good at it.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Sep 5, 2014 -> 09:24 PM) Pitch count I think....98 through only six Wish the Yankees would trade us betances and Pineda for Quintana....then we'd have a closer and righty...would probably have to give them Alexis too. WTF?????? Um, I'd do that deal in 1/4 of a second if I were Brian Cashman. Probably Less. I don't think I'd want to rely on a fax machine to get it to the MLB offices, too slow. I'd spend the money to develop a transporter in order to get there in less time and hand it to the commish myself.

QUOTE (Buster Posey @ Sep 5, 2014 -> 09:09 PM) I've a problem with the Konerko comparison, as he has played most of his career at 1B--a position where power and run production are expected. Mauer was a catcher until this season and shouldn't be judged by how he compares to people who played other positions. How you weight between these positions is why I immediately defaulted to WAR. For Konerko to get there he had to have several more incredible years and probably push a stat like >500 HR. He's not going to get there. He's also only at 25 fWAR for his careerr thanks to defense and base running. That's why you'd have to look at >500 HR for Konerko to qualify himself. Just to note, Mauer is only at 1500 hits in his career so far.

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Sep 5, 2014 -> 07:54 PM) His season average is now .325. I think it's time to instead start focusing on the substantial HR gap.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Sep 5, 2014 -> 07:28 PM) As long as he can hit fastballs, he will be a great hitter. Unless he gets injured, I doubt that drops significantly the next couple of seasons. He is perfect for the White Sox. A switch hitting presence who puts the ball in play and hits with authority. If it only costs money, it is well worth the gamble. Again, I think someone will probably go crazy and he will wind up somewhere else, but there are some things that could indicate that maybe he his price tag will be right. Thankfully ballplayers um, don't slow down in their late 30's? My guess numbers are him are...if you're ok with him putting up .800 OPS numbers 2 of the next 3 years and being hurt for part of the third, and you think that puts you over the top next year, sign him. Doing better than that is certainly possible, but him falling off more quickly than that is probably just about as likely. You could quarrel with the numbers slightly, maybe you say .825 OPS is the mid-level, but does that put this team over the top if it's the main FA add this offseason along with a couple relievers? And yes...he shouldn't' be doing this this year. Guys sometimes do things stunning. That can happen on both sides. The Tigers got lucky and got an incredible season out of him this year following a lost season and an iffy/recovery season. The other side though is the Adam Dunn "he shouldn't be nearly this terrible this year".

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Sep 5, 2014 -> 07:07 PM) I think Victor is going to get a lot of money, but for 2 or 3 years, he is probably worth the gamble. He probabky won't be what he has been this year, but an .850 OPS should be a reasonable expectation. The only time he hasn't been there or over the last several years was last year when he started horribly but really turned it on. His market may be limited as I don't think many teams would want him playing in the field much. I still think someone blows him away with money and/or years, but paying him is probably better than sending players back for a similar player. It is possible that like Abreu, the stars may be aligned just right for it to happen. Technically, the only time he's been over .850 OPS since 2009 is this year. From 2008-2013 he put up an .820 OPS. If you'd said an >.800 OPS is reasonable for him, I'd say I hope you're right. At .850, while getting older, I'm saying you're letting his incredible 2014 campaign blind you to the type of player he really is. Excluding the year he was injured, his OPS in his peak seasons, from age 24-30, stayed mostly around .860 and got to .880 once. You can't tell me thats the profile of a guy you expect to put up .850 ish OPS numbers from 37-39, without even mentioning the odds of hi actually getting hurt.

162 game averages look better for him because he missed a lot of time right? Even if you don't believe the small differences in numbers, career Wins Above Replacement gives a good way of comparing relatively how much damage a guy has done over his career. Right now, Mauer is at about 45 WAR regardless of where we look. That's about at the level of guys like Mark Grace, that's behind David Ortiz, etc. For a hall of famer I want to see a guy get a lot more than that, to clearly stand out. At the very least for Mauer based on those numbers we need to start thinking about him putting up 3 more All-Star level seasons, and that might be hard as a 1b since he'll have to hit more as a catcher to get past guys like Abreu who tear it up at that position. At around 60 WAR, you start getting into guys like Sheffield, Andy Pettitte, Chase Utley who have had long enough careers that you can legitimately start thinking about them being borderline. Notably, I don't think those guys are hall of famers, they're hall of very good. Once you start getting past 60, then you can start really making the case that a guy did a lot of damage for a very long time, really start going into their numbers and ask "is this guy a hall of famer". Again, don't focus on the exact numbers, use that as a scale. Mauer has put up 5 WAR seasons in his career but that's as a catcher. For him to do that as a 1b, he needs to do the kind of damage Jose Abreu has done, and this year he's been no where near that. Does he have a 3-4 year burst like that in him in his early 30's? I'd say I'm skeptical. He has a long way to go. His peak wasn't long enough or extreme enough to carry him and his body seems to be wearing down. If he'd kept up the 2009 form for a couple years that could have done it, but he didn't. He had one incredible year, a series of very good years, but we don't put guys in the Hall of Fame for being very good, we put them in there for being great.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Sep 5, 2014 -> 06:35 PM) There aren't that many tough decisions with our guys other than perhaps viciedo Nate jones and whether to trade Alexis or not depending on the ss trade market. Other teams can sign Hanley hardy asdrubal Cabrera and Drew to name a few. With viciedo at 1b guessing they want to give him one final shot. Note typing on an iPad sucks! Um.

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Sep 5, 2014 -> 05:49 PM) Yep which is why I also looked at the splits because of his age. Hard to see a precipitous drop off in his numbers though after such a good season. However 2 years w/ an option for a 3rd. is the most I would offer and that probably won't cut it. To stress...Victor Martinez returning to what he's been every other year of his career other than 2014 would definitely be a "precipitous drop off". His numbers this year are like the year AJ Pierzynski suddenly hit 25+ home runs. You look at it and say that he'll never even come close to that again. He could still be a productive hitter if he managed to hold up "normal year Victor Martinez", but it's hard for me to see anything other than a precipitous drop off next year, since his career .846 OPS or the .785 OPS he put up last year would be a gigantic drop off from his current numbers.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Sep 5, 2014 -> 12:40 PM) IIRC the Sox had a pretty mediocre offense, right in the middle of the pack They hit a lot of home runs but were pretty bad at everything else.