Balta1701

QUOTE (Brian @ Aug 9, 2014 -> 01:39 PM) I'm ready to dump Dunn and just let Kong play out the season. I'm gonna go to the last home game, assuming he's playing. I'd be quite happy to dump Dunn and give Wilkins at bats, but I don't really want to watch Konerko put up his .164 average and Leury Garcia-worthy .473 OPS against righties.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Aug 9, 2014 -> 01:39 PM) And who's going to take the blame if Avisail Garcia gets hurt in AAA, especially by a wild pitch that gets away from a AAA pitcher featuring Maikel Cleto's command? Here's clearly been busting his butt to get back to Chicago ASAP, if the doctors have cleared him (and I'm not sure how he can be cleared to play in Charlotte but not for the Sox, that's illogical), then there's no reason he can't be back fairly quickly. We all know there's a big difference between 45 games down the stretch (especially against pennant contenders) and the September games against teams with worse records than the Sox and experimenting with rookie pitchers for 2015 rotations. But MLB pitchers throw harder. We should leave him in the minors so that he doesn't get hit by one of those pitches. It makes just as much sense. Just wait until he's had 10-15 games in AAA. It takes most guys longer than that to find a groove in spring training. That's not unreasonable, that's 1/2 of a full minor league rehab stint.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Aug 9, 2014 -> 01:14 PM) Hasn't Konerko been one of the better pinch hitters in baseball this year? He's 8/23 pinch hitting, good for a decent average but putting up a .776 OPS and 3 RBI in pinch hitting roles. That's one of the top averages amongst guys with 25 pinch hit appearances but closer to adequate with the OPS. He might have been useful on an NL team if he could have done that for a few more PA's, but nothing to get excited about.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Aug 9, 2014 -> 01:01 PM) Konerko is the least of the Sox problems. He's had 157 at bats and 21 RBIs. He hasn't gotten in the way at all. You have the right to say whatever you want, but he deserves to go out however he wants to go out. This franchise hasn't exactly had a lot of historical highlights. He's been one of the brightest spots in bleak franchise history. If Sox continue to suck, I hope he gets to play all he wants in September. I re-read your post and there's so much wrong about it. Adam Dunn over Konerko? You'd rather see that in September than historic at bats from Paulie, a WS champ? I disagree. I'd get goosbumps watching Paulie at the Cell in September instead of Adam Dunn for gosh sakes. So in a full season of 600 PA's he'd have fewer than 80 RBI if he kept producing at that same pace, and those 21 RBI are while being used in a mostly platoon role to make sure he's not overmatched so it doesn't even scale that well? Because that's really not all that good.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Aug 9, 2014 -> 12:08 PM) Has anybody ever said differently? You know? I really hesitate on Baez. The power is extremely legit but the flaws are very deep.

QUOTE (BaconOnAStick @ Aug 9, 2014 -> 07:04 AM) Anyone worried? I sorta am, particularly with the sudden loss of power since the break. It's not like there was anything we could have done in the first several months to keep him fresher for the late-season grind.

QUOTE (glangon @ Aug 9, 2014 -> 11:47 AM) Patience Padawan. They'll be up in 23 days. The problem? If they succeed in September, the natural response will be "oh it was just a brief stint in favorable match ups in September, we can't rely on that for next year".

QUOTE (scs787 @ Aug 8, 2014 -> 11:17 PM) What exactly is a strength for any coach? I still give the White Sox's manager credit for the great level of focus and discipline showed during the 2012 season. Being prepared for the year and actually making correct mental moves, particularly on defense, made that team competitive for most of the season.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Aug 8, 2014 -> 05:18 PM) So far the K rate is 25%. Of course, the OPS is 1.188. He'll need 150 at-bats before any conclusions can begin to be drawn about his readiness. Even then, some will argue he's facing some AAA/AA call-ups for non-contending teams in September. QUOTE (JUSTgottaBELIEVE @ Aug 8, 2014 -> 11:20 PM) Up to 37% now. He's going to make a run at Flowers' 38% this year. No walks in 19 ABs. He better slug .450+, otherwise I foresee Cubs' fans getting fed up with his act rather quickly. Even at .475, he's going to have a tough time posting an OPS of better than .800 because I don't see him putting together an OBP of greater than .325 (I'd say he's closer to .280-.300, at least for the next few years) Yeah, you should have waited until the 4 strikeout game before noting how low his K-rate was.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Aug 9, 2014 -> 10:16 AM) Don't forget Avisail. Garcia, Wilkins and Semien all need to get extended looks right now, like ASAP. No matter where Gordon is placed in the batting order, it's not helping. DeAza DFA if no takers on the trade market. Viciedo and Flowers need to play nearly everyday to see how they finish out the season...with Minnesota locking up Suzuki, that's yet another option off the table for catching in 2015. Can we at least be a little patient with the guy who has played like 3 games in 4 months and is rehabbing a major shoulder reconstruction?

QUOTE (sammy esposito @ Aug 8, 2014 -> 09:45 PM) Paulie could come up with some mysterious injury to allow Wilkins a spot on the big team. 15 day dl and Paulie could be back in September. Meanwhile Wilkins could get his shot. Yeah, they're not going to be doing this before Konerko Month. Sorry.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Aug 8, 2014 -> 07:52 PM) There is no way a team would offer him $4.5 million. That is almost a 20% raise by itself. Ernesto Frieri is a poor man's Addison Reed who happens to make 7 times the salary. Which is why no team is going to offer him arbitration. Which is why if you would consider him, you do so in December after he's been non-tendered. No team is going to offer him less money in arbitration. They'd lose.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Aug 8, 2014 -> 07:22 PM) It's not the WORST idea in the world. Then again, we already paid Lindstrom and Downs $4 or 4.5 million or whatever (not to be closers at the time of signing). That said, we'd do it only by providing him a trial as closer for 1 1/2 months and THEN deciding whether to offer salary arbitration for 2015. Based on being traded and then basically released, it's hard to imagine he's going to automatically just get that 20% increase...not with that statline across two teams. That's how arbitration generally works. The team would probably offer something close to $4.5 mil, his side would ask for $5.5, and they'd settle somewhere in the range of a 20% increase in-between.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Aug 8, 2014 -> 07:03 PM) I think you may be using the 20% average increase incorrectly, but either way, why couldn't we simply offer him a contract at his current salary and tell him to take it or leave it. Guys that get DFAed aren't typically looking at big free agent contracts. Because he's not under contract for next year. We can offer him a contract to finish the year but to keep him next year we'd have to offer him a deal covering next year or be prepared to offer him $5 mil in arbitration. It makes no sense for us to get him for the last 1.5 months of this year and let him go next year if he has some success. What's most likely is that someone will claim him, pay him a little bit for the rest of the season and he'll be a full free agent after being non-tendered this offseason. He could then be signed to a Felipe Paulino like deal for a much smaller salary in the offseason.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Aug 8, 2014 -> 02:49 PM) Sure, but their own actions caused that problem. Israel didn't just wake up one day and decide they were going to install blockades and implement travel restrictions. I guess to me that's my issue with this. I see both sides and can understand the motivations of both sides. But the history says the Palestinians f***ed up twice by thinking they could take over Israel. So guess what, because THEY f***ed up, THEY have to concede more in order to obtain some kind of peaceful resolution. And when that is the option presented...terrorism will always be the end result because that's how the world works.

So if we picked him up, the only way to keep him next year would be to offer him arbitration which would probably involve a 20% raise because arb usually does, meaning that he'd cost us $5 million next year to keep? That seems ugh.

QUOTE (IlliniKrush @ Aug 8, 2014 -> 03:48 PM) I get what you are saying, but at some point you also have to do what you feel is right for his development. You knew guys weren't going to arrive at the same time anyway based on age and development. Once this gets going, the Cubs aren't going to be too worried if his clock is a bit ahead of some others, and they'll have money. I can very easily make the case for keeping Baez in AAA longer. He got off to a terrible start this year and has only had a fairly brief hot stint, and all the while his strikeout totals have still been Tyler Flowers bad.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Aug 8, 2014 -> 01:16 PM) That's possible...but if Baez, Soler and Alcantara all look good for these last 45+ games, they will be sitting in a good position in terms of not ABSOLUTELY having to do anything pitching-wise until before 2016. Of course, there's a downside in that too. They're likely to be a top 10 pick this year. If they want to wait to play the FA market in 2016 for pitching, and those guys aren't terrible, then there goes their first round 2016 pick.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Aug 8, 2014 -> 02:09 PM) So what is the theory of why he is still here? Billy Beane's finances are that stretched is all I've got.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Aug 8, 2014 -> 01:47 PM) Just because guys have cleared waivers doesn't mean anyone else wants them. I spend all day reading about how these guys all suck, but yet there is some expectation that other teams want our pile of suck? I don't get that. Posters aren't smarter than GM's. If people on Soxtalk have figured out players suck, so have the GM's. I still struggle to believe that Billy Beane wouldn't have $4 million to spend for the rest of this season by claiming Adam Dunn, especially after they just removed a middle of the order, high power, high strikeout bat in Cespedes.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Aug 8, 2014 -> 11:52 AM) I'm saying (1) it's not as clear cut as you're making it out to be. Isreal isn't taking anything and everything it wants without giving up something in return. It might be somewhat lopsided, but hey, "so what," that's what happens when you invade a country and try to kill their people. You lose things you once had. And (2) yes, at the end of the day "so what" again when your people are dying. Cut your losses, take less land, live in peace and eventually the blockades will end. But not until you cut ties with a terrorist organization and not until you can be trusted again. You're basically arguing that they should all fight an unwinnable war instead of taking concessions and living in peace. That makes zero sense. And you're arguing that the country which is taking the land their homes sit on and blockading them will change course and allow those people to live in peace, which from their perspective makes just as little sense. Which again, leaves me no reason to do anything but fight alongside that terrorist organization.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Aug 8, 2014 -> 11:31 AM) I still say - so what? Israel won the wars. This is in contradiction to your earlier response. My statement was that the reason why no one other than Hamas's "kill israelis" mantra has any authority in the area is that Israel is taking all the land they can, expelling people from that land, and generally offering nothing of value in negotiations. You replied that Israel has made some possible offers of land in reply, but when I point out how inadequate that is, you say "So what". That continues the problem. Your response "so what" leaves me with no reason whatsoever to not die while fighting Israel if I live in that area. They're taking my land, they're not giving anything up, they're dropping bombs all around me, I can barely get food and water, I'm probably going to die in a bombing anyway, why shouldn't I try to get my hands on a weapon and go down fighting?

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Aug 8, 2014 -> 11:25 AM) What is Buchholz's contract? That might be a Cooper, fixer upper special. He did pitch decently against the White Sox the last time we faced him, although his ERA was 6+ at that moment in time. How has he been pitching the last two months? Wonder if we would have claimed Fausto Carmona/Roberto Hernandez had he gotten to the NL. Doubtful. But that's the "ilk" of pitcher we're going to be trolling for as the 4th/5th guy unless we shock the world and sign Scherzer/Shields/Lester or Masterson. Bucholz has $12 million guaranteed for 2015 and $750k in buyouts. There are $13 million team options in 2016 and 2017 if the buyouts aren't taken. Since returning from the DL on June 25 his ERA is 5.40. In his last 2 starts he has given up 7 runs in 5 innings both times.

QUOTE (bmags @ Aug 8, 2014 -> 10:49 AM) It's not really a consistent position from me, but I'm secretly glad for these strikes. That is one specific region that has helped the US a lot in Iraq, been persecuted constantly. To watch by as they get slaughtered makes me sick. On the other hand...should the US be responsible for other regions safety? Most recent Iraq/Isis thread.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Aug 8, 2014 -> 10:44 AM) Yeah, that was pretty lame. Obviously I support KDs move, I wish Rose would follow suit. I totally disagree and want Rose to play every single game he can before the season. If he's going to get hurt he's going to get hurt, limiting his minutes or time on the court just isn't going to prevent it. We've already seen that, a year and a half off and he lasted 10 games. When the regular season rolls around you can't bench him until the playoffs to protect his health. Best we can do is have him get himself 100% ready to go and be ready for game speed by the first game of the season. If he gets hurt, he gets hurt.