Balta1701

QUOTE (GreenSox @ Dec 5, 2013 -> 11:16 PM) Webb have starter potential? Webb picked up like 8 mph on his fastball when he switched to relieving. He was throwing low 90's at best as a starter and hitting 100 as a reliever. When a guy does that, you keep him in relief.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Dec 5, 2013 -> 10:15 PM) I recall Coop talking about this before. The Sox front office identifies arms they like and just bring them in. I have my doubts as to whether Cooper has even seen the guy. He's not infallible either. That could have been how it worked with the last administration, he may not have the same setup with this one, and we also know he's dropped names before with Matt. If nothing else, he might have given some suggestions about the type of stuff or mechanics he would like to work with.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Dec 5, 2013 -> 07:33 PM) How can you be on A-Rod's side? He's a multi-time offender and complete douchebag. That description is equally apt for how baseball dealt with this issue for 15 years.

It does make sense. Just hope it works better for them than Beltre and Sexson.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Dec 5, 2013 -> 10:09 PM) Just give this act a rest man. You're worse than some of the callers on Boers & Berstein. Just think what will happen if Abreu has a slow first couple weeks. Those callers will keep getting louder until something happens.

In all honesty though, if Cooper wanted a reliever, why not? Nothing wrong with Webb/Petricka having to pitch themselves into the pen. Probably does cut the chances of only going with a 6 man pen though.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Dec 5, 2013 -> 08:56 PM) It will be interesting to see how Ventura handles this type of situation....players who are chronically late, especially for day games. He will fit right in.

QUOTE (Vance Law @ Dec 5, 2013 -> 07:26 PM) First, you accidentally (or conveniently) excluded more than 20% of Dunn's PA's last year against lefties. It was 142. But secondly, and more importantly, yes Konerko will get way way more PA's if either Abreu or Dunn breaks a bone in their hand, pushing Paulie into more action. Beckham's injury last year, as you know, explains Greene's playing time. Quite on purpose I left them out because Konerko shouldn't be in the lineup if there's a RH starter on the mound, and PH situations have to be used with some intelligence. The good news I guess is that none of our guys will get hurt this year at any positions other than 1b since our backups are so weak everywhere else.

QUOTE (ChiSox59 @ Dec 5, 2013 -> 07:49 PM) Time to step away and take a breath man. My first reaction was very similar to yours, but 36 hours later it is time to move on. While the move totally jams up the bench, a Dunn / Konerko platoon will certainly produce a slash line that well exceeds the .214/.294/.341 line White Sox DHs posted last year. Paulie will take minimal ABs away from Abreu. The guy is used to playing 90 games per year - he is going to need a breather once every 10 days or so, whether Paulie was on the team or not. The SOX will and should take it slow with Jose. Paulie will DH against most LHP when feeling well. Look, I don't love the move either, but for $2.5M, it is certainly not the worst thing in the world. So the exact same guys will produce more than last year now that they're both a year older.

QUOTE (Vance Law @ Dec 5, 2013 -> 07:05 PM) I'm not sure what point you're making. That in addition to being bad, Greene barely played at all making his presence on the roster even more pointless and confounding? That the White Sox used the final backup IF on the roster at least 50% more than the role Konerko will get if he just subs for Dunn, and that's without Alexei ever getting a day off. For Konerko to just get as much usage as the last IF on the White Sox roster he's going to take 100+ PA's from Abreu.

QUOTE (Vance Law @ Dec 5, 2013 -> 06:41 PM) It seems like you're intentionally failing to be specific. Doesn't matter how many righties are or aren't on the roster, we're specifically talking about the clear upgrade of Konerko taking regular at bats away from Dunn (while Keppinger is already starting at third). Just to be clear...Adam Dunn got 110 PA's total against LH starters last year. Tyler Green was on the roster 2 months and he got 1/2 that many PA's as the final, backup IF.

QUOTE (The Ultimate Champion @ Dec 5, 2013 -> 06:26 PM) That said, Hahn still needs to approach the offseason as if we're a shoe-in for 90+ losses because now is the time to do some serious work on the foundation of the organization. He already is.

QUOTE (Vance Law @ Dec 5, 2013 -> 06:15 PM) I would say not to this extant....and in December It would have been hard for there to be much outrage about Hudson or Olmedo in December as Hudson was added to the roster in May and Olmedo in August.

QUOTE (Vance Law @ Dec 5, 2013 -> 06:15 PM) I don't think you really think that. I suspect that you are well aware of the relative value of having Paul Konerko hit lefties instead of Adam Dunn vs. whatever it is that Ray Olmedo does. I'm not actually sure. My biggest problem with Olmedo was that he was the laziest f***ing player on that 2012 team to the point it cost the Whtie Sox at least 1 game. That was followed up by Paul Konerko being the captain of the laziest, most uninterested, most unfocused team I've ever seen the White Sox put on the field. They each brought a minor skill of some slight utility to the table. Paul Konerko able to pinch hit and hit left-handers on a roster already dominated by righties, and Olmedo able to give Youkilis the occasional day off.

QUOTE (DrunkBomber @ Dec 5, 2013 -> 05:57 PM) Rose just created a s*** storm for him and the Bulls come playoff time (unless were lucky and they dont make it) with these comments. What the hell was he thinking? I don't think anyone will believe the S***storm if someone tries to start it. And I'm not sure anyone would care either.

QUOTE (Vance Law @ Dec 5, 2013 -> 05:41 PM) So the Sox wasted 2 (2!) roster spots with Ray Olmedo and Orlando Hudson at the same time!? Where was the outcry from this board over that? I think there was plenty of outrage over Hudson and Olmedo playing. In fact...Hudson, you should note...was replaced as a starter as soon as Youkilis was available. But at least that one was done in an effort to win games. After injuries hit the pitching staff...it made sense to trade Eduardo Escobar for Liriano to see if we could push forward. But yes, I do think Rey Olmedo and Paul Konerko bring similar things to the 2012 and 2014 white sox, respectively.,

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Dec 5, 2013 -> 05:35 PM) To be quite blunt, you know absolutely nothing at this point in time. For all we know, he may have 5 moves planned. We'll get a better idea after the winter meetings. It's likely this is pretty close to the team we'll see on opening day, and it's likely they'll lose 90+ games. And, as I've asked many others, did you really expect anything differently? I expected them to be at least able to pretend to try.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Dec 5, 2013 -> 04:58 PM) No player worth his weight ever wants a day off. The manager will give them days off when he feels it's necessary. You get Danks 2 games a week and Garcia or Keppinger 2-3 games a week, and everything's fine. You can't carry all 3 of those on the roster.

QUOTE (Vance Law @ Dec 5, 2013 -> 05:04 PM) Why did the White Sox use a roster spot for Angel Sanchez last year? Or Tyler Greene? And why were you not apoplectic about it? How much value did Ray Olmedo bring to the team in 2012 vs. how much Konerko will? Will there be a huge difference, and in Olmedo's favor? If you honestly think the difference between wasting a roster spot with Sanchez or Greene or Olmedo somehow results in even 1 win more than with Paul Konerko taking the bat out of Adam Dunn's hands against lefties, then by all means keep having a huge reaction to this. Worth noting is that Olmedo got that roster spot because Eduardo Escobar was traded away and the White Sox...needed a backup who could play IF positions in addition to Orlando Hudson. They carried 2 backup IF's that year...and used both. Similarly...when Angel Sanchez got hurt...they tried out another backup IF. And then traded for another at the deadline. In both cases, both guys got used. We don't have the luxury of carrying that this year as it stands right now. Olmedo flat out didn't deserve playing time...but got it anyway because having a 2nd backup IF was important.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Dec 5, 2013 -> 04:48 PM) They could, but ultimately it would depend on who is available. Say Verlander started, which puts Dunn, Gillaspie, and Danks in the lineup with Phegley catching. The Sox are down 1. Nathan is pitching with 2 outs in the 9th, and Phegley's up. Who do you want hitting in that scenario? I think there will be other, less developed and more obvious opportunities other than that too. If you went by the numbers...Phegley last year is the only guy in our lineup you'd actually PH Konerko for against a righty. You'd actually be downgrading if you PH Konerko for Beckham, Viciedo, Garcia, or even Keppinger.

Nelson Mandela has died at age 95.

QUOTE (Vance Law @ Dec 5, 2013 -> 04:44 PM) Why would Konerko be put in to pinch hit versus a righty? Why wouldn't it be Gillaspie or Danks? (Or Loboton?) Exactly. Which leads to the key question...why is this guy taking up a spot on the bench when he's not even the right option to PH for most of our lineup?

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Dec 5, 2013 -> 04:44 PM) And if I'm the Yankees, I say "Thanks for all of your contributions over the years. Good luck in Seattle, kid." And the Rays, Orioles, Blue Jays, and Red Sox would add in thanks for departing and helping their shot at the division.

QUOTE (Soxfest @ Dec 5, 2013 -> 04:39 PM) According to Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes, the Mariners have let Robinson Cano know that they would be willing to give him a 10-year contract worth between $230-240 million. If that's the case, we're not sure how Cano hasn't signed with them yet. Only Albert Pujols and Alex Rodriguez (twice) have received bigger contracts in the history of the game. Rojas hears that Cano took a private flight from from New York to Seattle on Thursday to meet with the Mariners, so reports pegging them as a serious threat would appear to be accurate. We'll soon see whether this will be enough for the Yankees to increase their limit, which is reportedly in the range of seven years and $175 million. Per Rotoworld If I had that offer in hand I'd go back to the Yankees at least once.

QUOTE (StRoostifer @ Dec 5, 2013 -> 04:37 PM) I'd say JayZ and Mariners both in desperation mode. Looks like Seattle wants to make an offer that for now, nobody will contend with. All this for a guy who's numbers WILL drop hitting in that park. But still, they could use the production. Their offense underperforms even considering the park factor. Their payroll last year was only $72 million, that's down from $106 million just over 5 years ago and even down $15 million from the year before. Throw in new TV money and they've got the room and the need.