Balta1701

QUOTE (Jake @ Nov 3, 2013 -> 02:55 PM) I like to think that this just foiled the Cubs' plans again If they really wanted him they had plenty of time.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Nov 3, 2013 -> 02:54 PM) Is Alexei a difference maker? In a 7 game series he absolutely "could" be. For a team with a weakness at shortstop he absolutely should be. Whether that translates into that series going 7 games...who knows.

QUOTE (hi8is @ Nov 3, 2013 -> 01:51 PM) Mashing home runs out of the cell is the only language he needs to speak in a promo spot And he needs to play there first and hit some of those home runs. Once that happens, then we have a promo spot.

QUOTE (thxfrthmmrs @ Nov 3, 2013 -> 01:34 AM) The player who will have higher basketball IQ, better jump shot, and 5 more inch vertical, we are still waiting for his return apparently. I feel like his "decision making" was actually pretty solid yesterday. He got a lot of open looks for people, particularly inside, and the shots he was taking weren't bad shots, he was open on the perimeter, just bricking them.

QUOTE (Tex @ Nov 3, 2013 -> 09:05 AM) The "free" money from the feds came with an expiration date and a lot of strings. It isn't quite so cut and dried. Yeah, 3 years from now the feds pay 94%. Instead, every hospital in your state continues covering the poor. So, you pay for the expanded Medicaid in the states that did so through your federal taxes and you pay higher rates at hospitals to cover the uninsured in your state. Congrats.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Nov 2, 2013 -> 09:00 PM) doesn't he have 2? No, what other team would he have gotten one with? Minnesota no, the Giants no, the White Sox 1, the Rangers no.

I don't know why a guy like him would sign here either. Find a place where they've got a shot at being a competitor and don't have a lot of pitching depth. We're neither of those, on paper at least.

QUOTE (beck72 @ Nov 3, 2013 -> 10:09 AM) I've seen other reports of his having decent defense. I know last year's defensive metrics weren't very good. http://www.minorleagueball.com/2012/6/25/3...scouting-report If we're moving De Aza out of CF, it better be because of a guy who is actually fairly good in CF, not just maybe-tolerable.

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Nov 3, 2013 -> 10:55 AM) I think the Sox should do some TV ads right away about Abreu . Show footage of his WBC highlights while showing his stat lines from the WBC and Cuban League. Ask him to do some batting practice at the Cell before it gets too cold and film it and the last part of the commercials showing him at the Cell in full uniform interspersed with clips of the scoreboard exploding and thousands of fans cheering . End it with a catch phrase like white letters on a black background saying " THE FUTURE IS NOW ." This commercial ending only is good if we can add some more quality pieces. Fans need to move on from the Konerko era. Get some quotes from Konerko and The Big Hurt endorsing Abreu as part of the commercial too IMO, I'm sure they will use him some...but it's going to be hard to sell a guy who we have never seen on the field. Esp. one who doesn't speak much English yet.

QUOTE (TaylorStSox @ Nov 3, 2013 -> 01:39 PM) Just a heads up guys, while Ramirez' power has dropped, he still has a ton of XBH. He also steals a lot of bases. He won't look good to the stat nerds because he doesn't walk much, but he's still a productive hitter and very valuable. Beckham's defense is incredibly overrated. Once we get a real second baseman, people will notice. His range is abysmal. Beckham's range was actually really good in 2011, but it's gotten worse each year. Alexei also was interesting this year in that some of his power might well have been lost by being in the 2-hole and trying to make more contact...he did suddenly start homering as soon as he was dropped in the order again.

QUOTE (TaylorStSox @ Nov 3, 2013 -> 12:39 PM) I actually still think Flowers has much more potential than Phegley. Flowers is flawed by having a slow bat. However, his swing is far more pure and effortless. I also think he has a much better eye, but is held back by his approach. He needs to be more aggressive. He falls behind in the count too much because he's trying to be patient. I feel like Flowers has had more of a shot, esp. given his age and the number of years he repeated AAA. That said...if Hahn was convinced that he's a legit player who was held back by an injury this year...that's plausible too. I keep thinking that now that the 1b hole is full...catcher's spot is probably Hahn's hardest choice. There are legit options on the FA market who could help, but cost and age and record of consistency are questions for some of those guys. OTOH, Phegley and Flowers have both put up serious numbers at AAA, and if you could develop one of them into an "average" catcher, that's a huge, huge victory that could be a giant step in turning this into a competitive team again. On top of that, one of those guys was a rookie and the other had a nagging injury the whole year. That's a choice I woudln't want to make.

QUOTE (Vance Law @ Nov 2, 2013 -> 09:01 PM) Nope. I didn't complain about anything, but I did offer suggestions for higher-priority complaints than Beckham. And with regard to Ramirez, rather than in a vacuum, I specifically put the issue in context of his $9.5 million paycheck. Does the combination of his good [if increasingly error-prone] defense at short and his lacking offense warrant $9.5 million? Since you brought up WAR...that statistic says "absolutely and he'd be worth even more than that".

It would be nice if Thibs had confidence enough in Snell to have 2 shooters out there now.

Merry Christmas 76ers, here's an absolute present. Amazon even included free shipping.

This is White Sox level sloppy.

Just stop, Derrick.

QUOTE (buhbuhburrrrlz @ Nov 2, 2013 -> 09:32 PM) Michael Carter Williams gz I was about to suggest trading Rose for him then he finally hit that shot.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Nov 2, 2013 -> 09:17 PM) Because he was on the bench for the last two games of the World Series, I think Salty's price could drop into a comfortable range for the Sox on say a 3-year deal. I don't think many GMs are dumb enough to have that impact anything. I think they're silly in other ways but not that one. Maybe Theo.

Did you actually just complain about the number of WAR Viciedo has put up and then immediately turn around and complain about Ramirez's offense in a vacuum without considering the position and defense?

Each team has played one incredibly sloppy half, it would just be nice if te Bulls could make some outside shots ever.

Here's another way to look at it though...look how many wild cards we'd still be counting on even with those guys. If Garcia, Abreu, and Viciedo hit .230 and had 50 HR between them total would anyone be honestly stunned? I have no idea what I will get from those 3 next year. Throw in these guys being as terrible in the field as they were last year and maybe either an injury or some struggles from the bullpen and we would still be talking about a 70 win team despite spending $250 million more on those 2 guys. I'm willing to risk $68 million and some playing time on Abreu and these his based on that scouting report. For them to compete next year they need everything to go right...and signing McCann and Ellsbury would change that to "almost" everything needs to go right. I'm not sure I'm willing to risk that kind of money on having a lot of things go right. Especially with the level of focus and discipline we saw from this team last year and the inability of the coaching staff to do anything about it.

QUOTE (Vance Law @ Nov 2, 2013 -> 08:38 PM) League average OPS for an American League second baseman over the last 2 years is .695. If you have time to complain about a league average second baseman earning way less than a league average salary it must mean you've got a bunch of all-stars at the other positions. Why do I think that if you'd compared Beckhams ops over the last 2 years to league average, instead of sneaking in his rookie year, you'd tell a different story?

Apparently Jake Peavy bought one of te Boston Duck Boats today.

QUOTE (bmags @ Nov 2, 2013 -> 08:22 PM) The sisters are who we thought they were!!!! How the Hell did this team beat the Heat?

H. Christ, these guys can't hit a jump shot to save their lives.