Balta1701

QUOTE (GreenSox @ Jul 31, 2013 -> 10:40 AM) Well it is premature. And we have to see if he can hit. But if he can, catcher have moved to other positions fairly often. And Flowers should be able to catch balls better than he has - he drank the same cool aid I guess that the rest of these defenders did. If we're talking about moving any of them I might be willing to give Flowers some at bats at 1b before Phegley.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jul 31, 2013 -> 10:35 AM) Premature evaluation...? He at least deserves the next 2 months of observation before drawing ANY conclusions, and, even then...remember how we all felt based on 2012 that Tyler would be at least average/above-average defensively? Well, that didn't work out quite so well. Hell, a catcher probably ought to take years developing on defense. Unless they're great throwers, very few of them come up as polished products on defense. Playing these guys and letting them struggle is part of what people want when they demand young talent to rebuild. Get used ot it.

QUOTE (GreenSox @ Jul 31, 2013 -> 10:33 AM) Phegley probably needs to learn a new position WTF?

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Jul 31, 2013 -> 10:27 AM) But they potentially gave up their RF of the future? Maybe it makes them better this year, but in the future they may wish they still had Garcia instead of Julio. They're trying to win this year and they probably comforted themselves with the idea that Castellanos is playing corner OF right now.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jul 31, 2013 -> 10:20 AM) I can't see it. They can't add payroll for next year and beyond. They have a ton of money coming off the books next year, more than enough to absorb Rios if that's what they want to do. How does a guy like Soriano count against the luxury tax for them? Is it the amount total or the amount they're paying?

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jul 31, 2013 -> 10:22 AM) If they could find the Josh Willingham CF (2012 version for MINNY) "buy low" candidate, that would be great. It's not Choo or Ellsbury, that's for sure. And how low Granderson's demands go, we'll just have to wait and see. They'll definitely give Viciedo at least one more year. They gave Gordon Beckham four plus years, after all. He's the player they have the most invested in, as well...along with Sale and Hawkins. The other thing to think about though is a guy's attitude. They gave Beckham years but they also were dealing with him every day, they knew him a lot better than us. They may well be done with Viciedo for all I know. He's definitely gone backwards with the glove this year and I'd bet part of that is coaching and part of that is focus. Of course, Viciedo has looked a lot better for the last week or two.

QUOTE (Lemon_44 @ Jul 31, 2013 -> 10:18 AM) I noticed Rienzo was throwing in the low 90's last night. Is he the same guy who a couple years ago was a relief pitcher and reportedly throwing in the upper 90's, even 100, or am I thinking of someone else? I know MPH isn't the biggest deal but that seems like a significant drop in velocity. Or is he just throwing with less MPH because he's now a starter?. No, I caught him in his first game in AA and "Low 90's" seems perfect. I think he might have popped as high as 93 in that game but he was definitely low 90's. The guy I saw last year who was able to hit upper 90's was Simon Castro. I have zero idea what happened to his fastball. The guy who hit 100 was Daniel Webb.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Jul 31, 2013 -> 10:16 AM) I started to say "you're smoking that s***" but I looked at Cabrera's milb numbers and they were nothing special until he tore up AAA. Granted, haven't checked out the peripherals or anything but still. People were comparing him to MCab the moment he came up. The odds of him ever reaching that level are obviously quite low, but I think I heard that comparison in his first game.

QUOTE (Jake @ Jul 31, 2013 -> 10:13 AM) I have to think our plan for the next offseason is to buy low on some vets that don't go to the top buyers on the market. I dunno honestly...we obviously need a couple of bullpen veterans out there since it's a young pen, I'll certainly say that, but as of now we at least have someone who pencils in at every lineup position until another trade is made. Garcia, De Aza, Rios, Gillaspie/Keppinger, Ramirez, Beckham, Viciedo, Dunn, Phegley, full starting rotation. You can quibble with whether they're ready to ditch someone like Viciedo and they could certainly grab a couple of guys to turn into platooners or improve the bench, but until another player is moved, the Sox don't have obvious room for a lot of "Buy low" guys. They definitely need some bench help though, I guess that's where they could go, but there isn't an obvious starting spot right now for anyone.

QUOTE (Jake @ Jul 31, 2013 -> 10:10 AM) While Tim Kurkjian probably doesn't actually know anything, he says he thinks Rios does not get moved due to his contract and the perception around the league that he is not a winner. He says he thinks the White Sox will do "something" though I think the last obvious move on the list is clearing out Lindstrom, so I think at least that happens today.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jul 31, 2013 -> 10:08 AM) But Cherington clearing out Crawford, Adrian Gonzalez and Beckett went 50% of the way to his winning the award THIS YEAR. For the AL, Friedman, Beane and Antonetti are the other options for that award, with some probably giving it to Cashman, just, because...well, he has to deal with A-Rod. If Avisail Garcia turns into Miguel Cabrera with the bat, which frankly he has a shot to do...then Hahn will win executive of the year pretty quick. He won't get it by moving any contract on our roster, we weren't in that bad of shape before moving Peavy, we're in great shape now.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jul 31, 2013 -> 10:05 AM) We've seen the last couple of weeks...unless you want to experience complete frustration in the starting staff, you STILL have to have some credible components at the back of the bullpen, especially with Lindstrom probably getting dumped on someone. At this point, with his contract (2013) at only $500K, he (Lindstrom) might be worth it more to us as a veteran stabilizer before the entire bullpen falls apart. Unless you can get something like a Top 3-4-5-6 prospect (see the Astros/Tigers deal for Veras) in a strong system, you probably are better off holding onto Addison Reed unless someone overwhelms you with an offer. No one at all should care about the back end of the bullpen falling apart this year. I'd be much more content with giving those innings to guys in Charlotte. Next offseason you're right, we're going to have to spend some money there to find a couple veterans, probably one from each side, but for now, let the kids play.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jul 31, 2013 -> 10:02 AM) If he could manage that with John Danks, then Hahn would be an early favorite for GM/Administrator of the Year, if you could simultaneously manage to get rid of Ramirez and Rios without eating any salary....or eating significant salary and getting back Top 75-150 level MLB prospects. (DeAza would be a great 4th outfielder for a contender, as well). Most of us would rather see the "prospect treasure chest" refilled for the immediate gratification, but surely the money/savings from Peavy and others (Thornton, possibly $1 million or so with Crain) will be reinvested eventually, when the time is right. You don't win executive of the year by moving contracts, you win executive of the year with wins.

QUOTE (Lemon_44 @ Jul 31, 2013 -> 09:36 AM) After acquring Garcia and Jacobs, the Sox have some extra OF's that could be dangled with the most valuable probably being Trayce Thompson. Does Ramirez, Thompson, and Lindstrom get you Adams and Martinez/Wong? I'd probably rather just see if Alexei and Lindstrom could pull Adams though. The Cardinals really don't need our AA center field development prospect. Basically everyone in the White Sox system is worth more to the White Sox than to any other team right now unless there's some scout on some team absolutely raving about a guy. Trayce also has the big use to the ChiSox of being a legit, ground-covering CF. None of hte other guys are.

QUOTE (103 mph screwball @ Jul 31, 2013 -> 09:33 AM) I really hope they move Dunn. Something about this team just seems broken since he arrived. I'm sure he is a good guy and may not the cause of the crapification of the Sox. I just don't want to watch him play any more. Many people like tequila. I hate tequila because it has made me very sick to my stomach one too many times. Just the smell of tequila repulses me. Dunn is like tequila to me. I Would be thrilled to see Kendry Morales or a prospect like Adams from St. Louis there next year. I think it's becoming quite clear that St. Louis isn't ready to part with Adams yet. They could prove me wrong today but I'm skeptical.

QUOTE (Heads22 @ Jul 31, 2013 -> 09:18 AM) He's better than a lot of crap in people's bullpens? I'm debating whether to just give up on replying to those posts.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jul 31, 2013 -> 09:19 AM) How is that much better than this year's line up? There'd be a ton of young talent covering almost every position. Whether the team can develop them into something useful is a different question, but that lineup would be what you guys want.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jul 31, 2013 -> 09:17 AM) The White Sox should ask Paulie if he wants to go someplace else. He has earned it. If Texas or some other contender want him, the Sox, if Paulie wants to go, should make it happen, even if they have to eat everything but the minimum. He probably doesn't because he's the captain and a captain doesn't abandon a sinking ship. He's also earned the right to stay and have a sendoff this September if that's what he wants. If he wanted to go somewhere, they'd get it done, if he said he didn't want to go, then he won't go.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jul 30, 2013 -> 09:14 PM) In other words have some people retire on much less money, just like you were against before. And then all we need to do is make sure those people have no healthcare covereage, and we're set. Or at least that's what I get based on the fact that "retirement security" and "giving people health care" get treated like punchlines.

I spent way too much time having to figure out what all the abbreviations were on that unlinked image.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Jul 31, 2013 -> 07:51 AM) H. DeAza - FA - Garcia OF with Tank at DH Where's Dunn going?

So, my main reaction is "it sure seems like the White Sox really think that the next premium in baseball will be on power bats". I'm not sure I disagree. We've targeted a corner OF power bat in 2 straight trades and we've drafted them repeatedly as well.

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Jul 31, 2013 -> 05:55 AM) How many years is years ? Who before Mitchell ? Brian Anderson and Chris Young were athletic, toolsy outfielders who didn't live up to their potential once they got to the bigs.

QUOTE (DirtySox @ Jul 30, 2013 -> 08:53 PM) They have pretty similar minor league numbers. Middlebrooks has done something in the Bigs though. There are also questions if Davidson can stick at 3B. There should be plenty of questions about whether Middlebrooks can stick in the bigs.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jul 30, 2013 -> 07:00 PM) But basing people's retirement solely on something that requires both more and more people paying into the fund to keep it solvent over time, and for the organization to be still profitable and in existence at your retirement is a great thing for the country... So lets just significantly expand social security benefits and call the safety net fixed.