Balta1701

QUOTE (TaylorStSox @ Jun 26, 2013 -> 12:05 AM) Any chance of Thompson being ready next year? Move ADA to LF and Viciedo to DH/1B. If you want him to spend 3 years struggling to adjust to big league pitching a-la beckham, and maybe develop some bad habits from which he never recovers (a-la Anderson perhaps?) sure.

I smacked my forehead so hard in the 9th inning that it actually hurt.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jun 26, 2013 -> 09:08 AM) You don't have to compete next year so much as you need to get pieces in place to begin to compete again. Granderson is older than I thought - 33 next year - so signing him to a 4 year deal seems a little crazy. Still, a 3 year deal with an option is a possibility and, though it has a chance to blow up ala Dunn, Granderson's athletic enough that he should still provide positive value throughout the course of the deal. Key with Granderson is going to be whether he can spend a fair amount of time in the latter years at the DH spot. If he can, then I'm good with it. If we sign another DH, then I'm not.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jun 26, 2013 -> 06:54 AM) Now the excuse is by people who weren't there that they just laid around and drank beer for a month and a half and the reason it isn't being reported is the writers feel sorry for Robin. LMAO. And people rip Greg about AJ. Just find one source other than Balta's speculation that the White Sox were lax towards fundamentals during spring training. If it was anything near the country club atmosphere it has been described with no work being done, it would be out there. There are more than just beat writers in Glendale. You wanna go watch Gordon Beckham try to field that popup a few times and tell me this again?

QUOTE (Dunt @ Jun 25, 2013 -> 06:02 PM) I've noticed that trend Didnt they not even have Sale ranked a few seasons ago? Probably a good reason for that...Sale was brought up and became a big league contributor very rapidly and as a consequence was never in the minors long enough to be considered a "prospect". He used up his eligibility as a rookie when he was called up right after being drafted.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jun 25, 2013 -> 05:58 PM) Then we'll be back to 2007 with the bullpen. We know Crain, Thornton and Lindstrom will likely be gone. And maybe even Reed. Is Jones really going to be reliable in Crain's role for 2014? I just don't see it at the moment, with his control issues and getting behind in counts. That is going to be a major repair job. We all saw in 2011 and early in 2012 what a shaky bullpen could do to a team's confidence. It seems like it's already being whispered that Webb could have a shot at that role. Dude does throw 100. I'll agree though, there will need to be a veteran presence brought into that bullpen this offseason. Who it is, I dunno, and how many, I dunno; depends on what guys like Webb and perhaps SRod do if they get callups in August/September.

QUOTE (The Ultimate Champion @ Jun 25, 2013 -> 05:56 PM) I definitely think we have to target MLB-ready players across the board. We'll have to bring in guys who are ready or very close to it & rely on our own scouting dept. to build the lower ranks of the farm, and continue building what we already have down there. We really need help at every level, but especially the MLB level. You just can't trade all your proven players for A ballers, that s*** doesn't work if you want to be good at any point this century. Worth remembering though...what level of MLB-ready prospect do you get for middle relief? Even if they're having a great season like Crain, 2 months of a middle reliever doesn't get you all that great of a return if you focus solely on guys who can contribute next year. Ditto Thornton, Lindstrom. Peavy or Rios or Reed, if they're dealt...guys like that you're right, you don't want to take a guy with 20 innings in AA ball for Peavy and then have him turn into Nestor Molina, you want a guy who can contribute next year. But the other guys who might be moved, there could be a lot more value available if you target people who are a year or more away.

QUOTE (Dunt @ Jun 25, 2013 -> 05:53 PM) I'm surprised to be honest. He has some of the best numbers in the minors. This is the thing you should remember with prospect lists. No matter how good someone performs...the guys making those lists play favorites. Not necessarily even on purpose; they go to see teams they believe are loaded and they like guys who others like.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jun 25, 2013 -> 05:48 PM) Back to the Marty theory. Are Granderson or Morneau or whoever really going to be here for the next playoff team? With this pitching staff and the money coming off the books this year, there is zero reason why this team cannot attempt to be competitive in 2014. Between guys added in trades this deadline and having money to spend this offseason, the Sox have the ability to fill the holes on their offense and make themselves a formidable team. Of course, they also need to remember how to catch the f***ing ball. If they can't do that, they could do lots of upgrades and still fail, because high-schoolers play the game with better fundamentals than this team.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jun 25, 2013 -> 05:48 PM) How likely is Morneau ever to get his power back? It's an idea, others have suggested it, because he's not going to get nearly as much money as before...just like Konerko, were he to stay another year. Not sure he's very likely to get a lot of power back, but his splits are extreme. Last year against RHP: .902 OPS, LHP .569 OPS. We're stuck with Dunn anyway for next year, so Morneau actually fits next to him. Granderson next year would be the match with Viciedo and then Morneau/Granderson could fill the DH role the next year if they were signed to multi-year deals. Just brainstorming out loud. Maybe Andy Wilkins seizes control of this position in August and never lets it go. Stranger things have happened.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jun 25, 2013 -> 05:45 PM) You think? Can't tell if sarcasm? Yes, the Braves know when to let guys go. That's what they do; when they have youth ready to step in, they let the veteran go. They have no where to play Gattis now as it is, they're shoving him into the OF just to get him at bats, and their OF should be set up for 5 years with 2 Uptons and Heyward.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jun 25, 2013 -> 05:40 PM) The problem is they either need to really spend or why bother? Just to be sort of respectable and not lose 100 games? What's the point of adding one or two of those guys and only losing 87-93 instead? LHer's pitching against Adam Dunn have been a pretty big deal that last 2 1/2 seasons, have they not? And we've already been eliminated this season before we've played more than 60-65% of our divisional games. Granderson actually makes a ton of sense to me if they hire a manager willing to view the DH as a rotating spot. Granderson could play some corner OF and some DH and Granderson, Dunn, and Viciedo could all rotate through that spot. If you add in another player who can play 1b and hit from the right side (crazy idea, Morneau) this could actually work, be fairly effective, and keep the veteran guys in the lineup as well.

QUOTE (IowaSoxFan @ Jun 25, 2013 -> 05:23 PM) I don't see the catchers going anywhere, I think all three probably re-sign, I'd be really surprised if the Braves signed McCann now. Not only is that not their traditional M.O...Evan Gattis is kinda making that decision easy.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jun 25, 2013 -> 04:39 PM) August and September should hopefully be exciting months for the die hards who have wanted to rebuild for a while. I think you could see as many as 6 new starters offensively and a whole slew of new pitchers in the bullpen. It'd be clinically insane for there not to be some changes. At the very least, Phegley and 2 relievers ought to get their shots. I'll be interested to see if they can find PT to give Wilkins a chance now that he's moved up to Charlotte. Would probably require someone taking on Konerko...

QUOTE (DukeNukeEm @ Jun 25, 2013 -> 04:36 PM) Yea the NHL is probably reeling from the fact that two of the top five jersey sellers in the league have won two Cups in four years. The league is loving this. (And that's with Crosby getting his name on the cup in 2009 and Los Angeles and Boston, which are somewhat major metro areas, sandwiched in there as well).

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jun 25, 2013 -> 04:31 PM) C - McCann, Saltalamacchia, Ruiz 1B - Lind, Morse, Napoli, Morales 2B - Cano, Utley, Zobrist OF - Choo, Cruz, Granderson, Hart, Kubel, Murphy, Pence Other than Cano and Choo, I don't foresee any of these guys getting monstrous deals. I mention Choo and Cano because they are the types of players the Sox could be interested in, but I would not count on them getting them. McCann may be spendy, but he's not out of the realm of possibility either. Really, it's not far fetched to think the Sox could add 3 of the above guys. And again I'll note...the moves the Sox do make will depend a lot on what happens this next month and 6 days. If they Sox come up with a MLB-ready OF somewhere, that makes signing an OF less likely. Ditto 1b. Phegley could come up and grab hold of the catcher's spot for next year and take that off the list. We're going to need help somewhere and there are some guys who could be really nice fits for need on that list, but it's an open question of what the needs will be until we hit the deadline.

QUOTE (IowaSoxFan @ Jun 25, 2013 -> 04:22 PM) I don't see them making many major moves, I think they will re-sign Gavin to an incentive laden contract with options, they will make some more Lindstrom type moves to shore up the bullpen, and a Keppinger type move to get another OF, maybe someone like Delmon Young, but they won't be chasing big ticket free agents. I think this is a three year rebuild and they are going to hold their chips until they are ready to go all in again. I think they will use the money to go to player development and help improve the minor league system by spending more on scouting and roving coaches, and will focus more on the farm providing talent to either contribute at the major league level or to acquire pieces that will. I don't think they're going to dump $50 million on scouting and roving coaches ($30 million from salary savings, $25 million from bonus TV revenue).

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jun 25, 2013 -> 04:08 PM) If you trade Peavy, there's no reason they should bring in another RHP. Just roll with Sale/Santiago/Quintana/Johnson/Danks in whatever order. No need to give $3 mill to a retread only to have him pitch terribly and get DFA'd in June. That's what the Twins did in the last 2000's. It'd definitely be an interesting gamble to see a team go with that lefty-heavy of a rotation. I also still think there's a 50/50 shot the Sox will sign Floyd to a minor league/1 year deal and stash him away on the DL/in a rehab stint until the 2nd half of the season.

QUOTE (The Ultimate Champion @ Jun 25, 2013 -> 04:04 PM) If the Sox dump a lot of money in deadline deals, then trade the Jakemeister in the offseason, they will be able to offer a FA deal to a RHP to take Jake's current spot (placeholder probably, taking up innings while Johnson/whoever settles into the #5 spot) and then they should also be able to pick up at least 2 run producers to fit somewhere in either LF/CF/RF/1B/3B/DH/C. They might even be able to get 3 if they get a buy low type looking for playing time on a 1-year deal. But as always, there's the Torii Hunter rule. Can't count on anything. They really don't need to offer a FA to replace Jake IMO...they might need to do so to replace one of the lefties if they can move them. Even if Peavy is moved they're 6 deep in the rotation counting Johnson for next season. The question will be whether they want to roll with such a lefty-heavy rotation. If they don't, then one of them will need to be moved, and that could leave them buying a pitcher this offseason.

QUOTE (IowaSoxFan @ Jun 25, 2013 -> 03:51 PM) If we trade our players we want rid of, that is all we will get back is players that other organizations dont have plans for in the future. You have to trade value to get value. And I cannot believe anyone believes this team will be better next year. Danks will come up to replace PK with De Aza sliding to LF and Viciedo going to 1B. the only case in which the scenario you lay out is likely is if they decide to cut their payroll into the $90 million range (a $30 million cut from this year).

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jun 25, 2013 -> 03:42 PM) Can we stop having penis envy of a team that hasn't won a thing in 108 years? THEIR PROSPECTS!!!!

QUOTE (Harry Chappas @ Jun 25, 2013 -> 03:02 PM) They certainly are a creative group. It's not unreasonable if they can get Deng at slightly below market rate right now. Butler becomes the main option at SG over the next 2 years, Boozer gets amnesthitized next offseason to clear enough money to bring Mirotic over. They'd be in a spot of maintaining a solid starting rotation for a couple years until Butler needed to be extended and they'd have a shot at the East each of those years.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jun 25, 2013 -> 02:59 PM) They didn't call him Crain Wreck in Minnesota for no reason. Because every other year he would get hurt and that would impact his performance over the full season.

Woj

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jun 25, 2013 -> 02:12 PM) And where was he drafted? Where was Hawkins drafted in the first round? Slightly different expectations. So your entire point of comparing randomly to harper falls apart and your response is "oh this time it's different". If I go back, who do you think brought it up?