Balta1701

QUOTE (Boogua @ Jun 18, 2013 -> 10:02 PM) Haha, didn't see this before my post, but +1 Last I heard he was overseas hunting Nazi gold. Nice to know he's back in te league!

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Jun 18, 2013 -> 09:59 PM) "Where are the dominant bigs!" Oh, that's right. The greatest one to play the game is still playing. Kareem is still playing? Awesome!

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jun 18, 2013 -> 08:25 PM) Axe is getting lit up again tonight. He wouldn't fetch much. He is ome guy who is probably worth more to the Sox than what they could ever expect to get back for him. That's absolutely correct and will be for a long time. No one will give anything of value for him since he's not goig to wow with stuff.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jun 18, 2013 -> 07:10 PM) You worry about that when the time comes. These things usually work themselves out eventually. I think whoever is traded is going to be based on the return. It would be silly to move anyone just to save money. They need to get talent back. And to whoever thinks Ramirez has to go, who exactly is going to play SS? Not just the rest of this year, but for the next couple of years? The Sox have so little in house, Ramirez has to play all the time, and it's not like starting SS are abundantly available in the trade market. The Sox will be dumping some guys, but I think it will be the guys that weren't coming back in 2014. I think Peavy stays, rios stays, Ramirez stays, Reed stays, Paulie probably stays. The pickings for SS's are quite slim this offseason. If Ramirez were to go, it probably would be because the Sox got a middle infielder back in another deal somewhere. Beckham could get shifted there obviously but then we have a 2b hole, although there are more tempting expensive (Cano-laden) names at 2b.

QUOTE (Soxfest @ Jun 18, 2013 -> 06:52 PM) Mitchell and Walker neither one top 10 prospects at this point just more in the long line of wasted first round picks. Walker was not a first round pick, he was a sandwich pick. He's not top 10 right now because other people have hit well and the draft just happened...he could well finish this season as a borderline top 10 guy if he has a couple good months.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Jun 18, 2013 -> 06:54 PM) You definitely don't weaken your pitching staff and trade one of your best assets for below market value in order to give Axelrod some innings. You pretended my statement didn't happen. Are you ok with Santiago going back to the bullpen?

Nike's "2 time champion" Lebron James shoes...

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Jun 18, 2013 -> 06:20 PM) Every time something like this happens, I hope it becomes a catalyst event that changes the way people vote in the future, but it never does, and perhaps it can't...who are the alternatives, if anyone, and would they be any better or do anything differently? Just seems like another smoking gun story, trailing a long line of smoking gun stories, when the gun has essentially been smoking for decades, and nobody cares, I mean, when the boy cries wolf enough, people stop listening. I think the majority have stopped long ago. What will happen eventually is that someone will misuse these programs in a way that gets everyone focused on it and that will drive change. That's why FISA exists in the first place, because a certain U.S. president turned the entire US Surveillance apparatus against the opposing party. Personally I kinda wish the "47% of Americans are moochers" video had been found out through something like this. That'd do it right away. If they're collecting Yottabytes of data, that would mean basically everything that has ever been recorded and accessible via internet is going to wind up stored on those servers, which means it really is only a matter of time before something like that video pops up on someone's screen while sorting through that data. If they sent it upwards to the point a political appointee saw it...well there you go.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Jun 18, 2013 -> 06:19 PM) So you want to sell low on Peavy in order to give Axelrod innings? Depending on how you define "Sell low", yes. Would you take a lesser deal on Peavy if Santiago was the one going to the bullpen? You all know he would be. Moving Peavy does a ton of things for the Sox. It clears $20 million, it clears the 6 man rotation problem that would push Santiago back to the pen in July, and hopefully does add talent even if the return isn't incredible like some of you are hoping for. That $20 million could reshape the entire offense next offseason, and could do so basically without hurting the pitching staff.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Jun 18, 2013 -> 06:17 PM) I've noticed people are really down on Keenyn Walker. I know he sucked in his first two months in AA, which shouldn't be too surprising given that he only got 143 ABs in A+ last year, but he's starting to play very well in June. So far he's got a .300 AVG & .407 OBP on the month. The power is pretty much non-existant, but he does make up for some of that with stolen bases. He turns 23 in August, so he could start next year in AA and still be age appropriate. I definitely wouldn't write him off yet. Who has written him off/been down on him? He's not a top 10 prospect right now but everything you've said is true. He's somewhere in the 10-20 range probably.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Jun 18, 2013 -> 06:10 PM) Who cares? They will be bad. Put Axelrod in the bullpen. Start the 4 lefties and Peavy. There solved. That's a terrible idea. Axelrod has shown he's got it in him to be a decent starter, he's not going to light the world on fire but he's a guy who can quite readily be a 2 WAR starter and that's a great asset to have at the back of the rotation. He's a guy who can help this team turn around and could well basically provide what Gavin Floyd has provided to this team if he can last 200 innings...which of course, requires sometime giving him innings. Putting him in the bullpen sabotages that and is just as silly as putting Santiago there.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Jun 18, 2013 -> 05:55 PM) There is no reason to just take the best offer on Peavy. Either get a ransom for him now or hold on to him for the rest of the year. It's not like SP will be in abundance come the offseason. He'll still be an incredibly valuable pitcher. So who goes to the bullpen in July and why is that a good idea?

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jun 18, 2013 -> 05:25 PM) It's pretty obvious that Rios and Crain have been our two best performing players, other than Chris Sale, this year. You could have made an argument for Reed until about 2 weeks ago. Personally, I'm just tired of all the mental mistakes that DeAza and Ramirez are making, but that doesn't mean dumping them because you're frustrated with them (or Viciedo, for that matter) will end up helping your organization long-term in any way. It has been said 1000 times, but it bears repeating. No Rios=no chance to compete in 2014. You can survive without Peavy, arguably, because of the starting pitching depth that we have, and the fact that his salary can be replaced by another bat. If you're going out to buy Rios' contribution on the FA market, you're just as likely to get burned as not, if you look at recent history with acquisitions like Swisher, Keppinger or Dunn. Frankly, other than Chris Sale, there's nobody on the roster that's 100% safe. I doubt there's really anyone that would upset a majority of the fanbase if they were to be dealt, either. For me, it would be frustrating if they gave up Viciedo at this point, got basically nothing back in return offensively and he ended up blossoming with another organization for his age 25-28 seasons. There are guys on the FA Market who could be plausible replacements for Rios...Choo, Pence, Granderson but a health risk, Beltran, Nelson Cruz if he isn't suspended, Ellsbury. The question will be whether the Sox would be willing to make that kind of financial commitment. If they moved a bunch of guys and got a really good return for Rios, someone who steps into the IF or fills some other hole immediately, they could be in a situation where that makes sense to do...but that's why another team has to meet our price if they want Rios.

QUOTE (Baron @ Jun 18, 2013 -> 05:05 PM) Yep...I think its doubtful that Rios gets traded. I think Crain is almost a guarantee. At least if it were me in that chair, I'd take the best offer I could get for Peavy, Crain, and Thornton. Rios I'd take plenty of phone calls on, but he'd be the guy I'd have a threshold on; I'd want something really good in return for him. Reed, Alexei would fit in that boat as well.

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Jun 18, 2013 -> 05:00 PM) I think it's reasonable to assume Crain will be gone for sure. After that Rios then Peavy but I wouldn't be shocked if neither got dealt. considering the contracts and Peavy's injury. If the Sox get rid of those 3 I will consider the plan started and the trades to be a success no matter who we get back within reason. Personally I think Peavy is much more likely to be dealt than Rios just on the grounds that the Sox have obvious starting pitchers sitting there and zero obvious OF's to step in for Rios next year.

QUOTE (The Ultimate Champion @ Jun 18, 2013 -> 04:54 PM) The Padres wouldn't just have to pay for Peavy, they'd have to also pay (in prospects) for the cash we'd have to send along to make that deal happen. Any deal involving SD or AZ is probably an easier one to make for our FO given the relationships the Sox have had with those FO & how well they know us. Also the Dodgers would probably know us very well so a deal there could work. The Padres will get the same $25 million bonus next year every other team in the league will get. If they think that Peavy could put them into the playoffs this year, they'd be nuts not to mortgage that money.

QUOTE (IowaSoxFan @ Jun 18, 2013 -> 04:39 PM) I would like to bundle Santiago and Crain to SD for Kyle Blanks, Alexei Amarista, and Adys Portillo. SD needs the pitching depth to make their playoff push and Blanks and Amarista are bench players for them. Portillo is a lottery ticket with a big arm and is still pretty young. If we're talking to San Diego about a starting pitcher, just say f*** it and make it Peavy. There will be zero issues with it among anyone and the Padres might well pay a bit of a talent premium to get him back.

QUOTE (BaseballNick @ Jun 18, 2013 -> 02:45 PM) I saw in the Tribune today that both Tim Anderson and Keon Barnum will be heading to Kannapolis. Anderson was listed on Bristol's roster last time I checked, guess that changed.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Jun 18, 2013 -> 04:00 PM) Don't the White Sox need a plan before they start dealing pitching? Or are we planning on a last place stay of 5-10 years? Seriously. We have good pitching. Do we trade it all and become a 50-win team for a long time to come? What is the plan?I've yet to see anybody on here talk about what Hahn's plan will be. We're just talking about trading all facets of the team for I presume minor leaguers. No. The White Sox are in a position where they absolutely need to deal starting pitching. When Peavy comes back, the Sox will be sitting on 6 major league level starters again. They could run a 6 man rotation for a week or two until the deadline and maybe skip a Sale start or something like that, but doing that for more than a couple turns is intolerable with a staff full of young guys who can benefit from work, and moving Axelrod or Santiago to the bullpen is intolerable given that they're legit pieces who could be even bigger contributors next year if we give them their time this year. If you're worried about pitching depth next year, starter #6 next year is named Erik Johnson, he'll be sitting at Charlotte waiting for a shot, and then there are other fill-in options if we need a spot start. I don't know which starter it will be, but one of the starters needs moved in July unless we've somehow climbed back into the race.

QUOTE (Alpha Dog @ Jun 18, 2013 -> 12:21 PM) if he goes to a newspaper or his superiors, he can be a whistleblower. Going off to China and considering retirement in Russia makes him a traitor in my eyes. We can catch China doing the same stuff red-handed, and the 'court of public opinion' really doesn't do s***, since they are all afraid of China. However the US gets caught doing this and we are expected to prostrate ourselves before the world in shame. He did go to a newspaper.

QUOTE (Jerksticks @ Jun 18, 2013 -> 12:08 PM) Had no idea he could do that. Now I understand the bro fest over his outings and the high rankings. (Just to be clear, that post was about Webb).

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jun 18, 2013 -> 11:56 AM) I really want to be surprised by the results, but I simply can't. 5 out of 8 want Ventura gone, which to me is sad. He showed incredible potential last year, and I'm sure he wanted to add to the team. Instead, they lost Liriano, Myers, Youkilis, and Pierzynski, and added Jeff Keppinger and Matt Lindstrom. There's a feeling of dejection there for him too. I say you keep him for a couple more years, you unload and reload a bit, and give him one more shot. As bad as it looks now, this team really isn't that far away from being competitive. Which of those guys that were lost would you actually have wanted back? Have any of them other than Liriano been valuable contributors to anyone?

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jun 18, 2013 -> 11:41 AM) The Yankees might be a place to consider with Arod being up in the air. Alexei could slide over to 3rd when Jeter gets back. The Yankees might be hesitant to take on a contract with a number of years on it since they're trying to get below the luxury tax threshold next year so that they don't pay the multi-year penalty, and they still have guys like Cano they need to resign as well. It's not much per year for them, but I'm not doing their bookkeeping so I don't know how much room they think they have to play with.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jun 18, 2013 -> 11:17 AM) I can't remember who said Webb was throwing nearly 100.... It was someone who watched a game and was told the Birmingham readings were 3-4 MPH too low on the radar gun. From everything we read, he's consistently 91-92-93. Touching mid 90's. I simply refuse to believe at that size he's in Dylan Axelrod territory in terms of velocity. Me. He hit 100. Guarantee it.

QUOTE (elrockinMT @ Jun 18, 2013 -> 11:08 AM) Why don't we keep our better players and trade some that might benefit from a change of scenery and with a little tweaking be competitive in 2014? That's exactly what is likely to happen...but keep in mind, at least 2 relievers are free agents at the end of this year and we have 6 MLB-level starters right now with a 7th on the way. There are guys, particularly from the pitching staff, who absolutely must be moved. They're useless to us this year if we're 10 games under .500 in June/July and not in a position to compete in September. Some of these guys have to go.