Balta1701

So wait just one second. Wait. Wait. Wait. I'm seriously asking this. Did I just read this? QUOTE (greg775 @ Jan 9, 2018 -> 02:04 AM) Does she know issues and poliics? A guy who says in the same sentence that Donald Trump is well informed enough but then wonders whether or not a different celebrity is well informed enough? A guy who we begged to pay attention to policy last year who then harped on how he doesn't want to be PC? I wonder why he might apply such a different standard to someone like Oprah Winfrey.

QUOTE (Dam8610 @ Jan 8, 2018 -> 09:49 PM) It's hard to say what the marginal value difference would've been between trading for Verlander then versus, say, meeting the White Sox ask for Q in January. What I do know is, as another poster said, theirs is the model I'd prefer the White Sox front office to follow when it comes time to acquire talent. Rick Hahn has shown admirable patience in getting other teams to meet his asking price for the players he's traded away, so I'd hope he doesn't throw all the surplus value he's worked very hard to build trying to get that final piece that may or may not make it work. Of course if it works it's worth it, but the Astros didn't know they would win it all when they traded for Verlander. I remain the exact opposite, I think that it is extremely uncommon for pitchers like Verlander to become available at the waiver deadline. Yes, there are always expensive pitchers available at that point, but not genuine all stars. When I make this point I'm thinking of something like this happening in 2019 - the White Sox sign Machado and suddenly they're way better than anyone expected, on pace for 90-some wins, but with a huge weakness in lets say center field. Let's say that Yelich is still available then, but the price is extremely steep like "top pitching prospect in baseball Dylan Cease". You've got 2 choices - hold onto the prospect or go for the win. I've been circling 2020 all offseason as the year we're going to destroy the league, but if we're there in 2019 and we need one high priced piece to put us over the top, I'd make a deal of that sort. Maybe you could find a cheaper option, but I'd say you "MUST" fill that hole, and I found the moves the Astros made pre-Verlander to be totally lacking. Hell, Gonzalez from the White Sox would have been an upgrade for them at the trade deadline with where their rotation was sitting and they didn't even do that. They needed help desperately and didn't do it until the very last possible second. The danger in not making the move is illustrated by a number of teams recently. I'll take the Mets as one of my favorite comps because we're looking to have the kind of starting rotation in 2 years that took them to the World Series. In 2015 they had a dominant starting rotation, but they needed offense. They traded Fulmer to Detroit for Cespedes and it put them within a couple of baserunning moves of possibly bringing home a trophy. The Mets could easily have said "look at how dominant our rotation is, we should hold onto our prospects and play for 2016". Yes, they'd like to have Fulmer back right now, he's been strong in Detroit. But if they had said "let's wait, 2015 isn't that important and our rotaiton is only going to get better" - they'd have been completely wrong. Their vaunted starting rotation has since completely collapsed. They paid a high price, took their shot, and got almost there. I'd much rather do that if things came together in 2019 than hold onto everyone and assume nothing will go bad in the future.

QUOTE (Dam8610 @ Jan 8, 2018 -> 06:45 PM) Another way of looking at this is they waited for the market to come to their price and struck when it did, which is exactly what I'd want the White Sox to do. They kept their farm system from going completely barren while still getting the quality of pitcher they needed, and likely extended their contention timeframe by doing so. Put another way, they won the World Series and still have arguably the best farm system in their division. It's an enviable position, and their patience played a large part in putting them there. If the market had not come to them right when it did, would the prospects they kept have been worth the 2017 world series title?

QUOTE (oldsox @ Jan 8, 2018 -> 07:13 PM) What position was that? The trade was between two teams at the bottom of their division. It was just a bad trade for White Sox. Declaring that you're a competitive team even when you're not, and desperate to prove to the world you really are competitive no matter the price, because you told the world you would be.

QUOTE (bigruss22 @ Jan 8, 2018 -> 06:19 PM) The f***? How did the prosecutors mess this up so badly? Apparently the DOJ is investigating this right now as a serious case of misconduct. Whoever these prosecutors are, they literally put the lives of law enforcement in jeopardy.

QUOTE (steveno89 @ Jan 8, 2018 -> 05:34 PM) When a team is a clear contender you can make those risks of dealing top prospects to try and win in the short term. We just are not close enough to contention to even be thinking about dealing from our farm though. We still need another full season or two of rebuilding before we can start getting aggressive. I totally agree, I just don't want to do what the Astros did - when we have a team sitting there ready to win 100 games, and we have a totally obvious need from the offseason through the trading deadline, a need big enough that it has a strong chance of costing us a trophy if it is not met....don't pass on it to hold onto prospects. Fill the need, don't play for 2021 if your team is ahead in the division by 10 games in 2020 and you need 1 player to round it out. The Astros totally passed on filling their need and then were bailed out by a team suddenly more willing to shed salary.

QUOTE (chitownsportsfan @ Jan 8, 2018 -> 04:40 PM) Yea they did get pretty lucky, but it was a "preparation meets opportunity" style break. If you're in position to vulture from clubs looking to just get out from under a veteran contract you should try and take advantage, as they did. Hypothetically, if you were in the Astros position and Verlander never became available, and you lost the ALCS this year, would you be saying the same thing? That it was correct to hold onto the prospects rather than go for a pitcher to put you over the top? Their own players were questioning why they didn't come away at the trade deadline with a starter. The need was obvious last offseason. I'd call that a risk I have no interest in taking. If trading someone who could be a star after 2019 wins us the 2020 trophy, I will be much more content with the trophy than the prospect.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Jan 8, 2018 -> 02:25 PM) Case against the Bundys dismissed "with prejudice," meaning they can't be tried again. The Bundys are all free despite an armed standoff with BLM in Nevada and an armed occupation of federal government property in Oregon. Their group in NV also murdered a cop.

QUOTE (bmags @ Jan 8, 2018 -> 03:45 PM) We were all super frustrated with the Astros not ponying up for Q last year, but I have to say that I hope we operate exactly like they have when we need to acquire. Honestly? They got LUCKY. Anyone here who saw Verlander being both dominant enough to earn his contract and available because the Tigers otherwise fell apart going into last season? That deal doesn't happen and the Astros don't have the ammunition to win it.

QUOTE (GenericUserName @ Jan 8, 2018 -> 01:35 PM) I found it interesting they used the term baserunner and not just speed. If Robert's times that we've heard are accurate he is probably the fastest, but maybe he isn't the best baserunner because of technique or instincts. How the heck does anyone think there's reliable scouting on his ballgame baserunning instincts at this point?

QUOTE (SoxAce @ Jan 8, 2018 -> 11:46 AM) I'd buy it if he didn't have a visor on (and squint with both eyes, not just the left) And it wasn't like it broke or snapped off either. Unless the dlineman put his hand underneath the facemask, I just don't see it. Could be wrong, but I'd bet Greg's house. At the very least he should have been in the tent for tests. He had all the symptoms - hard hit, head contact on the ground, clearly struggling to get off the field/walk straight.

QUOTE (soxfan2014 @ Jan 8, 2018 -> 09:29 AM) Maybe we'll see him as the starter in CF at some point. Does he still have any minor league options remaining?

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 8, 2018 -> 11:59 AM) In order to really get this team to a point where it is into the sustained success category. This franchise needs guys outside of the top prospects to explode on to the scene. There aren't nearly enough top level guys to sustain this. I'd be satisfied with a brief but wildly successful peak.

Oh and I forgot to mention this yesterday but Cam Newton had no business being back in that game at the end without passing concussion protocol. Dude couldn't even walk straight while heading off the field, fell down, and they attributed it to his mask.

I don't feel the same way about the AFC teams, but man these 2 NFC wild card round winning teams look dangerous.

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Jan 7, 2018 -> 12:14 AM) I don't need a dose of realism . Baseball is all about optimism. as the season unfolds it becomes what it becomes. I will watch and be hopeful every year until my dying day. When your hope says "this is a 120 win team" in 2020, I'm going to be excited because we'll be en route to 100 wins and I'll see you in the series.

QUOTE (South Sider @ Jan 7, 2018 -> 12:09 AM) That's an epic quote, especially if it was really on an NFL broadcast like I think it was. (I wasn't watching) You are correct, in the middle of a review at the end of the first half with

"You know the greatest thing about the National Hockey League? The last 2 minutes take 2 minutes". -Al Michaels FTW.

John Young, one of only 12 people to walk on the Moon (Apollo 16), first pilot of the Space Shuttle. First astronaut reprimanded by NASA for actions during a mission: Smuggled a corned beef sandwich onto Gemini 3.

QUOTE (Sleepy Harold @ Jan 6, 2018 -> 06:53 PM) I find these points interesting. Considering that this one relief pitcher may appear in roughly 4% (took avg of Soria's total IP over the last 3 seasons ( vs the total # of innings over the course of 162 games (1458 total innings), not including any games that may go to extras...and this is all assuming that Soria would be on the team for the full season) of the team's games over the course of a season, that that is the straw that broke greg's back and he can no longer stomach to pay to watch the Sox play. The other 96% of the Sorialess White Sox time isn't great enough to overcome the appearances of one man? I know you believe he blows, which you've made very apparent over the course of this thread, but you really seem to be holding some grudge bc KC raido said its cool to do. BTW, David Robertson blew 7 saves in BOTH 2015 & 2016 with the Sox and Jenks blew 6 in 2009, which isn't 7 but damn close, so they both must have had terrible seasons despite what the statistics may say right? I always thought Robertson was way more frustrating than his overall numbers showed and than his stuff should have allowed, so I totally buy KC getting frustrated by 7 blown saves out of this guy. That makes him an excellent acquisition for the 2018 White Sox. And seriously to Greg, only buy MLB.TV if you want to see the rookies come up, struggle sometimes, lose a lot of games, and occasionally do something spectacular. I'll be buying it myself in 2019. Because we're going to be solid. Save your 2018 money for the T-shirts in 2020, because we're taking a division and I'll see you in the Series.

QUOTE (bmags @ Jan 6, 2018 -> 08:25 PM) Tonight is less fun. To be clear I watch some of almost every bulls game, just rarely can sit and watch full thing. Jesus. Did we piss the Pacers off by beating them a week or so ago?

Whoa.

Oh, and following those bonuses in late December, massive layoffs from AT&T.

QUOTE (oldsox @ Jan 6, 2018 -> 08:53 AM) Ryan Cordell has a good chance of making the team this year. He should be on the team out of ST, but Garcia is in the way. If Garcia isn't traded, I don't know where he will play.

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Jan 6, 2018 -> 03:15 PM) If I had to agree with any post in the thread this is the one. What players we open the season with still has a way to go though so I'll reserve judgement until I see opening day 25 man roster. Making any prediction now just because we got 2 new bullpen arms means nothing. I still expect the Sox to acquire this years version of Pelfry/Holland only a better version. Yolmer should be the starting 3rd baseman, Moncada improves drastically. Maybe the Fulmer of September wasn't a mirage. Delmonico provides LH pop. Leury every day CF . Anderson bounce back. Kopech and Eloy scream "put me in coach I'm ready to play TODAY ! " Gio and Rey are here to stay. My rule of thumb from 2015 and 2016 and well, every white sox season - when you make the list of "everything that could go right!!!", you have to stop and say "Some of these things will go wrong". Maybe a bad year for Moncada, someone in that list will get hurt, maybe a couple of the starters struggle and you have to tolerate a few 1 inning 8 run games, maybe Delmonico was a mirage, maybe Leury was a mirage, maybe Anderson really wasn't that good. Most likely, it will be a mix of the 2.