Balta1701

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Aug 28, 2015 -> 08:46 AM) James Howard Thome Ah yes. Gracias.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Aug 28, 2015 -> 08:39 AM) If we are playing that game, the White Sox have had 4 of the best ten hitters of the last 20 years. Manroid, Thomas, Griffey, and who am I missing?

QUOTE (chitownsportsfan @ Aug 27, 2015 -> 11:57 PM) Yea but including spring and AAA he's at about 130. As I said, let him make 2-3 more starts and then shut him down. I see no reason to push him much past 140 or 150 this season. He hasn't needed to build arm strength so much as become more efficient and he's done well with it. Respectfully disagree with you here. The season is over as far as playoff aspirations it's time to protect some assets. You don't include spring in those calculations though, when you're comparing to what he threw in college you don't see "practice game innings" counted for the college game and guys still need time to stretch their arms out to pitch in college.

https://twitter.com/ChiTribKane/status/6370...5153408/photo/1

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Aug 27, 2015 -> 01:40 PM) Wouldn't you rather discuss it with people who follow their team and not another? Do you use Cubs themed sites? No I don't use any Cub themed sites and I can chat up people I know in person about them plenty if I really want.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Aug 27, 2015 -> 01:01 PM) Unless you are trying to get under a White Sox fan's skin, why would someone go to Soxtalk to praise and discuss Cubs baseball? By virtue of them being another Chicago team I know their roster and their organizational happenings a heckuva lot more than almost any team in baseball outside of the White Sox. At the very least that gives what they're doing more focus because I already know it.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Aug 27, 2015 -> 11:22 AM) I'm just not a huge fan for that much $$. He's great defensively but has a slugging % of .440. wRc+ of 116 is good but with 11 homers, I'm not paying guy like that $100 million and giving up a top 65 pick. I know that we'll have a comp pick too. I want the team to use the 1st rounder, the comp pick, and the 2nd rounder. Stop giving up draft picks. $100 million will probably be a massive underestimate. I think I did the exercise a couple pages ago, might have been another thread though - in fWAR terms he compares solidly to guys like Cano and Fielder who got >$200 million contracts at ages older than Heyward. Yes, his value is more defensive than theirs, but he's been more consistently excellent than Fielder when he cleared the $200 million plateau.

QUOTE (OmarComing25 @ Aug 27, 2015 -> 10:35 AM) What was Sale throwing a few years ago? Maybe I wasn't paying close enough attention but was he always throwing 97-98? Arrieta has already set a career high in IP, that may affect him down the stretch but who really knows. I don't think the increased velocity will be much of a problem though. His average fastball has gone up from 92.3 to 94.6 since 2012, going up every year slightly. However, worth noting that 2012 was his first season as a starter and it has taken his arm time to build up, including a soreness/DL stint in both 2012 and 2014. When he was coming out of the bullpen in 2011 his fastball averaged 94.9, and in 2010 when he first came up it averaged 95.9 out of the pen. Trend line is pretty apparent when you look at his velocity chart for the last 3:

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Aug 27, 2015 -> 09:16 AM) Even if you meant position players, Abreu is still better than Bryant and Schwarber right now. Not Rizzo. Give it a year or two, Bryant will surpass him. Probably Schwarber too. For the quick easy comparison of their 2015 numbers: fWAR: Abreu 3.0 Bryant 4.8 rWAR Abreu 3.4 Bryant 3.6

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Aug 27, 2015 -> 10:09 AM) The Simpsons pulled the Homer vs NYC episode after 9/11. That was just pulled from repeats at the time, it had aired years beforehand.

QUOTE (Iwritecode @ Aug 27, 2015 -> 10:20 AM) I swear I've heard of them setting up DUI checkpoints with a judge right there on the spot to grant search warrants. Yes, that was alluded to in that comment, but that doesn't mean you have no rights to representation.

QUOTE (Jerksticks @ Aug 27, 2015 -> 10:15 AM) Yes. Black holes are problem number 1. Alexei is a black hole now unfortunately. I only included 3b, RF, and DH as my "key offensive positions" since they're higher offense positions on average and we're terrible at those slots, but you can also accurately say we're below average to bad at 4 more offensive positions based on the way guys have played this year, with hope that 1-2 of those positions will recover as guys grow into a position. With that many bad spots, just get some decent hitters in there first and then let's worry about whether we have enough power. Decent hitters will be monstrous upgrades.

QUOTE (Wedge @ Aug 27, 2015 -> 08:54 AM) I took a look at the 2015-2016 MLB free agent list: http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2014/09/2016...ree-agents.html What's depressing to me is that I'm not sure the Sox could buy their way out of their present situation, even if they had infinite money. I'm not seeing how the Sox can cobble together an average lineup without trading off at least one of the young guns (Quintana, Sale, Rodon). Your best bet at this point is to try to jumpstart the club with a 1998 Astros/Mariners type trade (where the Mariners got Carlos Guillen and Freddy Garcia for Randy Johnson). One of the things I've been harping on all year is that it really seems like no team can buy themselves out of a situation any more. Who were the teams who signed the biggest contracts last offseason? White Sox, Nationals, Red Sox, Padres, Mariners. Out of the top 20 free agent contracts signed last year the only 7 players are currently in position to appear in the playoffs without their teams making major moves are Russell Martin, Jon Lester, Brandon McCarthy, Chase Headley, Francisco Liriano, Ervin Santana, and Andrew Miller. Some of those could swap out if the WC teams change too. It's not exaggerating to say that the significant majority of FA money spent last offseason was spent by teams who will miss the playoffs (unless the Nats turn things around). It really looks to me like trying to buy your way out of a weak roster through the FA market simply no longer works very well .

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Aug 27, 2015 -> 09:39 AM) It's not though because he doesn't have enough power. You can't have Micah, Saladino, and Sanchez in the lineup every day playing at U.S. Cellular Field. Where is the power coming from? Right now I won't worry about that as much as "we have terrible hitters at 3 key offensive positions". Move up to "average hitters" at those 3 positions and we'll worry about power where we can find it.

QUOTE (flavum @ Aug 27, 2015 -> 09:49 AM) At this point, if you're rooting for the best pick available or a protected pick, just root for 5th in the division. Division games are 80% of the schedule after this week. The reason why we're now in a "protected pick" slot is that last night's loss dropped us behind Detroit and Cleveland again. Remember how we swept Cleveland in a 4 game series? It took us a month or so to give up that positioning.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Aug 27, 2015 -> 12:51 AM) Also, I thought you will lose your license for a year if u get stopped at a DUI checkpoint and refuse to cooperate. The cop can always have an out and say he smelled alcohol in your car and that was probable cause to give you a DUI test. You refuse it and you lose your license. Attorneys? Is this right? So if you are stopped for a DUI checkpoint you pretty much have to answer the cops' questions. It appears to be different regarding a citizen checkpoint. You can stifle there and not say anything. For them to operate those "No refusal checkpoints" they have to have access to a judge in some way who is willing and able to grant a warrant if you refuse the search. You still have the right to not speak and to demand an attorney in those cases as well. Otherwise you still have every right to refuse to answer questions or respond unless they're willing to arrest you.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Aug 26, 2015 -> 08:05 PM) It's one thing to say you fully endorse a product, it is completely different to insinuate it cures concussions and knee injuries If he's paid by that company and he's marketing it as actually providing medical benefits that could get him in some trouble with the FDA, but probably not if you can count it as a "supplement".

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Aug 26, 2015 -> 05:58 PM) You can't refuse the search if they have probable cause (i.e., smell drugs / booze on you or see something in the car seat), right? Or am I incorrect? You can't refuse the search but you can require them to arrest you and give you access to a lawyer in order to do it. They also are required to tell you why they are arresting you. They can only search you to the extent that they're verifying you're not putting them in jeopardy by being there - a pat down for weapons. You also have the right to ask why they're doing that and deny them access to anything other than a pat-down for weapons. They can use the "searching for weapons" excuse to look into a vehicle but if they conducted a detailed search and that's when they found something (you're not grabbing a gun in a trunk if you're in the driver's seat) a good lawyer could have a shot.

QUOTE (SouthSideSale @ Aug 26, 2015 -> 06:13 PM) Maybe, Avi isn't lighting the world on fire though. I don't know his perception around the league He is a throw-in at best. If he doesn't substantially improve he will be a strong non-tender candidate after the 2016 season. His value is similar to where Viciedo's was before 2014.

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Aug 26, 2015 -> 04:35 PM) If anything, Saladino would stay at 3B, Sanchez to SS, and Micah to 2B. Yeah but face it, we all know Alexei isn't sitting down.

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Aug 26, 2015 -> 04:30 PM) Sanchez at 3rd? No way. He doesn't play 3rd, he plays 2B/SS. he played 3rd a fair amount when he was first in the Dominican Summer League for the Sox and a handful of games since then.

QUOTE (BlackSox13 @ Aug 26, 2015 -> 03:16 PM) Well done with the photos Balta, even the sammich looked good. Was that an outdoor venue? I was just playing the video and my wife looked at me funny when she heard the guitar. I just told it was Dave Grohl playing with the cast on his leg and she busted out laughing. She's a big fan too. Again man, thanks for sharing. yes, it's sort of a standard "pavilion" structure with a big lawn in the back, similar to the Hollywood Casino Music Theater south of Chicago (My word that's what it's called now?). Probably fits 25000 or so.

QUOTE (Knackattack @ Aug 26, 2015 -> 02:52 PM) SS is a very weak position but I count 16 2nd basemen with an OPS over .700, Sanchez is okay to have as a starter for his glove but can you really deal with a long term solution of Saladino/Sanchez? About a .700 OPS is close to average for 2b. Can you honestly tell me you don't believe Sanchez can pull off a .700 OPS based on this season? Yes he's below that for the full time but the question I have in reply is how much weight do you give his first month in the bigs this season. In the other thread there's a point out that his OPS since the AS break is over .800 - that's probably overweighting what he can do, but if I filter back to June 15, including a couple weeks where he was still struggling, he's hitting .274 with a .706 OPS since June 15 over 223 plate appearances. That's also with a not-unreasonable .324 BABIP over that stretch. He hasn't gotten extremely lucky over that stretch, he's still young and has stuff to work on (baserunning, hitting, etc.) but over the last 2.33 months he's put up numbers that seem sustainable and would make him an average SS with the bats. Not great, but if playing great defense, you're ok with that, and he's still young enough so we can talk about the word "upside" there a lot too. His minor league numbers are generally consistent with that level of performance - he had some seasons, especially when he was really young for a level, where he struggled mightily, but then he always turned that around and started putting up .750+ OPS numbers once adapted. Can the White Sox deal with a long term solution of Saladino and Sanchez? IF they're average hitters for those positions and above average defenders that's a pretty solid up-the-middle. What's the problem? They still need offense somewhere. They're missing a big bat at 3b, they're missing a big bat at DH, they're at a tolerable but still below average bat in LF, and they're way below average at catcher (since Soto is a FA). They could live with those 2 up the middle offensively if they filled the other spots with guys good enough to bring those positions up to tolerable. Then again, maybe the right move is to play Anderson at SS and Micah at 2b and go for the above average bats long-term, but I still advise patience, particularly with Anderson. Micah could make a decent case to be a guy who rotates into and out of the DH spot next year to try to work several players into the rotation & see where they go...if we hadn't insisted that we must compete in 2015 and brought in a big money DH. Dah well.

QUOTE (Knackattack @ Aug 26, 2015 -> 02:29 PM) Yeah but Arenado's splits away from Coors aren't that great and Saladino/Sanchez would probably be the weakest hitting middle infield in baseball. Anderson has to tools and speed to be an elite SS offensively and everything I've read says his defense has improved this season. Trading Q seems dumb considering the deal he is signed to and his effectiveness but I would rather move some one from a position of depth than trade our only good minor league position player. Also if we do move Q it could definitely be for some one who could hold down 3B at a high level for the next 3-5 years. Edit: Just looked at Arenado's stats this season and I don't think we have a package to land him without Q. I really think you should stop and go look at the average numbers for 2b/SS around the league. They're worse than you think.

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Aug 26, 2015 -> 02:28 PM) It's pretty equal depending on what you consider more important statistically. Based on speed alone I'd rather play Garcia and keep getting him AB's for his long term development. LaRoche if you think his recent weekly output may continue and the Sox might salvage some semblance of production from him for his remaining year. Neither is ideal but Avi is infinitely more tradable for his youth and potential whereas LaRoche seems like a sunk cost . Him retiring after this year would be perfect but who turns down another year at $13M ? Again, I don't think anyone would trade for Avisail Garcia. We've been down this road before - in 2014 when we kept pretending teams would trade for Dayan Viciedo. It's almost the exact same situation except Garcia has both played less and produced less. Garcia hits his first arbitration year next year so he's going to jump in salary to about $2 million. That's ok, that's almost a writeoff, but 2017 he shoots up to the $4-5 million range and the White Sox cut Viciedo loose to avoid paying that. You could maybe find a rebuilding team who will take Garcia on because they'd risk that to see if they could get something useful out of him, but they're not giving you anything of value for him. If he were on another roster, the kind of stuff we'd talk about giving up for him is "Matt Davidson" or something like that - a guy we were down on and just getting rid of for a shot in the dark. He's the kind of guy rebuilding teams should be acquiring - talented guys you don't have to give up anything to get because of their contract status...but he's also a guy no one would give up anything of real value for. Just like 2014 Viciedo when we kept pretending the Mariners were interested in him and then they never really were.