spiderman

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Nov 25, 2015 -> 10:45 AM) Chuck Garfien ‏@ChuckGarfien 10m10 minutes ago Look beyond Alex Avila's stats. He's more than that. It's a crafty David Ross-type signing. Hahn calls him a "well-respected leader." I don't get this comment unless he's playing 1 day a week because a guy like Montero is ahead of him on the depth chart. If he's a great leader, that's great, but they need more production from that position. He's probably going to play 2-3 a week so his role on the field is going to be much more important than Ross.

Was hoping to keep him around, actually swung the bat well for the White Sox. Did the Angels overpay?

Sounds like a good gamble to take; upside is there if they can fix some of the control issues, and give the Sox reliever option should they make any bullpen trades.

QUOTE (Hatchetman @ Nov 17, 2015 -> 03:16 PM) you think the league asks the teams to not annouce any deals during these silly awards announcements? Doubtful. I think the market just takes time to develop and, so far, it has been an active trading market.

QUOTE (Joshua Strong @ Nov 16, 2015 -> 11:59 PM) If the Sox decide to go through another rebuilding year, then they have no need for David Robertson. What do you think they could get for him, if he were to be traded? I don't believe the White Sox think they are rebuilding; I think they see themselves as positioned for an upward movement in standings if they can reverse some of their trouble positions where they got next to no production all season at 3-4 different spots. If they were to move Robertson, I'm sure they sell it as still trying to win while improving the future, but I think it's tough to move proven veterans and open up another hole, all while trying to win, even if they do trust a guy like Nate Jones to inherit the role that Robertson would have had. The consensus that I've heard (and maybe others have heard the same or different) is that Boston gave up too much for a closer, a guy who pitches around 70 IP a season so I doubt they would be overwhelmed.

QUOTE (LDF @ Nov 16, 2015 -> 11:28 AM) at least 2, you should have a 1b, dh, a 3b at least. Problem is, they probably need to rely on bounce back seasons from La Roche / Garcia / Cabrera to address some of the middle of the order issues.

QUOTE (LDF @ Nov 16, 2015 -> 06:25 AM) the fascination of getting cargo is beyond me. second, they, Col wants to do a fire sale for prospects, they don't want to trade their prospects. I'm not on this bandwagon, but I do get the point of adding a middle of the lineup hitter. They probably need 2 legitimate middle of the lineup hitters this off-season to go with Abreu. Melky Cabrera could be one of those guys, but he's not a big HR guy which this lineup needs.

QUOTE (WhiteSoxLifer @ Nov 14, 2015 -> 07:33 PM) Dan Hayes to be on 890 wls shortly to talk sox. The interviews on 890 AM are typically 4-6 minutes long, and the hosts are using moving these along so quickly because of an upcoming commercial break that there's no point to even having guests on since everything is so rushed. I didn't hear this interview, but my guess is that it's very high level (White Sox need more hitting, have holes to fill etc. and will look to address them this off-season)

The free agent market just develops slower even though we can probably make educated guesses as to where interest will come from on some of the top free agents. I know the agents have a larger role in baseball than in other sports because there is no cap so that probably is a big reason for why the market develops slower, and some teams may not want to set the market, and/or explore the trade market, get a feel for other team's strategies at the upcoming winter meetings with other teams. Why else does the off-season in MLB because a 1-2 month timeline for most of the major moves whereas football/basketball have this sorted out in just a few days (or less than 2 weeks in most cases)?

There's no possible way the White Sox could ever get true value for Sale. They'd have to find a team that is so stacked at the minor league level that they'd be willing to trade (and probably destroy) their top prospects for him. These top prospects can't be from a team like the current White Sox system; they would have to come from an organization that has 4 or 5 top 50 MLB prospects, and it's hard to argue that the White Sox shouldn't get all of these prospects back. Even if the White Sox were more focused on getting major league talent back, you're still talking 1-2 top young pieces plus minor league talent from that top 50 MLB list. It's just extremely unlikely that the White Sox will be able to find a team willing to move as much as they should seemingly ask for.

Wouldn't he be the type (amongst the available talent) of impact player that the lineup needs? They have holes in the lineup at C, 2B, SS, DH and 3B with some questions in the OF, but this lineup is missing run producers outside of Abreu (and possibly Cabrera).

Will his plate recognition improve in a part-time or bench role, if still with the White Sox? Right now, the starting OF could be Eaton, Thompson and Cabrera; there are plenty of at-bats on the current roster if he's filling a 4th OF spot and being a part-time DH, but he's probably closer to being off the roster than solidifying a starting job.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Nov 11, 2015 -> 01:31 PM) Re-reading the article I think he is obviously trying to put things into perspective. All of these other teams that people want to emulate took between 5 and 10 years of being awful to get to where they are now. The Sox are trying to speed that time line up. He is trying to realign expectations a bit, but still send the message that they aren't punting for a half of a decade. At no point does he say they are starting a new rebuild, only continuing what they started a few years back. I agree with this; he's not saying the White Sox are going to take the same rebuilding path that the other teams that were mentioned are; in fact, he said the opposite in that he wants the White Sox to compete as soon as possible. This is also a completely different situation; the White Sox just spent heavily in free agency one off-season ago. That is not the path of a team that is about to enter a full blown rebuilding project.

QUOTE (3GamesToLove @ Nov 11, 2015 -> 10:58 AM) Does Sullivan realize that a "Konerko-style farewell" is not a desirable thing? If he wants to sign a 1 day contract to retire with the White Sox, fine. If he wants to continue to pitch, the White Sox can only consider option if they think he can give them a solid year AND they make a a trade involving one of their starting pitchers. If not, a team like the Cardinals make more sense.

QUOTE (LDF @ Nov 11, 2015 -> 01:20 PM) a really nice post. for this discussion only, i really like this idea of it is a full blown rebuild after last yr disaster, then the sox really have a great group to assemble many prospects. however, i can see that the sox really can't do that and again it is b/c of the success of the northside team. they can not let them get more entrenched with the idea of success and that team. I do think it's a mistake to be making decision (specifically strategic decisions that could impact the club for a decade) around how the Cubs are performing.

QUOTE (Hatchetman @ Nov 11, 2015 -> 12:51 PM) http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2015/11/11/lev...ebuilding-mode/ “Last year we saw the opportunity to be aggressive and address certain areas of need,” Hahn said. “We wanted to build around the core we had. In the future, you would want your core to be bigger and activity in free agency being a little less.” “We are trying to do this (rebuild properly) as soon as possible,” Hahn said. “If you look at the teams right now that you would praise or emulate — Houston, Kansas City, the Cubs and Pittsburgh — they all spent a minimum of five years under .500. They did it by the draft, trades and international signings. So there is a template out there that shows it takes time.” What we don't know is how satisfied Rick Han is with his core group of players. If he is satisfied with that group, they may not be as aggressive in free agency. In referring to the template that KC, Cubs and Pittsburgh took, he's only acknowledging that there are different options to rebuild. I think he's more interested in the express rebuilding plan. The White Sox are a top heavy club - some stars and excellent building blocks with Sale, Quintana, Rodon, Robertson, Abreu, Melky Cabrera, Eaton and maybe a few of their bullpen arms. That's maybe 10-12 guys if we stretch it a bit and there are major deficiencies in defensive play and offense. Are they going to be able to add 5-7 useful players to the roster that can contribute to a 2016 roster without dipping into free agency? Unlikely. I would expect them to add 3-5 players in free agency (some of them could be bargain shopping that they hope to get value from), and a trade could bring immediate help in 1-2 spots as well depending on their level of aggression. Overall, it would be surprising to me if the Sox didn't have an active off-season since this is a team NOT taking the 5 year rebuilding path.

QUOTE (Dunt @ Nov 10, 2015 -> 10:16 PM) Tyler Flowers was our best defender: http://sabr.org/sdi/2015-final If the Sox want to get better quickly this offseason, first order of business is the outfield defense. Absolutely atrocious showing by those 3 in 2015. How does Sanchez rank as a 2B? If Tryce Thompson is the CF, is that a projected upgrade overall or does moving Eaton to LF just hide another bad defender while only becoming average in CF?

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Nov 8, 2015 -> 05:54 PM) BUT HE DOESN'T HAVE A PLAN!??!?! He has a made up 3 year plan which implies that they will be making moves this off-season to challenge KC. Most of last year's moves did not work out, but hopefully whatever they do is not a band-aid approach that hurts the team long-term.

QUOTE (coco1997 @ Nov 8, 2015 -> 11:31 PM) Write Sox ‏@WriteSox 2h2 hours ago The White Sox are gonna sign Byung-ho Park and move Jose Abreu to third. I assume that this is a bad rumor.

QUOTE (flavum @ Nov 2, 2015 -> 02:42 PM) Albers, Beckham, Samardzija, and Soto filed for free agency. 40-man is at 34. Free agents can start signing with new teams on Saturday. Albers and Soto should be brought back, but, as well as Albers pitched, it should be on their terms. While I don't love their bullpen, and it take a hit losing a dependable guy like him, they need to spend their available money wisely. If Flowers/Soto were the combo again, it's not exciting, but Flowers did get some credit for his framing skills and Soto hit the ball well. This position is going to be hard to fill so I'm resigned to what is currently in place.

QUOTE (rowand's rowdies @ Oct 27, 2015 -> 03:44 PM) I think it would be cool to hear everyone give their own "State of the Union" address about each position. Speak to your knowledge and give your thoughts on the current players, potential additions, bench & minor league depth, theory or anything really. What would you do in 2016? Who would you keep? Who would you trade? How much would you eat on a trade? Expected trade return? Cut candidates? Let's start with Starting Pitching. Quintana is the wildcard, but it's a highly safe assumption that Chris Sale, Carlos Rodon and John Danks will be in the rotation. Erik Johnson enters camp (or the off-season) as the favorite to fill out the rotation assuming no trades. Quintana could be seen as the quickest way to filling 2 holes on offense; he has been a #2-#3 type of quality starter now for about 3 seasons, and has a team friendly contract for another 3-4 seasons. This should result, if traded, in 2 high end prospects coming back, and we know the White Sox are looking for MLB ready type of talent. With holes at C, 3B, and potential area's of concern at SS, 2B,and DH (although it's fair to assume that La Roche, Sanchez and probably Ramirez enter next year as significant contributors). They shouldn't limit any trade return to specific positions outside of maybe 1B, so they could add 2 higher end prospects this way. They could also keep Quintana and move Johnson; obviously the return will pale in return, but they could get a usable player in return while ensuring the rotation (top end) stays a strength. In either case, move a starting pitcher is the best bet for young offensive talent, and it's hard to expect that the White Sox will be major players again in free agency to fill these holes.

QUOTE (kitekrazy @ Oct 24, 2015 -> 08:23 PM) So the Sox finally filled the hole in CF after almost a decade and chance that on a guy who couldn't figure out minor league pitching and somehow got it right in the majors. It wouldn't be the first time this organization overreacted. Whether Thompson can hit at the MLB Level is still a huge question mark; Most of the expectations I see are tempered; if he plays great defense and hits .230 with 15 HR, Sox fans seem to be accepting.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Oct 23, 2015 -> 12:31 PM) Yeah, I stopped reading after that title, that's just silly JR. Lots of ridiculous, borderline insane comments made.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Oct 26, 2015 -> 11:00 AM) For what SS's are out there, and as far as $10 million goes anymore, i don't see it as much of a question that Alexei will be our opening day SS next year. There was some talk for awhile of trying to sign him to a lesser deal and/or trying to fill that position from within. They are overpaying him, however, it's only a 1 year deal, and the expectation is that he'd be keeping the position warm for Tim Anderson.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Oct 26, 2015 -> 11:08 AM) The other big SS on the trade market is Starlin Castro who put up numbers not too far away from what Alexei put up, but in that case you are married to him for an addition $30 million + and another three years after 2016. I'm not even sure he'd be considered a SS by other teams. At the deadline, he had little/no value because of that contract and his lack of offensive production; he did play well after he was moved to 2B, but I do expect the Cubs to attempt to move him again this off-season. I doubt the White Sox would be interested with that money locked in even if it provides some cost certainty and keeps one of the middle IF spots locked in for the next several seasons. He would be an offensive improvement at 2B for sure.