spiderman

On the other hand, I'd say, if the White Sox management truly believes this team is underachieving, they should trade for Cole Hamels tomorrow.

QUOTE (Real @ Jun 14, 2015 -> 05:14 PM) this was talked about last year. general consensus was no (and I agreed) its a year later. figured its at least worthy of discussion if nothing else with his contract/remaining yrs, what is the proper value for #49 imho you need someone whos got a stud catcher who cant miss as a top priority in the deal as well as a cant miss SP You'd have to get a team's top 4 prospects for him, and at least two of them would have to be top 20 prospects., if not higher. All 4 would have to be top 100 guys. Just too valuable to waste on a team like the White Sox, but can't move him for anything less than ridiculous value. Quintana and Abreu may as well be moved as well if Sale is.

QUOTE (SCCWS @ May 26, 2015 -> 12:53 PM) I think there is an important question. This looks like a .500 team which many of us predicted. But there were other fans who projected 90 wins and are now ranting about everything being wrong. I think the big question is Robin. How big of a problem is he and his staff. If Robin is a big problem then you make minor moves and maybe Shark gets moved since he would be gone anyway. Maybe LaRoche can also be moved but probably as a salary dump with little return. You can't trade Alexei because you probably don't have an adequate replacement. If you want a catcher, the only tradeable assets are probably pitching i.e Q?? But that opens another hole. If Robin is not the main problem, then you need to blow up some more of the roster and continue the rebuild shooting for 2017. Do people believe there would be a 8-10 game difference (81-81 to 90-72) if the White Sox had a different manager? I'm not really a Ventura supporter; he got this position with no experience and because he was a former White Sox player. That sort of tells me the value the team places in a manager. The biggest issues remain even after the off-season where some of these issues were thought to have been addressed. They have received little production or less than anticipated at C, 2B, SS, 3B, LF, CF and DH. The end of the rotation is as bad as expected and even the front-line guys have been spotty at times.

4-7 or 3-8 is probably the two most likely outcomes of this road trip. 5-6 or 2-9 being the next candidates. If this road trip goes the way I think it will, they are likely 10 games out of 1st place by early June. Everyday that goes by means Samardzia has less value with his contract status so Hahn will need to be in a spot where a major decision will need to be made early. It's hard to see the White Sox getting major value for him if they wait until end of July. It's easier to see the team getting good value with a move in early June should the wheels fall off. If the White Sox just tread water, say 5-6 on this road trip, and are 8 games back, what then? The same questions still apply. If Hahn wants to resign a guy who won't talk until free agency hits, do they take that risk? They would get a draft pick back in that scenario (to my understanding). So, a major decision looms

The Sox are not going to be buyers the way things are headed. If anything, they could be an early seller with Samardzia's contract situation.

Too many easy outs in this lineup. Not enough impact hitters.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ May 24, 2015 -> 10:37 PM) http://www.coolstandings.com/comebacks.asp?i=1 White Sox teams in 1906, 1983 and 1959 among the top 100 greatest comebacks of all-time. On the other hand, a last-place White Sox team on Memorial Day or June 1st has never come back to earn a playoff spot. This year looks to be no different. 8 games behind two very good teams and another surprise team in the Twins. Another depressing year to be a White Sox fan. After an off-season in which the team appeared to address many holes, they still have an offense that lacks impact.

Either the White Sox don't have enough fans to regularly fill the park, or they aren't good fans (insert excuse here for not attending games). I try to go 3 or 4 times a season, probably won't be out there until early June this year, but it's an tiring debate. I do think the front-office tries to win each season, and don't think they can rebuild with a fickle fan base, but I'm wondering, should this season go down the tubes, why not do a Cubs type rebuild? Fans don't show up either way.

QUOTE (flavum @ May 8, 2015 -> 06:18 PM) Eye-balling the radar, I can't blame the Sox for not calling it yet. Got to wait until 8 at least. Wonder if they prefer to wait it out on a Friday night with decent temp's. Also may not be as easy to re-schedule with a NL team?

Safe to say that WSCR won't have Sox games beyond this contract. Not sure if that means the Cubs are coming or not or staying WBBM.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 8, 2015 -> 02:25 PM) Ken Rosenthal ‏@Ken_Rosenthal 51m51 minutes ago Top five rotation ERAs: PIT 2.85, NYM 2.95, STL 3.11, CIN 3.31, TB 3.40. Bottom five: COL 5.59, BOS 5.54, CWS 5.41, TOR 5.40, CLE 5.31. The top 3 (especially Sale and Quintana) haven't gotten it done so far. We knew the top 3 had to pitch like top of the rotation pitchers because the last 2 spots were weak. Add that under performance to the bad defense, base running and offense, and its not hard to see why this team could be headed for 90 wins at the current level of production.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 8, 2015 -> 04:50 PM) Doug Padilla ‏@ESPNChiSox 9m9 minutes ago No Gillaspie vs a right-hander as he deals with what Ventura called "a foot issue." He's expected to play Sat. He also has a "bad issue".

QUOTE (Lillian @ May 3, 2015 -> 02:30 PM) Once Jeff is in demand, after getting on track, and a starter for a contender hits the DL, they can't afford to waste such a good trade asset. Barring a miracle, after today, the Sox will have to go 80 and 60 the rest of the way. The odds are not good on that. Next year, they have got to have all the pieces in place. Use Jeff to acquire 1 or 2 of them. If Jeff would be the final piece, sign him in the off season. His situation is interesting. If the White Sox move him early, they can get more for him since a contending team can get 6-8 more starts from him. If they think (or cling) to a hope that they can go on an extended hot streak, and/or believe they can resign him in the off-season, he can walk with no return and/or a lesser return. Obviously, he appears to be the barometer to what Hahn is thinking.

QUOTE (Lillian @ May 2, 2015 -> 06:25 PM) While it may be too early to become sellers, themselves, it's certainly makes little sense for the Sox to be buyers. Agreed. I don't anticipate any major roster changes for the White Sox in the month of May. They certainly aren't a buyer. It comes down to the current roster turning this around. They are going to need to get hot quickly to have any chance of staying in this race. It's going to need to be 11 out of 13 wins or something like that in May. Playing .500 ball or less, and this team will be 10 or 11 games out, best case, by June 1st.

If the White Sox do fire Ventura, I think Ozzie Guillen is a strong possibility. I'm not endorsing that move, just think it feels like a move they would make.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ May 2, 2015 -> 01:26 PM) Brewers are officially selling. White Sox are 7 games back, in a division with 2 teams well on their way to playoff caliber seasons. When do the White Sox join the Milwaukee Brewers in that club?

He's going to get more starts until they have no choice but to put him in the bullpen or give him a DL stint for 15 days. He's simply making too much money to not use him.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Apr 10, 2015 -> 03:40 PM) This morning on the "Kap and Haugh" show David Haugh said that Ventura and Molitor have something in common: They are both managing in the shadow of Ron Gardenhire. I thought this was interesting. I'm not one of these people blaming Ventura and I generally think he's fine. I don't think Gardy is a fit though. He would lose his mind dealing with Chicago media every day and he has absolutely no interest in using analytics/metrics. Doesn't seem like a Rick Hahn move. Most likely just dump speculation on Haugh's part. Thoughts? Does Gardy really have no interest in advanced metrics? If so, I wouldn't want him. You have to use everything in this day and age to give yourself advantages. I'm not blaming Ventura, but do wonder if they wouldn't bring Guillen back if they stumbled and make a change there.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Apr 10, 2015 -> 07:32 PM) No not a Sixto Rodriguez album. Building on a NESN article, I researched the last four years....so we have a complete picture of all MLB playoff teams since 2001. Only 3 of 118 teams have made the playoffs following an 0-4 start. 2011 Tampa Bay Rays...0-6/1-8 2011 Milwaukee Brewers...0-4/3-4 2012 Atlanta Braves...0-4/5-4 The 2003 Braves started 1-3/1-4, the 2007 Phillies 0-3/1-6, 2014 Orioles 1-3/1-4, 2012 SF Giants 1-3/1-4 and 2013 Pirates 1-3/1-5. Seven teams from 2011-2014 started 1-3 and still made the postseason. Historically speaking, now, the odds would suggest our chances are less than 3%. Exactly 2.54% to be more precise. Small sample size. I'd be curious how many teams have made the playoffs after 30 games of poor play. If the White Sox, in mid May, are 8-10 games under .500, I'm concerned, but if the Sox are 5-6 after 11 games, that means they turned things around. Way too early for any hard conclusions.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Apr 3, 2015 -> 09:52 PM) Except the problems, as we all know, really aren't mechanical ones. We know that Danks is trying to re-create himself. The shoulder surgery is the root cause, but I'm sure they do see things that are correctable on tape; in other words, there is no overcoming his lack of velocity so everything else from a mechanical standpoint has to be near perfect.

They're going to be patient with him. If he's bad early, they can probably find ways to skip a start here or there and work on any mechanical issues in a side session. They can also hide him on the DL if he's really struggling. Chances are, he'll mix in a few good starts with his usual stink bombs though. Ideally, he'll be a #5 starter, and bite the bullet in some of his starts to save the bullpen. I'm at a point with him where if he can pitch around 200 IP in that slot of the rotation, I'll take it.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Dec 19, 2014 -> 09:42 AM) You can sign him to the 6/$105 this year, which is $17.5 mill, but pay him $10 mill this year in the last year of arbitration and then it becomes a 5/$95 extension which is damn near $20 mill, and he'd probably be able to feed his family. Assuming he has another good season and is a consensus #2 starter (borderline #1 for some teams), I think he is leaving a lot of money on the table; to date, I don't think that's an option for him.

QUOTE (bmags @ Dec 15, 2014 -> 11:43 AM) I feel like we are an 83 win team if we have an average season, we need the danks/garcia/bullpen great years to get us to 88 wins. I was thinking I should have revised my prediction down some from 85-90 to 85 if things go about as expected.

The team should be somewhere between 85 and 90 if things go right. If things go better, meaning guys like Danks or some of the younger hitting (Garcia and 2B) hit better than expected, the team can maybe break 90. Of course, the opposite is also true; Sale usually spends some time on the DL; Quintana and Jeff S. both are expected to pitch like front-line starters. Even if they do, what about #4 and #5? Will Robertson solidify the bullpen? Lots of questions either way that can make the team better or worse than mid to upper 80 win team.

At most, you can see another starter added, but it would have to be a guy coming off a bad season or injury; competition for the #5 spot, assuming Danks is the #4 starter and Noesi is given competition for that spot. Making a move like this would help Rodon's development. No need to rush him if there's veteran options at the MLB level. Offensively, still would like to see another option a 3B, but realizing that there may not be one available. Outside of that, I'm ok with the young players battling out 2B and Flowers behind the plate.