ScottyDo

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Jan 12, 2014 -> 06:07 PM) http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2014/01/masa...medium=facebook Yeaaaah...I don't think we're in that ballpark. Just guessing.

I'd like to, as my parents live nearby in Schenectady, but it's also my wedding anniversary so I feel like it's not gonna happen...

QUOTE (BigEdWalsh @ Jan 12, 2014 -> 02:38 PM) Paulie sucks?! Nice. Spoken like a true Sox fan. Of course the old gray mare ain't what she used to be but jesus christ, how about some some respect for a guy who's an all-time White Sox great? Also, detracts from the 1B motif

There really have not been enough Southpaw-focused banners. So I say Southpaw, Hawk and Tony Graffanino

QUOTE (Jerksticks @ Jan 11, 2014 -> 11:28 PM) This isn't a good point either. While it could be true, how do you know Choo didn't make his decision based on hot sun beams per game. 800 billion hotter sunbeams divided over 162 games is significantly more than the Yanks could ever offer. Or maybe he wanted to go to the team with the most Texas-Rangers-like uniforms? Maybe Jason Werth went to the Nationals because he was a history buff, but probably not Seems like a pretty safe default position to take that players go where they're paid the most (or very close). So the burden of proof is on the one claiming that they signed for other reasons. Since Choo went to the place where he got the most money, I'd say it's more evidence in support of the $$$$ camp.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 8, 2014 -> 05:42 PM) ESPNChiSox: Frank suggests his production might have led players to use PEDs. Daryl Van Schouwen ‏@CST_soxvan 15m Thomas on PEDs: "I was one of those guys who made a few guys go in that direction because of [my] size and strength." HE'S TO BLAME! IMPEACH FRANK THOMAS!

QUOTE (StRoostifer @ Jan 8, 2014 -> 01:31 AM) Curious as to what the board thinks. If Tanaka can be had for say 18m per year or less for 5/6 years would you do it? And what do you think the chances would be in Tanaka having genuine interest in signing with the Sox? After a bit of thinking the Sox could come out of nowhere on Tanaka and so can Tanaka's interest in the Sox. Tanaka is going to get good offers from plenty of teams. I think it might come down to two things from Tanaka's perspective. 1- is the team a contender or at least close? 2- how good are the other teams in the division? If the Sox thought Tanaka's asking price was within budget the chances might be better than speculated. Yes the Yanks will offer plenty but they are in a tougher division than the sox which could raise Tanaka's interest level in the Sox. I admit I'm just guessing here but am curious what others think. My suspicion is that Tanaka will go to the highest bidder, or at least a bidder within 1 or 2 million dollars of the highest who also has a good chance of winning

To me, $100M+ deals are for "finishing touches" because the value of a few wins inflates the closer you get to World Series contention. I get that this guy is young and potentially great, but how long ago was the Yu Darvish signing? 2 years ago? Why are we so certain that another phenom won't come along when the Sox are actually in position to take on his contract and do something with it?

QUOTE (sin city sox fan @ Dec 25, 2013 -> 06:00 PM) Sign him and trade him to the Angels for Trout Green? Why wouldn't the Angels just sign him and not give up Trout?

QUOTE (The Ultimate Champion @ Dec 25, 2013 -> 02:32 PM) I hope you guys are right, but I just can't buy it. He got through half the league and past the Astros, how does that happen? Teams can always remove a player from the 40 to make a claim. The prospect comments make him out to be a legit LHSP prospect, and I just can't see him being that and still making it so far down the line, all the way to us. Anyway, I hope for the best, and if he's a solid second lefty out of the bullpen then that's a huge plus as it is. This may have more to do with coming off TJ surgery and not wanting to take the risk with a 40-man spot than any aspersions on his pitching abilities. We may be amongst the minority of teams willing to use a normally-valuable roster spot on someone with high upside and high risk with whom we are not that familiar. Most teams probably have a prospect or two he'd be blocking. Not us. That said, there's no way he's a guaranteed ace or anything. Definitely a project.

I understand wanting a balanced rotation eventually, but why do we care in 2014? It's more important to our eventual success that we develop MLB players, rather than increase our win total from 70 to 74. If we lose a couple of games because our rotation/lineup is not perfect, that's fine. Those victories do absolutely nothing for us anyway. If we can make Surkamp into a real player in the process, we can trade him or another lefty later and we're in a much better position to win in 2015 and beyond. Develop players, fine tune later.

This makes me sad. I really thought Morel would be league-average at least when all was said and done.

Are we looking to make the 2014 bullpen better and decrease a potential asset's value down the road for short-term gains, or are we looking to turn him into something valuable for when we're actually good? If it's the latter, let him start somewhere. Putting him in the bullpen does nothing for eventual championship plans, but it does make our likely-wasted 2014 slightly better.

Not that my opinion is important or invited, but anyway: I'm usually relatively sensitive to offensive language, but I feel like this time it was more of a play-on-words than anything. Like, if the Sox had picked up Danny Graves, after scratching his head and cursing Hahn's name for a while, he might have said "looks like Hahn has....GRAVES DISEASE!" which has considerably less potential for harm because the Graves' Disease population is much less vulnerable to discrimination...but the spirit behind the two comments would be the same -- puns is fun and whatnot. So chalk me up as tenuously unoffended.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Dec 17, 2013 -> 03:00 AM) Which is still about $35 million than the White Sox have ever paid a pitcher, including Buehrle. It's one thing to sign Iguchi for two years off a video, but you better have a lot more scouting support and due diligence from Hahn, Williams and Cooper to make this big of an investment. Do we not have some semblance of a scouting outpost in Japan/Asia? If not, that seems negligent.

So very doubting this will happen. We're not there yet -- not to the point where we blow our cash, no matter how tempting it might be. It seems like a player of this sort posts every year or two so the opportunity will come. It just doesn't seem to jive with the whole "young AND inexpensive" thing. Heck, even a borderline-blockbuster contract like Abreu's might be a cost-effective down the road, whereas $120MM+ to sign Tanaka is not likely to carry the same value.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Dec 16, 2013 -> 06:00 PM) David Cameron @DCameronFG Rick Hahn should just keep trading with Kevin Towers. Turned meh starter and meh closer into two interesting young players. Seems kinda unfair. I don't know that I would consider either Reed or Santiago "meh" considering their ages or ceilings.

QUOTE (bear_brian @ Dec 16, 2013 -> 05:52 PM) Not saying we would go after him, but if we did dump Keppinger and De Aza, our payroll would drop to about $ 83M. If Jerry sees the Cubs go after him big time, don't you think he might be willing to ante up? I don't think that's a thing

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Dec 15, 2013 -> 09:57 PM) Can someone explain what this is to a new guy Yeah, or to a lapsed old guy?

Baseball is an extraordinarily segmented and discrete game. I really doubt there was any real synergy between the two, much less that they will be able to replicate anything at the Major League level. Certainly Elmore should have to earn playing time and it should have nothing at all to do with Eaton.

QUOTE (ewokpelts @ Dec 11, 2013 -> 02:04 PM) It's funny, but my guy said almost the exact same thing as Dunn and Beckham. Last I checked, those guys ARE in the clubhouse. You are just some internet tough guy that USED to work with a team. And you have a lot of people here kissing your balls. I never met AJ, so I will never know the truth. But I do take my friend's word for it. He knew AJ for his entire stay with the team. Umm, have you ever read a ptatc post? He's pretty damn humble and understated. Sorry he's an iconoclast but maybe a little less idol worship is in order...

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Dec 11, 2013 -> 12:36 PM) The thread was about AJ wearing Hawk's number. If you don't think THAT is a class act, fine, say something about that. Not about some other crap. Ok I'll say this. Wearing someone's jersey number because you liked them : "class act" :: promising to pay your buddy back for the burger he bought you : congressional medal of honor

QUOTE (The Ultimate Champion @ Dec 9, 2013 -> 02:09 AM) Ptatc is probably deserving of the benefit of the doubt here. I'm not saying he's a liar, he's one of our best posters & obviously he believes he's telling the truth. He probably even is. Maybe AJ isn't exactly a "perfect" teammate. But let's just go back in time for a sec here. We all remember that dropped third strike against the Angels which helped win us the game, kept us on our roll and ultimately resulted in a World Series Championship, but some of our younger fans may not know or remember that the opposing catcher in that situation who cost the Angels the game happened to be Josh Paul, who was one of many complete horses*** catchers that Sox fans had to suffer through during that long drought between Fisk and AJ. That play is emblematic of pretty much the entirety of the Sox catching situation during that period and it is also emblematic of pretty much the entire Sox team attitude during those years: stupid as Bevington, careless as Manuel, lackadaisical and under-committed like the entire unbalanced homer happy offense, etc. AJ coming here was the absolute best thing that could have happened, and we won a title in large part because of it. AJ is gone now. We're not a better team without him, but he's still gone. He's gone from our world. And when important people are gone from your world shouldn't you remember them for the best things that they did? Shouldn't you first think of their greatest moments before everything else? Shouldn't you choose to remember him more as you would have wanted him to be when you weren't there rather than how he may have been when you still weren't there but wish you were? For such a significant piece of Sox history, shouldn't we all just bury our heads in the sand when it comes to all this "clubhouse" malarkey and choose to remember him as a hero? Of course we should. And as far as Hawk being honored somehow not being a classy move, let's first consider what season we're in now. Now is a time for thinking about others. Imagine what this great tribute feels like if you're Hawk. Imagine you're sitting there in front of the fire, cozy & tucked into your loud multicolored flannel suit, sipping your beverage and thinking about what you might get yourself for Christmas this year as you gaze up at that giant stuffed bird which you also bought for yourself several decades ago to symbolize your human greatness - imagine you're sitting there when the phone rings, and it's your old buddy AJ, and he says he's going to wear your old #40 just for you, because you mean so much, and because he feels you deserve it. How great does this make Hawk feel? Think of that! It won't even matter how big his gift under the tree is this year, nor how expensive or superficial or self-gratifying, because the greatest gift has been given to him, it's right there his heart, to Hawk from your old pal AJ. For f***s sake people if that doesn't warm your f***in heart I don't know what could. Let's just cut it out from here on out. No more crap about AJ. You don't have to say he was a great teammate, but you don't have to say he was a bad one either. Let's treat him like the hero he is. It's the holiday season. Holy crap, dude, he's a baseball player, not our dead father who kind of had a mean streak but definitely loved us so now we have to find a way to reconcile our ongoing contentment with the reality of his hurtful behavior without the benefit of an apology. Just...like....remember him exactly as he portrayed himself. He was a huge asshole who was fun to have on our team. WTF is all this "remember the good times" nonsense? Are we at his wake or something?

QUOTE (iamshack @ Apr 9, 2013 -> 01:56 PM) I had already posted exactly what Wite did, just a few posts before... Doesn't matter who threw the first punch, just who got caught

QUOTE (The Ultimate Champion @ Apr 9, 2013 -> 10:15 AM) ^I'll add to the above post, Phil Humber threw a perfect game for us on FOX with less excitement than your average September loss to the Twins. This is a good point. Every time I hear Joe Buck's world series call replayed on the Score it makes me throw up in my mouth. He is so disinterested. I'd much rather have annoying Hawk homerism, catch phrases and fly ball ineptitude than the bland, sleepy tones of a Joe Buck or whoever does Brewers games these days.