southsider2k5

Chris Cotillo ‏@ChrisCotillo 55m55 minutes ago Gallardo/BAL update: Still no agreement, but sides optimistic about completion.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Feb 10, 2016 -> 01:34 PM) While I am an advocate of getting Fowler/Desmond cheap, imagine what 3 top 47 picks and an influx of international talent from going over the pool could do to the system. They have to replace Fulmer/Anderson... The unspoken talent pool is Cuba. There are a lot of guys out there if they want to go to the well.

QUOTE (OmarComing25 @ Feb 10, 2016 -> 02:09 PM) I thought this was funny: dbet: Could Justin Turner and Ryu get Chris Sale? 12:55 Dave Cameron: Yes. You could have one be the driver and the other be the kidnapper, and combined, they could put him in a van and bring him to Glendale. I think the White Sox would call the police, though. That is freaking awesome.

QUOTE (ChiSox59 @ Feb 10, 2016 -> 01:39 PM) True. I'm not mad about it or anything. Its chump change. I just can't fathom a scenario that Turner breaks camp with the Sox (baring injury), and he's probably getting paid too much to be claimed off waivers if he doesn't. So basically you're paying him $1.5M to play in Charlotte. Maybe he has a nice spring and another teams swoops him up, but I kind of doubt it. At worst, you have to imagine we will need 2 more starting pitchers from the minors at some point. If it happens that way, Turner will still be waiting.

QUOTE (ChiSox59 @ Feb 10, 2016 -> 01:33 PM) I understand that. Still think it is bizarre. Not really. $1.5 million is next to nothing in reality. It is enough to tell me they didn't want to lose him, but I also think that when a guy the calibur of Mat Latos comes along for only $3 million, you don't pass that up for Jake Turner. When they signed Turner at the beginning of the off-season, I don't think they had an inkling of an idea that a Latos type player and deal would fall into their laps. The situation changed, and the team took advantage of it.

Sounds fair to me.

QUOTE (ChiSox59 @ Feb 10, 2016 -> 01:29 PM) Indeed. Seems bizzare that they gave Turner $1.5M as he really doesn't have a clear spot on this team. I am sure Webb has at least 1 option left, but does Kahnle? One of two things will happen with Turner if he isn't in Chicago. First he clears waivers and goes to Charlotte. Second he doesn't clear waivers, and the White Sox lose him. In that case they don't pay him $1.5 million as the team who claims him will inherit that deal.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Feb 10, 2016 -> 12:54 PM) How did catcher get worse or even stay the same? Catcher is very much improved. According to the early projections, it is something like a 2 to 3 WAR improvement.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Feb 10, 2016 -> 11:55 AM) Yeah. I agree with you. If it is Trump / Cruz, as of today, I'd be writing in a candidate. But if someone put a gun to my head and said pick one, I'll be honest, I'd go with Trump. Ugh. I honestly couldn't decide. I would just close my eyes and pick one.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Feb 10, 2016 -> 12:00 PM) Who gets to be this NotTrump candidate and what claim do they have over the others, though? That is just it. They are going to f*** around and stick in the race, screwing the delegate count up and forcing a contested primary. The sooner the chaff drops off, the sooner that NotTrump candidate can emerge.

QUOTE (OmarComing25 @ Feb 10, 2016 -> 11:49 AM) I would love if Danks could somehow perform to his 2nd half ERA (4.08) over a full season but anything around 4.50-4.60 and I'd be happy. Probably will be closer to 5 though. Hopefully he can beat the Royals several times again. If he pitches 200 innings again, and gives us in the same 4.50 to 4.70 range, that is fine for the back of the rotation.

QUOTE (Iwritecode @ Feb 10, 2016 -> 11:58 AM) I'm not completely disagreeing with you. It could be a massive failure. I'm just saying people are much more willing to pay for TV now than they were in 1981. Two things, #1 that trend is reversing, with more people leaving cable than ever before. #2, the problem is with the networks themselves not being picked up by rival cable providers, not with people not subscribing to watch the Cubs/Dodgers/Astros etc. Fans literally don't get a choice.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Feb 10, 2016 -> 11:21 AM) Well maybe my difference here is, I view there being 3 distinct candidates. Trump, Cruz, and the moderate conservative (Rubio / Kasich / Bush). So basically you have 3 people fighting for one spot. The top dog, Rubio, is losing momentum and both secondary candidates have gained momentum. Kasich gained more, but Kasich also has almost no money so Bush isn't in all that bad of a position. All things considered, its amazing Bush has any chance to be back in this (after the way Trump put him out to the pasture). I agree with you they have to widdle that field down but I view Cruz as bad, if not worse than Trump (personally speaking) and I figure we have two more states to truly narrow this field down so that by Super Tuesday, only one person remains between Rubio / Kasich / Bush. I actually think I vote for Trump before I vote for Cruz. By the way, good debate Mike. Crazy that we are even talking about this. It is such an interesting political year. I totally agree with your top 2 statements. On the third, I'd vote for the Libertarian candidate before I voted for either Trump or Cruz. I did it when Romney ran last time, and I probably will do it again. It is a crazy election cycle for sure. It has been a long time since we have seen truly this much question as to the nomination, maybe back to the Civil War. Even the 08 Democratic race that took a while only was down to two candidates the whole time. This is a f***ing mess.

QUOTE (ChiSoxFanMike @ Feb 10, 2016 -> 11:35 AM) If Latos was guaranteed a spot in the rotation, who is the odd man out? Johnson or Danks? I'd have to assume that it'd be Johnson just because Danks is paid so much $$$. 100% EJ.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Feb 10, 2016 -> 11:13 AM) Momentum though. Had Rubio had a strong finish, I think Bush is out. Rubio is eroding right now (whether he can stop that erotion or not, remains to be scene). Bush has benefited from it, as has Kasich, and Bush has to see that Kasich is a beatable guy (if not from the pure perspective that Bush has so much more resources than Kasich). I just see no logical reason for Bush to walk away now. If he has a weak showing in SC and Nevada, than I could see him turning away and getting pressured to turn away, because the non Cruz / Trump candidates are all going to get a ton of pressure from more mainstream conservatives to widdle their side of the field down to 1 by Super Tuesday. I put the odds much higher today that Bush could be that guy than I would have a week ago (when I'd have given him zero chance...odds might only be 10%, but that is still an improvement). Kasich might actually be the guy in the driver seat right now, but he needs to capitalize on it with a strong showing, as this is going to be the first time he gets any sort of main stream coverage (or so I suspect). He absolutely has to capitalize on this opportunity. I'd actually say odds are pretty split between Kasich / Rubio of who would come out and who would have said that a week ago (when Rubio had all the momentum). Note: Kasich might end up getting lucky cause I have a feeling Bush is going to spend his time and money attacking Rubio and Rubio will thus have to do the same to Bush, which might mean Kasich can stay above the fray and benefit from the other two beating themselves up. None of this impacts Trump / Cruz as I think they have an entirely different base. That is the irritating part. While calling a 4th place finish momentum, they are missing out on the chances to get real momentum behind whoever is the NotTrump candidate for the convention, leading to an actual convention fight for the nomination, instead of giving the eventual candidate a chance to start campaigning months earlier.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Feb 10, 2016 -> 10:23 AM) One thing they could have done was not bring back the entire roster except Portis for Nazr and proclaim it a championship roster. You are saying the roster is flawed. GarPax didn't see it that way, and were willing to pay $9 million to show everyone the thing holding back the Bulls was their coach. To me, that's fireable. It isn't a championship roster if everyone is healthy, and to expect this particular group of players to be healthy is beyond crazy as well. Gar called it a championship roster. He should be held accountable to his words. Obviously Foreman is giving the typical GMs BS answer when he talked about this being a title team. What seems obvious to me is that with even typical health, this roster wasn't a top level team, but in the second tier right under the GS, SA, CLE level. It is a starting line up with multiple All-Stars, and a pretty good amount of talented depth. Obviously a couple of the guys weren't ready for the bigger minutes that injuries forced them into, but I don't think anyone anticipated Tony Snell and Doug Mc being counted on for huge minutes this year. The roster as it is playing today is obviously not going to beat many teams at all, but when you look at how many front line players are out, there is no roster in the NBA that would survive that. My hope is that at the very least Pax forces Foreman to punt on this season and at least trade Gasol to the highest bidder, and then see what guys like Taj and Noah with an expiring deal can bring.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Feb 10, 2016 -> 10:59 AM) Given Bush's finish in NH, I have a hard time indicating why he should drop out. You might think he's toast, but reality is he's gotten a bit of momentum recently and is starting to gain some traction (all while Bush's primary competition, Rubio is sliding). He'll need to keep building on that and can't have a poor finish here on out, but I see no reason, with all the money he has raised, that he should drop out based upon the results in NH. He beat Rubio and was basically the same as Cruz (two guys who are clearly in the race). Now Christie, Fiorina, and Carson clearly all need to walk away. Christie put all his eggs in New Hampshire and was way behind everyone else. The other two have zero momentum or just declining momentum. I'm sure Carson won't (since he didn't focus much on NH anyway, but I don't know that he makes it to Super Tuesday). Note: I refer to Rubio as Bush's primary competition, because I clearly think the core republicans want one of Rubio / Bush / Kasich and prior to super tuesday they need to get the field narrowed to one of these remaining candidates so they can actually stand a shot at beating Trump or Cruz. Bush still finished tied for 4th at 11%, after getting crushed in Iowa. He is also polling 4th in SC right now at 10%. http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/20...imary-4151.html

QUOTE (BrianAnderson @ Feb 10, 2016 -> 10:54 AM) Is that what happened in Houston? I lived down there last year and we had a pretty large sports package at the apartment, but couldn't get the Astros. I had the MLB package and could watch every team except the Rangers and Astros due to blackout restrictions. Pretty frustrating. I'm just waiting for the future - like 5-10 years from now when we don't have to buy a whole cable package to watch sports. I watch like 5% of my channels. And then the Blackhawks and White Sox. I'd pay $250 for the Sox and $250 for the Hawks alone and say peace to the rest of my cable package if I could. http://www.chron.com/opinion/editorials/ar...-TV-4283444.php http://climbingtalshill.com/2014/12/21/wil...rozen-tv-games/

QUOTE (bmags @ Feb 10, 2016 -> 10:55 AM) Does this theoretically move us up in that comp pick? I believe it would. I do not see them signing any comp pick guys, so they would have to give up their first rounder, which would move everyone behind them up a pick. of course assuming we don't sign someone who requires us to give up our comp pick.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Feb 10, 2016 -> 10:50 AM) Christie has to drop out now, right? He put all his eggs in NH and lost. I thought Jeb would be on his way out, but with his showing, he clearly won't drop out and Kasich clearly can continue a little longer (how much so, who knows...unless he gets the backing of Bush). The bottom half of the field should be dropping out. Realistically the only guys who should be left are Trump, Cruz, Rubio, and maybe Kasich.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Feb 10, 2016 -> 09:20 AM) On the other hand, Romney also maintained that steady 30-35% polling support throughout the primaries until he was the last man standing. Trump is going to continue to pile up delegates. It's not the exact same dynamic as it was in 2012, but I don't think a ceiling of 30-35% is some sort of a death knell for the nomination. This could actually be a real convention if other candidates stick around not allowing Trump to win 50% +1 of the delegates. If you get Trump with say 35%, and a whole mess of candidates with less, who those other candidates throw their delegates to could sway the convention. Say Rubio moves up to around 25% after more guys drop out, while Cruz stays at 15%. You have 40% undecideds who could literally sway the convention to any of the three. It could be the most interesting convention of my lifetime. OK, I just re-read and the math doesn't work exactly, but you get the idea.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Feb 10, 2016 -> 08:49 AM) I'll say it again: to anyone still referencing the existence of a hard "three-year contention window" that we're currently in -- that quotation was taken entirely out of context. Williams' was referring to the idea of a rolling three-year outlook, specifically that ideas need to fit into that process. But I wanted to misquote and rant irrationally

QUOTE (Iwritecode @ Feb 10, 2016 -> 09:16 AM) But to actually watch the game live, you typically have to pay for it. Whether it's cable, a satellite provider, mlb.tv, etc... Back then paying for any type of TV was unheard of. Sportsvision wasn't really a bad idea, it was just a few years too early. And for most of Chicago, they won't be able to watch the game at all, because the teams network won't be picked up by most TV providers in Chicago. Remember Comcast has zero incentive to pick up the network as it is competition. Look at LA and Houston's numbers for great examples. The Cubs will be on millions less TVs if they start their own network.

QUOTE (3GamesToLove @ Feb 10, 2016 -> 08:51 AM) One prospect website I read the other day (might've been BA, might've been 2080) mentioned expecting Fulmer to start in Charlotte. That sounds a little aggressive; I think he'll get a few starts in AA first. I'd even go to High A as a possibility for a starting spot, though no higher than B-ham.

QUOTE (GreenSox @ Feb 10, 2016 -> 08:56 AM) It probably does. They got him for nothing so if he can pitch, he can pitch. Another pitcher in the mix for the pen is Tommy Kahnle, for whom they traded 21 year old Almonte who blistered A ball (modest K totals are the only neg I see on Almonte). Kahnle is another one of those high K pitchers, with command and control issues that they like to try to fix. Hope they can. I assume they made the trade thinking he had a good shot for a pen spot. Bullpen is getting crowed. Putnam is pretty much the only reclamation project that has worked out in the last few years. He can be inconsistent, but he gets Ks. They also have Phillipe Aumont who was pretty solid out of the pen for Philly as well who is on the outside looking in.