Lillian

The Sox are 21ST in the Majors, in runs scored, averaging just 3.5 runs per game. Their OBP is under .300, at just .288. It's amazing that they are 8 and 2. This pitching is just terrific. I hope that Ventura starts hitting Melky behind Abreu and in front of Frazier, vs RHP. That seems like their best option, until they can acquire that middle of the order left handed bat, which I'm always advocating. Cabrera doesn't have the power, but he's a good run producer, and he seems to be on one of his streaks.

I agree with all of you. Now that the shoulder injury appears to be something serious, it wouldn't make any sense, at any price. Would someone please close this thread? It was just a thought and I was merely asking. I think I have my answer.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Apr 15, 2016 -> 03:48 PM) Needs liposuction, weight reduction, shoulder work But hey, bats lefty, lets put him at cleanup That's pretty funny. You're right. Never mind.

I didn't see today's article: https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/redsox/2...d_ReadMore_Pos4 I guess the shoulder issue may be more serious than I assumed.

This article from a couple weeks ago, suggests that the Red Sox appear to be ready to extricate themselves from the Sandoval disaster:. https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/redsox/2...PeLP/story.html How much of his horrible contract would boston have to pay to get a team to take him off their hands? The first thing the acquiring team should do is suggest that he have liposuction, on that enormous belly. Then they would need to assign someone to cook for him and "baby sit" him, to make sure that he eats what he's supposed to eat. Back down to a reasonable weight, could he provide that left handed, middle of the order bat, the White Sox could use, vs. RHP? Who would sit? I really would like to give Avi as much of an opportunity to succeed, as possible. I'd hate to see him only getting at bats vs. LHP. Avi is too young and too intriguing to be platooned, this early in his career. Any ideas?

6 and 2, with only 2 games played at home. I'll take it.

If Danks can reach 91 - 92 on his fast ball, and keep his change up down, he can get a lot of guys out. He had a lot of very good starts last year, especially in the second half. I didn't watch his first start. What was his velocity?

Looking at his career, and considering that he just turned 29, I think Jackson may be a better player than some of you think. If you take out a couple bad months, here and there, he has been a remarkably consistent hitter. His career .273 Average with a .333 OBP, is a very reasonable expectation. He also hits both righties and lefties about the same. His bad year in 2014 might be explained by the sprained ankle, which he incurred on May 3RD, resulting in a terrible month, during which he hit just .200 with a .239 OBP. The rest of the year was fine, and included one month, in which he hit .307 with an OBP of .391 and another month, in which he hit .349 with an OBP of .390. He's had more at bats leading off, than anywhere else in the lineup, but I'd rather see him hitting 9TH. That gives the Sox two potential "lead off" type hitters, in succession.

Loney has been a very consistently good average and OBP hitter vs. RHP, in his career. The last 3 years, in the A.L., in over 1000 at bats, he has averaged .300 with an OBP of .350 vs. RHP. Those numbers are right in line with his career stats. It is also worth noting that he does not strikes out very often, and He's a good defensive first baseman. Here are the AT BATS, AVERAGE and ON BASE PERCENTAGE STATS, for the last 3 years: 2013 395 .299 .352 2014 428 .304 .355 2015 277 .296 .341 He will turn 32 in May. The problem is that there is no place for him to play. If an injury happened to Abreu, or one of the outfielders, he would be a decent replacement at 1ST, or DH. However, barring that scenario, he would be on the bench, as an occasional late inning defensive replacement to spell Abreu. The team does not have an obvious need for a left handed pinch hitter, as no one is that bad against RHP.

QUOTE (GreenSox @ Mar 30, 2016 -> 07:46 AM) And not a successful one. I would like to think that they never would have traded for Lawrie had the Frazier trade come first. But this org. would trade Sanchez before Lawrie. I hope Ishikawa is up because the Sox think he can hit; not for this Robin clubhouse nonsense. I agree. They wouldn't have needed Lawrie, if they had already acquired Frazier. It looks like Billy Beane may have gotten the best of the Sox again. Maybe he knew that Lawrie was a "strike out machine". He's a great athlete, and he's strong, but he doesn't look like he's a very good hitter. A lot of teams have already given up on him. Let's hope that Steverson can get through to him. I hate that big hitch of his.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Mar 29, 2016 -> 04:51 PM) Do tell How about one bullpen arm and Lawrie, for a left handed bat, that some team wants to unload as a salary dump. The Sox have salary room. I'd much rather have the strong defense up the middle, and a middle of the order left handed bat. Ethier would have been a candidate for such a trade, but the injury killed that. For me, this is more about liking Sanchez, than disliking Lawrie. I have the feeling Carlos is ready to contribute.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Mar 29, 2016 -> 04:46 PM) The Sox aren't gonna bench Lawrie and call up Sanchez early in the season if Lawrie isn't hitting. The only reason Sanchez will come up will be Saladino being miserably bad or injury I understand that, but I wouldn't mind a trade for a left handed bat. I've always loved Sanchez and Lawrie is not doing anything to impress. He has struck out 17 times in 44 at bats, this Spring. Yikes.

QUOTE (BrianAnderson @ Mar 29, 2016 -> 02:27 PM) The way I look at it, although Carlos might not agree with me, I'd rather be him playing every day in AAA than be the reserve role like Saladino. I like Sanchez more than Tyler. I actually see more future value in him than Lawrie at 2b too. However, at this point I'd rather see him and Davidson down in AAA. I'm not sold on Davidson. Let him show a half season or more at AAA of doing this. He is so fragile. I feel like he could hit .350 in AAA, get a call-up and then start 0-8 and be in a mental pickle and do horrible again. I wouldn't be surprised to see Rollins or Saladino both struggle or get injured and have Sanchez as your SS for a stretch some time this year. Given the superior defense that Sanchez provides, if Lawrie doesn't start hitting, and Carlos starts the year on fire, at Charlotte, the Sox will be confronted with a difficult decision. Lawrie has not had a good Spring. His strikeouts are just awful. Way too many. Carlos has outplayed him by a huge margin.

QUOTE (sammy esposito @ Mar 20, 2016 -> 10:47 PM) In my 58 years of watching sox baseball I never had the urge to watch a Cubs game. If they do well and make it to the playoffs or to the world series I will quietly root for the opposing team. If they win I will congratulate my Cub fan friends for winning. I think this objection is from Sale. Eaton will be sad because he will again be the shortest man in the clubhouse again Yes, of course, because you are a "die hard" Sox fan. You did understand that I was talking about how comparatively unappealing this looks to a those just beginning to develop an interest in Chicago baseball. Can you honestly say that if you were 58 years younger, and just starting to follow baseball, that you would choose to root for the Sox, rather than the Cubs? I've rooted for the Sox since 1954, even a couple years longer than you have. However, if I were just beginning to become interested in the game, I doubt this nonsense would draw me to the South Side. This franchise can little afford such a distraction, for many reasons. That was my point.

This is all just one more reason for the city of Chicago to root for the Cubs. We're all die hards, but really guys, ask yourself this: If I weren't blindly loyal to the Sox, and if I hadn't been a fan, my whole life, for which team would I be rooting, this season? The North Side has a terrific young team, with a great manager and we have.....well, this?!!!! Way to go La Roche, Sale and Eaton. Great job. How idiotic!!!!

I don't understand why some cannot make the distinction between being granted a privilege, and someone taking advantage of it. Unless it is determined that La Roche was promised to be able to have his son be that much of a presence on the team, asking him to "dial it back" does not constitute reneging on the agreement, whether verbal or written. That distinction has been made here, by others, but some just can't seem to comprehend it. It would be like your friend asking you if he could borrow your car, and you replied; "Of course, here are the keys. Anytime" Only then, to discover that your friend is using your car, all day, every day and keeping it in his garage. Wouldn't you want to "dial it back" a little? Could you really be accused of reneging on your "promise" to him, by asking him to do so? I think that it is fair to assume that the organization did not envision the extraordinary degree to which A. L. would abuse this unusual privilege. Perhaps they waited too long to say something, but that doesn't alter their justification for doing so. Maybe they assumed that either La Roche himself, or some of the players, would eventually intervene to ask him to "dial it back".

It's getting harder, and harder, for me to be able to relate to these modern prima donna professional athletes. One would think that I guy like La Roche, who claims to be so morally conscious, would not only behave differently, but have a different perspective. After the year he had, and the money he made, you would think that he would be embarrassed and ashamed to ask for any special privileges, at all!!! When K. W asked him to "dial it back," he could have said. Of course, I understand, and I appreciate that I have this special privilege. I'm sorry that I haven't lived up to the expectations that the organization had for me, and I hope to be make some of that up to the White Sox, this season. Or, better yet; You know I certainly didn't earn any of that $12.5 million you paid me last year, and I feel that I owe the team something. Since it's unlikely that I could play well enough, and contribute enough, this season, to justify another year's significant financial cost to the organization, please accept my resignation. Maybe you can use the money to acquire a player who could actually earn it. These guys live in a very strange world, indeed. That just makes La Roche's view about the great "life lessons to be learned in Major League clubhouse," for his teenaged son, all the more foolish. In fact, he himself is the product of having grown up in that environment, and it didn't seem to help him to understand the real world, did it?

Adam La Roche appears to not be very bright. One would think that he would have realized that he put his teammates in an awkward position. In this politically correct age, what guy is going to openly complain about such a well behaved, likable kid's presence in the club house and on the field? For La Roche to volunteer to not bring his son, if players objected, is a rather hollow promise, knowing that most guys would not want to openly object, even it they didn't appreciate it. The other obvious issue that should have entered his mind is that other players might have felt that they too should have the same privilege. Again, he just doesn't seem to be very bright. It's just common sense, which he apparently lacks.

If La Roche decides not to retire, and returns to the team, is there any way that this turns our to be a good thing? I can't imagine it. Adam La Roche strikes me as not being very bright. At his age, and being the veteran he is, you would think that he would have more sense than this. I really hope that he goes through with this voluntary retirement. He wasn't contributing before this idiotic controversy, and it is likely that he would not contribute enough to make up for the problems, he has just created. My biggest fear now is that he changes his mind. Please just retire, please. And don't take too long to make up your mind. The sooner the organization knows, the better the chances to find an available left handed bat. I hope that they have already been engaged in preliminary discussions with a viable candidate, or two.

Have you noticed that Kaplan did a complete about face? There are 2 or 3 videos on CSN, in which he is very vehemently critical of La Roche, and supportive of management. I wonder what caused the change of view?

An interesting perspective might be gained by contemplating this hypothetical: Assume that La Roche was a really productive player, and that his presence was considered key to his team's chances of winning. He has a contract, which obligates his team to pay him an exorbitant amount of money, in fact more than he is arguably worth. His contractual obligation, whether explicitly stipulated, or implied, is to do his utmost, to help the team win. Instead he allows his selfish, personal desire for a particularly unusual, special privilege, to take precedence over the interests of the team. He further allows it to create an atmosphere of contention and division in the clubhouse, leading players to take sides against one another, over the issue. Then, when he is unhappy with the request to "dial it back a little", he chooses to abandon his teammates, and quit, leaving them with a significant void, which will be difficult to fill. One of the reasons that some fail to see how poorly this reflects upon La Roche, is that his presence on the roster, and salary are perceived by most to be a detriment to the team's chances for success. How would we feel if his leaving negatively impacted those chances? It does seem like this man, who claims to be such a good Christian, and devout family man, has selfishly placed his interest, ahead of his team's. If he now does anything to try to claim all, or part of the money, which was owed in the contract, he will further reinforce that characterization of selfishness. What would truly have been the "selfless" act would have been for him to have volunteered to quit, and not accept the money (a la Gil Meche) because he felt that he, not only did not earn his salary last season, but that his presence on the roster, represented an obstacle to the team's chances for success. The question now is; How does this team best overcome this distraction and move forward with the determination to win.

How was Danks' velocity? That is the big question for me. If he can get that fast ball back into the low 90's he should be effective. His change up has become a solid pitch.

QUOTE (lasttriptotulsa @ Mar 10, 2016 -> 02:50 PM) Another nice shot by Avi into the left-centerfield gap. He is absolutely on fire. I know it's a very small sample size but he looks like a completely different hitter in the chances I've got to see him this spring. I really think this is the year he puts it together. Shh. Be careful, you know that a comment like that is likely to generate a chorus of skepticism. "It's only Spring", "He still sucks" etc, But, I'm with you, he looks completely different. This new stance is much more conducive to hitting for power. He's showing good patience at the plate. The front office knows that he could be a beast, if he puts it together. I'm very encouraged.

Did you guys see this article today?: http://m.mlb.com/news/article/165972362/ja...rs-may-be-dealt I don't see a spot for him, unless they can unload LaRoche, do you?

Break out all of the cliches: Where were these bats last year? Save something for the regular season. That's what I'm talking' about. I'm drinking the Sox "Kool Aid"