Dick Allen

QUOTE (oldsox @ Dec 19, 2016 -> 06:46 AM) How will Tatis do in A Ball for Padres? The Morosi report seems like a White Sox leak.

QUOTE (TaylorStSox @ Dec 18, 2016 -> 11:59 AM) If only we were all physically gifted enough to live life on our own terms. To each his own. You want to feel sorry for a guy making his money going an extra 2 innings, and using that as an excuse why he gave up runs in the WS go ahead. Was it his fault he was suspended ? I wonder what his excuse was when Gordon Beckham beat his ass in 2015. Couldn't have been his fault.

QUOTE (Donaldo @ Dec 17, 2016 -> 06:58 PM) I agree that Chapman probably should've kept those comments to himself, but I agree with him. Who puts their CLOSER in the game in the 7th inning with a 5 run lead (especially when he KNEW he'd probably need him the next night)? And you wonder why he was tired in game 7. Hendricks was on cruise control in game 7. It made zero sense to take him out of the game when he did. If Rajai Davis would've had one more baserunner, the Indians would be World Champions. IMO, the Cubs won it IN SPITE of Maddon. Yeah. Poor guy had to pitch 7 innings in a WS. Gets a ring and an $86 million 5 year contract so he can go buy more guns and bullets ts and fire them at his girlfriend. I feel bad for him.

JB has a problem. He isn't good enough to be a regular, and needs regular ABs to be any kind of effective. He is a hustler though.

He has other faults, but the biggest problem with Hoiberg is development. Gar/Pax has done him no favors by crafting a team that really isn't in his style. But the guys closest to his style haven't developed. Niko has gone backwards. Mc ermott has his moments but is still inconsistent, and may be one of the worst defenders of all time, Valentine has been hurt but doesn't seem to have much of a clue. The bench is bad but isn't at least part of that on the coachand/or his staff? I doubt they launch Fred. I think Gar is running out of buddies who could pass as an NBA coach, and even if he has one or two left, it would probably be another downgrade.

I love any piece blasting Maddon and/or the Cubs, but JFC, you won the WS, what are you complaining about Chapman? You would think a guy like that would want the ball.

As long as Gar is around, Hoiberg is probably about as good as you are going to get. Wait until Rondo goes full psycho. A lot had to go right for this roster to be anything better than right around .500. If and when Wade starts showing his age, they might even be worse than last season.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Dec 16, 2016 -> 12:30 PM) How dare anyone on this website post something as a "devil's advocate" just to promote some discussion besides for the inanely boring "I saw this rumor on twitter." Maybe that was exciting back when the Sox were going to trade for Nomar, but I think that was the last time I got caught up in the "speculation hype train." So lets go back to what makes this forum great: "I saw some random guy on twitter say that X is going to happen!!!!!!!" Yeah, Drake LaRoche conspiracy threads are far more compelling.

QUOTE (steveno89 @ Dec 16, 2016 -> 10:55 AM) An injury in spring training or early in the season to an OF or 3B could make Frazier or Cabrera a very attractive rental replacement for a contender as well. Being able to acquire a capable starter under contract for just 2017 could end up being a godsend if a core player goes down. But if they are that attractive and worth a better prospect from another team, the White Sox are more than likely winning more games than most imagined. So the idea of a real high draft pick would be by the boards.

QUOTE (Thad Bosley @ Dec 16, 2016 -> 10:42 AM) Personally, it's just not in my DNA to ever turn on a White Sox game and somehow hope that they will lose. I don't care what the state of the team or organization is at that time I turn a game on. I want my team to win - always! I feel the same way. If I really wanted them to lose, I really have no reason to pay attention.

QUOTE (soxfan2014 @ Dec 16, 2016 -> 10:33 AM) Like a few people have said on here, lucky for us, we don't have to root for or against losses; they will just happen regardless. I think they should, but what people should really cheer for if they want the Sox to max their draft position is to trade as many of their better players as possible before the games start to count. Hoping to max out on everybody, probably isn't realistic, and they may, if they are maxing out, help you win meaningless games. You can't settle for Q or Abreu or probably Jones. The other short term vets,, if there is anything legit, and the goal is a high pick, you should probably take what you can get. At the very least, you could save their salaries, and spend it on something when you need it. If you traded Frazier, Melky, and Robertson for nothing at all, you would save around $40 million. Put it in the bank and spend it on a top of the line guy when you need it.

I think the problem here is there are way too many individuals you hope they either light it up so they get traded for prospects or light it up to take the next step in their development to really then realistically hope they accumulate a ton of losses. If for some reason they traded no one else, for Abreu, Jones, Melky, Frazier, Robertson, Q, Rodon, Anderson, Saladino, Liriano, Lawrie to be what you hope they will be to either max their trade value or get excited about what they will be, and still be in position to have a top 5 draft pick is a little unreasonable. (Only mentioned 11 players. Caulfield gives it a C-)

Beer left HS a semester early and played right away if I am reading this correctly. However, the guy is 20 years old already, so he was older for his class. Still looks pretty incredible to me, but we will see if he can live up to the hype.

You'll be able to relive all your post surgery John Danks memories with Derek Holland. Just remember to buy tickets early, he is going to get flipped for a future all star or 2 by the trade deadline.

It would be Q's luck to get traded to Colorado

QUOTE (steveno89 @ Dec 15, 2016 -> 10:58 AM) Small sample size, yes. But 48 major league games is not small enough to totally dismiss. Reed had 17 plate appearances against lefties and struck out 9 times, which is awful. The bigger concern for me is that he stuck at at a 31% rate in 124 plate appearances against righties. You must hate Moncada.

QUOTE (Username @ Dec 15, 2016 -> 10:45 AM) Guys, this is why you have to be careful with sample sizes and stats: - Reed had only 15 ABs all of last year against lefties in the majors. 1-15 is bad, but Alex Bregman started 1-32 OVERALL. - The guy had an 870 OPS against lefties in the minors last year. - He's 23 and sprinted through the minors. Still tons of time to develop. Way way too early to call him a platoon bat. Would love to see him in a Q deal as a buy low. If he goes 7-41 with a double , 2 homers, 3 walks, and 18 strikeouts his next 44 PA vs. LHP, he will equal Kyle Schwarber. Vs RHP was a problem, but BA had this guy the #11 prospect in the game prior to last year. The Sox need power. If you can get him as a throw in, it's really a no brainer.

QUOTE (Con te Giolito @ Dec 15, 2016 -> 12:48 AM) Part of my anxiousness to get some more moves done is to quell this little thought I have that the Eaton and Sale trades were about something else. Like Kenny is somewhere saying "Heh, yea...were...""""""rebuilding""""""...that's what it is" when its really about getting rid of two dissenters who humiliated the org in March. And now secretly another half of the org is crafting a plan to sign Encarnacion and Bautista and go for it again in 2017. Do I really believe that this is what is going on? No. But I also dont find it completely implausible that the struggle amongst the brass over this team's direction is continuing even now. So yea, another trade or two just to squash any delusions of "well maybe if we..." nonsense would be very nice. Even if that nonsense only exists (for now) in my nightmares. If that were true, they would have acquired some MLB pieces in the deal. I personally think they were the first 2 because once they are gone, there really is no turning back.

Possibly the coldest game ever played at Soldier Field. My couch seems perfect on Sunday.

QUOTE (IowaSoxFan @ Dec 14, 2016 -> 05:12 PM) Thats assuming that the Japanese team will let him out of his contract after two years. If he has to sign an extension in Japan to bridge the seasons until he is 25, odds are his Japanese team is going to hold out for a longer term which would mean he might not be able to come over until he is older, meaning he would likely only get two MLB contracts instead of three if he comes over next year and is a FA at 28. If he stays or comes over, he likely hits FA at about the same time. If he comes earlier he develops a track record and gets a bunch of marketing and exposure here in addition to what he will still reap in Japan. So they would rather not have him at all than have him another 2 seasons? That is hard to believe.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Dec 14, 2016 -> 03:05 PM) If you work it out right, he could set himself up for a pretty decent payday. Remember, you can pay out the bonus over a period of three years. If you divide the bonus by three and put it over the first three years, and add the salary to that, he can bring home about $3 million in the early years. One of the features I remember of the early extensions is that they move up a little bit of the money so that instead of half a million a year, they make around a million by the third year. Then hit the arb years with an increasing rate that matches the upper end of players in those years (5/10/15m?), and tack on 2 or 3 of the free agency years at a big number, say $25 million or more, plus a large buyout for those years ($5m? $10m?), you could put together a pretty defensible deal for Otani to get some money guaranteed, and the team to lock into a set rate. If he truly is a $200 million player, he is far better off waiting an additional 2 years and not messing with the other stuff. I'm sure he will be paid a pretty good wage in Japan those years.

QUOTE (soxfan2014 @ Dec 14, 2016 -> 02:46 PM) Yeah I guess this is a big risk. Watching everyone else sign guys and then Otani doesn't even come over. And even if the post him, he might think twice and realize it would be better to wait. Then you have no July 2nd signees and have scraps left if anything. Too risky for the Sox IMO.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Dec 14, 2016 -> 02:37 PM) Agreed. It would be difficult for the MLB to cry collusion if he was able to sign an extension after playing for one full season. If that's legal, it becomes very plausible for Otani to "bet on himself" by taking his $9m to come over and prove himself, having made a handshake agreement to discuss a 6-figure extension in that first offseason. Given his age, he would stand to make a ton of money even if he's merely above-average, even if it's still less than he'd have made at the peak of his hype. Viewed through that lense, the rules are then really only a significant piece of negotiating leverage for the signing team. Also, I wonder what the restrictions are on that ~$9m rookie bonus contract. For example, could they still work in a "you cannot send me to arbitration" clause or something similar that would reduce the team's level of control? A poor performance could make it pretty obvious. The entire thing is fascinating. The posting fee is maxed at $20 million. If you want to offer him all your bonus allotment you can't sign anyone on July 2nd, and will have to trade for extra funds. Then you have to make sure his team will post him and he will agree to come over. And the player is probably giving up a ton of money by not waiting, and letting every team have a shot at him. Huge risk he doesn't choose you. Huge reward if he does.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Dec 14, 2016 -> 02:34 PM) Meh. The worse you are the more money you are allowed to spend in the draft. You want to pick as high in each round as possible if you're bad so you can get a larger bonus pool. But the more the first pick costs you, so it really isn't the windfall most make it if you are drafting best available.

QUOTE (ChiSox59 @ Dec 14, 2016 -> 02:11 PM) I love how so many posters here act like the Cubs are the only team to properly execute a rebuild in the history of the game. Its comical. I've never lived in Chicago, so I didn't grow up caring much for the Cubs one way or the other, but the obsession some Sox fans seem to have with what the Cubs has done is quite obvious. The problem is it's recent and it worked. Expecting similar results isn't being realistic. A lot of stuff usually goes wrong. Some did for the Cubs, but they either are so astute, or got really lucky a few times. I find it hard to believe they knew Arrieta and Hendricks would have put up the seasons they put up when acquired. If Houston drafts Bryant and they take Appel and Arreita and Hendricks pitch like typical throw ins, they are still most likely going through the process.