Dick Allen

QUOTE (SoxPride18 @ Jul 30, 2015 -> 02:52 PM) Can he request the release or does the team have to do it? I'm confused by that, sorry. It's part of his contract. Gets him to free agency without the service time or compensation.

QUOTE (SoxPride18 @ Jul 30, 2015 -> 02:49 PM) Could go both ways. Positive, he likes it here with Aberu and Alexei as fellow Cubans. Negative, no draft pick connected to him and teams will likely overpay. His contract calls for him to be released at the end of the season. Teams releasing players cannot sign them again until May 15th. The team that winds up with Cespedes on the last day of the season will be his ex-team 5 days later.

Would anyone give Detroit Avi back for a couple months of Cespedes?

QUOTE (Frank_Thomas35 @ Jul 30, 2015 -> 02:44 PM) Yes Cespedes has a rocket arm and is very good defensively. Plus playing with Abreu we would have a chance to resign him after the season. Trading for him would actually hurt the chances of signing him.

QUOTE (BrianAnderson @ Jul 30, 2015 -> 02:27 PM) When did Starlin become Public Enemy #1?? It's a real buy low candidate. Maybe the Cubs toss in some money, maybe not. But I don't think it's that crazy. Again, I haven't watched a ton of Cubs games, so I could be wrong. But, sure he's bad at SS, but 3rd base should be a little easier to handle. Look at his stats. Age 20: .300BA, .347OBP, 3HR, 41RBI 71SO Age 21: .307BA, .341OBP, 10HR, 66RBI 96SO Age 22: .283BA, .323OBP, 14HR, 78RBI 100SO Age 23: .245BA, .284OBP, 10HR, 44RBI 129SO Age 24: .292BA, .339OBP, 14HR, 65RBI 100SO I feel like some are pretty dismissive right of the bat. Buying low on a guy, who's salary is under or about $10mm is not awful in this day and age. Look at what some people are getting out there. Yes there is a decline over time, however this is not like an Adam LaRoche drop off because of age. He's 25. Maybe a change of scenery could change things. Just a thought. Not saying I'm a proponent. But -- sorry, its not like Saladino is our answer. And look at the trash we've marched out to 3b over the last decade. I did read he did have more hits before the age of 25 than Pete Rose. The thing is, the guy is a head case. Lackadaisical plays, dumb plays, poor performance...I just think he's a guy that will always thinking he should be better than he is.

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Jul 30, 2015 -> 02:27 PM) On one hand, Garcia looks like he could've used a day off. But....... Avi really should listen to Hawk about hitting. Moving around in the batter's box is very old school and probably went away when baseball became a HR hitting contest. Now that the game has changed, moving around in the box should be pretty common. Especially when you need to hit it the other way. Back off the plate. Make things easy.

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Jul 30, 2015 -> 02:21 PM) I suggested this yesterday. It's not the worst idea. Levine mentions the rest of mlb see him a 3B who can bulk up and be a slugger. I agree there's that chance but cubs would have to give you considerable salary and we give up nothing in terms of prospects for it to happen. I think it was a case of a talented guy getting paid too much too early. He has had 3 or 4 managers. It doesn't seem like anyone is getting through. Maybe someday he wakes up, probably close to the expiration of his contract, but he's not worth the trouble because even in your scenario, it's not worth it to the Cubs to pay him a lot of money to play somewhere else and get nothing in return. They just have to hope he somehow regains what he has lost.

The only one confused is Padilla. He has nothing to throw out there in terms of info, so naturally, the conclusion is the White Sox don't know whether to buy or sell.

QUOTE (BrianAnderson @ Jul 30, 2015 -> 02:10 PM) I mean, this is all make-believe world. But hypothetically speaking, would you entertain buying low on Starlin Castro and slotting him over to 3B? Not the best defensively in the field, or very good. Also declining numbers offensively, however maybe a change of scenery? I mean, he's only 25 -- put up some real slick numbers at age 20-24. Maybe buy on a down year. Not sure what it'd take to get him. His contract is 8.10.11.12 and then 16mm option. Uh......................no.

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Jul 30, 2015 -> 01:42 PM) Show me one article that quote Rick Hahn as saying pitch framing is/was instrumental in Flowers getting so much playing time. Show me the article that quotes anyone from the White Sox saying they play Flowers for the sole purpose of pissing you off, which seems to be why you think he plays. He ranks very high in pitch framing which is a skill whether you want to believe it or not. Every game you watch, balls are calls strikes, strikes are called balls. They also like the way he handles the staff. I'm sure they can't stand how he hits any more than any of us can, and I'm sure they wish he was a bit better at throwing down to 2B. Use some logic man.

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Jul 30, 2015 -> 01:34 PM) What people who make the decisions. The Pirates ? There you go being vague again just throwing s*** at the wall like a caged monkey. Who is being vague? The people who make the decisions are the people who put together the White Sox roster, pay the players, and determine who plays. I like Geo Soto, but he's one bad week away from being this must play player to a guy who needs to be DFA'd. It already happened once this year with him. He had some hits, hit a homer, he had to play. He did play, struck out a few times, threw one or 2 into CF, and it was OMG he is so terrible. There is a reason with catching so scarce, Geo Soto was available for a minor league contract.

The more I read about this, the more it seems like the whole thing was a publicity stunt by the Mets. Show the fans you really, really, really wanted an offensive upgrade, and then flunk the physical.

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Jul 30, 2015 -> 01:17 PM) OOOh our backup catcher is ranked 38th while hardly playing. I guess I'll just jump on the pitch framing bandwagon now. Welcome all to Small Sample Size Theater. And what does being ranked 38th in pitch framing even mean ? Does it mean he gets an average of .5 strikes called per game while the top 5 get 3 or 4 ? Does Soto ever catch Sale or Quintana ? Need a lot more facts if you're going to throw an arbitrary number like 38th in pitch framing out there. He exclusively catches Samardzija, so Flowers misses some of that, and they get the same relievers. Extra strikes lead to extra outs. Dimiss it all you want, but apparently the people who make the decisions believe in it.

You never know, the wrong guy gets injured tonight, and the Sox could be selling tomorrow.

QUOTE (shysocks @ Jul 30, 2015 -> 01:01 PM) He's okay and he'd be cheap to get but I hope we'd target somebody with more power. The Sox have Shuck. Revere would be OK, but if the Sox are going to do something, I would hope it would be for an actual need.

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Jul 30, 2015 -> 11:12 AM) Pitch framing wasn't even a thing until a few years ago. It means almost nothing. It's all about who is pitching to you and the pitchers rep with umps for throwing strikes. When pitchers reps and the inconsistency of umps calling balls and strikes is taken into consideration pitch framing just doesn't stack up as viable. Just because its a sabr-stat doesn't mean it should automatically be trusted as a "thing". Flowers is huge for a catcher and I hardly ever see him handle a ball in the dirt flawlessly. He can block some but is high on the list of passed balls allowed which to me is more reliable than pitch framing. If it is so dependent on pitchers, how come, catching many of the same pitchers, Soto ranks 38th? I do think if they had lasers determining balls and strikes and made pitch framing moot, Flowers probably wouldn't be around.

I do think they will do something, but you can't react to Toronto, you have to do what is best for the White Sox. I think something small happens, but like the comment about how they tried, we will get the something huge that would have blown everyone away was really close.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Jun 26, 2015 -> 06:42 AM) It's simple math. Their avg star ranking is 25th in the country with about 6 ships left. He needs to cut or they will end up outside of the top ten for sure and maybe lower. And that includes getting Gary. Did you know that the star ratings in HS really have little to do with guys projecting talent, it is based off whom the player is being recruited. If a guy finished his HS career and was recruited by division II schools he could be a 1 or 2 star guy. If suddenly Ohio State, and a few other big schools decided he might fit in pretty well with the extra scholarship they had in their pocket, he becomes a 3 or 3.5 guy. I don't think one school can make much difference, but a few can.

I think the biggest reason it is quiet is because the Sox weren't exactly in buy mode a couple of days ago.

1 billion for 15 years is about $67 million a year. Is that really that much these days? It's a little more than 400k a game. Isn't that what the Sox get now on CSN?

QUOTE (Frank_Thomas35 @ Jul 30, 2015 -> 10:52 AM) Is Cespedes a Free Agen my after this season? And there is a little trick to him if you want to re-sign him. His contract calls for him to be released, so you would have to re-sign him before he is released or he isn't eligible to sign with the team who released him until May 15th.

Supposedly the Sox were asking more for Samardjiza than Cincinatti got for Cueto, so I believe the report here that there were 2 deals in place were erroneous at best.

QUOTE (Mike F. @ Jul 30, 2015 -> 10:41 AM) I'd drop Flowers honestly. Soto can hit at the very least and his defense is ok. Flowers isn't particularly good at anything besides being Sale's personal catcher. You are letting their offense influence your judgement of their defense, just like Gold Glove voters. If Soto is OK defensively, Flowers defense shouldn't be described as anything but stellar.

I love when people rip KW for trading prospects for veterans, even admitting the prospects for the most part weren't very good, but still insisting it has destroyed the franchise, get a thread going like this. Advocating more KW-type moves. If they were wrong before,(which I don't believe) they are wrong now.

+35 run differential this trip.