iamshack

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jun 20, 2014 -> 10:26 AM) There are two pitchers I would think about trading right now, because I'd bet they aren't able to sustain/repeat the seasons they have had. Hector Noesi and Putnam. I don't think Noesi has established any real value yet.

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Jun 20, 2014 -> 10:15 AM) Alexei's trade value is going down. Alexei's last RBI came on May 26. He is hitting .277 since then. I'm not sure it was ever really that high.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jun 20, 2014 -> 09:00 AM) I think there are some other issues here that make the comparisons harder to make. One, the feud between KW and Ozzie Guillen, and JR's attempts to pacify both, which ended up frustrating them and causing them not to be able to do their jobs. As far as keeping Reed, Peavy and Rios and "going for it" in 2014, what would the argument have been why that team with the same players would go from 63 wins to 90 wins? It's just not a credible or realistic position to take. Now in 2007, the circumstances were quite different because that team was only 2 years removed from a World Series championship and the core guys (AJ, Crede/Fields, Buehrle, Dye, Thome, Konerko, Jenks, Garland, etc.) were still in their primes or fairly close to them still. You could argue that 2007 was a blip or aberration...whereas now we're going on six years without a playoff appearance, so the desire to "stick with the plan" doesn't make sense anymore because it hasn't been working for so long. Plus, there's sentimentality of holding onto those core guys from 2005. Did anyone really get upset when we traded Peavy, Rios and Reed? Not really. I think there'll be more fans upset if Beckham is/was traded than those three guys, particularly Rios and Reed. Additionally, Kenny looked at trading some of these guys. He tried to deal Dye, he looked at trading Crede. He later looked at trading Danks. The decision he made was that the return wasn't acceptable. It wasn't that the idea of moving veterans for prospects never occurred to him. It was that he didn't think moving the veterans for what prospects were offered improved the organization.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jun 20, 2014 -> 08:39 AM) Except that I actually have history on my side. How many times did Ken Williams trade and/or sell 4 pieces in one season? History says Williams would have hung on to Peavy and Rios and gone for it next year, instead trying to shed salary elsewhere or not spending nearly the amount that Hahn has on the draft and/or international free agency. Could Williams have sold those pieces? Sure, it's possible, because anything is possible, but I do not believe it would have happened. Meanwhile, all you do is make one point and then go into random ridiculous narrative about how you're going to do this or that or whatever and it's usually quite irrational and absurd. That's not history, that's a small sample size under different circumstances. You're going to take 2 years of Hahn's tenure and use it as a manifesto on his philosophy as a General Manager. You're then going to compare this "philosophy" against Kenny's body of work, even though both men were never working with the same set of circumstances. You want to bring up 2007...2007 came off a 90 win season and is a year removed from a WS Championship. A completely different set of circumstances than that which Hahn found himself in in 2013. Then you sort of fail to mention that the 2008 team made the postseason, which, to me, pretty much validates what Kenny did between the end of 2006 and the beginning of 2008. Meanwhile, Hahn worked for Kenny during this time, and Kenny now influences Hahn today...trying to separate and compare their tenures, especially considering Hahn's has been so brief, is pretty much impossible IMHO.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jun 19, 2014 -> 03:01 PM) Compare the team from Opening Day last year to the current personnel in the organization and tell me how much of that Williams would have done. I'd give you Abreu and that's about it. Now that's really not fair. Doubtful they would have made the same moves, but KW would have been making moves as well.

QUOTE (The Ultimate Champion @ Jun 19, 2014 -> 12:02 PM) We could get more than that in the offseason, silly. Would you purchase a big time asset at 50% of its value to turn around and sell to the highest bidder 5 months later? Umm, yes.... I really don't see proof that this is the case. In the last few years, prospects have become so overvalued that these kind of deals have become more and more rare. And I don't know how many of you have been watching lately, but besides being a horse, David Price hasn't been all that outstanding over the last 18 months or so (he was great in the second half of last year, to his credit).

To be honest, I'd almost rather just try and sign James Shields next year.

Phew.

Can we just take Chris out?

What kind of shafts do you play?

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Jun 18, 2014 -> 11:00 AM) I've been shanking it off the hosel too frequently lately, Im clearly either too close to the ball or for some reason my hands are trying to play baseball with the shaft. Either that or you need your lie angle adjusted a few degrees flat...

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Jun 18, 2014 -> 10:37 AM) Those arent the most forgiving clubs though, you didnt get the AP1's? Nah, didn't want them to be too forgiving. I just need something slightly more forgiving, while still allowing me to work the ball a bit. My home course is one that penalizes you if you hit the wrong part of the green. Lots of undulations and lots of false fronts. What hurts me is slight mis***s that put me in a bad spot on the green or just off the green, because that brings my biggest weakness into play (my short game). I do still want feedback, however. I want to know when I hit a ball off the toe or too close to the hosel. With some of the more forgiving clubs, you're really hard pressed to know that.

Just took the plunge on a very slightly used set of Titleist AP2 714's. Project PXi shafts. Saved about 5 bills getting them barely used versus new. Need to get off of these blades and into something a bit more forgiving. Hopefully this will help with the consistency issue a bit.

QUOTE (Tex @ Jun 17, 2014 -> 05:54 PM) I started looking for a high school coaching position and can't believe within two weeks I've been offered the head position at a really solid high school in San Antonio. As I was discussing the requirements for the job I was laughing how seemingly unrelated experiences helped me land the position. Networking for donations of resources? Boy Scouts of America. Dealing with private clubs? Men's Golf Association president and board of governors member at a private club. Previous coaching experience? Check. The school even needed a teacher for my subject. I can't wait to get started. BTW, Congrats, Tex!

Another thing you can do is to go into a Golf Galaxy or similar type golf store and act as though you are in the market for a set of clubs. Tell them you want to hit the club on their simulator. Usually you can hit some balls and get some free advice from the guys there just on the premise of being a potential customer. Another good book is Ben Hogan's 5 fundamentals of modern golf. Some great illustrations and instruction in there (although Hogan didn't always seem to explain really well what he actually did in his own swing). To me, golf has always been a game where you either had a natural knack for it, or you didn't. Certainly you can make some major improvement with lessons, but the people who are really good golfers generally have a pretty good knack for it just naturally. I've been struggling with my game a bit as well. I've always been a pretty natural golfer; I can pick up a club after not playing for two years and go out and shoot bogey golf. Then I start playing regularly and start picking up all these nasty habits somehow. Case in point, since I joined this club, I'm practicing or playing 4-5 times a week now. Short game has seen major improvements, but my swing is just all over the damn place. One day I'm pulling my drives left, the next day I've got this power fade going on. The irons I've been apparently fighting an early release and just yanking everything left. Golf is a really humbling, frustrating game. As soon as you think everything is coming together, something goes wrong just to keep you honest. Then on your last hole of the round, the golf gods have a way of throwing you a bone and you'll hit your best shot of the day, just to keep you coming back to the masochism. Looking at taking a few lessons myself.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Jun 16, 2014 -> 01:28 PM) Here at soxtalk, we like to quote lebron james, history is made to be broken Yes, history is broken all the time. And hey, it's just basketball.

Just spoke with a landscape architect. Looking to drastically reduce our water usage, as I have spoken about in this thread before. Guy looked at the property on Google Maps and had some great initial observations/ideas. Said his fee is $120/hr. Sort of made my eyes pop out of my head for a second. Has anyone hired a landscape architect before? Do they generally just do the design and then you bring in a different firm for the labor, or do they do it all? Just curious.

Welcome, Jim and Blake.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jun 16, 2014 -> 07:44 AM) For my two cents, if they really want to call Rodon's bluff, they should make it known that they will be offering the draft slot surplus to De Oca if Rodon doesn't sign by a certain date. After that date, only the slot money is there for Rodon. If it were me, I would just offer slot and say look at our recent history of developing pitchers. This is a good place for Carlos. If they counter with more money, I would just offer whatever amount I have left above slot, and say, this offer is good for two days. Either accept it or it goes away. We're not playing games and waiting til an hour before the deadline.

Again, this business of retooling/rebuilding/going young is difficult business. You can't view it the sme way you do with trading for veterans. You're essentially getting into the speculating business, and so there are going to be misses...probably more misses than hits...but you're hoping for a few big hits. So far, the big hit has been Abreu. The book is still out on Eaton and Avisail. Things do not look good for Davidson, but by no means is that a done deal. IMO, we need Rodon to be a big hit, and we need one of Avisail/Eaton/Davidson to be above-average and another one to be solid. Then we need to make something of Alexei/Beckham/Danks before they're gone...

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Jun 15, 2014 -> 08:47 AM) Not enough to "love" what Hahn is doing. At best mixed results so far when he needed to use those pieces to start building the core. Well this is why I always liked Kenny...the prospects route, while admittedly what was needed at the point in which Hahn took over, can be very frustrating. If good teams were offering up can't miss prospects, it would be a lot simpler to rebuild...problem is, they rarely do. Hahn is going to miss on some guys, but he's also going to hit on some guys that we didn't expect would pan out. It's an exercise in patience and withholding judgement until you can see his plan take shape a bit more.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Jun 15, 2014 -> 08:16 AM) Adam Eaton isn't anything to get excited about and neither is Davidson or Wendelken. Montas is a High-A pitcher experiencing success for the first time this year. Like I said Hahn talks a good game. I think a bit more patience is required.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Jun 14, 2014 -> 10:49 PM) Liberia, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Ghana; its southern boundary is along the Gulf of Guinea. s***, I can't even name two states that border Connecticut.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Jun 12, 2014 -> 10:45 AM) The reason we've held onto him this long is because we haven't had any other options at all. Now we do. Letting him go would not be as stubborn as continually insisting that he's destined to be a star despite four consecutive seasons of garbage. He's doing nothing differently, and he's seeing different results. Safe money is that the 2500 PA of before are more indicative of what will happen going forward than the 100 most recent PA. It's a gamble, sure, but I'd be more inclined to believe in it if it was the result of a change in approach or something. That's just bs...how on earth are you in a position to know whether he is doing something differently or not? The 2500 PAs before also were at a very young age, after how many PAs in the minor leagues? What do you suppose we might be offered for him right now? If you think this is all a mirage, don't you believe most GMs will think the same (you all read the same s***)? And if the return isn't significant, what is the point in making the trade? You're risking an awful lot for almost nothing, when the alternative is just releasing him before next year. It makes no sense whatsoever.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Jun 12, 2014 -> 09:25 AM) Brandt Snedeker first to get home under par (-1). Seven on the course at -1 or -2, including Phil at -1 through 15. I'm cheering for my man Graeme!