harfman77

I really want Perez, I think we will end up with Sheffield.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Feb 3, 2016 -> 04:35 PM) Tanking in MLB isn't like tanking in the NBA. One player doesn't impact a team like one player does in the NBA. I don't even see why MLB needs to bother this. Too many examples of awful teams who have been awful for forever or who it took 30 years of tanking to become relevant again (and I wouldn't argue they were strategically tanking). Again, its not about the one player you get at 1.1 its the huge bonus pool you get to sign multiple high caliber players throughout the draft.

QUOTE (soxfan2014 @ Jan 30, 2016 -> 08:00 AM) Compensation for free agents is likely going to be gone very soon anyway. Steve Stone was on that csn show yesterday evening and thinks it's really stupid which I tend to agree with. I would be surprised if it went away altogether, it is supposed to keep some semblance of competitive balance by trying to get the small revenue teams some compensation when they lose their top players to the deep pocketed high revenue teams. It will definitely be altered in some manner, a QO might start out at $25M in the next deal making sure that it is extended to only the top echelon of players instead of the mid-level players that are receiving QO's the last couple of years. I think they will find a way to revise the system to make it more equitable, but I can't see MLB walking away from the idea of compensation altogether when the other leagues have compensation systems in place unless the players give up something big in return.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Feb 3, 2016 -> 08:12 AM) Since the most recent CBA, tanking in baseball is a non-issue. There are maybe four teams tanking this year, and all of them look like they'll got a shot to compete within 2-3 seasons. The only team that looks like it'll run into that problem in the foreseeable future is the Tigers. You are coming off the Astros and Cubs both tanking during the most recent CBA, so I'm not sure its a non-issue. Obviously it has worked well for them to accumulate talent to either join their ML rosters or to be used as trade chips to acquire ML assets. It is obviously an issue, I was hoping the Sox could have taken advantage of the system in the impending rebuild after this rebuild fails. People focus on the number one pick, but it is about much more than that, it is about having the financial flexibility in the draft to select top talent in the later rounds of the draft. When the Astros selected Correa and signed him to an underslot deal, they were able to select guys like Lance McCullers and Rio Ruiz later in the draft using the money banked on the Correa deal. Both guys were thought top 30 talents. Then when they selected Aiken, they had deals worked out with Jacob Nix and Mac Marshall, again two really highly thought of guys that were thought to be tough signs. Obviously Aiken not signing hurt that, but they came out ahead when they were able to sign three of the top 10 players in the draft this season re-allocating money from the Aiken pick again.

QUOTE (SoxPride18 @ Jan 25, 2016 -> 09:39 PM) Desmond has the last 3 1/2 years to justify a major investment in him. Keep skewing facts to fit your narrative though. The last 3 1/2 years of consistent decline.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Jan 25, 2016 -> 11:34 AM) Desmond isn't a bad defender. Take a second and google "Ian Desmond defense". He is bad. Regardless of what some unreliable defensive statistics may say, by all eyeball accounts, he is bad.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jan 22, 2016 -> 07:35 PM) That's definitely true. Ian Kennedy is never signed by the White Sox. PetCo, shockingly, was the 10th best hr park last year and Kauffman was around 25th. USCF is almost always in the top five to seven, even when you account for our own offense going south in recent years power-wise. If you do have Enciarte and Eaton (who's unlikely to hit 20 again), you need another consistent 25-35 hr threat in there who is average on defense...say, Justin Upton. Those numbers are skewed by the players that play in the park. San Diego went from 24th (HRF .808) in 2014 to 10th (HRF 1.085) in 2015. The difference is that the Padres added Matt Kemp and Justin Upton it didn't all of a sudden become easier to hit HR's there. Kaufman stadium fell again, mostly because the players on the roster are not big HR hitters. Going back since 2010 the teams that have won the WS and their HR rank in MLB 2015 - Royals - 24 2014 - Giants - 17 2013 - Red Sox - 6 2012 - Giants - 30 2011 - Cardinals - 13 2010 - Giants - 11 You can get by in modern baseball without having a lot of power, but you need guys that get on base. If you can get three guys that play really good defense, can hit around 12-15 HR's a season, and get on base at a clip around .310-.315, you are going to have a really good OF. The problem with building a team that relies on power is that while there are some times they will go through a power surge and hit a ton of balls out, there are also other times where the team will go through prolonged slumps because no one is able to move people over and get runs on the board.

QUOTE (MDWhiteSoxFan @ Jan 23, 2016 -> 08:35 AM) I don't see how anyone can dog the Sox for not signing him. 27.5 million a year for him is ridiculous. Especially being if he has a good year he's gone, if he has a decent year he is probably gone. The only way he stays is if he sucks. Then we are on the hook for 42.5 over 2 years. Then the ones that are b****ing and moaning now (not saying anyone here) will be the ones that are b****ing and moaning over a bad contract having 21.5 million tied up in 1 guy that flopped completely. It's like teachers with snow days... complain when they have to go to school when it snows, complain more when they have to make up days at the end of the year. I am not going to "dog" them for not getting Cespedes, its pretty clear he wanted to go back to the Mets. But giving up a pick for a declining middle infielder with poor defense is just a bad move to make. Just because they missed on one guy doesn't mean they should make a move like this just for the sake of making a move.

QUOTE (Jose Paniagua @ Jan 22, 2016 -> 02:21 PM) Inciarte would then cause you to be giving away potential HRs in an outfield slot, that wouldve been provided by a different OF in his place which we cant afford. Why? The Royals hit three more HR's than the Sox last season and they seemed to do OK. People have to let go of their obsession with HR's, usually the guys that hit the most also create the most unproductive outs which makes it more of a negative than a positive. The Royals had 116 more hits and 102 more runs while the Sox gave away 258 more K's and despite having what most consider a superior pitching staff the Sox gave up 60 more runs mostly due to shoddy defense.

I would be interested in Jackson, he has a track record of success in the division, plays good defense, and will come at a reasonable price.

QUOTE (oneofthemikes @ Jan 22, 2016 -> 01:41 PM) Provided the AAV isn't outlandish, I wouldn't be opposed to a multi-year deal. If Anderson is ready before the end of the deal, which he would most likely be, then Desmond could be a pretty attractive trade piece. If there is no interest in him now, what will suddenly make teams interested when they need to give up multiple assets for him?

Why would the Sox have interest in Desmond? He makes zero sense considering he would cost a draft pick and would be blocking the Sox top prospect. Add to that, it would complete a total defensive downgrade of one of the worst defenses in baseball. Hes declined offensively every year since 2012 and bringing him to the AL is going to reverse that? This is the backwards thinking that keeps the Sox as a bottom rung team in its division.

Doesn't really solve my problems. I am 4 hours from the nearest MLB park and yet am considered "in market" for the Sox, Cubs, Brewers, Cardinals, Royals, and Twins so I still can't get any games that I would want to see being blacked out from 20% of the league.

QUOTE (ewokpelts @ Jan 22, 2016 -> 04:29 AM) that's f***ing bulls***, and you know it. Its not really. Wrigleyville is a tourist destination, people from my area go there just to hang out when they are in town no one is going to hang out around the Cell. The reputation of the area and the lack of things to do don't make it a desirable night out. The Cubs have an advantage in that going to Wrigley is part of your night out whereas at the Cell it is your night out.

I'd rather roll the dice on Fister, seems like a guy that you could get on a reasonable short term deal t build his value and hold a spot until one of the young guys is ready. If he bounces back to his Tigers form you can move him at the deadline and reinforce the farm.

QUOTE (flavum @ Jan 22, 2016 -> 11:08 AM) 3 mil with a 4 mil option or 1 mil buyout. Sox just didn't want him back. Thats crazy. No reason he should not have been brought back for that amount.

QUOTE (SoxPride18 @ Jan 21, 2016 -> 10:30 AM) Again, if the Nats work out a trade, who would go? Do they trade Revere? He plays CF and will be their leadoff hitter. Nats don't want Rendon leading off. Werth? Who wants that contract, and a declining aging player? I don't see a fit at all I wonder if they could be done with Zimmerman. Move Werth into 1B and fill out the OF with Harper, Revere, and Cespedes, dramatically improves defense and doesn't make them reliant on Zimmerman ever being healthy and regaining form. Thats the only scenario that makes much sense to me.

QUOTE (winninguglyin83 @ Jan 20, 2016 -> 09:48 PM) Isn't Blanton the guy who was in Moneyball because the Sox passed on him to take Royce Ring -- and Billy Beane pounced? (The answer is Yes. In fact, the Sox also passed on James Loney, Denard Span, Jeremy Guthrie, Matt Cain and Mark Teahen. But at least they made up for the Teahen oversight) The White Sox drafts at that time were all about trying to get high floor talent for cheap, ceilings be damned. It led to picks like Broadway and McCullough who were seen as likely back of the rotation types.

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Jan 21, 2016 -> 08:46 AM) Sabermetrics aside: 2B: Lawrie SS: Saladino > Ramirez 3B: Frazier However, overall, I do think the IF defense will be improved. Frazier and Saladino are above average, and Lawrie may be decent with a full season at 2B. Not sure I have seen enough of Saladino at SS to say that he will be better there than Ramirez was. Ramirez was streaky on defense, sometimes he would make some poor plays but other times he was as good of defender as there was at SS. He has lost a step with his range, but I am not sure Saladino ever had that step to lose.

QUOTE (GreenSox @ Jan 6, 2016 -> 11:34 AM) And the Cards get one of those bogus "market comp" picks too I think. There's your "cardinal way." Not really bogus, St Louis is the 21st largest media market which puts it in the bottom ten in the league and its probably even lower than that as baseball considers DC as part of the Baltimore market. They are sandwiched between Denver and Pittsburgh. http://www.stationindex.com/tv/tv-markets

QUOTE (SoxPride18 @ Dec 17, 2015 -> 04:59 PM) Kyle Murray, QB Texas A&M, is quitting football, transferring to a JuCo, and will play baseball, looking to get drafted next year. I believe he is a MI Murray was considered the top prep SS in last years class, but told teams not to draft him as he wanted to play football. He is not quitting football, he is transferring to OU and will sit out a year before taking over as QB there. Not sure it is fair to call the kid a head case given A&M's track record with running off QB's the last few seasons. I haven't seen anything to indicate he will play baseball at OU. He is not currently listed on their roster, so I assume he isn't playing this season. A guy worth a flyer in the 11th round for sure, probably no shot at him, but you can at least take a run and see what happens.

You would think they would be getting to the point where they are going to have to start moving some pretty good players/prospects off of their 40 man roster.

QUOTE (Iwritecode @ Jan 20, 2016 -> 09:30 AM) And what do the Sox in 05-06 have in common with the Cubs in 2014-2015? Hint: It's not about the location. How did the 05-06 Sox attendance compare to the 05-06 Cubs? I dont really know the best source for that type of data.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jan 19, 2016 -> 07:27 PM) There's one problem with this theory. If the Reinsdorfs were trying to sell, while they would want to keep the payroll from being encumbered with too many bad long-term contracts, you also have a diminished product without any nationally-recognized superstars as well (referring more to the idea of bringing in players to supplement the current core). And yeah, the problem is that Upton/Gordon/Cespedes aren't really superstars either, although Cespedes certainly played like one last year and has all the flair in his game. Illitch described Upton as a star, fwiw. Since the White Sox couldn't be moved until 2029 at the earliest, you'd think they would want to have teams in 2018 and 2019 that are playoff-worthy/competitive and also look like sound broadcast rights investments for 2020-2022. This current trend of the fanbase bouncing back and forth like a yo-yo (tremendous expectations coming into 2011 and 2015)...but ending up disappointed, whatever they do, whatever they have to spend...they need to field a consistent winner and soon. In some ways, they've also got to hope Sano, Buxton and Berrios don't all live up to their potential or Minnesota will be a starter away from being a serious threat...luckily, that Mauer contract has encumbered them (along with the disappointments from Santana/Nolasco) enough to dampen spending for this year while they wait on their farm. But you're to the point with the Tigers and Royals desperately all-in, the Indians with a better overall young core of players and the Twins with the highest upside of all, they're going to have to pick a lane and stay in it. How sure are we that this is still the case. The lease was opened up so that the team would start paying some rent in 2011, I imagine JR would not have signed off on a deal where he gave up something without getting a fair return. We know he got the restaurant, but I would not be surprised if got an opt out as well. As far as superstars, they still have at least one and possibly two. Most teams are not flush with stars when they are sold. Most recently the Cubs and Astros did not have much in the way of star power when they were purchased. The Dodgers had Kershaw, but at the time he was still inexpensive. You are definitely right about the yo-yo strategy. Supposedly the team is rebuilding, but has done very little to go out of its way to secure young talent. There were a plethora of amateur free agents that would have filled in gaps in the Sox farm system in the last 24 months and the Sox have been content to let that talent go elsewhere. They have traded prospects with big league talent for a stop gap solution in Todd Frazier, given up two prospects to sign a veteran OF and a top level closer, all things that would contradict with a true rebuild. So then it would lead you to believe the team was going to go for it, but as it stands now, the team is not really any better than it was last season. They went and filled a gap but created two more. Their plan, whatever it is, is not very cohesive. Its like the front office is schizophrenic and cannot make up its mind what to do.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jan 20, 2016 -> 12:25 AM) http://espn.go.com/blog/buster-olney/insider/post?id=12122 Olney has the Cubs at #1 now and the Royals at #2 in his MLB Rankings (pay site, can't see past first two) They only did ten and the Sox aren't in it. AL teams 2. KC 3. Boston 5. Rangers 6. Astros 10. Jays Honorable mention - Indians and Yankees