witesoxfan

QUOTE (Bruce_Blixton @ Oct 7, 2014 -> 12:05 PM) Totally agree that this is the best strategy to address our rotation over the next couple of years, by signing a reclamation project like Masterson or possibly Brandon Morrow to a short-term "prove it" deal the Sox limit their downside while having the potential of a lot of upside if they can regain their previous form. With Rodon waiting in the wings to enter the rotation and another high draft pick this year to acquire another front-end pitching prospect the Sox would be smart to have a bunch of short-term deals that can be easily unloaded to make space for the pitchers that have a better pedigree. Ideally I'd like to see the Sox sign Masterson to a cost-effective 2 year deal and eventually take Danks' spot in the rotation, Morrow would be another good choice and would most likely be way cheaper but he also carries the same injury/bust risk as Paulino did this year. Still that 10 K/9 he had for a few years would look really nice in our rotation... I really like the idea of adding Morrow, but not as a starter. I'd get kinky with it and take a risk on Morrow in hopes that he can turn into the next Wade Davis.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Oct 6, 2014 -> 06:12 PM) Torii Hunter is old (39), a former White Sox killer, in other words it makes sense to bring him in on a one-year, 4 million dollar deal with a team option for a second year at 4.5 million. He can't be any worse than Viciedo and he might be the coach/player we need for the outfield and for the other positions that require good defense. Hunter might be this team's Jermaine Dye, so to speak. Jermaine Dye signed with the White Sox for his age 31 season. He is also only one year older than Torii Hunter. If anything, signing Torii Hunter at this point is comparable to bringing in Harold Baines at the end of his career except that Harold Baines was a better hitter. Guys at Hunter's age typically fall off very quickly. He should not be an option for the White Sox at this point. At the end of the day, I'm just glad the Rick Hahn is the GM. QUOTE (knightni @ Oct 7, 2014 -> 11:14 AM) Morse would be a reclaim special. He had an off year this year. He can play some 1B and DH. Unfortunately, his OF days are behind him. Michael Morse's season numbers couldn't have been any closer to his career averages. 2014: .279/.336/.475/ .355 wOBA Career: .281/.335/.473 .351 wOBA His wRC+ was actually significantly higher this year (133 vs 122 career) partly because of the park he played in. Frankly, it was a really good year for Morse and he simply got hurt down the stretch. He is a bad defender though.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Oct 7, 2014 -> 10:15 AM) Considering he signed for $40,000 less than Reetz, it could have literally been the difference between signing Rodon or not. That would have pushed them over their draft allotment by $40k. The Sox draft allotment was approximately $9.5 mill, and $40K is 0.42% of that total, which is less than 1%. The initial penalty is 75% of anything over their budget between 0-5%. Thus, the ultimate cost to the Sox would have been $70k and no other significant loss. I'm not criticizing the pick, just saying they still could have signed him at relatively little cost to the Sox.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Oct 7, 2014 -> 09:51 AM) I'd be willing to let a 3rd round pick (Orton) sit on the bench for 2 years, but not a first round pick, not even a late first rounder if the Bears somehow wound up in that boat. Just too much demand for those guys to play, too many requirements of a first rounder. I guess I wasn't necessarily talking about a 1st round pick either. I'm just saying it's not a bad thing for the Bears to start looking for QBs. Ultimately though, I have no problem with 1st round QBs sitting for 2 years. None whatsoever.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Oct 7, 2014 -> 09:24 AM) Next year they might look to find a Cutler replacement if they're still struggling along, this year just doesn't fit with his contract. No reason to bench a rookie QB for 2 years. Maybe if you pick one up in rounds 3/4. There's plenty of reason to have a rookie QB sit on the bench for 2 years. Work on mechanics, learn and understand the offense, and learn to read the defense. As a Bills fan, you saw what happens when you throw a raw rookie QB into the fire and now EJ has been benched 14 starts into his career. Ironically, he was replaced by Kyle Orton who, in his rookie year, was forced into starting action, was absolutely terrible (but kept the Bears in the game), and then went back to the bench when Grossman was healthy. Orton got to sit, watch, and learn the remainder of 2005, all of 2006, and most of 2007; in 2008, he came back, and he was a perfectly average QB and was then a part of the package to bring Jay Cutler to Chicago.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Oct 7, 2014 -> 09:22 AM) Just to stress again...if we make a move like this, there is absolutely no reason to sign any big time FA this year. You're restocking the system great, but none of those guys is likely to be a major contributor to a division championship run next year - 2 of them had September cups of coffee, one of them is in the middle of the minors, none of them will step in and be likely all stars next year. I'll go a step further and say that if you trade Quintana for that, you may as well trade Sale while you're at it. Trading a proven, young commodity who is signed to a contract like that for a package of prospects is a death blow to the rebuilding efforts. If you are trading Quintana, you have to get another very good, young cost controlled player. You have to be able to safely assume they'll stay good or continue improving. You can't risk doing that with prospects at this point. I also do not understand why people annually (or bi-annually, or every single day, or whatever) bring up trading Jose Quintana. It just does not make sense.

QUOTE (GoSox05 @ Oct 7, 2014 -> 09:10 AM) Could be a pretty good group of QBs in this draft. I wonder if the Bears have thought about taking one in the first round. Are they to that point yet? I'm not a Bears fan by any means, but I think they let this year play out and if Cutler proves he can't hang, they start looking into QBs of the future.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Oct 6, 2014 -> 03:32 PM) It's like a read option. You go in looking for one thing (contention), but if it isn't working out, you have an easy backup plan. This model of "contending while rebuilding" makes a ton of sense for a lot of reasons. Chiefly, you're trying to dodge service time AND wean guys into a full season of innings anyway. It doesn't hurt to throw some innings at a veteran and see what you have, particularly when you can then trade him to give your system even more prospects. QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Oct 6, 2014 -> 07:12 PM) Except we said this about Paulino and our veteran pen guys eight months ago. No way on masterson unless we can control him going into 2016 if he pitches at his previous level again. No, that is the perfect example as to why you make a move like that. They gave Paulino a shot to prove himself, he didn't, and they jumped ship immediately. They gave Downs a shot, he stunk, and they jumped ship immediately. Frankly, I think they kept Belisario because the stuff was still good and they wanted to see if they could get him straightened out and, bottom line, they need SOMEONE to pitch those innings. They couldn't, and he'll likely be non-tendered this offseason. So I believe Eminor would like to thank you for the perfect example of what the Sox should do. They can probably shoot a little higher up the ladder than Paulino, but the idea remains. Also, when the good you are trying to acquire is unique by itself, and you are going up against 29 other teams, the player has a lot of leverage, especially early on. Someone who has had success like Masterson in the past will likely command a lot of 1 year offers and he'd likely take 1/$6 mill compared to 1/$10 with a team option for year 2 because he has a higher earning potential with the 1/$6. I am very sure he'll get a standard one year deal.

QUOTE (Chilihead90 @ Oct 7, 2014 -> 03:17 AM) Ew, no thanks on that front. If Q is going to the Marlins, give me 3B Colin Moran, SP Anthony DeSclafani, C J.T. Realmuto, and C/2B/3B Austin Barnes. Q was a top 10 WAR pitcher this season, and signed to a very nice, long deal. His value should be huge, and those are 4 potential top 10 players in the Marlins system. If Q is going to the Marlins, I'm getting one of Stanton, Yelich, or Ozuna in return. And, if it's Yelich or Ozuna, I'm getting another pitcher or two in that trade too. At this point, the Sox need to be done trading young, quality players for packages of prospects.

QUOTE (ChiSox59 @ Oct 6, 2014 -> 10:02 PM) If you are of the belief that Q is more of a 3 or 4 than a 2 or 1, trading him could make some sense. But only if the SOX think this is a several year rebuild. With Sale and Abreu also under contract at or even before their primes, it is hard justify. Jose Quintana has been a very good pitcher who has been getting better for 3 years now. Frankly, so long as you evaluate pitchers rationally, it's virtually impossible to argue that he is not a top 30 pitcher in the game. This is reminiscent of the arguments we had when Buehrle was a member of the White Sox. Quintana has better stuff than Buehrle, but all the same, Quintana's stuff is not eye-popping or flashy and, thus, people want to say he is not as good as his numbers indicate. Quintana is very, very good. You won't trade him because you won't receive sufficient value from another team to offset the advantages that Quintana gives the White Sox.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Oct 6, 2014 -> 11:37 PM) I'd rather take a shot with someone who wasn't really bad this year. Of course, the problem with really good players is that they are going to be expensive. If it were a minor league contract, I'd be OK with it, but he'll likely get guaranteed money from someone. He likely wouldn't have a spot in the starting lineup, the Sox already have 2 guys who can presumably hit LHP in Sierra and Semien, and I don't think you'd get much in return for Corey Hart even if he was producing well. There's just not a lot of value in 33 year old players on 1 year deals.

There could be any number of things going on with Masterson. It could be injury, his body naturally slowing down, he may have been intentionally throwing slower to induce more movement, or something else entirely. It's hard to just look at decreased velocity in a vacuum and say "he's injured" because that's not always the case. There were a few weird things that went on with Masterson this year that simply haven't happened before (or in a while, at the very least). He had a 14.6% HR/FB, which was the highest it's been since his rookie year with Boston. He had a higher than normal BABIP, but it wasn't higher by an incredible amount. His BB% did increase this year. And, for whatever reason, he's never been good about stranding runners - he's had 4 seasons of LOB% below 70%, which is not good. Some of that can likely be correlated to poor Indians defense and Masterson benig a sinkerballer, but not all of it. He's intriguing, but I think he should be a fall back option.

If the Yankees really want to be done with ARod, I wonder what their next move is. He's eligible to return next season and will likely be healthy, and if he's healthy, they can't put him on the DL. Do they DFA him?

LOL, Jas - it's parity (the state of being equal). Parody is like a satire or a mockery (think Weird Al Yankovic songs).

QUOTE (greg775 @ Oct 6, 2014 -> 03:02 PM) So two more contracts that are disasters. Have any of these long term deals actually benefited the team to where you'd say the player is worth the cash? A-Rod. No; Fielder, No. Dunn. No. On and on and on and yet teams will keep signing 'em up every year. One of these things is not like the other. Dunn's contract was nowhere near as bad as ARod or Fielder's. You are talking about 9 and 10 year contracts versus a 4 year contract. Think about that for a second. Anyways, plenty of these contracts are just fine. It's just not advisable to give 6+ years to guys who are older than 30. And, frankly, you have to assume players will have down years every now and then. How did you feel about Buehrle's 4 year, $56 million deal that he signed with the Sox in 2007? That's the same exact amount as Adam Dunn's. How about Paul Konerko signing a 5 years, $60 million deal after 2005? How about Jose Abreu signing a 6 year, $68 million deal? Do you feel any of those are bad contracts?

Just a reminder, these games kick off tomorrow afternoon. Sox prospects are playing for the Glendale Desert Dogs (alongside prospects from the Orioles, Tigers, Dodgers, and Brewers).

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Oct 6, 2014 -> 12:40 PM) Please don't, the world does not need Wite in the Justin Verlander pose when her next set of nudes are leaked. Or, alternatively, the world does need infinitely more photos of me in the Justin Verlander pose.

QUOTE (StRoostifer @ Oct 6, 2014 -> 01:28 PM) If the Sox are not legit contenders I see no point in Masterson out side of doing like the cubs and trade Masterson at the all star break in which case the money will very much matter to the team trading for him. Just my opinion but if the Sox are not going to be contenders then let Bassitt take that spot in the rotation and get him some more innings at the MLB level to see what he can do. If the Sox do end up trading him like the Cubs did, and money was an issue for the acquiring team, the Sox would have no problem eating some in that situation as they were clearly willing to give him $12 mill in the first place.

QUOTE (GoSox05 @ Oct 6, 2014 -> 12:04 PM) His mustache has magical powers. Also, just when you think the Lions are turning the corner. They pull a Lions. That was such a sweet win. That catch Sammy made at the end of regulation was ridiculous. It was such a bad throw and he just deflected it to himself.

Can we just take a moment and talk about Kyle Orton?

QUOTE (greg775 @ Oct 6, 2014 -> 11:28 AM) What do advanced stats say about Shields and his immediate future as he continues to age? I'm not being smart aleck I'm serious. Cause the eye test tells me he's not dominant and could be a huge free agent bust moving forward. I am right now listening to talk radio and the hosts are saying he's not worth the money and the Royals properly will let him walk. Granted they can't afford him but they also are saying good riddance because he's certain to be on the decline. Little surprised people on this board wanted to get rid of Buehrle and want Shields. Interesting considering the ages of said pitchers at times of signing. Advanced stats say the same thing, but a lot of times, a pitcher's reputation and their most recent pitching performances are what will get them paid on the open market. However, teams are willing to pay approximately $6 million or so per win, give or take, and if you pencil Shields in as a #2-3 starting pitcher who will put up 3-4 WAR for the next 2-3 years, you have no problem giving him $18-20 mill per year over 4-5 years at the expense of his production towards the end of that deal.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Oct 6, 2014 -> 09:58 AM) My guess is that Scherzer stays, but just a guess. Scherzer seems like a perfect fit for the Yankees in the offseason too.

QUOTE (shysocks @ Oct 6, 2014 -> 09:38 AM) Unless you're reading something different than what I am, I would not characterize that as "reporting." It's a column that advocates for the Red Sox to go after Sale, and also every other player in MLB. Not sure where these Red Sox people are getting the idea that Sale is remotely available. It originates with the mentality of "We're the Red Sox, we can have whatever we want." It's a very arrogant personality trait true of many Red Sox fans. Frankly though, it's true of a lot of sports fans in general.

The 2005 White Sox had 7 players put up a WAR of over 3, they had 8 good starting players in the every day lineup, and only Timo Perez and Shingo Takatsu were players with any significant playing time who were poor players. It was an incredible team through any lens.

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Oct 4, 2014 -> 11:18 PM) Maybe Konerko wants to be a coach? It's doubtful that he'd return so quickly but I hope he does. I can pretty much guarantee Konerko is going to take a season off or, at the very least, a season away from baseball.