witesoxfan

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Sep 29, 2014 -> 08:43 AM) It depends on the free agent and particularly how long they've played in their league. Don't know the exact age/playing time list, but a guy who has played as long as Abreu or Tanaka does not count against them, but a 21 year old from Cuba would. There are some stipulations, but typically if they are 23 years old and have played in a professional league, they aren't considered amateur players. http://www.vivaelbirdos.com/viva-el-birdos...eur-free-agency

I think it's safe to assume they were close but likely not over the threshold where they lose the ability to offer as much as possible.

QUOTE (Chilihead90 @ Sep 29, 2014 -> 03:17 AM) A #8 overall pick that spends 6 years in the majors is not a complete bust, not even close. The only reason it feels that way is because he set the bar so damn high by how quickly he made the majors, and how great he was his rookie year. He was disappointing, absolutely, but he wasn't a busted draft pick, otherwise you could argue 99% of the draft picks are busts. Tim Beckham, he was a bust. Kyle Skipworth, he is a bust. Both of them taken ahead of Beckham that draft. I agree with this. We can call Beckham a bust, but not a complete bust. He did contribute positive value at the MLB level which is more than many #8 picks before him can say.

QUOTE (knightni @ Sep 29, 2014 -> 08:15 AM) The problems in general are, that RBI and pitching wins are not accurate assessments for players anymore. They have no control of either of those stats. You don't want to say no control, because they do have some control over those statistics. Instead, they just aren't predictors/indicators of future success because they rely so heavily on what their teammates around them do as opposed to the actual skillset of the player.

QUOTE (Benchwarmerjim @ Sep 27, 2014 -> 08:20 AM) Twins rookie Danny Santana has scored 69 runs in 99 games. Brian Dozier is at 110. Santana looks like an incredibly good young player, like All-Star level. He's a definite keeper. I was really impressed with his range in CF.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Sep 26, 2014 -> 10:29 PM) That's the greatest story in the history of Soxtalk. He got a hole in one after you gave him the 8 iron. Holy s***. What a story. Wild thing is if you ever run into Paulie again, he'd remember that day in a second. Nobody forgets their holes in one. I don't know, Gordon Beckham sucks in the day was a pretty awesome story too. We'll go with best non-fiction story

QUOTE (scs787 @ Sep 26, 2014 -> 04:55 PM) After doing some research I guess I'm overreacting here. Read that you start light throwing 4 months after your surgery. November would be 4 moths after his late July surgery. "Real" throwing doesn't start till 9-12 months. So ya, that tweet is nothin. Disregard. It definitely seems like he might be able to come back next year though. I would look towards the end of the year, but it's certainly possible and could provide a nice boost to the pen.

QUOTE (Heads22 @ Sep 25, 2014 -> 10:10 PM) does anyone actually like wite I don't know why you can't just love me.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Sep 26, 2014 -> 11:47 AM) I also know your name is not Ichabod Crane Yeah but you described me perfectly. Like to a T, no matter what Heads says when he drinks.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Sep 26, 2014 -> 11:39 AM) He is cool, I dont mind him. He is a Bills fan though, so he is a bit off his rocker and babbles a lot You know I don't live in Sleepy Hollow

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Sep 26, 2014 -> 11:35 AM) I have free seats in Sleepy Hollow. I love them, i get them every year Yeah but I bet f***ing Ichabod Crane won't leave you alone.

QUOTE (shysocks @ Sep 26, 2014 -> 09:51 AM) Free Agent X is not just as likely to break down as a catcher over 30. Isn't that the reason we talk about age at all with free agents? It's not the only justification not to sign him - I pointed out paying for a career year and current roster construction and needs. I guess I don't necessarily think of catchers breaking down that soon and that rapidly. Some might, but that can be said of position players too. I definitely agree that they break down faster, especially power wise, but I think Martin would maintain that value. I definitely think the Sox will seek an upgrade at catcher, but I also think it will be at their cost. If it's not, I think they'll be comfortable with Flowers moving forward.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Sep 25, 2014 -> 05:12 PM) I'm surprised that the fastball is such a big issue for him as quick as his bat is. His load time is really long though too.

QUOTE (shysocks @ Sep 26, 2014 -> 09:32 AM) His skillset is that he's a catcher, which doesn't age well. What happens if he can only catch 80 games a year from age 32-36? 50 games? It's been known to happen. Then you're paying $60 million for half a catcher and a DH with a career wRC+ of 106 that is greatly boosted by a career year at age 31, when you already have a 1-2 WAR catcher on the roster. If we splurge this offseason it should be on pitching or in the outfield. I would be infinitely happier with a Russell Martin signing than a V-Mart one though. But there's a chance Martin will get more per year, given his position Barring a concussion or other injury, I don't know why Martin wouldn't catch 120 games a year, minimum. Yeah, he could break down, but so could any free agent. You don't justify not signing them because they could break down. I also don't think there's any way Martin makes more per year than Victor Martinez, barring Victor taking a hometown deal with Detroit.

QUOTE (StRoostifer @ Sep 26, 2014 -> 12:34 AM) Nobody is over valuing talent when it comes to Q. He's just 25, has 200 IP in each of the last two years, left handed, signed very cheap and his ERA has steadily gone each year. He's a very good #3 at worst and a case can be made for a #2, which I lead towards myself. Q has plenty of value and if a team wants to pry him out Chicago, they will have to pay rather heavily. Obviously Hahn and co feel Q has a lot of value to the Sox future contending teams and they are right. Why settle for Sale and Rodon when the Sox already have Sale, Q and Rodon to build around? A very good case can be made that Quintana is a #1.

QUOTE (Joshua Strong @ Sep 26, 2014 -> 05:19 AM) I just used that trade as an example, since someone brought it up. The Cubs do have two franchise cornerstones in Rizzo and Castro, oh and they have another coming up in Kris Bryant. And Baez dose not suck, it's too premature to say that, you should judge after he plays a full season in the bigs first. Baez doesn't suck but if he were the primary return in a package of prospects, I'd be quite scared. Either way, the Sox aren't going to trade Quintana. His asking price will be slightly lower than that of Chris Sale but still insanely high and way too much for any team to muster. If they really offered enough to trade Quintana, then the Sox are getting either 3 extremely good prospects - the Cubs are easy to relate to, so we'll say Bryant, Edwards, and Baez - or they're getting a great major leaguer plus a prospect in return. Frankly, I'm not sure I'd even trade Quintana straight up for Giancarlo Stanton right now.

Just win out. Screw the Royals.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Sep 25, 2014 -> 03:19 PM) Damn, I didn't realize that in 199 at bats, Baez had only 32 fricking hits. That's .161 with 90 strikeouts and .223 OBP. Nine homers. I don't follow the Cubs so I was wondering how his start is going over in Chicago? Is he still considered an amazing prospect? That's a frightening start to his career. Wow. He's considered an immensely talented prospect and always has been. The key will be whether or not he can adjust and catch up to the heat or if he's always going to be a .200 hitter (if that). Soler and Bryant are much, much safer bets long term.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Sep 25, 2014 -> 02:30 PM) What a video. Thanks for posting. There are no words to describe Paul Konerko. I'm sad the run is over. False. "A legend" describes him succintly and perfectly. Also, "slow."

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Sep 25, 2014 -> 02:40 PM) Thats definitely true, probably why you see so many college coaches crap out early in the NFL without success and then go back. I think that's as big a reason why as any. Plus you have deeper rosters at the NCAA level and the talent dropoff between your starter and your 2nd string isn't nearly as noticeable. It's true that you really have to be successful no matter what, but you are given a little bit more rope in college. Unless it gets totally disfunctional, coaches are usually given 5 years. In the NFL, it's typically 3 years.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Sep 25, 2014 -> 01:48 PM) They just pay them legally, which is easier. Front office scouting is very similar to scouting recruits except with a MUCH smaller pool of talent and much smaller pool of competition. And a much, much thinner margin for error.

QUOTE (Chilihead90 @ Sep 25, 2014 -> 02:47 AM) You were right on one of them. I was actually right on both of them. I was talking with WHarris at the time and said "Porcello just sounds like a baseball name. Poreda? That's a guy that's never gonna make it."

I think that package is right around what would be worthwhile, but I think I'd prefer to deal Beck over Danish right now. Just my belief, but I think with another good, healthy season, Danish is a guy who could be a top 3 prospect in the system and possibly a top 100 guy overall. There are going to be some who still view him as a reliever, but it's a worthwhile gamble in my mind. I'd look to deal someone like Beck instead, even though I really like Beck as a prospect.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Sep 25, 2014 -> 11:47 AM) Even though he's a glorified mascot, whose being on the roster this year cost the Sox at least the divsion if not more in the standings, and probably valuable Jordan Danks development time, I think the Sox won the trade in which they acquired him. I'm going to miss Paulie. He obviously wasn't the same after his wrist procedure in 2012, and with the JR quote about the doctors and his hips, and Gonzo's write up about the pain he played with in his back and hips, his body was failing him more than we ever knew. Still, he never made excuses . He is a great example for his teammates and White Sox minor leaguers. I hope at least a couple take advantage of it. His wrists seemingly always bothered him. When he was healthy, there weren't many hitters in the league better than him. I really do wonder if he had stayed healthy his entire career if we'd be talking about a Hall of Fame player. This is a guy who, for better or worse, did play through a lot of pain in his career.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Sep 25, 2014 -> 11:36 AM) Whenever I think of the potential construction of this lineup, everything falls back to versatility to me. Personally, my philosophy is that the DH should be more of a rotation preferably with a strong 4th outfielder. With what we have now in Gillaspie and Semien, I really hope the Sox continue to add versatile players. I am not in love with Ackley but he is left-handed, could play 2B/LF and 1B when Abreu needs to DH. In any case, we all know Hahn has an emphasis of bringing in at least one left-handed bat. I hope that bat is more inspiring that Dustin Ackley. Of course the best case scenario is a young, middle-of-the-order type, but the options there are sparse. The one guy that sticks out to me is Brandon Belt. Everything lines up with this guy if he could still play LF. He has almost abandoned the outfield entirely but he seems to be getting pushed out at 1B. The guy has had a hand issue and has been terrible this year. I saw this coming months ago and have been championing the movement to bring him in since. In his absence, the Giants' top catching prospect, Andrew Susac, has taken over behind the plate and Posey has moved to 1B. Susac has performed admirably and Posey is their franchise player. Maybe the Giants have plans of moving Belt to LF themselves, but if they didn't, he figures to be expendable. He'll turn 25 a couple weeks before opening day and won't be a free agent until 2018 so he definitely fits in with the core. I would move a haul of prospects for this player. Belt's a guy I like too and he's shown he can play the outfield at least semi-respectably. He has also, to this point, played very good defense at 1B. He's also pretty much equally good against lefties as he is righties. Minor correction, he actually turns 27 prior to opening day, not 25. You have to wonder what the Giants would want for him though. He's been bad this year but was good last year and is still relatively young. Either way, if he is made available, he's a guy the Sox should show interest in because he'd be a great buy.