witesoxfan

CLAIM ALL THE PITCHERS

QUOTE (greg775 @ Jul 16, 2014 -> 01:42 PM) Sox need righthanded starting pitching. Best way to get that is through free agency. Also desperately need a catcher, but are any out there? Also could use a great hitting third baseman. That's not the best. It's the easiest, but also the most expensive monetarily. They need a catcher, but they should not rush into anything. Flowers is not a capable starter, but putting together a platoon with him and someone could be a possibility. He seems worn down. Among 3B that have at least 250 plate appearances, Conor Gillaspie has the 4th highest wRC+, which means he has been a great hitting 3B, so problem solved, I guess.

Also the Sox saying "We know you can steal bases, don't steal any more bases so you can remain healthy."

QUOTE (SoxPride18 @ Jul 16, 2014 -> 11:27 AM) Royals acquire RP Jason Frasor from the Rangers for minor leaguer RHP Spencer Patton Patton went to SIU-Edwardsville, in case anybody here may recognize the name.

QUOTE (pittshoganerkoff @ Jul 16, 2014 -> 11:04 AM) Great article. I've taken an increased interest in the catcher position lately. My son catches (he's only 11), and has been getting pretty good. He studies catchers on TV, and I'll see him trying things he sees. After watching a Sox game, I saw him placing his right hand along his right calf vs. behind his back...much like Flowers does. I think the catcher position, even though thought of as important, is not as valued as it should be. Take a look at the catcher corp in the majors right now. There are not many elite catchers and only slightly more very good ones. I know Flowers sucks as a hitter, but it's pretty obvious he's good behind the plate. That sort of guy is valued by a team, and I suppose that's one of the things the Sox like about Flowers. I've been telling my son that if he wants to have a good chance to play high school and college baseball (he wants to play in the majors, of course) that he should stick to catching and keep perfecting his game. Aside from a left-handed pitcher, I think catcher is a position that is sought after by schools. Teams are always looking for catchers. If you can play catcher and then play all around the field too, you'll be even more in demand.

So wait, it's a 40% offer if the player fails his physical, correct? A small ligament is an abnormality, it's not a failed physical. This isn't "he can't pitch right now because he's injured because his body isn't put together," this is "he can pitch right now but his ligament is small and may not hold up over the long haul." I personally think the Astros should have to offer 90% to receive compensation for their draft pick.

I believe if he goes the Independent League route or the JC/CC route, it's only a 1 year wait.

This is a great, great piece and really lets you into the insight of how good of a receiver Flowers is. Reading something like this makes you consider the intangible value that a catcher actually has and why the Sox have stuck with Flowers as long as they have. I'd like to see him in more of a straight platoon situation to keep him a bit fresher. I think he gets absolutely exhausted working behind the plate as much as he does.

And that's the same Hector Santiago?

Orton wants to retire.

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Jul 15, 2014 -> 11:59 PM) Chuck Garfien ‏@ChuckGarfien 13m Jose Abreu says that when he learns more English, he wants to learn how to sing the national anthem. Seriously. He's doing his best to pull at my heartstrings right now, isn't he?

Such a pleasant thing to nickname a person after, a crisis between the USSR and the USA that nearly ended the world. Show some awareness baseball fans! /drinks Irish Car Bomb

Come to see that Aiken has a small ligament and then you get blindsided by Caulfield.

Pitching, pitching, pitching, pitching, and more pitching.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jul 15, 2014 -> 05:15 PM) Not usually. It would be impractical. Every HS senior and college JR and SR plus some first and second year guys in jucos are eligible. You don't declare for the baseball draft. Teams would spend all their time on physicals. The same thing happened to RA Dickey. The trainer actually saw a picture he was in and noticed how he was holding his arm. The deal is your bonus gets slashed. I think you would probably be a little shocked at some physicals. But I would imagine these days they probably are pretty thorough for $6 million high school pitchers. This could be a case of wanting to find something. If Aiken is totally heathy, he should release the results. The Astros would have some trouble. Barrett Loux is another.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Jul 15, 2014 -> 02:50 PM) I'd imagine it has something to do with the code that was added for the Google Custom Search. No, it was #TargetSale. Everything should be pretty well resolved at this point.

QUOTE (Joshua Strong @ Jul 15, 2014 -> 02:18 PM) If I'm Rick Hahn, I'm getting an offer ready for Aiken if he reaches FA. I might go $10 million for Aiken, I think he's that good. By most accounts, Aiken is not going to be a free agent.

QUOTE (zenryan @ Jul 14, 2014 -> 05:22 PM) I just dont like managers coming up to stall while a bench coach is on the phone with someone to see if its worth challenging. If you come out of the dugout then it should be an automatic challenge. QUOTE (IlliniKrush @ Jul 15, 2014 -> 12:31 AM) 100% agree on this. Put pressure on the managers. They saw the play once, you think they're wrong? Immediately go out and challenge, or sit down and take the result of the play. I think you need something subjective regarding this with an objective threshold. A lot of times, a manager may come out for pure clarification purposes. If he's out of the dugout for x amount of time after the explanation has been made, it's an automatic challenge. If he re-enters the dugout at all, the play is no longer reviewable. It's similar but still allows managers the opportunity to hear how the umps are interpreting a given rule.

QUOTE (bmags @ Jul 15, 2014 -> 01:35 PM) The players association should be pushing for at least this to go to an independent arbiter. This is crazy there is no real process for this player right now. Also, flameon, but, does anyone think this would happen to a Boras client? While I think they will care about it, players are not technically part of the MLBPA until they are put onto the 40-man roster, which could take 4 years in this situation.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Jul 15, 2014 -> 11:55 AM) The Springer situation is different though...that is just business, IMO. Maybe not the best for relationship-building, but that is business. This is in a whole other realm if they are simply imagining the injury. And like I said, to save $2-3 million? If that were true, just wait til the kid has logged 2-3 years of service time and they try and buy out his arb years and a FA year or two. They'll pay about 5 times that discount if indeed the kid is willing to sign with them at all. But look at their #1 pick last year. Appel signed for $6.5 mill and he's been absolutely horrendous this year, and who knows if he'll ever become anything. Same thing with Aiken - who knows what he's going to become. It's easier to swallow a $3.16 million sunk cost than a $5 or $6.5 million sunk cost. I don't understand it, but there's fishy business going on here. This could get really ugly, even if Aiken IS hurt.

I don't want to make accusatory statements either, but there's just something that doesn't feel right here.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jul 15, 2014 -> 11:49 AM) ChiTribSports ‏@ChiTribSports 1h Jimmy Graham signs 4-year, $40 million deal with Saints http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/break...story?track=rss … Holy s*** what a bargain. He could have gotten twice that on the open market.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Jul 15, 2014 -> 11:50 AM) I guess I just don't see it. Then you piss off your number 1 pick and it's likely you're going to have to pay like 5 times that "discount" when it comes time to sign him to another long-term contract... Maybe someone in the front office suggested that they "find an abnormality" to try and save some resources? This is a team that wanted to give George Springer a 7 year, $13 million deal so he could play on Opening Day and, when he turned it down, they sent him to the minors. They are not the most ethically sound organization at the moment, but they have shown that they know how to game the system and have been willing to do so.

It's just a gut feeling, but this really feels like a smear campaign. If they turn out right, then they look great, but this feels really shady.

What are the possibilities that the Astros are calling this significantly abnormal when it's really just a minor tear or something to attempted to save themselves an incredible amount of money? Yes, I'm aware how incredibly unethical and illegal that is. On the flip side, if Aiken has had an independent physical done and there is something incredibly wrong with him, he'd be insane not to take the money at this point.