witesoxfan

QUOTE (The Ultimate Champion @ Jan 20, 2014 -> 09:23 AM) I argued like f*** over the Brandon Allen deal. He was a solid offensive prospect with huge raw power from the left side, took walks, and was progressing through the system. I personally liked him. We traded him for an arb-eligible reliever who couldn't retire opposite side batters who also was a failed closer. Basically he was an expensive righty specialist who, if he did suddenly became very good, was going to be immediately paid by the arb system. The deal was a dumb one to make but, because we traded an unproven player, it didn't end up hurting. My main problem with that deal wasn't trading Brandon Allen, it was the return, and the idea that if you can't get a better return than that then you don't make a deal, keep the prospect. It's one of the few Kenny moves I didn't like at the time & still don't now. I generally agree with this.

QUOTE (GoSox05 @ Jan 20, 2014 -> 09:15 AM) Who is the Seahawks long snapper? Probably a big jerk. I heard he practices snapping footballs with homeless people's lunch.

I also think much of Peyton's quoted intelligence comes from the fact that he shreds defenses like a paper shredder. Over the last 10 years, Peyton Manning led teams are 125-35 and his QB rating is 102.9. The one year he was injured and did not play, his team went 2-14. The dude is one of the smartest quarterbacks in NFL history. I don't think anyone has ever said the dude is one of the smartest people in the world, or that he even has average intelligence outside of football. I don't think we have the capability of knowing that. The only way we know how to judge these guys is based on their reactions, interviews, and actions on the football field. How else are we supposed to judge them, sit down and give them an aptitude test?

QUOTE (pettie4sox @ Jan 20, 2014 -> 08:56 AM) Russell Wilson is a classy guy. He can't control his psycho defense. He is quite literally the only player on the entire Seahawks team that I like. There are guys I'm indifferent too - unless Steven Hauschka practices field goals by kicking kittens, he's a big "who cares" guy - but Russell is the only guy I like.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jan 20, 2014 -> 09:05 AM) Righty thrower lefty batter is common. Lefty thrower, righty batter is pretty rare. It's impossible to disagree with facts, which this is. I'd be curious to see the percentage. But we see switch hitters for this reason too - while whatever side you are batting from typically does the work, this is something you can learn with practice too. Guys don't pop out of the womb switch hitters.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jan 20, 2014 -> 09:01 AM) But IMO that does not imply he was 100% clean beforehand. We can't say based on physique that these guys are clean. We might be able to see giveaways that they're dirty if they do certain types of drugs, but that doesn't mean they're clean if we don't see those giveaways. If it did then everyone would be nailing body type changes in skinnier guys like Braun, MCab well before they actually get caught, and I'm still waiting to see someone with a good record of calling that out before guys are suspended. You can say with 100% certainty that he was not clean from 2001 and beyond. That's all I care about. If you look at the numbers, you can make implied assumptions that he was pretty clean. He may not have been 100%, but I have no idea if Frank Thomas used amphetamines. He's going to say "no" now, but he may not have known at the time what they hell they were exactly. That would make him not 100% clean. However, I do have dates as to when Bonds used. Also, regarding Braun and Cabrera - Braun has never been a small guy. He isn't the muscle bound freak that Bonds was, but let's not confuse skinny with weak. Braun has always had muscles galore. Regarding Cabrera, his size has increased proportionally to the increased number of trips he has made to the taco bar. He's fat.

Robin Ventura hit left handed but threw right handed. That's why he could play 3B. Rickey Henderson batted right handed but threw left handed. Tim Lincecum throws right handed but bats left handed. Randy Johnson threw left handed but batted right handed. I mean, how many 3B/SS/2B can you think of that bat left handed? I do almost everything with my right hand, but find that I have slightly better dexterity with my left handed. In all, it's not an uncommon practice at all.

Bonds went from a really good, all around player to a monstrous hulk of a man between about 1999 and 2002, which coincides with a gigantic uptick in production at the plate. Can't post the images as they are dynamic images, but just look up "Barry Bonds [year] Topps/Upper Deck/Score/[card company]" and you will have distinguishable photos between years.

QUOTE (MexSoxFan#1 @ Jan 20, 2014 -> 08:46 AM) So in the case of a white athlete, if he had good grades in college, he must be smart but if the athlete is black, we need to question his intelligence, is that right? BigSqwert, I'll put the avy on later when I get on my PC. I don't think that's the case at all. When you talk like Richard Sherman did at the end of the game - an irrational, psychotic, rambling fool - then people are going to question his intelligence.

QUOTE (SoxAce @ Jan 19, 2014 -> 01:22 AM) You thought? YOU THOUGHT?!?! I have an autographed baseball when I went to a Barons game just before I joined this board, knightni sent me a card of his after I nearly won the PTC game and had the man's name as my screen name for years on this site (J.Reedfan8) because I was convinced he was going to be a star. I've been right and wrong about numerous prospects in the past, but I was dead wrong on Reed. (although I always felt Seattle's hitting coach ruined his mechanics the next season after he got his cup of coffee and performed very well) I guess I let what I seen as a youngster get to my head with numerous guys, especially him. (although I was totally right about Chris Young, sorry Jason ) I was wrong about Swisher as well as Danny Richar being potentially good. And I see noone here yet is willing to talk about the Brandon Allen trade huh? FWIW, I never had any problem trading Brandon Allen. I didn't like Pena but he had value and was not a terrible pitcher at all times.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Jan 19, 2014 -> 10:40 PM) Yeah. Too bad he doesn't hang out on message boards making fun of athletes. He's such a failure in life. 32,000+ posts. Pot, meet kettle.

QUOTE (GreatScott82 @ Jan 20, 2014 -> 08:12 AM) Who is in the lead? Cubs, Dodgers or Yankees? There is no lead. I will let you know when pen hits paper. I think I've said that 5+ times. Anything beyond that is wild conjecture and speculation. Frankly, there is smoke blowing and misdirection right now. You likely have teams leaking information that they are "done and out of it," "longshots," and "favored to get him." Reading too much into anything right now is just not the right move.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jan 17, 2014 -> 07:14 PM) The problem was he pulled a hamstring in late July, missed like 3 weeks, and when he came back suddenly he was a much easier out on the basepaths because the injury cost him some speed. From July 23rd until the end of the season, Podsednik was 9 for 23 in steals, good for a 39.1% stolen base percentage. It's cherry picking, but it's still bad.

QUOTE (beautox @ Jan 17, 2014 -> 05:53 PM) If the sox land Tanaka do you move Johnson + to the astros for Castro? seeing how you can slot in Rienzo or Paulino in the 5th spot with Beck a stones throw away and a possible #3 pick of Rodon or Hoffman on the fast track? No. Depth, especially in the rotation, is incredibly important. The Sox are already looking at their #5 starter being out to open the year, so they'll open the season with #6, be it Rienzo or Surkamp. If you deal Johnson after signing Tanaka, you are back in the exact same spot. If any of those starters go down, you are back to depending on Surkamp and/or Rienzo. That's just not a situation you really want to be in. I think you play the year out, give guys their chances, look for guys being made available during the Spring, and go from there. QUOTE (chisoxfan310 @ Jan 17, 2014 -> 05:57 PM) I would actually like to see them hold onto Johnson but I could see Beck and Bassistt being moved Beck's value is limited at this point, though a breakout year could increase it dramatically. Bassitt doesn't have a lot of value on the trade market. He'll be viewed as a reliever. Whether that's fair or not isn't the point.

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Jan 17, 2014 -> 05:26 PM) I have hot Podsednik takes. Well being your favorite player and all, it does not surprise me that you are as knowledgeable as you are about him.

QUOTE (timbo @ Jan 17, 2014 -> 04:55 PM) This off topic but why didn't the angels get hahn when they were looking for gm Could be any number of reasons. Ultimately, I think the plan was always to have Rick eventually take over in Chicago, even when he was the assistant GM. I believe he's from the Chicago area (or at least went to Northwestern for his undergrad) and he's likely happy in the area. It probably would have taken a very large salary to woo him away from Chicago. He interviewed for a couple others too, but either wasn't offered or didn't take the jobs. Frankly, he could have been very upfront in the interview and said "I am pretty comfortable, but I want to listen to what you want and I will tell you what I want" and nothing ever matched up between those teams and Hahn. Also, his job security in Chicago is far, far greater than it would be elsewhere. I don't know how Hawk's tenure ended, but that was the last time any Sox GM could even be considered fired (if he wasn't fired, it was likely a forced resignation).

QUOTE (Jake @ Jan 17, 2014 -> 04:29 PM) Sometimes you sign a guy not for it to be a good deal, but because you want him on your team. Imagine if Mike Trout became a free agent -- you wouldn't give him $40M a year because he'll necessarily be "worth" it, but because you're better off with him for $40 than nothing for $0. Some guys in some situations are just priceless This was Williams' MO while he was GM. He didn't necessarily always care about giving up the proper value for an asset, he wanted the asset because he believed that would put his teams over the top and he'd overpay to get it. That was seemingly what he did with Garcia, Vazquez, and Thome, and several others.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Jan 17, 2014 -> 04:26 PM) I'll just second that Baseball Between the Numbers is awesome -- one of my favorite reads of all-time. I recommend it to anyone who is interested in learning more about sabermetrics if only for the incredibly complete primer on the use of linear weights to measure run values, which is an incredibly important concept for today's stats. More than any other resource, that helped me really understand the mechanisms of a sabermetrician's mind. http://books.google.com/books/about/Baseba...id=XvD_jwEACAAJ Strongly, strongly recommended.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Jan 17, 2014 -> 04:17 PM) Nah, they'll want to announce it beforehand to increase Soxfest attendence, methinks. Yeah, I agree. Kenny Lofton getting announced at Soxfest 10+ years ago was about as big of a surprise as you can give.

QUOTE (hi8is @ Jan 17, 2014 -> 04:14 PM) What is this "moderation" thing you speak of? No idea, never tried it.

http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/has-anyone-r...-look-more-like

QUOTE (hi8is @ Jan 17, 2014 -> 03:51 PM) I was drunk for the first 30,066 hours of my Soxtalk posting career. Many stupid things occurred - none of which I recall. Scotch was a wonderful thing. Scotch is still a wonderful thing in moderation, but I understand that moderation can be a difficult thing.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Jan 17, 2014 -> 03:48 PM) Whenever I think of market-rate WAR dollars, I'm using it as a watermark for downside. However, that only really makes sense in a vacuum. Depending on each team's place on the win curve, it could make sense for them to purchase "additional wins" at market rate or even substantially above market rate to push them over the edge. Exactly. This is why guys like Granderson and Ethier make no sense for the White Sox. Even if they are 3 win players and you are only paying them $8 mill a year (they obviously cost more than that), that is only an improvement from context-neutral 75 wins to 78 wins. What the hell good does that do? That's why I really didn't like that move for the Mets. However, if you are an 86 win team, and you can bring in a 2 WAR player who will be replacing a -1 WAR player, that's essentially 3 additional wins, and it pushes you to 89 wins, which is almost always a playoff birth. You also see teams taking a discount and paying for production upfront in exchange for an inflated, backloaded contract and paying extra for a worse product. Then they rinse, lather, and repeat. The OTHER thing about this is actually the financial situation, which is a topic brought up by Baseball Between the Numbers (which, while dated, is still an excellent read). It basically states that the difference in monetary value between wins 76 and 80 is next to nothing, but the distance between 86 and 88 is very large. So, if you are close, it makes sense to buy, buy, buy. Unfortunately, teams so often overestimate themselves and you see situations like the 2007-08 Mariners. You must be patient and know for certain what your talent level is. The Pirates, more than anybody else in baseball, have figured this out and have been overly conservative, and it's paying dividends for them now.

QUOTE (The Ultimate Champion @ Jan 17, 2014 -> 03:52 PM) There isn't a meal for which beer cannot serve as an equal replacement. Breakfast? Lunch? Brunch? Dinner? Snack? It comes in a bottle or a can you guys. I mean just think about that for a second. Really, think about it. Or a keg. Or a f***ing pool.

God I wish I could be pounding beers already. I had like 10 last night, and I'm craving about 10 or 12 more right now.