witesoxfan

QUOTE (lasttriptotulsa @ Nov 4, 2013 -> 04:32 PM) The way I kind of look at is the $10 million bonus Abreu is getting is roughly equivalent to the money saved by moving Thornton, Rios and Peavy last year. I look at it as paying for future services up front, basically like pre-paying for a loan. If you know you are going to have the funds today, you may as well spend them on something that will help you in the future. I really do feel like Hahn is going to do really good and big things with this team.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Nov 4, 2013 -> 04:29 PM) That hit me right in the feels wite. Right in the feels. Was this high school or college? High school. I was basically just his whipping boy and the goat for all things wrong. I was having fun that summer too even as Loaf, but when he took me out and kept me out even though I had begun to atone for my mistakes with the hit and run scored, I just lost it. And frankly, our lack of preparation in the field extended beyond me as others made mistakes too and was an indictment on his coaching, yet he decided to embarrass me in front of all of my teammates right out in the middle of the field (because when he told me I was out, he had come out and huddled all 9 of us at the pitcher's mound). It sucked, because baseball always has been my one true passion, but it felt so empowering to quit on that asshole like that.

Bills signed Evan Rodriguez

QUOTE (Jake @ Nov 4, 2013 -> 03:56 PM) I'd find it more likely that one of our OF posts an .850 and another a .650 than all of them being in the .700 range QUOTE (raBBit @ Nov 4, 2013 -> 04:00 PM) I would hope at least one of Viciedo or Garcia post an OPS of +.800 next year. This definitely would not surprise me. It wouldn't surprise me to see Semien at .270/.350/.450, Garcia at .300/.360/.490, Viciedo at .275/.350/.500, De Aza at .270/.340/.460, Abreu at .300/.400/.550, Saltalamacchia at .270/.350/.475, et cetera. I just don't see it as likely.

During my last baseball playing experience, I was the Loaf. It was the summer after freshman year and my family was in the process of packing up to move out of town. I played 2B and was basically a backup. Between innings of games you didn't play, you had to run poles from the dugout to the foul pole. We had practices every day, but my coach basically just hit us grounders, let us hit quick, and we were done within an hour. I missed a doubleheader that he supposedly told me I was supposed to go to but I had no idea (because rather than having a list, he lined us up and, from a distance, pointed and said "You're going/not going, eh, no you're not going/going, eh, nevermind you are going/not going") and he made me run 28 poles, 1 for each half inning I missed. I ran 20 of them and called it good. I'd play once every 3 games or so and just generally could not get in a groove. Finally, I have a game I get in and I've played fairly well up to this point (meaning I haven't screwed up). There's a grounder to short, I cover 2B and go to fire to 1B to turn it, and this dude is still standing up coming into the base. My coach yells "Throw it anyways!" so he's mad at me for not throwing it. Runners on the corners now, 1 down, and he calls a bunt play...which we've practiced like 3 times 2 months prior...and I mess it up simply because I have no idea what's going on. I cover 2B when I was supposed to cover 1B. Everyone's safe. They score like 4 more runs. He comes up to me between innings and says "You're out. Go hit, and then you're out." I went up to the plate and singled to left, stole second on the second pitch, advanced to third on a ground ball, and scored on a wild pitch. I think it's pretty heady baseball and grab my stuff to take the field. He comes up to me and says "no, you're still out. Go run your pole." I'd had it by that point, didn't run my pole, and basically said "f*** it." Took my jersey and belt off. He approached me the next inning and said "Why aren't you running your poles?" I just looked him in the eyes, tears running out of mine, and said "I can't take this bulls***. I quit."

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Nov 4, 2013 -> 03:42 PM) BUT it would be a substantial improvement on last year and it's something that you can add to over the next couple years. That would be a better team that was made WITHOUT sacrificing the future. Yes, as I mention above, I'd be happy with it. I just think calling it "good" is a bigger stretch than Hawk trying to will a routine flyball out of the park.

QUOTE (SoxPride18 @ Nov 4, 2013 -> 03:23 PM) Honestly I truly believe it could be very good. And Beckham would probably be headed to Toronto also. Let's look again real quick and come up with some reasonable projections C - Saltalamacchia - .250/.325/.425 1B - Abreu - .275/.350/.500 2B - Semien - .240/.320/.380 SS - Ramirez - .270/.310/.390 3B - Lawrie - .250/.310/.415 LF - Viciedo - .260/.325/.425 CF - De Aza - .260/.325/.425 RF - Garcia - .270/.330/.420 DH - Dunn - .220/.330/.420 Are any of those that far off of what would be expected? There's some room for growth, but I think those are all pretty reasonable, and it makes for a poor offense. It's one I'd be OK with given the circumstances and the ability for it to grow and improve, but I think the odds of it being even "league average" are incredibly low, and more likely it would be "bad," maybe right around the 650 mark. Like I said, given improvements - to Abreu, Ramirez, Lawrie, Viciedo, Garcia, and Dunn, who are the ones I believe are prone to vast fluctuations - they could get up over 700 runs. I don't believe they will. Add to that a very weak bench and suddenly you have no depth and no real talent. Hopefully Steverson can help these guys out quite a bit.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Nov 4, 2013 -> 03:24 PM) The Sox will spend close to $5 million on International Bonus Pool of players and around $10 million on the draft. That's about $15 million of the budget right there. Say the Sox are budgeted at a payroll of about $105 million for opening day. I take this to mean that they would then only spend close to $90 million on the actual roster. That is fine with me and something I and many others have advocated for a long long time on this board. Being bad gives you the opportunity to spend more but it's still the team's money and they will still operate on a budget. Worth noting is that like $17 mill of that is on Abreu this year. They've already spent a significant chunk

QUOTE (SoxPride18 @ Nov 4, 2013 -> 03:17 PM) I agree, my argument in getting Josh Johnson is in regards to depth if Sox do trade Santiago. I really think we can get Santiago and lesser prospects for Brett Lawrie. This happens and then sign Salty and Sox can have a legit offense So you're saying C - Saltalamacchia 1B - Abreu 2B - Beckham/Semien SS - Ramirez 3B - Lawrie LF - Viciedo CF - De Aza RF - Garcia DH - Dunn is a legit offense? It's an improvement, but I still have my doubts as to whether that offense would score 650 runs.

QUOTE (IowaSoxFan @ Nov 4, 2013 -> 01:49 PM) He should accept the offer. I agree that the new system hurts the player, not only does a team lose a draft choice, but they have to pay enough to compete with the qualifying offer. They should have looked at a tiered system where a player like Grandy would cost a team their second or third round pick instead of their first or second pick. And leave it to the discretion of the team. The original team also shouldn't have to give up draft picks. ~$5 mill QO - supplemental pick after the 10th round $10 mill QO - supplemental pick after the 5th round (allotted money is added to spending total) $15 mill QO - supplemental pick after 1st round $20 mill QO - supplemental picks after 1st, 5th, and 10th round

QUOTE (sircaffey @ Nov 4, 2013 -> 01:23 PM) He did not have a wrist injury. Broken right forearm, broken left finger. It's not wrist but he wasn't healthy and it could sap his power.

There has been one clear cut hole in the lineup over the past 8, 10, 15, whatever years. The Sox probably have gotten more production out of 3B if they'd run a player/manager the last 2 years compared to what they got in the years leading up to it.

Saltalamacchia's BABIP was extraordinarily high this year, but his line drive rate was also at 28.6%. His Steamer projection for next year is at 238/.306/.425/.731 which wouldn't be surprising either. A lot of the value you do get from him is from his defense, and he is a very good defender. Like I said, I would take him at 4/$40 and not a cent more than that.

Incognito is one of the biggest jerks in the league, which is really impressive given that it's the NFL and there are jerks everywhere.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Nov 4, 2013 -> 11:47 AM) McCann gets a QO, Salty doesn't over on MLBTR. I officially just want Salty now. I don't want to give McCann $100m and give up a pick on top. Yeah, I'm not big on McCann. I certainly think he could be a very good and valuable piece to have, but, to me, it's just as likely that he turns into a big pile of bust. If the Red Sox want to sign him, they can go right ahead.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Nov 4, 2013 -> 11:28 AM) And even scarier that your "certainty" in those projections is at 1B, which might end up being the most uncertain position of all in terms of knowing what to expect from a rookie who has never set foot on a diamond in a major league uniform. Yeah, it's just a projection. That coudl easily be a weakness too.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Nov 4, 2013 -> 11:37 AM) I didn't pay attention to the team after the trading deadline...except what the Garcia's and Viciedo were doing. Couldn't take it anymore. Oh then you missed it, Jeff Keppinger hit .400 with 20 homers in the second half but he stepped on a nail that a crazed fan threw on the field and got tetanus.

QUOTE (scs787 @ Nov 4, 2013 -> 10:21 AM) After seeing that they lost more than half(55) their games by 2 runs or less, and over a third(36) of them by 1 run I kinda convinced myself that they're closer than people think. If they make the right moves offensively I think this can be cleaned up sooner rather than later. That's all probably just wishful thinking/homerism on my part. Bad teams are lose games - that's why they're bad teams. More telling is the 7-21 record in blowouts. This team needs a lot of work before they can become competitive. Beyond that, they really weren't unexpectedly bad in 1 run games. They went 24-36. Even if you reverse those and say that they get really lucky, instead of really unlucky, they are 36-24 and win 75 games. Is that a team you believe is close to winning? More likely would be that they'd finish near .500 in 1 run games and that their record in those is closer to 30-30...do you believe they are close to being competitive at 69 wins? Right now, they are mediocre to weak offensively at C, 2B, 3B, SS, LF, CF, RF, and DH. Some of those could improve, but counting on any sort of vast improvement is asking for too much. This team could be competitive. Counting on it and making moves as if it was competitive last year is wrong. Granderson is not a guy the Sox should have a lot of interest in.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Nov 4, 2013 -> 10:34 AM) Salty was my prediction as well in one of the roster threads a few weeks back. I think he makes a lot of sense for the Sox. I am just not sure they will win a money battle for him. I think you try to get him for about $7-8 mill a year and you max your offer at 4/$40 and say take it or leave it at that point. There's no way I'm offering more than that and if he can get it, then good for him.

QUOTE (ChiSox_Sonix @ Nov 4, 2013 -> 09:44 AM) One went to the ground with possession, the other didn't, that's the difference. The whole receiver needing to complete the catch through contact with the ground or whatever rule needs to be fixed this offseason. Like I said, there's no debate that Graham's was a fumble. The NFL's rules are an absolute joke.

I do want to clarify that I am not advocating the Sox bring in Ellsbury. I wouldn't be upset, but I think they can spend more efficiently, plus they do give up their 2nd round pick then too. I just think that, if they bring him in, they are an 83-85 win team as is. QUOTE (beck72 @ Nov 3, 2013 -> 05:57 AM) Bryan Pena is the free agent who makes the most sense. He'd be a platoon with Phegs. Flowers probably is gone. This really doesn't make sense. -Flowers was a far better player than Phegley last year, even with a shoulder torn to hell -Brayan Pena is a career .258/.292/.359/.651 hitter, including .262/.296/.377/.673 against RHP. He was decent in limited appearances last year. He's also going to be 32 next year. Honestly, if they aren't going to bring in McCann, Saltalamacchia, or someone via trade, I really want them to go into next year with Flowers and Phegley. You save money and get another look at both of the youngish catchers who had success in the minors.

QUOTE (scs787 @ Nov 4, 2013 -> 09:34 AM) Ya, as much as I wouldn't mind the signing, if he gets a QO I probably wouldn't do it. This years draft is supposed to be stacked and with how high the Sox are picking there's a good chance they can get 2 damn good players out of it. I used the word probably because I would still have to think about. I guess it depends on what Hahn thinks of the team, and it this point I really have no idea. At this point, the team is not very good. It would take a ton of creativity to get this team to a competitive state

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Nov 4, 2013 -> 09:59 AM) When is the pitching fwar title parade? Next week I believe

QUOTE (ChiSox_Sonix @ Nov 4, 2013 -> 09:07 AM) It's clearly a catch, as was the Andre Johnson play, but by the way the rule is written and has been enforced ever since the Calvin Johnson play a few years ago, they were both correct calls. I don't know why the TJ Graham play is relevant to the other plays either, it was obviously a catch and fumble. Because Goodwin had control of the ball for a longer period of time, that's the only reason I bring it up. Not that I'm going to, but my argument would be that if the Goodwin play isn't a catch, then Graham never completed his catch either.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Nov 4, 2013 -> 08:51 AM) If the White Sox spend that much on Salty, it will soon be regrettable. 4 years, $36 million is really not that big of a contract.