witesoxfan

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Oct 23, 2013 -> 08:16 AM) Jose Valentin. Bring back the stache OMFG YES [humps air] also, I tweaked the topic title so it's a little less misleading

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Oct 23, 2013 -> 07:57 AM) Other than Jaramillo...can we name someone with a solid MLB track record who is currently available? I'm sure the Braves would let Greg Walker go

Any hype that Trayce had received up until about the half way point of this year has been thoroughly deflated at this point. Even with the improvements in his peripherals, it's been a disappointing season.

QUOTE (fathom @ Oct 22, 2013 -> 03:57 PM) Eagles drafting Mariota Kiper has Manziel listed as the 7th best QB in the draft as of now. I think Manziel is a legitimate starting QB in the NFL too.

QUOTE (GoGoSox2k2 @ Oct 22, 2013 -> 03:08 PM) i completely agree with this. cano just strikes me as a guy that does not always have that fire and desire for the team aspect. not the guy i want the white sox (with the way our finances are) to tie up money long term to. as someone mentioned below, id much rather sign mccann and ellsbury than just cano Honestly, I was just throwing possible scenarios at the wall. The impression I get of Cano is that he really loves the game and is passionate about it and I think he'll ultimately end up being a Hall of Famer. It doesn't mean I want the Sox to acquire him because so much has to go right for that contract to play itself out and make sense. Frankly, if he ends up anywhere other than the Yankees, I am going to be absolutely flabbergasted.

QUOTE (scs787 @ Oct 22, 2013 -> 02:38 PM) Hypothetically speaking... If Semien is the player we all hope he is then he takes over at 3B for cheap. I'd keep him in the minors and see what Gillaspie does in his 2nd year, if he performs then you trade Lexi and play Semien at short. The infield would then be Gillaspie-Semien-Cano-Abreu for awhile. If Gillaspie doesn't improve then you play Marcus at 3rd and keep Lexi. Hopefully after the last 2 years of Lexis contract Tim Anderson would be ready to take over. That's Semien-Lexi-Cano-Abreu for 2 years then Semien-Anderson-Cano-Abreu after that. With Cano signed I could see the Sox moving Micah Johnson to CF(this has been talked about anyway). Keep De Aza or add a stop gap player like Dejesus for a couple years while Micah is adjusting. Jacob May is also a guy who I could see in CF after 2 years. LF or DH could go to Tank with the Sox signing a free agent for the other position Hopefully the Sox can trade a pitcher for a long term catcher. I know that's banking on a few guys who I probably shouldn't bank on but they're there, and hypothetically speaking it could work. Let's look at the reverse. Cano gets his contract and just DGAF. He comes out, hits .280/.350/.425 with 15 homers and a .775 OPS. Suddenly you're paying $25 million to a 2 WAR player. We are in Josh Hamilton territory, except worse. Then Gillaspie blows, and then Semien flops as his replacement. Tim Anderson turns out to be nothing more than a decent glove, no better a prospect than Leury Garcia. Micah Johnson proves incapable of hitting advanced pitching and is an Eric Young Jr clone, which is to say that he is a .260/.320/.330 hitter in the majors who can steal 40 bases and literally nothing else. Suddenly you have holes all over and no money to spend. Abreu has turned into a .330/.450/.650 monstrosity of a hitter, but not only do you have no funds to reisign him, but he doesn't want to re-sign with a perennial loser anyways. At this point, you have to ride the storm out with Cano until he gets to about 2 years remaning on his 8 year deal and then eat $35 million just so you can save $15 mill, start Junior Lake Junior in LF because he's better than anything you have, and continue to perpetually suck for the next 5 years. That's potentially 13-15 years of suckage simply because you signed Robinson Cano and he stopped caring.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Oct 22, 2013 -> 02:08 PM) Then what? What about C, 3B, LF, and CF? Do our 4/5 starters and RF have what it takes to break out? Why are we so eager to become the Cubs? If we dig in and fall short, we are looking at a ifnancial disaster. We need to have SOME patience. They need a year to figure out what they have in the core and if it's a team that's a couple big pieces from contention, THEN you splurge. Coming of a 99 loss season, there is little argument that the team is within reach. The stakes are too high to go allin right now. To add on to this, I could see the team competing, and it would be a godsend if they did, but you want to protect yourself if it doesn't. Does Cano push you over the top? I don't believe so, and I can't agree with any argument that says otherwise. If the Sox are to spend $200 million so irrationally, I'd prefer they do it on Ellsbury and McCann to atleast spread out the assets. Beyond ANY of this, the Sox depth is in middle infield. I suggested picking up Brandon Phillips because he could be a decent buy low candidate if you could get him for about $7.5 mill a year because he can be a 3-4 WAR player and is almost certain to be a 2 WAR player. You are talking about spending 3 to 4 times that $7.5 million amount for twice as long for what frankly amounts to a marginal upgrade. Beyond THAT, Marcus Semien could be for real and could put up .270/.370/.430 next year with good defense and then the Sox have a 4 WAR 2B anyways.

QUOTE (scs787 @ Oct 22, 2013 -> 01:58 PM) Right, I'm not saying there isn't a risk here which is why I previously said I'm not clamoring(I think I'm using that right) for the guy. All I'm really trying to say is that I'm not mad at their supposed interest in the guy because I think it could work Wite, I'm also adding in a platoon partner for Phegley, who in this division that's very RHP heavy is a virtual starter. Brayan Pena, who I'd target, hit .325/.346/.455 last year against RHP. Now I know he won't do that as more of a full time player but even as a .250 hitter he offers a big upgrade over the sub .200 Ba Phegley put up. I'm also swapping out De Aza for Dejesus who offers a more heady veteran presence. Or they can potentially trade Santiago for a CF/full time catcher to improve the lineup. Yes, Pena hit .325/.346/.455/.801 this year in 133 plate appearances against righties. He's also at .262/.296/.377/.673 against righties for his career in about 6 times as many plate appearances. DeJesus has also had 2 pretty mediocre offensive years out of the last 3 and he turns 34 in December. I don't see how he is an upgrade over De Aza and, in fact, view him as a downgrade who could easily cost more. With the position this team is in, signing a guy to a $200-250 million deal just does not make sense for about a hundred reasons.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Oct 22, 2013 -> 02:03 PM) This says that the White Sox are "among teams that could be looking for a 3B upgrade" Exactly. Next year is his age 30 season, and then you have to decide if you want to resign a player who has dealt with injury problems in the past from the ages of 31 and beyond as part of your future, or if you were to just cut bait and lose all the investment. This is another one of those good ideas but at the wrong time.

QUOTE (scs787 @ Oct 22, 2013 -> 01:08 PM) We'll just have to disagree here. I know he probably won't be worth it on the tail end of the contract but with what we have signed right now the 25M a year needed wouldn't cripple the White Sox financially. With the payroll at 90 with Cano this year they could still add a guy like Dejesus, a platoon partner for Phegley at catcher(Brayan Pena is who I want), a LH reliever and still be less than 120M....Lets say 105M(De Aza ~5M is probably gone). Then Dunns 15M is out of the way and they're back down to 90M. That gives them 35M to replace Dunn and extend Q. Semien is probably your 3B at this point. I guess it should be said that I'm not clamoring for Cano, but just that I think it would work financially. K, so just adding Cano, here's your team C - Phegley/Flowers 1B - Abreu 2B - Cano SS - Ramirez 3B - Semien/Beckham/Keppinger/Gillaspie LF - Viciedo CF - De Aza RF - Garcia Sale Quintana Santiago Johnson Danks Rienzo plus your bullpen of young guys Does that team win a division? I don't believe it does. It may win 85 games, but I don't see a division title. Then you lose Dunn and have to find a way to replace his production, and then it's the same with Ramirez the following season. Rather than diversifying your team, you are putting all your eggs in one basket. What if Cano breaks his wrist and it saps all his power? QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Oct 22, 2013 -> 01:27 PM) No better example than look at where they Tigers are right now. They appear to have borrowed too much too, especially if they have to deal Scherzer this offseason.

QUOTE (scs787 @ Oct 22, 2013 -> 11:59 AM) There's only been 3 of them in history, Ryan Howard(Who won a WS 2 years before the contract and then got bit by the injury bug), King Felix, and ARod so you can't really pull from that. And why aren't the Sox really in position to do so? Like I said in an earlier post, adding Canos 25M this year puts the payroll at 90M. Next year they have Dunns 15M coming off the books, the following year they have Lexi/Keppingers 14M coming of the books, the year after that they have Danks 14 or whatever coming off the books. If they keep the payroll around 120M every year I think they could absolutely be in the position to field a good team. OK, $23 million. $20 million. There aren't many. Spending $25 million on one player essentially means that, for that contract to be fiscally efficient - which is not the same thing as fiscally responsible - that player has to average 5 WAR a season. That means that, over the life of the contract, the player has to pretty much be an All Star every single season. Maybe it's just me, but I look at Robinson Cano and see a guy who is going to turn into a .300/.350/.450, 10 HR, 45 2B type of hitter with worsening defense who will have to move to 1B about 5 or 6 years into that contract. That's a really good hitter still. It's not even close to being worth $25 million.

QUOTE (scs787 @ Oct 22, 2013 -> 11:43 AM) If it's not gonna be a good thing then why would anyone do it? Someone's gonna give him that contract and without any really big long term contracts I think the Sox can work around 25M a year. Sox may have never done it before but were they ever really in the position to do so? They aren't in a position to do so right now either. How many players making $25+ million have won a World Series? I can think of 1, and that team was so far over the luxury tax it was unreal.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Oct 22, 2013 -> 11:24 AM) For the 10 seconds that the Sox make the evening news. Jose Abreu made his White Sox debut. Tell me, Theo, how do you feel about Jose Abreu?

QUOTE (chw42 @ Oct 22, 2013 -> 09:57 AM) Nah. People hate the Cardinals because their fans think they're the best in the world. Who the hell gave them the right to make themselves the best fans in the world? I actually like the Cardinals, but I don't find it odd that other people would dislike them. The Rays have no fans, they're just a well-run organization. The Braves also don't have entitled fans like that, although their team this year is worth hating alone just for their stupid baseball-police crap. The Rays actually have a pretty solid fan base, but that stadium is in a terrible location. They make it to the playoff games, but it's just too far a drive on a Wednesday night.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Oct 22, 2013 -> 10:46 AM) Devier Posey got 5 games for getting paid an extra $3.07 over the course of a few years. Timing was on Miami's side here. USC got much worse for one player involved in pay for play. I think people are starting to get fed up with the NCAA's s***. It's time for Emmert to go.

QUOTE (ChiSox_Sonix @ Oct 22, 2013 -> 09:08 AM) Isn't the Bills offensive line pretty brutal though? Playing in Buffalo helps but Thad Lewis isn't super mobile and KC's obvious strength is their defense No. Colin Brown was brutal, but he's been released. Lewis isn't fast, but he can get out of the pocket. Like I said, if they can contain Charles, I think they have a pretty good chance. He's probably one of the 3 best running backs in the league right now though.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Oct 21, 2013 -> 09:04 PM) Nobody was pumped up about Hermanson and Politte. Forgive me for not getting excited about guys coming off seasons of 4.53 and 5.66 ERAs respectively. Still, there was genuine excitement about Hermanson... http://www.soxtalk.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=26944 Not so much Politte http://www.soxtalk.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=13936 People were pretty stoked about Duque too because the Sox had a real 5th starter. Pods, yes; Dye, no; AJ, no. We were also excited about Iguchi: http://www.soxtalk.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=29022 Sox fans generally do have a pretty good grasp of the team's signings

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Oct 21, 2013 -> 04:42 PM) This guy has better numbers than Oney and Nick Parent. BTW, what is Ozney doing? http://www.stubobcats.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=2617

QUOTE (lostfan @ Oct 22, 2013 -> 07:12 AM) I wonder why Heat fans are so high on Mario Chalmers? I mean, nobody has ever looked at the Heat's lineup and been like "oh s***, what are we going to do about Mario Chalmers?" Dude is nothing more than a speed bump for Rose. Come back when you are Westbrook or CP3 (Westbrook's the only PG he hasn't decisively dominated, it's a draw when they play) Mario Chalmers is the point guard for Miami in the sense that he handles the in bound pass, dribbles it up the court, and then passes to LeBron. He's not a bad player in that system, but he was a second round pick for a reason.

Depends on how bad you want bad to be. UNC has had first round picks up the butt and players all over the place. Plus, Illinois has been in a Rose Bowl in the last 5 years or whatever.

I lost by 2 points. Again.

QUOTE (ChiSox_Sonix @ Oct 22, 2013 -> 08:15 AM) The idea of Buffalo scares me, but I just look at their team and watch them play and just think there is no way KC shouldn't win that game. Of course you're right, they will probably struggle there once again, but as of now I'm expecting a victory. Buffalo could just as easily be 7-0 as they could be 0-7. They've literally had a chance to win every single game this year, they're starting to get healthy, and they have one of the best pass rushing teams in the league. If the Bills can slow down Charles in that game, they'll have a great chance to win.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Oct 22, 2013 -> 08:16 AM) That's a tricky game though. Sometimes you hide the pickle and nobody bothers to come looking for it. Or worse, people you really don't want finding your pickle come looking for it. Sometimes you have to get that pickle out in the open and let the right people know about it. Sometimes your favorite team goes 63-99. You win some, you lose some.

QUOTE (Jerksticks @ Oct 21, 2013 -> 11:27 PM) Well said. A good white sox team has no equal. Baseball is the best games that humans have come up with. I've always thought hide the pickle was the best game, but to each their own.

Mike Piazza was a pick made out of nepotism too. I'm sure Alex Avila was too. Some of these guys get drafted just because they're someone's son and they actually figure something out with their game and turn into decent players. Some of them were actually good to begin with. This is not likely to be one of those cases, but frankly, anybody who cares about this move is bored.