witesoxfan

He has better gap to gap power than Figgins or Podsednik though, and he's probably a bit slower. My expectations, if he were to keep panning out, would be comparable to De Aza - gap to gap guy who hits for a decent average, draws some walks, steals some bases, hits some homers. About a .750 OPS.

QUOTE (Athomeboy_2000 @ Jul 11, 2013 -> 10:30 AM) There's a report that Howard left LA because he wanted the Lakers to phase out Kobe Bryant after the 2013-14 season. Really wouldn't have surprised me if that 50/50 report was Howard calling the Lakers and saying "I'll sign with you if you get rid of Kobe" and Kupchak simply dismissing it as assinine.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Jul 11, 2013 -> 10:20 AM) The Big Unit was rail thin when he hit the big leagues oh so my picture of him in an Expos uniform isnt good enough, I see how it is

QUOTE (pittshoganerkoff @ Jul 11, 2013 -> 10:16 AM) Would a team sign him for a major league contract if he's not going to pitch until July? I'm not being sarcastic...would a team do this? For cheap with an option for the 2nd year.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Jul 11, 2013 -> 10:08 AM) De Aza could be a LF on a team though. For example, let's say a team has a good leadoff hitter that plays 2B/SS. The team also has a CF that hits in the middle of the lineup. De Aza could be really good as a #8 or #9 hitter. His offensive numbers are not that different than Alex Rios' offensive numbers honestly. De Aza annoys me too but if he wasn't leading off and playing CF he actually brings something to the table. I think De Aza could hit you 15-18 homers in the 9 spot and get on base at a .330 clip. I'm with you, though if he's putting up those numbers, he's hitting higher than 9th. There really aren't teams anymore that don't have a couple guys putting up sub-700 OPS's anymore.

QUOTE (pettie4sox @ Jul 11, 2013 -> 09:35 AM) Well saying she's thin and anorexic to describe an Asian woman is like saying honey is sweet. =) I worked for a Japanese company before. They are so strict with dress codes that I could never see a serious Japanese worker wearing them. Now I work with a couple of Chinese women, (one younger; one older). The younger one wears all sorts of attire (short shorts, daisy dukes, etc...). The funny thing is we work in a lab... so while she's off trying to be beautiful, she'll spill some chemicals on her bare body. SMH Maybe she's into that

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 11, 2013 -> 09:40 AM) I get both of these last couple posts. One thing worth noting though...Dunleavy signing a 2 year deal throws a major wrench into teh Bulls having a lot of room to play with. Meh, if you include a future 1st or 2nd, or a few future 1sts and 2nds, you can always move expiring contracts.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jul 11, 2013 -> 09:15 AM) By the way, related to shortstop/second baseman and 7/10's games... now seen reports from a blogger and a scout that have said Joey DeMichele is having a hard time at SS. Not doing well there. The hardest thing to do when you're struggling in the field is to stay positive at the plate too. Johnson's emergence has put DiMichele into a bit of a bind. I like DeMichele but if he can't play SS, he's going to have to either learn how to play 3B and the OF, or he's going to have a difficult time breaking into the majors.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Jul 11, 2013 -> 07:26 AM) BMac's Twitter feed was pretty entertaining last night. On MLB-TV, Mitch Williams said of B-Mac's head injury last year, "If you don't pitch inside, this is what's gonna happen" I've been beaten to it! This is so awesome http://deadspin.com/brandon-mccarthy-does-...liams-742712820

I think the fact that it's better to keep your options open is worth it. You have no idea what teams will be in contention come deadline time and who will be available, and Deng's $14 mill expiring contract is extremely valuable. If you can't get anything done, then maybe you work on a small extension at that point just to ensure you have a steady option at the 3.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jul 10, 2013 -> 04:08 PM) no way, he's paid almost like a closer, it would be a huge overpay just on salary alone, not to mention surrendering anything of value prospect-wise. $6 million is not the price of a free agent closer. $6 million is the price of a very good set up man.

QUOTE (South Side Fireworks Man @ Jul 10, 2013 -> 05:06 PM) Traded him. So you are essentially replacing Adam Dunn with Brian McCann. You'll almost certainly have to eat salary if you move Dunn too. Let's compare ages 21 through 29 for both, shall we? McCann - .280/.352/.477/.829 Dunn - .249/.383/.520/.903 On what planet is that a good idea?

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jul 11, 2013 -> 08:33 AM) He's much thinner than the Big Unit...that's another part of the concern. Johnson was always THIN, but not RAIL THIN.

QUOTE (knightni @ Jul 10, 2013 -> 10:56 PM) In my opinion, with his throwing motion... Sale is destined for TJ within the next 4 years. Strike while the iron is hot. I really don't think his motion is that much different than Randy Johnson's, and RJ stayed healthy pretty much his entire career.

I understand what he's saying though. Luol Deng is a really good player but he is not a #2 on a championship team. A guy that plays defense and is pretty versatile offensively (though with no ball handling skills to really speak of) has a lot of value, but you need a better #2. You look at teams that have made and won the finals in recent history and you generally see teams with a ton of weapons and two legitimate players to drive the offense. Even the Mavericks 3 years ago had Kidd and Terry along side Dirk. You just don't have weapons like that in Chicago. Rose facilitates the offense and no one else can really draw the attention of the defense like you see in Miami, San Antonio, Oklahoma City, or really even Indiana. You'll see it in Houston this year too. If they got creative, even an aging Pau would help the Bulls quite a bit, but there are all kinds of things they can do. QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Jul 10, 2013 -> 10:10 PM) It would serve them best to be bad again and get a shot at Wiggins. Could you imagine that s***? LeBron would definitely go back. Irving/Wiggins/LeBron=game over. Or trade Irving for the sickest package in nba history. The NBA isn't like the NFL or MLB though because of the lottery. You can be really bad and still end up with a low pick. They have a really nice group of guys there, and if LeBron does actually want to go back to Cleveland, then it doesn't matter, because they'll have the pieces in place. If all these guys get hurt, then they'll be really bad and in the running for that #1 pick.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Jul 10, 2013 -> 08:30 PM) Andrew Bynum to the Cavs. 2/24.5 - I read only 6 million of that is guaranteed. Minimal risk for Cleveland. Cavs with a team option for 2015. So basically no risk for them. Don't think they'll stay healthy, but if they do, that's a pretty good starting 5.

I mean, at what point are you weighing offers and at what point do you just basically say "you have to give me this, this, this, and this or no deal" ? Everyone has a price, but there's no way I'm openly shopping Chris Sale. As I said in here, if you trade Chris Sale, you are essentially committing towards a rebuild towards 2016 or 2017. You are throwing in the towel for the remaining 3-4 years, because Jose Quintana and Hector Santiago aren't leading you to the playoffs and there isn't enough offensively to get you there either, so by the time you are ready, those guys are either free agents or in their final year of arbitration eligibility. It becomes a very long process. Now, if you keep Sale, you keep Quintana and Santiago, bring in Erik Johnson, have one more starter (Danks, Peavy, Snodgress, Beck, Anna Kournikova, whoever), and you can patch an offense together and win a lot of games. At this juncture, you have to consider Chris Sale to be one of the most 3 most valuable players in the majors due to talent and contract. Given that, you need an offer similar to this to make the move (this was Red Sox offer for King Felix in 2009) RHP Clay Buchholz RHP Daniel Bard RHP Justin Masterson LHP Nick Hagadone RHP Michael Bowden LHP Felix Doubront OF Josh Reddick SS Yamaico Navarro (found here: http://www.soxtalk.com/forums/index.php?sh...;#entry1974049) All good to very good prospects. Maybe 2 have really stuck and performed well. It's a risky game.

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Jul 10, 2013 -> 05:35 PM) I thought Micah Johnson would be top 5. Surprised to see him so low He keeps on hitting in A+ and maybe gets a cup of coffee in AA, and then shows well in the AFL, he will be. Semi-unrelated, of all the Sox minor leaguers, I don't think there's a bigger slam dunk than Micah Johnson for the AFL.

Wait, are those comments from like the bottom of an online newspaper article? I wouldn't wipe my ass with those if they were printed on the last toilet paper on earth. There are sites like FanGraphs and numerous SBNation blogs that have legitimate comment sections, but the LA Times comments section (or Trib or NY Post or CNN or wherever) are just absolutely the dumbest, stupidest, most hypocritical and psychotic people on the internet.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jul 10, 2013 -> 05:21 PM) The resulting media backlash has already started...articles like this, written solely with a TMZ style to try to tear Puig down. Now Mark McGwire is sort of a modern day King Solomon/peacemaker/baseball historian, lol. http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/d...cgwire/2504523/ This is like something out of the National Enquirer or Kardashian/Jersey Shore circus atmosphere. That's how the media has been for a while now. They polarize and pick sides so you can read their articles. Nobody wants to read an article that says "Yasiel Puig? He's a good player, and he's had a big impact, but he hasn't but up long enough and shouldn't but in the all star game, though honestly I wouldn't care if he played either way."

I will say my favorite player on this list is Marcus Semien. He's not a guy who's ever going to hit for a particularly high average, but he seems to be a jack of all trades player. I also really like guys who walk more than they strike out, especially given how rare they are now a days.

How's this for polarizing - I don't think he should go but I couldn't care less.

QUOTE (scs787 @ Jul 10, 2013 -> 04:36 PM) Why would it signal a long term rebuild?? If they get back 2 sure fire MLB ready studs (and then some) they still have Peavy-Danks-Q-Santiago-Johnson/Axe lined up for next year along with 2+ more pieces to the offense. Because if you trade Sale, you are going to end up trading everything on the roster. And, I mean, it's cool to get back prospects, and some of them turn out, but, well, these things have a tendency to fail and fall apart. Whereas you keep Sale and you already have an ace, plus 2-3 other legitimate starters and a few others on the way, and then you can patchwork an offense back together and make the playoffs. The Giants have won 2 of the last 3 World Series with that exact same philosophy.

Worth noting is that the Boras guy is Ellsbury's agent. Yeah, he could get $18-20 million.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jul 10, 2013 -> 03:16 PM) Fine, the simplest argument of all. Is there ANYONE besides Braves' fans and Greg Walker who are going to tune in specifically to watch Freddie Freeman get one AB and maybe 2-3 innings on the field? I'd tune into the game just to watch Barry Bonds if he were selected, but I wouldn't vote for him. That's an extremely flawed and weak argument.