witesoxfan

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Apr 25, 2013 -> 10:21 AM) I see you are doing a draft diary. LOVE. Sort of the plan. I am anticipating getting drunk.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Apr 25, 2013 -> 09:50 AM) Apparently Kiper and McShay both do as well. Kiper has the Bills taking a guard at 8. That's not going to happen.

Do you guys think Valverde spits like that when he gets out of bed too?

QUOTE (Lillian @ Apr 25, 2013 -> 09:14 AM) What are you trying to say? Do you disagree? Is that supposed to be funny? Sorry, I don't understand the point of your post. Finding a middle of the order bat is similar to finding an ace because there aren't many of them around and to acquire them, you generally have to give up a lot. Are the Sox really at a place where acquiring a big time bat is logical? Personally, I think waiting until about Memorial Day to see if this team is going to contend takes priority over getting a big, middle of the order bat. If this team is 10 games under .500, then trading for a middle of the order bat is a really bad allocation of resources.

QUOTE (flavum @ Apr 24, 2013 -> 04:20 PM) Yay, we have a .400 winning percentage. It still wasn't over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor.

QUOTE (GoSox05 @ Apr 24, 2013 -> 01:41 PM) Yeah some positions have better value later in a draft. Running back, WR and safety. I was just trying to make the point that if a player falls to a team and that team has that player rated as the best player available by far, sometimes that can out weigh need or later round value. I would include guard, center, middle linebacker, and tight end to those as well.

You should almost always take best player available. There are very, very, few circumstances where drafting for need should outweigh best player available. The Packers and Ted Thompson have stuck to this pretty religiously for however long he's been there - 10 years or something - and the best example I can think of was drafting Aaron Rodgers 24th overall. Favre was still "young" then and had quite a few years left - I think he ended up playing like another 6 or 7 seasons - and they stuck with BPA and it worked out. If you draft for need, you end up busting on a wide receiver in Charles Rogers, then have to draft another wide receiver in Roy Williams, and then feel that Mike Williams is a perfect fit, and then you see Calvin Johnson fall into your lap. 2 mega busts, 1 decent player, 1 GOAG. The ironic thing is that, in the case of Calvin Johnson, the Lions finally decided to take BPA rather than drafting for need. (this is also why I've changed my tune on the Bills taking Nassib or any other QB at 8 - they have about a zillion different needs and waiting to draft a QB in this draft is fine, even if the Jets end up with him (I don't see how Rex Ryan can afford to take a QB that early) - so they should draft whoever the BPA is at 8, especially if it's a guy like Tavon Austin)

QUOTE (IlliniKrush @ Apr 24, 2013 -> 10:31 AM) http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaaf-dr-sat...359--ncaaf.html Those are all just terrible. They look like ClipArt

Rios means rivers

http://deadspin.com/report-boston-bombing-...uther-478631719

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Apr 24, 2013 -> 09:11 AM) This lineup is bad enough with 9 people in it. No need to add a 10th. Actually, I believe he is a proponent of Flowers leading off, which, yeah, that sounds perfect

QUOTE (bmags @ Apr 24, 2013 -> 07:10 AM) I watched Curry and Thompson shoot the freakin lights out vs Nuggets. I caught just a bit of that game as I was watching some Draft thing, but it just seems like Steph Curry moves at twice the speed of anyone else on the court with him. If (when) they can't build around him in Golden State, he is going to be a crazy good player in LA/Boston/Miami/New York/wherever else he would end up signing.

QUOTE (Big Hurtin @ Apr 24, 2013 -> 08:28 AM) I'm honestly surprised that I haven't heard anyone saying it was his marijuana use that made him go crazy. I don't believe it, but I've often heard people exaggerate marijuana affects. Because I think at this point in time, people have sort of realize that you don't go psycho crazy like this when using marijuana. Maybe PCP, but not marijuana.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Apr 24, 2013 -> 08:27 AM) Yeah, I agree with you, but then again I've never heard of a 60% K rate. He literally has to be swinging at every pitch to strikeout that much. Seems like someone has to be telling to him be super aggressive up there. That's really bad though too. I can only imagine what kind of bad habits he's learning doing that.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Apr 23, 2013 -> 11:47 PM) What about Byron Buxton? If Courtney Hawkins were hitting .500 in A ball right now, would you call him up to the majors? Same exact story.

If the Sox are giving up that much, they need to get someone who is a little more established than Corey Seager, and I don't know that the Dodgers want to give up on their high school draftee one year after drafting him. The Sox and Dodgers would definitely be a fit down the road, if it comes to that, but I think you're looking at different prospects. Colletti definitely has no problem trading away prospects.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Apr 23, 2013 -> 03:04 PM) They also want to test the older brothers brain for CTE from boxing. http://www.boston.com/sports/marathon/2013...5WGL/story.html That's a wrinkle I hadn't thought of. It had become quite a bit more irrational in recent years.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Apr 23, 2013 -> 02:13 PM) I think this is what happened with John Danks... To some extent, yes. I did want them to trade Danks for what they could get, but I'm not upset about that extension because it was valued properly. I also recall thinking Williams was too picky when it came to trading Danks too, though I don't recall exactly the offers being presented or what Williams was asking for. That goes back to what I was saying earlier too - don't take the first offer you like, but don't hold out for a king's ransom. If it's a good, fair offer, take it.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Apr 23, 2013 -> 02:15 PM) There's no reason to discuss something so unrealistic. I agree, which is why I respond to unrealistic and absurd with unrealistic and absurd.

6 players have an above average OBP. 2 of them have average to slightly below average OBP's. 1 of them has never started full time and has a minor league track record that indicates he will be a three true outcome player with an OBP that will likely be above average. This is an offense that, whether by luck or not, scored the 4th most runs in the AL last year. The only two differences between this year and last year are Morel/Hudson/Youkilis vs Keppinger at 3B, and Pierzynski vs Flowers at C. I think, by the end of the year, those two will ultimately be a wash. I don't think the offense is as good as it showed last year, but it's much better than it's been this year. It will probably be in the middle of the pack regarding OBP, but it will put up good power numbers. This season has not been fun thus far. It's a long, long ways from over. It's not even 1/8th of the way done yet. I think, by and large, people need to take a deep breath and relax. I go back and compare to football all the time - this is the equivalent of 2 games of football - but comparing this to basketball or hockey, they are only 10 games in relative to those sports. They've played 19 games and have 143 still to play. I think this is a boring offense devoid of long-term talent, but there is still enough talent here that they can and will hit as the year goes on, and they'll win a few games in the process.

Relevant http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/art...10304/index.htm Trying to control what is said in forums is difficult. We have only so much control, but at the same time, trying to crack open a case creates publicity too. And since Reddit/4Chan tried to do that, how much traffic do you think they got? Yes, I'm sure they are trying to exonerate themselves from this mess, and they will, but, ethics aside, I don't think they minded all the publicity.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Apr 23, 2013 -> 02:06 PM) The problem is teams don't want to give up anything in the top 8-10 anymore...the real conundrum is, what do you do then? Play chicken. You aren't going to get top 10 prospects for Konerko or Floyd, and if the current pace continues, you absolutely want to get rid of them for the best offer you can get, but you certainly can get top 10 prospects for Peavy and Rios (hell, you can get the #4 prospect in the game for a pitcher of Peavy's quality - the Royals certainly had no problem giving him up plus 3 others). Leverage teams against each other, get the best offer you can, and stay patient. They can't wait until the All-Star break to start shopping players because that won't be enough time. And when teams start making the offers, you can't be picky, but you can't act too quickly - it has to be just right. If you don't get the offer you want, are you really that upset that you've kept Peavy and Rios for next season? In this horses*** division, it takes 3 guys having break out years to win. The rotation can still be really good next year, some solid, cheap, short-term signings could result in the team hitting better, and they could compete.

QUOTE (fathom @ Apr 22, 2013 -> 06:33 PM) It will be interesting to see if Hahn's approach at acquiring prospects is different than Kenny's. KW seemed to get fixated on certain players regardless of how other teams/industry experts viewed them. Some worked out great (Quentin), while others failed. I would hope that he'd hold out for elite talent. You ask for #1 and #2 on their top 10 list, and if you can get 3-6, you take it, regardless of what position it is. Guys can be moved - literally around the diamond or in trades - to increase their utility to the team. Just need to bring in talent.

QUOTE (joeynach @ Apr 23, 2013 -> 01:48 PM) What is the stat called? Leverage. It's generally a weak statistic without a very significant sample size. EDIT: Sorry, you find it in splits. You can find it on B-R too

QUOTE (greg775 @ Apr 23, 2013 -> 01:20 PM) I'd bat him eighth and be done with it the rest of the year. I think this is another "unwritten rule" of baseball, however. You can't embarrass the big slugger who traditionally hits fourth or fifth. So you'd leave him 8th if he hit .300 with 50 homers the rest of the year?