witesoxfan

There's some Nelson Cruz to Viciedo's game, so maybe he puts it together some day, but it wasn't going to be with the Sox. Had this offseason not come together the way it has, he would have gotten another shot here, but he didn't and now he'll try it somewhere else. He has the talent to put it together. I don't think he ever will. Guys with peak hit tools of a 40 or so (and it's probably a 30 right now, meaning well below average) don't usually make it except as a bench player.

QUOTE (ewokpelts @ Feb 5, 2015 -> 08:27 PM) He wasn't exactly a stud in this last postseason. Clayton Kershaw hasn't been good in the last two postseasons either. Are you going to tell me he hasn't pitched well recently as a result of that as well?

QUOTE (ewokpelts @ Feb 5, 2015 -> 04:38 PM) Shields is a poor investment based off his recent performance and age. Fixed that for you. Over his career, save one year, James Shields has been a very good starter. He is not a good investment because he is 33 years old and solely for that reason.

QUOTE (ewokpelts @ Feb 5, 2015 -> 04:33 PM) Why is this in the sox forum? It's the offseason, news is slow, and this is indirectly related to the White Sox as the player who he was the best hitter for the divisional opponent with the biggest target on its back.

Your browser does not support iframes. Just want to post this because I saw it live (on TV) and it was awesome. Also, who is that bum that gave up the home run?

QUOTE (Chilihead90 @ Feb 5, 2015 -> 02:39 PM) That is one of my pet peeves this offseason when I see anyone make a list of all the things the Cubs added that will make them better in 2015, and I see Jason Hammel included. He was ON the Cubs last season. He pitched 108 innings for them. He already contributed, and quite highly, to their 73 wins. I don't really considering that as a reason why they will be better in 2015 because it was an asset that already figured in to 2014. It's just one of the things that bugs me when I see "Their rotation is much improved, they added Lester and Hammel to go along with Arrieta!", ehhh, not really. And yet he still wasn't on the team at the end of last year. If they get him for a full season - and given the multi-year nature of his contract, he will be - then they have added him to a team that didn't have him. Despite the fact that Gordon Beckham was on the Sox team for almost the entirety of the season last year, I consider him an addition to the Sox club.

QUOTE (IowaSoxFan @ Feb 5, 2015 -> 10:37 AM) Buxton cost $6M to sign in the draft because there is a closed market, if he were a FA today what would he sign for? Moncada is going to be expensive, but I remember last year Badler mentioned in an article that numbers like these can get floated around by GM's to try and intimidate other teams from getting involved, that may not be the case but since then I take those estimates with a grain of salt. Yes, I understand at this point it is not going to happen, the money that could have been used to sign him went to win now moves this offseason in sign LaRoche and Cabrera. I would have personally preferred to hold off on those moves for another season and spent one more year building the foundation finding out what you have in M. Johnson and Rodon, but I don't really fault the moves that were made either. The Sox are back to being minor players in international free agency anyway as they are not willing to bust through the limits to chase the top guys the way that quite a few other teams have, that leaves them battling for the left overs especially as more and more teams take the over the pool approach. I believe the Sox are willing to overspend the limits if it's justifiable. When asked specifically about that, Hahn didn't shoot the idea down.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Feb 5, 2015 -> 12:20 PM) Not thread worthy - but Mariners coming out with some clean new alternates. http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-leag...-193704262.html That is such an awesome look. Their current uniforms are some of the best in baseball, but I think I like that vintage take on their current ones even more.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Feb 5, 2015 -> 11:03 AM) And how many homers did all of those names combine for in 2014? Dyson and Gore have almost no pop. Rios had 4 homers last season. Who cares? Dayan Viciedo, despite being able to hit the ball 600 feet, is not a very good player and the Royals have absolutely no room or need for a player like him.

QUOTE (soxfan2014 @ Feb 5, 2015 -> 11:03 AM) I treat the Cubs like any other team: if they have prospects/players I like, why can't I like them? Because they're with the Cubs? To me, liking certain players on the cubs is like saying I like certain players on say the Rays or some random team. I don't hate everything they do just because they're the cubs. They only factor into 6 games of our season (actually more if you factor in playing other AL central reams this year). I want them to lose 6 games to us and win every other game against the AL central. Cubs win 60 games? Great. Who cares. Cubs wins 90 games? Again. Great. Who cares. I agree with the beginning of this post, but I still hate the Cubs. Just because I hate them doesn't prevent me from looking at them rationally. If the Cubs never won 80 games again, I'd be happier.

QUOTE (Stev-o @ Feb 5, 2015 -> 10:48 AM) Those that are "putting then" in the WS, or even playoff contention tis year are insane. I think they'll be in playoff contention. They'll fall short, but it will be a really nice building year for them.

QUOTE (Stev-o @ Feb 5, 2015 -> 10:33 AM) There is WAY too much Cubs love on this site. Book this...they will NOT win 75 games this season. Too many question marks. I'll take that bet. They won 73 last year and will add Jon Lester, Jason Hammel, Miguel Montero, Dexter Fowler, and Kris Bryant (nevermind full seasons from Javier Baez and Jorge Soler too). I have them pegged as about a .500 team, but could definitely see them in the same 85 range as I currently have the Sox.

QUOTE (Stev-o @ Feb 5, 2015 -> 10:40 AM) Remember Felix Pie? Jerome Walton? Gary Scott? Prospects are just prospects, until they're proven commodities. Baseball history is chock-full with sensational "AAAA-players"; too good for AAA, not good enough for MLB. At the same time, all of those good players in the majors were prospects once too. Some of their top guys will flame out, but it's OK to say that the Cubs have a very good minor league system and it should translate to the MLB level to some degree.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Feb 5, 2015 -> 10:40 AM) The Royals wouldn't surprise me, either. They would surprise the hell out of me. It's a team that stresses strong defense and real athleticism. They have Alex Gordon, Lorenzo Cain, Alex Rios, Jarrod Dyson, Terrance Gore, and Reymond Fuentes as their top 6 outfielders, and Eric Hosmer and Kendrys Morales at 1B. There's absolutely no room whatsoever for Dayan Viciedo unless he wants to live in Omaha for the year.

I need to get the Metroid trilogy. It ends tonight doesn't it? I passed on the Punch Out one, but did get Galaxy.

It was pretty poor placement of the ball by Wilson. He led him way too much. If he hits him in the numbers, it's probably a game winning touchdown.

Both Philadelphia and Atlanta make a ton of sense as a landing spot. There are enough bad teams out there with bad outfields that he should be able to secure a spot where he will get a lot of playing time. I honestly think signing with a playoff team would be in his worst interests.

Swing hard just in case is so perfectly fitting for Dayan Viciedo.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Feb 4, 2015 -> 12:21 PM) I say a player picks it, staff maks it clear who the pick is, and it goes on as long as they win. Then they move onto the next one. Would be cool for the fans and the media. Until Conor Gillaspie picks "Spanish Flea"

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Feb 4, 2015 -> 10:10 AM) That's why I think it won't be a very drastic change. They have the Pride Crew. They do a lot of things they already do at NBA games. I think there will be new videos, some new music. Maybe some of the in between inning activities will change. I know he is taking heat for never being at a Sox game, but maybe that is actually in his favor. They are trying to get people who don't go to Sox games to attend. He may be an expert at that. Maybe they can incorporate a trampoline somehow.

QUOTE (MuckFinnesota @ Feb 4, 2015 -> 08:03 AM) I like Thunderstruck, but agree that it is outdated and would like something else to get me pumped up before the ballgame. I'm just not sure what they will use for that to happen. I'd like to see the Pirates of the Carribbean intro brought back at least for the intro movie. It would also be great to get rid of the cheesy cheers in between at bats and steal some cheers from other teams. One thing that is great about the Twins' ballpark is that people aren't allowed to go to their section until the end of the inning. It may be a bit extreme, but it is less annoying than having to get up whenever some group gets back with their beer or food and makes you get up in the middle of the inning. They will allow you to go back to your seat between at bats, but it is really nice.

QUOTE (Chilihead90 @ Feb 3, 2015 -> 06:21 PM) Care to make a wager on who has the better 2015 campaign? Grandpa Joe or Duke of Hurl? No, because I don't care and trying to predict who would have a better season between two relievers is like trying to predict heads or tails on a cointoss. Just because one guy thinks Nathan is a better reliever than a guy who has had one good season doesn't make him wrong. That's all I'm saying.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with a K rate in the 8's. It's perfectly decent. His walk rate was a little elevated, and it's a bit troublesome, but it's not "write him off, he's terrible" bad. The WHIP is partially a result of the relatively high walk rate and can also be affected by a poor defense. His groundball rate was perfectly acceptable at 41.6%. He had an abnormally high percentage of runners scoring (with a LOB% of 69.9%). He's 40 years old, and I don't expect him to stick around forever, but someone considering Joe Nathan to be a better reliever and better bet overall than Zach Duke isn't wrong, nor is it right. It's merely an opinion.

QUOTE (Jerksticks @ Feb 3, 2015 -> 05:29 PM) 2/40M sounds pretty juicy actually. Even less maybe? Why would he take $40 million when he can get likely get $70 million over 4 years? He's risking a lot by taking a short term contract like that. QUOTE (GreenSox @ Feb 3, 2015 -> 05:32 PM) He's also a fly ball pitcher. Not what the Sox look for. 44.7% groundball rate for his career and a career 1.25 GB/FB. He's not an extreme ground ball pitcher, but he's never had a season where he's thrown more flyballs than groundballs. He'd be OK at USCF. It's just not a move that makes fiscal sense.

QUOTE (bmags @ Feb 3, 2015 -> 03:10 PM) I guess I'm confused why the person was so concerned with the stigma of wolves eating humans when the commercial is a puppy being threatened by a wolf. Unless ... THE PUPPY IS A HUMAN, I GET IT NOW