witesoxfan

oh yeah, I completely spaced off last year. WTF was I thinking? It's still pretty sweet that the Rangers beat the Yankees though.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Oct 23, 2010 -> 12:13 AM) 2005 - awesome. Since then ... a surprise. I thought the Sox would continue excellence if not domination for some time to come. Right after the Sox won it all, I think there was a feeling the team might have a sustained run. Granted we haven't fallen off the map with some playoff appearances, but as it stands TODAY, the team certainly doesn't look like an AL champion contender for some time to come. Our everyday lineup is not championship caliber. Our pitching (on paper) IS championship caliber. Unfortunately our pitching has been far from consistent and our bullpen has been poor the past 2 seasons at least. 05 ... magical. Tear-inducing. Since then ... Tear inducing for the wrong reasons. Yeah. Pretty much. 2008 was still pretty awesome.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Oct 23, 2010 -> 01:43 AM) Out of that list, only three have won the Cy Young. Yet, Lincecum won two in a row. And he did that as recently as one year ago. And, regardless of whether or not anybody believes the Cy Young means anything (and considering Greinke's selection last year, it matters), Lincecum was still great this year (119 ERA+, Fip of 3.15, xFIP of 3.21), and it was not near the level of dominance he's shown the previous two seasons. He still led the league in strikeouts and gave up more homers than he was accustomed to as well. Lincecum is easily one of the top pitchers in the league. When determining the best players in the league, I ask myself "would I trade anyone on the White Sox roster for [fill in the blank]?" and the answer is "yes," I generally consider that player elite. This is, of course, a circumstantial question, and is obviously a subjective question, but I also consider it in the context of allowing myself to include others as well. Would I trade Gordon Beckham AND John Danks for Tim Lincecum? I think those are the two most valuable players on the White Sox right now - there are arguments to be made otherwise, but I think those two would be generally accepted. So would I? Absolutely, in the blink of an eye.

The Texas Rangers are the absolute best example of a team who traded away their best player, got the best package they could, and developed that talent to be major league ready. That Teixeira trade looks incredible, and the biggest chip in the trade - Jarrod Saltalamacchia - didn't do s*** with the Rangers and it still looks awesome. Andrus is awesome, still young, and only going to get better at the plate, and Neftali is a stud, whether in the pen or the rotation. It's sweet justice that they've reached the postseason before Teixeira, though he obviously has had little to do with that. FanGraphs posted an article before the postseason that suggested that the Rangers might have the best postseason rotation with Lee, Wilson, Lewis, and Hunter. Considering their bullpen is good enough, and their lineup is solid (with obvious room for improvement), this may not be the last time we see the Rangers in the World Series. --- early prediction - Paul Konerko signs with the Rangers, 4 years, $50 mill, after they resign Cliff Lee to a 7 year, $140 mill deal.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Oct 23, 2010 -> 12:14 AM) I'd hold onto Danks. If you have to trade a starter, try to get somebody to overpay for Buehrle. My one beef about Kenny is we never get ANYBODY to overpay in a trade IMO at least. -You don't want to trade Danks because he's a great starter, yet the White Sox acquired him, along with Nick Masset, for Brandon McCarthy (with fillers on both sides). -The White Sox acquired Gavin Floyd, who you would agree is a pretty good starting pitcher, for Freddy Garcia; Freddy Garcia made 11 starts with the Phillies and has been injured and mediocre since he was traded. -Matt Thornton looked like a hard throwing lefty with absolutely no control who was out of options when Williams traded Joe Borchard for him, who looked like a power hitting left handed bat with absolutely no way to hit for good contract who was also out of options.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Oct 22, 2010 -> 01:58 PM) That's kind of sad. Yeah, that team still holds a pretty special place for me, and I imagine it always will. I obviously want to see them do it again, but different teams win it all the time. This isn't a video game.

QUOTE (DukeNukeEm @ Oct 22, 2010 -> 03:33 AM) One year Alexei is not going to let the cold get to him early in the season, I just hope he's on the White Sox when it happens. I wouldn't count on it. Some hitters just don't hit early. Frank Thomas had a .300 career average and a .965 OPS or better in every month except April, where he put up a .282/.407/.510/.917 line for his career. Still good, but clearly inferior to every other month.

QUOTE (WHITESOXRANDY @ Oct 22, 2010 -> 12:08 PM) Yeah, I'm sure they'll take it slow. It's almost a guarantee that he will be Pierre's replacement. He will see the first pitch of the Sox 2012 season. And he'd strike out too, the first of 100 before July.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Oct 21, 2010 -> 10:25 PM) If your "elite" is Felix & postseason Cliff Lee, then you are correct. Well now that doesn't make much sense either, because Tim Lincecum has better career numbers than Felix Hernandez.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Oct 22, 2010 -> 10:56 AM) If that was the standard Detroit would be first out. Followed by Cleveland.

QUOTE (nitetrain8601 @ Oct 21, 2010 -> 08:39 PM) This is the Lincecum I expected in Game 1 of the NLDS. In my honest opinion, he's a tier below the elite. Same way Ubaldo Jimenez. uhhh, what?

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Oct 21, 2010 -> 10:51 AM) You failed to note one key point...the Sox have a scheduled 2012 opening in LF for an OF, assuming no one is signed this offseason. Not to mention the obvious need to move Quentin to DH if he's even still there (if he performs below this level at all next year he becomes a non-tender candidate). There's still a 5% chance that D2 could step up and grab that, but I wouldn't be surprised at all if they were thinking of a Mitchell CF, Rios RF, someone else OF for 2012. I knew about the opening in LF, which is why I mentioned that stopgap outfielders are readily available. It's also entirely possible that Mitchell will struggle this coming year, especially if they throw him right into Birmingham's lineup...would you want a player up put up a .700 OPS in AA starting in LF on Opening Day in 2012? His numbers in low-A look awfully similar to Jordan Danks' numbers in high-A, and Jordan has been a complete flop up to this point. I'm not sure you can even use the wrist injury as a reason/excuse, considering he's over a year removed from it and Mitchell had an injury of his own too which could easily affect his speed, which was one of his biggest tools. To count on anything from Mitchell before 2013 is far fetched in my mind. QUOTE (JoeCoolMan24 @ Oct 21, 2010 -> 11:35 AM) Where did Juan Pierre run off to? Free agency.

QUOTE (Buehrlesque @ Oct 21, 2010 -> 10:14 AM) Quick question about Alexei. When his contract is up after next year, does he go into arbitration years, or does he become a full free agent? I assume its arbitration, but I just want to make sure. Your assumption is correct.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Oct 21, 2010 -> 07:44 AM) I'll put a real strong bet that they start him in B-Ham next year. It's totally their M.O. the last few years. Extremely aggressive with promotions. I have no doubt they will either, and look at how well that's worked out in the past. They need to take it slow with Mitchell. There's no rush for him to get to the majors. The Sox have Rios for another 3-4 years, Quentin for another 2-3 years, Teahen for another 2-3 years, and stopgap outfielders can be found pretty readily. Let him get the proper development. Tentatively plan for a September call-up in 2012, and for him to come up midseason 2013 if needed. If he proves that he's ready to be a Curtis Granderson clone before then, then he should be welcomed aboard, but he absolutely has to cut back on his strikeouts.

QUOTE (DirtySox @ Oct 21, 2010 -> 12:50 AM) Not surprising. He had a 35% K rate in Kanny, and he hasn't played in a while. I think, if anything, this just goes to show how raw Mitchell is. He's probably a top 3 talent in the system, but he spent a lot of time on football in college and is incredibly underdeveloped as a baseball player. You have to assume he starts next year in A-ball, probably in W-S, and if he shows enough there, then you can promote him to BHam midseason, and it honestly might not be a bad idea to put him back in Kanny.

QUOTE (JoeCoolMan24 @ Oct 20, 2010 -> 10:54 PM) Mitchell went 0/4, 2 K. He is striking out a TON. Escobar went 2/5. Mitchell hasn't played in like 7 months. I think it's OK for him to have a little rust.

QUOTE (2nd_city_saint787 @ Oct 20, 2010 -> 11:00 PM) Very nice!..... ihope hes put higher in the order next year (im pretty high right now so i mist share information because i love it so much) how awesome would it be to just go all out on carl crawford and go out there with 1. Pierre CF - .700 OPS 2. Beckham 2b .825 OPS 3. Crawford LF .850 OPS 4. Rios RF .850 OPS 5. Ramirez SS .800 OPS 6. Damon DH .775 OPS 7. Dayan 1B - .800 OPS 8. AJ C - .725 OPS 9. Morel 3B - .750 OPS i think that team would be entertaining as hell And crazy expensive, and probably bad. I've put in what I feel would be pretty optimistic offensive outputs. Seeing those, I would say the most the team would win would be 90 games. Considering that, and then considering that most of those guys won't sniff those numbers, I'd say you have to assume that team would barely scratch .500. You can't suddenly forget about power, and when the most powerful bat is a guy who doesn't draw walks and is going to be like 22 years old and hitting 7th? You're screwed. I also don't think Damon should be anywhere near the Sox radar. He's going to cost $6-8 million again, and he's probably only going to put up a .750 OPS again. The Sox can do a hell of a lot better than that.

QUOTE (JoeCoolMan24 @ Oct 20, 2010 -> 11:09 PM) Why you gotta make things complicated? We need an OF, they would like to get rid of Rasmus. Just agree and we can move on, and then you can buy me a French Dip at Portillos. I don't think they would like to get rid of Rasmus so much as Rasmus himself was tired of being mismanaged by Tony LaRussa.

QUOTE (rockren @ Oct 20, 2010 -> 10:37 PM) It is unknown what the Brewers offered Sabathia, but it's believed to be in that $100-$120 million range. Regardless, if the Phillies couldn't have worked out a deal with Lee after last season....I can't imagine he's "overwhelmed" and doesn't test FA with the Yankees always willing to up the ante on anyone no matter what. We'll just have to see how it plays out, because this argument is kind of pointless. Yes, the Yankees have a lot of money and will almost certainly make an offer when he hits the market, and yes, the Rangers have a lot of money and want to resign him, and yes, both teams could sign him or both teams could not. QUOTE (JoeCoolMan24 @ Oct 20, 2010 -> 10:49 PM) Send Danksy to STL for Rasmus. Fill in other players where needed. The Cardinals have absolutely no need for a starting pitcher considering they have Carpenter, Wainwright, and Garcia all under contract and need to save any and all the money they can to put together an offer for Pujols following the 2011 season. At this point in time, the Cardinals would gladly take 2 WAR from Colby Rasmus instead of 4 WAR from John Danks if it saves them $7 million which they can put towards a long-term contract extension for Albert Pujols.

QUOTE (rockren @ Oct 20, 2010 -> 10:32 PM) Me, either. I'm right there too. I think Flowers can be a starting catcher in the majors, but considering the Sox want to be competitive next year, and there are already as many holes as there are, you can't afford to have a black hole in that lineup anywhere, and Flowers could easily be that for the first month or two.

QUOTE (rockren @ Oct 20, 2010 -> 10:14 PM) Would you make Ty Flowers the man or would you bring back AJ for 1yr/6 mil? (not sure if that's possible but I believe it would be). I'd cut ties with AJ (one of my all time favorite WSox) and go to Spring Training with Flowers, Lucy and Phegley. There's no way I'm going into Spring Training with a catcher crew with that little experience. At the very least, I'd bring back Castro just to have an option that is semi-proven, and if Flowers works his way onto the roster, then that's the optimal scenario. I also don't bring back AJ at that price...if I were to bring Pierzynski back, it would be at about $4 million. The Sox could also offer him arbitration and hope and pray that he signs elsewhere and the Sox get picks with him coming back for one more season if he does not sign elsewhere (which ultimately isn't the worst idea I've ever heard, though going that route seems to be about $3 million too expensive). I don't think that Williams and company have enough confidence in Flowers to give him the reins next season.

QUOTE (rockren @ Oct 20, 2010 -> 09:56 PM) The Brewers draw 30,000 fans a night and have more money than you might think. They have great revenue from Miller Park and do quite well in the state of Wisconsin. I have many contacts in sports marketing and the Brewers aren't the Packers, but they've gained ground. They've just pissed so much money away on guys like Wolf, Suppan, Hall, Gagne...they may as well have offered CC $150 mil. Oh wait...the Yankees gave him $160 mil. The Yankees will make the Rangers irrelevant in a hurry the same way. I also don't buy the Rangers having a ton of money...the only reason Nolan Ryan and his partners won that bidding is because MLB wanted nothing to do with Cuban. The Yanks won't be outbid by that outfit...not in a million years. http://riveraveblues.com/2010/09/why-the-r...-matters-35982/ The Rangers have the first shot at signing Cliff Lee, and even though it would make sense for him to test free agency, they may ultimately overwhelm him to the point where he can't say no. $70-80 million a year plus an $80 million signing bonus...that gives the Rangers an influx of approximately $150 million this year towards resigning players. I would say that the Rangers are the prohibitive favorites to sign him, with the Yankees coming in right behind them. Beyond that, the Brewers only offered Sabathia $100 million. That's a hell of a lot different than $161 million, and any advisor Sabathia may have had would have told him to reject that offer and go on the free agent market.

The Brewers have always had jacks*** for funds. The Rangers are under completely new ownership and just signed a $3 billion TV deal that will apparently guarantee them like $150 million before each season. On top of that, they are going to get like a $70-80 million signing bonus from the contract which they will be able to use on personnel. The Brewers didn't exactly have that. I say, if you don't think the Rangers can resign Cliff Lee, then you're crazy.

QUOTE (flippedoutpunk @ Oct 20, 2010 -> 06:17 PM) i agree its better on pc.. i play it on consoles for the convenience of a 52 inch LED tv and surround sound as well as a comfy pink leather couch with tassles on the edges. You can always get an S cable

Just to give a different perspective on Tyler Flowers season, here is JP Arencibia's first year in AAA (in the PCL) after he was rated the #43 prospect in the minors .236/.284/.444/.728, K/BB of ~5, ~ 9.5 PA/XBH In his second go around at AAA pitching this year, he destroyed the ball. And here's Flowers first full year in AAA, after having a little success in AAA the year before .220/.334/.434/.768, K/BB of ~2, ~10.5 PA/XBH More strikeouts, but also more walks. I don't think you can judge catchers quite the same in regards to other prospects simply because they have to deal with pitchers too, and in AAA, they are starting to deal with veteran pitchers who have already established themselves...I imagine they're harder to work with opposed to younger pitchers who are still learning how to throw and harness their stuff and that the catcher will spend more time with them learning what it's like to catch a pitcher with an established repertoire and not as much time figuring out their stroke. Flowers is also only going to be 25 next season...not that he's really young or anything, but there is still time for him to establish himself at the major league level. I'm not worried about him yet, but the Sox really shouldn't trade him at this point with his stock as low as it is.