witesoxfan

QUOTE (GoSox05 @ Dec 29, 2014 -> 09:04 AM) @RapSheet #Bills QB Kyle Orton tells the team he will retire. It appears, this time he means it. Think he just wanted to give it one more go around to see if he did have it. He wasn't bad, but he obviously wasn't the answer. Maybe they can bring him back as a coach, because there were a lot of guys who were really impressed with his ability to prepare for games.

QUOTE (SoxPride18 @ Dec 28, 2014 -> 10:53 AM) http://www.milb.com/content/page.jsp?ymd=2...&vkey=stats According to this, Sox also have signed 24 year old RHP Brett Marshall to minor league deal. Was with the Reds last. http://www.baseballamerica.com/online/pros...13/2614299.html His transactions history says he already signed a contract with Colorado, which is weird.

QUOTE (TRU @ May 14, 2014 -> 03:28 PM) Well, there's no chance they win more games then Miami so that's not really fair to you. Ill go with 7 or more wins, you win. 6 or less, I win. I just want to bump this because it's awesome.

Farts are art made by the body.

QUOTE (GreenSox @ Dec 26, 2014 -> 08:39 PM) Hahn has done an excellent job. He has remade this roster in 2 trade seasons. He added a lot of talent, got rid of the bad attitudes and malingerers (although he signed the biggest malingerer, he got rid of him). He didn't saddle the team with any 7 year contract, didn't pay top dollar for decliners, and added to the number of top prospects. He didn't hire Ventura; Ventura's personality is fine with me - I just hope he improves his decision-making, which he probably will). Very happy with Hahn's work. I think this might be my favorite post of yours.

so I been wondering some stuff, like what is the meaning of life LOL NO but for reals like do flip people off with your thumb out or in? What's proper nomenclature in that situation

hi

QUOTE (LDF @ Dec 26, 2014 -> 03:16 PM) in my crazy boring life, i was reading and thinking. i have been thinking of the Tpa and Wsh situation with there 1 yr expiring contract players. i know i am obsessed with the expiring contracts, but what a way to build up draft picks in the 1 round. DV is going to be much better than what they have now, by far, kick in 4 mil for his salary of offset the playroll, plus he can hit the ball hard to a tune of 20+ hrs. Tpa will get rid of Ben Z contract of 7.5 mill. Sanburn is a RP and Tpa needs help in the pitching depd. so let the front offices discuss the rest. as long the major farm players are not touch. all this for a rental. as of last wk both Wash and Tpa were trying to figure out the rest of the offseason will go. Wash is another interesting team i been thinking about as well. Tampa would be considering the possible draft compensation as well then, and Zobrist could very easily accept it too, which throws a wrench into potential future plans. He could also have a year where he begins breaking down and a qualifying offer makes a lot less sense. On Viciedo, he's a guy that makes sense in Tampa but not at his current price and they aren't going to give up anything of value for him. Sanburn has not thrown a pitch at AA yet and thus has little to no value. To even keep Tampa on the line, I think the bare minimum the Sox would have to offer would be along the lines of Viciedo, Montas, Hawkins, and approximately $4 million for Zobrist, and I think it'd be crazy if a team didn't offer more than that. The Cubs or Mets could offer up a couple of intriguing options and Tampa would have a hard time turning them down. Given that the Sox have stated they're pretty much up against their spending limit right now, I don't think adding $7.5 million to that is going to make things any easier along with giving up a ton of future pieces for a 34 year old rental.

QUOTE (LDF @ Dec 26, 2014 -> 01:48 PM) and that is too high of a price to pay. i agree with you. now considering he is a 1 yr rental, Rays are looking to cut payroll, and needs players. this is my crazy idea. a pkg of DV + 4 mil, Sanchez, Sunburn for Ben Zob, plus a prospect in the low 16 range. I was thinking Zobrist had an option for 2016, but still, Tampa wouldn't even counter that offer. Viciedo is virtually valueless, Sanchez is viewed as basically having the upside of a league average player, and Sanburn has such little value that he was traded for 1 month of Adam Dunn (which is not to say that he is untalented, just that he does not have a lot of value). Tampa is not giving you Zobrist plus a prospect for that. He may not cost Tim Anderson plus, as I was under the assumption that he was under contract for the next 2 years, so that's my fault, but it's still going to take a very good prospect - someone like a Tim Anderson, Frank Montas, or Tyler Danish - plus another prospect or two to acquire him. That does not seem like a good venture for the Sox. It just doesn't feel like the right move at this point for the Sox to make.

Wow, Sosa is close to being removed from the ballot completely.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Dec 26, 2014 -> 12:23 PM) Zobrist is a really unique player. It took him to age 27 to be above replacement, and since, he has pretty much been a sabermetric superstar. And he is still not all that well known around baseball. Last year there were rumors he was available and a lot of posts on here about him being a decent bench piece. He is 34 in May, on the last year of his contract, so his price tag should be lower than it has been. I would love the White Sox to get him, but not for Anderson +. 2 years ago, I would. If he has another good year, his next contract will be very interesting. Will he get paid like the saber star he is or will he get paid like the middle 30s fairly unknown guys he is? I would guess in the middle. (Out on a huge limb) I'm very interested to see it too. The first comparable that came to mind was RA Dickey, but I don't foresee Zobrist getting a 5 year deal.

QUOTE (BigFinn @ Dec 26, 2014 -> 12:00 PM) 'Twas the day after Christmas, with nothing to do, so I looked up Ben Zobrist (his stats) woo hoo? Jay Jaffe lists Zobrist as the 34th best 2B of all time! I knew he was good but,34th all-time?! Here is a list of the 10 most similar players according to Baseball-reference.com: Aaron Boone—juicer Dave Hollins—at age 29, he was traded from Philadelphia to Boston for OF Mark Whiten at age at age 30 he was traded from Minnesota to Seattle for a pre-juicing David Ortiz Corey Koskie—traded from Toronto to Milwaukee for RP Brian Wolfe Hector Lopez—traded from the KC Athletics to the Yankees as part of the deal that also sent Ralph Terry to the Yankees for Johnny Kucks, Jerry Lumpe, and Tom Sturdivant. The KC Athletics were the minor league feeder for the late fifties, early sixties Yankees. They also plucked Roger Maris in another deal (steal) from KC. Don Hoak—Hoak was involved in three separate deals that included multiple players, the most famous of whom were Smokey Burgess (former White Sox pinch-hitter), Harvey Haddix (of the 12-inning, spoiled perfect game), and Frank Thomas (the “other” Frank Thomas, not our Hall of Famer, the Big Hurt). Hoak was at 3B when Dick Allen came up with the 1964 Phillies. Hoak played 6 games that year and never played in MLB after that. The way Allen played in ’64, Hoak was lucky to play in those six games! Scott Spezio—Spezio was never involved in any trades. His Dad, Ed, played 3B for the Sox when Beltin’ Bill Melton was sidelined with back issues in 1972. Bill Mueller—Mueller was involved in two trades: one for RP Tim Worrell, one for minor league pitcher Jeff Verplancke. Milton Bradley—now we’re veering away from truly similar players to Ben Zobrist. Bradley was an outfielder who was frequently traded just to change the mix in the clubhouse. Joe Randa—At age 35, (the point of this exercise), was traded from Cincinnati to the Padres for a couple of pitching prospects, Travis Chick and Justin Germano. Germano had a 9-year career as a spot starter and a middle reliever. Travis Chick never cracked his way into the big leagues. I think that Randa has been a hitting coach in recent days. Bernard Gilkey—Gilkey was a part of a couple of multi-player deals, one of which include one-time Sox catcher Jorge Fabregas. If the Sox want Ben Zobrist, he shouldn't cost that much - a couple of low-level lottery picks, a decent pitching prospect, or a relief pitcher off the 40-man roster. But buyer beware: Koskie and Bradley were done after their age-33 seasons. Hollins, Spezio, Gilkey, and Randa were part-time players by age 34. Only Hoak, Lopez, and Mueller were still playing more-or-less full time into their mid-thirties. And only Bill Mueller played effectively into his mid-thirties. I don't know that this is the best way to go about valuing a player. A few comparables for Chris Sale at this point are Mark Prior, Jaime Garcia, and Stephen Strasburg, along with a few guys who played before the 50s and a couple of whom were also born in the 19th century. All of those guys would have had highly variable values at each point of their careers. Right now, Ben Zobrist is a guy who plays good defense at a lot of positions, swings a good stick, hits for a bit of power, draws a lot of walks, doesn't strike out a ton, and helps you on the base paths. He's a very good player who does not put up very flashy numbers. All of the teams are aware of this. I will stand by saying that the bare minimum he will cost will be Tim Anderson and Frank Montas, and that's not something the Sox can afford at this point.

Denorfia was a guy that was mentioned as a potential backup, I like that idea. I think they also need a right handed backup infielder with an aim towards a player how hits left handed pitching as someone who can sub in for Gillaspie. The Sox will only have 4 bench spots assuming they roll with 7 relievers (which is the norm in today's game). I'm penciling in Brantley/Kottaras in one of those spots and Danks in another. That leaves two spots for what I think should be right handed hitters or, at the very least, guys who can hit left handed pitching. Bonaficio is a guy that does make a lot of sense in that backup role too, but if they sign him, I think it will be after they trade away Viciedo.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 26, 2014 -> 10:31 AM) I gotta at least partially disagree with that given that they already traded for one guy who is a free agent at the end of this year. That makes it make a fair amount more sense to me. The difference isn't that the move is short-sighted, it's that the Sox have been trying to sacrifice their depth in trades rather than their couple top guys. Yeah, but look at what they gave up for Samardzija. I might be the biggest fan of Semien on the site (there are a few of us who will cagefight over that title at some point), but he's ultimately a guy who scouts project to be a league average player, which is valuable but was also from a position of strength for the Sox. The rest is as follows: -a pitcher who projects as a back of the rotation starter or a middle reliever -a 1B who has yet to show any sort of significant in-game power -a catcher who was getting crowded out The Sox could legitimately have replacements for all 4 currently in the system (depending on how you view Semien's status). Beyond that, the Sox were going to have to find room on the 40-man roster for guys like Robertson and Cabrera too, and that would have involved them giving up on at least one of these guys anyways - probably Phegley - so to capitalize on some of that value actually works better for the Sox in this instance. I could see all of those guys having careers, and potentially long ones, but there isn't a super talented and/or can't miss prospect in that entire bunch. Tim Anderson, Carlos Rodon, and Frank Montas are super talented and/or can't miss prospects. The Sox can't afford to give up talent like that for a potential one year rental. With the talent the Sox have in house, they could absolutely afford to give up on good but still marginal talents in Bassitt, Ravelo, and Phegley without batting an eye, and given the Sox depth at SS/2B, they could afford to give up one of those guys too. Frankly, if you view Ynoa as a replacement for Bassitt within the system, you can cancel those two out and then it becomes Semein, Ravelo, and Phegley for Samardzija. That's a move you make every time too.

It is going to cost Tim Anderson (plus some) to get Zobrist and he's going to be 34 years old. Acquiring Zobrist would be an incredibly short-sighted move that really doesn't mesh well with what the Sox have been doing this offseason. I'd put the odds of the Sox acquiring Zobrist lower than the Sox acquiring Longoria, and the Rays aren't going to trade Longoria. The Sox probably have the talent necessary to acquire Zobrist, but it would destroy the top end talent in the minor league system, leave the Sox minor league system exactly where they were 2 years ago when Hahn took over, and the Sox still wouldn't be the favorites in the division, nevermind conceding all hope of re-signing Samardzija. It's just not a move that makes sense and I doubt the Sox have done anything other than a possible email or text.

I don't think trying to pinpoint whether people are trolls or not is really necessary. Douglas's point of view is one that is not unique among Sox fans (which isn't a bad thing!) as it seems quite a few of them really do dislike Robin as manager. I know we've had the discussion before but it's a slow point in the year and it's not a bad thing to discuss the merits of his management style. I personally don't feel he's worthy of being replaced but this is a big year. If the team comes out flat or they lose a lot of games, it's worth considering the idea of replacing him. I think the AL is a lot tougher than it's been in previous years and there isn't one team that I can pinpoint as being really bad anymore (though ultimately I think the Astros and Twins will end up fairly bad but not terrible, and I am not sleeping on either). Still, I think the team is going to play really well this year and will be in contention much of the year.

Especially in baseball, where the manager controls so little compared to the other major American sports, the primary goal of a manager is to keep every player on even-keeled while being respected. He also has to not screw up, which is more difficult than people realize. Given what Ventura's had over the last 2 years, I think he's done OK. Every manager has his faults, but it seems to me the guys are still playing hard for him.

QUOTE (LDF @ Dec 23, 2014 -> 05:11 PM) if that is truly the answer, the sox are in real trouble. No they wouldn't be. LaRoche's right handed platoon mate is probably going to get something like 100-150 plate appearances. What would be of bigger concern is wasting $4 million on a guy getting those limited plate appearances when they could possibly bring in a AAAA type player to get those appearances and perhaps be someone competent. Frankly though, I don't think LaRoche is going to be sitting much. There are enough bats out there that they'll be able to find something for a guy who's ultimately going to get 100-150 plate appearances (in an ideal world).

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Dec 23, 2014 -> 12:44 PM) I am kind of surprised he didn't at least explore free agency. He probably doesn't have enough service time to refuse an assignment.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Dec 23, 2014 -> 11:18 AM) I sort of forgot about Breaking Madden until I was really super bored at work this morning. This series is hilarious. I have not forgotten about it. It's really one of the best things on the internet.

QUOTE (ptatc @ Dec 23, 2014 -> 11:01 AM) The homefield advantage was more there than other ballparks. with that ballpark anyone could hit down on the ball and make it bounce to run it out. Guys with speed could do it well. It was just contact. The Cell for example is a HR park but not everyone can do it and in order to do it players increase their strikeouts. So ballparks that lend themselves to contact hitter are more effective. Again it's not a huge advantage but it was more than others. I shouldn't have said there was no advantage, because the ball did move way faster and there are different affects different ballparks have on players. My basic point was that the Twins were good then because they were a good team, even if the ballpark helped them. They haven't been good lately because they've had bad teams, not because of any ballpark effect.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 23, 2014 -> 11:01 AM) And if the Rays trade Longoria for any Sox Prospect Sans Rodon I'd ask what the heck they were doing. Absolutely 100%.

Turd sandwiches. I want to talk about turd sandwiches.

QUOTE (Buehrlesque @ Dec 23, 2014 -> 10:48 AM) Suppose the Rays come at you with a take-it-or-leave-it proposal of: Anderson, Adams (PTBNL), Montas, Hawkins and Michalczewski for Longoria. Do you take it? In a heartbeat.

QUOTE (SoxFan562004 @ Dec 23, 2014 -> 10:22 AM) Have I listened to the Hawk too much to think some of it has to do with the ballpark? They had probably the most unique homefield advantage for years and years and were able to tailor teams to maximize that advantage, with the new park, some of that has gone away. Again, I'm totally 100% leaving the possiblity open that my above thought is just shell shock from several good Sox teams pissing their years away in the Dome. I think that home field advantage was a little overstated, but it was present. I don't think it was so much that they could tailor their teams to the ballpark as it was that their players picked up the ball better at the Metrodome than other teams could because they played there all the time. The last few years, their teams have been really bad, especially pitching. They've had terrible starters and really, really bad bullpens. I think their bullpen is the biggest cause for concern moving forward, but they aren't and don't spend a lot because that's never really been the Twins thing.