witesoxfan

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Dec 2, 2014 -> 12:36 PM) Thinking back to Hahn's quotes about a big named trade not coming together earlier, I have no doubt the names are big ones. He brought in Jeffrey Scott Keppinger two years ago. You don't think he's going to bring in [gasp] William Paul Bloomquist do you?

QUOTE (bmags @ Dec 2, 2014 -> 11:56 AM) That's fine actually, I'm okay being leverage in this situation. I am in full agreement. QUOTE (WhiteSoxLifer @ Dec 2, 2014 -> 12:01 PM) I do believe Boston can get both easily but if samardzija and his agent are keen on going to free agency and not talking extension then if your Boston wouldn't you rather acquire a pitcher to have control over like Cole hamels or a leake, latos, cueto they you might be better of a chance to lock up. They can also exclusively negotiate with Samardzija at that point and they may view the cost-value of Samardzija to be less prohibitive than that of Hamels, Latos, or Cueto. Who knows for sure. Also, Leake strikes me as a 3/4 starter in the AL, not nearly as good as Hamels, Latos, Cueto, or Samardzija. Not saying they wouldn't or shouldn't have interest, but it doesn't strike me as the guy they'd want. QUOTE (WhiteSoxLifer @ Dec 2, 2014 -> 12:19 PM) Boston could try to lock him up but he may not want to be there and just leave for free agency. Yes the high draft pick compensation for Beane is enticing but that means they have to keep him on the roster the whole year and pay him about 10 million. If they traded Donaldson cause he will get expensive do you really think they want to spend an extra 10 million on samardzija. Ultimately, Samardzija is going to want money. There is virtually no where in the United States (or Toronto) that these guys wouldn't play if you paid them enough. I also don't think the A's traded Donaldson because he was getting expensive considering they just signed Billy Butler to a 3/$30 deal. This is not about Samardzija making too much. This is about extracting more future value out of Samardzija then he will currently give them. $20 million per year over 5 years is too expensive for the A's though.

QUOTE (South Sider @ Dec 2, 2014 -> 11:46 AM) I'd kill to know how far apart Beane and Hahn are. And what kind of deal Boston is offering. They may not even have one on the table yet. Boston might be waiting for Lester to decide where he's signing before making a real offer for Shark. That makes it tougher for Hahn, because he may be offering a nice deal for Shark, one that Beane might even consider taking, but Beane also knows that if Lester signs with anyone other then Boston, he could potentially get a better deal from them. Even though I can't stand the Red Sox, it is undeniable that they can spend a lot of money. I guess I'm hoping that they do sign Lester, so that the other major bidder for Shark is now out of the bidding. I think they could easily acquire both Lester and Samardzija. Frankly, they need to as their rotation is incredibly thin. Frankly, the more I think about this, the more I think Beane is using the White Sox as leverage against the Red Sox. The Red Sox are in a much better position to trade for Samardzija both regarding their minor league depth, their major league team, and their ability to spend. I just don't think the White Sox can afford to trade quite a few of their guys right now.

I'm really happy for him, but the fact that this was released in October and took until December 2nd to be picked up by even semi-mainstream media is a good thing for our society.

QUOTE (Lillian @ Dec 2, 2014 -> 10:44 AM) Have any of you seen Anderson play? All we have are scouting reports. I've seen a bit of video and he looks quick at SS. Also, those scouting reports indicate he should make it or, at the very least, needs to stick at shortstop for the time being. Have you seen him play? What makes you so leery of him? Scouting reports? Here's Kiley McDaniel from FanGraphs: http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/evaluating-...cago-white-sox/ This was a much more recent scouting report and basically says that the reason he was making mistakes and errors in the field was because of how raw he was as a baseball player.

QUOTE (fathom @ Dec 2, 2014 -> 09:28 AM) Anderson dramatically cut down on his errors in the AFL. I wonder if it had something to do with the quality of the first baseman he was throwing to? I know I mentioned this during the year, but it seems like Barnum might be a butcher at first base. Never thought about that. I was hoping to see if they split the errors in the minors between throwing and fielding, but in my quick look, I couldn't find it. He was perfect in 34 innings for the AZL Sox and while he did make 3 in 10 games for the Barons, that was 3 errors in 52 total chances, which isn't a terrible number at the MLB level and is something that can be improved upon.

QUOTE (SCCWS @ Dec 2, 2014 -> 07:31 AM) I do know the Top 10 second basemen all finished higher than .975. So a minor leaguer fielding at .950 has a long way to go. This is to Lillian's point too, but fielding percentage is an absolutely terrible way of evaluating players defensive capabilities. I just proved that with the Jeter/Smith comparison. Semien doesn't have a long way to go defensively. Lillian, evaluating a players defensive ability based on errors in the minors is like looking at a rookie quarterback's interception total and saying "he'll never make it as a quarterback."

QUOTE (shipps @ Dec 1, 2014 -> 05:07 PM) The time they spend traveling in their car is crazy. That is the not so fun wish I choose another career part. People think of being a scout and all they think about is "hey, baseball all day, every day, what a life." It's so, so, so much more than that and this kind of outlines it.

QUOTE (WhiteSoxLifer @ Dec 1, 2014 -> 05:56 PM) http://www.csnchicago.com/white-sox/landin...-long-term-plan That is the most comforting article I've read in a long time.

QUOTE (Vance Law @ Dec 1, 2014 -> 05:19 PM) We'd be way better off giving Nori Aoki, a better baseball player, less than half that money. I'm not even necessarily the type to like a player like Aoki, but I don't disagree with this whatsoever, except perhaps the better baseball player part.

I couldn't find the exact referenced post, but want to add that I think Viciedo could be perfectly acceptable as a bench player at $4 mill per year. No, he's not good defensively and there are plenty of guys on the team who are also better defensively at the positions he plays, but it's hard to find a better use for a bench player than a [typically] league average or better hitter who has position versatility. Michael Morse played a lot more in the minor leagues and was less heralded, but that was sort of how he came about playing in the big leagues and how he keeps finding jobs, but it's worth it. There are worse players you can find to be an injury replacement or breather guy or late inning pinch hitter than Dayan Viciedo. I mean, really, if the Sox committed $4 million to Viciedo to be a bench player and insurance plan, who would people rather see on the Sox bench going into next season? I thought he'd be gone, but there's no point in getting rid of him just to save the money and roster spot.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Dec 1, 2014 -> 03:07 PM) When Nelson Cruz was Tank's age, he was pretty turrble. Hopefully, if they stick with him, this ends up a fair comparison. I know the Sox like to challenge their prospects and they have their reasons for doing so, but a lot of times they do end up rushing these guys and it's hard for them to recover. When Beckham struggled in year 2, I think they could have easily justified sending him down to work on some things. Same thing with Viciedo now. When you're going to be paying him $4 mill, how can you justify sending him to the minors? I have always liked Viciedo despite the numbers, but he's between a rock and a hard place right now.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Dec 1, 2014 -> 03:39 PM) Jeff Passan ‏@JeffPassan 17m17 minutes ago MLB's drug report: 112 exemptions for stimulants, down from 119 last year. Two fewer hypogonadism TUEs. 7,929 tests in '14 vs. 5,391 in '13. During the regular season from April through August, there are 750 active players on the MLB rosters at any given time (give or take a couple in extenuating circumstances). In August, teams are allowed to call up 15 more, but that simply doesn't happen. At 750 players, that's 10-11 tests per player. Due to September roster fluctuations, we'll generously round down to 10 tests per player. I'm sure there are some who have never tested or had anything suspicious that comes up that gets tested maybe once a month or once every two months, and others get tested 5-8 times per month, but that's still a lot of tests. Good for MLB. Hopefully they get their marketing figured out and baseball makes a recovery. It is a great game but there's such little exposure to it that it seems as though it's fading out.

QUOTE (Dam8610 @ Dec 1, 2014 -> 03:57 PM) Fixed it to reflect an accurate comparison. He strikes out less, but their walk rates are remarkably similar. I don't mind Markakis at the right price, but having put more time into thinking about it, I don't think I'd go more than 3 years and wouldn't go more than $14 mill AAV. 3/$42 is my limit, and if that wouldn't get him, I'd forget him.

QUOTE (SCCWS @ Dec 1, 2014 -> 04:01 PM) He made 14 errors in under 60 games in the ML. His minor league FP is .954 over 4 seasons. Conor Gillaspie is 950 at the ML level over 5 years. Semien is comparable to Conor Gillaspie defensively. Derek Jeter had a .976 career fielding percentage. Ozzie Smith had a .978 career fielding percentage. Derek Jeter is comparable to Ozzie Smith.

QUOTE (AlSoxfan @ Dec 1, 2014 -> 03:52 PM) Interesting..I never heard Samardjiza turned down 5/85 from the Cubs...Can anyone confirm this? http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/Samar...-263827711.html I'd forgotten that he did that, but yeah, there was definitely an offer made to him. He was wise to decline it as he should make a lot more money as a result.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Dec 1, 2014 -> 03:27 PM) His fielding pct at 3B was almost .900. He sucked, but he's young. Maybe he gets better. Frankly, he probably has to. He only had 40 games of experience there prior to reaching the big leagues, and in roughly the same amount of time at 3B in the minors, his fielding percentage was .984. From what I saw of Semien in the field, I'm not too worried about him.

QUOTE (Leonard Zelig @ Dec 1, 2014 -> 03:08 PM) I'm sure someone has some stat to show otherwise, but I didn't think he looked very good in the field for the Sox last year. I thought his glove looked fine. He was not very good throwing the ball. To me, at least, that seems like something that's easier to fix than fielding.

QUOTE (Baron @ Dec 1, 2014 -> 02:57 PM) It makes sense to ask for that. Doesnt make sense for the Mariners to give it up though. I'm sure they'll go the cheaper route. I think they already did by signing Nelson Cruz. He'll mostly DH, but I don't think they'll have any problem with Saunders-Jackson-Ackley left to right in the outfield.

QUOTE (Baron @ Dec 1, 2014 -> 01:28 PM) Victorino would probably be more appealing if that's the price the Dodgers want. That was their initial asking price for their best or second best outfielder and arguably their best hitter who has a reasonably priced contract but one that should be outside the White Sox range (that last part is my opinion, but the rest is probably pretty universally agreed upon). It makes sense that they ask for that.

QUOTE (WhiteSoxLifer @ Dec 1, 2014 -> 02:35 PM) Johnson has gotten on base a .008 less than semien in the minors. Johnson has a .366 OBP and semien has a .374. Johnson hits a higher average at .297 vs semien at .272. I think johnson would have been first in line at second if it wasn't for the injury. I also believe he would have hit better in Charlotte if it wasn't for the nagging injury. Time will tell tho in spring training if he's ready or needs a bit more work in Charlotte. Johnson also hits for less power than Semien. By a lot. Right handed power is at a premium in the majors, especially if you can get it from a guy that plays 2B, 3B, or SS. Meanwhile, I'm sure the Sox could acquire Jemile Weeks from Baltimore for next to nothing. He's what he's done in the minors - .285/.380/.406/.786. And he's what Micah Johnson has done in the minors - .297/.366/.422/.787. Remarkably similar. If the Sox could substitute Micah in any move instead of Semien, then they absolutely should.

QUOTE (thxfrthmmrs @ Dec 1, 2014 -> 02:07 PM) I don't know about the Cruz deal. For a 2 year deal? Sure, but 4 years is too much of a commitment for a 34 year old player who eclipsed his previous year's HR total by 13. People say VMart is dued to regress because he put up career numbers at age 35, but I'd be more worried about Cruz. Bat speed is the first thing that goes away for aging players. There's a chance he puts up a lower OPS than Dunn out in Safeco, or in today's lingo, a similar wRC+. I agree, but I think he should be fine for the first two years and good enough, especially against lefties, the last two to find some value out of it. It's not my favorite deal, but the Mariners have opened the window and want to win before it closes again, so this move makes sense in that light. We'll see what they look like in 2017, but my guess is that it'll be a bit uglier at that point.

QUOTE (SCCWS @ Dec 1, 2014 -> 01:09 PM) Semien has so far shown to be a a below average infielder in majors and an average one in minors. Now maybe he can be a 4th outfielder but unless he makes a major improvment with his defense, his value is not great. What on earth are you talking about?

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Dec 1, 2014 -> 01:06 PM) You are correct. They had 9 defensive TD's that year. So that definitely had an impact. So did the upgraded special teams, etc. Assuming you credit the entire 7 points for those to the defensive scores (6 points for the TD and the 1 XP), that's almost 4 points a game the defense added. You also have to consider that the Bears have the ball fewer times now than they did then because their current defense is so much worse than the previous defense.

QUOTE (ptatc @ Dec 1, 2014 -> 11:56 AM) This is true to an extent. However, there is something to be said for the number of stressful pitches thrown. As someone cliombs the ladder from high school to college to the pro levels the competition increases and so does the quality of pitches they must throw. This will wear on the arm just like warmup throws are different than game situation. The same applies for the regular season vs. the post-season. I don't disagree with any of this, and frankly none of these would deter me from signing those players given the right circumstances, just that those "MLB pitches thrown" are misleading as hell. Just because a guy hasn't thrown a lot of pitches in the MLB because he came up late or started in the bullpen doesn't simply negate the effect the previous pitching experience has had on his arm. Frankly, some of those pitches were "saved" when he was throwing out of the bullpen, but those pitches don't include side work or warm up sessions nor does it include the ramped up intensity of those innings. Samardzija seems like he has smooth mechanics and he was arguably better in the 2nd half than the 1st half last year (which has been a concern), but there are a lot of other things worth considering here. Personally, I wouldn't give up Anderson nor Semien for him, but I absolutely love both players. I'd give up any other minor leaguer in the system eligible to be traded for him at this point. I just don't think trading Anderson or Semien bodes well for the long-term health of the organization because it seems to be that those two both provide very good value long-term in multiple different ways.