caulfield12

http://m.mlb.com/video/v1118878783/cwsdet-...layer_id=607385 Take that back. Pierre, Pods and Damon would have done better from left.

http://www.southsidesox.com/2016/8/31/1272...uit-matt-albers For me, it would be Albers.

Porcello will get more votes than Price. Likely, Hamels as well.

http://mlb.nbcsports.com/2016/08/30/todd-f...&yptr=yahoo

The Orioles could probably use him about now...

Puig made a lot of throwing mistakes early showing off his arm...but has gradually curbed that. With all the highlight reel plays in 2013, there would be another 2-3 missed cutoff men and one ball with so much air under it that it would clear everyone or fly into the crowd. The biggest issue seems to losing some of his fast twitch muscles bulking up too much and/or lack of conditioning...and it's affecting him most at the plate. He used to kill fastballs and be vulnerable to low the outside breaking stuff (see Abreu earlier this year)...when there was speculation Abreu was old/er. With Puig, it was losing his response time and becoming a pure guess hitter, coupled with a prolonged loading mechanism/swing.

QUOTE (Greg Hibbard @ Aug 30, 2016 -> 01:56 PM) Yep. For sure. 2016 Sox vs. Central (gotta include twins) - 20-30 2016 Sox vs. everyone else - 43-37 2015 Sox vs. Central - 32-44 2015 Sox vs. everyone else - 44-42 2014 Sox vs. Central - 33-43 2014 Sox vs. everyone else - 40-46 2013 Sox vs. Central - 26-50 (holy s***!) 2013 Sox vs. everyone else - 37-49 2012 Sox vs. Central - 37-35 2012 Sox vs. everyone else - 48-42 Robin Ventura vs. Central - 148-202 Robin Ventura vs. everyone else - 212-216 The record against CLE in 2013 was something like 2-17, wasn't it? Or 1-18? Whatever it was, beyond abysmal. This really dates back to 2001 when we had that long stretch of getting outplayed by the Twins except for 2005 and 2008...then the Tigers again from 2011-2014 and the Royals have obviously owned us or been a thorn in the side for the last decade as well. Earlier in the year, I broke this down individually team vs. team. We were well behind the Tigers and Royals, closer against the Twins and Indians in the last ten years or so because of how far off the Twins have fallen. Again this year with the Tigers and Royals, playing 27 or whatever AL Central opponents down the stretch, it seems one of those two is bound to sneak into the WC (or the Astros) with how tough the AL East currently is outside of TB. KC has those divisional games and four with the A's and more home than road games remaining. They were 51-58 and behind the White Sox three weeks ago. Fwiw, Fathom was one of the few who called the Tigers a serious threat before this season as well.

QUOTE (Hatchetman @ Aug 30, 2016 -> 08:07 AM) Better crooked than a Cub fan. I can just imagine that visual....this guy and his kids celebrating at Wrigley Field in October while there's another photo juxtaposed in the Tribune of Guaranteed Rate being carved into the concrete at 35th and Shields. At least he doesn't own Waste Management.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Aug 30, 2016 -> 07:47 AM) You throw them in the same sentence with EpiPen, Tiger Woods, and Weiner. You claim they need to go on a humanitarian mission to restore their image. Here are a couple of your quotes from the other thread: Wonder how many predatory lending cases/lawsuits they've been involved in...ala Countrywide? Great, the Uber of loan companies. Will fit right in with Sox plans, schemes and off-season themes... And yet none of those individuals have done anything illegal. They are the butt of lots of jokes around the country. That was the parallel. Maybe it's a bad thing to aspire to something more than a discount loan company. So I guess we're supposed to believe they're the most honest and ethical firm out there...in that particular field...when almost every single financial/lending institution colluded together in similar deceiving and predatory practices 8-9 years ago? Let's just say the industry has been unsavory for a long time. Perhaps they're the most ethical company out there and we'll be getting bombarded with testimonials all offseason of Sox media personalities financing their loans through Guaranteed Rate. Maybe SoxTalk should approach them about giving a 5/100's point discount if a board member says they heard about the promotion here.

Where did I ever say they were crooked? Those were someone else's words.

QUOTE (OmarComing25 @ Aug 29, 2016 -> 03:16 PM) Came into this thread expecting the Wire to dominate the poll and conversation, pretty surprised there's little talk of it. Just not as recent, but many are still loyal fans....voted for it.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Aug 29, 2016 -> 06:57 PM) I really don't agree with you at all. Perception of a corporate sponsor isn't going to keep people away, a losing team is. Not many people are going to sit there like you and say "OMG IT MIGHT BE COUNTRYWIDE BANK THEY MIGHT BE CROOKED" or talk about how the owner has a III behind his name. Fans of the sox will go to the park if the team wins. It all goes back to pride. These last four years (especially with everything that has gone down this season), it has been pretty difficult to hold your head up high as a White Sox fan. Nothing to do with the Cubs. Just felt like one more blow to morale. And yeah, the name wouldn't matter at all if they were one of the 18 teams in baseball competing for a playoff spot, but that hasn't been the case. Even the Marlins and Mariners fans have something to be excited about this time of year...heck, the Yankees sold off three important pieces and STILL have something to be excited about. That's the hardest part. Being a baseball fan at the most exciting time of year and have nothing to care about except for a corporate naming rights fiasco.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Aug 29, 2016 -> 05:57 PM) That has absolutely nothing to do with CEOs not doing work. You're never going to convince the "99%" that the "1%" works hard or deserves their compensation/golden parachutes. You just won't. Only those who have at least managed employees or a company...started off from ground zero with nothing but a small business loan that used up every last ounce of collateral...will understand this concept. You could assign everyone at SoxTalk to read all of collected works of Ayn Rand and it might not even matter.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Aug 29, 2016 -> 05:47 PM) Caulfield why are you so very hard trying to turn this company into a crooked company with a crooked owner? In the end, the only thing that matters is perception. And last week didn't go well in that area. The CEO of Guaranteed Rate could spend the next year doing a volunteer trip (not to Thailand with LaRoche) with Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata, India, and it still wouldn't fix that. At any rate, In the Driver's Seat deserves more of a raise (by whoever it paying him) than Brooks Boyer. I swear, when I was home for summer vacation, the ONLY person who knew the White Sox were on in the Quad-Cities on WQAD-3 was probably me thanks to his updates (it would be one of those situations like the Astros had with technically zero viewers). I also didn't see a single bit of White Sox gear in any local shop (except for LIDS, which has EVERY team) except for one rung of Jose Abreu practice batting jerseys for sale. Unless there was a Chance the Rapper shop I wasn't aware of...

QUOTE (ChiSox59 @ Aug 29, 2016 -> 03:19 PM) The 2nd part of your bolded comment is comically inaccurate. Yeah, I guess we should celebrate Mylan and the $600 Epipen not being the sponsors. Although, if the amount they ponied up was double what Guaranteed Rate was forking out, I'm sure we would be attempting to rationalize that as well... Plus, there's a general rule from sports that anyone with a III after their name grew up around a country club, lol. Finally, there's another rule that anytime you say someone SEEMS like a good guy, the story invariably has a way of turning out like Tiger Woods or Anthony Weiner.

You can't force someone in corporate America to be likeable or more palatable. It feels like spin in an election year. Maybe I've been watching too much Mr. Robot this year, but it takes a lot of convincing that someone cares about anything but profitability and isn't just paying lip service when terms like corporate social responsibility and enlightened self-interest come into play. You can look at it like he's doing this great thing for the White Sox, if you so choose, but you can also see that he took advantage of the lowest possible rate he could get for naming rights when all of the media attention and sponsorship dollars were flowing to the other side of town. Eventually, that almost has to shift to his favor when you take advantage of a "buy low" opportunity. After all, that's how the rich get richer. Taking advantage of market conditions to extract the highest possible value out of a deal. It's the American way, after all. And, whenever he trots out there to throw out a ceremonial first pitch, I hope he at least gets it halfway to the plate.

http://www.southsidesox.com/2016/8/27/1267...atcher-decision

QUOTE (GreenSox @ Aug 27, 2016 -> 03:57 PM) Sure - the 2 best relief pitches in baseball brought that return. People seem to think that's what Burdi will be. Highly unlikely. Draft someone and he develops into one of the top starters or hitters in baseball and he will bring 3 x the return those 2 did. What will Robertson bring? What did Addison Reed net out? Those are more realistic and probable goals for Burdi. And in the end, a player drafted where Burdi was drafted should be a top 100 prospect in short order...which is basically what the return on Reed was. Don't forget Santos. In hindsight, the price for Giles to the Astros was nutty, but you had a playoff team with lots of minor league talent and a weakness on the big league roster. Kimbrel to the Red Sox, a lot of that had to do with DD's aggressiveness/farm system depth and a glaring need again. To say you can consistently count on that happening, not so sure that there won't be another course correction with more focus on drafting advanced collegiate relievers in rounds 2-5. The Oakland A's were the ones who started the idea of selling high on closers in years 2-4 of their six years before everyone else caught on and started copying them. Now teams are simply copying teams like KC or the Twins in the 2000's because it turned out to be a unique winning formula for constructing a team more cost effectively without overpaying for free agent starting pitching (or building around defense). Of course, that has now driven up the salaries for those 7th and 8th inning set up guys.

Don't forget DJ LeMahieu as well...with Bryant, Rizzo and Russell, that's four Top 40 guys in terms of WAR.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Aug 27, 2016 -> 01:19 PM) Blown saves and save percentage for a set up guy is probably the most ridiculous stat to ever look at and come to a conclusion. The fact is Jones does not get lit up a lot like you claimed. He apparently is pretty deceptive since major league hitters strike out a lot vs. his offerings, and they don't square much up. Wrong again Caulfield. Try another sport. You don't understand anything about this one. I'll make sure to save this because Nate Jones won't last one full season as a closer with the White Sox. It really doesn't make sense to have three closers (in your idea) in Robertson, Jones and Burdi on a sub .500 team and not trade at least one of them for a position player or payroll relief or both.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Aug 27, 2016 -> 10:17 AM) 10 k/9 innings 0.94 WHIP, 42 hits allowed in 58 2/3 innings. Yeah, Nate Jones gets lit up a lot, and it is all due to that hitch in his motion, he just isn't deceptive enough. .197/.251/.319 splits against Nate Jones. Yes a .570 OPS. One pitcher in the AL has face as many hitters as Jones and has a lower BAA. One. He sucks. LOL To save time, I will post Caulfields response OK, fine. Make him the closer. He will probably go 60 for 60 in save opportunities because he is so great. Robin Ventura, Gordon Beckham, Ubaldo Jimenez... Statistically, Jones Burdi and Jennings are the three best relievers (assuming Robertson's gone). I'm sure SoxTalkers are champing at the bit for Nate Jones to be made closer. How many blown saves does he have? You seem to have left that somewhat important piece out. Well, it probably doesn't matter much because the White Sox have won almost all of his blown saves. Oops, that's Robertson. They've really been terrible in all the games Jones and Albers have blown. Might want to rethink that position. Next thing you'll be arguing that Jennings is the best left handed reliever in baseball despite all evidence to the contrary.

At this point, far better that they just shut up and get to work. Actions speak louder than words. Let Merkin or Boyer throw out the embarrassing quotes while KW is hanging out at the bar.

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Aug 27, 2016 -> 09:46 AM) I am not so sure that a relief pitcher shouldn't be taken as a 1st round pick anymore, just because of what some GM's are giving up for them. It's insane what the elite relievers command in trade value. Trade a couple high end relievers like the Yanks did and wham you can rebuild your farm. All for guys who play maybe less than 5 % of the total innings played ? The Yankees are very smart for trading Chapman and Miller. Yes, because they still have Betances there. Bullpen depth is tricky. The Royals lost Davis, Hochevar and their entire pen seemed to cave in last month. http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/pro...=matthew-strahm Then a 2012 21st round pick shows up out of nowhere and they go on a crazy consecutive innings scoreless run. It's all about scouting. Pretty crazy the Royals and Yankees could be just 2 and 2.5 GB in the WC race after today with both teams losing two of their four best relievers in the span of a month. And yet, as good as that reliever has been, KC has every intention of pushing Strahm into the starting rotation next year despite his success as a reliever in 2016. Conversely, every single reliever the White Sox have used to hold down that 7th inning RH relief role after Petricka, Putnam and Albers has blown up in their faces....

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Aug 27, 2016 -> 11:01 AM) Well now I am really confused because I trusted the WAR stats Chitown used but now looked it up myself and Fangraphs has Frazier at a 1.2 WAR and Baseball Ref has him at 2.2 WAR. 2015 Frazier 4.5, 2014 4.8, 2013 3.1, 2012 2.6 all per Fangraphs. Baseball Reference is more generous with WAR and just by a casual glance it appears to be wide differences in defensive WAR where Abreu is hurt very badly by the Fangraphs d WAR but not so much by the Baseball Ref. . I think I prefer Baseball Ref. just because defensive evaluations seem to matter way too much on Fangraphs. Of course they calculate WAR differently in other areas too so it's possible I am making a generalization about things I'm ignorant on. I don't think anyone here expected the worst WAR in Fraziers last 5 years. I often have pointed out how the Sox keep acquiring NL players whose stats drop once they get to the AL and I have said they need to start acquiring more AL players and have often been called out on it. But the facts speak for themselves at least for the Sox. And no one bring up Eaton because he didn't have a history of stats of the NL. Until there is some standardized way for calculate WAR I will remain skeptical of it's use. Otoh, the two best offensive seasons from players we've acquired via trade the last decade or so have come from former Az DBacks in Quentin and Eaton. So we should only acquire players from that team, and avoid former "Adams" from WSH. I think it's pretty safe to say that the majority of the board expected a less than stellar season from Frazier because of his second half, coming from NL, age, and the fact that every big move made in recent years has just not worked out as well as expected. Even the second best KW/Hahn move in Abreu...a trade of Jose might not be able to bring back Yasiel Puig. I'll go ahead and assume Friedman would do it today, but probably not a month ago.

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Aug 27, 2016 -> 11:01 AM) Well now I am really confused because I trusted the WAR stats Chitown used but now looked it up myself and Fangraphs has Frazier at a 1.2 WAR and Baseball Ref has him at 2.2 WAR. 2015 Frazier 4.5, 2014 4.8, 2013 3.1, 2012 2.6 all per Fangraphs. Baseball Reference is more generous with WAR and just by a casual glance it appears to be wide differences in defensive WAR where Abreu is hurt very badly by the Fangraphs d WAR but not so much by the Baseball Ref. . I think I prefer Baseball Ref. just because defensive evaluations seem to matter way too much on Fangraphs. Of course they calculate WAR differently in other areas too so it's possible I am making a generalization about things I'm ignorant on. I don't think anyone here expected the worst WAR in Fraziers last 5 years. I often have pointed out how the Sox keep acquiring NL players whose stats drop once they get to the AL and I have said they need to start acquiring more AL players and have often been called out on it. But the facts speak for themselves at least for the Sox. And no one bring up Eaton because he didn't have a history of stats of the NL. Until there is some standardized way for calculate WAR I will remain skeptical of it's use. Otoh, the two best offensive seasons from players we've acquired via trade the last decade or so have come from former Az DBacks in Quentin and Eaton. So we should only acquire players from that team, and avoid former "Adams" from WSH. I think it's pretty safe to say that the majority of the board expected a less than stellar season from Frazier because of his second half, coming from NL, age, and the fact that every big move made in recent years has just not worked out as well as expected. Even the second best KW/Hahn move in Abreu...a trade of Jose might not be able to bring back Yasiel Puig. I'll go ahead and assume Friedman would do it today, but probably not a month ago.