caulfield12

QUOTE (bmags @ Jan 3, 2017 -> 08:11 AM) Not a bet I'm taking. I don't think Sox need to target DH now with assumption they may be expensive in four years. Not a concern until midseason 2018...depending on where the rebuild is. But they better think about it before 2020, or something has gone terribly wrong.

So playing Sanchez or Lawrie is better? How? Does it even really matter one way or the other?

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 3, 2017 -> 08:40 AM) This is totally thinking of the past 10 years. Now we are more worried about quantity, and Todd Frazier gives us a better chance at that than does Saladino. We aren't going to be worried about chasing players to fill holes on a immediate basis until next decade. By then Saladino will be long gone. The one thing that might still be around is the player we get for Frazier, because we aren't getting anything for Saladino. It will be a prime consideration at the trade deadline in 2018 and going into the 2018-19 offeason. In all likelihood, it will be outfielders and/or a catcher. 3b is a good possibility as well.

QUOTE (bmags @ Jan 3, 2017 -> 07:26 AM) If they are the next market inefficiency that means they'll be cheap which is the point. Followed to that logical conclusion, any temporary disruption will eventually lead back to equilibrium. For now, they at least appear to be cheap. But that won't last forever.

It's just as likely those defensively-limited but solid hitters become the next market inefficiency...regaining value to an extent, while players like a Heyward, Alex Gordon or Adam Eaton return back to more more "normal" historical levels. It seems pretty obvious if everyone's now overpaying for defense and high leverage short relievers...or pitch framers...something else that's currently undervalued must come back into vogue. The other area with a lot of fascination around it is multidimensional guys like Bryant, Contreras, Baez and Zobrist that can play 3-4 different positions and provide some additional roster flexibility.

So he's basically insurance for Saladino's health, and they'd probably play Carlos Sanchez for 2-3 months at 2b-3b if Tyler can't go (if they were to cut Lawrie in the spring.) Not sure what the benefit of of playing Sanchez over Lawrie would be, though...that's a tough call either way. Or Davidson.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/02/politics/don...eech/index.html Dubai business partners hyped prominently by Trump at Mar-A-Lago New Year's Eve speech to 800 supporters.

Trump won't even use e-mails. He's going to use government (one shudders at the waste of resources there) couriers. Can't wait for some of those guys to be kidnapped by Russian agents when Trump falls out of favor with Putin (or vice versa).

Or assuming that JUST because of the A.Miller/Kimbrel/Giles trades that Nate Jones or David Robertson can be parlayed into gold. Heck, even Jennings is getting lots of hype as a trade piece. There is one conclusion that's clear (so far). If you look at a team like Toronto, who panicked and assumed they had no chance to keep EE and probably didn't want to keep Bautista except at bargain prices...they really got suckered into overpaying for Kendrys Morales quite early in the process. Quite obviously, there are plenty of cheap options still out there for even better bargain prices on the dollar (see Balta's list). The previous year, although the comp structure was different, Desmond and Fowler were bargains late in the process. There's even more out there entering 2017. If they had it to do over, they probably would have been elated to send someone like Dalton Pompey over for Abreu, and just assume his contract, instead of being stuck with the older and more injury-hampered Cuban in Morales (especially on turf). And yeah, Frazier is not perceived as a 1B/DH type just yet. He has too long a track record over at third. It's not unlike the reactions going on around the baseball world to McCutcheon's 2016 season...but the Pirates still wanting MVP prices back in terms of a trade return. Frazier is exactly the type of veteran glue player that a playoff roster needs.

But then what was the point of wasting money on Lawrie just to sit him? DH Lawrie...with Garcia getting most of the playing time in RF? That's the only way the current roster construction makes any sense. Of course, running Lawrie out there as your DH (instead of playing 2B/3B) brings his value to other teams down even more, although it is likelier to keep him healthy. The other problem is that it SLIGHTLY blocks the likes of Coats/Davidson/Carlos Sanchez from getting at-bats, but that's really not such a big deal, EXCEPT for the fact that a veteran roster full of players trying to get traded (Lawrie/Frazier/Cabrera/Abreu) to contenders might somehow come up with a decent overall team record, compared to one in the low 60's that gives you access to a pick at the top of the draft board. It also wastes a not insignificant amount of financial resources that could be better allocated/reserved for the future.

3B Saladino SS Anderson 2B Moncada 1B Abreu C Collins DH ??? LF ??? CF Let's just put someone like Lagares or Dyson there, for argument's sake (2ish WAR guys, who could get to 3 in their bodies held up over a full season, not unlike Austin Jackson 2-3 years ago) RF Lorenzo Cain (if they can get him on a 2-3 year deal, ideally he'd be in CF but that would lead to more injuries) All of a sudden, you're only one more big bat (the equivalent of an EE/Trumbo/Bautista) away from a line-up good enough to win with "sub-optimal" players in CF (where Basabe could still rise, or Engel/Tilson surprise) and 3B. You simply need to find an OPS+ LF/DH and that line-up can still carry a cheaper platoon at the other spot. Other than Abreu/Collins, you'd also have "plus" defenders at nearly every position, especially up the middle. As has been stated over and over again, we're getting close to the point where we're not just trading for the best possible combination of talent (Meadows/Torres, etc.)...we need to be looking specifically at CF/RF/C/3B (if Frazier's not going to be re-signed and Saladino can't stay healthy, his back goes the way of Joe Crede). At any rate, we've got those 2017 and 2018 draft picks...a ton of money....and 1 1/2 years of development time to essentially fill four holes, two of which are traditionally the easiest (LF/1B/DH, not sure how long Abreu stays). If you go to the Balta argument: 3B Saladino SS Anderson 2B Moncada 1B Abreu C Collins DH LF Semien CF Thompson RF That would leave them only two players short. With that logic, they could have actually kept Adam Eaton, kept Frazier and Abreu and invested all the resources of the team finding a LEGIT CFer...but the timing's just off having to wait for Moncada/Collins as their next two big franchise-altering bats. Let's just say for argument's sake you put Trumbo and Bautista into that line-up, you've got a team that's borderline contending in late 2017 if Thompson and Saladino could hold up and be 2 at least WAR players. Plus you have Montas back to add to potentially the best bullpen in the majors when all the pieces arrive and the leftover starters are converted to bullpen arms or traded to fill in other holes.

It's telling not the even the real Republicans are bothering to "fight the good fight" to defend Trump...there have been a few, but the total of remaining defenders feels like 5 or less, for what has always been perceived as a slightly right/fiscal conservative and socially moderate board (especially the majority of mods, other than Balta and a couple others).

The way you wrote that, thought Sam Miller had died. Ooops. Where did he move on to? Another analytics writer recruited by an MLB team?

The problem there is the Astros, Rangers, Mariners...tough division to gain any traction in right now. The A's should be better. And I forgot to mention the moribund DBacks and the enigma otherwise known as the Rockies.

The NL still has Milwaukee, Philly, Atlanta, SD, Miami and Cincy...Cardinals finally trending backwards. AL has CHW, LAA, Minnesota, TB and Oakland. Oakland and Minny should be improved. God knows what the Angels are doing.

http://www.businessinsider.com/trumps-pres...big-way-2016-12 Trump's presidency is going to hurt most Americans in a very bigly way...

QUOTE (GreenSox @ Jan 2, 2017 -> 12:40 PM) Okay - so let's assume that they have the pieces for a rotation that's good to go by 2018. And Collins scores at catcher and Moncada at 2B. Now you need 3 OFs and a 3B and a bench. (L Garcia probably isn't the utility player of the future, but a IF/OF would help a lot to allow some, dare I suggest, platooning at LF/RF/DH with one-sided players who are easier to get). And some depth would be nice. Try to do that amount of holes via FA and trades is precisely what the Sox tried in 2014-mid 2016 that failed. Need to complete the rebuilding. And at some point they may need to trade Frazier at $.75 on the dollar; beats $0 on the dollar. You've still got Frazier (in your plan), Jones, Robertson and Jennings to deal from. Not to mention Derek Holland and Miguel Gonzalez. Cabrera as a mid-season salary dump. The 50/50 possibility Saladino could be a regular there at 3b. The much lower likelihood for Davidson, Sanchez or Trey M. CF, to me, is the biggest issue, along with catcher...and the main reason for trading Q. But let's not forget your 2018 college draft pick #2-6 in the first round and the possibility of someone like Otani from Japan who they might be able to convince could hit as well as pitch as a reliever. The possibility that Engel or Tilson might stick. Basabe could be a fast riser in 2017/18 and be on the doorstep by 2019. Even if you were theoretically trying to compete in even the worst possible market (this year), corner/DH options like Trumbo, Napoli, Bautista, Alvarez, Rajai Davis and Carter abound. And we still have a full two years to pick and choose for those spots. And let's put Collins there as an option, as well.

Dave Wills had a slightly different background. One of my faves, along with Rooney and Wayne Hagin. Going back even more, Rob Gallas and then also his son Chris worked in PR with the Hickory Crawdads but not sure whatever became of him. https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-gal...&_mSplash=1 There's the answer. Interesting career after what seemed to be a pretty high level position for NASCAR in his mid 20's. The danger is bouncing around all over the place, but changing and challenging environments is a major part of the allure. Isn't Bob Grim closing in on retirement age?

QUOTE (Al Lopez's Ghost @ Jan 2, 2017 -> 09:25 AM) I don't think tanking in 2018 is even part of the plan. 2018 is the start of the turnaround. It may be unrealistic to play .500 ball, I dunno, but 2018 is the time to give young talent the chance to succeed and fail in the big leagues. Tanking is what we're doing this year. And that's the typical rebuild plan. Get 2-3 years worth of top five draft picks. We'll be one year short (not tanking 2018 as well), but we do have Rodon, Anderson, Fulmer, Collins/Burdi/Hansen and 2018's Top 5 pick. Bringing in someone like Lorenzo Cain in 2018 on a two or three year deal makes them closer to respectable without breaking the bank. If Collins makes it as at least a slightly below average defensive catcher who at least frames well, they'll be close.

QUOTE (GreenSox @ Jan 2, 2017 -> 08:56 AM) That's the "if everything goes perfectly" scenario; it's the same thinking the Sox counted on in 2016 with Navarro, Jackson, Rollins and Latos, except that they were vets instead of prospects. They need to move Q. That said, they may be interesting in 2018 and certainly in 2019. Sox have a good place from which to rebuild. On the other hand, Cleveland is not only good on the major league level, but they still have a top farm; the Yankees win 84 or so and have a top farm. The Astros and RedSox may have depleted the farm some, but it's still average and they are full of young talent on the major league level. I would look at a guy like Saladino to see if he can become an average 2b or 3B. That could happen with further improvement with the bat. L Garcia can play IF and OF, and would preclude keeping both a no-hit IF and OF on the roster and save space for a real bat. If he could get the bat above, say, .650 OPS, he could be the super utility player. I'll be honest. The odds of Leury being that 25th man on our next playoff team are about the same as discovering that extraterrestrial brain-eating worms (shout out to Mary Elizabeth Winstead's BrainDead) have infiltrated the minds of all our key front office people. Q Rodon Kopech Giolito Lopez Fulmer Hansen Dunning Adams That gives us the framework for one of the top 3-5 rotations in baseball and a dominant bullpen centered around Burdi and whatever's left when all the chips like Robertson and Jones are cashed in (and the starters sort themselves out.) If we don't get what we need for Q, Jones, Frazier and Abreu...it doesn't make any sense to dump the last two for 75 cents on the dollar. Cleveland's budget was stretched to the limit with Encarnacion...to the point where they can't afford Rajai Davis. If they lose Carlos Santana after 2017 to free agency, Encarnacion ages quickly and Brantley never is the same (see Sizemore), they'll be vulnerable more quickly than anyone imagined.

Well, that's probably balanced out by the Turkish nightclub shooting.

What was likable about Suicide Squad?

QUOTE (bmags @ Jan 1, 2017 -> 10:03 PM) Caul field how is that remotely relevant to a Quintana trade rumor thread One fourth of SoxTalk is not yet convinced a full rebuild is going on. Until Q is dealt, that will still be the case. One would think that JR, if he wasn't closely paying attention the last four years to the White Sox, would have realized with the start of the current Bulls' season that both franchises need to be completely rebooted. They hit with most of their young pitchers, they're not far away from a .500 team in 2018. They would have a potentially dominant bullpen. If Moncada and Collins are studs, they keep Frazier at a reasonable price, Abreu's got 2018 and 2019...you've suddenly got at least five average or above average players at 2b, C or DH, 3b, SS (Anderson) and 1b. You can definitely see the argument for holding onto Q at least. Corner outfield and DH bats are always more affordable...so let's say you sign Lorenzo Cain for 2018 and 2019, you have a Top Five college bat in the 2018 draft, Saladino possibly as a supersub and the proceeds of Robertson, Nate Jones and Jennings as well. With how bad Detroit, KC, and Minnesota should be...tanking again in 2018 becomes more challenging with Moncada, Collins and the young pitchers. CF and Collins sticking at catcher would be the biggest sticking points. But it's definitely possible to imagine pushing up the timeline to 2018/19 instead of 2019/20 by not trading Q.

If JR is paying attention, the Rondo situation is yet another prime argument for not pretending to go for it by signing washed up name players... http://sports.yahoo.com/news/rajon-rondo-s...-215845333.html

Just like no GM in baseball would have given any thought to Phil Rogers' top ten picks for the White Sox when he was involved in compiling it.