caulfield12

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Sep 8, 2016 -> 09:07 PM) Yes, I'd easily take a package built around those two. I'd also like Kopech and a few other prospects, but there's no doubt I'd make that type of deal. And IMO, the Red Sox really might consider doing it depending on how their pitching does in the playoffs. Pomeranz has been a disappointment so far and other than Price, I'm not sure they have a starter with elite stuff that you'd like in October. And as great as Moncada & Benintendi are as prospects (and they're great), they're somewhat expendable for Boston. They still have Devers in the pipeline for 3B and could sign a free agent OF to replace Andrew. Throw in the fact that the Yankees could be major players for Sale and I could see the Red Sox being very interested this offseason. Price (and Kershaw) both have a LOT to prove this postseason....so I guess we have to root for a complete implosion of the Red Sox starting staff in the AL Divisional Series.

Hillary might have lied or perjured herself, she might have been involved in some "unseemly" financial schemes like Whitewater, she profited in the commodities market (which is more insider trading/access to information ahead of the markets, unless you want to call Martha Stewart and Phil Mickelson corrupt as well)... But using the word (more of an allegation) "corrupt" is an altogether different animal. For whatever corruption she was involved in, it pales in comparison to the military industrial complex directly profiting off the Bush Doctrine for eight years...which was a war based on a lie (and no, Colin Powell isn't the one responsible for pushing that narrative, he got used and had the choice to resign for moral reasons or the choice to stay because he felt he could do more good if he stayed in the position). In the end, everyone has their own idea about what constitutes corruption. Whatever Clinton has done, it pales in comparison to Richard Nixon, U.S. Grant, Harding, etc. Breitbart naturally has John F. Kennedy as the 7th most corrupt because of his father's intervention in the 1960 election in Chicago and because of his affairs...so, to some, cheating on your spouse constitutes corruption, but then that pretty much wipes out every US President from today back through FDR with the exceptions of Carter, Obama and possibly GHW Bush.

The thing I like about Mr. Robot is the pacing has changed so much, but it's still compelling. Last year was more of a traditional action drama, this year it's a slow boil character study that constantly keeps you guessing. Portia Doubleday has been an enigma for two seasons now. Then you have BD Wong, The Dark Army, Welleck's wife and the CEO of E-Corp jockeying to keep your attention. In the beginning, no idea where they were going with Craig Robinson. The episode that looked and felt like a 1970's sitcom with the laugh track was one of my favorites. Still trying to figure out what the Chinese are going to do with the Congo...introducing Obama into the discussion this week like he was almost a character in the show was also kinda cool. Another show I quickly got sucked into was Billions...while I hated his Homeland character, Damion Lewis' Bobby is must watch stuff, and Paul Giamatti is almost always good. Waiting for resumption of Mozart in the Jungle as well.

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Sep 8, 2016 -> 03:56 PM) Anderson could have had 0 Minor League at bats and eventually would have been a fine MLB player and Beckham could have had 20,000 Minor League at bats and he still would have never been a Major League starter. Just two different people, that's why I always hate comparing these guys. Not sure about the first part...the second one, 100% true.

Comparing Beckham and Anderson is pointless... But it's impossible to say what was the right move. It has worked so far with Timmy, but if Rodon, for instance, had additional time in the minors to perfect his changeup, if Fulmer had stayed in the minors for the entire season exclusively as a starter...we can all play that game. Or someone will compare Carlos to Kolek, Aiken and Schwarber or the bar set with every single #3 pick. Heck, two months ago it seemed we could no longer definitively declare Jose Abreu a clear victory...at least in terms of his future value. Next it will be the debate back and forth about rushing Collins and Burdi.

Mr. Robot Rules All!

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Sep 8, 2016 -> 07:41 AM) This is an interesting article by Scot Gregor of the Daily Herald: http://www.dailyherald.com/article/2016090...orts/160909115/ This offseason will definitely be interesting. It sounds to me like Ventura and most of coaches will be gone. It also sounds like some advanced and pro scouts will be on the way out. I've heard from multiple people that the rebuild is coming (Dick Allen, raBBIT, other ST holders that I know, as well as media members like Matt Spiegel). How much of a rebuild is the real question. I think Chris Sale is getting traded this offseason because he's signed for the next 3 years and it's tough to see a definite path to success that includes him in next 3 seasons. I would expect that Robertson, Cabrera, and Frazier will move as well. I think Eaton, Abreu, and Quintana are tricky though. They won't want to move everything because honestly, they aren't looking to suck for 5 years. I am convinced that some sort of "step back" is coming and I would bet that it involves moving Sale. Ultimately, they can only keep throwing scapegoats out there for so long. Same thing with that same old storyline about finances being tight. Fine, if you're not willing to spend, you have to leverage the assets that you do have in Sale, Q and Eaton. The new emerging narrative seems to be that we have to trust this new process under Hostetler....but are any of those guys other than Collins and Burdi going to arrive to take advantage of the presence of Chris Sale? Selling Fulmer, Burdi and Tilson won't get them very far this offseason. And the fans are desperate for the White Sox version of Kris Bryant...especially when they started envisioning all those young players who theoretically would have come over from Boston, Texas or the Dodgers. When that evaporated and we were left with Avi Garcia again...well, crickets the last two months.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Sep 8, 2016 -> 07:16 AM) Got this text from a close friend this morning. Take it with some grain of salt, although I completely trust him on this type of stuff. Thought it was worth sharing nonetheless. What does Reinsdorf have against Comiskey? As much as the guy was a bastard, at least there's the historicity of that name. It feels like baseball, at least.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Sep 8, 2016 -> 06:28 AM) lol, like next year will be any different. Has anyone seen any plausible suggestions yet to get the White Sox out of this miasma? Something has to happen...a final tipping or inflection point. Things can't continue like this much longer.

There's only two solutions to that...another 2014-15 offseason (except better talent evaluation), which might not even be possible even if they had the money to spend because of the dearth of talent on the market, and trading at least one of Sale, Q, Eaton to leverage an asset for multiple pieces back. Any other course and fans will be aggravated for yet another year.

And, for what it's worth, Buxton is finally starting to show major glimpses of the player everyone expected him to become...it's just that it didn't happen right away. Of course, the Twins are going to end up with quite another problem altogether, which is continuing to pay escalating salaries to the likes of Dozier (not to mention Mauer's huge deal) while breaking in more and more young players into what is a veteran-dominant starting staff. By the time all those youngsters are really ready, Dozier will be gone and Mauer will be declining even more. Timing is all off unless those young starting pitchers arrive in a hurry.

The frustration level is MUCH higher this year, because of: 23-10 start, then complete collapse James Shields apparent disconnect between KW and JR, no moves around trade deadline Chris Sale fiasco Guaranteed Rate fiasco LaRoche fiasco It's all getting to be just TOO MUCH. Even the biggest defenders of the front office and/or Ventura are realizing SOMETHING has to change, if only for change's sake. They've turned over almost an entire roster and half of another and are still making the same types of mistakes that you saw in 2013 or 2014. They've changed hitting coaches, but the talent is just insufficient to have anything more than a bottom quartile offense for a team that plays 81 homes games in a hitter's park.

One wonders if they'll just make the argument that Tilson deserves the shot to start in CF and not add someone like a Carlos Gomez or Colby Rasmus for that position. Tilson seems more likely, unless that hamstring tear was so serious his viability as a defender is uncertain heading into next year. The likes of Fowler or Desmond are going to be beyond their budget will all the additional bidders in the market, and/or there won't be a mutual interest. I also wouldn't count on Petricka or Putnam, but that doesn't mean both won't be cited as reasons for not making any moves in the bullpen over the offseason, along with the presence of Burdi (who may or may not be converted to starting). No matter what you do, there's a logical argument against it here...bringing Avila back and praying for sound health for an entire season just doesn't seem like a very sound strategy, but it's certainly the most economical one, and they should be familiar enough now with his various health issues to draw a reasonable conclusion in terms of what direction to move forward in. Narvaez will likely be the back-up heading into ST, he's earned that much at least.

The only real argument for "going for it" in 2017 is the additional presence of Tim Anderson (and hoping for no sophomore slump). Of course, in the 2nd half of 2015 it seemed as if Rodon had taken the next step too, and they didn't do much of anything to shore up the back end of the rotation. Everyone for months knew that Erik Johnson was likely to struggle and that the organization appeared to have soured on him. You had the usual concerns about Danks that have been there for the past 3 years or so. Turner was at best, a reclamation project. In the end, they were fortunate to come up with Gonzalez, but that was almost luck and the bottom line is they were resting on their laurels OR simply not willing to commit to spending more on the rotation coming into the season. If you want to lump Burdi and Fulmer in there with Anderson...and Collins in late 2017, you could take that approach...or you could also say there's no reason to rush Burdi and Collins and you need to see if they can develop as a starting pitcher (instead of reliever) and starting catcher (instead of DH), respectively.

QUOTE (JUSTgottaBELIEVE @ Sep 7, 2016 -> 06:53 PM) I think they intended to compete but sure didn't spend like it last offseason. I honestly believe even Hahn knew that the signings were destined for failure but he was likely given a hard cap on what he could spend. Do you think Hahn would have settled for guys like Latos, Rollins and Jackson if he was given a larger budget? That's why I have been saying that if they want to compete next year JR has to be willing to increase the payroll. They won't be able to compete otherwise. If that's true, then he wouldn't have cut Danks, Latos and Rollins, brought up Anderson and added Shields. Of course, in the end, you can't cover catching injuries, CF and bullpen replacements very easily in the middle of a season when you have a barren minor league system. Meanwhile, lots of teams like the Cardinals, Indians, Rangers or Royals just muddle through any injuries because they have depth and talent at almost every position waiting for an opportunity.

QUOTE (bmags @ Sep 7, 2016 -> 03:29 PM) Don't tell the white sox. As evidenced by our spending what, about $3 million, on Avi and Morneau? DH has been a problem for the White Sox ever since 2011 (I'll give Dunn most of 2012 to his credit, but it certainly wasn't like we were getting cheap production there) and it's likely to continue to be an issue into 2017. The odds of them overpaying for an Encarnacion type are just about nil. Of course, that leaves you with someone like Jose Bautista 2-3 years too late when his career completely craters, a Morneau, a Moreland, a Kendrys Morales who might have one more solid season left or might not, as you never know with players past 30 anymore (won't get into the David Ortiz at age 40 discussion/anomaly).

Logic dictates trading Sale and Eaton. Sale will bring back a higher return, and we have Q for one more year and he seems to have the better likelihood of being healthy in 2019-2020. That said, you never know. Eaton, because he's at peak value, probably can't get any better than this, and is an elevated injury risk. Trading Abreu won't get you a bigger return because he's limited more to AL teams who would prefer to DH him...and he doesn't look like a tremendous bargain when you consider his arbitration status/escalating salary. Finally, it's a lot harder to sign or trade for a true impact bat than it is find a combination of good hitter and fielder (of course, not easy either). With Heyward and Gordon showing the danger of overpaying for defense, though, it feels right to trade the guy who been Top 10-12 in war nearly all season long. And you have to really hit one of those two deals on the head...you can't miss on both.

Rebuilding would mean Fulmer in the rotation....so Shields would be relegated to the pen or released ar the end of May. Gonzalez would be dealt in June/July, as a cheap rental piece. Of course, we had the same idea about Humber, and he went south too quickly. And, that said, unless he's pitching like 2003 Loiaza, the return won't be overwhelming. Ranaudo also starting wouldn't be rebuilding because he's not a factor for the future and has negligible trade value. Burdi would be a starter at Winston-Salem.

Three teams in AL East and Yankees will definitely be better. Three teams in the Central we can't beat. Rangers, Astros and Mariners. We would still be 9th-11th in the AL, at best. Ahead of Tampa, Oakland, LAA and hopefully the Twins.

QUOTE (JUSTgottaBELIEVE @ Sep 7, 2016 -> 07:29 AM) Wieters replaces the Avila/Navarro combo. $10MM vs $6.5MM or $3.5MM increase. Fowler is not getting $15MM AAV. I could see $10-12MM AAV over 3 or 4 years. Let's say $12MM vs $5MM they paid AJ this year or $7MM increase. Even if Volquez gets $7MM his salary combined with Shields and Fulmer amounts to $18MM or $2MM less than what they paid Shields and Danks this year. Moreland isn't getting $8MM AAV unless maybe it's only a one year deal. Even then, consider Pedro Alvarez as a decent comp from last season and he got 1/$5.75MM last offseason. I think Moreland gets $6MM AAV over 3 years vs ~$1MM they spent for DH this year. Add it all up and that's an approx. $13.5MM increase. I realize other players are due a raise because of arbitration, etc. but still that only bumps total payroll up $15-20MM from this season, no where near $40MM. I would expect some of those increases to be offset by losing guys like Turner, Latos and Avi and not buying out guys like Albers. http://www.spotrac.com/mlb/chicago-white-sox/yearly/payroll/ This is where the problems start....just with built in salary escalators, not even considering arbitration, they're up another $10 million. If you didn't have Robertson and Shields on the roster, it might have been possible...at least theoretically. That's not accounting for the likes of Miguel Gonzalez and Lawrie, either.

It's almost unbelieveable...until we actually hear it from KW and JR as well.

With that kind of bravado, you should send your CV to The Trump Organization...maybe four campaign managers before the 1st of October.

QUOTE (SCCWS @ Sep 7, 2016 -> 06:27 AM) Actually doesn't Shields add as well. They only paid a partial on him this year but get the full load next year. $10 million in 2017, $10 million in 2018, $2 million buyout pre 2019....

QUOTE (JUSTgottaBELIEVE @ Sep 7, 2016 -> 06:11 AM) How do you figure that adds $40MM to payroll? Boras is going to get $10 million for Wieters from SOMEONE. $15 million for Fowler for one year. $7 million for Volquez. $8 million for Moreland.

QUOTE (JUSTgottaBELIEVE @ Sep 7, 2016 -> 05:39 AM) 1. Wieters will end this season with more than 400 PA and had nearly 300 last season. Every player comes with an injury risk but he appears to be past his Tommy John at this point. 2. In the past 6 seasons Fowler's lowest WAR has been 1.5 in his one season with the Astros. Even if he does what he did with the Astros that's still a big upgrade from Jackson/Schuck. 3. I still think the Royals cut Volquez lose but even if they don't it shouldn't be that hard to find someone to fill the #5 SP role (Fulmer?). Even an ERA in the 4.75-5.25 range as you suggest is a massive upgrade from what this team has gotten this season from that spot. The combined ERA of Danks/Shields/Ranaudo is just below 8! 4. Moreland is a career 765 OPS. Even if he dips to 725-750 that's still an upgrade over the combined numbers put up this season by Avi/Sands/Morneau. Also, I have him slotted in the 6 hole behind Fowler, Eaton, Abreu, Frazier, and Melky. He typically bats 6 or 7 for the AL best Texas Rangers. Where are they going to get the money to add roughly $40 million in payroll for next year?