caulfield12

QUOTE (Real @ Dec 27, 2015 -> 03:04 AM) http://www.newyorker.com/news/sporting-sce...itter-reporters Yeah, I just found that, too. It's an interesting topic with mlbtraderumors, and Bucket, Rock Raines and Rabbit on this site (rock apparently taking a step back this year). From my impressions, Rabbit is the one most interested in making it a career endeavor. The crazy thing is that, like computer science, you're past your prime for the business in your late 20's unless you can develop a legitimate network of sources to sustain you career after getting on the radar for breaking a few stories and getting a paying gig. It reminds me of 20 years ago when everyone wanted to study sports management/admin. Then writers for BA, baseball reference, fangraphs, BP, etc., starting attracting attention of front offices. Now it's all about new media and social networks. Jay Mariotti got run over by harder working teens out to make a name for themselves.

http://www.newyorker.com/news/sporting-sce...itter-reporters Now we know who Mibelt Rodriguez is...who "reported" that the Sox aren't in on Cespedes. Strange days. Not to mention Al-Jazeera breaking major U.S. sports stories.

Could put the Nats in the market for another bat...as a hedge against a possible Zimmerman suspension. Y. Gallardo and Taylor Teagarden are supposedly both on the Al-Jazeera list as well aaccording to Jon Morosi. https://mobile.twitter.com/search?q=chris+cotillo

Who the heck is Mibelt? ESPN Deportes? Is he Cuban?

Although the first 2-3 weeks in August and April/May are when we most needed him, arguably.

1. Trout 17.3 2. Cain 12.2 3. Pollock 11.3 4. McCutcheon 11.2 5. Kiermaier 11.1 6. Eaton 9.1 7. A.Jones 8.2 8. Carlos Gomez 7.1 Not counting Betts and Pillar since both were full-time regulars for first time last year.

Are we really going to have Leury Garcia on the roster? That hardly screams all-in, even as the last player on the team.

If you carry Shuck, Avi, catcher and Sanchez as the back-up for three INF positions. The way we played Bonifacio, it might as well have been Beckham only last year.

Accounting for defense as well, Eaton has to be somewhere around #8-12 (individually for CF, overall MLB) over the last two years, right? But yeah, it's remarkable that the numbers could be skewed so much by other Sox players at that position in limited action. Wasn't he next to the bottom in DRS for CF last. Lots of inconsistencies. How much of it is coaching? Stubbornness? Having Cabrera and Avi on his flanks?

$10.5 million, going by the roughly $7 million per war average this offseason, way up from $5 million. You want to get rid of Laroche, Adams would have to be thrown in...in the same way we included Edwin Jackson to dump Teahen from the payroll.

Leake is the reason the Cards are one of the main competitors with the Sox for Gordon stead of Cespedes/Upton. The Tigers and possibly KC are in there as well...

Well, how much would teams have paid for Jared Mitchell at his peak value? Or for Adams now?

Balta must have received coal in his stocking from Santa.

QUOTE (LDF @ Dec 26, 2015 -> 08:31 AM) in this post, i just remembered several other teams. i will mention 1 team in particular. Pitt. they are committed and they will need to do something. going into the off season, their press or the press of the sporting community broke them down, before the northside answered with their moves. Pitt needed a another sp, 1b they will also move both walker and marte b/c their prospects are ready to step in. looking back, they did the 1b, 2b trade now, i would pitt move marte and take a chance on 2 rookies in the lineup??? i still see them needing a better sp and if they do move marte, i can see it being done for a young cost control #2 or #3 type of sp. or would they just look into the fa market??? i am seeing teams as needing to make moves, just be keep up and to keep being competitive within their division. you know, i really do like this off season. a lot to think about. Why trade Marte, or Polanco for that matter?

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Dec 26, 2015 -> 08:23 AM) They have Chris Young and Brock Holt in the Of as well Seems Young is their fourth and they're willing to take an overpay on Bradley...Castillo needs to re-establish value and Betts is definitely part of the new core there.

Betts, Castillo, Bradley, Jr., and then what to do with Hanley? 1b probably. Detroit's still going to be a player here, imo. And don't discount the Angels and Royals if the price drops... Houston has too many outfielders already, they were willing to deal Domingo Santana but they seem pretty well set with their younger core guys and unlikely to spend huge dollars. The Cardinals after Leake can really only go after Gordon. That still creates a situation where you have the Red Sox, Angels, Tigers and Orioles who could take runs at Cespedes and Upton, and the White Sox, Cards and Royals for Gordon. I can't imagine the Cubs unless they were willing to move Schwarber to RF and that just feels like way too much spending for one offseason already with their debt load.

That's all fine and good, but we haven't had much luck since the Dunn signing pulling off this feat, or you can go back to Rios and Peavy. Jake might have had the most disappointing career overall with the Sox, but ironically he fetched us the most talent back of anyone. Actually, when they announced their resigning him, it seemed a bit nuts but it worked out fine. Just looking at everyone we brought in last year, the only player we could currently trade without eating any salary would be Robertson. This kind of "hoarding talent" type of strategy would work better for a rebuilding team with all their minor league talent at least 2-3 seasons away from being ready. With the White Sox, anything you get for Frazier, Lawrie, Cabrera is likely to be Avi Garcia type talent with flaws...but the hardest problem to resolve is selling "high" on players who are performing well when the team's contending. See Shark last July after the Blue Jays series. In the past, we held onto Crede and Jenks too long, not to mention Quentin, Ramirez, Floyd, Danks, Crain, Humber, Thornton. Also, you're looking at budgetary constraints...playing time issues...just look at all the surplus talent the Dodgers acquired the last 2-3 years and what they have to show for it all now. And that's a team spending 2.5x what the White Sox do. As it is, we're going to be 15-20% over projected budget adding one of the Big 3 (theoretically). Finally, it would make more sense to stockpile young, cost-controlled talent than veterans with a negative WAR roi unless you can hit on the perfect Tier Three veterans and flip them like Epstein has done 2-3 times in rebuilding the Cubs.

All Spielberg's movies ranked first to last. Pretty amazing career when War Horse is 28th/29. https://www.yahoo.com/movies/best-and-worst...9586109247.html Paramount's The Big Short moved up one spot from Wednesday to claim third on Thursday with an estimated $1.72 million. The critically acclaimed Adam McKay directed film was down 26 percent from Wednesday, which represented one of the day's stronger daily percentage holds among wide releases. In a similar situation back in 2009, Up in the Air increased 1 percent on Christmas Eve to gross $1.75 million. The Big Short has grossed $5.49 million in two weeks and looks like it is in store for a very solid first weekend of wide release. www.boxoffice.com Interesting counterprograming debuting quite serious (some would say depressing in the case of Up in the Air) movies at Christmas.

Things can change a lot in just a month. Half of the media still is refusing to believe Trump can win NH, South Carolina or Nevada, assuming Cruz wins Iowa. The closer the reality of him potentially becoming president hits, the harder it will get.

QUOTE (Brian @ Dec 25, 2015 -> 12:27 PM) I want to see A few more things before revealing my annually highly anticipated Top 10 in January. Does it merit its own thread...? That is the question. Also, the Man from UNCLE sucks...thought it could be watchable due to the presence of Alicia Vikander. But no such luck. There's always The Danish Girl I suppose, but can't find the proper motivation to watch that one.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Dec 25, 2015 -> 11:45 AM) Steve Harvey says Happy Easter! He's going to manage to make Miss Colombia even more money if he keeps this up. Btw, Merry Christmas from China, where almost nobody knows the original religious meaning of the holiday and young people just see it as an excuse to buy something on discount, go out to eat with friends or attend a movie.

Not to mention Jay Bruce, Brett Gardner, Carl Crawford/Van Slyke/Thompson, Desmond Jennings, Avi, haha. Then Fowler, Span, Austin Jackson and Parra as well.

Unless he wanted a flexible opt-out to not be locked into a long-term relationship with an organization he was uncertain about... For Gordon, it's just as much about finding a comfortable fit with the right team and environment. We all were sold this idea Shark would be willing to sign a long-term deal, and it couldn't have turned out to be any more the opposite or both sides. Likewise, Heyward cost the Cardinals a ton in talent and he was content to jump ship from one of the best organizations in baseball after just a year, so that has to be part of the hesitation...along with the belief KC can come up with 4 years and $70 million at the last minute when the rubber hits the road on decision day in the next couple of weeks. I don't think no trade is quite so important...unless he really wants to keep his family close to Omaha.

That would be quite an unusual amount of FA spending for StL, I can't ever remember them spending $160-170 million on just two players from outside their organization in a single offseason. http://www.stltoday.com/sports/columns/jef...27d3e3bdfa.html Please send this article to KW and Hahn (about the consequences of not developing enough homegrown hitters.) Still, not going to feel sorry for the Cards.

It would also give the White Sox flexibility perhaps to get out of the contract after 2-3 years. The problem, though, is those types of scenarios these days almost always work to the benefit of the player...he's playing well and can get more money elsewhere in 2018 but if on the decline he can just collect guaranteed money over the remainder of the deal. That situation really left the Dodgers short of pitching with Greinke, but it also prevented disaster with Albert Belle for the Sox almost twenty years ago. That said, you still have to replace that production somehow. That said, Gordon wouldn't stick around just for the salary or paycheck if his skills greatly diminished...he would retire early like Meche or Cud dyer recently with the Mets imo.