caulfield12

QUOTE (soxsider11 @ Dec 16, 2015 -> 04:55 PM) What about adding span to play CF? I would honestly like span and upton with eaton sliding over. Defense is upgraded and adding two solid OBP to this team would really help Span and Upton aren't happening with LaRoche still on the roster... At best, you can afford one outfielder at this point. A declining Span coming back to the AL Central doesn't quite make you a legit contender, either. Need one more big bat and possibly Ramirez returning for one year to SS or another bullpen piece.

An All Star from a marketing perspective, maybe...more useful close to his roots and brother in So Cal than the Sox.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Dec 16, 2015 -> 04:26 PM) 4/100 gets a deal done with any of the remaining outfielders, imo. The per year on that is enough to entice any of them to sign, imo. I think the more likely deal is a longer deal with an out at year 3 or 4. Not for Upton.

Desmond remains the fallback option from the Big 3....but there would still be a lot of disappointment and the lost draft pick. That said, there's a ton of talk about his atleticism allowing him to easily convert to an outfield spot. I doubt they will give up the draft pick for Fowler or sign Span...those are just marginal upgrades, comparatively. Same with Parra, Austin Jackson, Travis Snider, Victorino, etc.

Wonder who they will play at 3b. Chisenhall went to the OF and the Latin prospect was a bust, so it's possible they bring in Phillips or Kendrick and move Kipnis to 3b. Then you're talking a much more dangerous team...but with Brantley out it's flawed. Gomes, Kipnis, Lindor, Santana, Napoli, Phillips/Kendrick and Brantley would be the best offense in the division unless the Tigers add one of the big remaining bats on the market.

QUOTE (OmarComing25 @ Dec 16, 2015 -> 04:11 PM) Montas was not going to play a big role in next year's bullpen anyway. We weren't going to give up on him as a starter yet. Maybe...maybe not, we'll never know what would have happened had he remained on an all in, win now constructed roster. Obviously Sale was pushed into that role in 2010. Guess we will see with Fulmer, as it stands....with Danish, Beck and Webb on the outside looking in. Danish with his delivery and ability to throw harder in short bursts would be the next logical conversion candidate. Obviously, long-term, Fulmer absolutely has to succeed as a starter and replace Danks or Johnson.

QUOTE (BigFinn @ Dec 16, 2015 -> 04:04 PM) I voted for Cespedes. Upton and Cespedes are so close that the value of the lost pick matters when choosing Upton over Cespedes. But don't be surprised if the Sox go for Gerardo Parra, instead. He could be a platoon partner for Avi Garcia, or he could be the every day right fielder. That way the Sox save their money to sign a mid-level RH starting pitcher to a short term deal, somebody like Mike Leake. That offense without the big bat comes up short unless you are sure LaRoche can bounce back. Nobody knows that for sure, not at his age. Offense has to be more of a priority than replacing Erik Johnson at this point. And Parra's defensive metrics have been on the decline recently.

There's also more of a hole in our theory of creating a "super pen" with Montas gone. Right now, our pen is average or maybe a tick above but certainly not an overall strength unless Nate Jones is 100% reliable. He Looked good last year (better tha expected, actually), but April and May is a different animal than meaningless games late in the season.

Gordon makes the most sense from a two year perspective, and he would definitely remain in LF. Cespedes has the AL experience and success there (in our division to boot), the Cuban tie-in with Abreu and possibly Ramirez, the fact that his age makes the new two year window the time we have to go for it a good fit and the lack of draft pick attached (which makes him more expensive than otherwise.) Character-wise, clubhouse leadership, it's Gordon for sure. Cespedes is at best a mixed bag in terms of his past history and problems in Boston and Oakland. He absolutely shouldn't be in CF... The problem is he is asking for 5-6 years and Gordon 4-5 and both are at least one if not two years too long.

QUOTE (ChiSoxFanMike @ Dec 16, 2015 -> 03:42 PM) I would cry tears of joy if Hahn ended the offseason by getting Cespedes and Gerardo Parra. Two guys aren't feasible. But it has to be one more.

Neutral feeling right now until we know who is starting in RF and SS and DH. If it's still Saladino, LaRoche and Avi, it's a fail because that team isn't enough. Now Hahn is announcing to the world he has to have either Cespedes, Puig, CarGo/Blackmon, Ethier, Gordon, Upton, etc. That's a dangerous position to be in with free agents or opposing GM's. We ended up minimizing the value of Sanchez/Micah and maximizing Thompson/Montas, basically. If it's Parra platooning with Avi, it's better but still iffy depending on what Gerardo has left in the tank. Since the White Sox hate longer term deals, Cespedes, Puig, CarGo, Gordon and Ethier (with cash back) make more sense than Upton (financially) but each one is fraught with risk. With that said, they absolutely have to get another headliner.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Dec 16, 2015 -> 09:58 AM) That is what you want. Bad baseball and high draft picks. You get that, and you still aren't happy because that isn't what they were going for but what they did achieve. They do have more talent on the team now than they had 3 years ago, and it will continue to trend upward. I do agree they either have to spend money or trade for prospects, but all of your other complaints are just made up. The fan shaming doesn't happen. Hasn't for years. It isn't getting old. What is getting old is you using every complaint you can think of not caring about accuracy to appeal to the doom and gloomers. You really should post at WSI. Your moaning would make you a hero. They whine about everything there, from the stripes on the pants being changed, to patches on sleeves, to parking lot attendants not smiling at them, to ushers hitting on other ushers. Nobody has ever blamed the fans at all. Sure. All we hear about is 2012. Once again, what franchises that haven't made the playoffs for seven years running have perfectly contented fanbases?

QUOTE (OmarComing25 @ Dec 16, 2015 -> 09:37 AM) So not endlessly b****ing and moaning means you just believe everything is rainbows and daisies? Please name all the teams who haven't been to the playoffs for seven years without fickle fanbases...? Stringer Bell could do a better job imo. If Upton didn't sign, they just could send Omar and his shotgun to close the deal, along with Brother Mouzone. At least that would be more effective.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Dec 16, 2015 -> 09:38 AM) That's blaming the fans? He hasn't said that in years. The team won 76 games last year. So many people act like they lose 120 games every year and complain about it, and then wonder why they can't be more like teams that do lose 100 games a year. Just think, their 76 win season got them that high draft pick you wanted them to have by tanking. So what are you moaning about? They are trying to be like the Royals and be horrible for 30 years. Yeah, sure Rich Hahn's plan after all the offseason additions was to have another protected draft pick...brilliant!!! They need to figure out a way to win, somehow....spend or develop, spend or develop...just come up with something that actually appears to be a logical plan instead of this half assed approach.

QUOTE (striker @ Dec 16, 2015 -> 09:33 AM) AZ is in win now mode and needs bullpen help. The closer market is hot right now so I'd offer Robertson and Garcia for Lamb, Peralta and a top 5 prospect. We'd have to replace Robertson but we'd also free up $13m that could be used to dump Laroche and sign Upton or Cespedes. The DBacks wouldn't trade Peralta for any young Indians' starter (Kluber isn't available). 5-ish WAR, high OBP, young/cost-controlled, they would ask for a lot more than Robertson and Avi would be totally useless in that huge outfield. Undoubtely Quintana or Anderson/Fulmer for Peralta. Why wouldn't they simply have signed KRod and subsequently have kept Peralta, Pollock and Tomas as their OF if closer was really their top priority?

QUOTE (bmags @ Dec 16, 2015 -> 09:29 AM) I am glad article was written. I keep thinking about Quintana. He's a fantastic player. In my head, I keep trying to prove out whether this team will be a playoff team faster with or without Quintana. I'm leaning without. I have no confidence that we can build out our offense through FA, and through trades will compromise building up a deep rotation. He is the only piece that could bring back more as the sum of the parts. Then simply find a Quintana admirer who loves him as much as LaRussa/Duncan and Shelby Miller...

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Dec 16, 2015 -> 09:20 AM) When do the White Sox blame their fans? Why must you make so much up, and if you hate the franchise so much, why in the world do you keep posting on a White Sox message board? You don't remember KW's can't spend $1 when you have fifty cents quote apparently? Where were you? I hate the way the franchise is being mismanaged and has become nearly irrelevant. Apparently you are in the dwindling minority that feels things are just great and no changes need to be made. Might as well go hang out with Chris Rongey in a luxury suite and sing kumbaya.

http://www.insidesocal.com/dodgers/2015/11...n-self-defense/ That makes sense, since his sister left the bar with him and not even the bouncer Puig had the confrontation with alleged anything happened with the sister...nor is she in the police report anywhere. I guess since Trump came around this year, the truth is no longer more important than perception and what people selectively choose to believe. The first incorrect reports have the retractions buried on page 39.

Better yet, where is there a successful professional sports franchise that blames their fans so much...more than themselves? Name one. The White Sox less than a decade ago had the tenth most valuable franchise in baseball. Where are they now? Something like 17th-19th? Now why would that be?

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Dec 16, 2015 -> 08:59 AM) The fans are fickle, excuse-makers though. That's not an opinion though. It's a fact. How is this level of team performance acceptable anywhere other than Wrigley, St. Louis and Fenway? Did Mets' fans support their team in a much newer stadium before this season? Not so much. Milwaukee is about the only other market where the fans support the team regardless of on-field performance. Of course, they also have a nicer facility from a fan standpoint. Did Twins fans react any differently in 2014 than White Sox fans in 2012, once again, in a much newer stadium? Not really.

Puig hasn't done anything yet to get in trouble or cause an intl diplomatic incident. Hasn't been kidnapped by his former buscones, either. Wonder if Abreu's recruiting him, Cespedes or Alexei...to be a fly on that wall.

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Dec 16, 2015 -> 08:24 AM) Interesting 3B candidate who should be relatively cheap. Lawrie could slide to 2B. A back-up plan if we don't land Frazier, perhaps? But not a plan that you can easily sell as seriously competing this season...

The word "rebuild" has always been a touchy one on the South Side for leadership and fans alike. Not only does Jerry Reinsdorf whole-heartedly believe in building a winner annually, the front office is also subject to the fickle nature of the White Sox fan base. While executives Jeff Luhnow and Theo Epstein have popularized an embrace of being utterly terrible to build a winner through draft pool allotments, the White Sox lack the fan base that would wait around for such a grueling process that results in a non-guaranteed chance at winning. First, this whole fan shaming thing is getting old. Houston had lower tv ratings than the White Sox, a zero share in some games, but they stuck to their plan and saw it through and even succeeded despite seeming mistakes like Mark Appel instead of Kris Bryant and the whole Brady Aiken fiasco, which might have ended up working out in their favor. Second, comparing David Robertson to Kimbrel or Chapman is a bit of a stretch...just like Quintana is overshadowed on the national level because he's not a radar gun destroying flamethrower, Robertson similarly relies on a pitch that is deadly effective when it's on but one that also tends to degrade his other pitches and the overall effectivenesss of his repertoire over the course of a season. Assuming a Miller or Kimbrel return of prospects is a fantasy and more importantly a concrete admission of failure by Hahn. Third, pretty much any plan is still mitigated by the fact that Ventura remains huge question mark in terms of his overall effectiveness as a manager and motivator. At best, the jury's still out. Meanwhile, Maddon and the young Cubs can seemingly recruit anyone they want to the other side of town. Not a pretty comp right now. Fourth, almost every value priced free agent in the last two to three years has led to no payoffs like we always try to sell ourselves on in the offseason as the backup or fallback plan. Zach Putnam or Soto weren't even cashed in on...Petricka, etc. Hahn has signed maybe 12-13 guys and none of them have been effectively leveraged. One of his most controversial moves remains the decision to hold onto Shark last July. Finally, JR is JR. Until they prove they're willing to take advantage of the fact 45% of MLB teams are limited this international cycle in spending and "go for it," they will always be playing catch-up with the more risk taking, bigger budget teams. The only real evidence is going over for Rodon and Micker Adolfo, so it's hard to see much substantive progress at the moment or on the horizon and we're seemingly stuck in the middle...outside a Top Ten protected draft pick and still closer to the basement of the AL Central than competing for a wild card spot.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/how-...l-change-846918 Looking at $200-240 million in US, which would be almost three times the previous December record.

No way. Not coming to China until January, and it's not really a known property in the sense that the first three movies came well before the movie theatre build-up here in the last decade. If too many pirated versions show up, grosses will fall a bit but most will still desire the genuine movie-going experience regardless since it is being billed as such a huge, earth-shattering tentpole event.