caulfield12

QUOTE (iamshack @ Oct 4, 2016 -> 08:59 PM) My best friend...the man and his father that I named my son after...two very intelligent, rational, reasonable, good people....actually support Trump. It has more to do with the state of our political system than with the candidate they support. At least that's what I keep telling myself. It's the same reason Perot was polling at 30-35% at different points of 1992. Dissatisfaction with Clinton for personal reasons and Bush, Sr. for going back on his no new taxes pledge.

The problem is that Gonzalez (and even Lawrie) will get more expensive...and how much would he actually be worth in trade to other teams? The Humber comparison (with Gonzalez) is a good example. He was effective for X amount of time, but he was too effective for a stretch to trade (see Feldman and Garza) without damaging the rotation and eliminating competitiveness. Humber was even more of a reclamation project like Loiaza, but the point stands as the acquisition of Contreras might have been the best of the KW regime. You ride Humber too long and get nothing in return, or you just suffer "bad luck" like we did with Jenks, Crede, Floyd and Crain and they end up with no or diminished value. A clearly rebuilding team makes those deals 100% of the time, turning rebounding veterans (see how we originally obtained Floyd for Garcia) into younger players with high potential upside but a significant bust rate as well.

QUOTE (ChiSox59 @ Oct 4, 2016 -> 02:31 PM) Lol - comments above. One of the beat writers for the Star Tribune is the one who's so high on Taylor Rodgers. Why bring up Suzuki? Because they need to pay for a new catcher, Dozier's projected increase or extension and Sale's salary...which are all going to expand payroll, although not as much as wasting money on Hughes and Nolasco did. In asking for Buxton and Sano, it's the equivalent of everyone wanting both Moncada and Benintendi for Sale from the Red Sox, which was universally agreed wouldn't happen. Finally, you're going to trust Steverson with Buxton, who has just now in the last six weeks started to figure things out at the major league level? As far as not sending out garbage fifth starters, well that's true of only about 6-8 teams per year. Certainly not the White Sox in 2016.

Bringing back Hector Santiago when the Twins pass on salary arbitration seems quite possible...although the rumor was that Cooper eventually grew frustrated with him after first falling in love with him in 2012. Edwin Jackson in the pen?

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Oct 4, 2016 -> 07:58 AM) 10/4/16 Trump Scandal Count: 1 Trump Used Foundation Funds for 2016 Run, Filings Suggest lmao Trump's entire empire collapsing and his brand name becoming worthless is how this is all gonna end, isn't it? Ivanka's pissed because all of this is finally starting to hurt her own brand...much harder to sell clothing when 2/3rds of American women have come to intensely dislike your father. It's not like right wing talk radio where intense loyalty from that 10-15% fringe element of the population can make up for it from a ratings perspective.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Oct 4, 2016 -> 12:34 PM) It just goes to show that the governments track record in business isn't exactly stellar either. And much like bankruptcy, when government racks up losses, the losses are paid by somebody else. That auto bailout paid the government a much higher rate of return than, for example, investing in itself (quantitative easing/buying more Treasuries.). Not to mention the value to the GDP of saving most of those jobs... How have the privatized, for profit prisons run better, for example?

Or they just go with Davidson/Sanchez/Lawrie/Saladino for 3b/2b in 2017 and hope for Trey M. to have a breakout season in AA/AAA. Likely scenario, not really....especially that second part. Skeptical about Frazier having the patience to wait for another long rebuild after how things ended for him and Cincy.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Oct 4, 2016 -> 01:05 PM) For how much I'm willing to spend on a rebuilding team - he's out of my price range. Teams that have no warm bodies at catcher and are strong everywhere else should be looking to sign him. Heck the Astros are apparently one of them - signing a guy like him is absolutely necessary for a team like the Astros. They don't sign a catcher - that means they are trading for a catcher because they have a roster that is otherwise loaded. They may look for someone better, but coming away with someone is literally the difference between them being in/out of the playoffs next year. Let's not forget how the injury rehab for Ramos is going to create even more demand for guys like Wieters, Castro...heck, Suzuki would look good considering that would prevent him from beating up the Sox.

QUOTE (ChiSox59 @ Oct 4, 2016 -> 12:11 PM) Right. Polanco is their SS. He's a back end top 100 guy and they like him. If you think they need a SS more than SP, I don't know what to tell you, but clearly you're not up to speed with their needs. I don't disagree that the Twins are unlikely to move Buxton/Sano/Berrios but again, its a team with interesting young offensive pieces that badly needs pitching. With an outsider now running the front office, perhaps he won't be as married to their prospects as the previous regime was. If they don't trade for controllable top of the rotation pitching, they're never going to get it. It's still the same problem the White Sox have...they're not going to have enough offense if they trade Sano/Kepler AND they're not going to be able to afford to keep Dozier by signing him to an extension. Buxton played really well the second half and is untouchable in the sense his value is still lower than it was a year ago, where 75% of it is still potential, like the White Sox return would be for Carlos Rodon today. Let's say the offer was Sano, Berrios and Kepler/Rosario but no Buxton? That's going to do too much damage to their major league roster on the offensive side and only gives you a short window with the unaffordability going forward with Dozier. Santana, Gibson, Hughes, May and Taylor Rogers are likely to be the rotation. In Rogers, they have their own potential hopes for a Sale-like breakout. It's a rotation that's still a bit short even with a Sale or Q inserted. Isn't Suzuki a free agent? Their lineup will be catcher, Buxton, Mauer, Dozier, Vargas, Grossman (will he repeat?), Polanco, Kepler/Rosario and Sano. If you believe that Vargas and Grossman are for real, maybe...but that lineup comes up short without Sano IMO. Do you honestly trust Kintzler as closer on a competitive team? I just don't see a match because Berrios has some serious warts, they won't trade Buxton and Sano together, and they're going to try to push Kepler/Plouffe/Rosario/Vargas to the Sox as the third part of the deal...leaving it Sano, Berrios and Rosario for Sale. Who makes that particular trade? Even sending Nate Jones along doesn't get you Buxton...I just think there's too much downside risk for the Twins to trade Buxton and Sano together for a three year window when that would create too many other holes they don't have the payroll to fill, starting with the expected loss of Dozier after 2017 or 2018 (unless they sign him to an extension, his arbitration numbers will be huge based on this season.)

The US foreign policy is worse than North Korea, Iran, Syria, China, Russia, India/Pakistan...? I suggest living in those countries first...you'll have a totally different picture of the way the majority of people feel about their respective leaders/government. And Trump's foreign policy plan is what exactly? Has his campaign team even articulated one yet, besides isolationism and "winning deals"?

QUOTE (ChiSox59 @ Oct 3, 2016 -> 07:16 PM) Pedro Florimon hasn't played for the Twins since 2014 when he had 70 ABs. I agree that the Twins probably won't trade Buxton or Sano, but they need pitching and they have peices to trade to get it. The Twins think they're closer to contention than you do (I tend to agree they're still a long way away), but again, that's mainly due to their horrific pitching. Like I said, probably not a fit there, but it's an out of the box trade partner whose needs match up. Polanco was the name...I knew a P was in there somewhere. At any rate, they still don't have a SS unless Nick Gordon undergoes an amazing transformation.

QUOTE (Lip Man 1 @ Oct 3, 2016 -> 06:18 PM) I found this comment from Rick interesting when reading the recap story of the press conference today: "You saw this last offseason -- at the end -- we made a couple of smaller moves as a means of trying to plug our holes, some of which panned out better than others," Hahn said. "If we were a little more aggressive, perhaps, from a standpoint of a full measure as opposed to arguably a half-measure in a certain scenario, then conceivably, the results would have been different." Mark Referring here to Fowler and Desmond rather than Jackson...

QUOTE (Harry Chappas @ Oct 3, 2016 -> 02:49 PM) Take out the 10-24 stretch and you are left with the complete opposite result. You'd be left with a wildly inconsistent team 5 games below the .500 mark...which is exactly where they finished. Once they were seven games under, they only got back to that mark once I think, then faltered again.

Other than Bernie Sanders, Obama and Paul Wellstone...not to mention libertarians, who will always be non-interventionist, that leaves a very select group who were against the Iraq War. You're basically asking those in Congress to have insider knowledge that Bush and Powell were deliberately misleading the country and UN. If you want to take issue with Clinton, it's on issues like the Pan Pacific Trade Agreement or 9/11 lawsuit against Saudi Arabia, where she stakes out positions that are poll-tested and practical but not politically courageous. Probably the last time I admired her as a politician was when she fought for health care in 1993-94, which was also the end of her career as a political first lady. After Somalia, she didn't stick her neck out for the Rwandans. The Clintons also executed a lot of people in Arkansas largely so it wouldn't be hung around their necks as being soft on crime/weak kneed liberals, like Dukakis vs. Bush. And then you have the shameful tactics against Obama in South Carolina in 2008. But what is the alternative? Can any really thoughtful Republican trust Trump on foreign policy? Why/how? Honestly...?

QUOTE (ChiSox59 @ Oct 3, 2016 -> 04:10 PM) You rarely see huge trades amongst division rivals but you have to wonder if the Twins would get involved in Sale or Q bidding. They need pitching in a MAJOR way and have the bullets. Some of their top prospects/young players have lost a bit of their glimmer, but that may even help the Sox. Buxton, Sano, Berrios, Kepler, etc...plus some of the younger pieces that are still in the minors. Twins never going to be able to spend to acquire top of the rotation FAs so this would be a way. Twins had 5.40 ERA from their starters this year.. Long shot for sure, but an interesting trade partner. Trading Buxton or Sano makes as much sense as the Sox dealing Anderson or Rodon. They need a good young SS more than they need to overpay for Sale or Q. Someone like Jean Segura was available to nearly every team in baseball for almost nothing...they went with Florimon/Escobar/Santana instead. At best, they'd offer Berrios (if they have, in fact, soured on him) and Kepler, who they'd be selling high on...and then one other piece, but an obvious match doesn't exist. The main problem is Sale would be leaving too early for their contention window, and Q just isn't returning the premium package because he's worth more to the Sox than other teams. As it is, they have to figure out how to pay Dozier and what to do with Plouffe.

In all fairness, PTAC has been arguing that Rodon would struggle with inconsistency since the day he was drafted. That has played out to form...tantalizing talent, so-so results. Danks and Shields? Robertson and Duke? Latos was miraculously a Cy Young candidate his first four starts and at worst held down the fort. Those all seem to be veterans whose performance is less related to the pitching coach than a number of other issues. Cooper is credited with Sale and Q, and Rodon/Fulmer were expected by many to magically be as good...well, just because Cooper/Sale/Q, right? So isn't that more on the scouting than the pitching coach or even the manager? On the plus side, you have the Miguel Gonzalez success story and Nathan Jones being at least serviceable, and that wasn't a given coming off two major injuries. That said, Jones as a closer has disaster written all over it, but Robertson didn't inspire much confidence the second half and is much more highly paid. Erik Johnson? Tyler Danish? Beck? Sometimes over the past 2-3 seasons our farm system has been so bad that somebody had to be thrust into prospect status without fully meriting it, but do we "blame" Don Cooper for those guys? Would even the great Leo Mazzone or Dave Duncan have turned some of those names, like Jacob Turner, Ynoa, Purke, Kanhle, into a world-class bullpen? Not to mention Cooper got a lot more out of Jennings, Petricka and Putnam than nearly anyone expected. Trust your eyes. Other than Rodon copying Sale's formula for going at 80-85% in the early innings to conserve himself, it's hard to find anything obvious to criticize with the pitching staff. If you look at Sale, Q, Rodon and Gonzalez as an aggregate group of starters, they're much better than league average. The problem is including Danks, Shields, Erik Johnson, Danish and Latos...they were so bad, especially Shields...who was 2011 Dunn/2015 LaRoche on the pitching side, that their numbers are skewed by so many guys who didn't even belong on a competitive big league roster. And even there, some adjustments were suggested and worked temporarily, or he would have cratered completely and been forced to the DL. For whatever reason, he was serviceable for almost ten starts there in the middle, although the peripherals would largely point to the same "luck" Latos enjoyed his first four starts. Or just calculate war/$ for the offense vs. the pitching staff.

Adding Reddick (overpaying in the process) is not going to cut it with the need to find a DH, 2B and catcher. You live with Lawrie/Saladino, you still have two huge line-up holes and any improvement you get from Abreu/Frazier will probably be offset from falloffs for Cabrera and Eaton. Looking at those AL East lineups, Rangers or even the Tigers/Indians, their 6th or 7th hitters would be 2nd or 3rd on the Sox. Unless Rodon, Fulmer and Burdi set the world on fire and they are willing to eat Shields' contract as well as adding another quality arm in the pen, they're a .500 team, and that's without injuries. Finally, Robertson has underperformed expectations and doesn't look likely to be on an improving track, especially when you consider the brutal nature of that schedule in April and May (a lot of damage against Robbie, Sale and Q coming from fellow AL Central teams.)

QUOTE (OmarComing25 @ Oct 3, 2016 -> 10:39 AM) With all the chatter about Britton's Cy Young chances I thought this post from Reddit by user yesacabbagez summed it up perfectly why he shouldn't win: If it was that easy to be a closer, more than 2-3% of those former/failed starters could do it. Either all those MLB execs are wrong and emulating the Yankees or Royals is not possible as a blueprint, or high leverage situations are more difficult to pitch than innings 1-3. Let's not forget that those are close to max effort outings every time, especially when pitching 1 1/3rd+ innings. Of course, another problem is repeatability...and the fact that Britton coukd just as easily look like Jim Johnson as Davis/Betances next year. Or look at career years for guys like Thigpen or Willie Hernandez...other than Mo Rivera and Trevor Hoffman and maybe K Rod, few could it well for 10+ years without going off a Brad Lidge. It's also not taking into consideration the AL East had three playoff teams and a pretty decent Yankees team in the same division...it's not like he was rolling over the Twins, A's and Angels every time out.

Anderson and Eaton were the big positives. Melky played much better and more consistently than 2015, but will we get that similar performance next year? Abreu ended on an upbeat note, to the point where there's at least not another question mark attached to his name. Rodon was more inconsistent than was expected...there was hope for him to make a big jump and it felt closer to treading water. Saladino and Morneau were definitely feel good stories, but there are still serious doubts whether either are regulars...not on a playoff team.

So Hahn deserves credit for replacing Laumann with Hostetler? In the end, it still comes down to Collins being an everyday catcher or at the very least an 800+ OPS bat at DH. He's the key, because offense isn't coming from the free agent market at a price they are willing to pay.

Dombrowski's the type of GM who will be the first to strike with huge shake-ups in the offseason if they come up short in the ALDS.

You don't trade Chris Sale for the likes of Shaw and Holt as your second piece. That would require Moncada being a superstar and probably the net difference even then is a couple of wins if you're lucky. Even guys like Kimbrel and Giles were getting better packages for the second player in those deals. Granted, Moncada is one of the best prospects in the game but so was Buxton...who's ending this year on a high note but still put up an average in the 220's. Alot depends on how guys like Pomeranz, Buchholz and Rodriguez fare in the playoffs . That offense can cover up a lot of deficiencies, with 3 30-100 guys for the first time in club history, a former MVP in Pedroia, Bradley Jr. & Bogaerts, not to mention Moncada in the pipeline.

QUOTE (Lip Man 1 @ Oct 2, 2016 -> 06:58 PM) I don't. I'd be really surprised if it happened. All the talk, everything I'm hearing from a number of sources is that JR wants to go for it again in 2017. That means unless someone is willing to meet the Sox price of five big league or big league ready guys, they aren't moving him or Q or anybody else of note. But we'll see...things change. Mark But your belief should be stronger that JR would rather deal Sale and at least be able to market Moncada and Bradley (just an example) AND not have to spend an additional $30-40 million on payroll on overvalued free agents in this market. Remember the late 90s and early 00's when the KW philosophy was to at least give the fans an entertaining offense and lots of exploding scoreboards? Now we have bad baseball and pitcher's duels, which isn't nearly as entertaining to casual fans as it is to purists.

Great, another offseason of endlessly arguing whether JR, KW or Hahn is most responsible for each bad or good move...

QUOTE (TitoMB @ Oct 2, 2016 -> 07:08 PM) Damn we going deep on this comparison! See you guys in 900 years! JR will still be "penny pinching" that year, as the Scorpion team will have cryogenically frozen his body and downloaded his brain onto a Quantum computer so that he can keep annoying Thad Bosley and continue as owner for centuries until the last mutant strain of Sox fanaticism has been put out.