caulfield12

QUOTE (fathom @ Jan 17, 2016 -> 09:20 PM) I hate the Shark possible contract as proof they have money. The amount might be true, but there is no proof they wouldn't have had to move some salaries in order to make it fit. The Shark deal was also when they expected 2015 to be a success and likely strong 2016 ticket sales. So then we're back to Hahn's original statements about Tanaka...young/ace in prime of his career but definitely not cost-controlled. What's the difference between him and Upton, for example? Because Upton is 29 and Tanaka was 25-26? Because Upton, like Cespedes, like Gordon, like Chris Davis...is a very good player, maybe even great, but certainly not a superstar? I just find it interesting that there has been zero smoke there. Maybe it's simply the fact that Upton prefers to stay in the NL or just doesn't see the White Sox as a good fit, who knows. Just leaves a lot less margin for error when you're 15-30% behind the Royals and Tigers in terms of payroll. It used to just be the Tigers.

QUOTE (SoCalSox @ Jan 17, 2016 -> 09:07 PM) At this point, I would gladly "settle" for someone like Fowler & a guy like Lincecum to compete & spring training. I'm just going to keep my expectations low at this point, so that way if they do something small or nothing at all, I'm not over-the-moon pissed off. I'm almost to the point where it's "to hell with it, roll the dice with Avi/LaRoche/Saladino" and see what happens, hoping to be pleasantly surprised. On one hand, it looks like the Royals are taking a step or two back...and Cleveland still has issues with RF/3B/Brantley's health and payroll limits. There's also a chance the young players with the Twins all make impacts (Buxton's healthy and Berrios makes the Opening Day rotation, although it's more likely he is in the minors for 2-3 more months at least) more quickly than anticipated. How much of a difference will having Fowler really make? Is it worth the draft pick? What will the trade market look in June/July, compared to now? Do you really want to commit to $45 million and 3 years? How will he respond to a guaranteed contract? If the White Sox are just kind of floating along at around .500 and 3-5 games back (or more), there's definitely not going to be an attendance bump of any kind...even looking back at 2012, when we added Liriano/Myers/Youk it seems the impact/momentum lasted about 3 weeks and then fell off dramatically with Youk's health and Liriano's fall out of the rotation.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jan 17, 2016 -> 08:56 PM) Something so many disregard is Hahn saying they would have to get creative for upgrades, yet they expect 100 million dollar commitment to be an easy thing to sign off. Honestly even Desmond and Jackson is probably too expensive. That must be holdover from the Tanaka/Samardzija idea that the money was available (seemingly) for the right player...as Tanaka was in the $125+ range and Shark $90-100. In retrospect, it does seem a bit dubious to say they could have signed Shark last year for that amount but suddenly it's not there for a critical position player upgrade at possibly the same price.

Whether it's a trade target like Rasmus/Gomez/Tucker/Marisnick (discounting having the ability/willingness to acquire Springer for Rodon OR Quintana) or spending money on Fowler, we're going to be dealing with that same set of teams as competitors. Orioles (for Fowler/Jackson), Angels, Tigers, Cardinals, Mets and the Cubs would still have to be considered a threat to bring back Fowler as well depending on the price. It's a crazy year. I'm still coming to terms with the fact that Arenado and Machado are both making less than Addison Reed in 2016. Or the amount of money Happ, Leake and Kennedy have received so far, when the conventional thinking was that young hitting was more valuable than pitching...which obviously has been turned on its head.

More likely to hear from Chelsea Clinton in the future, but it seems her charisma and personality are closer to the mother than the father in this case...which isn't a great thing for winning elections.

Tucker isn't really perceived as a full-time player for the Astros... That said, because of his age and the cost-control factor, they can market him as potentially one, especially since he's LH. Just don't see any way to get Gomez without giving up Adams at a minimum...Fulmer is too much of an ask, but it would be something like Adams + Hawkins, and that's a big cost for one season in the sense they'll be back in the same FA market next year chasing after Rasmus/Bautista (maybe) or trying to resign Gomez in his decline years when he's likely to be highly overpaid (supply/demand issues). That said, he's a big improvement over Garcia, but Hahn has said all along he doesn't prefer one-year fixes...of course, we went down than well once with Samardzija last year already.

QUOTE (SoCalSox @ Jan 17, 2016 -> 04:42 PM) Inflation will always be a constant. That's not a factor that really even needs to be talked about. So will increasing home values... If anyone believed Chris Davis would get that amount of money back in October, I'd love to see the prediction. Next up for bidding is free-agent first baseman Chris Davis, most recently of the Baltimore Orioles. Born in 1986, he stands at 6 feet 3 inches tall and has led the American League in home runs in two of the past three seasons. Can we start the bidding at $100 million? The Orioles start us off at $100 million. Do I hear $120 million? Orioles again. How about $140 million? Come on, people, this is a great price for Davis, who can even play third base in a pinch! And we have $140 million from -- Baltimore. Oh, and Baltimore also calls $150 million. And $161 million. Are you guys sure you know how this works? Sold to the team from Charm City for $161 million, unless they care to make another bid! http://espn.go.com/mlb/insider/story/_/id/...th-best-al-east Even with Davis, Orioles only fourth best team in AL East.

QUOTE (Baron @ Jan 17, 2016 -> 04:46 PM) I'd take Gomez. I wanted him at the deadline last year. For who, though? They don't need Anderson...you're willing to part with Adams and everything remaining on the shelf but Fulmer?

The other thing to consider is deflation or disinflation...with world economies today, we have no way of knowing the future. Had he signed that deal in Japan in 1998, it would be considered simply brilliant.

http://nypost.com/2016/01/16/how-chris-dav...spedes-suitors/ White Sox behind Angels and Tigers, ahead of Cards and Mets but obviously more speculation. "They already upgraded their lineup this winter with trades for Todd Frazier (from Cincinnati) and Brett Lawrie (from Oakland), so they’re in compete mode, and Cespedes would present a significant upgrade over right fielder Avisail Garcia. For now, the Chisox are playing the “We’ll strike if the market drops” card."

Speaking of Mets, Ricketts family making lots of friends in NYC this weekend... http://nypost.com/2016/01/16/cubs-co-owner...ious-mets-fans/

http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/i...s-city-rotation. Crasnick's take "For sake of comparison, San Diego’s Petco Park was the 10th-friendliest home run park in the majors last season, while Kauffman Stadium ranked 25th." http://espn.go.com/blog/statsinfo/post/_/i...for-ian-kennedy "Since the beginning of the 2010 season, when Kennedy broke into a major league starting rotation, he ranks 14th in the majors in innings pitched. That workload indicates some level of performance, although his Wins Above Replacement during the past six seasons (9.6) ranks 27th among 35 pitchers with at least 1,000 innings. He hasn’t posted a WAR of more than 2.3 in a season since his 21-4, 1.09 WHIP, 3.6 strikeout-to-walk showing of 2011." Fwiw, Keith Law was a huge skeptic of the deal as well. ROYALS PAY STEEP PRICE FOR IAN KENNEDY "There's more downside than upside here for the Royals, and even with the big revenue boost they should receive off their 2015 World Series win, they will have a hard time carrying a contract like this if it goes south and they need to spend more money to fill the same need," Keith Law writes. Analyzing Kennedy, Davis deals (Insider) In the end, it was all about insurance/protection for Medlen, Young and Duffy...

QUOTE (BlackSox13 @ Jan 17, 2016 -> 08:14 AM) Good grief I can only imagine how badly this thread will blow up if Cespedes signs with another team. We'll be right back to the " JR is cheap" , "who's running the Sox, KW or Hahn?" , " Sox are stupid for not going beyond 3 years" , " team is doomed for eternal suckdom" type of comments. On the other hand, it will be a funny thread to read, so there's that. No more energy left for that... It will be more resignation to the fate of being a White Sox fan. In all seriousness, though, if they don't make anything more than cosmetic changes over the next month...this whole media fixation will have perhaps done more harm than good. Rick Hahn..."It was just an elaborate ruse to light a fire under Avi. Our scouts always believed in him."

More like all these posts to prove or disprove something that might never have been realistic... I suppose if both Cespedes and Upton end up in the AL, someone will argue we raised the contract value enough to damage those franchises n terms of their financial flexibility.

Lamb is excellent but difficult to watch... Beyond the Lights, don't know how it was possible to miss that one.

Greg, it shouldn't require a Leonard Pitts album...we've been saying this for weeks. Cruz or any GOP candidate will lose NY and probably NJ. He knows that...it's political calculation. The point of his criticism (of NY values) is that it will play better in Iowa, NH and South Carolina...but especially for that all-important third primary. Trump used 9/11 wisely to fight back, and one of the best debaters in Harvard history should have anticipated that coming a mile away. Cruz will probably win Iowa, and god knows what will happen in NH. Trump loses all three states, it's going to be impossible to recover, despite all that national polls and surveys that have him leading by10-13 points.

You can guarantee their financial position with no playoffs the next two seasons would make it even more difficult after 2017 to add talent, or next year for that matter...with more dollars chasing even less talent. If the Royals can spend $135-140 million with a regional rights deal that pays them $50 million less per season than the White Sox...and go up another $15 million the following season, they need to figure out some way to increase fan interest and excitement. Dexter Fowler is not it.

Fathom might be right...he might be wrong. The obvious problem is the White Sox are always in this same situation of bringing in almost all of their position players from other teams. Saladino is really the only homegrown (drafted/developed) starting player on the roster (and the one whose position is most tenuous). You constantly lose that huge advantage in terms of assessing your own players since you are naturally much more familiar with them...but the White Sox can't profit from this like other organizations. Therein lies the rub....everything working out perfectly in 2005 is almost impossible to replicate in today's game which places even more emphasis on developing your own core of players and then supplementing with pricey free agents.

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball...ticle-1.2406497 That story wasn't reported by Levine. It was everywhere in the NY media. We can do the same with Fowler. "Dexter’s a great kid and he knows that we all feel that way about him. But I think he’s got to get tougher. No doubt. He’s got to show up and play with an edge every day, not just when he thinks he has to. It’s got to be that edge that he brings every day. He’s got to be a passionate competitor in the game. He has to love the game. He’s got to compete because he loves the game and he loves his teammates and he wants to win. It can’t be for anything the game provides. It’s got to be for those reasons." Dan O'Dowd "Rockies manager Walt Weiss is nobody's puppet. This is his baseball team. It will win or lose his way. And that's why Dexter Fowler is no longer in Colorado. After five seasons with the Rockies, it seemed obvious Fowler could not be a centerpiece in a winning franchise. He simply isn't tough enough. Fowler is gone. The Rockies are tougher." Mark Kiszla, Denver Post http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article....articleid=23227 One of the most interesting recent discoveries in sabermetrics is Matt Swartz’s finding that players who stay with the same teams tend to perform better over the long run than those who sign elsewhere. The implication is that organizations know more about their own players than outsiders do, and Luhnow admitted as much when he acknowledged the risk inherent in trading for someone from outside the org. We don’t know exactly what form the longtime team’s information advantage takes, but it seems reasonable to suggest that psychological evaluations are part of the picture. However, we know that not every accusation of a lack of toughness turns out to be on target.

Still surprised they didn't go with Latos. The connection to Dave Eisland from his NY days, the elevated K (9+) and missed bats rate, the outfield size and defense (compared to the SD trainwreck) behind him...those were the 3 main reasons. Still waiting to see how front or backloaded the deal is...will have a lot to do with how long he ends up in KC. Backloaded, more flexibility for additional moves this season and next...frontloaded, much better likelihood he opts out after 2017.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jan 16, 2016 -> 07:39 PM) http://m.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/m...NSports+Twitter Some very interesting comments in this article about Buck not wanting Cespedes and concerns about his attitude. On the other hand, the White Sox also have a long history of risk-taking on players with more questionable reputations. That's the nature of not having enough talent on the farm, especially position players. Jenks Everett AJ Adam Eaton Javy Swisher Orlando Cabrera Belisario Melky Cabrera Alex Rios DAngelo Jimenez Wil Cordero Albert Belle Jaime Navarro Kenny Lofton Some have worked out wonderfully and others (thinking of Keppinger) have completely blown up in their faces. Almost nobody in baseball had anything bad to say about Adam Dunn or LaRoche as far as being good teammates until their production imploded. Jake Peavy had all the talk and competitiveness in the world but never delivered. Shark was a complete bust. If you have the right coaching staff in place, you can take on more risk, imo...Buck Showalter, Scioscia, LaRussa...they're classic micromanagers who don't have much tolerance for free spirits on their team.

QUOTE (ozzfest @ Jan 16, 2016 -> 06:29 PM) If your biggest FA signings have been Ben Wallace and Carlos Boozer, you suck at your job. Depends how good you are at drafting and development. And, with the salary cap, GM's are often handcuffed financially. If your gold standard is San Antonio, sure. Depends on one's expectations.

At least the Bulls consistently make the playoffs. They're almost like the Atlanta Braves of the NBA Eastern Conference...and Rose's injuries are analagous to the White Sox losing Chris Sale and his effectiveness upon return declining. You can't expect to beat the 2nd best player in NBA history, superteams (Heat w/ James), the Warriors or Spurs without an MVP level Rose. Another way of putting it...being a Bulls' fan now is like being a Cavs fan when the Celtics, then Pistons, then Bulls were so good, although in general the Eastern is a LOT softer than back in those days.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jan 14, 2016 -> 05:59 PM) You are the one who said Cespedes wouldn't sign with the White Sox, and who would, unless they paid a significant premium. It is easy to understand you. Whatever the current White Sox rumor is, you take the other side. Dexter Fowler would be terrible, wouldn't be able to adjust to the AL, but he made perfect sense for Dayton Moore, who was going to copy KW but only much smarter. Where did I ever say sign Dexter Fowler? Not once. I said the only thing that makes sense is waiting into the season and not surrendering a draft pick. Since most don't believe Desmond or Fowler will get to Opening Day unsigned, that pretty much removes them from consideration...although I'm more on the fence about Desmond because he would be buying low compared to Fowler and is a nice rebound candidate. Still younger. I have said the last two weeks when the rates came down to more reasonable numbers they should go after Cespedes instead of lesser options who won't raise the bar enough. That's the opposite of what? The new philosophy never to give anyone over a three year contract? I thought that was all subterfuge and negotiating tactics, otherwise the only reason to be involved in the first place was some elusive marketing benefit that "at least we were trying."

Yay, Duke sucks again...