caulfield12

Concussion isn't a great film but worth checking out and definitely made me seriously consider if I would ever allow my son to play football when he gets older...

Oh, I definitely think Mets fans hate the Yankees. Certainly when you had the Giants, Dodgers and Yankees in one metropolitan area that was the case. Nobody in SoCal hates anything. And Giants fans probably feel sorry or pity for the A's. The Nationals and Orioles' owners hate each other, so there's that.

Or how were the Tigers able to project JD Martinez and especially Jose Iglesias would be solid offensive contributors...whereas we were so off on Garcia, Davidson, Hawkins, etc. KW used to be able to find those undervalued players but it pretty much ended with Quentin and Ramirez.

The thread title definitely needs to be changed since there's almost nothing concrete linking Gordon and the White Sox... Certainly shouldn't be contributing to anyone getting their hopes up when there's almost no smoke at all.

Astros already gave up a boatload for Giles. The latest MLB.com speculation about Gordon doesn't even have the White Sox as a mystery or surprise team...but does talk about KC, StL, SF, Baltimore, SF, the Angels, etc. Not a complete surprise, I guess. http://m.mlb.com/news/article/160176632/ma...gordons-suitors

http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2014/01/...NQVM/story.html A bit out of date now, but interesting nonetheless...especially how those rankings might have changed over time. Don Cooper fourth among pitching coaches. We always argue how important/influential coaches and managers are...the truth being somewhere in the middle of both sides.

The Royals would arguably go that high. The sticking point is that fifth year for them. LaRoche at 3 years older and at 1b/DH got $13.5 million and contracts have only escalated in the last year. We're talking about a perennial Gold Glove OF that's only 2 years removed from his prime. That's a fair and legitimate enough offer, but he will end up in KC or St. Louis at those numbers imo.

I wouldn't count the Cardinals out just yet, especially if they were to add Gordon/Cespedes/Upton or possibly Chris Davis (that would require a rearrangement of their roster with Adams). That said, the Brewers and definitely the Reds are way off in terms of competing with the top of the division. Milwaukee's probably closer to a rebuild/teardown than a competitive team.

To the list of OF names, add Desmond Jennings (rehab guy with a career .724 OPS) and Brett Gardner. Can't imagine what we have that would make the Yankees want to part with him that we'd conceivably give up...but Gardner seems like the classic KW veteran whose peak has already come and gone and who is starting the downside of his career. Inciarte would cost too much talent (although a huge improvement). Bruce just has too much lingering questions about his health/recent performance/contract/NL to AL transition to seriously consider.

To the list of OF names, add Desmond Jennings (rehab guy with a career .324 OPS) and Brett Gardner. Can't imagine what we have that would make the Yankees want to part with him that we'd conceivably give up...but Gardner seems like the classic KW veteran whose peak has already come and gone and who is starting the downside of his career. Inciarte would cost too much talent (although a huge improvement). Bruce just has too much lingering questions about his health/recent performance/contract/NL to AL transition to seriously consider.

That's the problem...I'm not sure there will be the same "open checkbook" from JR to add second/third tier pieces like Parra, Austin Jackson and another veteran starting pitcher even if the price would be the same or similar as the cost of signing one of Upton/Cespedes/Gordon in terms of payroll ($20-25 million added). If you added Parra for $8-10 million, already you'd be quite limited in adding two more pieces (quality) for between $12-15 million more. You couldn't afford Gallardo, Parra and Austin Jackson, for example. Maybe you could manage Parra, Jackson and Fister...but could you sell that to JR? How many times have we had that discussion about "getting stuck in the middle" and adding 2nd/3rd tier options and overpaying for their past performance (see Cabrera/LaRoche/Duke, etc.) Definitely that idea of overpaying for a Fowler or Span instead of one of the big names and calling it quits is scary/disappointing for most Sox fans, although surely better than Avi. $12.5-15 million better, though? Not likely.

QUOTE (BlackSox13 @ Dec 21, 2015 -> 08:47 PM) Thanks for posting the link. That really is a good write-up by Rosenthal and he's right, there are plenty of OF options available right now. I cannot imagine what Atlanta is seeking in return for Inciarte. Wishful thinking but I would love to see Inciarte on the South Side. Impossible without trading Anderson or Fulmer...they'd probably ask for Anderson AND Adams to open up discussions, knowing Hahn won't deal Anderson/Fulmer together as a package.

QUOTE (BlackSox13 @ Dec 21, 2015 -> 07:54 PM) Interesting in that the Sox have been eerily quiet. Gordon's LHB, defense and potential contract could be a fit with what the Sox are looking for. If Gordon's defensive skills diminish at some point, he could move to 1B or DH. I still have a difficult time believing the Sox are seriously in on Cespedes and Upton due to the money and length of contracts they are suspected to get. The rumor of making a push for Gordon has a certain White Sox feel to it. For now, I take it with a grain of salt until more stuff comes to light. Still interesting nonetheless. If that's the case, then he would absolutely have to play 1B for Abreu the majority of the time, because it's dubious to sign a player who has at least half of his value coming from his Gold Glove playing out of position. Gordon could be close to a GG 1B, based on his work ethic and desire to improve...a lot easier transition than 3B to LF for someone who spent his entire 10-25 year old time frame comfortable on the infield. Of course, LaRoche is making 2/3rd's of $20 million (assuming Gordon's around 5 years and $100 million) to sit on the bench (potentially), but the White Sox absolutely need to get that defensive premium out of either Gordon or Cespedes to make any potential deal worth it. Another big plus in Gordon's case is being left-handed...and (we've heard this before), a lot of his doubles in the gap could easily fly out of USCF in the summer months, whereas they end up as mostly doubles in KC except when the heat and wind are more conducive.

Tucker's good, but not his brother (that was just drafted high this past June). The White Sox won't be willing to trade Anderson or Fulmer, so that leaves Adams, essentially. That's what it comes down to maybe, Tucker for Adams. Perhaps a riskier move for the White Sox, because of our lack of quality starting pitching depth right now in the system. Beck is now perceived as more of a reliever, and Danish COULD be going in that direction. Montas is gone. That leaves Fulmer and Adams as the two best, with I suppose Guerrero following them but not with the same amount of buzz around him.

LoL. Greg would tell everyone the KC market is completely skeptical about retaining the services of Gordon and that they've already moved on mentally to the idea of players like Span, Fowler, Parra and Austin Jackson. In fact, like St. Louis fans in the Pujols contract drive year, they've convinced themselves that those resources are better off allocated elsewhere. (There are actually some parallels, as both Pujols and Gordon are bigger guys and had some physical problems in their early 30's. Combine that with the way Gordon plays the game, diving and running into walls and jumping into the stands, how long his body can take the punishment is an open question.) Span, Parra and Jackson 100% are typical Royals' "defense first" players...Span in particular, because of his background in all of the fundamentals from his time in Minnesota and in their system. There's also a certain amount of skepticism about Dyson and Orlando standing up over the course of a full-year. At any rate, there's no way they don't add SOMEONE because they have two holes with Zobrist/Rios/Gordon gone. There's also chatter about the likes of Marcell Ozuna, the Rockies' outfielders, Puig/Ethier/Crawford, Billy Hamilton, etc.

All the reviews of The Big Short have been quite laudatory, even the interspersed comedy stretches explaining the plethora of technical and financial terms. As someone who has read each of Lewis' books, really looking forward to it.

http://dataomaha.com/documents/alex-gordon...t-of-left-field If this story from his hometown doesn't excite you about him potentially becoming a member of the Sox, nothing ever will.

The Cardinals also offered around 5 and $75 million. There's no way he gets less than Zobrist...who's three years older. The KC offer was more the obligatory "we tried" like the White Sox have often done with their franchise players of the past when they were ready to part ways to placate the fans. Theoretically Upton and Cespedes are both in the $130-160 million range, Gordon has to be $80-110 and much closer to $100 than $50. If the Royals felt they legitimately had a chance to bring him back, they would throw everything but the kitchen sink at getting it done. There's no indication anywhere they believe they're a legitimate landing spot. Gordon, if we’re being honest, is not a good long-term investment for the Royals. If it will take five years and an average salary approaching $20 million to get it done, the Royals will make the difficult but prudent decision to let the defining player of their rise go. All other things equal, it’s probably best for both sides if Gordon gets the kind of offer the Royals are incapable of matching. Sentimentality never won a championship. Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/sports/spt-colum...l#storylink=cpy The bigger question is whether he's worth $100 million and five years to take him away from a divisional rival. If there's one certainty, it is that he would be the hardest working player on the team since Juan Pierre, and that his character as both a leader and teammate have never been questioned. He's not as gifted or as exciting as either Cespedes or Upton, but fits well with the 1950's/early 60's Sox players...lunch pail/blue collar attitude.

I saw mlb.com had an article with the Cubs as the projected best rotation in baseball (at least by war) and the Sox weren't in the top five...not surprising I guess.

Let's hope not the good 'ol we can make adjustments at the trade deadline school of thought. Too late.

Or the JR, Hahn and KW Shakespearean drama worthy of a booth at the Renaissance Fair or Medieval Times at least.

http://mlb.nbcsports.com/2015/12/20/mike-m...partner=ya5nbcs Matheny not happy with Heyward's comments

QUOTE (Lillian @ Dec 21, 2015 -> 08:31 AM) You are absolutely right. That's precisely my point. If the Sox are not good, they would be missing a great opportunity. I feel like we've been saying this since 2005...especially that 2006 season and then trying to keep the veteran core together post-2008 and delaying the reboot button all the way to 2013 by adding Rios, Peavy and eventually Dunn to Buehrle, Konerko and AJ. Of course yet another irony was jettisoning Thome and making him the key reason we lost to the Twins that year we had that 26-5 stretch.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Dec 21, 2015 -> 08:28 AM) Who is this "we" that supposedly will own 50%. You're sure you can't fight with Greensox or Thad Bosley over something more substantive? Greg needs someone to argue with in the filibuster, as well.

Amen to that. Peace with the two warring sides of SoxTalk (or KW/HahnGate) as well...at least until about two or three months into the following offseason.