caulfield12

If nothing else, this shows there is a pretty high amount of uncertainty about EJ and Montas, combined with our knowledge of Cooper being able to work successfully with quite a few veteran starters (Shark and Paulino obviously went south). Does that also mean we believe a Latos, Fister, Kennedy, Estrada, Gallardo type could much more easily have their value/s maximized by the coaching staff compared to EJ, Montas, Beck, Danish, etc.? It doesn't speak too highly for our confidence level, unless there's an attendant belief Danks will also be gone well before season's end, opening up another spot at the back end OR the assumption of dealing Quintana for offensive help.

Denard Span, Asdrubal Cabrera, Rasmus, Byung ho Park, Brett Anderson, Gallardo, Estrada, Freese, Uribe...more names. Austin Jackson, maybe. Thought this was funny. In his eight seasons, spanning more than 991 innings, Samardzija has been worth just a couple more WAR than John Lackey was in 2015 alone. He might be the most overrated pitcher in the game, a confounding enigma of superlative stuff, encouraging peripheral stats, and disappointing seasons. On the bright side, it's unlikely that he'll get paid like a top-rotation pitcher, getting a deal more in line with his average career to date, and he still has the electric fastball to dream on. He would have been a disaster of a deal if he were a free agent last year, but he could be a hidden bargain if everyone forgets about him this year. http://www.sbnation.com/2015/11/4/9665970/...-2016-offseason

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Nov 5, 2015 -> 08:56 PM) He's got a career wRC+ against RHP, that's pretty f***ing good. How much of that is from his earlier outlier season/s as opposed to 2013-2015? 2012-2014, and that's not including his injury-riddled 2015, he's at a 726 OPS vs. righties. So the next question is do you want for Alex Avila with his recent history (including numerous physical problems) to be the primary catcher? He is only 28 now and would be 29 on Opening Day. I'd gamble with that over Flowers, honestly. Plus he has the added motivation of proving the Tigers and his father wrong in their head-to-head match-ups, so there's that.

As I noted in the offseason thread: These moves would push out EJ, Montas (maybe pen or trade bait) and Webb, and Beck would probably join the trade collection as well. Bringing in Kendrick and keeping Ramirez would push Carlos Sanchez to super-utility or trade bait, and force Micah Johnson into that category since it's his only viable position other than DH. Saladino's status would be up in the air...waiting with Olt and Davidson for other moves to bump them. Thompson's role would be reduced OR they would have to trade Avisail Garcia.

So much for the Miller as Alexei Ramirez replacement idea...

This plan would push the White Sox payroll very close to $150 million. Would it even be a competitive roster with clear issues still lingering at 3B, starting catcher, SS, RF, DH and LF defensively, not to mention another LHR? .500ish? 83-85 wins? 85+? You could add guys like Fowler/Parra/Austin Jackson but they would cost more than Young/Pearce, and you could add someone like Iwakuma, but that would bump the payroll into the $160-165 range unless they were able to dump LaRoche and/or Danks (obviously neither would be easy). Likewise, Ian Desmond would push you up to that same range and it would probably be a minimum 3 year deal. Essentially, other than a massive payroll hike coming off a lackluster season, the only solution left is trading Quintana, a package of minor leaguers and/or Avi Garcia (also as part of a package).

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Nov 5, 2015 -> 05:54 PM) Seriously, the endless Royals comments are already getting tiring and the offseason just started. I'm more than happy to praise the White Sox if they actually do something right. At this point, Flash Tizzle, myself and a few others have made our point/s. Now if we see these "the KC Royals are totally a product of LUCK" arguments, they had to be terrible for 30 years (when Moore took over as GM in 2006 and didn't draft anyone until 2007), they're ONLY a product of high draft picks for being so terrible in the last 15-20 years, then I'll be more than happy to rebut that.

Thought you would enjoy that word choice.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Nov 5, 2015 -> 05:07 PM) Why is Royals crap in this thread? Because the White Sox used to be capable of hitting on the type of moves that Schoenfeld outlined. They did it in 2004-05. As much as we see retorts of thirty years of losing and look at all those high draft picks, the Royals won largely because of the plethora of free agents they (cheaply, except for Rios) brought in over the last two seasons. Sure, they had their core, like the White Sox have now...but it had to be supplemented with the right mix of players. Why have the White Sox been complete failures in this category for the past decade? Why do we always seem to have the same recurring problems/issues with talent evaluation and/or scouting, forgetting for a moment the role of the coaching staff. http://www.wsj.com/articles/building-royal...?mod=rss_Sports But mostly just for Greg to get a kick out of an Alex Rios quote about winning it all in the Wall Street Journal of all places...revenge for all of his incorrect predictions this postseason.

QUOTE (BlackSox13 @ Nov 5, 2015 -> 04:44 PM) I think Cameron needs to pass booze over this way. All those players combine to add 42M to a payroll that supposedly stands at around 105M. For some reason I have a difficult time believing the SOX will jump from 119M to 147M. Put down the sauce Cameron. Depends on how you look at Alexei. Technically, it wouldn't be adding new spending there compared to 2015 since nearly everyone assumed they were going to keep him at $10 million. From another pov, that would be $43 million because you also have to include his buyout, too. His real cost would be $7 vs. $10 million. That's putting us closer to $150 million with the Royals still getting by at around $125-130 million. Pretty preposterous.

http://www.si.com/mlb/2015/10/24/royals-bl...-clinch-pennant Three poignant examples from Verducci of coaches/advance scouts winning the ALCS for KC against Toronto.

Worth noting that the Royals have attractive team options these next two seasons for Escobar (first two FA years). 2018 is going to be the beginning of their rebuild. Two year window left.

QUOTE (Dunt @ Nov 5, 2015 -> 04:13 PM) Dave Cameron's completely random speculation of our postseason: Undeterred by a pretty lousy 2015 season, the White Sox still seem to want to contend while they have Chris Sale and Jose Abreu locked up, so I’d expect another aggressive offseason from Rick Hahn this winter. Howie Kendrick would provide a substantial upgrade at second base, and at $48 million for three years, won’t entirely break the bank. Mat Latos on a one year deal for $10 million to work with Don Cooper and try to live up to his potential seems to make some sense, and then I’m also giving them Alex Avila and the outfielding Chris Young on 2/$10M deals to provide some depth that the team lacked a year ago, while Alexei Ramirez comes back for $6 million on a one year deal to bridge the gap to Tim Anderson.Undeterred by a pretty lousy 2015 season, the White Sox still seem to want to contend while they have Chris Sale and Jose Abreu locked up, so I’d expect another aggressive offseason from Rick Hahn this winter. Howie Kendrick would provide a substantial upgrade at second base, and at $48 million for three years, won’t entirely break the bank. Mat Latos on a one year deal for $10 million to work with Don Cooper and try to live up to his potential seems to make some sense, and then I’m also giving them Alex Avila and the outfielding Chris Young on 2/$10M deals to provide some depth that the team lacked a year ago, while Alexei Ramirez comes back for $6 million on a one year deal to bridge the gap to Tim Anderson. If that is our offseason, I will be busy doing a lot of camping next summer. There's a perfect example of $78 million in new spending that would get us where exactly? The net adds there would be in the neighborhood of $36 million for 2016. That's pushing payroll up in the $150 million range and beyond...and we know how unlikely dumping Danks and LaRoche is to happen before the season. You end up blocking Erik Johnson, Montas goes to the pen or is probably trade bait along with Beck and Webb, you have made a utility player out of Carlos Sanchez (one good thing) but you still have issues in the outfield, 3b and catcher that aren't going to be solved by Young or Avila, not to mention LaRoche's bat and Melky's defense. Trayce Thompson can play Young's part for close to minimum. Avila hasn't been healthy or productive offensively for 2-3 seasons now. Finally, Kendrick is declining even more in 2017 and 2018 when you really need him the most. The one plus is that it would give Tim Anderson a respected and experienced vet to pair with up the middle, but there's just no way Kendrick is worth that much money to a team with 3 young guys already there. So you've also doomed Micah to the trade bin as well. And therein lies the danger of doubling down with second and third tier players. Pick the wrong ones and we are definitely talking about Sale, Quintana and Abreu being traded after next season. They absolutely are banking on Rodon, Tim Anderson and Fulmer or this whole thing starts to unravel.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Nov 5, 2015 -> 01:17 PM) According to this, rejecting an option (team or player) doesn't prevent a team from offering a QO. http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2015/10/expl...fer-system.html http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2015/11/alex...free-agent.html In Gordon's case, he had a $14 million player option but declined since he's widely expected to be offered 5/100 by someone. So the Royals will get back the draft pick compensation at the very least. They will offer him three years at $65-70 million with some type of amenable option on a fourth year. Then it comes down to whether he's willing to give up $30-35 million in guaranteed money to leave the only organization he's ever played for and a place where he's totally comfortable.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-leag...-183325884.html Why assembling a team of contact hitters (ala KC) probably won't work as new a market niche..

QUOTE (lasttriptotulsa @ Nov 5, 2015 -> 08:50 AM) I just don't buy this notion that Alexei went from being a very good ballplayer to a horrible one in one year's time. He was a 3.2 fWAR player in 2013 and 3.1 in 2014. I think the odds are better that he will put up something closer to that than the below replacement level he was last year. In 2015 he had by far the lowest BABIP of his career. It was just .264 compared to the .292 in 2014 and .291 lifetime. He increased his BB% and LD% in 2015 vs 2014 and lowered his K%. I think this makes him a good candidate for a bounce back year and I would be perfectly content with signing him to a one year $6-$7 million contract as a stop gap to Anderson. But if you're going to be replaced why wouldn't you take a guaranteed 2 or even 3 (mutual option on third) year deal with another team that definitely wants to keep you around for a minimum of two years?

I guess I need Bradley Cooper's magical Limitless pills...

QUOTE (Brian @ Nov 5, 2015 -> 07:55 AM) Were the last two Bond movies released in fall? Thought Skyfall was a summer movie but could be wrong. I think it was around three years ago at the beginning of November.

QUOTE (BlackSox13 @ Nov 5, 2015 -> 07:42 AM) I can't see how a 34 yo SS with declining skills and a 1WAR value is worth 12-15M per year. Asdrubal Cabrera will likely be in that range but not Alexei. Cabrera won't get that much, either.

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Nov 4, 2015 -> 08:21 PM) Neither of the first two Craig Bonds did that number. Though the last one did nearly double it. Casino Royale was great. The chemistry with Eva Green might be the peak of any fenme fatale in the Bond series. At that point, he was a big unknown. The one with Olga Kurylenko was pretty bad...Quantum of Solace. Even if your first wife was Russian.

QUOTE (Brian @ Nov 5, 2015 -> 07:26 AM) I agree with this. After the scene at the border, I was into it but than it just dragged. The whole tunnel sequence looked like a video game and not a good one. I've never been a huge Benicio guy. He seems to be the same in everything I see. His whole thing was predictable. It looked good. That was about it. I was watching online and the tunnel scene was so hard to follow I just fastforwarded through it...you understand the payoff, and the conflict/climax but it still fell flat there at the end and became the typical revenge story with wanton violence disguised as art (like a couple of Gosling movies).

QUOTE (GREEDY @ Nov 4, 2015 -> 06:32 PM) Any chance of a deal where the Sox send prospects and a bad contract (likely Danks) to the Reds for Todd Frazier and Homer Bailey? Hal McRae (respected former Reds beat writer) reported Dye for Bailey was a done deal back in '08 and we all know that Kenny has a habit of "getting his guy" about 5 years too late. I don't pretend to have any intel on the Homer's progress in his recovery from Tommy John, but I do know he has a very high ceiling. Like "get hot and carry your team through a playoff run" kind of ceiling. If the Sox are able to essentially buy his '16 salary down to zero by dumping a bad contract and maybe even get some cash back, it would essentially turn Bailey's deal into 4/63. I think it would be possible that Cincinnati would even shop Aroldis Chapman if it meant getting out of a bad deal or two (Bruce being the other) and/or acquiring an attractive group of prospects. Obviously, taking on a huge contract like Bailey's coming off injury & consequently surgery is a huge gamble, but I'm not sure the White Sox will be able to go from 76 wins & several huge position player holes to fill, to 90+ wins, without taking some serious risks. I posited this idea before and it was shot down then, due to the uncertainty over Bailey's health and future. At that time, it would have basically been asking for the Reds to pay for the 2015 season (rehab), can't even remember who the projected trade was going to involve anymore. Hal McCOY, by the way....Dayton Daily News baseball writer.

Oops, the memory starts to go in your 40's. Too many names blended over 30-35 years of following the sport.

http://www.kansascity.com/sports/mlb/kansa...le43011408.html I just want to see what Greg will do if the White Sox bring back Rios to play RF. Of course, Guthrie was mostly famous for being completely unbeatable for the White Sox, especially in 2012...so that's kind of the Ryan Raburn Effect as a cheap back end of the rotation option to protect in case Danks is dealt and Erik Johnson/Montas falter. Looks like Alex Gordon is angling for $100 million and five years, the Royals are probably only willing to go three years and $60-70 million with an option for a fourth year. You definitely don't want to be paying players these days for declining production (or future production based on prime year numbers) past age 35. Those two moves (Rios/Guthrie) are going to cost KC $4.7 million in buyouts. There's also a mutual option at $10 million for Kris Medlen, and then the Royals will do everything they can to keep Madson (since Holland will miss most or all of next season), Zobrist and 50/50 on pitcher Chris Young. They have insurance for Madson in the form of Hochevar moving to the 7th and Herrera to the 8th. They still owe Omar Infante $18 million, so that's almost $23 million they're going to eat. Of course, JR has been unwilling to do the same in the past with players like Dunn, Danks and now LaRoche, at least not until the final few months of the contract (Keppinger, Bonifacio and Downs are lower priced exceptions.)

From my perspective, you were hitting Sanchez 9th at 2B. Hard to imagine that Carlos Sanchez would hit 8th and Beckham 9th. (Granted, the biggest potential nightmare scenario would be Beckham hitting 2nd, haha).