caulfield12

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).

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. Are you counting just domestic/US or also including international in the grosses? Check boxoffice.com, boxofficemojo.com or IMDB.

QUOTE (Joshua Strong @ Nov 3, 2015 -> 10:56 PM) In a year of great movies, that is easily the best film of the year. That's officially nuts. First of all, Emily Blunt is a bit miscast in that role...she's too naive, weak, timid and it doesn't come close to matching her recent action characters. She is basically dominated by all three male characters that she interacts with in the movie. Second, while del Toro was GREAT in his role (which was mostly being menacing and mysterious), some of the plot machinations in the final 1/3rd of the movie weren't exactly the most logical. They moved the story from point A to point B, but not in a coherent way. Some like it better than No Country for Old Men (another Brolin role), but movies like John Wick, The Equalizer and especially Man on Fire with similar themes are much more entertaining. CRASH was much better as well. The first scene in the house and then the tense border standoff in the traffic jam...those were the best scenes by far. You don't need to have dramatic, Fast & the Furious style car chases, explosions and CGI to create an atmosphere of tension and foreboding. Maybe the best example of this is Steven Spielberg's very first move in the early 1970's, DUEL, with Dennis Weaver. You don't even SEE the driver of the truck that Weaver is having it out with the entire movie. I would say 95 out of 100 filmgoers would see a movie like Gravity or The Martian and prefer those latter two. From a filmmaker's perspective, I can APPRECIATE it, but at the same time not thoroughly enjoy it...

QUOTE (Saufley @ Nov 4, 2015 -> 07:03 PM) In my wildest dream I cannot imagine Beckham back with the Sox next year. I hope that I am right. And, hitting 8th for your 2016 Chicago White Sox, from the University of Georgia, starting shortstop Gordon Beckham. Cue tired out walk-up music and Hawk adulation.

QUOTE (soxfan2014 @ Nov 4, 2015 -> 04:59 PM) He'd be a good platoon mate with LaRoche but I think that's Thompson's job next season. Or Garcia's depending on what happens. You want Trayce in the outfield where most of his value is derived.

Now, if they also realize Tyler Flowers isn't entitled to a lifetime contract due to pitch framing, Avi due to youth and mini-Miggy potential, not to ride LaRoche all season long in the hopes of extracting some value if he's still struggling AND that we haven't had a reliable 3b since Joe Crede, we'll be all set. Oh, and also realizing Sanchez and Saladino are super utility players but not regulars (along with Trayce as the outfield equivalent of that)... Do you believe in miracles?

Is he better than Shuck, Thompson and/or Avi? Other than removing his ability to beat us up, don't see the appeal.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Nov 4, 2015 -> 01:32 PM) Does anyone have Kenny Williams' quotes from today? He basically said offseason plan isn't in place yet but it's up to Hahn. So now Kenny isn't running everything? I guess Rick finally graduated. How the $&@? Can you not have the beginnings of a plan in your mind on September 1st? If they were really parting ways with Ramirez, either Saladino or Sanchez should have been given a one month audition...because we all know how reliable spring training is. Forgetting about the expanded rosters and the bloated impact on offensive numbers, we would at least have more certainty about how well they would fare at that level defensively.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Nov 4, 2015 -> 01:15 PM) Jonny Gomes was never in the 2005 White Sox clubhouse. Geoff Blum did not play in the deciding WS game either. Yes, I realize it was the previous extra inning game, lol. The point is that bench players and even those not on the active roster can still play a role.

Sanchez and Saladino might be average or competent at SS, but their defense won't be enough to offset their offensive weaknesses at that position. If they really believed that, they could or should have played either one of those guys there (especially Saladino, who lost playing time down the stretch) instead of Ramirez over the final month.

On the state-wide levels and governorships, a complete disaster. Look at the comments from the Dem losers in KY vis a vis the national party/Obama and being out of touch. Pretty blistering. More than just sour grapes. Because of Obama for eight years and now with Clinton the presumptive winner (by many), there seems to be a nonchalant attitude about all of this.

Gomes didn't even play in the post-season. Supposedly, he spent all the time on the bench motivating Dyson and Colon that they would make an impact in the deciding game, not unlike Willie Harris and Blum a decade earlier off the bench.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Nov 4, 2015 -> 01:01 PM) English is so confusing I can understand why people from there don't spend a lot of their time learning a language that they're finding so difficult. That's not so uncommon. One of our mods makes the same mistake with their quite a bit as well. I think LDF has explained his language/grammatical issues quite a few times already. Don't know very many native English speakers who get all the Spanish verbs correct in all their various tenses and forms, either.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Nov 4, 2015 -> 12:54 PM) Steven Drew just got a five million contract from the Yankees last year after hitting in the .100's for two different teams in 2014. JJ Hardy turned a .682 OPS into a 3 year deal pushing $40 million. Alexei was .642 this season, and still a way better defender. Kendrys Morales didn't exactly kill off the value of the 30 something crowd, either. Or look at how much longer Torii Hunter was effective from an offensive standpoint than anyone expected. For every Victor Martinez (who quite a few still wanted to sign) or Chone Figgins, there's always going to be some bargains...look no further than the changes in our roster from 2004 to 2005. Heck, people are talking about Mr. Defensively-Challenged Murphy of the Mets getting $10-12 million and even upwards of $15 million at second base, a seemingly less important position. Alex Rios got $11 million and an option year at roughly the same age and relative production positionally...

If he gets less than Bonifacio or Keppinger recently received (for basically doing nothing) to play SS everyday for the White Sox this year, it will be shocking. Wonder how well that would sit staring at an older LaRoche on the bench making 3 times as much (sitting against lefties) and basically contributing little while he's playing the most important position on the entire field, along with catcher?

QUOTE (SouthSideSale @ Nov 4, 2015 -> 12:34 PM) I agree. I could see him coming back at 1 year $5 mil. That's close to or less than Bonifacio. No way he accepts that type of blow to his pride. It has to be in the $6.5-8.5 million range for two years. A lot of conjecture that Desmond will get significantly more than that, but probably not from us.

With DeAza, Viciedo and possibly Alexei now gone, who are the Hispanic players they would be having trouble communicating with? Those were the ones mostly commonly accused of having low baseball IQs, along with Rios and the whole loafing issue, but that was more under Ozzie. Abreu and Avi Garcia seem to deal with language issues fairly well. Maybe Carlos Sanchez or Montas? Rodon obviously grew up in the States. Nieto isn't really part of the picture now, and they probably don't care about Leury Garcia so much.

http://news.yahoo.com/u-republicans-ask-ir...-001835332.html Greg will love this new "investigation."

http://www.kansascity.com/sports/spt-colum...le42798258.html Amazing crowds for such a small city. http://www.kansascity.com/sports/spt-colum...le42767697.html Best story... http://deadspin.com/jonny-gomes-gives-obno...ch-a-1740372685 I guess Gomes has a future in pro wrestling, politics or motivational speaking.

Much like the Cubs did before hiring Renteria, the White Sox want a baseball man who has a great resume. Part of the requirements would be a bench coach who would speak fluently to both the English- and Spanish-speaking players in the organization. The White Sox have used translator-media relations assistant Billy Russo to help with communication with Spanish-speaking players over the past two seasons. The front office finally came to the conclusion that a top Spanish-speaking figure was needed. The new bench coach will help with the day-to-day communication with all the players and members of the staff. The White Sox interviewed former player Raul Ibanez near the end of the 2015 season for a coaching position. They also reached out to Indians first-base coach coach Sandy Alomar Jr., who thanked the White Sox but declined an interview. Now experience and communication skills are suddenly important?

The problem there is spending $12 million for a declining veteran who has about five percent probability of being better in 2017-19 when they will most need him. That move is all-in for this year, then you need to deal with the majority of other major roster issues as well. 2b is the one area we have some young depth, albeit with uncertain upside.