caulfield12

QUOTE (greg775 @ Jul 6, 2015 -> 10:21 PM) I disagree. Hillary has the journos in her hip pocket. Their only coverage of Republican candidates is trying to get them to blast each other publicly, i.e. the Trump thing. Guys ... Trump is sort of a chump, but he wasn't trying to say all Mexicans are bad. I like the fact Cruz wouldn't bite. He said, "all the media wants us to do is blast each other; I won't go there." If Trump was a Demo there'd be no coverage of this; it'd remain all Hillary all the time. I hope you guys are ready for eight years of Hilly; she's a lock to win. Hope she leads the country back on track. Cruz is just bring a politician...he wants all those "supporters" to come over to him when Trump eliminates himself from contention...at least as many as possible.

http://www.heraldextra.com/entertainment/m...805a5c4d76.html Sandler has to learn he can't keep insulting 50% of his audience. Recently, it was posing with a dolled up Selena Gomez while he and James looked like schlubs in sweats or fighting with Rose McGowan about sexist casting call role descriptions. I guess if Kevin James can be the president and act like this (and lots still went to Mall Cop II despite terrible reviews), then so can The Donald...it's the backlash to the political correctness backlash. Not sure which is worse. Part of the problem is that it's unclear who the filmmakers think their audience is. This is a big-budget spectacle about 1980s nostalgia aimed at kids who have no emotional connection to the decade. "Pixels" is also insanely sexist, culminating with the winning male characters each rewarded with a woman. Seriously, they get human women as prizes. They literally call one a trophy. The first introduction to these guys as grown-ups is the two of them discussing which Hollywood actresses are hottest. Sam is a loser who feels his best days are 30 years behind him, at the arcade. He's the kind of guy who shows up to the White House wearing shorts and hits on the pretty homeowner whose theater system he's installing. When she rejects him but ends up driving behind him on the street, he declares to no one: "She went from zero to psycho in 3.4 seconds." Because women are crazy, get it?!

Astros make the most sense right now.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan99 @ Jul 23, 2015 -> 07:06 AM) For two months of control I don't think that is that crazy. I'd certainly want more if I was Detroit but that doesn't strike me as a completely ridiculous offer. That's more than the Rays got...although they obviously weren't expecting Smyly to get hurt so quickly. The Cubs would be better off trading Almora, because McKinney's currently their best outfield prospect, unless you consider Schwarber a LFer.

How in God's name did Yadier Molina get a triple at USCF? Avisail didn't contribute to it at all? Well, that's five blown saves. Waiting for comparisons to Addison Reed with that stat...

Cubs luck strikes again....ball up the middle that probably would have scored two ricochets off the pitcher to Rizzo for a forceout at home, so the Reds had two opportunities with the bases loaded and couldn't score. Chapman on now, 5-5 tie, top of the 9th.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jul 22, 2015 -> 02:43 PM) Beane didn't like him cause Cespedes didn't listen to him. Him not listening to coaches advice on hitting approaches is different then being a clubhouse cancer. The trade of Cespedes and what he brought to the lineup and his fit in the clubhouse were both viewed as some (although it was probably more to do with injuries) as reasons why the A's faltered down the stretch. On an unrelated note, a lot of people liked Hanley in LA. Clubhouse cancer gets overused. Was AJ a cancer, depends on who you'd ask, but many saw him as a great player to have on your team. Everyone like him, nope. It's no different from Adam Eaton. There were a lot of stories on him as well having issues with teammates in AZ. He was benched for not listening to coaches about outfield positioning. Some now think he's selfish for trying to jack homers more frequently instead of slapping the ball on the ground and hitting line drives. He also has had numerous issues with throwing and baserunning, including the time he didn't run out a ball twice down the first base line. If you're a Sox fan, you might like him, but the DBacks are much happier with AJ Pollock. In isolation, none are killer problems. When taken collectively, there's more reasons to worry. Was Nick Swisher a cancer because he didn't want to listen to Greg Walker and didn't respond well to being forced into CF and the leadoff spot? Who knows? Sometimes the perception stays regardless. And it's not like guys such as Jenks, AJ or Carl Everett didn't succeed with the Sox. Even Jose Guillen went for stretches without causing disruptions in Pittsburgh and KC.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Jul 22, 2015 -> 02:40 PM) seriously? this is all you have on a guy who supposedly has tons of articles written about him being a clubhouse cancer? expecially out of boston, a city that routinely destroys the character of players on the way out. Sigh. You said you'd never heard a thing about him in Boston. There has been speculation around baseball and the blogosphere that the Red Sox might seek to package Cespedes to Miami in order to reel in Giancarlo Stanton, but up until now that appeared to be the extent of their intentions. That is not the case, according to Madden. Citing an unnamed source inside the Red Sox organization, it appears the Red Sox have soured on the Cuban left-fielder, going so far as to express “hate” for him. While that word may be a little strong, there is no doubt that some discord exists. “He marches to his own drum and the coaches all hate him.” http://calltothepen.com/2014/10/28/yoenis-...d-hated-boston/ The rest of the article questions how he went from a glue/chemistry guy in Oakland to a clubhouse cancer in two months, but there was way too much smoke coming out of Boston for all of it to have been completely invented or fabricated. You're telling me that planting stories about him in the media was done solely to placate Red Sox fans for not signing him...when they ended up signing Ramirez for the same position and Sandoval, two more huge question marks they now also would love to dump on other teams? If they loved him so much, why would they spend significantly more for an older player who can't even play LF adequately?

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 22, 2015 -> 02:31 PM) The bolded is exactly what I'm focusing on with his K-Rate. His K-Rate is the worst of his career. you giving that list of his positive starts could be answered by me giving the list of his negative starts from the beginning of the year. Reality? Jeff Samardzija last year had the best strikeout rate of his career and the best numbers of his career for a reason - they're directly linkes. This year his K-Rate is very much down, 30% lower than last year, and that's not a statistical fluke, it's been that way the entire year. Almost entirely because his K-rate is down, he's a worse pitcher. That doesn't make him a bad pitcher, it makes him a middle of the order starter right now. He'll have some good games, like he did against Toronto, but when he can't put people away with the strikeout he'll also have some weak games like he did his next time out against KC. The balance between them is set based on whether or not he can strike people out. If people are putting the ball in play enough against him, he will get beat too often. If he's this pitcher again next year, he's a solid #3 starter that can help a team with a good offense to the playoffs. But...that huge, sudden drop in K-rate should be extremely concerning to any team wanting to bid on him. If he's giving up strikeouts for those other things...he's losing games because of it. If he's willing to lose games because of this strategy, then we should expect he's a 4-ish ERA pitcher in the future. If the White Sox win 86 games this year and need a pitcher in the middle of the rotation to put them over the hump and have a ton of money to spend, fine he's a candidate for that. For a long term deal, for a team that struggled this year, is extremely weak on offense, and keeps spending their first round pick on pitchers anyway? I wouldn't touch a guy whose K-rate plummeted like this with a 20 foot pole. Shouldn't we be comparing his k-rate with the A's moreso than anything he put up in the NL, since you're getting pitchers batting at least twice per game, which would explain a falloff from 8/9ip to just 7. Could it simply be the hitting in the AL Central this season is just better than what he was facing in the AL West and NL Central? Are their pitch fx and spin numbers that show his stuff has somehow deteriorated? Are the fastball and slider exit velocities comparable? Swing and miss rates? What about comparing use of repertoire from 2014 vs. 2015? Is there a payoff from pitching longer into games and exposing less of the bullpen? Maybe with the White Sox offense, guys like Shark or Quintana just don't look as good because they're prone to lots of starts where they give up 2-3 runs and end up on the losing side of the ledger.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Jul 22, 2015 -> 02:14 PM) I dont recall Cespedes being labeled a clubhouse chemistry trouble maker. Only that he is more of a .250 hitter than he is a .300 hitter http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2250329...-this-offseason See article from about the 2/3rd's point on. There were a ton of stories out of Boston last year but I don't have a Globe subscription. This is the first one I randomly pulled up.

We should have taken the money wasted on Bonifacio/Beckham and thrown it at Epstein's lieutenants, like the Astros did when they raided StL for Luhnow, Mejdal and 2-3 more guys the next rung or two down on the talent evaluation side. Or paint a target on the Twins now that Ryan is back in charge.

QUOTE (bmags @ Jul 22, 2015 -> 01:03 PM) Can't wait for Andy Amito and Bobby Bonito to start producing. Must be relatives of Rangel Ravelo. Btw, how is it that the biggest power hitter in nearly a generation, Micker Adolfo, has yet to homer in the AzL? Between him and Hawkins striking out 1/3rd of the time...

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 22, 2015 -> 01:41 PM) That. $10 million for the season, prorated for 2/3 of the year, give or take the extra 10 days, winds up somewhere around $4 mil. It's not huge, but it's not worth ignoring either. And yet we have ignored wasting money like that on Bonifacio, Paulie, Keppinger, Beckham, Downs, Belisario, Paulino, etc. It all adds up. We can't even get our "value" contracts right these days.

Cespedes has often been compared to Puig, Kemp and Hanley Ramirez in the "guaranteed to screw up team chemistry" department. Maybe because no stories have come out of DET this year compared to Boston last season (and All-Star numbers) he's suddenly more viable again, but you can practically guarantee if Cespedes isnt't playing everyday with a FA contract looming that he'd become a major headache. Another player the White Sox or Tigers would desire from LA is Hector Olivera for 3b...if they were willing to part with him. On the injured list right now for OKC.

Looks like Jason Vargas might have a serious injury...MRI today, major DL time and they absolutely have to make a move with Ventura banished to the minors for the time being.

QUOTE (Lip Man 1 @ Jul 21, 2015 -> 10:11 PM) Makes you wonder just exactly what they do in spring training. The last 10 days of it were brutal capped off by Charlotte pounding them. They were flat on opening day in Kansas City...they were flatter for the home opener for Minnesota. In my opinion that does fall directly on Ventura and his coaching staff. Mark Uh, oh, you just joined "Team/Camp Balta."

At least we can be proud we produced two starters for the Pirates tonight, Brent Morel and Chris Stewart. So, there's that.

QUOTE (LDF @ Jul 21, 2015 -> 05:19 PM) i guess i didn't fully write out my thoughts on that. with LaRoche, the sox are stuck. no moves what so ever. i even doubt the owners will try to eat his contract. so will the sox pay someone for 15 mil to sit on the bench??? no, he will get his swipes in. They essentially did the same thing with Dunn...with the only difference being they won't have to wait 3+ years to dump him in July/August of 2016.

QUOTE (LDF @ Jul 21, 2015 -> 05:06 PM) just coming in now..... i didn't have time before. Melky stat - june 270+ avg, july 303 avg. he is starting to hit like many expected him. Danks contract was inherited there is nothing that can be done about that. Adam LaRoche - why wasn't he added to the list??? the only what if, i have is the additional pitching, Anderson / Volquez, both of which i wanted in dec. Beckham moved paid off, much to my surprise. but then i am saying a person who is hitting a sub 200. Boni i am totally surprise on him.... my only lame excuse is he wasn't handle right. but that is grasping. next yr, it is really going to take a smart gm to do this right. whomever is making the decisions. With KaRoche, only a two year deal and we're going to be hard pressed to compete next season as we've been discussing for 2-3 months now.

The end of Trump is nearing...it was quite fun for the Dems while it lasted. Now maybe we'll see if Bernie Sanders' crowds will net him any real traction against Clinton. Also seems to be a repeat of 2012, when 6-7 different GOP candidates pulled into the lead but managed to quickly blow themselves up. Now, the pressure will fall back on Walker again, who has been flying under the radar. Do the Republicans really want a candidate without a university degree for the highest office in the world? Stay tuned.

It would be nice to have the second or third best team in baseball and still have the luxury of sending down the equivalent of Carlos Rodon with little or no impact on the product on the field.

Also, in hindsight, it's going to be fairly ridiculous to pay Robertson elite closer money for at least 2/4 years when we're not even close... There are a ton of guys out there like Melancon, Grilli, K Rod, Casilla, Boxberger, Soria and Uehara who wouldn't have been up there in Robertson/Miller territory. There's no doubt that spending money too early on Robertson, Cabrera and then the Danks deal aren't preventing another huge push this coming offseason.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jul 21, 2015 -> 11:35 AM) This is the one spot that you and I disagree, but I don't think much of what we did necessarily set us back that much. I don't think LaRoche contract decimated the club and I don't think the Melky deal did either, but I suppose that one was more risky given the extra years. I still think you can spin Shark today and get the equivalent of what we gave up (and as I've long said we traded from a surplus given the Semien was the primary chip). In fact, I think we could get more, so one could argue (and none of us were privy to the conversations) that Kenny and Rick told JR, okay, we can try to make a push, give it our best, but whatever we do, we will ensure ourselves we have ability to pivot after this year depending on how things go (as we know this team can only contend if all of these things go right vs. even with x and y going against us, we'll still contend). No point in you and I arguing this back and forth since we both see these differently regarding what the Sox did this off-season. You think it set us back, I happen to have a differing opinion, but that is a seperate argument. None of us know that conversations between JR / Rick / Kenny and what went down and we also don't know strategically what they have in mind, but my presumption is we'll at least find out if our return for Shark exceeds what we gave up (on paper) in the next few days. Who can the White Sox realistically pursue in FA that will improve the team significantly and NOT blow our entire budget on just 1-2 players (Heyward, Gordon, Cespedes). So the question with the Melky contract is did spending that money too early impact our next free agency class? Obviously if he had a crystal ball and signed Morales instead of LaRoche, B.Anderson/Volquez instead of Shark...were in a position to add Puig for Quintana, you'd be much closer to competing and we still would have Semien to start at 2b or 3b, maybe bringing in Cervelli to catch. Lots of what ifs. The problem is that Avi Garcia is closer to a negative than a positive, Melky's more of a complementary player at his best, Abreu's struggling physically and hasn't carried the team like in 2014 (or Quentin in 2008)...and the gaping holes are at premium positions like 3b, SS and C. I'm not so sure we wouldn't be in the same spot if we signed Russell Martin instead of Cabrera/LaRoche because we'd still have had to spend another $25 million on the likesof Lind/Morales/another veteran pitcher. In the end, the Cabrera and Danks contracts are weighing us down...that and wasting money on guys like Beckham and Bonifacio when it would have been better to play Saladino, Micah and Sanchez the whole season at the big league level and see what we had at the end of the year. At this point, nobody could say with certainty any of those players should be penciled in as starters for next season, other than Micah Johnson since he's still the most likely impact player of the three.

Is that Hamels contract now considered a bargain? Two months ago, it was more of a salary relief must come back with him conversation. Who's going to outbid the Dodgers on Greinke? With his social personality disorder, NY or Boston's not the best landing spot. You could see Detroit if they go back into "all in" mode, which they are pretty much going to be forced into doing with their roster construction and payroll.

QUOTE (bmags @ Jul 21, 2015 -> 09:12 AM) This would be our tremendous lack of power and reliance on stringing 4-5 singles in an inning to score runs. And lack of two out clutch hitting since we had all those miracle comebacks the first six weeks or so...passed balls, HBP, balks, opponent's errors, that's our best offense.