caulfield12

The Tigers need a bullpen... David Price can't hold that rotation together singlehandedly. http://www.freep.com/story/sports/columnis...oledo/28278097/ Verlander doesn't look ready to rejoin Tigers

Any type of a fire-sale is basically an impossibility, anyway. Other than Samardzija (who everyone realizes can pitch better than he has, meaning you'd be trading him lower than his value)...Alexei's in the same exact boat of "selling low" not making any sense in present or future terms unless you had a suitable replacement waiting to take his place. The fact of the matter is that they undoubtedly need Ramirez to be the player he was for much of the last two seasons to have a realistic chance at competing in 2016 anyways. Trading Cabrera, Robertson or LaRoche just isn't going to happen. The statistic that scares me the most is the fact that we're outplaying our expected wins and losses by at least three games. On paper, we should already be out of it, almost. So that's either a window of opportunity or all the late game comebacks have hidden to some degree the numerous flaws in the construction of the team. Probably a little bit of both. In the end, with such inconsistency from Rodon/Danks/Noesi, a regression from Quintana/Eaton, the terrible baserunning, defense and fundamentals, this whole situation screams +/- 5 games over or under .500 team. Another concern is simply the fact that there hasn't been much progression from some of the big pitching names in our minor league system, guys like Montas and Danish (although Adams has come on recently, he's not a factor for 2015)...in the back of your mind, you're hoping one of them (or someone like Sanburn, Crain or Nate Jones) could take a step forward and help to solidify that 7th/8th inning issue currently undermining the bullpen. With the financial resources stretched thin, it's hard to imagine adding much there. So basically, the classic definition of no-man's land, where a Samardzija deal becomes another White Flag Trade but it's also the best possible means of improving the product on the field for next season.....Catch-22.

QUOTE (bmags @ May 31, 2015 -> 03:03 PM) If you are bad at something that's important you better be excellent the other important things. The sox had a great run with free agents, now they have not. The sox had a good run of acquiring pro ready prospects and plugging them in, they have still done pretty well here. The problem with relying on FA is obvious, when you are already paying players full value you get much less when you try to trade them. Drafting and developing players just makes everything easier, and the sox who are good at pitching but horrendous at hitting, are seeing what happens. And that's pretty obvious, because just think of all the big contracts we've given out (or taken on) and how easy they would have been to dump (that answer being not very): Konerko Buehrle Magglio Ordonez Jose Contreras Peavy (original deal with Padres) Rios Dunn Robertson LaRoche Me.Cabrera Danks In that category of not so big but not super easy to unload nevertheless, you have the likes of Duke, Bonifacio, Teahen and Jeff Keppinger. The one example of someone who who was pitching well (in Edwin Jackson), we still didn't get anything back in return because we had to dump Teahen. The only counter-example is the Jake Peavy deal...which worked out almost impossibly well. We also got away with one other bigger contract, being able to dump Freddy Garcia on the Phillies. So two. (Thankfully, Albert Belle opted out of his deal 17 years ago or we would have ended up with the Orioles' problem/s).

QUOTE (kitekrazy @ May 31, 2015 -> 04:15 PM) I thought it was great as a utility infielder. It's probably their best FA signing. And that tells you everything you need to know about the White Sox this season. For the money involved, it's hard to argue Robertson over Beckham, although the save conversion rate doesn't come close to telling the story of how valuable David actually has been to solidifying the back end of the bullpen.

QUOTE (OmarComing25 @ May 31, 2015 -> 05:52 PM) With us beating the Astros the Twins have the best record in the AL right now. Who would have thought that entering June? Even more points for being able to name any of the Twins' starters after Mauer, Plouffe and Dozier. For predicting that Torii Hunter and Kendrys Morales would be the most important FA adds. Or that Dee Gordon and Prince Fielder would be leading their respective leagues in hitting.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 31, 2015 -> 05:03 PM) It is just sad that how many people can't enjoy anything positive, ever. I think many would be more excited if they believed it would be enough to allow another team to assume Danks' contract. He had much longer streaks last year of solid pitching, but, even then...it wasn't enough because he slumped right around the time in mid-season when other teams would have been most interested in a starting pitching addition. Right now, it just feels like we're stuck in that "dead zone" between being competitive and being out of it. And that might be the worst place of all for a fan base, because that's when apathy sets in. People start tuning into other events or summer activities, and the Black Hawks are going to soak up all the attention in the city for the next two weeks.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 31, 2015 -> 04:56 PM) I can't figure out why the word "fickle" keeps coming to mind... Are you saying that you believe that John Danks is going to have a sub 4 ERA for the remainder of the season? Fans expecting any consistency out of this team will be waiting a long time. We're still, for the moment at least (CLE and SEA are tied late), in last place out of 5 teams.

Verlander might be pitching next weekend against the White Sox. Made his first AAA rehab start and was shaky and seemingly emerged with his health...was around 92-94 consistently, topped out around 96 MPH. With Lobstein out, the Tigers desperately need more pitching with Greene and Simon inconsistent.

QUOTE (raBBit @ May 31, 2015 -> 11:34 AM) Channeling my inner Dick Allen, the Sox lineup in the 2008 playoffs featured zero players the White Sox drafted. Alexei was the only player that had played only for the Sox. And how sustainable did those line-ups in 2005 and 2008 turn out to be? It's not really something to brag about in a current baseball paradigm where there's a premium on producing and controlling star-quality young impact players/pitchers. The example of Ramirez, of course, is fitting...a player who didn't spend any time at all in our minor league system.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ May 31, 2015 -> 11:52 AM) I read something yesterday where they are crying in Boston hoping this new guy they called up is goodbecause it has been since 2007 they have brought up a sarting pitcher that has been good for them. And that includes years with the great Theo in charge. Proving that fanbases with three World Series trophies in just a single decade are even more demanding than White Sox fans.

The irony is that being mediocre year after year for a decade is much worse than rebuilding. The issue isn't rebuilding...it's finding someone we can actually trust to develop young players, especially position players. How can we rebuild when we can't even successfully produce one player over a full decade...unless you want to "credit" someone for Gordon Beckham? Or Marcus Semien...but would Marcus have a 750-800 ops if still around? Doubtful. It's not about being impatient with young players and giving them time to develop. It's about being stuck with players like Beckham and Flowers year after year...players who don't improve and often regress over time. If Carlos Sanchez or Conor Gillaspie had the ability to be Top Ten players at their position (like a Joe Crede)...sure, but they max out at 15-18 and that's absolute ceiling if everything goes perfectly like with Conor last year. More than likely, they're botton third guys and you can only have 2-3 in your line-up like that, not 5-6. Obviously, that's counting on Eaton and Avi, and the jury's still out on those two. If the White Sox fans had Bryant, Russell, Soler, Baez and Schwarber to cheer for...at least they would be excited like Sox fans when Ventura, Sosa, One Dog and Thomas came up...or later when Durham, Magglio, C-Lee, Cameron/Konerko, Singleton, Rowand and Crede debuted.

Is ISU seriously considering TJ Otzelberger? Hmmmm...

Roberto Hernandez's spot in the rotation could be tenuous if the doesn't pitch better. The veteran was rocked for seven runs and nine hits in his last start and has failed to deliver a quality start in three of last five outings. John Danks , #50 LHP 2-4, 5.69 ERA, 37 SO Danks gets yet another chance to establish his place in the rotation. He's in need of a good outing after allowing 11 runs combined over his previous 2 games. The lefty has allowed fewer than 3 runs in just 2 of his 9 starts.

http://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/7/71/64...ing-ben-zobrist Cubs targeting Zobrist...still. Beane not ready to sell, yet. Dexter Fowler experienicing his annual swoon.

Outside of the obvious names, Beckham is arguably easier to deal than Bonifacio due to their contracts, but they're essentially stuck with possible Samardzija and Ramirez moves. None of the top 10 or so minor league prospects have elevated their value since the end of 2014. Dealing Ramirez means you have to replace him to compete next year, but with who? Stephen Drew? Tim Anderson? Sanchez...Saladino....Leury? Hard to sell a competing team with two gaping holes up the middle, at catcher, 3B, LF and still short at least one 8th inning guy in the bullpen.

QUOTE (Joshua Strong @ May 30, 2015 -> 10:52 PM) Nor should they. They have guys that they trade on the active roster right now and get solid returns and still be in the playoff mix in 2016 And who will play SS and 2b for this playoff contender after you deal Ramirez? Other than Jeff and Alexei, there are no other players to deal and expect anything near major league ready (like Avi or Davidson/Eaton) in return. LaRoche, Robertson, Duke and Bonifacio would just be salary dumps. Beckham might have more value due to his versatility and improved offense this year.

He doesn't.

QUOTE (greg775 @ May 30, 2015 -> 10:09 PM) Any chance Fran Fraschilla gets that job? No way. Nor Steve Lavin. Tommie Amaker deserves another shot, but not sure Iowa provides enough in terms of recruiting...unless you follow the Hoiberg plan of attack and scour the country. Amaker and Rasheed Suleimon to ISU? Don't think he'd want to pick up the phone when Coach K called on that one.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ May 30, 2015 -> 08:44 PM) There is a major issue here you have failed to grasp. Okay, AL... By the way, last year the White Sox were 23-25 at this same point in the season, 7 games back and in fourth place. This year, we could be in fifth and have a much larger spread with the top 3 teams in the division. Last year, there were really only two to chase.

QUOTE (harkness @ May 30, 2015 -> 05:21 PM) Hard to mount winning streak when your offense is this bad. Guy with 49 strikeouts on the season in 73 innings strikes you out 11 times. Such undisciplined/bad hitters. Even Avi who is batting 324 ... he swings at every piece of s*** pitch the pitcher throws. Quit getting your self out... you're major league hitters. Embarassing. Keuchel is one of the favorites for the NL Cy Young but he isn't a huge strikeout guy. He gets by more with deception and movement than pure stuff. Pretty sure today was his career high in K's and a rare cg shutout. 31-19 is surprisingly the best 50 game start for an Astros team in history.

Game already postponed...that was quick.

QUOTE (raBBit @ May 30, 2015 -> 03:43 PM) What... Name a 2b not on steroids who didn't completely fall apart in their early to mid 30's. Even Dustin Pedroia has fallen off quite a bit. The White Sox offense isn't even worth discussing at this point. It is what it is. No magic solutions. We're stuck with it. Other than maybe trying Bonifacio more, and that will last 7-10 days and then he'll fade again.

But we're better than the Phillies offensively! We're not the worst. Marketing 101. Kind of sad to see how much Utley is struggling. At one point, he looked like a borderline HoF guy if he could sustain his prime for 3-5 more seasons like Konerko did. 2b just lose it completely. Roberto Alomar and Sandberg come to mind. Drew for the Yankees. Knoblauch. Sax. Iguchi.

Astros have excellent outfield defense, Marisnick and Springer in particular. Tucker and Gattis have forced Rasmus out of a job, for now.

Beckham diving out over the plate on that one...Keuchel won't let him do that twice. When we do play run and hit, THAT results. More bad baserunning there. Long-term deal revoked.