caulfield12

Hahn blinked. In the end, the White Sox, after nights like tonight, need Rodon a lot more than he needs them. Except it's as closer, not starting, lol.

I think most White Sox fans were leery about Marcus Semien simply because he was never really on the "top prospect" radar until last year 100% and we generally never trust the front office to develop a position player anyway (for good reason)... It's the back-up QB syndrome here...most of the Marcus love was actually Beckham frustration/apathy in disguise.

QUOTE (Baron @ Jul 9, 2014 -> 05:43 PM) their top scouts are at the Royals game today Dayton Moore is undoubtedly considering a blockbuster trade where he deals James Shields in a blockbuster to the Mariners then tries to assure the fanbase Walker/Paxton/DJ Peterson will lead the Royals to the playoffs in 2016 and 2017.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Jul 9, 2014 -> 09:14 PM) I just read the game thread and laughed at those blaming Robin for tonight's choke. Like somebody stated, the two goat relievers had been on a roll. Petricka and Guerro (sp?) had been doing "well" of late. It's not Robin's fault. Why doesn't Hahn ever get blamed on this board? How in the hell can you trade a decent closer when you have NO CLOSER to replace him? These losses are ON HAHN!! And don't tell me Nate was going to be a good closer. Cmon. Lindstrom? Maybe a decent piece of the pen but not our closer either. Robin is taking one for the team here. Why blame him when he has no bullpen bullets in the gun??? Seriously how would any of you handle this crap bullpen? Robin, whom I don't really like as a manager, is doing as good a job with the pen as any manager would. I repeat HAHN has some explaining to do. That Reed trade was downright silly. Uh-oh. At least tonight was the official end for any remaining fans who might have thought we could get back into Wild Card contention or were on the fence about it. There's at least two of them, and supposedly Steve Stone, in that particular category. I'm a belieber, and a believer, in the White Sox chances of sneakily sneaking into the 2nd WC this season. I'm sure plenty of you disagree, but the team has been hot the past two weeks. Why not give fans like me a bone and DFA Flowers and grab AJ? I'd rather have a token move for us to try and get back in it then do nothing. Like many have said, we're not 2013 terrible where we are going to get a top 5 draft pick. So why not help us dillusional fans with the illusion that they still care about 2014? If AJP costs the league minimum, I say get him. Why not?

QUOTE (The Ultimate Champion @ Jul 9, 2014 -> 06:02 PM) Yeah I know but I love AJ though so I just get excited I would love for the deal to happen tonight, then AJ is in the lineup tomorrow and hitting ropes off their s***ty pitchers. And then after the game where he gets 3 hits and drives in a couple runs he does some interviews and just buries their whole team in the newspapers. Wow how great that would be. Ummm...I'm pretty much sure that's exactly the opposite of what would happen against Lester for AJ. Although I'm also sure AJ would have plenty of motivation to do just what you're talking about.

I was told "That's a classic Cubs' fans viewpoint" these days...to not care whether we win or lose...about being 5 games, 10 games or preferring 20-30 games under .500 for draft pick position is NOW all of of a sudden being a terrible fan. Yes, everything is completely meaningless, other than Abreu and Sale staying healthy. But it kind of takes any joy out of following a team when they lose in this fashion over and over and over again. It makes you want to just tune out until they actually do have an above-average manager and decent bullpen. Why put yourself through believing in the team over and over again when this happens on a consistent basis? You get what you pay for, as they say. If Marty was still here, even though I could predict with 98% accuracy what he would say...ownership would deserve his criticism. They can't "make us buy into not caring" by rebuilding in this fashion. They should just trade Danks, Ramirez and Viciedo and be done with it. That's why bringing back AJ Pierzynski will have absolutely no point. We need the veteran bullpen equivalent of AJ to lock down games so this team can legitimately learn to win together. All they're learning is how to lose together. If they keep bringing in youngsters who've never won together at the big league level, then it's going to take another 2-3 seasons before everything is right, and even then it might not happen because we never know in the end how long we have a healthy Chris Sale.

Thank God I watched the World Cup game and fell asleep when the lead was 3 or 4 to zero. This has to be some kind of joke, right? Pathetic. They shouldn't be surprised when attendance is so low.

QUOTE (IowaSoxFan @ Jul 9, 2014 -> 03:53 PM) I don't believe that they don't change the number of runs required to win. I believe that the average score of the winning team in all games at the Cell is higher than the average score of the winning team in every game at PetCo. Not a coincidence that our best teams in recent years (2000, 2003, 2005-2006, 2008, 2010, 2012) put up a ton of homers.

QUOTE (Vance Law @ Jul 9, 2014 -> 03:45 PM) Our payroll next year is basically $4. We should be buying some proven power in FA or in trade. Trade who? What power hitters under 30 are available, exactly, on the FA market? Colby Rasmus? There aren't many, that's for sure.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jul 9, 2014 -> 01:16 PM) Schwarber was an advanced college hitter who is beating the snot out of 2nd year high schoolers and journeyman pitchers. He should be expected to hit A-ball pitching. For comparison's sake, Mike Zunino hit .373/474/.736/1.210 in A ball and he's been a very mediocre hitter in the majors thus far. How many catchers in baseball have 10+ homers this year? Especially considering his home park for 81 games.

QUOTE (StRoostifer @ Jul 9, 2014 -> 02:43 PM) I see where the confusion is. I'm talking about Ramirez, not Maurer. The reason I take Ramirez is due to the holes in the rotation. Ramirez is still young, right handed and a starting pitcher which is why I'd take him. I get what you're saying about Viciedo, I just don't see the Sox missing out on much if they trade him. Provided the return helps the team. Players who will project to hit 15 or more homers next season: Abreu maybe Garcia How is that going to play at USCF?

I think it also depends on how Konerko feels about AJ. It's supposed to be his farewell tour. Rock already said that's being completely ignored. This would even make it moreso, since AJ's going to get 90% of the attention from the media. Can we bring back Michael Jordan and put him in LF if they trade Viciedo?

QUOTE (The Ultimate Champion @ Jul 9, 2014 -> 01:52 PM) I was listening to the Score today because they were talking about an episode recently where Mark Parent was caught on camera grabbing his balls and adjusting them. Obviously I found that very interesting and at the time Stoney was on, he was being interviewed, and they were talking about what you do when its in the 90's and your balls are all sweaty and you need to adjust them. So obviously that's very important. So anyway during this interview about balls and adjusting balls Stoney mentioned the Red Sox GM making players available for trades. He kind of went down the list of who will be available and when Stoney got to AJ he kind of laughed and asked "what for?" i.e. why would anyone ever want AJ Pierzynski. Now obviously that was disrespectful, and so I wonder if there is something there? I know Super Steverson i.e. ptatc doesn't like AJ, but I love him, and maybe the reason Stoney is a lil prickly around the topic is that he knows AJ has his job next? Just guessing. Anyways it was just a little thing but the most important issue here is Mark Parent grabbing his balls. Thank you for reading this. It would be just like the White Sox to get rid of one of the best in the business and bring in someone totally inexperienced because of loyalty/ties to the team...we've already seen it before with DJ and Chris Singleton. While they're at it, why don't they just get rid of Ventura and give him Stone's job? Heck, Steve Stone would be a MUCH better manager than Ventura IMO, if he chose to pursue it...but I'm sure he would never get along with Don Cooper, both of their egos are too huge to coexist together, like LaRussa and Harrelson.

If they do this...and it's not just for publicity/attendance's sake...then they should release Phegley as well, because that would be a complete slap in the face to him. If we're not trying to compete this year AND we're not trying to develop our future catcher with valuable major league experience, what's the reason for it?

Are we going to bring back Buehrle, too, haha? Would doing THAT move the attendance meter at all?

I thought Garcia and Eaton were the new clubhouse leaders? That's not going to be a disruption? Anything's better than Flowers, but weren't we just saying there's no logical point to bringing in veterans who won't be part of our long-term plan and will keep the next Sox catcher from getting valuable experience with our staff, specifically Sale/Quintana/Rodon? If they don't want Phegley to be that next guy, then they should go ahead and cut him and Flowers loose and admit defeat. Will AJ want to come back for just one half season....or will he want it to be 1 1/2 seasons? For the rest of the year, it's fine...but they would be much better off finding another (younger) catcher before Opening Day, 2015. It also depends on whether they feel Kevan Smith has even a REMOTE possibility of benefitting from major league playing time this year, or whether that would be rushing him too much.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Jul 9, 2014 -> 10:05 AM) True. This was a big reason he was pushed to the bullpen. Reed has been a closer since his SD State days...are you talking about in high school or his first couple of seasons under Tony Gwynn?

QUOTE (striker @ Jul 9, 2014 -> 10:11 AM) I'm intrigued by both Ackley and Franklin. Both have raked in the minors but haven't gotten over that hump in the majors. They both have good BB rates, would be upgrades defensively and would cost less. How about De Aza and Viciedo for Ackley and Franklin? Then ship Beckham to Yankees for Murphy. You could use our infield surplus to try and get a catcher or pitching. Where are you going to play Franklin, with this trade? You're dealing Ramirez as well? Ackley's a natural 2B, but he has been playing LF for the Mariners. Do you honestly want someone who hits like Gordon Beckham playing a corner OF spot? YIKES. Franklin would be fine if he could play SS everyday, but he's probably better suited for 2B or 3B. We have five million 2B prospects, so this whole thing doesn't make much sense. He's kind of like Dan Uggla-Lite.

QUOTE (StRoostifer @ Jul 9, 2014 -> 10:11 AM) That's works. Send Beckham to Oakland for Milone, then send Danks to NY for? Maybe catching help. Hahn would get AL Executive of the Year for that trade alone. Not going to happen.

QUOTE (midway @ Jul 9, 2014 -> 10:03 AM) In yesterday's MLB traderumors chat Billy Beane said his next target is 2B and asked if he should go after Gordon Beckham or Ben Zobrist and if Tom Millone would be enough to get either one....hell yes!!!! I think he was joking. He has said all along that Gray, Chavez, Kazmir and the two Cubs wouldn't be expected to make all of their starts in the 2nd half, especially the first 3 guys because of workload concerns. Zobrist isn't going anywhere, from everything I've read and heard. Price is the one they have to part with... SF is also looking for a 2B, supposedly. DeAza could be a good fit there as well, as they look to shake up their team and find any way to get some more offense out of players not named Sandoval, Posey, Morse and Pence.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jul 9, 2014 -> 09:59 AM) Wrong. You should write a correction request to the Seattle Times, then. Although I think informing Heyman that Danks had a shoulder/rotator cuff surgery and not TJ would be a more worthwhile use of time.

And yet a lot of people wanted to acquire Kendrys Morales for $14.5 million, Victor Martinez for next year...or Colby Rasmus, for another example. This 2015 White Sox can't be all players under 27 or 28. (Once you subtract Dunn/Ramirez/DeAza, that's exactly what we would have). It sounds like we're trying to do a down-sized version of the Cubs' plan by acquiring all young position player prospects and hoping some of them turn out like Gillaspie. Meanwhile, we don't have any premium talent to give away to acquire aforementioned prospects, other than Alexei Ramirez.

George Kottaras is available. At least he can take a walk.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jul 9, 2014 -> 08:58 AM) "Look at what happens with their first round picks that don't turn into studs! THEY AREN'T STUDS!" I'll let Dick Allen list them if he wants to... So we don't want to make any effort at all to compete for the playoffs/Wild Card while simultaneously we don't care about our draft pick/s next year, either? MEHHHH....

QUOTE (knightni @ Jul 9, 2014 -> 09:21 AM) If the Red sox want Viciedo, would they be interested Conor Gillaspie as well? He looks like a natural hitter for Fenway. They'd have to move Bogaerts back to SS and forget about Drew. And also give up on Middlebrooks, pretty much....because Napoli's at 1B/DH, along with Ortiz. Or stick him in the OF, which is easier said than done (as we learned with Josh Fields/Mark Teahen). Dayan Viciedo, LF, White Sox The Mariners have already been linked to Viciedo twice this spring. They scouted him this spring when they saw how left-handed heavy their roster looked. They weren’t impressed with Viciedo’s swing-first, swing-often approach and were really scared off by his outfield defense, which could be compared to Raul Ibanez. Viciedo does has a strong arm, but fly balls are an adventure. Could he improve? Sure he’s only 25 and outfield defense can improved to at least respectable if a player is willing. He’s hitting .250 with 10 homers and 31 RBI with a .303 OBP and .420 slugging percentage. His splits are relatively drastic …(LHP vs. RHP) Screen Shot 2014-07-07 at 1.58.50 PM If you noticed on Saturday, he was pinch hit for against a righty reliever (damn you, Ventura!!!). But the Mariners need a guy who can hit lefties. Contract: 1 years/$2.8M (2014) re-signed by Chicago White Sox 1/13/14 (avoided arbitration). He’d be second year arbitration eligible so it it could bump to 4ish next year. Skinny: At just 25 and being relatively (cheap I'm assuming is the missing word), the White Sox may just keep him. There is some potential and he fits their “park.” It seems likely Adam Dunn will be gone next year, so he could slide into the DH spot. The White Sox need relief help. The Mariners have a lot of hard throwing relievers. It could be a match. Other names being thrown around are Josh Willingham, Alex Rios, Matt Kemp, Carl Crawford, Andre Ethier, Stanton, Tulo, Marlon Byrd (he'd be worth a look for the White Sox, even though he's a veteran), A few things … 1. The Mariners are interested in any player that might possibly help them, doesn’t matter right or left handed, pitcher or player. And if you look their current roster, there are plenty of players on “the trade market” who are better than what Lloyd McClendon is forced to put out there on a daily basis. 2. Very rarely will any rumblings or rumors come from the Mariners. They are one of the most secretive organizations in baseball. GM Jack Zduriencik is quite adamant about this privacy. Not a good idea for a person’s employment status to be leaking stuff to the media. Much of this national stuff comes from opposing scouts and executives or agents. 3. The value of the Mariners prospects probably aren’t as high as you think. Right now, the two best prospects the Mariners have are Taijuan Walker and DJ Peterson. Prospects at lower levels just don’t move the trade meter, unless they are phenoms. The Mariners don’t have that. Edwin Diaz, Luiz Gohara, Gabby Guerrero are all good players and prospects, but they aren’t centerpieces. http://blogs.seattletimes.com/mariners/201...handed-hitters/