caulfield12

QUOTE (Soxfest @ Jul 26, 2015 -> 11:07 AM) Starling has been awful since he was drafted. Presumably he would have been the lottery ticket like Montas when we traded Peavy.

QUOTE (GreatScott82 @ Jul 26, 2015 -> 11:24 AM) The Tigers have lost quite a few prospects over the past 5 years or so in an attempt to go for it all. The Royals are now in that same boat. I guess if there is a positive over the past 5 seasons, it is that the White Sox have gained prospects, while competitive teams like Detroit and KC have lost them. This year, we should be gaining more as the deadline rapidly approaches. The Royals seemingly made a 1st round mistake thinking that Finnegan was going to make it as a starter (they did get a meaningful contribution from him down the stretch and in the postseason, though). Maybe the Astros will give him that opportunity. Yes, they also dealt Lamb, but you have to take into consideration they still have Zimmer, Manaea and Kris Medlen for insurance on the starting rotation. That's not a bad place to be at all.

QUOTE (BrianAnderson @ Jul 26, 2015 -> 02:05 PM) The way I look at it let's just call the divisions locked up. Angels, Yankees, Royals. Then its Wild Card. Astros landing Kazmir is huge. That hurts us. Twins are next in line. They just "acquired" Ervin Santana in a way. Their team probably does falter a bit. Still.. we are 6? back of them. That's not that simple. The rest of the teams I'm scared of in order are: Toronto, TB, Detroit. Just don't see us getting it done. Twins and Toronto go on 3-4 game losing streaks? Maybe I'll get excited again. The Twins coming into duress and being wiped out of the AL Central race by the Cueto acquisition and Ventura looking like he's been resuscitated from the dead pretty much forces DET to fight back into it, which is good for Samardzija.

QUOTE (Jerksticks @ Jul 26, 2015 -> 02:13 PM) We have the best pitching by far. I don't think we should sell. Maybe tinker with the lineup though. Gotta grt Laroche outa there or down by Flowers. I'd put Alexei after Abreu amd Avi after him. Laroche is an automatic out right now. Alexei, Abreu and Melky were three of the better Sox players this past weekend.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 26, 2015 -> 02:11 PM) Since when are the Rangers sellers? I thought they were looking to buy. Looking long-term buy on Hamels and short-term sell (and then re-sign) on Gallardo. Have the depth of C. Lewis, Martin Perez, Harrison and Nick Martinez all not in the projected rotation for 2016.

QUOTE (SoxPride18 @ Jul 26, 2015 -> 02:07 PM) Twins lose today, it's 5 games. Scary. 1 1/2 games away from the White Flag deficit against Cleveland. Of course, that was only ONE team we were chasing, not 5-6.

Looks like we're now six games back on the Twins. Btw, the Twins and Indians have four more series together in the final months...talk about an unbalanced schedule. And Yordano Ventura came back and threw a pretty dominating start at the Astros. Only one run surrendered through 7. Just seemed that some of the hitters that normally give us fits like Brantley didn't have as much fight in them today. Outscored 26-5 for the series.

Dammit, Garcia. Sigh. Never an easy win with this team. I know, I know, he lost it in the sun. At any rate, seems like the Indians have packed it in early.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Jul 26, 2015 -> 10:47 AM) It was Zimmer who had the questionable medicals in KC. Now there are three names that have been thrown out there by Rosenthal and the KC Star. Kyle Zimmer, Sean Manaea and Bubba Starling, who just got hurt running into the wall last week in AA. Both those pitchers have had injury issues coming into this year. Other names being mentioned are Finnegan and Mondesi, Jr.

QUOTE (LDF @ Jul 26, 2015 -> 10:16 AM) if you read any of the james bond's books, esp in chronological sense. he fell in love twice, which when they were killed, it drove him deeper in a murderous despair. all this goes back to his parents being killed in front of him as a youngster. eva's character was the first in his path of being a 007. all the books are easy listening. That was the one almost nobody has watched, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, with George Lazenby (the one time he played the role, I think Sean Connery was being phased out but then he proved to be too popular and had to be brought back). NORTH AMERICA: Weekend Estimates: 'Ant-Man' Leads Again with $24.8M; 'Pixels' #2 with Lackluster $24.0M Start; 'Minions' #3 with $22.1M; Solid 'Southpaw' ($16.5M) Outpaces Soft 'Paper Towns' ($12.5M) Pixels was expected a week ago to make as much as $38-40 million, so yet another in a long line of Sandler disappointments. If not for Grown Ups 1/2, he'd really be under water.

QUOTE (LDF @ Jul 26, 2015 -> 10:31 AM) i agree..... with cueto going to al west, they are now forcing other team to rethink their positioning and maybe make a bigger effort to more trading. Except it's Hamels who is going to the AL West and Cueto to the AL Central (KC).

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Jul 26, 2015 -> 10:35 AM) Let's just say Hahn wants a young player to plug into the lineup right away this year to plug either the DH, C or RF hole. That means besides Shark the Sox could move any relief pitcher except Robertson , Adam LaRoche, Avisail Garcia, Micah Johnson, Montas, Anderson , Soto, Flowers , etc just don't include Saladino, Sanchez, Alexei , Abreu, Eaton and Melky . Defensively not a bad INF currently hitting well .. So say the Sox target Dalton Pompey of the Blue Jays a toolsy OF no power , very good defense but pretty young at 22 ,or 31 yr old Chris Colabello who can play 1st base and OF though probably not a good OF but hitting very good this year . BJ's get Shark let them choose the relief pitcher they want or sweeten the pot or add more players for either guy and/or more. Maybe in a separate trade LaRoche can be booted in a salary dump and Colabello becomes the DH . There are a lot of ways to mix and match players to improve this year and in the future while plugging holes . A guy like Colabello might not be valued here because he wouldn't be a core piece or have much upside but he is what we are lacking now and that is a solid hitter . Toronto's offense might not suffer too much without him getting back the pitching help they desperately need and our pitching might not suffer too much if Eric Johnson does a semi Shark impersonation but the offense gets better. Maybe you get them both (Colabello and Pompey) and give up Avi . It's doable. Therein lies the problem. Those are incremental improvements, at best. With Collabello, he was red hot for the Twins a year or two and completely disappeared. With the Blue Jays' line-up, he has a lot more protection around him, in the sense that he's one of those 2-3 guys a starter won't worry about, then, boom, he ends up hurting you because they don't walk to walk him and put him on base for some of the big boppers. Pompey would be fine, but then that diminishes your power even more in the outfield, giving you two guys in Eaton and Pompey that in most years would be expected to combine for 12-15 homers. Unless his defense is Gold Glove caliber, like a Juan Lagares, it's not going to work. And I'm not sure that they can trade LaRoche without taking a big hit in terms of eating part of the financial commitment for 2016 and Avi's value is pretty much at Viciedo mid 2013 level. They pretty much have to ride it out the rest of this season with him and wait for another two months to make a determination for next year unless they plan to shock the world by going after Heyward, Gordon or Cespedes.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jul 26, 2015 -> 09:59 AM) I don't even like Samardjiza, so you really have no idea what I think. But if it is for some #15 and #30 guys in some team's system, if you want to go by the math, the odds are better you hang on to him and the potential draft pick than the others panning out. LaRoche and Garcia will start hitting again. The others won't keep up this mini pace. We heard the same thing about Beckham and he simply disappeared from the face of the earth. There's no way we're not going to get a player in some system's 6-10, or two guys in the 11-20 range. The odds are not better simply because we've failed to produce any position players in a decade, let alone one drafted outside of the top 30 players. We're talking a Keenyn Walker or Jared Mitchell like player in terms of draft positioning. If there's a choice between guys like Iglesias and Garcia who can contribute in 2016....versus waiting on a prayer for 2018-19, there's just no way to justify "further rebuilding" when you have a rotation ready to contend. If the White Sox were allocating $200 million to be added in additional payroll before next season....sure, but it's more likely to be $25-35 million in new monies that we spend than $125-135 million.

QUOTE (WhiteSoxLifer @ Jul 26, 2015 -> 10:09 AM) Actually the Rangers were/are trying to trade gallardo plus he's a free agent after this year There's lots of speculation both ways. Some insiders are saying he's gone but they will try to bring him back (like Jason Hammel/Cubs), others that they want to hold onto him for the rest of the season and then sign him in the offseason, so anything's possible. Guess it just depends on what's being offered. As far as the Cueto deal goes, along with Manaea, the other injured player being speculated about was former 1st rounder Bubba Starling, who got hurt running into the OF wall about a week ago with AA NW Arkansas.

QUOTE (BlackSox13 @ Jul 26, 2015 -> 09:59 AM) Yes it is. Toronto, LAD and possibly Houston bidding on Samardzija can only help the Sox return on a trade. Houston's going to wait until the last second and see if the sticker prices come down or another veteran surprisingly becomes available, but for them to trade a top 3-5 minor league right now would be pretty shocking.

Not with all the bad blood between the two....it would be like us acquiring Ventura. Another great question. I'd say this: Darvish, Holland, Gallardo, Gonzalez and Perez. Wouldn't have included Gallardo a month ago. But he was great in June. Also gives a young rotation the kind of veteran savvy that Colby Lewis has always supplied. I realize this squeezes out Nick Martinez and leaves out Colby and Matt Harrison. That's what competition is all about. Also, someone's always going to get hurt. dallas.com The Rangers have a wealth of pitching if they bring Hamels on board. Darvish/Hamels (two #1's) Derek Holland Yovani Gallardo Chi Chi Gonzalez Martin Perez, Colby Lewis, Nick Martinez and Matt Harrison would all be on the outside looking in...they could trade some of those guys along with Leonys Martin/Profar/Odor and really be a contender. That would leave Gallo, Hamilton, Choo and DeShields as the four outfielders, Beltre back at 3B, Fielder for DH, Moreland at 1B, Odor and Profar fighting it out for 2B (the other could be packaged in a trade)....if Andrus woke up and played at All-Star level again, or Choo....watch out. Need to clean up the bullpen (and they've got a long list of arms there now) and catcher's spot and they'll be in good shape.

QUOTE (Brian @ Jul 26, 2015 -> 08:38 AM) I feel like I have been one of the few that has been able to seperate Tom Cruise: Movie Star from Tom Cruise: Crazed Scientologist. The MI movies have been better than the past 5 Bond movies to me, outside of Casino Royale. Eva Green was really such a strong female counterpart to Craig in that one....of course, he's never going to marry and settle down, but most of the Bond Girls have been lightweights compared to her.

Sean Manaea was the pitcher there was a medical clearance concern about....fwiw. Great news for Royals' fans. They're 10th in the majors in attendance, Top 3 in tv ratings for their regional market, just had their 16th sellout of the season and now this. They absolutely needed an ace to give them a shot in the playoffs, their offense hasn't been nearly as dynamic as the first couple of months of the season, and that bullpen has taken a pounding with their IP totals. With Cueto, you can add Duffy and theoretically Ventura falls in line and doesn't feel so much pressure to be the ace. Blanton, Chris Young, Guthrie...not guys you want starting in the post-season, although they did give starts to Guthrie and the now injured Vargas. Medlen's been pitching out of the bullpen and still something of a wild card coming off TJ.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jul 26, 2015 -> 08:07 AM) You take those "odds" a little too seriously. They have improved the defense with Saldino and Sanchez and Alexei playing much better. If the White Sox hit like they were supposed to hit they have a shot, although slim, vut they do have enough pitching to win when scoring 2 or 3 . If they revert back to what it was before this series, they have no shot. Every season is unique. So when you go to Las Vegas, you would change your bet at the blackjack table based upon "feel" or "momentum"? I'm sure you would rather they stood pat and didn't trade Samardzija. On the other hand, I'm sure you're also waiting to defend the organization no matter who they get back in return via trade. Sure, we just scored 10 runs so things (for the moment, which lasts as long as today's starting pitcher) seem more optimistic, but the improvement of those guys doesn't take into account the fact that LaRoche and Garcia have pretty much disappeared. Are we really supposed to believe that Alexei has been psychologically affected so deeply by off field stuff and now he's miraculously back to the player he was in 2014 and will be able to sustain that for the next two months because he's been hot for a week or two?

QUOTE (Tex @ Jul 26, 2015 -> 09:30 AM) Good analysis. In the back of my mind is a belief that the organization remembers the terrible backlash after the "White Flag Trade" and has vowed not to repeat it. That's all fine and good, but that was before 2005. Most intelligent White Sox fans realize that desperation to get back into a one-game playoff isn't as important as preserving the viability of competing over that 3-5 year window we keep hearing about.

Would anyone be happy if we traded Tim Anderson and Montas for Justin Upton, for example? Sure, we can upgrade one position offensively, but even someone like Upton is going to force Avi to the bench...and he's never played in the AL, so you'll have the inevitable league adjustment, and then you'll end up losing him as a free agent. If they're going to add a bat, he better already be familiar with AL Central pitching, or it's pointless. The fact of the matter is that a compensation pick has about a 10% chance of helping us 3-5 years from now. On the other hand, Hahn can't just sit there patiently waiting for something to happen in terms of improving the line-up ("this compensation pick is part of our new and improved five year plan") or he'll be out of a job before Ventura.

QUOTE (WhiteSoxLifer @ Jul 26, 2015 -> 08:10 AM) Sources: Momentum building toward Hamels trade. Offers have improved since no-hitter. Teams asking for less money, offering better players. https://twitter.com/Ken_Rosenthal/status/625304658140098560 The five teams with the most recent interest in Hamels: #Cubs, #Dodgers, #Rangers, #Yankees, #SFGiants. Not listed in any particular order. https://twitter.com/Ken_Rosenthal/status/625304666017013760 Wow...the Rangers, you'd have to think they're thinking more long-term than this season, although they have a slight chance THIS year. Definitely have the minor league pieces to make it work, and the budget/payroll. That's the kind of move you would have expected out of the White Sox a decade ago, the equivalent of trading for F. Garcia in 2004.

QUOTE (pettie4sox @ Jul 25, 2015 -> 10:15 PM) KC and their soft hits man. They have been magicians with that BABIP luck. Make enough contact, you make your own luck. The White Sox and Royals have about the same walk rates, neither team is filled with power hitters (Morales is the closest, and he's more of a line drive hitter whose balls carry out of the park)...but they have enough speed on the basepaths and the contact hitters in the line-up to make it work.

QUOTE (Brian @ Jul 26, 2015 -> 06:16 AM) Early but with 26 reviews in, Mission Impossible 5 is at 96%. Only one bad review. Good to hear cuz I loved Ghost Protocol. "Rogue Nation solidifies the fact that Tom Cruise is the quintessential action star, carrying the quintessential action franchise. With all due respect to 007, at the moment, nobody does it better." http://www.timeout.com/london/film/mission...le-rogue-nation This was about the worst review, it reads completely like a neg but showing up as a tomato. In point of fact, there are very few series (other than Bond and Fast/Furious) that have now stretched out for such a long time period and remain as entertaining as ever...like or hate Tom Cruise, that's a pretty significant accomplishment. It's hard to imagine The Avengers, for example, being as equally popular 15 years from now as in this last 2-3 years. Of course, a large part of that depends on the directors and viewing tastes changing. The Bourne series pushed Bond and Mission: Impossible in another darker, colder direction, and also made possible the success of similar movies like Huntsman: The Secret Service.

And it's still very difficult for me to imagine with the Tigers hanging in there around .500 that they're just going to white flag it and deal Price, Cespedes, Soria, Davis, Avila, etc. Will believe it when it happens. But it has never been the Illitch style, that's for sure.