caulfield12

QUOTE (Jake @ Mar 29, 2014 -> 07:35 PM) FWIW, keep in mind that Japanese pitchers only pitch every 7 days Yes, but they often have hellacious "simulation" outings in-between...some throwing almost every day. Dice K was a perfect example. Maybe they've changed that since he broke down, but one of the major concerns with Tanaka has always been the wear and tear on his arm/shoulder. We'll see.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Mar 29, 2014 -> 07:05 AM) A major league team needs players like Alex Liddi? Try again. He has one tool, power. Strikes out more frequently than Adam Dunn. Doesn't walk and defensively, although you can put him in at several positions, he doesn't play them well. I have seen guys have hard ons for some mediocre players, but to think Liddi has even in the slightest way shown he belongs on a major league roster or taking it farther and saying he is the type of player the team needs is about as ridiculous as your claim Alexei is an old 31 because of what he was doing when he was 13. You don't think players who play year round in the Dominican, Cuba, Venezuela, etc., don't take more physical abuse, especially speed-based players like a Pods or Chone Figgins who take even more hits to their bodies from all those stolen base attempts and diving on the ground in the infield (as opposed to outfielders)? Or a catcher (or running back), whose career timeline is almost always 2-3 years shorter than the average player. It's the exact same idea as those arguing against Tanaka or Dice K because of the extremely high pitch counts they've been exposed to since they were younger...the number of pitches thrown in-between starts because of the rigorous Japanese training regimen, etc. Yes, I'll argue that Tanaka is more like a 28-30 year old pitcher, if not older, and that he's definitely going to break down in the first four years of his deal and have to undergo surgery. Also, he relies more on torque/movement than having elite velocity (like Darvish), so there's another red flag to consider.

QUOTE (oldsox @ Mar 29, 2014 -> 06:25 AM) Not true. Rockies are overloaded with Lefty outfielders (Blackmon and Dickerson) and, according to recent articles, they would love to trade one for either a pitcher or right handed hitting outfielder. Both are already good, hitters, better than our duo in left.. And still relatively cheap. Dickerson, that used to be on the Reds? Seriously? I've never even heard of Blackmon...unless he used to be a basketball player.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Mar 29, 2014 -> 07:13 AM) When is the last time a team not in contention traded for a guy with an expiring contract? Find me an example, and then I'll waste my time answering the question. Freddie Garcia, 2004.

QUOTE (professa @ Mar 29, 2014 -> 12:58 PM) I don't see us signing a pitcher, I see us signing a guy like Colby Rasmus next offseason (Something to the tune of 5/85 would seem like market value). Future lineup: LF Adam Eaton 2nd Marcus Semien RF Avisail Garcia 1B Jose Abreu CF Colby Rasmus DH Dayan Viciedo 3B Matt Davidson C Free Agent SS Tim Anderson Rotation Sale Quintana 3rd overall pick Johnson Beck/Some free agent/prospect Anderson might not even end up at SS. And he's at least 2 or 2 1/2 years away, still.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Mar 29, 2014 -> 12:44 AM) Look, I'm just saying baseball wasn't designed to be an elitist sport. You disagree? I don't and won't sit in upper tank. I'm a box seat guy. So what will a game cost me on the secondary market? It wasn't designed to be a commercial sport, period. It was designed for the enjoyment of the soldiers around the time of the Civil War, by Doubleday or Cartwright depending on which origin story you choose to go with.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Mar 28, 2014 -> 11:45 PM) God I hate when people complain about ticket prices. I saw Chris Sale pitch 13 rows behind home plate last year and it cost me $18. Use the secondary market for tickets. Also, as bad as baseball contracts seem, baseball players still get a smaller portion of the overall revenue than football, basketball, or hockey players. It doesn't even matter. Detroit's tv deal is up in two years and then they sign a new one and Cabrera's deal won't even matter. That's how much revenue these teams are making. If the Tigers are worth less than the White Sox, have the withering Detroit economic downturn to deal with...and can still afford to pay Fielder, Verlander, Cabrera, Scherzer $650 million or whatever, well, there's money there if teams really want to spend it. It's not JUST about Mike Illitch's personal fortune at play here. The main point, though, is that they're not willing to spend it on 2nd tier players like Santana, Nelson Cruz, Stephen Drew and Kendrys Morales...especially when draft pick compensation is attached. But almost every team can sign a $15-20-25 million per year player...if they really want to.

QUOTE (scs787 @ Mar 28, 2014 -> 09:29 PM) Assuming Rasmus has a good first half, wouldn't trading for him be similar to buying a free agent who had a great contract year? The difference between the 2 is Sandoval has been good for 5 years, and Rasmus really only had 1.5 good months(thus far). We are of course talking about trading for these guys though, so if he needs time to adjust to the AL(I'm not convinced this is a real thing) then he'll have a few months to do so. I know money is a factor, Rasmus will probably be much cheaper, but Sandoval is absolutely a guy I'd take a chance on. Well, the only other options out there that will make a significant impact are Headley and Hanley Ramirez. If we could actually believe in Ramirez playing a competent level of MLB SS, I'd take that risk over Headley or Sandoval, simply because of the importance of getting offense from another position on the field...with a premium on big numbers from your two middle infielders. Of course, Ramirez has a lot of wear and tear on him, and significant injuries over the last 2-3 seasons. That said, if he was available for 3-4 years, I'd absolutely roll the dice on him...but I'd have to be 100% confident he was 1) past all of his injuries and 2) capable of playing SS for 140-145 games. All of these question marks will somewhat limit his demands for anything much above $100 million. That said, Ramirez is getting older and it would be another version of the Adam Dunn acquisition...where you're basically forced to compete in the NOW (like the Royals with Shields) and that would also mean you would have to address catcher, bullpen (if it's shaky all this season) and possibly one spot in the rotation. Ramirez would be 31 at the beginning of 2014, but, in reality, in terms of wear and tear, playing from the age of 14-15-16, etc., he's more like 33-34. It also doesn't address the LH issue. Eaton Semien or A.Garcia Abreu Hanley Ramirez Viciedo/DeAza (DH position, rotating all the outfielders and infielders) A.Garcia (hitting 2nd or 6th) LF Davidson Catcher Semien (hitting 2nd or 9th) That would give you five guys with a lot of power, one with a combination (DeAza), ??? at catcher and then Semien and Eaton for your speed/aggressiveness/small ball attack.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Mar 28, 2014 -> 10:55 PM) I just don't understand baseball's need to give a contract like this. 10 years is just flat out stupid. I mean in 4 years (which is a long time) he might have a bad back or something and be DONE. It's just unnecessary to pay this kind of money to a fricking baseball player. Baseball players would play for a million a year if they had to. For the most part, they are not rocket scientists. Baseball owners slay me. Some of you don't remember the day you could actually go to a baseball game and park for a couple of bucks instead of 25-50 bucks and didn't need to shell out 59 bucks for a halfway decent seat for a meaningless April game. Baseball was never meant to be an elitist sport as it has become. Ridiculous. I guess the team gets to purchase insurance in case he can't ever play again after a serious injury; I'm assuming they at least will do that. Yes, but those policies are also getting more and more expensive with each megacontract, as the risks to insure them for companies like Lloyd's of London escalate. It used to be you could recover about 35-40% if a player was injured. I would guess these contracts are probably adding another 10-15% in insurance premium payments, above and beyond the actual value of the contract itself.

Big 10 has a great chance to get their first national championship since MSU. Michigan and MSU should both be favored (although MSU has to play a road game essentially)...and nobody would be shocked with how well Wisconsin has played the last 6 weeks if they went on to beat Arizona.

QUOTE (StRoostifer @ Mar 28, 2014 -> 09:47 PM) I would rather go 3/4 years with Shields than 6-8 years with Scherzer. Just my preference is all. Plus I think Shields would be much more affordable than Scherzer which leaves room in the payroll for funds to be used elsewhere. Did you read the article? His agent is targeting Greinke, which is $147 million. He's going to be the second pitcher on the market after Scherzer, so he's arguably going to get at least $125-130 million and 5 years, so you're already in Tanaka territory there. Hahn/JR were willing to take that risk on Tanaka in his mid 20's. They won't do it with Shields in his mid 30's for roughly the same price.

Yep, and last night's games were disappointing...with the second two being mildly entertaining.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/10690274...abrera-megadeal Dombrowski responds to the criticism.

QUOTE (ptatc @ Mar 28, 2014 -> 09:51 PM) I think he is the best RH hitter the Sox have for a pinch hitter. He is alot better than any of the others. It's going to be really interesting to see if he can still maintain his bat speed and rhythm as a hitter playing only 2-3 times per week at age 38.

QUOTE (scs787 @ Mar 28, 2014 -> 09:41 PM) I'm pretty positive he was being sarcastic. Liddi has no business being in the big leagues. But those are actually the kind of versatile veteran bench players we need. I'd rather have him than Keppinger, at least. And he would make the minumum salary.

http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/mlb/story/_...-year-extension The Angels and outfielder Mike Trout agreed Friday to a six-year contract extension that guarantees him $144.5 million. The Angels will formally announce the deal Saturday at Angel Stadium, before the Freeway Series finale against the Dodgers. The new deal covers Trout's three arbitration years and buys out his first three years of free-agent eligibility. The deal includes a no-trade clause but does not allow Trout to opt out of the deal at any point, according to people familiar with its structure. The Angels had hoped for a longer deal. When the extension concludes, after the 2020 season, Trout can become a free agent, at 29. Trout will make $1 million this season, under a contract signed last month. The extension takes effect next season, so the Angels will be able to avoid paying a luxury tax this season. Trout, 22, is widely considered to be the best player in baseball. He was the runner-up to Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers as American League most valuable player in each of his first two major league seasons. http://www.latimes.com/sports/sportsnow/la...y#ixzz2xK819KWI

Iowa State couldn't hit in the first half. As great as Hogue was, Kane was that bad, unfortunately. Looks like another UConn/MSU match-up.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Mar 28, 2014 -> 05:25 PM) I'd be much more interested in James Shields than Max Scherezer. img]http://media.kansascity.com/static/v4/img/base/email_icon.png[/img][/email]JOHN SLEEZER | The Kansas City Star Kansas City Royals pitcher James Shields during Friday's Cactus League baseball game against the Texas Rangers in Surprise, Ariz. url="http://www.kansascity.com/sports-news/mlb/kansas-city-royals/index.html"]Read more Royals[/url] Here in the first week of March, the Royals have yet to engage Shields’ representatives regarding a extension, according to people familiar with the situation. The team has yet to give any indication it plans to do so. Team officials refuse to rule out attempting to retain Shields, but it appears that attempt will not occur until next winter, when rival executives expect him to fetch a contract in excess of $100 million. General manager Dayton Moore stressed the Royals view Shields as a player they hope to retain past this season. But he declined to elaborate on any sort of timetable. “It doesn’t benefit the Kansas City Royals, or anyone involved, to talk about this stuff publicly,” he said. As Moore has in the past, he defended his organization’s record of extending its own players. His track record in this area is strong. The team locked up homegrown talent like Alex Gordon, Billy Butler and Salvador Perez on a string of affordable contracts. But Shields presents a different challenge. His roots here aren’t as deep. He grew up in the Rays organization. He sounds nonchalant about the situation, and unperturbed by the pressure to showcase himself this season. “I don’t really like to worry about it,” Shields said earlier this spring. “I’m not that type of person that says, ‘Oh, I’ve got to go out there and have a good year.’ I really just try to pitch my game and have fun.” From a public relations standpoint, the Royals set themselves up for criticism if Shields walks. The organization traded a sizable package of prospects, headlined by 2013 American League Rookie of the Year Wil Myers, to Tampa Bay for only two seasons of Shields. The two-year window places a great deal of pressure on the 2014 club to reach October. But in reality, a preseason pursuit of Shields would require a sizable financial commitment — perhaps one greater than what Shields will seek next offseason on the open market. The cost to keep Shields off the market likely exceeds the Royals’ comfort zone. When Robinson Cano negotiated with the Yankees last May, his agents sought a package worth more than $300 million, in part because free agency is viewed as a privilege few players in the game achieve. In order to give up that opportunity, the team needed to pay more, and the Yankees declined to meet his price. During the subsequent winter, Cano agreed to a $240 million deal with Seattle. Both Shields and members of his camp have denied a report saying he seeks a contract similar to Zack Greinke’s six-year, $147 million deal with the Dodgers. But Shields compares favorably to Greinke, and his lone competition at the top of the market is Max Scherzer, Detroit’s reigning American League Cy Young Award winner. “I don’t know why he’d taken any short-term, hometown deal,” one rival American League executive said. “These are his golden years.” At 32, Shields appears financially secure. The Royals owe him $13.5 million for 2014, the final year of a lengthy deal he signed with the Rays. There is little reason to settle for below market value. “I feel like if I get my job done,” he said, “the way I know how to do, everything will take care of itself.”

QUOTE (greg775 @ Mar 28, 2014 -> 08:53 PM) I kind of liked DeAza's many 2-for-5s last year. Hated all the miscues we've talked about to death. I'd trade Viciedo now for a No. 2, 3 starter and keep DeAza. Try the equivalent of Chris Beck, if we're lucky, from another organization. No way we can get a major league 2/3 guy at this point for Dayan. Same goes for DeAza, for that matter.

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Mar 28, 2014 -> 08:41 PM) White Sox reassign C Hector Gimenez, INF Micah Johnson, INF Alex Liddi, RHP Zach Putnam, LHP David Purcey, OF Blake Tekotte to minors camp Can't believe superstar Alex Liddi couldn't make it. Liddi would be the perfect Jeff Keppinger (with a bit more pop and the ability to play OF) if we didn't already have Keppinger. They probably prefer Garcia's defensive ability and baserunning skills. Yet another example of the effect of Paul Konerko on the roster possibilities.

QUOTE (scs787 @ Mar 28, 2014 -> 07:49 PM) Sandoval and Rasmus ironically were born on the same day so if age is a concern for you then you should share that same concern with Rasmus. Sandoval has got himself in great shape this offseason, again he can rotate with Davidson and Abreu so he offers more versatility than Dunn (yes, I know Dunn can play 1B/OF in a pinch, but Sandoval isn't half bad defensively IIRC). He's also a much better hitter than Dunn. Sandoval is a switch hitter who holds a split of .294/.353/.499 vs RH pitching. Sox will have plenty of $ to pay him. You make some good points. However, 90% of the time when you buy a free agent after he's had a great contract drive year, you'll end up disappointed. Think Adrian Beltre to the Mariners. He would be one of the obvious targets, though. And of course you have to think about the time period of adjustment to playing in the AL. A lot of hitters have struggled (including Dunn) in that transition. It's one thing if you can get Sandoval for four years. It's quite another when you talk about 5-6-7 years for someone who has had such a spotty injury history the last couple of seasons. Just because he's in shape and motivated now doesn't mean that will continue indefinitely.

QUOTE (StRoostifer @ Mar 28, 2014 -> 08:09 PM) So the topic went from the idea of the Sox going after Scherzer next off season to trading Q? Another thread derailed into an utter train wreck. I'm with raBBit, I like the idea of going after Shields IF the Sox even need to look into a free agent starter next off season. In the meantime I'm willing to wait out the next 162 games to see how our starters pitch. Shields is going to be 33 at the beginning of the 2015 season. Are you willing to give him a 4 year contract? Because someone will...at the very least, 3 years with options.

QUOTE (fathom @ Mar 28, 2014 -> 08:16 PM) Another mediocre start for Beede. Finnegan dominated a ranked Oklahoma St team. And of course, he's a lefty.

And it's easier to wait for Beck/Johnson and the #3 draft pick than to take the risk of acquiring a young pitching prospect with a likely high bust rate...blowing a cost-controlled/affordable hole into the rotation. Let's go back to Miggy Cabrera. The Marlins got Maybin and Andruw Miller for him. I doubt we could even get the Top 100 pitching equivalent prospect of Miller (at the time of that trade) for Jose Quintana and Miller didn't even come close to becoming a capable major league starter. At best, we might hope to get Carlos Martinez...someone like that. And that would push the rebuild back two years, lol, and force us to put Chris Sale on the shelf waiting for the young pitcher to mature and become a #2 (time which we've already invested into Quintana).

A really cool organization that I worked for from 1999-2002 is Youth Volunteer Corps of America. It's kind of the middle/high school version of AmeriCorps or the domestic Peace Corps, as way of explanation...or City Year, if you're familiar with that organization.