caulfield12

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Dec 14, 2013 -> 09:44 PM) IF - and that's a big if - Elmore makes the roster, we better hope he is not starting. Or they've traded Beckham, Elmore somehow wins 2B over Leury Garcia AND Semien's not quite ready and Elmore is just holding the position for 2-3 months. But yeah, it's almost impossible to imagine a scenario. If all those things above happened, they would still need to skip over Keppinger (assuming he's not traded) for Elmore.

QUOTE (oldsox @ Dec 14, 2013 -> 09:19 PM) Didn't he just get linked to steroids? Just wondering. And, as an aside, I expect Abreu to be a runaway ROY next year. I'd prefer numbers like Edwin Encarnacion, not Juan. He sucked.

QUOTE (Jake @ Dec 14, 2013 -> 06:08 PM) The pitching situation is fine and could realistically be better than last year And yet nobody would argue we're in better shape now than coming into last year. Sale/Peavy/Quintana/Danks/Santiago/Axelrod/Rienzo/E.Johnson. Obviously, Axelrod isn't a huge loss, but you're really banking on a repeat from Quintana and Danks pitching more like he did in 2008 and then you're making a lot of assumptions about the back of the rotation based on September performances.

But this is pretty much the same argument that would have been used for bringing Josh Hamilton, Albert Pujols or Zach Greinke on board. None of them alone would have made the White Sox close to a playoff team in 2013 or 2014 (based on their performances) and certainly would have hamstrung us later on down the line, as the Dunn and Rios deals did. In fact, with all the reports about Tanaka not being overpowering (throws in the low 90's)...I'd be even more leery. He has some dominating pitches IN JAPAN, but how/whether that would translate here if hitters learned to lay off those pitches, well, you don't want to risk $100 million to answer that question negatively.

Iowa needs to learn to close out games like that, especially on the road. Last year, they had 7 losses of under 4 points and it cost the a spot in the NCAA's. They had that game and let it get away with all the missed free throws down the stretch. Supposedly the loudest/best atmosphere at Hilton in 25 years or so.

QUOTE (Jake @ Dec 13, 2013 -> 07:21 PM) He's not young, but I'd be happy to flip him for Brandon Phillips You can't add Phillips' ugly contract to the payroll unless you're really going to upgrade the catcher's position...3B, back end of the rotation (as it stands now, we have Sale/Quintana/Danks/Johnson and Reynoso/Rienzo), etc. I just don't see them "jumping the gun" on being back in the "all in" mode until they find better solutions at those two positions. Is Phillips a better player than Beckham? Sure, probably. But is the amount of payroll you're adding, his age/fall-off concerns/being stuck with another bad contract making the difference worthwhile? Not really justified. Because you need to be targeting those guys in their mid 20's to late 20's, not declining players in the their early 30's.

QUOTE (winninguglyin83 @ Dec 13, 2013 -> 09:26 PM) maybe he's getting back in shape to make a run at those 134 hits he needs to get to 3,000 Maybe he or Ventura will take Dunn's spot in the 2nd half...

QUOTE (The Ultimate Champion @ Dec 13, 2013 -> 08:38 PM) Jose Abreu = Joseeeeee Jose Jose Jose JOOSEEE Joooooooseeeeee JOOOOOOOseeeee JOsSEEEE JoseeEE Joseee JOOOOOOOseeeee Joseeee Joooooseeee Brooks Boyer's brain = best idea ever That already ran its course with Valentin and Magglio.

QUOTE (nitetrain8601 @ Dec 13, 2013 -> 11:28 AM) My thing with what you're saying is, other movies that have won, have done the exact same thing. Whether or not you like the execution in Fruitvale Station or not, that's different. But to take off points for what others have done in the past, that's being biased. In my opinion, they'll end up passing on Fruitvale because of the controversy and all the attention will end up being focused on 12 Years a Slave as the movie that more poignantly and comprehensively deals with racial relations. That said, the director deserves a ton of credit for taking that approach of presenting the final day in the life of Oscar Grant...as well as humanizing him as much as possible. And, if not for 12 Years, Fruitvale would be getting a lot more attention during awards season IMO.

Escape Plan was actually a lot better than I thought it would be... As far as documentaries go, I still like Blackfish the most, but The Act of Killing just has to be seen to be believed.

Brian Anderson and Beckham have/had their share of (over)confidence or cockiness as well. One of the reasons I never cared for Anderson. Definitely a fine line...and depends on whether he's on your team or the opponent's.

QUOTE (IowaSoxFan @ Dec 12, 2013 -> 10:05 AM) Or they want Garcia to play everyday and will make him the SS in Charlotte to take over for Alexi when he moves on or his traded. Elmore can be your super utility guy and you get to have an IF of 2B Sanchez, SS Garcia, and 3B Semien to make sure those guys are ready to contribute on an every day basis at the ML level. That would be the lightest hitting infield in the majors...

QUOTE (Jake @ Dec 12, 2013 -> 10:10 PM) The nice thing about saying that about the Sox is that it applies to MLB players. For the Cubs, it's all "if all these guys who are multiple years away from the MLB make it that far healthy and play their best, the Cubs will be good (except not have any pitching)." For us, it's "if the players on our MLB team meet their potential, we'll win this year and indefinitely into the future. Except you could have said the same thing in 2001 or 2006.

QUOTE (fathom @ Dec 12, 2013 -> 05:10 PM) It would be stunning if the Sox outbid the Dodgers, Yankees, Angels, Cubs, etc. for Tanaka. This is a much different situation than with Abreu, where a lot, if not all, of the big market teams didn't need a 1B. The White Sox are usually smart enough to avoid huge deals like that. Other than Darvish (so far), most of those Japanese pitchers have been disappointments. Iwakuma was good with the Mariners last year, but he wasn't as high profile as guys like Dice K, Kei Igawa or Irabu. Kuroda's also been pretty decent. Wei Yin Chin was solid for the Orioles.

QUOTE (fathom @ Dec 12, 2013 -> 01:12 PM) Last year's team was significantly better on paper coming into the season than this year's team will be (barring a few starting-caliber acquisitions). Yeah, with Rios and Peavy alone...you'd probably say the OD 2013 team had the advantage....not knowing what we'll get from Abreu and Garcia over a full season, of course.

http://movies.yahoo.com/blogs/movie-news/7...-131553646.html Golden Globe nominations

QUOTE (Chilihead90 @ Dec 11, 2013 -> 10:57 PM) Is it possible for the Sox to do a trade and then tradebacks with that team as a loophole to avoid having Nieto on the 25-man roster? I'm sure they would frown upon it...since it would be circumventing the rules and spirit of the draft. Having to deal with sacrificing one roster spot is, or at least can be, a pretty heavy penalty. For a future starter in the situation where the White Sox find themselves, it would be worth it, definitely.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsFKA9tfP_I This one was even more amazing (in a bad way) from here in China. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-25...th-balcony.html

QUOTE (The Ultimate Champion @ Dec 11, 2013 -> 09:52 PM) Yankees turned down a Phillips for Gardner deal. Maybe the Sox could get in there with Beckham & send him to the Yanks with a prospect, Gardner goes to the Reds, we get specs from Cincy. The Reds are going to have to give up quite a bit more than that to get Gardner, even if it's for just one season. They would probably prefer Kelly Johnson in NY over Beckham, anyway.

QUOTE (scs787 @ Dec 11, 2013 -> 09:35 PM) In this situation how do you figure? Do you suggest they could carry 3 catchers so they can "hide" one of them? That would be ions worse than carrying an extra dh who will actually contribute. If that guy's a future All-Star catcher, you definitely take the hit for one season and then send him to AAA or AA the following year to develop him 100%. With Konerko on the roster, that's almost impossible. Catcher is far and away our biggest need, with 3B a close 2nd.

QUOTE (The Ultimate Champion @ Dec 11, 2013 -> 07:15 PM) As far as it relates to being a Major League player, the hitting skills of a Rule-5 eligible minor league catcher who has played above A ball probably aren't too much better than the hitting skills of a Rule-5 eligible minor league catcher who has *not* played above A ball. Either way it's a stretch. Also didn't the Padres get a "no-hit" A-ball SS out of the Rule-5 who immediately became a regular just a few years ago? It can happen. Everth Cabrera, right.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Dec 11, 2013 -> 05:15 PM) I agree with you TUC. If 2014 is going to be a transitional year, Viciedo is exactly the type of player you give 600+ PAs to. As for the other guys, I definitely think De Aza needs to moved this offseason and that Ramirez, Beckham, & Reed should all be heavily shopped. However, I think you wait until the trade deadline to move them if you don't get solid offers right now. None of those players are irreplaceable, with the possible exception of an All-Star caliber offensive explosion from Viciedo. Give Viciedo one more season. Period. His value is too low right now. Reed, you deal him if you're bowled over and give the closer's spot to Jones/Lindstrom/Belisario/Webb. Beckham, DeAza, Ramirez are probably holds until mid-season, when you have a better idea where Leury Garcia and especially Semien fit into the long-term plans. With the acquisition of Adam Eaton, Micah Johnson's going to have to make the White Sox at 2B in all likelihood. He's never going to have a big enough bat for one of the corner outfield spots. (Then again, that never stopped them with Pods and Pierre). You also need to give the vaunted Keppinger/Gillaspie platoon at least one more half season to work out before you pull the trigger and can pick up a significant upgrade at that position.

QUOTE (The Ultimate Champion @ Dec 11, 2013 -> 11:00 AM) I will first propose the idea (which will immediately be crapped on) that the Sox check in on a Reed deal where they acquire prospects and take back a good player on a large salary but short-term deal in order to gain a better package. Charge a team for Reed + payroll flexibility. I also think with Reed you have the potential (especially if you're taking back $$$) to get back 4-5 guys who aren't on any top-100 prospect lists but do have lots of ability/are lower in the minors. When we sent Hudson to AZ we sent Holmberg too, and I'm thinking you ask for something like a Holmberg type, a Montas type from the Peavy deal, several players like that. That's one thing Beane likes to do, I think he got Chris Carter from us after playing at the A+ level. Well, it depends on the player and the salary we're adding. Essentially, you're looking to improve on our 2016 and beyond teams by adding prospects because we have more payroll flexibility than probably 20 other teams. In theory, that's fine, but you better be right on those players if you're committing $5-15 million to a player (or players) that aren't part of our long-term plans. (Since we're just now getting out from under the Rios/Dunn/Keppinger/Danks deals...and Danks might be an issue for another 3 years). It's certainly a better idea than paying through the teeth for a Curtis Granderson AND losing a pretty high draft pick to boot. On the other hand, we're not the Dodgers, Angels or Yankees, either.

They wouldn't have made Leury Garcia the centerpiece of the Rangers trade if they planned to give away his position to someone they picked up on waivers. The position is Garcia's to lose coming into the spring. Now, of course, if they can somehow manage to deal Keppinger, that would change...but they're better off with Dunn/Keppinger/DeAza/Danks trying to re-establish value. Same thing that eventually happened with Rios...we didn't have to eat very much salary at all ($1 million or so), whereas trading 3 of those 4 names would cost the White Sox around $15-25 million total right now. If they were to trade Beckham, it would be to open up the spot for Semien (eventually) and/or trading for someone like a Howie Kendrick with higher OBP abilities. Definitely not to open up the position to Elmore.

QUOTE (Wanne @ Dec 10, 2013 -> 07:42 PM) yeah...so it was basically giving Thornton away. Oh well. Get on the phone with Pittsburgh...... http://blog.triblive.com/bucco-blog/2013/0...5#axzz2n7w76XmL Or not, with Marte, McCutcheon and Polanco, they project to one day in the not so distant future have the best young OF in all of baseball. If they want to just give us Jose Tabata for DeAza, that's at least worth considering. DeAza's definitely not part of the long-term plan in Chicago.