caulfield12

QUOTE (GreenSox @ Oct 9, 2014 -> 07:23 PM) Interesting. You do realize that the Giants, Tigers and Dodgers had WORSE bullpens statistically? Speaking of ridiculous posts. If you think Robin got more wins out of this team or last year's team than the talent warranted, then we'll just have to disagree. People want to make excuses for this guy...another reason hiring house horses is a bad idea. The White Sox were 4th from the bottom in terms of SV/SVO percentage, in the low 60's. That said, Houston and Colorado were MUCH worse, one of those teams was at only 48%. The White Sox were firmly in the third tier, but there were a ton of teams with save conversion rates from 63-69%. Of course, if you look at the Royals, they were something like 72-1 with a lead going into the 7th or after the 7th, can't remember which. Holland had just two blown saves the entire season. I think one of those Twins' teams, either 2006 or 2010, they also had only one loss in that same situation (with the lead after the 7th). The White Sox, someone said, lost 23 of those games this year...that they were either tied or leading in the 7th/8th/9th. That's the MAIN reason for optimism about 2015, the theory they simply CAN'T be that bad again. But it wasn't a historic level of ineptitude. I'm sure the 2007 bullpen was even worse statistically.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Oct 9, 2014 -> 12:26 PM) That just seems like post-hoc reasoning to me -- you list some examples, sure, but what about every other team that also won? Or what about the 2013-14 Red Sox: cited as posterchildren for a rebooted clubhouse chemistry for going worst-to-first, only to find themselves right back at worst the next season with essentially the same team. Also, that's a team built almost completely through free agency and trades in a single offseason, the very opposite of a crop of guys being developed at the same time. Like I said, I believe strongly that chemistry affects wins and losses, but I don't think there's anything remotely close to a consistent, predictable explanation for what creates good chemistry. There are a whole bunch of different personalities in a whole bunch of difference situations, and I don't think you ever really know what you're going to get. I'll just add this (minor league development) is a much better working model for middle and third tier payrolls. With the Red Sox, they had the money to spend their way out of the problem by bringing in Napoli, Victorino, Uehara, Drew, etc. They also had the financial flexibility being one of the top 2-3 payrolls to buy their way out of the Gonzalez, Beckett and Crawford deals...whereas the White Sox couldn't even escape from either Danks OR Dunn, at least until this point.

QUOTE (thxfrthmmrs @ Oct 9, 2014 -> 10:00 AM) It's usually not the case, but it happens more often than you think. Right on top of my head, the Haren trade, Teixeira to Braves trade, Padres trading Adam Eaton (pitcher) for A Gon and Chris Young. Dating back further. Sox traded Sosa + for no one, and Mariners traded Varitek and Lowe to Red Sox for Slocumb. Even the Peavy trade could work out handsomely for us if Montas can stick as a starter and Rondon could just be a defensive utility guy in the majors. No one meaning former AL MVP George Bell or Alvarez/Sosa/Fletcher for Baines?

QUOTE (beautox @ Oct 9, 2014 -> 09:27 AM) All jokes aside when looking at the steamer projections the way this team is currently constructed it leaves a lot to be desired. normally to take down at division crown you need about 45WAR and around 40 to take the wildcard. here is how it shakes out for us currently. hand | name| pos | age | projected war | salary L Eaton CF 26 2.2 PRE ? ? 2B ? ? ? ? ? LF ? ? ? R Abreu 1B 28 4 7M ? ? DH ? ? ? R Garcia RF 23 1 PRE R Flower C 29 .8 ARB L Gillaspie 3B 27 1.1 PRE R Ramirez SS 33 2.1 10M For the sake of this conversation lets say they go the following route: Semein is playing 2B steamer projects 1.5WAR for him The sox are able to move Danks + for CarGO and plug him in LF steamer projects 2.7WAR They go conservative and sing Morales and he reproduces his '13 season 1.4WAR our lineup is looking at 16.8WAR. looking at the rotation hand | name| pos | age | projected war | salary L Sale SP 26 4.6 6M ? ? SP ? ? ? L Q SP 26 2.6 3.4M R Noesi SP 28 .1 ARB ? ? SP ? ? ? Again for the sake of this conversation lets say they go the following route: Sign Maeda and he performs similar to Hyun-Jin Ryu in his first year 3.2WAR Rodon starts in the rotation out of the gate and performs up to his parallel David price in his first go around 1.3WAR the sox rotation is at 11.8WAR lastly lets say we get modest contributions from our bench and bullpen this year 2.6WAR total and that includes signing Andrew Miller. By steamer's projections and some liberties by myself with regards to Maeda and Rodon we're still 9 wins from looking at the wildcard. Having said all that I think the projections for a number of the sox are low specifically Eaton, Abreu, Sale, Quintana and Noesi. I feel the sox could be a dark horse for the wildcard in '15 if a few things break their way. The new GM would quickly lose his job trading Danks for fan favorite CARGO. Danks would be a complete disaster, as he's already giving up AL-leading homer totals without pitching half his games at COORS. This whole Danks/CARGO thing is about as likely as Sale being traded to the Red Sox for their suspect list of prospects.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Oct 9, 2014 -> 09:18 AM) Also, his price will just climb if he pitches well in the ALCS and/or WS, AND, why are we so arrogant to think he wouldn't just stay with the Royals? I think by the time it's all said and done, he'll want to stay with KC more than they'll need him...there's just no reason to invest $75-105 million into a pitcher at his age when they already have 3/5th's of a great young rotation along with veterans in Vargas and Guthrie for the back end. They believe in Finnegan as a future starter just as strongly as the White Sox believe in Rodon. If you want to equate Sale/Quintana to Ventura/Duffy...the Royals still have a lot more veteran stability and predictability than we do with Danks/Noesi/Carroll. More importantly, they're not "stuck" with a bad contract like we are with Danks. The White Sox really need a miracle from Bassitt or Montas OR to spend a good amount of money (or talent if it's a trade) to fix the problem externally.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Oct 9, 2014 -> 09:47 AM) Still trying to figure out the 2013 White Sox. According to Hawk, there was "not a butthole on the team" (direct quote from ~April 2013). They were then the most undisciplined team I've ever seen. Fits into that topic somehow. Peavy was the closest. But it never came from guys like Konerko, Thome, Dye, Dunn, Rios....quite clearly. Abreu is more the "strong silent" type as well, following in the Carlos Quentin tradition, albeit not quite so self-absorbed and tightly wound. Then Rowand/Everett from the 2005 team.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Oct 9, 2014 -> 09:39 AM) It's funny how "cohesive" a team gets when they win a few games. I think there's definitely an effect for chemistry, but I think it's close to completely unpredictable, both in magnitude and frequency. As a GM, the best you can do is put the best talent you can on the field and respond to behavioral outliers as they show up. But there's plenty of examples like the Twins from 2001-2010, the Rays, the Royals this season, the Cardinals since around 2005....where their minor league system excelled and they had the talent/depth for a group of players to progress a level at a time, building a winning tradition at every stop along the way...by the time they got to the big leagues together, they simply expected to keep playing at a championship level just like they did in the minors. When they've had 3-4 seasons playing together, let's say a set of middle infielders, or a catcher being familiar with all of the pitching staff, it makes a HUGE difference for a team. They develop a trust and a bond with each other....that you will never see when those guys are just throw together for the first time in Chicago. IMO, that's one of the major reasons for some of the defensive issues we've had over the last decade or so...along with favoring offense/home runs over "defense first" players because of the stadium. Getting rid of guys like DeAza and Viciedo...if the Sox continue to make mental mistakes, you might have to start pointing the finger at the dugout instead of the players themselves if the trend repeats itself with a whole new cast of characters. MAYBE, JUST maybe...we finally have that with the Rodon/Hawkins/Anderson/Danish/Montas/Barnum/Rondon group in A ball. 2009 Birmingham started out to be that kind of a team as well. But it has been super rare.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Oct 9, 2014 -> 07:39 AM) This post is a total stream of consciousness and I have no idea what the point is. Two things: there's more than one way to skin a cat. As has been pointed out, the Orioles have very few "home-grown" players but it didn't stop them from winning 96 games and cruising through the ALDS. Also, if you believe that Kenny Williams wheeling and dealing hurt the Sox develop minor leaguers, please show me the minor leaguers the White Sox traded away that would be a part of the team right now. There are very few impact prospects. That's kind of the point (along with the fact that the Cardinals are bringing up 2-4 players together each year, wave after wave after wave of young talent). Obviously, the White Sox haven't developed any players worth trading to other teams, as none have developed to the point where they even had significant value in trade to another organization....unless you want to count the return on Gordon Beckham this August. We've had far too many Molinas and Zach Stewarts when we SHOULD have had the opportunity to replace guys like Santos and Edwin Jackson with young/impactful big league talent. Essentially, you only have Sale/Abreu/Ramirez and you can also include Petricka and Viciedo, although most would argue Viciedo has little to or no value at the current time. Of course, those first three spent little or no time in the minors, and Rodon's following the same path. At any rate, we haven't had the minor leaguers to trade which would amount to anything significant...even at the current moment, you're talking Sanchez/Semien/Micah, maybe Beck or Erik Johnson or Davidson, you'd be hard-pressed to put them all together and get even a starting player in return, certainly not a Top 1-75 player. Maybe if you added Bassitt/Webb you'd spark some interest. In the end, Mitchell, Walker and Thompson all appear to be busts, and that's hurt the system quite a bit. Johnson and Davidson aren't far behind. We can talk all we want about trading Quintana or Ramirez, but we can't do that without seriously damaging our chances to compete in 2015 and 2016 IMO. Not having the minor league depth of quality talent has hurt for three seasons in a row. Even today, trading Anderson/Hawkins/Danish/Montas makes a lot less sense than holding onto them and seeing what we have in two years.

The White Sox AND Royals have less than a 1% chance of signing Shields. I'd put the Royals at 1-2% simply if they win the World Series and feel like going on a spending spree, but it still wouldn't make any sense. With Ventura, Duffy, Finnegan and then Vargas and Guthrie at the end of the rotation (they also might want to convert Aaron Crow, there's Liam Hendricks, Hochevar and Lamb as well), they don't really even need to waste that money on Shields...it can go to adding pop to their line-up in the middle, like Martinez/Sandoval/Hanley Ramirez. The most logical fits are Victor or Sandoval as the DH (and part-time 3B starter), although he's (Kung Fu Panda) going to expect to be paid starting 3B money. If I'm Moore, despite the two homers, I'm still not sold on Moustakas as the starter with his .215ish average, but he's probably bought himself the benefit of the doubt for one more season because of the last four playoff games. Another good fit for the Royals would be Michael Morse in RF/DH if they don't try to keep Aoki...although Dyson might be given the starting job, if they can find a power-hitting DH.

QUOTE (Harry Chappas @ Oct 9, 2014 -> 08:42 AM) Sons of Anarchy is still hanging in there. Glad the series is over but the story arc focusing on Gemma is just a waste of good potential...maybe the ending fits but the Jumping of thh Shark started with Ireland and landed with Opie's exit. The one good thing though is it is local, no Mexico or IRA. The current stuff is somewhat believable. I like that the Scot is getting laid as well. Supposedly, one of the main samcro members dies in Episode 9 or 10, not counting Juice or Gemma on that list. (Guessing it has to be Scotty/Chibs or Tig)...Unser's doomed to never die, it would seem. There's so many lies and deceptions this season, it's hard to keep track of what's going on exactly. Nero is the main reason I keep watching, and of course to see how the Jax/Gemma confrontation finally comes out. Jax has done so many heinous things in the last couple of seasons you're almost against him, but not quite. It's not like Breaking Bad, where you pretty much know Heisenberg's eventual outcome at a certain point. In this case, Jax is the hero/anti-hero...he can't get off scot free, and yet you have a feeling a guy like that would have a much harder time living out his 50's and 60's than dying an outlaw's death in the prime of his life. It still has that feel since the start of the season that Wendy and Nero will somehow end up together taking care of Thomas, Cain and Nero's special needs child...like at one point in BB when you thought Jessie was going to end up in a serious relationship with the young woman who had the kid. I guess I could also live with Nero and Opie's gal living happily ever after, but who knows.

QUOTE (BigHurt3515 @ Oct 9, 2014 -> 12:30 AM) I was just thinking, did the Royals go through any injuries this year? Ventura was out for a while and it looked at the time like he might have a TJ surgery but that passed. Hosmer missed quite a bit of time in the second half, which allowed Butler to play 1B full-time and kind of get back on track offensively. Holland missed some time in the 2nd half as well, but nothing major. Finally, Duffy also was down for a start or two down the stretch, but nothing major.

http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/10/...partner=ya5nbcs Mattingly supposedly safer than Colletti, although a new GM hiring COULD lead to a new manager obviously...

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Oct 8, 2014 -> 02:23 PM) You should read the book, its incredible. You'll read it in as close to one sitting as possible. One more reason KC's on a roll these days, haha. This Is Where I Leave You....2.5/5 The Equalizer....2.75/5 A Walk Among the Tombstones....3.25/5 Lucy....3.5/5 Two Night Stand...2.5/5 Breakup Buddies (China)....2.25/5 Dearest (China)....3.5/5 The Golden Era (China)....2.75/5

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Oct 8, 2014 -> 03:07 PM) Really, wait a second, didn't someone post in the NLDS thread that Mattingly was fired? D'Oh. And anyway, no 2014 is not the season Robin Ventura deserved to be fired for, 2013 was. Since that didn't happen when it should have, the next time he deserves to be fired is when the Sox spend money and the team fails. If they spend a boatload of money this offseason and they aren't a playoff team, then there better be a darn good excuse for why, because that would mean something went very wrong. That 2012 team basically SHOULD have been at 84-78 with Peavy, Rios, Dunn, Sale, Quintana, Konerko, Alexei, Viciedo having a strong rookie year, AJ's offensive performance, a pretty solid bullpen. Tha main argument in Robin's favor was blending in all of those inexperienced pitchers/rookies and keeping the team together until the very end, as well as whatever magical pixie dust he spread around the diamond to get above-average defensive play for most of that season. The bigger enigma is how the 2013 team fell so far off from what they were capable of producing...at least based on their historical performances coming into that year. Of course, there were injuries, but that's only PART of the story of why the team imploded in the 2nd half.

YAWN except for Engel if he (and Rondon) can be 725ish OPS guys.

QUOTE (BaconOnAStick @ Oct 8, 2014 -> 08:31 PM) If Flowers and Danks gets us Puig I will literally eat Rich Hahn's butthole live on TV. Whatever hallucinogenic mushrooms are being ingested, count me in with Rogen and Franco on that one.

QUOTE (Rooftop Shots @ Oct 8, 2014 -> 08:23 PM) My brother lives in Orange County, and he says the same thing. His theory. He said after the 3 starters Dodgers need pitching and a catcher, and that Puig has a mind of his own inside and outside the clubhouse. LA getting tired of it and already have 3 proven outfielders and can unload Puig because of his salary as well as his antics. His theory, Danks ..Flowers for Puig and the Cuban connection of him and Abreu gets reconnected and helps his immaturity. Plus takes the place of Viciedo because he can field better. If Puig was a lefty...then maybe. But if they went after him, then we still have a left handed power bat void. Doubt it will all happen, but he told me "you heard it here first!". If you're willing to trade Alexei, Quintana and Flowers for him.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Oct 8, 2014 -> 01:27 PM) Of course, I'm not sure why "home-grown" talent ultimately matters. The Orioles don't have a hell of a lot of it and they're doing just fine. The Cardinals would argue those homegrown players all come into the system knowing if they perform well, they'll be promoted (and promoted together, usually)...that the Cardinals Way is inculcated from the very beginning...that all the prospects buy into the system, and the expectations of joining a "winning" organization where nothing short of the World Series is now the expectation, etc. They can watch examples like Wacha and Marco Gonzalez quickly progress through the system and know they can follow a similar path...or even examples where they're trading older veterans like Freese/Craig to create additional playing time for Wong, Grichuk, Adams, Tavares, etc. This cohesiveness is something (besides the lack of offensive players) the White Sox have never developed, and I think a lot of it's simply due to the KW "riverboat gambling" style of throwing a lot of talented acquisitions together and HOPING that everything clicks on a yearly basis. Then you look at almost every single player from our system having issues with strikeouts, execution offensively and defensively, baserunning...sloppy fielding mistakes, etc. That doesn't happen as often with the Cardinals (Top 3 with defensive runs saved as a team) or Giants, when you compare them defensively to the White Sox, it's a futile exercise to find any players other than Eaton/Ramirez that could hold their own on those two teams as a defender.

Webb came from the Blue Jays, so not on the list.

QUOTE (thxfrthmmrs @ Oct 8, 2014 -> 05:39 PM) Probably the enormous paycheck he's going to get. But I would roll the dice just because Stanton will put more people in the seats. That was the same theory behind signing Albert Belle. Long-term, to give up that much talent for a rental they're not capable of keeping in the fold doesn't make sound business sense. If they want to take a marketing risk, they should roll the dice and bring in another Japanese pitcher.

Other than Phillips (who did his damage for Cincy, not CLE)/Sizemore/Lee for Colon and the Rangers/Texeira deal to the Braves, how often have these 2-3 "top" prospects for an established All-Star level or slightly below player worked out well for the team acquiring the prospects? I guess Bonser/Liriano/Joe Nathan for AJ would rank up there as well, especially the first 2-3 years of that trade for Minny. Getting Escobar, Cain, Odorizzi (used as part of the Myers deal to acquire Shields, who's been Greinke-Lite) and J.Jeffress (who was another fireballing reliever they gave up on and sent to the Blue Jays for cash)...that's another example where the team getting prospects back did pretty well.

QUOTE (flavum @ Oct 8, 2014 -> 09:10 AM) If the Royals and Cardinals play each other, they both had the least amount of HRs in their leagues, and combined for 200 homers. 2014. Which is less for those two teams combined than the Orioles (even missing Wieters/Machado/Davis) had...

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Oct 8, 2014 -> 07:58 AM) I'm still amazed that Ned Yost was only the 2nd worst manager in these playoffs. The Dodgers' best hitter didn't get an at-bat in a one-run elimination game, but he did pinch run. Fireable offense on its own? I think it was Kemp down the stretch, at least the last 6-8 weeks...and, on a consistent basis over the course of the full season, Adrian Gonzalez as well. Other than the triple, Puig had struck out in 8 out of his last 9 plate appearances. With that said, you go down with the horses that brought you to the rodeo/dance...and that decision will have repercussions for a long time in the clubhouse. http://m.mlb.com/news/article/97923476/ric...t-deserve-blame Richard Justice article stating Mattingly doesn't deserve blame for the NLDS loss.

http://www.kansascity.com/sports/spt-colum...cle2535406.html http://www.kansascity.com/sports/spt-colum...cle2532687.html After celebrating their sweep of the Angels in the locker room at Kauffman Stadium, some Royals players took the party to McFadden’s in the Power & Light District. They got on Twitter to invite fans to join them. KC you guys showed us so much love all year were returning the favor for you guys tonight at @McFaddensKC #allonebigfamily see.u all there — Eric Hosmer (@TheRealHos35) October 6, 2014 According some of the people there, Eric Hosmer pulled out his credit card and helped pay for an open bar for an hour. He spent $3,000 and his teammates shared a $12,000 tab, according to a Royals official. Eric Hosmer just paid for the entire bar's drinks for the next hour. Easily 500 people here. That ain't cheap. — nick wright (@getnickwright) October 6, 2014 The players mingled among the crowd of people there and posed for a bunch of pictures. This is Greg Holland, in the middle of #Royals party at McFadden's, totally mesmerized by the game highlights on ESPN pic.twitter.com/S92XiPXi7R — nick wright (@getnickwright) October 6, 2014 Got to McFadden's right when the Royals did and got ushered into their VIP section by accident. So, this happened pic.twitter.com/YvXqw9cf4D — nick wright (@getnickwright) October 6, 2014 #KC all your KC #Royals are here at McFadden's! Where are you?! pic.twitter.com/ZDuUmAsnH2 — McFadden's KC (@McFaddensKC) October 6, 2014 Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/sports/spt-colum...l#storylink=cpy

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Oct 8, 2014 -> 08:19 AM) Much rather see the Dodgersand their bevy of stars as well as Strasburg, Harper and the Nats. Cardinals and Giants bore me to tears. Royals are a fun story. Orioles are just kind of there but I'd much rather watch the AL now. Well, yeah. Kershaw 1-7 against the Cardinals is the mystery of the last five years, especially Game 1. Puig got cold and the Dodgers' bullpen tried to emulate the Tigers. For marketing purposes, Nationals/Dodgers is the best choice, clearly. That said...it's going to be a really fun World Series if the Royals could somehow knock off the Cardinals again. Could care less about the Orioles one way or the other. The Giants and Cards are basically the baseball equivalent of the San Antonio Spurs.