caulfield12

QUOTE (Andy the Clown @ Sep 11, 2014 -> 07:40 PM) Are you implying that Adam Dunn has AIDES? You really don't know about Dunn's role in financing, producing and acting (even) in that movie, do you? Or you're simply trying to be clever? Which?

I think with Dallas Buyer's Club and some of his other entrepreneurial off-the-field activities, coaching in the minors (or even majors) is the VERY LAST thing Adam Dunn would do. As it stands now, he needs to get away from the game for 2-3 years, spend time with his children and business endeavors, like producing independent movies. Some distance and perspective will help...as there's probably some bitterness about the way his career went south and also his treatment by the fans.

QUOTE (Bigsoxhurt35 @ Sep 11, 2014 -> 02:40 PM) Nice to win a series. Kind of want to see us finish strong and head into '15 feeling confident. I'm not so sure we're finishing strong...it's more like limping to the finish line (at least until this home series). Well, let's just say they've been pretty terrible/boring the last 2-3 weeks and hopefully the last 3 weeks can put on a charge...which of course will lead to the draft pick debate/s. The A's are just playing tight, and playing not to lose, trying to hold onto their slim WC lead. That's a recipe for disaster.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Sep 11, 2014 -> 02:48 PM) This is actually an interesting idea in theory and I like it if they can't find a taker for Danks. I think they will work tirelessly to trade Danks while taking on as little as possible this offseason, but he's virtually valueless at this point and in fact holding negative value. If they are unable to do so, I think they would defer to the veteran out of Spring Training because Rodon is "going to need some seasoning" where he'll make 3-5 starts, ensure his arm is stretched out, and Danks will be given a short audition. If/when Danks fails, they could easily move him into the bullpen in that exact role and insert Rodon into the rotation. Who's the 5th starter in that situation? Sale/Quintana/Noesi/Rodon/??? We're still one short. Bassitt?

Danks walks too many to be a closer, and gives up way too many homers. If you could convince me he could go out like Verlander and throw 95 MPH with movement in the bullpen, that would be one thing. But we can only go by the evidence that he's pushing himself to the limit at 90-91 and there's almost no likelihood he could get up to the 93-95 MPH levels. Once again....with the Verlander comparisons. As a starter, he's been getting hit hard on his fastball this year (not a surprise) and either his change-up or slider, something like that....the argument is that he can ditch two of his four pitches and just concentrate on throwing harder and not throwing a slider/change/curve, but just constantly honing one of those to pitch off the fastball. Danks theoretically has the change-up, but he just doesn't have the fastball to pitch from behind in the count. And he leaves way too many balls up in the zone. It's just a bad combination for a reliever. And he hasn't been a strikeout pitcher or someone to miss a lot of bats (think Quintana) in terms of percentage of swings and misses.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Sep 11, 2014 -> 02:22 PM) I am surprised Coop wouldn't be the one calling that shots. I'm extremely dissapointed at this. Do you really think Renteria wouldn't want Bryant up getting comfortable at the major league level and determining where here his ultimate position should be defensively? Of course, every pitching coach, hitting coach and manager's going to want the best players up with the major league team....but business is always going to come ahead of all other priorities.

QUOTE (scs787 @ Sep 11, 2014 -> 02:29 PM) Poor A's lol. Tied with the Royals now, 1 game ahead of the Tigers and 1.5 ahead of the M's for the moment. CLE with a big series in Detroit this weekend, looks to be putting on another late charge but they got stymied by the Tigers earlier this week when they had their head-to-head match-up. Meanwhile, KC gets the Red Sox at home, and has two more teams out of the race before the Royals come to the K next weekend.

Sale now with 192 K's in just 163 innings. All of Semien's homers this year have tied the game or given the Sox the lead late. Great double play turned last in the game between Semien and Sanchez...nice to see the teamwork and communication which surely started at Charlotte and BIRM.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Sep 11, 2014 -> 08:51 AM) How can they bring those guys in with their current attendance? How can they NOT? It's a business. They can be pretty profitable again with a $65-75 million payroll and finish 5-10 games under .500, or they can start going for it again like they did in 2011 with the Dunn acquisition. If they don't, the White Sox are in danger of becoming completely irrelevant to all but a smattering of dwindling die-hards. Other than Sale and Abreu, there's just no reason for anyone in the national media to follow this team or manager. I would be perfectly happy to go up to $90 million over 4 years for Shields. That still might not get it done. He might get $100+ now. I'd at least try. If you put our payroll somewhere in the mid 50's (with Flowers, Nate Jones, Viciedo probably)....then that bumps it up to the high 70's. We started this year around $91 million. That would leave money for one "second tier hitter" for DH (like an Adam Lind) and we'd have to be incredibly strategic and prescient about which reliever/s we brought in for another $5-7.5 million...in that Downs/Belisario second tier again. Maybe hoping for a bounceback from Jim Johnson, not sure....Frieri, someone who still has the stuff but mentally struggling.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Sep 11, 2014 -> 08:38 AM) Josh Hamilton? LMAO. You haven't been reading these threads carefully enough. I'm not the proponent of Josh Hamilton. I'll stand by hoped-for James Shields or Matt Kemp moves, though.

TUC, respectfully, I just don't think Castro and Headley quite move the meter to push us into contention. (And trading Flowers and Gillaspie to get Castro and then replacing him with Chase make our team payroll go up $10-15 million but AT BEST put us around the .500 mark, and that's being EXTREMELY optimistic IMO). They're solid veteran players, but it just feels like a "place-holding" move, waiting for 2016. Same thing with a declining Andre Ethier. I would like to see a risk taken, whether it's on Shields, or Josh Hamilton, or Matt Kemp. Or even dumping John Danks, although we all know how likely that is to actually happen, being White Sox fans. Sure, Keppinger and Downs were pushed out the door, but those are different situations and nothing like the money involved with Danks.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Sep 11, 2014 -> 08:22 AM) The Sox made it known that Garcia was off limits last offseason. I don't see how that would change now, especially considering his value probably hasn't changed much. Unless the Sox have identified a flaw in his hitting mechanics....not that they're to be trusted too much with hitters, but perhaps there's reason to have a lot more faith in Steverson than Walker or Manto, so there's that.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Sep 11, 2014 -> 08:11 AM) Yeah, I agree. You can only make awesome trades when other GMs are willing to give you the shot. I think a lot of people don't realize what a great offseason this past one was in terms of getting big-time controllable talent, and it should NOT be our baseline going forward. An average offseason will not be as good as last year's. We had Santiago, Reed and Peavy to trade last year. This year, what? Maybe Alexei Ramirez? Dayan Viciedo? John Danks? C'mon. Conor Gillaspie and Tyler Flowers? Other than Abreu/Sale/Quintana/Eaton/Ramirez and Avisail Garcia, what do we really have? A LOT of question marks. A lack of talent, other than Rodon. We're not going to get anything significant back without dealing Anderson/Montas/Danish/Hawkins...and 2 of those last 3 guys would have to be bundled together, at the very least. Rodon and Adams aren't going anywhere, so I'm not even counting them. Fathom mentioned during the game thread that Avisail Garcia would be a good candidate to shop around...we'll see if that actually materializes or not.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Sep 11, 2014 -> 08:10 AM) So you're completely ignoring an extremely valid point because it totally contradicts your initial argument. You should run for Congress. I mean, seriously, you said this: They've done fine, given that they made the playoffs without him. How many times have the Royals made the playoffs with James Shields? That answer, at this juncture, is 0. So you would say the Rays are doing well right now...by including last season's results? That's PART of the truth, sure...but you could just as easily argue they'd be fighting for the playoffs now with Shields AND PRICE AND Wade Davis. Not to mention their attendance has been abysmal...even more abysmal than usual for them. At any rate, I made a bet with Dick Allen that Beckham would hit under .240 and he wouldn't ever mention Don Cooper again...not sure if he's going to honor that one. So a second one. I'd be more than happy to wager whatever you want that the Royals are going to make the playoffs at least this season. The Royals making the playoffs for the first time in 29 years without a single player with more than 20 homers or 100 RBI's is pretty strong evidence of the difference he's made to that team.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Sep 11, 2014 -> 08:04 AM) because Baez, Almora, Vitters, and Bryant Why don't you actually contribute something to the conversation besides snarky comments? If it makes you feel better, then, by all means, have your fun...whatever. But it's not very becoming for a moderator. If you have an issue with me, send a PM. You know where to find me. I would be perfectly happy not to even have a Cubs' thread. This is a White Sox site, isn't it? Why do we need it? Maybe because the White Sox have been one of the most boring teams in baseball (except for Sale and Abreu) the last couple of seasons. These days, we have to struggle to even get a game thread going.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Sep 11, 2014 -> 07:59 AM) Look how the Rays have done without him? They won a play-in game against Texas, beat the Indians in the Wild Card round, and then lost in the LDS in 4 games to the eventual World Series champions. ...unless you're going to tell me that the reason that their offense has scuffled this season and has seen numerous players hit below their career averages and/or poorly all together was because of James Shields, in which case, I'm going to say that you're full of it. Which organization is in a much better position right now, at this exact moment in time? Who knows, maybe Shields even ends up staying in Kansas City...anything's possible. They're definitely jettisoning Butler's salary.

After pitching well during his first season at the Class-A level in 2001, Shields underwent serious shoulder surgery that caused him to miss the entire 2002 season. His fastball lost some velocity as a result, forcing him to change his pitching approach and develop a changeup as he worked his way up through the Devil Rays system.[4] And there's another reason...he's already gone through a major surgery on the worst part of the body for a pitcher and bounced back better, learning from it and changing/adapting his mechanics. If they get Shields now, they're in "WIN NOW" mode for the next four seasons, starting the moment he signs. A rotation of Sale/Shields/Rodon/Quintana and Noesi/Montas/Danish/Bassit will be one to be reckoned with. And it will also help attract the couple of bats that might be on the fence about the Sox but be pushed over the edge with a Shields acquisition. I don't think Hahn and Reinsdorf have the cojones right now to do it, but that's THE move I would make, the more I think about it. McHugh's a nice pitcher to have, and he's better than John Danks, but he's not going to change the atmosphere of the entire organization by his presence. Look how the Rays have done without him, that's telling as well.... DETROIT By now, the nickname is part of the persona. But it started out with innocence. James Shields grew up in Southern California, a Lakers fan, and he’s old enough that as a kid he rooted for James Worthy. That’s Big Game James Worthy, you know, so baseball being baseball it didn’t take long before a teammate in the minor leagues started using the nickname on Shields. So, no. As much as the truth has been left behind by sports mythology, the Big Game James thing didn’t start because of what Shields does in important moments. It started because of a different sport and a coincidence of names, but, you know, sports mythology can be fun sometimes, and the Royals’ first pennant race in a generation could use more fun and mythology. Besides, if the nickname started off as a bit of a tease ,it is now very real in the hearts and minds of Shields’ teammates. And so it is that the Royals wrestled back sole possession of first place on the reliable right arm of the man they traded part of their future for. This is two starts in a row where the Big Game thing applies, two shutdown wins on the road — first in New York, and now in a first-place showdown against the Tigers that stands as the biggest game of this most important Royals season in two decades. The Royals beat the Tigers 3-0 because Shields made the same two runs that have served as frustration in too many losses stand up in a crucial win. He did this by allowing no runs, two hits, one walk, and striking out eight over seven innings. He finished it in the most James Shields way possible — a strikeout on a changeup, a roar back to nobody in particular, and then a LET’S GO! toward catcher Sal Perez. That clip will make the highlight package of this season, no matter how it ends. ...... As much as momentum is overstated in this sport, it was clear the Royals could use a boost. Which has been Shields’ job going on two years now, whether in the clubhouse showing Danny Duffy how to use his emotions for good instead of bad or out in front of the crowd and the cameras shutting down one of baseball’s best offenses. There is a stubborn belief in the clubhouse that has been missing in previous years. Most of that is talent, and the fact that this is the best team they’ve had in years. Some of it, too, is in the earned swagger — a very different and more legitimate thing than swag, by the way — of their ace. It’s hard to measure the value of an entire team just knowing their guy is going at least seven strong. Maybe it’s just a coincidence, maybe it’s just one of those rough stretches that every team hits a few times over 162 games, and maybe it’s the unforgiving light of a pennant race, but the last week or two included some rough signs. A team built on defense, for instance, had committed 15 errors in its previous 11 games. Again, maybe this is all just happenstance. But the Royals were flawless defensively on Wednesday. Mike Moustakas, in particular, made one very good play and one spectacular play at third base — leaping toward the foul line to field a chopper, then throwing Torii Hunter out from the coach’s box. It’s as good a defensive play as you can expect to see on any night. When it works like this, it’s just so simple, smooth, no bumps. The Royals would love to score more runs, of course, but there are a lot of teams that would love to prevent runs like the Royals. It doesn’t always have to be about scoring more runs than the other team. Sometimes, it can be about allowing fewer than the other team. The Royals have now allowed two runs in their last five wins. That is an absurd fact, and the pitching and defense is why the team is in an offensive slump (14 runs in their last six games) but still able to open the last homestand of the season on Thursday in sole possession of first place. The Royals are 16 games from the end of their most thrilling season in decades. That’s too many to responsibly call Wednesday a must-win, but there was a different energy about this one. They shut out the team that’s chasing them, and put their arms fully around first place again heading into seven straight home games against non-contenders before these same Tigers come to Kansas City in what should be a wild weekend series. The Royals won a little more than a game on Wednesday, and they did it with their most accomplished player living up to the nickname he never asked for, and the hopes of a franchise that needs it to be true. Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/sports/spt-colum...l#storylink=cpy http://www.kansascity.com/sports/spt-colum...cle2060141.html James Shields absolutely dominant in big game versus the Tigers He came out aggressive from the start, looking to get ahead on Tigers batters with his fastball, which he threw with excellent location all night. He was locating those first-pitch fastballs (and even cutters) so well that he only fell behind in three at-bats in all of his seven innings pitched. Once Shields got ahead, he could get to his breaking stuff. All night, his curve, change and cutter were downright nasty, forcing the Tigers’ lineup into mis***s, rollovers and eight strikeouts. Shields gave up an opposite-field single to Ian Kinsler in the Tigers’ first at-bat of the game — and then didn’t allow a single base runner until the bottom of the seventh. By keeping his pitch count low, staying ahead of hitters and attacking the batters at the right time with the right pitch, “Big Game James” turned in one of his best performances of the year and put his team in a great position to win this crucial game. Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/sports/spt-colum...l#storylink=cpy

It would have been a compelling enough argument to stay with Shields because of his pitching alone: He’s 11-6 with a 3.29 ERA, and he’s long since emerged from a mini-funk to give up just seven earned runs over 36 innings in his last five starts. (It's actually even better now, this article was written a month or so ago...) Now, couple that with the notion that his presence at the top of the rotation has helped lend form and structure and proportion to the rest of what right now is one of the best Royals staffs since the 1980s. But it’s his least tangible trait, to outsiders, anyway, that might be the most irreplaceable. No one exerts more influence in the Royals clubhouse and has altered the chemistry and culture of the room more than Shields since he was acquired on Dec. 9, 2012. No one is more in the ears, and maybe even faces, of young pitchers. Ask Danny Duffy about his breakthrough season, and learning how to harness his emotions, and he’ll quickly point to Shields. And no one is more cognizant of the details of the big picture, from setting a standard in work ethic to advising closer Greg Holland what music to run into from the bullpen to orchestrating the way the Royals celebrate after victories. This is a team that looks to and channels Shields. It will only do that more if it reaches the playoffs for the first time since 1985: If it’s a one-game wild-card playoff, count on Shields and his postseason experience to get that call … and as many as possible in any series. Removing that presence from the room would have left a void and discombobulated everyone else in it. Teams adjust all the time to mid-season roster changes, but Shields is a rare presence whose stature is enhanced by the currency of his experience. “He’s got a ton of energy, he’s a tremendous competitor, and he’s a great communicator, and you couple all that together,” manager Ned Yost said. “He’s always talking to guys, he’s always encouraging guys, he’s always upbeat with guys. “And he’s in it for the team more than he’s in it for himself. Guys see it, they recognize it, they go with it.” None of which means the Royals officially can proclaim victory in The Trade that many scorned (or at least questioned): dealing hot-shot outfield prospect Wil Myers and pitcher Jake Odorizzi (essentially) to Tampa Bay for Shields and Wade Davis. Myers was hitting .227 when he suffered a broken wrist on May 30 after being named AL rookie of the year in 2013 (.293 with 13 home runs and 53 RBIs in 88 games). He may at last return next week. Odorizzi, 24, seems to have a bright enough future and is having a decent enough season. Entering the weekend for the 60-61 Rays, he’s 9-9 with a 3.82 ERA. Those contributions, though, pale next to the exploits of Shields and Davis, suddenly the most fearsome reliever in the American League. Now, the data on this will change in the years to come. And attitudes about this will evolve at different altitudes of hindsight. But in this moment, which is everything to a Royals franchise basically seeking to regain the public trust, we know this: The Royals wouldn’t be in this position without Shields and Davis. This mesmerizing time wouldn’t look like this right now without that move, even if Myers were healthy and productive for the Royals. Now, it would go a long way toward validating the trade if they make the playoffs. But no matter what, these were the right moves for the Royals — both to acquire Shields and to keep him. They triggered changes in the fundamental dynamics of their pitching, which before 2013 had gone 20 years without a staff ERA under 4.00. And they changed the tone of a room and the direction of a franchise whose future always was over a vague horizon to one where it’s now. To reach Vahe Gregorian, call 816-234-4868 or send email to vgregorian@kcstar.com. Follow him on Twitter: @vgregorian. For previous columns, go to KansasCity.com. Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/sports/spt-colum...l#storylink=cpy

QUOTE (StRoostifer @ Sep 11, 2014 -> 01:13 AM) Better off spending money on FA? No way. The Sox cannot fill all the holes by relying on FA. Trades will be necessary. Masterson is now an aging reclamation project that is currently making 10M and a big risk as to if he can ever rebound. That's one expensive project! Latos,lol, well he's going to cost more in prospects than McHugh! Yet with McHugh you say its better to hold prospects for one more year? Huh? Shields is going to be 33 and rather costly both in salary and years while he likely begins to decline. No thanks. BMAC will cost as well and is already 31. Again, no thanks. Leake is making just shy of 6M this year, getting a nice bump in salary this winter while he goes into his 2nd arbitration year and will be a free agent after 2016. Oh, and he's going to cost more in prospects than McHugh as well. Adding McHugh allows the Sox to fill a hole in the rotation thus saving the money that would be spent on a FA starter to be spent elsewhere like a higher priced position player via trade. It would give the Sox a better chance to be a contender in 2015. Honestly, I do not see where you're coming from. I never said I wanted any of those pitchers, you brought them up, so I'm not sure exactly who you're arguing with...yourself perhaps? If you saw the way Shields has pitched his last two times out in crunch time, you might rethink your position. The very drawbacks everyone has pointed out are the ones that will depress his price compared to Lester or Scherzer. Nobody knows what McHugh would do pitching for a pennant contender. It's easy to go out there for one of the five worst teams in baseball, with no pressure. Kip Wells looked great for the Pirates, but he couldn't handle Chicago, for example. With all that said, unless they have a plan for moving Danks, they're still going to have issues in the rotation because you're relying on Noesi, a rookie in Rodon and who actually can predict what you'll get with McHugh. I'm guessing he's at an all-time high for innings pitched, so you're also likely to see some regression next season when he hits that wall. I sincerely doubt ANY pitcher gets added...but you can't put a value on the experience, the confidence, the been there, done that attitude that Shields brought to a Royals' organization that had missed the playoffs for 29 years. He's single-handedly holding that rotation up right now, along with a rookie in Yordano Ventura.

Ah, those toolsy high school outfielders....bust rate is even higher on those guys like Hawkins.

QUOTE (StRoostifer @ Sep 10, 2014 -> 11:58 PM) Please, Humber never put up the numbers McHugh has this year. Take a look for yourself. http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/mchugco01.shtml I guess more expensive pitchers like BMac, Leake, Latos, Masterson, Shields etc. are better options? Yes, McHugh would cost a few prospects but the money not spent on an expensive starter could in turn be spent on the many holes the Sox have to fill and thats my point. Oh, and to those talking about McHugh being 27 and dfa. Hector Noesi says hello and I would also like to remind you of that the Sox are Hector's third team this season and most Sox fans are rather pleased with his progress. So please don't give me the age and dfa bulls***. The Sox, in their unenviable minor league depth position, would be MUCH better off spending money than giving up premium minor league talent. If they were ALSO going to spend on a DH/LF (probably two hitters, ideally...one Wilkins/Dunn type and one more who's an above-average corner fielder) and spend at least $10-15 million on the bullpen, then I could get behind "going for it at least 50%" for 2015. Otherwise, you have to hold all those trading chips one more year. Because just adding McHugh still leaves you two hitters and a bullpen short of contention. Of course, I would love to have Shields...but at what cost? Masterson, if Cooper has identified a flaw/fix. Latos....maybe? Depends on what we have to give up. Leake and B-Mac would be less interesting, at least to me.

McHugh reminds me of Phil Humber, who actually went to the Astros (along with Lucas Harrell) after leaving the Sox.

QUOTE (fathom @ Sep 10, 2014 -> 08:27 PM) With only a few weeks left in the year, am I the only one that feels this MLB season has sucked? The most covered stories in the media seem to be Jeter's retirement and the collision rule at home. No record breaking statistics, etc. this year to get intrigued by. Tanaka going down, the Yankees missing the playoffs again, the Red Sox tanking...that's 50% of baseball for ESPN right there. More focus should be on the Giants and Cardinals for seemingly being able to recover from nearly every obstacle injury-wise with depth and pitching. Then you have the A's/Tigers storylines, which are pretty interesting I guess. The M's...and what's going on with Puig/Mattingly/Kemp on a daily basis.

QUOTE (CWSpalehoseCWS @ Sep 10, 2014 -> 09:37 PM) Good point. I guess I don't really envision Semien being at 3B all that much. If they don't trade Alexei, and Micah Johnson's not ready (which is pretty clear, physically and hamstring-wise and developmentally)...then Sanchez is your starter at 2B, with Semien filling in at SS/2B/LF and also hitting against lefties for Conor.

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Sep 10, 2014 -> 09:44 PM) I see him more as a tight end. How about H back?