caulfield12

QUOTE (StRoostifer @ Aug 26, 2014 -> 03:53 PM) I wonder just how desperate Detroit is for starting pitching... Smyly has actually pitched better than Price, but that's not even the biggest problem. At any rate, they're not going to trade for Danks, even if we offered him ala Alex Rios....take the contract and he's yours. If you want to blame any individual trade, it has to be the Fister move, along with the theory that their bullpen was close to strong enough coming in the season, that CF could easily be covered without Austin Jackson's presence and that Suarez could stand up to the pressure all season, along with JD Martinez and Rajai Davis. DD bears more responsibility than Ausmus, IMO.

As far as Gattis goes, the Braves have one of the worst offenses in the NL and they're trading away one of their most productive hitters? I will believe that when I see it. Sure, I get it, they have their best hitter at 1B and unless Gattis could play 3B or LF, he doesn't have as much value, but they're definitely not going to make a move like that for Danish AND Montas.

The Cubs aren't going to make that move...trading Danks for Jackson would make more sense to each club, although Danks has been throwing harder, it doesn't matter if he's at 90-91 MPH with no control, I think that actually makes him MORE hittable as he's pushing too hard to prove he has not lost all of his velocity from the surgery. He was arguably better when he was changing speeds within the 76-88 MPH range earlier in the season. The Cubs have McKinney (from the Samardzija trade), Almora, Soler, and of Alcantara, who's been their equivalent of Marcus Semien offensively. Baez and/or Bryant could also end up at corner OF positions. They have ZERO need for BJ Upton in Wrigley Field.

It's not going to mean they have him for 7 years instead of 6...it's simply about when he reaches arbitration status, after 2 years or 3.

QUOTE (Benchwarmerjim @ Aug 23, 2014 -> 03:22 AM) Friday night's Tigers pitching boxscore against the Twins. Double header slated for Sat Yeah, I saw Romine gave up 2-3 homers even though he was throwing the ball fairly hard, it ended up being BP. Is Verlander starting today?

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Aug 23, 2014 -> 04:16 AM) Avi has hardly played. I was referring to Viciedo. The way you characterized Alexei Ramirez was inaccurate. It should have said starting American League All-Star SS, if not for a Derek Jeter retirement homage. Meanwhile, Cabrera, the best hitter in baseball when he’s right, has been only very good this year after consecutive seasons with 44home runs, batting titles and MVP awards. He has a .817 on-base-plus-slugging percentage since the beginning of June, and while that’s not bad, the Tigers are counting on more. “I still firmly believe that Miggy at some point -- and I’d like to think some point soon -- you’re going to wake up one morning and think to yourself, ‘Well I guess Miggy’s gotten hot,’” manager Brad Ausmus said. Until that happens, the Tigers will continue relying on the likes of Victor Martinez and Ian Kinsler. So far that has worked, since they led the AL in batting average and slugging percentage entering the week. They can hit. The Tigers also benefit from playing in the relatively weak AL Central. They’ll play 18 of their final 37 games against two teams going nowhere this year: the Minnesota Twins and Chicago White Sox. And when that starting rotation gets healthy, watch out. “There’s three Cy Young winners on this one staff,” Price said. “Anibal Sanchez won the ERA title last year and Rick Porcello is throwing the ball just as well as anyone else on this staff.” In Scherzer, Price, Porcello and Sanchez, the Tigers have four starters with ERAs between 2.98 and 3.53. “Nobody wants to be the weakest link,” Price said. “That’s always good when you can have that internal competition between your starting five. We all push each other to get better.” It will be a matter of one-upping the starter who pitched the night before. “We already had our friendly competition. He’s just adding to it,” Scherzer said of Price. “It just adds to our stable.” www.freep.com/sports

At this point, anything's better than watching Danks, DeAza and Viciedo. I wouldn't mind Sierra or Taylor, either. We already know what we have in the first 3.

http://www.baseballamerica.com/internation...-baseball-star/ Story hyping Yoan/Johan Moncada as the best prospect left in Cuba...although nobody seems to know exactly where he is, faster than Castillo even, whose best tool is supposedly his speed at this point story on Castillo as well....still underwhelmed http://www.baseballamerica.com/majors/rusney-castillo-signs/ Cuban outfielder Rusney Castillo agreed to sign with the Red Sox last night. According to a source, the deal is for six years, $72.5 million, making it the highest first-year contract ever for a Cuban player. Prior to the last year of his contract, Castillo will be able to opt into arbitration, which could take the total value of the deal even higher. Castillo, 27, has gained 20 pounds since leaving Cuba and is now 5-foot-9, 205 pounds, with his best tool his plus-plus speed. The extra size and strength has translated into an increase in power, with some scouts now putting a 60 on his raw power after pegging him with below-average to average raw power while he was in Cuba. In games, at least while he was in Cuba, he’s more of a line-drive hitter with an aggressive hitting approach. He won a Gold Glove in Cuba in 2011-12, with the speed and reactions off the bat to profile in center field in the major leagues, even though his arm strength appears to have backed up since he left Cuba. Castillo’s numbers were down from his usual pace in his final Cuban season in 2012-13, when he hit .274/.377/.399 in 68 games. The previous season in 2011-12, Castillo had hit .332/.395/.545 in 420 plate appearances with 16 home runs, 22 stolen bases (third in the league) in 29 tries and a league-leading 28-doubles. In 2010-11, Castillo hit .324/.373/.555 with 18 home runs in 400 trips to the plate and led Serie Nacional with 29 stolen bases in 35 attempts. Castillo had played on the Cuban national team, though he didn’t participate in the 2013 World Baseball Classic. Since he’s 27 and has played five seasons in Cuba, Castillo’s bonus isn’t subject to the international bonus pools. Castillo is represented by Roc Nation Sports.

The Will To Win argument comes full circle, lol. How to quantify it? If we can't put a number to it, the idea of mental weakness/intestinal fortitude/clutch...then it therefore doesn't exist.

QUOTE (LDF @ Aug 22, 2014 -> 11:51 AM) when bos is ready, they will have a surplus and the price for one of them will be a steep price to pay. I wouldn't buy high on any of them, honestly. Not even Cespedes, because it would be dumb to control him for a year or less than a year. When/if he reaches FA, that's a different story. Otoh, Victorino is the type of veteran player we need to help lead the youngsters, IF he can stay healthy, which is a huge if. Finally, I'd try to steal Bradley but wouldn't be willing to give up Anderson/Hawkins/Montas for him. Just not a huge believer in Eaton being able to play a whole season without going on the DL for significant periods of time after what we've seen this year so far. At 5 feet 9 inches and 205 pounds, Castillo is a righthanded hitter more reliant on speed than power, but he does have extra-base pop in his bat according to scouts who watched his showcase workout July 26 at the University of Miami. He also is solid defensively. “Above-average speed. Can play center field or right field. What kind of power? What kind of average? Obviously our scouts liked him enough. That’s a significant investment,” said Red Sox manager John Farrell. “It’s an exciting athletic player by all accounts.” The Red Sox held a private workout for Castillo in Florida on Aug. 1 attended by general manager Ben Cherington. The team was impressed and started working diligently to sign him. Castillo’s contract, with an average annual value of $10.35 million, was heavily back-loaded. That helps the Red Sox for luxury tax purposes. At the same time, Castillo received a larger overall deal than the $68 million Abreu received from the Chicago White Sox last winter. That was considered important to his representatives at Roc Nation Sports, the agency owned by music mogul Jay-Z. Bidding by the Tigers, Phillies, Giants and Mariners helped drive the price up. Castillo played five seasons for Ciego de Avila in Cuba’s top league and was impressive playing for Cuba’s team in the 2011 World Cup tournament in Panama. He was excluded from the 2013 World Baseball Classic because of a suspension likely related to his trying to defect. Castillo is described as a high-energy player comparable to Shane Victorino in his prime or Yankees left fielder Brett Gardner. The success other Cubans have had in the majors helped convince the Red Sox to make the move. “That’s the one thing that stands out more than anything. When you look at Yoenis’s performance right away in Oakland, Abreu in Chicago. Hopefully the same holds true for every other player that comes over,” Farrell said. “When you look at how many games they play on the international stage and the talent in which they play against, just by nature they’re seemingly a very strong group physically and they’re able to transition and handle the wear and tear of a long season.” Because of his base-stealing ability and what was a high on-base percentage during his time in Cuba, Castillo could become a leadoff hitter. bostonglobe.com/sports

QUOTE (Brian @ Aug 22, 2014 -> 09:34 AM) Judging by reviews, this one looks the same. Only good thing about it is Eva Green nude which she's done in other/better movies. The Dreamers is the one that put her on the map. NC-17 right off the bat in her career almost. Worked out a lot better than it did for Elizabeth Berkley. But most really noticed her for the first time in Casino Royale with Daniel Craig, the spark and chemistry they seemed to have together.

QUOTE (mr_genius @ Aug 22, 2014 -> 09:45 AM) you should be a police officer It doesn't seem like I'm the only person here who feels it's right to question the police. God forbid, that somebody does, or that they even have, GASP, civilian oversight. As a teacher, EVERYONE thinks they can tell teachers what to do, that we're wrong and why we're wrong, that we're too strict or not strict enough, that we can't just GIVE grades, students earn them. We're expected to be comedians/entertainers, guidance counselors and surrogate parents as well. It's fine, goes with the territory, I just kind of roll my eyes and realize that's the way it is always going to be. On the other hand, if you DARE question anything about the way a police officer does his job, you're likely to get shouted down (or even shot for questioning his authority). Seriously, enough. 9/11 was thirteen years ago. Do we still need "God Bless America" to express our patriotism at ballgames? Where was that song in the mid 1970's after the troops came back from Vietnam?

QUOTE (raBBit @ Aug 22, 2014 -> 10:05 AM) Nava has been great over the years for the Red Sox. He was never supposed to be anything. Sizemore was a break or bust and he busted to no one's (except Lillian) surprise. BoSox seem to be going the Oakland path. They'll have Craig/Cespedes/JBJ/Castillo/Nava and (I assume) Ortiz for 3 OF spots and DH. Plus Betts with nowhere to play. I am sure it'll be another active offseason for them. http://espn.go.com/mlb/player/stats/_/id/30910/daniel-nava Great is subjective, I guess. Other than 2013, his overall numbers look like Dayan Viciedo's. That said, very little to nothing was every expected out of someone who spent so much time in the minors and peaked late.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Aug 22, 2014 -> 10:01 AM) No, because Nava and Sizemore and things Geez, nitpicking. 90-95% of the reason is directly related to Bradley and their disappointment with his offensive development, and even though they have Betts coming behind him, he's only had 45 AAA games. In general, EVERYTHING has gone wrong with the Red Sox OF this season. First, Sizemore. Victorino's back surgery. Gomes, Nava and Holt underperforming. Even Cespedes has been disappointing so far with Boston. Craig's also having an uncharacteristic down year and may have peaked.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2014/08/...IdoO/story.html Long examination of what went wrong with Bogaerts and Bradley, Jr., where they rushed through AAA too quickly, why young hitters are having a harder and harder time breaking into the majors, etc. Bradley Jr. would be a great buy low candidate and insurance for Eaton injuries. He's a Gold Glover caliber defender, better than anyone we've had at CF in my lifetime. PS: Yay! Ken Rosenthal was actually ahead of everyone for once on the Castillo deal.

QUOTE (bmags @ Aug 22, 2014 -> 09:47 AM) Greg, while graphic, beheadings are one of the more humane ways to go. There is no suffering. cynanide suffocates your body. You may go quietly but I can't imagine it's better than a beheading. Although it's arguably a lot better for your family/loved ones....

QUOTE (IowaSoxFan @ Aug 22, 2014 -> 09:42 AM) The Red Sox will be spinning quite a few of those pieces for pitching in the off-season. I imagine Craig, Bradley, Betts, Middlebrooks Cecchini, and Swihart will be made available to upgrade their pitching staff. Their OF will likely be Cespedes, Castillo, and Victorino. I think they will be in on Hamels and could make a run at someone like Cashner from the Friars to go along with Kelly and some of the young arms they have in their system. Trading prospects at the lower end of their value isn't the normal Red Sox way of doing things, particularly in the case/s of Bradley, Betts and Middlebrooks. Well, we do know one thing, that they still view Bogaerts as a building block for the immediate future. I would doubt that Swihart goes since he's seen as having a lot more potential than the first rookie catcher they brought up to replace AJ, Christian Vazquez or whatever his name is.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Aug 22, 2014 -> 09:39 AM) What do they have to do with Castillo? a DFAed free agent, AAAA bench player and first full season player have no impact on Castillo Very simple, if Jackie Bradley's a star and playing Gold Glove caliber CF while OPSing around 700, Rusney Castillo isn't in their plans. It's going to be pretty difficult to convince me otherwise. Nava, Holt, Gomes, etc. Not as relevant. Because if you really believe in Bradley or Betts, you're not going to leave them blocked for a year behind Cespedes, Castillo and Victorino. The fact that Castillo and Bradley play the same primary position, CF, is also telling. EDIT: And I completely forgot about Allen Craig as well, whose contract will be about as easy to dump as John Danks'

QUOTE (mr_genius @ Aug 22, 2014 -> 09:33 AM) i don't. if you go at the police with a butcher knife, you are probably getting shot. wander/meander in the general direction of the police and menacingly go at the police are two quite different things

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Aug 22, 2014 -> 09:03 AM) MLB Trade Rumors ‏@mlbtraderumors 4m Rusney Castillo “On Track” For Six-Year, $72MM Deal With Red Sox http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/?p=41049 That's crazy. Can't believe Cherington would do that. Granted, Jackie Bradley, Nava and Sizemore were huge disappointments, but wow. They also have Betts (blocked by Pedroia at 2B), Cespedes next year...well, even the vaunted Red Sox don't have complete success because this move smacks of desperation, and a lack of available options on the FA market. Finally, Shane Victorino is under contract as well for 2015, I'm pretty sure.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Aug 22, 2014 -> 08:48 AM) I understand what you're saying. I just think that a lineup with Semien in it full time maximizes maximizes the production of the team. I've had many discussions on the board about that so I don't want to delve into it any further, just that I hope they have some kind of big role in line for Semien. Frankly, if he can learn to play a competent OF and he's OK with moving around the field, you could play him damn near every day between DH, 2B, 3B, SS, LF, and RF. In order to evolve into that type of Chone Figgins/Zobrist role, he's going to have to hit, and probably put up a 750ish OPS to make up for some of the lost defense that will result from moving him all over the place constantly. If he could learn how to swipe 20-30 bags, that would bring a lot of additional value as well.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Aug 22, 2014 -> 08:49 AM) It's not subjective, though. That's the thing. He's been an above average hitter for the last three seasons, and most of this board (and I'd wager most of the casual fans as well) has wanted his head the whole time. He unquestionably hasn't reach the heights we expected when he signed, but if we're being objective, he's been a key contributor to our offense and there haven't been any better options to replace him. Subjective would be how the initial hype of his signing has caused fans to consider him among the absolute biggest negatives on the team during his tenure, to be excised at all costs, despite the fact that he's been an above average hitter and is, by all accounts, a positive clubhouse presence. Look, I'm disappointed with him too -- I LOVED the signing, fresh off the Mark Kotsay debacle. But I'm glad our front office hasn't let that emotion cloud their decision-making. Disappointment or not, the offense has been better the past three seasons because he's been here. I'm still not going to believe any statistical measure that simply equates his OPS numbers with being a fair value and level of performance for that contract. WAR certainly wouldn't, as it favors effective middle infielders, 3B, catchers and CFers. We can say statistically from 2012-2014, he's provided a pretty decent level of output, maybe 50-100 OPS points below what we expected when he was signed. If he was putting up David Ortiz numbers these past three years DESPITE 2011, then all would be forgiven. But he's not. If he was putting up his average numbers from 2006-2010, everyone would be perfectly contented, since he would essentially be another version of Jim Thome. Objectively, he doesn't deserve this level of criticism, but that's not how baseball works. Even then, there will be more allowances given for guys like Konerko/AJ/Buehrle or even Danks because of "sentimental" value. "Outsiders" like Alex Rios will rarely be embraced unless Sox fans feel they've earned it.

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Aug 22, 2014 -> 08:30 AM) Funny you live in China and can't see the danger here. That's like ground zero for insane knife attacks. Last night 7 people were stabbed in an attack. Couple weeks ago 100 people died in a mass knife attack. And on and on and on. It's like a reoccurring event there. 1) China has 1.6-1.8 billion people, so, once again, it's like an airplane crash...we only hear about the mass incidents. I've never been anywhere close to an actual mass knifing (although I did go to the same mall in Nairobi, Kenya last summer where the Somalian terrorists killed every foreigner and non-Muslim, and have seen motorcycle assassinations carried out in Colombia). 2) I found a link to a situation where 33 were killed in March, but do you have a link to the 100 person one you're referring to? 3) Guns aren't allowed in China, so knives are the next most logical weapon 4) The mental/psychological health system is not so advanced, so a lot of these cases are caused by lack of treatment and honesty about these real social problems...99% of the attacks are involving single men who are "disenfranchised" and frustrated with their station in life, that they can't get married because of lack of jobs/education/high salary (where are 6 men for every 5 women), just overall frustration with the government when there's so much corruption and unfairness. Why they target innocent children/schools to make their point is beyond me, although I guess it has a lot to do with drawing attention/news media/coverage to their situations...the need to die in a famous/infamous way rather than a random, unreported/anonymous way.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Aug 22, 2014 -> 08:31 AM) The regular police forces in the UK and Japan (and probably other countries) don't carry guns. edit: I'm not suggesting that for regular US police forces, but it does suggest that there are other ways of handling situations with armed people than shooting them at the drop of a hat. And guns don't help much against chemical/biological weapons and terror attacks, like you see more consistently in Japan, on the subways for example.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Aug 22, 2014 -> 08:28 AM) Right, all of that has nothing to do with how well they play. It's fine, but everyone should be aware that they are hating on Dunn because they don't like him, not because of his performance. This is why witesoxfan has come off like a DUNN LOVER all the time when he isn't really -- it's just so confusing when everyone has wanted to "improve" the team by making the offense worse. You can have personal problems with a guy and want him gone, but let's acknowledge that is entirely separate from what our team should do in order to win. That's pretty subjective. What I mean is, sure, the odds of Andy Wilkins replacing Dunn's production are about 3-5% at best. It's more the idea of moving on, getting past the Konerko/Dunn era (last player from 2005 remaining) and using those financial resources more wisely/effectively in the future. If the question is can Wilkins and a platoon partner outproduce Dunn and Konerko?, probably not. If the question is whether Rick Hahn can either trade for a better replacement or spend that $16 million or whatever more effectively than what Adam Dunn has produced in 2014, sure, and I would add there's not much hope for the future of the White Sox if you're skeptical on that front.