caulfield12

The subsidy they'll have to send is rising by the minute. It's actually quite similar to the Youk situation, in the sense where it's getting untenable for him to return to the Yankees in 2013 if his performance against the Tigers continues to echo the lack of performance in the ALDS vs. the Orioles.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Oct 13, 2012 -> 11:04 AM) Serious question here. $100+m payroll with prices where they are now, or $75 million with cheaper parking and top end tickets? I'll take the $85 million, lower option and bring back the fans...there's no way it's this kind of a spread ($100 vs. $75), with all of the other revenues that are generated, attendance is down to 20-25% of the overall bottom line for a majority of the big market MLB clubs. 1) By maximizing revenue now, we're cutting out a new generation of fans that would become loyal followers if games were more accessible financially. What's the cost of having very few fans in their teens, 20's and 30's when that older generation of White Sox season ticket holders is gone? What about when the decision makers who have faithfully allocated their company's money for season tickets and sponsorship deals/signage SHIFTS in the next 10-20 years to the younger generation who saw the 2005 World Series win but haven't been back to a game since 2006 or maybe 2008? 2) We lose a tremendous amount of our homefield advantage when we have the stadium half full, compared to the Tigers. More fans, more energy and enthusiasm, the team will play better at home, better record equals better chance at making the playoffs. From 2009 on, except for a couple of stretches in 2010 (we were still winning most of those games on the road during our 26-5 stretch) and 2012, we've been a pretty bad team at home. 3) Creating that buzz or excitement will lead to more excitement and interest from the local media as well as a higher likelihood of getting our games picked up by ESPN or FOX...and will drive the t.v. ratings higher, adding more revenue because of the Comcast relationship.

Bringing in A-Rod would be like the whole Albert Belle thing, without the one caveat that made that move tolerable...you had a player close to being in the prime of his career. This clearly wouldn't be the case, here. 90% of the time, the All-Stars we see on the White Sox roster have long left their best playing days behind them. If you went back to the year JR bought the team, I would be willing to bet $100 we've had the most former All-Stars (developed by other teams) playing on the White Sox after age 33, compared to any other team in baseball during that time span. At least KW added in the extra bonus of "most former first rounders" as well, which has occasionally succeeded in injecting needed talent we missed out on with our own misguided drafting philosophies.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Oct 12, 2012 -> 04:10 PM) If that article wasn't written by an employee of an entity partially owned by the Sox it would not be as laughable as it is. What do you think WGN and the Tribune did for the Cubs all those years? And attendance is down to only 20-25% of the team's overall bottom line, it's not the driver of payrolls that everyone keeps assuming it is...but KW and Reinsdorf have used it as a wedge or leverage against the fans for many, many years. As far as the other point about the Tigers, it might be better for us were they to win the World Series. They'll have a lot less drive and hunger next year, it's almost impossible to repeat and the wear and tear of the season got to Scherzer a bit down the stretch. The scariest thing about the Tigers isn't Cabrera and Fielder, it's Verlander/Scherzer/Fister/Porcello/Smyly (Sanchez will probably leave as a FA). The first two are Cy Young arms. Fister has been absolutely great the last two stretch drives. And even in Valverde's their weak link, along with infield defense, they can use Alburquerque/Villarreal or sign someone off the FA market to fix that glaring problem.

Hamilton would sell more tickets, but they're not going to fork out that cash. For some reason, I can see both Ichiro and A-Rod coming over and the Sox believing that will be a magical panacea for their marketing/attendance woes (note, I didn't say revenues generated woes).

Rodriguez's tack throughout the most emasculative juncture of his career has been admirable and stunning. This is more embarrassing than when Joe Torre dropped him to eighth in the lineup, worse for his career than the steroid revelations. The Yankees are dumping A-Rod, and he would be the last person anyone would expect to take the news with such grace. [Y! Sports Fan Shop: Buy New York Yankees playoffs merchandise] "I always have to look in the mirror and do what I can do to do the best I can," he said, and his turn of phrase was rather amusing. A-Rod past has consisted of looking in mirrors, of centaur self-portraits, of Madonna and Kate Hudson and Cameron Diaz, of shady steroid-peddling cousins, of yelling "Ha!" and slapping gloves, of so many assorted foibles that it's easy to lose track. In a way, A-Rod was the archetypal Yankee in that his absolute excellence made him a great villain. But he was the antithesis of the boring, buttoned-up pinstripers in that everything he did came with a caveat. This may yet as well. October is a funny month. If a team with one of the game's best bullpens can blow a 6-0 lead in clinching games, a Hall of Famer with 647 home runs can rediscover something. The weirdest part of A-Rod, bench jockey, is what others say about him. Derek Jeter was asked how Rodriguez was handling it, and his answer was: "He's out there pulling for everyone, like everyone on our team does." And when the best thing he could say about A-Rod was the quality of his cheerleading skills, well, there was something very backward about that, something that seems even too odd for October. Jeter not grinding through an injury was too odd. Curtis Granderson looking like an A-ball player for the first four games was too odd. Ichiro Suzuki not hitting was too odd. CC Sabathia not throwing a complete game would've been too odd. Yet all is well in the Yankee universe save for No. 13. And even he looked past his Freaky Friday to a place where the sun shines and he's got full-time employment. "Don't assume that you've heard the last from us," A-Rod said. "Or me." It could be for either of the Los Angeles teams, for the Marlins or White Sox – hell, for any team, really -- if the Yankees believe this is it and eat $80 million-plus of the $114 million they owe him for the next five years and Rodriguez approves a deal. While it's hard to believe, it's likelier that they try to work through the betrayal – and that's exactly what this has been to a man who has spent his entire adulthood on a pedestal – and repair the seemingly irreparable. One of Rodriguez's teammates smirked at the idea of reconciliation, noting how many times the Yankees and A-Rod seemed on the outs. Jeter may be the lifeblood of this team, and Sabathia may be its most important piece, but the one who best personifies what the Yankees are, as opposed to what they want to be, is still wearing their uniform, still itching to forget about this miserable week and become what so soon ago they relished. A-Rod. Always A-Rod. www.yahoo.com/mlb (Jeff Passan)

QUOTE (SI1020 @ Oct 12, 2012 -> 10:49 PM) On successive nights Verlander and Sabathia showed how a true ace pitches when it really counts. And Cain. Looking like Gio will get the win over former ace Wainright as well, although Gio was far from dominant tonight.

The Rangers will definitely be on the radar screen in term of needing to add offense if they lose and/or trade Hamilton, Cruz, Kinsler and Napoli.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Oct 11, 2012 -> 11:51 AM) http://www.csnchicago.com/baseball-chicago...rce=twitterfeed DeAza played good defense down the stretch? Okay.

QUOTE (bucket-of-suck @ Oct 9, 2012 -> 02:01 AM) I have Reed and Rios going to T.B. not Floyd. It's a big-time risky move for a franchise like the Rays to take on any contract for over $10 million (and multi-year to boot), especially a veteran in his 30's who has had an on-again, off-again performance record going back a number of years. If you're the Rays, is he the player who puts you over the top, vis a vis the competition from the Yankees, Orioles, Red Sox and Blue Jays? That's definitely debateable. And teams like the Rays tend to give those big contract dollars and extensions to their own home-grown players. As noted, the performances of guys like Rodney, Howell, Farnsworth and Soriano would tend to mitigate overpaying for young bullpen talent like a Santos or Addison Reed...when they've been so successful unearthing it on the free agent market or waiver wire.

Sound familiar? This was the same explanation given for the 2006 team collapsing the last 2 months of the season, as well as this year's White Sox team. ARLINGTON -- The Rangers had a five-game lead with nine to play. Ten games later, their season was over. The Rangers have never had a season come to a sudden and stunning end like what happened in 2012. They still won 93 games, but what happened in the final two weeks won't easily be forgotten. "We just got cold," outfielder Josh Hamilton said. "We played our hearts out and we got cold." "It's baseball," closer Joe Nathan said. "It just seemed like down the stretch there, our timing and everything was off. We weren't swinging the bats well. We didn't pitch well. For most of the season, we played pretty good baseball and stayed consistent. But we picked the worst time to get into a funk and the last two weeks didn't go our way for sure." The simple explanation is the Rangers wore down physically after playing deep into October in each of the past two years. The Rangers got off to a fast start, but then cracks started showing. The pitching staff was hit hard by injuries. The offense went into a slump in June and July...

QUOTE (greg775 @ Oct 8, 2012 -> 12:18 AM) I'm just saying he doesn't deserve an A after the collapse. Nothing wrong with a B. The team should be ashamed of itself not getting an A for the manager. Bob Melvin should get an A+. But does that mean because his incredible bullpen fell apart Sunday and CoCo Crisp did a Josh Hamilton that he should get a A-/B+ now if they're eliminated in the ALDS in 3 straight games? Some of the best managers aren't even in the playoffs. Some managers who are over-hyped are resting on the laurels of their talent.

QUOTE (whitesox901 @ Oct 8, 2012 -> 01:46 AM) I also wouldn't be opposed to signing Marco Scutaro for second base. 156 games had an OBP of .348. Defense takes a hit though, his UZR was -5.6, Beckham was -0.7. Scutaro is likely to fall off, he's too old and you're going to pay him more than he's worth coming off a strong season. This also forces you to move Beckham to 3B, where he's just average defensively. And then you're going to wind up with a net slight defensive downgrade and definitely an offensive downgrade from YOUK at 3B and Beckham at 2B. You need more power from your middle infielders to win at USCF, IMO.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Oct 8, 2012 -> 02:20 AM) This was a playoff team this year (once Dunn and Rios and AJP showed they came to play right out of the gate) and didn't even make the playoffs. Yet Robin is beloved just cause he never opened his mouth and the Sox were out of the news all year. Makes no sense to me. This year was a colossal failure led by Robin and nobody cares cept 4-5 of us on this board. Weird. (And I gave Robin a B. I don't want him fired). It wasn't a colossal failure. The White Sox being in the news doesn't matter except to 4-5 posters, too. Nobody is absolving Ventura and the Sox of blame. It's a different situation because of 1) Ventura's inexperience, and 2) the expectations of everyone coming into the season. What was the statistic, not one national prognosticator out of 45 picked any team for the AL Central title but the Tigers. And that was reflected in the attendance and expectations all season long. KW shot himself in the foot by setting expectations lower and using the "rebuild" phrase at least once. The collapse of the Rangers down the stretch was much more catastrophic...or even the Braves' defense falling apart and costing them the season in a single knockout game. Would you feel any better if you were an Atlanta fan and your team had 90+ wins and then ended the year throwing bottles and garbage all over the field, going into this offseason?

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Oct 8, 2012 -> 01:47 AM) Greg, give me one season Ozzie did well in other than '05. '05 was magical, but then by this logic we should throw a gigantic contract at Andruw Jones because he used to be an elite player. Coin toss by Rick Hahn's son in 2008.

QUOTE (ptatc @ Oct 7, 2012 -> 09:57 PM) That was einstein's definition. And I fully agree that is was more than medical but it also was not PK's alone to make. My original point is that is was not PK's ego or "macho toughness" alone that made the decision. It was a combination of this plus the management team realizing that what PK could give them was better than whatever else they had. I also agree that they could have shut him down if KW could find a replacement that was better than PK with the injured wrist. In hindsight PK was bad but I don't think they really had any other option on the team or in the minors. The best option available was either Dan Johnson OR playing Wise in LF, Viciedo at DH (including his poor performance against RHP) and Dunn at 1B. Those 2 or Konerko staying in the line-up at 75%.

Thought Greg would enjoy this information...by the way, David Samson is Loria's son-in-law. Jeffrey H. Loria (born November 20, 1940[1]) is an art dealer and the owner of the Miami Marlins. Raised in Manhattan, Loria took an early interest in baseball, attending his first New York Yankees game in the late 1940s. Loria attended New York City's Stuyvesant High School[2] and Yale University, where he initially took pre-med courses. With a requirement to take a history class, Loria chose art history. After college, he worked in a newly-established art-buying program for Sears, launched with the help of actor Vincent Price. In 1965, at the age of 24, he opened his private art dealing business, Jeffrey H. Loria & Co., on Manhattan's Upper East Side and wrote a book, Collecting Original Art. He specializes in 20th century masters. His collection includes works by Pablo Picasso and Henry Moore. Loria graduated from Columbia Business School in 1968 and published his second book, What's It All About Charlie Brown?, a look at life through the Peanuts comic strip (co-written with Pat K. Lynch). Loria, who still runs his art dealership, is a member of the board of directors of the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law of Yeshiva University in New York. He formerly served on the board of the Art Dealers Association of America. Loria, who splits time between homes in New York and South Florida, supports hospitals, educational institutions and museums around the world with charitable contributions. from wikipedia.com

Well, somehow that's NOT a surprise. OAK continuing to be jinxed in the post-season, dating back to the Jeremy Giambi/Derek Jeter play at home way back when.

Craziest part of that whole inning was Reddick hitting a homer after K'ing 6 consecutive times in the series before that AB. Uh-oh, Tigers rallying against the previous nearly untouchable Cook. Can't believe it, 2 runs scoring this inning on wild pitches.

Just like the Orioles, Tigers have the better bullpen. Tigers 77-0 last year with leading after 7, "just" 72-7 this year, but still much better than the White Sox. Amazing turnaround, fans turning on Benoit like the Rangers' fans turned on Hamilton. Cespedes stealing 2nd and 3rd without much of a challenge reminiscent of the White Sox defensive struggles in past seasons controlling the running game. What's even crazier is the score easily could be 5-1, if not for the CoCo Crisp error and the Avisail Garcia one bounce throw home. That kid's going to be a monster if he develops power to go with that body. He's looking like a possible five tool outfielder, the last thing the White Sox need in our division.

QUOTE (The Ultimate Champion @ Oct 6, 2012 -> 07:03 PM) I agree with this post. Stuff to me isn't necessarily velocity on the fastball; to me it's hard, late break on a breaking ball, fade & sink on a change, speed differential/movement(especially late) on the fastball, etc. The fastball is the most important pitch but the secondary offering(s) dictate to a large degree the effectiveness of the fastball. Your Thornton point is an excellent example of this, i.e. he doesn't really have the "stuff" he just has a hard fastball that hitters can sit on when he's not locating and popping the glove with it. Neither Santiago nor Quintana are "stuff" pitchers. Both are deceptive lefties that need to get ahead with the fastball to be effective, and when the bench has them inexplicably trying to pitch backwards it just doesn't work. The idea that Santiago has better "stuff" IMO is just all screwball hype and the fact that his fastball speed is higher. But if you watch Santiago theres no sharp break on anything he seems to throw, the slider doesn't have much bite, the fastball is pretty straight, and the screwball IMO would be better as a straight change. I'm not standing in the batters box so I obviously don't know, but to me it seems like the speed of the screwball is what is getting the hitters, not the movement, and the fastball is the effective pitch (aided by deception) and actually, I think the movement on the change/screwball is helping the hitters identify it earlier which allows them to hit it easily when he leaves it up. Santiago doesn't really have more than 1 good pitch IMO. Q OTOH I see as having far better command, but he just lost strength as the year went on and left a lot more pitches over the plate. IMO Quintana's change is better than Santiago's screwball, his slider is better, his 4-seam and cutter command is better, etc. and all together it makes him harder to square up the ball on, therefore he has better stuff. But the FB is the best pitch for both pitchers, and neither have any kind of knockout secondary pitch, so both are deception-based lefties who need to overachieve basically. To that end, Q is farther along, closer to a finished product, has more tools in the shed, etc. and if you have to keep one I think it's very easy to pick. What I like about both pitchers is the mentality they have. Santiago has a nice floor also, being that (IMO) if he can't be a #3 type in the end, you can think of him as a #5, and if he can't be that then he can be a lefty setup man, and worst case scenario assuming he stays healthy he is at least an effective lefty specialist. So if you're a team looking to acquire a package of young players for your proven vet, Santiago is the type of guy you want, ala pretty good ceiling, very nice floor, MLB ready right now, definitely going to contribute, overachiever type mentally, hard worker, etc. I do think Santiago is definitely traded this offseason. You can't run out 4 lefties, and Danks and Sale are sticking. Q is closer to being ready I think, and with Santiago you're selling his potential short if you keep him and move him to the pen. IMO Q slots as the ideal #5 in a 3-lefty rotation because with Sale as your #1 you can go from a deceptive pitch to contact lefty on one day to a legitimate wipe-out machine the next. It's hard to justify throwing 2 similar types of lefties after each other to the same hitters on consecutive days, and it's just as hard to justify going from a "stuff" guy first to a Buehrle type second, but Quintana to Sale IMO would work very well. Add Santiago in the mix and one of the lefties is going to get lit up a bit I think. Agree, in general. FWIW, Cooper is a huge Santiago fan. I always thought of Hector as Johan Santana Lite, IF he could develop an effective off-speed pitch, like Johan's deadly change. And the lefty I think MOST in danger of getting lit up by following Quintana is probably Danks. We can probably agree Sale is quite unique and the other 3 (Q/Santiago/Danks, even Buehrle) have more similarities, making repeating them in a rotation, particularly in a four game series (haven't checked the schedule to see how many of these we have for 2013) particularly troublesome.

QUOTE (TaylorStSox @ Oct 6, 2012 -> 06:06 PM) Jenks had some of the best stuff I've ever seen. 100+ FB, 2+Curves, +Slider, +Change and a Cutter. Dude was just flat out unfair. There are too many variables to determine how much of an effect a catcher has from one year to the next. I do know that his pitch calling was predictable and he didn't like to change eye levels enough. He also didn't call for enough pitches in the dirt with 2 strikes. I'm not going to speculate why, but I have a feeling of what it was. He's never been good at blocking pitches...whether it's laziness or just poor technique or a combination of both. The "changing eye level" thing was thrown out there a lot with Addison Reed, as well. Just like changing managers was largely credited as a plus (getting rid of the Ozzie distractions and having a level-headed manager in the Bob Melvin mold), we'll have lots of theories next year if the pitching staff struggles WITHOUT AJ.

QUOTE (TaylorStSox @ Oct 6, 2012 -> 05:56 PM) Jones doesn't get swings and misses on the fastball because he doesn't know how to pitch yet. He needs to elevate it more. AJ's pitch calling isn't helping either. Crain's lost some velocity, but his breaking stuff is nasty when he's on and he can throw it for strikes. We'll see. Remember when Jenks came up in 2005, he didn't know how to pitch yet either but his raw stuff carried the day. Same catcher as today. With AJ likely gone, we'll find out the affect he really had (or didn't) on this pitching staff in 2013, in all likelihood.

QUOTE (kitekrazy @ Oct 6, 2012 -> 09:16 AM) There ya go. Worst collapse belongs to the Rangers. Seems they are going in the direction of trading Kinsler, Cruz, playing Profar and Andrus together....Leonys Martin could be the RFer, that's where they are going to have to worry about losing too much offense. Rios might be interesting for them, as they clearly won't bring back Hamilton now. They have to figure out what to do with Michael Young, as well. They could trade Martin Perez, Olt/Gallo and some combination of Kinsler/Andrus/Cruz to make a super package to get anyone in the game, almost. Napoli could also be an interesting name for the White Sox to consider. By Kevin Sherrington / Columnist [email protected] 11:21 pm on October 5, 2012 | Permalink Too many players make mistakes on this club and shrug them off. Too many guys picked off, too many errors on routine plays, too many bad at bats. If the players won’t police themselves, then, it’s up to the manager. But that’s not Ron Washington’s style, either. He asks a lot of a veteran bunch, with seven on the wrong side of 30 going out day after day after day. Granted, he had an awfully short bench. But when GM Jon Daniels gave him Jurickson Profar and Mike Olt, Washington didn’t take advantage of them. Funny, then, when he sent Profar up to the plate in the ninth against Baltimore’s closer, Jim Johnson, and Profar lines his first pitch the opposite way for a single. The rally ended there, though, as did any other rally Friday the last 18 games. When the Red Sox suffered through a meltdown of their own last season, it cost Terry Francona his job. And he had a couple of World Series titles on his resume. Washington made mistakes this season, the most glaring his blind loyalty to Michael Young. The manager won’t lose his job. The hitting coach, Scott Coolbaugh, may take one for the team, though. Possibly Gary Pettis, too. Hitting and baserunning were not Ranger strengths. Other changes should come, too. The Rangers need to see what Profar can do, and it doesn’t need to come in pinch hit appearances. Bottom line: Ian Kinsler should have taken his last uppercut as a Ranger. In many ways, he symbolizes the Rangers’ woes. A player of vast potential, he didn’t come close to it this season. Too many errors, too many pickoffs, too many shrugs. He has good trade value, though, and his exit opens up a position for Profar. Give Profar a year or two at second, and the club can make an educated guess on what to do when Elvis Andrus’ contract comes up in two seasons. The Rangers need to get younger. They need more pitching, too. Daniels should put together a package of Kinsler and perhaps Martin Perez, maybe even Mike Olt, and see what it brings. Tampa Bay will trade a pitcher this off-season. James Shields? David Price? How about Josh Johnson, a perennial target? They need better production out of first base. They need to make a decision on Young’s role. They need to change their style if they don’t bring Hamilton back. Daniels has plenty of decisions to make in the next few months. The arc of any team, no matter how good, always descends eventually. By any measure of what we’ve seen as the last two seasons have played out, that time has come. He seemed to work the room quite well Friday. Let’s hope it takes.

QUOTE (TaylorStSox @ Oct 6, 2012 -> 05:49 PM) Jones, Crain and Veal have the best "stuff" on the team IMO. Obviously it's subjective though. We're talking starters, though, at least I thought. Jones still has struggled against RHB'ers and while he pitched well in stretches, he also doesn't get nearly as many swings and misses on his fastball as one would expect. He throws a very "light" fastball. You watch lots of other guys throwing 97-100 MPH, they're totally dominant with the fastball alone. Jones can't get away without having a breaking pitch he can get over. Crain's lost something off his fastball from 3-5 years ago, probably due to overuse by the Twins.