caulfield12

QUOTE (Vance Law @ Jul 9, 2014 -> 03:45 PM) Our payroll next year is basically $4. We should be buying some proven power in FA or in trade. Trade who? What power hitters under 30 are available, exactly, on the FA market? Colby Rasmus? There aren't many, that's for sure.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jul 9, 2014 -> 01:16 PM) Schwarber was an advanced college hitter who is beating the snot out of 2nd year high schoolers and journeyman pitchers. He should be expected to hit A-ball pitching. For comparison's sake, Mike Zunino hit .373/474/.736/1.210 in A ball and he's been a very mediocre hitter in the majors thus far. How many catchers in baseball have 10+ homers this year? Especially considering his home park for 81 games.

QUOTE (StRoostifer @ Jul 9, 2014 -> 02:43 PM) I see where the confusion is. I'm talking about Ramirez, not Maurer. The reason I take Ramirez is due to the holes in the rotation. Ramirez is still young, right handed and a starting pitcher which is why I'd take him. I get what you're saying about Viciedo, I just don't see the Sox missing out on much if they trade him. Provided the return helps the team. Players who will project to hit 15 or more homers next season: Abreu maybe Garcia How is that going to play at USCF?

I think it also depends on how Konerko feels about AJ. It's supposed to be his farewell tour. Rock already said that's being completely ignored. This would even make it moreso, since AJ's going to get 90% of the attention from the media. Can we bring back Michael Jordan and put him in LF if they trade Viciedo?

QUOTE (The Ultimate Champion @ Jul 9, 2014 -> 01:52 PM) I was listening to the Score today because they were talking about an episode recently where Mark Parent was caught on camera grabbing his balls and adjusting them. Obviously I found that very interesting and at the time Stoney was on, he was being interviewed, and they were talking about what you do when its in the 90's and your balls are all sweaty and you need to adjust them. So obviously that's very important. So anyway during this interview about balls and adjusting balls Stoney mentioned the Red Sox GM making players available for trades. He kind of went down the list of who will be available and when Stoney got to AJ he kind of laughed and asked "what for?" i.e. why would anyone ever want AJ Pierzynski. Now obviously that was disrespectful, and so I wonder if there is something there? I know Super Steverson i.e. ptatc doesn't like AJ, but I love him, and maybe the reason Stoney is a lil prickly around the topic is that he knows AJ has his job next? Just guessing. Anyways it was just a little thing but the most important issue here is Mark Parent grabbing his balls. Thank you for reading this. It would be just like the White Sox to get rid of one of the best in the business and bring in someone totally inexperienced because of loyalty/ties to the team...we've already seen it before with DJ and Chris Singleton. While they're at it, why don't they just get rid of Ventura and give him Stone's job? Heck, Steve Stone would be a MUCH better manager than Ventura IMO, if he chose to pursue it...but I'm sure he would never get along with Don Cooper, both of their egos are too huge to coexist together, like LaRussa and Harrelson.

If they do this...and it's not just for publicity/attendance's sake...then they should release Phegley as well, because that would be a complete slap in the face to him. If we're not trying to compete this year AND we're not trying to develop our future catcher with valuable major league experience, what's the reason for it?

Are we going to bring back Buehrle, too, haha? Would doing THAT move the attendance meter at all?

I thought Garcia and Eaton were the new clubhouse leaders? That's not going to be a disruption? Anything's better than Flowers, but weren't we just saying there's no logical point to bringing in veterans who won't be part of our long-term plan and will keep the next Sox catcher from getting valuable experience with our staff, specifically Sale/Quintana/Rodon? If they don't want Phegley to be that next guy, then they should go ahead and cut him and Flowers loose and admit defeat. Will AJ want to come back for just one half season....or will he want it to be 1 1/2 seasons? For the rest of the year, it's fine...but they would be much better off finding another (younger) catcher before Opening Day, 2015. It also depends on whether they feel Kevan Smith has even a REMOTE possibility of benefitting from major league playing time this year, or whether that would be rushing him too much.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Jul 9, 2014 -> 10:05 AM) True. This was a big reason he was pushed to the bullpen. Reed has been a closer since his SD State days...are you talking about in high school or his first couple of seasons under Tony Gwynn?

QUOTE (striker @ Jul 9, 2014 -> 10:11 AM) I'm intrigued by both Ackley and Franklin. Both have raked in the minors but haven't gotten over that hump in the majors. They both have good BB rates, would be upgrades defensively and would cost less. How about De Aza and Viciedo for Ackley and Franklin? Then ship Beckham to Yankees for Murphy. You could use our infield surplus to try and get a catcher or pitching. Where are you going to play Franklin, with this trade? You're dealing Ramirez as well? Ackley's a natural 2B, but he has been playing LF for the Mariners. Do you honestly want someone who hits like Gordon Beckham playing a corner OF spot? YIKES. Franklin would be fine if he could play SS everyday, but he's probably better suited for 2B or 3B. We have five million 2B prospects, so this whole thing doesn't make much sense. He's kind of like Dan Uggla-Lite.

QUOTE (StRoostifer @ Jul 9, 2014 -> 10:11 AM) That's works. Send Beckham to Oakland for Milone, then send Danks to NY for? Maybe catching help. Hahn would get AL Executive of the Year for that trade alone. Not going to happen.

QUOTE (midway @ Jul 9, 2014 -> 10:03 AM) In yesterday's MLB traderumors chat Billy Beane said his next target is 2B and asked if he should go after Gordon Beckham or Ben Zobrist and if Tom Millone would be enough to get either one....hell yes!!!! I think he was joking. He has said all along that Gray, Chavez, Kazmir and the two Cubs wouldn't be expected to make all of their starts in the 2nd half, especially the first 3 guys because of workload concerns. Zobrist isn't going anywhere, from everything I've read and heard. Price is the one they have to part with... SF is also looking for a 2B, supposedly. DeAza could be a good fit there as well, as they look to shake up their team and find any way to get some more offense out of players not named Sandoval, Posey, Morse and Pence.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jul 9, 2014 -> 09:59 AM) Wrong. You should write a correction request to the Seattle Times, then. Although I think informing Heyman that Danks had a shoulder/rotator cuff surgery and not TJ would be a more worthwhile use of time.

And yet a lot of people wanted to acquire Kendrys Morales for $14.5 million, Victor Martinez for next year...or Colby Rasmus, for another example. This 2015 White Sox can't be all players under 27 or 28. (Once you subtract Dunn/Ramirez/DeAza, that's exactly what we would have). It sounds like we're trying to do a down-sized version of the Cubs' plan by acquiring all young position player prospects and hoping some of them turn out like Gillaspie. Meanwhile, we don't have any premium talent to give away to acquire aforementioned prospects, other than Alexei Ramirez.

George Kottaras is available. At least he can take a walk.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jul 9, 2014 -> 08:58 AM) "Look at what happens with their first round picks that don't turn into studs! THEY AREN'T STUDS!" I'll let Dick Allen list them if he wants to... So we don't want to make any effort at all to compete for the playoffs/Wild Card while simultaneously we don't care about our draft pick/s next year, either? MEHHHH....

QUOTE (knightni @ Jul 9, 2014 -> 09:21 AM) If the Red sox want Viciedo, would they be interested Conor Gillaspie as well? He looks like a natural hitter for Fenway. They'd have to move Bogaerts back to SS and forget about Drew. And also give up on Middlebrooks, pretty much....because Napoli's at 1B/DH, along with Ortiz. Or stick him in the OF, which is easier said than done (as we learned with Josh Fields/Mark Teahen). Dayan Viciedo, LF, White Sox The Mariners have already been linked to Viciedo twice this spring. They scouted him this spring when they saw how left-handed heavy their roster looked. They weren’t impressed with Viciedo’s swing-first, swing-often approach and were really scared off by his outfield defense, which could be compared to Raul Ibanez. Viciedo does has a strong arm, but fly balls are an adventure. Could he improve? Sure he’s only 25 and outfield defense can improved to at least respectable if a player is willing. He’s hitting .250 with 10 homers and 31 RBI with a .303 OBP and .420 slugging percentage. His splits are relatively drastic …(LHP vs. RHP) Screen Shot 2014-07-07 at 1.58.50 PM If you noticed on Saturday, he was pinch hit for against a righty reliever (damn you, Ventura!!!). But the Mariners need a guy who can hit lefties. Contract: 1 years/$2.8M (2014) re-signed by Chicago White Sox 1/13/14 (avoided arbitration). He’d be second year arbitration eligible so it it could bump to 4ish next year. Skinny: At just 25 and being relatively (cheap I'm assuming is the missing word), the White Sox may just keep him. There is some potential and he fits their “park.” It seems likely Adam Dunn will be gone next year, so he could slide into the DH spot. The White Sox need relief help. The Mariners have a lot of hard throwing relievers. It could be a match. Other names being thrown around are Josh Willingham, Alex Rios, Matt Kemp, Carl Crawford, Andre Ethier, Stanton, Tulo, Marlon Byrd (he'd be worth a look for the White Sox, even though he's a veteran), A few things … 1. The Mariners are interested in any player that might possibly help them, doesn’t matter right or left handed, pitcher or player. And if you look their current roster, there are plenty of players on “the trade market” who are better than what Lloyd McClendon is forced to put out there on a daily basis. 2. Very rarely will any rumblings or rumors come from the Mariners. They are one of the most secretive organizations in baseball. GM Jack Zduriencik is quite adamant about this privacy. Not a good idea for a person’s employment status to be leaking stuff to the media. Much of this national stuff comes from opposing scouts and executives or agents. 3. The value of the Mariners prospects probably aren’t as high as you think. Right now, the two best prospects the Mariners have are Taijuan Walker and DJ Peterson. Prospects at lower levels just don’t move the trade meter, unless they are phenoms. The Mariners don’t have that. Edwin Diaz, Luiz Gohara, Gabby Guerrero are all good players and prospects, but they aren’t centerpieces. http://blogs.seattletimes.com/mariners/201...handed-hitters/

I guess I'd be okay with a catcher AND a pitcher, but I'm still not going to be particularly happy if Beckham and DeAza are both still around next year because we couldn't find someone who would take them off our hands.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Jul 9, 2014 -> 09:11 AM) It'll be just Erasmo. Viciedo for Erasmo. Why would we do that when we got an even better pitcher for free in Noesi? At any rate, if he does, there BETTER be a plan for 2015 that doesn't involve Davidson striking out 150 times at DH/3B and bringing back DeAza for LF...because we're going to suck if we only have Abreu (and maybe Davidson) as the only hitter/s on the team capable of hitting more than 15 homers. Davidson's stat line would likely look quite similar to Mike Olt's at 3B.

QUOTE (The Ultimate Champion @ Jul 9, 2014 -> 07:46 AM) I don't know what their system looks like, but in theory we need all of the following: -RHSP (at least 1) -big lefty power bat -DH? if we keep Tank maybe not, but he still has to turn it around -SS after Alexei -an actual OF who can play the OF -starting C -LHRP at least 1 -quality MR and SU options So if you get like a good looking A- RHSP prospect or SS for example along with a good looking LHRP who is close to ready along with full salary relief then that should be something we'd have to think about pulling the trigger on. you're being way too ambitious when you consider his diminished velocity, high walks/lower K's and home runs allowed totals....not to mention his contract, the most important factor for at least 75% of playoff-contending teams

It better be for Maurer and Erasmo Ramirez.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jul 9, 2014 -> 07:35 AM) For the record, here are notable players picked in that 14-18 range that Caulfield dreads so much: 14: Jose Fernandez, Jason Heyward, Billy Butler, Jeff Weaver, Jason Varitek, Derrek Lee, Cliff Floyd, Tino Martinez, and, of course, Ron Karkovice 15: Stephen Drew, Scott Kazmir, Chase Utley, Chris Carpenter, and Jim Rice 16: Nick Swisher, Lance Berkman, Lance Parrish, Roberto Hernandez, Shawn Green 17: Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels, Gary Matthews Sr, Charles Nagy, AJ Pollock 18: Willie Wilson, Glenn Wilson. RA Dickey too, but he was a genuinely talented pitcher but was forced to change due to injury. #18 has the worst history, but the best player in the majors right now went 25th overall, so it's not like there isn't talent there. Except what has happened when the White Sox have picked in this range...? Other than Chris Sale? Let's just say 10-19. BTW, the White Sox still haven't won a Saturday home game all year (yet), right? The one victory was on the road I'm pretty sure. Has a team ever gone for an entire season without winning a home game on a certain day of the week over a modern-day, 162 game schedule?

QUOTE (Baron @ Jul 8, 2014 -> 11:39 PM) Seattle's going to be a tough one to knock off Especially if we trade Viciedo for Erasmo Ramirez or Maurer, lol.

QUOTE (Tannerfan @ Jul 8, 2014 -> 09:41 PM) Caulfield you really should be a a Cubs fan. Their philosophy is perfect for you. The White Sox are the ones with this philosophy, not me. If we had a closer and a catcher, we'd legitimately have a shot at the Wild Card, even without Avisail Garcia. Instead, we continue to trot out the worst position player in the MLB on an almost everyday basis with no back-up plan in sight.

QUOTE (GreenSox @ Jul 8, 2014 -> 10:28 PM) Use Youkilis as your example - he who was declining, whom we got for cheap in terms of players but who had a high salary, but who ended up carrying us into contention in 2012. Dye (good year before we signed him) and AJ (1 bad year) weren't declining like Craig and we got each absolutely dirt cheap. No 3/25 or 4/38. Pods was Pods. Bullpen can be 100 for all I care. Youkilis was already basically done because of the back problems...and we were fortunate that Middlebrooks was so promising then, or they wouldn't have parted with him so easily, just like the Thome/Ryan Howard situation in Philly. Dye was coming off a broken leg. The point is you do need SOME veterans in the mix for a playoff-contending team to be leaders. The other point is that finding a "guaranteed" 800 OPS bat in the outfield isn't as easy as it seems. It's either going to cost money or talent. It's not like the situation with pitchers (Jenks, Santos, Humber, Quintana, Putnam, Noesi, Carroll, Guerra) where they just grow on trees and are magically reborn under Cooper. In fact, the last everyday player we were able to pick up in that fashion was DeAza in 2010-11.