caulfield12

Cespedes meets with Marlins, visits ballpark By Joe Frisaro / MLB.com | 02/08/12 6:40 PM EST MIAMI -- For several hours on Wednesday, Marlins officials met with Yoenis Cespedes. They showed him around Miami, and gave the Cuban native a tour of their new ballpark. Overall, the visit went well. Still, the Marlins are in a wait-and-see situation as to if they will actually sign the 26-year-old outfielder. "It was good to see him again," Marlins president David Samson said on his weekly segment of The Dan LeBatard Show on 790 The Ticket. "We hadn't seen him since he was in the Dominican. He's still not a free agent officially. "But he was able to be in town for some appointments, I guess. He wanted to come and see the ballpark, and we're always happy to show people the ballpark." Cespedes recently gained temporary residence in the Dominican Republic. He received a travel visa, and arrived in Miami on Tuesday afternoon. Cespedes and his agent, Adam Katz of Wasserman Media Group, met with Marlins' officials on Wednesday. They took a tour of Marlins Park, located in the Little Havana section of Miami, in the afternoon. "First of all, I need to play good baseball, wherever I go," Cespedes said through a translator on Channel 7 WSVN. "If I get to play where there is a Latin community, it's that much better." Despite being declared a free agent by Major League Baseball on Jan. 25, Cespedes has not been legally cleared by the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control. Currently, the outfielder remains "blocked" by the OFAC. Until Cespedes is unblocked, he can negotiate and even reach agreement with a team. The signing, however, won't become official until after he is legally cleared. Samson said Cespedes did not take a physical on Wednesday. The Marlins have aggressively pursued Cespedes for months. A contingent of at least 10 employees, including team owner Jeffrey Loria, attended a Cespedes workout in the Dominican Republic in November. Multiple sources consider the Marlins the frontrunner to signing the Cuban sensation. The Marlins, Tigers, Cubs, Orioles, White Sox and Indians all have expressed interest in Cespedes. There is optimism that he will be cleared to sign with a team before the start of Spring Training later this month. With Miami's large Cuban influence, the Marlins feel Cespedes is a natural fit. His impact could be felt on the field and at the ticket gate. The Marlins project him as a center fielder. But even if he signs, it is likely, he will open the season at Triple-A New Orleans. Emilio Bonifacio is the frontrunner to be starting center fielder on Opening Day. Samson said on his radio show that exactly how many tickets a player like Cespedes would sell is hard to measure. "It's hard to know," Samson said. "Everything has to hit at the right time. I think if we have this new ballpark and we win, that is the key, much more than anything else. "Having Cespedes on our team would be great. But we don't control it. We'll try to come to a negotiated deal. If we can't, we can't. That's ok. The team is always more important than any individual. And we've got a great team right now. We just have to go out and prove it." Joe Frisaro is a reporter for MLB.com. He writes a blog, called The Fish Pond. Follow him on Twitter @JoeFrisaro. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

QUOTE (Andrew @ Feb 8, 2012 -> 11:35 PM) So.... ??? Anything? www.miamiherald.com/sports Cespedes is Miami-bound for likely Marlins visit Cuban outfielder Yoenis Cespedes, who is the last remaining target of the Marlins' offseason acquisition spree, is scheduled to arrive in Miami later this afternoon and will more than likely meet with team officials tomorrow. Cespedes will first meet today with his agent, Adam Katz. A handful of teams are believed to be interested in the 26-year-old slugger, and there are reports that bidding for the free agent could hit the $60 million mark. The Marlins have been outspoken in their desire to land Cespedes, which is most unusual of the typically tight-lipped organization. Even if the Marlins are successful in signing Cespedes, he will almost certainly start the season in the minors. Once he's proven himself there, the Marlins must then decide where to position him once they call him up. Cespedes has been playing center, a position that will be occupied to start the season by Emilio Bonifacio (Bonifacio, by the way, had his salary arbitration hearing this morning.) Scouts believe Cespedes is better suited in a corner outfield spot, both of which are currently taken on the Marlins by Mike Stanton and Logan Morrison. But those are details for later. More than likely, the Marlins will give him the grand tour of their new ballpark, take him to Joe's Stone Crab for lunch, and give him their best sales routine to convince him that South Florida is the place to be. Read more here: http://miamiherald.typepad.com/fish_bytes/...l#storylink=cpy

QUOTE (ptatc @ Feb 8, 2012 -> 09:11 PM) To be fair KW inherited him from Schueler and subsequently let him have too much free reign. I don't think KW should fall on the sword for someone he inherited even if it did happen on his watch. Bowden hired Rijo and thus was more responsible for him and his actions. As mentioned below, wasn't it KW operating directly beneath Schueler in the organizational hierarchy who brought Wilder on board? He originally was hired by the White Sox as a special assistant to General Manager Ken Williams on November 5, 2003, before assuming the role of director of player development on December 8, 2003. In his new role, Wilder is responsible for assisting General Manager Ken Williams with evaluating the major league club, as well as assisting with player development and scouting evaluation. As director of player development, Wilder oversaw the entire minor-league department and player development staff and also the club's Latin American Operations. In three seasons in that role, the White Sox system produced pitchers Bobby Jenks and Brandon McCarthy, third baseman Josh Fields and outfielders Brian Anderson, Jerry Owens and Ryan Sweeney for the major-league roster. Wilder spent four seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers from 2000-03, working as a special assignment scout in 2003 after serving as vice president of player personnel from 2000-02. In that capacity, Wilder was the primary talent evaluator for the Brewers at both the major and minor league levels, oversaw their scouting and player development systems and directed the professional scouting staff. (Also worked for the Altanta Braves from 1991-1995). That's quite a bit different from Rick Hahn being blamed, for example, for something Buddy Bell did or didn't do as director of the minor leagues.

QUOTE (ptatc @ Feb 8, 2012 -> 06:51 PM) I think some of this was fallout from Wilder and his kickback scheme. Players may have been hesitant to sign knowing they has to give some of the bonus to them. Another reason for KW to fall on his sword, in the collective scheme of things. Still...I'm sure he learned a valuable lesson. But that same type of situation toppled Bowden and Jose Blame It On Rijo in Washington.

QUOTE (Heads22 @ Feb 8, 2012 -> 08:14 PM) Dunn's 2011 season doesn't mean it was the wrong move to make, it means it was a move that went wrong, and when evaluating a GM that needs to be taken into consideration. But couldn't you argue, since we're ALWAYS in "win now" mode over the last decade...that Hudson for Jackson was also the best move to compete in 2010, that Hudson couldn't have possibly put up the same numbers as E-Jax did? That's where you get into, "yes, but...we lost 4 1/2 years of cost-controlled Daniel Hudson," which added to the payroll and put KW in a position where he had to deleverage the salaries of Teahen/Frasor/Quentin/Jackson/Buehrle, etc. The Santos one...is the head scratcher. Will be interesting to see how that one works out...but at least there's the logic of Addison Reed as your go to option. Trading Thornton/Crain/Floyd...those would have been more expected from a team in our position. And the Danks extension was the diametrically opposed option of dealing Sergio. At least we're unpredicatable. There's that. Other than David Ortiz, how many other full-time DH's are paid over $10 million per year??? I know Posada was as well, last year. Just curious.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Feb 8, 2012 -> 05:40 PM) But frankly, I'm not sure we'd want him. Agreed, Viciedo HAS to play everyday. I could go either way on DeAza, but he definitely earned the starting job based on his play last year. His to lose.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Feb 8, 2012 -> 07:22 PM) That's not the tone I got. I read his quote as him acknowledging that he's partially accountable for the team's poor performance of late and was willing to accept a lesser position if Jerry thought it was best for the team. I see no problem with him stating that to the media. At least he's admitting that he f***ed up, unlike someone else we got rid of. Also, what's wrong with him wanting to stay in the organization after leaving the GM spot? KW has his faults, both personally and professionally, but he seems like a loyal employee who would put Jerry's best interests first. For f***'s sake, he's taken a ton of abuse from the Guillen family over the past few years and really hasn't discussed it much with the media, which is not the type of person KW is. Maybe because he has so many skeletons in his closet, he doesn't want to go there with Ozzie/Cowley. Better to ignore and "act like the better man" than to engage the Guillens in public. And probably there was a direct order or request from JR to let it go and not breathe further life into Ozzie's departure storyline.

QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ Feb 8, 2012 -> 04:15 PM) I've said it before and I'll repeat it. It was always disheartening to have to rely on acquiring major league players that had fallen off, but it's pretty damn sad that we now have to do the same thing with prospects. At least we have the ability to sustain a payroll and pay for those younger, cost-controlled players. It's just that there's now such an "overpremium" on them (especially pitchers) that it's hard for KW to exploit this area as much, with Quentin being a prime example. Of course, were it not for Peavy/Dunn/Rios, we'd still be able to easily afford Carlos for this season.

Split decision goes to DA.

Castro has the ability to be a lot better than C or C+ or whatever he's rated, but the point still remains with the sheer numbers favoring the Marlins.

What's the consensus on Chronicle from those who have seen it? Sorry, late to the thread after 3 weeks travelling. Seems to be a director with a ton of promise who operated without CGI but managed to jam in about 5-10 "how the hell did they do that?" moments. The last half of the movie...felt like a superhero becomes villain story arch. If nothing else, it was very creative and original, and blows much more expensive flicks like I Am Number 4 or Percy Jackson out of the water.

In the end, you take risks. We've seen that money go to the likes of Silverio, Anderson Gomes and Orlando...and it's a better idea to take the risk of 10-20 Jordan Dankses or Trayce Thompson's making it and becoming a superstar than drafting the likes of Royce Ring, Broadway, McCulloch or Poreda in the first round (well, Aaron was LH and at least had some above average heat at one point). Plus it helped to keep his brother in the fold, there was that theory as well. He had all the raw physical tools (not unlike BA) that you look for in a young outfielder, not unlike our drafting of Sweeney. The problem has always been the long swing, power and K numbers. That's what happens with 90% of toolsy outfield prospects, they go bust. And saying is Cespedes worth 8-10 Joe Borchards in terms of price isn't quite the point, although the numbers are scary. If nothing else, it makes the Viciedo and Ramirez signings look even more "genius" in retrospect. Then again, if we just had average results in the Dominican and Venezuela over the last decade, our farm system would actually be competitive vis a vis the rest of MLB.

This whole thing with KW and JR is just to give Williams a BIT of cover with the fans...it's a PR move, pure and simple. KW wasn't likely to be going anywhere because it wasn't such a secret that Ozzie was on his way out...and that one of them had to go. And it's a lot easier to change your manager than your GM (although JR learned a hard lesson with the LaRussa/Harrelson fiasco decades earlier). In the end, KW doesn't connect well with fans. He's not one of them. He's nothing like Bill Veeck. That can be a good thing...it often is. But when times are down, it's certainly not. Because people want to give someone they've grown to feel is "one of them" more time and patience and leeway to fix things in times of struggle. We root for the great comeback story. Some executives have that ability to communicate and be "loved" by the everyday or average people (or fans in the case of sport). In politics, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush had this "charisma" button they could push. Or there are many leaders in the Obama, Romney or John Kerry mode who project the image of "difference/aloofness" that provides them more thin ice to skate on than more instinctive leaders who know how to get people on their side. I think we can all agree that in about 90% of his tenure, Williams has done absolutely the wrong thing in terms of PR and perception, even when he was "right." Frank Thomas, for example. He can't seem to keep his foot out of his mouth. And we had 2 guys like that for the last eight years. It was enough, and it was clearly dysfunctional as a business model going forward. Personally, I hope KW succeeds, because I'm a Sox fan. I've defended most of his moves this past offseason...but, that said, fresh blood in the form of Hahn or any of a number of other candidates out there with a different perspective would suit many of the fanbase just fine. I'd guess very FEW would be upset if KW was out tomorrow, I'll put it that way.

If Tebow and Brady can do it, KW can face the fans at SoxFest for more than one session. For the prices they charge, isn't that part of the intrigue of SoxFest, the possibility you might get your moment in the sun to put him on the hot seat and momentarily hold him accountable in a public setting? How many sessions did he do after the 2005 and 2008 seasons? I'm sure there is a discrepancy. If anything...KW, Boyer, those guys should be even more visible...Rongey, etc., not disappearing from the face of the Earth.

That's where Greg enters the conversation. Ozzie, love him or hate him, comes across as more "real" or more "genuine," he's the guy you would actually prefer to eat at Applebee's or Chili's with, or have a beer with, etc. KW just has that aloof attitude, that cockiness and arrogance...it reminds me of the the comment that came out about not caring about the "really rich" and "really poor" people from the primary season. KW doesn't care about the average Sox fan or message board poster at all. He should be a little more in tune with the fanbase, IMO. He always seems to put his foot in his mouth, and everyone's tired of his "crying poor" act and blaming the fans for not supporting the lousy product which he produced and is responsible for. Not that Hahn is any less arrogant or overconfident or full of himself, they both have that quality, which is probably why they get along so well together, as long as Hahn "stays in his place." Ozzie didn't know how to do that....the last 6 years have been more about proving who's the most important/integral/critical to the organization, Ozzie or Kenny. I've never loved Williams the person, but I at least have to accord him respect for what he did in 2005. But that's where it ends...and six years is now quite a long time ago. The clock is ticking....as Maximus says to Commodus in Gladiator, "the time for honoring yourself will soon be at an end."

QUOTE (Andrew @ Feb 7, 2012 -> 03:35 PM) What? Maybe Stephen Covey or Abraham Lincoln would have been better examples than a "self-help" guru in the Deepak Chopra mode.

The better question is how much do we blame our.... 1) college/high school amateur draft scouts 2) minor league development people (Bell now) 3) major league coaching staff, especially Ozzie and Walker 4) front office, KW and Hahn specifically You can say "the buck stops here" and it's ultimately KW's responsibility, with scouts merely providing advice and counsel, guidance and their combined years of collective wisdom (I think Moneyball suggesting it's 150 years is a bit much, don't remember Abner Doubleday or Alexander Cartwright doing much scouting during the Civil War)...

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Feb 6, 2012 -> 11:23 PM) So pay Mark nearly $15 million a year for the next 4 years so he can be the next Moyer when/if he makes it to 40? Yeah, not very smart. Greg, how has Dye, Jenks and Wise fared since leaving the Sox? About as well as Juan Pierre.

The question isn't what he will do so much, and there's a good possibility he does have a productive couple of seasons....it's that the White Sox can't afford to pay him the rate the Marlins are going forward. That's it. Whether it's fair or right or just that we are losing Mark because of Dunn/Rios/Peavy, it really doesn't matter. If it makes you hate KW because he backed himself into this position by some of his ill-fated moves, then it's up to you if you want to support another team because of your anger/ire with the GM. Or you can be angry with JR and the ownership group/partners for not shelling out the money and putting themselves into a financial straightjacket. I guess the only way to really understand is to play some type of simulation game where you get to be the owner of the White Sox and you have to take out a personal loan/lien on your house in order to keep Mark Buehrle around for 4 more years or you do what's in your financial best interest and let him walk and don't expose yourself to an inordinate degree of financial risk going forward. Basically, KW leveraged the White Sox into upping the payroll to $127-128 million and it's going to take 2-3 more years to completely deleverage....or Rios/Dunn simply performing at the level they're paid to, that would be a nice surprise as well.

Greg Oden also comes to mind...but seems to me the 2nd and 3rd tier players in the NBA have a lot less protection in their contracts than say the 20th-25th players on an MLB roster (if they are veterans).

QUOTE (ptatc @ Feb 6, 2012 -> 11:03 PM) I agree with everything you said but I don't it's a flaw in the KW model as much as it's his philosophy from his point of view. Most prospects don't turn out successfully so if you can package them for someone who has had success, you have a better chance of being good. This is the way KW looks at things. Both philosophies have advantages and disadvantages. I'm not sure there is a "right way to play" the game other than busting your rear all the time. There are many philosphies on the right way. http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ti-femalegm070308 Also thought this article on Kim Ng (even though written 3 1/2 years ago) is quite insightful.

QUOTE (ptatc @ Feb 6, 2012 -> 11:03 PM) I agree with everything you said but I don't it's a flaw in the KW model as much as it's his philosophy from his point of view. Most prospects don't turn out successfully so if you can package them for someone who has had success, you have a better chance of being good. This is the way KW looks at things. Both philosophies have advantages and disadvantages. I'm not sure there is a "right way to play" the game other than busting your rear all the time. There are many philosphies on the right way. SR: I was actually just talking about that with Helen [Zelman; Diamondback's baseball operations assistant] and one of our scouts. In terms of looking at and projecting amateur players, [we often] look at their athleticism, we look at their performance and physical tools, trying to assess whether or not they'll be good professional players. And one of the harder parts is assessing what kind of aptitude they have to learn as they progress up the professional baseball chain. People automatically gravitate to things like, 'What is their GPA at Georgia Tech?' or 'Where did they go to high school and were they on the honor roll?' But sometimes the difference between athletic aptitude, the ability to take something you watch happen, or something the coach asks you to do, and immediately do it, might be different than if you can solve an equation for X. I think this is one of the more interesting quotes in the article....and it really goes to the failures the White Sox have endured with Josh Fields, Borchard, Brian Anderson and all the uncertainty about Beckham's future as well. Then there's that leadership element....the "this player makes the players surrounding him XXX times better just by his presence in the line-up and clubhouse" factor that's so hard to measure accurately. For example, how much will the White Sox miss Mark Buehrle because of that "value-added" element to his game that Greg likes to point out? How much will we suffer when AJ is no longer the full-time catcher? How much did Everett and Rowand provide the team in terms of leadership in 2005? How much did losing Juan Uribe or Joe Crede have to do with our "failures" in 2009-10-11? On the negative side, how much does Rios hurt the team chemistry, above and beyond his actual performance...or even with a manager who was obviously not fully engaged and loyal?

QUOTE (The Baconator @ Feb 6, 2012 -> 09:49 PM) Refinance. Too bad Rios/Dunn/Peavy aren't eligible for TARP financing or the remodified/restructured salary program like SOME homebuyers....we could use the reverse, where instead of modifying the loans to more favorable terms, we could adjust down their contracts based on their underperformance vis a vis expected results. Sometimes you wish MLB was more like the NFL or even the NBA in terms of play for performance.

QUOTE (ptatc @ Feb 6, 2012 -> 09:24 PM) It will be interesting to see his philosophy. KW is as as different as you can get from Schueler who held onto all of his prospects of which most don't turn out. I have a feeling Hahn will be more like KW and trade for established veterans and use the farm system more as trading currency than prospects for the Sox. A little more conservative and risk-averse, I could see their farm system ranking in 12-18 range instead of the bottom 2 or 3 organizations. Of course, a lot of that's going to be determined by how well the team finishes in 2012 and 2013, in terms of slotting and draft position for the first round picks. If we are in the 70's (especially lower 70's) for wins the next two seasons, then it's pretty hard to imagine not improving that farm system...and bringing in Soler or Cespedes would also have a huge impact, obviously. Where KW is 90% MLB results and 10% farm system development, nurturing, I think we'll see more of a 70/30 split in favor of the results at the major league level and balancing payroll/profitability with long-term sustainability. The flaw in the KW model has always been consistency and year to year fluctuations caused by his changing the chemistry and make-up of the roster around so much...and not having a wave of "Sox bred" players being promoted year after year from within, players who have learned to play the game the right way as opposed to learning 90% of it at the major league level, when results always have to be prioritized over teaching/development.

I would imagine his salary is right up there and even ahead of some of the GM's of the bottom 5-7 teams in the majors...that JR has basically promised him an opportunity and that KW will have from 1-3 years to fix things. On the other hand, with how poorly everything's turned out for KW the last 3 seasons, you have to think the luck will start turning his way and that the White Sox will somehow be competitive again by Year 2 or Year 3, in which case he (Hahn) would still be stuck waiting in line for the GM job...or passed over for LaRussa, potentially. The grass is always greener on the other side, though.