Marky Mark

Jose Quintana will his worst year with the Sox, but will still get 16+ wins. Media outlets will then begin to talk about him being one of the best values (output/contract) in baseball.

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Jan 25, 2016 -> 08:15 AM) To be fair, this was Arrieta's second straight year of Cy Young level pitching. Not his first. Yeah that's what I was thinking. As much as I've been calling Arrieta a fluke for the last 2 years, at this point I think the only thing Arrieta has left to prove is that he didn't wear down his arm with the innings jump last year and that he can still hit 200+IP.

If this is just based on what we think 2016's best pitchers will be, I'm putting King Felix back up near the top. Probably behind only Kershaw and Price. I think 2015 was an outlier and he still has several dominant Cy Young candidate seasons ahead of him.

Well, I guess the Tigers are going to have to make a trade for Melvin now.

I've only been to Ferro's once, but I remember it being quite awful.

QUOTE (BlackSox13 @ Jan 15, 2016 -> 07:11 PM) It's f***ing on now! Baltimore is pulling out all the stops. http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/baltimo...-htmlstory.html "Jimmy's Famous Seafood has extended the same offer it did to Davis to new free-agent target Yoenis Cespedes: Sign with the Orioles, receive free steamed crabs for life." Oh crap. We're in trouble. Come on Ferro's! Time to reciprocate with those "Eggceptional" omelettes! I'm sure that will do the trick.

So does he get the 2.1 million still if he's optioned back to Charlotte?

QUOTE (blackmooncreeping @ Jan 12, 2016 -> 09:37 PM) Blackmon would be a good get. I'd actually prefer him to CarGo but I'm figuring the price on Blackmon would be higher and less likely Blackmon's career away splits (Ave/OBP/SLG/OPS): .241/.283/.370/.653 Not sure how well that'd translate to the AL and to anyplace that isn't Coors.

QUOTE (blackmooncreeping @ Jan 12, 2016 -> 09:42 PM) My bad, I meant to put Lawrie and typed Laroche instead. You could possibly bat Lawrie or Jackson in the 2 hole in order to drop Melky back to 5th or 6th, but I think they might K too much to be an effective #2 hitter. cf-Eaton dh-Melky 1b-Abreu rf-CarGo 3b-Frazier 2b-Lawrie c-Avila/Navarro lf-Jackson ss-Saladino Unless someone takes LaRoche's salary, which doesn't appear to be possible at this point, I think he is going to be a part of the starting lineup from the start of the season (at least against RHP).

I wonder if they've considered having him play somewhere besides 1st (like 3rd or RF). With a big arm it seems a shame to have it at first. Then again, they may not want to mess with his head by screwing more with his position. Or maybe, he's just a butcher in the field.

Rumors swirling that Gordon ultimately chose to resign with KC instead of Chicago because the Cespedes thread on Soxtalk had more pages than the Gordon thread.

QUOTE (ChiSoxFanMike @ Jan 6, 2016 -> 12:14 PM) That guy is younger than me. Wow. Start getting ready to have that thought all the time my friend. I would imagine everyone on here has these thoughts as you watch yourself age in comparison to players. Age 16-18: You start seeing those real young prospects and have the moment you just did where you are shocked that these guys are younger than you, but have so much potential. Age 19-22: You start seeing some of the superstar prospects make appearances in the major leagues and you start to wonder why you never were better at baseball. Age 23-26: You see most of the guys who make it to MLB come up and it hits you even though it was always obvious. You will never play in the major leagues. You'll stop having daydream fantasies about somehow becoming an MLB player. Age 27-30: You start to think about how the players your age are in their MLB prime. Then you evaluate your own physical condition and question if this is your prime. Age 31-35: You start seeing guys your age who had good careers, but are starting to fizzle out of baseball. You think about how young the new rookies look, even though it felt like just yesterday that they were your age. You'll start saying things like, "Oh to be 23 again". Age 36-40: You rarely see guys your age playing anymore. Than you once again have the feeling that you know you can never be a MLB player. I would imagine it keeps going from there. I bet you get to a point where you have all these feelings again, but instead of about you, you're comparing the player to your kid.

QUOTE (BlackSox13 @ Jan 6, 2016 -> 11:59 AM) Just my opinion but I think the Sox missed out on a big opportunity with Henderson Alvarez. I think a lot of teams did. I was shocked that he wasn't more in demand.

Hopefully we see some more of that 2015 class come through with big years in 2016 and we see a few names like Stephens, Comita, Zavala surfacing.

Not that the Sox would want to retain him after this year, but I just realized he'd have a 10/5 no trade rights if he was brought back.

QUOTE (SoxPride18 @ Jan 1, 2016 -> 01:24 PM) I see this tweet and immediately think that this was planted in the media for posturing. Rabbit just a few days ago mentioned that he heard numbers of 5/108 and 6/120 Yeah. They clearly dont think thatd get it done. They're just trying to prove to Gordon's camp that the Royal's offer is reasonable, but we can still give a little more $$$.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Dec 31, 2015 -> 03:57 PM) Who said this? Well, perhaps you caught me assuming, as I don't think I've seen anyone directly say that the Sox weren't interested. But I guess it's the natural thought right now with everyone including Rosenthal only naming Cespedes and Gordon in regard to the Sox. And if the Sox land one of those 2, they clearly are not going to still be interested in Upton. Do you think we have reason to believe they are pushing as much for Upton currently as Gordon/Cespedes? It just felt like(at least lately) Upton was only going to be reached for if we missed on the other 2. I hope you tell me I'm wrong.

I've read a lot of posts on here during the offseason speak about Melky Cabrera like he had an awful year and they expect a big rebound in '16. Or that we should find a way to get rid of him in the same sense we need to get rid of Laroche. I've kind of been wondering why so many people think his 2015 was so bad, and I'm curious what they expected. Perhaps that line of thought is fueled by the dichotomy of his 1st and 2nd half last year, but I don't think he finished much differently than I expected when we signed him. Perhaps a little worse, but nothing too significant. Stat: 2015/Career Average AVE: .273/.285 OBP: .314/.336 OPS: .709/.748 HR: 12/12 (Rate based career AB/HR with 629 ABs) RBIs: 77/75 (Rate based career AB/RBI with 629 ABs) Obviously this isn't close to his monster, yet suspension shortened 2012 numbers, but we clearly didn't expect to see those 2012 numbers. Are people expecting him to be something more than a 15 HR .280 hitter from a 1 time all star??

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Dec 31, 2015 -> 03:45 PM) Did they start putting steroids in Big Macs? I find this offensive. Bartolo is the ultimate physical specimen.

QUOTE (hi8is @ Dec 31, 2015 -> 03:18 PM) Whom did this horrible horrible egregious offense? If Latos hadn't gotten hurt in '14 and kept the pace over the last year and a half, he'd easily be getting a contract just shy of 200 million as a 27 year old FA Ace. So I don't think it's hard to imagine him getting a 1 year deal of 10 million or more, even if there are question marks. His 2015 FIP really wasn't too far from his career norm, but the chips apparently didn't fall into place ERA-wise.

So supposedly the Sox really aren't going for J Ups anymore. Personally, I wanted him far more than Gordon or Cespedes, even if it means we give him a 6-7 year deal for a slightly larger AAV. With Gordon, he's been awesome as an all around player, but I am really concerned about him stay healthy and getting us 150+ games a season. With Cespedes, he brings that much needed power, but for the biggest contract we've ever given, I'd like a guy who has an OBP of over .320. He'd still be a great player, but I'm concerned about our financial resources going to a guy who hits for low average but can't draw walks that well. I think Upton just brings that all-around player (power, OBP, speed, decent D) and I have a lot more confidence in his durability than the other 2. Either way, this team will be better with any of these guys, but I am still holding out hope that we net Upton instead of the other too. Maybe the circles that the other rumors have gone in lately will lead a path back to Justin.

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Dec 31, 2015 -> 11:10 AM) Looking back on this trade, I still think we got the best return, but I am growing concerned that Frazier may put up 2013-like numbers for us. I think those 2013 numbers should be our expectation with his switch to the AL. Then if he can come anywhere close to his last 2 seasons instead, we should be very excited. Either way, as someone else mentioned, a 3B with good D, 20 HR 70+ RBIs, and clubhouse leader will be sooo much better than it has been recently. All while paying him a quite reasonable salary and not giving up either of our 2 biggest prospects in a not so deep system.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Dec 30, 2015 -> 01:11 PM) It's Merkin. He doesn't know, he's guessing. Isn't Merkin really just a PR guy? I don't think he's aloud to share a personal opinion/thought. Just speak on behalf of the team.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Dec 30, 2015 -> 11:49 AM) is 6/132 in canadian dollars Kalapse needs to know for the payroll spreadsheet Hahaha, this was the funniest thing I've seen in this long thread.

I guess I'd go with Cespedes. I just feel very nervous about Gordon's durability going forward. I'm also hoping that Cespedes' history in a pitcher's ballpark, make his previous stats tamer than they would be in the Cell. Now if Upton was part of this question, I'd say him in a heartbeat. But between the other 2, I suppose I would go with Cespedes.