mmmmmbeeer

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Dec 16, 2015 -> 01:09 PM) I don't know if that will happen. You very well could be right but those numbers I threw out there are already below his career averages.

I think there's too much weight being given to Todd's interleague splits by those down on this deal. You're looking at roughly half a season of at-bats over the last 4 years and trying to translate that to what we should expect...that's not fair. While he still struggled during interleague last season, he hit much better than he had the previous two which tells me that he may have become more familiar with the pitching...but again, sample size, so who knows. He's a talented player and is filling a position that has been a black hole on this team for nearly a decade. Even slashing .250/.310/.450 with ~25hr per season with decent D will serve as a HUGE upgrade for the Sox. This also allows us to fill another perpetual black hole at 2b with another solid bat in Lawrie. Fantastic moves that didn't cost us much in the way of talent.

Thanks for keeping this thing going as long as you have, Jason & crew!

Solid signing, for sure. An already exciting offense (if you prefer the longball over manufacturing runs) just became more dangerous. If I'm a Cub fan, I'm still concerned about how this team performs in the playoffs. It's definitely built to succeed in the regular season, but the things that knocked them out last postseason (pitching, non-contact hitters, defense) have only been improved slightly. I'm not saying they can't win it all this year, they'll definitely be considered a strong contender, I just think they're a team that screams 105 regular season wins and an NLCS exit.

This move obviously doesn't move us to contender status but it's a solid move at a low cost. 3b has been an achilles heel to this team for far too long...maybe we get lucky and Brett outperforms expectations...even if he stays about where he's been, it's an improvement to our lineup and to our defense.

They should've contended last season so, yes, upgrading with Frazier and Upton absolutely put us in a position to contend. As you mentioned, what we got from Laroche and Melky last season were aberrations....they are proven commodities who had awful seasons (though Melky rebounded a bit)....if JR is willing to throw some money at this team to see what we can do, then I absolutely like snagging Frazier and Upton.

Unfair umpiring tonight and you won't hear a peep about it tomorrow unless you live in Pittsburgh.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan99 @ Oct 7, 2015 -> 07:43 PM) Arrieta's zone has definitely been larger than Cole's zone so far. I've been fuming over this....they say the NBA is the rigged league but given the money on the line for MLB and the networks based on the outcome of this game, it makes you wonder. It's been blatantly one-sided. That dinger to Schwarber was set up by a missed strike which put Cole behind in the count.

I love watching this kid bat. He seems to have early pitch recognition and a great feel for the strike zone. I watch him have these quality ABs and wonder how in the hell he struggled so badly in the minors. No better time than the present to find out what you have.

I'm really surprised we stood pat. With that said, the returns on rentals, in many of these deals, have been ridiculous. Which makes me wonder why we didn't deal Shark? I find it hard to believe they weren't getting fair value offers. Could it be that Shark's agent tipped the Sox FO that dealing him will nix any chance of him re-signing in CHI in the offseason? I don't know....the one thing I do know is that the FO is drunk if they think this team will make the playoffs. I think they'll keep it exciting but the offense will inevitably become an issue again.

I really enjoy DJ and Farmer on the radio.....I despised DJ in the TV booth but I think a lot of that was Hawk seemingly had zero respect for the guy. DJ paired with someone who plays along with his goofy jokes and banter really works well. I hope they both stick around for a few more seasons. The telecasts are pretty unbearable at times. I really do like Hawk but he's just awful to listen to when the Sox aren't winning (so pretty much every season). I've never gotten the impression that Stone is invested in this franchise....I think he loved announcing and didn't want to leave Chicago as opposed to really wanting to broadcast Sox games. I'd prefer someone more invested in the team to provide color. If we had a completely different TV crew next season, I wouldn't be upset. We should've scooped up Steve Lyons before he went over to NESN.

My brother and I made the trip to Chicago for Opening Day this season. We stayed at the Inn of Chicago which is only a block away from the "Magnificent Mile" and was extremely well priced. Not the prettiest of rooms but for the location we both felt we got great value. We walked over to Michigan to jump on the train which took us to the Cell. Plenty of good eats within walking distance and taxis are reasonably priced if there's somewhere you want to go that's a bit too far to walk (I've not used Uber, may be a better option). We also flew into Midway and opted to cab it to the hotel....was $40 with tip...shuttles were available into the city but we just wanted to get to the hotel and not spend 45 minutes jumping between shuttles/buses/trains. If you and your son enjoy Mexican food, I'd recommend any of the Rick Bayless options (Frontera Grill, etc.). Delicious!

QUOTE (Capn12 @ Jul 11, 2015 -> 05:33 PM) Man, Saladino looks smooth over at 3rd. I hope he has a real opportunity to stay up. Was about to post the same thing. Very graceful and natural movements.

Between Melky stealing and getting waved home when he was obviously going to be out, makes me wonder if they see rain coming in on the radar and are just trying to hurry things along.

QUOTE (Dunt @ Jul 9, 2015 -> 03:51 PM) What did he say? Hawk asked if they still thought they could get back into it and he talked about how the staff is doing its thing finally after a rough opening to the season. Then said that they're winning only scoring 2-3 runs a game, when they start scoring 5-6 they'll win a lot of games. Just the way he complimented the staff and then put the onus on the offense to complete the deal seemed a little bit of a call-out, to me.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 9, 2015 -> 02:35 PM) Given what's in our system, are you prepared to give up 2 of Montas, Anderson, and Adams to replace those 2 positions? I, personally, don't waste this pitching staff. Pitching wins in the playoffs...you never know what could happen if we can get a wild card spot. Unless KW and RH have a plan for picking up a C, 2b, and 3b by opening day next season, we might as well bite the bullet now and add another 1/2 season of competitive ball.

Nice little shot at the offense from Shark there in that postgame interview. He's right, though...we need to do something to help the offense. Lose 2 or 3 of Beckham, Flowers, and Sanchez and replace them with even average bats and we'll win at a much better clip. Easier said than done but an effort needs to be made.

Good piece of hitting by Melky there....really kept his head on the ball through contact

Great posts throughout this thread, Thad. The older I get the more work experience I have. The more work experience I have, the more I recognize organizational failure. The more I recognize organization failure, the more I find myself becoming indifferent to the Sox. I love the franchise....always have and always will. But am I going to dedicate time and money to watch the same damn thing happen over, and over, and over, and over, and over again while the organizational leadership does nothing to adjust? Hell no...I've got better things to do on a Saturday afternoon than spend 3-4 hours parked in front of the TV...nor am I going to ask my family to make the trek from ATL to CHI to catch a game when the game has a 70% chance of being boring as hell and resulting in a Sox loss. I truly liked what Hahn did this offseason but, unfortunately, we aren't getting the results we should be. Instead of rocking the boat, ownership/management is going to do what they always seem to do...throw up their hands and say "maybe next year". It's infuriating and truly makes me not give a damn when they're struggling. I still check the scores, catch a few innings here and there, read Soxtalk, but I refuse to invest valuable time into something that is so predictably flawed and disappointing until they do something about it.

Nice win.....and finally a pitchers' duel that lived up to the hype.

QUOTE (Soxfest @ May 18, 2015 -> 08:43 PM) Just bad execution. I was pissed off enough about AR's AB and then they showed the replay.....fool was swinging for the damn fences when is all he needs to do is advance the runners

Robin needs to get in Alexei's ass about that AB...that was embarrassingly bad

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ May 18, 2015 -> 08:15 PM) Robertson with only 13 pitches thrown, I'd like to see him at least start the 10th if need be. Seems like a no-brainer but we'll see.

Who is our emergency catcher?

Of course Raburn makes that grab. Grrr