hi8is

Oh joy. We're back to .500.

"Well, I don't have to throw water bottles, smash coolers in the hallway, or flip tables tonight. 6 runs - that's what I'm talking about. It's not just the win that's important here boys - it's the fight. The fact that you battled back. That's what's important. You followed a gutless night with this and I'm content. This isn't over as you all very well f***ing know." Walks over to Robinson's locker. Puts hand on shoulder. "Tonight was some redemption... Redemption from last night. Tomorrow, start to redeem this season. Go on a run for the history books. No more one day at a time even keel s*** guys. Win a bunch of f***ing games and run your way back into this race. Get our lead back. This thing was ours and you all want it back. So go get it back." Takes cup out. Throws it in the trash. Walks to the locker room door, turns and says, "what?" "Now put on some f***ing Michael Jackson grooves and get ready to streak your way into October."

QUOTE (Sleepy Harold @ Jul 19, 2016 -> 02:29 PM) "Has anyone seen my crayons? I'm trying to finish this coloring book and I think I left them in the dugout. I almost colored everything in the lines this time!" Hah - you made me chuckle.

Sale for Tuner and Gialato from Washington?

QUOTE (Real @ Jul 18, 2016 -> 11:18 PM) how long before ya'll find something else to do besides watch a s***ty baseball team? seriously, i'm trying to help you guys. lol there's no point in watching a team that's bad, and puts you in a terrible mood for the next 24 hours. I stopped watching much of the past week... And hoenstly, it's been the most productive week all year.

"Alright. f***!" Flip table and kick over a cooler. Seethe for a few brief moments with teeth grit, breath held, and face red. "f***!!!" Walk over to the cooler, pick it up, and throw it outside the clubhouse into the tunnel under Safeco. "First off - Saler, I'll never take your destiny out of your own hands again. I failed you. You pitched another gem and I robbed you of this win. But come on guys. We've been playing like A ball players lately. Fraizer, you've been looking embarrising up there - throwing bats beyond third base, losing your helmet on swings at crap in the dirt. Stop pressing and just let it go man. All of you, 1 through 9... Let it go! Relax. You're all wound up tight and you're pressing. Let me be tight. Let me be the one who loses his cool." Take off jersey and put it in the trash. "We've got a Rook here in Anderson who's playing with the most comfort at the plate. D-Rob, Carson Fulmer looked more composed and in control against Albert f***ing Pujos... In his first major league appearance! If you miss your spots like this again and piss the bed one more time - you're sitting for a week with spot relief stints in the 7th God damned inning." Go grab a few water bottles and throw them each in different directions at the walls. "You all are playing major league f***ing baseball and there's no damned fire! You all have the talent that hardly any men on this f***ing earth posses but you're trying so damned hard that your all getting yourself out. Jose, every time you're at the plate from now on - just imagine yourself in Havana on an empty field taking cuts in the sun man. All of you - stop trying and just f***ing DO. Find that effortless place you all have called 'instinct' and LIVE there on my f***ing field." Take hat off and let shoulders drop. "If you're all going to prove anything - prove to yourselves you're great. Show yourself you're ball players. That this game is in your blood. No drills tomorrow. No cages. Just get lose and stretch out. Then get on the f***ing field when it's god damned game time and BE WHO YOU ARE. Because you're not this. You're all better than this. I know it." Walk out of the room and on the way out as the doors closing, "NOW SHOW YOURSELF THAT YOU KNOW IT TOO!" Go to hotel room, grab cell phone, and have a drink. Send wife one text, "I'll be home for good soon, honey. Going to bed. Love you and the kids."

QUOTE (captain54 @ Jul 18, 2016 -> 10:45 PM) 1) It's a long season, there's a lot of baseball left to play 2) Anyone that wants to give up on a .500 baseball team a few games out of the WC is foolish 3) That's baseball. you win some, you lose some 4) Go get em tomorrow, we can still win the series There's a few more I may have missed. someone? anyone? 5) Use your eyes and it's easy to see this team is s***.

QUOTE (Jake @ Jul 18, 2016 -> 10:28 PM) I thought Sale did not look sharp in the 8th He gets 3 outs without giving up 3 or 4 f***ing runs, that's for damn sure.

QUOTE (Lip Man 1 @ Jul 18, 2016 -> 10:19 PM) And this my friends is why pitch counts are ruining baseball. No justification, none... for pulling Sale unless he was hurt in some way. Sale is like Jack McDowell was with that 'bulldog' mentality, the odds are very good he wanted to finish the game and possibly throw his second career one-hitter. Are we having fun yet? Mark This team is just awful. In the past three games - you've had two games, TWO - where the starters went 16 innings giving up a COMBINED 3 hits, ZERO runs.... And NO WINS TO SHOW FOR IT????? Absolutely INEXCUSABLE. Fire Robin. Can KW. Sell anyone not named Anderson, Fulmer, Eaton, and Or keep Sale / Q / Shields / Fulmer / Rodon / Abreu / Eaton / Anderson in tact and build to compete in 2018. Still fire Robin and KW. 2017 is a wash no matter what they do. We're s*** up a creek and it's because they've been trying to compete and "retool" since 2013. It doesn't f***ing work. Sell the farm and hope to compete around 2020... Or spend like crazy and try to compete in 2018. Both directions involve a lot of pain but it's been 4 years of poor in between choices that put us here. f***ing disgusted.

QUOTE (the_Xsport @ Jul 17, 2016 -> 07:01 PM) Really, there are two contingencies they should take based on where they're at in two weeks. ONEIf they're less than 4.5 out and 55-50 (Going 10-4 over final 14), then you definitely BUY That's a convincing run and puts them in a good spot to maybe snag a wildcard appearance. Anything can happen in the playoffs, especially with their pitching. If they have a 82-85 win season, you trade for a guy like Carlos Gonzalez this offseason (unconvinced he's moved at the deadline) and go all in for 2017. If the White Sox hover around .500 in 2017, even if you're just a couple games under, you do a massive fire sale. A purge of sorts. TWO If the White Sox are 7-8 games back and around 5 games under .500 (They very well could be considering this stretch) then you undergo a major sell off. Deal Todd Frazier to the Mets for an arm. Maybe Zack Wheeler can be had. He's coming off Tommy John Surgery, but him and a lotto ticket is something I'd do for Frazier in a heartbeat. It's in the division, but Melky Cabrera would look awfully nice in an Indians uniform. A headliner around Top 10-15 range for Melky makes some sense. I'd personally target LHP Rob Kaminsky. Duke and Robertson could both be dangled. In fact, it would make sense to call the Cubs on David Robertson. Eloy Jiminez is an up and coming outfielder in the Cubs system, an oft-rumored guy that could be used for a reliever. Pay down some of Robertson's deal and getting the #7 Cub prospect seems doable. Cubs would control D-Rob for 2 more years, plus the rest of 2016. He'll come cheaper than Andrew Miller or Aroldis Chapman. The Cubs and White Sox aren't adverse to making deals. On Sale and Quintana, I've finally come to terms with the best way to handle the pair. You'll never get fair value for Quintana GMs obviously aren't as skewed to name value as fans but it's a tough sell to your fanbase to trade top chips for a 1-A. Although, I personally feel Q has reached top-tier at this point; just below the superstar echelon. First, why do the White Sox have to trade one of these two arms? Well after 2017, a year Chicago is unlikely to see the playoffs, the White Sox are potentially losing Frazier, Melky, and Lawrie anyway. That leaves them with new holes to fill for 2018 in 3B, 2B, OF. Meanwhile, who knows who has taken the reigns in CF. That's another hole, along with DH and C. So it's the 2017 offseason and you have 2/3rds of your line up to fill and there's a dearth of free agents on the 2017 market. The farm system has more fruit by that point, but not the depth or middle tier of prospects that can get you 4-5 replacement level to above average position players. So if 2018 doesn't work because again, not only are Eaton/Sale/Q/Abreu a couple years older, but they're also insulated even less than they are now for the aforementioned reasons. So you have one year of Chris Sale left and then the championship window clock really runs out. That's why I'm dealing Chris Sale in the 2016 offseason. I think you run him by Boston for foundations like Moncada/Benintendi or Bregman/Reed from Houston. Now I think it makes sense to keep Quintana. He's controlled through 2020 and will fit very nicely at the top of the rotation supporting this revamped line up. Combine this with burgeoning prospects like Collins, Anderson, and Fulmer and this looks like a real window that could open as soon as 2018: 1. CF Adam Eaton (L) 2. SS Tim Anderson ® 3. 2B Yoan Moncada (S) 5. LF Andrew Benintendi ® 6. C Zack Collins (L)* 7. DH Jose Abreu ® 8. 3B Trey Michaelczewski (S) 9. RF Eloy Jiminez ® *Collins' bat should be ready in 2018. His glove may take a bit longer. If that's the case, stick him at 1B. Caveats are that Trey and Adam Engel (Mid-tier starter or 4th OF) may not make it through the system, although I like both players. If so, there will be plenty of money off the books to at least temporarily plug these holes. Rotation: Jose Quintana (L) Carlos Rodon (L) Carson Fulmer ® Zack Wheeler ® Spencer Adams ® Alec Hansen has a world of upside. Certainly a high risk, low-hit prospect but has front of the rotation stuff if he can hone in the command. Maybe by 2018 or 2019 that's the case. Here's the plus side. The 2018-2019 FA class is historically stacked. Not smart to bet on it because there will be flux in injuries, extensions, and performance but this young core will be very cost-controlled. In fact, so cost-controlled that if Reinsdorf actually wanted to open the pocketbooks for a Jose Fernandez or Manny Machado, it would work financially. Overall, that's just one direction they could go in. Of course, trade returns are never guaranteed. One of Moncada or Benintendi could very well bust, but this is merely a template. Let your minds run wild with your own targets. You're missing a 1B / 4 hitter in your lineup. I said the same thought process with some different names coming back - some of the same names, about 3 weeks ago. I'm on your train man. It's tough not to think of a 2017 rotation like this thou: Sale Q Shields Rodon Fulmer

Sell. I already made a detailed post listing who I would target. Everyone expect Rodon, Anderson, Fulmer, and Eaton should be on the block between now and the end of the offseason.

Nice to be at Fulmer's debut. He looked fantastic. No rookie nerves - mound presence as advertised.

Any Calofornia Soxtalk members going to be at the game today?

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Jul 17, 2016 -> 09:16 AM) I applaud your conviction on the matter but when you do something like that it goes against all conventional wisdom no matter what Frazier had done all game.It's only the right call if Saladino actually gets the run in and even if he does you have to take into consideration what a move like that is saying to Frazier and the rest of the clubhouse.. I can confidently say no manager makes that move because if it doesn't work you look like a damn fool. You have to roll with your best players in those situations because you will lose the respect of every one of your players except Saladino . Since Frazier has more power it means he is more likely to hit a long fly ball or even a HR than Saladino. Even Saladino would probably be asking why the hell are you pinch hitting me for Frazier and would be feeling tremendous pressure to come through. Also Fraziers K rate is only slightly higher than Saladino's if how I calculated K% (K's divided by plate appearances) is correct. And failure means not only looking like a damn fool but you also probably make national headlines for looking like a damn fool and maybe being accused of intentionally trying to lose which gets you fired. As a fan it's easy to say you would've done it but you really wouldn't even ever become a manager to be in that situation if you ever pulled a stunt like that previously. National headlines? That's just as ludicrous as me wanting to PH for Fraizer! Cheers brother

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Jul 17, 2016 -> 01:18 AM) You honestly think anyone would pinch hit Saladino for Frazier ? It might make sense on some level knowing Frazier batting average with men in scoring position but no one pinch hits for a #5 hitter with a bench scrub ever. It's almost as bad for calling for Abreu to bunt. I know it's not "practical" but I also know that there's a lot of good logic behind it. I didn't for a second actually think it was going to happen - but I felt at the time that was the right move to make to manufacture the tying run. In that situation, on that night, with 3 horrid at bats already in the books... It was very likely Frazier was gonna K. Runners on 1st and 3rd with one out in the 9th - 1 run game. Fast dude on third too. You don't need a flipping strike out. Fraizer looked AWFUL against Shoemaker all night. He was consistently down 0-2. He was consistently going out of the zone for strike three at embarrising levels. It wasn't a conventional call but it was the right one.

Let's put it this way... When the pinch ran Saladino for Melky in the 9th - I was pissed. Why? Because I wanted a contact hitter like Saladino up there for Frazier in that situation.

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Jul 15, 2016 -> 05:29 PM) He'll probably be in Birmingham tomorrow.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jul 15, 2016 -> 12:03 PM) The next time a 34 year old breaks out in the major leagues, let me know. You're killing my dreams, Dick.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jul 15, 2016 -> 12:26 AM) Personal or personnel? Not quite sure I understand the "personal reasons" for why he wouldn't be starting but would be coming out of the pen instead... I wanted to go to the game Sunday and see him debut as a starter.

Bummed out that he isn't getting the start Sunday for personal reasons but understand the rationality of it. Go get em Fulmer!

Can it be tomorrow already please so that the Sox can come out guns blazing for another 23-10 run? They need to collectively kiss out asses and fire on all cylinders again.

QUOTE (oldsox @ Jul 14, 2016 -> 03:47 PM) Bosox got Pomerantz from Padres. Wow. Like the deal for both sides. This is the trade that gets the winds blowing.

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Jul 14, 2016 -> 12:36 PM) He also reported that the Sox and Cespedes finalized a contract in December I truly believe that Cespedes was the sox 1A plan and were very close to getting him.

QUOTE (bmags @ Jul 13, 2016 -> 05:46 PM) I didn't see a single game that rutherford/lewis played, I just liked the idea of either. But collins is nice too. It'll be interesting to see how they all pan out. Going into the draft I didn't think Lewis was possible. My board at the time was: 1.) Ray 2.) Rutherford 3.) Dunn 4.) Collins When Lewis was still around I wanted him picked.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jul 13, 2016 -> 07:11 PM) Rehab as in rehab assignment. Not a problem with addiction. Ha - the stereotype bug bites again.