Y2Jimmy0

Keith Law has Chris Sale as the Cy Young winner in his predictions column. Also had him finishing 4th in MVP voting. AL Cy Young 1. Chris Sale, SP, Chicago White Sox 2. Dallas Keuchel, SP, Houston Astros 3. David Price, SP, Toronto Blue Jays 4. Chris Archer, SP, Tampa Bay Rays 5. Corey Kluber, SP, Cleveland Indians Sale is leading the world in strikeout rate, leads the majors in strikeouts and does all the other things a starter needs to do to be good. He has mostly been better than he was last year -- his home run rate is up, but his strikeout rate is way up and his walk rate is slightly down -- but his ERA is a full run higher because, well, that's baseball. I believe these awards should go to the players who produce the most value, which I interpret as focused on the things they can control. Keuchel would still be an excellent choice if you wanted to flip them.

QUOTE (ChiSox59 @ Sep 2, 2015 -> 10:09 AM) IMO, of the players listed, he is better than Verlander, Keuchel, Hamels, Arreita, Zimmerman and Snydergaard. This is talent alone, nothing to do with contract situations, which is only going to improve his value versus the majority of players on that list. I don't think he is too far behind / in the same neighborhood as several others - Kluber, Archer, Darvish, Wainwright, Cole, Cueto, Bumgarner. If you look at this surplus value, he is definitely more "valuable" than over half of those guys. Quintana is undervalued in the worst kind of way - even amongst Sox fans. If this guy had a good defense behind him, or better yet, a good defense and some run support, he would undoubtedly be considered elite by all knowledgeable baseball fans. His lack of run support is crazy. I'm going to let the people with more time argue this but that's crazy talk. Quintana is a stud. He's not better than Arrieta, Hamels, or Keuchel though. He's just not. He's not in the same neighborhood as those other guys either. He has a great contract. He's basically Jon Lester for way less money.

QUOTE (soxfan49 @ Sep 2, 2015 -> 08:58 AM) The Bears get embarrassed minus Jeffery, Royal and Wilson on Saturday and all of a sudden the articles written by beat writers months ago about "worst team in the NFL" can finally be published. Am I the only one who thinks that they can win 6-8 games? No I think they are a 6-7 win team if the WR's are healthy. The only way they go 2-14, 3-13 is if Cutler goes down. That's the only way.

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Sep 2, 2015 -> 08:39 AM) IMO, the starting pitchers who are top-30 in fWAR should all be considered "aces" because, if they were all spread out on different teams, they would be the best starter on their team. Not many teams have an actual ace though. There are like only 20 in all of baseball probably. Chris Sale Corey Kluber Justin Verlander (Used to be an Ace) Johnny Cueto Chris Archer David Price Dallas Keuchel Sonny Gray Cole Hamels Yu Darvish Felix Hernandez Jake Arrieta Adam Wainwright Gerrit Cole Clayton Kershaw Zack Greinke Madison Bumgarner Max Scherzer Jordan Zimmerman (Maybe not?) Harvey, DeGrom, Syndergaard? Fernandez of the Marlins I believe that Rodon could be on this list soon as well as a few other young guys. Any objections? Anyone I left off.

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Sep 2, 2015 -> 08:02 AM) The return for Quintana should be similar to the return for Sale. They're both aces. Sale's return should only be slightly better. Quintana is not an ace. I love him. He's a #2 though. But he's cheap and really good and they won't trade him unless they get a lot in return.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Sep 1, 2015 -> 12:44 PM) Busy day for Sox minor leaguers, as the AFL rosters are also being announced today. Plus AZL is in a playoff game this evening, Winston-Salem has clinched a playoff spot, Birmingham and Great Falls are in their races (though barely). Saw a FutureSox retweet on twitter that mentioned Hawkins going to the AFL

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Sep 1, 2015 -> 12:33 PM) My guesses: Carroll, EJ, Micah, Brantly, Leury, JGuerra. Outside shots: Marin or Coats. Brantly, by the way, is 100% coming up - per a minor league source. It's not Smith. Also FYI, Chris Beck is injured and hasn't pitched since June, so he isn't coming up. Montas was skipped last night. I'd be surprised if he doesn't come up as well: I'll go with Johnson, Montas, Carroll, Guerra, Johnson, Leury, and Brantly.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Aug 31, 2015 -> 08:51 PM) The M's weren't planning to keep Jackson after this season, despite the fact that they don't have a ready replacement for him in their system. Basically, the Cubs should be the subject of Moneyball 2, with the "niche" being the ability to bring in youngish veterans like Arrieta, Montero, Coghlan, Strop, Grimm, Edwards, Ramirez, etc. For all the hype around Bryant, Schwarber, Soler, Russell, Baez, Almora, etc., none of them have quite lived up to the expectations 100%. We've seen a very solid season out of Bryant, but the White Sox have had hitters like Quentin, Beckham and Viciedo never reach their full potential. There's no guarantee Schwarber will be a superstar, look at what Soler did last year and compare it to his Avi Garcia impression (albeit better defense) this year. They've had misfires with players like Olt, Edwin Jackson, Baez, Almora, Soler, Alcantara, Lake, etc. Just like with Mulder/Zito/Hudson, their starting pitching and bullpen have carried them more than the offense. They've also won more one run games (I think) than any team in baseball. For now, with Arrieta on a Jose Contreras/Bumgarner-like run, anything is possible, but for all that strength up front, there's questions about Lester holding runners, the back end of the rotation, how the bullpen will hold up under playoff pressure, etc. The Pirates are a playoff experienced-team, they'll undoubtedly be starting Cole at home, where they have a huge homefield advantage. It should be a good game, but all those Cubs' future "superstar" hitters like Bryant, Schwarber and Russell will look increasingly human in the playoffs. Remember how good the White Sox offense was in 2000? This Cubs' team isn't even close, and they were absolutely shut down by the Mariners that post-season. Bryant is putting up a 5+ WAR season in his rookie year. What are you talking about?

QUOTE (My_Sox_Summer @ Aug 31, 2015 -> 09:55 AM) I have extras of all 3 bobbles from this year. Plus more. Let me know what you need and I can tell you if I have it. Would like to meet in the loop or by the park for sales or trades. Thanks! You can email me at [email protected] I need a Dye one. I live in the SW burbs though and coach HS football so there's no way I can get to the city.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Aug 31, 2015 -> 09:02 AM) I guess I am the only one who would actually think about letting the Yankees take on Robertson's contract without asking for anything in return? (Like when the Sox claimed Rios) Yeah Robertson is too good to do that. The White Sox also don't need the payroll flexibility. I'd consider it for a package of young players including Gary Sanchez though.

QUOTE (soxfan2014 @ Aug 30, 2015 -> 01:42 PM) Agree with all except Davidson. Dude's terrible. I bet he's coming up still.

I think it'll be Matt Davidson, Micah Johnson, Leury Garcia, Rob Brantly, Erik Johnson, Frankie Montas, Zack Phillips, and Scott Carroll. I'm wondering if the Sox move anyone before Tuesday. (Soto, Beckham, Albers)

Going to be lots of disappointed people in here. Do you know what team you root for? They aren't doing a full rebuild. Not happening. They will add somehow in the offseason, roll with great pitching, and try to win in 2016. Just the way this org does things.

Will Illinois stick with Cubit all season and start the search thereafter or hire someone like Greg Schiano?

Nightengale says that Seattle wants to hire new GM by conclusion of this season. He also tweeted that they want an experienced GM and listed Kenny Williams, Kevin Towers, Jerry DiPoto, Frank Wren, and Jim Hendry. Why would they hire any of those people?

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Aug 28, 2015 -> 09:14 AM) I don't think that anyone would actually trade for him at a $10 million price in the offseason when there are other options available that were equally weak this year but are 1/2 that price. Maybe, maybe someone would do so if their SS got hurt late in the winter or during ST and they had no other backup option and were a team that could absorb a payroll hit. You may be right. Don't you think the fact that he's here is a clear indication that they'll pick up the option though?

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Aug 28, 2015 -> 09:05 AM) It isn't a matter of should or should not. It is a matter of will or won't. The fact that Alexei is still here is a very clear indication that he will be our SS in 2016. I agree with this. They may deal him in the offseason but I think they pick up the option for sure.

QUOTE (Jerksticks @ Aug 28, 2015 -> 08:53 AM) I have MLb.TV and watched some of the madison bumgarner show yesterday. Anybody ever listen to a Giants' broadcast? Lord have mercy. I couldn't believe it honestly. Somebody actually okays that for public consumption. Made me actually consider switching over to Len Kasper. You should have. Kasper is good at his job.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Aug 27, 2015 -> 01:42 PM) This is why Sox fans can't have a rebuild. Johnson was up for a month, and has already turned into a garbage throw in for a bigger deal. The kid will get his chance here, and isn't going anywhere. I agree and disagree. I don't think he's a garbage throw-in by any means. I also believe he is going to get traded in the offseason as part of a package for a different position player.

QUOTE (Knackattack @ Aug 27, 2015 -> 02:17 PM) We need to take into consideration that Heyward has been the best defensive RF in baseball and is going to be entering his physical prime over the course of this contract. If there was ever a guy to hand 150+ mil too it's him. It is? Even if offense is what the White Sox need the most and he doesn't really provide a ton of it?

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Aug 27, 2015 -> 11:02 AM) $100 million will probably be a massive underestimate. I think I did the exercise a couple pages ago, might have been another thread though - in fWAR terms he compares solidly to guys like Cano and Fielder who got >$200 million contracts at ages older than Heyward. Yes, his value is more defensive than theirs, but he's been more consistently excellent than Fielder when he cleared the $200 million plateau. His value is mostly defense. The White Sox can't afford to make a move like that unless Reinsdorf plans on having a $250 million payroll.

QUOTE (shysocks @ Aug 27, 2015 -> 10:29 AM) Not picking on you, just adding some food for thought, but when it's worded that way, I think Tom Seaver gets the nod. Yeah. Not when he was with the team though but alright. Fair point.

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Aug 27, 2015 -> 10:35 AM) I would have to agree but when a big money acquisition for a key role like a middle of the lineup doesn't produce as expected it really sucks because it handicaps everything for that 4 year period since the Sox were basically stuck with him and the end result is a team that won't win anything for that 4 years. Hate is definitely too strong a word for but if you love winning baseball you end up hating everything that Dunn represented , a big money failure that prevented the Sox from doing much of anything to win. It was 4 years $56 million. Not terribly huge money. Sox act like a small market team in this instance though. Teams have way worse contracts than Dunn's ever was.

Yes. Chris Sale is the best pitcher to ever play for the White Sox.

QUOTE (SoxPride18 @ Aug 27, 2015 -> 09:56 AM) Why not pay Heyward? He'll improve the line up and we all know he would make a huge difference defensively. If we get a top 10 pick, I'd gladly give up a 2nd round pick for Heyward. Remember, we'll most likely get the comp pick for Jeff as well, so 2 picks in the top 30-35. I'm just not a huge fan for that much $$. He's great defensively but has a slugging % of .440. wRc+ of 116 is good but with 11 homers, I'm not paying guy like that $100 million and giving up a top 65 pick. I know that we'll have a comp pick too. I want the team to use the 1st rounder, the comp pick, and the 2nd rounder. Stop giving up draft picks.