Chicago White Sox

I took Chiefs - 3 1/2 @ -250.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Jan 6, 2018 -> 01:44 PM) Charge him! Hah. I like Tennessee and LA What do you like about the Titans?

QUOTE (ChiSoxFanMike @ Jan 6, 2018 -> 12:57 PM) Can't believe you guys are spending all this time arguing about Joakim Soria. Lol. Kagaku, you betting on either of the NFL games today? If so, mind sharing your picks?

My predictions: 1. Jimenez, OF 2. Kopech, RHP 3. Robert, OF 4. Hansen, RHP 5. Rutherford, OF 6. Cease, RHP 7. Dunning, RHP 8. Collins, C 9. Burger, 3B 10. Adolfo, OF

With the list coming next week, thought it would be fun to predict the order. I’ll update this post with the actual list once it becomes available.

QUOTE (CrimsonWeltall @ Jan 5, 2018 -> 08:22 AM) Is Breath of the Wild just a poor man's Horizon Zero Dawn? Struggling to understand the hype here. The plot premise is really really similar, but BotW's storytelling, characters, combat, graphics, sound, UI, and exploration are all far worse. Some of these design decisions (crafting to heal, weapons that break every 5 minutes, stamina system) are baffling. The only area it excels so far is with the puzzle shrines. I'm only like 5 hours in. Does this get better? You may be the first person on the planet to call the exploration in BoTW far worse than Horizon. That’s biggest single element of the game. I’m guessing you’re still in the Great Plateau, because once you leave the game opens up like none other.

The posters on SSS have a much different view on this trade.

I see Robert on a Hansen like track. A month in low A, most of the season in high A, and a month in AA.

Just to provide some context on how he performed based on leverage: FIP Low: 1.81 Med: 2.60 High: 2.28 wOBA Low: .232 Med: .277 High: .278 BABIP Low: .296 Med: .328 High: .364 LOB % Low: 76.2% Med: 93.5% High: 30.4% At face value, it seems like he got pretty unlucky in high leverage situations which would explain the amount of blown saves.

QUOTE (FT35 @ Jan 5, 2018 -> 12:23 PM) I don’t know...I’m not sure it’s wise to think that other GMs besides Hahn and a few others are not patient and know what they are doing. There are a few who need to go, but this day in age, the model for success has been illustrated and executed enough, that it takes the thinking part out for most GM’s. They know the nuances of their jobs just like we know ours. Now that it’s been proven that there’s an art to rebuilding, you’re going to see teams model theirs after what’s worked before you see a true fire sale where GMs essentially give away their organizational assets for nothing. I just think those days are behind us. It's not that they don't know what they're doing, it's more about not having the endless job security that comes with being a Reinsdorf front office. Some GMs are going to have much less leeway to be patient and will need to pick a direction to appease their owners.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jan 5, 2018 -> 09:02 AM) I don't see where getting rid of their best asset for whatever they can get for him without holding out for something better, be it next week, next month, next year, gives them a better direction. If the Sox traded Q for whatever they could get last winter, the rebuild would be a little bit further back than what it is now. Again, not disagreeing with anything your saying, but not every front office is going to be as patient as Hahn was. Nothing that Jeter & his staff could do would surprise me at this point.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jan 5, 2018 -> 10:19 AM) This peripherals argument is weak. I look at his peripherals in 2016 and they suggest he is well on the road to done. Now his peripherals, like his traditional stats improve and suddenly he is a good flip candidate. The trade was fine, but lets not talk about him being a good flip candidate. A good flip candidate gets you something interesting back. This guy will get you maybe, if all goes well, a 26 year old in A ball who throws 100 and walks about 1 an inning. Lol what? There’s no guarantee he’ll be good next year and that we’ll get something solid for him, but the possibility most definitely exists and the peripherals & velocity support that.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 5, 2018 -> 09:56 AM) Even if you were to separate the deal into signing Soria to 1/7 plus an option year and a second deal trading Peter for Avilan, it is still a good deal. 100% agree.

QUOTE (bmags @ Jan 5, 2018 -> 09:03 AM) Curse of the 8th inning guy. When Jones is pitching we constant hear bickering of him being not that good. White Sox rocked Soria last year, and frankly I do view him as sort of a Tyler Clippard project, but one I think we can win. I guess I'd want more than cash though. We get Soria on a one year, $7M deal plus two years of a pretty good, cheap LOOGY for a guy any team could have selected in the Rule 5. Hard for me to have any complaints here. Soria has much more upside than Clippard had and might be able to land a nice prospect at the deadline if things go right.

So what does the bullpen look like now? CL: Soria SU: Jones SU: Avilan MR: Farquhar MR: Bummer MR: Minaya/Infante/Vieira LR: Covey/?

QUOTE (Blackout Friday @ Jan 4, 2018 -> 07:32 PM) His average FB velo was the highest of his career, so at the very least his arm seems healthy. Awesome to hear, thanks for sharing that. I’m very optimist about this trade now.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Jan 4, 2018 -> 07:12 PM) The pessimism is well founded. he's that bad. Seriously, he may have made the decision for me to not get mlb.com this year. I'll go crazy watching him pitch. Perfect though, again, for those who want one more tank season. He's perfect cause nobody can accuse the Sox of tanking cause he has a name and makes a good buck. But he will get the tank job done. I'm not lying when I say Royals fans are rejoicing. It's better for them than New Year's Rockin Eve. Can you please elaborate? I have no idea how his stuff was last year, but his K rate was above his career average and his BB rate wasn’t too much worse. The HR rate obviously appears to be an outlier though. Regardless, the stats seem to be pretty good. Did he blow a bunch of saves or something? If that’s the big problem then I’ll happily role the dice on him as our closer in a rebuilding season.

QUOTE (GermanSock @ Jan 4, 2018 -> 07:14 PM) But which of the young guys is actually good? Most of the good young players are in the minors? Avi and abreu are good but they won't be any better than last year. The only guys with upside are imo moncada and rendon everyone else is just a placeholder for the real prospects. Giolito, Lopez, & Anderson most definitely have upside. Delmonico, Sanchez, & L. Garcia can all exceed their projections.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jan 4, 2018 -> 07:11 PM) They play 38 games vs. KC and Detroit. They aren't losing 100 unless a lot of things go really wrong. Yeah this. Was going to include KC in my post but waiting to see if they bring any of their guys back or make any other moves to replace them.

QUOTE (GermanSock @ Jan 4, 2018 -> 07:09 PM) So fangrpaphs projections are too low by 10+ games? I think so, but really depends on what we get out of our pitching staff. A lot of unknowns there. Having said that, the fact we play the Tigers 19 will result in us being better than what Fangraphs is predicting.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Jan 4, 2018 -> 06:45 PM) Soria is a horrific baseball pitcher, but he won't be with the Sox when they contend so no biggie. It will be annoying to see him pitch next season, however, on the South Side. Royals fans are dancing in the streets getting rid of Soria. Send us a selfie and prove it.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jan 4, 2018 -> 06:47 PM) They don't have to dump salary anymore. I think with all the heat Jeter took and Manfred took, they aren't trading anyone for anything less than a stellar package for a while. That’s fine, but then really don’t have a direction. Being a bottom third team with a bottom third farm is usually a recipe for disaster.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jan 4, 2018 -> 06:33 PM) That is all fine and dandy but what motivation would the Marlins have to trade him for a lesser package? A lesser package than what? The Eaton deal? I’m not saying the Marlins would take that, I’m simply stating they might not be offered much more than that in the current market. Given they’re rebuilding, they might just take what the market bares. Who really knows with that organization.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jan 4, 2018 -> 04:06 PM) Yelich is arguably better than Adam Eaton and is signed to an even friendlier deal than him. Eaton netted Giolito, Lopez, and Dunning. What do you think Yelich is going to cost? Not that I disagree, but that came at a time when multiple contenders had loaded systems and were willing to move those pieces. I’m not sure the market is positioned quite that well for sellers right now.

Even though the rumor is fake, we could still sign Moustakas now and then sign Machado to play SS next offseason. Opening day 2019 roster would look like this: 1. Moncada, 2B 2. Machado, SS 3. Abreu, 1B 4. Moustakas, 3B 5. Jimenez, LF 6. A. Garcia, RF 7. Delmonico, DH 8. Castillo, C 9. Anderson, CF