Chicago White Sox

100% agree and have been arguing this for a while. Each incremental WAR should be worth more given there are a finite amount of spots on the field and the scarcity of stars in the game.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Feb 15, 2018 -> 07:35 AM) It's time for Little Marco to take his $3.3 million in contributions from the NRA and go home: Rubio rejected calls for gun control in an interview with Fox News after the Parkland shooting, saying it was the wrong time to discuss such efforts “because people don’t know how this happened.” “I think it’s important to know all of [the facts] before you jump to conclusions that there’s some law we could have passed that could have prevented it,” he said. “There may be, but shouldn’t we at least know the facts? I think that we can always have that debate, but ... you should know the facts of that incident before you run out and prescribe some law you claim could have prevented it.” I'm so sick of these f***ers spewing this bulls***. The only fact that's relevant here is the shooter used an AR-15 style assault weapon. The only practical purpose for having such a weapon is to kill as many people as possible as quickly as possible. No civilian needs one. Let's get rid of these f***ing things. It shouldn't be that hard unless you're on the NRA's payroll.

QUOTE (Lillian @ Feb 15, 2018 -> 07:13 AM) Engel's appeal is not based solely upon his elite defense and athleticism. He is also very fast and possesses legitimate power. It's easy to understand why management might want to give him every opportunity to learn to hit. Whether, or not, he is able to accomplish that is very questionable, but I'm rooting for him. He is one of those guys who probably spent too much time playing another sport. Perhaps if he had concentrated more on baseball and less on football, he would be further along in his development, as a hitter. The upside may be tantalizing but the odds of him ever putting it altogher seem super low. Given that we have a potential superstar in Robert who could be ready by opening day 2020 (I know I’m being optimistic here), I just think we’re better off using this season developing a guy who has a better chance of serving as a potential transitional CF until Luis is ready. And in that regard, I think Leury, Cordell, & even Tilson make far more sense. Look, I won’t be upset if they give Engel one last shot, but I hope it’s a really short leash. Can’t waste too much time on a guy that has shown no ability to hit major league pitching when other attractive options exist. And I still think Leury deserves an extended look in CF after how well he performed there last year pre-injury.

What need’s to happen from a political standpoint to finally see some change here? What branches of the government do the Democrats need control of to actually get some policy done? I need some hope here, because right now it just seems like the entire government is a complete & epic joke that will never do anything about gun violence.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Feb 14, 2018 -> 07:54 PM) Where exactly are you seeing this? I don't think I've seen anyone literally say that today. I’ve seen it on the news, on twitter, etc. And I’ve seen it multiple times in this very thread along with other shooting-related threads. I’ve seen you yourself make this very claim on this website. I have no problem if someone is against guns, but the “let’s get rid all of guns” rhetoric isn’t going to accomplish anything. It’s never going to happen in this country. I want actual change and people right now should be demanding an assault weapons ban. That’s something that should theoretically be feasible. It won’t necessarily prevent mass shootings but it would sure as s*** reduce the death tolls. I just have no faith in the government or the people who elect it to the do right thing.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Feb 14, 2018 -> 06:37 PM) You are completely correct, that would be a great step in the right direction, i'd add stop producing the associated ammo. But statistics DO prove that severely reducing the number of guns would correlate with severely reducing the number of mass shootings. I’m sure it would, but it’s just not a realistic solution. Too many people in this country (right or wrong) love their guns and will not give up that right. But there is so much low hanging fruit here it’s an absolute shame we haven’t made an ounce of progress since Sandy Hook. Our government has completely failed us.

Adolfo coming in at #17 is pretty ridiculous IMO. Check out his power & walk numbers over the last three months of the season, the kid was making some serious progress. Obviously he has work to do on the strikeouts, but there is so much upside here I feel like he should be in the top 12 without question.

I really wish the far left didn’t scream “get rid of all guns” every time we have a shooting like this. That’s never going to happen and just gives the pro-gun crowd the ammo they need to make no changes. The focus should be on getting rid of completely unnecessary things like assault weapons & high-capacity clips and putting far stricter restrictions /controls in place for general gun ownership. That won’t stop everything but it would be a huge step in the right direction. Unfortunately our completely broken government will never get that done.

Thanks for sharing Y2Jimmy!

I will add that Merkin seems to be hyping Engel up as the favorite, which may or may not mean anything.

I’m voting for Leury to be the primary CF to the start the season, but I think the Sox employ a bit of a platoon with Engel getting the nod on opening day. Having said that, I do think Cordell eventually steals this job with a surprising bat & passable CF defense.

So to continue with the opening day roster predictions, I wanted to see how people thought CF would shake-out. This seems to be a wide open competition with four guys who could ultimately land the job. The poll includes two separate questions (primary CF vs. opening day CF) since we’re likely to face a lefty on opening day in Danny Duffy.

QUOTE (WBWSF @ Feb 13, 2018 -> 06:42 PM) What makes you think this team is going to get a big TV deal? They can't even get a radio deal now. They’ll get a “big” TV deal because sports are in demand for cable & satellite providers right now. While it will be nowhere near the size of the bigger ones a few teams have landed over the past few years, it should be an upgrade over what they’re currently getting today. And I hve no idea why radio has to do with anything. Radio isn’t really a huge source income anymore for the vast majority of teams.

QUOTE (WBWSF @ Feb 13, 2018 -> 06:00 PM) In case some people don't understand what I think about the future of this team, this is how I see this playing out. JR is not going to spend any money on this team the next 2 seasons. The White Sox will have one of the lowest if not the lowest payrolls in MLB. He will put the team up for sale sometime in 2019 and the new owner will takeover in 2020. The new owner will be buying a White Sox team with a low payroll and no big long term contracts on the books. The value of the team increases with no big money on the books. JR bought the White Sox in 1981 with those same circumstances. In the meantime the next 2 seasons the team is going to be "Mired In Mediocrity" again. Hmmm, interesting that the Tribune Company executed the exact opposite strategy when they sold the Cubs. And why does having no money on the books increase the team’s overall value? 90% of potential owners are buying a team because they want to actually win a championship. Therefore, I’d think most of these guys would prefer having a quality team in place rather than having limited payroll commitments. And do you know what would really improve the team’s value? How about a new TV deal that provides this new owner with significant fixed income. That’s going to be nearly impossible if their plan is to cut payroll even further next season. The good news is your theory makes zero sense and I’m 99.9% it will never happen.

If that's true, White Sox should offer JDM 5/$110M and call it a day.

QUOTE (Jack Parkman @ Feb 13, 2018 -> 04:23 PM) Nah, to me his 15-16 looks like the outlier. This year is huge for Machado. If he has an obp in the .310-.330 range again he's not going to get a contract over $200 million What? How do those seasons look like outliers? The kid was 20 to 22 years from 2012 to 2014. He should have been in low A to AA with even an aggressive development curve. To think he'd actually get materially better with more major league seasoning and as his body developed shouldn't be surprising to anyone. And that's exactly what happened. As for 2017, his BABIP was clearly an outlier and roughly 30 points than his worst season ever. He clearly had a bad first half, but part of that was driven by bad luck. Regardless, I don't how you could possibly think his 2015 & 2016 seasons were outliers by any readily available data.

QUOTE (Jack Parkman @ Feb 13, 2018 -> 03:09 PM) Machado's career .329 OBP scares the living crap out of me, as well as that most of his WAR value comes from his defense. His profile doesn't seem like it will age gracefully. Honestly, I'd rather have Moustakas at 5/75 than Machado at 10/350. Way too much risk with Machado. If I were Hahn, next season would be Harper or Bust for me. I'm not sure looking at career stats for a 25 year who is a year away from free agency is fair. Look at his OBP by year: 2012: .294 2013: .314 2014: .324 2015: .359 2016: .343 2017: .310 Clearly there was an adjustment period at the start of his career which makes sense given most kids his age are in A ball. And obviously last year is a clear outlier. A .350 OBP is perfectly fine for a player with his power and that's basically what he was in 2015 & 2016. As for the potential risk of signing Machado, I really think his next contract will include an opt-out after four years or so and that he'll most certainly exercise it. Sure, there is always the chance he becomes the next Jason Heyward, but I just don't see that being remotely possible with Manny. Assuming he rebounds in 2018, I'm all in on signing him to a 10/$350M. Can't be afraid to sign star players entering their prime if we actually want to a win a World Series.

QUOTE (wrathofhahn @ Feb 13, 2018 -> 02:38 PM) We have so much depth in the OF and kids coming down the pike. JDM is going to take 5 years do we really want him clogging DH for that long? 3B I at least understand we have Burger but really noone else and Burger can be moved to 1B or DH if he hits when he comes up If anything we should be looking to move OF off our ML to make space for some of the kids next year. JDM is an elite hitter. Do you think the Red Sox regret having David Ortiz as their DH all those years? At the right price, I'm 100% for it. Don't really see who'd he be blocking at DH. The OFs you refer to hopefully remain OFs. If we have too many of them, we should trade the excess ones to fill other needs. I'm ok with using a rotating DH this year if need be, but generally speaking I prefer a guy who can handle that role on an everyday basis. Don't really want to trot slightly above league average hitters out of that spot if I don't have to.

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Feb 13, 2018 -> 12:47 PM) At least we agree on JDM but it wasn't long ago most of the board thought Yolmer was at best a utility guy and many still hold that opinion. Moustakas has been an All Star 2 of the last 3 years and the one year he didn't make it he was injured.Is that really average AT BEST or are we looking at his WAR to determine that ? With all the arguments against signing aging vets what makes Donaldson so attractive? He will be in age 33 season for the 2019 season . Donaldson had his MVP season at 29 . Sure Yolmer could field the position well but he never will be a middle of the order bat and counting on Burger to be a fast developer and sticking at 3rd base isn't a good plan either. I don't want to sound too high on Moustaskas because he surely has his warts but again LH power middle of the order bats haven't exactly grown on trees for the Sox. If plan A is Machado prepare to be disappointed if he is truly serious about sticking at SS and with the big boys trying to make room for the impact free agents. I'm anticipating a big hole at 3rd base because all your plans leave a lot to be desired and I'd rather take my chances on Moustakas if the price/years are right this year. If JDM is a legit difference maker and can change the complexion of your lineup then adding another 35 HR guy like Moustaskas can upgrade legit to contender maybe by 2019 instead of 2020. Couple thoughts here. I'm just not personally a big fan of what Moustakes brings to the table. The left-handed power is nice, but he's always been a relatively low OBP player. His defense appears to be on the decline as well. That's not to say he can't be a useful player, but I really don't want to commit fairly big dollars to a guy who will probably be a 2 WAR/year player over the next four or five years. As for Donaldson, the dude is actually a really good athlete and has remained incredibly productive through his age 32 season. He can actually regress and still remain a valuable player. Hell, he could probably be moved to 1B at the end of a deal and still be a valuable contributor. Again, with Donaldson it all comes down to the money & years. If I can get him for five years or less (which remains to be seen), I could be willing to roll the dice if I miss out on Machado. I think Donaldson is likely to provide much more value from 2019 to 2022 than Moustakes even he ultimately costs more. And at this point in the rebuild, I'd rather gamble on upside than certainty when it comes to free agents.

There's nothing wrong with signing a free agent this off-season if it's the right fit. Hell, Wellington Castillo is the perfect example of that and made a ton of sense as a short-term transition option to Collins/Zavala. I just don't think locking in an average at best 3B like Moustakas makes a lot of sense right now. Plan A for 3B should Manny Machado next off-season. Plan B could be Josh Donaldson based on the price/years. Plan C could be Yolmer for a year and then a run Arenado. If you can't land any of those impact free agents, then trade for or sign someone on a shorter-term deal and hope Burger is a fast mover. Point is there are too many attractive alternatives over the next couple of off-seasons to lock in a passable one today. And quite frankly, I'm not sure Moustakas would be that much of an upgrade of Sanchez. The one guy I'd still be open to signing right now is JDM. He's a legit difference maker with the bat and can instantly change the complexion of our lineup. If I can get him at an affordable price, I'm willing to make that move now.

QUOTE (CWSpalehoseCWS @ Feb 12, 2018 -> 10:30 PM) Couple things I'd like to add: Yermin Mercedes was a rule-5 in the Triple-A phase. Pretty sure he has to stay in Charlotte or be sent back to the Orioles. I can't see Michalczewski or Adams making the jump to Charlotte. They had less than impressive years and still have things to work on. Sox would be doing them a disservice if they promoted them to begin the year, IMO. I don’t think the minor league portion of the Rule 5 draft works like that. I believe the Sox can start Mercedes at whatever level they like.

QUOTE (WBWSF @ Feb 12, 2018 -> 08:49 PM) I will not brag or feel vindicated if I'm right. Frankly this whole situation stinks as far as I'm concerned. But you like the last 10 years where we “went for it” most years and accomplished jack s***?

They also signed Castillo to be their interim starting catcher. Could have gone cheap with a Narvaez/Smith platoon, but they actually added a veteran. They would spend the money if something out there made sense in both the short & long-run but typically there aren’t a lot of deals like that for teams in year 2 of a rebuild. They’ll most certainly be aggressive next year and are likely to spend more than they ever have in free agency.

QUOTE (WBWSF @ Feb 12, 2018 -> 06:34 PM) 1) They are rebuilding as cheaply as possible. 2) They are rebuilding as cheaply as possible. 3) They are rebuilding as cheaply as possible. Yup, paying $50M for Luis Robert is rebuilding as cheaply as possible. When does this clown get the boot?

I really think Curbelo opens the season with Kannapolis.