Chicago White Sox

QUOTE (flavum @ Apr 5, 2014 -> 09:52 AM) https://twitter.com/whitesox/status/4524584...2190592/photo/1 Nieto starting. Abreu 3rd. Gillaspie 5th. Avi sitting. Viciedo batting 4th. So strange that Viciedo sits four straight games and then is immediately put into the cleanup spot. I guess Konerko would also have the same issue, but I still would have probably flip-flopped them. Glad both are in the lineup today though.

Will Viciedo & Konerko get their first starts today? Let's hope so.

QUOTE (Ozzie Ball @ Apr 5, 2014 -> 08:48 AM) Nathan Stoltz tweets from the game on Olacio, in reverse chronological order, so read from the bottom. Certainly encouraging stuff. Thanks for sharing that. Obviously I'm sure most of us were wishful he could develop into a starter, but getting a stud left-handed reliever would still be a huge win with someone as raw as Olacio. Those tweets make it sound like that's a real possibility. He could solve a huge need for us down the road.

Yeah, one of the things that caught my eye from the games yesterday was Olacio striking out 6 batters in 2 IP. If the Sox plan on keeping him in the bullpen going forward, then he must have gained some serious velocity coming out of relief and they must expect him to move fast. Given his age, they did not have to give up on him being a starter just yet. And as we see with a lot of top relief prospects, keeping him in a starter's role at least gives him a chance to develop his secondary stuff. The Sox must feel Olacio can be a dynamic left-handed reliever at the major league level and pretty soon to make this change so early into his career IMO.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Apr 4, 2014 -> 08:30 AM) If JDA is what I'm hoping he is, we don't need a guy to carry the entire offense. We need a lefty to hit behind him and do some damage. Pretty much any of those names would look ok hitting 5th in our lineup if they were healthy. An upper .700's OPS, 15+ HR, and the ability to drive in 75+ runs in a full season's equivalent would work pretty darn well there. The guy wouldn't even need to play every day, if the team was deep enough you could easily slide one of the righties into that slot on days when there's a lefty on the mound. Balta, we're going to a need a DH that provides a hell of a lot more than an OPS in the "upper 700's" for this team to take the next step. Even if Abreu is an offensive force, he can't carry this offensive alone. We'll need a second legit power bat for the middle of the lineup and that guy isn't likely to come internally. People complain about every free agent being too old or too expensive, but the reality is we'll have money to burn next offseason and holes that can't be filled from within. If we're serious about competing, we'll have to take some gambles in free agency. I like the V-Mart idea if he has another productive year, but I think we have to seriously consider Sandoval. Maybe he ends up getting some ridiculous offers, but he's one of the few left-handed impacts bats that will only cost us money.

Probably won't make a difference, but it would be real nice to limit their lead to 2 runs heading into the 9th.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Mar 31, 2014 -> 10:59 AM) Yeah it's dumb. If Viciedo is part of the White Sox future I believe that he should be starting as well. 100% agree. Extremely worried Robin will go with the straight platoon in LF, which would pretty much destroy any value Dayan has left. Hope that isn't the case, but when you see Conor batting third it's easy to question Robin's judgement.

Have lineups been posted yet? Interested in seeing if Viciedo or De Aza got the start in LF.

I was completely against the Paulie move, partly because I was worried Robin would mismanage the situation, but I will be ok with it for now if he's used correctly. Glad to see Paulie understands his role and isn't looking for a glorified last hurrah at the expense of the team. That's really a class act move to pass on the Opening Day and get Dunn's left-handed bat in the lineup.

I honestly think one of Grandal & Castro will be our catcher by next opening day. Both fit perfectly in terms of age and need, and both the Astros & Padres have top catching prospects not too far away. These guys won't come cheap obviously, but the position is such a huge organizational need that I truly believe Hahn will be willing to pay a steep price for a long-term solution.

I still think we end up with Hoffman and I'm 100% cool with that unless Rodon is there at #3.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Mar 29, 2014 -> 09:56 AM) (Just to point out, he got 113 PA's last year against LHP with both 1b and DH available. He did miss a portion of the year, but that's only going to get him to 150 PA's if you scale up. If he's getting 300 PA's, he's taking 150 PA's against RHP, and if you scale his performance last year that gives an overall .750-ish OPS). Balta, I got to ask, what the hell is with the posts in parentheses?

QUOTE (hi8is @ Mar 28, 2014 -> 04:57 PM) Dig. Hoping for Johnson over Garcia. Probably not the best idea for his development but hey, I'm a greedy speed prospect whore like that. That would be horrible for his development. I'm already worried for Semien, as Merkin wrote in an article the other day that Marcus will likely be the reserve infielder when Beckham comes back. Both Micah & Marcus need regular at-bats, and quite frankly Johnson shouldn't be getting those above AA. And I say that as a huge Micah Johnson fan.

I want to know in what universe Quintana could be considered anything less than a strong #3 starter. Sure, he'd be the Tigers' 4th best starter, but that's because they have three guys pitching like #1's. They are a total outlier and I bet a lot of teams would love to have Quintana as their #2. IMO, he's a strong #3 in a championship caliber rotation. Anyone calling him a #4 type starter must not be following baseball very closely.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Mar 28, 2014 -> 08:07 AM) If you don't like Jimenez or Santana for 4 years and $50 million, and a second round pick I don't understand how you can like Masterson next year for significantly more money and a higher draft pick. See how this season goes. You don't have to have targets on free agents yet. I will say, one of the reasons I thought the Sox should target the above THIS year is the price tag. You will be giving up a lot more later for something similar both in money and draft pick. I liked Jimenez a little more than Santana, but it is funny that Don Cooper is a supposedly a genius, but if an expensive free agent pitcher signed this season, they certainly would bust. Hopefully the Sox young starters and Paulino are as good as some posters here think so it will be a non issue. Because I think Masterson profiles better for our park. 56.4% career ground ball rate for Justin vs. 47.6% for Ubaldo. And quite frankly, I wasn't 100% against signing Jimenez, but I did feel we were probably better off waiting another year to sign a veteran starter given where we're at competitively. I'd hate giving up the draft pick, but I would been ok with Jimenez at the price he ultimately cost. I definitely would have pissed with signjng Santana though.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Mar 28, 2014 -> 12:37 PM) The fastest way to contend is to find a top-of-the-rotation starter. Not sure I agree with this logic. We have a massive hole at catcher and a right-handed heavy lineup. Who are the internal candidates to fill those needs at the moment? At least with our starting pitching, we have three young guys that form a nice core in Sale, Quintana, & Johnson (I'm a believer in him) plus a veteran who has been a #2 caliber starter at times in the past in Danks and who is also under contract for the next few years. On top of that, we an interesting prospect in Beck who could be ready as soon as next year. Unlike some posters here, I would like to see the Sox add a legit #2 starter between Sale & Quintana, with Johnson becoming the #4 and Beck/others pushing Danks for the 5th spot. Having said that, I think there is a much larger marginal benefit to be had upgrading from Flowers & Dunn. And like I said, without internal options to replace them, these are spots that could really handcuff us in the near future if we don't make them priorities.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Mar 28, 2014 -> 09:58 AM) They literally won't even consider him. Not even on their list. What about Masterson though Rock? With the way Hahn has been targeting sinker ballers for the bullpen, you have to think Masterson would make a ton of sense for our rotation, especially playing at the Cell.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Mar 28, 2014 -> 06:41 AM) We aren't spending nine figures on a starting pitcher. That's not how this works. That isn't how any of this works. Except we just offered Tanaka nine figures. I get there is an age difference there, but let's not pretend Tanaka wouldn't be just as risky, being a complete unknown, as signing Masterson would be. And Masterson will come a lot cheaper than Tanaka as well. The Sox have been willing to take on more risk with starting pitching as of late, with the Danks deal being the first 5 year deal is god knows how long. Tanaka would be 5+ years as well. We're going to have money to burn next offseason, I think people are seriously underestimating how aggressive we'll be in free agency.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Mar 28, 2014 -> 05:49 AM) Masterson will be 30 next year. He has also been just as inconsistent as Santana and Jimenez, yet will cost more money, and a draft pick, perhaps even a first rounder. So who should we target then Dick? We're going to have a ton of money to work with next offseason and hopefully should a few key players away from being serious contenders (if all goes right this season).

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Mar 27, 2014 -> 09:56 PM) Adding a top-of-the-rotation starter trumps any need in my opinion. Zero interest in Scherzer though. While I think finding a #2 starter is important, I'm not sure how a left-handed power hitter and a legit starting catcher aren't bigger needs. Regardless, give me Masterson over Scherzer, who will come a hell of a lot cheaper and is a perfect fit for our ballpark.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Mar 25, 2014 -> 10:11 PM) This thread just has a new darling every week. First it was Trea Turner, then it was Jeff Hoffman, then it was Beede and now it's Aiken. I don't think Rodon makes it past Houston so it really comes down to the direction of Miami and then we have the whole field to go from. If Rodon (barring an injury) somehow gets passed on at #3, I will be kicking s*** in my kitchen on the first Thursday of June. In Rick Hahn we trust. Hahn just called Rodon the best college arm in the draft, so the only way he gets past us is if Hahn thinks Rodon will want 1-1 money regardless of draft position. Unfortunately, I think a strong possibility if he makes to #3, which means he's probably off the table either way. I do agree with you that he's by far the best pitcher in this draft.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Mar 25, 2014 -> 09:02 PM) You act like the Sox are a small market team. We've been over this, but there are no laws limiting revenue. Revenue? Do you mean payroll? If so, are you honestly still b****ing about Reinsdorf not spending more than he takes in? I'm sorry, but it's not like we're dealing with a Loria type owner here. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure the Sox make a profit most years, but I seriously doubt it's anything of significance. I'm guessing most sports ownership groups operate in a similar fashion, so I'm not exactly sure what your beef is. You basically sound like a whiny little entitled brat by going on about this relentlessly. Can you please just give it a f***ing rest and stop derailing every thread?

QUOTE (bmags @ Mar 22, 2014 -> 03:57 PM) Argh this high pitch RINGING Yeah, it f***ing sucks.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Mar 22, 2014 -> 02:16 PM) He MIGHT end up end up as a 4th/5th OFer as a favor to Buddy Bell. What are you talking about? Are you seriously suggesting that Hahn would add a s***ty player to the roster as favor to the guy who oversees the system that failed to develop said player? Do you know how ridiculous that sounds?

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Mar 20, 2014 -> 07:39 AM) Just FYI -- wRC+ is park-adjusted. Woo! What a great stat. http://www.fangraphs.com/library/offense/wrc/ How are the park-adjustments calculated? Do all players on the same team receive the same adjustment?