Chicago White Sox

QUOTE (Chilihead90 @ Oct 8, 2013 -> 06:16 PM) Wait, Abreu has signed with someone? No, but Eminor is saying a move can't be announced until after the World Series, so it's possible he's already picked a team and we simply won't find out for a few weeks.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Oct 8, 2013 -> 06:05 PM) I've heard both arguments. The Sox would be crazy to pay for a prospect and the Dodgers (or Pirates) aren't going to give prospects up for money. What IS crazy is paying a 4th OF'er like Ethier $72M. Because paying $30M for a B prospect is a horrible use of resources for the White Sox and the Dodgers are one of the richest franchises in baseball and don't need to get rid of young talent to free up cash. Your proposed move makes no sense for either side.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Oct 8, 2013 -> 05:10 PM) It won't be announced until after the playoffs, but that's because the MLB doesn't want big news taking away from the games. What moves can be announced during the playoffs? The Cubs just signed Ryan Sweeney to an extension. I guess I'm a bit surprised MLB would have a rule against announcing international free agent signings during the first round of the playoffs, given how few there are nowadays. That really sucks if we have to wait a couple weeks to find out who won the Abreu bidding.

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Oct 8, 2013 -> 05:17 PM) I guess I could do this all day. When you have the worst offense in baseball and the worst defense and slow footed creatures all over the bases you don't look to hit HR's with your moves. You look to improve in all areas with every player you acquire. As usual all I keep hearing about is offense. Did Konerko hit .299. Did Konerko have the range of Loney ? Did Konerko run the bases with any speed ? Yes I want Abreu but failing that I want a better team in more areas than offense. I want improvement at positions , multiple positions. Don't like 3 years ? Have you looked at the dearth of quality 1st basemen around baseball lately ? You could do a lot worse than Loney by far. Don't act like you can get his kind of production out of just anyone. You don't pick guys up off the scrapheap you can hit field and run the bases at 1st the way he can. If he was good enough for TB in the playoffs he's good enough for the Sox . I don't want a fast, defensive 1B when I play at the Cell. I want a guy that's going to hit a ton of HRs, especially given the lack of power with the rest of our infield. And if we can't acquire a better 1B than Loney this offseason, then we're better off accepting 2014 is a lost cause, because we aren't going to improve enough with him at a critical offensive position. And what works for the Rays isn't automatically going to work for us. See Jeff Keppinger's numbers in 2012 and then take a look at Loney's this year. Both are clear outliers and I don't want get stuck with another mediocre player signed to a multi-year deal coming off a fluke year.

Any chance a decision won't be announced until after the playoffs? I could imagine if the Red Sox had the winning bid, they might not want Napoli to find out he's being replaced mid-playoffs.

Signing Loney to a 3 year deal would be a horrible move. When you have arguably the worst offense in baseball, you don't sign a below-average offensive player to a multi-year deal to fill a position that is naturally offense-oriented. If you miss out on Abreu, Morales, and Hart then you might as well check the non-tender list or try to acquire a minor league that's blocked. I don't see any reason to go with James Loney unless it's a cheap, one year deal and even then I'd explore other options first.

QUOTE (Lillian @ Oct 8, 2013 -> 05:35 AM) Abreu will have a better chance of producing numbers like that, at his age, than Pence will have, when he is 34, 35. Moreover, Abreu's upside is much higher. He could be a monster, which can not be said of Pence. If some team did not bid at least $84 million, I'll be shocked, and it shouldn't be surprising if he gets $100 million or more. Abreu is a compete unknown. Sure he's faced some major leaguers in international competitions, but he very well could get exploited here with with regular at-bats. What we do know is he's doesn't have the tools that Puig & Soler have and he's restricted to 1B/DH. Those two factors hurt his value. I will be shocked if he gets $84M and any GM that would give him $100M is basically playing Russian roulette with his career. I see 6 years, $60M being close to the top bid for Abreu, which is is still a huge gamble.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Oct 7, 2013 -> 09:28 PM) No penetration = slightly. Fair enough.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Oct 7, 2013 -> 05:04 PM) Miley slightly NSFW. Who cares how long her hair is? You work for a drug dealer? I have no idea how that's "slightly NSFW".

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Oct 7, 2013 -> 04:55 PM) It is worth asking whether he'd do that in the heat of a pennant race though. At that point of the year, he just wants to get a look at the guy. I agree, he probably should have hit 9th though. Honestly, from what I've seen Ventura seems pretty old school with his decision-making. I'm still willing to give him the benefit of the doubt for now, but I haven't seen many signs that he's using statistics or advanced logic when filling out a lineup card.

QUOTE (GreenSox @ Oct 7, 2013 -> 04:44 PM) I realize it was garbage time, but the manager would put the worst hitter on the team, L Garcia, at lead-off when he played. A classic Guillen move. If your regular leadoff hitter is out of the lineup, then you must bat your fastest player leadoff regardless of his ability to get on-base.

I'm cool with Granderson if he gives us a home-town discount and the years are right (3 max, 2 ideally). Obviously the age is a concern, but his bat would help a ton against RHP (if healthy) and he would be the ultimate role model for some of our younger players. No matter when we target being competitive again, I do think we need to add some veteran leadership and energy to the clubhouse. I think the team may have been a little too relaxed this year. Not sure how much Granderson would change that, but I honestly feel we need mix up our chemistry a bit.

http://www.suntimes.com/m/23002028-773/sou...granderson.html

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Oct 6, 2013 -> 10:42 AM) And guess which one has demonstrated he has a clue at the plate. And can make contact regularly. Oh, wait, that's definitely NOT Viciedo. MLB Averages: O-Swing = 31.0%, Z-Swing = 65.5%, Z-Contact = 87.0% Anthony Rizzo: O-Swing = 30.0%, Z-Swing = 66.5%, Z-Contact = 89.1% (102 wRC+) Dayan Viciedo: O-Swing = 42.5%, Z-Swing = 73.5%, Z-Contact = 82.9% (96 wRC+) One of those lines looks like a Major League hitter, the other looks like a minor leaguer being challenged by stuff way above his skill level. Who is arguing that Viciedo has demonstrated better plate discipline than Rizzo? I know Rizzo easily wins in that department and always will. Doesn't change the fact that their offensive production hasn't been much different over the course of their young careers.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Oct 6, 2013 -> 10:24 AM) Just from the comments in the last 24 hours....but then, look what happened with the A's shocking the world and winning the bidding for Cespedes. Still, I would put the odds at 5-10% but I would love to be pleasantly surprised and see that's we posted the highest bid. But I haven't seen any comments that state specific dollar amounts, so I'm not sure what these "insiders" are basing their speculation on. I personally think that everything out there right now is misdirection. Only Abreu and his agents really know what everyone team offered. Hopefully he makes a decision soon to give us all something to talk about.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Oct 6, 2013 -> 09:48 AM) And it looks like we're on the outside looking in as far as the Abreu deal goes. I'm not sure how anyone would know where teams stand other than Abreu's agent. It's a blind bid process and I'm pretty sure bids were all due at roughly the same time. This thing is ultimately going to come to the money, with other factors like Cuban presence (players or fanbase), weather, and ability to win serving as possible tie-breakers. So if the Sox weren't planning on making an offer in the $50 to $60M range, they never had a chance to begin with. Will be interesting to see what he ends up getting and where the Sox came in (assuming that figure leaks).

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Oct 5, 2013 -> 05:37 PM) I wouldn't be too enthused about the sealed bid process if I were the Sox. Why? Not disagreeing, just trying to understand your point.

I wouldn't believe any rumors regarding Abreu. Teams aren't going to reveal their hands, so anything public outside of general interest is misdirection IMO.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Oct 4, 2013 -> 10:18 PM) For perspective sake, Rizzo has 24 less MLB PAs than Dayan Viciedo. (1235 vs 1211) And guess who has the higher career OPS yet is considered a bust.

QUOTE (Joshua Strong @ Oct 4, 2013 -> 06:15 PM) You are right but those players are going to make up the next great core of the Cubs going forward. And Anthony Rizzo is going to be fine, it was his first full year in the bigs. Lol...of course they will as prospects never flop!

I laugh when I see posts complimenting Theo for all he's accomplished. All he's done is purposely lose to accumulate high draft picks and large international bonus pools, which any GM can do with ease if they so desire. I'm sorry, but until some of these prospects turn into productive major leaguers, he's really accomplished nothing IMO. I haven't really seen any creativity or risk-taking to accelerate their small market approach to rebuilding with the exception of the Edwin Jackson signing, which has been a huge diaster so far. Not very impressed with what I've seen so far out of Theo.

QUOTE (pittshoganerkoff @ Oct 3, 2013 -> 06:11 AM) Abreu would be great, and I think the Sox have a chance there. How much of a chance? Better than Lloyd's chances with Mary (Samsonite) Swanson, but not dramatically so. If they overpay for him, there's no money for a catcher (McCann). I like AJ, but he's not a solution, not even for one year. And Choo is going to get paid, big time. The Sox won't be signing him. Affording both Abreu & McCann shouldn't be much of a concern. We should have plenty of money to work with, so it's really just a question whether these are the guys you want to spend your money on and whether or not you're comfortable with the years it will take to have them to sign with you. I honestly believe Hahn will target both of these guys, but only if the dollars and years make sense. Hopefully something happens on the Abreu front soon, because signing him before the rest of free agency begins would allow Hahn to be a little more aggressive filling other holes.

I'm glad he at least confined Micah is a legit 80 in the speed department. I know there was some uncertainty on just how fast he actually is.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Oct 2, 2013 -> 11:26 AM) I think CF is the biggest need. Gregory Polanco is a player I'd like for them to be targeting. How would you ever get him? I doubt the Pirates are interested in our pitching.

I think everyone here has different definition of rebuilding than me. Rebuilding is starting over from scratch, by dumping all your high salary players and going young pretty much across the board. You basically don't plan on being competitive for 4 to 5 years so you can accumulate high draft picks and let your prospects develop gradually. Also, just because you lose 99 games does not mean you're rebuilding, it just means your team currently sucks. IMO, Hahn will go into 2014 attempting to compete, even if our chances to make the playoffs are extremely small. I'm guessing he feels it's at least a two year job to fix this offense and become a respectable team. That's retooling to me, not rebuilding.