Chicago White Sox

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Aug 16, 2013 -> 05:48 AM) What I find puzzling is why whatever issue this is would bother him in the field but not on the bases or at the plate. I thought the same thing, but clearly there is more time to zone out in the field than at the plate.

QUOTE (ptatc @ Aug 14, 2013 -> 09:34 PM) Keith Law said today that Abreu is worth no where near what Cepedes and Puig were because he is not an athlete like they are. What's funny is I actually used the athletic & positional differences to argue why I didn't think Abreu would get that much more than Cespedes & Puig. I do think he'll get more total money, but I honestly don't think it will that much more the Cespedes on annual basis. Probably 5 to 6 years at $10M to $11M per. Regardless, he doesn't need to be a great athlete to be a good hitter, which is really all we need from him. If the scouts really like him, I think we have to be aggressive with him and maybe go a little above what we're truly comfortable with. I just think if we're going to wait 3 to 5 years for our system to develop some middle of the lineup bats, then we might as well blow this thing up.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Aug 14, 2013 -> 08:31 PM) with sandoval's weight/health concerns? no way At some point you have to take some risks. We're not going to fill all of our needs from within and free agency isn't what it once was.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Aug 14, 2013 -> 12:42 PM) I didn't really think there was much to read into any of this, and I don't really see why people are having such a hard time seeing the obvious. Maybe it's too obvious? Or maybe I'm crazy? It doesn't seem like any sort of mystery. Walter White will be found out as the drug lord Heisenberg (well, actually, he already was). As it unfolds and super-angry Hank does what a super-angry DEA agent does and moves forward with the "bust", it will be a big f***ing story as "former science teacher and current car wash owner runs drug empire from suburban home". At some point during this Hank will either give Walter a headstart or Walter'll just straight-up flee. House is seized and emptied and then left to be vandalized. Walt returns 6-9 months later for the ricin, presumably he's been on the lamb and POSSIBLY thought to be dead. Carol is really f***ing surprised to see him. Or maybe SS2k5 is right and Hank just randomly decides to torture Walt. What a great guess! I'm more curious if Skyler will be implicated. Thank you, spot-on summary of how things likely have gone down. The only question IMO is who wrote "Heisenberg" on the wall. Probably just some kids vandalizing, but perhaps there is some fallout from a past meth connection. We have already seen that chick from last season ask Walt at the car wash for his help. I could see some people she's associated with not being happy he turned them down. Maybe there will be a dual manhunt with both the Feds & drug cartels hunting Walt down.

As long as our scouts are 100% sold on Abreu, I think we have to go all out for him. The 2015 free agent list is horrific on the offensive side, with 3B being the exception. We desperately need to add a couple of young middle of the order bats to build around. I think Garcia can eventually be one of those guys, but outside of possibly Viciedo I don't see anything in the system helping us anytime soon. Signing Abreu for 1B this offseason and one of Headley, Sandoval, & Ramirez for 3B the following offseason would go a long ways toward fixing this offense.

QUOTE (oldsox @ Aug 14, 2013 -> 06:44 AM) He is an exciting prospect. He's just 21 and he improves every year. Big jump to AA next year. I agree, the ability to hit for contact and draw a lot of walks is rare. Plus he's shown excellent gap power this year. If some of those doubles start turning into HRs, we might something special here. Obviously that remains to be seen, but the rest of his game is further along than most prospects his age.

I can't believe a guy with an OPS below .700 is batting third for us.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Aug 13, 2013 -> 08:23 PM) It is very possible Hawkins, Mitchell and Walker all wind up below .200 this season. Which just goes to show how horrible our player development has been. On the plus side, Rangel Ravelo is in the top 5 in the Carolina League is AVG, OBP, SLG, & OPS.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Aug 13, 2013 -> 06:12 PM) JEFF BERRY!!!! You're thinking of Jon Berry, easy to get the two confused.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Aug 13, 2013 -> 05:58 PM) If someone claimed Konerko, would they have to pick up the $1 million a year for the next 6-7 years on his contract? No ome will claim him probably either way, but if he wants to go somewhere, this will free the Sox to make a deal. I doubt he wants to go anywhere, but if there's an injury, and Paulie is feeling OK,you never know. Didn't we have to pay the deferred portion of Manny's contract? Regardless, I'd like to see him clear waivers and see Hahn trade him to a contender for a Jeff Barry caliber prospect. He definitely deserves one last chance at a ring as sickening as it would be see him another uniform.

I was all for dumping Dunn for salary relief earlier this season, but at this point I'd hold on to him through next year. But I want nothing to do with him after the 2014 season. He will be a 35 year old DH at that point. No thanks to that.

There is no way this guy is getting 6/90. Cespedes just got 4/36 two years ago and was basically the same age but is a 5 tool outfielder. Abreu may be a more accomplished hitter in Cuba, but he's also a 1B and an average athlete at best. A lot of teams are going to he turned off by his lack of athletism and others simply won't have a need for a 1B/DH type. The market for him will much smaller than those for Cespedes & Puig. I think he ultimately gets more than Puig since he is major league ready, but 6/60 is the max I see him getting unless the Marlins do something stupid to try and win fans back.

If our scouts believe this guy is for real, I don't see any reason why Hahn wouldn't go all out for him. We need impact bats, we have a giant hole at 1B, and you're not going to find 26-27 year old free agents anytime soon. Plus we have Viciedo and possibly Ramirez that can sell him on playing for the White Sox. Honestly, unless the price is ridiculous, I hope we make a strong play for this guy.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Aug 11, 2013 -> 09:58 AM) I don't understand what the point of taking other bad contracts is when we just dumped our own relatively decent contracts. He's 100% against signing free agents for more than 2 years, but is all for taking on half of Ethier's deal which has 4 years remaining. I wouldn't waste too much time trying to understand his plan.

This "blow it all up talk" is beyond ridiculous. We have a young, cheap, championship-caliber rotation in place and for a long time. Big market teams don't go full-rebuild when they already have the hardest part of a team built. That's just f***ing stupid. Obviously building an offense can't be done overnight, but it can be done over the course of 2 offseasons IMO. The key is developing Garcia, Semien, Viciedo, & Phegley next year. That should be the priority. Also, use 2014 to see if Beckham & De Aza can be part of the future core and either lock them up long-terk deals or move them at the deadline. And don't be afraid to make smart free agent signings, especially at positions of need in the organization. I really think Morales could solve our 1B problems on a 3 year deal until Barnum or another candidate is ready. If 2014 goes well with the young guys, then you look to use our financial flexibility to add another key piece or two. There are actually some good 3B that will be free agents prior to the 2015 season. On top of that, guys like Thompson, Jacobs, & Sanchez may be ready to contribute. Point is we don't need to blow it up to rebuild our offense. We just need to be patient with the young hitters we already have, find creative ways to add talent (young non-tender guys with upside, prospects coming off bad years, etc), and be savy buyers in free agency. It won't be easy but it's definitely doable.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Aug 9, 2013 -> 05:49 AM) Disregard the 9 runs and 11 hits he gave up in 3 innings. The golden domer has a great xFIP. If a team would give Theo a package as if this guy was an ace, Theo should jump on it. I've never seen someone quote a stat like xFIP to justify a single bad start being better than what it appeared.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Aug 8, 2013 -> 10:27 PM) 3B, SS or 2B, lol. Anywhere and everywhere. If he hits like he has been in the minors the last two months at the next level, they'll find him playing time SOMEWHERE. 3B might be the most open position at the moment, until/unless Ramirez is traded. However, let's keep in mind how good Flowers and Phegley looked at different times...and where they both stand now. Still, nice to have SOMETHING to be excited about...even lukewarm excitement. Where does Phegley stand after 77 plate appearances?

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Aug 8, 2013 -> 10:24 PM) Everyone was waiting for him to fall flat on his face a month or so ago and it didn't happen. He might fade down the stretch, but he STILL looks 100% legit. That's all fine and dandy, but you just said there would be a "spirited" debate on who you would start a franchise with Trout or Puig. If by "spirited" you meant you vs. the entire board than sure. Otherwise, everyone here would take Trout, because he's on another level.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Aug 8, 2013 -> 09:26 PM) 26 multi-hit games in his first 57. 1.023 OPS at the moment, still hanging in the 370's at .374. Trout's catching up on him, though, having had a very strong July/early August. Would be quite a spirited debate about what player you would build your franchise around of Trout, Puig and Harper. Trout has the major advantage of being able to play a very good CF...whereas Puig is better suited for the corners, especially if he keeps growing and putting on weight with that large frame.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Aug 8, 2013 -> 07:00 PM) Dumping Rios gives the Sox more cash to bid for the next Puig. The White Sox historically haven't bid on these types because historically they haven't had the flexibility to do so. Aren't Cubans going to treated like any other Latin American free agents going forward?

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Aug 8, 2013 -> 06:00 PM) As I wrote in the other thread, if the Sox get their payroll down to ~$40M for '14 & '15 and will spend $75M-$80M each year they can offer ~$60M in discounts to any team that acquires a player. Say the Braves want to dump Upton's contract and there's a team willing to take him for $20M, the Sox would be able to take on the rest of his contract for the right prospects. Reinsdorf will never go for that and if you think otherwise you clearly haven't been following his ownership style. And how many prospects can we buy for $60 million?

QUOTE (The Ginger Kid @ Aug 8, 2013 -> 05:54 PM) You don't think the organization saving money to be able to be aggressive in the FA market the following year is a good thing? Do you mean in two offseasons? If so, have you checked the list of free agents? I was skimming through the potential and it seemed pretty ugly on first glance. Also, I'm not against money in free agency this coming offseason. I'm just trying to understand what Marty thinks Hahn will do will all this money.

QUOTE (Al Lopez's Ghost @ Aug 8, 2013 -> 05:53 PM) Hahn recently said it could be used in the international market, we'll need it for next year's draft top five pick, it could be used to facilitate trades, all of which are better uses than veteran free agents on the downsides of their careers. First off, there are caps on international amatuer free agents and draft picks. Sure, that will eat up some of the money, but only a fraction of what we already have coming off the books next year plus we have $25M in revenue coming from the new TV deal. And Reinsdorf is going to let Hahn eat significant money to broker trades. He wouldn't even let him eat money on a Peavy deal, when it could have gotten us a better return.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Aug 8, 2013 -> 05:49 PM) There isn't an available free agent that can be a key piece in a rebuild for the super-inflated prices they are likely to get this winter. Say no to free agency (over 2 years.) Lol...then what's the point of your "cash is king" comment.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Aug 8, 2013 -> 05:42 PM) In the Sox situation where they have few prospects to build with and few veteran players other teams covet it would be to their advantage to have as much payroll flexibility as possible heading into the offseason. As was stated earlier in this thread, cash is king. What exactly are we going to do with all this cash?