Chicago White Sox

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Mar 15, 2013 -> 08:53 PM) So, winning the division in a 1 game playoff? Yup, against the Tigers. Just feel like it's going to be one of those years where a bunch of crazy s*** happens.

I think it will be a tight race, but I have us winning the division at 90-73.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Mar 15, 2013 -> 07:50 PM) It's an argument you kind of agreed with by saying Boston would have taken on his contract, but probably not give much in return. Right now, coming off the season he had offensively, I don't think they'd give up much for him. However, that doesn't mean Boston wouldn't give us a low level pitching prospect or two for him and assume his entire contract. Buying low and assuming some financial risk if often a smart move. KW did it multiple and more often than not it worked out well. Let's just say this, if Alexei gets back to where he was from 2009 to 2011 a lot of teams will wish they made a play for him, although I doubt the Sox have any interest in moving him given how valuable his defense is to our pitching staff.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Mar 15, 2013 -> 07:42 PM) We view where the Sox are at differently. I don't think they're a contender so I'd rather not be locked in to a 30+ y.o. shortstop for $27M who may be in decline. That's fine, but you're arguing he has no value across the league. That is what everyone is getting worked up about.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Mar 15, 2013 -> 06:53 PM) If Drew and Ramirez both continue to decline would you rather be obligated to pay Ramirez $20M over 2014 and 2015 or Drew $0 over the same time frame? Ramirez is still a top-notch defensive player, yet you continue to act like he's not. I get the concern about having too many low OBP batters in our lineup, but that doesn't mean that Ramirez doesn't have value as a plus defensive player.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Mar 15, 2013 -> 04:49 PM) Just for fun, do you think there was a team this offseason who would have taken that contract? I don't think there was. Without question I think the Red Sox would have taken him off our hands. I'm not saying the White Sox would get anything in return, but I'm sure they could dump the contract if they wanted to.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Mar 15, 2013 -> 04:14 PM) If Sox management were to decide that, Ramirez has a tradeable contract. If he gets his OPS in the low .700 range, he's tradable without any problems. If he repeats his 2012 offensive performance, then he'll be more difficult to move, but I think there would still be one team that would take him off your hands for free. I'm pretty confident he'll rebound, so I'm not really worried. Also I mentioned this week ago, but Stephen Drew just got $9.5 million coming off a zero WAR season. There are always teams that need SSs and are will to overpay in terms of money or talent to get one. Unless Alexei's defense suddenly disappears, he'll always have some value.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Mar 15, 2013 -> 07:34 AM) Im pissed at the lack of games for sure, but I never will count Nintendo out. For all of the talk about the superiority of Xbox and PS3, the Wii dominated the last console generation in sales. Mario(Solo and Kart) are coming out within the next few months, the HD Windwaker is coming out in August, Pikmin 3(which Miyamoto said should have been a launch game) comes out in May. And another game I have been waiting for is also coming out in May, Wonderful 101. IGN just gave Lego City Undercover an 8.0. There is a lot of things that Nintendo just doesnt care about, there is no doubt about it. They just do things the way they want to do them and say f*** it. Right now, the new 3D Mario platformer and Mario Kart game will make or break them IMO. They can't just be rehashes like 2D Mario sequels become. They need new and unique features that blow people away, sort of like Mario Galaxy did when it first came out. The problem is that those games probably won't come out until the fall or holidays. At that point the Xbox 720 & PS4 will be right around the corner and you'll have a hard time convincing people to buy a Wii U. They need some big games soon and I just don't see them. The games you mentioned may all be solid, but I don't expect any of them to big sellers or move systems. Hopefully they have surprises at E3, because god only knows that all their studios are working on. Retro Studios in particular better have a big announcement.

Anyone else think the Wii U is doomed? I just can't believe how much Nintendo has botched this console. You think Nintendo would have learned their lesson from the 3DS launch, but there have literally been no games worth purchasing since launch. There is still no killer app that demonstrates what the system is truly capable of (Nintendoland doesn't count IMO). Plus they don't even have the virtual console up yet to keep people until some good games out. What's going to happen when two truly next-gen systems come out later year? Nintendo needed to build a large ussr base beforehand, but without any big games on the horizon, they're going to be in big trouble come Christmas. People aren't buying the console for Pikman. Without Mario, Metriod, & Zelda games soon, this is going to go under, especially with 3rd party support lacking once again. I've been a huge Nintendo fan my whole life, but they proven with Wii U that they're never going to change. Key modern day features like online play and easy backup/transfer of digital purchases lack behind their competitors. I mean for f***'s sake, they're still stressing local multiplayer, which may be great for families but few other people care. I tried playing Super Mario Wii U with my wife when I first got the console and you can't even use the Gamepad with two people, you both have to use Wiimotes because the Gamepad is reserved for a player who wants to build platforms for the others. To drop $400 on a system and games and not be able to use the main selling point for normal gameplay is just f***ing stupid. Nintendo just doesn't get it.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Mar 14, 2013 -> 02:06 PM) I thought the same thing -- though I think it's as much a product of first base being relatively weak league-wide at the moment. I'm wondering how much these projections adjust for league specific variances in the minors. The Pacific Coast League is a significant hitters league, so you really have to scale offensive stats back, especially when comparing a PCL player to someone in the International League. You'd think these systems would adjust for that though.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Mar 14, 2013 -> 01:35 PM) Bump for the addition of first basemen. I expected us to be a touch higher than #12, but I can admit that I probably overrate Paulie. However, it is very interesting to note that we're substantially higher than KC and CLE. Lol at the Cubs being #5. I think Rizzo will be a very good player, but I expect some more growing pains, at least in 2013.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Mar 14, 2013 -> 12:24 PM) Baseball America Let's be honest though, the Sox have a lot of push in those rankings. Rogers is far from a baseball expert, let alone a minor league one.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Mar 12, 2013 -> 11:22 PM) IMO, Viciedo and Flowers (assuming he develops) are the only two guys in our current lineup that could be part of our long-term core (2015 and beyond). And possibly DeAza, although the odds are that Mitchell/Walker/Thompson replaces him as he becomes more expensive in arbitration... Yeah, I just figured with those three guys, Viciedo, & eventually Hawkins, we'll probably look to move De Aza in the next year or two if we can get something of value for him. As solid as he's been for us, he turns 29 in April and I'd probably avoid committing long-term money for a guy who might need to move to a corner in a few years.

QUOTE (ScottyDo @ Mar 12, 2013 -> 08:31 PM) I think it's been directly stated, but if not it's a fair assumption, that Marco Paddy is the one who was unreasonably high on Molina. Molina was Paddy's guy in Toronto too. I know that's kind of been the assumption, although I've always been a little skeptical. We literally traded for Molina six days after announcing the Paddy hire. KW made it sound like Molina was on their "list" for a while, but then again that could have just been posturing for the media.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Mar 12, 2013 -> 08:03 PM) I think it's a question whether he can get his OPS back to 700+, he's 31. Moreover, the 2014 position player situation for the Sox could be a big problem. They could be looking at needing a new catcher, 1B, 2B, SS, not to mention being saddled with Dunn for another year. We potentially have $30 - $35 million coming off the books next year between Konerko, Floyd, Crain, Lindstrom, & Thornton. Maybe we bring back one of those three relievers, but otherwise I think they can be replaced internally. At quick glance, we probably need about $10 - $12 million for raises, and that's assuming we keep Beckham around. Cutting him loose is an easy way to save money if we need to. IMO, we should have enough money to replace Konerko's bat via free agency. Fixing the rest of the offense is going to be a more daunting task, yet I wouldn't be surprised to see quite a few changes between now and next year. IMO, Viciedo and Flowers (assuming he develops) are the only two guys in our current lineup that could be part of our long-term core (2015 and beyond). The rest of this core will need come from our minor league system, the free agent market, and trades.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Mar 12, 2013 -> 08:04 PM) Poor Molina. I guess it's a sign of some decent progress that we can at least list 4 theoretical replacements and not be including either Molina or Axelrod on it. Maybe he will perform better this year more under the radar than having the weight of the trade and expectations coming into 2012. I was hesitant to include Castro in that group, but he did so well this spring I'm holding out some hope he can put it all together this year, although I don't think it's very likely. I think he ends up in the bullpen down the road. I like what I've seen from Axelrod, he's pitched pretty well for us all things considered, but I think he's more of a long reliever/spot starter on a contending team. Molina is a complete unknown at this point. Maybe he rebounds this year, more likely he doesn't IMO. I haven't given up on him yet, but I'm not very optimistic after the season he had last year. However, you do have to wonder why they valued him as highly as they did. I mean, he was on the Sox's short list of targets the offseason we traded for him, so someone in the organization really had to like him at the time. The good news is that we at least have some starting pitching depth in the upper levels of the system.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Mar 12, 2013 -> 07:25 PM) Danks is an interesting case. If the team doesn't start well... If the young pitching keeps coming along, and Danks proves healthy and back to 2010 or before type work, he would have a huge value on the trade market. There are more than a few young pitchers knocking on the door right now. Personally, if Danks looks good this year, I'm sticking with a 1-2-3 of Sale-Peavy-Danks for the next two or three years and seeing where that gets me. With Floyd likely gone, we should be able to afford them with Quintana/Santiago and possibly Johnson/Snodgress/Rienzo/Castro at the backend of the rotation.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Mar 12, 2013 -> 06:41 PM) That's making it too easy. As of today, what would it be. Right now our best alignment is Keppinger at 3B, Ramirez at SS, & Beckham at 2B with Carlos Sanchez as insurance at AAA. We need see how all these guys do this year before we worry about next year. All four guys are question marks to some extent and their performances this year will guide Hahn's decisions next off-season. If I had to guess right now, I think Sanchez replaces Beckham next year, Alexei rebounds at the plate this season and remains at SS, we go out and trade for a legit 3B, and Keppinger is moved to a super-utility role. IMO, you underestimate Ramirez's defense, especially the value it provides us given the amount of resources we've committed to our pitching staff in the near future. As long as he can get his OPS back into the low .700's, I think he's worth his contract.

QUOTE (Jake @ Mar 12, 2013 -> 04:54 PM) OPS is a nice statistic, it helps me predict how many runs the player will be worth. Except it seems to suggest that Alexei wouldn't drive in >70 RBIs every year when he always does just that. There seems to be wide disagreement about whether Sanchez can play SS defensively at all at the MLB level, nor is there agreement that he's even anything better than average at 2B. If he is just a singles hitter (all he's ever been), I'm not about to displace a guy that will always outvalue him on defense alone and has been one of the most consistent and durable players in the game at the position. Everything I've read describes Sanchez as a plus defender at 2B. SS is still a question mark.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Mar 12, 2013 -> 04:48 PM) Is the difference between Ramirez and Sanchez worth $27M over the next 3 years? I say no. Maybe not, but that money doesn't help us right now. Something to think about next when we have a better idea of what we have in both players.

Lol...this is the problem with statistics. You can tell any story you want. When people start using three years of data to claim a three year trend, you know there is an issue with their logic. I look at those stats and see a SS who is a .720 to .725 OPS player. His first year and this past season look like obvious outliers to me. Having said that, it's definitely possible 2012 represents the player Alexei will be going forward. However, you can't use his numbers from 2009 to 2011 to draw that conclusion or to claim he's been trending downward. He was within 20 points of OPS in all three of those years, which represents extremely normal levels of fluctuation. The only argument you can make is that 2012 represents the new Alexei.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Mar 11, 2013 -> 09:23 PM) I'm not a fan of him playing anywhere other than third until Beckham shows he should be in their plans for 2014. Plan B would be Morel at third, Keppinger at 2B. I agree with Caulfield, Carlos Sanchez should be plan B for Beckham this year. He fills more needs in the lineup (AVG & OBP) that Morel does. Honestly, I feel like we need to see if Morel can actually fill a reserve role down the road. That means demonstrating some positional flexibility. Might as well see if he can handle SS while he is at AAA.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Mar 11, 2013 -> 08:46 PM) Rather see Morel at Charlotte to see if his back can withstand the rigors of playing every day. Agree, plus it would give Morel a chance to play more SS.

QUOTE (baseball17 @ Mar 11, 2013 -> 07:26 PM) Isn't Septimo out of options? Yep, so we'll have to hope he clears waivers, which I'd say is 50/50. I know some people on this site hate him, but the kid has nasty stuff and would at least be welcome AAA depth.

QUOTE (Jake @ Mar 11, 2013 -> 06:52 PM) I'm predicting Gimenez gets cut and they keep Morel as super-utility. So Anderson as the backup catcher?