Chicago White Sox

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jul 15, 2010 -> 01:04 PM) This is essentially my point, but to a lesser degree. The Sox top 4 starters are very solid...Danks and Floyd are clearly the top 2, and Buehrle and Garcia are clearly the next 2. By acquiring Oswalt, you are adding another dynamite starter - that much is clear. But is the upgrade from a 4.50 ERA (a hypothetical Hudson ERA) to a 3.25 ERA (for Oswalt) going to be worth more than the upgrade from the Sox current DHs (.233/.305/.425/.729) to a player who can put up .270/.350/.500/.850? Is it also going to be worth it to spend $58.5 mill (give or take a million or so) on the rotation next year when the payroll is going to be $100 mill at the most, or would it be better to acquire a rental player such as LaRoche or Dunn (with Dunn also netting compensatory picks...I believe LaRoche would be a Type A too, but the Sox wouldn't offer arbitration because his 2011 option jumps to $9.5 mill if he's traded, so the Sox would just buy it out and let him go) and have no financial strings attached going into next offseason? To me, this is an absolute no brainer. I agree completely with the financial considerations you speak of. However, I think the question of whether a bat or pitcher is more valuable isn't so simple. I feel that sticking with Hudson as our #5 and getting a legit bat helps us more during the regular season, but I think getting a pitcher like Oswalt would be much more valuable than a improved DH come playoff time. Therefore, I think the question becomes do you roll the dice with an extra starting pitcher and hope you have enough offense to win the division? I personally hate the thought of Mark Kotsay getting another start at DH, but I feel like KW is willing to sacrafice some offense for a potentially dominating rotation come playoff time.

QUOTE (ChiSox_Sonix @ Jul 14, 2010 -> 08:46 AM) You leave him in Charlotte and call him up when rosters expand. Then we can see who does better between the two for if (when!) we make the playoffs. I'm not so sure it works that way. Don't you have to be on the 25 man Roster at the end of August to be eligible for the playoffs (short of an injury)?

I think Morel is the most likely to be dealt. He may be the centerpiece of a smaller deal or part of a package of a larger deal. Hudson only goes in a deal for a starting pitcher. I see KW dealing him only if the starter being acquired is locked up through 2011. If we're acquiring a true impact player, then Flowers will be part of the package IMO (along with Morel and/or Hudson plus others). I think KW views Viceido as untouchable.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jul 14, 2010 -> 07:50 AM) Here is my question... Let's say Erik Threets actually does well with the Sox (if he doesn't, this is a really easy equation). With Thornton and a solid Threets in the bullpen, do you leave Sale in AAA to develop for 2011? Or promote Sale anyway? I think if Threets does well, then Sale will be stuck in AAA until September. However, when rosters expand and the Knights season ends, I see no reason not to bring up Sale to be strictly a LOOGY, assuming he has some success in AAA.

I wonder why Carlos Torres was used out of the pen?

I really think a deal like Berkman for Morel, Santeliz, & Upchurch would make sense for the Astros. Pedro Feliz is the Astros' current 3B and he sucks and will be a free agent after the season. Morel is playing well of late and could possibly be their opening day starter at 3B next year. Santeliz is a pretty solid relief prospect who might be able to help them at some point next year (although he's been struggling for us in AAA so far). Upchurch is a young arm with some potential. This is by no means a great package and these specific players might not be enough, but I really think something similar could be enough to get Berkman if we cover most of his salary.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Jul 10, 2010 -> 12:41 AM) I'll end my life if we sign Redick. Can somebody give me a non-violent/painful suicide option? What would you rather do with our cap space?

QUOTE (bulokis @ Jul 10, 2010 -> 12:26 AM) Hope Magic do match the offer. That's a lot of money to give to Reddick. One thing the bulls need to do is not to overpay for some players. Why? If JR is willing to pay the luxury tax, then why does it matter? The NBA rewards teams for signing bad contracts. I see no reason not to use all of our cap space. Worst case scenario, the expiring contracts will help us down the road.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jul 9, 2010 -> 11:03 AM) I think its a very good comparison, but apparently we disagree. And you'll note the real comparison was Miranda in A ball, vs Silverio in Rookie Ball. I'd put him in the 30-40 range in the current system. And I am still highly skeptical of his age. Well if he is in fact older, then I agree with you on his ranking. I'm just not sure what to believe regarding his age.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Jul 9, 2010 -> 10:17 AM) Nah, Lee and Sabathia yes, but the other two, no. Yup and anything can happen in a f***ing 5 game series. I hate this premature "it's already over" bulls***. We can worry about the Yankees if we make the playoffs.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jul 9, 2010 -> 07:35 AM) Let's put Silverio's performance in perspective with a comparison. He's 19 this season, started in Low A where he was awful (.128/.169/.218/.387, 19 K vs 2 BB in 78 AB), then got sent to GF. Now he's raking at GF. In 2007, we drafted a 20 year old shortstop named Sergio Miranda. Miranda was a year older (or maybe not older at all), and without the benefit of multiple years of professional development under his belt, ALSO raked at GF, then did well in Low A his first year. 2nd year, struggled at High A, went back down and raked at Low A, and then basically fell into minor league obscurity in the Brewers organization. I guess I'm saying, since the guy is probably at LEAST 20, and has a couple years of minor league work under his belt, he really should be raking in Great Falls. And he apparently wasn't yet ready for A ball. He's not among my Top 25 prospects in the organization right now. I don't get the comparison to Sergio Miranda at all. Silverio was a Latin America signing with good offensive tools, while Miranda was a 13th round draft pick out of college with no power. Also, Miranda only had 28 at-bats at Great Falls in 2007, so comparing those numbers to Silverio's seems a bit unfair. Additionally, this notion of "professional development" under Silverio's belt makes no sense to me. He spent last season in the DSL and the year before as a 17 year old in Bristol. How does this give him a clear advantage in terms of development over Miranda who got to spend a couple years in college? One more thing, where would you rate Silverio (rough range) in our system? I mean, it's not like we have a wealth of high-upside guys, so he's got to be close to top 25 IMO.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan101 @ Jul 7, 2010 -> 09:54 AM) Well if you use a bunch of money to sign Boozer or Lee, you're stuck firmly in the NBA mediocre 5-8 seed range in the east position. I agree the Bulls had no choice but to blow it up and hope for a marquee guy, and you're also right that you can't compound your failures with the big 3 by forcing a bad signing. So what are you proposing then? At some point we'll need to lock up Rose and Noah. The key to this entire offseason was having cap space available to sign a couple marquee free agents before we have to give out any extensions. We might have another offseason where this is possible, but at some point in the near future this cap space will be gone. Personally, I don't see any problem in overpaying for Boozer or Lee. We desperately need a offensive-minded PF and I don't see what other options we have.

There's no way in hell LeBron goes to Miami. It's just not going to happen for many reasons. The fact that we haven't heard s*** about the Bulls gives me some hope we may still be in the LeBron sweepstakes. You would think the Bulls would act quickly on Boozer/Lee if the big 3 are all gone.

It's probably just a coincidence but I find it interesting that the day we find out Bosh won't play in Cleveland is the same day LeBron announces when he'll be making his decision.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Jul 6, 2010 -> 10:42 AM) Noah + Deng for Turkoglu and Bosh. Bosh gets that extra $30 million later on. His salary this year would be the normal max, or $30% of the cap ($17.1 million). Turkoglu made $9 million last year and I think that he should make a similar figure this year. So you save $2 million from Deng. Noah makes $2.5 million. So you take about $4.5 million off your remaining cap. That's be enough for a Wade. Wade is not going to sign with us for less than Bosh. IMO, if Bosh will only do a S&T then there is no possibility of getting two of LeBron/Wade/Bosh. We'd have to do two S&T's and we don't have enough players on our roster to do so. Right now, you got to hope that Wade or LeBron will decide Chicago is in their best interest and will directly sign with us. That might leave enough money to sign Boozer or Lee without making any other moves.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jul 6, 2010 -> 09:42 AM) He's still my top choice, but others will disagree. His 2010 numbers have been sub-par, but he's turned it on a bit lately. He can be had for a more reasonable price than Dunn, the Astros would be happy to get him off their books for the year. And I think he still has a lot of power and OBP capability that will show up beyond his year's numbers. I agree completely. I'd love to have a true impact bat like Fielder, but if I'm going to roll the dice, I'd take my chances with Berkman over LaRoche. If we eat the majority of his remaining salary, we should be able to get him without giving up Viciedo, Flowers, or Hudson.

QUOTE (scenario @ Jun 30, 2010 -> 08:29 AM) Trading Beckham for Dunn would be beyond ridiculous. Why is it that any player who has a bad half-season automatically turns into dogsh** in some fans eyes? That would be a f***ing stupid trade. Beckham is a young player who's already had success in the majors. Even if this season is a complete waste, I'm very confident he'll be a very productive player next year and should continue to improve over the coming years. He's got a legitimate chance of being a top 5 2B and is under team control for 5 more seasons. You do not trade him for a rental and a couple of draft picks who may never amount to anything.

QUOTE (flavum @ Jun 24, 2010 -> 10:26 PM) Cubs had a 13-inning game today in Seattle. Good for us. Too bad they didn't lose, that would have been quite the demoralizing flight home.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jun 24, 2010 -> 11:50 AM) Why would Dunn cost less? He's essentially the same exact player as Fielder, apparently doesn't want to be traded, the Nats don't want to trade him, the Nats want to sign him to an extension, and he's a Type A free agent. He's probably going to cost the exact same as Fielder. I disagree. I think Fielder is going to cost a lot more. He's the bigger name and has been a huge part of that franchise for years now. Trading Fielder when he has a year left on his contract would really piss off Brewers fans and could have a negative impact on ticket sales. Honestly, I think Melvin holds on to Fielder at least until the offseason unless he is absolutely blown away.

QUOTE (SoxAce @ Jun 22, 2010 -> 11:37 PM) I actually like him used more than just utility, but I think he should play less 3B and more DH with his bat, though I don't know about Quentin too. (mostly cause his defense in RF hasn't been very good also) I like Teahen, and think he gets a bad rap at times... reminds me of the Swisher hate actually. I agree he's gotten a bad rap, but he's not a plus offensive player. The only position where his bat might be acceptable is at 3B, but unfortunately his defense has not been up to par there. I'm not completely giving up on the guy at 3B just yet, but he's definitely not an everyday 1B or DH. That's not to say he wouldn't be a better DH option than Mark Kotsay right now, I just hope for god's sake we find a better DH and 1B option for next season.

QUOTE (SoxAce @ Jun 22, 2010 -> 11:21 PM) So your saying DH work with the occasional 3B every now and then? Works for me. He's got some value in a utlity role like your proposing, assuming you have several right-handed hitters at the corners, just not enough to warrent his contract. Unfortunately, I'm worried Kenny will peg him as a regular.

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Jun 22, 2010 -> 07:26 PM) That's my fault forgot to add on the 3 hits. He's 3 for 20 not 3 for 17. 3/20 (15%) on bunts this season. You don't know how much higher his average would be without those bunts?

QUOTE (scenario @ Jun 22, 2010 -> 10:04 AM) Torres has a 2.15 ERA over his last 10 appearances (62 2/3 innings)... Including 7 quality starts...(In fact, during 5 of these starts he has given up 1 run or less.) And has only given up 2 homeruns during the 10-games. I don't care what people say about his stuff, he should be in our bullpen next season as our long reliever / spot starter.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Jun 21, 2010 -> 11:29 AM) Notwithstanding the fact that the Reds will probably use Alonso themselves as a piece to fill one of their own holes. If you haven't noticed, they're kind of in the thick of things themselves... Good point and I just don't see them moving Votto to LF to get Alonso into the lineup. I think your spot-on in that he's their key trading chip at this year's deadline.

QUOTE (docsox24 @ Jun 21, 2010 -> 10:51 AM) why would you even want him in your plans Oh I agree completely, but I think he'll make the decision easy for KW/Ozzie by retiring.