Jerksticks

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Nov 5, 2010 -> 03:40 PM) Why should he care? Sarcasm? Anyway, in 2 years he can write his ticket anywhere. Why give up that opportunity and that flexibility? For a couple extra million this year and next? I just don't see the pressure on his side to complete an extension.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Nov 5, 2010 -> 08:53 AM) That's what I was saying (maybe in the other thread) about this being the other motivation. You want to know now, what Danks' intentions are. And if you're Danks, would you commit to a team that continually puts no run support behind you? He could easily have 15-20 more wins since he broke in.

QUOTE (scenario @ Nov 4, 2010 -> 08:37 PM) It's a good sign. He's facing better than average minor league pitching. Shows that he's maturing/developing as a hitter. Biggest stage of his life as well; pretty impressive.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Nov 4, 2010 -> 01:59 PM) He'd be a perfect fit for the rotating DH idea He is perfect for Ozzie ball. Switch hitting, 2 positions. If we signed him we could let both Tank, Flowers and VMart start every game for the first 2 months, with VMart eventually sliding to whichever position fails more!

QUOTE (elrockinMT @ Nov 4, 2010 -> 10:52 AM) Flowers is still a work in progres and needs to step it up a notch Big time. This should have been the easiest decision ever, but Flowers had to faceplant for a year.

QUOTE (Stan Bahnsen @ Nov 3, 2010 -> 08:58 PM) When I read this the first time, I seriously thought you were making a prediction on his strikeout total. I'm with you, though. Flowers will probably be a worse blackhole, at least early on, but I can live with that, I think. Haha 2 birds 1 stone. I'm sure Flowers would be worse at first but even if he hits .200 at least we save 4-6 million. Ughh but then we get even more right-handed. I dunno anymore. We have a really young team so maybe it's just natural to let the last few old guys walk and let the kids establish new leaders. I'm only worried about replacing PKs production, not AJs.

QUOTE (sircaffey @ Nov 3, 2010 -> 07:40 PM) Why are some assuming Morel is going to be the starting 3B? The Teahen extension if nothing else, wouldn't have been made if the organization had that much confidence in Morel as a starter for 2011 or 12. Teahen and his $10 mil is going to be starting at 3B, imo. Ahhh, I've decided that Teahen has never proven to be an everyday MLB player. He's not some vet that deserves his position because he lost it to injury. He's a P O S. I think KW should just chalk that one up as a whoopsies and move on.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Nov 3, 2010 -> 05:53 PM) Posey did have some very good mentoring, but he is a Joe Mauer-esque young phenom. Kinda hard to compare that to AJP. However AJ does handle a pitching staff quite well but without his offensive production he become a bench guy to me. Frankly I am willing to cut ties with him based on cost. No, very easy to compare that to AJP. AJ's entire value is based around this idea that he handles a pitching staff extremely well. So if this is something only a few catchers can do, then yea, maybe we should hang on to AJ as long as we can. But methinks differently. If rookie Posey can lead a staff to a WS Title then it places severe doubt in my mind about AJs value. He may just be an old catcher who can't hit or play defense, but he will trot out there 90% of games and not get hurt. Blah...gimme Flowers for 400k if this is the case. Pains me to say it but AJ might be the biggest blackhole on the team now.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Nov 3, 2010 -> 05:28 PM) Actually, that's a fairly long list of options. None of them are spectacular...but all of them could at least cover the position. Yea I'm just assuming that the infield is set for next year except at 1B and C. I think Morel is the guy, live or die, and our resources should be spent elsewhere. Man, Morel sure blew through the ranks rather quickly.

He can't throw a guy out and seems to be getting worse with the bat (although his 2009 makes it impossible for me to come to a real conclusion about his future hitting ability). If Buster Posey just won the world series as a rookie, what does that say about AJ's wonderful intangibles? Does Buster have that rare talent of calling a great game like AJ, or have we put too much emphasis on this trait? We've basically put OBP and defense on the backburner for AJ because of this wonderful "skill" of his. Granted Catcher is a hard spot to find production, so offensive stats need to be comparably weighted to other catchers. Fact remains: he can't throw anybody out, he's getting old, and that 2010 bat of his was pretty useless. He was my least favorite guy batting last year, almost cringe-worthy. I think catcher would be a wonderful spot to infuse some new blood. I'll take him back but I wouldn't prefer it.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Nov 3, 2010 -> 05:08 PM) Do you have any idea how bad the average numbers are for a #4 starter? Your typical #4 starter gives you something like 125 innings, 21 starts, and an ERA close to 5. Exactly. A guaranteed 200 IP of 4.00 ERA (but usually better) out of the #4 is amazing. Plus he's a wonderful change of pace from whoever pitches before and after him. If Buehrle were a pitch, he'd be a changeup.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Nov 3, 2010 -> 04:55 PM) Why would Mark approve that type of deal? No way he does. I only think there's 1 place he'd accept a trade to. He's our boy and he does amazing things sometimes. If I'm KW, there is always a rotation spot for MB; he's an above average #4-#5.

Ultimately I think you are right in that teams probably have little interest in Escobar at the moment. Any GM can look at the same stats we can. All I'm saying is that if some GM has Flowers-like interest in Escobar, there should be no hesitation. We could be looking at his peak value.

I would totally trade Escobar if some GM asked about him. It's like a reverse Flowers. If Escobar's bad bat gets exposed even more next season his value becomes toast. I see your point that he could develop even further with the bat and increase his value, but I wouldn't gamble that way, especially if another GM now covets him. There's absolutely no right or wrong opinion on that. It's a gamble either way.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Nov 3, 2010 -> 12:03 AM) Depends on the season he has next year, but if it's similar, I would guess around $4-5 mill. The next year he will be due about $6-7 mill, and then beyond that he's a free agent. That's what makes Escobar all the more likely to be traded. Ramirez is the closest infielder the Sox have to being a free agent, and he's 3 years away. That is a time where dealing from a position of strength absolutely makes sense. Assuming Williams finds someone who values Escobar, I don't think there is any chance he is in the White Sox organization next year. Now is absolutely the time to trade Escobar if only because Saladino probably passes him sometime next season.

I don't think KW will throw left over money at RF. I'm seeing a significant move there. Or another CF to slide Rios over. I'm totally cool with Rios playing CF for the length of his contract though; I'd actually prefer that because that would mean a stronger bat is in right.

QUOTE (J.Reedfan8 @ Nov 2, 2010 -> 06:56 PM) Well it's not like Alexei is a baby. We'll see in time. I know you love Eduardo though. What do you think Alexei's arbitration numbers are going to look like?

Not saying you said this, but I think it needs to be said: Trading one of our starters for a huge bat does not hurt this ball club or put us into rebuild mode. I feel like I've bought in to the company line that our SP is our strength and we should not compromise it at any cost. While it is nice to have a team with 5 dominant starters, the fact remains that teams win the world series each an every year without 5 greats. Balance is the key to most things in life... What's wrong with trading a SP and just signing Garcia again? I hate that I can't remember any laugher-games from last year. I can remember countless 7IP 1 ER performances that ended in no decisions though. We've had a bad offense for 5 years now.

QUOTE (3E8 @ Oct 31, 2010 -> 02:14 PM) There was no significant improvement in his walk rate the longer he stayed at AA. Whatever minimal improvement there was meant his walk rate was going from non-existent to well below average. AA walks by month (non-intentional) May - 3 June - 9 July - 4 August -4 Taking walks simply is not going to be a part of Viciedo's game, he is and always will be a free-swinger. His status as a prospect is lessened because of that. Agree. His status is also increased because he can hit balls hard that nobody else can even hit.

What I find interesting is outside of his 5 game 1 for 19 in August the kid had some pretty ridiculous stats. His OPS is like a 1.000 I know sample sizes, sample sizes, but he did crush the heck outa the ball. And as a 21 year old? Where are most 21 year olds..A-AA ball? Yea he doesn't have good discipline but he can actually hit really bad pitches; remember that shoe-string homer? You can't use the plate discipline argument for him like you would most players, as he seems like somewhat of a unique case.

Look in your crystal ball and predict Tank's future, especially next year. I personally think he's KW's boy and will be our backup 1B and half a DH combo. I think his bat is ready but where do you fall in all of this? More seasoning in AAA?

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Oct 30, 2010 -> 05:51 AM) He's put up a .231/.411/.478/.890 line with RISP in his career. Which is a better sample size - 1707 PAs or 191 PAs? He's put up a .214/.429/.443/.872 line with RISP and 2 outs in his career. He's walked more than he's struck out in those situations. Which is a better sample size - 771 PAs or 90 PAs? Yes, his average is low, because he does not hit for average. His OBP is higher with RISP w/ 2 outs because teams won't pitch to him unless they have a definitive advantage in that circumstance, hence the 9 IBBs this past year and the 69 IBBs in those situations throughout his career. Food for thought - Konerko is a career .284/.372/.479/.851 hitter with RISP in his career (2109 PAs) and a .236/.348/.415/.763 hitter with RISP w/ 2 outs in his career (976 PAs), and teams are obviously not afraid to go after him considering he only has 27 IBBs in his career in those situations (again, Dunn has 69). The first is worse than Dunn, and the second is considerably worse than Dunn. If you suggest that Dunn isn't a great offensive player, then Paul Konerko isn't either. Totally agree. I just fail to see how signing Dunn over Konerko is an upgrade; slightly better offense in theory with WAY worse defense. There's no way he picks balls as well as Paulie so the entire infield takes a step back too..sorry Buehrle. Add to that the fact that we have to sign him for more money, more years and lose our draft pick. No thanks, let's resign the captain. Let the cubs have Dunn.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Oct 29, 2010 -> 08:57 PM) Prince Fielder is not a FA This doesn't matter at all for his point. Moving the conversation forward...I'd like to resign PK simply because our offense would be awful without him. I think Tank is our future 1B and I would love if he backed up PK next year and was 1 half of a GOOD DH tandem.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Oct 28, 2010 -> 11:22 AM) Adam Dunn's career numbers close and late: 47 HR, .858 OPS. High leverage: 77 HR, 925 OPS. Career OPS in Extra innings: 1.291. You can make a case that he isn't that great in the 8th and 9th innings overall, but the close and late stats and the leverage-stats suggest he'll do damage when it counts. The one thing taht will hurt him is that he has an .817 career OPS against LHP, which is good but nothing like the damage he does against righties. The "40 garbage time home runs" line makes you look worse than Adam Dunn's defense. Not really. He hit .217/.335/.427/.762 with RISP this year, and a paltry .169/.344/.366/.710 with RISP and 2 out- add to that a total of almost 100 strikeouts in those 2 situations. Those are the stats that count to me. He's not a horrible offensive player, he just isn't great. His defense IS horrible. I'd take PK any day of the week over that dude.

Ok, so where is the BIG offensive upgrade though? We need more than Nick Johnson. It seems we have RF 1B DH and C to address, so where do Quentin, PK, Viciedo fit in next year if we add Johnson? The same team plus Johnson is not good enough and I hate that we don't have a spot for Viciedo's bat.