Quin

The Rangers had Yosemite Sam?

Kinda cool.

QUOTE (SoxFan562004 @ Jan 14, 2014 -> 03:34 PM) What's Kershaw's contract status? If he doesn't have a team friendly extension they are going to have to pony up major for him. In theory I agree with Rogers (gross to type that), but they may have to have another mega/record breaking deal with Kershaw soon if that's not already sewed up. A team can only do so many mega deals, and Kershaw is worth 1000 times more to them than Tanaka.

Sign him to a minor league deal. I'd love to see him do well again.

Cy Young 2014

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jan 13, 2014 -> 10:39 PM) http://sports.yahoo.com/news/why-los-angel...00213--mlb.html A lot of the same reasons for the Angels not signing Tanaka would seem to apply to the White Sox at this point as well...both teams are at least one year away from being in a realistic position to take on a contract like that with all the other weaknesses both teams have across the board in terms of being "playoff worthy" teams. Biggest difference: The Sox don't have 3 albatross contracts and don't have to worry about extending the best player in baseball.

It's worth noting that while other teams have expressed interest and all that, the Sox are the only team to have confirmed meeting with him. I find that interesting.

QUOTE (Baron @ Jan 13, 2014 -> 09:59 PM) Mike DiGiovanna ‏@MikeDiGiovanna 1h GM Jerry Dipoto confirms that #Angels were not one of the teams that met with Japanese RHP Masahiro Tanaka in LA last week. https://twitter.com/MikeDiGiovanna But the Angels were one of the favorites.

QUOTE (Real @ Jan 13, 2014 -> 07:29 PM) do people really think Jerry would allocate this much money to a pitcher? a pitcher whos never thrown a single pitch in the MLB? just seems extremely unlikely to me Considering he was part of the meeting with Tanaka, yes.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Jan 13, 2014 -> 06:05 PM) So funny that someone went with Kosuke Fukudome. He was on the team at that point.

QUOTE (PlaySumFnJurny @ Jan 13, 2014 -> 04:32 PM) Southpaw would make him its b****. Waldo the White Sox > Southpaw.

"Dr. Sphincter Rumpczek" Ok, I dunno about AJ. Any guesses?

West Coast = Yankees favorites. Got it.

Baseball stadiums are so cool. They almost always seem to have such a unique character. I wish old ones didn't get torn down.

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Jan 12, 2014 -> 10:29 PM) Gillaspie and De Aza for a scrub Keppinger for Muprhy. Somehow.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jan 12, 2014 -> 06:45 PM) What on earth are you talking about here? Translation: If the Yankees sign Tanaka, we still have a better staff in the playoffs.

QUOTE (Jake @ Jan 12, 2014 -> 06:50 PM) Abreu's worst strikeout year in Cuba was 2%, which is just a tick below MLB average. This was when he was 21 years old. In the four years since, he has struck out at a 10.9% rate. I would expect it to go up some now that he won't be getting intentionally walked in 10% of his at-bats. Alexei's and Dayan's K and BB numbers are not much different in the MLB than they were in Cuba, FWIW EDIT: Dunn has to strike out at about 29%-33% clip, depending on playing time, to strike out 200 times I'm guessing that's 20%?

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Jan 12, 2014 -> 05:36 PM) The fastest path to the Sox contending is to leverage Sale's contract to put together a dominant starting rotation. Signing Tanaka and drafting Hoffman/Kolek is a plan that could do just that. I agree with this, thought I view Hoffman/Kolek as the eventual Danks replacement or trade bait.

QUOTE (Paulstar @ Jan 12, 2014 -> 03:40 PM) If he was signed by the Yankees or Red Sox people would be predicting him being ROY, greatest cuban player ever, blah blah blah. If he's a 140+ K guy with no plate discipline, I sincerely doubt Hahn and the White Sox would have given him the contract they did. High K rates and no plate discipline is exactly the opposite of what Hahn has shown as GM thus far. I'm guessing the White Sox view him to turn into more of a Konerko during his prime type than a Mark Reynolds type. Basically. He'd be an MVP candidate if he was signed by the Yankees, Red Sox, Angels, Dodgers, etc. I expect around .280/.350 and about 35 bombs.

QUOTE (The Ultimate Champion @ Jan 12, 2014 -> 03:36 PM) One last thing too: Let's say the Yankees sign Tanaka. The Sox make the playoffs as a WildCard in 2015. The Yankees play the Sox and start Tanaka in Game 1 vs. Sale. Are we somehow destined to lose that game? If we start Quintana #2 against CC, are we destined to lose that one, too? Or maybe we get another RHSP in that period, starting him in Game 2 and Q in Game 3. Are we destined to lose that serious, or are we destined to have a s***ty rotation or else get out-pitched and beaten in the playoffs just because we don't have Tanaka? Thinking with your brain and not your dick helps at times. Sale vs. CC Tanaka vs. Kuroda Quintana vs. Nova Danks vs. Phelps Johnson vs. Pineda Looks a lot easier than if the Yanks had Tanaka. But I'm more concerned with the Tigers... Sale vs. Scherzer Quintana vs. Verlander Danks vs. Sanchez Johnson vs. Porcello Rienzo/Paulino/Surkamp vs. Smyly We're pretty even for the first two match ups, but then once we hit Danks they gain the upperhand. If Tanaka pitches like a Contreras, than all of the sudden we start winning the match ups more often than not.

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Jan 12, 2014 -> 03:07 PM) http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2014/01/masa...medium=facebook Elliott's source also outlined what Tanaka will be seeking from potential suitors. "Tanaka wants to go to a World Series, wants a city where his family will feel at home since they don’t speak English. He has a desire to be on a team with potential to win and loves the pressure." Chicago fulfills that. I feel like it depends if the Sox can sell him on Sale/Q/JDA/Avi/Eaton/Davidson being the core of a contender.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Jan 12, 2014 -> 01:28 AM) I had it at .00001% days ago. Im shocked by their interest. I knew they were looking for money to sign someone, it may just be this guy. Same. I held onto it as a pipe dream, but this seems like the Sox are gonna go as hard as they can for him.

Paulie. Just Paulie.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Jan 12, 2014 -> 12:02 AM) Ill put it out here so my box doesnt keep filling up. I've heard from my contacts that the Sox think they may be able to afford him, however it it breaks 20 mil annually, they are out. Holy s***.

At Soxfest. And boom, there he is.