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QUOTE (shysocks @ Mar 4, 2016 -> 01:29 PM) Third and final part. Sale at 12, and for once there's a pitcher ahead of him - Archer at 11. Can't get too upset with that given the two extra years Archer's deal has, but still doesn't quite feel right. Sale's just better. http://www.si.com/mlb/2016/03/04/mlb-trade...rankings-part-3 That two years is a BIG deal, though.

QUOTE (PolishPrince34 @ Mar 4, 2016 -> 02:09 PM) CBS Sports reporting White Sox interested and talking with Rockies/Carlos Gonzalez and Reds/Jay Bruce. Hard to believe they can make a deal without absorbing enough money that they should have just signed Jackson/offered more to Fowler. Seems like they're HIGHLY prioritizing this person being a lefty platoon-partner with Avi, whereas we (the fans) are okay with Avi primarily platooning with LaRoche.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Mar 4, 2016 -> 01:03 PM) What in the f*** is Levine writing here? Hahaha He also used the wrong form of the word "tail" in Frazier's quote. This guy.

What a f***ing joke.

Johnny Danks batting practice

Sucks watching Avi obviously try to work the count, but just get taken apart by Kershaw there. Not really fair.

QUOTE (JoshPR @ Mar 3, 2016 -> 11:32 AM) So he had a nad season and had almost 80 RBI's. What would he have done in a good season Well, that would depend entirely on where he'd be batting in the order and how everyone else did around him.

QUOTE (shysocks @ Mar 3, 2016 -> 09:59 AM) I'll keep arguing that Josh Phegley sucks for the rest of my life if I have to. I'll write it on his Hall of Fame plaque. lol, same.

Frazier's attitude/rhetoric remind me a bit of Jim Thome.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Mar 1, 2016 -> 12:57 PM) You are correct, in 2014 he was a gold glove finalist. UZR had him as a top 10 in the league defensive CF. In 2015 he was quite bad. Not terrible, but bad is an appropriate description - UZR had him as the 3rd worst qualifying CF in the big leagues. It certainly remains possible for him to return to his 2014 form. However, counting on that to rescue a defense that is generally terrible around him seems dicey, especially when he's already dealing with injury rehab. But we'll see. Maybe there's a coaching issue there somewhere? He was benched for a day last year while not listening to the coaches regarding positioning. QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Mar 1, 2016 -> 01:10 PM) Oh, I'm not banking on it. Austin Jackson still makes the most sense, because I feel like Eaton would excel in RF as he does have a strong arm. I believe Eaton will be serviceable wherever we put him. But damn, he would look so more "serviceable" flanking a true plus-CF then he would sandwiched between two statues.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Mar 1, 2016 -> 12:13 PM) The White Sox did a good job upgrading their infield defense during the season in 2015. How did that translate wins-wise? If they can be average, they will be fine if they score runs. One of the most exciting teams in the past 40 years was the 1977 Southside Hitmen. They may have had the one of the worst defensive teams ever assembled. QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Mar 1, 2016 -> 12:20 PM) And there were several WS Champs that weren't exactly stellar defenders. Paulie was decent, but no range, Iguchi was average, Pods couldn't throw, Dye was Dye, AJ not so great. As long as the team makes the plays it's supposed to make...I think sabermetrics makes a bit too much out of most defensive upgrades. There are days OFs really don't have to make a play. It's certainly a surmountable flaw, but that doesn't mean it doesn't matter. It would be incredibly refreshing if, just once, our team had a shot at being successful that didn't depend on literally EVERYTHING going as well as possible. I understand how difficult that actually is, and I'm along for the ride no matter what -- but it's really hard not to get frustrated when upgrades are freely available, but left sitting on a shelf.

QUOTE (ChiSox59 @ Mar 1, 2016 -> 11:20 AM) I hope Lawrie turns out to be better than "BAD" at 2B. I think he has it in him to be average to slightly above average with the glove. He was considered a great defensive 3B early in his career. That is, indeed, a "wild card" that seems to have a chance to turn out better than expected, and it would make a huge difference to the infield.

QUOTE (shysocks @ Mar 1, 2016 -> 10:49 AM) I am on the ledge with you. I was very hesitant after the Frazier trade because like many, I saw the Sox as a .500 team. I allowed myself to get sucked into the Gordon and Cespedes stuff, but sometime a few weeks ago I became resigned that Avi was going to be our starting right fielder. I think they intended to go big. And I don't want to be a broken record, but I'm about to be. They either misjudged the market or their capacity to take advantage of it. Same end result - terrible outfield. Hahn says he still expects to add before Opening Day, but why should I believe him? I don't expect us to sign Austin Jackson. I don't expect a meaningful trade to occur. I expect to watch a .500 team that needs a lot to go right to be good. Did that help? The most depressing thing he said, IMO, was a tidbit last week that didn't seem to jump out to anyone -- when talking about attendance, he said something like "the payroll figure is going to stay the same, so it didn't hurt us there." That, if true, means they do not intend to sign anyone of significance. Which, coupled with the fact that they added literally zero significant free agent salary this year, makes me think that the "big fish" were only ever going to be limited exceptions, and that Hahn was not actually working with much of any budget room to begin with. Frazier's salary is significant, but it was offset by losing Samardzija's. The catcher platoon adds up, but it's less than what they lost in Alexei. The directive of "turn your 75 win team into a contender without adding any net salary whatsoever" just does not seem like a sound line of thought to me.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Mar 1, 2016 -> 10:27 AM) That is NEVER the only explanation. Okay. I'll try again. Here's what I can come up with: 1. Being cheap 2. Extremely poor talent evaluation (Avi will be fine!) 3. Blackmail? Dissention in contract talks? 4. Hidden injury/other reason to believe player isn't as good as before. Only #4 makes the situation justifiable. But then it also makes the failure to acquire an alternative LESS justifiable. I don't want to feel this way, help me.

ZiPS came out yesterday, and August f**erstrom used it to point out how incredibly bad our OF defense looks, which reminded me that we didn't address it at all. Overall, we project to be 29th out of 30. http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/previewing-...-team-defenses/ LF - Melky; BAD CF - Eaton; Below average RF - Garcia; EXTRA BAD 1B - Abreu; BAD 2B - Lawrie; BAD SS - Saladino; Good! 3B - Frazier; Good! C - Avila/Navarro; Solid and improved. With Austin Jackson somehow still out there, and this team hurt so much by lacking what he does best, I just... I just can't believe this is what the lineup looks like. I want to believe that they're going to get this done. I mean, it's not like giving Jackson a two or three year deal is going to block ANYTHING coming up in the system, and what a difference it could make! The defense could instead look like (by the way, those assessments are my own; the projections actually make it look worse): LF - Melky; BAD CF - Jackson; Good! RF - Eaton; Probably average or above 1B - Abreu; BAD 2B - Lawrie; BAD SS - Saladino; Good! 3B - Frazier; Good! C - Avila/Navarro; Solid and improved. Crazy how much better that looks. Defense would still be the weakness of the team, but that group above is merely "below average." That feels like a state that may not sink the team. I really apologize for being a downer lately. You guys know it's not usually how I am. But I just don't GET this. The only explanation is that ownership is being cheap, and I just keep glancing to the corner of my room and seeing my pitchfork there, gleaming dangerously in the wan sunlight that filters through my half-drawn curtains. And just... why is this happening?

QUOTE (Swingandalongonetoleft @ Feb 29, 2016 -> 01:52 PM) I hate myself for clicking on a link to watch Leury Garcia hit a single and Adam Eaton ground out. Winter needs to end. Amen

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Feb 26, 2016 -> 12:24 PM) This was way worse last year. Garcia is really the only "black hole" in the lineup now. LaRoche is used vs just RHP has to be better and I don't expect Melky to be terrible. That being said, if LaRoche and Melky are terrible, the White Sox will probably finish in 5th again. As someone pointed out in the OF thread, adding even a reasonably okay full-time outfielder could have a surprisingly wide impact, as it gives LaRoche a platoon partner in Avi, in addition to removing Avi from full-time duty. Yeah, I think I'm finally totally on-board with adding Austin Jackson. If they do that, they'll have (technically) "addressed" every position of need from 2015.

Yeah, mix in some starts in RF for Avi to rest players, and that's a solution that pleases everyone to some extent.

http://neifi.co/the-marlins-depth-and-meas...ength/#more-261 Essentially, they project the Sox to lose nearly 5 wins this year simply by allowing black holes to exist, rather than replace them with 1 WAR-ish guys. This is the third worst figure in the MLB, behind only the Phillies and Braves. It's the worst figure in the AL by more than an entire win. I think the premise is a little flawed, because I think that 1 WAR-ish guys are harder/more costly to acquire than everyone seems to assume. But this illustrates the frustration many of us are expressing related to ignoring the corner OF spot despite the veritable cornucopia of available options at all price points. This also makes me cringe when i think about Adam LaRoche. He's gotta bounce back a bit, right? Right?

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Feb 26, 2016 -> 11:09 AM) Trick question, the answer is always Lyle Mouton. Touche!

Rollins - 10% Saladino - 8% Anderson - 1% Sanchez - 1% Beckham - 80%

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Feb 25, 2016 -> 07:03 PM) Sure, we could have kidnapped him and forced him to play for the Sox, or drastically overpaid a player after which you would be angry at the production to cost ratio, or the Sox could have magically become the favorite to win the World Series thereby attracting more players. All are legit strategies. The issue I've had is that, other than Justin Upton, I haven't seen any evidence that the Sox would have had to "drastically overpay" for any of the myriad corner OF options that they failed to acquire. I'm not saying that many of them didn't give hometown discounts, but you could have increased the winning price by 25-35% and still ended up with a contract that everyone would think was fair; 50% an ended up with "Welp, that's about right for free agency these days." And I believe that money is the number one factor when there's a difference of that much.

QUOTE (fathom @ Feb 25, 2016 -> 03:44 PM) David Kaplan ‏@thekapman 2h2 hours ago I have to tell you, I never saw this coming but the Cubs move speaks to the absolute class person that @dexterfowler is. Phenomenal guy. I wonder what Adam Jones thinks about this What? How? This move wasn't about wanting to stay in Chicago, it was about wanting to re-enter the free agent market in a better year for more money. Which is fine. I don't blame him. But GMAFB about this making Fwoler a "class person." Lol

One good thing about this year's list, in terms of the health of the system, is that we're not likely to see any significant graduations in 2016. Fulmer and Anderson will likely get September looks, but we should be going into 2017 with a lot more depth than we've had in a while.

QUOTE (Knackattack @ Feb 25, 2016 -> 03:33 PM) It's been said before, but the real frustration here is seeing Coghlan go to Oakland for peanuts, not Fowler signing elsewhere. Agreed -- another great fit off the table. If there's reason to be upset, it's about the aggregate result of the offseason OF "hunt," not any individual player.