Eminor3rd

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jan 4, 2016 -> 10:27 AM) I appreciate John Danks more than most, but there is virtually no chance he is on the 2017 roster. While, yes, his rank as a qualified pitcher has left a lot to be desired, if you look at teams' 5th starter position, they use a lot of non qualified guys. I doubt many teams get much more out of their #5 starter than the White Sox. But even if he is better than he is been, he would become a 5 and 10 guy in 2017, giving him full trade protection. The White Sox save that for guys like Buehrle and Konerko and Fisk, not Johnny Danks. He's a goner unless he wants to pitch for total reclamation project money on a 1 year deal. Agreed. This season is his chance to pitch back up to mid-rotation consideration. If he does, he could sign a Happ contract like someone said. If not though, the opportunity cost of locking a 5th starter into your rotation is higher than merely his salary, because you want to give those innings to rookies with upside who are getting acclimated to the majors. Without some improvement, he's going to be seen as a stopgap, which means he'll sign late in the offseason or early at a very low and possibly incentives-based deal. If the White Sox end up giving him that deal, it probably means something went wrong -- either injuries or failed development of younger guys.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Jan 1, 2016 -> 02:23 PM) Wat

75 - 80 wRC+ w/ +8 Defensive runs saved = ~1.0 - 1.5 WAR

QUOTE (GreenSox @ Dec 18, 2015 -> 03:53 PM) Agree. And, frankly, same with Laroche and his salary. and if you're going to move Robertson, move him when teams were hot for a late inning guy; big prices were paid for those pitchers (albeit the prices were paid in *shudder* prospects). Pitching also seems to be the most inflated asset at the deadline.

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/nate-jones-...all-smart-deal/

If we get rid of Robertson, we would then be in the market for late-inning relief pitching. As I've said before, if one dude's $12m salary gets in the way of signing a $100m+ player, then JR needs to sell the franchise and get into another line of work.

QUOTE (flavum @ Dec 18, 2015 -> 12:03 PM) I did something? Just sayin', two major injuries in short amount of time. That was a lot of time and effort to come back from those injuries. And that amount of money won't cripple the Sox playroll. Good for him and his career. He hurt his butt, remember?

QUOTE (blackmooncreeping @ Dec 18, 2015 -> 11:17 AM) What would it take to get Dickerson or Blackmon? Is there any word on their specific market? The media is strange on this -- IMO, both of those guys should cost more to acquire than CarGo. And I feel like the teams would feel the same way.

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Dec 18, 2015 -> 12:49 AM) Wait a minute, that's not really Avi! It is, it's just Sunday uniforms, man.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Dec 17, 2015 -> 09:37 PM) I love this. They're from Cuba so they must be besties, eh? I guess every Domincan or even every American needs to get along? Abreu's arrival certainly helped Alexei mash! Thank you

QUOTE (Dam8610 @ Dec 18, 2015 -> 12:03 AM) Isn't Melky the worse fielder? Also, I suppose Cespedes could play RF and take your pick between Melky and Avi in LF. Also, LaRoche goes to the bench or Charlotte in this scenario. Worse than Avi? Here's a gif of Avi playing RF last season, I ripped from mlb.tv:

I know it seems like it should happen intuitively, but there's no evidence that guys get pitched differently with/without protection. It's been studied a lot.

QUOTE (SoxPride18 @ Dec 17, 2015 -> 04:24 PM) Crazy thought here: Sign OF Yoenis Cespedes 5 years/110 million Trade SP Erik Johnson, SS Tim Anderson, SP Spencer Adams and OF Adam Engel to the A's for SP Sonny Gray CF Adam Eaton LF Melky Cabrera 1B Jose Abreu 3B Todd Frazier RF Yoenis Cespedes DH Adam LaRoche 2B Brett Lawrie C Alex Avila/Dioner Navarro SS Tyler Saladino SP Chris Sale SP Sonny Gray SP Jose Quintana SP Carlos Rodon SP John Danks Have 3 picks in top 50 in the next draft. I don't think that gets you Gray. Certainly, other teams could beat it.

QUOTE (pettie4sox @ Dec 17, 2015 -> 03:19 PM) How do you fail a physical? They look at your shoulder and decide they don't like what they see.

We need to add an impact bat to the lineup somewhere. Simultaneously, we need to NOT degrade the defense. Resources are limited. I think it's easier/more cost-effective to achieve our goal by upgrading RF and living with the light-hitting, glove focused Saladino than it is to find a difference-maker at SS.

QUOTE (GreenSox @ Dec 15, 2015 -> 10:29 AM) Actually I didn't. I said they both strike out a lot. The difference, of course, is that you guys want to ravage the farm system and throw the same horrid outfield defense out there. Frazier's best OBP was .336. Last year it was .309, to accompany his .669 second half OPS. And yet you guys want to trade serious assets for that. How many times do we have to load up with low OBP ballplayers? Sure Chris Carter is high K low OBP. His 25 homers are also FREE. They won't hurt the club long term. Adding Frazier would maul it. Who's the last hitter that improved with the Sox. I'll tell - Eaton and Quentin. Common denominator? YOUNG and we traded equal value for YOUNG players. That's actually worked. So what do the Sox do when an approach works? Dump it in the trashcan and go after "proven veterans" again, an approach that has consistently failed. What exactly would Frazier add? A good bat? Maybe. Could be a mediocre bat if we follow what has happened in the past with these NL sluggers. Defense? Nope. We fixed that with Lawrie. Yes, he's average at best overall but it's stable. (and yes, some want to move him to 2nd to squeeze out the promising Sanchez at 2nd for a proven mediocre player). Does OF defense improve? Nope. Package will likely include Trayce and we're back to the same clowning we had last year. Heck if we do nothing, we're much better defensively than we were last year and if we use the players correctly, we'd have a plus defensive team. That was a big weakness last year. But you can't watch defense on home run derby. You're all over the place here, man. This is some really high-level cherry picking. If Todd Frazier is garbage SOLELY because of his 2015 second-half OPS -- ignoring that he's a career 113 wRC+ hitter who averages north of 3 wins a year INCLUDING his 0.7 fWAR rookie year -- you can't then call Carlos Sanchez a "promising second baseman" in the same post, ignoring that he's a career 60 wRC+ hitter (a CAREER .590 OPS, not random seasons split magic there) who has been below replacement level the entire time he's been in the MLB. Sanchez doesn't even provide more defensive value. I'm not saying Sanchez will never be decent, but he is NOT the kind of guy you alter plans for.

QUOTE (GreenSox @ Dec 15, 2015 -> 10:07 AM) Melky and his .710 Ops = 7 hole hitter As for Frazier, if rents, low OBP and high K acquaint ion philosophy repeatedly fails, keep doing it until it work. Again, this is all predicated on Melky regressing toward his career averages.

Rose made his decisions and must now face the consequences. I think Manfred was spot on regarding him working in baseball -- the guy is simply too much of a threat to the integrity of a game where competitive balance and fairness are paramount. The Hall of Fame discussion, though, is more about "penance" to me. The more I think about it, the more I'm softening -- he has been and will always carry the shame of being banned from the game for his proclivities (he'll be remembered for it long after he dies) regardless of his induction into the HOF. I don't see a point in pretending his hitting was somehow tainted and unworthy of enshrinement. His playing career belongs in the HOF; he absolutely still deserves to be banned from baseball and should continue to be ashamed.

QUOTE (Lillian @ Dec 15, 2015 -> 09:33 AM) You're right. Sanchez batting in the 2 hole is really more wishful thinking, on my part. It is where he as had his best success in the Minors, and if he matures into a decent MLB hitter, that is probably the best place in the lineup for him to hit. However, as you point out, it's too early to project that future success. Therefore, let's readdress the focus on finding that prototypical 2 hole hitter, who does not appear to be on the current Sox Roster. Yeah, that's why I think I would have been cool with breaking the bank for Heyward. Aside from having two lefties at 1 and 2, I would have been very comfortable watching him in that slot for the next several years.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Dec 15, 2015 -> 09:37 AM) Eaton is great leading off. His steals aren't great but he gets on base and was according to Bill James, the White Sox best baserunner in 2015. There is no reason to move him. I hope they try Melky back at the 2 spot. He supposedly was perfect for it until he couldn't buy a hit for a couple of months. This is what I think. Of all the guys on our roster, Melky fits there best, he just simply has to have a better year.

Post-steroid era aging curves are different, guys. Players are peaking much sooner. Also, not every guy is the same. Upton's age is an advantage because it doesn't seem likely to be affected by age-related decline soon, but we need to stop pretending he's a lock to improve the next few years just because he isn't 30 yet.

QUOTE (OmarComing25 @ Dec 15, 2015 -> 07:34 AM) I just looked at Fangraphs' 2016 team projections and they have the Sox at 2nd in the division right now at 32.7 WAR, 5.2 WAR behind the Indians, and that's with a decent amount of regression from Abreu, Eaton, and Quintana. Picking up Upton and Frazier would put them at first in the ALC in projected WAR. However, it looks like once again the projection system undervalues the Royals, as they're dead last in the AL in projected WAR. http://www.fangraphs.com/depthcharts.aspx?position=Team They also lost Cueto, Gordon, and Rios, who were probably projected for ~10 WAR as a group.

QUOTE (Lillian @ Dec 14, 2015 -> 08:42 PM) If the Sox don't acquire a SS, I'd be more comfortable trying Sanchez in the 2 hole, than Saladino. I like Tyler, but I don't think that he profiles well at that spot in the lineup. That is where Sanchez has regularly hit, and where he has had his best success. However, he would have to improve significantly, over his Big League performance. last year. Putting our worst hitter in the 2 hole is such an unnecessary disadvantage. Why give that guy so many at bats? Why sandwich an automatic out between all of our run producers? You were onto something with the OBP -- that's really the most important skill for a 1 or 2 guy.

QUOTE (Dam8610 @ Dec 14, 2015 -> 09:34 AM) Can he be had for 6/$100 (I've heard his market is lower than expected), would that be an overpay, and is it something the White Sox would be willing to do? If he could be had at 6/$100, I'd be all over it. I think it's going to be more like 7/$160m or something.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Dec 10, 2015 -> 01:20 PM) Todd Frazier certainly fits the mold of guys the Sox go after and then completely falls apart. The low contact guys just crush us. I can't help but feel the same way. I don't think I have a good reason, but Frazier just seems like a guy who is really useful because he's good at a ton of things, but he's just BARELY good at them individually, so he just feels like a tiny slip in a skill or two would be make a huge difference.