Eminor3rd

Superstar position players that are young enough to be expected to stay stars throughout your entire contention window don't show up very often. Normally, I'm a fan of signing free agents at the time that you need them, so as to minimize the risk of regression and injury -- but sometimes market forces incentivize teams to consider different types of risks. I'm in favor of signing Machado (or Harper) because this is when he's available. You can't get him when you'd rather have him. Yeah, it's too soon for this team to sign short term assets, but it's never too soon to add long-term assets. Also, RE: Harper vs. Machado -- our minor league system depth chart should literally no bearing on which one we choose. Unless the guy being signed blocks a currently contributing MLB player, thus reducing the effectiveness of the addition, you can't worry about it. Most of these guys will bust, and even if they don't, and you DO create a logjam, you can trade the prospect for something you need more.

Welcome, brother. Be patient with us.

I imagine this one will be more of a "bullpen game" then a full-blown "start" for Fulmer or whoever else takes the ball.

It's a cold stretch for a bad team. It will get better on its own. The answer is "keep running them out there." It IS hard to watch though. In case anyone needs ideas, what I've been doing is watching Japanese baseball instead, lol.

Not holding anybody back? What on Earth are you talking about?

QUOTE (greg775 @ Apr 17, 2018 -> 03:38 PM) He's 8 for 41 which is .195. 10 RBI in 12 games is good. Five homers is good. However ... he had 3 of the homers and 5 of the RBI in one game. Yikes. 2 HRs and 5 RBI in the last 11 games. Remember I am not a statnik. I like the walks obviously and I still worship Davidson, but ... disappointment is creeping in because of my fan eyetest. I'm glad I'm not controlled by advanced stats. His first season he has 26 HRS and 68 RBI in 443 at bats. Before advanced stats that was rookie of the year contention, baby. You are unbelievable.

It's gonna get better, and worse, and better, and worse, and better, and worse before we get where we really want to be.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Apr 15, 2018 -> 09:38 PM) So, apparently so far this year Tommy Kahnle has been an utter disaster with an ERA close to 9. His fastball is down 3 mph and the Yanks are worried. Always Trade Relievers™

QUOTE (ChiSox1917 @ Apr 15, 2018 -> 02:48 PM) The problem is that the league is far past due for expansion. It's now been 20 years now since the last expansion team, and it really should be about every 10-15 years that two teams should be added. Bring back the Expos, and then add one to three more expansion teams and you'll see a reversal of that trend. Expansion hurts pitching more than it does hitting statistics. ...which incentivizes specialization, which leads to more relievers.

QUOTE (soxfan49 @ Apr 13, 2018 -> 10:43 AM) This is like someone posted this when Uribe was playing, their computer went down, and as soon as it got rebooted all this time later, it finally posted. Holy s*** this IS Juan Uribe.

QUOTE (insiderinfo @ Apr 13, 2018 -> 11:27 AM) I really don't like him at second base. It's been messing up his swing so much. His trip to the minor leagues hleped, but I think he should go back to hitting right handed only. He was more patient and saw more pitches. He is an under rated shortstop with a cannon for an arm. Why did Ventura moved him to 2b? Does he think Ozzie didn't know is a a good shortstop? He strikes out way too much now. Tony thinks he is gonna come around and start peppering the ball all over the field. I don't think he will every be the same until he goes back to swinging right handed and plays shortstop. Are these the best boards for sox talk? I cna't find the boards on the whitesox website no more. By "Juan," do you mean Yoan Moncada? What is the connection between playing second base and not swinging well?

"It's funny." -- Rick Hahn

Made one trip to Arizona for St about five or six years ago -- absolutely awesome vacation. Recommend it to everyone.

If Boston blew the "good defense" whistle while Donaldson was AB just because he knew Donaldson hated it, there's no way I can possibly be mad at Donaldson for doing that lol.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Apr 1, 2018 -> 09:32 PM) I'm a Sox fan so I go along with what the team wants to do. The difference is I issue blame where I see it. And Shields was the wrong veteran pitcher to add. Why? He stinks IMO, advanced stats be darned. Good lord, how did the idea that advanced stats LIKED James Shields somehow enter into your head?

Too much pop

Hoping he ends up in Japan. For us, no -- he's never had a good season, and there isn't much reason to believe he will. If we were still tearing down and the money was right, I'd be on board, but I'd rather give ABs to our current guys at this point.

There's gonna be a car wreck, so why not cause it?

QUOTE (bmags @ Apr 2, 2018 -> 08:51 AM) My white sox fan instincts kick in to believe a pitcher like Jaime Garcia will run right through us but I'm trying to remember this is a pretty new team with different tendencies. Same, same.

I've been super low on Giolito since he made it to the majors, despite the fact that seeing his curveball live and up close last year when he was with Charlotte was one of the most memorable baseball events I experienced last year. But I'm extremely encouraged by the the arm slot change and resulting velocity bump. I only watched one of his spring starts, and it may just be me WANTING to see it, but it really seemed like there was more horizontal movement on the fastball. Will be interested to see if that data backs that up.

Saw a lot of Pinto last year (I work for the AAA affiliate where he played). The breaking stuff never seemed to fool anyone. He gave up a lot more contact than you'd expect given his velocity. Also worth noting that our park is well-known for suppressing homeruns.

The Dodgers are not going to give up a decent prospect for someone to take Kemp unless moving Kemp's money allows them to add another significant player via trade or free agency. If that wasn't Darvish, I don't know who it's going to be.

QUOTE (bmags @ Mar 1, 2018 -> 02:12 PM) Heyman sure has tied the sox to a lot of players that they haven't acquired this offseason. Yeah, to me, this is the offseason where the mainstream press, in general, lost a lot of credibility on rumors. They showed us that in the absence of actual information, they will treat speculation the same as they would treat news.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Feb 28, 2018 -> 01:53 PM) Does WAR accumulate the same if someone was playing 2B more than half the time? in other words, are the standards for each position identical? If Yolmer Sanchez had played 3B exclusively and put up the same numbers, would his WAR have been different in any way? I believe it is pro-rated for the amount that a guy plays at each position. As CWS said, it wouldn't matter for Yolmer since those positions are the same, but I think it DOES matter for guys that play 3B and SS a significant amount, for example.