thxfrthmmrs

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Dec 8, 2014 -> 11:10 PM) No one ever said Johnson was worth anything, but maybe it allows the Sox to get Upton without giving up as significant pieces. On one hand he's hit close to .400 against lefties the past 2 years, on the other hand, he's pretty much useless against right handers. He's essentially the right handed version of Conor Gillaspie, but with a $23 million contract. Unless they lower Upton's price by a good amount, that's a steep price to pay for a bench player.

Packaging as in making someone take his dead weight contract. That dude provides no value at all.

QUOTE (SoxPride18 @ Dec 8, 2014 -> 10:42 PM) http://www.spotrac.com/mlb/chicago-white-sox/payroll/ It does not account for arb cases, which amounts to $10 mil, and pre arb guys, which is another $6 mil. http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/CH...-salaries.shtml BR has much more in depth info.

QUOTE (SoxPride18 @ Dec 8, 2014 -> 10:35 PM) I believe we are at 72 million. Could be wrong though QUOTE (ChiSox59 @ Dec 8, 2014 -> 10:35 PM) More like 65. $59 in committed salary, $10 mil in arb cases, $5 mil owed to Kepp and Paulino buyout. ~10 or so pre-arb guys costing $600K each. Konerko also gets paid $1 mil annually from now to 2020. We do not have as much to spend as you guys think without trading Tank or Danks.

QUOTE (staxx @ Dec 8, 2014 -> 10:28 PM) Shark then go sign Melky + Robertson. /offseason We're already at $80+ million payroll. $30 mil for Melky + Robertson and ~$10 mil for Shark in arb pushes us above $120 mil. Not happening.

QUOTE (Soxfest @ Dec 8, 2014 -> 09:50 PM) Anderson will be in it. Please. Sox aren't that desperate.

QUOTE (SoxAce @ Dec 8, 2014 -> 09:38 PM) I'm getting more and more convinced Ravelo is in it. Can be wrong though. I've been saying that from day one. It makes too much sense. Though I'd prefer Ravelo to Hawkins as a prospect, much higher floor, power coming along, and could contribute in the ML as soon as next year.

Matt Davidson and Erik Johnson

K-Rod... Worth pointing out the guy end up with a negative fWAR last season. How does a guy with his K%, ERA, and WHIP worth negative WAR you ask? He gave up 14 HR's in just 68 innings last season, with a FIP of 4.50. He might cause a lot of heartaches in a park like the Cell. It might just be a fluke, but he might be someone we might want to steer clear of.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Dec 8, 2014 -> 12:54 PM) He has given a new definition to the word "brick". That's exaggerating a bit, Lance Born Ready owns that definition. He's very hesitant to go into the paint this days (saving himself for meetings and graduations I assume), and he's still a very mediocre shooter. Unless he plays with more confidence and attacks more, he's going to be a very ordinary player offensively. He's also been very bad at fighting through screens, and it's no surprise he had the worst +/- in that game Saturday. It could be that he's still trying to get used to playing 30 minutes a game after 2 1/2 years off, we will check back in a month from now.

Rose is having a terrible game both shooting the ball and defending the ball.

We thought they would re-negotiate Brock's contract as well but they apparently didn't. Another PPV where they wrestle for the number 1 contender. This is becoming the UFC now.

Another game where the opposing QB has almost as many TD passes as incompletions. The pass defense this year is the worst I've seen.

Look at Jimmy's Facebook page, he's such a likeable dude. This little girl knows best: https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=290403...e=2&theater

QUOTE (GreenSox @ Dec 4, 2014 -> 06:15 PM) The Sox don't need to send prospects to save money. That's the same sort of absolute clowning they've been doing for 5 years. The Sox NEED their MI depth. The Sox have no 2B. they will have no SS in 2 years (if it was up to me, next year). They need those guys to fight it out and then sort them out. Semien could end up being a nice major leaguer. QUOTE (GreenSox @ Dec 4, 2014 -> 06:28 PM) I'd do 5/100 on Shark. MUch prefer that to a Scherzer deal The Sox can afford that and don't have to shed salary to do so. Most of all, the Sox need holes plugged. Get a competent LF: 2 competent starters. Another bullpen pitcher. Sox were well below average in those spots last year, which is what dragged them down. You are contradicting yourself a little bit here. To acquire Shark, they'd need to give up Anderson+; Alexei; or Semien plus another Top 5 prospect to get it done. Yet it takes us less in terms of prospects to get rid of John Danks, and hypothetically sign Scherzer and Melky. And you believe we should hold on to our prospects. I don't think I need to go in depth that Scherzer is the superior pitcher compared to Shark, far superior if you look at his 12 WAR versus 6.7 for Shark the last 2 years. On top of that, Scherzer has been solid in his 12 postseason starts vs 0 starts for Shark. I'd trust the former in a playoff matchup over the latter, playoff experience is a bonus for a young team like this. It's worth mentioning you also said we need 2 competent starter as well, yet advocate to keep Danks. Do you also think Danks' contract is a dead weight? If you get Shark and keep Danks, you basically do not have any cap space to get the LF, starter, and bullpen arms that you talked about. I'd like to hear your plan of acquiring Shark and make all those moves without shredding salary and trading prospects.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 4, 2014 -> 06:09 PM) I think Samardzija is a 5/$100 guy and I think Scherzer is probably around 8/$200. I am going with 7/$175 mil. I haven't heard 8 years rumored around yet. Essentially, you'd be paying Shark one less year than Scherzer, and the latter is the safer bet and better pitcher, IMO.

QUOTE (Vance Law @ Dec 4, 2014 -> 05:58 PM) I hear what you're saying. It just doesn't seem likely or the best allocation of resources for a rebuilding team to basically sell its highly ranked prospect(s) for cash in order to go to the free agent market. Trading Danks and Tim Anderson (and giving up a 2nd round draft pick), for example, for the ability to pay market value for the most expensive pitcher out there seems like one of the least likely strategies for the Sox. I also highly doubt they're going for Samardzija or Greinke or anyone else with one year left on their contract. Someone should keep a running list of every player during free agency that a reporter says the Sox "inquired" about. Then compare that to who is on the team on opening day. I don't think it takes Tim Anderson for someone to take Danks off our hands. And make no mistake, if we sign Scherzer, trade Danks and sign another good bat, we would be a contender, not a rebuilding team. I do agree with you however if we can't pull off those big moves, we should hold on to our prospects, because acquiring just Samardzija isn't going make you that much better.

How many years do you think Samardzija would get in his extension? Because Scherzer is only 6 months older than Samardzija, and his extension kicks in when he turns 31.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 4, 2014 -> 05:08 PM) John Danks is owed $29 million. That's the equivalent of ~5 fWAR. If you just assume "He'll do what he did last year" you'd say he's likely to put up just over 1 fWAR, so he's overpaid by about $20-$24 million. In other words, you need a prospect who is at least good enough to put up that amount, with some risk associated with it. I'd say you're talking about a guy at least in the top 10 of our system, probably top 5-6 given the risks associated, to get someone to do that. You need someone who could produce ~4 WAR for the next 2 years. Hypothetically, I wouldn't mind giving Yankees Semien or Carlos Sanchez if they are willing to take Danks off of us, if the deal would allow us to get Scherzer and another good bat. Then again you would ask why wouldn't Yankees just go after Scherzer themselves.

QUOTE (Vance Law @ Dec 4, 2014 -> 05:03 PM) I can't imagine a situation where it makes sense for the above to happen. The Sox have cash, are building for the future, and therefore wouldn't want to give away top prospects. This suggests trying to give up what they want to keep (prospects) in order to get something they already have (cash/salary relief). The more likely scenarios for moving Danks are in a trade for someone similarly attached to a lot of salary (bad contract) or where the Sox eat a portion of the salary to get someone they want. The point I am making is if we want to acquire Samardzija, it actually takes less to get rid of John Danks and use the money saved to upgrade to Scherzer than to acquire Shark, sign him for an extension for a similar AAV, or watch him walk away after 1 year. Samardzija schedules to make close to $10 mil in arb this year, John Danks makes $14 mil. I assume Scherzer make end up with $25 mil AAV.

How much do you guys think we have to pay, in terms of prospects, if we want to ship John Danks off without eating significant amount of money?

A poster here, My sox Summer, I believe, attended 50 games a few years back for less than $500, and got lower level tix for some of the games too. If you really want to go to the games, the cost of the game isn't what's stopping you.

QUOTE (LDF @ Dec 4, 2014 -> 11:33 AM) correct, but to rebuild that fan base, and due to economics today, lower them as well, We've lowered ticket prices twice over the past 5 years, where has that gotten us? And is the economy really bad today? We have the Dow closing in record highs on numerous occasions this year, gas prices dipping to record low in most states, companies ramping up their hiring plans, average MLB ticket prices are trending up year after year, decent players getting $100 million deals. I don't think the team need to cave in to the fans and reduce ticket price even further. Given our average cost of fan experience is only at league average, and costs less than the team located in a bankrupt city. I think the responsibility lies on JR. When he sees the right opportunity, he needs to open up the checkbook and get the right pieces to turn this team around, fans will come back to games when team starts competing (regardless of ticket price) and eventually he should see return on his investments. I think JR definitely realizes this, that's why you see us going after the likes of Tanaka and Scherzer the last 2 years.

QUOTE (LDF @ Dec 4, 2014 -> 11:03 AM) jeeze, if you look at the end of my post, i also mention fielding a better team. There was no offense to you. I read your post as either lowering ticket prices or fielding a winning team could get fans to show up. While on this subject I feel that only fielding a winning team will positively impact your attendance in the long haul.

This goes to show that we HAVE MONEY TO SPENT if we want to. $90 mil payroll is the floor, but I think JR will open up the checkbooks to go up to $100-$110 mil if he thinks signing Scherzer and a couple other piece (LF or 3B, and a bullpen arm) can turn this team around.