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QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Sep 15, 2014 -> 09:23 PM) I think that if Felix drops his ERA below 2.20 and Sale stays under 2.00, we have a pretty legitimate chance. I think ERA is one of the main stats that the voters look at, as even the ESPN guys are drifting away from W/L. Sale leads in FIP, too, so that helps. Looking back, it's just a shame that missing a month likely cost him the Cy Young because Robin decided to leave him out there for 127 pitches. No way. So you are saying in their next starts, if Felix goes 7 innings and allows 3 runs, while Sale go 7 and allows 1 run, Sale would have a legitimate chance. I think that's far from true. Their inning difference too much at this point. Unless Felix has two really bad starts in a row, and Sale keeps doing what he's been doing, I don't think it's going to be a close race.

1 extra start won't matter at this point. Most of the voters already have their minds made up a while ago, and unless Felix bombs in his next 2 starts, their votes will not change. I think it's safe to say that if their ERA differential is less than 0.40, Felix will be your 2014 AL Cy Young winner

In the case of Venditte, I am surprised he still hasn't made it to the majors yet. He made AA in 2010 and AAA in 2012, and his minor league stats have been solid throughout his career. It almost seems like the folks at MLB the Show are asking Yankees not to bring him to the majors, because someone who can pitch from both sides will cause a permanent glitch to the game.

Haven't seen much of Young. He took advantage of a matchup against a backup. But he seemed really tiny on my TV set

Gotta hand it to Jay. He had to made plenty of adjustments in this one, and he was patient and didn't force anything in the second half. The D and the ref played a role as well of course.

Terrible. Definitely not enough evidence to overturn the call.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Sep 11, 2014 -> 03:03 PM) Yeah, Sale isn't enough above Felix in performance to make up for the 50+ IP difference. Getting his ERA under 2 might sway some voters though. Felix only has 6 more starts than Sale, but has pitched 49 more innings. Meaning Sale would still have to pitch 8+ innings in those missed starts to match Felix's IP. The consistency to go deep into a game is also something the voters look at.

McHugh is a 27 year old who has only pitched 70 innings prior to this year. He was also someone who was DFA'd last year. No way am I trading Anderson plus for him.

He took a huge leap forward this year by all accounts. And mind you he was someone he was someone batting in the lower 3rd of the lineup last year while repeating rookie ball. So he must have made some pretty significant improvements to his game for the organization to invest the spot in him.

In other news, Spain lost to a France team that was lead by Boris Diaw and Nic Batum today, the team that was supposed to be the only threat to the U.S.

Garbage piece. It's solely based on the word Potential. There is a strong chance guys like Polanco and Baez will not even be regular players. I also disagree with Tanaka at 1, he's only 2 years younger than Abreu, and is prone to losing a year due to injury. But this piece kind of made the "Sale vs Abreu" debate we had a couple months ago lopsided, as we can agree Sale is superior to Tanaka, and has a much more friendlier contract.

Nor do I think Viciedo will be back. Without the roster holds accounted for, Sox have $56 mil committed on 17 players. And I expect 3 spots to be filled by Wilkins, Sanchez and Snodgress. Meaning Sox should have $32 mil to spend on 5 players to reach a fair estimate of $90 mil payroll.

QUOTE (shysocks @ Sep 9, 2014 -> 02:44 PM) Assuming the Quintana bonus refers to the way his contract escalates if he would qualify for arbitration. $1M next year without it, $3.4M with it. The $56M estimate includes $3.4M dued to Q. I do not know where the $65M figure comes from

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Sep 9, 2014 -> 02:22 PM) The reality of course is that if the Sox's current payroll is just under $65 million with a Quintana bonus in there, and the payroll is going to move up to ~ $85 million, the argument against James Shields is that they're not going to sign just James Shields and leave no money to do anything else. Since Shields probably will be above $15 mil per, that's your message right there How much is the Quintana bonus? I am not aware of a significant bonus amount due to Q next year. Either way, I have Sox at $56 mil currently with the guys likely to be brought back in arbitration. Meaning they will have $34 mil to spend to reach $90 mil. Even if they go the Shields route, they can afford him along with a couple other quality guys. I won't rule out that possibility just yet.

The payroll was around $85 mil this year, as the BR figures does not include the contracts traded away. The Sox will spend money to bring the payroll back up to around that range, we just don't know which direction they want to go with this, i.e. buying low on Masterson and others or bring in James Shields

BR is a great resource to get a quick snapshot of Sox payroll for next year. http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/CH...-salaries.shtml In a nutshell, with the committed salary and pre-arb and arbitration deals, Sox should have around $56 mil on their payroll (let's assuming they will not go through arbitration with Viciedo and Belisario). Realistically, their final payroll will be around $90 mil, giving them $34 mil to spend. But if they decide to be aggressive and go all out, sources say they can afford a payroll slightly over $100 mil, giving them close to $50 mil to spend. But judging by the team's history of free agency spending, that's not going to be realistic. And I think the salary of the high draft pick will be factored in here somehow.

Forte is such an underrated blocker

Have anything to do with his shooting form? It should not. If rust is holding him back, it shouldn't impact something he's worked on for the past 2 years. This is just something I will believe it when I see it, right now it just sounds like one of those Rose talk with confidence thing.

So much for that improved outside shot he's been trying to convince people he now has. It's not a matter of finding his timing or rust, his form is just bad. He's already have a few air balls in 6 games so far.

One thing I haven't hear people talked about yet. Chris Sale's pitches per PA. It's at 4.04 pitches / PA, which is ranks 88th out of 94 qualifying pitchers, and I would bet that number is driven up by the last 6 starts or so.

I think Abreu has gone Joey Votto in the second half

The best thing for the Sox is probably Detroit resigning VMart to a 4 year or more deal for over $60 mil. They already have a lot of money committed to Miggy and Verlander who will soon under perform the value of their contract. Add in a bad contract to VMart and perhaps to Scherzer or Price, they would soon become the Yankees of this division.

Hey Rock, have you been hearing anything on Viciedo's future? At this point, I think it can go either way. But personally, I've seen enough of him and is not confident that he can ever put together a strong season.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Sep 5, 2014 -> 12:22 AM) Avasail is going to be everyday next year, bank on it. Second, they will spend, but im not convinced its next year. The rotation is an issue however and I dont know if they are going to see if they have it in the system or if they have to trade or buy it. Hahn would obviously like to fill the pen through fringe trades like he has recently as well as a garbage heap pickup but the rotation is going to be difficult to patch. I'm hearing there is a ton of payroll room, a TON. But Hahn is reluctant to do a KW and spend money horribly with a team that finishes 10 games out of the division. That is LITERALLY the best thing anyone on here could have ever said.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Sep 5, 2014 -> 12:10 AM) They'll test the waters but it makes zero sense for the Sox IMO. They think they may have the offense, the pitching on the other hand..... Also, I believe they want to keep Alexei for awhile Good to know. I am fine with Alexei for another year or two until Anderson is ready. We obviously have a hole at DH, and as fans we'd like to think we have a chance with the best free agent DH out there. But reality is harsh. We have bigger holes in the bullpen and could use another free agent starter, and perhaps an outfielder. I just don't see a reason for Martinez to leave Detroit, and whoever signs him will be paying for his production this year, which he will have a hard time maintaining for the latter part of the new contract. There are plenty of cheaper alternatives out there that I am sure the Sox will look at.