Knackattack

QUOTE (CB2.0 @ Jan 27, 2016 -> 12:55 PM) What? Where am I advocating signing veterans on the wrong side of 30? Spreading the money and going for 2-3 decent players than 1 good one and having them all crash.. although I have hope for Melky doing well this season.

QUOTE (OmarComing25 @ Jan 27, 2016 -> 12:54 PM) Not if you're Jeff Samardzija. Steamer: 3.45 ERA ZiPS: 3.31 ERA That's freaking hilarious. Doubt that bum has an ERA below 4.

QUOTE (CB2.0 @ Jan 27, 2016 -> 12:50 PM) And everything I'm looking at projects him being much closer to 2015: .236 .294 .390 .299 wOBA 87 wRC+ 1.5 fWAR Not worth the $ to me. If you have a bad year, you're going to be projected to have another bad one..

QUOTE (CB2.0 @ Jan 27, 2016 -> 12:40 PM) So $15M AAV isn't a huge comittment if he repeats. I disagree. But that's fine - we can do that amicably. There's good power potential now at 1B, 2B, 3B. I'd rather see that $15M go toward the salaries of a Jackson/Latos, roll with Saladino at SS, and wait for Anderson at SS. Sure. I also realize there's a big difference between $500K and $15M. $14.5M could go toward better options at those other 3 positions you mention. I just have a hard time seeing Desmond not hitting like he did in 2014 when he hit 24 HR and was a 4war player.

QUOTE (CB2.0 @ Jan 27, 2016 -> 12:32 PM) So what would be different on a 1 year deal? Can we afford to continue to compromise defense in the hopes for a bigger bat? What about Anderson? Is it worth $12-14M? I look at all these things and think, no. The point of signing him would be something like 2/30 with a team option with an opt out after the 1st year. Everyone is safe there and if Desmond gets back to being Desmond you either get a year of an elite SS for cheap and then the draft pick comes back, or if he doesn't revert it's not a huge commitment. Desmond could even be used as the Zobrist type player his agent is marketing him as and see something like 60 games in RF and 90 in the middle infield. That way you get a guy that can play RF and put avi at DH against lefties and Saladino still gets to play nearly half the season.

QUOTE (CB2.0 @ Jan 27, 2016 -> 12:22 PM) Of course you can't - I'm not the one that introduced comparisons between SS and CFers. My point is that if you look at just errors as a means to evaluate defensive capability, and you put in context with the league...and see a HUGE difference like you with Desmond (and you don't with the examples you gave)....one can REASONABLY settle on the idea that Desmond is really NOT a good defensive SS. You said looking at errors is lazy, and I'm saying that with Desmond....just looking at errors (and how many he is charged with...comparatively)....is, probably, enough and not a lazy analysis. I think Desmond committed like 30% of his errors in the first 12 games of the season.. his entire bad year is kind of attributed to pressing too hard to not look like an idiot for turning down the 107m or whatever washington offered him. Desmond is a guy with good range and a strong arm but those are the types of guys that are likely to commit an error trying to make a play on balls most guys don't get to (that would go through as hits anyway), so some of it has to be taken with a grain of salt.

QUOTE (shysocks @ Jan 26, 2016 -> 12:32 PM) First, Carl Crawford =/= Jim Thome. Second, what's this half price stuff? Are the Red Sox paying a big piece of Crawford's salary and I'm not aware of it? Even if that's the case I'd still rather have Ethier by a mile. He has a massive edge in durability and OBP. Dodgers and their massive wallet would dump him.. but I too would rather have Ethier since he can play RF and.. you know.. hit

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jan 26, 2016 -> 01:08 PM) And who are you going to be able to draft at 28 next June that will help the White Sox midseason? The pick itself is important because we do have to stock the farm with some talent. You never know if some one slides due to some concern and tears it up quick making another player expendable to help for 2017. However for a player like Desmond or Fowler who you could get a little cheaper than normal, I'd be okay with losing it.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jan 26, 2016 -> 12:22 PM) Here's a SSS article on the Avi/Peavy trade. The Sox were asking for the right guys from Oakland. http://www.southsidesox.com/2013/7/31/4573...-trade-analysis I remember at the time of the trade I was so stoked we got Garcia.. then I saw him play...

3 years of Fowler is not a bad deal considering he can shift to LF next season when Melky is DH. And our OF may not hit for a ton of power this season, but we've added about 50 HR to the infield between Frazier/Lowrie, and if LaRoche/Avi are platooned at DH I could see them combining for 30.

QUOTE (shysocks @ Jan 26, 2016 -> 10:30 AM) The draft pick isn't my only reservation with Fowler. I think he'll cost more than that, and I'd also prefer a more talented defender. I can't see Fowler getting more than 3/36 or 4/45

QUOTE (SoCalSox @ Jan 26, 2016 -> 10:26 AM) Fowler would make a ton of sense for this team. If he didn't have a pick attached, I feel like most fans would be pounding the table for him right now, personally. Can probably get him on a 3 year deal at $11-13M AAV. So, would you be okay with trading the Shark package for 3 years of Fowler at that price? Basically that has to be the mindset behind signing a QO free agent at this point.

QUOTE (SoxPride18 @ Jan 26, 2016 -> 10:23 AM) Hayes tweeting about how Fowler would help a ton with the lineup. He definitely would. Eaton and Fowler should both be .350-.360 OBP guys next year and between them you could get 30 steals and HR.. that's a pretty dynamic 1-2 at the top of the line up to set the table for Abreu and Frazier.

1-5 Kershaw Price Grienke Sale Scherzer 1 year of dominance will put Arrieta at 6 for me but his #2 ranking is Cubbie hype. This guy has had 1 great year and has been around for awhile... let's see if he can do it again.

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Jan 22, 2016 -> 09:02 PM) -"Good defensive shortstop" is a bit of a stretch -Will hit 20+ HR? That's a huge assumption. He hit 19 last year and may struggle converting to the AL. Nothing is guaranteed. -He can be willing to play other positions all he wants, but his defense there will likely not be very good -Agree with your last sentence Desmond - Positive defensive WAR the past 5 years Hit 20 HR three out of the last four seasons.. and the one time he missed the 20 mark he hit 19 I'm sure he could slide over to 2nd/3rd and be okay. This is a rangey shortstop with a good arm.

QUOTE (ChiSoxFanMike @ Jan 22, 2016 -> 08:54 PM) What is with all the fascination with Ian Desmond on here? He is the type of player that the Sox should be avoiding. He is a good defensive shortstop who will hit 20+ HR and steal 15-20 bases and won't be overly expensive. Also willing to play other positions so a multiyear deal is an option. He has literally had 1 bad year and it happened to be in a contract season, a reverse Cespedes. You hope Desmond can bounce back for cheap rather than hoping Cespedes can maintain for 27.5m

Let's all take a moment and take a sigh of relief that we aren't paying this guy 75m over 3 seasons after he has a career year at 30. Wouldn't be surprised to see Cespedes in some steroid trouble in the next few years because jumping THAT much offensively at 30 is pretty rare these days.

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Jan 22, 2016 -> 08:49 PM) Ok, I'm pretty sure if Saladino played any worse than average at SS this year, it would be absolutely shocking. We all saw him last year. He looks elite defensively. We saw him do elite things at 3B, and while I'm sure he is an above average defender at short, if Desmond hits like its 2012-2014 with average defense he is probably a top 5 SS in baseball.

QUOTE (reiks12 @ Jan 22, 2016 -> 08:47 PM) Does Austin Jackson cost a pick? Nope. Desmond + Jackson and call it an off season.

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Jan 22, 2016 -> 08:41 PM) It's hard for me to think of a move that would hurt are overall team defense, which is already pretty bad, but this would be one of them. Sadly, these are a couple of the only options out there. Fowler > Avi and Desmond is regarded as average to above average at short, which we don't know Saladino can be. Fowler + Desmond >>> Cespedes. That said, I'd prefer Austin Jackson and Desmond to save a pick. Still adds 20+ HR to the team and Jackson is a great CF.

If we could find a way to get Avi in LF, I'd be fine with him getting one more year to show he can handle major league hitting. I think he, as it stands, will improve a little bit and be something like .260/.310/.420 with something like 20 HR, which is okay if you're not negating it all by being the worst right fielder I've seen in quite awhile. Cespedes in left with Melky in right.. LF is going to be great there and it should help Eaton, but I think the main thing we need to upgrade is the RF defense. Find a guy who can hit a little bit too (need another 20 HR bat in the line-up for a playoff caliber team, IMO) it's all the better. Signing a defensive guy, like Austin Jackson, and then Desmond for SS makes us a playoff caliber team. A full year of Cespedes, if his defense in LF helps Eaton in CF and he can hit 30 HR makes us a playoff caliber team. We really just need a little more power and better OF defense to get there, imo.

Let's just sign Desmond to a multi year deal and move Anderson to the outfield

QUOTE (Flash Tizzle @ Jan 21, 2016 -> 12:27 PM) We'll call it a day at the end of the season too.......in fourth place. Still need an additional power bat somewhere Desmond at SS, Jackson in CF, move Eaton/Melky to right. Desmond adds 20 HR to the team and Ajax in CF upgrades the outfield defense enough to justify if he has an underwhelming bat. The guy was also a 5war player before the mausoleum in Seattle stole his career, so good chance he could bounce back.

QUOTE (SouthSideSale @ Jan 20, 2016 -> 12:23 PM) Who is butthurt? Saying he's a douchebag for not signing yet is silly is all I was saying. I just figured it was clearly a joke.. and immediately the first person took it seriously. That's all.

QUOTE (SouthSideSale @ Jan 20, 2016 -> 12:20 PM) Serious? He's a douche for taking his time and getting his money? The immediate butthurt is real... maybe I'll just go make it green for you guys