lasttriptotulsa

QUOTE (fathom @ Mar 9, 2016 -> 02:34 PM) Have a feeling he makes the team as a long reliever. I think they would like to keep him around but I'm not sure that there is room. Who do you leave out out of this group to make room for Turner? Robertson Putnam Petricka Albers Jennings Jones Duke

QUOTE (LDF @ Mar 9, 2016 -> 10:53 AM) to me that is all fine and dandy as long as he is ready come May. Why do you keep saying May? Who is going to be the 5th starter until May? The Sox only have one off day in April so they will be in need of a 5th starter.

QUOTE (flavum @ Mar 8, 2016 -> 02:58 PM) Man, I hate that one. Especially because I think most people who use it don't know what it means. Is there really people out there that don't understand what that means or where it came from?

QUOTE (shysocks @ Mar 8, 2016 -> 02:50 PM) 11 homers by 11 different players is just a really fun stat. 12 homers by 12 different players is even more fun.

Now that is the Avi we need to be seeing this year. Monster homer on a hanger that he actually pulled!

QUOTE (flavum @ Mar 8, 2016 -> 02:44 PM) J Roll 2-run homer. 7-0. Can we call him J roll? Because that is his actual nickname, I think it will be allowed.

Rollins with a deep 2 run opposite field homer. Sox up 7-0.

Sanchez triple into the corner followed by a 390 foot sac fly by Lombardozzi. If this keeps up there might be some tough roster decisions coming up.

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Mar 8, 2016 -> 09:39 AM) Aside from Price, their starters were horrible (like our 2006 starters) by non-ERA stats such as FIP. They heavily relied on offensive contributions from Donaldson, Encarnacion, Bautista, Tulowitzki, Revere, Martin, etc, like we relied on our offense in 06. FIP doesn't win ball games. Buehrle and Dickey are both guys that have significantly out pitched their FIP their entire careers. When you are talking about doing something consistently over 1000's of innings, I don't really care what the advanced stats say should have happened. At the end of the day the job of pitching and defense is to not give up runs. And the Blue Jays were the 5th best in the AL last year at doing that job. Their offense could have scored 100-150 less runs and they still would have had a shot at the playoffs. The pitching did their job.

QUOTE (LDF @ Mar 8, 2016 -> 10:08 AM) they the sox will not need him in the rotation until the month of may. plus or minus. i say, let him heal. Why do you say that? They only have one off day in April. They will need a 5th starter.

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Mar 8, 2016 -> 08:46 AM) 2006 was on the pitchers for sure. Buehrle had a 5 ERA, Vazquez was horrible... they were all pretty bad. Then, on the other hand, you get 16 HR/.295 BA from Pierzynski, .313/35/113 from Konerko, .281/18/67 from Iguchi, 21/71 from Uribe, .283/30/94 from Crede, 40 SB's from Podsednik, .315/44/120 from Dye, .288/42/109 from Thome, .285 in 304 PA from Cintron, .290 in 290 PA for Mackowiak, .328 in 203 PA for Ozuna, .327 in 167 PA for Gload... such a stacked team offensively, but horrible pitching. Reminds me of the 2015 Blue Jays, to some extent. How? The 2015 Blue Jays had very good pitching. They allowed the 5th fewest runs in the AL.

QUOTE (Tannerfan @ Mar 7, 2016 -> 02:39 PM) 2 innings, 2 guys caught stealing. After last year I wish Ventura would understand we are not a running team. With Saladino, Eaton, Jackson and Rollins on the team we damned well better be trying to steal some bases.

QUOTE (OmarComing25 @ Mar 7, 2016 -> 01:52 PM) I really don't see the point in cutting LaRoche. It's not like the guy hasn't produced in years, hell his numbers were looking fine almost two and a half months into the season last year (batting line of .246/.362/.422 on June 10th). It's not like the alternatives are looking a lot better right now, give him 6 weeks against RHP to see if he has a bounceback in him. I'm more confident in him at DH against RHP than I would be with Avi there full-time. This. I really think that the hamate injury effected LaRoche quite a bit. If he can come back and be close to what he was in 2014, and I think he can, the middle of our lineup is incredibly dangerous.

QUOTE (WhiteSoxLifer @ Mar 6, 2016 -> 06:27 PM) Thats a hoping he puts up 20+ homers not a guarantee He hit 16 last year in a horrible hitters park. In 2014 he had 12 in just 70 games. Unless he misses significant time I would be surprised if he didn't hit 20 this year. I could realistically see him hitting 25+. The guy has power and tremendous bat speed.

QUOTE (The Gooch @ Mar 2, 2016 -> 11:56 AM) Hahaha they really put and MVP incentive in his contract? I remember when Frank Thomas signed his one year deal with the A's in 2006 he had a Gold Glove incentive.

QUOTE (ChiSoxFanMike @ Mar 2, 2016 -> 12:01 PM) I don't have access to Twitter right now. Could someone please tell me how much Rodon is making this year? Somewhere between $507,500 and $535,000. Does it really matter?

QUOTE (LDF @ Mar 1, 2016 -> 11:20 AM) i agree and many others made excellent pov. finding a position for him will not be a factor. but i think it is up to the owners. why are all the fa's signees doesn't really go beyound 2 yrs??? it is just me and looking too deep, maybe. What exactly is that supposed to mean? Are you implying that the Sox don't go more than 2 years on free agents? That is simply not true. Last offseason they gave a 4 year deal to Robertson and 3 year deals to Duke and Cabrera. Two years ago they gave a 6 year deal to Abreu who had never even played in the Majors.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Feb 26, 2016 -> 12:45 PM) @CST_soxvan Chris Sale's first Cactus Lge start won't be till March 19, Don Cooper said. Showed last spring doesn't need 6 spring starts. What the deuce? He had a 5.32 ERA in April last year. Are they that worried about his arm? 2.37 ERA and 1.105 WHIP through his first 3 starts. I don't think him not being ready was the problem.

QUOTE (blackmooncreeping @ Feb 26, 2016 -> 11:56 AM) Thought he had both a 2 year/$24 million'ish and a 3 year/$3 million-ish offer that he could've signed. Signing with the Chubs guarantees him only $13 million...what am I missing? Because you look at it on a year by year basis. If one guy signed a 4 year $100 million but another team offered him 5 years $105 million deal would you say he left money on the table?

QUOTE (Vance Law @ Feb 26, 2016 -> 11:35 AM) There's no guarantee Fowler is good enough to deserve a QO next year (lost pick). And there's no guarantee he wouldn't accept it if he was offered it (lost pick, now Fowler makes $16.5 or $17 million in second year) With the way this offseason has gone I think come next year team's will be way more hesitant to offer QO's and players will be much more likely to accept if offered. I mean before this offseason nobody had ever accepted and like 3 or 4 guys did this year. And in hindsight it looks like all those players that accepted definitely made the smart move.

I really think that it's Jimmy Rollins job to lose, but at age 37 and clearly on the decline he is no lock to win the job. I would put the odds of each candidate as follows: Rollins: 55% - Barring a complete collapse he should be offered a utility job if he is not the starter. Whether he has an out clause and would accept a utility role remains to be seen. Saladino: 30% - He is the obvious fall back if Rollins doesn't work out. He is a virtual lock for a super utility role if either Rollins is the starter or Sanchez or Anderson is and Rollins has an out clause and doesn't want to be a utility player. Anderson: 10% - He is close to being ready and if he lights it up in spring and Saladino and Rollins falter he may be given a chance. If he is not the starter he will be in Charlotte without a doubt. Sanchez - 5% - I don't think they really view him as a starter at short due to his lack of arm strength but it the others fail and has a strong spring, who knows. He will be a utility player if Saladino wins the job and Rollins does not stay as the utility guy. If Saladino and Rollins are both on the roster, Sanchez will either be in the minors or maybe be packaged in a trade.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Feb 25, 2016 -> 08:58 AM) It's not about walks -- he swings and makes contact with terrible pitches. His O-Swing% (46.6%) was worst on the team by more than eight percentage points, and third worst in the entire MLB (league average was 31.3%). This causes him to make bad contact, which is a significant contributor to his curiously low power numbers. My point was that you could live with Avi's .257 AVG and .309 OBP if he were hitting for power. If his SLG was in the .450's his offense would not be the biggest problem. Of all the things that you can complain about Avi, his OBP and walk rate are not at the top of the list.

QUOTE (Dunt @ Feb 24, 2016 -> 03:55 PM) But can he get on base? 3rd highest walk rate and 4th highest OBP on the team last year. If he could hit for the .175 - .200 ISO like a guy with his size and power should be he would be fine on offense.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Feb 24, 2016 -> 02:33 PM) Bravo. And add to that that they have been active not just on the free agent market, but the international free agent market, and the July 2 market, in addition to turning out valuable prospects through their farm system. Guys like Tyler Saladino and Carlos Sanchez are also worth mentioning. Yes they are. Not sure how I forgot to add them.

QUOTE (LDF @ Feb 24, 2016 -> 01:49 PM) and the idea is to max the star player best yrs, not spending on draft picks and having to wait until they are ready to sniff the major league. as i have been saying this, idea of fixing this club needs to be done on several fronts simultaneously. That is exactly what they have been doing. Looking at what will probably be their 25 man roster along with a few others that have a chance or will be coming shortly, it is a good mix. They have made some good trades, some good draft picks and a good amount of free agent signings. Some of which worked out great other ones that have not. Amateur Draft 1. Chris Sale 2. Nate Jones 3. Jake Petricka 4. Erik Johnson 5. Carlos Rodon 6. Tim Anderson 7. Carson Fulmer Trades 1. John Danks 2. Adam Eaton 3. Avisail Garcia 4. Todd Frazier 5. Brett Lawrie 6. Daniel Webb 7. Leury Garcia Free Agents 1. Jose Abreu (largest international free agent contract ever at the time) 2. David Robertson (required draft pick compensation) 3. Melky Cabrera (required draft pick compensation) 4. Jose Quintana 5. Adam LaRoche 6. Zach Duke 7. Dioner Navarro 8. Mat Latos 9. Alex Avila 10. Matt Albers 11. Jacob Turner 12. Zach Putnam 13. Dan Jennings 14. JB Shuck 15. Jimmy Rollins