lasttriptotulsa

QUOTE (shipps @ Jan 14, 2016 -> 02:46 PM) He was worth 1 WAR over Avi last year. So technically he would still be an upgrade unless Avi makes that jump. He's also paid $10 million more than Avi and will cost talent to acquire. Is that really worth a 1 WAR upgrade? I would rather take the chance that Avi progresses. I think Bruce is done.

QUOTE (bmags @ Jan 14, 2016 -> 12:36 PM) Thanks for the year of Grand Slams Alexei. With 6 grand slams, Alexei Ramirez has hit more of them than the following players: Jose Bautista Ryan Braun Carlton Fisk Frank Howard Andruw Jones Roger Maris Ryne Sandberg Alfonso Soriano Giancarlo Stanton Chase Utley Jayson Werth Ryan Zimmerman Miguel Cabrera Adrian Gonzalez Mike Trout Justin Upton

QUOTE (blackmooncreeping @ Jan 14, 2016 -> 12:22 PM) Should have Abreu hitting 3rd, period, then fill the others in around him. Melky shouldn't get the 1st inning/extra AB over Jose imo. The difference between batting 3rd and 4th in the lineup comes out to about 1 plate appearance every 2 weeks over the course of the season. If for some reason Melky is more comfortable and performs that much better in the 3 spot it might be worth Abreu losing those 15 or so plate appearances.

I would be all for a Fowler signing if it weren't for that goddamn qualifying offer.

QUOTE (OmarComing25 @ Jan 14, 2016 -> 11:51 AM) Zobrist didn't have a QO. My bad. Forgot he was traded.

QUOTE (Frank_Thomas35 @ Jan 14, 2016 -> 11:47 AM) So we would go from having three in the top 50 to having only one (our 1st round pick) no thank you. Exactly. I wouldn't mind giving up one of those picks to sign a guy like Gordon or Upton, but it's not worth losing it to sign Fowler or Desmond in my opinion. If Desmond were willing to sign a one year deal to try to rebuild his value I might be okay with it because we could then offer him a QO next year and get a pick in next year's draft or trade him at the deadline if we're out of it. That all assumes that he plays better than he did last year.

QUOTE (Frank_Thomas35 @ Jan 14, 2016 -> 11:42 AM) And didn't Desmond get a QO? If we signed both guys would we lose two picks? If so which picks? You lose your earliest picks outside of the top ten in the first round. If the Sox signed two guys with QO's they would lose the comp pick from Samardzija and their second round pick. Their first round pick is protected.

QUOTE (Frank_Thomas35 @ Jan 14, 2016 -> 11:40 AM) Oh I didn't know that my bad. So where does the pick go? It vanishes and everybody moves up a spot in the draft order. The Cubs then get a sandwich pick between the 1st and 2nd round. The Cubs are losing their first three draft picks because of the Heyward, Zobrist and Lackey signings. So they will lose their first round pick, the comp pick gained from Fowler signing somewhere and their second round pick. The will not pick until the third round.

Always liked Alexei and it's sad to see him go but it was time to move on.

QUOTE (Chilihead90 @ Jan 12, 2016 -> 12:43 AM) Apparently Eaton really wants to be there, but they won't let him? Seems odd. Not speculating on anything suspicious happening, just figured most players do this because they have to, whereas Eaton seems he really wants to. You are reading way too much into a couple of random tweets in which he is obviously being sarcastic. I'm sure one of two things has happened. Either they simply forgot to add his name to the list or he has yet to commit 100% to attending. There is no logical reason to not let him attend.

Hossa up to 493 goals. Could hit 500 within the next 6 weeks or so. Does 500 get him into the HOF or will he get the Roenick treatment?

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 6, 2016 -> 12:08 PM) They signed for nothing because both are garbage. Jackson was pretty good out of the pen last year. That should probably be where he stays the rest of his career.

QUOTE (OmarComing25 @ Jan 6, 2016 -> 09:55 AM) I don't know about that, given that a lot of his peers were also roided up, the fact that Bonds was still so far ahead of them has to mean something. I think it just goes to show how powerful PEDs are. They can take a mediocre player in Sosa and turn him into a would be HOFer or take a HOFer in Bonds and suddenly make him better than Ted Williams starting at age 36. I really think, for the most part, that the HOFers from that era are generally clean. That is why Bonds's numbers stand out so much. It is typically the mediocre to average players that turn to PEDs and make them look much better than they already are. It is when PEDs are given to the best of the best like Bonds or Clemens that it just turns into a joke. Look at the last few years of HOF inductees and soon to be inductees that played through the steroid era. There has not been an ounce of suspicion surrounding these guys. Thome Griffey Smoltz Martinez Johnson Thomas Maddux Glavine Larkin Alomar Ripken Gwynn Can you imagine the numbers those guys would have put up if they used PEDs?

QUOTE (3GamesToLove @ Jan 6, 2016 -> 09:39 AM) Where in my post did I say "pre-steroid suspicion Barry Bonds?" Late '30s roided up Bonds's numbers should be taken with a grain of salt. There is no validity to those numbers at all.

QUOTE (flavum @ Jan 6, 2016 -> 08:46 AM) 181 votes...about 40% of the total... Griffey - 100.0 Piazza - 86.2 Bagwell - 77.3 Raines - 76.2 Taking away the 100 or so votes of non-baseball writers from last year absolutely helped the percentages this year, but I think only two guys are getting in this year. It's too bad for Raines, but hopefully he gets over the finish line next year. Guys typically get a boost in their last year. There are no slam dunk candidates next year so I think Raines should get in no problem.

QUOTE (3GamesToLove @ Jan 6, 2016 -> 08:06 AM) Seriously. Bonds is the best offensive player since Ted Williams, and it's not even close. Also, funny that you qualify Bonds with "depending on how you view him," but include no such disclaimer for Manny, who actually tested positive twice. Also, like Hawk always does, you forgot Albert Pujols. And a guy named Frank Thomas, depending on where you delineate "the last two decades of players." Before Bonds got on the steroids, Frank Thomas was a better hitter. Through their age 32 season (the last season before Frank started a seemingly never ending string of injuries and the end of what is normally considered 'prime' for a player) Bonds - .289/.408/.551, 374 HRs, 1094 RBIs, 359 2Bs, 1227 BBs, 958 Ks in 7403 PAs Thomas - .321/.440/.579, 344 HRs, 1183 RBIs, 361 2Bs, 1188 BBs, 835 Ks in 6799 PAs If Thomas had the same number of PAs he would have had 375 HRs, 1288 RBIs, 393 2Bs, 1294 BBs, 909 Ks So Frank had a higher average, higher OBP, higher SLG, higher HR rate, higher RBI rate, higher 2B rate, higher walk rate and lower strikeout rate. How was prime, pre-steroid Bonds a better hitter than prime Frank Thomas again?

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jan 6, 2016 -> 07:33 AM) I wouldn't hold Edgar being a DH against him. It has been a position for over 40 years. And it isn't a position a lot of guys have been able to excel. Adam LaRoche isn't the first guy to struggle DHing. Voters need to deal with it. I do think, if you are going to hold guys out of the HOF on suspicion of PED use, however, he has to be on that list. You have to suspect based on the numbers. I think you will see the HOF voters view on the DH start to shift as well with the revocation of the voting privileges for the old curmudgeons that haven't covered baseball in decades.

QUOTE (ptatc @ Jan 5, 2016 -> 02:46 PM) This is where it's gets tricky. If someone gets caught, admits it and does his suspension should he be looked at differently? Most of these question marks are due to the question marks of the testing and procedures during their time. If the MLB had the testing in place it does today Bonds, McGwire, Sosa would not have been able to do what they did. Should they be penalized because the league and the union did not have the testing in place? Whether testing was in place or not, steroids were banned for the vast majority of these guys' careers. They should not get a pass just because were not testing procedures in place especially when they would have some say in the procedures to due the collective bargaining agreement. Being innocent is not the same as not getting caught.

QUOTE (GreenSox @ Jan 5, 2016 -> 01:44 PM) It says total GB % 47.6%. Where do you see 31% and 40.5% http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playe...&position=P You are ignoring his LD%. His FB% as your link CLEARLY shows is 31.0% for his career and 40.5% for last year.

QUOTE (Alexeihyeess @ Jan 5, 2016 -> 12:06 PM) Unless the Sox see something specific in Fister they can turn around I don't get it. I'd rather have Carroll starting games than Turner, Fister and maybe even Erik Johnson. But I like Scott Carroll more than most. You'd rather have a journeyman, barely hanging onto professional baseball pitcher like Scott Carroll as the 5th starter than a guy who was the International Pitcher of the Year last year and was a top 100 prospect two years ago in Erik Johnson? You can't be serious.

QUOTE (GreenSox @ Jan 5, 2016 -> 10:37 AM) I certainly would too, but that's all up to Cooper. Cooper gave Noesi a year to prove himself (or not); Johnson went external to get some help to straighten out. Regardless they need another pitcher on the 25 who can start; put him in long relief as insurance. There's really no one in the upper minors if Danks or Johnson fails. Right now I say the 6th starter/long relief man is Jacob Turner.

I have no interest in Fister at all. I would rather give Erik Johnson the chance to prove himself.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 4, 2016 -> 02:23 PM) I don't see not admitting an individual to the Hall of Fame as being the same as pretending they don't exist. I think putting them together is a non sequitor. Exactly. There is plenty of evidence to the existence and achievements of Bonds, McGwire, etc in the Hall of Fame. Being inducted is an honor. Once you decide to disgrace baseball's honor you are no longer worthy of being inducted. Nobody is pretending that these guys didn't exist.

QUOTE (ChiSox_Sonix @ Jan 5, 2016 -> 07:42 AM) Interesting to see how the voters treat Manny and Pudge. They'd be shoe-ins if not for suspicions surrounding them. Vlad should be a first ballot guy IMO, but I could see it taking a year or two. There is not just suspicion surrounding Manny. He was busted, twice. Zero chance he gets in the Hall of Fame. Vlad should be in but if I don't think he makes it first ballot. For whatever reason Pudge seems to be one of these guys, like Ortiz, that everybody knows used PEDs but for whatever reason just seem to ignore it. I think his case will be interesting though I don't think he gets in first ballot.

Another game, another Toews OT winner. What else is new?