lasttriptotulsa

QUOTE (soxfan2014 @ Sep 23, 2015 -> 09:03 AM) - Trade LaRoche to the Marlins for Martin Prado (Marlins wanted him last off-season. Could be interested as a one year stop gap. Yankees are also paying some of Prado's contract, but the Sox could also kick in some cash to off-set the difference. One year left on contract, see if we can flip him in July if we're out of it.) Why on Earth would the Marlins trade Prado for LaRoche?

QUOTE (bjm676 @ Sep 22, 2015 -> 12:11 PM) If given the choice of those two, definitely Thompson. Garcia is quickly reaching Viciedo-type bust status. So Garcia is quickly reaching bust status but the guy who's older than him, put up inferior numbers than him in the minors and has had nothing more than a cup of coffee in the Majors isn't? How does that work? This love affair with Trayce Thompson is getting a little ridiculous. At the beginning of this year the consensus was pretty much he could be a 4th outfielder at best. Now all of the sudden some act like he's the next Mike Trout or something.

QUOTE (Flash Tizzle @ Sep 20, 2015 -> 03:35 PM) Not likely, but not impossible. And who's to say he doesn't come out of the bullpen one day during a blowout for a few innings if he's short? QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Sep 20, 2015 -> 03:36 PM) They're on their way to the playoffs. Personal stats like that shouldn't be that important to them. Gibbons said if Buehrle needs another inning or two he might bring him back on short rest to pitch in the last game of the year out of the pen. It would suck to see him miss it this year as many believe he is going to retire.

Born in 1984 and started watching sports around 90-91. As a fan of the Sox, Packers, Bulls, Blackhawks and Badgers there really has never been a time where at least one of my teams hasn't been a contender. 1 World Series, 6 NBA Championships, 2 Super Bowls, 3 NFC Titles, 3 Stanley Cups, 3 Rose Bowl wins and 3 Final Fours in 25 years of fandom is something I really can't complain too much about.

You really can't compare Cutler's numbers to any of the guys in the first bunch you listed. The game is completely different today than it was even 15 years ago. Had Cutler played in the '90s and put up the same numbers he would be considered one of the better QB's in the league. As a Packer fan, I like to rip on Cutler for his repeated failures against the Packers but honestly you guys could have worse. Cutler is what he is, a guy with a good skill set who makes a lot of boneheaded plays. He can lose you a game just as easily as he can win you a game.

One thing to note on Viciedo is that he exclusively played 1B and DH at Charlotte this year and committed just 1 error in 309 chances.

QUOTE (Mike F. @ Sep 17, 2015 -> 08:49 AM) I didn't mean it in a bad way. It was something along the lines of "please learn how to hit a high fastball so you can become a star player". It wasn't rude at all. He just can't take criticism. Maybe he can't take criticism but you're the one whining on multiple mediums about how a person you don't know blocked you on twitter. Here's a little piece of advice too, if you're going to levy criticism at a player it's best not to do it in a reply to a tweet in which he is stating that his daughter is a blessing from God. Reading you're tweets on the subject, you are really the one that comes off looking bad here.

QUOTE (BrianAnderson @ Sep 17, 2015 -> 10:31 AM) Remember when the Sox were talking earlier in the season of throwing Abreu over at 3B so that they could get both him and LaRoche (Yes, it was that early in the season when LaRoche wasn't considered an albatross) in the lineup at the same time. I'm not saying it's smart, but what if that's an option to move shell pieces around to make this team better? I don't think we're getting rid of LaRoche, and I don't see how to make this team better really with him on it, but let's say we're stuck with him. We instantly have Miggy at 3B (okay, a little less than Miggy), but good bat, probably below average defense. Put LaRoche at 1st and cross your fingers, toes, and eyes that he can bounce back at a year older and hit .250, 20HR, and 70RBI. Now you can shift Avi (although I don't really see him turning a corner, and if he turns a corner, it's a turn onto Viciedo St) or Melky out of the OF and into your DH spot. Upgrade OF with a Cespedes? Or maybe put Micah at DH if we are looking for a cheap option. That gives the team more speed, offense. I mean, Abreu can't be that bad at 3B if the Sox brought it up to the media earlier in the year. It would make this team more versatile for sure. Have him start 100 games at 3B, 30 at DH, 20 at 1B. Have Saladino start 60 at 3B. Eaton Melky Abreu Cespedes/Heyward LaRoche Alexei Avi/Micah (DH) Sanchez (Catcher) As much as Abreu has dealt with nagging injuries in both years, I have no desire to play him at a more physically demanding position.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Sep 16, 2015 -> 02:04 PM) The Packers have the luxury of playing in what may be the worst division in football. But they barely beat a Bears team that may only win 4-6 games this year. Its early, but I really expected the Packers to look a lot better last week (even without Nelson). I don't know, I thought they played pretty well. The offense played about as good as you can expect. They scored on 5 of their 7 drives and didn't commit a turnover or allow a sack. The defense allowed too many rushing yards but they were also playing without a key linemen in Guion and their best run stopping DB in Burnett. I'm really not too worried.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Sep 15, 2015 -> 12:33 PM) I disagree. He's the best but you can't lose one of the best WRs in football and be "fine". We shall see. An offense featuring Rodgers, Lacy, Cobb, Adams and Jones along with a very stout O-line is going to make you the favorites week in and week out and on the short list of Super Bowl contenders. Had Nelson not gotten hurt, they may have challenged the single season scoring record.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Sep 15, 2015 -> 08:43 AM) I'm sure if I said the Packers could be 0-1 with Jordy back, they'd take that deal rather than being in the position they are in. No doubt. I see them going probably 11-5 without him. Had they had him they could win 12-13 even with a first game loss.

QUOTE (Leonard Zelig @ Sep 15, 2015 -> 02:12 AM) Wouldn't the best QBs not need to come from behind? The NFL's 4th quarter comeback definition is about as pathetic as MLB's quality start also. For example in Tony Romo's 1st "4th quarter comeback" of his career on 10-29-2006 against the Panthers the Cowboys were down 13-14 after kicking a field goal with 9:54 left in the 4th. The Panthers then fumble the kickoff and Dallas recovers at the 14 yard line. On the next play Romo hands off to Julius Jones who runs it in for a 14 yard touchdown to put them up 21-14 after a two point conversion. Dallas goes on to the win the game 35-14. Tony Romo is credited for a 4th quarter comeback in that game. By definition a team could be down 1 point at the 1 yard line at the start of the fourth quarter. They kick a field goal and win the game the quarterback is credited with a 4th quarter comeback.

QUOTE (pettie4sox @ Sep 14, 2015 -> 08:51 PM) I stand by what I said. That does imply top 3. What? You're right it doesn't imply top 3, you specifically ranked them 1, 2, 3.

QUOTE (pettie4sox @ Sep 14, 2015 -> 10:59 AM) Manning and Brees are not top 5 anymore. Rodgers, Brady, Romo is how would list them at his point.

QUOTE (pettie4sox @ Sep 14, 2015 -> 08:32 PM) Thank you for reassuring that Rodgers is a deity among men, what does that have to do with anything? You're the one trying to make Romo out to be an elite top 3 QB and then proceeding to make excuses as to why he's never quite performed like the elite QBs. The elite QBs don't need the excuses.

QUOTE (pettie4sox @ Sep 14, 2015 -> 07:43 PM) What QB can be effective when has no time to throw? It's a team game ultimately but Romo leads the league in 4th quarter comebacks. That's a big deal and the signs of an elite QB. The most sacks Romo has ever taken in a season is 36. In 2011 Rodgers took 36 sacks and set the single season QB rating record and went 14-1. In 2012 he took 51 and still managed a 108 QB rating.

QUOTE (Feeky Magee @ Sep 14, 2015 -> 02:58 PM) 5.5% was a big surprise given his career tendencies, and I'd expect that that would have climbed given longer at the level. Sometimes you can be doing stuff that usually leads to good walk percentages (i.e. not swinging at pitches outside the zone) but it doesn't show up in your walk percentages in the short-term. Avi put up that OPS in a mere 200 PA, and he did it with a skillset that typically doesn't translate well to MLB level (take his 2014 line of 1.8% walks, 30% strikeouts and a .485 BABIP.) And again, I'm not anointing Trayce a saviour. I've already said I still have him at 4th outfielder level. Being a more productive major league player than Avi is not exactly a high bar. Surely given your thoughts about Avi, he should at least be showing signs of improvement year-on-year? He's been virtually an identical player no matter what chunk of MLB PA you take. His stats at the same age are actually worse than Dayan Viciedo. Isolating a 13 game stretch when he was out on a rehab assignment doesn't really make for a very compelling argument.

QUOTE (Feeky Magee @ Sep 14, 2015 -> 01:53 PM) Tyler Flowers is one player. Generally, there's a strong correlation between high-minor walk rates and major walk rates: And I'm not even saying Trayce is going to be good, I still need to see a lot more for him to be a starter, I'm still in the "probable good fourth outfielder" camp, all I was saying is that some people talk about Trayce like he hasn't really produced in the minors because all they're looking at is batting average. Assists don't mean that much when you are as terrible as Avi is. He is a huge liability in the field. That's where you start and end with his defence. He is also a really bad baserunner, ranking 141 of 153 players this year in baserunning runs. Who's point are you trying to prove with that chart? TT had just a 5.5% walk rate in AAA (which is the only level the chart shows) and the chart shows it is likely he would be the same in MLB. That's not a good walk rate. And how can you claim that they will probably be about the same offensively when Avi put up a .933 OPS at AAA from age 22 to 23 and Thompson put up just a .744 OPS at age 24? And guess what? Their walk rates were nearly identical. It would take a hell of a big difference in defense and base running to make up that difference in OPS. Let's give Trayce some time before we anoint him the savior. Avi doesn't yet have 2 seasons worth of at bats in the Majors with a major injury during that time. He still has a ways to go before he becomes a productive major league player but he's still just barely 24 years old (younger than TT). I swear some people on this board know absolutely nothing about baseball except what a fangraphs page can show them.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Sep 11, 2015 -> 01:54 AM) You guys despise Greg's picks. Look at this one I made, baby. I will accept praise in this thread if u wanna praise Greg!! Even a blind squirrel finds a nut every once in a while.

He'll get there. Using his HR, RBI rates from the entire season puts him on track for 32 HRs, 101 RBIs. If he finishes the final 24 games using his second half pace he is on track for 33 HRs, 105 RBIs.

QUOTE (scs787 @ Sep 9, 2015 -> 11:08 AM) Yeah, I'm still here. Trying not to stress over it so I've sorta blocked the thread out of mind. At this point we are just gonna wait on the tax sale and see what happens from there. Way I see it they are going to get their 10k out if the tax sale the we either A. Decide to take the surplus and move somewhere else or B. We have to come up with the 10k to pay to the buyer of the property.....It really sucks losing this house but option A sounds more plausible. Whatever way it shakes out we are still here for a year. Thanks for all of your concerns. I know you said the house has been in the family a long time, but if it were me I would take any surplus (there probably won't be much) and run versus continuing to pay $1900 in property taxes on a $25,000 house. I just can't fathom how your property taxes are that high. We have very high taxes where I live in Wisconsin and I pay around $2100 per year on my house that appraises for roughly $115,000.

QUOTE (BamaDoc @ Sep 9, 2015 -> 12:24 PM) I would offer him two years at 14 total. He would bridge to another shortstop. Anderson wouldn't be rushed, he likely needs 1 plus years. QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Sep 9, 2015 -> 12:31 PM) I would rather give him the one year at $10 million, versus a discounted 2 year deal. I wouldn't be opposed to them signer to a lesser deal such as the 2/14 mentioned, but the second year would have to be an team option. There's no way I'm guaranteeing him 2 more years. I think Anderson will be ready by 2017 at the latest. I think he could probably hold his own next year if need be (at least offensively).

QUOTE (Lip Man 1 @ Sep 9, 2015 -> 10:21 AM) Quick bottom line take on Ramirez. If you think the Sox will contend next year, maybe you sign him and hope for the best. If not, you don't. Why sign him and take away playing time for youngsters in order to win 75 games? Personally, I don't think Kenny is going anywhere. Robin isn't going anywhere. This team has gaping holes to fill at catcher, third base, DH and they are going to need another starting pitcher (Shark is gone). They are going to have to do this with less money since a lot of folks who bought season tickets this off season aren't coming back. JR is also still going to be "heavily involved" (Hahn's words from yesterday) is trying to fix this as well. I don't think the Sox are going to contend next season either...so why waste money on Ramirez? Mark Win 75 games? The team this year is on pace to win 78 despite several players having their worst season of their careers. What reasons do you think there are for a possible regression? The young players (Sanchez, Saladino, Garcia, Thompson) will have more experience and should improve. Abreu, Sale, Quintana, Eaton, Cabrera, Danks, Flowers and Ramirez are going to give you roughly the same performance if not better. The likelihood of LaRoche being as bad isn't good. I don't think Erik Johnson will have any trouble being as good if not better than Samardzija this year and the bullpen should be roughly the same. That's if they make zero moves which we all know is not going to happen. This team will ABSOLUTELY plan on competing next year.

I don't think some of you realize how little $10 million is in today's game. That is the going rate for roughly 1.5 fWAR. A below average player. Alexei will finish shy of that this year but I would say the odds are decent enough that he will return to at least that number next year that I would be willing to pick up the option especially since there are really no better options out there. Pick up the option and then in 2017 Anderson should be ready and we move on.

QUOTE (Lip Man 1 @ Sep 8, 2015 -> 10:40 PM) I am not a stat guy so I don't even know what the numbers you posted mean with all due respect. I'll simply say I've watched Ramirez for years and stand by my statement. I will also tell you for what it's worth, that one of the Sox broadcasters said privately he's (quote) "the dumbest shortstop in baseball..." I'll take their word and what I've seen with my own eyes over numbers that can be made to say anything you want them to. (Not saying you personally have twisted anything but as someone who worked in TV sports I know how ratings are twisted to mean anything a particular individual or station wants them to.) The sooner Ramirez goes, the better in my opinion. Mark Stats don't lie, it's your eyes that twist things and make you see what you want to see. The stats say Alexei has been one of the better shortstops in baseball since 2009. I think I'll trust the stats a little more than basing my opinion off an offhand comment by one of our broadcasters.