MindGame2004

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Oct 22, 2015 -> 11:11 AM) 57 SB's and plays really good D. He had a WOBA of .251 and a wRC+ of 52 though. Yuck. Has virtually no power, so with that said, he's got to have a MUCH higher OBP to utilize his speed. It does nothing if he's not on base. 57 SB with a .274 OBP. That's insane. He cut back on his strikeouts, too. Reds may be going for a full teardown this winter. We'll see.

QUOTE (OmarComing25 @ Oct 22, 2015 -> 12:29 PM) The Sox were 3rd in the AL in pitching WAR this year (9th in the MLB) and 1st for SP. Samardzija was a failure, but you can't win them all. Thanks a lot, Chris Sale.

QUOTE (bmags @ Oct 22, 2015 -> 12:25 PM) Are we sure Cooper is good anymore? I'm not sure it matters. It would seem that no matter who is manager, you get Don Cooper as part of the deal. He's been with the team to some degree since 1988 and become pitching coach in 2002. They've never looked back.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Oct 22, 2015 -> 12:23 PM) Judging by his last two starts, I'd say they figured out the problem was tipping pitches. Better late than never, right? I'll take what I can get.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Oct 22, 2015 -> 10:04 AM) He didn't get along with Cooper. Who's fault that is, we don't know, but I think you probably have to split it. One stat they had during one of the playoff games showed Shark threw his fastball a very small percentage of the time. Bottom 4 in baseball. I also read his slider was a big problem for him this year. He was hit hard vs. it, and in the past it was a put away pitch. He threw more cutters this year than he's ever thrown before. And he was about as terrible as he's ever been. Someone should have probably said, "You know what? Maybe we need to stop having Jeff throw cutters." Ventura. Cooper. Samardzija himself. File it under the first step to fixing a problem is admitting there is one.

Where does Don Cooper factor into Samardzija's failures this past season? Wherever he lands, it is going to be interesting to see how he does and what he's throwing.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Oct 15, 2015 -> 02:53 PM) How about I choose both? A WS win and a sustained run of success? I'd be down with that. One playoff appearance since that World Series. Unlucky in 2006, but otherwise, when did they ever come close to the postseason again? Robin's first season a few years ago.

The players support Ventura publicly. For whatever that is worth. Seems like healthy support. They don't go out of their way to pledge their support, but it seems genuine and not cliché filled sound bytes for the media.

Take a pass here. Not what they need at the moment.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Oct 15, 2015 -> 09:05 AM) Why is it BS? If you assume he will be a bust, trading him makes a ton of sense. Tim Anderson's K to BB rate for AA is alarming when you project him to the Majors. I know he's new to baseball, and the Sox like those type of toolsy athlete types, but I have reservations as to Anderson being all he can be in the Majors. 114 K to 24 walks. 125 games played. He doesn't have the power to hit like that either. If they trade him, what would they get back is the real question.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Oct 15, 2015 -> 10:53 AM) What it shows you is he wasn't fired because he didn't play for the White Sox. It shows you he isn't coming back because it was convenient to let go of the guy who didn't have a contract for next year. If he had one and McEwing or Steverson didn't, one of those guys would have been launched. I think though, they anticipated a possibility of a needed scapegoat years ago, and had the bench coach's contract expire earlier than the others. That's what it boils down to. Parent and Baines gone, but look, we're changing things up! What's sad is there is a portion of the fanbase they're fooling in doing so, but I think the majority of us know it is nothing more than scapegoating, as you said.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Oct 15, 2015 -> 10:40 AM) Surely you don't think their trade values are anywhere near equal, right? Man, this is really a tough crowd. I obviously do not and never said that. You're looking at the most recent comps, then go upward in terms of value and the return on that value. He's their most valuable asset and probably has the highest trade value of any starter in MLB. That would suggest that a front office would get a seriously valuable return in exchange for him. If they won't do a tear down around him, and we know they won't, they'll just tinker around it and they'll be running in place. What gets you closer to winning a championship, keeping Chris Sale or trading him? It's an easy question with no real easy answer. Of course we don't know if what they got back would work out. That's the risk.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Oct 15, 2015 -> 10:57 AM) Look at the list of prospects Boston offered Seattle for King Felix, and gave them their choice of 5. While Seattle hasn't won anything since, they were far better off saying no. I don't understand why people want to get rid of stars for prospects. You must love when the Sox lose. Again, I said, does keeping Sale or trading him get you closer to winning a Championship? That's for this brilliant brass to decide. Truthfully, if they did trade Sale, they'd be likely to screw it up and get a Greinke type of return. It's Chris Sale. You dangle the carrot and see what you get offered. If it isn't enough, say no. If this were a smart front office, they could probably rob somebody, but they're not so they probably won't. If you do it right, with his age/talent/contract you could get a ton of value back in return and start moving toward being good again. And no, it's ridiculous to suggest I love when the Sox lose. I know I'm a new poster, but have I been out of line so far this morning to warrant that kind of remark?

QUOTE (SouthSideSale @ Oct 15, 2015 -> 10:37 AM) Sale is a different animal. You'd need at least one impact MLB ready bat. Ala Puig, Arenado, etc. plus a package of at least 3 top prospects. Exactly. Which is what they need. Again, if they want to keep shining the turd, this is where they're going to be and stay. If they can figure out a way to rebuild by keeping Sale, fine. To me, he's their most valuable asset and would yield the most in return.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Oct 15, 2015 -> 09:35 AM) Joe McEwing never played for the White Sox. Todd Steverson never played for the White Sox. Don Cooper never played for the White Sox. Why weren't they fired? Great question. The Jerry loyalty clause? McEwing came up from Charlotte, no? I don't have an answer. Why was Parent expendable other than not being able to speak Spanish? They couldn't find another role for him in the organization? Did he want one? All great questions. I liked the Steverson hire when they made it. Based on the results, either he's bad at his job or they don't listen to him. They're not blaming him for the lack of getting on base, so it if isn't his fault, whose is it? If the players are professional and not accountable for their production why do you pay a hitting coach? Again, great question. No idea why he's still here. Whoever becomes manager, you get Don Cooper. I don't have an answer for that either. I know that Jeff Samardzija wasn't great but also wasn't as bad until he started throwing under Cooper. It doesn't really matter who they hire as manager. If he can't bring in his own guys and has to keep Cooper, it matters little. The point is Jerry loves his kids. We know this. The organization needs a serious cleansing from top to bottom. If we're going to live off of one championship that was ten years ago, cool. Bring in people who know what they're doing so we can win more. There are people all over the game that know the information, how to use it and can at least attempt to put the team in position to be good and stay good. We're seeing nothing but business as usual to this point. Look outside of your own circle and actually interview people for these jobs.