Jose Abreu

QUOTE (Black_Jack29 @ Oct 21, 2016 -> 10:44 AM) If he didn't struggle in the first half, where it seemed that he was fighting a nagging injury, his OPS probably would've ended up around .850 or so. So I don't see a skill erosion (yet), but one knock against Jose going forward is that he hates DHing. I also wonder about the accuracy of his age. Cuba is not known for its accurate record-keeping. What's interesting is that he dealt with said leg injury for the entire season. Perhaps it was less of a problem in the 2nd half, but it's still incredible that he had the 2nd half he did with that injury. Hitting on a bad leg has horrible effects on power.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Oct 20, 2016 -> 08:13 AM) I've seen nothing that suggests they are half-assing it again. I think they are rebuilding. My interpretation is that trading Sale but requiring Bradley and his 4 years of control in return is a half-sell, half-buy type of thing.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Oct 19, 2016 -> 01:27 PM) Well they don't because most teams with a core of Sale, Quintana, Rodon, Eaton, Abreu, and Anderson wouldn't be rebuilding. They don't spend real $$ though and don't have prospects to trade. That's the rub. This is something I'd agree with in the past, but since it hasn't been working, they either need to go all in (for once) or sell, and it annoys me that we're *reportedly* trying to half-ass it again (or, at least, we were in July).

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Oct 19, 2016 -> 09:52 AM) http://www.csnchicago.com/video/david-kaplan-goes-soft-fans This is the greatest thing I've ever seen

I don't get why our FO doesn't want to do a normal rebuild. The half-and-half thing is not going to work. We all know how half-buying has worked for us, why would half-selling be any different? If we trade Sale to Boston, there's no need to require Bradley over Benintendi, as taking Bradley would definitely diminish the rest of the return. Benintendi will be better than Bradley, IMO.

QUOTE (Lemon_44 @ Oct 19, 2016 -> 10:43 AM) It seems like the longer this thread has gone on, the more people are lowering their expectations on a Sale return. We're talking about possibly the best, most dominant LH in all of baseball at a bargain price. JBJ, Bennintendi, Kopech, Devers, is the minimum price for Sale. Rodriguez and Swihart added is a reasonable return. Did Clayton Kershaw retire?

QUOTE (knightni @ Oct 19, 2016 -> 10:07 AM) If this movie does one thing, it's to teach people the correct spelling of the word, "rogue." The next spin-off should contain the word "definitely". I see "defiantly", "definetly", "definitly", etc. on a daily basis

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Oct 18, 2016 -> 08:33 AM) I can get behind the control thing, it just seems like people think he's a bad player. He didn't, though. He went from a .355 wOBA to a .354. His K rate actually dropped significantly while his walk rate stayed essentially the same. His average and OBP rose. If anything, he provided evidence that his strong half season in 2015 wasn't a fluke. Sorry, let me clarify. I meant he fell off this year in the 2nd half. 1st half OPS was .926, 2nd half OPS was .728. That is a warning sign to me.

QUOTE (soxfan2014 @ Oct 18, 2016 -> 08:06 AM) I know people hate that JBJ only has 4 years of control, but I'm sure the Sox will try to compete in that time. Or he plays about the same and you flip him for more prospects in a year or two. Then why not just get the better prospects from Boston, for the more valuable player in Sale? Acquiring Bradley and flipping him seems like defeating the purpose of trading Sale.

The problem with wanting both Benintendi AND Moncada is A. Boston wouldn't do that and B. That would severely lessen the likelihood of getting guys like Kopech/Groome/Devers as well, who are much better than our prospects too

Character posters/names were tweeted today

QUOTE (Dunt @ Oct 17, 2016 -> 05:54 PM) I really don't think they rebuild. I am thinking they do end up dealing Sale, but instead of rebuilding, it's sort of a retooling. Move Sale and get JBJ, Devers, Kopech, and Rodriguez and then grab someone who can play LF and move Melky to DH. If they did something like that, next year could be really interesting: Eaton RF JBJ CF Abreu 1B Cespedes LF Melky DH Frazier 3B Saladino/Lawrie 2B Avila? C Anderson SS Quintana L Gonzalez R Rodon L Rodriguez R Fulmer R That rotation... yikes

I really think Sale and Robertson for Benintenidi, Kopech, Groome, Rodriguez, and Vasquez is pretty fair, but unrealistic given our obsession with Bradley

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Oct 17, 2016 -> 03:26 PM) Why does everyone think JBJ is overrated? He fell off offensively this year. We know what we're getting defensively, but his offense is still a question mark.

QUOTE (WBWSF @ Oct 17, 2016 -> 07:54 AM) A friend of mine who lives downstate is a big Cardinals fan. He told me over the weekend that the Cardinals have serious interest in Adam Eaton. I don't know if the White Sox want to trade Eaton and I don't know if the Cardinals have any players we would want in return. That's interesting. Given his skill and contract, he has enormous trade value as well.

Anyone else getting Battlefield this week?

QUOTE (Soxfest @ Oct 16, 2016 -> 05:58 PM) Same group of fools who said Avi was a 5 tool player will be the ones evaluating talent in the player return in any potential Sale or Q deal . That is a huge issue to me, track record is awful in scouting. Yeah I agree. MLBTR article said we'd want a package of Bradley/Devers/Rodriguez?? That would be a horrible return for Sale. Bradley is overrated and our FO's infatuation with getting him rather than Benintendi/Kopech/Groome type guys is puzzling.

QUOTE (ChiliIrishHammock24 @ Oct 16, 2016 -> 12:37 PM) No. There is a difference between a "team's best hitter" and "one of the best hitters in baseball". Tommy Joseph was the Phillies best hitter this year. Does that make him a top 30 and one of the best hitters in baseball? The Reds #1 starter is Anthony DeSclafani. Does that mean he's an ace and one of the best pitchers in baseball? You're theory operates on all teams being equal, and that's not even close to being true. But I'm not saying to take the top hitters from each team in real life. I'm saying that Melky is in the top 64 of all MLB hitters, so if teams were even, he would be the third best hitter on a team, and nearly a 2nd best hitter.

QUOTE (GreenSox @ Oct 16, 2016 -> 12:32 PM) And he can't play defense at all and he was not a good hitter the prior year. The only teams interested in him would be contenders and where exactly will a contender use him....DH. Like I said, July trade guy, presuming he has a good year and presuming Hahn doesn't take another nap this July The defense comment is accurate. However, 2015 Melky (who, by the way, was still decent) also was extremely unlucky. This year, his luck balanced out and his numbers got better. My point is, it isn't an issue of ability. edit- he had a .297 2015 BABIP despite a higher hard contact % than he had this year.

QUOTE (ChiliIrishHammock24 @ Oct 16, 2016 -> 12:01 PM) No, it doesn't. Top 20 hitter in baseball are some of the best hitters in baseball. There, all cleared up. So the 21st best hitter in baseball, or, in theory, the best hitter on one's team, doesn't qualify as one of the best? The way I see it, the best 2-3 hitters on all teams, therefore the top 90 overall (maybe closer to 75), should be considered some of the best in the game.

QUOTE (GreenSox @ Oct 16, 2016 -> 11:12 AM) Melky one of the best hitters in baseball....good lord He was 65th in OPS. 65/270 puts him in the top 24% of hitters in baseball... he's one of the best and to say that "nobody wants him" is just absurd.

QUOTE (GreenSox @ Oct 15, 2016 -> 06:17 PM) Nobody wants Melky, except in maybe a July pickup if he's having a good year. Like others said, Jones, or preferably Robertson. Yeah you're right, I mean who would want one of the best hitters in baseball?

McEwing was horrible at sending/holding runners. Hope this guy is better

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Oct 12, 2016 -> 11:03 PM) If you could get Moncada, Benintendi, Kopech and Swihart for Sale and Melky, do you do it? Yes, 100 times out of 100, which tells me Boston wouldn't.

QUOTE (SCCWS @ Oct 12, 2016 -> 10:00 PM) FWIW---Boston Cable had their end of season Red Sox wrap-up show tonight. Had 4 of the regular media members that cover the team from different media sources. Retaining Farrell was a sign that Dombrowski will not be making major changes. All were in agreement that Red Sox from all indications will go with existing starters but will need to add a set-up person in bullpen. All agreed Moncada and Benintendi will not be traded. A few other thoughts they had: 1. Moncada could eventually end up as a right-fielder in AAA next year and that could free up a Bradley trade in 2018. 2. 3B is Panda's to lose. 3. Swihart will eventually be traded but not this offseason since he is damaged goods. 4. Vazquez will most likely be the 2017 catcher. 5. Buchholtz could be a sign and trade for a SP prospect or a bullpen piece. As if anyone would want him... he's worse than Danks. I hope they aren't that biased.