[Orioles DO NOT Sign Fowler]

They can ask for Q or Rodon, but there is 0.0% chance he could net either. Dude was f***ing awful last year. He was basically Avi Garcia.

 

Then offer them Avi............................

 

[Are the Sox done?]

Also, assuming Saladino could handle SS with solid defense, which is very likely, he'd have a much higher floor than Avi.

 

Anyone know if Saladino played fall/winter ball somewhere to work at SS???

 

[Frank Thomas back with White Sox]

Knowing Frank, he needs the money.

 

Could he DH against lefties???

 

[So when we're right around .500 in July, what do we do?]

 

 

At .500 they should punt. Too far out to kick a FG

[Sox should trade for Andre Ethier]

I think I read somewhere that every major league team either averaged using eight starting pitchers...or actually had a minimum of using eight different starters over the course of the 2015 season.

 

8 seems high but I think it is fair to say we can expect the White Sox to need a 6th starter this year since one of our 5 will go down w some injury ( and /or Johnson or Danks will struggle). I thought they would add someone but they must be confident they have enough depth internally.

 

[Saladino "inside track" at SS]

I think for Anderson to have a chance, not only would Anderson have to have a great spring, but Saladino would not only have to hit poorly, but field poorly.

 

Agree. Or as I said that would force them to find a 1 year rental.

 

[Saladino "inside track" at SS]

I'd be stunned if Anderson doesn't start at AAA. I expect Saladino to start the year at SS. How he does over the course of the beginning of the season and Tim does as AAA will determine the position late in the season.

 

Not sure I would be stunned. The good thing for Anderson is that Saladino is not a proven MLB starter at SS. So if Anderson has a great spring and Saladino has a poor spring, a big decision would face Hahn and Ventura. If neither has a good spring, then they may have to go out and get a 1 year rental.

 

[Ventura: "White Sox have potential to be dangerous"]

I agree with RV and have no problem with what he said. Frazier is a huge upgrade at 3B, Lawrie's bat is a sizeable upgrade at 2B with nice power potential and Avila/Navarro are sizeable upgrades at catcher. 3B and Catcher got better defensively and while I don't expect Lawrie to be as slick as Sanchez with the glove at 2B but Lawrie's arm is a big upgrade to that position. Saladino should be a defensive upgrade at SS so the infield overall should much improved defensively and in the batting lineup as well.

 

All I'm saying is that the Sox look much better now than they did at seasons end. Unless of course fans prefered to go with revolving doors at 3B and 2B with Flowers at catcher and an aging/declining Alexei at SS.

 

You think Frazier will be better defensively than Saladino was??? I think Frazier is an average 3B and Saladino is slightly better than average. I think Sanchez is an outstanding 2B and I think Lawrie is a very good one. I have no clue if Saladino is better at SS than the 2nd half Alexei. I think the infield is slightly worse defensively than last year but they needed more offense and the infield will be much better offensively. That is why I feel they need to improve the outfield defensively to offset what I perceive to be a drop in the infield defense. I have no clue how the catcher defense will compare to last year.

 

[White Sox interested in SS Ian Desmond]

 

 

 

Tampa Trib said today Rays might consider adding Desmond since he is a Sarasota resident and might take a cheap short term deal. But Rays are always big on draft picks.

[Cespedes Re-signs with the Mets]

Can we stop acting like because we missed out on the Big 3 that all of Hahn's plans fail to come to fruition? He targeted Lawrie and Frazier and got those done. What was he supposed to do here? There was no way we were going to pry away Gordon or Cespedes unless we grossly overpaid, and Upton didn't want to come here.

 

 

I like Lawrie and Upton but how do we know that is who Hahn targeted??? Did he say so?? Maybe one or both was his 2nd or 3rd choice.

[Infield Defense]

 

 

Like most Sox fans, I am assuming we will add some outfield help and it will ultimately improve our outfield defense. But what about the infield. As it stands right now, I think it is a major step up offensively. But would Lawrie, Saladino and Frazier be worse than Alexei, Saladino and Sanchez defensively?? If so then it would seem Hahn would have to improve the outfield to somewhat offset it.

[Cespedes Re-signs with the Mets]

 

 

DAMN YANKEES......................................... I think Steinbrenner is bluffing

[24/7 Wall Street: Sox 5th largest declining fanbase in sports]

My thought exactly. The White Sox don't have real "lack of fan" problems. They have "Bad baseball" problems. They have a strong enough fanbase when they're good, but that's true for most teams.

 

I am a long-time but distant White Sox fan. As I have posted numerous times, I would bet the White Sox attendance problems are centered around business season ticket sales rather than baseball fan. I live part of the year in New England and many businesses have multiple season tickets for Patriots and Red Sox. The good thing is, most businesses just renew tickets regardless of the team success since they use the majority to give to employees or customers. Obviously the White Sox are in competition w the Cubs for businesses. I went to a major Chicago Bank on business in the early 200o's for a few days and they asked me if I wanted a ticket to a Cubs game while I was in town. It would be interesting to know how many White Sox season tics are corporate. I am not referring to corporate boxes but regular seats.

 

[Cespedes Re-signs with the Mets]

There will be more moves made I think, unless the deadline is tonight. They have half assed it plenty of times, but I still think this year will be different.

 

 

Trade deadline??? Some posters sound like pitchers and catchers are reporting today. Maybe Frazier hits 40 hrs and is AL MVP. Maybe Sox sign Cespedes and he turns into another Adam LaRoche. Maybe Sale and Rodon collide shagging outfield fly balls in SP and 2016 turns into another rebuilding year.

Before we fire the FO, lets see what the roster looks like when SP opens.

[Cespedes Re-signs with the Mets]

On the bright side at least Q won't have to face Cespedes 6 games a year

 

Cespedes agent is meeting w Indians tonight.............................................................................................

........................just kidding.

 

[mlb network top cf right now]

Interesting rankings. I'd say Eaton is closer to 9 or 10. Kiermaier, Gomez & Jones are better players, IMO.

 

Mookie Bettsis a fast riser although he may get bumped to RF

 

[Cespedes Re-signs with the Mets]

There's been a ton of smoke on him being a personality issue.

 

I just can't believe Upton isn't getting more play from other teams. Been a very weird FA.

 

According to Tampa Tribune, Rays are interested in Upton or Desmond if it is a 1 year.

 

[Ian Kennedy to the Royals]

Fwiw, Dave Eisland was Kennedy's pitching coach with the Yankees.

 

The Royals are now officially all-in the next two years with the lost draft pick, albeit low first round.

 

Duffy probably moves to the pen with Collins.

 

Royals now looking at $140 million and $155 million payrolls the next two years...strikeout/flyball pitcher works well in that stadium.

 

Making basically the same as Alex Gordon, amazingly.

 

But the Royals saw attendance increase by 800, 000 last year. I am sure advance sales in 2016 will also increase. Winning a World Series always has a big hit on merchandise sales as well. So I am sure the Royals walked away from 15 with a huge profit.

 

[Cespedes Re-signs with the Mets]

Top 10 pitcher in baseball over the past three years gets you the title of Ace.

 

Q: I think that is a good criteria but what do you use to rate a pitcher as a Top 10??

 

[Sox Players Filing for Arbitration]

The White Sox haven't mentioned their payroll at all.

 

One thing they have been able to accomplish over the years is to get the media and the fans to always buy into the "we don't have any money" routine. When they signed Dunn and brought Paulie and AJ back, people wondered where they got the money. The season was a disappointment, the attendance dropped again, but they still, according to Forbes, made money. That was with a $127 million payroll and $25 million less a year from the national TV contract.

 

 

I also don't understand the 2 year window people. Yes, in 2 years guys like Melky and Frazier and Lawrie could be gone, but that frees up money and maybe a couple of minor leaguers step up. One infamous whiner has gone from the Sox window won't open for 2 years to saying it will shut in 2 years due to Frazier and Lawrie. What did they give up for those guys that was going to be the fuel for the team being great in 2 years? I think if they get Cespedes or Fowler or Jackson, they are looking good in 2016. Jackson intrigues me. He was a good player in Detroit but like several others, couldn't hit at all in Seattle. See Beltre, Adrian. He isn't Beltre with the bat, but IMO, would look good in CF, and is still 29 and probably good for at least a 2 WAR, maybe more. I still want Upton, Cespedes, Jackson, Fowler in that order. I think RH will get one of them. It's probably hopeless on Upton, but an OF upgrade, and a couple things going correctly, this team should be pretty good.

 

I agree and I do think the addition will be Jackson or Fowler. But I do think they need another starting pitcher. I don't think there is a clear cut #6 and these days few teams get away with only 5 starters. If Johnson or Danks fails, another starter is needed but it is not a major void. But if any of the big 3 are lost for a period of time, you will need someone who can fill a major gap. Maybe the FO is comfortable w someone on the roster to fill that role but it is a potential red flag at this point.

 

[Cespedes Re-signs with the Mets]

In parts of 6 seasons with the team, he played 731 games and had over 3,000 plate appearances (3,030). He was drafted as a young kid and became a MVP candidate in his prime with that organization. Why haven't we ever heard about them considering him? #RedFlag

 

EDIT - I realize this is a Cespedes thread, but the Upton thread is too far down now, so this is a vote for Cespedes! #CespedesOrNada

 

Sometimes a player wears out his welcome with an organization. Not saying that is the caee, but I think you are overreacting to their lack of interest.

The same Red flag would appear w Cespedes. Boston quickly moved him and he had some problems w a a coach in his brief stay. Could also be a red flag but just might have been a poor marriage.

 

AJ had history but he certainly was well respected w the White Sox.

 

[Cespedes Re-signs with the Mets]

I never heard this. What I heard happened was Hahn wanted Middlebrooks and KW wanted Avi. Both players aren't good. Luckily they did well with Montas/Wendelken.

 

Maybe Hahn asked for Middlebrooks but he turned out as bad as Avi. Rede Sox did not offer Middlebrooks and obviously Iggy was available.

 

http://m.mlb.com/news/article/55318198/

 

For weeks, Cherington had spoken with the White Sox about Peavy. But the clubs didn't have a direct match. The Red Sox had no interest in including Middlebrooks in that swap.

 

 

 

 

 

[Cespedes Re-signs with the Mets]

You guys probably are reading too far into it. Sox think highly of Avi from what I've heard. Hard worker, good attitude but not good at baseball.

 

I wonder who in the White Sox front office said we don't want that Iglesias from Boston but we do want Avi. I wonder if they are still making scouting decisions.

 

[Gerardo Parra signs with Rockies, 3 yrs 27.5mil]

 

 

For those who see the Cubs games, how is Fowler as a CF. Would he be a significant upgrade on Eaton ( and can Eaton or Melky play RF)? I kind of like getting Fowler and a 5th starter for insurance at this point.

[Cespedes Re-signs with the Mets]

If the White Sox were to go with someone like Fowler, etc over Cespedes & Upton, with the possibility of improving at SS or a back of the rotation guy, would people be happy with that or not enough?

 

 

I like adding Fowler and improving the back of the rotation better than just adding Cespedes or Upton and nothing else. I am not convinced Saladino is the answer at SS but if FO is convinced then so be it.