SCCWS

Great resource to have around the team. He had the same job w Diamondbacks so living in Missouri might have been a factor in his switching to the Sox. Coop will be plenty busy working w the kids on the ML staff so this can be a resource working with the kids in AA/AAA. With all the modern technology, he can probably work from home and via video chat for some of the year.

QUOTE (BrianAnderson @ Feb 6, 2018 -> 01:10 PM) We are now, what ..? A week from pitchers and catchers reporting? I think we've kind of all come to the consensus that we'd rather sit this FA out and let the kids play and figure out what we have. I am in this consensus after swaying a bit. With the Sox having a hole at 3B for basically 15 years minus a few years of Crede -- and then somewhat with Frazier.. would you CONSIDER taking on Moustakas if you could get him at 4 years and $40-48mm? Listen, I'm not even a Mous fan, I am just asking the temperature to a deal like that. A guy who you could lock up from age 29-33 and hits 30HR a year. The interested parties have dwindled QUICKLY, and if there is someone you can get for a big, big discount I think it's him. I personally would consider under these circumstances. - a deal that is at least 3 years, but not longer than 4 years. - a deal that has an AAV of no more than $12mm, but hopefully closer to $10mm - a deal that doesn't have any opt out (we don't need him at all in year 1, and probably year 2) I consider this because of our history at 3b, that if you don't truly believe in BUrger sticking at 3B, and with the consideration that this doesn't preclude you from going after Machado and putting him at SS. (Figure out Anderson later) Did you miss the Rondon signing? Signing Mous would create a wild training camp.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Feb 3, 2018 -> 12:23 PM) Hopefully getting cut like that will serve as a wake up call for whatever mental issues he seems to have. I guess we are out of the Moustakas sweepstakes................

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Feb 2, 2018 -> 03:16 PM) Collins is also younger. Some similar stats this year though. Collins at High A: 130 wRC+, .367 wOBA Collins at AA: 166 wRC+, .414 wOBA 19 homers Zavala at A: 139 wRC+, .376 wOBA Zavala at High A: 145 wRC+, .387 wOBA 21 homers It will be interesting to see them both at Birmingham together. I wonder if Carlton Fisk would like to make some visits to Birmingham this summer? Although Birmingham might be a tough sell. Maybe wait till one or both get to Charlotte.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Feb 3, 2018 -> 09:42 PM) I don't see why we have to have the worst bullpen in baseball. I mean our division reeks yet we make no attempt to improve the worst part of our team. Nobody's ever said on the record that our goal is to lose all our games. Look, Detroit and KC arguably reek. That leaves Minnie and Cleveland. Cleveland is the cliche. The Indians haven't completed the deal and unless they are like the old Braves may be ready to have a bad year and play closer to .500 than dominating. Minnie isn't for real. They are cheaper than the Sox organization. I contend if we actually had a closer, a setup guy and let either Soria or Nate be the third reliever we might actually win the damn division. To start the year, we may have a very mediocre rotation. We all hope it will get better as the young arms get experience, but April to July could be dreary. I hope we have some long relief candidates so when a prospect is having a bad day they can pull him before he pulls something overthrowing.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Feb 1, 2018 -> 07:37 PM) ? Of course they’re both cutting payroll, they’re both at the front-end of rebuilds. What exactly are you suggesting? I think JR may be getting to the point where he will look to sell both in the next couple of years and retire.

QUOTE (Pants Rowland @ Feb 1, 2018 -> 05:40 PM) I'm sorry, but if the Sox can help the Dodgers cut payroll and add a solid prospect to our system in the process, I have to do that deal. The Dodgers then have more ability to sign Darvish, leaving only Arrieta on the table. If Kemp only provides veteran leadership as the 25th man off the bench, it seems worth the $ when payroll is so low right now anyway. For that matter, make a trade with the Brewers, to help them free up $ for Arrieta and kick us a prospect as well. What am I missing? I don't think it is a coincidence that the White Sox and Bulls have both slashed payroll significantly. So I don't see any significant bumps in payroll until the Sox are ready to compete................or JR sells.

QUOTE (ChiSox59 @ Jan 31, 2018 -> 01:47 PM) I've got Lopez penciled in as a mid-rotation started for the next half decade. 1. Kopech 2. Rodon 3. Giolito 4. Lopez 5. Hansen With guys like Cease, Dunning, Fulmer, Adams, Stephens, Guerrero, Clarkin, Viera, Bummer filling out the pen. I could see Dunning in the startwe mix if one of those guys fail, or get traded. That would be great. BUT............What percentage of prospects make it to the MLB and stick? 75% would be nirvana. So to be realistic, 4 ish of them will either flop or have injuries derailing their careers. Hopefully none will be the ones in your 1-5.

He was the Phillies closer back in 2016. Wasn't he the Phillies closer for a while? Did he closer before? Philly perhaps? The crazy thing is that he's only 28 years old and had 37 saves for the Phillies two years ago. It is called "offseason" for a reason.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Jan 26, 2018 -> 08:50 PM) Nobody ever has enough money, so that's gonna happen no matter what. That can be countered with, the owners are worth nine/ten figures, do they really need to raise ticket prices or not sign any free agents? I don't have as much of a problem with teams doing complete rebuilds like the Sox or Atlanta, because they have a plan and a window where they plan to be competitive. It's teams like Pittsburgh and Tampa who kind of compete, but never put in the assets, while the owners are worth so much and will make so much money off the team in the long run, but claim small market. Agree. I think Boston is a good example. They have signed some huge contracts, many of which have turned out to be for players who under-performed afterwards. But every year, their revenue goes up about $20 Million. So their ownership is going to continue as long as the Brink's trucks keep dropping off bundles of money. In the last 10 years, MLB teams total revenue has doubled.

QUOTE (chitownsportsfan @ Jan 26, 2018 -> 02:01 PM) If their revenue was affected up or down it's really just a drop in the bucket. As I mentioned up thread because of the national money pouring in from revenue sharing, MLBAM, etc -- winning has never been more decoupled from revenue. Baseball's economics are broken right now. We need a salary floor and to seriously reconsider revenue sharing and the bulls*** "small market" compensation crap. There are no "small markets" in MLB right now -- only profitable markets and more profitable markets. Not really. I don't think a single franchise has been "crippled" by any FA in the last decade. What teams are doing is in response to the economic incentives currently in place. Those incentives, for the most part, encourage teams not to spend on FA. Major League Baseball (MLB), with its 30 teams, generated around 9 billion U.S. dollars in total revenue in the 2016 season, almost twice the revenue generated ten years ago, when total revenue was at 5.5 billion U.S. dollars. On average each team generated almost 300.9 million U.S. dollars in revenue in 2016. Boston, for example, has revenue growth of about $20 Million every year. They continually pay huge salaries, have a string of players who seem to underproduce based on their mega salaries and their owner's keep smiling as the armored trucks keep making deliveries.

QUOTE (wrathofhahn @ Jan 25, 2018 -> 07:43 PM) Like I said in the other thread players contracts are bloated. His players would sign in a NY minute just not based on the bad deals of the past. You can go through these 7-10 year deals they almost never work out. Pujols. Fielder. Ellsbury. Crawford. Owners are tired of setting their money on fire and I don't blame them. Until you can build a competitive team via FA why should rebuilding teams bloat their caps with a bunch of unmovable deals? The teams that signed Pujols Fielder Ellsbury etc may be tired of setting their money on fire. But I would ask you how many of those franchises are having financial problems because of it. They may not have gotten player production vs dollars spent but did the signing of those players generate income? Did they sell more tickets?? Did they sell more merchandise? Did their advertising revenue increase. These owners are not dummies. They are making money by the truckloads. When their bottom line gets affected they will watch what they spend on salaries. But if spending X ( even if they don't get their true value) nets them X+ they will continue to spend millions on salaries to make more millions in revenue.

QUOTE (bmags @ Jan 18, 2018 -> 12:43 PM) saw that, congrats to Dan! Congrats????Moving from coverage of the White Sox to the Twins sounds like a step down to me.................................

QUOTE (KnightsOnMintSt @ Jan 17, 2018 -> 11:40 AM) I agree, but the way I look at it, 2018 is almost like a practice year. Guys like Moncada, Giolito, and Lopez will get "pressure free" starts, that I think will really help them in 2019. I dont think Engel will be a starter beyond 2018, but I would love to see the development withe the bat because the glove is so strong. Not sure that is true for Moncada. Last year was his pressure free time. He was moved back to his probable future position at 2nd after a really rocky cup of coffee in Boston. Next year's win/loss numbers won't matter but if Moncada really struggles offensively, I think there will be pressure on him later in the year. If he gets 400 AB and his HR/RBI numbers and average are still an issue, I think the fan base will start getting antsy. He will probably be putting pressure on himself as well. I agree the pitchers get a free ride.

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Jan 12, 2018 -> 11:56 AM) I don't see the point in not starting one of Giolito or Lopez. They're the clear 1 and 2 pitchers in our rotation as of now, and hiding them from Opening Day because they're young is pointless- they're gonna have to make high-pressure starts someday, so why not do it now when we're not trying to compete? I don't think it is that clear. If one or both really struggle in ST, they will probably start the year in AAA.

Other than the top 10 relievers or so, the rest are as good as how they are pitching at the present time. Some guys who were solid last year will blow up this year and some guys who stunk last year will bounce back this season. These additions give the Sox a couple of additional bullpen pieces. Their value will be determined how well they pitch April-July. They will either be flippable pieces or will be added to the relief pitcher heap in the offseason.

QUOTE (oldsox @ Dec 20, 2017 -> 06:34 PM) Dick lives outside of Venice, FL, which is a 3.5 hour drive to Miami. I doubt he sees many Marlin games. Versus the 40 minute ride he has to the Trop. Assume Dick has a driver though no matter where he goes

QUOTE (Lillian @ Nov 19, 2017 -> 11:15 AM) Sorry if my post left the impression that I "hate" Sale. Not at all, but I do admire the dedicated athlete. Regarding the advisability of pitchers doing strength training. While upper body work may be debatable, there isn't much question that a strong core and strong legs are a tremendous asset to a pitcher. Most of you have probably seen this old article and video: https://www.topvelocity.net/why-chris-sales...ten-his-career/ Agree but if they don't produce it doesn't matter. Whatever Chris Sale does or doesn't do offseason, it doesn't matter. The results are there. Hopefully the dedicated athletes get longer and healthier careers but injuries may have more to say than anything in that regard.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Dec 19, 2017 -> 08:07 AM) I haven’t seen that anywhere (these all rumors anyways), but I’d probably prefer Cease & Adams. At least Cease offers star potential if he hits. If you swap Adams for Fulmer I think it’s no doubt a better deal unless you really believe in Drury. I tend to ignore most of these "inside sources" rumors. Did we see accurate rumors of the Stanton deal as it ended up before it happened?

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Dec 18, 2017 -> 07:16 AM) I’m not saying the Orioles should or should not trade him now, but banking on an injury by the deadline to create demand is probably a bad strategy. And no one will forced to overpay for Machado if there are other quality options available. Donaldson is one name that immediately comes to mind who will likely be available. There’s just no certainty when it comes to the deadline. And it’s definitely not fair to assume a Chapman overpay. That is one of the biggest outlier deals in recent memory, even when considering the reliever premium in recent years. Look at what the Diamondbacks gave up for JDM last year. With this many sellers, there are typically good position players available at the deadline. There is a lot of heat in New England on DD because Red Sox did not take a sniff on Stanton and have their sights on someone else. You can bet Boston will be all over Machado and/or Harper next year so I think Machado now goes to the FA market because his value has jumped with the Stanton move.

QUOTE (mmmmmbeeer @ Dec 16, 2017 -> 12:50 AM) I think Giolito will be put up very solid #2 numbers this season. It was all mental with him and, after several solid starts last season, I think this kid is going to dominate this season. I definitely see struggles from Lopez and especially Fulmer. Lopez will improve as the season goes along but I just see this being the year Carson is sent to the pen for good. Rodon will take several months to get right and then still be susceptible to the occasional blowout (please trade his ass). There's no way this team competes in 2018. I think it will be extremely fun baseball to watch as we see the chemistry continue to grow, young guys catching on to the MLB game, and some of our top guys coming up throughout the season but, really, they're going to be really s***ty for at least the first half of the season. We may see a late run/streak but it won't be enough to snag a WC spot....though it will leave us pumped for 2019. I agreed with your opening sentence. But then you jumped from Giolito being solid to dominating next year. Maybe solid in 2018 could lead to dominate in 2019 or 2020. Chris Sale was dominating and Q was outstanding. I don't see Gio as either next year.

QUOTE (kwill @ Dec 13, 2017 -> 02:25 AM) I think the best thing the White Sox can do is just chill. Let the madness happen that is the Winter Meetings. Let the young guys develop and take their lumps this year. They need to figure out what prospects will pan out and where they will fit in the rotation and diamond. It is not as exciting as making the big move but it needs to happen. Look at the Yankees last winter meetings. They sat it out and waited for their young guys to develop. I agree but the White Sox are not the Yankees. Certainly it made sense for NY and they have an entrenched fan base. So they might have taken a hit on attendance( even some advertising money) while they reloaded but their attendance numbers are still top 5 ish. The White Sox must be concerned on their numbers as the rebuild continues. Hopefully next year, the White Sox marketing can start to "advertise' the kids to get fans to start coming back and hope the advertisers do not wander North. But 2-3 years of struggling could set the Sox back especially if the Cubs continue as an attractive product.

QUOTE (steveno89 @ Dec 9, 2017 -> 06:57 PM) To me Clint Frazier is an overrated prospect due to the questionable hit tool. He has yet to show he can handle mlb pitching and any team would be foolish to trade quality young pitching for him. Same can be said for Moncada. Having said that I would rather have Moncada than Frazier.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Dec 8, 2017 -> 10:08 AM) That’s not a caviat that is a huge risk for the White Sox. They can’t risk the prospects necessary to acquire him without the guarantee that he extends I don't mean for the White Sox. A contender next year may take a shot on Machado depending on the return with the hope that if they win he may want to sign w that team long-term. The White Sox should only get involved if a sign and trade is a possibility which I doubt.

QUOTE (soxforlife05 @ Dec 8, 2017 -> 07:03 AM) We don't even need him this year. Total waste of prospects. Agree but there is a caviat. Machado may go somewhere for a year, love the situation and sign there long-term. I think he ends up in Boston, LA or New York in FA.