BlackSox13

QUOTE (hi8is @ Mar 11, 2016 -> 12:34 AM) I am so flipping glad to see Lawrie wearing number 15. His fire and dirtbag style of play is such a refreshing sight after seeing a pretty boy soft serve variety named Gordon Beckham. Even if Lawrie sucks - at least he'll be passionately pissed off while doing so. That said, I've got tall expectations for him at the dish this year and think he'll be a great pickup. Amen! Brett Lawrie. QUOTE (ChiSoxFanMike @ Mar 11, 2016 -> 08:13 AM) Lawrie has that "swag" in his playing style that I think the Sox needed. I'm expecting a big season from him. He definitely has an attitude about him that I really like and think was needed for this team. Plus, he's a thorn in the side of the Royals which makes the Lawrie trade that much sweeter for me.

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Mar 10, 2016 -> 05:04 PM) My old desktop died and I lost all all my music on I tunes so have to reload over 300 CD's, probably more if I ever load jazz and classical and all other strange CD's I have. Hated losing all the music I stole from youtube , most likely over 1000 songs with a youtube to mp3 converter. Would have taken forever with the Elitebooks CD drive so bought the external one to speed up the process. I'm with ya on Avi since i was a big supporter of him until 2015 sucked the support from me. He's not even really that bad of a fielder. I think the injury hurt him a lot hitting and fielding. Ah, a fellow music lover. Nice! Good choice going with the external HD, I need to get one myself and a 200GB micro sdxc card for my phone because the 64gb card that's in it now is full up. I mean, why not have more than 64 gigs of mobile music? I'm greedy when it comes to music. Avi: I'm not a fan of his RF defense but I think he could be a decent left fielder.

QUOTE (shysocks @ Mar 10, 2016 -> 03:12 PM) http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/14943065...uining-baseball If you don't wanna read it, he said "get off my lawn." Tell us what's REALLY on your mind Goose. Don't hold back....

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Mar 10, 2016 -> 03:39 PM) I'm Ok with it. My son sent me an older HP Elitebooks laptop but loaded it with Windows 10. It's not HD but should it be. I'm happy enough just to be watching the game. I got the game window open plus game day for both games and Soxtalk and it's still coming in good. Also I-tunes open and running an external disc drive. Sox turn a triple play on fly out to Coats in LF with runners from 1st and 2nd on the move. Holy s***! You are the Zen master of multi-tasking! I know it's ST and all but it's great to see Avi hitting and collecting extra base hits. I really hope he makes the naysayers like myself eat my off season words. Please Avi, make me eat my words and expose me for a fool. I was excited as hell when the Sox traded for Lawrie and its nice to see his power potential on display early on. If he stays healthy I think he's got 25 HR's in him, easily. I love his bat speed!

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Mar 10, 2016 -> 01:00 PM) I was going to put down 90, but then I remembered to subtract 15, since Robin is still the manager, subtract another 15 because KW is calling the shots, and finally, subtract another 15 because Jerry Reinsdorf owns this team. So 45-117. Zing! Well done sir!

QUOTE (flavum @ Mar 10, 2016 -> 11:13 AM) To me, there's never been a suppression of genuine emotion when the time is right. Hit a walkoff hit? Go crazy. Clinch a playoff spot? Pile on the mound. It's a cliche at this point, but baseball is a game of failure played almost every day for six months. If you're blowing your wad emotionally every time something good happens, it loses its appeal. This is how I feel about it as well. Hit a bomb with the game on the line, go ahead and stare a bit and enjoy the HR shot for all its majesty. But starting at a HR shot in a game that's a route has far less luster. Same for pitchers, I'm all for pitchers showing some emotion after a big K in a tight situation but otherwise it seems pointless. For me, there's a time and place. I do like Harper's POV on the subject but not every player see's things his way. Still plenty of players that let their emotions get the best of them which leads to more hit batters, HR stares and bat flips. I absolutely loved Fernandez's emotions in this particular game. That guy has some flare, no doubt about it. https://youtu.be/sc9vMv4e-Vw

QUOTE (Black_Jack29 @ Mar 9, 2016 -> 09:43 PM) Given that Bruce has put up a .654 and .729 OPS, respectively, over the past two seasons, I thought it was a foregone conclusion that his 2017 option would be declined by the Sox. Bruce is likely to hit better than LaRoche this year, but probably not by much. I haven't read up on the Sox's prospect rankings for months, but I don't recall anybody being that high on May. He could surprise, but I don't (yet) see any evidence that he could be a starting major league CF. It speaks volumes that, up until a couple of months ago, Trayce Thompson was regarded as our best outfield prospect. The consensus among scouts seems to be that Anderson is the only position player who is projected to be even close to a sure thing in the majors. And that's a pretty damning indictment of our farm system. DH is relatively easy to fill, but CF is not. I've heard rumors of Anderson's defense being somewhat suspect and whispers of the Sox moving him to CF. I think that's unlikely, though, especially with SS being relatively hard to fill Eaton being decent enough defensively to play CF. Until the Sox start developing position players in their minor league system, they're going to have to either get lucky with trade opportunities (Frazier, Lawrie) or rely on mediocre free agents (Jackson, Avila, Navarro, etc.) to fill holes. This is why I'm glad that Hahn was able to hold onto that comp pick this winter. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying May will be the solution, just saying he is possible. May has been trending upward since he opened some eyes during the '14 season. His defense is already there, just need the bat to come around. We'll know more about him after he's had some time at AAA this year. I'm more concerned with his weak arm in CF but according to some of the scouting I've read recently, his arm is passable for CF since he has the wheels to cover alot of ground in CF. As you mentioned, Anderson is also a possibility. From the way the FO talks up Anderson it sounds like he is the SS of the future. I think the only way Anderson moves to CF is if Saladino hits his way into being the full-time SS this year since Saladino already has the defensive aspect of the position down. I'm with you on the comp pick. I would have gladly given it up for the right player but preferred to keep it since this year's draft is supposed to be deep. Great draft to have 3 picks in the top 50. As for Bruce. I'm with ya as far as preferring him over LaRoche. I think Bruce's bat could come around but his defense has been bad for two straight years and if that continues, he could be worse than Avi. At least Avi has youth on his side and think he should be in LF. I'm guess the Bruce talk is kind of moot now that Jackson has signed and supposedly the Sox haven't had any further discussions with Cinci since the signing. Still makes for interesting discussions though.

QUOTE (mmmmmbeeer @ Mar 9, 2016 -> 11:56 PM) 90-72 I think the shift offensively with this team will be dramatic enough to increase our win total drastically. I really really really like the optimism of this post!

QUOTE (blackmooncreeping @ Mar 9, 2016 -> 06:49 PM) They better be ready to dial 911 when Danks comes out of the shoot 1-4 Poop (shoot)?

87- 74- 1

QUOTE (Black_Jack29 @ Mar 9, 2016 -> 01:58 PM) With LaRoche and Jackson hitting FA next year, and Melky the year after that, I'd say that the Sox don't have enough of the OF/DH types going forward. If the Sox wanted to dump LaRoche for Bruce, they'd need to throw in something other than a current Sox outfielder. A bullpen arm would make the most sense. And even then, I think that may do more harm than good. Jay Bruce will be a free agent after this season unless his '17 option is picked up. If his '17 is picked up then he still becomes a free agent the same year as Melky, Lawrie and Frazier. LaRoche will be replaced next year by Melky so that's not a problem and we could end up seeing May replace Jackson so I'm really not concerned about DH and CF for 2017. The problem is this year and that the Sox usually have a four man bench, two of which will be occupied by Navarro/Avila/Saladino/Rollins at any given time which leaves two spot on the bench along with the DH open.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Mar 9, 2016 -> 01:31 PM) I'm really shocked that people still see this as a possibility. In my mind, the Jackson signing closed this door emphatically. Agreed and I think people are just running with Levine's speculation. There's no room for Bruce unless Cinci takes LaRoche and one of Avi/Melky back in the trade. The Sox have too many outfielders and should-be DH's as it is. I just don't see how the Sox and Reds match up in a trade involving Jay Bruce.

Maybe I'm looking too far into this but with the way the Sox are handling Latos it sounds as though he is penciled into the rotation with Sale, Q and Rodon, leaving Turner/ EJ/ Danks to battle for the 5th spot.

QUOTE (LDF @ Mar 8, 2016 -> 08:32 PM) all the points you brought up were the little things i didn't want to think about, the logistics of any new locations and for my defense, b/c i really thought it would fly. that highway from the nw to the sw esp with 355 is prime expressway to make it happen though. The problem with locating a new team in the SW suburbs (Naperville/Joliet) is 355. From about 3-7PM, that expressway turns into a parking lot for southbound traffic. Going north is fine but going south is a nightmare. In the end it's all moot since there's really not enough Baseball fans to support a third team anyway.

I'd happily take Votto despite his high salary and contract that runs through his age 39 season with a team option for year 40. Votto does seem to be a player that will age well. Problem is that the Reds would absolutely have to take LaRoche as part of the return and its a scary though of what else the Reds would want from the Sox in return. As for Jay Bruce, the Sox have too many outfielders and should-be DH's as is. If the Sox acquired Bruce, that puts him in RF with Jackson in CF and Eaton in LF. That's fine but it leaves the Sox with Melky/LaRoche/Avi for the DH spot. IMHO, two of those three have to be a part of the package for Bruce, but why would the Reds want any of those three. The Reds are shedding unnecessary payroll so forget about LaRoche/Melky and if the Reds are trading Bruce to free up an outfielder spot for a younger players then they probably wouldn't want Avi. Plus the Sox seem more than willing to stick with Avi and see if he can become what they've been hoping for. I really don't think the Sox and Reds match up well in a Jay Bruce trade. That said, were talking about Bruce Levine specumalation and Levine is not always write in his rightings.

I see no point in a third Baseball team for the Chicagoland area. The Schaumburg Boomers drew 3,061 per game last year and the stadium holds 7,365. That's less than 50% draw. The Chicagoland Baseball fans are divided between two teams they are fiercly loyal to, so where are the fans for a third team going to come from? Sure, there are some casual Baseball fans around, but are there enough to support a third team? Nope. Also, there's just no room in Schaumburg for another team unless they do away with the Boomers and build a park there. Problem is, is that park sits just south of Irving Park road which would have to be widened from Roselle Rd to the park because it's only two lanes through that stretch and by no means could handle the volume of West bound traffic coming from the east. Not to mention all the construction going on with the Elgin/O'Hare expressway in that area. f*** that, Schaumburg's traffic is bad enough as is. Another thing to consider is who pays for the ballpark? Or should I ask, how much would the tax payers be on the hook for? Schaumburg isn't the cheapest place to live as is and adding another professional sports team will make that even worse.

QUOTE (hi8is @ Mar 8, 2016 -> 09:14 AM) You sure he isn't acting out in a racist attack against him? I'm sure someone in the twitterverse is thinking that.

QUOTE (soxfan2014 @ Mar 7, 2016 -> 08:16 PM) Oh yeah forgot Ishikawa. Plus he can DH a bit and get some time at third. Yep. Olt will get ab's down in Charlotte. Injuries happen so who knows, the Sox might need to call Olt up for some RH power at some point. Heck, LaRoche is already riding the pine.

QUOTE (Hatchetman @ Oct 19, 2015 -> 09:27 AM) I PREDICT.....Alexei will be back at SS, but the 2016 opening day 3B and 2B are not currently on the roster. You nailed 2nd and 3rd Hatchetman!

QUOTE (Dunt @ Mar 7, 2016 -> 07:22 PM) Dear lord Davidson murdered that ball! Why can't he reach his potential?!?! Hell yeah he did! Davidson turn 25 in a few weeks so lets just hope he's a one of those late bloomers. His defense has come around, now if only he could get the bat to come around. Hopefully this season he pulls it together down in Charlotte.

I think the Sox are just going easy on Latos' knee for now in hopes the fluid issue eases up.

QUOTE (Thad Bosley @ Mar 7, 2016 -> 10:17 PM) PREACH!!! Amen! Eaton has the outlook on the Jackson signing and I agree with him 100%.. Well said, Eaton.

QUOTE (soxfan2014 @ Mar 7, 2016 -> 12:40 PM) Turns out Kawasaki is the one who supplied the headbands for him teammates. Oops, so much for racism. I never did see the big deal with this and obviously Kawasaki was not only in on the fun but supplied some of the fun too.

I'm thinking Olt/ Ishikawa platoon at 1B for the Knights.

Mike Olt!