BlackSox13

Uh, ya. Let's not go jumping to conclusions just yet. This is Al-Jazeera after all. I think this quote below is the important thing to take note of. "None of the three baseball players have ever been suspended for PED use or failed any known drug tests. It is yet unknown how MLB or the NFL may respond to this documentary, if at all, though if the allegations are proven, Howard, Zimmerman and Teagarden would presumably be subject to the 80-game suspension given to the first-time offenders of MLB’s drug policy."

QUOTE (greg775 @ Dec 26, 2015 -> 11:02 PM) Didn't Eaton really stink until we fell out of the race? Not ripping him, I sort of like the guy and his hustle, but I recall really despising him the first couple months at least. Hope he gets off to a sizzling start this year. Is his ceiling a poor man's Pete Rose?? Hustler who is going to learn how to get the key hit/walk at all times? Then on the other side of the spectrum his possible low would be Rowand after Rowand forgot how to hit (or got old, I forget why he suddenly started sucking)? Eaton had a rough April but started coming around in May and hit well the rest of the season. Split G GS PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB ROE BAbip tOPS+ sOPS+ April/March 19 19 83 78 7 15 3 1 0 0 1 1 5 14 .192 .241 .256 .497 20 0 0 0 0 0 1 .234 26 42 May 26 26 117 107 20 28 5 2 2 6 0 1 8 19 .262 .325 .402 .727 43 2 2 0 0 0 3 .302 83 104 June 25 24 111 98 13 27 3 3 3 8 4 1 9 19 .276 .355 .459 .814 45 0 3 1 0 1 1 .316 105 128 July 25 25 116 97 21 31 5 2 4 11 4 1 13 24 .320 .421 .536 .957 52 2 4 2 0 0 0 .391 141 166 August 28 28 124 108 17 28 5 0 1 10 4 1 13 33 .259 .347 .333 .680 36 1 2 0 1 1 0 .360 73 89 Sept/Oct 30 29 138 122 20 46 7 1 4 21 5 3 10 22 .377 .434 .549 .983 67 0 3 2 1 0 0 .433 148 167

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Dec 26, 2015 -> 08:32 PM) Avi or LaRoche will be gone imo. How can they possibly carry both ? If one of the Big 3 is signed then Avi becomes 4th OF for which he is ill-suited defensively. Or he's in the minors. I agree with your opinion, though i do believe LaRoche is going nowhere due to no trade value. Assuming the Sox sign/trade for a RF, I think Avi ends up traded for a low level minor league pitcher. The kind of pitcher that's a 24 year old flame thrower at A+ that struggles with his control or command. Too bad Avi's defense is so bad, I'd happily give him more time to see if his bat comes around but you're right in that with no defense, there's no point to him being on the bench.

Hopefully Eaton can continue to do what he's been doing at the plate and get his defense back up to where it was at in '14.

QUOTE (LDF @ Dec 26, 2015 -> 07:26 PM) i can see the org giving him one more chance... maybe as a platoon with laroche. That would seem the plan for now. Melky LF, Avi/LaRoche DH and the Sox make a move for a right fielder. I could be way the hell off base with this but I think alot of the Gordon speculation is due to the media. The Sox were rumored to be quite high on Upton long before the media ran with the Gordon hype. Upton and Cespedes have been eerily quiet so the media needed something to run with.

QUOTE (LDF @ Dec 26, 2015 -> 07:24 PM) excellent post. and i am in total agreement on the position. with ref to thier financial, who know what they would do and i hate that they will or could think of breaking that team up. very great potential across the board. as you said, bell, they just sign a bridge for a 2 yr contract to platoon with morse. i can see them looking at bell as a part time 1b / platoon in 17. that outfield..... wow. who is or has more value to the team, mccutchen or marte??? but here is the real question, they have 2 minor league of'ers who will be knocking on the door, is any of them plays good cf??? balta mention mencoln .... but that is 51 saves. i don't see them having a replacement for him... i think he can't be traded. money..... they can't compete with the like of the northside or stl.... but that will be a fun division to watch. with nl west being 2nd. Meadows plays a good CF and is expected to stick. After '16 McCutchen be under conyract through '17 with and option for '18 so he will still be quite valuable on the trade market next winter and will bring Pittsburgh a nice haul in a trade. To answer your question, McCutchen HS the most value and will be the OF Pittsburgh trades next winter. While Pittsburgh doesn't have the money the Cards and cubs have, they dont need to with the way they are producing quality young cost controlled talent. Pittsburgh is growing hitters and pitchers on their farm.

QUOTE (Jerksticks @ Dec 26, 2015 -> 07:10 PM) Cornholio hung em up years ago braghh. In my perfect world I want the badass version of Avi Garcia playing RF. Damnit all to hell What happened to Cornholio? Strung out on cappuccino? Damn! I agree about Avi. Shame he hasn't lived up to expectations so far. I really don't know what to think of him anymore.

Pittsburgh is in a very envious position right now. They have a team in place for '16 to be considered legit contenders. If things go well in their minors this season, the Pirates will be trading veteran salaries to make room for Glasnow/Taillon in the rotation, Bell for 1B, Hanson for 2B and Meadows for CF. Imo, McCutchen will be traded for a haul to help replenish the farm and reduce payroll to give the Pirates more financial flexibility. I really do envy the position the Pirates are in right now. After all these years, they finally have a front office and scouts that know what they are doing. The Pirates will be perennial contenders for the foreseeable future. Good for them.

QUOTE (ChiSoxFanMike @ Dec 26, 2015 -> 06:25 PM) If it was a perfect world, who would you want the Sox to get (realistically)? The players I'd prefer are rumored to be on the trade block and without knowing the asking prices its hard for me to realistically say. I'm just not a fan of spending huge money on a long term contract for one player. I would rather spread that money around throughout the team instead of paying one player 15-20% of the total payroll. QUOTE (hi8is @ Dec 26, 2015 -> 06:35 PM) Oswald Cobblepot Meh, dude can't field worth a s*** and has too many holes in his swing. I prefer The Great Cornholio. "Poop"

Uh, guys. This has already been discussed in the LaRoche shopping thread. LaRoche is staying with the Sox, Pitt has already turned down the Sox offer. End discussion.

If I'm Pitt. I don't do anything this year as far as outfielders go. Wait until after the '16 season to give Meadows more time at AAA and then Pitt, imo, will put McCutchen on the market for a major haul and roll with Meadows in '17 while bringing up Bell for 1B. The right haul for McCutchen will replace the minor league voids left by the Meadows/Bell call ups and Pitt's farm won't miss a beat. Pitt is being very smart with regard to how they are handing the organization as a whole. They are home-growing some very nice talent!

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Dec 26, 2015 -> 06:14 PM) The allotment is worth about 2% of the money being thrown to Gordon. It wont get any consideration when deciding whether to sign him or not. And it shouldnt. It's not just about the draft pick but to be honest, I've already stated why I'm not in favor of signing Gordon so I'll do the board a favor and not repeat myself. Let's just say I have the same concerns as others that would prefer the Sox sign or trade for someone else.

QUOTE (LDF @ Dec 26, 2015 -> 06:03 PM) ahh then i was wrong, the josh bell i was looking at i found on baseball ref http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/belljo01.shtml different bell. Oh OK, I see the confusion. Here's the Josh Bell prospect from Pitt. http://www.baseball-reference.com/register...id=bell--007jos

QUOTE (LDF @ Dec 26, 2015 -> 05:56 PM) ok, josh bell is a stud prospect at age 29 yrs old, and next yr he will be 30 and with another 1b in front of him whom they just got. however as you said, marte is the question. i tried to look for the article i read and i can't find it. but it mention that possibility of trading, b/c of 2 of'er prospects. one who is 24 yrs old and the pitt is interested him. the other may be ready next yr -2017 who is 22 yrs old. but all this is on the idea, will pitt deal with the gradual increase of salary????? they have a real nice looking farm and have been successful in developing their prospects. but who know what they will do. i suggested this as a possibility..... Uh, Bell is only 23 dude.

QUOTE (WBWSF @ Dec 26, 2015 -> 04:15 PM) If the White Sox don't sign anybody else I'm hoping they trade LaRoche, Danks and Garcia to the Angels for Mike Trout. This would turn out to be the most shocking trade in baseball since Rocky Colavito was traded for Harvey Kuenn. Pass the bong this way please!

QUOTE (soxfan2014 @ Dec 26, 2015 -> 04:36 PM) I'll be honest. I don't want to give up a draft pick for a guy who only signs for 1-2 years. Same here and especially with so many OF options available. I really hope the Sox don't sign Gordon.

QUOTE (LDF @ Dec 25, 2015 -> 10:09 PM) excellent break down..... you are on a roll this past couple of day.... great work. QUOTE (Lillian @ Dec 26, 2015 -> 07:46 AM) Very impressive, "BlackSox". You certainly seem to know a lot about other organizations. Your research is appreciated, as it adds valuable insight. Thanks LDF, Lillian. Thank you both very much for your kind words. If you are interested, here are the links to the sites I'm pulling financial info from. One is for teams' committed and retained salaries and the other is speculated 2016 arbitration numbers. I just add the total of money together to get a better idea of what the financials look like. If a team has a total of 18 players between salary commitments and arbitration players, then multiply the remaining 7 players times the league minimum which is 507k, I believe. This is how I did the break down in the 2016 Sox payroll thread I made. Teams' committed/retained salaries: http://www.spotrac.com/mlb/ Speculated '16 arbitration: http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2015/10/proj...s-for-2016.html Hope this helps. QUOTE (SCCWS @ Dec 26, 2015 -> 08:09 AM) Boston. They only have 3 legit outfielders on their 40 man. Now since they have extra catchers and infielders they will either trade for a veteran OF or sign a FA. Money for them is no issue. Highly doubt Boston. Their current committed/retained salaries for '16 is 176M: http://www.spotrac.com/mlb/boston-red-sox/payroll/ Now add in arbitration salaries of about 9M+: http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2015/10/proj...s-for-2016.html Boston is currently sitting around 185M for 17 players. Now factor in filling out the 25 man roster with 8 league minimum salary players at 507k each which totals just over 4M. Boston is looking at about 189M for the '16 payroll on their current 25 man roster. Fwiw, the MLB payroll cap for teams is 189M and anything over that teams begin paying luxury taxes. If anyone is interested in a breakdown of the Sox, I did do one for them in this thread here: http://www.soxtalk.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=97767

A Christmas Story Bad Santa A Christmas Horror Story ( watched it a month or so ago, great movie) Christmas Vacation Silent Night Deadly Night ( original and remake) A Charlie Brown Christmas Scrooged Trading Places ( not sure if its a "Christmas movie" but still great)

QUOTE (LDF @ Dec 25, 2015 -> 08:42 PM) what gets me is this, we as fans still hasn't heard much from org like balt, tor, hou, sea, and even the padres and gaints...... those are the big guns / with the money. Seattle: they are at about 142M for committed salary and arbitration players and that number doesn't include filling out the rest of the roster with league minimum players. Seattle needs a CF so they are likely looking the likes of Span, Jackson, Fowler and maybe even Parra if they can afford them. Padres: they are rebuilding so they are no threat. Heck, they are trying to trade salary (Kemp/Shields) so we can cross them off. SF: they are at 164M in committed salary and arbitration players and that doesn't include filling out their roster. If they look at signing a FA its likely one of the second tier players. TOR: they are at about 132M for committed and arbitration players not including filling out their roster. Interesting team in that they would seem to have some wiggle room but their OF is full up. Not sure what to think about TOR. Houston: they have plenty of money but they have plenty of outfielders as it is. I'm guessing they go after another starting pitcher and reliever. Curious team no doubt. Baltimore: yep, they got money to burn and surely will. Especially since their recent signee Kim can play LF or 1B. Kim allows Baltimore flexibility with signing either Davis for 1B/DH or one of the big three outfielders. Im guessing they end up with either Cespedes or Upton. As far as I can tell, the biggest players for Upton/Cespedes/Gordon are the Sox, Orio!es and the Cards. Most of the other teams are either rebuilding or pushing their payroll limitations so there is a handful of teams that could come into play like Houston, Toronto, Cleveland, Detroit and the Cubs if the prices drop enough. If I missed something please point it out but I think I covered it. One team to watch is the Orioles. They are sitting around 100-102M with committed salary and arbitration players. This doesn't include filling out their roster but the Orioles have plenty of money to burn. Wouldn't surprise me if they sign one of the big three and one of the second tier outfielders.

QUOTE (LDF @ Dec 25, 2015 -> 08:17 PM) extremely great .... for me, all i ever wanted was to have the sox open their wallet and get those missing pieces. however they went for the elite players and to be honest, that is all i can ask for, i'll settle for those 2nd or 3rd tier fa's to get the missing pieces and fix this ball club. this ball club is running on 4 flat tires .... this is how the previous regime left this club. the fix, if continued in a right way, is still a far away off. the first hint of help came in the shape of rodon, the next help is fulmer, jacob may, and then that is it.... until the next wave. again, i just hope the club can and will continue to do the right thing. Don't forget Anderson. Cannot wait for Monday to get here so the hot stove fires back up. As far as Baseball is concerned, its sure looks like its going to be a rather boring holiday weekend. Understandable, just booooooring!

QUOTE (LDF @ Dec 25, 2015 -> 05:34 PM) excellent and extremely interesting post. it gives a hint of fans should be more open minded .... which i like. Thanks LDF. I've been a Sox for a long time and have had my heart broken more than a few times in the past by having a favorite SOX player traded or sign elsewhere in FA as well as getting my hopes up for signing or trading for players only to see things fall through and not happen. For me, its better to remain open minded and curb expectations to alleviate potential disappointments. What the Sox FO does is beyond my control so all I can do as a fan is sit back and hope they make the right moves. I'm not a fan of signing Gordon but if the Sox sign him you bet I'll be cheering for him as long as he's in a Sox uni.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Dec 25, 2015 -> 03:18 PM) He's going to manage to make Miss Colombia even more money if he keeps this up. Btw, Merry Christmas from China, where almost nobody knows the original religious meaning of the holiday and young people just see it as an excuse to buy something on discount, go out to eat with friends or attend a movie. So its really no different than here in ''Merica?

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Dec 25, 2015 -> 03:13 PM) Not to mention Jay Bruce, Brett Gardner, Carl Crawford/Van Slyke/Thompson, Desmond Jennings, Avi, haha. Then Fowler, Span, Austin Jackson and Parra as well. My man! Thanks for adding them to the list Caulfield. Soooo many options available its crazy.

QUOTE (peavy44 @ Dec 25, 2015 -> 03:05 PM) Trade more prospects idk about that. Depends on the prospects. Going into the off season Hahn said the Sox were open to trading lower level pitching prospects for hitting and they did just that with the Lawrie trade. One thing to keep in mind is that none of us Sox fans know what's being discussed so to rule out the possibility of the Sox making another trade is very short sighted. There are two benefits in going the trade route. 1) with so many outfielders available the cost of prospects shouldn't be too bad depending on the player the Sox are interested in trading for so if we're talking about young pitching like what the Sox gave up for Lawrie, those prospects will be easily replaced by possibly even better prospects in June where the Sox have three picks in the first two rounds of a draft that is supposed to have more talent than last year's. 2) trading for an outfielder will be less costly in terms of the length of contract and possibly annual salary plus the added bonus of not giving up a comp pick for free agents that come with one attached. Less costly options now leaves more financial flexibility in the short and long terms. I'm not advocating what the Sox should do as far as sign or trade, I'm just trying to keep my mind open and illustrate that there are plenty of other possibilities. We've already seen potential signings and trades fall through this off season so I'm not getting my hopes up for any one particular player. Focusing on one player leads to high hopes and if it doesn't happen, that leads to b****ing and complaining by the fans. The only thing I'm somewhat counting onnis that the Sox will add an outfield bat in some capacity. Might be a power hitter, might be a speedster with elite defense, who knows?

QUOTE (peavy44 @ Dec 25, 2015 -> 02:22 PM) What Outfielders that make a impact. Well, there's Upton, Cespedes, CarGo, Ethier, Blackmon, Dickerson, Kemp and Ozuna. Then there's Houston who is rumored to be looking at moving an outfielder due to their gluttony of them so its possible Gomez and Tucker are available and a less impact bat in Marisnkck who plays eleite defense with base stealing speed. Also rumored is Atlanta is willing to listen to offers on Inciarte who also brings elite defense with base stealing speed and five years of control at a cheap price. Many many options available to teams in search of outfield bats and IMHO, that why the market is taking so long to develop. Teams are likely talking to agents about their players contract demands as well as calls to GM's about asking prices in trades. With so many options, its easy to see why the market is taking so long. Fans just need to relax and have some patience since there's no hurry.