shysocks

QUOTE (bear_brian @ Oct 22, 2014 -> 09:56 AM) 2. Kendry Morales for 2 years, $15M: Cuban, throw last year out due to late start, another switch hitter, can DH and play 1B. Teaming with Abreu would facilitate big comeback?? Morales could be a good pickup. He's not that old and last season has his price at an all-time low, but at the same time it's such a ridiculous outlier and he's always been a good hitter. I'd prefer the rotating DH/play matchups construction, but if we have to employ a full-time DH, we could do worse.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Oct 22, 2014 -> 09:15 AM) Broken Steel. I haven't played either Fallout in a long time but those were good games with, for the most part, really good DLC. I thought Mothership Zeta kind of sucked though. Broken Steel, thank you. I only played Fallout 3 and that was actually the only DLC I bought for it - the others all seemed kind of lackluster. But that game definitely sucked me in.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Oct 22, 2014 -> 09:13 AM) He will still get paid, but not like he would have if he truly was Big Game James this postseason. 3 out of 4 bad starts. I think you have a point. When a guy with a supposed reputation for clutch performance fails so hard, it's gotta cost him a little bit, even if many GM's have moved beyond that type of thinking.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Oct 22, 2014 -> 08:15 AM) Having never played Blood Dragon, I will just say that Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep was absolutely phenomenal and it's by far my #1 DLC. Bethesda has had some really good DLC too between the Elder Scrolls and Fallout too. Thought Dragon Keep was a little overrated because a lot of the new stuff was pointless (magic spell grenades?), but it was long and funny, so I had a good time with it. I think the Mister Torgue campaign was my favorite BL2 DLC. Forget the name of it, Steel Something or Other, but the Fallout 3 DLC that raised the level cap to 30 and added all the new perks remains my absolute favorite. Never played the GTAIV stuff but it's supposed to be great too.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Oct 22, 2014 -> 08:05 AM) If you haven't read this, it is great. SSS reviews 23 potential free agents... as items in the SkyMall catalog. Before reading I figured Scherzer would be the 7-foot Bigfoot garden statue... I was unaware there was something more ridiculous than that in SkyMall.

QUOTE (BigHurt3515 @ Oct 21, 2014 -> 09:19 PM) Not sure who is worse with Buck, Reynolds or McCarver? Sad that the question even needs to be asked. Reynolds is terrible though.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Oct 21, 2014 -> 02:10 PM) Danks is basically a ketchup popsicle right now. So we should dump Hahn and hire Big Tom Callahan as GM.

QUOTE (IowaSoxFan @ Oct 17, 2014 -> 12:54 PM) Its management of resources, do you really want to invest a large share of your resources in a SP when you have one for free sitting in waiting? Personally I would rather invest that money in the lineup and in the pen and take a shot on reclamation guy that you can spin at the deadline - as the Cubs have done each of the last two years. Rodon isn't the only pitcher on the horizon, Bassit is not far away nor is Beck and Danish will probably be ready to break camp with the team in 2016. I just don't want to unnecessarily tie up payroll in duplicative assets when there are holes at 2B, LF and DH that need to be addressed. Volquez may not be the answer, but he is one of a bunch of guys on that list that have potential to take a step forward and provide the Sox some value at the trade deadline. Whoever the Sox get, I would not want them to go anything beyond a 1 year deal with an option, similar to the Paulio deal. Teams use five starting pitchers and we have three holes. One, we're slotting Rodon into despite having no idea if he's going to earn it. Apparently we're also saving room for a whole bunch of prospects who are months, years, or forever away. If you can guarantee me that one of Bassitt, Beck, and Danish will be a valuable MLB starter in 2016, then I'll agree that we should play the sign-and-trade game, but I think you're really overrating the talent of those guys. There's room for a pitcher on a multi-year deal.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Oct 16, 2014 -> 03:01 PM) Here is a question, would you rather be relevant and in playoff contention 80% of the time (making the playoffs more often then not while not winning the series) or be relevant once every 30 years and win the series that one time. For me I'll take the relevant and not winning series vs. extended periods of irrelevance. Bringing this up again because Dave Cameron wrote an article about where he was wrong about the Royals that relates to a whole bunch of things the question you asked, and also the discussion about how well modern analytics pivots when things change. The gist is that it may be a much bigger deal for a mediocre team to turn itself into an 85-win team than we thought, because of the vast benefits of the gamble paying off.

Also, KC has managed exactly one blowout in the whole postseason. They aren't shoo-ins.

QUOTE (IowaSoxFan @ Oct 17, 2014 -> 09:45 AM) He is likely to come at a lower cost, is relatively young, right handed and not likely to receive a QO. Any pitcher that meets that profile is a candidate in my mind, especially when they may only be on the roster until July when Rodon has passed Super Two danger. I'm getting very tired of seeing that argument. Rodon eventually taking a spot in our packed rotation should have no bearing on which free agents to bring in. Why even sign a guy who may not be on the roster in July? Why pay some guy anything at all when we can just have Carroll or Bassitt fill that spot as a bridge to Rodon? There'll be room for Rodon and a good pitcher, I promise. It boils down to Volquez just being bad. His only good season is a distant memory and I don't see 2014 being a springboard to better things. We should aim a little higher.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Oct 17, 2014 -> 08:25 AM) He had his best season in years this year, he's a righty, he has been inconsistent enough that he's not going to get a long term commitment from most teams, IMO the Pirates probably won't keep him, he won't get a qualifying offer so he won't cost a draft pick, his main issue has been control and so slight improvements on that could push him into the realm of a really good starter for several years. You're right there's some "Coop'll fix em" built into that last part, but he's also shown this year that the right pitching coach can help him get into a really good groove. Not my preferred option but I get it. I realize he's cheap. 6th lowest BABIP of all qualified starters for a ground ball pitcher does not add up. Only thing to like is the lower walk rate.

Why do I keep seeing Volquez' name brought up? That guy is a dud. Is it a Coop'll Fix Em mindset?

QUOTE (Vance Law @ Oct 16, 2014 -> 07:33 PM) That's not using any advanced offensive stats. De Aza's had 200 fewer plate appearances and they have both hit 51 doubles, De Aza has 11 more triples and one more home run. Markakis has hit for a higher average. I would suggest that the reason a Sox fan would have the perception that "there is no way those two are in the same stratosphere offensively or defensively" is precisely because he/she doesn't watch Markakis on a daily basis and doesn't care/has is not emotionally affected by what he does well or not so well while every De Aza miscue is the end of the world. If you told the average Sox fan Markakis had 200 more plate appearances than De Aza over the last 2 years and asked which you thought had more extra base hits, somewhere around 100% would say Markakis. Their reasoning would be "not De Aza." More years distorts the comparison? When you are offering a player a multi year contract, how much of their recent performance should you consider? Exactly one season? How about half a season, that way it's not distorted by being a full season? What I'd say in defense of Markakis is that De Aza, despite the hot finish this year, seems to be steadily trending downwards, whereas Markakis' bad 2013 could be viewed as just a blip on the radar. Also, comparisons based on OPS/XBH will often favor the player at US Cellular. Also, his OBP is consistently better. But your point is well taken - he's not a much different player than De Aza and I bet the organization feels it wouldn't be the right use of resources. As for the Rasmus subject, in my opinion his contract has a high chance of becoming a nuisance to whichever team signs it.

Second consecutive World Series for Peavy. PROVES WHAT A LEADER HE IS

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Oct 16, 2014 -> 04:17 PM) The rule of thumb on the free agency market is whatever you would be comfortable with... add another year or two to that, because someone else will. Yeah, I'm well aware. If that's what it would take for Markakis it'd be okay. He's one of the more appealing options.

QUOTE (StRoostifer @ Oct 16, 2014 -> 04:05 PM) From mlbtraderumors regarding Markakis..... "Assuming there’s no QO in play, I’m projecting a four-year, $48MM contract in a weak market for hitters." I'd oppose a four-year deal, I think, but I'd be on board for giving Markakis around 3/$39.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Oct 16, 2014 -> 03:02 PM) Yea, i would much rather my favorite team consistently being in contention than surprise me and catch lightning in a bottle. Same thing. 30 years is a long time...

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Oct 16, 2014 -> 02:17 PM) really, what does this have to do with what we are seeing now? They didnt have to play the Sox in the playoffs. They beat up on a bad team all season,That was what they were supposed to do. I dont even know if they hit more homers in the cell than any other team, i cant remember them doing anything but pitching very well and playing good defense, which is already known In 10 games at the Cell the Royals hit 8 homers, .8 a game (derp). Compare that to their .57 per game in all other parks. A little higher than their norm but given it's only a 10 game sample and that they're facing a generally weaker pitching staff in the Sox, doesn't seem like a big deal.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Oct 16, 2014 -> 12:32 PM) Yeah, our defense is GARBAGE in the corners. Abreu, Gillaspie, Garcia, Viciedo. Yikes. Luckily we're pretty solid up the middle. Hopefully Viciedo never plays another game in this uniform. And Garcia can't be any worse maybe? Anyway, to be brief... 1) Rotation 2) Corner outfield 3) Bullpen

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Oct 16, 2014 -> 12:23 PM) As was mentioned, they barely made the playoffs, and really should have lost the wild card game. But if you get on a roll at the right time, you might win a trophy. Correct. I think that's exactly why it's silly to go prescribing that we follow some team's "model" as a path to winning. Just try to do everything well. If the Royal Model is the way to go, then let's just emulate any team that ever had a 9-game winning streak.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Oct 16, 2014 -> 10:24 AM) And here's a good illustration of why I keep bringing it up. Two people both admit its a possibility, but hope that it isn't the case, and come to exactly the opposite conclusion if it does happen. I read it that we came to fairly similar conclusions - that if Rodon needs to come up there will probably be room for him, and if there isn't we're just fine anyway.

QUOTE (BaconOnAStick @ Oct 16, 2014 -> 10:16 AM) I'd also like to point out that Holland, Davis and Herrera are all righties (even their 4th option, Frasor is a righty) and Yost still uses them near exclusively. Handedness is irrelevant. Good point. The concern about the Sox rotation being lefty-heavy, for example, is overblown. Sale kills everybody. Quintana has no relevant platoon split, and actually had a reverse split last year. I don't really think of those two guys as lefties so much as just studs. But Robin does pay a lot of attention to hand, so it matters in that sense. Maybe if he had the three guys Yost has, he'd relax a little.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Oct 16, 2014 -> 09:58 AM) Do you keep Rodon in the minor leagues all year if the team is above .500 ? Maybe, it would depend on a lot of factors. No matter what I would wait until after Super 2. I would try to avoid a bullpen assignment. If we're assuming the rotation on Opening Day is Sale/Q/Free Agent/Danks/Noesi and all five of those guys are pitching well and we're contending, why would we even need Rodon? Leaving him in the minors wouldn't be the end of the world. There is also reason to think that - maybe - Rodon won't excel in the majors right away and that we wouldn't be missing out. I'll sum up my thoughts like this: Danks and Noesi both pitching well, AND the Sox being contenders in June, AND Rodon absolutely kicking down the door to MLB - the likelihood of all those things happening is low enough that it wouldn't enter my thought process when deciding whether to bring in starting pitching help.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Oct 16, 2014 -> 09:47 AM) If this team is below .500 I can buy that, but if the pitching staff comes together early and this looks like a competitive team, you're not putting a rookie in the rotation unless someone gets hurt. And like DA, I fail to see the problem there.