shysocks

Home plate ump has taken two walks away from Dunn now. Despite Hawk's claim, he has not had a good game back there.

QUOTE (chitownsportsfan @ Aug 22, 2014 -> 08:30 PM) Solid contact, right at him though. Evens out the swinging bunt last time. Get 'em Dariel.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Aug 22, 2014 -> 08:19 PM) Why I don't think he should be safe, if they reversed the play in SF, there is no way they shouldn't have reversed this one. Ditto. This has been a problem all year long with not just plays at the plate but all replay. Nobody can tell what a call will be because they seem to be overturned and upheld almost at random.

I am effing sad and confused.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Aug 22, 2014 -> 02:03 PM) There's still some support on this board for Adam Dunn as being a productive ballplayer. So let me ask you guys to grade his performance for his entire tenure as a White Sox. I would give Adam Dunn a D. I was tempted to go D-minus. So why in the heck would any team risk having him around in September if they have a chance to win anything of note? Because what happened in 2011 isn't particularly relevant to this September.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Aug 22, 2014 -> 12:11 PM) Elite D at 2nd? I've never heard that said about Sanchez before. Was gonna say the same thing.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Aug 22, 2014 -> 11:57 AM) Ehh, his Davenport translation was .321/.446/.660, he's at .303/.361/.594. That's really not terribly far off. It's 150 points off the OPS. Not that I'm complaining about Abreu. But I seem to remember a different projection that came out first that was well above that one, in Ruth/Bonds territory.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Aug 22, 2014 -> 11:28 AM) I still would love to see Cespedes on the Sox. I think with Abreu he'd make a couple adjustments at the plate and be a total impact player. I also just really like toolsy players and guys with hoses and well he fits the bill. I'm excited about the fact that we have three guys, Semien, Johnson, and Sanchez that I think have good chances at being at least, cost controlled, league average players. I also like the fact that it will likely give us depth and versatility too. Put someone like Semien in the 9 spot (or 2 spot) with Johnson hitting 1 or 2 (along with Eaton) and that is pretty solid. Maybe it is Sanchez in the 9 and Semien up a bit in the order due to his pop. Either way, that gives us a much deeper, imo, back of the lineup. I'm also starting to get comfortable with Flowers at catcher, due to his defense, and the fact that well, pretty much every catcher in baseball sucks offensively now. That's sort of a misconception. ALL non-pitchers are hitting .255/.319/.395 in 2014. Catchers are hitting .246/.311/.383. It is still weaker than average but it's not the offensive black hole it once was. These are the players with more than 300 plate appearances at catcher this season. There are some good hitters in there. Notice who's close to the bottom.

He's referring to the Davenport translation system that attempts to project how Cubans will do in MLB. For the record, Abreu has majorly underperformed his initial translation because it was so absurd. Just fun stuff to think about.

QUOTE (GreenSox @ Aug 22, 2014 -> 09:14 AM) I would prefer Noesi regardless of costs. I see Danks as #6 or 7 or bullpen if this team is a contender. You are going to be disappointed.

QUOTE (Chilihead90 @ Aug 21, 2014 -> 11:09 PM) I'm not sure that you realize that comps are ceilings. I can't see Semien as a 5-WAR player every year, but their hitting profiles are similar. I am a big fan of Semien though. And he performed better, at a younger age, in his first short MLB stints than Zobrist did. So in terms of theoretical, absolute ceiling, Zobrist isn't a bad name.

David Price allows an unearned run in the first inning after an error and a triple, then retires the next 23 hitters. The Tigers lose 1-0.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Aug 21, 2014 -> 01:30 PM) I don't think it's a hole that needs to be filled, personally, but I think it's an area where they'll look around to see if an upgrade is available. I think it's one of the less likely upgrades they'll make when you consider Tyler's palatable season, available options, and all the other needs. Fully expecting Flowers to be the starting catcher again.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Aug 21, 2014 -> 01:43 PM) He's put up a .589 OPS as a DH and an .850 OPS while catching. 140+ PA's in both, so it's becoming a real trend. Well there ya go, makes sense now.

Thanks for breaking down the paywall. As far as I can tell, the A's already have Jaso as the lefty half of a DH platoon. I don't see it but I could be overlooking something.

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Aug 21, 2014 -> 11:40 AM) If we can find something for him that will be magical every year and give him a few weeks of confidence then I'm all for keeping him. Is this limited to apparel or could it be like a Jobu-type figure?

QUOTE (raBBit @ Aug 21, 2014 -> 11:36 AM) Can't this be said about almost any pitcher... Yes, this was a discussion that was had in great deal before the July 31 deadline. In 25 starts now, Danks has given up 6 earned runs or more 5 times. Take away the worst 20% of his season and he's doing pretty okay*! *3.27 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 80/43 K/BB

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Aug 21, 2014 -> 10:13 AM) There's just no way they get THAT desperate. I think they'd almost rather go back to Joe Saunders again than take on Danks' financial commitment. There were at least ten starting pitchers who moved the last 10 days of July and in August so far that fit that requirement of expiring contracts/veteran pitchers/lower-risk deals. If we were talking about Danks at the beginning of July, then it could be a legit conversation. But not right now. That's the key. Danks right now is a replacement-level pitcher, and by definition that means the Angels have somebody they'd rather plug in who is a lot cheaper and not signed for two more years. Not only that, but it seems like he might be wearing out and provide even less in September.

QUOTE (chitownsportsfan @ Aug 20, 2014 -> 06:49 PM) Nice. We can finally see Eaton and Avi in the OF together again. Visual approximation:

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Aug 20, 2014 -> 09:57 AM) Except reality states that there are only so many starting OF's to go around. Most bench players are such because they aren't good enough to start. Danks is a fine 4th/5th OF in the majors. "Fine 4th OF" is his celing.

A lot is up in the air, esp. with the pitching staff. If they sign a starter and Rodon looks poised for a good season, they might be a trendy sleeper pick. Still holes everywhere though.

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Aug 19, 2014 -> 10:04 PM) Had an amazing game defensively. No surprise there. He's just a beast in CFer. Hitting .333 with an ops over .800 since getting called up and getting regular playing time. I still want him part of the team going forward. His defense is too good to pass up. lol at the haters. We're using an 8-game sample in which he's hitting competently to "lol at the haters?" You could take the worst hitters in the majors and find 8 games where they did well - toss in one homer, that's all you need. His defense is by no means too good to pass up and as others have said, a good team can't rely on a player like JorDanks.

WHIP sells Lindstrom short a bit because it treats all baserunners equally. Who would you rather have, a guy who allows only singles with a WHIP of 2.00, or a guy who allows only homers with a WHIP of 1.00? Obviously it's an impossible example, but it sort of applies here. From 2011-2013, Lindstrom allowed an OPS of .661, .642, and .683. Put those figures into 2014 and he would rank 138th, 117th, and 175th out of 372 pitchers with at least 30 innings. His WHIP of 1.31 during that period would tie him for 223rd. If you're allowing lots of runners but few are hitting for extra bases, you can still be effective. Lindstrom's WHIP belied three somewhat effective years prior to this one.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Aug 18, 2014 -> 01:09 PM) But Jordan is also significantly better than De Aza on defense, particularly if you count ability to be a backup CF. De Aza defense > Danks bat. There's no reasonable argument over who the better player is. Better per dollar or better fit for the 2015 White Sox, those might be arguments. Personally I don't think either is a part of the plan.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Aug 18, 2014 -> 12:47 PM) There is no reason to pay arb salaries to both DeAza and Viciedo when they are both producing an OPS under .700. Jordan Danks can suck at the plate for a lot less money plus he's at least a good defensive replacement and pinch runner. I would non-tender De Aza because of his steady decline, but let's be honest - there are degrees of sucking. Jordan Danks is not De Aza's equal with the bat.