shysocks

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Jan 28, 2015 -> 01:50 PM) Or they could have eaten ZERO DOLLARS by non-tendering him in December like they should have. True dat. Anyway, I appreciate that his salary is low and what the Sox have said about his role, but I am very pessimistic about their ability to stick to it.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jan 28, 2015 -> 01:35 PM) I am a little surprised they brought him back. I am a fan of his, but like was posted above, a return to the scene of the crime seems a little strange. Had he been with another team for those years, it would seem to make more sense. But for the haters, at least you know he will have to earn his time now. He isn't sharpied into the every day line up. The talent is there. Do we actually know that though? Reassure me.

QUOTE (WhiteSoxLifer @ Jan 28, 2015 -> 01:31 PM) Gordon Beckham hit .293/.349/.431 vs LHP in '14. Gives #WhiteSox platoon option for Conor Gillaspie or Micah Johnson & strong glove at 2B. https://twitter.com/CSNHayes/status/560520189021007872 "Strong glove" is a very debatable phrase when it comes to Beckham. I can see the reasons this was done but it just leaves me with a bad gut feeling. An instinctual negative reaction, like why are we going down this failed road again, I thought we were moving into a new era, etc.

If the Sox are even entertaining the thought of starting him, if the wisp of the thought even enters management's minds, this is a mistake. Otherwise, SAYONARA VICIEDO!!! :D

I'm not kidding when I say this - the worst thing about a potential Beckham signing is what we'd have to listen to from Hawk. But look at how tepid that tweet is. "It's possible he may likely come to the Sox." Way to go out on a limb there, Source.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jan 28, 2015 -> 01:01 PM) Agreed. Garcia may be the biggest question mark on the team next year. I won't go as far as saying he's the difference between the playoffs or not, but if he plays well it's going to be a whole lot easier to overlook a few other holes. I feel the exact same way and have said so, and even the author seems to echo that sentiment a bit when he says "You don’t have the winter they had without a focus on the next one to three seasons, which naturally seems to hinge on Avisail Garcia in the short term to some degree." Hinge being the operative word.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jan 28, 2015 -> 12:31 PM) I don't think we can say that Viciedo has become a miserable failure at this point, just that he has been a miserable failure thus far. The guy is still talented as hell and relatively young, so he has time to put it all together. I just don't think it's going to be with the White Sox. Not trying to turn this into a Viciedo thread, so I'll rephrase: If Garcia age 23-25 looks like Viciedo from 23-25, it will be a bad situation.

QUOTE (Whitey @ Jan 28, 2015 -> 12:53 PM) As disappointed as I was with Beckham last year, he actually wouldn't be a bad platoon partner for Connor. His splits versus LHP look good for last year (.293 BA, .780 OPS). Thanks for bringing the splits, but it's a 25-man roster, we can't platoon everybody. I don't see Gordon being much help next year.

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/avisail-gar...p-on-potential/ Hey, here's a depressing article comparing Garcia to Viciedo! The big "but," of course: Just because one guy has become a miserable failure doesn't mean they all do.

The suggestion someone brought up earlier of forcing relievers to face at least two hitters ( you could grant an exception if they get a GIDP to end an inning, for example) would be a better way to increase offense while actually making the game more interesting, not less interesting. It would also solve part of the time-of-game issue. In some ways it's a rule change that is just as drastic but it would have more pleasant consequences than banning the shift.

QUOTE (LDF @ Jan 27, 2015 -> 09:15 AM) thinking back on this, Sale and Abreu are establish.... Balt wants prospects. Baltimore would begrudgingly take either guy if they were offered.

QUOTE (flavum @ Jan 27, 2015 -> 09:22 AM) 1. Carlos Rodon 2. Tim Anderson 3. Micah Johnson 4. Tyler Danish 5. Courtney Hawkins 6. Frank Montas 7. Spencer Adams 8. Trey Michalczewski 9. Carlos Sanchez 10. Jacob May 11. Matt Davidson 12. Micker Adolfo 13 Cleuluis Rondon 14. Chris Beck 15. Jake Peter I know Adams will be higher than Danish, but this is my list. I was all set to yell at you for leaving Montas out of your original guess.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jan 27, 2015 -> 09:21 AM) Yes. It brings up the question, is it worth having the team track your every move for a couple of hot dogs? I vote no. I don't blame the White Sox or other teams for doing this, and if people have no problem being tracked, that is fine too. But to me, and I really have no set routine when I go to games, I would rather my habits and trends be with me, and not out for someone to study. It wouldn't bother me too much. Not much different than when you browse an item on Amazon, and then the next website you visit has an ad for that item (though I understand how that also bothers people). If the Sox wanna mine some data and it gets me discounts on the stuff I buy anyway, personally I'm fine with it.

It's probably Soto's job to lose but I voted Kottaras.

QUOTE (My_Sox_Summer @ Jan 26, 2015 -> 05:08 PM) How do they know that you are buying two hot dogs, unless you enter that information somewhere? Only way I can imagine is if you use the same credit card to buy the hot dogs as you did for the tickets.

QUOTE (LDF @ Jan 26, 2015 -> 12:10 PM) i really wish some of the retired sox players, esp those working with the sox org, can have that same kind of presence, even if they have to work at it. I feel like people talk about Minnie Minoso in a similar way.

QUOTE (@enosarris @ Jan 26, 2015 -> 11:25 AM) League batting average on balls in play: .299. Into shift: .296. These are not the offensive problems you're look for. H/t @jeffwzimmerman While I can appreciate that the people whose job it is to improve the game are trying to do their jobs, this ain't the way to do it. Shifts are a gamble based on a guess of what the offense might do, no different than any other defensive scheme in literally every sport.

QUOTE (Charlie Haeger's Knuckles @ Jan 23, 2015 -> 12:14 PM) Regarding the Sox clearly winning the Peavy trade... Let us not forget the Red Sox won the world series that year and got exactly what they wanted, and were aiming for, out of Peavy. Except for the part where he sucked in the postseason.

Cubs ZiPS are out. Bryant projected as an immediate stud if he plays. The Baez projection is way optimistic. http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/2015-zips-p...s-chicago-cubs/

Consider also that Micah probably needs a little more seasoning before he can succeed in the majors.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Jan 23, 2015 -> 09:50 AM) The two drastic differences there are the walk and k rate, which I'm guessing means that Flowers BABIP has been 40 or so points higher than Soto's. Strangely, I'm not sure how to look at guys' stats over a custom period of time. EDIT: Figured it out -- Flowers = .315, Soto = .262 Bah, I was all set to drop knowledge before I saw your edit, but I'm gonna do it anyway. For something like this during an offseason you can go to the Fangraphs leaderboards and select Past 3 Calendar Years as the split. For something a little less cut-and-dry you go into the player's game log, hit All Dates, and then customize the dates you want from there. The second way is easily one of my favorite features on the site.

QUOTE (Vance Law @ Jan 22, 2015 -> 08:35 PM) Soto was awesome in 2010. Since then, he's hit .223/.299/.394 for a .693 OPS. 38 HR in 1100 PAs Kottaras since then .216/ .341/.425 .766 OPS. 22 HRs in 500 PAs. Those are pretty much exactly Kottaras' career splits against righties Last three years, their offensive numbers are remarkably similar. Soto separates himself a little with the peripheral stuff. Have to imagine Flowers has the edge for defense/familiarity with staff. Geo Soto: .219/.291/.381, 81 wRC+, 8.9 BB%, 24.5 K% Flow Flow: .222/.281/.381, 82 wRC+, 5.9 BB%, 35.5 K%

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jan 23, 2015 -> 08:35 AM) This is zero risk, but to expect anything out of him isn't wise. He hasn't thrown a pitch in the major leagues since he was a White Sox. Bumped for emphasis. Don't go slotting him into the major league pen. Webb, for example, is absolutely ahead of him in line.

There's no doom and gloom in this thread - seems like pretty honest discussion from my PoV. The OP brought up a good topic of conversation during a slow part of the offseason and we all talked about it. What's the problem?

QUOTE (hi8is @ Jan 22, 2015 -> 12:09 AM) Sign James Shields if his price tag does indeed fall to around 4 years 75 million and it means being able to trade John Danks? Sure. But how would signing Shields relate to being able to trade John Danks? It would affect the need to trade him, but not really the ability...