OmarComing25

QUOTE (Jerksticks @ Feb 11, 2016 -> 04:25 PM) All I'm saying is FOs employ tons of people to evaluate players across all metrics, including intangibles. They aren't gonna go the lazy route to evaluate where they spend millions of dollars. We're talking about millions of dollars here, not fanboy fantasy leagues. You said "I don't think a front office would ever even consider looking at WAR numbers when putting together a team." That's a lot different from ONLY using WAR numbers when putting together a team. I don't think anyone thinks FO only look at WAR.

QUOTE (Jerksticks @ Feb 11, 2016 -> 03:53 PM) I will say this- I don't think a front office would ever even consider looking at WAR numbers when putting together a team. I couldn't disagree more. I don't understand the hate for WAR. It's the best way to compare across leagues and positions. A 3.00 ERA in the NL while pitching half your games in San Diego is a lot different than a 3.00 ERA in the AL while pitching half your games in Arlington. An .800 OPS for a 1B is far less valuable than an .800 OPS for a SS or a C. WAR just makes these comparisons quick and easy, and while it has its faults so does every stat, and I find its faults to be far less severe than the faults of most traditional stats.

http://www.baseballamerica.com/minors/orga...-rankings-list/ BA ranks us at #23. I know they graduated a ton last year but still surprised the Cubs fell to #20. Texas traded a bunch of prospects for Hamels but improved from #11 to #7. Braves went from #29 to #3, pretty impressive.

QUOTE (Dunt @ Feb 11, 2016 -> 02:43 PM) I would love a Desmond signing. Infield would have serious power and then you could try trading for an OF piece to platoon with Avi. Couple of random thoughts if this were to happen: 1.) Do you sign him for 2-3 years or offer him a 1 year prove it deal where you recoup the comp pick after next season? 2.) If Saladino is moved to utility, that pretty much makes Carlos Sanchez expendable, right? I think Saladino can cover anywhere in the infield better than Sanchez Good point about Sanchez, he pretty much has no role in a Desmond signing. Seems pointless to send him back to AAA too as he has nothing left to prove there.

QUOTE (Jose Paniagua @ Feb 11, 2016 -> 02:12 PM) Jon Heyman ‏@JonHeyman 2m2 minutes ago Chisox are among teams considering Desmond. He'd be good fit there, better than another OF. Will discuss on @MLBNetwork at 6 Disagree with that, but if we can sign Desmond and still get another OF I'd be OK with it.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Feb 11, 2016 -> 11:38 AM) I've always chalked this up to "men are just hornier than women." In other words, the reason straight men have fewer partners isn't due to being more moral or being wired differently. It's due to the greater challenge in finding willing partners. If you're a guy and your #1 goal for the night is getting laid, your odds are better if you're looking for another guy than if you're looking for a girl. It's this, the sex drives are the same, straight men just have a much more difficult time getting casual sex on average. If they could sleep around with the same amount of ease as gay men, I'm sure most straight men would do it. It's not really a matter of lifestyle choice. There are exceptions of course, but we're talking about the average guy.

Follow-up article to this: http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/how-you-defined-an-ace/

QUOTE (Dunt @ Feb 10, 2016 -> 06:13 PM) The market played out so well for a potential steal combo of Desmond and Jackson, I can't believe the Sox haven't already jumped at the opportunity. That lineup would be pretty sweet: Eaton RF Cabrera LF Abreu 1B Frazier 3B LaRoche DH Desmond SS Lawrie 2B Avila C Jackson CF Problem is Boras. Jackson is likely holding out for $10+ million. Add Desmond and that's probably at least $23 million.

There's still a lot of surplus value in that deal, but probably not enough to justify the obscene amount you'd have to give up to acquire him, making him pretty much untradeable.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Feb 10, 2016 -> 03:48 PM) Law seems to be very conservative about mechanics -- he's got a history of expecting guys with funky deliveries to break down. IIRC he was very down on Sale initially, right?

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Feb 10, 2016 -> 11:09 AM) Probably removes another suitor for Fowler. http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/baltimores-...er-opportunity/ Cameron argues that a Gallardo signing would make Baltimore more likely to sign Fowler, because they'd be giving up a less valuable pick for him.

QUOTE (southside hitman @ Feb 10, 2016 -> 02:49 PM) "Eldridge Cleaver: I feel like the White Sox have been trying to go from 90 losses to 90 wins for a few years now. Have they finally done enough to be in the wild-card discussion? 12:24 Dave Cameron: They still need another outfielder, a shortstop, and preferably one more starter. They’re up to .500ish, but they shouldn’t be done yet." I was taken aback by the starter comment. Unless he believes Sox should just cut Danks, acquiring another starter makes no sense. I also took it as he thinks Latos won't contribute much.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Feb 10, 2016 -> 01:55 PM) Everyone says Law hates the Sox and I think he's totally changed his tune since Hahn took over. Cameron on the other hand has never said anything positive about the Sox as far as my eyes have seen. 12:01 Joe: Who do you like better for the White Sox: Latos or Gallardo? 12:02 Dave Cameron: At the price Latos got, he’s a pretty clear pick, but I think it’s worth noting that in a market starved for pitching, no one else wanted the guy. I’m not a big believer in paying for chemistry, but when 29 teams decide they just don’t want this dude on their team, there’s a decent chance he’s a more destructive force than the typical “bad makeup” guy. 12:12 John: After seeing Latos only get $3 mil, what can you expect Lincecum to receive? 12:13 Dave Cameron: I’d bet he’ll get a low base/high incentive deal, maybe with some kind of vesting option for a second year. Latos’ price reflected Latos’ personality. Eldridge Cleaver: I feel like the White Sox have been trying to go from 90 losses to 90 wins for a few years now. Have they finally done enough to be in the wild-card discussion? 12:24 Dave Cameron: They still need another outfielder, a shortstop, and preferably one more starter. They’re up to .500ish, but they shouldn’t be done yet. I thought this was funny: dbet: Could Justin Turner and Ryu get Chris Sale? 12:55 Dave Cameron: Yes. You could have one be the driver and the other be the kidnapper, and combined, they could put him in a van and bring him to Glendale. I think the White Sox would call the police, though.

QUOTE (bmags @ Feb 10, 2016 -> 01:20 PM) I was actually defending you. I thought your anticipated improvements were pretty conservative. Eaton I would say is most likely drop off in power, hopefully he raises OBP to make up for it. Yeah the only one I could see decent regression from compared to last year is CF, and that's because I'm not sure Eaton has 14 HR in him again. Abreu was complete trash against LHP in 2015 after demolishing them in 2014, I think we'll see improvement from him considering his RHP splits pretty much stayed the same. SS, 3B, 2B, DH and RF pretty much can't be worse (especially if they pick up Fowler/Jackson) even with regression from the newcomers, Rodon over a full season should be better than rookie Rodon's partial season, and Latos/Johnson should easily outperform Samardzija. Danks could fall off, as that 2nd half seems unlikely to happen again, and Sale will very likely have a much better ERA this year compared to last. Bullpen should be a push even in a bad-case scenario, and we have depth in case some guys underperform/get injured. We did outperform our WAR and run differential by about 4-5 games, so we have to take that into account. But picking up Desmond/Fowler should have us right in the mix. For all the talk about the Sox relying on guys to bounce back, the Tigers are pretty much hoping for the same thing.

At least with Danks, since it is his last year, there shouldn't be as much hesitation to banish him to the bullpen or cut him if he just sucks.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Feb 10, 2016 -> 11:38 AM) I thought Gallardo was pretty good last year? By ERA, yes, but his peripherals are very mediocre. His K rate has been declining for years, and was under 6 last year. His walk rate is not great, and a big part of his success last year was a drop in HR rate, and given that his HR/FB% was well below his career average, that's pretty likely to be an aberration, especially considering he's now in the AL (yes I know he was in the AL this past year but that just makes it seem even more flukey). I wouldn't want to bet a draft pick and some decent money that it was no fluke.

I would love if Danks could somehow perform to his 2nd half ERA (4.08) over a full season but anything around 4.50-4.60 and I'd be happy. Probably will be closer to 5 though. Hopefully he can beat the Royals several times again.

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/white-sox-b...-his-baggage-2/

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Feb 10, 2016 -> 06:28 AM) If I'm giving up the pick, I want three years of control. Plus with Frazier, Lawrie, & Melky all scheduled to hit free agency after the 2017 season, not sure another player with two years of control is a great idea. Assuming we don't resign any of them, it's going be tough to replace all these guys in one offseason given how the market looks and our lack of positional talent. Fowler for 2/20 would be a big win. So what if we'd have four guys' contracts coming up after 2017. Three of those guys we would have acquired this offseason, who says the Sox couldn't do it again in two years? Two years is an eternity in sports anyway, we currently have one position player on the team who's been here longer than two years. So much can happen between now and then, I'll worry about the 2017 offseason when it comes.

QUOTE (elrockinMT @ Feb 9, 2016 -> 05:31 PM) It seems every deal the Sox have made brings out the chirping critics. Stop and think for a moment guys on this deal. We have five starters now and Latos could be #6 or #7. Plus we need a long relief guy. Depth is good thing especially in the pitching area. This is a good move by the Sox. Is he bad in the clubhouse? Probably an exaggeration then anything else. I remember when we had people complaining about signing Jose Abreu I think I've seen one poster upset with this move. Everyone else seems in favor of it.

QUOTE (Dunt @ Feb 9, 2016 -> 04:23 PM) Interested to hear how people would stack up the pitching staff if the season started today. Obviously things could happen in the meantime, but think I would run out the following: SP Sale SP Quintana SP Rodon SP Latos SP Johnson CL Robertson SU Jones SU Duke RP Albers RP Putnam RP Petricka RP Danks No Jennings? He had a great 2nd half (1.39 ERA) and basically had one bad stretch in May. Outside of that he was rock solid. I'd trust him more than Duke next year.

QUOTE (GreenSox @ Feb 9, 2016 -> 04:16 PM) I guess. But Sox overall pitching has mid mid-pack for years. A couple of really good pitchers surrounded by some dubious sorts. 2nd in total pitching WAR to the Dodgers since 2010.

According to his Fangraphs page, he started using a split-fingered fastball in 2015 that he had never used before (11.4% usage). Seems like it worked well as a wipeout pitch last year. Problem pitches seem to have been his fastball and slider. Fastball can probably be explained by his velocity problems early on in the season (as he got the same movement on it as he always has), but though his slider has rated as a well above average pitch in the past it was rated well below average last year. I hope he can get that slider working again.

QUOTE (chitownsportsfan @ Feb 9, 2016 -> 01:46 PM) Probably just the promise to compete for a spot in the rotation out of spring. At this point, how many teams were offering that and were willing to just do a one year deal? He might have had a two year deal on the table elsewhere but decided to try and rebuild some value in Chicago. He has a good year for Chicago he could easily be looking at a two or even three year deal for 20+ million next offseason. I'm just surprised Baltimore didn't take a chance on him or offer him more than $3 million, their rotation is projected for 2nd worst in baseball.

Count me in as one who doesn't want Johnson to be traded now. That article on Fangraphs today noted we had the worst projected WAR from our SP after the top 3, and this includes all depth options as well. Latos will certainly help with that, but we don't know yet if he'll be healthy or effective, so we still need Johnson in case Latos doesn't work out.