Soha

QUOTE (zisk @ Sep 24, 2017 -> 12:47 PM) I know what you mean but getting a guy like Singer might not be that bad. It looks like he might be the fastest guy in the draft to contribute at the maj- or league level and so far he has been healthy and not over used. Speed to the majors better not be a factor in who they pick.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Sep 24, 2017 -> 10:32 AM) I have watched less baseball this year than I have in nearly 40 years. I'm the opposite. The rebuild has re-energized me. I've watched more Sox games this year than I have in 7 or 8 years at least. The least interesting thing in sports for me is a team that is treading in mediocrity for 5-10 years. That the Sox have finally pulled themselves out of that has been so fun.

QUOTE (Sox-35th @ Sep 24, 2017 -> 09:23 AM) Stolen bases are overrated as a stat. They're nice, but an out is a lot of risk. With Moncada's speed...if he learned to be a high % base stealer, that would be underrated how disruptive that could be for the team.

QUOTE (BlackSox13 @ Sep 23, 2017 -> 07:31 PM) Basically said he's not sure Avi's timeline matches up with the next Sox contender. Also wasn't sure about keeping Abreu for the long term due to age and expected cost in extending him. A nice way of saying those players might not be very sound investments. Ooooh, was this said recently? I didn't think Abreu would be shopped this winter, but that might indicate otherwise.

Nice baserunning Davidson

QUOTE (hi8is @ Sep 23, 2017 -> 07:00 PM) I wouldn't say "complete" so fast there and it would mean that only 1 of the 3 didn't pan out... unless I'm misunderstanding you. ( I never misunderstand anyone ) I was thinking the same thing. Rutherford or Robert could stick at CF. Also we should be careful penciling in Rutherford at the MLB level. To me he's more in the range of an Adolfo prospect, where you shouldn't expect anything and hope you are pleasantly surprised.

QUOTE (flavum @ Sep 18, 2017 -> 10:21 AM) I'm going to trust the Tigers to go 4-9. If the Sox go 6-7, they'll hang on to the 3rd pick. Big split in Detroit this past weekend. Needed that. We did need that bigtime. But the Sox going 6-7 is a coin flip. They just won 6 of 8 before yesterday. The only tough games left are the 3 with the Astros. After that they have 7 games against blah teams at home (Royals and Angels), then 3 to finish the season against a Tribe team that will be setting itself up for the playoffs. But yeah, it can happen. I'm going to be happy when this is over. I'm tired of stressing out over the pick

The next few weeks are do or die. It's time for the Sox to pitch Covey on 3 days rest a few times. And maybe bring Holland back on a 2 week contract to finish the season Seriously, I think falling to 4th is more likely than moving up to first or second. But it's still possible either way. Hopefully the Astros don't back down because they clinched their division. They still can catch Cleveland for best record in AL.

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Sep 16, 2017 -> 09:31 PM) This sounds very familiar. http://www.soxtalk.com/forums/index.php?s=...t&p=3561830 I'm surprised this isn't a more common view around here. Some people just can't let go of Avi's poor years, not matter how good he does. It's kind of like some Hawk fans that won't let go of Corey Crawford's flubbed Coyotes playoff series in 2012 - despite his solid performances in 2 subsequent Stanley Cup wins.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Sep 16, 2017 -> 04:59 PM) Guilty as charged I guess. There's a reason why guys don't have .390 BABIP's every year. It just doesn't happen. I'd sell high if they can but I completely understand if they want to extend him. They just need to do one or the other What I would say is. you're probably right that his BABIP won't hold where it is. But there's more to hitting than just BABIP. It's isn't the be all end all. Is it impossible for Avi to continue improving in to next year? What if he starts lifting the ball more than he has in the past? If he maintains his very hard contact and starts lifting the ball, even with an expected drop of his BA - he's going to be an even better player than he's been this year.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Sep 16, 2017 -> 03:45 PM) .390 BABIP is not sustainable. .320 or so could be for him and that should still lead to some decent years. Does he have enough in game power for a corner OF spot? I'm very curious to see what the Sox do here. They need to decide whether to extend him or trade him. If I were betting, I'd guess that they deal him this offseason and try to sell high. So.. before it wasn't sustainable for more than a month or two. But it was sustainable for the entire season, so now it's changed to it's not sustainable for more than a full season? The goalposts keep moving in this discussion.

QUOTE (chitownsportsfan @ Sep 15, 2017 -> 01:50 PM) Yea this isn't how GMs talk to each other and it's not the scenario the Sox are in with Avi either. The Sox are going to have a logjam in the OF the next few years. They have Leury, Rutherford, Engel, Eloy, Delmonico, Adolfo etc and everyone of those guys is 3+ years further away from FA than Avi, and thus fit in the rebuild time frame better. Any GM in today's MLB knows Avi's history and knows his inflated BABIP this year. That GM will also know that their have been changes in Avi's swing and approach that perhaps mitigate those concerns. I didn't say GM's would say that to each other. It's a natural question they will ask among themselves. Your hopes of a logjam are pinned entirely on a a bunch of fringe outfield prospects panning out in to players that are better than Avi is right now. Yeah I'm on board with Eloy and Robert. The others fall in the 'unlikely to ever be as good as Avi' category. Maybe some will pan out. But you absolutely can't count on that. That's a terrible way to build a team.

QUOTE (cjgalloway @ Sep 15, 2017 -> 01:25 PM) I also don't believe anyone here is advocating trading him for a basket of bananas. We'd all want/expect something of value for him. Like a Hot N' Ready pizza If the Sox try to trade him, that's going to be be a major red flag to other teams. They'd be like, umm this is exactly what you should need for your rebuild, why are you trying to dump him off? I think it would scare other teams off thinking the Sox know something they don't. So with that in mind, I don't think they can get a good return for Avi. At least not one worth what he has been bringing. Just re-sign him. There's like no money committed to the future. There's little to no downside to this.

QUOTE (Lillian @ Sep 15, 2017 -> 05:38 AM) OK, that is where we really disagree. I would not accept a top 50 prospect for Avi. Blake Rutherford is a #42 ranked prospect, by MLB Pipeline and I certainly would not take someone like him, for Avi. Maybe a top 10 prospect, depending upon the tools. but not some guy who is ranked #40 or 50. May I ask, how do you know what the interest is and what the speculated price might be? While I agree with you about not being eager to trade Avi, I don't think Blake is a good example. Blake feels like his stock has regressed quite a bit and I doubt he will be in the top 100 after the re-rankings are done.

I've been saying for a while they should re-sign him. As they continue to drag their feet and do nothing, his price just keeps going up. Of course, we don't know if Avi doesn't want to talk extension or not. I'd doubt that, but you never know. Rick Hahn's comments about Avi around the trading deadline made me believe he isn't a believer. Or at least he wasn't at that point. I think they're making a mistake with how they are handling him now.

4 for 4 for Yoan. Awesome!!

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Sep 14, 2017 -> 11:44 AM) Imagine that it's early November of 2016. You are Rick Hahn, and you are planning on rebuilding. However, you are given the following, and only the following information to try and change your mind- in 2017: -The Narvaez/Smith platoon is actually not a total offensive black hole, and they hover around a .700 OPS -Jose Abreu puts up his best season since 2014 -Yolmer- (or Carlos, as of November 2016) Sanchez becomes a very solid utility infielder with some pop -Matt Davidson's HR/162 game pace is 37 -Melky's season is very similar to his 2016 season -Avisail Garcia comes out of nowhere to become an all-star, playing passable defense while slashing .325/.372./497/.869 -Leury Garcia becomes a competent hitter -Chris Sale remains Chris Sale -The Sox on paper feature one of the best bullpens in the game, barring potential rebuilding trades -Free agent signee Anthony Swarzak ends up being a stellar reliever With only the above information, would you have changed course? I think based on what you wrote, yeah they absolutely would have scrapped the rebuild idea. And we all as Sox fans can be thankful that they didn't have this information to scrap the rebuild - because the rebuild is looking pretty awesome at this point.

The Giants have a brutal schedule to end the season. I have a hard time thinking the Sox are going to catch them. I'd almost call catching the Phillies a little more likely. In the end though, just hold on to the #3 pick at this point.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Sep 4, 2017 -> 03:02 AM) No, I don't think he's worthy of that. You just don't recklessly hand out a 5-year extension to a 26-year old that's having his first productive full season after multiple years of below average replacement level production because it's "not our money." At least that's not how smart organizations run their operations. The idea of extending him now is if one thinks he might be a good player in to the future. If it's felt this year is a fluke that he won't repeat, then yeah you don't extend him. But if you think this year might be repeated. Then he will want and get 20 mil+ per season if you wait until he proves it next year. These types of gambling deals are what the Sox do...they gamble a bit on guys and their future. Sometimes they work out (Sale, Quintana, Eaton, etc.)...sometimes maybe they don't (TA maybe, but there's still time?). Maybe 5/75 is a tad rich, but I think it's close. Try 5/50 or 5/60 maybe. Avi might bite and take the lifetime security? He also has said he wants to stay here. Signing this type of deal would probably be his only chance to stay with the Sox through the rebuild.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Sep 3, 2017 -> 12:37 PM) Hahn talking about dealing doesn't mean he has doubts about him. Did he have doubts about Chris Sale and Jose Quitana as well? What Hahn said is perfectly consistent with the philosophy that no man is untouchable. If he gets his price for Avi, he'd be gone. That is no different than anyone else on this team. Just my take. But when I saw Hahn speak about Avi a few weeks back, my impression was that Avi's days are somewhat numbered here. He seemed to emphasize on the 'but' part of the discussion. 'He's done great this year, but...'I came out of watching that interview a tad disappointed.

QUOTE (Tony @ Sep 3, 2017 -> 10:35 AM) He's got two more years of arbitration. In 1400 AB's, Avi Garcia has been a very poor hitter. In 420 AB's this season, he's been great. A contract at 5/70 seems like an unnecessary risk for a guy like Avi. If he does this next year, a long term deal seems a little more fitting. Because of all that said, I also don't think the value for Avi would be that high on the trade market. Based on where the rebuild is, and 2019 seemingly like a year that could be some fun, I don't have a problem with the Sox really seeing what they have with Avi in 2018, then deciding what route they want to go with him. My thinking is that if he repeats this season next year - then the number he asks for is in the 20-25 mil range. Because he's absolutely played like a 20+ mil player this year, and a year from now he will be on the cusp of free agency. But if they can get him to sign for less than 5 years at 70 mil, then awesome. I'd just hate to see the guy go right after he finally put it all together. I don't have enough confidence in Blake Rutherford that he will ever be the hitter Avi is.

If the Sox are trying to move him, that's going to be a red flag to any team interested in him. Because he's young and should be exactly what they want moving towards the future, no? I would try to re-sign him. See if he'll bite on a 5 year deal for like 70 mil? I love the idea of an outfield a few years from now of Eloy in LF, Robert in CF and Avi in RF. That's some serious potential hitting.

QUOTE (Two-Gun Pete @ Sep 3, 2017 -> 12:08 AM) You're exactly right. His BABIP strongly suggests that these numbers are purely artificial and/or unsustainable. Meanwhile, he is getting closer to the end of his controllable years for this club, meaning he'd have to be extended at some point in the near future to stay here. Therefore, Hahn should sell high on Avi this offseason, even if you believe in these numbers. (I don't.) Weren't we being told in May that his BABIP was unsustainably high and that he could never pull it off for a whole season? Well he did. If anything, his numbers might be unlucky low because of the drop from the time he tried playing through the injury. Count me in as one who would like the Sox to explore a contract extension with him.

I'm surprised Migo hasn't been traded.

QUOTE (soxfan2014 @ Aug 30, 2017 -> 12:22 PM) Phucking Fillies. Considering the Braves are getting uncomfortably close to the Sox in the standings, this probably isn't such a bad thing.