19 hours ago, ptatc said:

Castellanos has a career 797 OPS and is an awful defensive player.

Mazara has a career 754 OPS improving each year and a below average fielder.

 

Come on dude, look at the parks they play at.  Check Castellanos’ last two years.  The bats aren’t even remotely comparable.

12 minutes ago, TaylorStSox said:

Are you trying to tell me all rebuilds aren't linear? So we're not the Astros? Awww, I'm so sad. 

Now there's a solid version of mediocrity. "I'm not as good as other franchises and hot d*mn I am thrilled about it!!!".

5 minutes ago, TaylorStSox said:

You're listening to GM speak? Haha. I'm sure he'd love to sign every free agent. Unfortunately, he has to live in reality. 

I think it makes sense to not tank 2020 and add the two starters.  You potentially have Kopech and Rodon back in the second half of the season.  If you can sneak into a Wild Card or win a weak division, who knows?

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 12, 20196 yr by Moan4Yoan

30 minutes ago, caulfield12 said:

There are the Big 3 (Bum/Ryu/Keuchel) and Porcello and that’s pretty much it.  Everything else is dumpster diving/hoping for rebounds.

 

Why does no one like Julio Teheran? Seems like he could be a 2 WAR pitcher who can inexplicably be had for cheap because he's not being hyped for some reason. He's also 28 so it's not like you'd expect him to fall off a cliff in the next couple of years. What am I missing here?

2 minutes ago, TaylorStSox said:

You're listening to GM speak? Haha. I'm sure he'd love to sign every free agent. Unfortunately, he has to live in reality. 

This is why I can understand the offseason so far. They got what I considered an impact catcher.  There really are no impact RF candidates and they need pitching more so I get the Mazara flier.  I wouldnt give Cole or Strasburg the 7+ year deals so the keuchal, ryu, madbum group is a good target. I'm not a fan of wheeler and his history but if it worked out it would have been fine. 

1 minute ago, Chicago White Sox said:

Come on dude, look at the parks they play at.  Check Castellanos’ last two years.  The bats aren’t even remotely comparable.

Steamer predictions:

Castellanos: 1.5 WAR

Mazara: 1.4 WAR

14 minutes ago, Balta1701 said:

Yeah, that year of being pushed back was 2019. In year 4 of rebuilds, teams like the Cubs and Astros have won the wild card - we were supposed to be able to beat that pace, because of all the extra talent we acquired. If we're punting on 2020, then we're now behind schedule.

The reason is that a)the Sox got very  little from secondary trades and b) their drafting/development of their own players remains bottom quartile and c) their 3rd tier free agent signings, particularly pitching have been terrible.  Honestly, 2 solid #4 starters would help this team immensely right now.  

2 minutes ago, Moan4Yoan said:

I think it makes sense to not tank 2020.  You potentially have Kopech and Rodon back in the second half of the season.  If you can sneak into a Wild Card, who knows?

Who's tanking? Not signing Nick Castellanos and Dallas Keuchel doesn't mean they're tanking. 

2 minutes ago, Moan4Yoan said:

I think it makes sense to not tank 2020.  You potentially have Kopech and Rodon back in the second half of the season.  If you can sneak into a Wild Card, who knows?

They shouldn't tank. This should be the year to start winning and get at least close to the playoffs. Kopech will continue his recovery, Robert and madrigal will go through the initial growing pains at the MLB level.

4 minutes ago, Balta1701 said:

Now there's a solid version of mediocrity. "I'm not as good as other franchises and hot d*mn I am thrilled about it!!!".

Some of are just grounded in reality. 

 

Did the Astros have so many pitchers go down? I honestly don't know if they had their number projected 1 and 2 go down. I don't know if they had their projected closer go down. I don't know if they had their MiLB pitcher of the year go down. 

2 minutes ago, TaylorStSox said:

Steamer predictions:

Castellanos: 1.5 WAR

Mazara: 1.4 WAR

Since we were talking offense (Steamer):

Castellanos: 112 wRC+

Mazara: 94 wRC+

Just now, Chicago White Sox said:

Since we were talking offense (Steamer):

Castellanos: 112 wRC+

Mazara: 94 wRC+

My bad, I thought we were talking about complete players. Nevermind. 

Don't sign Castellanos.  Don't tie yourself to another player who can't defend.  And I will point out that Adam Engel had an OPS over .840 against LHP last year.  He's always shown big splits, and his overall O took a big jump last year.  And he brings some D. (I'll now duck).

Sign pitching.

19 hours ago, fathom said:

Mazara is a low-risk, high-reward acquisition. Considering how it looks the pitching is going to end up this year, I’m fine taking the risk. Competing in 2020 seems like a long shot unless something drastic changes.

But’s the problem fathom.  We just made competing an even bigger long shot by acquiring a lottery ticket to be our RF rather than acquirIng proven production.  The issue isn’t Walker, it’s Mazara being our second biggest offensive addition coming off a season where our offense wasn’t very good.

Just now, Chicago White Sox said:

But’s the problem fathom.  We just made competing an even bigger long shot by acquiring a lottery ticket to be our RF rather than acquirIng proven production.  The issue isn’t Walker, it’s Mazara being our second biggest offensive addition coming off a season where our offense wasn’t very good.

I thought Robert was our biggest addition. 

Just now, GreenSox said:

Don't sign Castellanos.  Don't tie yourself to another player who can't defend.  And I will point out that Adam Engel had an OPS over .840 against LHP last year.  He's always shown big splits, and his overall O took a big jump last year.  And he brings some D. (I'll now duck).

Sign pitching.

Engel’s splits in 89 plate appearances last year versus lefties should not be counted on for anything.  Over his career, his splits versus lefties are bad.

 

 

6 minutes ago, TaylorStSox said:

Some of are just grounded in reality. 

 

Did the Astros have so many pitchers go down? I honestly don't know if they had their number projected 1 and 2 go down. I don't know if they had their projected closer go down. I don't know if they had their MiLB pitcher of the year go down. 

Did the Astros have as many players come in from trades as we did? No. So great, we had more delays, but we had far more at the starting point thanks to those trades. But alas, we were so bad with our development that those trades didn't matter. 

And also on subject; Brady Aiken, Mark Appel.

Just now, Balta1701 said:

Did the Astros have as many players come in from trades as we did? No. So great, we had more delays, but we had far more at the starting point thanks to those trades. But alas, we were so bad with our development that those trades didn't matter. 

And also on subject; Brady Aiken, Mark Appel.

But the loophole in the rules got them Bregman instead of Aiken.

The weird thing is that literally every Sox fan I know in real life is excited about next year. Yet, I come here and there's a group of posters that go out of their way to ruin everyone else's fun. They've driven a ton of good posters away and now the site just kind of sucks. It's a real bummer for some of us that have been around for a long time. 

1 minute ago, Balta1701 said:

Did the Astros have as many players come in from trades as we did? No. So great, we had more delays, but we had far more at the starting point thanks to those trades. But alas, we were so bad with our development that those trades didn't matter. 

And also on subject; Brady Aiken, Mark Appel.

Why does it matter how they got here? The Astros best pitcher came from Pittsburgh. Should that be a ding on them? Should I add another asterisks? 

Just now, TaylorStSox said:

Why does it matter how they got here? The Astros best pitcher came from Pittsburgh. Should that be a ding on them? Should I add another asterisks? 

Because we had way more at the starting point than they did. 

A runner in a sprint race is given a head start equal to half the race. That runner finishes well behind the other racers. "Well all races aren't linear."

We also know the Astros are the cheatiest cheaters to ever cheat. The Cubs produced like 1 of their own pitchers. What am I missing here? 2020 hasn't even happened yet. 

2 minutes ago, TaylorStSox said:

I thought Robert was our biggest addition. 

I love Robert but he’ll be a rookie and is unlikely to put up star level performance next year.  Look, seems like you’re fine burning one of the four remaining years of control for Moncada & Giolito, but I’d really like to accelerate things and not have to bank on a talented guy who has yet to have even a single one win season breaking out next year.

Just now, Balta1701 said:

Because we had way more at the starting point than they did. 

A runner in a sprint race is given a head start equal to half the race. That runner finishes well behind the other racers. "Well all races aren't linear."

That's a terrible analogy. 

Just now, TaylorStSox said:

That's a terrible analogy. 

We got a gigantic head start and are finishing behind the astros and cubs. Maybe, just maybe, the front office is pretty crappy at running and should do something else.