Post any rumors/moves here.

_________________
Reality is your friend, not your enemy. -- Seacrest

Mike Trout to the Sox is imminent.

_________________

Who could they possibly get that would make a big difference? Difference-makers don't really come available these days. That's why I see the Yankees as being more fucked than the Cubs or the White Sox. How do they get better? They can't just buy their way out of it anymore.

The Sox need to address the catching. They've got two outfield spots taken with Garcia and Viciedo (unless they move Viciedo to a first/DH platoon with Dunn). Maybe Dunn could be moved with just one year left. I doubt it. They're still fantasizing that Beckham is a key building block so he'll be in the middle infield somewhere. I'm guessing Semien gets a shot at third. Who knows if he can really play. I'm not sure how they really get better. Typical Sox move would be to overpay for a guy like Granderson or Choo. If Konerko decides to come back that gums shit up even more. He looks like he's finished and what could they pay him? Seven million seems about right, but that could be better spent elsewhere. If he wants to come back, they'll let him. He gave Jerry the ball. They can waste millions on him but they have to limit a ticket giveaway to April only (and no Red Sox!).

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

This is why you need a minor league system. So you don't wind up completely fucked with no hope.

_________________
Reality is your friend, not your enemy. -- Seacrest

You can sell hope, but it doesn't hit homers. The Avisail Garcia deal is better than anything Theo has done with the Cubs. There's one guy to really build around. We'll see what they do. Right now, I'm not optimistic.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

By definition hope is better than no hope.

The Garcia trade looks good, but I'm not super impressed with Hahn so far.

_________________
Reality is your friend, not your enemy. -- Seacrest

Theo picked up crap out of the dumpsters for basically free that produced more homers than Garcia.

Donnie Murphy had 2 more ab's with the cubs than garcia did with the sox and hit 6 more home runs.

_________________
That's my purse! I don't know you!

Garcia will be the next Lyle Mouton. Just wait until he grows into his power!

_________________
Reality is your friend, not your enemy. -- Seacrest

This same logic caused Jimmypasta to compare Donnie Murphy to Robinson Cano.

I think its fair to say that Garcia's career will likely be better than Murphy's

_________________

Awesome! I'm glad you're as happy with Murphy as I am with Garcia.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

I am as happy with Strop and Arrieta as you are with Garcia. Murphy was a nice surprise that will probably never be heard from again.

_________________
That's my purse! I don't know you!

1. Say goodbye to Paulie. Nothing good can come of him returning.
2. Prioritize signing that Cuban 1B
3. Get rid of Keppinger. I assume he will return to his normal numbers next year but I would rather go with Gillaspie or Semien than Keppinger at any position he might play.

_________________
O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

Keppy should be a reserve with 150 ABs. I mean guys like him are useful in a pinch, but never as a starter.

_________________
Reality is your friend, not your enemy. -- Seacrest

They're paying him way too much for that though. I'm not sure if you can get rid of him, but dolphin is right, he should be gone if possible. Leury Garcia is your utility infielder. One of the problems with this team is that they have about five third basemen, none of whom can actually play third base. If they could dump Alexei, you could have Beckham and Semien at short and second, whichever way, and that might not be terrible. You need to get some power from third and I don't believe Gillaspie is the answer. Maybe you could sign Jhonny Peralta cheap after the suspension. Or sign a guy like Kelly Johnson and play him at second with Semien at third. Whatever, they have to get some more offense. I still think McCann is the best free agent fit as a left-handed catcher with a good stick, but he's risky because of the injuries and he might be in decline anyway. There really aren't easy answers for this team.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

The one thing they do have is salary flexibility. They could trade Alexei for an even worse contract. Or take a bad contract along with a prospect. I'd bring in tons of bodies and reclamation projects. They somehow need to find more valuable assets.

I'd tell Gillaspie, "look kid, you need to get stronger. I don't care how you do it, just do it. Otherwise, you're not going to play."

I'd be willing to go with Leury at SS if he really is all that with the glove. Even if he hits .200. I mean on this team, that's not even that bad.

_________________
Reality is your friend, not your enemy. -- Seacrest

I wouldn't have a problem with that either, especially the way the game seems to be going with offense continuing to decline. They constantly run sub-par baserunners into outs, it would be nice to have a guy who can actually steal at a high percentage and who can go first to third without getting thrown out by twenty feet. He has to be able to hit enough to play everyday though. I'm not sure the days of Dal Maxvill are quite back yet.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

Then take a syringe out of the top drawer and a bottle of HGH and say "I am now going to turn my back and if anything in this office goes missing, rest assured, you will not be blamed for it"

_________________
O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

I don't want the Sox going anywhere near Brian McCann. He surely will end up overpaid, he's injury prone, and if that isn't enough he seems to make Pierzynski look like a baseball saint.

For next season;
#1, catch the ball, then throw accurately to the first baseman

#2, catch the ball, then throw accurately to the first baseman

The bullpen walks too many guys. That needs to be improved/addressed. Troncoso and Donnie Veal should be nothing more than mop up guys

DeAza shouldn't be leading off and shouldn't be the everyday CF. You can live with him hitting 2nd, 7th, or 8th and playing a corner OF spot

If there is any possible way to move Dunn, you do it. And you call him at 11:59pm to tell him about it

They need to upgrade in power. Doesn't matter where, but they have to get solid hitters to protect Garcia. This guy could/should be an absolute stud in the lineup, but will suffer greatly if he is being "protected" by like guys Viciedo and Gillaspie

_________________

Well, I think the entire idea of "protection" has been found to be a myth by irrefuteable statistical evidence and is now just something crazy old guys like Hawk mutter about in between stories on Yaz and outlandish statements about Beckham being the best player on the team.

I don't care how douchey Brian McCann is anymore than I cared about A.J. being an asshole. Can they help you win ballgames? And the answer is a resounding "yes". The issue with McCann is as I stated- long term health concerns. Regardless, the biggest holes on this team are the catching and left-handed hitting. Both those things must be addressed.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

I think Pauly is going to retire. Getting rid of De Aza, Alexei and Keppinger are musts. They need to sign the Cuban 1st baseman, Granderson to play right, a left handed hitting back up catcher and a loogy.

What makes you think the Cuban first baseman is that good? He's going to break the bank. I can't see him being better than Cespedes who is really not anything special. Granderson is going to be a player in decline and taking him away from his friendly wall in Yankee Stadium isn't going to help his power numbers. Terrible idea. Who do you think the starting catcher is?

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

Looking at the roster, it's a mess.

You can't do anything with Dunn and will be on the hook to pay him. With the power declines the last two years, Alexei is no sale at 19.5 remaining on his deal. (At least he is serviceable) DeAza is arb eligible and will likely ask for big money after a near 20-20 season.

What do you do with Viciedo? OPS at .731 isn't great but he's also under that magic 26 number. Is it worth a gamble?

I just can't see anything on this team that would generate prospects. Maybe Quintana or Santiago? Quintana had a very nice year. Addison Reed and groom Daniel Webb as the next closer?

The free agent class is dreadful. One guy I like as a small upgrade over Konerko is James Loney.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/playe ... ja01.shtml

_________________
Reality is your friend, not your enemy. -- Seacrest

Loney adds a left handed bat to the lineup and he's a decent player you can get cheap.

I can picture Alejandro De Aza & Alexei Ramirez getting traded this offseason by the White Sox, and perhaps Jeff Keppinger, too. Because you can't get a 24 pack of Pepsi or Miller Lite for him, Adam Dunn better get accustomed to first base. That's where he's playing full time this April.

I would like to picture that, but I really can't.



Well, I think they'll have another first baseman, whether it's Konerko or someone else and Dunn will probably DH some too. I think the Sox will sign some cheaper-type guys like James Loney, but probably not Loney himself. I disagree with Hatchetman that Loney would be a definite upgrade over Konerko. You might be able to squeeze one more decent season from Paulie if he is feeling good. I'd rather not take that chance, but if he thinks he can play, there's no way I think the Sox will tell him no.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

Uh, no they won't. Adam Dunn is your full time 1B next year on the White Sox. They're not getting this Abreu guy from Cuba either.

I do not understand why anyone would want Loney. I would rather have Konerko on his last legs with barely anything left.

_________________
"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

It's not that the White Sox couldn't use James Loney. It's just Adam Dunn's still earning a lot of $$$$ and the Sox can't get rid of him.

You sound pretty positive, SHARK! I'll bet right now Dunn does plenty of DHing next season. I agree they aren't getting that Cuban.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don