so what do you think now?

[idseer]

if anyone is out there .....

last year i saw many many 'fans' on espn who trashed hahn all season long. i wonder what some of them are thinking now.

consider ... sox have dumped peavey, reed and santiago and they've picked up abreu, davidson, garcia and eaton. this team has quietly done a major facelift and given up very little in doing it. peavey certainly wasn't worth the money he was making, reed was a very pedestrian closer and santiago showed some promise but was superfluous to the team. we picked up cheap but very promising talent in davidson, garcia and eaton shoring up three sorely needed positions. also added an untested, expensive but potentially explosive 1st baseman in abreu ... to me the biggest gamble of the four. but for a last place crap team one can only be happy with what hahn has pulled off so far .... and without much damage to the pitching staff. it's no longer a deep staff but all the good stuff is still there. now if only he can come up with something at catcher.

my point is .... hahn has earned my respect. he has a direction in mind and he's slowly pulling it together. you have to be excited about the next couple years on the south side.

 

[podsox]

So far so good. It sounds like sox are about to sign Scott downs. I hope as a setup man but maybe as a closer. He is 38 but has still been pitching well

 

[Johnnydollaz89]

Yup, Downs deal is official.

The White Sox are in agreement on a one-year, $4MM contract (pending a physical) with free agent left-hander Scott Downs, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter links). Downs' deal contains a vesting option that could bring the deal to two years and roughly $8MM, he adds. According to Rosenthal, the option will vest if Downs pitches a normal workload.
The 37-year-old Downs posted a 2.49 ERA with 7.7 K/9, 3.9 BB/9 and a 64.3 percent ground-ball rate in 43 1/3 innings between the Angels and Braves in 2013. This past season represented the final year of a three-year, $15MM pact between the Angels and Downs. The Halos traded him to Atlanta in July in exchange for right-hander Cory Rasmus.
Though Downs was typically strong against both right- and left-handed hitters into his mid-30s, he's developed a notable platoon split over the past two seasons. From 2012-13, right-handed batters have hit Downs at a .285/.371/.416 clip.
The White Sox have seen their bullpen depth depleted greatly over the past six months. The team traded Matt Thornton to the Red Sox in July and saw him sign with the Yankees as a free agent. Jesse Crain was traded to the Rays and is now a free agent, and they also traded closer Addison Reed to the Diamondbacks in exchange for top third base prospect Matt Davidson.

MLB Rumors - MLBTradeRumors.com

 

[msgkings322]

if anyone is out there .....

last year i saw many many 'fans' on espn who trashed hahn all season long. i wonder what some of them are thinking now.

consider ... sox have dumped peavey, reed and santiago and they've picked up abreu, davidson, garcia and eaton. this team has quietly done a major facelift and given up very little in doing it. peavey certainly wasn't worth the money he was making, reed was a very pedestrian closer and santiago showed some promise but was superfluous to the team. we picked up cheap but very promising talent in davidson, garcia and eaton shoring up three sorely needed positions. also added an untested, expensive but potentially explosive 1st baseman in abreu ... to me the biggest gamble of the four. but for a last place crap team one can only be happy with what hahn has pulled off so far .... and without much damage to the pitching staff. it's no longer a deep staff but all the good stuff is still there. now if only he can come up with something at catcher.

my point is .... hahn has earned my respect. he has a direction in mind and he's slowly pulling it together. you have to be excited about the next couple years on the south side.

This was always my point but you raged at me because in your opinion nothing good would ever happen with JR as owner. So, maybe next time you can dial down the anger?

I felt from the beginning with Hahn that they decided to finally do the right thing and build with a plan, slowly, to win down the road, not try to patch holes every year with bad contracts. They aren't drawing either way, might as well build a winner. So they figured they'd never win until Dunn came off the books, why not get rid of all the deadweight (only Danks' contract will remain after this year) and rebuild?

 

[msgkings322]

They aren't going to win 80 games in 2014 (I'm guessing 75ish) but in 2015 they should be ready to contend by signing a couple of names with the Dunn money off the books and continuing to find and develop young talent.

 

[idseer]

This was always my point but you raged at me because in your opinion nothing good would ever happen with JR as owner. So, maybe next time you can dial down the anger?

I felt from the beginning with Hahn that they decided to finally do the right thing and build with a plan, slowly, to win down the road, not try to patch holes every year with bad contracts. They aren't drawing either way, might as well build a winner. So they figured they'd never win until Dunn came off the books, why not get rid of all the deadweight (only Danks' contract will remain after this year) and rebuild?

i don't know what the hell you're talking about. something good happened in 2005 with jr as the owner didn't he? things can always happen in spite of poor leadership. it just lowers your odds and makes it a lot harder than it need be. in my opinion they made a very stupid decision getting abreu. doing the same thing they've been doing for years and that is spending money in all the wrong places. so in total they made a good decision in getting garcia for peavy ... better than what i thought they could do. i thought it was smart to dump reed and get good potential at third. reed will never get near 40 saves again.
as for hahn .... i'm doubting it was his decision to go for abreu. that one smacks of kw all the way tho i have no proof of it.

in any event, don't ask me to tone anything down. our owner is a jerk. and if we win we will win in spite of his stupidity. i can only hope hahn continues to be good at his job and reinsdsork let's him run things ... instead of blindly letting someone like kw destroy this team like he's done simply because he thinks he should be 'loyal'. loyalty in the face of losses and ignorant decisions is the sign of a loser. something our owner never understood.

 

[msgkings322]

i don't know what the hell you're talking about. something good happened in 2005 with jr as the owner didn't he? things can always happen in spite of poor leadership. it just lowers your odds and makes it a lot harder than it need be. in my opinion they made a very stupid decision getting abreu. doing the same thing they've been doing for years and that is spending money in all the wrong places. so in total they made a good decision in getting garcia for peavy ... better than what i thought they could do. i thought it was smart to dump reed and get good potential at third. reed will never get near 40 saves again.
as for hahn .... i'm doubting it was his decision to go for abreu. that one smacks of kw all the way tho i have no proof of it.

in any event, don't ask me to tone anything down. our owner is a jerk. and if we win we will win in spite of his stupidity. i can only hope hahn continues to be good at his job and reinsdsork let's him run things ... instead of blindly letting someone like kw destroy this team like he's done simply because he thinks he should be 'loyal'. loyalty in the face of losses and ignorant decisions is the sign of a loser. something our owner never understood.

You don't know what I'm talking about? Go back and look at this thread:

http://www.sportshoopla.com/forums/chicago-white-sox/120094-jose-dariel-abreu.html

I was saying it looks like the Sox finally are doing it right, you lashed out at me about how bad the Sox decisions always are, and how 2005 happens once in 100 years, and how they needed to sell the team. Now with this thread you seem to be coming around to a more optimistic view, which is all I was espousing.

You're a very angry dude, at least that's how you come across here. So tone it down, or don't, whatever man. If this is your best path to personal happiness, have at it.

 

[idseer]

You don't know what I'm talking about? Go back and look at this thread:

http://www.sportshoopla.com/forums/chicago-white-sox/120094-jose-dariel-abreu.html

I was saying it looks like the Sox finally are doing it right, you lashed out at me about how bad the Sox decisions always are, and how 2005 happens once in 100 years, and how they needed to sell the team. Now with this thread you seem to be coming around to a more optimistic view, which is all I was espousing.

You're a very angry dude, at least that's how you come across here. So tone it down, or don't, whatever man. If this is your best path to personal happiness, have at it.

because i made a post to shut guys like you up? LOL! ridiculous!

the fact is it's already done (the changes) and so of course i hope for the best. you and i both know that's not likely. no one knows what things will be like even next year, let alone 2 or 3 years from now (your low expectations of next year notwithstanding). i DO know that the sooner reinsdork sells the team the better off it'll be. unless, of course, it's sold to another reinsdork-like clown. at least there's a CHANCE it'll be an upgrade and so that's my wish.

but it's interesting you believe yourself to be some kind of amateur psychoanalyst and capable of dishing out helpful advice. don't think i don't remember some of the mush that came out of you back on epsn. you want to drag this out here? it's at least twice now you've focused on my comments here. still smarting from way back when eh? tell you what .... if you have anything reasonably intelligent to add to this site on your own other than just looking thru your rosey glasses, or acting like the idseer police please do so. i'll try to not pick on you. meanwhile, feel free to disregard my posts if they aren't to your liking. i will bitch and otherwise comment on the things i think they do wrong anytime i feel like it without regard to how it may affect your sensibilities. i will also root for and cheer what they do right .. tho not as often because i believe THAT should be expected of them. think you can handle this?

 

[ChicagoIrish]

Sox really need to focus on putting in some stock in the Farm.

Just not enough talent down there.