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I posit this though: With inverted W mechanics and a bout with elbow trouble in his resume already, who's to say the White Sox don't take the plunge if someone overpays? The problem is what constitutes "overpayment" for such a talent.

Is it the money or the roster jam? Because if it's the money, sure, if it's the roster jam, DD has made it clear that the superior players will play. That's why Shaw will start at 3B come opening day. It's a non-issue.

Not a fan of either Ross (control issues, HR rate would baloon here) or Cashner (grade A stuff, constant health issues).

Lol no. Sale isn't going anywhere, the Padres are actively shopping Shields. If the Sox ate the whole contract, they could probably get him for a palatable package.

Come on, you know it was a good post if my reply was to laugh at the "accidental" fat joke. I mean, that's the whole point, that at some juncture the blame has to go towards Pablo. There's no need to make all these excuses for him. His conditioning is terrible, full stop. That's it.

If the Sox got Shields, Kelly would go to the BP, and that's likely the best long-term outcome for both he and the team.

He's not ready yet, and Hanley's going to be DH'ing next year. If anything the coast is going to be clear as day.

"Eat the blame". Heh. Well done.

I was wrong in thinking that Pablo would turn it around. He wasn't that fat when he was here for the Caribbean series, and that was in January.

Theo was a great GM while he was in Boston. He fell victim to the same backstage politicking that drove Cherington out of town. Just admit he's way better than many of you gave him credit for and move on. He's one of the premier executives in the game, and was so during his tenure in Boston as well. How good would it be to have him as president of baseball ops right this instant.

That settles nothing.

No one is answering your question because it's a logical fallacy. A loaded question in this specific case. If Pablo wasn't essentially a stone statue coming off of being the worst regular in MLB, you wouldn't be asking this question, and we wouldn't be having this discussion. He is not 2014 Pablo, therefore, the logical leap needed to answer this loaded question renders it truly illogical. Reformulate the question. "Who would you rather starting, a healthy, effective Pablo, like he was in 2013 and 2014, or an unproven Shaw"? In that case, I'd rather have Pablo, but we all know that is not who he is anymore.

1) Unless he loses the weight, it's clear he can't be adequate defensively. See, the beauty of defense is that range and ability remain the same regardless of game type/situation. I think the bat will be there, but he needs to drop the weight to play league-average D. That is what it is. 2) His attitude is terrible, not because of assumption, but because of things he has done (or hasn't done). No one's reaching for anything. He has brought this all on himself. I don't get the insistence on defending a guy that, for all intents and purposes, is terrible. He could've dropped the weight, but did not. Could have kept his mouth shut, did not. At some point, it has to become his responsibility and not an universal conspiracy to assasinate his character/deny him a chance to play baseball. It's all him. That's how real life works.

The strike zone adjustment isn't as drastic as you're making it out to be. Why do you have to massively exxagerate every single little issue?

Apples to oranges comparison. The problem here isn't Pablo's offense, it's his defense. If he was playing well defensively, your argument would hold water, but it doesn't because playing 3B requires both offensive and defensive production. Maybe a better comparison would be Hanley- Travis, where the rookie outplayed the veteran, but the veteran is firmly entrenched because of experience, contract, etc. The point is that Pablo is out of shape. He has to drop the weight to be effective. There's a happy medium where he's plump and exhibits better power and enough range defensively, but he's way past that.

Right, because in the real world, if I work a job that requires physical activity and I get so fat that I can't perform, when my employer tells me to drop the weight and I actually get fatter, they are going to assume that it's just perception instead of firing my ass. Come join the rest of us in reality. He can barely move, and that's not assumption, it's a fact. Even in your defense of him you explain that B Butter is trying to find ways to combat his declining range. In what universe does a guy in the prime of his career decline precipitously in his defensive ability without any injury whatsoever but poor conditioning, and it's not a conditioning issue? It's not an assault on his character, it is common sense. Even worse, dude comes in and immediately lashes at the media that he "has nothing to prove"....f***er, you have EVERYTHING to prove. Look at Hanley. Why do you think we agree on his defense? They told him to move to LF....done. Told him to drop weight.....done. Says all the right things, puts in the work. Pablo has done none of those things. He has a s***** attitude, and needs a wake up call.

He has top-of-the-rotation stuff, but he has sequencing and health issues. The upside's there, but the track record is not.

There's no assumption. It's a logical conclusion based on the available fact. He essentially told everyone to f*** themselves as soon as they questioned him on his obvious weight gain, and the "did or didn't the team tell him to lose weight" SNAFU. Let's not try to complicate what's simple.

Not me. I think Kelly to the pen isn't such a bad idea, considering his health history and wipeout velocity.

No, but he's fat because he has a bad attitude.

Just like the Crawford fiasco. I'd disagree about the Porcello extension though.

Just a whole bunch of nonsense, except for the high strike part, I have noticed that and it's been commented in sports programs here.

He's talking about Larry Lucchino. Lucchino is not with the team anymore.

Same regime problems. You know exactly what she means.

This is a very good point.