Hatchetman

I could see them trading Q or Sale this offseason, adding a modestly big-ticket FA and then going for it again in 2017. Which is why it would be nice to get that protected draft pick.

Burdi's walking about 14-15% of the batters he faces in AA/AAA. That is probably not sustainable at the major league level (only 5 of 223 MLB relievers have rates above 15%). Do you think that will improve due to better umpiring? Or maybe more balls in play? I dunno. It doesn't seem to me he's mastered his craft though. I guess he'll have to master it at the MLB level. His arm will likely be shot by the time he's a free agent, so it doesn't really matter if we capture his prime years.

Maybe that's their problem. Listening to fans too much. Worrying about blue seats instead of putting a good team on the field.

Witty aphorism but I'm pretty sure most good businesses care very much what their customers have to say. Maybe JR does not consider people like you and me to be customers though. I only bring my family to a handful of games, watch a bunch on TV, and buy White Sox apparel. Hardly worth paying attention to someone like that.

JR seems to have rabbit ears when it comes to radio show hosts. Wonder if he follows Soxtalk?

I'm totally part of the Opinionentsia. I embrace the term. Discussion boards are for, you know, discussion.....and debate. Throw out an opinion or theory and let people pick it apart. If its strong enough it will stand up to the criticism.

Rather, they’re to be made by the prodding of complainy jerks on Twitter: “Steinbrenner said watching fan reaction on social media and seeing how many sponsors wanted to meet young first baseman Greg Bird during spring training were a sign the team’s fan base was ready for a rebuild.” I kid about the complainy jerks part. Yankees fans, especially the savvy ones, had been calling for such moves for a long time and it’s good that ownership was actually responsive to fan sentiment. Such sentiment can be fickle and silly at times — Joe Girardi could part the Red Sea and cure cancer and a certain segment of Yankees fan would whine about how he went about doing it — but a business owner listening to the customers is pretty smart. With the Yankees it’s pretty rare. Follow @craigcalcaterra http://mlb.nbcsports.com/2016/08/18/hal-st...him-to-rebuild/

That is my opinion. You have a screw loose if you don't question this org's decision making process. The weight of evidence is much more substantial on the "inept" side of the scale rather than the "brilliant" side.

Everyone is entitled to an opinion.

You'd be crazy not to question every single move this org makes. I don't know what the Apologentsia's motivations are. Relatives/friends that work for the team maybe. I dunno.

Sox had exactly average pitching performance the past three years per WAR.

you can find tasty things in the dumpster once in a while. you just don't want to build your entire diet around it.

Post of the year. LOL.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Aug 17, 2016 -> 03:36 PM) Daryl Van Schouwen ‏@CST_soxvan 1h1 hour ago No cigars: #WhiteSox lead majors with 43 one-run games. 68 of their 118 games have been decided by one or two runs, including 39 of last 59. they are 20-23, which is virtually their overall winning percentage. so maybe they can have cigarettes.

Number of relievers with 95mph+ avg fastball age 19-29: 36 age 30+: 7

College and minors combined (3 years), Burdi has pitched a total of 97 innings. I don't know what that means, but I find it interesting.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Aug 17, 2016 -> 02:22 PM) Wait, the Sox drafted JAKE Burdi? Hold the phone, now it's truly a bad pick. They should have drafted Zach I wouldn't put that past KW.

QUOTE (Thad Bosley @ Aug 17, 2016 -> 02:08 PM) questioning his pick in the first round is certainly reasonable. This team's decision making has proven to be so bad, any reasonable person should question everything they do.

I think an argument can be made that late inning relievers should get a little bump in value due to the high leverage situations they pitch in.

The highest-paid starting pitchers, by average annual value: 1. Zack Greinke, $34,416,666 (2016-21) 2. David Price, $31,000,000 (2016-22) 3. Clayton Kershaw, $30,714,286 (2014-20) 4. Max Scherzer, $30,000,000 (2015-21) 5. Jon Lester, $25,833,333 (2015-20) 6. Justin Verlander, $25,714,286 (2013-19) 7. Felix Hernandez, $25,000,000 (2013-19) … Stephen Strasburg, $25,000,000 (2017-23) 9. Zack Greinke, $24,500,000 (2013-18) 10. CC Sabathia, $24,400,000 (2012-16) Relief pitchers The highest-paid relief pitchers, by average annual value: 1. Mariano Rivera, $15,000,000 (2008-10) (2011-12) 2. Rafael Soriano, $14,000,000 (2013-14) 3. Brad Lidge, $12,500,000 (2009-11) … Jonathan Papelbon, $12,500,000 (2012-15) 5. Francisco Rodriguez, $12,333,333 (2009-11) 6. Jonathan Papelbon, $12,000,000 (2011) 7. Joe Nathan, $11,750,000 (2008-11) 8. Rafael Soriano, $11,666,667 (2011-13) 9. Francisco Cordero, $11,500,000 (2008-11) . . . David Robertson, $11,500,000 (2015-18) ouch

A top 20 reliever is worth about 1.5 to 2.0 WAR A top 20 starter is worth about 5 WAR

No I'm not missing the point, just taking your silly argument to a ridiculous end. It was reported that scouts thought he could possibly be a starter and even reports that the Sox intended to make him one. Spending a couple years attempting to make him a top of the rotation starter is a much better option with minimal downside. After a year or two if that didn't work just make him a reliever again. The extra innings of experience would serve him well anyway.

There's never been a decent reliever picked at #26 so obviously it was a bad pick.

best guys picked between #25 and #30: Alan Trammell Mike Trout George Brett Mike Schmidt

Total theoretical here, but how much, if at all, does the value of the franchise increase if Theo Epstein is put in charge of White Sox baseball operations?