GreenSox

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jun 28, 2016 -> 04:21 PM) The original trade talk I saw centered around the Sox being asked for Tim Anderson. Now I am not going to claim to know how the discussion went, nor will I claim to know what other teams were willing to offer, but $10 million a year for what Shields can do on the mound is dirt cheap. Compare that to what other free agent starters got this off season. If Hahn had included Anderson in a trade for the 34 year old rapidly declining Shields, Hahn should have been put into an asylum. From what I've seen, Shields can't do much on the mound anymore... Hahn is apparently looking at what he once did in the past and wishcasting that Cooper "saw something he can fix". The free agent comp should be someone like Latos, not Kennedy or Zimmerman.

QUOTE (Dunt @ Jun 28, 2016 -> 08:15 PM) Jameson Fisher with his first bomb of the season. He might end up being a pretty nice pick. Saw him play in college a couple of times. He can hit. Whether he measures up on the scout kind of stuff (bat speed, etc.) I have no idea.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jun 28, 2016 -> 10:40 PM) Preller or someone with his staff he brought over from the Rangers definitely was in on Tatis Jr. before that trade was consummated. "A guy we have seen on the international market. Good feel for the game, bigger body player at SS." - A.J. Preller on Fernando Tatis Jr. Of course...Preller's an international guru and Rick Hahn, well, is not (to say the least). And they convinced Rick Hahn to throw him in, when this should have been an Erik Johnson salary dump considering how awful Shields had pitched. Maybe Rick's one big bonus this year will come up aces.

QUOTE (Lip Man 1 @ Jun 27, 2016 -> 10:39 PM) But the flip side of that is how many runs will he allow and cost games because of his bad defense? Mark 14 homers; play him at DH. Bottom line though is that this trade provides a nice snapshot of Rick Hahn's ability as a talent evaluator and as a GM. Semien is out of position at SS probably, but, fwiw, he has a positive defensive WAR this year (I don't exactly trust those defensive WAR numbers I will confess).

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jun 27, 2016 -> 04:46 PM) Eating at the kiddie table? Well, Detroit and KC are "all in" and will be making moves in the trade market...will the White Sox match them? The White Sox could be 7 1/2 games back after tonight, unless you're going to assume that the Braves roll over the Indians. http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/CH...le-scores.shtml A year ago on this exact date, 32-40 and 13 games back. Congrats to Rick Hahn for the huge improvement. Don't know what we would do without him. Sure he can. No one's giving an A prospect for the Bruces or, egads, Brauns of the world. If the other team offers 2 Bs, Hahn will gladly deal 3 and throw in an A ball prospect for lagniappe. He's proven his willingness to do that before. He did it in the Shields trade that should have been nothing but a salary dump. And of course most of those orgs have 10-15 B prospects...the Sox have 5 - maybe. My hope, of course, is that Rick Hahn spares us any more of his trading acumen and talent evaluation skills. Do us no "favors", please Rick. Oh, and I see that Marcus Semien just jacked a 3 run homer against Rick's main man Samardzija.

Hawkins is only 22, so there is time.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jun 27, 2016 -> 03:41 PM) To Charlotte. He was in Birmingham. They have Sanchez and Leury in the middle infield. I guess they'll figure out a spot - Charlotte MI has been crowded for most of the last several years, and it works out

QUOTE (Thad Bosley @ Jun 27, 2016 -> 02:26 PM) He also traded away veterans for young, cost-controlled players (now where have we heard that term in recent years!) like Melido Perez, Greg Hibbard, Eric King, Lance Johnson, Wilson Alvarez, and (cough) Sammy Sosa. That happened primarily over a three year period from '87-'89, and then the next thing you knew, there was a 94 game win season in his fourth (and last) season. The man had a plan when it came to building from within and augmenting with trades for the type of young, cost-controlled players that Hahn has TALKED about getting over the past five years but rarely has. Himes' work in the late 1980s was phenomenal. And let's not forget his drafts: McDowell, Ventura, Thomas, Fernandez. After Himes: Ruffcorn, Pearson, Christman, Clemons, Mark Johnson (woo), Jeff Liefer (woo woo) etc., etc., etc. Over the next 20 years, the only first rounders who amounted to a thing were Gio and Rowand, and they were supplementals. Chris Sale stopped the streak. But it's one big happy family.

QUOTE (Jake @ Jun 27, 2016 -> 03:13 PM) I didn't realize that Cleuluis Rondon is still just 22 years old. I hope the Sox 1. Don't give up on him and 2. Don't insist on playing him above this level. I say that because the Sox, especially with players they seem to like, will often promote players in spite of either poor production or big warning signs at their previous level. This kid is just 22 and it makes sense to me to wait around and see if he can amass a good hitting line against lower-level pitching before pushing him up the ladder where he will inevitably perform poorly. I agree with you. And as bad as his O is, it's actually improving (slowly). The thing is, he's going to be a Rule 5 guy soon, isn't he. I realize no one would put him on their roster with his hitting in that shape (although with that elite D, you never know with a rebuilding team); but even if not Rule 5, perhaps one of those minor league free agents. Not sure how that works, although I think it has something to do with progression through minors and years.

Great report as usual, North. Not worried about Adams yet. Pleased that they smoothed out the delivery; he's learning 4 pitches (and has 2 of them down) and has excellent command. Low velocity will be problematic if it persists, but he's making excellent progress in other key areas.

NL/AL? Or inside of Great American Ballpark v. outside of GAB His splits stuck out like a sore thumb, when evaluating the possibility of trading for him. Road OPS 2013 .659 2014 .717 2015 .733 2016 .785 I guess one can wishcast that he'd hit in the Cell like he hit in the GAB. More likely, what you see is what you get. Heck, we're getting a career year out of him on the road.

QUOTE (Dunt @ Jun 27, 2016 -> 10:44 AM) Are the Sox any worse off sending Coats down and giving Davidson a whirl at DH? Avi isn't getting the job done, maybe time to throw more s*** at the wall and see if it sticks? Makes sense to me.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Jun 27, 2016 -> 10:05 AM) Guys, Bossard actually like was a legit draft choice though. Legitimate talent. But they knew he wouldn't sign.

QUOTE (OmarComing25 @ Jun 27, 2016 -> 10:42 AM) I will never stop beating the "Paulo Orlando is actually not good" drum. Probably isn't; but it would be nice if, say, AAAA Shuck could get on a crazy roll like that, if only for this year. Sox are due for one of those lucky spots.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jun 23, 2016 -> 09:53 AM) Who signed Paulo Orlando? The White Sox should actually get some credit for that...the lifetime WAR of players originating in the Sox system. Yep - traded for a rent of a Royals reliever in the same era that Williams was fishing in the Royals bullpen. Orlando became a productive major leaguer at the age of 30...it would nice for the Sox to get lucky like that and hit on one of those guys who seem like AAAA players. It's hard to measure the return because the Sox don't invest heavily internationally. Teams like the Rangers get a lot out of their international players...but they also invest a lot more than the Sox do. Would have thought the international market would have been a nice place for Laroche savings...instead Hahn put it on Shields.

So for those who have regularly seen his at bats, is he swinging at everything, or is he just not taking any walks. The good walkers lay-off pitches just outside the zone that are hittable. It's better to lay off than to try to hit them in general, but you can still be productive. Now if he's swinging at balls in the dirt and stuff, then there could be issues. I like Anderson at leadoff because it pushes Eaton down to #2 and Eaton is the best hitter for the 2 hole on this roster. He's also the best hitter for the 1 hole, but I think the 2 hole gap was much greater.

Drafting insiders in the 30s (as well as other prospects they know they have zero chance of signing) probably won't hurt much, but it's indicative of the culture of this org. Keeping the family happy remains way too high a priority. And they just aren't all-in in building the org. As for KW Jr., who the Sox drafted twice (a courtesy pick in the mid 30s out of high school) , that trickles down. Ozzie went on one of his public rants when his son (not sure which -Ozney or Olney) was drafted later than he would have liked and didn't receive the sweetheart bonus that Jr did. Even with that, I don't think anything tops Ron Scheuler drafting his daughter.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jun 27, 2016 -> 08:37 AM) Of course, the Peavy deal (contract extension) was not exactly met with universal praise, either. Seemed a bit ill-advised, like the club didn't have a clear direction. Same thing with the time when they extended Danks and turned around and traded their closer for scraps simultaneously. Still amazed that we got anything out of Peavy. He got a ML ready top prospect plus 3 low level minor leaguers. Opinions varied at the time of the quality of Garcia (he had plate discipline issues as a prospect) but the on paper return was pretty solid. Peavy was having a solid year with a 1.13 WHIP and K rate in excess of 8 per 9. He was dealt to a contender that needed another starter to close out the regular season. Hahn took advantage of the opportunity. Which is why I'm so stunned he reversed course in 2014 despite the progress being made. I guess it was this contrived/bogus/fictitious 3 year window Williams started yakking about. I suspected then and still suspect it was rushed in response to the Cubs; after all, the core was signed for another 5-6 years when Williams started talking "3 year window."

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jun 26, 2016 -> 06:02 PM) http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/colum...625-column.html Paul Sullivan one of the first local Chicago media members to turn the accusing finger at Hahn. About time. Hahn has been making the precise opposite moves that winning teams make: acquiring the old players that winners sell-off for ML ready prospects. And when he did dump, they were Williams-like giveaways (except for Peavy).

QUOTE (fathom @ Jun 26, 2016 -> 02:11 PM) Didn't go well for Danish Nor for the offense: shut out by Lucas Harrell. Yikes.

QUOTE (soxforlife05 @ Jun 26, 2016 -> 05:56 PM) Those are all bottom of the order hitters on a winning team. Saladino at this point is more of a utility player. Anderson looks good but will get exposed eventually if he doesn't improve his plate discipline. Agree on Anderson. But the floor is high - he'll be Alexei if he doesn't develop plate discipline. Those guys are bottom level hitters on a winning team...but a lot better than our bottom level hitters. It's a dubious proposition to trade those guys when your replace them with sub .700 hitters. And as it is, the Rangers and Indians only have a few guys each exceeding .800 OPS. They are an important part. Sox just need more depth. Yes, the Eaton trade was excellent. I think Arizona has the best farm system in baseball. They churn out talent year after year...they make a lot of bad trades, but they still have a lot of young talent.

QUOTE (SoxPride18 @ Jun 26, 2016 -> 09:56 AM) http://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=...=&players=0 At least look up the stats and metrics before you post garbage. Norris is also a top 5 pitch framer in the league. Fair enough. He's gotten better with San Diego. He was terrible with Oakland. Avilia is a decent defensive catcher anyway, and the position is nowhere near the greatest need. QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jun 25, 2016 -> 05:13 PM) Surely, Rick Hahn could have picked from ONE of those names. They did - they got Frazier. They got Jackson, who wasn't that different than several on the low-end of your list. 3 B prospects will get a lot of the names on that list...still will. 3 Bs got Frazier. Sox just are just short on Bs

QUOTE (Dunt @ Jun 25, 2016 -> 12:02 AM) Both on bad teams, both in positions of need, both massive upgrades over what we have. The team is back to playing good ball, but they are paper thin right now. The bullpen needs work, but I think Burdi is up sooner than later. I really think they need to address C and DH ASAP. Avila is coming around but Navarro has been brutal. Would Norris even cost that much? The years of control might make him a little more expensive, but he's not lighting the world on fire. His defense would be a huge boost though and I think his SLG would look good at the Cell. Avilia is not a bad catcher. Norris is a terrible defensive catcher. Defensively both Sox catchers are playing exactly as advertised. If that's not good enough, why did Hahn sign them? The position of need is starting pitching, centerfield and DH. Morneau might help DH. Jackson would help the defense immeasurably if he recovers. Sox have to show a lot more in the W/L and spot in standings for more trades for "proven veterans" to make any sense.

Thompson's numbers probably will fall into his minor league form - mid .700 OPS and play excellent defense. Now will Frazier exceed that? Probably, but for 2 years. Decent move if you are a contender. Re development, this idea that the Sox can develop pitching...well, it sure would be nice to see it. Sure they have Rodon, but he was also the #3 pick. The biggest weakness is on the major league team is starting pitching - only 3 ML starters on the staff. On the other hand, the Sox have produced Trayce, Semien, Saladino, in the last 3 years; all will have some role on a major league team. Anderson looks like a player (and if he would take some pitches/walks he could be a star player). The Sox can't even fill a bullpen spot comfortably from the minors (I have some hope for Beck).

They decided to put on a clown act today. Redsox must have scored 6 runs on junk.