GreenSox

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Mar 30, 2014 -> 01:25 AM) Maybe a future pen arm from what I hear. High upside no control. Just as soon wait it out and see if we can do better. We don't know what Semien will do in the majors and Beckham actually improved some last year.

I wouldn't sign a pitcher because I think the marginal productivity from a 2nd number 1 isn't as great as the marginal productivity from other investments, including plugging some holes (perhaps including lower in the rotation - we'll see) and getting another real hitter on this team.

Last year, the Sox were 40-60, and scored 377 runs in the first 100 games. Record and runs scored after 100 games? 47-53; 421 Who will represent the Sox at the All Star Game? Sale, Eaton Paul Konerko total plate appearances 217 More starts at 2B this season--Gordon Beckham or Marcus Semien? Semien More starts at 3B this season--Conor Gillaspie or Matt Davidson? Gillaspie Date of Matt Davidson's first game with the Sox? 9/2/14 How many total homers will the Sox hit? Last year was 148. 169 Jose Abreu's traditional numbers AVG-HR-RBIs in how many games played? .294 - 27 - 94 148 Number of Felipe Paulino starts 31 Chris Sale's win total (yes, I know it's a reflection of the team. Save it.) 15 Will John Danks be on the White Sox in August--yes or no? Yes Will Adam Dunn be on the White Sox in September--yes or no? No Will Adrian Nieto stay on the 25-man all year (DL counts)--yes or no? Yes

QUOTE (Charlie Haeger's Knuckles @ Mar 28, 2014 -> 07:18 PM) De Aza is a much better baseball player. Likely has more trade value, too. He does, but the teams interested in him have nothing to give or don't want to (like the Twins). We need some fat teams interested in him. If he has a good 2 months, this should open up. No hurry.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Mar 28, 2014 -> 05:25 PM) Quintana will always be a victim of Buehrle-itis. While Jose throws harder, the majority of scouts and baseball people would argue that 2's should have dominating stuff and miss tons of bats. Part of it is stubborness, the fact that the Yankees missed so badly on him that other teams are waiting for the other shoe to drop...not in Phil Humber fashion, but they think there will eventually be some type of regression, instead of more continued improvement. He's supposedly the hardest worker on the team, or one of the top 2-3. That bodes well, going forward. Just from going by the discussion over the last couple of days, most would argue he was definitely a 2 last year (in terms of his overall body of statistics) and even a 1 on the bottom 5 teams, but that the contract he signed would work out just fine if he slipped back to a 3 or even 4 type, meaning an ERA much closer to 4 than to 3. Then if he's a 2 and others view him as a 3, why in the world would you trade him for the return of a #3, especially as he's signed to a contract of a #4? Heck, why do we want to trade him anyway? Sox don't do long rebuilds.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Mar 28, 2014 -> 05:07 PM) The Brewers have a legit shot at the wild card. Sure, if everything falls apart, maybe they go down that road...but then picking him up for just 1 1/2 seasons, that's not in the current Hahn model of sustainable success either. Simply because of the fact that you'd probably be losing him precisely at the time you would most need him...going into the 2016 season. Then, if they did blow things up, they'd be looking for young prospects, which is precisely what we don't have in abundance, since we need the best prospects for the rebuild. They're going to need a lot more than Rienzo, Carlos Sanchez or Trayce Thompson types. For example, would we be willing to part with Beck and Semien for 1 1/2 years of Gallardo? It's a bit like the Wil Myers for James Shields move, then, although Myers was/is 5-10X the prospect of Beck or Semien. If you were the Brewers, would you trade him for Micah Johnson and Beck, for example? No, I wouldn't trade all that for a #3. Sign one if we must. I trust our ability to develop and find pitchers though. We're going to need at least 2 more real hitters. I think teams missed the boat not offering something decent for De Aza this spring...I think he has a good year, and will have a higher price in July. Then again, if he does hit well, and A Gracia and M Davidson develop, we may have a quality core and then can concentrate our big move on a Catcher. I don't see the Brewers contending - they have a staff of #3s...that won't cut it.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Mar 28, 2014 -> 02:21 PM) Again, if they have this possible 1-2 starter in the minors, which you are putting in the Sox rotation as early as next year, why would that team want to deal that starter for only 4 years of Quintana, instead of building around him. It is simply shortsighted and terrible management of assets. The Os and Blue Jays aren't gonna jump past the Yankees with a move like that. Because they are getting a virtual sure thing. You aren't going to get a #1 starter for a prospect with #1 potential. Plus if you're ready to win now, you need a capable starter now. And for the Sox to trade Quintana for a prospect with 2/3 potential would be clownish. But I agree, a GM is unlikely to offer what he is worth. Here's a good article on Q: http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/what-is-a-jose-quintana/

Agree - he needs another big year. Right now, career OBP of .317

No.

This Webb may have to go down for a while to make room for this pitcher we picked up on waivers, but he's going to be good.

Cleto just threw 3 balls in the dirt and struck this cub out.

I hope Beckham comes back, looks good for a month, and we trade him. Ditto De Aza and Dunn and maybe Alexei. As for Keppinger, they probably just told him to stay injured for a while.

Looking good; looking good. I'm ready. Hope the Sox are!

Looks like our real SP prospects are Birmingham and below. A few interesting guys in Birmingham. I also note that while Montas has gotten the pub out of that Peavy trade, Wendelken seems to be ahead of him, per the list above.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Mar 26, 2014 -> 04:48 PM) No. Marcus Semien should get >500 PA's this year. If some of those are at the big league level great, but him getting 300-ish PA's as a backup while Beckham and Ramirez take most of the time would be an utter, utter failure. Agree. If it's a sub we need, that should be L Garcia and Marcus in the minors. Re Guerra, his spring stats don't look too sporty. I assume they've been able to scout him pretty well.

Alexei looks like he's getting worse about swinging at balls on on his heels. I don't understand why a pitcher ever throws the ball above his ankles.

QUOTE (Soxfest @ Mar 26, 2014 -> 01:28 PM) Hope Veal is shown the door. I wish he was a lefty. Veal is untrustworthy and Downs isn't very good anymore.

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Mar 25, 2014 -> 06:06 PM) I prefer Sale/Q/Johnson/Danks/Paulino. Screw the LRLRL, Paulino is NOT a #2. That is just as L-R-L as Ventura has it set up. After 5 comes 1, so it's Danks-Sale. I'd do it like you, except I'd switch Paulino and Johnson.

78-84

QUOTE (IowaSoxFan @ Mar 25, 2014 -> 04:47 PM) But thats part of the difference as well. Smith is a year older and has had a consistent development timeline. Nieto's development was interrupted by a variety of hiccups that slowed his development. Nieto played his first full season last season after being drafted in 2008, Smith was a college player and has two full seasons since being drafted. Odds are neither are going to make it given their profiles. So maybe you're saying that because he's likely not going to make it, it isn't worth the risk of essentially being woefully overmatched at C when Flowers doesn't play, esp. if we happen to be in this thing? Could be. Heck I think Mitchell still has a good shot, so I can be a little sunny on prospects.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Mar 25, 2014 -> 04:07 PM) Smith is mentioned for the reasons I've stated, and that people seem to ignore - in terms of their prospect profile, their performance per level, and their prospects of being a future piece with the Sox are very similar. As for a trade, if Nieto goes to Chicago for Opening Day, there is no longer a trade happening. It means, first, as you said, Rizzo is probably being a jerk about it so the demands are too high. Second, if the Sox call Rizzo's bluff and keep him for April at least, then they're going to ride him out for a while. If he is terrible for a few months, unless the team is in contention and really needs the upgrade at backup C, they might as well ride him the rest of the year. Basically, if a trade isn't happening by 3/31, then it isn't happening. So the leverage aspect is irrelevant at that point. Of course, something people aren't saying here... it is still possible a trade occurs before 3/31. There could be a lot of posturing, and Rizzo may call Hahn Friday (realizing Hahn is willing to call the bluff), and makes a last-ditch offer so that he gets SOMETHING for Nieto. Re Smith, so Nieto and Smith are about equal; fine, now we have 2 prospects at a similar development point. No harm in that. We all know that the odds are that a AA C prospect won't make it, so we doubled our chances. I'm don't see why a trade couldn't happen in April or May. We're willing to leave him on the ML roster, but probably would prefer not to; if Rizzo wants something, anything, he's got to come to the table. He and Hahn could play chicken for a little while; or not. We'll see. Anyway, it's another interesting aspect to what should be a very interesting season.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Mar 25, 2014 -> 03:39 PM) Yes, which is why they kept him. I'm not arguing that, with him in camp, this wasn't the best way to keep him. I just have doubts about his readiness, and about his future after this year. And I found it interesting how much interest he's getting, while a very similar prospect isn't mentioned. That was all I was really going for. Why should Smith be mentioned though? We all know that Nieto wouldn't be on the ML club if he didn't have to be. I've probably been the most bullish poster on this site all along re Nieto, but I don't think he's ready. It's just worth the risk. We can send him to AA or AAA next year. Yes, his development could get stunted - but Nieto's up for it, under advice of his agent, so I'm not worried about the human aspect of it. And from the Sox perspective, if he gets stunted, nothing lost. I agree with your point that while the bar is very low, it's also likely that Phegley or the other guy will exceed that bar as well. One other factor to consider....this substantially increases our leverage for a trade. Rizzo wasn't happy losing him (reading between the lines), he'd probably demand a real prospect in return; Rizzo is renown for being difficult as it is. Hahn basically said as much the other day. At this point, we've shown that we're willing to ride Nieto on the ML roster, which should decrease Rizzo's demands in a trade.

QUOTE (Dunt @ Mar 24, 2014 -> 03:51 PM) Can anybody give one good reason why Beckham should be the starting 2nd basemen this season over Semien? Seriously. So we can trade him.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Mar 24, 2014 -> 10:38 PM) Change the title now... Should we trade Beckham to the Rangers? I doubt that will ever even be a rumor until he's healthy and has played some. yes, would be my answer, though.

I thought he would when we signed him. Only had to beat out AAAA catchers, and working out a trade with Rizzo figured to be near impossible (Hahn confirmed that today). Congrats to the young man.