Jake

QUOTE (Brian @ Jul 5, 2014 -> 04:56 PM) Read this story a couple of weeks ago. Think there were some suspicious Google searches found on his computer about dogs in hot cars. This is exactly why you shouldn't use Google

My feeling is that the yield on prospects, even good ones, is pretty damn low. This is especially true when we're talking about young and low-level guys like Addison Russel and CJ Edwards. If you accept that maybe 1 out of 5 of pretty damn good prospects nets you a major league regular, then you have to get 5 of these guys for every one major league spot you want filled. It's hard to get that many guys via trade and the difference on your MLB roster for having done so may not be worth the effort. I've always like the Sox's more pragmatic approach, which both values prospects and is hesitant to overvalue them. We often target guys that are close to the major leagues and/or have high floors when it comes to player acquisition. Alternately, we look to high ceiling but low risk players in these situations - who cares if Moises Sierra doesn't pan out? We can release him. I'm not a huge fan of paying top dollar for players that are far away from the majors.

Chances are, the more trades you make to get to the same end, the worse off you will be. Too much risk in each step of the process.

My previous employer sent me a letter today saying that they did not comply with some rule (not sure institutional or legal) that required them to let me know that I could divert some of my pay to a TIAA-CREF retirement account. To make amends, they created an account and deposited an amount equal to the average rate of contributions within their company. I wasn't making any money there and it isn't like it's a bunch that they put in there, but it's an impressive gesture. Now, I wish they had given me a clue as to how to access this account.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Jul 5, 2014 -> 07:41 AM) The most important point in Jake's post is that we promoted a guy to AAA after striking out 31% of the time in AA. If that doesn't give Hahn enough merit to fire Buddy Bell I don't know what else does. Yes. There have to be some seriously extenuating circumstances to promote a player who strikes out in 3 out of 10 plate appearances.

I'd like JR Murphy

I'd probably leave Ravelo alone for a while and see if he can convert some of his hitting prowess into power prowess. They have a bunch of IF in AAA and I doubt they want to move Wilkins to AA

I'm not at all convinced that Baez can play MLB IF

If I trade Tank, I want to feel like it's a trade I will definitely not lose. Not just a deal where you walk away saying "well it's better than just giving him away!" but a deal where you feel okay if he really puts it together in a different environment

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 4, 2014 -> 10:28 PM) I could see them signing Lester and trading for David Price I don't. They don't have money and have show no desire for major league talent. Why trade Samardzija and then trade David Price? Price is obviously better, but the marginal gain isn't enough to justify all the effort.

I'm still happy with the Sox, but I'd say this is the best return they've gotten in a trade so far. Just makes me chuckle that they aren't even remotely interested in building a winner with the current talent on the roster

Mitchell is one of those prospects whose stats I rarely visit - I feel like I know his deal and usually there's nothing but sadness to see in his current numbers. So, with that in mind, I checked on things since he's hit so well in AA. I wanted to be able to tell myself that there could be some relevance to his AA production thus far. Let's look at things chronologically. It seems to me that we really set Jared up for failure. 2009 - he's drafted at 20 years old and is known to be quite raw for a 4-year college player. Hits well in Kannapolis in 34 games, drawing a lot of walks and sporting a .296/.417 line. Nearly 29% K rate is a concern, but sample is small. 149 wRC+ 2010 - Awful showing in AFL. .163/.239, 31% K rate. No power. Suffers a gruesome ankle injury in ST, misses entire season. 2011 - Despite time away from baseball and only 34 games experience in A- (and a pitiful AFL showing), he goes to A+. Not insane, by any stretch. He's 22 and they feel like he's too old to be in A-. Okay. He puts up a .222/.304/.377 line. 34% K rate. 93 wRC+. Wasn't ready/needed more time. 2012 - f*** the bad year in A+, he's going to AA. And...it could have been worse. .240/.368/.440, 127 wRC+. His walks recovered a lot, which is always a good sign for a young guy. Still, very high K rate at 31%. He's 23 years old, really not too old for AA. A case of the strikeouts in particular screaming out "don't be fooled by the OBP!" 2013 - He starts in AAA. Not pretty. Walks dip (11.3%), strikeouts skyrocket (37.6%). At this point, we have the cajones to demote his ass despite a modestly okay OBP (.329) and wRC+ (96). He falls on his face in AA, though, an obvious sign of a guy who has been jerked around so much that he's lost his grip. AA numbers are .174/.297, 70 wRC+, 14.1% BB/33% K. 2014 - Given all that....we put the motherf***er back in AAA. Again, he's trying to break everything we know about advanced statistics. High walks, alarming Ks again. .199/.348. Now he's in AA and has hit well in the couple weeks he's been there - .340/.400, 9.7% BB/22.6% K, 194 wRC+. So given his history, I just don't see how we could have ever had a reasonable expectation that he succeed in AAA. The fact that he had some success in AA in 2012 seemed like a fluke. I don't see how you ever promote a player with a K rate north of 30%. It seems to me that we needed to just be okay with the fact that his rawness out of the draft and the major industry the next season were going to make him old for his levels and just deal with that. Instead, we've just inexplicably promoted him over and over. You hear guys like Buddy Bell complaining that he's stubborn and this or that and those things might play into his struggles...but I'd probably be reluctant to make changes when I'm incredibly overmatched too. I don't know whether he'll do well in AA over the course of the season or not. Depends whether his mind is right and whether he has EVER been ready to be a AA player.

I don't see Tank being a great fit in Fenway. He's never been great at getting loft on the ball and he isn't a pull hitter in the air, either.

I think a Kevin Martin sort of player would be perfect

That's just bulls***. People need to forget about it. It's clear that it doesn't even make a difference, anyway. Once in the history of ever has recruitment by one player caused another star player to change teams. Otherwise, it's just money and fit.

A team with: Rose Butler Dunleavy Gibson Noah Mirotic McDermott Snell Bairstow Randolph plus whatever our cap space nets us That doesn't make me hate my life by any stretch. I'm a little excited for it.

It's been discussed before that Abreu (rightly) feels that playing every day that he is physically able is an important part of his leadership activity

I'd also like to mention that the difference in AAV between max deal in NY considering NY/NYC tax and max deal in CHI considering IL tax is at least somewhat relevant. NYC income tax - 3.7%. NY state income tax - 8.9%. CHI income tax - 0%. IL state income tax - 5%

QUOTE (ptatc @ Jul 3, 2014 -> 03:49 PM) The other thing to look at is vision problems. These can change it as well. Mike Olt

Seems like we're just getting progressively further from the facts at this point

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Jul 3, 2014 -> 12:25 PM) It has been stated that Melo wants Taj Gibson to remain on the Bulls. If that is the case, about $70 million is the best the Bulls can do. Now if Melo wants more $$, I'm sure that the Bulls would trade Taj Gibson and sign Melo for the $$. He can't have both though. He can't want more $$ and want the Bulls to keep Taj. Doesn't make sense. Yes he can. Who wouldn't want both of those things? It could end up being the reason he walks away. He might want to play for the Thunder, but he doesn't want them to trade Durant to free up cap room. But he has to earn minimum salary if Durant stays. So he just doesn't come.

Just remember - it isn't just Carmelo is either all about the money or not at all about the money. Each aspect of changing teams has a price. Winning is worth a certain amount of lost earnings, moving his family nullifies a certain amount of the benefits of winning, etc. He could reject the Bulls for their inability to make a max offer without him being greedy. If max is 4/96 and we offer 4/64, his turning us down does not mean that it was 4/96 or nothing. In other news, I've been impressed with Melo in this process. When he left Denver, I saw him as a big baby who strong-armed his way out of town. Throughout the entire mess in NY, Melo has been quiet about his intentions and likely dissatisfaction with the Knicks. He hasn't been making public evaluations of each suitor. By all accounts, he has been incredibly good at keeping his private thoughts out of the rumor mill. Every rumor is "NBA executives think" or "people who are friends of Melo but haven't spoken to him in months believe."

It's not unreasonable for Melo to talk things out with us and decide that he can't balance his interests and the Bulls interests.

That's awesome. You guys do a great job. There's really nothing better out there. Perhaps the services like BA might have more "talent" for this sort of thing, but they don't put the time and effort on our players like you do.

A question, which you guys can feel free to measure as vaguely as possible: To what extent is FutureSox solely a labor of love? Is there any money made? Does it pay for itself?