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This policy has union grievance written all over it.

QUOTE (StRoostifer @ Aug 28, 2014 -> 09:47 AM) Guess I'm just not seeing what all the hype is about but hey, I'm no scout by an means. Its actually really cool were having these discussions. Just a few years ago the Sox really did not have any MI prospects to discuss and now there are three legit prospects with Anderson about a year behind them, maybe less. Big turn around in a short period of time. Have you seen him play?

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Aug 28, 2014 -> 09:47 AM) Really nice to see the way that K rate has dropped. HR rate has dropped as well. Those tend to go together.

QUOTE (StRoostifer @ Aug 28, 2014 -> 09:20 AM) Of the three he is the worst defensively, not that he cannot improve. He is also the least effective base stealer (66%) of the three despite having all that speed. If he doesn't learn to take good care of those legs he will be the utility player for the Sox while cheering on the Sanchez/ Semien double play combo. Just because Merkin has proclaimed Micah the 2B next year doesn't mean squat really. I think too many people are getting caught up in Merkin's hype on Johnson. Pound for pound, IMO, Sanchez and Semien both are better prospects than Johnson and younger as well. I'm not too sure that they are better propsects. Regardless of we think, I heard an interview with RH. He repeated commented on shutting Johnson down this year because he is such an explosive player and incredible talent that they want to make sure he is ready for next. He will have the first shot at 2B. This is a classic case of scouting vs. Stats. Semien and Sanchez have put up better numbers in the minors but scouts love the pure talent of johnson.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Aug 28, 2014 -> 09:13 AM) I'd bet on a big dollar position player being added. Where do you think they will target? I can't see it in the IF with the prospects they have. CF and RF seem to be locked into Eaton and Garcia. The only postion would be LF.

QUOTE (Jerksticks @ Aug 27, 2014 -> 10:08 PM) Plus we're gonna add some type of positional badass this winter and maybe a pitcher too. Don't you think Hahn is going to add at least 1 more young, MLB-ready core piece this offseason? +1 more for the sox soon. We have the best pitcher and hitter in the game, arguably. Cubs have what? I don't think the Sox are going to add a significant position player this off season. The only position where they may look at is LF. Everything else in in house for next year.

QUOTE (StRoostifer @ Aug 27, 2014 -> 05:21 PM) Agreed although I think you and I are in the minority but that's fine with me. Of the three I think Sanchez should be the guy at SS with Marcus at 2B, provided Alexei was traded this winter which I think could very well happen. Davidson seriously needs to just go home and take time off from this brutal season he has had. Just let this horrible season be over for the poor guy already. I would not even call him up in September. Johnson, IMO, is the odd man out because of his defense. I would love to see the Sox try to convert him to a CF or LF and your suggestion of starting him off in AAA would allow time for that to happen. Plus time in ST as well. Nest season is going to be more interesting if Anderson picks up where he left off for Birmingham. He continues that next year he might play his way onto Charlotte's roster. But I shouldn't get too far ahead here. Its awesome that this team at from almost no infield aspects just a few years ago to having four guys worth getting excited over. Not that it means they all will work out but worth some excitement never the less. Johnson is the favored prospects of the Sox for the MI. He will get first shot at 2B next year.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Aug 27, 2014 -> 11:56 AM) Actually, Danks was shutdown the last month of 2007 and came back in 2008 as a much better pitcher, which included a stellar performance in game 163. So if it is fatigue, at least with him, I don't think shutting him down is necessarily a mistake. I would agree. He has pushed past his innings from last year. That's what you like to see post injury. Building the innings.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Aug 27, 2014 -> 08:51 AM) But still, it makes no sense. How is it considered successful if you find out Viciedo isn't the player you had hoped him to be moving forward? Successful to me would be if they knew they could count on him moving forward, or at least found someone else they could count on. It isn't as if they have a surefire replacement ready. It's more of a success in terms of the future plans for the FO. It's not a success for the team. Obviously, they would all of the players to pan out and not need to use more resources. The success is now the know where they need to allocate the resources to be successful in the future. They were probably hoping the DV would take the next step. He has not so they know they need to replace him. The more positions they eliminate from that list the more resources they have to use on identified problems.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Aug 27, 2014 -> 08:25 AM) I don't see where knowing who needs to go makes a season successful. People get fired because they aren't successful. Other than the obvious, Sale, Q, Rodon, Abreu, who with his contract, they had to know was going to be around for a while, and Alexei, Eaton, there still, IMO, are questions everywhere. Garcia looks like a keeper, but it has pretty much been a lost season for him. No one knows how the Sox minor leaguers will be as major leaguers. If your job was on the line, would you commit to Hector Noesi and Zach Putnam going forward? Even Gillaspie. He's had a nice year. Has definitely earned his position, but moving forward, is anyone really sure what he is? There has been a lot of brilliance, but also some things that make you think if he hit's .240 next year with little power and a mediocre glove, it wouldn't be surprising. I guess what I am getting at is IMO the only Sox player who has gotten over the hump that they really didn't know what they reasonably could expect from him moving forward, besides Abreu, is Eaton. I think part of it is that the FO knew this was a "retooling" year. They won't say re-building. So if they figured out where the greatest needs were that is the step to truly building next year.

QUOTE (Jerksticks @ Aug 25, 2014 -> 09:13 PM) Everyone understands the opinion that it's a crapshoot; I mean, I dare you to find any baseball fan on earth who would tell you otherwise. I guess I don't understand what your point is. If you want to catch a big fish, you would rather be in a spot where more big fish are. That's why I understand why people root for the losses because it's based on decent logic, now whether one agrees with it or not, really doesn't matter because it's one of a FEW DIFFERENT valid points of view. Free will. People are telling me that it's better to have the 5th pick instead of the 12. It seems logical but in history it doesn't seem to matter. Of course everyone can view it differently that's half the fun of the discussion. There is no right or wrong just truth from a different point of view (Yoda). My original point was in response to a post about X number of games back of the 5th pick in next years draft. There really doesn't seem to be much of a better chance of a good player in the 12th spot compared to the 5th spot. Unless you have of the the top two or three is just seems pointless to aggravate yourself with losses. That's all. Rooting for poor play just isn't a fun way to watch a baseball game when it doesn't seem to matter unless the team hits near 100 loses. This isn't life or death it's baseball. Enjoy it. If enjoying it for you is to root for poor play. More power to you. i'm just saying that in the end it really doesn't matter unless you have one of the top two or three picks.

QUOTE (Chilihead90 @ Aug 25, 2014 -> 08:45 PM) The higher the pick, the more options you have to chose from, that's just a fact. It's like saying your odds of winning a raffle don't change if you have only 1 ticket or 2. No, it does change. You are always better off with 2, even if the chances of you winning are low. Even if you believe the draft is a crapshoot, it's less of a crapshoot if you have a higher pick, even if it's marginal in your opinion. The lottery example really doesn't work because you don't get more chances. Your number of chances don't go up. You still only have one ticket or one chance. As I said unless you have one of the top two or three the chances of that player being really good is a crapshoot. As people were saying Beckham has out performed most of the players picked around him or at his spot. That isn't saying much for a top ten pick. Losing games to go from the 12th pick to the 7 pick really doesn't seem like an improved chance for a really good player. The only real benefit and it's an important one is having a picked protected if you sign a big FA.

QUOTE (scs787 @ Aug 25, 2014 -> 03:05 PM) I'd say right now Putnam, Petricka, and Guerra are all locks. Webb probably sticks around for at least a month or 2. The rest are such a mystery. If the Sox think they can compete, I'm all about trying to sign/trade for a closer, a good LH reliever, and a straight up loogy. Even 3 new additions is a tall order in one year, but I hope it happens. Going with the theory that you don't want players important to the sox future to play poorly when the they lose, they better not blow the late leads when he pitches then.

QUOTE (BaconOnAStick @ Aug 25, 2014 -> 03:12 PM) Gordon Beckham was a lot better than most #8 picks wind up being. Exactly, so is trying to lose a bunch of games at the end of a season worth a shot a Beckham, who is better than most #8 picks?

QUOTE (Chilihead90 @ Aug 25, 2014 -> 05:54 PM) He accumulated more than 10x the amount of career WAR that the #9 pick did. That argument is really silly though. You don't forgo any strategy in the draft simply because a high round pick didn't pan out. No but you're missing my point. it isn't in relation to draft strategy. It's in relation to trying to lose to get a high draft pick. Unless you have one of the top couple of picks it's normally a crapshoot as has been discussed. so why root for it and torture yourself when it takes alot of luck to get the really good players, the "losing to get a high pick" really isn't an effective draft strategy.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Aug 25, 2014 -> 04:15 PM) This is still hard to say 100%, because if he's in a league with 20 year olds and he's 24, physically his body is probably more developed than most of the people in the league with him, wouldn't you say? Maybe a little. Most 20 y/o are physically mature. They may be starting a lifting program to add muscle or something but they are physically fully mature. There may be a few that are still developing. So with his background as an athlete he has be physically training more than most.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Aug 25, 2014 -> 04:00 PM) Really nice interview. While he's relatively old for the level - 24 in low A does not scream future MLB player - he obviously has incredible work ethic and athleticism given the Olympic style training he's gone through. He's also shown a very advanced approach for being a raw prospect, given the 13.9% walk rate, and his K-rate is not outrageous either at 16.7%. Given all that plus the supporting cast he has around him, I wouldn't be surprised to see Eddy play at the MLB level at some point. This is a guy I'm going to look forward to following. Age makes zero impact with this player. He took over 3 years off. So equate his development to a 21 year old as that is the experience he has. You will find no one who will work as hard as he does.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Aug 25, 2014 -> 10:15 AM) Conveniently, we have a way for both of these to happen known as the bullpen! The only problem is, it means the Sox need 6 new bullpen pitchers. That is a tall order in one year.

QUOTE (Chilihead90 @ Aug 24, 2014 -> 11:32 PM) Today the Sox gained a game on.... Rangers, Rockies, Cubs, and Phillies. Sox are now 8.5 GB of the #1 pick, and 4.5 GB of the #5 pick. How did the #8 pick in the 2008 draft turn out? The Sox better lose a lot more to get a "guaranteed" good pick.

QUOTE (IlliniKrush @ Aug 24, 2014 -> 11:09 PM) Maybe between DH and playing a position, but I simply cannot see how playing 3b or 2b or whatever affects the ability to take your bat and either hit or not hit a pitch coming at you. There's no logic behind it. The game doesn't know. The logic behind it is being comfortable during the game. What's the difference between a postion and DH. Theoretically, a DH can study the pitcher more between at bats because while the team is in the field he could go to the video room and study the pitcher etc. so logically he should be more prepared. It all has to do with comfort level. If the player is worried about screwing up at a defensive position it may distract from his concentration. I'm not saying it effects everyone but there are players that it does effect. edit: Guess I should have read other posts before replying. Others have said the same thing.

There is a new study out that was published in Sports Health about cumulative head trauma and concussions in retired NFL football. The download was too big for me to attach here but this is a part of the conclusion section. The present study indicates that MRI detects evidence of probable chronic brain injury related to football in up to 13% of the retired players and neuropsychological testing detects evidence of isolated cognitive impairments not rising to the level of dementia and related to multiple factors, not only football/head trauma, in 24.4% of the retired players. There is no clear evidence of chronic brain damage on depression testing or neurological examination. These results need to be reconciled with the prevailing view that a career in football frequently results in chronic brain damage. The CTE findings in post-mortem studies may not be as clinically relevant as once thought. It's like the MRI studies that show up to 60% of people who never had back or leg pain show positive for bulging discs. Here is the reference if people can get access. Sports Health: A Multidisciplinary http://sph.sagepub.com/content/6/5/384 The online version of this article can be found at: DOI: 10.1177/1941738114540270 Sports Health: A Multidisciplinary Approach 2014 6: 384 originally published online 25 June 2014 Ira R. Casson, David C. Viano, E. Mark Haacke, Zhifeng Kou and Danielle G. LeStrange Is There Chronic Brain Damage in Retired NFL Players? Neuroradiology, Neuropsychology, and Neurology Examinations of 45 Retired Players Edit: maybe this should be moved to the sports injury section. It dealt with the NFL so I out it here first.

QUOTE (IlliniKrush @ Aug 24, 2014 -> 10:17 AM) Do you know what 3,000 plate appearances is called? A large sample size. Defensive position makes zero difference on being able to hit a baseball. I disagree with this as an absolute. It makes a difference for many players. However, in this case, I agree. Beckham always had that "hitch" in his swing. I t prevented him from hitting good fastballs Once the league figured it out, he refused to make an adjustment.

QUOTE (IlliniKrush @ Aug 24, 2014 -> 04:48 PM) Should have punched his wife and halved it. That's one of the problems with a CBA. The punishment for violations is concrete, no options.

QUOTE (fathom @ Aug 22, 2014 -> 10:16 PM) Chicago radio on Monday should be full of meatheads calling for Urlacher to return, etc. Im not sure he would be worse than this group.

QUOTE (GreenSox @ Aug 21, 2014 -> 09:27 PM) I don't think he has the range this team needs...it's a ground ball staff (and that's not changing) and too much gets through. I agree that he's a good platoon hitter. (and you know you're a platoon hitter when Flowers pinch hits for you). That's why I'm thinking LF....he should be able to play OF if he can play 3B. I'm not giving up on Davidson. I just don't give up on talented young players after 1 bad year. I'm not giving up on Davidson either. I'm just saying it doesn't look like he was ready. I'm not sure Gillaspie can be a 3B either. however, I think he can be a good hitter in the MLB.