chitownsportsfan

Tyler Flowers has a BA of .250 with a BABIP of 410. That is insane. If he wasn't having an historically lucky season with balls finding holes, he'd be batting around 180. 2014 is quite a bit about finding what the Sox have and what they don't. In case there was ever any question, the Sox do not currently have a starting caliber MLB catcher. That's a bummer, but at least for now it's certain.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Jun 12, 2014 -> 02:10 PM) I agree, 2B is not a position teams typically pay a premium to fill. That said, there should definitely be less supply of quality 2B available next month than in the offseason and hopefully a few teams in need of one right now. Get two teams bidding for him, say the Blue Jays & Yankees, and maybe you can get something of decent value. If so, you take that offer immediately and put Semien at 2B the rest of the season. Banking on a transformed Gordon Beckham at $6M+ next year does not seem like great use of resources when we have three cheaper & promising alternatives in AAA. Yep you plan for the most likely scenario and that is what you described. If Beckham is really a 4 WAR 2b in the future well shoot but it sure as heck isn't the most likely scenario. Gotta allocate resources as you said and if we can get cheap production from semian or Sanchez atn2b it frees up resources to help elswhere, like the pitching staff.

Nice, let's get him signed so he can get 7-10 starts in high A, a few at bham them in the Sox' pen in September.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Jun 12, 2014 -> 01:53 PM) Isn't the 2500 PA of below avg production also going to weigh heavier for the teams making the offers? Selling high isn't as easy as it sounds because teams don't like to buy high. Excellent point but teams like the Yankees will probably overpay based on desperation at the deadline. If he is traded max levarage will be in July, not the off season.

QUOTE (knightni @ Jun 12, 2014 -> 01:36 PM) I just saw them bait him into that bases loaded K last night. I knew what was coming but he didn't seem to realize what they were going to do to him. He needs to almost always go into his at bats looking inside and up. Easier said then done but if he can a 280, 290 avg is not out of the question. Right now my only complaint is lack of walks but with a 925 ops and the really good hitting weather still to come he might start seeing the ball better on the junk stuff outside.

QUOTE (The Ginger Kid @ Jun 12, 2014 -> 12:46 PM) Seems odd to me that we wait and wait for this 1st round pick to reach his potential and now that he does, we all want to trade him. The 2500 pa of below avg production weigh heavier than a meaningless 1st round history and 100 pa this year. Strike while the iron is hot Hahn.

QUOTE (LDF @ Jun 10, 2014 -> 06:16 PM) going the independent route is 1 yr and then he is a fa. signing for whomever offer the most money. Let's see, 6 million guaranteed, a fast track to the big leagues, or nothing guaranteed and a year of bus rides and hefty insurance payments on that arm. Sure, it's in the realm of possiblity. It's also possible the Sox finish the year with 100 wins -- just don't bet on it.

QUOTE (The Ultimate Champion @ Jun 10, 2014 -> 01:08 PM) Great so let's see Hahn go ahead and trade Leury Garcia for a 2-5 WAR player that can help us in the OF, rotation, bullpen, or as a starter in the IF. Seriously, let's see him do that. Seriously. Do it. Now. It's a rebuilding year. It has been since June of last year. Just keep repeating that. That money saved help free up money for Abreu and the Quintana extension. You're missing the point: Chicago needed more payroll space more than they needed an overpaid average starter.

QUOTE (Soxfest @ Jun 10, 2014 -> 04:53 PM) We can debate all we want Bor-ASS will want both IMO. I'm guessing Rodon's family isn't going to be very happy if he misses a half yea of development in arguably the single best org for pitching development because of 500k either way. 6 million will be chump change if he's signing a pre FA deal with the Sox before he turns 25.

QUOTE (Stan Bahnsen @ Jun 10, 2014 -> 12:53 PM) I'm no fan of Robin's managing, but criticism in this case is just dense, imo. Every other hit in that inning, including vs. Petricka, was an average-hardness GB hit with Twin-like precision. Trout's a lock future HOF. S*** happens. Just hope this type of thing never happens in a game of greater import - playoffs, pennant race, etc. Trout is really good, what's really amazing is that Willie Mays basically had 12 seasons in a row at a Mike Trout level. In other words, if Trout has 10 more years of "Mike Trout production" he'll be in the conversation with Willie Mays as great outfielder of all time. Willie Mays is like the ultimate example of why WAR works.

Nobody was going to give anything for Rios there is a reason he was on waivers in the first place. Sox were lucky to even get Leury for him. Teams aren't gullible anymore there is no reason to pay Alex Rios 15 times what you could pay a rookie or even AAAA player. Rios is a 1-3 WAR player right now at best.

QUOTE (Bigsoxhurt35 @ Jun 9, 2014 -> 11:49 PM) Good. Hope he keeps it up until called upon Well, in MLB, he'll get cornered to death, as we saw. The power is there, as are the walks, but you can't go deep into every count like that unless you're a special talent, and Marcus is a fine player but he's not that. That said, if he can put enough balls in play to hit just 270, in today's new environment if he goes 270/340/380, he's pretty valuable as a super sub or infielder. Even 250/320/360 is a fairly useful bench player.

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Jun 9, 2014 -> 09:53 PM) I agree, but when Viciedo's seeing the ball well, he'll put the whole damn team on his back for a week or two. Then he'll have a two month dry spell. He is what he is. If he was a good baserunner and fielder he could be a 2-5 WAR player. But, he's not, in fact he's an awful runner and an awful defender. It adds up to around 1 WAR unless he hits more than 260/310/400, and I really don't think he can. He has plenty of PA in MLB and the last 300 or so he's had zero injury excuse. At least a guy like Eaton can contribute even if he's hitting 260. Viciedo just bring nothing except his bat, and his bat isn't very good.

QUOTE (bmags @ Jun 9, 2014 -> 09:50 PM) Dang that was his pitch I've given up on Viciedo. Even with his better approach he can't consistently hit balls in the zone. He yanks off so many pitches.

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Jun 9, 2014 -> 09:48 PM) My question was lost during the HR- Conor is hitting .355, when does he become eligible as an AVG leader? Has to be pretty soon, he was like 50PA away when he came back from the DL I believe and he's been a regular ever since.

QUOTE (Soxfest @ Jun 8, 2014 -> 05:22 PM) Ventura has been over his head from day 1. Ventura is not 1% better today than when he was hired, I could care less he was a Sox player means nothing to me as a manager. This team wins in spite of him not because of him. Won't get any argument from me. He makes the same "rookie mistakes" he did 3 years ago. I understand those sort of mistakes when it's your 1st year managing but things like leaving yourself short of pitchers in a 12 inning game like earlier this year, that stuff is just inexcusable as a 3rd year manager.

QUOTE (Soxfest @ Jun 8, 2014 -> 05:15 PM) Yet RV decision is great..........Hawk is so full of it. No kidding, Sale clearly wasn't that sharp at the end of the 7th and probably you could make the argument in hindsight it was obvious and he should have been pulled after Alexie's error. You could see that he was at that point "effectively wild" as he couldn't spot his slider for s*** and his fastball for that matter as well. The velocity was there, the command was not. That said, last night is like reason #38382929 I'd fire Robin, he's been asleep at the wheel far longer than last night and his daily lineup construction is a bigger issue for me.

I'm going on a little vacation this week and won't be watching much, if any baseball. Thank god, what a brutal last couple games. This team is better than last year's, but they still aren't very good. Flowers hasn't just come down to earth, he's collapsed in upon himself and is now a black hole.

damn dialing it up 95, 96, 95 there to end it. Nice.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jun 7, 2014 -> 11:07 PM) Because of how poorly he played last year (fundamentals, baserunning, fielding...) and the fact he has been one of the least productive hitters in the majors for two months this season. If he was doing this coming off a really good season, and he wasn't a year older...then the concerns wouldn't be so loud. He was at worst around average year. It's hard to find guys that can play CF.

The Angels look sloppy as all hell. Like the '13 Sox.

Chris Sale is the best pitcher in baseball right now, no question about it. He's in Video Game mode every time out.

Seems like, as usual, Chicago has a rep as a 1st class org to play for. Rarely if ever do players have a bad thing to say about how the Sox do things. As much as I am loathe to praise JR at times, that's a real testement to how he runs things. That move he made to honor the pension of the clubhouse employees even after MLB changed the rules is pure class as well.

QUOTE (bigruss22 @ Jun 6, 2014 -> 04:25 PM) Hopefully they start feeling comfortable with their pool money left and can start targeting better players. Still, very happy with this draft so far. Yea I was gonna say the last thing you want to do is over extend yourself with the bonus money and have to let Adams go. Gotta be careful with these picks and make sure there is money there for Adams and Rodon.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jun 6, 2014 -> 04:01 PM) Adam Dunn has hit 9 HR in 208 PA's this season. Scaling up to a full 600 PA season, he's on pace for 26. Also he only walked 76 times last season, so 90 BB's aren't guaranteed etiher although he's on a good walk pace this year. I just laugh at the people that think Dunn is worth anything. Do people see the market for Kendry Morales and think, yea, a guy 5 years older with stats half as good over the past few years is gonna get signed to a multi year, 10-15 million dollar deal? Come on people, get real. 35 year old DHs better have an OPS above 850 to have value. Hell, look at Ortiz, he's the most effective DH in the AL and he's ONLY getting 14 million and the Sox refuse to sign him long term.